I want you to take a look at: Why we need Women’s Day 

MUMBAI: The last known urn containing the ashes of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was immersed in the Arabian Sea here this morning on the occasion of his 60th death anniversary.
MUMBAI: The last known urn containing the ashes of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was immersed in the Arabian Sea here this morning on the occasion of his 60th death anniversary.

Descendants of Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Governor of Maharashtra S M Krishna and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra R R Patil were present at the ceremony held in South Mumbai this morning.

The Mumbai Police gave a ceremonial guard of honour prior to the immersion of the ashes at the historic Girgaum Chowpatty in South Mumbai.

After the immersion of ashes in rivers and oceans across the country following the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1948, the last urn containing the ashes was kept at Mani Bhawan, where Gandhi lived while visiting the city.

This is the second instance in 60 years where an urn containing the ashes of Mahatma was found and later immersed.

In the first instance an urn was found in a bank locker in Bhubhaneshwar in 1997 and the ashes were immersed in Allahabad, Dhirubhai Mehta, head of the trust which maintains Mani Bhavan, said.

The urn at Mani Bhavan was donated by Bharat Narayan, a resident of Gujarat and grandson of industrialist Jamanalal Bajaj, who wanted the ashes to be preserved properly.

Source: TOI

He is all of nine years old,but Darsheel Safary has given ace actor Aamir Khan a good run for his money in Taare Zameen Par. So last week, when the little prodigy said he should be “chosen the best actor, not the best child actor,” there were quite a few who backed his call.

As for precedents, even a fleeting glance around the world provides plenty of them. In 2004, Japanese film Nobody Knows’s 14-year-old star Yagira Yuya won the best actor prize at the Cannes film festival. The following year, it was the turn of 10-year-old Jin-bin Park to be voted best actor at the New Montreal film festival for his performance in the Korean film Little Brother.

The Oscar Academy of course is even more favourably disposed towards child actors, nominating 10-year-old Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin as the best supporting actress against the majestic Cate Blanchett last year. And Justin Harry, when nominated in the same category for Kramer vs Kramer back in 1980, was even younger than Safary.

In India, child actors may not be awarded on a par with the adults but they have come up with equally wonderful performances. In fact, from Raj Kapoor and Rekha in the golden yesteryears to Hrithik Roshan, Kamal Hassan and Aamir Khan in the present, many of our brightest stars made their film debut as children.

Also legendary are tales of horrifying exploitation. Sarika, for instance, was exploited by her mother who did not send her to school and placed the four-year-old in front of the camera and lived off her earnings for years.

Today, the demand for child actors has gone through the roof, extending beyond film to primetime soaps, reality shows and advertisements. But even as opportunities are aplenty, child actors find the competition draining.

Last year, the Sa Re Ga Ma Little Champs and Voice of India: Chhote Ustad talent shows pulled in kids from Jabalpur, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Raipur in unprecedented ways.

Safary himself beat down 5,900 other children to land the “lead” in Aamir’s directorial debut, where he not only gets top billing but also carries the entire first half of the film by himself.

Now, with childish forthrightness, he has demanded the top awards too. Perhaps, the next blockbuster carried on a child’s shoulders will see the venerable ladies and gentlemen of the jury heeding his call.

The stock market benchmark Sensex shed 1,660.85 points, as the market was engulfed by selling pressure fuelled by weak global cues.

The 30-share index was trading at 17352.85 points at 1430 hrs as major market players remained net sellers, pushing almost all heavy-weight stocks to their recent lows.

The National Stock Exchange index Nifty too dropped by 424.35 points at 5,280.95, as metal and realty stocks suffered the most.

Marketmen said weakness across global market in the last six trading sessions including today has pulled down the market to levels last seen in October last year.

They said RBI governor YV Reddy’s statement that the central bank would continue to be sensitive to high crude and food prices prevailing globally, further fuelled selling.

Absence of overseas investors from the market due to rising concerns of inflation in the US, also remained a dampening factor, they added.

World’s cheapest car an ‘environmental disaster’ for India

Something akin to a motoring revolution has been unveiled in India – a compact car that will sell for a little over $2,500 when it hits the market later this year.

The makers of the Nano believe it will revolutionise how India’s 1.1 billion people get around, but critics say it will be an environmental disaster in a country already plagued by chronic air and noise pollution.

The theme from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey played as the Nano was unveiled at the annual Delhi car show by Ratan Tata, the head of India’s industrial giant Tata Industries.

“We are very pleased to present these cars to you today,” he said.

“They are not concept cars, they are not prototypes. They are the production cars that will roll out of the single plant later this year.”

At three metres long, 1.6 metres high and 1.5 metres wide, the Nano lives up to its compact name.

It is a four-door, rear-wheel drive with a two-cylinder gasoline engine that claims to offer 20 kilometres per litre.

But the biggest attraction is not performance, it is price – 100,000 rupees – a little over $2,500 before on-road costs.

The target market is the many million of Indians who currently use a motorbike for family transport.

Environmental concerns

Still, many months before the car becomes available, potential buyers on the streets of New Delhi seem easily sold on the idea.

“Those people who are riding motorcycles these days can drive a car and they will find it easier to drive a car in the streets,” one Indian man said.

“Everyone can afford this car.”

The prospect of the Nano’s popularity scares environmental campaigners in India, Centre for Science and Environment spokeswoman Anumita Roychowdhury said.

“There is just no room left for more cars in Delhi. If you really look at the city, the roads are already congested,” she said.

“Data shows that we have even gone beyond the designed capacity of the roads.

“The traffic speed has come down drastically from 35 to 40kph to 12 to five kph [at] the peak traffic volume.

“Now that clearly brings out the fact that it is a crisis that we need to deal with, because [of] both the congestion and pollution impact.

“This cheap motorisation that is now going to explode in Indian cities, we are not prepared for it at all.”

The Nano is the brainchild of Mr Tata, the 70-year-old head of the family company. And the old man bristles at criticism the car may not be eco-friendly.

“We may as well come to grips with the fact that all the things that you ask for may not be in a one-lakh (100,000 rupees) car and all the things that might be there in an eco car, may not be possible for one lakh,” he said.

“Take it as it is. It’s a car that’s affordable, provides transport, meets all safety laws, meets all emission laws present and future.

“[It] will be a reliable form of transport which will provide Indian families an all-weather means of safe transport.”

But it is not just the Nano for India. In two or three years’ time, Mr Tata wants to roll out export version of the Nano to developing countries around the world.

Love, others may follow Radiohead’s no-label lead

DENVER (Billboard) – Rock band Radiohead’s decision to release its new album “In Rainbows” by itself — online, without a record label’s help and at any price the user chose — rocked the industry last fall.

Some hailed it as the beginning of the end for record labels. Other dismissed it as merely a publicity stunt. Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher told Reuters the group would follow such a strategy “over my dead body.”

But everyone wants to know: Who’s next? The following 10 acts represent where the smart money is on such speculation. Let the games begin.

PRINCE

He’s already shown a willingness to distribute music outside traditional label structures by releasing new music on his Web site, via his NPG Music Club and by offering his latest album as a covermount with the Daily Mail newspaper in London. Prince is also staging a massive effort to “gain control of the Internet” by suing the Pirate Bay and forcing independent fan clubs to remove images and other content, suggesting perhaps that he wants all eyes on his site in the future.

TRENT REZNOR/NINE INCH NAILS

After a highly publicized departure from label Interscope and Universal Music Group, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor came right out and declared his intention to release the group’s next album from its Web site for $5. He also collaborated with Saul Williams on the “Niggy Tardust” release, which was offered online in a Radiohead-like fashion. This one is money in the bank.

COURTNEY LOVE

The singer penned a rambling stream-of-consciousness post on her MySpace page admitting her fascination with the Radiohead model and said she would consider something similar in the future. Her latest album, provisionally titled “How Dirty Girls Get Clean,” was supposed to be released last year but has yet to appear; Love is also not presently signed to a label.

DAFT PUNK

The techno group’s new live set, “Alive 2007,” appeared on iTunes a week before it did physical formats, so clearly the act is interested in digital releases. Although still signed to Virgin, Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter told Billboard last summer that he’s open to experimenting when free to do so. “What we might be interested to do from an artistic point of view might not have the same agenda as a major label for using physical formats,” he said. “Personally, we still buy music, but we hardly buy any physical music. We’ve definitely changed our habits.”

. . . AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD

The group left Interscope last fall with no small degree of animosity, and is rumored to be considering a digital-only self-release in partnership with indie digital distributor IRIS. The Texas-based outfit is working on a new album, expected in August.

CHUCK D/PUBLIC ENEMY

Chuck D is already releasing his own material and that of Public Enemy under his primarily digitally distributed label SLAMjamz. Expanding his love for Internet releases with the pick-your-price angle of Radiohead’s move is just the kind of anti-authority rebellion that he and his crew are known for.

SUFJAN STEVENS

The prolific indie rocker has almost complete control over his work through his label Asthmatic Kitty, and has a proven willingness to do things differently. He even gave away full rights to one of his songs as a prize in a Christmas songwriting contest opened up to all fans. At the rate he puts out material, Stevens may easily decide to just push his songs online as soon as they’re done rather than wait for a more traditional model.

PEARL JAM

The Seattle group already sells live recordings directly to fans through a proprietary Web interface, and has a history of eliminating the middleman to make its work more affordable to fans. With a distribution and payment model already set up for the live material, it would be a simple matter for the group to add studio albums as well. Pearl Jam has the freedom to do it, as it is signed to Sony BMG’s J label on a per-album basis, as opposed to a long-term deal.

UNDERWORLD

After ending its deal with V2 in 2005, the electronica duo launched an official online store called the Riverrun Project, which focuses on lengthy one-off tracks bundled with digital photos. The group cited the desire to make new music available immediately, rather than wait years for an album release. Underworld is now signed to ATO imprint Side One Recordings but remains free to sell music via Riverrun whenever it chooses, sources say.

DEPECHE MODE

Eleven studio albums in, these synth-pop stalwarts arguably no longer need a major label in their corner. The group, which recorded for Sire since 1981, can still fill arenas and land new tracks on DJ playlists without the support of radio.

3000 YEARS OF CELEBRATION/ IRANIAN NEW YEAR IS COMING