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Movie Review: ‘The Martian’ is not so interesting and strictly recommended for lovers of sci-fi cinema

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the martian

Producer: Simon Kinberg, Micheal Schaefer, Mark Huffman, Ridley Scott & Aditya Sood
Director: Ridley Scott
StarCast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastian, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels & Micheal Pena
Genre: Sci-Fi
Verdict: Average

Plot: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meagre supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit & spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return.

Aces: It’s the director Ridley Scott and the actor Matt Damon show all the way in league with the way the cameraman has captured the Mars planet and the storm that takes place out there.

Minuses: Too much of scientific mumbo jumbo and a serious lack of drama to heighten the viewers interest in the goings on.

Last Word: ‘The Martian’ is a typical sci – fi melodrama which can be strictly recommended for lovers of this genre of cinema.

Sania-Martina in doubles semis of Wuhan Open

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mirza-hingisWuhan: Leading women’s doubles pair Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis entered the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open tennis tournament here on Thursday.

The top seed duo defeated fifth seeded American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-2, 6-2 in the last eight stage in only 58 minutes.

Sania and Hingis earlier beat Polish-Australian pair of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.

The Indo-Swiss pair recently won the Guangzhou Open. They have won an impressive six titles together including triumphs at Wimbledon and US Open.

(IANS)

Nasheman.in interviews director & producer Vidhi Kasliwal

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“The Marathi film industry welcomed me with open arms. It says a lot about a fraternity when they accept members from different origins & ethnicities.” – Producer & Director Vidhi Kasliwal

Vidhi Kasliwal

Vidhi Kasliwal began her career as an Assistant Producer in ‘Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki’ and went on to assist Sooraj Barjatya as an Assistant Director in ‘Vivah’ followed by turning Chief Assistant Director in ‘Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi’. She is best known as the Writer & Director of ‘Isi Life Mein’. Vidhi Kasliwal, the founder of Landmarc Films & the Producer of documentaries ‘Block By Block’ & ‘Saathi Haath Badhana’, ‘Building For The Future’ & Marathi film ‘Sanngto Aika’ has set her feet firmly in Bollywood and is now growing from strength to strength.

Excerpts from an interview with the woman of substance…….!

You began your career as a director with ‘Isi Life Mein’. What made you take up production with ‘Sanngto Aika’ and now 3 more Marathi films?

From the very 1st day I stepped on to the sets of ‘Vivah’ a decade ago as an Assistant Director, I fell in love with movie making and every aspect of it. I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to direct my own film at quite a young age. That only added to my hunger of being a creative part of as many films as possible, hence the natural progression to producing. I wasn’t exposed to Regional cinema growing up, but when I did start watching regional films, I was drawn to Marathi films, because of several reasons. Firstly, the language was more familiar, being born & brought up in Amchi Mumbai. And most importantly, the kinds of meritorious subjects being made and doing well was very heart warming & encouraging. That’s when I decided that I just had to be part of such a meaningful industry. We were lucky that we kicked off our very 1st production ‘Sanngto Aika’ working with stalwarts like Sachinji (Pilgaonkar) & Satishji (Rajwade). The experience of working with such esteemed artistes & technicians, spurred me on to take up further Marathi projects and as a result we have an interesting line up of 3 more to look forward to in the coming year.

Your production house landmarc films is into documentary films as well. Tell us about them…….!’

The transition from Director to Producer was not an easy one. I spent the 1st year just meeting with people, trying to get them to trust in my creative vision & ability. During that time I kept getting approached by some known individuals to make documentaries. My schooling & experience was hardcore fiction & feature films, so I was sceptical of this alien genre – if I’d be diverting my energies, if I’d be any good at it. It was my father who convinced me to not turn away work that was coming my way. And I’m thankful to him, because had it not been for his advice, I may not have explored & learned this fascinating genre of filmmaking. Documentaries are quite a different discipline all together. They are research heavy and can be quite unpredictable. We made 2 documentaries in the span of 1 year (in 2013). ‘Block by block’, depicting the lives of Construction Labourers in India, was showcased on several Satellite channels and was officially selected for many Film Festivals and we won a few awards as well. This gave us quite a boost. We went on to make a short film on the Engineering marvel of the Tallest Residential building in India, which was quite an enlightening journey as well. The greatest reward about making documentaries is the in depth learning on such varied topics and putting to use innovative filming techniques & equipment. Since then we have been researching & shooting for 3 documentary films that should hopefully be released over the latter part of this year & the next.

Are Hindi films in the pipeline or would you 1st like to explore Marathi cinema?

Hindi films are most definitely on the horizon, but they take longer to put together. We have been working on developing compelling scripts for the past 4 years and are aiming to take at least 1 on floor by early next year.

Being a non – Maharashtrian, how difficult or easy is it?

I thought being a non – Maharashtrian would have been a road block, but quite to the contrary, the Marathi film industry welcomed me with open arms. It says a lot about a fraternity when they accept members from different origins & ethnicities, all working for a common cause to take the Marathi language & cinema forward.

Tell us about the genre of your films and the kind of movies that you like making as a producer?

My guru & mentor – Soorajji (Barjatya) always taught me that when we direct we should draw from a place of reality & familiarity, this adds to the authenticity of the characters, script & the film. So I’m trying to produce different genres, which I may not be able to necessarily direct. This way I get to be part of diverse kinds of films and get a chance to widen my creativity. Our upcoming films range in genre from Slice of life to Thriller, from Action comedy to Coming of age. It’s a lot of fun working on all these different genres.

What about direction. We are looking forward to Vidhi Kasliwal the director as much…….!

Directing is my 1st love. In fact, I’ve more often than not been “accused” of thinking 1st as a director and then as a producer! Some people may think of it as a weakness, but I think it’s a strength. It helps me understand, take care of & protect my director and his / her vision and needs better. After my 1st film, I couldn’t wait to start my next, but I decided to take some time to find my voice and what exactly I wanted to say with my next film. My script is now ready and I’m very happy & excited to start approaching actors with it very soon.

Are you looking at small budget films or mega budget ones?

I’m taking it one step at a time and working more on Small & Medium budget films in Hindi. Once I strengthen my foot hold, I would like to take on the Mega budget ones. Our strategy in Marathi is slightly different – where we are looking at making one tent pole film (big budget) along with a couple of small budget films a year.

*You began your career with Rajshri. Is your film a musical as well? *Rajshri films pay a lot of attention to music, and I’d like to think of myself as quite a musical person as well. I’ve been playing the Santoor for the past 18 years and I train in Indian & Western vocals too, consequently I can’t imagine anything, let alone my films without music. There is music & rhythm in everything we do and I’d like to use music imaginatively in all the films I direct whether it is in the making or otherwise. I remember while shooting 2 sequences in ‘Isi Life Mein’, I’d had songs play on loop for days on end to evoke & retain the correct mood in the actors. Such is the power of music.

Are you open to directing for other banners?

Yes, why not. It is the age of collaboration and I’d be open to working with other banners, producers, co – producers who believe in my vision and can help me realize it.

Whom would you like to work with in terms of actors & directors in mainstream Bollywood? And why?

Oh, so many names come to my mind…….I look forward to working with all kinds of actors & technicians – old or new, stalwart or debutante.

But if I have to name a few: Directors I’d love to work with:

Anand Rai: I love the way he carries his films on all characters grey; especially the complexity of his women characters.Sameer Sharma: I think he has a very interesting & quirky take on life, and I’d like to see a lot more films from him.
Shimit Amin: The way he gets the top actors to underplay their stardom and actually live & portray the characters is enviable. I’d love to be part of his process. And so the list goes on…….Actors I’d like to work with:
Tabu: She is the most natural actor I can think of. And I’m happy to see that we, as an industry, are able to offer her roles worthy enough for her.
Nawazuddin Siddique: He has been a revelation and can carry a film on his shoulder. Would be interesting to see him in some urban roles as well.
Ranvir Singh: Love the madness & mayhem he brings behind the scenes, yet carrying off the intensity & innocence on screen.
Parineeti Chopra: She is a bundle of talent & adrenaline and I’d love to see her explore herself more.
Saif Ali Khan: The timing of his comedy & romance is unparalleled and it would be a great honour for me to get to work with him.
Irfan Khan: I don’t think there is any role that he can’t portray with ease & naturalness. It takes calibre to not show the hard work he puts into bringing a character to life. It would be such an enriching experience to work with him. These are just to name a few…….!

Southern Films Round Up

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Rudhramadevi

‘Rudhramadevi’ Censored

The mega budget period flick ‘Rudhramadevi’ starring Anushka in the titular role would be hitting the screens on 9th Oct, after so many postponement of release dates. The latest update on the film is that it has been sent for the viewing of Censor Board Officials and the film has acquired a U / A certificate. The violent battle & war sequences in the film may be the reason for the film not getting a clean U certifciate. ‘Rudhramadevi’ directed by Gunasekar has Anushka, Allu Arjun, Catherine Thresa, Nithya Menen, Nasser, Prakash Raj and many others in important roles. The film is a Tamil – Telugu bilingual and the musical score has been rendered by Isaignani Ilaiyaraja.

Andrea’s Loss Is Nayanthara’s Gain

The just released ‘Maya’ is Nayanthara’s 1st film heading the cast and she has proven that she can draw audiences on her own as the film has surpassed the 20 crore mark in the 1st week and what is more the Telugu version ‘Mayuri’ is doing even better reiterating the fact Nayan is indeed the undisputed queen of South Indian cinema.

It has just been revealed that ‘Maya’s director Ashwin Saravanan and the production house 1st wanted to make the film on a low budget and had approached Andrea to play the lead role which she could not do for various reasons. Now the gigantic hit would have done wonders for the singer actress but her loss seems to be Nayan’s huge gain as this is a great follow up to her ‘Thani Oruvan’.

Arvind’s Roja To Become A Vamp

Though Arvind Swamy is currently trending because of his villain avatar in ‘Thani Oruvan’ his biggest blockbuster will remain Maniratnam’s ‘Roja’ in which he made a cute pair with Madhoobala and needless to add that the film is considered one of the gems of world cinema. After a long hiatus Madhoo was recently seen in Balaji Mohan’s ‘Vaayai Moodi Pesavum’ and the actress is doing a couple of Malayalam, Telugu & Kannada films in mother roles. Madhoo has now been approached to play a negative role in one of her forthcoming films to which she has given her nod. Isnt it a strange co – incidence that both the cute ‘Roja’ hero & heroine are turning villains in the same year?

Sarathkumar Files A Case Against Vishal

Last week, senior actress Radhika accused ‘Pandavar Ani’ the rebel group of actors lead by Vishal of spreading baseless allegations of financial mishandling on her husband and Nadigar Sangam President R.Sarathkumar & General Secretary Radharavi. She also warned of serious consequences if they fail to apologize. The ‘Pandavar’ Ani has not officially reacted to this charge with a proof or an apology till now. And Now Sarathkumar has confirmed that he has filed a defamation suit against Vishal & actor S.Ve.Sekar claiming Rs.10 crores for causing insult to him by accusing him of getting illegal gains over a contract to build a mall in the land owned by the Sangam.

Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Kobali’ from Ugadi

The combination of Pawan Kalyan & Trivikram is one of the craziest ones in Tollywood. Whenever they come together for a film, fans start celebrating. After ‘Jalsa’ & ‘Attarintiki Daaredi’, both of them are supposed to team up for a movie titled ‘Kobali’. The ‘Julayi’ director took time for the pre – production work and according to sources, he narrated the script to the Power Star recently and got a green signal from him.

‘Size Zero’ Release Date Confirmed Officially

Finally, the release date of Anushka’s much awaited entertainer ‘Size Zero’ has been confirmed officially. PVP Cinema is planning to release the film on 9th Oct, 2015 the same day on which Sweety’s another film ‘Rudramadevi’ is also slated for a release. Arya is the lead actor in this film, in which Sonal Chauhan plays an important role. The teasers are interesting and the team says that the film will be a big entertainer. Prakash Kovelamudi is the director & Keeravani is the music director.

‘Bengal Tiger’ Post Production Underway

The shooting of Ravi Teja’s ‘Bengal Tiger’ has been almost completed and the post production work is underway. Tamannaah & Raashi Khanna will be seen opposite the Mass Maharaj in this action entertainer, directed by Sampath Nandi. Producer K K Radha Mohan said, “Ravi Teja will mesmerize the audiences with his energetic performance. The response to the 1st look is very good. Sampath Nandi knows the pulse of the audience. He is directing the film exceptionally well. We completed shooting 2 songs in Switzerland recently. The audio composed by Bheems Ceciroleo will be released in Oct, 2015 and the film will also be released soon”.

Ram Charan On A Shooting Spree

The shooting schedules of Ram Charan’s ‘Bruce Lee – The Fighter’ are packed back – to – back with the Megapower star himself shooting straight for 60 days. Although the project is on a tight deadline, the crew is committed to the film releasing on 16th Oct, 2015. Looks like Ram Charan is being a true fighter by working relentlessly and more recently, the star has been shooting for 17 hours straight for the “Mega Meter” song which is being shot on location at Ramoji Film City. Director Sreenu Vaitla, too, has equally put in lots of hard work on the project as well. Word is that the lead actress, Rakul Preet had injured her back while rehearsing but still managed to pull of 3 consecutive days of shoot

‘Pathemari’ Narrowly Misses Out On Oscar Selection

Among the jury for Oscar selection of Indian films to the 88th Academy Awards for foreign language films, were Dr Biju, Ramachandrababu & K. Madhu. It has been said that ‘Pathemari’ had a close run, but finally could not make it. The movie directed by Salim Ahamed narrowly missed out on the Oscar selection. Instead the movie which got selected was ‘Court’. It would have been a huge boost for the movie if it was selected.

Parvathy Menon impresses as Kanchanamala. Kanchanamala has by now become the stuff that legends are made of. Portraying her on screen was actress Parvathy Menon. Parvathy has lend an amazing depth into the character. After one of the video songs from the movie was released, there was talk about ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’ being similar for Parvathy with her role in ‘Mariyan’. However, even wearing similar skirt & top, Parvathy’s portrayal of Kanchanamala is so fresh, even the eyes emoting. There is innocence & hope, tireless waiting, grit, determination, intense grief & unadulterated love reflected in those eyes. There is conviction with which Kanchana has been enacted on screen.

‘Gajapade‘ Gets U/A Certificate

Tall & handsome actor Harsha waiting for a big break from the days of ‘Moggina Manasu’ is expecting good response & strong stay in the market from ‘Gajapade’ that was passed by the regional censor board with a U/A certificate recently. This is Kunchi Creations ‘Gajapade’ produced by Raghu Kunchi, Shreyas, Muththu Pavagada, Annayya Upaveer, Deepu, Thimmayya and friends.
Seenu is heading megaphone while Kumar Chakravathi handles camera. Abhilash & Joel scored music, Muniraju editing, Harikrishna, Height Manju dance, Kaurava Venkatesh stunts. ‘Gajapade’ with a gang on hit out or get out policy stars Harsha in the lead with Arun, Siddesh, Tanmayi, Navya et al.

Om Puri Returns Back To Kannada Screen

Highly acclaimed actor from Hindi cinema Om Puri comes back to Kannada. In ‘Tiger’ Om Puri plays the senior cop’s role. Previously he has acted in block buster Kannada cinema with Dr Shivarajakumar & Dr Chandini starrer ‘AK 47’ and in challenging star Darshan starring ‘Dhruva’.

‘Tiger’ starring Pradeep & Madhurima Bannerji in the direction of hat trick director Nandakishore has completed 60% of shooting. Pradeep’s father – in – law retired IAS K. Shivaramu is in the role of encounter specialist. The title of this film ‘Tiger’ is bestowed on Prabhakar after his ‘Tiger’ film. He was called as Tiger Prabhakar.

Trump: I would send Syrian refugees home

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Republican Donald Trump vows to send home all Syrian refugee if he is elected, saying they could be ISIL members.

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he would send back Syrian refugees taken in by the US if he is elected president.

Trump said during a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday that he was worried the refugees could be disguised members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

“I am putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they are going back, they are going back, I am telling you, they are going back,” Trump said.

His remarks came the same day Russian warplanes began air raids in Syria’s centre and north – their first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

“Look, if Russia wants to go in there, [it] would have been nice if we went in as a unified front, to be honest. But if Russia wants to go in there and knock out ISIS (ISIL) and maybe stabilise, this big migration with 200,000 people into the United States…” Trump later reiterated to CNN.

“If I win, I’m going to say it right now and I’ll say it to you, those 200,000 people – they have to know this and the world will hear it – are going back.

“We’re not going to accept 200,000 people that may be ISIS. We have no idea who they are. And I’m telling you now, they may come in through the weakness of (President Barack) Obama,” but would return to their homeland if Trump makes it to the White House, he said.

Millions of Syrians have been fleeing a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.

But Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced earlier this month that the US would significantly increase the number of refugees it takes in over the next two years.

So far this year it has taken in about 1,500 Syrian refugees.

Kerry said the US will increase the number of refugees it takes in by 15,000 over each of the next two years, bringing the total to 100,000 in 2017.

The US will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, up from 70,000, he said. Many of them will be Syrians.

Black money: Government collects Rs 3,770 cr from 638 people

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Black money

New Delhi: Nearly 638 people have come out in open and have used a one-time compliance window for disclosing black money. An amount summing to Rs 3,770 crore has been declared, according to CBDT Chairman Anita Kapur on Thursday.

Kapur said that those who have declared have until December 31st, 2015 for payment of taxes and penalty.

The rush of black money declarants peaked at the Income Tax office in Delhi on Wednesday as the deadline for disclosure of wealth stashed abroad expired on September 30.

It added that tax at the rate of 30 per cent and penalty at the rate of 30 percent is to be paid by December 31, 2015.

The window, created under the new anti-Black money Act, saw a hectic rush on the last day yesterday as declarants made a beeline to meet the deadline at the only I-T office designated here for the task.

“Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (the Act) has been enacted to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad.

“The Act also provided for a compliance window for a limited period to persons who have undisclosed foreign assets which they had not disclosed for the purposes of Income-tax so far,” the statement added.

The compliance window opened on 1st July, 2015 and was till 30th of September 2015.

A stream of declarants, including from far off places like Rajasthan and Karnataka, walked into the only designated office in Delhi to make declarations before the closure of the one-time black money ‘compliance window’.

Long queues were seen throughout the day of people, mainly those who appeared to be Chartered Accountants or representatives of those who have undisclosed money and wealth abroad.

(Agencies)

Palestinian flag raised at UN for first time

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Flag hoisted in New York in a historic step, despite prior condemnation from Israel and the US.

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

The Palestinian flag has for the first time been raised at the United Nations following an address delivered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN General Assembly.

The flag was raised in the rose garden at 1:00pm local time (6:00pm GMT) on Wednesday as a large crowd of diplomats and reporters watched on.

Speaking to the crowd, Abbas dedicated the ceremony to “the martyrs, the prisoners and the wounded, and to those who gave their lives while trying to raise this flag”.

Hundreds of Palestinians assembled in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, where they watched the flag-raising on a large screen set up in Yasser Arafat Square.

“The mood is festive,” reported Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, adding that “families sang along to nationalistic songs and waved the Palestinian flag”.

Having been strongly criticised by Israel, the move was also opposed by the United States.

Palestinians celebrated in the West Bank city of Ramallah as the Palestinian flag was raised at the United Nations for the first time in history [EPA]

In an op-ed published at the Huffington Post, Abbas called the flag-raising a “moment of hope” and called on the international community to recognise “the independence of the state of Palestine, peacefully resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Palestine Liberation Organisation Central Council member Mustafa Barghouti described the move as “an important symbolic step”.

“In essence, it will honour the many Palestinians who were killed by Israel while trying to raise that flag in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said earlier in the day.

The General Assembly approved the resolution to raise the flag with an overwhelming majority voting in favour of it on September 10.

The motion passed with 119 votes in favour, while 45 countries abstained and eight voted against, among them Israel, the US and Australia.

But Barghouti also called on the Palestinian leadership to take several steps in order to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Barghouti said the PA should “declare the end of negotiations with Israel because the negotiations have dragged on forever”, arguing that Israel has used the peace process as a smokescreen to expand its settlements in the occupied territory in order to “end the idea of a Palestinian state”.

After cancelling the Oslo Accords and terminating security cooperation with the Israeli military, the PLO member said that the Palestinian leadership should “support popular resistance” and “encourage a world embargo against Israel”.

In 2012, the UNGA recognised Palestine as a “non-member observer state”, a position also held by the Vatican. That followed a failed push for full member state status a year earlier.

Tholfikar Swairjo, the Gaza-based spokesman of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that “anything that shows the world that we exist and that we’re present” is a “positive development”.

But focusing solely on using only diplomatic tools to achieve statehood “will result only in more ink on paper”, Swairjo told Al Jazeera. “The struggle for a democratic, independent and secular Palestine will continue on the ground against the Zionist project”.

Palestinians watch PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the UNGA on a large screen in East Jerusalem, the site of several clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in recent weeks [EPA]

Senior Hamas leader Ghazi al-Hamad said the flag-raising is “a positive step”, but added that “it’s not enough”.

The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has focused too much on “symbolic acts”, Hamad told Al Jazeera, adding that only with unity between the West Bank and Gaza can Palestinians “confront the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state”.

Hamas also called for Abbas to call off all agreements with Israel during his UNGA speech on Wednesday.

Hamad said that Palestinians were in a “dire situation” as Israeli settlements continue to rapidly expand and tensions soar at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, where clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces have occurred on a near-daily basis in recent weeks.

Following the UNGA’s resolution to raise the flag earlier this month, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Ron Prosor, condemned the move as “a blatant attempt to hijack the UN”, calling for the resumption of direct negotiations between the PA and Israel.

Assault on Syncretic Traditions

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(AP Photo/Saurabh Das, File)

(AP Photo/Saurabh Das, File)

The country is undergoing a regressive attack in different fields of life. Apart from the political undermining of secularism, pluralism and Indian nationalism, the cultural pluralism and valued syncretic traditions are also under severe attack. The intensity is increasing. On the back of the murders of dissenting rationalists (Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and M M Kalburgi), the bans on food,, a literary siege is being erected. The writers steeped in a multicultural, plural milieu are under attack on sectarian grounds.

From Kerala known for the culture which has kept the identity of different religions and has also led to their intermixing, comes the news that the renowned literary critic and Malayalam scholar, Dr. M.M. Basheer was threatened and told to stop his column on Ramayana, Ramayana Jeevithasaramritham. There have been major non Hindu writers like Thomas Mathew, poet and popular lyricist, the late Yusuf Ali Kecheri who have contributed to such themes which so far have looked beyond the religious divide. Basheer got abusive phone calls as to how a Muslim like him has any right to criticize the Hindu God. He was just commenting on Valmiki’s criticism of Lord Ram to call Sita for Agni Pariksha (trial by fire). Basheer, a practicing Muslim, for the first time was made to feel that he is a Muslim. Unable to bear the barrage of aggression of Sangh Parivar elements, Hanuman Sena in particular, he stopped his series. As such he has contributed over 50 articles on the theme.

There are two major points which are very disturbing in the ongoing assault on plural ethos of the country. The first one is that there are innumerable literary people and saints, who irrespective of their own faith have contributed to the cultural aspects of religion in the sub continent. The legendary classic contributions of Rahim and Raskhan on the life of Lord Krishna cannot be eroded from the literary history of the sub continent. Who can forget the contributions of Dara Shikoh’ in translating the Upanishads into Persian. The Nawab of Bijapur had number of Veena players in his court for invocation of Goddess Saraswati. Even a decade ago we enjoyed the richness of Bismillah Khan’s shehnai, many of his compositions are dedicated to deities.

Shiekh Mohammad a saint from Maharashtra has been the major figure in the Warkari tradition, built his work around god Vithoba (God standing on brick), which is the major part of Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra. Saints like him and others like Ramdev Pir, Satya Pir stand tall in synthesizing the trends of cultural integration. We have Miyan Mir, another Pir in Punjab who was invited to lay the foundation of Golden temple. Even today villages and towns of different parts of India have Sufi shrines and Bhakti saint memorials, where people from all religions throng and pay their respects.

This syncretism was deeply expressed by Kabir, Nanak and Tulsidas in particular. They reflected the synthetic trends and the influence of both religions in their lives and works. Nanak went on to pick up from Hinduism and Islam both, while Tulsidas mentions in his Kavitavali about living in a mosque. Kabir communicated with people in simple Hindi and reflected the ‘building of bridges’ between the two communities.

Communal politics in India, which began in the colonial period went on to associate culture and traditions exclusively with religion. Today the seeds of division have gone so deep that in recent times we saw the eminent painter M.F. Husain being hounded to the extent that he had to leave the country. His roots were in the village where there was a serious mix of Hindu-Muslim traditions and he regarded Hindu themes as part of his heritage. Interestingly his work did not come under attack till the decade of 1980s, when the communal cauldron started affecting different aspects of our society and vehemence of intolerant elements went on destroying the creations of people like Husain. Hindi film and TV world has the best of such traditions in likes of Shakeel Badayuni (Man Tarpat Haridarshan ko Aaj-Baiju Bawra) and Javed Akhtar (O Palanhare Nirgun aur Nyare-Lagan) writing beautiful devotional songs and Rahi Masoom Raza scripting B.R. Chopda mega serial Mahabharat.

Another aspect related to attacks on Basheer is also related to the interpretation of the Lord Ram story. In the subcontinent and even in the far East hundreds of versions of the Ram saga are prevalent. The Hindutva politics has picked up a version of Ram story which is that of Ramanand Sagar’s serial. The classical essay of A. K. Ramanujan, ‘One hundred Ramayanas’, was forced out of the curricula in Delhi University. This brilliant essay narrates the beauty of the diverse telling of Ramayana. Ambedkar’s ‘Riddles of Hindusim’ criticising Ram for banishment of Sita and punishing Shambuk, also met with a hostile reception.

How do we restore the complex cultural, religious, literary pluralism of India is something which the social movements need to ponder over in times to come.

State waives off interest on medium, long term loans of farmers

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H S Mahadeva Prasad

Bengaluru: The State government has waived the interest on medium and long-term loans borrowed by farmers from cooperative banks for the financial year 2015-16.

However, the government has rejected to waive off the loans amount itself.

Cooperation Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad on Wednesday in Bengaluru said that the government has also allowed farmers to defer for an year the repayment of loan installments for the said period.

The minister said the government has directed cooperative banks not to issue notices to farmers to repay loan installments and interest for the current year. The interest amount of Rs 296.52 crore is being borne by the government.

A total of 2.13 lakh farmers have obtained medium and long term loans to the tune of Rs 2,300 crore from cooperative institutions over the last few years and as many as 21 lakh farmers are paying zero interest to cooperative banks as they have raised loan only within Rs 3 lakh. Since 95 per cent of these farmers have repaid the loan, the Minister said that the question of waiving off interest did not arise.

(Agencies)

Hardik Patel announces formation of new group

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hardik-patel

New Delhi: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel on Wednesday announced the formation of a new group, Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena, with the aim to unite the Kurmi, Gujjar, Maratha and Patel communities.

Patel, who has been spearheading protests in Gujarat to demand reservations for the Patel community, said at a press conference here that the new organisation would try to mobilise support of these communities on the issue of reservation.

Akhilesh Katiyar will be the general secretary of ABPNS.

Katiyar was earlier with the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which was led by Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha. The former was expelled from RLSP after he organised Patel’s first public meeting here.

Patel plans to organise a ‘Mahasabha’ (grand meeting) in the national capital next month to further his cause.

“The Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena will fight for the cause of farmers, labourers and youth of the country. We’ll organise a huge rally of all the communities from Delhi, Rajasthan and neighbouring states at Ramlila Maidan next month,” he said.

The Patel Navnirman Sena will organise a ‘Mahasammelan’ (grand conference) of five lakh women in Gujarat on October 4.

On October 11, another Mahasabha of 10 lakh Patidars will be organised in Madhya Pradesh.

Patel said he would fight for reservation in government jobs on the basis of castes.

Earlier, he had indicated that he would fight for reservation in jobs according to the economic condition of the candidate.

We are not breaking the unity of various communities, Patel said.

“We are working to unite people. Only the political parties think about fighting with each other. Patel community always thought about uniting everyone, including the Gujjars, Kurmis and other communities.”

(IANS)

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