Renowned National Award winning music director Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, better known as “Khayyam”, was conferred this year’s prestigious Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement late on Friday night here.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave away the award, comprising a cash prize of Rs.100,000 and a memento, named after the famous Hridaynath Mangeshkar on his 81st birthday on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis recalled Khayyam’s great contributions to the music world since the launch of his musical career from the age of 17 at Ludhiana in 1943.

“Khayyamji is a 92-year-young man. Presenting this award to him is indeed an honour for me,” said the 48-year old Fadnavis.

Lauding the role of the Mangeshkar family for their music legacy which was as tall as the Himalayas, Fadnavis said they are “a gift to the country”, and listening to their music is itself a “divine experience.”

Terming Khayyam as his inspiration’, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, praised his musical creations and said that “conferring the award named after me on him, is actually a reward for me.”

“Hridaynath is the only and youngest brother of the legendary Mangeshkar singer-sisters – Lata, Asha, Usha and Meena, all children of the great composer the late Master Deenanath Mangeshkar,” said Avinath Prabhavalkar, an official of the Hridayesh Arts.

Responding to the felicitations, Khayyam said the Mangeshkar family has made a significant contribution to the cause of music in the country and he felt humbled by the honour.

Present at the ceremony in Deenanath Mangeshkar Hall, Vile Parle, were several eminent personalities like Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Jabbar Patel, members of the Mangeshkar clan and celebrities.

The veteran composer, lyricist and writer Khayyam, 92, started his music career in Ludhiana in 1943 at the age of 17. Later, the Padma Bhushan awardee teamed up as Sharma of the music-director duo “Sharmaji-Varmaji” to compose music for films like “Heer Ranjha” (1948) and others.

However, after Partition, when his partner Rahman Varma moved to Pakistan, Khayyam continued solo and his earliest notable works were for “Footpath” (1953) in which Talat Mehmood’s song “Shaam-e-Gham ki Kasam, Aaj Gamgeen Hain Hum” and the film “Biwi” in which a song sung by Mohammed Rafi, “Akele mein woh, ghabrate toh honge”, and other major films like “Phir Subah Hogi” (1958) with Mukesh’s “Woh subah, kabhi to aayegi”, became the rage of the masses.

It was the 1961 blockbuster “Shola Aur Shabnam” which firmly established Khayyam as a top-notch music director followed by films with superhit music like “Mohabbat Isko Kehta Hain” (1965) and “Aakhri Khat” (1966), that was the late superstar Rajesh Khanna’s debut film with memorable songs like “Bahaaron, Mera Jeevan Bhi Savaaron”.

Not looking back, he composed memorable music for films like “Kabhi Kabhi” (1976), “Trishul” (1978), “Noorie” (1979), “Thodisi Bewafai” (1980), “Dard” and “Ahista Ahista” (1981), “Dil, Akhir Dil Hai” and “Bazaar”(1982), “Razia Sultan” (1983).

In 1981, he composed music for the sensitive blockbuster film “Umrao Jaan”, ranked among the all time best Bollywood films and considered the jewel in the crown of Khayyam’s compositions, for which he bagged the National Award, and also a Filmfare Award, besides a string of other honours.

“Umrao Jaan” is oft compared with another cult masterpiece “Pakeezah” (1972) for a courtesan-based musical theme, both became superhits and now occupy their own unique pedestals in Bollywood music history.

Explaining this, Khayyam once said: “My biggest challenge was that “Umrao Jaan” should not only look different, but asound different’ to make it stand apart from “Pakeezah” in which most songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar for the heroine Meena Kumari. So, nearly a decade later in aUmrao Jaan’, I only used Asha Bhosale’s voice for the heroine Rekha.”

In 2016, Khayyam and his singer-wife Jagjit Kaur endeared themselves to the masses when they set up the ‘Khayyam-Jagjit Kaur KPG Charitable Trust’ in memory of their actor-son Pradeep who passed away in 2012, and donated their entire wealth to be utilized to fund upcoming artistes and technicians in Bollywood.

The other past recipients of the awards are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Amitabh Bachchan, Sulochana Latkar, A.R. Rahman, Pandit Jasraj, and Javed Akhtar, besides chess champ Vishwanathan Anand.

IANS

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s work in the educational, spiritual and social arena was still relevant for the Indian society as well as the world.

During the inauguration of International Arya Mahasammelan, he said Dayanand Saraswati showed India the path of renaissance and self-pride in the 19th century when people considered India’s culture and beliefs inferior than the western culture.

“He was an intrepid warrior of social and spiritual reform. He took effective measures for educational and social reform especially for women empowerment and eradication of untouchability. His work is relevant even in the present times both for Indian society and the entire world,” Kovind said.

The President said the Arya Samaj had made effective contributions to promote modern education based on ethics and worked for the upliftment of all sections of society, especially women and the deprived.

He expressed hope that it would also work to promote the use of solar and other alternative sources of energy to contribute towards environmental protection.

The President said India would be celebrating 200th birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 2024 and the 150th anniversary of the Arya Samaj in 2025.

“He had worked for eradication of discrimination in society on the basis of caste, creed and sect and motivated everyone to become Arya – that is – the best. It is our duty to take the work of Swami Dayanand Saraswati further,” he said.

IANS

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that being gay has been God’s greatest gift to him, the media reported.

On October 30, 2014, Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay.

Although his sexual orientation had been widely rumoured beforehand, he had not confirmed it publicly.

Cook said he was happy about that distinction as well as his decision.

“I’m very proud of it,” the Apple CEO was quoted as saying to Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her programme on CNN International and PBS.

Being gay is “God’s greatest gift to me”, he said.

Cook said he chose to come out publicly after receiving letters from children who were “going through being bullied, being pushed out of their homes, very close to suicide”.

“My strong view is that everyone should be treated with respect… I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read online that I was gay,” he said.

Cook said he is a private person but ultimately decided that he was being “selfish” by keeping quiet about his identity when he could help people by coming out.

“I needed to do something for them,” Cook said. He wanted to demonstrate to gay children that they “can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life”.

Cook said that coming out as gay has given him empathy towards those not in the majority and has also helped him as a leader, he said.

“I learned what it was like to be a minority,” Cook told CNN.

“The feeling of being in a minority gives you a level of empathy for other people who are not in the majority.”

Prejudicial comments have also given him a thick skin, Cook said.

“That turns out to be pretty beneficial from this role as well.”

In the interview, Cook also shared his thoughts on the US President Donald Trump administration’s policies on tax, trade with China and immigration.

Cook applauded Trump’s decisions on corporate tax cuts. He believes it will help “people invest more in the US”.

However, Cook disagrees with Trump’s immigration reduction policies stating “immigration adds to GDP”.

IANS

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday accused the ‘sangh parivar’ and its associates of turning the Sabarimala temple into a conflict zone and vowed to implement the Supreme Court order in the next long-season pilgrimage starting in November.

He also slammed the temple tantri and the Pandalam royal family for claiming rights and powers over the Lord Ayyappa shrine that they do not possess.

The Chief Minister, who was abroad when the temple opened for the five-day monthly pujas on October 17, broke his silence over the temple unrest before the media here.

A dozen women in the hitherto barred age group of 10 to 50 were stopped during the five-day brief season far away from the hilltop temple which opened for the first time following the Supreme Court’s September 28 landmark verdict allowing all women inside the temple breaking centuries old tradition.

“Even before the temple opened, the sangh parivar forces had their plans laid out. The government never stopped any devotee at all. Instead, it provided all support as it is its constitutional responsibility to see that the apex court verdict is adhered to,” Vijayan said.

He said Sabarimala is a religious institution and peace and tranquillity has to be preserved but the sangh parivar forces “took over”.

“Their agenda was to convert Sabarimala into a conflict zone and we will ensure that at the upcoming festival season (the two-month-long season that begins on November 17), the government would do everything possible to abide by the top court’s order.

He said it would be ensured that during that period no devotee would be allowed to stay there beyond a particular time.

A Tirupati model system of managing the devotees would be put into force, Vijayan added.

He also slammed the tantri (chief priest), who had at the height of the conflict threatened to close the temple even as the police tried to escort women for the prayers.

“It was a needless statement from the tantri because the right to open and close the temple vests with the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

“The protest by the temple employees was also wrong as both the tantri and the employees all come under the TDB and they should not forget it,” said Vijayan.

Taking on the Pandalam royal family and its claims that they have the rights to the temple, Vijayan said they were staking claims on things which they cannot.

“The Sabarimala temple is the property of the TDB and none else have any rights over it. According to the 1949 Covenant things are written very clearly and it says that the Sabarimala temple ownership was handed over to the TDB after the royal family had serious financial problems.

“Today they just conduct ritualistic activities of the temple and that they can continue to do,” said Vijayan.

But state BJP president P.S.Sreedharan Pillai, responding to the Vijayan’s statement on the Sabarimala temple issue, said that he felt sorry for Vijayan.

“Do not know what has happened to Vijayan as he appears to have lost his balance when he said that the tantri is an employee of the TDB. It’s for a government employee that there is a code of conduct and the tantri does not take a single rupee as salary. The tantri does not fall under the employee category . It was just because of the adamant stand of Vijayan, that things reached so low. He has proved to be an abject failure,” said Pillai.

Sreekumar Varma of the Pandalam royal family said he was extremely delighted that the will of Lord Ayyappa has prevailed even when several attempts to send women to the temple failed.

“I take this opportunity to thank all the devotees who stood their ground to protect the temple and its traditions despite several attempts to defame the temple was taking place.

“I do not recall any amendments being made with regards to the tantri and their rights and responsibilities. To the best of my knowledge it remains the same as it was before. About the statements against our family, I will study in detail what was said by him (Vijayan) and will react tomorrow,” said Varma.

Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala told the media in Kozhikode that it was most unfortunate that the state government was trying to aggravate issues over Sabarimala .

“The BJP here should march to the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not mislead people here. Only through a Constitutional amendment can one get around the present apex court verdict,” he said.

IANS

The award will be given out on the occasion of Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti, which will be held at the Vidhana Soudha on October 24.

The Maharishi Valmiki Award for 2018-19 has been conferred on former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda for his work in uplifting SC/ ST communities, the Karnataka government led by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, HD Deve Gowda’s son, said on Tuesday. The announcement was made by Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge who met the veteran politician at his Padmanabha Nagar residence to invite him to accept the award. The state government’s decision was based on the recommendation by a government-appointed committee led by retired Karnataka High Court Judge Justice HN Nagamohan Das.
The award will be given out on the occasion of Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti, which will be held at Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha on October 24. The state government celebrates the day to honour the legendary Sanskrit poet and author of the Ramayana. He is also worshiped by the Valimiki community, which is said to be one of the largest ethnic group in the state.

HD Deve Gowda, a former freedom fighter and a Congress man became the 11th Prime Minister of India in June 1996 and held his position till April 1997. Prior to this, he was the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He is currently a member of Lok Sabha from Hassan constituency and is the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular), the party he founded after breaking away from the erstwhile Janata Dal.

In his long political career he has also held the role of the Leader of the Rajya Sajbha and was elected as the MLA seven times.

In 2017, then-CM Siddaramaiah unveiled the bust of Valmiki at Vidhana Soudha on October 5 to mark the occasion and announced multiple social welfare schemes. Former Minister Thippeswamy, who was part of the erstwhile Janata Dal government, was given the award which comes with a citation and cheque for Rs 5 lakh.

The celebration of Valmiki Jayanti in Karnataka was initiated by Leader of Opposition BS Yeddyurappa during his tenure as the Chief Minister in 2008. The day is also celebrated across districts and is also a state government holiday.

Chief Minister Kumaraswamy has directed that all state administrative files should be in Kannada language effective November 1.

Sources revealed that from November 1 all administrative files other than those related to inter-state matters, the Centre, the High Court and the Supreme Court should be in Kannada language.

Mukyamantri Chandru welcomed the decision and said that such notices has been shared in the past. But for the same to be implemented, it has to be backed by law. “There have been a number of such orders and circulars issued by various departments in the past. But there has been zero implementation,’’ he said.

Telugu is the fastest growing language in the US, says a study by an American think tank.

The number of US residents speaking Telugu rose by 86 per cent between 2010 and 2017, according to an online video by the World Economic Forum.

But Telugu, the fourth most spoken language in India, is still outside the top 20 of the most widely-spoken languages other than English in the US, reports the BBC.

The video referred to a study by the US-based Centre for Immigration, which analysed census data to look at the pace at which languages were being spoken in America.

The study on languages spoken in the US used data from the American Community Survey and compared the number of people who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2010 and 2017, the BBC said.

Last year there were more than 400,000 Telugu speakers in the US – nearly double the number in 2010. Out of the top 10 fastest-growing languages in America, seven are from South Asia.

The rise of Telugu was connected to the links forged between Hyderabad and the US engineering and technology industries, Prasad Kunisetty, founder of the Telugu People Foundation, a non-profit organisation in the US, was quoted as saying.

The rapid growth of IT in the mid-1990s led to a huge demand for software engineers, he said.
Many were recruited from Hyderabad, which sends students to the US in large numbers.

Down the years, Telugu-speaking Americans have continued to hire software engineers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the BBC said.

Notable US-based Telugu speakers include the first Indian-American Miss America Nina Davuluri and the current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Of the more than 60 million people that speak a language other than English out of the total population of about 320 million, the vast majority speak Spanish.

Out of the most commonly spoken South Asian languages, Hindi is first, followed by Urdu, Gujarati and then Telugu.

IANS

The Mysuru royal family suffered a double blow Friday marring Dasara festivities when Putta Chikkammani (98), mother of Rajamata Pramoda Devi, and Vishalakshi Devi, sister of late Maharaja Srikantadatta Wadiyar, died in hospital.

The royal family has announced postponing rituals associated with the Dasara festival to October 22, Raja Chandra, brother-in-law of the late Maharaja, said.

He said Pramoda Devis mother died in the morning while sister-in-law Princess Vishalakshi Devi, youngest daughter of late Maharaja of Mysuru Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, died in the evening.

Raja Chandra said being in a state of impurity following the death, the royal family, including the titular Maharaja Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, could not take part in rituals like special prayers to weapons, welcoming the entry of elephant carrying howdah and Uttara Pooja.

By evening, Vishalakshi Devi died in a private hospital in Bengaluru, he said, adding, she was 55.

The 10-day long Mysuru Dasara festivities came to an end Friday with a colourful procession here.

PTI