Jul 16, 2005 | Posted by: supatra | @ 12:08 PM | [0 comment(s)] | India to allow national flag in fashion, but not below the belt
India is to allow national sports teams and fashion designers to display the country's tricolour on clothes -- but not below the belt.
The cabinet has approved an amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. This removes sweeping restrictions on the display of the national flag provided clothes do not show "disrespect”.
The tricolour -- of orange, white and green with a wheel of time in the centre -- can now be worn by national sports players, on national costume and on military uniforms according to the amendment to be introduced into parliament.
However the flag cannot appear on lingerie or other accessories worn below the waist. Embroidering or printing it on cushions, gloves, handkerchiefs or napkins remains forbidden.
The decision to amend the law was sparked by a home ministry decree in February that banned cricketers and other sports stars from displaying the flag anywhere on their kit.
This included star batsman Sachin Tendulkar's helmet or captain Sourav Ganguly's trademark batting gloves painted in the colours of the Indian flag.
The decree was seen as a government attempt to hit back at the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which takes pride in its autonomous nature.
Fashion designer Malini Ramani has faced a court case for the past six years after being charged with wearing a dress woven as a flag at the first Indian Fashion Week show.
Ramani, who spoke in a telephone interview from Bali in Indonesia, said she designed the dress as a patriotic gesture and hopes the amendment will lead to the end of her court case.
|
Jul 16, 2005 | Posted by: supatra | @ 12:06 PM | [1 comment(s)] | India to have US-style FDA
Beauty creams promising to remove stretch marks and improve fairness in a week, herbal teas promising instant weight loss, drugs guaranteeing to treat impotency or prolong sexual drive and hospitals luring people by promising to have an answer for diseases like AIDS, diabetes and psoriasis. All these will soon come under the scanner.
The health ministry has decided to set up an autonomous Drug Control Authority of India (DCAI), which will be a close replica of the Food and Drugs Authority of the United States.
Claims made by any product will now have to be scientifically proven before DCAI prior to their being launched in the market.
By amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Drugs and Magic Drugs Act, the ministry has also decided to make it mandatory for all cosmetic companies to mention the ingredients used on the product before it is sold in the market, failing which the licence of the company will be revoked.
|
Jul 16, 2005 | Posted by: supatra | @ 12:01 PM | [0 comment(s)] | Indian Kid Bags the Best Film Award in Naples
A 15-minute film ‘Aamra’ made by Sahiful Mandal, 15, who has spent most of his life in a children’s destitute home has bagged the best film award at the International Kids for Kids festival at Naples.
Nearly two years ago, Sahiful and his friends shot into fame with the film making ripples at the international short film circuit.
Among the 45 films screened at the Naples festival, Aamra was the only Indian entry. The film is a brainchild of Swapan Mukherjee, director of Centre for Communication and Development, which runs the destitute home at North 24-parganas.
He said Aamra would be screened in a few more festivals. "The next stop for us is the Chicago children’s film festival and Indian film festival at Los Angeles. The response for the film has been tremendous," he said.
The film was declared the winner last Sunday at a colourful ceremony. The crew was present at the festival which started on June 30. Mukherjee said that Aamra had to compete with 35 films in the six to 12 category, selected from all over the world.
Mukherjee had handed over the camera to Sahiful and his friends who went around 10 villages near their home and put together a collage of nature and life in rural Bengal as they saw it.
|
Jul 8, 2005 | Posted by: supatra | @ 12:14 PM | [0 comment(s)] | Spreading the Magic of Tagore in UK
By Supatra Chowdhury
Balmiki Prativa has broken geographical barriers to find an overwhelming response on foreign soil
Interest in Tagore music among London-based Bengalis has never been as intense. The Tagore Society has been functioning for several decades in the heart of the city offering a wealth of research material to Tagore lovers who are free to spend hours poring over the valuable collections. Kalyan Kundu, who has spearheaded the activities of the society for many years, has been an extremely resourceful promoter of Tagore’s varied compositions. He has produced simple translations of some of the stories designed for schools in Britain. He has mounted exhibitions on the British media’s response to the poet over several decades since he won the Nobel Prize. He has also expanded the activities of the society to include lectures and music classes. Last year the society also invited Kolkata’s Chetana theatre group to perform in London and the response was very inspiring,
And now the activities relating to Tagore in London have taken a giant leap with the staging of Balmiki Prativa recently. This is one of Tagore’s most challenging dance dramas, which has been memorably handled by Ashoketaru Bandopadhyay. In fact, it is still the reference point for most productions. One could hardly expect the same results in London where the inputs are limited and the people involved are busy with their different engagements and treat their musical interests as more of a pastime. Yet The Tagoreans that presented the dance drama had reason to be pleased with the results. For one thing, it drew not just the performers from different organizations under a single banner but also an overflowing audience at the Steiner Theatre. Haimanti Shukla first treated the audience to a session of Nazrul songs before discovering the magic world of Tagore’s dacoits against an exquisite backdrop of the forest.
To be sure, it was a painted backdrop brought over from Kolkata. But there were umpteen props to give the performance the power and conviction, which it needed. This was due largely to the sustained efforts of Ananda Gupta who not only appeared in the title role but also directed the music over a period of six months. He also sang most of the songs which had a classical base - “Bakuley hoye boney’’ in Maj Khamaj, “Aye maa amar sathe’’ in Bhairavi, “Ranga pada padma jagey’’ in Bageshree and “Ebar chhere cholechhi maa’’ sang in a Ramprasadi vein.
Ananda had given exciting glimpses of his musical repertoire during his last stay in Kolkata - at the Sovabazar Rajbari, the Brahmo Samaj and more intimate gatherings at Crossword and other places. However, his singing for Balmiki Prativa was a revelation even to those who have heard him regularly in London. The songs were recorded and the lip synchronisation on stage was an indication of the strenuous rehearsals that had taken place. What was more revealing were Ananda’s fluent movements on stage which blended effortlessly with the contribution of professional dancers like Manashi Barua (Saraswati), Bina Goswami (Balika), Urbi Basu and Jayanta Roy who sang and also played the first dacoit who responded well to Gairika Gupta’s choreographic ideas.
The stage itself came alive with planted trees, a symbol of Goddess Kali and a red light penetrating a bush to create an eerie effect. The Tagoreans hadn’t attempted anything like this before but the final result was perhaps due to spontaneous contributions from everyone - the actors and the men behind the scenes. There are plans to bring the production to Kolkata. That would certainly be something to look forward to.
|
Jul 8, 2005 | Posted by: supatra | @ 12:12 PM | [0 comment(s)] | Solar Houses For Indian Metropolitan
By Suvadip Das ( Freelance Writer India)
After lighting up villages with solar energy, the state government has taken up a project for the high-end consumers. A solar energy-housing complex is being built in Action Area-I of New Town, Rajarhat by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency. The complex would comprise duplex apartments with solar panel attached to the roof top. These buildings will look more like bungalows and it is expected that each house will produce about 250 units of green power per month which will be sold to the grid, said Mr Mrinal Banerjee, the state power minister. He said this type of housing complexes is the first of its kind in the country and 25 such duplex will be constructed in the complex.
The construction work will begin from 1 July and is expected to be completed by December 2006. The complex will be constructed by Bengal-DCL. Mr Banerjee said, each house in the complex may be sold for Rs 38 to Rs 40 lakh. He said if the occupants do not require all the units of energy produced at the rooftop, they could sell it to the grid or get a discount from WBSEB. Mr SP Gon Chowdhury, MD WBREDA, said that the total cost of the project is Rs 11.5 crore of which one crore would be given by Union ministry of non conventional energy and another one crore, the cost of the land, would be obtained from HIDCO. He said that already some NRIs and KoPT are showing interest in the duplex.
| | | 
|
