tea gardens in west bengal are fast becoming the favourite hunting grounds for leopards. the highly...

20
T he tea gardens in West Bengal are fast becoming the favourite hunting grounds for leopards. The highly adapt- able predators have been prey- ing on livestock like goats and cattle — sometimes more than wild prey like deer — because of their easier availability. The findings came in a study conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In their study, titled “Diet Selection of Leopards in a Human-Use Landscape in North-Eastern India”, conducted in a 408-km square area located in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, wildlife researchers also noted that the spotted cats that inhabit the tea gardens and forest mosaic landscape of the State have been found to be highly adaptable to living in and around human habitation. “We studied the prey com- position and diet selection of leopards in a forest and tea-gar- den landscape in North-Eastern India where the population density is greater than 700 peo- ple per km square and average domestic animal density is 340 animals per square km. In con- trast, wild prey density in the landscape was comparatively low at 56 animals per km square,” said lead author of the study Aritra Kshettry. The team collected leopard faeces and analysed the samples for remains of a prey on hair found in the faeces. “For the diet analysis, 70 scats which the researchers could confirm as leopard scats were used. Of these, 56 were collected within the forested areas and 14 were collected in human-dominated landscapes. “Eighty per cent of the leopard diet was domestic prey with cattle and goats most pre- ferred species. Among the wild prey, rhesus macaque con- tributed 10 per cent in the diet followed by rodents (2.56 per cent),” said the study co- authored by researchers Srinivas Vaidyanathan and Vidya Athreya. Turn to Page 4 Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he will halt nuclear tests and interconti- nental missile launches, in a Saturday announcement wel- comed by US President Donald Trump ahead of a much-antic- ipated summit between the two men. Pyongyang’s decla- ration, long sought by Washington, will be seen as a crucial step in the fast diplo- matic dance on and around the Korean peninsula. It comes less than a week before the North Korean leader meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in for summit in Demilitarised Zone. Detailed report on P7 C onstructed in a record 500 days instead of targeted 910 days, India’s first smart and green highway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE), is all set to open for public on April 29. The ambitious project will divert an estimated 52,000 trucks passing through the national Capital daily to this bypass, helping in curtailing the level of air pollution in Delhi. “According to a study, there will be 27.48 per cent reduction in air pollution level in Delhi after the expressway becomes operational,” said a senior NHAI official. Once operational, it will provide connectivity among Sonipat, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida), Faridabad and Palwal without the need to pass through Delhi, thus helping decongest the national Capital. The 135-km six-lane expressway constructed at a cost of 4617.87 crore is equipped with electronic toll collection sys- tem (ETC) to avoid jam at toll plazas, and smart and intelligent highway traffic management system (HTMS). Also, it will have solar power panels for lighting, drip irrigation on entire expressway for watering plants and video incident detection system (VIDS), CCTVs, over speed checking system besides a closed tolling system in which the collections will be made only on the distance travelled and not on the entire length. Chief General Manager of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Dr B S Singla said the expressway is the first of its kind in the country with solar power installation to light the entire stretch of expressway, including 221 vehicular and pedestrian underpasses. Singla said there are eight solar power plants on this expressway having a total capacity of 4,000 kilowatt (4 MW) besides solar pumps that are also being used for water- ing the plants. Turn to Page 4 T he Centre on Saturday passed an Ordinance mak- ing sexual offences against women, in particular girls below 16 years, punishable with terms varying from 20 years to life-term and even death in case of rape of girls below 12 years. The Cabinet cleared the proposed law in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and referred it to the President for approval. The bold move by the Centre has come in response to a series of incidents involving rape and murder of girls report- ed from Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir, Surat in Gujarat and the latest incident reported on Saturday from Indore in Madhya Pradesh involving a four-month-old infant. Lately, the BJP-ruled Government in Uttar Pradesh too faced the ignominy on this account fol- lowing rape charges leveled by a 17-year minor against BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, currently in custody following arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connec- tion with this case. For those accused of raping minors below 16 years, the Ordinance makes no provision for protection from arrest by way of anticipatory bail, mak- ing the new law draconian. It prescribes the concerned trial court to give notice of 15 days to a public prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding bail applica- tions in such cases. Also, the proposed law sets new time limits for investigation in rape cases to conclude in two months, trial in such cases within another two months, and a six-month-deadline for disposal of appeal by the High Court. By the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, rele- vant provisions relating to sex- ual offences against women and children under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will automatically stand amended. This is the second time within a span of six years since the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case the criminal law on rape is being comprehensively amended. Then, the provision of death penalty was intro- duced in cases where the vic- tim either died or was left in a “vegetative state” after rape. The Government has cho- sen to take the route of Ordinance without waiting to make amendments to the indi- vidual laws till the Monsoon Session of Parliament com- mences in July. Turn to Page 4 I n a move to bring back huge bank loan defaulters who escaped the country and took refuge abroad, the Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018 that would provide for attach- ment and confiscation of the properties of the offenders. According to sources, the pro- posed Bill is expected to be passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The decision was taken up at the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of the recent multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, in which main accused diamond trader Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi fled the country after duping the bank to the tune of over 30,000 crore. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 12 but could not be passed due to logjam in Parliament over var- ious issues. As far as the Bill is concerned, sources said the Ordinance aims at deterring economic offenders from evad- ing the process of Indian law by remaining outside the juris- diction of Indian courts. “Under the Ordinance, a special forum would be creat- ed for expeditious confiscation of the proceeds of crime, in India or abroad, that would coerce the fugitive to return to India to submit to the juris- diction of courts in India to face the law in respect of sched- uled offences,” it said. A fugitive economic offender is described as a per- son against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal pros- ecution. The provisions of the Ordinance will apply to eco- nomic offenders who refuse to return, persons against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for a scheduled offence as well as wilful bank loan defaulters with outstanding of over 100 crore. It, however, provides for confiscating assets even without conviction and paying off lenders by selling off the fugitive’s properties. Turn to Page 4 F ormer Union Minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday finally severed his decades’ old relations with the BJP and announced to demolish the forces that he said were ruin- ing the democratic institutions like Parliament, judiciary, Election Commission and the media and using them for their own political ends. The senior leader attacked the party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA Government at a function of Rashtra Manch, an apolitical front which Sinha had launched in January. “Democracy is in grave danger and the democratic institutions are being mur- dered. Let us pledge to elimi- nate the people who have posed danger to these institutions,” said Sinha and announced amid applause that he was breaking all links with the BJP. He said he is quitting party politics and would not join any other party. Reacting to Sinha’s deci- sion, the BJP said it’s not sur- prised as his comments and writings made it clear that he was no longer in the organisa- tion and was acting at the Congress’ behest. Turn to Page 4

Upload: dokhanh

Post on 30-Apr-2018

213 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

��������������������������

������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������!����������"���������������#������������������������������$%&'������������������������(����������������� ������������������

����������������������������������)$���������*���������������������������������������������������� ������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������+������������������������������������������������

,����������������������������(������������������������ ����������������������($%'- ����������������������������������������������������������������������.����/���������#����������������� �����������������������0��������������������������+�����������������������������������0�������������������������������������������������������������������#������������������������������������1�����������������������������������������������������������������������2�����$%3$ ����������������(�����������������������+�����������($%'- �#�����������������������1�����4�������

���������������0�� ��������+�������� ���������������0������������������������5!�����������������������������������������������

,���������������������������������������������������������������������6�����������������������7)

�������������������� ������8����� �������������������.������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������� �������������������(��.���������������������������������� ��������������0���������������������������������2�������9�����������������������������������������������������������:��������������������������������������������������

������ ��������������������������������������������8�������������;���������������6�<�������������������� ������������2��������������������� �����������������������5�����!��������=�����������=������� ����������������+����������������������������������(��������������� �9������������ ����������������������������������������9�������������������������������������:�> �4����>����� �<�������������������������������������?������������������������������@������������������������������������ ������������������� �����������A��������������������(�������������������+��������������������������������������������������������������������#��������������6���������������������������B

+���������������������������������������������������������5!��������������1���������������>�� �����$%3C�

4��($%3C �����5!6�������������������������������������.���������������+���������8�������������������������� �����������8�����������������������������������������������1������#������������������#���1��������� ����������������������������@�������������B ���������0���������5�����?���������1�������+������������������6������������������������������������������������������������������������������������+����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������>��������+���������������������������������������������(����6������������������������ ���=��������������������������������������

����������������������������������������������������������������5!6����(#��8�����������������������������������������,��������������������������������������������������������������������������5!��������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������#������������������������������������������������������������5!���������������:�>���������������������������������������������������������=������������������������������������ ���������������������(15����������������������������������������������������5!��������������������������������

,������������������������������*������������������������������8�����������5!�����������������.���������������������������� ��������������������������?����D����������E���������������������������������$%&'�������������������������������F�����������#������������G������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������4�������������������(1�0������������+���4�������������������������<���������������������4����>�����E������������������:�>��>��6����������������������������������������#����������������

������� ������������������4�����������6�������������������������������������������� �����5!����8��������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������<��������� �����������������������������������������������������/���������������������������+���5!������������������������������������������������� �������������H����+����2�������� ������������������������� �2����������������<������������������� �����>����������������������������������H+2�����������������������������8����������������������������������������6�8����H+2��������� ��������������������(5!��������� ������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(#��8� ���������������������(5!(���������������������������������:������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2��������������������������������

����������� ��������� �������������������������������� ������������������������������� ���������������� ������������ ������!����� ��!��"��#��$�������� "�� ��� �����������#��������� ������� ��������������%� �� � ���#������ ���#����

������������ ����� �� �������������� �

&'�()�)�*(*�)��+��),�,�-��+�*.�/0��/��-(/0,�/���$����%��� ���� � ���������������� ���������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ���������� ��!���������������� ���"��!���������"����������!� ������"����� ��"������������#��� ��$�

/+�&(.+ ,�1+.�(*�)( ,'��+�0,��'(..�,$'�� �%��"����"����"���������������%���������� ��� ��!�� ���������������� �������!���������� ������������������ ������ ��&���� � ������������� �$

*2&�3� �.�$�.(,�*(., �+1�4&(.�5(.5($6%�)-(-. ��* ����'�()������ ������� ��"�"��� ��" ��������* ���� ��+��(���� ����,��� ������#������� �� �����"�����"���������������$

�������

(.�-(/(�27+���� �-���-./0

The tea gardens in WestBengal are fast becoming

the favourite hunting groundsfor leopards. The highly adapt-able predators have been prey-ing on livestock like goats andcattle — sometimes more thanwild prey like deer — becauseof their easier availability.

The findings came in astudy conducted by the WildlifeConservation Society (WCS). Intheir study, titled “Diet Selectionof Leopards in a Human-UseLandscape in North-EasternIndia”, conducted in a 408-kmsquare area located in theJalpaiguri district of WestBengal, wildlife researchers alsonoted that the spotted cats thatinhabit the tea gardens and

forest mosaic landscape of theState have been found to behighly adaptable to living in andaround human habitation.

“We studied the prey com-position and diet selection ofleopards in a forest and tea-gar-den landscape in North-EasternIndia where the population

density is greater than 700 peo-ple per km square and averagedomestic animal density is 340animals per square km. In con-trast, wild prey density in thelandscape was comparativelylow at 56 animals per kmsquare,” said lead author of thestudy Aritra Kshettry.

The team collected leopardfaeces and analysed the samplesfor remains of a prey on hairfound in the faeces.

“For the diet analysis, 70scats which the researcherscould confirm as leopard scatswere used. Of these, 56 werecollected within the forestedareas and 14 were collected inhuman-dominated landscapes.

“Eighty per cent of theleopard diet was domestic preywith cattle and goats most pre-ferred species. Among the wildprey, rhesus macaque con-tributed 10 per cent in the dietfollowed by rodents (2.56 percent),” said the study co-authored by researchersSrinivas Vaidyanathan andVidya Athreya.

Turn to Page 4

Seoul: North Korean leaderKim Jong Un said he will haltnuclear tests and interconti-nental missile launches, in aSaturday announcement wel-comed by US President DonaldTrump ahead of a much-antic-ipated summit between thetwo men. Pyongyang’s decla-ration, long sought byWashington, will be seen as acrucial step in the fast diplo-matic dance on and around theKorean peninsula. It comesless than a week before theNorth Korean leader meetsSouth Korean President MoonJae-in for summit inDemilitarised Zone.

Detailed report on P7

�-(/$(/�&.(�()-�� �-���-./0

Constructed in a record 500days instead of targeted 910

days, India’s first smart andgreen highway, the EasternPeripheral Expressway (EPE),is all set to open for public onApril 29.

The ambitious project willdivert an estimated 52,000trucks passing through thenational Capital daily to thisbypass, helping in curtailing thelevel of air pollution in Delhi.“According to a study, there willbe 27.48 per cent reduction inair pollution level in Delhiafter the expressway becomesoperational,” said a seniorNHAI official.

Once operational, it willprovide connectivity amongSonipat, Baghpat, Ghaziabad,Gautam Budh Nagar (GreaterNoida), Faridabad and Palwalwithout the need to passthrough Delhi, thus helpingdecongest the national Capital.

The 135-km six-laneexpressway constructed at a costof �4617.87 crore is equippedwith electronic toll collection sys-tem (ETC) to avoid jam at toll

plazas, and smart and intelligenthighway traffic managementsystem (HTMS). Also, it willhave solar power panels forlighting, drip irrigation on entireexpressway for watering plantsand video incident detectionsystem (VIDS), CCTVs, overspeed checking system besides aclosed tolling system in which

the collections will be madeonly on the distance travelledand not on the entire length.Chief General Manager ofNational Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) Dr B S Singlasaid the expressway is the first ofits kind in the country with solarpower installation to light theentire stretch of expressway,

including 221 vehicular andpedestrian underpasses.

Singla said there are eightsolar power plants on thisexpressway having a totalcapacity of 4,000 kilowatt (4MW) besides solar pumps thatare also being used for water-ing the plants.

Turn to Page 4

&�+/,,.�/,3)�),.5��,���-���-./0

The Centre on Saturdaypassed an Ordinance mak-

ing sexual offences againstwomen, in particular girlsbelow 16 years, punishablewith terms varying from 20years to life-term and evendeath in case of rape of girlsbelow 12 years. The Cabinetcleared the proposed law in ameeting chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSaturday and referred it to thePresident for approval.

The bold move by theCentre has come in response toa series of incidents involvingrape and murder of girls report-ed from Kathua in Jammu &Kashmir, Surat in Gujarat andthe latest incident reported onSaturday from Indore inMadhya Pradesh involving afour-month-old infant. Lately,the BJP-ruled Government inUttar Pradesh too faced theignominy on this account fol-lowing rape charges leveled bya 17-year minor against BJPMLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar,currently in custody followingarrest by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) in connec-tion with this case.

For those accused of rapingminors below 16 years, theOrdinance makes no provisionfor protection from arrest byway of anticipatory bail, mak-ing the new law draconian. Itprescribes the concerned trialcourt to give notice of 15 daysto a public prosecutor and therepresentative of the victimbefore deciding bail applica-tions in such cases. Also, theproposed law sets new timelimits for investigation in rapecases to conclude in twomonths, trial in such cases

within another two months,and a six-month-deadline fordisposal of appeal by the HighCourt.

By the Criminal LawAmendment Ordinance, rele-vant provisions relating to sex-ual offences against women andchildren under the IndianPenal Code (IPC), the EvidenceAct, the Code of CriminalProcedure (CrPC), and theProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Actwill automatically standamended. This is the secondtime within a span of six yearssince the 2012 Nirbhaya rapecase the criminal law on rapeis being comprehensivelyamended. Then, the provisionof death penalty was intro-duced in cases where the vic-tim either died or was left in a“vegetative state” after rape.

The Government has cho-sen to take the route ofOrdinance without waiting tomake amendments to the indi-vidual laws till the MonsoonSession of Parliament com-mences in July.

Turn to Page 4

&/)�� �-���-./0

In a move to bring back hugebank loan defaulters who

escaped the country and tookrefuge abroad, the UnionCabinet on Saturday approvedthe Fugitive EconomicOffenders Ordinance, 2018that would provide for attach-ment and confiscation of theproperties of the offenders.According to sources, the pro-posed Bill is expected to bepassed in the Monsoon Sessionof Parliament.

The decision was taken upat the Cabinet meeting headedby Prime Minister NarendraModi against the backdrop ofthe recent multi-crore PunjabNational Bank (PNB) fraud

case, in which main accuseddiamond trader Nirav Modiand his uncle Mehul Choksifled the country after dupingthe bank to the tune of over�30,000 crore.

The Fugitive EconomicOffenders Bill was introducedin the Lok Sabha on March 12but could not be passed due tologjam in Parliament over var-ious issues. As far as the Bill isconcerned, sources said theOrdinance aims at deterringeconomic offenders from evad-ing the process of Indian law byremaining outside the juris-diction of Indian courts.

“Under the Ordinance, aspecial forum would be creat-ed for expeditious confiscationof the proceeds of crime, in

India or abroad, that wouldcoerce the fugitive to return toIndia to submit to the juris-diction of courts in India toface the law in respect of sched-uled offences,” it said.

A fugitive economicoffender is described as a per-son against whom an arrestwarrant has been issued inrespect of a scheduled offenceand who has left India so as toavoid criminal prosecution, orbeing abroad, refuses to returnto India to face criminal pros-ecution.

The provisions of theOrdinance will apply to eco-nomic offenders who refuse toreturn, persons against whoman arrest warrant has beenissued for a scheduled offence

as well as wilful bank loandefaulters with outstanding ofover �100 crore. It, however,provides for confiscating assetseven without conviction andpaying off lenders by selling offthe fugitive’s properties.

Turn to Page 4

1(�8(/�(-'($�� �����

Former Union MinisterYashwant Sinha on Saturday

finally severed his decades’ oldrelations with the BJP andannounced to demolish theforces that he said were ruin-ing the democratic institutionslike Parliament, judiciary,Election Commission and themedia and using them for theirown political ends.

The senior leader attackedthe party, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and the NDAGovernment at a function ofRashtra Manch, an apoliticalfront which Sinha hadlaunched in January.

“Democracy is in gravedanger and the democratic

institutions are being mur-dered. Let us pledge to elimi-nate the people who have poseddanger to these institutions,”said Sinha and announcedamid applause that he wasbreaking all links with the BJP.

He said he is quitting partypolitics and would not join anyother party.

Reacting to Sinha’s deci-sion, the BJP said it’s not sur-prised as his comments andwritings made it clear that hewas no longer in the organisa-tion and was acting at theCongress’ behest.

Turn to Page 4

������������ �����������������������������������

� �"��1�� ������*�������� ������������"������������ ���� �������"�������� �������"�������� ����������

� �"�����������( ��� �������������!��������� ��"����� �������������� ��

� �"��1�� ������� ����������� ��������� �������������������� ����"������������0�� ����*�!����� � ������ ����"�%�� �� �� �����0�� ��������

(0(�/)��9::�$(7)��(.0,�!�,;&.,))3(7.,($7��/�<::�$(7)=��+�+&,/�+/�(&.� ��9=�+�$�5,.��<����.���)�1.+'�$, -��$(� 7

(/$�.,$��,�(�.�&+ ���+/�*7��>?

���������������� ���������� ��������������

��������������������� ������������� &��� ����� ��

�����@�����#���������"���"��# �� ���� ��������� �������@������"��������� ���������6��� �� � �� ���������*��# ���� �# �����

�������� ��� ������� ��� ������������

�� !"�������� �� ��#��� �������$

����������������������������

A������ ������

)&,,$7��/5,)��0(��+/(/$��.�( � �����������# �����

���� ������� @��� ������ �� ������@�������������������

� ������� ���� ���� @�� ����� �������@���������������

� (@@� ���� ����������@����������������

.,)�.����+/)�+/�*(� � /�@��������� �����@ ����� ������ @����� ���������� @���# �#� @���� �#����������B��� ��� ���������� ����#������������<�� ��������@������@�������� ��������@������ �����������������������������#�� �� @@��� ��������� ����� @���� �#�����������B�� ����� #�

� /���� ��C�� �"��������������������@��������� ���������)� ���!����� ���-��

� )@��� ����������"�������� @��� �����������@��������� ���@������� ����� �����@�� ��

� $���� ���� �@������������@����������������# ������� @��� ������� ����C���� ����

� )@��� ����������� ����������������@����� ����� �� ��������������������������������� @��� ���

�-(/0,)��/��.�'�/( � (3� 1��� @���� �#��������������� ��!

�����@�������������:��� ��6�A ��! ������ ���

� �������� �����# �#� @���� �#�������������� ��!�����@���������������������C�������� ���

� �����������������������B��� ��!�����@���������� ������������ ��������:�� ������:��� ��!������� ��������������������������6��� ��� ������

� ����@����������������# �#� @���� #�����������B��������� �� �������@��������������� ���

� '�����@������������� @������ �������>��� ���.�����:��� ��������C���

�-,�+�-,.�',()�.,)���

��������������� �!����"#!������������������

������������ �� �����������%������������������$&'#()*�� ������� ���� ���������������$&+) %� ������ �

"

#

$

��������� ����������������� ����������������� ��������������������������������

2.����3 �� 5�� 45������ 6672� ������"�����-����� ������ ��!��

,�� ���������DBE ������������ ��������������� ���������� ���������������� ����!"���#$%���

!"��#$��% !&��

/,3�$, -�!�)�/$(7� (&.� ���!��:�D=�&(0,)���FD��8

�$%�"&0�.'��0��1�.139/1+����0�/�++

'$%( )0+���:1���,-;�-3�-�&��-;�-3�-�<

�1:-��0=���-;0����-�.

*$+,�-0��0�<��+1.-��1�-;�����0�0��1>��30=03�+-01�'�0�=

I+��<���4����� ������� ����J����������.���������/

�����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,- �� ��������

+0+1�2�00+13���/0!��� ����������������%���������%��� /45"&

The last spooky comedythe Indian audienceenjoyed was Go, Goa

Gone in which the Over TheTop Saif Ali Khan had quitea romp. Ever since, there hasbeen little to cheer about inthis genre which, incidentally,is full of potential.

Nanu Ki Janu amplyproves that you can havequite a laugh when the spiritsare moving around. Muchlike the main protagonistAbhay Deol the movie, too, isa rare one. It is hilarious butin parts. It is fun, but inparts. It was, indeed, full ofpossibilities which it fails toexploit to the hilt. But then whenwas it that we had a full-bloodedhearty comedy coming out of theBollywood coffers?

Not that one can remember,so this attempted one comesacross as a scatter-brained,meandering, sometimesdirectionless but funnynevertheless film which couldhave been oh so better. AbhayDeol as an aspiring goonda witha band of sidekicks does well, asalways. He is a master of two-bitroles but in this one he does hisbest to stitch up the fun elementdespite being a bored ganster ofsorts grabbing flats fromvulnerable people for the unseen,unknown land Mafiosi.

He drinks, he dances, heintimidates, he goes pubbing andthen he drives back in his blackSUV to spend another beer night

at one of the grabbed flats whichhe is yet to hand over to the bigland shark. But life changes afterhe tries to save an accidentvictim lying in a pool of bloodon the roadside. He does manageto save her but only till shereaches the hospital. She dies onthe stretcher and that’s when thefunny buddies and their leaderhave a change of life.

There is nothing in the filmapart from the fun element. So,the fun element needed to bemuch more than directormanages in the film whichstretches towards an end whichis chaotic and goes astray. A two-bit comic skit in the last shotbrings back the fun, leaving theaudience to long for more suchin the entire movie.

An okay film for a lean weekor if you are not doing anythingbetter.

��6���������������������

6$'�2*, �0�/��--��9�/0�+�1

����������� ������ ����������������� ������������������������������������������ !����"��#����$�%�&'����())***�� ����������+$������������������������� �������������������,�����-����������./0"10��.02,������**,��-�������0�����!�� ���&��%����-���3���-��4 �5.�4�� �"����-����� ��!�$����5�������������-��6�����'���� 7���������-,�.!8(9*:;9)**�� :;;�:)(:9�<=:)� 9�:)�������&>�����-9��������"��"������$���������? �0���������&(��@*)@�7���������-*;��(� 9@99 �� 9@999�� 9@99;�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

'��� ��� ��� �"3���% ������&���� ��44&�47653����'�/�������%���"��&����� ��"+���& ��*����" ���'�66������*����+��������#������ �'��������������� ������������������������

3���&�� �����������%����������"���*����* �� �����"������64�!��� !������������&�������������*� ����������������:��"�*�� ����� ����������������������� ���������������������"��$����%���������* ����"����" ��"���"�>����� ���� ���%������&���������������������"�*"�����������������������" ������ ������ ������������������,�����"#�!��� ���� ����������������?�-���������� ��&�-�&���"������$����������* ����������������������� ����� ��������* �"��-�������������!� �� ������������������������������ ������-����"���������������"����"�� ��������� ������"������$

>9������������B9�G������3����'�3"���&�@�"�=���������66&�64��.� ����:������+���&��������4A&�������&�/������$ ��%�� ������ ��B7&�4765���% 64����C�D���1��.����� ���%A@AA6AA77BEA@AA6AA774

9����� ��C��������&�*"�������� ��$�3"�������������� ������ � �������������������������� ������������� ������!��������E��� �� �������DA�!�������DA� ���"���*�FA$��"��� ����������� ���������" �� ��" � ��&���� ���� ���" &�� �"�� ������&��" � ���* ���&��" � ���� GG�&������� �������&������"��� ��&������� ���� GG�&�����!����"�������%�������������*$�

��� ���$ ��%���� ��44&�4765���%�D'B7���5����%���� �����=����� ��&D4&�.��" �-�����&�.��" +���&����" &�66777B,����%�(���� � ������ �������B77>�D@7

1�������"������������� �������� ��&��������� H677�"��"�*I� ��"������������� �����������"�����������$�0��"���!���������� ��������� ���"�������"����"�����"���������$������<��� ����" ��!� �� ������� ����������&����&���� ���&����� ���" ��&�(����*������������J�=����������������!����&����������������"�"��� ��������������������������� ��$

������������

$�)��(�$�'��)�*(���������9"��� �!�� �* �"��"�������*� ���������"�*���4765�C����������"��"�*� ���� ��������!�� ��������������������$�� �� ��"�"��������" ���� �������"��� ������� $

�"����� ��� ����* �����������������9"�������� �������"���������� ������!��&�!� �� ����� ���" ���*���� ���� ����������$��"����������������!�������&����&�������� ����������"�����* ����������!������������������������9����������$��"����� ��� ����* ���!�����������������������-������ ���������� � ��$

)+/7�7(7H���./)�������K�KJ�����!������ ���� ���

! ��"����!�������" �������*��"�*�L�� !�"������������$������� ��>������&��"���"�*������������������������������"���� ������" ������ ��������������������������*" �"���� ��������������� ��#� ��� ��� ��$����"��"���� �������"���� �������������64��������� �������46$

0�#��� ���������!�)"�������/� ������������("�������������"�� �K�K� �#�=� ���&�����"���"������ �����������������!���67���*�� ����* �"�� �������" ����" ����������������������"� ����� ������ ����C�"��������=� ����$��"����� �������� ���������=� ��������� �������8����A'B7�������6'B7���$

�"���"������ ������� ������� ��������*�"�� ������ ����������"���"�*�$9��� ��� �������&��"���"������������*���*������������� ����C�(����� �������������&�!���� ����"������� ���"������ ��0�� ��* �"�� �������������L/ �� &���� �&�������&�(����� �������������$�

3(��-� +0(/�/����������� �&�!��������������

�������$��"��<��*"���/��"�)�� ���"���!������������������ ���������������"�����!�$�/��"�)�� ���#��%������� ��"��#�$�� �����" ���������65������&

* �"�A���� ������������ ��������M8! �� ��$��"������!������%����������������� �� ����� ����* �"�%����$��������� ��* ���!� ��������"����"����������/��")�� ����* �"� ���0�� �������� � ������ ���������� ��44&�4765����6�������A��$

/((0�/��)�*(���

/���� ��������������*�������"�� �*����*"�������*���" ����������������"�*�$��"� �������� ��

&������' ����������" ���"������� � �����������������"�����"��� �*���$��"��" �������������� �������!��������� ������* ����"�*�����������������������������"������� � ��� ��������� �9�� �"��������������� ���/�������� ����"�����������������$�

�"���� ������"�������������������"�

&����� ����������%� ��$������ � ��<�"��������"�� �+�%����� ���*"��"�����������"��������������������� ���"�� ����������&� ���������������������" ��������������"�����" �� ������ �$

��������������'�N+�%���"���!���*�� ���"���������" ����" ����������" �������!���$�/������ ������������� �������� ��������� ��������" �����" ��������"�� O��&�����" ������� ���"��"�*$P

3������ ������"�������&9�� �"��������&��� �'�N&����� ��������������������� � ������ �������0�����������"��������"����!�������" ������$�0������ ������*����������� ���* �"��"�3��������� ��$�

�"���" �����O����������� ��* �� �����"��� �*��������"�����������"� ������$Q�

�"���"�*� ������������������� ���������3�����$

�����.���

�,�$+ �6,7($1 3���/0!��� ����������������%���������%��� /85"&

Iconic Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s inauguralBollywood film was the centrepoint ofdiscussions at the International Film Festival of

India this year. A theatrical release of the film maynot create the same waves for a number of reasons,the first being its parallel cinema makeover.

Set in the bad lanes of crime-ridden Mumbaislums, Beyond The Clouds is expectedly seeped inpoverty, crime, angst, sexual harassment,exploitation and all those emotional realities thatvisit any slum dweller. For one, Majidi’s Spartansense of cinema encases this aspect with minimumfuss but maximum impact.

The unkempt, tousled haired Ishaan at thecentre of this journey through life is apt, intense anda perfect fit of the character he plays. A hustler whois learning to live in the mean streets of the slum,indulging in petty crime. For end of day solace, hedoes turn to his loving elder sister who tries her bestto keep him happy under her own set of tryingcircumstances which include a bad marriage, sexualexploitation at work and constant stalking from a fatand ugly man at the dhobhighat.

Majidi showcases how the duo survives in therough and tumble of such a negative scenario,especially after the sister gets booked for murder andthe brother is compelled to look after the victim’sfamily which comes visiting their dying father withtheir grandmother.

All this and much more is beautifully capturedon camera but that’s what Majidi is expected to do.All his characters are well-sketched and fleshed out,which too is business as usual for the filmmaker.However, despite the capturing the lows the film isnot outstanding in that jacket. It is okay notpowerful, it is interesting not entirely capturing.

���������������9�Proud to have won RisingStar 2?

I’m very happy and enjoyingthis moment. When I thought ofgiving auditions for the RisingStars 2, I was convinced that Iwould win this show. But whenI saw the contestants, I wasblown away by their talent. Theywere amazing. Moreover, mycuriosity to know how a livereality show works on TV mademe more enthusiastic to take upthis new challenge.�Did being a winner ofSaReGaMaPa Li’l Champs,2009, give you addedadvantage?

I don’t feel any advantage asa reality show winner. When youwin a show, the success, nameand fame you earn on thatplatform doesn’t guarantee yousuccess in the future but yourtalent, determination and hardwork takes you places.�Did you became moreconfident after SaReGaMaPa?

I was fearful back then andmore fearful throughout myjourney on Rising Star 2 becausewe were live and a smallmistake would have cost me.Unlike other reality showswhich were tuned andedited, Rising Star is realand live. It is funny tosee how we raceagainst time to keepthe act going withoutany goof-ups.There is not asingle moment ofpause on theshow. After theperformance getsover, the hostcontinues to anchorthe show while the crewsets up the stage in thebackdrop for the nextperformance.�What was the best momentfor you on the show?

It was when my father sunga duet with me on stage. Thesong Kajrare Mote Mote TereNaina is a bhajan composed byhim and sung by our guruji. Myfather is also a singer and I amthe third generation. �How did your fathersupport you in making yourdream come true?

My father used to singbhajans, do live performancesand, at the same time, trained me.When I was growing up, he sawhis dream growing in me andnurtured my talent like a truementor. He used to take me forauditions of singing reality showsand made me perform on stage atvarious events in Mathura. He isvery talented but there was noreality talent hunt show where hecould have performed.

Also, because of the familyresponsibility, he never got time toexplore any opportunity. He hasseen a lot of struggle in his life butnever let me feel the stress andworry. He has done a lot for meand whatever I am today isbecause of him. My father’s dreamto sing live before camera cametrue on Rising Star. For me,fulfilling his dreams is moreimportant. �Who was your toughestcontender?

Vishnumaya. When she cameon the show, she could only singin a few genres but by the end ofthe show, she became a versatilesinger. Earlier, I was the only one

who could sing all genres but shecame up very well. �Did you ever feel the

competition had becometougher and you would

not be able to cope?Yes, many times. I

was given a song KahaRaja Bhoj, Kaha

Gangu Teili and wasnot happy about it.I doubted myselfbut then ShankarMahadevan came

to my rescue andencouraged me togive my best. �How are you going

to spend the prizemoney?

I will save �20 lakh tobuy a house in Mumbai

someday and pursue mycareer here. �What are your upcoming

projects?Akhtar Brothers and I have

sung for a film Soorma starringDiljit Dosanj which will getreleased soon. I have completedmy Class XII and will do mygraduation now.

;K�?�E��?+2K��?>:K1�K12��L���"16%���&����#�����'�()�*�+%,-.)&, ���������&)�/��*)�0) )1���������2�����������������������������������������������������3

The small screen is brimming withsome mind-blowing performancesby super-talented dancers. As

competition touches a higher notch everyyear with a fresh season or a new dancereality show, it is becoming difficult to huntfor the top 10 or 15 out of the lakhs ofcontestants.

Though dance reality shows are comingup with innovative concepts every year, thechallenge lies in finding talented dancerswho can command the stage. “Realityshows are getting tougher and to implementnew concepts, you also need to haveperformers who are able to deliver well. Thecompetition becomes harder as it goes intothe elimination stage. The performers knowwhat they have done in the past and howto better themselves and surprise everyone.There is a constant effort to uplift andinnovate reality content which ismanufactured for TV. What differentiatesa reality show from another isinnovation. For instance, recently wehad contestants performing Lavanidance on the ice floor and manysuch innovations,” Lara Dutta,who recently made her TVdebut as a judge of High FeverDance Ka Naya Tevar, tells you.

Jay Bhanushali, host ofDance India Dance (DID) Li’lMasters Season 4, says that as a hostof the show, from its inception, thechallenge was to bring something newevery season.

“More than cracking jokes on judges, Ilike to crack jokes on contestants because ourjudges are already established and well-known but the contestants are new and thespotlight is on them. Reality shows are madefor them and they are the focus. You haveto create an identity for them so that peopleremember contestants not only by theirperformance but also by their backgroundstory and persona. Being a host of DID, TheVoice India Kids and Super Dancers, I feelthat we are doing the same kind of job butonly the show is different. Though othersmight think that hosting a show for a longertime would bring them to saturation point,for me reality shows have much morecapability for actors to perform and entertainpeople as a host. There are only two thingsthat are working on TV — singing realityshows and dance reality shows. That is whyI enjoy doing them the most,” Bhanushalitells you.

With every channel running its ownreality show, makers are cashing in on thetalent hunt reality shows as it is cheaper thana celebrity-based reality show. “For channels,it is easier to recover and garner high TRP.That is why dance reality shows work onevery channel and will never go off the

trend,” Bhanushali says.Apart from being high on dance

fever, reality shows are also thriving onrelationship with the contestants,inspiring them through their struggleand victories. “Reality shows are highon relationship and emotionalquotient as well. People like to knowthe common man’s journey tostardom. It evokes great curiosity

among the audience and aspiringartistes about what it takes to reach the

stage that opens multiple doors to success.Reality shows down the decade have beengiving insights into their life. Despite howthose relationships are stereo typicallyviewed, the actual change you see in themiddle-class households is what matters.

The audience knows what a made-up storyis and what’s true and if emotions are real,”Dutta says.

Looking at the rise in children-basedreality shows, Dutta says that it is good tonurture talent of the child but they shouldnot be exploited in order to get to the stage.“Today talent has to be inculcated inchildren and if they genuinely have the abilityto perform well, they should be supportedand encouraged but not exploited.

Kids are very hardworking and they arewell looked after in the shows. But when youare working with them, you have to becareful of their emotion and know how youspeak to them especially when they get theelimination. Children have a long way to goand should not feel that it is the end of theircareer,” Dutta says.

���������� ����"�*��"������ �����"��!����������� � ���!�������" ��� ������ ��������������������������������� � �����������*"����������� �������������$����--���K���:����� �������������!����"�*��"�*����������%����" �"����������!��������������� ���" ��&����� ��������������� ������

0����.0:-��/1��.09-+0�0�����+&��-�+�3-��0�����0�-��1�9--�

�/-��3��10���0�/1���K�11=���$��/-+-�0�

�1�����0�.-��1�-���7=����-�1�

�/-��/1�

2����������!��������������

����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,- �����������

(*-�/(5�)�/0-�� �-���-./0

Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) will launch its own

state-of-the art “Incubationand Innovation Centre” thatwould act as a hub of ideas,research, innovations and start-up by students and faculty.Slated to start from the nextyear, the centre would incubatethose ideas and plans that areof some commercial value or ofsome social importance.

Whereby, a “ResearchNetwork” would be createdwith engagement of compa-nies, students, faculty andexperts in various disciplinesfrom other institutes and uni-versities. Also, there would bean exchange and utilisation ofresources among them. Thecentre will work in close coor-dination with other centers ofJNU, other universities andtechnical institutes includingthe Indian Inst itute ofTechnologies (IIT's).

For real is ing it JNUclaims to have made a “start-up” policy and is working onplan to finalise the policyrelated to Research and

Intellectual Property Right(IPR).

“The ideas that are of anycommercial value or are of anybenefit to society would beencouraged and incubated.We will contact industriesand also make market acces-sible for these start-up andinnovations,” said ProfessorRupesh Chaturvedi, Director,Research and Development,JNU.

“Start-up and ideas notonly in the field of sciences

but also social start-up wouldbe promoted and incubated.Students and faculty from allstreams like social science,humanities, management, andsciences will work in closecoordination upon theirrespective ideas that have thepotency to mature into astart-up or company,” he said.

JNU has already appliedand given presentation for the“Atal Incubation Centres” atNITI Aayog and are waiting forthe approval, told a JNU offi-

cial. Also, JNU will have a“Science CommunicationCentre” at its Centre forMedia Studies, with specialemphasis on the role of mediaand communication in thefield of sciences.

The centre would also pro-vide some certificate and diplo-ma courses apart from work-ing upon how to communicatethe contents of specialised scientific journals in simpler form for commonreaders.

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

The Delhi Governmentschools will now form a

“book bank” that would be acollection of old usable text-books in order to offer it tounderprivileged children. TheDelhi Government has askedits schools to collect old usabletextbooks from students of allclasses and form book banks.

Books will be provided tothe less privileged childrenthrough School ManagementCommittees (SMCs).

The government movecomes following the recom-mendation for better utilisationof used books by the NationalGreen Tribunal. The Bookbanks are meant to offer thebooks to the underpriviligedchildren who cannot affordnew textbooks.

“Every year lakhs of tonnesof paper gets consumed inprinting of books for students.As the students pass out, theyare provided next set of books(of the higher class) and booksof the previous class becomeredundant,” read a communi-cation sent to governmentschools by the Directorate ofEducation (DoE).

“The schools are, hereby,directed to collect usable oldtext books from the students ofall classes to set up a book bankunder eco-club in everyschool,” it stated.

The education departmenthas directed schools that oldbooks of the previous academicsession should be collectedfrom students on voluntarybasis for the book bank.

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

Lieutenant-Governor (L-G)Anil Baijal on Saturday

inspected progress of the ambi-tious Rani Jhansi Grid Separatorproject in north Delhi anddirected the officials concernedto prepare a comprehensivetraffic dispersal plan in coordi-nation with agencies concernedas congestion is likely to increaseonce it opens for public.

The 1.6-km-long flyover,from near St Stephen'sHospital to FilmistaanCinema, once completedwould be open for vehicularmovement towards ISBT,Kashmiri Gate, and Mori Gateetc. to the citizens particular-ly of Shakti Nagar, Karol Bagh,Gulabi Bagh, Kamla Nagar,Sadar Bazar, Paharganj, AzadMarket and surrounding areas.It was originally scheduled tobe completed by 2010, but hasmissed several deadlines.

Biajal was accompanied bysenior officials of North DelhiMunicipal Corporation (NMC)and other civic agencies con-cerned. He further gave direc-tions to complete the beautifi-cation of the grid separator andits surroundings at a rapid pace.

“The L-G also directedthat crash barrier on both sides

of the grid separator beinstalled,” the statement stated.

Also, Baijal, along withsenior officers of the DelhiDevelopment Authority(DDA), visited the Shanti Stupasite in Millenium park of DDA

at Sarai Kale Khan on RingRoad. The park spreads over84 acre and in 2.5 acre of thepark Shanti Stupa exists whichis the first of its kind in Delhi.

The additional facilitiesare being provided in this

part to facilitate the visitorswhich include ViewingGallery and Peace Museum, itstated. On September 9 lastyear, the then North DelhiMunicipal Corporation(NDMC) Commissioner P KGupta had said the projectwould be completed byNovember 30.

The project was conceivedin 1998 but was commissionedby the erstwhile MCD in 2006.The construction work start-ed in 2007 and has been in thepipeline since then. The agen-cies, responsible for removingbottlenecks, kept indulging inpassing the buck for yearsinstead of finding solutions,leading to the delay.

The project was delayed dueto the multiple agencies respon-sible for removing roadblocks.The very fact that the main bot-tlenecks at Filmistan crossingand Azad Market took almosteight years to be completed tellsthe sordid saga of bureaucraticand political apathy.

The continuous deadlinebreach has escalated the pro-ject cost by �547 crore morethan the originally sanctionedone. The cost originally waspegged at �177 crore that fur-ther increased to �724 crore.

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

The Public WorksDepartment (PWD) of

Delhi Government will carryout the work of strengtheningseveral roads and construct-ing drains in various areas innational Capital before theonset of the monsoon.

With the onset of themonsoon the national Capitalreel under water-logging withseveral areas and roads effect-ed due to it . PWD hasapproved nearly �4.93 crorethat includes construction offoothpaths and drains in var-ious areas apart from the workrelated to the strengthening ofroads.

The administrativeapproval has been given forstrengthening of various roads,foothpaths and drains at theJankapuri, strengthening ofVedic Marg from TiharCrossing to the communityhall, 82 Block Sabzi Mandi

Road, Najafgarh to RajouriGarden (A-71) among others.

“The officials concernedhave been asked to ensurebefore awarding works that ifany drain work comes underthe jurisdiction of the PWD,design and execution of thesame should be adequate andit should also be ensured thatwater-logging does not takeplace,” said an official.

The official said tenders

will soon be invited for exe-cuting the works under theapproved cost.

“It will also be ensured thatall the payments to contractorsshould made through digitalmode,” the official said. The principal chief engi-neer or the chief engineer willsubmit quarterly monitoringreport of the projects, the offi-cial added.

Ahead of the monsoon, thePWD has set a target to com-plete the de-silting works byJune 15. Delhiites have to facewaterlogging problem everymonsoon. There are around 165 major drains in thecity. Last year, the de-silting ofdrains had caused tusslebetween the government andbureaucracy, with ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwalseeking action against thethen PWD Secretary AshwaniKumar for not obeying his order over de-silting ofdrains.

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

Two men have been arrest-ed by the Delhi Police for

their involvement in a sensa-tional midnight heist of morethan �2 crore at West Delhi'sKirti Nagar area. Police saidone of the accused, Jasbir is amember of the Neeraj Bawanagang. The two in connivancewith the office staff of the vic-tim hatched a plan to steal thecash to pay their debts and leada lavish lifestyle.

The two landed in police netafter cops chased them acrossfour States for over a week

Vijay Kumar, DeputyCommissioner of Police, Westsaid, “Daljeet (39), the master-mind of the heist along with hisaccomplice, Jasbir broke intothe house of the victim with theassistance of his formeremployee and decamped with�10 lakh and foreign currencyof more than �2 crore.”

Daljeet, who worked at anArches shop told police that hewanted to get rid of the debtsdue to which he planned tocommit theft.

Kumar said, “On April 13,Rakesh Godara, a businessman

based in Saraswati Gardenreported about the theft of�10 lakh and some foreigncurrency. Since the day of thetheft, Godara's office staffer,Rattan was missing, he sus-pected his role in the theft.”

A team under SHO AnilKumar Sharma questionedmore than 100 persons close tothe complainant, his office staff.

The DCP said, “Godaratold us that one of his col-leagues, Lovely told him that onthe night of April 12, Rattancame to him asking for shelterat Godara's house. SinceGodara was away at work inKota, Lovely allowed Rattan tostay at Godara's house. Thearrested accused revealed thatas part of the plan, Rattanoffered drinks laced with seda-tives to the house help atGodara's residence and later atnight, Rattan facilitated Daljeetand Jasbir to enter the house.Rattan guided them to theplace with Rs. 10 Lacks 30thousand and some foreigncurrency. Both the accuseddecamped with the bag andRattan pretended to beunaware of the theft. Initially,Godara first tried at his own to

search the accused personswith the help of his employeesand village contacts but whenhe failed, he approached thepolice.”

The DCP further said,“More than 100 persons werequestioned. Raids were con-ducted at Sirsa, Chandigarh,Mohali, National CapitalRegion, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra to trace theaccused. Since they kept chang-ing their locations, it was dif-ficult to track them.

Police said that based on atip off, we managed to arrestDaljeet from Haus Khas. Heinformed us that the plan towas steal �50 lakhs and theyhad decided to flee to Bangkokto avoid getting caught.

“Eventually, Jasbir wasnabbed from Nanded inMaharashtra and 2,42,500Euros (�1 crore, 80 lakhs) wererecovered from his possession.At his instance, raids wereconducted in and around Delhiand 33,27000 INR worthForeign Currency, 94127/- INRand 6 mobile phones worth Rs1 Lakh were recovered fromtheir various hideouts,” addedthe DCP.

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

The East Delhi MunicipalCorporation (EDMC) has

stopped disposal of silt at asite in Geeta Colony. Siltremoved by various agenciesfrom drains will now be dis-posed at a new facility atSinghola village near Singhuborder.

Disposal of silt at the facil-ity in Geeta Colony has beendiscontinued due to litigation,according to a circular issuedby the civic body.

All agencies concernedincluding Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA), Delhi JalBoard, Irrigation and FloodDepartment have been noti-fied to send the silt removedby them from drains and oth-erwise to the new facility atSinghola.

The new facility at Singholais situated near a Delhi JalBoard (DJB) sewage treatmentplant on NH-1.

(:;��������%�������������

)�(11�.,&+.�,.�� �-���-./0

Aman and his wife werearrested on charges of dup-

ing a woman of over �15 lakhthrough a fake profile on a mat-rimonial website, police said.

The arrests of Oboh Tony,a Nigerian and Rosy Noronhawere made following a com-plaint by the woman's father, aresident of Motia Khan. Shewas duped of �15.50 lakh bythe couple, they said.

They were arrested onApril 14 from Mayur Vihar,police said. The website hadsuggested that one VinothAbhishek's profile was an ideal

match for the woman. On September 19, 2017,

the complainant's wife calledAbhishek and they exchangednumbers, police said. Abhishekcalled the woman in October,2017, and told her that he wason duty on a ship and hewould be reaching Mumbai on

October 20, they said.He told her that he would

be coming to meet her and herfamily on October 21.

However, Abhishek, laterinformed the woman thatthere was a change in hisprogramme as his ship wasattacked and damaged bySomalian sea-pirates, andthus, to save his personalbelongings he had dispatchedthem to the address, policesaid. He also told her that hehad paid the air freight inadvance, but a remainingamount of USD 1,450 had to bepaid by them, they said.

The complainant was

informed that the consign-ment had reached theChhatarpati ShivajiInternational Airport inMumbai.

The complainant paid�1,92,083, �4,96,700, �7.50lakh and �1 lakh in the nameof the air-freight carrier, dif-ference settlement, IncomeClearance, United NationClearance and ImmigrationFee to be paid to the USGovernment for transit pass-port respectively, police said.

Subsequently, the com-plainant realised that they werebeing duped and filed a policecomplaint, they said.

#�3��������������#���������������4�����������������

"����� �%���������"��������,���������������%���� ����-��������$�������.��$� �� ��������������-��,�/���0����"�����1���� ����� ���������$2 ���3����"��������� �� ���� �#��������������������������$�������� �#�������$����������������������#�������$���������������� ��������� �� �� ���

! ��� ������ ���������.����������#4 .��������� ��

+��������� ��������;����7�����

%53�������� ��.�3���������� �� �� �� ������$���

0������������� ��� ��'6,#��������

70������������� �������� ������)��/����.+-��K

���.0-�����0:-�

�+-�-����01�=1+��/-�N���.

0�3(��01�3-��+-�P�����0�0��K1������+-

��0�0��=1+��/-���+1:�.

������������������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

&���� (-+.0�

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday said he

had a “wonderful meeting”with German ChancellorAngela Merkel and discussedmultiple aspects relating tobilateral cooperation as well asother global issues.

Modi met Merkel during abrief stopover in Berlin afterwrapping up his visit to the UKwhere he attended theCommonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting(CHOGM) and held a series ofbilateral meetings.

It was the third and last legof Modi's three-nation tour tothe UK, Sweden and Germany.

“Had a wonderful meetingwith Chancellor AngelaMerkel. We discussed multipleaspects relating to India-Germany cooperation as wellas other global issues,” Moditweeted.

The two leaders discussedways to further strengthenIndia-Germany cooperation,

Ministry of External Affairsspokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid, adding that Modi's visit“demonstrates India's mutualdesire to strengthen the strate-gic partnership”.

“Further cementing a cher-ished friendship! PM @naren-dramodi warmly welcomed byGerman Chancellor AngelaMerkel at the Chancelleryahead of the bilateral meeting,”Kumar said in a tweet.

Modi's meeting with Merkelcomes after German PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier's trip toIndia last month, which focusedon boosting economic andstrategic ties between the twocountries.Germany is India'slargest trade partner in theEuropean Union bloc.

'�� ����������������0�����/*� �

�(/)�� �-���-./0

Several legal luminaries and aconstitutional expert on

Saturday decried theOpposition's move to impeachChief Justice of India DipakMisra, describing it as “unfortu-nate”, “suicidal” and “dangerous”.

Former Chief Justice ofIndia T.S. Thakur dubbed thesituation “unfortunate”, whileformer Supreme Court Judge B.Sudershan Reddy termed it“suicidal and dangerous”.

Former Lok SabhaSecretary General Subhash C.Kashyap said the move is “pureparty politics”.

Kashyap contended thatunder the Constitution, onlythe President can be impeachedand Article 124 only speaksabout the removal of a Judgefor misconduct or proven inca-pacity. “There is nothing likeimpeachment of a Judge.”

Former Delhi High CourtJudge R.S. Sodhi, a practicingsenior counsel in the SupremeCourt, said it was the “mostimmature move” and a “polit-ical hara-kiri” by the Congressthat betrays logic.

Congress-led sevenOpposition parties on April 20met Rajya Sabha ChairmanM. Venkaiah Naidu and sub-mitted an impeachmentmotion for the removal of theChief Justice on charges of“misbehaviour”.

Pointing out that he foundno substance in the charges,former apex court Judge Reddytold IANS from Hyderabadthat “it is suicidal on part of thepolitical parties which havemoved the impeachmentmotion”.

Prima facie, he claimed,“there is no material to estab-lish the charge of any misbe-haviour on part of the ChiefJustice”, adding that “irregu-larities do not amount to mis-behaviour”.

Former CJI Thakur, whilerefusing to go into the details,told IANS: “This is very unfor-tunate that the top judiciary isfaced with such crisis.”

An authority on parlia-mentary rules and procedures,Kashyap emphatically said thatthe impeachment move is “notlikely to succeed at all”.

“It is purely party politics.The purpose seems to be toembarrass the judiciary and thegovernment -- the party inpower. It is not likely to pass(muster) at all,” the former LokSabha Secretary General saidwhile agreeing to the views ofJustice Reddy who said the entiremove is fraught with dangers.

Justice Reddy said that theimpeachment move had a def-inite political coating and itcan't be otherwise.

“Any impeachmentmotion”, Justice Reddy said, “isdefinitely political in its nature.

In any impeachment proceed-ings politics can't be avoided.”

“But in the present case,they are dragging -- may beunintentionally -- the judicia-ry into party politics, which isdangerous.”

Justice J. Chelameswar --one of the four senior most apexcourt Judges who went publicon January 12 with their griev-ances over its functioning -- hadsaid that impeachment was notan answer for every problem inthe higher judiciary.

“I do not know why thenation is obsessed withimpeachment. Impeachmentcan't be an answer to every-thing. There have to be othermechanisms in place to dealwith such problems,” JusticeChelameswar had said in aninteraction with TV host KaranThapar.

Describing the Congressaction as “the most immaturemove” it had committed in itshistory, Justice Sodhi said: “Iam sorry that the Grand OldParty has committed hara-kiri.”He said that the Congresshad targeted the judiciary -- theonly organ of the State whichhas credibility -- and it wouldhurt the country.

Kashyap said that RajyaSabha Chairman M. VenkaiahNaidu could reject theimpeachment notice at his ownlevel if he felt it had no mater-ial legs to stand on.

�(/)�� )���

The Jammu and KashmirPolice's Crime Branch on

Saturday said reports in a sec-tion of media regarding theKathua rape-murder case werefalse and that medical expertshad confirmed the sedation,sexual assault and subsequentmurder of the eight-year-oldgirl.

The Crime Branch state-ment on the case comes in thewake of reports in print andelectronic media as well associal media regarding the caseregistered at the Hiranagarpolice station in Kathua dis-trict.

“However, for the last cou-ple of days, a section ofprint/electronic media has pub-lished/broadcast informa-tion/reports shared on the

social media sites as well, whichare far from truth,” the CrimeBranch said.

“Constrained by thereports, it is to place on recordthat on the basis of opinion fur-nished by medical experts, itwas confirmed that the victimwas found subjected to sexualassault by the accused.

“Accordingly, on the basisof medical opinion, Section376 (D) of the Ranbir PenalCode was added in the case.The medical opinion alsoestablished beyond doubt thatthe victim was held in captiv-ity and administered sedativesand the cause of her death wasasphyxia leading to car-diopulmonary arrest,” itadded.

The Crime Branch hadpresented a chargesheet in thecourt of law after completion of

all legal formalities of investi-gation. The investigatingagency is also in the process ofsubmitting a supplementarychargesheet.

Section 376 (D) deals withgang Rape followed by death orpersistent vegetative

state of the victim and pre-scribes punishment withimprisonment for life.

The girl, belonging to aBakarwal Muslim family, waskidnapped on January 10 andher body found on January 17near Rasana village inHiranagar tehsil in Kathua dis-trict.

Police investigationsrevealed she was held captiveinside a temple, sedated andrepeatedly raped before hermurder. Police has filedchargesheet against eight per-sons in the case.

�(/)�� �-���-./0

Delhi Commission forWomen Chairperson

Swati Maliwal, whose indefi-nite hunger strike to demanddeath for rapists of childrencontinued for the ninth dayon Saturday, said she wouldend her fast at 2 p.m. onSunday.

“I'm ending the fast, but thestruggle will go on,” the AamAadmi Party leader said whileannouncing her decision.

Earlier in the day, she saidthat she would continue herfast till the time an ordinanceon the death penalty for rapists

of children below the age of 12-- which was approved by theUnion Cabinet on Saturday --is not promulgated.

Maliwal has been on fastsince April 13 in support of herdemand in the wake of rapeand murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu andKashmir's Kathua in Januaryand other similar crime else-where.

Welcoming the Cabinet'sdecision to approve the ordi-nance, Maliwal, said: “Untilsomething concrete happens, Iwill not give up. Until a systemis there to ensure safety of thelast girl, I won't give up.”

�(/)�� �-���-./0

Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) is all set to open its

new engineering college inJuly this year with 50 seats,which will be increased later, avarsity official said on Saturday.

Dismissing the news of noallocation of funds for the cen-tre, the official said a total of Rs180 crore has been allocated tothe university for two newschools, the other being Schoolof Management andEntrepreneurship.

“We have been provisionedan allocation of 180 crore forthe two schools. A total of Rs23 crore has already beenreleased for the one meant forengineering, “ the officialspeaking on n the condition ofanonymity, told IANS.

����3�������3������!-,�������5�6�������3����

�+1,�������������������������������

����������8������� �#����� ��������$��������������*�������� ��������9% ����

!.������(���������������������� From Page 1

Such economic offenderswill be tried under Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA).

Like Nirav Modi, similaroffender Vijay Mallya, whoowned the now-defunctKingfisher Airlines, alsoescaped to London a few yearsafter running up huge debts toconsortiums of banks.

Sources, however, said theOrdinance is expected to re-establish the rule of law withrespect to the fugitive eco-nomic offenders as they wouldbe forced to return to India toface trial for scheduledoffences. “This would also helpthe banks and other financialinstitutions to achieve higherrecovery from financial defaultscommitted by such fugitiveeconomic offenders, improvingthe financial health of suchinstitutions,” it added.

If at any point of time inthe course of the proceeding

prior to the declaration, thealleged fugitive economicoffender returns to India andsubmits to the appropriatejurisdictional court, proceed-ings under the proposed Actwould cease by law.

“All necessary constitu-tional safeguards in terms ofproviding hearing to the personthrough counsel, allowing himtime to file a reply, servingnotice of summons to him,whether in India or abroad andappeal to the High Court havebeen provided for,” sourcessaid.

According to theOrdinance, a director or deputydirector appointed under thePMLA, 2002, may file an appli-cation before a special court(designated under the 2002Act) to declare a person as afugitive economic offender.The application will contain thereasons to believe that an indi-vidual is a fugitive economicoffender.

Besides, the applicationwill have information about hiswhereabouts, a list of proper-ties believed to be proceeds ofa crime for which confiscationis sought, a list of benamiproperties or foreign propertiesfor which confiscation issought, and a list of personshaving an interest in theseproperties.

Upon receiving the appli-cation, the special court willissue a notice to the individual,requiring him to appear at aspecified place within sixweeks. If the person appears atthe specified place, the specialcourt will terminate its pro-ceedings under the provisionsof the Bill.

Any property belonging tothe fugitive economic offend-er may provisionally beattached without the priorpermission of the special court,provided that an application isfiled before the court within 30days.

From Page 1The move became imper-

ative as Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had last weekindicated that the incidents ofrape are a “national shame” andhis Government will not sparein making every attempt to getjustice to the daughters of thecountry affected by suchheinous crimes.

According to Law Ministrysources, provisions have beenintroduced under theOrdinance for setting up newfast-track courts and appointpublic prosecutors to ensurespeedy trial in rape cases.Special forensic kits are beingplanned in the long run to besupplied to all police stationsand hospitals, to ensure scien-tific probe in order to minimiserate of acquittals due to shoddyprobe. In addition, one spe-cialised forensic lab in each Statehas also been mooted as part ofa three-month vision project.

Explaining the other pro-visions contained in theOrdinances, Ministry officialsconfirmed that the minimumpunishment for rape of awoman under IPC Section 376has been increased from rig-orous imprisonment of sevenyears to 10 years, extendable upto life imprisonment. Where

rape is of a girl below 16 years,the minimum punishment hasbeen increased from the exist-ing 10 years to 20 years, extend-able up to imprisonment forremaining period of the con-vict’s “natural” life. If the girl isa child under 12 years, the min-imum jail term will be 20 yearsextending to remaining life inprison or even death sentence,officials added.

In cases of gangrape of agirl below 16 years, the pun-ishment will invariably beimprisonment for the rest of lifeof the convict.

The National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB) will maintain anational database and profile ofsexual offenders and share realtime data with all States andUnion Territories periodically foreffective tracking on antecedentsof such offenders and investiga-tion of cases.

The present scheme of‘One Stop Centres’ for assis-tance to victim will also beextended to all districts in thecountry.

“An ordinance today is thebest way to deal with the issue.An amendment Bill will have towait (till July) when theMonsoon Session of Parliamentcommences,” a Law Ministryofficial said.

From Page 1Neeraj Verma, member

of NHAI, said despite facingdifficulties in levelling thesurface (earth work), weworked day and night andcompleted it in 500 days.“The project faced numerousland acquisition related hur-dles, however, with the effortsof Union Road Transport andHighways Ministry and NHAIofficials the issues were short-ed out in very short time,” hesaid.

Verma said the project wasexpedited after constructing arailway over bridge (ROB) inrecord 100 days. “It was con-sidered the main bottleneck inaccomplishing the project ontime. Usually in India, it takesmore than two years to com-plete ROB,” he said.

Also, he said keeping safe-ty of the travellers in mind,there are cameras installed tocapture over speeding vehicles.“In case of violation of speedlimit that is 120 km for cars and100 km for other vehicles,automatic challan would begenerated and the violator will

have to pay the fine at the exitgate,” he said.

Also, he said an ambulancevehicle will be available atevery 25 km and in case of anyemergency, commuters canalso call on helpline number1033 for quick action.

The NHAI has also con-structed replica of 36 monu-ments, representing the entirenation. Some of the thesemonuments are JaliyawalaBagh, Ashoka Chakra,Gateway of India, Lal Quila,India Gate and Hawa Mahal.Petrol pumps, restaurants,shops, motels and rest roomsare among other facilities thatare being developed, the offi-cial said.

The official said 2, 60,296trees have been planted out ofwhich avenue plantation is 1,87,510 and median plantationis 72,786. “The plantation hasbeen done in such a way thatafter every km the colour of theflower will change,” he said.

To beautify the expressway,40 fountains have also beeninstalled on interchanges, tollplazas and bridges.

From Page 1

“It was clear from his com-ments and writing that he wasno longer in the BJP. The partygave him a lot of respect andimportant positions but hisconduct has been improper.His comments sounded morelike that of a Congress leader orsomebody working at the

behest of the opposition party,”BJP spokesperson and nation-al media head Anil Balunisaid.

In his inaugural speechformer bureaucrat Sinha saidhis heart beats for the nationand would not sit idle when thecountry is under threat.

“If we remain silent today,the coming generation willnever forgive us,” he said andstressed on the need for a bigmovement once again fromBihar to save democracy.

He accused the Centre ofshortening Parliament sessionsand even alleged that theBudget Session was washedout in a planned mannerbecause the Government want-ed this only escape a no confi-dence motion.

“The Centre had plannedthe disruption and it had noconcern for the situation. Hadit been serious, the PM shouldhave invited leaders of all theparties for talks. But he did notbecause he was happy that theparliament was not running,”he alleged.

Similarly, he went on, thejudiciary and ElectionCommission besides Centralagencies like CBI, NIA, ED, I-T were working selectively at

the instigation of the Centre.The media, he alleged, was onlyconcealing the truth and in TVdebates and participants arebeing decided by those in thepower.

Leaders of different par-ties, including RJD’s TejashwiPrasad Yadav, Sanjay Singhand Ashutosh of AAP, DineshTrivedi of TMC, RenukaChoudhary of the Congressand others were present. Alsopresent was BJP’s Patna SahibMP Shatrughan Sinha who isa close confidant of Sinha.

Shatrughan though didnot announce quitting BJP hemade caustic remarks againstthe party leadership. He saidon several occasions there hadbeen talks that party wouldtake action against him but itfailed to do so. In a threaten-ing tone he said, “If partytakes action (against me) therewill be reaction (from thepublic).

The cine star of yesteryearsquestioned the victory of BJPin Gujarat Assembly polls andsaid questions were raised if theparty won because of EVM orother factors.

He said once he was beingthe star campaigner but wasnot invited in Bihar elections

and people taught a bitter les-son to the party, Similarly inUP and other States election hewas ignored.

“I did not join the party toleave it. Time and again I saidthe BJP is my first and last partybut if they want to oust me theyare free to do but at their ownrisk. If they want to close thechapter they should do it quick-ly,” said the Shotgun.

But he added, “I will main-tain discipline until I am in theparty.” He said no individual orparty is bigger than the nationand that he was not scared ofanybody. “What I am saying isnot a revolt against any partybut it is in the larger interest ofthe nation,” he added.

Leader of Opposition inBihar Assembly Tejashwi saidhis father Lalu Prasad hadsaid in 2014 that if Modibecame PM the countrywould disintegrate and nowthe BJP is doing the samething. He alleged that series ofcommunal riots broke out inBihar during and after RamNavmi because the social dis-turbances had been plannedduring the two week longstay of RSS chief MohanBhagwat in Bihar just beforethe festival.

From Page 1

“The domestic prey avail-able to the leopard is six timeshigher than wild prey in thestudy area. This implies thatleopards are feeding on what-ever is more available to themand not necessarily choosingdomestic prey over wild prey”said Kshettry.

The collaborative studybetween WCS -India Program,National Centre for BiologicalSciences, Foundation ofEcological Research Advocacyand Learning, Idea Wild, theRufford Foundation and West

Bengal Forest Department alsonoted that the anthropogenicfood resource allows carni-vores like leopards to persist intea-estates and non-forestedareas in the landscape.

However, losses to peopledue to livestock kills can befatal to the leopards in the formof conflicts.

“While on one hand, thereis great scope for the persis-tence of large cats in densehuman-use landscapes due tothe availability of domesticprey, on the other hand, thestudy highlights the problemsof livestock loss especially to

poorer sections of the societywhich need to be reconciled forachieving long-term and sus-tainable conservation goals,”said the researchers.

The habitat of this regionused to consist of moist decid-uous and Sal forests whichwere converted to tea planta-tions by the Britishers duringthe colonial period in the late1800s. The forests occur inGorumara National Park andterritorial forests of JalpaiguriDivision. Now, tea gardenscover a large part of the areawith more than 70 tea estatesin the district.

���������������� ���������� �������������� ��������������� �!����"# ���������������������������

��������������������������3�������������������

+����6������������������������6�����M

&���� �/�-��(��

Amild tremor measuring 3.7on the Richter scale was felt

in parts of south Gujarat,including Bharuch and Suratdistricts, though no damagewas reported, officials said.

The quake was recorded ataround 4:56 pm, officials said.

“An earthquake measuring3.7 on the Richter scale wasrecorded with its epicentrelocated 38 kilometres EastSouth East of Bharuch,” said anofficial of the Gandhinagar-based Institute of SeismologicalResearch (ISR).

Bharuch Collector RaviArora said that no damagewas reported due to the quake.

“The earthquake was ofminor intensity and no damagehas been reported. People feltmild tremors,” he said.

:�������������+1; �<������������������ ���4�/����

&���� (-��.+

Ending suspense over con-testing from a second con-

stituency, Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah would file hisnomination from Badami innorth Karnataka on April 24for the May 12 assembly polls.

Siddaramaiah has beenmaintaining that his desire wasto contest fromChamundeshwari in Mysurubut he was under pressure fromlocal party leaders to be in thefray from Badami, as it wouldboost the Congress' prospects innorth Karnataka. The chief

minister would file his papers onApril 24 between 2 and 3 pm,officials at the CM's office said.

Earlier an official tour pro-gramme circulated by the chiefminister's office had saidSiddaramaiah would file hisnomination from Badami onApril 23 afternoon but it waswithdrawn, deepening the sus-pense.Siddaramaiah, who hasalready filed his nominationfrom Chamundeshwari con-stituency in Mysuru, has beensaying he was under pressurefrom local party leaders inBagalkote and Vijayapura dis-tricts to contest from Badami but

would leave the final decision tothe Congress highcommand.Siddaramaiah hasbeen camping in Mysuru sinceMonday.He has dedicated hisentire schedule for campaign-ing in Chamundeshwari andVaruna, constituencies fromwhere he and his son Yatindraare candidates respectively.Hereturned to Bengaluru today.

Siddaramaiah restrictinghis campaign to two con-stituencies has fuelled specu-lations that he was unhappythat the party central leadershiphad not allowed him to contestfrom two constituencies.

&�����3����������������3���������������

�(/)�� �-���-./0

The Congress on Saturday hit back atUnion Minister Arun Jaitley over his

remarks terming the impeachment move ofOpposition members as a “revenge petition”,saying it is important to be “right” than tobe on the “right side of powers”.

In a series of tweets, CongressCommunications incharge Randeep SinghSurjewala said that UPA government had fol-lowed the constitutional procedure under theJudges Inquiry Act for removal of JusticeSourmitra Sen of Calcutta High Court andattached a video showing Jailtey supportingthe impeachment move.

“Mr. Jaitley, when you argued for theimpeachment of Justice Sen, no one accusedyou of 'revenge politics'. Instead the UPAGovernment followed the Constitutional pro-cedure under the Judges Inquiry Act. It seemsyour stand on the matter is this,” he said refer-ring to the video.

In another tweet, Surjewala referred toJaitley's reaction to the Supreme Court in2015 striking down National Judicial Appointments Commission(NJAC) Act.

“Mr. Jaitley, it's important to be 'right'then to be on 'right side of powers'. Time tojog your memory. If MPs follow aConstitutional process of impeachment, it is'politics of revenge'. If Jaitelyji calls SupremeCourt decision as a 'tyranny of the unelect-ed', it is a valid opinion,” he said.

7�����������!�������������<����<����=�!�

�(/)�� �-���-./0

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu,who is examining an impeachment notice

against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, islearnt to have asked the Secretariat of the upperhouse of Parliament to see if there is a prece-dent on Opposition members giving out detailsof such a motion to the media before it is exam-ined.

Informed sources said that Naidu was nothappy with the way the opposition parties hadstraightway gone to the media after submittingtheir impeachment motion to him.

They said details had been given to themedia even before a decision was taken on itby the presiding officer of the upper house.

The sources said that Naidu has asked theRajya Sabha Secretary General to look for prece-dent, if any, on the said issue.

Sixty-four members of the Rajya Sabhabelonging to seven parties led by the Congresson Friday submitted the impeachment motionfor the removal of the Chief Justice on fivegrounds of “misbehaviour”.

The motion was signed by 71 MPs, butseven have since retired before it was submit-ted to the Rajya Sabha Chair. Besides theCongress, those who signed the motion includemembers of the Samajwadi Party, BSP, CPI-M,CPI, NCP and IUML. Nominated member KTS.Tulsi also signed.This is the first time animpeachment motion has been brought againsta Chief Justice of India.The motion lists fivecharges against the CJI.

0����=������$8 .����������$ ������������� �� ��������

��� ��!���"����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

&/)�� �-���-./0

Maintaining that participa-tory democracy is a must

for the development of thenation, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Saturdayasked civil servants to make thebest of innovation and tech-nology in implementingGovernment policies.

Addressing bureaucrats atthe conclusion of the two-dayCivil Services Day function, thePrime Minister said the admin-istration’s aim in the pre-Independence era was to keepthe Englishman safe, but todayit has to ensure that a commonman is provided relief.

He stressed the need forstrategic thinking in imple-menting Government policies,and also asked bureaucrats toput to use innovation and tech-nology which can becomeadditional strength.

He said “Janbhagidari”(people’s participation) is acornerstone of the success of a

country such as India.The Prime Minister said

priority should be given topeople’s interests during for-

mulation of policies or newlaws.

Earlier, he released twobooks — “New Pathways”, acompilation of success storieson implementation of identi-fied Priority Programmes andInnovations and “AspirationalDistricts: Unlocking Potentials”— an account of strategies fortransforming aspirational dis-tricts.

He also conferred “Awardsfor Excellence in PublicAdministration” for effectiveimplementation of identifiedPriority Programs andInnovation to districts andimplementing units, and othercentral and state organisationsat the function. The awardshave been instituted toacknowledge, recognise andreward the exemplary work forpeople’s welfare by districtsand organisations of the centraland State Governments.

“Motivation is alwaysessential for better perfor-mance,” the Prime Ministersaid after giving away theawards to civil servants.

5�/,,�(�&(/$,7�� 31;<��(�R��+H(��.��-�/I

Days after the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)

signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Bangladesh, laying out theframework for the voluntary repatriationof Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, near-ly 11 lakh refugees based in Cox’s Bazaarfor close to a year now have mixed feel-ings. Though eager to go back to their vil-lages that have been razed to ground now,the fear of violence, rape and murder holdsthem back.

In the refugee camp number 3 ofKutupalong, the Rohingya refugees toldThe Pioneer that they want their rights andsecurity assured on return. “Life in campis good. We are well taken care of. But thereis nothing like your own home. We wantto go back. We miss life in Burma.

But we can return only when ourrights are given,” said Haidaya Tulla ofDaksho village in Rakhine province ofMyanmar. “I was teaching in madarsa inMyanmar and life was going on. But thingschanged when atrocities by Myanmarsecurity began. There was so much fearand violence that we had to flee. And evenwhile we were fleeing we were attacked. Iescaped bullets and somehow managed toreach Bangladesh even as we saw rapes andmurders all around us,” said 30-year-oldHabibullah from Mandu area of Rakhine.

It is the women who are more scaredto return without assurances and propersecurity. Newly married 20-year-old

Rehana Khatun (name changed) wasraped while her husband axed to death infront of her. She had no choice but to fleefor the fear of being made sexual slave.

In the camp for last seven months nowshe is trying to pick up pieces.

She is learning stitching at the camp'svocational training centre and hopes tostart afresh some time soon. “I cannotreturn to be raped again. That day stillhaunts me. How can I go back withoutbeing assured of safety?,” Rehana said.

Madina, 40-year-old, claimed herneighbour Fatima was raped by theMyanmar Army and local police when theethnic cleansing began. “I have young

daughters and I fear for their safety. Thescenes of rape, torture, arson and violenceis still fresh. I cannot think of going backin the same circumstances,” Madina said.30-year-old Mumtaz Begum’s 60-year-old mother-in-law was hacked to deathforcing her to flee with her husband andeight children.

The NGOs working with theserefugees at the camp said that the childrenand women were the most traumatisedwhen they came to these camps last yearbut they are stable now.

Shamimul Huq Pavel, camp inchargeat Kutupalong, said that repatriation toMyanmar has to be voluntary and no onewill be forced out of Bangladesh. “Everyonewants to return to their homes unless theyare harmed. They do not want to go theway they came,” said Pavel.

Life in the camp is comfortable and therefugees have been flooded with interna-tional aid. Many are taking up small jobsin the camps and the Cox’s Bazaar citywhile some are making quick money byselling away the extra food they have gotfrom aid agencies to local market.

Almost everyone said that they are sav-ing to start afresh in Myanmar wheneverthey return.

However, the fact remains that lasttime in 1971 when a similar exodus hap-pened, less than half returned to Myanmarwhile rest ended up staying back in vari-ous countries where they had taken refuge.“I hope we get to return. There is nothinglike your own place,” said Kamal Hussain,30, who had a ration shop in Myanmar.

%�������������������������4�������������������(��3��

(*.(-('��-+'()�� �-���-./0

With nine States and UnionTerritory of Puducherry

still to appoint a Lokayukta, theSupreme Court has set a dead-line of July 10 for the default-ing regimes to submit compli-ance by appointing the anti-corruption ombudsman expe-ditiously.

The bench of JusticesRanjan Gogoi and RBanumathi failed to see anyreason in the long list of excus-es produced by the counselsappearing for the States/UTswho were directed by the Courton March 23 to appear andsubmit reasons for not appoint-ing Lokayukta as per the man-date required under Section 63of the Lokpal and LokayuktaAct 2013. The issue of delay byStates/UTs was highlighted byadvocate Ashwini Upadhyay ina PIL filed by him.

The States asked to fall inline include Tamil Nadu,Odisha, West Bengal,Telangana, Jammu & Kashmir,Arunachal Pradesh,Meghalaya, Mizoram,Nagaland, besides the UT ofPuducherry. In respect of threeStates, namely Tamil Nadu,

Odisha and Manipur, the courtdirected the Chief Secretary tofile affidavit of compliance.The State of Tripura informedthe court that a former judge ofCalcutta High Court wasappointed as Lokayukta for athree-year term beginningApril 27, 2017.

Hearing the erring Statesindividually, the Bench notedthat while some States hadshown some compliance bytaking steps for appointingLokayukta, there were otherswho made lame excuses tocover their inaction. Forinstance, Tamil Nadu informedthe court that the State wasawaiting the establishment of aLokpal at the Centre and wouldappoint Lokayukta only then in

order to avoid repugnancywith the Central Act. In thealternate, the State argued thatfor the present, the work of theLokayukta is being carried outby the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Directorate of theGovernment of Tamil Naduthat has an Inquiry Wing andProsecution Wing, as envisagedunder the 2013 Act.

The Bench observed, “Wedo not see what relevance theconstitution of the VigilanceCommisson and its function-ing would have on the neces-sity of having the institution ofLokayukta…stand taken byTamil Nadu with regard toestablishment of institution ofLokayukta (pending appoint-ment of Lokpal at Centre) is

not acceptable.”In the case of Odisha, the

Bench noted that despite theOdisha Lokayukta Act 2014being in force since January 16,2015, steps for framing OdishaSearch Committee Rules arestill underway. The post ofLokayukta has remained vacantsince January 22, 2013. TheBench directed, “the State shalltake immediate steps forappointment of Lokayuktawhich process shall be com-pleted at the earliest.” In WestBengal too, the judges werecritical of the State’s stand tokeep the post of Lokayuktavacant pending review of pro-visions of the West BengalLokayukta Act 2003 and direct-ed State to ensure compliancebefore July 10.

The States of Telangana,Mizoram, and Meghalaya sub-mitted that the process ofLokayukta appointment willbe over by July 1 this year.Nagaland recently enacted theNagaland Lokayukta Act thatcame into force on January 31,2018. The States of ArunachalPradesh, Manipur, J&K andUT of Puducherry weredirected to appoint Lokayuktaat the earliest.

%����"�������0�������" ����.�����$�������� ������3����$� ������ ���2������������ ������.�������������������������������>�������%��������������%������"�����?���@ /��� �2������$�����.���� ������.��2��.����3�$ %� ������ �

"������� �������� ����� ���������9%"� �����&/)�� �-���-./0

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj is on a six-

day visit to China andMongolia from April 21-26. InChina, Swaraj will attend theShanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) summitscheduled for April 24 apartfrom holding bilateral discus-sions with her Chinese coun-terpart Wang Yi on Sunday.

Her visit will also prepareground for a proposed bilater-al tour of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to China, datesfor which are still being workedout. In addition to this Modiwill in June attend the SCOheads of the state meeting inChina's Qingdao.

Swaraj's visit to Mongolia isfor bilateral talks with hercounterpart DamdinTsogtbaatar. This will be EAM'sfirst visit to Mongolia. The last

visit of Indian External AffairsMinister to Mongolia was 42years ago. During her visit,Swaraj will co-chair the 6thround of India-Mongolia JointConsultative Committee(IMJCC) meeting withTsogtbaatar, covering a range ofissues including, inter alia,political, strategic, economic,educational and cultural ties.The last meeting of IMJCC washeld in New Delhi in 2016.

In Mongolia Swaraj willalso deliver the keynote addressat the Kushok Bakula BirthCentenary Celebrations inUlaanbaatar commemoratingthe birth anniversary of LateVenerable Kushok BakulaRinpoche, a highly reveredBuddhist leader and monkfrom Ladakh, India and a for-mer Ambassador of India toMongolia, Ministry of ExternalAffairs said in a statement.

��������#����$��%��%�&'��()*�%�(����&'+�*�+&,���� ���/ ��!�+���� !

' ��@��� �"��������� ���� �����

�@�� ����

?����=������ ����N(������� �>���������

�,)��.�5()����� (-��.+

As the May 12 KarnatakaAssembly polls are fast

approaching to decide the fateof both the ruling Congress andthe challenging OppositionBJP, many in the corridor ofpower think that the gambleand so-called masterstroke tosplit Lingayats andVeerashaivas and accordminority status may not yieldany results.

It was Siddaramaiah whoplayed this card very well andCongress thought the divisionof Lingayats would break theBJP’s Lingayat vote bank. But asenior Congress party leader onthe condition of anonymitysaid “the decision of bySiddaramaiah will not benefitthe Congress but to them(Lingayats) in many ways. Istrongly feel this decision of theCongress will not yield any

results as they vote solidly toBJP”. “They (BJP) also stillhave the advantage of Modiwhich is a reality. We might getsome percentage of this votesbut it is already there,” headded. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will tourKarnataka and is expected tocampaign for the party vigor-ously.

Siddaramaiah in his cleverpolitical maneuvers ahead ofpolls on March 19th took a his-toric decision to splitVeerashaivas and Lingayats,the followers of 12th centurysocial reformer Basavanna.Even though the demand forthe separate religion status wasvery old Siddaramaiah thoughtit would help him and hisparty consolidate and decidedto split the community andaccord a separate status tothem. Officially the decision isstill pending with the central

government for its approval. However a senior Congress

leader and MLC MohanKondajji strongly argues andsays that the decision of theChief Minister to divideLingayats will certainly havepositive impact on the centu-ry old party.

He said “ I am sure thedecision to accord minority sta-tus to Lingayats will haveimpact and we are going toform the Government. ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah onlyhelped the long pendingdemands of the community fora separate religion status.”

Lingayat constitutesaround 17 to 19 percent of thepopulation in Karnataka andthis community has alwaysbeen in support of nonCongress Government inKarnataka. According to somereports the community feelsthat the deacon will not hold

good and it is only an electiongimmick by the Congress party.They also feel that the benefitsout of this status will not beseen till the centre clears. Thecommunity is also confusedabout the decision and findsthis vague ahead of polls.

Chief Minister

Siddaramaiah’s decision tobring his son Dr. Yathindra apolitical novice to contest fromChamundeshwari constituencyfrom Mysuru and his decisionto contest from two con-stituencies have upset the partyinsiders.

Meanwhile report suggests

that the left of the dalits areupset with the party as manyhave not been accommodatedin the congress list. This mightpose a tough posture to theparty as in many constituenciesthey are deciding factor.

However another Congressleader said the pro active socialwelfare schemes doled out bySiddaramaiah to the poorersection has changed the

dynamics and this might helpthe government to fight antiincumbency.

Meanwhile in Mysuru inhis lengthy address to themedia before filing his nom-ination papers Siddaramaiahsaid that the party’s victory inKarnataka would foretell itswin in the 2019 general elec-tions. Siddaramaiah said thatthe Congress had succeededin fulfilling all the 165 promis-es it had made in the mani-festo, after coming to powerfive years ago. The Congresshad won 122 seats in theassembly elections in 2013.

He said that he had foundno signs of anti-incumbencyduring the state-wide tour.“We explain developmentprogrammes initiated in thepast five years without mak-ing any personal attacks, butBJP leaders including PrimeMinister are making baseless

allegations. So, I had to makea few political statementsagainst them since remainingsilent would have sent awrong message to the people,”the CM said.

Charging BJP leaders ofindulging in ‘ugly politics’, theCM said that he was a betterHindu than those in the saffronparty since he believed inhumanitarian values.

“Hindus and Muslimsdied in Dakshina Kannada,but the BJP leaders visited thehomes of only Hindu vic-tims. BS Yeddyurappa is vis-iting homes of Dalits forbreakfast, which is an electiongimmick.

He never visited homes ofDalits, when he was the CM.The Indian Constitution hasabolished untouchability, butBJP leaders are humiliatingDalits by visiting their homes,”Siddaramaiah said.

-�*'���-���)���+-7������������(������������������!�����6��������3���8

��'(.��-, (&&(/�� 3/-���0

Young entrepreneurs fromChennai who had gath-

ered in Puducherry under theauspices of the Confederationof Indian Industries (CII) werein for a different experience onSaturday morning as they gota hands-on session on how tokeep city environment clean.

What made the experi-ence unique was the personwho taught them the nuancesof clean environment. KiranBedi, the Lieutenant Governorof Puducherry, interacted withthe 50 young representatives ofthe CII’s Chennai Chapter andexplained them how to pool intheir energy and efficiency intree plantation, cleanliness andhealth services and how toamalgamate them.

The boulevard in theUnion Territory has become apride of the local communityand this was made possibleonly after Bedi’s taking over asthe Lieutenant Governor,

pointed out one of the resi-dents. The CII team was inPuducherry as part of leader-ship and life skill orientationtraining programme. OnSaturday morning, Bedi asked

them to join her in her routineweekend City Swachh CycleRally and the youngsters read-ily accepted the invitation.

The sight of the first citizenof the union territory cyclingalong with her officials and theyoungsters took travellers to thecity by surprise. “For us, it hasbecome a routine affair sinceshe took over as Governor,” saidMuthu Kumar, a farmer livingin the suburbs. He pointed outthat the union territory spots aclean look because of Bedi.“She is strict as well as humane.I have seen her teaching sani-tary workers how to clean thegarbage and remove themwithout causing disturbanceto the people,” said Kumar.

During the cycle rally, Bediwas seen instructing thePuducherry Municipal

Commissioner to keep nameboards for all streets and clearthe garbage heaped at some ofthe street corners. “This is thefirst time in my four decades ofpublic life that I am seeing apro-active lieutenant gover-nor. She made Puducherryneat and clean. There is nowater logging as all thedrainages are cleaned up. Shepersonally directed the wholework and it was a new experi-ence for us, the local popula-tion,” said V Saminathan, MLA.

Saturday’s one hour bicyclerally with Kiran Bedi helped theyoung members of the CII tounderstand the degree of clean-liness of the city. “This is amass-ing and I have never knew thatcities could be maintained cleanlike this,” one of the youth washeard telling Bedi. “We are

happy that the youths from theCII were enthused and enlight-ened because of the hour-longcycle rally. They will be takinghome some good lessons theylearnt from here,” said one of theofficials who accompanied thegovernor in her 153rd cycle rally.

Interestingly, Bedi hastransformed Puducherry inspite of a running battle withthe Congress-led governmentof Chief Minister VNarayanasamy. The adminis-tration of union territory isalways seen creating stumblingblocks in all the projects under-taken by Bedi and the SwachhBharat initiative was not anexception. The Congress unitof the UT under the patronageof the Chief Minister leaves noopportunity to ridicule andtaunt Bedi.

��������������,4A���� ��������������%��������$

%��������<��0���� .����������������� � �������� ���� ����� � ���.��2��.����3�$��0��3���� �2������$ %�

�����A�����������'6+���$�������$ �2������$������ ������%��������$%� ������ �

(����������������������� ")��">��������������������������������� ����������������������!�����������������:7�������;�<������������������

>������1����������(������������������

�������.����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

+',.�1(.++I�� /K�-+�(��

The bitter faction feud in CPIMarxist seems to have

come to an end with the 22ndCongress of the Party passingthe political resolution keepingthe option of an understandingwith the Indian NationalCongress party. However theresolution ruled out any elec-toral alliance with the party.

The question and nature ofrelations with the Congress inthe fight against the rulingBJP had become the subjectedof a bitter tug of war betweenthe group led by party generalsecretary Sitaram Yechuri andthe group loyal to the formergeneral secretary Prakah Karat.

Finally Yechuri gained anupper hand when at the end ofthe prolonged debate on thedraft political resolution, theheads of as many as 16 stateunits demanded a secret balloton various amendments.

Finally both the groupagreed on a middle path and

some crucial amendments tothe draft late in the night. Themost crucial amendment wasto keep the doors open for anunderstanding with theCongress in future.

On the need for fightingand defeating the BJP, the orig-inal draft had said, “howeverthis has to be done withouthaving an understanding orelectoral alliance with theCongress party”.

After the amendment wasadopted, it reads, “But this hasto be done without having apolitical alliance with theCongress”. Another new clauseto the resolution stated,“However there can be anunderstanding with all the sec-ular opposition parties includ-ing the Congress in Parliamenton agreed issues. Outside par-liament we should cooperatewith all secular Oppositionforces for a broad mobilisationof people against communal-ism. We should foster jointactions of class and mass

organisations in such a mannerthat can draw in the masses fol-lowing the Congress party andother bourgeois parties”.

After the political resolu-tion was passed SitaramYechuri stressed the need forthe unity in the party. Speakingto the media he said, “we areproud of the CPIM. It is theonly party in India today whichcan undertake such a democ-ratic exercise to decide itsfuture direction. We are allagreed that our main fight isagainst the BJP/RSS and todefeat the government”.

Prakash Karat summingup the discussions on the res-olution said that it wasunprecedented that two viewswere put before the partyCongress. “The CentralCommittee decided that sincethis is a political issue it shouldbe decided in the highest bodyof the party-the partyCongress”, he said.

&/)�� .39�1��

Taking his party’s fight to theCongress bastion, BJP pres-

ident Amit Shah held a publicrally in Rae Bareli on Saturday

and asserted that the BJP wouldfree Rae Bareli and Amethi ofthe ‘family rule’.

“Rahul Gandhi must saysorry to Hindus for labelingthem terrorists. In pursuit of

vote bank politics, theCongress coined the phraseof ‘Hindu terror’ and tried toimplicate some Hinduactivists in the Meccas Masjidblast case in Hyderabad overa decade ago. The Congresschief owes them an apologyafter the court verdict onMecca Masjid blast case,’’saidShah while addressing a`Parivartan rally’ at te GICground at Rae Bareli.

Though the BJP made arecord haul across the state in2014 Lok Sabha elections, itlost Rae Bareli and Amethi toCongress.

Shah’s efforts in RaeBareli, which include meet-ings with party workers toreview the BJP’s preparednessfor 2019 general elections,seem to be an effort to wrestRae Bareli and Amethi fromthe Congress.

At the rally, Shah alsoreferred to the upcomingKarnataka Assembly poll onMay 15, and confidentlyopined that the saffron partywould put up a good show

there. “The BJP is ruling in 20

states. Wait till May 15,Karnataka will be the 21st stateunder BJP rule. I have justreturned from the southernstate and the mood is clearly infavour of the BJP,” Shah assert-ed.

Saturday’s rally saw BJPleaders relentlessly criticisingCongress for failing to doenough for Rae Bareli andAmethi constituencies.“Congress fooled the people inthe name of development. Itwas the Modi government thatpushed development in UttarPradesh and Rae Bareli,” Shahsaid at the rally.

The BJP chief stressed thatthe people of Rae Bareli sentseveral ‘big leaders’ to Delhi,but they did not ensure anydevelopment to the area. “RaeBareli has witnessed ‘Parivaarvaad’ (dynasty rule)and not `Vikaasvaad’ (devel-opment) right since indepen-dence,” Shah said.

Shah harped on a slew ofschemes that the governmentimplemented for Uttar Pradesh.

“Yogi Adityanth restoredlaw and order situation inUttar Pradesh, which was ear-lier notorious for goons andguns. Besides, the CM also

managed to make the state to‘pothole free’,” Shah said.

Referring to the minor firethat broke out at the rallyvenue, Shah said, “When some-thing big is about to happensome obstacles do come in theway.”

In his address, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath saidthat despite winning theParliamentary seats numeroustimes, the Congress failed toensure development in RaeBareli and Amethi.

“People of Rae Bareli andAmethi have only sufferedunder the Congress. BothSonia Gandhi and RahulGandhi should apologise to the

BJP chief for their baselessallegations against him in theJustice Loya case,’’ said theChief Minister.

“The BJP government inthe state is working on the‘sankalp ‘ (pledge) of ensuringavailability of power and waterand construction of betterroads in villages. When the

Congress was in power, theynever feel it necessary to beanswerable to anyone,” saidYogi.

Congress MLC DineshPratap Singh who hopped overto the BJP atthe rally, said thathe was forced to leave theparty as it was being run like aprivate limited company.

“The Gandhis have noconcern for development of theregion. They are only interest-ed in doing politics of vestedinterest,” he alleged.

Singh said that develop-ment could only take place withthe help of the BJP and that waswhy his family decided to jointhe party.

3�����%�����2������������������� � A7%���������?���2���������������� ������%�����������"�������@ ��?���$������������$��<��A����� �2������$ %�

&/)�� .39�1��

Aminor fire broke out at thevenue of BJP’s Parivartan

rally which was adressed by BJPpresident Amit Shah and ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath atGIC ground in Rae Bareli onSaturday.

Shah and Yogi Ministerwere present on the dais at thetime of the incident and stateBJP chief Mahendra NathPandey was addressing thecrod when smoke and sparkswere noticed. The programmewas stopped for a while du tothe eventuality.

The fire that broke outclose to the media enclosure,triggered panic and commo-tion among the audience. Butit was brought under control ina short time and the cause issaid to be an electrical short-circuit.

After the fire was doused,Shah and Yogi addressed therally. Referring to the inci-dent, while Yogi blamed theCongress, Shah said that theincident was a positive sign forsomething about to happen innear future.

*��������!����������<���������?�����<����������

���<������� %����������@����������?

&/)�� .39�1�

Uttar Pradesh Congresschallenged MLC Dinesh

Pratap Singh, who hoppedover to the BJP on Saturday,to resign from the Counciland contest election on a BJPticket.

“After getting everythingfrom the Congress includingthe MLC’s post, if DineshPratap Singh is claiming thatthe party did nothing for himor his family, then he and hisfamily members must resignand contest election on BJPtickets,” asserted Congressspokesman, Zeeshan Haider.

Haider was reacting to theCongress MLC leaving theparty and joining BJP in pres-ence of party president AmitShah at Rae Bareli on Saturdayafternoon.

Haider claimed that Singhmade tall claims of showing hisstrength in Shah’s rally but thetruth of his support in the con-stituency was exposed as just afew hundred persons were seenattending the BJP rally andmost of the seats were vacant.

The Congress spokesmanalso targeted Shah and ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath.“Shah should appologise for

hurting public sentimentsclaiming that UP was knownfor goons and gangsters beforethe BJP took over in 2017,” saidHaider.

Without taking names, healso alleged that a person whohimself had a criminal pastalways spoke of goons andgangsters.

The spokesman also took adig at Yogi claiming that theCM made tall claims of pro-viding 24-hour power supplybut the truth was that powerfailed during Yogi’s function inAmethi on Saturday afternoon.

Haider said that the peopleof Amethi and Rae Bareli werelike family to the Gandhi fam-ily and they would teach abefitting lesson to Shah, Yogiand Dinesh Pratap Singh bydefeating BJP candidates in2019 Parliament polls.

!�������������(6! �����������������+-7������

&/)�� ���/0���+

On Saturday AhmedabadCrime Branch officials

handed over Prime accused inkidnapping, rape and murdercase of 12-year-old girl to SuratPolice.

The crime branch person-nel nabbed Harsh Surai fromGanganagar district of neigh-bouring Rajasthan on Friday.He was brought in fromRajasthan to Ahmedabad.During interrogation he con-fessed to his crime.

“The accused had broughtthe girl and her mother fromRajasthan to Surat andpromised them shelter andthen committed rape on both,mother and daughter. Initiallyhe had killed the mother, whowent missing around March 20.

�4����������������������������������������� $������ ������ ���

!���������������������������

�/�.(0-�/(�-(�� ��(�0

In a jolt to incarcerated under-world gangster Abu Salem,

the Konkan divisional com-missionerate on Saturdayrejected his application seekinga 45-day parole to get marriedfor the second time.

Fifty-year-old Salem, whois serving life imprisonment inthe 1993 Mumbai sertial blastscase at the Taloja Central Jail,had made an application to thejail authorities for a 45-dayparole for entering into a wed-lock with 28-year-old SayedBahar Kausar alias Heena onMay 5 under the SpecialMarriages Act, 1954.

In his application, Salemhad stated that he was behindthe bars for the past 12 years,3 months and 14 days and hadneither availed parole or fur-lough during the entire period.

Having received Salem’sapplication from the Taloja jailauthorities on March 27, theKonkan DivisionalCommissioner had sought areport from the Thane police tocheck on the information pro-vided by the gangster and theantecedents of Heena’s family.

Among other things, Salemhad stated in his applicationthat he would stay at Heena’sresidence at Mumbra in Thanedistrict, during the parole peri-od.

Mohammed RafiqueSayyed and Abdul RazakMemon, who are ostensibly thecousins, had stood guarantorfor the gangster.

Apart from recording thestatements of Sayyed, the policerecorded the statements ofHeena and her mother at theMumbra police station, whichthe Thane PoliceCommissionerate incorporat-ed in its report submitted to theKonkan DivisionalCommissioner.

After pursuing the reportsubmitted by the Thane police,the Konkan DivisionalCommissionerate also exam-ined other issues relating to thegrant of parole or otherwise toSalem. The division authoritiesfinally rejected Salem’s Paroleapplication.

Official sources said thatone of the grounds cited for therejection of Salem’s applicationwas that under the revisedparole rules of the Maharashtragovernment in 2016, the paroleapplications made by the con-victs serving sentences for seri-ous offences like terror-murdercharges can be rejected by theauthorities concerned.

Salem, who was amongthe seven accused tried in thesecond phase of bomb blaststrial, was extradited to Indiaalong with his girl friendMonica Bedi on November11, 2005, after a prolonged legalprocess in Portugal lastingthree years.

��'(.��-, (&&(/�� 3/-���0

In a move which took TamilNadu politics by surprise,

Governor Banwarilal Purohitturned the tables on MK Stalin,the DMK working president,who has been clamouring withthe Centre demanding the dis-missal of the former.

“He has his own agenda; Ihave no objections,” GovernorPurohit told the reporter of apro-CPI(M) newspaper in anexclusive interview. This is thefirst time in Tamil Nadu’s polit-ical history, the executive headof the State has come out in theopen and lambasted his critics.

Stalin has been calling forthe dismissal of GovernorPurohit alleging that he was

interfering in the State admin-istration and appointing vice-chancellors to the Universitiesin the State on his own andbringing in non-Tamils as ViceChancellors.

“Governor is the ExecutiveHead of the State. I thought Ishould know about TamilNadu, its culture, geography,rivers, industries, farmers andliving conditions. I have toknow the potential and scopeas the executive head .

It is not possible withoutpersonally visiting the places.In the meetings, there are 25 to30 officials involving keydepartments. I get first handinformation from them. I don’tscold them, I don’t find mis-takes, I don’t take action. Thenhow can you say I interfere,”the Governor asked thereporter.

Purohit also made it clearthat Stalin could easily verifywith officials like district col-lectors or superintendents ofpolice or the 300 officers whohad attended his meetings.

/�������)���&���3������������������3����� �������������

������� ��������#-:����:�� *��������������*��!��

��������:��� ������/7������������� ��<�������� ��������

4�������������������<>!O�?����

%�� ���!���/��0�1����

��//� ����!�������2#��������!���31� � ���������� ��!4� ������������

���0�� ����� 5��0�!6�������/!���������

4��/��3

����@�@�����(���� ���. ��* ���������

��"��� ����������0 ����� ���� �������������� ��� ���������#������

��)� �!�7#�� ��$������&� � @�)��#�������� ���#�*2&�����:�9

8,,)-(/�-(�$,.�

Chhattisgarh Rural Roads Development AgencyVIKASH BHAVAN, CIVIL LINES, RAIPUR (C.G.)

E-Procurement Tender Notice

NIT No. 303 /CE/TECH./CGRRDA/2018 Dated 19/04/2018

The Superintending Engineer / Convener (Tender Cell), CGR-RDA on behalf ot Governor of Chhattisgarh invites the percent-age rate bids on SOR of PMGSY 22/02/2018 amended till date inelectronic tendering system for construction of roads under PradhanMantri Gram Sadak Yojana PMGSY Batch-1 Year 2018-19 for the dis-trict of Bijapur of 120 number of roads with 40 Package, Length521.57 Km,Total Estimated Cost of Rs 18090.95 Lacs (Including12 % G.S.T.) as per B.O.Q. including their routine maintenance forfive years from the eligible contractors registered with unified reg-istration system(e-registration). Date ot release of Invitation for Bids throughe-procurement: 28/04/2018

Availability of Bid Documents and mode of submission: The biddocument is available online and should be submitted online inhttps://eproe.cgstate.gov.in. The bidder would be required to reg-ister in the web-site which is free of cost. For submission of the bids,the bidder is required to have a valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)from one of the authorized Certifying Authorities. The bidders arerequired to submit (a) original bid security in approved form and (b)original affidavit regarding correctness of information furnished withbid document as per provisions of Clause 4.4 B (a) (ii) of ITB withSuperintending Engineer / Convener, Tender Cell, CGRRDA,Vikash Bhawan, Civil Lines, Raipur C.G. on a date not later thanthree working days after the opening of technical qualification partof the Bid, either by Speed/ Registered post, failing which the bidsshall be declared non-responsive.Last Date/ Time for receipt of bids through e-procurement as pertime schedule. For fur ther details please log on tohttps://eproc.cgstate.gov.in. In future any related corrigendumwould be seen in the notice section of the website.

Sd/-Superintem Engineer/Converner (Tender Cell)

Chhattisgarh Rural Road Development AgencyRo.No: 86328/5 Civil Lines, Raipur (C.G.)Dated. 20/4/18 E-mail: [email protected]

+�)2���*)��&'+�*)��&'+

��!� ��7��������� '������( '������ ))*�)+,-

����� ,$��/��-�/(�()*+(�)��(&)�8,*��A��#%�-�������������*���� ��������� ����"����*����� �� ���������*��!��������������������������� ������"�3" ��#������ �R"���������������+�� ��&����������"�� � ����� �$�

'(/�)-+��3()�,'�/,/�','*,.%�-('()0 J �����% �"��/������ � ���������������������*"��*�����������*�� �������� ��*��������� ������!����*"��"�������N �������������� !�� ���P ���� ����$

�+',7�','+)�($$��+�.�'&� ,0( �3+,)3 ����#��%����������������"����������������������" ����� ����* �"�=(0#���"����" ��)�����3�������� ������"����� ���������!�������* �"��"�+��� �����!���������������� ��������������"�* ���" ��* �"��*������ �����$

�/)���+/5,/,)��/�.,'+�,)3,$�)-�1(.'-+�),* �" "� �K)�����L%��"�������� ���3���� �� ������ ��� ����������������"���������"�����"����� ������*����� ���! ������������������� � � ���������"�*���������"�*��� ����� �$��"��������������"���#������ ���������������� �&������������ �����&�*�������������� ����$

(1&�� �-1.

North Korean leader KimJong Un said he would halt

nuclear tests and intercontinen-tal missile launches, in a Saturdayannouncement welcomed byUS President Donald Trumpahead of a much-anticipatedsummit between the two men.

Pyongyang’s declaration,long sought by Washington,will be seen as a crucial step inthe fast diplomatic dance onand around the Korean penin-sula. It comes less than a weekbefore the North Korean leadermeets South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in for a summit inthe Demilitarised Zone thatdivides the peninsula, ahead ofthe eagerly-awaited encounterwith Trump himself.

But Kim gave no indicationPyongyang might be willing togive up its nuclear weapons, orthe missiles with which it canreach the mainland UnitedStates. The North had success-fully developed its arsenal,including miniaturising war-heads to fit them on to missiles,Kim said, and so “no nucleartest and intermediate-rangeand inter-continental ballisticrocket test-fire are necessary forthe DPRK now”.

As such the North’s nucleartesting site was no longer need-ed, he told the central com-mittee of the ruling Workers’

Party, according to the officialKCNA news agency.

The party decided thatnuclear blasts and ICBMlaunches will cease as ofSaturday — the North has notcarried any out sinceNovember — and the atomictest site at Punggye-ri will bedismantled to “transparentlyguarantee” the end of testing.

Within minutes of thereport being issued, Trumptweeted, “This is very goodnews for North Korea and theWorld — big progress! Lookforward to our Summit.” Seoultoo welcomed the announce-ment, calling it “meaningfulprogress” towards the denu-

clearisation of the Koreanpeninsula.

But Kim offered no sign hemight be willing to give upwhat he called the North’s“treasured sword”, saying itspossession of nuclear weaponswas “the firm guarantee bywhich our descendants canenjoy the most dignified andhappiest life in the world”.

Pyongyang has made rapidtechnological progress in itsweapons programmes underKim, which has seen it sub-jected to increasingly strictsanctions by the UN SecurityCouncil, the United States, theEuropean Union, South Koreaand others.

(&�� �-�.1���+9&�3�.0=

Facebook has taken the lion’sshare of scrutiny from

Congress and the media for itsdata-handling practices thatallow savvy marketers and polit-ical agents to target specificaudiences, but it’s far from alone.

YouTube, Google andTwitter also have giant platformsawash in more videos, posts andpages than any set of humaneyes could ever check. Theirmethods of serving ads againstthis sea of content may comeunder the microscope next.

Advertising and privacyexperts say a backlash isinevitable against a “WildWest” internet that has escapedscrutiny before. There contin-ues to be a steady barrage ofnew examples where unsus-pecting advertisers had theirbrands associated with extrem-ist content on major platforms.

In the latest discovery,CNN reported that it foundmore than 300 retail brands,government agencies and tech-nology companies had their

ads run on YouTube channelsthat promoted white national-ists, Nazis, conspiracy theoriesand North Korean propaganda.

Child advocates have alsoraised alarms about the easewith which smartphone-equipped children are exposedto inappropriate videos anddeceptive advertising.

“I absolutely think thatGoogle is next and long over-due,” said Josh Golin, directorof the Boston-based Campaignfor a Commercial-FreeChildhood, which asked theFederal Trade Commission to

investigate Google-ownedYouTube’s advertising and data-collection practices earlier thismonth.

YouTube has repeatedlyoutlined the ways it attempts toflag and delete hateful, violent,sexually explicit or harmfulvideos, but its screening effortshave often missed the mark.

It also allows advertisers toavoid running ads on sensitivecontent — like news or politics— that don’t violate YouTubeguidelines but don’t fit with acompany’s brand. Those meth-ods appear to have failed.

(0,/��,)�� �(�0

Iranian President HassanRouhani said on Saturday

Iran’s atomic agency was readywith “expected and unexpect-ed” reactions if the UnitedStates pulls out of a multina-tional nuclear deal, as USPresident Donald Trump hasthreatened to do.

“Our Atomic EnergyOrganization is fully prepared... for actions that they expectand actions they do not expect,”Rouhani said without elabo-rating in a speech carried bystate television, referring to apossible decision by Trump toleave the accord next month.

The deal reached betweenIran, the United States and fiveother world powers put curbson Iran’s nuclear programme inexchange for sanctions relief.

Trump has called the

agreement one of the worstdeals ever negotiated. InJanuary he sent an ultimatumto Britain, France and Germany,saying they must agree to fixwhat the United States sees asthe deal’s flaws or he wouldrefuse to extend the critical USsanctions relief that it entails.

U.S. disarmament ambas-sador Robert Wood said onThursday Washington had beenhaving “intense” discussionswith European allies ahead ofthe May 12 deadline, when U.S.sanctions against Iran willresume unless Trump issuesnew waivers to suspend them.

Iran has said it will stick tothe accord as long as the otherparties respect it, but will“shred” the deal if Washingtonpulls out.

“Iran has several options ifthe United States leaves thenuclear deal. Tehran’s reaction

to America’s withdrawal of thedeal will be unpleasant,” Iranianstate TV quoted IranianForeign Minister MohammadJavad Zarif as saying in NewYork.

Rouhani said hisGovernment intended to pre-vent instability in the foreignexchange market after a possi-ble Washington exit from thenuclear accord when the centralbank this month slapped con-trols on markets in an attemptto unify the Iranian rial.

“This was a preventativeblow against any Americandecision on May 12. They fullyhoped to ... cause chaos in the(foreign exchange) market. Ipromise to the people that theplot of the enemy has beenthwarted, and whether or notthe nuclear deal remains ineffect, we will have no problem,”Rouhani said.

�)*�%�*�����)+��-�3, �+',)�/+.�-6)�$,��)�+/�����"�9����#������ ���� ������ ���"���*�����������"�9����#��������������� �#��������� ������������������>������� �� �����������N���� ��������������P���*�����"���������� G�� �������"��9��������� �����$���� ���� ������ � ���K����K����>�"����� �� �����������������������"���������������* ��!� �"�����"������������������������������ �!��*���������&������������������" �����$����"�9�������������9 ��)������ �����������������"�9���������� ����������)��> ������!������������� �����������=� ���� ������������� �!��*�����"��� ������ ������������� ����"������������������* �"����������$��������������� ���!��*����9 ���������� ����������������� ����� � ������ ���������)���$

&.+0.,))�*,�/0�'($,�1+.�( %��.�'&����� �������������������*������=� ����� �"��!����������� ���� ���������������"�9������������9 ��)������������ �� ��*������ ��N���������!� ���������������$P�/ ���*������ �&N���������������9 ��)�����'�,����"�9����* �������������������������������"����� �������� �������!��� �� ��� �� ���$#������* ��,�"�����*������������������ ��� ���"���������#�����"����� �������������"����*������������������������$#P������&�*"�� �����" ������"=��� �������������������.���&�*��������� ���������"�9����#�������������������������"��� �* ����������������������������� �������� ������!��� �� ��� �� ��������"����"������� ������� ��* �"��������������" �����$�(����"�����������������������"�������������� ��� �"������� ����� ������� � ������ ����������*����������������!�� � ���������� ������ �� ���������"� �������������������������$��"���*�����"�9��������� ���������"����!����������"�������� �� ����*"����"������ ���!�� �$

�)�('*())($+.��+��/�-(� )�$,��)�+/�"������!������������"��� ������� ����"��*������������"�9����#����������������"��� �"�����������������������������>������� �� �������&�������� �����"��*����"��������� ��3���� ��N�����������������"��P� ������������" �����"��$����� ��������� ��������*�� ������ �������"������� ���3���� ����!��������� �����"�����*����������������&�� �/������� ������������������� ������� ���������"������!�����"�� ����� ����������"�9�����N��� ���"��"����������!�"�� ��&�������*�*��������� ���"���*����������������"����!��$P

)3,$,/�3, �+',)�(//+�/�,',/���*����#��=��� ���� � �����"���*������������"9����#��������������$�������������������� ��������������"��� �#��N�������*�P��"������������!� ����� ���N�����>������������������������������"���!��!������ �� ��������$P�(����"��������"���N*��"������� �����"��������������* �"��"������ ������� �������������" ��������*������� ��$P

�-�/(�3, �+',)�&7+/07(/06)�$,��)�+/��"����� � ���; �"�����*���������O�����=��� ���� � �������� ������.��9���������� ��(� % ���* �"�����������"�9������������ ��������" ������������ ���"����������������� �������������� ����� ����"��� � ��������������� ���������$�/���� ��3" ���* ���������������"9������"����"�� �������������������� ����* �"N������������� ��P�������������"� �������������� ������������ ���$

2(&(/�.,(��)�3��-��(���+/�)����#���� ���� � ������" �G���!��"����������* �"����� ����������"�9����#��������������� �"�����������������������������������>������ �� ��������"��$��!�&���"���>� ��������"�����"&��� ��"��*���������"������������������ ���!����������� ������������������������ � ��������������$�/���� �&�N�"��� ������ ��"���&�"�*����&� ��"�*��" �������������� ��� ���������������"����������&���� � �!������ ������� !���� ���������������������������&*����������������������� �������� �� ���$P

.�))�(�43, �+',)6�/��,�$,� (.(��+/�����*�N*�������P�����"�9����#��9 ��)����#���������� ������"��� ������������������������������"���������������������*�� �����"����������������� ���&��"��+��� ��=��� ���� � ������� �$�N���*��������"��������� �������"����� ��������#��3"� ����9 ��)����������"��"��������"���������� �������#��+���!� �����9����#�������������� �� ����������������� ��46&P��"�������������� �$

/�� ,(.�$,��)�+/�4&+)���5,�)�,&6%�,���"��-��������� ���"� ��������"�9����#���� � ������"��������������������� �������� �������� �� ��������"��������N��� � ��������"���*���������*� ���P$

'(2+.�'�))� ,��,)�)���1,*.�(.7��:�>% ����� ��>������!��� �� ��� �� ��������"�������(���"����� ��!����������"�*���������$�0�����*��������*�����"���������)����������!���@77 �E�2� 7��:�>% ������������ �������"�������������������������� �������� �������!��� �� �� �� ��������"��� ����� ��$�1�� � ����� �� ������"��������� �������4&574 ���������*�����BA� ������9�(�0�)���:�>%�����"9������ ����*"��� ���"���"����!�� ���� �����������>*����������!���!��� �� �� �� ��������)����$�0��*�������"������������������������������"����"� �"������!����@@7 ��<�),&�,'*,.��:�>%��!��� �� ��� �� ���*���� ����������)����������"��������� �������������� ���"���������/� � ��$�0������"�������� ���������!����DD7 ���������������B&D77 ��9�/+5,'*,.��:�>%�����"9������� �� ��"��������������������������*�������� �������� ������!��� �� ��� �� ����"������������"��"��*"��������"����� ��������$��"��/*�����>6@� �� ���������� ��)�������*������!������*�" �"����"��������"���� �� ����"������"�"������ ������������

+����������������������������������������

Washington: President DonaldTrump and his French coun-terpart Emmanuel Macron willdiscuss the Iran deal and thesituation in Syria when theymeet each other next week, asenior US official has said.

Macron will arrive hereon Monday for a three-daystate visit and Trump and FirstLady Melania are throwing ared carpet to welcome theFrench President.

During the visit, the twopresidents are expected to dis-cuss the landmark 2015 nucleardeal signed by the US and otherworld powers and Iran, the offi-

cial said. The deal lifted eco-nomic sanctions on Tehran,and in return put limitations onits controversial nuclear ener-gy programme.

Trump has threatened topull out of the nuclear deal andhas set a May 12 deadline tomake a decision on the accord,which was negotiated under hispredecessor, Barack Obama.

The official said Trumpwas not yet ready to make afinal decision but that thenuclear deal would definitely bean important part of the dis-cussions during his meetingswith Macron. PTI

���. ��=��������#������������ .�����2���������*��3�4�(��������������,�������

(1&�� K�+�9�H�K+0�I

Heavy regime bombard-ment pounded a southern

district of Syria’s capital onSaturday, state media and amonitor said, as Governmentforces pressed their campaignagainst ISIS jehadis entrenchedin the area.

ISIS still holds large partsof the Palestinian refugee campof Yarmouk and the adjacentHajar al-Aswad and Tadamundistricts on the southern edgeof Damascus.

Since Thursday, regimeforces have been shelling themheavily in a bid to pressure ISfighters to withdraw. TheSyrian Observatory for HumanRights, a Britain-based warmonitor, said six civilians havesince been killed.

“There are clashes andintense air strikes today, but nostrategic advance on theground,” Observatory headRami Abdel Rahman told AFP.Syrian state news agency SANAsaid government forces weretargeting IS supply lines andhad destroyed weapons depots

in the area.A reporter contributing to

AFP from inside Yarmuk saidthere was steady shellingthroughout the day, with thebooms of air strikes reverber-ating across the district.

Residents were hiding inthe basements or ground floorsof their modest cinderblockhomes, too afraid to go outside.Syrian warplanes and heli-copter gunships could be seenflying above the camp, as bil-lowing masses of thick greysmoke emerged from the sky-line. Once a thriving districthome to some 160,000 Syriansand Palestinians, Yarmuk hasbeen devastated by more thanfive years of clashes and acrippling government siege.

Thousands have fled overthe years as the humanitariansituation has grown more dire.

ISIS overran most ofYarmuk in 2015 and Al-Qaeda’sformer Syrian affiliate main-tained a small presence inYarmuk until it withdrew a fewweeks ago. Another small pock-et is controlled by the regimeand allied Palestinian fighters.

�����0������� �22:��� ����������������?������

?����!A�������$#��4 �������BLondon: Queen Elizabeth IImarked her 92nd birthday onSaturday with traditional gunsalutes and a Commonwealth-themed charity concert featur-ing Tom Jones, Kylie andShaggy. Horse-drawn gunsfired 41 times in Hyde Park and62 times at the Tower ofLondon, while at WindsorCastle, the band played “HappyBirthday” during the changingof the guard.

In the evening, themonarch and her family weredue to attend a concert withperformers from around theCommonwealth, the 53-nation

grouping which held its sum-mit in London this week.

Australia’s Kylie, Canadianpop chart-topper ShawnMendes, South African all-male choir Ladysmith BlackMambazo and US-Jamaicanreggae star Shaggy were tojoin British stars includingJones, Craig David and Sting.

The queen usually cele-brates her birthday in private,saving the pomp for her officialbirthday in June. The concertat the Royal Albert Hall willraise money for a new youthcharity, The Queen’sCommonwealth Trust. PTI

9����3�����:#�������������!�33��������������

����3� ���8����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

&/)�� �-���-./0

National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) Chairman

Justice MM Kumar on Saturdaysaid that Article 14 of theConstitution (right to equality)can be invoked if the (COC)Committee of Creditors violatesthe (IBC) Insolvency andBankruptcy Code law whileexamining business restructuringplan and proposals.

"Article 14 of theConstitution can come in case ofCOCs violate IBC law, Kumarsaid while addressing a seminaron 'Business Restructuring-Evolving Legal Issues andImperatives' organised by PHD-CCI. Kumar further said in caseof any violation of enacted law byCoCs comes into notice inexamining the business restruc-turing plan and proposal referredto NCLT, the Article 14 of theIndian Constitution could beinvoked. However, he noted thatthe CoCs are performing theirassigned role with tremendousefficacy and transparency.

Kumar held on to a viewreiterating that ResolutionProfessionals (RPs) needed to beeducated to the hilt and acquireadequate skills for resolutionplans of business restructuringsince these play a critical role incurrent dispensation.

He stated that the RPs arerecruited through a rigorousprocess in which their experienceof great deal is considered andmost of them are doing good job.

“However, I would still addthat the RPs needed a great dealof training in rendering a con-clusive job since IBC is still andevolving jurisprudence in whichnot only the roles of RPs andother related professionals areequally critical.”

The NCLT, according tohim is trying its best to settle thecases that come in to it for adju-dication and liquidation of thecorporate entity in its view is thelast resort as the Tribunal worksto its optimum to find businessrevival plans for sustaining theoperations of the entities referredto it.

0��"A���!���<��� ��7$7<�������2�7�����+7(�7�������

&/)�� �-���-./0

HDFC Bank posted 20.3per cent growth in its

standalone net profit at�4,799.3 crore for the quarterended on March 31, 2018,compared to year ago period.

Standalone total incomefor the quarter ended March31, 2018 was �25,549.7 crore,up from �21 ,560.7 crore for thequarter ended on March 31,2017, HDFC said in a state-ment.

The HDFC Bank board hasalso approved raising up to�50,000 crore through privateplacement of perpetual debtinstruments in the next 12months , the bank said in a fil-ing to BSE.

"After providing, �2,495.3crore for taxation, the bankearned a net profit of �4,799.3crore, an increase of 20.3 percent, over the quarter ended

March 31, 2017," HDFC Banksaid.

The consolidated net prof-it for the year ended March 31,2018 was �18,510.0 crore, up21.4 per cent over the yearended March 31, 2017.

Consolidated advancesgrew by 19.6 per cent from�5,85,481 crore as on March 31,2017 to �7,00,034 crore as onMarch 31, 2018.

On the asset quality, it saidgross non-performing assets

(bad loans) were at 1.30 percent of gross advances as onMarch 31, 2018, as against1.29 per cent as on December31, 2017 and 1.05 per cent as onMarch 31, 2017.

Net non-performingassets were at 0.4 per cent ofnet advances as on March 31,2018. The bank held floatingprovisions of �1,451 crore ason March 31, 2018.

Besides approving thefinancial results, the bank's

board also recommended adividend of �13 per equityshare of �2 for the year (650per cent) ended March 31,2018, as against , 11 per equi-ty share of �2 for the previousyear. This would be subject toapproval by shareholders atthe next annual general meet-ing.

The Board of Directorshave also approved the issue ofPerpetual Debt Instruments(part of Additional Tier I cap-ital), Tier II Capital Bonds andLong Term Bonds (financingof infrastructure and afford-able housing) up to a totalamount of �50,000 crore inthe period of next twelvemonths through private place-ment mode, subject to theapproval of the shareholders atthe ensuing Annual GeneralMeeting of the Bank and anyother regulatory approvals asapplicable.

2 � � & ' � � � � � ) * ' � *

�-$���/$�(��/�)�'+��3��-�'�/�)�.7�+1�&+3,.

.����"���% �/�3�0�� ��. � ����H�/�30.I�� ����������������������������� ���H��I���� � ����"��������������������������������������"��� ���� ��������4765>6A�* �"�� � ����������*���H�1�I������*����" $�1��!�"�������� � ����������*��&��$9$�("����&����������H��*��I&����$����0�� ���������!�"��������/�30.&��$:$�� ��"&�3���� �����"���1$�-������������� �������������8F@7���H����������������� ��I�"��!�������������/�30.� ���"��� ���� ��������4765>6A$�1���" ������� ���+$9$:����&�3"� �������&�3�������-����� � ������"�� ���H3-�I����$����"�������*��&�)� �������������H/����I&��1�&��!" % ���"� ��&�� ������&�H/����I�1�&�$3�9�����% �&��H��I&��/�30.&�+$�$�� ��"&�����$�H��I�?��������3"�� ��&���&��/�30.�������"������ ������ � ��������1��?�/�30.�*����������������$�

' ;!�+�����������������������

&/)�� ��(�0

Union Commerce MinisterSuresh Prabhu on Saturday

said that the upcoming industrialpolicy was expected to bring newinvestment and increase theshare of manufacturing in thecountry's GDP.

He also assured industry thatoutstanding issues on Goods andServices Tax would be taken upat the GST Council and wouldbe properly addressed.

"The new industrial policyhas been approved by theCommerce Ministry and it is atthe stage of inter-ministerialconsultation. It is hoped that itwill be approved by the Cabinetvery soon," he said.

"This will result in newinvestment coming into theindustrial sector and wouldimprove the contribution ofmanufacturing to GDP in a bigway," Prabhu said, after present-ing the Chemexcil ExportAwards.

The Minister said the

Government had taken a num-ber of initiatives to promote thechemical industry but addedthat the key task of penetratingnew markets would have to betaken care of by the industryitself.

Stating that India wouldbecome a $5 trillion economy inthe next 7-8 years, Prabhu saidthat the nation cannot afford tobe governed by the trade rules fora poor country.

He said that industry mustthink seriously about creatingnew market opportunities inthis changing context.

Assuring them that theGovernment would sort out allissues faced by the industry,Prabhu said it was important not

to get bogged down by theseissues and lose sight of theopportunities on the horizon inthe process.

Noting that GST was a veryimportant matter, the Ministersaid the Government had metexport organisations and manyissues had already beenaddressed.

He said that outstandingissues on GST will be taken to theGST Council and would beproperly addressed.

He also asked industrialiststo take up the issues concerningGST with states as well, sincethey too were part of the GSTCouncil. He said this will help theGovernment to take up theissues in a better way.

=0�����������% ���$� � ���������������43%�

�(/)�� �0�-�����01��

India must focus as a priori-ty on ensuring that more

women work in the formal sec-tor as it continues with labourreforms, according to KenKang, the deputy director inInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) Asia PacificDepartment.

While "in recent yearsIndia has made very impressiveprogress in reforms," he saidthat "looking ahead there areimportant policy priorities"and listed three among them.

"One, is to continueimprovements in product andlabour market reforms with afocus on increasing formalfemale labour participation toimprove the business environ-ment, and reduce complexregulations, but also to addresssupply bottlenecks, particu-larly in the agricultural sectorand distribution networks,"Kang said at a news conferenceon Friday in Washington.

As one of India's majorreform achievements, he men-tioned the "introduction offlexible inflation targeting andof a statutory monetary policywhich has helped to strength-en the monetary policy frame-work."

The Reserve Bank of IndiaAct was amended in 2016, toprovide for a Monetary PolicyCommittee that decides onthe interest rate required forachieving the inflation targetset by the government in con-sultation with the bank.

The other achievementsinclude the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) and the "major

recapitalisation plan for thepublic-sector banks in order toaccelerate the work out ofnonperforming loans, as wellas made some important legalimprovements through a newinsolvency and bankruptcylaw," Kang said.

"We expect and hope thatthe reform momentum con-tinues," he added.

"We are not saying thatIndia's structural reform speedwill slow down because ofelections," Changyong Rhee,the IMF director of the AsiaPacific Department said.

"What we are saying is thatthe growth momentum andthe structural reform momen-tum should continue despitethe election period. So there issomething misquoted," headded.

On Thursday, IMFManaging Director ChristineLagarde had said at a newsconference on Thursday,according to the IMF tran-script: "We have seen and weare seeing — I am not sure thatwe will be seeing in the nextfew months given the electionsthat are coming up — majorreforms that we had recom-mended and advocated for along time."

&���� ���/0��1�

India's role in the develop-ment of the Indo-Pacific

region will continue to expandbecause of its robust growth,the IMF has said but under-lined that there is room toincrease its export orientationand to reduce further barriers.

While answering a ques-tion on the role India can playin the development and growthof the Indo-Pacific region, KenKang, Deputy Director of Asiaand Pacific Department in theInternational Monetary Fund,said there is scope to do moreon trade reform.

"India does have room toexpand its export orientationand to reduce further trade andnon-trade barriers. The statu-tory tariff rate in India is rela-tively high at about 15 percent,and higher than those in therest of the region. So there isroom to do more on trade

reform," he said."I think given our robust

growth forecast where we seeIndia's growth rising from 7.4percent in '17-'18 to 7.8 per centin 2019, we do expect India'srole in the region to continueto expand," Ken said during anews conference.

The IMF in the latestWorld Economic Outlook(WEO) has projected India togrow at 7.4 per cent in 2018 and7.8 per cent in 2019.China isexpected to grow respectivelyat 6.6 and 6.4 per cent in thetwo years.

,��������������<����,���7���������5�,(;

0� ������� ����������!������������� ����7�����/%�2

&���� ���/0��1�

Big reforms undertaken bythe Government for bol-

stering the economic growthand maintaining macroeco-nomic stability have madeIndia one of the fastest grow-ing major economies in theworld, Economic AffairsSecretary S C Garg said.

In his address to the spe-cial event hosted by US-IndiaStrategic Partnership Forumon ‘Indian Economy: Prospectand Challenges' here on Friday,he said the country carried outsuch major reforms when theglobal economy was slow.

He said the launch of theGST represents an historiceconomic and political

achievement, unprecedentedin Indian tax and economicreforms, which has rekindledoptimism on structuralreforms.

"With the cyclical recoveryin global growth amid sup-portive monetary conditionsand the transient impact of themajor structural reforms over,India will continue to performrobustly," he said. Speaking atthe G-20 Finance Ministersand Central Bank Governors(FMCBG) meeting, Garg saiddigital age technologies haveprofound implications for poli-cies concerning every aspectsof the economy. "It also hasenormous implications foremerging markets and developing countries," he said.

A����� ���������������������������� � �$9�� � ���?������2��$

&���� ��(�0

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has made linking of

national biometric ID Aadhaarto bank accounts mandatory aspart of its updated 'Know YourCustomer (KYC)' guidelines.

This, however, will be sub-ject to the final decision of theSupreme Court on making ofAadhaar mandatory, RBI said ina circular Saturday night.

Till now, an Officially ValidDocument (OVD) for addressproof together with PermanentAccount Number (PAN) issuedby the Income Tax departmentand a recent passport size pho-tograph were the key KYC doc-uments.

But in the amendedCustomer Due Diligence(CDD) procedure, RBI said,"The Aadhaar number, the PANor Form No. 60" need to beobtained from an individualwho is eligible for applying forthe biometric ID.

Sources said that the movewill facilitate trusted environ-ment for banking services.

The RBI has done awaywith sections relating to the useof other OVD by banks foraddress and identity proof.

For residents of Jammu andKashmir, Assam or Meghalaya,who do not submit Aadhaar orproof of application of enrol-ment for Aadhaar, the bank mayobtain a "certified copy of anOVD containing details of iden-tity and address and one recentphotograph," RBI said.

/�����3������3�������3�������������������������,��5�,(;

GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HEALTH SCHEME

TENDER NOTICEOpen Tender Notice. F. No. 1-4/2015-16/CGHS/HMSD/ALC

EMPANELMENT OF HOMOEOPATHIC CHEMIST FORCGHS DELHI FOR THE PERIOD 2018-19 to 2020-21

Sealed tenders are invited from the chemist dealing inHomoeopathic medicines to appoint as authorized localchemist, for the day to day supply of Homoeopathic medicinesto various CGHS Homoeopathic Wellness Centers locatedin Delhi/NCR area.

Interested parties may download the blank tender documentfrom the ministry’s website http://mohfw.nic.in/cghsnew/index.aspor can have from the O/o the Chief Medical Officer Incharge,First Floor, CGHS Dispensary Building, Hari Nagar, New Delhi-64 free of cost on any working day within 21 days from thedate of issue of this advertisement in the news papers. Thecompleted tender along with all required documents may besubmitted within the stipulated time on any working day asper given in the schedule. Bids received after stipulated date& time will not be considered under any circumstances.

Additional Director HQ, CGHS Delhi

davp 17139/11/0002/1819

/�4����9�����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

��� ��������

In track and field, Neeraj Choprawas the undisputed star for the

country, winning India's first andonly Gold in track and field events.

With an impressive throw of86.47m, Neeraj, 20, bagged the yel-low metal in javelin throw. He wasexpected to be a medal hopeful, butno one expected him to win the topprize with such a delightful perfor-mance.

He set his next target of reach-ing the 90m. That would make hima strong medal hopeful in Tokyo2020 Olympics if he manages toreach that distance.

Acclaimed former athlete AnjuBobby George believes that will beenough for him to win a medal.“Neeraj is a world class thrower sowe are expecting even an Olympicmedal from him. He can improvea lot. He is already reaching 86, 87.If he reaches 90 in Olympics, def-initely, he will win a medal,” assert-ed George.

It was only the fourth individ-ual Gold for India in athletics atCWG after Milkha Singh (1958),discus thrower Krishna Poonia(2010) and shot-putter VikasGowda (2014). Among others,Seema Punia and Navjeet Dhillonbagged the Silver and Bronze,respectively in the discus throw.

In the Final, Seema threw herbest of 60.41m, while Navjeet’s finalthrow of 57.43m helped her bag theBronze.

“I was expecting medals in

javelin and discus and we got that.Since 2006, even Seema has beencontinuously winning medals inCWG. So she continued her samething this year too,” George said.

There were other impressiveperformances too. MuhammedAnas came agonizingly close tosecuring a Bronze in the 400m eventhough national record-breakingperformance of 45.31 seconds wasjust not enough. Nonetheless, the23-year-old became the first Indianto compete in a 400m final at CWGsince the legendary Milkha Singhdid so in 1958.

India had a good outing in thewomen’s 400m as well. Hima Das,18, qualified for the Final. However,her personal best of 51.32 was onlygood enough for her to finish sixth.

Despite not winning a medal,these two have shown their poten-tial to compete with the best in theworld. That would be a huge boostto the Indian track and field events.

��� ����������������

Weightlifters set theball rolling for

India in Gold Coast.Saikhom MirabaiChanu became the firstGold medallist in theGames for the country.She broke severalrecords on her way toclaiming the yellow metal.

Her combined effort of 196kg in the 48kg cat-egory went well beyond the CWG record of 175kgset by Nigeria’s Augustina Nwaokolo in 2010.

This would have helped her get Gold inIncheon, while she would have secured Silver inRio since the silver medallist in 2016 Olympicsmanaged only 192kg in total.

Mirabai would be one to keep an eye on in theJakarta Asian Games later this year.

Among others, Ragala Venkat Rahul made themost of it, grabbing the yellow metal in his offi-cial debut as a senior weightlifter in the men’s 85kg. He lifted a total of 338kg to finish on top. Rahul,India’s only weightlifter to have ever clinched amedal at the Youth Olympics, is just 21 years oldand has a bright future ahead of him. He will beexpected to build on this outing and fulfill hispotential in the near future. Khumukcham SanjitaChanu, Satish Sivalingam and Punam Yadavbagged the other three Gold medals. GururajaPoojary and Pardeep Singh bagged Silver, whileDeepak Lather and Vikas Thakur settled forBronze. With that Bronze, Lather became theyoungest Indian weightlifting medallist at theCWG. At just 18 years of age, he is another whohas the necessary potential to become a future star.

This is their best ever tally in the Games andit could be the catapult to top rankings at the big-ger stage.

�"�������� ����0�� ���"��������������3�����*��������"�����������"�* �������"������&�!�����&�*� �"�� �����������"�������$�0��*����"��������������������������� �������������������� ������ ������"�����$�9�+�/09�+��������������0�� �<������������������������3�

����6����������������

��� ����������������

Indian shuttlers went into the tournament as heavyfavourites and lived up to the billing. The sixmedals at Gold Coast are the best by any Indian

badminton team in the Games' history, the highlightbeing the mixed team Gold.

Not many gave India hope against a formidableMalaysian team in the Final, but against all odds SainaNehwal and Co pulled off a memorable triumph. Infact the highlight of the win was Kidambi Srikanth’sstupendous victory against former World No 1 LeeChong Wei. It was coincidentally Kidambi’s maidenvictory against the Malaysian.

Then, the stage was set for Saina to seal the dealagainst Sonia Cheah. It was India’s first ever TeamGold in badminton at the CWG.

In the singles too, Indians ruled the roast, thehighlight being the all-India Women’s Final whichSaina won beating the favourite PV Sindhu.

That victory brought Saina back on the shuttlingradar, which had lately been dominated by Sindhu, following her Rio Olympics Silver medal lastyear.

In the men’s section, Srikanth had a memorablecampaign, comfortably winning all his matches in therun-up to the big Final against Wei.

He disappointed himself and the nation eventu-ally losing to Lee Chong Wei in the Men’s Singles Finaland settling for a Silver. Nonetheless, he had a tour-nament to remember, more so as his performanceshelped him become World No 1 men’s player for thefirst time.

Besides, Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shettycaught the eye with an impressive outing, earningIndia's first men's doubles medal at CWG after win-ning the Silver.

Women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa andSikki Reddy bagged a Bronze which was no meanachievement.

CWG only made the obvious more clear — Indiais on its way to become a nation to fear in theBadminton world.

��� ����������������

As expected, Indians sizzled in shooting. It wasnot a surprise to see the shooters bag the high-est number of medals in all Indian disciplines

-16! The most important aspect of shooting was theimpressive showings of the young Indian shooters. Theteen shooting trio of Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh andAnish Bhanwala were the sunrise performers.

The 15-year-old shooter Anish became theyoungest Gold medallist in India’s CWG history aftersecuring the yellow metal in the men’s 25m rapid firepistol. In 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Bhaker was tops,while Mehuli settle for Silver in the 10m Air Rifle afternarrowly missing out on the main prize.

Nonetheless, the 17-year-old Ghosh’s perfor-mance was impressive. Prior to the tournament, Bhakerwas the one many looked forward to see. After win-ning an unprecedented double Gold in her maidensenior ISSF World Cup in Mexico last month and twomore yellow metals in Junior World Cup, a lot of eyeswere on her to see how she transformed those expec-tations. The 16-year-old lived up to the hype, winningthe Gold ahead of seasoned campaigner Heena Sidhu,who grabbed a Silver.

“She won Gold in World Cup and Junior WorldCup, and then everybody was talking about her. So it’svery difficult when you are expected to win and yougo and win, when everybody is expecting you to winand at that age. For me, she is the shooter of the yearin two months,” shooter Ronjan Sodhi, Asian GamesGold holder, said.

It bodes well for the future, seeing young guns per-form at such a high level in their teenage. They can onlyimprove from here and secure more medals for theircountry. Apart from them, seasoned shooters Jitu Rai,Sidhu, Sanjeev Rajput, Tejaswini Sawant and ShreyasiSingh also bagged a Gold each. Besides, Tejaswanibagged a Silver, along with Sawant and AnjumMoudgil. Om Mitharwal bagged two Bronze, while RaviKumar, Ankur Mittal and Apurvi Chandela also gottheir hands on to the Bronze medal.

Since the 2022 Games in Birmingham will be with-out this discipline, Indian shooters will be happy to endthe Gold Coast tournament on a high. “One third ofthe medals come from shooting. It's going to be a bigblow,” said Sodhi.

��� ����������������

India’s dominance on the mat was such that allthe 12 grapplers bagged medals. Wrestlers wereexpected to be one of India's main pedestalists,

but the dominance they showed was surprising.Women grapplers contributed to half of the totalmedal tally. However, only one of the six was a Gold.

Coming into the tournament with an injuryconcern, Vinesh Phogat gained in confidence withevery bout and was at her best in the Final, beat-ing her Canadian opponent Jessie MacDonald tohandle in the 50kg class. A lot of nation’s hope wasriding on her back and she fulfilled it in style.

However, Rio Olympic Bronze medallist SakshiMalik failed to live up to her billing. She wasn't herusual after having to move up to the 62kg class. AtRio, she participated in the 58kg category. Malikended the tournament with a Bronze medal, notthe colour she would have wanted! Babita Kumariand Pooja Dhanda bagged Silver while DivyaKakran and Kiran settled for Bronze.

The men’s section mainly belonged to twowrestlers — Sushil Kumar and Bajrang Punia, bothbeing a level above their opponents. India's onlydouble individual Olympic medallist Sushil washardly tested as he swept past his opponents in styleto win the Gold in the 74kg category. In the 65kgcategory, Bajrang was equally invincible. In a lop-sided contest, he trounced Kane Charig of Wales10-0 in just over two minutes to bag the top medal.

Earlier, Rahul Aware opened the wrestling tally,bagging Gold in the 57kg category. Besides, SumitMalik secured the yellow metal in the 125kg cat-egory. Among others, Mausam Khatri securedSilver, while Somveer settled for Bronze.

Impressively, the only downside to wrestlingwas the lack of competition for the heavyweights.The absence of countries like Japan, Iran, Mongolia,South Korea, Uzbekistan and China made India’stask easier. This will give them mental confidencebut how it will help them deliver medals at AsianGames is to be seen.

2��������2����0���������������2��������� �������54���������%����� ����������>$�������

"���A������ ����������4 �������#�� ������2��.����������2����>�������������� ���8�'C�?��%��� �!����

"��8�/�.����4 ����������0����/�� ���

2���� �"����������������������54��� ��

2 � % , & ' � ) ' � : ) ) � & ' +

��� ����������������

Indian paddlerswere the surprise

package of CWG.With a delightfullack of perfor-mance pressure,they produced acommanding showto announce theirarrival in the sport

globally. The one whocaught the nation’s eye,

was the sensational Delhi girl ManikaBatra. If Gold Coast belonged to anyindividual, it was her. She collectedfour medals — 2 Gold, 1 Silver anda Bronze.

First, she created history, winningthe women's team competition. In thefirst singles of the Final, the 22-year-old lissome beauty stunnedSingapore’s World No 4 Tanwei Feng11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 to givebelief to the team. The women’steam kick started from there to wintheir maiden Gold in the competi-tion’s history.

Next she helped India win themixed doubles Bronze alongside GSathiyan, beating compatriots SharathKamal and Mouma Das. In thewomen’s doubles, playing alongsideMouma, Batra settled for Silver, los-ing to the Singapore duo of TianweiFeng and Yu Mengyu in Final.

But her biggest moment came in

the women's singles when she tamedSingapore’s Meingyu Yu 11-7, 11-6,11-2, 11-7 in the Final, therebybecoming the first Indian woman towin the yellow metal in that catego-ry. No Indian bagged more medalsthan her. “Phenomenal! What she'sdone is unmatched. Beating theWorld No 4 twice, taking out the threebest Singapore players in Q/Fs, S/Fand Final is commendable,” her com-patriot Sharat Kamal said.

In little more than a week, Batrarose from being an unknown playerof a lesser known sport to toast of thenation, propelling her sport to theforefront of the Indian canvas. If shekeeps performing at this level, shecould soon join the bandwagon of cel-

ebrated women players Saina Nehwaland PV Sindhu. At just 22, her sightsare set on the Olympics no less.

The men’s performance was noless. In the team event, they stunneddefending champions Singapore inthe semis blanked out Nigeria in aone-sided Final. Apart from themen’s team medal, seasoned cam-paigner Sharath added two medals tohis kitty, winning the Bronze in sin-gles and Silver in the doubles along-side Sathiyan. “I’m happy. We won 8medals and in every category. I wonthree,” Sharat said. Whether this per-formance will spark a revolution is tobe seen. If India do well in future, theirCWG outing would be the watershedmoment.

?����$"�����A����

� � 2 � � � � � ' ' & �

� � : � � � & � � �� &+:�� & ( � &'+ � * � � � � & ' +

�1�<��-;�-3���/-���1��0���/-���-���(-+�1=��-��.����

�/-K��0��0��3�$��/-�.-:-.�1=31��-�0�01��0��3��0���3/

.1�-+��/�����0�����-�$��1�<�=1+-��3/0���0���/-+-����

�/11����3/�(-��-+$��.�1�0���0�����-�&��/-K�/�:-

+-�1:-���/-��-���-:-��$�-:-+K�0�-��=�-+�3�&�-:-+K1�-

-;�-3����/-���1��1��/-����-0����0�����-�$��-��+-�10�

�1��1��-..�(����K��1���0���1�/-�-;�-���1=��/0��1�-�

C��/11�-+�.+/2(/�)+$-�

1�, $M)�$(70����/.-�03��0��0��1��1>�0�-�(-3��-�0��3���-/�:-�D7S�31��+0-�&�(�0����0�����-���-�/�:-1�.K�87S�31��+0-���1��/.-�03���0..�-���1+-�-��.�$�0=�31��+K���>(-+���+-�0�3+-��0��/-��0���0..�-���1/-+�����1/-+�(��0���0�����-�&�0��0��.0��.-(0���1+-�-��KC=1+�-+���/.-�-(/2��*+**7�0,+.0,

��� ����������������

Boxers helped India end CWG witha rich haul. On the penultimate day

of the Games, pugilists bagged sixmedals.

The legendary 35-year-old five-time World Champion and OlympicBronze medallist MC Mary Kom wonthe yellow metal through a unanimousverdict of 5-0 against Northern Ireland'sKristina O’Hara in the 48 kg Final.

It was her maiden CWG medal.With it, she became the first femaleIndian boxer to win Gold in the singlescompetition. Her dominating perfor-mance silenced critics of her age.“About her age, it is exaggerated. Today,the elite athletes are very well trained.They last longer than previous years.She is very fit and takes her training veryseriously and, of course, she can main-tain her level for years to come. I haveno doubt that even for 2020 she will bevery strong,” Indian Men’s Boxingcoach Santiago Nieva said.

“The age limit in amateur boxinghas been raised from 34 to 40 years. Sothe age factor is nothing to think aboutat the moment. She is the best at themoment in her weight class,” he added.

Later, the men joined the party withGaurav Solanki bringing in India’s sec-ond Gold of the day, following a 4-1 winover Northern Ireland’s Brendan Irvine.

In the evening session, formerworld Bronze medallist Vikas Krishnanpummelled Cameroon’s DieudonneWilfried Ntsengue to win India's thirdyellow metal.

With the win, Vikas became thefirst Indian boxer to claim Gold medals

at both the Asian and theCommonwealth Games.

With Vikas planning to turn pro-fessional, this Gold will be a specialmoment to savour for the Indian.

In other contests, Amit Panghal(49kg) and Manish Kaushik (60kg) losttheir close-fought Final bouts to settlefor Silver. Finally, in the plus-91kg,Satish Kumar was defeated by England’sFrazer Clarke and ended up with aSilver medal.

Overall, India finished with theirbest-ever medal haul in Gold Coast. "Itwas a positive performance. In themen's category, all the eight membersreached the medal round and five roseto the Final.

The numbers speak for themselves.India has never won more than twoGold medals in CWG outside of Indiaso that’s impressive by any means. It isa great boost for what’s coming next,”Nieva said. Bigger tests await the box-ers later in the year in the Asian Gamesand the World Championships.

With the likes of Kazakhstan andUzbekistan participating in those tour-naments, the challenge will be more dif-ficult.

4 ����������"�"��$� �

� : � � � � ' * & � � � � � ) * & � �

2 ) ; & ' +

�"��� ���*��<��!����������4744�3�� ��( �� ��"��&�-������$0��* ���!������%���!��*�����0�� �&����� ��� ���0�� �<����������������������"�������$�0������3����&��"�������!�������"���������!�������������>�6F�����"��FF�������$

� � & � ' � + � , � � � � � * ' & ' + ( & + � * � � & < � � � � � + � ( & * � � �

% & % � � ) � � - ' ) � =

31��-�0�01���0..�(-��0==03.��(-3��-��0��0�����1�-+/1�-�1=���$�0=��-�3���0�����-��.������0�����-�&��-�3���0�����-��.����1.K��03�

C����.-+�)-(.(���('(

��0�����-���0..�(-�.1���1/-+$9�R�9/���������R(-90������+-��+1�-+��/���-:-+�(-=1+-$��.�1&�/0���0�-��-��1�<��/�:-�/0/-+�-0/���0:0�01��$�0��0���1��1�.K�0��0�&(�����K���0���31��+0-���/03/��+-��+1��+0/���1��

C�-�<��(1;0��31�3/)(/��(0+�/�,5(

��"��FF��������H4F����&47�� ���������47�(���G�I

0�� ��!������ ������3���� �� ����" ���!�����"�* ��� ��"������<�" �����$�0�� ������!�" ����"��FA� �����"������H4774I�����676 ����*����" �H4767I

���� ��(�������������"��������"���������0�� �

* �"������ ������3����$�"��� � ������������� �������������"����������� ��C

� ���������&�*����<�����>!�������&�*����<��������������� �������!���(���G�

����������������������������"� ��!���>����

������"���� ���"��" ���������"�������C�5��������HB���&�4�� ���������B(���G�I

�0�� ���!��� ��������>� �����<��������������

H4����&�B�� ���������4(���G�I�*����"� ��!���>��������������������"������

������� �.��"��!�������"����������

0�� ���*� �"�� ��������!����3��������H(���G�I

���"�������� �"("��*����!�������"�

�������<�������������������������* ����� �3�����*����"�����$

● ' ��" �* �� %�= ����0�� ���*��������* ����� �� � �������!������ ����������"������

● �� ����� %�0��*����<���������������&�0�� ��*��� ���� ��������3�����

● ) �� �/��� �%��"��� ����0�� ������* ���*��� ��������������"������&����� ���!� ��� ����*����" &�4767

● '������ �������� ������%�0�� ��*��� ���� ����3�����● /��� A���@� %�= ����0�� ������!�����3������ ��%���� ���"��*● ' ����%�= ����0�� ����������!��������* ���������3�

&���� /K�-+�(��

Their unbeaten run in the tournamentsnapped by the 'Gayle Storm',

Sunrisers Hyderabad would look tobounce back when they take on ChennaiSuper Kings in an Indian Premier League(IPL) match here on Sunday.

Both the Sunrisers and the SuperKings have six points each from fourmatches, having lost just one game so far,and a win by either side at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppalwill take them to the top of the table.

The Sunrisers began their IPL campaign with three wins on the trot beforethey were stopped on their tracks by West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle,who played a special innings of 104 not out off 64 balls at Mohali on Thursday.

The Kane Willamson-led side will have to forget the battering of his bowlersby Gayle and quickly regroup against the Super Kings who, despite havingto shift their home venue to Pune due to the Cauvery water dispute, have beendoing very well.

After winning their first two matches, the Super Kings slumped to a defeatagainst Kings XI Punjab before bouncing back with a 64-run win over RajasthanRoyals on Friday on the back of smashing century (106 from 57 balls) fromveteran Australian Shane Watson.

Watson has been in fine touch with both the bat and ball, thereby prov-ing his utility as a top-class all-rounder. He is currently the top scorer andtop wicket-taker for CSK but on Sunday he will be up against one of the mostbalanced sides in this IPL.

All the front line bowlers of the Sunrisers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SiddhartKaul, Billy Stanlake and Shakib-al-Hasan - have been among the top wickettakers so far this season though young Afghan spinner Rashid Khan is strug-gling a bit with just three wickets from four matches. He was taken to thecleaners by Gayle in their last match, conceding 55 runs for one wicket.

Kaul has six wickets while Kumar, Stanlake and Shakib have taken fivewickets each.

For CSK, Watson is the top bowler with six wickets to his name. Man toman, the Sunrisers have been a better side in the bowling department. In fact,they are touted as the most balanced bowling unit of this IPL.

In the batting department, the Super Kings have a lot of depth. They havebatsmen who can play shots well up to the number seven spot. Watson hasbeen leading the charge but Ambati Rayudu and captain and stalwart MahendraSingh Dhoni are also doing a decent job with the bat.

But Englishman Sam Billings and West Indian Dwayne Bravo have notdone much after hitting a half century each, and both would be looking todo better, going ahead.

For the Sunrisers, Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan are the mainbatsmen in their side. They have been playing that role very well so far thoughDhawan had to retire hurt in their last match against Kings XI Punjab afterbeing hit by the ball on his elbow.

���� ������ �����

>@3�<?A?3

%6 �� 7�

����K T 8'77���

HEADTO

HEAD'�B�)���).-��

����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

,�!��� �� 0�� ��� ��3�6�!����0�� ���0 /���!1������3 �� ��������������>>-��&� %�< "=

A� 4A-

8� #))

5�6� �!3����

1 � , % 6 2 � 1 � + , B �

C 1 $ � , 1 + C 1 $ � ,

* 0 � 7 6 0 . � , %

$ � 6 , % � $ % �

&���� 91.9���

The legend of Chris Gaylecontinued to grow in com-pany of young KL Rahul as

Kings XI Punjab outclassedKolkata Knight Riders by ninewickets in a rain-hit IPL encounterhere on Saturday.

While KKR scored a compet-itive 191 for 7 in 20 overs, KXIPhad a revised target of 125 in 13overs after a sharp spell of show-er halted play for 95 minutes.

Gayle completed a hat-trick ofhalf-centuries with an unbeaten 62from 38 balls that had five foursand six sixes while Rahul helpedhimself to a 60 off only 27 balls.

Gayle hit the winning runs sixoff Tom Curran over long-on asthey sealed the issue with 11 ballsto spare.

Having scored the fastest half-century in IPL, Rahul once againunderlined his credentials as anopener in shortest format withnine fours and two sixes as KXIPclimbed to the top of the table witheight points from five games. Thiswas also their first win at the EdenGardens since 2012.

KXIP were 96 for no loss in 8.2overs, 31 runs ahead of the DLSpar score, when rain halted theplay , but there was no let up inintensity for Gayle as he resumedhis innings with a huge six overlong off to complete his 50 in only28 balls.

There was further setback instore for KKR as their big-hittingJamaican Andre Russell was takenoff in the fourth over after heseemed to have aggravated hisalready troubled hamstring.

Gayle had launched into

Russell hitting two sixes and aboundary when Russell was seenclutching his right thigh as NitishRana completed the over.

Gayle and Rahul mainly dealtin boundaries against the KKRpace attack of Shivam Mavi andRussell as there seemed to be a raceto who will reach the 50-run markfirst between them. The Powerplayovers yielded 73 runs and that

killed the contest.Both the players like to attack

and now they are well set tolaunch a brutal assualt. The field-ing restrictions didn't matter a lotas they repeatedly bisected thefielders. Kuldeep

Yadav's first over was taken for13 runs.

Earlier, Chris Lynn, who hashad a quiet time so far, got into his

groove in his 74 off 41 balls (6x4,4x6) en route to his maiden half-century in this IPL to lift KKR toa challenging 191/7.

Lynn stitched two crucial fifty-plus partnerships in the middle -- first 72 runs from 41 balls withRobin Uthappa (34) and then 62off 34 balls with Dinesh Karthik(43) -- to help KKR overcome ashaky start after they were sent in

to bat by Ravichandran Ashwin.At 146/3 in 15 overs with

Lynn and Karthik looking in ram-paging form, KKR looked to gobeyond the psychological 200 runs'barrier but KXIP pegged backconceding just 11 runs in the lasttwo overs.

Andrew Tye (2/30 in 4 overs)induced a bottom edge off Lynn asKKR lost four wickets for 39 runsincluding that of dangerous Russell(10).

Tye and Barinder Sranreturned with two wickets apieceas the duo made the difference inrestricting KKR under-200.

Having leaked 29 runs fromfirst two overs, Sran returnedstrongly to take the two key wick-ets of Russell and Karthik withsome smart slow deliveries toreturn with 2/50.

KKR got off to a poor start andwere reduced to 6/1 in the secondover when Sunil Narine was dis-missed by Mujeeb ur Rahman offhis third ball.

But there was no further dam-age as Lynn and Uthappa counter-attacked the KXIP bowlers torebuild the innings.

Uthappa smashed Mujeeb forthree boundaries in a row in hissecond over that yielded 15 runs asKKR quickly recovered to 50/1after the Powerplay.

But the biggest assault cameagainst Sran who leaked 23 runsthat included three sixes, two byLynn, with the duo racing to 72runs partnership in 41 balls.

First ball after the time out andAshwin dismissed Uthappa asKKR lost two wickets in seven runsbefore Lynn and Karthik stole theshow from KXIP.

�/$�(/�)-++�,.)�,7,�(/+�-,.�.��-�-(� �-(/03+/% /�� ��� ������� �������� �� �"�3�����*����"� ����� ��������&� 0�� ���"�������* �����������"���� �"�������"����*"���"��0��=�������3���������4�!�� ������������ �� �" �� 9������ � ��&� * �"� �"�� �������<�� �������� ��������"��� ��������"�� �"��"�����"��� ��������� � ��� ���$� 0�� �� "��� ����� �� B5>���!������� ��� �" �� 0������� ����� �"��� ��� �����=������ ��������� 3��&�*" �"�* ��� �������� � ���&� ����������"������� �� �� ��������"��3"���*��0������� ������"��� ���+����$�1����5@7���"����������D7������� ���"�������� ��������� � ��� �������"������������$��" ��* ���!���"������������*"���� �"�� � ���� 1���� �� O����� ������� ���� �"��� ���4747������* ���!��"���� �����������"�<� ��$� �*�� � ��������<�� ����*����<�� 67�� � �� ������������������������� � �������"��� �������$0�� ��"����"���������� ��������"� ��!��"�������>�+�� �9����&������ �9�����������%���(�!��� �� �"�� ���<�� *" ��� ����� � 3"������&� ��%������� �� ���� ��"�� � "��"� * ��� ������ �"��������<��"����� ���"��*����<�������� � ��$

-+��,7��/$�(�/(',)�B��& (7,.)�1+.��('&/,3�$, -�%�/�� ���0�� �������������������F6�*������������� ���� �"�������������� ����3���" ���3�����"���* ���������������44���� �4765�����"������������"�� ������0�� �&�(��������$�"��F6>���!��������&�*" �"���������������"��65���!����*"�������������"��;;0�3�����*����"����&� *��� � � ��� ��� !�� �� �"� �� ������������������ �"��� �������� �"�� /�� ��� 0�� ���� ��� ������ ��� ����� 3"��� ���" �$� �" �������* ���!������"������������*�����85����������� 4����� 4765$� ����� �"�� ����" ��� ��� 3" ��3���"�/��������� ��"&��"��0�� ��������������"� ��;;0�3�����*����"����������� ���* �"��������� ��������"������$�Q0�"��������������� �������"���*������� ����� ��������*��� ������� � �"��� �"����� ���!��� �"���������� ���������� � ���*" �"�*�������� ��������"��3�������������&Q�������/��������� ��"$�

(-',$�$,1,/$)�&(��)�(/�)I�($��) ('(*($% �� ����� ����� �� ������G� �"���"��� ��������� �"�� 6F>���� ��� ����� �O���� ������������0�����������-�����������"��Q!��������"�!���Q� ���� ��� �� � � ��� ����� �"�� �� �� ��� ��!�������=�*�������$�Q0�<������� ��0�������" �H����I� ���&Q� �"���� �� �� ��� �"�� ����� ���� ���� ����<����� � �������� ��.�"���������������&��� ����"���Q0�*�����"����� � ��������"��4@�$$$�!��*��"������� � ��"��!��������"��!����6F��������$Q��� �� � ���� *��� ������ �������� �������� ����� ����� �������� *"�� "���� �� � � G���������������� ���� �������� ���"��� �����������>����� ����� � ���� � �!�">��>/�O� ���� K��� �9"��� "���� ��*� ��� ���$� ����� *��� ������ 4@�������� ������� ��� ���� �"�� ����� ������ ���� ������ �������� ��� �"�� ������ �� � ��� �&� !��� "��� ��������� ���"��� �����O���$

1(.(-�1(�,)��+�0-�,;('��/� +/$+/ +/$+/% (� � �"����� �����������=���"�"�����*������ ��� ��������"��� ���" ������ ���!���"������ ����� ��*�!������ �"���" ������"������� �������<��.�����������"��$��"��B@>����>���� >*"�� ��" ����� �"�� 1���� �� ���!��� ��@777E67777���������"��� ��� �* ��� >�������<�"����������!��������������� ��" ���������� ������" �"���������"����"�������U�����-� G�!��"�00��������������"��������!����������������� ��������������� ��� ���� ������ 3�����$� /�*����&� * �"� �"�� ��� ��� 9����<�� 1���� �� �"��� ��� -� ��9 ��"���&�-�" �� ����������9���� ���(� �������9������������ ����"��� ������ ������% ��� ��"��� ����=���"�* ���"����" ��*�� �������������� ���� ������ ��$ ��������

� & ' + � � �

&���� 91.9���

Kolkata Knight Riders captain DineshKarthik wants the current Duckworth-

Lewis-Stern (DLS) rain-rule method to bereplaced by Jaydevan (VJD) method, afterlosing their curtailed IPL encounter toKings XI Punjab by 9 wickets, here onSunday.

Chasing a stiff 192, Kings XI Punjabwere 96 for no loss in 8.2 overs, with arequired run rate well in excess of eight runs.

But when play resumed after a 95 min-utes' rain delay, KXIP needed just 29 off 28balls in the revised DLS target was 125 in 13overs. The visitors sealed the issue with 11balls to spare.

"Suddenly after rain, they needed run-a-ball. I didn't understand that bit but I amsure Duckworth-Lewis is something peopleare still trying to figure out what it is," an irri-tated Karthik said at the post-match newsconference.

"That was little surprising, because ide-ally if it would have been a 20-over game,they would have needed eight an over. If wecould have got two quick wickets, the run

rate would have kept going up."The IPL is played under ICC's Playing

Conditions with DLS being the recognisedsystem but Karthik feels BCCI should useJayadevan rule which is known as VJD.

"I have always thought that the VJD isan Indian method and it's an Indian domes-tic tournament, why not think about it in thefuture?" he asked.

"It's been proven that it's a really goodmethod. We have used in domestic tourna-

ments. Only for IPL, we use DLS. Why notthink about VJD here and promote it?"

It must be mentioned in this regard thatJaydevan had made presentations to ICC butit has been rejected.

Conceding that they bowled poorly, theKKR skipper believed that their target waspar, even as they fell 10-15 runs short withjust 11 runs coming from last two overs.

"We could have scored 10-12 runsmore. But more importantly we did not bowlgood enough to defend it."

Gayle again stood tall with a blistering62 not out from 38 balls as it was his thirdfifty-plus score in a row in their hat-trick ofwins.

"There is not a pattern to get him (Gayle)out that teams have found out yet. He's bat-ting really well and you got to accept that.It's not only Chris Gayle's day but KL (Rahul)also did well."

KKR's big hitting batsman Andre Russellpulled his hamstring and was taken off afterfailing to complete the fourth over butKarhik said he seemed fine.

"I've not spoken to him but he looks okayfor now."

(&���1��31

Rafael Nadal remains on coursefor a record 31st Masters title

after beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1 in the Monte Carlo Masterssemifinals on Saturday.

The top-ranked Spaniardnever looked in trouble as he beatthe fourth-seeded Bulgarian forthe 11th time in 12 career meet-ings.

If Nadal wins Sunday's final,he will earn a 76th career title andalso keep his No 1 ranking. Shouldhe lose, Roger Federer will reclaimthe top spot.

Nadal faces either third-seed-ed Alexander Zverev of Germanyor Kei Nishikori of Japan, who playlater Saturday.

In the opening game,Dimitrov came out firing. Hepressured Nadal with two superblobs, forcing a backhand smashwide from the Spaniard for deuce.But Nadal held a tight first gamelasting eight minutes, and thenbroke Dimitrov for 2-0.

Dimitrov found his range,broke Nadal back and held for 3-3. The next two games were even,with Dimitrov matching Nadal inthe rallies.

The 16-time Grand Slamchampion held for 5-4 and thenDimitrov cracked, serving con-secutive double faults and hitting

a wild forehand long to trail 15-40. He saved one set point butNadal was in ruthless mode andtook the next chance.

It appeared that Nadal wasgaining his usual momentum onclay - and two consecutive lovebreaks and three easy holds madeit 5-0 to the Spaniard in the sec-ond set.

Dimitrov explained his col-lapse this way. "I think I playedsmart against him. I kind of knowhis pattern a little bit better,"Dimitrov said. "But it was my faultwhen I got broken. Simple as that.Two double-faults, it's just defi-

nitely not acceptable, especiallywhen you play against him on thatsurface."

Dimitrov finally held, drawingpolite applause, but Nadal servedout the match with ease. Heclinched victory on his first matchpoint when Dimitrov patted theball wide following a briefexchange.

"You see me with a smile. I'ma positive person," Dimitrov said."Deep down, I'm hurt. I hate los-ing. Simple as that."

Nadal shares the Mastersrecord with Novak Djokovic,whose 30 wins include two here.

Nadal's victory at Monte Carlolast year made him the first men'stennis player in the Open era towin the same title 10 times. Hethen won a 10th title at Barcelonaand the French Open.

�5��+5(�0�5,��8,�-� ,($Victories by Petra Kvitova

and Karolina Pliskova gave theCzech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over hosts Germany in theirFed Cup semi-final on Saturday.

Two-time Wimbledon cham-pion Kvitova needed just over anhour for an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 winover Julia Goerges at the PorscheArena in Stuttgart.

Pliskova followed that up witha 7-5, 6-3 win over AngeliqueKerber to put the Czechs in firmcontrol going into Sunday's threeties - two singles and one doublesrubber.

The Czech Republic look wellset to continue their impressiverecent Fed Cup form having wonthe title five times in the last sevenyears.

With the home crowd behindher, Goerges built up a 3-1 lead inthe first set only for Kvitova to winthe next five games and wrestlecontrol of the match.

In the second rubber, Kerberput in a strong performance, butlost her serve at the crucialmoment to lose the first set 7-5.

2������������ � ����������������������

�2+;%1(,$9,%�+2;6�����&�+�"����" ��� ���� ���������������"����"�������%�!��������������!��

(,��������������3�3���3����%%

&���� )�0�+

Having finally found the win-ning touch, Mumbai Indians

will look to continue in similar veinwhen they lock horns with belea-guered hosts Rajasthan Royals in anIndian Premier League (IPL) gamehere on Sunday.

Three-time championsMumbai Indians were off to a hor-rible start this season, sufferingthree successive reverses, beforeskipper Rohit Sharma came to theteam's rescue with a blazing 94against Royal ChallengersBangalore.

The 46-run drubbing of RCBhas raised the morale of the play-ers, and Mumbai Indians are seek-ing a similar outing againstRajasthan Royals, at the SawaiMan Singh Stadium on Sunday.

Sharma was the reason behindthe team breaking the run of loss-es and he is again going to be a keyman for Mumbai Indians. WestIndian Evin Lewis played his partwith the bat, scoring 65, and thenthere are the likes of Kieron Pollardand the Pandya brothers - Hardikand Krunal.

That Pollard has recoveredfrom an injury is definitely goodnews for MI.

Another positive developmentis Hardik's 5-ball 17 the othernight.

MI's bowlers too are feelingconfident after they were able towithstand the fire power of the likesof Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Led by India seamer Jasprit

Bumrah, the Mumbai Indiansbowling attack looks good with MJ Mclenaghan, Hardik, MustafizurRehaman, M Markande andKrunal.

The visitors are currentlyplaced sixth with two points, hav-ing lost three of their four match-es, but the situation is not new forthe visitors as they have effecteddramatic turnarounds in the past.

The hosts, on the other hand,were demoralised by ShaneWatson's belligerent century onFriday and they have very little timeto recover from the massive defeatagainst Chennai Super Kings.

Captain Ajinkya Rahane willneed to lead by example and inspireconfidence in his players, besidesmaking optimum utilisation of hismeagre resources.

Sanju Samson lit up the cam-paign with his 94 in one of thegames, but the rest need to deliv-er.

In bowling, seamer JaidevUnadkat has been ordinary so far.

The home team is missing itsmentor, the legendary ShaneWarne, who has gone back toAustralia to fulfil some commit-ments.

���� ������ �����

7?%�<

%% �� *2

����K T 5'77���

HEADTO

HEAD'��<'��..

5�$� �D73������� �3,2���� �9�������

E����������������C$��>���������

<�����0������������������� 4��� �3����� .������������������������� ��

��<���������3������������������������ ��������

<�.���������?�����#�����#���������������������� ���<��< �����������������������������2������$��%,�(C�������� ����� ��

����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

*�������!��� ���!���� �6 �/���!�56����5����0������� ���0�� �6 0!����5����4�>>*)2&' �&'+: ""

A� 4A-

8� #))

5�6� �!3����

6 $ ' � $ � � , % C 1 $ � , 1 + C 1 $ � ,

&���� (-��.+Explosive batsman AB de Villiers

enthralled the crowd with a whirlwindunbeaten 39-ball 90 to power RoyalChallengers Bangalore to a convincingsix-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils intheir IPL fixture at the M Chinnaswamystadium here on Saturday.

It rained fours and sixes as deVilliers produced a vintage inningsand singled-handedly chased down the175-run target with two overs to spareto bring RCB's campaign back on track.

The former South African skippersmashed 10 fours and five sixes in hisunconquered innings. He shared 63 runswith captain Virat Kohli (30), beforeadding another 56 runs with CoreyAnderson (15) to take the game awayfrom Delhi Daredevils, who sufferedtheir fourth loss in five matches.

Earlier, young batsmen Rishab Pantand Shreyas Iyer cracked twin half-cen-turies as Delhi Daredevils recoveredfrom a slow start to post a respectable174-5 after being asked to take the firststrike by RCB.

Pant (85) anchored the DD inningsas he shared a 75-run stand in 8.1 overswith Iyer (52 off 31 balls) and thenforged a 65-run partnership with RahulTewatia (13 not out). His 48-ball inningswas laced with six boundaries andseven sixes.

For RCB, leg-spinner YuzvendraChahal (2/22) claimed two wickets,while Umesh Yadav (1/27), WashingtonSundar (1/31) and Corey Anderson(1/10) took one wicket each.

Chasing 175 to win, Manan Vohraand Quinton de Kock opened theinnings but both the openers wereback to the pavillion with RCB at 29 for2 in 4.3 overs.

Manan, who had come in forSarfaraz Khan, was dismissed in the sec-ond over when he top-edged a GlennMaxwell delivery and Jason Roy held onto the catch at the deep backward

square leg. Quinton, on the other hand,blasted a four and six before being runout in the fifth over.

AB de Villiers then came to thecrease and smashed consecutive bound-aries off Nadeem, before repeating thetreatment on the bowler with three morefours in the 7th over as RCB crossed the50-mark.

Tewatia was then introduced and deVilliers pulled him over deep midwicketfor a six, before sending Harshal Patelfor a four in the next over.

De Villiers added 63 with skipperKohli (30) before a stunning catch at the

boundary line by Trent Boult ended thepartnership.

It was a full toss on the pads fromPatel which Kohli sent to the deepsquare leg only to find Boult pulling offa sensational catch, plunging the stadi-um into silence.

However, there was no stopping deVilliers as he smashed two sixes and afour off Patel in the 13th over en routeto his 24-ball 50.

The South African continued to dealin boundaries as he hit a six off Tewatiaand then plundered a six and a four offChris Morris in the 15th over.

&���� ��(�0

Wrist spinners havebecome the toast of the

Indian Premier League (IPL)so much so that a successfuloff-spinner like RavichandranAshwin, too, has been keen totry bowling leg breaks, feelscricket legend Kapil Dev.

"Everybody has a differentbowling attack, depending onwhich pitch they are playing.But what we have come toknow from the first or secondIPL (till) now, is that the mostsuccessful bowler to come outis the leg-spinner," Kapil Devsaid.

The 1983 World Cup-win-ning captain spoke on thesidelines of a live cricket com-edy show, which is co-pro-duced by GreymatterEntertainment.

"Every team has their leg-spinner. Even a bowler like(Ravichandran) Ashwin, helikes to bowl more leg spinthan off spin. That shows theleg-spinners are more success-ful than anybody else," Kapilsaid to buttress his point.

Ashwin is leading Kings XIPunjab this IPL season, afterhaving turned out for ChennaiSuper Kings and Rising PuneSupergiants in past editions.

In the current edition ofthe T20 league, leg-spinnershave been largely successfulwith Mumbai Indians' rookieMayank Markande shining inthe first three games for hisfranchise.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, too,have a good leg-spinner inRashid Khan of Afghanistan,while his compatriot MujeebUr Rahman is also a wrist spin-

ner who plays under Ashwin.Even the Virat Kohli-led

Royal Challengers Bangalorepossess a successful leggie inYuzvendra Chahal.

Quizzed why leg spinnersare more successful, Kapilquipped, "Can't really put areason, but that is a wicket-taking bowler. It is difficultand not easy (to read them)and every team loves to havea leg spinner."

The 59-year-old formercricket pointed out how aleggie like Karn Sharma hadedged out experienced offieHarbhajan Singh for CSK vRajasthan Royals on Friday.

"Karn is playing, notHarbhajan (Singh), soChennai is playing with twoleg-spinners (the other beingImran Tahir). So everybody isthere with an extra leg-spin-ner.

"I think that is where inspinners you don't see somany off-spinners, you don'tsee left-arm spinners so much,but you see leg spinners defi-nitely," Kapil added.

He also praised Markande,

who had bamboozled CSK inthe league opening game atthe Wankhede Stadium.

"He (Markande) is goodand if you are a good leg spin-ner, it always adds on to theteam," Kapil said.

The great all-rounder alsohailed India pacerBhuvaneshwar Kumar as amature bowler.

"He (Bhuvaneshwar) hadbeen excellent in the last threeyears, why only this one (IPL),he is fabulous, more matureand sensible," said the formerIndia pace spearhead, whoended his career with 434Test wickets.

Asked whether the IPL ismore of a batsman"s game,Kapil said, "From 100 years,it's (cricket) a batsman's game,it's never been a bowler'sgame even though in the last10 years (of the IPL), so manygood things have come outfrom the bowlers - knuckleballs and slow bouncers.

"T20 is (not only) for bats-men (but) is there for every-body and you need to improveyour skill."

(&���-���(+1��03/

West Bromwich Albion kept its slimhopes of Premier League survival

alive with a stunning late comeback todraw 2-2 with Liverpool on Saturday andtake the shine off Mohamed Salah's lat-est goal-scoring landmark.

The Egypt international matched therecord of 31 goals for a 38-game top-flight season set by Alan Shearer (1995-96), Cristiano Ronaldo (2007-08) andLuis Suarez (2013-14) with three match-es still to spare with a clever chipped fin-ish.

Andy Cole's record of 34 goals in a42-game season looks well within thegrasp of Salah, who took the limelightaway from Danny Ings' first goal sinceOctober 2015.

The final word, though, belonged toWest Brom as it came from behind withgoals from Jake Livermore and thenSalomon Rondon in the 88th minute.

It was just reward for the hosts, withcaretaker-manager Darren Mooreextending his unbeaten run to threematches, including games against two ofthe top four.

However, it was harsh on Ings wholooked set to enjoy a day to rememberafter a difficult period since moving toAnfield from Burnley, with two seriousknee injuries restricting him to just 11appearances for the club in his first twoseasons.

With one eye on Tuesday'sChampions League semifinal first leg athome to Roma Klopp made five changes,including three of the back four, and thatgave Ings a chance.

Sadio Mane worked his way to thebyline and drilled in a cross whichGeorginio Wijnaldum controlled beforeallowing his teammate to blast home.

It was only the third of Liverpool'slast 27 league goals not to be scored byMane, Firmino or Salah.

Ings was denied a second by goal-keeper Ben Foster's outstretched foot latein the half but West Brom dominated thelatter stages of the half. A rare miscon-trol by James Milner allowed Livermoreto whip over a far-post cross which James

McClean drilled back across goal, but JayRodriguez's lunge was inches awayfrom converting a certain equalizer.

Ings had a penalty shout turneddown after the break when CraigDawson stepped across him to preventhim reaching Joe Gomez's pass.

Salah, quiet since an 11th-minuteshot was deflected over by Livermore,came in from the periphery when sub-stitutes Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain combined to tee him up tocoolly beat Foster in the 72nd minute.

Livermore, though, gave the hostshope with a scrambled finish from a cor-ner and Rondon headed home Brunt'snear-post free kick with two minutes togo.

&,&�()�)��+�1+��)�+/�.,�+.$Pep Guardiola has indicated pursu-

ing a Premier League record points totalmay be the best way to keep hisManchester City players focused over thefinal five matches of the season.

City are at home to Swansea onSunday, having secured Guardiola's firstEnglish league title last weekend, as theywon at Tottenham Hotspur and closestchallengers Manchester United suffereda shock defeat at home to bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion.

The manager, though, is concernedhis squad's performance levels will drop,now that they effectively have onlypride left to play for this term.

That is why he feels that chasingChelsea's Premier League record of 95points in a season, set in 2004/05, is auseful target for City, who are current-ly on 87.

"In the past, I have won the leagueat Barcelona and Bayern Munich withfive, six, seven games to go, and theremaining games were not good,"Guardiola said Friday.

"We tried to tell the players, 'Comeon, keep going', but we were not able tokeep going.

"There has to be a target. When thetarget is already done in terms of the title,what is the reason to fight? Score as manygoals, get as many wins and points as wecan. That's a good focus."

&�7�)-�*�)-��� �-���-./0

No earlier than a week ago, theworld witnessed India create

history at the Gold CoastCommonwealth as a 22-year-oldgirl from the country's capitalwatched with well-concealed emo-tions the Indian tricolour risehigher and higher before her eyes.Manika Batra had just become thefirst Indian woman to have won atable tennis individual Gold medalin the Commonwealth Games,and no wonder it was going to bea moment to cherish for the youngprodigy for years to come.

Ever since her return home,laden with a rich medal haul — ateam Gold, an individual Gold, aSilver in the doubles and a mixeddoubles Bronze — a usually shyManika seems to be enjoying thereception she has been offered fol-lowing her successful campaign,and has now dealt with state-ments that have been eager to ques-tion her mentality towards morehard-hitting competitors, namelyChina, Japan and Korea.

With the CommonwealthGames impressively done anddusted, the trial by fire for Indiantable tennis is likely to comeagainst the Chinese, the Koreansand the Japanese as early as Augustthis year in the Asian Games.Manika, however, remains unde-

terred of the fearsome reputationthese countries hold.

"It's just our mentality,"Manika pointed out at a felicitationceremony here on Friday. "As soonas it occurs to us 'Oh, it's China' or'Oh, it's Korea', we lose then andthere," she added before high-lighting her focus on performancerather than on fear. "I just want tocontinue motivating myself and myteam that we should cast thismentality aside. All we must focusupon is what we have picked upduring all those years of trainingand then deliver our hundred per-cent when the time comes, insteadof dwelling upon the mental fearwe have created within ourselvestowards countries like China andKorea."

Manika's stance clearly marksthe emergence of a young leader inIndia's table tennis fraternity. This

follows an announcement by thecountry's seasoned paddler SharathKamal, wherein he declared hiswillingness to pass the baton ofresponsibilities to Manika Batra.Currently placed 48th in worldrankings, Kamal has won sevenCommonwealth Games medalsfor India, including four Gold, twoBronze and one Silver, and is alsoremembered as the gold medallistof the 16th Commonwealth TableTennis Championship held in 2004in Kuala Lumpur, an accomplish-ment that won him the ArjunaAward during the same year.

Manika Batra, the recentlycoroneted queen of Indian tabletennis, considered herself privi-leged to receive the burden ofresponsibilities from SharathKamal.

"I am very happy and thank-ful that he is transferring hisresponsibilities to me. And I feelreally grateful that a player likeSharath bhaiya , who has broughtso many medals to the country, istrusting me with these duties. I willdefinitely try my best to fulfill thoseresponsibilities and win moremedals for India," Manika said.

However, the 22-year-oldremains wary of going throughstints in Europe, unlike SharathKamal who has enjoyed spells inSpain and Sweden and is current-ly playing in the German

Bundesliga."My style of play is quite dif-

ferent and I don't think anybodyelse will understand it better thanmy coach, Sandeep sir does. So, atthe moment I would like to focuson training close to Sandeep sirhere in India and improve in thestyle of play that defines me,"Manika explained.

The 'style of play' in questionrefers to Manika's efficient use ofpimpled rubber on her paddlewhich saw her demolish her oppo-nents at the Gold CoastCommonwealth Games.

Along these lines, Manika alsoexpressed her hesitation towardsopting for foreign coaches, saying,"Sandeep sir has been my mentorsince I was four and no one else canbe in a better position than him tounderstand my style of play. Anyother coach at this point will taketime to understand my style of play.For me that would mean startingall over again."

4(�*,��,.�5,.)�+/�+1�',6Besides coach Sandeep Gupta

another character that has playeda key role in shaping ManikaBatra is that of Neha Aggarwal.Emerging as the only woman fromIndia to feature in table tennis atthe Beijing Olympics in 2008,Neha explained how a SandeepGupta led Stag table tennis acad-

emy inspired Manika to take herroad to glory.

"I played in the Olympicswhen I was eighteen. Manika,who is six years younger than metook inspiration from there as weinstilled a belief in her that she cando even better. We told her thatsimply representing India at theOlympics should not be the aimanymore. I was a representative in2008, but Manika has just betteredit. And that inspiration has comealong with a journey that lasted adecade. It took 10 years forSandeep sir to bring a big result.Ten years, they worked together,learning from my career, trying notto repeat the mistakes that wemade back then and reducingevery margin of error so that shecould be a better version of me,"Neha revealed.

She then went on to note thequalities that define Manika Batra."She is one athlete who just acceptsso well. She learns and adapts real-ly well. She is smart. She under-stands the game, contemplates itand applies it to her performance.And that I think is a mark of a truechampion," she said.

The 2008 Olympian continuesto be a role model for aspiringyoung players at Stag academy,admitting that the young onesstill count on her whenever theyfind difficulties in training.

&������(�0

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has becomea vital cog in the wheel for

whichever team he plays, and theIndia and Sunrisers Hyderabadpacer says experience and superi-or fitness have made him animproved bowler.

Bhuvneshwar, who made hisODI and T20 debut in 2012, has sofar grabbed 90 wickets in 86 ODIsand 28 wickets in 26 T20s and hasbecome the go-to man for skipperVirat Kohli.

"The big change is experience,learning the things. At any stage, ini-tially, you don't know much aboutthose places or that environment, so(when) you keep playing you get toknow, what the things are likethere. Nothing is easy. So, yes expe-rience - which I have gained overthe last two-three years - reallyimproved me as a bowler," the 28-year-old Meerut born player said.

"And the other thing is fitness,the foremost thing which can keepyou going for so many years," hesaid.

Asked whether he got any tipsor advice from anybody, he said,

"No, nothing, no special thing. Ihave been working in general, theway you do - match practise, fitnessdrills and individual skill - there isnothing special."

The swing bowler said therewas "commitment to improve myfitness and improve as a bowler".

Bhuvneshwar, who is at easebowling at the start and even in thedeath overs in white ball cricket,says that bowling at any point inT20 format is difficult.

"It is difficult to bowl any over,doesn't (matter) whether it's the firstsix overs or the last four overs.

Wherever you bowl in this (T20)format, it is very difficult.

"If you don't do a good plan-ning or if you don't have a goodstrategy it (will) always be difficult,because there is power-play withonly two fielders outside the circle,so good chances of you getting hitfor runs. It is all about pure strate-gy, planning and execution," he said.

He also admitted that thingshave gone the SRH way in the cur-rent edition of the IPL, where theyhave won three of the first fourgames.

"So far it's been good. It hasbeen the start of the tournament,almost everything went our way. Ofthe four matches (played so far), wehave lost only one. So far I am pret-ty confident as a bowler and look-ing forward to the next (set of)matches."

Bhuvneshwar also praised cap-taincy of New Kane Williamson.

"He has always been a goodcaptain, he has captained for manyyears and has been successful. Heis a calm guy, so whatever situationcomes, he thinks calmly about thatand you can see the results in thefirst three matches," he added.

&���� )�0�+

Mumbai Indians coach RobinSingh says the one-wicket

defeat to Chennai Super Kings inthe Indian Premier League open-er still rankles, considering theyhad the returning outfit on the mat.

In their last outing, MI brokea sequence of three successivelosses with a big win over RCB.

Singh said he did not readmuch into those early reverses.

"It is not a matter of concernbecause we were on the course ofwinning three matches consecu-tively. The one-wicket defeatagainst CSK still pinches becausewe had them on the mat.

"We feel we went for edges butthey never flew, can't say what wentwrong. We got the act together anddon't want to look back but for-ward. We are looking at theremaining matches and keen togive our hundred percent," saidSingh.

When asked about wicket-keeper-batsman Ishan Kishan'sinjury, Singh said that he has

recovered."He is a fine, energetic crick-

eter and recovered from the blow.He would be joining the practicesession," said the former Indiacricketer.

Talking about their goodrecord against Rajasthan Royals,Mumbai Indians' opponents onSunday, Singh said that past recordsdon't matter.

"Bygones are bygones and itcan just give you confidence but wewould do what we want to do. Theyare coming from back-to-backlosses and the one against CSK wasa humiliating one. We will makethem know that they are comingfrom back-to-back losses."

Regarding skipper RohitSharma batting in the middleorder instead of opening theinnings, Singh said that it gives bal-ance to the side.

"Rohit is a tremendous open-er but him batting in the middlegives us great balance. We do notneed explosive batsman at everyslot, we also need to give stabilityto the batting order."

����������#���������$� ��� ������������!& ������4������%���&��

;���(���������������������������4�6

0� �$',%%7��0� ���: �� ������������"�*�* �"�A7�����BA�!��������"����(���������!������!��

�-�:0..0-+���/�+-�FB�+����0�/�:0+��91/.0��������-���1�/-+�@F�+��

�0�/�31+-K���-+�1���1���9-

�/-���-����K�=+1���&��/1��==-+-�

�/-0+�=1+�/�.1���0�=0:-����3/-�

&����������������������������6�������

;���� �!����������������������������������6

A��.���������������������������

"�����A������������� �

�����3�.��������� �

<�A��?A��D����������$���� ����������%,������������3����3�����.�����A����� �� �2������$ ��

5�4�/�4��$�

�How was it to play the lead in High Jack? It was amazing. It is India’s first ever stoner

comedy, a sub-genre of comedy films thatrevolve around the use of cannabis. This film islike a contemporary version of Jaane Bhi DoYaaron. All the characters go through their per-sonal crises and they happen to be on a flightwhich gets hijacked. The situation is funny buteverybody else is serious.�How does your role add to the comic ele-ment?

He is a struggling DJ and hopes to get anopportunity to perform at a big gig. He carriesillegal stuff in the flight which gets hijackedand in panic, he mixes it all that in thedrinks and everybody gets high, literally.�How was it to work with KareenaKapoor, Sonam Kapoor andSwara Bhaskar in Veere DiWedding?

It was a lovely experi-ence. They are profession-al actors. I liked thestory and was keen towork with directorShashank Ghosh. I saidyes before reading thefull script and withoutknowing who are mycostars. �What madePermanent Roommates asuper hit?

A lot of things likeMikesh’s character who hasmeek reactions to every situation.Some of the most funniest parts areimprovised. The credit goes to directorSameer Saksena who allowed us to impro-

vise.�Which role was close to your heart?

Chandan’s role in Trippling because he was astrange version of myself. His situation wasextraordinary and his reaction a version of myreactions. Since I also wrote the script, I was ableto perform it.�Which role was tough?

Dilavar in CEOgiri as he has anxiety disor-der, is an introvert and an anti-social. Theseparts are more complex to play as I didn’t wantto make it look like it was a health problem. Therole drained me. I had to feel all those things. Ihad to dig in from my experiences of sorrows torelive those moments. �Which is more difficult — scripting or act-ing?

Scripting is definitely more work and a com-plex job. When you are acting, you are basicallyfocussing on one character. When you are script-ing you are living each and every character’s lifein your imagination. Acting is tough in its ownway. A lot of people just focus on their lines buta lot of acting happens in a reaction. When youunderstand that, you start enjoying the scenemore.�What are your Bollywood dreams?

The work that I have done so far has beenpartly realistic in style, character and situation. Iwant to go all out and work on a larger than lifecanvas, like the original Agneepath which is aperfect blend of glamour, scale and fantastic dia-logue. That film really changed the way I lookedat things.

I became an actor because at some point, Iwanted to run through fire. There is poetry indialogue. The writing in the film is way ahead ofits time. If this film was to happen today, itwould be a �1,000-crore film. The movie is theultimate underdog story.

I also loved Russell Crowe in A BeautifulMind. I was blown by his performance for which he won the Oscar. I wish I could get toplay a part like that — complex yet interestingand the internal journey that that man goesthrough.�Do you feel the pressure to outdo your previ-ous performances?

No, but I like to surprise my audience. Thepressure is that it takes so many years to createan image and then so much of an effort to breakthat image and create a new one. To come out ofthe comfort zone and experiment is what I wantto do.

����������'������( '������ ))*�)+,-

������!�������&����� ���� ���!�� �5����/�!��3!��� �4��� �3��14��!�4��!��� �6����?�&��������0�������6���� ���!�������!0�!��������4���� 1���������!0�����0�/�����4�� ���/�!�4�5��� ���0����6!1 4������ ����� �4 ���06�

������������>������������

The spring-summer fashiontrends are already out and mostdesigners in India have already

showcased their collection duringthe Lakme Fashion Week that tookplace in January. Those who follow thetrend already know what is trending,in terms of cut, colour and prints. Butthose who have not, here is a sneakpeek on what one should in one’swardrobe this summer. However, oneshould not confuse fashion with fash-ionable.

“Fashion is not related to a fad; itis versatile and flexible. From prêt tocouture, designers are making clothesthat are more and more wearable sothat people can just pick up the lookfrom the ramp directly. Being fash-ionable would not necessarily meanthat the person follows fashion. Thereare a lot of people who have their ownunique fashion statement and areknown to be fashionable,” RanuBathwal, CEO-founder of Pop upGalleria (a virtual exhibition gallery),tells you.

The global summer trend this yearis all 1980s. The looks have been recre-ated. “It is more subtle with a mix andmatch of colours. Pink is a hot seller.Prints are in with butterflies, stripesand checks in vogue. While these aremore for people in their 18-35, it does-n’t mean that women in their 40s can’tpick it up. Such women can pick uptunic dresses that can be teamed withpalazzos or wear it like a shirt dresssince they are versatile,” Ranu says.

No summer wardrobe is completewithout a selection of light and breezysummer dresses in a variety of floralprints or solids. As you head out fora summer holiday, pack in the specialsplit dress, layer as you like. “Flauntthat dress in fabrics and cuts that aresummery and easy to wear — perfectfor the hot and humid season. Evenbetter is the dress, split down the mid-dle, side or across. Split dresses are

comfor t able ,they’re stylishand, best of all,they are trend-ing. Opt for thecoolest printsand colour-blockensembles. Thetop crush now isshort dresseswith summeryprints thatshow off yourfigure beau-tifully. Brightsolids tooare guaran-teed to addthat extradash of

chutzpah to your look,” says KamakshiKaul, vice-president Design at MaxFashion.

She also tells you that the one canpair floral printed vertically splitdress with skinny denims; add shadesand a hat. Another style is to layer asolid coloured dress with a long flo-ral jacket for a day out.

Kolkata-based designer DivyaSheth’s love for natural dyes is easy togauge as she tells you to go for

clothes that allowyour skin tobreathe, given thefact that she lovesto work with indi-go and brick red.“Since I work with

natural dyes, mychoice is limited.So it is indigo,brick red, haldiyellow, ivoryand olivegreen. I alsowork withKalamkari —this is mainlyin black orgrey. It doesn’tmatter whatthe colourpalette is today

as along adsthey are classiccolours,” Shethsays. She addsthat whatmakes greyspecial is thatwith so muchinformationavailable onthe Internet

and given that peopleare becoming fashionconscious, they knowhow to use this colourin their wardrobe.

“They know that they can use it withsome make-up. They are educatedenough about how they can use itgiven that grey is such a sophisticat-ed colour. Then there are checks andstripes. Checks have always been infashion. If you are a safe player, youmay want a checkered blouse withdenim. If you are more flamboyant,you can wear check bottoms as welllike a Madras check,” Sheth opines.

For Siddhartha Bansal from Delhiit is silhouettes it is Bohemian for thisseason. The easy-breezy, loose fittingsnot entirely constructed are in. Theyare a fad because they vibrant and fun.Any one who is young at heart canwear this style. Anything that is funis what one should look at in 2018.Therefore, rainbow colours are infashion,” he explains and adds thatwhile fashion is all about what makesthe wearer comfortable, designersalways try and give a twist to a look.

“Show dresses are very comfort-able since one can wear in differentways and look different as well sinceit give a Boho look. If it is high tea,pick a show dress and wear it with abelt; if it is just a morning outing, wearit with denim,” Bansal says for whomfashion is all about style.

“People usually consider stylewith fashion. But they are two differ-ent things. A stylish person is some-one who can carry a clothing witha lot of panache. She may havepicked up a piece of clothing froma street market and yet look fash-ionable,” Bansal says who also tellsyou that while it takes time for a trendto catch on in India as opposed to theinternational market, things arechanging with various social mediaplatform where people go and lookwhat the trends are for a particularseason.

For Sheth, must colours in one’swardrobe this summer has to includeindigo and ivory.

Many balk at the thought ofbaking. They have their

reasons. From using the correcttools to following the recipe toa T in a particular order, can betedious. Some feel it is timeconsuming — what will all thewhisking, prepping and lettingthe dough sit in the refrigera-tor come to mind when onewants to bake. One also needsseveral equipment — a weigh-ing machine to get the correctproportion, cups and spoons,baking dishes and the mostimportant piece of equipment— a good oven.

But Chef Stephane Treand,a French pastry chef fromBrignoles, France, MeilleurOuvrier de France award recip-ient, and a restaurateur resid-ing in California, US, tells youthat baking can be fun giventhat there are so many tools,equipment and machines avail-able in the market.

“It is not correct to assumethat baking is tedious. Yes,there are a certain rules that onehas to follow while cooking acomplex dish. But this is truefor any cuisine. There are so

machines and equipment thatcan be used to reduce the hoursspent while baking. It is a mis-nomer that baking is all aboutfollowing a recipe in the tradi-tional fashion. Yes, there aremany chefs who are now goingback to the traditional way ofart of pastry making. This hasmore to do with the artistry andintricacies involved rather thanto do with taste,” he says.

He also busts some mythsthat are associated with baking.“I don’t understand from whereone has got the idea that whisk-ing of egg whites should only bedone in a glass bowl using awooden spoon. Pastry chefs use

machines to whip up the whitesand the end product is not onlybeautiful to look at but tasty aswell,” says Treand whose nameis associated with many contestsand demos the world over.

The chef who was in theCapital recently to teach the artof chocolate baking to pastrychefs of the Academy of PastryArts, says that as far as the cal-ibre goes, there is little differ-ence. “There are beginners andthere are professionals. I teachin the US and I find that thelevel of French pastry is not sohigh as compared to Europe butthere is a lot of curiosity andhunger to learn,” Treand says.

There are several tech-niques now in use. The mostpopular being chocolate airbrushing,” the chef says andtells you that the secret of agreat pastry is not so muchdependent on the kind ofequipment used but the ingre-dients themselves.

“The reason why theFrench are considered to be thebest when it comes to pastry isbecause it is seeped in our cul-ture and the decoration wasessential too. We have a sayingin France: ‘If it looks beautiful,it is bound to be tasty too’. Apastry with the minimalistic ofingredients will win everytime,” Treand says whofavourite pastry is coffee éclairand lists a few things thatneeds to know while dealingwith chocolate.

“Tempering is important.Avoid humidity. Always usecocoa butter chocolate which isdark. One can use a microwaveto melt the chocolate but nevera glass container. Never store itin the refrigerator; at most putit in the chiller,” he concludes.

�You started off as an RJ and went on to become a singer.Why?

I started singing for All India Radio in Kolkata when I wasin Class IV. My mother is a classical singer, I used to go withher and found that there were no RJs just announcers. WhenI grew up, FM came and I was attracted to the work of RJsand joined AIR, then moved to Radio Mirchi and then BigFM. The journey as RJ was very long before I finally movedto Mumbai in 2009 to begin my singing career.�Tell us about your gharana.

I belong to the Rampur Sehswan Gharana. If you haveheard of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan saheb, his Guru wasUstad Nissar Khan saheb. My mother learnt from him. Backthen, nobody was taught music out of the fraternity. She wasthe only woman student. Music has always been a part of my

life. Then RJ happened but was not happy andshifted to Mumbai and working for a TVchannel. In 2015, I finally quit my job toensure my singing career took off. It wasthen or never.�How tough has the journey been?

It has been amazing. Every day is a chal-lenge. It is a tough field that I have chosen.

Nothing is certain. Every day one has todo something new. If you sung a song

is a certain manner, the other has tobe different. But there is a sense ofsatisfaction as well. After all I amdoing something that I love and itis for myself. When your work isappreciated, it gives you a high.�Would you agree that in orderto pursue a career in Bollywood,you need to quit your job?

If you are a genius, thenmaybe you can handle both.One has to give this industry 100per cent to get back 70 per cent.When your attention is dividedbetween your and job and pas-sion (singing), you are not giv-ing your best to one field. This

was true for me. I was work-ing 12 hours, then there wassocialising, there was net-working and practice. I hadto quit my job.�You made a debut(singing) in the Teluguindustry. How did you man-age the language?

I have sung a lot of jin-gles for ads in different lan-guages. So that was not aproblem. I also have a knackof picking up local dialects sothat makes it easy.�Classical singing is dif-ferent from Bollywood.How do you make theswitch?

Yes, it is totally different.I use my classical training tostrengthen my base and

develop my voice since I don’t sing classical. Bollywood hasthree-four minute songs. The only difference is that in aBollywood song you have to give expressions and a feel. Thesur, the taal, etc, has to be perfect which I get from my clas-sical background. The switch comes easy since I have had train-ing in ragas, surs and taals.�What next?

There are a few Bollywood projects but don’t know whethermy song will end up in the movie so don’t want to talk aboutit.�What does it take to remain on the top?

I am very new to the industry. What I have seen is thatthere is need for everyday planning and strategy. Talent alonemay not get you to the top unless you are exceptionally bril-liant. Today, networking and how you get people to perceiveyou is just as important. Social media has opened many oppor-tunities. One can showcase one’ talent easily. Earlier, one hadto go to people with a CD. Today, a song put on social mediathat goes viral means that you can get picked up for a pro-ject.�What about doing independent music?

I did a song (Kajri Ka Kajarwa) with Shahid Mallya, anoriginal which was much appreciated. I have collaborated withmy sister and some international artists as well.

)�����������������������������3������'�����*���7���������%%�2��3��4�7%)/0)� )&/?7*)�����������������������������������2���4������&')6,�,�&) &��)

;��6������������������0��6

����2�������������E����� � ���������� �

;?�K�4+�E���?��:>4�1P�L1E+2��?�>:K1�,:K!6

TalktimeSUMEET VYAS

He became popular after being a part of the webseries Permanent Roommates and CEOgiri.Actor-scriptwriter Vyas, who was last seen asthe lead opposite Kalki Kochelin in Ribbon,

talks to Sangeeta Yadav about hisupcoming movies and

love for acting

�0�%2,0%,+$70�,'0(�

'�� 6���!��! !�5�� 4��/��������6��� ���4������0����� 5!��@3

!� � ������!��3����!���/!�� �!� ��

�/�.0�0���9�-����"�������3"�������"���������&�������� ����������������*"��������"����"���"���������������������������� ��� �� ��� ����� ����

�/0.-��-.�0��3/131.��-�0����03+��:-�-��+-��/����/-

�-�-��+��+-�0���1���1+-��/���@7�3����K1�/�:-��1�����0��0��=1+��1+-

�/���B7��-31���������1

��� ������������/�.0�0���9�-����"����" ��������&�������� �� �������" ��&(�"�������� �!�*������������� �

0=�K1��+-��-�0�&��/-���K(-�K1�3��/���.-���)1(�?=1..1��K1+����01�$�1�-/����1�0:-�/0��0����+K677��-+�3-���1�-��(�39�D7�-+�3-��

���������0��

'��������������������������#������ � ��)� � ���� �� A����������"@ ������@����������@������������������#�� ��N����� �

������������������3��������������������-�������"��@��� ��A�����������!������ ����� ������#��� ������������� �� "��� @����� ������������ � )���C�������" ����������#��������

����������������� ��� ���)���������� ������� ���������� �� ��������������� ���� ������C���

E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

����������������������

( * ) , � : � & ' � & % �

�&" ��" ���/��"00� ��%��1��"�0�2��*�%�"� "#!�.�#���� �"0�#��34��%0� ��5��"%��� �0 �%5�#���" �2� &���%5���0��2��01�������4"0�

The rooftop is a significant part of abuilding — whether it is at homeor a commercial space. At home,the rooftop may be used for play-ing cricket, football, or as a recre-

ational area for different activities — paint-ing, singing and dancing. Sometimes, it isconverted into a kitchen garden or partyarea. In olden days, terraces functioned as anarea where one could escape to in order toavoid the overcrowded house or uninvitedguests. It was used to dry clothes, spices andchillies, was a popular haunt for youngstersin love and this is where neighbourhoodromances blossomed.

Till date, it is used for kite flying, throwingwater balloons and playing Holi. It is synony-mous with space, freedom, and recreation.Many homes have converted their rooftops intocommercial spaces — as coaching centres, lan-guage schools, salons, boutiques or summercamps. The rooftops in a commercial buildingare used as a party zone, storage area or as astage/platform for budding singers, writers,comedians or to stage live events and shows— sufi nights, comic acts, jazz events, or bookreadings and launches.

But what if, say, one is banned from usingthe house terrace for anything except (hypo-thetically speaking) solar panels? Not onlywould it be restrictive but also somethingimposed on you. If the authorities set up thepanels and use it for their profit, how wouldyou, as the house owner, feel?

Let us say the situation is slightly different— the panels are installed over each residentialrooftop by the authorities (with or without asubsidy) for domestic use or set up by thehomeowner for domestic/commercial use.Then who do you feel has the right to benefitfrom this installation? The authorities, you orboth? Something similar has been happeningto rooftop cafes and bars across Delhi, espe-cially in central zones like Connaught Placeand Khan Market. Read on to find out whatthis hullabaloo is all about.

Even before the Kamala Mills fire brokeout on December 29 last year, the New DelhiMunicipal Council (NDMC) had already start-ed sealing many restaurants in CP. This sealingwas triggered by the building collapse onFebruary 2, 2017, over the iconic Jain BookAgency in C block. This sudden caving in ofthe heritage building was followed by anotherincident when the roof of Unplugged

Courtyard in L block also collapsed exactly aweek later, raising questions about the structur-al stability of other buildings.

These incidents led to sealing of 21rooftop restaurants, bars, and cafes in CP —My Bar Headquarters, Warehouse Cafe in Dblock, The Vault in F block, Kinbuck2,Kitchen Bar in C block, Lord of the Drinks,Open House Cafe, Jungle Jamboree, BoomboxCafe, Farzi Cafe, House of Commons, HotelPalace Heights, Office Canteen Bar, LuggageRoom, Cafe OMG, Unplugged Courtyard,Barbeque Nation, Turquoise Cottage, TeddyBoy, The Niche and Cafe Public Connection .

Connaught Place, it is argued, is a heritagearea which should not be subject to suchunmitigated proliferation. The truth is it isalso an old construction which wasn’t meantfor so many cafes operating in one building. Itnot only puts pressure on the plumbing andother wiring but also on the walls and floor-ing. The recent proliferation of restaurants inCP has led to many violations of safety normsand building bye-laws. Many cafes androoftop bars have been operating withoutauthorisation, trade licenses, and the requisitesafety measures in place.

In 2015 as well, roofs of 13 restaurantswere sealed due to violation of safety norms,after which the owners were made to sign anaffidavit by the NDMC.

It can’t be denied that rooftops not onlyensure better revenue for restaurant ownersbut also make a good place for people to meet,chat, drink, and smoke in the open area. Openareas, balconies, and rooftops bring in higherrevenue as they are perfect spots for privateparties, hookahs, and live singing. In pleasantweather (November and February), they aresought after for parties and get-togethers asguest love to soak up the sun or get cosy witha drink while a band is playing alongside.They help you enjoy the stunning view of thecity as you dine. A terrace for a restaurant is itsselling point and covering balconies meansextra tables and thus extra revenue.

Post the building collapse in February2017, most restaurants, where rooftops weresealed, reported 50 per cent loss in business(almost �2 to 4 lakh a day) and more on week-ends. The NDMC started conducting door-to-door checks in the wake of the building col-lapse. But a few months later, these rooftopplaces reopened — by either getting a stayorder in court or by showing that their roofs

are used only for gensets and water tanks, notfor commercial activity. Now once again thesealing drive has begun, triggered by theKamala Mills fire.

According to the New Delhi Traders’Association, the NDMC is using this as adivide and rule policy to break a united standagainst “pedestrianisation of CP”. The tradersare opposing this as it would affect their busi-ness and it has already — due to the pedestri-an walking zones, parking of cars near cafeshas become difficult. This has made manypeople drop CP from their list and moveinstead to malls and other neighbouring mar-kets like Khan Market.

Central markets like CP and Khan Markethave a very high property tax for restaurants,which is why many restaurants prefer to usebalconies and rooftops to make extra money.But the NDMC rules that these spaces shouldbe used for safety equipment, fire exits, andother such paraphernalia. Restaurant ownersand managers claim that they use these placesonly to store extra things and not for cus-tomers. The tussle between the NDMC andcafe owners will continue, it seems, with eachblaming the other.

Structural safety certificates are now anecessity as nobody wants a repeat of theMumbai tragedy. Buildings that are more than50 years old lose their capacity to hold heavymachinery — if they keep adding floors, gen-erators, mobile towers, and water tanks, theywill eventually cave in — like it happened inCP at two places.

The rule that is easily flouted is the onethat pertains to the number of minimum seatsrequired to obtain clearances from the firedepartment. A seating capacity of more than50 needs clearances but restaurants flout thisrule by showing a capacity of 48. This lawneeds to be revised as there should be zerotolerance towards flouting of fire and safetynorms. Restaurant managers give theirdefence by saying how they conduct regularfire safety workshops and mock drills to beable to evacuate people during fires.

The opposite happened in Mumbai — thestaff of 1Above and Mojo Bistro were not pre-pared; they sent people to the washroomsinstead of an exit. Both places did not haveemergency exits or any working fire equip-ment. They had made extensive alterations tothe structure of the building, illegally occupy-ing the large balcony area. The Brihanmumbai

Municipal Corporation (BMC) had earlierdemolished their balcony, raided these restau-rants and even taken them to court. But it didnot cancel their licenses.

When licenses are not outrightly cancelled,there is speculation that the law enforcers maybe getting kickbacks from the business con-cerned. All these issues come to light whentragedy strikes, innocent people are hurt andthen the authorities are blamed as are the cafeowners, who turn a blind eye to safety norms,just focussing on the revenue. Didn’t we learnenough from the Uphaar tragedy that hap-pened years ago but still gives us goosebumps?

The rooftop party ban is not only on CP,but also Khan Market and Lutyens’ Delhi.Khan Market has 156 shops and 74 residentialspaces, of which 44 are commercial and 30 arecafes. Only 10 eateries are on the groundfloor, while the rest are located on the first orsecond floor. Second and third floor cafes areextremely unsafe due to lack of emergencyexits and narrow winding staircases. The mar-ket has narrow lanes, narrower entrances, andopen wiring everywhere. Even open kitchensmay not be the best idea in these circum-stances. Haphazard development is a fire haz-ard and can lead to suffocation and stampedein case of a fire. It is a crowded market withone of the highest real estate in the city.

The economic viability of many cafes ismaintained by encroaching on spaces like bal-conies and rooftops. So, in the blind ambitionof gaining more revenue, many restaurantsfocus on superficial redevelopment andbypass the important fire safety norms. Theworld today is all about earning the big bucksand putting their best face forward — thisdictum applies everywhere, sadly even tobusinesses where money is the sole operatingfactor and nobody thinks of spending onthings that can save lives.

Balance needs to be achieved and main-tained here to avoid a repetition of theMumbai tragedy; there should be extremelystrict guidelines for cafes, licenses should begiven after stringent checks and not bribery.No compromises should be made in the safetydepartment. Staff should be acquainted withthe safety drills and focus on helping cus-tomers first as exemplified by the Taj Bombaystaff in the wake of shooting by Ajmal Kasab.

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������*�?2EQ2�<2E��������������������������������������

DD�#

�/-�-31�1�03�:0�(0.0�K1=����K�3�=-��0���0���0�-��(K

-�3+1�3/0��1����3-��.09-�(�.31�0-�����+11=�1��$��1&�0��/-�(.0�����(0�01��1=�0�0���1+-�+-:-�-&���K�+-���+����

=13��1����-+=030�.+-�-:-.1��-������

(K������/-�0��1+����=0+-���=-�K��1+��

���������0��

����������E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

( * ) , � � � + � � $

�/-���+90��1�#���0�-��-=1����01���-�����.0�

���0����K�(1.

Heritage buildingsshould not be givenlicense for lifts if the

infrastructure is weak andold. Commercial licensesshould not be given to all andsundry — illegal operationsshould be heavily fined andpunished. Khan Market hasbecome so congested that ifthe need arises, fire trucksmay not be able to even enterthe lanes. Some shops andcafes that were sealed recent-ly by the NDMC were WokIn The Clouds, Amrapali,Khan Chacha, Smokeys BBQand Grill, Geetanjali, JawedHabib and Affinity. Many are

being forced to pay conver-sion charges — levied formisuse of land, to be paid ifland meant for residential useis converted into a commer-cial establishment.

Infrastructure shouldevolve with the times. Take theexample of Gurudwara BanglaSahib in the heart of the city,where the parking area hasbeen increased undergroundto accommodate the growingnumber of cars. Maybe thedifference lies in not having acommercial angle at the endof the day, but cafes and shopshave to be less selfish andthink about the larger good,

the bigger picture.Even though this ran-

dom (or not) shutdowndoesn’t solve the real issues,it is a warning for new,emerging businesses. Theban is logical if you see thebigger picture and careabout your safety, but not sorational if seen with thegreedy eyes of an investor.What we need to ensure isthat the cafes that are stilloperating are doing so underthe strictest compliance tothe rules and regulations laiddown by the authorities andspecial committees set up forthis purpose. And the cafes

that are allowed to reopenare also doing so becausethey have the safety proce-dures in place and notbecause they greased thepalms of some official orfiled a PIL in court.

The Kamala Millstragedy is a wake-up call forall of us — all Metro citiesand other tier towns as well.We should have learnt fromthe Uphaar tragedy to notmake those mistakes again,but history repeats itself toteach us a lesson in case weforgot the previous one.

3�������������$����� �������������$�� ����� �

Amessage from Shaheen— my oldest friend inKashmir teaching atthe Kashmir University— woke me up that

morning. It read quite high octaneunlike her usual messages, “Don’ttell me that I haven’t told you thistime,” followed with a smirk icon,“Tulip Garden is opening in aweek. If at all you can manage, letme know,” ending with a laugh outicon. I smiled at myself, cherishingthe hint of sarcasm that my friendhad made. In the next 48 hours, aquick decision and an early morn-ing flight to Srinagar, there I wasresponding to Shaheen’s message.

From afar I saw a sea, a seaof colours as I stepped intowhat remains the most impres-sionistic memory for me. Thereit was — thousands of tulipsswaying in the tender breeze,making conversation with thecrystal clear blue sky. Colours asrich as they could get, the reds,the creams, the violets, the yel-lows, the purples.They enam-oured my senses as I strolled inthe Tulip Gardens as it is com-monly called, nearly two hoursof that morning of late March.

Till this colourful encounterI had seen only images of tulipsfrom the Netherlands in numer-ous photos and in the art ofHenry Dudley Murphey, a latenineteenth century lithographer,and in the works of Dutch Goldenage painter, Judith Lester, whosesolitary painting ‘Tulip’ is still con-sidered as one of the masterworksof 19th century.

Inside the vast garden, thou-sands of visitors were roamingaround, conversations and chat-ter filled the air.I slowly walkedthrough the long winding lanesbetween the tulips. Just200metres from where I was, Isaw a group of Korean visitors —a woman in her 50s, wearing aflowery cap, bending down totake a close look at a red tulip. She

looked at me with a smile thatglobal travelers often share. I rec-iprocated with a “Hi”. In unac-cented English she said, “This is my fourth year to the gardensand you know, I always make surethat my leave from office is sanc-tioned much in advance for this,”said Keiko Bang, who I learnt is a Mathematics teacher at aschool in Bushan, South Koreaand is a part of a 40-memberteacher group especially visitingthe valley for the flower festival.She was quick to invite me forcoffee in the visitors’ cafeterialater. I wondered how beauty ofnature can be an attraction sansboundaries.

Strolling deep inside the gar-den, I reached a relatively sparsesection. I stood in the pool ofcream tulips that surrounded me.They were different and stoodtheir own ground in that riot ofcolours. Suddenly, I saw someoneright in the middle of the bed offlowers. Drawing his attention Iended up having a conversationwith 33-year-old Bashir Ahmed,one of the lead gardeners, who’dbeen working there since 2007.

Shyly, he responded to myquestion regarding the varieties ofthe tulips. In a mixed Urdu-Hindi, he said: “Each year morevarieties get added and now wehave some rarest types that hadbeen imported from Hollanddirectly. I have not been to foreignbut I think ours is the best.” Hehad a smile, defined by a sense ofpride, beaming on his face.

I decided to take a smallbreak with a refill of energychoosing to have the famousKashmiri kahwa (an infusionmade with sliced almond and saf-fron strands). I wasn’t surprisedwith the sizeable crowd at the foodkiosk stall — such is the pull of theexotic drink.

In a few minutes, I found acorner and tucked myself in. Justwhen they served my tea that

looked unreally invigorating, ahusky voice popped a question,“Hi, what does it taste like”. I gotconscious of the presence andlooked up — smilingly they greet-ed me. It was Rishav and SunainaThadani, a honeymooning cou-ple. Sunaina quipped “I havenever been to Kashmir but myparents had their honeymoonhere 30 years ago. I was mydream to be here. I had toldRishav that Kashmir had to be ourhoneymoon destination. Onarriving, we came to know of theTulip Festival, it’s so unreal !” Shetakes a breather while Rishavpeaks it up, “Anyone would feelromantic here, I felt like breakinginto a SRK number”. We alllaughed together.

With the present state of con-sumption and depletion ofnatural resources, striking a

balance in the ecosystem is indis-putably the need of the hour. Safedrinking water which is a basic neces-sity for healthy living has become aluxury in many Indian households,especially in semi urban and ruralareas. According to the recent esti-mates and projections by UnitedNations (UN),783 billion peoplearound the world do not have accessto safe and healthy drinking water andaround 1.8 billion individuals drinkcontaminated water which puts themat a risk of contracting water borne diseases like cholera, jaundice,typhoid etc.

In order to address this, the mostwidely known initiative, World WaterDay, is celebrated every year on March22 to bring to people’s notice the issuespertaining to availability of safe drink-ing water, the need for water conser-vation and the solutions that one canlook at to tackle the water crisis situ-ation in the country. The use anddemand for water has grown manifoldacross various sectors due to rising dis-posable incomes and spending poweramong Indians. In spite of this shoot-ing demand, there is a major mis-match in demand and supply of waterin India. Most cities and towns in thecountry face the challenge of acutewater scarcity.

Having said this, the major prob-lem concerning the drinking waterspace is not only the severe water con-tamination threat and depletion ofwater reservoirs, but also the lack ofawareness among people about avail-ability of right water purificationtechnology. One needs to understandthat there is no one particular solutionor technology that can purify water indifferent areas of the country. In addi-tion, while the use of technology andadvancement of science can provideready solutions, sometimes tradition-al time-tested ways can help fulfill therequirements of people in a muchmore effective way.

Below are few easy and simple tipsthat one can follow to conserve water,this world water day:

� Choose the right water purifica-tion technology: Several researchand studies have shown that Indiahas varying water conditions andclearly there is not one single tech-nology which can purify water inevery region. Use of RO waterpurification in (low TDS) areaswhere it is not required, leads notonly to ‘de-mineralised water’ butalso adds to water wastage. Thereis wastage of 7 glasses of drinkingwater for one glass of pure/ healthydrinking water. The solution here

lies in choosing the right waterpurification technology to avoidwater wastage from the purifier.

� Opt for efficient home appliances:Invest in a faucet aerator, chooseefficient shower heads and opt forhigh efficiency dishwashers andwashing machines which use lesswater and can add up to large watersaving.

� Reuse and refill: Don’t grab a newglass or bottle each time you drinkwater. Refill the one you alreadyhave, it will help in cutting downthe number of glasses you washeach day, thus saving more amountof water.

� Protect ground water resources:Contamination of ground waterdecreases the replenishment ofavailable fresh water. Nearly, 70 percent of our country’s irrigation and80 per cent of domestic water usecomes from groundwater, which israpidly getting depleted. Avoidusing pesticides or chemical fer-tilisers in home as it poses seriousthreat to one’s health and polluteboth ground and surface water.

� Treat waste water: Technologiesassociated with waste water man-agement are constantly evolvingand has become the main focus ofa large number of scientists, tech-nologists and water professionalsaround the world. It includesprocesses and strategies which areaimed at reducing the reactiontime, plant footprints and cost ofthe treatment. By treating andusing waste water as a resource youcan reduce on water bills and useit for other household purposes.There are various other methods

too which are practiced in various dif-ferent combinations. With a lot ofareas suffering from water scarcity, itmay be time to revisit some methodsto help innovate new ways of revival.

�������������������2���������F������#������! ������������ ���.�� �����

.��������������5������������������ �(/�K�9��+���� �����������"��*��������� ������������������

���4���������������������3���

?� ��� � ��������������� �� �� �������%�������� ���������!������$����$���

�/-�9���.���0..��+�-�K������

��9->��3�..�=1+�$��-��/1.��/�:-.-�+���=+1���/-

�/��+��+�-�K��1�1����9-��0���9-���0�&�(��/0��1+K+-�-����0��-.=��1�-�3/�����.-��1�0��3��-��-�=1+1��/-��+-:01��1�-

���������6 �����4�����03��� � ���4�������

4��4��4���/!�� �!�� 3� ��6��� 1

������ ��!� ��������A�� �� ���3 �4������/�6�������!�B6!����� ��/��/��������64���!����4������3

5>�0��>�<�?,<�,�2��� � ������"����� ������������9��"� �� �������"������������������ �����"������ �����������������!�������"������������������ ��!���&�*� �����0.1�+--�(0����

%�29<!?00?A

( � � � H � � 1� �"������������� ��������� ���� �

������������������������������������* �"������������������������� ��������������������!���B7�"�������$�� �����������"�����" �������R�!��*�������������������/ �������&�* �"�������� �*�����"�� ��� �&���"���������.� �&��������� ��������� ���!��������6$@�� �� ����� ��������8F���� �� ��&���������"��������"��������� ���� ��

� �" ������&��"���������*����"��������������������������"�4@�� ������ ��6@

� 0������� ����!�����"��" ���������" ��!���� �������*��&�����*�� �������������� ��&��� �� ���������"���������������&�*�������������"������������ ����"������ ���$������������������������ � ����*"��*��������� ��*�������!����" �����*��� ������ �

���������0��

�������/-��1(-.�.0�-+��+-��+0R-�(1�K�0��0��3+0�0��=1..1�0�

+-�0���01���1:-+���+1�0��3����.�1=��..--���-;�.��(�-

E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

�"������� ��� ����������� ������������� �"�! ����!�������� �� ������ ��$��"�� �"������ �� ��&��"��������� �������������$�"���� �� ����O� � !� ���!��*�����������*����&��"��������� �� ������ ����"�� �"�! ��-�����!������������!��$�0��������""������&�"�*������*����� ������V��"��*��������� �V��"�V�/�*�����V������"���"��� ���������� ���� ���"��������������-���"V������������ ������ ����*�����"�������������������� !��&���������������� ���������$

����'%�'���"�%"���"%/

��$"*��678

'���**&<���

���&�� ��������&���� �������"��� ������������������ ������������� �����

��� �������������"����������������"�������������"������ ���$�0����&��������������� ���!�"�� ������������� ������������������ ������������� ���,�������#$3�����������*"���*���" � &� �� ������������������ !��,�������#&����� �� ���������*� ����"�����������" �����$��� � ����"�" ���������(����� ��������� ������������ �� �����!�������(����� ���� ���� �������������� �� ���������&������������������!�� ������ � ����� � � ��$

2�'+��&������*������"��9� �����#�5�*��778

��������������� ���������������� � �� ����"����" ���� �"������"����� ������!������������"��� ��#��� �"���������������������������$-��������������"������"��&�*"�������"���*�������"���������� �&�!� �� �������" ��������G��("����"����������������� ������ ��� �������"������� ��3������*�$�(���*"����"����� ����*�����"���"������"��� ��� ��&��"�� ������������������������"���"�����*�� �������R������������ ������*�����!����"���� ������" ��"���$�����G��� �����"���"�����"��&����� ���������������� �������� � ����� ����"����� ����������"����� >�����"� ���������� �����"���*����"������� ��!�������$

�:���*�:&�����*�)(��)���

:"�%"��� �#"��"�"��$"/�%5�.�5 *��677

With stars in their eyes andhope in their hearts,Gursevak and his wife, Sukhi,

landed at the Heathrow Airport ofLondon. Balbir, their friend, was rightthere to receive them. Fortunately, thesecurity situation then was quite welland England was not all that fussy inthe matter of migrants either, so theirimmigration check did not pose anyproblem. They were not carryingdutiable items. They were, therefore,also able to pass through the Customswithout any fuss. Once out, they foundthe cheerful face of Balbir in thecrowd. He nearly flew into the arms ofGuru and their hug lasted quite awhile. When they disengaged, Balbirgreeted Sukhi warmly. After the briefwelcome, they busied themselves inrecovering their luggage.

The couple’s first impression ofEngland was that somebody seemed tobe in control of the situation here. Thequeues were quite orderly. Though thepassengers did not line up all thatstraight-that was understandable forthey were civilians and not soldiers-nobody displayed any inclination tobreak the queues. The traffic on theroads was heavy, but not chaotic. Thecity seemed to have maintained its sim-plicity and traditional grace. Clean andgreen London appeared magnificent,though there were no skyscrapers to beseen. People here kept mostly to them-selves. Otherwise, however, they werehelpful, warm and friendly, if you need-ed to contact them.

Heathrow was not very far fromSouthall, where Balbir lived. He hadhis small double-storey house nestledin a row of adjacent houses thattogether looked like half-a-kilometre-long barrack. Most of the immigrantsfrom Punjab had settled in Southalland it was considered a sort of a ghet-to. The settlers, however, had graduallyconverted this ghetto into a good live-able place. Almost everything that thePunjabis had a need for-gurdwaras,temples, mosques, malls, banks,restaurants, shops and offices-had

come up here in the course of time.The place very much had some flavourof Punjab. It was a sort of home awayfrom home for them.

Balbir had acquired this house onmortgage and lived here alone. So hehad no difficulty in accommodating hisnewly arrived guests. He himself shift-ed to the guest room on the groundfloor and handed over the entire firstfloor to Guru and Sukhi to live in com-plete privacy. He had arranged for theirlunch from a Punjabi restaurant thatday. By evening, Sukhi assumed chargeof the kitchen, as if it were her own. Ithad been properly stocked in anticipa-tion of their arrival. She cooked thefirst meal of rice and rajma (kidneybeans) for dinner. Balbir relished thehomely food that he had been missingfor quite some time.

They then sat for hours in thedrawing room talking about their days

in Lahore where they had spent someof the best time of their lives to beginwith and later had to witness the hor-rors of Partition also. They particularlyrecalled their great escape from the cityby the skin of their teeth. The coupledid not forget to mention the assistancethat Balbir had provided them inbringing them together, and Balbir gotnostalgic about the village life inPunjab that they had left behind.

Finally, they switched over to dis-cussing their plans for the future. Thenext day was marked for rest and set-tling down. The day after, Balbir was totake them to a manufacturing unit,engaged in baking of bread, buns, bis-cuits, cakes, pastry, etc. He had fixed upsome work for them there.

‘You must have heard about theethos of the dignity of labour here,’explored Balbir. Guru nodded, ‘Weare mentally prepared to take up any

work to begin with.’Besides, the facility of flexible hours

of work was available here. They couldthus choose their timings and also thehours of work they wanted to put in.Beyond certain hours, the benefit ofovertime at enhanced rates could beclaimed. It was thus decided that Sukhiwould work for around six hours a dayand Guru would stretch himself for asmany hours as he could. This is whatmigrants did here to find their feet asquickly as possible. Simultaneously, ofcourse, both of them would start look-ing for white-collar jobs.

Next morning, all of them left forthe gurdwara for paying obeisancebefore starting their life anew. Afterthat, they went to the place where Guruand Sukhi were to look for employ-ment. The proprietor of the concernwas an amiable Englishman. A numberof Indians and persons of Indian originwere already working in his firm. Hehad found them generally sincere,attentive and hard-working, while thelocal fellows were inclined to mix funwith their work. So, he readily agreed toemploy Guru and Sukhi after a briefinterview and also assigned them theirwork. Guru was to work with a groupthat was involved in slicing of breadand Sukhi was to work in the packingsection. Their working hours and wageswere settled and they were told thatthey could join their duties the verynext day. After fixing their employment,Balbir also resumed his official duties ashis leave had expired.

Thus, all of them quickly gotinvolved in a busy routine. Sukhiprepared breakfast and packed lunchfor all and took care of other house-hold work, besides attending to herjob in the bakery. With her arrival,the general standard of tidiness andorderliness in the house hadimproved quite a few notches. Long-missed lassi and other Punjabi deli-cacies, like sarson ka saag, makki kiroti, karhi, pakoras, etc made theirway in the home. Balbir felt quitegood about this change.

6����������3�����7�����

In the last few years, we have seenseveral retellings on theMahabharata. They are a focusedstudy into the psyche of individualcharacters from the Mahabharata.

Since, the epic in its entirety cannot bereproduced in the novel form, theauthors have had to make selections anddeletions from the original narrative. Thepresence of the pregnant silences in theepic has been an advantage to the writersof the modern retellings. SharathKomarraju modestly admits during aninterview “with due modesty” that hisHastinapur series expands the epic ratherthan just retell it.

The third book in his Hastinapurbooks series, The Queens of Hastinapur, isa narrative which tries to understand thecomplicated and arduous lives that theselect women during the times ofMahabharata had had to live. The originalepic is a male-centred story of warfarewhere their dreams, ambitions, victoriesand defeats are narrated. Women’s storiesdo feature but from a male lens in theirvoices. This book, however, focuses com-pletely on the narratives of importantwomen who played a major role in chang-ing the direction of history. These womeninclude the two celestial women: Gangaand her foster daughter, Jahnavi. The nar-rative of the pre-war times begins in thevoice of the river goddess, Ganga. Framedwithin her narrative are the narratives ofthe three queens of Hastinapur: Gandhari,Pritha or Kunti, and Madri.

Saying that the novel is a fresh take onthe epic would just be a repetition consid-ering the number of retellings on the epicflooding the market lately. However, Iwould still emphasise that the author hasdone justice to the book that looks atimportant women and their narratives(which remain absent in the epic). Thenovel is divided into two parts. The firstpart of the novel is about Ganga andJahnavi. Ganga, who had been the queento Shantanu for eight years, narrates thestory of her love, sacrifice, and regrets asthe Lady of the River in Meru. Shebelongs to the world of the celestials whoare shown very much like humans with alltheir fears, ambitions, tricks and manipu-lations. What keeps them above humansis the fact that they have a little more mys-terious powers than the humans on Earth.Otherwise, they are equally scared ofbeing annexed and overpowered by therulers on Earth which makes them per-form deeds that change the course of his-tory for worse.

And all this they do in the name ofthe will of the supreme Goddess. Thename of the Goddess is not mentioned inthis book. The previous book in theseries, The Rise of Hastinapur calls herGoddess Bhagavati “who is present in adrop of water, in a grain of sand, in a miteof dust” (the quote is from The Rise ofHastinapur). She is the Shakti who knowseverything and who has plans for every

individual on earth and in the world ofthe celestials. She is shown as above theTri-Shakti: Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh.Many of the high sages and celestialsclaim to know her will, which Ganga reit-erates time and again, is “unknowable”.Ganga, the Lady of the River, is treated asa pawn in the hands of the celestials likeVishnu and sage Vasishtha. She is the onewith foresight and despite several warn-ings against meddling with the workingsof the men on Earth, the celestials do notlisten to her.

The first book in that sense clearlypresents a picture of the two women whowere wronged the most because of theinterference of the gods in the life of thehumans on earth. Ganga had to go onearth to save the eight Vasus for which shetakes Shantanu as a husband. She bearshim a son, Bhishma or Devavrata whomshe adores dearly. When Bhishma growsinto a fine youth, he decides to leave Meruforever and inhabit the world of humans.The book is successful in painting the pic-ture of the pain of the mother who could

not stop her son to stay with her while theoriginal narrative of the epic is silent onthis aspect of Ganga’s story.

Jahnavi, Ganga’s foster daughter, issimilarly wronged. As a mere fifteen yearold girl, she is sent on earth to accomplisha mission of empowering the Kingdom ofKamsa because the gods fear thatJarasandha, the king of Magadha, whowas on a mission to attack and seizeMathura, might win and ultimately pose athreat to the kingdom of Gods. Jahnavi,who was but a girl, in her enthusiasmgoes to Mathura but does not comeunharmed. To top it all, during the fertili-ty rite, when the virgin maidens on Merucould choose to lie with any celestial, sheis not given that liberty and the noveldoes not remain silent about her pain.

The author has beautifully portrayedthese characters. Ganga with foresight isthe very picture of wisdom. She is a partof the supreme Goddess. However, shehas her moments of insecurity mixed withfear of losing her title of the Lady of theRiver. But, when Jahnavi is brutally

injured, the spirit of the mother reignssupreme and she adopts Jahnavi as herdaughter and nurtures her to health.Jahnavi is shown as an enthusiastic andinnocent girl who is keen to begin themission. She is completely unaware ofwhat is in store for her. This is what onewould expect from an adolescent.

The second book begins withJahnavi’s voice who has become the Ladyof the River and is thus called, Ganga. Shehas been given the vision to witness thelives of the Queens of Hastinapur by theauthor. Through her we hear the tales ofGandhari, Pritha and Madri. The focus ismainly on Gandhari and Pritha. Madri’sstory does not find much voice in the text.Having said that, we as readers, do haveglimpses of her complex character.

The novel does not romanticise theirportraits. They are shown with all theirweaknesses, ambitions and fears.Gandhari, who has been wronged byBhishma, in attacking her kingdom(Gandhara) and marrying her to theblind king (Dhritarashtra, the first born

son of king Vichitraveerya), burns withanger. Not just that, Bhishma declaresPandu (the second son of Vichitraveerya)as the King of Hastinapur. These insultsare too much to bear for Gandhari. Theauthor in the novel rightly highlights thatthe status of the kings was measured bythe strength of their arms and the num-ber of kingdoms they win over. But, forqueens the only way to maintain theirstatus was giving birth to sons who wouldbe the heirs to the throne.

In the times when the Kings had sev-eral queens, it became all the moreimportant for the women to maintaintheir status and importance in the livesof their husbands. The first queenwished for the first born among all thewives the king had. The younger queensalso wished the same so that they couldascend their status as the mother of thefirst born, as the queen mother, as themother of the son who would be the heirto the King. Motherhood, then, becamethe only means of their power, their onlyattempt at sustaining the love of the kingtowards them. Komarraju highlights howthe miserable condition of women, andqueens in particular, forces them to theirvillainies. Their baseness, then, does notseem unjustified. Sage Bhrigu and HighSage Kindama, in the novel, reiterate thefact that no wishes can ever be right orwrong. Only the actions for those wishesare contemptible.

Pritha and Madri, Pandu’s wives andGandhari, Dhritarashra’s wife, all three ofthem wish to give birth to the heir to thethrone. Through their sons, they wish toregain, sustain or ascend their status asthe queen mother. All three of them com-pete against each other sometimescovertly and sometimes overtly. Theypretend, they confront, they fight.Gandhari has been shown as the calcula-tive queen but justified in her actionsbecause she has been wronged byBhishma and her husband. Pritha feelsalienated and ignored by her husband infavour of his second queen, Madri who ismore beautiful than her.

This, in turn, makes her bitter and sheseeks to maintain her status through herunfair treatment of Madri. But, again sheis not labelled as someone who is to becalled a villain in the house. Because sheis not as beautiful and attractive as Madri,the king does not spend his time with herout of love but duty. Madri, the youngerqueen is a girl of fifteen whose childlikebehaviour at times brings out the inno-cence in her. But, as she becomesenmeshed in the politics of power, she toobecomes cruel and bitter.

The author leaves it for the readers toread and understand the painful stories ofthese women who unknowingly “sealed”fates and destinies of their children. Forthose who love mythology, I would highlyrecommend this novel. Those who do nothave much interest in it, may also begin tolike reading the fresh take on the epic.

5F�2F!�>�:���02�" �������� ������$���(��������� ����������"��� ���� �����������"�����"���� ���O������*"������!�� ��������"����,������#��"��������������&�������/�-�����-)�

�6,C1,,+$.60�2+0�1%�������������=�6�����7��������E4&

)���)�����*�)���+��������"��������������������������������"����"��"��0�� ������� � �������������������������-����������!� �����"������ ��$�(����"��&��"���"��������� ������ ��!�� ����0�� �$�����������'

�6,�0(,$.�'$7$1+�%2,

��������%�����#-"

With the advent of newmedia, astrology, or JyotishVidya, as it is known in

India, seems to have caught up withpeople’s imagination across theworld like never before and theresults are showing on the ground.New-age entrepreneurs, includingventure capitalists, are willing toinvest time and money to perpetu-ate the age-old art of predicting andmending the future.

While veterans in the field saythat newer players in the Jyotish busi-ness are diluting the Vedic piousnessof the ‘science of astrology,’ youngpractitioners say the influx of newerconnoisseurs and patrons with skillsof reading the future with planetaryinfluences are here to stay, despitecriticism — and the fact of the mat-ter is that investors are lookingtowards astrology as a fertile field.

The age-old world of astrologyin India saw a sudden fillip with thegrowth of television and new mediaand business volumes started boom-ing. In a swanky office in thebustling Lakshmi Nagar district cen-ter in the capital New Delhi, PanditKK Sharma, popularly known asJyotish Guru among his patrons,runs the famous Astro Point.

“We started in 2006 with justtwo days of practice where walk-inclients met us for personal advice.We deal in luck stones, Astro tools,texts, Vedic remedies for bad lucketc. After a while, I started doingshows and used Youtube, Facebookand other social media platforms toreach out to potential clients. Todaywe are open seven days a week forpeople to meet us for advice andmost of our sales are done online,”Sharma told Sputnik.

Sharma’s upmarket office is fre-quented by the who’s who of tradeand business in Delhi and peopleconsult him before any big deal forbetter results, confides a staff in hisoffice without disclosing his name.We were not allowed to take a pictureof the office for “privacy reasons.”

Though Astro Point has flour-ished in the last one decade, thereare those who have been in the busi-ness for generations and enjoying thefruits of renewed interest in astrolo-gy, assuring people of a better future.Away from the posh office, RajendraBaidik is a street vendor for ‘preciousstones’ and he sits on a small carpetlaid beside the pavement at the gatesof the District Court of Banswara inthe western state of Rajasthan.

“Mine is a family business and weused to earlier sit along temples andareas where fairs were held. Now, forsome years, I have found that peopleare coming here for litigation in largenumbers and they are stressed out.All of my clients have my WhatsAppnumber and I suggest a specific stoneand ring for them as per the situationand face reading from their pho-tographs in advance before they reachme the next day morning. Theybelieve everything will be set rightwith these stones and I hope so too.There are many who have benefittedfrom the remedies suggested by me,”Baidik told Sputnik.

In India, traditionally, the basicschool for Vedic astrology was calledas Parasara School of astrology,which was named after the last of theRishis (great sages) of the Vedic age.

Even after his period, there weremany distinguished scholars of Vedicastrology of which there were twoeminent astrologers known as Saty-acharya and Varaha Mihira. Theydid a detailed study of astrology andwrote many books, including thewidely popular Jataka Parijata andSarvartha Cintamani. With time,Vedic astrology saw modificationsand it seems to be in a digital over-drive now.

In the last one decade, many newstart-ups on astrology have mush-roomed with multi-million invest-ments from India and abroad. Young-sters are leaving their establishedcareers to take up careers in astrology.Rohit K Singhania, an Australia-edu-cated banking professional gave uphis job to start India’s first astrologeraggregator platform, Izofy. The siteclaims to be an online marketplacethat connects users with astrologers,numerologists, Vaastu consultants,tarot readers, and Vedic healers.Media reports suggest that Izofyraised an undisclosed amount in seedfunding from the non-banking finan-cial company Prime Capital Markets.

The digital arm of a leadingIndian newspaper, launched Astros-peak, a mobile app for astrological

services four years ago. Many otheronline platforms, like Monkvyasaand Shubhpuja.com were launchedand attracted good traffic and users.Monkvyasa received Kerala’s angelinvestors fund for its inception andwas supported by Kerala’s StartupVillage and TiE Kerala.

Start-ups are competing withalready established players likeAstrosage and GaneshaSpeaks, whoare now more than a decade old.

Quartz online magazine in areport recently calculated India’sspiritual and religious market,including that of astrology, to be over$30 billion. Quartz ranks GaneshaS-peaks as India’s number one astrolo-gy portal in terms of visitors. Thewebsite claims around 10 millionunique users each month and itemploys 700 people, of which mostof them are astrologers.

Apart from corporate entrants,there are individual practitionerswho are making it big with theircelebrity clientele and strong onlinepresence. Nandita Pandey is a popu-lar name among Indian politiciansand celebrities. She describes herselfas ‘AstroTarotloger, Numerologist,Vaastu consultant, Energy Healer,Past Life Regression Therapist, Spir-

itual Guide, Life Coach’ who workswith personal contacts and relies onher portal nanditapandey.biz toreach out to new patrons to show-case her strengths.

“I have prominent VVIPs likepolitical heads from various parties,Bollywood, business houses,socialites, and bureaucrats, comingto me for consultations. They feelthat I will be able to provide rightguidance to them. The trust andfaith they have in my readings isimmense as most of them approachme through word of mouth recom-mendations, looking at my portal orafter following my prediction accura-cy for a long time,” Nandita toldSputnik. Young astrologers like Nan-dita feel that irrespective of the pes-simism, astrology has been able tostand the test of time.

“Astrology in India was alwaysthere, will always be there until eter-nity. It will continue to grow strongeras we have already entered into theAquarian age. This means that nowonwards, science and metaphysicalsciences like Astrology will workparallel and grow leaps and boundscomplementing each other in a moreamicable environment. No wonderwe have healing sessions that run inNASA. Also in the conference onrecent research on Mars, NASA hadinvited astrologers also to speak onthe subject,” says Nandita

Conventional specialists inastrology in India, however, denythat the art of telling the future is aseasy and plentiful as it is made outto be. They say it is a science whichhas to be perfected with time anddedication.

“Astrology is the study of theinfluence of stars and planets oneach individual, for it is said to play amajor role in shaping our personali-ty. Astrology aids in discovering theinnate power to create each day anddesign your destiny by mergingancient wisdom with practical liv-ing,” says TV Lakshminarsimhiah,the vice president of All India Feder-ation of Astrologers Societies(AIFAS), to Sputnik.

Lakshminarsimhiah is anastrology practitioner and a teacherof astrology. To regulate the streamof study AIFAS initiated coursesand certification to astrologyenthusiasts worldwide and today ithas branches in more than a dozencountries. The journal brought outby AIFAS Research Journal ofAstrology is quite popular with stu-dents of the stream.

While astrology in India relivesits glory, the country continues toremain a place of paradoxes. Whilethe nation rightfully boasts of its ITexpertise and being a youthful coun-try of space expertise, most mar-riages still happen here after match-ing the birth charts of the bride andthe groom. Most people look for anauspicious date and time to performimportant tasks. The paradox is sostark that it forced famous Indianacademician Professor CNR Rao topublicly question the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation’s long-heldpractice of seeking the divine’s bless-ings in the Tirupathi temple beforeits space missions while asking if theagency believed in superstitionsmore than its own abilities.

(Courtesy: Sputnik International)

,�����������������������������3���3�������������

��������������0�@������!�/�!��!�4����3

4��46���� �&� �C /!�6�����

!��0�6 ���!���1�4�6 �0�������� �!���031����5����!�D���5����?�

�������!��� ��� �������� �&� �C ��6�5�!����� �!���03/�!��������!� �

��� ��!

���������0��

�������E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

�"�������������� ���������������>����������� ������������!������������������ ��0�� ��������� ��������!����&�* �"�! ������������*��� ������ ��������

���������� �������������� ������

+��������9����--����+�3/�

�"���� "������"����G����������H���I&����� ���!� ��� �������!��"���� ����������� �&� �����* ���"�������*��������������������� "����$��"����������� ����� � �� ��� ��������������������������>

������"��� �"�������� ��������"�����"��>���� ���������������*"��� ����� �����������������������* �" ���������� ����"��������!����������� � �������������� ����"��������� �������"������"� ��������� ��� ����$��"����������������������������� "��������"&���O��!����"��"���&�*�����!��"������� ����� ��9����" �!���"����� ��$��"����� ����� �����"���"��*����������� ���* �"�� � ����������� ���������$�(������ �����������&���"����*������" ���������"��������� � ��������$

0�� ��������"����"���� "�����"����!������� ����������"����" �������� �����"�������������"����������������� ����������"�������������������� � ����������� ������ ���������� ���������������� �� ���"���� !������ ���$������"����!������������&���������� �� ����������� ���������"�������������!� ���� � �����$�0�� ������� ��&��"�������������"�������������������"��*�����"����"� ��������"���!������������������!� �������� ����!��������������������$

�"���� ���������������"� ��*"����"������������"����!����!�����> ��$�K��&��"�����������������������"��������������������!�������������*� �� ���* �" ������������ �����������*�������� �������� "�����!����"�*�����*"���"� ����"� � ���"���!������������ �����������>� ���������������$

������9"��� ���� "����-�"� ����� ���� ��'�=����������� �����0������� ���*� �����"��� ��658A&�*"����"��(� � �"�����������"������">���������������"�� ����&��"����������� ������ �������������"���� "����� !����"���$��"��(� � �"���*��"���� !�������"����� �"�� �����*"����"�(� � �"������������� $�$&�� � � ��� ���������������$��"��(� � �"���!������"������,��!����������#$

(� � �"����"�����������" �"��������������� ���������� "����$���"����%��� ��������"����"� ��������!����������������������� �������"��� ���" ���� ���$������� ������9"��&��" ��� ����"�� ����!�������"��������������� ��� ��� �������"���� "��������"�$��"��#������&��"� ���������"����!����!�����!����������*�������������� �����"������>�����"���������� "����������� �����"��������� ��$

(����" �� �����"���������!��������� ����!����� ����������& ����� ���!���"���� "�����"��������$������/������ ��,���������**�����*� �����"��&���� ����"��9" ��������������� ��0�� ��H6A6A>6A48I&��������������� ����������������������"����0��� ����"� ���� !�����������"����"���������-���� ��� �����"��(� � �"$��"���*���������!����� ����"����"���� "����#�,����������!������#��������� ��������������0�������������������������"��, �� ���#�(� � �"$�

�� "������ !���*������������ �� ���"��� ������*"����"�����������"��!�� ������ ����#��, ���������������#�*" �"����� � ������ ���"��� ����� ����>0�� ��*��� ��6A85$�0��" ��1���!���4B&�4768�����������"���!%���&�9�(����G ��*� �����"����"���� !������*�������"�����!�����9"��"� ��9"��&����������������������"�������������$�/���� ����"��� !������������������"�������������-����$��"������ !�������������"���"� ��*��� �� ���0�� �>"����9��"� ��!�������� �&��"���*���������������$������� ���������1���!���44&�476D��������������+#��*�!>� ��&�������� !������*���� �����!��!��!���� ������*��!��0�� ����������"���*�����!������� ��� ����"�����#������� ���������"��� ����"����"���� !������"���� �$

�"����� �����!������������ ������� � ����� ���"��� ����������������*������ �����"����� ���������� �����"�� ����&��"��R ����/�O� �������" ��C����*" ������������������"�����"�����%�" �����C�������������� ��������� >��� ��� ����� ����� ��������� ��������"�� ����"���" ���� �����&��� "�����*���������!����!���,����#��"���"����������������"����������"���"�������������������O�����"��$

1����� ���"������" �&������ �����������"������ �������� ����"������#��� � �������� ��� ���"���������#���� !������������ ����� � ����������$�(��� ���"��������" ���� ������������� ���" ����� �V

����O� ��$��"���� "�����"����!����!��������������!����������>� ���$������������"������&�� ����.���&���� ���"�"�������"���%�+��% ��� ��"�*���������!��������������"���� "����$��"��(� � �"&����&������������������������!�����"���� "������ !��$�/����"��(� � �"*�����&��"���*�����"�������� ����������������"�� ����&�!����"������>�������������� ������ ����!������!��*����0�� ������+��� �$��"�+��� ����H ���"��6A57�I�����*�����������"���������"����"����� �������������� �������������"������ ���������������� ����������>���������������*��������������������!�� ��"�����"�����%�" ����$

�"�����������������������������������!���"�����$�0�� ������������ ������ "������� ���� �����������$��"��������� �����*�"��� �� �������� ������ ���� ����������� ��O���� ����������"��������!��&����"�������� ��&� �� �������O���� �� ����"�� ������"���*��� ����������"� ����"� �������� ��������"�������������������� � ���!���"� ��������C����&����������������� ����!����� �����������C�������� ���"���������0���������,�� "������ ��#$

-�������������� ��$�����������&����� ������"��� �*��"��� ������"���� "������������ ����������>� ������������������ ���� ��� ����������"� �������� ��>�������� � ����!��� ����������H����!�������"�!����������"�� ������� ����I&��"�������������������� ������������>��� ��������$��" �� ��*"����"������������������ �����������"��*������� ������"���"�����������"���������� ���"����� ��$

.+�����/��)�������0

When the sustainable developmentgoals were being formulated,Goal II was one on which leaders

across the world were unanimous in theirdecision, that hunger should be eliminatedby 2030. Additionally, elderly, children andwomen would be given priority to achievethe status of safety of food and nutrition.But the problem is that we are not ready toaccept the magnitude of the problem.

Instead of seriously discussing theGlobal Hunger Index (GHI), the debate isfocused on what is India’s position on theGHI — is it 50th or 100th? And if it is at the100th position, is it true or not? Efforts areon to focus on the fundamental causes ofstarvation but this unsuccessful attempt isnothing more than hiding its failures. TheInternational Food Policy Research Insti-tute (IFPRI) has been measuring the levelof starvation in the world through theindex for the past several years.

These indexes are important because

they assess the status of society, keeping thecentral focus on children’s nutrition; other-wise normally, reports are bereft of chil-dren. These indexes are prepared by addingdata related to low nutrition, malnutritionand mortality rate below five years. At aglance, it seems that this is a limited stan-dard for measuring starvation levels.

To a large extent this is true. But thetruth is that starvation index must beunderstood from the point of view of lifecycle. It includes gender discrimination,child marriage, violence, possibility of childsurvival on birth, breastfeeding and protec-tion of children’s food, maternity rights,protection of natural resources and com-munity rights on them right from the com-munal-racist untouchability and freedomfrom violence, the interests of farmers-laborers are also included.

The low position of India in the indexindicates the situation of the backward andthe tribal sections of society. In India, 10.4

million people belong to the tribal society.They have their own cultural and socialidentity and lifestyle. They have conscious-ly made use of natural resources to over-come starvation, but global economic poli-cies have taken away their water, forest andculture based system.

According to UNICEF’s report(2016-17) ‘Nutrition and Tribal People— A Report on Nutrition — Situation ofIndia’s Tribal Children’, when there issustained food insecurity in family andsociety, then the growth of the children ismore prone to be stunted.

With this, children remain sick,environment of the school too is notgood due to adverse conditions and theycannot play the role of a healthy citizen.This situation is created due to poverty,food insecurity, and poor lifestyle. Thisinformation is not available in the resultsof the National Family Health Survey2015-16 (NFHS IV) that how many chil-

dren are malnourished in the tribal com-munity. But according to NFHS III of2005-06, 54 per cent ie, 62 lakh tribalchildren were the victims of malnutri-tion and stunted physical growth due topersistent hunger and continuous starva-tion. In States like Andhra Pradesh, Chhat-tisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthanand Telangana, 47 lakh tribal children’sgrowth was found to be stunted.

It is the Constitutional responsibility ofthe Government to pull tribal society out ofstarvation. In 2006, the Parliament hadenacted the Forest Rights Act so that tribalscould be freed from encroachment of forestland. According to this law, tribal and otherforest dwellers were given legal rights toland up to 10 acres of their occupation. Itscollective rights were also included so thatthey could get uninterrupted rights even onforest produce, dry wood, medicines, water,fruits and vegetables. This was a mandato-

ry step for their dignity and freedom fromhunger. What happened to its fate?

According to the report of the TribalDevelopment Ministry, till February2017, a total of 41.65 lakh claims weremade for personal and community inter-ests in India, out of which 18.47 lakhclaims were rejected. In the majority ofcases, according to the legal provision,the claimants were not told the reasonfor the application being rejected.

Basically, this issue is linked to ourcommitment to governance. In fact, societydoes not have to wait for the report of theGHI, if it intends to eradicate hunger. Anycrisis is redeemed as an ‘opportunity forprofit’. If malnutrition increases, companiesproducing nutritious food products beginto push for complete control by getting theGovernment contracts for supply.

Some international organisations aremaking out food to be a ‘complex subject’,so much so that hunger is now considered

to be a disease. The Government has greatfaith in these organisations but poor citi-zens suffer the most when they have toprove their identity every month by pro-ducing their Aadhaar cards before they getfive kilograms of rice or wheat from thepublic distribution system.

So, what is the solution to this prob-lem? The alternative is the experience ofthousands of years of Indian society dealingwith food security and adverse situations.In contrast to traditional production sys-tems, there is a need to adopt conventionalsystems of technology.

From farming to children’s upbringingand supervision of natural resources, wehave many scientific practices. WesternEuropean civilisations, like Europe andAmerica have also accepted these practices.If this is followed, attaining the goal of elim-inating hunger completely by 2030 is possi-ble and attainable.

(Courtesy: Charkha Features)

�"����!���/������0����� ��� ������� ������������"��������������� ����!������� �������" �����<������ � ��W���"��* ��&����"������*���������!����������&�*� ����)(�-�/���'(.�2(�/

'�������3������3���������������3�

�� "��������� ����������>� �����!��� ����������"������������ ��������������� �$��" �� ��*"����"�

������������������!��������� �����"���� !�������� �

�-��0�-�0��0��(-0���/-��1+.�<���-31��.�+-���=11���+1�3-+&�0��/����/-��-31��/0/-�����-+�1+0�/-���1�.��01�$��1

���+-����/0��0��-&��/-+-�0�����--���1���1��31�:-��01��.��K��-���1=��-3/�1.1K�

���������0��

��� ����E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

The Prince of Walesshould not automaticallysucceed the Queen as

Head of the Commonwealth,Jeremy Corbyn has said as hedemanded that Britain apolo-gise for its “immoral” colonialpast. The Labour leader saidthe 53 countries of the associa-tion should choose who suc-ceeds the Queen, suggestingthe holder could be elected ona time-limited basis.

Since the signing of theLondon Declaration in 1953,the position has formed part ofthe monarch’s title, with theQueen inheriting the positionfrom her father George VI. In1958, the Queen declared in theLetters Patent that PrinceCharles and his heirs wouldalso take up the title.

But other texts issued by theCommonwealth state differently,asserting that the Queen’s succes-sor should be chosen by theCommonwealth heads ofGovernment. Wading into therow ahead of a Commonwealthsummit in London this week, MrCorbyn has chosen to side withthe latter, claiming that the headsof state “ought to really get achance to decide”.

“The Queen clearly is per-sonally very committed to theCommonwealth but after her Ithink maybe it’s a time to say wellactually the Commonwealthshould decide who its own presi-dent is on a rotational basis,” hetold the BBC’s Andrew Marr.

It comes after Labour’s shad-ow international developmentsecretary, Kate Osamor, claimedthat Prince Charles should not beappointed because “he’s not beenthat vocal on issues”.

When pressed on the matter,she added: “I don’t particularlythink it should be him. Notbecause I have an issue with the

Royal Family. I just don’t think itshould be him.” Asked about MrCorbyn’s comments, theCommonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland ofAsthal, said the matter was forthe 53 heads of government.

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn reit-erated calls made by his party forMrs May to use this week’s sum-

mit to apologise to theCommonwealth for historicwrongdoing by Britain. He addedthat Britain must recognise its“historical role in many of theseissues”, including the treatment ofpeople in Kenya during the MauMau Uprising.

However, Boris Johnson, theForeign Secretary, said he had

received no such request from“any Commonwealth leader, for-eign minister or sherpa” he’d metso far. “It’s not a proposal that, asI understand, carries much sup-port amongst the 53,” he contin-ued. “I think it may have emanat-ed from the Labour Party… it’snot a proposal.”

���3���$���������

)������3��!���������"��@B������� �������"������� �� ����"�����"�����*"������������"��U����&�������� ����"��"�����������!���������������� ��>� � ����!�� �&�*� ����/�++K�K1+9-

���� ���7�������������� !������� F

��30:0.��-+:����1=�-��=0���/0��-.=�1+�/-+�-.=�0�

��1.:�(.-&��-3.0�+&������+-�03��(.-��0���01��

C���)--(�)�

��"��3�����*����"� �������������@B���� ���&����*" �"�6F�"�����"��U��������/������������

�=���������"��(� � �"�3�����*����"&��������!����������*�����������������"��(� � �"�-�� ��

��"��������>����3�����*����"���������6A8A&�*"����"����*����� �"�����!���

��"��3�����*����"�"�������! ����������� ������4$8�! �� �������������� ������ �����

�0��������������������&�"����� �"��&�����������&������"������������*

��"��3�����*����"����������������O�����������"��*����#���������������

"��������! ����������X67$@��� �� ��

��"����! ��!�������"���������������� � �������"��3�����*����"&��%� � ������=�!������5&�4765

���G��! O�������+*����������"����������!�������"����������"���������� ��� ������ � �* �"��"�� ����9 ������!������%� � ����"��3�����*����"

�.�������������������*������������"��3�����*����"�/��������������������� ��

��"��+�����3�����*����"���� ��� ���� �������������������!����"� ��"��� ����������&�* �"���� �*�����������!� �� ������� ��� �����"������������N����� �������!��P

�-,��+''+/3,( �-

Created 46 billion years ago, the Earthhas for years been a safe haven forhumans and animals alike. Up until

about 200 years ago, human interferencebegan to wreak havoc with Earth. Since thebirth of the industrial revolution around1760, more than half of the planet’s forestsstand destroyed. To put that in perspective, inless than 1 per cent of time since the exis-tence of the Earth, human interference hasled to the erosion of about 50 per cent of itsforest cover — these shocking figures, in hugepart, exist, because of the ever-increasingdemand of animal agriculture, which depletesall natural resources at an exponential rate.

The silver lining to this looming darkcloud lies in the often ignored but powerfulfact that solutions are not so far at hand asthey seem. This Mother Earth Day, let’s seehow simple steps, that each and every indi-vidual can take, are actually the long-termanswer to saving our planet.

When we speak about environmentaldamage, the most common myth is that theautomobile industry causes maximum devas-tation to our planet, but in reality, it is animalagriculture which is the villain in disguise.According to a report published by theUnited Nations Food and AgricultureOrganization in 2006, the livestock sectorgenerates more greenhouse gas emissions asmeasured in CO2 equivalent (18 per cent)than transport. It is also a major source ofland and water degradation.

As a matter of fact, animals used forhuman consumption and the crops grown tofeed them, currently cover 45 per cent of theearth’s total land. Animal agriculture isresponsible for up to 91 per cent of theAmazonian destruction, with 1-2 acres of rainforests being cleared every second. Animalagriculture also uses 34-76 trillion gallons ofwater annually, making fishless oceans a realpossibility by 2048. These global statisticsmight not be relatable to many Indians, butwe as a country with a growing meat-consum-ing population, are all a part of this chaos.

India ranks the first in cattle population,serving as home to over three crore cows andbuffaloes. Unsurprisingly, it is also the largestproducer of milk products in the world. Whatmay be astonishing is the volume of waterrequired in the production of milk.According to a study, one litre of milkrequires a shocking 1,020 litres of water —which includes cattle feed, cleaning, process-ing, packaging, and transportation. That’smore than the water consumed by a shower ifit is left to run all day! Multiply that with afigure of three crore cattle and we know we’vegot a problem. Additionally, meat and eggproduction require huge amounts of water —approximately 3,546 litres of water to produce1 kg of chicken meat, and 200 litres of waterfor one egg alone. For all this usage, India

holds only 4 per cent of the world’s waterresources, catering to 16 per cent of theworld’s human population, more than 70 percent of whom are meat eaters.

These alarming figures point to a simplesolution — an overwhelming need to re-thinkthe food on our plates — a simple choice thateach of us makes three times a day! By choosingto not consume animals and animal productsfor a year, one saves up to 15 lakh litres of water(which can sustain another person for morethan 25 years); 6,000 kilos of grain (which cansustain another person for 30 years); 11,000 sqftof forest area (which produces more thanenough oxygen required for four persons annu-ally), and 3,000 kg of Co2 emissions. You willalso have made the compassionate decision ofsaving the lives of 362 animals.

It might be a challenge for some people tocompletely eliminate animal products fromtheir diet, but even small changes like cuttingdown on meat, eggs, milk etc for a day cansave more than 4,500 litres of water and thou-sands of kilos of food, which can be used tofeed the impoverished. So, there we have it —the solution — very much within our reach.Curbing our consumption of animal prod-ucts, living a sustainable life ie eating greener,eliminating plastic, recycling, controllingwater wastage and so on can significantlyslow down and even reverse the damagecaused to our planet.

With a growing repository of resourcesavailable today — from plant milk, to mockmeat and faux leather — moving to a vegandiet is easy and accessible. Globally, there is agrowing awareness and shift with campaignslike Veganuary, which have empowered morethan 2.5 lakh people to go vegan. Locally, inIndia, organisations like FIAPO, Mercy forAnimals, and Vegan Outreach are runningcampaigns to create awareness and help peoplein adopting an environment-friendly lifestyle.So the question is: What changes are we will-ing to make to save our planet this Earth Day?

��������������3����� � �!������� � ������?�����%� ����� �F��������� ��&!?%F)

0���������������������F�������"������� ������ �����*����������������������������������"���8&@77�� �����*�������� �����������&�*� ����:�+����-/+1�+�

Former Finance SecretaryLakshmi Kant Jha had writ-ten an eye-opening accountof the life or rather plight ofa civil servant in a popular

book titled, Mr. Red Tape. Though inlighter vein, it made enough serioussense. There was another book byanother illustrious civil servant RPNarona; it was named, A Tale Toldby an Idiot. There have been manysuch accounts by many a civil ser-vants that attempt to narrate whatgoes inside the corridors of power inthe Indian democracy largelymanned by the civil servant, themembers of the coveted Indian CivilServices, who are called the IAS. It isthis IAS that is supposed to be thekingpin of Indian administrationand is referred to as the steel frameof the Indian governance.

Naturally, most of narrationsgiven in these books are not knownto the common man and come tothe public domain only when theyare written and published, post-retirement. Against this backdrop,the book written by Prateep K Lahirimay appear to be yet anotherattempt to come out with the insidestory. But the book under review,titled A Tide in the Affairs of Men,may not fall in the same category,though it, of course, is a recount ofexperiences and situations thatLahiri — a retired civil servant —acquired and faced during his longinnings in different positions,departments, and ministries.

However, a seasoned writer that

he is, Lahiri has presented the storiesand accounts in a rather differentfashion. Though the book is full ofsituations and dilemmas a civil ser-vant has to face, given the chaoticnature of Indian democracy run bymany erratic and whimsical politi-cians, it offers both uncommon infor-mation and deep insights. For Lahiri,who was at the helm as a Secretary inmany departments, varied experiencewould have come easy.

As the foreword written byanother civil servant Najeeb Jungsays, “A civil servant often findshimself or herself in unsolvable,peculiar, and unpredictable situa-

tions. He tackles them to the best ofhis or her ability, planning with carebut often hitting in the dark sometimes; with luck he gets away,unscathed but sometime luck runsout”. Rightly said and the book is atruthful glimpse of the events thatencompass a civil servant’s career.

The author talks about the threetenets underpinning the functioningof the civil service, which are perma-nence, neutrality, and anonymity.These tenets provide continuity andchange that are important for ademocracy, which is a continuouslyevolving system of governance. Butthen, he has rightly questioned thatdoes it actually happen this way?Well, he could have well-nigh assert-ed that it does not, but has preferredto let the narrations speak for them-selves. While he rightly underscoresthe importance of making the rightchoices for a career bureaucrat quitepoetically in Shakespearean par-lance, he has not been candid inmentioning what are the hurdles inmaking those choices.

And then there is that milliondollar questions: Given the kind ofprotection the Constitution gives tothe officers of the Indian CivilServices, will the things not be dif-ferent if that all-important tenet ofneutrality is maintained religiouslyby the civil servant? But these apart,the book is a highly readable volumethat offers insights into how theIndian bureaucracy has to function,what are the constraints that throwserious ethical dilemmas, and how

the officer manages that intraper-sonal conflict, which is often stress-ful. Some of the chapters in the bookare really informative and wouldenlighten the reader as to what wentbehind certain decisions that weretalked about a lot but understoodvery little. One such chapter is thatof the desperate measure of mort-gaging the gold reserves which theGovernment, during Prime MinisterChandrashekhar’s time, had to resortto in order to ward off a deep finan-cial crisis related to the country’sforeign exchange reserves. It certain-ly tells about an action that was notproperly understood.

The chapter on ‘Corruption inHigh Places and Low’ also makes alot of sense from the point of view ofthe common citizen for whom thetyranny of the bada babus and chotababus is more bothersome than whathappens in the corridors of power.His ethical dilemmas are interestingcase studies that offer many lessonsto both in-service as well as aspiringbureaucrats. The chapter onManmohan Singh is also worthreading, particularly today when anacademic politician is not in curren-cy. In fact, most of the chapters areworth multiple readings and thebook is of a different genre, thoughit is a career bureaucrat’s account.But the author could have thrownmore light on why whatever hasgone wrong has gone wrong in ourso-called steel frame.��������������� ��������� �$%�������,����������������������$, ���< ��#3����#�+G6

%�3����������������������+�� ����� � ������������������9�.�" � ���� ���!�����"���"����������������� �� ����"������� �� ������"��� � ������ ���C�����������&�������� ��&����������� ��&�*� ����������+��1�����/�9

#�����������������!������������=������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������*

���������0��

������������E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

�����*� ����

Mariah Carey has discussedher experiences with bipolardisorder for the first time in

an interview with US celebrity maga-zine People. The multimillion-sellingsinger said that she was first diag-nosed with the disorder in 2001,when she was hospitalised for a phys-ical and mental health breakdown: “Ididn’t want to believe it.”

The singer, who is in her late 40s,said that it wasn’t until recently that she sought treatment following “thehardest couple of years I’ve beenthrough”. In 2014, Carey separatedfrom husband , the rapper and TV hostwith whom she has twins, Moroccanand Monroe. In January 2016, , butannounced in October 2016.

“Until recently I lived in denialand isolation and in constant fearsomeone would expose me,” shetold the magazine. “It was tooheavy a burden to carry and I sim-ply couldn’t do that any more. Isought and received treatment, Iput positive people around me andI got back to doing what I love —

writing songs and making music.”Carey said that she was currently

in “a really good place”, and hoped thattalking about her experiences wouldhelp change perceptions of the disor-der. “I’m hopeful we can get to a placewhere the stigma is lifted from peoplegoing through anything alone. It canbe incredibly isolating. It does nothave to define you and I refuse toallow it to define me or control me.”

British rockers Dire Straits havebeen inducted into the rock-’n’roll hall of fame, but the

occasion was marked without itslead singer and guitarist MarkKnopfler, who chose not to turn upto the ceremony. Knopfler skippedthe concert in Cleveland, US, onSaturday, and it was left to bassistJohn Illsley to explain his absence.“I’ll assure you it’s a personalthing,” Illsley said onstage. “Let’sjust leave it at that.”

In an earlier interview withBillboard, Illsey said of Knopfler:“He just didn’t feel like coming, it’sas simple as that. It just didn’t appealto him, and I appealed to him onseveral occasions.” On Saturday,Illsley acknowledged the awkward-ness of Knopfler not being presentand then took a subtle swipe at hisclose friend by saying, “it’s morethan one person, a collective”. Theband did not perform after speaking.

Illsley did compliment Knopflerfor writing music that made theband — who had a string of hits in

1970s and 80s, including Sultans OfSwing and Money For Nothing —“stand out from the crowd”. FormerBon Jovi members Richie Samboraand Alec John Such joined currentmembers, including Jon Bon Jovi,onstage to mark the band’s induc-tion into the prestigious club. Theyperformed crowd favourites Livin’on a Prayer, You Give Love a BadName and It’s My Life.

Netflix will not bring any films tothis year’s Cannes film festivalafter a new rule change. In an

interview with Variety, the company’schief content officer, Ted Sarandos,said Netflix will not change its releasestrategy after Cannes insisted compet-ing titles at the festival receive theatri-cal distribution in France. Of the com-pany pulling out, Sarandos said: “It wasnot our decision to make.” Last year,Netflix brought Okja and TheMeyerowitz Stories to the Croisette,which led to protests from French cin-ema owners. French law states thatmovies cannot be available on home

platforms for 36 months after beingshown in cinemas. This would directlyconflict with Netflix’s day-on-daterelease for their films.

This year, Thierry Fremaux, thefestival’s artistic director, imposed aban on movies competing for themain prizes without a theatricalrelease. Sarandos called the decision“completely contrary to the spirit ofany film festival in the world”.Although Netflix could show films outof competition, Sarandos has claimedit would be unlikely. “We want ourfilms to be on fair ground with everyother filmmaker,” he said.

.,&+.�,.��/�,.5�,3�/0�)3�'',.)�1( )��/�+�&++

ABBC reporter inter-viewing England’s

Commonwealth Gamesswimming team took anunexpected fall into thepool. BBC Sport reporterMike Bushell is going viral afterhe plunged into the drink during aninterview with the swim team for BBCBreakfast.The clip shows Bushellclimbing into the pool to talk to teammembers in Australia and suddenlydiscovering there is a significant dropoff. Bushell — and his microphone —end up drenched.

�����

���C7,(.C+ $�2(&(/,),�'(//(',$�3+. $6)�+ $,)�

A112-year-old Japaneseman was confirmed as

one of the world’s oldestpeople, according toGuinness World Recordsofficials Tuesday. MasazoNonaka claimed the title ofthe world’s oldest living man atthe age of 112 years and 259 days. “We

are very pleased to announcethat we have a new record hold-er for the oldest living man. MrNonaka’s achievement is

remarkable — he can teachus all an important lesson

about the value of lifeand how to stretch thelimits of humanlongevity,” saidGuinness WorldRecords editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.

Nonaka was bornJuly 25, 1905, and hassix brothers and one

sister. He married hiswife Hatsuno in 1931

and the couple had five chil-dren together. He credits his

longevity to eating sweets andtaking frequent trips to the hot

springs, while his daughterclaims he lived so long dueto leading a carefree life.

Nonaka replaced theformer world’s oldest man

Francisco Nunez Olivera of Spain,who died in January at the age of 113.

He was presented with a certificate

commemorating hisrecord as well as a cake,which prompted him tosay “yum.”

�����

�+3/�3(/�)��1+','+.�( �'+5,$

Amemorial in a remotecorner of Massachusetts that marks

a 1969 UFO sighting has been orderedmoved, but one man who experienced aclose encounter is objecting. The 2,300-kilogram memorial in Sheffield wasinstalled in 2015, but was moved about9 metres a few weeks later when it wasdiscovered it was on town land.

Now, Town Administrator RhondaLaBombard tells The Berkshire Eagle ithas to be moved again because it’s on atown right-of-way easement.

That’s not sitting well with ThomReed. He was 9 when he, his mother,grandmother and brother saw what hedescribed as a “self-contained glow” thatflooded their car with an amber light.About 40 people in several surroundingtowns reported the strange light. Reed isthreatening legal action.

����

�0-�,.�.,'+5,$�1.+'�'(/6)�)�+'(�-

Doctors at a Chinesehospital said it took

two surgeries to remove alighter from the stomach of aman who swallowed it 20years ago. A video recorded

at a hospital in Chengdu City,Sichuan Province, using a camerainserted into the man’s body to locatethe plastic and metal lighter in his stom-ach.The man told doctors he had acci-dentally swallowed the lighter 20 yearsearlier, but didn’t seek medical attentionuntil recently, when he started havingstomach aches and bloody stools.Doctors said an initial attempt toremove the lighter was unsuccessful, buta second surgery lasted only 10 minutesand ended with the device being suc-cessfully extracted.

�����

'+�-,.6)�+*���(.7�-, &)�/(*��9D��&.�)+/�,)�(&,,

Investigators say a woman’s obituaryhelped federal agents capture her fugi-

tive son nearly four decades after heescaped from an Oklahoma prison.

The US Marshals Service says 58-year-old Stephen Michael Paris wasarrested with-out incidentThursday at anoffice inHouston where heworked under a pseu-donym. The agencysays investigatorstracked him down afteran obituary for his motherin Houston listed a son namedStephen Chavez, the same aliasParis used while living andworking in the Houston area.Fingerprints confirmed his identity.

Paris escaped from the Jess DunnCorrectional Center in Muskogee,Oklahoma, in October 1981. Heescaped after serv-ing about 19months of a nine-year sentence fordrug possession anddistribution. He wasalso featured on theOklahoma Department ofCorrections’ “Most Wanted” list.

����

',�-�1+�/$�-�$$,/��/�<::�3(;$�)/,7�1�0�.�/,)

Federal authorities inAtlanta said they seized

500 pounds of meth con-cealed inside wax Disney

character figurines. TheDrug EnforcementAdministration’s Atlanta office saidagents seized the 500 figurines

shipped to Georgia from Mexicoand discovered each wasfilled with about a pound of

methamphetamine. Thefigurines, accompaniedby a shipment of legiti-mate ceramic figurines

believed to have been sentas a decoy, were shaped likeDisney characters includingPluto, Daisy Duck, Winnie the

Pooh and Piglet. DEA specialagent in charge Robert Murphysaid the meth had an estimatedstreet value of about $2 million.The DEA said the incident was

one of the largest methseizures ever in theAtlanta area.

�����

��������������!/*�����������

) % % � � � � � � � �

3/0��#���130�.��-�0���0�-&��0���-0(1&�/���+-:-+�-����(���1�1�.0�-�31��-���+-.��-���1

/1�1�-;�.0�K��=�-+�1�3+K=+1��0���0��-+�-���-+�

+�����G����������7�������������

*�����7����?�!������ ���� ����������

Afew years ago whenI was living inEgypt, I was dis-mayed when theUN found that 99

per cent of women surveyedacross seven regions in thecountry had experienced someform of sexual harassment. Iasked my friends and discov-ered that harassment and sexu-al violence in varying degreeswas indeed rampant.

Sexual violence occurs intraditional and liberal societies.In fact, it occurs the most whereone might least expect it to be;Sweden, Australia, Belgium,United States, New Zealand fea-tured amongst the top 15 coun-tries with highest incidents ofreported sexual violence in2010, according to the UN.

These countries are not inany grave turmoil or abjectpoverty that may breed frus-tration to the extent one wouldthink could spark off extremeforms of violence. These arealso countries with fairly highper capita income. Indeed,there is some correlation ofsexual violence to income, butnot an absolute one. Intimatepartner violence range from23.2 per cent in high-incomecountries and 24.6 per cent inthe Western Pacific region to37 per cent in the EasternMediterranean region, and37.7 per cent in the South-EastAsia region.

An act of deep frustrationand anger, sexual violence ismore common and ugly thanwe might tend to guess.

Indeed, sexual violence oftengoes unreported, more so indeveloping countries andthose in conflict or at war. Incertain societies, it is a matterof great social stigma, so muchso that it might even be acause of more trouble. Further,most rape research and report-ing to date has been limited tomale-female forms of rape.There is some research onmale-male and female-malethat is beginning to be done,with almost no research onfemale-female rape.

And so from the data wehave, as many as 38 per cent ofall murders of women globallyare committed by intimatepartners. Nearly 70 per cent ofall reported sexual assaults —this includes assaults on adults— occur to children agedbetween 17 and under nine.Around 44 per cent of rapeswith penetration occur to chil-dren aged under 18. Around15 per cent of those raped areterrified, helpless childrenyounger than age 12.

On April 11, 2018, therewas little else I could think ofother than the Kathua rapevictim. Family and friendsconfessed how saddened theytoo were by this rape andeventual murder of the eight-year-old in Kashmir. Many —including me — expressedanguish on social media. Someothers took to the streets.

Sadness usually is hard toexplain, just as much it is toforget. However, just daysafter the incident, at a candle

light march for the girl inDelhi, the desire for selfieswith celebrities overpoweredthe grief for her rape anddeath. A week later, the moodbegan to mellow down. Someamongst us have now movedon to express horror at thenext scandal in the news.

It appears that the 24/7newsfeeds and always ‘on’ socialmedia apps have resulted in aglobal dilemma ‘to like or dis-like’ — a predicament thatrequires ultra speedy user reac-tion. Mainstream media oftenlikes to ride the wave of themost ‘trending news’, whilepoliticians never waste a crisis toshow their opponent down andmove on to the next big news.

In our world today, there isanger everywhere — the worstof its kind that leads to pitiableacts of sexual violence — eventhough we are all born inno-cent, sweet, and loving. I lookat my five-month-old boy andmarvel at the joy he radiateswith his beaming ever-readysmile. I think about how Icould preserve forever thatinnocence and those laughingeyes. I am saddened butamazed by the guileless glitter-ing eyes of the baby sitting onthe hip of his sister, desperatelybegging at the traffic light, hisarms around her neck.Anywhere and in any situation,we were born innocent. Howdo we keep that joy and posi-tivity within humanity, insteadof transforming that into emo-tions that make rapists andmurderers?

And so before our child inKashmir becomes just a num-ber adding to the world statis-tics on child rape, a mere dis-turbing fading memory, anoth-er cause that called for a candlelight march, a Facebook postthat will soon be replaced, letus slow down and imagine aworld where there is less angerand such desperation. How dowe get there?

For solving almost everysocial problem nowadays, wetend to go looking for causaleffects in the economy, orblame the polity, which thenfurther convolutes the prob-lem. These are usually inti-mate problems infesting oursociety, but we search for solu-tions afar. Perhaps doing soremoves the burden off ourheads to fix the situation. Itmakes us feel less guilty.

The state of the economyor the nature of governanceindeed shape society, but thesolution to violence lies withinus. The journey of search forsolutions needs to be directedinwards. What can we, asmembers of society, do to bemore resilient? Can we be lessreactionary? Must we notchoose better leaders? Let usplease raise children who growup to be adults that are lessangry? Slow down… pause…introspect… act. "���$���������� � ���� �������

��� ������������� ����� �������� #%������<��� �> ���&(C'H)#��������F �2������,���%����#���

� �����������������������$������� �1� ����9����$�I���������1� �

�0�0K��3/���-+)0.0.�+����0

� � & � � � � ) �

+����������

��K�/-+-�����0����K��0���01�&�-��-+-�(1+�

0��13-��$�/1���1�-�9--���/���)1K�����1�0�0:0�K

�0�/0��/���0�K&0���-���1=

�+���=1+�0��/���0��1

-�1�01����/����9-�+��0����

�����+�-+-+�V

���������0��

E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

������ ����������"��!���"��� ����� � ������������ �>

����$�0��"���������"�������� ���"�������!��"���������������!�������� ���� ���� ��$��" ���� � ���� �"�����67�����������*�������������������!���� ����!�������"����"�������&��"���� �����"������"������>�������� ������*��������������������� �����!����$������ ������������ ��� �����!� �"��� ���"��3� � ����%���>���������������� � ��&�����"������� � �*����������*"�����������" ����� ������������� ������� �������� ����"��������� �$������� ������"������ ��� ���&��� � ���������*����� �������������������"����"���� ��*�� �����"��! � �������"�� �����������������������*���������������� ��� ���"��!����!������� �����$��" ������"������������*��� ��� ���"�������&�*" �"����!��� ����"������ ��$���������$��" "���"����&����������������� � ���-������ ����*���" &������� ����������"*����� �� ������ ������������>� �� ������ �����$�3����� ��*�����������"�����O� ����������������������������"������ ��������������������*�����*��"��!�������������$

R ��� ���� ���������� ���"����������������� ���

����� ����� ��������*"����"��������������������� ���O� ��� �� �����������>!���&� ����� ���0�� �$�������#����� �����0��� �������: ������&��� ��� ����"���������������� ���"� �������"�*�0�� ������O� ����&*"��� ��������* �"���� ������� ������"��G ��� ���HR09:I&�������� ��������� ��"�� ����� ��������� � ��� ��$�0���"� ����������!>� �"����������"�4A��" ������ ��0����� ������&������������ ��� ������������ ����0��� ��������: ������&��� �����)�����0��� �������.�������������"������!����� ���� ������������"�����������"� ��� �����"�����"�*��"�*��"��0�� �������������� ����O� ���"��������� ��������������" ��������� ������ �������� !�������"��� ���$

�" � ��* ���!�������� ���� � ��������� �������>

����������������"����"����������"����"����������������"������ � �������"����!����" ��� ��������� ��$��"�������&��!� �"��� ���"��%������1�2�����������������3����� ��2��&��"�*����"���"�����������������������"������ � ������!��"���!���!��������� ���$��"�������������������"������ � ������������������� ���&�!������> ������ ��������&��� ���"�������*" �"�������������* ���!��������� ������"�������� ����� � ���& ����� ��������������&�"�����!�������* �"����>� ������ ������������$�N��*���������������*������ �" � �����������!������� ����� � ������ ������>������������������*��� ��> ����� ��� ����C��� ���"����*�������� !������������"���"�������� ������>� !��&P��� �������������"���+���� ��"��������� ���� �����-� �!���"� ��(� �� �$

�� �� ����������������� ���������

� ���������� �� �� �������� ����

:&%%�'������+��1�����/�9

Some four years ago there was viral story on thesocial media that the American PsychologicalAssociation (APA) had coined a term to denote a

new mental disorder that was making people obses-sively shoot their own photos and share online. Thephoto of oneself shot by one’s mobile was termed selfieand the propensity to make it viral was given the nameSelfitis. Though it then turned out to be a hoax, someresearchers now think it to be a real mental disorder,some sort of an obsessive-compulsive reaction.Disorder or not, Selfitis seems to be an addictioncatching up with a large number of people, young andold who are hooked to the social media. Why this ishappening may need some more probing but it can besaid with a considerable degree of certainty that it is anextension of the Attention Seeking Syndrome popular-ly called ASS. This ASS is not a new phenomenonthough easy access to technology has given a means tothe tendency for expression of a cardinal desire ofhuman beings- the craving for being liked and fol-lowed. It is rooted in the ego or esteem needs of thehuman beings as given in Maslow’s highly popularNeed-Hierarchy Theory. The fountain head of thisSelfitis is the ego and sharing one’s own photos shot bythe mobile phones is an attempt to pamper the ego.What is the underlying assumption behind postingone’s photo on the social media? It is the excessive selflove that ends up in narcissism. To understand this selflove one can read the story of the young Narcissus inthe Greek mythology who fell in love with his ownimage reflected in a pool of water. PsychoanalystSigmund Freud had written an essay on narcissismmore than hundred years ago and NarcissisticPersonality Disorder is acknowledged as an abnormalmental state by the American PsychologicalAssociation. This narcissism was not as rampant as it istoday though history of Greek kings likeNebuchadnezzar or Roman kings like Nero do suggestthat people in position of power often start nursingthat feeling of invincibility and start behaving as if theyhave acquired God like capabilities. With easy avail-ability of technology to all, even the ordinary folks nowhave the opportunity to express their most innate ofthe desires that is to be somebody. Facebook likes pro-vide that means through which people satiate thosedesires. And the interesting part is that it is a mutualwin-win, a trade-off, because the social media plat-forms give that chance for a quid-pro-quo. The ‘like’addiction is gradually becoming an obsession andmind you it’s a Hobson’s choice. There is no otheroption. You can only like. So everyone who is hookedto those social media sites has started liking the likes,rather developed an addiction for likes. Getting thoselikes makes people feel important. Excessive cravingfor the likes may result in paranoia as the person startssuffering from delusions of grandeur. This results innarcissism converting people into megalomaniacs. TheIndian philosophy has a very appropriate word for nar-cissistic tendencies — it is bhram or an illusion.Illusion of being centre of all attention. This illusionslowly results into a bloated ego and becomes the causefor undoing. Selfitis then is a form of narcissism thatarises out of more than normal self-love. It is certainlynot normal behaviour. Self-love is okay but beingobsessed with the self is abnormal.

%���������� ���� � �����������#������#���������������������������1>����������������������1���I�����1� �

� �� ������������ �� �������!

exile God from the conscious-ness of our heart.

Maya appeared throughManthara, the trusting servantin the own inner chambers ofKaikeyi to contaminate herheart with evil, Contaminatingpropaganda. And here in thisgreat land of India, the land ofDharma, which is meant toestablish spiritual principles forthe whole world to progressthrough, in so many waysMaya has come to give usmaterialistic association andforce God out of our con-sciousness. Now, we have thiscable television, right in theown inner chambers of thepalace of your home appearingto be so innocent and a sourceof great pleasure and entertain-ment. And when you turn theswitch, and the picture comesand the sound comes out andyou and your children are lis-tening, the most powerfulagents of Maya, material ener-gy, the propaganda of Westernatheism is coming and thatassociation more than anythingelse will destroy the very spiri-tual fiber of this land. And any-one can see, who wants to seethat what the Islamic rule inIndia could not do in 800 hun-dred years, what the Britishrule could not do in India in200 years and that is destroythe spiritual culture of thisland, television coming fromthe West has done it within 20years. But we want to dosomething, Better we come tosuch Satsangs to hear andchant the glories of the Lordwith our families. So associat-ing with material people andmaterial things even if we areLord’s personal associate it willdestroy our consciousness.

Lord Ram was exiled forfourteen years and mother Sitaand Laxman accompaniedLord Ram to the forest livingall the comforts of palace. King

Dashrath gave up his body inseparation from Ram andBharat Refused to accept thekingdom and abandoned hismother and set in search forLord Ram. This is Bhakti; any-one who comes between usand our loving service to theLord should not be accepted asour friend or relative.

Krsna is non-different thanhis name by worshipping thename of Ram the name ofKrsna will get the same resultsas worshipping them directly.And Krsna is all pure and thename of the Lord is as pure asGod. If we continuously associ-ate with the Lord’s name, theLord’s Lila, the Lord’s teachingsand the Lord’s devotees, wegradually become completelypurified. And the beautiful loveand bliss of the spiritual worldawakens within our hearts.

So, whether we are livingas Sanyasis, or Brahmacharis orwhether we are living within afamily with wife/ husband,children/ parents — what isimportant is that we follow inthe footsteps of the determina-tion of Bharat to be completelydedicated and faithful in ourservice to Bhagavan. We mustalways remember him bychanting his holy name. In thisway, we can feel real happiness.We can come together to wor-ship the Lord and his name.

Ravana was very powerfuland resourceful yet wasdefeated because he was walk-ing on wrong path he had amalicious intention. In thisworld, no matter how power-ful you are, or how resourcefulyou, defeat is certain for peo-ple walking on the wrongpath. Let’s choose the path ofgoodness, let’s have a clearconscience, surrender to theLord and be victorious.

����������������������������� ��������� ���2 ����$

� ��������� ���� ������

+�:�������:-+K��1�-+=.$

K-�&�/-�����-=-��-�

(-3��-�/-�/������.0301�0��-��01�$�

0���/0���1+.�&��1�����-+�/1��1�-+=.�K1�+-&��-=-���0�3-+��0��=1+

�-1�.-���.90�1���/-��+1�

���/

�*,�6�/0�;�&�6;,*,&

�-��1�.-�+���/0���=+1�-�3/�1�/-+<��-;�-+0-�3-$�1�����0+0��.�)1+�-K&��-��../�:-��/-����-��-��0���01�

C �+�+�/���

�������������

Ramnavami is thecelebration of thebirth of Lord Ram,the seventh incar-nation of Lord

Vishnu; this falls on the nightday of Shuklapaksha as perHindu calender and is thepart of Chaitra Navratri. Thisyear, Ashtami and Navmihappened to fall on the sameday ie on March 25.

Lord Sri Ram Chandrawas born to Dasarath andKausalya in the Holy city ofAyodhya. Sri Ram Chandra isnone other than the SupremePersonality of Godhead “thecause of all causes,” theAbsolute Truth. He is expan-sion of the original personali-ty of Godhead Sri Krsna. Heappeared with his three ‘self-same expansions’ in the formof Bharat, Laxman andShatrugna.

The Lord appears toannihilate the miscreants, tore-establish the principles ofreligion and to give pleasureto his devotees. And onewho hears and understandsthe transcendental nature ofthe Lord’s appearance andactivities attains the Supremeabode Vaikunta and nevertakes birth in this worldagain. Sri Ram took the handof his eternal consort, theGoddess of fortune Sita Devi,in the Holy Dham of Mithila.They live happily in Ayodhyaand all of the citizens lovedthem more dearly than theirown lives. Dasarath wasbecoming old and he decid-ed that it was the propertime to coronate Sri Ram asthe King of the entire earth.Dasarath as a true noble kingwould not perform anyimportant activity withoutconsulting the great Rishisand saintly persons headedby Vashista muni.

When Vashista Muni

heard Dasarath Maharaj’sidea, he gave it his blessingsand then the word spreadthroughout Ayodhya thatSri Ram Chandra tomor-row morning at the risingof the sun will be coronatedas the king of the entireworld. And the whole citywas celebrating.

Kaikeyi, who loved Ramas much as she loved herown son Bharat, got influ-enced by Manthara, thehunchback maid servant,and asked King Dashrath theboon of sending Lord Ramto Forest for 14 years andmaking Bharat the King.

This is the situation of allconditioned souls within thisworld; originally we are alllike Kaikeyi — pure, unal-loyed associates of the Lord.Lord Sri Ram, Lord Sri Krsnais meant to be worshippedwithin the kingdom of ourhearts. But however great andexalted we may be if we asso-ciate with materially mindedpeople and believe in whatthey say, then all of our goodqualities will be destroyed. Ifyou associate with saintlypeople you will be saintly, ifyou associate with materialis-tic people, you will becomeenvious and materialistic.Who you associate with iswhat you become and this isthe law of God. Therefore allthe Shastras and all theAcharyas have proclaimedthroughout all of history thatthe most important principleof life is associating with Holypeople. And associating withpeople who are too muchattached to material enjoy-ment is more deadly thandrinking poison willingly forour spiritual lives. But seehow expert Maya is, to enterinto our lives with this mater-ial energy to pollute our con-sciousness and cause us to

What do we seek in compa-ny? The word company isdefined as the fact of

being with somebody else and notbeing alone. God, beingomnipresent, gives us His presence.No one can even come close; every-one has his or her limitations. One’scompany should be complementarylike a husband-wife relationship. Noone can be more complementarythan God, who is omnipotent.One’s company should be a goodperson. God has all the good quali-ties. Where will you find such aperson? Our company should besupportive; no one can be moresupportive than the omnipotentGod. We will prefer our companyto be well informed; God, beingomniscient, fits the bill perfectly.

We should be able to pass time well in His company. All time spent in the company of Godbrings unimaginable benefits. We prefer jovial persons. Our com-pany should preferably be healthy;God does not suffer from anymaterial imperfections. Good com-pany should leave us alone whenwe so desire; God, being invisible,fits this requirement, though wewill never want that once we expe-rience God’s company.

God is much more than whathas been stated above — He isomnipresent, omnipotent andomniscient, which nobody otherthan God can be. Let me start withGod’s quality of being omnipresent.He is always available to us; Henever abandons us if we so wishthat. No one is permanently linkedwith us except God; others leave useither due to death or due to otherreasons. God accompanies us wher-ever we go if we meet His condi-tions. (Geeta 6.7) No one else cando this; everyone has limitations.God remains with us life after life.

Next I am taking God’s qualityof being omnipotent. He can pro-tect like no other can. This does notmean that God makes our materialbodies eternal. No, he doesn’t. What

He does is to protect us as long aswe are destined to live in the pre-sent body by helping us in gettingcured, etc. This is like giving usshelter; we are secure if we arelinked with God. God empowers usby giving us specific abilities, as Hehelps in becoming creative. Hegives us sufficient energy to be ableto do our duties.

God helps in bouncing backafter an unpleasant experience, weall face reverses due to mistakesmade by us. He gives us mentalstrength to tolerate the three kindsof sufferings we will have to face.These are as given by ourselves, byothers and by natural forces. Heensures that we become peaceful.As a matter of fact, peace comesfrom God only; no one else can give

peace. (2.66) God helps us to over-come ‘maya’ — harmful materialattractions. He gets us help whenwe desperately need it. God gives usthe power of toleration, because thematerial world is naturally painful.He does miracles for us, if so war-ranted. He even goes to the extentof managing our lives if we are sur-rendered to Him. God helps us tosleep well. He assumes the leader-ship of our families, when requestedto do so. And, finally, God liberatesus from the painful cycle of birthand death when we qualify for it.

Now let me take up God’squality of being omniscient.Obviously, He can guide perfectlybecause He knows everything. Hecan help us in controlling our fool-ish emotions, which damage badly;

God gives us the right intelligencefor accomplishing this. Godencourages us to be good. Thishappens automatically because inthe company of God, who is all-goodness, there cannot be anyother result. One makes spiritualprogress, which ultimately leads toliberation. God warns us of likelypitfalls, which saves us from gravedangers. God helps us to see thebig picture, which helps us to makethe right decisions. We can getGod’s company by doing tapasya inthe prescribed manner, as detailedin our scriptures. However, the ini-tial linking is not that difficult; wejust have to be aware of God, iehave God consciousness.

A���� ���������������������������������������������I�/������� �1� �

�1�1#K2+�E���3.-�+�31��30-�3-�1�1#K2+�E��"���#����9� �� �* �" �����������$�0�#������������� ����������������������(�� ����������� ��� ����������!������"����������"���&�*� ����+��/����/�����0

/�������������������3���/�� ��*��������"���������������� ������������$�/�� ������������� ��!��&�������%������&���������� ��C�/��* �����*������ ���" ���� �����*���&�*� �����)0��9��+�(0�/�10

/����"��" ��*�� ����������!�����������$�K���"����!��� ���� ������������>������ ���������������$��"������ ������"�����"�� �������������������$��������"�� � ����������� ����� �����$�3�����>* ��&��������������� �������������������� � ��$�K����"������� ���"�������������������� ���������������������� ������������� ���������$��" ��� �"��!��� �>��������� ��������!���"�!�� �� ����������� ��� �����������"������*�������������� ��������� �� ���! � � ��$����� ������������������������������������������������������� �����! � ��&����#���!��!������!� ����������������"���* ���!������ ����������� ���� �������� ��� ��$�0����������� ����&� �� ��� ������������"��"��������������"����!������� �����������$1�"����� �*�����������"���������* �"�� �����������" ��������$�0�#��� �������"������"����������� ��$� ��"������� 4D ��"������ � ���� ��"��� � ��������

0%2, 9" &��),;�$ ���,7

K���"����!������ �����������%�!� ��� ��������"����"� ��"�� $�9������ ��� � ����"���� ��������"�������"������"����!���������* ��$�K��������� ���������������������������� ��&�!������"��������!��"���������������������� ������&�����!�����������" �����������������$�������� ����������� � ���* �������������*��&������������* ��������������� ��� ��*"�������* ���!������ ����������H��������� ����>�����������I$�K���* ��������" ����������������������������"���&� ������%�������� �����������������$����������"���&�������� ��&����*"���������������� ����� ��!��&������"��������"��3��� �=������� ���������������������������*"��� ��" ����$�0�� ��&�����* ��������"����������������"����!������*����$�0�� �������������*�� ������"����*"������ �������� ���" ������������������� ����"�����$� ��"������� B7 ��"������ ��� ��"��� � ������

�01%1�$ ���)+;9"#�)+

/��������!�������� �����������������������������"�����������*�*�� �V�0����&��"��������������� ����!���>����� ���� ��$�0�� ��� ������������������ ��� ����� ����$�K�������!� ��������������������*!�� ������������������"���������������!�� �������"������� �����"���������������������$��" �� �"��!����� ����������*�"�������� ����� ���������������"���&���������" ���������"���* ��!�����������������������>������$������� �������������"��"�� G���*"����" ��������������&����� �������� ��� ���"������������� ��&���* ������&���* ����������� ��$�K�������"����!������������������������" � ������������ ����������������� ��������$������������� ����������"���������������"��! ��"���J�0� ���"��� �"��� ��$������������������� ��"������� 64 ��"������ (� �"�������* ��"��� � =� ����

;,*2+29"#�),;<�%�)+

/��������!��������� ��� ���,����������� �"��#V��K���������� ����� �"�����&�� ����!�����������������!��������" ��$��" ������!�������� �����������������"����"!��&����"���"��"�����������������������&��"����������"�������"�!��� ���������� ��$�0������&���������!�� ������"�!��������� � ����"������� ��� ��&��������* ����������� ��� ���������������������"�������������������������* �"��"��$�=� �"� �����������* ���� ��������"���������"����������$�0��� �"�������!������������������*�� ���������" ����"����!������������ ����! �������������*�� $�0�����!���������!��������� ��� ��$�����*�� ���������������� ��� ���� ���$�0����������� ��&�����"������������!�� ������* �"��������������" ��*�� �����* ���������"���!�� ���"����$�)���������!��&�*"�������"������&"��������������������������������$� ��"������� 5 ��"������ (��� � ��"��� �����������

70+7,%<�%�),;<��#�))

���#������ �������"����"��������"��" ��*�� $�0�� �� ���������*���*����! �$�+����&��������������������������� ����W�%�������*"������� �� ���"���"�������������� �"���$�K���"����!����*�� ���"��������"�������������������������� �� ���* �"�����������������$/�*����&�������"���"�������������������!��� &�����"�������������������������!��������"���� ���� ���������*���������!������������������"����������$�0�����"�� ���������������*&����������"����*�� �* ���!�*�����$���*� ���"��� ������������������$�K������������ ������ ����"�*����"����#�����" ���������������*"�������"������������������ �"$��"����*"����� ��������� ���" ��������������" ��*�� ���������������������!��� ��$�0�����#����" � ����������� ��&���*� ��"��� �"��� ����������������� ��$� ��"������� 45 ��"������������ ��"��� ���"�������

92%;$��5�)6;�$�))

. ��������������" ��*�� &��������������� ��� �����������$K����"����"�������������� ����!�� �� �������"�*���� �$���<��"�� ������������ ������������ ���*��������������������* �"�"����"��"���������* �" ��������$���� ����������� ������������� ����* �"��"������������*�� ���������"���* ������������ �"������ ����$�������������*������� ��������������� ������"�������$��"����"����!����"������ ���� ����!���� ������ ������������������ �� ���� ��$�K����� ���� �������*�� ����������!��������"����$�-�������!����������E�����"��������%�!$�K���������!��� ������������ ������������� ��$��"����* ���!����� ����������������$�K���������� ������������"��� ����������*�������*" �"�� �"�� �� ����������������$�������� ��������������� �����*$�K���"����!������������!�����*��" ���������� ����������������$� ��"������� B6 ��"������ (����������� ��"��� ����������

(2�%0�$�)6;�&0�))

1���"��"����"������&���������� ������������"�*�� $�K��"�����������������*"�������������� !���� �*���!����� ������" ��� �����������!� �"�������������"$�K������ ��������������������������� ��&�* �"����� �������������� � ��!������������"����"$���� ������� ���������������� �������"��!�������������$������ ��� ����������������������� �����������" ���������� ��� �������������������#���� ��� ���* ���� ���!�������������������$�)� ������������� �����������E��� �������*�� �"����� �������������� ���$�������������"����� ����*������������ ����*" �"������ ���� �� �������������$������������������� ���" ��*" �"�����������������������* ���!�� �������� ��"� �� ���������#���"������������ ����$��"���� ������������������������!����������� �� ������������������ ���* ���!�������"��� � ��$�� ��"������� 68 ��"������ 1����� ��"��� �����������

7$%�2$�&0�)6;��4�),

1�������"����"�����������$���� �����������������&�������������������������!������"��*��&�!��������"�����"�� � ���"����"�������������� ����������� ����� ������������ !������� ��� ��$��������� ����&�������������!����� �>������ �������� �����������!��>���� ��$�K����! � �������!��������������� �������*���������� �������"����>��>�!� ���$��������������!�������� ��������� ���������"$��"��#��������������&��������� ��&�������>* �����������"��������$��"���� �"�������!��������� ��$�K���"�����!������������ ������� �� ����������������� ������ ��� ��� ���� ���$�0��������"�*���"�������* ��������!���� ��������"� ��$�K��#���!������������* �"�������������������������������� ��&�!��������"������"�����* ����!����������������"�����������* �������!��������� � ��������� ��!�������"�������$ ��"������� 6F ��"������ (���� ��"��� ����������

0C10%21 <"%�)+;���,-

�� ��������������������"����"��" ��*�� ����� �����"����!����������� ��������� ��������� ��&������ �"�!�� ���� �J�K�������!� ������������!������������������ �����!�������*"������� ���* �"����!����$�K�������� �����"�������� ���������� ������� ��������������� ������� �*$�K����"�������������������* �"��"������ �������*��� �����������"������"��� �������������� �� ���������$�K����"�������������� �������������� ��������������"�����������$���������������������� ���� ����������"&������ ����� �����#���!������������������������������* ���!�$�= �����&� �����#��!����*�� ���"�������� �� ���� ��������" �����������&�" ��� �� ������"����* �����������$�K��������������� �����"���� ��*�$���&� ������������������ ������� ���"�� ��������� ��������� ���" �&��������"�� ����$� ��"��������44 ��"������ (��*� ��"��� � �"������

�27,���,7;9" &��)+

K��������� �"��"�������������� � �������������*�� �������� ��$�K���������������"��������������$�K�������������" �������� ������������ �������� ��$�K���* �������!���� ���� ������� � � ���� ��K���&�������������������"��� ���������� ������� �������������� ��������%��������$��"��������� ���* �"���� ����� ���������*�* ���������������$�� � ���� ���* ���"�����"���������������"� ������ �������������*����� ����� ��������� ������� ��$�K������������ ����" ������ ������"�!���������*�� &����������������"�!���$�����*������������� ��� ������������������$�K�����������*��������� ����!��� �������"������������ ���������������"���� �������� ������������� ��$����� ������������������!�� ��"�����������*�����"� ���*�������������������������� ����������� ��$�0���������� ����&��� ����!�� ������" ��*�� $� ��"������� A ��"��������" ��� ��"��� � ����������

70�%27$%+�&�));<"%�,7

1�������"����"�* ���!��*����������" ��*�� $�K���������������� �������� ��� �������������"�� ����"����"�"��������!����!�����$������!��������������!�����* ���!���������&���������* ���!�� �������"��������� � ������������ ��$�0����������� � ��&������������" ��������������������������$�K���* ����" � ��!������������*"��� ��*�����!��� ������ ���* �"������������������� ��$����� �"����������������� ��&��� ���������*�������� �����&����������������������������"��*"��� �������� ������ �"�$�(������������������$�0���������� ����&� �� ��!�����������"����!�����"��� ��������������*������������������������� ��$�0����������������*"�� �� ���"��� ������� ��������������*���������������������������$�= ����� ��������������������� �$����� ����������* ������������������*�� $� ��"������� 4 ��"������ (� � ����� ��"��� � �������

(,$ <��#�)6;��5�))�K�������� ��������� ������*��������"�*"������� ������"������"����"��������$�K����������������!� ��� ������"����"�* �����������*���$�K��������������� �&����� ������������� ��$��"���� ���������� ��� ����������*���������������������� ��$��" �� ���������� �������� �������� ������������ �������������"������������� ������������ ��� ���$�1���"��*"���&������*�� E������������ ����� �����$�0������������� ��������������� ���"����"���!�� �����������*��!�� ����&��������������� �&�����!�������������������"�������"��� ��� ���$������ ����������� ���� �"���������� ������� �������������������� ��"��$�0���"�����������������&� �<� �����������������!����"����������� ���" ��������������������������� ����� ��$��������� ��������!�����������!����" ��������$� ��"������� 4@ ��"������ �������� ��"��� � =� ���

0;2��0%21��4�));�&�),

�)�*���-

�:��%���/�91�0K�

���������0��

�������0�/�:-�(--��+0�03.-��=1+�+�0���1����+1.1K&�(��=�-+����/0.-&�0��0��<��3�+-

C����3K�+-��� E���<��� �2����)) �)-$'

We are all born with a sense offreedom deeply ingrained inour construct. It often tempts

us to live on one’s own exclusive terms,more in demanding rather than a givingmode. In the process, often onebecomes oblivious to other’s sensibilitiesand concerns. So, clash of interestbecomes inevitable. With this mindset,how can we ever think of living in peaceand harmony?

Amongst all relationship, the onebetween a mother and her child isbelieved to be spontaneous, most pureand selfless. Experience, however, sug-gests that it remains true till the child’sinfant stage only. The mother would takeall the pains to nurse the child. Even thechild will spontaneously seek mother’srefuge whenever they feel threatened.The scenario changes, once the childgains the sense of freedom and beginsexerting it. And then, clash of egobecomes probable. A large majority ofmothers though reconcile by digestingeven the child’s vagaries, but some ofthem won’t take it kindly. They feel thattheir identity is being threatened. In suchcases, clash of ego becomes imminent.

One such worried mother, not ableto get along with her only child, came

asking: “What has destiny in storeabout our relationship? Is there anyscope of improvement in our relation-ship in near future? Will he ever carefor my sensibilities?”

Well, let me make it clear that des-tiny is not something like a self-intelli-gent independent force that could strikeunrestrained, and with no scope forbeing spared of its onslaught. Again,destiny is not something being arbitrat-ed by some independent agency.Destiny, in fact, is a fallout of how wenegotiate the callings of life, and whichvaries from person-to-person accordingas one’s unique character. Therefore, des-tiny can’t be predefined in finite terms.But given our freedom to make choices,which is duly aided by faculty of dis-criminate intelligence to pick up themost appropriate lead, it can, however,be consciously shaped to our advantage.

The reason why our relationship goesfor a toss is because we usually remaintrapped to our habits and attitudes, whichdoes not let us get to the truth underlyingseeming realities. Also, we remain igno-rant of the existential dynamics, vital to asmooth run of life. The paradox, howev-er, is that it is writ large in nature, but weseldom care to see through it to learn our

lesson. A glaring example is the way plan-etary cabinet in the immediate galaxy,conducts itself. All planets traversingtheir independent axis, move at theirrespective speeds, around the Sun. But atthe same time they maintain a relativityamongst them, as if they would be con-ducting as a unified family. While enjoy-ing their independent space dischargingindividual specific functionalities, theyremain in harmony and balance witheach other, simultaneously attending totheir collective obligations towards thelife cycle. Remember, the Sun, though theprime-mover, its radiation by itself can’tsustain life, it has to be joined by energiesavailable from other planetary bodies. Itis this very arrangement that has kept theplanetary bodies in harmony and balancesince time immemorial. A relationshipconducted in this very mode alone canhave a smooth go.

That makes it incumbent upon us towatch out our individual limitations andaddress them before it is too late. Withour vulnerabilities gone, our scope ofvision expands. You may then look at anissue with an open mind, free from anypreconditioning whatsoever, which willmake you perceive things in the right per-spective. Following which, one wouldrefrain from reacting impulsively on

instinctive judgment, which is adverselyaffecting the lady’s relationship with herson. Instead, one would allow time andspace to apply proper forethought beforeresponding to an issue at hand.

Astrological pointers of the lady sug-gest that she is a domineering lady with afixated one track mind, not easilyamenable to change, coming as it maywith Saturn-owned Capricorn lagna, readtogether with a debilitated Moon. Thelagna lord Saturn locks horns with mis-chievous Neptune, which makes her self-deluding and moody. On top of that wis-dom signifying Jupiter is placed adverse toMercury, identified with intelligence,which accounts for her insensible judg-ment. If ever she is faced with a contrarianview, even without reasoning, the ladydoesn’t take it kindly. She rather feels thather sensibilities are not being taken careof. This is not to suggest that the son isflawless. But then the lady needs to firstbecome accommodative, before expectingfrom her son to become responsive.

��������������������� � ���#..������ ����������������������� ������ �155������ �������

4 ''C(#AA�����00����#00��!!�������� � �$#0��33����JJ'''CCC(6

���9GG' ''' KKGHKHK;6LGH'HC+;(;+�����9��� ����M������I���������� 1� �

5������9����1���������� 1� �

���*)����(/�+���(/�/���������-1

"����� ��$������� �����������#���������������#���! �����#"2��N����������� ���� �E3�.����� �1� ������������9�����I�������� �1� �#���1�������� �1� �#"9GH;+(H+++'

)�����������������3��������

�,('�(0,/$( ,$��+.�Y��/1(1+0���.0�★ $,)��Y��.09����0/1�+0�1)/�&��-�01+�-�0�1+�T ������+��.&����0������-�0�1+�H(119�I�★ (7+���O�$,)�0/ Y ���0�/�3/���+��)�9/�1.�&��-�01+�-�0�1+�H3+-��0:-I��T (0�0���(0�/�&��-�01+��-�0�-+

E����������������������������� ������������I��������