20-08-2017 - The Hindu - Shashi Thakur - Link 1

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With 34 deaths in 24 Video shows Indian, Open Kargil to outside India takes on Sri Lanka
hours, the toll in Bihar Chinese troops trading world, it is gateway to in the first one-dayer
floods goes up to 153 punches in Ladakh Central Asia: Mehbooba at Dambulla
page 9 page 10 page 10 page 17
Printed at . Che n n a i . Coim b ato r e . Be n g a luru . Hy de r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a pu r a m . Ko ch i . V i j ayawa da . Ma ng a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . Mo h a l i . Ma l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k now
NEARBY
Indias roads to be safer, greener under new NHAI plans
Quick response ambulances to be stationed every 50 kms; compressed natural gas fuel stations proposed as part of wayside amenities
Vikas Dhoot A greener drive is also Haryana, Gujarat and Maha- National Highways ac- specialised vehicles, hospit- city limits as well and more
Somesh Jha likely for road users. Trucks rashtra. counted for 35% of total als and emergency response stations will help us achieve
JD(U) joins NDA, may get NEW DELHI
running on CNG will be able deaths on Indian roads and service providers, among that goal, Mr. Kumar added.
berths in Union Cabinet
PATNA
Driving down Indias Na- to hit the highways without First phase in December 29% of the total number of others, by the end of this The move could enable
tional Highways could be a worrying about their fuel Every year, around 1.5 lakh persons injured in road acci- month. cars and trucks with green
The Nitish Kumar-led Janata
much safer experience by tanks range. people die on Indian roads. dents in 2015, as per official energy to travel beyond city
Dal (United) on Saturday
passed a resolution at its
the end of this year, with the Compressed Natural Gas We want to target saving statistics. Green fuel limits. We have requested
National Highways Authority (CNG) fuel stations will come lives in the golden hour (the The NHAI has also mooted our [Road, Transport and
national executive committee
meeting to formally join the
of India (NHAI) set to roll out up with wayside amenities first hour after an accident). SUNDAY SPECIAL the inclusion of CNG fuel sta- Highways] Ministry to take
an incident management on highways as part of a pro- The first phase, which will tions in the wayside amenit- this up further with the Min-
BJP-led National Democratic
system. posal now under discussion NHAI Chairman Deepak be rolled out in December Within 15 minutes of re- ies coming up along all high- istry of Petroleum and Nat-
Alliance (NDA).
Under this, ambulances between the Ministries of Kumar. PIB * this year, will target the Na- ceiving a call, an ambulance ways. CNG-powered trucks ural Gas, he said.
NEWS A PAGE 10
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD will be stationed every 50 Road Transport and High- tional Highways in seven should reach the spot, Mr. or buses need a top-up after The NHAI Chairman met
kilometres to be able to re- ways, as well as Petroleum lives within the golden States and later on, we will Kumar said. every 100 km, whereas CNG Indraprastha Gas Limited
spond to any mishap within and Natural Gas. hour will be placed every implement this on all high- The NHAI plans to invite cars can travel up to 200 km Managing Director E.S. Ran-
15 minutes of it being repor- A larger four-bedded am- 100 km in seven States to be- way stretches, NHAI Chair- bids for running the ambu- before a refill is needed. ganathan on Thursday.
ted on a national accident bulance with medical recov- gin with: Tamil Nadu, Delhi, man Deepak Kumar told The lance service on highways We want CNG-run
helpline. ery systems that can save Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu. from manufacturers of such vehicles to travel outside the CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
23 dead, over 400 injured as AIADMK factions Asola case: all

four accused
INSIDE Utkal Express derails in U.P. hint at merger arrested
SECTION 1 Special Correspondent
would happen shortly, Mr. Ashok Kumar
CHENNAI/TIRUVARUR
5Ws Explainer
A page 12
NDRF teams deployed at the accident site near Muzaffarnagar After the much-anticipated
Panneerselvam was more
specific, and said it would
Faridabad
CCCCCCCCCCCCCC All four accused in the

merger of the All India Anna take place in a day or two. Jawaharlal Nehru Univer-
ColumnWidth Mohammad Ali
Khatauli
the reason for the accident. Dravida Munnetra On Friday, the two fac- sity students assault case
A page 13
CCCCCCCCCCCCCC Of 14 derailed coaches, Kazhagams two factions tions were unable to agree were arrested on Saturday
Science & Technology At least 23 persons were three were third AC coaches AIADMK (Amma) and AI- on the terms for the merger after they surrendered be-
A page 14 killed and around 400 in- and the rest were sleeper ADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi as the OPS camp leaders fore the police.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCC
jured when 14 coaches of the coaches. Amma) hit a roadblock on could not reach a con- Deputy Commissioner
Being
A page 15
Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express Friday, Tamil Nadu Chief sensus, despite a marathon of Police, New Industrial
CCCCCCCCCCCCCC derailed on Saturday even- Sudden brakes Minister Edappadi K. Palan- meeting lasting over four Township, Astha Modi said
Non-Fiction ing at Khatauli, near Muzaf- Senior Railway Ministry offi- iswami and his predecessor hours. one of the accused, Sachin,
A page 16
CCCCCCCCCCCCCC
farnagar, Uttar Pradesh po- cials present on the spot told O. Panneerselvam on Sat- The OPS camp has said 30, had surrendered on
lice officials said. The Hindu that though the urday said the reunion will that for the merger to hap- Friday and the rest did so
SECTION 2 It was 5.46 p.m. on Sat- investigation is yet to be con- take place in a day or two. pen, Mr. Panneerselvam has on Saturday.
Despatches urday when the Haridwar- cluded but preliminary Speaking in one voice, to be made party chief. We The other three have
A page 5
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bound train derailed imme- Off track: The mangled coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal probe suggests that the though at separate venues, are very clear that Mr. Pan- been identified as Pramod,
diately after it crossed the Express at Khatauli, near Muzaffarnagar, on Saturday. PTI * driver of the Kalinga Express the two leaders said negoti- neerselvam should be the Deepak and Harish.
Khatauli station. had applied sudden brakes ations for the merger were party chief, said an AI- All four are residents of
SECTION 2 A 14 PAGES National Disaster Re- rise as several passengers jured. Rescue operations as he found repair works go- going on smoothly. ADMK veteran, who parti- Anangpur village in
SUNDAY MAGAZINE A 8 PAGES sponse Force (NDRF) per- were still trapped in the have slowed down after ing on the track which led to While Mr. Palaniswami cipated in the marathon Faridabad.
LITERARY REVIEW A 4 PAGES sonnel told The Hindu that wreckage. Officials said 100 darkness. The Railway Min- the accident. told mediapersons in meeting.
CLASSIFIEDS A PAGES 6 & 7 the number of dead could persons were seriously in- istry is yet to comment on CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10 Tiruvarur that the merger CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10 DETAILS ON A PAGE 3
CM A ND-NDE
YK
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2 CITY
NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
IN BRIEF
Lack of basic amenities pinches DDA flat residents
In Rohini, people complain about poor roads, dearth of medical and transport facilities, and negligible maintenance work
Shinjini Ghosh
NEW DELHI
The Delhi Development Au- <
> There are open
drains in front of
thority (DDA) has extended my house.
Stones hurled at the last date of application Construction
Tiwari in Bawana for its 2017 housing scheme
debris has been
NEW DELHI till September 11 following
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari poor response from the pub- lying around for a
has alleged that he was lic. The Hindu visited some of long time now.
hurdled stones and a piece of the DDA complexes in Rohini Even the parks
wood at a public meeting in for a reality check. have turned into
Bawana on Saturday. Deputy Most of the people living jungles
Commissioner of Police in these flats complained Sultana
(Rohini) Rishi Pal confirmed about the lack of basic amen- Resident of DDA LIG flat,
that they had received a ities, poor conveyance and Sector 29, Rohini
complaint from a BJP worker negligible maintenance
in the matter and action work. operational for the last two
would be taken after The Janta flats in Sector 4, months. Even though the
verification of the Rohini, which are almost counsellor was informed, no
allegations. The event was four kilometres away from measures have been taken to
recorded in cameras. The the main road, bore a deser- fix them, said Shubham
footage will be scanned, he ted look. Bharadwaj, a member of the
said. STAFF REPORTER The residents said only a residents welfare
handful of the few hundred association.
flats were occupied. The residents also com-
Water supply hit in plained about the lack of
south, west Delhi Waterlogged roads proper transport facilities.
NEW DELHI Lakshmi, who has been stay- People living here need
Water supply in large parts of ing there for the last one to have their own transport.
south and west Delhi was year, said, The living condi- Else, they will have walk for
affected on Saturday due to a tions here are not suitable. around three kilometres be-
reduction in the raw water The biggest problem is the fore they can avail a bus.
supply from Haryana via the access to the main road. The Even the Rithala metro sta-
carrier-lined channel and the intermediary lane is a long tion is quite a distance away,
Delhi sub-branch of the stretch and it becomes diffi- said Mr. Bharadwaj.
Western Yamuna Canal. The cult to use it at night. The
DJB said water would be condition of the road is also Poor response
available at low pressure in poor and it gets easily water- This year, the DDA has put
these areas on Sunday as logged during monsoon. up around 12,000 flats for
well. STAFF REPORTER Talking about the other sale, of which 384 are janta
basic amenities, the mother flats, 404 middle-income
of two said, In spite of hav- group (MIG) flats and 87
Labourer killed in ing a park in front of my Reality check: (From left to right) A DDA LIG apartment complex in Sector 29, Rohini; the poor condition of a park on the high-income group (HIG)
accident in Noida house, my children have dif- premises; garbage strewn outside the flats. SANDEEP SAXENA * flats. The remaining 11,197
NOIDA ficulty in using it as it is in a flats are the one-bedroom
A worker was killed after he poor shape. Safety is also an Conveyance is a huge available for us, said Kiran, pite there being provisions into jungles now. What is the similar problems. lower income group (LIG)
allegedly fell from a height at issue as there are no guards problem here. At times when who has been living there for for the same. point of taking these flats if flats.
an under-construction metro present. we are lucky, we get a lift the last four years. we are not provided with a No streetlights Officials said the authority
site in Sector 34 here on from someone. Else, we She added there was also Open drains liveable environment? said The streetlights here have had received just about
Saturday. Gaya Prasad was Appeal to govt need to walk almost for three no medical facility available There are open drains in Sultana, another resident. been operational for a few 8,000 applications so far.
working at the site when the Residents of the LIG flats in kilometres before we find in the vicinity. front of my house. Construc- Even residents of the HIG months now. Till date, no Earlier, the last date for sub-
incident happened. He was Sector 29, Rohini, com- proper means of transport. Residents also alleged that tion debris has been lying complex in Sector 29, Ro- one has come to fix them. mitting the applications for
admitted to a hospital where plained about lack of trans- We request the government no lift had not been installed around for a long time now. hini, which looked visibly Additionally, around 80 but- the draw of lots was August
he later died. PTI port facilities. to at least make bus services in any of the buildings des- Even the parks have turned clean, complained about tons in the lift have not been 11.
Rain brings relief to city AAP cheated Bawana Rashtrapati Bhavan, NDMC
Maximum temperature drops four notches below normal
residents, claims BJP to produce their own honey
Party blames CM for stalling growth 200 bee boxes set up at Presidents Estate with help of KVIC
Staff Reporter Manoj Tiwari and MP Udit Staff Reporter
New Delhi Raj held eight meetings on NEW DELHI
The Bharatiya Janata Party Friday and Saturday. Ad- Marking World Honey Bee
(BJP) on Saturday asked dressing residents, they said Day on Saturday,
voters in north-west Delhis that the AAP had nothing Rashtrapati Bhavan and the
Bawana Assembly constitu- to tell the people except New Delhi Municipal Coun-
ency to teach Arvind Kejri- tales of fraud, betrayal and cil (NDMC) announced their
wal a lesson by supporting forgery, whereas the BJP own sweet plans to produce
its candidate Ved Prakash in was being guided by Prime honey.
the upcoming by-poll. Minister Narendra Modis President Ram Nath
Addressing two public vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Kovind visited the apiary set
meetings in the area, Union Vikas. up at the Presidents Estate
Minister Sanjeev Balyan said with the aid of the Khadi and
the people of Bawana felt Seeped in corruption Village Industries Commis-
cheated by the Aam The AAP has given to the sion (KVIC) to promote the
Aadmi Party (AAP) govern- people of Delhi atrocities by Honey Mission on Saturday,
ment even as the rest of Somnath Bharti and according to a statement Sweet beginning: President Ram Nath Kovind visits the apiary
Delhi was witnessing Sandeep Kumar, the corrup- from Rashtrapati Bhavan. at the President's Estate on Saturday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*
development. tion of Mr. Kejriwal, the for- Currently, 200 bee boxes
gery of Jitender Tomar and have been installed to pro- Meenakshi Lekhi distribut- honey this year and that
Cooling down: Youngsters enjoy the rain at the Red Fort on Saturday. *
SANDEEP SAXENA Tales of forgery the hawala of Satyendar duce high-quality honey, ing 15gm packs of honey to honey would be distributed
The people of Bawana have Jain. The BJP, on the other wax and pollen, said the about 1,000 NDMC school to 10,000 school students to
Press Trust of India ded 23.6 mm, 19.4 mm, 4.4 this time of the year. been voting for either the hand, has given citizens statement. students at an event near promote it.
New Delhi mm and 2 mm rainfall, re- The humidity oscillated Congress or the AAP for the schemes like Beti Bachao- The number of boxes will Gole Market.
Rain lashed the Capital on spectively, said a MeT de- between 100% and 62%. last two decades. But both Beti Padhao and Pradhan be increased to 500, in a bid According to an NDMC Hub of production
Saturday, bringing the partment official. The MeT has forecast these parties have betrayed Mantri Mudra Yojana, a to not only produce honey statement, Ms. Lekhi high- With Lutyens Delhi being
much-needed respite from overcast skies along with the them. Ved Prakash resigned sense of security, and cor- but also boost flora and lighted the importance of among the greenest parts of
hot conditions even as traffic Thunderstorm today possibility of thunderstorm from the AAP and joined the ruption-free governance, fauna since the bees will honey, for its medicinal use the Capital, NDMC chairper-
came to a standstill in some The maximum temperature and rain in some areas on BJP because Bawana was Mr. Tiwari said. help in pollination. in Ayurveda as well as a son Naresh Kumar said that
areas of the city. plunged to settle at 29.6 de- Sunday. neglected and in this by- The time, Mr. Tiwari ad- source of income for farm- it would ideal for promoting
The Safdarjung observat- grees Celsius, four notches The maximum and min- election, he is our candidate ded, had come to teach the Honey distributed ers and others. honey production. H
ory received 26 mm rainfall below the seasons average, imum temperatures are and is before the people of AAP a lesson and free The NDMC also launched its The chairperson of KVIC, e added that bee boxes
till 5.30 p.m., while areas while the minimum temper- likely to hover at 33 and 25 Bawana to win their confid- Bawana from the arrogant own Honey Mission on Sat- Vinay Kumar Saxena, said would be set up in all NDMC
under Palam, Lodhi Road, ature was recorded at 26 de- degrees Celsius, respect- ence again, Dr. Balyan said. and dishonest gang of Mr. urday, with NDMC member the commission would pro- parks and nurseries with the
Ridge and Ayanagar recor- grees Celsius, normal for ively, the weatherman said. Delhi BJP president Kejriwal. and New Delhi MP duce 15 lakh tonnes of help of KVIC.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Attach bank accounts
PWD uses garbage to construct road at Bhalswa landfill of pvt schools: Gupta
First-of-its-kind initiative aimed at waste management; officials stress need for more such projects at other dumpyards in city
LOP says govt did not follow HC orders
Jatin Anand answer to the re-utilisation and graded stone layer of 150
New Delhi of land which is part of mm was laid to prevent the Staff Reporter I would like to remind
The Public Works similar sites such as Okhla geogrid from coming in New Delhi the Delhi government that
Department (PWD) has and Ghazipur. It was contact with the landfill and The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as president of the Delhi Ab-
taken a small step towards constructed a year ago and a graded stone layer of 150 government must attach hibhavak Mahasangh, I had
the possible replacement of studied for possible mm was laid yet again before bank accounts of private started a movement against
ever-mounting piles of trash maintenance issues related concrete was laid. schools to ensure refund of the illogical raise of fee by
at Delhis sprawling landfill to deterioration, but no such excess fee charged by them private schools in the name
sites with a public resource problems arose, a senior Boon for residents in the name of implement- of implementing the 6th Pay
that everyone can use: government official claimed. According to the official, the ing the 6th Pay Commission, Commission. I had also filed
roads. stretch was constructed at a Leader of the Opposition a petition in the Delhi High
A small section of the Techniques used cost of 1.75 crore. Vijender Gupta demanded Court against the unjust in-
Bhalswa landfill site, which The main highlight of the Departmental estimates on Saturday. crease in fee, Mr. Gupta
is spread over 21 acres and modest stretch is the posit that similar roads could On Friday, Chief Minister said.
receives about 2,700 tonnes utilisation of geogrids in its be constructed at a cost of Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy
of garbage every day, construction. The said 3.14 crore per kilometre in Chief Minister Manish Siso- L-G go-ahead
recently saw the successful technique sees the use of future. dia had addressed a press The Rohini legislator further
implementation of a year- polymer grills to create the Currently, garbage conference to clarify that said that it was on the basis
long pilot project underlined base of a particular structure management is a daily the government would take of his petition that the High
by the construction of a Nagar parallel to Outer Ring one have failed. however, Lieutenant- followed by common challenge for the authorities over the management of Court had ruled against
300-metre-long waste-to- Road. In November 2016, PWD Governor Anil Baijal had construction methods. due to space constraints. As 449 private schools only as private schools.
concrete model road on a Minister Satyendar Jain had pitched for the use of solid In this case, the landfill and when the necessary a last resort. Meanwhile, L-G Anil
part of the landfill. Mounting problem announced that the Delhi waste from Delhi's landfills in area was cut up to 2.25 approvals for the Baijal has given his go-ahead
The stretch is part of a Delhi generates an estimated government intended to the construction of metres below the proposed construction of such roads at Crocodile tears to the Delhi government to
longer road which measures 5,000 metric tonnes of ensure that 50% to 60% of highways. road, following which landfill sites are obtained, Mr.Gupta, however, termed issue a show-cause notice to
around 8 kilometres and garbage daily. But previous the waste at landfills was It is the first stretch of its geogrids were used to this could very well be a the statement as nothing 449 private schools, asking
runs between Wazirabad and efforts to make waste-to- used for the construction of kind to be constructed on a stabilise the landfill. A layer boon for motorists as well as but shedding of crocodile them to explain why they
Sanjay Gandhi Transport concrete roads such as this roads. Earlier this year, landfill and might be the of sand measuring 200 mm residents, the official said. tears. should not be taken over.
Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49939 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 7 No. 33

CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
CITY 3
Asola attack: all four 16-year-old boy jumps

off building, injured
accused arrested Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
A 16-year-old Class XI stu-

He has undergone three
operations in three days and
is not fit for statement. The
dent jumped off the fourth police have seized his gad-
They surrendered before police; identification parade soon floor of his residential build- gets to find the reason for
ing in north-west Delhis his alleged suicide attempt.
Ashok Kumar Ashok Vihar on Wednesday After a local inquiry and
FARIDABAD afternoon in an alleged at- talking to his parents, it
All four men accused of as- tempt to commit suicide. seems he was upset because
saulting a group of students Severely injured, he is un- of a recent school change,
at the Asola Wildlife Sanctu- dergoing treatment at Sir said DCP (North West)
ary in Faridabad were arres- Ganga Ram Hospital. Milind Mahadeo Dumbere.
ted on Saturday after they
surrendered before the
police.
Deputy Commissioner of
Police, New Industrial Town-
ship, Astha Modi said one of
the accused, Sachin, 30, had
surrendered before the po-
lice on Friday and the rest Picnic horror: The incident happened when the students were
surrendered on Saturday returning from Asola wildlife sanctuary. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*
evening. Sachin was pro-

duced before the court and tack on a female student and gister their complaint and
sent to judicial custody, she her six male friends by a also made remarks on wo-
added. mob at Asola Wildlife Sanc- man's clothes and character.
tuary on August 14. The stu-
All Faridabad residents dent and her friends were Cop suspended
The rest three have been returning from a picnic at Sub-Inspector Suresh Ku-
identified as Pramod, the Bharadwaj Lake, located mar, posted at Surajkund
Deepak and Harish. All four inside the sanctuary, when a police station, was suspen-
are residents of Anangpur group of eight-nine men al- ded on Thursday for refus-
village in Faridabad, said Ms. legedly attacked them. The ing to register the complaint
Modi. She, however, refused men even threatened to of the victims.
to reveal further details rape the woman. The investigation into the
about the four as their Test Later, when the students case has now been handed
Identification Parade was went to police in Faridabad, over to an Assistant Com-
yet to be conducted. the officer at Surajkund po- missioner of Police-rank
The case pertains to an at- lice station refused to re- officer.
Woman, daughter found

dead in train at Shahdara
Victims residents of Bulandshahr; police suspect murder
Hemani Bhandari
NEW DELHI
A 45-year-old woman and her
26-year-old daughter were
found dead in two separate
compartments of Mahananda
Express which was parked at
a yard near Shahdara Railway
station on Friday morning.
The police suspect its a case
of murder. The bodies have
been sent for post mortem.
The police received a call
around 8 a.m informing them Crime scene? The bodies were found inside a train near
of the bodies. On reaching Shahdara railway station. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*
the spot the police recovered

a note from the bodies that complaint said the deceased birth. Then they had a son. I
had their names and address. had left home on Wednesday found out about her mental
The women were identi- evening and not returned. condition during her preg-
fied as Mayawati and her Mayawati, a widow, had nancy, he claimed.
daughter Nishu, residents of been living with her daughter About the relationship
Yakubpur village in Uttar Pra- at her in-laws house for the between Pushpender and his
deshs Bulandshahr. last few years. wife, Mr. Ashok said he had
never seen them fight.
No injury marks Mentally unstable Theek hi tha rishta. Koi
There were no injury marks Pushpenders relative Jai alias pareshani nai thi. (They was
on the bodies, but Nishu had Ashok told The Hindu that no trouble between the two
foam coming out of her the two women had on a few of them), he said.
nose, said Deputy Commis- occassions left home without Suspecting murder, the po-
sioner of Police (Railways) informing anyone, which is lice are now probing how the
Parwaiz Ahmed. The bodies why the family didnt register women reached Delhi and
were sent to Guru Teg Ba- a complaint immediately. later the yard, which is nearly
hadur Hospital for post Mayawati has left unan- 3.5 km away from the railway
mortem scheduled for nounced thrice before and stations platform.
Sunday. Nishu has also left once, but Inquiry by Sub-Divisional
The deceased Nishus hus- they always came back, he Magistrate is being conduc-
band Pushpender, a driver by said. Mr. Ashok also claimed ted because the woman died
profession, filed a missing the two were mentally within seven years of mar-
complaint at Salempur police challenged. riage. A case will be re-
station on Friday morning. Nishu and Pushpender gistered under relevant sec-
He was informed of the got married nearly six years tions after the report is
death a few hours later. The ago. Their first child died at received, said Mr. Ahmed.
Womens family allege

murder by husband
Claim Nishu was harassed by in-laws
Hemani Bhandari and assaulted her.
NEW DELHI
Sitting on the platform of Last visit
Shahdara railway station, re- Pushpenders character
latives of Mayawati and has often come under ques-
Nishu, who were found tion. His father and elder
dead on a train, alleged that brother had inappropriately
the two have been touched Nishu in the past
murdered by the daughters which is why it was decided
husband and in-laws to grab that Maya will stay with
property which was in May- her, he alleged.
awatis name in her village Nishus relatives said she
Palkheda. had last visited Palkheda on
June 10 with her husband.
Land issue She came with him and
The relatives also alleged told us that she needs
that Nishu was harassed and 50,000 for Pushpenders
tortured by her in-laws. business. We told her we
We are sure they were dont have the money at the
murdered and dumped on moment but that well ar-
the train. Pushpender and range something in a few
his family was after Mayas days, said Mr. Singh.
five bigha land. They
wanted her to sell it and give Relative denies claims
them the money but she The relatives also said Mr.
wouldnt do it because she Pushpender never informed
wouldnt be left with any- them that the two women
thing, alleged Pawan Singh, had gone missing and they
Nishus paternal uncle. got to know on Saturday
He added that the land is- morning when the police
sue was heard by the pan- visited their village.
chayat a year-and-a-half ago, Denying all statements
where it was decided that made by Mr. Singh, Mr.
the land will not be sold and Pushpenders relative Jai
no one from the village will alias Ashok said.
buy it. Theyre lying. They
Mr. Singh also alleged havent checked on the two
that Nishus in-laws abused women in so many years.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
4 CITY NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
IN BRIEF
Jaypee home buyers take to the streets Woman set on
Say they feel betrayed after delay in possession; demand govt intervention fire, in-laws held
Kin allege dowry torture on 24-year-old
EPCMA for using green Staff Reporter
fuel to minimise pollution NEW DELHI
GURUGRAM A 24-year-old woman was
To minimise air pollution in set on fire allegedly by her
Gurugram, the Environmental husband and in-laws on Fri-
Pollution Control and day for not fulling their
Monitoring Authority (EPCMA) dowry demands. Three
is looking at making available members from the in-laws
24x7 power to industrial units family, including the hus-
in the city to reduce their band, have been arrested.
dependence on diesel Victim Parvinder Kaur
generators. Chairman, EPCMA, was allegedly set ablaze on Gurcharan Singh and
Bhure Lal said he has directed Friday when she went to her Parvinder Kaur.
authorities to examine matrimonial home in west
industrial units in the city that Delhis Vikaspuri. She was their demands but when we
are operating on diesel immediately rushed to Saf- refused this time, they got
generators and to prepare a darjung Hospital where she angry and ousted my sister
plan for use of green fuel succumbed to her injuries from the house 15 days ago.
energy. PTI on Saturday. She was living with us since
In her statement to the then, he alleged.
police and magistrate in the
Demolition drive carried hospital, Parvinder said that Love marriage
out in Gurugram Up in arms: Home buyers stage a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. *
V. SUDERSHAN her husband Gurcharan When the police reached
GURUGRAM Singh, her father-in-law the spot, they smelt ker-
A team of the enforcement Shinjini Ghosh against the Jaypee Group, the important that the corporate senior citizens who had Rawel Singh (62), brother- osene and found burnt
wing of the District Town and NEW DELHI
protesters also criticised both veil is lifted as both JAL and booked flats thinking they in-law Prabhjot Singh (25) clothes, a broken matchbox,
Planning Department in Braving heavy showers, hun- the Centre as well as the Yogi JIL are ultimately the same will have a roof over their and mother in-law were two match sticks, a pair of
Gurugram on Saturday dreds of home buyers who Adityanath government. company. heads post retirement. Now ready with kerosene and sandals, a broken fan, a bed
demolished unauthorised had invested in the Wish Expressing discontent they are left without any fall matchbox when she went to sheet and three buckets.
constructions in Bhondsi Town project being de- Creating confusion over the Jaypee groups ac- back mechanisms, said the house to pick up her We had earlier re-
village here on the basis of veloped by the Jaypee Group Accusing the Jaypee Group of tions, Debashis Chakraborty, Aashish Panchal. four-year-old sons clothes. gistered a case under Sec-
complaints received form protested against the creating confusion another buyer who had Demanding a representa- tions 307 (attempt to
common people through builder in the Capital on Sat- amongst the buyers, Mr. booked a flat in 2012 said, It tion in the committee of cred- Mother-in-law missing murder) and 34 (common
'CM Window', an online portal urday. The aggrieved buyers Varun added, Both is a big monetary loss for us. itors, Mr. Pamchal added, Three of them (Gurcharan, intention). Now, Section 302
for grievances. According to demonstrated at Jantar Jayprakash Associates Lim- We definitely feel betrayed by The law is flawed. All the big Rawel, Prabhjot) have been (punishment for murder)
an official, around 25 under- Mantar demanding immedi- ited ( JAL) and Jaypee Infrat- the Jaypee Group. After hav- lendors and financial institu- arrested in connection with has also been added, said
construction buildings, 130 ate action, including the gov- ech Limited ( JIL) are equally ing paid 60 lakh, I do not tions are included in the com- the case. The mother-in-law, Mr Kumar.
other structures and 70 ernments intervention, in responsible as the provi- think I deserve this. We are mittee but there is no scope however, is absconding. All The family said that
boundary walls were the matter. sional allotment letter has hoping that the buyers in- for the buyers representa- the three were present in Parvinder and Gurcharan
demolished. PTI We want possession of been provided by JAL with JIL terests will be protected by tion. Buyers are put under the house when the incident had a love marriage in 2012
our homes. If not Jaypee, being the conforming party. whatever decision is taken by the category of unsecured happened, said Deputy and the relationship
there should at least be some So there is no question of the the National Company Law creditors despite having in- Commissioner of Police between the two was better
Three drug peddlers kind of assistance from either responsibility lying with one Tribunal (NCLT). vested the maximum and (West) Vijay Kumar. in the first year. Dowry de-
arrested in Noida Mr. Narendra Modi or Mr. of the two branches. having the highest stakes. According to Parvinders mands increased after the
NOIDA Yogi Adityanath, said Varun, Mohona Lal, another Law is flawed A series of protests erup- brother Amandeep Singh, son was born. The in-laws
The police have arrested two one of the buyers who had buyer, said: We have inves- We have waited for almost ted after the Allahabad Bench the in-laws would ask for would abuse, beat and har-
women and a man for booked a flat in 2010 and has ted all our savings in the pro- over a decade. Now we are of NCLT admitted an insolv- dowry in cash every now ass her. We intervened
allegedly possessing banned lost close to 50 lakh in the ject. The parent company has not only losing property but ency plea from the bank and then, and the most re- many times and mostly gave
substances in separate raids in project. been siphoning off our also all our hard earned which had given a loan to the cent demand for 10lakh. them what they asked for,
Noida. According to SP (City) Apart from raising slogans money to other accounts. It is money. There are a lot of builders. We have been fulfilling said Mr. Amandeep.
Arun Kumar Singh, a police
team arrested one Danjay
Gupta, from Noida Sector 20
on Friday night and seized
over 200 grams of heroin
AAP blames BJP for Rani Jhansi project delay
from him. Acting on a tip-off,
another police team arrested Party says corruption in civic bodies stalled completion of the grade separator
the two women from Noida
Phase II and seized about 800 Staff Reporter 1998 AAP leader Dilip Referring to one of the
NEW DELHI
grams of ganja from them, the Pandey said that the High causes for the delay given by
officer said. PTI The Aam Aadmi Party on Court had also asked to fix a the BJP-ruled corporation,
Saturday hit out at the BJP, date of completion. Mr. Pandey said that the ap-
which has ruled the muni- provals for the project
Baby dies cipal corporation since
2007, for the delay in the
Missed deadlines
He said that the Railways
should have been taken
prior to its start.
completion of the Rani had already paid for girders Talking about the Delhi
hours after Jhansi Road grade separator AAP leaders Ashutosh, that had not been used yet governments own delayed
project, saying it was cor- Saurabh Bhardwaj and Dilip and the civic body was now Signature Bridge project,
birth, probe ruption that led to the Pandey at a press conference. trying to speed up the work which was started by the
budget increasing from 70 SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA to avoid questions. Sheila Dikshit government,
launched
*
crore to 700 crore. He added that it was be- Mr. Pandey said the ad-
handled by the North Delhi cause of corruption in the ministrative problems being
Staff Reporter Conceived in 1998 Municipal Corporation and municipality that the project faced by the AAP govern-
NEW DELHI Speaking about the project was conceived by the Muni- has repeatedly missed ment was the reason for the
A medico-legal case has which is now being cipal Corporation of Delhi in deadlines. delay.
been registered and a po-
lice investigation has been
0
Be considerate to elderly:
initiated into the death of a
baby girl hours after her DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested to
verify and make appropriate enquiries to
birth at the city govern- satisfy themselves about the veracity of
an advertisement before responding to
ments Rao Tula Ram Me- any published in this newspaper. Kasturi
freedom fighter to AIIMS

& Sons Limited, the Publisher & Owner of
morial Hospital. this newspaper, does not vouch for the
authenticity of any advertisement or ad-
The Medical Superin- vertiser or for any of the advertisers
products and/or services. In no event can
tendent of the Hospital, the Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-
ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/
Sangeeta Basu, said: The company be held responsible/liable in
any manner whatsoever for any claims
baby was born at 2.05 p.m.
on August 14 and she died Writes to PM asking for special provision for senior citizens and/or damages for advertisements in
this newspaper.
around 4 a.m. on August

15. She was perfectly Bindu Shajan Perappadan I am not able to walk or AIIMS. The hospital should
healthy, had a normal birth NEW DELHI use the staircase for visiting consider giving us some pri-
and weighed 3kg. She was Freedom fighter Rajendra different departments on ority in consulting the OPDs
put in the post-natal ward, Prasad Singh (90) suffers different floors. My condi- and other associated works.
along with her mother. If a from a number of old-age re- tion has deteriorated to an The check-up facilities/OPD
child has any problem, we lated health issues and be- extend that I need immedi- should be made available at
keep him or her in a nurs- cause of the lack of special- ate treatment. But this re- ground floor only, he said.
ery. The child was per- ised treatment in his native mains out of bounds simply Rajendra Prasad Singh
fectly healthy and hence place has to come to Delhis because I am unable to isnt alone in this concern as
kept in the normal ward. All India Institute of Medical reach many departments on another senior citizen from
Doctors in the hospital Sciences (AIIMS) for treat- time because of the huge Vasant Kunj, Sukul M. Bagai,
did not rule out foul play. ment very often. crowd in the hospital. Old said she faces the same
This was the couples However, once here, he people deserve some re- problem. Geriatric Medi-
second daughter. faces the hurdle of not just spect and consideration, cine OPD location is not at
The child suckled navigating through the ever- said Rajendra Prasad Singh, all elderly friendly and the
around 1 a.m. on August 15 increasing hospital crowd in his letter addressed to hospital administration
and, that is a very healthy but also reaching the check- Prime Minister Narendra should consider reviewing
sign. We are awaiting the up and OPD facilities which Modi. it. Its a painful process to
forensic report to know as are not available on the In his letter, he has asked struggle through the maze to
to what really happened, ground floor or in a single that a special provision be avail OPD and physiother-
said Dr. Basu. area. made for freedom fighters at apy services.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
CITY 5
Sewer deaths: Mumbai police bust insurance policy racket, eight arrested from Noida
compensation Special Correspondent Kaptan Singh Chauhan According to Crime Branch ruary 2017 conned him into tions, and the police, using used in Goa, a police team Noida address.
Mumbai (26), Anil Singh Rajawat (24), officials, the matter came to paying a total of 22 lakh in the cell phone number used rushed there and visited On August 16, a Crime
cheques The Mumbai police have ar- Rajnath Singh Chauhan (19), their notice after a Malad res- several installments, prom- by the accused and the de- more than 150 hotels and res- Branch team followed him to
rested eight people for al- Ashish Kumar Gupta (30), ident registered a complaint ising high returns on his in- tails of the bank accounts in taurants within a 1.5 km the call centre in Noida and
given to kin legedly running a call centre Harish Goswami (28), Raja in February this year. vestment. which the complainant had stretch to get clues about the arrested him and others.
racket where they conned alias Anil Tiwari (20), Upen- The complainant said that deposited the money, started owner of the mobile. The gang had cheated sev-
Press Trust of India people into paying them dra Bhadoria (23) and Rinku he had received a call from a A lot of leg work trying to identify the accused. They got Kaptan Singhs eral persons using the same
New Delhi money by claiming to sell in- Solanki (24) were arrested supposed insurance agent The matter was handed over After finding out that the name from a hotel where he modus operandi, police said.
The Delhi government has surance policies. from Noida in Uttar Pradesh. who, from April 2015 to Feb- to the Unit XI for investiga- mobile had been recently had checked in, and his Further probe is on.
handed over compensation
cheque of 10 lakh each to
the families of the three
sanitation workers who had
died while cleaning a sewer
pipe in Lajpat Nagar, an of-
ficial said on Saturday.
Earlier this month, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
had announced the com-
pensation after meeting the
family members of the vic-
tims: Joginder (32), Annu
(28) and Mohan (25).
On the CMs direction,
the compensation cheques
have been given to the fam-
ilies, said a senior govern-
ment official. The CM had
also announced a job to a
member of the families of
the deceased.
Mr. Kejriwal had also said
that a high-level panel
would be set up to prevent
such incidents. The three
workers died allegedly after
inhaling toxic gas while
cleaning a sewer line in La-
jpat Nagar on July 16.
3.2 kg-tumour
removed from
Russian man
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
A 3.2 kg-tumour was re-
moved from the chest cav-
ity of a 39-year-old Russian
man in a highly risky sur-
gery here, hospital author-
ities have said.
Emil was suffering for
the past five years from
breathlessness, following
which he underwent a
series of comprehensive
medical check-ups, which
revealed that the tumour
was gradually growing in
his chest cavity, an official
of the Fortis Hospital at
Vasant Kunj said. The pa-
tient was admitted on July
31, operated on August 1
and discharged on Aug. 8.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
6 NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
NORTH 7
Yogi, Rahul spar over UP deaths

CM launches cleanliness drive in the State from Gorakhpur
Omar Rashid controversial deaths of the children hiyaan. They should not be permit-
Lucknow in the hospital. ted to come and convert Gorakhpur
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Under fire for the deaths of more into a picnic spot, Mr. Adityanath
Adityanath on Saturday mocked than 100 children in the BRD said in Gorakhpur.
Congress vice-president Rahul Meidcal College hospital, Mr. Mr. Gandhi, who visited the
Gandhi for visiting the families of the Adityanath launched a week-long homes of families, who lost their
victims who died in the BRD Hos- cleanliness drive in UP Swachh Ut- children in the hospital, responded
pital, saying the yuvraj (prince) from tar Pradesh, Swaasth Uttar Pradesh. by saying saying that if he has even
Delhi should not be allowed to con- The shehzada sitting in Lucknow a little bit of decency and honour he
vert Gorakhpur into a picnic spot. [Akhilesh Yadav] will not know the would have resigned as CM given
The Congress however, shot back importance of this cleanliness the the magnitude of the tragedy. He
with Mr. Gandhi suggesting that the Yuvraj in Delhi will not understand termed the BRD hospital incident a
Chief Minister should resign for the the importance of this Swachhta Ab- government-made tragedy.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
8 SOUTH NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
IN BRIEF
Vote for development: Naidu Yeddyurappa 8 crore in
banned
Rebuts Jagans charges even as YSRCP chief calls for mandate against misrule moves High Court notes seized
M.V. Subramanyam
Cash seized Questions legality of FIR against him Special Correspondent
KURNOOL ALAPPUZHA
Moderate crowd for Strongly rebutting the The Kerala police confis-
Sabarimala rituals charges levelled against him from YSRCP Special Correspondent
Bengaluru cated demonetised cur-
by YSR Congress Party pres- Bharatiya Janata Party rency notes of higher de-
PATHANAMTHITTA
The Ayyappa temple at ident Y.S. Jagan Mohan leader leader and former nominations from two cars
Sabarimala witnessed Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Chief Minister on the National Highway at
moderate crowd on the third Chief Minister N. Chandrab- Special Correspondent B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sat- Kayamkulam on Saturday.
day of the five-day Chingom abu Naidu called upon the KURNOOL urday moved the High Court The currency runs to the
puja on Saturday. The rituals people of Nandyal on Sat- The Kurnool police raided questioning the legality of tune of about 8 crore, a
began with the chief priest urday to vote for develop- the house of YSR Congress the first information report senior police officer said.
performing the ashtadravya ment and good governance. Party leader Dastagiri filed against him. Five persons, all residents
Ganapati homam followed Use your vote as a Reddy at Pulakur in The FIR was based on a B.S. Yeddyurappa of Palakkad, have been ar-
by ashtabhishekom, weapon to defeat Mr. Jagan, Banaganapalle mandal of complaint filed by the States rested.
ushapuja and laksharchana. who is speaking at will, utter- Kurnool district on Sat- Anti-Corruption Bureau not completed within a five- The police stumbled
The temple will be closed ing lies and turning a blind Fervent appeal: Chandrababu Naidu atop his campaign urday and seized 40.40 (ACB) that he had allegedly year period, as per the law. upon the cache during
after the athazhapuja on eye to development, and YS- vehicle in Nandyal town on Saturday. U. SUBRAMANYAM *
lakh from him. misused his official position Also, a Division Bench on patrolling. The police were
Monday. RCP candidate Silpa Mohan The police said the as Chief Minister to illegally April 28, 2017, had upheld investigating the where-
Reddy, who grabbed lands pro quo cases against Jagan Chief Minister N. Chandrab- money was seized on the denotify land. The land was the order of the single judge abouts of a third car, which
Blue Whale link to allotted to Dalits by the gov- and former Karnataka Minis- abu Naidu. suspicion that it was meant acquired for the Dr. Shiv- in setting aside the land was said to have sped away
suicide to be probed ernment, Mr. Naidu said ter Gali Janardhan Reddy Accusing Mr. Naidu of for distribution among arama Karanth Layout pro- acquisition. from the spot.
PALAKKAD during his road show in had been incorporated as rarely speaking the truth, he voters. posed by the Bangalore De- The FIR, he claimed, was Exchange of old cur-
The Kerala police will Nandyal town. case study examples in crim- reiterated his charge that the The police also raided velopment Authority. registered as a result of a rency notes had reportedly
investigate the death of a The Chief Minister asser- inal law. If such leaders Chief Minister failed to fulfil the houses of Jagadeeswar political conspiracy and ven- been taking place at cer-
20-year-old, purported to ted that Mr. Jagans intem- gained power, corruption the promises made by him Reddy, Adi Reddy and Political conspiracy detta as the ACB directly tain places such as
have committed suicide, in perate remarks to shoot would become the order of since 2014. Linga Reddy, relatives of It has been contended in the came under the Department Palakkad.
the wake of the suspicion him down in the middle of the day, he alleged. Addressing a meeting YSRC party candidate Silpa petition that the notification of Personnel and Adminis- The seized notes were
raised by his mother that her the road, hang him and strip with the Arya Vysya com- Mohan Reddy, and the for acquiring the land was is- trative Reforms, headed by said to have been ex-
son could have been a victim him made him angry and CM rarely speaks truth munity, he alleged that the house of Arya Vysya leader sued on December 31, 2008. none other than the Chief changed from people after
of the online game Blue sad, but he was bearing The YSR Congress Party government was adopting in- Neraveti Satyanarayana on A single judge of the High Minister. He alleged that the striking deals illegally. A
Whale Challenge. Kulathinkal them for the sake of the president, meanwhile, timidatory tactics against YS- Friday midnight in Nandyal Court on November 26, bureau was being used cache of demonetised cur-
Ashiq was found hanging in people. called upon the people to RCP activists and town. But they reportedly 2014, had quashed the noti- against leaders of Opposi- rency was seized at Cher-
his house on March 30. Mr. Naidu said the quid vote against the misrule of sympathisers. found no cash. fication as acquisition was tion parties. thala a month ago.
Surrogate is the Big liquor shops play waiting game Man sets woman
biological mother Small outlets in Bengaluru have moved after Supreme Court ban ablaze, ends life
K.C. Deepika governments proposal as
Woman, husband booked for cheating Bengaluru the apex court had neither He had stalked her for a few months
Some are serving coffee in- reviewed nor modified its
Rohit P.S. embryo was implanted. The stead of liquor, some just verdict. Special Correspondent Hari had allegedly been
HYDERABAD woman and her husband al- food. But with little hope of VISAKHAPATNAM stalking the victim for the
A woman, who claimed to leged that the commission- relief in the near future, 834 Huge investment A 20-year-old woman was last few months. She had re-
be a surrogate and alleged ing couple had abandoned of the 2,900 establishments But not everyone is willing to allegedly burnt alive by a fused to talk to him.
that she was abandoned by her because they had dis- affected by the Supreme give up hope. The big man at T. Nagarapalem area
the couple who commis- covered that the foetus was Court ban on serving liquor names, especially in prime under the Bheemunipatnam Dies on the spot
sioned the surrogacy, has female. within 500 metres of high- areas such as Brigade Road, police station limits here on Inspector of Bheemili police
turned out to be the biolo- During the investigation, ways have chosen to shift said they were not ready to Saturday. The accused fled station G. Bala Surya Rao
gical mother of the child. the authorities were not elsewhere. give up their prime space un- the spot and allegedly com- said the incident took place
The woman, 21-year-old able to verify the womans According to Excise De- Wait and watch: Big shops are not ready to give up prime space til there was a conclusion to mitted suicide by jumping in around 12.25 p.m. on Sat-
Venkatamma, gave birth at claims. A DNA test revealed partment officials, 76 estab- until there is a conclusion to the matter. K. MURALI KUMAR* the matter. People have front of a train near Viz- urday when the girl and her
Petlaburj government hos- that the woman and her lishments in Bengaluru have spent a huge amount on the ianagaram town. brother, P. Upendra, were at
pital to a girl on July 20. The husband, who she claimed shifted, with the highest said Rajendra Prasad, Addi- the Centre not entertaining decor, said the owner of a The victim was identified home.
hospital staff were told by was estranged from her for number of licence shift re- tional Commissioner of Ex- the States proposal to deno- popular pub in central as Potnuru Roopa, 20, a Hari entered Roopa's
her husband, Lakshman, about a year before birth, quests coming from the cise (Indian-Made Liquor). tify the National Highways Bengaluru. second-year B.Sc. student of house with a can of ker-
that his wife was a surrog- are the biological parents of north. As many as 31 estab- About a month-and-a-half passing through Bengaluru. Excise Department offi- a private college. The ac- osene, allegedly poured it
ate. The womans medical the newborn, an official lishments in north after the ban kicked in, op- The Ministry of Road cials too said only smaller cused, P. Hari Santosh, 30, on her and set her ablaze.
documents also suggested said. The police have Bengaluru have shifted, 28 in timism has faded for the Transport and Highways re- wine shops, which had not was a worker in a sofa repair Upendra sustained burn in-
surrogacy but did not booked the woman and her south Bengaluru, eight in the nearly 3,000 liquor-vending cently said it was not in a po- invested too much on interi- shop in the T. Nagarapalem juries while trying to save
clearly mention where the husband for cheating. west, and nine in the east, outlets in Karnataka, with sition to consider the State ors, had shifted. area. her. Roopa died on the spot.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
NATION 9
IN BRIEF
Reappointment of Gujarat
police officers criticised
Duo rewarded for illegal actions, says Congress leader
Haj process completed
ahead of schedule: Naqvi Special Correspondent
MUMBAI New Delhi
The Centre has completed Days after the Supreme Court
the Haj 2017 process ahead forced two senior Gujarat po-
of schedule to ensure the lice officers to step down from
best facilities for pilgrims, their official position for a
Union Minister Mukhtar questionable track record,
Abbas Naqvi said here on the Congress was scathing in
Saturday, after flagging off its criticism against the Gujarat
the first batch of 300 government for promoting
pilgrims from Mumbai. PTI tainted officers.
On Thursday, two senior
50 tumours removed Gujarat police officers, N.K.
from uterus Amin and Tarun Barot,
ITANAGAR stepped down after the Su-
A team of doctors here have preme Court ordered them to
successfully removed 50 do so following a plea by
tumours from the uterus of a former IPS officer Rahul The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered police officers Tarun
woman who had been Sharma. In his petition, Mr Barot (left) and N.K. Amin to step down from their posts.
suffering from heavy and Sharma said the appointments
painful menstrual cycle for violated the Supreme Courts Amin was serving as the Su- Without mentioning
several years. The surgery guidelines and the doctrine perintendent of Police (SP) of names, Mr. Singhvi al-
was done at the Rama Krishna of public trust. Tapi district while Mr. Barot leged that the two officers
Mission Hospital here. Both the officers are not was re-inducted last October were rewarded for obey-
only named as accused in the as Deputy Superintendent of ing instructions of higher
KCR gets Agriculture alleged fake encounter cases Police with Western Railways ups.
Leadership Award of Sohrabuddin and Ishrat Ja- at Vadodara. Even after spending
HYDERABAD han but were also arrested. seven years in jail, there
Telangana Chief Minister K. While Mr. Amin has been dis- Special Gujarat model was no departmental pro-
Chandrasekhar Rao has been charged of all charges by a spe- The State government didnt ceeding against them. On
selected for the Agriculture cial CBI court in the Sohrabud- have anyone else to fill up the contrary, they were re-
Leadership Award-2017 given din case, the trial in the Ishrat these vacancies except these warded for doing illegal
by the Indian Council of Food Jahan case is not yet over. two gentlemen. Isnt this a things. Their appointment
and Agriculture in recognition However, the Gujarat gov- case of a special Gujarat also shows that there was
of his governments schemes ernment had appointed the model? Congress leader Ab- neither any fear nor re-
that created far-reaching two officials on contract last hishek Manu Singhvi said at a spect for law, Mr. Singhvi
impact in the rural sector. year after their retirement. Mr. party briefing on Saturday. said.
Kiran Bedi plays cop Flood situation grim in Bihar 3 cr. to be spent on
Vamsadhara-affected
again, polices streets With another 34 deaths, toll rises to 153; Assam & West Bengal get a breather Staff Reporter each of the 1,582 families
SRIKAKULAM that did not want to accept
Puducherry Lt. Governor rides pillion Staff Reporter
Kolkata
Srikakulam District Col- the sites offered by the gov-
lector K. Dhanunjaya Reddy ernment. Further, the gov-
Rajesh B. Nair With 34 more lives lost in the on Saturday said the Andh- ernment paid 5 lakh to
PUDUCHERRY past 24 hours, the toll in Bi- hra Pradesh government each of 3,231 youngsters un-
Lieutenant Governor Kiran har floods increased to 153 would spend 3 crore to im- der the youth package.
Bedi on Friday slipped back on Saturday. Large parts of prove civic infrastructure in
into her role of a policewo- 17 districts in the State re- the colonies constructed for Many compensated
man by riding pillion with a mained submerged with the those displaced by the Vam- Many villagers who took
staff member on a midnight number of people affected sadhara reservoir project. payments of up to 1.33 lakh
motorbike inspection of the crossing one crore. Maximum benefits had per acre are still cultivating
streets of Puducherry. According to the Bihar dis- been provided to the dis- lands in Hiramandalam
Ms. Bedi said she was aster management depart- placed persons to ensure though the lands belong to
checking measures for wo- ment, 1,08,195 people in early completion of the pro- the government. Is it correct
mens safety. Her head Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi 1,688 panchayats under 156 ject that would cater to the to do cultivation after taking
covered with a dupatta, she riding pillion during a night blocks had been affected by irrigation needs of 2.5 lakh compensation 10 years ago?
rode by the citys Anna Salai inspection in Puducherry on the floods. acres in the district, Mr. The villagers who got com-
and New Bus Stand without Friday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
* More than 60 lakh people Reddy told the media here pensation for the structures
being noticed. were affected in Kishanganj, while referring to the issue too are not moving to the
Much to the chagrin of She said the tour indic- Araria, Purnea, Katihar, East that caused tension in many new colonies. Moreover,
the ruling establishment, ated the need for ensuring and West Champaran dis- To safety: NDRF personnel rescue flood-hit people from villages in Katihar district of Bihar villages of Hiramandalam. they are participating in the
Ms. Bedi has been undertak- police presence as a strong tricts. So far the highest on Saturday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
* Mr. Reddy said the gov- agitations along with those
ing field visits and, occa- measure of crime preven- number of deaths had been ernment paid 5 lakh to with genuine grievances.
sionally, surprise inspection. reported from the Araria dis- tion Department to restore Management Authority, Municipal area were still
tions. She is known to cycle Her surprise inspection trict where 30 people had the road from Kisanganj to 68,014 people were lodged waterlogged.
during weekends to become evoked mixed response. lost their lives. The toll in Araria via Bahadurganj. in 328 relief camps as on Fri-
acquainted with problems, There is nothing wrong West Champaran was 23, Sit- The situation in both As- day. The floods had so far af- Missing children
mostly civic in nature, since in an administrator taking a amarhi 13, and 11 each in sam and West Bengal how- fected 22,11,265 people. The Meanwhile, the West Bengal
she took over as the Lieuten- proactive role. It will cer- Kisanganj, East Champaran ever improved with the num- number of affected districts Commission for Protection
ant Governor of the Union tainly put the cops on their and Supual. Casualties had ber of districts affected had come down from 20 to of Child Rights sought a re-
Territory. toes. After all, womens also been reported in coming down in both the 16 on Saturday. port on children who went
The night round was safety is of paramount im- Madhubani and Katihar States. Three more deaths In West Bengal, the situ- missing in the flood-affected
done incognito, as a pillion portance, said Onirban where eight and seven were reported in Assam tak- ation improved in Uttar districts from the DMs con-
rider, to personally check Dutta, a medical practi- people had lost their lives. ing the toll in the second Dinajpur. According to the cerned and submit it within
how secure it was for wo- tioner residing at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish phase to 63. In the first District Magistrate (DM) Aye- 15 days. It instructed the
men at night to be on the Vaithikuppam. Kumar held a review meet- phase of floods, which had sha Rani, at least 50,000 DMs of Dakshin Dinajpur, Ut-
road. It seemed safe. But In response to criticism ing along with senior offi- affected the State from May people were staying in about tar Dinajpur, Malda, Jalpai-
there was not a single cop for not wearing a helmet, cials and issued orders for to July, 84 people had lost 400 relief camps set up in guri, Coochbehar,
anywhere spotted, unless Ms. Bedi said she had intensive airdropping of food their lives. the district. Alipurduar and Hooghly to
they too were in disguise, chosen not to wear one as packets in Kursakanta, The deaths in Assam took In Malda, large swathes of set up a working group
she said in a WhatsApp mes- she wanted to appear vul- Palasi, Sikti and Jokihaat in place in the Dhubri (1), Mori- Ratua I, Harishchandrapur I with the related panchayats,
sage. nerable and wanted to see Araria and the Sugauli area gaon (1) and Golaghat (1) dis- and II, Gazole, Chanchal II, block development officers
how we women driving a in East Champaran. He also tricts. According to the As- Bamongola blocks as well as and district police officials to
Preventive measure bike were looked at. directed the Road Construc- sam State Disaster Englishbazar and Old Malda closely monitor the cases.
Tribunal dismisses plea that Men also victims of

stray cattle caused accident witch-hunt in Odisha
DGP plea to make law gender-neutral
Special Correspondent came rushing from the left that there was no negligence
New Delhi side of the road. He tried to on the part of the driver as
<
> Going by the trend,
Staff Reporter
Dismissing the plea that the save the cow by turning the the speed of the car was BHUBANESWAR
we expect the
accident had occurred due car to the right, and in the within limits. The Crime branch of the
registration of 120
to a stray cow suddenly com- process hit the divider and Dismissing its contention, Odisha police has proposed
ing in the way on a highway, turned turtle, causing the the Presiding Officer of the that the State government cases this year
a Motor Accident Claims death of Ramesh Lal, who Tribunal said: A careful also recognise men as vic- Bijay Sharma
Special Director General of Police
Tribunal has awarded Rs. was sitting on the back seat driver would have never tims of witch-branding viol-
18.4 lakh as compensation to along with other passengers. done what the driver of the ence under the Odisha Pre- with female members, said
the wife of a deceased. The accident had oc- car in the present matter vention of Witch-Hunting Mr. Sharma.
The driver of the vehicle, curred on a highway in Pa- did. So it can be safely con- (OPWH) Act.
in his evidence, said that tiala in Punjab in 2015. cluded that the accident had We have sent a proposal Rise in cases
when he was driving his car Opposing the claim peti- occurred due to rash and to government to expand After the OPWH Act came
within the speed limit of 80- tion, the counsel for the in- negligent driving of the the definition of witch or into existence in 2014, there
90 kmph, a cow suddenly surance company contented vehicle by the driver. similar nomenclatures to in- has been a sharp rise in the
clude any person and not to number of cases registered
limit it to women alone, in police stations across the
said Bijay Sharma, Special State. In 2014, only two
Lack of toilet becomes ground Director General of Police

(Crime Branch) addressing a
seminar here on Saturday.
cases were registered due to
lack of awareness about the
new Act.
for divorce in Rajasthan As per definitions in

OPWH Act, witch-hunting
means an act of omission,
In 2015, 58 cases were re-
gistered which went up to
83 in 2016 an increase of
Press Trust of India Kumar Sharma said a toilet husband was working as a commission or conduct on 83%. In 2017 till by June, 59
Jaipur was necessary at home and labourer. the part of anyone in identi- cases have already been re-
A family court in going to defecate in the Her counsel, Rajesh fying or defaming a woman gistered under the OPWH
Rajasthans Bhilwara open was disgraceful for Sharma, said the woman as witch or harassing and Act. Going by the trend, we
district has granted divorce society and a torture to got married in 2011 and harming a woman mentally expect the registration of
to a woman on the ground women. filed the divorce petition in or physically or damaging 120 cases this year, said Mr.
that there was no toilet in The woman, in her 20s, 2015. her property. Sharma.
the house, holding that it contended that her Women in villages had to Limitation of our legisla- Keonjhar district with 49
amounted to cruelty. husband was cruel to her, wait for dark to go out to tion has been to treat cases is being dubbed the
While passing the there was no separate room relieve themselves and had witches as gender-specific, hotbed of the witch-brand-
judgment on Friday, family for the couple in the house to bear physical pain, the whereas in rural areas even ing violence followed by
court judge Rajendra and no toilet. The court said. males suffer persecution in- Nabarangpur where 42
dividually or in association cases have been registered.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
10 NEWS NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
FROM PAGE ONE Indias position on Video shows troops trading

Indias roads to be Doklam clear: BJP
safer, greener We have put across our views: Shah kicks, punches in Ladakh
The NHAI Chairman dis- transition of vehicles at toll Press Trust of India
cussed the prospects of set- gates. Bhopal <
> After the cross-LoC
surgical strikes last
Visuals show it was Chinese soldiers who started pushing around Indias men
ting up such stations within On Thursday, NHAI an- BJP president Amit Shah
100-200 km of each other. nounced that all toll plazas said here on Saturday that year, the worlds Special Correspondent Raveesh Kumar confirmed
On the face of it, the idea will have electronic toll col- the Union government had perception about NEW DELHI the incident, but did not
looks feasible, the IGL MD is lection facility with at least already made its position India has changed A video grab of the August 15 speak about stone-throwing
learnt to have indicated. one lane dedicated to clear on the border standoff Amit Shah skirmish between Indian or the fight. We feel that
vehicles with electronic tag with China in Doklam. BJP president and Chinese troops by the such incidents are not in the
Better amenities device, known as FASTags, To a query on the stan- Pangong lake in Ladakh interests of either side. We
The focus in the highways beginning September 1. doff in the Sikkim sector, he Centre is tackling the Kash- shows the incident was a sig- should maintain peace and
authority all this time has It also said all toll plaza said, (External Affairs Min- mir issue with all serious- nificant showdown, in- tranquillity, Mr. Kumar said.
been building highways, we planes will be RFID [Radio- ister) Sushma Swarajji has ness and good results volving fisticuffs and A meeting of the Brigade
want to assign as much pri- frequency identification] already clarified (the Indian) have been visible in the last stone-throwing. Commanders of both sides
ority to spruce up highway tags-enabled by October 31. position in Parliament. We two-three months, Mr. Shah Lt-General Prakash Khat- was held in the Chushul sec-
operations, the NHAI chief Till Friday, 15,000 people have put across our views said. The BJP government och (retd.), one of the first to tor in Leh on Wednesday,
said. have already downloaded and we are talking. is effectively tackling the make the video public, told and the two sides agreed to
He added that the author- the mobile application for After the cross-LoC sur- Kashmir issue and good res- The Hindu that the visuals maintain peace and tranquil-
ity has proposed the cre- purchase and recharge of gical strikes in September ults have come in the last clearly showed that it was lity in the area.
ation of a new highways op- FASTags and 5,000 com- last year, the worlds per- two-three months. The gov- the Chinese who started to
erations division to focus on muters have purchased ception about India has ernment is dealing with sep- push around Indian soldiers, Rawat to visit
aspects related to roadside FASTags online that will be changed, Mr. Shah said. aratists and terrorists in all and they also started throw- Army Chief General Bipin
amenities, highway safety delivered to them within 24- For the first time after seriousness. I think we are ing stones. They started it Rawat will undertake a
and security, and smooth 48 hours. Independence, our valiant on the right track, Mr. Shah all; our chaps only respon- three-day visit to the Ladakh
soldiers entered the said. ded, he said. A new low: Indian and Chinese troops engage in fisticuffs at region over the weekend.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir The BJP chief s com- The video, shot from a the Pangong Tse lake in Ladakh earlier this week. One soldier Army sources said Gen.
Despite delay, AIADMK (PoK) and taught the terror-

ists a lesson. They avenged
the death of our brave sol-
ments come against the
backdrop of a number of
terrorists being killed by se-
smartphone, shows an ugly
brawl and captures the
frayed nerves along the bor-
is seen fallen on the ground. VIDEO GRAB
few dozen soldiers from

*
seconds later another soldier

Rawat will review the secur-
ity scenario, including the
latest incident along the dis-
factions hint at merger diers, he added. curity forces in Jammu and

Kashmir in the last few
der at a time when the stan-
doff between the two sides
both sides jostling, and then
it soon breaks down into
is on the ground, hit by a
stone thrown by a rival sol-
puted border, during his
visit starting on Sunday.
Indias stature months. in Doklam has continued for kicking, punching and dier. The skirmish started Lt. Gen. Katoch said the
At the meeting, a few select the jailed interim general Under the leadership of Mr. Shah arrived here for the third month. stone-throwing. around 6 a.m. on August 15, Modi governments policy
leaders told Mr. Pan- secretary V.K. Sasikala, sim- Prime Minister Narendra meetings with the BJP work- Some Army sources, how- with the two sides coming was clear and well articu-
neerselvam that he should ilar to the resolution passed Modi, Indias stature has ers and office-bearers, be- ever, insisted that it was not Ugly brawl face to face by the lake, and lated. This is not 1962. A re-
head the party as the people to remove Mr. Dinakaran grown in the comity of na- sides participating in vari- very unusual for the two The video clearly shows at lasted until 9 a.m. spectable solution is mutu-
may not accept their fight from the post of deputy gen- tions, the newly elected Ra- ous programmes as part of sides to engage in fisticuffs. least one of the soldiers kick- On Friday, External Affairs ally acceptable withdrawal,
against the Sasikala family eral secretary, P. Palaniap- jya Sabha MP said. The his 110-day nationwide tour. The video begins with a ing down another. A few Ministry spokesperson he said.
otherwise. pan, a former Minister and a
It was also decided not to staunch supporter of Mr.
J&K HC sets
Open Kargil to outside Venezuela lauds Indias
take up the offer of the Dhinakaran told The Hindu.
deputy chief minister as the
rebel leaders felt it would be Change the driver
aside Public
a demotion for Mr. Pan- If we find that the driver of
hands-off approach
neerselvam who has served
as chief minister thrice, said
the leader.
The OPS camp leaders
the bus is not good... we will
have to change the driver.
This is essential in the in-
terests of passengers, he
Safety Act
Special Correspondent
world, says Mehbooba U.S. should follow New Delhi: envoy
are not sure how the ruling said. It was Sasikala who Srinagar
faction led by Chief Minister chose Mr. Palaniswami as Setting aside controversial J&K can reclaim its status of gateway to Central Asia Kallol Bhattacherjee
Edappadi K. Palaniswami the chief minister before she Public Safety Act (PSA) NEW DELHI
would unseat the interim was jailed in Bengaluru. against a detainee, the Peerzada Ashiq Referring to Prime Minis- The world would be a safer
Srinagar
general secretary V.K. Dismissing the talk of Jammu and Kashmir High ter Narendras Modis replace if the U.S. emulates In-
Sasikala, serving a jail term desertions from his camp, Court on Saturday under- Chief Minister Mehbooba marks on Kashmir in his In- dias policy of non-interfer-
after being convicted in the the former Minister, claimed lined that the rhetorical Mufti on Saturday called for dependence Day speech, Ms. ence in the affairs of other
Disproportionate Assets that all those legislators, incantation of the words opening up of the Kargil re- Mufti said, I saw reflection countries, says Venezuelan
case but are firm in their numbering over 20, sup- goonda or prejudicial to gion to the outside world of [former Prime Minister Ambassador to India Au-
stand that their leader porting Mr. Dhinakaran maintenance of public or- as a gateway to Central Atal Bihari] Mr. Vajpayee in gusto Montiel.
should hold the party reins. were still with us. der cannot be sufficient Asia. Mr. Modi. We hope Modiji In an interview to The
The Panneerselvam camp justification to invoke the Opening cross-Line of will come with a sound Hindu, Mr. Montiel ob-
bargained for the PWD port- Political legacy draconian powers of pre- Control (LoC) routes can ini- policy on Kashmir. After the served that India had main- Augusto Montiel
folio also, but might be will- O. Panneerselvam, who met ventive detention. tiate a process of trade in end of the Kargil war, Mr. Va- tained an independent posi-
ing to settle with Housing his senior colleagues in the Justice Ramalingam Sud- the region by virtue of jpayee initiated a peace pro- tion on the ongoing various members of the U.N.
and Finance, sources said. morning, explained that the hakar and Justice M.K. which J&K can reclaim its Mehbooba Mufti cess with Pakistan. disturbances in Venezuela However, India has main-
reasons behind the merger Hanjura set aside the PSA status of a gateway to the She hoped Mr. Modi and has avoided pressure tained a cautious position
TTV group threat were to see to it that the order of District Magis- Central Asia, said Ms. Ms. Mufti said throwing open would walk on the path of from the U.S. on the issue and is yet to cri-
Meanwhile, T.T.V. Dh- party of M.G. trate, Shopian, and direc- Mufti, who is on a tour of strategic routes such as Kar- Mr. Vajpayee and initiate a We respect Indias ticise either of the parties in
inakaran, the sidelined Ramachandran and Jayala- ted the release of Tariq the cold desert region of gil-Skardu and Turtuk- new phase of peace process stance of non-interference the crisis.
deputy general secretary, lithaa, be protected and Ahmad Ganai alias Kargil. Referring to the Khaplu roads will help in between the two countries in internal matters of devel- The envoy said the Non-
met his supporters, includ- the political legacy of the Maqdam. Agenda of the Alliance, the peace process. and in Kashmir. oping nations and would Aligned Movement, of
ing former Ministers and departed leaders be carried wish the U.S. to emulate this which Venezuela is the cur-
MLAs, at his home here on on. Later in the day, he told position; we believe the rent chair, have been sup-
Army accused of attacking policeman

Saturday. reporters at the Chennai air- world would be a safer and portive of the government
We will have to remove port that the government more stable place, he said. of Mr. Maduro.
Mr. Palaniswami from the led by Mr. Palaniswami A strong nation like India The previous NAM sum-
post of Chief Minister if the would not collapse because makes its decisions based mit was hosted last year in
party takes a stand against of us. on other countries opin- Venezuela where the Indian
This is the second incident in which Army is accused of beating up policemen ions. In June, when the U.S. delegation was led by the
Ambassador to the U.N. then Vice-President, Hamid
23 dead as Utkal Special Correspondent

Srinagar
A policeman was injured in
a police
Ganderbal.
station in threatened to leave the U.N.
Human Rights Council if it
did not sanction Venezuela,
Ansari. He said the support
of NAM will be visible in the
U.N. session in September-
Express derails an alleged scuffle with Army

men in Kupwara district of
Kashmir on Friday evening.
PDP worker shot dead
Meanwhile, suspected milit-
ants shot dead a Peoples
India was one of the 57
countries that cosigned a
statement of support for
October.
Venezuela has been one
of the main energy suppliers
Two National Disaster Re- Meanwhile Chief Minister A Munshi-rank official, Democratic Party worker at Venezuela. to India from the western
sponse Force (NDRF) teams, Yogi Adityanath and Railway Shabir Ahmad, was beaten Anantnags Dailgam area on Venezuela has been fa- hemisphere and there are
comprising 45 personnel Minister Suresh Prabhu anup allegedly by soldiers fol- Saturday. cing unrest since March obvious concerns that in-
each, and two canines have nounced an ex-gratia of 3.5 lowing his intervention dur- A police official said the when the government of stability in the country
been mobilised to the acci- lakh for kin of dead, ing a search of vehicles in victim, Muhammad Isaaq president Nicolas Maduro could affect Indias energy
dent site from their base in 50,000 for the seriously in- the area. Parray, was shot in the head faced protests from the Op- needs.
Ghaziabad. jured and 25,000 for those Police sources said Mr. by suspected militants who position following his at- However the envoy dis-
with minor injuries. Mr Ahmad tried to whisk away a barged into his house. He tempts at constitutional recounted the possibility and
Anti-terrorist squad Adtiyanath has announced civilian who was held up by In action: Army jawans during a cordon and search operation in was declared dead in the forms. said, The industrial and oil
An accident alert has been 2 lakh for the families of soldiers of 41 Rashtriya Rifles Shopian district on Saturday. NISSAR AHMAD* hospital, said the police. sectors are completely nor-
issued to all the hospitals in the deceased and 50,000 near the Deputy Commis- The Army on Saturday Cautious stand mal; just a few months ago
Meerut and the National for those injured. sioners office in Kupwara. commuter and the Munshi ably, Senior Superintendent morning sealed nine villages The subsequent crisis has ONGC inaugurated a high-
Capital Region Uttar Pra- The policeman inter- had gone there to get his of Police, Kupwara, Sham- for a search operation in seen clashes almost every pressure water pump as
desh anti-terrorist squad PM condolence vened following misbeha- vehicle released. However, sher Singh said. Shopian. However, no ar- day. On August 17, clashes part of a multimillion dollar
has reached the site too on Prime Minister Narendra viour of the soldiers with the the Army didnt release the This is the second such in- rests were made in the oper- between government deal signed in November
the instructions of state Modi expressed extreme local people, the police vehicle which resulted in a cident since July 21, when ation that was called off in guards and convicts in a last year.
ADG (law and order) Anand pain over the accident. sources said. The Army had minor altercation. The mat- the Army was accused of the afternoon, said the prison claimed 37 lives and For full interview, logon
Kumar. seized the vehicle of a local ter was later resolved amic- beating up policemen inside police. drew strong comments from to: http://bit.ly/montielint
A different govt. will be Chouhan will Janata Dal (U) joins NDA, may
in office in 2022: Cong. remain CM: Shah get berths in Union Cabinet
Party takes a dig at Rajnath Singh
Will not obe shifted to the Centre
Asian News International
New Delhi Press Trust of India ure of both is till 2019. Rebel leader Sharad Yadav holds parallel meeting, attacks Nitish Kumar
The Congress on Saturday Bhopal He said Madhya Pradesh
made a pointed attack at Amid speculation that Shiv- had registered an impress- Amarnath Tewary utive meeting, chaired by (U)? he asked, addressing meeting of party leaders, Mr.
Home Minister Rajnath raj Singh Chouhan could be ive growth rate under Mr. Patna party president and Chief journalists after the meeting. Tyagi, who used to be a close
Singh over his statement shifted to the Centre before Chouhans leadership, espe- The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Minister Nitish Kumar, ap- He also asserted that it confidante of Mr. Sharad Ya-
that the answer to Kashmir the Assembly elections in cially in the agriculture sec- Dal (United) on Saturday proved a resolution to be- was the Bihar units decision dav, said the party would
and terrorism will be found Madhya Pradesh, BJP pres- tor. The State had pro- passed a resolution at its na- come part of the NDA, prin- to walk out of the grand alli- wait till August 27, the day of
by 2022, citing that the as- ident Amit Shah said here gressed in all spheres, the tional executive committee cipal general secretary and ance government and join the RJDs rally here, before
sertion will come true, but on Saturday that the tenure BJP chief said, adding there meeting to formally join the JD(U) Rajya Sabha member hands with the BJP to form initiating any action against
under a different of the Madhya Pradesh was a good coordination BJP-led National Democratic K.C. Tyagi said, denying that an NDA government in Bi- Mr. Sharad Yadav.
government. Rajnath Singh Chief Minister was till between the government Alliance (NDA). there was any split in the har.
Congress leader Manish 2019. and the party, and central As a part of the NDA, the party following the differ- Veiled attack
Tiwari said, I agree with surgency will be found be- welfare schemes were being JD(U) is expected to get one ences between Mr. Kumar Approval of executive At a parallel Jan Adalat
the Home Minister, but the fore 2022. Developed state run with a great efficiency. or two berths in the Union and Mr. Sharad Yadav. BJP president Amit Shah, meeting, Mr. Sharad Yadav
only difficulty is that Mr. Rajnath said that the Chouhan has done remark- Cabinet. during a recent meeting with launched a thinly veiled at-
someone else will be in country is facing problems able work in M.P. Under his No tradition At a parallel meeting, the All MLAs present our party president Nitish tack on Mr. Kumar. I
power by 2022. He should of terrorism, naxalism, leadership, Madhya Pra- Mr. Shah said his party has rebel Sharad Yadav-led fac- The meeting was attended Kumar, had urged him to formed the party but some
remember that the term of Kashmir problem and desh, once a laggard, has not set any rule disallowing tion of the party launched an by all 71 party MLAs, 30 bring the JD(U) into the NDA. people are asking me to get
this government ends in northeast insurgency, but a become a developed state, its members to contest elec- attack on Mr. Kumar for MLCs, presidents of 16 of the The national executive com- out of my home. I went to at-
2019. solution to these problems Mr. Shah told media tions after they turn 75. breaking away from the 19 State units, and all office- mittee approved it, and now tend the JD(U)s national ex-
Earlier on Friday, Home will be found before 2022 as persons. There is no rule or tradi- grand alliance with the Con- bearers of the party commit- we have become part of the ecutive committee meeting
Minister Rajnath Singh had the Prime Minister Naren- Asked how long Mr. tion in the BJP to forbid gress and the Rashtriya tees appointed earlier by Mr. NDA, Mr. Tyagi said. but they didnt allow me to
said that the solution to the dra Modi-led government Chouhan and State BJP chief leaders to contest polls after Janata Dal (RJD) and joining Kumar with the consent of Asked whether the JD(U) participate. They told me
Kashmir problem, terror- has pledged to make a New Nand Kumar Chauhan will they attain the age of 75, hands with the BJP. Mr. Sharad Yadav. So how would act against Mr. Sharad that I dont belong to the
ism, naxalism, northeast in- India by 2022. continue, he said, The ten- Mr. Shah said. The JD(U) national exec- can there be a split in the JD Yadav for holding a separate party, he said.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
NEWS 11
Death is the only certainty here, rest is just chance

Nearly 20 lives are lost every day at the hospital in Gorakhpur, where a recent night played havoc with hopes of the young, leaving parents with no sense of closure
Rahul visits families of

Damini Nath
GORAKHPUR
For one family, it is the first
day of school that their five-
year-old girl was looking for-
ward to, but will never see;
for another, it is the celebra-
tion planned for the new-
Gorakhpur victims
born twins conceived after
eight years of trying, but Terms the hospital incident a government-made tragedy
cancelled as they never
came home.
Over a week after oxygen
supply ran out in Baba
Omar Rashid
LUCKNOW
Congress vice-president
Amnesty calls for
Rahul Gandhi on Friday vis-
Raghav Das Medical College
(BRD) here on August 10 and
11, families of the children
ited the homes of families,
whose children had died at
impartial probe
who died in the neonatal the BRD Medical College Staff Reporter AIIs programme dir-
and paediatrics intensive Hospital last week, and New Delhi ector Asmita Basu said,
care units and the encephal- termed the hospital incid- Authorities must ensure The death of 70 children
itis ward that day have no ent a government-made thorough, independent in a five-day period in a
answers; only stories of lives tragedy and advised Chief and impartial investigation government hospital is
cut short and hopes dashed. Minister Yogi Adityanath to into the deaths of 70 chil- nconscionable.The govern-
A total of 567, 668 and 587 stop trying to cover up dren at Gorakhpurs BRD ment has an obligation to
children died in the hospital the deaths, which he Medical College, Amnesty ensure that investigations
in the month of August in claimed were clearly due to International India (AII) are carried out in an im-
2014, 2015 and 2016, re- lack of oxygen supply. said on Saturday. partial manner, she said.
spectively, which means 18 Responding to Mr
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
to 21 dead children a day. Adityanaths statement on
not making Gorakhpur a tion [in the hospital incid- families of the victims in
Paying no heed Ensuring supply: A hospital employee checks newly arrived oxygen cylinders at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College picnic spot Mr. Gandhi ent] There is no empathy Baghagada and Belwar vil-
Given the high prevalence of Hospital in Gorakhpur on August 12. AP * said, If he has even a little from his end. To question lages in Rural Gorakhpur.
Acute Encephalitis Syn- bit of decency and honour why Rahulji visited
drome (AES) in the region four-year-old son, Deepak, says. The only lesson that he us do this five times for cially when she was admit- he would have resigned Rahulji has come to share Cleanliness drive
during the monsoon, several was one of the first to die learnt was never to go back about an hour each that day, ted to school, says her as Chief Minister given the and ease the pain of the Mr. Adityanath started the
doctors that The Hindu on August 10, when the oxy- to this hospital. When his 17- in between liquid oxygen, grandfather, Ilahi. magnitude of the tragedy. poor shows his chotapan cleanliness drive by gar-
spoke to said that most of gen supply ran out. month-old son Dibakar fell Mr. Zahid says. In the Belipar area, Anara (pettiness) and ghabrahat landing a statue of B. R.
the children brought in Deepak had started ill after Deepaks passing, Around 6 p.m., he com- Devi rues the fact her twin National tragedy (unease), Mr. Babbar said. Ambedkar before sweeping
could not have been saved. vomiting and was getting Mr. Nishad decided to bor- plained to the doctors that grandchildren, a boy and a It is not only an incident in Mr. Gandhi visited the the streets of Andhiyari
But the fact remains that the seizures, which is sympto- row 2,000 from his in-laws Kushis body had become girl, born on August 2 at an- Uttar Pradesh, rather it is a homes of Brahmdev Yadav Bagh mohalla, a Dalit busty,
authorities, including the matic of AES, on August 9, and take him to a private cold. But he was told that other government hospital, national tragedy Things in Baghagada village, with a broom.
suspended Principal, Rajeev when his father rushed him hospital. He is doing better the treatment was on. At 10 never got a chance to come don't work like this. Modiji Nitesh Shukla in Malanv Mr. Adityanath said that
Mishra, did not respond to to medical, as the institute now, he says. p.m., the doctors told the home. speaks about new India. We and Rama Shankar in there was a need to run a
repeated reminders from is referred to locally. Mr. family that Kushi had died. After eight years of trying don't want this kind of new Basoli Khurd, and ex- campaign against Enceph-
the oxygen supplier, Pushpa Nishad says that since the Death of a girl The death certificate given and spending on expensive India. We want a new India pressed condolences for alitis focusing on providing
Sales, to clear pending pay- U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Mohammed Zahid, a resid- to the family cites cardi- fertility treatment, the chil- where the poor can take the loss of their children clean drinking water and
ments. If the bills were not Adityanath was visiting the ent of Bichhiya in Gorakh- orespiratory failure as the dren were born normal, his/her child for treatment and listened to their griev- eradicating open defeca-
cleared, it had warned, the hospital that day, the doc- pur, lost his five-year-old cause of death. she says, but soon de- and they dont die," Mr. ances. tion.
supply might be stopped. tors did not pay attention to daughter Kushi, who had She was looking forward veloped complications due Gandhi told presspersons. On August 14, Samajwadi The government had
The company for its part his son for about four hours. respiratory problems as a to starting school. She to low birth weight and res- Congress leader Raj Bab- Party president Akhilesh conducted a vaccination
has claimed that it did not Then they put a pipe [for result of AES, on August 11 at wanted to study in the piratory problems. They bar, who was part of the Yadav had also visited the drive of 93 lakh children
cut supply despite outstand- oxygen] but I dont know BRD. private English-medium were referred to BRD on Au- Congress team that visited from 38 districts in the
ing bills. As the government
probes the matter, families
whether it was working. We
later heard that the oxygen
She was fine till 6 a.m.
when the oxygen was on.
school where her brother
studies. We were going to
gust 3.
Doctors say the crisis has
Gorakhpur along with Mr.
Gandhi, targeted the CMfor
<
> Ifa little
he [CM] has even
bit of
state, he said.
The government has is-
left devastated are strug- was stopped. This shows the After 6 a.m. and till 5 p.m., get her admitted soon, says been given a political colour his comments, saying that decency and sued a deadline of Decem-
gling to make sense of their irresponsibility of the hos- the staff removed the oxy- Mr. Zahid. Kushi was not her as the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha he was insulting his posi- honour, he would ber 31 to make Gorakhpur
loss. Bahadur Nishad, a res- pital. I hope this happens to gen pipe and gave us an real name. seat, which Yogi Adityanath tion by talking in an undig- have resigned open-defecation free and
ident of Gulhariya in them, I hope they under- AMBU bag. They told us to The family was thinking represents, will be vacated nified manner. Rahul Gandhi October 2, 2018 for the en-
Gorakhpur district, says his stand what they did, he keep pumping. They made of what to name her offi- by him soon. He did not take any ac- Congress vice-president tire State.
IN BRIEF
Jaitley sends a strong Police try to
rescue cows,
BJP invokes last king of Tripura
message to defaulters
in Tripura in the February cessors were always targeted
face mob ire Syed Sajjad Ali
AGARTALA 2018 Assembly election in by the CPI(M). People were
The Bharatiya Janata Party the State. misled through a sustained
Press Trust of India (BJP) on Saturday invoked The party celebrated the campaign to show the royals
Godhra Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore 110th birth anniversary of in a bad light, and hold them
Debtors have to service their debt, thats the only way A police team was on Sat- Manikya Bahadur, the last the king, known as a vision- responsible for all the prob-
AI cabin crew member urday attacked by a mob of ruler of the erstwhile ary who endeavoured to de- lems in the State, the BJPs
held for smuggling ganja SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT over 100 persons here princely state of Tripura, in velop the hilly and land- State president Biplab Ku-
NEW DELHI Mumbai when it tried to rescue a its appeal to dislodge the locked State before he died mar Deb asserted at a func-
A cabin crew member of Sending a strong signal to large number of cows Communist Party of India- at an early age of 39. tion organised at the party
national carrier Air India was bank defaulters, Union Fin- which were allegedly being Marxist (CPI-M) government The king and his prede- headquarters here.
arrested by customs officers ance Minister Arun Jaitley taken for slaughter.
for allegedly trying to said here on Saturday they The police lobbed 18
smuggle ganja by hiding it in had to make sure that the rounds of teargas shells
the meal service cart of a debt was serviced. after the mob attacked
flight. The officers seized I think one thing is very them, Godhra Deputy SP V.
nearly 2 kg of ganja from the clear here that the old re- K. Nai said. When the po-
cart of the Air India flight gime by which the creditor lice reached the ground
from Chennai on July 19, would get tired chasing the where the cattle were kept,
according to a release. A debtor to have some recov- they were attacked by the
cabin crew member was ery is over, Mr. Jaitley said at Talking tough: Arun Jaitley and Urjit Patel at a conference on mob with stones. To dis-
arrested, it said. PTI a seminar organised by the insolvency and bankruptcy in Mumbai. VIVEK BENDRE * perse the crowd, the police
CII on insolvency and bank- team lobbed 18 teargas
Scuffle in civic body over ruptcy. ection from the RBI. These ture of the National Com- shells. Nobody was hurt,
singing Vande Mataram 12 constitute 25% of the sys- pany Law Tribunal (NCLT). he said.
AURANGABAD Insolvency proceeding tem NPA and each of them I think now that the law On information that the
A scuffle broke out during a If a debtor has to survive, has an exposure of 5,000 has been put in place, the cattle were brought here
general body meeting of the he has to service his debt or crores or more. competent authority, the for slaughtering, the police
Aurangabad Municipal he has to make way for The Minister said the new NCLT has been constituted, carried out a combing op-
Corporation, ruled by the Shiv somebody else. This is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy we are taking special effort eration, and found a large
Sena-BJP combine, on only correct way by which Code (IBC), 2016 was neces- to make sure the infrastruc- number of cattle tied at a
Saturday after two AIMIM businesses will be done and sitated by the failure of the ture is there and is also place. When they tried to
corporators allegedly refused this message has to go loud debt recovery tribunals to ef- strengthened, he said. take them into custody, the
to stand up when Vande and clear to all, he said. fectively perform their duty He said it was important officers were attacked, Mr.
Mataram was played. The Banks have started insolv- after the initial success. to stick to the timeline for Nai said. We seized 49
Mayor suspended the two ency proceeding against sev- He said the government resolving stress. Speed cattle from the spot and
corporators. AIMIM legislator eral defaulters including the was taking special measures really will help in effective took them to a cow shel-
Imtiyaz Jaleel, however, top 12 ones, following a dir- to strengthen the infrastruc- implementation, he added. ter, he said.
described the entire episode
as a drama staged by the
Further probe into Sunandas death

ruling alliance. PTI
Relief for Punjab CM in

Ludhiana city project
CHANDIGARH
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau Forensic team to visit her suite in a private five-star hotel again
on Saturday filed a closure
report in the alleged multi- Special correspondent report filed by the investiga-
crore Ludhiana City Centre New Delhi tion agency [Delhi Police], it
scam case at a court in The Delhi Police on Saturday has not been able to reach a
Ludhiana, in which Punjab informed a court here that a definitive conclusion regard-
Chief Minister Captain forensic team would once ing the cause of death of the
Amarinder Singh among again visit the suite of the victim, and for this Leela
others was an accused. The private five-star hotel where Hotel cannot be made to suf-
bureau had filed an FIR Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of fer any more, the court had
against Mr. Singh in 2007. senior Congress leader said. While ordering de-seal-
Shashi Tharoor, was found ing of the suite, the court
Youth burnt to death by dead on January 17, 2014. had said that the probe
family of lover: police The probe agency made agency would be at liberty to
PHAGWARA the submission before Met- A file photo of Shashi Tharoor and his deceased wife Sunanda visit the suite before filing of
A youth, who succumbed to ropolitan Magistrate Dhar- Pushkar. AFP * the compliance report on
his burn injuries at a hospital, mender Singh while seeking unlocking it. It had also per-
alleged in his dying more time to de-seal the The court later allowed investigating officer of the mitted the police to take out
declaration that he was suite as directed by the the police plea seeking one case to unlock it within four the articles lying inside the
kidnapped, beaten badly and court. more opportunity for filing a weeks. suite with due care for the
then set on fire by his lovers The police further said compliance report regarding purpose of investigation.
family even as they claimed that it had written to the the de-sealing of the suite. It Relief to hotel The court hotel manage-
that he set himself ablaze management of the hotel directed the probe agency to The court had observed that ment has sought de-sealing
outside their house near that a Central Forensic Sci- file the compliance report on the hotel could not be put to of suite no. 345, submitting
Phagwara in Punjab, police ence Laboratory (CFSL) September 4. unending hardship due to that due to its locking up the
said. Amir Malik, 34, team would visit the suite on The court had on July 21 laxity on the part of the hotel had suffered a loss of
sustained 80% burns, and September 1 for further ordered de-sealing of the police. over 50 lakh in the past
died on Friday night. PTI examination. suite with a direction to the According to the status three years.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
12 WHO WHAT WHY WHEN WHERE
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
From 2002 to 2015, Hansda Sowvendra ever, several Santhali groups, mostly the about need and hunger, desperation proceedings. Parliamentary Affairs Min- 2016, the Madras High Court, in a 160-
WHO
Pp q
Q Shekhar gathered stories about his
people, the Santhals of Jharkhand, for
Christians, want the old language to be
written in the Roman script. A tussle
and utter poverty; her plight is a dis-
tressing read. Mr. Shekhar, a Santhal
ister Saryu Roy said the government
was looking to slap a case on the writer
page judgment, declared that self-ap-
pointed censors cannot decide what we
his collection The Adivasi will not Dance. has been going on for the wider accept- himself, became one of his invisible under Section 295 of the IPC, which read and see. The Bench, headed by
It was published in 2015 to critical ac- ance of Ol-Chiki, and Mr. Shekhar seems characters while writing the stories. pertains to injuring or defiling a place of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, said it
Hansda claim; just as his novel The Mysterious

Ailment of Rupi Baskey, which won him
the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Purashkar
to be caught in the crossfire. Incident-
ally, the article he posted on his social
media page was a year old, but the im-
Also in the collection is the story about
a troupe master Mangal Murmu, who
wants to stop being a toy and
worship and carries a jail sentence of up
to two years.
was the duty of the authorities to ensure
freedom of expression and not give in to
demands of the mob in the name of pre-
Sowvendra the same year. Last Friday, August 11,

the Jharkhand government banned The
Adivasi will not Dance saying it had
pact is being felt now. The trial against
Mr. Shekhar first started on social me-
dia, with a group of Adivasis calling his
refuses to dance for the visit-
ing President; a prostitute
who dares to fall in love;
Have other writers
suffered too?
Over the past two years it-
serving law and order. Concluding that
there was nothing obscene in the novel,
it also drew on the argument that eroti-
Shekhar, shown Santhal women in a bad light.

The next day, it suspended the 34-year-
old writer, a medical officer at a district
writing about Adivasi women nothing
but porn. They soon called for his
ouster from Jharkhand, organised
and the torture of a mother
and widow, Baso-Jhi, after
people in the village think
self, many writers, film-
makers and poets have felt
the rage of the moral police
cism is not unknown in Indian artistic
tradition. It is not yet clear if the
Jharkhand book ban is also headed to
fighting a ban health centre 400 km from the capital
Ranchi, and asked him to explain his
protest marches and burnt his effigy,
prompting the government after the
she is a witch. all over the country. In
2015, Tamil writer Perumal
the court.
actions. Opposition too rallied against the writer Whats the government Murugan announced his What happens next?
to ban the book. saying? literary death after con- Academics, artists and writers, many
Why the drastic move? After the issue was dis- servative groups sought a with roots in Jharkhand, have written
The drastic move by the government What is the offending story? cussed in the Assembly ban on his novel One Part Wo- petitions against the ban. As for Mr.
two years after the books publication One of the stories that appears to have last week, Chief Min- man, written in 2010, say- Shekhar, he says he is fighting the ban
comes as a surprise. Protests against irked the protesters and the Jharkhand ister Raghubar Das ing it was prurient. In by writing even more stories, articles
portrayal of Adivasis in the book coin- government is November is for Migra- directed the his case too, the and translations because my supporters
cidentally began to build up after Mr. tion, which appears in The Adivasi will Chief Secretary protest came years want me to write even more, and fear-
Shekhar posted on his Facebook ac- not Dance. A brutal, raw, harsh look at to confiscate later, and by people lessly. So, what lies ahead? My writing
count an article about Ol-Chiki, the the lives of ordinary people, it tells the copies of the who may not have and, hopefully, my job, he quips.
standard script accepted by the govern- story of a Santhal girl who sells her body book and actually read the
ment of India to write Santhali. How- for 50 and two cold bread pakoras. Its start legal book. On July 5, SUDIPTA DATTA
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
acy movement considers symbols of the Southern states to remove Confederate Confederate icons remain. Contrarily, be considered a rebel who tried to
WHAT
Pp q
Q Confederacy, including the Confederate
flag, statues of generals and heroes,
symbols from public offices and spaces.
On June 22, 2015, South Carolinas
the Confederate flag and statues of Con-
federate generals are viewed by some
break the Union down.
monuments, city seals, the names of erstwhile Governor Nikki Haley took white Southerners as an emblem of What next? There have been at
streets, parks and schools, and official down the Confederate flag at the State their heritage and regional pride. The least 100 attempts at
the state and local levels to remove or
The lowdown state holidays to be endorsements of the
countrys troubling history of racist op-
pression of African-Americans. The
House. After that episode the anti-Con-
federacy movement again jumped into
fourth gear last weekend when white
crux of the argument is whether the leg-
acy of the Confederate movement, in
terms of its martial conquests and
alter symbols of the Confederacy, ac-
cording to the Southern Poverty Law
on the anti- movement argues that persistent racial

disparities in the U.S. today imply that
the country is yet to experience recon-
supremacist protesters descended upon
Charlottesville, Virginia, in a rally
against the citys plan to take down a
struggle for secession from the Union,
can be viewed in isolation from the
premise of legalised slavery, although
Center, despite which at least 1,503 such
symbols still stand, including 718 monu-
ments and statues; 109 public schools;
Confederacy ciliation between these two ethnicities

and move past its violent 19th and 20th
century history of slavery and segrega-
statue of Confederate General Robert E.
Lee. Following several days of violent
clashes between white nationalists, anti-
the latter was the cornerstone of the
plantation economy, which was in turn
the backbone of the Southern states. It
80 counties and cities; nine official holi-
days in six states; and 10 U.S. military
bases. The authority to remove a Con-
movement tion respectively. Confederates and other protesters, ten-

sions soared when U.S. President Don-
certainly has not helped bolster the case
for 21st century Confederate pride that
federate symbol varies depending on
the specific symbol and the public space
What is it? The United States anti- How did it The most recent ald Trump waded into the debate by the Confederate flag was used extens- it occupies, as well as the state laws ap-
Confederacy move- come about? wave of the anti-Con- tweeting that it was foolish to take ively by the Ku Klux Klan. Setting aside plicable. In many cases removal was au-
ment refers to the sustained campaign federacy movement is down Confederate statues. overt white supremacy claims, one ar- thorised by Governors, Mayors, City
to remove symbols of the Confederacy, rooted in the June 17, 2015 murder of gument against the removal of Confed- Councillors, County Commissioners, or
a self-declared nation of 11 states that se- nine African-American churchgoers in Why does it Racial discrimina- erate icons is that there is a distinction private persons in the case of private
ceded from the Union around 1861. The Charleston, South Carolina, by white su- matter? tion in the U.S. today, between retaining the statues of men property. Many more Confederate sym-
Confederacy, all of whose constituents premacist Dylann Roof. In the immedi- manifested in, for ex- such as George Washington on the one bols slated for removal have become
had legalised slavery, was dissolved in ate aftermath of the murders, photo- ample, deadly encounters between law hand a founding father of the U.S. who vectors of protest on both sides. The de-
1865 after Confederate forces sur- graphs of Roof with the Confederate flag enforcement and unarmed African- may be considered flawed if measured bate will continue.
rendered to the Union army in the were discovered, leading to enormous Americans, raises serious questions on the yardstick of modern sensibilities
American Civil War. The anti-Confeder- pressure on political leaders across about the emotional impact of letting and those of Robert E. Lee, who may NARAYAN LAKSHMAN
What happened in July? regions that damaged the crop and shelf-life are prone to price fluctuation would help in better supply and availab-
Pp WHY Q
q * July saw a rise in inflation at the
wholesale level to 1.88% from 0.9% in
hindered transport as well, onion prices
have seen a rise on account of low sup-
and hence require better infrastructure
for marketing.
ility of the produce.
June, with the spiralling tomato prices, ply from the southern States. Economists like Prof. M.S. Sidhu at What about the supply chain?
along with other food items, contribut- The fluctuation in vegetable prices, Punjab Agricultural University believe * The mismanagement in the supply
are vegetable ing significantly to this rise. Tomatoes

saw a sharp inflation of over 209.5% in
July against contraction of 29.4% in
which is commonly referred to as sea-
sonal, is associated with the economics
of demand and supply. The Centre
that improved transport and upgraded
storage infrastructure will keep a check
on price volatility. Indias cold storage
chain is another reason for the huge gap
in prices that growers sell perishable ag-
ricultural commodities for and what the
prices June, according to data from the Centre

for Monitoring Indian Economy. Brinjal
registered a rise in inflation to 21.1% in
maintains that seasonal fluctuations in
market arrivals have hit supplies. The
other reasons for the fall in supply are
capacity at present is nearly 3.5 crore
tonnes, which is short by 30-40 lakh
tonnes, and it needs to be increased. Be-
consumer pays. Creation of co-operat-
ive groups and societies are probably an
alternative that could assist in minim-
soaring? July, from Junes contraction of 3.1%.

The prices of tomato, onion and potato
have increased in recent months owing
adverse weather conditions and imper-
fections in marketing channels. How-
ever, the clash of interests between the
other hand, wants to maximise profits.
Striking a balance among these stake-
holders could possibly address the issue
sides, cold storages need to be up-
graded, equipping them to store fruit
and vegetables at right temperatures so
ising the marketing channel. They can
work in tandem across the States and
supply vegetables from surplus regions
to disparity between demand and sup- consumer, the producer and the of price fluctuation to some extent. Ve- that they stay fresh. to places where the produce is in de-
ply on account of a drop in production middlemen is a key factor that policy- getable producers, especially small Also, the high cost of transport needs mand.
because of unfavourable weather, a rise makers must urgently address. landholders, depend on intermediaries to be addressed. In the case of perish- Most farmers in India have small
in transport costs, seasonality and sup- to sell their produce. As vegetables find able vegetables, the government could landholdings. Nearly 85% farmers are
ply chain constraints. Where is the problem? their way to the market, the cost of consider promoting low-cost refriger- small, who have less than 2 hectares.
* For years, the consumer, the produ- packaging, grading, transporting and ated trucks and weigh the option of Cultivation has become unviable for
Why is supply low? cer (farmer) and the middleman have fees, besides the margins of the middle- freight subsidy. these small farmers, but through co-
* While the rise in the retail prices of to- had a clash of interest when it comes to men, are some of the elements that de- According to an estimate, there are operative groups and societies even a
mato is being associated with low sup- agricultural commodities. While the termine the final price the consumer 7,000-8,000 refrigerated trucks plying small quantity of crop produced by the
ply from key growing States, including consumer wants to buy a commodity at has to bear. in India, mostly transporting pharma- farmer can be marketed. This will stabil-
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar the lowest price, the producer (farmer) ceuticals and dairy products. Transport ise prices and benefit consumers.
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and desires to sell the produce at the max- Will better storage help? of perishable vegetables in refrigerated
Karnataka following heavy rain in a few imum price. The middleman, on the * Agricultural commodities with a short trucks could be one of the options that VIKAS VASUDEVA
Catalonia carnage: In one of the worst

WHEN
Pp q
Q acts of jihadi terrorism since the Madrid
bombings of 2004, a van crashed into a
crowd in the Las Ramblas district of
Barcelona, killing 13 people and
17
wounding more than 80 on Thursday.
The worrying factor is that it doesn't
appear to be a lone wolf, hit-and-run
attack there were two other incidents,
August 2017 north and south of Barcelona, prompting
the police to think a wider cell must have
been at work. The Islamic State (IS)
claimed responsibility, saying it was a
response to calls for targeting coalition
states. But Spain had reduced its role in
the campaign against the IS and other
groups; it withdrew most of its troops
from Afghanistan in 2015 and is not part
of the air raid against the IS in Iraq and
Syria. Catalonia has Spains largest
Muslim population, and anti-terror
probes have been in focus. King Felipe VI
of Spain and Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy attended a remembrance
at Catalonia Square for the victims,
comprising citizens from at least 34
countries around the world. AP & GETTY *
IMAGES
ing from encephalitis died at the hos- he said, blaming the spread of the dis- officials said they had released the pay-
WHERE
Pp q
Q pital. The maximum deaths of 23 chil-
dren happened between August 10 and
ease on unhygienic lifestyle and
uncleanliness.
ment. And, so the blame game contin-
ued till the hospital began to count the
11. Gorakhpur District Magistrate Rajeev dead 30 children in just 24 hours on
Rautela told the media that 30 children How could it have been averted? August 10 and 11.
had died at the hospital due to disrup- It is not clear how the deaths could have
In U.P.s tion in oxygen supply.

Government officials and the Minis-
ters visiting the hospital, however, im-
been averted if the supply of oxygen had
been maintained. The supplier, Pushpa
Sales, had been asking the hospital as
Have some steps been taken?
Dr. Mishra was transferred, though he
said he resigned from his post taking
Gorakhpur, mediately denied there was any short-

age of oxygen supply and said many of
the deaths were due to other medical
well as medical officials to ensure pay-
ment of dues, which had gone up to
over 55 lakh, so that it could continue
moral responsibility. Dr. Kafeel Khan,
in-charge of the paediatrics and enceph-
alitis wards, was also shifted for negli-
tragedy reasons.
On August 13, Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath, who had been representing
to supply oxygen to the hospital. The
firm had also warned the authorities
that due to non-payment of dues it
gence. A high-power committee has
been set up under the Chief Secretary to
probe the incident.
and after Over 60 children died between August 7
and 11 at the Baba Raghav Das Medical
Gorakhpur in Parliament for a long
time, visited the hospital with Union
would be unable to supply oxygen and
the entire responsibility for the lack of
After the incident, the supply of oxy-
gen was restored and a three-member
College, a referral hospital in Gorakh- Health Minister J.P. Nadda and reiter- oxygen would fall upon the medical col- team of doctors from the Centre arrived
pur of eastern Uttar Pradesh, amid al- ated that the deaths were not because of lege. Pushpa Sales also questioned why to support the staff in tackling AES. All
legations that supply of oxygen to the shortage of oxygen. only 50-60 oxygen cylinders were avail- the damp and grubby spaces in the hos-
neo-natal and encephalitis wards was able at the hospital on August 10 and 11 pital were cleaned up. However, as one
cut over unpaid bills. A Central probe Why so many encephalitis deaths? killer disease since 1978. Mr. Adityanath when the norm is to have 350-400 filled young doctor explained, its an over-
team rejected the allegation but it is still Gorakhpur has a long history of chil- had raised the issue in Parliament sev- cylinders at any given point of time. The burdened hospital...to minimise deaths
not clear how so many children died. dren dying of Acute Encephalitis Syn- eral times. Weve managed to tame JE college principal, R.K. Mishra, more doctors, infrastructure and sup-
drome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis to a large extent but are yet not success- countered that he had been requesting porting staff will be needed.
What happened? ( JE). According to an estimate, over ful in tackling AES... My fight against Health Department officials for funds,
On August 11, 30 children largely suffer- 25,000 children have died due to this AES in Gorakhpur is two decades old, but to no avail. However, government AMARNATH TEWARY
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
COLUMNWIDTH 13
Do not blame it on women

The only way to stop rapes is by not obstructing the agency of women
thing that happens to women a bit like viour and duties from women. To say given relationship current husband or
menstruation, but more bloody and that rape should be prevented by con- ex-boyfriend can justify the rape of a
painful. This puts the onus of the crime trolling women in advance dress con- woman. This strengthens the male
on women instead of the men who com- servatively, do not go out at night, no status quo. We need to be very clear
mit rape. The victim is held responsible, beer, dont laugh aloud in public, etc. that any forced act of sex is rape,
not the criminal. is to lie. What this does is put women in period.
their presumed place and reduce their Once when I wrote about the matter
Control of female bodies choices, but that is what rape is also of womens rights, I received angry
Tabish Khair This happens in many ways. The sug- about in any case! emails from men who basically wanted
is an Indian novelist and academic gestion that female dress preferences Most rapes take place because some to protect women by keeping them
who teaches in Denmark and behaviour cause rape is one of men cannot accept the fact that women in place. This, again, is part of the
them. I must add that this is not the case should have an equivalent space to problem: rapes will keep taking place as
Let us get this straight: It is not women just in India; I have heard this danger- dress, move, work, play, enjoy; they long as we define women as things to
who get raped; it is men who rape. ous argument in places like the U.S. and take place because some men cannot be protected, cherished, taught, used,
Comments on rape get into the news supposedly liberal Scandinavia too. accept a no by a woman. Throwing whatever. That is, as objects for men.
in India (and elsewhere) once in a while An American woman recently posted acid on a girl who does not show in- The stress on totally abstaining from sex
I suspect this is more for electoral a photo on social media of her dog wait- terest in the Romeo, or on a woman is as problematic in this context as the
reasons because rapes keep happening ing patiently next to her table to be fed; who rejects her lover, is part of this con- stress on women as sex objects. These
AP
with as great a frequency even when the table also held a loaded plate of food tinuum of sexual assault. are two sides of the same coin, from
politicians are not talking about it. That for the woman. The dog was not jump- The discourse on what a woman some soldiers have tended to rape de- which the woman as a human agent (a
is so because what does not change is ing at the plate. It sat there, calm and wore, or ate, or drank, or where she feated and captured men too. Rape is Strengthening the male status quo person who thinks and acts) is largely
the mindset regarding rape, which contained, waiting. Even my dog, the was, etc. is then turned by men (who about oppressive control and exploitat- There is often an assumption that vir- missing.
tends to put the blame on women. woman noted, knows how to control claim to abhor rape) into a tighter sur- ive power; it annihilates its victims as ginity has something to do with rape. The only way to stop rapes is by not
Many women do this too, because, alas, himself. Why then should men be ex- veillance of womens bodies. This plays equals and as human beings. This is not surprising in a country obstructing the agency of women. This
this what we have been mostly condi- cused for not controlling themselves, right into the hands of the male rape Rape is an extreme and extremely vi- where leaders have gone on record includes, above all, the agency to do
tioned to do. she asked. While I find it disturbing to mindset, which is basically about con- olent form of the control of female bod- equating an unmarried status with vir- with their own bodies what women
It is this dominant mentality that, equate food with sexual appetite, as if trol. Rapes do not take place just be- ies and spaces, something that is gener- ginity. And this is as disturbing as the wish in terms of dress, food, even, yes,
sometimes even in the act of loudly our sexual partners are inert material to cause a man cannot control himself, as ally practised by many men in claim that married women cannot be if the person is an adult, sexuality. Rape
protesting against rape, ends up reinfor- be simply consumed, the woman did the American woman supposed; they moderate and peaceful versions raped by their husbands. Actually, mar- is about refusing to let a woman say no
cing the mindset. At the core of it is the have a point though, as we shall see, a take place because he wants to control every day of their lives when they de- ital rape is a serious issue: by allowing to a man. It cannot be stopped by for-
shocking assumption that rape is some- limited one. women. That is why during vicious wars mand certain binding patterns of beha- it, we sanction the mentality that a cing her to say yes to some other men.
Have you taken the The rise and fall of Delhis

New India pledge? only female monarch
Why solve only six problems when you can solve 56? Remembering the incredible Sultan Razia by her graveside
teach the Chinese a tough lesson on Sultan Razia appointed Malik Yaqut
Dhokla. Let us together also pledge to as Amir-e-Akhur or commander of the
improve the criminal justice system by horses. This was taken as an affront by
implementing police reforms, filling the Turkish nobles as until then they
the vacancies in the judiciary, and had held all the important posts. That
providing operational autonomy to the the Sultan had a mind of her own was
CBI. not taken kindly by them.
Citizens of India should also pledge Stories of romance between Razia
G. Sampath to transfer 15 lakh to the bank ac- Rana Safvi and Malik Yaqut are to my mind fabric-
is Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu count of every Indian by 2022. Let us is a historian, author and blogger
RANA SAFVI
ated by later historians as they dont
together pledge to end crony capital- documenting Indias syncretic culture find mention in Minhaj-us-Sirajs
Have you taken the New India pledge? ism and to personally escort Vijay Mal- works. Ibn Battuta (1304-1368) writes
Let me first wish you all a belated lya back to India. Let us pledge to pay For several months, her face was veiled/ that there were suspicions of intimacy
very happy Independence Day! If I back all the NPAs of all the public sec- her swords ray flashed, lightning-like, between Razia and Malik Yaqut, but
were the Prime Minister of India, I tor banks even if it means we have to from behind the screen./ Since the ian, had trained Razia in the art of war- perhaps her trust in someone who was
GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK
would be a proud man today. As fate break open the piggy banks of every sword remained in the sheath,/ Many fare, horsemanship, diplomacy, and her mentor and perhaps father figure
would have it, I am not the Prime Min- innocent child and woman in the rebellions were left unchecked./ With a administration. However, after Iltut- had been misconstrued. Independent
ister of India. Im not even the Opposi- country. Let us together also pledge to royal blow, she tore away the veil;/ She mishs death, the powerful clique of women carving their own destinies
tion, which in any case is no longer re- take our Sensex to an all-time high of showed her faces sun from behind the Turkish nobles ignored his will and en- have always been suspect.
quired since we already have the best 70,000 by 2022 by pledging our screen./ The [lioness] showed so much sured that Ruknuddin Firoz, another
government that money can buy. But I provident fund, pension, life insur- force/ that brave men bent low before son of the Sultan, occupied the throne. Marriage and death
am still proud not only of me and my ance, and leftover savings, if any, to her. Amir Khusrau He was a debauch, and soon the Later, Malik Altunia, the governor of
country, but of every single one of you lems that afflict our great nation? If not the stock market. In the narrow lanes of Old Delhi people of Delhi were in despair. Tabarhind (Bhatinda), rose against
who took the New India pledge on our you and me, who will solve them Every citizen of India should also, in near Turkman Gate is the grave of Del- Razia then dressed in the red Razia and she went to battle against
latest Independence Day. your grandfather? Hello, just because my opinion, pledge to pay on time the his only female monarch. Its approach clothes of a plaintiff and revealed her- him. The Turkish nobles in her army
Never in my life have I felt so full of you pay taxes doesnt mean the gov- wages of whoever has worked under is difficult to find as it is hidden by self to the congregation that had mutinied, Malik Yaqut was killed, and
purpose and patriotic pride as I did ernment owes you something. the MGNREGA, implement the Food shops and houses. After entering from gathered for Friday prayers in the Sultan Razia herself captured.
last Tuesday. Listening to our Prime Let me tell you, from one Vande Security Act, and appoint a Lokpal. Let Turkman Gate and traversing the nar- Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and ap- The rebellious nobles and defeated
Ministers inspirational speech, I got to Mataram-singing patriot to another, if us together pledge to answer all row lanes of Pahari Bhojla till Bulbuli pealed for justice. The people reposed army returned to Delhi and raised her
know so many fantastic new facts you really want your country to be- pending RTI queries by 2022. Khana, youll see a stone plaque put their faith in her and she was elevated brother Bahram Shah to the throne of
about my country that I never knew come great, then you must take per- up by the Archaeological Survey of In- to the throne as Delhis fifth Sultan. Delhi in April, 1240 AD. Meanwhile Al-
before. I sat mesmerised for the entire sonal responsibility to make it happen. The No.1 nation dia. Ruknuddin was imprisoned and tunia, disappointed at being deprived
56 minutes. (Incidentally, 56 is my fa- It is in this spirit of selfless service to And while we are at it, let us also It is marked as Sultan Razias grave. executed. of any reward for his rebellion, offered
vourite number too.) the nation that I appeal to each one of pledge that our politicians will not Inside there are two stone graves, pop- Razia refused to call herself Razia his hand in marriage to Razia and she
By the time the great man was done, my 125 crore fellow Indians to not only poach MPs or MLAs from other parties ularly known as Rajji Shajji (Razia and Sultan as the word Sultan as a suffix accepted it.
I was so fired up with nationalistic fer- take the New India pledge, if they by bribing them, that our government Shazia). No one knows who lies in the was used for consorts and princesses. Razia and Altunias army attacked
vour that I whipped out my smart- havent already done so, but to take an will not use state machinery such as second grave. A small mosque in She was a monarch, and so Sultan had Bahram Shah in September-October
phone and took a video of myself tak- expanded version of it so that we can the Enforcement Directorate and the which prayers are held is well main- to be added as a prefix to her name. 1240. But their combined army was de-
ing the Sankalp se Siddhi together by ourselves solve all the Income Tax department to target its tained. The imam lives in a porta-cabin Razia stamped her authority by hav- feated and Razia was killed.
(achievement through resolve) pledge. problems the country is currently political adversaries, and that by 2022, next to the graves. ing coins struck in her name. Later she Today there are conflicting stories
Like millions of other Indians, I facing. the Prime Minister of the country will adopted the title of Nusrat Amir-ul- about her tomb, with some saying it is
pledged to build a New India by 2022, Therefore, over and above the start holding periodic press confer- The chosen one Muminin (helper of commander of in Kaithal. However, since land records
an India that would be dirt-free, pledge to solve the problems of dirt, ences where he or she will answer un- This is where South Asias first female faithful, that is, Caliph). are normally correct, I go by an entry
poverty-free, corruption-free, terror- poverty, corruption, terrorism, com- scripted questions from unfriendly monarch lies. Razia was the daughter Sultan Razia ruled wisely for four in Tabaqat-e-Nasiri by Minhaj-us-Siraj,
ism-free, communalism-free and munalism, and casteism, I urge every journalists. of the third Delhi Sultan, Iltutmish, years (1236-1240). According to Ibn who, when enumerating the names of
casteism-free. citizen of India to also pledge to solve And to round things off, I suggest and his favourite wife Terken Khatun. Battuta: She rode on horseback as 18 villages included in the city of
the problems of unemployment, that any citizen of India who enters As Razias brother Nasiruddin Mah- men ride, armed with a bow and Firozabad, writes: Eighteen places
An extended pledge farmer suicides, malnutrition, falter- politics to serve the nation and sud- mud, who was Sultan Iltutmishs eldest quiver, and surrounded with courtiers. were included in this town... [and] Bul-
I posted my pledge selfie on Facebook ing GDP growth, drinking water sup- denly finds his assets growing at a rate son and successor to the throne, had She did not veil her face. She also buli Khana, the land of the tomb of
and sat back, feeling pleased at having ply, housing for all, education for all, greater than ten times the GDP growth died fighting the Mongols, the Sultan shrugged off her feminine clothes and Sultan Razia.
solved six of the countrys major prob- universal health care, electrification of rate should immediately pledge 56% of designated his daughter as his heir. Ac- donned the robes, tunic, and turban of Ibn Battuta confirms it: A small
lems in one go, on a single day. And villages, rural road connectivity, and his and his family members assets to cording to historian Minhaj-us-Siraj, a man. Yet we see that patriarchy shrine was erected over her grave,
then it struck me: why should I, as a affordable oxygen for babies. the Indian Army. If all of us can take the Sultan considered Razia equal to thrived; Minhaj-us-Siraj writes in 1400 which is visited by pilgrims, and is con-
patriotic Indian citizen, restrict myself Further, every citizen of India the above pledges, I assure you, we 20 of his sons in ability. AD: She was endowed with all the sidered a place of sanctity. It is situated
to solving only these six problems? should pledge to solve the Kashmir will become the worlds number one From childhood, Iltutmish and his qualities befitting a king, but she was on the banks of the Jumna, about a
What about the remaining 56 prob- problem, take care of Pakistan, and country in 56 days flat. trusted slave Malik Yaqut, the Abyssin- not born of the right sex. parasang from Delhi.
The importance of a countrys self-image

Publicly acknowledging and attending to flaws rather than ignoring them is pivotal to nurturing a healthy, positive self-image
its people, its image is the collective self- the moral ambience at home, so that Can we please start getting concerned
image of a people. Each one of us wants this does not occur again. But what hap- about the countrys internal image, the
to be viewed by others favourably be- pens instead is bizarre! The parents be- imprint this intolerance leaves on our
cause how one is treated is frequently gin to blame the teacher for publicly ru- alienated citizens?
determined by how one is seen. We ining the reputation or image of the Quite like an individual, no country is
dont wish to be misrecognised by oth- family! How twisted can a mind be! perfect. We all make mistakes, stray
ers. We all wish to be recognised for Some years ago, the country was hit from the path, get misdirected, tempor-
what we truly are and not be seen by a cascade of corruption scandals. arily lose our way, and even reach the
Rajeev Bhargava through a distorting lens. Besides, a Imagine if those who exposed it were wrong destination, but the more intelli-
GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK
is a political theorist with the Centre for positive self-image is crucially linked to blamed for damaging the countrys im- gent and wise amongst us are self-cor-
the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi our self-esteem. If our self-image is damage, and the scamsters came through recting. They can tell when and where
aged, our self-esteem is necessarily unscathed? Today, it is clearly the lynch we have gone wrong. And take steps for
The recent remark by the outgoing Vice lowered and we are bound to feel humi- mobs who are damaging the image of course correction. The discriminating
President, Hamid Ansari, that there is liated and insulted. This is equally true the country, not those who express con- ability to tell right from wrong, the cour-
growing unease among Dalits and of our collective self-image. If our coun- cern over the lynchings and want the age to acknowledge that a wrong has
minorities caused rancour amongst try is portrayed negatively, we feel government to put a stop to them. been committed, and the collective re-
some of our fellow citizens. It is a bit ashamed, angry, or even outraged. structing a self-image are here part of pivotal to nurturing a healthy, positive Surely, there is some perverse logic op- solve to fix it these are all crucial for
puzzling why, for this was not an un- There is no denying the importance of a the same ethical process. self-image. Cosmetically engaging with erating here. the health of a nation.
usual observation. Many Indians, in- countrys image. The other thrives on deliberate dis- them or being indifferent to the creep- The image of the country is greatly
cluding the former President, Pranab tortion. Though carefully crafted, such ing malaise damages the self and its real Internal and external image enhanced when its citizens speak out
Mukherjee, had raised concerns about Self-image: A double-edged sword a self-image is far removed from reality. image. What or who then is damaging a A second feature of the obsessive preoc- against any wrong committed in their
growing intolerance in our country and Yet, a self-image should not be confused Disconnected from the real self, the im- countrys self-image? And who amongst cupation with image is this: those per- name or in their land. It is even more re-
the threat to our pluralist ethos. But An- with the persons real self. There is al- age overtakes it and becomes all that us is nurturing it positively? Consider a sistently anxious about the countrys assuring to hear people in the highest
saris remarks were seen by some to be ways a gap between how one is seen (by matters. Indeed, it even masks the real teenager habitually cheating in exams image leave unstated that it is the coun- positions of authority acknowledging
particularly disturbing because they ap- others or by oneself ) and what one self and its flaws. An obsessive concern but who is caught, one day, by an obser- trys image in the external world that public wrong with responsibility and
peared to damage the countrys image. really is. Moreover, there are two kinds with self-image undermines the growth vant and scrupulous teacher. Though they are really embarrassed about. But purpose. It shows that we are a vibrant,
Some went as far as to say that they of self-images. One, constructed self-re- of the real self; wasteful energy is spent his acts reflect badly on his own moral equally, if not more important, is the self-examining, introspective people. It
were an insult to the country. flectively, constantly realigns how we on polishing the self-image, even as the character, they probably tell us even countrys image amongst its own also shows that we are an assured
A concern with the countrys image is appear and what we really are. Con- real self is tarnished by neglect. This is more about the poor quality of moral people. Do we not need to ask what the democracy. That indeed is the image
not to be scoffed at or dismissed as in- scious of the pitfalls of self-deception, it as true for nations as it is for individuals. life in his family. The appropriate thing image of the country is in the eyes of that we should wish to have of
consequential. A countrys image is im- relentlessly unmasks defects and vul- Publicly acknowledging and attend- to do here is for the parents to own up Dalits, minorities, ravaged farmers and ourselves, both inside the country and
portant. Since a country is made up of nerabilities. Building a real self and con- ing to flaws rather than ignoring them is their mistake and find ways of rectifying others who feel alienated and excluded? abroad.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
14 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
CAPSULE
IISc: Copper-coated membrane IISER Mohali: Spider silk,
a material for the future
makes drinking water safe Processing it was a challenge addressed by the team
The membranes show enhanced antibacterial and antifouling performances Shubashree Desikan
Earthlike planet R. Prasad Spider silk is a biomaterial

Astrophysicists from that has come to intrigue
University of Texas, Arlington, There is an age-old practice of many in recent times.
estimate that there might be storing drinking water in cop- With five times the
an earthlike planet, with mass per vessels to rid the water of strength of steel of com-
between 1 and 15 times the bacteria. Scientific evidence of parable weight, it offers
earths, orbiting Gilese 832 copper vessels antibacterial immense possibilities for
which is only about 16 light property became available in applications, however the
years from us. Gilese 832 is a March 2012 when a paper in difficulty in processing it
red dwarf with about half the the Journal of Health, Popula- and also welding it with
Suns mass, with 2 exoplanets. tion and Nutrition found that other excellent materials
water stored in copper vessels were posing a challenge.
for 16 hours killed pathogenic Now, researchers at IISER
bacteria such as E. coli and Mohali have demonstrated
cholera causing Vibrio chol- how to overcome these Multifaceted: Spiders can make seven types of silk from
erae O1, and Salmonella spe- challenges using a femto- different glands, each tuned to a special task K.R. DEEPAK *
cies. Now, researchers at the second laser pulse. They

Indian Institute of Science have succeeded in cutting Chandigarh and grow cial lasers. But we had to
(IISc) Bengaluru have de- and manipulating spider them in large plastic design our own experi-
veloped a water-filter mem- silk and making tiny ob- boxes to collect silk, we mental setup to target
brane with copper ions to jects of complex geomet- make the spider jump these pulses on the fine
Making of a mouse make drinking water safe. The ries such as braids and from a stick. It immedi- silk fibre precisely, says
All embryos have male and results were published in the Mobius bands out of it. ately suspends its body Prof. Singh. A femto
female primitive reproductive journal Nanoscale. Their research is pub- with a silk known as second is a millionth of a
tracts. Sexual differentiation A team of researchers led lished in Nature Materials. dragline silk. This is typic- billionth of a second. The
removes one set. Long- by Prof. Suryasarathi Bose Effective: The ability of copper ions to kill bacteria is more than 98%, says Nagarajan Padmavathy. The early use of spider ally a few micrometer in mechanism of interaction
believed to be an active from the Department of Ma- *
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT silk material was in micro- diameter and is the of the silk with sub-10
process only in males, with the terials Engineering at IISc scopes, telescopes, guns strongest type of silk, says femtosecond pulses was
default being female, recent made the commonly used contact with water, interacts But when water with very tential candidate for water and bomb-guiding sys- Prof. Singh. Spiders can not known previously, he
research on mice shows that in polyvinylidene fluoride with the outer membrane of high concentration of bacteria purification applications with tems as cross hairs in the make seven types of silk adds.
females too, it is actively (PVDF) water-filter membrane the bacteria to produce disc (10,000 colony-forming units enhanced antibacterial and optical elements. Since from seven different
promoted by a transcription to prevent biofouling and kill shaped structures. It solubil- of bacteria per ml of water) antifouling performances. then, its extraordinary glands. Each is tuned to Sun-power
factor. bacteria. To do this they first ises the membrane protein was used, the amount of cop- properties have been dis- perform a special task. For The high strength and
made the inert PVDF mem- but does not kill bacteria. But per ions in water at the end of In the pipeline covered. During spinning instance, capture silk is elasticity of the material
brane functional by blending the interaction with the bac- four hours was 1.6 ppm, which We have to carry out more of the silk, amino acids ar- much more elastic with makes many applications
it with a polymer (styrene terial cell membrane leads to is more than the WHO limit. studies to understand the range themselves as tiny glue drops to trap the possible. They can be
maleic anhydride or SMA). release of a particular enzyme At 1.6 ppm, the copper ions in amount of copper a person nanocrystals embedded in prey. The silk it makes to used, the researchers ex-
Though copper oxide is an (phosphatase and/or phos- water can be toxic, says Prof. would be exposed to over time a soft amorphous matrix hold its babies can be plain, in building radiation
excellent antibacterial agent, pholipase), says Prof. Bose. Bose. by drinking the water filtered of molecular nanosprings. softer, he explains in an pressure meters. Radi-
it can be toxic if the concentra- But the ability of copper by copper-containing mem- While the amorphous re- email. ation pressure can be felt
tion of copper in the water ex- Bacterial effect ions to kill bacteria found in brane. And also the amount of gions provide elasticity, The researchers key in- when the momentum car-
ceeds 1.3 ppm (WHO stand- This enzyme released from high concentration was four copper ions released into wa- the nanocrystalline do- novation was that femto- ried by photons is trans-
ard). So the researchers the bacteria cleaves the poly- orders of magnitude higher at ter from the membrane over a mains are optimized to second (fs) laser pulses of ferred to objects in its
Parasite protector coated copper oxide with a mer coating found on copper the end of four hours. The period of time when bacteria- provide great strength, ex- duration about 10 fs can path. This is the operating
Parasite plants draw nutrition biocompatible polymer (poly- oxide resulting in controlled ability to kill bacteria is more containing water is continu- plains Kamal P. Singh, effectively process the silk principle of optical tweez-
from hosts by adhering to phosphoester or PPE) for con- release of copper ions from than 98%, says Padmavathy. ously filtered, says Prof. Bose. School of Physical Sci- fibre with minimal dam- ers for instance. With
them. They adhere to multiple trolled release of copper ions. the membrane into water. In According to Prof. Bose, the Explaining why they chose ences, IISER Mohali, who age to its properties. They NASA trying to build tiny
plants, creating bridges in A porous gel-like structure of the absence of bacteria, the cleaving of the polymer coat- to work with copper oxide has carried out the re- have also shown that these satellites and space
between. Recent research copper oxide coated with the amount of copper ions re- ing is slow and takes about a than silver, Prof. Bose says: search with Mehra S. pulses can be used to weld vehicles that can be pro-
shows that when a leaf of one polymer was used for coating leased is 0.035 ppm at the end year for it to be completely de- Unlike silver, copper is inex- Sidhu, a Post Doctoral Fel- the silk fibre with metals, pelled in space by the
host plant is attacked by the membrane. The polymer of three days and 0.13 ppm at graded. So the amount of cop- pensive. But more import- low at the department and glass and polymers to pro- pressure of sunlight
insects, the parasite signals to used for coating copper has the end of 30 days, says Naga- per ions released might not be antly, copper oxide provides first author of the paper. duce combinations that (without burning fuel), it is
others, resulting in other anti-fouling property. rajan Padmavathy from the high. ample opportunities to har- come in useful. important to develop
leaves and attached plants The SMA polymer coated Department of Materials En- These membranes with ness different surface func- Jumping spiders The femtosecond sensors that can measure
developing insect-resistance. on the membrane, which gets gineering at IISc and the first controlled release of copper tional groups and polymers We collect spiders from pulses in our study were these tiny forces accur-
partially hydrolysed when in author of the paper. ion may turn out to be a po- unlike silver. gardens near Mohali and produced with commer- ately, says Prof. Singh.
On the termite brick trail CLRI: Chemical-free method for unhairing skin
The study involved a careful watch on mound construction Bacillus crolab, a new bacterium, was isolated specifically for this study
Aathira Perinchery fungus-farming termite Odon- by major workers, to optim- Aswathi Pacha shrinkage temperature of
Shaky standard candles totermes obesus chooses ma- ally 'pack' the area. The study the leather were tested after
Type 1 A supernovae are called Termites engineer the terial for boluses. In lab ex- also shows that moisture was Using enzymes produced by further processing. The
standard candles due to their bricks for their mounds periments, they offered crucial: termites could not bacteria, scientists at the strength was found to be
steady, even brightness that from very fine soil particles. moistened tissue paper as a walk on surfaces that had too Chennai-based CSIR-Central considerably better than
helps measure cosmological These less-than-half-milli- water source, and various much moisture; if moisture Leather Research Institute leather processed by chem-
distances. Recent research metre-wide spherical pieces materials including sand, was too low, they could not (CSIR-CLRI) have removed ical method. The smooth-
shows that these may not be called boluses are crafted us- stainless steel and so on to use their saliva to craft hair from goat skin. This ness, fullness and texture
standard after all: A result of ing moisture and materials see which ones termites pre- boluses. method was found to be were marginally better than
supernovae forming in a (ideally granular, organic, ferred. They found that work- Our study shows that soil safer and more environ- the chemically processed
hitherto unknown route - by a with an affinity for water) ers did not necessarily prefer type and access to ground mental friendly than the ones. The enzyme was
Eco-friendly: The enzyme treatment reduced pollution and
white dwarf leaching material available in their surround- familiar material like red soil, water is vital for building conventional method of un- found to remove hair com-
produced better quality leather. M. KARUNAKARAN*
from a huge companion star. ings, shows a new study. This but used any type of material mounds, says ecologist hairing using lime and so- pletely, leaving no trace of
information could be used to as long as it was granular Renee Borges in whose labor- dium sulphide. The results was rich in proteinaceous Ranjithkumar, first author any keratinous material. Mi-
predict the distribution of enough and had enough atory the study was were published in Environ- matter making it an ideal of the paper. croscopic study showed that
termites at local and regional moisture content to aid the conducted. mental Science and Pollution spot for isolation of bac- the protease was able to
levels. process of cementation. Only In the Western Ghats, Research. teria. Among the hundreds Enzyme evaluation penetrate much efficiently
Termites eusocial insects workers created boluses; and many communities use of isolated bacteria, the bac- The effect of the enzyme on into the skin matrix and re-
which live in colonies with boluses of the larger major mounds as an indication of Microbial enzyme terium with highest ability goat skin soaked in water move even the hair root.
wingless workers undertak- workers were 3.7 times larger groundwater presence. A novel bacterium (Bacillus to breakdown proteins (pro- was tested. Crude enzyme The main aim was elim-
ing most of the labour build in volume than thhose of Mounds also serve as nuclei: crolab) was isolated and teolytic activity) was selec- was added in different con- ination of pollution without
nests or mounds known to al- minor workers. more vegetation in some used for the study. This bac- ted and used, explains Dr. centrations to the skin and altering the product and we
ter soil properties and en- areas is facilitated by these terium produces proteases Chellan Rose, one of the let to soak. The enzyme was found that our enzyme
Itch neurons hance vegetation growth in Strategic packing ecosystem engineers. We (enzymes that break down corresponding authors of able to remove hair com- treatment not only reduced
An article in Science puts forth arid regions, helping stabilise The scientists made an open- have at least ten termite spe- protein) which have been the paper. To extract the en- pletely within four hours. pollution but also produced
the idea that chronic itching ecosystems. Little is known ing in a mound and recorded cies in Bengaluru alone, but found useful in unhairing zyme, they fermented According to J. Durga, at better quality leather, ex-
could be wired into ones about how termites construct how termites repaired it by we dont know the distribu- processes. The bacteria wheat bran using the bac- CLRI and one of the authors plains Dr. C. Muralidharan,
neurons. Studying mice, these mounds. Scientists at analysing the video frame-by- tion of several species ter- were isolated from the soil teria. The enzyme showed of the paper, the enzyme Chief Scientist at the
researchers found that a the Indian Institute of Sci- frame. They found minor mites are poorly studied. We near Buckingham canal, high proteolytic activity, was stable over a wide Leather Processing Division,
subset of itch processing ence, Bengaluru, studied workers strategically placed hope our study will serve as a close to Adyar, Chennai, which was 3.5 times greater range of alkaline pH (8 to 11) CLRI and one of the corres-
neurons in the base of the mound construction, and their smaller boluses in benchmark to study species where a meat stall was loc- than any reported for bac- .The tensile strength, tear ponding authors of the
spine coupled to a brain region how the mound-building, between the boluses crafted in other areas. ated earlier. The soil there terial proteases, said Mr A. strength, elongation and paper.
called para brachial nucleus.
Inhibiting this spine-
The humble crow is far smarter than we thought

parabrachial pathway, reduced
itching in mice.
ODD & END Though it may not be a Srinivasa Ramanujan, the crow knows some arithmetic, is creative and can make tools just as a chimpanzee can
A fishy tactic cup with the food therein. Indeed, there rooks and similar birds) are intelligent,
Scientists at the are several such examples accessible on tool makers, remember and recall, plan
Universities of Oslo and Youtube, describing the smartness, and for the future using self-control, trade and
Liverpool have uncovered tool-making ability of the common crow. exchange and even cheat and bully. In all
the secret behind a Further experiments with crows and these, they are remarkably similar to the
goldfishs remarkable
ravens have shown how they can remem- great apes. Kabadayi and Osvath conclude
ability to produce alcohol
ber and recall. This ability allows them to their paper stating: ravens are avian dino-
as a way of surviving harsh
winters beneath frozen plan for the future. Indeed, Drs. Marcus saurs that shared an ancestor with mam-
lakes. Humans and most Boekle and Nicola Clayton of the depart- mals around 320 million years ago The
other vertebrate animals D. Balasubramanian ment of psychology at Cambridge Univer- conspicuous similarity in performance
die within a few minutes sity, U.K., think that remembering opens up avenues for instigation into the
without oxygen. Yet The more we study the common crow, or thoughts and planning for the future is evolutionary principles of cognition.
goldfish and their wild its big-size relative, the raven, the smarter not just a human ability, and that some Thus, to call someone birdbrained is no
relatives, crucian carp, can we find them to be. Readers may recall an species can plan for the future just as well longer an insult!
survive for days, even earlier column of about 13 years ago (see: as a 4-year-old human child can. They talk
months, in oxygen-free www.thehindu.com/seta/2004/06/03/ about this in their analysis (Science, July Incomparable
water at the bottom of stories/2004060300131400.htm), where 14, 2017 issue, pp. 126-127), of the research True, a crow does not sing the way an-
ice-covered ponds. During Smart birds: Experiments with crows and ravens have shown how they can remember and
we found that the crow knows some arith- work of Drs. Can Kabadayi and Mathias recall. S. SUBRAMANIUM
*
other dark bird, the songbird cuckoo,
this time, the fish are able metic and can count at least up to five. Osvath of Lund University, Sweden, pub- does. An impish Sanskrit poet once re-
to convert anaerobically Well, the crow may not be a Srinivasa lished in the same issue of the journal (in beyond these. Also, whether they make mouthful. This is an aspect of symbolic marked: kakah krishna pikah krishna, ko
produced lactic acid into
Ramanujan, but more studies over the pp.206-208). The latter chose to work decisions only for the immediate mo- thinking. One wonders whether this is a bedhah pikakakayoho, vasantha smaye
ethanol, which then
years have found that it possesses some with five ravens and gave them a variety ment, or can plan for as far as the next predator of the tokens we humans use to prapte kakah kkaha pikah pikaha. (How do
diffuses across their gills
into the surrounding water knowledge, is smart, creative and can of tasks. Remarkably, they found that day (about 17 hours). The latter demands withdraw cash in a bank, or to enter a you tell apart the black crow from the
and avoids a dangerous make tools just as a chimpanzee can. ravens are actually similar to the great self- control and planning. The journal subway or Metrorail platform! black cuckoobird? Wait till springtime
build-up of lactic acid in apes (e.g., chimpanzees) in planning, flex- Science, where their paper appears, has That the bird can delay its gratification comes, and you know who is who). As a ri-
the body. The molecular Tool-makers ibility, tool-making for a purpose, remem- made some of these talents of the birds is illustrated in the Youtube video: https:// poste, one may remark: yantra tantra
mechanism behind this Rather than repeat what was written 13 bering and planning for future, and trad- accessible to readers at https://www.you- www.youtube.com/ karyeshu, kakah kakaha pikah pikaha.
ability is unique among years ago, let me refer the reader to ac- ing! tube.com/watch?v=O6nNllouHpw. This watch?v=mQCTU2rjE98. This demands (When it comes to tool making and other
vertebrates and more cess Youtube and watch https://www.you- They specifically tested whether crows video shows how a raven can associate a self control, a property that they display practices, you know who is who).
commonly associated with tube.com/watch?v=TtmLVP0HvDg. It and ravens have skills in only those areas token of a given shape and size to be in- with panache.Experiments of this kind
brewers yeast. shows how the crow is able to bend a wire or domains restricted to food gathering dicative of a piece of food, remembers it have suggested that corvids (a family that dbala@lvpei.org
into a hockey stick shape and lift out the and storing, or whether they show talents and drops it in a box to retrieve the includes crows, ravens, magpies, jays,
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
BEING 15
DR HUMERUS KESHAV
Meet the bacteria that save babies

A community-based trial in Odisha finds that administrating synbiotics to newborns can halve sepsis-related deaths
R. Prasad born to mothers from 149 villages
T
hat babies born by Caesarean in Odisha, where neonatal and in-
section are at a slightly fant mortality rates are among the
higher risk of developing highest in India. The babies were
obesity, asthma and other ailments at least 2 kg at birth and had com-
than children born vaginally is pleted at least 35 weeks of gesta-
now well known. The reason: in a tion. To eliminate any kind of bias
vaginal birth, a baby ingests some in the conduct of the trial, the new-
of the microbes present in the va- borns were randomly assigned to
gina during the time of delivery. receive either the synbiotics or a
These bacteria colonise the new- dummy. Neither the researchers
borns gut and keep it healthier nor others knew who received
when compared with babies born what. Half the participants re-
AROUND THE WORLD through a C-section. ceived the synbiotics while the
other half received the dummy.
A low-cost life-saver The babies were monitored for 60
What gene deletion in RNA However, in the case of India, in- days, the most critical period
processing shows fants born even vaginally are more when they get sick and die.
Deleting one copy of a gene involved in prone to infection and sepsis, The researchers had anticipated
mitochondrial RNA processing results in which causes many deaths. Now, a only 20% reduction in sepsis but as
obese adult mice with fatty liver disease community-based trial carried out the reduction was more than twice
and abnormal heart enlargement (or on newborns in rural Odisha has A big, successful test: The researchers chose Lactobacillus plantarum after carefully studying its ability to than what was anticipated, the
cardiac hypertrophy), a new analysis Getty Images/iStockphoto found that administering synbiot- colonise the infant gut over a long period. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
*
trial was stopped midway. It is not
reports. The study confirms that an ics for a week beginning 2-4 days of uncommon for trials to be stopped
insufficient amount of this mitochondrial protein dubbed life could bring about 42% reduc- lower respiratory tract infections and sustain colonisation of the Sailajanandan Parida from the De- midway when the results are over-
pentatricopeptide repeat domain 1 protein (PTCD1) can be a tion in sepsis. such as pneumonia, which was probiotic strain. In this case, Lacto- partment of Paediatrics, S.C.B. whelmingly positive. Denying new-
major predisposing factor for the development of metabolic With 30 per 1,000 live births, completely unexpected. The re- bacillus plantarum was used as a Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, borns the benefits of the synbiot-
syndrome, and was also demonstrated to be essential for the incidence of hospital-based duction in respiratory tract infec- probiotic. A carbohydrate (fructoo- and one of the authors of the pa- ics, which have been found to be
embryo survival. The findings could offer a better sepsis is huge in India and about a tions suggests that synbiotics not ligosaccharides) that occurs natur- per. The bacteria colonise the gut beneficial, would be considered
understanding of similar mutations that cause human fifth of neonates with sepsis die in only enhanced the gastrointestinal ally in plants such as onion, garlic and do not allow harmful bacteria unethical if the trial is continued.
metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. In their study the hospital; community-based immunity but also overall im- and banana was chosen as the pre- to grow. They stimulate the im- The results were published a few
published in Science, the scientists found more severe problems studies indicate an incidence as munity in the newborns. The biotic. The researchers chose L. mune system so babies are able to days ago in the journal Nature.
with mitochondrial RNA processing in the rodents livers than in high as 17% of all live births. About week-long treatment costs about plantarum after carefully studying produce antibodies against pneu- The synbiotics can be intro-
their hearts, an observation perhaps related to the energy 30% of sepsis-related deaths occur $1. its ability to colonise infant gut monia and sepsis-causing duced as a preventive measure for
demands of the different tissues. in the second week, whereas it is over a long period. The bacteria bacteria. sepsis. It should be given for seven
around a fifth in the third and The world of synbiotics have been shown to protect infants days, 2-3 days after birth, says Dr.
Insights into vector-borne fourth weeks, according to a paper Synbiotics are a combination of during the early weeks of life. The Overwhelming results Parida.
disease control in the Journal of Perinatology probiotic or live microorganisms bacteria is safe and does not cause Researchers from the University of
Exposing mosquito larvae to (December 2016). that provide health benefits and problems in sick and even immun- Nebraska Medical Center, U.S. and
environmental bacteria altered their There was also a reduction in prebiotic which promote growth ocompromised babies, says Dr. India studied over 4,550 infants prasad.ravindranath@thehindu.co.in
ability to carry and transmit disease, a
new study reports. The finding is an
Getty Images/iStockphoto important step in understanding how
environmental conditions shape the
risk of vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever spreading in
human populations. While the adult microbiota or microbial
A cry for help
communities associated with adult mosquitoes are known to Cinthya Anand
influence the potential for adults to serve as hosts to
n deep alleys of the Web and on popular social me-
pathogens, it is possible that larval microbiota may also play a
role in determining a mosquitos ability to host and transmit
I dia sites, users from around the world are trying to
get on a game. After reports of a Mumbai lad who com-
pathogens. Interestingly, these mosquitoes also demonstrated
mitted suicide recently, allegedly due to the Blue
a reduced innate immune response to a bacterium called
Whale challenge, the number of Indians trying to get
Micrococcus luteus, pointing to a potential trade-off between
on is growing exponentially. Some of the messages,
bacterial defence and the ability to control viral infections.
posted on vk.com, a social networking website based
Want to quit smoking? out of Russia (where the game is believed to have ori-
Keep an eye out for the ginated), are heartbreaking. Please someone, find
me, I cant live anymore, writes a 17-year-old girl. I
cigarette price, says study would like to play please. kill me, reads another post.
Older smokers are usually more set in Hashtags become a way to express distress, instead of
their ways, but a dollar increase in seeking help in real life.
cigarette prices makes them 20% more
likely to quit, according to a U.S.-based Getty Images/iStockphoto Urban teens and mental disorders
study, published in Epidemiology. It used The overarching narrative has been of a killer game
10 years of neighbourhood-level price data to determine how it that compels normal teenagers into committing sui-
affected nearby smokers, focussing on those who skewed older. cide. What this narrative ignores is that a huge number
Smoking cessation remains an important focus of public health of youngsters seeking to play the game may already be
efforts since it remains the largest preventable cause of death prone to mental disorders such as depression or anxi-
and disease in not just the United States but also the world. In ety. The prevalence of mental disorders in teenagers is
addition to finding that current smokers were 20% more likely corroborated by countrywide studies. The National
to quit smoking when pack prices went up by a dollar, the team Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16 published by
also showed that there was a 3% overall reduction in smoking the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuros-
risk. However, when the data was narrowed to heavy smokers ciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru estimated that nearly
defined as smoking more than half a pack a day there was a one in seven teenagers growing up in Indias metros
7% reduction in risk. could be suffering from mental health disorders. The
study put the prevalence of mental disorders in the
Increasing the lifespan age group of 13-17 years in the urban metros at 13.5%,
of soft robots nearly double the countrywide prevalence (7.3%).
Scientists have constructed a series of NIMHANS Director Dr. B.N. Gangadhar says the
soft robots that can self-heal on findings point to a glaring gap between the number of
demand, leaving almost no traces of teenagers who received professional assistance and
weak spots at the location of their the number of youngsters in need for it. There is no
AP scars. Their simple manufacturing question that children need more attention than they
method takes advantage of durable are getting. With nuclear families and lesser interac-
and recyclable material and could eventually pave the way to tion with peers, children these days depend just on
the use of long-lasting and eco-friendly soft robots in dynamic their parents, who may both be working and busy with
environments. Soft robots are ideal for a variety of functions their day-to-day lives, he says. He adds that the higher
such as moving across rough terrain, entering spaces through prevalence in urban areas more than in rural settings
tiny cross sections, and shape-shifting. However, they are needs to be investigated closely.
susceptible to tears and punctures from sharp objects or
damage from overpressuring as a result of automated Data from Bengaluru study
movement. The scientists, in Science Robotics, claim to have Another NIMHANS study of 2016, which assessed 800
Time for a targeted programme?

incorporated self healing by using temperature-sensitive adolescents studying in English-medium schools in
elastomers. When heated, the molecular bonds that keep the Bengaluru, found that 18% were at risk for subclinical
elastomer together loosen and begin to re-form back to their depression. Subclinical depression is a condition in
original cube-like shape. Remove the heat, and the bonds which a person has symptoms which signify a chance
resolidify. A little over an hour after being damaged, the Scientists question the universal supplementation approach that is prevalent of depression but does not meet the criteria for a de-
material was almost completely healed, and 24 hours after pressive disorder. The study noted that teenage girls
cooling, the only evidence was a small scar. in India, arguing it may not work for all children were at a higher risk for experiencing depressive
Rohit P.S. ranting a targeted approach symptoms than boys, and that the overall prevalence
Antibiotics found to weaken extbook wisdom that to the problem and not was higher than statistics obtained from similar stud-
immune response
to disease
T supplementing Indian
children with vitamin A is
universal supplementation
which would also lower
ies in the West.
Adding to the cocktail is the ease with which this
Adding another reason for doctors to beneficial is under attack the cost burden of the pro- age group has access to technology. Today, many
avoid the overuse of antibiotics, new from some scientists at the gramme. youngsters get their own smart devices before they hit
research shows that a reduction in the institution that once recom- The vitamin A supple- their teens and more often than not, parents are clue-
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
variety of microbes in the gut interferes Getty Images/iStockphoto mended it. Rather than be- mentation programme is of- less about how easy it is to bypass parental controls
with the immune systems ability to fight ing administered univer- ten credited for reducing installed on these devices. At the Service for Healthy
off disease. Reporting in the PLOS Pathogens, researchers have sally, as was the norm, childhood mortality by as Use of Technology (SHUT) clinic, Indias first techno-
found that antibiotic use made neutrophils, a type of immune vitamin A needs to be se- much as 23%. Similar effect- logy de-addiction clinic set up by NIMHANS, a major-
cell, less effective in fighting infections and weakened the lectively given only if re- iveness is claimed in tack- ity of patients who visited it were youngsters in the age
intestinal barrier against invading bugs. In addition, the quired, they argue. ling blindness and Bitots group of 16-20 who were socially withdrawn after get-
intestinal barrier that protects against disease was spots. Noting that the incid- ting addicted to online gaming and social media.
compromised. The disruption of the microbiome reduced Programme highlights ence of vitamin A-associ- Manoj Kumar Sharma, Associate Professor at NIM-
production of a key cellular protein vital to the barriers The National Prophylaxis amin A deficiency is 20% or mentation. The actual fig- ated blindness has greatly HANS and head of the SHUT clinic, says that many of
effectiveness. Neutrophils play an important role as a first-line Programme against Nutri- higher in infants and chil- ure could be much lower, reduced, Dr. Bhupesh these youngsters show a decline in their academic per-
innate immune response when foreign pathogens invade, say tional Blindness due to Vit- dren under 60 months or says the scientist, weighing Bagga of Hyderabads L.V. formance and social skills after becoming addicted.
the researchers from the University of Virginia School of amin A Deficiency ((NPPNB where night blindness pre- in favour of a targeted ap- Prasad Eye Institute states Some may be introverts by nature or may have be-
Medicine, U.S. I think the take-home is that this is another due to VAD) was launched valence in children is proach. Outside of NIN, a the continued need for sup- come withdrawn after getting addicted to the online
important reason not to use antibiotics unless they are clearly in 1970. Such blindness is higher than 1%. recently published review plementation. Besides the world, says Dr. Sharma. When parents intervene,
needed, says researcher Bill Petri, MD, PhD, the chief of UVAs identified by changes to the of scientific studies on the one or two cases of eye teenagers respond with anger, irritability, and in a few
Division of Infectious Diseases. skin and the eye, including Alternative viewpoint subject also favours doing problems in babies post in- cases, [resort to] self harm, he adds. Every week, the
keratinised growth on the Scientists at the National In- away with the universal fections like measles, there clinic sees four to five such cases.
These are the impressionable minds that online
DEMYSTIFYING SCIENCE conjunctiva known as stitute of Nutrition (NIN) in programme. Published in are populations in rural
challenges such as Blue Whale target. The game has
Bitots spots; deficiency also Hyderabad, which made Clinical Nutrition ESPEN by areas where vitamin A defi-
manifests in night the supplementation re- Dr. Sudip Bhattacharya and ciency exists. Though not also led to positive challenges becoming popular on
What is Vaccinia? the Internet such as The Happy Blue Whale Challenge
blindness. commendation in India Dr. Amarjeet Singh of the as severe as before, many
The Vaccinia virus (VACV or VV) is a large, complex, enveloped
Today, children aged 6- more than four decades Postgraduate Institute of children could be on the and The Pink Whale challenge which help youngsters
virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double- learn methods to cope with depression and low
60 months are admin- ago, are now divided on the Medical Education and Re- borderline, he says.
stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, and moods. For someone wondering whether they are suf-
istered vitamin A every six subject. A scientist at the in- search, Chandigarh, the re- Critics of the programme
which encodes approximately 250 genes. The vaccinia was at fering from depression, there is a vast array of inform-
the heart of the modern smallpox vaccine. History has it that
months in doses of stitution, who did not want view also points to studies cite NINs own surveys that
200,000 IU or 60 mg, as to be named, says those in that recorded vitamin A tox- established patchy coverage ation online they can use.
Edward Jenner isolated a cowpox virus and injected it into a As news trickles in about the extent of damage
boy. This protected him from small pox and birthed the per World Health Organiza- favour of the programme icity in the country. The of the programme. They
tion (WHO) recommenda- cite numbers that are not death of over 30 children in also claim that reduction in caused in India by those behind the Blue Whale chal-
vaccination era. However, recent work finds that Jenner may lenge, adults and children alike would do well to check
not have just used a cowpox virus. What he used may have tions. But physicians ad- acceptable. Assam in 2001 reportedly mortality, blindness as well
minister it to children Those within the insti- occurred after vitamin A as vitamin A deficiency was in on their peers. Depression can be a killer, and some-
contained even the horsepox virus and slivers of other viruses
routinely, irrespective of tute who support the pro- supplementation. The au- related to improved nutri- times even a trivial online game can push someone to
too. This cocktail makes up vaccinia and there are new
their nutritional status, gramme claim that the in- thors cite several other tion, as pointed by the Clin- a place of no return.
investigations into its genetic structure to make it amenable to
new kinds of vaccines. A new article in the journal Lancet though WHO recommends cidence of Bitots spots is studies that claim improve- ical Nutrition ESPEN paper.
vitamin A supplements about 0.8%, warranting uni- ments in nutritional status cinthya.anand@thehindu.co.in
Infectious Diseases suggests that the smallpox vaccine might
actually have come from horses. where prevalence of vit- versal vitamin A supple- in the last 40 years, war- rohit.ps@thehindu.co.in
CM A ND-NDE
YK
16 NON-FICTION NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
Finding the right balance BOOKSHELF
From trade to security, a historical narrative of American foreign policy explains why the U.S. has deep interests in the Asia Pacific region
Kandaswami Subramanian
M
any of us, including stress. The U.S. policymakers un- India: Priorities for the
learned professors of In- derestimated the rise of China. Future
ternational Relations, are There are continuing squabbles Bimal Jalan
baffled by the course of American over trade, exchange rates, rising Penguin Random House
foreign policy and find it rather military strength, South China Sea 499
difficult to discern any clearly and the growing aggressive pos-
Former RBI governor Bimal
defined strategy to be christened tures of China.
Jalan lays down six critical
as grand. This is what Prof. Mi- steps that can help India
chael Green seeks to do in this New stress lines achieve its full potential as
book. It is a historical narrative of By More than Providence: Grand Meanwhile, there are reports one of the worlds fastest-
American policy towards the Pa- Strategy and American Power in about the U.S. losing major allies
the Asia Pacific since 1783 growing emerging
cific and Asia since 1783 to the in the Asia Pacific, e.g. the Philip- economies. Among them is a
Obama era. Michael Green pines. It is also true that Washing- suggestion that the States
Prof. Green has all the creden- Columbia University Press ton lacks power to influence must be made responsible for
tials to undertake the task. He 2,943 ASEAN member states to adopt an financial development
served as special assistant to Pres- anti-China stand. Some surveys programmes and a plea to
ident George W. Bush and was an their national interest, including suggest that China may dominate rationalise the system of
Asia hand in the National Security security of sea lanes and accessing the region in the next decade. To delivery of public services to
Council. Currently, he heads the Asia trade. Washington began to add to these worries, President those below the poverty line.
Asia program at the Center for look upon itself as an offshore bal- Trump tends to act in a whimsical
Strategic and International Studies ancer determined to prevent any manner. He wants to renegotiate
(CSIS) in Washington and also one power from dominating Asia trade treaties with South Korea
holds a chair in Foreign Policy at and its adjacent waters. As he puts and Japan. Trump does not yet
Georgetown University. it, the goal was for the Pacific to State of fear: U.S. policymakers underestimated the rise of China. There are continuing squabbles over trade, have an Asia Team to advise him.
The book is meticulously reserve as a conduit for American exchange rates, and the growing aggressive postures of China. Picture shows Chinese boats sailing in the lagoon With his insular policies, he is va-
searched; while the text runs to ideas and goods to flow westward of Meiji reef off the island province of Hainan in the South China Sea. AP * cating all the spaces secured over
548 pages, there are 138 pages of and not for threat to flow eastward recent decades.
Notes in support. The author has toward the homeland. Protection a forward defensive line in the re- about the strategies followed by Asia to Europe with the outbreak Even so, Greens recommenda-
drawn on sources from declassi- of the Pacific has been of para- gion; self-determination vs univer- Theodore Roosevelt who was of World War I. These years saw tions are rather tepid. He wants The Once and Future
fied State Department archives. mount concern. This is because sal values and protectionism vs greatly influenced by the views of the rise of Russia and Japan. Then the U.S. to work with Europe and Liberal: After Identity
Prof. Green takes the view that policy always flowed organically free trade. The U.S. authorities Admiral Mahan. Naval defence be- the Cold War gripped the world. bring about a rules-based system Politics
modern Americas pre-eminence from the Republics values and have always tried to find a right came even more necessary as the The American defeat in Vietnam is within Asia; get the balance Mark Lilla
in the Pacific was no accidental geographic circumstances. His ar- balance. These have been ana- U.S. acquired new Asian and Pa- described as a humiliating failure between continental and maritime HarperCollins
byproduct of victory in the Second gument on geographic circum- lysed in great depth and the narra- cific countries like the Philippines, of grand strategy. One small con- priorities in Asia by establishing 1,121
World War. As he explains, It has stances has more validity than that tion also suggests shifts in em- Hawaii, Samoa and Guam during solation was that the Soviets made favourable strategic equilibrium
intellectual roots going back to the on American values. The U.S. at- phasis over time. In the early years and after the Spanish-American no advances on the European vis--vis China through deepened A historian offers a stinging
partnership with countries like Ja- look at the failure of
handful of New Englanders who tachment to so-called values is de- (and more so in the post-war war. With the weakening of front as the U.S. dealt with fires in
American liberalism over the
first carried Bibles, ginseng and batable as it has supported author- years) there was greater attention European powers in Asia, the U.S. Asia and the offshore island chain pan, India, Australia, Indonesia
past two generations and
visions of the Pacific empire to the itarian or despotic regimes based to Europe and thinkers like Sir had to step in directly. in the Pacific remained undam- and others; define the U.S. for-
argues that it fell under the
Far East. on realpolitik and attempted re- Halford Mackinder argued that the Roosevelt maintained the Asian aged. Chapter 9 on Nixon and Kis- ward defence line as far west as
spell of identity politics with
gime change on some others con- nation that controlled the Euras- balance and expanded the U.S. singers redefinition of contain- possible; and, finally, establish val- disastrous consequences. He
Self-serving goals sidered evil. ian heartland would achieve even- naval power. He also used dip- ment in Asia is a fascinating ues such as democracy, etc. says that the Left, driven by a
In later years too, he argues, The author posits five tensions tual hegemony in the international lomacy to maintain a balance account of the normalisation of re- Sadly, we cannot recreate the sincere desire to protect the
American values such as demo- underlying U.S. policy towards system. On the other side, Admiral between Russia and Japan. Green lations between the U.S. and past again. It has to be a new be- most vulnerable, has
cracy, governance, rights, etc. Asia-Pacific running across the Mahan took the view that security quotes Henry Kissinger who rated China. ginning with new players and on unwittingly divided the
held the policy in good stead. The years and elaborates them at and hegemony depended on con- Roosevelt as the greatest geostra- Unfortunately, the equilibrium balanced and equitable terms. The electorate, investing
broad strategy adopted by U.S. length. These are: Europe vs Asia; trol of the seas. tegic president, rivalled only by sought to be brought about under U.S. and Europe cannot set them energies in social movements
policymakers was to safeguard continental vs maritime; defining Green devotes several pages Nixon. The priorities shifted from Nixons initiative is now under for Asia. rather than party politics.
Imaginary lines View from the corner

A former heavyweight champions ode to his mentor
Understanding how the 1962 border war impacted relations between Ashwin Achal
iven his sociopathic be-
us, you understand?, the
Italian-American ordered The Hungry Empire: How
India and China, in the backdrop of the Doklam standoff G haviour and criminal re-
cord, it would be easy to cast
the guests. That touched
my heart. How could you

Britains Quest for Food
Shaped the Modern
World
K.R.A. Narasiah Mike Tyson as nothing more not love the guy? an emo-
Lizzie Collingham
W
here do Indo-China relations than a low-life ruffian. tional Tyson explains. The
The Bodley Head
stand? As Prime Minister Nar- There is, however, an in- trainer also gave his ward an
1,299
endra Modi visited the U.S. in tellectual side to this former education on historys great
June and struck up an equation with heavyweight champion. He Iron Ambition: Lessons Ive personalities. In 20 meals, this book tells
President Donald Trump, a seemingly is a boxing historian, having Learned from the Man Though a bulk of the book the story of how the British
unnerved China raised the Sikkim- spent countless hours study- Who Made Me a Champion revolves around shaping created a global network of
Tibet-Bhutan border issue at Doklam, ing tapes of past masters like Mike Tyson with Larry mental skills, there are a few commerce and trade in
even cautioning India by reminding it of Floyd Patterson, Henry Arm- Ratso Sloman sections devoted to in-ring foodstuff that moved people
the 1962 war loss. Over the past few strong and Jack Dempsey. Hachette India techniques. For example, and plants from one
years, China has inched closer to Indias Tyson is influenced by philo- 699 there is fascinating detail on continent to another. By the
neighbours including Pakistan, Nepal, sophers (Niccolo Ma- the peek-a-boo style de- 20th century, the writer says
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. chiavelli, Friedrich Nietz- Years before the Brooklyn vised by DAmato, and prac- the wheat to make bread in
In this well-researched timely book sche) and warriors native even had his first pro- tised to such devastating ef- Britain was supplied by
on Indo-China relations, 11 scholars (Alexander the Great, fessional bout, DAmato fect by Tyson. Canada and the leg of lamb
analyse the cause and effect of the 1962 Genghis Khan) alike. This willed and cajoled Tyson That DAmato passed had been fattened on New
Sino-Indian war, an important turning autobiography, written with into believing that he would, away only a year before his Zealands grasslands.
point in history. Edited by Amit R. Das Larry Sloman (the same one day, become the undis- protg captured the heavy-
Gupta and Lorenz M. Luthi, who team behind Tysons previ- puted heavyweight cham- weight belt means that there
provide an excellent introduction, this ous work, Undisputed pion of the world. For the would be no happy ending.
volume moves away from the military The other view: In 1962, to Chinese eyes, Nehrus unwillingness to negotiate looked Truth), showcases a well- first time in his life, Tyson Tyson paints a picture about
history of the war and goes into details like intransigence and even preparation for military aggression. Jawaharlal Nehru read man of varied interests. found someone who be- how the vultures circled
of the background and the build-up by with Zhou Enlai in Beijing. THE HINDU ARCHIVES
* Whatever Tyson became lieved in him and loved him around him after DAmatos
China that caused the war. both inside and outside the unconditionally. death.
A project that started as an academic border problems could then be ringwas made possible by Tyson recalls an incident In the years that followed,
conference with international parti- hammered out. But the Tibetan Upris- his trainer, mentor and when DAmato hosted a his personal and profes-
cipants at the National Archives of India ing in 1954 and the Dalai Lama seeking father figure, Cus DAmato. group of white South African sional life crumbled. What if Extraordinary Indians: A
in Delhi on the 50th anniversary of the refuge in India changed the situation. It The book is an ode to the boxers, during the good ol Cus was still Book of Profiles
war, resulted in these papers and sub- was also clear from China signing gen- man who built Tyson up Apartheid era. Theres a around? That is a question Khushwant Singh, edited
sequent compilation as a book, in three erous border agreements with other from a teenage thug to one young black boy in this Tyson wrestles with to this by Mala Dayal
parts. The collection has four essays neighbours of the region, that China of the most celebrated house and hes our family day. This one reads as an il- Aleph
each on bilateral, international and do- was bent upon taking on India. sportspersons of his member. You treat him with luminating blueprint for the 499
mestic perspectives. The editors ob- The Sino-Indian War of 1962: New During the Zhou-Nehru meeting in generation. the same respect you treat art of man-management.
Perspectives Over the course of a long
serve that India and China remember Delhi in April 1960, Zhou wanted to
Edited by Amit R. Das Gupta and career, journalist and writer
the war fundamentally in different propose a deal, leaving the then North Khushwant Singh met and
Lorenz Luthi
An illuminating life
ways. For India it meant diplomatic Eastern Frontier Agency to India and wrote about hundreds of
miscalculations and poor defence-pre- Routledge India taking over much smaller but more people. In this collection, on
paredness leading to a major political 850 strategically important Aksai Chin. the 70th anniversary of
impact, while for China it was a quick Nehru was unwilling not only because Indias independence, are
and overwhelming victory. hon line. The Peoples Liberation Army he did not like to bargain but also be- A celebration of a personality who helped shape Bhutan profiles of those he admired
was by this time engaged in border skir- cause giving land to China needed par- deeply like Mahatma Gandhi,
Blind spot mishes and then defence minister V.K. liamentary clearance. Disbelief caused Salman Haidar left this enchanted setting Jawaharlal Nehru and others;
The British did not pay much attention Krishna Menon, much against the ad- by the massive military build-up and his book celebrates the only when marriage took
to the north and north-eastern area of
India bordering China resulting in chan-
vice of the military top commanders,
ordered the use of force to throw the
eventual attack by China led him to
seek the assistance of Washington, Mo-
T life of the Royal Grand-
mother of Bhutan, a person
her away into Bhutan where
she was to reign as Queen to
spiritualists and
industrialists; and two people
he admired but ultimately
ging perceptions on border issues from invaders out. scow and London along with other of the highest distinction the third hereditary felt let down by: L.K. Advani
the 19th century. Two areas of India In 1961, the Indian Army clarified friendly nations, much against his non- whose personality has illu- monarch. and Sanjay Gandhi.
that protrude into Chinese land are the that it was not prepared for any war in aligned theory. minated and played a big Ever since the last part of
main cause of dispute. One, along the the Himalayan region and when full- The nuclear bomb test by China in part in shaping the advance- The Heart of a Sacred the previous century when
Ladakh border, Aksai Chin, is claimed scale war started with the Chinese at- mid-1964 changed the international po- ment of her country that is Kingdom: Her Majesty the the first King of Bhutan as-
by India and not accepted by China. In tack on October 20, 1962, in a few days sition considerably. The Indian debate today once again in the spot- Royal Grandmother Ashi cended the throne, the mon-
Kesang Choeden
the northeast, New Delhi sticks to the the Chinese army occupied large now focused on equipping itself with light. Born to the purple, the Wangchuck archy has been the spinal
McMahon Line, which is also disputed chunks of area. better armaments. India also realised scion of the royal house of Edited by Supawan Pui and cord of that country.
by China. that nuclear weapons was an avenue to Sikkim, she imbibed from Ashi Kesang Choeden Tashi Ashi Kesang was widowed
Since Aksai Chin was about as des- Swinging nature get even with China in the international the cradle the high culture Wangchuck early when the third King
olate (and remote) as the surface of the In Indias relations with China, 1945-74, arena. A principled Nehru rejected the and the deep spiritual values Gatshel Publishing suddenly passed away in
moon and had no intrinsic value, part of Bilateral Perspectives Lorenz M. engagement of an Indian nuclear bomb that have always set her 1972, to be succeeded by Accessing Higher
there were no serious attempts to es- Luthi details the swinging nature of re- programme, that Homi Bhabha pro- apart. The lavish illustra- their young son who was still Education: Footprints of
tablish its territorial affiliation to India lations between the two major coun- posed, an idea that Nehru opposed till tions in the book give an at- enjoyed by Raja Dorji that in his teens but had already Marginalised Groups
in the past. tries. As early as 1945, Nehru saw the his death. tractive picture of a young when the great 13th Dalai shown signs of the qualities Edited by Govardhan
This area remained a blind spot and possibility of China and India assuming Eric Hyer explains Sino-India rela- family growing up in these Lama was forced into tem- that would take his country Wankhede and Ivan Reid
came into focus only when the Chinese importance in the international arena tions in the context of the 1958-1960 idyllic surroundings, with porary exile from Lhasa he to a new destiny, and who Aakar Books
built the Xinjang-Tibet road in 1957. The and advocated for admission of China Great Leap Forward, Maos rapid indus- plenty of agreeable diver- moved to Kalimpong where then abdicated in favour of 895
first major Indian appreciation of the in the UN as a member. It was a prin- trialisation and collectivisation pro- sions. The pater familias was he stayed for several months his son and Ashi Kesangs There are constitutional
border issue was highlighted when cipled position and did not endorse gramme and Chinas strategic and re- the grandee, Raja Dorji, aris- as guest of the Raja. Another grandson, the current king provisions, commitments and
K.M. Panikkar wrote When China goes Chinas domestic or foreign policies. gional context of the Sino-Indian tocratic and influential per- important resident was the Jigme Khesar Namgyel several measures, but why
Communist, and warned of a Ma- When Chinas Zhou Enlai offered to ne- border conflict. To Chinese eyes, he sonality, much admired and renowned artist Roerich, Wangchuck, in 2006. For does higher education, an
chiavelli Marx combination that would gotiate with India on Tibet, the McMa- says, Nehrus unwillingness to negoti- valued by the British officials while the British Resident several years, she was host- agent of change, continue to
cause problems in Tibet. Again this is- hon line was not mentioned by China ate looked like intransigence and even of the time. was there to provide a win- ess to the King, making the be monopolised by a small
sue was raised by Vallabhai Patel and that irritated Nehru, though he was preparation for military aggression. Kalimpong was no back- dow on the larger world bey- official residence, Dechen- urban elite and the middle
the then foreign secretary G.S. Bajpai. convinced that there were only two op- Jabin T. Jacob argues that the secur- water, being on the high ond the mountains. Her choling, into a place of great and upper classes? Why do
However, Nehru was not convinced tions; engage militarily or seek a modus ity dimension is unlikely to disappear road to Tibet, from where early life in Sikkim had made refinement and elegance. No backward groups continue to
by their arguments. Nehru firmly be- vivendi. even if the boundary dispute is solved. renowned religious teachers her comfortable with the visitor to Bhutan who has face difficulties to access,
lieved that after his visit to China and Even during this fluid situation, as He suggests that India and China should often chose to visit, some of wider world of India and enjoyed her hospitality will perform and utilise higher
meeting Zhou Enlai in 1954, China had Nehru believed in Panch Sheel, a con- be able to look beyond the blip of a them forming lifelong associ- Asia, and she had many forget the experience, and education in a relevant and
no intention of altering border lines. It ciliatory approach was taken to de- border conflict to pursue new ways of ations with the family of the good friends abroad, as doc- much of that character is appropriate manner? Two
was Zhou Enlai during his visit to India mand Chinas accommodation in the in- engagement and cooperation. Wishful Royal Grandmother. It is a umented in this book. thoughtfully depicted in The professors try to find some
in 1956-57 who repudiated the McMa- ternational arena, and Nehru thought thinking? measure of the high prestige The Royal Grandmother Heart of a Sacred Kingdom. answers.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
SPORT 17
IN BRIEF
Indias search to find World Cup core group begins
Sri Lanka hoping for a change in fortunes after the 3-0 rout in the Test series
INDIA IN LANKA
Press Trust of India
Zidane shows Real support Dambulla
to victims The Tests clinched without

MADRID much of a strain, India will
Real Madrid coach Zinedine begin the journey to identify
Zidane sent a message of the core of its 2019 World
support to those affected by Cup squad when it squares
terrorist attacks in Barcelona off against a low-on-confid-
that have left 14 people dead ence Sri Lanka in a five-
and over 100 injured. On match ODI series, starting
behalf of the club, of here on Sunday.
everyone, I want to say we The visitor won the three-
had a minutes silence and we Test series by a comfortable
are thinking of all the families 3-0 margin and will look to
of victims who were take that momentum into
affected, Zidane said on the limited-overs leg of the
Saturday ahead of Reals La tour as well.
Liga opener at Deportivo la However, India is not
Coruna on Sunday. AFP treating this as just another
bilateral ODI series. Chief se-
lector M.S.K. Prasad clearly
outlined this, stressing on
the aspect of fitness as Team Happy frame of mind: Having outplayed the host in the Tests, India will look to continue its dominance in the limited-over
India begins its preparations format. REUTERS
*
for the 2019 ODI World Cup.

The Indian think-tank has prove to be a long-term The Rangiri Dambulla In- heavy losses in the Test ber 2015 (in India).
made a lot of moves in this move, ending the instability ternational Stadium hasnt series. The teams (from):
regard, and prima facie, the that has been associated with been a happy hunting The host needs two more India: Virat Kohli (Capt.),
Stosur out of US Open with most important of them at the No. 4 spot since the 2015 ground for the Men in Blue, ODI wins to confirm its spot Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma,
hand injury present is the simple declara- World Cup when Ajinkya Ra- though. in the 2019 ODI World Cup K.L. Rahul, Manish Pandey,
NEW YORK
tion that K.L. Rahul will bat hane relinquished it after a They have played 17 ODIs by way of automatic Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav,
Australias Samantha Stosur M.S. Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya,
at No. 4 throughout this five- regularly average showing. here, stretching back to qualification.
has withdrawn from the US Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav,
match contest. This move also highlights 2004, and won nine of those If it does manages this feat
Open, where she was Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bum-
Rahul has only played six that Shikhar Dhawan and Ro- matches, including bilateral against India in the upcom-
champion in 2011, because of rah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and
ODIs thus far in his short in- hit Sharma will continue to and triangular series (in ing series, it will move to 90
a nagging right hand injury, Shardul Thakur.
jury-prone career, and in all open the innings, with Ra- 2005 and 2010 involving points and then West Indies
organisers said Friday. The Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga
of them, he has opened the hane the third-choice opener West Indies and New Zeal- will not be able to overtake it (Capt.), Angelo Mathews,
33-year-old has not played
innings. given the presence of both and respectively), and two even if it wins all the six ODIs Niroshan Dickwella (wk),
since losing in the fourth
Rahul does have prior ex- Manish Pandey and Kedar Asia Cups in 2004 and 2010. against Ireland and England Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal
round of the French Open to
perience of batting lower Jadhav in the squad. Head-to-head against Sri (taking its points from 78 to Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera,
eventual winner Jelena
down the order in the IPL, With M.S. Dhoni occupy- Lanka, they have played 11 88 at best) before the Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda
Ostapenko. AFP
though. ing the No. 5 spot, and ODIs at this venue, but only September 30 deadline. Pushpakumara, Akila Danan-
However, international Hardik Pandya taking in the managed to win four of It is easier said than done, jaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara
cricket is a different all-rounder role at No. 7, them. of course. India blanked Sri Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, La-
ballgame. Particularly keep- both Pandey and Jadhav will For Sri Lanka, meanwhile, Lanka 5-0 the last time these sith Malinga, Dushmantha
ing in mind the team man- be vying for that solitary No. this series is more than just a two sides played a bilateral Chameera, and Vishwa
agements hope that this will 6 spot. matter of saving face after its ODI series, back in Novem- Fernando.
Need to assign specific roles: Kohli We have to forget the Nadeem,

Gowtham
Players should get into the groove ahead of World Cup, says the India captain Test series: Tharanga peg back
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA opener with Shikhar Dhawan Press Trust of India
Oudin calls it a day at 25 Dambulla having hit a purple patch. Dambulla SA-A
LOS ANGELES India captain Virat Kohli Shikhar Dhawan is an im- Sri Lanka ODI skipper Upul
American Melanie Oudin wants specific roles for cer- pact player. Shikhar and Ro- Tharanga on Saturday said PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
announced her retirement tain players keeping a two- hit, we know what they have that they will have to Potchefstroom
from tennis on Friday, ending year time frame, leading done (achieved) in the past quickly forget the 0-3 drub- The spin duo of Shahbaz
a career hindered by injury upto the 2019 World Cup, in together. bing in the Test series and Nadeem and K. Gowtham
and illness, at the age of 25. mind. We understand their po- draw confidence from their brought India-A back into
Oudin reached the For us, it is about the tential, also Jinks (Rahane) win over India in the Cham- the contest in the final ses-
quarterfinals of the 2009 US time frame. It is not about understands that at this pions Trophy. sion as South Africa-A
Open at the age of 17. My which opposition we are stage, he is the third opener We have got to forget the ended the first day on 258
dream was always to play playing. You cant pick and in the team, said Kohli. Test series and the mistakes for five in the second and
professional tennis at places choose. I have never be- we made. We are heading final Test on Saturday.
like the US Open with the lieved in that and we, as a Two spinners likely for a new format and are Nadeem (two for 101)
best in the world, Oudin team, dont believe in that, Sure shot: K.L. Rahuls confidence will have been boosted as With regards to the bowling looking forward to it, Thar- and Gowtham (two for 67)
wrote on her Twitter account. Kohli said when asked about Virat Kohli has guaranteed him a middle-order berth. AP * combination for this first anga said. shared the spoils after a
I have been lucky enough to whether he will use players ODI, picking three spinners India have been very 167-run opening stand
live my dream for the last depending on the skipper doesnt want any set and what he brings onto the is not an option for the skip- consistent in the last three- between Stephen Cook
nine years since I turned pro opposition. pattern. field as well. He is a superfit per. I dont see having three four years. In comparison, Lasith Malinga. * REUTERS (98) and skipper Aiden
in 2008. AFP Two years to go for the KL will definitely be play- guy and has a bright future spinners on this track. It is we lack consistency and Markram (74).
World Cup and now is the ing in the middle-order. We ahead of him. So he will cer- probably a three-fast bowler that has been a big draw- hammed Shami, Ravindra
It was another patient
TV PICKS time to give players certain
roles to get into the groove
are not going to be predict-
able or have a set pattern in
tainly be backed.
All three guys (including
kind of a pitch, where Hardik
Pandya is good enough to
back. Our fielding has been
terrible. We have dropped
Jadeja and Umesh Yadav
from the ODI squad. But, knock from Cook, who hit
Sri Lanka vs India: 1st ODI, and understand what we terms of what we are going Kedar Jadhav) will have to give us 7-8 overs. So I see catches. even with the less-experi- nine boundaries and a six
Sony Six, Six HD, Sony TEN 3 need to do, said Kohli. to do in ODI or T20 cricket. compete for two spots in the only two guys (spinners) tak- But we have the confid- enced attack, India will start off 205 balls, while
& TEN 3 HD, 2.30 p.m. The skipper confirmed Anyone could go any- middle-order. There are no ing the field. ence having beaten India in as the outright favourite. Markram faced 145 balls,
Premier League: SS Select that K.L. Rahul is a certainty where. Thats what we are guarantees. As long as there He added, Now who are the Champions Trophy (in In their ODI side, hitting six fours and a six.
1, 1 HD, 6 p.m. & 8.30 p.m. in that middle-order while looking to do, said Kohli. is healthy competition, those two going to be really June). No one thought that Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) is Markram was finally
Cue Slam: Sony ESPN, ESPN caught by substitute
Kedar Jadhav and Manish He indicated that Pandey everyone will keep pushing depends on what we feel like we would beat them. If you their No. 1 bowler. They are
HD, 6 p.m. Hanuma Vihari off
England vs West Indies: 1st Pandey will be fighting for may have to wait. Someone each other, the skipper going in with as a team but take the last series, our bat- without a few bowlers, but
the remaining middle-order like Manish has done well said. having wrist spinners (china- ting was also good, the cap- it doesnt make their attack Gowtham.
Test: SS Select 2, 2 HD, 6.30
slot. and has grabbed his oppor- Despite his series-winning man bowler Kuldeep Yadav tain insisted. any weaker. We cannot un- The scores:
p.m.
La Liga: Sony TEN 2, TEN 2 Rahul will bat at No. 4, tunities... He has got a hun- knocks in the West Indies, and leg-spinner Yuzvendra India has rested their der-rate their attack. They South Africa-A 258 for five
HD, 9.30 p.m., 11.30 p.m. & chairman of selectors M.S.K. dred in Australia as well, and Ajinkya Rahane will have to Chahal) in the team is always Test bowling line-up of have done well in tourna- (Stephen Cook 98, Aiden
1.30 a.m. (Monday) Prasad had said, but the we know about his talent wait in the wings as a third an advantage. Ravichandran Ashwin, Mo- ments like IPL, he said. Markram 74) vs India-A.
Nagarkoti, Mawi the future stars Anderson sparks WI collapse TENNIS
Vijay Lokapally Gill, with a century each in Agence France-Presse

Kyrgios humbles Nadal
NEW DELHI
India can invest in Kamlesh
Test and ODI, came in for
praise too. He is majestic to
Birmingham
James Anderson initiated a
Bopanna and Sania pairs bow out
Nagarkoti and Shivam Mawi, watch. He packs lot of rapid West Indies collapse to Agencies mens doubles.
two promising fast bowlers punch in his shots. Someday leave England contemplat- Cincinnati Bopanna and his Croatian
who made a huge impres- he and Prithvi will be knocking an innings victory in the Australias Nick Kyrgios partner Ivan Dodig lost 6-1,
sion on stand-in coach W.V. ing the doors of the senior inaugural day/night Test at humbled new World No. 1 5-7, [10-7] to second seeds
Raman on the recent Youth team. Edgbaston on Saturday. Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5, win- Lukasz Kubot of Poland and
(under-19) tour to England. Raman welcomed the Englands all-time leading ning twice in a day to reach Marcelo Melo. In the WTA
Raman, back after India idea of more such tours. On wicket-taker took two wick- the semifinals of the Western event, Sania Mirza and Shuai
made a clean sweep of the such tours, you learn to ad- ets for six runs in four overs & Southern Open on Friday. Peng lost to Hsie Su-Wei of
two Tests at Chesterfield and W.V. Raman. apt and develop. It is always during the third days open- On a day when defending Taiwan and Moncia
Worcester apart from win- good to play unknown oping session and effected a champion Karolina Pliskova Niculescu of Romania 4-6,
ning all the five ODIs, was cricket. In tight situations, positions. It helps because run-out too as the West In- won twice in one day for the 6-7(8).
profuse in his analysis of the somebody or other would when they graduate to the dies was shot out for 168 and third time this season to The results: Men: Quarterfi-
team but made a special chip in. To me this was the first-class level they learn to asked to follow on. tighten her grip on the nals: Grigor Dimitrov bt Yuichi
mention of Nagarkoti and highlight of the tour. The handle the challenges pro- England had declared its World No. 1 ranking, Kyrgios Sugita 6-2, 6-1; John Isner bt
Mawi. team always had someone to fessionally. Thanks to the No hope: Roland-Jones ends Shai Hopes innings with a superb stole the show by over- Jared Donaldson 7-6(4), 7-5;
first innings at 514 for eight,
Having faced some of the shoulder the responsibility. BCCI, these boys get to play delivery on the third day of the day/night Test. REUTERS powering the 15-time Grand David Ferrer bt Dominic Thiem
a total built on Alastair
*
finest fast bowlers in his time According to Raman, the lot of cricket and receive the Slam champion after each 6-3, 6-3; Nick Kyrgios bt Rafael
Cooks 243 and captain Joe
Courtney Walsh, Patrick tour provided a fantastic best of facilities too, said Roots 136. SCOREBOARD ENGLAND VS WEST INDIES, FIRST TEST had won earlier. Nadal 6-2, 7-5; Third round:
Kyrgios bt Ivo Karlovic 4-6, 7-6
Patterson, Curtly Ambrose, platform for the youngsters Raman. Pliskova, fighting to hold
Jermaine Blackwood was England 1st innings: A. Cook West Indies 1st innings: K. (6), 6-3; Nadal bt Albert Ramos-
Ian Bishop, Allan Donald to showcase their skills. The The former India opener, off Romanias Simona Halep
the only West Indies bats- lbw b Chase 243, M. Stoneman Brathwaite c Bairstow b Ander- Vinolas 7-6(1), 6-2.
Raman should know the po- experience and exposure with a wealth of coaching atop the rankings, first ous-
man to offer some resist- b Roach 8, T. Westley lbw b son 0, K. Powell run out 20, K. Doubles: Quarterfinals: Lukasz
tential of Nagarkoti and they gained in alien condi- experience that began with ted Italian qualifier Camila
ance, remaining unbeaten Cummins 8, J. Root b Roach Hope c Stokes b Anderson 25, Kubot & Marcelo Melo bt Rohan
Mawi. Both can put in lot of tions will help them grow. the 2008 tour to South Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in one of
on 79. 136, D. Malan c Blackwood b S. Hope b Roland-Jones 15, R. Bopanna & Ivan Dodig 6-1, 5-7,
pace and extract bounce, The primary objective of Africa with Virat Kohli lead- five matches postponed
The West Indies lost Chase 65, B. Stokes c Black- Chase b Anderson 0, J. Black- [10-7].
he noted. such tours is to fast track ing the India under-19 from Thursday due to rain.
seven wickets for 89 runs in wood b Chase 10, J. Bairstow b wood (not out) 79, S. Dowrich Women: Quarterfinals: Garbine
The wiry Nagarkoti, in their development. squad, summed up the cur- With only two hours
23 overs all without having Holder 18, Moeen Ali c Brath- lbw b Roland-Jones 4, J. Holder Muguruza bt Svetlana Kuznet-
Ramans opinion, was, a Among the batsmen, Ra- rent team. Our youngsters waite b Chase 0, T. Roland- c Bairstow b Moeen 11, K. Roach
between matches, the 25-
to bat under floodlights that sova 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; Karolina
fantastic athlete with the man observed Prithvi Shaw are way ahead of the rest. Jones (not out) 6; Extras (lb-10, b Broad 5, A. Joseph lbw b year-old Czech defeated Pliskova bt Caroline Wozniacki
right aggression, while was the one to watch. He They are groomed in ideal many say make the pink ball Denmarks fifth-ranked Car-
a far more difficult proposi- w-3, nb-7): 20; Total (for eight Broad 6, M. Cummins run out 0; 6-2, 6-4; Sloane Stephens bt
Mawi had the, pace and strikes the ball very well and infrastructure to pursue wkts. decl. in 135.5 overs): 514. Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3; Total (in oline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to Julia Goerges 6-1, 7-6(3); Si-
skill to impress. They both scores runs at a quick pace. their cricket. They also im- tion for batsmen. book a Saturday semifinal
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-39, 3- 47 overs): 168. mona Halep bt Johanna Konta
have the right attitude and if He can be like a Viru (Se- prove by playing together The visitors had resumed 287, 4-449, 5-466, 6-505, 7- against Wimbledon cham- 6-4, 7-6(1); Third round:
handled properly I am sure hwag), fearless batsman who more frequently. They look on 44 for one, with Kieran Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-45, 3-47, pion Garbine Muguruza.
506, 8-514. Pliskova bt Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 6-0;
we will hear a lot about them plays his strokes and looks to more cooked as a unit than Powell on 18 and Test de- 4-47, 5-89, 6-101, 7-129, 8-134, Rohan Bopanna and Sania
West Indies bowling: Roach Goerges bt Svitolina 7-5, 6-4;
in the future. dominate. He must learn to the rest and hence handle butant Kyle Hope on 25. 9-162. Mirza bowed out of the Cin-
28-8-86-2, Joseph 22-3- Stephens bt Makarova 2-6, 6-3,
The team, emphasised Ra- prolong his stay but I pressure far better. It is an Saturdays first over took 109-0, Cummins 24-3-87-1, England bowling: Anderson 15- cinnati Masters after losing 6-4.
man, enjoyed the chal- wouldnt like Prithvi to curb excellent bunch, said Ra- more than 30 minutes to Holder 29.3-4-103-1, Chase 6-34-3, Broad 16-3-47-2, Ro- their quarterfinal and semi- Doubles: Semifinals: Hsie Su-
lenges in England. They his shots. man, who hands the baton complete after rain stopped 26.2-2-113-4, Brathwaite land-Jones 6-0-31-2, Stokes 7- final with respective part- Wei & Moncia Niculescu bt Sania
played some fabulous Punjab batsman Shubman back to Rahul Dravid. play following just one ball. 6-0-6-0. 0-40-0, Moeen 3-1-15-1. ners in the mens and wo- Mirza & Shuai Peng 6-4, 7-6(8).
CM A ND-NDE
YK
18 SPORT NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
IN BRIEF
Bajrang among medal hopes FOOTBALL
Hat-trick by
The 23-year-old will be keen to keep his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics on track
also capable of making the
Surabuddin Mallick
WORLD WRESTLING country proud. Sports Bureau later through Rahim Nabis
Y.B. Sarangi Among the women, Com- KOLKATA header.
Mo Farah hopes for KOLKATA monwealth Games gold East Bengal pumped in four Gabriel Fernandez, who
a happy ending Reigning Asian champion medallist Vinesh Phogat goals in an action-packed came on in the 60th
LONDON Bajrang Punia will be Indias (48kg) and Rio Olympic climax, thanks to Surabud- minute, capitalised on the
Mo Farah will hope his final biggest medal hope in the bronze medallist Sakshi Ma- din Mallicks hat-trick, to re- Peerless goalkeepers mis-
track race on home turf on World Wrestling Champion- lik (60kg) can finish within gister an emphatic 5-1 vic- take to put East Bengal
Sunday will have a happier ship starting in Paris on the medal bracket. tory over Peerless in a ahead again in the 72nd
ending than last Saturdays Monday. Interestingly, Vinesh, who Calcutta Football League minute. Surabuddin, who
world 5,000m final. Im in Bajrang, who was known had won a 55kg silver in the Premier Division-A match replaced Laldanmawia
great shape and if I could as a training partner of Lon- Asian championship in May, here on Saturday. Ralte in 57th minute,
come away with a win that don Olympics bronze medal- has gone down to fight in an East Bengal now has nine wreaked havoc by scoring
would be great, Farah said. list Yogeshwar Dutt, has Olympic weight, while Sak- points from three wins. twice in quick succession.
He will compete in the come out of the shadow of shi, who secured her Forward Willis Plaza gave He completed his hat-trick
3,000m at the Birmingham his famous mentor in recent Olympics bronze in 58kg and East Bengal the lead by in injury time.
Diamond League. AFP years. A bronze in the 2013 got an Asian silver in 60kg, heading in an Al Amna The result: East Bengal 5 (Wil-
Budapest World Champion- has stuck to the non-Olympic cross in the 28th minute. lis Plaza 28, Gabriel Fernandez
ship, silver medals in the weight. However, Peerless scored 72, Surabuddin 75, 76, 90+4)
2014 Asian and Common- The presence of three- the equaliser 10 minutes bt Peerless 1 (Rahim Nabi 38).
wealth Games followed by time world cadet champion
the Asian crown have en- and Asian champion Yui Su-
dorsed his talent. saki ( Japan) and Pan-Amer- TENNIS
The 23-year-old will be ica winner Victoria Anthony
keen to achieve greater glory (USA) may make Vineshs
McIlroy to return for
FedEx Cup playoffs
in Paris and keep himself on
the right track for the Asian Optimistic: Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia will be keen to court glory in the World Championship
journey tougher.
Sakshi may face the likes
Kushan and
LOS ANGELES
Rory McIlroy is in the field for
and Commonwealth Games
next year.
Success at these events
in Paris starting on Monday. PTI
mind, the Wrestling Federa-

*
outskirts of Paris and se- the squad late due to visa is-
of Rio Olympics 63kg gold
medallist Risako Kawai ( Ja-
pan), European champion
Priyansshi triumph
next weeks Northern Trust
will not only boost his con- tion of India (WFI) had de- cured his place in the side. sue, along with another Lyubov Ovcharova (Russia) AHMEDABAD: Kushan Shah Kushan Shah bt Krish Patel
Open, first event of the US
fidence but also prepare him cided that a bout between Since the top six of the Rio Asian title-winner Amit and current World silver and Priyansshi Bhandari 6-4, 0-6, 6-1; Semifinals: Krish
PGAs FedEx Cup playoffs
for the main target the Bajrang and Rahul Mann, Olympics are either absent Dhankar (70kg), former medallist Allison Ragan won the boys and girls titles bt Udit Gogoi 6-2, 6-1; Kushan
won by the Northern Ireland
2020 Tokyo Olympics. who had emerged as the best or have moved to a higher Asian bronze medallist (USA). respectively in the AITA Na- bt Sushant Dabas 6-1, 6-3.
star last year. McIlroy had
indicated after a 22nd-place Bajrang had missed the in the trials, would determ- weight, Bajrang stands a Parveen Rana (74kg), Com- Asian bronze winner Har- tional series under-16 tennis Girls (final): Priyanshi Bhandari
finish in the PGA National selection trials held ine Indias representative in good chance of bettering his monwealth Games silver preet Singh (80kg) will be tournament, organised by bt Renne Singla 6-4, 6-4;
Championship that he might at Sonepat on July 6 due to 65kg freestyle category. 2013 feat. medallist Satyawart Kadian among the Greco Roman the Ahmedabad Racquet Semifinals: Renne bt Sanya
sit out the rest of the year. viral fever. However, keeping Bajrang won the bout held Former Asian champion (97kg) and Asian silver wrestlers who may spring Academy, on Saturday. Singh 6-4, 6-4; Priyansshi bt
AFP his accomplishments in at the National camp on the Sandeep Tomar, who joined medallist Sumit (125kg) are surprise at the elite event. The results: Boys (final): Srishti Dhir 6-3, 6-2.
BASKETBALL
Myneni is no less
Road to Mexico event in Gurugram
Special Correspondent The six teams from Indian
will be Oil and Natural Gas
After its introduction in
deserving than Bopanna
NEW DELHI the Youth Olympics in 2010,
Schooling apologises
for Malaysia jibe The 3x3 Road to Mexico bas- Corporation (ONGC), Indian
Railways, Indian Overseas
the 3x3 format, played on a
half court with a relatively
Injeti Srinivas clarifies on Arjuna award controversy
KUALA LUMPUR ketball tournament, featur-
ing 12 national and interna- Bank (IOB), Services, Ludhi- smaller ball, has caught up Press Trust of India
Singapores Olympic
tional teams, will be staged ana Academy and Vijay the imagination of the world New Delhi
swimming champion Joseph
at the Ambience Mall in Bank. so much that it would be in- The Union Sports Secretary
Schooling has apologised to
Gurugram on September 16 troduced as a medal event in Injeti Srinivas on Saturday
Malaysians after he raised The champion team will
and 17. the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. made it clear that Saketh
hackles by promising to get an all-paid trip to Mexico
teach them a thing or two There will be three teams to compete in the FIBA The 3x3 Pro basketball Myneni was no less de-
at the Southeast Asian from Japan, and one each World Tour international league is tentatively sched- serving than Rohan
Games. The 22-year-old said from Malaysia, Sri Lanka and event scheduled on Septem- uled to be launched in the Bopanna for the prestigious
he was really sorry for his Maldives. ber 30 and October 1. country next year. Neha Dhupia. Arjuna award despite ques-
unguarded comments, which tions being raised about his
made him a target for merit.
Adam for Governors Cup

Malaysian fans.If I offended There has been some con-
anyone, I do apologise... that troversy after Bopannas
wasnt my intention. Im name was not sent by the All
really sorry for my comments India Tennis Association for
HYDERABAD: Adam, who is in fine
and I definitely didnt mean it
that way, he said. AFP
nick, may score in the Governors
Cup (1,200m), the chief event of
2. Phenomenal Cruise (1) Deepak
Singh 56, 3. Reunion (2) N.S. Par-
mar 56, 4. Rutilant (4) Ajit Singh
mar 50.5.
1. HANDY MAN, 2. SUPREMO, 3.
TREASURE STRIKER
8 ASTRONOMIC CUP (Div. II),
(1,100m), 3-y-o & over, rated
26 to 46 (Cat. III), 4.45: 1. Celtic
the honour. He felt slighted
as Mynenis gold and silver
the races to be held on Sunday. 56, 5. Seven Eleven (8) Akshay Ku- Queen (10) Sai Kumar 60, 2. Arc at the Incheon Asian Games
1 DECCAN QUEEN PLATE (Div. I),

(1,400m), maiden 3-y-o only
mar 56, 6. Vallee Peaks (9) G.
Naresh 56, 7. Zelus (7) Kuldeep
6 ASTRONOMIC CUP (Div. I),
26 to 46 (Cat. III), 3.45: 1. Junior
Of History (11) Hannam 58.5, 3.
Top Link (7) Kuldeep Singh 58.5,
got more weightage.
In tennis, we already had
(Cat. II), (Terms), 1.15 p.m.: 1. Singh 56, 8. Et Voici (5) Hannam (6) C.P. Bopanna 60, 2. Cash 4. Patron Saint (1) C.P. Bopanna
Boca Grande (4) A.A. Vikrant 56, 54.5 and 9. Samudrika (3) Khur- 58, 5. Agilis (5) Khurshad Alam an application (Myneni),
Landing (11) Rafique Sk. 59, 3. As-
2. Exclusive Striker (9) Ajeeth Ku- shad Alam 54.5. teria (9) Md. Ismail 58, 4. True 57.5, 6. Proud Warrior (9) N. who is by no means less de-
mar 56, 3. Recumbentibus (5) Ak- 1. REUNION, 2. ZELUS, 3. SEVEN Hymn (10) Deep Shanker 58, 5. Rawal 57.5, 7. So Far (2) Shailesh serving and you cant make
shay Kumar 56, 4. Starlight (3) N. ELEVEN Amazing Response (12) Deepak 57.5, 8. Lucky Nicky (-) (-) 56.5, 9.
Sarvatra (4) N.S. Parmar 56.5, 10. your own judgement (as to
Rawal 56, 5. Turf Legend (10) G. Singh 57.5, 6. Gladstone (5) Sai Ku-
Naresh 56, 6. Univision (6)
Shailesh 56, 7. Wild Wings (8) K.
4 MANCHIRYALA PLATE (Div. I),
upto 30 (Cat. III), 2.45: 1. Jem Star
mar 57, 7. Creator (7) N. Rawal
56.5, 8. Raajneeti (4) Gopal Singh
Prime Time (6) Akshay Kumar
55.5, 11. Bouncer (8) Kunal Bunde
who is deserving and whos
not). The applicant (Myneni)
Mukesh Kumar 56, 8. Be Sure (2) 56.5, 9. Top Starchy (8) B.R. Ku- 54 and 12. Pegasus (3) A.A.
Umar steps up verbal (4) Aneel 60, 2. In Command (2) Vikrant 53.5. has made India proud at the
Nakhat Singh 54.5, 9. Limousine Md. Ismail 59.5, 3. Forever Bullish mar 56, 10. Indian Dreams (3) K.
attack on Pakistan coach (7) Deepak Singh 54.5 and 10. 1. ARC OF HISTORY, 2. AGILIS, 3. Asian Games.
(9) C. Umesh 59, 4. Wonder Star Sai Kiran 55.5, 11. Khan Sahib (2)
KARACHI Withrosemakeup (1) Ajit Singh (3) Shailesh 58, 5. Icing On The Akshay Kumar 55 and 12.
TOP LINK That performance got
Umar Akmal has stepped up
his verbal attack on Pakistan
54.5.
1. EXCLUSIVE STRIKER, 2. TURF
LEGEND, 3. BOCA GRANDE
Cake (7) Akshay Kumar 57, 6. My
Choice (10) Rafique Sk. 57, 7. Scor-
Shandaar (1) Ajit Singh 53.
1. SHANDAAR, 9 MANCHIRYALA PLATE (Div. II),
upto 30 (Cat. III), 5.15: 1. Pretty
him marks and his case was
entitled to be considered,
Raising questions: Rohan Bopanna, left, felt slighted when
Saketh Mynenis achievements were given greater weightage
pio Dzire (ex: I Am Rare) (6) Ajit 2. AMAZING RESPONSE,
Srinivas said during an inter-
chief coach Mickey Arthur Singh 56, 8. Dear Friend (1) Kunal Star (6) B.R. Kumar 60, 2. Yet An- for the Arjuna award nomination. FILE PHOTO: R. RAGU
*
2 CHARMINAR TROPHY 3. CASH LANDING

despite being issued a (1,400m), 3-y-o & over, rated Bunde 54, 9. Sensational Girl (8) other (4) K. Mukesh Kumar 59.5, action.
showcause notice by the PCB.
In his tweets on Saturday,
42 to 62 (Cat. II), 1.45: 1. Blue Eyed
Babe (8) B.R. Kumar 60, 2. Mir-
Sai Kumar 52 and 10. Beijos (5)
Zulquar Nain 50.5.
7 GOVERNORS CUP (1,200m),
3-y-o & over (Terms), 4.15: 1.
Adam (2) N.S. Parmar 60, 2.
3. Power Star (9) Rafique Sk. 59, 4.
Sir Legend (5) Akshay Kumar 59,
Srinivas, who is also the
Sports Authority of India
you need to sign an applica-
tion, whether that system is
case, there was no nomina-
tion and there was no applic-
field (5) S.S. Tanwar 59, 3. Torre- 1. FOREVER BULLISH, 2. ICING ON 5. Sea Change (3) Shailesh 58, 6.
Umar said that dummy Denny Crane (4) J. Chinoy 56, 3. Wine N Dine (8) Nakhat Singh 57, (SAI) DG, admitted that best, is debatable, Srinivas ation, Srinivas clarified.
molinos (4) Rafique Sk. 57.5, 4. THE CAKE, 3. JEM STAR Happy Guy (5) Nakhat Singh 56, 4.
fitness tests were held in Gayle Force (3) Sai Kumar 56.5, 5. 7. Rainbow Blues (2) A.A. Vikrant Bopannas achievements said. As much as we try but it
Castle Key (11) Mudassar 54, 5.
England before the
Champions Trophy just to fail
Dancing Farha (2) Md. Ismail 54.5,
6. Juneau (6) G. Naresh 54, 7.
5 OWN OPINION PLATE
42 to 62 (Cat. II), 3.15: 1. Always
Dancing Phoenix (10) Akshay Ku-
mar 54, 6. Exclusive Wind (6) C.
54.5, 8. Zensational (1) Md. Ismail
54.5, 9. Yes Baby (7) Rohit Kumar
54 and 10. Seeking Alpha (10)
couldnt be ignored but a
due process needed to be
For example, in case of
Padma awards, you dont
is practically impossible to
make the current system
Nautanki (1) Shailesh 53.5 and 8. Together (7) Koushik 60, 2. Won- Umesh 54, 7. Smile Stone (8) D.S.
him and send him back home. Optimus Commander (7) Akshay Zulquar Nain 50.5. followed. send applications. Its more totally objective. If we could
der Eye (3) Md. Sameeruddin Deora 54, 8. The Healer (7) Deep 1. SIR LEGEND, 2. SEA CHANGE, 3.
These tests were held to get Kumar 51.5. 58.5, 3. Handy Man (1) Nakhat Shanker 54, 9. Vijays Joy (9) Han- Rohan Bopannas by selection and here you have such a system, then
PRETTY STAR
me out of the team, Umar 1. MIRFIELD, 2. GAYLE FORCE, 3. Singh 58, 4. Kalinda (2) Rohit Ku- nam 54, 10. Double Charter (3) Days best: MIRFIELD achievements, nobody can make an application, give you would not need a com-
BLUE EYED BABE mar 58, 5. Al Sadr (5) B.R. Kumar Shailesh 52.5 and 11. Rahuls Pet (1) evidence of your achieve- mittee. You would just rank
wrote on twitter. Relation Double: EXCLUSIVE STRIKER ignore that. He has had the
Deepak Singh 52.5.
between Umar and Arthur
has not been ideal since last
3 DECCAN QUEEN PLATE (Div.
II), (1,400m), maiden 3-y-o
only (Cat. II), (Terms), 2.15: 1.
57, 6. Coruba (4) P. Gaddam 56.5,
7. Lavender (9) C.P. Bopanna 54.5,
8. Supremo (8) Md. Ismail 54 and
1. ADAM,
2. SMILE STONE,
SHANDAAR
Jkt (i): 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; (ii): 5, 6, 7, 8 &
9; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 4, 5 & 6; (iii):
highest achievements but
there is a process. So some-
ments, that gets examined
very carefully and a decision
them on the basis of marks
assigned to them and de-
year. PTI Dream Catcher (6) K. Sai Kiran 56, 9. Treasure Striker (6) Ajeeth Ku- 3. DANCING PHOENIX 7, 8 & 9; Tla: All races. body has to nominate you, is taken. So in Bopannas clare the winners, he said.
Arjun Narendran wins ITC race Mominul

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
SUDOKU
and Riyad
Sourav Bandyopadhyay takes Volkswagen Ameo Cup dropped
Volkswagen Ameo Cup (Race
INRC one): 1. Sourav Bandyopadhyay Agence France-Presse
Dhaka
(16:05.858); 2. Karminder
Sports reporter Singh (16:13.204); 3. A Sandeep
Chennai
Bangladesh on Saturday
Kumar (16: 14.485). dropped batsmen Mominul
Sandeep Kumar and Arjun Indian Touring Cars-Race one: Haque and Mahmudullah
Narendran cruised to com- 1. Arjun Narendran (16:50.960); Riyad from its 14-man
fortable victories in the MRF 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (17: squad for the first Test
F1600 and the Indian Tour- 02.745); 3. C Raja Ram against Australia beginning
ing Cars (ITC) categories in (17:26.277). in Dhaka on August 27.
the fourth round of the MRF Saloon Cars (Race one)-Es- Mominul and Mahmu-
MMSC FMSCI Indian Na- teem: 1. Raghul Rangasamy
dullah were part of
tional Racing Championship (17:49.329); 2. Narendran (17:
Bangladeshs squad during
at the MMRT track on 51.486); 3. Ananth Pithawala
its last series in Sri Lanka,
Saturday. (17: 59.385). Super Stock: 1.
though they did not play
Sourav Bandyopadhyay Varun V. Anekar (18:12.176); 2.
Deepak Ravikumar (18:33.902); the final Test, which
from Mumbai pulled off a Bangladesh won by four
fine win in the Volkswagen 3. B. Bala Vijay (18:42.584).
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. wickets to finish the two-
Ameo Cup, pushing champi- match series 1-1. Shafiul Is-
onship leader Karminder E.K.P. Hisham (18: 15.268); 2.
Mikhail Merchant (18:27.330); lam also returned to the
Singh (Delhi) to second place side after a good show dur-
3. A.S. Prabhu (18:35.509).
while Sandeep Kumar com- Comfortable win: Sandeep Kumar cruised home in the MRF F1600 category. *
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
ing a recent warm-up
Formula LGB 1300 (Race one,
Solution to yesterdays Sudoku pleted the podium. match in Chittagong when
13 laps)-Open: 1. Yash Aradhya
In contrast, competition to win a race apiece in both The MRF FF1600 race fifth while Sandeep won un- he picked up five wickets.
(16:14.230); 2. Aanjan Patodia
was at its fiercest in other categories (Open and turned out to be disappoint- troubled, leaving Chennais (16:14.778); 3. Arya Singh The second Test will begin
categories. Raghul Ran- Rookie) of the double-header ing especially after pole-sit- Chetan Korada and Kolkata (16:16.906). at Chittagong on Sept. 4.
gasamy (Performance Ra- Formula LGB 1300. ter and championship leader schoolboy Arya Singh to Rookie: 1. Yash Aradhya; 2. Aan- The squad: Mushfiqur Rahim
cing) topped the saloon car In the other categories of Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) scrap for the other two po- jan Patodia; 3. Arya Singh. (capt.), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya
race after an initial blip while the saloon cars, Bengalurus pitted at the end of lap one dium spots. Race 2 (Open): 1. Aanjan Pato- Sarkar , Imrul Kayes, Liton Das,
Bengaluru schoolboy Yash Varun Anekar (Race Con- to repair a damaged nose The results (Provisional all 15 dia (16:35.848); 2. Arya Singh Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek
Aradhya, only 14, and Punes cepts) and Hashim EKP (DTS cone following a contact laps unless mentioned): MRF (16:40.056); 3. Deepak Raviku- Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir
18-year old engineering stu- Racing) emerged comfort- with Chennais Sandeep Ku- FF1600 (Race one): 1. Sandeep mar (16:48.463). Rahman, Mehedi Hasan,
dent Aanjan Patodia, both of able winners in the Super mar at the start of the race. Kumar (15:01.880); 2. Chetan Rookie: 1. Aanjan Patodia; 2. Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam,
Team Momentum Motors- Stock and Indian junior tour- Reddy, on rejoining the Korada (15:10.711); 3. Arya Singh Arya Singh; 3. Yash Aradhya Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin
ports, fought tooth and nail ing cars, respectively. race, finished a lap down in (15:11.709). (16:48.495). Ahmed.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
SPORT 19
Akash sixth
in trap final Gujarat Kings starts well India downs Mauritius
Constantine gives all his players game-time
Sports Bureau
Porpetto, Italy Andrew Pagett wins two in win over Chennai Strikers
Akash Saharan tumbled Nandakumar Marar
out first in the trap final in Special Correspondent MUMBAI
Ahmedabad
the Junior shotgun World India made optimum use of
Cup here on Friday. The icon versus icon skir- the opportunity to give play-
He qualified for the final mish in the 6-Red variety of ers match time against Maur-
with the score of 114. the Cue Slam Indian Cue itius. Stephen Constantine
The results: Junior men:
Masters League at the Ra- pulled out first-half
Trap: 1. Adria Martinez Torres jpath Club will appeal most goalscorer Robin Singh, ex-
(Esp) 46 (WRJ) 114; 2. Matteo to the cue sports buffs; the perienced goalkeeper Sub-
Marongiu (Ita) 43 (114); 3. outcome of this particular rata Paul, pacy winger
Murat Ilbilgi (Tur) 36 (113); 6. match set to three frames Jackichand Singh at half-
Akash Saharan 17 (114); 12. will just win a point, with time, playmaker Eugeneson
Janmajai Singh Rathore 110; odds of a player making a Lyngdoh and Holicharan
17. Lakshay 109; 18. Vivaan clearance of 75, for the bo- Narzary later. Shrugging off
Kapoor 109; 35. Manavaditya nus point, being very diffi- a tentative showing early on,
Singh Rathore 101. cult. a cohesive and charged-up Slipping it in: Robin Singh scores the equaliser against
On the inaugural day of home team backed it up Mauritius in the Tri Nation series international. VIVEK BENDRE *
the distinctively created with goals for a 2-1 victory in

Prashanth format, the spectators at the
Club got a taste of the icon-
the Hero Tri-Nation Tourna-
ment at the Mumbai Foot-
other substitutes.
Mauritius showed skill
bounced off Narayan. Jean
Jocelyn seized the chance to
edged out nominated match between
Chennai Strikers Pankaj Ad-
ball Arena.
Crossing over on level
and intent at the start, was
confident on the ball and de-
fire in past Paul.
India broke free of anxi-
by Grills vani and Gujarat Kings An-
drew Pagett and Delhi Dons
terms against the nimble vis-
itors, Balwant Singh asser-
servedly went a goal ahead.
Jeje Lalpekhlua proved elu-
ety in the midfield and loss
of ball possession through a
Kelly kwikfire Fisher and ted his presence in the at- sive and with his midfielders delightful long pass by
SPORTS BUREAU
NONTHABURI Bengaluru Buddies Darren Icons clash: Andrew Pagetts win over Pankaj Advani set the tone for Gujarat Kings win over tack with a 62nd minute raising their game after the Rowlin Borges. The mid-
Vijay Sundar Prashanth Morgan. Chennai Strikers. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
* goal, Indias second. He read half-time changes. fielder threaded ball
failed to capitalise on his The spectatorsand the a flick by Jeje Lalpekhlua, off India started with a through the defence diagon-
chances and was beaten 7- players, were curious to Laxman Rawat potted the mixed doubles 9-ball pool Faisal Khan 1-0 (32-7); 9 ball a pass from Lyngdoh and settled backline. Con- ally from the right. Robin
6(4), 7-5 by Jacob Grills of know as to how each frame last black to clinch the tie for against Alok and Russias pool: Alok Kumar lost to Dhar- slotted home and celebrated stantine started with Singh slipped past his
Australia in the final of the with a ten-minute time limit the Buddies in a thrilling and Daria to go 2-all for the tie minder Lilly 0-2; and Alok & as the ball deflected in off Jhingan, Anas as central de- marker, used pace to reach
could drift, but as it tran- deciding single frame match before the Kings Brijesh Daria lost to Lilly & Vidya 0-2). the goalkeeper. Amrinder fenders and Narayan Das, the ball and beat goalkeeper
$15,000 ITF mens Futures
tennis tournament on spired the first Welshman on against the Delhi Dons Push- Damani scored an easy win Singh showed a safe pair of Pritam Kotal manning the Kevin Jean-Louis with a left-
Bengaluru Buddies bt Delhi
Saturday. show, Pagett got the better of pinder Singh. over Strikers Faisal Khan. hands coming off as replace- flanks. footed shot.
Dons 3-2 (6-Red Darren Mor-
Advani in two straight The Cue slam started, We wanted to put them ment for Paul. Nikhil Poo- Mauritius made a move The result: India 2 (Robin Singh
The results: $15,000 ITF gan & Anistasia Nechaeva bt
frames, and the second with the Pagett-Daria Sirot- under pressure right right jary and Mohammed Rai- on the left, Joseph Kevin 37, Balwant Singh 62) bt Mauri-
men, Nonthaburi, Thailand: Laura Evans & Manan Chandra
Welshman, with almost two ina pair winning their match away and thats exactly what fuqe, Jerry Lalrinzuala were crossed and the ball which tius 1 (Jean Jocelyny 14).
Final: Jacob Grills (Aus) bt Vi- 2-0 (27-17, 32-16); Darren Mor-
jay Sundar Prashanth 7-6(4), decades of experience in the against Advani and Vidya Pil- we managed, said Pagett. gan lost to Kelly Fisher 1-2 (44-
7-5. ruthless world professional lai. While the Strikers lost The results: 14, 32-34, 0-45); Laxman Rawat
snooker, was beaten by Kelly the first two 6-Red snooker
Chaudhari stars for Titans

$25,000 ITF women, Leipzig, Gujarat Kings bt Chennai bt Pushpinder Singh 1-0 (35-
Germany: Doubles (semi- in three frames. Pagetts two matches; Dharminder Lilly Strikers 3-2 (6-Red Andrew Pa- 27); 9 Ball Pool: Sandeep Gulati
finals): Tereza Mrdeza (Cro) & wins (mixed doubles and sustained the interest in the gett & Daria Sirotina bt Pankaj lost to Kelly Fisher 0-2;
Ankita Raina bt Agnes icon match) paved the way tie, by winning the 9-ball Advani & Vidya Pillai 2-0 (32-9, Sandeep Gulati and Anastasia
Bukta (Hun) & Vivien for his team Gujarat Kings to against Alok Kumar. Then 23-1); Pagett bt Advani 2-0 (37- Nechaeva, bt Laura Evans and
Juhaszova (Svk) 6-3,7-6(4). beat the Strikers 3-2, while, Vidya and Lilly won the 30, 35-30); Brijesh Damani bt Malkeet Singh 2-1). PKL
Uthra Ganesan
Volkswagen open to national championships

LUCKNOW
Rahul Chaudhari and Telugu
Titans desperately needed a
victory to not just keep the
Wants FMSCI to establish a platform and lay down a set of regulations team morale high but, after
five straight losses, keep
S. Dipak Ragav series provide quality is not there. The cups like three, then there is nothing their campaign in the com-
Chennai vehicles and bring with them Vento or Ameo are good to for the rest. So we will kill petition on track. And the
Even as the popularity of backing of the professional- get young people in and the sport. Unless we have captain led from the front,
motorsport has been grow- ism of a big corporates, the teach how to race, he added, multiple brands, then it is a reaffirming his status as the
ing steadily in India, the lack lack of serious competition, If we can have a baseline precarious situation. teams marquee player as Ti-
of serious manufacturer in- has not helped in taking the and then get other compan- Vissa added, We need tans won 37-32 against a High action: Telugu Titans captain Rahul Chaudhari tries an
volvement in any of the na- sport to the next level. ies to compete it will be the FMSCI to put in a plat- fighting U Mumba in the Pro acrobatic raid against U Mumba's Darshan Kadian. RAJEEV BHATT *
tional championships has Speaking on the sidelines great. We need to establish form and lay down a set of Kabaddi League here on
been a big let down. Except of the round three of the something solid at an afford- regulations and say this Saturday. been a happy season. At 34 bt U Mumba 32 (Anup Kumar 9,
for TVS, in the two-wheeler Ameo Cup on Saturday, Sir- able level on equal basis. where the future of racing or With 13 points, Chaudhari and 31, its best players have Shabeer Bappu 6, Surinder
championship, none of the ish Vissa, Head of Volkswa- The Indian Touring Car rallying in India will be. They was the best raider in action continued to be veterans Singh 4); Haryana Steelers 36
manufacturers fields a fact- gen Motorsport India and championship currently has have to then reinforce it with and his ability to wriggle out Anup Kumar and Shabeer (Vikas Kandola 9, Surender
ory team, preferring to go Bernhard Gobmeier, Dir- only privateers participating meeting manufacturers and of tough situations played a Bappu but the lack of sup- Nada 7, Wazir Singh 4) bt UP
with their own one-make ector, VW Group Motorsport with cars from different showcase that this is some- big role in his teams victory. port from the younger lot Yoddha 29 (Rishank Devadiga
series. said the VW group was more manufacturers and Vissa thing they can use. Equally responsible for the has affected the team, cur- 6, Sagar Krishna 6, Nitin Tomar
When it comes to four- than willing to compete with feels the presence of just one I am happy to sit down win was Sombir as the de- rently third in its group with 5, Mahesh Goud 4).
wheelers, the situation is other teams provided a factory team will only kill the with FMSCI and other com- fender, along with Vishal 16 points but a massive 20 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Bernhard Gobmeier and DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
even worse. The Volkswagen stable set of regulations was sport. Today ITC is privat- panies to establish a regula- Bhardwaj, managed a series behind the leader.
Sirish Vissa. Patna Pirates vs Puneri Paltan,
Group is the only major man- made available. eers domain. If VW come in, tion. But the FMSCI needs to of super tackles despite be- The days other game saw
ufacturer to have a presence Polo Cup followed by Vento Gobmeier said, In India, we are going to get the best put everyone together. We ing outnumbered in the last host UP Yoddha go down 29- 8 p.m.
in the Indian motorsport Cup and the Ameo Cup like in China, the concept of drivers and put resources to are happy to help but the 10 minutes, keeping his 36 to Haryana Steelers U.P. Yoddha vs Jaipur Pink
programme with its one- currently. competition where you show make sure car is competitive. step has to come from team ahead at all times. The results: Telugu Titans 37 Panthers, 9 p.m., STAR Sports
make series, starting with While these one-make who is the best and quickest, If we are finishing in top them. (Rahul Chaudhari 13, Sombir 8) 2, 2 HD
For U Mumba, it has not DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
CM A ND-NDE
YK
20 SPORT NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
IN BRIEF
Lukaku on target as United scores four again
Mane lifts Liverpool; Leicester blanks Brighton
<
> There
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
was happiness
PREMIER LEAGUE DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
in our play. There
B United has scored four or
Agence France-Presse more goals in its opening was no need to close
Dortmund ready to sell two league games of a
Dembele for right price
Swansea the door
Romelu Lukaku was on tar- season for the first time in
DORTMUND Jose Mourinho
get again as Manchester 110 years
Borussia Dortmund will sell DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD in three United games in the
United continued its fine
winger Ousmane Dembele to 80th minute and then freed
early-season form with a 3-3 draw at Watford.
Barcelona if its price is met, Pogba to beat Fabianski with
second successive 4-0 win on Having had to work hard
the German club said. We a delightful dinked finish be-
Saturday, this time at to break Swansea down,
have a clear position and a fore Martial tucked in a
Swansea City. United went in front just be-
clear idea (of the price). If fourth.
this idea is met, then he will Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba and fore half-time when Bailly
transfer this summer. substitute Anthony Martial stabbed in his first goal for At Anfield, Liverpool man-
Otherwise he will stay with also found the net at the the club after Lukasz Fabi- ager Klopp made five
us its as simple as that, Liberty Stadium, giving Jose anski had pushed Pogbas changes to the team that won
Dortmund director of sport Mourinhos side its second header against the bar. 2-1 at Hoffenheim in its
Michael Zorc told Sky. AFP big win after last weekends Attacking changes left Champions League play-off
4-0 victory over West Ham round first leg in mid-week. Finisher: Romelu Lukaku has been prolific in front of goal for Manchester United, scoring three goals in two games. *
REUTERS
Swansea vulnerable at the
United. back in the latter stages and Beaten 3-0 at home by Leicester City hit back to Lukaku 80, Pogba 82, Martial 54) bt Brighton 0; Liverpool 1
play when Mane seized upon
Sadio Mane struck in the United took full advantage to Huddersfield Town on the a loose ball to fire home. beat Brighton and Hove Al- 84); Bournemouth 0 lost to (Mane 73) bt Crystal Palace 0;
73rd minute to give Liverpool score three goals in the space opening weekend, Crystal bion 2-0. Watford 2 (Richarlison 73, Ca- Southampton 3 (Gabbiadini 11,
a 1-0 home win over Crystal of just four minutes. Palace produced a much Narrowly beaten 4-3 by Ar- The results: poue 86); Burnley 0 lost to Tadic 38-pen, Austin 90+3-pen)
Palace and get Jurgen Klopps Henrikh Mkhitaryan teed more solid display, but was senal in the seasons opening Swansea 0 lost to West Brom 1 (Robson-Kanu 71); bt West Ham 2 (Hernandez 45,
side up and running after its up Lukaku for his fourth goal undone with 17 minutes to match, 2016 champion Manchester United 4 (Bailly 45, Leicester 2 (Okazaki 1, Maguire 74).
Matuidi completes move

to Juventus
PARIS
Bayern lays down a marker
France midfielder Blaise
Matuidi has completed a Winning starts for Leganes and Valencia
move to Juventus from Paris
Saint-Germain, the two clubs EURO LEAGUES
confirmed on Friday, ending a
successful six-year stint in the Agencies
French capital. Matuidi, 30, Munich
has signed a three-year deal Robert Lewandowski con-

in Turin with the Italian club verted a second-half penalty,
saying it had paid 20 m plus awarded by a video assistant
a potential 10.5m more in referee intervention, as
bonuses. AFP champion Bayern Munich
opened the 2017-18 Bundes-
liga season with a 3-1 win
over Bayer Leverkusen on
Friday.
The video assistant ref-
eree is being trialled in the
Bundesliga this season and
came into play for the first
time to spot that Lewan- Price catch: New-signing Niklas Sule, left, will be a key
Spurs pay club record fee dowski was fouled in the
for Sanchez component in Bayern Munichs defence this season. AFP *
area in the second-half.

LONDON
The Polish striker duti- Zaza strikes Stuttgart 0; Hamburg 1 (Muller
Colombian international 8) bt Augsburg 0; Mainz 0 lost
fully slotted home the pen- In La Liga, Leganes defeated
defender Davinson Sanchez to Hannover 96 1 (Harnik 73);
alty to put Bayern 3-0 up Alaves 1-0 after it paid trib-
became Tottenham Hotspurs Wolfsburg 0 lost to Borussia
after new signings Germany ute to the victims of the at-
first signing of the close Dortmund 3 (Pulisic 23, Bartra
defender Niklas Sule and tacks in Barcelona and the
season on Friday when it paid 27, Aubameyang 60)
France midfielder Corentin seaside resort of Cambrils.
a reported club record
Tolisso scored with first-half Valencia defeated 10-man
42million to Dutch side Ajax. Friday: Bayern Munich 3 (Sule
headers. Las Palmas in the late match
The 21-year-old, who was a 9, Tolisso 18, Lewandowski 53-
pivotal member of the side Leverkusen deservedly thanks to a first-half goal by pen) bt Bayer Leverkusen 1
that reached the Europa pulled a goal back at 3-0 striker Simone Zaza. (Mehmedi 65).
League final only to lose to down when Swiss striker Ad- The results: Bundesliga: Sat-
Manchester United, signed a mir Mehmedi capped off a urday: Hoffenheim 1 (Kramaric La Liga: Friday: Leganes 1 (Gab-
six-year contract with Spurs. bright passage of play with a 84) bt Werder Bremen 0; Her- riel 24) bt Alaves 0; Valencia 1
AFP fierce shot. tha Berlin 2 (Leckie 46, 62) bt (Zaza 22) bt Las Palmas 0.
Aronian scripts a strong finish, wins title

Anand ninth, a spot behind Kasparov
Sports Bureau last-man David Navara and
ST. LOUIS
Karjakin firmed up the ninth
Levon Aronian scripted a position for Anand.
strong finish to win the St. On the other hand, Kas-
Louis rapid and blitz chess parov started the day with a
championship with two loss against Karjakin, but in
rounds to spare here on Fri- the remaining rounds,
day. The overnight leader scored over Perez, Na-
blitzed 3.5 points from the kamura and Caruana and
last four rounds to win the drew against the rest.
fourth leg of the Grand
Chess Tour with a three- Final standings (rapid* + blitz):
point margin. 1. Levon Aronian (12.5 + 12)
24.5; points; 2-3. Sergey Kar-
The Armenian scored 24.5
jakin (13.5 + 8), Hikaru Na-
points from a maximum of
kamura (10.5 + 11); 21.5; 4. Ian
36, ahead of the runner-up Nepomniachtchi (10 + 10) 20;
duo of Sergey Karjakin and In the spotlight: Levon Aronian obliges a fan.
5-7. + Leinier Dominguez (7.5 +
Hikaru Nakamura at 21.5. will be decided in London in lose to Fabiano Caruana and 9), Fabiano Caruana (5.5 + 11),
Viswanathan Anand finished December. Hikaru Nakamura in the next Le Quang Liem (8.5 + 8) 16.5
ninth with 14 points, two be- Anand, who started the two rounds. Draws followed each; 8. Garry Kasparov (9 + 7)
hind eighth-placed Garry day in the eighth place, against Le Quang Liem, 16; 9. Viswanathan Anand (7 +
Kasparov. opened with a victory over Aronian and Kasparov. Lien- 7) 14; 10. David Navara (6 + 7)
With the rapid and blitz Ian Nepomniachtchi his ier Dominguez Perez de- 13. (Note: *two points for a win
events over for the Tour, the lone victory in the 18-round feated Anand with black in rapid format, one for a draw
overall champion of the GCT blitz section but went on to pieces before draws against and none for a loss)
Swapnil Dhopade keeps winning

Rakesh Rao cilian Defence but faltered.
Ahmedabad
The complications made
The inexperience of two Fenil take more time and
young Gujarat players Udit that eventually became one
Kamdar and Fenil Shah of the factors for the defeat.
showed up at inopportune The results: Ninth round: Udit
times and allowed the Kamdar (7) lost to Swapnil
Grandmaster duo of Swapnil Dhopade (8.5); Himanshu
Dhopade and Himanshu Sharma (7.5) bt Fenil Shah
Sharma escape to hard- (6.5); Debashis Das (6.5) drew
earned victories in the ninth with M.R. Lalith Babu (7); Sri-
round of the National Chal- Mary Ann Gomes ram Jha (7) drew with Abhijit
lengers chess championship white pieces. But all credit to Kunte (7); Swayams Mishra (6)
here on Saturday. his 17-year-old rival from Ra- lost to Mary Ann Gomes (7); S.
An eighth victory took jkot who fought gallantly all Nitin (6.5) drew with Koustav
Dhopades tally to 8.5 points the way to the 64 moves. Chatterjee (6.5); E. Arjun (6.5)
while his victorious Railway drew with Arghyadip Das (6.5);
teammate Himanshu moved Kamdar gained the admir- S. Satyapragyan (7) bt Akash
to 7.5 points. M.R. Lalith ation of his rival for playing Iyer (6); Nikhil Dixit (6) lost to
Babu, Mary Ann Gomes, S. the opening lines of S. Ravi Teja (7); Sammed Shete
Satyapragyan and defending Carokann well. However, he (6) lost to P. Shyamnikhil (6.5);
champion S. Ravi Teja misread the position in the Aravindh Chithambaram (6.5)
middle game and went for a bt Chakravarthi Reddy (5.5);
shared the third spot with
full-throttle attack with his S.L. Narayanan (6) drew with
seven points. Of the lot,
two rooks. Dhopade easily Sankalp Gupta (6); Deepan
Mary was the most impress- Chakkravarthy (6.5) bt Ram S.
ive winner as she brought warded off the challenge, ex-
ploited Kamdars weak Krishnan (5.5); Kaustuv Kundu
down higher-rated Interna- (5.5) lost to R.R. Laxman (6.5);
tional Master Swayams pawns and pushed one of
his two extra pawns to the Suyog Wagh (6) drew with
Mishra in 56 moves. Tactic- Hemant Sharma (6); S.
ally sound, Mary captured a seventh rank to post an ex-
Dhananjay (5.5) lost to Niran-
knight on the 33rd move and pected victory.
jan Navalgund (6.5); Padmini
did not allow her rival any Himanshu also praised Rout (6.5) bt Raja Rithwik (5.5);
chance of a comeback. Dho- Fenils fighting battles after G. B. Joshi (6) drew with
pade, rated 2516 as against their 55-move battle. Fenil Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury (6);
Kamdars 1947, began as an could have achieved a better S. Jayakumaar (6.5) bt Audi
overwhelming favourite with position after opting for Si- Ameya (5).
CM A ND-NDE
YK
august 20, 2017 Delhi
Section 2
Venezuela runs into Key telecom players Online pharmacies Pakistan pays homage
outrage after new body screened on four catching up with good to its Mother Teresa,
takes legislative power parameters discounts, other services who fought leprosy
page 4 page 8 page 9 page 4
Printed at . Che n n a i . Coim b ato r e . Be n g a luru . Hy de r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a pu r a m . Ko ch i . V i j ayawa da . Ma ng a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . Mo h a l i . Ma l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k now
IN BRIEF
Stirred up Darjeeling hills alive with the spirit of cooperation
People continue to share, volunteer hugging each other, forming
human chains, and even
overworking with skeletal
staff, said a senior govern-
Sherpa of the Japan-funded
Eurasia Reiyukai.
and rally despite prolonged impasse having toddlers hold Jai ment official. A former teacher Norreen
Gorkhaland placards. Many The town falls silent by Dunne believes personal
The peacekeepers Suvojit Bagchi proaching. Students of elite bring vegetables or noodles. early evening and sinks into bonding has increased after
of Gudalur forest DARJEELING institutions are attending We often carry some food darkness. Paramilatary and the internet ban.
UDHAGAMANDALAM On a drizzly Monday morn- private classes in Siliguri. to the rallies these days, to police vehicles drive at a re- The bonding was visible
In the Gudalur forest division, ing, Dambar Prasad Shi- But what about those who ensure that our neighbours markable speed, flashing in a narrow bylane in Ma-
on the one side are elephants wakoti, senior master of Dar- are not from elite schools? have enough, laughs blue lights, often stopping hakal Market, where volun-
that have lost their feeding jeelings elite Turnbull High Mr. Shiwakoti asks. He often Roshan Rai of the NGO DLR lone walkers to check their teers of the Mani Trust, a
grounds. On the other are Secondary School, leaves his works late and wonders if he Prerna. identity. The agitation is charitable organisation,
residents fed up with house at 5 a.m. for the did this much during usual The city is usually deser- still absolutely unarmed, were selling potato and
elephant attacks and loss of nearby neighbourhood of times. Classes begin at 7 ted, but for a few hours in protesters say. squash momos to raise
crops. Brokering peace Rose Bank, where he enters a.m., followed by an after- the afternoon when people funds. Sashi Yanzon, a key
between them are the forest an unimpressive double- noon session at 11 a.m. For far-flung areas organiser, said they were
storey building. He cleans About 275 students of nearly Heights of protest: A gathering at Darjeeling's Ghum railway While we are doing our selling about 40 kilos of ve-
staff, on call 24 by 7.
the blackboard in a large, a dozen schools attend. In station, the highest altitude station in India. SUVOJIT BAGCHI
*
SUNDAY SPECIAL best, the key question is if getable momos every day.
NEWS A PAGE 2
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD rectangular hall with a these times, we have to co- we are reaching the forest The money is used to buy
duster and waits for students operate with each other, keeps Darjeeling going. Janata Party [BJP], claims a throng its centre. Many of villages and remotest tea gar- fuel to take basic food stuff
Bangladesh flood toll to arrive. says Urmila Pradhan, a Class There is no solution for the senior official of a tea plant- them participate in street dens, said Roshan Rai, con- to villages in far-flung areas,
mounts to 120 Everything but pharma- X student from the St. impasse in sight. The Chief ers association, who does corner meetings. In the ab- vener of a meeting held at she said.
DHAKA cies in Darjeeling have been Teresa's Girls School. Minister of West Bengal is si- not wish to be named. sence of regular vegetable the Diosecan Pastoral Centre Sudha Rai, a school
The death toll in the floods in shut down since June 15, fol- Mr. Shiwakoti approached lent, the GJM leadership ap- Yet, Darjeelings residents markets, vendors set up tiny, last Sunday to streamline teacher and another volun-
Bangladesh since July has lowing a call by the Gorkha Uday Sewa Sangh, a volun- pears confused, the Central are not deserting the move- temporary shops in the by- equitable food distribution, teer, said they had reached
touched 120. With nearly Janmukti Morcha (GJM) de- tary organisation, for per- Government seems reluctant ment. Every morning, they lanes, which have managed a challenging task, the or- about 2,000 families. The
one-third of the country manding a separate State for mission to start the school in to act, and the Internet is assemble in different parts to hold the prices. They dis- ganisers said. Mani Trusts shop is among
affected by floods, an Gorkhas, but this makeshift their premises, usually ren- down. During 1986 move- of a town that is littered with appear later in the day. And We distribute five kilos of the hundreds of charitable
estimated five million people school has been functioning ted out for weddings. The ment [for Gorkhaland], Rajiv burnt vehicles, shouting slo- if there are little or no rice, edible oil, lentils and institutions and individuals
in 28 northern and central for the last 51 days. The club agreed. Gandhi was far more proact- gans for Gorkhaland. They garbage on the roads, it is salt in the tea gardens as coordinating relief in the
districts have been hit hard. Class X examination is ap- The spirit of cooperation ive than todays Bharatiya keep their moral high by because the municipality is they are cut off, said P.P. hills.
Around 15,000 houses have
been destroyed completely
and 2,50,000 more partially.
Teachers must register for training Blast rocks Darjeeling, UAPA

WORLD A PAGE 3
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Terror cell behind Spain

attacks dismantled
by September 15, says Javadekar
MADRID
The terror cell behind Spains
deadly twin attacks has been
dismantled, Interior
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Ministers to act against
teachers who do not register
RTE. The purpose of the ex-
ercise is to ensure training of
case slapped against Gurung
Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido
Close on the heels of Parlia- with the National Institute of all teachers in government
said on Saturday. The group
ment passing an amend- Open Schooling (NIOS) and private institutions by Explosion in Chowk Bazaar left some shops damaged; no death or injuries
allegedly consisted of at
ment to the Right to Educa- portal by September 15. March 2019 to ensure better
least 12 young men, many of
tion Act to offer untrained, quality of education. Special Correspondent Mr. Chaturvedi said some
them Moroccan. Fourteen
in-service teachers in Nodal agency Mr. Javadekar, who ad- Kolkata gelatin sticks were stolen a
people died and scores more
schools a window till March NIOS, an autonomous insti- dressed State Ministers via The West Bengal Police on month ago from Phoolbazar
were injured in the attacks in
2019 to acquire training, Hu- tution under the MHRD, will video-conferencing recently, Saturday filed a case against in Darjeeling, and accord-
Barcelona and Cambrils.
man Resource Development be the nodal agency for told them that all untrained, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha ing to our inputs, these
Minister Prakash Javadekar teacher training in line with in-service teachers should (GJM) president Bimal sticks may have been used in
WORLD A PAGE 3
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD has told State Education the requirements of the register on the NIOS portal. Gurung and two other GJM the blast.
leaders under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act No role in blast
(UAPA). GJM leader Swaraj Thapa
This is in connection with said: Anti-Gorkhaland
a bomb blast in Chowk forces which do not want
Bazaar, at the heart of Dar- Fresh trouble: The name of Bimal Gurung has come up any discussion on the situ-
jeeling town, in the early during the investigation. A file photo. AFP * ation [in the Darjeeling hills]
hours of Saturday. While may be behind the explo-
there was no death or injur- area after midnight. GJM have come up during sion. He denied any role of
ies, the shutters of the shops Prima facie, it seems an the investigation. We are sus- the GJM in the blast.
in the area were damaged. improvised explosive device pecting their involvement [in The development comes
The police said the explo- has been used. The names of the case], Darjeeling Super- at a time when the shutdown
sion occurred when security Bimal Gurung, Pravin Subba intendent of Police Akhilesh in the Darjeeling hills has
forces were patrolling the and Prakash Gurung of the Chaturvedi told journalists. entered the 66th day.
Agency to
fund higher
education
set to take off
vikas pathak
NEW DELHI
The Higher Education Fin-
ancing Agency (HEFA) is
set to take off soon, with
the Ministry of Human Re-
source Development
(MHRD) asking Centrally
funded higher education
institutions to send their
project proposals to be fin-
anced by the agency.
Funding from HEFA is
expected to boost infra-
structure, especially state-
of-the-art laboratories, in
key institutions such as the
Indian Institutes of Tech-
nology,the Indian Insti-
tutes of Management, and
the Indian Institutes of In-
formation Technology.
We have sent letters to all
institutions, asking them
for proposals. The HEFA
Board will then assess and
approve them. The Board
may meet as early as three
weeks from now if we get
proposals promptly, an
MHRD official said.
As per the funding
mechanism, an institution
can claim 10 times the sum
it escrows in the first year.
If an institution escrows
10 crore, it can get ap-
proval for a 100-crore pro-
ject. It has to escrow 10
crore each year for 10
years, which will take care
of the principal amount,
the official said. It will be
released as per the require-
ment and progress of the
project.
The Union Cabinet had
approved HEFA in Septem-
ber 2016 as a Special Pur-
pose Vehicle with a public
sector bank (Canara Bank).
CM B ND-NDE
YK
2 NEWS NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
Prey to safaris
Tourist trips disturb Kabinis wildlife
Aathira Perinchery followed it and this time,
Dammankatte the driver got out of the
Leopard! shouts bus and threw stones at
someone and the 25-seater the elephant, making it
bus screeches to a halt. It mock-charge again!
reverses frantically on the Provoking animals to
muddy trail until the big make them move into view
cat is in full view. The noise is common, says another
of the bus and loud ex- frequent visitor to the
clamations of the tourists park. The Karnataka Forest
Jumbo mission: Anti-poaching watchers stand guard to prevent elephants from straying into residential areas at Pandalur in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. *
M. SATHYAMOORTHY wake the leopard slumber- Department lists several
ing comfortably on a tree. guidelines for visitors, in-
The tourists click photo- cluding talking only in
On the frontlines of an elephantine conflict

graphs in a frenzy, but the whispers and maintaining
leopard turns its face away. a minimum distance of 30
As if on cue, the driver re- metres from wildlife. How-
leases the brakes several ever, these remain only on
loud hisses make sure the paper. The Forest Depart-
big cat does not take its ment can take action if the
The Gudalur Forest Divisions effort to track and monitor every elephant in the range has led to a fall in fatalities eyes off the bus. As the bus guidelines are violated,
leaves, two jeeps race in. warned Karnatakas Chief
Rohan Premkumar habitations. and crops in the area. tect them, we have to take re- also inebriated, literally staffer in Pandalur. At the end of the safari, a Wildlife Warden Anur
UDHAGAMANDALAM Last year, more than 16 Conflicts between humans sponsibility for any damage walked straight into a grazing Operations at night, car- tourist walks over to the Reddy.
Its just a few minutes shy of people died in human-an- and elephants become acute they cause, he added. elephant. Conflicts are also ried out by ADS staff, are es- driver and tips him for the
10 p.m. on a rain-soaked imal conflicts in the region. at night, when people re- rife near tea estates, where pecially nerve-racking. Less good sighting. Chasing unacceptable
night at one of the camps But this year, due to continu- turning from work are un- Danger in the dark workers have to go out to de- than a year ago, a forest However, wildlife ex- Wildlife biologist Sanjay
set up in one the conflict- ous monitoring of the ele- able to see the large but of- Though run-ins between ele- fecate and do not spot the staffer was killed by an ele- perts are less than happy, Gubbi says, Crowding
prone zones in Pandalur. phant herds, lone makhnas ten very silent animals. phants and humans are com- animals until it is too late. phant in Kannampalli, in and have raised concerns around an animal, block-
Forest guard V. Louis gets a and tuskers in this belt, there Hence, forest staff are partic- mon, fatalities, when they It is to prevent, or at least, Cherambadi, while he was over disturbance to wild- ing its path or chasing the
phone call from a worried have been only four reported ularly watchful between 6 occur, are often caused by minimise such conflicts that trying to chase it away from a life from these official sa- animal should not be done
resident. An elephant is deaths, says P.K. Dileep, Dis- p.m. till around 8 a.m. human callousness. These the Forest Department has human settlement. faris. At least 100 tourists at any cost.
chasing motorists along a trict Forest Officer, Gudalur Gudalurs residents, include attacks near a dump come up with a mechanism The Gudalur Forest Divi- join the four 90-minute sa- Orientation is very im-
road. Forest Division. mostly farmers, have an ant- yard in Deivamalai, near to monitor the elephants sion, despite being on the faris offered every day by portant for any conducted
The team of forest staff on agonistic relationship with Gudalur, where herds come across the clock. frontlines of the conflict, the Karnataka Forest De- tour or trek, and the rules
the frontlines of the human- Intimate knowledge wildlife and the Forest De- for the discarded vegetable Rather than chasing ele- faces a massive shortage of partment in the Nagarhole should be made clear to
elephant conflict, known as The forest staff, who have to partment. Forest staff say the waste. The recent death of a phants, our job is to continu- manpower. However, the National Park, near Dam- tourists, says Sanjayan Ku-
the Anti-Depredation Squads broker peace between the people living here view the tribal man in Chembakolli ously monitor their move- staff s dedication and metic- mankatte in Kabini. mar, former wildlife
(ADS), clamber into their residents of Gudalur and the elephants as pests, and hold occurred after the victim, ments, says Mr. Saravanan. ulous planning by the DFO C. Sushanth, a bird- warden of Keralas Param-
SUV and rush to Athima diverse wildlife which call the Forest Department re- Elephants have to feed too, have ensured that the staff watcher and wildlife pho- bikulam Tiger Reserve. In
Nagar, cutting through a tea the region their home, know sponsible for their and their habitats are so frag- are always on call, and al- tographer, recalls his ex- Parambikulam, all tourists
estate. Its probably Mog- almost each herd and animal actions. mented in the Gudalur re- most all elephants are ac- perience in May. An must sit through an audio-
ara Veengi [the one with a individually. There are up- They recall gion that it makes no counted for in the division elephant was grazing visual programme, specify-
large face], says Gobi, a wards of 250 elephants in how the local sense to chase them around the clock. peacefully around five ing the rules and regula-
member of the ADS team. By the area at any given point of people wanted every time they During the day, forest staff meters away, he recalls. tions. Employing locals as
the time the team reaches time, given the migration a forest guard enter a tea monitor the animals, taking The driver and some tour- guides has also helped in-
there 15 minutes later, with patterns. transferred plantation. pictures, recording the size ists in the bus shouted crease awareness among
fire crackers and other ma- We know how each an- after an elephant Gudalurs of the herd and logging their loudly; the tusker mock- tourists and impart more
terials to make noise, the ele- imal behaves, and we know killed an inebriated once pristine GPS co-ordinates, so that charged at the bus and information about the
phant has gotten off the road which ones are more danger- man. The man was evergreen their patterns of movement then moved away. The bus wildlife, he adds.
into one of the vast tea ous, says V. Saravanan, still alive, barely, but forests have lost are always watched, says Mr.
estates. Forest Range Officer (FRO), locals blocked the their contiguity Dileep.
Pandalur. The forest staff road with his body and are now small The most vulnerable
Preventing confrontation have names for the ele- lying there, and oases surrounded areas, where elephant cross-
Every day, more than 100 phants too there is Mottai demanded the by large tea planta- ings and their natural cor-
forest staff in the Gudalur Vaal (bald tail), who lost a transfer of a local tions. ridors intersect with human
Forest Division, including portion of its tail in a fight forest depart- Even if we chase settlements are clearly
ADS members, anti-poaching with another elephant, and ment em- them, we would suc- marked and mapped.
watchers and Rapid Re- Mogara Veengi. These two ployee, ceed in getting them With hundreds of such
sponse Team personnel, are animals are known to raid said an offi- from one estate to an- habitations in the belt, the
mobilised to ensure that ele- crops and enter human hab- cial. The other or to a different Forest Department has set
phant herds and lone tuskers itations. Then there is locals say the ele- forest range, and they up camps strategically, with
living in the high-conflict Nadodi Ganesan, a very phants are our ele- would have to chase staff stationed at night, ready
zones in the region do not gentle animal but a problem phants and that them again into ours, for action if the animals A herd of elephants at the Kabini backwaters. * M.A.SRIRAM
stray too close to human too, as he raids plantations because we pro- says another forest enter the habitations nearby.
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Terror cell behind Barcelona Trump studying South Asia
options, says White House
attack dismantled: Spain Strategy for Afghanistan involves India and Pakistan
Buhari returns home Police still hunting for the van driver; terror alert to continue Special Correspondent clear. This afternoon, the retary James Mattis and Na-
Washington President was briefed ex- tional Security Adviser H.R.
after treatment in U.K.
LAGOS Reuters President Donald Trump tensively by his national se- McMaster had drawn up for
Nigerian President Ripoll/Barcelona met with his national secur- curity team on a new Afghanistan, which would
Muhammadu Buhari will Police were on Saturday ity team on Friday at the strategy to protect Americas have increased the U.S troop
return home on Saturday searching for the driver of a Camp David retreat, but the interests in South Asia. The presence in the country,
after spending more than van that ploughed into a much-awaited strategy for President is studying and open-ended. One major op-
100 days in London receiving crowd in Barcelona, killing Afghanistan, where the considering his options and ponent of continuing U.S.
treatment for an undisclosed 13 people, but the govern- country is entangled in a will make an announcement military presence in Afgh-
ailment, his office said. Mr. ment said the suspected Is- conflict for the last 16 years, to the American people, to anistan in the White House,
Buharis prolonged absence lamist militant cell behind was not announced at the our allies and partners, and Stephen Bannon, was ous-
has led to calls back home the attack had been dis- end of the day. to the world at the appropri- ted on Friday as chief
for him to either return mantled. Police have arres- The Trump administra- ate time, the White House strategist.
or resign. AFP ted four people in connection has begun to talk about said in a statement. It is to be seen whether
tion with the attack in a South Asia strategy for Mr. Bannons exit would
Seven hurt in Russia Barcelona on Thursday and Afghanistan, which involves Troop presence have any impact on Mr.
knife attack another in the Catalan sea- India and Pakistan but the Mr. Trump had disapproved Trumps thinking on the
MOSCOW side town of Cambrils, contours of this remains un- of the plan that Defence Sec- matter.
A man stabbed seven people where a woman was killed
on the street in Surgut, in when a car rammed passers-
Russias far-north, on
Saturday before being shot
dead by police but
by early on Friday.
Police shot dead five at-
tackers in Cambrils and said
Crime spot: People pay tribute to the victims of the Barcelona attack at the Las Ramblas
boulevard on Friday; (right) French flag flies half-staff for the victims. AFP, AP *
Bangladesh flood toll rises

investigators said that his they were wearing fake ex-
IS soldier 120 people killed since July; one-third of country affected
motive was most likely not
terrorism. The Investigative
plosive belts and had an axe
and knives in the vehicle. Finnish police treating
Committee said it had None of the five is believed behind Haroon Habib
established the mans
identity and that they were
to be the driver who sped
into Las Ramblas. Catalan
attacks as terror crimes Cambrils attack
Dhaka
With nearly one-third of
looking into his possible police said they were still Reuters now being investigated as Bangladesh hit by monsoon
psychiatric disorders. AFP looking for a man identified Helsinki/Turku murders with terrorist Agence France-Presse floods, which have killed
by the Mayors office in the Finnish police are intent, the National Beirut about 120 people since mid-
6 police officers shot at, town of Ripoll, where several investigating Fridays knife Bureau of Investigation Soldiers of the Islamic July, authorities said on Sat-
one fatally in the U.S. of the suspected attackers attacks that killed two and said in a statement. State (IS) group carried out urday that an estimated 5
WASHINGTON lived, as 22-year-old Younes wounded eight in the city The arrested suspect a deadly attack in the Span- million people in more than
Six U.S. police officers were Abouyaaqoub. Spanish me- of Turku as terrorism- had been in Finland for ish seaside resort of Cam- 28 northern and central dis-
shot at in one night in dia reported that he was the related crimes, they said only a short time before brils, its propaganda outlet tricts are the worst affected.
unrelated incidents in the driver of the van in Bar- on Saturday. the attack, Helsingin Amaq said on Saturday. Most of the victims were
States of Florida and celona but the police could The suspect arrested on Sanomat newspaper Attacks by the soldiers washed away by flood wa-
Pennsylvania, one fatally.In not confirm it. Friday was an 18-year-old reported. of the Caliphate in Spain... ters, while some were elec-
the central Florida city of The Spanish government Moroccan, police said, Four of the wounded led to the deaths and trocuted and killed by snake Water world: Bangladeshi schoolchildren wade through flood
Kissimmee , Officer Matthew said it now considered the adding that the two people were still in hospital, three wounding of more than 120 bites. waters in Gaibandha district on Saturday. AP AP * *
Baxter was killed and cell behind the attacks out of killed were Finns and an of them in intensive care, people from the states of According to the Depart-
Sergeant Sam Howard was action, though police in Italian and two Swedish while the other injured the Crusader alliance, it ment of Disaster Manage- All the major rivers in the The disaster management
left in grave critical Catalonia would not confirm citizens were among the persons would be sent said in a statement on its ment, the floods, caused by affected areas, including department said that cash of
condition. AFP this. The cell has been fully injured. home on Saturday, the Telegram account. a rush of water from up- Brahmaputra and Padma, around 60 million taka,
dismantled in Barcelona, The attacks shocked the hospital said. Eight hours after a stream rivers and incessant are flowing at above the about 16 tonnes of rice and
5 Afghan police-persons after examining the people Nordic country where Leaders of Turkus Iraqi deadly attack on Thursday rainfall, has damaged crops danger levels. More and 36,500 packets of dry food
killed by Taliban who died, the people who violent crime is relatively and Syrian community afternoon that left 13 on over 6,18,000 ha and des- more areas in the central have been distributed
KANDAHAR were arrested and carrying rare and which has been condemned the attacks people dead in Barcelona, troyed at least 15,000 houses parts of the country are be- among the flood-affected
Taliban insurgents attacked a out identity checks, said In- named as the worlds and said they would hold a an Audi A3 car rammed completely and 2,50,000 ing inundated. people. After causing a
police checkpoint in the terior Minister Juan Ignacio safest place to visit by the rally of solidarity in the into pedestrians in Cam- partially. The main concern of the havoc in the north, the flood
southern Helmand Province, Zoido. He said Spain was World Economic Forum. citys main square. brils, 120 km south of Bar- Authorities have closed government is to get ad- waters have now started in-
killing five Afghan police- maintaining its security alert Following the attacks on The SIS has said anti- celona. Police killed the thousands of educational in- equate relief for the victims, undating the central districts
persons, provincial police level at four, one notch be- Friday, police shot the immigration groups have five attackers, some of stitutions in 18 districts in said officials. Food Minister surrounding Dhaka. How-
officials said on Saturday. low the maximum level that suspected attacker in the been on the rise in the whom were wearing ex- north and central Quamrul Islam said the gov- ever, the capital is still out of
Gen. Abdul Ghafar Safi, the would indicate another at- leg and arrested him. country after it received plosive belts. Six civilians Bangladesh, where most ernment has sufficient stock danger as the rivers sur-
provincial police chief, said tack was imminent, but Due to information about 32,500 asylum and a police officer were houses went under water to feed the people. However, rounding it Turag, Balu
that six other policemen were would reinforce security in received during the night, seekers during the wounded and one woman and both road and rail com- media reports said in most and Buriganga are all flow-
wounded in the attack late on crowded areas and tourist the Turku stabbings are migration crisis in 2015. later died of her wounds, munications were badly areas, the relief distribution ing at below the danger
Friday in Nawa district. AP hotspots. authorities said. disrupted. was not adequate. level.
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The presidency we won is over: Bannon In Venezuela,
a new
Ousted chief strategist says he is going to war against Trumps rivals on Capitol Hill, in media, and in corporate America Assembly
takes power
Varghese K. George days, but that presidency is Steve Bannon for his service. two was evident in an inter-
Washington over. He came to the campaign view in later 2015, in which Reuters
Stephen Bannon joined Don- In another interview to during my run against Mr. Bannon lamented the Caracas/Bogota
ald Trumps campaign in Au- Bloomberg Businessweeks Crooked Hillary Clinton it South Asian takeover of Venezuelas new legislative
gust 2016, and told the latter Joshua Green, whose recent was great! Thanks, the Pres- the Silicon Valley. superbody was criticised
Liu Xiaobos widow what he wanted to hear go book Devils Bargain: Steve ident tweeted. Mr. Trump, who was only by South American govern-
appears in rare video strong on the rhetoric rather Bannon, Donald Trump and one of the several Republic- ments and Washington on
BEIJING than moderate as he was be- the Storming of the Presid- Time covers ans in the fray then, said Friday after giving itself the
A video has surfaced online ing advised by mainstream ency, is being cited as the im- Mr. Trump, however, has America must keep talented power to pass laws, super-
showing Liu Xia, the wife of commentators. The cam- mediate reason for his long- been public about repudiat- people who can create jobs seding the Opposition-led
Liu Xiaobo, for the first time paign was flailing when Mr. speculated downfall, Mr. ing any suggestion that Mr. inside the country. But a Congress while ex-top pro-
since the funeral of the Nobel Bannon joined. Higher doses Bannon said: If theres any Bannon is instrumental to country is not only an eco- secutor Luisa Ortega fled
Peace Prize laureate, who of rhetoric against immigra- confusion out there, let me his success. He works for nomy. It is a civil society, the country.
died last month. The video tion and radial Islamic ter- clear it up: Im leaving the me, the President said in an said Mr. Bannon to his future President Nicolas Ma-
shows Liu Xia saying that she rorism brought Mr. Trump White House and going to interview after the Time put boss. Addressing a Catholic duro sponsored last
hopes her friends will give to the White House and Mr. war for Trump against his Mr. Bannon on the cover as conference in Vatican in month's election of the
her space to grieve. AP Bannon tagged along, as the opponents on Capitol Hill, Out of favour: Donald Trump has repudiated suggestions that the brain behind the Presid- 2014, he said capitalism lost 545-member constituent
chief strategist. in the media, and in corpor- Steve Bannon was instrumental to his success. NYT * ency earlier this year. The its moral moorings based in assembly over objections
Attacks on aid workers The Trump presidency ate America. President cites the number Judeo-Christian values. Mr. from the opposition, which
increasing in S. Sudan that we fought for, and won, clude Mr. Trumps son-in-law itll be much more conven- of times he has been on the Bannon remains steadfastly boycotted the vote, calling
RENK is over, Mr. Bannon told the Mutually agreed split Jared Kushner. tional. Mr. Bannon said the cover of Time and did not opposed to corporate influ- it an affront to democracy.
The United Nations says Weekly Standard in his first Mr. Bannon maintains that I think theyre going to President had encouraged hide his displeasure in shar- ence over American policy, In its first session on Au-
attacks against aid workers interview after he was ous- the separation was mutually try to moderate him, Mr, him to take on the Repub- ing that space with someone. while Mr. Trump who had gust 5 the Assembly fired
are increasing in South Sudan. ted from the White House on agreed upon with the Presid- Bannon told Weekly Stand- lican establishment. I said, The Presidents positions the same position during the Ms. Ortega, who had ac-
A statement by the Friday. We still have a huge ent. But regardless of the ard. His natural tendency look, Ill focus on going after on trade and immigration campaign has appointed sev- cused Mr. Maduro of hu-
humanitarian coordinator movement, and we will facts, his departure is a huge and I think you saw it this the establishment. He said, are decades old, but he is al- eral people from the Wall man rights violations. The
there, Serge Tissot, says the make something of this score for the globalist wing week on Charlottesville his good, I need that. I said, ways only a good offer away Street to his administration. oil-rich but economically
attacks also put millions of Trump presidency. But that in the administration, a pe- actual default position is the look, Ill always be here cov- from making a deal with any For Mr. Trump, a large part ailing country has seen
South Sudanese in peril amid presidency is over. Itll be jorative term that the na- position of his base, the posi- ering for you. country, while Mr. Bannon of his rhetoric is salesman- months of political unrest
the civil war in the worlds something else. And therell tionalist group led by Mr. tion that got him elected. I On Saturday, Mr. Trump has more long-term plans for ship, while for Mr. Bannon, it in which more than 125
youngest nation. Millions face be all kinds of fights, and Bannon used to describe think youre going to see a lot thanked Mr. Bannon for his the economy and society. is more about an unflinching people have died. Ortega
severe hunger. AP therell be good days and bad pro-trade people that in- of constraints on that. I think service. I want to thank The difference between the ideological position. arrived in neighbouring
Colombia on Friday, migra-
Bangladesh sends tion authorities in Bogota
Trumps to skip Kennedy Murdochs son rebukes Trump

back Rohingya boat said. She told Reuters in an
DHAKA August 10 interview that
Bangladesh coastguards on she feared for her life in
Saturday turned back a boat
carrying 31 Rohingya Muslim
Center arts awards Media mogul pledges to donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League
Venezuela, although she
still considered herself the
refugees escaping renewed country's chief prosecutor.
Army activity in Myanmar, an U.S. State Department
official said. The push-back
Ostensibly to prevent any distraction Emily Steel
company email address at James and his brother, Lach- meanwhile criticised the
New York
came after at least 500 21st Century Fox, the global lan, the companys executive new super-assembly. As
Agence France-Presse
Rohingya fled their villages in Washington
declined to join in the re- At 5.55 p.m. on Thursday, media conglomerate where chairman. long as the Maduro regime
Rakhine State, crossing the ception. James Murdoch sent an he reigns as chief executive. With the note, James Mur- continues to conduct itself
border to take shelter inCoxs Donald and Melania Trump email to a list of blind-copied And within two hours, it had doch joined a number of as an authoritarian dictat-
Bazar district. AFP will skip festivities for this White House statement recipients offering a striking been leaked to the news me- other chief executives this orship, we are prepared to
years Kennedy Center Hon- The President and First repudiation of President dia, offering a window into week in rebuking the Presid- bring the full weight of
Pastor quits evangelical ors, one of Americas top Lady have decided not to Donald Trump and a pledge the nuanced internal and ex- ent for his response to the vi- American economic and
board advising Trump awards in the arts, to allow participate in this year's to donate $1 million to the ternal politics of the Mur- olence in Charlottesville, Vir- diplomatic power to bear
WASHINGTON the events to go ahead activities to allow the Anti-Defamation League. He doch media empire. ginia, and denouncing in support of the
A New York-based without political distrac- honorees to celebrate addressed the note to The e-mail also raises racism, anti-Semitism, white Venezuelan people as they
megachurch pastor, A.R. tion, the White House said without any political dis- friends, stating in the first questions about whether it is supremacy and neo-Nazis. seek to restore their demo-
Bernard, announced Friday he on Saturday. traction, the White House line that he was writing it in a harbinger of change at the Most chief executives re- cracy, it said. In practice,
was resigning from Donald Traditionally, those hon- said. First Lady Melania a personal capacity, as a James Murdoch Murdoch-controlled conser- leased public statements in the assemblys assumption
Trump's evangelical advisory oured at the awards cere- Trump, along with Presid- concerned citizen and a vative-leaning media outlets their roles as business lead- of power changed little in
board, the first religious mony are received at the ent Donald J. Trump, extend father. sonal, the political and the including Fox News, The ers. But Murdoch is not just Venezuela, where the Su-
adviser to join a wave of White House before the their sincerest congratula- Yet for the son of conser- corporate. Wall Street Journal and The any chief executive, and the preme Court has shot
defections after the event, but Mr. Trump has tions and well wishes to all vative media mogul Rupert James Murdochs mes- New York Post and the company he runs, especially down nearly every law that
president's response to had a fraught relationship of this year's award recipi- Murdoch, who speaks regu- sage, which he wrote him- political direction of the its cable news network, has congress has approved
violence at a white with the American art world ents for their many larly with Trump, its im- self, was sent to a number of company under a new gen- enormous influence over the since it was taken over by
supremacist rally. AFP and this year two of them accomplishments. possible to separate the per- business associates from his eration of Murdoch leaders, countrys politics. NYT the Opposition in 2016.
Pakistans Mother Teresa Lebanon CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
begins anti-IS The Nazis are coming

accorded full state funeral offensive
Agence France-Presse
German nun Ruth Pfau spent five decades serving the poor Beirut
Lebanese troops launched
Press Trust of India for Dr. Pfau, saying: The en- an offensive against the Is-
Karachi tire nation is indebted to lamic State group today
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, Ruth Pfau for her selfless- close to the Syrian border
a German physician and nun ness and unmatched ser- where the jihadists have
known as Pakistans vices for eradication of lep- been active for several
Mother Teresa was today rosy. years.
accorded a full state funeral, Pakistani military person- The operation follows
a first for a Christian woman nel carried the casket con- one by Shiite militant
in the Muslim-majority taining Dr Pfaus body into group Hezbollah last
country. St Patricks Cathedral in month against jihadists in
Dr. . Pfau, 87, died on Au- Karachis Saddar area. another border area fur-
gust 10 after spending 57 Her casket, draped in the ther south.
years to working to eradic- national flag of Pakistan, Hezbollah is deeply em-
ate leprosy, tuberculosis and was given a 19gun salute, broiled in the civil war that
other diseases in Pakistan. People watch the funeral with contingents of all three has raged in neighbouring
Dr. Pfau, born in Leipzig, ceremony for Ruth Pfau in armed forces present on the Syria since 2011, fighting in
in 1929, arrived in Karachi in Karachi on Saturday. AFP * occasion. After her final rites support of President
1960 en route to India and were performed, the coffin Bashar al-Assads regime.
volunteered at a local lep- rats, according to the Marie was taken to Gora The Lebanese army has
rosy colony. Adelaide Leprosy Centres Qabaristan, Karachis oldest sought to keep out of the
(MALC) website. She de- graveyard, where she was conflict but has been
Fighting leprosy cided to stay in Pakistan as a laid to rest. forced to take action since
While in Karachi, she be- health care worker and es- The burial ceremony was jihadists of IS and then al
came depressed at the state tablished the first Marie Ad- attended by many dignitar- Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra
of the care given to patients elaide Leprosy Centre here. ies. The Foreign Office said Front assaulted the border
whose hands and feet she Prime Minister Shahid in a statement that Dr. Pfau town of Arsal in 2014 and Keeping hate alive: Neo-Nazis commemorate the suicide of Germanys former Deputy Fhrer Rudolph Hess 30 years ago, in Berlin
said had become nutri- Khaqan Abbasi had earlier made Pakistan her home abducted 30 soldiers and on Saturday. Anti-fascist activists gathered in the Berlin suburb of Spandau to protest against the vigil. Hess, an early ally of Adolf
tional supplement for the announced a state funeral and was a proud Pakistani. police. Hitler, served out the life sentence that he was handed down at the post-war Nuremberg trials. REUTERS *
Indian American develops breakthrough therapy for sepsis

It has been found to reduce the risk of infection by 40% in trials and it can be inexpensive, costing less than one dollar for a course
Varghese K. George The therapy is to feed the ger and wider ramifications. When coupled with in- before hitting upon a specific potential of ancient Ay-
Washington
infant with good bacteria The most relevant is its im- trauterine stress and fast ac- strain of Lactobacillus urvedic discoveries made
Each year globally, more that will populate his/her gut pact on stunting, said Dr. cumulation of fat during plantarum, abundantly thousands of years ago in
than 600,000 infants die of and block harmful bacteria. Panigrahi, explaining the early infancy, stunting leads found in curd, and fermen- India.
sepsis, a condition of bac- The probiotic bacterial strain wide prevalence of stunting to chronic disease such as ted fruits and vegetables. The concept of consum-
terial infection that spreads is aided with a non-absorb- in India, which is due to gut hypertension and diabetes in These bacteria populate the ing probiotics in the form of
fast and leads to organ fail- able sugar to enhance its dysfunction that starts early adulthood. Dr. Panigrahi healthy infant stool rather curd and the importance of
ure. But a therapy developed ability to effectively colonise in a childs life. hopes to expand the ther- quickly and the strain used gut health dates back to the
by a team led by an Amer- the gut researchers call the apys dose and duration to in the experiment was isol- originating days of Ayurveda
ican professor of Indian ori- probiotic-sugar combination Tropical enteropathy combat the prevalence of ated from the diaper of an 11 that dates back to 6,000 BC,
gin, Pinaki Panigrahi, over a synbiotic. The oral therapy Early infections and contin- childhood stunting, which month-old healthy baby. he said, adding that the cur-
the last 20 years and details starts during day 2-4 of life, ued exposure to a large bac- stunts the countrys eco- rent national interest in Ay-
of which were published in as a preventive measure, terial load during the first nomy and development too. Averting health crisis urveda should expand to
Nature this week could do much like a vaccine. two years of life results in The probiotic study in The indiscriminate use of support modern clinical tri-
wonders. The therapy has More than a quarter of tropical enteropathy (an in- neonates, largest in medical wide-spectrum antibiotics is als of traditional medicines.
been found to reduce the neonatal deaths in India are testinal disorder that affects history, covered 4,556 ba- causing resistance to many This study is a testament
risk of infection by 40% in due to sepsis, which is one of the ability to absorb nutri- bies, and stopped short of drugs and a probiotic solu- to the world-class research
trials and it can be inexpens- the two most common ents), which did not exist the initial plan to cover tion such as this could avert a done by my colleagues at the
ive less than one dollar for causes of neonatal deaths The therapy developed by Dr. Pinaki Panigrahi feeds infants when I went to medical 8,000 of them. The ethics health crisis in the making, Asian Institute of Public
a course Dr. Panigrahi told globally, according to a study with good bacteria that block harmful ones. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT* school in India 30 years ago. of medical trials require that Dr. Panigrahi said. A gradu- Health in Bhubaneswar, as
The Hindu by phone. published in the Lancet It was something we read once it is found to be definit- ate from MKCG Medical Col- well as U.S. collaborators at
Dr. Panigrahi is a pro- Global Health in 2016. In a But he is equally excited infants who were admin- about in our textbooks. Such ively good or bad, it must lege in Odisha, Professor the Emerging Pathogens In-
fessor of epidemiology and significant number of cases, about the prospects of some istered the synbiotic, indicat- tropical enteropathy and gut stop. In this case, the results Panigrahis heart remains in stitute in Florida and the
paediatrics at the Child the infection probably begins unexpected and surprising ing an overall improvement dysfunction is rampant in In- were clear and undeniably India. He travels to Delhi, Medical Center at Michigan
Health Research Institute in the gut. collateral benefits that the in immunity status. dia now and 40% of children good according to an inde- Mumbai, Puducherry and State University. Whats
and Center for Global Health Dr. Panigrahi is happy therapy appears to provide. Apart from saving babies under the age of two are pendent data safety monitor- various sites in Odisha mul- more, it demonstrates Indias
at the University of Nebraska about the outcome of the tri- This includes a reduction in from sepsis and respiratory stunted, he said, adding that ing board. Dr. Panigrahis tiple times a year. He says the ability to find its own solu-
Medical Centres College of als that began in 2008 in lower respiratory tract and tract infection, this type of stunted children end up with team screened over 280 results of the trial are also an tions with overseas collabor-
Public Health. Odisha, where he grew up. other infections among the intervention has much big- low cognitive development. strains of probiotic bacteria indicator of the unexplored ation, he said.
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RIO DE JANEIRO WASHINGTON LONDON KARACHI COLOMBO
The marvellous The statues Echoes of Pakistans Coping with the

city, cursed that haunt Charlottesville Game of worst drought
for its beauty America in Britain Thrones in 40 years
The soldier sitting on an ar- History is rarely a topic of As the scenes of horror as As the world is hooked on Sri Lankan rice and curry is
moured car clutches his consensus even in homo- neo-Nazis and white su- the Game of Thrones season a thing of legend. With
automatic weapon tightly as geneous societies. The white premacists marched seven, Pakistan continues to steamed rice, often of the
the military vehicle rolls into supremacist terrorism last through the streets of Char- experience its own power red variety, served at the
the main square of Lapa, the week in Charlottesville, Vir- lottesville, U.S., unfolded games, which have been centre of their plate, locals
night-life quarters which remain sleepless on ginia, which led to the death of a civil rights last week, Brexit campaigner and former head playing out, in one way or the other, since the serve yellow dal and curries made of veget-
weekends. Men in army fatigues stand at the activist, brought to global attention a deeply of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, early 1950s. Typically, brief stints of civilian ables, greens, fish and meat around it, virtu-
centre of the square, throwing steely glares at divisive debate that has inflamed passions took to Twitter to express his supposed disbe- rule would be followed by decades-long milit- ally covering the entire colour palette within
the evening crowd, rushing towards open bars across the U.S. The quiet town has been mak- lief. Cannot believe were seeing Nazi salutes ary dictatorships. Even during the civilian that small radius. Rice is cultivated locally,
by the pavements. The citys wintry air is ing national headlines ever since its council in 21st century America, he wrote. His re- terms, the military would play a decisive role mostly from the islands North Western, North
thick with fear. People seem to be in a nervous decided to remove the statue of Confederate marks backfired badly. Really Nigel? This is in policymaking. Central and Northern Provinces. This year,
hurry to grab a drink and head home before general Robert E. Lee from a city park last what happens when you stir up nationalism With the country once again facing political though, Sri Lanka is in a spot. From meeting
the dusk turns into darkness. With men in uni- year. President Donald Trump has waded into and blame everything on immigrants, was turmoil after the disqualification of Prime the domestic requirement for rice almost en-
form standing at almost every corner in this the controversy in a manner that encourages one of the angry responses he received. Minister Nawas Sharif in the Panama Papers tirely, Sri Lanka is now considering a substan-
metropolis of six million people, Rio de nationalist groups. Someone reminded him of a poster he un- case, the question being asked is whether his- tial import of rice to ensure food security, fol-
Janeiro looks like a city under siege. In the Maryland city of Baltimore, the coun- veiled during the Brexit campaign last year tory will repeat itself. lowing a drought, the worst the island has
Just a year after Rio hosted the Olympics cil unanimously decided on August 14 to re- that depicted a large line of migrants and For now, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, an aide of seen in 40 years. Clear warning signs emerged
and dazzled the world with its silvery beaches move and destroy statues recognising Confed- refugees with the title Breaking point. Mr. Sharif, has taken over the premiership, in 2016, after monsoons failed. Farmers worst
and glittering sports arenas, the city has erate leaders, and the decision was With the link drawn by U.S. President Don- while Senator Sardar Yaqoob Nasir has been fears came true when the drought extended
turned into a disaster zone: its money has run implemented overnight. Over the last week- ald Trump and others between his electoral named acting chairman of the Pakistan well into 2017, affecting their two main har-
out; its crime rate has spiralled out of control; end in Gainesville, Florida, and in Durham, campaign and that for Brexit Mr. Trump Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). But things are vest seasons, Maha and Yala. Speaking on
and its top politicians have landed in jail cells North Carolina, such statues were removed. once described himself as Mr. Brexit the far from settled even within the PML-N. Mr. what he called a really bad situation, Sri
for corruption. Our dream has turned into a In Durham, protesters used a rope to pull events in Charlottesville have triggered some Sharif had earlier chosen his brother and Pun- Lankas Agriculture Minister Duminda Dis-
down a Confederate monument dedicated in jab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as his suc-
1924. In Birmingham, Alabama, a wooden cessor. Within days, he took a U-turn, and de-
<
> Just a year after it hosted the
Olympics and dazzled the
structure is used to cover up a Confederate <
> Around 40 neo-Nazis are being
investigated by police over
cided to field his wife Kulsoom Nawaz as the <
> Ifyear,
the drought persists through the
Sri Lanka may have to
monument. In all, the 11 former Confederate candidate for the seat vacated by his disquali-
world with its silvery beaches States that fought in the Civil War for seces- plans to launch terror attacks fication.
import food and fuel worth an
and glittering sports arenas, sion from the union and for the preservation on Muslim communities A close Sharif aide told The Hindu that additional $800 million,
Rio de Janeiro has turned into of slavery, monuments to historical figures, across Britain, according to a there might be differences between the wives according to the countrys
a disaster zone seen by many as ruthless oppressors and by report or children of the Sharifs, but the two broth- Central Bank
some as heroes, have aggravated the divisions ers are on the same page on critical issues. Its
nightmare. We thought the Games will take us in society. Several States have passed laws that uncomfortable discussions in Britain. Think not a secret that Pakistans military establish- sanayake told The Hindu: We hoped to cultiv-
out of the recession, but now we are sinking forbid local governments from removing Con- Charlottesville couldnt happen in the U.K.? ment had preferred the younger Sharif to lead ate 8,00,000 hectares of paddy this year, but
even deeper. Looks like we have been cursed federate symbols. ran the headline in the prominent liberal the country. Former military dictator Pervez about 50% of that has been damaged due to
for our beauty, says Joao Oliveira, 38, who Still the call for removing confederate sym- magazine, The New Statesman, on Monday. It Musharraf had asked Shahbaz Sharif to take the drought.
runs a kiosk of fried snacks at Copacabana bols got louder in recent years. At least 60 pointed, in particular, to a piece published in over the party when he overthrew the Nawaz To cope with this, Sri Lanka is importing
and lives in a favela (slum) just off the fancy symbols of the Confederacy have been re- the right wing Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid government in 1999 but on his refusal, the over 3,00,000 tonnes of rice, mostly from In-
neighbourhood. moved or renamed since 2015. Most of these The Sun, by Trevor Kavanagh, the papers family was sent into exile. Shahbaz Sharif s dia. However, given the countrys monthly re-
monuments were erected in the early 20th former political editor, who launched a sting- position would be crucial this time as well. quirement of 2,00,000 tonnes of rice, imports
A climate of constant fear century, when segregation laws institutional- ing attack on Muslims, concluding with the Anger among PML-Ns supporters against are only set to increase. The Central Bank has
Rios residents be it those who live in leafy ised racial inequality and oppression of question, What will we do about The Muslim the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif has been said that if the drought persists through the
streets or the ones in smelly, narrow lanes African American people. Problem then? palpable. Nawaz was thrown out on a minor year, Sri Lanka may have to import food and
are known for being passionate about their Many pointed to the fact that the language fuel worth an additional $800 million.
city, just like hopeless lovers. They do not tire bore a close resemblance to the references According to Sri Lankas Disaster Manage-
of talking about the Marvellous City and its <
> Members of Sons of Confederate
Veterans, a group that made by the Nazis to the Jewish problem. <
> Generals got annoyed after a story
was published in Dawn last ment Centre, almost 1.3 million people have
sunny waters, Bossa Nova joints, romantic po- It is shocking that in the 21st century, a been hit by the drought. Several thousand
advocates the preservation of year, which claimed that
ets and football legends like Zico. But in just 12 columnist is using such Nazi-like terminology farmers in 20 of the countrys 25 districts are
months since the city hosted the biggest the symbols, say they only about a minority community, said a letter civilian leaders were asserting suffering, their land and soil parched for over
sporting party on the planet, the mood has want to commemorate the signed by over 100 British MPs, which accused control on the military to end a year now. Data point to a severe impact in
darkened, and hopes have given way to valour of their ancestors the paper of carrying a number of mislead- its double game on militants Kurunegala district, less than three hours
gloom. With more than 2,700 people killed in ing, inaccurate and hugely prejudicial articles drive from Colombo, and Puttalam both in
the Rio State since the beginning of the year Several American universities that received about minority communities. reason of not disclosing his honorary chair- the North Western Province. While
and shoot-outs between criminal gangs claim- support from slave-owners and white suprem- In 2015, a former columnist of the paper, manship of his sons company. Is this a joke? Anuradhapura in the North Central Province
ing 600 lives, including those of 90 police- acists have also been grappling with the ques- Katie Hopkins (a face of the Alt-Right in Bri- Definitely the military has orchestrated his has also been badly hit, the Tamil-majority
men, the city is in the grip of a climate of con- tion of what to do with that legacy. In Febru- tain), drew public anger after referring to mi- ouster. Supreme Court judges were used as Northern Province is the most-affected region,
stant fear. I hear bullets being fired day and ary, the Yale University changed the name of grants as cockroaches. Earlier this year, she pawns, a PML-N leader told The Hindu during where farmers in all its five districts of Jaffna,
night. You can get killed by a ricocheting bul- Calhoun College, named after alumnus John referred on Twitter to a final solution, after the former Prime Ministers homecoming Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mannar
let sitting on your balcony. Or you can get shot C. Calhoun, an ardent defender of slavery. the attack on the Manchester arena, seen by rally from Islamabad to Lahore last week. are in a crisis. People here are also facing a
in the head for a phone on the street, says The Brown family, as in the Brown University, many as another reference to Nazi termino- Many party workers shared the same view. serious drinking water problem.
Isabela Santos, 56, a former teacher whose was linked to slave trade. The demands for re- logy. The Sun is far from the only Murdoch- The military got annoyed after a story was
building sits by a hill packed with matchbox moving such monuments and renaming such owned publication to have faced such a con- published in Dawn daily last year, which Broader patterns
houses, where drug gangs kill people at will. places and institutions have gotten louder troversy. At the end of July, The Sunday Times claimed that the civilians were asserting con- Speaking of possible underlying causes, ex-
Rios poor have been bearing the brunt of with the Black Lives Matter movement. How- Ireland, was forced to apologise to Jewish BBC trol on the military to end its double game on perts point to some broader patterns in cli-
gang wars for decades. But in the year since ever, there are deep complexities associated presenters after one of its columnists made militants. This prompted a long confrontation mate in the island. Buddhi Marambe, pro-
the 2016 Games, robberies, murders, kidnap- with the debate. anti-Semitic comments in a piece about wo- between the military and the government, fessor of Crop Science at the Agriculture
pings and gun battles have spilled over onto George Washington was a slave-owner... men and pay. resulting in the firing of two Ministers. Faculty in University of Peradeniya, said over
the streets. In July, the federal government Are we going to take down statues to George the last 50 years, Sri Lankas average temper-
had to send thousands of troops to check Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? Symbol of resistance Fuel to fire ature had risen by 0.01-0.03 degree Celsius
crime. The army will stay here till the end of Are we going to take down the statue? Mr. U.K. media condemns the Nazis in Char- Ties with India added fuel to the fire. Indian annually. The impact of such climate change
year, when hundreds of thousands of tourists Trump asked in a combative exchange with lottesville but we still happily give people like Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Mr. has been that the wet seasons have got wetter,
would arrive for the New Year revelry. The reporters last week. You are changing his- Nigel Farage, Katie Hopkins and Tommy Sharif s granddaughters wedding in Decem- and dry seasons have become drier over the
troops may stay over till 2018 if their guns fail tory, youre changing culture. Robinson a platform, tweeted one user, refer- ber 2015 and a visit by Indian businessman years, he told The Hindu.
to cut down the surging violence. ring to Mr. Robinson, the founder of the far- Sajjan Jindal to Mr. Sharifs personal residence The last time the island faced such a severe
The army might have brought a temporary Protect the heritage Right English Defence League (EDL). The in Murree hills angered the Generals. Some drought was in 1973-74, and preparing for
sense of security, but the citys problems are Some have responded to Mr. Trumps attempt group infamously had held a rally in Birming- TV anchors considered close to the military such a disaster in 2016 was simply off the
too serious to be left to the men in uniform. to draw the countrys slave-owing founding ham, following the attack on Westminster in even called Mr. Sharif a a security risk. cards at the policy level. When two inter-
Thanks largely to the crash in oil prices, the fathers into the debate by making two points. April. During a counter-rally, a young Muslim While the government is coping with a diffi- monsoons and two monsoons [southwest and
reckless spending on the Olympics and the First, the monuments in question were built woman, Saffiyah Khan, stared down Ian Cros- cult transition, the main Opposition leaders northeast] fail, that severely affects the yield.
multi-million dollar corruption scandals, the in the 20th century with the explicit purpose land (the EDLs current leader), in an image are also facing serious charges that can affect The government is in a precarious situation,
State of Rio is now practically bankrupt. The of asserting racial supremacy of the white (above) that went viral and came to symbolise their political careers. An accountability court with no other option but to import, said Prof.
government has made the situation worse by people. Second, unlike the founding fathers, resistance in Britain to far-Right forces. has decided to put a corruption case against Marambe, who chairs the countrys National
pushing extreme austerity measures. Wages Confederate generals fought for the disinteg- Still, many believe the Right in Britain former President and Pakistan Peoples Party Experts Committee on Climate Change Ad-
and pensions have been slashed by 30%, and ration of the country. hasnt had the organisation and coordination co-chairman Asif Zardari on the fast track. Mr. aptation. Following the drought, many
salaries delayed by months. This has led to The Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group that it has in the U.S. It has largely manifested Zardari faces allegations of amassing assets younger farmers are switching to other jobs,
widespread anger. My mother was a public that advocates the preservation of these itself in occasional, individual acts of hate and beyond his income. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Reuters reported. An estimated 1.8 million
school teacher for 30 years. She has been liv- monuments, says it only wants to protect the terror from the murder of the Labour MP Jo chairman Imran Khan is facing a tough legal farm families are engaged in paddy cultivation
ing well off her pension. But suddenly it has heritage and commemorate the valour of an- Cox last year to the attack outside a mosque in battle in the Election Commission over a fund- in Sri Lanka, where agriculture remains a key
gone. I am supporting her though my own job cestors. According to a spokesperson this north London in June. raising case. The Muttahida Quami Movement driver of the rural economy.
is uncertain in this crisis, says Carlos Silva, 41, week, the involvement of hate groups and However, there are signs that things may be of Altaf Hussain has also been cut to size and There is more to the drought story than cli-
a manager in a small firm. neo-Nazis has undermined their cause. Wes moving in a dangerous direction. Earlier this broken into various groups. mate change, argued Chinthaka Rajapakse,
The economic crisis has sparked crime and Bellamy, Charlottesvilles African-American month, The Times reported that around 40 Disarray among the civilian political leader- moderator of the Movement for Land and Ag-
crippled the police force, which has been Vice-Mayor, says that heritage is deeply hurt- neo-Nazis were being investigated by police ship opens avenues for the military to inter- ricultural Reform. To start with, the govern-
threatening to go on strike if not paid more ful and insulting for the African-Americans. over plans to launch terror attacks on Muslim fere. Talks of a presidential model of government lacks a long-term strategy to tackle cli-
and on time. If that happens, Rios misery will Some have argued for a middle path to con- communities across the country. The danger ment are already doing the rounds in the mate change. Moreover, its policies
be complete. I dont see a way out of this textualise the monuments by providing more far-Right extremists pose to national security country. For the Pakistanis, its a dj vu mo- systematically exclude the poor. Where do or-
crisis. I hope no other city hosts the Olympics information and erecting other monuments to is no different from Islamist terrorists, an in- ment. They are being told, once again, who dinary people like farmers figure in its grand
and suffers like us, says Mr. Silva. African-American icons in the same vicinity. telligence source told the paper. the real boss is. development agenda? he asked.
Shobhan Saxena is a freelance journalist based Varghese K. George works for The Hindu and is Vidya Ram works for The Hindu and is based in MUBASHIR ZAIDI writes for The Hindu and is based Meera Srinivasan works for The Hindu and is
in So Paulo, Brazil based in Washington London in Karachi based in Colombo
CM B ND-NDE
YK
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
6|7 FRAMED NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Laying the ground: Members of the Gorakhnath Dahi Handi Pathak, Mumbai, at practice. Its month-long training for Janmashtami.
Women
on top
For these female Govindas
in Mumbai, Dahi Handi is
less of a contest and more of
a celebration of team spirit
Text and images by Vivek Bendre
Back in 1995, when Dahi

Handi was not commercialised
in Mumbai, social worker Bhau
Korgaonkar and his wife,
Shalaka, decided to introduce
women to what had always
been a male sport. The idea
was unique at the time, and no
one thought it would survive
more than one season. In fact,
Dab hand: A scrum of limbs lift one another up. the plan to promote gender
equality was mocked but the
Korgaonkars kept the faith.
Girls can do what boys can
was the belief of the
Gorakhnath Dahi Handi Pathak
(Mandal/Group), and the first
all-woman Govinda team in
Mumbai was born. Ms. Shalaka
Korgaonkar, a Mumbaikar,
loves saying that the women
take part in the citys beloved
tradition of breaking the Dahi
Handi in the old way with no
monetary gains and no Girding for action: The sash worn by the participants is a grip for hands and feet and a support for the lower back.
competition.
When it started, it was a
group of only 25 girls the
youngest being 15, and most of
them being kabbadi players.
Their sporting background held
them in good stead as they
practised for the big day. The
group starts practising a month
before Janmashtami. Safety is
accorded top priority, a policy
that has resulted in zero injury
all these years.
The group has now expanded
to nearly 200 women: among
them are college students,
doctors, lawyers, business
executives, architects and even
a tattoo artist. After 2005, the
group began getting invitations
to perform outside
Maharashtra. It has travelled to
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Cementing together: An anxious moment as the second tier of a human pyramid takes shape. Safety mesh: Many hands come together to form the base of the pyramid.
Pradesh and Punjab to spread
the Maharashtrian tradition of
Dahi Handi. Divya, a
beautician who has been with
the group for three years, says
their ambition is to take the
performance abroad.
Taking inspiration from the
Gorakhnath Dahi Handi Pathak,
50 other womens teams have
been formed in Mumbai. This
year, the group formed a
pyramid on invitation from
Deolali, a hill town near Nashik
in Maharashtra.
So near, yet so far: Alone at the top, the prize tantalisingly close. Up, up and away: The pyramid grows from strength to strength. Victory dance: Participants break into a jig after breaking a Dahi Handi at Nashik. United they stand: A pyramid in full formation.
CM B ND-NDE CM B ND-NDE
YK YK
8 THE BIG STORY NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
*
GETTYIMAGES/ ISTOCK
Hello, whats up with Plenty, since the sector

is a battle arena where
only the fittest will
INTERVIEW | HETAL GANDHI
Wi-Fi will boost reach

survive. We screen the of broadband Internet
TELECOM?
Bavadharini KS
The Indian telecom sec-
fer 2G, 3G and 4G services
across the country.
years to come. However,
Bharti Airtel and Reliance
its peers. Idea offers 8.3
Mbps and Reliance Jio, only
key players through four
parameters to show you
where they stand
cording to ICRA. Further,

the company has entered
Idea-Vodafone in the lead
with 35 per cent, followed
Bavadharini KS
Indian telecom companies
have been spending heavily
on infrastructure in the
recent past. Are they now
well placed to improve and
expand data services? Hetal
As of June 2017, the
company had a subscriber
market share of over 10 per
cent with smaller players
ceding 6 per cent share and
the top three players 4 per
cent of their market share to
the new entrant.
The launch of the RJio
Gandhi, Director, CRISIL phone in August 2017 at a
tor is in deep churn. Reli- With the acquisition of Jio are better placed in 3.9 Mbps of internet speed. into spectrum trading by Bharti Airtel with 29 per
ance Jio is the latest to set Tikona Networks 4G busi- spectrum availability in Sub However, Jio leads in 4G agreement with Aircel Ltd cent and Reliance-Aircel en-
Research, shares her views. deposit of 1,500 is expected
off fresh waves of competi- ness, Bharti Airtel acquired 1 MHz bands. network availability about (for 2,300 MHz band) and tity with nearly 16 per cent. What has been the trend to have a moderate impact
tion, with the launch of its spectrum in 2,300 MHz 92 per cent of the time Videocon Telecom (for in telecom companies on the market. This is
4G services, even as the lis- band, which was used to ex- Presence in data while other players barely 1,800 MHz band) for 3,500 Debt do them part spend on network because of the availability of
ted telecom companies in pand its 4G footprint in The launch of Reliance Jios crossed 60 per cent (4G) crore and 4,428 crore, re- The Indian telecom sector infrastructure, given their comparable feature phones
the fray battle high debt, States where it did not have 4G services (voice and data) availability. spectively as per data from has an estimated total out- increasing debt levels and at similar price points.
pricing pressures and de- adequate presence. Bharti has increased mobile data Data consumption has ICRA. This will enable standing debt of around pressure on revenues? We believe that this will
clining revenue. also has some unused spec- traffic about 70 per cent increased 24 times in the Bharti to provide fast and 40,000 crore as of fiscal In the wake of 4G launches, have more impact on players
Bharti Airtel, one of the trum which will help in between June 2016 and last five fiscals and players reliable connectivity. 2017 according to CRISIL. the network spends for with greater presence in the
largest players in the in- launching LTE services. June 2017, according to the had to invest huge sums in Reliance Communica- Nearly 35 per cent of the telecom operators have been pre-paid segment of Tier-2
dustry, has reported declin- Reliance Jio comes Ericsson Mobility Report, network infrastructure to tion, another listed player total debt is towards instal- on the rise over the past two and Tier-3 cities (with higher
ing profits since December second, with 840 MHz of June 2017. In India, nearly improve capacity and in the industry, has also ment payment of spectrum years. usage of feature phones)
2016. In the recent June spectrum. While other play- 95 per cent of internet sub- provide better connectivity. entered into agreements purchases and huge invest- Bharti Airtel and Idea with a net ARPU between
quarter of 2017, the com- ers are slowly expanding scription comes from mo- To survive in the competit- where the wireless business ments have been made to Cellular had cumulatively 100 and 120.
pany saw a profit decline of their 4G presence, RJio has bile wireless devices. Given ive market, reductions in of Sistema Shyam Teleser- survive in the competitive spent around 80,000 crore,
75 per cent compared to the pan-India 4G and LTE ser- that telecom players are tariffs were inevitable. vices Limited (SSTL) carried environment. their highest over the past 10 What is the future of
same period last year. vices offering, thanks to its loaded with spectrum, they Though data consump- on in India under MTS Over the past decade, the years, mainly on mobile mobile data?
Idea Cellular has repor- spectrum sharing arrange- are battling to provide the tion has increased, the pen- brand will be de-merged operators have committed broadband (3G and 4G) Between fiscals 2012 and
ted losses since December ment with Reliance Com- fastest mobile internet con- etration of data is still low, into Reliance Communica- investments worth 8-8.5 network building for India 2017, Indias mobile data
2016. For the June quarter munication. Reliance Com- nection and retain market which explains the higher tion. lakh crore towards spec- operations. Some players usage per subscriber
of FY18, it posted a loss of munication holds 268 MHz share. data ARPU, over voice. For Reliance Communication trum and network infra- have focused on providing rocketed at around 80 per
815 crore, as against profit of spectrum in 18 circles. instance, Bharti Airtels has also entered into an structure, according to pan-India 4G network. cent annually to around 1.25
of 220 crore last June. Other major players in data ARPU stands at 156 agreement for de-merging CRISIL. Post auction last October, GB per month on increasing
However, not all is doom the market are Vodafone for the June quarter FY18 its wireless business into Player-wise, Bharti Air- players have significant adoption of 3G and 4G
and gloom, there is a silver and Idea. As a merged en- and voice ARPU for the Aircel Limited. The com- tels debt equity ratio has spectrum and hence with services, free data offered by
lining too. Given the intense tity, they would have the same period at 111. bined company is set to be- remained flat at about 1 carrier aggregation Reliance Jio, and a sharp
competition, companies highest spectrum portfolio However, ARPU in both come the third largest times since FY15. But the requirement of additional (around 40 per cent) fall in
have improved the quality in the market. However, as data and voice are down player in the industry. How- companys interest cover sites will reduce, tariffs in the past fiscal alone.
of services and access to in- they await approval, indi- from 202 and 139, re- ever, the company is await- has come down to 1.8 times rationalising their network CRISIL Research expects
ternet. With the smart- vidually, the companies spectively, when compared ing approval for both its for FY17 from 2.5 times in spends. However, the focus mobile data usage growth to
phone market adapting to now hold 580 MHz and 540 to the same period last year. agreements. FY16. on fiberisation of networks moderate to around 12 per
4G or LTE (Long Term Evol- MHz, respectively. Both For Idea, data ARPU fell However, in the case of will drive rise in spends over cent annually and touch 2-2.5
ution) services, data con- companies are yet to ex- from 142 in the June Idea Cellular, the debt the next 2-3 years. GB per user in the five fiscals
sumption is likely to pand their 4G footprint quarter of FY17 to 119 in equity ratio is about 2 times through 2022, and stabilise
increase. pan-India. the quarter ended June for FY17 up from 1.6 times What is preventing thereafter.
Also, the Centres digit- Though the companies 2017, the voice for the same in FY16. The interest cover- telecom companies from
isation push with initiatives have filled their spectrum As of March 2017, Reli- period fell from 130 to age ratio has also declined implementing 4G or Is there a threat from
such as Digital India, e-wal- inadequacies, they have ance Jio reported 28.3 mil- 108. from 3.2 times in FY16 to VoLTE services Wi-Fi and portable Wi-Fi
lets and smart city projects spent a huge amount of lion data customers and Thus, Bharti Airtel leads 0.7 times in FY17. Reliance immediately? in the near future?
will help increase mobile in- money for the purchase of commanded the highest in- in data speed in India and Communication also has a One of the key reasons for Wi-Fi infrastructure in India
ternet penetration, which spectrum. ternet market share of 26 usage. It also leads when it high debt. The interest cov- telecom players to not is at a very nascent stage.
can boost the prospects of This is mainly due to the per cent (in terms of cus- comes to data and voice erage ratio is (negative 0.6 launch 4G services on a wide Data carried by mobile
these companies. costly pricing of Sub 1 (less tomer base), followed by ARPU. With ample spec- times) lowest among all its scale was the nascent networks is higher for India
Heres taking a look at than 1,000 MHz) bands. Bharti Airtel with 20 per trum availability, the com- peers and the debt equity handset ecosystem. 3G compared to global levels.
the telecom scene through The lower bands have bet- cent. Vodafone and Idea pany will be able to roll out ratio stands at 1.1 times for networks were rolled out by The Wi-Fi cost per MB is
four key parameters that ter clarity level and greater hold customer market new services such as 5G or FY 17. companies from 2012 about 2 paise on an average.
will determine the fortunes range. These bands are con- share of 15 per cent and 10 LTE in the future. Though Bharti Airtel is onwards and 3G pricing However, the penetration
of the key players. sidered the most efficient in per cent, respectively, in The pace of decline in able to manage its finance enjoyed over 60 per cent of fixed broadband services
terms of the distance the the same period. data and voice ARPUs could costs and liabilities better premium on the existing 2G has been limited to about 7
Spectrum availability signal can be carried and Bharti Airtel has re- be lower, going forward, as than its peers, high debt has data pricing. per cent of total households.
Spectrum is the life blood of the ability to penetrate solid gistered over 45 per cent in- Reliance Jio has started crippled the telecom in- With nascent device This is significantly lower
telecom companies. The objects. The infrastructure crease in data usage per charging its customers for dustry. The players have re- ecosystem on 4G, the than in developed markets
more spectrum it holds, the cost for laying the network customer in the June 2017 its services. sorted to different companies chose to such as the US, where fixed
better for a telecom com- is also lower when Sub 1 quarter, with increase of 19 strategies to reduce the bur- monetise their investments broadband penetration is 83
pany. The Centre resolved bands are used. per cent in data subscribers Joining hands den of debt and improve in 3G networks first. This has per cent. Thus, Wi-Fi has the
the issue of spectrum However, not all players compared to the same Consolidation in the Indian cash flow. postponed 4G launches. potential to play an
scarcity in the auction con- have Sub 1 bands. Reliance period last year. telecom industry has be- Some have sold off their Similarly, post launch of important role in increasing
ducted last October by re- Communication is the On the other hand, for come inevitable following tower assets or stake in services by Reliance Jio, broadband internet reach.
leasing 2,354.55 MHz air- leader in 800 MHz band, Idea Cellular, though the the entry of Reliance Jio. tower companies. For in- VoLTE (Voice over Long- Large telecom players
waves for sale the largest with nearly 112 MHz spec- data subscriber base has de- The proposed merger of stance, Bharti Airtel has Term Evolution) devices who are moving towards
spectrum auction in the trum, followed by Reliance clined 22 per cent, data us- Idea and Vodafone will These mergers will help sold its 10.3 per cent stake entered the Indian market. integrated service solutions
country. Jio which holds about 95 age has increased tremend- catapult the combined en- the company gain spectrum in Bharti Infratel, Vodafone Prices of such devices fell would want customers to be
Presently, Bharti Airtel MHz. On the other hand, in ously, from 674 MB tity to the number one slot. and ensure roll-out of fu- and Idea are also planning globally, thanks to pick-up of on their network. They
holds the most spectrum in 900 MHz band, Bharti Air- (megabyte) last year to This entity will have 40 per ture services given the exon selling their tower assets 4G services in China. would also want to offload
the market at 1,160 MHz. tel holds the highest level 2,204 MB in the June 2017 cent market share in rev- isting infrastructure. post-merger. Given significant traffic during peak hours to
This is spread across 1,800, with over 121 MHz spectrum quarter. enue terms and 35 per cent Reliance Communica- Spectrum sharing and investments in spectrum, networks without additional
900, 2,100 and 2,300 MHz, followed by Vodafone and In terms of 4G download of the customer base. tions and Reliance Jio have trading agreement is yet an- capacity does not appear to investment. This would push
thus placing it in a strong Idea with 83 MHz and 59 speed, Bharti Airtel The spectrum holding of also entered into a partner- other strategy used by the be a constraint for offering them to support Wi-Fi, as
position to provide both MHz, respectively. provides the fastest internet the combined entity, expec- ship agreement where the telecom players to improve such services. The entry of a reflected in the recent Bharti
voice and data services. It Telecom players have connectivity, according to ted at 1,850 MHz, should companies share towers, cash flow. new player (Reliance Jio) and Airtel deal with Facebook for
has also acquired spectrum fortified their spectrum an OpenSignal report, at ensure better connectivity, optic fibre, infrastructure evolution of the ecosystem 20,000 Wi-Fi spots.
in all the 22 circles in India portfolio to meet the sur- 11.53 Mbps (megabits per stronger spectrum footprint and spectrum. These ar- have nudged players to focus
due to which it is able to of- ging data demand in the second) when compared to in all the circles and wider rangements will facilitate on such services now.
customer reach. Reliance Communication's
Similarly, Bharti Airtel, to access to Reliance Jios 4G Reliance Jio has disrupted
retain its competitive posi- and LTE services. the market and continues
tion in the market, has ac- Simultaneously, Reliance to do so with its recent
quired Tikona Networks 4G Jio will benefit from access launch of 4G phone. What
business at 1,600 crore. to the entire portfolio of will be the impact of this
Through this acquisition 800-850 MHz spectrum on other players?
Bharti Airtel will strengthen band in all 22 circles. This Reliance Jio launched its 4G
its spectrum in 2,300 MHz deal favours both compan- services in India a year ago in
band across India and ies in expanding customer September 2016. While the
strengthen its 4G services in reach and launching new impact of the launch of free
all the 22 circles. services. services was felt across
It has also acquired Thus, the three largest players, small players felt
Augere Wireless, which companies will dominate the heat more than the
holds 20 MHz of spectrum the telecom industry in cus- larger players.
in the 2,300 MHz band, ac- tomer market share, with
CM B ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
YOUR MONEY 9
DIGITAL DRIVE ALERTS
Medicines at the click of a button More banks cut savings account rates
More banks have joined the savings
bank rate cut bandwagon. After SBI led
the charge, many others, including
It is convenient to order medicines online, thanks to good discounts and value-added services Bank of Baroda, Karnataka Bank and
Axis Bank, had followed suit. Last week,
Nalinakanthi V scription drugs that are not pre- HDFC Bank, YES Bank and PNB cut
Visiting a pharmacy to buy scribed by the doctor, there is rates too. In most cases, small savers
medicines will soon become no restriction on adding other have borne the brunt, with banks
pass, thanks to the advent of hygiene and nutritional cutting rates on lower-value deposits.
online pharmacies. products to your shopping cart. For instance, Karnataka Bank had
The advantage with online Like any other portal, these lowered savings rate on deposits up to
pharmacies is not just limited to portals too offer multiple pay- CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC 1 lakh to 3 per cent. Now, HDFC Bank
convenience; they are pocket- ment modes such as cash on and PNB too have reduced their savings
WHERE THEY deposit rate to 3.5 per cent for deposits
friendly too. Most online drug delivery (COD), debit/credit
SCORE below 50 lakh, while retaining the 4
stores offer about 15-20 per cent card and internet banking.
discount. This varies across Ordering medicines online O Cheaper by 10-15 per cent rate on deposits of 50 lakh
product categories and ranges will work best if you have per cent vis--vis and more. SBI had earlier cut its savings
between 10 and 40 per cent. stocks adequate to sustain you conventional stores deposit rate by 50 basis points on
for a day or two. deposits below 1 crore to 3.5 per cent
O Prescription while retaining the 4 per cent rate on
Models Given the process involved,
mandatory for deposits over 1 crore.
e-pharmacies can be of three buying medicines online may
allopathy medicines YES Bank that was offering 6-6.5 per
kinds. First is the online-only not be viable during emergen-
cent on savings deposits has lowered
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
store, where the order is placed cies. O Lab and doctor

online and the delivery is done the rates to 5-6.25 per cent based on
appointments
directly by the e-pharmacy. Know the regulations value of deposits. For deposits up to 1
besides medicines
Prominent among these are Online pharmacies have had lakh, the rate has been cut from 6 per
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC cent to 5 per cent. For deposits between
Netmeds, 1mg.com, mCHemist, their share of controversies. In
Medidart, Medlife and 2015, the Indian Drug Regulator Be on your guard 1 lakh and 1 crore, the rate has been
Pharmeasy. Second are offline Drugs Controller General of In- unchanged at 6 per cent, while for
Governments policy on
*
stores such as MedPlus Mart dia (DCGI) asked state authorit- high-value deposits of over 1 crore, the
e-pharmacies is
that have also joined the e-phar- stance, Netmeds not only sells cess reports online. The portal counts based on the bill value. ies to keep a strict vigil on on- rate has been reduced by 25 basis points
evolving. Be sure to
macy bandwagon. prescription and over-the- also facilitates online consulta- VPharmacist, for instance, al- line sales of medicines and take to 6.25 per cent. Other banks could also
stick to trustworthy
MedPlus, for instance, encounter medicines, but also of- tion with doctors for free pa- lows 22 per cent discount on action against e-pharmacies trim their savings deposit rates in the
players
courages online booking by offers wellness and personal care tients can chat with the doctor the first purchase and 15 per that violate the provisions of coming days, particularly for low-value
fering higher discounts to cus- products. The portal also offers and get personalised recent on subsequent purchases the Drug and Cosmetics Act, deposits. Kotak Mahindra Bank, though,
tomers than in the physical home diagnostic devices such sponses. above 2,000. 1940. In May 2016, there was a has decided to keep its savings bank
store. Finally, there are a few as blood glucose monitoring You can also search for doc- clampdown on five portals for deposit rate steady at 5-6 per cent.
portals that serve as channel- device and strips. tors nearby in case you prefer How to buy online violating regulation. ICICI Lombards new motor insurance
ising partners. Vpharmacist, for Some of these portals have an in-person consultation. One needs to first register However, the Government feature
example, helps you choose the expanded beyond allopathy As far as the pricing goes, for through the e-pharmacys seems to recognise the role of ICICI Lombard General Insurance has
medicines and place an order medicines and offer products prescription drugs, the dis- portal by providing details such e-pharmacies in delivering af- launched InstaSpect, a new feature in
online. The order is then of other conventional forms of count ranges between 10 and as email ID, name and mobile fordable medicines to all (in- its mobile app Insure to quicken the
passed on to a pharmacist loc- medicine such as Ayurveda. 20 per cent across e-pharmacy number. cluding under-served areas) claim settlement process in motor
ated close to the customers 1mg is a classic example. portals. While many portals of- Most importantly, you need and, hence, is seeking to formu- insurance. InstaSpect is a live video
home. The medicines are de- Interestingly, a few portals fer a fixed rate of discount for to upload your prescription to late a policy for e-pharmacies. inspection feature that will allow motor
livered home and the customer also help you book diagnostic prescription drugs, there may be able to complete the regis- Given that regulatory insurance customers raise an instant
can make the payment. services through their plat- be special offers on wellness tration and make the purchase. guidelines could come through claim. A customer has to stream a live
form. 1mg helps you search for products such as supplements Once the customer data is veri- this year, it may be prudent to video of the damaged vehicle to an ICICI
Products and pricing the best deal across certified and diagnostic devices. The dis- fied by the portal, one can pur- stick to players with established Lombard claims manager.
Most online pharmacies offer a laboratories in your city. count rate can be much higher, chase only relevant dosage of track record and not be swayed The manager will then assess the
wide range of products. For in- You can also book a free up to 40 per cent of the MRP. prescribed medicines. by fat discounts offered by new, damage through the video and inform
home sample pick-up and ac- Some portals also offer dis- While you cannot buy pre- unverified players. the customer about the extent of
liability, documentation and steps to be
taken. The customer can accept the
PORTFOLIO IDEAS claims managers assessment enabling
him to approve the claim and initiate
Take care of longevity risk the vehicle damage repair process.
Here are ways to meet post-retirement expenses even if you live beyond 80 BANK FD INTEREST RATES (%)
B Venkatesh less than Years

in your old age. In addition, be- month, but only if you live past
Bank 1 year 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 5 W.E.F
The Aegon Retirement Readi- cause you live longer, your 75. And the monthly cash flow
ness Survey 2016 states that In- portfolio may experience you will receive in old age will FOREIGN
dians expect to live for an aver- higher-than-expected inflation. be decided today.
Citi Bank 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.25 08-17
age of 22 years into retirement. What about healthcare infla- The advantage is that the DBS Bank 6.10 6.30 6.50 6.70 04-17
The survey also opines that in- tion, which is typically higher purchase price of this annuity Deutsche Bank 6.00 6.90 7.00 7.50 08-17
dividuals could possibly live than general inflation? will be substantially lower than HSBC 6.00 6.50 5.00 5.00 07-17
longer. To meet the higher costs of immediate annuity. Scotia Bank 4.00 4.50 4.50 5.00 04-16
If you are expecting to retire living longer, you may have to So, you will have enough Jargon Buster StanChart 6.50 6.75 6.50 6.50 08-17
in the near future, this may be a consume some portion of your money to enjoy your preferred INDIAN- PUBLIC SECTOR
The risk that you will
cause for concern. In this art- investment capital to supple- lifestyle till you reach your life outlive your Allahabad Bank 6.50 6.60 6.50 6.50 07-17
icle, we discuss the impact of ment your retirement income. expectancy of 75. Andhra Bank 6.25 6.75 6.50 6.25 07-17
investments is called Bank of Mah 6.00 6.50 6.25 6.00 01-17
living longer on your post-re- Of course, on renewal, the In addition, we urge you to longevity risk BOB 6.40 6.65 6.50 6.50 08-17
tirement lifestyle. interest rate on your monthly fers products that make this old-age deferred annuity. At motivate the insurance com- BOI 6.25 6.70 6.50 6.50 07-17
income bank deposits will in- possible. present, insurance companies pany to create an inflation bas- Canara Bank 6.35 6.75 6.30 6.30 08-17
Inflation issue crease when inflation in- offer immediate annuity with ket containing typical costs re- CBOI 6.50 6.60 6.50 6.50 04-17
The risk that you will outlive creases. Longevity insurance return of purchase price; you lating to post-retirement living. Corp Bank 6.35 6.60 6.60 6.50 07-17
Dena Bank 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 08-17
your investments is called But this will only marginally The product that we discuss be- pay lumpsum money today This way, the inflation basket IDBI Bank 6.50 6.75 6.25 6.25 06-17
longevity risk. As a retiree, you ease the pressure on your living low is meant to take care of and, in return, receive a fixed will move up as the price levels Indian Bank 6.25 6.50 6.25 6.00 02-17
will face this risk due to several expenses; for interest rate does your longevity risk relating to monthly sum starting next of these individual expenses IOB 6.25 6.75 6.25 6.00 06-17
reasons. not typically increase in lock- living expenses. You still have month till you live. But immedi- increase. OBC 6.40 6.60 6.40 6.40 08-17
You may have assumed life step with price increases that to meet rising healthcare ex- ate annuity can drain your re- And if insurance companies PNB 6.25 6.75 6.65 6.65 08-17
Punjab & Sind 6.60 6.80 6.80 6.80 07-17
expectancy of 75 and accord- affect your retired life. penses if you live longer. But for tirement account because it is offer inflation-indexed deferred SBI 6.50 6.75 6.25 6.25 07-17
ingly accumulated wealth in We believe you should have a that, if necessary, you can mon- expensive. annuity, your longevity risk will Syndicate Bank 6.15 6.50 6.60 6.60 08-17
your retirement portfolio dur- comfortable current lifestyle. etise your mortgage-free house A deferred annuity is one be substantially moderated. UCO Bank 6.35 6.65 6.40 6.40 07-17
ing your working life. But what Yet, you should be able to com- and get reverse mortgage line where you pay lumpsum Union Bank 6.75 6.75 6.50 6.50 08-17
if you live till 80 or beyond? fortably meet your living ex- of credit. money today without return of The writer is founder of Navera United Bank 6.00 6.25 6.00 6.00 04-17
Vijaya Bank 6.25 6.50 6.50 6.50 01-17
You may not have enough penses in old age. And demand That said, you should urge purchase price. In return, you Consulting. Send your queries to
money to sustain your lifestyle that the insurance industry of- insurance companies to offer will receive a fixed sum every portfolioideas@thehindu.co.in INDIAN- PRIVATE SECTOR
Axis Bank 6.50 6.75 6.25 6.25 07-17
Bandhan Bank 7.00 7.25 6.90 6.90 06-17
Catholic Syrian 6.25 6.50 6.75 6.50 03-17
LOAN BASICS CUB 7.00 7.10 6.85 6.85 11-16
DCB 6.75 7.15 7.20 7.20 07-17
A credit card against fixed deposits

Dhanlaxmi Bank 6.00 6.75 6.50 6.50 01-17
Federal Bank 6.50 6.70 6.50 7.00 07-17
HDFC Bank 6.25 6.80 6.00 6.00 NA
ICICI Bank 6.50 6.75 6.50 6.50 07-17
IDFC Bank 7.00 7.50 7.25 7.20 12-17
IndusInd Bank 6.50 6.85 6.75 6.50 08-17
For some, secured credit cards can be an option to build credit history J & K Bank
Karnataka Bank
6.50
6.90
6.75
6.65
6.75
6.50
6.50
6.50
05-17
07-17
Gurumurthy K Kotak Bank 6.60 6.60 6.40 6.25 08-17
inantly around the same levels payment of your credit card KVB 6.75 6.75 7.00 7.00 05-17
For a salaried person, obtaining as applicable to a normal credit bills during the deposit tenure, LVB 6.75 7.00 7.00 7.00 08-17
a credit card is not a big deal as card. The credit period ranges your credit score would have RBL Bank 7.10 7.40 7.50 7.35 05-17
all the card providers are will- from 30-60 days. Late payment been built by the end of the de- SIB 6.00 6.75 6.50 6.50 06-17
TMB 6.75 7.00 6.90 6.90 04-17
ing to give one to them. But it fee and interest rates are applic- posit. Thus, you can apply for a
TNSC Bank 6.50 6.75 6.50 6.50 01-17
might be difficult for an indi- able if you miss your payments normal credit card. Yes Bank 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 08-17
vidual whose income is not reg- like other cards. The only dif-
ular or for one who has no ference and a major advantage For whom? Data taken from website of respective banks as on 18
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Aug 17. For each year range, maximum offered interest
credit history. For such people, for the banks here is that in According to experts, getting a
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
rate is considered. Interest Rate is for deposit amount

there is a way out in secured case of a default, the amount is credit card against fixed deposit KNOW THE below Rs 1 Crore. Contributed by BankBazaar.com, an
credit cards, that is, credit recovered from your deposit. is a deal for three categories of BASICS online marketplace for comparing financial products.
cards issued against your fixed Also, in some cases like ICICI people. First is for those who O No additional
deposits. Bank, if the outstanding are new to the credit market documentation
Few banks like ICICI Bank amount reaches 95 per cent of and have zero credit history. required
(Coral and Instant Platinum the deposit, it will be recovered Obtaining a credit card would
*
Card), Axis Bank (Insta Easy from the deposit amount. help them build a credit score. O Credit limit is 80-85
Card), Kotak Mahindra Bank no cap on the maximum de- already marked against the The validity of the card runs Second is for an individual with per cent of the
(Aqua Gold Card), State Bank of posit amount except for Axis deposits. until you hold the deposit with a poor credit score whose loan deposit
India (Advantage Plus Card), Bank that restricts it to the bank. In general, in these application for a financial need
Bank of Baroda (Assured Credit 25,00,000. Credit limit and recovery cases, banks tend to place your may face the risk of being rejec- O Deposit amount will
Card) and Central Bank of India The minimum tenor also var- Most of the banks offer up to 80 deposit under auto-renewal ted. Such individuals can ob- be taken over in case
(Aspire Credit Card) offer a ies. For instance, it is 180 days per cent of your deposit mode. But what if you want to tain a secured credit card to of default
credit card of this variant. for getting the ICICI Banks amount as credit limit. That is, close your deposit? Manav Jeet, meet their financial needs if CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Coral or Instant Platinum card. if you have a deposit for MD & CEO of Rubique, an on- they have ongoing FDs with Not all banks
Eligibility conditions While most banks do not spe- 1,00,000, the credit limit on line marketplace catering to fin- these banks.
The condition you need to ful- cify the type of deposit, Central the card can be up to 80,000. ance needs of individuals & The third category for which Secured credit cards
fill is to already have a fixed de- Bank of India requires you to ICICI Bank, however, offers up SMEs says, If one wants to con- this card suits best is those with can be obtained from
posit or open one with the bank open its Cent Aspire Term De- to 85 per cent of the deposit as tinue using card even after the irregular income. Vikas Kumar, the bank where you
from which you wish to obtain posit for getting their Aspire credit limit. Some banks also maturity of the deposit, a re- Co-Founder, Loantap, says have a fixed deposit, if
your credit card. credit card against the deposit. restrict the overall credit limit. quest has to be sent to the fin- Freelancers who have dispar- the bank offers the
No additional documenta- Also, there are instances in For instance, in the Kotak ancial institution to remove the ity in their income or people in product
tion is required as the bank can which these cards will not be is- Mahindra Banks Aqua Gold lien and convert it into an unse- small businesses with irregular
fetch all your details from your sued. For example, Axis Bank card, you can get a maximum cured credit card. The request incomes who are in need of a
deposit account. does not give cards against de- credit limit of 12 lakh even is then processed by the banks credit card, can just open a
Most of the banks like ICICI posits for minors. though you may have a deposit for approval. But there is a pos- fixed deposit and get a card.
Bank, Axis Bank, require you to Flexi deposits and tax saver much higher than that. Central sibility of the credit limit being However, one has to have some
have a minimum deposit deposits will also not fetch you Bank of India caps it to 10 lakh revised in this process, based money to open a fixed deposit
amount of 20,000. This is a credit card with Axis Bank. on its Aspire credit card. on your credit score and other which gets locked-in. If rates on
slightly higher at 25,000 in ICICI Bank restricts from giving Other things like the credit parameters. Ranjit Punja, CEO deposits are at rock-bottom as it
case of Kotak Mahindra Bank cards to third parties, partner- period, fees, interest rate and & Co-founder, CreditMantri, is presently, it may not be the
and Bank of Baroda. There is ship firms etc or if a lien is other charges remain predom- says If you had made regular optimum investment.
CM B ND-NDE
YK
10 BUSINESS NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
External
successor Ideal if new CEO is close to Murthy U.S. law firm initiates
unlikely Infosys needs a candidate who can manage important shareholders, including founders: analysts
probe against IT major
Reuters Jay Shankar partner and head of India for COO, Mohit Joshi, head of fin- Lens on securities laws compliance
Mumbai/Bengaluru Bengaluru ISG, a U.S.-based Nasdaq-lis- ancial services and health-
The dramatic departure of A replacement for Vishal ted technology research and care and Sandeep Dadlani, Special Correspondent
Vishal Sikka as chief exec- Sikka, the first non-founder advisory firm, echoed Mr. head of manufacturing and Bengaluru
utive of Infosys, following a to become the CEO and MD Gogias views and said a can- retail business. A U.S. law firm, Bronstein,
months-long public battle of Infosys, must be an in- didate within the organisa- Shriram Subramanian, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is
with the tech giants ternal candidate who has tion would have to be close founder and MD, InGovern investigating potential
founders, has left the com- risen up the ranks and is fa- to Mr. Murthy. Research Services, a proxy claims on behalf of Amer-
pany with another messy voured by co-founder N.R. advisory firm, said the In- ican shareholders of Infosys
problem: how to find Narayana Murthy, industry Candidate from within fosys board needed to go on whether the New York
someone willing to replace analysts said. The main requirement now back to the drawing board. Stock Exchange-listed firm
him. Mr. Sikka, Stanford-edu- is for the candidate to have a It is not that an outside and certain of its officers
With the boardroom cated and former SAP AG ex- greater degree of sensibility CEO did not work. Sikka was and/or directors complied
row still simmering, the ecutive, resigned on August in managing critical share- Mr. Murthys choice. The with federal securities laws,
pressure will be on to do 18 citing what he termed holders, including founders, crux of the issue is the con- according to a statement
that fast. baseless, malicious and in- Mr. Goel said. An internal flict between the board and posted on its website. tions and negativity... inhib-
The companys last CEO creasingly personal attacks What matters: The board may have to go, as Mr. Murthy does candidate will lack a larger Murthy, he said. On August 18, Infosys an- its our ability to make
hunt in 2014 was a major by the founders of Indias not approve of it, says Shriram Subramanian of InGovern. perspective of the industry So the present board will nounced the resignation of positive change and stay fo-
challenge. Mr. Sikka, the second-largest software ser- but will be tuned to the com- have to go. A new-looking its chief executive officer, cused on value creation,
eventual choice who was vices exporter, led by Mr. gust 18]. They cannot afford such episode, they will look panys culture. The person board needs to take its place Vishal Sikka. Mr. Sikkas according to the statement.
plucked from a top job at Murthy, that had constrained another botch-up. It will be for a candidate aligned with will have to go back to the with the help of the resignation followed criti-
SAP , was the first chief ap- his ability to foster change. wise to have an internal can- Murthy. drawing board without sacri- founders. One solution is to cism by the companys ADRs decline
pointed from outside the The confidence on an ex- didate who knows the system Mr. Murthy had recently ficing the strategy laid down let the founders propose the founders of certain de- Following this news, Infosys
group of founders. His ternal candidate is very low well enough. raised issues of corporate by Sikka. Any paradigm shift constitution of the board. cisions by its board, includ- American Depositary Re-
brief was to turn around a now, said Sanchit Vir Gogia, They may not look for a governance and salary in- from the core values of the Even then the shareholders ing executive compensation ceipts dropped as much as
faltering business. Three founder & CEO of Greyhound forward-looking CEO. In- creases paid to Mr. Sikka and company will not work now. will have to agree. The resig- and severance payouts. $1.43 per share, or almost
sources familiar with in- Knowledge Group, a global stead, they may look for a COO U.B. Pravin Rao. Mr. Co-chairman of the board, nation of Sikka has achieved Sikkas resignation letter 9%, during intra-day trading
ternal discussions three strategy and transformation CEO who can buy into the Murthy had also sought that Ravi Venkatesan on Friday nothing as the uncertainty stated, in part: Over the last on August 18, 2017.
years ago said they expec- firm. Also, chances of top- strategy of the company and a probe report on alleged ir- ruled himself out of the race, continues. many months and quarters, If you are aware of any
ted an even tougher chal- notch leaders trying to join its culture. They will look for regularities over the $200- The other senior manage- One way forward is to re- we have all been besieged facts relating to this investig-
lenge now. the company is also very low. one to stabilise the opera- million acquisition of cloud ment officials include U.B. cruit a candidate which both by false, baseless, malicious ation, or purchased Infosys
The Sikka episode has wiped tions. A person such as a solutions start-up Panaya, be Pravin Rao, the interim CEO parties agree to. Else, we are and increasingly personal shares, the person can con-
Was extremely hard out $3.5 billion of share- COO may be promoted to made public. and MD, M.D. Ranganath, facing a situation where both attacks; and, This continu- tact the firm, according to
It was extremely hard to holder value yesterday [Au- CEO. To prevent another Dinesh Goel, formerly CFO, Ravi Kumar, deputy parties land up in courts. ous drumbeat of distrac- the statement.
find an external candidate
last time, and the spat is
going to make the job even
more difficult now, said
one of the sources. I think Infosys board approves INTERVIEW | SIDDHARTH PAI
there is very little chance

there will be an external
candidate.
The new boss will be
Competitors will have an edge
13,000 cr. share buyback Recent senior departures from the firm will make it tougher to reassure clients
taking on a firm in better
shape than it was in 2014:
Mr. Sikka has led efforts to The company has $6.1 billion worth of liquid cash at hand K. Bharat Kumar becomes clear. Interim CEO the Infosys brand and
diversify Infosys away from The turmoil at Infosys may Pravin Rao has himself reputation. If they do so
basic IT outsourcing ser- Jay Shankar capital of the company at a market price of the equity turn out to be a blessing for acknowledged as much. successfully, and in a timely
vices into more lucrative Bengaluru price of 1,150 per equity shares on BSE and NSE dur- its competitors, as clients fashion, this will end up
new areas like cloud, auto- The board of Infosys on Sat- share, according to the ing the three months pre- could start seeking assurances What would a large being just a storm in a tea
mation and artificial intelli- urday, approved a 13,000- filing. ceding the date of intimation of stability from Indias existing clients major ask cup, and allow the company
gence. Infosyss share price crore share buyback plan, to the stock exchanges of the second-largest software be right now? to get on with its larger
surged 22% between Au- the first since the companys 70% of free cash flows board meeting, according to company. Siddharth Pai is a Clarity on future path objective of making the turn
gust 1, 2014, when Sikka inception 36 years ago. The buyback plan was an- the filing. technology consultant who from a management into the new digital age.
took office, and Thursday, Approved a proposal for nounced in April. The com- The board also took note has advised clients across perspective and an end to
outperforming the broader the company to buy back its pany then had decided to of a premium of 17.73% and industry on about $20 billion the board-versus-minority Will competitors make
Nifty IT index. fully paid-up equity shares pay out 13,000 crore to 17.92% over the closing price worth of technology deals. He shareholder battles. the most of this and sneak
But his successor will
also join during one of the
of face value of 5 each,
from the equity sharehold-
shareholders through di-
vidends or buy back shares
of the equity share on BSE
and NSE respectively as on
has also been the chief
negotiator for clients in some Would the current chaos
<
> Handled well, the
current turmoil
into accounts where
Infosys is entrenched?
most turbulent patches ers of the company as on a by using 70% of its free cash August 16, the date of intim- of the large deals that Infosys deter new client entry? may end up being a Yes, without a doubt.
ever for the $150 billion In- record date to be an- flows. ation to the exchanges of the has won over the years. Yes. There will be storm in a tea cup Has any client recently
dian IT services sector. The nounced later, for an Various approvals from board meeting. Excerpts from an interview: difficulty since the events exited from Infosys citing
industry is facing squeezed amount not exceeding exchanges in both the U.S The exit of the CEO and will have to be explained so this will be tougher to pull the current turmoil as
margins, Brexit question 13,000 crore, according to and India has led to the managing director may have How would developments each time. Competition will off than if it were just Sikka being detrimental to their
marks over European busi- a filing on the BSE. delay. cost Infosyss shareholders a at Infosys influence not be hamstrung in this way leaving. Even so, making work?
nesses, and uncertainty in The company has $6.1 bil- whopping 22,520 crore on decision-making by and will have an edge. sure there are no hiccups on No. I am not aware of any
the U.S., thanks to visa 1,150 per share lion worth of liquid cash at Friday after shares of the clients? client delivery at the edits tied specifically to the
policy changes. The buyback offer size hand, said Vishal Sikka, who Bengaluru-based firm Clients always consider What should the new CEO operating level is of turmoil. However, client
Infosys chairman R. Se- amounts to 20.51% of the resigned as the firms CEO plunged 9.6% to 923.10. corporate stability as a factor do to assuage client fears? paramount importance . The churn is normal in a market
shasayee told reporters the total paid-up equity capital and managing director on This was the stocks biggest while making sourcing Point to continued most urgent task in front of that is largely based on
company would not look and free reserves of the August 18. single-day fall since April 12, decisions. The current stability at operating and the board, management and renegotiations and re-
for a major change in cul- company and will constitute The buyback price repres- 2013. Analysts said that it events will undoubtedly delivery management levels the Murthy-led founder competes so the competitive
ture or strategy and was the purchase of 113,043,478 ents a premium of 19.08% was too early to downgrade cause turmoil in the market despite C-level turmoil. camps is to come together pressure [including from
confident it could still at- shares aggregating up to and an 18.7% over the the stock and that the buy- in the short term, at least There have been other immediately in the interest India-heritage companies]
tract talent. 4.92% of the paid-up equity volume weighted average back could prove a panacea. until the future path senior departures recently of the common greater good will be intense.
Buyback price attractive, GST: last date

for filing is
says Life Insurance Corp. now Aug. 25
Vikas Dhoot
Insurer says will continue to buy more Infosys shares New Delhi
With several firms report-
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT holds more than 7% in the ing technical glitches on
Mumbai software major. the Goods and Services
Life Insurance Corporation Infosyss stock tanked Tax (GST) returns filing
of India (LIC) will shortly close to 10% on Friday after website on Saturday ahead
take a decision on whether the resignation of MD and of the impending Sunday
to tender shares in the In- CEO Vishal Sikka. deadline, the government
fosys buyback programme, a Mr. Sikka cited baseless, has extended the last date
senior official said. malicious and increasingly for filing the first tax re-
Infosyss board on Sat- personal attacks by the turns under the GST re-
urday approved a buyback founder of Indias second- gime to August 25.
worth 13,000 crore. The largest software services ex- August 20 was the last
company has set the buy- the condition of anonymity. porter, N.R. Narayana date for paying taxes and
back price at 1,150 per Infosys was on their buy Murthy, that had con- filing GST returns for the
share, a 25% premium to Fri- list for this month, the offi- strained his ability to bring month of July. However, re-
days closing price. cial said adding they bought about change. gistered taxpayers were
Buyback price is attract- a few thousand shares on The official said it was un- unable to file returns on
ive, we will soon take a call Friday. We will continue to fortunate that an outsider Saturday on the GST.gov.in
whether we will tender our buy more this month, the was trying to exert so much website, which by evening
shares, the official said on official said. The insurer influence on the company. had admitted to glitches.
Founders coup leaves void at Infosys

The bullied board offers no reassurance that it will stand up for a new CEO
Una Galani The manner of his depar- to publish an independent
MUMBAI ture suggests the board is investigation into a $200 mil-
For Infosys, a new chief ex- not in control. It said it re- lion acquisition following
ecutive is not the answer. gretted Mr. Sikkas decision whistleblower allegations
Vishal Sikka delivered out- and was profoundly dis- was also less than ideal. But
size returns in three years at tressed by unfounded per- Mr. Sikkas decision leaves a
the helm of Indias second sonal attacks on members of void while the industry is go-
largest outsourcer by market our management on ing through a structural
value. No wonder that the everything from deals to pay. transformation, including a
resignation of the companys Indeed, it is a founders crackdown on vital worker
first professional CEO amid coup. One, Narayana visas to the U.S.
an ugly spat with founder Murthy, owns less than 1% Vishal Sikka. *
REUTERS A high-calibre interna-
shareholders prompted a and has no formal position. tional professional will not
roughly 9% plunge in the He has been a vocal critic. therefore, aligned with want to dive in knowing the
share price. Others have opposed Mr. shareholder interests. In perils of pushing change.
Sikka through conventional April, founders forced the Bringing back one of the
CEO departure means. board into appointing a co- companys founders would
When a bad CEO quits, a chairman, which confused be a step backwards. And
companys share price nor- COMMENT the chain of command. the bullied board offers no
mally rallies. Not so here, Together, Infosys To be sure, Mr. Sikka was reassurance that it will stand
hence the destruction of $3 founders possess barely 13% not perfect and Infosys up for whoever is chosen.
billion-plus of market value. of the company. Most of changed under his leader- That leaves shareholders
Infosys investors have lost a them last year abstained ship. The old guard was con- high and dry.
leader who delivered total from voting to keep Mr. servative. In contrast, Mr. (The author is a Reuters
returns up to 15 percentage Sikka following an increase Sikka set a too-lofty goal to Breakingviews columnist. The
points above rivals Tata Con- in his compensation that was achieve revenues of $20 bil- opinions expressed are her
sultancy Services and Wipro. tied to performance and, lion by 2020. A decision not own.)
CM B ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
BUSINESS 11
IN BRIEF
Indian travel freaks turn to lenders
Desire to visit exotic spots, expensive tickets seen as reasons; loans offered from 50,000 to 7.5 lakh
TCA Sharad Raghavan with that kind of ticket sizes,
NEW DELHI the presumption is that this
Indians are increasingly us- would likely be for interna-
ing debt to finance travel, ac- tional travel. People opting
cording to travel portals and for loans for travel could be
lending platforms. because of increasing ticket
Nestle partners Amazon There are two perspect- prices and access to more
for new Maggi noodles ives on this, quantitative and exotic destinations.
NEW DELHI qualitative, Veetika Deoras, The average ticket price
FMCG major Nestle India said COO, Digital Business at Tata has increased by 3% for do-
it has tied up with e- Capital told The Hindu. mestic overall, Mr.
commerce player Amazon for Looking at the qualitative, Ramachandran said. Within
the launch of its new range there is an increasing trend domestic destinations, we
of popular Maggi noodles. one is seeing where people see that the air bookings to Course correction: The persistently high stressed assets
The new range Nutri are open to borrowing for ex- the North-East have gone up ratio is a matter of concern, says Urjit Patel. PTI *
Licious will be available to periential elements like from 5% in 2016 to 9% in

consumers first on Amazon
starting August 20, 2017,
Nestle said in a statement.
travel. According to Qbera-
.com, an online lending plat-
form, on an average, people
2017. We see that people are
increasingly heading to-
wards North East backed by
Scheme to boost PSB
Nestle India general
manager, foods, Maarten
Geraets said the association
in the age group of 27-40
years are the ones availing
loans for travel purposes.
Travel as you please: Though lenders do not keep track of the destinations, they assume it
could be international travel, going by the loan sizes. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK *
the increasing supply of
flights to the region. While
the prices of international
capital on anvil: Patel
with Amazon will help the India is travelling like shown a sharp increase in these loans are virtually ag- portion of our borrowers tickets have more or less re-
company reach out to never before, said Balu 2017 over 2016 with marked nostic to the end use, but we about 15%-20% are coming mained the same over last To ease pressure from NPAs on banks
consumers across India. PTI Ramachandran, head of air changes for cities like Delhi do ask the borrowers to self- to us to take loans for travel year, those to the U.S. and
and distribution, Cleartrip. from 7% to 18% and Kolkata report what the end use is, purposes. These are typic- Europe two of the most fa- SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT assets ratio was at 12%, as at
ICICI Bank cuts interest from 3% to 7%, Mr. Aditya Kumar, founder and ally 1.5-2 lakh on an aver- voured destinations for Indi- MUMBAI the end of March, Mr. Patel
rate on savings accounts Weekend getaways Ramachandran added. CEO, Qbera.com said in an age, Mr. Kumar added. We ans have increased by 8% The Centre and the Reserve said the persistently high ra-
MUMBAI The trend for sporting We offer loans from interview. What we have dont gather data on interna- and 6% respectively, accord- Bank of India (RBI) are tio over the last few years
Private sector lender ICICI weekend getaways has also 50,000 to 7.5 lakh and noticed is that a significant tional or domestic travel, but ing to Cleartrip. working on a scheme to was a matter of concern. He
Bank announced reduction in boost capital in public sec- said 86.5% of GNPAs are ac-
interest rate on savings tor banks reeling under the counted for by large borrow-
GST hits activated carbon production Odisha to

accounts by 50 basis points pressure of bad loans. ers that are defined as bor-
(bps) to 3.5% on deposits Speaking at an event or- rowers with aggregate
below 50 lakh. The rate on ganised by the Confedera- exposure of 5 crore and
savings bank accounts with restore sops tion of Indian Industry, RBI above.
deposits of 50 lakh and Levy of 5% tax on coconut shells, an ingredient, affects farmers, vendors Governor Urjit Patel em- Swift, time-bound resol-
above remains unchanged at for Paradip phasised time-bound resolu- ution or liquidation of
4%, the bank said. On July M. Soundariya Preetha are up almost three times tion of stressed assets. stressed assets will be crit-
31, market leader State Bank COIMBATORE since June this year. This is PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NPA resolution would ical for de-clogging the bal-
of India slashed interest rate Production of coconut-activ- because charcoal producers NEW DELHI necessitate a higher recapit- ance sheet and for efficient
on savings account deposits ated carbon, used for puri- cannot take input credit of The Odisha Government, alisation of these banks, reallocation of bank cap-
by 50 bps to 3.5% on fication of water, edible oil the duty paid on coconut which had withdrawn tax Mr. Patel said. The Govern- ital, Mr. Patel said.
balances of 1 crore and and gas and in sectors such shells. incentives to the 34,555- ment and the RBI are in dia- RBI had recommended
below. PTI as healthcare and cosmetics, In the case of supply of ac- crore Paradip refinery of logue to prepare a set of that banks initiate insolv-
has been hit due to increas- tivated carbon to the do- IOC, has agreed to restore measures to enable state- ency proceedings for 12
TRAI chief snubs telcos ing raw material prices post mestic market, the buyers some of the tax breaks in- run banks to shore up the large defaulters, constitut-
on Reliance Jio charges the implementation of the are able to take input credit cluding a 700-crore per requisite capital in a time- ing 25% of the systems
NEW DELHI Goods and Services Tax of the GST paid. But, costs annum of interest-free bound manner, he said. NPAs. Lenders would have
TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma (GST). have gone up for exporters. loan, Oil Minister Dhar- to take a haircut in the pro-
snubbed incumbent service Whole coconuts, coconut Shell-shocked: Availability of coconut shells has come down The activated carbon in- mendra Pradhan said on Raising capital cess, the RBI acknowledged.
providers on their charge the kernel and husk do not at- and charcoal prices are up three times since June this year. dustry is growing at 5% an- Saturday. Mr. Patel said measures It is clear that state-run
regulator did not act in time tract GST. However, 5% duty nually and exports at 10% to The breakthrough came could include a combination banks will need to take hair-
against Reliance Jio network is levied on coconut shells. partner, Activcarb. There are Korea. This increased to 15%. after Mr.Pradhan met of raising capital from the cuts on current exposures
testing methodology which These shells are sold by about 15 units in South India 40,132 tonnes worth 402 In a memorandum to the Odisha Chief Minister market, dilution of govern- under any resolution plan
allegedly circumvented rules farmers and vendors in the making activated carbon crore during the same Union Agriculture Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday. ment holding, additional agreed within or outside the
related to subscriber unorganised sector to char- from coconut shells. period last year. recently, the Coconut Activ- It is agreed that state capital infusion by the gov- IBC. Higher provisioning re-
addition. A vaccine cannot coal producers. Mr. Pradeepkumar said ated Carbon Manufacturers government will give 700 ernment, mergers based on quirements on this count as
be developed before the Charcoal is not covered Exports about three tonnes of char- Association pointed out that crore per annum in in- strategic decisions and sale well as other factors will af-
disease, he said and asked if under GST. It is the raw ma- According to data available coal is needed to manufac- coconut shells are an agricul- terest-free loan for 15 of non-core assets. Ob- fect the capital position of
operators wanted TRAI to terial used by activated car- with the Coconut Develop- ture one tonne of activated tural waste product. years; earlier, the State had serving that the ratio of several banks, he said. On
take action suo-moto bon producers. Activated ment Board, activated car- carbon. Availability of Levy of 5% GST on it has agreed to provide total de- gross non-performing assets progress in the insolvency
instead of consultation carbon attracts 18% GST, said bon is exported mainly to coconut shells has come hit farmers and the small- ferment of VAT, Mr.Pra- in the banking system was cases, Mr. Patel said, early
process that it follows. PTI P. Pradeepkumar, managing the U.S., the U.K. and South down and charcoal prices scale vendors. dhan said on Twitter 9.6% and that the stressed signs are encouraging.
Centre rejigging foodgrain

inventory management
To obviate export of surplus; allay fears at WTO
ARUN S
New Delhi
The Centre is understood to
be carrying out an urgent
overhaul of inventory man-
agement of foodgrains to
eliminate scenarios where it
is compelled to allow ex- CUBs robot
ports from public stockhold-
ing of these items. to handle
The move is to allay the
fears of some World Trade cash soon
Organisation (WTO)-mem-
ber nations that India could N. Anand
export surplus grains from CHENNAI
food security stockpiles to City Union Bank (CUB),
markets overseas at subsid- which has deployed robots
ised prices and distort inter- to answer customer quer-
national trade, official ies at its branches, is repro-
sources told The Hindu. gramming a machine for
The development also as- collecting cash from cus-
sumes significance as it Cautionary signal: WTO members called for stronger tomers, an official said.
comes in the backdrop of in- safeguards against release of stocks in global markets. The robot, named Lak-
creased efforts by India to shmi, is deployed at its T.
ensure a permanent solution make space available for the scheduled for December at Nagar branch in Chennai.
to the public stockholding is- forthcoming kharif crop of Buenos Aires. It is currently answering
sue at the WTO-level talks by paddy and then wheat crop Meanwhile, Commerce customer queries.
this December. in the rabi Season, the Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Now, it had been repro-
As per the WTO, public Centre had said then. told the Lok Sabha on July 31 grammed to accept cash.
stockholding is a policy tool According to a WTO re- that India has a long-stand- Currently, trials are on
used by governments to pur- port on the informal agricul- ing position on the need to and the robot will start col-
chase, stockpile and distrib- ture negotiating session held prioritise the agreed man- lecting cash during the first
ute food when needed. at the WTO-level during July date of the (WTOs ongoing) week of September, said
While stocking and distrib- 19-20, some WTO member- Doha Round (negotiations), the bank official.
uting food is permitted un- countries had said public in particular, the Ministerial Using facial recognition
der WTO rules, governments stockholding programmes decision to find a permanent mechanism, the robot eas-
purchasing food at prices could yield unintended con- solution by December 2017 ily identifies the customer.
higher than market prices sequences if governments on public stockholding for All that you have to do is to
are considered to be subsid- unloaded the stocks on food security purposes, hand over the cash to Lak-
ising their farmers, the world markets and impact which relates to protection shmi, which will be stand-
global trade body had said. on prices for similar of our food-grain procure- ing next to the teller. It will
The Department of Com- products in other coun- ment programme at Min- deposit the money in the
merce (DoC) the nodal tries. The report said those imum Support Prices and specially-made counting
body for WTO-related mat- WTO members, therefore, subsidised distribution to machine and a SMS will be
ters recently asked the De- stressed the need for economically weaker sec- sent to the customer con-
partment of Food and Public stronger safeguards to ad- tions. firming the transaction,
Distribution (in charge of dress potential direct and in- The government is com- he said.
procurement and distribu- direct release of stocks in in- mitted to pursuing this issue The robot was induc-
tion of foodgrains) to exped- ternational markets. in the WTO, she said. ted into service to answer
ite the overhaul of food- routine queries. But soon,
grains inventory Permanent solution Online procurement we found out that it can
management so that the It, however, added that all According to the Ministry of handle several other tasks
need for exports from public the WTO members reaf- Consumer Affairs, Food and simultaneously. It has re-
stockholding of these items firmed the commitment Public Distribution, steps duced the work pressure of
can be obviated, the made at the WTOs Minis- taken to improve foodgrain some 15 officials, said N.
sources said. terial Conference (its highest management include bring- Kamakodi, managing dir-
Incidentally, in July 2012, decision-making body) in operations of Food Corpora- ector and chief executive
the Centre had approved the Nairobi (in December 2015) tion of India (FCI) godowns officer. At present,CUB had
export of two million tonnes to engage constructively to online, using FCIs software deployed robots in about
of wheat for managing the negotiate and make all con- for Online Procurement five branches, including
over-flowing wheat stocks in certed efforts to agree and Management System (OPMS) Kumbakonam and Coim-
the central pool. The move adopt a permanent solu- for procurement and about batore. In a years time, the
was aimed at disposing of tion to the public stock- 20 states either fully or par- machines will be deployed
the excess wheat stocks holding issue by the 11th tially implementing OPMS. in more than 100
from the central pool to Ministerial Conference branches, he said.
CM B ND-NDE
YK
12 BUSINESS ABROAD
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU
IN BRIEF
Summer rumblings may augur Barcelona attack targets
a stormy fall for U.S. equities Spains strongest spot
Historically, September has typically been the worst month in the year for stocks Tourism accounts for about 14% of Spains GDP
Reuters 500 of negative 0.5%. John Foley
NEW YORK Weedens Mr. Purves cited LONDON
U.S. initiates probe The Trump-fed rally in factors such as the debt ceil- Deadly attacks in Barcelona
into Chinas IP practices stocks, lately showing signs ing, seasonal patterns and a target Spains strongest spot:
WASHINGTON of faltering as the long Wall Federal Reserve meeting as tourism. At least 13 people
The United States on Friday Street summer nears its end, reasons for caution and said were killed on Thursday
formally initiated an faces a key test in the weeks he was recommending when a van drove into ped-
investigation into Chinas ahead with the approach of a people buy hedges such as estrians at Las Ramblas, one
alleged theft of the U.S. historically unkind season S&P puts. of the most tourist-friendly
intellectual property. The for equities and a clutch of The U.S. Congress will sites in the countrys second
probe is the Donald Trump issues such as raising the need to raise the nations city. Other European tourist
administrations first direct debt ceiling awaiting the debt limit by early to mid-Oc- hubs have bounced back
measure against Chinese return of lawmakers to tober to avoid defaulting on from similar assaults. Spain,
trade practices, which the Washington. loan payments, the Congres- which is economically
White House and the U.S. With September, typically sional Budget Office said in stronger than it has been in
business groups say are the worst month in the year June. But the spectre of an- years, will too.
bruising the American for stocks, on the doorstep, other potential clash has Tourism accounts for
industry. Reuters investors are likely to be Risks ahead: Congress will need to raise the U.S. debt limit by been raised even as Repub- around 14% of Spains GDP, Soft target: The van drove into pedestrians on the Las Ramblas
nervous that cracks seen in mid-October to avoid defaulting on loan payments. REUTERS * licans control both Congress compared with 9% for neigh- boulevard, one of the citys most tourist-friendly sites. AFP *
the more than-eight year and the White House bouring France, and is
bull run in equities will turn pectations that the Trump downside since Mr. Trump The U.S. Federal Reserves therefore a major driver of and beds being made avail- Second, the more such at-
into a steeper sell-off. administrations policies will took office. next meeting on Sept. 19-20 an economy which is still re- able. And of Spains 75 mil- tacks happen in big cities,
September is historically spur growth. Yet the cata- When the market closed is also seen as a possible covering from a painful fin- lion tourists in 2016, one in the more their impact on
one of the most volatile lysts could be over. at a record high on Aug. 7, near-term risk factor for ancial crisis. That makes five came from Britain, tourism is mitigated. After
months of the year, said Mi- This wave of good news more stocks ended the day stocks. In minutes of its last Thursdays mass murders a which has seen its own cur- London, Berlin, Nice,
chael Purves, chief global coming in the form of this lower than higher. policy meeting in July, the strike on prosperity as well rency weaken sharply since Manchester, Paris and Brus-
strategist at Weeden & Co. double-digit earnings growth There are some cracks in Fed reinforced expectations as people. its vote to leave the EU. That sels, its clear such incidents
Why do you want to chase is in the rear-view window market breadth, said Peter that at its next meeting it will makes overseas trips more can happen virtually any-
the S&P right now if theres a now and I think its kind of Cecchini, chief market announce when it will start Excessive tourism expensive for Britons. where, making it pointless to
good shot that September hard to look out and see strategist at Cantor Fitzger- to wind down its $4.2 trillion Tourism may be affected, as avoid any particular city or
NuTonomy may unveil can be an ugly, volatile whats the catalyst to get ald, who said he has grown bond portfolio. it was in France, which has COMMENT country.
paid self-driving car month. buyers to jump back in ag- more cautious in recent Perhaps the biggest suffered several deadly at- Shares in companies tied
SAN FRANCISCO On Thursday, the S&P 500 gressively, said Eric Kuby, weeks. worry is the potential un- tacks in the past few years. Still, Spain has some eco- to Spanish tourism, like NH
U.S. self-driving car start-up recorded its biggest daily chief investment officer, The S&P 500 is trading at winding of global central Spains last large-scale at- nomic protection. First, Hotel Group and Melia Ho-
NuTonomy and southeast percentage drop in three North Star Investment Man- 17.7 times expected earnings banks vast quantitative eas- tack, the bombing of Mad- growth has bounced back tels, fell only slightly on Fri-
Asian ride services partner months, hurt by speculation agement Corp. down marginally from ing stimulus programmes in rids Atocha station in 2004, after the eurozone crisis. day.
Grab hope to turn a test pilot about White House Eco- March, when it hit a high not the coming months, said targeted commuters rather The countrys GDP grew by The assault on Barcelona,
in Singapore into a paid, nomic Adviser Gary Cohns Buy the dip? seen since 2004 a level Fawad Razaqzada, Market than tourists. But visitor 0.9% in the second quarter claimed by Islamic State on
commercial service as soon as possible departure, and Cracks have started appear- many investors consider ex- Analyst, Forex.com, in a re- numbers would probably of 2017, its fastest in two Friday, is by no means an at-
the second quarter of next failed to reverse course even ing in the markets relentless pensive and increasing the search note. have eased, even without years, and close to its fastest tack on Spain alone and it
year, NuTonomy CEO Karl after the White House said rally. risk of a market sell-off. Still, any pullback gives in- the attack. Residents of cities rate since 2007. And unem- will not defeat the countrys
Iagnemma said. Ride services he was not leaving. Stocks Thursday marked the sev- When youre at these vestors an opportunity to including Barcelona have ployment fell to 17.1% in June recovery.
firms are expected to be one edged higher on Friday. enth straight day in which valuation levels in a lot of buy and investors are watch- protested over the heavy from 19.9% a year earlier, the (The author is a Reuters
of the most key markets for The weakness came just the NYSE and Nasdaq had these names, it doesnt take ing for those dips. burden of what they see as biggest decrease in the Breakingviews columnist. The
self-driving cars. Reuters as stocks were recovering more stocks making new 52- much, said Stephen Mas- This has been a buy on excessive tourism leading to European Union, according opinions expressed are his
from last weeks swoon on week lows than highs, the socca, senior vice president, the dips market and we do official curbs on new hotels to Eurostat. own)
worries linked to escalating longest stretch since Mr. Wedbush Securities. believe that pattern will
tensions between North Trumps election. History is against stocks: hold. Its just a question of
Korea and the United States. At Thursdays close, for a September ranks as the how big that dip is, said
The market is up more rolling period of one month, worst month for stocks, ac- David Schiegoleit, managing WEEK AHEAD IN MARKETS
than 8% so far this year, 509 more stocks had fallen cording to the Stock Traders director of investments, U.S.
fuelled by hopes of bumper each day on average than Almanac, producing an aver- Bank Private Wealth
corporate earnings and ex- risen, the largest skew to the age price return for the S&P Management.
Shift from non-GAAP bottom
U.S. prosecutors moot
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Prison getaway
lines could be good for stocks
3-year jail term for Liang
DETROIT A crackdown is spurring firms to report more cautiously
Federal prosecutors
recommended a three-year Reuters consider expensive and in-
prison sentence for SAN FRANCISCO creases the risk of a market
Volkswagen AG engineer Investors worried about sell-off. But the expected
James Liang for his role in a lofty stock-market valu- earnings in that valuation
diesel emissions scandal that ations may take comfort in are adjusted, not GAAP.
has cost the automaker $25 signs that companies in the To the extent that com-
billion. Liang, who pleaded benchmark S&P 500 index panies use non-GAAP ac-
guilty to misleading are padding their bottom counting less this year than
regulators, is cooperating lines less than they have in in recent years, investors
with prosecutors and will be previous years. may feel more comfortable
sentenced on Friday. Reuters paying higher valuations for
Difference to shrink their stocks. Youre getting
Recent changes to account- more conservative in your
ing standards and a crack- earnings approach rather
GAAP assurance: Investors
down last year by the Secur- than more aggressive, said
may feel more comfortable
ities Exchange Commission Phil Blancato, head of
paying higher valuations for
are encouraging many com- Ladenburg Thalmann Asset
their stocks. REUTERS *
panies to be more cautious Management. Thats ex-

about reporting metrics are to GAAP, the more con- actly why I dont think cur-
that do not adhere to Gen- fident Id be that investors rent PEs are very
erally Accepted Accounting are getting a fair character- expensive.
Principles (GAAP). The dif- isation, said Jack Ablin, Following new account-
ference between S&P 500 chief investment officer at ing standards covering the
Ex-UAW official charged companies GAAP net in- BMO Private Bank. On their taxation of stock-based
in Fiat payoff probe comes and the adjusted ver- income statements, com- compensation, Alphabet
A former senior official at the sions of net income that panies often exclude ex- Inc. stopped excluding
United Auto Workers trade they play up to Wall Street traordinary items, like stock-based compensation
union was charged with is expected to significantly charges associated with lay- from its costs in the first
conspiring with other union shrink in 2017 for a second offs that they believe give quarter. Facebook Inc. said
officials to accept improper year, after hitting a high in investors an unclear picture it would no longer emphas-
payments from Fiat Chrysler 2015, according to a Thom- of their performance. ise non-GAAP expenses, in-
Automobiles NV officials over son Reuters analysis. Those adjustments tend to come, tax rate or earnings
a four-year period. Virdell Such a decline may be make their profits appear per share. Responding to a
King, who a union official till good news for investors stronger. After an 8% rise in new standard on revenue
February 2016, was charged worried that stock prices 2017, the S&P 500 is trading recognition, Microsoft
with conspiracy to violate have risen too far. The at 17.8 times expected earn- Corp. said it will switch to
labour laws in U.S. District Pay to be jailed: Bangkok's first prison-themed hostel promises the look and feel of a real jail.The Sook Station hostel offers guests closer reported earnings ings, a level many investors GAAP revenue reporting.
Court in Detroit. Reuters pinstriped pyjamas for 700 baht and a wall with a height chart where they can have their mugshots taken. REUTERS *
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
In a strategic shift, Hyundai plans long-range premium electric car

South Korean automaker seeks to catch up with rivals, including Tesla, even as battery-powered cars have gained government backing in China, a major automobile market
Reuters 2021 with a range of 500 km Last year, it launched its charging infrastructure.
SEOUL (310 miles) per charge. It will first mass-market pure elec- Hyundai will achieve eco-
Hyundai Motor Co. said on also introduce an electric tric car IONIQ, but the nomies of scale for fuel cell
Thursday it was placing elec- version of its Kona small vehicles per-charge driving cars by 2035 at the earliest,
tric vehicles at the centre of sport utility vehicle (SUV) range is much shorter than said Lee Hang-koo, a senior
its product strategy one with a range of 390 km in the offerings from Tesla and research fellow at Korea In-
that includes plans for a first half of next year. General Motors. stitute for Industrial Eco-
premium long-distance elec- nomics & Trade.
tric car as it seeks to catch up Mainstream, realistic Hydrogen SUV Before that, Hyundai has
to Tesla and other rivals. Were strengthening our Hyundai unveiled a near no choice but to rely on bat-
Like Toyota Motor Corp., eco-friendly car strategy, production version of its new tery cars, he said.
Hyundai had initially cham- centreing on electric fuel cell SUV with a driving Hyundai launched the
pioned fuel cell technology vehicles, Executive Vice range of more than 580 km worlds first mass-produced
as the future of eco-friendly President Lee Kwang-guk clude eight battery-powered per charge, compared with fuel cell vehicle in 2013,
vehicles but has found itself told a news conference, call- and two fuel-cell vehicles a the 415 km for its current dubbed the Tucson Fuel Cell,
shifting electric as Tesla shot ing the technology main- contrast to its 2014 an- Tucson fuel cell SUV. but sales trailed Toyotas
to prominence and battery- stream and realistic. nouncement for 22 models, The mid-sized SUV will be rival offering, Mirai.
powered cars have gained The automaker and affili- of which only two were launched in Korea early next Hyundai has sold about
government backing in ate Kia Motors Corp., which slated to be battery year, followed by U.S. and 862 of Tucson Fuel Cell
China. together rank fifth in global powered. European markets. vehicles since its 2013
Toyota is now also work- vehicle sales, also said they Hyundai also confirmed a A fuel cell electric bus is launch, while Toyota sold
ing on longer distance, fast- were adding three plug-in Reuters report that it is de- slated to be unveiled late this some 3,700 Mirai Fuel Cell
charging electric vehicles, vehicles to their plans for veloping its first dedicated year, while a sedan-type fuel vehicles since its 2014
local media have reported. eco-friendly cars, bringing electric vehicle platform, cell car is also planned. Even launch.
The South Korean auto- the total to 31 models by which will allow the com- so, analysts noted that gain- In Korea, there are 10 fuel
maker is planning to launch 2020. pany to produce multiple ing traction with fuel cells cell charging stations, only
an electric sedan under its Underscoring Hyundais models with longer driving was going to be a long hard one-tenth of 100 in Japan, Green push: A fuel cell electric bus is slated to be unveiled late this year, while a sedan-type fuel
high-end Genesis brand in electric shift, those plans in- ranges. slog partly due to a lack of Hyundai said. cell car is also planned. REUTERS *
CM B ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI
OPEN PAGE 13
Balderdash and worse on a cure for baldness

Freedom from the worry of follicle flaws will set you free, no doubt. But before that you inevitably pass through many phases of hope and despair
Anand R. Raghavan body still retains some famili- lapse from character to com- Every time I walked into a hears what it wants to hear who arrived with the swift-
W
hen men grow bald arity with the past. Brief, be- modity. The meltdown into room, the first person that an insight that has spawned ness of shock. I gave up and
they begin to look cause I am down to the low obscurity. caught my attention was not industries from the origins of went back to my mother. She
like each other. Men single digits. Detached as its I tracked its progress over the woman with the enchant- time. was always a persuasive and
of all ages, nationalities, easier now to accept the the next few weeks. With the ing smile and unapproach- And so I applied oil on my positive person, but those
races and dispositions con- body as my cart for a brief earnest faith of a bone in a able aura, but the man head each night and relied powers seem to reach their
verge into one uniform non- journey and not me. dog fight hoping some with the misshapen on the same tools that al- zenith as mine collapse. So
descript facial signature It all began during those good karma from my clue- wig, as all wigs were. It low sanity to endure she took me to another
like a sculpture stripped of dark days when I began to less surrender would move now is the man with within an uncertain homeopath, a low-profile but
shape and left standing as a bald. I woke up one morning destiny to reverse its trends. the expensive hair world: blind hope and highly endorsed gentleman.
mass of unformed cement. and stood before the mirror, But the odds looked stacked extension, trans- shameless self-decep- His clinic was reassuringly
When they congregate at a staring at myself. I noticed against me. plant or weave. tion. The hair was def- spartan. It reminded me that
marketplace, they provide something amiss. It had the My father was bald be- At least men with initely looking richer glitzy marketing very often
the perfect aerial camouflage elusiveness of a brief flicker cause all his maternal uncles, a flattened birds every time I checked decouples capability from
for the illicit movement of a of unintended desire lost without exception, were nest on their heads after a shower. And so wealth. I walked in, sat down
consignment of eggs or and buried before it bald. Someone mentioned were shadowed by I showered more of- and asked him if he could
potatoes. emerges. But years of scru- that as irrelevant because the the transparent pre- ten. The memory of treat my balding condition.
When I had a full head of tinising my own face had balding gene came from my tence of dramatic sub- my good hair days He said he could, but before
hair, every time I walked past made me deeply familiar maternal side. I had two ma- terfuge. But modern- were plastered onto that, I must first accept that I
a mirror I would linger. On with its contours. ternal uncles, one bald and day treatments leave a the mirror. I peered was balding. It was a piercing
souped-up versions of a Fiat one crowned like a bear so misplaced veneer of into the past each day precondition.
or Ambassador, I would bend Encroachment my odds began to look bet- confidence on their sub- until it filtered into the In that dingy room across
my knees in front of the door The hairline had begun to ter. But while statistics are a jects that the flaw in their present. the table from this sage-like
or lean over the boot to get a fade near the right temple useful tool to analyse the follicles have been finally doctor, instead of disappoint-
clear view of myself. On and would expose the frontal past, they can be dreadful concealed. Desperate remedies ment I felt sheer relief. Years
street-side full-length win- bone on my forehead. Along tools to forecast the future. And that sows the seeds of Magic and madness are both of accumulated ruminations
dows with reflective film that with it a minor part of my fa- Because nature loves to pro- a more subtle yet awkward the unreasonable stubborn- leaked out of my skin and
diffused light in while keep- miliar past would morph out voke, to coldly clarify the ir- conflict into the situation. ILLUSTRATION:DEEPAK HARICHANDAN
ness of a hypnotic mind. If flowed back into the earth.
ing peering glares out, I of my face. A stranger was relevance of our petty calcu- Like a man absorbed in an in- someone told me applying Shortly thereafter I began
would catch myself in lan- encroaching on my reflec- lations. The landscape of my tense monologue on stage clearly inspired by McDon- oils and pills under a stand- cow dung on my head before shaving my head, and set my-
guid dynamic motion. tion like staleness slowly face had begun to alter in while the audience keeps get- alds to package and market ard 3 / 6 / 9 / 12-month pay- bed and drinking goats urine self free.
I was quite vain. I still am working its way through a ways that were so out of my ting distracted by the vapour healing like a scalable ment plan. It was such an ob- each morning would help, I My mirror is now relieved
a subconscious after-effect slice of bread. As long as the control that it troubled me. of spittle from his mouth that product. Met a young girl vious fraud, and a life would have been up to it. of the burden of my memor-
of years of habit although I frontal bones are covered, Men through the ages dance continuously like fire- who captured my medical membership treatment plan After a few years, the bald ies. The world looks different
have no reason left to be so. the face retains an elegant, have tried to stall it with vari- flies in the spotlight. and psychological history for incurable baldness must patch at the back of my head now, even though most pota-
My mirror gazes are now oval quality. Once it begins to ous devices. But all such at- I went to my mother in through a rapid checklist of have been in the pipeline. made itself visible in the mir- toes still look the same.
brief and detached, to count get exposed, the fall off the tempts only draw attention despair. We went to a questions with Yes/No an- But the desperate eye sees ror.
down the angles where my edge of a cliff begins. The col- to or magnify the problem. homeopathic clinic, a chain swers and then prescribed what it wants to see and An unexpected traitor anand@vijaytanks.com
Modernity and divinity The Beatles tryst with India

These events in August 1967, fifty years ago, made a mark on western culture
Have temples become the religious pharmacies of our times?
Nandini Gosine-Mayrhoo West. Swami Vivekananda, But it is for their song lyr-
I
Karthyani S. flowers and money. n August 1967, a wildly the first Hindu monk to ics that the Beatles are most
W
hat do you think of This line would fuel the popular rock band called travel to the West, spoke at admired and the influence of
when you think of ubiquitous angry mob if it the Beatles attended a lec- the first Parliament of the Hindu wisdom on those lyr-
Hinduism? Many was anywhere else, but this ture by Maharishi Mahesh Worlds Religions in 1893 in ics cannot be ignored. Their
in their minds eye see the being a temple, emotions Yogi at the London Hilton on Chicago where he intro- White Album contained
saffron-clad sadhus who are dulled by the anaes- Park Lane. They were given duced yoga to an attentive several classics written dur-
GETTY IMAGES
trek their way around the thesia of faith. Trapped in front row seats and invited to crowd. However, the interest ing their time with the Maha-
Himalayas, some picture the sea of humanity inching meet the Maharishi in his he piqued was chiefly aca- rishi, heavily influenced by
the glowing lamps of a centimetre by centimetre hotel suite after the lecture. demic, and it would be some the Maharishis teachings
Ganga aarti and some see towards the all-pervading During their private meet- time yet before yoga became and the Beatles experience
the beloved temple that oc- idol at the front, it is every ing, the Maharishi invited more generally popular. with Transcendental Medita-
cupied a corner of their person to himself or her- the Beatles to be his guests at Swami Vivekananda estab- the sitar under Ravi Shankar, tion. These include While
street and their hearts. self. Feet are trodden on, of- a training retreat in Wales. It lished the first Vedanta Soci- during which time he also My Guitar Gently Weeps,
Rituals have become syn- ferings dropped. A few was there that the band ety in New York in 1894. studied the works of Parama- Dear Prudence, and Black-
onymous with the true ex- whispered curses are heard members, who were already Paramahansa Yogananda hansa Yogananda and Swami bird. George Harrison is
pression of Hinduism, through the aura of intense exploring ways to expand arrived in the U.S. in 1920, Vivekananda. With his grow- quoted as saying, All the ex-
whether the many sub- worship, and glares are their consciousness (includ- and was the first master of ing interest in Eastern philo- periences that happened in
merged Ganeshas around passed back and forth ing through the use of yoga to live and teach in the sophy, he was instrumental India was... embodied in
monsoon or the gaily among the women who drugs), were initiated into West, for over 30 years. He is in getting the Beatles to the that album.
dressed elephants in the jostle for space. the basics of Transcendental known as the Father of Yoga Maharishis lecture in Lon-
Guruvayur temple square. Meditation. in the West. don in August 1967. It is said Enduring message
So much so that many Rush hour Some months later, in that Harrison was a spiritual The Beatles were together
have forgotten the essence No, that isnt a tsunami Time seems to move as February 1968, the Beatles To the mainstream mentor to millions. His in- for ten years from 1960. Al-
of these rituals; that there is <
> Athem
shrine turns
all into but a flood of students put- slowly as molasses, and travelled to the Maharishis But it was the Beatles associ- terest in Hinduisms wisdom though Beatlemania may ex-
a religion of incredible com- ting their faith in divinity to when it does, the rush be- training centre in India. ation with Maharishi Mahesh teachings was life-long, and plain why even many years
fanatic subjects Their spiritual training there Yogi at the time of flower when he died his ashes later they remain a house-
plexity hidden beneath the chariot them past the ranks gins. Push! Shove! Squeeze
layers of milk and turmeric seeking a glimpse to the IIT or the AIIMS. through! Quick, there led to their single most creat- power and the hippie move- were, fittingly, scattered in hold name, perhaps to a
and flower garlands. So of the divine Pizza, Coke, and Game of seems to be an opening ive period with them re- ment in the 1960s, with their the Ganga. large extent their music en-
many children are clueless Thrones? No, two months here; no, I was there first! portedly penning 48 songs in lyrics of love and world When the Beatles trav- dures for its messages of love
when it comes to the mean- pharmacies of our days, before entrance it becomes All the civilised sense of less than seven weeks. The peace, which brought the elled to the Maharishis and understanding.
ing behind the scriptures, dhoti-clad priests the phar- puja, kumkum, and Gita patience and courtesy goes Maharishi, who had inten- Hindu philosophies of med- ashram in India, it was big Yoga has been handed
but can mouth the Bhag- macists. No side effects, no Chapter 16. The irony in the up in flames as people fight ded that fateful lecture at the itation and yoga main- news. The world was down to humanity through
wad Gita verbatim. These specific dosage. Divine fact that we have pledged for any opportunity to get London Hilton to be his last stream. This occurred even gripped by Beatlemania, the mists of time and while it
rituals have taken preced- medicine is one-size-fits-all. ourselves to the gods before closer to the aforemen- public lecture in the West, as another Hindu monk, A.C. and what the Beatles did the is an accepted path to spir-
ence over everything else in You may say that is just an examination in order to tioned idol. Proximity, it was by this time being publi- Bhaktivedanta Swami Prab- world did. Just as fans copied ituality in the East, its grow-
this religion; priests pre- the older generation. My show our mastery of sci- seems, equates to divinity. cised as the Beatles Guru. hupada, was teaching U.S. their hairstyles and dalliance ing popularity in the West
scribe pujas as doctors pre- generation prides itself on ence, somehow escapes us. The closer you are, the audiences the principles of with psychedelic substances across various faiths is some-
scribe drugs. being rational and sci- And as for our level- more blessings are heaped Transformational touch Bhakti Yoga through his and pot, when the Beatles what a conundrum.
Need to get that job? Yes, entific; we dont blindly fol- headed, collected adults? A upon you. Get to the front That eclectic mixture of ISKCON movement. showed an interest in yoga Perhaps the Beatles inter-
one Ganapati puja should low god-mens instructions. shrine turns them all into and atone for your sins, and Hindu mysticism and iconic The Beatles were first in- the world paid attention. lude with Hindu philosophy
get you there. Child not You might see the occa- fanatic subjects looking for as you finally leave, elbow music exposed the Western troduced to Eastern philo- The Beatles helped make was no accident but rather a
listening to reason? A few sional teenager at his local a glimpse of their divine someone in the face so you public to Hindu philosophy sophy in 1965 when they met words such as mantra and beautiful kismet that com-
abhishekhams will do the temple, but it is a rare sight; king. Visit Shirdi, Tirupati, can have one last glimpse. It in an exciting new way. The Swami Vishnu-Devananda in guru familiar to westerners, bined western popular mu-
trick. Insistent, throbbing the strength of faith, like Guruvayur or any other ma- is okay. worlds ears were tuned to the Bahamas, during the and their interest fuelled a sic with spirituality.
arm ache that plagues your old medicine, loses its po- jor temple in the subcontin- In matters of love, war, the Beatles, and with the filming of Help! The desire to learn about Eastern It is perhaps the unique
days and nights? Oh, this tency over the generations. ent and you will know what and now temples, all is fair. band embracing all things In- Swami presented them with philosophy. That interest manner that combination
will be an expensive one, But come examination I mean. Baths are taken, the Just dont forget to put that dian, Western hearts were copies of his work, The Illus- continues to grow. In 2016, speaks to us which explains
one solid gold arm to your time, when NEET and JEE best clothes worn. In ten ten-rupee-note in the col- being transformed by that trated Book of Yoga. George Forbes reported on the grow- why Beatlemania and
local temple. and AIEEE papers are being minutes the cramming will lection box before you mystical lands ancient Harrison appeared to take ing popularity of yoga in the Hinduisms wisdom teach-
Indeed, every problem printed en masse and desks have you drenched in sweat leave. wisdom. the most interest and began U.S. and an increasing num- ings continue to garner West-
has a cure, and temples are laden with half empty and fanning yourself with The Maharishi was of studying yoga and Eastern ber of celebrities attest to ern interest for a long time.
have become the religious coffee cups? hands already heavy with karthyani.satish@gmail.com course not the first guru to religion. In 1966, Harrison practising Transcendental
bring Hindu wisdom to the travelled to India to study Meditation. nandini1863@gmail.com
Tribute to a friend with a unique connect

Reminiscences of a special buddy through a long and enjoyable lifes association More on the Web
thehindu.com/opinion/open-page
T.M. Vallikappen light, he was appointed the May I take the day off? modation problems now. Am when he was barely 60. My
Old age homes
I
first met Pod more than Resident Representative in- There was a slight pause, Home Secretary. Jails come wife and I were shattered. It
fifty years ago in that pres- Delhi of his State and moved followed, incredibly, by a directly under me. Pod had was not possible for us to at- as a fact of life
tigious college in Delhi into his official residence, chuckle at the other end, and a sense of humour! tend his funeral but within a
where we were to spend five the opulent palace of the the boss said, Acha baba, Pods rise in the month we met the family. His
A look at aspects of the rising number
delightful years together. former ruler of one of the enjoy yourself. Take the bureaucracy son took us around all the of living facilities for the elderly
While in college, Pod (not his princely states. My wife and I day off, but was spectacu- places associated with him, V. RAJAGOPAL
real name of course, but a spent many weekends at his dont make it a lar, and before and we even accompanied
poignantly evocative nick- palace, in the rulers luxuri- habit. we knew it he him when he took Pods Managing the final phase of life
name) and I, along with the ous suite. One day, after a Pod had a fleet was occupying the ashes to their final resting How to learn to manage to stand on
rest of our gang, had plenty particularly enjoyable week- of cars at his dis- top slot, that of place. My mind was at peace;
ones own legs in old age
of fun. Tutorials, scrambled end there, I was in no mood posal, including a Chief Secretary! I finally felt that I had done
SARANGAPANI BASHYAM
eggs and toast at the caf, to go to office. Egged on by Mercedes-Benz. Though not an ab- justice to the memory of my
taxi-rides to Sheela Theatre, Pod, I rang up my boss from He visited us rasive character, Pod dearest friend.
Dara Singh movies followed the bedside phone sheer frequently at was a principled We miss Pod very much; Surviving change and challenges
by dinner at Tare-Pyare luxury in those days! our humble man, scrupulously his sartorial elegance, his Life lessons from the diary of
dhaba, bunking classes, the As soon as he heard my second floor honest, and quiet companionship, and an Indian student in America
occasional Chinese dinner at voice on a Monday morning, flat in Saket. totally dedic- his boyish, guileless laughter. DEEPTHI MOHAN
Mikados, a cabaret show, the boss knew what was It was a treat to ated to his We miss him so much that
heavy drinking sessions coming. Yes, young man, he watch him arrive: the dapper work. He soon we have a small shrine-like
(mostly cheap rum), duck asked patiently. Whats your Pod in a chauffeur-driven commodation for us at a fell foul of the politicians, alcove in our room, above
shoots and picnics on the excuse this time? limousine! Our status went Government Guest House in and resigned in disgust, my computer table, contain-
Yamuna, treks in Himachal, Sir, I told him quite truth- up in the neighbourhood for the State capital. A junior of- though he was allowed to re- ing his photographs. He is Contributions to this page may be emailed to openpage@thehindu.co.in to a
raiding the fruit-shop, and fully, with Pod giggling un- him. ficer then, he must have had tain the innocuous designa- also the only person apart length of up to 700 words. Please provide the postal address and a brief descrip-
tion of the writer. An email id that is provided could be considered for publication.
much later, in our M.A. days, controllably by my side, Im After his stint in Delhi, some difficulty in arranging tion of Adviser to the Gov- from immediate family mem- Certify in writing that it is original material; The Hindu views plagiarism as a serious
parties with girls! in a palace, sleeping in a ma- Pod went back to his home the place for us. Many years ernment till the end. bers who is included in our issue. Also confirm that the submission is exclusive to this page. Taking into ac-
After college, Pod joined harajas bed, theres a swim- State. We missed Pod and de- later, when he was Home And then, suddenly, I got daily prayers. He must surely count the volume of material being received, we regret our inability to acknow-
ledge receipt, or to entertain telephonic or other queries on the status of a submis-
the Administrative Service. ming pool just outside the cided to visit him. As usual, Secretary of the State, he the news of his death. He be enjoying nirvana. sion. If a submission is not published within eight weeks, consider it to be out of the
He soon got to Delhi, where I room, and I just dont feel Pod was the genial host and sent me a telegram which had had a massive heart at- reckoning in most cases owing to dearth of space. The publication of an article is
not to be seen as The Hindu endorsing the viewpoint in any way.
was then posted. To my de- like coming to office today. arranged comfortable ac- said, Come soon. No accom- tack in his distant hometown thommen1512@gmail.com
CM B ND-NDE
YK
14 LIFE NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU

IN BRIEF
Polka dot queen to open museum Behls book on Indian
art offers visual treat
Art collectors are drawn to 88-year-old Yayoi Kusamas instantly recognisable style
Agence France-Presse Kusama became a fixture in Explores ancient and medieval periods
Tokyo the pop and minimalism art
Japanese artist Yayoi movements of the 1960s.
Mark Zuckerberg to take Kusama, known as the During a 16-year stint in
2-month paternity leave queen of polka dots, will New York, she staged hap-
SAN FRANCISCO open a museum exhibiting penings at the height of the
Facebook CEO Mark her works in Tokyo in Octo- sexual liberation movement
Zuckerberg has that said he ber, an official said. where people stripped na-
would be taking two months Ms. Kusama, 88, is known ked and had their bodies
of paternity leave after the for her use of vivid colour in painted with polka dots on
birth of his second daughter. her works that often depict Wall Street or Central Park.
Ill take a month off to be polka dots and spotted
with Priscilla (Chan) and the pumpkins. She often ap- Rediscovered in 1990s
girls at the beginning, and pears in a wheelchair and By the time Ms. Kusama re-
then well spend the whole sporting her trademark red turned to Japan in 1973, how-
month of December together hair. ever, she was burned out and Covers of The Art of India volumes 1 and 2.
as well, Zuckerberg wrote in The museum will hold ex- voluntarily checked into a
a Facebook post. REUTERS hibitions twice a year to psychiatric ward where she Special Correspondent temples of the Chalukyas,
CHENNAI
spread the message of has lived ever since. the Pallavas, the Cholas, the
world peace and love that It was not until the 1990s Frontline, a magazine of The Hoysala and so on.
Kusama has called for to the that Ms. Kusama was redis- Hindu Group has published Mr. Behls travels took
world in her works, the covered, her polka dots and a coffee-table book titled him far and wide: the 8th
Yayoi Kusama Foundation pumpkins a perfect find for a The Art of India: Sculpture century Sun temple at
said in a press release. highly commercialised art and Mural Painting in the Martand in Kashmir; the
The first exhibition at the market, with collectors Ancient and Medieval Peri- trans-Himalayan Buddhist
museum, which begins on Bright spot: Yayoi Kusama with her production titled Flowers that Bloom Tomorrow. * AFP drawn to her instantly recog- ods, authored by renowned monasteries; the Ramanath-
October 1, will feature her nisable style. art historian Benoy K. Behl, aswamy temple in
Google adds video large painting series titled comes after Ms. Kusama held Centre and the exhibition in feuding between her par- Her commercial success who is also an accomplished Rameswaram; the rock-cut
preview to mobile search My Eternal Soul. two major exhibitions in Ja- Washington also attracted a ents, was already drawing was highlighted when she culture photographer. Jaina reliefs at
SAN FRANCISCO Ms. Kusama had a strong pan and the United States lot of visitors, Tatehata said. dots and nets as a child collaborated with Louis Vuit- The book has more than Kazhugumalai; the Konark
In a major update, search wish to open her own mu- this year. Born in 1929 in central Ja- based on her hallucinatory ton in 2012 and she was 450 exquisite photographs temple in Odisha; the Jaina
engine giant Google has seum, said Akira Tatehata, More than 5,00,000 pans Nagano prefecture, Ms. experiences. named the worlds most taken by Mr. Behl , suppor- temples in Rajasthan; and
added six-second video director of the new facility. people came to the exhibi- Kusama, who suffered from After moving to the United popular artist in 2014 by the ted by a narration that is the Sun temple at Modhera
previews to its mobile search The announcement tion at Tokyos National Art psychological trauma due to States in 1957 at age 28, Ms. Art Newspaper. based on a series of articles in Gujarat.
results. Google would use its published over the years in
machine learning capabilities Frontline and on courses in Extensive journeys
Graffiti artists in Berlin wage war on swastikas

to analyse the entire video art history that he was in- Much of the travel was
and then decide which vited to give for Delhi Uni- made possible by two as-
six-second portion to pick for versity and for the College signments given to me by
preview. IANS of Art, Delhi. national television channel
Doordarshan. The first, in
Ibo Omari encourages young people to look out for Nazi symbols of hate and paint over them Intricate work 2000, was to make a series
Among the photographs are of 26 documentaries on the
Reuters atively paint over them they also wanted to show Berlin and look at a wall and artefacts and seals of the In- history of painting in India
BERLIN after getting permission from graffiti had nothing to do see a swastika, theyll think: dus Valley, whose art has and the second, in 2006,
Horrified at the sight of whoever owns the defaced with racism. Whats going on here? There not yielded a single depic- was to make another 26 doc-
swastikas scrawled on walls, property. Mr. Omari and The Cul- are Nazis everywhere! And tion of warfare and is char- umentaries tracing the his-
childrens playgrounds and tural Heirs decided the best we dont want that, he said. acterised by their smallness tory of Indian sculpture.
building sites, a group of Taking responsibility way to respond was with The group has already of scale; the female chauri Both assignments took me
Man charged for using graffiti artists in Berlin is It was important to spur humour and love so they transformed around 25 or whisk bearer of the on extensive journeys to all
drones to smuggle drugs transforming the Nazi sym- young people into action and came up with designs such swastikas and their Paint- Mauryan period (322 corners of India and to mu-
SAN DIEGO bols into colourful artwork to encourage them to take as rabbits, birds and a Ru- Back initiative has been BCE-185 BCE) at Didarganj, seums which had collec-
A 25-year-old U.S. citizen, such as flowers, cars and A swastika symbol is responsibility so they dont biks Cube to cover copied by people in other in present-day Patna; a de- tions of Indian art in Europe
Jorge Edwin Rivera, was animals. transformed into a Rubiks just ignorantly walk past swastikas. cities including Hamburg, piction of Shalabanjika, who and in the U.S., said Mr.
charged with using a drone to The swastika, which was Cube artwork. AFP * such symbols of hatred, Mr. Sketching potential Kiel and Bremen. represents fertility and Behl.
smuggle more than 6.1 kg of adopted by Adolf Hitlers Omari said. designs during a graffiti Mr. Omari started the pro- abundance, in the East Gate- Copies of the book can be
methamphetamine from Nazi party, is banned in Ger- Ibo Omari, who runs a It offends the whole workshop in Mr. Omaris ject in 2015 when a man way of Stupa I at Sanchi (1st bought at the branch offices
Mexico, an unusually large many, where right-wing sen- graffiti shop and The Cul- neighbourhood if someone shop, 16-year-old Philip Keil- came into his shop to get century); the rock-cut caves of The Hindu and at the
seizure for what is still a timent has risen due to an in- tural Heirs youth club, en- in our midst paints swastikas holz said he got involved as some cans of spray paint to of early western India and head office in Chennai.
novel technique to bring flux of more than a million courages young people to in a childrens playground racism had no place in the cover a swastika in a park the later caves of western In- The special publication,
illegal drugs into the U.S., migrants in the last two look out for swastikas in and I take it personally, the cosmopolitan German cap- where he had been playing dia in Ajanta and Ellora; the priced at 5,000, is in two
authorities said. AP years. their local area and then cre- 37-year-old said, adding that ital. When tourists come to with his son. emergence of deities; the volumes.
Lego toys flood cancer hospital Lamp on Big

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Eye in the sky Ben to be

500 boxes of building bricks arrive for young patients after online appeal turned off
Agence France-Presse cry for help from Ageop dir- pletely isolated and bored, Indo-Asian News Service
Rome ector Francesca Testoni. but now he is building an en- London
A paediatric cancer hospital At any age, building a car, tire city in his cocoon, Ms. A lamp at the top of the Big
in northern Italy thanked robot or space shuttle is al- Testoni said. The association Ben tower, which is
supporters online on Friday ways a wonderful way to also collects toys to give to switched on in the evening
after a desperate and un- pass the time and allow the children on their birthdays whenever Parliament is sit-
usual appeal for toys earlier spirit to travel, she wrote. or as treats for getting ting, will be switched off
in the week yielded hun- Can you help us? through a particularly diffi- for the first time in more
dreds of boxes of Lego build- Ms. Testoni pointed out cult treatment, she said. than 70 years, authorities
ing boxes. that the hospitals young pa- But the annual December announced on Saturday.
What a pleasure to see a tients could only play with drive does not always yield The Ayrton Light, loc-
child able to choose and give new and unopened toys for enough toys for the clinic, ated above the Great Bell,
him what he wants, read hygienic reasons. which has six beds in the needs to be fully dis-
the Facebook post from the transplant unit, 16 in the hos- mantled and restored. A
Ageop Ricerca association in Beating boredom pital and treats about 30 temporary light will re-
Bologna. Thank you oncology department of San- Within three days, the hos- young patients in the day place it.
world. tOrsola hospital in Bologna pital received 500 boxes of hospital. Installed in 1885, it was
for 35 years had appealed new Lego building bricks, The first boxes, brought in previously turned off only
Facebook request to its Facebook community which she said is the most by locals, arrived on Monday during both the World
The group which has been as it faced a shortage of toys requested toy. and others ordered online Wars.
involved in research, fund- for its young cancer patients. There is a seven-year-old are still flooding in. Even On track: Japan's H-IIA rocket, carrying Michibiki 3 satellite, aimed at augmenting the countrys The light is said to have
ing and support for cancer We have a Lego emer- boy who has just entered the more are expected next geolocation systems, lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Saturday. The satellite will been installed at the re-
patients and families at the gency, began the August 13 transplant unit. He is com- week, Ms. Testoni said. improve the accuracy of car navigation systems and smartphone maps. REUTERS/KYODO * quest of Queen Victoria.
INTERVIEW | MATT LEBLANC

The Sweet BreakUp: Celebrity
Much more than one of the Friends chef goes on the mithai trail
Actor talks about the cheeky comedy Episodes
Kunal Kapoor shows how desserts can be made sugar-free
Kathryn Shattuck It was a similar thing with As a host of Top Gear,
David Crane, a creator of the show, and his partner, Jef- Joey Tribbiani. There are no youve zoomed around in Indo-Asian News Service city for tasting, which is the
frey Klarik, pitched a new series, Episodes, to LeBlanc sev- rules. a Ferrari 812 Superfast
New Delhi most exciting part, Mr. Ka-
eral years later. They wanted him to play a character It was kind of like the sky and a Porsche Panamera As the festive season ap- poor said.
is the limit with this charac- Gran Turismo. What do proaches, celebrity chef
named Matt LeBlanc like himself, only a jerk.
ter. He just wasnt worried you drive in real life? Kunal Kapoor has good Unique experiences
about the consequences of news for those who fear that Whether it was Tewari
Episodes, whose fifth and fi- then I had such a good time his actions. He was like a Im a Porsche 911 guy. I Indian mithai is overly sweet Brothers Gulab Jamuns
nal season begins on August not doing anything that I was child in a sense. have a little collection going and high on calories. from Chandni Chowk, or
20 on Showtime TV, follows like, You know what? Im accidentally. In a five-part web series Malai ki Gilori from Luc-
a couple of British television going to do that again and Have you finally escaped Some new called The Sweet BreakUp, know, or Sandesh from Bal-
writers (played by Tamsin again and again and again. Friends? ones, some which went live on YouTube aram Sweets in Kolkata, or
Greig and Stephen Mangan) And then David and Jeffrey old ones, on Friday, Mr. Kapoor shows Dharwad Peda from Ban-
whose award-winning sitcom pitched Episodes. Im very proud of that some not-so- how to eliminate the sugar galore or the modaks in
about the headmaster of an show. I dont feel the need to old ones. and yet keep the taste intact. Mumbai, every mithai was
elite boys school is given the Playing an occasionally put it behind me. And I dont We all love our food and an experience in itself, the
Hollywood treatment in- unflattering version of think any of us will ever be The perfect car wardrobe sweets take a special place in chef recalled.
cluding a starring role for yourself must have able to escape it. But I also for a man who just turned our hearts... We took it as a Kunal Kapoor Expanding on the chal-
LeBlanc. seemed rather daunting. dont see why we should try 50. How is it reaching that challenge to recreate the In- lenge, he said: My endeav-
In a phone interview from to. Thats something that milestone? dian mithai with the same how they can replace sugar our was to try and keep the
Los Angeles, where he lives Ive known David and Jef- new generations discover taste but without the sugar with artificial sweeteners taste as close as possible to
when not shooting BBCs Top frey since Friends, so I trus- every year, and its on all the Ive found myself looking and with much less calories. and still retain the flavour. the original recipe. Trust
Gear in London, a mellow ted them implicitly. I was time all over the world and it at my life and thinking that I am confident it will be as The series has attempted me, it is the most difficult
LeBlanc chatted about his able to commit very readily makes people laugh and its its time to maybe slow down fun for everyone to watch as to capture our journey to re- part.
life the real version. Ex- to whatever the story was, brought people a lot of joy. a little bit and smell the it was for me to make the discover some of the iconic Last year, Mr. Kapoor
cerpts from an interview whatever the joke was, Its a positive thing. roses. sweets, said Mr. Kapoor. mithais of India. We have in- came out with an 18-part TV
with The New York Times. whatever the scene needed. So Ill let these shows play teracted with fifth and sixth show titled Pickle Nation.
even to some ideas where I You have a 13-year-old out and see. Going places generation halwais with a Whats next on the cards?
After Friends ended in was initially like, I dont daughter, Marina. Has she And then I dont know The series revolves around legacy hundreds of years There are a lot of things
2004 and then its spinoff, know. I knew that they discovered it? that Ill do anything else. I the celebrity chef, and old. We have tried to explore that I am working on. My re-
Joey, in 2006, you didnt would look out for me and might just fade off into the Rocky and Mayur from the the story and origins of le- search and writing on my
work for nearly five years. not throw me under the bus. She has watched it here distance. cult show Highway on my gendary Indian dessert. book on pickles continues,
and there, but I think she Plate. They travel on a truck There is a lot of interac- chronicling the pickle evolu-
I was tired and I had gone Was there anything sees enough of me. I dont What do you plan to do to five Indian cities where tion with locals in every city. tion and innovations across
through a divorce. I was go- freeing about playing the think she wants to watch me after this? the chef interacts with Once I create the mithai, we the country, Mr. Kapoor
ing to take a year off and fictional Matt ? on TV. Take a nap. sweetmakers and explains take it to the people of the revealed.
CM B ND-NDE
YK
0 Delhi
LITERARYREVIEW
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Sunday, August 20, 2017

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THE LEAD
The mysterious ailment of civil society

The ban on Hansda Sowvendra Shekhars book proves that a societys caretakers often dont take care of its creative artists
Challenging the status quo Matisses oil
painting Dance and (below)
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar.
Wiki Commons & K. Pichumani
age, aborigines have been treated al-

ternatively (and sometimes simultan-
eously) in one of two ways by dominant
groups of non-aborigines: they are
either pickled in a static culture, or they
are bossed around, moved from here to
there, told to do this or that.
In such a situation, unfortunately, it
is hard for a truly creative writer to be
appreciated by the caretakers of soci-
ety and politics.
I first read Hansda Sowvendra
Shekhar years ago, when I was one of
the judges of the Hindu Fiction Prize.
Dr. Shekhars first novel, The Mysterious
Ailment of Rupi Baskey, had been
entered for it. I had never heard of him
before that. But his novel was impress-
L BY TABISH KHAIR ive, and we went on to shortlist it for the
prize. If the Jharkhand government had
any sense, it would honour Dr. Shekhar
N
othing signifies the intellectual
bankruptcy of a government as the most significant aboriginal In-
more than an attempt to ban a dian English writer from the State
book. The Jharkhand govern- today, instead of harassing him.
ment has not done itself a favour by I know Hansda will not be relishing
banning Sahitya Award-winning Hansda the controversy. I met him properly,
Sowvendra Shekhars book, The Adivasi and actually the only time (barring a
Will Not Dance, for allegedly portraying fleeting introduction at the Hindu Fic-
Santhal women in bad light, according tion Prize ceremony), at the Hyderabad
to news reports. Dr. Shekhar, who Literature Festival about two years ago.
comes from an aboriginal (tribal) back- He immediately struck me as the anti-
ground, works as a government doctor thesis of all those double-passport au-
in Pakur: he has also been precipitously thors who can take controversies in
suspended. The spashtikaran (clarific- their global strides given the fact that
ation) letter and the suspension order they live and have powerful friends in
are dated the same day August 11, 2017 places like Delhi, London and New
which in itself should be considered a York. Hansda, like I had been until
procedural error, if not something the age of 25, was a small-town per-
worse. How can a person be suspended son. He did not want to be contro-
without being given the time to clarify? Some people argue that sometimes Whatever the merits and demerits of versial or famous.
Shekhar has written
But the clarification required also
seems problematic. The assumption be-
<
> moving stories about bans are necessary for law and order
issues: in short, a book that causes a
such legal options a matter I leave to
jurists the fact remains that Dr.
He just wanted to write honestly
and as best as he could, which is
hind the suspension as reported in community to riot should be banned. Shekhars book does not fit any of these what he has proceeded to do in
the press is that Dr. Shekhar should
various aboriginal his latest book too.
This, of course, does not apply to Dr. legal rubrics.
have sought the governments permis- situations. They are an Shekhars book: opposition to it seems All one can do is wish him
sion in advance before writing his col- to be led by a few politicians, who show Mirror held up and writers like him the calm
lection of stories. honest and at times very little evidence of reading books, Dr. Shekhar has written a collection of and support that they deserve,
agonised look at an and the only article attacking it that I moving and at times cutting stories and often lack.
Cutting stories could discover (Dainik Bhaskar, Ranchi about various aboriginal situations. As
This is a problematic assumption: Does exploitative world edition, August 10, 2017) is an ill-in- is the case of stories by our greatest The writer is a poet, novelist and critic
any employer, governmental or corpor- formed piece written by a non-tribal writers, like Premchand or Manto, Dr. based in Denmark, whose latest novel is
ate, own the employee, body and soul, some skills and hours of labour, not his and upper caste person. The demand Shekhars stories do not set out to glor- Jihadi Jane, published as Just Another
as if he was a slave, to the extent that the entire body and soul. to ban Dr. Shekhars book seems to be ify or chant the praise of the status quo. Jihadi Jane outside India.
employee has to seek permission to in- Bans are dangerous weapons, and largely manufactured in a small circle of They are an honest and at times agon-
dulge even in acts of creative and per- they mostly misfire. More so, when they politicians and activists of a certain sort. ised look at a difficult and exploit-
sonal expression? pertain to books, which can easily be Actually, I am not even sure that a ative world: it appears that
What if Dr. Shekhar had painted a printed elsewhere. Jharkhands neigh- law and order issue justifies a ban: that the spokespersons of ab-
landscape, maybe depicting a factory bour, Bihar, is learning this the hard is, not if the government wants to do its original politics cannot
belching smoke into verdant aboriginal way, with its alcohol ban, and you just job and avoid being held hostage by tolerate having a mir-
forests, or a portrait of a Santhal woman have to spend some days on the various vested groups. There are legal ror held up to the
vainly trying to suckle a starving infant? Jharkhand-Bihar border to realise how options to seek court orders against a world in which they
Would he have been required to seek much alcohol is being smuggled one publication defamation or hatred- are thriving. Unfor-
permission for such paintings too? What way, and how many alcohol-fanciers are speech, for instance, with the former tunately, though,
if he had composed a piece of music, or heading the other way. being evoked by godman-tycoon Ram- from the time of
decided to act in a play? Lets face it: the It seems to me that such bans are dev, in a current court case to prevent the Red Indians
difference between an employee and a simply a governments bid to make the publication of Godman to Tycoon: and cowboys in
slave is that the employee only sells empty gestures and flex its muscles. The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev. the U.S. to our own
REVIEW
Digging down to the centre of the earth

This novel abounds with paternal and filial obsessions: the paternal authority, which has to be rejected, is political, cultural, psychological
L BY CARLO PIZZATI sparse and direct, taking fewer lyrical by his father, the red-haired woman tells would all like a strong, decisive father
flights than My Name is Red. This is a him: Find yourself a new father. We all telling us what to do and what not to do.
M
any religious cosmogonies world requiring a controlled and con- have many fathers in this country. The Is it because it is so difficult to distin-
teach that it is only by killing densed prose that wont let you go. fatherland, Allah, the army, the Mafia guish what we should and shouldnt do,
the father that we are able to The main character, Cem, wanted to No one here would ever be fatherless. what is moral and right from what is sin-
build a new reality where we be a writer, but ended up studying en- Then Cem commits what he believes is a ful and wrong? Or is it because we con-
can freely thrive. Zeus, Greek king of gineering geology. His pharmacist crime that will haunt him with guilt for stantly need to be reassured that we are
gods, has to murder Chronos so that a father was involved in politics in Turkey decades. innocent and have not sinned?
new universe can begin. Rudra has to and disappeared twice. During one of This novel abounds with paternal and Both Rostams and Oedipuss tales
kill Prajapati. Only then a new era can these fatherless seasons, the middle- filial obsessions, mostly because it is clearly announce one thing: by trying to
start. class teenager is forced to get a summer making a larger and extremely relevant escape it, you are realising your fate.
Sigmund Freud has famously em- job to help the family finances. He is political point. The paternal authority And the fate of the West, Pamuk tells us,
ployed Sophocless tragedy Oedipus Rex thus enlisted by the protective yet we find here is the same we identify is to be fatherless, like Oedipus. The sec-
to tell his patients that only by meta- rugged well digger, Master Mahmut, to with as the state. ular quest is juxtaposed to the paternal
phorically killing their father can they spade for water in the outskirts of And Pamuk, even though enraptured reassurance of religion, as the novel re-
become adults, and that such instinct is ngren, pop. 6200, a village slowly in an archetypal narrative, cant escape minds the reader that Jean-Jacques
secretly repressed in most of us. Fathers swallowed up by Istanbul, as the plot the fact that he lives in President Recep Rousseau abandoned his four children
create the useful and yet constraining develops over the last 30 years. Getty Images/ IStock Erdogans Turkey, a country governed on purpose, in order to ensure they
super-ego, teaching us the limits of life, This is the stage upon which much by an increasingly authoritative father would grow up to be modern.
which at some point must be dealt with deeper digging takes place. The well be- where the book begins and ends. Sure, By trying to escape it, figure. But, again, the novel is not In all this, there is an agent without
in order to give way to a freer, more ma-
ture and creative relationship with our
comes the mystical humus of a more
profound search for a ctonian revela-
this 25 metres deep hole is the symbol
of solitude, since only one person at a
<
> you are realising your
weighed down by the caducity of con-
temporary news.
which there would be no father and no
son the mother. The lover, the wife,
existence. tion. Closer to the earths centre is time can fit in it. But it is at its bottom fate. And the fate of Oedipus, psychological symbol of the the woman, all these are characters who
where truth is hidden. that the sky looks more remote, like son who rejects his father and resents seem marginal for most of the book, but
Theatre of growth This is not a Murakamian well, a hid- the world at the wrong end of a tele- the West, Pamuk tells his authority, is representative of indi- who come back with a vengeance to de-
Symbolic patricide is a necessity, a des- ing place of isolation. It is the theatre of scope. It is where all secrets are kept, vidualistic Western rebellion. Rostam, mand their proper place.
tiny that cant be eluded if you are to at- growth, tragedy and discovery. Its where the people of Istanbul have been
us, is to be fatherless, the father, who by murdering his son And, as the reader will discover, the
tain individual freedom. This is one pil- discarding everything for hundreds of like Oedipus demonstrates his ultimate power, in- mother has a much more central role
lar of the latest, masterly novel by years. carnates the authoritarian Asian than the red-haired woman admits in an
Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, The Red- The build up of Cem and Master Mah- quotes Islamic legends that tell a differ- father. Patricide vs filicide. West vs important monologue reminding us
Haired Woman. But there are many muts relationship is slow, but it never ent story. Cem is bewitched by a fiery, East. that the logic of the universe turns on
more reasons why this clever, absorbing The Red-Haired allows you to avert your gaze. A father- older, red-haired actress. He sneaks into the tears of mothers: Whether it is
Woman
tale proves why this writer earned his less son and a son-less father. To sur- the village to attend a theatre play de- Tears of mothers fathers killing their sons, or sons killing
Orhan Pamuk
2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, it is in vive, says the master, a well digger picting a scene from the Shahnameh, These considerations emerge in the fi- their fathers, men always emerged vic-
Knopf
the capacity to turn a fascinating novel must be able to trust his apprentice as The Book of Kings, the worlds longest nal scene of the book, when the adult torious, and all that was left for me to do
449
into an archetypal lesson that helps us he would his own son. epic poem written by Persian author and son-less Cem, now a rich and suc- was weep.
interpret the present, but at the same Everything looks set to go down Ferdowsi, where the warrior Rostam cessful entrepreneur in real estate, in an
time captures a perennial human and Paulo Coelhos way, but fortunately it unknowingly takes the life of his son eerie scene, encounters an angry young The writer is an author and professor of
political tendency. doesnt. By the campfire, Cem relates Sohrab, and weeps clutching his corpse. poet who tells him what could be the communication theory. His most recent
The style of The Red-Haired Woman is Oedipuss tale, and Master Mahmut Consoling Cem for feeling abandoned cry of todays masses: It seems we book is The Edge of an Era.
CM ND-X
YK
2 BIBLIO NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU LITERARY REVIEW

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PUB CRAWL IN CONVERSATION

Book lovers travelling by the
Im like a dog. I live in the present

Delhi Metro in the second week
of August were in for a pleasant
surprise. They got a chance to
pick a book across different
metro stations. Penguin
Random House India and Books
on The Delhi Metro had Neel Mukherjees novels, including his latest, A State of Freedom, take a magnifying glass to the lives of others
collaborated to dedicate the week to reading. Readers
could get hold of special editions called Penguin 30, BY TISHANI DOSHI
which have been published by Penguin Random House
A
to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. Since the dancing bear called Raju. Fox-faced twin brothers Lakshman and
focus was to keep the reading chain going, readers Ramlal, who lose their mother at birth. One becomes the bears keeper,
would circulate the books across stations once they
were done, giving others a chance to get the copy. the other disappears to the city to find construction work. An NRI who
takes his six-year-old son to see the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. A cook
called Renu from Medinipur, Bengal, who sends money for her nephews
A Delhi court has restrained
Juggernaut Books from education abroad. Two friends in Jharkand Milly and Soni. One escapes village
publishing and selling Priyanka life by becoming a domestic worker in Bombay. The other joins the Maoist
Pathak-Narains book on Yoga revolutionaries. Like his previous novels, which take a magnifying glass to the
guru Baba Ramdev titled lives of others, Neel Mukherjees third novel, A State of Freedom, is a work that is
Godman to Tycoon: The Untold
Story of Baba Ramdev. Amazon both unflinching and resolute in its vision. By examining the minutiae of these
and Flipkart have also been lives of seemingly unconnected people, he brings into focus a larger picture the
barred from selling the book. humiliation of indifference, the violence of poverty, and what it means to be a
As the matter is sub judice, we cannot comment on the tourist in your own country. Mukherjee tells me that he is an entirely non-
merits of the case, Juggernaut said in a statement. But
the publisher said that they stand by the book. We will nostalgic person. When Im in the U.S., I dont miss London at all. And now that
defend the case and will move the court to vacate the Im back in London I dont miss the U.S. at all. Im like a dog. I live in the present
injunction. Godman to Tycoon is a work of serious tense. Excerpts from an interview:
journalism, according to Juggernaut. It is supposed to
be the product of over 50 interviews with key players in
Baba Ramdevs life, including with Ramdev himself, and I was interested in your epigraphs, both per- lion could speak, we could not understand
close aides and family members. taining to the migrant experience. The first, by him. Of course we wouldnt! So, rather than
Naipaul, about possibilities, and the second, betray the experience of what I imagined the
by a Syrian refugee, who says, we are not mi- truthful experience from the point of view of
Amazon has grants! We are ghosts... Why did you choose the animal might be, which I do not know, I
launched a writing these? thought Id write the animals story from the
human point of view.
contest for self-
L Epigraphs are important to me because they
publishers in India.
give the reader a certain hand, which sets the Did you have to do a lot of research?
Authors can
parameters of the books meaning. No one Models of reality A great writer teaches you how to look at the world. Nick Tucker
participate by
seems to pay them much notice. People think L Yes, some, and they are acknowledged in
publishing their book
that a writer is being pretentious if theyre us- the book, but research only takes you to the India is constantly within things that I have never been able to
<
>
through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.in till
ing an epigraph. Theyre not. Theyre creating door of the room you want to enter, and its perceive it. Chaos is its own design, I feel, but
November 10, 2017. They have to enrol the book in KDP
Select, adding the search keyword, pentopublish2017.
a certain interpretive horizon within which the locked, and you have to take a key and go and changing. Its alive in a chaos is not great when it comes to govern-
work is read. I use Naipaul for several reasons. I enter that room. You know, so many people ments and markets and things like that. If you
The winner will be awarded a cash prize of 10 lakh, a
think of him as one of the great novelists of the say, Oh research, Oh autobiographical. What
fascinating way and alive look at the lives of the poor, so much of ele-
print publishing deal with Westland Publications Limited
and will be mentored by Chetan Bhagat. The winner will
last century. Hes extraordinary a big au- they dont get is that so much of our lives is in a dangerous way mentary decision-making is so difficult for
thorial presence in my life. And in a way this spent squeezing our eyes tight shut and ima- them because of this chaos, and because of
be selected by a panel of judges that includes Ashwin
book is a conversation I wish to have with his gining what happens launching ourselves because it will turn their constraints. And the unravelling that
Sanghi, Karthika V.K., Sundari Venkatraman and Chetan
novel, In A Free State. That too is a book in five into the heads of other people and just think- around and bite you happens at the end of the book I feel so
Bhagat.
parts which stand alone and are unrelated. ing, what would this person do if they were bleak about the way India is going. I wonder,
doing a street performance or something like what will cohere?
Could you say something more about this five- that. When economists make models of reality about Naipauls conservative tendencies
Actor Keanu Reeves has joined part form? they always proceed with what ifs, how do the coupled with his radical vision. The combina- How has your relationship with India
Alexandra Grant and Jessica variables change etc. I think a degree of that tion is explosive. I feel one can learn a lot from changed over the years?
Fleischmann as publisher of the L I wanted to push forward with my thinking of kind of rigour in thinking about characters is writers. I tell my students, a great writer
Los Angeles-based independent realism, to see whether I could push realism in good and necessary. doesnt teach you how to write, a great writer L I think so much of it has to do with what
press, X Artists Books. The its anti-direction. But I wanted to do it from teaches you how to look at the world. kind of upbringing you had. I feel many of my
organisation has acquired a within realism, without breaking the surface. Tell me about your bullshit detector. You friends who had comfortable childhoods seem
reputation for publishing So, I use a ghost story for example, and one of seem to have a very good one. Id say you offer a little more tenderness to like India more than I do. I had a more diffi-
unconventional, interdisciplinary the reasons for doing that is if you think about than Naipaul. cult childhood and therefore my relationship
and collaborative artists books. X why a ghost exists, its because something ter- L You call it bullshit detector. Im trying to with the country is more jagged. After a period
Artists Books is scheduled to release four titles this year rible happened in the past. It exists because it think carefully what you mean. I spend a lot of L But he used to be a tender writer! If you read of decontamination, by which I mean, living in
that include The Words of Others the first full English hasnt found its resting point. A ghost story af- time away from the centres in India and I dont In A Free State, the pages of his journal where the West, I began to find the country intellec-
translation of Argentine artist Len Ferraris highly fords a way of thinking about painful histories, tell people Im going there. I do my own thing. hes in Egypt, in a caf in the desert, and the tually fascinating in a way I didnt think I
acclaimed work and High Winds by playwright Sylvan and a ghost is also a migrant, trapped between I avoid places like Delhi. If you can sit and just Italian tourists there are throwing food in the would. When youre outside a forest and
Oswald. Why were doing it and what its for, Reeves two worlds, somewhat in purgatory. I thought listen to people my life criss-crosses a lot dunes, and the little boys in the desert are ab- youve gone far away and you can see it from
had said earlier, is the pleasure of reading and thinking that might be a way of thinking about the his- with people like Renu and Milly. I sit them solutely impoverished. They come scrambling the top of a hill, you can see the shape of the
and imagining, and to go on a journey. tory of migration. And then, suddenly, I was down and I just ask them questions. I dont over for the food, and the Egyptian caf forest which you cannot see when youre in-
reading an article about Syrian refugees, and know how to answer this question. There are waiter, who has a camel with him he whips side it. India is constantly changing. Its alive
that second epigraph just fell into my lap. Okay, some gifts that a writer must have. It doesnt the boys, and the Italians film it. And Naipaul in a fascinating way and alive in a dangerous
The news GST regime brings I thought, this gives me the whole metaphor- all turn around reading and craft. is absolutely incensed. He goes to the waiter way because it will turn around and bite you.
bad tiding for book lovers. ical ruling for my book. and grabs his whip away and throws it to the Its electric, and the West I feel, is sclerotic.
Although books are exempt What Im getting at is authenticity. There was ground. Who would have expected Naipaul to That is one of the gifts leaving gave me. I dont
under GST, it is predicted that Tell me how you came to write about a bear. never a moment of disbelief for me while do something like that? Its a moment of such think Ill ever be able to write a book set in
they will get costlier, since reading your book. utter compassion. He had that, you know? England. Im simply not interested. But India
inputs such as printing, binding L Often you dont know the point of origin. And then, suddenly, by the time he writes his continues to fascinate me. Its in my blood in a
and royalties to authors now Anything you can point at is only post facto nar- L Thats a great compliment. You know, Nai- last great masterpiece, A Bend in the River, its way nothing is or will be. And its in the blood
attract a 12% tax. Since publishers dont get input tax rative. So, I dont know how Raju and Laksh- paul had that. He went to all these countries all gone. sometimes as poison, and sometimes as the
credit, they will, in all probability, pass this on to man arrived in my head but I have dim memor- he didnt know, and he had this vision. He ba- thing that gives me my very life. Both at once.
customers. However, there is some hope prices may ies of wanting to have an animal section in the sically saw through everything into the seeth- Do you think there is a different relationship
not increase immediately. Publishers of school book. I did not want to anthropomorphise the ing messy core of the whole country and its to chaos and order in India? A writer and dancer, the authors poetry
textbooks are also planning to hike prices, but from the animal. I did not want to give him human-like peoples. James Wood wrote a wonderful piece book Girls Are Coming Out Of The Woods will
next academic session. thoughts. Think of Wittgenstein saying, If a about him in The New Yorker, where he talks L If there is any order in India it lies so deep be out soon.
A TYPOPHILES NOTES REVIEW
Hail the biblio goddess, full of grace Voices in the head

Something about this particular leaf looked tantalisingly familiar... The battlefield isnt America or Syria but Rezs mind
enough, I would bid and it did, and I jumped loosely laid leaf. And there it was: the Fust and L BY KARTHIK SHANKAR L A Good Country
in. Apart from me, only two others were inter- Schoeffer leaf with a colophon showing the first Laleh Khadivi
W
ested; the bid began at 50 and after a quick ever printers device. Peter Schoeffer had been hat drives someone to join IS? Bloomsbury
chase, was knocked down to me for 550. When Gutenbergs apprentice, and later, along with Jo- Last year, I devoured Joby War- 499
I went to pay up in the next room where the hann Fust, printed the incandescently beautiful ricks Pulitzer Prize-winning
sold lots were being held, adding to the total the Mainz Psalter, which carried the first printers Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS in
15% buyers premium, I discovered to my dis- colophon and device. two days. Its a gripping non-fiction work
may as the clerk handed over the books that I Of all the incunabulum leaves one could pos- with an uncanny ability to drop us in the
L PRADEEP SEBASTIAN had bid on the wrong lot. I had misremembered sibly find, I had hit the jackpot. Though this thick of momentous events. Yet, learning
the lot number, and was now in possession of colophon leaf was probably from a book printed about what transpired is very different from
W
here would we book collectors be what looked like a bunch of heavy tomes later by Schoeffer, it was still a splendid and understanding why they happened.
without our book collecting mir- those damn law books! priceless bibliographical rarity, rarely found as a Laleh Khadivis latest, the remarkable A
acles? No self-respecting collector Returns werent acceptable, so I was stuck loose leaf. Good Country, proves that fiction may be bet-
will deny having experienced a with them. On the bus back, the four volumes ter suited for getting us into such characters binaries of liberated American values and re-
miracle or two in pursuing an elusive rarity rode with me on my lap, and I began flipping More than luck heads and understanding how radicalisation gressive Islamic ones. It is more interested in
Im talking about divine intervention, a little through them with barely any interest at all. I could only presume that the owner of the takes root. Khadivis novel takes adoles- navigating masculine identity and mining the
help from the bibliophile-goddess in fulfilling Though covered in the same faux leather as the Tranquebar Bible, who had managed to some- cence, that fraught period with changing so- totalitarian nature of brotherhood, both of
our quest. The first true collecting miracle I ex- other three, one volume wasnt a law book at all how snag this rarest of rare manuscript leaves, cial allegiances, romantic heartbreak, and which require a ceding of individuality.
perienced was in the 1990s when I visited a but what looked like an old Tamil Bible. The must have been a Dutch missionary, and per- defiance of family, and places it within the Early on, Rez is as casually racist as the
book auction house for the first time. more I examined it, the more excited I got: this haps a collector, who had lived or visited India American pressure cooker of Islamophobic privileged white people he surrounds him-
Giris Book Auction House was a little was the 1714 Tranquebar Bible, one of the earli- some 200 years ago. But how it had made its tensions. The result is one of the richer self with. As Rez gets alienated, its his Is-
known operation in Mysuru run out of a large est printed books in India. way to this auction house, with the leaf intact, bildungsromans Ive read in a while. lamic heritage that binds him to the charis-
garage that I stumbled on by chance when This was a find in itself, but what lay inside would remain a mystery. I recognised it for the matic Arash and the novel brings up
chaperoning some school children on a field this volume was the real miracle. Laid loosely rarity it was because I had just then become in- Coming to grips interesting questions. Is Rez merely replacing
trip. We were on our way back to Bengaluru, terested in book history with a focus on the ori- The novel follows high-schooler Rez his totalitarian Eurocentric dogma with an Is-
The more I examined it, the
<
>
but not being in any rush to get back, made a gins of printing with moveable type. Courdee, the son of affluent Iranian immig- lamic one? Khadivi audaciously suggests
leisurely stop for tiffin at a hotel that an- What would have been the fate of the Tran- rants in California. He surfs, attends parties, there is little difference between a spiritual
nounced itself as deluxe.
more excited I got: this was quebar Bible and this Schoeffer leaf if someone and skips school with the (appropriately Islamic awakening and the euphoric discov-
the 1714 Tranquebar Bible, one else had won this lot? Would they have eventu- named) apostles, whose penchant for drug eries of adolescence.
Real miracle ally recognised it, or would it have just lan- use and rule-breaking would put characters A Good Country primarily rests on its fas-
I wolfed down my dosa and coffee and stepped of the earliest printed books guished under a pile of books, or been simply in Skins to shame. After a trip to Mexico ends cinating protagonist. Initially, Rez comes off
out for a cigarette. I noticed a signboard tacked thrown away? I couldnt help feeling that this disastrously and alienates Rez from his as an idealistic blank slate protagonist. We
by the side of a garage that announced Giris into the book was an incunabula leaf: a page volume was almost steered towards me. I had, peers, he befriends two easygoing Syrian- slowly uncover him. For Rez, self-transforma-
Book Auction House. I dashed in quickly to from an early printed book, probably from after all, not even wanted to bid for it. Americans, Arash and Fatima. When the Bo- tion is key to becoming a man. Americanness
check it out, and found an auction about to between 1455 and 1488. Some people especially those the collecting ston Marathon bombing inflames racial ten- is all-encompassing but his tryst with radical
start. I hastily inspected the dozen or so book Examples of incunabulum are not uncom- community likes to sometimes cheekily refer to sions in his largely white school, Rez has to Islam isnt to do with hatred towards it. Its
lots, each carefully numbered. Disappoint- mon, though they can be expensive to acquire, as the non-bibliographic public might scoff come to grips with the Islamic heritage he driven by disaffection with himself and a
ingly, they were mostly old law books bound in but something about this particular leaf a and dismiss these miracles as coincidence or has mostly ignored. need to find acceptance. By the end, it
leatherette.There was, however, one small lot printers device or trademark printed in red ink serendipity, but the collector knows that she Khadivi is interested in the ideological im- doesnt matter which path Rez takes. The
of vintage childrens books and comics, mainly showing two heraldic shields suspended from a needs more than luck to acquire antiquarian plications of radicalisation. The threat of ter- real tragedy is that Rezs quest for self-discov-
Biggles, William, Billy Bunter and Indrajal titles branch of a tree looked tantalisingly familiar. gems. She needs what the charming bibliophile- rorism isnt used as a ticking time bomb to in- ery is Sisyphean and he will continue search-
from the 60s that sweetly smelled the way all As soon as I reached home, I pulled out my writer Seymour Adelman once referred to as a fuse tension into her narrative. And the ing for himself in whichever life he chooses.
old comics do when you press them to your copy of Alfred Pollards seminal book, An Essay little help from heaven. battlefield isnt America or Syria but Rezs
face and sniff. on Colophons, and hurriedly searched for the mind. An editor at a childrens publishing house, the
I decided that if this lot came up early page that resembled what I had seen in the The author is a bibliophile, columnist and critic. Khadivis novel doesnt fall into simplistic writer worships at the altar of Michael Chabon.
CM ND-X
YK
THE HINDU LITERARY REVIEW

NOIDA/DELHI
REVIEWS 3
SOCIAL REALISM BROWSER

Tin Man
Freedom from the margins

Sarah Winman
Tinder Press
399
Dora Judd wins a painting in a
raffle. But the paintingVan Goghs
Sunflowersis not just a painting, it
This novel of ideas explores whether and how Muslim faith can coexist with liberty and individuality is life, dashing yellow, complete
with dying petals. The painting
L BY KESHAVA GUHA This House of buttresses Doras belief that people
Clay and are capable of beautiful things, no mattter how ugly
D
elhi and Lahore are some- Water their behaviour is most of the time. The novel,
times described as twin Faiqa Mansab described as a love letter to human kindness and
cities: they may have little Penguin/ friendship, loss and living, is full of heartbreaks and
to do with each other any Viking disappointments. But there are constant reminders of
more, but their visual and cultural 499 those few things that make life worth livingVan
resemblances are indelible. Delhi Goghs paintings, Whitmans poetry, the smell of
is, of course, full of the descendants roasted chestnuts, French cuisine, a bar of Kit Kat.
of refugees from Lahore; the two
cities are so similar, visually, that
Mira Nairs film of The Reluctant Running on the Roof of the World
Fundamentalist was set in Lahore Jess Butterworth
but largely shot in Delhi. Faiqa denied love, happiness, and self-ful- Orion Children's Books
Mansabs debut is a Lahori novel filment in the past than with their 399
that is, in spirit, a kind of twin to a quest for it. Twelve-year-old Tash lives in Tibet.
Delhi novel that appeared a few Central to that quest is Bhanggi, Its a beautiful country, but for the
months ago (or at least its first a character who is a marginalised Chinese soldiers, who can put you in
half ): Arundhati Roys The Ministry minority within a marginalised prison if you pronounce two words,
of Utmost Happiness. minority. As a hijra, he is a member Dalai Lama. Tashs parents are
This House of Clay and Water is of what Mansab depicts as one of captured by the soldiers and it is
described, on its cover, as A story Pakistans most misunderstood and now up to Tash to rescue them, with a little help from
of forbidden love in Pakistan (an reviled communities; but as her friend, Sam. So begins an extraordinary journey
unusual and intriguingly specific al- someone who is attracted to wo- across the mountains, as Tash and Sam cross over to
ternative to, say, a novel or a ro- men, he is distrusted by and feels India to seek help, from who else but the Dalai Lama.
mance). It is animated by a con- himself apart from other hijras. This good old adventure story will keep you riveted
cern for and sympathy with the Add the fact that, unlike many till the end.
women to whom bourgeois Lahori, hijras, he was born intersex, and
and by extension, Pakistani society, that he lives by the Daata Sahib dar-
denies the chance to achieve happi- gah and is a devoutif tortured The Ninth Grave
ness on their own terms. Mansab Muslim, and there are almost too Stefan Ahnhem
has said that because her country, many contradictions for a human, Head of Zeus
Pakistan, refuses to accept its own real or fictional, to bear. It is to 499
plurality, her stories arise from Mansabs credit that Bhanggi is an This is the new Scandinavian
discontent, disenfranchisement, utterly credible character rather sensation. Two countries, Sweden
the periphery. than a vehicle for the novels ideas. and Denmark, are in the grip of
It is at the dargah that Nida and winter. On a freezing night,
Utterly credible Sasha meet Bhanggi and each Getty Images/ IStock Swedens minister for justice
This House of Clay and Water has other. Over the course of the novel, disappears and a Danish celebrity is attacked in her
three principal characters, two of their deepening relationships with els prose is not always up to the home. The police in Copenhagen and Stockholm close
This is not a narrative of mutual emancipation; in
whom would not, at first glance, ap-
pear to be marginalised. Nida, the
each other friendship, and bey-
ond provoke and inspire their <
> the second half, Sasha unexpectedly re-emerges
ambition of its form and ideas.
Whether in first or third person, it
in on their suspects. Then unexpected twists appear
in the investigation even as the sky turns darker. The
closest thing the novel has to a prot- own individual quests for freedom is flatly mundane at times and over- book has won the MIMI Crime Award in Germany.
agonist, grew up in one privileged and happiness. This is not a
as a hijab-wearing conservative wrought at others.
political family and has married straightforward narrative of mutual The stilted narrative voice stands
into another. Her brothers and her emancipation; in the second half of character from whose perspective the first person: they are as per- in contrast to the dialogue, which is Our Story Needs No Filter
husband, Saqib, would run each the novel, Sasha unexpectedly re- it is told; the reader will, initially, ceptive about others as about them- looser and more convincing. In its Sudeep Nagarkar
other close for first place in any pat- emerges as a hijab-wearing conser- recognise this as the familiar mode selves, and they are passionately warmth of tone, its generosity to its Penguin Random House
riarchy contest. Sasha is middle- vative. But in other respects this of the multiple-narrator novel. But engaged with the questions of what characters, and its balance between 199
class rather than elite, in an out- will inevitably remind readers of Mansab moves easily between first- it means to be a good Muslimor storytelling and social criticism, For Raghu, falling in love was an idea
wardly successful marriage and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. person narration when we see wife, or mother, or friendwhile Mansabs debut brings to mind Chi- found in books, till he met Ruhi. But
with two children. Roys Anjum is, like Bhanggi, a the action through Nida or Bhang- simultaneously living as a free hu- mamanda Ngozi Adichies America- their love has to play itself out in the
Both Nida and Sasha have led Muslim hijra; she lives in a grave- gis eyes and free indirect style, man in the pursuit of happiness. nah. For the Indian reader, it is also backdrop of upcoming student
lives, up until the start of the nar- yard and builds a guesthouse that for Sasha, her daughter Zoya, or This House of Clay and Water has valuable as a novel of urban elections, because of which Raghu
rative, that are fatally circum- serves as a haven for the Saqib. plenty of plot, compellingly told, Pakistani life that is very different finds himself in a mess. Will Raghus love find its way
scribed, their society and their hus- marginalised. but it is also a novel of ideas, above from the likes of Mohsin Hamid or out or will it get blown away by the storm of campus
bands effectively the scriptwriters. Mansab experiments with form Compellingly told all of the question of whether and Mohammad Hanif. politics? The book explores the dark side of
But Mansabs novel is concerned with considerable success. Each This dual system works because how Muslim faith can coexist with relationships and the way power is manipulated by
less with why they have been chapter heading announces the Bhanggi and Nida are so suited to liberty and individuality. The nov- The author is a writer based in Delhi. the rich.
MYTH RETOLD IN SHORT
Thats enough! he shouted Look into my heart

Rabe does a great job of peering into the criminals mind
Utterly captivated by the bodies and the blood
L BY MIHIR BALANTRAPU Shah of heads. Shouldnt a man be able to feel
L BY ADITYA SUDARSHAN Chicago sentimental by himself in peace
T
he life and mind of a gangster Nate Rabe without having to camouflage it with a
T
he revitalisation of mythology, is a strange one to assess. Is Speaking hard core?
which has been a feature of In- he inherently a bad seed, or Tiger Money and crime is not in aid of
dian English literature of the last someone circumstances 299 greed or vanity, just a means to cloak
several years, is also part of a have rendered ruthless, or someone trauma, whispers Rabe. Heres Jake, a
global movement. At its heart appears who acts as he pleases in the under- brown-skinned person feeling a
to lie a craving for old-fashioned heroes standing that murder is justified so greater affinity towards the darker-
who, however, overcome moral categor- long as they can get away with it? skinned yet more enlightened Broth-
ies of good and bad, right and wrong, Conscience is not necessarily imma- ers than his parochial brethren. The
and simply overwhelm us with their terial here, just that it is malleable; it irony is rich as well as metrosexual.
sheer force of character, made vivid in is no objective adjudicator or moral Protagonist Yakub Ali Hassan As soon as he is out of penitentiary,
their physicality. This is the spirit that authority. Only revulsion (a more Shahs myriad aliases show that he he begins to entertain paradoxical
has re-moulded comic book figures like manageable avatar of fear) can dis- has illustrious as well as inglorious thoughts expand his criminal em-
Batman and Superman into dark suade you from acting against social pasts, which he is running away pire; never be imprisoned again.
knights and men of steel; that has norms. from. And Pakistani though his ori- How? screams the rational reader.
spawned Game of Thrones and other And Nate Rabe does a great job gins may be, he has turned himself How screams the excited reader.
sagas dedicated to power-play; and Mythic presence Assassination of Agamemnon. Wiki Commons even if not as elaborate as of Gregory so distinctly American that he is obli- Theres that irrationality that endears.
which animates this new book by the Ir- David Roberts of peering into the vious enough of the British slang for And yes, there is the romance. It
ish writer, Colm Tibn a retelling of It is an easy read, anics of the acts of violence and betrayal criminals mind with Shah of cigarette to be homophobically of- begins, as any caper would, at an elite
the story of King Agamemnon and his
murderous family.
<
> because Tibn writes
themselves.
House of Names is therefore replete
Chicago. Only, you have to wonder
whether protagonising an anti-social
fended. But his desi heritage ob-
liges him to take refuge in the Ghu-
binge party and progresses in an au-
thentic way, swaying between past
In Greek myth, Agamemnon is the English well, but with cryptic exteriority; descriptions of individual is at all sagacious. No mat- lam Ali ghazals he retained growing and present continuous, tense and
king who leads the Greek army to de- movement and posture that sound like ter how loveable he is rendered by up amid the trauma of child abuse heady all along. This is no Titanic
molish Troy and recover Helen. Prior to mostly because there this: Once, as they were sitting to- the narrators eminent storytelling, and daddy issues. love, but there is a Jack and a Rose.
setting out, however, he sacrifices his gether, Aegisthus came into the room youre sceptical because you know Rabe makes you wish complex Afroz Gul, whats in a name? Its all in
daughter, Iphigenia, to the gods he wor-
is little here to and made a gesture to her that he did criminals have no conscience, some- layered characters didnt have to re- the stories and secrets we share, and
ships, deceiving his wife, Clytemnestra, challenge the reader not expect Orestes to notice. As his thing human beings are supposed sort to wearing stereotypical gang- the transformations we catalyse in
in order to accomplish this. She does mother tried to return to the topic un- but not expected to have. sta hoodies over their balding one another.
not forgive him, and eventually, when a noted for their pettiness, but rever- der discussion, he could see that she
victorious Agamemnon comes home enced. Tibns book is of this kind. was no longer concentrating on him.
from the battle, he is in turn manipu- It is an easy read, because he writes Soon, she made an excuse, saying that
lated and murdered by Clytemnestra English well, but mostly because there she would have to go and deal with the
and her lover Aegisthus. But Agamem- is little here to challenge the reader. servants. And hammy dialogue, TRIBUTE
nons other daughter is Electra, and she When one already knows the story be- presented with gravitas, like this: You
avenges her fathers death by seeing to ing told, and the writer has not played made us sit and eat while his body lay
it that her mother dies at the hands of
her son, Electras brother, Orestes. And
with the narrative in any significant
way, it begs the question why the book
there, and then pretend that we had not
witnessed your pleasure. You made us
Vijay
so the story goes on, in various ver- was written. At the very least, the novel- live as though nothing had happened.
sions, as is usual in mythology. isation of a myth ought to open up the You frightened us into silence. Thats
By Geeta Doctor
interiority of its characters. enough! Theodotus shouted at Mitros.
Mechanics of violence Yet a meaningful interiority is con- He choked on his own blood.
Now, this kind of material can be dealt spicuously absent in this book, even Offering to the gods
with in one of two ways. The first is to though Tibn frequently employs the It is all rather underwhelming for the Is that a fitting end for a
mine it for literary entertainment and
psychological insights, to develop a
first person voice. He is not really inter-
ested in why Electra was so attached to
reader, especially since, when it comes
to the exteriority of violence and power-
poet?
sympathetic understanding of the vast her father that her mothers grief or the play, no book can compete with shows Keatsian in its imagery.
and truly tragi-comic human fallibility loss of her sister could not sway her; or like Game of Thrones. Blood red, empurpled
on display. This is the approach of tradi- how Orestes felt about stabbing his What finally motivated House of
tional myth-based literature, from mother, or in any of the family relation- Names is therefore unclear, but we can volcanic in hot streams
Milton to Shakespeare to Robert Graves ships. He is too entranced by the mech- only conclude that it is the same im-
and beyond. The same approach also pulse that lies behind fan-fiction. It
flowing down his beard
underpins the scientific statement of, seems that Tibn (who in his 2012 until the last bubble of air
say, Freuds Electra Complex. book, The Testament of Mary, had at-
But the second approach to myth is, I House of tacked the Christian gospel story) has knocking at the glass pane
Names
submit, unique to our times. It is to be
Colm Tibn
now grown so enamoured of the gods of a wisp of longing
quite uninterested in what lies behind human lusts who run through the Greek
the folly of the characters and to be ut- Penguin myths that he simply felt bound to make waiting for
Random House
terly captivated instead by the bodies
and the blood. Herein, Agamemnon 599
his own offering to them. For the
reader, it is best avoided.
redemption.
and Co. are not seen as blunderers, but
awesome specimens of men and wo- The writer is a novelist whose most recent Pic: Madhu Kapparath
men, acting on impulses that are not book is The Persecution of Madhav Tripathi.
CM ND-X
YK
4 BACK PAGE NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU LITERARY REVIEW

THIS WORD FOR THAT THOUGHT FOR FOOD
The book and the podium

Ask any writer. Theyll tell you that after your tenth page, youre riding a tiger
L MINI KRISHNAN Getty Images/iStock
The Kerala corner

H
aving worked with a hun-
dred writers and more, Im
convinced that people do
not write for money. How
can research on Koodiyattam or on The divine food of Gods own country
the nomadic Bhotias of the trans-Him-
alaya be assessed by a beady eye on L BY RAHUL VERMA Christian cookbooks that came my
the rupees-column of life? No. Apart Click and bait? The world of books is full of tell-all stories, real or fabricated. Getty Images/iStock way.
A
from the promise of glamour and little South Delhi corner is a
status that a book brings its author, into the terrain of poetry. Others words by more words that arrive times and continued into the last dec- favourite haunt of mine. Its a Textbook taste
there are complex instincts that set a could be fashioned into short melo- between the covers of more books, ades of the 19th century. It was a tiny Kerala in the heart of INA, Lathika George in The Suriani Kitchen
writer off on that lonely path of script drama and every person you know is nearly every one of which is an- book premier and given the import- a bustling market. You walk in writes of spice merchants and travel-
creation. material for a novel. Every day brings nounced as the wildest and the best. ance and significance of a debut per- there to find Malayalam newspapers lers from across the worldGreeks,
There is the need to share, to af- a call from an ambitious parent. Her Launches are arranged with great ten- formance by a musician or a dancer. and magazines on sale, Kerala jew- Syrians, Jews and Chinese traders
firm, to record, to educate, to put it eight-year old had put down some sion and painthe author working for On an auspicious day/ date a book, or ellery units and even matrimonial ser- who came to Kerala and lived there be-
out there once and for all. The possib- lofty thoughts. How soon might she weeks before the date with his pub- rather a palm-leaf manuscript was vices. But those are not the areas that fore the advent of St. Thomas and
be published? If they were not bound lishers PR. Book readings and literary presented to the public. Organised by draw meI walk straight up to one of Christianity.
by secrecy post-retirement, any civil festivals appear to be good launch- the patron of the work, its release was the small Kerala eateries there. Large dishes of soft red rice, plat-
servant can splinter at least one seat pads not so much for the book as for a pompous affair from which the pat- The restaurants are usually run by ters of spicy fried beef, roast duck and
of power. the writer who, quite rightly, is ron (yesteryears publisher) drew Syrian Christians and on the menu is a smaller dishes of fiery red fish curry
treated with the kind of awe usually both social and cultural prestige. host of lip-smacking, finger-licking Ker- and vegetables, jugs of butter milk,
Product, not process Book arangetram were sometimes ala dishes, and quite a few others com- and small bowls of pickles were
Be that as it may, in recent, markedly Most books live for held in temples or in large tradition- munity is known for. served On the sideboard were plates
voyeuristic reading habits have influ-
enced the market, and the world of
<
> about a year and are ally decorated halls. The function
would begin at an auspicious time Blissful ignorance
of cubed mango, sliced pineapple and
fresh banana, she writes.
books is full of tell-all stories real or pushed into the with the manuscript being offered to To think, there was a time when few of I think one of the first books I read
fabricated. the presiding deity before being us in Delhi knew anything about south- on the subject was Kerala Cookery by
Autobiographies read like fiction, graveyard of words by handed over to the author. The text ern cuisine beyond the idlis, vadas and Mrs K. M. Matthew. She was, of course,
fiction reads like reportage. Or look at would be read aloud not by the author the dosas that we loved, and which among the first to introduce Syrian
an unexpected off-shoot of Dalit writ-
more words but by an admiring follower or a stu- were easily available across the city. Christian food to the country. I had an-
ing in English translationIndian dent. During the reading the author Then we learnt that that the four other book called The Essential Kerala
writers in English who have no direct reserved for celebrities. There follows would intervene to explain or expand southern states had their own cuisines. Cookbook, which somebody borrowed
contact with Dalits are mining this a whirligig of invitations to a string of a particular line or word. And then, over the years, we came and did not return.
rich vein from a safe distance and similar sites where a privileged few These sessions scheduled for the across sub-regional cuisinesUdupi, Then, last year, I was presented
carom-shooting it into their work for watch and listen. After 12 months, late afternoons would sometimes go Chettinad, Mudaliar, Hyderabadi, Bunt with an interesting book from Kerala
novelty with neither the effort of even the really good books from the on for days; at the very least till bed- and so on. Tourism called Cuisine Kerala.
translating nor the risks of publishing. previous year fade from bookshops, time (on some occasions it lasted for And as we ate, we learnt some It has a section on Syrian Christian
A respectable distance away from book-sites and lit-fests, flung into the several days). During the premiere, more. We started distinguishing food, and whenever I read about the
the boiling centre is the cool crust eternal dark from whose bourn no the audience was free to raise ques- between, say, Kerala food and Tamil meen mole plump fish cooked with
formed by the dreaded reviewers and book returns. tions or seek clarifications. non-vegetarian fare. tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and
managers of literature. Many literary Quite often the book arangetram And then, within Kerala, we had our garlic or erachi ularthiyathu cubed
ility of an improved bank balance critics see only the text, not the re- Book launches of yore was an occasion for explosive schol- taste of the Hindu Nair food, the beef cooked with all kinds of spices
might cross the mind of a writer as lativity of the process of literature. It was therefore with great interest arly rivalry and jealousy. Naturally the Muslim Moplah fareand Syrian Chris- and with little pieces of coconut I
she prepares a script but it is only a The fraternity of images and echoes, that I read A.R. Venkatachalapathys patron took care to control and de- tian cuisine. plan to visit my favourite corner of
tiny mote that floats somewhere at the the intertextsthese tend to fall out- beautiful volume The Province of the flect any adverse publicity for the ob- I must raise a toast to the books that INA. For me, thats God own country.
edge of self-esteem. Ask any writer. side the 800 word review or the 40- Book which describes the arangetram ject of his patronage. came to our aid. Though I have many
Hell tell you that after your tenth minute lit-fest session. Perhaps they (literally ascent to the stage or po- How much have things changed? Syrian Christian friends, I find theyd The writer, who grew up on ghee-doused
page, youre riding a tiger. are impossible to discuss. dium) of a written work. rather eat their food than talk about it. urad dal and roti, now likes reading and
True, there are different genres. Most books live for about a year The arangetram is a highly ritual- The writer edits translations for So I started reading, and found a writing about food as much as he enjoys
Some experiences literally go straight and are pushed into the graveyard of ised event which began in pre-print Oxford University Press, India. wealth of information in the Kerala cooking and eating. Well, almost.
REPRISE BOOKENDS
The storyteller with 6,000 grandchildren

Kahaaniwali Naani has children all over the world subscribing to her weekly tales
L BY HAMSINI RAVI junk food or spend money unnecessar-
ily! This warms my heart.
S
arla Minni, a Bangalore-based re- Her fondest memory since she began
tired teacher and grandmother, Kahaniwali Naani was a call from a wo-
liked recording stories which she man in Kashmir. She said that she lives
would then send to her grand- with her family in a small town, just 30
son, grand-nephews and nieces. One of km from the border. They have no
her nieces, Parul Rampurya, shared the formal schooling system and very irreg-
Fahrenheit 451 recordings with her friends, and they

were a runaway success with their chil-
dren. Rampurya urged her aunt to
make it a weekly feature and throw it
ular Internet and mobile connectivity.
She told me that whenever they are able
to connect to the Internet, the children
look forward to listening to my stories.
by Ray Bradbury open to a wider audience.

So, in March Minni christened her-
self Kahaniwali Naani (the grandmother
She said that she uses my stories to
teach her children basic concepts in lit-
eracy and numeracy.
L BY SUDIPTA DATTA (American poet and activist), Wed- who tells stories) and began sending Just four months old, Kahaniwaali
nesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, weekly stories to her subscribers via Naani has over 6,000 subscribers from
T
he story goes that science burn em to ashes, then burn the WhatsApp audio messages. Cuddle up Kahaniwali Naanis stories touch all aspects of Indian culture. K. Murali Kumar as far afield as the U.K., the U.S., Dubai,
fiction writer Ray Bradbury ashes. Nigeria, Switzerland and Australia. The
wrote his famous dystopian Impersonal interaction favourites involve an element of hu- grandparents or other elderly relatives. growth, she says, has been purely
novel Fahrenheit 451 on a That way lies melancholy The stories are usually eight minutes mour and touch upon aspects of Indian This is the gap Im trying to bridge through word-of-mouth: one excited
rented typewriter in the basement But Montag has been storing books long, in Hindi or English, mostly folk- culture. She ensures that she chooses through Kahaniwali Naani. She re- parent telling others.
of University of California, Los in secret, and his chief tries his best tales, often featuring animals. I re- stories across a spectrum of cultures. I members talking to a young mother, In one crazy period, she got 800 new
Angeles Powell Library surroun- to stop him from thinking. If you search folktales from all over the world, have done stories about Ramzaan, who had written to thank her for her subscribers at once. Now my son and
ded by books. Interesting setting, don't want a man unhappy politic- read different versions of each story. about Mahavira for Mahavir Jayanti, stories. She told me that her children daughter-in-law, who are software en-
that, because Fahrenheit 451 is ally, don't give him two sides to a Then I work on a script, record it and and lesser known tales of Rama for dont have grandparents and they gineers, have helped me create a web-
about a time in the future when question to worry him; give him send it to my niece and daughter who Rama Navami. looked forward with much joy to my site with a form to manage my sub-
reading and thinking and books are one. Better yet, give him none. Let give me feedback. After I hear from With many Indians now living in nuc- stories every week. scribers. What next, Naani? I hope
banned. him forget there is such a thing as them, I broadcast it to my subscribers. I lear families, she thinks that children that I reach as many children as I can. I
Published in 1953, and eerily war... Don't give them slippery stuff try to improvise the stories I read, so miss out on personal interactions with Kashmir to Kensington believe that stories are a childs birth-
prescient, it ties in with Bradbury's like philosophy or sociology to tie that they can be understood by even With children hooked to screens, Minni right. Of course, I hope to make my stor-
notion of what science fiction things up with. That way lies melan- toddlers, but I try to make them inter- wants to make sure childhoods arent ies more interesting and perhaps, have
With children hooked
meant to him. In an interview to
the Paris Review in 2010, he said,
choly, fire chief Beatty tells him.
Instead, Montag meets a com-
esting to pre-teens as well.
I have always loved stories, and <
> to screens, Minni wants
devoid of good stories. She believes in
the power of storytelling. Some of her
different stories for different age-groups.
But I would never charge for them.
Science fiction is any idea that oc- munity of people who have been have been telling them to children, for stories deal with more contemporary
curs in the head and doesn't exist memorising books before burning as long as I can remember, she says. to make sure themes like eating healthy food and When the writer is not obsessing over
yet, but soon will, and will change them to keep them alive: Each She has fond childhood memories of childhoods arent saving money. her work, she is usually lost in a book,
everything for everybody, and man had a book he wanted to re- cuddling up with her aunt and listening Many children send voice messages playing with her two-year-old,
nothing will ever be the same member, and did. to stories from Hindu mythology. My devoid of good stories to me, promising that they will not eat or experimenting in the kitchen.
again. Bradbury, credited to have
brought science fiction into the
Its fine work mainstream, influenced story-tell-
Bradbury was born in 1920 on Au-
gust 22 at Waukegan, Illinois. As a
ers across mediums. Franois
Truffaut brought Fahrenheit to the
WHAT WE LIKE
child he gobbled up Wizard of Oz big screen in 1966, an audacious ef- Party time Friends on cards
and tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and fort that was criticised initially but
while growing up he witnessed the gradually acquired cult status. September 13 is a significant date in the life To commemorate the birthday
boom in television first hand, and When Bradbury passed away in of all the Matildas and Charlies and Dannys of Beatrix Potter last month
predicted the arrival of wall-to-wall 2012, Steven Spielberg tweeted: of the world. It is the birthday of Roald ( July 28), Spineless Classics, a
TVs, among other things like iPods. He was my muse for the better Dahl, who has taught so many children to contemporary art company
In Fahrenheit, the only job of a fire- part of my sci-fi career. In 2007, know the world better by helping them that turns literary classics into
man is to light a fire, not douse one; the Pulitzer Prize announced a spe- identify the likes of Mr and Mrs Twit (who wall art, launched a range of
he has to make a bonfire of books. cial citation to Ray Bradbury for his are so cruel as to make the adorable Beatrix Potter cards. They
The title refers to the temperature deeply influential career as an un- monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on feature everyones favourite
at which book paper catches fire matched author of science fiction their heads and to make birds into pies) or the bloodthirsty Miss Trunchbull (who strike charactersPeter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
and burns. and fantasy. Bradbury liked to call terror in the hearts of students). To celebrate the birthday of this BFG of childrens and The Flopsy Bunnies. Each card contains the complete text of one of
One day as fireman Guy Montag himself a fantasy writer, saying he fiction, the official Roald Dahl website (https://www.roalddahl.com) is offering a party Beatrix Potters famous tales, typeset around her delightful original
is returning home after a successful had written only one book of sci- pack, which is filled with the whackiest ideas. Youll find material to build a BFG dream watercolours. The cards are perfect for a range of occasions including
fire run, he runs into Clarissa, soon- ence fiction, Fahrenheit 451, which cave, create a reading corner worthy of Matilda, or start growing an enchanted forest for birthdays, christenings, new baby, thank you, get well soon and Christmas.
to-be-17, who asks him, Do you talks about things that can future Minpins. You can dress up as your favourite Dahl character for a Dahlicious While adults can travel down the memory street with these cards, children
ever read any of the books you happen. Dress-Up Day by making your own bushy Mr Twit beard or donning a Willy Wonka top will find new friends in Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tittlemouse, and Mrs Tiggy-
burn? Defending his job, Montag hat. So its party time, folks. Gear up, and keep in mind that Those who dont believe Winkle. If you ever needed a card to enter the world of Flopsy, Mopsy,
quips: That's against the law! It's The writer looks back at one classic in magic will never find it... Cotton-tail, and Peter, now you have it.
fine work. Monday burn Millay each fortnight.
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Sunday, August 20, 2017
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Every frame of Roja was shot Meet 95-year-old Dakkali I have to innovate and update,
so meticulously it attained Balamma, perhaps the oldest if only to keep exquisite
the perfection of an ad living kinnera player compositions alive: Leela Samson
page 5 page 3 page 4
Like a palimsest The

legend and iconography
of Ganesha have
evolved over the years.
(Left) A sketch by
the author.
Illustration: Satwik Gade
BY DEVDUTT PATTANAIK
R
ecently at a childrens literature
conference, a parent recounted
how her son recoiled at the
story of Shiva beheading his
own son that eventually led to the cre-
ation of the elephant-headed Ganesha.
A few years ago, a puppeteer told me
how she was prevented from narrating
the same story at an international fest-
ival as the organisers felt the story was
too violent and a bit lacking in morality.
In the first case, the problem was of
assuming that mythological tales are
synonymous with fairy tales (a conten-
tion of well-meaning but poorly in-
formed rationalists). In the second case,
the problem was of reading mytholo-
gical tales literally: it can be equally aw-
ful to tell a girl child that god is male,
and creates male prophets, in the bod-
ies of virgin girls.
He is not conceived; he
<
> is created by his
mother alone to serve
as her doorkeeper and
in turn serves as an
obstacle to Shiva
COVER STORY
A mythological tale, replete with
symbols, establishes a communitys un-
Decoding Ganesha
derstanding of the world. Ganesha may
be a cute and cuddly icon for many of us
in the 21st century, and an exotic object
of pagan worship in the eyes of mono-
theists and atheists, but the icono-
graphy evolved over centuries and, like
a palimpsest, records myriad layers of
collective wisdom.
It captures the timeless tension Bachelor or polygamous? Ancient god or contemporary Buddhist icon?
between nature (elephant) and culture
(man), knowledge (elephant) and Ganesha, like Hinduism, refuses to be reduced to a single idea
wealth (potbelly), predator (snake
around stomach) and prey (rat at feet), ese Buddhist temples to the Tantrik Around this time, a rock-cut shrine was when decoding Ganesha. It does not tent source of mystical power, or an terrible wrath and grief and is forced to
asceticism (Shiva) and household Ganeshas of 8th century India, but they built for him, in the era of the Pallava help that the stories in oral and textual idea embodied in a complex piece of bring him back to life. Shiva, the ascetic,
(Shakti), between lust (elephant-hus- clearly embody a very different tribu- kings, in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. traditions are not consistent: Ganesha is visual art? Which meaning is valid? Who is thus forced to contend with human
band) and restraint (doorkeeper-son), tary of Oriental thought today. Of Here, he was more popularly known as a bachelor in the South, but has two decides? emotions, the suffering that Buddha
between soul (Shiva) and body (Shakti). course, in times of religious chauvinism, Pillaiyar, which probably means vener- wives in the North. And what does one sought to outgrow. In the complex sym-
The act of gazing upon it (darshan, in we can see these as proof of Hinduisms able young elephant. About 500 years make of Vinayaki, the female form of Outside the samsara bolism, we see yet another attempt to
Sanskrit) is meant to expand our world impact on history and geography, ago, the Ganapatya saint, Morya Gosavi, Ganesha, who has no story at all? Like most Hindu gods, Ganesha today is reconcile Indias monastic traditions
view (also darshan, in Sanskrit). denied by Westernised scholarship. popularised the worship of Ganesha in We also need to remind ourselves simultaneously an independent, self- with the reality of the household.
The visual connection between Gane- Maharashtra, where Ganesha eventually that what Ganesha means to a tattoo created (swayambhu) deity embodying For those seeking to reduce Ganesha
Origin story sha and the dwarf-like misshapen cor- became a patron deity of the Peshwas. artist, who sees Buddha iconography as infinity, and the son of Shakti born out- to a signpost of a single idea, such com-
We would like to trace the origin of pulent yakshas, keepers of treasures, All of this needs to be considered a spa accessory, is very different from side her womb (ayonija), whose form plexity translates as mumbo jumbo. But
Ganesha to the elephant found on also found in Buddhist and Jain lore is what he means to a child from a Mum- was completed by his father Shiva. This his poly-truism reminds us of the queer
Harappan seals, or to words like Gan- unmistakable. He appears as a distinct bai slum for whom Ganeshas arrival creation outside the womb makes him nature of Hinduism: wisdom is located
Around 1,200 years
pati (lord of the group) in the Vedas, but
there is no way to prove these refer-
deity in the Gupta period, which wit-
nessed the waning of the old Vedic <
> ago, Ganesha was a
and departure in late monsoon is an ex-
cuse to dance wildly on the streets to
special; he is located outside the sam-
sara, the cycle of rebirths. He is not con-
not here, not there, but somewhere in
between, and beyond, maybe.
ences embody what Ganesha means to (Nigama, or Shrauta) ways and the rise the tune of bawdy Bollywood songs. ceived; he is created by his mother
the Hindu today. Likewise, we can trace of the new Puranic (Agama, or Smarta) major deity with a sect And how does one explain his wide- alone to serve as her doorkeeper and in The author dreams, thinks, writes,
the origin of the prosperity-bestowing, ways. We know that 1,200 years ago, of his own, known as spread popularity in the Parsi com- turn serves as an obstacle to Shiva. illustrates and lectures about gods and
elephant-headed Binayaka-ten and Ganesha was a major deity with a sect of munity of Mumbai? When Shiva beheads this door- goddesses. 99 Thoughts on Ganesha is
Kangi-ten found in contemporary Japan- his own, known as the Ganapatyas. the Ganapatyas Is he just a good luck charm, or a po- keeper, he is confronted with Shaktis one of his 40 books.
Pen and the idol factory

Inspired by Whatsapp and impelled by When Chitari
tradition, the elephant god business comes alive
continues to boom in these parts
BY ARTI DAS
BY SHIVANI BHASIN Young men in
<
>
O
n Janmashtami, roughly a fort-
sweatpants and
R
eclining on a throne with an arm night before Ganesh Chaturthi,
resting lazily on a plaster of Paris tees hum along to the sleepy village of Narvem in
lion, in the now-iconic pose of the Bicholim, around 30 km from
actor Prabhaas, is a 12-feet tall devotional Marathi Panaji, comes alive during Masandevichi
Ganesha, still unpainted, at a kaarkhana Zatra. Among the main items sold during
(factory) in Hamrapur village.
songs as they load this festival are colourful wooden Chitari
Behind him stands a fierce Shiva, com- the trucks artefacts.
plete with six-pack abs. This may be a Chitari objects can be found in almost
magnificent departure from conventional Ganesh puja gathers everyone in its all Goan Hindu homes, whether in the
depictions of Ganesha attended by a grip in Hamrapur and the town of Pen form of a low wooden seat or paat, or
mushak vahan, modak in hand, but in Raigad district, where around 2,500 the low pedestal or chaurang on which the Ganesh idol is placed, or as wooden
Baahubali 2 is all the rage at pandals this people work all year round (except for a fruits that hang from a matoli or wooden canopy suspended from the ceiling dur-
year. short break during Navratri) making ing the festivities.
At Prathamesh Kala Kendra, Nitin clay idols, creating rubber moulds, The craft of Chitari is practised by just four families in the Demani area of Cun-
Mokals kaarkhana, workers are loading filling them with plaster of Paris and colim village in South Goa. And just before Ganesh Chaturthi, you can hear the
one of these modern idols on a truck. It hay, painting, embellishing and trans- sound of wood being cut and turned, and the smell of fresh paint pervades the
will be transported to workshops in Ma- porting them. The industry here is es- village.
harashtra and Gujarat to be daubed timated to be worth 10 crore, and the My earliest memory of Chitari art is the wooden kitchen set my grandmother
with paint and glitter in time for Ganesh idols go all over Delhi, Bihar, Gujarat gifted me as a child, says writer Anwesha Singbal. Chitari objects are an integral
Chaturthi next weekend. and Maharashtra. part of the traditional vaje or gift package given by a brides family to the grooms
Hamrapur in Maharashtras Raigad The industrys hero is the sculptor, family for the couples first Ganesh Chaturthi. The bride and groom sit on the two
district is buzzing with energy and col- the artist who conceives of the master- paats to perform their first puja together, says Nilesh Chitari, a member of one of
our. Small, clay Ganapatis nestle in wet piece as the original clay idol is often the four families of artists.
grass, towering idols with luxuriantly referred to from which a mould is cre- Chitari literally means to draw in Konkani. Interestingly, the design motif of
plump bellies grace the floor of every ated and used to mass produce plaster two parakeets or two flowers has remained unchanged down the ages. As have
kaarkhana. of Paris replicas. the vibrant reds, yellows, greens and whites that are painted freehand by the ar-
Young men in sweatpants and T- It can take anything from two to six tisans on the mango, jackfruit or hedi (local white wood) surfaces.
shirts emblazoned with the names of months to create a clay idol, and a Folklorist Pandurang Phaldesai talks of the wooden sticks or tonyo, made by
their kala kendra (crafts unit) hum along sculptor is paid around 10,000 per Chitari artists and used for folk dances like the Tonyamel or Talgadi. Interestingly,
to devotional Marathi songs as they load foot. One such hero is sculptor Shrik- after the festival is over, the tonyo are thrown away and a new pair is bought the
trucks. A young girl applies paint to ant Deodhar. He is a fourth generation next year. It helps the craftsmen get new business and, in turn, develops a rela-
Ganapatis eyelashes with fierce atten- scion of a family of idol-makers in Pen. tionship between craftsmen and dancers, says Phaldesai.
tion; the result is a startlingly feminine
New avatars An artist at a workshop in Hamrapur. Vivek Bendre expression. Continued on Page 2 The Goa-based freelancer writes on art, culture and ecology.
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THE HINDU MAGAZINE
Ready to roll The South prefers Daagina Ganpati, a pot-bellied figure adorned with gold work, while Mumbai likes the Chintamani and Peshwai Ganesha models. Vivek Bendre
The Pen factory The year before that, Ganpati kaarkhanas mushroomed in says, talking of how he was struck by
<
> Bajirao Mastani,
Hamrapur. The earliest workers
prospered and went on to set up their
the fact that he never saw such good
Ganpatis in India.
based on the life of own factories. Sanjay Yadav, owner of He would like to see the Ganesha fest-
Continued from Page 1 It would be Lokmanya Tilak who Ballal Arts in Hamrapur, recalls working ivals rich and varied traditions docu-
would politicise the festival, hitting Maratha Peshwa in a factory from when he was 17. mented and preserved. No one is inter-
The whole process begins when upon the idea of using a religious pro- Papa aankh nikalne ka kaam karte ested in these stories any more, he
someone takes a lump of clay in his cession as a cover for political gather-
Bajirao II, spurred thhe. Phir maine school choda aur yeh says, sighing as he looks at a poster of an
hand and makes a basic model, says ings. Thus, household worship was re- the sales of Peshwai line pakda. (My father used to paint the ancient Ganesha exhibition inscribed in
Deodhar. This is the masterpiece. It is placed by sarvajanik (for all people) eyes on the idol; I left school and joined German.
is the work of an artist. There are hun- celebrations. And the sarvajanik pandal
Ganpatis him). Today, his unit employs 50 artis- But for Hamrapur and Pen, business
dreds of good craftsmen and traders, became one of the earliest sites of colo- ans and makes 15,000 Ganpati idols has never been better. In fact, the work-
but it all boils down to making a good nial resistance. boys wore the bhikbali, an ear piercing every season. shops unquenchable demand for la-
masterpiece. from the Peshwa period. The contemporary twist might have bour is even attracting workers from Bi-
Ganesha idol-making has a 125-year- Pop Ganeshas It was the early 80s when Pen and helped the Ganesha idol business har and Madhya Pradesh. Mokal
old history in the area, says Deodhar, Predictably, todays artistic inspiration the area around it became idol boom prosper, but Deodhar is sceptical of the believes the future of coming genera-
who is also president of Pens Shri comes from popular culture. Sculptors town. This was when the Ganesha fest- pandals ability to preserve older traditions is secure. Is mein sabka pet chalta
Ganesh Murtikar Aani Vyavasahik find ideas from images they see on ival became popular across India and tions. He sees pandal activity as hugely hai. Ganpati ke krupa se hamare Ham-
Kalyankari Mandal. The first generation WhatsApp and Facebook, says Mokal, among the Maharashtrian diaspora different from the more private and rapur vibhaag mein sab kuch kushal-
of craftsmen were from the Konkan re- and Marathi cinema and television, of abroad. By 1982, there were reportedly sober Ganesha festivals of the past. mangal hai. Aane wali peedhi ko bahaar
gion, and did not work in factories but course, hold huge sway on local imagin- 1,340 public Ganpati pandals in Mum- jaane ki koi zarurat nahi. (This work
in their homes. ation. Last year, Jai Malhar (a Marathi bai. The growing market was aided by a Documentation needed takes care of everyone. With Ganpatis
This was in the mid-1800s. Around television show) inspired Ganeshas ac- single factor: the introduction of plaster Deodhar is actively involved in pre- blessings, all is well in Hamrapur. Fu-
1920, the second generation came in. companied by the shows protagonist of Paris. serving Ganesha-making traditions, and ture generations wont have to go out
This was a time of much economic hard- Khandoba, an avatar of Shiva. The year As demand increased, traders made a speaks of how he once visited an exhibi- looking for work.)
ship. My great-grandfather moved to before that Bajirao Mastani (based on natural shift to the material, which was tion in Zurich where ancient Ganesha
Pen, where he worked under the pat- the life of Maratha Peshwa Bajirao II) light and easy to produce, although it idols from private European collections The author is a Mumbai-based writer
ronage of a zamindar and made Gauri spurred the sales of Peshwai Ganpatis. did raise several environmental were displayed. I was disturbed to see on a mission to convert half of Indias
ka mukoot, Ganesha idols and pagadis. The movie was so popular that young concerns. Ganeshas in gold, silver and stone, he population to feminism by 2050.
INSIDE INDIA
Bend it like Burrett

When young girls got together in Goa to kick out deep-rooted misogyny and score some wins
BY SWATI SANYAL TARAFDAR team, Purple Womens Empowerment. Silver Self-Determination scored a tournaments with players from various
Jyoti then takes another shot at the whopping 6-2 against Blue Bodily Integ- countries participating. This is the first
I
ts a cool, pleasant day in Mapusa, a goal, a long ranger that sails past rity to rank fifth. Golden Grow Visibility time the tournament was held in India
small town 13 km north of Panaji in keeper Saba. The crowd, consisting scored a hat-trick against Crimson Mu- as part of Our Bodies, Our Rights, Our
Goa. A group of girls, one half in largely of other players from the tourna- tual Consent to position themselves sev- Games football festival.
purple jerseys, the other in tur- ment and their families and friends, as enth in the tournament. The aim of the festival, organisers
quoise, is kicking around a football and also locals, erupts in a loud cheer. Tur- The players are not big names but the said, is to recognise and acknowledge
trying to outwit each other in the towns quoise fight back with all their might, audience cheers on nonetheless. The the trials and tribulations women play-
Duler Stadium. The crowd looks on but Purples Alisha Tavares and Candice girls have come from all over the coun- ers go through for the sake of football.
eagerly, waiting to jump up and cheer Fernandes, both local girls, defend their try: Punjab, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Workshops on empowerment and tech-
the girls on. team squarely. The gripping match Karnataka, Maharashtra, and they have nical skills were also part of the festival.
Lanky Delhi girl Jyoti Burrett, in comes to an end with Purple Womens survived challenging circumstances; a
purple, takes a ferocious shot at the goal Empowerment defeating Turquoise Fe- few of them are still very new to the Expanding boundaries
but the opponent goalkeeper, Saba male Autonomy, 1-0, to win the first- game. Yet, they all demonstrate an insa- The festival attempted to celebrate wo-
Parveen from Mumbra, Maharashtra, ever Discover Football tournament. tiable hunger to play and win. Looking men footballers in the country and also
tames it just in time. at them shout and run, Goa resident Se- create awareness about their rights and
Sabas team, Turquoise Female Ebony, ivory and feminism bastian Fernandes, 70, says that with a responsibilities, said Lea Goelnitz, the
Autonomy, immediately plunges into a The names of the teams hint at the tour- little more training, these girls could India director of Discover Football. Our
counter-attack as Karishma Shirvoikar, naments raison dtre and its stakehold- win trophies for the country. idea was to bring football and womens
another determined Maharashtrian, ers. In the three other play-offs conduc- rights together, to promote the under-
dribbles past an array of defenders to ted the same day, Cream Gender Raring to go standing of important issues women
reach the opposite box in a jiffy. But any Equality beat Ebony Equal Opportunity, Back in 2007, when Jyoti left her home- face when they choose to expand their
further march is stopped by Jyotis 2-0, to come third in the tournament. town, Dehradun, and moved to Delhi boundaries.
Gayatri Buragohain, founder of Fem-
inist Approach to Technology (FAT) that
conducted workshops on womens
rights and growing visibility through so-
cial media and technology, said the
group was an immensely diverse one.
Some of them were excellent with the
camera while others hadnt used one
It was a planned ground that was free on Tuesdays, ever. Yet, they were all enthusiastic to
<
> confrontation and no Thursdays and Saturdays, between 4.00
p.m. and 6.00 p.m. Another football
learn and even shot their own photo es-
says on the theme of womens em-
academy had rented it on the other days powerment and sports.
amount of persuasion to train their boys. We went through a The festival also gave the girls an op-
or arguing helped. tedious process that involved lengthy portunity to train under reputed inter-
applications, strict permissions and per- national coaches from Kenya, Jordan,
They simply did not suading of officials and finally were per- Nepal, Argentina, Cameroon, Canada,
want us girls to use mitted to use the facility. But the minute Australia, and South Africa. Fomum Vic-
we landed up to practise, the academy torine Agum, a coach from Cameroon
their grounds boys reached there as well. It was a who also runs her own football
planned confrontation and no amount academy, said, The girls have a spark
for college, the first thing she looked for of persuasion or arguing helped. They in them and I saw some great talent in
was a group of girls to play football with. simply did not want us girls to use their both the players and the local coaches.
But most schools and colleges then grounds, Jyoti recalls. They simply need to play more leagues
didnt have a girls team as football was It took some amount of local political and championships. India definitely
not considered a womans game. support and negotiations with officials needs to bring football to the grassroots,
So, she played with the boys in the for the girls to be able to play on the to the girls in schools and colleges.
neighbourhood until, years later, she grounds. By that time, Jyotis team, the And thats the major takeaway. Wo-
met a few more like her, all raring to Delhi Womens Football Players Wel- mens football at every level needs more
kick some ball. fare Association, was already playing at playing opportunities, and the talent
As soon as the girls started playing, the national level. must be harnessed right at school level.
they realised they needed a dedicated And then maybe, young girls and wo-
space to train because wherever they Our bodies, our games men will be able to claim their rightful
went, men turned up to harass or shoo Discover Football is a non-profit initiat- place in society and become visible to
them away. We went around town and ive founded in Berlin in 2009, aimed at an apparently blind society.
tried playing on municipality grounds empowering women through the game.
but everywhere the experience was the With the help of volunteers worldwide, The writer, based in Vijayawada, is an
Beautiful aim The festival celebrated women footballers and also empowered young girls. Atish Pomburfekar same. Finally, we located a municipality Discover Football has managed to hold enthusiast for all things positive.
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THE HINDU MAGAZINE

NOIDA/DELHI
REPORTING 3
FIELD NOTES
Whats food without fungi

The best olmis grow where there are cobras in the termite hills
Seasonal delicacy Olmi sold wrapped in sayal (teak) leaves;

and (left) picking them wild. Atish Pomburfekar
BY PRAKASH KAMAT plete without a meal that has olmi of Olmya suki bhaji has Around 15 species were recorded boundaries. It is nearly impossible to that the quantity of olmi coming to the
unparalleled texture and flavour as
<
> no gravy, just the sliced
during a market survey in 1986 of which control harvesting of wild mushrooms market has dropped.
C
ome monsoon, and a highly the star. only five are now found. The fungi have in sanctuaries and reserve forest areas. Pushpa Thali, 74, of Ponda speaks
prized (and highly priced) The Termitomyces genus, that olmi mushrooms fried in oil. grown pricey too, from 450 to 750 for Ravindra Dhuri, 55, a resident of with visible relish of the many dishes
culinary delicacy finds its way belongs to, is endemic to the dense a bundle of 50 to 60 large wild olmis Banda, does not tell me where he har- one can make with wild mushrooms.
into Goas markets: no, it isnt forests of the Western Ghats and grows The favoured last year, to nearly 1,500 for 30 to 40 vests olmis, but shares his expertise. It The most popular is xacuti, cooked with
an exotic fish its mushrooms. And we also in the adjoining parts of Maha- bud-sized ones this year. is believed that robust mushroom coconut and spices, a method more
are not talking about the ubiquitous but- rashtra and Karnataka. These mush-
accompaniments for In 1992, Goas forest department growth is accompanied by the presence commonly used for chicken.
ton mushroom available year-round. rooms grow in symbiosis with other or- olmi dishes are Goan banned mushroom harvesting , and in of cobras in the termite hill. You must But almost as good, she says, is patol
Wrapped in sayal (teak) leaves, vendors ganisms, and, in the case of olmis, they 1993, the ban was amended to apply perform the tallo firoy. tonak, a curry with coconut and Goan
bring in native varieties of mushrooms, only grow on termite hills. breads like poli only to wildlife sanctuaries and govern- This ritual, of brushing the hill with a masala. Her sons love her alami chilly
whose names sound like they could be ment forests. bunch of leafy twigs, may seem spir- fry, a simple fried version with the
sung to a Konkani rhythm: roenichim, Overharvesting threat ologist and assistant professor in Goa itual, but is grounded in practicality. It mushrooms cut vertically.
toshali, chochyali, khut, shiti, shitol, It has been difficult to grow them in arti- Universitys Department of Botany and Forest harvest sends the snake into hiding and this is Then there is olmya suki bhaji, which
shiringar olmi, shendari, kuski, dukor, ficial conditions, and as a result olmis a former member of the State Wildlife Sanjay Waradkar, Deputy Conservator when you can start plucking the has no gravy, just the sliced mushrooms
surya olmi, tel alami, fuge, bhuifod. But are now threatened by overharvesting. Board. Kamat has spent over 25 years of Forests, Wildlife and Eco-tourism, mushrooms. fried in oil. Also popular is a simple olmi
the prima donna of the buffet is the In fact, a lot of mushroom varieties in researching mushrooms. I have recor- South Goa, says wildlife patrols prevent At Panajis famous pavement market soup. The favoured accompaniments
fleshy olmi or alami. this region are vulnerable. ded about 100 different species of ed- people from entering forests to pluck near the District Court, I meet Anandi for all of these are the Goan breads,
Irrespective of religion, and across There has been a dramatic decline in ible mushrooms in Goa, he says. Of mushrooms, but admits that the system Canconkar of Madkai village in Ponda poli, pav and undo, or boiled rice,
economic strata, Goenkars would agree the diversity of mushrooms in the mar- these, 35 are collected from the wild for isnt foolproof. taluk, who has been selling olmi here served hot.
that the rainy season isnt quite com- ket, says Nandkumar Kamat, a microbi- consumption. Forests are open wealth with open every year for over 30 years. She agrees I cant say I am not hungry.
FOCUS CREDITS
The kinneras last strum

Legend has it that a Chenchu woman, lost in music, cut up her infant along with the vegetables
BY SWATHI VADLAMUDI
T
he only proof of the umbilical
connection between the Chen-
chu tribal group and the exquisite
kinnera musical instrument is
now in the archives of The School of Ori-
ental and African Studies, University of
London. The rich repository of photo- Memories of Partition
graphs in these archives includes a 25 minutes, Al Jazeera documentary
couple by eminent Austrian ethnologist By Asad Hashim
Christoph von Frer Haimendorf.
The pictures show the headman of After 70 years, a border yields way for Krishnan Kumar
Mallapur hamlet in present-day Amrabad Khanna, now 92-years-old, to return to his home in West
Tiger Reserve in Mahabubnagar district Pakistan. The partition of a Muslim-majority Pakistan and a
of Telangana, playing the instrument on Hindu-majority India was a tumultuous time, with millions
its 13 frets. of people fleeing their homes amidst the violence and
This magnificent string instrument chaos that ensued. Now living in his hometown of Meerut,
with a bamboo neck, dried and hollowed watch Khanna reminisce as he returns to his old home,
gourds as resonators, strings made of hu- school and city and reaffirm his belief that all people are
man hair or animal nerves (replaced now the same regardless of the side of the border they reside in.
with metal), and pangolin scales for frets
has all but disappeared from the cul-
tural lives of this vulnerable tribal group
who live in the Nallamala forests spread
over Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
But a variant of the kinnera with seven
frets was traced decades ago by
renowned Telangana researcher and aca-
demic Jayadheer Tirumala Rao, to the Songs of life Dakkali Balamma, the only woman perfomer of the kinnera, is 95 years old. Nagara Gopal
Dakkali community, a Dalit sub-caste of
troubadours who live in a few districts of Those days, we would ganayakamma, popular folklore heroes. lage on donkeys, and play and sing.
Telangana. Raos interest, in turn, was
stoked three decades ago by two lines he
<
> travel from village to
Recognising his talent, the government
awarded him the Ugadi Puraskar in 2015
People were generous with food and
money. Not any more, she says.
had read in Andhrula Sanghika Charitra and incorporated a lesson on him in the Now living in a makeshift shelter
(Social History of Andhras), which men-
village on donkeys, and Social Studies textbook. Ironically, this covered by plastic sheets, Balamma and
tioned that the song Panduga Sayanna play and sing. People has not altered Mogilaiahs social or fin- her son, Dakkali Jangaiah, live in the vil-
was sung with the Kinnera. ancial status. lage as a family of outcasts among the
were generous with Unable to earn a living in his village, he outcasts.
Alms for a living food and money recently shifted to Hyderabad, where he Attempts by the State government to
Historically, a section of the Dakkali com- rents a shack in a slum by a sewer line. revive the kinnera have fallen flat. Cul- Diana: In Her Own Words
munity would sing the Jambava Pur- ing from her husbands kinnera. Lost in His son is a daily wage worker, and his tural advisor to the government, K.V. 83-minutes
anam that explained their subservience the music, she cut up her infant too. The daughters collect garbage. Ramanachary, tried to introduce a teach- Channel 4 Documentary
to their chief patrons, the Madigas, while entire tribe was horrified and banned the ing programme in Potti Sreeramulu
another section would play the kinnera. instrument from the hills. Outcast among outcasts Telugu University with Mogilaiah as Diana, the Princess of Wales was one of the most photo-
Both took alms from the Madigas for a liv- In the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Dar- Mogilaiah apart, only a few others in the trainer, but there were few takers. graphed women in the world. For the 20th anniversary of
ing. There is no plausible explanation for shanam Mogilaiah from Avusala Kunta Dakkali community play the kinnera. The Nobody wants to listen to or learn the her death, Channel 4 presents a controversial documentary
how the kinnera came to be part of the village is blissfully unaware of the rich oldest of them is Dakkali Balamma, the archaic songs any more now. Weve been that shows Diana describing her life. The documentary con-
Dakkali group while losing its relevance cultural ancestry of the kinnera. He is, only woman performer. She lives on the supporting Mogilaiah by having him play tains never-before aired video tapes recorded by her voice
where it had originated. Groups from the however, the only person in Telangana outskirts of a remote village called Mam- wherever possible, he says. coach Peter Settelen in 1992 and 1993. These tapes were
Chenchu tribe might have been influ- who can play the 12-fret instrument bapur in Vikarabad district. At 95, Bal- Three kinneras have been assembled the recorded sessions which Diana used to improve her
enced by the Sramanaka culture of today. On his elaborately painted and amma plays the instrument and sings the and displayed at the university. A few public speaking, during which she also spoke about her
Buddhism, and left their tribal life to be decorated instrument, affixed with a story of Panduga Sayanna flawlessly. tales sung by the Dakkali community personal life. The documentary has it all the details of
part of the caste hierarchy, Rao surmises. wooden turtle-puppet that bows, jumps, Probably the only woman to have have been compiled by Rao, an import- her courtship and marriage to Prince Charles included.
There is, however, an interesting albeit and salutes the audience, Mogilaiah lends learnt the art and performed it, she has ant part of documenting this rich subal-
gory anecdote. According to it, a Chen- his stentorian voice to hair-raising stories lived off it since her husbands death 30 tern cultural history. But we need a little
A curation of some of the most interesting news films and
chu women was cutting vegetables and of Panduga Sayanna, Miya Saab, En- years ago. I learnt from my father. Those bit more to keep this exquisite instru-
videos from around the world.
listening to the mellifluous notes cascad- dematla Fakeeraiah, and Vettem Ran- days, we would travel from village to vil- ment from slipping into oblivion.
CM ND-X
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4 ARTS NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT
The idea of abhinaya

Modern dance avoids it like the plague while the heaving bosom variant has been done to death
BY MALINI NAIR
Acting training is
<
> usually the last
A
s dawn breaks, a woman sits
waiting for her lover. He stag-
gers in, looking rather be-
priority in an average
draggled, she believes, after a dance class, and never
night of revelry. So she asks voice
dripping with sarcasm Have you
taught as a skill
wandered into my lane by mistake? Be-
cause that flirty little thing you have Yera Ra, but I am now curious to find
fallen for certainly doesnt live here. out what she is about, she says.
And with that ultimate put-down, she
shuts the door on his face. Level by level
You could play that scorned woman Acting training is usually the last prior-
in Bharatanatyam as heavy drama, all ity in an average dance class, never
fury, twitching lips and heaving bosom. taught as a skill, only creeping in when
But you could also play the classic items have to be taught. Why not
Telugu padam, Indendu Vachitivira, as teach it by building on it, level by level,
a subtle story, investing the woman with even as you are taught rhythm progres-
humour, irony, and a sense of self. Who sion in thatadavu in Bharatanatyam or
was she, what were her misgivings, tatkar in Kathak is Samsons argument.
hopes and disappointments? Samson recalls her learning at Kalak-
The art of abhinaya in Indian classical shetra. Theory classes were a must. It
dance is a rare asset, possibly the most meant sitting straight-backed on the
engaging way to showcase classical floor and reciting shlokas from the Abh-
sahitya. But it is an asset thats at a crit- inaya Darpana while simultaneously
ical juncture. Contemporary dance holding the hasta mudras and under-
avoids it like the plague. And the set standing their meaning, correct place-
compositions, taught from nearly a cen- ment and movement around the body,
tury ago and kept intact in the name of she says. Now, there is poor under-
tradition, are beginning to pall. standing of this methodology, which
Is there a new way to play the old ab- results in the mudra falling short of say-
hinaya tropes? How far can experimenting what it is meant to.
ation go? Should classical dance bring in Samson also emphasises the need to
elements from Koodiyattam and Kath- borrow from allied arts and philo-
akali? Can the answer lie in theatre sophies, which could help in influen-
training? cing abhinaya: temple architecture and
iconography, mythology, Vedic studies,
Expression, not feeling the rasa theory, the Ashta Nayikas and
It was a chance discussion with Kath- the basic theory of music and tala.
akali maestro Sadanam Balakrishnan
that convinced Kathak dancer Aditi The author writes on and lives for music,
Mangaldas of the need to discuss critical dance, theatre, and literature.
aspects of abhinaya with young dan-
cers. He said that abhinaya is not about
feeling, it is about expressing, says
Mangaldas. And if that is the case,
surely it can also be a matter of teaching
and training. Why dont we then have a New expressions Are there other ways to play the old abhinaya tropes? S. Siva Saravanan & S. Madhuvanthi
pedagogy for abhinaya in our dances,
just as we do for movement? It was just character? Vulnerable, full of misgivings early decades of the previous century compositions alive, says Samson. Her
this issue that seasoned Bharatanatyam and hope? Because that is who we are may have set those hands for the early philosophy works well for youngsters
dancer Leela Samson addressed at a we are unfulfilled pretty much through- class, typically a bunch of teenagers. like Abhinaya Penneswaran, who has
lively three-day workshop held recently out the journey of our lives. But 70-odd years down the line, I be- been trying to make peace with tradi-
at her Delhi studio Drishtikon. A dancers acting chops once de- lieve, some progressive change should tional role-playing.
Samson brings to her dance multiple pended entirely on the teachers skills, have come about at least in what we call An early encounter with the devout
aesthetic influences and her abhinaya in making the student understand the the sancharis. Karpuram Narumo left her confused
has always been internalised, drawing lyrics, the musical setting and gait, and On the contrary, generations of about finding a balance between her
the viewer in with a newness that defies the pieces nuances and possibilities. It teachers pride themselves on the cor- own sensibilities and the needs of the
the most predictable roles. She is now was competent, but often rigid and one rect recall of the previous centurys composition. There is a certain open-
encouraging young dancers to go bey- was not encouraged to think beyond the hands. These can work for me, but not ness to this approach that allows me to
ond the obvious, to ask questions of our subscribed hands or kai. The vaadyar for my students. I have to innovate and get into the skin of the character. I am
tried and tested nayikas. Who is this who first taught the composition in the update, if only to keep the exquisite nothing like the pleading heroine of
SCANNER CRITICALLY INCLINED

Dark borders
Saadat Hasan
Mantos writing
has illuminated
the human
condition with
Fashioning fascist hallucinations
unflinching There are complex messages in the Prime Ministers sartorial choices
honesty, and
does so again in some display of MJs everywhere which central to fascist processes for the past
Dark Borders, then took on a surrealist life of their own 80-odd years. One cannot equate it with,
directed by Sadanand Menon on the walls of my room. say, the universal donning of khadar and
Padma Shri believes the best book on fashion is Moti
Chandras Pracheen Bharat ki Vesh-Bhusha,
Some manifestations of MJs in Baroda the Gandhi cap during the Swadeshi
recipient
which describes some tree-bark garments shops are bizarre. Take, for example, the movement. That was a sign of protest and
Neelam that would put Lady Gaga to shame farsan shop-window, which has dhoklas an assertion of the resistance to machine-
Mansingh
Chowdhry. The play is based on five stories by Manto and deals with arranged like the said MJ, with green chil- made goods that helped imperial rule.
T
numerous facets of violence, which breaks homes and relationships. If here are many riveting narratives lies inserted down the middle to re-
you cannot bear these stories then society is unbearable, Manto had in literature of hallucinatory ex- semble buttons. Or the kite shop down a Power dressing
said. Chowdry brings out the essence of unbearable society in his play, periences. My favourite one with narrow lane, with a range of kites with The fascist black shirts of Italy/ Ger-
which will be performed in The Stein Auditorium in New Delhi on a comical twist is called The Face round collars and arms that can become many or the black caps and khaki shorts
August 26 and 27. on the Wall by E.V. Lucas. The narrator flying MJs. Or a restaurant announcing of the RSS closer home, on the other
describes a time when he fell seriously ill South Indian food, which has a figure hand, indicate a certain affinity to unoffi-
and, confined to the four walls of his cial militarisation which, when massed
pokey room on a street in London, found At the entrance to together, as in a street march, serve the
Modernism on the Ganges
Raghubir
his attention mesmerically drawn to a
patch on the wall that assumed the shape
<
> an automobile junk
purpose of inducing fear and terror in the
minds of the average citizen. This deliber-
Singh, the of a human face. It was so realistic he was ate choice of a brutalist fashion functions
pioneer of
shop hangs a Modi
convinced it resembled a real person. as a tacit mode of making a social state-
street Even after he recovered, he stayed ob- jacket made of ment. As Leni Riefenstahls propaganda
photography, sessed with the face and actively began film Triumph of the Will on the 1934
was born in an searching for this person, until one day,
Vespa spare parts Nuremberg rally of the Nazi party
aristocratic
he stumbled upon a magical link showed, when you mass and bunch to-
family in
between the patch on the wall and a per- with a 56 belly, fitted into a tight, red MJ. gether colours, forms and uniforms in
Rajasthan but
son. I wont reveal the climax nor the Or the toy shop at the circle, with a teddy sheer quantity, with the intention to over-
lived in Hong
Kong, Paris, comical denouement, but I invoke this bear grotesquely fitted into a politically whelm, you give birth to what Susan
London and story to describe a similar experience I savvy MJ. A few shops away is a tailors Sontag pithily described as Fascinating
New York. The had a month ago. den with a phalanx of pastel MJs on Fascism.
exhibition, Modernism on the Ganges, in the Metropolitan Museum of On a week-long lecture trip to the M.S. plastic hangers swinging in the breeze, Fascism understands and manipulates
Art in New York features 85 photographs which are a testament to University, Baroda, I was laid low by a some with designer buttons and shiny the potential of fashion in terms of art,
Singhs distinctively Indian style of modernist photography. Singh steady 102 temperature over the entire piping. In shop after readymade garment form, identity and expression. The con-
felt that the use of colour was a part of Indias aesthetic tradition. The duration of my stay. By the third day, I shop, male, female and child man- sistency of Modis Independence Day
social, political and cultural changes in India in the period from the was feeling like a character floating out of nequins are togged up in MJs, producing speech outfit over the past three years is
late 1960s to the late 1990s are deftly captured in the photographs. Udta Punjab. There was no respite from a fervid uniformity of dressing that seems fast assuming this semiotic.
the three to four hours of daily classes, like the death of fashion and imagination The feudal headgear, with a generous
which happened through a heavy haze. not to speak of a somewhat severe re- Modi la mode Symbolising royalty. PTI streamer at the back, at once a symbol of
Reign of Fire pudiation of native dress sense. nominal royal power and caste domin-
Jackets on the wall However, in this city of designers, without a visa. Then, Id recover quickly ance, has been uncritically accepted in
Themes of
The rest of the time, totally exhausted, I artists, art schools and art movements, to reason, but I was in cuckoo-land. The both the media and the public sphere.
warfare,
was cooped up in my pokey and glum the award must go to the automobile junk final evidence that I hadnt sniffed too This, combined with the jacket, swiftly
exploration and
politics in the guesthouse room, with similar patches shop in one of those desperately grimy many tea leaves came when I opened a converts the body as a site of perform-
American context on the wall where the plaster was peel- looking neighbourhoods where, right at local paper one day to find a group photo ance in the public space a performance
are scrutinised in ing. Fitful sleep patterns, acute joint the entrance to the shop, hangs a mo- of almost a dozen ministers of the Gujarat that choreographs power into an identifi-
Reign of Fire, an pains, loss of appetite, heavy head, runny bile (a hanging sculptural concept, pop- government arrayed in a line, all sporting able dress code.
exhibit by Los nose, rheumy eyes, eyelids struggling to ularised by Alexander Calder) that should the by now inescapable MJ. Thats when I In Fashion under Fascism: Beyond the
Angeles based stay open. And through this feverish make Subodh Gupta chew down his nails snapped out of my hallucination and Black Shirt, author Eugenia Paulicelli
artist Ben Jackel. gaze, I began to see a continuous chain in envy an MJ made of Vespa scooter began reflecting on how fashion can turn deftly traces the fascist origins of contem-
He displays pattern of Modi jackets all over the wall. junk. If, on one traffic circle, they can in- fascist. porary popular brands like Gucci, Prada,
sculptures This was partly triggered, obviously, stall a Gir lion made of an assemblage of There can be no argument over the Max Mara, etc. Its time our critical fra-
produced over the last two years at the L.A. Louver museum in Venice, by the fact that Modi jackets (MJs) have industrial junk like gear shifts, sprocket fact that the MJ has become a form of ternity here decoded the complex mes-
California, until September 4. Using the mediums of clay and wood, become ubiquitous in Barodas land- wheels, crank-shafts and exhaust pipes power dressing. In the Narendra Modi sages in the sartorial signals being emit-
Jackel has created weaponry, tools, armour, watercraft and scape. Wherever your eyes turn, you en- in a quick toadying up to the equally rick- cabinet, of course, everyone announces ted by the politically powerful in our
architectural concepts. The title of the exhibit refers to the production counter it in some form or the other. As I ety slogan of Make in India why cant their proximity to power and their align- times, which the market and popular cul-
process of a lot of the pieces, which were fired in a kiln. But it is also a
was driven from guesthouse to the lec- the citys tinker/ welder community do ment to a particular ideology and an indi- ture reifies and absorbs. The provocative
reference to humanitys ability to exact war, to dominate and to
ture hall and back; to a dingy hospital for one better! vidual by appearing in the mandatory MJ actor Maya Krishna Rao does a rip-roar-
repress. Through his work, Jackel mourns for a nation that has been
at continuous war for 16 years. some tests and back; to a friends house Both inside my room and outside, I even Sushma Swaraj. This obsession ing send-up of Modi headgears. Its time
and back, through the pointillist haze had to constantly keep shaking my head with a specific style or look and a specific to unbutton the Modi jacket. Even as a
coating my eyes, I was seeing an awe- to ensure I had not entered cuckoo-land kind of grooming or appearance has been hallucination.
CM ND-X
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THE HINDU MAGAZINE

NOIDA/DELHI
CINEMA 5
BIG SCREEN
Greener than the greenest grass

Roja was a cinematographic moment 25 years ago, one that responded to the aesthetics of the new Indian
BY VISHAL MENON Thundiyil, C.K. Muraleedharan, Ra-
jeev Ravi, and Natty. All this, while
I
t was just another weekday in Au- Bollywood was considered impreg-
gust in just another theatre of nable for Southern actors even of the
Madras in 1992. Roja, Mani Rat- stature of Rajinikanth and Kamal
nams first collaboration with Haasan.
A.R. Rahman, had released to
packed houses. The audience rushed Beauty within budget
in to fill the seats in this most ineleg- Until Roja, Hindi films, thanks to
ant of theatres and the films opening their bigger budgets, could afford to
credits started to roll. One name fol- emulate the cinematography of Hol-
lowed the other in a list that made up lywood. But cameramen from the
the directors regular team. And then South never had that option, recalls
appeared Santosh Sivans name as Varman. Having worked with smal-
cinematographer. The shuffle and ler budgets and its many constraints,
noise stopped. Loud cheers and deaf- our survival was linked to developing
ening whistles filled the hall. our own aesthetic sense and style.
This was arguably the first time a Completed in under 60 days, Roja
cinematographer had received such managed to produce timeless images
a welcome in mainstream cinema. in a fraction of the budget and tech-
The fact that it happened in star- nology available today. The only
crazy Tamil Nadu, and for an art thing that was cutting edge about
form as technical as cinematography, Roja was the use of hot air balloons
made it nothing short of a miracle. Picture perfect The best-looking film seen on screens until then. A still from to shoot Choti Si Asha, Sivan
Twenty-five years on, Rojas im- Roja and (left) Santosh Sivan, magic-maker. Special Arrangement laughs.
ages have endured. And like the He wrought changes in other ways
films iconic music, Rojas cinemato- Completed in under 60 days, the only thing that too. Rojas opening sequence, for in-
graphy heralded a movement of its
own. Cinematography, until then,
<
> was cutting edge about Roja was the use of hot air stance, is set in the Himalayas, with
the Army capturing some terrorists.
was considered an invisible art balloons to shoot Choti Si Asha We could easily have opened with a
form, says K. Hariharan, national beautiful static frame of snow-
award-winning film director and pro- team invented techniques of its own. down south too. It ended the North- capped mountains to establish the
fessor of film studies. The less no- Santosh Sivan recalls a specific de- South divide, so to speak. location, says Sivan. But we didnt.
ticeable, the better the cinemato- mand from Ratnam for the visuals of The films visuals played an integ- Instead, we chose to wait until half
graphy. But Mani Ratnam was a Rojas tiny South Indian village. ral role in bridging this divide. We the film was over. The audiences see
mainstream filmmaker who believed Mani wanted the fields to look were used to seeing Kashmir in Hindi snow only when Roja herself sees it.
in the craft of filmmaking. And he greener than in a Bharathiraja film. It cinema since Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), The easy access to technology
wanted his craft to be noticed, even was impossible to get that colour be- but there was a freshness to how it today has come at the cost of a cer-
by the lay man. It wasnt just the cause we were shooting in the wrong was shown in Roja, says Hariharan. tain kind of innocence, Sivan rues.
storytelling that mattered to him, the season. So I just painted my reflect- Even if we shoot the purest of visu-
aesthetics did too. ors green and pointed them towards Just like an ad film als, the audience will dismiss it as
the fields. He describes the film as picture per- graphics.
As loud as words These hacks extended to scenes fect. Every frame was composed A fan of Subrato Mitra, the cine-
Cinematographers, naturally, be- set indoors as well. Back then, film- and shot so meticulously that it had matographer notes how Mitras im-
came co-creators of Ratnams films. makers waited for sunrise and sunset attained the perfection of an advert- ages have remained timeless even
It also became common for a cine- to capture that golden hour light. isement. The film released in 1992, with the advent of colour, 70mm,
matographers best work to be re- But all we did was use a series of just when our markets had opened IMAX and 3D. Roja too had some of
served for Ratnam. Roja was the mirrors to reflect sunlight inwards. up to MNCs and cable television. Our that timeless quality. It recorded how
best-looking Indian film Id watched Though a similar visual quality audiences had quickly got used to light behaves across the entire length
until then, says Ravi Varman, the and meaningful use of images were the images of these new expensive of the country. It is a film that could
cinematographer of films such as commonplace in Ratnams earlier advertisements and Roja was the rare accommodate the tenderness of a
Jagga Jasoos, Barfi and Ratnams re- films, there was one thing that set film that could match that quality. In young girls eyelashes as well as the
cent Kaatru Veliyidai. But as an as- Roja apart the fact that its popular- a sense, the positive response to Ro- ferocity of a machine gun. Its a yin
piring cameraman, what affected me ity was nationwide. Roja changed jas visuals was a response to the aes- yang thing.
was the way these beautiful images the perception of South Indian films thetics of the consumerist Indian. All this, Sivan says, are lessons he
were used. Back then, it was the in the North, says Ravi Varman. For The films nationwide success set picked up during his stint as a
norm for most films to rely solely on the average Hindi film viewer, South off another kind of movement as teacher in Arunachal Pradesh. Good
dialogues to move the narrative. But Indian films were either the arty fare well. The demand for cameramen cinematography can be the image of
Roja was different. Its visuals spoke of Adoor or Aravindan, or the pot- from the South soared, and Bolly- a lone tree set atop a hill during sun-
as loudly as its dialogues. boilers that Jeetendra would remake. wood blockbusters soon featured set. Great cinematography is show-
In choosing to not repeat what With Roja, the audience discovered names such as P.C. Sreeram, K.V. ing the same tree but getting you to
was considered conventional, the that relatable films were being made Anand, Ravi K. Chandran, Santosh see its roots as well.
PAST FORWARD THE PRACTICE
An Indian texture Khan, from the epiglottis

The sensory overload of Heat and Dust marked SRK was invested in Rizvan, Aspergers and all. But what about his superstar aura?
the true coming of Merchant Ivory BY SHIBANI BATHIJA
W
picked up the spoils, and promptly and hat sort of person goes
contentiously cast a white actor (Alec Guin- searching for the Pres-
ness) as the mystical Professor Godbole. ident of the United
Vikram Phukan
sought out cinema that came at least two
Adapted for celluloid by Ruth Prawer Jhab- States to say my name
generations before him, even as a child, and vala from her own novel, Heat and Dust is Khan and Im not a terrorist?
that nostalgia tripping has persisted a lifetime shared many narrative themes with A Pas- Karan Johar asked. The year was
sage to India. Christie played a BBC journalist 2007 and we were well into the
O
n her passage through India, during attempting to piece together the story of her groundwork for My Name is Khan,
the shoot of the 1983 Merchant great-aunt, Olivia (Greta Scacchi), who had exploring what it meant to be
Ivory Productions film, Heat and eloped with an Indian prince (Shashi Ka- Muslim in a post 9/11 world. So far
Dust, Oscar-winning actor Julie poor), in the 1920s. Olivia is almost a stand-in we had zeroed in on the characters
Christie voyaged to Assam, where she was for Forsters Adela Quested ( Judy Davis), who name, Rizvan Khan, and on his
born in 1940 in a tea plantation run by her has a racially charged encounter with an In- President stalking mission. But the
parents. One of her pit stops during that trip dian man. most essential questions remained,
was picturesque Shillong, the capital of Who is this man, why is he doing
Meghalaya, where old acquaintances of her Immediacy and chaos this, and how will he go about it?
parents still lived. Similarly, Cyril Sahib, the de facto narrator of Karan and I agreed Rizvan was not
She had taken the winding ride down to Jhabvalas tale, is partly inspired from going to be a filmi paagal. We were
the hill station sitting at the front of a tumble- Fosters experiences as the secretary of the dealing with a real issue, in the real
down State transport bus, chatting amiably Maharaja of Dewas, in central India, as re- world, and so he had to have a real
with the driver. Her travel partner was The counted in The Hill of Devi (1953). reason for his quixotic actions. Method moves Shah Rukh played Rizvan slightly cross-eyed, and that sealed the deal.
Guardian journalist Duncan Campbell Ivorys treatment gave Heat and Dust an in- Enter character development
(whom she married in India in 2007), himself alienable Indian texture, full of immediacy tool primero: research. It can mean piece of characterisation, but if he were diving headfirst into a film aversion to making eye contact was
the author of an India tome, The Paradise and chaos, that was missing in the India-at-a- somewhat reluctantly subjecting scratches his head at times of ex- centred on religion. written into the script. With that,
Trail, a whodunnit set in the 70s. distance vantage of the Lean epic, although oneself to underarm fragrances on a treme stress at exactly the point he So, back to research I went. I dis- unlike SRK, Rizvan was not lover
Lunch for the visiting foreigners was ar- the latter was mounted with considerably train, or equally reluctantly subject- fell on it as a kid, thats character. covered that Rizwan would have to par excellence. He couldnt even
ranged in my family home a common film greater finesse. ing oneself to eardrum numbing With Aspergers came the oppor- be taught his faith, for him to know look a woman in the eye. Shah Rukh
connection had set it up. My mother tried EDM, all in the name of getting fa- tunity to build character through and embody its strongest tenets. played him slightly cross-eyed, and
Forster had barred even
<
> an avidly interested
hard to keep it continental by rustling up a miliar with a character. But in this the fears and seeming oddities of And so entered his Ammi. A mother that sealed the deal.
meal of cucumber salad, fried fish and case, the quest introduced me to As- Rizvans behaviour, but it was essen- who not only taught him the true
homemade ice cream. All we youngsters no- perger syndrome. An autism spec- tial not to make them mere charac- meaning of his faith, but also in- Creating empathy
ticed were Christies green-blue eyes and her Satyajit Ray from trum disorder, Aspergers manifests terisations. So, his fear of loud stilled a few principles of her own: I am ever grateful to Karan and Shah
freckles. India wasnt yet an international differently in each person, but they sounds or aversion to the colour yel- There are only good people who Rukh for taking Rizvan from the
tourist attraction, so an audience with a adapting A Passage to all have social anxiety and commu- low were chosen to enhance the do good, and bad people who do pages and embodying him on
pucca memsahib was a novel experience. India, but David Lean nication difficulties. dramatic purpose of his character, bad. There is no other difference. screen. It takes a lot to create em-
pathy for a character who cant ex-
A passage to Forster picked up the spoils Character building Research can mean somewhat reluctantly press emotion.
Some years later, almost as a kind of allegi-
ance to that short-lived encounter, my Her Assam tour took Christie to a hamlet
Rizvan disliked touch, had a nerd
brain, and used and understood
<
> subjecting oneself to underarm fragrances on a But above everything else, the
key to developing a memorable
mother trooped us around to watch near Sibsagar, where a tree on which she had language literally. So, when his train or listening to eardrum numbing EDM character or a memorable film is
Christies classic Doctor Zhivago (1965) at a engraved her name as a child still stood and grief-stricken wife tells him to exon- telling the tale from a place of truth.
musty local cinema. We slept through most still bore the markings. The scene was remin- erate himself before the U.S. Presid- and for the progress of the story. So, thanks to a complimentary char- I have found it necessary to re-
of it, but the musical motif, Laras Theme, be- iscent of the one in Ivorys Howards End, in ent before she takes him back, he For instance, when Mandira res- acter, Rizvan put on some more search, but more so to live. My yoga
came a signature memory of that outing (or which Emma Thomsons Margaret Schlegel sets out on the mission. cues him from the loud sounds of muscle. teacher taught me Ujjayi breath by
maybe that was because hotel foyers were discovers the wych elm with the pigs teeth Our aim was accomplished. It the cable car, her advice creates a By this time we knew Shah Rukh pointing out the epiglottis, and all
partial to it in those days, long before Kenny stuck into the trunk, exactly as described by also came with bounties. Aspergers connection. Or Rizvans repeated Khan was going to be Rizvan Khan. my life I have heard my mother
G and Yanni took over the market for elev- kindred spirit Mrs. Wilcox (Vanessa meant Rizvan could be innocent utterances of Dont die, please But with a huge star comes charac- complain about people who dont
ator music). Redgrave). and intelligent, difficult and simple dont die reflect his history and ter-defying stardom, and we had to pronounce the Urdu Kh as in
The sensory overload of Heat and Dust If Ivorys vision of Forsters India had all at once. He was beginning to re- fear of losing loved ones. make people forget it was SRK they khandaan correctly. Put these two
marked the true coming of its production come to fruit, Redgrave would have played veal himself. And this takes time Characters have inner and outer were watching. Karan, for his part, random lessons together and we get
house, and provided a precursory counter- the young Quested. However, having lost out and patience from the writer and worlds, with aspects like habits, made sure his treatment took this My name is Kh.. Khan from the
point to the much vaunted 1984 film adapta- on A Passage to India, Ivory went on to make support from the producer and preferences, and beliefs. In My into account, and Shah Rukh was epiglottis.
tion of E.M. Forsters A Passage to India, three definitive adaptations of Forster novels director. Name is Khan, Rizvans religion was also invested in being Rizvan, As-
helmed by Zhivago director David Lean. Howards End, A Room With A View and It was also crucial to be conscious always going to be crucial. And reli- pergers and all. But what could we By chance human, by design flawed,
James Ivory had his sights set on the Forster Maurice all produced by Ismail Merchant. of the difference between character gion is a minefield. A misguided or do about the SRK superpower aura? and by temperament a writer,
novel for years, but was stymied in his at- Jhabvala scripted the first two, picking up and characterisation. A man who misunderstood reference can bring It was Rizvan to the rescue. I saw the author is screenwriter for
tempts to meet the reclusive writer. Lean Academy Awards for both efforts. constantly scratches his head is a wrath upon your head. And here we him, saw his Aspergers, and an My Name Is Khan.
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6 ENVIRONMENT NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MAGAZINE
RED EARTH
We will be like
fish out of water
With the spirit that has infused the Narmada movement for 32 years,
the mood at Chikhalda is defiant
Shanobai of Chikhalda village is defi- Official notions of Cry me a river (Above) Farmers,
<
> compensation a
BY SNEHA GUTGUTIA, SHRISHTEE
BAJPAI & ASHISH KOTHARI ant. If we are evicted, we will be like environmentalists and social activists
fish out of water, she says. We will res- protest against dams on the Narmada;
B
hagwatibais husband is unwell ist eviction until our last breath. parcel of land (left) A view of the Narmada, the fifth
and at home with no one to at- The Madhya Pradesh government longest river that covers most of Central
tend to him, and her farm in claims to have compensated, resettled elsewhere or cash India, flowing in Barwani district,
Nisarpur village in Madhya Pra- and rehabilitated all affected families, Madhya Pradesh. AFP, R.V. Moorthy
desh has been neglected for days. But but the on-ground situation is very dif-
are no replacement for
Bhagwatibai is sitting defiantly with fast- ferent. While the Narmada Water Dis- the loss of a way of life
ing protesters in the adjacent Chikhalda putes Tribunal Award of 1979 and Su- onmental assessments and measures to
village, where hundreds of policemen preme Court judgments have laid down not only about providing just food, offset impacts take place along with the
had arrested 12 Narmada Bachao An- minimum standards for rehabilitation, clothes or shelter The overarching construction. This has not been fol-
dolan (NBA) activists, including Medha according to NBA, most of the 88 reset- projected benefits from the dam should lowed. The Environment Sub-Group of
Patkar, on August 7. If I dont resist tlement sites have not even been lev- not be counted as an alibi to deprive the Narmada Control Authority, which is
now, there will be nothing left to resist elled, leave alone infrastructure fundamental rights of oustees Rehab- supposed to monitor compliance, did
in the future, Bhagwatibai says. provided, in terms of drinking water, ilitation should take place before six not even meet between 2010 and 2016.
The pall of eviction hangs over 191 vil- roads, drainage, electricity, schools and months of submergence Finally, when it did meet in August 2016
lages and a township in Alirajpur, Bad- healthcare. We were astonished to see In a reversal of this spirit, the apex and May 2017, it rushed through many
wani, Dhar and Khargone districts of tin sheds being constructed as housing court in February allowed for the opera- critical issues, ignoring evidence-based
the Narmada valley, where an estimated in some of these sites. tion of the dam at its full height of complaints of unsatisfactory rehabilita- Narmada dams, back in 1983, when the submissions.
40,000 families of farmers, adivasis, 138.68 metres even though rehabilitation are pending with the Grievance Re- site was being cleared for the construc- Addressing the people on fast, Ma-
fishers and potters stand to lose Just not enough tion has been grossly inadequate. It dressal Authority. Until these are dealt tion of the dam. We had pointed to the heshbhai of Kundiya village challenges
everything that they have ever had Official notions of compensation a mandated the government to put in with, eviction cannot take place legally. potential for widespread ecological the government: Even if the State uses
land, homes, livelihoods, social rela- parcel of land elsewhere or cash are place all facilities at the resettlement damage, including forest submergence, force, we will follow the path of non-vi-
tions and their connection with the no replacement for the loss of a way of sites by July 31, as if what had not A life cut short waterlogging and salination, and loss of olence and fight for our rights, come
river to the Sardar Sarovar dam, life attached to the river and the forests. happened in over two decades could be With the gates closed, if there is a full fish. Sardar Sarovars life could be cut what may. With the same spirit that has
where sluice gates have been closed for In 2000, the Supreme Court linked finished in five months. monsoon, water levels can rise drastic- short just like Bhakra dam, says a resid- infused the Narmada movement for 32
over two months. rehabilitation of those displaced by the It also, shockingly, stated that after ally within 48 hours, says Rohit Thakur, ent of Chikhalda wondering if these sac- years, the mood at Chikhalda even after
The reservoir is filling up, and a gaz- Sardar Sarovar project to Article 21 of this deadline, project-affected families a young volunteer with NBA, adding rifices are going to be futile. the arrests is a defiant ladenge,
ette notification was issued to residents the Constitution, implying that it was a must leave the submergence area, else that his village Ekalwara will also be In 1987, when the Centre gave envir- jeetenge (we will fight, we will win).
to vacate the submergence area by the fundamental right. It cited another the government could forcefully evacu- submerged. onment and forest clearances for the
end of July. judgment that stated: Rehabilitation is ate them. Even today more than 6,000 We recall our own investigation of the dam, it was on the condition that envir- The authors are with Kalpavriksh, Pune.
FAULTLINE FLASHPOINT
The last straw

The humble straw might have just triggered the first fight in the battle against plastic
The specific catalyst
<
> for the global
Pankaj Sekhsaria
researches issues at the intersection movement was a
of environment, science, society
and technology 2015 video of an
olive ridley turtle in
T
hink of anything you have had Singapore skyscrapers
to drink todaya cola, fruit Costa Rica. A new study has found that skyscrapers in
juice, cold coffee or lassiand
Singapore adversely affect the lives of migratory
it is likely that it was served ing to the global online campaign
birds. Conducted by the Nature Society
with a straw. The ubiquitous pink, #refusethestraw, earlier this year, res- (Singapore) and the National University of
white or blue plastic drinking straw taurants and bars in Mumbai decided Singapore, the study found that between 1998
has indeed become an unlikely to stop giving their customers straws and 2016, 237 migratory birds had collided with
marker of the modern culinary cul- with their drinks or to offer them pa- skyscrapers and 157 of them had died as a result. It
ture. Now think of the number of per straws. found that some species of birds are more likely to
drinks served in a restaurant every The restaurant industry in Kerala have this kind of accident than others. Birds whose
day, the number of restaurants in a too made a similar decision to mark migratory routes pass through urban centres are far more prone to either being injured
city, and the number of cities, big and World Environment Day this June, or killed by highrises. The problem is made worse by lights in these buildings, which
small, in the world today, and one can and responding to complaints from disorient the birds at night. This is a situation not nearly unique to Singapore though,
only imagine the volume of plastic citizens, the Kozhikode Municipal with North America witnessing an estimated 100 million bird deaths due to skyscrapers
straws used on a daily basis. The Corporation in the State too decided and highrises.
plastic straw is also emblematic of the around the same time to ban plastic
Kashmir glaciers
use and throw culture. straws. It is one situation where the
And the ease with which we ask for individual appears to be in a position Kashmir is beginning to feel the direct impact of
a straw and then dispose it underlines No way out Could the ocean soon have more plastic than fish? AP to make a very significant difference. climate change, according to recent research.
both the mindlessness and the mag- Rainfall has reduced over the years, and glaciers
nitude of our actions and their reper- consumption of plastic in todays deep it had been embedded inside Anthropocene marker have lost volume, leading to a fall in water levels
in the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. According to a
cussions. world, it has become the inadvertent the animals body. The video sparked One of the markers of the Anthropo-
study, the total area covered by nine glaciers in
In Kerala 3.3 million plastic straws stimulus of a very significant anti- international outrage, giving wings to cene, scientists say the planet has
the Lidder Valley in Kashmir fell from 29.01 sq.km
are used every day. It is 500 million plastic campaign that has gained a movement to fight the menace of now entered, is plastic pollution (oth- in 1980 to 23.81 sq.km in 2013. The melting of
daily in the U.S.. So billions of these rapid traction all over the world. the plastic straw. ers include nuclear tests, concrete, glaciers has not led to higher water levels in the
straws, by implication, are thrown The initiative against the plastic Much has been achieved since and domesticated chicken). rivers either, owing to the lack of proper catchment areas, scientists have claimed. A
away around the planet. A significant straw had started a little earlier, but it then. The Plastic Pollution Coalition Not only is plastic being produced sustained fall in water levels in the Upper Indus Basin will have adverse effects on
chunk finds it way to the oceans and was about two years ago that the cam- (www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org) and dumped in ever increasing quant- hydropower generation and irrigation. Srinagar has also been found to have one of
not surprisingly, plastic straws are paign took off. has estimated, for instance, that ities, it is unique in that it does not de- the highest levels of black carbon pollution in the world.
consistently in the top 10 items collec- nearly 1,800 institutions worldwide, compose or decay. A paper published
ted every year during efforts to clean International outrage including prominent ones like Dis- in the journal Science Advances in July
up the coastline. The specific catalyst was a 2015 video neys Animal Kingdom and the Smith- 2017 estimates that the worlds oceans Factory farming in Asia
While the single straw multiplied a that showed a plastic straw jutting out sonian have banned plastic straws or now have nearly nine billion metric If a recent report is to be believed, factory
billion times over might still only be a from the nostril of an olive ridley give them only on request. tonnes of plastic with an additional 5 farming in Asia has begun to cause global health
risks. According to trends, the use of antibiotics in
fraction of the total production and turtle in Costa Rica. Volunteers who clean up beaches to 13 million metric tonnes being ad-
Asian factory farms is set to increase by as much
The video that went viral on social regularly are reporting fewer straws ded every year.
as 120% over the next decade. This will have
media (more than 12 million people now than they did about a year ago This being the case, it is expected
The worlds oceans
<
>
damaging effects on disease resistance. Coupled
have seen it so far) has a marine biolo- and there is a small boost to those that oceans will have more plastic with the increase in the number of bird flu strains,
now have nearly nine gist trying to pull out the straw with a who make reusable straws from metal than fish by the year 2050. Its a prob- this could cause major global health risks. The
plier, when blood starts to flow from or bamboo. lem of gigantic and timeless propor- growth of meat production in factory units has
billion metric tonnes animals nose. The rescuer continues The international movement has tions and the humble plastic straw been boundless in Asia, thus leading to a severe increase in greenhouse gases as well.
of plastic waste, say to struggle for nearly five minutes be- had its impact in India as well with re- might just have triggered the first Emissions as a result of meat production are slated to rise 360 million tonnes over the
fore being able to pull out the nearly- ports of initiatives coming in from dif- fight in a battle that will need to be next few years - the equivalent of running 100 coal plants for a year.
researchers four-inch-long straw, revealing how ferent parts of the country. Respond- sustained.
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THE HINDU MAGAZINE

NOIDA/DELHI
STORYBOARD 7
All sorts of competing ironies

What was completely left out of Anglo-American war stories were inconvenient facts, such as Churchill being no less racist
The South Asian and
<
> African soldiers
BY RUCHIR JOSHI
T
o grow up middle-class in a big
Indian city in the 1960s also remained unsung,
meant growing up in the slip-
stream of the recently departed their dark faces
Raj and among things British. This in-
cluded the many books and comics
rarely depicted in war
about World War II, which were written comics or books
not from the viewpoint of one of the vic-
tors of the war but from the peculiar po- Soviet Russia but even in this rivalry
sition that it was, after all, the plucky, there was a continuation of the domina-
honourable, redoubtable, indomitable tion of the North over the South (except
English (plus some Scots and white co- for the White settler bits).
lonials) who, armed with great courage
and a sense of humour, single-handedly Buried by time
stopped the Germans and the Japanese Whatever the state of the defeated na-
(plus some clownish Italians) till the per- tions in 1945, today the tables have
fidious Russians and the slow-witted but massively turned. Both Japan and Ger-
brave-honourable Americans were ob- many are in a much better position
liged to join the hostilities; after which it than, say, the U.K. and France, despite
was, again, the English who led the final neither country having a serious army
charge against the Nazis and the Japan- to speak of. Despite problems, Germany
ese Army. today is far more socially cohesive than
To the victor belong not only the ma- the U.S. under a crypto-fascist, White
terial booty of war but also the spoils of supremacist regime.
historical memory. Post-war, the popu- Time buries old enmities, turns them
lar fiction industry aimed primarily at a into absurdities; forget any schoolboy
British male readership also caught Dunkirk in Berlin In dubbed films released in Germany, naturally, both the good guys and the bad guys speak German. competition about flying the larger flag
many of us desis in its scatter-blast. and (right) what we grew up reading: war comics published by Fleetway Library and Commando. youtube, wiki commons at border crossings, you can now hardly
Thus, we had films, novels and not least tell when you drive across the border
the small, square comic books churned Despite problems, in defeating the Nazi war machine or off on the beach? I register shock only between Germany and France. Its not
out by Fleetway Library and their com-
peting publishers, Commando.
>
< Germany today is far
how the Chinese armies and civilian
population bore the brunt of the Japan-
after I realise Im reading English sub-
titles, the entire dialogue between the
that there arent any neo-Nazis in Ger-
many, but there are now far more of
What was palpable across all these more socially cohesive ese onslaught. two English officers is in German, them in France, Britain and the U.S.
heroic stories of fighting against great Sitting in Berlin in 2017, all this comes dubbed no doubt by the best actors in While Charlottseville unfolds in the
odds was the hatred towards the enemy, than the U.S. under a flooding back at the click of a link. Chris- the Federal Republic. U.S., with White men and women
the Germans and the Japanese. topher Nolans film Dunkirk has been re- When the RAF fighter pilots in their proudly waving the Nazi swastika and
crypto-fascist, White leased to a lot of acclaim in certain quar- Spitfires are jumped by the Luftwaffes giving fascist salutes, in Germany a
Marinaded in empire supremacist regime ters and I am curious to see the trailer Messerschmitt fighters, the RAF man drunken American tourist who tries the
Looking back now, every single thing on YouTube. The action starts, very again goes, Achtung, achtung, Messer- same stiff-armed Hitler salute gets
about the Nazis and the Tojo Empire ism and to control that capitalism, keep- nicely shot, the soundtrack both suit- schmitt! punched in the face. The German police
was indeed hatred-worthy: they were ing the big battleships visible but in the ably modern, minimalist and yet dread- then charge the tourist for making the
murderously racist, power-hungry, background. inducing. The soldiers of the British Ex- On IMAX scale gesture (illegal in Germany, along with
greedy with ideas of controlling the The British were undeniably highly peditionary Force are almost encircled, For a person of my age and background, all other Nazi symbols) even as they
world, and completely inhuman in their courageous in the face of the Nazi on- trapped on a huge beach in northern theres something deeply unsettling full of thousands of White males (and look for the man who assaulted him.
quest for this domination. What was slaught, especially when defending France, trying to get back to England as about this, yet its completely unsurpris- about two or three White women). The subtitles all around me tell me
completely left out of the English and their island; they were less so when the Wehrmacht closes in on them. ing. Of course, many American and Brit- There is, as Ive been warned by many that the Germans have won a huge
American narratives, however, were slammed back by the Japanese in Its a scenario Ive been familiar with ish blockbusters are now dubbed in Ger- critical reviews, no trace of the Indian struggle against their older prejudices in
several inconvenient facts. Churchill Malaya and Burma; and in almost every since I was 10 or 11: the brave Tommies man; of course contemporary Germans soldiers who so bravely helped to hold the same last 70-odd years that India
was no less racist than any Nazi; he be- theatre their brown and black colonial fight their way back to the beach, their have been happily co-opted into the the perimeter in order to let the bulk of and Pakistan have been independent.
lieved in the superior qualities of the troops helped save their bacon; the comrades dead or captured, their units worldwide audiences who are by de- the BEF escape. Perhaps, we desis need to get over the
White man as much as Hitler; only, be- South Asian and African soldiers who in tatters; the German dive bombers fault anti-Nazi, so, in dubbed films re- Watching it, hardly the greatest war comic book wars, not go through the
ing more educated and marinaded in remained unsung, whose dark faces scream in from above, the Wehrmacht leased in Germany, both the good guys film ever made as it has been touted, all mistakes that Europe has already gone
the effluvients of a centuries-old em- were hardly ever depicted in the comics artillery pounds them on the sand, the and the bad guys naturally speak sorts of competing ironies surrounded through for us, and take on the huge
pire, he had a different mode for de- ( just as youd rarely see black or Native Royal Navy ships evacuating the troops German. me on IMAX scale and in full Dolby challenges that we really face today.
ploying that racism. American GIs in the American comics of are blasted out of the water by bombs When I finally see Dunkirk on an sound. After the World War, Europe and
The Americans were no less hungry the time), and hardly mentioned in the and torpedoes. IMAX screen in central Berlin, I make the U.S. came quickly back together to The columnist and filmmaker is author of
for world domination than the Ger- novels or the war movies. Suddenly, a British officer turns to an- sure to see it in the original English ver- continue the war theyd been waging The Last Jet-Engine Laugh and Poriborton:
mans, Japanese or the Soviets, only Equally important what you never other and asks Why have their tanks sion without any sub-titles. against most of the rest of the world for An Election Diary. He edited Electric Feather:
their preferred method at the time was got from Anglo-American fiction was stopped attacking? The reply is, Why There are a few Black French soldiers over 200 years. The Tranquebar Book of Erotic Stories and
to establish and protect global capital- the leading role the Soviet Union played bother, when their bombers can pick us used as extras but otherwise its a film There may have been rivalry against was featured in Granta.
Notes from Ladakh Conversations with a crow

BY PRACHI JOSHI mix of Hindi and English. When I say that
we are from Mumbai, all the little monks
Look at me. I am all zen, compact like a haiku, economical
W
hats your name? Where are look suitably impressed. Thats a long
you from? Are you two way away, exclaims an impish one seated BY SHIV VISVANATHAN you read meaning into it. While a
(pointing at my husband) next to my husband. He then proceeds to caw is matter of fact and unstatedly
I
married? Its like being in the ask if we are married, and when we anam working, holding fort as polysemic. I caw, therefore we are.
rapid-fire round of a quiz show. No, this swer in the affirmative, theres a burst of they call it, but lost. The loneli- It invokes friendship, conversation,
isnt some nosy aunty in a train but a mis- giggles. ness around me is so thick that a chorus, an adult acceptance of si-
chievous little monk at Thiksey Monastery it feels like company. I use writ- lence as privacy. Can you feel a dog
in Ladakh. The picture-postcard perfect Piercing remark ing as therapy, as a way of listening even getting a whiff of that? The
monastery is popular on the tourist trail. Stanzin then narrows his eyes and asks to myself, asking my silence to subtlety of silence.
But its late evening and all the tourists me, Are you Indian? When I say yes, his speak. I am looking for a meaning
have long departed. Theres no one but us, next comment takes me aback; Then why beyond myself. Maybe one wants Dog vs. crow
our guide, and the monks (and a couple of are you speaking in English, speak in something others dont want. My A dog is so obvious. It is simplicis-
shaggy black dogs). Hindi! Im not about to start arguing with friends have moved away as if I simus. Its barbarous bark carries
Some 70 monks live at Thiksey Monas- a monk, even if he is a little boy, but I do dont fit the ordinary script of their no theological overtones. I am half
tery but only a few are around, mostly the recognise a judgemental tone in his ques- lives. The emptiness around me is riddle. My everydayness still eludes
young monks and a couple of the older tion, which surprises me. almost viscous, like a fog. Even you; it carries mystery. I have a
ones holding fort. Many of the monks Dorje then suggests taking a group prayer is more desperation than sense of the cryptic. There is noth-
have gone to Diskit Monastery in the photo so we raise our bowls, and both my faith. ing as obvious as a dog, while I
Nubra Valley to parti- husband and Dorje say I wish I was like the crow out- have the touch of the sphinx. There
cipate in Yarchos cheers. Thats side. It has rained and, matter of is something about man that
Chenmo, an annual enough to get Stanzin fact, it sits on a branch and recites evades riddle and mystery in every-
summer gathering of riled up again No, its commentary. It is a ritual. The dayness. I smell of Jung and Freud,
monks presided over no, you cannot say crow seems confident, intact as if a dog summons Pavlov, the reflex,
by His Holiness the cheers with thukpa! he knows the power of cawing the kneejerk of a bell. A dog is pure
Dalai Lama, my While we are being every day. physiology while I, I am the begin-
guide Namgyal Dorje told off, the youngest I need that sense of the crow in ning of the social. My language,
informs me. monk (who is seated me, cawing about everydayness in half Alice, half Kafka.
Its 6.30 p.m. and beside me) seems a bit quiet celebration, where routine is The crow complained, It is cos-
the dinner bell has unhappy with his drama, and each act of repetition mically unfair comparing a dog to a
just gone off. The thukpa. He had been an invention of a new day. The crow, like a half-wit to a Wittgen-
monks mess hall is sniffling throughout crow with its lousy voice is so reas- stein. A dog is intimate like lice and
empty; some of the dinner and looks in- suring, unapologetic about itself, a getty images/ istock only man can think the itch as the
young monks huddle creasingly miserable. haiku in the real sense of the term, beginning of the social. The social
getty images/ istock
together in the kit- After slurping down almost hinting that it has the secret It is the trickster who finds meaning in is double-edged, double faced. The
chen, while another
group has decided to dine al fresco on the
some noodles, he pulls
a face and walks into the mess kitchen.
of everydayness. It is almost saying,
I know parrots and peacocks are
<
> the everyday, content its prose will
Homo Duplex needed me and you
stumbled over a dog, mistook its
terrace. Since I have finished my bowl, I rinse it at brand names. But I got beyond outlast any search for poetry anxieties for acclamation. Can you
My husband and I pick up bright red the sink and follow him into the kitchen brand. I establish the chorus of the play chess with a dog, a creature
melamine bowls and walk over to the cook along with Dorje. The little monk is com- everyday. To stop crowing is for which rolls over like Humpty
who stands next to a cauldron of thukpa plaining to the cook and Dorje translates everydayness to cease. It is the covered it. Going for the dog was my distance. But between our dif- Dumpty?
Tibetan noodle soup with plenty of veget- for me I dont like this. Did you put gar- trickster who finds meaning, an evolutionary mistake. Imagine ference, our distance, we could The crow sat quietly, almost apo-
ables and thick noodles. He ladles a gener- lic in it? The cook explains that he added laughter, rhythm, in the everyday, you and me sitting together on a have created a different world. Man logetic. I understand loneliness,
ous bowlful for us; the soup smells appet- ginger to help with the little monks cold. content that its prose will outlast park bench, convivially. I do not and dog together sounds barbaric, alienation, loss. I nodded tacitly.
ising and Im suddenly hungry. Dorje tells Ah, can I have some more? he asks with any search for poetry. The epic have to bark in silly assurance like idolatrous. It suited mans narciss- Talking to a crow was like talking
me that the monks diet is quite spartan, a naughty grin. power of cawing every day, con- an overdone comic strip. I read ism to be worshipped by a dog. For to a zen monk. A caw as kaon, I
just butter tea and sattu (flour made from The whole exchange is so adorable that vinced it will outlast history, con- your thoughts and sit with you, a a dog, you were god and you fell for said glibly. The crow glared. Man
ground pulses and cereals) for breakfast, I cant help laughing. It takes all my self-re- tent being itself. full accomplice. it. Ours would have been a social was the beginning of the bad joke.
followed by fruits and vegetables for straint to not pull the monks fat, rosy I am not dependent. I do not age contract, mature, autonomous, a I gasped.
lunch, and soupy noodles and butter tea apple cheeks. Buddhist before Buddha in a silly way. You lost a pathway conversation of equals across dif- He said, Imagine the two of us
for dinner. Dinner is early, usually at 6.30 We end our dinner with a cup of butter The other day, I had this imaginary when you bypassed me. Otherwise, ference, laced with humour and in a graphic novel. I would sit si-
p.m. after which no food is served. tea. The Ladakhis guzzle this throughout but quite real conversation with the man and crow would have been a realism, more adult. But you chose lently, my eyes oozing intelligence.
the day but the salty, buttery brew is a bit crow. Sometimes when you sit on a different song line. I would have the perversity of an idiot childhood But you, you would have bubbles
Table for seven of an acquired taste. Think of it as soup, park bench, it hops along, dances a been friend, double, not some silly you call dog. How could you trust (baubles) around you for speech
Outside on the terrace, the young monks not tea, advises Dorje. That does make it jig offering company, watching you totem or pet. You dont need meta- anything four-legged? because you do not grasp silence.
make space for us at the table and soon we a bit more palatable, but I dont think its clinically like a local shrink. I ima- phors to understand me. My body It looked clinically at me.
are devouring spoonfuls of thukpa with my cup of tea. We bid goodbye to the little gined it telling me, You, man, language is matter of fact honest, Half Alice, half Kafka Happy loneliness, it said and
five little monks, ages ranging from five to monks and climb up to the monasterys made a mistake. You adopted the not the drooling submissiveness of I represent common sense, the was gone. I sighed in silence, rub-
12 years. Thats when the questions started terrace. The setting sun casts a golden dog when you should have taken to a dog. I am stoic. We make the best analytical, realist, pragmatic bing the rough wood of the park
flying in. Twelve-year-old Stanzin Thup- glow over Leh valley. It is an evening well me. philosophers. My humour is sur- beauty of common sense. No piece bench, sensing an emptiness
stan is seated opposite me and is clearly spent and probably my favourite Ladakh The crow tried to explain. Dogs real. You would have understood of nature embodies common everywhere.
the eldest of the lot. He begins by directing experience. are silly, sentimental. They are lim- life better. sense, the power of ordinary lan-
his questions in Tibetan to our guide ericks. I am all zen, compact like a I admit I am different. I stick to guage, like we do. Think of it, you The writer is Professor, Jindal Global
Dorje, who in turn suggests that Stanzin The author is a travel and food writer mildly haiku, economical. Look at my nature. I have no urge to domest- can call a book Conversations with Law School and Director, Centre of
ask us directly. The questions come in a obsessed with coffee and all things Italian. body, the contours of my head. I icity, it is a second slavery. But our a Crow. It holds. You cannot talk to Study of Knowledge System, O.P.
was Buddhist before Buddha dis- difference was hope. I admit I keep a dog. It is echolalia, it babbles and Jindal Global University.
CM ND-X
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8 BACK PAGE NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MAGAZINE
Easy like Sunday morning LETTER FROM A CONCERNED READER
Believing all nonsense

Originally from India and made famous around the world
Respected Sir/Madam, pride I have a Ph.D. in Botany with
BY BERTY ASHLEY the same time, Isaac Newton shone a were wearing it. The word literally double masters in dairy engineering
P
white light through a Prism and dis- means soil-coloured in Urdu. What is lease dont get me wrong. I and plastic manufacturing.
love Indians. First of all what In our country, education is noth-
1 This gentleman was born in what is
now Uttarakhand in 1857. He
wanted to become a writer but his
covered a spectrum of colours. Seeing
only six, he decided to add one more
because of his belief that seven was a
this colour which became the first
ever wide-spread military camouflage
uniform?
choice is there, I cant just go ing but one line in the biodata. Fin-
to some country without any ished. If you ask M.A. Economics
father enrolled him in a medical col- perfect number. What did he add that Indians. There is any such country? first-rank student what is the differ-
Once my dear friend Mr. Balara- ence between simple interest and
lege in London. He spent most of his
time there writing poems and plays.
After graduating, he became a surgeon
directly made the dye a valuable
commodity? 9 The greater one-horned rhino-
ceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is an
endangered animal found only in In-
man when to South America to go compound interest, he will think for
and see Machu Picchu. Poor fellow 10 minutes and say spelling.
travelled day and night for god only Sir/madam, few days back you may
on a ship. In 1883, he was posted in
Bangalore when he noticed that by
limiting access to water he could con-
6 In 1801, the Royal Woolwich Ar-
senal started a military rocket R&D
programme based on incendiary rock-
dia. Once found all over the Indo-gan-
getic Plain, currently there are only
around 3,500 of these lovely animals
knows how many days. He reached have seen news of one boy in Chand-
there, got out of the bus, walked up igarh who it seems got job in Google
trol a mosquito population. Exactly ets they had found after a war with a found in an area less than 20,000 and down mountains and first thing as graphic designer. Immediately, I
120 years ago on August 20, 1897, he South Indian ruler. Following their square kilometres. Since 1996, how- he saw was one tour group of 30 or told Mrs. Mathrubootham, Kamalam
discovered something in a mosquito. study, the first Congreve rockets were ever, it has featured prominently in an 40 Malayalis. I told him it was like go- 100% something is suspicious about
This led to him becoming the first No- made, which the British used in the item where it is one of the most coming to Sabarimala but ten thousand this news.
bel Laureate born outside of Europe. Napoleonic wars. In 1814, these rock- mon found. Where would you have times more expensive. And then what happened two days
Who was this doctor and which dis- ets were used in the Battle of Bal- seen a representation of this beautiful later? Full duplicate
eases vector had he discovered? timore against American defenders. animal most recently? news. My son laughed
The American National Anthem was and laughed, but I told
him shut up bloody fel-
2 Sake Dean Mahomed was a Bengali
Anglo-Indian traveller who intro-
duced South Asian cuisine to Europe.
Reigning rockets Pioneering
technology. Wikimedia commons
written as a direct consequence of this
battle and the line And the rockets
red glare, the bombs bursting in air is
10 These natural wonders have
been explored since history of
man began, but still remain some of
low, other people are at
least putting effort to
He also introduced a particular prac- in reference to these rockets. Which the most mysterious things on the get a fake job.
tice in the public steam baths which led to this disease getting a particular Indian rulers pioneering use of this planet. We know more about the Solar I dont know if the
gives its name to a product. This term. What is this common name for technology inspired all this? (See pic) System then we do about these. Of the boy did it or somebody
product was first used in India and the Conjunctivitis? five currently present on Earth, only forced him to create
fake news. Whatever it
name for it is derived from a Hindi
word which means to knead or to
soothe. This practice supposedly 4 This fibre is finer, stronger, lighter,
softer, and approximately three
7 This game originated in India in the
19th century where it was known
as Moksha Patam, and emphasised the
one is named after a country. Ours.
What entity is this? [It also happens to
be the name of one of the Quizmas-
is, I hope the boy is ok.
Poor fellow.
cured diseases and gave immense re- times more insulating than sheep role of karma. The original moral les- ters favourite bands!] Sir/madam, every
lief to the patrons. Its success allowed wool. This wool can only be called so son of the game was that a person few years some news
him to even do the practice on King if taken from the goat species Capra could attain moksha (salvation) A molecular biologist from Madurai, our like this will come. One
George IV. What is this product? hircus laniger. China has the largest through good deeds, whereas evil quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is year somebody will get
population of these goats and hence deeds would cause rebirth as a lower working on a rock ballad called Coffee is a job in Google. Then
next year somebody
3 Conjunctivitis is inflammation of
the outermost layer of the white
part of the eye and the inner surface of
the market leader in this wool. What
wool is this which has a geographical
etymology?
form of life. The phrase back to
square one mostly likely originated
from the game. Identify the game.
Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion. @bertyashley
10. Indian Ocean getty images/ istock
will get scholarship to
NASA. Then after two
9. On the back of a 10 rupee note
the eyelid. The most common infec- 8. Khaki years somebody will
He got very upset at my joke, and show appointment order from Mi-
tious causes are viral followed by bac-
5 Woad is a plant from the tinctoria
8 This colour has been the colour of 7. Snakes and Ladders
terial and it easily spreads between family that was used in Europe to choice for military personnel since 6. Tipu Sultan and his Mysorean Rockets for Diwali gift gave me socks. crosoft. All chicanery. But every
people. In the early 1950s the adenov- produce a blue dye. Then in the mid the early 1900s. The British realised
5. Indigo
So mostly, I am ok with Indian single newspaper and TV channel in
4. Cashmere wool
irus responsible for it was supposed to 1660s, the East India Company began the impracticality of using their tradi- 3. Madras Eye people. I live in Anna Nagar East. No the country will report this without
have been discovered at the Govern- importing from India a certain dye tional scarlet coat and were looking 2. Shampoo from the Hindi word chmpo problem with Indians here. Nice even checking a single thing.
ment Ophthalmic Hospital in Egmore, made from another plant. This dye for alternatives. They discovered it parasites in anopheles mosquito people. Cannot park car properly. But Sir/madam, have you seen the let-
Chennai, which is the second oldest was cheaper to produce and copious when some Indian troops who helped 1. Ronald Ross discovered malaria fine. ter from Google the Chandigarh fel-
Ophthalmic hospital in the world. This quantities made it to England. Around them in the 1867 Abyssinian campaign
Answers
But sometimes, Indians can below showed his school principal? Ok,
come unbearable. Just let me high- I am not kaun banega crorepati or
light one area of stupidity: Indians Einstein or C.V. Raman. But even I
will believe anything. Tell them could see it was total nonsense.
GOREN BRIDGE A-N-A-T-O-M-I-Z-E whatever nonsense you want with full Why Indians are like this? People
confidence and Indians will immedi- in this country are just dying to be-
Bridge Down Under Floating Cloud

ately remove brain, put it in almirah, lieve in anything. You just take a nice
and believe the nonsense as if it is printout of anything on white paper,
veda vakyam. give it one lamination, and then just
One day some idiot will say, Oh show it to everybody with confid-
my god there is one coconut tree be- ence. Within 24 hours, you will be on
hind my house and if you give it milk English news channel. After 48 hours,
in plastic bowl, it is drinking! Oh this you will get award from Chief Minis-
Completely is miracle, miracle, miracle! Only 20 ter. And then you continue like that
remote-controlled per person, come immediately. for 20 or 30 years, and you can be-
Within five minutes, 4,000 people come Chief Minister yourself.
will be standing in line in front of the How will this end? One day some-
tree. (Separate line for VIP, 10 extra.) body will just print some nonsense
Sound-reactive Sir/madam, you will think only and give it to public sector bank and
coloured LEDs fools and idiots and ignorant people take lakhs and lakhs of loan and then
which pulse in will be standing in line. What non- disappear.
tune with music sense. Education and all who uses for Ok, maybe this is already
Neither vulnerable, South deals or ambient sound thinking? happening.
If you go and ask the first person
BY BOB JONES He continued with a diamond standing in line to feed one bucket of Yours in exasperation,
back to his ace and another dia- milk to coconut tree, he will say with J. Mathrubootham
mond, disappointed when West Magnetic-levitation
won this with the 10 as East shed a technology to
low heart. enable the cloud
It was too late for West to play to float
on spades now, so he continued
with another club to Fordhams THE SUNDAY CROSSWORD NO. 2957
queen. Another diamond knocked
out Wests king as East discarded
Location sensors allow the cloud to
another low heart. Yet another
be shifted around while floating
club by West established Easts
long clubs, leaving this position:
BY MADURA SHRUTI KATTA and is powered by a rechargeable lith-

ium-ion battery. This hypnotising
C
loud watching has been a fa- lamp is the latest product of the col-
voured hobby for the idle- laboration between Richard Clarkson
minded to ponder life, or use Studios cloud-based designs and
inspiration in nature as an ex- Crealevs inventive technology.
cuse to take a nap. It might appear to be a mere access-
The familiar picture the placid af- ory in the living room, but the Float-
ternoon sun warming the lush grass ing Cloud contains LEDs that respond
on an easily-scaled hill, as we lie there and react to sound.
on our backs personifying clouds is Though the lamp doesnt double-
all too unfamiliar. up as a speaker, its equalizer mode
In the wild outdoors are devilish makes the LEDs respond and flash to
mosquitoes, a sun that is anything but the beat of external sound such as
placid, and a distinct lack of grassy loud noises, music or human voices.
hills. Heck, Wordsworth even wrote a Whats more, if youve have ever
T
odays deal comes to us poem out of it, where he imagined fancied feeling the fluffy cotton in the
from Peter Fordham, an South crossed to the ace of himself wandering as lonely as a sky, but felt theyve been just a little
Australian expert and a hearts and the lead of the last dia- cloud, or so. out of reach, this Cloud is here to save
longtime friend. Fordham mond crushed East in three suits. Well, fret no more, bedroom the day. The magnets allow the cloud
was South. A spade discard and Fordham Wordsworths, because for a mere to rotate fully and manoeuvre slightly
A high spade lead would have would exit with a low spade, for- $4,620, the Floating Cloud 2.0 is yours up and down when pressed, perpetu-
scuttled the contract, but West cing West to give him the king of to own. ating realism and allowing for those Across (2-5)
knew South had the king and spades. A heart discard and The Floating Cloud is a levitating cloudy days to leave your dispositions 1 Game reserve captured by writer, open- 6 Embodiment of spirit once in a broad-
couldnt be sure about the 10 and dummys hearts would be good. A lamp held 2.75 inches afloat using a and light up your desks. ing out (8) cast (15)
nine, so his choice of a club seems club discard and the defense combination of rare earth magnets, Who hasnt wanted to own some- 5 Dispute bringing strikes about (4) 7 Connect with engineers behind sched-
reasonable. Fordham won with doesnt have enough winners, so a electromagnets and location sensors. thing this innovative? Sure, it isnt 10 Child led by mother to become builder ule (6)
the king of clubs in hand and led a low spade wins again. Nicely It is composed of hypoallergenic very useful but it floats, people. Let (5) 8 Text about split accepted by saint (6)
11 Inherited bric-a-brac finally in a home 9 Writer with influence in fight, not right
low diamond to dummys queen. played, Peter! polyester fibre, is entirely wireless, its price not cloud your judgement.
artist left (9) (8)
12 Warning about bone I name wrongly in 14 Explosive in large container carried by
humorous story (5,3,2,1,4) express, mostly (8)
13 Took off from Maine, going west, hav- 16 Satisfied with hotel in fantastic stay?
ECOTISM BY ASHVINI MENON ing wandered around (7)
15 Petty details in dogma I virtually re-
Its a gem (8)
18 Trade union in retreat overturned cus-
versed (6) tom (6)
17 One fishing in lake consumed by exas- 19 Greatest finish from scorer, for ex-
peration (6) ample, coming up in final (7)
19 Element of false humility not un- 20 Excerpt from Caesar on Gallic gar-
known (7) ment (6)
21 Actually in bad form, fat cat at sea 22 Agent, out of bed, tired (3,2)
(2,1,6,2,4)
23 Arise and make speech about island Solution No. 2956
spirit (9)
24 Flower ending in display behind plat-
form (5)
25 Speakers way of walking, making en-
trance (4)
26 Can old favourites, coming back,
hurry up? (4,2,2)
Down
1 Burial ground encountered between
church and eastern railway (8)
2 Play recruit, receiving thanks led by
popular player (15)
3 Begin disorderly spree (5)
4 State of India with leader in authority
CM ND-X
YK

20-08-2017 - The Hindu - Shashi Thakur - Link 1

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20-08-2017 - The Hindu - Shashi Thakur - Link 1

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follow us: august 20, 2017 Delhi

23 dead, over 400 injured as AIADMK factions Asola case: all

CCCCCCCCCCCCCC All four accused in the

Asola attack: all four 16-year-old boy jumps

A 16-year-old Class XI stu-

evening. Sachin was pro-

Woman, daughter found

the spot the police recovered

Womens family allege

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

freedom fighter to AIIMS

around 4 a.m. on August

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

Yogi, Rahul spar over UP deaths

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

Tribunal dismisses plea that Men also victims of

Lack of toilet becomes ground Director General of Police

for divorce in Rajasthan As per definitions in

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

FROM PAGE ONE Indias position on Video shows troops trading

Despite delay, AIADMK (PoK) and taught the terror-

few dozen soldiers from

seconds later another soldier

factions hint at merger diers, he added. curity forces in Jammu and

Army accused of attacking policeman

23 dead as Utkal Special Correspondent

Express derails an alleged scuffle with Army

Death is the only certainty here, rest is just chance

Rahul visits families of

Further probe into Sunandas death

Relief for Punjab CM in

12 WHO WHAT WHY WHEN WHERE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

Hansda claim; just as his novel The Mysterious

Sowvendra the same year. Last Friday, August 11,

Shekhar, shown Santhal women in a bad light.

on the anti- movement argues that persistent racial

Confederacy ciliation between these two ethnicities

movement tion respectively. Confederates and other protesters, ten-

are vegetable ing significantly to this rise. Tomatoes

prices June, according to data from the Centre

soaring? July, from Junes contraction of 3.1%.

Catalonia carnage: In one of the worst

In U.P.s tion in oxygen supply.

Gorakhpur, mediately denied there was any short-

Do not blame it on women

Have you taken the The rise and fall of Delhis

The importance of a countrys self-image

14 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NOIDA/DELHI

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

Earthlike planet R. Prasad Spider silk is a biomaterial

cies. Now, researchers at the second laser pulse. They

The humble crow is far smarter than we thought

Meet the bacteria that save babies

Time for a targeted programme?

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017

Finding the right balance BOOKSHELF

Imaginary lines View from the corner

to victims The Tests clinched without

for the 2019 ODI World Cup.

Need to assign specific roles: Kohli We have to forget the Nadeem,

Nagarkoti, Mawi the future stars Anderson sparks WI collapse TENNIS

Vijay Lokapally Gill, with a century each in Agence France-Presse

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017