Politics
RESERVATION BILL WILL BE BEACON FOR EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN
The bill faces other barriers, of course, of which the securing of the Lok Sabha's approval is the most crucial. But the expectation among its proponents is that the momentum it has acquired by clearing the roadblocks put up by its critics should make the subsequent passages much easier.
There are several misgivings, which are not unexpected because of the unprecedented nature of the proposed law. For instance, the 33 percent reservations for women mean that 181 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, including 40 for Scheduled Castes or Dalits and Scheduled Tribes of adivasis, will be set aside for women. Since another 82 seats are already reserved for the Dalits and adivasis, it will leave only 280 seats in the unreserved category although women may contest these as well.
It is understandable, therefore, why the male MPs cutting across party lines are uneasy although the party whips have forced them to keep quiet. The fewer number of constituencies available to them are not their only problem. Equally unsettling is the fact that the 181 seats for women will not be fixed, but will be rotated.
This will mean that none of the MPs, either men or women, will be certain about their next constituency. As a result, they will not be able to nurse their constituencies in the hope of winning another term, as has been the practice till now. It is obvious, therefore, that a great deal of uncertainty will be introduced into the system, whose long-term implications are unknown.
-by Amulya Ganguli
Politics
WOMEN'S BILL ELEVATES SONIA GANDHI TO LEAGUE OF HER OWN
What gives Gandhi the thrust and credibility when she pushes this agenda is that despite heading India's most machination-ridden political party, she has managed to keep herself above the fray. That has as much to do with her non-Indian background as her intrinsically, if somewhat deceptively, low-key style of functioning.
While at one level the passage of the bill is a matter of personal triumph, in a broader sense it is a splendid tribute to India's democratic polity. Whatever may be their motivations, including perhaps political expediency, it is an undeniable fact that the bill was passed by the overwhelmingly male dominated Rajya Sabha. From all indications it is likely to be passed by the 543-member Lok Sabha, the lower house of the people, which has barely ten percent women members. The male Members of Parliament have indeed put their vote where their mouth is.
It is rare in India's politics that two parties on either end of the political spectrum, namely the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist bloc, and the one in the centre, namely the Congress, so sanguinely support a piece of legislation because they all see benefits down the road.
-by Mayank Chhaya
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Agriculture
US CONNECTS TO INDIA WITH APPLES, NUTS
"The US exhibitors are bringing some of the best and healthiest American food to India. Indian cuisines and hospitality are known all over the world, but it is a pleasure to celebrate American foods that add healthy variety to the dinner tables. Whether it is the red beans and rice of my wife Sally's native Louisiana or the 'rajma' in India, the two countries share so much in food. We use so many common references to food in both our cultures," Roemer said.
Citing figures, he said: "President Barack Obama wanted the US to work on exporting more food to India.
"The good news is that food exports from Indiana - my hometown - to India increased by 41 percent last year. In food, the US, like India, is a great melting pot," Roemer said between bites of fresh Californian prunes from one of the US vends at the fair.
Holly S. Higgins, minister-counsellor for US agricultural affairs in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the head of US Agricultural Office in India, said: "American apples are in high demand in India because they were fresh and were available in 30 varieties."
-by Madhusree Chatterjee
| Sports
PENALTY-CORNER CONVERSIONS CAN BE DECISIVE IN THE FINAL
"It has been a good tournament for me and I hope that I can make those chances count for my team in the final," Doerner told IANS.
"Penalty corners are very important in modern hockey. There is a lot of emphasis on a good penalty-corner conversion rate because it sets up the match. You need to have skill and lot of training to make it perfect."
"Germany have a strong defence and they improved with every match. But I don't think there will be any pressure on me in the final. I have been steady and the timing of the strokes is going right for me," said the 29-year-old defender.
Doerner said the Australian team would be hoping to be third time lucky after losing in the previous two World Cup finals.
"We share a good rivalry. Germany are good competitors and they excel in major tournaments. We are in good form but we know that we have to fight for everything against them," said Doerner, a member of the Australian team that lost to Germany in 2006 World Cup at Monchengladbach.
-by Avishek Roy
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Art & Culture
WHERE HINDUS AND MUSLIMS PRAY TOGETHER
"You can term it a specialty of this place...Whosoever comes here pays equal obeisance to Baba and Hanumanji...In fact, it has become a ritual for this place," said Kanta Pushpak, 59, who runs a grocery shop in Gaddeajijpur village.
Locals say both the temple and the mausoleum came up nearly 80 years ago, but the mazar was set up a few months before the temple was built.
"Around 1930, Muslim devotees built the mazar to pay homage to Jind Peer Baba, who cured the chronic and dreaded diseases of several thousands of people," Ahmad Mobeen, 61, who owns a garment shop in Hardoi's Pali town, told IANS on telephone.
Due to his spiritual powers, the Baba not only became popular among Muslims but was also revered among Hindus, who also later started visiting him to seek a cure for health problems, according to villagers.
"Gradually, Hindus started worshipping Baba by making his idols. However, when Baba came to know about it, he asked Hindus not to worship his idols and pray only before the idols of their deities," Mobeen said.
-by Asit Srivastava
| Medical & Health
YOUNG OR OLD, ALL FALL FOR ANTI-AGEING PACKAGES
"There has been a change in mindset. Today more women come for such treatments. This is because people have more money now and many women are working nowadays, resulting in a shift towards good looks and presentation. Thus, there is no hesitation in people's mind any more," Madhurima Sharma, plastic surgeon, who has her own centre, Atelier, in Hauz Khas, told IANS.
Another trend that has come to notice is that the age group visiting doctors for such treatments is getting younger.
Viral Desai, a Mumbai-based cosmetic surgeon, who has his own clinic in the Santacruz area and is also attached to the Lilavati Hospital, points out that the age of women opting for anti-ageing techniques has come down drastically.
"The age is getting younger and younger day by day. Earlier, it used to be people around 35 years of age coming to us, now it is anyone close to 27," he said.
Echoing him, Chiranjiv Chhabra, consultant dermatologist and cosmetic laser surgeon at Delhi's Skin Alive clinic, told IANS: "Along with older ones who need to get rid of the signs of ageing showing on their body, women as young as 27-28 years visit us to prevent any signs of ageing. They want to be prepared before hand."
-by Ruchika Kher
| Politics
I'M READY TO MEDIATE WITH MAOISTS: TRINAMOOL MP KABIR SUMAN
"I am absolutely ready to mediate the process of dialogue if both the parties come forward and talk it out. I have no moral scruples being middleman between the Maoists and the centre," Suman, 60, told IANS in an interview.
Criticising the government's decision to carry out Operation Green Hunt against Maoists, he said a section of people was trying to eradicate the backward tribal population from their own land with muscle power.
"The entire ball is now in the government's court. If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram want to talk to the Maoists to resolve the issue, I think the matter can be sorted out," said Suman.
Earlier, top Maoist leader Kishenji had said his men would shun violence if the union government welcomed intellectuals to facilitate the process and specifically named Arundhati Roy, former IAS officer B.D. Sharma and Kabir Suman.
-by Soudhriti Bhabani
|  Art & Culture
12,000 GET SET FOR MIZO BAMBOO DANCE
The bamboo dance, locally known as Cheraw dance, is part of the biggest and most popular traditional Mizo festival Chapchar Kut - Mizoram's harvest festival - celebrated to mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring.
Cheraw is the most colourful of Mizo dances. Dancers move by stepping alternately in and out from between and across a pair of horizontal bamboo poles, held on either side by people sitting face to face.
The bamboo poles produce a clicking sound that forms the rhythm of the dance.
"Originally, the dance was performed only to ensure and wish safe passage for the soul of a mother who died at childbirth. Cheraw is a dance of skill and alert minds," the minister said.
"Cheraw is, therefore, a dance of sanctification and redemption performed with great care, precision and elegance."
The minister said the adjudicator of the Guinness World Records would witness the mass dance extravaganza Friday.
-by Sujit Chakraborty
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Art & Culture
FROM TRINIDAD TO INDIAN VILLAGE, A CONNECTION LOST AND FOUND
"It was on the invitation of Ram Jokhan, second cousin to my wife Leela, that we visited the area," Balliram Maharaj said.
"This visit is the biggest highlight of my entire life because of the experience, respect and honour bestowed on my wife Leela, our son Navin and myself by the people here," he added.
Persad had gone as an indentured worker to work on the sugarcane plantations in the West Indian nation. He was one of the thousands of Indians who returned home from a successful stint in a foreign land with the zeal to contribute to his native village.
Independence was in the air when Persad decided to return home to India in 1947 to spend his last years in his village. On returning home, Persad decided to set up a school in the village. The school was completed in 1953.
Leela and Balliram had been keen to find out more about their ancestors who had come to Trinidad from India, but were not sure how to go about it.
Their families had lost touch with the relatives in India, and they had very little information about their ancestors. They hired a prominent genealogist, Shamshu Deen, who carried out family searches in Trinidad.
-by Shubha Singh
| Entertainment
EXAMS, IPL BOWL OUT BOLLYWOOD IN MARCH
"We have no options this month. Whatever comes our way, we'll show. March is a lean month as always due to exams. We are hoping some content works and brings in footfalls through word of mouth, though we'll also be showing IPL at one of our screens at normal cinema rates," Amit Awasthi, manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas, told IANS.
The IPL tournament begins Friday.
Tusshar Dhingra, COO of Big Cinemas, said: "There's really not much to do (this month), but we are trying to do whatever we can to get that additional footfall. There are three to four big Hollywood releases coming up and some small Bollywood movies. We are also screening IPL in cinemas at standard ticket rates and with additional packages."
The month opened on a commercially disappointing note with the release of "Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?", "Road, Movie", "Hello Zindagi", "Thanks Maa" and "Rokkk".
Expectations were high from the Ajay Devgn-Konkona Sen Sharma-starrer "Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?", based on Sharad Joshi's short story, but it didn't work despite the fact that there wasn't any competition at the ticket window.
-by Robin Bansal
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March 13th
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