Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Benaras boy Yatharth Ratnum wins first edition of The Stage India

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

In the finale aired on Sunday night, Yatharth won a Renault car, a contract with Universal music plus a 10-city tour.

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Yatharth Ratnum, a 19-year-old boy from Benaras, has won The Stage India, the country’s first English singing reality show. “I know it is a crazy thing to get into English music growing up in Benaras. I had trained in Hindustani classical music for six years since I was seven, and that had stood me in good stead in whatever genre I have chosen to pursue ever since,” said Yatharth, who lists pop, R&B and soul as genres he loves singing the most.

In the finale aired on Sunday night, Yatharth won a Renault car, a contract with Universal music plus a 10-city tour. Not many may remember but Yatharth was the budding teenager who finished as a runner-up on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009.

“That was a different space. This is unlike anything that has ever happened in the Indian reality scene. The response we got on social media plus the comments, and shares that came our way have been heartening,” he said, adding that participation in the show happened purely by accident.

“I met up with a friend for coffee and she informed me she would proceed to audition for this reality show of English songs that was about to be launched. I decided to tag along because I had been involved with English music for around the last couple of years, writing and creating music in Los Angeles,” he pointed out.

The LA trip, he says, happed because of his Li’l Champs sojourn. “I got a call to perform at the Young Artist Award because they loved my Hindi songs!” he laughed.

His switch from Hindi to English happened because of two reasons. “I don’t want to be contained in India. At the awards do, I realised I could reach out to a wider audience if I wanted to. Plus, I tried writing in Hindi but could not.” He recalls he was just five when he heard AR Rahman’s Dil Se, an experience that had a strong impact on him. “My dad was in the audio distribution business, so I would a chance to listen to a huge variety of music. That let me develop a varied sense of sounds,” said Yatharth, who counts Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Rahman as a few of his inspirations.

Meanwhile, he has also bagged a film deal. “I have signed up for a Hindi film titled Blue Mountains, which also features Ranvir Shorey and Gracy Singh. I play the male lead and have also sung four songs in the film. Acting is something that lets me be who I am not.”

Music, though, will be his first love. “Music is music. I wake up and go to sleep with it,” he signed off.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / Home> News> Mail Today / by Vinayak Chakravorty / Varanasi – December 14th, 2015

Bird watching festival organised in Kanpur zoo, 741 migratory birds sighted

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Travel
Painted storks at Kanpur Zoo - TOI photo
Painted storks at Kanpur Zoo – TOI photo

Kanpur :

For the first time a bird watching festival was organised by Kanpur zoo on Friday wherein the birders, nature lovers and the visitors were given a unqiue experience of witnessing the zoo lake and its catchment area. The idea behind the festival was to enable the people to see a number of migratory birds nesting on the trees in the lake area. The unique festival had been organised by Kanpur zoo under the aegis of Social Forestry department on the instructions of the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The visitors to the zoo were an amazed lot to see colonies of a number of birds on the tree tops. A total of 741 birds were spotted in the lake area which belonged to 44 different species. The different bird kind included Pied Kingfisher, orange headed thrush, painted storks, little egret, great cormorant, open bill stork, black headed ibis, waterhen, whistling teal, grey hornbill to name a few.

Chief Conservator of Forest, Kanpur division, KR Yadav on the occasion said that Kanpur zoo is a natural place with a distinguished lake which attracts a number of migratory birds each year. He said that the way pollution is rising in the city there is no place left for these birds here except the lush green and natural look alike jungle area in Kanpur zoo which attract birds towards it every year.

Kanpur zoo director, Deepak Kumar said that a total of 741 birds were spotted belonging to 44 different species which in itself is a record. He said that not only the number of the birds spotted was huge but also their varieties were witnessed in a big number.

On this occasion, a number of school children participated and they saw the birds chirping and making sound. The children were guided to the lake area and shown the entire lake. The two watching towers on this purpose were used to witnessing and capturing birds. The bird lovers made use of their high-tech cameras to capture the birds and each of their little activities. The children also had the best of their time as they picnicked in the woods and close to the lake in the presence of their teachers and the forest officers.

District Forest Officer Ram Kumar on the occasion said that the children had been given the access in the Safari area which has lake to make them aware about the birds and their species.

Zoo vets Dr RK Singh, Dr UC Srivastava, Dr Mohd Nasir were present who guided the students and explained them about the birds.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / by Abhinav Malhotra, TNN / December 04th, 2015

‘Makhan Shringar’ of deities in Kashi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

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Varanasi :

Shri Vyankatesh Balaji and Radha-Krishna find novel and colourful attires made of pure butter in the land of Lord Shiva. The century old temples of Balaji and Radha-Krishna situated on the bank of Ganga at Balaji Ghat and Ganga Mahal Ghat respectively witnessed Makhan Shringar (butter embellishment) of deities on the occasion of Kartik Purnima on Wednesday.

Though the dilapidated condition of Balaji Ghat presents an unpleasant scene, devout people visited the temple that enshrines black stone idols of Shri Vyankatesh Balaji, Mudevi and Shridevi to see the Makhan Shrinar of the deity. “About 10kg butter has been used for the embellishment,” said the priest the priest Bhalchandra Gokarn. Traditionally ‘Makhan Shringar’ symbolises the end of the auspicious month of Kartik, when the idols are embellished with butter and then distributed among devotees as ‘prasad’.

Balaji Ghat, an iconic landmark built by Balaji Peshwa in 1735 on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi also finds a place in World Monuments Watch List 2012 for decaying heritage. Once the property of Peshwa, the Balaji Ghat came into the hands of Scindia after the war of 1857. Since then, its is looked after by the Scindia Devashtan Trust, Gwalior. The place is also associated with the legendary Shehnai maestro late Ustad Bismillah Khan, who used to do perform riyaz (practice) at the Naubatkhana of the temple that caved in a few years ago.

The Balaji Ghat complex was originally a seven-storey building of traditional architectural form with a temple of Shri Balaji, garden, well, assembly hall, living areas, and courtyards. They were all well connected with stone staircases forming a remarkable architecture ensemble. It was built in the combination of stone and wood. Use of wood and elements of decorations such as carved wooden columns, brackets, doorways and other decorative elements predominantly mark the style of Maratha and Peshwa architecture.

The 150-year-old Radha-Krishna temple, which is also the property of Scindia Devashtan Trust, too embellished the deities with butter. “We used around 5kg butter in embellishment,” said the priest Vasudev Gokarn. He said that on the occasion of Kartik Purnima the idols are embellished with colourful attires made of butter. The butter pieces are distributed among the devotees as Prasad on the next day.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Varanasi / Binay Singh, TNN / November 25th, 2015

5 Agra monuments in India’s top 10 frequented by foreigners

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

Agra:

Just the city of Agra and its close neighbour Fatehpur Sikri have five of the top 10 monuments in the country that are most visited by foreign tourists.

Replying to a query in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma said Taj Mahal alone has 23% share of foreign tourists travelling to India. Agra Fort got 12% in 2014. He added that foreign exchange earnings through tourism in India during 2012, 2013 and 2014 stood at Rs 94,487 crore, Rs 1,07,671 crore and Rs 1,23,320 crore respectively.

The minister dismissed claims that the tourism industry had witnessed a decline compared to the last few years. “On the contrary”, he said, “foreign tourists’ arrival growth rate in India has more than doubled between 2012 (4.3%) and 2014 (10.2%). In 2013, it was a mere 5.9%.

In terms of exact numbers, a total of 6.58 million tourists visited India in 2012, which increased to 6.97 million in 2013 and 7.68 million in 2014.

Citing Archaeological Survey of India’s data on foreign tourist arrival at centrally-protected monuments in 2014, Sharma said Taj Mahal with 6.4 lakh visitors, Agra Fort with 3.43 lakh and Qutub Minar with 2.76 lakh were the top three tourist destinations in the country.

The other three monuments of Agra which featured in the top 10 list are Fatehpur Sikri (5th position), Akbar’s tomb (8th) and Itimad-ud daula (10th).

To another query on carbon pollution around the Taj Mahal, the minister said that the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) Authority has banned entry of Euro-I model, petrol/diesel-operated auto loader vehicles from July 31 to reduce vehicular pollution in the vicinity of the Taj. He added that TTZ Authority has also decided to convert petrol/diesel-operated commercial vehicles to CNG. So far, 34,302 vehicles have been converted to CNG in Agra, he said.

However, though the Taj Mahal still remains at the top of the most-visited monuments in the country, there has been a constant fall in the number of foreign visitors to the 17th century monument in the last three years. There were 7.9 lakh visitors from abroad to the Taj in 2012. But the number came down to 7.4 lakh in 2013, further dipping to 6.4 lakh in 2014.

Prior to 2012, the average foreign tourist footfall at the world heritage building had been increasing at a rate of 10-15% per annum. In 2010, 6.1 lakh foreigners had visited the Taj. The number went up to 6.7 lakh in 2011 and further to 7.9 lakh in 2012.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / Aditya Dev, TNN / December 02nd, 2015

Jugal Kishore, city’s theater star, passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Lucknow :

City based theatre veteran and former director of Bhartendu Natya Akademi Jugal Kishore passed away suddenly here on Sunday evening. He breathed his last at his residence at 7.30pm. He was 61.

Family and close friends shared that Kishore started complaining of restlessness around 6pm while he was watching TV. His wife took him to a private nursing home from where he was referred to the King George’s Medical University where he was declared dead on arrival.

Theatre and film fraternity mourned his death as a great loss. “He was the bridge between progressive theater movement and the realm of cultural acting,” reflected Deepak Kabir a theater person, adding that it was not just through films and theater he established an identity, he was equally a part of all social movements related to women issues, communal harmony, etc.

“In 2011, we had organised a national assembly in Bhopal on gender issues and even though he was famous with Peepli Live, after flying down to Bhopal, he returned with the rest of us in the sleeper class of a train. Such was his simplicity and connect to social change,” reminisced Kabir.

“I met him last week at a programme to felicitate young girl leaders and he had arrived from Bhopal after performing ‘Barefoot in Athens’, his last show,” recalled Veena Rana, adding, “He was already at the venue before we reached. Such was his simplicity and humility.”

A Lucknow University and BNA alumnus, Kishore acted in a number of films including Peepli Live and Dabang-2, besides playing the lead in many theatre productions. He also featured in Bhojpuri films.

His friends remember him as a perfectionist with a love for modern technology. Rang Mandal chief Chitra Mohan said Kishore was a teacher who emphasized on practical understanding of subject rather than rote learning.

BNA director Arun Trivedi said Kishore lived every character he played. Close family friend Punit Asthana said Kishore presented social messages through his acting.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / October 26th, 2015

This 62-yr-old covered 1,000 miles inside 24 hours

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports, Travel

Agra:

When Suresh Pal Singh took his first long distance trip on a motorcycle from Agra to Kolkata on a Royal Enfield motorcycle at the age of 19, little did he realize that his passion for riding would make him set a record 43 years later. Meet 62-year-old Singh, a retired mechanical engineer, who has become one of the very few senior citizens from the country to have accomplished the “Saddle Sore” endurance ride, certified by the Iron Butt Association of USA. This competition requires a motorcyclist to cover 1,000 miles (1,610 km) in less than 24 hours.

Astride his Royal Enfield 500, he commenced his ride on October 10 from Agra at 10pm. He traversed the Yamuna Expressway, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur Ajmer, Beawar, Pali and Dingai, before returning by the same route to arrive at the start point on October 11 at 8:40 in the evening. He travelled the requisite 1,000 miles in less than 23 hours, stopping only for fuel and nourishment every 250-300 km during the course of the ride.

“As per my calculation, I was aiming to complete this challenge in less than 22 hours, but for a traffic jam at Gurgaon and refueling problem in Rajasthan,” said S P Singh, adding that he will now be pursuing for Limca Book of Records as well.

The Saddle Sore challenge conducted by the Iron Butt Association is a strong group of 50,000 toughest motorcycle riders worldwide, who share their experience on safe long distance motorcycle riding.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / TNN / October 15th, 2015

Bharat Sewashram Sangha: Celebrating traditions since 1936

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Varanasi :

The city wore a festive look as Ashtami, the eight day of Navratri, was celebrated on Wednesday. The celebrations were visible at Bharat Sewashram Sangha (BSS) as several devotees thronged the sangha to witness the traditional Durga puja celebrations here.

Established in 1936 by Acharya Swami Pranabananda Maharaj in Varanasi, Bharat Sewashram Sangha has been celebrating Durga Puja in traditional and grand way ever since. Devotees from all across the country as well as from abroad have been visiting the Sangha to attend various cultural programmes held as a part of the puja celebrations.

“I have been coming to BSS during Durga Puja since 1996 and the celebrations are much like my hometown Kolkata. After marriage I am living here and I miss Kolkata. Like every Bengali I feel the craving to visit pandals of my hometown, but after visiting here I feel the same essence of puja celebrations here. Besides, unlike Ramkrishna Mission in Kolkata, there are no limitations or time constraints here at BSS. The ancient ‘Laathi Danda Khela’ is my favourite,” said Anjana Rani Saha, resident of Kamaccha area.

“Every devotee has his own traditional beliefs and those who have been associated with Sangha always make it a point to be here during Durga puja celebrations. Every year, a three-day programme is organised along with a grand ‘Hindu Dharma and Sanskriti Sammelan’ in evening. Prior to the Sammelan, the revelers can witness one of the ancient art form, an exquisite ritual of our pandal – acrobatic performances ‘Laathi-Chhura-Talvar’ and display of yogic asanas,” general secretary of BSS, India, Swami Biswatmananda told TOI on Wednesday.

Earlier, a ‘shobhayatra’ from Kamaccha to BSS in Sigra was taken out on Mahashashthi on October 19, witnessing participation of scores of number of people. Like previous years, the display of symbolic warfare by volunteers of math-mandir added to the glamour. “The procession has always been a significant part of Durga puja celebrations as the idol of goddess Durga is brought to the Sangha with pomp and show. The Trishankha puja aarti in the evening also witnesses a huge crowd of devotees,” said Swami Biswatmananda.

A dhrama sammelan was held on ‘Importance of Sangha on National Integration’ on Wednesday. Earlier, on Tuesday, the sammelan was held on the topic, ‘Importance of sacrifice and religion in ancient culture’. The final sammelan on ‘Contribution of Swami Pranabanandaji in Social Solidarity’ will be held on Thursday. A grand idol immersion procession will be taken out on the tenth day of Navratri on October 23.

On the recent idol immersion row, Swami Biswatmananda said, “I believe that as a citizen we must adhere to HC’s order on ban of idol immersion in the Ganga. But, at the same time I think the administration could have followed something on the lines of immersion done in Kolkata. In that way, the age-old tradition and beliefs of people would not have been affected.” “We have spoken to district administration and would immerse the idols in a pond near Rajghat area where Ganga water would be sprinkled on the idols,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Varanasi / by Punkhuri Kapoor, TNN / October 22nd, 2015

Artisans from East UP to display artifacts in Geneva

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion

Varanasi :

Crossing the geographical boundaries, the signature products of Varanasi region are all set to catch the attention of international audience at the 55th General Assembly of International Bureau of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. A three member delegation including two artisans left the city on Sunday to take part in WIPO event from October 5 to 10.

“The Banarasi artisans will exhibit some of the famed products in the ‘Make in India -Geographical Indication of India’ event at Geneva”, said the team leader and president of Human Welfare Association (HWA) Rajni Kant before leaving the city. “It is really a proud movement for the artisans that they were invited by the WIPO, one of the specialized agencies in United Nation. It is a recognition of the eastern UP’s GI products at international level,” said a jubilant Kant.

With him the two master craftsmen – Kunj Bihari Singh from Varanasi and Sohit Kumar Prajapati from Nizambad, (Azamgarh) left for Geneva with their artifacts. Kunj Bihari is known for his mastery over the art of Gulabi meenakari (pink enameling), and Sohit is a craftsman of black pottery of Nizamabad. They will give live demonstrations of Gulabi Meenakari and Black Pottery in the front of international audience. For them the trip to Geneva is like a lifetime achievement. “We had never thought of participation in such an international event,” said Kunj Bihari. An art piece made by Kunj Bihari -a replica of pink enameled rickshaw was presented to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the city on September 18.

According to Kant, this event is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India in collaboration with WIPO. “This event will create a great opportunity to the GI registered products of the country, mainly the hand-woven and handicrafts products will get maximum benefit to show-case at Geneva where nearly 170 country will represent in this international event,” he said adding that five other artisans from other parts of the country will also take part in the event with their traditional products. “It is for the first time when the real artisans are participating in this type of international event which is exclusively organize on the issue of Intellectual Property Right (IPR),” said Kant, who played a key role in getting GI tags to many products of this region. Varanasi has emerged as a hub of GI registered products.

According to him, some of the products of this region like Banaras Brocades and Sarees, Handmade carpet of Bhadohi, Banaras Gulabi Meenakari, Wooden Lacquer ware & Toys, Mirzapur handmade Dari and Black Pottery will display there with other GI products of the country. “We are grateful to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and WIPO to provide us this opportunity for creating new dimensions at international level for the traditional weavers and artisans of the GI registered products under Make in India initiative, and we hope that after this initiative, the artisans and weaves will get a new market through GI as a brand and millions of the weavers and artisans and consumers will be directly benefited under “Make in India – Geographical Indication of India,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Varanasi / by Binay Singh, TNN / October 04th, 2015

Music composer Ravindra Jain passes away at 71

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Veteran music composer, Ravindra Jain passed away in Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital on October 9, 2015. He had been admitted to Lilavati Hospital, where his condition was said to be stable.

The 71-year-old musician was suffering from a urinary infection causing a problem in his kidney.

“He was in the ICU… he was on ventilator. He was on 24 hour dialysis,” his brother Mahindra told PTI on October 8, 2015.

Ravindra Jain has composed the music for blockbusters like Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Chitchor, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Geet Gaata Chal, Vivah to name a few and has composed numerous bhajans.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Music / TN & Agencies / October 09th, 2015

Vrindavan widows to be called ‘Krishna Vadhus’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Lucknow :

Hundreds of widows living a neglected life in the ashrams of Vrindavan will take another step back to the mainstream of the society on November 18 when they will get a new name – ‘Krishna Vadhus’. The rechristening would be done on the occasion of the 500th birth anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The two socio-religious organisations behind the effort – the Earth Voice of Vrindavan and the Shri Dharmik Lila Samiti of Delhi – have confirmed that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav would inaugurate the devotional do. The week-long celebration will not only see chanting of devotional songs from 28 states in 15 languages but also a strong resolve to free the widows living in the holy town from all kinds of stigmas.

“By renaming them as ‘Krishna Vadhus’, we are making a small bid to unite them with Lord Krishna. These widows have lost their husband physically and not spiritually, if one goes by the Hindu mythology. Even the philosophy of Lord Krishna says that ‘atma'( soul) is immortal and reunites with ‘parmatma’ (divine),” explains Vaishnavacharya Shree Abhishek Goswami of Shree Ram Temple, Vrindavan, who is coordinating the event.

The chief minister will inaugurate the week-long celebration called ‘Vrindavan Prakash Utsav’ on November 18 and has extended his full support to the effort to bring the widows into the mainstream, says Goswami. A senior officer of the state government also confirmed that the CM would be the chiefguest on the first day of the function.

Goswami said that the effort is not only limited to renaming their status, but the two organisers with support from UP government, would create a corpus fund for the widows and involve them to earn their livelihood and live respectfully instead of just waiting for death at the ashrams.

Organisations like Sulabh International have already been working on the betterment of these widows’ lives by making them participate in festivals like Holi and Diwali. The move to give them a recognition, says Goswami, will not only set them free from stigma, but also hit out at orthodox minds in the society.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Subhash Mishra, TNN / September 30th, 2015