Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay – Mirror in the social reality

Sarat Chandra Chatterjee was the most accomplished novelist who was born on 15 September 1876 in a village named Devanandapur in the Hooghly district of Bengal. Today, almost hundred and fifty years after, he remains to be the most prominent novelists that India has ever seen.  Young Sarat like any other toddler of his day started his education in the local village school called Pyari Pandit’s pathshala. After his parents’ demise he left his studies midway and went to Burma in 1903 in search of a job. Prior to this his formal education could never take the desired course due to lack of funds and at one stage of life this master story teller had to spent almost twenty years at his maternal uncle’s place in Bhagalpur.

It because of this link, that significant portions of his work are either written in Bhagalpur or based on his experiences of his stay there. Sarat Chandra’s works have survived the test of time. There is no single author or wordsmith since the colonial period that has been able to chisel out such an in-depth observation of the Indian society and paint those in such vivid, colorful descriptions using such lively words.

Sarat Chandra is the uncrowned king of tragedy whose works revolved mostly around the existing social evils and injustices, marginalizing on the misery of the womenfolk. Interestingly, he scribed under the penname of Anila Devi. “Bor Didi”, “Biraj Bou”, “Ramer Sumati” and “Bindur Chele” are just a few of his immortal literary works. However, “Pather Dabi” is his marvelous work based on the concept of armed struggle to free our motherland from the colonial rule of his time. This book was so appealing that the British government had to ban it applying brutal force.

A lot of his novels have been converted into movies in various languages. Some of these have earned cult status in the society. “Devdas” for example has been remade as many as eight times in various regional languages including Hindi. This master story teller was awarded the honorary D-Lit from the University of Dacca. His paperbacks are still the most sought after items among his myriads of fans across the entire length and breadth of the country and beyond.

Doordarshan – The catalyst in propelling the nation forward

Doordarshan is the Indian public service broadcaster and is a member of the Prasar Bharati family. It is indeed the largest broadcasting organization that has the best and the largest infrastructural network of studios, relay centers and transmitters in our entire country. Recently, it has also ventured in providing Digital Terrestrial Transmitters services. It provides television, Internet and mobile etc. services throughout the length and breadth of our nation. Doordarshan provides its service to foreign countries too through Radio India and Indian Network services.

In the last few decades in particular, India has steadily marched towards progress and development. As a vital module of this enormous program, Doordarshan was launched with its experimental telecast in New Delhi on 15 September 1959. A tiny makeshift studio and a moderate transmitter witnessed its humble takeoff which eventually landed India into a brand new age of social developments and economic prosperity. Regular transmission started in 1965 under All India Radio; it was in 1976 that it was made an independent one separated from the AIR.

The year 1982 is very significant for India and its people. It was in this year that Doordarshan came into existing as the National Broadcaster. Krishi Darshan was the first program that was broadcasted to commemorate this historical event. It was truly our window to the entire world thoroughly encompassing the country. 1982 is also a landmark year in terms of color televisions being launched in the domestic market and India’s hosting of the Asian Games in the national capital. Doordarshan broadcasted that entire sporting event throughout the nation.

Among some of its earliest soaps, serials and productions that have kept generations of Indians spellbound by their sheer quality composition of entertainment include Hum Log, Buniyaad, Ye Jo Hai Zindagi, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Quiztime, Chitrahaar, Malgudi Days, Vikram-Betal and many more. Very mention of these names actually open up floodgates of memories among hundreds and thousands of responsible Indian citizens of today. Doordarshan has tremendous contribution in shaping India as the waking global giant of the imminent future. It is also one of the reasons that democracy and the union of India have survived some of the most devastating blows of time. Today, Doordarshan is a grand young chap of fifty three years of age. Let us all wish this wiz kid a grand journey ahead.

Shane Warne – A never ending saga of on-field dominance

Shane Warne is a maverick cricketer whose very name stands for his introduction across all the cricket playing nations of the world. He is, unquestionably the greatest spinner of the tiny cricket ball of all times. Shane, by his sheer performance has many a times scripted history on the field for his Australian team. It was perhaps the most obvious thing in his entire professional career that the Australian team would descend on the greens and would transform their most powerful opponents into a bundle of useless batting debris using his sheer magic with the ball.

He was born in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia on 13 September 1969, and was baptized as Shane Keith Warne. At a tender age Shane was much interested in Australian Football. It was at a later stage that he shifted his interest to cricket. He has always been a natural spinner of the ball and could manage to extract bounce and turn on any kind of turf in the world. Shane made his Test debut in 1992 against India in the legendary Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Since then he has tormented the best batsmen from all around the world mostly with his leg-breaks, flippers and googly etc. for years at a stretch.

From the technical aspects of spin bowling, Shane summoned the ultimate control on his bowling with varying speed and maintaining perfect line and length on any kind of turf in the world on any given day. He developed his own awesome brand of skill set to read an on-going match that has helped the Australian team come out of many adverse situations on the fields many a times.

Shane has to his credit of claiming more than 1,000 international wickets combining the Tests and the limited versions of the game in his entire career that span over approximately fifteen years. He has vice-captained the Australian Test side from 1999-2000. He is one of the main architects of his nation winning the ICC World Cup in 1999. Especially, in the Ashes series in 2003 Shane’s outstanding achievement was the very way in which he bowled England’s classical batsman of all times Mike Gatting with a venomous leg-break. He has also chipped in with useful contributions with the bat at times of need. As a lower middle order bat, Shane has repeated history on behalf of his team for times more than one.

Akshay Kumar: From the Daring Khiladi to the Rowdy Rathore

Akshay Kumar was born on September 9, 1967 as Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia. He is an Indian film actor, martial artist and producer who have over hundred Bollywood movies under his belt. He has won Filmfare Awards two times and was nominated for it several times. He started his career in hindi film industry as a action hero in films like Khiladi, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, Main Anari Tu Khiladi, Sabse Bada Khiladi, Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi, International Khiladi and Khiladi 420. There are other action flicks like Elaan, Mohra, Suhaag, Sapoot, Keemat and Sangharsh.

In the later part of his acting career he gained significant recognition for his romance, drama and comic roles. He gained tremendous reputation in romance films like Dhadkan, Yeh Dillagi, Jaan-E-Mann, Namastey London as well as some highly acclaimed drama films like Waqt: The Race Against Time and Patiala House. His comic performance in comedy films like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, Singh is Kinng and Housefull 2. His success soared in the year 2007, when he had back to back commercial hits. He went through a rough patch from 2009 to 2011, but bounced back with hits like Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore in 2012. Both these films were blockbusters with revenue earning of over 100 crores, He has established himself as one of the leading actors in the Hindi Film Industry.

Even as one of the top rated actors in the country, he performs his own stunts. Earlier, he has also worked as a stunt actor and his films use to have lot of dangerous and life threatening stunts, which only professional stuntmen can do. This has earned him a reputation and a nickname of “Indian Jackie Chan”. He made his television debut in the year 2008 with the Indian version of Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. He later went on to launch his own production house in 2009 with the name Hari Om Entertainment. He also received a Honorary Doctorate in 2008 from University of Windsor for his exceptional contribution to Indian cinema. He also bagged Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2009. Asian Film Awards honored him for his outstanding achievement in Cinema in the year 2011.

International Literacy Day – Literacy and Peace (2012)

On September 8^th this year we are going to celebrate “International Literacy Day”. This time the theme for this day is to encourage global citizens to consider the link between access to education and social stability. The 2012 UNESCO theme is “Cultivating Peace”, which clearly highlights the role of education in creating healthy nations and communities. The key component of EFA or Education for All is literacy, which is again a UNESCO initiative. There are foundations that contribute to the literacy goals of EFA through the development of language like multilingual education and literacy for children and adults in their mother tongue.

International Literacy Day is held annually and provides an opportunity for global leaders and education experts to focus on the barriers to literacy and thereby address strategies for improving education access to people all over the world. There is a specific focus on the global ethno linguistic minority communities.

The aim of UNESCO is to highlight that literacy is important not only for individuals, but also for communities as well as societies. With celebrations on this day, UNESCO reminds the entire international community the status of literacy and adult learning globally. It has been estimated that almost 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills and out of five adults, one is illiterate. Moreover, two-thirds of them are women. Almost 60.7 million children do not attend school and others drop out.

Celebrations of International Literacy Day have specific themes that fall in line with UNESCO’s Education for All and other programs like the United Nations Literacy Decade. The theme for celebration in the year 2007 and 2008 was “Literacy and Health”, it was a major success and prizes were given to organizations which were at the forefront of health related education. International Literacy Day celebration 2008 emphasized on literacy and epidemics with a clear focus on communicable diseases like HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis, which are some of the current public health concerns. In 2009, the theme of the celebration was “Literacy and Empowerment” with special emphasis on gender equality and women empowerment. This time the theme is going to be “Literacy and Peace”.

Asha Bhosle: The unceasing enchantress

Asha Bhosle is, well Asha Bhosle. She is a living legend, melody personified, one of the most notable playback singers of all times in the Hindi film industry. She has kept several generations of the populace across the entire subcontinent absolutely mesmerized with her most alluring and enigmatic singing talent over the ages. For an eternity to come, Asha Bhosle will remain standing on one of the tallest pedestals of dignity along with deference and adoration by her sheer deeds and achievements.

As eminent a persona, as Asha Bhosle needs no introduction on the soil of this country along with its array of imminent neighbors. However, as convention demands, Ashaji was born in September 8, 1933 at a tiny place near to Mumbai to Shree Deenanath Mangeshkar, who was a stage actor and a classical singer of his time. Her eldest sibling is the great Lata Mangeshkar – the eternal nightingale of India. Her other siblings include Meena Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar – one-time playback singer in Bollywood and a brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar – a prominent music director.

Ashaji started her career in Bollywood as early as in 1943 and is still going young and strong. She has performed playback singing for thousands of Bollywood movies and has worked with all the fascinating names from the domain of Bollywood music composition. Some of the most talented and revered names in cine-music whom she has worked with include SD Burman, Hemant Kumar, Madan Mohan, RD Burman, Khayyam, Shanker-Jaikishen, and AR Rahman etc. Her solos as well as duets with the iconic Kishore Kumar are still the chart busters in the discos across the nation. Ashaji has recorded a number of private albums and performed in solo concerts apart from cine playbacks. She is a prolific singer in the regional languages that include Bengali, Gujrati, Assamese, Oriya, Nepali, Punjabi and Kannada etc. She has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘most recorded artist’ back in 2009.

She was married to the Rahul Dev Burman, the greatest music composers of all times till he passed away in 1994. The combined efforts of this couple steer endless streams of emotions and nostalgia among the general public across the age-bar and the social divide till this very day. Ashaji has been honored with Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000. Till date, she has bagged a record number of seven Filmfare awards with as many as eighteen nominations. She was honored with a Special Award in 1996, a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, a couple of National Film Awards to name a few. She has most importantly, won zillions of hearts with her divine talent. Even at this age, Ashaji is the most revered name in the industry.

NDTV Good Times – Redefining Lifestyle

NDTV Good Times is one of the first lifestyle channels in India. The channel is a joint venture between New Delhi Television and Vijay Mallya’s UB Group. The channel was launched in the month of September in the year 2007.

It was one of the first channels that targeted the urban youth of India. The channel has wide array of featured programming focusing on areas like parenthood, fitness, travelling, leisure and marriage. The unique selling point of this lifestyle entertainment channel is that it offers cooking shows, talk shows, health & wellness, programs on fashion, technology and Indian marriages.

Since its inception the channel has been a major hit among its targeted Indian audiences due to the immense popularity of the shows that it caters to its audiences. Some of the current shows that are on air now are Big Fat Wedding, Gadget Guru, Chakhle India, Highway on My Plate, I am Too Sexy for My Shoes, Heavy Petting, Kingfisher Calendar Model Hunt, One Life to Love, Life’s a Beach, Royal Reservation, Vicky Goes Veg, Gourmet Central and Chakhle Academy.

NDTV Good Times completed its five glorious and successful years on September 7, 2012. Right from the beginning the channel has embarked on a journey that has led it into the hearts of the audiences. It has broken the conventional barriers and has been able to craft a niche for itself in the lifestyle segment. It still rules the roost right at the top of the television chart in the country.

Taking the celebrations to the television audiences, NDTV Good Times has already announced the launch of new shows in the coming months that will definitely add a new feather in its wings. More good news of the viewers as the second season of the popular shows like Vicky goes Veg and Aditya Bal’s Chakh Le series are scheduled for September and Kingfisher Calendar Hunt will be back in October for its fourth season. The channel will also extend its foray into the home décor segment with two new shows on the same – Living Right Royally and Whole New World under the brand of Royal Reservation.

Charming actress Vyjanthimala was fondly called Twinkle Toes

The Tamil and Hindi film industry has seen many a beautiful actress sashaying down with grace and poise over the years. But, seldom has anyone been able to inspire so many young girls to become accomplished actresses and graceful dancers like Dr. Vyjanthimala Bali has. This is one star that has certainly brought about a great difference in how an actress was perceived in the industry. Gracious and charming Vyjayanthimala an immensely established star was born on the 13^th of August, 1936.

Born in a Tamil Brahmin family, Vyjanthimala was introduced to the art of dancing from an extremely early age. According to reports, she was quite an accomplished dancer at age thirteen and had already started performing at various functions and big events right from an early age. She started her film career too from a young age. This was a young girl who was immensely popular due to her truly perfect performances and dedicated attitude towards her work.

Her dance training in Bharatnatyam, a popular Indian classical dance form was so much engraved into her personality, that she was made to perform at least one dance number in each of all her films.  According to reports, subsequently due to her light footed dance steps that made every little move look so easy on screen, the charming actress was fondly called –Twinkle toes of the industry.

The beautiful actress has acted in some of the total blockbuster films during the1950’s and 60’s era. Gracious and charming Vyjanthimala has acted in many Tamil as well as Hindi films. Her most loved and adored Hindi films include films like Madhumati, Naya Daur, Ganga Jamuna, Sangam, New Delhi, Kismet Ka Khel,Amrapali to name just a few. She has acted with all the top leading male stars during that era.

Dr. Vyjanthimala Bali has been conferred with many awards and accolades during her admirable film career. She has also had an extremely successful political career and has received a lot of appreciation for her participation at various events. Her ever lasting impression on the dancing circuit has always been a great inspiration for actresses of many generations and reportedly right up to this day she is considered to be the first ever female super star of the Hindi film industry. Even though Gracious and charming Vyjanthimala decided to call it quits in her film career right after her wedding, she is always fondly remembered for her power packed roles and very good performances in all her films. As they say, some people are born stars!

Onam-The festival is an experience of a lifetime

Onam- the festival of Kerala; is one of the most enchanting festival that is celebrated with great zest and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Everyone looks forward to this annual festival which calls for celebration of all the happiness and fulfilment that life has to offer.

This festival is celebrated on the first month of the Malayalam calendar. This usually comes in the month of August or September. It is basically a festival celebrated for harvesting and there is a folklore attached as to why this festival is celebrated.

According to the local belief, there was once a demon King, known as Mahabali, who ruled Kerela and its adjoining areas with super efficiency and power. He was so good with his dedicated ruling capabilities that it is said there was total flourish of crops and food for all the people in his entire territory. Since the king was so fond of all his people his spirit is still said to visit the state every season when the festival is set to arrive. Thus, the festival is celebrated to welcome the king and to show him how happy his subjects still are. Onam is actually celebrated over a period of ten days.

There are various cultural events and sporting activities that take place on these special days. Men, women and children participate in various events like dances, boat races and elephant races and competitions in flower decorations etc. Each household has some of the most intricately made flower decorations in their courtyards and there is an air of total brotherhood and positivity all around. Women dance to excellent folk music and men participate in many sporting activities. There is a lavish spread of food on all ten the days of the festival. However, the first and the last day have very special meals with many courses that make for an enormous meal of sorts. Everyone just forgets all about their worries and spends these festive days in total exuberance and a happy spirit.

The festival is so popular that these days there are various tourist packages available. Each package has very good deals so that the visitors can avail the opportunity of enjoying a firsthand experience of the beautiful and lively celebrations. Amongst many other attractions are the backwaters of Kerala that provide a heavenly experience for tourists and visitors to god’s own country. Indeed, a visit to the country during Onam- the Festival of Kerala is an experience of a lifetime!

National Sports Day – Commemorating the Legend

National Sports Day is celebrated every year in India on the 29^th of August. This day is celebrated across the nation to commemorate the legendary hockey maestro Major Dhyan Chand. This is an auspicious occasion as Shri Dhyan Chand was born on this day and made the country proud by his extraordinary sporting skills and contribution to Indian sports.

The legendary Shri Dhyan Chand was born on August 29, 1905 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. At the tender age of 14, he was introduced to the game of hockey. He was formally inducted into the Punjab regiment at a young age of 16 for his exceptional skills in the game of hockey. After his induction in the regiment, he got good mentors who helped and inspired him to take up hockey as a career.

Dhyan Chand started doing exceptionally well in his career and displayed amazing sporting skills. He started winning games for his team singlehandedly and on numerous occasions made his team victorious from a losing position. He was given the nickname “Hockey Wizard” after he won the game for his team in the Punjab Tournament from a losing position.

Shri Dhyan Chand started his international hockey career in 1926.He was a top goal scorer consistently and soon became the captain of the Indian hockey team which won three Olympic gold medals. He played for the national hockey team till the age of 42 and ended his career in the year 1948 from International sporting arena. In the year 1956, he was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honor in the country. On December 3^rd, 1979, he died of liver cancer. To pay homage to his illustrious career, Indian Postal Service issued a postage stamp and Dhyan Chand National Stadium was constructed in New Delhi.

Sports persons celebrate this auspicious day with different events such as cultural programs and speeches by eminent sporting personalities. The President of the country reward great players with sports awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for their contributions on this day.