Month: October 2020

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-Top News India News

“Vaishnav Jan to” in Kashmiri language

The idea behind making this video is to introduce Gandhi and Gandhian thoughts into Kashmir valley … writes Kusum Kaull Vyass

Gandhiji’s favorite Bhajan, usually called Gandhi’s song ‘Vaishnav Jan To’, is in the Gujarati language. Most people don’t understand what this song means and why Gandhiji chose this song written by Narsinh Mehta in 15th century Gujarat. The song is about humanity and how people should live and for each other. I felt a great need to translate this song into Kashmiri language and put it into the folk music of the valley, so that  Kashmiris  can relate with it easily through their own language,  music and singer.

Gandhi’s life and ideologies have had a significant influence on my life since childhood, and I’m blessed that I have been living in the land of Gandhi after the forceful migration from Kashmir. The way Narsinh Mehta’s written Bhajan is still influencing us after 600 years, I foresee the impact of this translation in the valley for generations to come.

About five years back, a famous journalist and writer, Mr. Mayank Chhaya from Chicago, USA, had made a film ‘Gandhi’s Song’. The film was about Narsinh Mehta and why Gandhiji adapted this as his favorite Bhajan. At that time, I helped him in the production work. Now I feel that the seed of Vaishnav Jan To was firmly planted in my mind at the of making that film.

During the long months of lockdown in the country, I had ample time to read, write, and think about various subjects in life. I often struggle with myself as to how I can contribute to bringing peace back to the Kashmir valley.

Gandhiji has been an apostle of peace and humanity. What better way to put a peaceful vibration into the valley, through local language and folk music. With a missionary zeal, I called up the most famous folk singer Shri Gulzar Ahmed Ganai, from Kashmir. Hesitatingly, I explained my thought to him, feeling that this idea may not appeal to him, but to my surprise, he understood and liked the idea with equal enthusiasm. I felt we were on the same wavelength, and we had blessings of Gandhiji to go ahead. Shri. Shahbaaz Hakbari, a famous poet of the valley, translated this beautiful song into the Kashmiri language. My father, Raees Brij Krishan Kaul, wrote the Urdu song first, then it got translated in Kashmiri. This dream came true when the song was shot at different famous places in the valley.       

It was a spiritual journey for me while making,” Vaishnav Jan To” in Kashmiri language.

Categories
-Top News USA

Polls favour Biden in most swing states

South Carolina voters are evenly divided on the President’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy…Reports Asian Lite News

US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden were tied in the state of South Carolina, where the incumbent leader had previously held a 10-point over his rival.

The Quinnipiac poll released on Wednesday found Trump at 48 per cent and Biden at 47 per cent among likely voters in South Carolina, down from the President’s 6-point advantage in the same poll from two weeks ago, reports The Hill news website.

South Carolina voters are evenly divided on the President’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy.

  • US President Donald Trump formallt accepts Republican nomination.

Forty-nine per cent viewed Biden favourably and unfavourably by 46 per cent., while the President revceived a 48-48 split on favourability.

According to CBS/YouGov poll released on Sunday, Trump and Biden were also neck-and-neck in the swing states of Georgia and North Carolina.

In Georgia 47 per cent of likely voters support Trump, versus 46 per cent for Biden, while in
North Carolina, 48 per cent of likely voters supported the former Vice President, versus 46 per cent for the President.

Meanwhile, an NBC News-Marist poll also released on Sunday found Biden leading Trump in two other swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Last month, the CBS News Tracker revealed that the states of Florida and Texas remain tight battlegrounds in the November 3 presidential election, reports Politico news.

In the 2016 election, Trump won both the states.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Also late last month, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Biden ahead of Trump nationally by a margin of 51 per cent to 43 per cent.

In 12 battleground states, including Florida but not Texas, the former Vice President’s lead was 51 to 45.

The swing states are Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Also read:‘He is a liar’: Biden lashes out at Trump in first debate

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-Top News Arab News UAE News

2020 IMD ranking: UAE tops in Arab region

The UAE ranked 14th globally, ahead of countries such as Australia, China, Germany, France, Japan and Belgium, maintained its leadership in the Arab region in all categories of the rankings…Reports Asian Lite News

The UAE ranked first in the Arab region and one of the best in the world in the “World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2020” issued by the IMD World Competitiveness Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The UAE, which ranked 14th globally, ahead of countries such as Australia, China, Germany, France, Japan and Belgium, maintained its leadership in the Arab region in all categories of the rankings, most notably in the “Technology” factor where it ranks fourth globally, as well as in ” Future readiness” where its ranks 11th globally, and “Knowledge” where it advanced four places.

Now in its fourth year, the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures the capacity and readiness of 63 economies through three key factors (Knowledge, Technology and Future readiness), nine sub-factors and 52 criteria to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and wider society. It uses an array of data to understand how 63 economies employ digital technologies.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, said that “The fact that the UAE ranked first globally in the ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ confirms the strong belief of its government in the importance of the partnership between the public and private sectors, upon the directives of the country’s leadership to promote the role of the private sector, as one of the key cornerstones of the national economy.”

The UAE ranked first in the factors of “Wireless broadband,” “Public-private partnerships” and “Immigration laws,” and jumped to second place in the factors of “Foreign highly-skilled personnel” and “Use of big data and analytics by businesses.” It also ranked third globally in the factors of “Management of cities,” “Net flow of international students” and “Foreign highly-skilled personnel,” as well as in the “Legal Framework” sub-factor.

The country ranked fourth in the “Technology” key factor, as well as in factors of “Opportunities and threats” factor and “Cyber Security.” It also ranked fifth in the world in the “Attitudes toward Globalisation” and the “Talent” sub-factor.

The United States came first, Singapore second, and Denmark third in the 2020 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, a giant compilation of data that economists said could help predict how well economies would weather the pandemic.

“In the midst of uncertainty and a fluid global situation, it seems that business and societies that are agile correlate strongly with the IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking. Knowledge also remains of paramount importance for the digital performance of different economies,” stated Professor Arturo Bris, Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center.

Also read:UAE, China relations built upon mutual respect: Sharjah Chamber

Categories
-Top News Arab News

Lebanon, Israel to hold talks on border

Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri

Lebanon and Israel will hold UN-mediated talks on their disputed maritime and land borders, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Thursday, reports Arab News.

The United States will act as a facilitator during the talks, which are due to be held in the southern Lebanon border town of Naqoura, Berri told a news conference without providing a date for the negotiations.

Berri said a framework agreement had been reached to start the negotiations, and read out a September 22 copy of it.

“The United States were asked by both sides, Israel and Lebanon, to act as a mediator and facilitator to draw up the maritime borders, and it is ready to do this,” he quoted it as saying.

Also Read: UN to extend mandate in Lebanon

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-Top News EU News UK News

Brexit breach: EU begins legal action against UK

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes a statement at an extraordinary European Parliament plenary session in Brussels, Belgium, July 23, 2020. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)

The EU had given UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson until the end of September to ditch the contentious clauses, but the deadline had lapsed…said Ursula von der Leyen…Reports Asian Lite News

  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes a statement at an extraordinary European Parliament plenary session in Brussels, Belgium, July 23, 2020. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)

The European Union (EU) on Thursday started a legal action against the UK after it refused to ditch plans to override sections of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

In a statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the UK had been put on formal notice over the Internal Market Bill, which would override a part of the agreement when it came to goods and allow the country to modify or re-interpret “state aid” rules on subsidies for firms in Northern Ireland, in the event of the two sides not agreeing on a future trade deal.

She said the UK would have until the end of November to respond to the EU’s concerns over the draft legislation, reports the BBC.

She said the bill was a “full contradiction” of previous UK commitments over how a hard border on the island of Ireland should be avoided.

The EU had given UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson until the end of September to ditch the contentious clauses, but “the deadline had lapsed”, von der Leyen was quoted as saying in a Guardian report.

“We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft internal market bill, by the end of September.

“This draft bill is, by its very nature, a breach of the obligation of good faith, laid down in the withdrawal agreement. Moreover, if adopted as is it will be in full contradiction to the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore this morning, the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure,” she added in the statement.

Meanwhile, the UK said it would respond “in due course”, the BBC reported.

A spokesperson for the Johnson government said the bill was a necessary “safety net” to protect trade between different parts of the UK.

Thursday’s announcement came after Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations said on Monday that the EU was mulling legal options if the UK breaches the Brexit deal.

The UK left the EU on January 31, having negotiated and signed the withdrawal agreement, which is now an international treaty, with the bloc, the BBC reported.

The two sides are now in the closing weeks of negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal before the transition period ends on December 31.

Also read:EU considers legal actions over UK Brexit treaty breach

Categories
Bollywood Fashion Lite Blogs

Kangana Defines Fashion As Freedom Of Expression

Kangana: Fashion is nothing but freedom of expression

Actress Kangana Ranaut has shared how her fashion sense has evolved over the years, and defines fashion as freedom of expression.

Kangana took to Twitter and posted then and now photos. In one photo, she is seen wearing a frock and a pearl necklace. In another, she is sitting in the front row of a fashion show.

Explaining how her fashion has evolved over the years, she tweeted: “When I was a little girl I decorated myself with pearls, cut my own hair, wore thigh high socks and heels. People laughed at me.”

Kangana: Fashion is nothing but freedom of expression

“From being a village clown to attending front rows of London, Paris, New York Fashion weeks I realised fashion is nothing but freedom of expression,” she wrote.

Kangana has in the past used her stardom to promote Indian fashion. Earlier this month, she spoke about how we draw inspiration from Europe or Japan for fashion, but handlooms in India are often ignored.

Also Read-Tamannah Excited To Reprise Tabu

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Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

Tamannah Excited To Reprise Tabu

Mumbai: Actress Tamannah Bhatia at the shoot of celebrity make-up artist Lekha Gupta's Amazon Beauty Vanity Diaries show in Mumbai, on June 25, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
Mumbai: Actress Tamannah Bhatia (Photo: IANS)

Actress Tamannah Bhatia is excited to reprise the role of Tabu in the Telugu remake of the Hindi thriller, “Andhadhun”.

“I’ve always been an ardent fan of Tabu’s work and it is such an honour to reprise a role played by her. The original film has this psychological influence on people and succeeded in inducing a sense of curiosity. What I personally loved about the original film was the brilliance of the script and the screenplay. It had no hero or no villain,” she said.

Actor Nithin will reprise Ayushmann Khurrana’s National Award-winning role in the Telugu remake.

Tabu

“It is a very unconventional casting and I have always wanted to do a film that is entertaining, while it has moments of darkness. Lately, I have started taking an incline towards films that embody a sense of individualism, that are less scared of convention and much more stimulating. This is the first time I will be collaborating with Nithiin and he is one the few people in Telugu industry I have never worked with previously. So, I am quite looking forward to this project,” Tamannaah added.

“Andhadhun”, a black comedy crime thriller directed by Sriram Raghavan, has Ayushmann playing a piano player who pretends to be blind and whose life is thrown in a tizzy when he becomes witness to the murder of an aged film actor by the latter’s wife and her lover.

The Telugu version is being directed by Merlapaka Gandhi.

Also Read-‘Animation Is Simply fun’

Categories
COVID-19 Lifestyle Lite Blogs

Engage Yourself Amid Covid

Women empowered by EWOK Society working with necessary precautions in COVID times at IIT Mandi.
Five screen-free ways to consume content.

This year has been a rollercoaster ride and has seen most of us adapting to the “new normal”. Remote working has become the order of the day, and people are spending longer periods of time in front of a screen, be it for work or entertainment…writes Siddhi Jain.

Due to this, screen fatigue has become a real concern, with experts suggesting that it is beginning to impact people’s health. In a recent report, a doctor practicing telemedicine said there was a 30 per cent increase in complaints of eye strain, dry or itchy eyes, headaches, blurred vision and physical and mental fatigue.

The challenge is to able to learn something new, pursue a hobby and keep yourself entertained without straining yourself on a screen. Here are five ways to keep yourself occupied and productive, without being glued to your screens:

COVID-19: 7 tips to defuse family conflict and preserve relationships. (Photo Courtesy: Pixabay)

Marie Kondo your personal space

Cleaning always comes across as a chore and we neglect it until that one chair can no longer bear the weight of the pile of clothes. A fun way to look at cleaning is decluttering and redecorating. Choose one room at a time, pick up things that don’t bring you joy and throw them into a giveaway pile. Pick out reusable items like empty water bottles, plastic boxes, worn-out clothes, shoe boxes, tin cans, light bulbs with which you can make DIY decorations. Not only will you be proud of your own creations, your home just got a whole lot prettier at no cost at all.

Hands busy, mind free

It is an established fact that listening to audiobooks is more emotionally engaging than watching TV or films. Whether you are looking for stories or simply want to experience some downtime, Audible and Audible Suno are the right places for you. Unleashing the power of the spoken word, these platforms offer an extensive library of audiobooks and audio series narrated by talented and celebrated personalities that are sure to inspire creativity.

Get active, get going

The lockdown has everyone stuck at home, which has led to the discovery of innovative ways to keep ourselves healthy and active. Whoever thought that working out with basic household items at home can give you a full-fledged gym experience? Here are few ideas to make your home workout more fun and efficient:

– Use cans and jars as small weights

– Use stairs as a cardio machine

– Use a bag of flour or rice as heavy weights

– Apart from these, you can do yoga, stretching, crossfit (workouts using bodyweight), all from the comfort of your home.

Women empowered by EWOK Society working with necessary precautions in COVID times at IIT Mandi.

Grow your plants, grow your soul

To be closer to nature is to be closer with your inner self. Indoor plants don’t just look good, they make you feel good mentally and physically, too. Growing and taking care of plants is a worthwhile hobby for anyone who is wondering what to do to keep oneself occupied. It is a simple activity that decorates your house and gives you unadulterated joy in an environmentally-friendly way. Get creative while making your space greener — think the kitchen slab, your window sill, the balcony, or even your bathroom where bamboo plants can be kept.

Awaken your inner Picasso

One needn’t be a trained artist to create art. All you need is a canvas, paint, a few brushes, some free time and your imagination. There are no rules when it comes to painting to unwind yourself. It has been said that painting has therapeutic qualities and with no prior training, you can just let the brushes play with the colours. You never know — you may just end up with something frame-worthy that brings you happiness and serenity.

Also Read-App For Children With SLDs

Categories
Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

Divya Recalls Past 26 Years In B’wood

Mumbai: Actress Divya Dutta at a party organised to celebrate the success of the film "Andhadhun" after the film won Best Film award at the 66th National Film Awards, in Mumbai on Aug 21, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
Divya Dutta.

Actress Divya Dutta, who has completed 26 years in the entertainment industry, celebrated her birthday quietly with loved ones at home on September 25…reports Asian Lite News.

Divya started out as a mainstream Bollywood actress in the mid-nineties but made heads turn for the first time with a small but impactful role in Pamela Rooks’ 1998 screen adaptation of Khushwant Singh’s novel, “Train To Pakistan”. Over the years, she has carved a niche as a vesatile performer who can impress in commercial as well as arthouse cinema.

In conversation with IANS, the 2018 National Award (Best Supporting Actress) winner for her role in “Irada” looks back at the films that changed her career completely.

Veer Zaara (2004)

Recalling the Yash Chopra film, Divya said: “By that time I had worked in a few films but the amount of recognition that I got because of ‘Veer Zaara’, never happened before. Like many others, I have grown up watching Yash Chopra’s iconic films and in my dreams, I also wanted to be a YRF heroine! Of course, that did not happen with ‘Veer Zaara’ but the way Yash Chopra ji introduced me to the commercial cinema space and the recognition I got was surreal!”

“These days, everyone is doing substantial roles that are not so-called ‘lead roles’, nowadays the word ‘character actor’ is outdated. But 15 years ago, it was a risk for me — what if I get typecast? Everyone remembered Shabbo, though there were three superstars in the film.”

Delhi 6 (2009)

“That was the first time I have got a chance to work with Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra and it was a completely different character from Shabbo. My look, my dialogues, the section of society that the character represents — everything was an integral part of the story. It was so satisfactory,” recalled Divya. In the film, she played a sweeper named Jalebi, who comes from a lower caste and is untouchable.

Mumbai: Actress Divya Dutta at Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival, in Mumbai on Oct 22, 2019. (Photo: IANS)

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
“It was such a well-written character. It was the biopic on one man but the character of his sister and her contribution in his journey is so intertwined that it became a brother-sister story! I not only got positive reviews for that role but love, admiration and reverence.”

Badlapur (2013)

“The character graph of Shobha that I had in the film, some of the crucial scenes with Varun (Dhawan) in the story, and the way the equation between the two changes, was all so deliciously written! (Director) Sriram (Raghavan) is such a brilliant filmmaker. I think that film was also very important in my career because, again, with a superstar like Varun Dhawan in a film, we reached out to a different set of audience that otherwise I do not get a chance to with films that are close to my heart,” said the actress.

“Badlapur” also featured Yami Gautam, Radhika Apte, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vinay Pathak.

“Special 26” (2013) and “Ramsingh Charlie” (2020)

Apart from these films that gave her a wide exposure to the mainstream audience, Divya cites two films that are very close to her heart — “Special 26” (2013) and “Ramsingh Charlie”, which dropped digitally a few weeks ago.

Mumbai: Actress Divya Dutta at a party organised to celebrate the success of the film “Andhadhun” after the film won Best Film award at the 66th National Film Awards, in Mumbai on Aug 21, 2019. (Photo: IANS)

“During the shoot of both these films I had to unlearn a lot in order to play these characters. Neeraj Pandey (director of ‘Special 26’) and Nitin Kakkar (‘Ramsingh Charlie’) have very different styles of working, and I had nervous energy on the first day of shoot. I think that is good energy, which made me push to an extent to bring out my best. So, these two films are very very special!” said Divya.

Also Read-App For Children With SLDs

Categories
Education Lite Blogs

App For Children With SLDs

Anganwadi.

Late identification of learning disabilities could leave some children behind in their academic and mental development – something early screening can solve…writes Siddhi Jain.

Indigenous research studies have estimated the incidence of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) in India to be between 10-12 percent of school-going children. In remote populations and Tier-II cities where there is negligible awareness or service available for identification, these kids slip through the cracks in the system, says Dr Geet Oberoi, who has developed a nine-domain screening app for timely detection of learning disabilities in children.

As academic success has become highly competitive in present days, anything less than peak performance in schools could lead to mislabeling of a child, without sparing a thought to the reasons behind it. Oberoi, is the President of Orkids Foundation, the organization behind ‘First Screen’ app, launched last month that aims at early identification of children who may be at the risk of developing SLD (Specific learning disabilities). It also allows for early intervention well before the formal age of diagnosis at 8 years. It is a free android app, available in Hindi and English.

Could your child have learning disabilities?.

According to her, in India, SLD was recognized as a disability only in 2016, and unfortunately before that most children with SLD had an extremely challenging school experience with many of them dropping out and opting for open schooling. Many parents also opted for home schooling for their children looking at the stress and anxiety the schools were causing the children.

“In a considerable number of cases instances of other mental health issues like depression, bullying, defiance, eating disorders were seen emerging along with SLD and its effects in adolescence,” she told in an email interview.

How does timely identification and screening help? “It ensures the learning gaps of children are curtailed early and with intervention, before the gaps become too large to be worked with. As the children grow up, the academic pressure on the child increases and this may lead to children dropping out of schools and/or becoming susceptible to other mental health issues like depression, defiance, bullying and so on. Early intervention helps the children to be mainstreamed as fast as possible with a greater chance of finding less or no difference in performance as compared to the classmates.”

The pioneering app covers nine major domains, namely- reading and spelling, written expression, oral language, motor skills, attention, social skills, mathematics, executive functions and memory. The app includes a test of 90 scoring items with 3-point answers (yes, maybe, no/NA).

Dr. Geet Oberoi, President Orkids Foundation.

It takes 20-25 minutes to complete the test after which a visual feedback (as opposed to text) is given with possible recommendations for the future. Sub-skills of each of the nine domains covered are also given. For accuracy purposes, the test must be filled by a parent, or a teacher who has known the child for at least 6 months.

The free-of-cost app comes as a screening tool which is not diagnostic and thus does not label, but only screens to identify kids that may be ‘at risk’ is the need of the hour. First Screen would ensure that the valuable five years – between ages three and eight – can be utilised by providing extra support in terms of training and providing resources to the kids to help their learning curve.

Orkids shared that it has reached out to all different education boards like CBSE, ISCE, the State Boards as well as NCERT have been made aware of the app and its efficacy. “An ideal way forward would be to make screening a must for children in all schools at the age of four-five, so as to catch them young and ensure no child is left behind.”

Also Read-September becomes India’s worst pandemic month