Munnabai and Mumbai bomb blast...

In December 1992 and January 1993, there was widespread rioting in Mumbai following the 6 December destruction of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya . Although there was no loss of life in the incident at Ayodhya, a series of riots soon erupted throughout the nation, most notably in Bombay . After five years following the December–January riots, the Srikrishna Commission Report stated that nine hundred individuals lost their lives and over two thousand were injured, Hindus and muslims suffered equally, in the riots. 

Confession of Gul Mohammed

Three days before the bombings took place on 9 March 1993, a small time hood from the Behrampada slum in North east Bombay named Gul Noor Mohammad Sheikh a.k.a. "Gullu" was detained at the Nav Pada police station. A participant in the communal riots that had rocked Bombay the previous year, Gullu was also one of the 19 men handpicked by the gold smuggler and chief mastermind, Tiger Memon and sent to Pakistan via Dubai on 19 February 1993, for training of the use of arms and bomb making.

Upon completion of his training, Gullu returned to Bombay via Dubai on 4 March 1993, only to find that in his absence the police had picked up his brothers to get him to surrender. In a vain attempt to secure his brothers' release, Gullu surrendered to the police. He confessed to his role in the riots, his training in Pakistan, and a conspiracy underway to bomb major locations around the city, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sahar International Airport and the Shiv Sena Bhavan. However, his conspiracy claim was dismissed by the police as "mere bluff".

The arrest of Gul Mohammed spurred Tiger Memon to advance the date of the blasts which were to coincide with the Shiv Jayanti celebrations in April 1993 to 12 March to pre-empt any police action.

The bombings

At 1:30 pm a powerful car bomb exploded in the basement of the Bombay Stock Exchange building. The 28-storey office building housing the exchange was severely damaged, and many nearby office buildings also suffered some damage. About 50 were killed by this explosion. About 30 minutes later, another car bomb exploded elsewhere in the city, and from 1:30 pm to 3:40 pm a total of 13 bombs exploded throughout Bombay. Most of the bombs were car bombs, but some were in scooters.

Three hotels, the Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, and Hotel Airport Centaur, were targeted by suitcase bombs left in rooms booked by the perpetrators.^[17] Banks, the regional passport office, hotels, the Air India Building, and a major shopping complex were also hit. Bombs exploded at Zaveri Bazaar, area opposite of Century Bazaar, Katha Bazaar, Shiv Sena Bhavan, and Plaza Theatre. A jeep-bomb at the Century Bazaar exploded.Grenades were also thrown at Sahar International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindus at the latter.A double decker bus was very badly damaged in one of the explosions and that single incident accounted for the greatest loss of life – perhaps up to ninety people were killed.Locations attacked included:

• Fisherman's Colony in Mahim causeway^[
• Zaveri Bazaar
• Plaza Cinema
• Century Bazaar
• Katha Bazaar
• Hotel Sea Rock
• Sahar Airport
• Air India Building
• Hotel Juhu Centaur
• Worli
• Bombay Stock Exchange Building
• Passport Office

The official number of dead was 257 with 1,400 others injured (some news sources say 317 people died; this is due to a bomb which killed 60 in Calcutta on 17 March). Several days later, unexploded car bombs were discovered at a railway station. Terrorist groups based in Pakistan were suspected to be responsible for these bombings, and evidence uncovered pointed to the involvement of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

On 25 August 2003, two large and destructive bombs left in taxis exploded in south Mumbai – the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in the busy Kalbadevi area – killing 52 people and wounding more than a hundred others. Two Pakistan based militant groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, were found to be responsible for the attacks. Along with the July 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, these attacks are believed to be in retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots in which more than a thousand persons, including 600 Muslims and 400 Hindus were killed which was in turn triggered by gruesome Burning of Hindu pilgrimage travelers by Muslim extremist Mob , though the Gujaratgovernment denies such a connection.

On 11 July 2006, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra during the blasts, Sharad Pawar, admitted, on record, that he had "deliberately misled" people following the 1993 Bombay blasts by saying there were "12 and not 11" explosions, adding the name of a Muslim-dominated locality to show that people from both communities had been affected. He tried to justify this deception by claiming that it was a move to prevent communal riots by falsely portraying that both Hindu and Muslim communities in the city had been affected adversely. He also admits to lying about evidence recovered and misleading people into believing that some of it pointed to the Tamil Tigers as possible suspects.

The bombings also caused a major rift within the D-Company, the most powerful criminal organisation in the Mumbai underworld headed by Dawood Ibrahim. Infuriated at the bombings, Ibrahim's right hand man Chotta Rajan split from the organisation, taking most of the leadership-level Hindu aides such as Sadhu Shetty, Jaspal Singh and Mohan Kotiyan with him. Rajan's split divided the Mumbai underworld along communal lines and pitted Chotta Rajan's predominantly Hindu gang against Dawood Ibrahim's predominantly Muslim D-Company. The ensuing gang war took the lives of more than a hundred gangsters and continues to this day.Seven of the accused (Salim Kurla, Majeed Khan, Shakil Ahmed, Mohammed Jindran, Hanif Kadawala, Akbar Abu Sama Khan and Mohammed Latif) were systematically assassinated by Chotta Rajan's hitmen.

Arrests, convictions and verdict

Many hundreds of people were arrested and detained in Indian courts. In 2006, 100 of the 129 finally accused were found to be guilty and were convicted by Justice PD Kode of the specially designated TADA court. Many of the 100 are still missing including the main conspirators and masterminds of the attacks – Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim. On 12 September 2006, the special TADA court hearing the case convicted four members of the Memon family for their involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings.

Three other members of the Memon family were acquitted by the special TADA court with the judge giving them the benefit of the doubt. The four members of the Memon family are being held after being found guilty on charges of conspiring and abetting acts of terror. All four of them face jail terms from five years in prison to life imprisonment, that will be determined based on the severity of their crime.A day later, the TADA court announced that it would start pronouncing the verdict of the thirty-one people charged with transporting and planting bombs.

Yakub Memon, the brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, was charged for possession of unauthorised arms. After the blasts, family members of Tiger, including Yakub, escaped from Bombay to Dubai and Pakistan. Correspondents say Tiger Memon owned a restaurant in Bombay and was allegedly closely associated with Dawood Ibrahim, the chief suspect.

Except for Tiger and his brother Ayub, the entire family returned to India and were promptly arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 1994. Since then, Yakub has been in custody and is undergoing treatment for depression. The Memon family was subsequently tried in court and found guilty of conspiracy. The defence lawyers have asked for leniency in the sentencing and have caused delays in the process.

Two of the accused, Mohammed Umar Khatlab and Badshah Khan (pseudonym given by the prosecution to hide his real identity) turned state approvers.

Dawood Ibrahim, believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks, is the Don of the Mumbai organised crime syndicate D-Company, largely consisting of Muslims. He is suspected of having connections to several Pakistan based terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden,^] as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba and was declared a terrorist by the governments of India and the United States in 2003. Ibrahim is now wanted by Interpol as a part of the worldwide terror syndicate of Osama bin Laden. He has been in hiding since the blasts and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, which the Pakistani government denies. The Bush administration in the United States imposed sanctions on Ibrahim in 2006.

The penalty stage of the longest running trial in India's history is still ongoing. In February 2007, prosecutors asked for the death penalty for forty-four of the hundred convicted. The prosecution also requested the death penalty for those convicted of conspiracy in the case.

Sanjay dutt in case

Sanjay Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle which were part of a consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for coordinated serial blasts in Mumbai that killed 257 people and injured over 700 in 1993.

Sanjay Dutt’s last legal option against his conviction and sentence of five year jail term in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case ended on Tuesday( 23/07/2013) with the Supreme Court dismissing his curative petition.

DOWNFALL OF AUSTRALIAN CRICKET EMPIRE

The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877.The team also plays One Day International cricket and Twenty20 International, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season and the first Twenty20 International, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season, winning both games.

History

The Australian cricket team participated in the first Test match at the MCG in 1877, defeating an English team by 45 runs, with Charles Bannerman making the first Test century, a score of 165 retired hurt. Test cricket, which only occurred between Australia and England at the time, was limited by the long distance between the two countries, which would take several months by sea. Despite Australia's much smaller population, the team was very competitive in early games, producing stars such as Jack Blackham, Billy Murdoch, Fred "The Demon" Spofforth, George Bonnor, Percy McDonnell, George Giffen and Charles "The Terror" Turner. Most cricketers at the time were either from New South Wales or Victoria, with the notable exception of George Giffen, the star South Australian all-rounder.

A highlight of Australia's early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval. In this match Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the game's fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target. After this match The Sporting Times, a major newspaper in London at the time, printed a mock obituary in which the death of English cricket was proclaimed and the announcement made that "the body was cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which Australia and England play a Test match series to decide the holder of the Ashes. To this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport.

Australians are four time ICC world champions (50 overs)in the years 1987,1999, 2003, 2007

Latest Ashes Controversy 

Controversy, it seems, just cannot part ways with the Australian cricket team. After a troubled Indian spring,Australia's very own 'C' word trailed the team like a shadow, all the way into a Birmingham watering hole along with David Warner and then to Bristol where former coach Mickey Arthur was given the sack 16 days prior to the start of the first of 10 back-to-back Test matches of The Ashes.

The team, credit to them, kept it in lock throughout the first match at Trent Bridge, which they lost by the narrowest of margins. But no sooner had they finished preparations for what should be as exciting a Test match at Lord's on Thursday, controversy was to come crashing out of the door and ram into them in the form of leaked documents from the legal file of Arthur, who is suing Cricket Australia for wrongful terminationof contract.
 
That skipper Michael Clarke and former vice-captain Shane Watson don't see eye to eye, as was revealed from the documents, was no shocker. However, at a time when the Australian team is trying its best to project a united front to the world, the timing couldn't be worse. A possible split in the team that has revealed itself hours before what could be the most important Test match of the series, with a win getting them back into contention and a loss all but conceding defeat, is far from what Australia would have hoped for as they reached London.

Perhaps, the excitement and the grandeur of playing at the home of cricket is the best possible antidote they could hope for as they get set to lock horns with England in the second Test at Lord's.
 
Moving on to cricket, both teams could make at least the one change for the match. England could draft in Tim Bresnan for the rather ineffective Steven Finn, who bowled a bit too short for the hosts' liking in Nottingham. The pitch at Lord's is expected to be as dry as the one at Trent Bridge, if not more. England have just the one spinner in their unchanged 13-man squad for the second Test in Graeme Swann, and would bank on the likes of Joe Root to bowl a few overs in between.

On the other hand, it would be interesting to see if Australia go in with two spinners. Ashton Agar, who had a dream debut in the first Test, will be one of the first names on the sheet. And even though the Australian quicks did not perform badly, the dryness of the pitch could force Nathan Lyon also coming into the side in place of Mitchell Starc, who is the only viable option if any pacer has to be dropped. However, as they have proved time and again, reading the minds of the personnel behind the Australian team selection is as complicated as deciphering John Milton's polemical speech, Areopagitica. You could well brace yourselves for seeing a James Faulkner taking field to provide an all-round option with Ed Cowan getting the boot.
 
With the bowling attacks of both teams being well capable of taking 20 wickets, as was proved in the first Test, the battle could well be decided by which team's batting line-up shows up. On paper, England clearly have the better firepower in the first half of the team sheets.

Ian Bell's return to form would only have provided a major boost to what is already a prolific line-up from numbers one through seven, save for perhaps Jonny Bairstow. Australia, if they are to better this England batting, would be relying on their three most experienced players — Clarke, Watson and Chris Rogers. Lord's could also see 26-year-old Usman Khawaja make a return to the eleven at number three and, along with Steven Smith and Phil Hughes, will be expected to provide a robust back-up to the three seniors.
 
If the topsy-turvy first Test is anything to go by, where predicting which way the match would go was impossible right until what was the final delivery of the match when James Anderson broke through Brad Haddin's resistance, London is in for some daytime fireworks over the next five days all right. The neutrals would be hoping for an Australia win, which would provide for a gripping latter half of the first leg of the double header.

Hope aussies will recover soon and bounce back............

Sethusamudram .... woe continues

Sethusamudram  is the sea that separates Tamil Nadu, India, from Sri Lanka. It encompasses the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and a shoal of islands and bays that separate them called Ram Setu ("Rama Bridge", also known as Adam's Bridge). The name is derived from the episode recounted in the Hindu epic, Ramayana, in which Rama's army builds a bridge to cross over from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka.

Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project  proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea sometimes called Setu Samudram, and through the chain of islands variously known as Ramar Palam , Ram Sethu and Adam's bridge. The first proposal for the construction of the canal was made in 1860. There were 6 proposals up to 1922. After independence between 1956 and 1998, as many as 6 committees have recommended its construction. The proposed canal will have very significant consequences to one of the most important marine biodiversity areas of mainland India as well as Sri Lanka.

• Project conceptualised to reduce the distance of ships with destination in the east coast

• R K Pachauri committee stated that the project was 'unviable economically and environmentally'

• According to the Pachauri committee report, the project cost has increased by 101% to Rs 4,504 crore (Rs 45.04 billion) within 5 years

• The Centre readying to go ahead with the project, filed an affidavit last month in the Supreme Court

• The apex court has asked the TN government to make its stand clear within two weeks

•  Sethusamudram project alleged to be playing with the religious sentiments of the people. 

•  there are a lot of thorium reserves there which could be affected due to this project. 

The project is estimated to cost Indian Rs.20 billion with a debt equity ratio of 1: 1.5. The project authority is Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd. (SCL) headquartered in Chennai. The authorized capital of the company is Indian Rs.8 billion and the participants are Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT) and Dredger Corporation of India (DCI). An MOU was signed in 2006 between SCL and the Suez Canal Authority Egypt for a period of 5 years to manage the SSCP which was targeted for completion in 2008.This would provide a continuous navigable sea route in and around the Indian Peninsula. The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical mile (83 km) long deepwater channel linking the shallow water of the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived as early as 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, it recently received approval of the Indian government. Government of India plans to break limestone shoals called Ram's Bridge or Ram Sethu as part of implementation of this project. A few organizations are opposing damage to Ramasethu on religious,environmental and economical grounds. Many of these parties or organizations support implementation of this project using one of the 5 alternative alignments considered earlier without damaging a structure considered sacred by Hindus. Current alignment is planned to be roughly in the middle of the straits, to provide the shortest course and the course requiring least maintenance. Other famous shipping canal projects like Suez Canal and Panama Canal projects are land based channels.

DISPUTE OVER ADAM’S BRIDGE

• A bunch of petitions opposing the project are pending before SC since 2007 for adjudication. Work on the Sethusamudram project stopped after SC ordered a stay against the dredging work. It had then constituted the Pachauri committee to study an alternative route. The committee, however, called for scrapping the project.
  Current status
  In its affidavit the government further stated it had already incurred Rs. 829.32 crore on the project as on June 30, 2012. . The work commenced after environmental clearances and was based on well-researched technical studies. But till date controversy grips sethu project. 

Varicose Veins - an overview

varicose veins

Arteries bring oxygen-rich blood from your heart to the rest of your body and veins return oxygen-poor blood back to your heart.
When we walk and our leg muscles squeeze, the venous pump works well. But when we sit or stand, especially for a long time, the blood in our leg veins can pool and the pressure in your veins can increase. Deep veins and perforating veins are usually able to withstand short periods of increased pressures. However, if we are a susceptible individual, our veins can stretch if we repeatedly sit or stand for a long time. This stretching can sometimes weaken the walls of your veins and damage your vein valves. Varicose veins may result. Spider veins are mild varicose veins. They look like a nest of red or blue lines just under your skin. Spider veins are not a serious medical problem, but they can be a cosmetic concern to some people, and they can cause symptoms of aching pain and itching in others.

Symptoms and treatment

Varicose veins may sometimes worsen without treatment. Your physician will first try methods that don't require surgery to relieve your symptoms. If you have mild to moderate varicose veins, elevating your legs can help reduce leg swelling and relieve other symptoms. Your physician may instruct you to prop your feet up above the level of your heart 3 or 4 times a day for about 15 minutes at a time. When you need to stand for a long period of time, you can flex your legs occasionally to allow the venous pump to keep blood moving toward your heart.

For more severe varicose veins, your physician may prescribe compression stockings. Compression stockings are elastic stockings that squeeze your veins and stop excess blood from flowing backward. In this way, compression stockings also can help heal skin sores and prevent them from returning. You may be required to wear compression stockings daily for the rest of your life. For many patients, compression stockings effectively treat varicose veins and may be all that are needed to relieve pain and swelling and prevent future problems.

Sclerotherapy
During sclerotherapy, your physician injects a chemical into your varicose veins. The chemical irritates and scars your veins from the inside out so your abnormal veins can then no longer fill with blood. Blood that would normally return to the heart through these veins returns to the heart through other veins. Your body will eventually absorb the veins that received the injection.

Vein StrippingTo perform vein stripping, your physician first makes a small incision in the groin area and usually another incision in your calf below the knee. Then your physician disconnects and ties off all major varicose vein branches associated with the saphenous vein, the main superficial vein in your leg. Your physician then removes the saphenous vein from your leg. A procedure, called small incision avulsion, or sometimes ambulatory phlebectomy, can be done alone or together with vein stripping. Small incision avulsion allows your physician to remove individual varicose vein clusters from your leg using hooks passed through small incisions. In a similar procedure called TIPP, your physician shines an intense light on your leg to show your veins. Once your physician locates a varicose vein, he or she passes a suction device through a tiny incision and suctions out the vein. Although these procedures sound painful, they cause relatively little pain and are generally well tolerated. Your vascular surgeon will advise you regarding which procedure is the best for your particular situation.

Ablation and Laser Treatment
Ablation uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter inserted into a vein in the leg. Tiny electrodes at the tip of the catheter heat the walls of the vein and destroy it.  Similarly, laser treatment uses a tiny fiber that is placed in the vein through a catheter. The fiber sends out laser energy that kills the diseased portion of the vein, and the vein closes off. These two modes of treatment frequently replace the stripping that is performed on the saphenous vein that is described above. The objective is to destroy the saphenous vein that is providing the source for varicose vein development. It can be performed alone or in conjunction with ambulatory phlebectomy, which removes individual clusters of varicose veins from the leg. Your vascular surgeon will advise you regarding which procedure is best for your particular situation. 

Varicose veins are swollen veins that you can see through your skin. They often look blue, bulging, and twisted. Left untreated, varicose veins may worsen over time. Varicose veins can cause aching and feelings of fatigue as well as skin changes like rashes, redness, and sores. As many as 40 million Americans, most of them women, have varicose veins.

You have three kinds of veins in your legs; the superficial veins, which lie closest to your skin, the deep veins, which lie in groups of muscles and perforating veins, which connect the superficial veins to the deep veins. The deep veins lead to the vena cava, your body's largest vein, which runs directly to your heart. Varicose veins occur in the superficial veins in your legs.

When you are in the upright position, the blood in your leg veins must work against gravity to return to your heart. To accomplish this, your leg muscles squeeze the deep veins of your legs and feet. One-way flaps, called valves, in your veins keep blood flowing in the right direction. When your leg muscles contract, the valves inside your veins open. When your legs relax, the valves close. This prevents blood from flowing in reverse, back down the legs. The entire process of sending blood back to the heart is called the venous pump.

If you have varicose veins, your legs may feel heavy, tired, restless, or achy. Standing or sitting for too long may worsen your symptoms. You may also experience night cramps.

You may notice small clusters of veins in a winding pattern on your leg, or soft, slightly tender knots of veins. Sometimes, the skin on your legs may change color, become irritated, or even form sores.

If you have severe varicose veins, you have slightly increased chances of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT may cause sudden, severe leg swelling. DVT is a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention.

High blood pressure inside your superficial leg veins causes varicose veins.

Factors that can increase your risk for varicose veins include having a family history of varicose veins, being overweight, not exercising enough, smoking, standing or sitting for long periods of time, or having DVT. Women are more likely than men to develop varicose veins. Varicose veins usually affect people between the ages of 30 and 70.

Pregnant women have an increased risk of developing varicose veins, but the veins often return to normal within 1 year after childbirth. Women who have multiple pregnancies may develop permanent varicose veins.

First your physician asks you questions about your general health, medical history, and symptoms. In addition, your physician conducts a physical exam. Together these are known as a patient history and exam. Your physician will examine the texture and color of any prominent veins. He or she may apply a tourniquet or direct hand pressure to observe how your veins fill with blood. To confirm a diagnosis of varicose veins, your physician may order a duplex ultrasound test.

Duplex ultrasound uses painless, high-frequency waves higher than human hearing can detect. Your physician uses duplex ultrasound to measure the speed of blood flow and to see the structure of your leg veins. The test can take approximately 20 minutes for each leg. Besides showing varicose veins, duplex ultrasound may help your physician decide whether your varicose veins could be related to some other condition rather than the veins themselves.

Compression Stockings

When these kinds of treatments alone do not relieve your varicose veins, you may require a surgical or minimally invasive treatment, depending upon the extent and severity of the varicose veins. These treatments include sclerotherapy, ablation, vein stripping, and laser treatment.

  

The Immortal Man - Vaali

Lyricist Vaali, who secured a place on a par with Kannadasan at a time the latter strode like a colossus in the Tamil film music world, died in Chennai on Thursday evening.

Vaali, who dominated the film world for over five decades and wrote songs for many a protagonist played by actors from MGR to Dhanush, was not well for quite some time. He was in hospital for over a month. He was 82 and is survived by his son.

His songs were packed with brilliant lines and imagery and there were times when Tamil film music buffs were at their wits' end to discern whether a particular song was written by Kannadasan or Vaali.

On the one hand, he wrote songs like Madhavi Ponmayilal, Ammavendrazhaikatha uyirillaye, Naanaga naan illai and Janani janani that transported the listener to a different plane, on the other he entertained the masses with low-brow songs such as chikkupukku chikkupukku railay, mukkala muqabla and singari sarakku nalla sarakku.

As professional rivals Kannadasan and Vaali had joined issue with each other on public platforms. But in private life they were close friends and spent many an evening together.

Overwhelmed by his the brilliant imagery of the lines in the song Pakkathu Veetu Paruva Matchan in the film Karpagam, Kannadasan declared in a public meeting that Vaali would be his heir-apparent. It was in this function in 1963, Viswanathan and Ramamurthy were given the title Mellisai Mannargal.

Though he had written songs for MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and present day heroes, he could easily be described a “poet laureate” of former Chief Minister MGR.

If MGR made films with political message that would stand by him in good stead in the days to come, Vaali’s lines reinforced his ideas.

Naan Aanai Ittal (enga veetu pillai), moondrezhuthil yen moochirukkum (Theiva Thai), kan pona pokkiley kaal pogalama (Panam Padaithavan), Puthiya vaanam, puthiya boomi (Anbe Vaa), Thambi Naan Piranthen Kanchiyilay Netru, and tharaimel pirakka vaithan (Padakoti) galvanised the masses.

Born S. Rangarajan in Thiruparaithurai near Tiruchi in 1931, he assumed the pen name Vaali, as he was an ardent fan of famed artist Mali working with Ananda Vikatan, now a Tamil weekly. Vaali was also a student of the Government College of Arts in Chennai. Vaali was also known as Vaaliba Kavignar (youthful lyricist)

A theatre enthusiast, he had directed many plays in Tiruchi and Srirangam and worked for the All India Radio (AIR) as a part-time employee, before making a foray into the film world as lyricist.

In his memoir he recalled that two youngsters would regularly visit his drama rehearsals and he wanted one of them to take a role of woman in his plays. The youth who rejected the offer later became Sri Jayendra Saraswathi of the Kanchi Sankara Mutt. The other person was Sivaji Ganesan.

He landed in Chennai in search of opportunities in the film world and spent his days smoking cigarettes and drinking water as he had little money to buy food. He was staying in a lodge, with Nagesh, later to become a master comedian, in the next room.

The break came in 1958 and he wrote his first song for the film Azhagarmalai Kallan. The first film he wrote for MGR was Nallavan Vaazhvaan and the dialogues were penned by former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.

But Ithayathil Nee starring Gemini Ganesan gave him the much needed popularity. MGR starrerPadakotti took him to new heights as a lyricist. Subsequently he wrote almost all films of MGR and shared a fantastic relationship with M.S. Viswanathan.

“I was writing lines for my livelihood. I started paying tax only after joining hands with MSV,” he had said in his memoir.

Vaali also wrote some of the fine songs for Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

His devotional song Karpanai entralum Karchilai entralum on Lord Muruga continues to move generations of devout listeners. “Koovi azhaithal kural koduppan”, set to the raaga valaji has become an immortal Tamil krithi rendered in classical music concerts.

While he was a believer, he benefited immensely from his association with the leaders of the Dravidian Movement including three former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai, MGR and M. Karunanidhi.

A prolific writer, he had penned the biographies of Rama (Avathara Purushan), Krishna (Krishna Vijayam) and Ramanuja (Ramanuja Kaviyam) in verse form. Pandavar Bhoomi is Mahabharatha in modern verse. His latest work was the biography of Srimad Azhagiyasingar, the 45th Jeer of the Ahobila Mutt.

cinema updates

G. V. Prakash exposes rip-off by audio firms:

   

An angry sequence of tweets by young and popular music director G.V. Prakash on dominant music labels ripping off music directors and lyricists by forcing them to sign contracts surrendering future royalties on the music score for movies has found traction among leading artists in the Tamil film industry.

The young music director, whose songs for the upcoming Vijay-starrer Thalaivaa has become a chart-topper in recent weeks, tweeted on Monday on his Twitter account (@gvprakash): “Some audio companies are stealing from composers, lyricists and making them sign fake agreements! Not fair!” and “Royalty is the basic right of the creator and it stays with him or her. Trying to steal that from them is cheap!”

Prakash found backers in popular lyricist Madhan Karky and music director Vijay Antony, among others, and by Tuesday afternoon most of the Tamil film industry seemed to agree with him.

“The problems have started increasing after the Copyrights (Amendment) Act, 2012 came into effect,” says upcoming lyricist Madhan Karky. “No one has been quite able to wrap their heads around what the amendments mean. Whereas we thought the royalty earnings would increase, pressure is being exerted to sign agreements where our salaries are being broken down into two parts as service charge and ‘advance royalty’.”

The issue has come up exactly a year after the amendment to the Copyrights Act was hailed by the likes of veteran lyricist Javed Akthar as a boon to Indian artists, as it conferred lifelong royalty to music directors, performers and lyricists.

What seems to be irking music directors and lyricists alike is the lack of revenue as royalties from new streams such as mobile ring tones, online song downloads and the revenue turnover from online media such as YouTube. “I pay Rs.45 a month to listen to my own songs as a ringtone,” says lyricist Thamarai.

Poverty levels down by 15% in 8 years

Latest NSSO data show a decline from 37% to 22% for all of India, poor states record steepest decrease

Poverty levels across India decreased by 15 per cent — approximately 2 per cent year over year — between 2004-05 and 2011-12, as per the latest National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) figures accessed exclusively by The Hindu . Many economists and government officials say the significant reductions in poverty levels can be correlated to high economic growth rates.

Between 2005 and 2010, the country’s GDP grew at an average of 8.5 per cent and the poverty rate (the proportion of the population below the poverty line) registered an average annual decline of 1.48 per cent. The percentage of the country’s population living below the poverty line declined from 37 per cent in 2004-05 to 22 per cent in 2011-12, according to NSSO data. The 11th Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) had targeted reducing poverty by two percentage points by 2009-10, compared to 2004-05. Rural poverty has declined faster than urban poverty during this period.

Encouraging as those gains are, the country still counts nearly 26.89 crore poor among its citizens. According to the data, the total number of people below the poverty line in the country is 26.89 crore as against 40.73 crore in 2004-05. In rural areas, the number has reduced from 32.58 crore to 21.72 crore.

The data also indicate that the steepest decline in poverty was in India’s poorer states. “While there has been a national reduction of poverty by two percentage points by 2009-10, compared to 2004-05, different states have performed differently. Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh have witnessed a sharp decline. Bihar shows the biggest decline,” Saumitra Chaudhuri, member Planning Commission told The Hindu . 

Bihar has experienced a substantive decline with the percentage of the population living below the poverty line (BPL) coming down 55 percent in 2004-05 to some 35 per cent in 2011-12. The figures for Gujarat were 31 per cent in 2004-05 and 16 per cent in 2011-12. In Rajasthan, 0.6 crore were lifted out of poverty in the same period. Andhra Pradesh reveals a noteworthy decline in urban poverty from 23 per cent in 2004-05 to 6 per cent in 2011-12.

Latest NSSO data show a decline from 37% to 22% for all of India, poor states record steepest decrease