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CITY AUTHOR
PENS NEW
NOVEL
PG 13
The Sunshine
Vitamin
Are you getting enough
of it?
Kylie Jenner
‘Wants to Invest in
Real Estate’
PG 16
Page 24
VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 31
MAY 09 - MAY 15 , 2015
PRICE `10
35%
Contraceptive
pill
city
women
use increases among
city teenagers
60% students blame the media for the scenario
Contd. in page 02
do not
report
domestic
violence
PG
03
2
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Lead Story
Contraceptive pill
use increases among city teenagers
60% students blame the
media for the scenario
Rahul Chanda
I
ncreasing proximity between genders, relaxed social norms and taboos and easy availability of overthe-counter medicines for all kinds of
medical problems is giving rise to a
different kind of problem, one which
is only recently catching the attention
of doctors and parents alike-the increasing sexual proclivity among the
teens, some as young as school going
children and increasing use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECP) to
prevent unwanted pregnancies, often
without any adult supervision.
“Because of unplanned sexual activity, we get a lot of cases of patients
suffering from depression and some
even attempt suicide because of unwanted pregnancy. In recent times,
there has been an increase in the number of such incidents among the teens,
with some as young as school going
children suffering from such problems”, said city based psychiatrist Dr.
Nihad S Islam.
According to Islam, there is a generation gap between the older generation and the new and the youth these
days are exposed to a lot of things at
an early age. Their lack of patience often lead them to get involved in sexual
activities without gaudging the implications. She also said that because of
the media and other awareness tools,
teenagers can easily avail information about the various contraceptives
available in the market and its use is
increasing among them.
G Plus talks to college students,
chemists and medical experts to know
more about the use of emergency con-
traceptive pills among college students
and its side effects if any.
The sale
G Plus talked to 20 chemists
across the city to determine their
opinion about the sale of emergency
contraceptive pills (ECP) among college going students. According to the
owners/salespersons in 12 chemist
shops, there has been a marked increase in sale of ECPs among college
going students in recent times. Six
chemist shops said that they cannot
exactly determine the age group of the
customers but agreed that there has
been an increase in the quantity of sale
of ECPs, while two chemists refused to
answer to the queries.
Manager of The Life Pharmacy,
Arup Patwary said, “There is definitely
an increase in the sale of contraceptive
pills among college going students and
it is generally the male partners who
come to our shop to buy the pill. We
can estimate the age of the customer
by looks but sometimes college students even come in uniforms to buy
the pill.” He further said that there
are two types of contraceptive pills,
one which should be taken within 72
hours of unprotected sexual activity for which doctor’s prescription is
not required like Unwanted 72 and
I Pill. On the other hand, there are
also pills which is for a kind of abortion for unwanted pregnancies which
doctors prescribe to take after 45 days.
These include such pills as Mifeprin,
Mifegest and Unwanted Kit. Patwary
said that pills like I Pill and Unwanted
72 are mostly purchased by college
students while others are purchased
by married couple.
A chemist from the Lal Ganesh
area said, “The emergency contraceptive pills are being used by college
students in a huge quantity. I know a
student studying in a nearby college
who buys such pills in huge quantities
every month. I have never asked him
about the purpose but I feel it can have
adverse effect on the health of the person who uses it regularly.”
After talking to a cross section of
chemists, we understood that the use
of contraceptive pills is increasing
among the teens drastically and to get
their views, we talked to some college
students.
The reason
G Plus talked to 100 college students across the city randomly to enquire about the reason leading to an
increase of ECP use among students
and young children. 60 students said
they learnt from the media that unplanned sex can be dealt with the help
of emergency contraceptive pills without having to worry about unwanted
pregnancies. 22 students said that such
thing happens only because of too
much exposure to pornography while
18 students refused to comment anything on the issue. 60 per cent of the
students felt it is because of the media
that teens are now aware about emergency contraceptive pills which can
prevent pregnancy after unplanned
“The emergency
contraceptive pills
are being used by
college students in a
huge quantity. I know
a student studying in
a nearby college who
buy such pills in huge
quantities every month.
I have never asked him
about the purpose but I
feel it can have adverse
effect on the health of
the person who uses it
regularly.”
A chemist from the Lal Ganesh area
or unprotected sex. Another 22 per
cent feel that because of easy access to
pornography these days, young people
are indulging more in sexual activities
and the use of contraceptive pills is increasing among people at an early age.
But with the purported side effects of
ECPs, G Plus decided to talk to few
health experts to discuss the adverse
effects of their excessive use.
Experts
City based gynaecologist Dr. Ayona Barthakur said, “There is definitely
an increase in the use of ECPs among
the teenagers because of various advertisements and misuse of such pills
can lead to complications like menstrual irregularity.” She further said
that the pills like ECP is not meant for
regular use and if taken sometimes,
the users should know the correct
process of taking the medicine. She
said that sometimes people even take
the pill after 72 hours of unprotected
sexual activity which is not effective in
preventing pregnancies.
Another city based gynaecologist
Dr. Subhash Jain said, “There are oral
contraceptive pills like Mala D which
have very minimal side effects and are
distributed for free to married women.
The tablets are to be taken on an everyday basis and the proportion of hormones, estrogen and progesterone in
the pills are very less compared to the
proportion of the same hormones in
emergency contraceptive pills, which
is generally higher. The regular use of
ECPs can have very bad side effects
ranging from menstrual irregularities
to even pregnancy problems in future.”
Another Delhi based doctor, Dr.
Manoj Kumar Singh said that regular
use of ECPs can lead to serious problems like vomiting, severe headache
and using them repeatedly can disrupt
a woman’s natural menstrual cycle and
can also make the user infertile.
Besides, these medicines are useless in preventing spread of sexually
transmitted diseases like HIV.
On the other hand, psychiatrist
Dr. Nihad S Islam said that parental
guidance from a young age is very important and there should also be sex
education provided to the students in
school and colleges which will help the
teenagers to choose between the good
and the bad.
[email protected]
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
3
In The News
Priyanka jain
V
iolence is used as a weapon
by patriarchy and gives a
social sanction to men to
control a woman’s body and sexuality,
mind, mobility, labour and economic
independence. It is an abuse of
power in a relationship between two
individuals.
Agencies for womens to seek
redress
Around 64.4 per cent women in
Guwahati said that they approached
some agency for help when faced with
domestic violence, while 35.6 per cent
city respondents said they had no
access to any agency to redress their
grievance and so preferred to remain
silent. The reasons for not asking for
help included the women’s economic
dependency (13.8%), thoughts of
family honour (13.6%), fear of further
discrimination (11.5%), the idea that
nothing could be done (7.2%) and
fear of rejection/desertion by family
(6.1%), among many others.
One stakeholder from Guwahati
who was selected for interview
towards the study was affected by and
is a survivor of domestic violence.
Keeping in mind the sensitive nature
and objective of the study, some
information cannot be executed. The
Guwahati based women of age 22
said,
35% city women
do not report domestic violence
There are many
such violent
cases which are
still pending
in courts. And
by the time the
hearing dates
come, either the
victim’s dies or
commits suicide.
“I wanted to become a school
teacher but due to poor economic
condition at home, I started working
from home to home washing utensils.
After few months I got married to my
father’s friend’s son unknowingly.
After getting married, I came to know
that my husband is a drunkard and
have an extra martial affair with a
different woman but I could not leave
that house and come back to my home
because I did not want people to insult
my family. I accepted this reality and
moved on. After few days, late one
Forms of violence
faced by women
Physical Abuse
A lady of age 45 in the city said
that “My husband beat me with a stick,
chocked me by the neck and broke my
legs by throwing bricks at me. I couldn’t
say anything as I am dumb.”
Sexual Abuse
A Guwahati based woman confessed
“I had two miscarriages due to brutal
torture “
night, he returned home at 1 am and I
served him supper then went to sleep.
He entered the room and started
beating me up with his shoes and tied
my hands with rope and then started
beating me again indiscriminately.
And then he dragged me by my
clothes to the bedroom. Many a
time, when I refused him sex, he
has urinated on my body. Because
of his extreme brutality, I tried to
commit suicide twice but failed.
Then finally I decided to leave that
house and I went back to my home.
Some went to an extent of
accusing me of having an
affair with my father-in-law.
I wasn’t strong enough to go
to the police station. I am
now in my mother’s home.
I got habituated to these
nuisances”.
There are many such
violent cases which are still
pending in courts. And by
the time the hearing dates
come, either the victim’s dies
or commits suicide.
Verbal and Emotional Abuse
A newly wedded woman reported , “I
face mental violence every day. Because I
have curly hair and one disabled leg, and
my family calls me Kulokhoni (unlucky
woman). My husband threatens me that
he will marry another girl”.
Dowry Related Harassment
A woman of Guwahati city, aged 28,
said, “My family was asked to pay all costs
related to repairing of the hand pump in
my husband’s household”.
4
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
In The News
Will seminars make
cops SMARTer?
RAHUL CHANDA
A
two-day regional workshop on
smart policing was organised
by the Bureau of Police
Research and Development (BPR&D)
in collaboration with Ministry of
Home Affairs and supported by the
Assam Police as a follow up of the
annual DGP/IGP meet which was held
in Guwahati in November 2014. The
conference was held on 6th and 7th May
2015 at the Assam Police Headquarters
in Guwahati. Top police officials from
various states participated in the
workshop. Assam chief minister Tarun
Gogoi inaugurated the workshop and
delivered a lecture on how to be smart
in policing.
Smart concept
During the last DGP meet, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi coined the
word ‘SMART’ with S for strict and
sensitive, M for modern and mobile,
A for alert and accountable, R standing
for reliable and responsive and T for
tech-savvy and well trained. CM Tarun
Gogoi in his inaugural speech said, “If
a police looks smart and handsome but
is cruel to the public then it is not being
smart.”
According to him, the police
can be smart by being sensitive and
responsive. He felt that if one is
sensitive to listen to people’s grievances
and is responsive to their needs, then
everything will automatically fall into
place. Gogoi further added that police
need to be tactful in dealing with
people and take care to ensure that
human rights are not violated. The
CM asked the police to give special
care to the poor as they are the ones
mostly deprived of justice. Gogoi said
that knowing people’s culture is very
important for the police as it varies
from place to place and to understand
a person better, their culture and
traditions should be known. He cited
the example of New York where civil
policing has helped a lot in reducing
the number of crimes. He advocated
similar civil policing to be given
importance here for maintaining
better law and order situation. But the
question remains whether inspite of
CM Gogoi talking about techniques
to make policing more smart and
the Assam Police organising smart
policing workshops, will such meets
and workshops help the police.
The strategy
BPR&D
special
director
Radhakrishna
Kini
who
was
representing the central government
in the workshop, said that the
programme is actually a follow up
of the DGP-IGP meet held last year
during which the PM spoke about the
concept of SMART police. Since then,
the police development body have
been organising zonal workshops on
smart policing.
He said that few days back,
a workshop for smart policing in
the South Indian zone was held in
Bangalore. After the East Indian
workshop in Guwahati, another two
workshops for West India and North
India will be held in Bhopal and
Chandigarh respectively, which will
be followed by a national workshop
organised in Delhi somewhere in
the month of June. During these
workshops, the best practises of every
state police will be discussed and
accordingly, there will be a move to
implement the most accepted practises
“If a police looks smart and handsome but is cruel
to the public then it is not being smart.”
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
among the police of the entire country.
Talking to G Plus, Assam DGP
Khagen Sharma said that apart from
the north eastern states, West Bengal,
Bihar and Jharkhand also participated
in the workshop. Sharma accepted
that while Assam Police lacks the
infrastructure and technological
knowhow to exactly become smart,
they also need to develop the artificial
intelligence of the state police. Talking
about extremists threat, the DGP said
that the state have always been facing
such threats. Regarding talks with
ULFA(I), Sharma took a clear stand
that police will not start any fresh talks
with any organisation. He further said
that such workshops will certainly
help the police to structure a modus
operandi to work smartly in the true
sense by sharing the best practises of
every state among each other.
It needs to be mentioned that
initiatives like the formation of
police commissionerate in Guwahati
was largely appreciated during the
workshop and according to many city
denizens, the law and order situation
has improved since the start of 2015.
According to highly placed sources in
the police, the operational strategy for
prevention and detection of crime has
changed since the commissionerate
was formed in the city, but, then again,
the city police, like the state police
lacks infrastructure and technology to
move to the next level. For example,
the Assam Police came up with the
initiative of CCTNS which would help
the public to register their grievances
and also do other verification work
over the internet but the scheme, even
after a huge investment, is not yet a
success and people still have to go to
the police station for each and every
requirement.
No matter how many workshops
the state police might organise
or participate in, but the lack of
infrastructure and manpower will
always be a barrier between the cops
and smart policing.
[email protected]
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
5
In The News
NGO decries closure of
Lakshminath
Bezbaruah Road
Juthika Baruah
I
Says the move is an insult to the SaHITYarathi
rked at the blatant disregard for
contemporary history, the voluntary organisation, Citizens’ First
has alleged that the Lakshminath
Bezbaruah Road between the Nehru
Park and the Judges’ Field which has
been closed down without the consent of the Guwahati Metropolitan
Development Authority (GMDA) is
an insult to the Sahityarathi.
Speaking to G Plus, social activist Ajoy Dutta said, “The road was
earlier known as the Station Road
named after Lakshminath Bezbaruah but now that the GMDA Parking and the Food Court Food Villa
have blocked the road, it leads to
traffic congestion, causing difficulty
for the general public. The parking
has no permission of the GMDA and
although it has been named as the
GMDA Parking, it has been handed
over to lessees.”
Dutta said that the road links
Guwahati Railway Station to the MG
Road and as the railway station is
the biggest station in the region connecting the entire Northeast and is
linked to the busy road of Handique
Girls’ College and Cotton Collegiate
School, it has become a problem for
students as vehicles keep plying on
the road at all hours of the day and
lead to traffic congestions. The road
was also used by convoys of Army
vehicles coming to the transit camp
earlier but now the blockade has
made the convoys of Army vehicles,
which include some heavy vehicles,
to take the road along the Don Bosco
School and the road running between the Cotton College Chemistry
Department, Telephone Exchange,
Sudmerson Hall and Cotton Collegiate HS School to reach the MG
Road.
On the other hand, GMDA
Chairman Dhiren Baruah said that
it was an old problem and the Dutta
Commission was set up and a report
prepared 4-5 years back but it has
not been published publicly. GMDA
is not responsible for it and as the
Commission has not published the
report, an inquiry needs to be set up
against the parking.
The voluntary organisation demanded that the road should be
reopened for the convenience of
the public and that the Sahityarathi
should not be insulted by closing
down the road as he has contributed a lot for the state. Celebrating
the 150th birth anniversary can’t be
a homage for the Sahityarathi until
and unless the Government show
keen interest in following the minutes which are in the name of Bezbaruah.
The question now arises that at
a time when the Food Court has become so popular among the young-
sters, will the closing down of the
restaurant be acceptable to the public. Arunima Das, a frequent customer of the food court, when asked
about the problem, said that the food
court is the best place for relaxation
with family and friends in their free
time and the young generation preferred the place most as it is in a central location with the parking place
conveniently nearby. The Lakshminath Bezbaruah road should reopen
with the consent of the public but the
food court should not be removed
as many people frequent the place.
According to her, the parking place
should not be a problem for the people as they want the parking place
but at the same time, they should not
face any problem because of the clos-
GMDA Chairman
Dhiren Baruah said
that it was an old
problem and the
Dutta Commission
was set up and a
report prepared 4-5
years back but it has
not been published
publicly. GMDA
is not responsible
for it and as the
Commission has
not published the
report, an inquiry
needs to be set up
against the parking.
ing of the Sahityarathi road.
Meanwhile, Dutta pointed out
that Assam has witnessed major
earthquakes in 1897 and 1950 and
Guwahati being in a highly sensitive Zone V will be in great danger,
because, although there is a Disaster
Management Authority, the department has failed to follow certain
norms. Filling up of wetlands and
cutting down of forests will lead
to a point where there is no open
space left to stand if an earthquake
hits the state. Other cities like Delhi
and Mumbai has large maidens but
Guwahati do not have any maidens
to go and stand in case of a natural
disaster.
[email protected]
6
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
In The News
LAND BOUNDARY DEAL
Syeda Ambia Zahan
WILL IT IMPROVE
INDO-BANGLA
RELATIONS?
The Great
Gamble
Before partition, the Maharajas
of Cooch Behar and Rongpur, two
erstwhile princely states won or lost
in gambling many enclaves or pieces
of land along what is now the IndoBangladesh border. The enclaves were
pockets of one country’s territory surrounded by the other, appearing as “islands of land” which became a major
cross border issue after the Partition.
The ownership arrangements, however, were made centuries ago.
Now that the Parliament has finally approved the Boundary Bill, India has 111 enclaves or nearly 17,000
acres of land within Bangladesh, while
the neighbouring country has 51 enclaves or over 70,000 acres of land
within its territory. The enclaves of
land lie in the states of Assam, West
Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura and in
some cases there are even Indian subenclaves within Bangladesh enclaves
and vice-versa.
And the
award goes
to...
Historically speaking, the international boundary between India
and Bangladesh was drawn hurriedly
when the British left India. As a result
thereof, thousands of people were left
stranded in a number of unsettled enclaves as citizens of one country but
living in territories surrounded by that
of the other.
The land boundary between the
two countries was determined as per
the Radcliffe Award of 1947. India
and Bangladesh have a common land
boundary of approximately 4,096.7
km. The original deal between the
two nations was signed in 1974.The
Indira Gandhi - Sheikh Mujib Land
Boundary agreement in 1974 had seen
both countries agree to exchange the
enclaves of land that both countries
had within each other’s territory. India
even agreed to forgo compensation
for land that would be transferred to
Bangladesh.
What next
after 1974?
Bangladesh’s Parliament ratified
the agreement but India did not. The
Boundary bill again came back into
focus in 2011, during Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s historic visit to the
Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s
foreign affairs adviser Gawher Rizvi
said the two sides intend to agree on
the land swap to end the historic border dispute during Singh’s September
6-7 Dhaka tour, 2011. But when the
UPA-II attempted to move the constitutional amendment bill in the
Parliament, it was strongly opposed
by regional parties like the Trinamool
Congress and Asom Gana Parishad.
The BJP strongly opposed the bill
in Parliament with the then leader of
Opposition Arun Jaitley declaring in
a letter that the territory of India is a
part of the Constitution. “It cannot be
reduced or altered by an amendment
to the Constitution,” he had written at
the time.
The BJP had said there was no
question of transferring land to Bangladesh under the agreement but later
gave enough leeway for the bill to be
tabled in the Upper House of Parliament before it was adjourned sine die.
It was then referred to a standing committee.
Modi’s
mood...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and his colleagues have been criticized
left and right for changing stands on
the land swap deal every now and
then. They were blamed for backpedalling as PM Modi, during the Parliamentary campaign in Assam, had
promised to keep the state aside from
the deal.
Particularly sore are the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Asom
Gana Parishad (AGP), Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP)
and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti
(KMSS), all of which have hit out at
Modi for allegedly changing the BJP’s
stand on the issue.
“The people of Assam clearly remember that while Narendra Modi
had gone on record saying he was opposed to the land transfer to Bangladesh, the BJP had even called a bandh
to protest the then prime minister
Manmohan Singh’s pact with Hasina,”
said Atul Bora, President of AGP.
While the regional parties like
Asom Gana Parishad and Trinamool
Congress are expected to rake up the
matter as a loss of territory to Bangladesh, the Prime Minister has attempted to placate his own party activists
by saying that it would ensure better
security and end illegal migration,
which itself has been a contentious issue in the states.
Currently, neither the police nor
developmental agencies can enter
these enclaves on either side of the border. For people living in these enclaves,
being surrounded by the territory of
another country means that they have
no access to any of the government
services they are entitled to. As a result,
these territories are grossly-underdeveloped, lacking in basic infrastructure
and education facilities.
Choice
between two Bird’s Eye
states for the View....
And finally, the land Boundary
Agreement would be seen as a gesstateless
ture of good will and would improve
The stateless people of Bangladesh and India living on either side
of the international border will soon
be able to call themselves legitimate
citizens of one country or the other.
The agreement gives enclave residents
a choice - they can remain where they
are and switch their citizenship or they
can come over to their mother country.
Most residents of the Indian enclaves are expected to seek resettlement in India after the swap, and their
opposite numbers in Bangladeshi enclaves to largely prefer staying back in
India and gain Indian citizenship.
The movement of people across
borders as a result of the agreement
is expected to be minimal. The Land
Boundary Agreement is expected to
give an identity and amenities to a
number of nameless people who live as
refugees within their own land.
the relationship between India and
Bangladesh. The move could also
help co-operation between the Modi
government and the Awami League
government in Bangladesh that could
also help battle cross border terrorism.
In 2011, India committed itself
to invest US$1 billion on building
infrastructure in Bangladesh. The
Land Boundary Agreement has the
potential to be just the beginning of
a more fruitful economic relationship
between the two countries. In the
past due to suspicions about India’s
foreign policy, many countries in the
area have turned to China for trade.
Changing its diplomatic methods due
to the Land Boundary Agreement,
India is expected to be in a position
to challenge China for influence and
to recover the markets it has lost.
DC announces massive plantation programme for
Greater Guwahati
A
meeting regarding a massive plantation drive, maintenance and protection of
trees in Greater Guwahati area was
organised at the District Commissioner’s office in Guwahati on Friday.
In the meeting, Commissioner
of GMC, Director of DRDA, Inspectors of Schools, Conservators
of Forest, officials of various corporate and public sector firms, NGOs
along with Dr. M Angamuthu,
Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (M)
were present during the meeting and
exchanged their views regarding this
aspect.
“It is our responsibility to protect
trees, our green cover and hillocks of
the city for the safety of our future
generation. Mere plantation is simple,
but protection of those planted saplings is a herculean task. We have to
work collectively”, said Angamuthu.
The deputy commissioner also
requested all the public and private
sector companies to participate and
co-operate in maintenance and protection of trees which will be planted
under this programme.
He added that the entire programme will be grouped under 2, 5
and 10 hectare units and the organisations will have the right to choose
one of them.
He also informed that the Chief
Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi will
officially inaugurate the programme
on May 14 at Rani Reserve forest.
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Top city
schools
not spared from
strict vigilance
Juthika Baruah
A
lthough the district administration, District Transport Office and Inspector of
Schools in a joint operation had instructed city private schools to follow
the basic guidelines of the Supreme
Court and RTE, few schools are still
found to be violating certain norms.
In a joint operation by the three
departments on 6th May, it was
found that the Delhi Public School
does not have any registration and
that the school buses are not travel fit.
“There are 145 private schools in the
city and it is very disappointing that
most of the schools do not have registration. It’s very strange to see how
these schools are running without
registration, without the knowledge
of the concerned department since so
many years,” said Kamaljyoti Gogoi,
Inspector of Schools while talking to
G Plus.
Gogoi said that the schools are
not coming forward for registration
even after they have been asked to
register their names and to submit
all relevant documents to the department. He said that till date, 2025 schools have been inspected and
found that most of the schools do not
have safety measures.
“The private schools have become
a concern for the citizens as it is related with the future of the students
with parents’ now-a-days mostly
preferring private schools than the
government schools. But it is only
the government schools that produce
a good student, a good human being. A student of government school
acquires the much needed life skills
which enhances their ability to fight
against all adversities but private
school students do not have that ability,” Gogoi added.
Gogoi further stated that the private schools are creating much problem in the city as the school buses
create traffic jams but government
schools do not have school buses. The
students come of their own either on
“The private schools
have become a
concern for the
citizens as it is related
with the future of the
students with parents’
now-a-days mostly
preferring private
schools than the
government schools.
But it is only the
government schools
that produce a good
student, a good human
being. A student of
government school
acquires the much
needed life skills
which enhances
their ability to fight
against all adversities
but private school
students do not have
that ability,”
Kamaljyoti Gogoi,
Inspector of Schools
foot or on bicycle. He further added
that according to him, the government school students are more responsible than the private school
students and they are the ones who
become a responsible citizen.
“The government schools also
provide quality education but people
nowadays are more interested in private schools as they think that such
schools can provide quality education which is a wrong conception.
Private school can provide only the
academic knowledge which is not
sufficient to be a good human being,”
said Gogoi.
He further informed that there
are laws and a new Act will be implemented to make the fee structure
rigid for all the schools as they charge
very high fees but don’t pay the teachers according to Sixth Pay Commission. And if the school would not follow the rules and norms, they will be
automatically shut down and the law
implemented against the authorities.
Moreover, an official of DTO
said that it is the education department is responsible for not taking
any step against such schools. According to the official, such steps
should have been taken years back.
“We can’t close down the schools as
well because it is related to the future
of thousands of students. The school
buses of DPS do not have seat belts.
Such inspections should have been
taken earlier to stop such illegal
construction of schools,” the official
added.
The inspector of schools also informed that there are some schools
who do not bother to follow the instructions and strict action will be
taken against such schools. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority is also inspecting the schools
to see their disaster resistance as
many do not follow safety measures.
The environment of the schools is not
hygienic and even the toilets are not
clean and due to the unhygienic environment, students may fall ill. Only a
marble floored room do not make the
environment safe and healthy until
and unless the surroundings and toilets are hygienic. After the inspection
of private schools is over, the play
schools will also be inspected next as
many people have taken it as a business by opening a play school in their
homes itself.
Gogoi said that it is not an easy
job to provide education to a student
and guide them to make a good human being. Therefore, opening a play
school without any consent of the
administration is not acceptable as
it may ruin the lives of the students.
[email protected]
Flood control room set up for
city residents
A
flood control room, a helpline as well as a toll free
number has been set up by
the Kamrup Metro district administration in order to provide help and
support to the Guwahatians during
the coming monsoon season.
In view of the ensuing flood season of 2015, the flood control room is
set up for convenience, receiving and
dissemination of information regarding flood situations.
The flood control room for the
‘Mission Flood-Free Guwahati’ of
Kamrup Metro district has been
started at the deputy commissioner’s
office.
The phone number 2733052 and
the toll free number 1077 is functioning with effect from May 1 for providing assistance to the city people.
7
In The News
New Blood Bank opened at
Amingaon
N
arayana Superspeciality Hospital, Guwahati launched a blood
bank on Monday at its hospital premises near Amingaon. It is
the 76th licensed blood bank in Assam and is among the only
few in the entire North-east dealing in component separation.
The blood bank was inaugurated by Subhkaran Jain Bafna, an eminent socialist and trustee of Tolaram Bafna Artificial Limb and Calliper
Center in the presence of Zonal Director of Narayana Health, East Zone,
Deepak Venugopalan and Facility Director, Wg.Cdr. R.V. Ghosh. The
blood bank with state-of-the art infrastructure will operate round the
clock and any patient admitted in any hospital in and around the city
can also obtain blood from it.
“Based on 100 percent voluntary donation, the blood bank aims
at providing safe blood at affordable costs and optimizing the usage of
blood by preparing components and encouraging their usage” said Retd.
Wg.Cdr. Ghosh, Facility Director, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital,
Guwahati.
Perception registers 67
selections in JEE (Mains), 2015
P
erception, one of the premier Engineering and Medical coaching
centers in North East India, registered 67 selections in IIT-JEE
(Mains), 2015.
Perception has got the maximum conversion rate in terms of selections of candidates in IIT-JEE/AIPMT and CEE Assam since its inception in 2011. Last year, it had 51 selections in JEE (Mains). Altogether
4 students from the institute scored more than 200 marks this year.
Abhiroop Bhowmik scored 217 marks which is the highest score from
Perception.
Ankit Gupta, Director of Perception said, “67 selections is a tremendous achievement and the credit goes to our team of experienced and
result-oriented faculty members and our hard working students”. He
further added that “the continuous up- gradation of the course syllabi,
the well-researched daily problem practice sheets (DPPS), regular mock
tests and the doubt-clearing sessions has helped in our performance this
year and we hope to do better in the future”.
Prime Cabs slashes rates,
launches True Fare
P
rime Cabs, the leading radio taxi operator in the North-East has
launched ‘True Fare’, a new fare structure for the commuters. The
True Fare scheme shall offer commuters reduced travel rates and
transparent pricing applicable on both inter-city and intra-city travel.
Under the ‘True Fare’ scheme, all rates charged by the radio taxi operator shall be inclusive of service tax and parking fees. Prime Cabs has
introduced a base rate of Rs. 100 for first 4 kms and Rs. 18/km thereafter,
for short distance travel within Guwahati. Further, the rates for airport
transfers and duration packages have also been slashed. Commuters can
now book a Prime Cab for a full day at just Rs. 1800/- and half day for
Rs. 1100/- within Guwahati City limits. City to airport travel is priced
at Rs. 470/- and from airport to city is priced at Rs. 520/-. The radio taxi
operator has also launched affordable intercity packages for the state of
Assam and Meghalaya, charging customers for the distance they travel
only, rather than additional return fares which is a general norm in the
industry.
Commenting on the ‘True Fare’ scheme, COO of Prime Cabs,
Dhimmant Bansal said, “With ‘True Fare’, we have reinforced our commitment towards affordable and transparent pricing. Our aim is to provide reasonably priced, reliable and on-time service to the commuters
in this market.”
Prime Cabs started its operations in August 2012 and has grown
exponentially from 30 cabs to 100 plus air conditioned sedans. It is the
only radio-taxi having a dedicated booking counter at LGBI airport,
Guwahati.
8
City
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Fish traders
DISCONTENT with
new marketPlace
Kalyan Deb
D
ismissing implications of
rise in the prices of fish after
the wholesale market was
recently shifted from Paltan Bazar
to Betkuchi, Kajal Paul Choudhury,
Secretary, Paikari Mach Besa Kina
Samabai stated that the GMC has
failed to keep its promises that were
made prior to the shifting.
The fish market that was earlier
located in Paltan Bazar was shifted to
Betkuchi near Lokhra in the month
of March following an eviction
drive by the Kamrup Metro district
administration at the Paltanbazar
GMC Fish Market. The drive came
following directions from Additional
Chief Secretary MGVK Bhanu to clear
encroachments in and around the
Borsola Beel under the supervision of
ADC Rajib Prakash Barua along with
Circle Officer L Saharia, ACP Sanjib
Duarah and Guwahati Municipal
Corporation officials where over two
bighas of land were cleared during
the drive.
“The shifting of the market have
simplified the process for retailers
from outside the city but those
conducting business in the city
have been facing problems because
of the market being situated away
from the city. Initially the GMC
had stated that the facilities that
were present in the Paltan Bazar
market would be provided in the
newly shifted fish market along with
a proper marketplace, but it has not
been initiated as of yet. Also, it was
assured that the number of stalls in
the market would be made according
to the public ratio of the area but it
was later found that there are only 56
stalls instead of the 100 stalls”, said
Kajal Paul Choudhury.
He alleged that there has been
no initiative taken as of yet by the
authorities to solve the problems
of parking and boundary walls
that were stated in the affidavit
produced before the Gauhati High
Court. Parking is one of the major
concerns that has to be looked at
in the newly shifted market but the
authorities stated that the planning
is under process. Since the area has
comparatively less population than
that of the city, so the vehicles can be
parked by the roadside itself. In times
to come, as the number of residents
will grow in the area, the same will
create major problems.
“The required supply of water
and CCTV cameras for the safety
of the marketplace have been
provided through an initiative of
the committee itself but we do not
have enough fund to install all the
required facilities by ourselves”, the
secretary added.
The authorities shifted the fish
market to control the pollution of the
Borsola Beel but it has come to our
knowledge that a vegetable market
The fish market that was earlier located in Paltan
Bazar was shifted to Betkuchi near Lokhra in the
month of March following an eviction drive by
the Kamrup Metro district administration at the
Paltanbazar GMC Fish Market.
will be set up at the same place that
will cause even more pollution to the
Beel, Choudhury informed.
The Samabai has also refuted
allegations by prominent activists
that a syndicate was operating in the
wholesale fish market.
“The business is carried on the
basis of auction that takes place
every morning. The prices vary
according to the supply and demand
of the goods, even though prominent
activists make statements on TV
channels about the involvement of
syndicates in the fish business. The
allegations, which are absolutely false
and baseless, come from people who
have no knowledge in the particular
field of business. The businessmen
who conduct business in a particular
field should be asked for their views”,
Choudhury mentioned.
[email protected]
9
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
scanner ON
outlets
over fraudulent
methods
Juthika Baruah
G
uwahatians beware! It is time
to become aware of fraudulent techniques used by employees of shopping malls across the
city to cheat unwary customers and
maximise their profit by manipulating price tags on packets of commodities frequently demanded by the
consumers.
The office of the Inspector of Legal Metrology recently raided such
shopping malls where most of the
anomalies were found in packaging and price tags. “As the shopping
malls and other departmental stores
do the packaging on their own, they
fix the price tag and charge more
money than the actual price from
the consumers. After receiving several complaints from customers, we
raided the malls and they were either
imposed a fine or cases have been
registered against them in the court,”
said P.C. Bhuyan, Inspector of Assistant Controller of Legal Metrology.
According to Bhuyan, leading
stores like Small Wonder (Gini &
Jony), Goenka Readymade, G.S. Road
were found to be selling baby clothes
without an MRP tag. Goenka Readymade had not verified and stamped
the electronic weighing machine and
no had declaration of MRP on their
items of sale. It was also found that
cement companies and the tiles and
marble shops do not have price tags
and they quote the price according to
their wish, he said.
Recently, a case has been regis-
The legal
metrology
inspects
industry, petrol
pump, markets,
shopping malls
etc. and in case
of weighting
anamoly, `5000
has been imposed
against each
person while the
manufacturing
companywas
imposed a fine of
`25000.
tered against Ganapati Marbles and
Tiles and a fine of Rs. 15,000 has been
imposed against three persons. Nine
cases have been registered in March,
2015.
Under the Legal Metrology Act,
2009 two prosecution cases have been
registered so far while 7 cases have
been registered under the Package
Commodities Rules, 2011.
Bhuyan said that if a person
doesn’t want to take the cases to court
then they can have it withdrawn by
giving a composite fine of `5000. In
March the composite fine collected
was `22,500. The weighing machines
should be verified and renewed every
year and `6,50,711 has been collected
in the month of March through verification and renewal.
The Legal Metrology inspects
industry, petrol pump, markets,
shopping malls etc. and in case of
weighting anomaly, `5000 is imposed
against each employee while the
manufacturing company is imposed
a fine of `25000.
The investigations revealed that
many shopping malls and retail outlets were altering original prices of
items by affixing an additional sticker
over the price printed on the packets,
violating the Legal Metrology Act
2009 and Legal Metrology (Packaged
Commodities) Rules, 2011. Some
shopping malls also fail to provide
cash memos and say that there is
some problem with the computers
and as the general public is unaware
about the frauds they are committing, they very often get away with it.
Consumers should lodge a complaint
if they find any extra sticker affixed
to the items purchased while shopping. According to norms, a packaged product should be sold at prices
printed on the packets by the manufacturers.
Collection of
Fees during
the year
2014-15
No of Prosecution Cases
Registered in respect of
Weight & Measure
103
Package
Commodity Rule
122
No of cases sanctioned
for trial in respect of
Weight & Measure
12
Package
Commodity Rule
20
Leading Cement Company like
Birla Gold cement, Century cement
have also been found with no price
tags on the cement bags and sold at
different prices to the consumers
without following the price given by
the manufacturers.
[email protected]
City
1st North East
Print Tech to
get underway in
city from May 8
T
he 1st North East Print
Tech-2015,
started
from May 8 to 10 at the
Maniram Dewan Trade Centre.
The Print Tech is organised by
the Printing Technologist Consortium of North East. The event
was inaugurated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in the presence of DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh as the chief guest.
“The event is organised to
bring the all the printing technologists of the North-east onone platform for the growth of
printing technology in the NE
region. There is also a special
programme for the working
journalist in the field of page layout making. This is the first ever
technical session with seminars
and exhibition on printing technology”, organisers said.
Dev Nair, president of All
India Federation of Master
Printers, Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers’
Association, CEO of Thomson
Digital, New Delhi and Kamal
Chopra, renowned printing
technologist and many other
resource persons and printing
technocrats are invited for the
workshops and seminars.
City school
students to visit
University of
Malta
T
he University of Malta, in
association with the High
Commission of Malta in
New Delhi will be taking 20 students and teachers from different high schools of the country
to Malta from May 9 to 16. This
is an attempt to promote IndoMaltese cooperation in the field
of education.
Ten students of Maria’s Public School, Guwahati along with
Principal, Alpana Khound Phukan will be part of the delegation
to visit the University of Malta.
The students will be attending
an academic programme related
to the fields of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship which
will be delivered by renowned
faculty of the Edward De Bono
Institute of the Design and Development of Thinking of the
University of Malta.
During the programme the
students will get an opportunity
to interact with the faculties, students and senior officials of some
Maltese schools and the University of Malta. The students will
also get the opportunity to learn
various tools and techniques to
generate creative ideas, develop
an entrepreneurial mindset and
design strategies for a better future.
10
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
City
District admin to inspect
city hospitals
Aditya Gogoi
P
atients and attendants often
face problems from time to
time at different city hospitals,
be it in terms of accessibility to facilities or general services, even though
the district administration has initiated operations to rectify these. Patients have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the service of the
government hospitals.
Parking remains a major worry
for the attendants and others who
visit the hospitals.
“Infrastructure at most of the
city hospitals is not friendly to the
specially abled persons. Though
there are elevators, ramps would
have been better and also special lavatories. Another thing that bothers
me is the lack of proper waiting facilities for children and elderly people.
At some places, we do not even find
drinking water,” said Reetamoni Das,
a faculty of Assam Rajiv Gandhi University of Cooperative Management.
She also said that Guwahati being a fast growing city and catering
to people from almost the entire
north east, the city hospitals can take
a few steps to make them more people friendly.
On the other hand, consumers’
Legal Protection Forum (CLPF) said
that it has received complaints from
time to time from patients on various issues.
“The Consumer Protection Act,
1986 is not implemented properly.
The procedure should be more systematic and the hospital authority
has to make the patients feel safe and
secure. I don’t think this happens.
Besides, there are number of problems including parking for which
we have also approached the district
administration,” said CLPF’s chief
coordinator Ajoy Hazarika.
He said that some of these
health care establishments officially
show that they have ample parking
area for the patients and their attendants but practically this parking
area is always reserved and used for
their office staff and doctors.
“In this situation, common patients and their attendants are bound
to park their vehicles out of the campus
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is not
implemented properly.
The procedure should
be more systematic and
the hospital authority
has to make the patients
feel safe and secure. I
don’t think this happens. Besides, there are
number of problems
including parking for
which we have also
approached the district
administration
Ajoy Hazarika
CLPF’s chief coordinator
which create trouble for traffic,” Hazarika said.
The Kamrup (metro) district administration, in the meantime, has
constituted five squads with an additional deputy commissioner at the
head, to carry out inspections in all the
hospitals and clinical laboratories in
the city.
“We will start at the earliest to
carry out the inspections in the city
hospitals. We also did a few inspections
earlier but this time we will cover all
the hospitals and then it will be done
at the clinical laboratories gradually.
The hospitals will have to produce all
the documents to prove that they are
equipped to face any kind of disaster,”
ADC Fakharuddin Ahmed said.
Unabated tobacco sale continues
near schools/ colleges
NEELAKSHI BORDOLOI
U
nabated sale of tobacco products continues near educational institutions of the State
despite several Government directives
being issued to stop such practices as
per the legal provision of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act
(COTPA)-2003.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, through a letter dated May 23,
2012 had directed the then Principal
Secretary Home to instruct all Deputy
Commissioner of the state to strictly
enforce the section 6 (b) of COTPA,
2003 that prohibits selling of tobacco
products within 100 yards radius of
any educational institution. Section
6(b) also prohibits use of any form of
tobacco within the educational institution campus by any of its teachers,
staff or students.
However, the CM’s instruction
and subsequent orders from Health
and Education Department to both
the district administration and educa-
tional institutions have not yet yielded
the desired result as authorities are
giving no heed to enforce the same.
Even as many school and college
going students across the State were
administered oaths on occasions such
World Cancer Day and World No Tobacco Day (celebrated on May 31 every year) not to use any form of tobacco
products in their entire lifetime, the
Government agencies and management of educational institutions are
giving minimum heed to implement
Section 6 of COTPA.
Despite the recently enacted Assam Health Act (which bans smokeless tobacco products in the State) as
well as central Act—COTPA, 2003
being in place, neither the authorities of educational institutions nor the
administration seem to have paid due
cognizance to the menace called tobacco or initiated any corrective steps
to rein in the same.
“Yes it is true that tobacco products are being sold within the 100
yards radius of our school, but the
school authority has its limitation
as well to stop such sale outside its
boundary wall. As far as consuming
tobacco inside the school campus is
concerned, the school authority is
very strict in dealing with the offenders. However, it is the need of the hour
that better coordination should be
maintained between the district ad-
ministration, police and educational
institutions’ management to stop sale
of tobacco products near the institutions as it is mandated by law,” said
Jahnabi Baruah, a teacher of Asom
Jatiya Vidyalaya, Noonmati.
When contacted, the principals
of few colleges and schools of the city
had the common answer that they
have intimated the District Administration to take action in this regard but
the administration is paying no heed
to their repeated pleas.
However, as per the provisions
of the COTPA, 2003, the head of the
educational institution itself is empowered to take action to stop sale of
tobacco product within 100 yards radius of its campus.
According to tobacco control advocates, the most effective way to deter
children and young adults from taking
up smoking and smokeless tobacco
product is the proper enforcement of
anti-tobacco laws near the educational
institutions.
11
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
City
Guwahatians still have
time to smile
Aditi Rao Hydari
Rahul Chanda
G
uwahati witnessed a stylish
blend of fashion and contemporary beats as Blenders Pride
Magical Nights showcased designer
ensemble blended with the sounds of
today. Bollywood actor, Aditi Rao Hydari, who was in the city for the event,
talked exclusively to G Plus.
What do you like the
most about Guwahati?
I don’t want to compare Guwahati
with any other city as the people and
culture of every city is unique. What
stands out for me here is that the pace
of the city is very relaxed which is a
very welcome change. People here
are very sweet and are always smiling
which is very nice as they have time
to smile. They speak sweetly and the
food is amazing.
is very spicy and I love spicy food. I
also liked the local sticky rice which I
had today for lunch.
Do you know anything
about Assamese film
industry or have you
ever met any film
actor here whom you
like?
To be very honest I have never met
anyone from here. I have heard some
names but I am not very familiar
with them. I know there are very
good stories here and the writing
is very well known as there is a lot
of good content here. I have always
asked directors to use regional
writings instead of using scripts that
already exists and remaking them. I
wish I could read the language.
Name some dishes
which you like the
most here?
If you get an offer to
work in an Assamese
film, will you work if
the script is good?
I wish I knew the names but I
tasted pork and bamboo shoot which
is excellent and I like the flavour of
king chilli (bhoot jolokia). Food here
I believe, to be able to act freely
in a language you should know it.
You should at least be familiar with
it. If something good comes my way, I
“I will not
call it a
casting
couch but
I will call
it a power
game and
it exists
in every
sphere. It
is terrible
when
people use
their power
to make
you do
things, it’s
a misuse of
power and
of course, it
should not
happen”
again believe that language should not
be a barrier to any artist. If the script
is good, I will have to do some homework. I started my career with a Tamil
film as they needed a dancer for that
film. That was a festival film but not
mainstream. I don’t know Tamil and
it was very difficult.
How did you get
associated with
Blenders Pride and
decided to come to
Guwahati?
I have been associated with
Blenders Pride’s fashion tour before
this and I had a wonderful experience
working with them. I was actually
very excited to be a part of Magical
Nights because we were going to cities
where ordinarily one doesn’t go, especially not for fashion events. Fashion is associated with the metropolis,
bigger cities, urban centres and the
youth. I believe that fashion is a part
of everybody’s life in whatever way
you choose to wear anything. Style
is a very inherent thing and I believe
even a simple man or woman makes
fashion choices, whether consciously
or unconsciously. People take fashion very seriously but I feel fashion is
something to have fun with.
You are in an industry
which is associated
with fashion and
glamour, and a lot
of young girls want
to enter the same
industry but many end
up becoming a victim
of the casting couch.
Did you ever face such
problems?
I will not call it a casting couch
but I will call it a power game and it
exists in every sphere. It is terrible
when people use their power to make
you do things, it’s a misuse of power
and of course, it should not happen.
I believe that the industry is changing. I did not have to face it but it is
also because as an individual, I know
ultimately that the final decision for
anything is mine and to be that per-
son has come from my upbringing.
My family has been very supportive,
the fact that I had an education, the
fact that I know that my choices make
me who I am. I haven’t been through
any such thing but I know that it is not
only with actors or in the fashion industry but people all over go through
situations like this but like I said, they
are called power games. People judge
girls, especially in the glamour industry who go through this terrible experience but the judgement is not on
them, the judgement is on the people
who have the power and misuse their
power but nobody judges them.
Please name some of
your future projects.
I have Subhash Kapoor’s Guddu
Rangila who made Jolly LLB, I have
Wazir which is with Mr. Bachchan
and Farhaan Akhtar, I am also working with Abhishek Kapoor for Fitur, I
have The Legend of Michael Mishra
which is a comedy with Boman Irani
and Arshad Warsi.
[email protected]
12
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
City
REALITY SHOWS
PROMOTE CITY’s
BUDDINGTALENTS
Dibyendu Goswami
T
he advent of the performance
(reality) shows which were
aired through the national level television channels since more than
a half and a decade back has given an
able platform for the hidden talents
for showcasing their performances
especially be it music or dance. Perhaps it was first Meri Awaaj Suno telecast through Doordarshan (national), followed by Sare Re Ga Ma , Voice
of India, Indian Idol of some private
satellite channels which have given
birth to singing stars like Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sreya Ghosal to name a few. The process since
then has become a much popular one
and programmes like Sambhabana
(Guwahati Doordarshan), Sur Sandhan, Tumi Aru Moi , Jhankar-the
game of music and the recently concluded Jhankar Little Champs here
in the regional context through local
electronic media has further established the fact that these programmes
can really bring forth budding gems
untraced hitherto.
Jhankar Little Champs which
was aired through a local music
channel in the later part of last year
has proved beyond doubt that there
is no dearth of young talents here in
our state of Assam too. The competition which was conducted (open
to only Assamese modern songs)
amongst 400 child participants up to
an upper age limit of 14 years in the
audition round, selected 300 singers
after scrutiny for the first round and
thereafter a selection process was carried out till the final round with six
finalists out of which the top three,
namely Aryan Hazarika, Ananya
Gogoi and Hrishikesh Sarma were
declared as the winner, first runner’s
up, & second runner’s up respectively. A class VII standard student
of Little Flower School Guwahati,
Aryan learns music on his own, while
Ananya Gogoi, a class IX student of
Asom Jatiya Vidyalaya, Simaluguri
is taking lessons from Kajalata and
Prabin Mohan of Emon Kalyan Sangeet Vidyalaya, Gorgaon. Hrishikesh
Sarma, on the other hand, has already
appeared in the Bisharad under Bhatkhande and has won positions in
various music competitions earlier
too. Though there is a plan to make
one compact disc taking all the six finalists, the project, however, is yet to
take off due to reasons.
The show assumed significance
for the reason that the young generation of today has been made acquainted with the Assamese songs
and lyrics of yesteryears besides the
present ones since it has been observed that the children today have
lost touch with our traditional roots
in the technology ruled fast changing
life . It was really pleasing to hear the
evergreen songs of Bhupen Hazarika,
Jayanta Hazarika, Dr. Lakhyahira
Das, Dr. Birendranath Dutta, Pulak
Banerjee, Deepali Barthakur, Anima
Choudhuri, Pahari Das, Runumi
Thakur, Dwipen Barua, Kula Barua,
Namita Bhattacharjee, Santa Uzir,
Jitul Sanowal to name a few, having
meaningful and beautiful lyrics by
Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi, Keshab Mahanta, Kirti Kamal Bhuyan etc, and
of course by Bhupen Hazarika himself in the mouth of these young faces
rendered with almost equal ease and
beauty since they were not born even
when these songs were penned and
initially performed or recorded.
Says Padmanabh Bordoloi, the
Indian Idol finalist then 18, in 2007
and who also acted as the chief
moderator in the show – “the reality programmes over the years have
Officials
inspect city
LPG agency
T
he District Food, Civil
Supplies and Consumer
Protection
Department
officials conducted a surprise inspection at the LPG distributor,
Hanksha Gas Agency at Hengrabari on Wednesday morning.
The officials found a number
of irregularities in the operation
of the agency and seized several
documents in this connection.
The Kamrup Metro Deputy
Commissioner Dr M Angamuthu
directed to conduct the inspection after receiving number of
complaints made by the public
against the LPG distributor. A local person said, “The distributor
has been playing with its customers from a long time in delivering the gas cylinders. The agency
illegally sells the cylinders and
has been harassing its customers.
After standing long hours in the
line, the agency authority tells us
that they are out of stock. And
this is their daily drama”.
The officials said, “A detailed
report will be filed based on the
investigation and further action
against the distributor will be
taken”.
‘The
Neotia
University’
launched
in city
T
definitely done a great job in bringing forth the young talents through
a single platform though there is a
lot of difference here between those
of national levels mainly due to financial constraints. The intensive
training and grooming which were
given to the participants prior to the
shows for months under one grarana i.e school as strict disciples of
one guru is highly important since
it completely reformed the entire
approach of a newcomer like us to
the extent of a wider aestethical perfection”.
The upcoming singer cum composer further expressed the opinion
without hesitation that it should be
equally borne in mind that having
been selected in these shows are not
an end in itself but a beginning only
and mere exhibiting this tag will do
no good unless it is followed up by
more intensive and rigorous followups.
Nanda Banerjee, a composer
of repute, who is nurturing young
talents for years through his music
schools, however, has something
else to opine. “Though these sort of
programmes are getting immense
popularity, yet somewhere, one has
to draw a line since it has been noticed that instant recognition have
some adverse affects on these little
participants as they stopped pursuing further lessons which eventually
curtail their otherwise promising
future though it definitely cannot
be generalised”. The pupils need to
be well trained first and attain fame
later which is a sort of by-product,
he believes.
In short, these sort of productive programmes are welcoming,
keeping in mind that these can really cultivate a healthy atmosphere
to promote our music and culture
among the rising generation.
(with inputs by Ramen Borah )
he Ambuja Neotia Group
has announced the launch
of ‘The Neotia University
(TNU)’ that came into existence
by an Act of the West Bengal Assembly. The Vice Chancellor of
the University, Prof Ashok S Kolaskar and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Pune,
were present during the launch
programme of the university in
the city on Monday.
The university is offering courses in subjects such as
Manufacturing Technology —
Robots and Automotive Manufacturing, Marine Engineering
and Nautical Sciences, Energy
Studies, Infotainment — Animation and Video Game Design,
Biotechnology & Bioinformatics,
etc. leading to MTech and MSc
degrees.
Prof Kolaskar said, “The new
courses will start from the academic session 2015-16 and the
university will conduct a free
entrance test on May 17, 2015 in
more than 32 cities across the
country for enrolment. The new
age courses in the university will
be taught using new approaches
to give quality education”.
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
CITY
AUTHOR
PENS
NEW
NOVEL
In Conversation
‘No Direction Rome’ is the second novel by Sahitya Akademi Yuva
Puraskar winner Kaushik Barua and has a uniquely different style from
his first one, ‘Windhorse.’ The author spoke to G Plus to shed some
exclusive light on the book and his thoughts.
that makes you want
to write about?
I realise I have written on many
different themes; but I’ve just been a
slave to my curiosity and inspiration.
And they are very erratic whimsical
masters. But I do intend on writing
a book about Assam. I don’t know
when. But when I do, hopefully it’ll
be honest and will reflect some of the
multi-layered realities of the region.
So what is ‘No
Direction Rome’ all
about?
What should a
young, aspiring
author do to realise
his/her ambitions
and dreams? How
does one gauge
one’s own writing?
It covers two weeks in the life of
an Indian consultant Krantik, who is
recovering from a broken marriage,
meets a crazy taxi driver, a group of
people who make life decisions based
on the results of cricket matches, a
girl with whom he has a short-lived
tempestuous affair and tries to resolve
problems with his boss through an insanely improbable plan.
I wrote it as a coming-of-age tale
for people like us, the so-called millennial generation, with our disrupted
multiple identities on social media
and no real sense of self or who we are.
Krantik is like a modern day Holden
Caulfield, now in his 30s and Indian,
and living in a post-Facebook world.
When did you start
working on it - the
time taken between
your books seems
pretty short...
This book was truly a stream of
consciousness effort: Krantik’s voice
must have been brewing inside my
head for years because when it finally
erupted, it came in a ferocious burst
over a couple of months (in 2012 in
fact, between different drafts of my
first novel Windhorse). This book
took very little time because the form
and the voice demanded this urgency
and this violent rapid expression of the
story.
But Windhorse had taken me
five years, including all the research
and the many drafts. So I guess I have
shifted radically between genres and
styles and I just give the story enough
time to distill itself on paper, and I
have no idea how long that might take.
Have you worked
on changing your
language in any way?
Have there been any
conscious changes
The changes weren’t conscious,
but they were radical. The voice, the
tone, the writing style is entirely different (I guess I’m a slightly schizophrenic writer in that sense). The prose is
13
jagged and spiked through with dark
and weird humour. Totally different
from the much more gentle and nuanced prose in Windhorse.
Over the course of 2
books, have you seen
yourself change - as
a person and as a
writer?
Absolutely. As a writer, I have seen
a huge shift in my writing style: from
more traditional historical fiction to
this modern, edgy style with jagged
sentences and spiked through with
dark humour. I don’t know how or
why that happened, but Krantik’s voice
just seemed to take hold of me. I don’t
even know if the change is permanent
or if I’ll keep shuttling between these
two schizophrenic extremes.
Also, I feel more confident as a
writer and therefore more willing
to experiment. Since Windhorse re-
ceived a very positive reception, I feel
as if readers will be willing to take a
chance on me if I play around a little
(as long as I also provide something
fascinating or new for the reader to
think about).
It’s difficult to say how I’ve
changed as a person. The writing and
the author shape each other, so I can’t
tell which is leading the change and
which is following.
As a writer,
what gives you
the ultimate
satisfaction?
A line or a paragraph or a chapter
that turns out just as I had intended.
Or different, but with surprisingly satisfying results.
Since you mentioned
James Joyce, are
there any of
his ‘stream of
consciousness’
elements in the
book?
Absolutely, the whole story is
Krantik’s rant and everything is seen
through his distorted world view. This
is the aspect that struck the publishers
too, who have called it a book where
‘Kerouac meets James Joyce meets
Harold & Kumar’.
In fact during conversations, the
reader may not be sure who’s speaking. And of course, he’s often intoxicated so he’s often not sure of what’s
happening either. But it all adds up to
a mood that hopefully captures the urban angst of our generation.
First Tibet and now,
Rome (going by the
title). Anything on
Assam/Guwahati
To be a writer, all one has to do is
write! So the first and the most crucial piece of advice would be: write as
often and s regularly as you can. That
sounds boring and old-fashioned, but
for most of us, there is no substitute to
just putting in the hours and working
on the craft and the tools of writing
(maybe if you’re a genius, you could
get a brilliant immediate draft of a
first novel out with very little effort
but, obviously, one can’t rely on being
a genius!). Also, a writer should read
widely and across genres. I spin away
in terms of my reading tastes every
now and then just to get a feel of new
styles and imagery.
So it’s relatively simple (and a lot
of hard work) to mould oneself into a
good writer. I’m still on it. But if you
were to ask me what someone needed
for success as a writer, I wouldn’t have
an answer: it’s a mysterious combination of factors, including talent, luck,
reader or market or critic preferences,
most of which are not under a person’s
control.
The second bit is a really difficult
question. The initial drafting has to
be done in a storm of confidence and
passion, with no space for doubt. But
the second, more difficult, part of the
process is the editing- when you really need to understand your own
limitations and the deficiencies in
your writing. Sometimes, distance in
terms of time helps: reading a draft
after a couple of months and spotting
mistakes. And sometimes, you may
need a second, brutally honest eye: a
friend who will tell you exactly what
is not working with your writing. But
either way, you require a slow destruction of the ego to know how good (or
relatively bad) you are. It’s always a
journey filled with wonder, and worth
embarking on.
No Direction Rome will be out
on the 15th of May.
14
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Ward Watch
Ward No. 05
Road construction projects carried
out in full swing in
Durga Sarobar Road
Kalyan Deb
Concentrated area
Durga Sarobar Road
Sub-division 5(c)
Councilor
Neelakshi Talukdar
Phone number 9864021474
Area sabha member
Dippanita Kalita
Phone number 9085889488
Population of ward number
5 28,600 (approx.)
Voters 12,000 (approx.)
Population of Durga Sarobar Road
14,000 (approx.)
Voters 9,000 (approx.)
A
djacent to Kamakhya Gate at
AT Road, the Durga Sarobar
is one of the roads in the area
that has been undergoing several
developmental works. The area had
poor roads, lack of proper drainage
system and problem of artificial
flood prior to the GMC elections.
Post election, however, several
developmental projects are now
being carried out in the area, many
of which are still in the process of
completion.
Situated at the foothills of
Adingiri Hill, the name Durga
Sarobar is derived from its
mythological history of goddess
Durga. The term Sarobar came from
the term peetha meaning Sakhti
peetha. The lake located there,
which is also a landmark of the area,
provides drinking water for the
local residents, besides being used
for worshipping goddess Kamakhya
in the temple located on the top of
Nilachal hill.
The area houses residences
of around 9,000 people that have
settled there since independence.
Earlier, they used to face the problem
of flood every monsoon and being
established on a foothill, during the
rainy season, the water that comes
running down the hill, passed
through the road causing damage to
the roads.
“The artificial flood mostly occur
due to the rain water running down
the Adingiri hill and though it clears
away soon after it stops raining, the
water leaves the road in a very poor
condition. However, since the past
few months, construction work in
the area is being carried out and the
drains have already been finished on
most parts of the road, besides the
few remaining nooks and corners
and the entrance to the area adjacent
to the main road,” said Rahul
Sharma, a local resident.
The Durga Sarobar Road also
houses the residence of MLA,
Hemanta Talukdar and connects
several other surrounding areas
such as Santipur, Bharalumukh,
Maligaon among others.
Authorities say
Talking to G Plus, ward
president,
Thaneswar
Kalita
mentioned that several projects are
being undertaken to build proper
drainage system in the area.
“Among several projects, the
Naranarayan Path on the Durga
Sarobar Road is about to be
completed, which is a project worth
Rs 48 lakhs covering an area of 3.5
km. Concrete blocks are being used
for construction of roads, of which
work in most parts of the area have
been concluded except a few. The
construction of the road connecting
to the Adingiri hill is also underway”,
he said.
“Among the development works
being carried out in the area, most
projects are concentrated for road
development purposes. Construction
in Nabarun Nagar in the same area that
connects the road to the Kamakhya
temple is also underway including
the roads connecting the hillocks. A
major project of Rs 3 crore is being
carried out in Kanaklata Path for
the construction of roads. The only
hurdle faced is the monsoon due to
which the construction has been
put on hold. It was expected to be
completed within the next two to
three months but because of the
rain, the work cannot be continued
on a regular basis. However, it has
been estimated that all the roads
in the area should be ready by the
month of November this year”, the
ward president informed.
[email protected]
Weather report for the week
SAT
9 May
SUN
10 May
MON
11 MAy
TUE
12 May
WED
13 May
THU
14 May
FRI
15 May
Widely scattered tstorms.
Scattered showers.
Tstorms late.
Strong thunderstorms.
A few tstorms.
A few tstorms.
Mostly cloudy.
22 / 34 °C
22 / 34 °C
23 / 34 °C
24 / 29 °C
23 / 34 °C
22 / 34 °C
24 / 31 °C
Chess
15
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Sports
A Growing sport amongst
city youngsters
Kalyan Deb
C
hess, as a game, has only gained
popularity in the country after
the nation’s torchbearer in the
game, Grand Master Vishwanathan
Anand made his mark at the international level, becoming the undisputed
World Champion in 2007.
The origin of chess in India can
be traced back to the 6th century AD
when the game was known as ‘Chaturanga’ and consisted of two essential
features, which was later found in
all chess variations - different pieces
having different powers and victory
in the game depended on the fate of
one piece - the king of modern chess.
The other chess pieces in the game are
considered to have come from other
board games, which may have had
boards of 100 squares or more.
Indian chess men created history
in Tromso (Norway) in the year 2014,
winning their first-ever team bronze
in the Chess Olympiad. The Indians
finished second in a ‘four-way tie’ behind China who won the continent’s
first-ever gold and Hungary clinging
silver, and ahead of Russia and Azerbaijan.
In the city, the sport has been
growing gradually with several competitions being organized throughout
the year. Mostly concentrating on
school students, the Guwahati Chess
Association has taken the initiative of holding several competitions
throughout the city. It was only after
the establishment of Guwahati Chess
Association in the year 1982, an affiliated body of All Assam Chess Association, that the game of chess was
taken as a professional sport among
the people of the city. Among several
open prize money championships, the
body has also organized several interdistrict championships since it was
organized for the first time in the year
1994 with over 300 participants.
Guwahati Chess Association
along with Assam Chess Club also
organized the biggest International
Chess Tournament of the northeastern region in the year 2014 with a
prize fund of over Rs 5 lakhs in the
city. The tournament, recognised by
World Chess Federation (FIDE), All
India Chess Federation (AICF) and
All Assam Chess Association (AACA)
converged players from across the
globe and drew around 300 players
from across the country.
The growth of Indian chess is evident with increasing number of Fide
rated players, with the first ever Fide
rated player from Assam, Chingkhei
Singh, a local from Guwahati making
it to the list in the year 1995.
The city also marked its biggest
achievements in the game of chess
when Shahil Dey of Assam clinched
the 28th National Under 7 Chess
Championship in the year 2014 held
at Kolkata. Shahil scored 9.5 points in
11 rounds to emerge as clear champion with a half point margin against
top seed Dev Shah of Maharashtra
who finished runners up in the event.
Shahil, seeded 4th in the starting rank
list also gained a total of 79.9 ELO
points with this performance and secured his berth for the World Under 7
Chess championship.
Shahil, in fact, created history
by being the only player from Assam to win a National championship
ever. The achievement came followed
by Manthan Kashyap Dutta who
clinched the 3rd position in Under 7
Chess Championship in the year held
a year ago.
“Sahil Dey and Manthan Kashyap
Dutta, both hailing from Guwahati,
are the biggest achievements from
the city and have also represented the
nation. The northeast region, due to
lack of resources had been trailing behind, but we now are focusing on the
youngsters who have prominent future in the game in the years to come.
We are looking forward in producing
players of IM (International Master)
and GM (Grand Master) rankings”,
said M Arun Singh, secretary, Guwahati Chess Association.
“Out of over 200 Fide rated players from the state of Assam, 150 players hail from the city of Guwahati.
The game is largely promoted among
the schools and several schools in the
city have included coaching classes
for chess including schools like South
Point, Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti, Royal
Global School and Delhi Public
School. Also, discussions are underway on starting workshops in several
“Sahil Dey and Manthan
Kashyap Dutta, both
hailing from Guwahati,
are the biggest achievements from the city and
have also represented
the nation. The northeast
region, due to lack of resources had been trailing
behind, but we now are
focusing on the youngsters who have prominent
future in the game in the
years to come.”
other schools in order to promote the
game among the youngsters. Besides
championships for the professional
players, we also concentrate on organising competitions for school students”, the secretary informed.
Along with Beltola Chess Coaching Center that runs with the association of Guwahati Chess Association,
there are four different chess coaching
centers in the city namely, PC Borooah Chess Academy, Gauhati Town
Club, Maligaon Railway Academy.
[email protected]
16
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Health
The Sunshine Vitamin
Are you getting enough of it?
What is this
sunshine vitamin?
The sunshine vitamin or Vitamin
D deficiency is becoming a new lifestyle problem these days. Vitamin D
deficiency has become a pandemic
with about one billion people all over
the world having low levels of vitamin
D. It is a common problem among
older adults and people who do not get
much exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D
insufficiency prevails in India due to
several other factors like dietary habits, increasing pollution and genetics.
A recent study revealed that a whopping 69 per cent of Indians suffer from
vitamin D deficiency, while a further
15 per cent were found to be vitamin
D insufficient. Vitamin D deficiency is
relatively less common in Japan, USA,
Canada and South-east Asia. In USA
and Canada, milk is usually fortified
with Vitamin D and the use of vitamin
supplements is common.
How Vitamin D is
produced in the
body?
The human body can make its
own vitamin D when exposed to sunlight unlike other vitamins. Vitamin D
is fat-soluble vitamin found in yogurt,
cereals, cheese and juice. There are
very few dietary sources of vitamin
D (especially for vegetarians). Since
our school days, we have been studying that sunlight is a rich source of
vitamin D but, the fact is - our body
produces vitamin D with the help of
sunlight through the process of synthesisation. Skin exposed to sunlight
indoors through a window does not
produce vitamin D. Also, cloudy day
and shade cut down the amounts of vitamin D skin makes. People with dark
skin tone needs 20-30 times as much
exposure to sunlight as fair skinned
people, to generate the same amounts
of vitamin D. Excessive exposure to
sunlight does not cause vitamin D
poisoning because the body limits the
amount of this vitamin it produces.
How can its
deficiency harm
you?
A lack of vitamin D does not only
just affect the bones, but poses more
serious problems when neglected.
The fact that vitamin D alone can influence about 3000 genes of our body
(out of the total 24000 genes) clearly
signifies its importance in our system.
Extensive studies have explored the
role of vitamin D in health problems.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked
to over a hundred health issues till
now. Here are top 12 health risks you
might be facing due to low levels of
vitamin D.
1. Diabetes:
The number of diabetic people
is increasing day by day and most of
them might be deficient in vitamin
D. Vitamin D is required to balance
sugar levels in the blood by regulating the secretion of insulin. Research
suggests that low levels of vitamin D
increases the risk of developing type
2 diabetes later in life. Some studies
have also found that the vitamin D
also increases the risk of type 1 diabetes.
2. Hypertension:
Indian research based on a large
scale observational data showed that
people having low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (a form of vitamin
D) had a higher risk of developing
hypertension.
3. Cardiovascular risk:
A population-based study of
9,949 adults showed that vitamin D
deficiency is significantly associated
with increased risk of fatal cardiovascular events. The study considered
adjustments for smoking, physical
activity and other factors contributing to heart diseases and concluded
that vitamin D deficiency increased
the risk of fatal cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by 62 per cent.
4. Flu:
If someone suffers from recurrent cold and respiratory infections,
instead of blaming the seasonal
changes, one should check the vitamin D levels. Vitamin D has an important role to play in activating the
cells of the immune system which
help to fight infections. Therefore,
people who are deficient in vitamin
D are at an increased risk of developing recurrent infections. A study
published in the Cambridge Journals
showed that vitamin D deficiency
predisposes children to respiratory
infections.
5. Anaemia
Anaemia occurs when one’s body
does not have sufficient levels of red
blood cells that carry oxygen to various parts of the body. But the main
underlying reason for anaemia might
be vitamin D deficiency. A study
found that people having low levels
of haemoglobin also had low levels of
vitamin D. Although the exact role of
vitamin D and anaemia is still under
investigation, there is sufficient evidence linking anaemia to vitamin D
insufficiency.
6. Hamper in Bone growth
Vitamin D plays an important
role in absorbing calcium from the
food in the intestine. Naturally if
someone is deficient in vitamin D,
he or she will be calcium deficient as
well. According to a study published
in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, with low levels of vitamin
D one’s body can absorb only 10 to
15 percent of the calcium one takes.
And calcium is required for building
stronger and healthy bones. Therefore, indirectly vitamin D deficiency
results in weak, soft and achy bones.
7. Brain damage
A recent study led by researchers at the University of Kentucky
showed that low levels of vitamin D
can cause damage to some proteins
in the brain. The study also suggested that deficiency of vitamin D can
affect cognitive performance and
memory power.
8. Infertility
Daily morning walk under the
sun can help to boost the reproductive health. Vitamin D stimulates the
production of the male hormone
testosterone and female hormone
progesterone.
9. Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
that affects the intestine. Low levels
of vitamin D affects the genetic expression involved in Crohn’s disease
making the symptoms even worse.
10. Aging
As one ages, the bone mass will
gradually decline. But with low levels
of vitamin D, the body will start ageing prematurely. Vitamin D insufficiency causes early ageing of bone
because of reduced bone mass.
11. Depression
Anti-depressants are not the
only solution for prolonged sadness
and depression. One could actually
pep up the mood by restoring the
vitamin D levels. In a systematic review on women suffering from moderate and severe depression, an oral
vitamin D therapy for 8-12 weeks
significantly improved depression
symptoms in participants.
12. Cancer
Low levels of vitamin D also
make it to the list of hundreds of
things that are known to increase the
risk of cancer. There is abundant evidence supporting the role of vitamin
D levels and reduced risk of colon,
prostate and breast cancers. In fact,
evidence also suggests that vitamin
D can help in cancer treatment. A
study revealed that increased level of
vitamin D reduced cancer growth by
75 percent.
What are the optimum levels of Vitamin D?
Life stage
Recommended amount
(IU: International Units)
Birth to 12 months
400 IU
Children 1 to 13 years
600 IU
Teens 14 to 18 years
600 IU
Adults 19 to 70 years
600 IU
Adults 71 years and above
800 IU
Pregnant and breastfeeding
women
600 IU
The safe upper limit for vitamin
D is 1,000 to 1,500 IU/day for infants,
2,500 to 3,000 IU/day for children 1-8
years, and 4,000 IU/day for children 9
years and older, adults, and pregnant
and lactating teens and women.
How to test the
vitamin D levels?
The most accurate way to determine this deficiency is through a
blood test — measuring the 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels. Blood tests
for calcium and phosphate levels and
liver function may also show changes
linked to a low level of vitamin D. Levels are described in either nanomoles
per liter (nmol/L) or nanograms per
milliliter (ng/mL), where 1 nmol/L
= 0.4 ng/mL. In general, levels below
30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL) are too low
for bone or overall health, and levels
above 125 nmol/L (50 ng/mL) are
probably too high. Levels of 50 nmol/L
or above (20 ng/mL or above) are sufficient for most people.
Who’s at risk?
Pregnant and breastfeeding women are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency, which is also prevalent in children between the ages of six months
and five years, elderly people and
those who aren’t exposed to adequate
sunlight. Men between the ages of 30
and 60, adolescent girls and women
between the ages of 15 and 30 are also
likely to develop vitamin D deficiency.
How to keep
deficiency at bay?
It isn’t difficult to avoid this deficiency, though. Thirty minutes of exposure of the skin over the arms and
face to sunlight, without application of
sunscreen, preferably between 10 am
to 2 pm (as maximum ultraviolet B
rays are transmitted during this time)
daily is adequate to avoid Vitamin D
deficiency. Fatty fish such as salmon,
mackerel, herring, tuna, fish oils, egg
yolks, fortified milk and other fortified
foods such as cereals etc. are also good
sources of vitamin D,» says Dr Sheth.
How to avoid too
much of vitamin D?
With so much being said about
Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, one must be careful not to over
enthusiastically take Vitamin D supplements without actually monitoring Vitamin D levels and landing up
with Hypervitaminosis D. While being vitamin D deficient is a problem,
an excess of Vitamin D has got its disadvantages too. An excess may cause
health problems such as dehydration,
vomiting, kidney damage and kidney
stones. Though optimum level of vitamin D protects one from getting
cancer, but some research studies
show that high level of vitamin D increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Excessive exposure to direct sunlight
may cause sunburn or skin cancer.
The afterthoughts…
With fast-paced, stressed-out
lifestyles with long working hours and
little or no time for outdoor activities,
more and more people are suffering
from vitamin D deficiency. One has
to build up the skin’s sunlight tolerance by slow and gradual exposure
to sun. Although, there is adequate
sunshine in India, high temperatures
during the daytime and sultry and
humid climate in many areas are the
deterrents to follow the advice about
sun exposure. Hence, food fortification with Vitamin D is a good option
to solve this issue. Similarly food fortification and public health policies
for Vitamin D supplementation and
dietary guidelines for adequate calcium for Indian population should
be formulated and implemented. It
is said that-”Prevention is better than
cure”. This is true for Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency which are
easily preventable.
Dr. Bikash Rai Das,
Consultant Heart Surgeon,
GNRC Hospital
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
AMP UP YOUR
SELF-ESTEEM
S
elf esteem: noun: confidence in
one’s worth or abilities, self respect.
I have always done what my best
friend has always wanted me to do;
wake up in the morning, smile at the
mirror and say, “Hey you, you are the
best! And I love you!” And voila, my
confidence soars high. I am ready to
take on a new day with a confidence
otherwise latent at that time of the
morning. And this has helped me in
each and everything I have attempted
so far.
However, before I started doing this exercise, I would wake up
and troop to the washroom and start
brooding about what a catastrophic
day awaits me. And since these depressive thoughts hovered over my
head, my day, frankly speaking, ended
on a note of disaster. I complained
and cribbed about everything and
anything that I could lay my hands
and eyes on. Life seemed like the last
thing on Earth that I liked. I was nonexistent, living only for the sake of
others. I was working on things but
not with a burning passion. I hated
everything around me and above all,
I detested myself. I felt like a complete
non-performer. A loser with the lowest self-esteem on Earth!
However, bad times don’t last;
good times do, if we give ourselves a
second chance. At last, the sun shone
through the clouds. That’s because I
kept talking to myself. I talked when
I was at home, making the bed, when
I was driving, taking a shower or
cleaning up the house. I articulated
very well with myself. In fact, I am
the only person who can understand
me more than anybody else. And so I
came to an understand during one of
those quiet moments with myself that
if I don’t amp up my self esteem, I am
sure to lose out on a lot of things; good
things in life which doesn’t come by if
I move around the place behaving as if
I am the only person in the world with
problems.
Then one fine morning, I told myself; enough is enough. I need to buck
up on life. It’s really too short a time
I have if I have to prove myself. And
moping around is not going to help
me at all. So, I did a turnaround just
like my BMF (Best Male Friend) advised me to.
I woke up early; went to the washroom, brushed and splashed water
onto my face and looked at myself in
the mirror. I loved what I saw as my
lips broke into a smile; a bright face
with a broad smile looking back at
me. I smiled back and said, “Hey, you,
Tinat Atifa Masood. You’re the best
and I love you.” I repeated it three
times and mark my words, I felt wonderful; in top form. My energy soared
high and my confidence level knew no
bounds. I was ready for any work.
Self esteem, I have seen over the
years is something that we create
ourselves. If we have the “I can do it”
factor inside us, nothing or nobody
can stop us from achieving what we
want in life. Anything is achievable or
reachable for that person who has very
high self-esteem. The only thing is that
it needs to be fed constantly; boosted
with a lot of energy. If per chance,
there is one day where we feel down
and out; self-esteem too takes a complete U-turn. Aren’t there days when
you felt like a complete loser, with no
achievement record; when you felt it’s
the end of the world and nobody cares
a pint about you?
I have gone through this and
it’s only human that we feel this way
sometimes. It’s nothing out of the
world. But I have tried not to let it become a habit and a deterrent to reaching where I wish to go.
Self-esteem needs to be nurtured
and cared for. One thing I have learnt
over the years is that it is very important to believe in oneself; to believe in
the talents one has and to believe in
the achievements done over the years.
I have started an exercise, a habit,
which in fact morally rubs my ego and
boosts my self-esteem.
I have taken an A4 size paper
and folded it equally in three parts,
so that the paper is divided into four
equal compartments, so to say. And I
have titled the entire page as ASSETS.
I have named the first column as “I
can”, the second as “Positive Characters”, the third as “Recognition” and the
fourth as “Personal Assets”. And below
each column, I have noted the many
achievements, small or big that I have
gone though over the years. Whenever, I would need a thorough buttering of my ego, I would go through
these points and feel immensely proud
of myself. I start feeling stronger and
my confidence rockets sky high. I feel
great at feeling alive and having created
so many stories in my life. And then, I
wish to do more and immediately make
new plans to reach new heights in my
creativity and voila, I am on top of the
world. At that very moment, I am thoroughly in love with myself and realise
that I am the best person alive. In fact, I
am. Come to think of it, God has made
each one of us unique and a person full
of potentials. The only thing we have to
do is to explore the potentiality inside
us and get around to doing something
about it.
All these years, singing in public
is something I had been thinking of
working on for years but have never
had the courage to do it lest I become
a laughing stock. One fine evening,
however, I made it significantly clear to
myself that if I don’t take the first step to
my singing spree, then nothing much
can be done about it. And off I drove
to my first singing class in April 2013.
I regaled in my success of completing
two years with distinction. I am in my
third year now and I have heard myself
singing in snatches on stage while anchoring and I am not so bad. I can bet
you, I am gaining a lot of confidence in
this department.
Speaking and anchoring on stage
has been my forte but believe me you,
I still get stage fright and wobbly in the
knees the first few minutes on stage.
After the initial tremor however, I feel
like the “King on stage”.
But young people should understand that self-esteem or self-respect
is something very important if one is
to be an achiever in life. Respecting
oneself first is of utmost importance
and then only respect for others come,
naturally.
Children and young people should
make a note and introspect on all those
latent talents that they have otherwise
not discovered in themselves; work on
the talents and shine through. They
should try and discover all those things
that interest them and they are good at.
Confidence comes from knowing ones
potential; the potential of being the
best in any field of work. Being a nonachiever can never be a criterion for
self-confidence. You can achieve only if
you know what you are good at and you
have the dream and vision to achieve it.
Moving around aimlessly, without a
dream is like a rudderless ship on the
high seas. On top of that, being jealous
of other people’s achievements is not
going to take you anywhere.
So start taking the first step today by taking notes of your potential;
what you’re good at and get ready for
some really hard work. Polish those
gifts bestowed on you!
And please don’t be a procrastinator in this area. Get that paper and
pen out right now and start noting
things about yourself ! Good luck!
tinat ATIFA MASOOD
17
Life
A Say Over
Your Mind
Q: How to control
emotions in times of
crisis?
if not more. Co-operation is key.
The world has seen many aggressions
which have not given great result.
Sometimes, people think war is very
good because war can change laws.
They think that war can destroy
what was there and bring a change
of law. But you know, for that to
happen, several generations suffers.
In this age of information and technology, I think people are intelligent. We don’t need to go through
that suffering. I think we are much
more intelligent, and much more informed, so we don’t need war. All that
we need is awareness.
Q: When was the last
time you got angry at
someone?
Q: How should one
balance life between
social service, business
and responsibilities at
home?
Breathing, breathing, and
breathing. Breath is the biggest
secret that nature has put in you. It
is linked to your emotions. Through
breathing exercise technique, you
can control your emotions. I think
many of you have experienced this,
isn’t it? (Many raise their hands)
Those who have not experienced
this, you must do a little bit of
breathing exercises regularly, then
you will have more say over your
mind.
I don’t even remember! Suppose
you are angry at somebody, don’t
start regretting it. Regret makes
you become angry once again.
For me, I can count on my fingers
the number of times I have gotten angry. It is not in my nature.
I have not done anything special not
to get angry. Somehow I have been
made this way. I can’t take any credit
for it. I have never said a single bad
word to anybody all these years. It
never has happened. I have never
blamed, cursed or said any bad word
to anybody.
Q: How can we stop
thinking the same
recurring thought?
There is no way, because you
recognize the thoughts only after
they have already come. Isn’t it? They
come and then you recognize it.
So when you recognize it, get busy. If
you simply sit, you will keep thinking a lot. If you keep acting, you will
feel that you are more with the flow.
Q: Aggression is
considered as a sign of
power these days, how
to change this?
If aggression is the power that
brings positive change, the world
would have changed a lot through all
the aggression that has happened and
is now happening in many parts of
the world. But that is not what we see.
Where there is aggression, there
is distress. There are more issues,
more problems, and more poverty. With aggression, we move
backward. Wherever there is aggression, you see that the people
have gone backward; at least fifteen to twenty years backward,
Do you all drive cars ? Yes!
When you drive a car what do you
do? You look at the side mirrors,
rear view mirror and you look in
the windshield as well. How do you
balance all three?
You can’t say, ‘I will only look at the
rear mirror’, or, ‘I only look in the
front’, or, ‘I only look at the sides’.
You have to simultaneously do all
the three and you do that?
Exactly same way!
Rear view mirror is like knowing the past. You should have little memory of the past. If you have
done some mistake, it should not
be repeated. Front mirror is like
the vision of life ahead. That is why,
the front windshield is very big and
the rear view mirror is very small.
Then there are side mirrors, these
are for you to be aware of what is
happening around you all the time.
So how you use all three? Exactly
same way!
Q: How do I always
be happy and not
get entangled by
the boundaries set
by body mind and
thought?
If you drop this always, you will
be happy. Never mind if you are unhappy for a little while, so what? If
you think I should never be unhappy,
then that becomes a cause of unhappiness.
His Holiness
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
www.artofliving.org/meditation
18
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Entertainment
Sonakshi is tired of
answering questions
about her weight
A
s part of her preparations for her
film ‘Akira’, Sonakshi Sinha underwent a rigorous training programme to lose weight.
Though she has lost quite a bit of
weight, the actress feels people’s perception
about her has not changed.
For them, she will always remain a
curvy heroine - probably because Sona is
still asked about her weight issues and how
many inches she has lost.
The star states that those who keep
asking her the same old question certainly
need to get a life.
‘Bombay Velvet’ team in Goa, sets new precedent for
film promotion
T
eam “Bombay Velvet” is
having a “small little party”
in Goa! Instead of doing the
mundane and arduous city-to-city
visits ahead of the movie’s release,
they have congregated here along
with film journalists from four cities for a “celebration”.
Filmmaker Karan Johar, who
acts in the film conjectures it is
“trend-setting” for Bollywood.
“This feel like it’s done in Hollywood,” said Karan, adding: “This
will set a precedent for film promotion (in Bollywood) and it will
be trend-setting. As a film pro-
Jacqueline Fernandez hits jackpot
J
acqueline Fernandez has accepted an offer to perform
at a high-profile wedding
in London and has quoted Rs 4
crore to shake a leg.
A source says, “This businessman has planned a lavish
wedding for his son on the outskirts of London during Mayend. He has approached a few
actresses to perform on the occasion. Jacky has given her nod to
them and is required to perform
on a few songs either from her
films or other popular numbers.”
Apparently, the actress will
spend two days there and the
business family will take care of
her accommodation and travel
expenses. The source adds, “After
a discussion with her team, they
have agreed to pay her Rs 4 crore
and so, Jacqueline is currently
reworking her dates to incorporate the wedding in her diary. She
is likely to shoot for a film with
Varun Dhawan and then begin
work on a Sri Lankan movie before she leaves for the wedding
dance in London.”
ducer, I’m definitely going to do
this often.”
It is quite a jamboree with
about 100 people assembled at
a south Goa resort. Journalists,
both print and TV, from Mumbai,
Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad
landed here on May 4th, joining
the film’s team - actors Ranbir
Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan,
Vivaan Shah, Satyadeep Misra and
Siddhartha Basu; director Anurag;
producers Vikramaditya Motwane
and Vikas Bahl; composer Amit
Trivedi, writers Vasan Bala and
S.Thanikachalam; and officials of
Fox Star Studios, which has coproduced and is distributing the
film.
Breaking away from his superstar image, Ranbir, who is among
the top-rung actors of Hindi cinema of the present day, looked cool,
casual and relaxed as he sat on the
floor to chat up with a mixed group
of scribes.
“This was my idea,” he said,
referring to the “small little party”
to celebrate the hardwork that has
gone behind the period drama,
which encapsulates the era of
1950s and 1960s.
Abhishek Kapoor
marries Pragya
Yadav
A
ctor-turned-director Abhishek Kapoor and actress
Pragya Yadav have tied the
knot.
According to reports, the couple exchanged vows last Monday.
Actor Arjun Rampal, who
worked with the director on 2008
rock musical drama film “Rock
On!!”, tweeted a photograph of the
couple and captioned it: “My best
friends wedding. Congratulations
@Abhishekapoor
@pragyadav_
God bless u with the most beautiful
journey ahead.”
Sidharth
on a look out for outdoor workout places
B
eing a Delhi boy Sidharth
Malhotra is used to open
spaces. The actor would
spend a lot of time working out in
an open ground when he used to
stay in Delhi.
The actor who had bulked up
for his character in Brothers has
been on a look out for a place to
work out outdoors to keep fit.
While the actor has spent quality time sweating it out in the gym,
he is fond of the idea of working
out outdoors and in natural surroundings.
Sidharth does not like the idea
of working out in a confined place
and wants to break the monotony
and get into outdoor fitness.
Sidharth is on the look out
for a place where he can workout
on the parallel bars, do push ups
and pull ups, etc...
Infact the actor has been
visiting parks and open spaces
around his house, early in the
morning to figure out a place.
“I prefer exercising outdoors
rather than in a gym. I have been
looking for an open area where I
can workout,” says Sidharth.
Ram Kapoor
hoping high from ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’ and ‘Piku’
D
eepika Padukone starrer
“Piku” and Sunny Leone
starrer “Kuch Kuch Locha
Hai” got set to clash at the box office on Friday. However, Ram Kapoor who plays the lead role in the
Sunny Leone starrer, is unfazed
about such comparison and says
both the films have their own target audiences.
He hopes people would like
both the films.
“I don’t think so there is any
competition between both the
films - “Piku” and “Kuch Kuch Locha Hai” - as both of these have different target audiences. So neither
of these two will affect each other’s
business. Both the films are very
different and have different target
groups,” the actor said here in an
interview.
He, further wishes all success
to the Deepika and Big B starrer
and can’t wait to watch the film
when it releases.
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
19
Vox Pop
Does Salman Khan deserve
punishment or condonation?
G Plus feature
A
ctor Salman Khan on May 6 was granted twoday interim bail by the Bombay High Court in
the 2002 hit-and-run case, hours after he was
sentenced to five years in jail by a Sessions Court.
Almost 12 years after his vehicle, a Toyota Land
Cruiser, ran over five men sleeping on the pavement
in Bandra, leaving one dead and the others injured, a
Mumbai Sessions Court on Wednesday convicted Bollywood actor Salman Khan and sentenced him to five
years rigorous imprisonment. However, hours later,
the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail until
May 8.
While the prosecution sought maximum punishment of 10 years, Khan was given five years and fined
Rs 25,000. Khan’s lawyer, Shrikant Shivade, during an
hour-long argument drew attention to the actor’s charitable work through his ‘Being Human’ Foundation. He
said most of Khan’s income was directed towards causes supported by Being Human, and this work would
Priyashree Kashyap
Actor
I think the verdict, irrespective of the person concerned, be it
Salman Khan or anyone else, if he
has committed a crime, deserves
punishment. People are reacting
differently due to the delay in the
judgment; people say that justice
delayed is justice denied. A person
has died and the family has suffered
for so long but comparatively, Salman’s life has not been affected at
all. Law should be equal for everybody. If he has killed someone, he
deserves to be punished, be it Salman or anyone else.
Debabrata Nath
Entrepreneur
The law should be same for everyone and Salman shouldn’t be given
preferential treatment due to his celebrity status. However, one needs to put
into perspective the actions which led
to the accident and whether it really
merits the charge of culpable homicide. At worst, this is a case of drunk
driving and he should be charged under that. Just because he is a superstar,
we should not try to make an example
out of him.
suffer if the actor was put behind bars. He said Khan
should be given three years’ imprisonment and asked to
carry out community service.
“Rs 42 crore has been disbursed in the last three
years, several people have undergone heart surgeries,
700 underprivileged children have been treated. We have
been working in the area of healthcare, education, pediatric care and blindness,” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Friday suspended his sentence and had Salman file a fresh bail
bond.
The question that arises from the issue is whether
the sentence of five years’ jail time for the actor a legitimate one or will putting him behind bars put a hold on
his charitable works or should he rather be given three
years’ imprisonment and asked to carry out community
service as argued by his lawyer.
G Plus took the opinion of a cross section of the society and here is what they had to say-
Bijan Mahajan
Senior Advocate
Suman Sinha
Prayashi Bora
The 389 application has been
granted in the Salman Khan case and
the interim bail been granted earlier
has today being absolute in disposal of
the appeal. But the appeal filed under
section 374 on the court of criminal
justice procedure will be decided subsequently and is due for sometime.
Let’s wait till that day and keep our fingers crossed.
In my opinion, life shouldn’t
be wasted with frustration, sentiments and ego for one’s mistake
done in the past. When you
know that you are and will always keep doing good in the future, you cannot waste that good
for one simple accidental bad.
Nobody is above the law, be it Salman Khan or any commoner; a crime
is a crime. It can never compensate for
any charity work an individual does.
However, punishment should hold
equal for all. Many politicians accused
of crimes are still roaming scot free. It
should thus be ensured that all criminals, be it celebrities or politicians or
even the common man should receive
the requisite punishment for their
crime, and can they resume any sort of
activity be it charity or any other activity for the matter only after its completion.
Corporate personnel
Student
Vikram Aditya Roy
Sanjib Bharali
Rabi Sharma
HN Das
What about the new law that took effect
earlier this month that if a four wheeler or a two
wheeler vehicle hit any person, the accused will
be behind bars for life and if an elderly person
dies in a road accident, then the driver will be
imprisoned for 5 years. Is this law made for the
common people or will this be applicable to the
rich people and the actors/stars too?
If bail is everything in law, why are they
made for the public and not for the people who
unfortunately meets a road accident! If rich
people can get bail for the most heinous crimes,
where will the common people go with their
queries?
First of all, the road is not for sleeping. Road
is for driving or walking. If you want to blame
anyone, then blame the Indian government.
It has been more than 65 years and our government has not able to control poverty, not
providing house to the poor and needy people. He made a mistake and that was an accident. Yes, justice should be done but what
happened in the past is gone. If today, reducing his punishment does something good to
the poor people and for the better future of
underprivileged children, then it must be this
way. I think they should agree with his lawyer. In that way he can also get condonation
of the same.
There are a lot of factors in the case
that has to be seen. Firstly, drunk driving is always an offence and even if Salman hadn’t killed someone, it would
have been an offence anyway and secondly, the government is also responsible. If the government does not allow
one to sleep in a park, sleeping on the
roadside should also be barred. What
Abhijit said was not entirely wrong
and the government should look after
those living on the roadside. Besides,
that whatever judgment the court
makes has to be abided by.
It was a legitimate verdict by the
court and judgments cannot be different for people. Salman was sentenced
to five years of imprisonment instead
of ten years and his guilt was proven.
Although, I concur by the High Court’s
decision to re-file the case in the court,
but not in support of the bail.
Businessman
Musician
Actor
Former Chief Secretary, Assam
20
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Reviews
u
Yo LD
TEN
SHOU
S
I
L
GAME
IEW
REV
Album: Wilder Mind
Artist: Mumford & Sons
W
ho could blame Mumford
& Sons for running away
from their signature banjo
stomp? Come 2015, when Wilder
Mind saw spring release, so many
bands had copped their big-footed
folk jamboree that Mumford & Sons
could feel the straitjacket constricting, so it’s not a surprise that the
group decided to try on something
new. A change in fashion isn’t strange
-- no band wants to be pigeonholed -but the odd thing about Wilder Mind
is now that everybody else sounds
like Mumford & Sons, Mumford &
Sons decide to sound like everybody
else. Often, the persistent, moody
murmur recalls a diluted Kings of
Leon, a comparison that can’t help
but underscore how Mumford &
Sons have made the journey from
retro throwback to glistening modern construction. Where once they
carved their music out of reclaimed
wood, they’re now all steel and glass
-- a bit sleeker but also a bit chillier.
Such a description suggests this is a
big shift, but it’s all surface: underneath that exterior, Wilder Mind is
the same Mumford & Sons, peddling
reasonably handsome reconstructions of times gone by.
wolfenstein: the old blood
A
Mov
Revi ie
ew
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone,
Irrfan Khan
Director: Shoojit Sircar
T
he new-age films coming out
in Bollywood are expanding
the parameters of commercial
cinema. And in this process, some
truly engaging and entertaining films
are finding a universal audience.
Shoojit Sircar’s Piku is a fine example of the triumph of this process.
Piku is the utterly endearing story of
Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) and his daughter Piku (Deepika Padukone). Bhaskor is a 70-yearold man with myriad moods – his
life philosophies are rigid and firm;
he is rude and irritating to the point
of being eccentric and obsessed with
his bowels. Constipation is a subject
he loves to discuss, even if it’s on the
breakfast and dinner table. Piku loves
her father to death, despite all his imperfections. She’s almost allergic to
relationships because she’s more concerned about taking care of her dad.
And she is her father’s daughter all
right – she is nearly as temperamental as him. When Bhaskor and Piku
decide to do a road trip from Delhi
to Kolkata, the local car rental company’s owner Rana Chaudhary (Irrfan Khan) has no option but to drive
them himself after all his drivers refuse to suffer the ordeal. This journey
becomes an emotional revelation
for them all. As the rest of the film
unravels, it focuses on the evolving
relationships between the three protagonists and how it changes them all
forms the crux of the story.
Sircar’s previous two outings,
Vicky Donor and Madras Café, received both commercial and critical
acclaim. But Piku is, by far, his finest
offering. It is an extremely difficult
film to handle. There is no definitive
storyline; there are no big surprises
in the screenplay; there are no con-
flicts added for the sake to taking the
story forward. Sircar places all his
bets on establishing the relationship
and the camaraderie between the father and daughter. And well, he turns
up with probably the best film we’ve
seen on this subject. Constipation,
as a subject, is clearly not something
that’s easy to digest! But Sircar plays
along with it; he makes you laugh
with it; he lets you have fun with
it. You become so much a part of
Bhaskor and Piku’s world that even
the intermission seems like an unwanted break. Sircar strikes his masterstroke in the second half – where
he makes you cry just as easily as he
made you laugh. Piku is a film filled
with all the emotions we face and
experience in our daily lives – Sircar
makes us wonder why we overlooked
them all along. Sircar’s other big
achievement is making his alreadyfine actors deliver performances that
would feature among their careerbest. Deepika is an accomplished
performer in her own right but with
Piku, she raises the bar even more.
Devoid of make-up in the entire film,
the actress has never looked and
acted better. She gets into the skin of
Piku; her every action and reaction is
so casual and yet so real. Irrfan Khan
has never been utilised better – his
dialogues are few but always with
the right punches. A film like Piku
is inventive and unconventional but
mainstream. You wish there were
some more drama in the second half
to elevate it further. However, the
performances are so tight that they
overpower everything else.
Piku is one of the best films of
the year. It’s a must-watch for the
thundering trio of Bachchan, Padukone and Khan.
Order, and drum up nostalgia for old
school Wolfenstein fans. In The Old
Blood players infiltrate then escape
Castle Wolfenstein, and will run into
familiar faces from the franchise.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood feels
like it’s for either the player who enjoyed
The New Order and wants more, or the
newcomer who has no idea what to expect. This expansion content isn’t going
to spoil anything in terms of story from
The New Order, and it’s quite possible
if you haven’t played the main game,
you’ll want to when all is said and done.
Though The Old Blood has a lot of content in it on its own. Like The New Order, there are numerous difficulty levels,
a bunch of collectibles and story-telling
items. It IS a fairly unforgiving game on
its harder settings so a second or third
playthrough could be warranted if challenge is your thing. There’s also a host
of challenge maps as well, which takes
player out of the story and puts them in
timed arenas where the objective is winning medals by killing with style. While
the main campaign isn’t quite as long
as The New Order, the $19.99 price tag
makes it more digestible.
s one of the best first person
shooters released in 2014, Machine Games’ Wolfenstein: The
New Order was praised for its combat
mechanics and narrative, proving that
there was still room in gaming for a
story-centric shooter that didn’t rely
on multiplayer to satisfy. Wolfenstein:
The New Order dumped players into
an alternate history of World War II
and re-introduced series protagonist
B.J. Blazkowicz to a new generation.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a standalone piece of expansion content to The
New Order. This prequel stays close to
home, playing to the strengths of the
original release, while giving players
some new mechanics to explore. This
4-5 hour lead-up to the events of The
New Order looks to set the stage as far
as story goes, filling in the blanks in
regards to the events that lead to Blazkowicz’ coma in the failed assassination
attempt of General Deathshead.
While The Old Blood isn’t quite as
deep as the original in terms of story,
and doesn’t introduce you to an extensive cast, the characters that are introduced will tie-in directly to The New
Book: The Guest Cottage: A Novel
Author: Nancy Thayer
S
You
SHOU
Rea LD
d
ensible thirty-six-year-old Sophie Anderson has always
known what to do. She knows
her role in life: supportive wife of a
successful architect and calm, capable mother of two. But on a warm
summer night, as the house grows
quiet around her and her children fall
asleep, she wonders what’s missing
from her life. When her husband echoes that lonely question, announcing that he’s leaving her for another
NOW SHOWING
woman, Sophie realizes she has no
idea what’s next. Impulsively renting
a guest cottage on Nantucket from
her friend Susie Swenson, Sophie
rounds up her kids, Jonah and Lacey,
and leaves Boston for a quiet family
vacation, minus one.
Inspiring and true to life, The
Guest Cottage is Nancy Thayer at her
finest, inscribing in graceful, knowing prose matters of the heart and the
meaning of family.
Piku
Kuch Kuch Lucha hai
Gabbar Is Back
Apsara Cinema
Daily at 2.00 PM
Daily at 11.00 AM & 8 PM
Daily at 5.00 PM
Anuradha
Cineplex
Daily at 5.45 & 8.15 PM
Daily at 10.15 AM
Daily at 12.45 & 3.15 PM
Fun Cinemas
Daily at 10.00 AM, 5.45 &
8.45 PM
Gold Cinema
(Paltan Bazaar)
Daily at 11.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM
Daily at 2.00 PM
Daily at 11.30 AM, 2.30, 5.30
& 8.30 PM
Gold Cinema
(Fancy Bazar)
Daily at 11.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM
Daily at 2.00 PM
Daily at 11.30 AM, 2.30, 5.30
& 8.30 PM
Gold Cinema
(Narengi)
Daily at 11.00 AM & 5.00 PM
Daily at 3.10 PM
Daily at 2.00 & 8.00 PM
Telebooking numbers: Anuradha Cineplex; 03612656968, 9954544738, Fun Cinemas: 9864800100, 9864800200,
Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazaar): 03612735367, 9854077177, Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar): 9854066166, Gold Cinema
(Narengi): 8811001898
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Snake returns for modern smartphones
L
ong before Candy Crush Saga,
Clash of Clans and Angry
Birds, Nokia’s Snake was the
king of the mobile gaming world –
not least because it was installed on
every single mobile phone the company sold.
Now the game is returning for
modern smartphones courtesy of
that mobile version’s creator Taneli
Armanto and developer Rumilus
Design, who will release Snake Rewind on 14 May.
Snake wasn’t invented by Nokia
– its ever-stretching gameplay had
appeared on home computers since
the late 1970s under various names
– but Finnish developer Armanto
was the person responsible for preloading it on Nokia’s 6110 handset
in 1997.
Snake Rewind will be released
21
Tech Watch
Sony unveils ‘selfie smartphone’
Xperia C4
S
for iOS, Android and Windows Phone
devices, with new features including
the ability – purists, look away now –
to “rewind the Snake to continue the
game even after crashing” as well as
new power-ups and levels.
Twitter removes the ability to embed games in
tweets
ony announced a new ‘selfie
smartphone’, the Xperia C4,
which features a 5-megapixel,
25mm wide angle lens front camera
and a Full HD 5.5-inch display. The
smartphone also has a 13MP rear
camera and is armed with Sony’s
SteadyShot image stabilization technology.
For low light conditions, the Xperia C4 is armed with a soft LED flash
and HDR features. The smartphone
also comes pre-loaded with a suite of
creative camera apps, such as ‘Style
Portrait’ with styles including ‘vampire’ and ‘mystery’ to add a unique
edge to your selfie, and the ‘AR Mask’
app, which gives your selfies a twist by
letting you place a different face over
your own face or others’ faces while
you snap a selfie.
The C4 is powered by a 64-bit Me-
diaTek MTK6752 octa-core 1.7GHz
processor with 2GB RAM and runs
on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The Xperia C4 will be available
in Single SIM and Dual SIM variants
from the beginning of June 2015.
Get Android notifications on
Mac & PC
S
hortly after Twitter introduced a
way to embed classic MS-DOS
games in a tweet, the company
has now disabled this feature as it
goes against company policies to
have a playable game within the website. Prior to this move, users could
embed games in tweets and could
share any of the 2,600 games or more
in the Internet Archive’s library of
MS-DOS games.
The embedding interactive media, and specifically games, within
Twitter Cards is against the social
network’s terms of service. Twitter
guidelines point out that, ‘Do not
build end-to-end interactive experiences inside the video or audio player
unrelated to Player Card content, such
as the following: purchasing, gaming,
polling, messaging and data entry.’
Following its policies, Twitter has
now disabled the feature. But, users
can yet visit the Internet Archive directly and play their favorite old classic
games. A report by TechTimes pointed
out that, it is possible for the game to
return only if, developers work on another type of Twitter card to host the
MS-DOS games.
“Instead, build these interactive
experiences with our other Card types
or enhance your Player Card content
with links to your website or mobile
application,” says Twitter in its Player
Card’s guidelines.
Micromax Unite 3 available online
M
icromax’s Unite 3 smartphone is now listed on the
company’s site and also
available via a third-party online
retailer at Rs 6,569.
Micromax Unite 3 will come
with a free bundled data offer from
Vodafone offering up to 500MB
(2G/3G) of free data per month for
the first two months, the official site
notes.
The Unite 3 supports multiple
languages and comes preloaded
with support for 10 regional languages. It also comes with a feature
that allows users to translate a message from English to the language of
choice and vice versa.
Micromax Unite 3 is a dual-SIM
(GSM+GSM) smartphone featuring
a 4.7-inch (480x800 pixels) WVGA
IPS display. The device is powered
by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek
(MTK6582M) processor coupled
with 1GB of RAM. It runs Android
5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box.
The handset offers 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to
32GB). It sports an 8-megapixel au-
Y
ou donít always have your Android phone with you, but there will be
times where you will get some sort of notification on your device, that
you should really not miss. Whether it is an important call you didn’t
hear because your phone was in another room, or a WhatsApp messages
from your friend.
There is an amazing app out there, that allows you to get all your notifications from your Android phone or tablet straight on your Mac and/or
PC. And this wonderful app is called Pushbullet. Pushbullet is a service that
allows you to send notifications and even files between your devices. You
can install Pushbullet on Android, iOS, use it as a web-app in your favorite
browser, as well as install native apps on your Mac or Windows machine.
1. Create a free Pushbullet account
Simply sign up with your Google or Facebook account, and you’re good
to go!
2. Download the official app
Now, to get notifications from your Android device on your Mac or PC,
download the Pushbullet Android app for free from the Play Store.
3. Install the native app for your OS or the browser extension
Download the browser extensions here:
Chrome (http://bit.ly/1IQDxMQ)
Firefox (http://mzl.la/1Ijc8CM)
Safari (http://bit.ly/1c9lFzN)
Download the native apps here:
Mac OS X (http://apple.co/1H14qvt)
Windows (http://bit.ly/1KkG2Fk)
4. Enable desktop notifications
Once you have done all the above, as well as logged in to your Pushbullet
account inside the Andriod app and the desktop app, make sure that you have
your desktop notifications enabled.
tofocus rear camera with LED flash,
while there is a secondary 2-megapixel fixed-focus front camera also
on board.
Connectivity options include 3G,
GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n,
Micro-USB, and Bluetooth options.
The smartphone packs a 2000mAh
battery, which according to the official listing is rated to deliver up to
8 hours of talk time and up to 220
hours of standby time. It also includes light, gravity, and proximity
sensors.
It comes preloaded with apps
such as Ask me, Chaatz, Clean master, Facebook, Facebook Messenger,
Hotstar, Newshunt, Paytm, Quicker,
Snapdeal, and SwiftKey. The Unite 3
is available at Infibeam.
For that, go to your apps’ settings, and tick the following two
boxes:
Enable Pushbullet Notifications
Show my phone’s notifications
Now you can get all your Android notifications across all your
desktop devices if you choose from.
Indrajeet Bhuyan is
a 17 year old tech
blogger and security researcher. He
is passionate about
computers and believes in sharing knowledge and
information . He uses his spare
time helping people and companies secure themselves. fb.me/
indrajeet.bhuyan
22
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Fun
Your weekly dose of
TIMEPASS
It’s a mixed week that seems to flow along nicely. Monday brings a chance
to earn extra cash with a bright idea or new enterprise. If you need to make
a decision, meet a deadline, or research your options, midweek may be your
best bet. Homey ideas and family matters come to the fore when Venus glides
into Cancer on Thursday. Relax and enjoy your personal space as well as try
out new recipes, decorate, or apply yourself to an irksome but rewarding task.
You’ll be in your element and eager to forge ahead with your brightest and
best ideas. You’re more action oriented, too, and willing to do whatever is
necessary to further your plans. Where finances are concerned, it’s a good
time to hunt for bargains, especially on any typically expensive items. Some
research could save you a lot of money. Meanwhile, Venus in Cancer can
inspire you to delve into the past, with a chance you’ll want to connect
with old friends.
A serious mood works to your advantage if you can make important decisions
and stick to them. With a focus on job and career matters, you’ll certainly
benefit from a more action-oriented approach to getting results. However,
your social life continues to flourish, making this a good time to expand your
network and move in new circles. The presence of Venus in Cancer suggests
that the past could have a powerful impact on the present, whether by design
or accident.
Sagittarius
To keep from getting swamped by too much work or everyday responsibilities,
devise a plan and stick to it. You might even want to delegate some of your
tasks where appropriate. Lifestyle issues might also be at the forefront of your
mind, especially if you want to lose weight or get fitter in general. Romantic
and business relationships continue to show a positive side. Even so, it helps
to be open-minded regarding someone’s excellent suggestions, as they may
benefit you.
SUDOKU
Don’t ignore your dreams or intuitive hunches, as you could benefit from
valuable guidance if you pay attention. If you feel like retreating from
the hustle and bustle of life, it’s entirely natural. The Taurus Sun actively
encourages you to take time out to relax and recharge. A focus on your
money zone emphasizes your canny ability to spot a deal that’s too good
to miss. Selling unused items could be very profitable if you want to get
rid of clutter.
As Venus dances into your sign this week you’ll become everyone’s favorite.
People will be attracted to what you have to offer. Your warm, cuddly
persona could draw folks your way, for business or for romance, if you’re
looking for love. Things have eased since the frenetic pace you experienced
earlier in the year, making this a good time to consolidate your gains.
Finally, don’t make snap decisions over the weekend unless you’re sure
you’re on the right track.
Scorpio
Libra
Virgo
Leo
Cancer
Gemini
Taurus
Aries
HOROSCOPE
Work, communication, and home and family concerns keep you busy, but
don’t feel like you have to do it all. The wheels of commerce are turning
in your favor, meaning you have every opportunity to get ahead if you’re
willing to network and get yourself known in all the right places. Your love
life also gets a boost as Venus dances into Cancer on Thursday. It’s a time for
get-togethers, friendly celebrations, and more. Plus, food can be instrumental
to romantic success.
If someone opposes your idea, use a bit of charm and you’ll be likelier to get
your way. This is especially so when it comes to your job or an interview. The
presence of Venus in Cancer hints that a capable yet courteous approach can
win you Brownie points. When it comes to romance, there’s still plenty of time
to indulge your sensuous side. If you enjoy massages or spa days, this is the
time to surrender to such pleasures for your benefit.
Dealing with ongoing chores and other responsibilities early can clear the way
for more fun later. Midweek could see you putting effort into resolving an issue
that has caused frustration for some time. Yet your actions or approach to life
may need to change in order for things to be different. Later, ask yourself if
something you desire is worth the price, and second, if you’re willing to pay it.
The weekend could bring a tempting romantic offer your way.
Pisces
Aquarius
Capricorn
Say yes to any unexpected invitation. This week it seems that you won’t
have to venture too far out of your local area to have fun. Once Venus
edges into Cancer it lights up your relationship sector, bringing warmth
and understanding to your interactions. Meanwhile, you’re eager to research your options regarding health and wellness issues, particularly as
this is one of the best times to tweak routines and habits so they help
create a fitter, happier you.
You and your friends are on the same wavelength and may join forces
for a cause. Aligning yourself with like-minded people can give you a
feeling of purpose and power. Good news could come in the form of a
moneymaking idea, raise, or possibility for advancement. Information
you learn could have the potential to enhance earnings, adding to your
comfort and security as a result. One thing to watch out for is overindulging, especially if you want to lose weight.
While intuition and inspiration can be helpful, keep your feet on the
ground and don’t get carried away by a wild idea. If you need to make
an important decision this week, it might be helpful to meet with a
good friend who can to offer up ideas and suggestions that you haven’t
considered. When Venus edges into Cancer you’ll enter a pleasure peak
in which romance and some sizzling dates will be very much on the
agenda.
Useful Life hacks
Get rid of pests
Combine eucaliptus oil with water and store in a spray bottle. When you see a bug, spray it
with the mixture. The insect will die almost immediately.
JUST FOR LAUGHs
On the roof of a very tall
building are four men; one
is Asian, one is Mexican,
one is black, and the last one
is white. The Asian walks
to the ledge and says, “This
is for all my people” and
jumps off the roof. Next,
the Mexican walks to the
ledge and also says, “This is
for all my people” and then
he jumps off the roof. Next
is the black guy’s turn. The
black guy walks to the ledge
and says, “This is for all my
people” and then throws the
white guy off the roof.
Do not be racist; be like
Mario. He’s an Italian
plumber, who was made
by the Japanese, speaks
English, looks like a
Mexican, jumps like a black
man, and grabs coins like
a Jew!
Solution (Last Issue)
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
classifieds
VACANCY
Required Sr.
Sales Executives,
Showroom Sales,
Accountant,
Marketing
Executives (F) ,
Office Executive.
Contact-90850-78728
Hair Styler required
in an Unisex salon
For details contact
97076 35294
Peon Required
Qly-H.S.L.C.
Salary-5,500/-(+)
Contact -9864306246
Urgently Require
Telecallers
Salary: 5,000-10,000/Contact-98646-08375
Receptionist Required
Salary-Up to 10,000/Contect-98640-62103
Urgently Required
Delivery Boy
On a famous Courier
Salary: 7,000-9,000/Contect-90859-90528
Back Office
Executive Required
Salary-10,000/-(+)
Contact-98543-71481
Delivery boy
Required
For Online shoppingSalary-up to -9,000/Contact-98646-08375
Hotel Industry
Front Office
Executive Required
Salary-6,000-10,000/Contact-98640-62103
Showroom Executive
Required
Salary-5,000-6,000/Contact-98543-71481
Marketing Executive
Required
Salary-10,000/-(+)
Contact-98640-62103
Back Office
Executive Required
On A well known
Hotel
Salary-Up to-10,000/Contact-90859-90528
In house sales
Executive
Qly-B.Com with
English medium
background
Salary-Up to-15,000/Contact-98543-71481
To post
classifieds
call us at
+91 8486002319
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Want pure cowdung agarbatti?
Contact: 9093196925
TO-LET
2 BHK With 2
Bathroom , Parking,
Balcony And Lift At
G.S. Road
Rent-12,000
Ph No.-98644-31944
3 BHK 2nd Floor Flat
At Ghy Club, Rent18,000
Call-76630-59321
3 BHK Newly
Constructed Flat At
Jayanagar, Rent14,000
Call-83999-65686
3BHK Independent
House At Jonali,
2Bathroom , Parking,
& Kitchen, Rent10,000
Contact-76630-59321
3BHK 3Rd Floor
Flat With Bathroom
, Parking, Balcony
And Lift
Rent-12,000
Contact-83999-65686
3 BHK At Ganeshguri
Rent-15,000
Call-7663059321
Any type of Rented
House Available
At Zoo Road,
Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
2 BHK Flat With
2Bathroom, Parking
& Balcony With Lift
At Chandmari
Rent-10,000
Ph No.- 83999-65686
Any type of Flat
Available At Zoo
Road, Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
Any type of Office
Available At Zoo
Road, Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
3BHK Flat At
Second Floor With 2
2 / 4 WHEELER
Discover 2014 Model
For Sale, Colour :
Black And Red
Ph.- 98599-10119
Alto LXI 2011 Model
Colour: Maroon
Contact-88110-91965
Yamaha FZ – S
Year of
Manufacturing04/20111, Colour
B. Green
Contact-95778-21645
Bathroom , Balcony
, Parking With 3
Wardrobe And Lift.
Rent- 15,000 Ph No.98644-31944
3BHK Flat With 2
Bathroom, 3rd Floor
, Parking, Balcony &
Lift in Beltola
Rent- 14,000
Pn No.-76630-59321
720sqft showroom
with toilet in athgaon
suitable for boutique/
computer classes etc.
Contact- 98641-59713
5 Room Flat In
Maskhowa For Rent.
Contact-98641-59713
3BHK New Flat
With 2 Bathroom ,
Parking , Balcony ,
Lift At Dispur, 2nd ,
3rd , 4th Floor, Rent16,000
Call-9864431944
400 sqft Rcc godown
available
At opp.Nichols
school, Chatribari.
With Shutter and
road facing facility.
Ph.No.- 9864159713.
200 sqft Rcc shop
inside market.
Available and nearby
godown.
Suitable for any type
of CNF work.
Ph.No. - 9864159713.
3 room residential
flat on third floor
1300 sqft in Krisna
Nagar, Chatribari.
Ph.Nos. - 9864159713.
FOR SALE
3 bigha land in
Thakurbari Road
, Rangapara with
clearcut title & sale
deed. Contact- Gopal
Das Phone No088768-59216
For immediate sale.
Brand New Flat at
Kahilipara Road,
3BHK with car park
and all modern
ammeneties. 1560
sq.ft, 8th floor.
Contact: 94351 15098
2 WHEELER /
4 WHEELER
Vento (D)
Top Model 2011
Colour: White
Ph-88110-91965
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Ambulance 102
Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665
Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669
GLP Social Circle 2737373
GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109
Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251
BLOOD BANK
Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665
Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029
Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611
Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251
Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594
Honda Activa
2004 Model
Colour : Black
Call- 88110-91965
Bajaj Pulsar 135
2010 Model
Colour – M.BLK M.
98540-91738
Scorpio For Sale
2010 SLX
Colour – Silver
Ph.- 98599-10119
Pulsar 150 2009
Model, Colour: Black
Contact- 88110-91965
Scorpio 2010 LX
Colour: Black (D)
Contact-98641-06333
Honda Dio 2013
Model, 2013 Model
Colour: P.T. Yellow
Contact-98640-21414
TVS Apache RTR
08 / 2011 Model
Colour : Red
98544-01660
Scorpio Model: SLX
2004, Colour: Silver
Contact- 88110-91965
Honda Activa 2012
Model, Colour- Blue
Call-95773-69908
Wagon R For Sale
2009 Model
Colour : Maroon
Contact-98599-10119
Hundai i20 Sportz
ABS CRBI
Price – 5.20 Lacs
Colour – Grey
88221-41557
Swift Dzire: 2010
Model, Colour: White
(D), Ph- 98599-91965
Activa, Colour: Black
2012 Model
Contact: 98641-06333
Mahindra Duro
2011 Model
Colour : Maroon
Contact: 88110-91965
Public Notice
I, Neelakshi Bordoloi,
have changed my name
to Neelakshi Bordoloi
Saikia by an affidavit
before the Notary
Public Kamrup (Metro)
dated: 19-02-15
Citypedia
AMBULANCE
Splendor 2013 Model
Colour Black
Call- 98641-06333
Swift VSI 2012 Model
Colour: Silver
4.50 Lacs Fixed
Call:88221-41557
23
HOSPITALS
Arya Hospital, Ulubari
(2606888, 2606665)
B Baruah Cancer Institute
(2472364/66)
Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd
(2451634/678)
Chatribari Christian
Hospital
0361-2600051, 9207044374
Downtown Hospital
2331003, 9864079366,
9435012669
Guwahati Medical College
(2529457, 2529561)
Guwahati Medical College
Emergency (2263444)
International Hospital
0361-7135005
Mahendra Mohan
Choudhury Hospital
(2541477, 2543998)
Marwari Hospital & Research Centre
0361-2602738/39
Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01
Nemcare Hospital
0361-2528587, 2455906,
2457344
Pratiksha Hospital
0361-2337260,
2337183/84
Basistha Military Hospital
(2304617/0351)
Railway Central Hospital
Casuality (2671025)
Redcross Hospital
(2665114)
Sri Sankardeva Netralaya
0361-2233444, 2228879,
2228921
TB Hospital
(2540193)
Wintrobe Hospital
0361-2519860,
98647-77986
IHR-Institute of Human
Reproduction
0361-2482619,09864103333
GNRC Hospital 0361
2227702
GNRC Life First Ambulance
9401194011
24-HOUR PHARMACIES
Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665)
DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN
GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046
Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251
GGUMTA 98640-16740
ELECTRICITY
SUPPLY
Call Centre –
9678005171
OTHERS
Fire Emergency 101
State Zoo 2201363
GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720,
9864047222
LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209,
2541118
RADIO TAXI SERVICES
Prime Cabs
0361- 2222233
Green Cabs
0361-7151515
My Taxi
0361-2228888
Cherry Cabs
8876222288
Cinema Hall
Anuradha Cineplex – 0361-2656968, 99545-44738
Fun Cinema (HUB)- 98648-00100, 98648-00200
Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar) – 98540-66166
Gold Cinema (Salasar) – 0361-2735367, 98540-77177
Gold Cinema (Narengi) – 88110-01898
police station
SP, Kamrup District: Ph- 2540278
DGP Control Room: Ph- 2540242
SB Control Room: Ph-2261511
Police Control Room: Ph-2540138,
2540113
Azara PS: Ph2840287
Basista PS: Ph-2302158
Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137,
2731199
Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351
Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204
Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237,
2785237
Dispur PS: Ph-2261510
Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285
Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412
Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323
Hatigaon: Ph-2562383
Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587
Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522
Jorabat: Ph-2896853
Khanapara: Ph- 2281501
Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220
Latasil PS: Ph-2540136
Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281
North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255
Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126
Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106
Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237
Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627
24
G PLUS MAY 09- MAY 15, 2015
Catching Up
David Beckham
praises wife for ‘amazing’ b-day
Kylie Jenner
‘Wants to
Invest in Real
Estate’
T
he 17-year-old reality
TV star - who’s openly
expressed her desire to
move out of her family home
when she turns 18 in August is already working out the best
way to invest her ever-increasing fortune and her mother
Kris Jenner, 59, has pledged to
support her youngest daughter
“every step of the way”.
In a new episode of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’,
Kris explained: “Kylie reminded
me that she had a lot of projects
that she’s been working on and
she really wants to take that
money and invest in real estate. I
think sometimes Kylie is underestimated, because she really is a
bright kid.”
F
ormer footballer David Beckham, who turned 40 on May 2nd, has thanked his wife
Victoria Beckham for an “amazing” birthday.
David celebrated his 40th birthday with an extravagant party at a six-star resort
outside Marrakech in Morocco, and gushed on his Instagram account about his “beautiful” spouse.
“Thanks to my beautiful wife for such an amazing day,” he wrote.
Changing blood into Type-O just got easier
C
anadian researchers, including one of Indian origin, have now developed a way to
transform all donated blood into a neutral type that can be given to any patient.
The researchers have created an enzyme
that could potentially pave the way for changing
blood types.
The enzyme works by snipping off the sugars, also known as antigens, found in Type-A and
Type-B blood, making it more like Type-O.
Type-O blood is known as the universal
donor and can be given to patients of all blood
types.
With this enzyme, Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu from the University of British Columbia and colleagues were able to remove the
wide majority of the antigens in Type-A and
B blood.
Eco-friendly cars
running on air? Indian scientists show the way
PIC
OF THE
Shader Lau: Food or fight? Photo: Adib Zamali
WEEK
I
ndian scientists have shown
a new route to make fuel cells
more efficient, thus pushing
further the possibility that cars
could one day run on air.
In a study, researchers said
they had used an iron-based
substance to act as a catalyst,
instead of platinum, to speed up
energy generation in a hydrogen
peroxide-based fuel cell.
According to the study co-investigator Sreekumar Kurungot from CSIR-NCL Pune, this makes the
hydrogen peroxide cell 140 times more active.
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