Cheez badi hai mast mast …

It’s sheer Deewangi Deewangi as playback singer Udit Narayan wins over Sydney audience with his special brand of music

BY PREETI THADANI

Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega…

Udit Narayan could not have picked a better number to start off his Sydney concert.

We sat mesmerised as that QSQT number in his unmistakable voice - and his magnetic presence on stage - won us over instantly. It was worth it, we decided straight away, especially as we had driven out in pelting rain to the C3 Conference Centre in Silverwater. And even if the 6.30pm start had included no less than two hours of support act presentation! It was 8.25pm as the star of the night finally appeared on stage.

Organisers Nillo and Rohit Duggal and Jatinder Vicki of Special Events Entertainment Group (SEEG) had however catered for local talent to build up the mood. The audience were entertained by Manish Kumar (Indian Australian Idol 2012) and Chaitra Ravishankar (first runner up and Popular Choice winner) who did a good job with numbers such as Baharo Phool Barsao and Chikni Chameli

Sydney’s very own Jasmine Gill followed up with a superb rendition of Aami Je Tomar from the film Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Dancers from Swastik Institute of Dance captivated the audience with dance performances to a medley of popular songs in their shimmering silver on green and white costumes.

But as time ticked on the audience became restless. They had come to see and hear their hero the Badshah of Bollywood, and by 8.00pm their impatience was overtaking the ambience that our local artists had created. MCs Nitin and Divya ably compered the event, but their imploring the audience and assuring them that Uditji was on his way, was little consolation after some time.

And yet, all was forgiven as soon as the star made that entry, such was the audience’s love for Udit Narayan.

Padma Shri Udit Narayan is a living legend, having won three National and five Filmfare Awards. He has sung more than 15,000 songs in over 33 different languages.

There were wolf whistles and cheers as Uditji presented some of the best known love songs of the last two decades, including Tere Naam, Jaadoo Teri Nazar, Bholi Si Surat, Ae Mairay Humsafar, Pehla Nasha, Aisa Zakham Diya Hai and Janam Dekhlo Mit Gayee Dooriyan

Numbers such as Yeh Taraa Who

Taraa, Main Nikla Gadi Lekay, Chand Chupa Baadal Main, Idhar Chala Main Udhar Chala, Tip Tip Barsa Pani had the fans humming along.

Uditji also sang a popular song in his native Nepali which had some fans swinging in their seats.

As the audience applauded and called out for more of their favourites, Uditji gladly obliged. He sang continuously, breaking only once for a short interval.

Maya Da Dhaba had on sale an array of dishes for us to recharge on including all time favourites like samosas, butter chicken and cholay accompanied by the ‘perfect pick me up’ on a winter’s nightmasala chai

After the interval Uditji sang more of the audience’s requests including the foot-tapping Nasha Yeh Pyar Ka, Mujhe Need Na Aaeh, Tu Cheez Bari Hai Mast Mast and Khaee Kay Paan Banao Ras Wala His duets (Do You Want To Partner with Manish Kumar, Radha with Chaitra Ravishankar and Kaho Na Pyar Hai with Jasmine Gill), appealed just as much. The finale however was by far the most memorable: Uditji teamed up with Manish, Chaitra and Jasmine to sing that fun-filled number Deewangi Deewangi from Om Shanti Om

Fans had been rocking in their seats all night long and didn’t need to be told a second time when Uditji asked everyone to join him on the finale number. As some people seated in the front rows made their way up on stage to dance alongside Uditji, the many security guards hired for the night demanded the audience sit down. And before things got too rowdy Uditji was ushered off stage, bringing the concert to an end.

Four musicians had accompanied Uditji from India and two were local artists. They complemented Uditji in perfect harmony, keeping pace with him as he sang one hit song after another.

Whether it was a song from a Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan or Shahid Kapoor film, listening to Uditji sing brought to life the silver screen stars that we’ve seen dancing and lip syncing in their movies. The Bollywood odyssey that Uditji took us on spanned songs over the last 30 years of his singing career. His versatility as a playback singer makes him the ideal first choice indeed for pretty much any Bollywood star.

Uditji’s down-to-earth personality struck a cord with the audience. His flawless performance was delivered with ease and charisma and he won the hearts of everyone with his signature smile. He blew kisses to his fans and said, “I am going to entertain you all till my last breath…aap log hain to hum hain, yeh kahani kabhi khatam na ho…” He followed this statement by kneeling on stage and bowing to the audience. Uditji connected with us and all that mattered in that surreal moment was the sacred bond between the Badshah and his many fans.

There were numerous audience requests and Uditji did his best to sing all of them, but alas one concert wasn’t enough to fulfil the insatiable appetite of his fans who kept asking for more. As I drove home high on the songs and music from the evening humming the tune of one of my favourite Udit Narayan songs from the film Mohra, I thought to myself, “Uditji, aap cheez bade ho mast mast, aap cheez bade ho mast…”

Pull out 7 crore families from poverty in 10 years: Sonia India should take seven crore families out of poverty in the next 10 years, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said recently, while announcing that the government was preparing a special package for the northeast and hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“In the next 10 years we have to bring seven crore families out of poverty. This is not an easy job,” Gandhi said at a function to mark Ajeevika Diwas in New Delhi.

About 30 percent of people in India were below the poverty line in 2009-10 - based on the monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) of Rs.673 for rural areas and Rs.860 for urban areas, according to information given to parliament by the government this year.

Gandhi said: “By adopting the Ajeevika Mission, many states have proved that through women SHGs (self help groups), economical and social changes can be brought in the rural areas.

“Seeing this success, it seems that now the Ajeevika Mission will have to be implemented fast across the country especially in central and eastern India.

“Today everybody has proved that this programme can free women from the curse of poverty. Such an emancipation is based on stable and self-made employment and not on the mercy and kindness of anybody. Our purpose is clear. We have to strengthen the women SHGs and their instruments financially,” she said.

Gandhi said Ajeevika, or the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), had proved that social and economic changes could be brought about through women’s SHGs in villages.

“This shows that the Ajeevika mission needs to be implemented across the country with special focus on central and northern parts,” she said.

She said a special package was being prepared for the northeast and hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

NRLM was launched by the ministry of rural development in June 2011. Aided in part by the World Bank, it aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.

NRLM has set out with an agenda to cover seven crore BPL households, across 600 districts, 6,000 blocks, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and six lakh villages through self-managed SHGs and support them for livelihood collectives in a period of 8-10 years, officials said.

Gandhi sought quick implementation of the Ajeevika mission across the nation, especially its central and eastern parts. She said the empowerment of weaker sections and women had been the main pillar of the UPA government.

Hailing the NRLM as an important programme of the UPA, Gandhi claimed that in no other country did such an ambitious and huge scheme exist for the empowerment of women.

She said the capacity to bring changes in society were with the women most as they were the ones responsible for nurturing coming generations.

Sharif keen to boost ties with India: Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister designate Nawaz Sharif genuinely wants to take the process of improvement in relations with India forward, the Pakistani high commission said in New Delhi.

The incoming Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government has “clearly stated that improvement of relations with India is a foreign policy priority”, the statement said.

This has been “articulated with sincerity by Sharif in his interaction with noted Indian journalists and media,” it said.

“It is indeed heartening that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is widely respected in Pakistan, has responded positvely to the initiatives of Nawaz Sharif and sent a special envoy (S.K. Lambah) to meet the prime minister designate.

“Statements emanating from both sides have contributed to improving the atmospherics,” it added.

It said good neighbourly, friendly and cooperative relations between Pakistan and India based on mutual respect and mutual benefit were in the interest of the peoples of the two countries.

“While this must be the objective, both sides have to work the dialogue process to peacefully resolve all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir and explore new avenues of cooperation,” it added.

“It is exceedingly important that both sides do their utmost to build a positive narrative about each other.

“Media has an important role to play. Generating positivity would help creating space to move forward with confidence. In winning hearts and minds this is the foremost challenge.

“It is also important that the phenomenal societal change in Pakistan is understood and appreciated in India. It is time to shed the old way of thinking and using of stereotypes. There is every reason for optimism,” the statement said.

The high commission said Sharif had extensively interacted with the Indian leadership.

It said the high point was the Lahore Summit with then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in February 1999.

“He genuinely wants to take the process forward. A historic opportunity now exists to bringing about a qualitative improvement in relations,” the statement said.

Manmohan Singh sent Lambah to meet Sharif in Lahore May 27. Lambah had served as India’s high commissioner to Pakistan during Sharif’s first term as prime minister.

Manmohan Singh and Sharif spoke on the phone after the May 11 Pakistan election.

Mother’s milk bank to rescue of Rajasthan infants

This bank is not about money, just goodwill. India’s fourth mother’s milk bank in the Rajasthan town of Udaipur is saving the lives of frail or critically ill infants whose biological mothers are unable to feed them for a variety of reasons.

The Divya Mothers Milk Bank (DMMB) in Udaipur, 400 km from state capital Jaipur, has provided 173 units of mother’s milk in about two months to infants in immediate need as they have been hospitalized with life threatening diseases or are suffering from other problems.

Each unit contains 30 ml of mother’s milk.

“Mother’s milk can save the life of an infant born in some particular condition. It is like giving blood to an accident victim who needs it immediately,” said Devendra Agrawal, founder of the Maa Bhagwati Vikas Sansthan, an NGO that runs the bank.

North India’s first bank of the kind was inaugurated by Rajasthan Health Minister A.A. Khan April 14. It is the fourth functional mother’s milk bank after Pune, Mumbai and Surat, Agrawal said.

“In over two and a half months, we have collected 307 units of mother milk from 30 donors. About 173 units were provided to infants on prescription of doctors,” said Agrawal.

He added that the bank had provided succour to many families in this area of the desert state that has a high infant mortality rate - 63 per 1,000 live births as compared to the India figure of 53.

“As per government records, one in eight babies is born preterm in our country and fewer than half of mothers who deliver a baby prematurely are able to provide their babies with breast milk. Through the milk bank, we can save 16 of 100 premature infants,” Agrawal said.

A survey conducted by the Rajasthan government, he said, found that 42 percent of newborns in the state were undernourished and needed mother’s milk.

Besides, through breastfeeding and donated mother’s milk, infant mortality rate can be reduced by 22 percent. If a child is breastfed, her chances of survival increases six times, he added.

According to Archana Shaktawat, project coordinator for the project, several women are coming forward to donate their milk.

“We are raising awareness in the area. Women who have surplus milk or can donate mother milk due to other reasons are coming forward. We don’t financially compensate the women who donate their milk,” said Shaktawat.

Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), those with life-threatening diseases or conditions or those whose mothers are HIV+ are provided mother milk from the bank. Besides, milk is also provided to multiple birth babies whose mothers can’t keep up with the milk required to nourish their infants or those who are on medication.

The donated milk is transferred to storage containers.

Each milk pool (from three-five donors) is mixed and six ounce glass bottles are filled with it prior to pasteurization.

“The pasteurized milk is frozen at -20 degrees Celsius and given to whoever needs it. It can last six months,” said Agrawal.

Dalai Lama’s teachings drawing young Indians

More young Indians are annually arriving in the Himalayan hill town of Dharamsala to lend their ear to the teachings and sermons of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, say Tibetans living in exile there.

Last year, a thousand Indians came to the town to listen to what the 14th Dalai Lama has to say on things spiritual and temporal. This year, the number has gone up by nearly 200.

“These teachings were organised the second time, especially on the request of a group from India. Out of the 8,000 participants, over 1,200 were Indians,” said Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama’s office.

The four-day teachings, which recently concluded, saw participants from 69 countries.

“We have come from Bangalore for the first time to attend the teachings of His Holiness (Dalai Lama),” Supriya Sharma, a senior executive with a multinational company, said.

Her friend Isha Goel said: “Indians are known to rely on their spiritual and yoga gurus. Their inclination is often the result of the appearance of such gurus on television channels, but gradually there has been a shift from Hindu philosophy to Buddhism propagated by the Dalai Lama”.

“Quite relaxing. The visit was focused on understanding Tibetan culture and the sources of its spiritual sustenance,” Isha said.

On the first day of teachings, the 77-yearold pontiff expressed happiness at teaching the Indians.

“I am pleased to give teachings to Indians as these teachings originated from India,” the Dalai Lama, whose sermons on ethics, non-violence, peace and religious harmony have made him one of the twentieth century’s most popular and revered gurus, was quoted as saying by Tibetan advocacy website Phayul.com.

“Giving teachings on Buddhism back to Indians is like returning their ancestral Buddhism to a new generation of Indians,” the globetrotting monk said.

Aides of the Dalai Lama said that seeing how Indians are drawn to the Dalai Lama’s teachings, his official website (dalailama.com) is now available in Hindi too.

Octogenarian Tashi Dolma, who was part of the Indian Buddhist group, travelled along with over 100 Buddhist devotees from Keylong in Himachal Pradesh for an audience with the Dalai Lama.

The spiritual guru’s teachings are free and open to the public. Even board and lodging is free for the participants, says the Dalai Lama’s office.

The teaching sessions are held at the request of followers and devotees, mostly Westerners and Asians.

The Dalai Lama teaches in Tibetan, and there are simultaneous translations in English, Hindi, Chinese and Russian for the participants.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule in 1959. On reaching India, he first took up residence for about a year in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, after which he moved to this Himachal Pradesh town where he continues to live.

In his addresses, the Dalai Lama is often quoted as saying: “India and Tibet share millennia old teacher-student relationship as Buddhism reached Tibet directly from India in the seventh century”.

Indian-American wins 2013 spelling bee in the US

Thirteen-year-old Indian American Arvind Mahankali won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee breaking a personal four-year losing streak.

Arvind, of Bayside Hills, New York, correctly spelled “knaidel,” a German-origin word meaning a type of dumpling.

“I thought a German curse has turned into a German blessing,” NBC News quoted him as saying after he emerged the winner. Even as he continued the tradition of Indian Americans winning the annual event, he also became the first boy since 2008 to win the title. He had finished third in the last two years.

There were 11 finalists in the bee that was held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Another 13-year-old Indian American, Pranav Sivakumar, of Chicago, came second after he was felled by the word “cyanophycean”.

In all, 281 contestants featured in the final stage of the bee.

Eight-year-old Indian American Tara Singh was the youngest contestant in this year’s edition.

Champion Arvind took home $30,000 and the Scripps National Spelling Bee engraved trophy.

He also received $2,500 savings bond from Merriam-Webster and a complete reference library. From Encyclopaedia Britannica, he got $2,000 of reference works including the Britannica Global Edition, 2013 Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD-ROM, and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium.

Joneja, 15, becomes youngest Indian to climb Everest

At 15 years and seven months, Raghav Joneja has become the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, climbing the peak with five teenage mates from Lawrence School, Sanawar.

Lawrence became the first school in the world to send a team to the highest peak.

The boys achieved the remarkable feat May 21 when they summited Everest after a month-long gruelling expedition, backed by Hero Cycles.

The expedition comprised of seven boys with their sherpas, three fathers as a support team and another four old Sanawarians, who joined the group from New Delhi to the base camp for 21 days to give them moral support.

Col. Neeraj Rana, ex-director of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), was the mentor for the expedition which April 9 arrived at Lukla, Nepal from where the group trekked for nine days to the base camp. At the base camp they acclimatised for nearly a month and began the final ascent May 17.

While they set off in a group of seven, one of the seven, Hakikat Grewal, developed a problem in his oxygen mask and couldn’t reach the summit, having to retreat from 27,600 ft.

However, the rest completed the expedition successfully.

Ajay Sohal (16) and Prithvi Chahal (17) together climbed the summit first, next came Shubham Kaushik (16), who was followed by Fateh Brar (16) and then Joneja and Guribadat Singh (17).

“Whatever we do through the rest of our lives, this is one achievement that will always stick to us and will always make us proud. The team is grateful to Hero Cycles and our school for making this ultimate achievement possible for us,” said Joneja.

Established in 1847, the Lawrence School is located near Kasauli, in the Shimla Hill in Himachal Pradesh.

Our aim is developing football in India: Chelsea academy coach

As the three-day Chelsea football club’s clinic here came to an end in New Delhi recently, Chelsea FC College Academy head coach Julian Hart said their main aim in holding the camp was development of football in India and bringing out the passion for the sport among kids.

“Our main motive here is football development. Obviously three days is not a long time but it’s all about showing the kids how it is actually done and then bringing out the passion in them to take football seriously,” Hart said.

“We wanted to interact with as many children as possible to point them in the right direction”.

Hart said it was important to instil a footballing-based education culture in countries that were weak in the sport.

“It’s very important to have education and football-based schools, so that children can do academics and sport side by side. If a player shows exceptional talent then it’s the school’s duty to nurture that talent. This way more and more competent footballers as well as human beings will come out of the schools,” said Hart.

“It’s all about giving children ample opportunities, give them a proper insight so that they can choose a proper career option,” he added.

The foundation clinic was preceded by a two-day scouting camp and later, close to 400 kids from leading schools in the city, including Vasant Valley, GD Goenka, Shri Ram and British School, honed their skills at the camp at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.

The scouting camp yielded 180 of the best footballing talent from the city to be coached by the Chelsea youth coaches. The youth coaches also held a master-class training session with the respective school coaches, sharing essential training techniques to improve talent coaching and development.

A selection trial was conducted one week prior to the clinic, which saw over 400 kids showcase their skills to earn their ultimate footballing experience. Sixty kids were coached each day.

The adidas Chelsea FC Foundation Clinic was an open invitation to the city’s schools and garnered an overwhelming response. This is the second time the Europa League champions were in the city after their 2012 stint.

The 180 kids at the end received medals from Chelsea for participating and showing enthusiasm for the sport. The coaches also picked nine Most Valuable Players (MVPs) each day, based on their passion, enthusiasm and techniques grasped at the clinic. These kids were awarded prizes ranging from adidas caps, backpacks and the latest football boots - nitrocharge.

The Chelsea youth coaches are excited and gearing up for their next visit to the country later this year and this time they are heading to Mumbai for another adidas Chelsea FC Foundation Clinic.

IANS