Soulful splendour at RFAK show

The music maestro performed par excellence at his recently held concert in Melbourne

Mind-blowing, fabulous, mesmerising, soul stirring, sizzling, the adjectives were flowing fast on Facebook and for once, everyone seemed to agree that the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan show held in Melbourne recently, was worth every dollar spent. As an ardent fan of Rahat claimed on her status, “I have been to all the RFAK’s concerts in Melbourne and this Rahat Reloaded show was by far the best!” The credit goes to the organisers Sizzlin Events, for not cutting corners with the choice of venue, backdrop or sound.

The recently redeveloped Hamer Hall at the Arts Centre in Melbourne was a fitting location for a power-packed performance from the King of Sufi music, while the backdrop of blossoming flowers and a myriad of lighting effects added to the overall experience. The turnout was impressive for a Sunday evening, as the talented singer from Pakistan took soulful music beyond borders, following the tradition of his uncle late Ustad

Popular Pakistani actress and PTV personality Ayesha Sana ushered the maestro and his troupe on to the stage to the delight of the audience who were getting impatient with the delay. A slickly edited audio-visual clip offered a glimpse of RFAK’s musical journey from the early age of three along with snippets of his multiple concerts around the globe.

Once his accompanists, clad in brown and white traditional outfits, settled in behind him, the iconic singer launched straight into a devotional qawwali, Allah Hu. This was followed in rapid succession by many of his popular Bollywood songs including Surilli Ankhiyon wale (Veer), Sajdaa (My Name is Khan), Tere Naina Dagabaaz (Dabangg 2), O Re Piya (Aaja Nachle), Tere mast mast do nain (Dabangg 1) and Dam Mastqalandar. The pace did not drop at any stage, nor did the power of his vocal mastery, as the singer belted out song after song with no preliminaries. His interaction with the audience was mainly through his music, lyrics and song. RFAK’s accompanists, many of whom had also performed with Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, supported him with equal fervour, helping him to carry the legacy and tradition of a

The turnout was impressive for a Sunday evening, as the talented singer from Pakistan took soulful music beyond borders, following the tradition of his uncle late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali great musical family.

The evening held its magic right up to the last few songs where RFAK launched into full serenade mode with Teri Ore from Singh is King. This particular song could have been toned down to retain the essence of romance, but ended up sounding like a softer qawwali or at best a raspy ghazal. Try as I did, even with my eyes closed, I failed to be transported to the gondolas of Venice skimming smoothly through the river and being serenaded by the gondolier, albeit in Hindi/Urdu. The recorded version proved far more melodic than the live rendition.

The concert went on till later than expected, but no-one seemed to be overly concerned. Towards the end of the show a raffle was drawn, giving the winner a trip to Agra in India, and all the sponsors were dutifully acknowledged. They included Bank Of Queensland Clayton, Landmark Investments, Aria Hotels, Metropol, KBros and Divine Vibes. The Rahat Reloaded 2013 concert proved to be an entertaining event organised with style and substance.

Muzaffarnagar riots and social media misuse

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently stressed the responsibility of states to deal promptly and strictly with sectarian violence and the need to check social media’s misuse to foment trouble.

Addressing the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting in New Delhi in the aftermath of communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh that claimed 50 lives, the Prime Minister said one should try not to politicise communal riots, but act against those inciting communal violence, no matter how powerful they are.

“The government should use their full force to act against those responsible for riots, however powerful they may be and to whichever party they may belong,” he said.

The NIC later passed a resolution to that effect.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government would soon bring in an anti-communal violence bill.

The NIC meeting saw several chief ministers raise concerns over the misuse of social media to spread hatred and rumours.

The meeting was marked by a walkout by Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in protest against the move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

A number of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states’ chief ministers, including the party’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, did not attend the meeting.

“Modi should have come,” said Shinde.

The others from the BJP who did not attend the meeting were Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, who attacked her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav over the Muzaffarnagar violence, also did not attend the meeting. Her speech was read out by a state minister. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik of Odisha were also not present.

Referring to the fake video that was allegedly used to fan the Muzaffarnagar riots, the prime minister said, “We must find a way to stop the misuse of social media”.

“We cannot let anti-national forces misuse social media. Social media is about expressing opinions freely and we need to maintain that sense of freedom”.

He said that last year the social media was used to cause panic by threatening violence against people of the northeast.

“We are eager to ban social media but it is not easy,” said Shinde.

The prime minister appealed to the political parties not to politicise the issue of riots.

“It is important to ensure that the local administration not only acts swiftly to prevent incidents from taking bigger shape but ensures punishment to the guilty at the earliest,” he said.

He added that anti-national forces were using minor incidents for communal disharmony. “We are determined to control these forces. States need to take prompt action to control small incidents that could flare up”.

The Prime Minister also raised the issue of rising crimes against women and said that changing the laws was not sufficient. Social change is the need of the hour.

“A nation can progress only when women can go to public places without fear. It is a shame that women are not treated properly”.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Maharashtra’s Prithviraj Chavan, Assam’s Tarun Gogoi, Haryana’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Meghalaya’s Mukul Sangma were among those who raised concerns over misuse of social media.

Shinde said no society could progress without respecting women.

The meeting also saw senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar greet each other cordially.

This was the first meeting between the two leaders since the Janata Dal-United broke off from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

The meeting was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and several union ministers and NIC members.

Akhilesh Yadav alleged that some political parties were behind the Muzaffarnagar violence.

“It looks that in view of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, some prominent political parties are making dangerous efforts to mislead the public and spoil communal harmony,” Yadav said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad told the media that, “fascist and communal forces want to engineer riots on a big scale” with an eye to the general elections.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that NIC meetings should be held every year. The last NIC meeting was held in 2011.

Indian Navy gets Hawk trainer from HAL

State-run defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) recently handed over the first naval variant of the advanced jet trainer (AJT) Hawk Mk-132 to the Indian Navy in Bangalore.

“We built the aircraft in time for delivery to the navy, which has placed order for 17 AJTs variants. Four more trainers will be delivered during this fiscal,” HAL Chairman R.K. Tyagi said on the occasion.

The city-based HAL manufactures the supersonic AJT under licensed production with the British BAE Systems and RollsRoyce for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy.

“The Hawk will have a pride of place in our fleet,” Vice Admiral Pradeep K. Chatterjee said while receiving the trainer.

“In view of our long association with HAL, we will think of reviving past projects”.

HAL had in the past supplied Dornier aircraft, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Chetak and Cheetah choppers to the navy over the decades.

The company also upgraded the navy’s Sea Harrier aircraft.

As the twin-seater multi-purpose jet, powered by a single Rolls Royce Adour Mk.871 engine, the Hawk is used for basic, advanced and weapons training of pilots and can perform a range of aerobatic manoeuvres.

The Hawk also has capabilities to be used as a ground attack aircraft or for air defence.

With excellent flying characteristics and stability, the trainer can also be flown at night and can perform a wide range of aerobatic manoeuvres. The aircraft can remarkably accommodate a wide variety of external stores.

The trainer’s ergonomically built cockpit provides an excellent field of view for both pilots, while its instructor’s station in the rear has an override control of vital functions.

The IAF had ordered 121 AJTs, including 24 in fly-away condition, with the remaining being built at HAL’s complex in Bangalore.

The IAF has located the Hawkfleet at its Bidar base in northern Karnataka, to train its rookie pilots for flying the supersonic fighters such as Sukhois, MiGs, Mirages and Jaguars.

Indian, Chinese firms

ink 15 MoUs

Indian and Chinese companies recently signed 15 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth $338 million which are expected to address to an extent India’s large trade deficit with China.

The MoUs on Chinese companies sourcing from India were signed at the India-China Business Matchmaking Symposium in New Delhi, organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry and China’s Trade Development Bureau, that saw the participation of 50 firms from China.

India’s exports to China in 2012-13 were worth $13.53 billion, while imports stood at $52.24 billion. The trade deficit was therefore about $39 billion.

“What is worrying for the government and Indian industry is that we have a very large trade deficit. So, we need to collaborate with each other because uneven trade like this is not sustainable in the long run,” Asit Tripathy, joint secretary in India’s commerce ministry, said on the occasion.

He said there are tax and market access related issues in China while exporting.

“I am sure that in the coming days we will handle it so that trade can grow,” he said, adding Indian products are “excellent” in quality and quite competitive in the world market.

Tripathy also asked the Chinese business delegation to explore business opportunities in the Indian services sector.

“India is world leader in IT and ITeS, while legal, architectural and consultancy services are also very popular and competitive,” he said. “The delegation may also look at the services sector in India”.

The leader of the Chinese delegation, Trade Development Bureau Vice Director General Jia Guoyong, said that his government was taking all steps to increase imports from India.

“We have a long-term strategy to enhance trade with India. We are optimising imports of hi-tech equipment, simplifying import management and reducing tariffs to facilitate imports. We are also encouraging business delegation visit for import promotion and overseas procurement,” Guoyong said.

Speaking earlier Wang Hejun, commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy here, said China’s government had introduced the South Asian Expo in the country’s Kunming province upgrading the earlier commodities fair, so as to better promote Indian products.

Over 80 representatives of 60 Indian companies participated in the symposium.

120 violations of ceasefire by Pakistan this year

Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir over 120 times so far this year, army sources said recently in Jammu, adding that 98 of the LoC violations occurred in the Jammu region alone.

“Up to September 17, Pakistan troops have violated the ceasefire 96 times on the Line of Control (LoC) south of Pir Panjal Mountains in Jammu region this year. Two more violations were made by them in Poonch and Rajouri districts on September 21 and September 22, taking the total number of ceasefire violations to 98 from January 2013 till date in Jammu region,” the army source said.

“In 2012, the total number of violations on the LoC by Pakistan in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Ladakh region, was 93. And this year, these violations in the entire state have been more than 120,” defence sources stated.

Indian troops have been responding with caution to Pakistan small arms and automatics firing at Indian positions. India has been accusing Pakistan of frequent violations of the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed by the two nuclearpowered South Asian neighbours in November 2003.

A modicum of normalcy had returned to the lives of thousands of people living close to the LoC in divided Kashmir over the past decade, which is now frequently disturbed. The LOC is the de facto border between India and Pakistan in divided Kashmir.

Residents of areas along the LoC, especially in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region, have started shifting their families to safer areas, fearing damage to lives, crops, livestock and properties.

Whopping $401,000 for Bhupen Khakhar’s work at auction

Artist Bhupen Khakhar’s American Survey Officer fetched $401,000 at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale recently.

A private Indian collector bought Sayed Haider Raza’s La Forge for $305,000 while an Untitled painting by late M.F. Husain went for $245,000 in the auction.

Khakhar’s work was being auctioned for the first time. A private collector gave it to the auction house and it is from the artist’s early days.

This work defines a critical moment in his career as he developed a local and idiosyncratic language for pop art in India.

“We saw strong prices for high calibre works by senior modern artists, including Khakhar, Husain and Francis Newton Souza, reinforcing the quest for quality in the field,” said Priyanka Mathew, head of Sotheby’s sales of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art in New York, in a statement.

“Khakhar’s work sold for almost double the pre-sale estimate,” she added.

Rare bust of Rammohun Roy unveiled in Britain

A previously unknown ivory portrait bust of Indian social reformer Rammohun Roy was unveiled by an art historian at the