There are foods. Then there are super foods. And then there are some that overpower these two categories. We call them magical foods- the ones that you can both eat and apply on your skin. Yes, that’s true! These food items not only help you maintain a healthy weight but also let you flaunt a smooth and healthy skin.

In fact, what you eat can be as important and helpful as the serums and creams you apply on your skin.

Here are a few magical foods you should get your hands on now

Strawberries

This cute little fruit is loaded with Vitamin C that fights free radicals that damage cells and break down collagen, leading to wrinkles. We suggest that you pick yummy strawberry smoothies once in a while for better hydration. Or you can simply apply them on your face to look young and fresh.

Pomegranate

This magical fruit is the most antioxidant- rich fruit. It has more inflammatory-fighting antioxidant. All you need to do is eat some fresh pomegranate or apply it on your skin to remove dead skin cells.

Green tea

This magical drink has inflammation fighting antioxidants. Make a habit to sip 3 cups of green tea in a day for an antioxidant boost. You can also chill damp tea bags in the fridge and put on eyes as green tea contains tannins, which act as an astringent when applied to skin and help reduce puffiness.

YOGURT

Yogurt is made by bacterial fermentation of milk, a process that boosts digestive health as it produces the same bacteria found in the gut. The lactic acid in yogurt helps in dissolving dead skin and tightens pores. You can both eat it and apply it on your skin.

Honey

Honey is antibacterial and full of antioxidants. It helps in fighting acne and slows down aging. It also helps in bringing back the moisture to the skin.

Over to You

You can easily find these magical foods in your kitchen and home. What you do with them and how you make the most of them is your choice. If used properly, they can do wonders to your skin, health and body. All you need to do is to be aware of these little wonders in your home and the benefits they have in store for you.
And it’s important to eat today for tomorrow but it’s also very important to act today for tomorrow.
So, go to your kitchen now, look for these magical foods and make the most of them.

A noted name in the telecom sector, Videocon has rolled out their new range of entry level and pocket friendly CCTV solution known as the Eco Series. The CEO of the company, namely, Arvind Bali, talks on this new venture and gives an insight into the current security and surveillance market.

Q What prompted your shift in attention from telecom to surveillance?
After exiting mobility business and losing heavily, we started looking at business opportunities which are among the growth industries, synergic to our existing business lines, did not require any capex investment, and most importantly are self sustaining i.e. profitable from the word go. Having explored various opportunities, we found security and surveillance business to be one of the lines that fit the bill. Videocon is a strong brand in consumer durables and appliances with over 17 manufacturing units across the country; R&D centres worldwide and also assures a strong distribution network. All these factors synergise with the security and surveillance business and hence there is no incremental investment for us.

Q What according to you is security?
While the literal meaning of security is the state or sense of being free from any kind of threats, this can apply to people and their possessions, valuable items, assets, organisations, infrastructure or even a nation. It is the prevention and protection of self and others’ items from deliberate or unnatural occurrences. However, for me, the simple meaning of security is peace of mind.

QHow will this new range of Videocon WallCams improve the security of a household?
We have recently rolled out our new range of CCTV product and solutions known as the Eco Series, which is an entry level, pocket friendly CCTV solution for retail segment comprising of household part and small commercial establishments (shops and offices) to reach out the masses. The product range is aimed at making CCTV solution affordable to retail segment and kill their perception of CCTV being an expensive solution. The eco series range starts at a never before price point of Rs 4999 for a set of four cameras (two indoor and two outdoor) and a DVR for live view and recording. The solution comes with a convenience of plug and play, and bundled with many features such as remote viewing on smartphone, alarms etc.

We have seen that CCTV solution acts as a deterrent to curb crime, generally the anti social elements keep away from premises which are secured through video surveillance. I think this small investment will go a long way to improve security of household.

Q What is your strategy in sustaining the reasonable rates of the CCTVs that Videocon claims to provide?
All our products are “Make in India”, which gives us an edge in terms of price. We have our own design and R&D centre in Japan, Korea, China and India which helps us use our internal resources and reduce the prices on new product development. Further, this is a growing business and with the launch of eco series, our volumes are going up. This will give us an economy of scale and help sustain prices in the long run.

Q Are there any new features that we can expect from this new range of eco series?
Yes. We will keep adding more features and product lines to our eco series range. To start with, we will be adding lost cost IP based cube cams, video door phones, and a range of sensors and alarms for home use among others.

Q How will the Vodafone 4G solution contribute toward an enhanced technology?
We recently partnered with Vodafone to launch the first of its kind 4G bundled CCTV solution that includes 4G enabled vehicle surveillance kit and stand-alone 4G enabled outdoor/indoor CCTV cameras, both with a 4G sim slot to support 4G connectivity. We understand that seamless connectivity for the devices is the key for any Internet of things based solution. This solution can be installed in moving/mobile vehicles and one no longer needs to be stationed at one place or be dependent on network/Wi-Fi enabled places. This will make video surveillance practically ubiquitous, and CCTV being one of the most important aspects of connected devices, will see a sea of change in the way it is used.

Q What is the potential CCTV surveillance market in the country at present?
As per the available market research, the current video surveillance market of approximate Rs 3650 Cr is 55 per cent of the overall Rs 6600 Crore security and surveillance market and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent and reach Rs 9150 crore by 2021, which is 2.5 times the current market size. The growth will be driven by households, including small commercial establishment segments. We, however, foresee the market to cross Rs15,000 crore by 2021 which is a whopping little more than four times the growth of the current market size.

I used to tutor at a community college in downtown New York that catered to an immigrant population. My Chinese students, on learning my nationality, would smile and say knowingly, “Brother nation” or “Best friends.” The warmth was infectious and I’d respond in kind, the state-sponsored friendship a balm during a busy workday in a relentlessly busy city. Naturally, then, I pounced at the opportunity to visit ‘Brother Nation’ this past October. It was to become the latest of the father-daughter trips that, since I was 10, the pair of us have indulged in.

But Brother or not, Pakistani tourists visiting China are permitted to travel only in groups “arranged through a qualified local travel agency.” And so our father-daughter trip of two came to encompass 78. And just as well: our brothers couldn’t understand a word we said, or the other way around.

We were utterly beholden to our guides. Brother or not, we were required to show our passports to check-in at hotels and board local trains. Though, earlier in Beijing, our guide kindly stroked our egos by saying that when the strict security at Mao’s mausoleum saw our green passports, they’d be “nice” (an incorrect assumption ultimately, as one of our party managed to get detained there).

On a breezy late evening, one of the guides, Alice, tells us matter-of-factly, “Shanghai is the future of China.” Standing on the deck of a cruise boat making its languid way along the Huangpu River, it doesn’t seem like a controversial statement: the illuminated skyscrapers studding the river’s bank cost the city one million yuan per day to light up the sky. But Alice deals primarily in hyperbole, and continues, “Better than London … Better than New York!”

The Huangpu, which divides Shanghai into its eastern and western districts, makes a literal symbolic divide: British colonial era buildings, including a clock tower reminiscent of Big Ben, line one side of the river; on the other, new China’s skyscrapers house its banks, offices and five-star hotels.

Each tower boasts a different roof; some slanted, some domed, some spired, some curved, and my personal favourite – one shaped like a bottle opener. The skyscrapers along the Bund, as the central waterfront area is known, are by law restricted in height. Capped at 36 floors, this, in Shanghai, is considered restraint.

In 1958, when Mao launched his Great Leap Forward campaign for rapid industrialisation, he pledged to “surpass Britain in 15 years.” Though the plan produced worthless steel and snuffed out 45 million lives, Alice has plenty to feel smug about on this balmy evening.

Amid the grandeur, it’s nice to notice that Shanghai shares our desi penchant for silly names. Inside the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, a 469-metre structure which looks like a futuristic rendition of the Eiffel Tower, exists an eatery called The Pearl Oriental Coca Cola Happy Restaurant!

Twenty-five short years ago, none of it was here. The area along the Huangpu’s eastern bank, known as Pudong, was little more than soggy farmland. In the late 1970s, when Shanghai’s population was at a mere six million (today it hovers around 25 million), the Chinese government decided to turn the city into an economic zone, in part due to its proximity to Hong Kong, as well as its temperate climate.

Since the 1990s, when construction began, the city has developed at breakneck speed. Our guides have reminded us more than once that China is a communist country, but Shanghai is a capitalist’s dream. Overpasses five levels into the sky carry gleaming cars high above the land. Streets seem like highways, train stations like airports (of which Shanghai has two).

Development by its nature doesn’t take everyone with it. In the uncompromising light of day the next morning after the river cruise, I see squat, dishevelled blocks of two-storey housing huddled together in plain view of the high-rises. They seem almost like dormitories, with several doors opening out to a long balcony.

The windows of some are broken; the muddied white paint is peeling. Even bits of the roofs look partially caved in. What can be discerned of the insides seems sparse and simple. “Very bad housing,” Alice informs us. “Many families on one floor, all sharing a bathroom or a kitchen.” Another guide, Jeffrey, later remarks, “In China, people don’t laugh at you for being poor, they laugh at you for being lazy.”

The residents do not want to leave. Though they would receive some measure of compensation for doing so, the government would relocate them to a distant suburb of the city, far away from their lives. And it isn’t only the old, low-income families that struggle for space in this ever-growing city.

Most people have to commute an hour-and-a-half to work each morning to the city’s hub – buying a flat in a high-rise in a coveted part of town costs about 20,000 US dollars per square foot, according to Alice. Since the Communist Party owns all the land, “buying” really means entering into a 70-year-lease, the longest available.
And yet, having done away with the messiness of democracy, China has lifted more people out of poverty — and fast —than anywhere else in the world. And it’s culturally evident it likes its cash: the frog symbolises wealth. The money dragon, most auspicious of symbols, only eats gold but “doesn’t go to toilet”, hoarding the riches in its belly instead. The concept of feng shui (literally meaning wind-water, together implying scenery), began with the business community, who believed that arranging their homes a certain way would invite economic prosperity.

Xinyuan Market strips Chinese commerce of its romanticism and cuts to the chase. It is Shanghai’s biggest “fake market”, a multi-storied labyrinthine shopping mall housing stall upon stall of luxury knock-offs of fairly good quality. Like our own shopkeepers at Zainab Market who will break into French, Russian, Spanish, as necessary, these salesmen enthusiastically bark prices, pitches, compliments or pleas at my father and me in English. They pull at our shirts as we walk away, grab our sleeves, beg us to punch in a final offer on their calculators before gasping at our tightfistedness.

A common tactic is to exclaim “Don’t be angry!” should one refuse the initial price (in general, one pays between 10 to 30 percent of the asking). This flusters the customer, who feels obliged to defend himself and suddenly finds himself in a position of weakness. We have been warned, however, and my father diligently shouts back, “You don’t be angry!”
“Me, I’m not angry!” a woman selling coats exclaims, tugging at his arm.
“But why are you so angry?” He is enjoying himself. “Me? No, no!”
Later on, he makes a friend. Before closing the deal, the short, 30-something shopkeeper smacks him approvingly on the behind. As we leave, three faux luxury handbags in tow, he shakes my hand and says, “Your father – he a good man.”

Talking money, the universal language, we are for the first time understood in this foreign city. Alice shuttles the lot of us out, equipped with the one Urdu word she needs to do her job – “Chalo! Chalo!” [Come! Come!] A chorus of shopkeepers return the chant, “Chalo!” and wave us out.

Later, we are taken to a “real” market – Nanjing Street, 27 metres of pedestrian shopping. International chains like H&M and Zara and Hugo Boss line the streets. We could be anywhere, Oxford Street or Herald Square. The only difference is the Japanese-inspired street fashion, girls in thigh-high socks and pigtails flashing ‘V’ signs at smart phones.

We are bored, but consumerism is a part of the deal. Though the trip to Nanjing Street isn’t mandatory, other shopping excursions have been – by law, as foreigners we were required to visit a pearl factory and tea retailer in Beijing, a jade factory in Xi’ian and a silk factory here in Shanghai.
In each case, an attractive young woman explains the art of cultivation, whether of pearls from oysters or silk from worms, inviting us to touch the un-spun silk or dead oyster shell. Then the (considerably less charming) sales assistants swoop in and the exchange begins. For my part, the factories were a useful, if extended, opportunity for a bathroom break.

On my last day, I am given a respite from concrete and commerce. Sitting in the Yuyuan Gardens, in the old city, I have time to reflect on my brief time with our new friends-not-masters. Originally completed in 1577 by a government official as a peaceful place for his parents to enjoy old age, it’s various pagodas, rockeries and ponds are a testament to filial love.

Watching the white and orange carp swim by, I decide that I’d prefer licking Chinese boots to Arab ones. At the very least, we’d save our birds. It simply wasn’t fair being a security state without any of the shiny stuff this one had. I sensed a great cultural shift coming, and soon after I return to Karachi I see the proof: in an old book store in Defence I find Feng Shui for Cats, “the first book to consider the subject from the all-important feline view.”

Dawn/ ANN

Telangana governor ESL Narasimhan and a Congress delegation led by TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy got engaged in an heated argument today, in a manner probably unprecedented in the Raj Bhavan’s history.

The Congress gave two representations ~ one on sand mafia and the other on the arrest of Dalit leader, Manda Krishna.

When the Congress told the governor that sand mafias are active in Sircilla, home district of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s son and municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao, Mr Narasimhan asked the delegation not to name the minister.

To this Mr Reddy snapped back saying, “You cannot dictate me what to speak”. He then drew the attention of the governor to the killing of a village revenue assistant (VRA) yesterday. The governor said according to information available to him, the victim was not a VRA. Mr Reddy then asked him whether the mafia had the license to kill a common man.

Mr Narasimhan said this new year everyone should resolve to be truthful and stay away from false propaganda. The meeting then turned worse. Top Congress leaders who were part of the delegation, were reticent to explain what went wrong last evening, but began opening up late last night.

Former MP S Satyanarayana told Mr Narasimhan that he is not a headmaster speaking to students and that he is duty bound to listen to the delegation’s grievances and take their representation. Mr Narasimhan threatened to leave and told the leaders to “control that fellow” (S Satyanarayana). TPCC vice-president Mr Mallu Ravi shouted, “What the hell do you mean?”
Mr Reddy attempted to calm down the situation and told the governor that killing of any human being is unacceptable, whether he is a VRA or not.

An infuriated Mr Narasimhan asked what job a politician had with a dead body.

The Congress hit back saying that the governor is enjoying the post due to the “mercy” of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader Manmohan Singh, who had appointed him. They said he is ‘worse than a TRS worker’ and that he has become ‘a stooge’ of the state government.

Later in the evening, the governor and Mr Reddy sought to play down the episode. A Raj Bhavan communiqué said it was a “cordial meeting” and that the “neutrality and the dignity of the Raj Bhavan would be maintained”. Mr Reddy issued a Press release confining himself to the
issues and made no reference to the spat.

Extending gains for the fifth consecutive week, the key Indian equity indices closed the first week of the new year at fresh highs, riding on positive global cues, along with inflow of foreign funds and healthy domestic macro-data.

Although the benchmark indices started off the week on a slightly weak note, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) closed trade at a fresh level of 34,153.85 points on the last trading day (5 January).

It rose by 97.02 points or 0.28 per cent from its previous week’s close at 34,056.83 points. The Sensex also touched a new intra-day high of 34,188.85 points.
On the same day, the wider Nifty-50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) scaled a record intra-day high of 10,566.10 points.

The index closed trade at a fresh high of 10,558.85 points, up 28.15 points or 0.26 per cent from its previous week’s close at 10,530.70 points.

“The week gone by saw the Nifty surging higher. It was the fifth consecutive week of gains for the Nifty,” Mr Deepak Jasani, head ~ retail research, HDFC Securities, said.
“Sectorally, the top gainers were the metal, infra, media and pharma indices. The top losers were the auto, IT and PSU bank indices,” he added.

On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 50 paise to close at 63.37 against the US dollar from its last week’s close at 63.87.

“Indian equity benchmarks rose to record highs with the NSE Nifty-50 Index closing above the 10,555 level for first time. Strong global cues and impressive domestic economic data boosted market sentiments,” Mr Arpit Jain, AVP at Arihant Capital Markets, said.

“Moreover, FIIs (foreign institutional investors) were net buyers of nearly Rs 10 billion in the last three days, which had a positive sentiment in the market. Monthly auto sales numbers and December’s manufacturing data signalling revival also helped,” Mr Jain added.

Data released early during the week showed that robust demand, along with low base effect and end of season discount offers, led to automobile manufacturers reporting healthy sales figures for December 2017. On the investment front, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that FIIs turned net buyers and purchased scrips worth Rs 1,738.44 crore.

However, domestic investors divested funds worth Rs 936.44 crore during the week.

Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors invested in equities worth Rs 1,618.27 crore, or $254.14 million, during 1-5 January.

Mr Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “Despite positive December auto sales numbers, market started-off year on a weak note. Market was contemplating a risk posed by the likely populist agenda which may hurt the fiscal consolidation target earlier set by the government.”

But by the last two trading days, metals outperformed on expectation of strong earnings growth, supported by firm global base metal prices whereas auto stocks witnessed profit booking after the recent run, he said.
Mr Nair added that favourable global cues due to strong US jobs data and improvement in domestic services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for December helped the market move out of the subdued phase of trading.

Data released during market hours on Thursday revealed that the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services PMI Business Activity Index registered an overall increase from 48.5 in November to 50.9 in December on the back of new orders and easing of inflationary pressures.

The top weekly Sensex gainers were: Coal India (up 5.99 per cent at Rs 278.75); Yes Bank (up 5.71 per cent at Rs 333.05); Tata Steel (up 5.17 per cent at Rs 770.30); Adani Ports (up 4.89 per cent at Rs 424.45); and Larsen and Toubro (up 4.58 per cent at Rs 1,314.50).

The losers were: Maruti Suzuki (down 3.06 per cent at Rs 9,434.05); Infosys (down 2.62 per cent at Rs 1,012.10); Bajaj Auto (down 1.37 per cent at Rs 3,277.55); Hero MotoCorp (down 1.24 per cent at Rs 3,739.30); and Wipro (down 1.16 per cent at Rs 309.75).

Even as the government is intent on developing skills of unemployed youth through schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), public sector undertakings (PSUs) are not showing any interest in providing internships to engineering graduates.

The Apprenticeship Act stipulates that any firm has to take 10 per cent of the strength of its employees as apprentices every year. An amendment made in the Apprenticeship Act in 2014 increased the percentage from 3 to 10. The Act applies to engineers and diploma holders. But the PSUs generally hire diploma holders and technicians through the HRD Ministry, Bureau of Practical Training (BOPT).

PSUs are now hiring engineering graduates on the basis of their scores in the Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering (GATE) exam conducted jointly by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IITs and their personal interviews. The weightage for the GATE scores is higher.

Of the over 3 lakh students who apply for internships only 1.38 lakh got them in 2016-17. These internships are supposed to develop skills of the engineering graduates. It is estimated that out of the 16 lakh students only 3 lakh end up with jobs every year.

When this was brought to the notice of HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, he said he will have to find out what is happening. Even as the government is opening up new IITs, the future of those completing engineering courses from the sundry private engineering colleges is in the doldrums. A large number of them do not get campus placements. Sources in the HRD Ministry said those pursuing courses like ceramic engineering or geophysical engineering from IITs also do not get jobs.

HRD ministry sources said almost all private companies take interns because they get a qualified engineer or a diploma holder at a nominal sum of Rs 5000 and Rs 3700 respectively of which half the amount is paid by the government.

Engineering graduates and diploma holders have to apply online for internships through BOPT which is managed by the HRD Ministry. For the one year internship that they get in the company, they get a certificate from BOPT. This helps the engineering graduate seek jobs in other companies.

An official said in some sectors which are not very sophisticated in nature, the need for diploma holders could be more. “Where there is modernisation, the requirement for engineers may be more. Mining sector is one such area,” said the official.

The demand for civil engineers seems to be at an all-time low. Of the 1.38 lakh engineering graduates and diploma holders who were able to get internships in companies in 2016-17, the number of civil engineers and diploma holders was only 7,000. The demand for mechanical engineers and diploma holders was the maximum as 45,000 of them managed to get internships in 2016-17.

Russia is believed to have conveyed to India its keenness to sell its S-400 air and missile defence system and urged New Delhi to take an early decision on the proposed deal.

The issue is learnt to have figured in the context of defence cooperation during a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Cultural Cooperation, co-chaired by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin in New Delhi last month.

Informed sources said Swaraj assured the Russian side that India was committed to further intensifying its age-old military and technical cooperation with Moscow, notwithstanding its plans to manufacture defence equipment under the ‘Make in India’ programme and diversify its purchases.

Sources said the two sides were at this stage holding regularly talks, focusing on technical issues connected with the S-400 deal. These issues related to pricing, training, transfer of technologies and setting up of command and control centres.

India has also conveyed to Russia that New Delhi has its own procedures and internal mechanisms which have to be followed so that the deal was concluded in such a way that the result was satisfactory and met the country’s requirements.

Sources denied there was any tension between India and Russia over military and technical cooperation. Reports in the media about difficulties in the relationship were inspired by interested parties. ”Our military-technical cooperation is long-standing based on mutual trust and understanding,” they added.

Sources also refuted reports that US sanctions on Russia had cast a shadow on India-Russia defence cooperation. As far as India was concerned, it was not a party to the sanctions, they added.

This comes close on the heels of statements by senior Russian officials that negotiations between India and Russia on S-400 missile system had reached a very profound stage.

The S-400 is Russia’s fourth-generation air and missile defence system. It is currently Moscow’s most advanced deployed system, although a fifth-generation version, the S-500, is under development.

As the Indian economy is forecast to grow at its slowest in four years this fiscal (2017-18), Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley and said that their GDP (Gross Divisive Politics) was affecting the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

In a tweet, the Gandhi scion accused Modi and Jaitley of slowing down the economy and said new investments, bank credit growth, job creation, agriculture growth were all down while fiscal deficit and stalled projects were rising.

“FM Jaitley’s genius combines with Mr Modi’s Gross Divisive Politics (GDP),” tweeted the Congress president.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also hit out at the government over lower growth estimates for the current fiscal, saying the worst fears of an imminent economic slowdown have come true.

There is a decline in new projects and fresh investment, Chidambaram claimed in a statement.

The informal sector is reeling under the ill effects of demonetisation. Job creation is abysmal, exports are plunging, and manufacturing sector growth has slowed down. The agriculture sector has been hit hard and rural despair is abundant, he claimed.

Job creation remained the “single biggest failure” of the BJP government. The bank credit growth was extremely sluggish and it did not bode well for the economy, he said.
“No amount of sugar coating, false bravado and rhetoric along with headlines management can conceal the stark reality. Our fears and warnings have proved true,” the Congress leader said.

He said the recent social discontent could be a “direct manifestation of this economic slowdown, which the government was conveniently hiding”.
It was time the government stopped making tall claims and did some solid work, he said.

Citing government data, the former finance minister said the GDP growth rate was 8 per cent in 2015-16, 7.1 per cent in 2016-17. It is estimated at 6.5 per cent in 2017-18, “which proves there is a slowdown”.

A decline in economic activity and growth meant loss of millions of jobs, he said.

While the GDP growth is estimated at 6.5 per cent during 2017-18 as compared to 7.1 per cent in 2016-17, the anticipated growth of real GVA at basic prices in 2017-18 is 6.1 per cent as against 6.6 per cent in 2016-17, he said.

Retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 4.88 per cent in November and industrial output hit a three-month low of 2.2 per cent in October, he pointed out.
“The investment picture remains bleak… The manufacturing sector has seen the sharpest fall and fiscal deficit is likely to overshoot the budget estimates of 3.2 per cent of GDP,” the Congress leader said.

The historic South Park Cemetery on its 250th year today lit up with the tunes of baroque music as a string quartet comprising classical music maestros played out compositions of the greatest musical minds of 17th and 18th century baroque music. Around 500 people poured in to witness the extravaganza organised by the Christian Burial Board (CBB) at the heart of the cemetery.

The baroque concert in the heart of the historic cemetery which holds the graves of several eminent personalities today turned lively with the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi which were played by a string quartet and a pianist.

Speaking on the composition ‘Firework Music’ by Handel, Professor Prosanto Dutt on first violin explained “Handel was a court musician at Hanoever and later, on becoming a ‘Kapellmeister’ to King George I, he used to accompany him playing and composing music for the band.

The compositions that were made by him while floating on River Thames on a boat along with the King, were named as’ water music’ while the ones composed during firework display were known as ‘firework music.”

“Compositions that were played today were in keeping with the time when this cemetery functioned and hence this baroque concert had a lot of relevance especially the slow movements which have a deep connection with funeral hymns” said Mr Dutt, who learnt violin under Theo Olof in the Royal Conservatory of music.
Thespian Victor Banerjee commenting on the event said “Baroque and Rococo art are closely related. It is an opulent form of music and have inspired generations of musicians. Music is eternal.”

Dr SK Mukhuty, Chairman, CBB, speaking at the occasion said “The concert is special in its way as it is being performed in an unusual atmosphere.

“The ambience has provided for an appropriate mood to enjoy a music genre that originated in the years when the historic cemetery, where tombs are constructed in a Greek and Indo-Saracenic style, was active. Most of the structures were made of mortar and lime and hence it becomes difficult at times to keep them preserved. We would love to have support from the citizens who have always cherished the historical value and sentiment of this place.” Ranajoy Bose, executive member, CBB, said, “The concert was unexpectedly well attended by the music lovers of Kolkata, particularly by the students of music schools. Some of the renowned doctors, present here, have already mentioned about the therapeutic and healing effects of music on the human anatomy. It is not easy to hold a concert in a cemetery but we hope to conduct more of such events here in the near future.”

National Library authorities are sitting idle while a reportedly unauthorised employees’ union held a picnic inside the sprawling library complex today, in violation of rules, just a couple of days before the visit of the secretary in the union ministry of culture, Mr. Raghavendra Singh, to the prestigious central government institute.

Dr Arun Chakraborty, director general of the National Library at Alipore campus, said today that all unions inside the library premises are ‘unauthorised and unregistered’ and they organise get-togethers every year.

According to the Union ministry of culture rules under which the National Library operates, no picnics are allowed inside the library complex so as not to disturb the readers.

But a visit to the library this afternoon found the National Library Kormi Association (NLKA), reportedly a BJP-affiliated union that runs its office in the CPWD engineer’s room, organising a big picnic while blaring music from a sound box installed at the spot was audible even outside the library.

After being disturbed by the noise several readers of the library have informed the matter to the security personnel of the library, a senior security officer said, requesting anonymity.

The NLKA office was decorated with colourful union flags and banners while trendy Hindi movie songs blared on sound boxes throughout the day.

Some employees who are also members of the NLKA got angry with this correspondent and a photographer of a Bengali daily saying, “We are organising a picnic here. And why are you so interested?”

When asked what action is going to be taken Dr Chakraborty told The Statesman, “It’s a get-together and not a picnic. All unions organise this sort of programmes every year. Some time before an union had organised a similar programme where 500 people participated. I have no idea whether the organiser has used the sound box today.”
“All the unions inside the library complex are unauthorised and unregistered and this is going on for years,” Dr Chakraborty admitted.

But he had nothing to say when asked how he was going to stop this disturbance to the readers just a day before the visit of Mr Singh.
“Our union is registered and authorised and there is no doubt about it.

“ How did the authority allow the union to organise such a picnic using sound box inside the library complex ignoring the union ministry of culture’s rules,” said Saibal Chakraborty, secretary of the National Library Staff Association.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hand over the work order for her dream project Kolkata Eye on 29 January paving the way for it to start operating from 2020.
The state government has received all clearances that are needed to start the project. Larsen & Toubro has been selected through a global tender and work is likely to start very soon.

The Kolkata Eye that seeks to recreate a London landmark at Millennium Park along the Hooghly will offer a view of the skyline and the Hooghly river. It will be the first of its kind in Asia and will thus serve as a major tourist attraction, said an official.

The giant wheel will be 135 metres in height, which is exactly the same as that of London Eye and will take 45 to 55 minutes for a complete round after starting from the ground level. It will carry a total of 480 persons at a time.

According to the proposal, the structure will possess 60 tubes with seating arrangement for eight persons in each of them. It will be a steel structure and parts will be assembled and erected at the site. If required technological assistance will be taken from Tokyo and Las Vegas.

The initial cost for the project was Rs 400 crore but it may rise due to certain technological inputs.

It is being estimated that once the construction begins, it will take two years to end the project. Thus, once the work order is handed over and the construction begins then the project will be completed by 2020.

Numerous traffic diversions will be in effect owing to the ‘Safe Drive Save Life Half Marathon’ organized by Kolkata police tomorrow. Around 12000 participants will be in attendance.

Kolkata Police will observe “Road Safety Week 2018” from 7 January to 13 January.

The opening ceremony of the Road Safety Week will take place tomorrow at 6 a.m. before the initiation of the half marathon.

There will be 21Km run,10Km run,and a 5 Km run. According to Sumit Kumar,DC Traffic, 12000 participants have registered . There are cash prizes for the first,second,third and fourth positions for both men and women in the 21 Km and 10 Km runs.

For the different age categories in the 21 Km run,from 18 years -30 years,31 years – 45 years,46 years -60 years and above 60 years. The first prize, second prize,third prize and fourth prize will be amounts of Rs 25000,15000,10000 and 5000 respectively.

The marathon will begin at 6:30 a.m.For the 10 Km run the first prize, second prize, third prize and fourth prize will be amounts of Rs 20000,10000,5000 and 3000 respectively.

That race will begin from 7 a.m. For the 5 Km run participants all finishers will get medals.The race will begin at 7:30 a.m.All the participants in the different categories will get race day and finisher T~shirts.Photographers of all runners will be posted on their Facebook pages.

“Our idea is to make this race one of the best race, not just in Kolkata but in the entire country. We will continue to have this race on the first Sunday of every year,” said Additional Commissioner (I) of Police, Vineet Kumar Goyal.

The Safe Drive Save Life Half Marathon will be organized to “set the ball rolling for the Road Safety Week and promote the culture of safe driving and better road etiquette,” he added.

The 21 Km run participants will start from the basketball ground on Red Road before moving to CR Avenue and then take a right turn to Vivekananda Road and AJC Bose Road towards the Moulali,Mullickbazar and Beckbagan crossings.

There is a left turn to be taken to Ballygunge Circular Road and Judges Court Road.A right turn would then be taken to Alipore Road.National Library Avenue,Belvedre Road,Zeerut Bridge and JN Island before coming back to the venue.Traffic diversions will accordingly be made.

Four professors of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College have given up their posts after they had a fall out with the principal of the college as the latter had allowed several students to appear for the final exams, inspite of not having the required attendance.

The incident takes place at a time when around 89 students in Deshbandhu College are being held back for not having the required attendance to sit for their examiantion.

The shift in-charge of the morning section and the evening section, along with head of the departments of commerce sections of Seth Anandram Jaipuria Collegegave up their posts.

There are about 655 students who will be appearing for their (honours) examination this year. Out of them about 140 students do not have the required attendance to sit for their finals. The principal allegedly allowed 32 students of the evening section to sit for the examination.

Morning shift in-charge, Mou Chatterjee, in-charge of the evening section Anil Shah along with professor Shanta Dutta and Radhanath Payn stepped down from their respective posts. They will, however, continue as professors of the college.

Professors alleged the attendance percentage of the preferred students of the evening section was increased by 10 per cent and the principal is allowing them to sit for the exam.
“Only his selective students are being allowed to sit for the exam. This discrimination cannot be accepted. We did not agree to his decision and so we have stepped down,” professor Anil Shah said.

The principal, however, said that due to reports of students’ unrest especially in the evening section of the college, parents did not send their wards to the college for a considerable time period.
“I have only allowed students of the evening section since the situation in this section last year was vulnerable and students felt insecured to come to the college. Students who have 50 per cent were given a grace percent age of 60 per cent,” the college principal, professor Ashoke Mukherjee said.

After PCC chief Adhir Chowdhury, seeking to field a newcomer, announced the name of Mudassar Hossain Warsi to be the Congress nominee in the by-election for Uluberia parliamentary segment, the lack of unanimity in this choice has led to disgruntlement in the party.

While the leadership of the Trinamul Congress and CPI-M, having announced their nominees much earlier, have already hit the campaign trail, the Congress shows little sign of whirlwind electioneering in what had been a Trinamul stronghold in the previous parliamentary election.

Senior Congress leaders in the PCC and the Congress Legislature Party felt the party nominee’s lack of continued contact with the rank and file will be a deterrent in his campaign. Warsi had once been associated with Chhatra Parishad, but has little interaction with the party of late, it was pointed out.

The Congress nominnee’s background as a blogger and his expertise in management may have impressed the AICC leaders, but campaigners will find it to dificult to explain to the voters how he will be able to take up their concerns if he is elected, said a senior leader from Howrah where the Uluberaia parliamentary segment is located.

The choice of the candidate is also a reflection of the PCC chief’s failure to convince the AICC leadership of the unsuitablity of Warsi’s candidature, a senior CLP leader said.

Mr Chowdhury should have pointed out to the AICC members that a Congress nominee who has been away from the hurly burly of state politics for years will send a wrong message to the rank and file, he said. The delay in announcement and the choice of candidate will be another factor to stoke dissent against the PCC chief. Some of the leaders have voiced their resentment after he failed to stop the exodus of the party legislators to the Trinamul Congress.

The voices of protest have only become louder after the Congress nominee lost his deposit in the Sabang by-election in Midnapore (West) recently.

Lack of co-ordination and fund crunch have been identified to be the twin factors in this humiliating defeat in what had been a Congress stronghold for decades.

Against this backdrop, the choice of the nominee in the Uluberia by-election does not seem to indicate a determined bid to win the seat, a senior Congress leader from Howrah said.
On the other hand, it seems that our party is contesting this by-poll merely as a matter of form, he felt.

Four policemen were killed and one was seriously injured on Saturday when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated by terrorists in the Sopore town of north Kashmir.

The IED exploded in the main bazaar where the Kashmir separatists had organised a shutdown against the killing of 57 people in 1993.

Police said that the IED was planted near a shop and was triggered when a police team reached there.

The killed policemen have been identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Irshad Ahmad of Doda district, Mohammad Amin from Kupwara and Ghulam Rasool and Ghulam Nabi (both of Sopore). They were from the 3rd Battalion of the India Reserve Police (IRP).

Three shops were damaged due to the explosion. The security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation

This is after several years that the terrorists in Kashmir have exploded an IED to cause casualties among the police personnel. They had been indulging in direct attacks with sophisticated weapons instead of IEDs.

Reports said that the terrorists had planted the IED in a shop in the congested lane between the Chhota Bazaar and Bada Bazaar. The policemen were patrolling the area in view of the separatists-sponsored shutdown. Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted; “Pained to hear that four policemen have been killed in an IED explosion in Sopore. My deepest condolences to their families”.

Former CM and National Conference leader, Omar Abdullah, in his tweet said; “Omar. Very sad news from #Sopore. May the four brave J&K police personnel killed in the line of duty today rest in peace”. Separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in his tweet did not express condolences on killing of the 4 Kashmiri Muslim cops but accused “Indian forces” for massacre of 57 civilians 25 years ago.

South Africa reached 65 for two in their second innings after bowling India out for 209 in their first innings on the second day of the opening Test at Newlands here on Saturday.

The hosts have taken a lead of 142 runs as all-rounder Harik Pandya’s fighting knock of 93 lifted India out of the hole but that didn’t stop South Africa from getting a 77-run first-innings lead.

Hashim Amla (4 batting) and night-watchman Kagiso Rabada (2 batting) were at the crease when the umpires called it a day.

Earlier, Pandya (93) rekindled India’s hopes of a fightback with a classic counter-attacking half century but fell shy of seven runs to reach his second Test century.

Coming in at the fall of Ravichandran Ashwin when the Indians were tottering at 81/6, Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (25) forged a 99-run eighth-wicket stand to take India past 200-run mark.

For the Proteas, pacers Vernon Philander (3/33) and Kagiso Rabada (3/34) shared six wickets while Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel contributed with two scalps each.

Resuming the day on 28/3, Indian overnight batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma (11) started cautiously watching every delivery closely to keep rotating strike.

Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis used his seamers well — rotating them to keep the visitors unsettled. The home team’s pace quartet maintained a good line and length asking constant questions to the opposition batsmen.

Rohit, who struggled to get going in his 59-ball innings, which contained a single boundary, was dismissed by a delivery from Rabada which struck him in front of the wicket. But the Mumbai batsman asked for a review and the decision was in favour of the bowler.

Following the dismissal, Ravichandran Ashwin (12), who was promoted up the order, joined Pujara to take India to 76/4 at lunch.

After the lunch session, both Ashwin and Pujara failed to get going from the onset.

Saurashtra batsman Pujara, who was batting with patience, was sent back by a Philander’s delivery which fetched an edge and was taken easily at second slip by skipper du Plessis.

Later, Ashwin (12) and Wriddhiman Saha (0) were also sent back to the pavilion in quick succession. While Ashwin was caught behind off Philander, Steyn got a lbw verdict against Saha as India reeled at 92/7.

However, the struggling Indian innings came to a recovery with a blistering innings from Pandya — who was tactically sent down the order. The Baroda right-hander hit 14 boundaries and one hit over the fence in his 95-ball innings.

Complimenting Pandya, Bhuvneshwar played a perfect second fiddle getting off the mark in the 32nd delivery he faced. The seamer presented full face of the bat, going on the defensive, allowing Pandya to go after the bowling.

The Proteas were seen to introduce their lone spinner Keshav Maharaj (0/15) for the first time in the second session.

The only trouble for the hosts came in form of their premier pacer Steyn — who was seen limping off the ground during the 61st over.

The hosts ended the partnership when Bhuvneshwar tried to cover drive Morkel, getting a thick edge which ended in the hands of de Kock, with India at 191/8.

Pandya fell soon, beaten by a delivery from Rabada that had extra bounce to deny him go over the slip cordon. De Kock took a regulation catch to ease the pressure on the hosts.

Rabada then snapped Jasprit Bumrah (2) to end the Indian first innings which ended at 209, with Mohammad Shami unbeaten on 4.

Pandya stole the show with the ball as well, removing both the South African opening batsmen Aiden Markram (34) and Dean Elgar (25).

Markram and Elgar put up a 52-run stand before the former pulled Pandya to the hands of Bhuvneshwar Kumar at mid-off.

Left-hander Elgar was settling nicely before edging an away moving delivery from Pandya to wicket-keeper Saha.

India pushed hard for the fall of night watchman Rabada towards the end but he managed to survice along with Amla as the hosts took a healthy lead going in to third day’s play.

As an occasional guest on one of the dime-a-dozen talk shows that Pakistanis watch avidly every evening, I remarked that Donald Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem was certainly condemnable. But shouldn’t Pakistanis be more concerned about the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen — and Pakistan’s murky role in it? The other guest ‘experts’ froze and the anchorperson turned speechless; she subsequently called for a commercial break.

This is typical of how public discussion on Yemen is avoided. A glance at Pakistan’s TV channels and Urdu newspapers confirms the absence of news or critical discussion. While English language newspapers occasionally take a potshot, our obedient media generally echoes the civil and military establishment — which fully sides with fabulously rich Saudi Arabia against its desperately poor neighbour, Yemen.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office made its position perfectly clear on Dec 19. Just hours after Houthi rebels failed to target a royal palace in Riyadh, it rushed to offer congratulations: “The attack was successfully intercepted by the Saudi-led Coalition, by the grace of God Almighty, before it could cause any damage”.

The communique went on to condemn the “increasing frequency and ferocity of the missile strikes, targeted at innocent civilians by Houthi rebels” and declared that Pakistan stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Saudi Arabia.

Whether the credit actually goes to God Almighty or to Raytheon’s Patriot missile system — in which the Saudis have invested a few billion dollars — the fact is that primitive rebel rockets have done little damage to a country fortified by the US and UK defence industries. Yemen no longer has an air force or air defences left; Saudi-directed aircraft roam its skies at will.

In the last year, Yemen’s markets, schools, and hospitals have been bombed and famine is around the corner. Even sanitary systems have been destroyed and nearly a million cholera cases have been reported. According to the UN, at least 10,000 have died, with air strikes responsible for 60 per cent of casualties. Over 2.5 million Yemenis have been internally displaced.

We can be amazed by Theresa May criticising Saudi Arabia for using the £4.6bn worth of weapons Britain sold to it after the Yemen war began. And it’s almost unbelievable that Donald Trump had actually demanded that Saudi Arabia end its blockade of Hudaydah port. Even this vicious white supremacist does not relish starving Yemenis en masse. These might be pangs of guilt or perhaps a reluctant move to appease international opinion.

Trump and May are, at best, hypocrites. But what shall we say about Pakistan’s damning silence on Yemen’s grade-3 humanitarian catastrophe (Syria and South Sudan are also grade-3)? The Foreign Office has not condemned Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that have deliberately targeted food and water supplies, considered a crime under the Geneva Convention. Nor has it demanded an end to the food blockade. Only the threat to Saudi royal palaces and princes has mattered.

What explains Pakistan’s support? That puny Yemen somehow threatens Saudi territorial integrity, although a claim sanctimoniously repeated from time to time, is unbelievable. The Houthis are unknown to Pakistanis. While there is some vague belief that they are Shia, orthodox Shias refuse to accept them as their own. Back in the 1960s, Saudi forces backed the Zaydi Shias — now part of the Houthi rebel forces — against pan-Arab nationalists.

Most Pakistanis neither know nor care about Mansour Hadi, the recently murdered Ali Abdullah Saleh, or Yemen’s countless tribal rivalries. They also know that Saudi Arabia does not bomb countries for the sake of democracy or human rights. A kingdom that chops off heads and hands publicly every Friday has little use for either.

Pakistan supports Saudi hegemony simply because bags of riyals will buy you everything, including the allegiance of politicians and generals. The Sharif brothers have just returned from Madina, delighted at their ‘victory’ of being allowed to pay homage to the king. And, even if they are not directly involved in combat, thousands of soldiers of fortune — including Pakistan’s ex-hero general — are at the beck and call of Saudi rulers. Religion is used as convenient rhetoric but everyone knows how fake that is or pretends blindness.

Cash is really what speaks. Notwithstanding low oil prices, there’s still plenty floating around. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the architect of the Yemen war — will soon become keeper of the Holy Places. He has just bought the world’s most expensive home, says The New York Times. The $392m Chateau Louis XIV near Versailles, France, is said to have the world’s best bar. It puts to shame the Surrey Palace or the Sharif properties in London. Salman also bought a 440-foot yacht — this $500m vessel has two pools and a helipad. His worthy daddy’s recent travels were with a 1,500-strong entourage, two Mercedes Benzes and 459 tons of luggage.

Those on our TV channels who daily rail against the United States for invading Iraq conveniently ignore that Saudi Arabia poured $20 billion into Iraq’s war against Iran, or the $40 billion dollop it gave to the Americans to chase Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. But after Saudi Arabia’s muted response on the Jerusalem issue, parts of the Arab world are aflame. Posters displayed at a football match in Algeria depicted President Trump and King Salman as “two faces of the same coin”. After Trump’s Jerusalem declaration, Palestinian protesters in Gaza set fire to pictures of Trump, King Salman and Salman Jr.

Remaining a Saudi vassal state and siding with those who deliberately seek to starve Yemen’s children has degraded Pakistan’s moral status. Who will take Pakistan seriously when it talks of the plight of Kashmiris, Rohingyas, or Palestinians? Worship Mammon if you will and become mercenaries without conscience. But there’s a price to be paid.

The Yemen conflict is said to be a religious proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Maybe it is. Still, there is no reason for Pakistan to take sides. It must stay clear of a messy, bloody war that has no bearing on its security. It is time to bring our troops, retired or serving, back home from Saudi Arabia.