It was a marvellous occasion for the vintage car lovers who participated in The 51st Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally here on Sunday. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds though they had participated in the annual event in the past too. Sharing his memorable experience, Vinod Mehta, who drove his 1928 Baby Austin in the rally, said that he had been participating in the event for the last 48 years. “I was 22 years old when I first took part in the third edition of The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally”, he pointed out. Explaining his love for vintage cars, he said the idea of maintaining such cars should be promoted as these vehicles were the country’s heritage and needed to be preserved.

Another participant, Rishi Kapoor, who was there driving his 1936 Ford, said, “These are old beauties which should be kept like pieces of our rich heritage. These beauties should be properly taken care of as these do not cause huge pollution.” Kashif Siddiqui, who participated in the rally with his 1952 Willys, said he had a hobby of collecting vintage cars. “These cars are our beautiful possessions which should be restored to their original position as they cause very little pollution. I have a great passion for vintage cars and that is why I invest time, money and energy in maintaining them,” he added.

The 51st Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally was not just a treat for the participants,but also for the children, who were assembled to see the vehicles out of curiosity.

To watch the history repeating on the street, was just an exception."Every single car has its beauty. I hope one day I will also preserve such type of vintage beauties," said 12-year-old Rajat, who was capturing the flagoff ceremony on his phone.

Rajat had come to The Statesman House with his father Manoj and sister Anjali (15). Both the kids were very happy to see the old beauties.

When the 12-year-old was asked about which car did he like, he told this newspaper that it was tough to choose any single car.

Ayaan who came with his cousins and his father Nazim to see the vintage beauties,said that with these cars we learn about our history.

"Reading a history book and seeing beautiful past is two different things. I will tell my friends in school that I have seen old cars," said Ayaan.

Ayaan has been visiting the rally for the past three years and he liked Chevrolet car 1933 model the best.

Ayaan's cousin Ilma said that for the first time she visited the rally and was very happy to see so many cars at one time.

"I love Mercedes," said Ilma smilingly.

For the children, another reason for their happiness was it was held on Sunday.

Many of the children told this paper that if the rally had taken place on a working day, it might have been tough for them to see the event.

The annual rally began at The Statesman House in Connaught Place and culminated at the National Stadium,where a prizes were distributed in the evening. The guests were also treated to melodious tune dished out by a BSF band.

Emma Stone danced her way to victory as she took home the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mia in Damien Chazelle's soaring musical La La Land.

The 28-year-old triumphed for the first time at Oscars defeating strong contenders like Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie) and veteran actress Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins).

Stone's performance, as an aspiring actress working as a barista in a cafe, in the film was praised for being superbly smart, witty and vulnerable. Her half-spoken, half-sung monologue – "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"- was one of the most poignant moments from the movie.

An emotional Stone thanked fellow nominees Meryl Streep and Ruth Negga and her family.

"Moments like this is a huge confluence of luck and opportunity. I want to thank Damien Chazelle for giving me the opportunity to be part of the project that was so special and once in a life time. I am so grateful to be involved in this film and thank you for your patience.

Ryan Gosling thank you for making me laugh and for being the greatest partner in this crazy adventure… I still have a lot of growing and working to do and this guy (Oscar) is a symbol to continue on that journey and I am so grateful for that," she said.

It's a day to remember for those three sisters who passionately drove the cars at the 51st Statesman Vintage Classic and Car rally. Even though, the elder sister had participated in the earlier editions,it was for the first time that all three sisters competed each other.

The young girls filled with zeal drove the cars vehemently,alluring other girls who were present towards the vintage beauty. Akanksha Sharma (23), who drove Austin Chummy 1928 said, "It is the third time I am participating in the rally it's a wonderful feeling driving a vintage car. You get a lot of attention and it feels like going back into the era".

Explaining about the experience, she said, I was nervous before driving. "While driving the Austin Chummy, you have to be very focused and extra-cautious as its brakes are different from the modern cars," she added.

The other two younger sisters, Aashna Sharma (20) and Aneesha Sharma (18), who were driving for the first time, said it was a joyful and exhilarating experience. "I feel proud after driving car and it was like a mission accomplished," said Aashna, who was driving Fiat Balilla 1934, adding, I am looking forward to more rallies. Sharing her experience, Aashna said, "It is difficult to change the gears of Balilla. Moreover, there are no indicators and the mirrors are just for show".

She also said that the best thing is that you can drive and enjoy the ride as they are little bit slow during driving unlike modern cars.

Expressing her excitement, Aneesha said, I drove a vintage car for the first time and it's a thrilling experience. She also said, "We will really be happy if more girls come forward as this is the time where you can actually explore yourself in a unique way".

Actor Casey Affleck won an Oscar in the Best Actor category for his role as a grieving brother in film Manchester by the Sea at the 89th Annual Academy Awards.

He was announced as the winner of the golden statuette at the ceremony — being held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday night.

Casey appeared to be surprised when his name was announced and as his brother and actor Ben Affleck excitedly lunged towards him to kiss him. 

Other nominees were: Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington (Fences).

The first word as Casey walked upto the stage to accept the award was Dammit.

"It means so much to me. Thank you everyone", he said.

He also thanked Washington and said: "One of the first people who taught me how to act was Denzel Washington, and I just met him tonight."

It is his first Oscar, and Casey was was nominated once before, in 2008 Best Supporting Actor for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

In "Manchester by the Sea", Casey character is seen as guardian of his teenage nephew, Patrick after his brother's sudden death. And then narrates how he comes out his self-imposed sentence of solitary confinement and also throws light on his struggles to stick around a world without his brother and this new responsibility.

Casey said he is "really proud to be a part of this community".

"I'm just dumbfounded that I'm included", he added.

Concluding his acceptance speech, Casey said: "I wish I had something bigger and more meaningful to say." And then thanked his family and love of his life for the constant support. 

He was presented the award by last year's best actress winner Brie Larson.

A dazzling red hot body with some glittering gold parts, John Morris 1914 fire engine, was the centre of attraction at the 51st Statesman Vintage and Classic and Car Rally (VCCR) on Sunday.

Known for its eloquent looks, the fire engine currently displayed at the National Rail Museum caught everyone's attention. And maintaining its record, the fire engine won the trophy in the oldest vehicle category.

Women, children, elders were seen taking pictures with the vintage fire engine.

"It is a great experience to see this machine. I have never seen a fire engine like this before," Sameer, a vintage car enthusiast said.

The centenarian vintage fire engine was manufactured in 1914 by famous fire engineers John Morris and Sons Limited, Salford, Manchester. The fire engine happens to be one of the two earliest such machines known to exist in the world. The other one of the two now rests in England.

Uday Singh Mina, Director, National Rail Museum, said that the machine is still intact with all the original parts and in working conditions.

"All its gears are fully functional and it can still douse the fire," Mr Mina said.

Mr Mina said after 46 years of service in railways, John Morris was phased out in 1960. It was Yashpal Gupta, a former railway officer, who again restored its glory in 1981.

Mr Gupta talking with the Statesman said that it took him great efforts to restore the fire engine.

"It was in a dilapidated condition when I overtook it for restoration. I had to call people in England to get its original parts to make it work again," he said.

Belonging to the erstwhile Nizam State Railway, the vintage fire engine can deliver 500 gallons of water per minute and has four cylinder motor fire engine with 80 horsepower under its hood. It can attain a top speed of 40 miles per hour.

"It is the treasure of our country and needs to be looked after for future," Mr Gupta added.

In perhaps one of the firsts in the history of the Academy Awards, the best picture announcement was marred with goof up. La La Land crew enjoyed a brief moment of glory before it was clarified that in fact Moonlight had taken home the best picture award at the Oscars ceremony.

A visibly confused Warren Beatty jumbled up the names due to an unprecedented mix up of the envelopes.

Beatty later announced that the envelope given to him read best actress Emma Stone for La La Land which got him confused.

Moonlight, earlier at the ceremony won best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor Mahershala Ali.

An estimated 12 to 13 per cent of voters turned out to exercise their franchise till 10 am during the fifth phase of polling Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

Polling is on for 51 Assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts of the state.

"12-13 per cent polling was witnessed till 10 am," poll officials said here.

Prominent contestants in this phase include controversial minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati from the ruling Samajwadi Party, who will be facing Amita Singh from Congress and BJP's Garima Singh in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Rahul Gandhi.

The districts going to polls in this phase are Balrampur, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Basti, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Amethi and Sultanpur.

Due to the death of Samajwadi Party candidate Chandrashekhar Kanaujia in Alapur (Ambedkar Nagar), the EC has announced fresh date of voting in this constituency on March 9.

The ruling SP had won 37 seats out of 52 (total seats in this phase including Alapur) in the 2012 Assembly polls. While BJP and Congress won five seats each, BSP had won 3 and Peace Party 2.

In all, 607 candidates are in the fray in this phase with the maximum of 24 candidates in Amethi and minimum of six each in Kapilvastu and Etwa seats in Siddharth Nagar district.

Over 1.81 crore voters, including over 84 lakh women, will decide the fate of ministers Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh from Tarabganj (Gonda), Tej Narain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya and BSP state president Ram Achal Rajbhar from Akbarpur, among others, in this phase.

Stocks rose for the 7th session on Monday as the bulls refused to let go of momentum in prices. However, gains are getting smaller as investors rework the valuation in a market that is consolidating at 5 month highs and is less than 2 per cent away from its previous record.

Indian traders are taking cues from strong and record closes on Wall Street. They choose to ignore a mild bout of profit booking across Asia as index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries are powering the upthrust, primarily on account of under ownership in the stock which is trading at its highest level since May 2009.

Here are the major trading events of the day:

* The Nifty gains for the 7th day; Index consolidates at 5-month highs and is quoting less than 2 per cent below record highs. It recovered from an intra-day bout of selling to quote 7 points higher at 8,946 points.

* Reliance Industries, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharma, GAIL and Lupin rose between 1-5.6 per cent on the Nifty and were among 16 shares that advanced on the index.

* Axis Bank, Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel and Zee Entertainment lost 1.4-2.3 per cent and were among 35 shares that lost ground on the Nifty.

* Reliance Industries, India's most profitable private company and the largest petrochemicals player, surged 5.6 per cent. It was the top gainer on the Nifty as also the heaviest traded with more than Rs 700 crore worth of shares changing hands on the NSE. Reliance said last week it would begin charging users of its newly launched nationwide telecom services from April 1, triggering a massive rally in the stock after a 7-year gap. Reliance began its telecom operations in September by offering free voice and data calls in the world's cheapest market for mobile services. 

* Jindal Steel & Power, Bharat Electronics and Bharti Airtel saw heavy trading as well.

* JP Associates, Jindal Steel & Power and Reliance Industries were also on the list of most active stocks by volume.

* Broader markets were in a sideways trend after a sharp rally. Modest gains were seen on the mid cap and small cap counters.

* The sectoral space was mostly in the red as traders pressed profit sales on banking stocks. All four benchmarks tracking the banking sector lost a bit of ground. Reliance Industries helped the Nifty Energy index surge more than 2 per cent.

* The bulls retain control of sentiment on Dalal Street with 886 shares rising compared to 663 that fell.

The proud owners of the classic and vintage car beauties were buoyed when they got felicitated at the prize distribution ceremony of the 51st The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally at the National Stadium. The Commissioner of Delhi Police, Amulya Kumar Patnaik, graced the occasion as chief guest and also took time to distribute prizes to the winners under various categories.

The Statesman Challenge Trophy for the oldest vehicle to complete the road section of the rally, under its own steam was bagged by Wolseley 1920 owned by Rita Bhatnagar. The Indian Oil Trophy for the oldest vehicle went to Director, Rail National Museum for John Morris 1914. CR Irani Memorial Trophy for the "Queen of the Rally" for the most outstanding vintage cars judged on the basis of authenticity, maintenance, restoration and elegance was bagged by Ms Roshni Sanah Jaiswal for Rolls Royce 1937.

About 50 awards were bestowed under four sections, like Vintage sections in which cars upto 31st December 1939 were eligible entrants while in Classic section cars above 1500 CC and manufactured between 1945-62 were eligible. Whereas the other cars found place under Post-war section and Others section.

The Blue Star Trophy was bagged by Ashish Jain who owns 1933 model Rolls Royce. This trophy is given to the most elegant British car which completes the course. The turn-out of the car,driver,passengers and loading of car were the parameters taken into consideration. The Dhawan performance trophy for the most enthusiastic new entrant entering the rally for the first time went to Dr Shahamat Hussain, who owned Fiat Tipo 514, 1932 Model.

While in the Post War section the HMCI Trophy for the most authentically restored car manufactured in USA went to Hitesh Arora, who owned 1959 Chevrolet. The Syna Vinatge collections trophy for the most outstanding outstation entry was bagged by 1962 Mercedes Benz owned by Mr. Gurangand Singh Manco.

While in Classic section, eight prizes were distributed. Malibu Towne Trophy for the most elegant and most maintained classic car of the period 1940-56 participated for the first time went to Cadillac 1949 owned by HW Bhatnagar. Whereas, Titus & Co. trophy for the best maintained classic car manufactured in USA of the period 1942-56 went to 1947 Buick owned by Diljeet Titus. Also Diljeet Titus bagged most number of trophies in various categories.

Awards were also given in Others category in which 21 Guns & Salute Trophy was awarded to 1942 Model of Ford Jeep belonging to Birds Group for being highly commendable military vehicle.And also,PP Singh of Balrampur Trophy awarded to the car with the best performance in the road section went to 1951 Model of Morris owned by Gagan Gupta.

Indian actor Om Puri, whose repertoire as an actor reflected a rare realism and was popular for films like "East Is East", "Gandhi", "City of Joy" and "Wolf", was honoured at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony here in the "In Memoriam" montage.

Om Puri, who died after a heart attack in Mumbai, India in January earlier this year, got a musical tribute by Grammy and Tony-nominated singer and songwriter Sara Bareilles.

Bareilles delivered a special performance of the Joni Mitchell song "Both sides now". A visibly emotional actress Jennifer Aniston introduced the memoriam segment.

Om Puri was remembered at the awards ceremony, which was held at the Dolby Theatre here on Sunday.

He was included in the annual montage along with Carrie Fisher, Prince, Gene Wilder, Michael Cimino, Patty Duke, Garry Marshall, Anton Yelchin, Mary Tyler Moore, Curtis Hanson and John Hurt.

Bareilles created an emotional moment as she rendered the song in memory of all the departed souls. While not in the video presentation, actor Bill Paxton, who died the night before, was mentioned by Aniston before Bareilles took the stage.

Om Puri was known for his deep baritone and different acting style, as well as craggy, pockmarked but distinctive face. He had an affinity towards socially relevant cinema.

A National School of Drama alumnus, Om Puri nurtured an international career, which started with a cameo in Richard Attenborough's iconic "Gandhi".

Among some of his British films were "My Son the Fanatic", "East Is East" and "The Parole Officer". He also appeared in Hollywood films including "City of Joy", "Wolf" and "The Ghost and the Darkness". 

A Padma Shri awardee and National Award-winner, Om Puri was also made the honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the British film industry.

Damien Chazelle, the Hollywood wunderkind behind this year's most loved movie La La Land, became the youngest filmmaker to win best director trophy at the 89th Academy Awards on Monday.

Six years in the making, it was a dream project for 32-year-old Chazelle who wanted to pay tribute to old Hollywood musicals with his LA-set story of ambition and romance.

In his speech, Chazelle recognised his fellow nominees and his stars — Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. He also paid tribute to his girlfriend Olivia Hamilton.

"I want to thank my family, my sister and Olivia, my love. The movie is about love and I was lucky enough to fall in love while making it," he said.

Chazelle has said in interviews that movies were always his passion and though he briefly trained as a jazz drummer in school, which inspired "Whiplash", he always knew that filmmaking was his true calling.

In "La La Land", Chazelle has skillfully married his two passions to create a musical that is pulsating with love, life and longing.

The director made a promising debut with jazz Harvard project "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" in 2009. "La La Land", which comes after "Whiplash", proved that his success was no flash in the pan.

The film swept every award leading up to the Oscars where it won a record 14 nominations tying the record set by "Titanic" and "All About Eve."  

Chazelle's other screenwriting endavours culminated in films like "The Grand Piano", staring Elijah Woods, and "10 Cloverfield Lane" which he co-wrote.

Justin Hurwitz took home best song and music score for his much-loved number City of Stars and the enchanting soundtrack of La La Land at the 89th annual Academy Awards.

The track, whose lyrics are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, features Ryan Gosling as an LA-based musician playing to the tunes of jazz and crooning, "City of stars… Are you shining just for me?… City of stars… There's so much that I can't see."

Just three-film-old Hurwitz not only created an original song that stands toe-to-toe with the extraordinary tracks of musicals of the past, but also made sure that it creates a special place in the hearts of audience.

The track comes twice in the movie, at first with Gosling's character Sebastin Wilder singing it longingly and the other time Mia, played by Emma Stone, humming it along with him.

Just before announcing the winner for the best song category, singer John Legend recreated the "City of Stars" moment on live piano with a group of dancers.

This is not the first time Hurwitz collaborated with Chazelle, they have previously worked in Miles Teller starrer "Whiplash".

Hurwitz started his professional journey to Hollywood with Chazelle when they met as freshmen at the Cambridge institution.

The film features over 14 songs but the task of fitting them into various situations throughout the movie has been beautifully done by the director-composer duo.

Some of the tracks from the album include "A Lovely Night", "Another Day of Sun", "Start A Fire" and "Engagement Party".

For La La Land, Hurwitz also won Golden Globes for best original score and best original song (for City of Stars), a BAFTA for best film music and was nominated for three Academy Awards, including best original song twice (for Audition (The Fools Who Dream) and City of Stars).

A lawyer representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said that there was a "great concern" that a new Ecuadorian President could force him out of the country's London embassy, the media reported on Sunday.

Ecuador's presidential race will be decided in a run-off election, to be held April 2, between ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno and opposition candidate Guillermo Lasso.

Moreno has indicated he would back Assange's continued stay, while Lasso has indicated he would evict the Australian activist within 30 days of taking office.

"We are preparing potential legal remedies should the opposition come to power in Ecuador," Jennifer Robinson, a member of the legal team representing Assange and Wikileaks, told NBC News.

"You don't change asylum protections just because a change of government," she added.

Assange was granted asylum in Ecuador in 2012, and has been sheltering in the country's UK embassy since then, in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault.

The whistleblower said he fears Swedish authorities could deport him to the US, where he argues his work with Wikileaks could earn him life in prison or even the death penalty.

Robinson also expressed concerns about Assange's wellbeing, after over four and a half years of living in the embassy.

"His health is deteriorating. It's obviously far from ideal but given the difficult circumstances he is doing incredibly well, but the situation has to end and it is in the hands of the US administration to end that situation," the lawyer told NBC News.

Despite weak global equity markets, Indian equity markets held previous gains and started the week on a flat note. At 9.50 am on Monday, the Sensex at the BSE was trading 38 points up at 28,930 and the Nifty at the NSE was trading three points higher at 8,943.

However, broader markets outperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices jumped 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index jumped the most, up 1.4 per cent, while Telecom index became the top loser, down 1.4 per cent.

On Thursday, the Sensex had closed 28 points up at 28,893 and the Nifty had closed 13 points higher at 8,940. Domestic equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Mahashivratri holiday.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Reliance Industries (up 5.7 per cent), Gail (up 1.3 per cent), HUL (up 1.3 per cent), Sun Pharma (up 1.1 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (up 1 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Axis Bank (down 1.9 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 1.7 per cent), M&M (down 1.5 per cent), Power Grid (down 1.3 per cent), and Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 1.2 per cent)

Meanwhile, the Rupee was trading 15 paise higher at 66.68 against the US Dollar.

Despite weak global equity markets, Indian equity markets held previous gains and started the week on a flat note. At 9.50 am on Monday, the Sensex at the BSE was trading 38 points up at 28,930 and the Nifty at the NSE was trading three points higher at 8,943.

However, broader markets outperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices jumped 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index jumped the most, up 1.4 per cent, while Telecom index became the top loser, down 1.4 per cent.

On Thursday, the Sensex had closed 28 points up at 28,893 and the Nifty had closed 13 points higher at 8,940. Domestic equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Mahashivratri holiday.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Reliance Industries (up 5.7 per cent), Gail (up 1.3 per cent), HUL (up 1.3 per cent), Sun Pharma (up 1.1 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (up 1 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Axis Bank (down 1.9 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 1.7 per cent), M&M (down 1.5 per cent), Power Grid (down 1.3 per cent), and Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 1.2 per cent)

Meanwhile, the Rupee was trading 15 paise higher at 66.68 against the US Dollar.