Slumdog writes history

Danny Boyle’s much-acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire, which revolves around an 18-year-old orphan Jamal Malik (Patel) in the backdrop of the slums in Mumbai, won eight prestigoius Oscar awards; Best Film, Best Director (Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Original Score and Best Song (A.R. Rahman), Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty) and Best Editing at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony held at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. Megan Mylan’s Smile Pinki, depicting the story of her transformation from a sad outcast to a vibrant 8-year-old with plenty of spunk, also won the Best Documentary award. Director Danny Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight as he received his award, telling the audience: “I swore to my children if this miracle ever happened I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger.” A.R. Rahman praised the city which inspired the book, and subsequently the film. He hailed “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives”. Resul Pookutty, who won for sound mixing, seemed overwhelmed as he accepted his Oscar. “I dedicate this award to my country. Thank you, Academy, this is not just a sound award, this is history being handed over to me,” he said. With Slumdog Millionaire creating history at the Oscars, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the entire team of the film including musician A.R. Rahman have done India proud. The Prime Minister congratulated A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty, Gulzar (lyricist), and entire Slumdog Millionaire team for the success at the Oscars, Prime Minister’s spokesperson said. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee also congratulated the Slumdog team on bringing laurels to India by winning the Oscars. Meanwhile, coming to other Oscar winners, British actress Kate Winslet won her first Oscar for her leading role in The Reader. American actor Sean Penn won the best actor award for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk, while the late Australian actor Heath Ledger won for best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. The actor died last year at age 28. Spanish actress Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for best supporting actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The Japanese film Departures won for best foreign language film. And Man on Wire, which follows French performance artist Philippe Petit’s walk across a high wire strung between New York’s Twin Towers, won best documentary feature.

 

13-year-old father to take DNA test

Baby-faced “father” Alfie Patten today pledged to take a DNA test after two other boys claimed they had also slept with baby Maisie’s teenage mother.

Chantelle Steadman, 15, said 13-year-old Alfie is the father of her one-week-old baby daughter.

The news that such a young boy had fathered a baby prompted a fierce political debate over the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the UK and the sexualisation of children.

But yesterday Richard Goodsell, 16, and Tyler Barker, 14, told the News of the World they had slept with Chantelle at about the time she became pregnant and claimed she also had several other sexual partners.

Alfie today said he would take a DNA test as soon as possible to establish whether he is Maisie’s father.

His spokesman Max Clifford said: “They are planning to do a DNA test.

“Alfie believed he was the father but due to reports in the News of the World at the weekend, he wants to make sure by having a DNA test as soon as possible.”

Alfie, who lives with his mother Nicola in Hailsham, East Sussex, was just 12 when baby Maisie was conceived but said after her birth that he would stand by and support Chantelle with the baby.

Maisie is believed to be living with Chantelle and the teenager’s parents Penny and Steve at their home in Eastbourne.

East Sussex County Council said Chantelle, Alfie and Maisie had received “a package of support”.

In a statement released by the council today, Matt Dunkley, the council’s director of children’s services, said: “We would not normally publicly discuss individual case information and it must be remembered there are three vulnerable young people involved in this case, all of whom are entitled to protection and to have these matters dealt with confidentially.

“However, given the exceptional circumstances of this case, we do understand the need for reassurance.

“It is completely wrong to suggest social workers are doing nothing to support the families and young people involved in this case.

“In cases like this it is normal practice to assess the needs of the parents and the unborn child before the birth and to revisit those assessments once the child has been born to look at what further support might be needed.

“In this case a package of support was agreed before the birth including enhanced involvement from health visitors and family outreach workers.”

Mr Dunkley added that social workers and health visitors were due to visit both families again to carry out further detailed assessments of the three children.

“These will further examine issues such as the parenting of Maisie and the support from the wider family, the education of these young parents, and other issues, including the impact of the huge amount of public interest there has been in this situation on both families,” he said.

“For each of the young people concerned we will provide the necessary support identified and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

 

‘Loose’ women launch pink panty protest

MUMBAI, India – Thousands of Indians, many fuming over a recent assault on women in a pub, are vowing to fill bars on Valentine’s Day and send cartons of pink panties to a radical Hindu group that has branded outgoing females immoral. A “consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women,” founded by four Indian women on social networking Web site Facebook has, in a matter of days, attracted more than 25,000 members with over 2,000 posts about the self-appointed moral police. The women said their mission was to go bar-hopping on February 14 and send hundreds of pink knickers to Sri Ram Sena, the militant Hindu group that has said pubs are for men, and that women should stay at home and cook for their husbands.The same Hindu group was blamed for attacking women in a bar in the southern city of Mangalore in January, an incident that sparked a national debate about women’s freedoms in India.

Collection centers have sprung up in several cities, with volunteers calling for bright pink old-fashioned knickers as gifts to the Sri Ram Sena as a mark of defiance.

“Girl power! Go girls, go. Show Ram Sena… who’s the boss,” reads one post on Facebook from Larkins Dsouza.

‘Hooligans’
There is a separate campaign to “Walk to the nearest pub and buy a drink (and) raise a toast,” that has found supporters from Toronto to Bangkok to Sydney, with even teetotalers saying they will get a drink on Saturday to show solidarity.

“Though I don’t promote smoking or drinking for both sexes, we definitely don’t need hooligans telling us what to do and what not. Best of luck!,” reads one post from Iftehar Ahsan.

There are more heated discussion threads as well that range from the limits of independence to religion and politics, reflecting the struggle facing a country that has long battled to balance its deep-rooted traditions with rapid modernization.

Growing numbers of young and independent urban women have become an easy target for religious fundamentalists and aging politicians trying to force traditional mores on an increasingly liberal, Western outlook.

Not to be outdone, the Sri Ram Sena, which has cautioned shops and pubs in southern Karnataka state against marking Valentine’s Day, has promised to gift pink saris to women and marry off canoodling couples to make them “respectable.”

 

India’s ‘Taliban’ free, FIR against Renuka

Fifteen-year-old Ashwini committed suicide because she felt humiliated.
But the men who caught and thrashed her and her Muslim friend haven’t been arrested yet.
In the Mangalore pub attack earlier, right wing Hindu activists thrashed women publically. The men from Sri Ram Sene were bailed out within a week.
So when Mangalore’s reputation is under attack what do the authorities do?
The Mayor presses charges against a Union Minister for calling the developments Talibanisation.

On Wednesday, a court allowed Mayor Ganesh Hosebettu to file an FIR against Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury.
“I am amazed and amused . They must actually go against those who attacked. In fact papers also called it Talibanisation,” she says.

But what’s even more shocking is the candid admission to NDTV by Mangalore’s top cop.
Sateesh Kumar, SP of Mangalore, says: “We have managed to find out who the accused are, we will be shortly arresting them.”
“If the police take action nobody will dare do it again. We have the Police, the home minister only to protect us. But their statements shock and scare me,” says a local.
The Managlore Mayor has acted against a Central Minister to prove a point. But many question, why are those who tarnished Mangalore’s image in the first place free?

 

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ book comes online

New Delhi (PTI): Now owning the international bestseller, on which the Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was based, is just a click away with online marketplace eBay starting an auction for the book autographed by the film’s star cast. The book ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, previously known as ‘Q and A’, is open for bidding with a minimum starting bid of Rs 270. The famous book authored by Vikas Swarup, is autographed by the film’s stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. The auction, which began on February 16, is scheduled to end on February 28. “The whole amount collected from the bid proceeds will go to Plan India, an NGO working for child rights, ” eBay India’s corporate communications senior manager Deepa Thomas said. The bidding amount has witnessed a 10-fold jump in auction price and currently bidding is at Rs 2,600. However, there has been no offers to buy at that price even two days after the beginning of the auction till now. According to data available with eBay, about 19 bidders has participated in the process so far, while the auction site has been visited by over 280 people. Asking about how far the auction prices would go Thomas said, she cannot comment on that but said they were expecting four to five times more visitors or at least 1,000 unique visitors

 

IPL to be a grand event : Lalit Modi

 

NEW DELHI: The second edition of the Indian Premiere League would be a much bigger than its previous one, said chairman Lalit Modi in Goa on Thursday.

A total of 17 slots would be available for the different teams to bid for in the auction of the second edition of the Indian Premiere League, said Modi. 

The IPL chairman said apart from the slots available, teams can bid for more players to replace the Pakistani players, who are banned from the Twenty20 league. Whereas he said no replacements would be possible in the mid-session 
He said the IPL will follow new players of conduct in its second edition of the tournament.
In case of tied match, one over eliminator would be used, said Modi 
 He again said the IPL will follow the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) guidelines 
In its second edition Mumbai Indians have three players to bid for, whereas Kolkata Knight Riders have 1 slot available to bid for. 
 The second player’s auction of the DLF Indian Premier League will witness 114 cricketers from abroad under the hammer in Goa on February 6. 
From South Africa’s new batting sensation JP Duminy to England’s Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, the auction will see an array of stars up for the auction for the second edition of the tournament that will kick off on April 10. 
Australian players will lead the charge with 27 in the fray that include Bradd Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark, Bradd Hogg, Shaun Tait and Jason Krejza among others. However, Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke pulled out citing a busy international schedule. 
England follows next with 21 players including Pietersen, Flintoff, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Udal, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swan and Owais Shah. 
“As per guidelines set by the Governing Council for the IPL 2009, each franchisee will have a maximum purse of $2 million, less any amount spent on signing temporary replacements from last year to select the cricketers best suited for their team’s strategies,” according to a release from the organisers. 
“Clearly the DLF Indian Premier League has set new standards in helping uncover and hone some exciting new talent, that have gone on to gain international recognition, all of which augurs well for development of world cricket. We are extremely happy with the interest the league has garnered globally and look forward to the action at the second player auction in Goa,” Modi said. 
Final list of players and their base prices in USD: 

Australia: Aaron Bird 45,000, Brett Geeves 45,000, Bryce McGain 50,000, Daniel Harris 50,000, Dominic Thornley 50,000, George Bailey 50,000, Jonathan Moss 50,000, Michael Dighton 85,000, Michael Hill 50,000, Phil Jacques 100,000, Shane Harwood 75,000, Shaun Tait 250,000, Steven Smith 75,000 and Stuart Clark 250,000. 

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza 50,000, Mohammed Ashraful 75,000, Shakib Al Hasan 75,000, Tamim Iqbal 50,000. 

England: Andrew Flintoff 950,000, Pietersen 1,35,000, Luke Wright 150,000, Owais Shah 150,000, Paul Collingwood 250,000, Ravi Bopara 150,000 and Samit Patel 100,000. 

New Zealand: James Franklin 50,000, Jesse Ryder 100,000 and Kyle Mills 150,000. 

South Africa: Gulam Bodi 100,000, J P Duminy 300,000, Morne Van Wyk 100,000, Tyron Henderson 100,000 and Yusuf Abdullah 25,000. 

Sri Lanka: Chamara Kapugedara 150,000, Kaushalya Weereratne 50,000, Nuwan Kulasekera 100,000 and Thilan Tushara 100,000. 

West Indies: Dwayne Smith (To be confirmed), Fidel Edwards 150,000, Jerome Taylor (TBC), Kech 50,000 and Kieron Pollard 60,000.

 

Cheap Laptop from India : Laptop ??

 

The much-touted cheap computing device named “Sakshat” turned out to be a fancy “pen-drive” as The Times of India put it, with some bells and whistles. The details of the product, which are still not available, were unveiled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development at Tirupati recently. 

As for the product, what you get for Rs.500 are the following: 2GB of storage memory, WiFi connectivity, Ethernet port(s) and USB connectivity. This is a far cry from the laptop it was touted to be. For starters, there is no screen on this one — so there goes the computing device mumbo-jumbo. What this means is that for it to display data stored on it, it will need a compatible output device (which could be a laptop!).

The “Sakshat” measures 10″x5″ and will be priced at $10 even though the manufacturing costs had reached almost $30. But then, thanks to a considerable cost cutting endeavor, the cost was finally bought down to $10.

So, will this be a threat to those other wannabe low cost computers some publications in the US had thought of? No way! However, it is important to understand the purpose of the device, which seems to have been nagged by an identity crisis ever since its initial announcement. While the Sakshat does a bad job of being a laptop, it does make sense if you consider the intentions behind the device. The Sakshat has been designed as a pure educational gadget to offer downloadable lessons and make online textbooks easily accessible. The aim was to set up electronic classrooms and make online textbooks freely available for download across 18000 colleges and 4 000 universities across India. That sounds good doesn’t it? However, it was projected as a computing device, which we now know, it hardly is!

The Sakshat will be made available to the student community soon with the first lot reaching the colleges affiliated to The University of Andhra Pradesh soon.

What you get for Rs.500 are the following:

2GB of storage memory, WiFi connectivity, Ethernet port(s) and USB connectivity

 

Satyam gets new boss

 

Putting to rest all the speculations surrounding the appointment of Satyam’s new chief executive officer (CEO), the six-member government-installed board today inducted A S Murty — a Satyam veteran — for the top job at the company with immediate effect.The board also announced the appointment of Homi Khusrokhan, former managing director of Tata Chemicals, and Partho Datta, Murugappa Group’s former director (finance) as special advisors to the board to assist in management and finance areas, respectively.

The special advisors, along with Boston Consulting Group, will work pro bono and will assist the newly-named CEO and the board, in defining priorities and executing them effectively.

The board also confirmed receiving bank sanctions to the tune of Rs 600 crore as a planned fund infusion towards working capital requirements. This funding, along with healthy collections, is expected to help the company tide over its financial challenges.

Satyam also reaffirmed that January 2009 salaries globally and the fortnightly salary in February 2009 for its US-based associates have been met from its internal accruals.

“Murty (fondly called ASM) is a Satyam veteran of 15 years, and has been in its forefront since January 1994. He brings to play a deep understanding of the organisation, proven expertise in leading a business unit, overseeing global delivery, nurturing costumer relationships and spearheading the entire gamut of the human resource functions. He is well respected for his ability to effectively integrate the team and enable a collective decision making, which will be critical as Satyam moves into its revival phase,” board member Deepak Parekh said in a statement.

“In our interactions over the past few weeks, we are convinced that Satyam needs an internal leader to steer it at this critical juncture and ASM has the required bandwidth and support,” he added.

These decisions are aimed at quickly stabilising Satyam. The organisation has visibly increased its focus on business continuity for its customers and confidence building amongst its associates (employees) and vendors, the board, which along with its advisors met over two days — the fifth meeting in less than a month — on Thursday.

“This is a unique opportunity to provide direction and guidance and I accept it with all humility. I have no misgivings about the enormity of the task in front of us, but together with my colleagues, I am confident we can accomplish the impossible. I look forward to working very closely with the board, our advisors and all Satyamites – to restore Satyam to its well-deserved glory. We will chart a precise and practical 30–60–90 day plan that will encompass and address the interests of all stakeholders,” Murty said.

“Having led large organisations before, I expect this opportunity to be a singularly enriching experience and I look forward to contributing my might to this noble task,” Khusrokhan said on his new role as the special advisor to Satyam.

“Completing the complex financial restatement exercise, including announcement of Q3 results and ensuring prudent financial operations will be the primary focus in the next few weeks,” said Datta, who will be overseeing the financial operations of the company.

The board reconfirmed that their key priorities and collective focus remain unchanged. These include reaching out to key customers and associates to reinforce their trust and confidence, asserting the financial position and restatement of Q3 results, evaluating long-term strategic options, in consultation with the advisors, assessing legal liabilities and dealing with them comprehensively, undertaking cost rationalisation measures and resuming investments in identified areas.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have been appointed as Satyam’s lawyers to address the Class Action suits in the US. Latham & Watkins have been lawyers to Satyam for over eight years and they will continue to support Satyam in its continuing dialogue with US Sec, the release said.

 

Ultra low budget laptop???

 

The Ministry of Human Resource Development unveiled here on Tuesday what has been tagged as an “ultra low-cost” computing-cum-access device that can “make wonders” in the dissemination of education to the remotest corners of India.

With talk of the “introduction” of a laptop costing Rs.500 making the rounds, the prototype of the device was introduced to the delegates as well as Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Minister of State D. Purandareshwari and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy during the formal launch of the National Mission on Education through Information and Computer Technology on the Sri Venkateswara University campus.

The 10” long and 5” wide hand-held device, resembling a palmtop or a modem, helps e-learners access the Web easily. Priced versions of e-content available on the Net can be accessed through this device.

The cost of the device shot up to between $20 and $30 against the initial plan to peg it at $10, forcing the department to resort to a cost-cutting exercise. R.P. Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, who displayed the prototype to the delegates, expressed confidence that the cost would be brought down further.

In an elaborate presentation, N.K. Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of HRD, explained that the prototype bore testimony to India’s technological capability, with some of the components developed by engineering students themselves.

He said the aim was to make the device cost something close to that a student would have to spend on textbooks for a year. “If bandwidth charges fall further, the device can work wonders,” he said.

 

Sushma Swaraj will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Monday said she will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and exuded confidence that her party will come to power.

“Now the party wants us (party leaders) to contest the Lok Sabha polls and as per the directives of the party I will be contesting,” she said in a statement here.

Her statement came close on the heels of reports that she had been directed by the party leadership not to contest in the Lok Sabha elections and instead concentrate on poll management.

Describing elections as a “festival of democracy” and an occasion to garner the “trust of the people”, the BJP leader said she had never shyed away from contesting elections.

She exuded confidence that the saffron party will come to power and Advani will become the next Prime Minister.