Indholdsfortegnelse for August 14, 2017 i India Today

BELOW US, THE DELUGE Monsoon flooding in Gujarat has resulted in the death of 218 (at last count); up to 130,000 have been moved to safer ground. As many as 61 have died in Banaskantha district alone, where this photo was taken during rescue operations. According to meteorologists, the rainfall in Gujarat has been among the worst in 112 years. Some 700 people and thousands of animals have died across the country during this monsoon season. Havoc has been wreaked on infrastructure too, with roads submerged and electricity networks damaged.…

In 1995, Shankersinh Vaghela, then in the BJP, shepherded 47 party MLAs to a resort in Khajuraho, allegedly with the assistance of the then Congress chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh. In a turnabout last week, it’s the Congress that was crying foul after six of its 57 MLAs in Gujarat suddenly resigned. Fearing further attrition ahead of the polling for three Rajya Sabha seats on August 8, the party removed 44 of its remaining 51 MLAs to a resort in Karnataka After all, the future of Sonia Gandhi’s all-powerful political advisor, Ahmed Patel, is at stake. His bid to retain his Rajya Sabha berth has been challenged by Balwant Singh Rajput, the Congress’s whip in the state assembly, who has been nominated by the BJP. This while BJP…

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been rather magnanimous with his Telugu Desam Party members, approving the withdrawal of prosecution of 23 leaders facing criminal cases, including his deputies K.E. Krishnamurthy and N. Chinnarajappa. But the move might backfire as legal experts say it violates Supreme Court guidelines. Chief ministers are known to allow the dropping of frivolous charges against leaders, such as for participating in political agitations while in the Opposition. The ruling TDP’s earlier gesture of withdrawing prosecution of those who participated in the Samaikya Andhra agitation against the state’s bifurcation is an example. But Naidu has approved closure of cases involving serious charges, such as murder, attempt to murder, molestation and cases lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. State HRD minister Ganta…

Spoiler alert. The Red Wedding is a massacre during the ‘War of the Five Kings’, an episode shot in gruesome detail and chilling speed to be the season three finale of the hit HBO fantasy series, Game of Thrones. In it, Lord Walder Frey, a cynical wheeler-dealer, takes revenge against the robust contender King Robb Stark for breaking the marriage pact between House Stark and House Frey, kills young King Robb, his pregnant wife, mother, bannermen and soldiers at a family wedding. Caught by surprise but convinced of their noble intent and entitlement till their last-drawn breaths, almost all the Starks are wiped out, in one violent, coordinated master move. In the game of thrones, writes author George R.R. Martin, you win, or you die. There is no middle ground.…

RESSED IN ARMY FATIGUES AND A PEOPLE’S Liberation Army (PLA) cap, Xi Jinping emerged out of the dust in a military jeep. Gathered in front of him on the windswept plains of Zhurihe, Asia’s biggest military base that sits in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, were 12,000 elite combat troops of the PLA. As Xi’s jeep approached, the troops yelled, “Hail to you, chairman!” “You’ve worked hard, comrades,” Xi responded. The troops continued, “Follow the Party! Fight to win!” The show of strength on July 30, to mark the 90th anniversary of the PLA, was much more than a military parade. With China for the first time displaying a range of new hardware, including its fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter, it was a loud message for its neighbours. In recent weeks,…

For Khairul Haque, a 30-year-old farm labourer from Dibu Dobak village in Assam’s Kam rup district, home used to mean a bamboo structure with a tin roof. In February this year, district officials approached him with a proposal that seemed too good to be true, a concrete house. The assistance on offer—Rs 1.3 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme. Five months on, Haque is today the proud owner of a pucca house, a dream that sounded impossible even six months ago. About 2,500 km west of Haque’s home, at Lohegaon village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, 57-yearold tribal widow Shakuntala Hure has a similar story to tell. The daily wager recently shifted to a pucca house built with Rs 1.2 lakh government assistance. Haque and Hure are just…

Party president Amit Shah has driven most recent expansion moves in the BJP, but though he was briefed on the developments, it was finance minister Arun Jaitley and Sushil Modi who executed one of the biggest political coups in recent times. Nitish had walked out of the NDA in 2013, to protest the anointment of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s campaign chief for the 2014 LS polls. The grapevine is that both Prime Minister Modi and Shah believed that Modi ignited Nitish’s aspirations to be PM. But any such ambition to become PM with the support of the ‘third front’ must have waned with the fall of the Janata parivar and the resurgence of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Jaitley had kept in touch with Nitish despite his bitter exit.…

What’s an opera house without opera? In a land with no opera tradition, it can serve as a concert hall, a dramatic theatre, or a cinema hall. Completed in 1916, for most of its 100 years of existence the Royal Opera House (ROH) in Mumbai has served as all of these, before eventually closing down in 1993. Having been inaugurated by King George V, Emperor of India, the onceglorious hall was reduced to a derelict structure. It would have been consigned to the dustbin of history, but for the intervention of Jyotendrasinhji, scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gondal, which has owned ROH since 1952. He commissioned its restoration in 2010 and the refurbished Opera House re-opened last year. “We see it as a democratic cultural and performance venue,”…

IN KANAE MINATO’S PENANCE, four 10-year-old girls—Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuka—are a close-knit group of friends growing up together in rural Japan. But everything takes a terrifying turn when posh Emily moves to their small town from the big city. One day when the girls are out playing, a man in coveralls, whose face they cannot remember afterwards, asks the pretty-as-Barbie Emily to give him a hand with some maintenance work and promises them ice creams if she cooperates. Later, when the girls go looking for Emily, they find her in a pool of blood, molested and murdered. Emily’s deranged mother blames the four girls—which seals their fates. Nothing can ever be normal again Sae suffers such profound psychological trauma from having seen the blood between Emily’s legs that she…

Q What was the idea behind the exhibition? The main purpose of this show titled 'Heads and Bodies, Icons and Idols' was to provide a glimpse of my career spanning over three decades, starting from 1980 to the present. Q What kept you away from public shows for so long? I have been exhibiting in groups for several years but with limited works. However, a solo show was not possible as none of the galleries could hold my entire body of work. The Gallery, where I am exhibiting was large enough to house all my pieces, which is why it finally materialised. Q How has your interpretation of the female form evolved over the years? In the 80’s, I looked at women differently. My understanding and perception of women has…

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Form versus function is a design debate that hasn’t still decreed a winner, but the Mah Jong sofa, from French Luxury brand Roche Bobois, renders the decision moot. One of the most iconic pieces from the marque, this piece was designed in the 1970s by Hans Hopfer. Its modular form ensures that composition choices are limitless, allowing for owner discretion to completely reorganize the living space, redefining the very term ‘sofa’. Over the years, the brand has called upon legendary designers to “dress” special editions of the Mah Jong. Each of these unique collaborators has infused a new, captivating and surprising facet without changing the core design. For this edition, Roche Bobois has collaborated with Missoni Home to create a striking iteration with their iconic chevron stripes, refined fabrics, floral…

Gwadar port, which was formally operationalised last year, might not yet have begun to deliver the promised economic benefits to Pakistan—but it is already overflowing with narcotics for drug traffickers of the Golden Crescent, the landlocked poppy fields of Afghanistan. In the early hours of July 29, an Indian coast guard ship, the ICGS Samudra Pavak, intercepted a suspicious vessel about 300 km off the coast of Porbandar. The coast guard had been track- ing it—a merchant vessel registered in Panama as the MV Henry—from as early as July 27 because of inputs received from security agencies about ‘suspicious chatter’. The suspicious chatter from the OSV—a vessel used to run supplies to drilling sites on the high seas—had piqued the interest of an Indian intelligence agency monitoring communications on the…

Manohar Parrikar knows he must win the August 23 Panaji by-election to remain chief minister of Goa. It had all seemed a big challenge until July 25, when Atanasio Monserrate, the opposition Congress’s most likely choice against Parrikar, joined the Goa Forward Party, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Panaji had been abuzz that Parrikar would have a tough time if challenged by Monserrate, particularly owing to the chief minister’s vacillation over the shifting of offshore casinos, illegal mining and the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s call for a ban on beef consumption in the state. Monserrate, known for his politicking skills, is very popular. His wife Jennifer is a Congress MLA from neighbouring Taligaon, and a front he heads is in power in the Panaji Municipal Corporation. But an…

When Chhattisgarh agriculture and water resources minister Brijmohan Agrawal’s name cropped up in a land scam, it was just what chief minister Raman Singh needed to cut him down to size ahead of the assembly polls in 2018. A six-time MLA from Raipur since 1990 and a minister in the Sunderlal Patwa government in undivided MP, Agrawal has always felt he should have been the CM. Even as allegations surfaced that not only had Agrawal’s wife Sarita and their son Abhishek illegally purchased forest land but also encroached on some 14 hectares of government land in Jhalki village, besides acquiring an additional 27 hectares of patta land, given to farmers and tribals, the minister rushed to explain his case to the BJP leadership in Delhi. Meanwhile, sources say, a report…

On July 31, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Congratulations to the five @AITCofficial candidates elected today to [the] Rajya Sabha and [also to] the sixth supported by us.” It read like an innocuous selfcongratulation, but party insiders say it was also a communique to anti-BJP parties—especially the Congress. Following Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s re-alignment with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders believe that Banerjee remains the only opposition leader with pan-India appeal. They say that she alone can bring together opposition parties for a united fight against the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “We have the numbers in Parliament and our chief minister has mass appeal beyond West Bengal,” says a TMC Rajya Sabha member. “Of course,…

The locality of Mattancherry, in Kochi, is both the muse and site for artist-curator Riyas Komu’s new show, which features the work of 13 artists. The exhibition, beginning August 12, features the work of painters, photographers, poets, videographers and designers, as well as work from researchbased collectives. Exploring the contemporary spatial, social, historical and temporal shifts of the location by way of investigating the history of labourers and working class and internal migrations, the show is intended to provoke, says Komu, a co-founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. “If you are fortunate enough to take an early morning walk through Mattancherry, you could easily ‘travel back in time’,” says Komu. “When you walk through the narrow lanes and branches of Bazar road or Jew street, or the many churches, mosques and…

Inspired by the eponymous 1982 Fleetwood Mac title track, the Netflix original Gypsy traces therapist Jean Holl oway’s (Naomi Watts) struggles with commitment and her obsessive compulsion to control others (and live their lives). Overly fixated on her patient’s problems, Jean spends most nights on very unethical follow-ups, which allows her an escape from suburban life with her loving and loyal husband Michael Holloway (Billy Crudup) and nine-year-old daughter Dolly. The visuals are effectively used to transform the viewer into a voyeur— watching Jean have sex with her husband from behind a closet door, or walking through her home as we listen to her voice. Jean’s obsession with Sidney, a patient’s ex-girlfriend, is made obvious right off the bat. To meet Sidney, Jean pretends to be a journalist. But despite…

One of the greatest joys has to be the thrill of discovery; uncovering hidden gems that peek out from everyday mundanity. So whether it’s a scarcely known fashion designer of Indian descent who has dressed top Hollywood celebrities or a new bar in portside Pondicherry that lives and breathes history in a carefully curated design cocoon or the scion of a royal family who moonlights as a jewellery designer, our insider secrets unveil some of the most storied vignettes of the design world. 1 BEAUTY, BY DESIGN Rachel Roy, Fashion designer, US With a passion for fashion, a head for business and a face that makes cameras smile, Rachel Irene Roy makes exotic look clichéd. Born and raised in California to a Dutch mother and a Bengali father, Roy started…

AT A GLANCE LOCATIOM New Chandigarh TARIFF Upwards of `22,000 RESERVATIONS www.oberoihotels.com/ hotels-in-chandigarh-sukhvilas-resort/ +91.160.272.0000 The Oberoi Sukhvilas Resort and Spa, Chandigarh, is a destination hotel that compels you to stay. Since it is the latest addition in the brand’s bouquet of Vilas’ that bear the imprint of luxury, you know you are in for a real treat. Here are the top five reasons why you should pack your chicest bags and head here. Mother of all spas This is the brand’s first all-out spa resort and they have gone out on a limb to create a spa treatment; one that’s high on space and low on whimsical frills. What’s been a real coup for the brand has been the appointment of one of the finest ayurvedic doctors to lead the…

Unlike proponents of the minimalist genre that its aesthetic squarely fits in, the beauty of the Triumph Bonneville Bobber is hardly relative— this is a motorcycle that’s been engineered to look (and sound) absolutely ravishing. The new 1200 cc parallel twin engine—retuned on the Bobber for more power and torque—is silky and brutal all at the same time, while sounding as raspy as you’d hope it would. But there’s a dichotomy at work here: just like a new pair of denims, it’s too new; too perfect. A custom with a factory-level finish; too blemish-free as it were. And therein lies the paradox: Bobbers—barebones motorcycles stripped off all expendable bits—are, by definition, old bikes that are re-built for speed (and tonnes of attitude) by gearheads in garages. There are a few…

Activists from the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) are preparing once more to do battle with the Madhya Pradesh government. Medha Patkar has been on an indefinite fast since July 27, alongside 12 people affected by the project to raise the dam’s height by 17 metres, which will result in a town and 192 villages being submerged. The Su- preme Court had ordered all families to be rehoused by July 31, a deadline that has passed with thousands of families remaining in the submergence area. The question before the government now is whether to evict these families or wait for them to move once the water level rises. The NBA has told villagers that the court extended the deadline to August 8, though the government denies this, saying it would be…

Wang Huning Central LSG for Comprehensively Deepening Reform Wang Qishan Central Coordination Group for Anti-Corruption Central LSG for Inspection Work Liu He Central LSG, Economics and Finance Xu Lin Central LSG for Cyber Security and Information Central LSG for Foreign Affairs Yu Zhengsheng Central Coordination Group for Tibet Affairs Central Coordination Group for Central LSG Xinjiang Affairs Yang Jiechi Central LSG for Party Building Liu Yunshan Central LSG for Propaganda and Ideology Central LSG for Taiwan Affairs Li Zhanshu Central LSG for Mass Line Education and Practice Movement Zhang Dejiang Central Military Commission LSG for Military Reform Central National Security Commission Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs…

LALU’S INSTINCT TOLD HIM something was amiss. West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi was reaching Patna on July 25, the same day as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who was returning after attending President Ram Nath Kovind’s swearing-in ceremony in Delhi. Earlier, Nitish had dissuaded Lalu from using his photos for a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) rally on August 27. It was Governor Tripathi’s first visit to Bihar after taking over additional charge of the state on June 22. “Pata karo kaahe aa rahe hain Governor sahab (find out why he is coming),” Lalu ordered an aide. He didn’t take much time getting back, to tell Lalu that the governor was in town to meet university officials. Lalu wasn’t convinced but he let it be for the moment. There were…

y goal in this lifetime is to build up Amaravati as one of the world’s best cities. Ours will be a happy city, and one of the most livable,” declared Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on July 15, while laying the foundation stone for SRM University, the first private varsity to commission a campus in the upcoming capital city. US firm Perkins & Will, who have done projects for several renowned US universities, are the master architects, while Sandeep Tiwari, a Cornell University ex-dean, will be the vice-chancellor. “Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) will come where there is Saraswati (the goddess of education),” added ex-Union minister and vice-presidential candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu. The campus, a Rs 3,024 crore project, is being envisioned as a public-private partnership model and…

Now on Netflix, Raoul Peck’s documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, offers Indian readers (and cinema fans) an excellent introduction to African-American novelist, essayist and playwright James Baldwin (1924- 1987), who is sadly not well known here Baldwin’s relentless examination of racism in the United States made him first and foremost an American writer, of course. But his focus on alienation as the true cost of racism makes him universal—and particularly relevant to an India still wrestling with virulent prejudices of its own. His essays in the ’50s and ’60s, particularly his 1963 book The Fire Next Time, grappled with the psychological toll of racism on black people in an America that projected—and legalised—white superiority to defi ne national identity. “Negroes in this country,” Bal dwin wrote in 1962, “are…

SHRADDHA SRINATH, 26 Theatre artist turned Kannada film actor who debuted with the independent film U-Turn and received accolades for it, she works in the Kannada, Tamil and Telugu industries now. FREEDOM IS Spending an entire day without having to bother about the director and banner, and being able to pick a film solely for its script and my character in it. It is also about not having to control my own decisions based on my role as a ‘heroine’ in the industry. IF I HAD COMPLETE FREEDOM I would love to do independent films. Even though I like the comfort of my van, independent films make me feel at home. It is here that you can spend time being an actor without worrying about anything else. DIYA NAIDU, 33…

Table Art Add this coffee table to your living room to summon an edgy vibe to your space. The Idus Vivo centre table, inspired by the age-old traditions of jewellery making, features intricately curled metal legs. The antique finish of copper adds to the striking filigree and creates a harmonious balance between pure design and artisanal craft. Price On request Availability Idus Store, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi Radiant Warmth Light up your favourite space with this contemporary Robin floor lamp from Roche Bobois by Carlo Zerbaro. The element-inspired design, is crafted from varnished steel with a matte finish. The oxidised silver screen reflects the multi-coloured shell-like material. The clean lines echo the simplicity of the raw materials and bathe your living space in a soft, diffused glow. Price On request Availability Roche…

“Explorers, protectors, dreamers, the hope in these dark times.” That’s how James Cameron described the ten winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise (RAE) in November 2016. He may as well have been describing the brand itself. Nowhere was it more evident than at the 40th anniversary of the RAE instituted to mark the 50th anniversary of the classic Rolex Oyster chronometer at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (yes, where they host the annual Academy Awards). The biennial RAE has recognised 140 laureates from around the world and given a total of $8 million to enable their research into diverse fields that are in tune with the needs of our times. Much of the credit for it should go to the unflappable Rebecca Irvin, Director of Philanthropic Programmes, who…

THERE’S A BIT OF BOTH OF them on each plate even though they own separate courses. The little pot of carrots lying on a soil of black olives served as first course kicks up a giddy storm as it harks back to a dish (or a few) reminiscent of the show our host for the evening is synonymous with. Chef Gary Mehigan is less known as a chef, more coveted as an eight-time judge of Masterchef Australia, the show that brought flavours from around the world into our homes when it debuted in 1998. The Australian way of life, the bonhomie on the show, the bro-code perfected by the judges and the fairytale-like ending for an ordinary contestant living his food dream appealed to the Indian audience that lapped it…

In Rajasthan, yet another fortress-palace turned jet-set playground is about as fresh as yesterday’s news. Here is where Alila Bishangarh bucks the trend. Located in the Aravallis between Delhi and Jaipur, Fort Bishangarh piles up high on a granite hill with 360-degree views; the reconstructed new residential area houses four different categories of suites—each of the 59 suites has been custom built to access the stunning views with 22 different layouts so each room holds a surprise. Food is plentiful; while Amarsar is an indoor speciality restaurant, Nazara is an outdoor grill on the terrace. Madhuveni is the hotel’s bar, with a cigar/cognac turret and then there is the Kachhawa Lounge serving: champagne, coffee, chai and cakes. Spa Alila is located in the dungeon; wellness never felt more earthy. Rates…