chandigarh | 11 JUNE 2023

A tribute in his birth centenary year to The challenge for both India and the United In the first of three volumes, AK Bhattacharya
the legendary singer Mukesh, whose hit States is to maintain autonomy in foreign tells how India’s finance ministers shaped its
songs, both sad and romantic, continue to relations while stepping up defence and economic destiny in the period between 1947
touch hearts ARTS page 2 economic cooperation INDEPTH page 3 and Emergency BOOKS page 4

Shahid, Aligarh,
Scam 1992, Faraaz,
Citylights, Scoop —
what makes
Hansal Mehta’s
filmmaking click,
that too on his
own terms

Hansal Mehta
directs Scoop
lead actor
Karishma Tanna.
FRAME
of MIND
COURTESY: NETFLIX

Nonika Singh the super-hit Scam 1992, the forthcoming make the world I portray as believable as

S
Scam 2003 or the OTT rage, Scoop. But he possible. I am hurt to see certain profes-
UCCESS is a catalyst but story-telling is my is not automatically drawn to the written sions, certain sections of society like say
oxygen,” avers National Award-winning word. “Stories find me and not the other Gujaratis being stereotyped.”
filmmaker Hansal Mehta. Riding high on way round. But if a story resonates with me Being a Gujarati himself, is he more at
the overwhelming response to yet another and is also somewhere a cautionary tale of home while depicting their milieu as in
of his directorial ventures, Netflix series times to come, I get obsessed with the idea.” Scam and now, Scoop? “With Gujarati char-
Scoop, Mehta isn’t your average filmmak- Harshad Mehta’s rise and fall is a story he acters, there is a lived-in experience.” But
er. Refusing to eye box-office numbers, he always wanted to tell. When Sameer Nair of even when he recreates a world from obser-
still has a finger on the pulse of audiences. Applause Entertainment bought the rights vation as in Aligarh, “I am as much a part of
“Why do we see thought-provoking content of Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu’s it as my characters. Whether I am comfort-
that engages with your intellect as not book, ‘The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who able here or there, in fact, I don’t like to be
appealing to masses?” he wonders aloud. Got Away’, there was no getting away for smug and snug. If I am comfortable, what’s
If he abhors putting people or ideas in a him. “Harshad was the big bull, an icon in the point of creating anything?” Is the idea
box, there is no way you can pigeonhole the heady days of the stock market when I also to disconcert viewers? “No, only to pro-
him. Questions on his work do not beget was just out of college,” he shares. voke them to see reality as it exists.”
standard responses. To be authentic, sen- Trigger points for Mehta always lie in In his vast and brilliant filmography,
sitive, realistic and engaging at the character arcs, be it the fallen hero in Har- films like Simran and Chhalaang might
same time, and above all to ensure shad or a woman incarcerated in Jigna not sit as well in terms of critical acclaim,
that stereotypes go flying down Vora’s tale. Only, in Jigna’s memoir, he but he owns them — “part of my learning
the Bollywood alley, you can’t found more than a jail story. Thus, for curve” — and puts them in the same line,
generalise what Mehta says Scoop, he went beyond what she had writ- if not league, as his big successes. “If victo-
or does. Even praise is ten and decided to tell it more as a charac- ries are mine, so are my flaws.” His latest
taken with a pinch of ter study, a visual encapsulation of the jour- film, Faraaz, a hostage drama based on a
salt: “I try my best.” nalistic world and as “an alliance between terrorist attack in Dhaka, had a limited the- ACTORS’ DIRECTOR
journalists, police, politicians and under- atrical opening in India and was banned in Talented actor Mohammed Zeeshan
world rather than a regular crime saga”. Bangladesh as the mother of one of the 22 Ayyub, the Imran of Scoop who has
STORIES FIND ME, AND I GET OBSESSED Weaving human stories around crime is victims had filed a petition saying that the been a part of several Hansal Mehta
not a recent preoccupation. If his upcoming film portrayed the victims in poor light. films like Shahid and Chhalaang,
❝ Stories find me and not the other way round.
But if a story resonates with me and is also
Scam 2003: The Telgi Story is about the
stamp-paper scam, back in time, Citylights,
In times when tempers are easily frayed,
how does he look at the rise of OTT where he
sums him up “as the best director an
actor can possibly wish for. He
somewhere a cautionary tale of times to come, I an official remake of BAFTA-nominated has found resounding success? Once again, directs and not instructs, he gives
Metro Manila, too, was a crime thriller of Hansal Mehta won’t pass any verdict. If you you enough space to explore and
get obsessed with the idea. Hansal Mehta, FILMMAKER while developing the character you
sorts, rooted in realism. If at one level it associate the term franchise with main-
feel as if it’s your baby”. Karishma
shook you by depicting the predicament of stream blockbusters and are surprised how
Tanna, the lead actor of Scoop,
Shahid, Aligarh, Scam 1992, Faraaz and an impoverished family, on the other it kept Scam is now a franchise and Scoop might be agrees. Prior to meeting Mehta, she
now Scoop, he is drawn to true stories. His you on tenterhooks. Whatever be his charac- too, he questions, “Why do we dumb down might have been a bundle of nerves
production house not surprisingly is called ters, heroic or victimised, he humanises entertainment and viewers?” as it was her first outing with him.
True Stories. But ultimately, real or fiction- them with a deft touch. Remember Manoj Living in times where filmmakers are However, she recalls how he put her
al, a story has to excite him, whether it’s a Bajpayee as Prof Shrinivas Ramchandra challenged and excited at the same time, he at ease and gave her the liberty to
book or a newspaper article. “I have to see a Siras in Aligarh? Mehta lent such dignity to feels they have the liberty of telling stories take the character of Jagruti Pathak
journey in it,” he says. Rajkummar Rao, his the character that even in moments when the way they want to and have the satisfac- in whichever direction she wanted
favourite actor who’s ‘like a family mem- you should have been laughing at him (like tion of their voice reaching out. To aspiring to. If he allows a leap
ber’, has a dialogue in the much acclaimed when he dozes off during the court proceed- filmmakers, including his son Jai Mehta, of faith to his actors, his own
Aligarh that sums up Mehta’s filmography: ings), you empathise. In Scoop, you feel for who was his co-director in Scam 1992, his ‘chhalaang’ over the years has been
— “It’s a human story.” Inspired by real the ambitious crime reporter Jagruti Pathak advice is simple, “Fight your own battles.
transformative too. Zeeshan
shares, “He does not get into too
people, real world. Even when it explores with all your heart. The acclaimed filmmak- Find your own voice, your own path.” many technicalities and over the
the dark zone as in Shahid, based on the life er, who refuses to judge people or characters, If Scam 1992 became the highest rated years, I have seen him evolve and
of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid views them with heartfelt empathy; not Indian series among IMDb’s top 250 shows, reinvent himself. During the making
Azmi, the filmmaker never loses sight of a merely his protagonists but even antago- rave reviews of Scoop continue to filter in. of Shahid, there was greater
humane approach. Shahid was a milestone nists. In Scoop, viewers are still in awe of the However, the restless soul in him is back to improvisation. For Scoop, he had a
for Mehta as it introduced him to Rao, who morally ambiguous police officer Harsh- where he is the calmest: work. Next in line bound script. But then, he has
became his muse of sorts. It fetched him a vardhan Shroff, etched remarkably well by is a series on Gandhi, with the actor he found a perfect balance. While he
National Award and put him on the path he Harman Baweja. Time and again, Mehta revealed to the world, Pratik Gandhi, play- relies a lot on preproduction
is currently walking. rediscovers actors. Rajkummar Rao, Pratik ing the Father of the Nation. Rest assured, research, he is flexible on the sets.”
Interestingly, the filmmaker does not Gandhi and now Karishma Tanna, there are it will be a Gandhi we have not seen before.
think it’s any more challenging to bring no golden rules for his casting choices. As for the Hansal Mehta that exists
true stories to life on screen than any other Resemblance to the real person is inciden- beneath thought-provoking films and per-
work of fiction. He observes, “There is no tal. “Physical likeness narrows down your tinent social media posts, he laughs, “Ask
comparative challenge. Life is a challenge, choices,” he says. Stars or actors, he doesn’t my wife.” Incidentally, he began his jour-
so is filmmaking, be it any genre, from care to delineate between them either. ney with cookery show Khana Khazana
docuseries to biopics to fiction.” As he is working with Kareena Kapoor in and can whip up delectable dishes. During
His cinema does stand for the under- a forthcoming film, he shares how his job is outdoor locations, his apartment (he does-
dog, but for Mehta, this summation of his to make them deliver their best and inter- n’t book hotel rooms) is an open house for
work is too reductionist. He likes to dig pret characters in the best possible way. his cast and crew, much like his films are an
out extraordinary stories among ordinary Yes, the devil lies in details. If Scoop seems open forum for deliberation.
people. In Scoop, he wanted to bring out authentic, for which he gives the credit to To paraphrase writer Thomas Merton in
characters in the newsroom who are ordi- his writers (Mrunmayee Lagoo, Waikul Mehta’s context, one is (awe)struck by the
nary people, living in small homes, with Mirat Trivedi and Karan Vyas) and ability “to respond to reality, to see the value
typical aspirations. “If we don’t pay atten- research team, nothing is in your face. and the beauty in ordinary things and to
tion to the marginalised, we are likely to While painting a candid picture of the jour- come alive to the splendour that is all
lose our humanity,” he says. nalistic world, he neither sensationalises around us.” In the process, he not only cap-
A lot of his work is based on books — be it nor trashes the media. “I try my best to tures our imagination, but illumines it too.
2 Arts CHANDIGARH | 11 JUNE 2023

Everlasting hits, vibrating in memory

A tribute to the legendary singer Mukesh, who continues to touch hearts, in his birth centenary year
Sumit Paul Connoisseurs of film music will concede
that Mukesh hardly sang a substandard
Mutrib se kaho iss andaaz se gaaye number. ‘Sangeet mere liye aradhana se
Har dil ko lage chot-si, har aankh bhar aaye kum nahin hai’ (Music is no less than wor-
(Please ask the singer to sing in a manner ship for me), he once said to a scribe. Ergo,
that can bring tears to eyes and impact his songs are still verdant in the collective
every heart) memory of the cognoscenti and aficiona-

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dos. Some of his iconic songs — ‘Kahin
HE legendary Urdu poet door jab din dhal jaye’ (‘Anand’, 1971),
Raghupati Sahay ‘Firaq’ ‘Deewanon se ye mat poochho’ (‘Upkar’,
Gorakhpuri must have penned 1967), ‘Sab kuchh seekha humne’ (‘Anari’,
the couplet after listening to 1959), ‘Jo tum ko ho pasand’ (‘Safar’, 1970),
Mukesh’s soulful voice that ‘Ek hasrat thi ki aanchal ka mujhe pyaar
emanated from the recesses of mile’ (‘Zindagi aur Toofaan’, 1975) — com-
his heart. It was a voice that had pathos, pel you to ponder over the nugatory
profundity and piety. There’s no gainsay- nature of life. The last one is considered to
ing the fact that Mukesh didn’t have the be his shahkaar (masterpiece).
trained voice of Mohd Rafi or the range One aspect of Mukesh’s musical per-
and gamut of Kishore Kumar, or a hold (Clockwise from above, left) Singer Mukesh; with actor Raj Kapoor, in whose voice he found an uncanny similarity; with actress Nutan during a stage programme; Mukesh, sona that has not got its due is his soulful
on harmonium, is flanked by a young Ustad Zakir Husain on tabla along with filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor (extreme right). PHOTOS COURTESY: NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE OF INDIA
over his notes like Manna Dey. Yet, the rendition of romantic songs as most lis-
intrinsic soulfulness of his unique voice Bombay to sing for a small girl whose body teners associate his voice with sad songs.
will remain unparalleled. He was the would move only when she’d listen to his ‘Raat nikhri hui, zulf bikhri hui’ (‘Hum
uncrowned king of pensive songs. Mukesh never charged a penny and Hindustani’, 1960), ‘Chaand aahein
numbers and a master of wept like a child when the girl died. bharega, phool dil thaam lenge’ (‘Phool
plaintive notes. He was so magnanimous that when he Bane Angare’, 1963) and ‘Kuchh sher
In his birth centenary year was unwell and couldn’t come for the sunata hoon main’ (‘Ek Dil Sau Afsane’,
— he was born on July 22, recording of the duet ‘Aapse humko bich- 1963) were uber-romantic songs that
1923 — let’s remember hde hue, ek zamana beet gaya...’ (‘Vish- amply show Mukesh’s mastery over all
Mukesh as a humane singer was’, 1969), he requested Kalyan ji- kind of singing and songs.
who poured his heart out Anand ji to give a break to young Manhar The legendary singer died of a heart
whenever he sang. Udhas, the elder brother of ghazal singer attack aged 53 before a concert in Detroit,
Melancholy was Mukesh’s Pankaj Udhas, and get the duet recorded US, on August 27, 1976. His last song, ‘Ik
hallmark. Though he had an in his (Manhar’s) voice. Manhar had a din bik jayega maati ki mol, jag mein rah
inimitable voice, when he voice similar to that of Mukesh. When the jayenge pyare tere bol’ (‘Dharam Karam’,
started singing in the 1940s, song was recorded, Mukesh said, ‘Man- 1975), was chillingly prophetic. Though he
MUKESH it was an era of KL Saigal The way Mukesh conveyed pathos of a ‘Aa laut ke aa jaa mere meet’ (‘Rani Roop- har ki aawaaz mein ye gaana kaanon ko left 47 years ago, his ‘bol’ are still with crores
1923 – 1976 and Ghulam Mustafa Dur- broken heart through his innumerable mati’, 1957), Mukesh’s voice suffused the zyada suhata hai. Aap isse hi rakhiye’ of his fans and will forever be with them.
rani. Almost all the new sad songs, no other singer could. Listen to song with a sad hue. (The song sounds better in Manhar’s An instance of his huge popularity needs
singers idolised the two maestros. Saigal ‘Woh tere pyaar ka gham’ (‘My Love’, Quite a handsome man, Mukesh came to voice; please retain it). a mention. Mukesh was a favourite of
was more popular. Rafi imitated Durrani 1970). You’ll empathise with the sadness Bombay to become a hero and also acted “By this gesture, Mukesh generously renowned spin bowler BS Chandrasekhar.
in his initial days but soon found his own of Shashi Kapoor on the silver screen. It’s in a couple of movies before realising that deleted himself from this song,” to quote When the sound of a Mukesh song drifted
voice. Mukesh also tried to sing like Sai- matchless in its pensive evocation of pain, acting wasn’t his forte. For Mukesh, film and music critic Iqbal Masood (Star & to the pitch, Chandrasekhar’s acknowl-
gal. Though Mukesh’s first song was lyri- angst and helplessness. ‘Humne tujh se singing wasn’t a natural option, but Raj Style, 1979). Mukesh amply proved a edgement of the song would bring a roar
cist Neelkanth Tiwari’s ‘Dil hi bujha hua pyar kiya hai jitna, kaun karega itna’ Kapoor found an uncanny similarity in famous Urdu adage that ‘Ek fankaar ke from the crowd. Sunil Gavaskar wrote that
ho toh’ for ‘Nirdosh’ (1941), his first hit (‘Dulha Dulhan’, 1964) is a cathartic song Mukesh’s voice and the latter became the liye achchha insaan hona shart-e-awwal sometimes he (Gavaskar) deliberately
song as a playback singer was ‘Dil jalta tailormade for jilted lovers, or ‘Dost dost former’s voice in songs. You just cannot hai’ (To be a good human is the sine qua hummed a Mukesh song on the field just
hai toh jalne de’ in ‘Pehli Nazar’ (1945). He na raha, pyar pyar na raha’ (‘Sangam’, separate the two. Their association was non for a creative person). He never held to inspire Chandra. Chandra’s passion
sang it for Motilal, who was Mukesh’s dis- 1964). No other song can convey the pain immortalised in ‘Jaane kahan gaye woh back when it came to praising his coevals was rubbed off on Kirmani and Gundappa
tant relative. It’s said that when Saigal caused by one’s dear friend usurping his din’, ‘Jeena yahan marna yahan’ (both like Rafi, Kishore and Talat, among others. Viswanath, and even journalists. Listen-
first heard the song, he had said, “That’s sweetheart. The wistfulness of a failed from the movie ‘Mera Naam Joker’, 1970) A completely apolitical person, Mukesh ing to Mukesh’s numbers was the late
strange, I don’t recall singing that song.” lover finds its echo in Mukesh’s rather and ‘Awara hoon’ ( ‘Awara’, 1951). never indulged in any politics. He always cricket scribe Rajan Bala’s way to relax.
Fortunately, under the tutelage of com- rare number: ‘Main dhoondhta hoon Like Rafi, Mukesh was a very fine preferred quality over quantity. That’s the PB Shelley’s immortal line, ‘Music,
poser Naushad Ali, Mukesh soon devel- jinko raaton ko khyalon mein’ (‘Thokar’, human being. It’s in Bollywood folklore reason he didn’t sing too many songs. A when soft voices die, vibrates in the mem-
oped his own style. 1974). Picturised on Bharat Bhushan, in how he’d religiously go to a hospital in total of 1,300 songs were sung by him. ory,’ applies to Mukesh in toto.

A repository of melody
CAPTION CONTEST 1411 RAVI KUMAR

Yousuf Saeed has built an archive of 800 film qawwalisfrom 1930s onwards
Sarika Sharma YouTube becoming a repository of videos. dekar. One of these is dated 1936.”
Offline sources — musicians and others What was very clear to music directors

I
N a grainy video dated 1939, a man on from the film fraternity, besides music his- was that the purpose of a traditional
harmonium is exhorting a gathering of tory books — were consulted. “The archiv- qawwali was to provide spiritual ecstasy
men to give up alcohol and lauding the ing process was easy for me because a lot to the Sufis. Therefore, the Sufi qawwalis
Congress’ movement for prohibition was available on the Internet. If someone follow their own style, standards of quali-
— all through a qawwali. Created by would have tried to make such a list about ty, etiquettes of listening and so on. “Sufi
Dada Chandekar, ‘Bhari hai aag matwale 20 years ago, it would have been very diffi- qawwali is meant to stimulate your intel-
teri botal ke paani mein’ from the film cult because they would have had to go out lect, but cinema qawwali caters to the
‘Brandy Ki Botal’ is one of the earliest sur- to find these movies and watch each one of senses,” he draws out the basic difference.
viving qawwalis from Hindi cinema. Wip- them,” says Saeed, who has directed docu- What goes to the credit of cine qawaalis is
ing the dust off this genre is filmmaker mentaries such as ‘Khayal Darpan’ that the fact that these charted a fair field for
Yousuf Saeed, who has curated a collec- explores the development of classical men and women. The 1960 film ‘Barsaat Ki
tion of close to 800 songs in an online music in Pakistan post-1947, and ‘Khusrau Raat’, for instance, is entirely based on two
archive, cineqawwali.in. Darya Prem Ka’ on Amir Khusrau in a dra- sisters who want to become qawwals.
A lifelong student of arts and culture, matic storytelling style. The archive lets one browse through
Saeed’s quest has taken him across The history of cinema qawwali is qawwalis from 1940-50s, 1960s, 1970s,
India and South Asia to document clas- almost as old as the history of talking 1980-90s, and 2000-20s and is replete with
sical and Sufi music, including movies in India. “In our traditional prac- statistics. A chart catapults the ’60s and
qawwalis at holy shrines. All through, tices such as Parsi theatre and nautanki, ’70s to the top when it comes to the num-
however, he felt fascinated by the use stories were always interspersed with ber of qawwalis per year, with 131 and 156
of qawwalis in Indian cinema and songs. Songs in films were a natural pro- songs, respectively; Asha Bhosle and
started compiling them in a list. gression. Among the various genres, Mohd Rafi have sung the most songs. For
Documentary “Even though people have worked on qawwali was and is a distinct category Saeed, the ’50s and ’60s would be the
filmmaker Yousuf cinema qawwali, they have just scraped the because of the kind of music and the way golden period because of the quality of
Saeed (above) surface. Nobody has attempted a compre- it uses the costumes,” feels Saeed. lyrics. His favourite qawwali is ‘Na to kar-
says that unlike hensive listing and then analysed that list,” The first music director to introduce waan ki talash hai’ and Manna Dey his
Sufi qawwalis, says Delhi-based Saeed. qawwali in films in the 1930s is believed to favourite singer.
cine qawwalis When he started work on the project in be Jaddanbai, mother of actress Nargis. As he looks forward to strengthening the
are a fair 2010, the pace was very slow. VHS, VCDs “Sadly, we don’t have any recording of that. repository further, he says that while cine-
field for men and then DVDs had to be scanned. For the But amongst one of the earliest recordings ma qawwali as a genre still has a place of
and women. first few years, Saeed could trace only of cinema qawwali that I have found are by glory in Hindi films, music is changing. Entries are invited to suggest a caption for the photograph.
about 250 songs. It all changed with a Maharashtrian singer named Dada Chan- “Modern-day qawwali bears a modern The caption should only be in English, witty and not exceeding 10 words, and reach Spectrum,
influence. AR Rahman, for example, uses The Tribune, Chandigarh, 160030, by Thursday. The best five captions will be published and
awarded ~300, ~250, ~200, ~150 and ~100, respectively. Each caption must be
Turkish whirling dervish kind of scenario.” accompanied by a clipping of the caption contest and its number. Photocopies or scans of the
Saeed’s project has been supported by caption photo won’t be accepted. Online subscribers may attach an epaper clipping at
India Foundation for the Arts, which had [email protected] or a scanned copy of the e-paper clipping. Please mention the pin
earlier backed his research on Urdu lan- code and phone number in your address.
guage in popular culture.
Selected entries for Caption Contest 1410
June 4 issue
(see photo)
❚ Morning sift —
Vineet Gupta,
Jagadhari
❚ Reading between
the lanes — Dhruv
PHOTOS COURTESY: YOUSUF SAEED

Bansal, Dhuri (via

epaper)
❚ Breaking news
before breakfast —
Dr MR Virdi,
Pathankot (via
epaper)
❚ Poster boy of print
media — Karnail
Singh, Kharar
❚ News reader —
MADHUBALA IN ‘TERI MEHFIL MEIN’ FROM ‘MUGHAL-E-AZAM’. Shalu, Chandigarh
A still from ‘Bada qatil hai’ from ‘China Town’.
CHANDIGARH | 11 JUNE 2023 Indepth 3

Morganatic marriage to mutual respect

Challenge for India, US is to maintain autonomy in foreign relations while stepping up defence and economic cooperation
Sandeep Dikshit siderably sweetens its offer for Rafale

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INDIAN PMs WHO HAVE fighters. With Russia almost out of the
HE Indo-US relationship is best ADDRESSED US CONGRESS equation, PM Modi’s visit to France in
exemplified by the palpable anx- July will reveal whether more Indian
iety in South Block over what ■ On June 22, Prime Minister Narendra SMEs would reap the benefits of yet
transpired last week between Modi will have the unique distinction of another momentous technology transfer
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being the only Indian leader to address pact as for GE engines.
the US Congress twice.
and Washington’s point-person And it’s not about defence alone. The
■ It all began in 1949, when India’s first
for South Asia, Donald Lu, during their 90- reason why cities like Pune and Ben-
minute meeting at the US State Depart-
PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed the galuru emerged as hubs of fourth and
US Congress.
ment’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom, by fifth generation technology incubation
■ There then followed a three-decade
the River Potomac in Washington. and development was because of an
gap after which Rajiv Gandhi spoke
Despite warm words that are spoken existing eco-system of public sector
at Capitol Hill in 1985.
during each interaction with the senior companies active in advanced defence
■ Nearly 10 years later, he was followed
leadership of both countries — and there manufacturing. A similar hope springs
by PV Narasimha Rao in 1994, Atal
are plenty — the Indo-US ties under the up when a global major like GE decides
Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 and
current Modi-Biden dispensations are still Manmohan Singh in 2005. to base itself in India.
to extricate themselves from the miasma The path to more technology transfer is
■ PM Modi’s first address to the US
of suspicion that the other side is supping Congress was in 2016. still rocky. The two sides are yet to seal two
with the home side’s inveterate enemies, crucial pacts in this regard — the Security
■ While prime ministerial trips to the US
domestic and abroad. of Supply Arrangement and a Reciprocal
have been numerous, only one President
The cross of human rights has hung — S Radhakrishnan — has been to the Defence Procurement Agreement. Pacts
heavy on the Modi government. For succes- US, way back in 1963. in the two decade-long defence relation-
sive years, political appointees at the US ship have been aplenty but the potential of
Commission on International Freedom EXPATRIATE INDIANS EXCITED some is yet to be realised.
(USCIRF) have been keen to push India US President Joe Biden confessed that Whether the two new pacts will bring to
into the red list of egregious religious free- he was receiving a large number of the table more technology transfers is an
dom offenders. And each time, the incum- requests for the state dinner he is open question.
bent US Secretary of State has dissimulat- hosting for PM Narendra Modi. “I think
ed opposition to the move. that is a good thing. That shows the PRYING AWAY RUSSIA
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the US and the excitement of the Prime Minister being Despite the closeness in defence and
virtual red carpet — the generous ear to his here on June 22,” White House press security, and a huge immigrant Indian
thoughts provided by the liberal and cen- secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in population in the US, ever since Bill Clin-
trist Washington-based think tanks and the response to President Joe Biden’s ton’s path-breaking visit in 2000, the
media, and the unusually-long interaction observation made to Prime Minister American effort has been primarily
with Lu — feeds into the narrative that the
Modi when they last met focussed on prying away Russia from
on the sidelines of the G7
US-India ties are still slow-walking due to summit in Hiroshima. India in the defence sector.
a trust deficit. The Quad’s geo-economic response to
With Donald Lu, Rahul’s conversations China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been
touched on the prospects of Opposition Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the underwhelming and insufficient. The
unity, independence of the judiciary, the US and his scheduled second address to a joint American hostility displayed to China
fallibility of EVMs in the 2024 elections session of the US Congress are unprecedented from public forums does not correlate with
and the pessimistic view of courts giving for an Indian PM. FILE PHOTO: PTI the White House’s desperate urge to initi-
relief in the disqualification case. ate high-level contacts with Zhongnanhai,
Rahul’s clarion cry, repeated at every pit- aggression on the LAC is a leaf out of far both sides can expand their friendship. that could provide India access to cutting- that houses the offices of the Chinese Com-
stop in New York, California and Wash- Putin’s playbook on Ukraine. If Russia is With Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, edge technologies and support India’s munist Party leadership. India was com-
ington, to open “a shop of love in the mar- punishing Kyiv for sidling strategically Austin inked a new Roadmap for US-India defence modernisation plans.” pletely cut out from the secret negotiations
ket of hate” may amount to political close to Washington, China is enacting a Defence Industrial Cooperation. Its postu- In Washington, PM Modi will witness one that led to a Trilateral Security Partnership
haymaking at a time of approaching gen- diluted version of the Ukraine conflict on lates show the long distance that India-US of these — the final agreement to manufac- between Australia, the UK and the US to
eral elections. But it was also posited in the Indian LAC out of a similar motivation. defence ties have travelled since 2001 ture GE engines in India. The tortuous make nuclear submarines for the Asia
direct contradiction to the Modi govern- In both cases, the aggrieved party has no when both sides set up a Defence Policy path taken by the deal — the MoU between Pacific — the exact location where India is
ment’s approach of willy-nilly dragging option but to rely on the US to ward off mil- Group merely to carry out combined spe- GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited expected to be a major security partner.
the acquiescent and the reluctant alike itary attempts on its sovereignty. cial operations training, small unit was signed 11 years back — reflects the Despite the warm avuncularity displayed
into its definition of ‘Amrit Kaal’. In case of the US, they point to its absence ground/air exercises, and training exercis- incredible resistance and intense negotia- by Biden and European leaders towards
From a standalone point of view, Prime of allies in the region as Pakistan is not es with US Marines. These have blos- tions required to transfer one high-tech Modi, the past months have been a tale of a
Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the worth the attention, Myanmar is in China’s somed into frequent and complex joint technology package. For strategic experts, harrowing wait for visas to Europe and the
US and his scheduled second address to a pocket, Bangladesh is not too keen to play exercises that could potentially enable this is not just a tool transfer exercise. They US for urgent travellers from India. The
joint session of the US Congress are the US game of encircling China and the both sides to fight together, in case of need. believe it will fast-forward plans to develop sense of being treated by the US as the
unprecedented for an Indian PM. Even entire Arab land has begun to hedge its But the 2023 Roadmap touches domains a true-blue fighter aircraft. From an ‘other’ is heightened when even the local
Manmohan Singh, with his pronounced tilt bets between the US on one side and reserved for close allies. It promises to fast- employment perspective, especially in cut- elite with high net-worth applying for
towards the US that at times left Russia in emerging nations, including India, Russia track technology cooperation and co-pro- ting-edge skill development, the consider- short-term visas are judged with the same
the cold, could not pull off the feat in his and China, on the other. duction in areas such as air combat and able technology transfer will benefit about scales as a potential ‘over-stayer’.
decade-long stewardship of the country. land mobility systems; intelligence, sur- 500-600 Indian small and medium enter- The challenge for both sides, at a time
But realists see the frequent US-India pro- NEW DEFENCE ROADMAP veillance and reconnaissance; munitions; prises. There is a potentially huge windfall of hardening of geo-strategic circum-
fessions of undying friendship as a partner- The visit of US Defence Secretary Austin and the undersea domain. not just for GE. With fighter jet engines stances, will be to maintain their autono-
ship born out of compulsions on both sides. Lloyd, part of President Joe Biden’s inner- As the US side noted, “This initiative being manufactured in India, US compa- my in foreign relations while stepping
Washington views India as having been left most coterie, should give some solace that aims to change the paradigm for coopera- nies using GE engines could be the hot up defence cooperation, as also to trans-
with no option after Russia got embroiled in PM Modi’s forthcoming US visit is not tion between the US and Indian defence favourites for the coming tender for multi- form a morganatic marriage into one
the Ukraine conflict. They feel the Chinese merely to explore the boundaries of how sectors, including a set of specific proposals role fighters unless competitor France con- that offers dignified mutuality.

variety

Veggies served as a medley of taste and colour

The humble mixed vegetable can be turned into a fine-dining dish with a little twist, try it out and savour it

F
OOD constantly evolves and tastes,
too, always change with the times.
MIXED VEGETABLE
Nothing illustrates this better than INGREDIENTS METHOD
what passes by the name of ‘mixed Peas (medium) 1/2 cup Parboil, peel, and dice potato. Blanch or steam
vegetables’. In the days of the Sweetcorn 1/2 cup the peas. Break cauliflower into smaller bite-
nawabs of Awadh, it was called baoli handi sized florets and blanch for 1 minute in boiling
Cauliflower 1 small floret
— literally a clay pot of slow-cooked medley water. Cut cherry tomatoes in halves. Scrape
of seasonal vegetables. The preparation Potato (medium-sized) 1
the carrot, wash and slice in thin disks.
was spiced subtly and retained the natural Carrot (medium) 1
Heat butter in a pan. Add sliced onion and
colours, textures and flavours of the sabzis Cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup ginger-garlic paste. Stir-fry briskly for 30
put in the pot. The gravy was kept mildly Onion 1 seconds, then add potato dices, followed by
aromatic, thin, and potatoes, carrots, cauli- Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp carrot disks. Add the powdered spices and salt
flowers, gourds, Coriander powder 1 tsp dissolved in 1 tsp water. Stir to mix and sprinkle

FOOD turnips and what-

ever other vegeta-
Cumin powder
Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp
a little water to avoid scorching the masala and
veggies. After a minute, add the tomatoes.

TALK bles you fancied or

could be found
Cumin seeds
Kalonji seeds
1 large pinch
1/4 tsp
Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Prepare the
tempering by heating a spoonful of butter and
adding cumin and kalonji seeds in it. When
pushpesh pant were cut into bite- Turmeric 1 large pinch these start crackling, pour the tadka over the
sized pieces.
The masses had a Butter 1/4 cup mixed vegetables. This dish can be enriched
with 2 tbsp of cream and some grated
more robust recipe for their subz miloni. It Salt to taste
processed cheese, if at hand. A pinch of
had larger chunks of fewer commonly
turmeric powder imparts a golden tint.
available veggies. The spicing was stronger
ISTOCK
and the final result was a semi-dry dish. In
Bengal and Odisha, the local versions had erally blown off our feet at a small homestay
pumpkins, sweet potatoes, raw bananas, near Chaukorhi in Pithoragarh district of
EXOTIC MIX
brinjals, et al. Nor did the cooks feel inhib- Uttarakhand recently. Tarun and his wife INGREDIENTS METHOD medium, place the karahi on it. Cover it
ited about using the pungent mustard oil Pushpa operate a homestay in hills there Potato (medium) 1 Wash all vegetables. Don’t peal, lightly tightly. After five minutes, uncover, stir
and more than a large pinch of turmeric, and take great delight in feeding the guests Carrot (medium) 1 scrape the potato. Slice thinly lengthwise. lightly and place the cover back. Reduce
coriander and red chilli powders. what they grow in their organic kitchen gar- Do the same with carrots, radish and tori. the flame to low and let the veggies
Radish (medium) 1 simmer for 10 more minutes. Do not add
In the last few years, in fine-dining restau- den. The mixed-vegetable preparation we Quarter the brinjals, don’t remove the
rants, another avatar has appeared that’s had there was extraordinary in more ways Brinjal (small dark ones) 6 any water at all. Uncover to check if the
stem. Destem and slice tomato
loaded with exotic English vegetables — than one. Tarun shared the unusual recipe String beans A fistful lengthwise. String the beans and cut in vegetables have been cooked. Stir again. A
mushroom, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, and the taste is out of this world. Well worth Gourd (tori, medium-sized) 2-3 2–3-inch pieces. Wipe the green chillies. little of the sabzi should stick to the
asparagus and palm hearts. Baby corns and a try for special occasions. Tomato (medium-sized) 1 Scrape the ginger and slice thinly. bottom. Cooking in the karahi darkens the
bamboo shoots are passé now. Most eateries To mix metaphors, mustard oil isn’t Green chillies 4-5 Put all the vegetables in a karahi together, colour but the taste more than
also fuse east and west by tossing together everyone’s cup of tea. Those with delicate along with green chillies and ginger. compensates for looks.
Ginger 2-inch piece
paneer cubes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peas, palates should let the vegetables stew in Sprinkle all powdered spices and salt and Note that all ingredients are to assembled
Coriander powder 1 tsp in the karahi before it’s put on stove. The
coloured bell peppers, etc. their own juices, minus the mustard. Here mix. Add half the mustard oil over the
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp vegetables. Pour rest of the oil along the oil is not to be heated beforehand at all.
Truth be told, we have never been satis- is a quick-fix recipe for such an occasion.
Mustard oil 1/2 cup sides of the karahi, distributing it evenly. And no water is required. Allow the
fied with most improvisations on this An improvisation on the basic stir-fry
Salt to taste Now light the gas, keeping the flame on vegetables to cook in their own juices.
theme. But, one lives and learns, as they say, blending elements of dhabha-style paneer
in the most unlikeliest of places. We were lit- butter masala.
4 Books CHANDIGARH | 11 JUNE 2023

Steering Indian economy Bhabha, high priest

from Independence to ’77 of science and art
Subir Roy course under the overall authority of Krishnamachari differed with Shastri
Dinesh C Sharma to stay on in India was ‘more pragmatic than
ideological’, according to the book. Dadabhoy

H
the prime minister of the day. on the issues of devaluation and eco- OMI JEHANGIR BHABHA is quotes a letter Nehru wrote to VK Krishna

H
OW Independent India’s As the book makes it clear, though nomic reforms, he had to go. He was arguably the best-known Indian sci- Menon in 1938 to get in touch with Bhabha, who
finance ministers have Nehru was a towering personality, the followed by the suave barrister Sachin entist-administrator of the post- was in Cambridge then, conjecturing that
helped shape its economic finance ministers he worked with like Chaudhuri, who was as understand- Independence era. He initiated sci- Bhabha and Nehru must have known each oth-
destiny, while themselves John Matthai, CD Deshmukh, TT ing as he was pliable. This enabled entific work on exploiting nuclear er before this date.
being buffeted by politics, Krishnamachari and Morarji Desai him to take responsibility for the energy for power generation as well as future The chapters covering the foundation and
is a story which is as important as it is were no pygmies. “Each was a highly devaluation of the rupee by a massive strategic purposes almost at the same time growth of TIFR narrate the challenges of
long. AK Bhattacharya has embarked accomplished person in his respective 57 per cent in 1966 without having that India gained freedom. This resulted in developing a new centre for fundamental
on the major exercise of telling this sto- field and well-regarded, be it in the much to say by way of his own views. the creation of a string of institutions — Tata research in India in the 1940s — from finding
ry and the first of the three volumes, world of politics or economics,” says So pliable was he that Indira Gandhi, Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), funds and a suitable place to building scientif-
covering the period between Indepen- Bhattacharya. Of these, Deshmukh who followed Shastri, retained Chaud- Atomic Energy Establishment (renamed ic teams and research programmes.
dence and Emergency, is with us. By and Desai could leave a personal huri as finance minister. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre or BARC Though Bhabha had close ties with the
the time all the three are completed, it imprint as they were at the helm for a Things were back to square one in after his death), Department of Atomic Ener- Tatas and Tata Trusts, finding neces-
will turn out to be a mag- sufficiently long period of 1967 when she won the elections and gy, Electronics Corporation of India Limited, sary resources to develop TIFR was not
num opus which will be time — for half a decade. had Desai back as finance minister but etc. Space research had been a part of the a cakewalk for him, as it is sometimes
an important addition to Though Nehru was not only on his own terms — as deputy atomic establishment for a decade, before made out to be. Bhabha put to use all
the literature on the eco- known to be a particularly prime minister. This unworkable being spun off as the Indian Space Research his Indian and international connec-
nomic history of Indepen- inflexible person, each of arrangement ended in 1969 when Organisation helmed by Vikram Sarabhai. tions to build TIFR. For instance, he
dent India. the finance ministers under Desai exited and Indira Gandhi Bhabha’s closeness with Prime Minister knew Otto Koenigsberger, the chief
The author’s journalis- him either quit in a huff or became her own finance minister so as Jawaharlal Nehru, his charming ways, his pen- architect and planner of Mysore state,
tic career, spanning over were made to resign under to be able to launch one of the most dra- chant for art and his untimely death in an air from his Bangalore days. So, Bhabha
four decades in some of unusual circumstances. It matic phases of economic policy-mak- crash all make for a gripping story. Several invited Koenigsberger to develop ini- HOMI J BHABHA:
the leading economic is not as if Nehru and his ing. Fourteen private sector banks books in the past have tried to capture different tial plans for the TIFR building in A LIFE
publications, has given finance ministers did not were nationalised and an era of state facets of his life and the institutions he created Colaba, Bombay. Koenigsberger later by Bakhtiar K
him a unique ringside get along well. He and TT control over economic activities began. and nurtured. The latest in this series comes became a much sought-after planner Dadabhoy.
view of events and access INDIA’S FINANCE Krishnamachari shared a She brought in YB Chavan in 1970 to from Bakhtiar K Dadabhoy, who has earlier who designed new cities like Farid- Rupa.
to their dramatis person- MINISTERS: FROM strong bond to the extent of be technically at the helm in North written biographies of JRD Tata, Zubin Mehta abad and Bhubaneswar. Bhabha final- Pages 723.
ae. This has enabled him INDEPENDENCE TO him diluting the independ- Block during one of the most stressful and Salar Jung (Diwan of princely Hyderabad). ly hired Helmuth Bartsch from an ~995
to put together the story EMERGENCY (1947-77) ence of the Reserve Bank of period of the country’s economic life, This book on Bhabha covers a vast canvas — American architectural firm that had
of management of the by AK Bhattacharya. India and upping the clout marked by the war with Pakistan and his early life, scientific experiments, institution designed the buildings of the US Atomic
Indian economy as few Penguin Random House. of the finance ministry. This the massive influx of refugees from building, and his role as an administrator and Energy Commission.
others would have. perhaps marked the begin- erstwhile East Pakistan. Then, in patron of art and culture. It could easily be the Bhabha envisaged scientists at TIFR not just
Pages 445.
The 30-year period (1947 ning of the central bank’s 1974, C Subramaniam came in to steer most comprehensive book on the scientist, as leaders in their respective fields of research,
~999
to 1977) that the book cov- autonomy being not much the economy through the years of the drawing from archival material, secondary but also as ‘connoisseurs capable of holding
ers has been divided into more than a token one. Emergency when budget-making was research and the work done by researchers like conversations with the world’. He gave art the
three main parts — Nehru and his As opposed to this, Nehru’s rela- a huge challenge. Indira Chowdhury. same importance as his research laboratories.
finance ministers, those under Shastri tions with Morarji Desai, a key This record of how India’s economy The closeness between Bhabha and Nehru He would acquire paintings and sculptures
and Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gand- finance minister of his, were always looked and was shaped from the North was legendary, but the circumstances under made by leading contemporary artists and even
hi as her own finance minister. While strained. Desai was not just a leader in Block through the first three decades which the two met for the first time have not tried to get Pablo Picasso to paint a mural at
rendering the factual narrative of his own right with a base, he was also after Independence is rich with been clear to historians so far. This question is TIFR. Eventually, MF Husain did the mural.
these periods, the book also addresses personally quite inflexible. Despite archival details, livened with the liber- important because Bhabha was not an active The chapter on art and culture has a short sec-
an overarching analytical issue — the many differences between them, al use of anecdotal matter. Historians participant in the unique planning exercise that tion on Pipsy Wadia, described as Bhabha’s
role of the finance minister in a devel- Desai went on as finance minister for will take a view on the historiography the Indian National Congress initiated under ‘friend, companion, partner and muse’.
oping economy. Plus, the whole story five years, offering a glimpse into the but for this reader, himself a scribe, the Subhas Chandra Bose and Nehru in 1938, yet Dadabhoy has done a great job in putting
reveals what kind of an autonomy the political culture of the time when fun has been in discovering the rich sto- his plan to develop atomic energy was priori- together vignettes from the life of Bhabha in a
finance minister of the day has had in leaders were tall enough to be able to ries that lie beneath the historic head- tised soon after Independence. Bhabha also cogent and accessible manner. Though histori-
being able to give shape to at least live with differences and get along lines — an exercise which could have remained aloof to the freedom struggle, which ans of Indian science may not find any new rev-
some of his own ideas. On this rests with the work at hand. been far more anchored was at its pinnacle in the early 1940s. At the elation in the book, it will certainly interest any-
the need to examine individual roles However, the tradition of tolerance had there been an index time, he was eagerly waiting for the Second body keen to learn about the history and
of a set of the seniormost ministers ended rather early, from the time of to go by. World War to end so that he could join a top sociology of an important era in Indian science
who were not just rubber-stamping Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was as mild university in England or America like Har- and atomic energy as well as the man responsi-
entities, but helped shape policy, of mannered as he was firm. When TT vard or Princeton. His decision ble for its genesis and development.
BACKFLAP

K AMAL SHAH was 21 when kidney failure

threatened to derail his life. He fought back,
dealing with each setback with stoic bravery.
In 2009, he co-founded NephroPlus, a patient-cen-
tric dialysis services company, along with Vikram
F IRST published in Assamese in 1997, ‘Hriday
Ek Bigyapan’ by Sahitya Akademi Award-win-
ning author Anuradha Sarma Pujari was an
instant bestseller, going into tens of reprints in the
next two decades. ‘My Poems Are Not For Your Ad
W E’RE not lost. The wind knows my
name. And yours too. That’s the leitmo-
tif. Author of a number of bestselling
and critically acclaimed books, Isabel Allende
brings to the readers her latest offering, ‘The
B ECOMING a sporting champion involves
parents playing a critical role in developing
and nurturing talent. In ‘How to Make
Champions’, international celebrity tennis coach
Gabe Jaramillo teams up with essayist Gyasi Hall
Vuppala. In ‘Silver Lining’, Shah chronicles his Campaign’, the seamless English translation by Wind Knows My Name’. Intertwining past and to provide a blueprint to create an environment
extraordinary journey. Despite being on dialysis Aruni Kashyap, who’s an author himself, makes it present, it traces the ripple effects of war and where talent can thrive. Based on his experience
for over 25 years, he leads a completely normal life. a must-read. The book takes a close look at the new- immigration to tell a story of family, home and of working with elite tennis players such as Andre
NephroPlus is now also present in three countries ly globalised India of the 1990s from a feminist lens. sacrifice. Translated from the Spanish by Frances Agassi and Monica Seles, Gabe provides various
beyond India. Hugely inspirational and motiva- It poses questions about modern urban life that few Riddle, it has all the ingredients of Allende’s aspects of coaching. The book is described by star
tional, the book also provides insights into the Indian novels have been able to — questions that unique talent of writing delicate stories and vivid athletes as a must-read for every parent who has
healthcare ecosystem in India. are still relevant today. prose, with their images akin to poetry. children playing sports as well as coaches.

SILVER LINING MY POEMS ARE NOT FOR THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME HOW TO MAKE
by Kamal Shah. YOUR AD CAMPAIGN by Isabel Allende. CHAMPIONS
Penguin Random House. by Anuradha Sarma Pujari. Bloomsbury. by Gabe Jaramillo
Pages 244. Translated into English by Pages 255. and Gyasi Hall.
Aruni Kashyap. ~599 Rupa.
~599
Penguin Random House. Pages 230.
Pages 171. ~295
~499

Singer’s killing that

sent shockwaves Celebrating the rare star, Irrfan Khan
T
HE glow on this young man’s face sug- Surbhi Goel conversations in ‘Irrfan: A Life in deep into his art, such as Nusrat Fateh Gupta helps the co-actors reconstruct
gests he will be laid to rest in his Movies’ give us a glimpse into. Ali Khan (whose singing they bonded their assessment of the craft and

I
youth.” Sidhu Moosewala perhaps RRFAN KHAN was one of a small This is a commemorative book, over), still produced a beautiful voice. methods deployed by Irrfan Khan.
foretold his death in his hit song ‘The group of actors who arrived in tel- recording and sifting through multiple Tanuja Chandra, who directed him in Naseeruddin Shah, Rasika Duggal,
Last Ride’. On May 29, 2022, as the Punjabi evision/cinema via the National conversations that the author Shubhra ‘Qarib Qarib Singlle’ (2017), describes Tillotama Shome and Pankaj Tripathi
rapper left his haveli in Moosa School of Drama to resist ‘deriva- Gupta has had with several associates her true discovery of Irrfan, the actor, at wax eloquent about him. Shah recalls
(Mansa district in Punjab) for a quick tive acting’ styles. He strived for of Irrfan Khan — directors, co-actors, the editing table, where she found how Irrfan’s acting was so real that he
ride to his aunt’s house in the neigh- authenticity, awareness, understand- personal friends and admirers, who dynamism in his per- got fooled by it during the shoot-
bouring village, he was never to ing and chiselled his craft on his own recall their collaborations, friendship, formance. Almost ing of ‘Maqbool’.
return home. He was ambushed and terms. As far back as 2003, in ‘Road to experiences, memories, emotions, poetically, the film During a conversation, Cameron
gunned down by six assailants. He Ladakh’ (directed by Ashvin Kumar), affiliations and connections with the shots grew incremen- Bailey, currently helming the
was only 28. Irrfan was intense, mysterious and consummate actor, the beloved person tally; the more she Toronto International Film Festi-
An icon for many, the rebellious enigmatic, even in the short film. It that Irrfan has been for each one of viewed them, the val (TIFF), assesses Irrfan’s sin-
young man had also been a contro- was almost luxurious to see an actor these 33 individuals. more meaningful gular on-screen and off-screen
versial figure. There were allega- so comfortable in his character, ani- A flow of organic conversations, with they became. Vishal presence and recalls his precise
tions that he promoted gun culture mating every second of his screen only a few probing questions, helps in Bhardwaj explains the and sharp acting techniques with
and violence, and rumours that he time. He was a performer who did a the revelation of tender details of the ‘Irrfanian phenome- a special ability to convey a rich
WHO KILLED had ties with certain gangs. good stint in television, but he was cinematic processes that the directors non’ as Irrfan’s con- interior life on-screen. And, Bailey
MOOSEWALA? In ‘Who Killed Moosewala?’, jour- meant for the big screen — for the shared with the late actor. Tigmanshu tinuous exploration IRRFAN: A LIFE is spot-on. Irrfan Khan has been
by Jupinderjit Singh. nalist Jupinderjit Singh traces the larger canvas of story-telling, for Dhulia, Vishal Bhardwaj, Mira Nair and for stories. The fresh- IN MOVIES able to carve out a rare singular
Westland. contours of the murder investigation fullscape cinema. For, only in the fea- Sudhir Mishra offer deep insights into ness in every by Shubhra Gupta. career as well. The capacity of
Pages 198. and the arrest of suspects. As the sto- ture length could he begin to unpack the vulnerabilities of the intense actor, approach, character, Pan Macmillan. Irrfan Khan in creating a truly
~499 ry unfolds, an ominous mix of old his skills, lay out his abilities to inhab- who, as Mishra so incisively states, had line and mannerism Pages 397. international interest in his work,
enmities, uncomfortable truths, dis- it and live through the character, let- an ambiguity and uncertainty playing was his forte, he ~899 while he worked with directors
gruntled youth and the violence that sim- ting the cinematograph record the on his face. Like a sponge, Irrfan writes. Ritesh Batra such as Ang Lee, Danny Boyle,
mers in Punjab begins to emerge. moods and changes in his body move- absorbed from his environs, for he chips in about how Wes Anderson, Marc Webb, Ron
The gripping, fast-paced page-turner ment, allowing the audience to dive understood that minds and their milieu Irrfan understood the inner world of the Howard, Marc Turtlelaub and Asif
also offers glimpses into the life of the deep in his undulating eyes. ‘Paan were all one phenomena, which made character and set the very pace of ‘The Kapadia, is singular.
singer who was a rage when alive, and Singh Tomar’, ‘The Lunchbox’, ‘The his performances attractive, consum- Lunchbox’. In flashbacks, each of the From 1988 to 2021, he enthralled his
attained a near-legendary status after his Namesake’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Talvar’, ‘Piku’ mate and entertaining. directors in the book contributes in audiences and is remembered by
sudden and violent death. This book, the and ‘Hindi Medium’ are some of the In a heartfelt recollection, Anup Singh recreating the actor, the performer. That them, across ages.
author says, is for everyone who loved abiding examples of his talent, versa- cites how he convinced Irrfan for the he worked with such a spectrum of This unique talent, to hold the audi-
Sidhu Moosewala and engaged with his tility and wide-spectrum acting. How lead role in ‘Qissa’ by exemplifying how directors in India is astonishing. ence in thrall, is a stellar quality. It car-
music. — TNS he managed to do it all, is what the even a contorted face of a singer while A nudge here and there by Shubhra ries its own luminosity and legacy.
 m

123
CHANDIGARH | SUNDAY | 11 JUNE 2023 REFLECTIONS 5

The translator’s words Speaking of identity,

culture, language
T A
RANSLATORS don’t play second who translated Tamil writer Perumal Muru- MONG the many problems of the present times that worry
fiddle to authors, insists Angela gan’s ‘Pyre’, which was also longlisted for this me, is the question of how an individual’s identity is
Rodel, who shared this year’s Inter- year’s International Booker, recalls fretting formed. What made me different from my siblings, cousins
national Booker Prize with Bulgari- over the word ‘aadu’ in an earlier work of the and friends and to what can I trace this difference? I
an writer Georgi Gospodinov. Rodel, author. While he confidently took the word to remember that as a schoolchild, I wrote my name on my
who translated Gospodinov’s novel mean goats, it actually referred to sheep in the textbooks and then, after the class and school, came what
‘Time Shelter’, stressed that “all translation is a Kongu region to which Murugan belonged. many of us added on for fun: the state, the country, the continent and
duet whose true beauty would not be possible Rakhshanda Jalil, in an interview, mentions finally (in bold letters) Earth, our planet. In those technology-deficient
BINDU MENON without both voices or melodies coming togeth- how even a simple Urdu word like ‘yaar’ resists times, when we had no means of imagining a world beyond our little
er”. Daisy Rockwell, who shared the same prize translation because when rendered as buddy, towns, we enlarged our sense of belonging to a wider human fraternity
They are the unsung the previous year with writer Geetanjali Shree
for the Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’, used the
bro or the more closer equivalent mate, it
acquires a jarring westernised twang. Similar-
through these innocent markers.
How far we have come from then! What made me who I am then is
heroes who, while analogy of ballroom dancers to describe this ly, Jerry Pinto has observed how the endearing also what essentially remains unchanged inside my head but now, with
rather symbiotic relationship. Likening the quality of ‘re’ in Marathi cannot be meaningful- families scattered all over the globe, I wonder what those who have set-
making literary texts author to Fred Astaire and the translator to Gin- ly supplanted in English. tled in other lands regard as their primal identity. Is their loyalty first to
in alien languages ger Rogers, Rockwell said in an interview that So while translators grapple not just with the the country they have migrated to, or is it still attached to what they
the “translator must follow the author’s lead, linguistic calisthenics, they constantly worry have left behind when they chose to live elsewhere? To all the above
accessible to readers, but do everything backwards, in high heels”.
Translator of Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov’s
‘Time Shelter’, Angela Rodel (R) says translation is
over the possible desiccation of a work’s cultur- questions, there is another that lies at the heart of this riddle: what is the
also have to tread The underlying message is that while
authors and translators complement each oth-
a duet whose beauty wouldn’t be possible without al import during translation. Often, they have
to hammer down their own creative urges and
language in which you dream or swear? I’ve often heard people say,
‘ You can take an Indian out of India but never India out of an Indian.’
both voices or melodies coming together.
lightly upon a er, the latter has to be a little more mindful too. know where to draw the line in their practice. This must be true of all the millions who speak one language among
Translators, after all, have two reputations to Marquez though was most effusive in his They cannot be bound too tightly to the words themselves and another in their workplaces or the street. Increasingly,
linguistic and cultural take care of: that of the writer whose works praise for Rabassa. In an interview with The in a text, nor stray too far from it. No wonder as a family takes firmer roots in an alien land, the mother tongue disap-
minefield. Translators they render in another language, and their Paris Review in 1981, the Nobel laureate said, then that Rabassa termed translators trusty pears, taking with it a storehouse of memories and attitudes that are so
own. They are the unsung heroes who, while “My books have been translated into 21 lan- prisoners of the author. But of course, there are closely connected to one’s mother tongue.
have two reputations making literary texts in alien languages acces- guages and Rabassa is the only translator who exceptions. Jay Rubin, while translating Haru- Why speak of those Indians who have chosen to live abroad, what
to take care of: That sible to readers, also have to tread lightly upon
a linguistic and cultural minefield.
has never asked for something to be clarified so
he can put a footnote in. I think that my work
ki Murakami’s three-book work ‘The Wind-Up
Bird Chronicle’ from Japanese, is said to have
about our own people here? The rich wealth of languages that we have
is slowly being set aside as English becomes a kind of lingua franca. In
of the writer whose Any translator will tell you that the creative has been completely re-created in English.” cut 25,000 words simply so that it could work in my own case, apart from
process is as agonising as it is exciting, as it is Admitting that there were parts of the book the American context and be published as a sin- Kumaoni, Hindi and English we
works they render with any writer. To recreate from one language which were difficult to follow literally, Marquez gle volume in the US. Murakami himself has spoke when we were growing up,
in another language, to another with minimal erosion of the nuances
of language, culture and context isn’t the only
added, “The impression one gets is that the
translator read the book and then rewrote it
translated from English into Japanese several
books, including F Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The
I encountered another Hindi
when my parents lived in Luc-
and their own hurdle. It is a challenge to retain the uniqueness from his recollections.” Great Gatsby’, which he regarded as a huge cre- know and in Allahabad, where I
of the author’s voice, especially when that voice It’s true that the Colombian writer had his own ative influence on his career. received my university educa-
is dear and familiar to readers in the native lan- quirks. Another of his acclaimed translators, Good reading therefore begets good writing. tion. The sweet lilt of Lucknow’s
guage. Now this is tricky territory, because read- Edith Grossman, once revealed that Marquez While no translation can be perfect, it is also Awadhi, the musical tones of
ers and critics in the source language are bound wasn’t too fond of adverbs in Spanish that end- undeniable that translators act as that sturdy Allahabad’s Purabiya were TOUCHSTONES
to make comparisons, and sometimes the criti- ed in -mente (whose English equivalent would be bridge between languages and cultures. And for added to the Hindi I had previ- IRA PANDE
cism can be odious. Gregory Rabassa, the Eng- -ly). So this meant that instead of the word ‘slow- that alone, they make the world of literature ously spoken. My roommates in
lish translator of some of Gabriel Garcia Mar- ly’, she had to use ‘without haste’, and ‘hastily’ much richer. Rabassa gets the last word when he the hostel came from eastern UP,
quez’s works — most notably ‘One Hundred became ‘with more haste’ and so on. says that “translation always helps us to know, Rohilkhand and western UP and
I wonder what those who’ve
Years of Solitude’ — even had a name for such Closer home, too, it’s a veritable maze for to see from a different angle, to attribute new their speech carried a whiff of settled in other lands regard
cavilling critics: Professor Horrendos. Indian translators. Aniruddhan Vasudevan, value to what once may have been unfamiliar”. those lands. After I got married
and moved to Punjab, I learnt to as their primal identity. Is it
speak Punjabi, haltingly and
shyly at first but with more con-
loyalty first to the country

Beware of fake travel agency websites fidence until I could read and
write in Gurmukhi (thanks to
overseeing the boys’ home-
they have migrated to?

W
work). On his first posting as an SDM in the small sub-division of Sam-
HETHER you are plan- offer tour packages. The social media plat- the first group and five years in respect of the rala, my husband had to decide cases regarding land disputes. While the
ning a holiday with your forms help them in reaching out to more peo- second group. There are additional require- appeals and arguments were in Punjabi, which he knew by then, the
family or with your ple. In fact, I checked up several travel agen- ments for various kinds of adventure tourism, land records were in Urdu. An official, called a Reader, would read them
friends or an exciting cies’ websites — it was obvious that some of including specialised qualifications, keeping in out and soon my husband began to suspect that he was being led by the
women-only trip, the them were fake. One of them, for example, said mind the safety aspect. The recognition can be nose to pronounce judgments based on the Reader’s recommenda-
choices are unlimited it was established in 2020, but claimed that it terminated or revoked for violations of service tions. So, an Urdu teacher was found and since I had nothing else to do
today. You can choose a beach resort or opt for was ‘the world’s largest and the most experi- standards, besides complaints of a serious then, I sat along and we slowly learnt to read in Urdu. I can still recog-
a jungle safari or go paragliding, hot-air bal- enced travel company’. Despite an extensive nature related to deficiency in service or any nise some words but naturally, since we did not keep up with our read-
looning, skydiving, rafting or scuba diving. search, I could not find the name of the owner irregularity, or for submitting false documents. ing after Samrala, gradually we forgot all we had learnt.
CONSUMER RIGHTS Of course, to execute these plans, you may or the partners running the company. Nor did So, if you go to etraveltradeapproval.nic.in, The other evening, we were having dinner at a friend’s home and no
PUSHPA GIRIMAJI need the help of a professional organiser and it have a landline number. These are some of you will get the list of approved travel agents, one spoke anything but English. One of them said, ‘You know, I love
that’s where you have to be extremely cautious the tell-tale signs that one should look for while tourist transport operators and tour operators hearing your Hindi. How well you speak it!’ This from a person who
Many in the travel in your choice of the tourism-service provider.
Only last month, the Delhi Police arrested a
choosing an agency, because today such frauds
are on the rise.
for every state and Union Territory. Here, the
tour operators are further classified into adven-
belongs to UP himself and can speak Hindi too. I felt like saying that it
was my mother tongue so what was the fuss about? In fact, if he had
industry feel that a woman on charges of running a fake online It’s for this reason that the Union Ministry of ture tour operators, domestic tour operators complimented me on my English, I would be flattered. But there was
travel agency along with her husband, who was Tourism (travel trade division) gives its seal of and inbound tour operators. The list gives you no point in getting into a tangle then and also with the binaries that are
seal of approval by operating from Kolkata. How cleverly the cou- approval to tourism operators in the country. I the name of the organisation, its physical and firmly established in our minds, thanks to the social media, we are very
the tourism ministry ple was hoodwinking consumers can be gauged would advise consumers to approach the agen- online address, the name and contact details of quick to decide what our political affiliations may be. Another dear
from the fact that the victim was a lawyer. cies recognised by the ministry. Of course, the the nodal officer, the approval or recognition friend, who was a colleague at Panjab University, recently asked me
should be made According to the police, the complainant, a scheme of recognition is voluntary and only a number, the date of approval and expiry. from Bangalore to recommend some Hindi fiction titles. In all the years
travel enthusiast, got in touch with the travel small percentage of the businesses has opted As of June 8, 2023, only 1,305 travel trade oper- he has lived there, it probably never occurred to him to try and pick up
mandatory to agency after seeing its profile on Facebook. for it, but consumer preference can well ators in the country have been recognised and Kannada, a language with a very rich trove of literature.
weed out fraudulent After she finalised a package, she was asked to encourage more of them to seek such approval. many in the travel industry feel that this should The last thought I’d like to leave you with, dear reader, is how it is not
pay ~38,000, which she transferred into a bank As per the revised guidelines for recognition be made mandatory to weed out fake and fraud- just human beings who base their identity on a language but cities too.
operators account and was issued fake air tickets and an of tourism-service providers issued by the Min- ulent operators. As I said earlier, consumer What is now grandly called ‘intangible heritage’ describes the unique
itinerary for the trip. Later, she was told that istry of Tourism in 2020, effective from January choices can certainly prompt more operators to personality of a historical city. Take Lucknow, for example. Anyone who
the trip was cancelled on account of the rising 1, 2021, the service providers fall into three opt for recognition. The ministry, on its part, belongs to it is immediately identifiable from the way she speaks or
number of Covid cases. When she tried to con- groups: tour operators, travel agents and should give more prominence to consumer behaves. Patiala is another city as is Amritsar: both brand their speech,
tact the travel agency, she found the numbers tourist transport operators. Depending on the complaints of deficient and negligent services cuisine and social mannerisms from what the city imbues them with. It
switched off. Last year, too, the Delhi Police number of years in the business, they are cate- as well as unfair trade practices against recog- is an undefinable quality, yet this was confirmed recently when I went
had nabbed another couple on charges of run- gorised as ‘start-ups or green shoots’ and nised service providers in its scheme of recog- to a local tailor for the first time and after I had explained what I wanted,
ning a fake tour and travel agency. ‘experienced tourism service providers’. nition and revocation. It should also make a pro- he asked me, ‘Aunty, aap Lucknow ki ho?’ I winced when I heard that ‘ho’
Anyone can put up a website with attractive The recognition, given after inspection and vision for consumer complaints on its portal. rather than ‘hain’ but I asked him, ‘Kaise pehchana?’ ‘Aapke bolne ke
pictures of tourist destinations, claiming to scrutiny, is valid for three years in respect of — The writer is a consumer affairs expert andaz se,’ he replied. I walked home on air after that compliment.

How the famed Koh-i-Noor kept changing hands

I
N 1739, when Nadir Shah of Persia ly to Kashmir and share the booty. Shah guest made mysterious overtures to the involvement and acknowledged that his
(Iran) looted the diamond from the Mahmud’s army, led by Fateh Khan Company ‘for the extirpation of the Sikhs men had committed a crime. “If left to
Mughal king in Delhi, over two lakh Barakzai, retook control of Kashmir but from the Punjab’. me,” said Shuja, “I would instantly hang
people were said to have been refused to share the spoils with the Sikhs. The Company received copies of letters the conspirators.” Ranjit Singh merely
slaughtered. The Afghans became The Sikh army, the Khalsaji, under allegedly written from Lahore by Shah imprisoned Shah Shuja’s men, and two
the owners of the Koh-i-Noor when Diwan Mohkam Chand, rescued and Shuja to Fateh Khan Barakzai, asking to months later, the Shah stood surety and
Ahmed Shah Abdali, Nadir’s bodyguard, escorted Shah Shuja from Kashmir to be rescued. The letters confirmed that obtained their release.
removed it from his master’s tent follow- Lahore, the capital of the Sikh empire. under Fateh Khan’s instructions, Shuja Ranjit Singh’s possession of the Koh-i-
ing the leader’s assassination. The story Ranjit Singh told Wafa Begum to honour had recruited 500 Hindustanis, and if giv- Noor lent the gem fame and visibility. The
VANIT NALWA of the Koh-i-Noor, a diamond mined in her pledge, but the Shah employed tactics en more money, he could engage another Maharaja wore it on state occasions, either
India, is not all gore and blood. It has an to avoid parting with the gem. three to four thousand men. It would be as a sirpech or a bazuband. He also deco-
Maharaja Ranjit Singh element of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s First, Shah Shuja unsuccessfully tried to easy to kill Ranjit Singh, as he often rode rated Laili, his favourite horse, with the
benevolence, long overlooked. convince Ranjit Singh that the gem was out with just a few attendants, and to cap- Koh-i-Noor. After Ranjit Singh’s demise,
is the only owner of In Afghanistan, by the turn of the 18th A fleeting glimpse of the Koh-i-Noor in the pawned in Kandahar. Then Shuja ture Lahore. Shuja was confident that the the British took possession of the gem
the Koh-i-Noor who century, Ahmed Shah Abdali, the perse-
cutor of the Sikhs, was long dead. His
Tower of London requires a hefty entry fee. AP attempted to pass a large topaz as the Koh-
i-Noor. On discovering that the Shah was
Khalsaji would disperse when it heard the
news of the capture of Lahore and the
from his 10-year-old son and gifted it to
Queen Victoria. A fleeting glimpse of the
earned the gem grandsons, claimants to the throne, com- the governor of Kashmir, had rebelled fooling him, Ranjit Singh put him under murder of their king. Unfortunately for Koh-i-Noor in the Tower of London
menced a round robin of blinding and against Shah Mahmud. Shah Shuja house arrest. Finally, the Maharaja offered Shah Shuja, neither the Company nor requires a hefty entry fee.
honourably and then ousting. In 1809, Shah Mahmud expelled assumed that they would assist him. Shah Shuja three lakhs and a jagir worth Shah Mahmud took the bait. Indians believe that the sizeable dia-
wished to donate it to his brother Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk from
Kabul. Shuja departed with 600 wives,
Instead, in an attempt to extract the Koh-
i-Noor, Shuja was imprisoned first in
~50,000 in exchange for the Koh-i-Noor
(when the cost of a 10-gram gold coin was
On June 7, 1813, after the expiry of the
grace period, the exiled Afghan king
mond that came to be called the Koh-i-
Noor in the 18th century once belonged to
a shrine not of his faith numerous retainers, and a cache of jew- Attock and then in Kashmir. Fearing for ~15). In response, Shuja requested a grace grudgingly surrendered the Koh-i-Noor Lord Krishna. In 1839, on his deathbed,
els, including the Koh-i-Noor. her husband’s life, Shah Shuja’s period of 50 days, hoping it would suffice diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. the Sikh monarch wished that his ‘talis-
Shah Shuja sent his family to the Sikh favourite wife, Wafa Begum, pledged the to execute Plan C. Had Shuja’s strategy Shah Shuja’s conspiracy came to light in manic pledge of power’, the Koh-i-Noor,
empire while he headed towards Attock, Koh-i-Noor to Ranjit Singh for rescuing succeeded, Ranjit Singh would not have Lahore later. Pir Bakhsh, the Kotwal, be donated to the Krishna temple of
a territory under Afghan control. The her husband from Kashmir. been alive to take possession of the gem. investigated the matter. Hari Singh Nalwa, Jagannath Puri in Odisha.
horrendous torment inflicted by the Shah Mahmud ordered his army to The Sikhs had decided to block Fateh the rising star of the Khalsaji, brought Ranjit Singh is the only owner of the
Afghans on the Sikhs gave the latter march to Kashmir to punish the rebellious Khan’s passage on his return from Kash- Shah Shuja and his Qazi before Ranjit Koh-i-Noor who earned the gem hon-
every reason to kill and plunder their governor. The path to Kashmir lay through mir at Attock. Shah Shuja knew of this. Singh. The Maharaja asked the conspira- ourably and then wished to donate it to a
oppressors, as was the norm, but the the Sikh empire, which forced the Afghans The East India Company’s records reveal tors what punishment would befit a guest shrine not of his faith.
Sikhs did not indulge in wanton violence. to seek Ranjit Singh’s cooperation. The that when the Khalsaji was engaged at the who behaved treacherously towards his — The writer has authored books on
The governor of Attock and his brother, Sikhs and Afghans agreed to march joint- Attock frontier, Ranjit Singh’s perfidious host. Shah Shuja absolved himself of Maharaja Ranjit Singh & Hari Singh Nalwa
6 WORLD THE 2TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | SUNDAY | 11 JUNE 2023

3 dead, several hurt in attack on Odesa: Kyiv

GLOBE TROT Military airfield in central Poltava region hit | Scholz says he plans to speak to Putin soon
REUTERS Odesa, June 10 ment” at the Myrhorod mil-
Russia fired missiles and
drones at targets across Canadian PM itary airfield, the regional
governor said.
Ukraine in the early hours
of Saturday, killing three
in Kyiv, pledges Ten drones attacked two
areas of the Kharkiv region,
civilians in the Black Sea
city of Odesa and striking a
$375 mn aid which borders Russia and
also backs onto the front line,
military airfield in the cen- Kyiv, June 10 wounding a 39-year-old man
tral Poltava region, Kyiv Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and killing one other person,
authorities said. said during a trip to Kyiv on Sat- governor Oleh Synehubov.
The attacks, in which a 29- urday that Canada would take Ukraine also shot down two
year-old was also killed in part in a multinational effort to drones over the Dnipropetro-
the northeast Kharkiv train Ukrainian fighter pilots vsk region where no damage
Smoke rises from Cameron Bluffs wildfire on Vancouver Island. region according to offi- and announced $375 million was reported, its governor
cials, were the latest in a worth of military aid for Kyiv. Serhiy Lysak said.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires reaches Norway spate of overnight strikes Trudeau also told a press con- German Chancellor Olaf
OTTAWA: Smoke from the raging wildfires in Canada, which has that Russia has intensified ference in Kyiv alongside Scholz said on Saturday he
already blanketed parts of the US and placed around 75 mil- as Kyiv sets its sights on a Ukrainian President planned to speak to Russian
lion people under alerts due to hazardous air, has reached as major counter-offensive. Volodymyr Zelenskyy that President Vladimir Putin
far as Norway, according to scientists. Plumes of smoke have The Air Force said the Canada was seizing a Russian- on the phone soon to urge
stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made attacks involved eight owned Antonov cargo aircraft him to withdraw Russia's
their way to Norway, CNN quoted the scientists at Climate and ground-launched missiles that landed in Canada last year troops from Ukraine.
Environmental Research Institute in Norway as saying. IANS and 35 strike drones. Air and starting the process of for- Addressing a convention of
defence units managed to Justin Trudeau (L) and Volodymyr Zelenskyy while releasing a joint declaration in Kyiv. AP/PTI feiting the aircraft to Ukraine. the German Protestant
2 passenger planes collide at Tokyo airport down 20 drones and two Trudeau visited Kyiv on church in Nuremberg, Scholz
TOKYO: Two passenger jets appeared to have collided near a cruise missiles, it said. LAST REACTOR AT ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SHUT DOWN Saturday. He paid his said he had spoken to Putin by
taxiway in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday, according to “As a result of the air fight, ■ Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency said it ■ Fiveout of six reactors at the plant, which respects at a memorial site in telephone in the past. “I plan
Japan’s Transport Ministry. At around 11 am, a Thai Airways debris from one of the has put the last operating reactor at is under Russian occupation, are already central Kyiv to Ukrainian sol- to do it again soon,” he said.
flight departing for Bangkok and an aircraft with EVA Air came drones fell onto a high-rise Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into a in a state of shutdown with the last reac- diers who have been killed “It’s not reasonable to
into contact on Runway A of Haneda Airport. IANS apartment, causing a fire,” “cold shutdown”, as per official reports tor being shut by the agency on Thursday during the war. — Reuters force Ukraine to approve
the southern military com- and accept the raid that
‘Breaking Bad’ star Mike Batayeh dies at 52 mand’s spokesperson footage released by the mil- playground, a Reuters pho- attack, authorities said. At raid sirens blared repeatedly Putin has perpetrated and
LOS ANGELES: Actor Mike Batayeh, best known for playing laundro- Natalia Humeniuk said of itary showed. tographer said. least 27 other persons, includ- through the night. that parts of Ukraine become
mat manager Dennis Markowski on ‘Breaking Bad’, has passed the attack on Odesa. The morning light Three people were killed ing three children, were hurt, Russia also fired drones Russian just like that,"
away after suffering a heart attack. He was 52. His family con- Firefighters battled revealed a gaping crater in including a couple who lived the emergency services said. and ballistic and cruise mis- Scholz added, saying he
firmed that the actor died on June 1 in his sleep at his home in overnight to put out the fire the ground several metres on the eighth floor of the The first drone strike came siles at the Poltava region, would work to ensure that
Michigan. Mike’s sister Diane told TMZ that his death “was very in the 10-storey block in a wide next to the damaged building and a man who had around midnight and was inflicting “some damage of NATO does not get drawn
sudden, as he didn’t have a history of heart issues”. IANS residential area of the city, building and a children’s been outside at the time of the followed by three more. Air infrastructure and equip- into the war. — Reuters

5 weeks after plane crash, 4 children rescued ‘Victim of witch-hunt’: Boris quits Five killed in
explosion at
Bogota, June 10
Four children from an
Indigenous kids from Colombia found in jungle
Indigenous community in
Colombia have been found
as lawmaker over ‘Partygate’ report Turkiye factory
Ankara, June 10
An explosion at a rocket and
alive in the country’s south London, June 10 Johnson accused the Com- explosives plant in Turkiye
more than five weeks after Former British Prime Min- mons inquiry of attempting caused a building to collapse
the plane they were travel- ister Boris Johnson has to “drive me out”. on Saturday, killing all five
ing in crashed in thick jun- abruptly resigned as a law- In a statement, he said: workers inside, an official said.
gle, Colombia’s President maker, claiming he was the “They have still not pro- The explosion occurred at
Gustavo Petro said. “victim of a witch-hunt”, duced a shred of evidence around 8.45 am at the com-
The siblings were rescued after being told by a parlia- that I knowingly or reck- pound of the state-owned
by the military near the bor- mentary committee that he lessly misled the Com- Mechanical and Chemical
der between Colombia’s will be sanctioned for mis- mons.” Earlier on Friday, he Industry Corporation, on the
Caqueta and Guaviare leading Parliament over received a copy of the yet- outskirts of the capital,
provinces, close to where the lockdown-breaking parties to-be-published report, Ankara, Gov Vasip Sahin said.
small plane had crashed. at Downing Street during which he claimed was “rid- Sahin said the explosion
The plane — a Cessna 206 — his premiership. dled with inaccuracies and was likely to have been caused
was carrying seven persons on Johnson, 58, one of the Boris Johnson reeks of prejudice”. by a chemical reaction during
a route between Araracuara, in main architects of Brexit, Last year, the Metropolitan the production of dynamite.
Amazonas province, and San compared the Privileges The former Conservative Police issued Johnson and Prosecutors have launched a
Jose del Guaviare, a city in Committee probe to a “kan- party leader said he was then-finance minister Rishi formal investigation, he said.
Guaviare province, when it garoo court” as he quit. “bewildered and appalled” Sunak — who is currently Gray smoke was seen rising
issued a mayday alert due to Johnson’s decision to after receiving the letter Prime Minister — with a fine from the compound as ambu-
engine failure on May 1. Colombian soldiers with rescued children in Caqueta state, Colombia. AP/PTI resign as a Member of Par- from the committee, which for attending a gathering in lances and fire trucks rushed
Three adults, including the liament came on Friday as is investigating whether he Downing Street during the to the area, private NTV televi-
pilot and the children’s found inside the plane. The Narcizo Mucutuy, the rescue. “As the grandfather to he received a confidential lied to British lawmakers Covid lockdown, making sion reported. Shop and house
mother Magdalena Mucu- four siblings, aged 13, 9, 4, as grandfather of the three girls my grandchildren, at this letter from the MP-led Priv- over lockdown-breaking Johnson the first sitting UK windows in surrounding areas
tuy, died as a result of the well as a now 12-month-old and one boy, said he was moment I am very happy,” he ileges Committee over the parties during the pandem- PM to be found guilty of were shattered by the force of
crash and their bodies were baby, survived the impact. delighted at the news of their said. — Reuters crucial matter. ic, known as ‘Partygate.’ breaking the law. — PTI the blast, the report said. — AP

‘Converted’ Hindu
Pak girl not allowed
India’s energy import from Nepal to push 9 killed, 10 hurt in terror attack on Somalia hotel
to go with parents hydropower generation: PM Prachanda Mogadishu, June 10
Police in Somalia say nine peo-
Karachi, June 10 Kathmandu, June 10 Nepal but neighbouring coun- ple, including three soldiers,
A 14-year-old Hindu girl, who Nepal Prime Minister Push- SOUTH ASIA TO BENEFIT tries like India and were killed in Friday night’s
was allegedly kidnapped, pa Kamal Dahal Prachanda ■ Nepal PM said India import- Bangladesh would also benefit extremist attack on a beachside
forcibly converted to Islam has said India’s commit- ing 10,000 MW of clean ener- from hydropower develop- hotel in the capital, Mogadishu.
and married off to a Muslim ment to import 10,000 MW gy from Nepal has opened ment in the Himalayan nation. The police statement said 10
man in Pakistan’s Sindh of clean energy from Nepal new doors for hydropower Prachanda recalled his other persons were hurt while
province, has appeared before in the next ten years has development in South Asia meeting with PM Narendra 84 people were rescued from
a district court which refused opened a “new door” for ■ Prachanda said the increase Modi in Delhi during his the hours long assault that end-
to send her with her parents hydropower development in hydropower production recently concluded visit to ed early Saturday morning.
despite her insistence that in South Asia. would aid the development India, where Modi expressed Al-Qaeda’s East Africa
she wanted to go with them. His comments came dur- of green and clean energy commitment to import 10,000 affiliate, al-Shabab, claimed
Sohana Sharma Kumari was ing a meeting with Martin MW of clean energy from responsibility for the attack.
allegedly kidnapped at gun- Raiser, World Bank Region- “The people in the world Nepal in the next ten years. The Somalia-based extrem-
point from her home in the al Vice President for South will also be benefited direct- “This has opened a new ist group is known for carry-
Benazirabad district of the Asia, on Friday. ly or indirectly if we focus door for hydropower develop- ing out attacks on hotels and Locals outside Pearl Beach restaurant after the attack in Mogadishu, Somalia. REUTERS
southern Sindh province on Prachanda said that the our attention towards the ment,” Prachanda said. other high-profile locations
June 2 in front of her mother by increase in hydropower produc- development of hydropow- Prachanda visited India in Mogadishu, usually start- the Pearl Beach hotel, Abdulkadir Adan, the direc- at an unexpected time.” Mulki
her tutor and his accomplices. tion would aid the development er,” he said at the meeting from May 31 to June 3, his ing with a suicide bombing. which is popular with gov- tor of Amin Ambulance serv- Osman said she and her
Her father Dilip Kumar filed a of green and clean energy and held at the Prime Minister’s first official trip abroad Witnesses had told The ernment officials. The Lido ice, said “what occurred last friends “instantly fled for cov-
complaint with police, saying help minimise the impacts of Office at Singhadurbar. since assuming office in Associated Press that some Beach area is one of night was tragic as it occurred er” in the restaurant when
she was kidnapped. — PTI climate change in the region. He pointed out that not just December 2022. — PTI people were trapped inside Mogadishu’s most popular. in an unexpected setting and they heard explosions. — AP

US state visit needs six months of meticulous planning, says WH historian Indian-American sues Florida
King Kalakaua of Hawaii was first to be invited in 1874 | PM Modi’s scheduled tour from June 21-24 resort owner for wife’s death
Washington, June 10 respective countries, review New York, June 10 his wife Supraja, 33, their son,
A US state visit, an honour STATE DINNERS DENOTE SHARED IDEAS, GOALS their troops, and then An Indian-American man has 10, and nephew, 9, went para-
given to the closest friends they’ll go into the White filed a lawsuit against a boat sailing in the Florida Keys
and allies, involves about
six months of meticulous
❝ Many just think of state dinners as fancy meals...
but there’s a lot that goes on that not only shows an
House for conversation, and
diplomatic exchanges later
captain and his resort for neg-
ligence that killed his wife
when the weather turned bad.
After a few minutes, the boat’s
planning by the White acknowledgement and respect for the visiting country, that night. There is a state and injured their son while captain cut the towline con-
House and displays the best its culture and ideals but also what are our shared ideas dinner held in their honour, parasailing on vacation in necting the parasail to the boat,
of American hospitality, and goals and objectives. Matthew Costello, HISTORIAN and then they spend the Florida, a media report said. while Alaparthi helplessly
according to an eminent night there as the overnight Srinivasrao Alaparthi filed a watched his wife and the two
American historian. <<Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with then US President guest of the President, the 68-page lawsuit in Monroe boys plunge into the water.
The remarks by Matthew Ronald Reagan and First Lady during her state visit to the US. FILE First Lady at Blair House, County circuit court this week “I can’t help but think that if
Costello, vice-president and the president’s official against the boat captain, his the people we trusted from
interim director of the David state visit to the US. and First Lady Jill Biden. events. The day of (the state dent and the visiting Head guest house,” he said. first mate and the resort, Cap- the parasailing company and
M Rubenstein National Cen- PM Modi is visiting the “Typically, there is an invi- visit), there will be a state of State will exchange According to Matthew, the tain Pip’s Marina & Hide- Captain Pip’s Marina had
ter for White House History, United States from June tation. There are about six arrival ceremony at the remarks,” said Matthew. first state visit is recognised away, alleging negligence and done their jobs, my wife would
came ahead of Prime Minis- 21-24 at the invitation of months of planning leading White House, typically on “They’ll listen to the as that of King Kalakaua of wrongful death. still be with us today,” he was
ter Narendra Modi’s first US President Joe Biden up to the White House the South Lawn. The Presi- national anthems of the Hawaii in 1874. — PTI On May 30, 2022, Alaparthi, quoted as saying. — PTI