Global News Post: Culture

Gandhi's Archive for Auction Returning to India

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<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">LONDON (NNN-Bernama) -- A rich archive containing thousands of items related to Mahatma Gandhi will soon return to India after the Indian Union Ministry of Culture signed a contract with auctioneers Sotheby's to purchase it before it is put up for auction on July 10. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The price paid by the ministry has not been revealed but it is likely to be between Rs 4 crore to Rs 6 crore, as Sotheby's had expected the archive to fetch between 500,000 and 700,000 pounds.(One Crore: ten million) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sources in the Indian government told Press Trust of India the auction in London would no longer go ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sotheby's in confirming this said: "The archive, which had been scheduled to be offered in Sotheby's English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations Auction on July 10, has been withdrawn from sale." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The archive includes several letters that throw fresh light on the controversial relationship between Gandhi and architect Hermann Kallenbach, one of the foremost associates and friends of Gandhi during his time in South Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The archive, which is likely to be a rich resource for researchers and historians, was recently examined by a team of experts from the ministry who described it as "very well preserved and of inestimable value". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The archive is expected to be kept at the National Archives in New Delhi. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gandhi's Archive for Auction Returning to India

LONDON (NNN-Bernama) -- A rich archive containing thousands of items related to Mahatma Gandhi will soon return to India after the Indian...

Mali Islamists Destroy Ancient Timbuktu Sites

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Islamist militants in Mali's historic city Timbuktu destroyed and damaged ancient sites for a third straight day, defying international threats of prosecution.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Witnesses say the al-Qaida-linked group Ansar Dine targeted the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque on Monday, tearing off the entrance door. The door is considered sacred and was to remain closed until the end of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Timbuktu is home to 16 ancient mausoleums said to contain the remains of Muslim saints. The militants say Muslims should revere Allah, not saints, and are attacking the mausoleums with pickaxes and shovels.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United Nations last week declared Timbuktu a World Heritage site in need of protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hamadoune Toure, a spokesman for Mali's interim government, told VOA that the government is investigating whether it can file war crimes charges with the International Criminal Court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We know it is something unacceptable; it has nothing to do with religion. It's a violation of our culture, but they can do whatever they want. They cannot destroy the links we have with our people who are resting there in peace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United States also denounced the attacks on the sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The United States strongly condemns the destruction of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu by Islamist mlitants, including Ansar Dine. We call on all parties to protect Mali's cultural heritage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland also called for a cease-fire among the warring parties in northern Mali, and said all armed groups should cooperate with regional bloc ECOWAS to resolve the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Timbuktu served as a center of Islam in Africa during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is also home to thousands of ancient manuscripts stored in libraries and homes under the care of religious scholars.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hardline Islamists seized control of northern Mali with Tuareg separatists earlier this year. But since then, the Islamist groups gained full control of the north's major cities, including Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">-<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a brief alliance, the Tuareg separatists and Islamist group split over what level of Sharia to impose. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Mali Islamists Destroy Ancient Timbuktu Sites

Islamist militants in Mali's historic city Timbuktu destroyed and damaged ancient sites for a third straight day, defying internation...

INDIA: Create Casteless, Inclusive Society, Says India’s Lower House Speaker Meira

INDIA: Create Casteless, Inclusive Society, Says India’s Lower House Speaker Meira

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-UNI) -- Lok Sabha (Lower House) Sunday met for a special session on the 60th anniversary of its first assembly on th...

Ancient Mayan Artwork, Calculations Discovered

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">By Rosanne Skirble</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Provide new insights into how Mayan astronomers charted the cosmos<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The painted figure of a man — possibly a scribe who once lived in the house built by the ancient Maya — is illuminated through a doorway to the dwelling, in northeastern Guatemala.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Archeologists working among the ruins of a 9th century Mayan town in Guatemala have discovered a room filled with extraordinarily well-preserved artwork. The colorful wall paintings provide new insights into how Mayan astronomers charted the cosmos.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Xultun was the largest city in the ancient Mayan empire in Central America, where, at its height, an estimated 90,000 people lived and worked among pyramids, inscribed monuments, water reservoirs and sport fields. But by the 14th century, the Mayan civilization had collapsed and this great city fell with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1920, Xultun was rediscovered, overgrown with vegetation. Work to map the 31 square-kilometer site and decode the myriad inscriptions on its monuments continues to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Conservator Angelyn Bass cleans and stabilizes the surface of a wall of a Maya house that dates to the 9th century A.D. The figure of a man who may have been the town scribe appears on the wall to her left.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2008, Boston University archeologist William Saturno was exploring tunnels in the Xultun ruins that had been opened by looters in the 1970s.  One day his student assistant, Max Chamberlain, discovered the entranceway - close to the surface but hidden by vegetation - to a room-like structure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Max thought he saw the remnants of paint on the walls of this fairly small Maya structure,” Saturno says.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once inside the room - part of a larger residential complex at the Xultun site - Saturno knew he was in a special place. On the opposite wall, he came face-to-face with the painting of a Mayan king, its regal colors remarkably preserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“[He’s wearing] this gorgeous sort of blue-green head dress, he’s holding this white scepter in his hand," Saturno says. "He’s sitting on top of this throne. He is just incredible to look at."   <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another figure painted in brilliant orange wears a white medallion and holds a small stylus in his hand - possibly the artist scribe who lived in the house, Saturno speculates.  On the other walls are more male figures in black with white loin cloths and identical head dresses with a single red feather.  And running all around, between and sometimes on top of these figures is tiny Mayan hieroglyphic script.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There are these large numerical arrays, just columns of numbers of one after another, after another," Saturno says. "This seems to be a place where Maya scribes are at work.  They are painting and repainting texts on the walls. They are in different hands and different scales and different sizes in order to have the calculations present.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Four long numbers on the north wall of the ruined house relate to the Maya calendar and computations about the moon, sun and possibly Venus and Mars; the dates stretch some 7,000 years into the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Saturno, the painted numbers are a version of the Mayan calendar system, one that he notes predates the Mayan astronomical tables written on bark paper books in the 14th century. The parallels were obvious once he began to do the math. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The Maya had a 260-day ceremonial calendar and a 365 solar calendar," Saturno says. "The Maya combined those two calendars to make a longer cycle of time that repeated every 52 years. But they also kept track of the motions of Venus and the motions of Mars and perhaps the motions of Mercury. And the numbers that are recorded on this wall are multiples of all of those cycles combined.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The painted room also pays tribute to the way the Maya used those calendars to synchronize human activities with the larger cycles of the moon and planets they routinely observed in the heavens. Saturno says while modern humans keep looking for endings, the Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“This is the type of calculation and dissemination of knowledge that we don’t get to look at for a people for whom this type of knowledge was central to their existence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturno is making images of the Xultun paintings that students and scholars can access using desk-top scanners and other tools. When that work is done, Saturno plans to rebury the site, leaving it to rest where the ancient Mayan people created it.  His study of the Xultun site is featured in the journal Science and in the June issue of the National Geographic magazine.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> ---VOA News</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Ancient Mayan Artwork, Calculations Discovered

By Rosanne Skirble Provide new insights into how Mayan astronomers charted the cosmos The painted figure of a man — possibly a scribe w...

Indian Teenager Annuls Her Child Marriage

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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="Section0"><div class="p0" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12.0000pt; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p0" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12.0000pt; mso-spacerun: 'yes';">NNN--- A young woman has had her child “marriage” legally annulled in northern Rajasthan state India on April 26 2012, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in India. Laxmi Sargara, 18, wed Rakesh when she was just one and he was three. She did not like the boy and was not ready to go ahead with her parents’ decision. After appealing to her parents, Laxmi sought help from a local non-governmental organization, the Sarathi Trust in Jodhpur city. photo courtesy ucanews--- NNN</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12.0000pt; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p0" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12.0000pt; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p0" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12.0000pt; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>

Indian Teenager Annuls Her Child Marriage

NNN--- A young woman has had her child “marriage” legally annulled in northern Rajasthan state India on April 26 2012, in what is thought t...

Georgia's Stalin Museum to Focus on Dictator's Crimes

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Stalin Monument in Gori (where he was born).<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/viralbus/157511901/sizes/z/in/photostream/"><span style="color: black; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Photo © flickr.com/viralbus</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The museum in Josef Stalin's hometown in Georgia is changing its focus to highlight the atrocities that were committed during the Soviet dictator's rule.</span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Georgian Culture Minister Nika Rurua said Monday the museum in Gori is incompatible with modern-day Georgia, which became independent in 1991.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The museum was built in 1937 and includes the small house where Stalin was born.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Stalin was born Iosif Dzhugashvili in Gori in 1878. He ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist from the early 1920s until his death in 1953.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Historians say that during Stalin's rule, millions of people were executed, died in prison camps, or starved to death in famines caused by the forced collectivization of agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But many older Russians revere Stalin as the man who defeated the Nazis in World War II and turned the Soviet Union into a superpower. --- VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Georgia's Stalin Museum to Focus on Dictator's Crimes

The Stalin Monument in Gori (where he was born). Photo © flickr.com/viralbus The museum in Josef Stalin's hometown in Georgia is chan...

India: Khasi Withdrawn from UNESCO'S Endangered Language List

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Photo © <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fixingshadows/6260214352/sizes/z/in/photostream/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">flickr.com/fixing-shadows</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">SHILLONG (NNN-Bernama) -- The Khasi language of Meghalaya has been withdrawn from UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger as it is now considered "safe".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The language -- spoken by some 900,000 people in the state -- is no longer in danger, UNESCO declared on its website Friday, Press Trust of India reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The language, of the Mon-Khmer linguistic branch, had it status reassessed by the Atlas editorial board, which concluded that Khasi may be classified as "safe" on UNESCO's scale of language vitality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Khasi is spoken in the Khasi and Jaintia hills and is also known as Khasia, Khassee, Cossyah or Kyi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recognised as the "associate official language" in Meghalaya since 2005, Khasi is widely used in several domains such as primary and secondary education, radio, television and religion, the UNESCO official website said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Admitting that "some dialects" of Khasi are "dying" as they make way for the standardised variant, the editorial board said it was pleased to acknowledge that "the future of this language seems to be assured."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Interactive Atlas has an online version since 2009 and is regularly updated based on feedback from linguists and speakers of endangered languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To date, the Atlas lists 2473 languages in danger from around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is classified in five degrees of vitality -- vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered, and extinct. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">  <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Khasi Withdrawn from UNESCO'S Endangered Language List

Photo © flickr.com/fixing-shadows SHILLONG (NNN-Bernama) -- The Khasi language of Meghalaya has been withdrawn from UNESCO's Atlas ...

Online Tool Launched to Preserve Hmong Language

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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Almost every day, Chue Her sits down at his computer, pulls out his Hmong-English dictionary and starts typing 10 to 20 words into an online translator. He hopes his contribution to Microsoft's translation project will be the key to reviving the Hmong language that he worries is disappearing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I believe if we don't have the translation to keep in the computer like this, in the future, I believe 100 percent, the Hmong language will be gone. It will die out,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This 65-year-old spoke Hmong in his native Laos, but when he moved to Fresno, California in 1982 and began a family, the preferred language for his four children and 11 grandchildren began shifting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I am very worried right now my grandchildren do not speak Hmong,” he said. “So, I think it's a good opportunity for me to help my kids to learn.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Hmong are a minority tribal people native to the mountains of southern China and Southeast Asia. They sided with the Americans during the Vietnam War, and many ended up fleeing from the Vietnam-Laos border to the United States in the 1970s. Today, about 260,000 live in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Project coordinator Phong Yang says the Hmong language has begun to disappear as more and more generations of Hmong are born and raised abroad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Second generation Hmong children don't learn Hmong as much anymore or don't speak Hmong as well anymore,” said Yang, who teaches the language at California State University, Fresno. “We really want to find a way to come up with some sort of interactive tool and definitely make Hmong more visible to the public, even to speakers so they could be proud of their language.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When Microsoft approached Yang last year about making Hmong the 38th language in its online translator, he knew he needed to act on the project.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We still have resources at this point for translation, but I would say within the next 15, 20 years, I mean, who knows what happens?” said Yang, who even admits his Hmong is not perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By resources, he means the older generations of Hmong, like Her, who fluently speak, read and write the language.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is now an all-out, community effort to build this online tool. In order to expand the program's vocabulary, the native speakers must type in words, phrases and documents in Hmong and then provide the English translation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Microsoft Research's Will Lewis said the program uses a statistical model to translate based on the words entered into the program. Hmong is one of the first of the lesser-known languages Microsoft is rolling out as part of its translation project.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hmong for a variety of reasons kind of percolated up to the top because there was a strong involvement from the community,” Lewis explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yang says the community volunteers have loaded about 40,000 words into the program — a good start for what is likely to be a long process.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For volunteer Her, the time and energy is worth it. He is worried not just about the Hmong language, but about a fading culture and way of life. With a little help from technology, he hopes his history will be a part of his children's future. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Online Tool Launched to Preserve Hmong Language

Almost every day, Chue Her sits down at his computer, pulls out his Hmong-English dictionary and starts typing 10 to 20 words into an onl...

India’s History Council to Save Ancient Languages

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) is getting ready to teach fading classical languages in the country as part of it plans to preserve them for posterity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, many classical languages which reviously enjoyed a prime position are on the verge of extinction in the country as it was not being used now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ICHR has drawn up an ambitious project to teach the dying languages to senior teachers for the benefit of the next generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Two languages, including Persian and Prakrith have been chosen to be taught to scholars. The reason for the selection of the two languages is that most of the inscriptions in the country are in those two languages," Dr Ishrat Alam, ICHR member secretary, told PTI.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He also said that ICRH is coming out with a dictionary of economic, social and administrative terms with reference to South Asian Inscriptions. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India’s History Council to Save Ancient Languages

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) is getting ready to teach fading classical langu...

India: Vice President Calls Upon People to Give Greater Attention to Urdu Language

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ90XsXbqBD_NejBqb4zHyNws9ovftV484J492mBOlg3utCVaWMw6h6UiFiGrTZrPlMk3scn4ileMoB-J5LYL9mDqBruuc53LtmFRgsjp0ftmFRjsTAlfNeomtEbDipTFiVJrh7I_yMzY/s1600/l2012011438625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ90XsXbqBD_NejBqb4zHyNws9ovftV484J492mBOlg3utCVaWMw6h6UiFiGrTZrPlMk3scn4ileMoB-J5LYL9mDqBruuc53LtmFRgsjp0ftmFRjsTAlfNeomtEbDipTFiVJrh7I_yMzY/s640/l2012011438625.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari releasing the book entitled “Justice to Urdu” authored by Justice Markandey Katju, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:city></st1:place> on January 14, 2012. The Union Minister for Law and Justice and Minority Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid is also seen. Photo © PIB</span></i> </td></tr>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;"> (PIB) --- </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari has said that the Languages enrich each other and a Language declines if it is not linked to the normal pursuits of life. He has called upon people to give greater attention to the beautiful language Urdu. Addressing after releasing the book entitled “Justice with Urdu” authored by Justice Markandey Katju at a function here today, he has said that today Urdu is an international language as it is evident from the Internet. There is no reason why Urdu language should not be treated as any other Indian language. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Expressing his concern on the decline in Urdu speakers in our country, Ansari has said that the Census Data has shown that the number of Urdu speaking people is going down. He congratulated the author for bringing out such a valuable book.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Vice President Calls Upon People to Give Greater Attention to Urdu Language

The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari releasing the book entitled “Justice to Urdu” authored by Justice Markandey Katju, in New De...

Discovery of Buddhist Stupa

A Buddhist Stupa site was discovered in Munjuluru Village, Bantumilli Manda, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh by the State Department of A...

Hindujas to Spearhead 'Sindhu' Cultural Centres in India

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BANGALORE</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-PTI): Noted industrialist Srichand P Hinduja has plans to spearhead establishment of cultural centres in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> on the ancient Sindhu civilisation that he believes could solve some of the problems faced by the world, particularly religious conflicts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Sindhi Youth Association (SYA) here last night, Hinduja said he discussed the issue with Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who welcomed the idea. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"So we can start from Karnataka, the Sindhu cultural centre, and create similar models in other States so that through the Sindhu civilisation we can approach the whole world," the billionaire businessman said at the function, also attended by his brother Ashok P Hinduja. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Noting that Sindhis have prospered all over the world, he said, "Now, we have to see that how we can maintain our culture which is the oldest civilisation, Sindhu civilisation, as a good example for the world which can even solve the problems of the world". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Sindhis are one of them (Sindhu civilisation), whereas the people of the world need a civilisation of Sindhu culture," Hinduja, Trustee of Hinduja Foundation, advocated. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Jews today control the "financials of the world" and people have forgotten Sindhis, who are "talented and intelligent people," said Hinduja, whose family-owned diversified conglomerate the Hinduja Group has interests in finance, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and manufacturing services in different parts of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I reminded (Jews) that we are buying from them and selling to the Scottish and despite that, we are making profits," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It’s very difficult to find anybody in the world to buy from Jews and sell to Scottish and still make profits". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Noting that Sindhis don’t have any religion, he said they worship five elements. "If you promote that civilisation, you can imagine, we can solve the problems of the world, where religion creates new conflicts," Hinduja said. "When you worship five elements, you are above all religions". -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Hindujas to Spearhead 'Sindhu' Cultural Centres in India

BANGALORE (NNN-PTI): Noted industrialist Srichand P Hinduja has plans to spearhead establishment of cultural centres in India on the anc...

An Artist’s Quest: K.K. Hebbar- A Retrospective

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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Retrospective Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New   Delhi</st1:city></st1:place> November 22 to October 22, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New   Delhi</st1:city></st1:place>, Ministry of Culture, Government of India is organising the retrospective exhibition of one of our seminal modern artists K.K Hebbar that coincides with his birth centenary. The exhibition titled ‘An Artist’s Quest: K.K. Hebbar- A Retrospective’ will be inaugurated on 22nd November, 2011 at 6:30 pm by Shri Jawhar Sircar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Shri Krishen Khanna, eminent artist will be the Guest of Honour. This is the eighth retrospective organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art as part of the endeavour to showcase the lifetime achievements of the artists who have contributed their life in the field of art. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Curated by Ms. Rekha Rao, well known artist and Ms. Rajani Prasanna, art historian and also the daughters of Shri K.K Hebbar,the exhibition brings a large body of Hebbar’s drawings and paintings from every period of his life and traces the development of his thoughts and art through the years. The exhibition is extensive and includes important works from different stages of his artistic development – from the early realistic and representational period to the great abstract paintings of the later stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">K.K Hebbar (1911-1996) was born in Karnataka. He received his diploma in painting from the Sir J.J School of Art in 1938 and he taught art at the school for a short period between 1940-1945. He later went to Europe and studied art at the Academy Julian in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city>. During his stay in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> he was exposed to some of the best works of western art. It is on his return from <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> that Hebbar’s body of works began to take a definitive shape. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hebbar was prolific in his output and won many awards including the National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi in 1956, the Padma Shri Award in 1961 and Padma Bhushan in 1989. He served as the Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi (1980-84) and was the President of the Bombay Art Society in 1990. He died in 1996 at the age of 85. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hebbar’s repertoire includes depictions of landscapes and metaphysical spaces; however, majority of his work pertains to human beings- their interactions and conflicts, their suffering and resilience. He was particularly drawn to the unprivileged and simple rhythms of rural life. Dance and music provided him with boundless inspiration, reflected in graceful sketches and paintings that picturised the abstract core of the subject. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The exhibition also underscores the integral link between music and art. Both forms of creative expression search for an innate rhythm that defines the essence of the expression. In Hebbar’s art the search for that quintessential rhythm sublimates the image from mere representation to a metaphysical experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During the exhibition there will also be screenings of documentary films titled ‘A Tryst with K.K Hebbar, Artist and Innovator’ and ‘K.K Hebbar- Palette to the Human Heat’ at the NGMA auditorium daily at 11.00 am and 3.00 pm. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The exhibition was first inaugurated at the NGMA, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Hebbar’s home state and in continuation of paying homage to this great artist this retrospective exhibition is being showcased here at NGMA, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:city> and will thereafter be exhibited at NGMA, Mumbai during the month of January, 2012. ---PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

An Artist’s Quest: K.K. Hebbar- A Retrospective

Retrospective Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi November 22 to October 22, 2011 The National Gallery of Mode...

'Terrorists in Love' Examines Islamic Radicals

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Book explores why some young men turn to terrorism</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">By Faiza Elmasry from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">D.C.</st1:state></st1:place></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgBHiS7KqjVye3XgLnEj21JgydRV9z4-yL8i2hkWI53ffEyWvph898rD_wuroRuFZUNKg849YnQvJ2dKRYT_sLD6iF2lLsWZXVXVYgjPV7Zrp12oMIrAyyMEWxNQ8Ce6f_1hNo3agKm8/s1600/book%252Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgBHiS7KqjVye3XgLnEj21JgydRV9z4-yL8i2hkWI53ffEyWvph898rD_wuroRuFZUNKg849YnQvJ2dKRYT_sLD6iF2lLsWZXVXVYgjPV7Zrp12oMIrAyyMEWxNQ8Ce6f_1hNo3agKm8/s1600/book%252Bcover.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">How does a young man transform from a law-abiding middle-class citizen into a terrorist? Ken Ballen, a former federal prosecutor, spent five years trying to find answers to that question.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Terrorists in Love" examines why young people got involved in radicalism and then - for many of them - how they left.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The result is a book called, "Terrorists in Love: The Real Lives of Islamic Radicals."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It started as a research project, says Ballen, founder and president of Terror-Free Tomorrow. When his group conducted public opinion polls across the Muslim world, Ballen traveled extensively and had a chance to meet young radicals.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What was remarkable was how many people did open up to me," Ballen says. "They really shared their lives with me, how they got involved in radicalism and then - for many of them - how they left, which I think is almost as important as how they got first involved.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Out of 100 or so radicals he interviewed, Ballen focused on six in his book.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You can’t pick six people and say that they represent all the motives of all radicals everywhere," he says. "They do not. But I think they were fairly representative of the different ways that people got involved in this movement.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What ties the stories together, Ballen says, is reflected in the book’s title, "Terrorists in Love."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It tells a story of people who can’t find love, largely, and this feeling of frustration, not being able to connect with another human being on earth - they can only find love with God - propels a lot of them into radicalism.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Author Ken Ballen traveled extensively, meeting with young radicals.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of them is Abdullah Al Gilani. His story is subtitled 'Jihadi Romeo and Juliet.' The young Saudi fell in love with a woman named Mariam, but couldn’t marry her.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Her father wanted to marry her off for a handsome dowry or bride price, and he thought he could get $30,000,"<span>  </span>Ballen says. "This young man didn’t have that kind of money. The most he had was $8,000. So the father married her against her will to a man three times her age. She was humiliated and, indeed, raped by this man because she had never consented to the marriage. He was very distraught after this. He thought, ‘Well, if I go on holy war and I die, and I’m fighting for God, I can go to heaven and in heaven, I can marry my sweetheart, Mariam.’ So he went off to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ahmad Alshayea is another Saudi Jihadist who went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The young man’s troubled relationship with his father contributed to his decision to leave his family and country, according to Ballen, who interviewed Ahmed in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:place></st1:country-region> at a facility where former jihadists are rehabilitated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ahmad Alshayea says being nursed back to health by a female US Army medic after surviving a suicide attack changed his radical views.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“This young man had never met a woman outside of his family until he went to Abu Ghreib, of all places, and was nursed back to health by an American army medic, the first woman he had ever met," Ballen says. "It opened him up in a way to Americans, to women, that he had never experienced before. It humanized him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ahmad was captured and brought to Abu Ghreib after surviving a suicide attack. He was never told he was going on a suicide mission. He and two other jihadists were to drop off a booby-trapped tanker truck. But his companions jumped out of the vehicle just before it reached a concrete roadblock and exploded, killing eight people and severely injuring Ahmed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the book, Ballen describes Ahmed’s inner thoughts after he's taken to Abu Ghreib. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Holy Quran told Ahmad that a martyred fighter in the way of Jihad, he would be eternally nourished in <st1:place w:st="on">Paradise</st1:place> by ‘date palms.’ Yet, instead of the sweetest 'Sukkary' ((a type of date palm)) that Grandfather said would be the food of heaven, his veins were hooked to salty water. Instead of wearing ‘robes of silk’ and reclining on ‘jeweled couches,’ as the Holy Book pledged, Ahmad lay on a stiff white bed. Missing, too, were ‘the dark-eyed, full-breasted virgins, chaste as pearls’ offered by Allah the Most High to any martyr. He hadn’t reunited with his family as promised either - his younger brother, cheriched grandfather, beloved mother. He was alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That experience, Ballen says, gave Ahmad a new mission and he now warns people his age against following the path he chose. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Other young people profiled in Ballen’s book include Malik, a spiritual adviser of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and Zeddy, the professional Pakistani warrior who discovered that a religious Jihadi group could be just as corrupt as any other organization.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The author says to fight terrorism; we have to understand who these people are and how they think. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I think the change has to come from within," Ballen says. "It has to come from people who are willing to interpret their faith - whether it is Islam, Christianity or Judaism or Hinduism - in an inclusive, tolerant manner, and not as an exclusivist - kind of 'we’re right and everybody else is wrong.' A lot of people can change and a lot of people can change through dialogue. And we should expose any radical movement for what it really is, because there is a tremendous amount of corruption in it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That, Ballen says, is why he wrote "Terrorists in Love," to share with his readers the stories they seldom hear about terrorism and those who carry it out. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

'Terrorists in Love' Examines Islamic Radicals

Book explores why some young men turn to terrorism By Faiza Elmasry from Washington , D.C. How does a young man transform from a law-abidi...

Forced Marriage Continues in Many Countries

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Elizabeth Lee<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Young girls forced into marriage is still a reality in many parts of the world, and it doesn't just happen in developing nations.<span>  </span>Activists, African first ladies and victims gathered at a conference in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> to talk about the problem and what can be done to change the practice of child brides.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Millions of girls and young women around the world are married against their will before 18 years old.<span>  </span>Jasvinder Sanghera is born in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> and of Indian descent.<span>  </span>Her sisters were taken out of school in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> at 15 and married to men they have never met.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I was 14 when my mother presented the photograph of the man I was to learn I was promised to when I was eight, and I was the one who said, 'No, I'm not marrying this man,'" Sanghera recalled.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Unlike her sisters, Sanghers ran away and was disowned by her parents and siblings.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I'm seen as the shameful dishonorable daughter who could contaminate their families and their children too," added Sanghera.<span>  </span>"Going to school was one thing.<span>  </span>Going home and closing your front door it was another world. That was the stronger world of the two."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sanghera is now educating others about how strong traditional beliefs in the practice of forced marriage is still happening in both first and third world countries.<span>  </span>For Indians living in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, she says it is not uncommon for a daughter to be married to a man in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> so he can have a British passport.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In South Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>, where the practice of child brides and forced marriages are most prevalent, the ideals of honor and shame are also reasons why girls marry early.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Families are afraid for girls to get active sexually early before they are married. That would bring shame to the family if that happened, if the girl was to become pregnant particularly," said Anne Goddard of Child Fund International.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Goddard notes that for many communities, poverty is one major reason of why families force their young daughters into marriage.<span>  </span>"Families can't afford to raise and feed and educate a girl so they're more likely to then encourage a girl to marry early," Goddard added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">However, she says keeping the girls in school through compulsory education can help stop the practice marrying girls at a young age.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It's well documented that every year longer that a girl stays in school, she grows up to be healthier, the children she has end up being healthier," Goddard explained.<span>  </span>"When girls can stay in school they can also contribute to the income of their own family."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">First lady Chantal Compaore of Burkina-Faso says her country started a program that has kept many girls in school.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We started to give food to those girls at the end of each week [so] that they do stay in school, so their parents cannot say that they're losing money or food or this work force when their girls are going to school instead of staying at home and work[ing,]" Compaore said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ann Warner from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">International</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> for Research on Women says there needs to be more coordination between leaders from governments and grassroots organizations to continue the work that has already been done in preventing early forced marriages.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There's plenty of evidence from around the world that communities are changing," said Warner.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But change is not happening fast enough for Jasvinder Sanghera.<span>  </span>She says Indian girls in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> and other parts of the world are still being married off without their consent and they are accepting the practice as normal.<span>  </span>She says not only do parents need to be educated, but girls also need to be empowered to know they have the right to refuse a marriage. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Forced Marriage Continues in Many Countries

By Elizabeth Lee Young girls forced into marriage is still a reality in many parts of the world, and it doesn't just happen in deve...

Well-Heeled Indians Fall Hook, Line And Sinker for Ornamental Fish

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">CHENNAI (NNN-Bernama):Well-heeled Indians are now fishing for wealth and good luck in the privacy of their homes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Believing that ornamental fish bring fortune, they have resorted to rearing them in fancy aquariums, a sign of the life and times gripping the modern Indian home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nearly 500,000 ornamental fish are distributed daily across <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> from the emerging exotic fish-export hub in Chennai, turning the infant industry into a multi-million Ringgit business.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Vaasthu (the Indian version of Chinese feng shui), stress-buster, hobby or for social status are reasons why more Indians fancy keeping exotic fish, of late, say ornamental fish suppliers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"It's famous for vaasthu and with the increase in disposable income, more Indians own aquariums filled with ornamental fish, to serve as house decoration.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There has been significant increase in demand for ornamental fish, nearly 50 per cent increase as compared to last year," Tamil Nadu Aquarium Fish Breeders and Sellers Welfare Association president R. Rajarajan told Bernama in a recent interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gold fish, mollies, carp, guppies are among few hot varieties much sought- after in local markets, where prices range anything from 50 paisa (30 sen) to 5,000 Indian rupees (RM330).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Every year, the market is growing between 15 to 20 per cent. In fact, the exotic fish-keeping trend is catching up in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, following <st1:country-region w:st="on">Singapore</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>," said Chennai Aquarium Development and Traders Association president B. Selvaraj.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From Kolathur, a district about 40km from Chennai, known for tropical fish exports, 600 fish farms actively supply ornamental fish nationwide.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In the southern state of Tamil Nadu alone, about 15,000 retail outlets cater to the flourishing demand and sell modern accessories for fish rearing. -NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Well-Heeled Indians Fall Hook, Line And Sinker for Ornamental Fish

CHENNAI (NNN-Bernama):Well-heeled Indians are now fishing for wealth and good luck in the privacy of their homes. Believing that ornament...

India Sinks Into Diwali Mood, Unfazed By Inflation

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW   DELHI</span></i></st1:place></st1:city><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-Bernama) -- Millions of Indians brushed aside nagging inflation that spiked up prices of sweets, garments and foodstuff, and security risks to celebrate Diwali -- THE festival of lights -- in merriment Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From north to south <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, people flock to bazaars and spanking malls, shopped to usher the most revered annual festival, also enjoyed in neighbouring <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nepal</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even the stubborn nine-percent inflation and 10.6 percent food inflation failed to dampen festival spirit of over a billion Indians -- many enjoying their newly found wealth. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A salute to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s sparkling economy -- propelling at about eight percent it continues to create more middle-class population, already counting at 330 million. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"People are just going out and buying, retailers are reporting good business. We expect double-digit retail sales this season. Demand for retail goods is better than last year," Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer of Retailers Association of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> told Bernama. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">People queue in bazaars to buy mouth-watering sweets -- sugar-socked "gulab jamun", "burfri" (milk candies), "gee ladoo" and "halwa", to celebrate -- a tradition in Indian homes. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Indians are in jubilant mood on Diwali, a day when good vanquished evil, according to Hindu mythology, but more joy suffused in the cricket ground than bazaars and temples. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">India</span></i></st1:country-region><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> routed <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> 5-0 in a cricket series, the nation's favourite sporting event, and hosting its maiden Formula One motor race this weekend fuels more thrill in the streets. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But the early winter calmness was punctured on the eve, when grenade blasts and shooting in the scenic <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>, once a militant hotbed, injured three soldiers. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Statisticians are jittery over the global economy's health, but Indian bazaars are certainly telling a fire-cracker story -- its real Diwali business! -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

India Sinks Into Diwali Mood, Unfazed By Inflation

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- Millions of Indians brushed aside nagging inflation that spiked up prices of sweets, garments and foodstuff, ...

India: Deepavali- Tradition, Firework Colors to Edge out Western Outfits

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MUMBAI (NNN-Bernama) -- Western outfits rule the roost in day-to-day life, but the festival of lights - Diwali/Deepavali - would see a switch to traditional clothes in bright colors. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Designers feel that ethnic wear is back in fashion during this festive season. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Diwali is that time of the year where you have to dig out traditional fineries out of the closet. One can opt for sexy cocktail sari or anarkali or colorful tunics with leggings. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">One can play with warm palette of firework colors from deep intense haldi to soft peaches to rich yellows and orange," renowned designer Archana Kochhar told Press Trust of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> (PTI). <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There is a blend of modern and the traditional wear, with western fits and cuts mixed with traditional ethnic colors and designs," she said. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Celebrations are not complete without getting the right outfit and Deepavali clothes tend to be extremely gorgeous and vibrant. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"A variety of new traditional wear are seen in the market. The main trend is bright colors, mirrored fabrics and chunky jewelry," designer Sonya Vajifdar said. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Youngsters can opt for brightly colored sequenced dresses or corsets teamed with long skirts... One can wear a sari with booties or sequence borders and ghagras and kalis. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Also, designers feel, Anarkali suits are quite traditional in appeal and it makes them perfect for Deepavali. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"A major trend is warm palette of firework colors: From deep intense haldi to soft peaches to rich yellows to orange. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"For women in their late 30s, saffron and peach works great, while for younger ones, vibrant fanta orange and sorbet pineapple are best for a fresher look," Kochhar said. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Desingers advice adding jewelry to jazz up the look. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Jewelry should be carefully paired... in case of plain outfit chunky jewelry and minimal for a heavy outfit," Vajifdar said. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kochhar says, "One must keep the jewels minimal and sparkle the festive season by investing in semi-precious stones in jewel tones like deep ruby, green emerald and deep blue." -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

India: Deepavali- Tradition, Firework Colors to Edge out Western Outfits

MUMBAI (NNN-Bernama) -- Western outfits rule the roost in day-to-day life, but the festival of lights - Diwali/Deepavali - would see a s...

Ichan Kala - hearth of spirituality

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ACReu9Cfrw3TyvZ9klTIDKITHd7vpynMLZRzZKUK_bK_qJnSY4CUg7PKj1_pgYekEnTP6h1tSneQf6V7Lzk-vD_K35gSdxHUdHHE-ZSGIwqZsLeN4QkFvzX1RUEOKbEV0QuzN-c7ogo/s1600/uzbekspirituality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ACReu9Cfrw3TyvZ9klTIDKITHd7vpynMLZRzZKUK_bK_qJnSY4CUg7PKj1_pgYekEnTP6h1tSneQf6V7Lzk-vD_K35gSdxHUdHHE-ZSGIwqZsLeN4QkFvzX1RUEOKbEV0QuzN-c7ogo/s1600/uzbekspirituality.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">UzA (Shake Khudoyberganov)- As a result of creative work, carried out under the leadership of President Islam Karimov, Khiva also became one of the world’s tourist destinations. For the last period, many historical monuments, like the Ancient Ark, Tash Havli, and Mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud were restored. At present, the work in this direction continues sequentially.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Khiva, attracting tourists from all over the world, has over 100 architectural monuments. The State Museum-Reserve “Ichan Kala,” listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most prestigious museums in the world. Its appearance transformed as a result of the work in connection with the 2,500-year anniversary of Khiva and the 1,000th anniversary of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Khorezm</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Mamun</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According to Director of “Ichan Kala” Batyr Davlatov, a special attention is paid to the restoration of monuments of scientific and historical importance, the discovery of expositions and exhibitions to promote objective coverage of our rich history and restoration of existing exhibits, reprint historical books, further strengthening in the minds of our people the feelings of national pride and love for the motherland.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The museum works closely with public schools, academic lyceums, professional colleges, historical and architectural departments of <st1:placename w:st="on">Urgench</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>, Urgench branch of the Tashkent University of Information Technologies and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tashkent</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Medical</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>. With participation of young people, it regularly hosts cultural and educational activities that enrich students’ knowledge of our history, great ancestors and rich cultural heritage, educating boys and girls learn to respect and honor our past and devotion to the ideas of independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The open-air museum in the form of an open lesson holds classes on the subject of “History of Uzbekistan,” “Fundamentals of spirituality,” as well as lectures on the history of Khorezm on the theme of “Museum and School” and “Museum and Mahalla.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Together with scientists of Khorezm Academy of Mamun and Japan’s Kyoto University as well as the specialists of the Fund “Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan,” the museum staff conducts research to monitor the condition and preservation of historical and architectural monuments, the main purpose of which is a deep study of ancient archaeological sites, historical documents and their wide promotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Museum concluded cooperation agreements with 32 travel agencies in the world. It also gives due attention to the provision of exemplary service to foreign guests. Information about the tourism potential of the city is regularly placed on the website of the museum. --- UzA</span></div><br />
</div>

Ichan Kala - hearth of spirituality

UzA (Shake Khudoyberganov)- As a result of creative work, carried out under the leadership of President Islam Karimov, Khiva also became o...

US Religious Diversity Prompts Increase in Interfaith Marriage

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Jerome Socolovsky from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Kensington</st1:city>,  <st1:state w:st="on">Maryland</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This weekend, a congregation of intermarried Jews and Christians in suburban <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> will observe Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. The Interfaith Families Project is one of a small but growing number of communities that are trying to be true to both Christian and Jewish traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During the rest of the year, they meet on Sunday mornings in a high school in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Kensington</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Maryland</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A rabbi and a pastor, backed up by a group of musicians, lead them in the the "Shema" - the Jewish statement of faith in one God - and the Christian Lord's Prayer. On a recent Sunday, they interspersed that prayer mix with Beatles songs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Religion researchers estimate that one third to one half of all marriages in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> are between members of different faiths. Some say that is a sign of increased religious flexibility and tolerance in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, while others warn that Americans' religiosity is being diluted. The debate is particularly strong among Jews, who are intermarrying faster than other faiths. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">After the prayer service, the children go into classrooms, to learn about both Christianity and Judaism. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Cindy Porhoryles teaches the third class class. She is a Roman Catholic whose husband is Jewish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We really try to honor both traditions - both sets of rituals, if you want to call it that - and the foundation of both religions," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Critics say Judaism and Christianity cannot be coherently combined because of their fundamental disagreement over the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God. Many parents here are devoted to their own faiths, and worried their children would not be accepted by either of their religions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Angela Whitehead Quigley was also raised Catholic and fell in love with a Jewish man while in university.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Neither one of us was going to convert," she said. "We both felt very strongly about our own faiths, and so we were really trying to find a place where we felt home and that's what we found here."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Part of what I loved about her from day one was her Christianity," said her now-husband, David Quigley. "I assume part of what she loved about me from Day One was the faith I had, the Jewish background."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Universities are one of the most common places for interfaith dating. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Chester Gillis is dean of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Georgetown</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>'s divinity school and a professor of theology. He is writing a book that he hopes will show interfaith couples how to harmonize their belief in God, to help them face the other obstacles. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"If you marry someone from your own community, there's a common sympathy and understanding, tradition, a culture, social events, family events, that you're just familiar with," he said. "When you marry outside of that you may not be familiar with those at all. It may be your first time celebrating Easter, or your first time celebrating Passover, or your first time celebrating Eid.'"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A study published last year by religion scholars David Campbell of the University of Notre Dame and Robert Putnam of Harvard University found that one third to one half of all marriages in the United States are interfaith.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gillis says religion is more diverse in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> than any other country in the world. People are increasingly socializing outside their own faith circles. And recent waves of immigration have brought new groups of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Religious leaders are under pressure to accept intermarried couples into their churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. Gillis says the biggest challenge so far has been for Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There's a fierce debate within Judaism as to whether this is a good phenomenon or not," the theology professor said. "Some, like the Harvard Lawyer Alan Dershowitz, argue that, 'This is the end of anti-Semitism. This is acceptance in the common culture. This is very good for Jews.' And others argue - particularly in the Orthodox community and sometimes in the conservative Jewish community - 'No, this is the demise of Judaism.'"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">After school, 7-year-old Hannah Quigley shows her father how she wrote the words Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - in Hebrew letters.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"This is shin," she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Right. Good. Good!" David Quigley answered. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"And this is hey," said Hannah.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Then she shows her mother her artwork.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"So this is Santa Claus. And this is what?" Angela Whitehead Quigley asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"A Christmas tree."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Eli Kane, a 17-year old graduate of the school, works as a volunteer to help with the younger children.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He says dual-faith education taught him to appreciate both religions.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I like the open-mindedness of Judaism," he said, "but I guess I respect the deep belief of Christianity."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Asked what he considers himself, he said: "To me interfaith is its own thing, and I identify with interfaith." ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

US Religious Diversity Prompts Increase in Interfaith Marriage

By Jerome Socolovsky from Kensington , Maryland This weekend, a congregation of intermarried Jews and Christians in suburban Washington...