New film by Indie pop band Euphoria

PAGE-10
The Echo of India Kolkata Saturday September 3, 2016
Textbooks now reflect Indian culture, heritage: Raj school
BUNDI (RAJ), SEPT 2 /--/ Struggling to familiarise students, especially those in rural areas, with European and American themes,
teachers in Rajasthan's Bundi district have welcomed the change in
syllabi by the state government
saying children can now easily
connect with the Indian settings.
Teachers also said the contents
were now "far more comprehensive
and convincing" notwithstanding
Congress
allegations
of
saffornisation of school textbooks
in Rajasthan.
"Earlier, the textbooks on English and Social Science carried
chapters on European, American
and African countries. They were
mostly written by English authors
and writers," said Suman Sharma,
senior English teacher at a government girl's senior secondary school
here. She added books, now, carry
chapters mostly written by Indian
scholars, and the themes and content were of the country's background.
Anshul Meena, an English
teacher in the same school, said,
"English characters, themes and
content of the textbooks were
hardly identifiable, reflective and
pronounceable by government
school students, especially by rural
ones." Now after the changes, the
syllabi are far more comprehensive and convincing. It really reflects the Indian culture and heritage in true sense, Meena said. Echoing her English counterparts,
Mamta Bairwa, a senior government Social Science teacher, said,
"Earlier the subject syllabus of
Class IX had five books with totally
unknown and unfamiliar back-
Miss India’16 sets her goal
on Miss World Pageant
KOLKATA, SEPT 2 /--/
T his year's Femina Miss
India Wo rld winner
P r i y a d a r s h i n i
Chatterjee wants to focus on winning 2016
Miss Wo rld P ag eant in
Washington on December 20. "Having g ot the
chance to represent
North East India in a
premier pageant like
Miss India Wo rl d , m y
next wish will be to represent India and make
my country proud and
project my native place,
my region. No other
commitments now," the
girl from Assam said
during a visit here.
"Take a chance, because even if you don't
win, you'll go back with
so much more," she
said.
Adjudged
by
Sanjay
Dutt,
Sania
Mirza, A r jun Ka poor,
Ekta Kapoor and others
during the 'Miss India'
final in April last,
Priyadarshini said she
felt inspired by the success of Rio Olympians -silver medal winner
badminton star P B
Sindhu, bronze medal
winning
wrestler
Sakshi Malik and gym-
nast Dipa K a r makar,
who ranked fourth in
gymnastics. "I am inspired by the grit and
determination of these
girls. I also dream to be
the winner in 'Miss
World' in December and
make my country proud
in another international platform," she
said
Priyadarshini, who
rated Manish Malhotra
and Shane Peacock as
her most f avourite Indian designers and
gushed about Manish's
recent show in ongoing
Lakme India Fashion
We e k , was her e to
launch well-known designer Jaya Misra's latest collection 'MOSAIC'.
"I learnt from the
best, sessions which
were taken by the who's
who in the industr y.
But my learning continues for the next goal,"
she said recalling her
pageant
experience.
"And I think every girl
who wants to be a
beauty queen should enter such competition. I
met 21 girls and they all
taught me something."
(PTI)
ground. Now the syllabus has been
made more comprehensive and familiar with chapters of Indian
theme, background and characters
in a single book." Shobha Kanwar, a
teacher at Barundan village school
here, said the syllabi last year was
very complex, hard and with unfamiliar themes from foreign background but now Environment, Social Science books have content of
Indian background and the students can identify with it.
"Now the syllabus content is related to India's rich culture and
heritage. Teachers as well as students enjoy it while teaching and
learning in the class," she said. The
government school mathematic
teachers have also welcomed the
incorpor ation of Vedic Ganeet
(Vedic Maths) in the sylla bus.
"Vedic Ganeet gives a deep insight
into learning current mathematical
equations and helps develop IQ for
the same," Anita Kumari, a government Mathematics teacher, said.
The Vedic Ganeet did exist in
school syllabus in 2004 and 2005
but was later dropped from the syllabus, said Kumari.
Rajasthan's BJP government
has faced sharp criticism from Congress leaders including PCC chief
Sachin Pilot and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot for changes in
the syllabi. However, Education
Minister Vasudev Devnani had refuted the allegations saying they
(Congress) are only politicizing the
issue and only the content by Indian scholars and noted authors reflecting the rich culture and heritage of the country has been incorporated in the school books syllabus. (PTI)
Book explores importance of
beads in Arunachali society
NEW DELHI, SEPT 2 /--/ The tradition of
beads has been embedded in the lives of
the people of Arunachal Pradesh from time
immemorial and a new book explores the
oral history, gender questions, social dynamics and tribal relationships related to
this ornament. There are several types of
beads worn by people in the northeastern
state with saanjay tassang, tado, lebu,
lancha, sante pyage and pilya papu among
few of them. Saanjay tassang is blue in colour, small in size and tubular in form while
tado is a yellow coloured small bead in tubular form. Lebu beads are light brown in
colour and come in various shapes such as
round, circular, roughly oval, and hexagonal.
Lancha is a small tubular bead in chocolate colour, sante pyage has thin lining all
over its surface and pilya papu has a glassy
appearance and is of spherical shape. In
"Beads of Arunachal Pradesh: Emerging
Cultural Context," published by Niyogi
Books, Sarit K Chaudhuri and Sucheta S
Chaudhuri describe the economic, cultural
and ritual significance of beads, their historical relation to migration and popular
beliefs, classification mechanism, legends
and history around them and ethnic specifications. Despite the impact of
globalisation even in rural areas, the popularity of beads has not diminished among
the people. Beads are used as a bartering
item and usually take the place of money
even now. Beads ar e a status symbol in
Arunachali society. "Brides bring 'tadoks'
(beads) from their parental homes and these
become the property of the husbands' families, thus elevating the family status," the
and vocalist Palash Sen told PTI in
an interview.
Sen injured himself during the
film’s shoot but says he continued
shooting due to time constraints.
The musician was in the national
capital to perform with singer
Rabbi Shergill for a music concert
filled with Punjabi, Bollywood
and Sufi music. The concert to
raise funds for animal welfare was
hosted by the People For Animals
(PFA), one of the country’s oldest
NGO for animals. "I had fractured
two ribs, but continued shooting as
we had very limited time. I could
Johnathon
Schaech wants to
be next 'Wolverine'
LOS ANGELES, SEPT 2 /-/ "Legends of Tomorrow" star
Johnathon Schaech says if
he could play any Marvel
character, it would be 'Wolverine'. The 46-year-old actor has
revealed that the said Marvel
character, who possesses animal-keen senses, was his inspiration to start acting, reported Aceshowbiz. "If I
could play any character, it
would be Wolverine. I feel
like he's why I wanted to start
acting," he said. The role of
Wolverine will likely soon be
available for Schaech as
Hugh Jackman will be wearing his adamantium claws
and sporting the famous
sideburns for the last time as
part of "T he Wolverine 3"
cast. The final "Wolverine"
solo film will hit US theatres
on March 3 next year. (PTI)
Daisy Ridley
not ready to
reveal 'Star
Wars' new title
book says. According to the authors, beads
are worn also to mark the wearer's social
and cultural status during festivals, cultural events and even at the reception of
important people.
"The role of beads as an identity has become more important with increase in ethnic aspirations. In this age of globalisation,
global events influence even the remotest
area. Fashion shows are spreading fast
throughout the Apatani society. Beads are
displayed here, elaborately showcasing
their ethnic identity and aesthetic sensibilities," they say. Beads are worn in offices,
market places and even in agricultural
fields. The prices of beads depend on their
age and size. "The more the age and size,
the higher the price. Often the beads are
graded into different classes such as first,
second and third. The first class, consisting
of oldest beads, is the costliest and is
highly regarded by people," the book says.
(PTI)
New film by Indie pop band Euphoria
NEW DELHI, SEPT 2 /-- /Indie
pop-rock band, Euphoria is now
venturing into filmmaking with
its first short film, which traces
the band's journey from its inception and hints about the new music underway. "We just finished
shooting at multiple locations in
Himachal Pradesh, and it was an
experience of a lifetime. The story
of the film has been developed
around the first song from our next
album. I've directed it myself and
we are looking at an October end
or November first week release for
the film and the song," frontman
CREATIVE WORLD
only do this, thanks to the support
tha t my bandmates g ave me
through this ordeal," Sen said. The
band is performing in the city in
the backof the release of their latest single "Halla Bol", which is inspired by 'true events' and features the violence in universities.
The singer has been quite vocal about the plight of independent music artists in India and the
dominance
of
commercial
Bollywood music over other genres. He said it is important that
record labels and corporates support the new artists. "In
Bollywood, it's all about the
money. Music is not created to express oneself, it is created to suit a
producer's need to suit a director's
vision of making an actor look
good so that money is minted at
the box office. The musicians in
Bollywood do not have any power
over the others. So I doubt that
they are in a position to help others." Euphoria became one of the
the pioneers of Indian pop music
wave that hit the country in the
mid nineties. Their first single titled 'Dhoom Pichuk Dhoom' became one of the most popular
video to hit TV screens in that decade. In 2001 it became the first
ever band to play inside the
United Nations General Assembly.
"The indie pop music scene in
India is at a standstill now. We are
the sole survivors of the indie pop
wave of the late 90s. All our contemporaries are in Bollywood now.
I feel there should be a certain
kind of a support system that favours newer artists who want to
take out their own music, labels,
corporates etc need to support artists in order for the scene to survive. "Hoping somebody with the
money and the vision starts supporting true music because the
ones who control it right now are
wolves in sheep clothing," the
singer said. Besides the short film,
Euphoria is also working on their
eighth studio album which likely
to be released by the end of this
year. "We will be making a lot of
announcements soon and we're
sure that all Dhoomers and
Euphorians across the world will
love it. We just need you to be
around to carry the word," Sen
said. Giving a word of advice to
the budding artists, he says one
needs to just keep doing what they
do best and believes the transition
from film to non film music will
happen again very soon because,
"this is true non pretentious music". (PTI)
LOS ANGELES, SEPT 2 /-/ Actress Daisy Ridley has
teased fans that she knows
the title for "Star Wars: Episode VIII" but she will not reveal it. Appearing on an episode of podcast "My Dad
Wrote a Porno", says she is not
sure they will go with the title as things might change, reported Variety. "I heard a title, and I'm not sure if it's
going to be that. I really don't
know much about anything," she said. "I have heard
it, but I heard it a long time
ago before we started filming.
So I feel like some things
have tweaked slightly during (production), but it's going to be a while before it's
released, I'd imagine." Besides Ridley, the movie will
mark the return of Mark
Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam
Driver, John Boyega, Oscar
Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o,
Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony
Daniels,
Gwendoline
Christie and Andy Serkis.
(PTI)
Farah returns
to 'JDJ' after
decade
MUMBAI, SEPT 2 /--/ Choreographer-director Farah
Khan has begin shooting for
celebrity dance TV show
"Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa", making
a comeback to the series as a
judge after a decade. Farah,
one of the most popular
Bollywood choreographers
in the country, joins the
show's current ninth season
as the fourth judge, sharing
panel with filmmaker Karan
Johar, actress Jacqueline
Fernandez and choreographer Ganesh Hegde. The 51year-old star was one of the
judges on the inaugural season of the show, in 2006, but
skipped the succeeding instalments. Expressing her excitement about her new role,
Farah tweeted, "1st day shoot
on #JhalakDikhhlaJaa9 ..
With
my
darling
@ k a r a n j o h a r
@ M a n i s h P a u l 0 3
@Asli_Jacqueline
n
@GANESHHEGDE. "Thank
u @ColorsTV @rajcheerfull
n the entire team for such a
warm welcome.. Felt right
back at home." (PTI)
Chose ‘Aksar 2’ as it's not
an erotic film: Gautam Rode
MUMBAI, SEPT 2 /--/
Having often played the
good boy on small screen,
popular TV star Gautam
Rode says he agreed to be a
part of "Aksar 2" as, unlike
its first part, it is not a bold
film. "Aksar 2" is the sequel
of the 2006 thriller which
starred Emraan Hashmi,
Udita Goswami and Dino
Morea and had many bold
scenes. When asked if the
sequel will be on the similar
lines, Gautam told PTI, "It is
not a bold film. It is not an
erotic thriller. It is purely
character driven...I've chosen the film because of
that. I am not so comfortable
with erotic genre as of now."
"Aksar 2", which also stars
actress Zareen Khan, will
be helmed by Anant
Mahadevan who also directed the first installment.
The "Saraswatichandra"
star says the team of the
film doesn't want to promote
it as an erotic thriller.
"That is why me, the director and the producers are
all very particular about it.
We will also be promoting it
as a suspense film rather
than going on the other side
and calling it erotic thriller.
There is nothing like that in
the film," he said. Gautam,
who has worked in hit
shows like "Maha Kumbh:
Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani"
and "Suryaputra Karn", will
be seen playing an investment banker in the film. The
39-year-old actor has already started shooting for
the film, and says "Aksar 2"
is not also a typical heroheroine romantic movie.
"Zareen (Khan) is a good actress and a very good co-actor to work with. But it is not
a romantic film, so it will not
be on those lines which will
have romantic scenes. Songs
are there, but it is not a hero-
heroine film. We all are playing strong characters," he
said. . Gautam got a call from
Mahadevan while he was
working on "Suryaputra
Karn" and was immediately
on board for the role after he
read the script.
Now, the "Baa Bahu Aur
Baby" actor, who earlier featured
in
films
like
"Annarth" and "Agyaat", is
excited about his major leading role debut on the big
screen. "I am definitely excited that I am doing the
film. But at the same time
there is this thought in my
head that this is just a character that I am playing. "I
need to now move on and
play another character. I am
happy to be doing something new after TV and
working with such great
producers and director.
This is exciting for me," he
said. The actor, who has
been in the TV industry for
nearly two decades, will not
completely quit the small
screen to focus on his
Bollywood career as he
feels he owes a lot to the medium for teaching him the
craft of acting.
"If you do TV, sign a
proper daily soap, then you
won't be able to do anything. To be very honest, I
owe it all to TV, it has made
me what I am today. I've
learnt the craft from it. I'll
never say good bye to TV. "I
belong there. I'll be doing
something very soon but if
you do TV you are not able
to do anything else. I was doing back to back shows for
four years...I am just waiting
for good characters to happen to me," he added.
Gautam has, meanwhile,
signed another film with the
producers of "Aksar 2"
which is in the pre-production stage. (PTI)
Parineeti not working with
Mahesh Babu: Murgadoss
MUMBAI, SEPT 2 /--/ Director A R Murgadoss has clarified that actress Parineeti Chopra is not working with
Telegu star Mahesh Babu due date issues, while Sridevi's
daughter Jhanvi was never approached for the film. There
were speculations that Parineeti may be paired opposite
Mahesh Babu in a Tollywood film, while other reports suggested Jhanvi's name. "It is true that we approached
Parineeti Chopra but the dates never worked out due to
her Hindi film starting at the same time," Murgadoss told
PTI. On Jhanvi being approached, he said, "We met Jhanvi
is a false news. Although, it was just suggested initially as
one of the options."
The "Ghajini" helmer revealed that work on the film is
progressing well. "It is a stylish action film with a new
backdrop, I can't divulge more as we are currently shooting, DOP Santosh Shivan sir is also associated with the
film and it is shaping up well," he said. The yet-to-be-titled
film will be shot both in Telugu and Tamil. Murgadoss is
excited for his next Hindi directorial venture "Akira",
starring Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap and Konkana
Sen Sharma. The film will open in theatres on September
2. (PTI)