Junior open TT tournament Tuesday, May 30, 2006 | AY
Named as the SAIL 2006 Indian junior Open meet, the $15,000 prize money tournament will be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium from June 21 to 24. Ten countries have confirmed participation. An ITTF elite training camp and a SAF sub-junior tournament will precede the meet. These will be held at the same venue between June 18 and 20. The main tournament will see competition in cadet boys and girls and junior boys and girls. The West Bengal Table Tennis Association will organise the championship under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India. The following countries have confirmed participation: Iran, Russia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India.
State-run madrassas goes hi -tech Monday, May 29, 2006 | AY
The West Bengal Board of Madrassa Education (WBBME) is set to introduce online forms for its various examinations through a newly constructed website. According to WBBME officials, the Board had for long felt the need to make this journey to the e-world, and this would now help students from districts, who had to come all the way to the state capital to buy the examination forms. Beside providing curriculum guidance and course-related news to the students, WBBME will also upload other information that will be of interest to people who want to know about the madrassa education system.
CM to visit US Sunday, May 28, 2006 | AY
West Bengal chief minister is preparing to visit the US soon to woo investors. He will be sending his chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen to Washington in early June to finalise the roadmap of his visit. During the seven-day visit, the two bureaucrats would meet US industrialist groups and non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen to pave the way for Bhattacharya who has been invited by US Ambassador David Mulford several times. Bhattacharya and Mulford, however, got embroiled in a controversy over the latter’s letter of protest to the chief minister for ‘denigrating’ US President George W. Bush at a public rally. The West Bengal government needs immediate investments in the various projects it has envisioned and the proposed US visit of Bhattacharya assumes significance in this regard.
Bengali films and tele serials were halted Saturday, May 27, 2006 | AY
Shooting of Bengali films and tele serials in Tollygunge studios came to a halt following a strike by a section of technicians today. Members of Federation of Cine Technicians struck work alleging that they were being discriminated against those in Broadcast Technician and Workers Association (BROTA), a rival trade union group in regard to the share of work on studio floor. However, normal functioning resumed as the State Government mediated between the rival groups yesterday asking them not to cripple the industry. During a meeting with representatives of the unions, Information and Cultural Affairs Secretary Dilip Chakraborty had assured that the Chief Minister would constitute a conciliatory committee to resolve the problems.
A boon for children with learning disabilities Saturday, May 27, 2006 | AY
US-based Scientific Learning Corp. has introduced a software, which would help children with learning disabilities. The software – Fast ForWord is to be introduced by Scientific Learning's partner Singapore-based company – Perform @International, which has launched its Indian operations for this purpose recently. Using prescribed protocols, children could achieve a 1 to 2-year gain in reading skills in eight to twelve weeks. With the help of computers, the complex speech sounds in sentences -- such as phonemes -- could be slowed down and digitally enhanced so that they could be easily differentiated. The company would organize concept-clarification sessions in various parts of the country, mainly in Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata. Though initially the product would be launched for normal kids through the schools, Peter added that R & D on the product to be used for children with learning disabilities was being conducted with some local partners in Delhi and Kolkata.
Da Vinci Code Saturday, May 27, 2006 | AY
'The Da Vinci Code' today opened in the city with six English prints and five in Hindi amid mixed audience response. After initial threats of disrupting screenings, Christian organisations seem to have calmed down following addition of the disclaimer. Theatre owners, meanwhile, are happy with the audience response. Arijit Dutta, President of Eastidern India Motion Pictures Association and owner of Priya cinema in South Kolkata, said that they are expecting good business here.
Bengali film producer passes away Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | AY
Eminent Bengali film producer Parimal Sarkar died in a nursing home in Howrah on Tuesday. He was 83 and passed away due to old age. A bachelor, Sarkar was a producer, distributor and exhibitor and had produced a number of Bengali films including Badhu, Mahatirtha Kalighat, Sabitri Satyaban, Nyaydanda, Nirjan Saikete, Dui Bari and the Uttam Kumar-Suchitra starrer Uttar Megh. A popular name in the Bengali film fraternity, Sarkar was the president of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) for four successive terms.
Kolkata airport privatisation Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | AY
The ruling Left Front in West Bengal, said it was not averse to modernisation of the Kolkata airport in keeping with the central government's policy of private groups undertaking the job. Despite its strong protests against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's move to modernise the Mumbai and Delhi airports by private companies instead of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said their government would not oppose the same criterion if was applied to Kolkata. Sen said that if they take an adamant stance saying that we would not allow privatisation of the airport unless it was undertaken by the AAI, it would not be in favour of the people of the state.
Kolkata 'Futsal' special Monday, May 22, 2006 | AY
Kolkata will experience a unique Futsal match when the Brazilian champions of this indoor version of football meet their Indian counterpart in the Defend Your Turf tournament here. Futsal is the indoor version of association football sanctioned by FIFA as well as the Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF), with its name derived from the Portuguese phrase 'futebol de salão', meaning football (soccer) for (playing in) a large room. The tournament that will be played in a five-a-side street football contest will be rolled out across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata culminating with the Indian national champions defending their turf against the Boys from Brazil.
IIIT Kolkata signs pacts with IT giants Sunday, May 21, 2006 | AY
The International Institute of Information Technology, Kolkata, has signed a couple of pacts with IT giants like Infosys, Bangalore, and Satyam, Hyderabad. IIIT chairman Suborno Bose lighted the lamp and inaugurated the seminar titled “Empowering youth for an IT enabled nation". Dr GD. Gautama, principal IT secretary, Govt of West Bengal, started the panel discussion. He talked about the growth of job opportunities in the country and insisted on taking special care in grooming the youths to make them more competitive in the market.
Sourav into hotel business Saturday, May 20, 2006 | AY
Sourav Ganguly is set to try his skills in business and is planning to take full control of the city restaurant that bears his name. A year-and-a-half after 'Sourav's: The Food Pavilion' opened at Kolkata's famous Park Street area, Dada is finally ready to take over the famous food joint. Owned by Abhishek Entertainment and Foods Private Limited, Sourav had previously only lent his name to the restaurant-cum-lounge bar. Now he is all set to don the mantle of ownership. He has been conducting marathon meetings for the past few days. All the documentation has been done and only a few legal formalities remains.
Dental college medicos join the strike Saturday, May 20, 2006 | AY
Junior doctors and students of A.R. Ahmed Dental College joined the anti-reservation stir by resorting to 'cease work' and class boycott even as the agitation, including relay hunger strike, continued in other medical colleges of West Bengal. The dental college students had been aloof from the agitation so far but joined agitating medicos of the medical colleges to express solidarity with the protesters across the nation. Medicos of the state's premier SSKM Hospital, Chittaranjan National Medical College, R.G. Kar Medical College and Calcutta Medical College continued with their class boycott programmes in Kolkata.
Cyber law institute in the state Saturday, May 20, 2006 | AY
The first cyber law institute in West Bengal, the Global School of Tech Juris, is set to begin its academic session from next month. The Indian IT Act 2000 provided solutions to a host of information technology-related problems, while amendments have been carried out in several other laws like the Indian Penal Code, The Evidence Act and The Bankers' Book Evidence Act to provide people with security and assurance in cyberspace. The institute was ready to promote awareness besides teaching students and professionals the nuances of IT laws.
Banga Sanskrit Sammelan Wednesday, May 17, 2006 | AY
Eight telefilms from Kolkata, out of a total of 30, have been shortlisted to be screened at Houston on July 1 and 2. This includes actor-turned-director Parambrata Chatterjee’s debut telefilm, Premer Golpo and a special screening of Sabitri Chatterjee’s first celluloid venture, Bangasanhar. Two of the entries this time, Asamapta and Manthan by filmmaker Atanu Ghosh, are based on stories surrounding an Alzheimer’s patient and a patriot’s death. For the organisers of the Banga Sanskriti Sammelan, showcasing the latest telefilms seems more of a lucrative proposition than showing mainstream Bengali films, which hardly have any impact on the NRI cultural circuit.
Animated item girl Tuesday, May 16, 2006 | AY
Saregama India, has signed up Lady Chatterjee alias "the country's first truly animated Item girl" for its upcoming music album. Apparently, the inspiration behind the persona of Lady Chatterjee is the "voluptuous" female cartoon who featured in the yester-year movie, "Who Killed Roger Rabbit?" . The video that has been made by C B Arun Kumar, is supposed to be a virtual imagery of the city of Kolkata. It is in actuality, just the first song of the album by HMV Saregama slated for release later this month. The album will be first aired exclusively on MTV for three days, after which it will be aired on all other music channels. A combo of Bengali, English, and Hindi, the album has been composed, produced, and sung by Sawan Dutta, and comprises nine songs including Lady Chatterjee, Pyar Aur Dosti, Kaun Ho Tum, SMS me, and a remixed version of Lady Chatterjee.
Green tea has medicinal value Monday, May 15, 2006 | AY
Indians, the world’s largest consumers of tea, are developing a taste for a new brand of drink – Chinese green tea, attracted by its medicinal properties. Chinese tea, which is taken without sugar or milk, is now on top of the menu. Bipul Roy, food and beverages manager at the Kenilworth Hotel in Kolkata, the hub of India’s tea trade, said that they we have stockpiled 27 different varieties since people seem to love them. Regular consumption of green tea could help to protect brain cells from conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Dosar Monday, May 15, 2006 | AY
Rituparno Ghosh's latest Bengali venture 'Dosar' (The Companion)' is a poignant film that takes a different approach to the much-dealt with subject of infidelity. The film, screened in New Delhi as the inaugural of the first Habitat Film Festival, is set in 21st-century urban Kolkata. The film starts with the male protagonist Kaushik, played by Prosenjit Chatterjee, enjoying a weekend getaway with his colleague-cum-lady love. The sojourn ends with a car accident, leaving her dead and him in a critical condition while exposing their extra-marital affair. His wife Kaberi (beautifully portrayed by Konkana Sensharma) rushes to the hospital and is overcome with agony and anger combined with grief. The attempt to capture a 21st century setting in black and white film is definitely a bold step - a positive risk taken by both the director and the producer - Planman Motion Pictures. While the wife in Kaberi wants to see Kaushik healthy again, the strong feminist in her hates the idea of nursing the man who has betrayed her.
Buddhadev Bhattacharya remains the CM Monday, May 15, 2006 | AY
Buddhadev Bhattacharya, who steered the CPI(M)-led Left Front to a spectacular win in West Bengal assembly polls, would continue as the Chief Minister. The Polit Bureau of the party, which met in New Delhi on Saturday, put the seal of approval to the decision of the West Bengal state committee renominating Bhattacharya for the top job in the state. This was announced by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat after the Polit Bureau meeting.
Pranab Mukherjee resigns as Congress president Saturday, May 13, 2006 | AY
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday resigned as West Bengal Congress president in view of the poor performance of the party in the Assembly elections. In his resignation to party President Sonia Gandhi, Mukherjee said, "Election results of West Bengal are declared. The performance of Congress is extremely poor. own the responsibility and tender my resignation from the office of President, WBPCC with immediate effect."
CPM back once again Thursday, May 11, 2006 | AY
As widely predicted, Communist Party of India (Marxist) led front came back to power in West Bengal with thumping majority. Of the total 294 seats for the state assembly, CPM led front has secured 234 , while Trinamool Congress came second with a paltry 34. Ever since 1977, the communist parties are ruling the state without a gap. Cheif Minister returns to the the assembly with a majority of over 58,000 votes.
High standards of teaching introduced Tuesday, May 9, 2006 | AY
To ensure world class education to their wards and money not being a constraint, a school called the "Oakridge International School" and "Hyderabad of Vikas Educational Institutions Limited" has started. They are presently offering International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme(IBDP) for those who desire an international school leaving qualification in order to study abroad. Under this new curriculum, students have to study 6 subjects(science, humanities, fine arts, maths and two languages, English, French or Spanish).
Last phase of W Bengal assembly elections Monday, May 8, 2006 | AY
Elections in the fifth and last phase of the assembly elections will be held in six northern Bengal districts in 49 seats on Monday to determine the fate of 306 candidates, including seven ministers of the Left Front government. The six districts, Coochbehar (9 seats), Jalpaiguri (12 seats), Uttar Dinajpur (seven seats), Dakshin Dinajpur (five seats), Malda (eleven seats) and Darjeeling (five seats), have a total electorate of 81.76 lakh. Ministers in the fray are Asoke Bhattacharjee, Jogesh Barman, Biswanath Choudhury, Sailen Sarkar, Hafiz Alam Sairani, Srikumar Mukherjee and Dasharath Tirkey.
Encourage non-Bengali jawans to learn Bengali Sunday, May 7, 2006 | AY
The Border Security Force at the South Bengal Frontier has devised a unique plan to encourage its non-Bengali jawans to learn Bengali so that they can interact better with the locals in the border areas of South Bengal. The BSF South Bengal Frontier is doling out cash awards to those non-Bengali BSF personnel who excel in Bengali language. Whenever a non-Bengali jawan is posted in Bengal he has to serve here for around six years. After the syllabus is completed a small test is held to test the proficiency of the jawans in the language. The results are recommended to the Director-General and accordingly the jawans are awarded cash prizes of Rs 3,000.
Praxair to build SAIL plant Saturday, May 6, 2006 | AY
Praxair India, industrial gas producer, has said it has bagged a contract from SAIL to build and operate an on-site industrial gas plant at its steel plant in Kolkata. The plant to be built at Durgapur would have a capacity of 700 metric tonnes per day to meet SAIL's gaseous oxygen requirements and would be commissioned by 2008. Besides fulfilling SAIL's requirements, the gas plant would also meet the demands of customers for liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon in eastern India.
Animation studio in Kolkata Saturday, May 6, 2006 | AY
The Mumbai-based 2nz Animation has joined hands with Rahul Commerce of Kolkata to set up an animation production house named Metaphor in Kolkata. The companies are planning to invest Rs 2.5 crore in the facility. Metaphor Studios will meet the needs of different clients from ad film-makers to feature film directors. Significance of a new animation studio in this region lies in the promise to exploit the existing business opportunity.
Kolkata having soccer fever Saturday, May 6, 2006 | AY
With the FIFA World Cup a little more than a month away, Kolkata is in the grip of soccer fever. The city's attachment with football brings in good business. Shops selling sports items have begun stocking up on various World Cup items like jerseys and other soccer items. Kolkata's sport lovers are known for their ability to create the appropriate ambience for such a massive sports event like the World Cup. So, it does not matter to them that the 2006 FIFA World Cup is being held in Germany. The posters of football icons like Brazil's Ronaldo and Ronaldinho or England's David Beckham or Germany's Michael Ballack or France's Zinedine Zidane have replaced the posters of Bollywood stars at roadside poster shops.
KT Chandy passes away Wednesday, May 3, 2006 | AY
KT Chandy, the founder of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, passed away on Tuesday due to old age. He was 93. He was a recipient of many awards, including the Asian Productivity Organisation Award in 1980. He was also the Chairman of Food Corporation of India and Hindustan Steels. He was also among the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, the National Productivity Council, Metallurgical Research Institute, Ranchi, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
School fees still under consideration Tuesday, May 2, 2006 | AY
An attempt made by the state education department to limit the maximum fees charged by schools affiliated to CBSE and ICSE has fallen failed. Only about 20 odd schools have answered the questionnaire sent by the committee led by the director of school education. There are about 276 ISCE schools and near about 125 CBSE schools. The committee decides on the maximum limit of fees to be imposed on students of different classes by the schools. The committee was set by a government order last year after the school education minister received a large number of complaints regarding “exorbitant” fees and the “paltry” salary meted out to the staff in private schools affiliated to other boards.
Star theatre in private hands Monday, May 1, 2006 | AY
Star Theatre, which was acquired by the former Trinamool-BJP Board of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and renovated at a cost of Rs 13 crore, will be handed over to a private partner in a fortnight by the present Marxists-controlled Board of the KMC. The KMC now busy giving finishing touches to a “deal” that will see Star, originally built in 1872, in private hands, once again. The theatre was acquired by the KMC in the late 90s, after it was ravaged by a fire in 1991. Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Municipal Commissioner Alapan Bandopadhyay inspected the theatre on Saturday and explored the commercial aspects that may help the new bidder and acquirer in recovering investments.
