The man of many talents, Irrfan Khan, would be seen in a new light this Friday as his Bengali-English bilingual 'Somoyer Chhaya' releases. Presented by Bobby Bedi under the banner of Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the film is titled 'Shadows of Time' in English and is directed by Florian Gallenberger who also writes the screenplay. The film was originally released in a dubbed German version as 'Schatten der Zeit' way back in 2004. Gallenberger is a German director who won an Oscar in 2001 for a short film about two Mexican street kids.
Floods takes life of 78 in W.Bengal Saturday, September 30, 2006 | AY
The death toll in the floods that have affected large parts of West Bengal has risen to 78. Though there was some improvement in the overall situation, discharge of water from the reservoirs has been reduced. It remained grim in the worst hit districts of Nadia, Howrah and Hooghly in south Bengal. The level of the rivers flowing through Nadia district has also gone up.
IOC, West Bengal sign pact Saturday, September 30, 2006 | AY
An agreement was signed here on Wednesday by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd ([WBIDC) and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for the setting up of a chemical hub in the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Haldia, where the latter will assume the role of the `anchor investor'. The setting up of the grassroots refinery would involve an outlay of Rs. 1,500 crore. The chemical hub is likely to have polyester, polymer, benzene and paraxylene downstream units, according to Mr. Behuria. It is expected to be completed by 2012.
TC, Congress hold joint protest Wednesday, September 27, 2006 | AY
Left-ruled West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress and Congress today jointly took out a protest march here against the police action on TC leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, and the acquisition of agricultural land for Tata Motors' small car project. Trinamool and Congress legislators marched with placards 'Down with the authoritarian Buddhadev Bhattacharjee', 'Left Front government stop grabbing farmland'. Among the protestors were former PCC president Somen Mitra, Sudip Bandopadhyay, besides Leader of the Opposition and TC leader Partho Chatterjee.
NDTV to launch 'Opt-Out' Wednesday, September 27, 2006 | AY
NDTV will launch 'Opt-Out' technology in Kolkata, starting with Durga Puja, to enable viewers here to watch region-specific news and special programmes. The viewers of Kolkata will be able to watch the 30 minutues 'Opt-Out' programming at 10.30 pm everyday, starting September 25 till October 2. With this launch, Kolkata becomes the fourth location to have the Opt-Out technology. Earlier this year, NDTV had launched the Opt-Out technology for its viewers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The process involves automatic satellite transmission without any manual intervention.
'Certified' purohits for Durga puja Monday, September 25, 2006 | AY
With Durga puja just round the corner, a Kolkata-based Purohit Parishad conducted a month-long workshop for priests to equip them - in true Vedic style - for the festival. The workshop has also taught the motley group of priests from across Bengal accurate pronunciation of slokas and given a low down on the finer nuances of puja rituals. The batch of 30 priests, who enrolled for the month-long course, is all smiles. Certificate and I-card in hand, they are confident of being able to perform error free Durga puja - all to please the goddess.
Xbox 360 launched Monday, September 25, 2006 | AY
Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division formally launched of Xbox 360 in India yesterday. Microsoft has chosen Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and cricketer Yuvraj Singh as the Brand Ambassadors for Xbox 360 in India. Xbox 360 is the most advanced games and entertainment system on the planet. It gives the most realistic cinematic games experiences & brand new ways to play and have fun. All in all Xbox 360 is a Total Home Entertainment solution. Xbox 360 is definitely a must-have for Indian gamers who want to get on to the collaborative entertainment environment like their counterparts in other parts of the world. The Xbox 360 system will come fully loaded with a 20 GB detachable Xbox 360 Hard Drive for storing music, video and games, an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, an Xbox 360 Media Remote control and a Component HD-AV Cable for connecting to component and composite television inputs, an Ethernet cable, and batteries. The Xbox 360 system will come fully loaded with a 20 GB detachable Xbox 360 Hard Drive for storing music, video and games, an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, an Xbox 360 Media Remote control and a Component HD-AV Cable for connecting to component and composite television inputs, an Ethernet cable, and batteries.
Theme songs for Durga pooja Sunday, September 24, 2006 | AY
In Kolkata, with less than a week to go for Durga puja celebrations to begin, organisers are commissioning Bangla bands to compose theme songs for them. One such band, Jowar, has made a mark by capturing contemporary issues in their songs and now the band members are busy recording songs for puja pandals (tents). The band members are quite excited about this new trend, which is a deviation from the usual practice of belting out popular numbers. It's also a very interesting way of making social statements, which so far were made only through the decor of the pandals or the idol or both.
Shadows of Time Saturday, September 23, 2006 | AY
Kaleidoscope Entertainment Ltd, known for films Bandit Queen, Mangal Pandey, Maqbool, Saathiya, will be releasing their latest venture, a Bengali film titled "Shadows of Time". It has been directed by Florian Gallenberger from Germany, who won the Oscar in 2001 for his short film Quiero Ser. The film stars Irrfan Khan, Prashant Narayanan, Tanishta Chatterjee and Tilotama Shome with Soumitra Chatterjee in a guest appearance. Shot at locales in and around Kolkata and made on a budget of 3 million euros (approx 15 crores), the film has already won two Bavarian film awards for cinematography and direction. The film is slated to release on September 29 in Mumbai.
Heavy rains in W.Bengal Saturday, September 23, 2006 | AY
Several parts of Kolkata were submerged and life was severely disrupted on Friday following heavy rains over the past three days. Boats were used to ferry people in the worst-hit areas and at least seven houses collapsed in the deluge. The city received around 218.4 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. The situation in some districts of south Bengal was no better. With the death of three persons including two children who were killed when a house collapsed in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, the toll across the State rose to at least 19. An alert is on in the coastal belt of the State and fishermen have been warned against venturing out to the sea.
Aussies Dellacqua, Pratt win in Kolkata Wednesday, September 20, 2006 | AY
Australians Casey Dellacqua and Nicole Pratt have both claimed first round wins in the Kolkata Open. Dellacqua upset second seed Karolina Sprem of Croatia as three more seeded players made first round exits in the WTA tennis tournament. Sprem, last year's losing finalist, started well before left-hander Dellacqua, ranked 155th in the world, won the second-set tie-break and went on to clinch the clash of two 21-year-olds 2-6 7-6 6-2. Pratt, the seventh seed, beat American Sunitha Rao 2-6 6-3 6-3. Indian favourite Sania Mirza, seeded fifth, defeated compatriot and qualifier Rushmi Chakravarthi 6-0 6-4.
Sudip Chatterjee passes away Tuesday, September 19, 2006 | AY
Former India football captain Sudip Chatterjee died of heart attack here on Monday. He was 47. Chatterjee's talent as a football player was first spotted by former international Arun Ghosh who was instrumental in getting him into the BNR team in 1981 as a stopper. The youngster acquitted himself so well that he was selected to play for India in the Merdeka tournament the same year. Chatterjee was adjudged the Player of the Year by the AIFF in 1986.
MediCity soon coming up Monday, September 18, 2006 | AY
Kolkata will soon have a 'MediCity' on the lines of the Medical City coming up in Gurgaon's National Capital Region. The Rs 940-crore healthcare hub with super-speciality units and a stem cell research centre will come up in and around the city in the next two to three years. The super-speciality units will include those for total organ transplant, cardiology and cardiac surgery, urology, nephrology, neurology, oncology and reconstruction surgery. Apart from the medical school, the hub will have training institutes for nurses and para-medics. The Health-City will also have facilities to conduct research on homeopathic drugs, ayurvedic and alternative medicine.
BDR-BSF meet in Kolkata Sunday, September 17, 2006 | AY
A high-level frontier conference between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Border Security Forces (BSF) of India begins tomorrow (Monday) in Kolkata. BDR sources said they would raise the issues of keeping open the Tin Bigha Corridor round-the-clock, electrification of Angarpota-Dahagram area, activities of Bangladeshi criminals and terrorists inside India and other security issues, and handing over 766 acres of land (found in a fresh survey) to Bangladesh, etc. BDR would raise the issues of unprovoked firing by BSF and Indian citizens at borders, killing and injuring unarmed Bangladeshis, entering of illegal arms and explosives from India to Bangladesh, and smuggling of different types of drugs including phensidyl-heroin-marijuana, violation of borders by BSF personnel and Indian citizens, abducting, arresting and detaining of Bangladeshi citizens by BSF, push-in of Bangla-speaking Indian citizens to Bangladesh, setting up defense installations within 150 yards from the zero point of the borders, constructing roads etc, and obstructing development activities inside Bangladesh.
Challenge for Hingis, Sania at Sunfeast Sunday, September 17, 2006 | AY
The Sunfeast Open is going to be a battle for Indian ace Sania Mirza, now on a slide, and world No 9 Martina Hingis, on a comeback trail. The tournament is of immense significance for Sania Mirza whose slide from 34 in the world ranking to 70 was a big setback. Among other Indians, 194-ranked Shikha Uberoi, who has got a wild card, face 132-ranked Czech girl Hana Sromova in the first round. The other wild card entrant, US-born player of Indian origin Sunitha Rao, has a tough opener as she would be up against seventh seed Nicole Pratt of Australia.
Kali temple as a tourist spot Saturday, September 16, 2006 | AY
Calcutta High Court on Friday directed authorities to develop Kali temple as a tourist spot with proper facilities and security arrangements. It said construction of a yatriniwas near the temple complex and other development work, for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs five crore, should begin within two weeks. Taking note of allegations of financial irregularities in the temple, where huge amounts of money and ornaments are donated by devotees, the court asked the Kalighat police station's officer-in-charge to depute an officer to be present during the counting of money deposited in donation boxes.
Elephants undergo birth control Saturday, September 16, 2006 | AY
Elephants of West Bengal are to undergo a birth control scheme due to a lack of funds for their upkeep. Of West Bengal's 400 elephants, nearly 70 are tame and in service to private owners or the state forest department. But wildlife conservation groups have been angered by the proposed introduction of such birth control methods for the elephants. The Bengal Forest department spends more than 60m rupees (nearly $130,000) annually on the upkeep of the elephants in its service.
Namesake Wednesday, September 13, 2006 | AY
Mira Nair's, "Namesake", presents a deeply moving human cinematic tableau that blends humour and pathos, love and confusion, and simple joys and complex dilemmas as it captures the ebbs and tides in the lives of two generations of Bengali émigrés in New York. The Namesake, premiered on Sunday at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, opens in a politically volatile 1970s Calcutta, where Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan Khan), having migrated to the US after surviving a terrible train accident, marries classical music trainee Ashima (Tabu). The couple fly to a cold New York and begin a new life in a strange land.
Mexican film festival to be held here Wednesday, September 13, 2006 | AY
A three-day festival of contemporary Mexican films will be held here from September 18, featuring six award winning movies from Latin America. While renowned filmmaker Luis Mandoki's Oscar nominated movie “innocent voices” would be shown on the opening day along with Hugo Rodriguez's “nicotine”, another world famous Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke's “duck season” and Sergio Arau's “a day without Mexicans” would be shown the following day.
CPI(M) politburo to meet in Kolkata Monday, September 11, 2006 | AY
The politburo of CPI(M) meets in Kolkata on Tuesday. Senior leaders of the party are flying in for the meeting. One of the reasons the politburo is being held in Kolkata is to spare veteran leader Jyoti Basu the travel as he had a fall recently. There are some reports that Basu would like to step down from the highest decision making body of the party.
Worldspace satellite radio doing good business Sunday, September 10, 2006 | AY
The latest radio technology, `Worldspace Satellite Radio', has seen a wide acceptance among Indian radio listeners and an increase of 50 per cent in the subscription of this satellite radio service. Worldspace had 21,000 subscribers in March 05, which saw a five fold increase to 74,574 in the fourth quarter of same year and another 50 per cent by march 06 to stand at a base of 1,11,723 subscribers. The festive offer launched in October 2005 with revised rates on subscription and the entry level diva receiver helped us penetrate the market and get people to sample the Worldspace service. Currently the service is available in 22 locations across the country with the metro markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kochi tuning in large numbers.
Kolkata Dock System makes record Sunday, September 10, 2006 | AY
The Kolkata Dock System (KDS) made a record in container traffic by handling 21,306 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in August this year. It broke the previous record of 19,604 TEUs handled in April 2006. KDS has registered a growth of 21.47 per cent in container traffic compared to 17,542 TEUs handled in August 2005. The commodities contributing to the growth include electronic goods, food and food products, machinery, metal ingots, polythene granules in the import leg, leather goods etc. Incidentally, the Kolkata Port Trust (includes Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex), too, has crossed the trademark 30,000 TEUs by recording container traffic of 30,564 TEUs in August this year
Seven Islands and a Metro Saturday, September 9, 2006 | AY
"Seven Islands and a Metro", directed by Madhursree Dutta, is India's first commercially released non-feature film. It became a talking point in the film and academic circles, leaving Aparna Sen, other filmmakers, and economists like Amiya Bagchi fascinated during its special screening in Kolkata' state-run Nandan theatre Friday. Seven Islands and a Metro" is structured around imaginary debates between Ismat Chugtai and Sadat Hasan Manto, the two legendary writers who lived in this metropolis, over the art of chronicling these multi-layered overlapping cities.
West bengal to get apparel park Saturday, September 9, 2006 | AY
West Bengal would have an exclusive apparel park at Mahisabathan in North 24 Parganas. The park, spread over 13 acres of land, would be set up by Eigmef Apparel Park Limited (EAPL), a special purpose vehicle floated by the Eastern India Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Federation (EIGMEF). The Union government would bear 40 per cent of the total project cost of Rs 110 crore. The integrated park will be a one-stop place for garment manufacturers from fabric to export.
Strike in West Bengal jute mills Wednesday, September 6, 2006 | AY
Jute mill workers in West Bengal today observed a token strike demanding payment of dearness allowance arrears, gratuity and provident fund, among other things. National Union Jute Workers Secretary General Ganesh Sarkar said there were 50 operative mills out of a total of 62 in West Bengal and the strike was observed in all. The workers' demands include resumption and clearing of backlog of dearness allowance, gratuity, provident fund, 'unfair' labour practices, minimum wage and new pay scale and grade. The strike would lead to a loss of average daily production of 5,000 tonne of jute products.
Kamalini to quit films Tuesday, September 5, 2006 | AY
Kamalini Mukherjee, the Bengali girl, who won the hearts of Telugus with two of her, films 'Anand' and 'Godavari’, is almost ready to quit the films. In fact, she bagged Nandi award for her performance in 'Anand'. Presently she is playing a special role opposite Kamal Haasan for a Tamil film 'Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu'.
Anuranon Monday, September 4, 2006 | AY
After working with Buddhadeb Dasgupta in the highly-acclaimed Kaalpurush, Rahul is back on Bong town in Anuranon (resonance). Rahul is quite happy with the set-up. Rahul's other leading lady in Anuranon is Rajpal Yadav's pretty bride from Main Meri Patni Aur Woh. Anuranon is a touching subject about a relationship between a husband and a wife.
A new health drink coming up Monday, September 4, 2006 | AY
Jadavpur University is planning to pull 'Kolahal' — the beverage it brewed when the pesticide scare first struck three years ago — out of the deep freezer. Unlike the multinational brands, it will be low on caffeine and have ginger, lemon and pineapple extracts as its main ingredients. Nutrients will be added in the form of natural and protein sources. And pesticides will be blocked using ingredients like malathion and parathion that break them up. Far from being 'just another fruit drink', it will also have the zing that gets consumers hooked to cold beverages. The drink will also have tea liqueur that will give it a new and unique flavour.
New HSBC data processing in Kolkata Saturday, September 2, 2006 | AY
HSBC Electronic Data Processing India is betting big on Kolkata. The company signed an MoU with the Bengal government for 3.5 acres at 'Sunrise City' in Nonadanga to establish its second centre in Kolkata that will generate employment for 2,000 people. Currently, this centre has 1,700 employees, the CM said. HSBC Electronic Data Processing was the fourth largest exporter from Kolkata's software technology park (STP) during April-June 2006. The firm's exports from the city's STP stood at Rs 13.76 crore during the first quarter of the present fiscal. HSBC Electronic Data Processing has over 10,000 employees in India.
