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India: Live Earth show to help light homes with solar energy
"India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity, organisers said.
The December event will see U.S. rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organisers as one of the biggest events held in India.
The concert will be held in India's financial capital Mumbai on Dec. 7, Live Earth founder Kevin Wall said in Mumbai.
"(Former U.S. Vice President) Al Gore asked me whether we could do this in India, and I said yes," Wall told Reuters in Mumbai. "This is going to be huge."
"Jon Bon Jovi is just one name and Mr Bachchan is just one name, but there will be a lot of international artists," he said.
Wall, who organised a series of concerts last year with the former U.S. vice-president, said the event in India would be telecast live in more than 100 countries.
Gore, who spoke via satellite this week during a news conference held in Mumbai on Thursday said India could provide the leadership required to bring about changes in world policies on climate change.
The proceeds from the concert will go to the "Light A Billion Lives campaign," supported by Nobel Prize-winner Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
At least 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity, Pachauri said, adding that the campaign would target villages in countries like India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Malawi.
Organisers said they would set up giant screens and distribute televisions in remote villagers for the concert."
By Shilpa Jamkhandikar
Editing by Bappa Majumdar and David Fox "India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not ha... more -
Dalai Lama hospitalized in Mumbai.
The Dalai Lama has been admitted to hospital in India for tests after complaining of stomach pain.
The office of the 73-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said he was suffering from exhaustion and had cancelled two planned international trips. "Since tests haven't begun yet, we don't know what the ailment is,'' said his spokesman, Tenzin Takla. ''Medical tests will begin on Friday.''
Yesterday, the Dalai Lama's office announced he had called off trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic to spend three weeks recuperating after being diagnosed with exhaustion. Takla said the Dalai Lama would spend time resting in Mumbai before returning to Dharmsala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959.
A spokesman for Mumbai's Lilavati hospital suggested the visit was unexpected. "He comes every six months for a routine checkup. Around a month ago, a checkup was conducted and he was in perfect health," Mohan Rajan said.
The Dalai Lama will be under the care of senior surgeon Narendra Trivedi while at the hospital.
He had just returned to India from an 11-day visit to France, which followed an intense few months since riots against Chinese rule broke out in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
The spiritual leader spends several months a year traveling the globe to draw attention to the struggle of Tibetans for greater freedom in China and to teach Buddhism.
Although he is general thought to be in good health, the Buddhist leader as been diagnosed with exhaustion before. In 2006, he was forced by doctors to cancel all his engagements for a month. The Dalai Lama has been admitted to hospital in India for tests after complaining of stomach pain. ... more -
Warner 'sues over Puttar movie'
Harry Potter maker Warner Bros is suing an Indian film company over the title of upcoming film Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors, according to reports.
Warner Bros feels the name is too similar to that of its world famous young wizard, according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter.
A spokesman confirmed the lawsuit against Mumbai-based Mirchi Movies.
The case is reportedly due to be heard in Bombay High Court later. The film is due to open in India on 12 September. Harry Potter maker Warner Bros is suing an Indian film company over the title of upcoming film Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors, acco... more -
Indian Idol
You thought American Idol was a big deal? Then you obviously haven't seen the craze around India's own version of the show.
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Indian gay activists demand British apology for sex law
Gay activists have called on the British Government to apologise for introducing anti-sodomy laws that still make homosexuality illegal in India today.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the same park in Mumbai where Mahatma Gandhi ordered the British to leave India sixty-six years ago in order to voice their complaint. The demonstration was held during the first gay pride march in Mumbai for three years and is part of a wider campaign to abolish Section 377 of the Indian penal code which outlaws "unnatural sexual offences" and theoretically punishes anal or oral sex with up to 10 years in prison.
In practice no one has been prosecuted under the law in the past two decades, but it has been used by officials to counter the work of HIV activists in some Indian states.
A draft copy of the statement seen by The Independent accuses Britain of exporting homophobia during the 19th century when colonial administrators began enforcing Victorian laws and morals on their Indian subjects. Gay activists have called on the British Government to apologise for introducing anti-sodomy laws that still make homosexuality illega... more -
LAST CALL: Project H Will Fund a Lifestraw for Mumbai for $25
Building off the success of the Lifestraw Personal water filtration device, Vestergaard Frandsen’s new Lifestraw Family system provides 15,000 liters of clean drinking water to one household. And now, you can fund the delivery of one Lifestraw Family system to a slum community in Mumbai for $25 through Project H Design, an organization founded by Emily Pilloton that promotes and delivers life improving product designs to global communities (we’ve funded 100 already and still going!). Project H is currently gathering funds for their August 15th deadline, and they will deliver the systems this December, in collaboration with Berkeley-based Haath Mein Sehat as the first step in a bigger examination of local water sanitation issues. With more than a billion people lacking access to safe drinking water and five million people dying of water-related disease every year, here’s an opportunity to make a small but very real difference.
The project is a joint venture with Berkeley-based Haath Mein Sehat (Health In Hand) Mumbai, who will be on site in Mumbai this summer to conduct testing, user acceptance interviews, and follow up visits with families receiving the Lifestraw systems.
The Lifestraw Family system is an amazing point-of-use water filtration device designed and manufactured by Vestergaard Frandsen. It does not require electricity or batteries, making it ideal for use in both rural and urban contexts in the developing world. It eliminates 99.9% of waterborne disease bacteria, parasites, and viruses, bringing clean drinking water quickly and reliably, and preventing life-threatening disease from spreading through unclean water. One system effectively filters 15,000 liters (about a 2 year’s supply) of drinkable water.
Donate via Paypal at Project H-- http://projecthdesign.com/2008/04/15/fund-this-product-... Building off the success of the Lifestraw Personal water filtration device, Vestergaard Frandsen’s new Lifestraw Family system provide... more -
EXHIBITIONS > Gateway Bombay
The art exhibition "Gateway Bombay" offers diverse perspectives about Mumbai in contemporary art from India at the Peabody Essex Museum -- on view through December 7, 2008. Most of the works in the exhibition are from PEM's Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection of contemporary Indian art spanning four decades of work. The art in the exhibit explore city's everyday realities, its people, and urban cultural life, and include painting, photography, works on paper, and mixed-media installation. All of the artists live and work in Mumbai. Visit the Peabody Essex Museum's web site for exhibition details.
Image: Two Men with Handcart, 1979, Gieve Patel (b. 1946), courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, pem.org, Salem, Massachusetts. The art exhibition "Gateway Bombay" offers diverse perspectives about Mumbai in contemporary art from India at the Peabody E... more -
Tendulkar pads up for film role
India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, known as the Master Blaster of cricket, is making a debut in films.
He has not fallen for the glamour of glitzy Bollywood but has agreed to make a short appearance in a religious film entitled Vighnaharta.
Translated as Destroyer of Obstacles, the film is about Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu deity worshipped widely in the state of Maharashtra.
It depicts miracles believed to have happened after offering prayers.
The film is mostly set at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai (Bombay), India's financial capital, and capital of Maharashtra state.
The temple is frequented by thousands of worshippers every day.
Several celebrities walk to it on foot on important occasions such as new film releases and marriages.
Read more... India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, known as the Master Blaster of cricket, is making a debut in films. ... more -
Growing pains in the land of Bollywood
Mumbai, or Bombay as many Indians still call it, is India's largest city, one of the world's greatest commercial centers and home to the vast, vibrant Bollywood film industry...
The infrastructure is drastically overloaded. The roads are so crowded, despite a plethora of elevated highways built in recent years, that a journey of a few miles can take several hours. Mumbai, or Bombay as many Indians still call it, is India's largest city, one of the world's greatest commercial centers and... more -
FILM > John and Jane
Filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia's documentary "John and Jane" (aka "John and Jane Toll Free" for distribution in the United States -- fittingly) offers a revealing portrait of young call center employees working at companies in Mumbai troubleshooting American consumers across the United States by telephone on 1-800 phone numbers. "John and Jane" profiles six individuals like "Glen" and "Sydney" who, through their work, identify with the rhythm of American culture and aspire to an American Dream. "John and Jane", which has been making the film festival circuilt in recent years -- screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival, 2006 Full Frame Festival, and others -- had been broadcast earlier this year on HBO.
Check out both the official site for "John and Jane" and at HBO: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/johnandjanetollfree/sy...
Image courtesy of John and Jane, a film by Ashim Ahluwalia, www.john-and-jane.com. Filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia's documentary "John and Jane" (aka "John and Jane Toll Free" for distribution in th... more -
Indian baby 'back from the dead'
Hospital authorities in India have ordered an independent inquiry after a baby was declared dead, only to make an apparently miraculous return to life.
The baby girl - born in the city of Mumbai (Bombay) - was diagnosed as stillborn on Monday night.
But she astonished her distraught family by gurgling as they took her off to the cemetery the next day.
It is thought she revived after the effect of drugs - given to her mother during a complicated labour - wore off.
Hospital authorities say they are now investigating possible negligence by staff who attended the birth.
'Limp at birth'
"We have to fix responsibility," said Dr Suleiman Merchant, acting dean of Sion Hospital in Mumbai where the child was delivered.
"The doctors who were on duty are being questioned and the inquiry will last the entire day."
Correspondents say that it is not clear when or even if the results of the independent inquiry will be made public.
Dr Merchant said that the 30-year-old mother of the child - who was seven months pregnant - suffered life threatening convulsions and high blood pressure over the weekend, which required powerful medicines.
He said that that the doctors believed that the baby - who was limp at birth - had no heart beat and no pulse.
She was given a death certificate on Tuesday morning and two hours later her body was handed over to her parents.
But later, when the effect of medicines wore off, Dr Merchant said that the baby "showed attempts to breathe".
"Under such circumstances, it would appear that doctors had no reason to assume that the baby was dead," he said. "There is on the face of it a case of negligence to be answered."
As the grieving parents made their way to the cemetery, the baby reportedly started gurgling and was rushed back to the hospital.
She is reported still to be in a critical condition and is on a ventilator.
Medical experts say the most likely explanation for what happened is that drugs given to the mother suppressed the baby's heart beat - which would have grown stronger once the effects of the drugs wore off. Hospital authorities in India have ordered an independent inquiry after a baby was declared dead, only to make an apparently miraculou... more -
The World's First Multi-billion Dollar, 27-story, Skyscraper-home!
Mukesh Ambani, head of petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, has commissioned architecture firms Perkins & Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates to build a 27-story mansion that include helipads, parking lots, guest apartments, a cinema, a ballroom, numerous powder rooms, gardens, a gym, and of course the Ambani residence in downtown Mumbai.
Nearly costing $2 billion dollars, the Ambani residence, called an Antilla, is based on the Indian tradition of Vaastu, a tradition much like Feng Shui. At the request of Ambani's wife, no two floors are alike in either plans or materials. Designers had to work with different materials and plan for consistency without repetition.
The Ambanis currently reside in their 22-story Mumbai tower and will be moving into their custom home as soon as it is finished in January. Mukesh Ambani, head of petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, has commissioned architecture firms Perkins & Will and Hirsch Bedn... more -
India plans huge 'liberty' statue
The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra says it plans to build a statue off the Mumbai (Bombay) coast to rival New York's Statue of Liberty.
The statue will be of the Maratha warrior king Shivaji, considered a hero in Maharashtra for his defiance of Mughal and British forces. The statue will be built on a man-made island, which will include a library, a museum and an amphitheatre.
Critics say the project is too expensive at more than $4.5m. They say that the government of the western Indian state faces more pressing problems, such as a food, water and power crisis in addition to a high suicide level among farmers.
Vishal Dhage, a state government official, said the statue would be about the same height as the Statue of Liberty - which, with plinth includes, stands at 305ft. The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra says it plans to build a statue off the Mumbai (Bombay) coast to rival New York'... more -
forsche
Forsche is a female only cab service that started operations this year in Bombay.
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Ladies Driving Ladies
Forsche is a female only cab service that started operations this year in Bombay.
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Mumbai International Film Festival
Documentaries and Shorts.
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India: Rich vs. Poor
India is the world's second most populous nation, and with a rate of economic growth several times that of the United States, India seems on track to be a world power. But along with the most billionaires in Asia, it also has more poor people than the continent of Africa. Aided by an Indian movie star, Vanguard producer Tracey Chang looks at the growing gulf between India's rich and poor. India is the world's second most populous nation, and with a rate of economic growth several times that of the United States, Ind... more
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Jaywalking in India
This is a short walk into a small traffic intersection in the Bandra neighborhood of Mumbai, India.
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Mumbai Bombing
Aftermath of series of bombings which ripped through the core of Mumbai's rail system
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