Fan Shops Singer Zubeen's Ponytail!

Guwahati, Jan 31 : Fans are known to do crazy things. But Assam's singing sensation Zubeen Garg of "Ya Ali" fame was taken aback when he realized that a woman fan had stealthily chopped off his ponytail at a recording studio here.

The incident took place late Friday when Zubeen was busy dubbing an Assamese number at the DG Music Studio in Guwahati. "I suddenly found that my ponytail was missing and then found a woman fan of mine, who seems to be a little crazy, holding the lock of hair and shouting at me. What could I do?" Zubeen told journalists.

Friends and acquaintances later shoved the woman out of the studio. "The woman had on earlier occasions attended some of my functions and even danced on stage," Zubeen said. The singer is at his wit's end, and so are some of his friends and well wishers, as Zubeen is currently shooting an Assamese TV serial "Anuradha" where he is supposed to sport the ponytail.

"There are some sequences left for shooting and for continuity we need the ponytail. Without Zubeen's ponytail, the shooting would be incomplete. We have to find other ways to maintain the continuity in the serial," one of the make-up artists of the serial said.

The news of Zubeen's ponytail cut by a woman fan has spread like wild fire as he is considered the heartthrob of the young generation in Assam. "I got the news late Friday and immediately rushed to the studio to find out what happened and how Zubeen looked without the ponytail," said Zublee, a female co-singer who accompanies Zubeen in most of the stage shows.

Fortunately for Zubeen, he managed to get the lock of hair back from the woman. "Look at this ponytail. Maybe some people don't like me to wear a ponytail," Zubeen said in a jovial manner.

Assam CM Announces 3% Rise in Basic Pay of State Empoyees

Guwahati: The Assam Chief Minister, Mr. Tarun Gogoi has decided to grant annual increment to the State Government employees at the rate of 3% of basic pay with retrospective effect. He said, the revised pay will be fixed notionally with effect from 1stJanuary, 2006 and there shall be no increment based on performance.

The Chief Minister further decided that the house rent allowance will be given at the rate of 15% of basic pay in Guwahati city, 12% in District and Sub-divisional Headquarters and 10% in all other places in Assam without any distinction between rented house and own house.

Mr Gogoi has also enhanced today the fixed pay of the casual and adhoc employees from 3000 to 4500 rupees per month. He directed the Finance Department to take expeditious action in this regard.

Indian Boxers Ready For Asian Meet

By Nitin Sharma

New Delhi, Jan 30 : When Nanao Singh lands in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Saturday morning, the only thing on the mind of the 19-year-old from Manipur will be to better his silver-winning feat at the Asian Boxing Championship last year.

Nanao had lost 9-8 to Pongprayoon Keaw of Thailand in the final bout there. He’ll get a chance to better that in the Champion of Champions event, which will see the participation of the top four Asian boxers in each category.

“At the Asian championship, I lost out by a point and I am looking to avenge that loss. Countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia will send their best boxers to this tournament,” said Nanao.

With only Asia’s top four boxers forming each weight category, the format will be of a direct semi-final. Each winner will get $3,000, apart from adding him ranking points for the World Series of Boxing.

Apart from Nanao (48 kg), the Indian team will have Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh (75 kg), Akhil Kumar (57 kg) and Dinesh Kumar (81 kg).

“I have not taken part in an international championship after I injured my wrist, so this is a big platform. The format is not too hectic either. This will give me a chance to reach my peak before the Commonwealth Boxing Championship,” said Akhil, who has been away since the world championship in September last year.

It is also the first time Vijender is taking part in an international event after his bronze at the worlds.

Honor For Film on Army Act

Director baffled by Centre’s ‘double standards’ on draconian law

By Khelen Thokchom

A still from AFSPA 1958

Imphal, Jan 30 : When AFSPA 1958 was adjudged the best film in the non-feature category at the 56th National Awards in New Delhi last weekend, director Haobam Paban Kumar was more surprised than overjoyed.

Not because his film lacks in quality or is in any way undeserving of such honor, having already bagged six international awards. What has baffled Paban Kumar was the fact that the Centre, which has refused to scrap the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has decided to honor a film that depicts the legislation as draconian.

The film selected from among 99 non-feature film entries. “I never thought that the film would bag a national award. The film depicts the army act as draconian and it is quite surprising that the information and broadcasting ministry selected a film dealing with the subject for the honor. The Centre has refused to scrap the act, despite violent agitation in the state,” Kumar said.

The film is based on the mass uprising against the army act and the brutal crackdown by armed forces on the protesters. The uproar over the legislation was triggered by the custodial killing of Thangjam Manorama Devi by troops of the Assam Rifles in July 2004.

The film is a collection of visuals shot by Bachaspatimayum Sunzu, an electronic media journalist of Manipur. Sunzu and Kumar, an alumni of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Calcutta, teamed up to do wonders.

The award has taken everyone in Manipur, from filmmakers to rights activists, by utter surprise.

“The decision of the information ministry shows contradictory policies of the Centre. The selection is based on the recognition of the fact that the people of Manipur continue to suffer under the act. On the other hand, the home ministry, the defense ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office still favor continued enforcement of the legislation, which is an irony,” Sunzu said.

Reacting to the announcement, Babloo Loitongbam, the executive director of Human Rights Alert, Manipur, renewed the group’s demand that the Centre should repeal the act. “The world is behind Irom Sharmila and the Centre is ignoring her struggle,” he added.

Sharmila, who has been fasting since November 2000, demanding repeal of the act, was not available for comment.

Her elder brother, Irom Singhajit said if the Centre was honest and sincere, the act should be repealed. “I believe they selected the film for the award because the sufferings of the people shown by the film were real. The Centre should stop playing games with people living in the border areas and scrap the act,” Singhajit, who is the managing trustee of Just Peace Foundation, a group working for human rights, said.

Mizoram Wants Decent School Dress Code

By Rahul Karmakar

Aizawl, Jan 29 : Trendy Mizoram has had enough of teen skin show. And for a change, the call for a decent dress code in educational institutions isn’t meant for girls only.

Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the northeastern State’s potent students’ body, has formally asked the government to fix a design code for schools and colleges across Mizoram. The idea is to discourage girls from wearing leg-baring mini skirts and boys from donning underwear-exposing low-waist pants.

“Skin-showing dresses made fashionable by rappers and rock stars find their way to Mizoram almost instantly.

Even school children catch on to atrocious styles, going to the extent of tweaking their uniforms,” MZP president VL Krosshnehzova told Hindustan Times from State capital Aizawl.

“We have submitted a formal request to School Education Minister Lalsawta seeking the government’s help in fixing a design code for uniforms in educational institutes across Mizoram,” he added.

Lalsawta, who left for New Delhi, could not be contacted.

The church in predominantly Christian Mizoram feels MZP has a point. “Fashion may be a way of expressing oneself, but traditional values of modesty should also be upheld. We are happy the students themselves have realized this,” said Stephen Rotluanga, Bishop of Aizawl Diocese.

Other priests hole the dress code would also have a positive impact on the ‘cult madness’ in Mizoram. The state has at least 95 Christian cults, some espousing polygamy, others idolizing Satan and others specializing in grave digging and conducting ‘pagan rites’ with skulls.

Assam Govt Employees To Get Enhanced Increment

Guwahati, Jan 29 : Assam government employees will receive enhanced annual increment with retrospective benefit and house rent irrespective of rented or own house, while the fixed pay of casual and ad hoc employees has been raised.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today decided to grant an annual increment of three per cent of basic pay to the government employees notionally fixed with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006.

There shall, however, be no increment based on performance, officials said quoting Gogoi.

House rent allowance will be at the rate of 15 per cent of basic pay in Guwahati, 12 per cent in district and sub divisional headquarters and 10 per cent in all other places in the state without any distinction between rented and own house.

The chief minister also enhanced the fixed pay of casual and ad hoc employees from Rs 3000 to Rs 4500 per month.

Gouache Paintings Like Never Before

Kazuki Takamatsu is putting an entirely new face on gouache, a type of watercolor paint (only slightly thicker). The paintings, I should stress, are simply unbelievable—most don’t even realize that they aren’t just another CGI. There has been a fair debate over whether Takamatsu uses 3d renderings on which to base his paintings, but the paintings themselves are, believe it or not, just gouache.





Full gallery of the Takamatsu images through the link.

A Simple Paint of Tiger

Craig Tracy is hands-down one of the best body painters in the world. At first glance, this piece looks like a simple painting of a tiger. Look a little closer, and you'll notice that the tiger's face is actually painted on the back of three separate women.





 

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