Aamir Khan - Flashback to the Future!

01

Aamir Khan is known as Mr. Perfectionist in Bollywood. He has become an institution in himself. A filmmaker, an actor and a person who fervently believes in fighting for social causes, Aamir Khan has become a force to reckon with. Though the past year was controversy ridden for this Khan, he has managed to pull through all the mire with courage and gutso. Let us go through a few pages from the career of this actor who has performed epic roles whether it was an alien in 'PK' or a law enforcer in 'Sarfarosh' to an autistic teacher in 'Tare Zameen Par' or his iconic comedy film 'Andaz Apna Apna'. Lets begin the journey.. source   indiatimes

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Could have gone to a better place, it would have cost me much less: Sri Sri

Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's three-day festival made headlines as much for his grand show as for the row with the National Green Tribunal and Delhi High Court who said the event was held on the ecologically sensitive Yamuna floodplains. In an interview in Bengaluru, he tells TOI the fest actually made things better, but he will think twice before venturing into the Yamuna again.
How did the World Culture Festival go? Did the response surpass your expectations?

It was amazing. I was very surprised by the response... by the way people stood, even in the rain, and danced the first day. The rain could not dampen their enthusiasm. I'm more surprised by the pace at which it's been cleaned the very next day. I thought it would take three-four days.

Couldn't the mounds of garbage on the Yamuna floodplains have been avoided by having better waste management systems in place?

Lakhs of people had food, water and other things. They can't take the garbage with them. All that has been cleaned.

Considering it is an ecologically sensitive area, couldn't this adding of garbage have been avoided?

First of all, had you seen the place, it was a dumping ground. Not a park, not a sanctuary. It was not a place with birds, it was not beautiful. It was stinking. Nobody would say it was an ecologically pure place. Today, it has become clean. The place was toxic. Our being there has not created damage, it has cleansed the place.

What was your interest in holding it at that location? Your previous celebrations to mark anniversaries were held in Bengaluru's Jakkur airfield, Berlin's Olympiastadion, places that can handle such crowds

I could have gone to a much better place, it would have cost me much less.

Exactly. Why didn't you?

The intention of having it there is to see that the Yamuna gets more attention, and it is easy for all people to come there. And the government should take notice of the cleaning of the 17 nullahs that was not done.

Is that happening? Or will it happen?

Now the attention is there, we will press for government to do that.

So you're saying the negative attention is a good thing, it has served a purpose?

The 17 drains of Delhi are going into Yamuna without getting treated. So... I have spoken about that already. Let me keep aside those things and let me come to the programme. Is there any place in Delhi that can hold such a programme? No place in Delhi can hold so many people. And so many countries participated. It's a pride for India. It's something happening in India.

As an international dignitary said, PM is talking about Made in India-Make in India, now this is Happening India. India has proven to the world it has the capacity to do something gigantic. Now we can even host Olympics.
We organised a massive three-day programme despite a terror alert and unfriendly weather without incident. This shows we have the capacity. One of the miraculous things is the stage we built. The NGT's main concern was that big stage. They did not believe it was without a foundation. A 3 lakh sqm stage, 40 feet high, they said it is impossible without a deep foundation. But this stage was on plates, we did not dig anywhere.... a floating stage sitting on the river bank. This is the most magnificent stage, the largest stage the world has ever seen — in itself a wonder.

Farmers raised objections and said their crops had been flattened...

Yes, there are people on both sides of the river. Farmers were cultivating, we have spoken to the farmers, we have given them compensation money for three days.

There was a lot of criticism about the army building pontoon bridges for your event. Did you request the Army's help?

It is baseless. It is the duty of the Army, of the government of the moment to take care of people's security. When 172 dignitaries of various countries are coming to a place, the onus of security and of free movement of people, everything lies on the government. They've done their duty. If they had not built the pontoon bridges, they would have failed in their duty to organise such a huge [event], so I thank the Army. In fact, we would have loved to have five bridges but we could have only three, but those three were done very well. There were holding grounds on the other side of the Yamuna with screens and chairs so people could sit there and watch. Otherwise, with such a large event, there could have been a stampede. We have good experience in organising large events without any incidents. We plan very well.

So didn't the planning team anticipate the possibility of damage to the floodplains?

If someone had raised this concern at least three or six months before, we would not have gone to this place at all. But when the stage is half done, just 20 days before the programme, when people have booked tickets, I feel this is done with malicious intention. It's not the right intention.

Why would there be malicious intent?

That I have no idea (laughs). You know, when an event of that magnitude happens, such obstacles come up. But it also shows how determined our volunteers are and we have made the programme a success.

NGT has said the floodplains were levelled, the soil compacted...

I have all the pictures, we are going to contest that sort of thing. But I want to say that NGT also said we have not violated any laws. We wanted place. They should have told me this place is not available, it is ecologically sensitive and we cannot give you.

Does that mean you won't pay the damages?

NGT very clearly said we have not violated anything. They have asked for a compensation. This is a very funny thing. It is like even if you go in a green light, you will get a challan (laughs).

Will you be paying the amount?

To develop that place, we are willing to do it [pay the compensation], but first we need to make it clear that it is not a fine or penalty as mentioned in most of the media. Fine or penalty is only if you violate a law but when you have obtained all permissions, where is the question of penalty? Only when the court clarified that it is not a penalty, we said ok, we'll pay compensation. We have paid compensation to farmers. We have no hesitation in paying this. If there is a fine, I will not.

You've said you wanted to have the event on the floodplains to highlight the state of the river. Will you continue your activities at the Yamuna?

I have to think about it now. Even if you do the best work, if it is not taken in good spirit, why should you even venture into such things?

So you're saying doing good has to be tempered and has to have results?

My commitment to doing something good to Yamuna is always there, but whether I will venture to do something there now, I will have to think.

Another criticism was about the enzymes that Art of Living released into the Yamuna to clean it. What were these enzymes and how were they tested?

Some of these experts do not have any expertise. They don't know what technology is being used around the world. Enzyme use is proven in the world. These people have no idea about it so they will object. That's why I said before doing good, you have to see what type of response you will get. It is easy to work with uneducated people, it is easy to work with educated people, but people with half-baked knowledge is a real challenge. They think they know but they do not know (laughs). That is the challenge but we need to go with patience.

Where did you test the enzymes and who ran these tests and verified the results?

We have labs, we have an institute with ex-agriculture directors from all over the country, we have experts in our institute. We teach farmers organic farming — one wing of our work. Scientists showed 100,000 Delhi homes how to prepare the enzyme that takes three months to make.

Was the government informed about the release?

The Jal Board chief is on our committee. The government, Delhi government, all were informed. It was all done meticulously. It was not some chaotic idea. They should look into the credentials of the petitioners. Who are the petitioners, what have they done? This is what people should do rather than question our credibility. Isn't it?

Did you have an expert team that did an assessment before you decided on the Yamuna banks as your venue?

No damage was done. We left the place even better than what it was before. In one day, they have removed all the garbage, I expected them to take more time. Our job is not to clean the Yamuna, our job is to clean the minds of people. I will first clean the minds of people and then make them clean Yamuna because we have so much negativity for everything. Instead of welcoming an effort which will make India proud... this big a programme has not happened in China...

China hosted the Olympics...

This is nothing short of the Olympics or FIFA games. This was webcast in 185 countries. How many cities this was watched in! If it was not something of importance, why would the world watch? Why would dignitaries from around the world participate? There were many firsts in our cultural programme. Another miraculous thing. Can you imagine a show of that size had only one day of rehearsal? The rest was done online. Thousands of people learnt the music, the rhythm [without meeting]... first time in the world such a thing has happened. We showed the world, such magic can happen.

When we put up the idea, people said it is not possible. Even for five people to sing together needs a lot of practice. We had thousands, especially the masterpiece with 30 kinds of dances in a sequence. We'll present this to Broadway and on such international platforms.

How many months of planning went into the Festival?

Almost a year. Dances and all, we started about six months ago. Real work started a year ago: venue selection, inviting guests. There are a lot of challenges — buses would get stuck, it was muddy. Because of my commitment to environment, I would not allow any tar or cement or anything into that place. No sand was brought from outside. It was all temporary structures. We would not have faced so many challenges elsewhere. Behind the sheds, there is still grass today. And the stage, no cement. Even the security agencies said they couldn't believe this stage would be safe without a foundation. Only plates and rods were used.

Where are your engineering experts from?

That is our speciality. We had to build a special stage for the Prime Minister because security agencies didn't believe it was safe. It is a new concept. Whenever you want to do something not traditional, something innovative, people do not understand. We have a very good team of educated, highly creative young people who should be given a chance to show their expertise.
   source  indiatimes

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2 Muslims herding buffaloes thrashed, hanged in Jharkhand

2 Muslims herding buffaloes thrashed, hanged in Jharkhand

RANCHI/DALTONGANJ: In an incident reminiscent of the Dadri lynching, two Muslim men herding eight buffaloes on their way to a Friday market were beaten up and hanged to death from a tree by suspected cattle-protection vigilantes in Balumath forests in Latehar district, 100km from the state capital, early on Friday.

The deceased, Muhammad Majloom, 35, and Azad Khan alias Ibrahim, 15, were cattle traders and related to each other. Their bodies were strung up with their hands tried behind their backs and their mouths stuffed with cloth.

"The manner of their hanging showed that the assailants were led by extreme hatred," said Latehar SP Anoop Birthary.

Local MLA from the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) Prakash Ram claimed that Hindu radicals were behind the killings. Reports said villagers who protested the deaths claimed the victims were targeted as they were cattle traders.

Birthary, however, did not identify the assailants. "We are gathering leads to verify whether personal or business enmity led to the murder or it was due to some other motive. The buffaloes were freed. It is yet to be known if the buffaloes were taken away by the assailants or they strayed into the forest," Birthary said.

indiatimes

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Junior Ambani sheds close to 70 kgs

MUMBAI: Anant Ambani, son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has reportedly shed close to 70 kgs - almost half of what he weighed a few months back. On Saturday, a much thinner Anant surprised many when he visited Somnath temple.

Anant - a regular in the VIP enclosure during Mumbai Indians' Indian Premier League matches - is learnt to have spent a considerable time training. He has also done several marathon runs at the Reliance refinery in Jamnagar. A fitness trainer from US is believed to have helped Anant shed weight.

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The fitness trainer was from USA, this is insult of "Make in India", and National sentiment, the image of our poor Samosa and Dhokla has been tarnished and varnished in front of Internation... Read MoreBajrangee

Anant has two siblings - Akash and Isha - and is known to be very spiritual.  source indiatimes

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Earth Hour 2016: Lights go out worldwide in demonstration against increasing climate change

Geoffrey lean | The Independent | Mar 20, 2016, 09.20 AM IST

Earth Hour 2016: Lights go out worldwide in demonstration against increasing climate change

On the evening of 19 March the lights went out not just all over Europe, but throughout the world. But far from being a harbinger of doom - as in Sir Edward Grey's celebrated observation on the eve of the First World War - it was a sign that one of the world's most perilous, impending problems might yet be solved.

Scores of millions of people in a record 178 countries switched off at 8.30pm last night, to mark this year's Earth Hour, participating in the world's biggest ever demonstration to stop climate change escalating out of control.

But for the first time in the event's 10-year history - and despite new alarming evidence of warming last week - they were pushing at an opening door. For last December the world reached an unexpectedly ambitious agreement in Paris to address the problem.

Shanghai goes dark to mark this year's Earth Hour AFP


Some 366 landmarks around the world - ranging from the Sydney Opera House to Big Ben, from the Gherkin in London to the Colosseum in Rome, from Salisbury Cathedral to the Empire State Building - went dark last night. And so did Buckingham Palace, home to a remarkably green activist royal family (even the Queen has quietly indicated her concern about climate change).

Restaurants laid on special candle-lit dinners, the Forestry Commission organised night-time explorations and WWF, the event's organisers, issued a list of "60 things to do in the dark, including going stargazing, wearing fluorescent fancy dress and telling scary stories" - but not the activity that, perhaps, first springs to mind.

One no-no, however, was to light candles - unless they were "100 per cent beeswax or soy": normal ones, made of petroleum products, could release more carbon pollution than keeping the lights on.

Studies have shown that past Earth Hours have reduced electricity consumption by four per cent. But it is designed to be symbolic action, rather than an exercise in energy reduction. This year there is more to demonstrate about than ever. Last month, it was revealed on 14 March, was not merely the warmest February ever, but witnessed the biggest month-on-month jump in temperatures ever recorded - and by a big margin. Normally cautious climate scientists called it "jawdropping" "terrifying", and "a true shocker".

This combination picture shows the Houses of Parliament before and after the lights were switched off for Earth Hour in London. (Reuters Photo)



Worse, the previous record rise occurred just the month before, in January. This has been the warmest winter ever worldwide, and February was the tenth successive record-breaking month.

Arctic sea ice - as exclusively predicted in The Independent on Sunday last month - is at its lowest ever winter maximum after what the blue-chip US National Snow and Ice Data Centre calls a season of "unrelenting heat", while the extreme weather is also contributing to record droughts in Africa and Vietnam, and helped cause the biggest cyclone ever to hit Fiji, costing the country a tenth of its GDP.

Scientists are already predicting that 2016 will be the hottest on record, for the third year running, finally exploding sceptics' claims that global warming has stopped. Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, of Germany's Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, says the world is in "a completely unprecedented climate emergency", while Deke Arndt, of the US government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, describes it as moving to a "new and hotter neighbourhood".

A view of the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus before observing Earth Hour in Mumbai on Saturday. (PTI Photo)


And yet, Earth Hour had something to celebrate. Last week it was revealed that, for the second successive year, carbon emissions failed to increase in 2015 , even though the world economy grew - something that had not happened, even once, in four decades. China's emissions actually fell by 1.5 per cent, as the world's biggest polluter cut its use of coal and increased renewables.

For years the world has been investing more money in building power stations generating electricity from renewable sources than in ones fired by fossil fuels. Last year these provided a staggering 90 per cent of the world's new power.

And in December in Paris the world's governments unexpectedly agreed to phase out carbon emissions altogether by the second half of the century, committing themselves to meet every five years to set ever more ambitious intermediate targets, with the aim of holding the increase in the earth's temperature since pre-industrial times to "well below" the 2C since pre-industrial times long regarded as the threshold for dangerous climate change

Present reduction plans fall well short of this, but there is now at least a chance of averting disaster. And last week a paper by Michael Jacobs of the Institute for Public Policy Research - who was at the heart of both the Paris and failed Copenhagen summits - concluded that the agreement was "the outcome of an unprecedented show of political power by a broad and diverse coalition of forces from civil society".
source todays news

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Purple Heart on sale for $4.99 at Goodwill store reunites with veteran's family

Goodwill stores offer many one-of-a-kind items, but on March 12, Laura and Jake Hardy found an heirloom that for one family — over a thousand miles away — seemed to have been lost forever.
Laura Hardy was paying for some green shirts the couple had picked up for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebration at their local Goodwill store in Mesa, Arizona, while her husband browsed the jewelry case.
"He brought me over a Purple Heart medal," Laura Hardy told TODAY.com. "'Look at this,' he said to me. It was heavier than I expected and I turned it over and on the back, engraved was the name Eual Whiteman."
Hardy bought the Purple Heart medal for $4.99 and brought it home, but soon she was on a mission to find the owner of the prestigious decoration, awarded to those wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military.

Laura Hardy

Laura Hardy's receipt for the Purple Heart medal

She took to social media that same day and posted on her Facebook page, "Looking for the family of Eual H. Whiteman. Deceased in nineteen ninety-one. What a shame to find it at Goodwill for $4.99"

Hardy couldn't believe the response. "I hardly use Facebook except to connect with friends and family," she said. The post has now been shared more than 100,000 times.souece  todays news

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How to talk politics with friends, family — without getting into a fight

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Despite the time-held etiquette advice to stay away from talk of politics, sex and religion, I do believe it's possible to have a political disagreement without being disagreeable. The following are my strategies for emerging from a piercing political conversation without collateral damage to anyone's ego — or to your relationships.
1. Keep your thoughts sober
To avoid turning an otherwise civil conversation into a verbal slugfest, steer clear from alcohol, which will reduce your inhibitions and make misunderstandings and raised voices far more likely. Stay sober and toast to your civility once the conversation is through.
2. Try some classic background noise
Consider putting on some soft classical music as a backdrop to your conversation. This will help avoid awkward silences. Keeping the volume low will also mean you don't have to shout to be heard. Let the strains of Beethoven provide a soothing soundtrack to your verbal minuet.
3. Captivate, but don't capture, your audience
Don't take over a room (or a table) with a figurative ping-pong match. If this is a conversation that does not interest others, holding them hostage while the two of you trade volleys is not appropriate. Save the analysis for a time when the two of you can speak one-on-one.
4. Pay attention to your tone
If your discussion partner starts to raise his voice or get angry, resist the temptation to match his volume level. Keep your tone measured, calm and civilized. This will help prevent a rapid escalation of tempers.
5. Be a respectful listener
As much as you want to interrupt when you disagree with something you've just heard, resist the urge. Listen intently and make eye contact (and don't roll your eyes.) Show respect to the other individual, and when your turn comes, request the same: "Please have the courtesy to hear me out, as I've done for you."
6. Fact-check, but don't push
If your opponent starts spewing facts that sound incorrect, ask for the source: "I haven't encountered that statistic before. Where did you discover it?" If she can't produce a citation, agree to move on and revisit that particular point later. "Maybe you could look into that further and email me your source so I can consider it more fully?"
7. Remember that there are no miracles
Regardless of how well-researched your arguments might be, remember it's highly unlikely the person opposite you is going to do a 180 — or even a 120. More than likely, you'll both end up more convinced than ever about your own correctness. That being said, your inability to persuade someone else to switch views is not a failure on your part. In fact, if you carried on a conversation that proceeded with respect despite your opposing viewpoints, you achieved true success.
8. Keep the final sentiments positive
Avoid the temptation to get in the last word. Even something as seemingly diplomatic as "Let's just agree to disagree" or "let's just change the subject" puts you in the driver's seat, because *you're* deciding when to move on or terminate the dispute. Instead, consider something along the lines of, "Thank you for this conversation. I'm glad we had the chance to share opinions with one another." source todays news

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