'Pangea Day' fest on May 10
Mumbai | Friday, May 9 2008 IST
 
A kaleidoscope of films, documentaries and animations will be screened at the NCPA on May 10 as a part of ''Pangea Day'' that seeks to unite the global population using the media and technology. The event would also be simultanously held in Rio, New York, UK, Cairo and Kigali in Rwanda and would be telecast via the internet, mobile phone network and television channels.

''This is a grand experiment to see the world through the eyes of others and hopefully reduce the cultural, religious and political differences between people,'' said Tom Hamilton, producer-researcher. Talking to UNI, Hamilton said the event would also raise issues on the viability of ''western style'' of development where the media has played a big role in building up the image. ''The films to be screened had been selected out of thousands based on themes like 'Hope' and viewers could ultimately see the truth beyond media and advertising hype,'' he said.''Mumbai has been chosen as it symbolizes India's cultural heritage and economic strength,'' he added.Pangea is a term coined by Alfred Wegner in 1912 for a single supercontinent that constituted present day continents 200 million years ago. The festival is founded by documentary film maker Jehane Noujain.

'Kamban Vizha' begins in Pondy From May 9
Puducherry | Friday, May 9 2008 IST
 
Chief Justice of Jharkand High Court, Mr Justice Karppaga Vinayagam, today inaugurated the three-day 'Kamban Vizha' (Kamban festival) here.In his address, Mr Justice Karppaga Vinayagam exhorted people to take the good from Ramayana and emulate it in practical life.One should not be perturbed over the ups and downs in life and should look ahead with positive thinking.Hard work will give fruits. Presiding over the function, Puducherry Lt Governor (Incharge) Bhopinder Singh said the Ramayana had a profound impact on art, culture, family relations, politics and gender in the Indian sub-continent.

The Ramayana is undoubtedly the most popular Indian epic read and loved by all, he said adding the richness of it's vedic literature in Sanskrit, Hindi or Tamil had crossed the boundaries of the town and went on to become one of the greatest epics in human history.Mr Singh also said the Ramayana and Mahabharata had hundreds of characters, each with a distinct and separate quality.Welcoming the gathering, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy assured all efforts by the government to develop Tamil in the union territory.

Manipuris climb hills to celebrate Cheiraoba, the New Year Day on April 8
Imphal | May 08, 2008 5:21:06 PM IST
 
The Manipuris celebrate their New Year Day climbing hills, along with merry making. Climbing hills signifies for them rise in prosperity and achievement of a new high in life.This year "Cheiraoba" or the New Year Day was celebrated on April 8.The old ritual of climbing hills goes with the belief that it takes the climber to a new high in life, and leads to peace and prosperity.Thousands of people this year too came out of their houses irrespective of their caste, creed or age and celebrated the occasion by climbing hills.During the festival of Cheiraoba in Manipur the people worship Sanamahi, who is the local deity.

On this occasion, special dishes are prepared and offered to various deities.A devout Manipuri Irom Mobi Singh, said: "Everyday, we read in newspapers about killings or bomb blasts. Innocent people are killed but in spite of that we observe this festival. We pray to God and goddesses to stop these killings and want unity and peace. And, for that we climb hills."People generally offer prayers for their lives to take a positive turn. This year everyone prayed for peace and end to violence in the State that has made life difficult for them.Shakuntala, a visitor from Haryana, said: "The best thing about Manipur, is that ladies can move around all alone. I've travelled all over India but I like Manipur the best."

The New Year celebrations are also followed by a traditional folk dance "Thaba Chongba".On the New Year, the youth gather and celebrate the occasion with pomp and gaiety. Boys wearing women's attire perform their traditional dances.With the echo of drumbeats and the sounds of music, and smiling people the occasion the New Year Day celebrations was a special treat for one and all.All of them hoped that they would be able to enjoy life with peace.

"Roots" Music Festival in northeast India from May 7
Imphal | May 06, 2008 6:34:36 PM IST
 
Various leading musical groups and pop stars have made a confluence in the northeast region of the country for the popular Roots festival, as it organizes its 6th edition here in the vastly music loving region of India.Having started its musical journey recently in Imphal at the Hapata Kangjebung, Palace Compound, the Roots festival is presently being held in Dimapur (Nagaland) and will have Assam's Dithu area as its next venue. After Dithu, the celebrations of Roots festival will cover other parts of the northeastern States during its 21-day journey.

The musical extravaganza is showcasing some of the leading bands across the region and from abroad entertaining the people with their music. At least 37 singers including singers from the United Kingdom, Israel and different parts of the northeast are participating this year in the ongoing festival.For international artistes, the experience of coming to India is in itself quite enriching and overwhelming."It is great to be here. It is first time I am in India and I'm absolutely speechless. It is an incredible place and I hope to give something back," said Dan Saunders from England.Thousands of music lovers, meanwhile, turned up on the first day here to have a thoroughly gala time with music breathing in every heart and soul during the musical extravaganza.

"This is really giving me a chance to relax and make me feel good about it. The music concerts like this make you feel great and make you forget about things going on around the place," said Queenthali Thokchom, an audience.The music festival is organized on a high scale to offer a common platform for international, national and regional artistes.This time the musical tour will include the performances of original music by Dub LFO from Israel, Too Late Lucy from England, Warklung from Diphu of Assam and Guru Reuben Mashangba from Ukhrul district of Manipur among other notable artistes. he tour is being presented by Brylcream, The Musicians Store, and Spring Board Surprises of Shillong.

Manipur Tourism Department and the Folk Art and Cultural Guild are jointly hosting the Imphal leg of the Roots festival in the northeast region. rganised in 2003 for the first time by Spring Board Surprises at Shillong in 2003 on a small scale, the Roots festival's popularity has soared over the years, especially in the northeast States of the country.Today, the Roots festival is the most awaited musical event in this part of the country, particularly due to the participation of increasing number of international and regional artistes.The festival aims to spread the message of peace and brotherhood among people and inspire youngsters to contribute their talent to the promotion of their culture, said founder and CEO of Spring Board Surprises Keith Wallang.The musical tour will conclude in Shillong (Meghalaya) on May 28th.

Festival of Indian Panorama film from May 2
New Delhi | Friday, May 2 2008 IST
 
A festival of the Indian Panorama, films of the International Film Festival of India, 2007 opened here this evening at Siri Fort Auditorium.The eight-day exposition titled 'The Festival of Indian Panorama 2007' was inaugurated by Director General of ( M&C) Deepak Sandhu.During the festival, there will be screening of 21 feature films and 15 non-feature films which present a wide spectrum of contemporary themes and treatments of Indian cinema.Ms Sandhu said the festival has opened on a special day which was the birthday of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.One of the Members of the Jury(Feature Films) Shubhar Gupta in her remarks said selecting movies for the Panorama was a very enriching experience as the whole package provided a cinematic view of Indian culture.Director of the Film festival Neelam Kapur said the festival was an attempt to present the best of Indian cinema to viewers of the capital.

The festival opened with Bagher Bacha, a non-feature film in Bengali directed by Bishnu Dev Halder, an ex-student of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata. The opening film of the feature film section was Ore Kadal (Malayalam), directed by Shyamaprasad. Debut directors like Sameer Hanchate, Bhavana Talwar and Samir Chanda bring with them a refreshing and incisive style of cinema, while the stalwarts like Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Budhadeb Dasgupta challenge ideas and established norms again with their films-Naalu Penungal and Ami Iyasin Aar Amaar Madhubala. The non-feature film section offers a large variety. The biographicals like Naushad Ali, Pandit Ramnarayan, Mubarak Begum and Rajarshi Bhagyachandra of Manipur chronicle the lives of important Indian personalities are prominent in the section. Films like Bagher Bacha, Hope Dies Last in War, Joy Ride and whose Land Is It Anyway are stimulating.

The Indian Panorama package was selected by two juries of eminent film makers. The feature film jury headed by K S Sethumadhavan, the renowned film maker, also had the following as members -Leslie Carvalho, Dr Mrunalinni Patil Dayal, Ms Manju Bora, Ms Shubhra Gupta and Mr Abhijit Dasgupta. The non-feature film jury was headed by another renowned film maker Arun Khopkar and had the following film makers as members -Pankaj Butalia, Gautam Saikia and Ms Kavita Chaudhary. Entry to all film shows is free. The free of cost passes will be available at Siri Fort Auditorium counters till May 9 on first come first served basis. The Indian Panorama is one of the most important sections of the International Film Festival of India, since it represents the rich diversity present in the Indian cinema.The section was first organised in 1978 with a view to present the wide range of cinema produced in the country. Since then, the Indian Panorama section has been a regular feature of the International Film Festival of India.

May Day fete in Pondy on May 1
Puducherry | Thursday, May 1 2008 IST 

Processions, hoisting party and trade union flags, distribution of sweets and bursting crackers marked the May Day celebrations in the union territory today.All trade unions and Left parties took out separate processions, hoisted party flags and distributed sweets.Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy,his Cabinet collegues and PMK Parliamentary Party Leader M Ramadass were among those who greeted the working class on the occasion.