G Plus Vol 6 Issue 52 by G Plus

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INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 52 Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019 Price `10 Tussle between Chinese lamps and diyas continues this Diwali

Chinese product ban dream of saffron brigade shattered

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Declining trend for India in Global Hunger Index

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Chinese, Sivakasi Hajela transferred onslaught making because of govt Barpeta fireworks pressure? industry struggle Rangman Das @guwahatiplus

he floods have washed away everything this year. From the raw materials to our utensils, bamboo, timber, our land, everything gone!” said the owner of the century old Assam Fireworks Industries of Barpeta during a telephone conversation with this reporter of G Plus. An industry that was the pride of Barpeta district for decades with a number of families dependent on the business that it generated is now facing near extinction. “Last year it was the rains and this year the floods have finished us; in my lifetime I haven’t seen any government support coming our way. The roads leading to our factories and offices have deteriorated so much that the business environment is totally lost today,” lamented

Dipmoni Pathak, the current proprietor of Assam Fireworks Industries – an enterprise that was started way back in 1885 by entrepreneur Lakhiram Pathak. Fanoos, Chereki, Kamrup Express, Toramai, Radhachura are some of the products from China and Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi that are today flooding the markets of Guwahati and the rest of the state.

G Plus News @guwahatiplus

arious questions are being raised after the Supreme Court transferred National Register of Citizens (NRC) coordinator Prateek Hajela to his home state Madhya Pradesh, the main being whether the IAS officer requested the bench of the court to transfer him. “He had requested the Chief Justice of India to transfer him elsewhere as he was unhappy and under tremendous pressure from all corners including the government,” said a highly placed source who is close to Hajela. The source also expressed that after the mammoth task of publishing the final NRC list, the government did not appreciate his work; rather he was receiving criticism from all corners. After the final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) list was published on 30th July 2018, the Supreme Court had then expressed its displeasure with the NRC state coordinator Prateek Hajela and Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh for speaking to the media reprimanding them for statements made to the media on the NRC modalities while nothing had

been informed to the court. As a result, the NRC coordinator refrained from speaking to the media when the final draft list was published. But, as soon as the NRC final list was published on 31st August last, various political parties began questioning the intent of the NRC coordinator and also slammed him for alleged “discrepancies” in the final NRC list. The source revealed that he was under tremendous pressure from various political parties but he only listened to the Supreme Court and worked according to the Supreme Court’s orders. The source said that the Supreme Court was monitoring the entire process and yet the political parties and even the government was unhappy with the NRC coordinator who has at least had managed to publish the first ever NRC in Assam after so many years of the Assam Accord being signed (1985). Hajela would be on deputation for a maximum period, said a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. The court asked the government to issue the transfer order immediately. “Is there a reason for this?” the government’s lawyer, Attorney General KK Venogupal, asked the

judges. “No order will be without a reason,” the Chief Justice replied. The order did not give a reason. With the shocking order of the court the NRC process is again at stake as sources in the NRC secretariat revealed that it is not clear yet who will send the rejection order to the 19 lakh applicants whose name did not figure in the final NRC list. Hajela, a native of Madhya Pradesh and a 1995-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed the NRC coordinator by the Supreme Court to oversee the mammoth and sensitive exercise of finalizing and publishing the Assam NRC data. Another twist to the story is that CJI Ranjan Gogoi will retire on November 17 this year and was heading the Supreme Court in significant cases, including the Ayodhya title dispute and the National Register of Citizens. Gogoi will retire on 17th November and the next hearing of NRC is slated on 26th November. Now, with Hajela who knew the entire process moving out and Gogoi retiring, what will be the fate of the NRC process is something to indeed brainstorm over.

Cover Story

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Chinese, Sivakasi onslaught making Barpeta fireworks industry struggle From Page 01

Fireworks of Barpeta, Assam

Fireworks of Barpeta date back to about 130 years and are locally called ‘fotoka’. Late Lakshiram Pathak of Mojorhati was the founder of the fireworks industries in Barpeta. He started the industry after going through a Bengali book on Chinese fireworks published in 1885 which gave an idea of cracker‐making techniques. The industry was also patronised by Queen Victoria who was satisfied with the work of Lakshiram Pathak and awarded him a gold medal and donated two bighas of land at Bilortarihati Barpeta to ply his trade. In 1910, Pathak was awarded a licence from the British government to carry on with his trade. After Pathak’s death, his son Late Narahari Pathak continued the legacy of traditional firework production process. Within the family other entrepreneurs like Late Monoranjan Pathak of Brindaban Hati, Nalini Pathak and Achinta Pathak of Majorhati, Late Amrendra Pathak, Late Niren Pathak, Gopjit Pathak and Deepmani Pathak of Bilortarihati all established firework industries separately. Two grandsons of Late Lakshiram Pathak through his son Late Ananta Pathak took up firework making even though their own father had not. There are altogether five Pathak families today at Majorihat near Barpeta town. They engage local labourers and around 30 to 35 potter families in the trade. The firework industry of Barpeta today bears a distinctive mark of excellence and identity. Customized fireworks are manufactured as per the needs and objectives of their special clients, best suited for the occasion. Especially before the clients decide to place their orders, the cracker‐makers send representatives to them to place the particular idea and variety of the product. These aspects gave these crackers an extra edge over its competitors as the service provided by the cracker‐makers was exclusive to their customers. During Diwali, marriage seasons, festivals or ceremonies, prominent clients who want special pyro‐shows only have to put forward their needs. But, somewhere down the line, the much‐expected growth in the sector is not being achieved due to acute financial crisis and other issues.

Barpeta’s proposed Atosbaji Village

Crackers being produced handmade at Barpeta | Photo Vikramjit Kakati

Sl No 1 2

Particulars Sora Sulphur

Price Rs. 120/Kg Rs. 70/Kg

Aluminium dust

Rs. 250/Kg

Aluminium power

Rs. 450/Kg

5 6 7

PVC powder (for fire colour) Barium (for fire colour) Tanisium (for fire colour)

The Assam government, under Chief Ministers’ development fund, has sanctioned Rs 7 crores to District Industries and Commerce Centre along with allotment of total 30 acres of land to set up Barpeta Atosbaji Village. After a rough patch in 2012, the 127 year old industry is set to have a common facility centre along with other facilities. From the seven crore rupees, the government has sanctioned Rs 3.5 crores to Assam Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (AIIDC) on March 2013 and Rs 1 crore has been released for construction of

materials are procured from Kolkata which are not available in Guwahati. With combinations of different proportions of the above materials, different products of fire crackers are manufactured. For example bombs require Aluminium power, Sora and Sulphur.

Marketing

Rs. 700/Kg Rs. 120/Kg Rs. 300/Kg

boundary wall and land filling. Each of the five firecracker units has been allotted two acres of land. According to the scheme, all necessary infrastructures will be provided by AIIDC and handed over to the firecracker units. Gopjit Pathak, along with four others, was oriented in Shivkasi. They supply these firecrackers to the northeast with prices a little higher than those fetched by the Shivkasi ones. This industry procures most of its raw materials from Kolkata.

Raw Materials The

following

seven

raw

There are about 50-60 agents, traders and shopkeepers spread across different locations mainly in the northeastern states with whom the unit proprietor has a business tie‐up. The retail shop owners and the firework traders deal with marriage ceremonial items, gifts, cards, Bihu festival items etc. There are seven of them in Guwahati, three in Dibrugarh, one in Shillong, one in Nagaon, one in Biswanath Chariali, one in Tezpur, one in New Bongaigaon, one in Kokrajhar etc.

Dipmoni Pathak of Assam Fireworks Industries talks to G Plus

In the opinion of Dipmoni Pathak, Barpeta’s fire crackers are of good quality as compared to other brands in the market. The entire production process is very manual labour intensive; there is no mechanized production process. The cost of Barpeta

firework products is higher than Shivkasi. Waste paper is a major crisis and not easily available locally. In Shivkasi, it is available at a fixed procuring source at a competitive price. Wages to the labour is high in Barpeta (Rs 250 in addition to refreshment and lunch). In Shivkasi the entire family of 5-6 members including small children gets involved and earns Rs 150‐200 per day. There the children also earn Rs 30-40 per day. Barpeta has only 5 firework units and as compared to Shivkasi which has more than 800 units and is supported by state government schemes and guidelines. So far there has been no support provided on marketing by the state government. Some fixed retail stalls in Guwahati and other NE state capitals will be of good support.

Marketing

The products are sold at wholesale rates in most of the districts of Assam from 15-20 locations such as Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Guwahati, Laxmipur, Odalguri, Kokrajhar, Goalpara etc. During festivals, a few products are also sold from 8‐10 locations of Delhi and Haryana. Locally it is mostly sold during marriages and Diwali. The unit has a permit license but during Diwali, the state also issues temporary licenses.

Cover Story

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019 What does Sivakasi have that Barpeta does not?

In Shivkasi, there are more than 800 registered and unregistered firework units as compared to five in Barpeta, Assam. Hence they have the advantage on quantity across the country. All Shivkasi products have small varieties with good attractively coloured labels and packaging and hence are transported well across the country. The customers directly use the product. Barpeta fireworks, on the other hand, are mostly large in size and transported in bags, boxes or cartons carried by 1-2 unit staff members. The Shivkasi products have good packaging and instructions. The chemical formulas of Shivkasi and Barpeta are same but the major difference is Shivkasi products last for two years as they use aluminium and silver dust but in Barpeta the units use cast iron dust which gets affected after one year. In Shivkasi, the local DIC office has a full‐fledged training centre that offers regular training modules on technical and technological issues by experienced engineers and subject experts. Weather in Shivkasi is hot and there is no agricultural land. Hence, firework activity is the key source of livelihood. Labour is easily available at competitive wages. A family of 5-6 members with two adults and 3-4 children earn Rs 150-200 per day. Product wise, Shivkasi fire rockets have been banned in many places as the burnt residue damages when it falls on the ground. As compared to those rockets Barpeta Asman Gola is safer. The entire casing stays back in same place on the ground and the explosive materials get burnt in the sky. Barpeta has no licensed supplier for explosive materials. The local government should provide license to start a unit locally. It is expensive to source explosive materials from Kolkata. Locally in Barpeta town there is one license retailer selling all varieties of fireworks along with gifts and stationary.

Barpeta Traditional

Join up photos of the Barpeta fireworks production activities

Firework clusters The strengths There is a huge demand of firework products with wholesale and assured market channels for bulk products within Assam and northeast region which is estimated to be approximately Rs 200 crores. The demand for Barpeta fireworks is more than the units can collectively supply. Barpeta firework products over the years enjoy goodwill and are known for quality as compared to Shivkasi or cheap Chinese products. The five units are the one of the oldest firework manufacturers in the region and hence also enjoy the price monopoly. Apart from the key chemicals and explosive materials, the rest of the raw materials – bamboo, terracotta pots, papers, jute, charcoal and other materials are easily available locally. The units customize manufacturing of fireworks as per special needs of clients, best suited for the occasions like marriages, inauguration & closing ceremonies, festivals, special ceremonies like birthdays, marriage anniversaries etc. Though engagement of manual labour is an issue, the units have their own young and trusted workforce that seems willing to be fully engaged with this activity. The state government is interested to revive, expand and invest on traditional firework industries of Barpeta. It has already invested on allotment of

Fire crackers being displayed for sale in Barpeta

30 bighas of land to accommodate 10 firework units in the first phase with construction of complete facilities and infrastructure.

The weakness

Barpeta product range does not focus on standard fireworks that can be executed by individual consumers (i.e. consumer/ household fireworks) – while the mainstay of the market supplies from other cluster appears to be such products. Most of the Barpeta traditional firework products are large in size and expensive for the common man. There is no smaller size of the same product line such as Charkhi, Sun Bazi, Fanoos, Letter Gash, Asman or Matar Gola which can be purchased by a common end user. Since the units have not dealt with consumer fireworks, there is limited understanding of likely or unforeseeable misuse in hands of consumers. So while shifting to smaller size products is feasible, cautionary labeling which warns consumers of the potential dangers associated with that firework and tells them guidelines for use do not exist with the manufacturer. The mainstay of Barpeta Atosbaji is pyrotechnic display (execution of the fireworks) – but capability to execute large displays is not there. Exposure to execution at such scale is also not there.

Poor infrastructure on work stations, workspace, storage, low on resources and poor manufacturing facilities of all the units is another weakness. The Barpeta firework products are known for their good quality but lack finishing and standardization and hence, since last several years, have not developed an established brand identity. During monsoons, due to high moisture and humidity content, the production stops completely. Products cannot be transported by train due to safety laws. For transporting by road there is no proper packaging effort and approach to minimize the damage of products. This lack of appropriate packaging also limits the products transportation to long distances to other north eastern regions or even few pockets of India The five units do not have a standard registration or updated valid explosive license either from DIC or under the Explosives Act once issue of explosive license was stopped from Guwahati after Assam disturbances from 1980 onwards.

Unit workers work in open field without any dedicated workstation. There is no proper system of storage of explosive chemicals, raw materials, hand tools, finished products, with any safety measures or gears for workers making the entire premise vulnerable to accidents. The firework products look unfinished and rudimentary. The finished product is just wrapped with simple coloured paper with no identity, logo, instructions, product code and specifications etc. The next generation is less interested in practicing the activity. So skill erosion is likely after the present generation.

Where do the Barpeta firework products go?

5% of the products of Barpeta are sold loose to stationary and gift shops of the state. 60% of the products find their way to the wholesale markets of Assam and other northeastern states. It is worth mentioning that 10% of the products are sold to various government departments of Assam and other northeastern states. 5% of the products are retailed and customized for various festivals, marriage ceremonies and various other occasions.

4 In The News

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Tussle between Chinese lamps and diyas continues this Diwali Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

nder the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the initiative of ‘Make in India’ campaign was launched in September 2017 with a view to transform India into a global manufacturing hub. However, the Guwahati market could be seen flooded with Chinese decor products this Diwali. Like every year, the markets of Guwahati this year as well have been flooded with Diwali items. Crackers, flowers, diyas, dry fruits and everything else that you need for the Diwali celebrations are overflowing the sidewalks of popular shopping zones like Fancy Bazar, Ganeshguri and other markets of the city. Diyas (earthen lamps) form an integral part of Diwali and G Plus tried to get in touch with the diya sellers to understand what was going in their world of business. The best locations to get these diyas in bulk are from sellers near the Kamakhya Gate and the Maligaon area. These earthen lamps are brought from Gauripur, Goalpara, Kalangpar, Chimnidhora, Malibari and Pathsala during the festive season. Speaking to G Plus, one of the sellers had this to say, “This time due to flood the production of diyas is less. We are unable to source from the potter in bulk as they are also charging more due to demand.” The retail price of earthen lamps

near Kamakhya gate is set at Rs 15 per dozen for the small ones, the medium ones at Rs 25 per dozen, the large ones at Rs 35 per dozen and the extra-large ones at Rs 50

Not everyone is crazy about Chinese glittery lights. Some customers do want to have an old-style, traditional, Diwali celebration and are also concerned

Earthen lamps being displayed for sale in Fancy Bazar | G Plus Photo per dozen. The sellers hope that the government’s move to have an eco-friendly Diwali might get the people’s attention. “Sale has been same as last year. In fact we thought sale would increase due to government’s proposal to observe eco-friendly Diwali. People don’t want to pay the price we set. Price negotiations at large are killing our business. Chinese products are flooding the market. These products in a sense are making people lazy,” Ajay Singh, a vendor said.

about the artisans. “People should avoid Chinese lights and should be more inclined towards buying more handmade items like earthen lamps. I myself have purchased chaki and people should avoid foreign goods and use local products which would lead to the development of our Indian economy and help the poor who can easily do business and earn livelihood. We should rather focus on Make in India products,” said a local resident. Adding to the woes, the stalls where the earthen lamps are being

sold which is at the Kamakhya Gate is a busy street and because of which people are unable to park and buy. “The government have put up these new railings along the footpath which has become a pain for us. Now customers cannot see our products due to which they don’t stop here,” said a vendor. There is still hope for the earthen lamp makers and sellers, as a large number of people have expressed over social media and other media channels that they would still like to have an eco-friendly traditional Diwali. It is to be mentioned that the lack of interest in the pottery business due to its sharp fall in its popularity the objective of ‘Make in India’ to generate employment and skill enhancement in nearly 25 sectors of the economy seems to be fading away.

China to Chandni Chowk Chinese products, available in various designs, are flooding the markets this festive season. The traders in the Fancy Bazar market said that although PM Modi is promoting ‘Make In India’ we have to source most of these lamps and decor lights from Delhi and Kolkata which are again imported from China due to its cost effectiveness. However, shopkeepers stated that because of the rising prices

and with the advent of GST and less money floating in the market, many of the old buyers have turned back to the old traditional ways. “More than 40% of the sales have come down compared to last year but we still have a week’s time and hope buyers will turn up as this time we have more variety,” said a trader. On the contrary, local artisans are finding it difficult to compete in the market and margins have been reducing for the past two-and-ahalf years. Modern electric lights are ruling the market. The new generation is interested in electric diyas and latest additions to lighting technology. Fancy and cheaper Chinese lamps are in demand because they can fit in anywhere on the wall. Speaking to a customer, he said earthen diyas are good and traditional but if we are getting fancier lamps at the same rate which is hassle-free why not opt for it as it doesn’t need to be refilled with oil or carries the risk of getting blown out. “I am not buying much of earthen lamps as I have also to buy LED lights. Along with the earthen lamps there is additional expense of mustard oil. Moreover, it is hard to keep the lamps lit all the time,” a customer buying diyas at Maligaon said. In recent years, the use of earthen lamps by the people on Diwali has decreased because they mostly use electric lights which are mainly imported from China. The use of plastic in these lights are also generating lot of plastic waste which is detrimental to environment.

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The Yogi Adityanath government is aiming to break last year’s record of 300,100 earthen lamps lit on the banks of the Saryu River by lighting 550,000 earthen lamps across the pilgrimage town. Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said, “This year, diyas will be lit not only at Ram Ki Paidi (on the banks of the Saryu River), but across the city. We have made elaborate arrangements to make Deepotsav grander than last year.” It is to be mentioned that a team from the Guinness Book of World Records will be present to document the feat. The three-day celebrations will start on October 24 and will include Ramlila performances by groups from Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Surinam and Mauritius.

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G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

City

Chinese product ban dream of saffron brigade shattered Guwahati markets flooded with Chinese products ahead of Diwali and this year there is no drive against them G Plus News @guwahatiplus

s soon as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Assam, there was a sudden outcry in Guwahati against Chinese products. Even the administration was seen carrying out various drives against illegally procured Chinese products in the city. But

completely ban it.” He then said that the body had submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner and the administration had assured them that illegal Chinese products will not be allowed to be sold in Guwahati markets. The shopkeepers’ line of thought is that while the administration and organisations like

Market with full display of Chinese products for Diwali | G Plus Photo it seems that the dream of the saffron brigade lies shattered today and Chinese products are more visible than ever before in the markets of Guwahati. “This year there is no drive against illegal Chinese products may be because the Centre has not ordered the state government, and may be because the saffron brigade has forgotten their dream of banning the sale of Chinese products in India,” said a BJP member under condition of anonymity. Sources in the administration revealed that this time they have not yet received any order to carry out drives against Chinese products in Fancy Bazar and other markets of Guwahati. In 2017, prior to Diwali, after failing to bar the sale of Chinese products, Bajrang Dal had claimed that it will definitely ban the sale of Chinese products in 2018 but that never happened. Talking to G Plus then, Bajrang Dal Guwahati Zila Sonjujak had said, “The sale of Chinese products is less this year (2017) and next year we will

Bajrang Dal had asked the shopkeepers not to sell Chinese products in 2017, why are they not stopping the dealers from bringing the products from places like Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai? A wholesale dealer said, “There is no option other than Chinese products.” He said that all the electronic items are mostly made in China and they don’t have any other option but to purchase them. He said that it was nothing but a political campaign and unless India starts manufacturing these products people will have to keep purchasing Chinese products. So the Chinese product ban dream of the saffron brigade looks like it has been shattered.

6 Bazaar

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Thanda Diwali markets in the city; Sales continue to disappoint despite festive offers Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

t is no secret at this point in time that the Indian economy is suffering a major downfall. In various sectors across the spectrum, there have been numerous job losses, downward spiral of sales and businesses shutting down altogether. Earlier this year, the current government had devised a plan for the country to emerge as a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, and results from economic surveys for the fiscal year 2018-19 have shown that to attain that goal, India needs to sustain a real GDP growth rate of eight percent. However, in its recent World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut India’s growth this year from 7 percent in July to 6.1 percent, stating that the country reflected a “weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand” and

that it has to address its “cyclical weaknesses and strengthen confidence.” Thus, Guwahati is no exception to this phenomenon and with the festive season upon us, market trends have not shown any improvement even with multiple offers and discounts available to customers. “The market has been significantly down as compared to last year. There has been minimal to zero growth and the footfall of customers has also lessened. The market is basically thanda. I’ve been sitting at my shop since morning and it seems like customers have no money to spend this time around,” said a retail store owner from Guwahati’s business hub in Fancy Bazar, speaking to G Plus. While another store owner from the area stated that he does not even have much expectations for the upcoming Dhanteras and Diwali festival as sales were down during the past few weeks in

Retail outlets offering massive discounts in the various malls of the city | G Plus Photo Durga Puja as well. “We basically

expectations from 2019. Let’s see what 2020 has in store for us,”

added the store owner, tense but ever so slightly hopeful.

Business is simply not good and the slowdown is clearly visible in our numbers.” Another dealer stated, “If you look at the numbers, Guwahati is 25 percent down and I don’t see much improvement in the automobile sector because the government does not want

to seem to help this industry. However, the automobile sector as a business will always be there, it might be slow, might catch up, but it will not diminish.” Even while speaking to small businesses in the city, G Plus found that the footfall in these sectors has also diminished in the

past few months. A clerk from a popular retail store in GS Road mentioned that people hardly came in to purchase anything and several of these stores are now found empty. “If customers did show up, they only bought need-specific items and rarely overspent,” she added.

have

Private sector in the slump Many businesses in the private sector are facing a time of crisis. While earlier the festive season heralded sales and heavy footfall, this season has seen empty showrooms and the wailing faces of business owners across the city. Speaking to G Plus, a prominent

businessman of the city said, “The automobile sector is in crisis. There has been no uptake in sales in the northeast region even though numerous offers and puja discounts have been made available to the public. The incentives don’t seem to be working this time around.

Modi to the rescue? 5% hike in DA announced for central govt employees Keeping in mind the recent market trends, the Centre, on October 9, increased the dearness allowance (DA) by five percentage points for all central government employees in a bid to boost the economy and increase spending power. While announcing the same, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar termed this hike, which will be effective from July 2019, as a “Diwali gift” wherein central government employees and pensioners will be paid 17 percent of their basic salary as DA. DA is a part of salary paid to employees working for the government to compensate them

for inflation. It is revised twice annually in January and July for central government employees. Based on Javadekar’s announcement, this increase will cost the Centre Rs. 16,000 crore every year and will impact 50 lakh serving personnel and 65 lakh pensioners. The union minister also noted that this is the highest ever 5 percentage points increase in DA at one go made by the Centre. It should be noted that this is the second time the government has increased the DA for central government employees after an increase of 3 percent hike in DA from 9 percent to 12 percent in January earlier this year.

File Photo of Prakash Javadekar

Speaking to G Plus, Padmapani Bora, an IRS officer said, “Market prices for some items are increasing, so the increase in DA is definitely going to help us as 5 percent is a lot. Also, the basic cost increased with the 7th Pay Commission, even the 6th Pay Commission. Therefore, since our basic is higher, we will get a handsome amount after the hike and it will help to meet our various expenses.” Bora also mentioned that he thinks this hike will help in increasing purchasing power and that since supply already exists in the market, we might see a slight increase in demand as well.

Concern

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Here is why it’s high time for Guwahatians to celebrate ‘Green Diwali’ Amar J Das @guwahatiplus

f things continue as it’s going now, Guwahati will soon catch up with the capital New Delhi in terms of pollution level index after Diwali celebrations and there is a school of thought which is gaining ground that `Green Diwali’— cracker less celebration - is the way forward to counter the alarming rise in air pollution. Sample this: As many as 75,475 cases related to acute respiratory infection were reported from various city hospitals last year in Guwahati alone during the days following Diwali celebrations. The reason is heavy air pollution caused by bursting of fire crackers which adds up to the excessive emission pollution by vehicles and other forms of air pollutants. “The current levels of PM10 and PM2.5 in Guwahati are alarming and show increasing trends causing asthmatic condition in people,” said Prof Sharad Gokhale, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati. Last year, an ‘alarming’ rise was recorded in Guwahati’s air pollution level after Diwali. The PM2.5 level shot up to 240 microgram. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that is a concern for people’s health when levels in air are high. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated. “Heavy air quality caused by bursting of firecrackers is dangerous for people suffering with respiratory problem” a city based physician, Dr Krishendu Krori, told G Plus . Diwali is a festival which is considered to illuminate everyone’s life with lights. However, this comes with a price as the pollution caused by firecrackers, whether in the form of noise or air pollution, is harmful to the environment, said environmentalists. “Cracker less Diwali or Green Diwali should be the way forward to check the alarming rise in air pollution after the celebration. In a permissible limit the noise level of crackers should be lower than the sound of the vehicle horn… but it is flouted with impunity during Diwali,” said JK Khatoniar of Green Building Consultants. As concerns over air-pollution loom ahead of Diwali, the central government has launched eco-friendly green firecrackers, which have been manufactured in India and are available in markets for sellers and consumers. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs have been successful in developing various environment-

friendly fireworks such as sound-emitting crackers, flowerpots, pencils, chakkar and sparklers. With concerns over deteriorating air quality levels, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has joined the fight against the use of firecrackers this Diwali. The central agency has been urging people not to burn firecrackers, in its Clear Air Campaign ahead of the festive season.

Representative image of diyas lit in Diwali

8 In The News

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Declining trend for India in Global Hunger Index; lowest among all South Asian countries at 102 Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

UWAHATI: Among an index of 117 countries, India ranked 102nd on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), which was the lowest ranking among all South Asian countries assessed in the report. This year, India’s ranking fell by a significant margin, with even Pakistan, which is the only country in South Asia to rank below India, ranking higher in the 94th place. In addition, Bangladesh too, surpassed India with the 88th rank. It should be noted that in 2015, India ranked in the 93rd place; in 2016, it ranked in 97th place, while in 2017, it ranked 100th and in 2018, it ranked 103rd. Based on these numbers, India is witnessing a declining trend in this multi-continent assessment. The GHI ranks countries on

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

serious levels of hunger. In contrast, the 2019 GHI scores of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean, East and Southeast Asia, and the Near East and North Africa range from 6.6 to 13.3, indicating low or moderate hunger levels. The rankings in this report are based on a GHI score which shows data from 2014 to 2018. The data on the proportion of undernourished are for 2016 -2018; data on child stunting and wasting are for the latest year in the period 2014 -2018; and data on child mortality are for 2017. The score is based on the proportion of child population which are undernourished in a country, the percentage of children under five years of age who have inadequate weight in correlation to their height (wasting), the percentage of children under five years of age whose height is not up to par with their age (stunting) and the mortality rate of children under five years of age. Based on the report, India has the highest child wasting rate at 20.8% as compared to any other country included in the report. The country’s child stunting rate, 37.9 percent, is also categorized as very high in terms of its public health significance. As of 2015–2016, 90 percent of Indian households used an improved drinking water source while 39 percent of households had no sanitation facilities. The report also stated that “because of its large population, India’s GHI indicator values have an outsized impact on the indicator values of the region.” Based on this year’s ranking, India’s scores have pulled down the rankings of the entire South Asian region to a point where it does worse than sub-Saharan Africa. A total of only 9.6% of children between 6-23 months in India were fed a minimum acceptable diet, according to the report. According to the results of the report, the number of undernourished people in the

world is increasing. Extreme weather events are jeopardizing food production and food security and are only expected to increase in number and severity in conjunction with global climate change. Climate change is another major factor which is affecting the quality and safety of food and also worsening the nutritional value of cultivated food. This global epidemic is also responsible for the startling levels of hunger and is making it harder to feed people in the

GHI Ranking for India 93 97 100 103

a 100-point scale, with 0 being the best score (no hunger) and 100 being the worst. Values which are less than 10 reflect low hunger, values from 20 to 34.9 indicate serious hunger, while values from 35 to 49.9 are alarming and values of 50 or more are extremely alarming. The report scored India at 30.3 which puts it in the ‘serious hunger’ category. There are a total of 17 countries that did extremely well with scores of less than 5. They have been collectively ranked in the first place as 1-17. Some of these countries include Uruguay, Ukraine, Turkey, Slovak Republic and Romania. Whereas, the countries that ranked the lowest include Zambia (38.1), Madagascar (41.5), Chad (44.2), Yemen, Rep. (45.9) and Central African Republic (53.6). Further, the South Asian region and Africa South of the Sahara have the highest 2019 GHI scores in the world, at 29.3 and 28.4, respectively, which indicates

Image credit: GHI website world’s most vulnerable regions. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global,

regional, and national levels. It is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger, provide a means to compare the levels of hunger

between countries and regions, and call attention to the areas of the world in greatest need of additional resources to eliminate hunger, according to its official website. n

City

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Traditional VS Modern sweets: What does Guwahati prefer this Diwali? Gunjan Sharma @guwahatiplus

tarting with Durga Puja followed by Lakshmi Puja and now with Diwali and Kali Puja coming up October can be termed as the official festive month of the year. Diwali, the festival of lights that signifies the triumph of good over evil, is celebrated across India and the world. It is the time of the year when people clean their houses, decorate them with lights, diyas and rangolis, and distribute sweets amongst their family and friends. And like they say no celebration is complete without sweets, so is the case with Diwali. Traditionally people used to prepare sweets at home and share it with their loved ones but eventually due to change in our lifestyle and preferences people started distributing purchased sweets from sweet shops. And now in 2019 people’s demand for sweets are changing. While some people are bored of the traditional sweets, others look for new options due to health restrictions and awareness. No doubt the charm of traditional Indian sweets is undeniable but it seems the new sweet options have a room in people’s festive palates. People have been open to adopt new options which include chocolates; dry fruit based desserts, cookies, dessert jars, granola bars and more. G Plus spoke to a few sweet shop owners and bakers/dessert makers about their take on the current Diwali sweet market in Guwahati. With the Diwali spirit already consuming the city and right ahead of the last weekend before the end of the festival the sweet shop owners have claimed that they are not making as much profit this year as compared to the previous years while some disagree. They’ve claimed that the availability of a large variety of dry fruits and bakery items in the market has taken away the market share of traditional sweets. Gopal Jalan, owner of JB’s told G Plus, “During festivals, people look for dry and fancy sweet items which have a long shelf life. So we prefer making those sweets which would last for at least a week or ten days. Earlier, people used to mostly gift sweets but in recent years, people prefer dry fruits.” He further added that the purchase of sweets also depends on the size of the family and taste preferences. Five years ago, the demand for sweets was more than what it is today. In fact, earlier

we used to even increase our manpower during Diwali which is not the case now. Pradeep Pareek, owner of Bhartiya Jalpan, one of the oldest sweet shops in town said, “We are not involved much in the gifting part. We believe in making and selling traditional sweets. The demand has definitely declined since the past five to 10 years as more people are now opting for dry fruits.” However, the owner of Makhan Bhog, Dhruv Arya said, “What we have observed over the years is that the demand of sweets is definitely going up, particularly with the corporate culture coming in rather than the individual customer the demand is more from the corporate houses.” Speaking about the changing demands of sweets, he said, “The demand for sweets will go down if we do not keep up with the requirements of people. We have to keep ourselves updated. Earlier we didn’t used to make sugar-free sweets but with the increasing demand we also serve those now.” Since a large number of customers are becoming health conscious, there has been a change in the pattern of sweet consumption. While some traditional sweets have a low shelf life, the sale of substitute items has witnessed a surge. Talking to home bakers and dessert makers we got to know that the city is being positive about the upcoming dessert options and have been willing to try them. With the growing awareness of health issues and restrictions people are getting more involved and concerned about what they consume and the ingredients involved in it. Vedika Kejriwal, owner of Cut The Damn Cake, a cloud-based bakery said, “During Diwali, people tend to distribute the sweets or pass on them to others rather than consuming it. So we try to come up with options that they would enjoy consuming. Sweets will always be there but people are now also looking for other options apart from the traditional sweets.” Adding she said, customers are now getting involved in the sweet packages they would buy and some even look for customized options according to preferences. Another baker, Neha Jalan, owner of Peace of Pie said, “I strongly believe that people are now opting for different options apart from the traditional sweets because there is an abundant of it during the festivals. Customized boxes or dessert boxes look very effortful and makes an impression that a person has made an effort to get it.” She added, people look for

healthy sugar-free options, gluten-free and even maida-free options in our desserts which are not always found in sweet shops. Both the bakers agreed that since the past year, the demand for their desserts have increased and people are open to new dessert gifting options. Based on a poll conducted by G Plus on the sweets/dessert preferences for Diwali, 76% people voted for traditional Indian sweets i.e. Mithai while 24% opted for the new sweet options like baked desserts/ chocolates/healthy desserts and others. In addition, some readers even said that they would prefer homemade sweets over any packaged sweet, while some said they prefer chocolates over sweets, and some stated that they would prefer ‘Soan papdi for meme’s sake.’ Laddoos will also always stay special in our hearts, but we can always have a cupcake or two during special occasions.

Ornate sweet packaging done specially for Diwali | G Plus Photo

10 News This Week

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

A quick round up of the news that mattered during the past week

Ayodhya Case: Top court finishes hearing arguments, reserves Judgment

After hearing arguments from all the concerned parties, the Supreme Court, on October 16, reserved its judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case.The Court finished hearing all the arguments in the Ayodhya case one hour before the set deadline. All parties can submit their written notes over the next three days. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been hearing the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit for 40 days and had earlier set the deadline to finish arguments on October 18. The apex court is expected to announce its verdict before November 17, the date when CJI Gogoi is set to retire.

No written or oral exam for pre-school students: NCERT

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has stated that no child in pre-school should have to give any written or oral exam as it is a harmful and undesirable practice. Based on a report the purpose of evaluation at the pre-school stage should not be to label the child as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. Following this news, the Council has made a list of some dos and don’ts that state how the assessment should be carried out and reported as part of the “guidelines for pre-school education.”

BSNL Crisis: Employees to get salary before Diwali

RBI stops printing Rs 2,000 notes

With its employee unions threatening a day-long hunger strike over delayed salaries during the festival season, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has said that it is hopeful it will pay salaries to 1.76 lakh employees for September before Diwali. According to a report, BSNL generates around Rs 1600 crores revenue monthly and its salary pay-out per month is Rs 850 crores. The unions are also seeking BSNL’s revival by immediate allocation of 4G spectrum, extension of financial assistance or soft loan and approval for the public sector unit’s land monetisation policy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stopped printing Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes, revealed an RTI response filed by the Indian Express. According to the report, the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran has not printed a single note of Rs 2,000 this financial year. According to the RBI’s RTI reply, 3,542.991 million notes of Rs 2,000 were printed during the financial year 201617. However, the year 2017-18 saw a substantial reduction in printing and only 111.507 million notes were produced, which was further reduced to 46.690 million notes in the year 2018-19.

FASTags to be mandatory for all vehicles starting December 1

To track the movement of vehicles across the country, the government’s FASTag device will be made mandatory for all vehicles starting from December 1, 2019 at all national highways in the country. FASTag is a device that will enable people to make automatic payments at toll booths. Based on a report, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that this device will be the equivalent of Aadhaar for vehicles on October 14 at a conference. Currently, FAStags are accepted across 490 National Highways out of the total 527 and at 39 state highways. It is used by six million users in the country.

Sourav Ganguly is the new BCCI President, Amit Shah’s son Secretary

Former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly is the front runner for the post of BCCI president. Ganguly on Twitter said, “The new team at @bcci..hopefully we can work well .. anurag thakur thank you for seeing this through.” The Electoral Officer scrutinised the nomination applications for candidature for the indicated posts and declared a list of validly nominated candidates in the BCCI election 2019. Apart from Ganguly, the other posts will be filled by VicePresident Mahim Verma, Secretary Jay Amitbhai Shah, Joint Secretary Jayesh George, Treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal, Councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia and Governing Council Members Brijesh Parsuram Patel and M. Khairul Jamal Majumdar.

Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Michael Kreme jointly win Nobel

Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife Esther Duflo and Michael Kreme jointly won the 2019 Nobel Prize for economics “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 14. “The research conducted by this year’s Laureates has considerably improved our ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research,” said the Nobel committee in a statement. Banerjee, 58, and Duflo, 46, are both professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, while Kremer, 54, is a professor at Harvard University.

Centre to issue new ration cards only after “DeDuplication” check

The central government is working on a system to ensure that new ration cards are issued only after a nationallevel “de-duplication” check. This initiative has been taken by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and it aims to reduce corruption in the public distribution system. According to a report, Secretary of Department of Food and Public Distribution said, “Once the proposed system becomes operational, new ration cards will be issued only after the national level de-duplication check is done. At present, the deduplication check is being done in some states within their jurisdiction. We are planning to implement this at the national level by next year.”

ECI extends last date for voter ID online verification to November 18

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the last date for Voter ID online verification to 18th November, 2019. Based on reports, a large number of voters have not yet been verified as the progress of the Electors Verification Programme (EVP) has been slow and a large number of inclusion, deletion and correction forms are also available which have to be dealt with before the draft is published. The ECI will extend the termination of EVP and later change the schedule of the Special Summary Revision (SSR) 2020.

AIBA: Manju wins Silver while Mary, Lovlina & Jamuna settle for bronze

19-year-old Manju Rani advanced to the finals of AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship by defeating Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat 4-1 in her semi-final bout but she lost the final by 1-4 to Russia’s Ekaterina Paltceva. However, six-time world champion Mary Kom lost her semi-final bout against Turkish Busenaz Cakiroglu and settled for a bronze medal. This was Kom’s eighth world medal and she is the only boxer to achieve this feat. Golaghat’s Lovlina Borgohain and Sonitpur’s Jamuna Boro both settled for bronze as they were defeated in their respective semi-final bouts.

City

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Economic slowdown: Decreasing footfall affects Fancy Bazar ahead of Diwali Amar J Das @guwahatiplus

s the festival of lights, Diwali, is approaching, the effect of a countrywide economic slowdown is being witnessed by the retail stores of the city this season. G Plus visited Guwahati’s business hub Fancy Bazar to find out how the economic slowdown has affected the business of the shopkeepers. According to them, the footfall in Fancy Bazar has been decreasing every year. “There is not enough money in the market, people are not in a condition to celebrate two festivals in a month” said one of the retailers from the city’s Fancy Bazar area. In recent times, the spending pattern of the consumers has altered as many consumers have shifted from retail outlets to e-commerce websites to get a better deal. Many retailers blamed

There is not enough money in the market, people are not in a condition to celebrate two festivals in a month,” Fancy Bazar retailer e-commerce websites for their downfall, while others blamed the implementation of GST and demonetisation as the reasons behind their low sales. “After the implementation of GST and demonetisation, our profit margin has changed,” said a shopkeeper who runs an electronic shop which sells different types of lights for decoration. However, some shopkeepers said that the economic slowdown has not affected them. “Though we have not seen a

mahal themedahead puja pandal at |Kahilipara Empty retail outlets have been a sore point Hawa this year especially of Diwali G Plus Photo massive increase in demand, the flow of sales is average, which is the same as last year,” said a garment shop owner. The jewellery shops in the market are also witnessing a decline in sales. “Dhanteras is approaching but till now, the footfall of customers is negligible,” said a

jewellery shop owner. India’s economic growth slowed to 5% in the June quarter, the lowest over six years. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered India’s GDP growth estimate for the year to 6.1% from the earlier 6.9% due to the ongoing period of economic slowdown.

On Tuesday, October 16, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7% citing weaker than expected outlook for domestic demand. IMF also lowered India’s FY21 GDP growth forecast by 20 bps to 7.2%.

12 Guest Column

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Golden hat-trick: Kanchenjunga, Bulbul Can Sing and Ratnakar I t was indeed a pleasant surprise to watch a golden hat-trick of Assamese movies back to back in less than 2 months, produced by three eminent and exceptionally talented producers/directors namely – Zubeen Garg, Rima Das and Jatin Bora.

The author feels that with the commercial success of the three latest Assamese movies, Kanchenjunga, Bulbul Can Sing and Ratnakar, and also given the good content in all three movies, Assamese cinema seems to have finally come of age. It was also heartening to see the crowds flock out to the cinema halls to see these movies which signal a revival and re-birth of the presently sick, but ever glorious Assamese film industry. Zubeen Garg’s Kanchenjunga was the first step in this positive direction. It is a well-known fact that Zubeen has immense popularity, acceptability and mass branding amongst all strata of people in our state. Zubeen’s popularity, the quality of his movie, his aggressive marketing campaigns and his personal Midas touch, all contributed in making this movie a super hit in terms of gross collections at the box office. The main theme of his movie was a protest against the system of reservations in government jobs and the related corruption in such hiring processes. The protagonist, Anirban (played by Zubeen himself) was a victim of the infamous APSC appointment scams, which was recently in the hotspot. The movie also depicted the perils of land mafias in our state and the unholy nexus between politicians, criminals and the government machineries. The reign of terror unleashed by the land mafias has been vividly shown in the movie. The hero, a victim of such unfortunate circumstances, takes up a crusade in an unconventional way, supported by a small handful of friends and some amount of occult back-up in an effort to clean up the system and wash the dirty

linen in public. Cinematography by Suman Dowerah is mesmerising and the soundtrack composed by the maestro himself is enchanting. Super performances by Zubeen Garg, Sasanka Samir, Pabitra Rabha, Dhrittiman Phukan and the whole cast makes the plot very interesting and fascinating to watch. This movie is a much more matured, better executed plot in comparison to the earlier creation of Zubeen Garg - Mission China. Some more serious R&D on the APSC scam with details of

the modus operandi of the unfair processes adopted would have been interesting in the context of the theme of the movie. Nevertheless, Kanchenjunga is indeed a great cinematic effort from the young living legend. The next dish on our plate was the movie Bulbul Can Sing. It is written, directed and produced by the young talented filmmaker Rima Das, who is globally acclaimed as an upcoming, promising film creator of substance. The pains of an independent minded girl growing up in a primarily maledominated society, the sorrow of a gay boy who is constantly ridiculed by his companions, the evils of moral policing, the blatant misuse of media power at times and the irrational codes of conduct and discipline, enforced in educational institutions in the backdrop of rural Assam has been clearly shown in the movie, with all its simplicity. The remarkable aspect of this movie is its purity, the greenery of the locations,

the natural and raw acting of the characters and a real picture is presented in front of the audience who can easily relate to the sequence of the events that follow. The growth of young children with their innocence through the rather tricky path of adolescence has been depicted very well in the movie. The movie shows how one bad evening and some forced circumstances can create havoc and turn innocent laughter of children into a lifetime of sorrow. However, against this background of gloom and disaster, there is still

a ray of hope and optimism which echoes the sentiment that Bulbul can sing. The audience were left spellbound and left the theatre halls with the conviction that Bulbul will sing. That is the remarkable accomplishment of Rima Das, who has also done much better than her first venture Village Rockstars. Barring a few out of

range shots, the film had hardly any such glitches. The music on Datora by Kabindra Patuwary and the excellent acting of Arnali Das, Manabendra, Pakiza, Manoranjan Das and the whole cast was a treat to watch. The icing on the cake was the release of Ratnakar. Produced and directed by Jatin Bora, who has made an entry into celluloid after 13 long years of absence, this movie was worth watching and we all felt that Assamese movies have now finally come of age. Ratnakar played by Jatin Bora himself, is the story of a

goon who earns his livelihood by doing criminal acts for the benefit of his master. However, there is a Robin Hood dimension to his personality as he spends his money on spreading love and care to the uncared and deserted parents and senior citizens in an age-old home. His effort to come clean after meeting his love interest, played by Barasha Rani

GUEST COLUMN

Mridul Bora

Bishaya, his transformation to being a good man comes with a lot of hiccups and challenges thrown at him by life, circumstances and his old crime gangs. The music by Zubeen Garg is very refreshing and some of the song sequences really appear out of the world and too fascinating. Action scenes have been very well executed in the movie. However, the hero Jatin Bora himself and Nishita Goswami at times appear to carry a little more weight than pleasant to watch out in some romantic scenes. The movie has a lot of punch lines, action sequences and the narration is so fast that it leaves the audience spellbound. The future augurs very well for Assamese movies and the end of 2019 is really significant in throwing three marvellous releases to viewers of Assam who have been craving for quality films for quite some time. We hope this will be a turning point in our destiny and more and more quality movies will be dished out to us in the coming future.

Guest Column

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Cancer care needs something different I f we know Mahabharata, we know about the “Battle of Kurukshetra” too. The victory of Panadavas over the Kauravas was impossible without Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna joined the battle but not as a warrior. He joined the battle as Arjuna’s charioteer to show him the pathway to victory. He remained with Arjuna during the battle as his counselor to keep

Cancer patients need someone who can be with them as their advocate, educator, adviser and coordinator. They expect someone like Lord Krishna who can guide them achieve and maintain a state of optimal health so they can function in their daily lives. his mind clear of all doubts, as his educator to make him learn the truth and real facts of life, his advisor to guide him about the correct and justified way and his advocate to rectify the good and bad. Following the true and genuine path the Pandavas had achieved victory. Cancer victims are very unfortunate. They, after being detected, need to battle with the disease and victory over the disease is possible if the patients receive the correct treatment at the correct place at the correct time. Their battle against the disease is nothing less than the battle of Kurukshetra but to

triumph, they also need Lord Krishna to walk by their side. The role of medical science comes into act when the diseases are surfaced. The duty of the treating physician is to provide the treatment. But is treatment only is enough to heal a cancer patient? Unlike other diseases, cancer patients need a different care. Once cancer is detected the victim suffers from nervous

breakdowns. After knowing to be suffering from cancer the patient develops poor mental health that leads to unhealthy conditions like stress, depression and anger. What does a disease like cancer bring to an individual or family? It brings disorganization of the family, forced dependency, loss of self-respect and feeling of helplessness. It is because cancer affects far more than the body. Every illness encompasses not only medical but social, economic and spiritual components but in the case of cancer it affects much more. That is why the victim or its family members even develop suicidal tendencies and also leads to unsocial events like family violence or child or elder abuse. Why does cancer bring such odd events in one’s life whereas other diseases are considered to be not so much harmful? No

doubt cancer is considered as the scariest disease of all because it causes death. Well, cancer can be termed as a cause of death but in actual life means the death. It is clear that more than the disease a cancer patient is killed by the fear. So the healthcare providers now should also take steps to fight against cancer socially along with providing treatments. The physicians have become so busy and mechanical that they hardly have any time to answer a patient’s queries. If a patient comes with 10 queries, only 2 of these are answered by the physician. So who will answer the rest of the queries? How the patient will continue with the treatment carrying multiple queries and confusion in the mind? Will the treatment be fruitful? What are the rights that a patient shares in a hospital during the course of treatment? The rights of a patient includes to be treated with respect and dignity, to make decisions regarding healthcare, to choose the trusted physician to provide the adequate treatment, to ask questions and have them answered in easy-to-understand terms, to be free of abuse, neglect or exploitation, to know how much medical treatment will cost before undergoing any procedures, to access one’s own medical information and to emergency medical treatment regardless of the ability to pay. Many corporate hospitals have employed “Patient Care

Snippets

GUEST COLUMN

Art exhibition at Guwahati Artists’ Guild

I Dr Gitartha Roy Medhi Executives” to help the visiting patients and still they have failed to meet the needs of a cancer patient. What a cancer patient needs in a hospital is a navigator. Their need is someone who can be with them as their advocate, educator, adviser and coordinator. They expect someone like Lord Krishna who can guide them achieve and maintain a state of optimal health so they can function in their daily lives. Almost every nation in the world is facing this common challenge. A country like United States employs healthcare social workers in 75% of their hospitals to provide a patient friendly service. The same is followed in the United Kingdom where plenty of healthcare social workers are practicing in long term care hospitals. In Malaysia the hospitals do provide a special care to the cancer patients. In every hospital in Malaysia, there is a social worker employed for the service to the patients. These social workers even work as the patients’ manager. They guide the patients about their health informations, to do proper counseling, to clear doubts from their minds, to show them their required destinations, to answer all their queries, to give them valuable advice, to educate them and their family members about the true concept of the disease etc. If we want to provide a patient centric service, the same concept is required to be adopted by our healthcare providers. Now it depends on the healthcare providers and how much concerned they are about this issue. (The author is a COO at a hospital and research institute in Jorabat)

t is the time of the year to attend various art and handicraft fairs and expositions. The city is bustling with numerous such fairs and several others lined up for the coming months. Amongst all of this, you can witness an amazing line-up of local artists unleash their creativity through an exhibition cum sale at Guwahati Artists’ Guild, Chandmari. The group named Makers’ Hub Guwahati, is organizing this event on 19th and 20th October, 12 PM onwards. The group is displaying a mindboggling array of paintings, art materials, handcrafted decor items, natural beauty products, and a lot more. The talented artists participating in this event are Liza Oleman, Plabita Gogoi, Manisha Rai, Nusrat Saikia, Sunakshi Agarwal, Anindita Borgohain and Miki Talukdar. The youngest of the lot Liza, paints amazingly in all mediums, has conducted workshops all over the country and working simultaneously to exhibit at international art fairs. Plabita who is a model and vlogger, believes and practices being natural and healthy, is going to exhibit her handmade beauty products and custom made embroidery pieces. Manisha is an artist, who paints exquisite botanical pieces and, makes artists grade watercolours at home. Nusrat, also an artist, paints dreamy landscapes and florals, and transforms her artwork into products for home decor and gifts. Sunakshi has started two brands catering to a simple vision of living natural and healthy, namely ArdPure and Alishus. She also creates customised gift packs and gifts. Anindita and Miki are fashion and lifestyle bloggers, who makes handmade beauty products and beautiful acrylic paintings. To experience and indulge in the creative talent of these emerging artists, a visit to Guwahati Artists’ Guild this weekend will surely be fruitful.

World Blind Walk held at Assam Don Bosco University

orld Blind Walk, an initiative of Project Vision, was held on 17th October, 2019 in Tapesia campus of Assam Don Bosco University in collaboration with NavJan, Lions Club, Jyoti Niketan and Siso Sarothi, Guwahati. The event is part of its global humanitarian call for eye donations to visually challenged people. Over a dozen students and faculty who participated in the Walk took a pledge to willingly donate their eyes after death to visually challenged people. Vice Chancellor, Fr (Dr) Stephen Mavely,

while addressing over five hundred students, faculty members of the university and members of various civil society organisations said, “It is a very different world for people who have no vision, especially the younger ones. This event is a way to conscientize about the reality. In the life of so many people around us we all know one or more or many more blind people in our surroundings, in our families, in our villages, let’s think of them as we do this work and it is one way of making us open our eyes to what we can do which is also one of the aims of our university getting engaged

in the life of the less privileged.” Similarly, Fr (Dr) Joseph Mappilarambil, Director, NavJan, who initiated this event said, “It is alarming that more than 217 million people around the world are suffering from visually challenged problems and sicknesses. 39 million people are visually challenged across the globe out of which 15 million people are from India. India is now home to the world’s largest number of blind people. We can do something serious

to address this problem. We can be the light to remove the darkness from the society.”

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019 T

The shaky banking sector

iven the PMC Bank crisis and its fallout thereafter whereby two deaths and a suicide have been attributed to the truncation of transactions, the concern today is whether banks in India are safe keepers of our money. A friend of mine recently shared on our common WhatsApp group a photo of his bank passbook which, for an instance that had no precedents throughout his relationship with the bank, bore a stamped disclaimer that in case of liquidation, the bank’s liability to its customer would be no more than Rs 1,00,000/- and any higher balance that could be there would be irrelevant. The animated discussion that followed on the group is worrying indeed given the not-so-enthusiastic economic conditions currently prevailing in the country. The discussion ranged from whether banks are safe at all, whether private banks are less safe and nationalised banks should be preferred - at least when it comes to the fixed and other term deposits. This situation where apprehensions are catching on quicker than warranted made me recall those initial days of the NDA government’s earlier term where the thrust to open bank accounts was massive. Banks, both private and nationalised, got their executives to reach out to the

country’s huge non-banking populace in the rural areas where they were virtually expected to “force” people to open accounts. The huge number of Jan Dhan accounts, remember? The enthusiasm was great and the number of bank account holders multiplied in geometric proportions. The enticement was that each such account holder would also be given free insurance on their debit cards. Today, it is a rather different scenario, isn’t it? Today it is a scenario where the country’s finance minister’s husband (an accomplished economist in his own right) could well be quarrelling with his wife over dinner about the policies she is adopting to set the country on the path to becoming a $5 trillion economy and perhaps explaining to her how and why she is not getting it right. The problem is no one today seems authoritative or competent enough to explain what is happening to the Indian economy. And the banks acting shaky is indeed adding to the deprivation of happiness that we are seemingly undergoing. When our own hard earned savings after paying all taxes does not seem to be ours, it truly becomes a matter of concern.

Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

The Pretentious Diwali Rahul catches up with his “fancy-strong accented-South Delhi” friend who is a strong advocate of Green-Diwali. After some basic chit-chat… Rahul: So, celebrating Diwali? Sheila: Ya of course! Rahul: Oh great! What plans? Sheila: Well, first, we’ll make a Rangoli highlighting the impact of climate change, as a tribute to Greta Thunberg’s speech ya! Of course, we’ll do this using purely organic colours made from waste flowers that I got from the US.

KBC: Making dreams a reality

aun Banega Crorepati, popularly KBC, the Indian television game show, indistinguishable from any Public Service Commission exam is airing on Sony TV currently. It has taken people from humble backgrounds to great heights through the medium of television. KBC can be compared to any competitive exam considering the fact that it has helped change the lives of many people who have participated in the game show. Harshvardhan Nawathe, winner of the 1st season of KBC in 2000, went for MBA to a University in UK and presently works with Mahindra & Mahindra. Ravi Saini, winner of the KBC

O pinion Rifa Deka

northeasterners in India outside of their region. A promo of the show once started with the host asking a young contestant the question, “Kohima city is part of which country? A. China, B. Nepal, C. India, D. Bhutan.” The contestant opts for an audience poll, a life-line in the game show, where 100% of the respondents say India. “It’s India, everyone knows this answer,” says Amitabh Bachchan, to which the young contestant replies: “Everyone knows the answer, but how many people actually acknowledge it?” Addressing issues like these gave KBC a pan-India reach and made the show a hot favourite among Indians. The 11th season of the show this year opened to high television ratings and raked in 2.4

dene ka Waqt aa gaya hai in 2017, all the way till Kab Tak Rokoge in 2018. This season, the show asks people to keep standing and keep fighting, come what may, with its new tagline, Ade Raho. The show helped voice struggles of the poor, dowry afflicted, sexually harassed, oppressed and the depressed. All such kinds of contestants have come on the show and proved that they can

TRP in its first week grabbing the fifth spot in the list of the top 5 most watched shows. KBC provides a platform on which Indians can transform their lives and realise their aspirations, at least substantially if not fully. The money earned from this quiz game show, has also helped stabilize homes of many people who were suffering from severe financial crunch prior to their participation. KBC has always revamped its taglines to inspire people right from its first –Koi Bhi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota in 2010, Koi Bhi Insaan Chota Nahi Hota in 2011, Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai in the year 2012, Seekhna Bandh Toh Jeetna Bandh in 2013, Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain in 2014, Jawaab

make it to the top too. Viewers love watching this, and while there are many other programmes that talk about making a difference to the society, KBC actually does it by giving a platform to the common man and working for a social cause. Kaun Banega Crorepati, one of the most positive shows to have ever been aired on Indian Television, builds on the idea that ‘knowledge can get you anywhere in life’ and has created a trend, emphasizing on the need to educate oneself and spreading the word across every home in the nation. The right answer gets you the reward, no partiality, no favouritism here. Contestants in the show belong to diverse strata of society and only those who are meritorious end up triumphant.

The show helped voice struggles of the poor, dowry afflicted, sexually harassed, oppressed and the depressed. All such kinds of contestants have come on the show and proved that they can make it to the top too. Junior series in 2001, was a class 10 student at the time when he participated in the show. He has grown up to serve the country in the capacity of an officer of the Indian Police Service. Recently, Babita Tade, a mid-day meal cook who works in a government school for a minimum pay, rose to fame taking home 1 crore rupees after participating in the television quiz show last month. The participant has now been appointed as the Amravati District Ambassador for the Election Commission’s Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. The programme spreads voter awareness and voter literacy ahead of polls. What were the odds of an opportunity like this knocking on her door otherwise? The show had also addressed sensitive issues such as racial discrimination faced by

Rahul: Accha? Then? Sheila: For the lamps, we will use organic earthen diyas made by artisans from Kolkata, who also moonlight as sex workers, you know, because of their economic condition.

rStray cattle on highways

Letter to the Editor

Rahul: Oh interesting! Sheila: Then we’ll prepare a feast with 100% organic food that I specially had imported from New Zealand. And of course, for dessert, we’ll have gluten free, sugar free and fat free mithais specially made by women in Rajasthan. Rahul: Oh great! Sheila: Well, we’ll keep chatting later. Let me get you something. Ramu! Bhaiya ke liye ek glass cold water lao and turn on the AC. It’s really hot out there. Also, driver ko boliye gaadi ki AC on karke rakhe. He has to go get the kids after some time.

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

I would like to draw your attention to the stray cattle roaming freely on the highways around Guwahati. Stray cattle loitering on roads have become a serious problem. It brings down the flow of traffic along with many road accidents. The situation gets worse at night when the animals cannot be spotted by the drivers resulting in collisions that cause a lot of damage. Drivers usually drive at high speeds creating more risks to lives of the animals and themselves and others on the road. These stray animals can be spotted at many points on the highway. Despite the fact that it is causing a lot of damage, the authorities who are responsible for this are not taking any action against it. Hence, through this letter I would request the concerned authority to get hold of the problem and take appropriate steps. Susmita Baruah Royal Global University, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Guwahati to host Filmfare Awards in February 2020 T he prestigious and glamorous cine awards, Filmfare Awards will be held in Guwahati, Assam in February 2020. This is the first time ever that the gala event will be held out of Mumbai. Based on reports, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard will be signed between the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and The Times Group, organisers of the event, within this month. Guwahati will host the award show as part of the state government’s initiative to use Bollywood’s influence to promote Assam tourism at the national and international level. The event, worth anything between Rs 20 crores and Rs 30 crores, is likely to be held on February 15, 2020. Authorities from the Assam government, on August 10, said that Rs 300 crores has been sanctioned to promote the state as a global tourist destination. The Filmfare Awards were first introduced by The Times Group in 1954, the same year

the National Film Awards were announced. Reacting to the news, Guwahatians were mostly

excited about this announcement and expressed their views on G Plus’s social media channels. “This is a big step towards

promoting Assam Tourism. Hopefully this’ll pave the way for more engagements. Fingers crossed!” said Ankita Goswami, a resident of Guwahati. Another resident mentioned, “Great news. Feeling proud and at the same time very excited. This Filmfare Festival is surely going to bring name and fame to Guwahati. Guwahati will be globalised. My best wishes. Looking forward to have a glimpse of Big B. It’s my childhood dream. Fingers crossed. All the best, Guwahati. We love Guwahati.” However, some were also in disdain and did not think this was a good idea as there are a lot

of improvements to be made in the city. Madhurjya Das, a concerned citizen said, “National Film Awards is the most prestigious one. Good to know that Guwahati has the capability to host such a grand event but according to my point of view, these kinds of award ceremonies like Filmfare, Stardust etc are just fluke with extravagant pomp and show. But, the real stuff lies somewhere else and it would be appreciated if some ‘real issues’ are addressed instead of just glamour, pomp and show.” “Solve our annual flood menace, make our all villages illuminated (electrification), road (village) pliable for vehicles and pedestrians too, we still have to go through frequent power outage in our villages, solve unemployment and so on,” said Anuraag Sarma, joining in the opposition. And another Guwahatian, Priyangshu Gogoi added, “Nobody wants Filmfare. We want better roads, more jobs and most importantly solving the problem of floods.”

Guwahati’s Jalukbari flyover has turned into a makeshift bus stand severely hampering smooth flow of traffic. G Plus followers had a lot to comment on this. Nishant Somani

Siddhartha Kakati

Manish Tandon

Rajiv Didwania

Kausar Ahmed

Dibakar Sarma

Our traffic department officials only know to make excuses. Heavy traffic has been seen on AT Road, Paltan Bazar despite there being sufficient manpower to control it. All they have to do is to control the public transportation modes (buses, wingers) and the traffic problem will sort out to 40% less. But they won’t and we citizens know why!

Strict penalties should be imposed on these buses. Even in the city they create a ruckus. Where there is no police they’ll stop in the middle of the road. As one bus stops, another 4-5 busses line up. When will the different slots of timing be allotted to the bus drivers? If I’m not wrong there were new rules introduced for buses but till date I don’t see any of buses following them.

Buses from Barpeta, Nalbari and Mongoldoi side often turn into city bus upon arrival in the city. They wait for a long time on the flyover to pick local commuters and this adds to the already congested traffic snarls. Authorities must take stock of the situation and curb such practices at the earliest. Can’t they see the traffic problem Guwahati is facing these days? Feels like Bangalore!

Siddhartha Kakati These mini city buses in Guwahati as well as government buses are the source of all violations of traffic rules but traffic policemen never utter a word against them for reasons best known to the Almighty. These bus drivers are the ‘goondas’ roaming freely. First they don’t follow traffic rules; second we all know the cases of death reported in city because of their reckless driving.

Rajiv Didwania My suggestion to Assam Traffic police is to make a railing area in every bus stand so that they can stop in that area only and a specific route should be given to them so that no overtaking can be done by giving numbering to each vehicle. This will improve communication and safety of people on road and travellers also. A huge fine should also be imposed if the owner of bus etc don’t follow rules. Many people have lost their lives for small mistakes of other people on the roads.

It’s really shameful as it is happening in front of Jalukbari police station. Our government is not concerned over the environment of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Kshetra Gauhati University. All the passenger carrying vehicles are using this place as a bus adda.

16 Buzz

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Guwahati boy creates portrait using computer motherboard; featured in India Book of Records

ahul Pareek (21), a resident of Guwahati, set the record for creating a portrait of the chief minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, using a computer motherboard. Following this feat, his name has been included in the India Book of Records 2019. Taking to Instagram, Pareek wrote, “Finally I am a record holder and my work got an identity... I am really grateful to each and every one who supported me in my journey.”

Assam skaters win 18 medals in Chhattisgarh

katers from Assam won six gold, nine silver and three bronze medals at the CBSE Far East Zone Speed Skating Championship. The championship was held at Krishna Public

School from October 12 to October 14, 2019 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The medal winners include Taashi Rongta (1 gold, 1 silver), Prahast Garg (1 gold, 1 silver) Aaditi Gupta (1 gold, 1 silver), Miska Singhal (1 gold,

1 bronze), Riyan Kapinjal (1gold, 1 silver), Abhigyan Sonuwal (2 silver), Jaishnav Sharma (1 gold, 1 silver), Hridika Sharma (2 silver), Gargi Gupta (1 silver, 1 bronze), Divya Das (1 silver), Dask Saini (1 bronze).

IIT-G to host international symposium in Kyoto, Japan he Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) is all set to organise an international symposium on Advances in Sustainable Polymers (ASP-

Sustainable polymers are plastic materials that have been developed from renewable biomass and that cause no harm to the environment in its production and disposal. They

19) from October 14 to October 18 at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugaski, Sakyoku, Kyoto in Japan. ASP-19 is the fifth international symposium of the ASP series following the beginning of the event in 2014.

can be obtained from plants, algae and different waste products. This symposium is expected to provide opportunities to discuss global environmental pollution caused by regular synthetic plastics.

City students win big at CBSE Far East Zone Swimming Championships

ajdeep Gogoi and Aryan Aditya Lahon won the ‘Individual Group Championship’ in the under-17 and under-11 age group respectively. The championships were held as part of the recently concluded CBSE Far East Zone Swimming Championships held in Odisha from September 30 to October 3, 2019. Both Gogoi and Lahon are residents of Guwahati, Assam.

Feature

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Almost family! How Cuba and Assam could be estranged siblings Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

n the summer of 2018, I went to Cuba - a small country located in the Carribbean Sea - for a month as part of an international reporting crew from my university. It was a team of 17 students, including myself, one teaching assistant and two professors. Before my departure to the island country (which would be my home for two fortnights), I had many notions about how it would be - loud, brimming with people,

While these experiences were most bizzare for my fellow American reporters, it was most familiar to me. It did not feel like home, it was home. Eating rice daily in Cuba? The part Axomiya in me could not be happier. colourful, exotic. But what I did not expect was that it would be so similar to my home state of Assam. It’s true that I was expecting it to resemble Indian culture somewhat, as Cuba is also a third world country and an AfroLatino one at that. Thus, all the aforementioned qualities seemed a given, but the similarity to Assam was the aspect that was most surprising. As soon as we landed in Havana, the capital city of Cuba, their José Martí International Airport immediately reminded me of our beloved Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport, albeit 10 or so years ago. Now, naysayers may chalk this resemblance up to the fact that I had been a little homesick and thus everything seemed to remind me

of home. But the similarities were uncanny to me. The same kind of people, same kind of service and most importantly, they seemed to be following the lahey lahey culture quite adeptly. So, could

anything else hit closer to home? I think not. For the entire duration of our trip, my fellow international reporters/college mates and I resided in a home-stay of sorts which is very popular in Cuba, called Casa Particulares. It is very similar to living in an Airbnb but so much better because one can get the most authentic experience of the place. It was also the best decision because we were taken care of like kings and queens, to say the least. In our Casa Particular, the mujer or woman who owned the house had employed a handful of staff, mostly other mujeres - the kindest souls on earth who would address us girls as Princessas (how’s that for making one feel special!). They cooked breakfast and dinner for us, did our laundry, made our beds and did just about anything to make our stay as comfortable as possible. After a week, it felt like I was living with a long-lost family of sorts. Again, resemblance and yes, this one might be a bit of a stretch, but at the risk of sounding like an absolute spoilt brat, where else

would I get this kind of treatment, if not at home? Also, speaking of home and why the experience in Cuba reminded me of it, our daily life there was reminiscent of little facts and

experiences that felt like episodes of déjà vu. For example, sometimes we would not have hot water to bathe after a long day’s reporting activities or worse, not have water at all, Clothes would only dry in the sun - no washer or dryer available. Everyone had to sit together and eat together like a family. There was bad internet connection or rather more appropriately, no internet connection at all, frequent power cuts. And then we ate rice for lunch everyday among other

things. Now, while these experiences were most bizzare for my fellow American reporters who had never seen or experienced this kind of a life before, it was most

these technologically advanced equipments do not last long and thus, they are if at all, the last variable option. Apart from these experiences, the land and terrain of Cuba

familiar to me. It did not feel like home, it was home. Eating rice daily? The part Axomiya in me could not be happier as it was a welcome change from surviving on sandwiches and pasta. Power cuts? We have that everyday, sometimes for several hours a day. Slow internet connection? Please tell me about it because nothing is more familiar to this northeastern state’s millennial population than this very fact. No washer or dryer? Rule of life/mother: clothes in

was also identical. Similar lush green mountains, greenery and of course, the pot-holed calles or roads. Every weekend, our professor had arranged for us to take road trips to nearby destinations and the journey would resemble that of travelling within Assam or Meghalaya. However, even though I’ve listed numerous things in Cuba that reminded me of home, it was also a brand new experience because as much as the island country was the same, it was also just as much different. The culture, the people, the heritage, the language, the breathtaking ocean view from the Malecón and the sunsets over it, it’s all an experience of pure bliss. I was lucky to call that place my home, travel by its roads, be mistaken for a local, but most of all, leave a part of my heart there. This experience was unlike any other and something that will stay with me forever. If teleportation was at all possible, I would be there in a heartbeat. So, here’s hoping that Elon Musk can figure that out as soon as possible.

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Mostly Sunny

AM T-Storms

Partly Cloudy

Scattered T-Storms

32°24° C

30°23° C

31°23° C

30°23° C

28°22° C

SATURDAY Mostly Sunny

32°23° C

18 Review

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Zoya Hussain, Deepak Dobriyal, Manav Vij Director: Navdeep Singh

Laal Kaptaan

aif Ali Khan is Gossain, a Naga sadhu out on the prowl, literally, as he goes on a killing spree right from his first scene in ‘Laal Kaptaan’. Gossain is hungry for revenge and is on the search for Rehmat Khan (Manav Vij), with whom he has an old score to settle. Rehmat Khan is brutal, slashing throats without a second thought and Gossain is equally bloodthirsty. Director Navdeep Singh, who has earlier helmed critically-

acclaimed films like ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ and ‘NH10’, attempts to create a period saga, with revenge as the central theme and an assortment of characters. But sadly, it fails to create the menacing impact it sets out to have. The narrative is too long drawn out and often meanders. Characters and subplots appear and disappear at whim, and some are not coherently etched out. Sonakshi Sinha is seen a cameo, but then you blink for a second, and she’s gone. Laal Kaptaan’s

effect at best is sporadic – there are moments that may hook you, even shock you, but there are also too many scenes that are just laborious. With an 18th century setting and an interesting mileu, there was scope to make this an engaging drama, but it’s mostly squandered away. In a period drama, cinematography is one of the key elements, and cinematographer Shanker Raman does pull off some sequences rather well, but again, there are some that go awry. While there are some action sequences that hold your attention, the violence in some scenes is stomach-churning. However, Saif Ali Khan as Gossain, is unflinchingly fierce and intense. His transformation into this historical character of a Naga sadhu, who is wild and unhinged with dreadlocks, kohl-rimmed eyes and an ashsmeared face, is commendable. Saif’s body language and acting prowess makes it a powerful and immersive portrayal. But his look as Gossain is too close to Jack Sparrow of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and that is distracting. Deepak Dobriyal also makes an impact as a crucial, yet, comical character. Manav Vij disappoints, as he mostly hmnnns trying to be brooding, but it falls flat. Zoya Hussain is effective but her role has limited scope. Somewhere, ‘Laal Kaptaan’ was perhaps attempting to be a Western movie, with horses, dust, guns and the works, but ultimately, a tedious narrative and a very lengthy runtime pull it down. (Review from Times of India)

Vivo U10 Design: The Vivo U10 is somewhat bulky and boxy, with a flat rear but rounded sides. This phone is definitely a handful at 8.92mm thick and 190.5g in weight. That’s despite having a 6.35-inch screen, which isn’t too huge by today’s standards. There’s a light shade of blue radiating outwards from the fingerprint sensor and a darker one around the Vivo logo at the bottom, both of which fade into a deep navy blue around the border of the phone. The finish of the rear isn’t slippery at all, which does help with usability. This phone is available in plain black for those who prefer to go low-key and electric blue.

There’s a waterdrop notch at the top of the screen, and a pretty thick chin below it. The rim around the sides of the phone has a shiny, colourcoordinated finish but is clearly plastic and not metal. The camera module is surrounded by a gold metal rim, but thankfully doesn’t stick out very much. Thankfully, the fingerprint sensor doesn’t require too much of a stretch to reach. The power and volume buttons are on the right, while

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808 Laal Kaptaan 09:15 AM, 03:10 PM, 09:05 PM War 09:20 AM, 05:45 PM, 09:00 PM Zombieland 2: Double Tap (English) 10:00 AM, 01:25 PM The Sky Is Pink 10:10 AM Ghost 12:15 PM Joker (English) 12:20 PM, 05:50 PM, 08:30 PM Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (English, 3D) 12:30 PM, 03:05 PM, 06:25 PM P Se Pyaar F Se Farraar 03:00 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 03:40 PM, 06:15 PM, 08:50 PM

Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati 0361 2656968 Ratnakar (Assamese) 10:00 AM, 03:15 PM, 05:45 PM, 08:15 PM Laal Kaptaan 12:15 PM

Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (English, 3D) 10:30 AM, 03:15 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 10:45 AM, 01:00 PM, 03:45 PM, 06:00 PM, 08:30 PM Joker (English) 01:15 PM

PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 quality plastic. It feels as though it should be able to withstand rough treatment, but there are no guarantees of toughness or reinforced materials to keep it safe in case it falls. The company gives buyers a simple plastic case, a USB cable, an 18W charger, and a SIM eject pin in the box, in addition to the pre-applied screen protector. There’s no headset, but that shouldn’t be a problem for anyone.

Specifications and Software:

the SIM tray is on the left. There’s a Micro-USB port, a 3.5mm audio socket, and a speaker on the bottom. Vivo seems to have used decent

We start with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC, which is a very recently launched chip. The 6.35-inch screen has an HD+ resolution of 720x1544 pixels, which is expected. Vivo has used an IPS panel. There’s dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, GPS, and all the usual sensors including a compass and gyroscope. The battery capacity is 5000mAh, 18W fast charging is a headlining feature. The tray on the left has slots for two Nano-SIMs as

Ratnakar (Assamese) 10:00 AM, 06:45 PM, 08:45 PM Zombieland 2: Double Tap (English) 10:30 AM, 03:40 PM The Sky Is Pink 12:35 PM Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (English, 3D) 12:50 PM, 09:20 PM War 03:30 PM Joker (English) 06:00 PM

PVR Cinemas, CITY CENTRE 0124 470 8100 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (English, 3D) 09:00 AM, 11:35 AM, 04:55 PM, 10:10 PM War 09:00 AM, 12:15 PM, 03:30 PM, 06:45 PM Zombieland 2: Double Tap (English) 09:00 AM, 07:20 PM Laal Kaptaan 09:05 AM, 12:20 PM, 06:20 PM, 09:35 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 09:05 AM, 11:40 AM, 02:15 PM, 04:50 PM, 07:25 PM, 10:00 PM Weathering With You (Japanese With English Subtitles) 11:05 AM Downton Abbey (English) 01:35 PM, 09:40 PM Joker (English) 02:10 PM, 07:30 PM Ghost 03:35 PM, 10:00 PM The Sky Is Pink 04:15 PM

well as a microSD card. You have three choices of configurations: 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage for Rs. 8,990; 3GB of RAM with 64GB of storage for Rs. 9,990, and 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage for Rs. 10,990. It’s impressive that nothing major is missing from the Vivo U10, even though the base price is well below Rs. 10,000. Some models at this level don’t feature fingerprint sensors or gyroscopes, for example, but you get all the basics plus extras such as fast charging and three rear cameras.

Verdict:

The Vivo U10 performs admirably and looks pretty slick. On the other hand, it’s bulky and awkward to use, with a UI that we really think needs to be toned down. The headlining features – three rear cameras and 18W fast charging –will definitely make the competition sit up and take notice. On paper, they’re impressive. In practice though, the cameras are just serviceable and charging still takes a relatively long time. (Review from NDTV Gadget)

Trotter

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Female jogger caught repeatedly pooing between cars during morning runs

female jogger has been caught on camera repeatedly pooing in a residential street in Paddington, Australia. In clips shared by celebrity publicist Roxy Jacenko, 39, the woman could be seen stopping behind a car before pulling down her leggings and relieving herself on two occasions. One video showed her during an early morning run on October 10, while the other took place just after 6 am on October 14. Posting the first footage on her Instagram account, Roxy wrote: “What an absolute disgrace you are, doing this in our residential street where we have a primary school and multiple residences. This isn’t the first visit by the said female jogger. Do you know who this person is?”

While on the second clip she commented, “And again – today same lady again. What has the world come to?” Roxy also shared a third video which shows the woman running down the street and asked her followers to contact her if they recognised her. “Human faeces shouldn’t be on any street. Something needs to be done.” She claimed that her sharing of the videos has already resulted in several messages

alluding to who the mystery defecator could be. Residents from the area will now discuss what they should do about the issue, she continued. One neighbour told anonymously that pooing once is “fair enough if you’re caught short,” but said they had found human stool five times in the last three weeks. However, the resident added that the woman should not be shamed for her actions “as she could possibly have a medical condition.” Pooing in public carries a maximum penalty of three months in prison and a $600 (£320) fine in New South Wales. A NSW police spokesperson said they was aware of the “circumstances” of the jogger, but had not yet received an official complaint. (Source: mirror.co)

Woman in five-year ‘physical’ relationship with Boeing aircraft

woman says she’s been in a five year relationship with the love of her life - a passenger jet she calls “darling.” Michele Köbke, 30, from Berlin, Germany considers herself in a relationship with the Boeing 737-800. Michele says she’s been in love with the aircraft for five years and their relationship is very much physical. She said, “The 737-800 is very attractive and sexy to me. He’s the most beautifully built, and he’s a very attractive and elegant aircraft.” She even nicknamed the 737-

800 “Schatz” which translates into “Darling.” But unlike regular relationships, Michele is unable to spend quality time with her boyfriend, adding, “A relationship with a plane is not easy and at times difficult. I can only get close to him when I fly with him or when I can get to him in the hangar, which has only happened once in my life.” She said, “I have a big model of him made of fibreglass as well as real components from him so I can act out my love to some degree.” Michele’s affection for the aeroplane is

known as objectophilia – when sexual or romantic attraction is focused on a particular inanimate object. But Michele doesn’t see the physical side of her relationship with the Boeing as any different to with humans. She explained, “It’s like a normal relationship, we have relaxing evenings together and when we go to bed, and we cuddle and fall asleep together.” Michele realised she had a weakness for aeroplanes when she took her first flight in November 2013. (Source: metro.co.uk)

Angry Ahmedabad husband first kisses wife then cuts off her tongue

woman in Ahmedabad alleged that her husband cut off her tongue after kissing her. The 36-year-old woman from the Juhapura area of Ahmedabad filed a complaint with Vejalpur police. According to a report in a national daily, the woman was rushed to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) hospital where she underwent surgery. The woman works as a nurse at a private hospital and had married a Dariapur-based man in 2004 but

divorced him after 5 years. The woman married a man from Juhapura in 2018 who had been married twice and still had one marriage in subsistence. The woman discovered later that her husband was still living with his second wife and son. The woman told police that her husband tortured her often. He had thrashed her a week ago when she refused to give him money, said the FIR. However, they later reconciled. “On Wednesday night at around 11 pm, when we were

lying on one bed, my husband smiled at me and said that he wanted to kiss me on my tongue. I stuck out my tongue and as soon as I did, he first bit my tongue and held it and then cut it off with a knife,” stated the woman, who was unable to speak. The accused then locked the house from outside and fled. The woman made a video call to her sister and showed her condition. Her sister rushed to the place, got another key from the neighbour and took the victim to the hospital. (Source: indiatoday)

Man’s bank account receives money after he loses wallet

ondon resident Tim Cameron was cycling home from work when he lost his wallet. The wallet did not have a lot of identifying information that could be used to trace it to Cameron, so he assumed he had lost it forever - until a Good Samaritan found a genius way to return it to him. According to a daily, the 30-year-old checked his bank account for any strange activity after unsuccessfully trying to find the lost wallet. He did find some strange activity, but not the kind he had expected his bank account had actually received money. Cameron noticed a series of four bank transfers for a penny each. All the four transfers came with a part of a message which, when pieced together read, “Hi, I found your wallet in the road” provided a phone number and ended with a request to call or text on it. It turns out that Cameron’s lost wallet had been found by Simon Byford, 30, who was cycling on the same route. The daily reports that Byford tried to first look for Tim on

Facebook but couldn’t find him. He then decided to try making bank transfers, although he felt it would be a “long shot.” “When he got in touch I just felt surprise and delight. I was expecting him eventually but it all happened quite quickly,” Byford said. Cameron, for his part, is full of praise for the Good Samaritan. “He’s the nicest bloke ever - it’s not surprising he went above and beyond to get it back to me.” His tweet about the incident has also gone viral with over 30,000 ‘retweets’ and a ton of amazed comments. “This took creativity. Love seeing these acts of kindness,” wrote one person. “That’s so clever and kind!” another said. (Source: ndtv)

Elderly man steals 159 bicycle seats for the sake of revenge

61-year-old man from Tokyo’s Ota Ward was recently arrested by Japanese police for allegedly stealing no less than 159 bicycle seats, as a bizarre way of taking revenge for having his own seat stolen last year. Earlier this month, Akio Hatori was apprehended for the alleged theft of a bicycle seat on August 29. Surveillance camera footage showed him casually removing the seat of someone’s bike, placing it in the basket of his own bicycle and pedalling away. Unfortunately for him, the victim called the police and they started investigating the minor theft. However, when officers identified Hatori and raided his house last week, they only expected to find the one seat, not a stash of 159 of them. The story of how the old man came into the possession of such a large collection of bicycle seat is even more bizarre. Apparently, the 61-year-old man had his own bike saddle stolen in the summer of 2018 and was so disappointed that he wanted other people to feel his pain. So

instead of reporting the theft or at least trying to identify the thief so he could exact revenge on them, Hatori turned into a serial bicycle seat thief himself. “I had to buy another bicycle seat after mine was stolen in the summer of 2018,” Akio Hatori told police. “After that I started stealing out of revenge. I wanted others to know the feeling.” After opening an investigation into Akio Hatori’s petty crime spree, police uncovered surveillance videos of him swiping bike seats and pedalling through Tokyo with them piled in his bicycle basket. He managed to amass a collection of 159 seats in his home, which police officers arranged neatly and showcased to the media. (Source: odditycentral)

20 Fun Jayashree Bose

19th October will be a great day to schedule important meetings & share your ideas with seniors. On 21st October, you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender. On 24th & 25th October, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates. On 22nd & 23rd October, avoid scheduling important meetings. 25th October will be a great day to share your ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. You could have issues with your seniors or your extended family on 22nd & 24th October. On 22nd October, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets as they are bound to betray you. On 24th October, you could have a fall out with someone at work.

On 20th October, connect with your workmates or seniors over lunch or dinner. On 24th & 25th October, you could have disagreements with your seniors or work associates, avoid any confrontations. Don’t make any promises on 25th October. You could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 24th October. On 19th October, you could have issues with seniors & your parents. On 21st October, you could be betrayed by someone in your work environment. On 22nd October, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems. Don’t over plan for 23rd October, there will be changes.

Certified Feng Shui, Chinese astrology, date selection consultant & author, www.facebook.com/geoprinciples

Use 19th October to connect with boss & share ideas. For good results, host your meetings on this day. 20th October will be a slow day. On 22nd & 23rd October, avoid hosting any meetings, there will be unnecessary delays. On 23rd October, you could feel others are ungrateful, remember it is just a feeling. 19th October will be great day to share your ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. On 20th October, you could feel your seniors or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 23rd October, things will not go as planned.

You will have a better than average week. On 19th October, you could have issues with your seniors & parents. 21st & 24th October will be great days to build a rapport with your seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on these dates. On 19th October, avoid making any promises as you will have to live up to them.

On 21st October, you will be able to achieve a lot at work, this will be an ideal day to share your plans or schedule important meetings. On 20th October, you could have issues with your seniors & parents. Avoid hosting any important meetings on 23rd October, there will be last minute changes.

19th October will be a great day to build a relationship with your seniors & people at work. Host your important meetings on this day. On 21st October, you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate, not a day to schedule important meetings. On 22nd & 23rd October, you will face delays & obstacles.

Watch yourself on 25th October, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. On 22nd October, you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate. Share your ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 20th & 27th October, host your important meetings on these dates.

You will have an amazing week ahead. 20th, 21st, 24th & 25th October are ideal days for you to mingle with your seniors, people at work & build your network. Host your meetings on these dates and maybe a Sunday brunch/coffee on the 20th. On 23rd October, you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate.

curio-city

Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights

curio-city

Dilbert By Scott Adams

Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Tallinn, capital of Estonia

Identify this Hindu God who is a major participant of all rites of passage rituals like marriages and funerals.

Weather Vane

Tripitakas are the holy books of which religion?

Kamakhya

One of the most important deities of Hinduism, which goddess is also known as Siddha Kubjika?

It is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind, typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The 2nd part of the term comes from the old English word ‘fana’ meaning ‘flag’ of a building. What is the term?

Buddhism

Which European capital city, located on the shore of Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, has the largest number of startups amongst all European countries and is the home to companies such as Skype and Transversewise?

Agni

Which term, describing a magnificent show in the northern skies, was coined by Galileo in 1619 from the Roman Goddess of dawn and northern winds?

1 9 7 5 2 7 96 25 9 78 3 2 1 59 8 1 11 5 4 8 76 9 2 14 Daily Sudoku: Fri 18-Oct-2019 8 6

5 3 5 16 6 2 4 6 3 8 9 25 7 1 13 72 37 6 2 8 7 89 easy 2

3 1

Daily Sudoku: Fri 11-Oct-2019

20th & 25th October will be great days to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. On 19th October, you could have issues with your seniors or parents. On 24th October, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems. On 21st October, you could be betrayed by someone at work & emotionally hurt by your family.

Sudoku

These predictions are based on the month of birth, and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.

very hard

last week solution

3 8 1 9 4 67 54 21 18 89 79 42 96 25 54 93 65 78 31 27 21 17 59 84 72 86 33 45 67 11 42 98 84 76 63 55 29 37 42 98 14 71 62 53 36 Daily Sudoku: Fri 18-Oct-2019 8 6 3 9 5

6 2 7 7 64 39 2 3 71 88 3 5 98 21 6 4 56 63 8 9 9 1 5 8 4

5 53 16 44

39 42 87 95 72 16 61

25 13 37

2 89 54 98 7 easy 1 4 7 2

Daily Sudoku: Fri 11-Oct-2019

very hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/ http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of of the the week week Word minutiae knackered

pluraladjective noun [mi-noo-shee-ee, [nak-erd] -nyoo-] British precise details; smallSlang. or trifling matters: exhausted; very tired the minutiae of his craft.

Crossword Across

Down

1 Loosely woven cloth from Scotland (6,5) 9 Impromptu (9) 10 Animal (with nine nine tails?) (3) 11 Himalayan country (5) 13 Excellent — shining bright? (7) 14 On ship (6) 15 Purist (6) 18 Arctic deer — a Rio cub (anag) (7) 20 Best possible (5) 21 See 23 22 Fling (9) 24 Fifth book of the Bible

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

2 Fit (3) 3 Person whose speech is not well organised (7) 4 Married partner (6) 5 In which position? (5) 6 Acquit — clear (9) 7 Entertainment area with coin- operated machines (5,6) 8 Narrator (11) 12 TV show (9) 16 Issue (7) 17 Male domestic servant (6) 19 Bathroom basin (5) 23, 21 UK resident who the tax man accepts as having their "true" home elsewhere (abbr) (3-3)

Last week’s solution

Fiction

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

The Slither H unched over the gas burner that afternoon, engrossed in cooking lunch for the family, Mrs. Choudhary was unaware of the snake that lay close to her, on the floor of her modest kitchen. She would have remained totally ignorant of it had it not done the unthinkable. The house was filled with men from her neighborhood. Monmi arrived from school to witness their home being completely taken over by strangers. “Did you see it yet? Could it have gone inside the small gap on the opposite corner?” She overheard one of the men from the farm address the other in an inquiring tone. They seemed to be at the various stages of executing some important task. She didn’t know what it was yet. Her befuddled look was ignored by the people around. Just then she caught her mother’s attention and was ushered inside. Her queries were put off momentarily to be attended to later. Hungry and tired, she kept quiet and looked forward to freshening up and waited for her mother to provide her with something to eat. Some were engaged in conversations, whereas others had shovels and axes in their hands. They all seemed to be searching intently for something. The kitchen was in disorder. There was pandemonium all around. Two of the men started digging below the kitchen walls, beginning from the corners. Their home was an old Assam Type government quarter, ubiquitous in these parts and suitable to the northeastern terrain. Monmi’s parents maintained a kitchen garden on the empty patch of land that surrounded their home. The wide variety of vegetables that they grew, right from corn to beans, cabbage, chillies, spinach, cauliflowers, tomatoes, onions, peas, papayas and many other vegetables, were enough to provide for their daily needs. They hardly bought vegetables from the market and the excess produce was given away to the neighbours. In any case, they lived in the suburbs, outside their small town and the vegetable patch served its purpose. Living a typical middle-class existence, Monmi’s family could often be seen socializing within their close neighborhood, dropping in at their friends’ for a chat or tea. Weekends saw them visit town for their other needs, mainly clothes, toys, stationery, household items or simply a ride into the hustle and bustle of people, shops and vendors. Sometimes these visits coincided with invitations for lunch or dinner or catching up on the latest movie or eating out at

a favorite restaurant. Life was uneventful and idyllic. The elephant had broken off a big branch from their mother’s favorite flowering tree while the mahout sitting atop looked on casually. It was only when she heard her father reprimanding the man loudly did Monmi come out to find the reason behind the ruckus. As she hurried towards the verandah, Monmi realized what had actually transpired and her father getting pissed off in the first place. But that was the least of Monmi’s worries then. She was more fascinated by the huge female pachyderm, passing by so close to their home. The gargantuan size of this mammoth of an animal seemed to draw her breath away, as it took long strides, swishing its tail from side to side. The elephant seemed majestic and she could not fathom her father’s outburst over such a minor incident. Preferring to be alone, Monmi’s favourite indulgence was to daydream over the stories she read in her story books. She politely turned down the many requests to come out to play, insisting she had to complete her school assignments or watch over her baby sister. In truth, she loved to spend time on her own, doing small tasks in the kitchen or taking off for a ride around the campus in her red bicycle. She loved caring for her plants, an eclectic collection of ferns and orchids, that were gifted to her, or procured from the mountains during their road travels. Imagining herself as free as the birds, she spent time observing, perched upon the fragile branches of the tallest of trees. Monmi had her sister for company. But they often ended up arguing over broken toys and torn comics, that she began looking towards her own creative means of recreation. In the

evenings, Monmi helped in watering the vegetable patch her parents maintained, assisting the household help, whose job was to water the plants and feed the cows. Her parents also kept pets, which included several wild fowls, two guinea pigs, a pair of jersey cows and a turkey. The turkey was a survivor of a python attack and was amongst the twelve chicks that were gifted to Mr. Choudhary, which had escaped from being devoured by the python. The story went something like this. The maid had left the twelve chicks after they were brought home from the hatchery a few days before, in the backyard to forage for insects and plants. Towards evening, when it was time for them to be secured inside the coop, the maid was aghast to find a fully-grown python lying still after making a meal of the chicks. This lone chick was rescued by the maid, as she frantically looked around for survivors. With care and nurture, it soon grew to be a strong but angry turkey. Since it was posing to be a threat, it was ensured that the turkey remained barricaded inside its enclosure at all times. It had an unusual penchant for pecking at female humans. The moment it confronted the fairer sex, it’s feathers would flare up like a peacock, and the crown over its head and the lip hanging below its lower beak, would turn blood red, as if in an attacking mode. But there were times, Monmi would be plagued with extreme loneliness and boredom. Her baby sister wasn’t old enough to be her confidant yet. The best she would do was to nod or

babble a few incoherent words in agreement, on occasions when Monmi did try pouring out to her during her worst days. A loner, Monmi at times sat down for hours, hidden away inside the corn crops, pretending to be inside a wooded forest. Taller than Monmi, the plants provided her the perfect refuge from the unfamiliar world. Just like every other day, Monmi left her bicycle leaning against the metal fence that separated the farm from the residential quarters of its employees. Nodding and smiling at familiar faces, Monmi felt privileged that she had easy accessto the poultry farm where her father worked. At times, she brought home flowering plants and ferns, to add to the collection she nurtured at home, from inside the premises. An hour of spending time inside the farm, Monmi decided it was time to head home. As she approached to collect her bicycle, she froze in her steps upon seeing a dead python hung up straight against the trunk of the tamarind tree. With its mouth agape, it was a reminder of the fact that it had been beaten to death for trespassing. Its eyes were lifeless and its leopard like brownish black skin patterns, shining against the evening rays, made her cringe. She could imagine how it must have slithered slow and silent towards its unsuspecting victims. Monmi shuddered with disgust and fear just thinking about it.

Zerine Wahid

Having heard of people indulging in the art of taxidermy in order to display dead animals as trophies, Monmi wondered if people kept dead snakes too as displays in their living rooms. Perhaps not. The very prospect seemed too gross to her. She finally began to walk towards the gates, shaking off that uncomfortable feeling of having witnessed a dead python, still lingering with her. As Monmi’s mother busied herself in cooking, she was unmindful of the small brown snake a few metres from where she stood. Perhaps disturbed by the thump of her feet, the snake decided to change position. As it attempted to slither away swiftly, Mrs. Choudhary’s feet must have blocked its path. Finding no other means at escape, it perhaps decided to take its only chance and slither over her feet. The resulting chaos remained the most discussed incident for days to come in the entire neighborhood. Some blamed the snake for being at the wrong place at the wrong time whereas some exalted Mrs. Choudhary’s bravery against fainting after undergoing such trauma. However, there were a few souls who felt that it was simply divine intervention that Mrs. Choudhary didn’t die of snakebite.

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Vaastu: Defects in industries and remedial measures Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

he successful running of an industry depends on several factors like cost of raw materials and availability, cost of labour and consumables, transportation cost, marketing cost, market demand etc. If there is high demand for a product, even a higher cost of production can be absorbed by the market. Without demand however, even cost cutting may not help. But, there is another hidden factor which may affect the fate of an industry. Bad Vaastu can bring about unforeseen problems and losses. One should not ignore this ancient science because the forces of the earth and the cosmos are constantly acting.

We will discuss some negative Vaastu situations and their remedies: If the main entrance of the factory is in the southwest and the northeast is higher, there is bound to be losses in the plant. The entrance should be shifted and the southwest made higher. If the main door is in the south, which is lower than the doors in the west, it will create a loss making proposition. A simple remedy is to make the door in the south higher and make the doors in the west lower. If the doors in the east are higher, they should be lowered too. This will help in repayment of loans. There should not be any depression in the southwest area of the

factory. This can drain the finances. This should be filled up immediately and a counter measure - a pit or water body should be dug in the northeast. Waste/drain water should not flow from the southeast towards the west at any cost. If there is a situation like this, it must be corrected and the water should be made to flow through east and then north. Needless to say that bore well etc, should be kept in the northeast, east or north only. If by any chance, the northwest corner is

bigger than the northeast corner, the factory will run into debts. This must be corrected at once. There should not be any slope from northwest to southeast. Heavy machinery should not be kept in the northeast, north or east. They should be placed in the southwest, west and south. It is good to have boundary walls in a factory. But, the

Ayurveda and your daily routine shri shri ravi shankar Founder- Art of Living Foundation.

n Sanskrit, the daily routine is called as Dinacharya. ‘Din’ means ‘day’ and ‘acharya’ means ‘to follow’ or ‘close to’. So, Dinacharya is an ideal daily schedule taking into account nature’s cycle. In Ayurveda, the focus is levied on the early hours of the day as it is instrumental in setting the tone of your day. Ayurveda believes that routine is a discipline for the body and mind which strengthens immunity and purifies the body of its wastes. With the help of simple healthy routines, one can clean the body and mind, balance doshas, strengthen immunity and start the day on a refreshing and rejuvenating note. Following a simple routine in the morning will help you start the day on a blissful note. Here is your guide to a refreshing morning: • Brahma muhurata One should wake up about one and a half hour before sunrise so that you can synchronize with the rhythm of sun. Ayurveda recommends an auspicious time - Brahma-muhurata which means ‘the time of Brahma…the pure consciousnesses - for rising up in morning.’ About an hour and a half before sunrise, a great shift in energy fills space. Then, about half an hour before sunrise, a

second boom of energy dawns in the atmosphere. Hope, inspiration and peace manifest at this time. This time is considered best for attaining bhramgyan (meditation and self analysis), supreme knowledge and eternal happiness. At this time, the environment is pure and calm and soothing and the mind is fresh after sleep. Meditation at this time improves mental performance, thus helping in increasing satvaguna therefore, subduing mental irritation or hyperactivity and lethargy which is contributed by rajas and tamas guna. • Power of Breath Check through which nostril your breath is flowing through more strongly. According to Ayurveda, the right nostril is solar-pitta, and the left nostril is lunar-kapha. The right side of the brain controls creative activity while the left side controls logical verbal activity. According to research, when one breathes through the left nostril, then the right side of the brain is more predominant and vice versa. • Positive Vibrations Follow the ancient tradition of observing the lines in your palms and remember the Goddesses of Wealth, Knowledge and Power. Rub the fingertips with your thumbs in a circular soothing rhythm - right clockwise circles and then left anticlockwise circles. Rub the palms using fingertips and then turn the right wrist clockwise and the left wrist

anticlockwise. First, kiss the palm of that side of your body where the flow of breath is stronger, then kiss the other palm. (Kissing confers energy. By kissing your palm, you give your best vibrations to your most effective tool for self-expression.) Rub both hands together and move the palms slowly over your face, covering head, shoulders, arms, and legs, creating an energy shield which wards off negative influences for the whole of the day. • Positive Step Step out of the bed and touch the ground with the leg that corresponds with the side of the body where the breath is flowing dominant (check nostrils). • Clean Up Rinse with cold water. Water is an electrical conductor and can never irritate sensitive tissues. Wash hands, face, mouth and eyes with cool water. • Meditate and Exercise Relax - do pranayama until the breath flows evenly through both nostrils. Meditate while centering your energy in the heart chakra or at the third eye. Take a short, slow walk in the fresh morning air. Surround yourself with simple and soothing visuals, preferable white items like fresh and fragrant flowers with subtle colors. Vyayama or physical exercise comprises usually of some yoga, postures like Surya Namaskar or sun salutation and breathing exercises like Nadi Shodhan Pranayam. Early morning

exercises remove stagnation in the body and mind, strengthen the digestive fire, reduce fat and give you an overall feeling of lightness and joy as it fills your body with good prana. However, instead of strenuous exercise, exercising at one fourth to one half of your capacity is recommended. • Bathe Right Bathe in water which is neither too hot nor too cold. • Noon Lunch should be taken early between 12-1 pm as it coincides with the peak period which is responsible for the digestion. Ayurveda recommends that the lunch should be the heaviest meal of the day. After the meal, it is good to take a walk, to help the food digest. • Twilight - Zone This is a special time of balance between day and night. This is the time for evening prayers and meditations. • Dinner Dinner should be taken around 6–7 pm. It should be lighter than lunch. The dinner should be at least three hours before bedtime as gives the body ample time to digest the food. Sleeping just after the dinner with a heavy stomach should be avoided. Walk to aid digestion for about 10 – 15 minutes. • Bedtime The ideal time to sleep is by 10:30 pm. To calm the system, one can massage the soles of the feet before going to bed.

walls in the north and east should not be made higher and thicker than the ones made on the west and south. If the factory has a slope towards west and south, it will run into heavy financial problems in the long run. This must be corrected. If raw materials are stored in the northeast, it will lead to the closure of northeast resulting in losses.

Generally speaking Random occurrences are the new norm, Taking shape from ether finding new form Biased questions rack the mind in turmoil, The answers reside in the heart, in soil... Would it suffice to say that we do learn, If the heart confesses when not its turn? Pictures create memories in my heart, Even with pain, I believe in a start... There in the oceans deep, lies some treasure, I speak for all, even without measure This day is the same, or is it night there? Your night, my day; but in love, it’s all fair...

Arunav Barua

Entertainment

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

Assamese film ‘Midnight Song’ screened at Wallachia International Film Festival

ssamese film Midnight Song was screened at the Wallachia International Film Festival in Bucharest, Romania on October 13 in the competition section. The film has been directed by Arunjit Borah and stars Rupam Chetia, Kalpana Kalita and Monuj Borkotoky.

Recently, Borah also won the award for the ‘Best First Time Director’ at the New York Cinematography Awards (NYCA) for the month of August. Wallachia International Film Festival is the only

Jatin Bora’s ‘Ratnakar’ earns Rs 3.20 crores in its first week

independent grassroots film festival that takes place in the immemorial Wallachian Plain and it was held from October 12 to October 15 this year.

Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap to present Assamese film ‘Aamis’

Kashyap made this announcement through his

aamisfilm” He even made a video where he said that audiences would not have seen anything like this come out of India. Aamis has been written and directed by filmmaker Bhaskar

Wishberry Films. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York earlier this year, where it was nominated in five categories, including ‘Best Film.’ Aamis also received

official Instagram handle where he stated, “How far would you go to feed your desire? Gives me great pleasure to say that I am presenting a film from Assam for the first time. @

Hazarika. It stars Lima Das and Arghadeep Barua, supported by Neetali Das, Sagar Saurabh and Manash K Das, and is produced by Poonam Deol and Shyam Bora in association with

two awards at the recently concluded Singapore South Asian International Film Festival for ‘Best Director’ for Bhaskar Hazarika and ‘Best Actress’ for Lima Das.

ollywood director Anurag Kashyap announced that he will present Assamese film Aamis in theatres this November.

ssamese movie Ratnakar, which released on October 11, earned a total of Rs 3.20 crores in its first week. In it’s opening weekend, it earned Rs. 1.45 crores. Based on reports, the movie earned Rs 41 lakhs on Friday, Rs 49.5 lakhs on Saturday and Rs 55 lakhs on Sunday. The movie has been directed by Jatin Bora, his second directorial venture since 2006’s Adhinayak. It has been produced by Navanita Sarma and stars other popular names in the Assame se film industry such as Barsha Rani Baishya, Nishita Goswami, Rina Bora, Sanjeev Hazarika,

Bishnu Khargoria and child-actor Ashramika Saikia.

City club concludes finale of dance competition

he members of Leo Club of Gauhati Girls concluded the finale of ‘Aaja Nachle Season 8’ on October 13 at Gauhati Lions Eye Hospital Auditorium. The chairperson for the event was Harshita Garg and the co-chairperson was Vaishali Goenka. The chief guests for the occasion were Sudhir Chowdhry, District Governor of District 322G and Praveen Agarwal, District Governor of District 322D as well as Sanjay Agarwal, District Governor of District 322F. A total of 100 participants took part in the auditions and after screening, 40 participants were

finalised by the judges for the finale. The competition was held in 4 different categories - Solo, Duet, Group and Moms and judged by renowned choreographers Manoj Das, Manish Sharma and Boby Badshah. The winners include - solo group (a) Debojit Pal, Runners up - Gunjan Sinha, Winner - solo group (b) Sudip Pal, Runners up Hritik Nath, Winner for solo group (c) Dharam Basfor, Runners up Guddu, Winner for mom categoryPuja Nagori, Winner for group category - Unity 1, Hip Hop girls, Winner for duet category.- Asifa and Rohitashya.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2019

PIC OF THE