Dealing with the complexities of Karma and Dharma

Nitish Bharadwaj as Lord Krishna in Hindi play “Chakravyuh”

Nitish Bharadwaj and The Film and Theatre Society come back to Delhi with their much-revered play “Chakravyuh”. This play features Nitish Bharadwaj who took the nation by storm with his performance as Lord Krisha in

B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharata, once again as Lord Krisha. The show has already been performed close to a hundred times in various parts of the country and has been featured in various prestigious festivals. The play is the story of the thirteenth day of the great battle of Mahabharata. This play does not confine “Chakravyuh” to just a war-craft and takes it to the level of a complete philosophy. This play explores the episode of the killing of Abhminayu in Chakravyuh formation and all the questions, myths, ideologies, and convictions related to it at many levels. Written and performed in the form of verses, this play works as a bridge between history and the present and connects them both with perennial concepts of “Karma” and “Dharma”. Atul Satya Koushik known all over India for his original plays and spectacular visualization on stage has written and directed the play totally in a new avatar. The play will tell the story of Mahabharata from the perspective of Krishna. Krishna appears and settles all questions, myths, and misunderstandings of everyone present. He passes on the eternal messages of Karma and by telling no one has ever been able to come out of their respective Chakravyuh as this whole life is nothing but a Chakravyuh. Our Karma is to fight in the Chakravyuh and getting out of it is the result of that Karma over which we can never have control. Atul Satya Koushik, Writer, and Director said, “Indian history has always intrigued me and I have always tried to interpret the history in a manner that gives a new meaning to the episodes that have been told to us a myriad of times before. The mere idea of a sixteen-year-old young fighter, who bears on his shoulder the name and legacy of the most acclaimed archer of all times, fighting alone with seven of the greatest warriors who ever fought on this earth undoubtedly gave me goosebumps. But I wanted to bring out more from this story. I have tried to tell, through Krishna, why to mourn the fact that “Abhimanyu” could not make his way out of the “Chakravyuh” when no one else has ever been able to do so. This whole life is a “Chakravyuh”, those seven warriors were seven evils within us and we all are “Abhimanyu” who has to fight them throughout our lives.” Actor Nitish Bharadwaj said, “Delhi audience has always been very critical yet loving and it is a joy indeed to return to Delhi and perform for them after Covid. I believe that with whatever the world has seen during these difficult years of the pandemic, the words and message of Lord Krishna in this play will connect all the more with the audience. I look forward to my Delhi show” Written and directed by: Atul Satya

Koushik Play Date & Time: 08th January 2023 (Sunday) - 05:00 pm onwards Play Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House, Delhi Entry: By invitation and by tickets only Tickets: Rs. 300 to 2000/- available online on bookmyshow.com or call 9873579796 for tele booking. Also available at the counter on show day.

I approach dance through music’s window: Geeta Chandran

Chandran, was a co-curator (Dance) during the recently concluded Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Goa

By Sukant Deepak

She says one can approach dance through various windows -- hers is music.

That her body will move only with music. “I was amazed when Merce Cunningham, a renowned American choreographer said that in his process, he created movement without music. His music collaborator – John Cage - would create a track for the timing that Merce’s choreography demanded. And it was only at the final performance that the dancers would be exposed to the music. I find that mind-blowing. I could never do that or be there. To me, the entire choreography and movement dictionary happens only when the music satiates my imagination. These are all different ways of approaching work,” says dancer Geeta Chandran, recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi honors, who is also a trained musician. Chandran, who was a co-curator (Dance) during the recently concluded Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) in Goa that featured Dr. Anita Ratnam’s ‘Naachiyar Next’, Santosh Nair’s ‘Game of Dice’ and Dadi Pudumjee’s ‘Rumiyana’ says, says she was extremely cautious in programming considering classical dance is a difficult universe to curate, especially when the focus audience is young, hip and roaring. “Dance comes from a different edge of the performing spectrum; especially classical dance. So this time round, I was testing the waters for myself.” Stressing that threshold of excellence is rather missing in many government and private festivals where coteries and politics keep the best away from being showcased, she adds, at SAF, the curators have complete independence to pursue their vision and the structure supports their vision. “I am diffident about commenting on replicating this in other smaller towns simply because the infrastructure required for such superb and quality programming will have to be created from scratch.” Chandran, who founded ‘Natya Vriksha’ in 1991, with a view to tweak Bharatanatyam teaching/ learning pedagogy, says it is an experiment that has worked well. “It is a lab where I explore the widest range of classical dance issues that have engaged my focus: Exploring linkages between body and mind; forging relationships between solo dancing, group dancing, and choreography; actualizing the connects between the artist and society; and using dance as a medium for expressing abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspirations, myth, and spirituality.” Admitting that visual art curation in India has matured in the past decade or so, but curation in the field of other arts is in its infancy with curators “promoting friends and friends of friends”, Chandran feels professional ethics in curation is a work in progress in this country. “But curation is even one step removed from a bigger need – and that is of professional event managers who can manage artists and their art. Like software professionals twenty years ago, this is a sector that is crying to boom,” she says. Talking about the Pandemic, Chandran opines it showed us the deep vulnerabilities of the arts sector --- lack of sustained financial patronage, insurance policies and healthcare packages for artists, etc. “ Not to mention, it unleashed the added burden of technology. Artists had to acquire new tools and skills at a time when they could not even afford their bread and butter.”

Excavating Othello in 2023

What is theatre director Anuradha Kapur’s latest project all about?

ancestors come on a slave ship with sugar? Theatre director Anuradha Kapur’s latest project, which will materialize in 2023 is about excavating Othello. She says while we know he was in Venice and Cyprus, the work delves into how he reached there and his relationship with the slave trade and sugar. “This is an India-South Africa collaboration and we are trying to refract the figure of Othello, and this person who has travels and notions between of who is poor, and crosscut histories,” says the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee theatre director. The production will be in English and in more languages later from Africa as well as India. “Many things will be cross-cutting and multiple tangents will be at play. It’s a collective work being made with Deepan Sivaraman and a collaborative effort with Sumangala for the music and Ari Sitas for writing,” adds the former Director of the National School of Drama (NSD) in the capital. Known for her collaborations with artists from diverse fields ( visual, video, and filmmakers), the director who has worked with the likes of Vivan Sundaram, Bhupen Khakhar, Madhusree Dutta, Nalini Malani and Nilima Sheikh is one of the founding members of ‘Vivadi’, a working group of painters, musicians, writers and theatre practitioners. Believing that one must go through improvisation, one must change till the very end, she adds, “It needs to be ascertained that there is a constant dialogue between forms exists at all times. It is only then that something truly unique emerges. Also, we must let go of our preconceived notions like ‘this cannot work’. Whenever boundaries are blurred, it leads to interest.” The director, who will be co-curating the upcoming International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) to be held from February 5 to 14, 2023 along with Deepan Sivaraman and B. Ananthakrishnan is particularly looking forward to the student productions. “ It’s also something that is a pedagogy festival with students, something that is of paramount importance. The diversity in the festival in terms of themes, presentation, and style is bound to make it an experience to look forward to,” says the director who is currently a visiting professor at the School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University Delhi.

5 OTT platforms to binge and watch some real regional content

Regional content climbed from 27 percent of the titles generated to 46 percent in 2021

It’s fine to have Netflix and chill plans for the weekend, but have you tried binge-watching a local series on an OTT platform? Although we are far from our hometowns and live in busy, fast-paced metropolises, the memories of quiet evenings, early-morning shikara rides, and the uplifting sounds of our hometown folklore inspire a sincere desire to reconnect with our roots. Because of this, someone really did say, “Where

I was born and raised is where I keep all my yesterdays.”

The current generation of Indian millennials like to consume content in their own tongue and has progressed past Netflix,

Amazon Prime Videos, Disney+, and

Hotstar to discover new regional content categories. Regional content climbed from 27 percent of the titles generated to 46 percent in 2021, according to a recent FICCI EY analysis. Regional language usage in

OTT video content is anticipated to increase from 27 percent in 2020 to 54 percent in 2024. It is clear from

Allu Arjun’s magnetic attraction in the movie Pushpa, which captivated audiences everywhere and was seen by individuals regardless of language proficiency. The dynamics of content development are shifting as a result of the creation of regional content to connect with culture.

OTT platforms to binge and watch some real regional content:

I. Hoichoi (Bengali)

The Hoichoi is an Indian subscription video on –demand and streaming service that has exclusive

Bengali language content. It has a feature of around 500 film titles and around 1000 Bengali audio songs for global streaming. The Hoichi platform was launched on 20th

September, 2017 and is owned and maintained by SVF Entertainment

Pvt Ltd with its headquarters in

Kolkata, India. It is available on

Android, IOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire

TV & Android TV. Bengali cinema is enticing, high on cultural index and is known for excellent storytelling, so if you are willing to experience the best of Bengali cinema, Hoichoi is the platform for you.

II. AAONXT

AAONXT which means ’All about originals’ is one-of-a-kind, independent and premium OTT platform for exclusive Odia content. The platform was launched by Mr. Kaushik Das in 2020, and is inspired by technology and his profound love for Odisha’s rich cultural heritage. The idea was to bring the indigenous and heart-warming stories of Odisha live through an OTT platform for global audiences. The platform has original content of short film, web series, feature films and documentaries for viewers and is winning hearts with the interesting and innovative content. AAONXT plans to scale up operations eventually by curating and producing content also for the Bengali, Assamese and Malayali audiences. The focus is on creating contemporary content with a local beat.

III. Sun NXT

Sun NXT was launched in June 2017 by Sun TV Network to deliver South Indian Content. It runs content in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi. The Sun NXT platform is available for Android, IOS and Smart TVS. It is popular for its intelligent search feature and non-complex content search. The Sun NXT platform is user-friendly and doesn’t compromise on user experience even on a low bandwidth. It assures that subscribers get excellent audio/video quality.

IV. Koode

Koode means ‘with you’ is an independent OTT platform exclusively for Malayalam content from the house of Studio Mojo. Koode was established to bring attractive content to a platform by building a network of leading content creators and influencers in Malayalam. The team creates original content for the platform and also curates top-notch content from other social media platforms like YouTube.

V. Planet Marathi

Planet Marathi is world’s first OTT platform for Marathi content and was established in 2017, with a purpose of bringing rich cultural infused Marathi cinema across the world map. Planet Marathi has created a niche for itself in Marathi films, Arts and Culture with its exclusive and aesthetic content. The OTT platform is breaking stereotypes that surround the Marathi cinema with their fresh and real content, which is helping to change perspectives people might have with regarding the state or entertainment industry.

Extraordinary reads to help stick with your New Year’s Resolution

Anew year beckons a new reading list... here are the latest titles to get your hands on and begin the new year with steadfast commitment.

1. Hacking Health (Mukesh Bansal) 3. Lata-A Life in Music (Yatindra Mishra)

We live in a world where there is a new fad diet, superfood, supplement or nutrition theory every month. There are so many tricks to optimizing workouts, peak performance, burning fat, living longer, sleeping better and biohacking your immune system. Wellness has become a part of mainstream discourse like never before, and the result is an overwhelming barrage of seemingly contradictory information. But here’s one simple truth: good health impacts every aspect of life, be it productivity at work, interpersonal relationships or a balanced family life. In Hacking Health, Mukesh Bansal takes on the mammoth task of demystifying the science, simplifying the research and tracing the story of our relationship with our body. Through a combination of personal experience and cutting-edge science, this is a book that draws from ancient wisdom and also debunks unscientific myths to help you make smart choices in pursuit of good health. From nutrition and fitness to sleep and immunity, weight management and mental health to ageing and longevity, this book delves into the breadth and depth of holistic health and helps you navigate the lines between science and pseudoscience. Can we use science to hack the human body’s functioning and be our most efficient, fittest and happiest selves? Hacking Health takes a 360-degree approach to answer this very question and help you unlock your body’s potential.

2. Missing In Action-Why You Should Care About Public Policy (Pranay Kotasthane, Raghu S Jaitley)

In Search of an Adarsh Indian State. In India, public policies are all around us. Questions are rarely asked of the Indian State-the institution that makes rules, bends them and punishes others for breaking the laws it creates. The privileged can afford not to think about the State because we have given up on it. The not-so-privileged have resigned themselves to a State that provides short-term benefits. Either way, we seldom pause to reflect on why the Indian State works the way it does. Missing in Action aims to change such perceptions through sketches from everyday experiences to illustrate India’s tryst with public policymaking. It acquaints the reader with some fundamental concepts of the public policy discipline. It explains the logic (or the lack of it!) of the Indian State’s actions, shortcomings, constraints, and workings. Jargon-free and accessibly written, the book achieves the difficult task of both entertaining and educating. An ode to the majestic life of the late Lata Mangeshkar, Lata: A Life in Music celebrates art in its totality and tells the life story of India’s most loved vocal artists. The result of Yatindra Mishra’s decade-long dialogue with the great singer, it also explores the lesser-known aspects of the great artist, introducing the readers to Lata Mangeshkar as an intellectual and cultural exponent and providing a rare glimpse into the person behind the revered enigma. At the confluence of cinema, music and literature, this is the most definitive biography of the voice of the nation that also documents sociocultural changes from the late British era through post-Independent India right up to the twenty-first century. This is the story of the various myths, mysteries, truths and contradictions which make a human an icon and also make an icon incredibly humane.

4. Souffle (Anand Ranganathan)

One sultry Mumbai night, business tycoon Mihir Kothari takes a bite of a soufflé and drops dead. According to the CCTV footage, celebrity chef Rajiv Mehra is the killer. It seems like an open-and-shut case. Or is it? A catastrophic accident on the day the chef is to be hanged allows him to escape and, driven by an inner calling, pursue a new life. Chased by shadows he thought he had left behind, torn by spurned love, the chef returns in search of the real killer so that he can prove his innocence. But there is a problem. Unknown to him, the killer has chosen his next target: the chef himself! Soufflé is a rich, layered thriller that explores life, love and the passions that motivate people to do unexpected and impossible things. ‘If this psychological, compelling and unpredictable novel doesn’t keep you hooked, give up reading’ - ASHWIN SANGH

5. The Half-Known Life-In Search of Paradise (Pico Iyer)

Paradise: that elusive place where the anxieties, struggles, and burdens of life fall away. Most of us dream of it, but each of us has very different ideas about where it is to be found. For some it can be enjoyed only after death; for others, it’s in our midst-or just across the ocean-if only we can find eyes to see it. Traveling from Iran to North Korea, from the Dalai Lama’s Himalayas to the ghostly temples of Japan, Pico Iyer brings together a lifetime of explorations to upend our ideas of utopia and ask how we might find peace in the midst of difficulty and suffering. Does religion lead us back to Eden or only into constant contention? Why do so many seeming paradises turn into warzones? And does paradise exist only in the afterworld – or can it be found in the here and now? For almost fifty years Iyer has been roaming the world, mixing a global soul’s delight in observing cultures with a pilgrim’s readiness to be transformed. In this culminating work, he brings together the outer world and the inner to offer us a surprising, original, often beautiful exploration of how we might come upon paradise in the midst of our very real lives.

6. Black Soil-Ponneelan (J. Priyadarshini)

Kannappan is posted to Perumalpuram as the new schoolteacher. The village lies in the black soil region of Tamil Nadu where the river Tamirabarani flows. He’s an outsider in this village with Veerayyan, a local farmer, as his only guide and friend. Once settled in his role, Kannappan observes the everyday brutality faced by the farmers at the hands of the sadistic, all-powerful landlord-the Master. Child marriage is common in the village and so is the appalling practice of marrying young lads to older women who then serve as their father-in-law’s consort. Through his gentle yet probing conversations with the villagers, Kannappan tries his best to show the villagers a better way of life. The farmers who had begun protesting the excesses meted out to them by the upper-caste landlord soon find an ally in Kannappan. The schoolteacher’s sympathies for their cause bolster their waning spirits and replenishes their resolve to fight back. Ponneelan’s first novel is a tour de force. Now translated for the first time, Black Soil lays bare the atrocities faced by the farmers and the human cost of building a better tomorrow.

7. The Company We Keep- Insights Into Indian Corporate Culture (Divya Khanna)

There are many challenges facing business corporations today-the pandemic we have barely moved on from, economic recession, rapid changes in consumer behaviour and technological and competitive disruptions. These challenges stick out like the visible tip of an iceberg, while culture, the biggest challenge, is like the slow-moving, gigantic mass that lurks deep under the surface. We cannot deal sufficiently with superficial problems if we do not understand the depths that drive them. ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’ is a widely accepted saying in the business world, often attributed to Peter Drucker. This is as true for corporate India as it is for its consumers. Yet, we spend more time and money studying our consumers and their cultures than we do ourselves. The Company We Keep is a market research-based exploration of Indian corporate culture. It looks beyond the glamour and jargon of the business world to individual stories that share real personal insights into the aspirations, vulnerabilities, pressures and possibilities of corporate careers and lives. These are urgent conversations we need to keep having as we reflect, review and decide where we can go from here.

8. 91 Predictions-The Fate of the World and Its People in the Next Half Century (Greenstone Lobo)

Is Pluto a planet? Or a dwarf planet? The controversy rages. But this planet, on the fringes of our solar system, has immense astrological significance, unexplored by the Vedic and Western astrologers. Author and scientific astrologer Greenstone Lobo believes Pluto symbolises destruction and regeneration-as the mythological Rudra Shiva. In a scary and uncertain world-on the edge because of a pandemic, economic crises, ecological disasters and pandemonium in politics, Lobo looks towards Pluto to make sense of the past, present and the future He describes the planet’s journey over the last 250 and the next fifty years, as well as the grand scale on which it can operate. Exploring its character and impact, Lobo discusses his techniques for predictions, the cyclical nature of Pluto, how it changed the world order and its relationship with astrological signs. From his unique insider’s perspective-as someone familiar with the ways of Pluto through his research-Lobo predicts what to expect and how to prepare for it through 91 predictions. What will the next fifty years bring? When will the world see the last of the pandemic? Who will lead India next? Can India win the next Cricket World Cup? What does the future hold for Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt? What lies in store for star kids Suhana Khan, Hrehaan Roshan, Aarav Akshay Kumar and Aaradhya Bachchan? What about Messi, Angelina Jolie, Rihanna, Beyoncé and others who hold our imagination today? Through these predictions of good fortune and disasters, scandals and affairs, readers will gain an intimate sense of the rogue planet and its centrality to astrology.

FEBRUARY

10. Victory City (Salman Rushdie)

The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries – from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie. In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga – literally ‘victory city’ -the wonder of the world. Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga’s, from its literal sowing out of a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that Parvati set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry – with Pampa Kampana at its centre.

the marriage partnership slowly, inexorably crumbles. Eventually, Yasodhara is forced to ask what kind of life a woman can lead in ancient India if her husband abandons her— even a well-born woman such as herself. And is there a path she, too, might take towards enlightenment? Award-winning writer Shyam Selvadurai examines these questions with empathy and insight, creating a vivid portrait of a fascinating time and place, the intricate web of power, family and relationships that surround a singular marriage, and the remarkable woman who until now has remained a little-understood shadow in the historical record. Mansions of the Moon is an immersive, lively and thrilling feat 11. Tirukkural -The Book of Desire of literary imagination.

(Meena Kandasamy, Tiruvalluvar) 13. A Man from Motihari (Abdullah Khan)

Written by the poet Thiruvalluvar, the Kamattu-p-pal is the third part of the Tirukkural – one of the most important texts in Tamil literature. The most intimate section of this great work – it is also, historically, the part that has been most heavily censored. Although hundreds of male translations of the text have been published, it has also only ever been translated by a woman once before. Tirukkural is award-winning writer Meena Kandasamy’s luminous translation of the Kamattu-p-pal. Meena Kandasamy delves into this classic and provides the first feminist interventionist translation into English-remaining true to the desire throbbing through the lifeblood of the text, while retaining the drama that pervades the quintessential Tamil world of exaggerated hurt, lover’s quarrels and evenings lost to longing. With her trademark wit, lyricism and passionate insight, Meena weaves a magic spell: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals, organised under separate headings – ‘The Pleasure of Sex’, ‘Renouncing Shame’, ‘The Delights of Sulking’ – the result is a fresh, vital, and breath-taking translation that conveys powerful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire. It is a revolution 2000 years in the making.

MARCH 12. Mansions of the Moon (Shyam Selvadurai)

On a rainy night of 25th June 1976, in a bizarre turn of events, Aslam Sher Khan was born in an abandoned bungalow at the outskirts of Motihari, India. Interestingly, George Orwell had also been born in the same house exactly 73 years earlier. Aslam’s birth was facilitated by a mysterious midwife who vanished into thin air just after Aslam’s birth. Later, Aslam begins to believe that he has some supernatural connection with George Orwell and tries to become a writer. His literary ambitions bring him to America where he meets Jessica, an ex-pornstar, and now an actor and activist, and falls hopelessly in love with her. This novel is about these two unlikely characters and their journeys. Their love story is heading towards a fairy tale end when Aslam gets tangled in a political event in India, and something happens that changes his life forever.

14. Fritz and Kurt (Jeremy Dronfield)

From the bestselling, award-winning author of Funny Boy and The Hungry Ghosts comes a breathtaking reimagining of ancient India through the extraordinary life of Yasodhara, the woman who married the Buddha. In this sweeping tale, at once epic and intimate, Shyam Selvadurai introduces us to Siddhartha Gautama—who will later become “the enlightened one,” or the Buddha—an unusually bright and politically astute young man settling into his upper-caste life as a newlywed to Yasodhara, a woman of great intelligence and spirit. Mansions of the Moon traces the couple’s early love and life together, and then the anguished turmoil that descends upon them both as Siddhartha’s spiritual calling takes over and When everything is taken away from you, love and courage are all you have left. In 1938, the Nazis come to Vienna. They hate anyone who is different, especially Jewish people. Fritz and Kurt’s family are Jewish, and that puts them in terrible danger. Fritz, along with his father, is taken to a Nazi prison camp, a terrible place, full of fear. When his father is sent to a certain death, Fritz can’t face losing his beloved Papa. He chooses to go with him and fight for survival. Meanwhile, Kurt must go on a frightening journey, all alone, to seek safety on the far side of the world. In this extraordinary true story, Fritz and Kurt must face unimaginable hardships, and the two brothers wonder if they will ever return home A retelling of the Sunday Times bestselling The Boy Who Followed his Father into Auschwitz, a Daily Mail and Sunday Express book of the year: ‘Shattering, astonishing’ Daily Mail ‘Extraordinary’ Observer

In 2021, India’s tourist sector contributed $178 billion, or almost 5.8 percent, to the GDP of the nation. According to government estimates, this will more than treble to $512 billion by 2028. About 137 million employment are generated by the tourism industry. The industry has been observing historically high rate and occupancy demands, together with a rise in domestic travel. Meghalaya has a variety of celebrations planned for the new year in addition to its natural beauty, which is guaranteed to appeal to all types of tourists.

The Government of Meghalaya, under the leadership of CM Shri

Conrad Sangma envisions to make Meghalaya, one of the top 10 states of the country and tourism plays a pivotal role in achieving this goal. The policies and programs implemented by the Government works towards trying to make Meghalaya the most sought-after tourist destination. Meghalaya, also known as the Abode of Clouds, is known for its abundant biodiversity areas, famed monsoons, and the dramatic terrain but Meghalaya also has a rich cultural and natural heritage, and many festivals are celebrated all around the year to commemorate the same. This makes Meghalaya the perfect destination for avid travelers around the globe who can immerse themselves in the vivid cultural heritage of the state. These festivals form an integral part of showcasing the cultural wealth of the State and unlocking its potential through tourism. heights brimful with waterfalls, streams, and forest trails and postcard perfect representations of life – complete with pastel green meadows, tall pine groves, crisp cool air, and quiet villages with quaint cottages and wooden fences spread across the countryside. It is, however, the State’s bouquet

The Wangala Dance (held in the Garo Hills in November), Shad Suk Mynsiem and Nongkrem Dance Festival (held in the Khasi Hills in April and November), and the Behdeinkhlam Festival are the State’s four most important cultural and religious celebrations (Jaintia hills - July). The Government of Meghalaya also puts together a schedule of carefully selected events, which cover everything from kayaking to music and literature. The Kayaking Festival, the Autumn Festival, the Boating Regatta, the International Film Festival, and the Winter Tales Festival are the noteworthy events among them (December). The most prominent festivals are the Cherry Blossom festival and the Me.Gong Festival. One of the most vibrant and beautiful celebrations held each year in Meghalaya is the Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place in Shillong. The Cherry Blossom festival is celebrated in Shillong during the month of November to mark the blossoming of the pink cherry flowers. It is a 10-day celebration comprising a series of events including music and literature festivals. The Me.Gong festival is celebrated during the first week of December in the Garo Hills. This celebration is given the name Me.gong after a flower that grows plentifully in the Garo Hills. The event showcases the traditions and cultures of the people through games, shows and performances. The three-day festival also showcases beverages from all over the area. Meghalaya has ample to offer to the zealous traveler with its unforgettable landscapes, table-top of festivities, owing to its many distinct tribal inhabitants along with a vibrant and modern State capital, that truly make it standout. Meghalaya is the perfect microcosm of the Northeastern part of this great nation and a must-see destination for the globe trotter.

Experience 7 Instagram-able places in the city of joy

Kolkata is a melting pot of cultures

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

January 03, 2023 (IANSlife) Social Media has been ruling our lives for over a decade now. Instagram has been doing it with style by providing an indulgent experience, from witnessing picturesque

The Bengal Paddle

India’s longest surviving Paddle Steamer from 1945 is restored to its lost glory to sail again in Hooghly River (Kolkata). With a capacity to house 500 people, the boat offers an immersive experience of Hooghly’s grandeur. One of the key attractions of the boat is the first-of-its-kind Riverine Museum which has been curated in the vessel’s erstwhile boiler room presenting the history of the Hooghly and the Paddle Steamers that sailed on it. With a dedicated F&B space - both indoor and outdoor – the boat is equipped with global cuisines to aid the patrons with flavourful creations as they enjoy the river’s expansive view.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

A place of great historical importance, the church prohibits the use of a camera to maintain its sanctity. However, the green meadows outside and the majestic church in the backdrop are where you want to pose for the ‘Gram. destinations to a melting pot of flavourful regional cuisines. While you are on a spree to travel and explore different Instagram-worthy destinations across India, you must visit these places, for a feast to your camera, if your destination is Kolkata - the city of joy. From colonial-era

The Bhawanipur House

A heritage bungalow-turned-café, The Bhawanipur House (TBH) opens its door to showcase the age-old architecture, choicest coffees, teas, savories, and more. Built as a Bungalow during the Imperial rule’s time, today The Bhawanipur House exhibits the bygone aura, letting the aficionados unwind for hours over the velvety textured teas, aromatic coffees, and a wide menu of sumptuous savories and platters

to decide from. Spend hours with your friends, both old and new, over steaming cups of tea and coruscating plates. Telling you the tales of Calcutta’s heritage and stories of the past are The Bhawanipur House’s long-standing solid frames and walls that are typical of that period. Its state-of-the-art kitchen and elegant dining experience set the café truly apart as one-of-its-kind throughout the city.

Victoria Memorial

Built in honor of Queen Victoria, the marble-made building is among one of the most popular Instagrammable places in Kolkata. Surrounding the building is an expansive lush garden that makes an ideal place as a picnic spot, and casual meet space and offers a panoramic view to be captured of course. The building houses a museum reflecting the heritage of the British during their time in India. A mix of colors of the sky, the building, and the lush green garden is sure a photographer’s paradise to be at. Bungalow-turned-Café to India’s oldest functioning Paddle Steamer that presents quintessential river cruising indulgence, Kolkata is a dreamy destination if your Instagram wall demands to be painted with beautiful pictures of the bygone time architecture, locales, and local art, music, food, among others.

Scarlet, AAURIS

This elegant patisserie housed in the AaURIS hotel on Robinson Street, is drool-worthy not only for its freshly baked creations but for its shimmery, luxe décor too. An #InstaWorthy location for desserts, satiate your sweet cravings with an exhaustive menu of donuts and artisanal Ice cream Sundae to choose from. Amid the city yet away from the noise Scarlet lets you unwind peacefully as you scroll through their new sumptuous menu to choose your favorites from. More than just desserts, you must tantalize your tastebuds with their American breakfast, crispy bagels, and more.

Deck88

A haven for those desiring a finedine setup and antiquated décor, Deck88 just is the address where you have to be. Housing in The Astor Kolkata, their menu has dishes made using the choicest ingredients. Choose from Mediterranean, Continental, Pan-Asian, Indian, etc., cuisines and pair them with the curated drinks at their picture-worthy bar too.

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By Nishant Arora

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) Generative artificial intelligence (AI), now being used by the masses via ChatGPT for various tasks, will help frontline workers, knowledge workers and creative professionals become more productive in the near future, thinks Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. During his India visit earlier this month, Nadella demonstrated some practical functions of AI chatbots, like responding on the dream of the future of Bengaluru with some pretty nice pictures or showcasing what cuisines are part of the popular South Indian tiffins (the AI chatbot showcased biryani too as part of tiffins and later politely apologised to Nadella, smartly saying that biryani is a high-quality food loved by all). “To truly have AI chatbots as our co-workers will help us do whatever tasks we’re setting out to do by being more creative and more productive, thus breaking down some of the barriers of learning curves for everyone,” he told the audience. From writing plays to poems, from doing homework to writing essays, ChatGPT is slowly opening its deep neural networks to more and more real-life use cases. “2023 is going to be the most exciting year that the AI community has ever had,” according to Kevin Scott, chief technology officer at Microsoft. “We can already see its promise in systems like GPT-3, which can do anything from helping copyedit and summarise text to providing inspiration, and DALL-E 2, which can create useful and arresting works of art based on text inputs,” Scott said in a latest blog post. As generative AI becomes more popular and accessible, more people will be able to use the technology for creative expression, whether it’s helping them produce sophisticated artworks or write moving poetry. “An AI system such as DALL-E 2 doesn’t turn ordinary people into professional artists, but it gives a ton of people a visual vocabulary that they didn’t have before - a new superpower they didn’t think they would ever have,” he mentioned. Inspired by the potential of AI chatbots, Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in ChatGPT developer OpenAI in 2019, is now reportedly planning to infuse $10 billion into the company, which will value OpenAI at nearly $29 billion. The company now wants to incorporate AI created by OpenAI into Office, Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, and other apps, The Information reported. Microsoft is also preparing to launch a version of its Bing search engine that uses AI behind ChatGPT to answer some search queries. According to Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, AI posits new possibilities for a tech-enabled future. “Over the past decade, Generative AI models have developed and gained ground, entering the mainstream only now. Generative AI models can usher in greater democratisation for all, with AI-powered insights for a broad-range of tasks, for creating text, images, video, music or speech, among others,” Ram told IANS. Generative AI model tools, such as ChatGPT, have the potential to reimagine currently prevalent search architectures, and threaten market incumbents. “That said, as Generative AI undergoes further development, it remains to be seen how guardrails are deployed for ensuring the usage of such tools and, for instance, preventing bad actors from leveraging it with a malicious intent,” Ram noted. Generative AI has the capacity to profoundly alter the working practices of a range of vocations, giving rise to new professions and transforming established ones. “With ethical and thoughtful deployment, it is a tool that could help precipitate a revolution in creativity -- one that enables everyone to

better express their humanity,” said Scott.

(Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) What exactly is ChatGPT? Is it the tech world’s new Frankenstein?

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) As the world goes gaga over artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbot called ChatGPT -- that writes poems and essays and makes humorous comments like your friendly buddy, the conversational AI has opened several frontiers for real-life use cases going forward, only if handled with care. According to OpenAI, the company behind chatGPT, they have trained an AI model which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. ChatGPT is a sibling model to “InstructGPT”, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response, according to OpenAI which was acquired by Microsoft for $1 billion. This is how it works. The company trained the model using ‘Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback’ (RLHF), using the same methods as InstructGPT, but with slight differences in the data collection setup. “We trained an initial model using supervised fine-tuning: human AI trainers provided conversations in which they played both sides - the user and an AI assistant,” says OpenAI. The teams gave the trainers access to model-written suggestions to help them compose their responses. “We mixed this new dialogue dataset with the InstructGPT dataset, which we transformed into a dialogue format,” the company informed. To create a reward model for reinforcement learning, it took conversations that AI trainers had with the chatbot. “We randomly selected a model-written message, sampled several alternative completions, and had AI trainers rank them. Using these reward models, we can fine-tune the model using ‘Proximal Policy Optimisation’. We performed several iterations of this process,” explained OpenAI. What are its limitations? ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers. According to the company, fixing this issue is challenging, as during RL training, there’s currently no source of truth and training the model to be more cautious causes it to decline questions that it can answer correctly. Also, supervised training misleads the model because the “ideal answer depends on what the model knows, rather than what the human demonstrator knows”. ChatGPT is sensitive to tweaks to the input phrasing or attempting the same prompt multiple times. For example, given one phrasing of a question, the model can claim to not know the answer, but given a slight rephrase, can answer correctly, according to OpenAI. The model is often excessively verbose and overuses certain phrases, such as restating that it’s a language model trained by OpenAI. “These issues arise from biases in the training data (trainers prefer longer answers that look more comprehensive) and well-known over-optimisation issues,” the company admitted. “While we’ve made efforts to make the model refuse inappropriate requests, it will sometimes respond to harmful instructions or exhibit biased behaviour. We’re using the Moderation API to warn or block certain types of unsafe content.

OneWeb nearing completion of satellite constellation, deploys 40 satellites

Chennai, Jan 10 (IANS) The UK-based satellite broadband connectivity company, OneWeb, on Tuesday confirmed the successful deployment of 40 satellites launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This launch is OneWeb’s 16th todate, with only two more launches remaining to complete its first-generation constellation enabling global connectivity in 2023, the company said. According to OneWeb, the rocket lift-off took place on Monday, January 9, 2023 at 11:50 p.m. ET. OneWeb’s satellites separated successfully from the rocket and were dispensed in three phases over a period of 1 hour and 35 minutes, with signal acquisition on all 40 satellites confirmed. With 542 satellites now in orbit, OneWeb has more than 80 per cent of its first-generation constellation launched. With this launch, OneWeb kicks off its ‘Countdown to Global Connectivity’ campaign marking the final launches remaining to complete its first-generation LEO satellite constellation that will offer high-speed, low latency connectivity solutions. OneWeb has connectivity solutions active today with its distribution partners in Alaska, Canada, the UK, Greenland and wider Arctic area, with expanded services coming online soon across the US, Southern Europe, Australia, Middle East and more. With each new area covered, OneWeb and its partners can provide internet connectivity to a greater number of unserved and underserved rural and remote communities and businesses. “Today’s launch is a thrilling way to start 2023 and at OneWeb, this launch brings us even closer to completing our constellation and launching connectivity services around the world,” Neil Masterson, Chief Executive Officer said.

Take a virtual tour of MG Pavilion at ‘Auto Expo 2023’ in metaverse

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS)

Automaker MG Motor India on Tuesday unveiled ‘MGverse’, its future-ready 3D metaverse platform which anyone can experience during the ‘Auto Expo 2023’ from anywhere and take a virtual tour of the event. MG has teamed up with Metadome to offer an enriching digital experience for remote visitors. The MGverse offers an integrated Explore & Creator’s centre, a virtual experience zone with extended customer experience touchpoints and the MG Arena including an ‘Avatar Shop’, among other options. It is a social, interactive digital twin of the physical ‘MG Pavilion’ at the event. “With the automotive buying journey moving online and new-age customers demanding digital products and brand experiences more than ever, MGverse, the first of its kind, is creating a new era of immersive customer experiences,” said Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India. People can virtually view their realistic avatar by entering MG’s expo pavilion and experience interactive engagement features while conversing with other avatars. “We look forward to a successful collaboration in empowering the brand’s ecosystem of immersive customer experiences with our proprietary 3D & XR platform for the automotive industry,” said Kanav Singla, Founder and CEO, Metadome.ai. The ‘MGverse’ was announced earlier as a platform that would combine multiple virtual spaces into a single continuum to allow MG’s stakeholders to work, play, engage, collaborate, co-create, socialise and shop.

Microsoft’s new AI tool can copy any voice

in just three seconds. The tool was trained on 60,000 hours of English speech data, reports Gizmochina. Moreover, it can replicate the emotions and tone of the speaker, which earlier models were not capable of. However, there are concerns about the ethical implications of this new technology. The voices generated by VALL-E and similar technologies will sound increasingly believable, which might pave the way for realistic spam calls that imitate the voices of real people that a potential victim knows. Another possibility is the impersonation of politicians and other public figures, which can cause misleading information to spread on social media. Moreover, some banks use voice recognition technology to verify the identity of a caller and with AIgenerated voices, it could become more difficult to find if a caller is genuineAor not. So, it is important for Microsoft to create measures to regulate the use of VALL-E to make sure that it is used for good and not for malicious purposes, the report said.

ISRO, Microsoft join hands to empower spacetech startups in India

Bengaluru, Jan 5 (IANS) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft on Thursday announced a collaboration to fuel the growth of space technology startups in the country. Through this tie-up, the space tech startups identified by ISRO will be on-boarded onto the aMicrosoft for Startups Founders Hub’ platform, that supports startups at every stage of their journey-from idea to unicorn. “ISRO’s collaboration with Microsoft will greatly benefit space tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications, using cutting-edge methods like AI, Machine Learning and Deep Learning,” said S Somanath, Chairman, ISRO. Through ‘Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub’, space-tech startup founders in India will have free access to the tech tools, and resources they need to build and run their business. This includes technical support to build and scale on Azure, best-in-class developer and productivity tools including GitHub Enterprise, Visual Studio Enterprise and Microsoft 365 and access to smart analytics with Power BI and Dynamics 365. “Through our technology tools, platforms and mentorship opportunities, we are deeply committed to empowering space tech startups in the country to drive cutting edge innovation and accelerate scientific discovery,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India. Microsoft will also provide mentoring support to space tech entrepreneurs in areas ranging from space engineering to cloud technologies, product and design, fundraising and sales and marketing. In addition, founders will have access to Microsoft Learn for tailored startup centric training content and programmes to help them build connections with the industry and potential customers, said the tech giant. Microsoft and ISRO will also jointly organise knowledge sharing and

thought leadership sessions for the startups with space industry experts. The government has opened up the space sector for private players. The country has more than 100 active startups in the spacetech sector.

YouTube to share ad money with Shorts creators from Feb 1

San Francisco, Jan 10 (IANS) Tech giant Google has announced that it has restructured the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) terms to include new modules such as ‘Shorts Monetisation Module’, which allows creators to start making ad revenue on Shorts starting February 1 on the video-sharing platform. The new modules provide creators more flexibility in the ways they can earn from their content, the tech giant said in a support page. “After signing the Base Terms, which are the foundational contract terms for all creators wishing to monetise on the platform, creators can pick and choose from contract Modules to unlock earning opportunities.” The new modules include the ‘Watch Page Monetisation Module’, ‘Shorts Monetisation Module’ and ‘Commerce Product Addendum’. Users need to accept the Watch Page Monetisation Module to earn ad and YouTube Premium revenue on long-form or live-streaming videos viewed on the Watch Page. “The Shorts Monetisation Module allows your channel to share revenue from ads viewed between videos in the Shorts Feed,” the company said. If users already accepted the ‘Commerce Product Addendum’ which unlocks a series of Fan Funding features, then they won’t need to accept its terms again. All users need to review and understand the new YPP terms as “accepting the Base Terms is required to join or remain in YPP.” “To remain in the YouTube Partner Program and continue monetising on YouTube, all monetizing partners will have until July 10, 2023, to review and accept new terms,” Google said. If users do not accept the Base Terms by that date, their channel will be removed from the YPP and their monetisation agreement will be terminated.

Samsung planning to release human assistant robot in 2023

Las Vegas, Jan 10 (IANS) Samsung Electronics is planning to release a human assistant robot named ‘EX1’ this year. The company said that it sees robots as “a new growth engine,” reports SamMobile. “We plan to release a human assistant robot called EX1 within this year,” Han Jong-hee, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, said at a press conference at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023. The company already has a device named ‘EX1’ which is a decade-old digital camera, the report said. Meanwhile, in January 2021, the tech giant had introduced its innovations in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) to robots at its press conference for the world’s largest tech show. At the online event, Samsung had unveiled its robots that were in development, including Samsung Bot Handy which can pick up objects after analysing their sizes, shapes and weights through advanced AI technology. Moreover, the company introduced the upgraded version of its Samsung Bot Care, a robotic assistant that was unveiled at CES 2019.

San Francisco, Jan 13 (IANS) With lung cancer the leading cause of cancer death around the world, researchers have tested an AI tool known as “Sybil” that accurately predicts its risk for individuals with or without a significant smoking history, a new study has shown. Based on analyses of LDCT (lowdose chest computed tomography) scans from patients in the US and Taiwan, Sybil accurately predicted the risk of lung cancer for individuals with or without a significant smoking history, according to the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “Lung cancer rates continue to rise among people who have never smoked or who haven’t smoked in years, suggesting that there are many risk factors contributing to lung cancer risk, some of which are currently unknown,” said corresponding author Lecia Sequist, MD, MPH, a lung cancer medical oncologist at the US-based Mass General Cancer Center. “Instead of assessing individual environmental or genetic risk factors, we’ve developed a tool that can use images to look at collective biology and make predictions about cancer risk,” she added. The team created Sybil, a deep-learning model that analyses scans and predicts lung cancer risk for the next one to six years, using data from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) in the US, the study said. “It was designed to run in real-time in the background of a standard radiology reading station which enables point-of-care clinical decision support,” said co-author Florian Fintelmann, MD, of the Department of Radiology at the US-based Massachusetts General Hospital. Sybil was validated using three independent data sets: scans from over 6,000 NLST participants who Sybil had never seen before, 8,821 LDCTs from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and 12,280 LDCTs from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, according to the study. The latter group of scans included people with a variety of smoking histories and those who had never smoked. “Sybil can look at an image and predict the risk of a patient developing lung cancer within six years,” said co-author and Jameel Clinic faculty lead Regina Barzilay, PhD, a member of the US-based Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

Covid-19: Thailand adopts new rules for foreign visitors

Bangkok, Jan 6 (IANS) Thailand adopted a new requirement for foreign visitors to show proof of at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccination, government officials have announced. Foreign arrivals are also required to have travel insurance that covers potential Covid-19-related expenses in case their next destination requires a negative RT-PCR result, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying. Despite no requirements for Covid-19 testing prior to entering the country, those suffering from respiratory illnesses should postpone their visits until they have fully recovered, Anutin told the press. \Although Thailand’s Covid-19 situation was improving, intensive care patients and deaths were still being observed, Anutin said in a statement issued on Wednesday. From December 25 to December 31, the country has detected 2,111 Covid-19 cases with 75 deaths.

Global Covid surge fears loom as China resumes air travel

Beijing, Jan 8 (IANS) As China opened borders and resumed travel on Sunday, billions of local travellers are set to make overseas trips in the next few days, triggering Covid surge concerns in various countries as they put restrictions in place for flights coming from China. Global Times reported that the downgrading management of Covid-19 officially took effect on Sunday and the inbound quarantine for international arrivals was cancelled. “The order numbers for international flights recorded a year-on-year growth of 628 per cent, reaching the highest since March 2020, data from online travel agency LY.com showed,” said the report. Among the surging orders, the numbers of inbound and outbound flights account for 48 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region became the top destination for inbound tickets on Sunday, with flight orders from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland rose 62 per cent from the previous day. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that international flights can directly land in Beijing without being redirected to other entry points. Some 18 international flights, majorly from Hong Kong, were expected to arrive in Beijing on Sunday. Shenzhen and Hong Kong will review the first phase of border reopening in a week. On the basis of consensus reached by both sides, arrangement of the second phase will be announced. According to China’s Ministry of Transport, more than two billion passengers are expected to take trips over the next 40 days. China on Saturday marked the first day of “chun yun”, the 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel. European Union officials are “strongly” recommending that all member states insist on negative Covid tests from Chinese arrivals before they travel, reports BBC. France, Spain and Italy have already introduced testing but others such as Germany had been monitoring the situation. England, outside the EU, requires pre-flight testing on China arrivals. The US has imposed mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China beginning January 5. India has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. Air travellers to Canada from China must test negative for Covid-19 no more than two days before departure. China is currently seeing a surge in the Covid cases, with reports of hospitals and crematoriums being overwhelmed.

San Francisco, Jan 6 (IANS)

Walking between 6,000 to 9,000 steps daily may significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults, a new study has shown. According to the study published in the journal Circulation, researchers found that individuals walking between 6,000 to 9,000 steps daily had a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes, by 40 per cent to 50 per cent. The study analysed data from over 20,000 people in the US and 42 other countries, in which the average age was 63.2 years, plus or minus 12.4 years, with 52 per cent being women, reports Medical News Today. The study found that for every 1,000 steps added, there was an incremental reduction in CVD risk. “There was no upper limit at which there was no additional benefit in our study. Each incremental increase was associated with lower heart disease risk in older adults,” said Dr Amanda Paluch, a physical activity epidemiologist and kinesiologist at the US-based University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study discovered a progressive reduction in CVD risk for people

Teens with optimistic, happy feelings may lead to better health in adulthood

San Francisco, Jan 11 (IANS)

Teenagers with the feeling of optimism, happiness, self-esteem, belongingness and love, were more likely to reach their 20s and 30s in good cardiometabolic health compared to teens with fewer of these positive psychological assets, a new study has shown. According to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, fostering positive psychological assets in teenagers may help prevent cardiometabolic disease in adulthood and may also play a role in addressing health inequities. The study mentioned that the way teens -- especially Black youth -- feel about their lives may impact their cardiometabolic health risk as adults. “We learned a lot in the last few decades about the impact of discrimination and other social risks youth of colour face that may explain their elevated rates of cardiometabolic disease, however, much less attention is paid to the inherent strengths they possess and the ways those strengths may be leveraged to advance health equity,” said lead study author Farah Qureshi, ScD, MHS, an assistant professor at the US-based Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers identified five mental health assets associated with better cardiometabolic health outcomes based on survey responses when participants were teenagers: optimism, happiness, self-esteem, belonging, and feeling loved. The study found that about 55 per cent of youth had zero to one positive mental health asset, while 29 per cent had two to three assets and 16 per cent had four to five assets. As young adults, only 12 per cent of participants maintained cardiometabolic health over time, and white youth were more likely to maintain good health later in life compared to Black or Latino youth. Teens with four to five positive mental health assets were 69 per cent more likely to maintain positive cardiometabolic health as young adults. While psychological assets were beneficial to all racial and ethnic groups, Black youth experienced the greatest health benefits, according to the study. Black teens also reported having more positive mental health assets than the youth of any other racial or ethnic group. Despite having the most assets and reaping the most health benefits from them, there were still racial disparities in cardiometabolic health in adulthood. Black individuals were the least likely to maintain good cardiometabolic health over time, said the study. “This work suggests that early investments in youth mental health may be a critical new frontier in the advancement of cardiometabolic health equity,” Qureshi said. New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi on Friday revealed that he is on 24x7 external oxygen after contracting Covid-19 twice in two weeks and deep pneumonia. The 59-year old took to social media to give updates about his health, saying that he was airlifted to London from Mexico after three weeks of confinement. “After 3 weeks in confinement with a double Covid in 2 weeks accompanied by influenza and deep pneumonia - and post trying several times to leave. Finally landed via air ambulance accompanied by two doctors and superstar super efficient son who did so much for me back in london,” wrote Lalit in his instagram post along with his picture from the hospital bed. “The flight was smooth. Unfortunately still on 24/7 external oxygen. Thank u to all at @vistajet for going the extra mile. I am extremely grateful to all. Love to all. Big hug,” he added. In another post, he also mentioned about saviours -- two doctors-- who took care of him. “With my two saviours. The two Drs seriously for 3 weeks monitored me treated. Me 24/7. 1 Mexico City based whose care I was under and the second my London Dr who specifically flew in to Mexico City to accompany me back to London. I have no words to describe of they sacrificed there time etc to get me out. Still need time to recover. Currently on 24/7 external oxygen,” wrote Modi along with pictures of two doctors. “I was I thought touch and go. But my children and thief friends and my close friend @harish_salve_ who were all with me 2 out of my three weeks fully by my side. They are all my family and part of me. God bless. Jai hind. Not to forget the @ vistajet crew. Who were better then par excellence. Thank u my friend @ thomasflohrvista,” he added. Last year, the businessman had made his relationship with Sushmita official on social media, with a note and an array of photos. However, the duo haven’t been spotted much post making their relationship public, leading to various speculations.

Heatwaves set to become more common: Swedish expert

Stockholm, Jan 5 (IANS) Heatwaves such as those that enveloped Europe in recent years are bound to become more frequent and more intense, and their impacts will be dramatic, a Swedish expert has said. “It is worrying that we see more dramatic effects than what we believed only ten years ago,” Mikael Karlsson, associate professor of environmental science and senior lecturer in climate change leadership at Uppsala University, told Swedish Television (SVT), commenting on the most recent heatwave that pushed temperatures above 19 degrees Celsius in Poland and the Czech Republic and close to 17 degrees Celsius in the Netherlands. Tora Tomasdottir, an SVT meteorologist, said that it was “extremely unusual” for so many temperature records to be broken in such a short time, Xinhua news agency reported. Karlsson told SVT that although the most recent heatwave cannot be definitely attributed to climate change, further temperature records will very likely be broken in the years to come. “We will no doubt be affected by extreme weather more often,” he said. While the historic winter warm spell shattered records across Europe, North America battled freezing temperatures and heavy snow. Stopping short of attributing this to

global warming, Karlsson said that the cost of climate change will likely surpass previous estimates. “Climate change is probably the most expensive (disaster) ever caused by humankind. The cost is on par with that of a world war,” he said.

Can walking 6,000 steps a day improve heart health in the elderly?

who walked up to 15,000 steps per day. Moreover, the study suggests that people who want to reduce their risk of CVD should set goals that feel more attainable than the commonly cited 10,000-steps-a-day target, which is not based on scientific research. However, the study found no association between increasing one’s steps and lowering CVD risk for younger adults. Dr Paluch believes this is not surprising given that CVD is primarily a disease of the elderly. According to the study, only 4.2 per cent of younger adults had a subsequent CVD event, compared to 9.5 per cent of older adults. “This does not mean that younger adults shouldn’t be exercising for their cardiovascular health,” said Dr Paluch. “For younger adults, being physically active benefits many of the precursors of cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions are more likely to develop in younger adults, and are important for early prevention of cardiovascular disease,” she added.

Finnish researchers develop new genetic test to improve ovarian cancer treatment

Helsinki, Jan 12 (IANS) A new genetic test developed at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital helps identify ovarian cancer patients who benefit from PARP inhibitors, a type of targeted drug that could be effective against ovarian cancer, the University of Helsinki said in a statement. In recent years, PARP inhibitors have achieved excellent results as a maintenance treatment after surgery and cytostatic therapy of newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients. Since the therapy with PARP inhibitors is associated with potentially serious side effects, it is important to be able to target it to the patients that benefit the most from it, the university added on Wednesday. “The genetic test helps to identify patients who do not benefit from the drug, thus avoiding unnecessary treatment and the adverse effects associated with the drug,” Anniina Farkkila from Helsinki University Hospital was quoted as saying in the statement. The new genetic test has been developed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and statistics, Xinhua news agency reported. “Roughly half of ovarian cancers have a deficiency in a specific DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) repair pathway. Cancer cells with this deficiency are unable to accurately repair breaks in the DNA double-strand, which causes the accumulation of DNA lesions,” doctoral researcher Fernando Perez-Villatoro from the University of Helsinki said. The study results show that each cancer type is associated with different characteristics of the genetic lesions related to homologous recombination DNA-repair deficiency (HRD), which is a common driver of genomic instability. Therefore, developing a test optimised for ovarian cancer was important for advancing the precision of therapies for the cancer type, the University of Helsinki noted. The study results were published in the latest issue of npj Precision Oncology.