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Hussain's gallery vandalised
Ahmedabad: Dozens of Swabhiman Seva activists in Ahmedabad
vandalised the art gallery of eminent painter Maqbool Fida
Hussain on Monday after his new work portrayed "Mother India"
as a naked woman. Protestors ransacked the prominent gallery
in wee hours. "The canteen part of the Hussain Ahmedabadi
Gufa Gallery, has been ransacked and the glasses have been
broken. This was very disturbing in a way that first of
all to attach two different events now, as it is a public
place, it's actually meant to be an educational campus for
people to come together for artistic pursuits. So, actually
it's a place where students come, artists come and it's
a sort of a social core where such kind of reactions are
generally little disturbing," said Jatin Pandya, one of
the gallery's architects. "I personally believe in the freedom
of expression that poets, artists, everybody as an individual
has a right to their opinion and expression. Same way the
people who are hurt have also the right to express their
reservation and respond. But I think there are more civilized
ways of coming together rather than this kind of vandalism,"
Pandya added.
Several
groups have called for the arrest of Hussain, 90, whose
flowing white locks and beard, and his habit of walking
barefoot have acquired an iconic status in Indian art circles.
Police have said that they are investigating a complaint
against Hussain after the portrayal. Nationalist politicians
and activists have routinely criticised Hussain's paintings,
which depict revered Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude.
A decade ago, radicals even attacked his Mumbai home. The
maverick artist's latest work, part of a series to be auctioned
in aid of Indian victims of last year's South Asian earthquake,
shows a naked woman in front of a wheel resembling the one
used in the national flag. The names of some of the states
are written across her body. A similar composition of a
sari-clad woman with a wheel -- a Buddhist symbol known
as the dharma chakra -- in the background is used to portray
"Mother India" in many patriotic publications. In the past,
Hussain has received support from moderate, progressive
faction, and on one occasion, a former Prime Minister intervened
to ensure no action was taken against him. In 2004, Hussain
sealed a deal with Bombay-based businessman Guru Swarup
Srivastava, to paint 100 canvases for one billion rupees,
in one of the biggest sales in the country's growing art
market.
Dick Cheney shoots his hunting partner
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Washington:
US Vice-President Dick Cheney accidentally fired shotgun
pellets at one of his hunting companions as he aimed at
a quail (a kind of bird) in a ranch in Texas. The injured
man, Harry Whittington, a lawyer, was reportedly out of
danger and doing fine. According to The Telegraph, Cheney
swung round to fire at the quail, and fired from his shotgun
without realising that Whittington was there. The latter
received various pellet injuries, before he was rushed to
a hospital. He was said to be recovering well. A worried
Cheney accompanied him to the hospital. Ranch owner Ms Katharine
Armstrong said that Whittington had headed away from Cheney
and one another man, and some time later he came up behind
them but "did not announce himself". "Cheney didn't see
him. The covey flushed and the vice-president picked out
a bird and was following it and shot. And, by God, Harry
was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good," the
paper quoted her as saying.
India
defeat Pakistan by five wickets (Go
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Lahore:
India today defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win
the 3rd One Day International here in a grand style. India
now lead the series 2-1 India successfully chased a mammoth
total of 288 with two over remaining, even after losing
early wickets and proved that Indians were not chokers when
it came to chasing huge totals. India scored 289 for the
loss of five wickets Wicket keeper batsman Mahendra Singh
Dhoni scored an unbeaten 72 of 46 balls, which included
13 fours to win the man of the match award. Yuvraj Singh
scored a solid 79 out of 87 balls, which included 10 fours
and remained unbeaten till the end. The duo shared a 102
run partnership for the sixth wicket turning the tide in
India's favour in a match that seemed was in Pakistan's
hand after India lost initial wickets. Master blaster Sachin
Tendulkar provided the crucial support to the Indian batting
line up scoring 95 of 104 balls, which included 16 fours
and 1 six, after India lost the wickets of opener Gautam
Gambhir and pace bowler Irfan Pathan who was promoted in
the batting line up as a pinch hitter. Pathan departed for
a duck. Skipper Rahul Dravid also departed early, scoring
only 22 runs, leaving India tottering at 84 for the loss
of three wickets. It was the 105 run partnership between
Sachin and Yuvraj that provided some stability to the Indian
innings. However, then also after Sachin's departure India
was left reeling at 190/5. Rahul Dravid won the toss and
decided to field in the crucial third day night match at
the Gaddafi stadium here.
Pakistan
scored a huge total, making mince meat of the Indian bowling
attack. Pakistan started on a shaky note, with opener Salman
Butt getting out for zero, but Shoaib Malik batted sensibly
scoring 108 in 120 balls, which included 11 fours, and 1
six), sharing a crucial seven-wicket partnership with Abdul
Razzaq (64 of 56 balls to take Pakistan to a comfortable
position. Skipper Inzamam-ul Haq could not display much
skill with the willow and departed for a short 16. Kamran
Akmal scored a valuable 34. Among the Indian bowlers, Pathan
scalped three wickets for 49 runs, 13 of them being yielded
in his tenth over. The Pakistani run machine scored 89 runs
in the last ten overs of the Indian bowling attack.
England cricket team arrives on two-month
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Mumbai:
The 16-member England cricket team arrived here today
on a two month-long tour of India to play three Test and
seven One-Day International (ODI) matches. The Michael Vaughan-led
team, however, were in no mood to hang around at the airport
when they were greeted by an army of fans amid heavy security
on their arrival. Without stopping to address the media,
Michael Vaughan and his teammates scurried out of the terminal
through a side exit and boarded the team bus, leaving dozens
of reporters and television crews disappointed. Scheduled
to play three Tests and seven one-dayers besides three warm-up
matches, England are being accompanied by two of their own
security staff. Aiming to score a first Test series victory
in India since 1984- 85, England open the tour with a three-day
practice game against Board President XI in Mumbai from
Saturday which will be followed by another warm-up match
at Baroda from February 23.
The
first Test will start in Nagpur on March one, second on
March nine at Mohali and the third and final Test will be
played in Mumbai from February 18. Following the Test series,
the visitors will play a one-day warm- up match on March
25 in Jaipur. The first ODI will be played at New Delhi's
Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on March 28, second on March 31
in Faridabad, third on April 3 in Goa, fourth on April 6
in Cochin, fifth on April 9 in Guwahati, sixth on April
12 in Jamshedpur and seventh and the final one in Indore
on April 15. England Test Squad: Michael Vaughan (captain),
Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison,
Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones (wicketkeeper), Simon Jones,
Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Andrew Strauss,
Marcus Trescothick, Shaun Udal, Monty Panesar, Ian Blackwell.
England One-Day Squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), Kabir
Ali, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ian Blackwell, Paul Collingwood,
Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Geraint Jones
(wicketkeeper), Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior,
Liam Plunkett, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick.
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