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'Mando' festival turns Goa into a mini Singapore Panaji: This week Goa was turned into a mini Singapore when the locals enacted a popular musical love dance. A large number of tourists witnessed the 'Mando' festival, which was introduced in the state by the Portuguese. Groups of Goan boys and girls wear Singaporean dresses and perform the dance. "Portuguese in Goa used to visit Singapore. They found people there of more liking and brought girls from there. So whatever dress you see during Mando festival is not Goan, it is from Singapore," said Sibero, organiser of the event.
Mando is basically a mixture of three cultures - dresses are Singaporean,
music is Portuguese and songs are Konkani. And only three instruments
are played - violin, guitar and gumat - a local name for drum. Alvina
Fernandes, a performer, said that she has been participating in the
festival for the last five years and found it great fun. "It's really
great, we have bein doing this for the last five years and have been
trained well in this. It's fun to perform here ... it's a tough competition
but it's nice to win," she said. Mando, which earlier used to be performed
only in high society marriages and gatherings, has now become popular
in Goan society. Season's first snowfall in Kashmir (Go to Top) Gulmarg (J-K): Heavy snowfall lashed the picturesque Gulmarg region in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. This was the season's first snowfall. Revellers came out of their lodges, hotels and guest houses to enjoy the snowfall. While the locals preferred to stay indoors, tourists had a great time out in the snow. "We have seen a lot of place in Kashmir but the best has been Gulmarg, there is so much snow here, we've never seen snow before," said Usha Khandelwal, a tourist from Rajasthan. Locals
said it is a boost for the economy of the state. "This year, the snowfall
has come even before season and we are really hoping that the tourist
inflow increases so that our business is good," said Shabir Ahmed, a
motel owner. But the snowfall also disrupted traffic as vehicles were
stranded at several places. The 300-km road, the only surface link between
the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, was also closed following
fresh snowfall. Authorities had recently reopened the Jammu- Srinagar
highway after snow was cleared. Jim Corbett Park opens after monsoon break (Go to Top) Dehra Dun: India's most famous wildlife reserve, Jim Corbett Park, has been opened for public after its annual monsoon break. More than 60,000 tourists visit Corbett Park every year, the bulk of them from abroad. This year with the global economy showing signs of revival, the numbers are expected to double. Spread
over 1,000 square miles on the foothills of the Himalayan mountains,
the Corbett national park, named after the famous British hunter-turned-conservator
Jim Corbett, is famous for the tiger, elephant, deer and crocodile.
It was set up on August 8, 1936 in South Patlidoon in the Kumaun region
of the Himalayan foothills. In 1973, as part of Project Tiger, Corbett
National Park was declared India's very first Tiger Reserve. The park
will remain open till June 15 next year. Transport strike paralyses life in Thiruvananthapuram (Go to Top) Thiruvananthapuram: Life in Thiruvananthapuram was paralysed on Wednesday as the employees of the state-owned transport utility went on a day-long strike. The employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) were protesting against the government's decision to privatise the revenue-earning routes. The
decision will ruin the largest public sector unit employing more than
32,000 workers, said KK Divakaran, general secretary of the KSRTC Employees
Association. He said the state government is withholding part of their
wages. The government is rejecting all the demands of the workers. They
have also not been paid DA (dearness allowance) for the last 30 months,
Divakaran said The 47-year-old state utility has been incurring losses
since its inception, except for a brief period. KSRTC has a fleet strength
of 4554 buses, most of them more than 10 years old. Air Deccan all set to launch flights (Go to Top) Bangalore:
Air Deccan will launch flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Colombo
from December. The airline, which is barely two months old, would commence
its flight to Tirupathi from tomorrow and to Goa from November 17. Air
Deccan would add Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Coimbatore, Chennai-Puttaparthi
and Chennai-Hyderabad routes by the end of this month, a top official
of the airline said. Four killed in Kullu landslide (Go to Top) Kullu:
Four people were killed in a landslide mishap in Kullu. The mishap
occurred on Monday when some people were working on a project to widen
the road. "Our contractor took us to the site where drilling was to
take place. During that time stones started falling from above and I
started running. We shouted at the other people but some people got
crushed under the stones," Suresh, a worker at the site, said. Those
killed included two labourers, one contractor and one junior engineer.
The district magistrate of the town, R.D. Najeem, said the landslide
occurred due to blasting of the rocks. "The work was going on to widen
the road. This is a continuous process. When they do blasting, explosions
take place. Unfortunately they were clearing the debris and were caught
in the inflow of the debris which fell on them," he said. An inquiry
has been ordered to determine whether safety norms were flouted resulting
in the mishap. Vintage car rally in Shimla to promote tourism (Go to Top) Shimla:
A vintage car rally was recently organised for the first time in
Shimla to promote tourism in the hilly state. Nearly 50 vintage beauties
from across the country took part in the rally, with a 1923 model Baby
Austin being the oldest one. Uday Singh, a participant from Rajasthan,
said it was a brilliant experience. "It was a brilliant experience.
The organisation was outstanding and the government and Purative Group
(one of the organisers) have done a very good job. And the reaction
of the public has touched my heart's strings," said Singh. The rally
titled "classical cars" was flagged off by Chief Minister Virbhadra
Singh. He said the rally would motivate tourists to come to Shimla,
also known as India's colonial summer paradise. "This puts Himachal
Pradesh on the tourist map firmly and the vintage car rallies are now
not only an event but equally closely connected with the promotion of
tourism," said Singh. Tourism is the mainstay of the state, famous for
its valleys and majestic mountains. Fake marriage gang busted in Ludhiana (Go to Top) Ludhiana: Punjab police has busted a gang that faked marriages to foreign nationals to help people illegaly migrate to Canada. After obtaining an original Canadian marriage certificate, the gang would replicate it using a computer software. Police officials on Monday said the gang would lure people by promising to get them married to foreign nationals, thereby making it easy for them to migrate. M.S Chinna, Ludhiana city's superintendent of police, said the gang had duped 12 families. "The two girls from Jalandhar were to play the role of wives. The whole racket was managed by one Keenti Lal Jain and his wife Renu Jain, who run a clothes shop. All in all they duped 12 families like this and obtained 17 to 20 lakh rupees", Chinna said. Some of the accused admitted to their guilt. "I was driven to join this racket due to greed. I was told that the papers were genuine and there will be no police raid and no problem. I was misled by the other people," said Swarnalata, an accused. Another accused said the gang was in operation since January this year. "We
have been doing this since January 18th this year and we have duped
12 families so far. The main mastermind is Kirti Lal Jain, his wife
Renu and their son, all are involved. We got 17 lakh rupees in the racket
out of which seven lakh was given to me because I fixed the wedding.
The rest we divided amongst ourselves," Prithvi Pal Singh, a co-accused,
said. Earlier the Punjab police had unearthed a high-profile immigration
racket supposedly run by Shamsher Singh, the brother of popular Indian
folk singer Daler Mehendi. Swiss national found dead in Himachal hill resort (Go to Top) Manikaran
(Himachal Pradesh): Himachal Pradesh police have recovered the body
of a Swiss national from a local guest house in Manikaran valley. Bosshard
Hanspeter Emst, a 44-year old Swiss male, was found dead at the guest
house on Friday. Police officials said they were in touch with
the Swiss embassy in New Delhi to contact Hanspeter's relatives. Doctors
at the nearby Kullu hospital have conducted a post-mortem examination
on the body. However, the report is yet to be made public. Earlier this
month, a British woman was found killed in the picturesque Manikaran
valley, a favourite haunt of foreign tourists. Two Irish nationals have
been arrested in that connection. An Israeli man has also been missing
in the hill resort since October. Over the last decade at least 17 foreign
tourists, including five women, have gone missing while trekking in
Himachal Pradesh. New electricity-driven mobikes (Go to Top) Mumbai: A motorcycle manufacturing company in Mumbai has developed the first electricity-driven mobikes, which give zero pollution and zero emission. GENXT Power India, a Mumbai-based motorcycle company which manufactured the new e-mobikes, claimed that it would be able to bring the fuel consumption down. The consumers, though happy at the very feel of the new bikes, were apprehensive about the cost-efficiency of it. But the manufacturers say the bike will run for 90 km with a fully- charged battery and we can charge it in between. There is an indicator which will tell us the position of the battery. There is fast charging mode which takes half an hour to charge. After charging the bike will run for another 50 km," Vishwas Pande, Chairman, GENEXT Power India, said. The
two-wheelers in India consume more than 60 percent of petrol and accounts
for nearly 70 percent of the total hydrocarbon emissions. The manufacturers
of the new bikes claim that the battery charged motorcycle runs over
100 km on mere two units of electricity and costs less than 10 paisa
a km. They say it can carry a load of 200 kilos and travels at a speed
of 60 kmph. The price of the bike, launched in different models, range
from Rs 15,000 to Rs 120,000. Thousands converge at Haridwar for holy dip in Ganga (Go to Top) Haridwar: Hundreds of thousands of Hindus converged at Haridwar on Saturday to take a holy dip in the Ganga on the occasion of Kartik Poornima or full moon day. On this day, women keep fast and pray to Lord Shiva. A dip at Haridwar, one of the holiest spots along the Ganga's 2,000-km journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is considered auspicious. Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred river washes away their sins. Ashok Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, said adequate arrangements have been made for nearly one million people expected to bathe. "Today is Kartik Poornima, holy dip began early at 3.30 am (local time). Till now five hundred thousand people have taken bath and we estimate that about one million people will take bath by the end of the day. We have made very stringent police arrangements. The entire area has been divided into nine zones and 33 sectors and over a thousand policemen have been deployed," said Kumar. Legend
says the city of Hari-dwar, which literally means "Gateway to Gods",
located on the foothills of the Himalayas, is one of the four places
where the nectar of immortality fell to earth after spilling out of
a pitcher during an epic battle for its possession between gods and
demons, the other places being Prayag, Ujjain and Nasik. Charles ends nine-day tour of India (Go to Top) Mumbai: Heir to the British throne, Prince Charles ended his nine-day tour to India on Wednesday by visiting Cheshire-sponsored old age home here. Charles was welcomed warmly by the home's inmates and spent some time talking to them as well. "We could have talked more with him. I am feeling great after talking to him," said Majeeban, an inmate. A thrilled Suleman Ansari said: "It was really great to see him. I recognize him. I have seen him in papers. It really felt great to know that such as big man shook hands with me." The royal visitor has presented these destitutes with a unique gift. Officers of the British Naval ship HMS Kent have painted the storage rooms of the Cheshire home as a goodwill gesture. Around 30 officers worked for two days to complete the paint job. Simon Harden, the ship's commanding officer, was happy to learn that the prince had enjoyed their gesture. "We were out to help the store which witnessed the visit by Prince Charles. They really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed meeting Prince Charles this morning," Harden said. Captain Leonard Cheshire of the Royal Air Force established the Cheshire old age home system. The first Cheshire Home in India was established in Bombay in 1954. It now provides shelter to 44 paraplegic patients. Charles
also visited a rehabilitation centre in Bombay's Dharavi area, the largest
slum in Asia. "He asked me about my husband's job. I told him that he
is a tailor. He asked me whether I need a better house to live," said
Mehnaz, a resident. Passengers at highest DVT risk within 2 weeks of flying: Study (Go to Top) London/Washington:
The risk of air passengers developing deep vein thrombosis (venous
thromboembolism) is the highest within two weeks of flying. This is
the conclusion of an Australian study published in this week's British
Medical Journal. On studying 5,408 patients admitted to hospital with
venous thromboembolism, the researchers found that some 46 Australian
citizens and 200 non-Australian citizens developed the condition during
this so-called hazard period. They believe that the figure for non-Australian
citizens is higher due to longer flights from Europe, reports Newswise.
A "healthy traveller" effect was observed, particularly among Australian
citizens, suggesting that people who undertake international travel
are more healthy and less likely to develop spontaneous blood clots
than those who do not travel. The researchers conclude that though the
average risk of venous thromboembolism is small compared with that from
motor vehicle crashes and injuries at work, airlines and health authorities
should continue to advise passengers on ways to minimise risk. All roads lead to Pushkar fair (Go to Top) Pushkar: Hundreds of tourists, both foreign and domestic, have started thronging the week-long Pushkar fair in the deserts of Rajasthan. The traditional fair, touted as the world's biggest annual sale of camels, horses and cattle had to bear the brunt last year due to the third consecutive drought in the state. Abundant monsoon rains this year have cheered the mood at the fair with a 16 percent rise in the number of animals paraded here. Niranjan Arya, district collector of Ajmer, said he expects more foreign tourists at the fair after a slump following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the US. "After three-four years of continuous drought Rajashtan has had a good monsoon this year, so I think domestic tourism will definitely be very high, it will be on the higher side and so is the case with foreign tourists. I feel there will be 20-30 percent increase from last year what we had," said Arya. Traders, who have had a tough time last year, are happy with the way their business is going this time. "Trading is like this only, if we get a good bargain, well and good, otherwise we will go back empty-handed. The deal can be both cheap and expensive," said Gopi, a trader. Foreign tourists are fascinated by camel races and also enjoy camel rides. "I think it's very nice, it's very interesting, we don't have camel in Denmark, we have horses, of course, but we don't have camel," said Heene Alpec, a Danish tourist. The annual livestock fair at Pushkar, 375 km from Delhi, coincides with the climaxing of a religious celebration where hundreds of thousands of devotees come to pray to Lord Brahma at the holy lake on the occasion of the full moon night of Kartika month. It
is believed that Lord Brahma, the creator, wished to perform a yagna
following his long years of penance. During his sojourn in search of
a place for yagna, Brahma dropped a lotus from heaven which created
the Pushkar lake. It was on this night that a drop of nectar fell in
this lake, thereby making it sacred. Pilgrims flock from all over India
to be in Pushkar at this auspicious time. They also believe that all
the 330 million Gods and Goddesses are present at Pushkar lake during
the occasion. In a land full of temples and pilgrimage sites, Pushkar
temple is the only temple devoted solely to Lord Brahma. Pushkar, otherwise
a sleepy town, comes alive every year when it hosts this fair in November.
For these seven days, tourists, travellers, pilgrims and Rajasthani
men and women in their colourful traditional attire come together to
celebrate life. Kalka-Shimla toy train turns 100 (Go to Top) Shimla: A unique steam engine train, which chugs along a hilly track from Kalka to Shimla, is celebrating 100 years in service. The train is called "Toy" because of its miniature size and snail pace, which presents an old-world charm. The train was introduced in 1903 during the British regime. The six-hour journey takes the train through 107 tunnels and connects a number of hill resorts, including Dharampore, Taksal, Gamma and Solan. The
journey offers the passengers a picturesque view of the valleys and
the train has become very popular with tourists. "Yes it is very adventurous,
it is a toy train, it's very slow, the children will enjoy it. But the
main thing is that we have never travelled through a hilly region in
a train and the scenery, basically...we will see it from close," Chaitali
Patre, a domestic tourist, said. The Kalka-Shimla toy train has been
overshadowed by its more famous cousin, which runs from Jalpaiguri to
Darjeeling. UNESCO has declared Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling train as a World
Heritage. Prince Charles visits historic city of Jaipur (Go to Top) Jaipur: It was time for some softer moments for Britain's Prince Charles as he interacted and played with little children at a school in Jaipur where he is being hosted by the royal family. The prince was welcomed at the school by Princess Diya of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family and an entourage of tiny tots who sang songs and presented him with hand-made gifts. Princess Diya who admitted to have been enamoured by Princess Diana on the last visit of the couple, said her absence was sad. She said the prince, nevertheless, had some very fond memories of Jaipur. "He's very fond of India, he's very fond of Indian things also. Each time he comes here... he has fond memories of Jaipur, he has come so many times," Diya said. Charles' tour to India, a former British colony, focusses on environment and heritage conservation, two-way ties and helping young business people. Though his trip has been clouded by a controversial new book on Princess Diana, written by Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, the Prince of Wales seemed to leave the dispute behind as he rushed from one engagement to another. Later during the day, the prince had an enthralling ride through the narrow alleys of Amer, old time capital of Jaipur, where he visited the historic Amber Fort, named so because of its unusual colour. The prince visited the "Panna Miyan ka kooan" and followed it up with a visit to the renovated palace where he spent over a couple of hours viewing conservation work. The 400-year old step well was named after a rich and influential eunuch Panna Miyan and is still used to collect water in times of drought. Charles's
9-day tour will also take him to the desert city of Jodhpur before ending
in the film and financial capital Mumbai where he will sound the clapperboard
for the start of shooting on a Bollywood film about the first major
Indian revolt against British rule in 1857. -ANI |
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