‘find covid origin or face another pandemic’
TRANSCRIPT
NEW DELHIn VOL. XCVII NO. 129n PRICE ₹2.50 n 6 PAGES.
Tuesday01.06.2021hindustantimes.com.htpacehtschooltimes
CITY LIGHTS
Gunmen abduct students from school in NigeriaBAUCHI/KADUNA, NIGERIA: An armedgang abducted students from anIslamic school in the north-centralNigerian state of Niger on Sunday,police and state government officialssaid. Armed groups carrying out kid-napping for ransom are blamed for aseries of raids on schools and univer-sities in northern Nigeria in recentmonths, abducting more than 700 stu-dents for ransom since December. Aspokesman for Niger’s state policesaid in a statement that gunmen onmotorcycles attacked the town ofTegina, in the Rafi local governmentarea of the state, on Sunday. He saidthe attackers were “shooting indis-criminately and abducted a yet to beascertained number of children atSalihu Tanko Islamic school”. REUTERS
New Zealand military called in as hundreds flee floodsWELLINGTON: New Zealand’s militarywas deployed to evacuate hundreds ofresidents from flood-hit areas of theSouth Island Monday as heavy rainswashed away bridges and cut roads.Rivers burst their banks as a weathersystem dumped 15.5 inches of rain intwo days, an amount meteorologistssaid exceeded the entire rainfall so farthis year in some areas. Authoritiesissued a rare “red” weather warningand declared a state of emergency inthe Canterbury. AFP
China allows couples to have 3 children as birthrate fallsBEIJING: China will allow couples tohave three children after a censusshowed its population is rapidly age-ing, state media said on Monday, fur-ther unwinding four decades of strictfamily planning controls in theworld’s most populous nation. In 2016China relaxed its controversial “one-child policy” to a “two-child policy”due to widespread concerns over anageing workforce and economic stag-nation. Despite government efforts toencourage couples to have children,China’s annual births have continuedto plummet to a record low of 12 mil-lion in 2020, the National Bureau ofStatistics said last month. AFP
llW O R L D l
WORD POWER
MandateMan-deyt (Noun/Verb)
Meaning: a command or authorisation to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative. To authorise or decree.
Origin: First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin mandātum, past participle of mandāre ’to commission,’ literally, ’to give into (someone’s) hand’; equivalent to manus ‘hand’ + dere ’to put’
Synonyms: authorisation, call, command
Antonyms: breach, break, denial, question
Usage: The president had a clear mandate to end the war.
(CISCE) amid the pandemic situation.During the hearing conducted
through video-conferencing on Mon-day, the Attorney General told thebench, “The government will take afinal decision within the next twodays. We are hoping that your lord-ships will give us time till Thursday(June 3) so that we can come backwith the final decision”. Venugopalsaid that last year, board exams forsome papers were over before theCovid-19 induced national lockdownwas imposed in March 2020. PTI
The government has to decide whether
it would hold the Class 12 board exams
amid the Covid-19 pandemic HT FILE
llN A T I O N l
NEW DELHI: The government will takea final decision within the next twodays on whether to conduct Class 12board exams amid the Covid-19 pan-demic, the Supreme Court wasinformed on Monday. Attorney Gen-eral KK Venugopal told this to a benchof Justices AM Khanwilkar andDinesh Maheshwari which said if theCentre decides to depart from the lastyear’s policy, wherein the remainingboard exams were cancelled due tothe pandemic, then it must give “tan-gible reasons” for it.
“No issue. You take the decision.You are entitled to it. If you are depart-ing from the policy of last year, thenyou must give tangible reasons for it,”the bench told Venugopal.
Observing that the last year’s deci-sion was taken after deliberations, theapex court said, “If you are departingfrom that policy, please give us goodreasons so that we can examine it.”The bench was hearing a plea seekingdirections to cancel the Class 12 examsof the Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) and Council for theIndian School Certificate Examination
Class 12 exams: Govt to take decision within next 2 days, Attorney General informs SC
Policy makers must have ‘ears on ground’, SC on CoWIN appNEW DELHI: Highlighting “digitaldivide” between rural and urbanIndia, the Supreme Court on Mondayposed searching queries to the Centreon mandatory registration on CoWINfor Covid jabs, vaccine procurementpolicy and differential pricing, sayingthe policy makers “must have ears onground” to effectively deal with the“unprecedented” crisis.
Asking the Centre to “smell the cof-fee” and ensure that Covid-19 vaccinesare available at the same price acrossthe nation, a special bench headed byJustice DY Chandrachud advised thegovernment to be flexible with its poli-cies to deal with the “dynamic pan-demic situation”. “We are not framingthe policy. There is an order of April30 that these are the problems. Youcannot just say that you are the Centreand you know what is right. We havea strong arm to come down on this,”said the bench.
The bench however hailed the Cen-tre and external affairs minister SJaishankar for the efforts to deal withthe pandemic. PTI
SII to provide 10 cr Covishield doses in June: Govt sourcesNEW DELHI: The Central governmenttargets to procure 20 to 25 crore Cov-id-19 vaccine doses by July-end and 30crore doses in August-September,informed government sources onSunday. This came amid reports ofshortage of Covid-19 vaccines in thecountry as flagged by several stategovernments. According to sources,the Serum Institute of India (SII) hasinitiated the process of ramping upthe production of vaccine and willprovide 10 crore doses of Covishield tothe Central government by June and10 to 12 crore doses by July. Mean-while, the Supreme Court asked theCentre on Monday about the vaccine-procurement policy by referring to thefact that states are in the process ofissuing global tenders to procure jabsfor coronavirus. “Several states areissuing global tenders to procure for-eign vaccines for Covid-19 and is thispolicy of the central government?” thebench asked Solicitor General TusharMehta. The Centre said the entire eli-gible population would be vaccinatedby the end of 2021. AGENCIES
WISE WORDS »We must teach science in the mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all people can participate.
CV RAMAN
inspiring lives
BAHUGUNA: CHIPKO MOVEMENT FOUNDER
>P3
tokyo olympics
JAPAN MAY MAKE -VE COVID TEST RESULTS, VACCINATIONS MUST FOR SPECTATORS >P4
study
GLOBAL WARMING IS SO BAD IT’S CAUSING FLIES TO GO INFERTILE
>P5
llS C H O O L E V E N T l
ITL, DWARKA, HOLDS SESSION ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Under the able guidance of its principal Dr Sudha Acharya, ITL Public School, Dwarka, in collaboration with National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE), organised an interactive session on financial education for its teachers to make them money smart. The session was conducted by NCFE trainer Monica Sachdeva, who explained all the four pillars of financial management – banking, investments, insurance and pensions – with the minutest of details in a comprehensive manner. More on p2
Delhi Police fines over 1K for not wearing masksNEW DELHI: The Delhi Police fined 1,080 peopleon Sunday for not wearing face masks, officialssaid on Monday. According to police data, onMarch 30, 920 people were fined for not wear-ing masks and 19 for not maintaining social dis-tancing. On March 31, 1,091 were fined for notwearing masks and 16 others for violatingsocial distancing norms. On Sunday, 108 peoplewere also fined for not maintaining social dis-tancing, the officials said. “The Delhi Police hasissued over one lakh challans to people duringlockdown for not wearing masks and violatingsocial distancing etc. We urge people not tocome out of their homes unnecessarily,” saidDelhi Police Additional Public Relations Officer(PRO) Anil Mittal. PTI
HC: Central Vista essential project, work to continueNEW DELHI: Describing the Central Vista Ave-nue redevelopment, which entails construc-tion activities on Rajpath and the surroundinglawns from the India Gate to the RashtrapatiBhavan, as a “vital and essential” project ofnational importance, the Delhi High Court onMonday dismissed the plea against it saying itwas “motivated” and filed with “ill-intent” and“lack of bonafides”. While allowing the con-struction activity to continue, a bench of ChiefJustice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singhimposed cost of ₹1 lakh on the petitioners whowanted the work to be halted in view of theCovid-19 pandemic. The court said it disagreedwith the petitioners’ claim that the project wasnot an essential activity. PTI
City likely to get Sputnik V this month, says KejriwalNEW DELHI: Delhi is likely to receive the firstconsignment of Sputnik V, the Russian Cov-id-19 vaccine, in June, Delhi chief minister Arv-ind Kejriwal said on Monday, while stressingthat vaccination is key to the fight against coro-navirus. The chief minister also said the citycurrently has around 944 cases of mucormyco-sis or black fungus, including 300 at the centralgovernment-run hospitals. He inaugurated afree walk-in vaccination facility for journalistsand their families at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalayaat DDU Marg in ITO. Delhi on Mondayreported 648 fresh Covid-19 cases, the lowest intwo and a half months, and 86 more deaths,while the positivity rate fell below one per cent,the first time since March 19. PTI
A medical worker administers the Covid-19 vaccine as Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurates a vaccination centre for media persons in the Capital on Monday. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was also present at the event. ANI
warning by experts in u.s.
‘FIND COVID ORIGIN OR ‘FIND COVID ORIGIN OR FACE ANOTHER PANDEMIC’FACE ANOTHER PANDEMIC’The world needs China’s cooperation to trace the origins of Covid-19 and prevent future pandemic threats, leading US disease experts said. China accuses US of hyping theory that the virus had escaped from Wuhan lab. >P4
Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China’s Hubei province REUTERS FILE
boxing
ASIAN MEET: POOJA RANI IS LONE INDIAN WOMAN TO WIN GOLD
>P6
Pooja Rani won gold in the 75 kg category of the Asian Boxing C’ships on Sunday PTI
02NEW DELHI
TUESDAYJUNE 01, 2021Beyond Books
The Millennium School (TMS), Sec-tor 41, Noida, celebrated its annualday titled Abhuday — A New Sunrisewith enthusiasm. That event echoedthe thought that every sunrise is apoem written on the earth withwords of light, warmth, and love.
It was decided to conduct the eventonline to kindle the spirit of together-ness and to showcase the talent evenduring the Covid-19 pandemic tobelieve in the notion that come whatmay the show must go on.
The event was graced by CBSEdirector (academics) Dr. JosephEmmanuel, The Millennium Schoolsfounder Shantanu Prakash and TheMillennium Schools director RitaKaul with their esteemed presence.TMS vice principal Seema Gupta pre-sented the school’s annual report,highlighting the achievements of thestudents in academics, sports andextracurricular activities.
The students participated in theevent and performed enthusiasticallyto convey important lessons to every-one and spread awareness that evena phase like this ongoing pandemichas taught us so much and helped
each one of us to evolve. The stu-dents performed with great zeal andtransported the audience to a visualheaven. The astounding visual treatheld the audience in awe. Addressingthe students, all the dignitariesappreciated their (students’) determi-nation and passion to overcome allthe obstacles and emerge as victors toput up such an incredible show.
They also discussed the impor-tance of online classes and the inno-vations. The ambience gleamed evenas it was a virtual event with cheerfulstudents, encouraging parents andcommitted teachers. Their constantsupport kept everyone moving. Thejoy shared by all the stakeholderscoming together through technologycreated a relaxed moment.
Virtual comments kept flowingthroughout the event. The celebra-tion reached its crescendo when headgirl Navya Gulati proposed a vote ofthanks to express gratitude to allthose who worked tirelessly to makethe event a huge success. The eventechoed the message - the sun of hopeand happiness will rise again and weall must remember.
Under the able guidance of its princi-pal Dr. Sudha Acharya, ITL PublicSchool, Dwarka, in collaborationwith National Centre for FinancialEducation (NCFE), organised aninteractive session on financial edu-cation for its teachers to make themmoney smart.
The session was conducted byNCFE trainer Monica Sachdeva, whoexplained all the four pillars of finan-cial management -- banking, invest-ments, insurance and pensions --with the minutest of details in a com-prehensive manner.
In the course of the session, theresource person discussed the rightway of using our credit options likecredit cards and how one can preventhimself/herself from falling intocredit trap.
Monica very systematically put for-ward the various components ofstock markets including shares anddifferent categories of mutual funds.She expounded their working andbenefits. In addition, she alsoexplained the tax exemptionschemes.
She elucidated upon a variety ofinsurance and pension plans whichcould be availed across geographiesand jobs. The key takeaways includedthe setting up of long-term and short-term goals for saving.
She also emphasized on starting tosave early and the importance of
Solutions
-
Place numbers intothe puzzle cells sothat each row andcolumn contains eachof the digits from 1 to 5. No number is to be repeated in any row orcolumn. Each bold-outlined cells contain a hint of a number and one of the mathematical sym-bols + x - /. The number is the result of the operation represent-ed by the symbol to the digits contained.
SUDOKU
SCRAMBLE
MATHDOKU
SUDOKU SOLUTIONS
MATHDOKU SOLUTION
SCRAMBLE Solution Words:
Ratio, glass, tomcat, induct
Answer: Evil is whatever distracts. - Franz Kafka
*
* *
Amrita Bharati Features
Solve the four anagrams andmove oneletter to eachsquare to form four ordinary words
Now arrange the letters marked with an asterisk (*) to form the answer to the riddle or to fill in the missing words as indicated.
WRONG ANSWERS
Evil is whatever ___.- Franz Kafka (9)
Answer: 5. The test is out of 200 and since she gets 125 marks, it means that she has lost 75 marks. We are told that each question carries 10 marks and that 5 marks are deducted for every wrong answer, which means that Simran has lost 10+5=15 marks for every wrong answer. Divide the number of marks she has lost (75) by the number of marks she has lost for every wrong answer (15) and you get 5, which is the number of answers Simran has answered wrongly (200-125=75 and 75/15 = 5).
OTAIR
SLAGS
ACMOTT
INTUCD
* *
*
Simran takes a
test that has 20
questions. Each
question carries
10 marks and
the teacher
deducts 5 marks
for every wrong
answer. Simran
answers all 20
questions and
she gets 125
marks. Can you
tell how many
of her answers
are wrong?
* *
* *
MIND GAME
FUN MOMENTS
Five-year-old Hamish Lamont meets ‘The Undiscovered Creature’ during a
performance at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the 2021
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, on Sunday AP
llE M B R A C I N G S D A G - A C A L L F O R A C T I O N l
Modern Public School(MPS), Shalimar Bagh, issynonymous with qualityeducation and is con-
ceived with a vision to create adultsof tomorrow who are progressive,caring and who will contribute to theworld’s society for peaceful coexist-ence and mutual growth.
To uphold the vision, MPS, Shali-mar Bagh, works on 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) set byUnited Nations Organization (UNO)with an aim to transform the worldwherein the students are sensitizedtowards the most pressing globalissues. Hence the school has inter-woven SDGs into the fabric of its cur-riculum. The school has taken thefollowing initiatives under the SDGsgoals in the last academic year:
“On wheels” initiative: To manifestthe dream of helping the underprivi-leged into reality, the school hastaken the three school buses and con-verted them into mobile educationunits. They are currently being man-aged by the faculty members at MPSwho’ve volunteered for this noblecause. Each bus will serve a specificpurpose and has been given a specificname accordingly – Science Park onWheels, Roti Bank on Wheels, andLibrary on Wheels.
The Science Park on Wheels busis loaded with equipment from thescience lab so that the children canpractically learn about important sci-entific concepts. This effort from theschool seeks to honour the UnitedNations’ Sustainable DevelopmentGoals of “Quality Education” and“Reduced Inequalities”. The RotiBank on Wheels bus collects foodpackets from door to door from allthe kind-hearted citizens who arewilling to lend a helping hand in thenoble initiative and deliver the foodto the underprivileged areas. Thisproject seeks to honour the UN’sSDGs of “Zero Hunger” and “Goodhealth and well-being’.
The Library on Wheels bus con-tains the extensive collection ofbooks from the library and theunderprivileged students, who werecut-off from the education as their
schools were shut down during thelockdown, are now able to continuetheir education by studying booksthat explore their subjects of interestquite thoroughly. This initiative is inline with the United Nations’ SDGs of“Quality Education” and “ReducedInequalities”.
With an aim to uphold missionstatement of the school, A Whole Per-son in the Whole World, the schoolhas successfully knitted SDGs intothe school curriculum framework.
The students are allocated withprojects wherein they undertake vari-ous activities to create awarenessregarding healthy and nutritious diet,how to combat malnutrition andeffects of food on students’ emotionaland social being.
The Joy Box Campaign, a specialinitiative to lighten up the life of theunderprivileged during the pan-demic, was initiated by the schoolthis Diwali by distributing boxes fullof goodies among the underprivi-leged. Every nook and corner of MPSgives a clarion call to save planetEarth by all means. This helps Mod-ernites reaffirm their moral obliga-tion towards mother Earth andthereby promoting Sustainable goalsviz a viz Climate action, Life belowLand and Water and Susutaiable Cit-ies and Communities.
Peace is Green: The School hostedthe world’s longest and largest onlineenvironment awareness event.
The school hosted webinars on theoccasion of Environment Day and
World’s Rivers Day. Renowned envi-ronmentalists Arushi Nishank andDiya Mirza discussed varied sensitiveissues pertaining to health, environ-ment, and the youth’s involvement inmaking this planet sustainable.
Ecotopia – the Gandhian way: Theannual event was hosted by theschool on the occasion of 5th anni-versary of SDGs and 151st anniversaryof Mahatma Gandhi.
The school organised a phenome-nal exhibition Sankalp Se Siddhidepicting a kaleidoscopic history ofIndia from the ancient past to thepresent day. The exhibits encapsu-lated India’s progression in accord-ance with 17 SDGs.
The SDG implementation journeyhas been quite eventful, interestingand a unique experience and we planto continue this endeavour in theupcoming session by undertaking thefollowing activities under the SDGs:
•The school in accordance withSDG no.17 has collaborated with theBritish Council to undertake 7 pro-jects which would involve the entireschool in their initiative InternationalDimension In Schools. Under thisprogramme the projects will beshared collaboratively with theschools across the globe to make thestudents aware of the global issuesand to resolve these issues together.
•Summer holiday homework pro-jects have been designed to promotethe sustainable goals so that the stu-dents become globally conscious ofthe challenges being faced worldwide.
•The school calendar for this aca-demic year has been designed keep-ing in view the sustainable goals sothat the students of all classesbecome aware of the global threatsand arrive at a consensus.
•It is with pride that the school onits completion of 50 glorious yearscalls for accelerating sustainablesolutions to all the world’s biggestchallenges ranging from poverty andgender to climate change, inequalityand closing the finance gap.
Alka Kapoor, Principal, Modern Public
School, Shalimar Bagh
‘Implementation journey has been quite eventful, interesting and unique experience’
spending, saving and investing cor-rectly so that we may earn maximumreturns on our investments and makeour future safe.
She glossed over on a very basicformula for savings which wasappreciated by all the attendees { (Salary – Needs ) – savings = Wants }The session was very fruitful andinformative as the teachers alsoasked a number of pertinent ques-tions. The very aim of the session wasachieved as all the teachers who par-ticipated in the session were empow-ered with the knowledge of how tohandle the finances in the best possi-ble manner.
ITL, Dwarka, organises session on financial education
llS C H O O L R E P O R T S l
An interactive session on financial education was organised for the school teachers under the guidance of principal Dr Sudha Acharya
Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, has interwoven SDGs into the fabric of its curriculum, writes principal Alka Kapoor
TMS, Noida, celebrates annual day with enthusiasm
Teachers and dignitaries during the celebrations of the annual day event
With an aim to promote mental well-being, The Club with a Cause of AirForce Golden Jubilee Institute(AFGJI), Subroto Park, organised aprogramme titled Soul Surakshaunder the guidance of principal Poo-nam S Rampal, vice principal RashmiSoota and mentorship of the clubin-charge Alka Singh.
Club president Pranav Jain (fromClass 12-A) and the students joinedhands for the cause of mental health-and came together to sensitize all thestudents who are in the midst of avery different and challenging time.
Since its inception a few yearsback, this club has been sensitizingthe students to the social, economicand environmental causes.
This time, the club members, pri-marily from Class 12, made a video topromote mental well-being.
Soul Suraksha comprised manyactivities such as speeches, poems,songs, instrumental music, poster-making, PowerPoint presentationand a motivational video meant toencourage students to take care oftheir body and soul.
The programme was compered byManasvini Singh Sambyal ( a Class 12-B student) while Chetna Mishra(Class 12-A) compiled and created thewonderful presentation.
The school campuses are closedand it is important for all the studentsto keep themselves physically fit andmentally agile in the days of onlineteaching and learning.
AFGJI, Subroto Park, conducts programme on mental health
The students took part in a plethora of activities with enthusiasm during the programme
NEW DELHITUESDAYJUNE 01, 2021 03Inspiring Lives
Born on January 9, 1927, inMaroda village located nearTehri, Uttarakhand, Sunder-lal Bahuguna took to social
activism when he was just 13, underthe guidance of Dev Suman, a nation-alist who promoted the principles ofnon-violence. Later on, inspired byMahatma Gandhi, the young activistjoined the freedom movement andmobilised people against Britishcolonial rule before 1947. After inde-pendence, he walked thousands ofkilometres in support of a series ofcauses connected to the people andthe environment.
CHIPKO MOVEMENT
The Chipko movement was a forestconservation movement which waslaunched in 1973 in the hilly regionsof Uttar Pradesh, which now corre-sponds to the Uttarakhand state. Theroot cause of the movement, that wasa brainchild of Bahuguna’s wifeVimla, was the reckless cutting oftrees during the 1970s in the upperreaches by timber merchants. Whenloggers arrived in a village namedRaini to cut the trees, a local girl sawthem and informed the villagers.Groups of women came out andstopped the loggers by hugging the
trees. Through the night and the daysthat followed, they refused to leavethe trees. It marked the beginning ofthe Chipko movement.
From Raini, the movement spreadto other villages. Bahuguna gave anational voice to the movement.Working with fellow activists such asShekhar Pathak and Chandi PrasadBhatt, he started a statewide cam-paign to protect the forests and alsopeople’s livelihood. Bahuguna under-took a trans-Himalayan march from1981 to 1983 that covered nearly 5,000km. His meeting with then PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi is believed tohave been instrumental in the latter’s15-year ban on cutting of green trees.
TEHRI DAM PROTEST
Bahuguna was also a leading light inthe opposition to the construction ofthe Tehri dam, and the protest led byhim convinced the authorities toreduce the dam height so as toreduce the area of submergence, thussaving hundreds of trees. He under-went many hunger strikes on thebanks of Bhagirathi. In 1995, hecalled off a 45-day-long fast after anassurance from then Prime MinisterPV Narasimha Rao that a reviewcommittee would be appointed on
the ecological impact of the dam.Bahuguna went on another 74-dayfast in New Delhi, during the tenureof Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda,who gave personal undertaking ofproject review. Though a case ran inthe Supreme Court for over a decade,work at the Tehri dam resumed in2001. The environmentalist wasarrested on April 24, 2001. When thedam reservoir began filling up, hewas evacuated on July 31, 2004.
PERSONAL LIFE
Bahuguna, who gained prominencein political circles during his youngerdays, married Vimla, a committedsocial activist trained by freedomfighter and social activist Sarla Behn,Before they began life as a couple,however, Vimla wanted him to giveup the limelight of political life and toserve people in remote villages. Heagreed and, after marriage, the duosettled down in Silyara village wherethey eventually built an ashram.Bahuguna died at the age of 94, suc-cumbing to Covid-19 at the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences, Ris-hikesh just ten days ago, on May 21.
SOURCES: Wikipedia, thenewleam.com,
HT archives
Gladiator who fought for Gladiator who fought for forests, rivers and peopleforests, rivers and peopleSUNDERLAL BAHUGUNA: An environmentalist and key figure in the Chipko movement during the 1970s, he also led the movement against the construction of the Tehri Dam from the 1980s to 2004 and boldly spoke out against social evils such as untouchability.
Sunderlal Bahu-guna created the
watchwords of the Chipko movement — Ecology is Permanent Economy. He had also filed numerous public interest litigations in the Uttarakhand High Court, the Supreme
Court and the Na-tional Green Tribunal for the protection of forests in the Himala-yan region. His was a lifelong struggle amplifying the need for a long-term policy to protect the dying Himalayas.
Bahuguna’s pathbreaking
efforts were widely recognised. The Ja-mnalal Bajaj Award for constructive work in 1986, the Right Liveli-hood Award, also known as the Alterna-tive Nobel Prize, 1987,
and the Padma Vi-bhushan in 2009 were among the honours conferred on him. In 1981, he had refused the Padma Shri it in view of the govern-ment’s stand on the Tehri Dam despite his protests.
He also wrote books such as the
Hindi titles Bhu Prayog Men Buniyadi Parivar-tan and Dharti Ki Pukar, and co-wrote India’s Environment: Myth and Reality, with Vandana Shiva and Medha Patkar.
1
INTERESTING FACTS
ILLUSTRATION: GAJANAN NIRPHALE
32
Source: Comscore MMXMulti-platform Unique Users | Geo: India, March '21
65Mn.Unique Users
71Mn.Unique Users
33Mn.Unique Users
M I L L I O NI N D I A N STrust HTMedia Group's digital
platforms for credible information.
142Scan the code to advertisewithHTMedia Group
04NEW DELHI
TUESDAYJUNE 01, 2021In The News
On display are Ai-Da’s drawings, paintings and performance art
TOKYO: Tokyo Olympics fans may haveto be vaccinated or test negative for thecoronavirus before being allowed intovenues, a Japanese newspaper reportsaid Monday.
Cheering, eating, high-fives anddrinking alcohol would also be bannedunder controls now being considered,the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said.
Organisers are set to decide in Junehow many spectators -- if any -- will beallowed to attend the Games.
Overseas fans are already barred,and the report warned domestic spec-
Bloomberg
WASHINGTON: The world needs thecooperation of the Chinese govern-ment to trace the origins of Covid-19and prevent future pandemic threats,two leading US disease experts saidSunday. Information to support thetheory that the SARS-CoV-2 virus mayhave escaped from a lab in Wuhan,China, has increased, said Scott Got-tlieb, a commissioner of the Food andDrug Administration in the Trumpadministration who now sits on theboard of Pfizer Inc.
China hasn’t provided evidence todisprove that theory, while the searchfor signs that the virus emerged fromwildlife hasn’t yielded results, Gottliebsaid on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
Biden renews virus origin probe that’s so far come up emptyNot knowing how the pandemicstarted puts the world at risk of futureoutbreaks, Peter Hotez, co-director ofthe Texas Children’s Hospital Centerfor Vaccine Development, said in a sep-arate TV appearance.
“There’s going to be Covid-26 andCovid-32 unless we fully understandthe origins of Covid-19,” Hotez said.
Almost a year and half after the newpathogen was first detected spreadingin a seafood market in Wuhan, China,the precise origins of the virus remainobscure. Scientists have hypothesizedthat it most likely spread from wild ani-mals to humans. The idea that thevirus may have accidentally escapedfrom a research lab, long promoted bysome Republicans, has gotten renewedattention from the Biden administra-tion. In a surprise statement onWednesday, President Joe Biden calledfor a renewed investigation into thevirus’s emergence. US intelligence
agencies had conflicting assessmentsof whether it was more likely the viruscrossed the species barrier from a nat-ural reservoir or leaked from theWuhan Institute of Virology, Bidensaid. He ordered the agencies to“redouble their efforts” and report tohim again in 90 days.
China accuses US of hyping theory virus escaped from labDebate over the virus’s origin wasfueled anew by a Wall Street Journalreport on May 23 that three research-ers from China’s Wuhan Institute ofVirology became sick enough inNovember 2019 that they sought hospi-tal care for “symptoms consistent withboth Covid-19 and common seasonalillness.”
Scientists should be allowed to con-duct a long-term investigation in Chinaand take blood samples from humansand animals, Hotez said. The U.S.should pressure China, including withthe threat of sanctions, to allow for aninquiry. “We need a team of scientists,epidemiologists, virologists, bat ecolo-gists in Hubei province for a six-month,year-long period,” Hotez said.
Chinese officials have disputed theWuhan lab theory. Foreign Ministryspokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursdaydismissed Biden’s inquiry as anattempt to engage in “stigmatization,political manipulation and blame-shift-ing.”
A World Health Organization reportreleased in March didn’t fully uncoverthe virus’s origin but called a lab leakunlikely. The global health body calledfor more investigation at that time.
“As far as WHO is concerned, allhypotheses remain on the table,”Director-General Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus said in a statement whenthe March report was released.
llU . S . E X P E R T S W A R N l
NEW DELHI: The Naren-dra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government unveiled on Friday pensions for small traders and farmers, and expand-ed PM Kisan, the minimum assured income scheme announced in its first term, to include all eligible farmers — two big-ticket announce-ments just a day after being sworn in for its second term.
The first meeting of the new Cabinet, chaired by Modi, decided to launch two flagship pension schemes, supported entirely by the Centre, to provide a minimum fixed pension of ₨3,000 a month for small and marginal farmers and small traders when they reach 60 years.
People between the ages of 18 and 40 are eligible for entry into the schemes.
Under the schemes, all farmers, shopkeepers and retail-
ers, and self-employed persons with a GST turnover below 1.5 crore and aged
between 18-40 years can enroll. According to Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, the scheme will"benefit more than 30 million small shopkeep-ers and traders and secure the lives of 50 million farmers”.
BATAVIA - The Dutch and Republican authorities in Jogja-karta have ordered their respec-tive armed forces to avoid "contact in arms" as the first step towards a cease-fire in Indonesia, a U.N. Commission spokesman said today.
Details of the second part of the cease-fire order, to cease immediately any form of sabotage, destruction, obstruc-tion, mining and subversive activity, have still to be worked out by the peace-making
Dutch-Republican Sub-Commit-tee before implementation.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of Jogjakarta by those who wish to leave before the return of the Republican Government is
proceeding at the rate of 1,000 daily.
Forty-five thousand persons are at present registered for evacuation and the population has been informed by loud-speak-er vans and pamphlets that evacu-ation lists will close on Saturday next, after which the Dutch
authorities will not guarantee evacuation.
The Sultan of Jogja-karta has protested to the U.N. Commission, through the Republican delegation, against entry and search by Dutch troops of Republican offices in Jogjakarta.
He alleged Dutch troops confiscated documents and lists of personnel and made some arrests.
New Delhi- Reversing its decision taken two years ago the Constitu-ent Assembly today adopted a provision empowering the President of India to nominate Governors of States.
Among another 11 speakers who took part in the debate this morning there were no more than three who demanded that Governors should be elected. But their objections were so numerous that supporters
of the system of nomination had to spend a good deal of time explaining its advantages.
The case in favour of leaving the Governors' appointment to the President was lucidly presented by the Prime Minister, who argued that the proposal, besides being fully democratic and practical, would also serve as a check against separatist tendencies.
If Governors were to be elected provincialism would be encour-aged, and India with difficult
times still ahead of her could not afford to do anything which might lead to the
growth of separatism in any form.
Nominated Governors, unlike elected ones, would be from outside the province, detached from provincial politics and unconnect-ed with the party machine.
WATCH OUT THIS SPACE FOR QUIZ ON FRIDAYS
The quiz will be based on HT archives. Send in your answers at
June 1 >> H T C H R O N I C L E
1949
1949
2019
First step towards cease-fire in Indonesia
1st Cabinet meet clears PM Kisan for all farmers
Governors to be nominated
from the archives of the Hindustan Times
Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee Vice-
President Toshiaki Endo REUTERS
‘Find Covid origin or face another pandemic’
tators may be denied entrance orkicked out for breaking the rules.
“The plan is to stop the spread ofinfections during Games time withstrict countermeasures,” the papersaid.
Under the plan, spectators must beable to show a vaccination certificateor a negative test taken at their ownexpense less than a week before enter-ing the venue. They must wear masksand fill in health-check sheets, andonce inside must not cheer loudly orhigh-five each other.
Japan’s vaccine rollout has beenmoving slowly, with less than 2.5% ofthe population fully vaccinated so far.
Tokyo and other parts of the countryare under a virus state of emergencywhich was extended on Friday untilJune 20, just over a month before theopening ceremony on July 23.
The Yomiuri also published a newpoll on Monday that shows 49% of peo-ple living in Tokyo want the Games togo ahead, while 48% want them can-celled. AFP
To watch Olympics, fans have to get vaccinated or test Covid -ve, says report
MEET ROBOT ARTIST AI-DADid you know that art is no longer the domain of humans alone? An ongoing exhibition in London, titled Ai-Da: Portrait of the Robot, takes us to the exciting intersection of art and artificial intelligence. The star of this event is Ai-Da, touted as the world’s first ultra-realistic AI robot artist. Named after Ada Lovelace, the pioneering woman scientist and mathematician, Ai-Da, which is actually a machine with AI capabilities, terms itself as a robotic artist that can draw as well as engage in discussion. It uses a robotic arm to hold a pencil and draw, its silicone face has a human appearance and its movements and gestures are programmed to perform like a human in this digital age.
The robot artist Ai-Da, which can draw and paint, with her self-portrait at an exhibition in London
AFP
An exhibit that explains how Ai-Da was created
Self-portraits created by Ai-Da
The robot artist’s reflection with her self-portrait in the backdrop
NEW DELHITUESDAYJUNE 01, 2021 05The Science Of It
Press Trust of India
CANBERRA: Evidence of declining fer-tility in humans and wildlife is grow-ing. While chemicals in our environ-ment have been identified as a majorcause, our new research showsthere’s another looming threat to ani-mal fertility: climate change.
We know animals can die whentemperatures rise to extremes theycannot endure. However, ourresearch suggests males of some spe-cies can become infertile even at lessextreme temperatures.
This means the distribution of spe-cies may be limited by the tempera-tures at which they can reproduce,rather than the temperatures atwhich they can survive.
These findings are important,because they mean we may be under-estimating the impacts of climatechange on animals – and failing toidentify the species most likely tobecome extinct. Researchers haveknown for some time that animal fer-tility is sensitive to heat stress.
For example, research shows a 2°Celsius temperature rise dramaticallyreduces the production of spermbundles and egg size in corals. And inmany beetle and bee species, fertilisa-tion success drops sharply at hightemperatures.
Fly infertility shows we are underestimating how climate change is harming animals
Not only are animals dying because they cannot endure high temperatures, males of some species are also becoming infertile even at less extreme temperatures. This means Earth may be heading for far more species extinctions than previously anticipated.
llG L O B A L W A R M I N G A F F E C T I N G F E R T I L I S A T I O N l
High temperatures have also beenshown to affect fertilisation or spermcount in cows, pigs, fish and birds.
However, temperatures that causeinfertility have not been incorporatedinto predictions about how climatechange will affect biodiversity. Ourresearch aims to address this.
The paper published recentlyinvolved researchers from theUnited Kingdom, Sweden and Aus-tralia, including one author of thisarticle. The study examined 43 spe-cies of fly to test whether male fertil-ity temperatures were a better pre-dictor of global fly distributions thanthe temperatures at which the adultfly dies - also known as their “sur-vival limit”.
The researchers exposed flies tofour hours of heat stress at tempera-tures ranging from benign to lethal.From this data they estimated boththe temperature that is lethal to 80%of individuals and the temperature atwhich 80% of surviving males
become infertile.They found 11 of 43 species expe-
rienced an 80% loss in fertility atcooler-than-lethal temperaturesimmediately following heat stress.Rather than fertility recovering overtime, the impact of high tempera-tures was more pronounced sevendays after exposure to heat stress.Using this delayed measure, 44% ofspecies (19 out of 43) showed fertil-ity loss at cooler-than-lethal tem-peratures.
The researchers then matchedthese findings to real-world data onthe flies’ distribution, and estimatedthe average maximum air tempera-tures the species are likely to encoun-ter in the wild. They found the distri-bution of fly species is linked moreclosely to the effects of high tempera-ture on male fertility than on temper-atures that kill flies.
These fertility responses are cru-cial to species survival. A separatestudy led by one author of this article,
using simulated climate change inthe laboratory, showed experimentalpopulations of the same flies becomeextinct not because they can’t survivethe heat, but because the malesbecome infertile. Species from tropi-cal rainforests were the first to suc-cumb to extinction.
The prediction that tropical andsub-tropical species may be morevulnerable to climate change is notnew. But the fertility findings suggestthe negative impact of climatechange may be even worse thananticipated.
Some animals have adapted tominimise the effect of high tempera-ture on fertility. For instance, it’sthought testes in male primates andhumans are externally located to pro-tect the developing sperm fromexcessive heat.
As the planet warms, animals mayfurther evolve to withstand theeffects of heat on fertility. But thespeed at which a species can adapt
A study has examined 43 species of fly to test whether male fertility temperatures were a better predictor of global fly distributions than the temperatures at which the adult fly
dies - also known as their “survival limit”. The study found 44% of species (19 out of 43) showed fertility loss at cooler-than-lethal temperatures. SHUTTERSTOCK
MICROPEZIDAE, STILT LEGGED FLY
THE FIREBUG, PYRRHOCORIS APTERUS
may be too slow to ensure their sur-vival. Our research has shown bothtropical and widespread species offlies could not increase their fertilitywhen exposed to simulated globalwarming, even after 25 generations.
A study involving beetles also indi-cates fertility damage from succes-sive heatwaves can accumulate overtime. And more work is needed todetermine how other stressors suchas salinity, chemicals and poor nutri-tion may compound the fertility-tem-perature problem.
Whether our findings extrapolateto other species, including mammalssuch as humans, is not yet clear. It’scertainly possible, given evidenceacross the animal kingdom that fer-tility is sensitive to heat stress.
Either way, unless global warm-ing is radically curbed, animal fertil-ity will likely decline. This meansEarth may be heading for far morespecies extinctions than previouslyanticipated.
Press Trust of India
BEIJING: A three-man crew of astro-nauts will blast off in June for athree-month mission on China’s newspace station, according to a spaceofficial who was the country’s firstastronaut in orbit.
The plans for the station’s firstcrew were confirmed to state televi-sion by Yang Liwei, the mannedspace program’s deputy chiefdesigner, as an automated spacecraftwas launched with fuel and suppliesfor the Tianhe station. The Tianhe, orHeavenly Harmony, is the third andlargest space station launched byChina’s increasingly ambitious spaceprogram. Its core module waslaunched into orbit April 29.
The Shenzhou 12 capsule carryingthe crew will be launched from theJiuquan base in China’s northwestnext month, Yang said in commentsbroadcast Saturday by China CentralTelevision.
They will practice spacewalks andconduct repairs and maintenance aswell as scientific operations.
Yang, who orbited Earth in 2003,gave no details of the astronauts’identities or a flight date and said thecrew will come from the program’stwo earliest groups of astronauts.
Asked whether women would bein the crew, Yang said, “on Shenzhou12 we don’t have them, but missionsafter that all will have them.” TheTianzhou-2 spacecraft that dockedwith Tianhe on Sunday carried 6.8tons of cargo including space suits,food and equipment for the astro-nauts and fuel for the station, accord-ing to the space program.
The space agency plans a total of 11launches through the end of nextyear to deliver two more modules forthe 70-ton station, supplies and thecrew.
Beijing doesn’t participate in theInternational Space Station, largelydue to U.S. objections. Washington iswary of the Chinese program’ssecrecy and its military connections.
China has sent 11 astronauts,including two women, into spacebeginning with Yang’s flight in Octo-ber 2003. The first female astronautwas Liu Yang in 2012.
CHINA TO SEND 3
MALE ASTRONAUTS
TO ITS SPACE
STATION IN JUNE
THE DARK GIANT HORSE FLY
CLICK BEETLE, CTENICERA PECTINICORNIS
The all-new HT city aims at bringingthe best in entertainment andlifestyle straight to your doorstepand fingertips.
Scan the codeand subscribe toHindustan Times now
www.hindustantimes.comhtcityHTcity
MEET THENEWHEARTOF YOUR CITY
Thursday,April08,2021
n 6 PAGES. f@HTCITY t@HTCITY i@HTCITY y/USER/HT.ENTERTAINMENT & PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
Sanchita Kalra
Couples planning t
o tie the
knot thismonth are in a
bind following the impo-
sition of night curfew from
10pm to 5am inDelhi and 8pm
to 7am inMumbai, to stem
Covid-19 in both cities.
While some havedecided to
postpone the dateagain, others
areweighing alternate solu-
tions, with dayweddings being
touted as one. “Themoment it
was announced, we received a
call from the venue tomove the
function to the day, but it
might be difficult,” says Sau-
rabhAswal, whois getting
married onApril25.
For Abhishek Pateria, who
took twomonthsoff fromhis
chats. Hopefully,next birthday, Im
ight
have a party and even then, I’ll ensu
re
everyone gets their Covid vaccine c
ertif-
icates,” quips theRangbaaz actor.
Saleem, who came toMumbai from
Delhi 10 years ago, admits he has
changed. “I was atypical Delhi boy
who
loved to get into fights and rodemy
car
with blaringmusic. But since I cam
e to
Mumbai, the brash Delhi boy has b
een
replaced by one learning everyday.
I’ve
gone from strength to strength, be
itmy
acting ability or as a person,” he sa
ys. At
33, ismarriage onhismind at all? “M
y
mumasksme about shaadi everyda
y. I
am finding newways to avoid this q
ues-
tion. One should never say never. Ho
pe-
fully sometime,” he concludes.
Sugandha Rawal
sugandha.rawal@hindustanti
mes.com
nce the beginning of 2021,
ulkit Samrat hasbeen shoot-
ing nonstop for his projects, be
n Mumbai, Delhior Agra. The
tor says work has found a newthe andemic.
n fact, now, e c
o be detached from the concept of
hit and flop. “Hitaur flop mein
kuch nahi rakhahai. Agar hit dek
e
bhi main ghar par lockdown mein
baitha hoon, tohmain kya hi ukha
d
raha hun,” Samrat observes, befo
re
going on to explain his definition
of
happiness.“At the end of th
e day, it is about
you being happy, and not attachin
g
that happiness toa condition ki ye
h
hoga toh main khush ho jaunga, ya
nahi hua toh main udas ho jaung
a.
You are blessed if you have a good
family, you wakeup every morn-
ing, and all the people you know
are alive and well,” says the actor
,
who is preppingfor the third
ent of the Fukreyfranchise.
t made his television
Lakshya Virani in the pop-
w, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi
i, in 2006. He went on to
do films such asBittoo Boss (2012
),
Fukrey (2013), Bangistan (2015),
nam Re (2016), and Fukrey
turns (2017).Next, he will soo
n be seen as a
appy go lucky guy from Delhi” in
e film, Suswagatam Khushaama-
eed. “There are other diverse role
s
n the pipeline,” he adds.
Pulkit Samratfeels
the lockdown
made him value
workmore
STOP PRESS
job in Poland forhis wedding
and booked a venue in Suraj-
kund, Haryana, changeswill be
tough. “There’s no chance of
postponing or even switching
to day functions.It will be diffi-
cult for guests whowill attend
thewedding all theway from
Delhi or Noida,” he says.
Planners feelmonths of
efforts have gonedown the
drain.Mumbai-basedAanchal
Bagaria, of TheWedding Soul,
who had three-day affairs
planned in April says, “Now it’s
all going to bewrapped up in
one event with a lunch.” But
Mumbai’s VishalPunjabi,
founder, TheWedding Filmer,
says, “When things like this
happen, they teach us to value
what we have. Awedding
doesn’t have to bea big party.”
PThe date is so
near and venues
say they need to
check availability
for day timings.
AKHIL NARANG,
Businessman
PAKHIL NAR NG
We’ve received
queries from
couples for a
brunch andthey’re trying to
keep gatherings
intimate.
SHIVAN GUPTA , Creative
director, Amaara Farms
Night curfew to curb Covid
surge hits wedding plans
CityDelh
i
Rishabh Suri
Shooting, travellin
g, and shooting
again —Kriti Sanon’s life is all abo
ut
that. With a hostof biggies such as
Bachchan Pandey, Bhediya and
Ganpath in her kitty, she is of
course excited. And it was also rec
ently
announced that she will join Prabh
as
and Saif Ali Khanin Adipurush.
Despite the rise inCovid cases and
several restrictions reimposed,
including shutting of theatres,
Sanon says she would prefer theat
-
rical releases forall her films.
“Obviously, as anactor you want th
e
film to reach beyond just the OTT
audience. Of course, they are great
platforms, and everyone is hooked
on
to it and the platforms have great
content. But as anactor you want it
to reach even theones who don’t
really go on theseplatforms,” says
the 30-year-old, whose filmMimi, i
n
which she plays asurrogate mothe
r,
is also waiting for a release.
It’s been some time since the film w
as
announced and has been shot. Ask
what’s
happening on that front, and Sanon
says
she recently wrapped up work on t
he last
scene. “Mimi as afilm needs to reac
h the
masses. It is based on surrogacy, it
’s a
unique subject andmade in a very
enter-
taining manner. It is something th
at will
touch your heart, make you cry, la
ugh, and
leave you with food for thought. It
should
be watched bymore people who a
re
rooted in areas where OTT isn’t wa
tched,”
she says.In fact, it was rain
ing release datesuntil
recently in Bollywood, when the pa
ndemic
reared its head again and forcedm
any film
releases to be postponed again. “W
e are
very excited for Mimi to release. Th
e times
we are in, it’s important for a film l
ike that
to get a release. Ihope things are n
ormal
soon. There are somany films wai
ting to
release. I am hopingMimi does to
o, soon,
sometime aroundmid 2021. I don’t
know
what the producers are deciding. It
should
get what it deserves,” says Sanon.
NOTETO
READERS: Some
of the coverage
that appearson
our pages is
paid for by the
concerned
brands. No
sponsored
content does or
shall appearin
anypart ofHT
without it being
declared as such
to our valued
readers.
Kriti Sanonwishesmovies
would get backto theatres
PI am a bit irritated but
also looking at the
larger picture. I don’t
want to take any
risks. Zinda rahe toh
aur birthday honge.
SAQIB SALEEM, Actor
PI want tosurprisemyself and my
audience. I’ve
never slotted
myself into any
category. I’ve
chosen very
different roles.
RITUPARNA
SENGUPTA, Actor
Scan the code
to readmore
about how
couples and
wedding
vendors are
trying to find
a way out in
the crisis
Scan the code
to readmore
on Saqib
Saleem’s
birthday plans
‘My 30th birthday seems like a decade ago’
Kavita Awaasthi
Saqib Saleem loves
birthdays and
often throws big parties on his spe-
cial day. “But thiswill bemy second
birthday in a rowspoiled by Covid-
19,”
says the actor, who turns 33 today a
nd
admits he is a little heartbroken tha
t he
won’t be able tomeet friends.
“I have forgottenwhat parties are
like.My 30th birthday party seems
a
decade ago. But Idon’t want to take
any
risks. Zinda rahetoh aur birthday
honge.Mymum is herewithme, so
she
will make some yummy biryani.W
e
will have a quiet celebration at hom
e
with the newnormal of video calls
and
Titas Chowdhury
Iwant to keep am
ore openmind now. I feel
that the kind of content being chu
rned out
in the Hindi filmindustry today is
revolu-
tionary,” says Rituparna Sengupta
. The
National Award-winning actor is al
l set to
return to the Hindi film industry w
ith Bansuri:
The Flute. Alongwith it, she is awa
iting the
release of a couple of other films, o
ne of them
with veteran actor Shabana Azmi.
A prominent name in the Bengali fi
lm indus-
try, she is best remembered in Bolly
wood for
her role inMain,Meri Patni AurW
oh (2005).
With the boom inthe OTT space an
dmeatier
roles for women,she believes now
is the time to
explore varied roles in Hindi proje
cts. “Back in
the day, I was toobusy. So, I decide
d to concen-
trate on Bangla films. I was also do
ing films in
Bangladesh and Kerala. But I would
want to
concentrate onmy Hindi film care
er now. A lot
of unconventional content is being
made.
Maybe, I am needed inMumbai no
w,” she says.
The Bengali superstar says she alw
ays wants
to do somethingnew: “I want to su
rprise myself
andmy audience. I’ve never slotte
d myself into
any particular category. I’ve chose
n very differ-
ent and challenging roles for myse
lf.”
So, is OTT an option for Sengupta?
“For
actors, it’s a goodopportunity to re
ach a global
audience. Audiences are demandin
g direct-to-
digital releases now. Producers to
o are releas-
ing their films ondigital platforms
as they’re
worried their filmsmight turn stale
if not
released on time.OTT platforms ar
e turning
out to be quite profitable for all,” s
he signs off.
GeorgeClooneyandJulia
Roberts’movie,Ticket
ToParadise,willreleasein
UStheatresnextSeptember.
Theyplayadivorcedcouple
tryingtostoptheir
daughterfromrepeating
theirmistake.
‘HOPE‘HOPETHINGSTHINGSAREARENORMALNORMALSOON,SOON,,,FILMSFILMSWAITINGWAITINGTORELEASE’TORELEASE’
PHOTO: TEJAS
NERURKAR
PHOTO: ARVIND YADAV/HT
PHOTO: JOE
SCARNICI/AFP
Maybe I’m needed
in Mumbai now:
Rituparna Sengupta
PAs an actor you want a film to reach
beyond just the OTT audience.... reach
even the ones who don’t really go on
these platforms.
KRITI SANON, Actor
Tuesday,April13,2021
n 8 PAGES. f@HTCITY t@HTCITY i@HTCITY y /USER/HT. ENTERTAINMENT & PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
D irector Chloe Zhao’s Nomadlandhas emerged as the big winner atthis year’s BAFTA Film Awards2021, bagging four major trophies,including Best Film. Even the BestActress award was won by its actor,FrancesMcDormand, while Zhao her-self walked away with Best Director.The Father won the Best Actoraward for Anthony Hopkins, a cate-gory in which Indian actor AadarshGourav was also nominated for his rolein TheWhite Tiger. The film was pro-duced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, whowas also in attendance at the ceremonyas one of its presenters, along withhusband, singer Nick Jonas. TheFather also won the adapted screen-play BAFTA.Themost emotional moment of theevening saw tributes being paid to lateIndian actors Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor,who passed away in April 2020, inBAFTA’s memoriam segment, along-with actors Sean Connery and Chad-wick Boseman.The latter’s filmMa Rainey’s BlackBottomwas named a winner in thecostume design andmake-up and haircategories. Riz Ahmed, who along withBoseman, had been nominated for BestActor as well, didn’t bag the award, buthis film Sound of Metal bagged twoBAFTAs in the editing and sound cate-gories.HTC
Rishabh [email protected]
S he’s the sister of one of Bolly-wood’s biggest stars, Katrina Kaif,yet she auditioned for her firstfilm. Isabelle Kaif recently made heracting debut with Time To Dance.“I had auditioned for a few films,and this one came through. I was adancer as a kid, and dancing, of course,is a big part of Bollywood. It’s a passionfor me. So I thought it would be chal-lenging and fun,” she tells us.The 30-year-old, who just wrappedup the shoot for her second film,Suswagatam Khushaamadeed, admitsthat Bollywood has been a big influ-ence in her growing up years. “Danc-ing led to acting. I watched Hindi filmsgrowing up, and I’ve had a hard timechoosing a favourite. I love JabWeMet(2007). Lagaan (2001), I’ve watched somany times as a teenager,” she shares.What about the inevitable compari-son with her sister? Is she feeling thepressure of expectations already? “Iknow it. People have been doing it foryears, and I’ve got used to it. It doesn’t
Scan the codeto readmoreon whySudhanshuSaria wasanguished bythe incident
ActorDeepikaPadukoneonMonday
announcedshehasresignedasthechairpersonofMAMIMumbaiFilmFestivalowingtoherworkcommitments.Padukonehadreplaced
filmmakerKiranRaotobecomethechairpersonofthefestivalin2019.
STOP PRESS PHOTO: VIRAL BHAYANI
money to hire them, but you don’twant to. You simply want to canni-balise other’s work. That’s notokay,” he asserts.On April 9, Saria took to Twitterto express his anguish, claimingthat themakers of theweb seriescopied the poster of hismovie. Inci-dently, both projects tackle the sub-ject of same-sex relationships. Sariais wondering if themakers alsolifted some scenes from his film,which explores the issue of homo-sexual rape. “Those actors proba-bly were shown a reference imageto pose. So, everybody knew thatthey were plagiarising,” says thedirector, whowon the NationalFilmAward for best non-featuredirection inMarch this year, for hisfilm, Knock Knock Knock.Soon after his post, ALTBalaji
tweeted a statement apologising forthe incident. “The uncanny resem-blance and similarity cannot bewritten off as amere coincidence...For this we apologise... We’vedeleted the poster from all ourplatforms,” the statement read.However, Saria, currentlyrecuperating fromCovid-19, isunconvinced by the statement. Hewishes the platform “acknowl-edged the authors of the poster”and claimed that “...this was adecision, not an accident”. More-over, Saria wants people to be heldaccountable for their actions. “I feellike I’m adding to the chain. Thenext time someone Googles it, thiswill come up. And eventually, it willbecome harder and harder forthem to pretend as if it’s not athing,” he concludes.
play onme toomuch any-more. About expectations,Covid took off some ofthat pressure frommyfirst film, as the circum-stances are so different.It has allowedme to justenjoy the moment as itunfolds,” says theactor.The best piece ofadvice Isabelle hasever received wasgiven to her by herelder sister. “[Sheadvised] to justfocus onmywork, keepmyhead down.Anyone who hasbeen in the filmindustry gives simi-lar advice,” says theactor, adding, “I’m juststarting now, there aresomany types of filmsI want to do. I’d love todo an action or aperiod film. It’s justthe beginning, there’severything left to do.”
KatrinaKaifPHOTO: VIRALBHAYANI
Why Isabelle Kaifis now used tobeing comparedto sister Katrina
Guru Randhawais missing the joyof celebratingBaisakhi withfamily in Punjab;Daler Mehndi willbe at the VaishnoDevi shrine
CityDelhi
Sugandha [email protected]
M eeting friends and fam-ily to celebrate — that’sthe essence of Baisakhi.However, singer DalerMehndi isn’t missing it this year.He asserts that social distancing isthe need of the hour, with the sec-ondwave of Covid-19 here.“Being cautious todaywillensure we get
together for parties in future,” headds.This year, the singer will cele-brate the festival at the VaishnoDevi shrine with his family. “I feellucky that I’ll be at the holy cave ofMata VaishnoDevi. I have a per-formance at the pilgrimage on thefirst day of Navratri, which startson Baisakhi,” he says.The festival is especially impor-tant for farmers, as it is a harbin-ger of hope and prosperity while
marking the time of har-vest of winter crops. “Ifeel all festivals give us asense of hope and courage. Bai-sakhimotivates us, and humkohonsla deti hai jeene ka, nomatterwho you are— a farmer, or a non-farmer.We all live and yearn forthe support of the supremepower,” explains the 53-year-old.Growing up, hewatched hisparents participate in kirtans atgurdwaras for Baisakhi. For him,the festival has always been aboutbeing grateful for everything. It’swhat he plans on doing this yearas well. “It’s all about hope, love,
betterment, and thewill to helpothers. Apne liye to har aadmikarta hai, lekin doosron kimadadke liye khada hona chahiye. Theseare things etched inmymind,withmemories of langar,” recallsMehndi, known for hits such asBolo TaRa Ra, Tunak Tunak Tun,Dardi Rab Rab, Ho Jayegi BalleBalle, and Na NaNaNaNaRe.He feels the best place to cele-brate Baisakhi is at home. “I think(if we follow all the protocolsproperly) 2021-end tak Covid naamki beemari ko bhool jayenge log,”says the singer, who recently cameout with his single, Ragda.
Juhi [email protected]
H e wanted to cele-brate Baisakhi in abig way this yearwith his family inGurdaspur, Punjab, butsinger Guru Randhawaunderstands that given thepandemic, little can bedone.“Since the pandemicstarted, most of us havebeen celebrating festivals athome. Considering the cur-rent situation, this year tooI’ll mostly spend Baisakhiat home and visit the gurd-wara, if possible,” he says,adding, “Unfortunately, I’min Delhi and will definitelymiss being in the villageduring this time. But likeevery day, I’m going toremember God and thankHim for fulfilling mywishes.”
The 29-year-old urgeseveryone to be safe, followprotocols and not indulgein grand Baisakhi celebra-tions involving huge gath-erings. “Covid has impactedeverything, not just this fes-tival. We need to fight this
virus on a daily basis, besafe and follow govern-ment protocol,” adds thesinger known for songssuch as Lahore, High RatedGabru and Patola.Hemay not be able tohave the celebration hewanted, but Randhawa hasfondmemories of celebrat-ing the festival as a child.“Baisakhi is celebrated as aharvest festival, whenfarmers cut their crops.And on this day Guru Gob-ind Singh laid the founda-tion of the Panth Khalsa. Askids, we’d enjoy spendingtime with family and go tothe gurdwara to do seva.We’d also go to the mela inthe village. It’s a festivalthat brings a lot of happi-ness.”Since Baisakhi is a har-vest festival, the singer hasa special message for them.“May God bless the farmersas we eat because of them.May this year bring growthand prosperity,” he says,adding, “MayWahegurubless everyone with growthand prosperity. Happy Bai-sakhi to everyone. Stay safeand happy!”
GuruRandhawa
HAPPYBAISAKHI TO
ALL OURREADERS ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK
IN MY VILLAGE
PriyankaChopra JonasandNick Jonas
PHOTO: ALBERTOPEZZALI/AP
FrancesMcDormand
BAFTA’s emotionaltributes to Irrfanand Rishi Kapoor
AnthonyHopkinsPHOTO:
ALEXANDRE
MENEGHINI/AP
(Above) RishiKapoor and(right) IrrfanPHOTOS: TWITTER/BAFTA
DalerMehndi
Sugandha Rawal
S ome time back I was told bymycountry that I exist, when I gotthe National FilmAward. Twoweeks later, one of themost seniorpeople inmy industry pretends as ifnothing I domatters and I’m invisi-ble and insignificant,” rues directorSudhanshu Saria reflecting onwhathe felt when he found “ridiculouslyobvious” similarities between theposter of an upcomingweb show,His Storyy, backed by Ekta Kapoor,and his 2015 film Loev.“I’m not looking to recovermoney from them, or sue them. Ijust want them to know that it’s notnice and not okay,” says a disap-pointed Saria. “What kind of a cul-ture are we inwhere you can have amarketingmeeting and take some-body else’s idea? You have the
I’M NOT MISSINGBIG BAISAKHICELEBRATIONSTHIS YEAR:MEHNDI
NOTE TOREADERS: Someof the coverage that appears on our pages is paid for by the concernedbrands. No
sponsored content does or shall appear in anypart ofHTwithout it beingdeclared as such to our valued readers.
SudhanshuSaria and (far left) posters of theupcomingweb showand (left)
his 2015 film
Plagiarism row: It made mefeel insignificant andpowerless, says Sudhanshu
06NEW DELHI
TUESDAYJUNE 01, 2021World Of Sport
DUBAI: Defending champion PoojaRani (75kg) was the lone Indianwoman boxer to strike gold at theAsian Championships while threeothers, including six-time worldchampion MC Mary Kom (51kg),signed off with silver medals here onSunday. The Olympic-bound Pooja (75kg), who was competing in her firstbout of the tournament after getting abye and a walkover earlier, disman-tled Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekis-tan with a clinical performance.
She also earned USD 10,000 for her
MUMBAI: In the form of a heartfeltnote, India’s star batter JemimahRodrigues has thanked the previousgeneration of women cricketers wholaid the foundation for the team thatit has become today.
Jemimah wrote the note after theunveiling of the team’s white jerseyfor India’s upcoming tour of England,where Mithali Raj and Co are playinga Test match after seven years.
The jerseys were handed out to theteam in Mumbai, where the playersare currently in quarantine.
The 20-year-old Jemimah said dur-ing the event head coach RameshPowar showed the squad the legacyof the Indian women’s cricket team.“So today (coach) Ramesh (Powar) sircalled us for a team meeting andshowed us the history we have ofwomen’s cricket in India -- fromwhere it first started to where it hasreached today... The one’s who werebefore us that made it possible for usto be a part of what we are today,”Jemimah said in an Instagram post.
“The one’s who did it without therecognition they deserved, the one’swho brought women’s cricket inIndia.” The jovial player also said vet-
quarters. I mean, I had early lossesbefore, but especially here wheresince 2015 I didn’t have them, it feelsweird and it feels very difficult.”
It is the first time in his 17-yearcareer that Andujar has come fromtwo sets behind to win.“It’s a veryspecial moment because I’m 35 andI don’t know how long I’m going toplay,” said Andujar. “I had to believeto be able to get this result.”
Austrian Thiem lost both the 2018and 2019 French Open finals to13-time champion Rafael Nadal, butdid win his maiden Grand Slam titlelast year at the US Open.
His form had been patchy this sea-son, though, having lost to LorenzoSonego in Rome and Cameron Nor-rie in Lyon over the past two weeks.
“Lyon and here, the shots and allhow I moved and everything wasjust not the real me, I would say, ormy version who is able to play forbig titles,” admitted Thiem. “It’s justnot good enough at the moment.”
- ‘Strange’ situation for Thiem -He seemed to be in total control
when clinching the second set,before also missing a break point inthe third game of the third set.
Thiem also wasted an opportunityto take a 3-1 lead in the decider andended the match having taken justsix of 19 break points.
“Losing after being two sets tozero up, it’s very strange to me, and,I mean, I have to analyse it and thinkabout what’s wrong at the moment,”he added. “And then of course try tohit back as soon as possible.”
Andujar, the world number 68,had not beaten a top-10 player since2015 until a win over Roger Federerin Geneva last week.
“Probably that win helped today,”he said. “I didn’t think I was in mybest shape, but the belief was the keyto the win today.”
It will be an especially bitter blowfor Thiem, though, after he had beenplaced in the opposite half of the
draw to Nadal, world number oneNovak Djokovic and Federer.
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas over-came a sluggish start to reach thesecond round of the French Openwith a 7-6(6) 6-3 6-1 victory overFrance’s Jeremy Chardy.
The fifth seed, who extended hiswinning run on clay to five matchesafter clinching the title in Lyon lastweek, was in trouble in the openingset in an empty court Philippe Chat-rier after spectators were sent homeunder a 9 p.m. local time curfewbefore making his superiority count.
Tsitsipas, who lost to 13-timesRoland Garros champion RafaelNadal in the final in Barcelona,steamrolled past a helpless Chardyin the other two sets.
He ended Chardy’s challenge afterjust over two hours with a forehandwinner for a no-nonsense victory. Hewill next face either AmericanSebastian Korda or Spain’s PedroMartinez.
llA T H L E T I C S l
llC R I C K E T l
eran cricketers Jhulan Goswami andMithali Raj shared their experiencesof being part of the squad for a longtime. “Then the two legends of Indianwomen’s cricket Mithu di and Jhuludi came up and shared with theentire team what cricket has meantto them and what it’s like being a partof this Legacy.” Jemimah hoped thatthey are able to leave the team in abetter place for the future generationof players. “The meeting ended offwith this beautiful quote. Our great-est responsibility is to honour thosewho have been before us and thosewho will come after, to ‘leave theJERSEY in a better place’. “
Jemimah Rodrigues BCCI
Agence France-Presse
PARIS: Fourth seed Dominic Thiemblew a two-set lead and slipped to a“very tough” first-round loss at theFrench Open against Spanish vet-eran Pablo Andujar on Sunday. The35-year-old Andujar staged aremarkable comeback to defeat thetwo-time Roland Garros runner-up4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 after almostfour-and-a-half hours on Court Phil-ippe Chatrier. It is Thiem’s firstopening-round exit at Roland Garrosand the first time he has failed toreach at least the quarter-finals ofthe tournament since 2015.
“It does feel very tough, as I wasused since 2016 to play very deep inthis tournament,” said the 27-year-old. “But at the same time, the lastfirst-round exit in a Grand Slam, USOpen 2019, is not that long ago.
“So (I) was not like the big threewho are never losing before the
llF R E N C H O P E N l
Spain's Pablo Andujar (left) is congratulated by Austria's Dominic Thiem after their men's singles first round match on Day 1 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris. AFP
Agence France-Presse
MADRID: Zinedine Zidane resigned asReal Madrid manager because he feltthe Spanish club no longer had anyconfidence in him, he wrote in anopen letter on Monday.
“I’m leaving because I feel the clubno longer has the faith in me I need,and doesn’t offer me the support tobuild something in the medium orlong term,” the Frenchman wrote inthe letter published in the sports dailyAS. “I am a born winner and I washere to win trophies, but beyond thisthere are human beings, emotions, lifeand I have the feeling that these thingshave not been valued, that it has notbeen understood that this is also howthe dynamic of a great club is main-tained,” he said. “But everything I builton a daily basis, what I brought to therelationship with the players... hasbeen forgotten. I’m leaving, but I’mnot jumping ship and I’m not tired ofcoaching,” he said.
Real had a disappointing season,finishing second in La Liga behindneigbours Atletico Madrid and losingto eventual winners Chelsea in theChampions League semi-finals.
It is the second time that Zidane hasresigned as Real Madrid manager.The 1998 World Cup winner first tookthe helm in January 2016 and guidedReal to the 2017 La Liga title and anunprecedented hat-trick of Champi-ons League titles before abruptly quit-ting on May 31, 2018. Less than a yearlater he returned after Julen Lopete-gui and Santiago Solari were sacked asmanagers in quick succession.
In his letter Zidane said he left theclub in 2018 because it needed “a dif-ferent voice to keep itself at the high-est” but this time “things are differ-ent”.
“I want what we have achieved
together to be respected. I would haveliked in recent months my relation-ship with the club and with the presi-dent (Florentino Perez) to have been alittle different from that of othercoaches,” Zidane said. “I wasn’t askingfor privileges, of course not, but a littlemore memory,” added Zidane.
Zidane’s contract with Real was setto expire in 2022 but he had repeat-edly refused to confirm he would stillbe at the club next season. He has ahistory of making surprise announce-ments: as a player, he initiallyannounced his retirement from inter-national football in 2004 before com-ing back for the 2006 World Cup, afterwhich he retired for good followinghis red card for butting on Italy’sMarco Materazzi as France lost thefinal.
“Spending 20 years in Madrid has
been the most beautiful thing that hasever happened to me in life and Iknow that I owe it exclusively to Flor-entino Perez who bet on me in 2001,”Zidane said in the letter. “I say it fromthe heart, I will always be grateful tothe ‘presi’ for it. Always,” he added.
Zidane now take another breakfrom football although there has beentalk of him either taking charge of theFrench national team or Juventus,where he spent five years as a player.Juventus are suffering financially as aresult of the Covid-19 pandemic andmight not be in a position to enticehim. Didier Deschamps, who ledFrance to victory in the last WorldCup, is likely to remain national coachuntil the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,barring a disastrous performance atthe European Championship thatkicks off next month.
Zidane says he quit Madrid because of club’s lack of ‘faith’
Zinedine Zidane’s contract with Real Madrid was set to expire in 2022 but he had repeatedly refused to confirm he would still be at the club next season. AFP
FORSO: Indian golfer ShubhankarSharma registered his first top-10finish on the European Tour in 18months with his Tied eighth-placeresult at the Made in HimmerLandevent here.
Sharma, a two-time EuropeanTour winner, closed his final roundwith birdie-birdie for an aggregate of4-under 68. His last top-10 on theEuropean Tour was in November2019, when he was T-7 place at theTurkish Airlines Open. He had asimilar result at the Italian Open amonth before that.
Sharma’s 68 in Denmark camewith four birdies, including two inlast two holes, after settling for parsin his first 10 holes on the final day.
With 10 places up for grabs for theUS Open in June, Sharma needs tofinish in Top-10 of a mini-series listto get one of the slots. A top-5 in Por-sche European Open could get himand that also propel him into con-tention for an Olympic berth.
Meanwhile, Austria’s Bernd Wies-berger defended the title he won in
2019. He claimed his win in style ashe led after every round. He startedthe final day with a one-shot advan-tage and then dominated proceed-ings with eight birdies in a closing64 to finish at 21-under and claim hiseighth European Tour title. Italy’sGuido Migliozzi shot a closing 63 tofinish second on 16-under, withEnglish pair Richard Bland and Jor-dan Smith sharing third with Aus-tralia’s Jason Scrivener on 15 under.
Migliozzi’s runner-up finish washis second in as many events afterhe also finished second to Bland atthe Betfred British Masters and histhird overall this season.
Meanwhile, Alex Cejka won theSenior PGA Championship on Sun-day for his second straight majorchampionship, thriving on accurateand powerful ball-striking and defttouch around the demanding greensat Southern Hills. Cejka shot a 3-un-der 67 for a four-stroke victory overTim Petrovic, three weeks after hebeat Steve Stricker in a playoff in theRegions Tradition in Alabama.
We’re playing for every single girl: Jemimah
Agence France-Presse
ASUNCION: Argentina’s hosting of theCopa America football tournamenthas been suspended “in view of thecurrent circumstances,” CONMEBOLsaid on Sunday, as the countryendures a record coronavirus surge.
The South American football body,which last week stripped Colombia ofco-hosting duties over deadly unrest,said it was considering other offers tohold the tournament.
“CONMEBOL informs that in viewof the current circumstances it hasdecided to suspend the organizationof the Copa America in Argentina,”the governing body tweeted. “CON-MEBOL is evaluating the offer of othercountries that showed interest in host-ing the continental tournament.”
The Copa America was originallydue to take place last year, but waspostponed for 12 months because ofthe coronavirus pandemic. Officialsare expected to meet on Monday todecide on the next move for hostingthe tournament. An Argentine pollpublished on Friday found that mostrespondents were against holding thetournament as the country experien-ces its worst phase of the pandemic sofar. Less than two weeks before theCopa America’s scheduled start,Argentina is under a nine-day lock-down and experiencing record dailyinfections. The Fernandez administra-tion was hoping that the lockdownthat began on May 22 would flattenthe curve of infections ahead of thesports event. Argentina had presentedits “strict protocol” to CONMEBOL tohost the tournament in its entirety,which involved preparing additionalstadiums. On May 20 CONMEBOLrejected a plea by Colombia to furtherdelay the June 13-July 10 tournamentfollowing a wave of protests and socialunrest, coupled with an upsurge inCovid-19 cases.
ARGENTINA WILL
NOT HOST COPA
OVER CORONAVIRUS
Daniel Romanchuk competes in the Men 1500 Meter Run T53/54 Wheelchair T54 group 1 finals during the Desert Challenge Games at Westwood High School on May 30, 2021 in Mesa, Arizona. AFP
marvellous one-bout show in whichMovlonova was simply out of sorts,unable to keep pace with the Indian’sintensity. However, six-time worldchampion Mary Kom (51kg), and tour-nament debutants Lalbuatsaihi (64kg)and Anupama (81+kg) ended with sec-ond place finishes.
All three lost tightly-contestedbouts and fetched themselves a prizemoney of USD 5,000 along with thesilver medals. The Olympic-boundMary Kom went down in a split 2-3verdict to Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakh-stan. It was the Manipuri superstar’sseventh medal in the tournament, thefirst being a gold that came way backin the 2003 edition. Lalbuatsaihi lost2-3 as well but after giving her Kazakhrival Milana Safronova a fight toremember. Lalbuatsaihi came into theIndian team as a late replacement forthe seasoned Pwilao Basumatary,whose passport had expired. TheMizo boxer exhausted her rival withher counter-attacks but lost momen-tum in the final round. Anupama wasthe last to take the ring against formerworld champion Lazzat Kungeibayevaof Kazakhstan. She managed to holdher own in a bout marred by excessiveholding and clinching, but it wasKungeibayeva, who connected betterfor a 3-2 win.Pooja Rani (right) with her coach. PTI
Pooja strikes gold at Asian Boxing C’ships
llG O L F l
Sharma ends T-8 for first Top-10 in 18 months
llL A L I G A l
Thiem suffers ‘very tough’ first-round defeat by Andujar