Entertainment

Twenty-nine years after the brutal murder of Tamil human rights activist and feminist Rajani Thiranagama in Jaffna by an assassin allegedly deputed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a powerful Malayalam literary work chronicling her struggle is breaking the language barrier to reach readers across the globe.

T.D. Ramakrishnan’s Malayalam work Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki created a sensation when it was published three years ago. Now, HarperCollins is bringing out its English version on July 25, targeting a wider audience outside Kerala.

The novel is a powerful account of the life and times of the then head of the department of anatomy at the University of Jaffna, who broke religious and ethnic barriers to marry a social activist with Sinhala Buddhist background, and dared to become a distinct human rights activist in Sri Lanka by criticising both Sinhala chauvinism and the narrow nationalism of the LTTE as well as the alleged brutalities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force.

“Most of the fiction written in Malayalam is located in Kerala. Very rarely are narratives placed outside this space. But Mr. Ramakrishnan’s narrative spaces are never confined to the geographical terrain of Kerala. Sugandhi, though set in Sri Lanka, brings the world into its ambit. The author uses a large canvas to depict his fictional narratives and, in so doing, he often challenges cartography, implying that borders are abstract and cannot be reduced to mere lines that exist to exclude,” said Priya K. Nair, a teacher of English at St. Theresa’s College in Ernakulam, who translated the work to English.

“I felt that this novel is extremely relevant in contemporary times as it is a powerful articulation against authoritarian power structures. This novel should not be confined to the readers in Kerala, rather it is relevant to any culture that has experienced the horrors of war,” she added. She had previously translated Ramakrishnan’s works Alpha and Francis Itty Cora into English.

A retired senior official with Southern Railway, Ramakrishnan had translated a number of Tamil literary works to Malayalam and had constantly followed the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka for several years.

“Sri Lanka’s contemporary history is the background of my novel. I have taken a different approach in the novel with historical facts as solid background for weaving fantasy,” he said when asked about the novel.

“It was Rajani’s assassination that forced me to look into the complexities of the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka. Inspired by her elder sister Nirmala, a LTTE member, Rajani also got involved with the ultra nationalist group mainly by administering care to those wounded in action,’’ he said.

“In 1983, Rajani travelled to England under a Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in anatomy at Liverpool Medical School. Even that shifting from the troubled nation to a far better living atmosphere had not deterred her from raising her voice against injustice.’’

She was sympathetic to the LTTE but she later realised the futility of armed struggle and became a critic of the Tigers’ atrocities.

“What really moved me was her return to war-torn Jaffna to rebuild the university and work there for her own people. I am not sure it was the LTTE who killed her. But it was her sincerity to the cause and boldness to say the truth that resulted in her murder and had inspired my novel,’’ says Ramakrishnan.

Source : The Hindu

Israel's Netta has won the Eurovision Song Contest for her quirky dance song Toy - complete with its trademark chicken dance.

She had been an early favourite, but the vote went down to the wire with Cyprus finishing in second place. Netta thanked juries and the public for "choosing different" as she lifted the glass microphone trophy.

Netta - full name Netta Barzilai - picked up a total of 529 points to take the title.

This years final was held in Lisbon, Portugal, with the 2019 contest now set to take place in Israel. The last time Israel won Eurovision was 20 years ago when Dana International was victorious with Diva.

Source : BBC

Twenty six years ago, the panel of judges was so unsure who should win the Man Booker in 1992 that they ended up with a tie: Michael Ondaatje and Barry Unsworth. But on Sunday evening Ondaatje edged ahead, with his bestselling novel The English Patient being named the best winner of the Booker prize of the last 50 years, in a public vote.

The Golden Booker was held this year to mark a half-century of the prize. A panel of judges read all 52 former winners of the award, with each assigned a decade from Booker’s history. The Observer’s Robert McCrum, taking on the 1970s, chose VS Naipaul’s In a Free State; poet Lemn Sissay, reading the titles from the 1980s, went for Penelope Lively’s Moon Tiger; The English Patient was novelist Kamila Shamsie’s selection from the 1990s; Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall was nominated as the best of the 2000s by broadcaster Simon Mayo, and George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo topped poet Hollie McNish’s reading of the 2010s Booker winners. The five books were then put to a public vote.

Speaking at the close of the Man Booker 50 festival in the Southbank Centre, London, on Sunday, Ondaatje said he had not reread The English Patient, which moves between a nurse tending a horribly burned man in an Italian villa at the end of the second world war and a tragic love affair from his past, since 1992.

Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has a special place in the heart of Sri Lankans, and his legacy continues to have a lasting influence on local art and culture. In this context, special events were organized in Colombo to commemorate the 157th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev.

The Centre for Contemporary Indian Studies of University of Colombo organised an event at the Main Library of the University. H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and garlanded the bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

Senior Professor Lakshman Dissanayake, Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Prof. Nayani Melegoda, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate  Studies, academicians, students of the University of Colombo and Sri Lankan admirers of Gurudev Tagore, attended the event. This bronze bust of Tagore is sculpted by Janak Jhankar Narzary of Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, and was gifted by Government of India to the University in 2012.
 
Separately, the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo organized a special Bharatnatyam performance by Himanshu Srivastava, an eminent dancer from Benaras. The performance was based on Tagore’s compositions, and was deeply appreciated. Numerous other events in Sri Lanka were also held on the occasion.

English bulldog Zsa Zsa (main picture) was awarded the title of the World's Ugliest Dog at this year's competition, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, San Francisco, on Saturday.

Zsa Zsa's owner, Megan Brainard of Anoka, Minnesota, was chosen to receive the cash prize of $1,500 (€1,285) in the competition, which has attracted significant media coverage in the past few years.

Brainard found Zsa Zsa on a pet-finding website, according to the contest bio.

The organizers of the World's Ugliest Dog competition aim to promote dog adoption.

Dogs in the competition flaunt their imperfections as they walk down a red carpet with their owners. A panel of judges evaluates the ugliness of a dog and decides the winner.

Dogs without hair, dogs with lolling tongues and dogs with other imperfections from all over the US, as well as other countries, participate in the fair. Dog owners must provide documents to prove the animals are healthy.

Last year's World's Ugliest Dog prize went to a 3-year-old, 125-pound (57-kilo) Neapolitan Mastiff named Martha. She was nearly blind from neglect when she was rescued in Sonoma County, California. It took several surgeries before she was able to see again.

The competition is now in its 30th year. 

Source : Deautche Welle

Actress Sonam Kapoor tied the knot with Delhi businessman Anand Ahuja today. 

Kapoor was a traditional bride in a blood-red Anuradha Vakil lehenga. She completed her bridal look with a jadau choker paired with a longer neck piece, maang tika, and traditional red chooda with kaleere. 

Ahuja opted for a gold sherwani paired with a ruby mala.

Brothers Harshvardhan and Arjun Kapoor walked her down the aisle under a red chaaddar. 

The wedding was conducted at Sonam's aunt's residence in Bandra. Sonam is also the daughter of veteran film actor Anil Kapoor. 

Source : The Economic Times

Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and his new wife Rose Leslie couldn't have looked happier after tying the knot at Rayne Church in Aberdeenshire yesterday.The couple grinned from ear-to-ear as they left the church after being announced husband and wife.

Making their way outside, they were met by their guests who were lined up ready to shower them with flower petal confetti. The newly-weds got into an old Land Rover which was decorated with paper hearts and tin cans to drive to the reception at Wardhill Castle.

Kit, who plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, put on a very handsome display for his big day. The 31-year-old certainly dressed to impress as he wore a very suave morning suit.

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington flashed a smile as he made his way inside

It came complete with a cream waistcoat, grey pinstripe trousers and a black tail jacket.

After he entered the church, Rose Leslie arrived in her incredible wedding gown.

The actress couldn’t have looked happier as she flashed a huge smile whilst holding her father Sebastian’s hand.

Rose’s gown featured intricate lace detail and long sleeves, complete with a stunning veil.

She also clutched on to a simple bouquet of flowers for her wedding ceremony.

Game of Thrones: Kit and Rose were showered with confetti

Before they tied the knot, Game Of Thrones actress Rose's father said he was "thrilled" for his daughter. 

Speaking outside Wardhill castle, Sebastian Leslie said: "We are absolutely thrilled for Kit and Rose to be marrying today."
The local councillor added: "It's an absolutely lovely day for us."

And he said: "It's a great day for Aberdeenshire. We are using local caterers, local lighting, local flowers."

Rose, who played Ygritte in the HBO hit series, and Kit met on the set of Game of Thrones in 2012 and started dating after playing each other’s love interest on the show.

Their wedding was based at the the remote Wardhill Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

US comedian Bill Cosby has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault, each of which carries a potential 10 years in prison.

The actor, 80, has been on trial for drugging and assaulting ex-basketball player Andrea Constand in 2004.

Cosby, the first major black actor on primetime TV, will remain out of jail until he is sentenced, the judge ruled.

"I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," Cosby accuser Lili Bernard said outside the courthouse.

It was the second time the actor had stood trial for the allegations, after an earlier jury failed to reach a verdict in June 2017.

At the start of the retrial in Pennsylvania it was revealed that Cosby had paid Ms Constand almost $3.4m (£2.4m) in a civil settlement in 2006.

Cosby is best known for starring in the 1980s TV series The Cosby Show.

Around 60 women over five decades have publicly accused the Emmy award-winning actor of being a sexual predator. But statute of limitation laws mean that only one charge has been brought to trial.

Source : BBC

Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a princeThe Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a boy - her third child.The new prince arrived at 11.01am UK time, weighing 8lb 7oz, Kensington Palace announced.Kensington Palace announced that the Duchess was admitted to the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, in central London, on Monday morning.The baby will be fifth in line to the throne, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's sixth great-grandchild and a younger brother or sister for Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The baby's title will be HRH Prince of Cambridge.Predicted names include Arthur, Albert, Frederick, James and Philip.

Source : The Telegraph

The Royal Family has thanked those who travelled to Windsor for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Thousands of people lined the streets to see the couple, while the ceremony at St George's Chapel was broadcast to TV audiences around the world.

More than 13 million people watched the TV coverage on the BBC - peaking at 13.1 million just after 13:00 BST.

The wedding celebrations ended with a black-tie dinner and fireworks display at Frogmore House, near Windsor Castle. Two hundred of Meghan and Harry's closest friends and family attended the event held by Prince Charles.
 

Source : BBC

A Jodhpur trial court today convicted actor Salman Khan, while acquitting other accused in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

Jodhpur District Presiding Officer Devkumar Khatri pronounced the judgment, while holding off on awarding the quantum of punishment for Salman right away. The sentencing, however, is expected to be announced shortly.

Co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu were present in court during pronouncement of the verdict. There are two other accused in the case -- travel agent Dushyant Singh and Dinesh Gawre, Salman's assistant at the time. Gawre is still absconding.

The actors are accused of hunting down two blackbucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the intervening night of October 1 and 2, 1998. The actors were in the city for the shooting of the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

Salman is facing charges under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the other actors have been charged under Section 51 read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code. Maximum punishment under Section 51 is six years.