Artistes 4 Change- Music-Singer- 2012-13

 Rekha Surya

Rekha Surya is a practitioner of the Lucknow Gharana of North Indian music. As one of the few practitioners of this style, Rekha has revived and preserved the artistic legacy of her legendary guru Begum Akhtar. Rekha has nurtured the memory of her mentor by propagating her art at some of the most prestigious concert and lecture venues globally, including the Smithsonian Institution, World Music Institute and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her infusion of spirituality into romantic poetry is unique. The true value of Rekha's vocal practice lies in her ability to synthesise and integrate South Asian Muslim poetry from the Sufi traditions with a distinctly indigenous, Hindu-inspired musical style in the Raga system. She has been able to combine two traditions to produce and perform music that serves as a crucial ambassador of inter-religious harmony, tolerance and peace. As art transcends politics and is a true messenger of peace, Rekha's aural contribution to this strife-ridden world is substantial and invaluable. Given her academic background in English literature (BA, Delhi University) and her thorough training in the fundamentals of Indian classical music theory, she has the rare ability among South Asian vocal artistes to be able to introduce non-Indian audiences to the genre in a simple and approachable way. The ancient literary traditions she draws from are deeply infused with South Asian Muslim and Hindu cultural references and are a rare, valuable, specialized and most unique mode of expertise. She is an A-Grade Artist from All India Radio and is in the Established-Artist category with ICCR. She represented India at the Asian Music Festival Sri Lanka in 1999 and at the International Falak Festival Tajikistan in 2006 and has given many fund raising concerts.

NOV

25

Factory fire kills 124 in Bangladesh

At least 124 people have been killed overnight as a massive blaze engulfed a multi-storey garment factory on the outskirts of the Bangladesh capital in one of the worst fire tragedies in the country. The fire broke out at Tazrin Fashion factory in suburban Ashulia Savar, 30 km from Dhaka, last night and quickly spread to the ground and first floors of the six-storey building, officials and witnesses said on Sunday. "We have so far retrieved 124 bodies (and) rescue campaign is still underway," Major Mahbub Hossain, a senior fire service official, said, adding that most of the bodies were found severely charred. He said the fire service said the toll could rise. Fire service officials earlier said several workers of the factory were trapped inside and took shelter on the rooftop of the structure awaiting rescuers. Efforts were still underway to extinguish the blaze with authorities mobilising several fire fighting units. Television footage showed army troops and fire service rescuers bringing out bodies one after another from the debris as hundreds of people, including relatives of the victims, waited outside. General Officer Commanding of nearby Savar Cantonment Maj Gen Syed Hassan Suhrawardy, who is overseeing the rescue campaign, said the bodies would be kept at a nearby primary school premises from where relatives could take them for burial. Many workers jumped from the factory's upper floors to escape the flames before firefighters arrived to put the blaze out. The cause was not immediately known but such fires are usually blamed on short circuits. Authorities called out extra police force at the scene as angry relatives and fellow workers damaged a fire engine, protesting the delay in dousing the blaze.

Mithun Perera bag 11th TATA Open title

Mithun Perera fires solid 70 to bag 11th TATA Open title

Jamshedpur, November 25, 2012: Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera came home the winner at the 11th TATA Open after firing a final round of one-under-70. Perera, who totaled 11-under-274 for the tournament, finished one stroke ahead of Delhi’s Vinod Kumar.

Mithun Perera (65-72-67-70), the overnight leader, had a good start to the day as he birdied the second (par-5) after landing his chip from the bunker within a couple of inches of the flag. He went on to make pars on all the other holes. Perera, who has now won three professional titles, made some amazing par saves on the seventh and 14th. He made outstanding chip-putts on the seventh and 14th.

“I hit it really well today. I was solid through the day and played regulation golf. My short-game was good in the final round, especially the putting. This win is a result of my hard-work and dedication. I’m now looking forward to ending the season with an equally good performance at the season-ending event next week,” said Perera, who has now climbed from seventh place to fifth position on the 2012 Rolex Rankings.

Vinod Kumar (68-67-70-70), the defending champion, finished runner-up after firing a one-under-70 in the final round. Vinod’s round featured four birdies and three bogeys and helped him end the tournament with a total of 10-under-275.

Om Prakash Chouhan (69-68-68-71) of Mhow finished a further stroke back in third place.

Rashid Khan of Delhi and Mhow’s Mukesh Kumar shared fourth place at eight-under-277. Rashid has now climbed from second position to first place on the 2012 Rolex Rankings.

Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur, the lone amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. Taunk was placed tied 31st at four-over-289.

Mr. H M Nerurkar, MD, TATA Steel, said, “It’s good to see a large turnout for the day. The last four days have been great for golf in Jamshedpur with lot of international participation and will definitely help increase the golfing standards of the city. I would like to congratulate Mithun Perera from Sri Lanka for winning the 11th TATA Open.”

On Sunday the entire field played nine holes each on both the courses - Beldih as well as Golmuri. While one half of the field teed off from Beldih, the other half began its round from Golmuri. Thirty golfers with the best scores at the end of round three teed off from Golmuri and finished at Beldih. The par for the combined courses was 71.



About Tata Steel and Sports:
Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is among the top-ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 26.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of US$ 26.13 billion in FY 12, has over 80,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company. The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management. In 2012, Tata Steel became the first integrated steel company in the world to win the Deming Grand Prize 2012 instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers.

Tata Steel is the only Indian company to invest in world-class sports facilities, create academies and maintain and manage international level arenas. The cadets of its Tata Football Academy, the nursery for the sport in India, as well as those of the Tata Archery Academy, the only one of its kind for archery, have justified the faith that the Company has in the talent and ability of its youth. Today, a significant part of the Indian Football team, India’s best archers, some of its finest cricketers, athletes, shooters, a Grand Master and several national and international legends have realized their dreams as a result of the support they have received from TATA Steel Sports Academies.

About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognized official body of professional golf in India. PGTI’s objective is to promote professional golf in the country as well as give players an opportunity to be involved in decision making for all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Gautam Thapar (President), PGTI’s governing body comprises of leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.