Who's the Finance Minister?

Just pop the question that who presented the new Budget and they know it's the Finance Minister. But they get the name wrong. While a few got it right, most of them still thought that P.Chidambaram (PC) presented this year's Budget. Hmmm…we wonder what Pranab Mukherjee (PM) has to say on it.

When is the Budget traditionally presented?

Traditionally, the General Budget is presented on the last day of the financial year, generally February 28. But when we asked our youth brigade the usual date, the reply was a very casual and vague "around this time."

What's in an issue

On being asked what they expect from the Budget, some bought out the serious issues like education loan cuts and fee hike cut. And for others, it was more trivial issues. "They should not increase the prices of car and movie tickets," said Akash Deep, a BA-II student from GC-11. Sure dude, we hope Mukherjee gets the message.

What's the difference between the Rail and Union Budgets?

Nothing could beat this, question was: What's the difference between Rail Budget and General budget presentations in Parliament? And here's someone enlightening us on that, "Rail budget is for Indian Railways and General Budget is for others." Thank God they didn’t say the distinction was that the Rail Budget came two days before!

Price rise, inflation, exemptions, disinvestment, subsidies…if these words sound Greek to you, either you must belong to the woods or a community called students. Whether or not the General Budget brings soaps or sops, students somehow are always aloof and unattached to the whole idea. For them the Budget is not-the-most-awaited-thing, no big promises and no big disappointments. And this year is no different. Just as Pranab Mukherjee presented a 'Thanksgiving' Budget to the country, the city students tell us why it is not the most happening thing in their list.

"Budget never directly affects students, since they are not the ones paying taxes. My parents are all excited about it, but as for me, it doesn't really matters," says Gunika Khurana, a mass communication student from the tricity. "But then one should at least know about it, so that in a conversation, you don't look dumb," she instantly covers up.

For another student, Radhika Misra, the Budget doesn't hold much meaning. "Budgets come and budgets go, but my life doesn't get any better. Frankly, I think that the government, besides thinking of a Budget which will please all, should make sure that all the money actually reaches the beneficiaries. Otherwise, it doesn't hold any good," she said. Straightforward, aren't we?

Shravan Sharma, a DAV-10 student, believes the Budget does affect the students, "Well, the recent hike in fuel prices does affect us. If I have to map city roads on my bike with friends, which requires fuel, it means an extra burden on my pocket. This is a direct effect." So much for thanksgiving.

As 2009 moves into its second half, the Bollywood box office can look back at just a handful of success stories. While a film producers' strike resulted in a virtual drought of movies for two whole months, the poor quality of the few that were released didn't help either. From January to June, about 55 films hit the screens but only six were able to do good business.

Among them Kabir Khan's directorial venture New York tops the list. This John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh- starrer is clearly the hot favourite. Not only is the audience still flocking in, it has raked in about Rs.550 million globally till date. Yash Raj Films has refused to divulge budget details as per company policy.

Next is Dev D, a punk and grunge version of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Devdas. After making the film, Kashyap has ensured one thing - for the next few years at least, no filmmaker will think of remaking Devdas the old way.

While the K.L. Saigal, Dilip Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan versions were closer to literature, Kashyap took an altogether tangential route with his version of the film with Abhay Deol.

Made on a budget of around Rs.60 million, Dev D turned out to be a crowd puller when it was released February 6 on more than 300 screens globally. It struck gold at the box office by raking in around Rs.130 million.

Kashyap's Gulaal also did well. Released after Dev D March 13, the film got a good initial courtesy. It raked in around Rs.30 million. Made on a low-budget, it released across 400 theatres worldwide with 200 prints.

Director Vikram K. Kumar's small-budget horror film 13B starring R. Madhavan too finds a place in the list.

Made on a budget of Rs.65 million, 13B came with a one-line premise: the human brain is the most complex machinery that the world has ever seen. The film asked a simple question: if we can trust the spirits to possess a human being as a medium to interact with the outside world, why can't they use machinery to do the same?

The film hit the screens March 6 and grossed around Rs.110 million.

Then comes director Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut, Luck By Chance, which had her brother Farhan Akhtar in the lead.

It had everything going in its favour. Zoya made an excellent debut as a director, but surprisingly audiences didn't really make a beeline for it. This was truly an insider's take on the state of affairs, as evident in every dialogue, mannerism and costume.

The critically acclaimed film released January 30 over 900 screens worldwide and went on to do moderate business by earning Rs.200 million.

If 2008 had Phoonk as a surprise success, then it was hardly surprising to see Raaz - The Mystery Continues as the bona fide hit of 2009 before New York arrived.

Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt did an excellent job in promoting the film, the songs were chartbusters and Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut lived up to expectations. And director Mohit Suri surely came out with a quality product.

It was the first hit of the year after much-hyped Chandni Chowk To China. Made on a budget of around Rs.250 million, the film released January 23 and went on to make close to Rs.360 million.

Now, the second half of the year seems to have got a good start with Kambakkht Ishq. The Akshay Kumar-Kareena Kapoor starrer has had a good opening. — IANS

Noted Bollywood singer Kailash Kher, who shot to fame with the famous Allah Ke Bande, says his new album Kailasa Chaandan Mein is organic as only traditional instruments were used in creating its music.

"We have not used any electronic instrument in Kailasa Chaandan Mein. I would rather call it an organic album as only instruments like morchang, ektara, chimta, kartaal, mandolin, saaz, ud, bagal-bachcha, ravan hatha were used in all the songs," says the sufi singer.

"This is also the first time that any of my album has been released worldwide. I have dedicated this album to my father, who is no more," he adds.

The album, which has music by Kailash, Naresh and Paresh, is a compilation of eight songs with tracks like Chaandan Mein, Na Batati Tu, Teri Yaad Mein already making it to chartbusters.

New York based World Music Label and Cumbancha Records are international launch partners of the album.

When asked about his favourite number in the album, he says, "I like all the songs in this album. But the song Piya Ghar Aaweinge is close to my heart because I wrote the song after my father's death." — PTI

Last year, he was in the news for making filmmaker Rakesh Roshan pay Rs.20 million in a copyright infringement case. But right now composer Ram Sampath is upbeat about more creative things - he is composing "insane" music for two Aamir Khan Productions' - Dhobi Ghaat and Delhi Belly.

While Delhi Belly is being directed by ad filmmaker-turned-director Abhinay Deo, Dhobi Ghaat is the directorial debut of Aamir's wife Kiran Rao.

"It was really nice and easy working with Kiran since we are very good friends since a long time. She is extremely good at her work and is an incredible filmmaker. It's been nothing but a pleasure working with her," Sampath told IANS in an interview.

"The music of the film is really eclectic and very experimental. I must say that it is very courageous on Kiran's part to incorporate music like this in her film," he added.

Sampath, who was in the city to launch MTV's new reality show Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On With MTV, has earlier composed music for films like Family and Khakee. Apart from that he has worked on various music albums and jingles.

Talking about Delhi Belly starring Imran Khan, the 33-year-old said: "As far as Delhi Belly is concerned, it is a film that showcases the humorous side of realities of living in India. It is a very interesting film."The music of the film is nothing but insane. We have Bhojpuri punk and some very adventurous tracks in the album. At the same time the music is earthy and true to India."

When asked about his experience of working with Aamir, the composer said that it was a dream working with him.

"When I had my first meeting with Aamir for the film, he asked me what kind of music I wanted to create. He said, I want it to be as insane as possible.

"The composer also claims that the best part about working with Aamir's production house is that there are no deadlines. - IANS

Most phones have an in-built extended memory with stereo sound capability and an audio jack. Also, they have dedicated keys for music to easily select tracks and prepare a play list, which is placed well on the phone.

You can listen to music uninterrupted for up to 35 hours also.

Instead of listening to same songs on the playlist, you can add to the experience by switching over to the radio with mobile enhancements. 

w If you are listening to a song you really like and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. With a few clicks, the new Genius feature finds the songs in your library that go great together and makes a Genius playlist for you. You can listen to the playlist right away, save it for later, or even refresh it and give it another go. Count on Genius to create a mix you wouldn’t have thought 
of yourself.

w Finding exactly what you want to watch or listen to is easy. Use the Click Wheel to browse by album art with Cover Flow or navigate your songs and videos by playlist, artist, album, genre, and more. You can also search for specific titles and artists. Want to mix things up? Click Shuffle Songs for a different experience every time

w The vivid 2.5-inch display makes the video come alive. Purchase or rent movies, buy TV shows, and download video podcasts from the iTunes Store, then sync them to your iPod classic to watch anywhere, anytime.

She wants to see herself on the silver screen one day. “Certainly not running around trees,” she smiles. “I would want to do something substantial.” Meet Sneha Wagh, the leading lady from NDTV Imagine’s Jyoti, who read computers upside down before she got on to exploring the world of acting. “I have a computer science background, which is why I love every piece of technology that hits the market,” says Sneha. “Trust me, whether you want it or not, you cannot ignore technology. I am totally in awe of it,” she adds. More from the science kid…

Rains bring in the much needed pleasant atmosphere after a baking summer, and the water drops splashing all over the place are just a delight to watch, On the same time suddenly, your PC can show you some fireworks and then shuts off. The same PC that was running perfectly well all this while and now you could be left stranded hoping that you had saved the file you were working on, and on checking you realize that your hard disc drive had crashed and you had forgotten to back up your data, be it an Expert or a amateur this can happen to any one of us. What most PC users don’t realise is that the monsoons bring with them a lot more than just pleasant weather. All electronics especially computers, are at the highest risk of being damaged due to various things that gather up during monsoon. The most dangerous effect of any monsoon related PC problems are shot circuits, data loss and even burnouts.

The risk of damage to critical PC components is very high. A short circuit inside your PC can destroy important components like the processor, hard drives and so on. The moisture, lightning and power surges can play havoc on your computer during rains. And if you do not intend to take precautionary measures you might just end up with a dead PC, still worse, loss of all data or even your machine with no recovery option.

The usual suspects and ways to tackle them

Moisture: Moisture or excess humidity occurs when the water content in the air is comparatively higher. This is common during the rains or in places close to the sea. If moisture gets deposited inside your computer, there is a good chance of it affecting your computer’s internal components by means of a sinful short circuit.

One of the simplest ways of getting rid of high humidity is by using silica gel (I found one in my new rucksack you probably can find it in any of your old packing boxes) - a chemical compound, which absorbs moisture. Place small bags containing this compound inside your PC cabinet and on top of your monitor, in case you are using a cooler for cooling switch it off, this will help tackle moisture during the monsoon.

Power surges: Lighting is common during the monsoon season and when it strikes, it can have adverse effects on your computer and all the other electric appliances. Here is how it happens - when a powerful lightning occurs, it is capable of transmitting a power surge on to any nearby power or telephone lines.

For instance, if lighting strikes a nearby transformer in your area the power surge generated can in no time travel along the wiring and reach your computer, the Indian 220 Volt power outlet is not the only way in for surge attacks with the potential of frying the chips inside. Our electricity lines as you might have believed, do not supply the cleanest of power. This in turn has the potential to damage sensitive electronic components, like the ones found inside computers.

A surge protector is a very good option to protect your PC from power surges. This unit comes in the form of a multi-outlet power-strip which helps in suppressing tiny blasts of high voltage current. Even if the surge lasts for more than a few milliseconds, the fuse in the surge protector will blow, in turn protecting your PC.

Surge attack can come via Phone line, Broad band line, Cable TV wires or any antenna if installed on your roof tops like Dish TV, Tata sky and so on even metal water pipes install all the way to your roof top tanks are vulnerable to surge attacks on your electronic equipment.

PS: The data on your computer is of utmost importance, which once lost could be very difficult to recover. Therefore the easiest way to protect your data is by taking regular backups and saving them not only on your hard drive but also on separate media. Hope these tips will help you this monsoon, and don’t forget to switch of the mains when you PC is not in use, this way you save your PC and Power.

amitpalsinghgrewal@gmail.com

The literary fraternity and friends mourned the demise of acclaimed Punjabi poet Bhushan Dhyanpuri, who passed away after an illness here. Hailed as the satirist poet and prolific writer of Punjabi verse, born and raised at Dhyanpur with his original name Beanti Saroop Sharma is better known as Bhushan Dhyanpuri, his pen name. He had retired from Government College Ropar as a professor of Punjabi literature. All of 65, he is survived by his wife and two sons settled abroad.

A very close associate and follower of legendary poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi and Mohan Bhandari, celebrated literary personality, Bhushan Dhyanpuri had scores of admirers who shared there moments of grief with us. Visibly upset and emotional Mohan Bhandari disclosed that Bhushan emerged as the satirist poet and writer of appreciable magnitude on the Punjabi literary firmament. Appreciative of his literary prominence legendary Amrita Pritam carried a special issue in her prestigious Punjabi magazine. "Endowed with a vision, impulse and living amidst realties of commoner's, Bhushan communicated what he observed with an explicable urge giving a fresh dimension to satire in Punjabi literature" opined noted journalist poet Nirupma Dutt. "His writings have abundance of literary allusions, satire, wit and irony and it's really a big loss to Punjabi literature," laments Nirupma Dutt recalling her association since 1977. Aruna Shiv Batalvi from Patiala expressed the grief calling it a personal loss to her family. "Papa had many friends but uncle Bhushan ji has been more of a family member," claimed Dr Meharban Batalvi. Poet Goverdhan Gabbi, an avid reader of the poet's books and columns in The Punjabi Tribune, Harf Raseedi, felt concerned over the void caused by poet's death. "The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademy mourned the demise of poet Dhaynpuri," said it's vice chairperson Dr D.S Gupt. Sharing his concern from New Delhi poet Gul Chauhan maintains that Bhushan Dhyanpuri, with a humanistic vision was secular to the core in his life and literature.

The cremation will take pace on Tuesday at 3.30 PM as per family sources. 

In the season of traditions being gift-wrapped in contemporary glitz and glamour, another re-launch happened with Pallavi renovating its restaurant Lamhe, to mark their 12th anniversary celebrations. The fine dine multi cuisine restaurant got a makeover of sorts, coming out of its traditional Rajasthani look to a more chic, trendy interiors and few surprises in their menu. "For the past 20 years, we stuck to our traditional look. But, we needed a change and this was the feedback that we were getting from our clients too. So, we decided for a new Lamhe, that is more peppy and modern in its ambience," said Himanshu Aggarwal, Director, Pallavi hotel.

The new Lamhe will have a display kitchen with separate veg and non-veg sections, a concept tried for the first time in the tricity. "Apart from some new recipes, we have introduced a separate menu for cuisine that is cooked without onion and garlic. It's for people who prefer purely vegetarian food," he said. That's not all, the celebrations would mean a hoard of offers and discounts on cards. Enjoy a complimentary meal for the second time with their Pay Once, Enjoy Twice offer during the first visit, enjoy combo meals starting at just Rs 75 and unlimited drinks and snacks at Rs 399 during Happy Hours. — Neha Walia