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Event

Muslim mass rally on Friday

Leaders in city have called for a rally to pressurise Indian Government to petition UN on terror acts in Syria.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

International al-Quds Day is an annual event on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and the holy mosque Al-Aqsa, located in Jerusalem (Palestine). Today Muslim leaders in the city united under the banner of Quds Committee in order to condemn the terror acts taking place around the world, specifically in Iraq, Syria and Palestine. The speakers condemned the 17 serial blasts in Iraq which took place on Monday, and the ongoing terror activities happening since several years in Palestine and Syria. They said that Islam being a religion of peace, respects freedom for all countrymen and a secure life.

Press conference at Patrakar SanghA press conference to discuss the same was held today at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, CST.

The leaders also condemned the Israeli and American activities in the land of Palestine, which has been colonised by the Israeli occupants for many years. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the leaders said, “Palestine belongs to the Arab, as France belongs to the French and Britain belongs to the British.” They asked the Government of India to send a petition to the UN and take some active steps in the international political scenario to make tge US stop funding and supporting the terror activities.

The committee has also decided to organise a mass rally on this Friday, August 2, from Khoja Masjid, Dongri, to get support from people and ask the Government to take strong steps soon.

The participating speakers were Maulana Hasnain Kararvi, Maulana Fayyaz Baqri, Sarfaraz Arzoo,  Maulana Husain Mehdi Husaini, Aliraza Namdar, Maulana Farman Sahab and Maulana Abulqasim.

(Picture courtesy www.latitudenews.com)

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Read

Do our youth need spirituality?

Three writers pen a tome, aimed at the youth, on the holy places of all religions and faiths across India.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Everybody follows a religion. While religion is a deeply personal issue, and so is the visiting of holy places as per one’s faith, the undertaking of a pilgrimage is generally considered to be a task for old people. It is not an activity associated with most youngsters.

But, found three writers, the opposite is true.

Anju PoddarIt was this line of thought that led the three writers – Anju Poddar, Sethu Vaidyanathan and Mukul Singhal – to explore India’s several religious faiths and the holy places associated with each. Their observations, made over a period of two years, were laid down in the stunning book 108 Shades of Divinity, which is a collection of the 108 holy places in India across nine faiths. We spoke to Mumbai resident Anju Poddar, whose brainchild the book was, about writing this particular book and discovering several interesting truths during the writing process.

Excerpts from the interview:

How did you hit upon the idea of this book?
Mukul Singhal (one of the authors) who is my friend Parul’s brother, had read my earlier books on Manasarovar and Traditions of India. I have written seven other books prior to this one. Mukul had visited the chaar dhams and the 12 Jyotirlingas as well. He contacted me about this project which was already in my mind. Then my daughter Avantika introduced me to Sethu Vaidyanathan (the third writer) who also had a passion about visiting places of worship. The three of us made a good team. Once we discussed the concept and the contents, we got started. We worked in total harmony, complementing each other.

Why do young people need to read this book?
For a while, I had been observing that a lot of youth were getting increasingly inclined towards visiting these holy places. The reasons could be that may be they suffered from too much stress in their lives, or may be they did it in a spirit of adventure. Or may be they did it just to connect with their roots?

When we were kids in the 1960s and 70s, my father KN Modi used to take us to all religious places when he could. Later on, we carried this tradition forward with our children also. So my daughter Pallavi once told me. ‘Maa, your grandkids have seen the three Disneylands in the US, Paris and Hongkong, but none of the Jyotirlingas. Why don’t you write about them and inspire the youth?’ That was how I got the idea for this book.

Why did you self-publish this book, instead of taking the traditional publishing route?
Self publication gives more freedom and flexibility in terms of content and choosing the top designer as per requirement. In our case, buying images was a mega cost which a From L- R. Lara dutta, Amish Tripathi, Anju Poddartraditional publisher would not have okayed, and the publisher also may have objected if we said we wanted to go to the best of printers and use expensive paper and hire a good editor. I say this from past experience.

All three of us pitched in (for the costs of production), we got the ISBN number and started work.

Despite it being a self-published work, the response to the book has been good so far. Apart from launching in Mumbai and Hyderabad, we launched in London on July 5 and we will launch it in Delhi on July 25.

Did you meet a lot of religious leaders/priests/imams in the writing of this book?
We had over 70 people helping us in the research and information gathering of this book, across religions. We had consulted Shankaracharayaji of Dwarkadheesh and Badri Ashram for the writeups on Hinduism. Likewise, for every other religion we went to various fathers, imams and priests, apart from experts for their inputs. After we wrote our articles, we sent them writeups to these people for their approval.

Why is the knowledge enshrined in 108 Shades of Divinity important in today’s times?
108 is an auspicious number, and this is known across our faiths. Even the beads in the jap maala are 108 in number. People should be aware of the location and significance of their holy places. My daughter Avantika suggested this name and we worked around it.

(Pictures courtesy Anju Poddar and www.alasr.info) 

Categories
Tech

Google could give your TV the smarts

Google’s latest event unveiled new devices and a device that, if it comes to India, could smarten up our TVs.
by Manik Kakra

Google recently held an event centred around its Android operating system. The event was held under the name of Sundar Pichai, Android team head. Google showed not one but two new gizmos – new Nexus 7 and Chromecast. On the software side, it released the new Android version – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

New Nexus 7The tablet. Let’s first talk about the tablet. The new Nexus 7 (in pic on left) sports a 7-inch (1200 x 1920) screen, and runs on the latest Android 4.3 OS. It is powered by Qualcomm’s S4 Pro processor with Adreno 320 GPU, along with 2 GB of RAM. On the back, there is a 5 MP camera; and the front has got the same camera from its predecessor. The tablet comes in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB options with WiFi-only and WiFi + 4G variants, starting from $229 (approx Rs 13,521) and going up to $349 (approx Rs 20,606). As of now, there is no official news on its Indian release or price.

The software. Coming to Android 4.3, Google has brought a lot to the platform with this update, but mainly all under-the-hood stuff. The OS has now got support for 4K videos, yes. Along with better graphics and responsive UI, the OS has also got a new games Play app, which is basically a competitor to Apple’s Game Center on iOS. Other highlights include improved Bluetooth support with lower power requirement; restricted profiles through which you can restrict apps and content consumed by other users using your tablet; tweaked camera app, and more. The OS update is already out for Nexus devices – Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Nexus 4, and will be out for Google Play edition devices soon.

Chromecast. The Chromecast was more of a surprising announcement at this event. There were no prior leaks or rumours, and not many saw it coming. What is Chromecast? ChromecastChromecast is a dongle which allow you to play content from your PC, tablet or smartphone to your TV. Plug it in your connected TV, and you can watch your content on it. With this plugged in, you can access YouTube and Netflix, too. It costs $35 (approx Rs 1,4756), and is out of stock already. When we can get it in India, you ask? Well, not any time soon. And above that, there is not much hope that we would see any content for such devices even if they make it to India, in the near future. Having said that, Chromecast, and Apple TV, could well be the next buy for your living room just to make that idiot box a little smarter and more useful.

(Pictures courtesy www.redmondpie.com, gigaom.com, allthingsd.com)

Categories
Tech

The best messaging clients for your smartphone

Love to text people and want to go beyond SMS and WhatsApp? Check out four other cool client messaging options.
by Manik Kakra

With smartphones in our hands or pockets more often than not, it is the best device to stay connected with your near and dear ones. Until recently, SMS was a big part of most people’s phone usage, when messaging apps for user-to-user phone chat started taking their place. Here are the best clients you can install on your smartphone today:

WhatsApp: You saw it coming, right? With the biggest userbase among any such apps, WhatsApp is what most users have installed, and is their go-to app for texting. Active development team, and cross-platform availability, this one is surely among the keepers.

ViberViber: Available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian, this one, along with WhatsApp, enjoys first-to-arrive benefit among these apps. Following the same rule of setting a user’s number as his/her ID, it isn’t much of a hassle to set it up. Users can also call each other through it, though the developers really need to improve the call quality.

LINE: LINE is one of the recent entrants in this list, but is surely here to stay. With over five million users registered in India in about three weeks’ time of its Indian launch, this one could well be your next favourite messaging client. Good call quality, emojis, emoticons, and some really nice stickers, plus a clean and responsive UI are the best things about it. It’s available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, S40, Windows and Mac OS X.

Tango: You might not have heard its name, but this app got the Best Communication Awards this year. Its call quality – whether voice or video – is impressive, and with the usual text, picture and video-sharing features available, you should try this app once.

Fring: Old, but still relevant. With Fringe, you can not only group chat, but can also conference call with four persons. Great, right? Whether fringlandline (fixed) or mobile phone, you can make free call, mostly.

Apart from these, there are a number of other clients. While iOS has its own native iMessage (along with FaceTime), BlackBerry users have got their beloved BBM, which is soon going to be launched for iOS and Android; Android might get its own client later this year. Other apps worth checking once include Facebook Messenger (with its new Chatheads), SnapChat, which is focused more on image sharing. Nimbuzz, and WeChat.

(Pictures courtesy www.windowsphone.com, play.google.com, beyondthedefaults.com)

Categories
Tech

Seven apps for women’s safety

In today’s times, women need some handy help – and it can come via their smartphones, through seven wonderful apps.
by Manik Kakra

Most women must carry a smartphone or tablet with them wherever and whenever they travel. As crimes against women increase all over the country, it is up to women to provide the first ring of security to themselves. Usually, the phone they carry can help establish contact to get immediate aid.

But how can you make sure the device is actually ‘smart’ and useful to you in many more ways than just the conventional ones? Having smart apps is an answer. Let’s take a look at some handy apps and services aimed at women’s safety.

Damini appDamini: Launched after the horrifying Delhi rape case in December 2012, this app allows you to send your location data and video as soon as the person starts the app. You can form a group from your contacts list to whom this app sends data whenever required.

FightBack: Available for almost all smartphone platforms, this app not only uses your phone’s GPS, SMS, and Maps, but also your Facebook account in order to alert your near and dear ones in an emergency.

Cab4me: This is a very useful app even for your day-to-day use. Its database allows you to quickly search through taxi stands near your location and you can book a cab right on it. In case of any emergency, you can quickly glance through your self-made favourite list, so that you can book a cab or inquire about services without wasting too much time looking for a cab on a deserted road. It’s available for Android and iOS.

SafeBridge (also available on Google Play): In case your phone doesn’t have any way to access the Internet at the time, this service has got your covered. It uses safebridge appyour phone’s SMS to send your location quickly to somebody pre-selected from your contact list.

iFollow: This is another smart app. In case you’re running out of time to make a call or do little else, all you have to do is shake your phone thrice and this app will get started. Next, it will make a call to a contact, and further an SMS, if the call doesn’t get answered.

Scream Alarm: As the name suggests, a loud voice comes from your phone as soon as your press the scream button in the app. That’s about it, however.

YWCA-Safety-Alert-Apps-3YWCA Safety Alert: This app not only can make a loud scream from your phone, but can also send your location data as well as email the selected contacts, when you simply shake your phone or tap its alert button.

Apart from these, there are a few apps which send your location data to a particular contact stored on your device, such as SafeTrac and inE.

(Pictures courtesy yourstory.in, play.google.com, itunes.apple.com, techtips9.com)

Categories
Watch

Watch this film to read better

Film to be screened at Max Mueller Bhavan this evening discusses the challenges that the reading habit faces in Mumbai.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Early last year, Sayalee Karkare, alumna of the Erasmus Mundus Global Studies programme (EMGS) received a fellowship from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai to make a documentary film on books and reading culture in in the city. She collaborated with Matthew Sharp from the Mundus Urbano programme, who did the camera and sound work for the film.

The film, titled Books In The Big City, addresses the challenges that the culture of reading faces in a fast-changing city like Mumbai. As the city modernises and Mumbaikars shift their reading online, many small libraries and bookstores are closing down. What’s more, there are fears that mainstream magazines and news publications might also take their wares to the Internet.

But is this really about to happen? Street booksellers, famous in Mumbai for selling everything from pirated to first edition books, are also feeling the pressure. While technology has opened up new avenues for reading, not everybody can afford access to the Internet and e-readers. This raises important questions about access to knowledge in general, and the need for reader-friendly spaces in overcrowded urban areas in particular.

Books In The Big City explores these issues through the testimonies of prominent locally-based writers, readers and booksellers, taking the viewer on a journey around the city, from the cramped living quarters of a bohemian bibliophile to exclusive members-only ‘public’ libraries.

 

The documentary is part of the ‘Urban aspirations in global cities’ research laboratory, an international collaborative project in which researchers from TISS (Mumbai), the Max Planck Institute (Germany) and Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research (Mumbai) are working together. The project aims to compare post-colonial mega-cities in Asia, including Mumbai, Singapore and Shanghai, and to understand how the urban community of rapidly growing mega-cities impacts the development of urban aspirations.

Head to the Library, Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda today, July 19. The film begins at 7 pm, seating starts at 6.30 pm. A Q&A follows the screening.

(Picture courtesy Sayalee Karkare, video courtesy EMGS) 

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