Bangalore: Singing legend Manna is being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award at the age of 90 and his close friends here feel that the highest honour in Indian cinema has come late.

"Manna Dey should have got recognition much earlier. When Lata Mangeshkar got the prestigious Bharat Ratna award, I thought dada will get the Padma Vibhushan. But he did not get it. I am happy that now the film industry's greatest honour has been bestowed upon him," said Guru Kiran, Kannada film industry's well known music director.

"I loved Manna Dey as much as I loved (Mohammad) Rafi and Kishore Kumar. He has a great range in music. 'Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo' and 'Chunari sambhal gori' are my all time favourite songs. It is gratifying that Manna Dey is living with us here in Bangalore," he added.

In recognition of a lifetime devoted to the pursuit of non-violence, the United Nations has declared the 2nd of October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-violence. On this occasion, this year, the Ministry of Women & Child Development is launching a nationwide campaign for prevention of violence against women to create greater awareness about the issue.

Interacting with the media here today on the eve of launch of the campaign, Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister of Women & Child Development said that women empowerment and welfare is a high priority for the Government. Though women constitute more that 48% of the population and are acknowledged as the very foundation for the development of the society and the country as a whole, the issue concerning them, and more importantly, the abuse of their rights, remains often neglected. In fact, the incidence of violence against women within the home and outside is quite alarming.

We at MASTRADIO wish you all a very Subh Durga Pooja.

Durga - in Sanskrit, means who is non comprehensible or difficult to reach. In Sanatana Dharma, Durga signifies Shakti which means Power or Energy. It is derived from Sanskrit verb root “shak,” which means “to be able” or “to act”.  “This energetic power is witnessed in all the various phenomena of life. It is the nourishing force responsible for the growth of vegetation, animals, human beings, and of the very Earth Herself.  It is what is responsible for the kinetic movement of all things.  The planets revolve around the sun as a result of the hidden power of Shakti.  It is Shakti that makes the winds blow and the oceans churn. Shakti is manifest as the very affective ability of all the forces of nature.  She is the heat of fire, the brilliance of the sun, the very life force of all living beings.”¹

The “formula’ works equally effectively across the cultural divide. If in Bollywood Rahman was expected to do a series of Rukmani rukmani after Roja, in the West they want more Jai ho from this composing genius after Slumdog Millionaire.

But Rahman in his own quiet way is determined to not pander to western expectations.

He made it very clear to the people behind his first full-fledged Hollywood film that he’d compose exactly what he thought to be the most apt music for the show.

New Delhi:

Here we go again. Jagjit Singh is yet again making bold claims.

Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh believes that present day Bollywood music lacks depth as today`s filmmakers have no understanding of music and literature.
“Modern filmmakers have no interest in music and literature, moreover they don`t want to understand it. All they want to do is to earn money by selling sex and violence,” the singer told reporters.