1.
John Abraham (actor)
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John Abraham is an Indian film actor, producer and a former model who appears in Hindi films. After modelling for advertisements and companies, Abraham made his film debut with Jism. This was followed by his first commercial success, Dhoom and he received two Filmfare Award nominations, for his negative roles in Dhoom, and in Zinda. He later appeared in the critical success Water. He was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Baabul, since then, Abraham has starred in many critically and commercially successful films including Kaal, Garam Masala, Taxi No. In 2012, he produced his first film Vicky Donor, which was a critical and commercial success, then he established his own production house, John Abraham Entertainment. His second film as a producer was Madras Cafe, which garnered critical acclaim and his athletic and muscular physique has contributed to his status as one of the most influential sex symbols in Bollywood. He is the co-owner of the Indian Super League football team NorthEast United FC, apart from acting, Abraham has often performed many dangerous stunts in his films. He is also a vegetarian, and is an advocate for animal rights. John Abraham was born to a Malayali father and a Zoroastrian mother and his father, Abraham John, is an architect from Aluva, Kerala, his mother is Firoza Irani. Abrahams Parsi name is Farhan while his father being a Marthomite Syrian Christian named him John and he has a sister Susy Mathew and a younger brother Alan Abraham. Abraham studied at Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai and he got his bachelors degree in economics from Jai Hind College. Abraham also received an MBA from Mumbai Education Trust, during the filming of Jism in 2002, Abraham began to date his co-star Bipasha Basu. They were in a relationship until early 2011, whilst together, the two were often referred to as a supercouple in the Indian media. When asked about the breakup Bipasha Basu claimed Johns behaviour had changed towards her after a kiss with Cristiano Ronaldo. She also claimed infedelity on Johns part, although he denied it and refused to comment. He opened up saying I have always kept quiet about my personal life and its just the way my parents raised me. I rather leave it at speculation and he is now married to Priya Runchal, an NRI financial analyst and investment banker from the USA but native to McLeod Ganj, whom he met in Mumbai, in December 2010
2.
A. R. Rahman
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Allah-Rakha Rahman, is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist. A. R. Rahmans works are noted for integrating Indian classical music with music, world music. Among his awards are two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and he has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2010 by the Government of India. In 2009, Rahman on the Time 100 list of the worlds most influential people, the UK-based world-music magazine Songlines named him one of Tomorrows World Music Icons in August 2011. With an in-house studio, Rahmans film-scoring career began during the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja, working in Indias film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the worlds all-time best-selling recording artists. In a notable career, he has been acclaimed for redefining contemporary Indian film music. Rahman has become a humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for a number of causes and charities. Rahmans body of work for film and stage has given him the nickname of the Mozart of Madras, Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films, Rahman assisted his father in the studio. After his fathers death when Rahman was nine years old, the rental of his fathers musical equipment provided his familys income, raised by his mother, Kareema, Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue. He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesizer, harmonium and guitar, Rahman began his early musical training under Master Dhanraj, and at age 11 began playing in the orchestra of Malayalam composer M. K. Arjunan. Studying in Chennai, Rahman graduated with a diploma in Western classical music from the school, Rahman was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister was seriously ill in 1984. His mother was a practicing Hindu and he converted to Islam with other members of his family in 1989 at age 23, changing his name from R. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman. Rahman initially composed scores for documentaries and jingles for advertisements and Indian television channels, in 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep, composed jingles for a line of watches introduced by Allwyn. He also arranged the jingles for advertisements that went on to become very popular, including the popular jingle for Titan Watches. In 1992, he was approached by director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film, Rahmans film career began in 1992 when he started Panchathan Record Inn, a recording and mixing studio in his backyard. It would become the recording studio in India, and arguably one of Asias most sophisticated. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for the Malayalam film Yodha, a Mohanlal starrer directed by Sivans brother Sangeeth Sivan that released in September 1992, the following year, Rahman received the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the National Film Awards for Roja
3.
Shaan (singer)
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Shantanu Mukherjee, known as Shaan, is an Indian playback singer more active in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu and Kannada films and a television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs, Star Voice of India, in Music Ka Maha Muqabla, his team, Shaans Strikers, finished as the runners up to Shankar Mahadevan’s team. He has also sung many Pakistani songs, Shaan has sung on the Konkani album Tujhe Vinem. He is considered as one of the most popular voices for romantic as well as songs and is one of the most versatile singers. He has sung songs of different genres like pop, sad songs, patriotic, jazz, ghazals, hip-hop, rock and he has sung songs in Konkani, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Nepali, English, Hindi, Oriya, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi and Assamese. He also started his career at a young age of 17 years in year 1989. He has been showered with titles like Golden Voice of India, Voice of Paradise, Magician of Melody and he appeared as a judge in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs 2014–2015 and The Voice India Kids 2016. In 2015, Shaan appeared in the first season of The Voice where he was the coach of Pawandeep Rajan, Shaan was born on 30 September 1972. His grandfather was the lyricist Jahar Mukherjee, his father was the music director Manas Mukherjee. His father died when Shaan was 13, after which his mother work as a singer. As a child, Shaan began his career singing jingles for advertisements, after giving it up for a brief period he returned and, along with jingles, began to sing remixes and cover versions. In the 1989 movie Parinda, aged only 17, Shaan sang a line in the song. He entered the pop scene with sister Sagarika, singing Biddu’s melodies, then came Roop Tera Mastana, a remix album of R. D. Burmans songs, that brought them further into the limelight. Shaan launched Loveology after this, which was well received and he wrote the lyrics of the ballad Bhool Ja on his second album Tanha Dil, which appeared in the charts within days of its release and was popular on radio. In 2000 he won the MTV Asia Music Award for best solo album for his album Tanha Dil, three years later Shaan launched his album Aksar which was successful and contained songs featuring international stars such as Blue, Mel C and Samira Said. For both the albums Tanha Dil and Aksar, Shaan sang, composed and wrote the lyrics of all the songs and he released Tomar Aakash in 2004, a Bengali album, along with his sister and featuring his fathers unreleased songs. He also plans to release an album remaking his fathers compositions with his sister in Hindi and he recently sang one of his fathers compositions on sets of STAR Pluss Music Ka Maha Muqqabla. In 2006, he released a song with MLTR, Take me to your heart, the song appears on his album Tishnagi which is produced by Ranjit Barot and engineered by Ashish Manchanda
4.
Sunidhi Chauhan
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Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of four and made her debut at the age of 13. During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled Meri Awaz Suno and she rose to prominence after recording Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi from Mast, ultimately winning the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer. Her second breakthrough was released in 2000, with the song Mehboob Mere, through her career, she performed mostly item songs and was described in the media as the queen of item songs. Chauhan received her third Filmfare nomination with the song Dhoom Machale followed by two nominations during the next year for Kaisi Paheli and Deedar De. The following year, she was recognized for the title song of Aaja Nachle and Sajnaaji Vaari. Chauhan received her 12th Filmfare nomination with Chor Bazaari preceded by Dance Pe Chance,2010 marked her International singing debut, where she was featured in the song Heartbeat alongside Enrique Iglesias. During the year, she received her second Filmfare award with the item song Sheila Ki Jawani and was nominated for international styled carnival song Udi. In the year, Chauhan appeared as a judge in the 5th season of the Indian television music competition and she also served as a coach in the Indian version of the The Voice. Being an inspiration to many upcoming singers, her work has received praise from veteran artists, besides her career in music, she has also been involved in various charities and social causes. Sunidhi Chauhan was born on 14 August 1983, in New Delhi and her father, Dushyant Kumar Chauhan, who is from Uttar Pradesh, is a theatre personality at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Her mother, a homemaker, inclined Chauhan to persuade a career in music and she also has a younger sister. At the age of four, Chauhan started performing at competitions and local gatherings, during that time, she was doing live shows and trained herself with regular riyaaz by listening to cassettes and CDs of popular numbers. She did her studies from Greenfields Public School and used to stay with her family members and she discontinued studies right after schooling to pursue a career in the music industry. She said, I quit because I did not feel like studying, I made the decision to pursue my dream as a singer and I dont regret it one bit. When actress Tabassum spotted her, she made her live in her show Tabassum Hit Parade. She then introduced Chauhan to Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah, when she was 11, her dad quit his career and brought her to Mumbai. Initially, the family had financial difficulties in adjusting life to the city, after shifting there, she worked in Kalyanjis academy for few years and became the lead singer in his Little Wonders troupe
5.
KK (singer)
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Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, K. K. or Kay Kay, On 22 January 2008, KK released his second album Humsafar after a gap of eight years. The songs Aasman Ke, Dekho Na, Yeh Kahan Mil Gaye Hum, besides, KK had also sung an English Rock Ballad Cineraria. The title track, Humsafar is a mix of English and Hindi lyrics, the album Humsafar has 10 songs, out of which eight have been composed by KK. The other two songs were taken from his previous album Pal, KK has also sung many television serial songs like Just Mohabbat, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Kuch Jhuki Si Palkein, Kavyanjali, Just Dance. He has also sung the song for Star Parivaar Awards 2010 with Shreya Ghoshal. He was invited as member for a talent hunt show Fame Gurukul. KK also has sung a song named Tanha Chala for famous Pakistani TV show THE GHOST which was aired on Hum TV in 2008, the song was composed by Farrukh Abid & Shoiab Farrukh & Momina Duraid penned the lyrics. KK participated in the latest musical venture of MTV India Coke Studio, there he sang one qawwali Chadta Suraj along with Sabri Brothers and a recomposed version of his exquisite track Tu Aashiqui Hai from movie Jhankaar Beats. He also came in Surili Baat in Aaj Tak Chanel and he has also performed in Sony Mix TV Show and MTV Unplugged Season 3, aired on MTV11 January 2014. KK was in Dubai for his concert Salaam Dubai 2014in April. He also did recent concerts in Goa, Dubai & Chennai. Hong kong, after 10 years, He appeared in a Singing reality show as a judge and guest jury member. On 13 September 2015, KK came in Baaton Baaton Mein on Sony Mix, in 2013, KK sang for an international album, Rise Up - Colors of Peace, which consists of songs written by Turkish poet Fetullah Gulen and sung by artists from 12 countries. KK recorded a song named Rose of My Heart for the album, in 2010, the Indi Band BANDISH produced their second self-titled album. The album has a high energy track in the album Tere Bin — a rock ballad sung by KK, drummer Chris Powell said Even though he is a playback singer, he is a true rockstar in his heart. KK has many upcoming songs in his kit such as Musafir Hoon Main composed by Mithoon & written by Amitabh Verma & Mithoon for the film Shab He will soon be recording for Aksar 2 with Mithoon. Waqt Gaya Tham Afreen Afreen O Meri Jaan KK at the Internet Movie Database KK on Twitter
6.
Barbra Streisand
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Barbara Joan Barbra Streisand is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and filmmaker. She is among a group of entertainers who have been honored with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Streisand is one of the music artists of all time, with more than 68.5 million albums in the United States. She starred in the critically acclaimed Funny Girl, for which she won the Academy Award, with the release of Yentl in 1983, Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major studio film. The film won an Oscar for Best Score and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical, Streisand received the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, the first woman to win that award. The RIAA and Billboard recognize Streisand as holding the record for the most top 10 albums of any recording artist. According to Billboard, Streisand holds the record for the female with the most number one albums, Billboard also recognizes Streisand as the greatest female of all time on its Billboard 200 chart and one of the greatest artists of all time on its Hot 100 chart. Barbara Joan Streisand was born on April 24,1942, in Brooklyn, New York and her mother had been a soprano singer in her youth and considered a career in music, but later became a school secretary. Her father was a school teacher at the same school. Streisands family was Jewish, her grandparents emigrated from Galicia and her maternal grandparents from the Russian Empire. Her father earned a degree from City College of New York in 1928 and was considered athletic. As a student, he spent his summers outdoors, once working as a lifeguard, hed try anything, his sister Molly said. He married Ida in 1930, two years after graduating, and became a respected educator with a focus on helping underprivileged. In August 1943, a few months after Streisands first birthday, her father died suddenly at age 34 from complications from an epileptic seizure, the family fell into near-poverty, with her mother working as a low-paid bookkeeper. As an adult, Streisand remembered those early years as always feeling like an outcast, explaining and her mother tried to pay their bills but could not give her daughter the attention she craved, When I wanted love from my mother, she gave me food, Streisand says. Streisand recalls that her mother had a voice and sang semi-professionally on occasion. During a visit to the Catskills when Streisand was thirteen, she told Rosie ODonnell, she and that session was the first time Streisand ever asserted herself as an artist, which also became her first moment of inspiration as an artist. She has a brother, Sheldon, and a half-sister
7.
Billie Holiday
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Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed Lady Day by her friend and music partner Lester Young, Holiday had a influence on jazz music. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and she was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills, which made up for her limited range and lack of formal music education. There were other singers with equal talent, but Holiday had a voice that captured the attention of her audience. After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by the producer John Hammond and she signed a recording contract with Brunswick Records in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson yielded the hit What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia Records and Decca Records. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles, after a short prison sentence, she performed a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall, but her reputation deteriorated because of her drug and alcohol problems. Her final recordings were met with mixed reaction to her voice but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958, Holiday died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1959. A posthumous album, Last Recording, was released following her death, much of Holidays material has been rereleased since her death. She is considered a performer with an ongoing influence on American music. She is the recipient of four Grammy awards, all of them posthumous awards for Best Historical Album, Holiday herself was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973. Lady Sings the Blues, a film about her life, starring Diana Ross, was released in 1972, Eleanora Fagan was born on April 7,1915, in Philadelphia, the daughter of Sarah Julia Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, an unmarried teenaged couple. Her father did not live with her mother, not long after Eleanora was born, Clarence abandoned his family to pursue a career as a jazz banjo player and guitarist. Sarah moved to Philadelphia at age 19, after she was evicted from her parents home in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, for becoming pregnant. With no support from her parents, she made arrangements with her older, married half-sister, Eva Miller, the child was of African-American ancestry and was also said to have had Irish ancestors through her mothers mixed heritage. Her mother often took what were known as transportation jobs. Holidays autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, first published in 1956, is sketchy on details of her early life, some historians have disputed Holidays paternity, as a copy of her birth certificate in the Baltimore archives lists the father as a man named Frank DeViese
8.
Chennai
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Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/, formerly known as Madras /məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the biggest cultural, economic, according to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-largest city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked 43rd most visited city in the world for year 2015, the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed Indias health capital, as a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems. Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009,82,790 in 2011, tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the hottest city by the BBC, National Geographic ranked Chennais food as second best in the world, it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is one of the largest city economies of India. Chennai is nicknamed The Detroit of India, with more than one-third of Indias automobile industry being based in the city, in January 2015, it was ranked third in terms of per capita GDP. Chennai has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India, the name Madras is said to have originated from a Portuguese phrase mae de Deus which means mother of god, due to Portuguese influence on the port city. According to some sources, Madras was derived from Madraspattinam, a north of Fort St George. However, it is whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras meaning juice of honey or sugarcane in Sanskrit. The nativity of name Chennai, being of Telugu origin is clearly proved by the historians. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a deed, dated 8 August 1639
9.
Warner Bros.
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Entertainment Inc. – colloquially known as Warner Bros. or Warner Bros. It is one of the Big Six major American film studios, Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America. The companys name originated from the four founding Warner brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, Jack, the youngest, was born in London, Ontario. The three elder brothers began in the theater business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania. In the beginning, Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to present Life of an American Fireman and they opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903. When the original building was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the current building owners, the owners noted people across the country had asked them to protect it for its historical significance. In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company, in 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named Paul Ashley Chase. By the time of World War I they had begun producing films, in 1918 they opened the first Warner Bros. studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sam and Jack produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert, along with their auditor and now controller Chase, handled finance and distribution in New York City. During World War I their first nationally syndicated film, My Four Years in Germany, on April 4,1923, with help from money loaned to Harry by his banker Motley Flint, they formally incorporated as Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated. The first important deal was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwoods 1919 Broadway play, The Gold Diggers, however, Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought from France after World War I by an American soldier, established their reputation. Rin Tin Tin debuted in the feature Where the North Begins, the movie was so successful that Jack signed the dog to star in more films for $1,000 per week. Rin Tin Tin became the top star. Jack nicknamed him The Mortgage Lifter and the success boosted Darryl F. Zanucks career, Zanuck eventually became a top producer and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jacks right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including day-to-day film production. More success came after Ernst Lubitsch was hired as head director, lubitschs film The Marriage Circle was the studios most successful film of 1924, and was on The New York Times best list for that year. Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warners remained a lesser studio, Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore the lead role in Beau Brummel. The film was so successful that Harry signed Barrymore to a contract, like The Marriage Circle. By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably Hollywoods most successful independent studio, as the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged a major loan
10.
The Statesman
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The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. It incorporates and is descended from The Friend of India. It is owned by The Statesman Ltd and headquartered at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Kolkata, with its editorial office at Statesman House, Connaught Place. It is a member of the Asia News Network, the Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 180,000, and the Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000. This ranks it as one of the leading English newspapers in West Bengal, the Statesman is a direct descendant of two newspapers, The Englishman and The Friend of India, both published in Calcutta. The Englishman was started by Robert Knight, who was previously the principal founder, Knight founded The Statesman and New Friend of India on 15 January 1875, which later adopted the current name. The Statesman was managed by a British corporate group until it transferred ownership to a consortium of companies with N A Palkhivala as Chairman in the mid-1960s, the first editor assigned under this new ownership was Pran Chopra. The Statesman is characterized by its reporting style. It holds an independent anti-establishment position and it opposed the shifting of Indias capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911, stating that he British have gone to the city of graveyards to be buried there. It also strenuously opposed Indira Gandhis Emergency in 1975-77, the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting is presented to outstanding journalists every year, irrespective of affiliation, to further the social uplifting of indigents from India. Once the most widely read English dailies in West Bengal, The Statesman has now lost some ground to The Telegraph, The Times of India, but it is widely regarded as the paper to read for serious news reportage and incisive analytical articles. The Statesman is a member of the Asia News Network. This allows The Statesman to offer coverage of all Asian regions. The Statesman carries a Thursday feature supplement called Section 2 which is published from New Delhi, the four-page supplement provides in-depth analysis on art, dance, literature, drama, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. In Kolkata, the supplement Voices focuses on schools and schoolchildren and it started in 1995, providing the opportunity for school children to showcase their writing skills with research articles, poems and short news clips. Among other activities every year, Voices hosts a 2-day long festival called Vibes in Calcutta, marquee, published every Saturday, covers the film and entertainment scene. Supplement of Dainik Statesman - every Saturday publishes Binodan where the news of art, culture, music, entertainment, food, fashion, every Sunday publishes Bichitra where the sunday special articles, short stories, travel, children special issues are available. Ravindra Kumar is Editor of The Statesman, usha Mahadevan is Resident Editor of The Statesman, Delhi
