Shakti won the Grammy for “This Moment”, the band’s first studio album in over 45 years.

Rajagopalan, Shakti’s founder and guitarist John McLaughlin, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, singer Shankar Mahadevan, and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram won the award at a ceremony in the US earlier this month.

“It was like euphoria because time stopped (for us). We had a contingent of 25 people with us so the celebration started at that time. It was like a beautiful moment unforgettable, etched in memory,” Rajagopalan told PTI in an interview.

The violinist, 59, who along with his brother Kumaresh, is a prominent name in the Carnatic music fraternity, is settled in Seattle (US) but has a home in Chennai too.

He credits McLaughlin and Hussain for being the driving force behind the studio album that was created during the pandemic with members sitting in “different corners of the world”.

“We created a drop box so every composition, everything was put on that drop box. After the composition was run, we played layers and layers and layers, so everything was mixed. It was so beautiful that the whole thing came (together) because in the beginning, there was only one line and after that, everything was added one after the other…

“When you hear the music, it’s so beautiful. It all sounds like we were in one studio, seating and playing against each other. It sounds like that now but it was actually played in different parts, from different parts of the globe. So, that’s the power of ‘Shakti’ I think,” he said.

Rajagopalan became a member of ‘Shakti’ in 2019, stepping in as a violinist after Lakshminarayana L Shankar left the group, which was originally founded in 1976.

The musician said Shakti as a band is very special for each member.

“When we get together, the vibration, the energy that Shakti brings in, you will be sucked into that kind of feel. We long for that and when there is a gap, we long for that feel. To be rubbing shoulders with such great people is also one of the incentives of playing with ‘Shakti’.”

Rajagopalan said the band, whose founding members were McLaughlin, Hussain, Lakshminarayan Shankar, and Vikku Vinayakram, “defined fusion”.

“It’s a very unique, special band. That’s how it was formed and after that for about ten years or so and then they disbanded and then after that it came in another avatar and then it got disbanded again, and then another one happened.

“50 years have passed and ‘Shakti’ has also evolved with time and music is so different from what it began and what is it now. It’s so different, so beautiful and it’s evolved with the times, change in members, and now it’s come a full circle.”

Rajagopalan has collaborated with musicians like A R Rahman, Ilayaraja, and M Keeravani in the past and is also the founder of the Eswara School of Music in Portland (US).

An artist, he said he is always open to new ideas in music.

“Music is more like an addiction in a way… From the beginning, I have been fortunate to be playing with the top most people in the world… The stop comes only when you think that you have done it all but I think there is more to come,” he said.

The post Grammy win an unforgettable memory: violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

Giving this information, ED said that on Tuesday afternoon, Abdu arrived at the ED office in Mumbai to record his statement.

More details regarding the matter are awaited.

Abdu is a popular musician from Tajikistan. He gained a lot of popularity in India with his stint in Bigg Boss 15. However, Abdu voluntarily left the show due to prior professional obligations.

Before Bigg Boss, he became a social media sensation with his ‘Burgiir’ meme. He also owns a restaurant named Burgiir in Mumbai.

The post Abdu Rozik summoned in money laundering case appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

Daniella T, in her final words, expressed gratitude for loved ones and shed light on the lack of awareness and treatment options for various cancers, including the one that claimed her life. She emphasised that not all cancers are caused by lifestyle choices, detailing her case where the cancer originated in her bile ducts despite her being healthy and active.

Cholangiocarcinoma, a rare aggressive cancer with often no apparent causes and no cure, prompted Daniella to hope for increased research to save more lives in the future.

“Firstly, I just want to say that not all cancers are caused by lifestyle choices, in some cases it’s genetics, or unfortunately it just happens,” she wrote in her post.

Facing the grim diagnosis with remarkable positivity, she encouraged others to enjoy life’s little moments and cherish every second. Daniella advocated for the romanticisation of life and pursuing happiness despite challenges. Sharing a hopeful quote from Winnie-the-Pooh, she thanked her partner Tom for support, urging him to go enjoy life.

The post resonated deeply, amassing thousands of likes and heartfelt reactions from internet users. One user found the message powerful and inspiring, emphasising the importance of appreciating life’s blessings.

Another user expressed hope that Daniella’s story would uplift those who did not know her, highlighting the enduring impact of her message and spirit. She talked about celebrating life rather than being devasted by the deadly disease in her post.

Her post is a reminder for two points, one that in the worst situation, one should not stop living life fully, embrace and appreciate. Secondly, there is a lack of awareness regarding Cholangiocarcinoma cancer, which needs to be raised as an issue.

The post British woman’s final words on social media highlights lack of cancer awareness appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

Taking to the streets to protest must be part of free speech – within decent democratic boundaries. That deal is broken if prejudiced placards, chants and slogans go unchecked – but undermined too when politicians declare every protestor for peace or Palestine to be a pro-Hamas hate marcher or part of an Islamist mob.

Democratic protest must mean persuasion, not intimidation. Enabling MPs to make their views and votes as clear as possible on questions of war and peace is a good principle – but the Commons speaker citing threats to MPs as a decisive influence of his decisions was unfortunate. Every practical thing should be done for MPs’ security, except for changing the business of the Commons.

One irony of a ferocious and incomprehensible partisan battle over Commons procedure was just how much most MPs across parties can agree on what they would wish for in the Middle East – a sustainable ceasefire, hostages released, humanitarian aid, and a diplomatic push for a two-state solution – but with limited power to make that happen.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak made Lee Anderson a party vice-chair a year ago, with a licence to offend, provoke opponents and to polarise. He has now removed the whip from his party’s most strident right-winger. Yet Anderson was trying to argue that Suella Braverman had gone too far with her sweeping claim that “Islamists run Britain”. He narrowed that charge to Islamist ‘control’ of London mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

This was partly a reprise of Tory attacks on the ‘loony left’ – but a baseless conspiratorial smear personally attacking a mayor (who is himself Muslim) does nothing to challenge Islamist extremism.

The suspension of Anderson, but not Braverman, illuminates a view of prejudice as primarily about interpersonal incivility. Lurid conspiracy claims about the woke-Islamist coalition running the ‘deep state’ – an implausible alibi for a Conservative government after 14 years – go unchecked.

Consistency in tackling prejudice is difficult to achieve. Challenging political opponents is easy. The test that matters is applying similar standards to your own tribe. Any party that wants to govern our country should seek to meet this simple ‘one nation’ test: that no citizen should feel any tension between their ethnicity or faith and their stake in our shared society.

It was mainly left to the tiny number of Muslim Conservative parliamentarians, with a handful of allies, to insist on action. Without the intervention of government minister Nus Ghani, who tried to explain to Anderson why his comments were dangerous and divisive, together with former Home Secretary Sajid Javid, it is unclear that a reluctant Sunak would have suspended Anderson.

The Ashfield MP turned down the chance to retain the whip with an apology, from a stubborn mixture of pride and prejudice.

London’s Conservatives were admirably quick to distance themselves from Anderson’s remarks, with Susan Hall speaking out about the anti-Muslim prejudice Khan faces. That shows that some lessons have been learnt from the Zac Goldsmith campaign of 2016.

Yet, Richard Tice of Reform dismissed challenges to the anti-Muslim smear against Khan as a political elite obsession with “hurty wurty words” and invited Anderson and his supporters to feel at home with Reform.

Even after the suspension, Sunak, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden and illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson all struggled (or refused) to say why Anderson’s comments were wrong.

The government has no working definition of anti-Muslim prejudice. It is sceptical about an APPG (all party parliamentary group) definition of Islamophobia, so committed to building consensus on an alternative in 2019, before abandoning that pledge with no end product.

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch is right to say that “anti-Muslim hatred” can be a clearer term. Centring “Islam” rather than “Muslims” can blur the key distinction. Critiquing political and theological ideas is free speech – but prejudice against people who are Muslim crosses the line. But the government lacks the basic foundations to make its commitment to ‘zero tolerance’ of anti-Muslim prejudice more than rhetoric.

Conservative MP Rehman Chishti detailed the policy vacuum: the government has no working definition, has appointed no adviser on anti-Muslim prejudice, and has no active forum of engagement with whichever civic Muslim groups it is willing to talk to. The recent government decision to defund the Interfaith Network further exacerbates that problem.

The contested politics of prejudice will remain in the headlines. The Rochdale by-election may see suspended Labour candidate Azhar Ali still emerge as an MP if voters did not hear about his suspension for an antisemitic conspiracy theory, or if they still prefer him to George Galloway.

Galloway’s charge, that Starmer is controlled by Zionists, offers the mirror image of Anderson’s conspiratorial claim that he is in the pocket of Islamists – but may still get a Commons platform again. By the end of this general election year, voters as well as parties will have to determine which democratic boundaries we value.

(The author is the Director of British Future)

The post Comment: Keeping politics and prejudice apart appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

The Supreme Court order was issued in an ongoing legal dispute with the Indian Medical Association, which has accused Patanjali of allegedly disparaging other forms of conventional medicines.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who co-founded Patanjali, has previously denied the criticism and accused some doctors of spreading propaganda against traditional medicines, which are hugely popular in India.

Patanjali did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The court said Patanjali violated its assurance to judges last year in the ongoing case that it would not publish advertisements that make “casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy”.

The order came after a lawyer for the Indian Medical Association told the court that Ramdev’s firm had continued to publish newspaper ads claiming to offer a “permanent solution” for conditions, such as blood pressure, asthma and diabetes.

The judges also asked Patanjali to explain why it should not initiate contempt of court proceedings against the company.

Patanjali was co-founded by yoga teacher Ramdev in 2006. He has a huge fan following in India and offers yoga cures for many illnesses through his TV shows.

Patanjali sells personal care products and ayurvedic medicines, but has often faced the ire of doctors and activists, who accuse the firm of making incorrect assertions about medicinal efficacy. (Reuters)

The post Indian court bars Patanjali from publishing medicinal ads appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

The move aims to alleviate prison overcrowding and prioritise the safety of British citizens, reported The Telegraph.

Chalk explained that foreign offenders, including shoplifters, thieves, and drug dealers, will receive “conditional cautions” instead of jail time. This means they will be expelled from the country and barred from returning to Britain.

The deportation scheme, overseeing by policing minister Chris Philp, targets the 3,300 foreign prisoners awaiting trial, who represent almost a third of all foreign offenders in English and Welsh jails.

While the plan is intended to streamline the justice system and free up prison space, potential legal challenges from criminals could pose obstacles, the report said.

Chalk also revealed negotiations with Poland and Romania to deport dangerous prisoners to their home countries and accelerate the expulsion of foreign offenders nearing the end of their sentences.

The Justice Secretary emphasised the necessity of increasing prison capacity to uphold public safety. He expressed frustration over the taxpayer burden – £47,000 a year for every inmate – of housing foreign prisoners and has initiated agreements with Albania to transfer certain criminals serving lengthy sentences back to their homeland.

“There is a power that exists in certain lower-level cases, that in place of prosecution, the Home Office deports someone. Now there are some cases where it’s absolutely right that you are going to want to go through the criminal justice process to ensure that that person is properly punished,” he was quoted as saying.

“But there will be other cases where actually it’s in the public interest to simply get them out of the country.”

The early removal scheme, which allows for deportation 18 months before a prisoner’s sentence ends, is being expanded to further alleviate overcrowding.

To address the crisis, resources have been allocated to expedite the deportation process, including a fast-track system for appeals and the use of police cells for overflow prisoners.

Chalk acknowledged delays in the construction of new prisons due to planning issues but assured efforts to create additional cell capacity through refurbishments and temporary measures.

The justice secretary faces pressure to ensure sufficient prison spaces amid impending sentencing reforms, which may lead to increased demand for detention.

He explained that the prison overcrowding problem came from two important choices made by government ministers during the Covid-19 pandemic. First, they decided against releasing 16,000 prisoners early, as suggested in plans by MoJ officials. Second, they chose to keep jury trials going, which is seen as a key freedom for British citizens.

The post Foreign criminals face deportation to ease prison overcrowding appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

The court’s decision suspends all licenses, preventing the capture of young Asian elephants for purposes such as begging, circuses, or street shows.

With only around 200 Asian elephants remaining in Bangladesh, half of them living in captivity, the country has witnessed a significant decline in their numbers due to poaching and habitat loss.

Previously, the forestry department issued licenses allowing logging groups to capture and use young elephants for hauling logs, while others were exploited in circus performances, violating the terms of the licenses.

As logging and agriculture expand into elephant habitats in the northern and southeastern hills of the country, young elephants are often captured. The forestry department has historically granted licenses to logging groups, allowing them to use elephants for hauling tree trunks.

Additionally, circus groups have obtained licenses to adopt these captured animals.

Rakibul Haque Emil, head of the People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation in Bangladesh, described the court order as a “landmark” decision. “In this name of training elephants, private licensees including circus parties brutally separate elephant calves from their mother, shackle them for months and then torture them to teach tricks,” he said.

Actor Jaya Ahsan, who initiated the legal case alongside PAW, expressed optimism that the court’s decision would put an end to the harsh training inflicted on these animals. Last year, the issue gained attention when a young elephant, used for begging on the streets, was killed by a train.

Elephants are often painted in bright colors and forced to perform tricks by their captors. In 2019, police rescued two emaciated elephants used for roadside begging. Animal rights activists said the suspension would end often brutal training — known as “hadani”.

The court order is seen as a crucial step in protecting the remaining Asian elephants in Bangladesh and preventing further exploitation and harm to these endangered animals. (With inputs from BBC)

The post Bangladesh court steps in to save its wild elephants appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

The former London minister, who represents Sutton and Cheam, on Tuesday said he regrets sparking a controversy by claiming that parts of Tower Hamlets and Birmingham have become “no-go areas”.

He made these remarks during an interview with BBC London radio on Monday while condemning MP Lee Anderson for claiming that London Mayor Sadiq Khan was under the control of Islamist extremists.

During the interview he had said, “Parts of Birmingham, Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, mainly because of people using, abusing in many ways, their religion because it is not the doctrine of Islam, to espouse what some of these people are saying.

“That, I think, is the concern that needs to be addressed.”

Both Tower Hamlets and Sparkhill have large Muslim populations.

His remarks were condemned by Labour MPs Apsana Begum and Rushanara Ali, whose constituencies cover Tower Hamlets.

A source close to London mayor told BBC that Scully was resorting to a ‘notorious Islamophobic trope’ with highly offensive and untrue claims.

Tower Hamlets residents who spoke to the Standard have refuted Scully’s claims.

Trish Donnelly, a retail worker who had lived in the area for over 35 years, told the Standard that she hasn’t come across any ‘no go areas’. In fact the area is very multicultural, welcoming, and has an old London charm.

Another resident Ali Sarwar, a restaurant worker, said MP’s comments were hurtful and incorrect.

He conceded that there was crime in the area, “but that is the same for every big city”.

Last year Scully ran to be the capital’s next Conservative mayoral candidate, but failed to make it to the shortlist.

The post Tower Hamlets residents reject Scully’s ‘no-go’ area comment appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

With millions of users relying on their online services, Microsoft, Google, and Meta have witnessed a surge in water consumption due to the establishment of massive server farms that rely on chilled water for cooling systems, essential for the extensive language models powering generative AI.

Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside, published a study in April investigating the resources needed to run buzzy generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

According to Ren and his colleagues, ChatGPT consumes 500 milliliters of water, approximately the volume in a standard 16-ounce bottle, for every 10 to 50 prompts, depending on the deployment location and time.

The study’s authors caution that failure to adequately address the increasing water footprint of AI models could pose a significant obstacle to the socially responsible and sustainable use of AI in the future. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and partially owned by Microsoft, did not provide a response to a request for comments on the study’s findings.

“I think we are going to see more clashes over the water usage in the coming years as well, so this type of risk will have to be taken care of by the companies,” Ren said.

A study from the University of California, Riverside, published in Nature, emphasizes the urgent need to uncover and address the undisclosed water footprint of AI models. This is especially crucial considering escalating freshwater scarcity, prolonged droughts, and ageing water infrastructure.

The concern intensifies as leading tech companies vie to introduce products utilizing generative AI, which requires substantial computing power and drives the establishment of massive server farms. Some of the water used in the cooling process evaporates, while some can be recycled.

Water, a crucial resource for various forms of energy generation, has seen notable spikes in consumption by tech giants. In 2022, Microsoft consumed about 22 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to 22 billion litres, while Google consumed about 6-7 million cubic meters (6-7 billion litres), and Meta’s consumption was at a modest 2 billion litres.

In 2023, the consumption increased further, prompting these companies to set targets to replenish water resources by 2030 through initiatives like enhancing irrigation infrastructure and restoring wetland systems.

Experts anticipate that the demand for AI will propel water withdrawal to unprecedented levels, estimated to range between 4.2 billion and 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027, almost half of the UK’s annual water consumption.

Residents in West Des Moines, Iowa, raised concerns over a data centre cluster consuming a significant portion of the district’s water supply, highlighting the potential water-intensive nature of AI models.

Calls for enhanced transparency and data disclosure from AI firms have emerged, urging detailed breakdowns of water consumption across different computing services. While some companies like OpenAI have expressed commitment to improving efficiencies, others like Google have refrained from commenting on the issue.

Experts stress the necessity of comprehensive reporting on the environmental impacts of AI models, particularly amid global concerns over climate change and dwindling water resources. Kate Crawford, a research professor at USC Annenberg, emphasizes the importance of understanding the true environmental consequences of generative AI tools amidst a climate crisis.

In response to these concerns, tech giants, including Microsoft and Google, are working to reduce their water footprint and become “water positive” by the end of the decade, aiming to replenish more water than they use. However, the computing power needed to run new AI models could lead to significantly higher levels of water use in the coming months.

“With AI, we’re seeing the classic problem with technology in that you have efficiency gains but then you have rebound effects with more energy and more resources being used,” said Somya Joshi, head of division: global agendas, climate and systems at the Stockholm Environment Institute.

Somya Joshi, head of division at the Stockholm Environment Institute, highlights the classic problem with technology, where efficiency gains in AI models are offset by rebound effects leading to increased energy and resource consumption, including water.

A spokesperson for Microsoft stated that the company is investing in research to measure the energy and water use and carbon impact of AI while working on ways to make large systems more efficient. They emphasized the need for a plentiful clean energy supply globally to power AI technology.

A Google spokesperson noted that research shows the energy needed to power AI technology is rising at a much slower rate than forecasted. Google data centers are designed to maximize efficiency, delivering significantly more computing power with the same amount of electrical power compared to five years ago.

The environmental impact of Big Tech’s expanding water footprint in the age of generative AI is a growing concern. As the demand for AI continues to rise, it is imperative for tech companies to address and mitigate the environmental consequences, ensuring a sustainable and responsible use of AI technology.

The post AI’s water footprint raises questions about sustainability appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

Confirming the same, the actress said, “I am working on a reality TV show, which is inspired by the ‘Kama Sutra,’ for which I would be just behind the scenes. I would just be producing obviously, not on the show,” Chandran told Variety.

The actress continued, “The Kama Sutra is actually an ancient Hindu text, but in the West, it has this not-so-pleasant, or positive, reputation and connotation. And it’s about taking ownership back of things that belong to us and our culture, and actually showing the beauty and the importance of these texts and what modern society can learn from it.”

The show is in the early stages of development.

Meanwhile, Chandran is also producing a TV adaptation of Shankari Chandran’s bestselling novel Song of the Sun God, following three generations of a close-knit Sri Lankan family, whose story is inextricably entangled in their country’s three-decade-long civil war.

Talking about the same, she said, “We are still in development. It’s really, really exciting. I have to say, I think it’s the best script I’ve ever read. It’s sensational. I can’t wait for us to get going on making it and for the world to see it. It’s something that is so important. And I feel the responsibility to make it 100% right. And the team that I’m working with on this are just so brilliant and so committed, I feel really lucky.”

Chandran is also serving as a producer on Arzu, a drama series based on the sexy novel of the same name by Mumbai-based Riva Razdan.

“Arzu is a show about a Mumbai socialite who travels to New York, and it follows her life in New York. And I think that is just such a fun project. And it’s really about a culture clash, but in a way that isn’t stereotypical. The show will be like a really beautiful representation of what it’s like to be an Indian born in India and [who] grew up in India, in America trying to acclimatize,” she said.

The post Charithra Chandran to produce reality show based on ‘Kama Sutra’ appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.