| With 52 laboratories under it, the DRDO is one of the biggest and most versatile models of defence R&D in the world. |
WHEN M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, laid down office on August 31 he must have done so with a sense of satisfaction. For, India’s Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun, which he “fathered”, has been inducted into the Army and the nuclear-powered submarine Arihant, which was built under the top-secret Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme of which he was the chief coordinator, was launched on July 26. Arihant has propelled India into an elite club of six countries with their own nuclear-powered boats.
A few days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched Arihant in Visakhapatnam, Natarajan told this correspondent: “I am happy that the boat is being launched during my tenure.” The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), of which Natarajan was the Director-General, funded the ATV project. Natarajan was also Secretary, Defence R&D, and Director-General, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
He capped his career in the DRDO – after having joined it in 1970 – by becoming its Director-General in 2004. For 30 years, he worked on several important projects relating to the design and development of tracked vehicles. He was associated with Arjun right from its inception at the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) at Avadi, near Chennai. He became the Programme Director of the Arjun project in 1987 and the Director of the CVRDE in December 1989. He ensured that India had its indigenous state-of-the-art Arjun and a self-propelled gun system Bhim.
Today, Arjun has gone into production and the Army’s 43rd Regiment is equipped with it. The Army had placed an order for 124 Arjuns. The Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) at Avadi has delivered 45 tanks. On August 21, the first batch of armoured ambulances, which Natarajan designed and built, rolled out of the Ordnance Factory at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.
As Director-General, ADA, Natarajan gave a new direction to the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, which has done 1,163 sorties. Tejas is now ready for initial operational clearance. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has placed orders for 20 aircraft. Natarajan contributed to the mechanical systems of Tejas.
With 52 laboratories under it, the DRDO is one of the biggest and most versatile models of defence R&D in the world. Natarajan calls it “a technological powerhouse”. These laboratories, situated in different parts of the country, have proven competence in developing strategic military hardware and related technologies in diverse disciplines such as aeronautics, missiles, armaments and naval systems, combat vehicles, strategic systems, electronics, life sciences and materials. They have equipped the three services with MBTs, armoured ambulances, a variety of missiles, radars, the multi-barrel rocket launcher Pinaka, life-saving medicines, self-heating gloves and socks for soldiers posted at high altitudes such as Siachen and Leh, sonars, parachutes, carbon nano tube, and bullet-proof jackets.
The armed forces have become mightier with tanks capable of laying multispan bridges; vehicles that plant or sweep mines; robots that retrieve explosives; autonomous underwater vehicles; missile launchers; vehicles that monitor the use of nuclear, biological and chemical agents; underground shelters for use during chemical warfare; stretchers; laser guns; rifles; carbines; pistols; propellants; explosives; transgenic tomatoes; hybrid milch animals; aloe vera cream to treat frostbite; Leh Berry juice; ready-to-eat pulav and biryani; anti-leucoderma cream; composites; anti-corrosive paints; anti-fouling paints; and desalination plants, all developed by the DRDO.
A LANDMARK
The DRDO celebrated its golden jubilee in 2008. But the previous year itself it reached another landmark. The year witnessed the successful launches of Agni III, the underwater K-15 missile from a submerged pontoon, and the ballistic interceptor missile. Other notable events include the missile launch test of Tejas, which was the first step in its weaponisation, followed by flights with drop tanks and fuel transfer. The year also saw substantial success in the DRDO’s tactical programmes through delivery of radars, electronic warfare and armament systems.
In an interview to Frontline in Chennai on August 4, Natarajan underscored three issues that were of utmost importance to the DRDO – nurturing human resource, which is “a critical factor” in a defence R&D organisation; self-reliance; and the need to set up a Defence Technology Commission (DTC) as recommended by the Dr P. Rama Rao Committee.
Natarajan praised the contribution made by his predecessors to the growth of the DRDO. “With the definitive transformation that has taken place in the DRDO in the past five decades because of the efforts of my illustrious predecessors, the organisation can today be justifiably proud of being a technological powerhouse not only for defence but in multitudes of scientific and engineering disciplines with quantifiable success,” he said.
According to him, Arjun riding the sand dunes of Rajasthan; Tejas landing at Leh at the rarefied height of about 10,600 feet (3,180 metres), which proved the performance of its fly-by-wire technology; the launch of K-15 missiles from under the sea; the successful tests of the interceptor missiles, which are a forerunner to India building a missile defence shield; the demonstration of networked sensors in real-time operations featuring radars; electro-optics and satellites for a networked battlefield; specialised material for aircraft structures and the Navy’s ships; innovative biomedical appliances; and life-science products “bear testimony to the scientific prowess of the DRDO”.
CHALLENGES
With an eye on the future, the DRDO has embarked on projects to develop directed-energy weapons, anti-satellite capabilities, micro-satellites, very low-frequency communication, nano materials, advanced propulsion systems, a variety of sensors and seekers, navigation systems, electronically scanned array radars, fuel cells and batteries, AB-class steel for ship-building, and titanium alloys and carbon composites for aerospace applications.
“Each of these developments has its own challenges and more than 3,000 young and intelligent scientists are raring to be up to the task,” Natarajan said.
If the DRDO was building a multimode radar with a phased array, it could be improved upon to become electronically scanned so that the rotation of the antenna was not a constraint, he said. The challenge lay in how to package it into a small aircraft like Tejas or a medium combat aircraft because the space in the nose-cone of the aircraft is limited. “An even more daunting challenge is the development of high-end seekers made for missiles or satellites or electronic warfare systems,” he said.
These were indeed challenges because a large body of scientists was needed to work in the physics of developing these technologies.
Natarajan explained: “We need scientists, technologists, technicians, pure academics and scientific assistants [in the DRDO] because when you develop such high-end products, you also need to build specialised machines for manufacturing them.” He underlined the importance of leadership in science, technology and engineering.
Even a simple mechanical hinge in a door can be improved by reducing its weight and increasing its lubricity. “When you gain in acoustics, it does not make a screeching sound. A clever designer will package a restoring spring in it. All these parts will demand far more precision than the Aligarh hinge,” he said, as the others in the room burst into laughter.
“That is why academic support is important. Academics will have to work in tandem with us. It will be good for the country if academics learn how to migrate to industry and research centres for practical work and go back to the portals of academia so that they can train students and technicians,” Natarajan said.
Throughout the two-hour interview, he reiterated that “human resource becomes a critical factor” in the kind of endeavour that the DRDO was engaged in. “The strength for this foundation [the DRDO] comes primarily from its human resource, comprising scientists and technologists, technicians and scientific staff, all working with appropriately digitised tasks, and integrating their efforts into a whole.”
Natarajan said “the insatiable demand for advanced weapon systems and sensors cannot be met by the DRDO alone with its extremely limited manpower and infrastructure”. The solution to this lay in evolving innovative strategies to draw on the potentials of academia, business houses and industry besides structurally binding the stakeholders, the developers, the armed forces, industry and the government together.
The developers could be anybody – the DRDO, the public sector units or private companies. Natarajan said, “The Rama Rao Committee has sought to indicate the possible route to accomplish the goal. In this context its recommendation to evolve a DTC akin to the Atomic Energy Commission and the Space Commission assumes significance.”
(A committee headed by Dr P. Rama Rao, former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, recommended in 2008 that the DTC restore the DRDO’s role in giving scientific advice in the purchase of weapons from abroad and formulate “a clear-cut policy on self-reliance”.)
He said policy initiatives should bind the DRDO, the services, public sector units, private companies and the academia together. “There has to be an overarching body [the DTC] which constantly reminds these independent entities that they should not operate in a disjointed manner. Otherwise, achieving self-reliance will become a difficult task,” he said.
For instance, he said, if the MBT Arjun, the LCA, the tactical missiles or the electronic warfare systems developed by the DRDO were to be “10 per cent deficient from the so-called ideal” and as a consequence were not allowed to enter production, the question of improving them or addressing the deficiency would be scuttled.
“For you do not even give a foothold to the product. The user may get away by saying it is not my job [problem]. But someone has to care for the product,” he said.
The issue was not one-to-one equipment replacement but developing total systems capability. In such a situation, deficiency in a system could be addressed by aggregating products developed in India or even by combining some imports.
He said it was the DRDO’s good fortune that its scientific community pressed ahead to bring about better communication and meeting of minds among the various stakeholders. “I am happy to have contributed to this subtle but significant change,” Natarajan said.
He quoted several instances of innovative work done by the organisation. Although the MiG-27 was not designed by the DRDO, it could add value to the aircraft because of its development of avionics for Tejas and other programmes at various aeronautical systems laboratories. Gallium arsenide solar panels developed by the DRDO’s Solid State Physics Laboratory in New Delhi and produced by the Gallium Arsenide Technology Enabling Centre in Hyderabad have been used in ISRO’s satellites.
Parachutes developed by its Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment in Agra were used in soft-landing its recoverable satellite (Space Capsule Recovery Experiment).
The CVRDE, which designed and developed Arjun, had nothing to do with Tejas but it successfully designed the gearbox for the aircraft. The centre also developed a power take-off shaft made of titanium alloy for aircraft. The shaft, which weighs less than 2 kg, transmitted 250 horsepower at 20,000 revolutions per minute. “A decade ago, one could not have dreamt that the CVRDE could develop these products,” said Natarajan.
Natarajan said: “I am fully confident that with the continued support of the government, the armed forces, the industry magnates, our academic institutions and well-wishers from the public, the DRDO will not only keep its flag flying high but march towards making the nation proud. The DRDO will contribute meaningfully to ensure the security of the nation and a smile on the faces of its billion-plus people.”
TEXT BY G. SHAHEED & PHOTOGRAPHS BY N.A. NASEER
| A fallen tree in a Kerala forest brings back memories of Salim Ali’s passion for it and its avian inhabitants. |
WILD LIFE WILD LIFE
2008, a towering Albizia lebbeck tree that the famous ornithologist Salim Ali never missed to look up whenever he visited the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary in Palakkad district of Kerala was felled by a gale. This happened exactly a hundred years after he turned his attention to birds, literally.
Salim Ali was emotionally attached to the tree as he saw it as a magnificent birding site, especially of his favourite bird, the broad-billed roller, or dollar bird (Eurystomus orientalis). Although Albizia is widely distributed in the tropical forests of the Western Ghats, the fallen tree at Kuriarkutty, downhill of Parambikulam, was the tharavadu (ancestral home) of the rollers; perhaps their only nesting ground in the area was its cavities. With the roller’s tall perch now lying across the Kuriarkutty river, an unforgettable chapter in the ornithological history of Kerala has come to an end.
A rarely sighted bird, the roller with blue-black plumage and orange-red bill and legs, is parochial. It occupies a nest for life. As it is not a proficient nest-builder, it prefers cavities and crevices of tall trees to lay eggs.
“This tree is a marvel of nature, studded with the nests of generations. They are twinkling, twinkling little stars. You have to watch and constantly monitor it,” Salim Ali used to tell his disciples.
For the broad-billed rollers, the mist-smeared nests were their high kingdom (the birds prefer a tall perch). Emotionally drawn to the tree whenever he came by its side, Salim Ali would unfold his binoculars to scan its branches for a sighting of the winged beauties. He would watch some of them hopping on the branches, some feeding the young ones, and some others in their courtship display. He always felt he could hear the chirps of the chicks in the nests, recalls ornithologist Dr R. Sugathan, who along with Dr V.S. Vijayan, Chairman of the Kerala Biodiversity Board, has accompanied Salim Ali on his trips to Kuriarkutty.
Even if a lone bird was perched on a branch Salim Ali felt that a hundred rollers had swarmed the tree, and this left dreamy images in his mind. The whispers of the swaying branches often merged with his soliloquies.
In his celebrated work Birds of Kerala, Salim Ali describes the roller thus: “It loves to perch rather upright and with feathers fluffed out on some bare limb of a towering forest tree whence it can get a good view of the surroundings. It is also called dollar bird because it has a broad pale blue round patch [the dollar] on [its] wings [which is] conspicuous on flight.” It has a harsh call, oft repeated and not at all attractive.
The roaming elephants, the silent but cautious bisons, the bounding spotted deer and the splashing Kuriarkutty river, left an indelible imprint on the mind of Salim Ali. Even today, in spite of the boom in tourism and the disturbances that have accompanied it, the avian empire in the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary, which lies in the Nelliyampathy range of Kerala and the Anamalai range of Tamil Nadu, is serene.
Salim Ali trekked along the mysterious forest tracts of Parambikulam several times since his first visit to the spot in 1933. He was 37 years of age then, and his mission was to do a bird survey for the then ruler of Travancore. The survey was conducted between November 12 and 23 that year. He stayed in a log house at Kuriarkutty with his wife Tehmina. His ornithological pursuits included catching and identifying birds of various species.
Members of the local tribal community (Kadars), who are familiar with the labyrinths of the forests and endowed with the rare skill of sensing the movement of wildlife, guided him during his bird surveys. Armed with bows and pellets, they killed birds and animals for food.
After the Kuriarkutty survey, Salim Ali frequented the area. The vast expanse of evergreen forest captivated him. He has described this experience vividly in his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow.
Whenever he visited Kuriarkutty he would tell his disciples: “Why not we go near the bridge over the Kuriarkutty river.... You know there is a towering forest tree there.” He would walk by the side of the river and stop to observe the tree closely with his binoculars. He was struck by the conspicuous presence of the roller and by its nesting and perching habits. He spotted the bird during his first visit itself but serious observations began later. He would tell his disciples (Sugathan and Vijayan included) that the nests were many generations old. No other tree in the surroundings had such a striking feature. The Albizia tree was monopolised by the roller.
A bird enthusiast once asked Salim Ali: “In your estimate, is the broad-billed roller the most beautiful bird?” To which Salim Ali quipped: “Do you mean beauty? It depends on how you look at it. I would sometimes say the crow is a really beautiful bird.” Having said this, the birdman would break into peels of laughter. Bird-watchers sometimes say jovially that Salim Ali would have liked the jungle crow very much, for when observed through the binoculars, its metallic bluish-black feathers glisten like a rainbow.
Salim Ali died in 1987 at the age of 91. He made his last trip to Kerala in 1986 when he was conferred an honorary doctorate degree by the Kerala Agricultural University. On that occasion, he visited Kuriarkutty along with Vijayan and Sugathan. “On reaching Kuriarkutty,” Sugathan says, “he said, ‘now let us go to the towering tree’.”
“Even at that old age, he exhibited child-like innocence and a deep desire to observe the tree and its inhabitants again. He fervently asked: ‘Would I be fortunate enough to see the broad-billed roller again? I am passionate indeed, for the roller has been my passion. That is because that towering tree stands like a colossus carrying the nests of generations’. He looked around. He felt the birds call, and said: ‘I remember, I had noticed the bird during my first visit in 1933 itself’.”
Sugathan continues, “Salim Ali’s anxiety mounted. Amazingly, in a few minutes, a lone bird emerged in an angelic ambience. It perched on a branch and fluttered for a while. Salim Ali was ecstatic. The bird disappeared suddenly. Salim Ali watched keenly through his binoculars and stood speechless for a while. Then, breaking the silence, he asked: ‘Who had the magic wand to attract the bird’.” It was one of the most memorable moments in the lives of the master and his disciples.
After the pilgrimage to the tree, Salim Ali expressed a wish to see one of the tribal guides who had led him into the forest during his earlier trips. The elderly man was located in a nearby hut. Though bedridden, he recognised Salim Ali and smilingly asked: “Oh, you have come again to shoot birds and skin them.” The Wildlife Act was not in force when Salim Ali began his bird surveys. Birds were shot with small guns for identification.
FALL OF A SPARROW
“How did you become an ornithologist?” Salim Ali often encountered this question. He would reply without any hesitation: “It all happened when I shot, with my airgun, a yellow-throated house sparrow somewhere in 1908.” Then he was a naughty schoolboy aged 12.
“The fall of a sparrow was the turning point in his life. He approached his uncle, anxious to know why that sparrow had a yellow patch. His uncle in turn sent him to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Mumbai. BNHS Secretary W.S. Millard showed young Salim Ali specimens of hundreds of birds of the Indian subcontinent.
It was the beginning of an epoch. Salim Ali scaled new heights in the field of ornithology and, with his matchless dedication, left behind works of epic dimensions.
Vijayan recalls: “Whenever Salim Ali visited Kuriarkutty, after finishing official engagements, he would ask ‘when can we go on the pilgrimage?’ A dilapidated log house at Kuriarkutty was the pilgrim centre.” Once Salim Ali told his disciples in an emotionally choked voice, “my wife Tehmina and I used to skin birds here. Those bird surveys were so great indeed.”
On his last visit, in 1986, he wanted to stay in the wooden house for some time. But by then the house had almost crumbled. Salim Ali was grief-stricken. He stood in the courtyard for some time and wept in silence.
The Kerala government has set up the Salim Ali Bird Interpretation Centre at Kuriarkutty at the spot where the log house stood. T.M. Manoharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said the government planned to develop it into a full-fledged research centre.
Between Chalakudy (50 kilometres from Kochi) and Parambikulam there existed a 68-kilometre tramway via Kuriarkutty. Salim Ali recollects in his autobiography: “The track laid through some magnificent hilly country covered with pockets of wet evergreen here and there in the valley and along streams. Every now and then live cinders from the engine came flying. My shirt and Tehmina’s saree had severe holes.” One of the prized specimens he got from the Kuriarkutty area was a feather-toed crested eagle.
When this writer visited Kuriarkutty, the Forest Range Officer Aboobacker located Krishnankutty, one of the Kadars who had accompanied Salim Ali on his treks. “I have trekked with Salim Ali during the latter part of his bird-watching trips and studies in Kuriarkutty,” he said.
Krishnankutty held one of the fallen branches of the Albizia tree and remarked, “Had Salim Ali seen the fallen tree, he would have been heartbroken.”
It is 76 years since Salim Ali made his first trip to Kuriarkutty and Parambikulam. The forest cover has vastly diminished thanks to felling of trees, encroachments, habitat destruction and development projects.
“Yet,” Sugathan says, “there are around 280 species of birds left in the Parambikulam-Kuriarkutty area, which is still rich in biodiversity. The bird population is stable. Owing to habitat destruction, the population of the great Indian hornbill, the Ceylon frogmouth and the jungle babbler has diminished, but some new ones have adapted to the environment. There are more waterbirds now since there are dams.”
The Malabar trogon is one of the most colourful birds identified and studied by Salim Ali. It is described as a “bird with a play of colours”. Generally silent, it is known for its musical calls. It likes evergreen moist deciduous areas. The Malabar whistling thrush, referred to as the idle schoolboy, is another attractive bird found in the Western Ghats. Other colourful bird species of the region include the Nilgiri flycatcher, the grey-headed flycatcher, the coppersmith barbet, the ground thrush, the scarlet minivet, the Nilgiri wood-pigeon, the emerald dove, the purple moorhen, the black-crested beza, the laughing thrush, the mottled owl and the river tern.
“Salim Ali’s description of the birds of Kerala and their habitat is so meticulous that one is amazed at his keen sense of observation,” Vijayan says.
wild life wild life wild life wild life fallen from the nest fallen from the nest
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is set to attend the U.N. Summit on Climate Change in New York that is being convened by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on Tuesday.
Hatoyama's attendance essentially marks the opening salvo in his environmental diplomacy.
Leaders from around the world, including U.S. President Barack Obama, will gather to thrash out an international framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
Signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change plan to agree on the new framework at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to be held in Denmark in December. But with only three months to go before it is held, the intentions and circumstances of the signatories remain tangled. This has raised fears that an agreement may be beyond their grasp.
At the New York summit, we hope the participants will demonstrate their determination to reach an accord in December and find a way to advance the negotiations.
Last week, Hatoyama announced at the Asahi World Environment Forum 2009 sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun that his administration would aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. The declaration was favorably received around the world, which is willing to listen to Japan's views more than before. Tuesday's meeting is an opportunity for the new administration to push its environmental vision.
The environmental policies of the past administration led by the Liberal Democratic Party tended to invite criticism for not being tough enough. The fact is, Japan was passive for too long. Its initial reluctance to join the International Renewable Energy Agency and the way it has been left out of moves by the United States and Europe to create an international market for carbon emissions trading are but two such examples.
We want Japan to seize the opportunity of a change of government to shift its gear to accelerate environmental diplomacy. It needs to show its determination to cooperate with Europe to win over the United States and China. To begin with, Hatoyama's proposal for the 25-percent cut is based on the premise that all the major economic powers agree to implement ambitious goals. The administration needs to strengthen its diplomatic efforts to secure that agreement.
For example, while encouraging low-carbon economic growth among developing countries by providing them with financial aid and technical cooperation, industrialized countries will be allowed to count actual results of their assistance as emissions reductions. Hatoyama's team needs to put together a blueprint for this new framework as soon as possible and present it at forums where international negotiations are held.
It should implement the "Hatoyama initiative" to support efforts by newly emerging and developing countries to curb global warming with various forms of assistance and use it as leverage to find a middle ground with major emitters such as China and India.
By taking this approach, Japan could reap some benefits, too. The issue of how to incorporate industrialized countries' financial and technical support for newly emerging and developing countries into emissions reductions of those that provide aid will also affect Japan's efforts to achieve its own emissions reduction target. And if it is to turn aid into business opportunities for Japanese companies, Japan should take the initiative to design the next framework from its initial stages.
The climate change summit will be followed by a Japan-U.S. summit and the Group of 20 summit on the financial crisis. With these items on the agenda, the Hatoyama administration must not forget the viewpoint that the establishment of a new framework is the starting point to spread a low-carbon economy across the world.
source--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 18(IHT/Asahi: September 19,2009)
The exhibition, for owners and employees of retail outlets, was the first time the new set had been displayed in Japan.
Sony expects a succession of movies and video games to be released in the 3D format once the TV sets go on sale. Viewers are required to wear special glasses to see the three-dimensional images.
Other electronic appliance makers are also working toward releasing 3D televisions in the near future.
Sony Corp.'s Walkman outsold Apple Inc.'s iPod digital media player for one week in August, knocking the iconic gadget from the top spot on domestic unit sales charts for the first time in four and a half years.
Market researcher BCN Inc. said Wednesday that Sony's share stood at 43.0 percent over the week of Aug. 24-30, as opposed to Apple's 42.1 percent.
The last time iPod ceded the top spot was the first week of January 2005. It was the first time for Walkman to reach the pinnacle since July 2002, when figures became available.
Analysts say Apple's share declined because many consumers apparently postponed purchases due to growing speculation the U.S. company will soon release an updated iPod line.
When the iPod nano hit the market four years ago, Apple controlled nearly 60 percent of the market while Sony had less than 10 percent.
walkman outsells ipod ipod ipod sony ipod sony tv set tv sony sony ipod
SOURCE (IHT/Asahi: September 4,2009)
U.S. President Barack Obama has dealt a major diplomatic card toward the realization of "a world without nuclear weapons."
He has decided to abandon the deployment of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. This represents a rejection of the Bush-era plan for a missile defense system in Europe.
Russia had been critical of the antimissile plan in Eastern Europe, saying that it would neutralize Russia's nuclear capabilities. By canceling the plan, Obama has sought to erase those concerns, urging Russia to move forward in negotiations for a new treaty that will succeed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I, which is due to expire by the end of the year.
Obama intends to reach agreement on the successor pact around the same time.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed Obama's decision, calling the move "a responsible approach." The Russian leader also expressed his willingness to jointly devise missile nonproliferation measures. Britain and France also welcomed Obama's decision.
Obama has drawn a distinct line between his administration and his predecessor's strategy, which sought to fight nuclear proliferation by combining missile defense with pre-emptive strikes. We hope the Obama administration will use this latest decision as a springboard from which to launch a new vision for nuclear disarmament, starting off with the creation of a successor treaty after the expiration of START I.
The first stage for such efforts will be U.S.-Russia summit meeting scheduled to be held Wednesday in New York, as well as the U.N. Security Council members' summit meeting, which Obama will host.
The original aim of deploying a missile defense system in Eastern Europe was to protect the region from Iranian nuclear and missile attacks. However, the Bush administration attempted to use this as a means to expand NATO eastward. Both Poland and the Czech Republic accepted the defense system plan on their soil despite domestic protests because both governments wanted to hold Russia in check.
In a tit-for-tat move, then Russian President Vladimir Putin came out with blatant threats, saying in effect that any country that allowed installation of a missile defense system on its soil would become a target of Russia's nuclear weapons.
Russia had also shown readiness to sell an advanced air defense missile system to Iran. Now that the United States has shown a conciliatory attitude, Russia should suspend those sales.
Instead of the missile defense deployment program, the Obama administration plans to take a series of steps to deploy a system with SM-3 interceptors, at first based on Navy Aegis destroyers, as its centerpiece. Washington emphasizes "flexibility" in the new system, and no doubt it intends to ascertain how Iran is going to respond.
On Oct. 1, talks will be held between Iran and the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany over Iran's nuclear program. This will be a crucial meeting for the Obama administration, which has consistently urged dialogue with Iran.
If Russia responds to the U.S. initiative by moving toward cooperation with the United States, it would have a major influence on not only the area of nuclear disarmament, but also on the area of nonproliferation of nuclear arms and missiles.
We hope for positive and tangible results, which will also be effective in restraining North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles.
USA SCRAPS MISSILE PLAN
source-The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 19(IHT/Asahi: September 21,2009)
SHIMONITA, Gunma Prefecture--A body found on Mount Arafuneyama was confirmed Sunday to be that of missing cartoonist Yoshito Usui, the prefectural police said.
Usui, 51, creator of the internationally known series "Crayon Shin-chan," went missing Sept. 11 after telling his family he was going hiking on the 1,423-meter peak.
The body was transported off the mountain by helicopter Sunday. It was discovered by a hiker Saturday morning some 100 meters below a cliff. Police speculate that Usui may have fallen off the cliff to his death.
He lived in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture.
source (IHT/Asahi: September 21,2009)
Struggling Japan Airlines Corp. is considering cancelling services at seven domestic airports, including Kobe, Shizuoka and Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture, over three years through the end of fiscal 2011, sources said Wednesday.
As part of its business improvement plan, to be finalized as early as October, the airline will discontinue or downsize services on several domestic and international routes.
Of the seven airports, JAL's affiliate Ryukyu Air Commuter Co. withdrew from Aguni in Okinawa Prefecture in June.
The carrier also plans to effectively withdraw from Okadama and Okushiri airports in Hokkaido by decreasing its stake in Hokkaido Air System Co., which serves the terminals, from 51 percent to about 15 percent.
japan news japan news japan news japan news japan news airline corp airlines corp
source (IHT/Asahi: September 17,2009)
Film: Eenadu
Banners: Raajkamal International, UTV
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Venkatesh, Lakshmi, Ganesh Venkatraman, Anuja Iyer, Poonam Kaur, Santhanam, Mahesh Jayee etc
Music: Shruti Haasan
PRO: BA Raju
Cinematography: Manoj Soni
Dialogues: Neelakanta
Director: Chakri Toleti
Producer: Kamal Haasan
Release date: 18th Sep 2009
The sensational movie that shook the heads of many critics, film lovers on a whole ‘A Wednesday’ was brought into Telugu as ‘Eenadu’ today. Has it shaken the heads again? Let us go into the details.
Story:
Police Commissioner Eeshwar Prasad (Venkatesh) gets a threatening call from an anonymous caller (Kamal Hasan) who states that he planted 5 RDX explosives in city which would explode by 6PM. Terror starts from then. Eeshwar Prasad handles the issue by reporting to Chief Secretary (Lakshmi) and Chief Minister. His missions are two.
1. Safeguarding that city from blasts and
2. Smoking out the anonymous caller.
And why that caller threatens? His demands are to release 4 terrorists those are linked up to Gokul Chat and Lumbini blasts.
Eeshwar Prasad releases them and sends to the place suggested by that anonymous caller. What happens after that? Has Eshwar Prasad succeeded in his missions?
That has to be watched on screen.
Performances:
Venkatesh- He is the only saving grace in the movie. Audience found relaxed and pleasant watching him. He suited perfect to the role of Police Commissioner. He looked more convincing than Anupam Kher, who played same role in original ‘A Wednesday’. He never smiles through out the narration and his serious portrayal is laudable. He kept all sorts of star-hero image and airs aside and performed very subtly. That is highly commendable.
Kamal Hasan- He hasn’t shown the conviction that was shown by Naseeruddin Shah in original. There is no scope for performance in this role, but still Naseeruddin could show some glitters drawing the attention of audiences completely. But here the director spoiled the character by not suggesting anything about the timing in dialogue delivery and expressions to Kamal. Kamal is the biggest disappointment as audience expect more than what they have actually watched from him.
Ganesh Venkataraman: He is perfect in cop’s role. He is the one who stole the attention of audiences with his macho look as Cop Arif. He is far better than Jimmy Shergill who played same role in original.
Bharat Reddy: He played subtly as Cop Goutham Reddy with bits of humor in a couple of scenes.
Lakshmi is a waste. Technically, this is the first full length film in Telugu that’s made with Red-One digital camera. The output is good. Sruthi Hasan’s music could have been better. Dialogues are good. Editing is ok.
Highlights:
Venkatesh’s presence
Ganesh Venkatraman’s performance
Disappointments:
Kamal Hasan
Chakry Toleti’s direction
Lakshmi’s character
RR
Analysis:
A few said that Kamal wouldn’t have chosen to work in this movie as his performance is not up to the mark. Some from back seats murmured, Prakash Raj would be a better choice than Kamal Hasan for this role.
Audiences find a kind of terror watching Naseeruddin Shah’s performance in ‘A Wednesday’. But Kamal couldn’t bring that. And Chakry Toleti is successful in copying the film from original but failed with some senseless additions.
Directorial Flaws:
The movie lacks luster with respect to boosting up the adrenaline of audience. The best part is that the movie has got no extra-peripherals like songs and hence saved time and energies of audience. First half has picked up slowly and caused some stir before interval. The intensity in second half could be better to fit into the requirement.
Mass audiences may not relish this film. Majority of multiplex audiences already watched ‘A Wednesday’ and comparison mars it. Rural audiences may feel it a documentary sort of film and finds hard to understand what is happening on screen. Hence it’s difficult for this film to continue its odyssey at box office. This is an unexpected outcome.
Bottom Line: Whatever copied is not bad. And what ever added is not good.
Film: Josh
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Movies
Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Karthika, Prakashraj, J D Chekravarthy, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Hema, Surya, Sreya Dhanwantari, Anand and others
Music: Sandeep Chowta
Cinematography: Sameer Reddy
Director: Vasu Varma
Producer: Dil Raju
Released On: 5th Sep 2009
“Naaku mamoolugaa message lu ivvadam ishtam undadhu. Neeku emaina ichchanu anipisthey teesuko”. This is Naga Chaitanya’s dialogue in the movie. And indeed, the movie is message oriented. And as the dialogue suggests the youngsters can take the message if any, from the movie. Let us see how the whole thing went on.
Story:
Satya (Naga Chaitanya) is a young lad in Vizag who suddenly says to his parents that he wants to quit college studies and moves to Hyderabad in search of job. He finds a small job there but witnesses the spoiling students in a college. He tries to change them but in the process he develops tug with a student leader J Durga Rao (JD Chakravarthy). Satya finds no other way than joining in same college as a student to bring change in students, being one among them. Finally has Satya succeeds in that attempt? That forms the climax.
While this is one line, there is a flash back for Satya that makes him take decision to leave studies and move to Hyderabad. And a college Principal (Parakash Raj) happens to be key factor in that aspect. What’s that reason? That forms other line.
And Nitya (Karthika) happens to be a love factor for Satya who works in a school as teacher.
Performances:
Naga Chaitanya: He was given a very underplaying role. Most of the time he was seen without expressions. That gives a wrong impression for audiences that he doesn’t know how to act. His presence on screen as debutant is good. He danced well and fights are also good. From now he needs to focus on his dialogue delivery and expressions.
Karthika: She is just ok. The make up given to her is not good and that made her look very ordinary.
Sunil is ok with his subtle comedy and Prakash Raj performed to his best in his son’s dead body scene. Brahmanandam is very weak in his role and he couldn’t make people laugh even once. Former Miss Femina runner up Shreya Dhanwanthari is also scene in a not so important role.
Technically, the movie scores well with cinematography. Montages chosen for songs are hilarious. ‘Neeto unte inka konnaallu..’ has got lyrical beauty and ‘deerideeridi be ready…’ has haunting rendition.
Director Vasu Varma has dealt well only with his story line and narration but not with star son.
Dialogues:
“College paatam cheppi pareeksha peduthundi. Kaani jeevitham pareeksha petti paatam chebuthundi..gunapaatam” sounds subtle in entire movie.
Highlights And Dim Lights:
Cinematography is good
Costumes are subtle
Make up for heroine is very bad
Brahmanandam gone wasted
Jumps and abrupt cuts in editing
No required voltage in narration
Analysis:
The director seems to be very conscious of what he was making!
The dialogue “Naaku mamoolugaa message lu ivvadam ishtam undadhu. Neeku emaina ichchanu anipisthey teesuko” seems to be director’s line for contemporary youth audience.
It is a general opinion that youngsters don’t relish the messages and lectures. Hence the director has chosen that line. That’s fine up to that. But the elements that strengthen a movie are weak in this. There is no proper romance track, no action elements and no thrilling moments. It goes to be a straight narration with a little flash back episode.
The elements of ‘Shiva’ are used in the film to some extent but there is no comparison to that action-classic.
The movie appeals for teenagers and parents. The movie asks parents to leave sheep-mentality by going along with the herd and forcibly burdening children to get ranks in examination. The movie appeals for students stating that young age is a valuable time to build future but not for making it useless with drug addictions, irresponsibility and ragging.
On a whole, the movie has one and only big attraction- that is Naga Chaitanya, the son of Nagarjuna. And added glory is Dil Raju. Box office collections merely depend on these elements and they are the crowd pulling factors.
Film: Baanam
Banner: Three Angels Studio
Cast: Nara Rohit, Vedhika, Sayaji Shinde, Ranadheer, Rajeev Kanakala, Bhanuchander, AVS, Sivanarayana, Ragini, Giridhar etc
Music: Mani Sharma
PRO: BA Raju
Cinematography: Anil Bandari
Director: Chaitanya Dantuluri
Producer: Seshu Priyanka
Release date: 16th Sep 2009
The movie raises curtain for Nara Rohit, the new actor from political family. As the title sounds, it’s a serious flick and let us see how far the expectations were met.
Story:
Bhagat Panigrahi (Nara Rohi) is an IPS aspirant who happens to the son of an ex-naxalite Sekhar Panigrahi (Sayaji Shinde). Subba Lakshmi (Vedika) is a Brahmin girl who gets betrayed by husband and in laws and also loses her father. Bhagat rescues her from a Railway Station and takes her to his house.
On the other hand Shakti Patnaik (Ranadheera), an anti social element holds entire system in his control and rules as per his whims and fancies in a place called Ranasthali. An incident drives Bhagat on Shakti and thus he develops turbulence with him.
Finally who wins on whom is not a question! But how one wins on other? That forms the subject.
Performances:
Nara Rohit: His character goes in underplaying mode. He looked good on screen with sharp features but limited his performance with just 2-3 expressions on a whole. He seems to have got fixed up in rigidity in some scenes. He needs to develop ease in face and body to rock ahead as commercial hero. His voice is sounding good with huge base tone.
Vedika: She has perfectly grooved in the role of a Brahmin girl and acted as per the requirement without over acting or under playing.
Sayaji Shinde is ok as naxalite while Bhanu Chander and Rajeev Kanakala are perfect as police cops. Ranadheer of ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Yuvatha’ fame has played well as antagonist. He looked like JD Chakravarthy in some angles.
Technically the movie is sound and especially music, songs, cinematography and editing worked well.
Director has shown enough flair in showing symbolisms. Some mentionable scenes those depict the caliber of director:
All the above scenes say that director has some mettle in him. At the same time the director has missed the opportunity to portray 1989 atmosphere on screen in better way with Art Department. Budget might have become a hindrance to it; otherwise it would have become something bigger than Tamil movie ‘Subramaniapuram’, brought into Telugu as Anantapuram. Other than showing Ambassador Cars, wall posters and red capped police constables, nothing else was shown that pumps in nostalgic feel.
Highlights:
Music
Songs
Dialogues
Story line
Disappointments:
Lack of required humor
Analysis:
The movie is serious but sensible. The debut venture of Chaitanya Dantuluri as director is commendable. Nara Rohit also has shown good screen presence although he needs to shine himself with respect to performance and demonstrating histrionics. The limitation in the movie is lack of comedy. The plus point in this is subtle dialogue by Gandham Nagaraju of ‘Gamyam’ fame. Other added glitters are background score by Mani Sharma, beautiful songs and cinematography.
First half of the movie runs serious but promises something interesting in second half. But the second half also runs in similar tempo without any twists or turns. The narration is very well within the limits of audience’s thought periphery but not out of the box.
On a whole, the movie definitely appeals for class audiences but it should go with aggressive publicity to reach masses.
Bottom Line: Worth Watch for a serious treat
