More Beds in Hospitals Within Few Months

Normally, I listen to radio on my long journeys from Bandra to Belapur and that is quite entertaining. In between music and song they give information about Mumbai interspersed by many silly conversations. Yesterday, I heard them talking about Mumbai hospitals getting a make-over and there will be more beds to accommodate many more patient. This person was talking about Mumbai having too many beds and not having enough patients to occupy them. He went on to say that the hospital staff will start behaving like some credit-card companies, calling up people and inviting them to admit themselves in their hospital, offering them their USP of unique advantages and discounts upon admittance. I found the standees in the bus staring at me when I laughed out aloud at his silly joke. Those guys at radio station are quite entertaining, but jokes aside, this is indeed very good news.

Within the span of a few months, the number of hospital beds in the city will soar by a heartwarming 10%, statistics show. And not all of this will be restricted to the expensive private hospitals—much of the makeover is taking place in the ‘affordable’ public sector.

Surveys peg the total number of hospital beds in the city at 40,000. With the BMC’s plan to add 1,477 beds to its suburban hospitals and two private groups —Reliance’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Seven Hills Hospital— scheduled to add over 2,000 beds in the coming months, the hospital sector is growing at a fast clip.

Welcoming improvements in public health facilities, health activist Ravi Duggal, however, had a word of caution: "A lot of construction also means a lot of corruption. There should be a public audit mechanism to monitor the functioning of these hospitals, such as availability of staffers and essential drugs.''

The public health sector will cater to another pressing need-that of intensive care unit beds. Critical care in public hospitals often comes under tremendous pressure, given that most accident victims are first rushed there. Besides, complicated patients from other hospitals are also transferred there. "The existing ventilators are often juggled between patients,'' said a doctor.

I hope the public hospitals will be as clean as private hospitals and the staff equally efficient. It is no use adding more beds in the hospital if they are not clean enough to sanitize the diseases.

Cough! Cough!

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Festival of Dance at Nehru Centre Auditorium

Like Indian Dance?

Well, there is a presentation of various dance styles by renowned danseuse at Nehru Centre Auditorium in Worli

On 27th January , you can enjoy the dance performances of Uma Dogra and Vani Ganapathy.

Pandita Uma Dogra, a Kathak exponent, is one of the most powerful and compelling dancers of India today. Endowed with a fascinating personality and highly imaginative mind, she brings to Kathak not only a mastery of technique that is the fruit of a thorough and meticulous training, but a total involvement in dance, a profound confidence and a joyous spontaneity that infuses her performance with rare intensity and authority. Born of a distinguished family with a rich cultural heritage, Uma was initiated to the art of Kathak when she barely seven years old. She had her early training in the Lucknow school of Kathak under Smt. Reba Vidyarthi at the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi.

Vani Ganapathy has merited the attention of discerning critics and art lovers for her chaste rendering of the art. Vani has performed extensively in all major festivals and performing centers in India.Vani Ganapathy established Sanchari, a premier Bharatha Natyam insititution of Bharatha Natyam in Bangalore. Vani's foreign tours have taken her to all parts of the world including Australia,France, Germany, China,U.K, Japan, Singapore.

28th January there will be Kathak dance performances by Maneesa Sathe and Rajendra Gangnani

A well-known Kathak dancer of the new generation, Rajendra Gangani is the son and desiciple of the renowned Kathak Guru Kundanlal Gangani. He excels in Nritta and his art displays the distinctive features of the Jaipur school of Kathak. He has performed in major festivals in India and abroad including the Festival of India in USSR, the Kathak Mahotsava in Delhi, and the Konark Festival in Orissa. Apart from his solo performances, he has also made a mark with his choreographic works for his students at Kathak Kendra, Delhi.

On 29th January, there will Odissi performance by Debi Basu and Bharat Natyam by Malavika Sarukkai.

Malavika Sarukkai is acclaimed, nationally and internationally, for her contemporary Bharata Natyam dance style with its innovative-within-tradition choreography. It is a remarkably rich and intensive style that combines dynamism and grace, austerity and passion, energy and repose. It is a style that is aesthetic and accessible and constantly evolving.

A firm believer in the continuity of the Indian classical tradition, Malavika presents Bharata Natyam as a vibrant and meaningful dance form of today to audiences across the world. As a foreign critic observed, “Malavika’s most remarkable achievement is her ability to obey the rules of Bharata Natyamn, yet bring non-specialist viewers close to its heartbeat by making every moment seem personal, spontaneous and even contemporary”.

Programs will be held from 6:30 pm onwards

For more information

Contact : Nehru Center
Phone : 022 - 24964680
website : http://www.nehru-centre.org

5th Tri Continental Film Festival in Mumbai

Breakthrough is proud to present the 5th Tri Continental Film Festival, India 2009—“Human Rights in Frames” that begins in Mumbai on 23rd, 24th and 25th of January 2009.

Every year Breakthrough has endeavored towards expanding the visual platform for human rights issues from the global South. Breakthrough is an innovative, high-impact international human rights organization, using the power of popular culture, media, and education to transform public attitudes and promote values of equality, justice, and dignity around the world. They are a non-profit organization and are currently working in India and the USA.

This year there will be 28 films from more than 20 countries.

There are 11 Asia premieres, 8 India premieres and one World premiere.

Here are the details of the films that will be shown at Little Theatre, National Centre for Performing Arts(NCPA) in Mumbai

The four sections in the festival this year are:

Body • Public –Six powerful films from five countries. Four are from India and two co-productions from Spain/South Africa and Canada/Iran. The films explore the engagements of the human body with the public space. How the body then comes to embody the social, political and even economic consequences. These often take the form of exploited sexualities, restricted social interactions, silencing of self-expression and physical and psychological violence.

Not All in Good Faith – Seven films from nine countries probe and bring to the forefront the indignity and exploitation rendered by neo-liberal development ventures and businesses across the globe.

The Line That Defines – Dwelling on the post-modern subject of border crossing this section comprises of four films from five countries. In different ways, the films trace the role of the political border in the making of a refugee, an exile or an illegal immigrant.

Zones of War – Any area marked by extreme violence can be broadly termed as a war zone. Eleven films from nine countries explore these zones of violence and aggression in various historical and contemporary circumstances around the world.

Please visit their page for details of the films that will be shown at Little Theatre, National Centre for Performing Arts(NCPA) in Mumbai

Source: http://www.triconfilm.com/

Mumbai Marathon will be dressed in patriotic garb this year.

The Mumbai Marathon is an international event held annually in January. This event was first staged in the year 2004.

The race categories are Full Marathon (42.195 km), Half Marathon (21.097 km), Dream Run (6 km), Senior Citizens' Run (4.3 km) and the Wheelchair Event (2.5 km).

On 18th of January 2009, Mumbai will run for a cause.

Mumbai has chosen to run for the blind, for the underprivileged, for aids, for greener tomorrow and for secure future.

The wounds of terrorist attack are still fresh and raw and many of the Mumbaikars will be running with silent prayers on their lips in the hope of healing a city scarred by the 26/11 terror attacks.

"The attack has changed our perception of security, and none of us feels safe. We will run to secure our city's future,'' says Praveen Satpute, who along with his group of friends, are planning to run the half-marathon. "We'll be running with banners to show that Mumbai is very much alive.''

The athletes, say the organizers, will be put up at the Oberoi. "It is going to be an emotional moment. The runners will begin from CST, and run via Oberoi towards Bandra Reclamation. There will be thousands of people on the road cheering them at these points, and it will show us that Mumbai can never remain divided,'' says Bruno Goveas, director, public relations of Procam International, the promoters of the marathon.

Nearly 35,000 have registered for the five-race event that should bring cheer to the city which has been starved of action due to the cancellation or postponement of events in the aftermath of the terror attacks six weeks ago.

Already the richest marathon in Asia, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009 will now offer an enhanced prize purse of USD 250,000, an increase of USD 10,000 over what was on offer last year. The increase in prize money is in keeping with the stature of the event, tagged as amongst the top ten marathons in the world.

Let's all work towards the day when every participant is running the distance and raising money for charity.

Title Sponsor: Standard Chartered Bank

Associate Sponsor: Tata Consultancy Services

Under the Aegis of: Athletics Federation of India

Supported by: Government of Maharashtra, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Mumbai Police, Indian Navy-Western Naval Command, Maharashtra Athletic Association

Promoted by: Procam International

For details visitwww.mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com

Yatri will showcase its milestone productions in Mumbai

Yatri has completed 30 Years of distinguished, successful and unstinted service to Indian Theatre.

At a time when Hindi theatre was passing through a difficult phase, one man surprised theatre audiences by coming up with an ingenious mix of comedies, social commentaries, satires, classics among others - Om Katare.

In the face of adversity, the never-say-die attitude of director Om Katare, who hails from a small town called Datia in MP, stood him in good stead. Recognizing a need to satisfy his creative urges and keeping in mind the taste of the public, Katare came up with a group, dedicated to the cause of Hindi theatre, called 'Yatri'.

The initial years were fraught with angst and struggle. To carve a niche for himself in the crowded Hindi theatre field - a daunting task indeed - Om Katare relied on his abilities and his close group of associates. With no funds or sponsors, he went on to produce and direct his first play 'Ek Tha Gadha' way back in 1979.

Prithvi Theatre proved to be the turning point in his life when he saw a new concept in theatre, where the audience was interacting and very involved with the performance due to the informal atmosphere of Prithvi Theatre. It was his good fortune to have got encouragement from the late Jennifer Kapoor and Dharamsey Merchant (the manager of Prithvi Theatre at that time).

It was the dream of the late Mrs. Jennifer Kapoor to see theatre flourish. To realize this dream she started the tradition of holding a festival of plays for the existing groups. It is a rejuvenating and re-energizing experience for actors and audiences alike. Yatri seized this opportunity to showcase its diverse talents and started its own festival of plays way back in 1981. It has been received with great enthusiasm year after year, thereby boosting the morale of the highly motivated group.

And the festival is here once again in Mumbai.

All thru the year, Yatri has decided on a Year Long celebration of theatre and liberty.

From January 2009 to January 2010, there will be 100-show Celebration for a whole year, in 6 theatres of Mumbai,. Not only that, Yatri will premiere 4 new plays during this period, taking the tally to a total of 12 different plays. These will be presented through 3 major Festivals throughout the city of Mumbai . Opening Festival Jan 2009 (20 shows) Childrens Play Festival April/May/June 2009 (16 shows) Closing Festival Jan 2010 (20 shows)

The opening Festival of 20 shows at Prithvi theatre will be as follows:

One show of Sakharam Binder(New play) will be on 24th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

Two shows of Chhoomantar will be on 25th Jan’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of Hadh Kar-di aapne will be on 26th Jan’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of Sakha ram Binder will be on 27th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Kaal Chakra will be on 28th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Kaal Chakra will be on 30th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Dekho woh Aa Gaya (New play) will be on 31st Jan’08 at 9 p.m. Two shows of New play will be on 1st Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of New play will be on 2nd Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of New play will be on 3rd Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Source: http://www.buzzintown.com/