Beth Watkins is a self-confessed Bollywood addict, and is part of a growing tribe of Bollywood fans in North America. Her interest in Bollywood underscores a growing trend that Bollywood films appeal to a wide audience who are not necessarily from Asia or Africa, the traditional domain of Hindi films.

Pico Iyer summed it up very nicely when he said, "The notion of America is so large that often when we ask people about American culture they say Michael Jackson and Madonna. But American culture at this point has also incorporated phenomenon's like Bollywood and Ravi Shanker." In his first book, "Video Nights in Kathmandu," (1988) Iyer recounts how in his travels around the world one of the first questions that he is asked is about Hindi films.

Beth's fascination started about a year ago when she watched her first Hindi movie "Mujse Dosti Karoge?" (Will you be my friend?). The three hours of of histrionics (as critics of Bollywood like to describe Hindi movies), and the song and dance routine, the whole package worked for her, and Beth became a convert to Indian films.

Interestingly, Beth reads up about Bollywood from another American's blog called Gorilla's Lament. Beth can reel of names of movies, actors, songs, locations...she knows everything about "fillums."

"The top few I can tell you, though, and they switch around in order - Kandukondain Kandukondain, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum,, and Main Hoon Na." She struggles to name her favorite stars since so many vie for her attention. Rani Mukherjee is one of her favorites, and she likes Lillet Dubey. "I haven't seen Aamir Khan in very much but he's so impressive, no matter what he's doing"

She counts Saif Khan as one of her favorite actors. I asked her, "What about King Khan, Shar Rukh?" Beth replied, "And despite my initial confused reaction to him, I have a very hard time resisting the charm of Shahrukh, of course, and I almost always really enjoy his performances (especially Swades -that was amazing)."

Beth's fascination with Bollywood has translated into a general fascianation with India, and when she is not watching films, she is busy catching up on her reading on India. She hopes to travel to India soon, and also is keen to organize an India exhibit in her university town, where she works at the musuem of world culture.

I guess that Bollywood is no longer the opium of the Indian masses alone.

Adam Greenfield is the author of a new and fascinating book called, "Everyware." Adam says everyware is "information processing embedded in the objects and surfaces of everyday life." Naota Fukasawa san famously describes this kind of behavior in an elegant and simple way: "Design dissolving in behavior." That is, our actions are so unconscious that we are not even aware of the underlying technology that makes our unconscious acts possible. These devices are essentially invisible, or attain near invisibility that we don't pay attention to them.

Everyware is an umbrella term that Adam coined to capture the unfolding of this fast moving phenomena that many of us are not paying attention. An interesting upshot of this everyware technology is that people are unaware that they are using it. An old example of this is the cell phone, but that has been replaced by new and nifty devices that we use in our everyday life, and we are not even aware of it points out Adam.

Some of them include the touch and go pay system credit card that Chase Bank has introduced in New York; the RFID technology that is used to tag goods, and in some cases used to tag people (some patients have RFID chips embedded in their arm that help doctors get instant access to their medical history and prescription); the instrumented floors used to build houses for senior citizens in South Korea...these are just a few examples of how technology is increasingly meshed into our lifestyle. Adam labels this development as "colonization of everyday life."

And with the coming of the IPV6,, the next generation Internet, Adam thinks that every grain of sand in the world could have an IP address. Every device at that point could have multiple IP addresses. Currenlty, we are using the older IPV4 technology, where we are running out of IP addresses for these rapidly proliferating devices. The fact that every object in the world could potentially have an IP address is partly what worries Adam.

Through this book Adam wants to create awareness of the unintended consequences of everyware and the impact that it will have in our collective lives. One of the worrying aspects of this development is that all kinds of information can be gathered, tagged, stored and searched for future reference. So, every action of yours persists in some kind of a meta database for a long time. That in turn has him worried about privacy issues, and how that will impact society.

Adam is also worried that the User Interfaces being created for such devices are not-so-friendly and can have unintended consequenes. By addressing these issues early on in the debate perhaps some of these issues can be addressed and corrected is Adam's line of reasoning. Adam is in some ways advancing and pushing forward a debate that Howard Rheingold of Smartmobs started a few years ago with the coming of IRC, mobile phones and PDAs. Adam was involved with the first Moblogging Conference that took place in Tokyo in 2003.

Adam's book is available on Amazon and will be releaed next week: Feb 18, 2006.

More on ubicomputing:

The father of ubiquitous computing is Mark Weiser, who worked at Xerox's PARC Lab in Palo Alto, California. Weiser spoke about how computing will pevade our life, and become nearly invisible. It was his seminal research in ubicomp that triggered research in mobile computing.

Here is what Weiser said in Scientific American article titled "The Computer for the 21st century"

"The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. "

And here is more:

"Whenever people learn something sufficiently well, they cease to be aware of it. When you look at a street sign, for example, you absorb its information without consciously performing the act of reading.. Computer scientist, economist, and Nobelist Herb Simon calls this phenomenon "compiling"; philosopher Michael Polanyi calls it the "tacit dimension"; psychologist TK Gibson calls it "visual invariants"; philosophers Georg Gadamer and Martin Heidegger call it "the horizon" and the "ready-to-hand", John Seely Brown at PARC calls it the "periphery". All say, in essence, that only when things disappear in this way are we freed to use them without thinking and so to focus beyond them on new goals. "

Mike Kuniavsky of Orange Cone has outlined defintions of ubicomp, pervasive, and physical computing, and what constitutes ambient intelligence.

The occasion marks the fifth year since Wipro listed at NYSE, and earlier in the day the company held its 2006 Analyst Meeting.

The closing bell ritual is about 10 years old explained an NYSE media person. The room where the bell is rung is about 100 years old. The bell is rung at precisely 4.00 pm and it is a 10 second event. In fact, it was a bit of an anti-climax when the bell rang. I think you get a better sense when you this 10-second event on TV.

This was the fourth time that Mr. Premji rang the closing bell at the NYSE. "And, all four times we took the market up," commented Mr. Premji with a smile.

Afterwards Mr. Premji came to the members gallery and spoke to the media, where he answered question about Davos, Outsourcing trend etc.

(Mr. Premji a low-keyed billionaire rarely gives interviews. He took over his family's business when his father unexpectedly died in 1966. At that time he was studying Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, California, and did not get to complete his studies. The company has grown and expanded to offer BPO and IT services, and is today the third largest IT company in India.)

Wipro is focussed on non-linear growth commented Mr. Premji. Focussing purely on linear growth could eventually become a challenge he said. Recently Wipro acquired two companies, one in the US, and the other in Europe he said. While he resisted on giving any kind of figures on growth he did that the company plans to do better than the industry forecast of 28%.

Recently General Motors announced a $15 billion outsourcing deal, and has already awared 50% of the deal to various vendors including Wipro. When asked if he expects to bag any further order from GM all he would say is, "No comments."

Mr. Premji has been on the road for the past few weeks and attended the World Economic Forum event at Davos. "I think India put a very good show," he said. He specifically mentioned the bhangra dance event on the last night, and said that from 11.30 pm to 5.00 am about 500-600 Americans and Europeans were out on the dance floor dancing to bangra music. "It completely stood out in warmth...in comparison to China," he said.

He said that India has about 65% share of the outsourcing market currently, and expects to earn about $23 billion this year from outsourcing according to Nasscom and MacKenzie. He however cautioned that India needs to stay one step ahead of emerging competition from China and East Europe. Wipro recently opened offices in Beijing, China and Bucharest, Romania he said.

Besides me, others who asked Mr. Premji questions included Swapna Vora, Lalith Jha of Indian Express, Uttara Choudhary of Daily News and Analysis, Abha Singh and Anita Ghai Malhotra.

Technorati tags:Wipro Aziz Premji India Technology Davos Outsourcing NYSEBlogs Podcasts Talk News India India Podcasts ]]> TechTalk Interview Thu, 9 Feb 2006 03:22:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=56701# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com KB No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=55015# Rebecca MacKinnon is a co-founder of Global Voices, and a recovering TV reporter-turned blogger. Global Voices is a non-profit citizens' media sponsored by Berkman Center for Internet and Society of Harvard University. Currently, Global Voices averages about 10,000 visitors a day from all over the world.

Rebecca became interested in blogging about two years ago, when she first read Joi Ito's blog . Subsequently, while on a sabbatical at Harvard University Rebecca started her first blogging project called North Korea Zone .

Prior to entering the world of blogging, Rebecca worked at CNN for 12 years, and served as bureau chief at both Tokyo and Beijing.

I met with Rebecca in January, 2006, when she was in New York. In this podcast Rebecca shares with us on what it was like to spend her formative years in Asia, and how she came to develop an interest in covering international news. Disappointed with the way in which international news was being covered, Rebecca turned to blogging, where she finds that contributors are optimistic, enthusiastic, and want to listen to the on-going global coversations.

Disclosure: I am a Global Voices contributor. ]]> People Fri, 3 Feb 2006 23:06:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=55015# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=53227# On January 30, 1948, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was shot dead. He was on his way to his evening prayer meeting at Birla Mandir in New Delhi. He was 78 years old.

Flower Silliman was a student at Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, during the mid-1940s. She was part of the choir that sang during Gandhiji's prayer meetings in Birla Mandir.

In this podcast Flower shares her memories of Gandhiji.

In our previous podcast Flower spoke to us growing up in India as part of a tight-knit Baghdadi Jewish community.

Flower talks about her experiences growing up in India before 1947. During World War II Flower lived in Delhi, where she studied at Lady Irwin College. The reason she was sent to study at Lady Irwin was because Hannah Sen , the principal of the college was of Jewish descent says Flower.

In our next segment we will be talking to Flower about her days at Lady Irwin and Mahatma Gandhi. Lady Irwin College was a hub of activity during the freedom movement says Flower. ]]> People Sat, 28 Jan 2006 07:22:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=52238# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=49028# Jael Silliman of "Jewish Portraits:Indian Frames" talks about the Baghdadi Jewish community of Calcutta. Once a thriving community in Calcutta, the Arab-speaking Jewish community has dwindled to a handful of people points out Jael.

In her book Jael chronicles the Baghdadi Jewish community of Calcutta through the lives of four generation of women in her family. Jael's great-grandmother Farah moved from Basra, now in Iraq, to Calcutta after her marriage; her grandmother Miriam lived in Calcutta, London and finally migrated to Israel; while her mother Flower lived in India, Israel and now lives in the USA.

According to Jael, the first Baghadadi Jew to arrive and settle in Calcutta was Obadiah Ha-Cohen. Cohen came from Aleppo, Syria to India in 1798, and Jael's family traces their roots to him. Over the next 250 years Baghdadi Jews continued to migrate to Calcutta, and by early 20th century had emerged as a tight-knit, prosperous community. But, today there are no more than a handful people that live in Calcutta, many of them have migrated to Australia, Israel, UK and USA.

In this podcast we speak to Jael about her book, the women in her family and the Baghdadi Jewish community of Calcutta. ]]> People Tue, 17 Jan 2006 23:11:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=49028# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=46218# We have a scoop and you heard it first on this podcast.

Google unveiled the Google Video at the 2006 Conssumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

"Waterborne," an independent film produced by "Smriti Mundhra" and directed by "Ben Rekhi," is one of the first films to be available on "Google Video."

The film stars Christopher Masterson, Jon Greis, Ajay Naidu and Shabana Azmi.

You can watch a trailer of the film here. In this podcast we speak with Smriti Mundhra about the film and Google Video.

Street perfomers,including including street dancers, can be found in almost any subway station, park or street corners of New York.

In this podcast we talk to three "street performers" from "New York." Rick, Ray and Lavelle, the b-boys or breakdancers have been performing for over 20 years and they are an utter delight to watch.

The next time you visit New York try and spend sometime watching these street performers, a unique feature of this vibrant and dynamic city.

You can always find a couple of them either in Times Square subway station or out on the streets.

Millions of people around the world and in New York watched the famous ball drop at New York's Time Square at the stroke of midnight. This was also the last time that Dick Clark hosted his famous New York's Rocking Eve.

But, what was it like to walk around the streets of Manhattan on New Year's day? The streets were filled with shoppers, skaters, tourists, street performers and entertainers. In this podcast we bring you the sounds and sights of Manahttan as I walked around Times Square, Bryant Park, Fifth Avenueand in the Central Park area.

Tune in and listen to the sounds of New York.

US Sect of State Condolezza Rice visits Pakistan and promises more aid

The Right to Information Act goes into effect from today

Silicon Valley VC companies Norwest Partners and Gabriel Ventures plan to acquire stakes in Indian IT companies

Apple unveils iPod for video

Googleand Comcast in talks to acquire a stake in AOL

The IIPM and Indian bloggers

Who will win the Nobel Prize for Literature

Fox cancels The Simple Life series starring Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton ]]> Headline News from India Thu, 13 Oct 2005 05:06:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26777# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26558#

Andaman and Nicobar Islands rocked by earthquake, but no damage

PM Singh tours Kashmir and pledges $111 million in aid

Earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan hampered by weather and transportation

Infosys and TCS announce strong 2nd quarter results

Narayana Murthy to retire next year

India's water crisis may worsen in the next 2 decades

Amitabh Bachchan turns 64

The search for the new James Bond is over, and it will be the first blond James Bond

Rahul Dravid's new bundle of joy ]]> Headline News from India Wed, 12 Oct 2005 03:10:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26558# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26378#

Death toll increases in Jammu and Kashmir from Saturday's earthquake

India is helping Pakistan in its hour of crisis

Many Pakistanis still waiting to get earth quake relief assistance

IndiaTimes may go IPO

eBay's acquisition from Verisign

Good Tech Inc opens office in Hyderabad

Yahoo unveils podcast search

Stanford University wins the first prize in a robotic car race]]> Headline News from India Tue, 11 Oct 2005 05:29:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26378# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26331# In India, you can contact the cell disaster management at the Indian Home Ministry. If you are calling from outside India, you can call the following numbers: 91-1123093563 91-11-23093564 91-11- 23093566

For information on relief and aid organization in Pakistan please visit the website Earthquake in Pakistan here.

The website has furnished the phone numbers of some key organizations that are looking for donation. Edhi Foundation (042-879193) Islamic Relief (051-2292412 / 2290237) Red Crescent (051-9257404 / 9257405) Church World Service (51-7215604) Oxfam (051-4449791) SUNGI (0992-333414

Here is a brief list of some key international organizations that are involved in the relief effort.

The International Red Cross is assisting earthquake victims and help identify family members, you can visit here Through the family news network of the International Red Cross people can try and locate their family members who were hit by the unexpected earthquake.

Interaction is an association of over 150 US-based relief organizations

Relief International

Oxfam

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) - USA

Blogs: In an electronically connected world, blogs and bloggers are providing dynamic content on the fly in real time. Listed below is a brief list of blog that are focused on the earthquake in South Asia Pakquake Lahore Blog Quakehelp Wikipedia on the recent earthquake Wikipedia on Pakistan ]]> Headline News from India Tue, 11 Oct 2005 01:49:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26331# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26135# Instead of our regular news, we will be bringing you special report on the earthquake in India and Pakistan.

The death toll continues to rise and Pakistan Tribune is reporting that it fears that about 40,000 people may have lost their lives in the earthquake.

The South Asian region is prone to earthquakes, and we examine the reasons why. ]]> Headline News from India Mon, 10 Oct 2005 02:43:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=26135# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25816# Chandramukhi in Hindi with Mr. Amithabh Bachchan?

Drena de Nero new film has Sushmita Sen and Randeep Hooda

Top 5 film from India FM ]]> Entertainment Sat, 8 Oct 2005 15:25:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25816# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25811# earthquake hit the India-Paksitan border earlier today.

According to the US Geoglogical Survey the earthquake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.]]> Headline News from India Sat, 8 Oct 2005 14:32:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25811# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25170# Foreign Minister Natwar Singh completes his trip to Pakistan and the two countries issue a joint statement

Investment component of FDI will be $5 billion

Standard and Poor says India's banking sector is financially stronger than China's

Japanese company Itouch to increase its presence in India

Reliance Life Sciences and Japan's Otsuka Pharmaceuticals to collaborate on genome project

Mobile network congestion may impact services

Nobel physics prize announced]]> Headline News from India Wed, 5 Oct 2005 03:33:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=25170# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24953# India and Pakistan sign two security agreements

France and India to sign the Scorpene deal

An Indian oil company may acquire stake in a Russian oil company

Indian employees to see a steep hike in their pay scale

Toonz Animation India signs a joint venture with Vijay Amrithraj's First Serve Entertainment

Digital music is 6% of world music

New top level domain .Travel introduced

Nobel Prize for Medicine announced

Nicholas Cage names his new born son after Superman]]> Headline News from India Tue, 4 Oct 2005 04:15:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24953# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24647# Foreign Minister Natwar Singh visiting Pakistan

Advani wants a public debate on the Mitrokhin papers

Economy grew by 8.1% in the previous quarter

Mahindra and Mahindra on an acquistion spree

Manpower Inc to double its operations in India

Infosys to expand its China operations

Microsoft plans to introduce a low-cost verion of windows system

3 Indian companies make it to Forbes' 50 fabulous Asian companies

Sania Mirza on the cover of Time magazine
]]> Headline News from India Mon, 3 Oct 2005 05:39:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24647# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24377# Amol Palker's Paheli is India's official entry for the Oscars

Aamir Khan to marry

Mallika Sherawat on CNN's Talk Asia

Filming for Dhoom-2 starts

Abhishek Bachchan to star in a Bhojpuri film

Dev Anand turns 82

South Indian actress Khushboo's remarks boomerang

New releases for this week: Siskiyan; Sauda, the Deal; U, Bomsi'N Me; Vishwaas: The power of faith; Kasak, Rain and Maine Ganshi ko nahin Mara

Top 5 films of the week from IndiaFM]]> Entertainment Fri, 30 Sep 2005 22:54:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24377# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24224# Nation wide strike hits airports and banks

The Left blames PM Singh for voting against Iran

UN's UNCTAD report on FDI

Fortis Ltd acquires Escorts Heart and Research Institute for $150 million dollars

Global environment: The Artic ice shelf is fast melting]]> Headline News from India Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:09:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=24224# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23844# PM Singh to conduct a mid-year review of the Indian economy

Indian stock market is the second volatile market in the world

Iran reconsidering its economic ties with India

mPortal gets $4 million in new investment

Protest by local Kannadiga group for more jobs at Infosys

Chappell-Ganguly issue resolved for the moment

Zeenat Aman and Rajesh Khan make a comeback to the silverscreen]]> Headline News from India Wed, 28 Sep 2005 03:56:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23844# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23667# Canada will resume its nuclear exports to India

Centurion and Bank of Punjab merger approved

India tops the global outsourcing market

Satyam bags an outourcing deal from WHO

Bill Gates donates $40 million to his old school in Seattle

Cricket committee to review the rift between the captain and the coach of the Indian cricket team

Paheli is India's Oscar entry for 2006]]> Headline News from India Tue, 27 Sep 2005 02:10:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23667# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23414# India votes against Iran's nuclear program at the IAEA

Brittania bids for Typhoo, Britain's 3rd largest tea brand

TCS plans to expand in China

The rift between Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly

Sania Mirza a role model for madrassas in Chattisgarh]]> Headline News from India Mon, 26 Sep 2005 02:05:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23414# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23395# Shah Rukh Khan's new DVD, "The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan"

Aamir Khan on a 3-day trip to Cambridge University in UK

Toronto Film Festival premier of "The Myth" and "The Mistress of Spices"

Deepa Mehta's next film is based on the Komagata Maru incident

Hot off the press: Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher get married

Top 5 films of the week according to IndiaFM.com ]]> Entertainment Sun, 25 Sep 2005 23:54:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=23395# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=22145# TalkNewsIndia's regular podcasting will resume on September 24, 2005. We will be back with our regular features, plus the second part of our interview with author Roy Moxham. Thanks for your support, and tuning in. Team TalkNewsIndia]]> Headline News from India Mon, 19 Sep 2005 07:05:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=22145# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21812# We bring you a 2-part interview with author Roy Moxham, who wrote, "The Great Hedge of India: The Search for a Living Barrier That Divided a Nation," and "Tea: Addiction, Exploitations and Empire."

Mr. Moxham recently retired from the University of London library, where he was in charge of preservation and conservation of books.

He is currently spending time in India researching for his third book, "Malabar Dreams."

In Part Ã??I of the interview he talks about his books, India, and how he researches for his books.

In Part-II he talks about his new book project, and how he goes about researching and writing for his books. ]]> Books / Book Reviews Sat, 17 Sep 2005 04:53:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21812# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21724# This week we have some interesting stories ...India's own list of 50 most beautiful people.

Emmy Award has a representative from the Indian film industry.

The new Pepsi webisode.

Karan Johar and KANK.

Nasseruddin Shah to direct his first film

Four new Hindi films released this week: Choclate; Kal...Yesterday and Tomorrow; Sau Jhooth Ek Saach; and James.

Director Robert Wise dies in Los Angeles.

Renee Zellweger is single again.]]> Entertainment Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:11:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21724# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21714# The stock markets closed on a new high today. The BSE closed at 8,380.96, and the NIFTY closed at 2552 points.

http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21714# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21641# Three-stage plan proposal to tackle Bangaloreâs infrastructure problems

Airport workers plan to go on strike on September, 29, 2005

Plans to set up $3-4 billion semi conductor fabrication plant by a NRI consortium

Off shoring in financial sector to double by 2008

Aylus Network sets up R&D facility in Bangalore

GangaGen and Eli Lilly to develop anti-bacterial products

Cricket: Saurav Ganguly says that he was asked to step down from his captaincy ]]> Headline News from India Fri, 16 Sep 2005 02:43:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21641# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21517# The stock markets bounced back after closing flat yesterday. The BSE closed on a record high of 8,283.76 points and the NIFTY closed at 2,518 points.]]> Stock Market Updates Thu, 15 Sep 2005 12:54:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21517# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21487# PM Singh meets with President Bush

Tata Tea to acquire Good Earth

VSNL to invest $40 million in under sea cable project

Springer Science + Media Business Group to increase its outsourcing work in India >

Yatra, Indiaâs first art fund

More, about the cricket match fixing

Matt Damon engaged ]]> Headline News from India Thu, 15 Sep 2005 06:45:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21487# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21329# The stock market closed on a flat note, ending the 2 week rally today. Some analysts think that this may be the start of a correction in the market.

The BSE closed at 8,189, and the NIFTY at 2,492.45.]]> Stock Market Updates Wed, 14 Sep 2005 14:09:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21329# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=21325# Three reports: doing business in India, infrastructure and employment

L&T pulls out of the airport privatization and modernization bid

PM Singh to meet with President Bush

Medicom acquired for $24 million by IBA Health

Ranbaxy Labs opens an Italian subsidiary

Scandals brewing in the world of cricket

Indian Oil losses its bid for Turkish oil company

Bharti pulls out of Indian airports modernization and privatization plans

Infrastructure problems in Bangalore

FDI in retail sector

Nilgris, the supermarket chain's expansion plans

New rules for IIT-JEE exams

Oracle to acquire Siebel

eBay to acquire Skype

The Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 8,138.42 and the NIFTY closed at 2,484.15 points according to Reuters.]]> Stock Market Updates Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:10:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=20929# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=20883# Aditya Birla restructures and forms Birla Nuvo

Ranbaxy's expansion plan

Fuel price will impact inflation says Chidambaram

FII's active in Indian trading market

Gopal Khanna appointed CIO of Minnesota

Vin Cerf, "The Father of Internet," joins Google

Retracing the historical sea route between Oman and India

Sudar lives in Chennai, India, and started working from May 2004, when he graduated from engineering school. What is interesting is that Sudar's collaboration wtih Fred Giasson of KPing happened in real-time over the Internet using chat and Skype. Currently, KPing has over 100,000 subscribers. Sudar says that it was the Internet that made it possible for him to work on KPing. "I used the internet for the first time in 1998 at an Internet cafe with 32kbps. And till few months back I was in dial-up and right now enjoying the luxury of broadband," he says.

Sudar reads about 75 blogs a day and his top 2 favorites blogs are from Jeremy Zawodny and Robert Scoble.

Sudar says that the Internet has changed his life, and his work habits. He is now is evaluating a couple of business plans to start a company, and don't be surprised if Sudar becomes the CEO of a company. Sudar, in many ways, represents the new, new way people are working and harnassing the Internet to their advantage.

What has surpised many people is that Salman Rushdie's new book "Shalimar and the Clown," did not make it to the short list.

]]> Books / Book Reviews Sat, 10 Sep 2005 05:41:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=20621# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=20619# September 10, 2005: Sound Bites From The World of Entertainment

Govinda wants to quit politics

Hema Malani to direct a film

Bhaggmati, the film, get mixed reviews

Asha Bhonsle to write her autobiography

Top 5 Hindi films for this week

Finance Minister Chidambaram's response to the stock market

Idea and Air Cellular's IPO plans

Opto Circuits to buy 2 US companies

Fire at ONGC rig in Andhra Pradesh

Asian Development Bank forecasts 6.8% growth for India

eBay in talks with Skype

Surya Mantha appointed Senior VP of Interactive Services at SIFY

India Infoline acquired by Shakti Group

IIM-Bangalore graduate gets a job offer of $193,000

Lance Armstrong and Cheryl Crow to marry

PM Singh and PM Blair'seeting

Disinvestment in PSUs, an old option being considered

Over 600 dead in UP's Japanese Encephilitis epidemic

President Clinton's visit to Lucknow

Apple unveils its new product

Stock Market closes on a new high

Tony Blair arrives in India

Spice Jet reportedly raises $20 million

LG Electronics India sets up DVD writer plants and to introduce DTH

Raman Roy and team acquire 40% stake in Annik

Clinton's whistle stop in Lucknow

Ellison stars in a new film

Proposal to set up National Drug Regulation Authority

VSNL may buy Tata Power Broadband

Deccan Chronicle Holdings buys Odyssey

Flextronics Software System to delist from Indian Stock Exchange

Cable Operators pull the plug in Bangalore

Apple and Motorola Rokr Phone. Is that what is being unveiled by Steve Job?

]]> Headline News from India Tue, 6 Sep 2005 05:53:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=19960# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=19802# The Bombay Stock Exchange appears to be edging closer to the 8000 mark. The BSE closed at 7.925 today.

ONCG Chairman Raha and Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Iyer growing differences

Household Net Financial Savings drop reports RBI

Mahindra and Mahindra bids for Universal Tractors for Romania

Deccan Chronicle Holdings to buy book store chain

Sania Mirza losses to Maria Sharapove at US Open

Thailand has a new economic index - Noodle Index

In this one-on-one interview, Dr. Arun Jaura, VP, Engineering and R&D at Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai, talks to us about the autombile industry in India, and his charter at Mahindra and Mahindra.

Dr. Jaura joined Mahindra and Mahindra four months ago from Ford Motor Company, Michigan. At Ford he was heading the Vehicle Engineering platform for the Escape SUV hybrid project. ]]> TechTalk Interview Sun, 4 Sep 2005 17:55:00 GMT http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=19665# kamlabhatt@yahoo.com No http://talknewsindia.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=19663# Rajesh Rao, CEO, Dhruva Interactive, Bangalore talks of the Gaming Industry in India.

This is the second part of our interview with Rajesh Rao, CEO, Dhruva Interactive.

In this installment Rajesh talks about the gaming industry in India. He discusses the challenges and opportunities for companies in the gaming industry. Rajesh says that the issue of piracy has stymied the growth of gaming industry, and he points out that neither Microsoft nor Sony have an India strategy on their radars.

But, there is a new market for gaming companies and that is in mobile gaming. Revenue from mobile gaming is expected to increase and this is because of the increase in sales of mobile phones in India.

Aishwarya Rai has signed a Disney Film.

Hindi films released on Friday, September 2, 2004 include: Dansh, Ramji Londonwaley, Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Pyaar Mein Twist.

The soaring fiscal defecit

Oil comapnies to meet and discuss price control strategy

Indian Oil Corp bids for 51% stake in Tupras, a Turkish oil company

Global warming and the Himalayas

HT Media debuts at the stock exchage

Oracle may fully acquire i-flex solutions

Pantaloon launches a news retail chain in home furnishing

Wi-fi enabled camera from Nikon

The stock market continued its upward trend and closed at an all-time high. The BSE closed at 7,876.15. The rally was led by the tech sector

Reuters reports that the the 5-year deal has awarded to IBM, Accenture, Infosys, TCS and Patni Computer Systems.

VAT, a new source of revenue for Indian states

Gartner predicts that mobile companies will net $24 billion in revenues by 2009

Infosys and TCS may get the ABN Amro outsourcing deal

Posco, South Korean steel company, sets up Indian subsidiary

Great Eastern Shipping spins off a new company

Anil Ambani picks up a minority stake on Indian Terrain, a clothing company

Is there a crisis brewing at Escorts, the New-Delhi based company?

Markets on an upward trend

Listen to Rajesh Rao, CEO, Dhruva Interactive, Bangalore, India, talk about his company, and Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century." Rao was featured in Friedman's book that talks about globalization, and its impact on government and people.

Friedman highlights how the world in some ways has become a level playing field, and how companies around the world in countries like India and China are competing in this new world.

Tune in again to listen to Rao speak about the Gaming Industry in India.

The stock market rallies and is up 100 points

Finance Minister Chidambaram clarifies fringe benefit taxes

4.1 earthquake n Maharashtra yesterday

Trent Group buys 70% stake in Landmark, a ooks and music retailer chain

JB Chemical and Pharmaceuticals may buy a Russian company

IL&FS Venture may buy a stake in Gokuldas Images, textiles company

Westbridge Capital closes a $200 million fund

BMW selects Chennai to set up its assembly plant

MSN acquires net telephony company Teleo

Motorolaand Appleto introduce iTunes phone

"Software Packages," designed for body and soul