Latest news with #Apsara
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Politics
- Time of India
What Does the US's New Import Law Mean for India's Cultural Heritage?
In 2023, the 11th century Apsara that was stolen from Madhya Pradesh was returned to India by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York S Vijay Kumar On July 28, the United States formally implemented import restrictions on a broad category of archaeological and ethnological materials from India, a landmark moment in the legal protection of India's cultural heritage. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai For one, it marks the long-awaited enforcement of the US-India Cultural Property Agreement. The bilateral agreement, signed in 2024 under Article 9 of the 1970 Unesco Convention, reflects years of advocacy, diplomacy and public interest mobilization. It restricts the import of archaeological materials dating from 1.7 million years ago through 1770 CE, including stone, metal, terracotta and paintings and ethnological material such as manuscripts, ceremonial objects and architectural elements produced through 1947. The protections are set for a renewable five-year period, currently effective through July 26, 2029. These import restrictions serve not only to stem the illicit market but also to signal shared ethical commitments between India and the United States. This MoU is a game changer as it allows US customs to proactively seize smuggled Indian antiquities without requiring case-by-case legal battles. It establishes a clear legal deterrent for US-based collectors, dealers and auction houses dealing in undocumented Indian artefacts. It supports India's domestic enforcement by shifting the burden of proof to importers. It creates a presumptive legal shield for future restitution claims, improving the pace and success of repatriation efforts. It aligns India with other culture-rich nations like Cambodia, Peru, and Egypt that benefit from similar agreements and encourages museum sector reform through compliance with international best practices in provenance research. It sends a powerful diplomatic signal of India's commitment to safeguarding its heritage and seeking international accountability. In May 2016, I wrote an op-ed in The Times of India calling for such an agreement. I had warned that without formal mechanisms such as an MoU, the US would remain a major destination for stolen Indian artefacts, protected by the shield of good-faith purchase doctrines and the absence of enforceable import restrictions. I pointed to successful bilateral agreements the US had concluded with countries like Italy and Cambodia, and urged that India needed to catch up before more of its sacred heritage disappeared into private and institutional collections abroad. Nowhere has this heritage loss been felt more acutely than in Tamil Nadu , a state that has borne the brunt of idol theft and temple looting. From the majestic bronzes of the Chola period to intricately carved stone deities, Tamil Nadu's cultural wealth has been disproportionately targeted by international trafficking networks. In case after case — from the infamous Kapoor seizures to court-ordered restitutions in the United States and Australia — evidence has pointed to how artefacts from Tamil Nadu temples have been smuggled via fraudulent export documentation, transited through global art hubs, and sold to prominent museums and private collectors. This MoU introduces, for the first time, clear legal guardrails in the largest art market in the world. It will help ensure that any future attempts to export stolen bronzes or stone sculptures from Tamil Nadu to the US will be intercepted at the border. Furthermore, it creates a disincentive for laundering artefacts through restoration hubs or false provenance narratives, tactics that have historically enabled Tamil Nadu artefacts to lose their identity and re-emerge under Western ownership. In numerous trafficking cases, stolen idols and sculptures have been routed through laundering and restoration hubs in the United Kingdom, where they were cosmetically altered and given new provenance papers. From there, many were routed via transit ports in Hong Kong and Thailand that served as neutral logistics zones to mask their Indian origin. These artefacts would then enter the Western market with clean documentation, often falsely claimed to have been in private collections for decades. The MoU closes critical gaps in this laundering chain by enabling US authorities to challenge and detain such imports on the basis of their material, typology and region of origin, even if paper documentation appears superficially legitimate. It has taken almost a decade for that vision to be realized. The agreement now in force represents the culmination of years of civil society advocacy, diplomatic effort, and sustained public engagement. This milestone would not have been possible without the steadfast efforts of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force, particularly the Antiquities Coalition. I would like to acknowledge Tess Davis and Helena Arose (of Antiquities Coalition) for their advocacy, policy engagement and commitment to cultural justice. Their behind-the-scenes work was instrumental in making this agreement a reality. But this MoU is not a panacea. It must be supported by transparent acquisition policies among US institutions, vigilance at Indian ports, and a legal framework for restitution. But it marks a turning point. From ad hoc repatriations to preventive protection, from lobbying to legally binding enforcement. As someone who has worked closely with networks tracking the global trafficking of Indian antiquities, including the cases of Subhash Kapoor and Vaman Ghiya, I believe this agreement is a foundational pillar in India's evolving cultural diplomacy. The idol may still be silent, but nearly 10 years after the call was made, the law now speaks on its behalf. (The writer is co-founder of the India Pride Project, a citizen-led initiative to combat heritage crimes) The smuggling kingpins Indian-born US national Subhash Kapoor was convicted in 2022 for theft and illegal export of idols from the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district In 2003, police raided the home of Vaman Ghiya in Jaipur and seized hundreds of photographs of sculptures that were reportedly stolen from temples. Ghiya, owner of a handicrafts shop, was charged with possessing and trafficking stolen cultural property
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Marital status
Consider the following two statements: (A) If X is a physicist then Y is a real estate agent; (B) If X is a physicist then Y is not a real estate agent. Is it possible for both statements to be true? Welcome to Problematics! (Shutterstock) The answer is yes, if you consider that X is not a physicist. In that case, it does not matter which clauses are dependent on X being a physicist. Assuming that both statements are true, we know for sure that X is not a physicist because the two dependent clauses are mutually contradictory. But we cannot determine whether Y is a property dealer or not, unless we are given additional information. In the following puzzle, you may find statements that appear to be mutually contradictory, but will find that they are not actually so if you approach them the right way. #Puzzle 153.1 At a party, a bachelor meets three young women and strikes up a conversation. He finds that each one has a name with the same initial as the state she belongs to, but that is not the information he is looking for. Men being men, he is more curious about their marital status. The women decide to tease the young man. Rather than spell out who is married and who is not, they let out little bits of information (all true) one by one: (1) If the woman from Chhattisgarh is married then either the woman from Assam or Bonnie is married but not both (2) If neither the Assamese woman nor the Chhattisgarhi woman is married then Bonnie must be married (3) If Apsara is married then the woman from Bihar and Chitra are both unmarried (4) The woman from Bihar is unmarried if both Apsara and Chitra are unmarried Who is married and who is not? #Puzzle 153.2 (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) The above represents a 10-digit number but the digits are not as shown. Instead, the numbers in the brackets signify the number of each digit in the number. To make that clear, in the bracket with 0, enter the number of times 0 appears in the final number. In the bracket with 1, enter the number of 1s in the final number. In the bracket with 2, enter the number of 2s in the final number. Finally, remove all brackets. What is the number? MAILBOX: LAST WEEK'S SOLVERS #Puzzle 152.1 Hello Kabir, I learnt something new from this puzzle. The amount earned should be a square, be even, and have an odd number before the units digit. That is to say, the amount should be 10n + c, where c < 10 and n is odd. I checked all squares up to 40² and found that if n is odd, then c is always 6. This means one vendor has got ₹4 extra, so he will send the other vendor ₹2 via UPI. — Dr Sunita Gupta, Delhi Sanjay Gupta, who looks at all squares up to 100², shows that the only squares with an odd number in the tens place are 36, 196, 256, 676, 1156, 1296, 1936, 2116, 2916, 3136, 4096, 4356, 5476, 5776, 7056, and 7396 — all ending in 6. This will be true no matter how far you go. A few readers have solved this correctly up to the point that the initial difference in the two vendors' shares is ₹4, but then made the mistake of concluding that ₹4 is also the amount transferred via UPI (missing the point that the transfer must be half of that). Nevertheless, I am counting those as correct along with those who have correctly concluded their solution at ₹2. #Puzzle 152.2 Kabir, Hi At times one tends to overthink the solution when, all the time, the simple one is staring you in the face. The solution in this case is clearly in the wordings of the guarantee. The poor parrot is stone deaf and the shop manager has pulled a fast one on the unsuspecting customer. — Sanjay Gupta, Delhi Solved both puzzles: Dr Sunita Gupta (Delhi), Sanjay Gupta (Delhi), Kanwarjit Singh (Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, retired), Ajay Ashok (Delhi), Shishir Gupta (Indore), YK Munjal (Delhi), Shri Ram Aggarwal (Delhi), Yadvendra Somra (Sonipat) Solved Puzzle 152.1: Anil Khanna (Ghaziabad), Vinod Mahajan (Delhi), Sabornee Jana (Mumbai) Solved Puzzle 152.2: Aditya Krishnan (NMIMS Mumbai) Problematics will be back next week. Please send in your replies by Friday noon to problematics@
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Super Dancer Chapter 5: Shilpa Shetty praises contestant Apsara; says, 'Bohot naam kamane waali hai'
Super Dancer Chapter 5, a stage where dreams turn into reality, where every performance is powered not just by talent, but by heartwarming stories of courage and love. This season isn't just about dance; it's about family, love and the unmatched strength of a mother. One such story is of Apsara Boro, a young girl from Assam, where her mother works on a farm to support her and her little sister. Growing up, Apsara rarely had time with her mother and took on the role of caring for her younger sister herself with a maturity far beyond her years. But today, thanks to this stage, life has changed for Apsara. The show has not only given her a chance to dance but also given her the one thing she longed for the most; time with her mother. Whether it's sharing a meal, being fed by her mother, or simply having her hair done with love, these small moments now mean everything to her. Shilpa Shetty beautifully captured this bond of mother-daughter when she said, 'Aap bahar jaake kaam karti hai, Apsara ke dil mein hai woh baat, isiliye woh itni mehnati hai. Bohot naam kamane waali hai Apsara." Apsara's journey is not just about dance; it's about love, sacrifice, and the joy of finally holding on to moments that once slipped away.
News18
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Remember That Soothing Music On Your IndiGo Flight? Meet The Artists Behind It
Last Updated: The soothing voice behind IndiGo's in-flight track All I Want Is Touchdown has finally been revealed. When travelling on public transport or flights, we often hear familiar voices announcing stops or calming music playing in the background. Yet, few of us ever wonder who's actually behind those voices. Recently, IndiGo introduced a new in-flight music track titled All I Want Is Touchdown, played just before takeoff and after landing. The soothing vocals have caught the attention of many passengers, but do you know who the artists behind the track are? Here's everything you need to know about the voices behind IndiGo's latest in-flight anthem. Who Created The Song The song features two voices, Ayushi Joshi and Srishhti BhitriKothiy. While Ayushi sang the main lyrics, Srishhti added all the background vocals and harmonies in the track. Recently, Srishhti posted a video on Instagram where she was on a flight, quietly recording herself while her voice played in the background. Passengers were seen busy boarding and adjusting to their seats, unaware that the talented singer was sitting among them. In her caption, she wrote, 'Nobody on this flight knows that the voice they hear in the aircraft is mine." How People Are Reacting To The Song After Srishhti BhitriKothiy posted the video on Instagram, many social media users were surprised and amazed to learn that she was the voice behind the calming in-flight track. Reacting to the post, a user wrote, 'Wait, no fricking way omg, I love this song wayy to much ma'am, omg. It's my alarm, my phone ringtone omg." Another shared, 'I downloaded this song after hearing it in our Hong Kong flight." 'So you're the reason why I can't get it off my head after landing," a comment read. An individual stated, 'When Indigo changed their boarding music, I wanted to know the song. Somehow I found it, now I got to know the artist too. All I want is touchdown is so relaxing." Another mentioned, 'I liked the voice and the melody. It is pleasant overall, so a good composition to me. Also, yes, the voice." One more added, 'To hear this after landing is peace. A nice melody." Who Are Ayushi Joshi And Srishhti BhitriKothiy Ayushi is an indie artist known not just for his singing, but also for her skills as a composer and lyricist. Some of his well-known songs include Aao Na, Apsara, Sham and Kill Bill. One of her tracks was even featured in an ad for The Man Company. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DroomMusic (@droommusicofficial) top videos View all Srishhti, on the other hand, started her music journey in 2024 and launched her album Pluto in April 2025. Although music has always been close to her heart, her Instagram profile shows that she used to do small music gigs while working as an advocate. view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 21, 2025, 16:29 IST News viral Remember That Soothing Music On Your IndiGo Flight? Meet The Artists Behind It Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
03-07-2025
- NDTV
Beyond Distinction: University In Bihar Gives Students 257 Marks Out Of 100
Years ago, a TV advertisement became popular in which a student was given extra marks for good handwriting with the Apsara pencil; the teacher gave him 105 out of 100, but teachers at Bhim Rao Ambedkar University in Bihar's Muzzafarpur beat that, giving students 257 marks in a 100-mark exam. The irregularities came to the fore when several postgraduate students were given 257 marks in a 100-mark and some were given 225 in a 30-mark practical exam. The students are shocked and unhappy and forced to take rounds of the university and college due to the error. Mark sheets of many students have been withheld, while some have been shown as failed, when they gave all the exams and performed well. This is not the first time irregularities have come to the fore in the examination results of BRAU. In the past, complaints have been received of gross negligence in adding marks, answer sheet evaluation and result publication in the UG and PG examinations. Students alleged that such mistakes have put their careers in danger, but the university administration shrugs it off every time by calling it a minor mistake. The university's examination controller said it happened due to technical or human error. He assured that all errors would be rectified within the next two working days, and correct mark sheets would be given to the students.
