Daily Quiz | On elephant
A still from the Oscar-winning Indian short film ‘The Elephant Whisperers’
1 / 7 |
The World Elephant Day was co-founded on August 12, 2012 by Patricia Sims and an Asian royal whose birthday also happens to be on the same date. Name the former queen of the country which has the sobriquet ‘Land of the White Elephant‘.
2 / 7 |
The three recognised species i.e.: African savannah, African forest, and Asian are the only surviving members of which Family and Order?
3 / 7 |
Apart from the size, one standout feature of the largest land animal are their tusks. Of which type of teeth are tusks an enlarged version?
4 / 7 |
How can one say if an elephant is an Asian or African variety by examining its trunk?
5 / 7 |
What are the names of the sophisticated elephant king in a the popular series of books by Jean de Brunhoff and Bart’s pet elephant in ‘The Simpsons’?
6 / 7 |
In Indian myth, from where did Indra’s six-tusked mount Airavata emerge?
7 / 7 |
Name the elephant from the Oscar-winning Indian short film ‘The Elephant Whisperers’
Published – August 12, 2025 05:10 am IST
A Telugu film shoot in progress aboard a ship on Visakhapatnam’s Beach Road.
| Photo Credit: Representational Photo
The stalemate between Telugu film producers and the Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation (TFIEF) continued into its second week, with film shoots coming to a halt. The tussle began with the TFIEF demanding a 30% increase in wages.
The TFIEF and unions of the different crafts, ranging from stunt to makeup and other departments, justified their demand for a wage hike, citing the rising production costs of films that vie for nationwide box office and leading actors and directors drawing a fee of several crores.
Meanwhile, producers have stated that apart from a handful of all-India hits, several films have failed at the box office. They also point out how unions charge a hefty membership fee and cite rules that compel producers to hire more crew members than necessary, thereby escalating production costs.
With the ongoing strike, the industry is staring at the possibility of inevitable delays of films currently under production.
On Monday afternoon, a few producers of small and medium budget films presented their arguments at a media interaction at Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Hyderabad. The meet witnessed the participation of producers Sreenivas Kumar Naidu aka SKN, Dheeraj Mogilineni, Rajesh Danda, Chaitanya, Shivalanka Krishna Prasad, Bekkem Venugopal, Sharath and Anurag, Madhura Sreedhar, Maheshwar Reddy, Vamsi Nandipati, Harshith Reddy and Rakesh Varre.
“Approximately 250 Telugu films release each year, of which less than 50 have a budget exceeding ₹100 crore. Most producers work with smaller budgets,” said SKN, who produced the blockbuster film Baby. “Producers are not cash bags,” he added.
These arguments came in the context of allegations that unions have been forcing producers to hire several crew members than required for a film shoot. Madhura Sreedhar explained, “For example, if we have to film a conversation between two actors in a room, we require a few lights, cameras and a small crew. Due to the rules laid out by the unions, members of each craft bring in several assistants. For a small scene, we end up hiring 80 crew members.”
His statements were echoed by other producers. Rakesh Varre, who produced the small-budget, sleeper hit Pekamedalu, pointed out how he produced his debut film Evvariki Cheppoddu within ₹1.5 crore. He kept his production low key and did not hire union members. For his second film Pekamedalu, he had to rope in several crew members with union cards.
“The film’s budget went up to ₹2.5 crore,” he said, and added that the myth of producers and actors making tidy sums does not hold good for smaller teams. “There is no guarantee that we will get profits through theatrical release or digital rights. OTT platforms do not pick up films unless there are well known actors.”
Published – August 12, 2025 01:35 am IST
A Telugu film shoot in progress aboard a ship on Visakhapatnam’s Beach Road.
| Photo Credit: Representational Photo
The stalemate between Telugu film producers and the Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation (TFIEF) continued into its second week, with film shoots coming to a halt. The tussle began with the TFIEF demanding a 30% increase in wages.
The TFIEF and unions of the different crafts, ranging from stunt to makeup and other departments, justified their demand for a wage hike, citing the rising production costs of films that vie for nationwide box office and leading actors and directors drawing a fee of several crores.
Meanwhile, producers have stated that apart from a handful of all-India hits, several films have failed at the box office. They also point out how unions charge a hefty membership fee and cite rules that compel producers to hire more crew members than necessary, thereby escalating production costs.
With the ongoing strike, the industry is staring at the possibility of inevitable delays of films currently under production.
On Monday afternoon, a few producers of small and medium budget films presented their arguments at a media interaction at Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Hyderabad. The meet witnessed the participation of producers Sreenivas Kumar Naidu aka SKN, Dheeraj Mogilineni, Rajesh Danda, Chaitanya, Shivalanka Krishna Prasad, Bekkem Venugopal, Sharath and Anurag, Madhura Sreedhar, Maheshwar Reddy, Vamsi Nandipati, Harshith Reddy and Rakesh Varre.
“Approximately 250 Telugu films release each year, of which less than 50 have a budget exceeding ₹100 crore. Most producers work with smaller budgets,” said SKN, who produced the blockbuster film Baby. “Producers are not cash bags,” he added.
These arguments came in the context of allegations that unions have been forcing producers to hire several crew members than required for a film shoot. Madhura Sreedhar explained, “For example, if we have to film a conversation between two actors in a room, we require a few lights, cameras and a small crew. Due to the rules laid out by the unions, members of each craft bring in several assistants. For a small scene, we end up hiring 80 crew members.”
His statements were echoed by other producers. Rakesh Varre, who produced the small-budget, sleeper hit Pekamedalu, pointed out how he produced his debut film Evvariki Cheppoddu within ₹1.5 crore. He kept his production low key and did not hire union members. For his second film Pekamedalu, he had to rope in several crew members with union cards.
“The film’s budget went up to ₹2.5 crore,” he said, and added that the myth of producers and actors making tidy sums does not hold good for smaller teams. “There is no guarantee that we will get profits through theatrical release or digital rights. OTT platforms do not pick up films unless there are well known actors.”
Published – August 12, 2025 01:35 am IST
Sudha Ragunathan
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
If I claimed that I am Made of Chennai, I wouldn’t be exaggerating! Chennai is not just where I live; it is what I breathe, what I believe, and what ‘built’ me, said Sudha Ragunathan, Carnatic vocalist.
I might define Chennai as a city of soul and substance, where tradition meets modernity with effortless grace, innate charm, and dignified simplicity.
From the rich aroma of filter coffee to the flowing Kanjeevaram silks; from the winding Marina beach where one can gaze at the waters glistening silver and gold under the blazing sun, to the cluttered roads, a little disorganised with innumerable number of majestic hotels, cafes, and chai hubs; and the ragas and thalas ‘floating’out of the cultural sabhas, Chennai stands tall, justifying its inclusion in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition. The city has something for everyone.
The city and its unique Margazhi season have given me an identity, cradled and nurtured me, and that is how my art found an anchor.
I could be travelling to the most exotic country in the world, but my heart always yearns to return home — to the city and its warmth!
(As told to Deepa H. Ramakrishnan)
Published – August 12, 2025 12:25 am IST
Ricky Kej has collaborated with over 200 musicians from 40 countries for the album
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej’s latest album, Gandhi – Mantras of Compassion, is an ode to Mahatma Gandhi. “He has handheld us into the 20th. He has left his footprint on the world,” says the singer-composer whose past three Grammy-winning projects have each had a song on the Mahatma. “But I always wanted to dedicate an entire album to him,” says Ricky.
Cut to 2024 when he did a four-city concert tour along with another person he admires, Kailash Satyarthi, who leads a life based on the principles of the Mahatma. It was a fundraiser for Kailash’s movement for global compassion. Ricky got to spend time at Kailash’s Bal Ashram in Jaipur. That was when they decided to put together an album on Gandhi. It is an attempt to retell his ideals to a world filled with anxiety, war, hatred and unrest.
Kailash Satyarthi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
For the album, Ricky has collaborated with over 200 musicians from 40 countries, including a Charango player from Argentina, a Dan bau artiste from Vietnam and a guitarist from Chennai. The album has 11 songs, including five favourite hymns of the Mahatma, a Sanskrit translation of ‘The lord’s prayer’ and original compositions by Ricky.
Earlier this month, on his birthday, Ricky released a spiritual track from the album. Titled ‘We are one’, it is based on ‘Raghupati raghav raja ram’, another of the Mahatma’s favourite. The music video for the song, which was shot over two years with Ricky travelling to various sacred sites across the world, was recently unveiled at the Celebrating India Film Festival in New Delhi.
“The track talks about oneness — a lot of rituals across religions are the same, and most of them have a common essence of love and compassion,” he says.
Published – August 11, 2025 05:19 pm IST
Daily Quiz | On significant events
Identify this track-and-field athlete who became the first woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games. Also, in which year did she achieve this feat?
1 / 5 |
National Handloom Day is celebrated every year on August 7 to honour the efforts of Indian artisans and the handloom-weaving community. Since which year has the day been celebrated, and where was the first celebration held?
2 / 5 |
A member of a prominent Bengali family and a noted painter was born on August 7 in 1871. Notably, his brother died on August 7 in 1941. Identify the person.
3 / 5 |
A hit song from this artist’s debut album was released on August 7 in 2009. The singer recently promised to change the opening lyric of the song, which mentions music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Name the song and the album
4 / 5 |
This high wire walker rose to fame on August 7 in 1974 when he performed an unauthorised crossing between two towers about 1,350 feet above the ground. He claimed to have made eight crossings in 45 minutes. Identify the building.
5 / 5 |
A key movement of the Indian Independence struggle was launched on August 7, 1905. The partition of Bengal was the immediate trigger for the movement. Name it.
Published – August 11, 2025 05:00 pm IST
Dance forms around the world are marked by uniqueness, owing to the traditions and cultural contexts in which they have evolved. While efforts have been made to preserve the distinctive character of each, little attention has been towards identifying the universal elements that connect them. It is often said that all forms of music, despite their diversity, can be can be comprehended through the seven notes. What, then, is the equivalent in dance? This basic question, posed by academician and dancer Jayachandran Surendran, led him to explore form-neutral and style-neutral universal fundamentals for dance.
Jayachandran’s decades of research led to the development of a pedagogical tool aptly named ATAM (meaning ‘motion’ or ‘movement’ in Tamil, at a fundamental level), the first of its kind to receive a design patent in India. He explains, “I observed that three parameters are universally present across all dance forms — postures, transitions between postures, and the rhythm in those transitions. Since my approach is based on the affordability and degree of freedom of each joint in the body, with a special focus on the lower half of the body, the tool can technically be applied to all kinds of movement. Movement is a common thread that runs through human activities such as sports, yoga, martial arts, dance, and theatre.”
In Bharatanatyam, the basic unit of movement is called an ‘Adavu’. Does Jayachandran attempts to go beyond this foundational element? Interestingly, he points out that the term ‘Adavu’ is not exclusive to Bharatanatyam; it is also used in traditional Indian martial arts such as Kuthuvarisai and Silambam. He argues that an Adavu is not intrinsically artistic; rather, it is a way of breaking down movement into smaller, functional units for pedagogical purposes. It is the intent of the movement which imports artistry to Adavu.
“Postures are common across various movement disciplines. The fundamentals of the classical dance forms have been assimilated also from the movement knowledge bank of martial arts and yogasana traditions. However, what differs across several movement systems is the transition — what happens between postures. While posture training forms the bedrock of dance learning, transitions are often absorbed through observation.”
The ATAM tool, according to Jayachandran, isolates these transitions, and teaches them separately, offering students a more conscious understanding of movement flow.
Jayachandran Surendran, researcher and classical dancer
So, how is the ATAM tool designed? To make it child-friendly, Jayachandran mapped six postures onto the six faces of a dice. There are three-coloured dice: black for standing postures, red for half-sitting, and blue for full-sitting. Dice are placed in white holders for on-beat movements and black holders for off-beat. Two dials are used — one indicates foot positions (right, left, both) and transitions (like stamping, placing, turning, sliding, or jumping, each shown by a colour), while the other specifies torso angles in 45-degree increments. These dials too are placed in white or black holders based on beat alignment.
The tool is intended primarily for children and beginners in dance to develop dance literacy. Jayachandran clarifies “When we talk about dance literacy, the goal is not to make someone a professional dancer, but to help those unfamiliar with dance become comfortable with dance movements. Athletic training makes the body literate for movement, even if one does not become an athlete. In the same way, dance literacy involves training the body and mind to overcome unfamiliarity with movement. It is about developing awareness, control, and comfort in one’s body through dance — not about performance, but about internalising movement as a language.”
In classical dance training, the body is often conditioned to repeat only certain combinations of movements. However, with the ATAM tool, all possible combinations within six basic postures are explored, fostering openness and flexibility in posture practice. “For children, no movement sequence is considered inherently right or wrong. If a particular combination already exists in a known dance form, we simply acknowledge it and move on. For those that do not have an existing name, we try to name them or inform them if a name already exists. As practice progresses, a two-beat movement may evolve into a three-beat one, and the number of possible combinations grows exponentially, reaching up to six raised to the power of three for a three-beat sequence,” he says.
An interesting aspect of this approach is the reversal of traditional classroom dynamics. In conventional dance teaching, the teacher is highly active in planning, while the student’s role is more passive. Here, while using the tool it is the opposite — the teacher remains mostly passive, keenly observing, intervening only when necessary. The children stay deeply engaged, often in pin-drop silence, with their attention fully focused on the tool. It becomes difficult to disengage them, as the process stimulates constant thinking. The tool allows for the creation of numerous variations in posture and angle, making it possible to capture the essence of all forms of dance within its framework.
The ATAM tool developed by Jayachandran Surendran
In the traditional knowledge system of the Nāṭyaśāstra, the way we read the śāstra often influences how we understand it. For instance, when the Nāṭyaśāstra speaks of five sthanaka postures, we tend to view them as distinct, fixed reference points. However, as a researcher, Jayachandran observes that there are many possible subtle in-between postures that the śāstra-kāras may not have explicitly mentioned, but left the practitioner to posit. He believes it is the responsibility of practitioners to explore and identify these transitional forms. A parallel can be drawn from music — while we are taught there are only seven notes, we know that between two notes lies a rich space for nuanced modulation, as seen in veena playing, where the pulling from one note to another opens expressive possibilities. Similarly, movement from one posture to another in dance involves not just fixed positions, but reference points, functional shifts, and continuous curves. Jayachandran’s approach includes identifying “pivotal index values” to map these transitions — such as naming a movement like Valithoruham as part of a larger curve. Instead of memorising each movement individually, he proposes understanding the frequency range and pattern of the movement like a graph or a curve, making the process more intuitive and less reliant on rote memory.
While posturing, transitions, and rhythm are common across all dance forms, the next question arises — can abhinaya also be brought into this framework? Says Jayachandran, “Training typically involves the anga, upanga, and pratyanga, with focus on both freeze points and transition points. Multiple modules can be developed to train different aspects — pure movement, abhinaya, and musicality. In the current system, pure movement training has been divided into upper and lower body segments. The research primarily concentrates on the lower half, as it forms the foundation of movement vocabulary. Even this area alone is highly complex, with a huge number of probable combinations. The upper body, especially in the context of nritta, remains an area to be explored. Extending this further to mukhaja abhinaya and other expressive elements opens up the possibility for creating a completely new movement vocabulary. What is currently being developed can be seen as a prototype that lays the groundwork for future expansion.”
Physically, the tool takes the form of a dice with posture stickers and a board with rotating dials placed at pivot points, resembling a Pallanguzhi board. This tangible setup is designed especially for children, offering a screen-free alternative to digital apps and helping to reduce screen time. A web-based app version is currently under development for further expansion. Ultimately, ATAM aims to provide a non-hierarchical, exploratory learning environment, especially for children, where movement is play, inquiry, and self-expression. A live demonstration, Jayachandran notes, is the best way to understand its potential.
Folk-rock sensation The Lumineers to perform in Delhi as part of ‘The Automatic World Tour’
| Photo Credit: BookMyShow
American folk-rock band The Lumineers will perform in India early next year as part of The Automatic World Tour. The concert is scheduled for February 1, 2026, at Huda Ground, Delhi-NCR, and will be produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live.
The Delhi performance will form part of the band’s global tour in support of their fifth studio album, Automatic, released in February 2025. Tickets for the event will go on sale on August 13, 2025, at noon, exclusively via BookMyShow.
Formed in Denver, Colorado, The Lumineers are led by founding members Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Known for their stripped-down instrumentation and emotionally direct songwriting, the band rose to prominence with their self-titled debut album in 2012, which reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and featured the hit single Ho Hey. That success was followed by albums including Cleopatra (2016), III (2019), and Brightside (2022), each further cementing their reputation in the folk-rock genre.
Tracks such as Stubborn Love, Ophelia, Angela, and Cleopatra have become audience favourites, often featuring prominently in their live performances. The band’s music has earned them multiple Grammy nominations and a strong global fan base.
Known for their dynamic and emotional concerts, The Lumineers have previously performed to sold-out crowds at venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York and the O2 Arena in London, and have appeared at major festivals including Coachella and Glastonbury.
The Automatic World Tour aims to bring that same level of energy and intimacy to audiences worldwide. The upcoming Delhi show will offer Indian fans in the chance to hear new tracks from Automatic alongside established favourites.
Published – August 11, 2025 12:42 pm IST
Watch: Mahmood Farooqui on the Urdu storytelling tradition of Dastangoi
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Actor Rana Daggubati arrives at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Hyderabad on Monday (August 11, 2025)
| Photo Credit: PTI
Actor Rana Daggubati appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Basheerbagh office in Hyderabad on Monday (August 11) for questioning in connection with the alleged promotion of unauthorised online betting platforms.
His appearance before ED is part of the agency’s ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) into promotional campaigns that allegedly disguised unregulated gambling apps as entertainment or charity-linked initiatives. Officials said Mr. Rana’s statements will be cross-verified with material already on record and testimonies from other individuals examined in the case.
The agency has so far summoned 29 people, including actors, YouTubers, and social media influencers, to ascertain whether such campaigns were isolated endorsements or part of a larger, coordinated effort to bypass regulatory restrictions.
Actor Prakash Raj was the first to be questioned on July 30, while Vijay Deverakonda appeared on August 6. Actor Manchu Lakshmi is scheduled to appear on August 13.
Published – August 11, 2025 11:50 am IST
