In Kolkata, India, only 52 minutes after Rushmi Chakravarthi’s opening serve, Sania Mirza was thanking the audience with waves and blown kisses as fans applauded her easy success. Fifth-seeded Sania breezed past her fellow Indian, qualifier Chakravarthi, in grand style, winning 6-0, 6-4.

Sania’s domination of the first set was the result of strong down-the-line forehands and cross-court volleys; Chakravarthi’s adjustments to come to the net more frequently in the second set showed Mirza a bit more challenge, but she also adjusted her game accordingly to take the match. “I had a good match. There were a few nervous moments but I am glad that I was able to overcome that,” she said.

However, Sania’s triumph as a seeded player in the $175,000 Sunfeast Open was hardly the rule. The day’s most surprising upset came from Australian Casey Dellacqua, who eliminated second-seeded Karolina Sprem of Croatia 2-6, 7-6, (7-2), 6-2. Sprem was last year’s runner-up at Sunfeast, eventually ceding to Russia’s Anastasia Myskina.

Furthermore, Italian Alberta Brianti, placed at number 127 on the WTA rankings, took out Ukranian Yuliana Fedak, who had been seeded third, 6-4, 6-2, and Russian Alla Kudryavtseva triumphed over her eighth-seeded compatriot Anastassia Rodionova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Nicole Pratt of Australia, seeded behind Sania at seventh, also avoided an upset.

India’s other representatives did not fare as well as Sania; wild card Shikha Uberoi lost to Czech Hana Sromova, and Sanaa Bhambri similarly bowed to Angelica Widjaja of Indonesia.

But spirits are still high surrounding Sania’s graceful success. Sania was delighted that former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly attended the match—the two are “pretty good friends,” according to the tennis star. She also focused on her strategy to achieve success in the upcoming rounds, citing her aggressive stroke. “‘Though I have learnt to be more patient than before, I know I have to continue to play my strokes. I will win some and will lose some. But as long as the winners are more than losers I don’t mind,” she said.

As the Indian cricket team looks ahead to tomorrow’s game against the West Indies and Friday’s game against Australia in the DFL tri-series, they must have a mixed opinion about the prospect of more rain pelting down on Kuala Lumpur’s Kinara Oval. Rain has proved the plague of the series so far, shutting down both of India’s matches, prompting the Malaysian organisers to advance the start time for the matches by one hour to 1.30 PM local time.

But though the rain during the first of India’s matches had carried away a possible victory against the West Indies, it came as a blessed intervention in the midst of a rather dismal showing against Australia on Saturday.
The Indian team was struggling at 35 for five after eight overs, chasing a D-L target of 170 in 29 overs after a brief bout of rain had stalled play. The match was abandoned after a second, more steady downpour.

This was fortunate for India, because the Australians had played an excellent game. Mitchell Johnson was the man of the hour, with his four top-notch wickets in eight balls lending him his best career figures to date, at 4-11. Sachin Tendulkar, the hero of the earlier match, was again the highest scorer against Johnson, but at only 12 runs.

The Australians, who elected to bat, were kept somewhat in check by the Indian slow bowlers, but Shayne Watson’s 79 runs and Michael John Clarke’s 64 runs were only part of a large team effort that left their total at 244/10. “At halfway we probably had a good game of cricket,” said Australian captain Ricky Ponting. “But then the rain came and when they were five wickets down you’d like to think we would have won the game, but you never know.” Our own Rahul Dravid was in agreement: “In terms of 35 for five, yes we were a bit lucky but I’m more disappointed that we didn’t get a full 50 overs,” he said.

This puts India in a tough position to visit the Final on Sunday, after the West Indies secured their placement with a surprise three-wicket victory against Australia on Monday. Consequently, the West Indies series point total stands at nine in three matches, the Australians at seven points in three matches, and the Indian tally at only two points, gained from the rain-induced draw on Saturday. This means that India will have to win both of its upcoming games in order to make it to the final. Some, like IndiaDaily’s Cricket Blog, assert that this is not possible.

In response, coach Greg Chapell puts forth the standard Sports Coach Take-It-One-Game-at-a-Time attitude, and all of the players have bent their minds towards ascertaining the Windies’ weaknesses, predicting the state of the pitch, and gearing themselves up for the challenge. Young right armer Munaf Patel said, “There’s bound to be a bit of pressure on us, but there’s pressure on West Indies too. There’s pressure on all teams. …We did not come here to play games and watch the final.”

Madras University’s recent announcements of the creation of a virtual university and a digital library are being echoed around the country. The august institution may not be the trendsetter in these circumstances, as technological expansion is spilling out too concurrently for any one source to be the inspiration.

Even before Madras University’s 150th anniversary celebrations kicked off, the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi announced its plans to digitize over 1,600 rare books and 2,500 delicate manuscripts dating from the 16th to the 19th century. The University’s library is also famous for housing original documents pertaining to India’s independence from Britain in 1947.

This digitzation project holds import over regular digital libraries, because old papers are extremely fragile, and only by making digital copies can they be preserved with assurance for generations to come. In addition, digital copies will be available to a much larger group of people, because this solution eliminates the concern of manuscripts fragmenting through frequent handling. S.M. Afzal, a university official, asserted that the University’s “primary aim is to help researchers from across the country to access the rare books, papers and manuscripts.”

Meanwhile, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) declared the launch of its new Digital Campus. The title of ‘Digital Campus’ has been accomplished with the distribution of 3,000 laptops to students and 1,500 laptops to faculty members. Wi-Fi has also been installed in certain locations such as the MAHE University building, its Food Court and select hostels. Soon, 35 hostels and 24 academic buildings will have wireless connectivity.

MAHE’s additional decision to include its Medical program in this digital expansion gives this program the additional distinction of being the very first university in the country to offer eLearning opportunities to medical students as part of the MCI curriculum. Over 2,500 medical students will benefit from their eLearning system.

MAHE’s newly unveiled 24-hour 7-day-a-week Data Center features world-class technology to facilitate the application and admissions processes. Online admission tests and online applications will be connected to centers for examination across the country. The Data Center also houses the Video Conferencing system through which live lectures from Beaumont Hospital in the U.S.A. will reach the Indian medical students. Business and administrative courses will profit by the new PeopleSoft ERP system, and the IT programs will receive courses through the multi-media VSAT system.

The Manipal education network has come a long way from its origins in the Kasturba Medical College that opened its doors to 100 students in 1953. Today, than 4,000 students train to become doctors at KMC–and the larger Manipal Group consists of 2 Universities, 7 campuses in Bangalore, Mangalore, Manipal, Malaysia, Sikkim, Nepal and Dubai, 24 professional colleges and 70,000 students.

Furthermore, Manipal Universal Learning (ManipalU) has long sinced offered distance and continuing education to nearly 55,000 students at 500 Learning Centers around the country. No doubt its new commitment to its eLearning program will help expand all its programs further. Said Dr. Ramdas Pai, the President of MAHE, “We firmly believe in leveraging technology and systems in imparting world class education.”

The Indian cricket team’s loss to the West Indies in the DFL series’ second cricket one-dayer seems chiefly a product of bad luck. The Windies won their first game of the series, after ceding to Australia by a margin of 78 runs in Tuesday’s opening match. Mr. Duckworth and Mr. Lewis’s method ultimately gave the West Indies an edge of 29 runs over India.

But the Indians played a spectacular game, with Sachin Tendulkar emerging as the match’s hero, whose dazzling unbeaten 141 rocketed the team to 309 for five. All eyes were on Tendulkar, back in after recuperating from an injury, and he responded phenomenally, smashing thirteen fours and five sixes. The master batsman an 41 singles and nine twos, a testament to his fitness. Irfan Pathan’s 64 in the middle overs and Suresh Raina’s 34 in the final overs combined with Tendulkar’s stellar performance for a strong showing from the entire Indian team. Still, the day was Tendulkar’s, who got his 40th ODI century—some great pictures are available at India Daily.

But it was all for naught, when the rain came pouring down on Kuala Lumpur’s Kinara Oval. The Windies garnered 141 runs for two in 20 overs, which exceded the required par score of 112/2. The rain’s arrival was importune not only for the endscore implied by the D/L method, but also because a spectacular game of cricket was set up. Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, with 45 and 37 runs, respectively, were paving the way for Brian Lara, warming up with 27 runs.

The stormy weather, which was also the bane of the earlier Sri Lankan series, was hardly the only complicating factor, either. A faulty pitch appeared to be the cause of awkward bounce, which, in turn, was blamed for at least three of the five Indian wickets that fell. Captain Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were out bowled due to balls that were kept low. Dravid and Tendulkar also recieved forceful blows on their wrists from sharply rising balls.

The Indian team lodged an informal complaint, leading to concession by ICC Match Referee Chris Broad that the uneven bounce was caused by a “fault” in the pitch. Though the next two games will be played on the adjacent pitch, instead, nothing can be done now to compensate for India’s loss. The “uneven bounce from the Pavilion End of the ground,” said Broad, “has not been ideal, [but] it has not prevented India from scoring 309 runs.”

Do moustachioed men garner more respect? This is precisely the question that occured to Jhabua district police chief Mayank Jain as he watched local people at a seminar defer to a number of constables in particular—those with moustaches. “There were two or three moustachioed constables in the gathering and I saw people were looking at them very respectfully and pleasantly,” related Mr. Jain. “That is when I thought of making more policemen grow moustaches.”

Yes, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Mr. Jain introducted his Moustache Motivation Program. (This alliterative name is my own creation, and not formally endorsed by the constabulary of the northern province.) At the time of BBC’s report, ten policemen are already benefiting from an extra 30 rupees per month in return for sporting a moustache, and Jain anticipated that many more of the district’s 1,100 police officers would take the initiative.

Of course, one must be very wary of the kind of whiskers one grows, lest the effect inspire more fear than respect. Jain was careful to keep watch on the shape of the moustaches as they developed, but the police chief seemed very pleased with the results. “Moustaches are improving the personalities of our constables. They are acquiring an aura of their own. They are creating a positive impression on the local people and getting a lot of respect.”

The local people are the target audience, after all; the BBC article noted that “men in rural India have traditionally sported impressive moustaches to assert their masculinity.” My attention was drawn to the original article after a recent opinion column posted on DNA India about the same moustache incentive, quipped, “A big moustache is associated with bravery, though it is suspect if it is directly proportionate to size.”

Opinions are not universal; though you could not possibly have forgotten the 2002 story (and subsequent terrible puns–see the BBC article) about an airline steward who was grounded and forbidden from flying until he shaved off his handlebar moustache, we’ll provide you with a recap. Officials at Indian Airlines cited the flamboyant moustache as a health hazard, since the moustache’s owner, Victor Joyanth De, frequently handled food for the passengers.

Mr. De, who had worked for the airline for 20 years, 5 years scant of his 25-year relationship with the moustache that then stretched from cheekbone to cheekbone, was ultimately allowed to return to work. A ruling of the Calcutta court allowing Mr. De to return to work alongside his wife, also a flight attendant, apparently hinged on the fact that Indian Airline’s restrictions only disallowed moustaches that were “droopy.”

Mr. De had been adamant about his moustache: “I never dreamed of trimming it. All the time I worked for the airline, my moustache attracted many adoring eyes inside the plane and on the ground.”

So what’s your view? A well-written blog post I happened across when trying to find some more examples of public opinion, both noted something else that was puzzling me—namely, if moustache equals masculinity, how does Bollywood and its lower number of moustaches per capita continue to survive, or conversely, affect public opinion—as well as lauding moustaches as symbols of “manhood, courage and panache.” I think the wives of the moustache-compensated policemen are most likely pleased to have such panache in the house, but the idea did occur to me that a few of them might offer double the sum to their husband’s if they prefer a clean-shaven look.

It’s a busy time for Aishwarya Rai, taking time out of her traffic-stopping routine to trek all the way to London for the promotion of her newest film, ‘Provoked.’ The media has criticised Ash in the past for failing to adequately promote her movies, such as her most recent ‘Mistress of Spices,’ which had (they claim) a correspondingly low box office return.

Not so for ‘Provoked.’ Producer J. Murli Manohar is as pleased and impressed with his leading lady as…a pleased and impressed producer. “Considering how busy she is, we’re very lucky to get her down here to address the British media,” says Dr. Manohar, of Ash’s scheduled rendezvous with the London media on September 18th. And not only that, the film itself has the producer beaming: “Whenever and wherever we’ve shown Provoked audiences have unanimously agreed this is Ash’s best performance to date.”

The film is certainly a venue in which Aishwarya can demonstrate her ability to do far more than walk around looking beautiful, and her performance got excellent reviews earlier this year at Cannes. Directed by Jagmohan Mundhra, ‘Provoked’ recounts the true events in the life of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who, after enduring ten years of physical, sexual and mental abuse from her husband, finally snapped. The tormented woman killed her husband, and was sent to jail, but not before attracting the attention of a group of social workers named the Southall Black Sisters. The Sisters drew together protests against Kiranjit’s punishment, in response to which the British judicial system ultimately repealed her sentence.

Ash’s devotion to the film is also evident in her attempts to include the real Kiranjit Ahluwalia in its promotion. Manohar also asserted that Ash will be dubbing the Hindi version of the film, if not the Tamil and Telugu releases. The release is being held until all the Indian versions are ready, in order to bring them out simultaneously.

And Dr. Manohar is right in observing that Ash is extraordinarily busy. Last week, she was shooting a soap commercial, directed by Rohit Shetty (who worked with the actress previoulsy in ‘Kuch Na Kaho’). The filming location on the streets of Dubai proved to be a dangerous one when an increasing clump of fans stopped to watch, eventually clogging the wide Shaikh Zayed Road and causing a traffic jam!

According to rumor, Ash will next be shooting a music video for ‘Dhoom 2,’ along with the equally-gorgeous Hrithik Roshan, directed by Arjun Sablok (’Na Tum Jaano Na Hum’ and ‘Neal n Nikki’). Her subsequent trip to Barcelona for an ad campaign is a greater certainty, provided that she can pack all of this in before heading to London!

One of the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions in India is celebrating its 150th birthday. The President of Madras University, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose love for the university spans back to his time as a student there, inaugurated the celebrations last week. He urged more research, explaining that “Good teaching emanates from research,” and emphasized the importance of connectivity and technology, saying, “Technology is a learning tool, linking economy and the environment.”

But he was hardly making idle claims, as Madras University is commemorating its anniversary best by undergoing a glorious expansion. The President opened a virtual university portal alongside Calcutta and Bombay Universities (the country’s other two oldest universities), which will enable millions of students to have access to a level of high-level education that they previously did not. Meanwhile, P. Chidambaram, the Union Finance Minister, announced a grant for a super-speciality nanotechnology R&D center that will operate under the university.

Following in the theme of technological expansion, the inauguration celebrations also marked the opening of a new digital library. The President additionally released sixteen books about the university, slightly over ten per cent of the—yes—150 university books honoring the anniversary. A commemorative postage stamp an a First Day Cover were also unveiled, along with a new anthem composed by lyricist Vairamuthu.

Perhaps the most important ceremony—if not as vast in its import as the tri-university portal—was the re-opening of the Senate House. This historic structure on the university campus was built in 1869, and showcases an important example of Indo-Islamic architecture, with trellis work and valances adorning its porches and minarets. Despite its significance as the site of many of the city’s important functions, the structure fell into disrepair in the 1960s. The Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI), aided by other organizations, took up renovation in 2003.

Other expansion plans for the University are unfolding, including a new 150-acre campus (yes, 150) to provide space for new centers and programs. Proposed locations include a plot behind the Taramani campus, one one the New Mahabalipuram Road and one on the Old Mahabalipuram Road. The University plans to begin five new centers, for population studies, herbal science, environmental sciences, ocean management and an institute for infrastructural studies.

Madras University, founded in 1857 some 140 years before Madras was named Chennai, has its origins in a public petition to create a university. It remained the only university in India’s southern region until independence was won in 1947. Among its many notable alumni are President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former Presidents Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Neelam Sanjeera Reddy, and Nobel Prize Winners Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Its already expansive four campuses, housing over fifty departments, look to continue flourishing over the next 150 years.

“Medieval ideas” and the “Talabanisation of Amity” are a few of the epithets being hurled at the actions of the administration of Amity University in Noida. And the cause? A new and stringent enforcement of a dress code that does not allow the students to wear jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, and certain kinds of skirts.

The dress code mandates that, instead, men must wear formal shirts and trousers, with Blazers during the winter, and women must wear saris, salwar kameezes, or restricted types of Western formal attire. Formal shoes are required for both genders. The administration reasons that the code is neccessary to present a professional attitude to corporate recruiters and industry officials who visit the campus. But, some students assert, they already know that it is important to dress formally under certain circumstances. “When placements are around the corner, everybody dresses formally, because we want to give a good impression to potential employers,” said one third year student. “We are sensible enough to know what is good for us.”

This seems to be a sentiment that is echoed universally. And it is not so much the rules themselves but the disciplinarian measures taken against such an innocent crime as a pair of blue jeans that have the students up at arms. If a student breaks the dress code, he or she can be suspended from classes or even expelled. “I heard that a girl was suspended for a week,” one student intimated. Another proclaimed: “In our department we have been told if you do not obey the dress code you will be rusticated. If I had gotten admission into Delhi University, I would never have come here.”

The truly totalitarian part of recent events is the university’s threats to take action against students even discussing the issue with the media, according to NDTV. This is part of the reason why students are shying away from being named in interviews, and some, like the one who simply told NDTV, “I don’t want to get into trouble. I can’t say anything,” have been intimidated into near-silence.

In retaliation, students proposed to boycott classes and staged various demonstrations. The strike was called off, however, after the university management agreed to sit down with students and hear their greivances. But that was, quite clearly, all that they were willing to do. The administration pointed out that the dress code was actually instituted two years ago, but, as Major General K.J. Singh, the Vice-Chancellor, said, “It is being implemented strictly from this academic year.”

The students were forced to admit that they had received a document containing the information when they were admitted to the university. Still, a suggested dress code is a far cry away from being suspended for a few personal choices. Yet another student insisted: “We are 18 and we are not stupid. We ourselves won’t come in provocative clothes. If we can vote we can also decide how to dress.”

Now that the Willis Lifestyle India Fashion Week, whose expansion of India’s fashion industry was cause of earlier debate, has concluded, it’s time to turn our eyes to what the event was truly about: fashion.

The collections, designed for the spring and summer of 2007, displayed a variety of pallettes, inspirations, and styles, though many remarked early in the week that this was not the stuff of major innovation. The first day witnessed a garden-themed collection by Mona Pali with leaf and flower motifs, but was largely dominated by the clean whites of Rohit Bal and Rahul of Cue. Bal was acknowledged as the showstopper of the day, weaving traditional styles subtly into his modern works, with silver and gold metal thread and a recurring chakra motif.

As the week progressed, however, it seemed that the whites introduced by Bal and Rahul had dictated a theme, with designers such as Meera and Muzaffar Ali adding kalamkari cloth to white, Anamika Khanna pairing white with block prints, and Gaurav Gupta introduing an all-white sari with gold embroidered sash-like across the front. The Alis’ ‘Kotwara’ collection, decorated with Urdu calligraphy in metallic layers, was universally praised.

The end of the week proved a battle on the catwalk in the minds of reporters, some of whom believed that Rajesh Pratap Singh stole the show, and others maintaining that Deepika Govind held the day. The thread that connects the success of these two designers may be a coloured one; Pratap’s collection was a blend of flourescent yellows and greens, deep reds, and otherwise stately garments were leavened with brightly colored flowers at the hems. He truly proved his prowess in silhouette innovation, however, bringing back his signature pin tucks along with yokes running in every conceivable direction. Meanwhile, Govind’s success was based upon a creative combination of red, charcoal, and brown, whose dramatic meeting had been inspired by the colours’ conceptual personalities. Her off-shoulder tops and long jackets used these themes to notable effect.

Bollywood presences added glamour to the already-sparkling event. Sameera Reddy previewed the Manish Malhotra collection, while Riya Sen attended a seminar on hair styling on Friday. Former model Arjun Rampal ’stopped the show’ walking the ramp in Rohit Bal’s all-white ensemble. “I was very nervous and scared,” the actor confessed. “Till the moment I stepped on the ramp, I was having second thoughts. But I did it all for my friend Rohit Bal!”

But, at the end of the week, the true victors are those designers whose collections have been picked up by fashion houses for production. Despite earlier apprehensions, several walked away with promising deals, including Ranna Gill, whose Uzbek collection was picked up by Maria Luisa of Paris. Rumours fly about Maria Luisa showing additional interest in Pratap’s stunning designs. A relative newcomer to the business, Jatin Verma, was frankly excited that “fashion houses from Africa, New York, London and Hong Kong have expressed interest in my collection. In fact, I have improved from last time when I received orders from just two to three buyers. This time around the number has doubled and six-seven buyers have placed orders with me.” It seems that expansion has been fruitful, rather than hasty, and India’s designers are poised to take off all over the world!

It looks as if Sania will not even mirror last year’s singles advance to the fourth round in the doubles competition. In the second round, all looked promising as she and partner Liezel Huber of South Africa made a striking victory, 6-0 6-3, against France’s Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. This success in the second round rocketed the pair into the third round, where they battled against sixth-seeded Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

Here the pair met their match, battling valiantly but losing 6-3, 3-6, 5-7. Schiavone was Mirza’s undoing in the doubles competition earlier last week, and plays an excellent game. The doubles competition was Sania’s last hope, after losing a similarly tough struggle in the mixed doubles, with partner Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic, to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovania and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Montenegro, 2-6, 6-3, 7-10.

Meanwhile, Leander Paes keeps the tricolor flying at the US Open, having advanced to the quarterfinals in men’s doubles. He and his Czech partner Martin Damm glided past Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Graydon Oliver of the USA, winning 6-4, 6-2 in the third round. The sixth-seeded duo have executed equally facile victories over the Czech combo Petr Pala and Robin Vik, 6-1 6-2, in the first round, and Alexander Peya of Austria and Bjorn Phau of Germany, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the second round.