Song on lips, go for the Cup

This World Cup, when you cheer for India, sing your heart out.

A song for the Boys in Blue is on the cards, and the crooning glory has gone to Mumbai lad Rehan Khan, who won Fame X — a music reality show on SAB TV — on Friday night.

A music video will also be made for Rehan’s Inspire India Cricket Anthem, which will be aired in the run-up to World Cup 2007 in the West Indies from March 13.

The 23-year-old, who has bagged a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh along with a Sony-BMG record contract, follows in illustrious footsteps. The Indian team had Adnan Sami backing it with a song during the last World Cup. Besides cricketers, the video featured a bevy of Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor.

Daler Mehndi, the Bhangra popstar who was on the panel of Fame X judges, described Rehan as “a great singer as well as an excellent performer. He will make his own mark in the music industry”.

Here’s hoping Rehan’s X-factor will rub off on Dravid’s army.

Cops go begging, for space

Beggars have made Chennai police realise what they lack: space.

Muruganandam, a lawyer, had filed a PIL before the Madurai bench of Madras High Court seeking a ban on begging.

Under the Prevention of Begging Act, beggars can be fined Rs 50 and jailed for a month if caught for the first time. For repeat offenders, the law provides for imprisonment of up to six months.

Police commissioner M. Chidambaraswamy, in a counter-affidavit filed on Thursday, said arresting beggars was not a problem. “But where to keep them is the big question.”

Beggars are not criminals and cannot be lodged in the same cells meant for convicts, he said.

“We have written to the government about this,” the commissioner said.

The government has been asked to take steps to rehabilitate them and provide them alternative livelihood.

Besides, most beggars are not aware of the ban, Chidambaraswamy added.

Ghost schools

When the school bell rang, there was pindrop silence. No, it wasn’t a sign of student discipline, but a sad reminder that there were simply no students.

As many as 415 government schools in Andhra Pradesh and 64 in Hyderabad did not have a single pupil, according to a survey by the state council for higher secondary education. In 1,300 schools across the state, only a handful of children trickled in.

The empty classrooms have prompted the Andhra Pradesh government to think of shutting down nearly 6,700 schools, including 1,100 in Hyderabad.

According to a recent directive by the state education ministry, all schools with an attendance of less than 20 should be put under lock and key. The students would have to be shifted to other schools with more numbers.

Book walk

Did Pride and Prejudice take you to Victorian England and The Last Mughal to Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court? Here’s a chance to walk to the places you read about, and not tire your wings of fancy.

Book lovers in the capital took a trip down heritage lane on Saturday, following a route based on Krishna Sobti’s The Heart Has Its Reasons.

Men and women in their walking shoes had gathered at Digambar Jain Temple opposite Red Fort at 8.30 am. They trooped to Begum Samru Haveli, Ghantewala, Ballimaran, Ghalib’s Haveli and finally Fatehpuri for a slice of the old Delhi the Sahitya Akademi award-winner has portrayed in her book.

The walk was organised by Katha and the Delhi chapter of Intach to promote the habit of reading.

Chennai: Catch the Indian classical dance festival at Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, a four-hour car ride from Chennai.
The festival, on till February 20, will have performances by dancer Padma Subrahmanyam and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain besides a host of other well-known artistes.