Art/Culture

By IANS London: A new book by a British academic offering a fresh alternative to popular accounts of the 1857 war of independence is just out. In "The Indian Uprising of 1857-8: Prisons, Prisoners and Rebellion", University of Leicester historian Clare Anderson brings to life the impact of the revolt on marginalized Indian communities across North India. Recent debates commemorating the abolition of the slave trade have only scratched the surface of raising public awareness and understanding of Britain's history as an imperial power.

London, May 10 (IANS) The recent blockbuster "Spider-man 3" has been declared the most mistake-filled movie of the year by website moviemistakes.com. The site has counted at least 16 slip-ups in the movie, reports ananova.com. Some gaffes pointed out by the site are: - In numerous scenes Spider-Man is wearing contact lenses - although earlier movies established that Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) spider powers give him perfect vision.

By DPA Bangkok: Thailand's first animated film of the life of the Lord Buddha will open in cinemas on Dec 5, commemorating the 80th birthday of the much-revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, media reports said Thursday. The 100-minute production received the backing of eight government agencies on Wednesday, said the Bangkok Post. Producer Valapha Pimthong said she chose to make a cartoon version of the Life of Buddha to make it easier for young people to understand the Buddha's teachings.

Athens: Greek archaeologists have discovered a rare find of textiles and fruit dating back over 2,600 years in a bronze funeral urn in northern Peloponnese. The seventh-century BC urn, dating between the Late Geometric and the Early Archaic era, contained ash, bones and pomegranate fruits. It was found in a construction site near the city of Argos, approximately 150 km west of Athens, the culture ministry said Wednesday.

Bodh Gaya, May 10 (IANS) The Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, which is sacred to millions the world over since Lord Buddha attained enlightenment there about 2,550 years ago, is threatened by an unknown disease. "Hundreds of fresh leaves of the holy tree are falling off daily like never before. Something is wrong with the tree," said a monk at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, about 100 km from Bihar's state capital Patna.

By Sarwar Kashani New Delhi: As the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya reverberated with Qawwalis towards the end of the 703rd annual Urs, thousands of milling devotees - Muslims, Hindus and other faiths - were lost in a world of their own. The ambience, called Mehfil-e-Sama, demanded so. Qawwali singers, tunefully shouting "Moula Ali Moula Moula", compelled every visitor to erase the concept of time from the minds and experience the spiritual ecstasy. That is what precisely defines the goal of Sufism - a mystical belief and practice seeking the truth of divine love and knowledge.

TwoCircles.net newsdesk The American actress Drew Barrymore was named today as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and charged with the task of using her celebrity status as a film star to advocate for school feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest countries. Ms. Barrymore, 32, becomes the latest Ambassador for the WFP, joining Kenyan world marathon record-holder Paul Tergat, himself a former recipient of school feeding programmes, among others. Last year WFP fed 19.4 million children across 71 countries through such projects.

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter 15 religious shrines in Pakistan are covered under the 1974 Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. This information was given by the Minister of External Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. 1974 Bilateral Protocol on Visit to Religious Shrines signed by India and Pakistan ensures that places of religious worship mentioned in the protocol are properly maintained and their sanctity preserved.

By IANS

Ahmedabad : "Parzania", a film on Gujarat's sectarian violence of 2002 that faced screening 'bans' in the state, will now have a second show in Ahmedabad thanks to an NGO.