A major reshuffle of Union Cabinet took place at New Delhi on 28^th October 2012 as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday effected a major revamp of his council of ministers, inducting 22 faces, including seven of cabinet rank, in what is said to be the last major ministerial shuffle before the 2014 general election.

After the major cabinet reshuffle the latest picture of Union Cabinet is as below:

Cabinet Ministers

In the month of September-October, Hindus all over the world get enthused in festive fervor. With “Mahalaya” Bengalis get busy to complete the final preparations for their greatest festival - Durga Puja.

Mahalaya is an auspicious occasion observed seven days before the Durga Puja, and heralds the advent of Durga, the goddess of supreme power. It's a kind of invocation or invitation to the mother goddess to descend on earth - "Jago Tumi Jago". This is done through the chanting of mantras and singing devotional songs.

Since the early 1930s, Mahalaya has come to associate itself with an early morning radio program called “Mahisasura Mardini” or “The Annihilation of the Demon.” This All India Radio (AIR) program is a beautiful audio montage of recitation from the scriptural verses of “Chandi Kavya”, Bengali devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama. The program has also been translated into Hindi set to similar orchestration and is broadcast at the same time for a pan-Indian audience.

In this era of electronic and technology, the charm of “Mahalaya” is decreasing somewhat, these days people are reluctant to rise early in the morning to listen the broadcast by All India Radio, Kolkata. Because the cassette and CDs are available in the market and people can easily listen the same at any time. But the charm behind listening “Mahalaya” in Radio at 4.00 AM in the morning is different.

One man who'll always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all is Birendra Krishna Bhadra, the magical voice behind the “Mahisasura Mardini.” The legendary narrator recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth, in his inimitable style.

Bhadra has long passed away, but his recorded voice still forms the core of the Mahalaya program. In a sonorous, reverberating voice Birendra Bhadra renders the Mahalaya recital for two thrilling hours, mesmerizing every household with the divine aura of his narration, as the Bengalis moments of prayer.

 “Mahisasura Mardini” is a remarkable piece of audio drama matchless in Indian culture. Though the theme is mythical and the mantras Vedic, this program is a landmark composition. It's scripted by Bani Kumar, and narrated by Bhadra. The enchanting music is composed by none other than the immortal Pankaj Mullick, and the songs are rendered by famous singers of yesteryears, including Hemant Kumar and Arati Mukherjee.

As the recital begins, the serene morning air resonates with the long drawn sound of the sacred conch shell, immediately followed by a chorus of invocation, melodiously setting the stage for the recitation of the Chandi Mantra.
The story element is captivating. It speaks of the increasing cruelty of the demon king Mahisasura against the gods. Unable to tolerate his tyranny the gods plead with Vishnu to annihilate the demon. The Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara (Shiva) come together to create a powerful female form with ten arms - Goddess Durga or 'Mahamaya', the Mother of the Universe who embodies the primeval source of all power.

The gods then bestow upon this Supreme creation their individual blessings and weapons. Armed like a warrior, the goddess rides a lion to battle with the Mahisasura. After a fierce combat the 'Durgatinashini' is able to slay the 'Asura' king with her trident. Heaven and earth rejoice at her victory. Finally, the mantra narration ends with the refrain of mankind's supplication before this Supreme Power:

"Ya devi sarbabhuteshshu, sakti rupena sanksthita Namasteshwai Namasteshwai Namasteshwai namo namaha."

 courtesy: hinduism.about.com

In a significant move towards restoring peace in the remote corner of Assam, a memorandum of settlement (MoS) to this effect was signed in New Delhi on Monday the 8^th of October 2012. Two factions of Dima Halom Daogah (DHD) - one headed by Dilip Nunisa and the other by Jewel Garlosa - on Monday signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and  Assam government to end insurgency in Assam's trouble-torn Dima Hasao district.

According to the MoS, the existing North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) will now be restructured as the Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council (DHATC) with more financial and administrative powers. The Assam government had earlier changed the name of North Cachar (NC) Hills to Dima Hasao district.

Union home minister Sushil Kuma Shindhe , Assam Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Union home secretary RK Singh, state chief secretary NK Das, DGP J N Choudhuri and interlocutor PC Haldar were also present during the ceremony.

The history of both the faction of DHD (Dima Halam Daoga) is not unknown to us. On 1^st January 2003, the DHD came into ceasefire agreement with the Govt. and since then peace talks with the Govt. was going. The DHD(J) was came into action from 2004 onwards as some leaders opted to came out from the DHD and formed a new organisation headed by Jewel Gorlosa and the name of the organisation was given as DHD(J) (Black Widow). On 2^nd October 2009, the DHD(J) cadres surrendered with arms in presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam Sri Tarun Gogoi and opted for peace talks with Government.  Since then the peace talks with both the factions of DHD’s was going on.

Now, as the most waited MoS have been signed, all section of people residing in this district may hope that a new era of peace will begin and development activities will get a momentum. People wants this Island of Peace now needs to restore its glory as it was decades ago.

Though actor Rajesh Khanna is no more with us but his activity in silver screen is not over yet. One of his film “Riyasat” has not been released yet and the same film is going to release on 28^th December 2012. 29^th December is birth anniversary of Late Rajesh Khanna and the makers of “Riyasat” are willing to release the film on the eve of his birth anniversary as a tribute to the former superstar of bollywood.

As per sources Rajesh Khanna played a very prominent role in “Riyasat”. The film is produced and directed by Ashok Tyagi and other artists in the film are Aryeman Ramsay,Raza Murad,Aryan Vaid.

So, people and fans of Rajesh Khanna can watch his last acting in the film “Riyasat” and remember his performances of great movies like Anand, Aradhana, Safar, Amar Prem, kati Patang etc.

Rahesh Khanna made his He made his debut in the film 'Aakhri Khat' opposite Indrani Mukherjee, and gone a long way with success. As we all know he has given us lot of moment to remember with his acting. Now, we are eagerly waiting to watch his last performance in “Riyasat”. Hopefully, we are going to see another memorable performance from “Kakaji”.

Recently a Bengali Short film (Telefilm) named “Je Prem” is awaiting for release.  The 30 minutes film based on a story of Chhanda Chattopadhay is made by DSB Production of Kolkata. The film is about love and tragedy and the same is directed by Soumya Banerjee. Many artists from Barak Valley of Southern Assam are involved in the film. One of the main role of “Sumit” is played by Swarup Purkayastha of Silchar and the newcomer from Kolkata Debarati Guha played the role of “Mimi”. The music for the film is composed by Dipak Bhattacharjee of Silchar. He also sang a song for the film along with new generation singer Kamalika Chakraborty of Hailakandi who already released some music album of new genre music. Swarup Purkayastha also sang a song in the film. The film is now in final stage of editing and about  to release. It is learnt from sources that the film will be telecasted on four TV channels of Kolkata simultaneously. The other artists of the film are Dr. BB Singh, Jhumur Dasgupta, Bani Mukherjee, Joyshree Roy Choudhury, Sukhen Paul and many more. Hope the telefilm will be a success and the artists of Barak Valley will be encouraged to be involved in many projects in future.

SocioTime wishes all the best for the telefilms “Je Prem” 

After the grand success of Kahaani, producer-director Sujoy Ghosh and presenter  Jayantilal Gada  have decided to make Kahaani 2 and Vidya Balan will be there in the  second part of Sujoy Ghosh's thriller. She was lauded for her bold, powerpacked performance in Milan Luthria's The Dirty Picture produced by Balaji Motion Pictures. Ever since, Vidya Balan has been rather selective about her roles so much so the actress hasn't signed a single film till date.

However, with Kahaani  cashing in on the success of the first part, Vidya was left with little choice but to give her nod to part two of the thriller. According to The Time of India Gada confirmed the news and said, "We are making  Kahaani 2 with Vidya. Kahaani tasted super success. So why shouldn't we ride on it? My nephew Kushal Gada and Sujoy will be jointly producing it."

Sujoy Ghosh, who is currently in the UK, busy lending finishing touches to the script, texted The Times of India saying, "Vidya is the reason I wrote Kahaani, so I need her in the sequel too. The good thing is she never tries to write the script but only encourages. She also listens to my grumbling."
Kahaani, which released worldwide on March 9, 2012, got critical acclaim as well as box office success. The film garnered rave reviews for its screenplay, cinematography, not to mention the performances of its lead actors including Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Vidya played Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband in the bustling city of Kolkata, right in the midst of Durga Puja festivities.

The movie grossed nearly Rs 104 crore worldwide within 50 days of its release. It also resulted in renewed interest in the city of joy as a filming location.

Sources: The Times of India

But on the part of private banks, the minimum average balance required is too high and a common customer often fails to fulfil the criteria and pays penalty and in some cases the customer stops operating the account further.

Top three private sector banks of India are ICICI Bank,HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. ICICI Bank's minimum monthly balance requirement is Rs 10,000 at metro and urban locations; Rs 5,000 at semi-urban branches; and Rs 2,000 in rural areas.

Similarly, the minimum monthly balance requirement at metro and urban areas is Rs 10,000 for Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. In the case of semi-urban areas, the minimum balance requirement is Rs 5,000 for the two banks. In rural areas, the minimum balance requirement is Rs 5,000 in the case of HDFC Bank and Rs 2,500 in the case of Axis Bank.

If the private banks waive or minimise the minimum average balance required for operating a Savings Bank account then the existing customers will be highly benefitted and new customers will come. Through there are no specific instructions from RBI regarding average minimum balance, the private banks are keeping such criteria. 

The case of harassment of men by women is not come to focus as there are no strong organisation to protect the men’s right against harassment by women. If we are thinking and giving equal status to both the genders in the society, we must have to think to give protection to men also as many people are suffering mentally and not finding any solution but to consult a psychiatrist. But a law should be there to punish the guilty women also who are giving mental or physical harassment to men which compels a men to take a drastic decision to commit suicide. A strong NGO fight for the rights of men and protect them.

This blog is not discouraging the women’s right against harassment from men. Everywhere the victim must be given proper justice and the guilty must be punished.

If anybody knows about such NGO which are protecting the men’s right against harassment from women then please inform here in this blog.  Aren’t the men are part of HUMAN BEING.

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