Divorced Woman Cannot Use Former Husband's Surname

The Supreme Court of India has decreed, in effect, that a woman cannot use the husband's surname after the dissolution of the marriage.

Dinesh Patil married Nisha in 1995 after the death of his first wife. Dinesh Patil filed for divorce in 1997 and the marriage was dissolved by a decree of divorce awarded by a family court in 2006.

When Nisha continued using the surname after divorce, Dinesh Patil obtained an injunction in the matter from the family court. The Court held "By using the name/surname (of the husband), there is always a possibility of people being misled that she still is his wife, when in fact she is not." On an appeal by Nisha to the Bombay High Court, the Honourable High Court concurred with the lower court and held that she "cannot use the husband's name anywhere, including in her bank account."

Nisha challenged the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court through a  Special Leave Petition. She contended that the matter was beyond the jurisdiction of the family court. She argued that there was no rule governing the use of the husband's surname after divorce. She went on to contend that  "Surname is not a trademark which can be patented by an individual."

The Supreme Court dismissed the SLP and said that they were "not inclined to interfere with the impugned order" (of the lower courts).

Earlier this year, in a case where the Passport Office refused to renew the passport of a divorced Pune woman continuing to use her former husband's surname (even though the husband did not object to the use of his surname after the divorce), the Additional Solicitor General Darius Khambata submitted the opinion that a divorced woman could use her former husband's name. "The wife has a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India (right to life) to use any name including her married name notwithstanding the fact that her marriage has been dissolved."

We add our two pence (as has become our practice now!): the Additional Solicitor General seems to have erred in the interpretation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India; the interpretation seems to stretch Article 21 a tad too far. The observation made by the presiding officer of the Family Court put the matter in a nutshell. The family court's opinion is, essentially, commonsense, ladies and gentlemen!

62nd (US) National Book Awards

"Salvage the Bones", by Jesmyn Ward, the grim tale of a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina, has won the 62nd National Book Award for Fiction.

"The Swerve", by Stephen Greenblatt, which is an account of the rediscovery of the Latin poet Lucretius, has won the award in the non-fiction category.

The poetry prize has been awarded to Nikki Finney’s "Head Off & Split by Nikki Finney.

“Inside Out & Back Again" by Thanhhai Lai, which is the story of a Vietnamese family in Alabama, received the prize for Young People’s Literature.

Each of the winners receives US $10,000.

Honorary prizes were awarded to the Florida-based bookseller Mitch Kaplan and the poet John Ashbery.

Nargis Fakhri of "Rockstar" the New Brand Ambassador for Van Heusen Woman

Nargis Fakhri, the beautiful model of Czech-Pakistani origin, whose Bollywood debut movie "Rockstar" was released recently, has been named the brand ambassador for Van Heusen Woman.

In a statement, the company said: "The brand is on the cusp of a steep growth and is well poised to extend its appeal to a large western-wear sporting audience, while Nargis's career is set to take off equally well. The elegance and confidence she brings to the table is highly desirable and aspirational for today's women."

Mahindra Launches Rodeo Special Edition

Mahindra has introduced an all-new dual colour Special Edition of Mahindra Rodeo.

The new dual colour scheme of the Mahindra Rodeo has turned the vehicle into a visual delight.

The Special Edition sports the same 125 cc engine (used in the earlier version) which makes it a pleasure to ride even in dense traffic. The vehicle has a telescopic suspension, a 4-in-1 anti-theft lock, digital speedometer etc like the earlier version. The two-tone colour scheme is simply going to make the vehicle more attractive to its young patrons.

Amazon to Launch a Smartphone Next Year

According to Citigroup Inc, Amazon is working on a smartphone which is expected to be in the market by the last quarter of next year.

The phone is expected to be in the mid-range category. It is believed that the phone would use a processor from Texas Instruments and other chips from Qualcomm.

Amazon's Kindle is the best-selling e-book reader in the market. Its new tablet PC, Kidle Fire,  priced at $199, is expected o take on Apple's iPad in the forthcoming festive season.

Apparently, Amazon is keen on pursuing its foray into mobile devices further and use the proposed phone for selling more digital content like e-books and music.

Nissan Motors India to Launch MUV in August 2012

Nissan Motor India's urban MUV is expected to be launched in August 2012. It would resemble Nissan NV 200 and will be positioned against Toyota Innova .

According to an official of Nissan Motor India, the vehicle will be unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012.

The MUV is being developed as part of its joint venture with Ashok Leyland but will carry the Nissan logo and brand name.

Nissan and Ashok Leyland have already launched Dost, a 1.25-ton mini truck, as part of their joint venture.

UTV Motion Pictures Acquires Film Rights for Chetan Bhagat's "Revolution 2020"

UTV Motion Pictures have acquired the movie rights for Chetan Bhagat's latest novel "Revolution 2020".

Chetan Bhagat's first two books  "Five Point Someone" and "One Night @ the Call Center" have already been made into movies. The next two books  "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" and "2 States: The Story of My Marriage" are also slated to be made into movies.

According to Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, the book is extremely engaging and topical and it makes sense to strike the deal.

Chetan Bhagat tweeted: "Happy to announce the Revolution 2020 movie deal with UTV. Tell @utvmp who'd make a good Gopal, Aarti & Raghav!"

Google Launches Online Digital Music Store

Google launched its much-awaited digital music store on Wednesday.

Google will sell music also on its online store for apps, movies, and books.

While some songs are free, others cost $0.69, $0.99 and $1.29. The music available includes that of Coldplay, Drake and Pearl Jam.

The songs are automatically uploaded to the "online lockers" of customers. They can then be streamed over the browsers of computers and mobile phones.

Google thus opens a new front in its ongoing competitive war with Apple in providing services over mobile devices.

The Cheapest Tablet Aakash Bags 300,000 Pre-launch Orders

The commercial version of Aakash, the cheapest tablet PC in the world at Rs.3000/- (US$ 60 approx) which is going to be launched in December, has received nearly 300,000 pre-launch orders.

A subsidised version made by Datawind of UK is already being supplied free to schools and colleges. Datawind has supplied about 10,000 tablets to the National Mission for Education at Rs. 2,250 per piece. These are being used by students of the IITs, RECs, BITS, Teri University etc.

The bookings for Aakash far exceed the estimated demand of 250,000 tablet PCs in India. So far, the market has been dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

The next version of Aakash is going to sport a capacitative touch screen; the processor is also expected to be one running twice as fast as the one in the present model.

Plans are afoot to supply a keyboard that can be connected to the Tablet; the keyboard is expected to cost Rs.400.

Skoda Rapid Launched in India

Skoda Auto India launched its mid-sized sedan named Rapid in India on Wednesday.

Skoda expects the Rapid to become its best-selling car in the country - and, in the process, overtake its enormously successful Fabia.

Tarun Jha, Marketing Head, Skoda Auto India, said: "India is a very important market for us. There was a gap between our compact car Fabia and the sedan Laura. To fill that gap, we have launched the Rapid in the C segment."

Petrol as well as Diesel versions of the car will be available. Given the price difference between Petrol and Diesel, the company expects the diesel version to sell more.

The petrol version is priced between Rs.6.75 lac and Rs.8.99 lac whereas the diesel version is priced between Rs.7.95 lac and Rs.9.19 lac. (Prices ex-showroom, New Dehi.)

Skoda Rapid is driven by a 1600 cc engine.

The Company is planning to expand its dealer network to cope with the expected rise in demand  for its cars.

Tarun Jha said "Currently we have 82 dealerships and it will be increased to about 100 by the end of this year. Next year, we will add another 20 outlets."

Facebook Cautions Users Against Spam

Facebook has said that its users are experiencing a heavy spate of spam says it is on top of a wave of spam involving sex and violence. It has asked its users to be vigilant and safeguard their accounts.

According to the dapd news agency, Facebook has said ``... our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack'' and that ``we are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks.''

The  Bangalore news paper Mid Day claimed that the accounts of nearly two lakh Facebook users in Bangalore have been hacked and that web links to their pictures morphed and manipulated into pornographic content have been sent to the the accounts of their friends.

There have been reports that some of the users are closing their Facebook accounts because of the embarrassment they have experienced.

According to a Bloomberg report, Facebook is said to have identified the culprits behind the spam of hardcore pornographic material and that appropriate action is being initiated.

Faceook is said to have taken steps to greatly contain the spam attack which has taken advantage of some security loopholes in some browsers.. Facebook, in a statement, said: "Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us."

UK Announces A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Scholarship for Indian Students

David Willets, Minister for Universities and Science, UK, has announced a $400,000 A.J.P. Abdul Kalam Scolarship for Indian Students enrolling in postgraduate programs in Engineering, science and technology.

The scheme which is offered by Queen's University, Belfast, provides scholarships to 100 Indian students.

Willet said "India runs second only to China in terms of oversees students pursuing higher education in UK."  According to him, there are some 50,000 Indian students pursuing various courses in UK.

India's Longest Railway Service Inaugurated with the Introduction of Vivek Express

A weekly train christened "Vivek Express" from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari (Tamilnadu) at the southern tip of India was inaugurated yesterday.

The train traverses the longest rail route in the country: 4286 Km. The train has 52 stops - and can be expected to have just as many until some politician or the other starts poking his nose in the matter ostensibly for the sake of "public convenience". It is the eighth longest rail route in the world.

The Vivek Express has 18 coaches as of now: six general (unreserved) second class coaches, seven second class sleeper coaches, one two-tier air-conditioned coach, two three-tier air-conditioned coaches, two SLR's, and one pantry car.

The fare by second class sleeper is an astonishingly low at Rs.673/- for the 4286 KM covered in82 hours 30 minutes. The AC 3-tier fare is Rs.1878/- and AC 2-Tier fare is Rs.2573/-.

The figures may be more telling when compared with airfares. The low-economy airfare (one-way) from Dibrugarh to Coimbatore (not Kanyakumari which is  farther from Coimbatore) is Rs.12,200 whereas a round trip form Dibrugarh to Coimbatore costs Rs.9500/-.

Paban Singh Ghatovar, Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region, flagged of the train on its southern course at Dibrugarh railway station. Prithibi Majhi, Revenue Minister (Assam) and Keshav Chandra, General Manager, North East Frontier Railway, were also present at the inaugural function.

However, the regular weekly service commences on 26th November 2011. The train would leave Dibrugarh at 11.45 PM every Saturday and reach Kanyakumari at 10.25 AM the following Wednesday.

Prior to Vivek Express, the Himsagar Express between Jammu Tawi and Kanyakumar was the longest railway route (3715 Km covered in 69 hours 30 minutes) in India. The  Dibrugarh Chennai Express route (3352 KM covered in 68 hr 30 minutes) was the next. Incidentally, the longest train route in the world is between Moscow and Vladivostok (9,259 Km in 178 hours).

Vivek Express is a boon to the South Indians - particularly the enterprising Tamilians and Malayalees - working in the North East and to the increasing number of North Eastern students and working personnel in the South. The train may well be expected to promote tourism too and bridge the cultural divide.

We hope there would be many more trains connecting the North East with the South (and other areas as well) so that there is an increased interaction between the North East and the rest of the country. We need that very badly - if total national integration were not to remain a distant dream.

Motorola Launches Defy+

Motorola has launched the Motorola Defy+.

The phone costs Rs 19,000. The expected street price, however, is Rs 17,990.

Motorola Defy+ has a 3.7 inch touch screen and sports a 5 MP camera.

Motorola Defy+ is powered by a 1-GHz processor. It employs the Android 2.3 Operating system (Gingerbread).

The phone's browser supports Adobe Flash 10.

Defy+ extends support to Gtalk.

Motorola Defy+ is claimed to provide 7.1 hours of talk time and 16-day standby battery life.

Huawie Launches a Tablet: MediaPad

Huawei has launched a tablet PC 'MediaPad' and two handsets 'Sonic' and 'Ideos X3' supporting cloud services to strengthen its product portfolio in India.

In a statement to the PTI, Anurag Marang, Marketing Director (Devices), Huawei, said: "We launched our devices earlier this year and by December-end, we should have 10-odd devices. India is a very important market for us and we are aggressively expanding our product-line in India. Next year, the plan is to have 20-30 devices in our portfolio."

The company is also looking at strengthening its retail presence and expects to have 10,000 outlets across more than 50 cities.

The MediaPad runs on Android 3.2 Honeycomb and has a 7-inch screen. It uses a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor from Qualcomm. It has a 1.3 MP camera on the front and and a 5 MP camera at the rear. It costs Rs 28,359.

Huawei has also launched two handsets supporting Cloud+ service under which users will get 16 GB of storage.

Huawei Sonic costs Rs 9,210 while Ideos X3 costs Rs 10,229. The operating system in both is Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Sonic has a 3.5-inch multi-touch HVGA display, 512 MB in-built storage and an additional storage of 20 GB of which 4 GB is provided through a Micro SD Card and 16GB in the form of storage on "cloud net drive".

Ideos offers X3 features dual camera (3.2MP and VGA) and 3.2-inch screen.

Micromax To Launch Superphone: Micromax A85

Micromax is launching A85, a higher-end phone.

The phone is expected to cost about Rs.19,000/- which makes it the most economical mobile phone in the segment.

The Micromax A85 supports MP3, WAV and AAC musical formats while the video formats supported are MP4, H.263 and 3GP formats.

The phone has a built-in FM receiver too.It supports GPRS, 3G and Wi-Fi as well.

The phone extends support to Email, Push Email, Document Viewer/Editor and Fax.

The Micromax Superfone A85 has support for social networking and connectivity too. It extends support to YouTube, Google Talk, Picassa, and Instant Messenger.

The key features of the Micromax A85 include:

    * Android v2.2 (Froyo) operating system
    * 1 GHz Cortex-A9 Dual Core processor
    * 3.8-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen
    * Dual camera- 5MP with 7.2x zoom and 0.3 MP front facing camera
    * 512 MB RAM
    * Motion Sensor
    * 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery
    * 8 GB internal memory
    * 32 GB extensible memory

Micormax Superphone A85 may well give several high-end phones and brands a run for their money.

Diesel Cars from Maruti Suzuki to Cost More

Maruti Suzuki has raised the prices of its diesel cars by up to Rs 10,000.

While the diesel variants of Swift, Dzire and SX4 cars will cost Rs 10,000 more (effective last Monday), the Ritz is going to be costlier by Rs.2,000.

According the company "There has been a critical upswing in the inputs cost and an adverse appreciation in the Japanese currency yen that had made imports costlier and forced this hike."

Because of the recent strikes at the Company's plant at Manesar leading to a loss of 59 days in production, the waiting period for some of the Company's diesel cars is as much as nine months now.

Potential buyers have always been in the horns of a dilemma when it came to choosing between petrol versions and diesel versions of a car. The petrol cars have been cheaper but more expensive to fuel; the diesel versions cost more initially, cost less to fuel, but cost more by way of repairs and maintenance.

The dilemma is only going to become more difficult now.

The easiest way out is to buy no car at all, perhaps!

Sanjna Kapoor to Quit Prithvi Theatre

Sanjna Kapoor is going to quit as the director of Prithvi Theatre in April 2012. Sanjna is quitting the organisation along with Sameera Iyengar, Director (Programming) to establish 'Junoon' to further the cause of the theater across the country.

Sanjna Kapoor informed the press: "This is a product of our years of work at Prithvi-which has made us realize that there is a huge lacuna in our work field-which we wish to fill ... that of the enabler. The enabler who enables theatre to reach its deserved audience and likewise enables audiences access good theatre - with keen attention to the overall experience for both the theatrewallah and the audience ... this must be a rich experience."

Junoon will be advising persons and organisations keen on setting up theatre venues.

According to Sanjna, "The major part of the work will be through partnerships."

She added: "We will partner with organizations that do children's theatre. We will be the connector, the infrastructure that enables audiences to access theatre and theatre to access audiences."

Prithvi Theatre has been conducting an enormously successful and well-known annual children's theatre festival called 'Summertime at Prithvi'. According to Sanjna, new directors are going to be inducted to handle the festival.

With two of the main pillars of Prithvi leaving, it might be a while before things stabilise into a pattern there. But we believe that Prithvi has the capacity to survive the change.

Dabbawallas Make It to Harvard Business School

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the famous dabbawallas of Bombay (read "Mumbai", if u insist!) make it to Harvard. In a way. ("Sort of," as one with American leanings might drawl! That reminds me that quite a lot of our metropolitan youngsters are more American than the Americans themselves! :)

The case of the famous - "justly famous", we would like to add - dabbawallahs is now a part of Harvard's curriculum.

Manish Tripathy, one of the dabbawallahs, said: "They (HBS) prepared a comprehensive report and submitted it to us for review. The final draft is now ready. We will give the confirmation next week and the case study will be released in March in a big way."

He further said: "Unlike many other B-schools which studied us, Harvard's was in-depth. They have got the real gist of how two lakh tiffin boxes are delivered every day by 5,000 dabbawallahs without any mix-up."

A professor from Harvard Business School and two professors from the B-school's research center in Worli, Mumbai, conducted the hands-on case study and prepared the report.

Recognition of the good work being done by our dabbawallas of Bombay has been long overdue. Whoever said that we are not good organisers in the face of complexity?

The irony is that more non-Indians seem to know more about the dabbawallas than we do.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Delivers a Baby Girl

Abhishek Bachhan has announced that his wife Aishwarya Rai -  the famous Bollywood star and former Miss World - has given birth to a girl. The child is their first.

We join the world in congratulating the happy parents and blessing them all.

Abhishek announced, through his Twitter account, "IT'S A GIRL!," while giving no further details.

Amitabh Bachhan announced through the very same Twitter : "I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl !!"

The baby was born at the  Seven Hills Hospital in the western Mumbai.

"It is news when a bigshot just so much as sneezes!" Isn't it?