Gandhi memorabilia auction is over, but drama is on

Mahatma Gandhi's possessions went under the hammer but they look like they are heading to India. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya bid and won Gandhi's memorabilia at a New York auction on Thursday for Rs 9 crore.

And as the news spread, a relieved UPA government proudly claimed that they had got back Bapu's belongings with Mallaya's help.

But the fact has been disputed by the king of good times who says he did it all on his own.

"I got it back. No one got in touch with me. Honourable minister Ms Ambika Soni's statement that we were in touch is wrong," he said while speaking to NDTV.

However, Mallya has promised to donate the entire collection to India.

He beat bidders from all over the world including a large number of NRIs. His closest competitor was from Britain at $1.75 million.

"I wish the items had been sold for a lot more because I believe that they were priceless. But they were sold for quite a bit; the watch went as the most expensive watch ever sold," James Otis, the seller of the items said.

But Mallya cannot bring back the items just yet. The auction house will keep them until the US Justice Department takes a decision on a Delhi High Court order to stay the bidding.

So the items will either be returned to India at no cost, or if the auction is upheld, Mallya will bring them home.

And for the Mahatma's family, which hit out at relatives who sold Bapu's belongings in the first place, there is a sense of relief.

Now that India has got back Gandhi's legacy, it is perhaps time to ask whether we have done enough to retain his vision for India.

Network behind Lahore attack traced: Pak media

Media reports in Pakistan claim that investigators have unravelled the network behind the Lahore attack.

They say that in the next 18 hours, police will announce the breakthrough.

According to the reports, five key suspects have been arrested. They include two men who were allegedly involved in the attack and three facilitators.

Police sources are being quoted as saying that the two suspected terrorists were in Lahore for two days before 3/3.

They allegedly surveyed the entry and exit points in the Liberty market area.

One of the suspected terrorists was reportedly wearing a burqa when he was arrested in Karachi.

Media reports say that among the three facilitators who have been arrested are two men who were traced on the basis of SIM cards used by attackers.

Three months on, the loss that is Hemant Karkare

Hemant Karkare, Mumbai's Anti Terrorist Squad chief, met a violent end when terrorists invaded the city and killed innocents at will. One of the city's most respected police officers, Karkare reached the spot to take command of the situation on the night of November 26.

When he heard the news that Deputy Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date had been injured in gunfire at the Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar, got into a police Qualis and rushed to the spot. Their vehicle was ambushed by two terrorists, Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan, who stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire.

The three officers and three accompanying constables were killed in what will be remembered as the city's darkest night.

Hemant Karkare was declared dead upon reaching the J J Hospital.

The man Mumbai now knows as a hero, a martyr and the recipient of the nation's highest gallantry award in peacetime, the Ashok Chakra, Karkare hailed from a very humble background. His father worked with the Indian Railways as a result of which Hemant settled wherever his dad's postings took the family. His mother took keen interest in her children's studies.

Shirish Karkare, Hemant Karkare's younger brother who works as a manager at the National Insurance Company, recounts to rediff.com how as the oldest of four siblings, Hemant was the apple of their parents' eye. A bit of a loner and bookworm, he was always willing to put his books away when his siblings needed his help.

"He was excellent at studies. When he was five years old, our parents put him in school. After the first day, he came back, saying, 'I don't want to sit with those duffers -- they don't know anything. I already know everything the teacher is teaching.' You see, our mother used to teach him tables and alphabets at home."

"Finally, after a lot of argument, my parents requested the principal to promote him to the second standard," remembers Shirish Karkare. "Of course, he had to take a test, which he passed, and got a double promotion right away."

2 Oscars for Rahman, 8 for Slumdog

Just In:Wall-E bags Oscar for best animated film.

- Sean Penn wins best actor Oscar for 'Milk'

- Danny Boyle triumphs at Oscars with best director award.

- Slumdog Millionaire wins best film award.

- Slumdog wins 8 Oscar awards so far.

- Rahman has become the first Indian composer to scoop two Oscars for his music in Slumdog Milllionaire. He got his first Oscar for Best Original Score and second for Best Original Song.

Los Angeles, Feb 23: Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire won five Oscars so far. Slumdog is on its way to sweeping the Oscars. The first award for the film was for Simon Beaufoy for Best Adapted Screenplay. Anthony Dod Mantle won the second award for Slumdog Millionaire in the Best Cinematography category. A R Rahman won best original score for the movie

Resul Pookutty won the Oscars for the best sound mixing. Slumdog also bagged award for editing as well. Slumdog, an often dark but ultimately hopeful tale about a poor Indian boy who competes for love and money on a TV game show, was the frontrunner for best film coming into the Oscars and received 10 nominations in various categories.

One more feather in the cap is , Smile Pinki, a 39-minute short film in Hindi and Bhojpuri, directed by Emmy-nominated producer Megan Mylan won the best documentary short subject Oscar.

Penelope Cruz won her first Oscar on Monday, Feb 23 for best supporting actress for her role as a painter in Vicky Cristina Barcelona."I dedicate this to all the actors from my country," Cruz said in Spanish as she accepted the award.

As the ceremony began, host Hugh Jackman put the show in full musical mode with an opening routine that drew a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd that included nominees Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Mickey Rourke and Anne Hathaway.

There are five more categories in which it is nominated including Best Picture and Best Director

Winslet wins best-actress Oscar for 'Reader'

LOS ANGELES – Kate Winslet has won the best-actress Academy Award for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader," while best-picture favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" has cruised to seven Oscars, including best director for Danny Boyle.

A five-time loser at the Oscars previously, Winslet triumphed for her role as a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teenager.

Heath Ledger is the supporting-actor winner for his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight," becoming only the second actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously.

The supporting-actress trophy has gone to Penelope Cruz as a tempestuous artist in Woody Allen's Spanish romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The evening is following the script of earlier Hollywood honors, with "Slumdog Millionaire" steamrolling through. Its awards include adapted screenplay, cinematography and both music awards, for score and song.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kate Winslet has won the best-actress Academy Award for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader," while best-picture favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" has cruised to seven Oscars, including best director for Danny Boyle.

A five-time loser at the Oscars previously, Winslet triumphed for her role as a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teenager.

Heath Ledger is the supporting-actor winner for his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight," becoming only the second actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously.

The supporting-actress trophy has gone to Penelope Cruz as a tempestuous artist in Woody Allen's Spanish romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The evening is following the script of earlier Hollywood honors, with "Slumdog Millionaire" steamrolling through. Its awards include adapted screenplay, cinematography and both music awards, for score and song.

Jessica Alba named Worst Actress Of The Year

Jessica Alba has been named worst Latino actress of the past 12 months in a pre-Oscars online awards announcement.

The stunner landed two gongs at Latina.com's second annual Lazzie Awards -- one for acting for "everything she was in last year" and one for her flop 2008 film The Love Guru, reports Contactmusic.

Mexican star Diego Luna was named the worst Latino actor for his role in Milk.

Also among the Lazzie dishonours are Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem (Ickiest Onscreen Chemistry), Eva Mendes (The Setting Us Back Award for Negative Stereotyping in a Movie) and Victor Rasuk, whose Spanish speaking skills in Che earned him the 'No Espeak Espanish' award.

H1B: Waking up from the American dream

Since early December 2008, Sreehari Gopalakrishnan has applied to 176 firms, and the rate of call back has steadily declined.

"Earlier, it used to be from 20 to 30 places but now it is less than 10 per cent", says Gopalakrishnan, an analyst with a firm in Connecticut that does relocation management. With the current economic downturn and the housing slump, his company has several houses in its inventory worth millions of dollars.

His current firm hired him over three years ago on an H1B visa. When the visa expired in December 2008, the company gave him an extension for two months. "They knew me and liked my work, so they gave me the extra time," said Gopalakrishnan. However, that extension expires at the end of February.

His firm cannot ask for another extension. It has filed for a Green Card in his name, but that application is still in its final stages of processing. The company has over 200 people working on H1Bs, he says, of whom many have been asked to leave, while others await with anxiety the day their employment will be terminated.

Gopalakrishnan has been sending out job applications at a frenetic pace, but responses are increasingly few and far between, he says. Many of the companies that do respond are eliminated because of his visa scenario. "No one wants to go that extra mile of sponsoring you," he says, adding that companies prefer workers who have residency. In some cases, he says, he reached the last round of interviews, but then lost out because of his visa situation.

As the problem mounts, workers in US companies have begun seeking jobs in Canada, various European countries and also in Asian countries like Hong Kong. "They are not hit as bad," Gopalakrishnan says. "Plus, the grass is always greener on the other side."

For Varun Sharma, an associate with Merrill Lynch on an H1B visa, the next few weeks will be crucial. As on date, his position with Bank of America seems secure -- but that can change overnight, he says. Against the background of talk that companies caught up in the financial crunch will first lay off guest workers, tensions have been mounting.

"When such talk begins, you realize that this is not your country; that you can get kicked out at any time," Sharma says. "In this situation, there is considerable anxiety, fuelled by rumours."

Sharma believes that his visa will automatically transfer from Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, but even so he has started taking measures to guard against potential problems. "I was never extravagant, but now I am even more careful," says Sharma, discussing the ways he has been cutting down on spending. "I don't randomly spend $100 like I used to." Friends who took cabs to work now take the subway, he says. "It is a tough time. Everybody has to cut down."

Friends who have been laid off have begun seeking jobs in India. "People are not talking about it clearly, but they are considering options back home even if the pay is less," he says. Others are looking for opportunities in small hedge funds, and are willing to work for really low pay.

Sharma believes he is safe, but has been keeping his eyes open for opportunities. He visited the London office of Merrill Lynch to see how operations there are doing. "I am obviously talking to people, but not as seriously," says Sharma, arguing that he is reluctant to jump ship because those who survive the recession will likely emerge stronger.

"It is only a matter of time," he believes. "The recovery will not be as fast as we wish, but the economy will recover." He believes that people from India who seek work visas need to understand that the US is not the dreamland people perceive it to be; when you get here, he says, you are forced to tone down your expectations. "When I came here, I wanted to buy a car in my second year and a home in my fourth year, but all that has to change," said Sharma.

The situation is far more critical for those who have lost their jobs, and have a deadline to vacate the country. Vivek Joshi never imagined that on February 6, he would come in to work and realize that he no longer had the job he has been doing for two years, in the Minneapolis office of a consulting firm.

Joshi worked with the company's health and financial services, setting up business processes. On that day, he was asked to leave, without any notice. "They have provided me a severance package which they are going to provide as a lump sum amount," said Joshi. He now has 30 days to look for another job so that he can transfer his H1B and remain in the US -- and he cannot afford to be picky. Any firm that will transfer his visa, and give him employment commensurate with his qualifications and experience, will do, he says.