Weird India

The simplest musical instrument

2010-01-07T21:14:00.001+05:30

Rajeev Kumar of Calcutta, India, is well-known locally for playing the harmonica, specifically, using only his right nostril. For added show, Kumar plays two harmonicas simultaneously, with nostril and mouth.Read More................The simplest musical instrument

Rape, Murder and Corruption of Unimaginable Proportions are a Pastime for the High and Mighty in India

2010-01-07T21:08:00.001+05:30

Brazen corruption, crime of mindboggling proportions, massive land-grabbing, sexual perversions and aberrations of every hue in India! All of these have one thing in common -- you can get away with it all if you have political clout. That is the curse of democracy in India.

Such depressing situations came to haunt me even during a short 10-day stay in Chennai recently. Nothing, not even widespread coverage on televisions and newspapers, deters our influential criminals. Perhaps capital punishment will.

Read More................Rape, Murder and Corruption of Unimaginable Proportions are a Pastime for the High and Mighty in India

Mumbai city hit by condom thefts

2010-01-07T21:05:00.001+05:30

Petty criminals who break into condom vending machines are causing concern among Aids and HIV-prevention activists in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Over 3,000 condom vending machines have been installed in the city as a part of an HIV Aids prevention programme.

However, more than 500 of the machines have been damaged by petty criminals who break into them for fun, for small change or for free condoms. Read More................Indian city of Mumbai hit by condom thefts

59-year-old woman passes higher secondary exam

2010-01-07T21:02:00.001+05:30

Kolkata: She is 59 but her enthusiasm towards studying is as fresh as any teenage student. Nurjahan Begum from Cooch Behar passed her higher secondary examination this year from Rabindra Open School in the district.Squeezing time out of domestic preoccupations, Nurjahan managed to appear for the exam to fulfil her long-cherished dream. She had passed her secondary exam in 1969 and then had to leave school after her marriage to Saidul Haq. Read More................59-year-old woman passes higher secondary exam

Man wakes up after being declared dead

2010-01-04T21:30:00.001+05:30

A man who had been declared dead woke up when doctors began to conduct his post-mortem examination in Jajpur district of Orissa, a media report said Monday.

Manas Deo was critically injured after a vehicle hit him Dec 25 near Baragadia village in Jajpur, Oriya daily Sambad quoted Manas's wife Tiki Deo as saying. Read More................Orissa man wakes up after being declared dead

Scissors taken out from man’s stomach after two years

2010-01-04T21:24:00.001+05:30

Raipur: A small pair of scissors left in a 60-year-old farmer's stomach two years ago during an operation, leaving him in chronic pain, has finally been removed by doctors.

The latest surgery took three long hours and was conducted late Friday at a government hospital in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, about 40 km from here, senior surgeon D.C. Jain told IANS. Read More................Scissors taken out from man’s stomach after two years

Poverty drives mum to sell infant for Rs 500

2010-01-04T21:21:00.000+05:30

BHUBANESWAR/KORAPUT: Close on the heels of the death of five members of a poor tribal family within two months in Khaprakhol block of Bolangir district, an alleged case of child sale in Dhenkanal and suicide of a woman in Rayagada have come as a rude shock for the Naveen Patnaik government. Read More................Poverty drives mum to sell infant for Rs 500

Ramalinga Raju made gardeners, drivers kings

2010-01-04T21:18:00.001+05:30

HYDERABAD: In disgraced Satyam boss Ramalinga Raju’s land, even gardeners were made maharajas! Several gardeners, truck drivers and others, who were working in the mango gardens and orchards, belonging to Raju brothers, for meagre salaries of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, have been found to possess more than 50 acres of land worth crores of rupees. Read More................Ramalinga Raju made gardeners, drivers kings

Speeding train runs over four elephants

2010-01-04T21:14:00.001+05:30

A speeding freight train mowed down four wild Asiatic elephants, including two calves, amid dense fog in Assam Saturday, the authorities said.

A railway spokesperson said the incident occurred near Walingdisa railway station in Karbi Anglong district, about 270 km east of Assam's main city Guwahati. The train was carrying petroleum products. Read More................Speeding train runs over four elephants

Man shot dead for refusing to pay for cigarette

2009-12-29T21:29:00.001+05:30

Patna: A shopkeeper shot dead a man after he refused to pay for the cigarettes purchased in Saran district of Bihar, police said Tuesday. Read more: Bihar man shot dead for refusing to pay for cigarette

22-yr-old kidnaps self for Rs 20L

2009-12-29T21:25:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Had his improvised self-kidnap gone to plan, Pawan Verma would have been in Macau with his girlfriend, free of debt and ringing in the new year with a couple of lakhs to spare. The 22-year-old's travel plans came to an abrupt end this weekend, thanks to his father who proved to be one step ahead. Read More................22-yr-old kidnaps self for Rs 20L

Jailed gangster, Cops nabbed enjoying luxuries

2009-12-23T20:55:00.000+05:30

Lucknow: A jailed gangster who audaciously checked into a government guest house with the connivance of policemen and was having a good time has been caught in the act. Gangster Ateeq Khan is headed back to prison while four guilty policemen have been suspended.

Charged with murders, abductions and other heinous crimes, Khan was brought from Uttar Pradesh’s Siddhartnagar district jail to Kanpur Dec 17 to attend a court case. Read more: Jailed gangster, cops nabbed enjoying luxuries

Maoist uncle please do not bomb our schools

2009-12-22T21:31:00.003+05:30

PATNA — Hundreds of poor school children in Aurangabad district have appealed to Maoist guerrillas not to damage or target their schools as it impacts their education badly.

In an open letter to Maoists, the school children urged Maoists not to deprive them of education by damaging and blowing up the school buildings.

“Maoist uncle, what is our mistake that you blow up schools and deprive us of education? You may have problems with the police but we fail to understand why are we your enemy? What is our mistake that our schools have become a soft target for you,” school children wrote in their letter to Maoist terrorists. Read More................ ‘Maoist uncle please do not bomb our schools’

Cops' frame-up formula: Blood group A+B = AB

2009-12-22T21:36:00.000+05:30

Is AB blood group a result of mixing blood group A with group B? At least some Delhi Police sleuths think so. But for this lack of knowledge of elementary biology, these cops would have got away with their devious plan of planting evidence to "solve" a murder case and framing an innocent man.

In a desperate attempt to crack a double murder with no eyewitnesses, these policemen planted blood group AB on the weapon of offence thinking it would explain the killing of a man and his wife who had blood groups A and B, respectively. Read More................Cops' frame-up formula: Blood group A+B = AB

At this temple, devotees offer brooms to deity

2009-12-17T20:56:00.000+05:30

Devotees come with brooms and line up at a 10-year-old temple in Uttar Pradesh everyday - not to clean the premises but to offer the 'jhadus' to the deity, Hindu god Shiva.

At the Shivpataaleshwar temple in Beehajoi village near Moradabad, some 250 km from state capital Lucknow, people offer brooms in the belief it will appease Shiva and ward off skin ailments, heath disorders and also make their wishes come true. Read More................At this temple, devotees offer brooms to deity

Teachers told to mind their blouses

2009-12-17T20:51:00.002+05:30

CHENNAI: Teachers in government schools are unhappy over a recent circular sent by the school education department asking chief and district education officers to instruct teachers to ‘‘dress decently”. However, officials say that a dress code for teachers only makes them more dignified and respected.

The instruction is not new; it’s just a reminder. And teachers are aghast at the reason cited for the move. The communication apparently was issued after parents of students in government schools complained that female teachers came to school wearing blouses that were too fashionably cut and that male teachers wore casual attire. Read More................Tamil Nadu teachers told to mind their blouses

Man loses wife to fellow gambler in card game

2009-12-16T21:13:00.001+05:30

A man in western Uttar Pradesh allegedly gave away his 32-year-old wife to a fellow gambler after he lost a card game, police said on Wednesday.

The incident came to light when the woman, a resident of Billauchpura village in Baghpat district, about 400 km from Lucknow, managed to escape from the house of the man to whom her husband lost the game, police added. Read More................Man loses wife to fellow gambler in card game

2,000 men participate in a group-shaving event

2009-12-16T21:01:00.002+05:30

Mumbai: Around 2,000 men participated in a group-shaving event in Mumbai to create a record on Monday.

They claimed to have entered the Limca book of world records, as the last record was set when 1858 persons held a shaving event.

They are also confident that, after their formal application to the Guinness book of world records, they will succeed in making a mark in it as well. Read More................Around 2,000 men participate in a group-shaving event in Mumbai

Thieves caught emptying house, owner feeds them rosogollas

2009-12-15T21:19:00.001+05:30

In an example of Gandhigiri, a man fed sandesh and rosogollas to two petty thieves who were caught red-handed while stealing valuable items from his house at Kamardanga village in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

The two teenage thieves, Bablu Mistry and Tapas Das, had sneaked into Jayanta Gutpa's house by breaking open a rear window Monday. Gupta was away in Kolkata where he works at the NSC Bose International Airport. Read more: Thieves caught emptying house, owner feeds them rosogollas

Sorry, Indians not allowed

2009-12-15T21:16:00.000+05:30

My friend Ramit (name changed on request) called me late Friday night. He sounded quite agitated. “You know, Haagen Dazs has opened its Delhi outlet”. I reacted with a joke. “Good, now you can spend a lot more on an ice cream than you normally would. But why are you agitated?”

“Because I am not allowed to enter”, he said. Now, Ramit is not like one of the politician’s son or into drugs, the sort who are often in news in India’s capital for all the wrong reasons, nor is he the kind who will shoot someone down because she refused to serve him a cone of ice cream. Read More................Sorry, Indians not allowed

Now, a doctorate on vada pav

2009-12-15T21:12:00.001+05:30

Next time you curl up your nose at what some call the burger's Indian street cousin, think again as the humble vada pav is going places after becoming the subject of a Ph D thesis by an American scholar. Read More................Now, a doctorate on vada pav

Many commit suicide for separate state of Telangana in India

2009-12-10T21:04:00.003+05:30

When a new state is carved out of an existing state in India, what do you & me gain? I think our lives hardly change as we get more of such corrupt politicians & our taxes go into hands of more such number of corrupt politicians. But here are 25 people who just committed suicide for Telangana state which central congress government has given it's go ahead to be carved out of existing Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Is it rational in any sense to commit suicide for such a cause? It's absolutely weird as per me do such an act. You just think over it & decide yourself & just read about it over here...............Three more commit suicide for Telangana

Actor detained for drinking, listening to music at home

2009-12-09T21:02:00.001+05:30

Could you be charged by the police for relaxing at home over a glass of wine and some music?According to Charkop police, yes. Television artiste Arti Dave realised this the hard way when three cops from the Charkop police station came knocking at her door at 3 a.m. Read More................Actor detained for drinking, listening to music at home

Pilot hits hijack button by mistake

2009-12-01T21:09:00.000+05:30

Airport officials in Mumbai went into a tizzy for a while on Tuesday as the pilot of a Hong Kong-Mumbai Kingfisher aircraft pressed the hijack button accidentally.

Shortly after Kingfisher Airlines flight IT 072 landed at Mumbai airport from Hong Kong, the crew accidentally triggered a communication alert that indicates a Hijack situation. Read More................Pilot hits hijack button by mistake

Seventy-year-old mother celebrates daughter's first birthday

2009-12-01T21:07:00.001+05:30

Fifty-five years after her marriage, Rajo Devi last year became the world's oldest mother at 69. As she and her 73-year-old husband proudly celebrated their daughter's first birthday Friday, she said she was ready to have a second child. Read More................Seventy-year-old mother celebrates daughter's first birthday