7 Indians Listed Among 100 Most Influential People By Time Magazine

Washington DC: The Times’ 100 Most Influential People of 2016 list is out and it features seven Indians.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, tennis star Sania Mirza, actor Priyanka Chopra, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, environmentalist Sunita Narain and founders of Flipkart, Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal have been named by Time magazine in its list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Time’s annual list, released on Thursday, listed the 100 people in five categories – Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Icons. The list includes Pioneers like composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, Titans like founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Artists like comedian Mellisa McCarthy, Leaders like IMF head Christine Lagarde and Icons like actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who are “exploring the frontiers of art, science, society, technology and more.”

Narain was listed in the Pioneers category, while Pichai and the Bansal duo were listed in the Titans category. Rajan was listed in the Leaders category. Chopra was listed in the Artist category, whereas Mirza was listed in the Icons category, thereby ensuring that at least one Indian was included in each of the five categories.

Other prominent names included in this year’s list are Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Adele, Usain Bolt, Lewis Hamilton, Nicki Minaj, Karlie Kloss, Denis Mukwege, Ronda Rousey, Christine Lagarde, Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, Tsai Ing-Wen, Sean Barry MacFarland, Bernie Sanders, Justin Trudeau, Barack Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Hillary Clinton, Queen Maxima, Dwayne Johnson, Lori Robinson, Vladimir Putin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Pope Francis, Gina Rodriguez, Nadia Murad, Caitlyn Jenner, Charlize Theron, Oscar Issac, Ariana Grande, Idris Elba, Kendrick Lamar, Elena Ferrante, among others.

Apart from the seven Indians, several people of Indian origin have also found a spot on the list — Raj Panjabi, Aziz Ansari and Nikki Haley.

At 47, Jennifer Aniston Named World’s Most Beautiful Woman By People Magazine

Washington DC: At 47, actor Jennifer Aniston has been named as the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Woman’ by People Magazine in its 2016 edition of the list.

People’s 100 Most Beautiful People is an annual list of 100 people judged to be the most beautiful individuals in the world. Until 2006, it was the 50 Most Beautiful People. The magazine has been publishing the list since 1990.

Aniston now holds the record of being the second oldest person to top the magazine’s annual list. The oldest person to be ranked number one by People magazine in its 100 Most Beautiful People list is Sandra Bullock, who last year topped the list at the age of 50.

The Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy winning actor said that she has learned to embrace her appearance over the years and insisted that she feels her best when she’s healthy and strong. 

Aniston declared herself “very, very flattered” by the honor. She counts women such as Gloria Steinem, Lauren Hutton and Brigitte Bardot as her beauty icons. She said “It's funny, it’s a really quick transition from not a care and now all of a sudden, we’ve got to really be mindful of what we put inside our bodies.” “And how we sleep and take care of ourselves. You can get away with a lot in your 20s,” she further added.

However, it is not the first time Aniston has topped the list. In 2004, at the age of 35, she was named as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman for the first time. The 2016 list is the second time she earned the tile.

The Friends alum who transitioned to movies — her latest role is in Mother’s Day — got lots of attention in her early years for her trendy haircuts and style, but as she’s gotten older she’s become admired for her healthy lifestyle and age-defying yoga body.

In the list’s 27-year-history, only two men have topped the list — Tom Cruise in 1997 and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1998. Julia Roberts has topped the list the most number of times out of anyone — four times (1991, 2000, 2005 and 2010). She is followed by Aniston and Michelle Pfeiffer, both of whom topped the list twice. Pfeiffer topped the list in 1990 and 1999.

IPL Season 9 - Kolkata Knight Riders Beats Kings XI Punjab By 6 Wickets

Mohali: In the thirteenth League match of 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Kings XI Punjab by six wickets on Tuesday at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

Winning the toss, Kolkata Knight Riders elected to field first. Shaun Marsh was Kings XI Punjab’s highest scorer with 56 runs. He was followed by Murali Vijay who scored 26 runs and Kyle Abbott, who scored 12 runs. Marsh and Abbott remained not out. Sunil Narine was Kolkata Knight Riders’ best bowler as he took two wickets off 22 runs from four overs. Morne Morkel also took two wickets off 27 runs from four overs. At the end of 20 overs, Kings XI Punjab scored 138 runs off eight wickets.

In the second innings, Robin Uthappa was Kolkata Knight Riders’ highest scorer with 53 runs. He was followed by Gautam Gambhir with 34 runs. Pardeep Sahu was Kings XI Punjab’s best bowler as he took two wickets off 18 runs from four overs. Axar Patel also took two wickets off 19 runs from four overs Kolkata Knight Riders clinched victory in 17.1 overs when they scored 141 runs off four wickets.

Uthappa was named ‘Player Of The Match’.

Kolkata Knight Riders now stands at six points to be at the top of the leader-board, tied with Gujarat Lions. Kings XI Punjab stands at two points.

Kings XI Punjab will face Sunrisers Hyderabad next on April 23 in Hyderabad, while Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Rising Pune Supergiants on April 24 in Pune.

Reigning champion Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore today in Mohali.

IPL Season 9 - Sunrisers Hyderabad Beats Mumbai Indians By 7 Wickets

Hyderabad: In the twelfth League match of 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated reigning champion Mumbai Indians by seven wickets on Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad.

Winning the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad elected to field first. Ambati Rayudu was Mumbai Indian’s highest scorer with 54 runs. He was followed by Krunal Himashu Pandya who scored 49 runs, falling one run short of half-century. Pandya remained not out. Barinder Balbirsingh Sran was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s best bowler as he took three wickets off 28 runs from four overs. At the end of 20 overs, Mumbai Indians scored 142 runs off six wickets.

In the second innings, David Andrew Warner was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s highest scorer with 90 runs. He remained not out. Tim Southee was Mumbai Indians’ sole saving grace in the bowling department, as he was the only one who managed to take wicket for the team. He took three wickets off 24 runs from four overs. Sunrisers Hyderabad clinched victory in 17.3 overs when they scored 145 runs off three wickets.

Warner was named ‘Player Of The Match’.

Sunrisers Hyderabad now stands at two points, winning their first game of their IPL Career. Mumbai Indians also stands at two points.

Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore next on April 20 in Mumbai, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on fellow new-comer Gujarat Lions on April 21 in Rajkot.

Kings XI Punjab will face Kolkata Knight Riders today at Mohali.

IPL Season 9 - Delhi Daredevils Beats Royal Challengers Bangalore By 7 Wickets

Bangalore: In the eleventh league match of 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Delhi Daredevils defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field. Virat Kohli was Royal Challenger Bangalore’s highest scorer with 79 runs. He was followed by Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (55 runs) and Shane Robert Watson (33 runs). Mohammed Shami took two wickets for Delhi Daredevils off 34 runs from four overs. At the end of the innings, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 191 runs off five wickets.

In the second innings, Quinton de Kock scored an incredible century to become Delhi Daredevil’s highest scorer, when he scored 108 runs. He was followed Karun Nair, who scored 54 runs. Nair remained not out. Watson took two wickets for Delhi Daredevils off 26 runs from four overs. It took Delhi Daredevils 19.1 overs to claim victory when they scored 192 runs off three wickets.

Delhi Daredevils now has four points, while Royal Challengers Bangalore stands with two points.

Royal Challengers Bangalore is next going to face reigning champion Mumbai Indians on April 20 in Mumbai, while Delhi Daredevils will take on the reigning champion on April 23 in New Delhi.

Earlier in the day, during the tenth league match of 2016 IPL, Kings XI Punjab defeated Rising Pune Supergiants by six wickets at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Both the teams currently have two points each.

Mumbai Indians will face Sunrisers Hyderabad today in Hyderabad.

The Story Of ‘Lady Of Harley’ — Veenu Paliwal

In Jaipur, it was a common sight to see Veenu Paliwal riding her Harley Davidson 48 on the roads. Dubbed as the “Lady of Harley” (Dunes Harley-Davidson) and “HOG Rani”, Veenu Paliwal is one of the most well-recognized Indian motor bikers of all time. And she died doing what she loved — riding Harley Davidson.

Born in 1972, Veenu once noted during an interview that her inspiration was her father since childhood, who himself was an “avid biker”. Although she was passionate about bikes, it was only after getting into college when she learned to ride motorcycles from her college friends. However, she herself did not own any motorcycle then.

Veenu was well known for being the only woman biker in Jaipur. She became the first Indian woman to ride a Harley-Davidson bike at 180 km/h. Apart from being a biker, she was an entrepreneur and ran a lounge in Jaipur called “Chai Bar”

She was married, but due to her husband's restriction on her riding, and other issues led to a divorce, she had two children from her marriage, son Shiven Vikram (studying in the USA) and daughter Shivika Vikram (had just completed her twelfth standard), though the children’s custody remained with their father. Veenu's father had retired from the Union Bank of India. She has a sister who lives in USA.

Veenu had clocked 17,000 kms since November 2015 and wanted to cross 50,000 kms in a year. She also wanted to make a documentary on biking. Paliwal wanted to join politics one day and show people that it is not the big bad world it is made out to be.

Veenu died in a road accident on April 12, 2016 during a Harley Davidson sponsored nationwide tour where she had to cover all Harley Davidson dealerships. While en route to Bhopal near Gyaraspur, her bike skidded negotiating an accident-prone curve. She was rushed to a nearby health centre but died soon after due to internal injuries. The autopsy mentioned that her liver had burst. She was cremated in Jaipur on April 14, 2016.

People from all walks of life bid a tearful adieu to 44-year-old Veenu. Everyone from a small kid to a senior citizen thronged the cremation ground.

Actor John Abraham, an avid biker himself, shared two pictures of the noted woman biker on Twitter and said: “My heart goes out to Veenu Paliwal. May her soul RIP. From a fellow biker. Respect.”

Maral Yazarloo and Seema Sharma Dora, members of a group of women bikers called ‘Lady Riders of India’, said Veenu set an example for the women, as well as men, in the country.

Urvashi Patole, the founder of Bikerni and a Royal Enfield Classic 500 rider, said Veenu’s death is an unfortunate incident and women should not be discouraged by the incident and should take up riding to pay homage to her soul. “There are many challenges faced by a woman on a bike. More than the familial tussles, when on roads women bikers are eve-teased, followed, stalked shamelessly by men. The extent goes to even pushing them off their bikes. Moreover, their character is judged, they are subjected to insults, and are also belittled and defamed. The patriarchal society of India and the so-called ‘machoism’ of men gets offended when they see a women biker on the roads,” she said.

In a society like ours, where it is hard for a woman to step out of ‘normal code of conduct’, the example set by Veenu in breaking multiple stereotypes is truly unconventional and inspiring, and her legacy will go on.

Dowry – The Perennial Curse In Indian Marriages

In India, dowry refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage. It is one of the worst evils of Indian marriages. It is a custom that is prevalent in all the sections of our society in one form or the other. At the beginning it was voluntary, but later on the social pressure was such that very few could escape from it. EXIN Shagoon stands up against this evil practice and encourages to abolish it from its root.

The dowry system is puts great financial burden on the bride's family. It leads to crime against women, ranging from emotional abuse, injury to even deaths. The payment of dowry has been prohibited under specific Indian laws including, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The first all-India legislative enactment relating to dowry to be put on the statute book was the The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and this legislation came into force from July 1, 1961. Although providing dowry is illegal, it is still common in many parts of India for a husband to seek a dowry from the wife's family and in some cases, it results in the form of violence against the wife. To further strengthen the anti-dowry law and to stop offences of cruelty by the husband or his relatives against the wife, new provisions were added to the Indian criminal law — section 498A to IPC and section 198A to the Criminal Procedure Codein 1983. In 2005, the, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was passed, which added an additional layer of protection from dowry harassment.

Although the essence of origin of dowry is subjected to debate, but the condition it has come down to in today’s time, it is truly inhuman in nature. After all, a marriage is the union of two individuals, it is not a barter system.