Rahman enthrals audience at UN

August 17, 2016

United Nations, Aug 17: Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman enthralled a packed audience at the iconic UN General Assembly hall with his renditions of Indian Carnatic legend M. S. Subbulakshmi’s music, Sufi songs and the foot-tapping ‘Jai Ho’ at a concert to mark India’s 70th Independence Day here.

rahman

Rahman, 49, became only the second Indian artist after Subbulakshmi to perform in the General Assembly hall, which is the usual platform for global leaders to address the world.

The concert, organised by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN with the support of Sankara Nethralaya, an India-based civil society organisation, on India’s 70th Independence Day, was a tribute by Rahman to Subbulakshmi on the occasion of her birth centenary.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of her performance at the UN.

The first ever musician to be awarded India’s highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna, Subbulakshmi was invited by the then UN Secretary-General Late U Thant to perform at the General Assembly in October 1966, becoming the first Indian to perform there.

The audience of ambassadors, diplomats and Indian-Americans welcomed Rahman with a thunderous applause as he stepped on stage, dressed in traditional Indian attire.

Through the nearly three-hour long concert on Monday, Rahman and his troupe performed Subbulakshmi’s music and compositions.

A highlight of the concert was the performances by students of Sunshine Orchestra, an initiative by the A. R. Rahman Foundation that teaches music to underprivileged youngsters.

“From today, you are privileged, you are not underprivileged anymore,” Rahman said as a word of encouragement to the students as they geared to perform on the UN stage.

Rahman’s two sisters also performed on stage along with noted singers Javed Ali and renowned percussionist Sivamani.

Rahman, sitting amid his musical instruments on one side of the stage, rendered one soulful number after another as his troupe gave mesmerising performances of Subbulakshmi’s music.

To loud applause, Rahman also performed some of his most popular songs, including from movies such as Dil Se and Bombay as well as a rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’.

Towards the end, Rahman and his group performed Sufi songs, including ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’, ‘Kun Faya Kun’ and ‘Maula, Maula’.

The grand finale was the foot-tapping song ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire , for which Rahman had won Oscars and several prestigious global awards. As Rahman and his troupe began the song, several people in the audience broke into a dance.

Closing the concert, Rahman made an appeal for peace saying killing one another will not solve the world’s problems.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: On his 47th birthday on Thursday, actor Sonu Sood announced three lakh jobs for migrant labourers on the job portal 'Pravasi Rojgar' that he had launched earlier this month.

The 'Dabangg' actor who has launched several initiatives for helping migrant labourers of the country made the announcement about the additional three lakh jobs on his Instagram account.

Sood posted two flyers of the employment application and shared that the jobs came with additional benefits like PF and ESI.

"On my birthday a small initiative from my side...3 lakh jobs tied up for Pravasirojgar.com. All these will provide good wages, PF, ESI, and other benefits," he wrote in the caption.

He further went on to thank the organisations that had partnered with him for the initiative.
"Thank you AEPC, CITI, Trident, Quesscorp, Amazon, Sodex, Urban Co, Portea, and all others for creating these opportunities with me. #AbIndiaBanegaKamyaab @pravasirojgar," he wrote.

Hailed as the 'messiah' of migrant labourers, Sood has helped hundreds of thousands of migrants to reach their native places amid the coronavirus induced lockdown when many like them were walking back to their homes.

Besides labourers, he has also helped students and other people stranded in different parts of the country amid the lockdown. 

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News Network
July 22,2020

Mumbai, Jul 22: Actor Sonu Sood on Wednesday launched an app to offer support to workers in finding right job opportunities in various sectors across the country.

Sood, who catapulted to the national spotlight for his work in helping migrants reach their homes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, has come out with a free of cost online platform called 'Pravasi Rojgar', which will provide all the necessary information and right linkages to find jobs.

The 47-year-old actor said while arranging travel for the migrants, their conversations would often revolve around how they were looking for the right work opportunity amid the pandemic.

"Lot of thinking, planning and preparation have gone into designing this initiative over the last few months, in order to ensure that it is holistic and builds on the work already being done in the country.

"Extensive consultations have been held with top organisations that're involved at the grassroots level in skilling and placing the youth below the poverty line, NGOs, philanthropic organisations, government functionaries, strategy consultants, technology start ups and above all the returned migrants whom I have helped," Sood said in a statement.

The initiative will be supported by community outreach in the villages to find the right employment opportunities for migrant workers in different parts of the country.

According to the release, the online platform has over 500 reputed companies related to construction, apparel, healthcare, engineering, BPOs, security, automobile, e-commerce and logistics sectors, offering job opportunities.

'Pravasi Rojgar' will also be offering specific job training programmes like spoken English.

A 24x7 helpline have been set up in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram. 

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News Network
June 30,2020

Mumbai, Jun 30: Actor Aamir Khan on Tuesday issued a statement and confirmed that some of his staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, while the rest of his family members have tested negative.

Khan also announced that he was taking his mother for a COVID-19 test and urged his fans to pray for her test to come out as negative.

The '3 Idiots' star put out the statement on Instagram and said, "This is to inform you that some of my staff have tested positive. They were immediately quarantined, and BMC officials were very prompt and efficient in taking them to a medical facility."

Thanking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their precautionary steps, he added, "I would like to thank the BMC for taking such good care of them, and for fumigating and sterilising the entire society."

Informing about the health of his family members, the 'Thugs of Hindostan' actor added, "The rest of us have all been tested and found negative," and informed that, "Right now I am taking my mother to get her tested. She is the last person in the loop. Please pray that she is negative."

Thanking the BMC, and hospital authorities for their swift prompt, he added, "I would, once again, like to thank the BMC for the prompt, professional and caring manner in which they helped us. And a big thank you to Kokilaben Hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff there. They were very caring and professional with the testing process."

Aamir also urged his fans to be safe amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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