North East Rising

Kohima, Aug 20: Yet again, renown international musician, Dr Benny Prasad has initiated another unique project where a prayer song on “The Lord’s Prayer” featuring 94 artists in 25 Indian languages was released on August 14 by Dr Benny Prasad from Bangalore.

Out of the 25 languages, 13 of them were from the North East and 4 Naga tribes namely Ao, Lotha, Angami and Sumi were also featured in Dr Prasad’s project.

Dr Benny informed that he started the “The Lord’s Prayer” project on July 19 with an objective for expressing worship to God creatively and colourfully with the ethnic identity given to each one by the Creator.

“I also intended to highlight the NE as a major portion of India has no clue of NE, and you can notice that out of 25 languages, 13 of them were from the NE,” Dr Benny said.

Further, he expressed that many people were amazed to learn about the many languages spoken in the NE adding even though what I showcased was just the tip of the iceberg of the NE.

Describing the song as complex which was composed by Albert Hay Malotte in 1935, Dr Prasad mentioned that, it was not a catwalk project.

Citing the challenges of his project, he said fitting the syllables of the language to the meter of the tune, making sure that the exact words in the Bible were taken of the respective languages, choosing the right singers from respective states, getting permission for shooting at different churches during the lockdown period etc were not an easy task.

Through the project, Dr Benny Prasad wishes hopes in the lives of people who are undergoing mental suffering and hardships especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He believes that prayers are invisible and invincible weapon that can help overcome all odds.

Dr Benny Prasad holds the Guinness feat of being the fastest person in the world to travel to 245 countries including Antarctica in 6 years 6 months and 22 days. He is also the inventor of the world’s First Bongo Guitar.

Yet another shocking news for cinephiles!

India, Aug 17: Director of Drishyam and Madaari, Nishikant Kamat passed away at Hyderabad hospital today at the age of 50. He was diagnosed with chronic liver disease.

The news went viral after Ritesh Deshmukh tweeted about his death “I will miss you, my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace“.

After gifting the industry with a number of successful movies, the director succumbs to multiple organ failure. He was suffering from chronic liver disease and secondary infections. On July 31, he was admitted to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderbad with issues of fever and excessive fatigue. The doctors in his statement mentioned that he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, he was improving with antibiotics and supportive medications but the conditions soon began to deteriorate with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness. Immediately he was shifted to the ICU where his condition gradually declined. He developed respiratory failure and hypotension.

He made his film debut in the 2004 film, Hava Aney Dey as an actor. Gradually his field of interest shifted towards the direction. He won awards and accolades for his Marathi films like Dombivali Fast and Lai Bhaari. He went on to direct Hindi films like Madaari, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Force. He got the national spotlight when he directed Drishyam, the remake of a 2013 Malayali film.

A number of actors from the industry have expressed a major sense of loss. Ajay Devgan who worked with him for Drishyam tweeted, “My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant.”

Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, “Really sorry to learn of the untimely passing away of Nishikant Kamat. Heartfelt condolences  prayers for all his loved ones.”

Randeep Hooda also expressed his grief and wrote, “Farewell Nishi!! You lived and died by what you decided you loved more than anything else .. I’m sure you had no regrets about much .. thank you for all the movies, all the fun stories, warmth and smiles #NishikantKamat.”

Godavari water level reaches closer to the danger mark.

Andhra Pradesh, Aug 17: On Sunday afternoon, Godavari river crosses the 53.7 ft. flood level mark at Bhadrachalam in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh.

After 6 years, this is the third time that people are receiving this warning. According to the Central Water Commission (CWC) officials, the water would have crossed the 57 ft. mark by night. Taking that into consideration, 30 families of Kotha Colony were shifted by the Commission to relief and rehabilitation camp set up at Nannapaneni High School.

The overflow had poured over several parts of the state.

In Ramannagudem village of Eturunagaram Mandal in Mulugu district, the water level rose alarmingly on Sunday. The most affected areas were Kothuru, Chinthagudem, Eturunagaram, Ramannagudem, Kodai, Odagudem, Pedamuru, Oorttham and Waze.

Several roads including the National Highway-163 had been blocked, thus affecting regular transportation of people.

Collector, S. Krishna Aditya and S.P. Sangramsingh G Patil are monitoring the rescue operations in Agency areas. Since water levels were likely to rise further, the tribals are being shifted for their safety. The Collector said that the river had crossed the second-warning level for flood in Andhra Pradesh, so around 3000 people were being shifted from Agency hamlets to other areas.