Zee Telugu's 'Bhakti Samacharam' completes its 2000 episode mark

When it comes to devotional programs, Bhakti Samacharam is a household name for a Telugu television viewer and is the only devotional show that completes the 2000 episodes mark. 

Zee Telugu was the first channel to identify an opportunity in the morning band to create a slot when no other channels were thinking in these lines. This program is being aired successfully from the inception of Zee Telugu way back in May 2005 and is still the best show in the genre. Looking at Bhakti Samacharam many channels now have similar properties on air, this in turn has further strengthened Zee Telugu's base. This show has covered temples on a regional, national and international level by going all the way till Nepal. 

Pleased at the successful tenure of the show, Anuradha, Business Head of Zee Telugu said, "I am happy that the show has reached its 2000 mark. This has been one of our most popular shows on the channel. Apart from showcasing various temples this show has also been able to enlighten our viewers on the history and the rich mythological culture of India. The culture, traditions and temples related to all our customs were covered very aptly in the show".

The mile stone 2000th episode of Bhakti Samacharam is to be aired on 16th April, 2011.

Zee TV presents auditions for 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs'

Zee TV announces the auditions of its prestigious musical talent show, 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs', in Mumbai on Saturday, 30th April 2011. The participants have to be between 8 to 16 years of age. If you are passionate about music and have the skills, just drop in for the live auditions with your passport size photograph and age proof at Ryan International School, Evershine Nagar, Link Road, Malad West, Mumbai from 8 am to 2 pm.


Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs aims to open doors for talented children of our country who dream of becoming the biggest child singing sensation. This season will only double up the singing mania as L'il kids will bring the house down with their unbelievable flair for music and talent. After its overwhelming success in 2009, 'L'il Champs 2011' is back with a bang to scout for well-trained voices, fresh talent and young energetic young performers who will give a boost to the Indian music industry. The channel is in talks with the who's who of the industry to judge the potential child star.


Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs is an amazing opportunity that aims to discover hidden talent from Mumbai. The best singing talent will be selected from across the nation and their mettle will be judged on this platform. The eminent jury members will be in the city to identify the Best from the best of Mumbai. These winners will then head towards a series of grooming sessions for the ultimate competition in Mumbai and then finally the Numero Uno amongst them would be crowned as 'India's best child singing sensation'.


The earlier season made stars from some very talented kids like Shreyasi Bhattacharjee, Hemant Brijwasi, Yatharth Ratnum, Abhigyan Das, Swarit Shukl  to name a few. These winners will then head towards a series of grooming sessions and the ultimate competition in Mumbai and then finally the Numero Uno amongst them would be crowned as 'India's Best L'il Champ'

India Won World Cup Cricket Crown After 28 Years

Posted: Sunday , Apr 03, 2011 Mumbai:

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a dramatic six to bring the World Cup to India on Saturday after Sri Lanka had threatened to ruin their party.

Dhoni finished with 91 not out as India, chasing a target of 275, won by six wickets with 10 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium to become the first country to win the World Cup on home soil.

They are also only the third side to win batting second, a feat that seemed beyond them when Lasith Malinga dismissed both openers in his first four overs.

It's good to win. That was really pushing me in this game. It's been a memorable 35 days that we've spent together and this is the goal we wanted to achieve, Dhoni said at the victory presentation.

Left-hander Gautam Gambhir stayed calm among the storm to score a masterly 97, sharing a fourth-wicket partnership of 109 from 118 balls with man-of-the-match Dhoni. Yuvraj Singh, who was named man-of-the-tournament, finished on 21 not out.

Muttiah Muralitharan, playing his last international match, was accurate but rarely threatening and was clearly feeling the effects of a hamstring and knee injury. The world record holder for test and one-day wickets did not increase his tally.

After Mahela Jayawardene had scored an unbeaten 103 in Sri Lanka's challenging 274 for six, Malinga reduced an exuberant crowd to a shocked silence.

His second ball in the opening over skidded through low to Virender Sehwag who, playing across the line, was out lbw without scoring.

Sachin Tendulkar looked in masterly touch, off-driving and square-cutting boundaries off Nuwan Kulasekara's second over.

Kumar Sangakkara persisted with Malinga and was rewarded when Tendulkar (18) fended uncertainly outside the off-stump and edged a catch to the captain behind the stumps. Malinga raced the length of the pitch to receive the congratulations of his ecstatic team mates.

Tendulkar, 37, who was playing in what looks certain to be his last World Cup, still needs one more century to become the first man to score 100 international centuries.

Gambhir and Virat Kohli began the rescue operation and received a huge slice of luck when the former was dropped at long-off by Kulasekara off off-spinner Suraj Randiv on 30 with the total on 68.

Kohli batted enterprisingly to reach 35 when Tillakaratne Dilshan, took a magnificent one-handed catch off his own bowling flinging himself to his right with his arm fully extended. Gambhir was within three runs of a century when medium-pacer Thisara Perera knocked back his middle stump. He threw back his head in disgust but his 122-ball innings with nine boundaries had gone a long way to winning the World Cup for his country for the second time.

After a brilliant opening spell from Zaheer Khan, who took one for six from his opening five overs in the Sri Lanka innings after starting with three maidens, Jayawardene guided the ball deftly into the gaps and ran swiftly between the wickets.

Sangakkara (48), who had negotiated his early overs carefully, appeared set to play a substantial innings when he attempted a cut against Yuvraj's left-arm spin and edged the ball straight to Dhoni who threw the ball gleefully into the air.

Jayawardene kept the scoreboard ticking over before Sri Lanka took the batting powerplay in the 46th over and the whole tempo of the game changed.

Kulasekara swung across the line to smash Zaheer into the stands for the first six of the match. Jaywardene danced outside his leg-stump to slash Zaheer for four and bring up his second century of the tournament from 84 balls with 13 boundaries.

Kulasekara was run out for 32 giving Perera the opportunity to crack 22 not out from nine balls with three fours and a six. Sixty-three runs came from the batting powerplay, Sri Lanka's best of the competition.

Once Dhoni had finished the match, his team mates ran on to the field and hoisted Tendulkar on to their shoulders for a lap of honour in front of 33,000 cheering fans.

It's the proudest moment of my life. It's never too late. It's terrific to be part of this team, a great honour, said an elated Tendulkar who won the Cup on his sixth attempt.

Sangakkara was gracious in defeat. He said, “They deserved this title, the way they played in front of a great crowd. Both Sri Lanka and India will be proud of the way they have played, he said. The only way to stop India is to get at least seven wickets. Gautam was outstanding and Dhoni stepped up and performed."

India Launch PSLV-C16 Successfully on April 20, 2011

SRIHARIKOTA (AP), APRIL 20/04/2011  

India's workhorse satellite launch vehicle, the PSLV- C16, successfully kept its date with deep space blasting off at the appointed time of 10.12 a.m. from the spaceport at Sriharikota here today.

This is the 17th consecutive successful launch of the vehicle.

Carrying three satellites, Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat, the launch vehicle took off blazing an orange trail in a clear summer sky to loud cheers from scientists and other dignitaries assembled to witness the launch.

Even as the sonic boom created by the rocket breaking the sound barrier travelled 8 km across from the launch pad to where this correspondent was witnessing the launch from, the first stage had already separated from the vehicle.

Eighteen minutes from launch, the rocket had soared 822 km into the atmosphere and ejected the three satellites in their appointed slots.

‘Precise placement'

“One of the most precise placements,” gushed an official as a round of applause rung out across the Mission Control Room even as the ISRO Chairman, Dr Radhakrishnan Nair, joined his hands in a silent prayer of thanks for the successful mission.

Soon after, Dr Nair addressed the scientists and others gathered in the Mission Control Room congratulating them on a copybook launch.

Addressing a press conference later, Dr Nair said that the target was to place the satellites in a polar sun-synchronous orbit of 820 km with a possible dispersion of 20 km either side. As it happened, the launch vehicle had ejected the satellite at 822 km.

The main payload Resourcesat-2, will replace the earlier version launched in 2003 which incidentally, is still functioning. The satellite will be used for remote sensing applications in agriculture, forestry, monitoring snow cover, glaciers and coastal mapping.

Youthsat, X-Sat

The Youthsat is an Indo-Russian joint venture for solar and atmospheric applications while the X-Sat is a microsatellite for imaging applications built by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

ISRO has launched this satellite on a commercial basis but Dr Nair would not divulge the revenue earned from this launch.

All the three satellites are functioning “extremely well” according to Dr T. K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, and the solar panels have been deployed successfully.

Quick Response Code(QR Code)

A QR code (short for Quick Response) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.
The technology has seen a large uptake in Japan and South Korea. However, in the West there has been a far slower adoption of QR codes.
Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). QR codes can be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) or to compose an email or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code generating sites.
QR codes storing addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or almost any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is termed hardlinking or object hyperlinking.
Google's mobile Android operating system supports QR codes by natively including the barcode scanner (ZXing) on some models, and the browser supports URI redirection, which allows QR codes to send metadata to existing applications on the device. Nokia's Symbian operating system is also provided with a barcode scanner, which is able to read QR codes, while mbarcode[4] is a QR code reader for the Maemo operating system. In the Apple iOS, a QR code reader is not natively included, but over 50 free apps are available with reader and metadata browser URI redirection ability.

Al-Jazeera Launched in India

NEW DELHI: Finally launching in India after a four-year wait for government approvals, Al-Jazeera's English news channel plans a marketing blitz next month to correct the “myths and misconceptions” surrounding it.

“We want people to start recognising us as an international channel dedicated to good journalism…which does not look at the world through any particular prism,” said Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey, when asked about the current perception of his brand as the Arabic channel that had exclusively broadcast al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's video messages after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. “We are planning an extensive marketing, brand awareness and grass roots campaign in India early next year…in print, digital, broadcast and outdoor platforms,” he told reporters.

The channel started broadcasting in India at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting gave the final go-ahead to permit the creation of downlinking of Al Jazeera's signals in the country. “Hundreds” of cable operators had agreed to include the free-to-air channel in their current line-up, according to Mr. Anstey, who refused to reveal any numbers, whether with regard to investment, targeted reach or revenue. All he would say was that the potential market for Al Jazeera English channel was the more than 300 million English speakers in the country.

“We have received letters of intent from cable operators in Kerala, Mumbai; very strong intents from Kolkata and the West Bengal region, so you can see that all parts of the country are represented,” said Anmol Saxena, channel's bureau chief in Delhi. “We also expect to finish negotiations with DTH operators within the next three or four weeks.”

When Al Jazeera — whose Arabic broadcasts began in 1996 — launched its 24-hour English news channel in 2006, it applied for permission to downlink in India as well. However, with the Home Ministry initially citing security considerations to recommend against a licence, it has been a long wait for the channel.

“This is an exciting breakthrough that has been in the works for several years,” said Mr. Anstey.

Al Jazeera's seven-man bureau in New Delhi is likely to see a modest expansion soon, along with the possible establishment of a Mumbai bureau.

About Videocon DTH

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In addition to all popular television channels, the Videocon d2h platform will offer many new features and exciting interactive services, thus becoming a one-stop shop for all the television entertainment needs of customers.

Maa TV launches two new channels

February 4, 2011, Friday

HYDERABAD: Taking the number of channels in its bouquet to four, Maa TV on Friday launched two new channels, Maa Movies and Maa Junior. Coinciding with the occasion, film actor Ram Charan was inducted as a Director on the board of the channel network.

While Maa Movies seeks to leverage the strength of the network's movie library to offer film and film-based content, Junior looks at covering the void in the children's segment with a variety of interesting and innovative concepts.

Announcing the launch of the channels, N. Prasad, Chairman of Maa TV said the move was a step towards Maa TV's vision of attaining the status of a true and preferred entertainment channel network for Telugu Diaspora worldwide. Ram Charan's induction as Director would add value to the Maa Brand besides, contribution of his innovative thoughts on entertainment programming, Mr. Prasad added.

“Maa TV is known for its vibrant, innovative, pleasant, versatile and interactive programming. The new initiatives will go a long way in its mission to bring whole lot of interesting programmes for the Telugu TV viewers,” remarked Nagarjuna Akkineni, Promoter Director of Maa TV.

Another Promoter Director, Allu Arvind described the addition of two new channels as a major milestone for Maa TV that would strengthen its position.

Amrita TV Offers A Windfall For Vishu

On this Vishu day, Amrita TV gifts its viewers with a largesse of unforgettable programmes as a harbinger of good fortune and prosperity all through the coming year.

Mummy and Me , the super hit blockbuster movie starring Suresh Gopi, Kunchacko Boban, Archana Kavi, Urvasi and Mukesh makes its world premiere at 9.00 am on Vishu morning.

Amrita TV offers a double treat showcasing both the mega stars of Malayalam from 8.30 to 9.30 prime time : Mammootty opens up to Srinivasan in a confidential heart-to-heart talk in which they discuss the emerging trends in films, the current state of Malayalam Cinema, the direction in which it is headed etc in Paurushathinte Meda Vishu at 8.30 pm. Mohanlal holds forth on his forthcoming movies, films on the cards and challenges thrown up by new roles in Abhinayathinte Kaineettam at 9.00pm.

Carrying on the auspicious mood set by glimpsing the kani at the crack of dawn, Vishukani at 6 am too starts the propitious day with a ritual offering to the Divine. It presents a refreshing feast of devotional melodies by the contestants of Raga Ratnam Junior-2 in the form of 3 keerthanas- Kani kanum neram, Gopala ka pahima and Bhajare Gopalam.

Situated in the pastoral beauty of Thanikudam, a picturesque village on the border between Palakkad and Thrissur and one of the last bastions of agriculture in Kerala, Manninte Kaineettam at 7.00am is a depiction of the thanksgiving that an agrarian society offers for its rich Vishu harvest, which is Earth’s bounty to the villagers. They place the yield at the foot of the local deity and express their gratitude for the generosity of Mother Nature through folk songs, dance and other art forms.

Kanikonna Pookkalum Vishukaineetavum at 7.30 am visits virtuosos from various creative fields : C.Radhakrishnan, acclaimed writer &film director, Sumangala the Enid Blyton of Malayalam, Mundoor Sethumadhavan short story writer of renown, K.P .Ramanunni prominent novelist of works such as Sufi Paranja Katha, Janardhanan Puthussery folk singer and Sadanandan Anikath distinguished painter and collects their remembrances of Vishu, to form a glorious floral pattern of recollections.

From the heart of the agrarian tranquility of Kuttanad comes Naadan Paattinte Kaineettam at 8.30 am
with a splendid crop of koithu pattu, vanchi pattu and kali pattu that depict the gaiety and festivity of the simple rustic farmers, at the end of a good harvest season .

It is verse time at 3.30 pm in the elite company of Mahakavi Akkitham, Kendra Sahitya Academy Award winner, along with Alangode Leelakrishnan and P.P Ramachandran, eminent poets who drop in at the Akkitham Mana to pay their respects to the celebrated bard in Kavithayude Kaineettam . In an atmosphere throbbing with mellifluous rhymes, the poets quote lines from their own work as Akkitham bestows a Vishu memento by reciting couplets from his best compositions.

Providing a humorous interlude is Narmathinte Kaineettam at 4.00pm in which well known comedy stars from the film and television fraternity pull out all stops to provide a half an hour of sheer hilarity through game shows, anthakshari and droll exchanges .

From the comical, one moves on to the warmth of friendship in Sauhridathinte Kaineettam at 4.30 pm
in the vivacious company of the generation X of Malayalam films, Kunchacko Boban, Indrajith, Samvritha Sunil, Ann Augustine, Kajal Sandhya and director V.K. Prakash. Totally relaxed and informal, these effervescent youth horse around and make merry perching atop trees or loll on the floor and compare notes on their filmy experience during the shoot of ‘Three Kings’.

Dance takes centre stage at 5.00pm in Nrithyathinte Kaineettam in which Padmashree Kalamandalam Kshemavathy interacts with Rajashree Warrier, Dr. Neena Prasad and a couple of her students who call on her on Vishu morning. She enacts a poem composed by Sugathakumari, gives brief dancing lessons for her students and depict the myriad lasya bhavas of Bharatanatyam.

An intimate chat with M.S Vishwanathan follows in Snehathinte Kaineettam at 5.30 pm.

Abhinayathinte Kaineettam features cosy tete-a-tetes with Dileep at 7.00pm and young frontline heroine Bhama at 8.00pm.

Touching up the Vishu morning with the dazzling hues of talent is Nirangalude Kaineettam at 7.30pm
spotlighting veteran painter Artist Namboothiri, J .R Prasad retired Chief Artist of Mathrubhumi and Sekar Ayyanthole art teacher and former president of Kerala Chithrakala Parishath . They relive previous Vishu celebrations through the tinted glass of their memories at the end of which Artist Namboothiri gifts the others with a couple of his classics in canvas as a souvenir.

This years Vishu celebrations finishes off on a high note in Viplavathinte Vishu Pakshi at 9.30pm when Amrita TV catches up with V.S Achuthanandan on his blistering campaign trail. The Chief Minister pauses in the heat and dust of electioneering to flip back to the tempestuous times of his youth when revolution brewed in the blood of the firebrand leader, to reminiscence about the Vishu of those stormy days.

Author: Smitha Sivaji

Prophetic Conference on April 18-20, 2011

Zee TV

About Zee TV

Zee TV, the flagship channel of Zee Network was launched in October 1992. With a reach of more than 167 countries and access to more than 500 million viewers globally, Zee TV has created strong brand equity and is the largest media franchise serving the South Asian Diaspora. Within sixteen years of its launch, Zee TV has driven the growth of the satellite and cable industry in India. Since its inception the channel has introduced some path breaking programs like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Choti Bahu, Lux Dance India Dance and Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo, Pavitra Rishta, L'il Champs and recently launched Sanjog Se Bani Sangini, Preet Se Bandhi Ye Dori Ram Milaayi Jodi and Dil Se Diya Vachan to name few. The popularity of Zee arises from its understanding of Indian culture and beliefs, which are depicted in its programming. Zee TV is being distributed by Zee Turner.

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Swarna Dances Her Way To The Top To Bag The Amrita ‘ Super Dancer Junior’ Crown

Swarna Thomas lived up to her name to become the golden girl of the Grand Finale in Amrita TV’s Super Dancer Junior-2, which will be telecast on April 9th at 7.00pm.

Keeping her date with history, Swarna edged past more accomplished and determined competitors to pluck the title and the gilded purse of Rs.5 lakhs . Malavika, came in a close second, while Shifana made the cut to earn the third position and Chithu was adjudged fourth in the ranking—each one earning in lakhs by way of prize money. The jury panel included the dancing divas, Sudha Chandran and Kala Master complemented by acclaimed film director ,Shyamaprasad.

Swarna, who is a resident of Mumbai, was one of the few participants who grew as a contestant as the competition forged ahead, bettering herself with every outing, notching up some perfect scores along the way- most notably in the Horror Round, Challenging Styles Round, Festival Round - to peak perfectly in the ultimate stage.

The Finale probed the fine steel of the foursome’s caliber with 3 rounds- the Solo, air and Group Round. The fever pitched performances were studded with some tantalizing  numbers from film starlet Vishnupriya, Anna the winner of Super Dancer Junior-1 , and songs from noted singer, Suchitra Karthik from Chennai

In a cricketesque conclusion where past laurels don’t t carry any weight and only the present moment counts , Swarna delivered the goods when it mattered most and pocketed the fee.It was a fairy tale finish to a 7 month long effort for the beauty from Mumbai which showed that reality shows can spring as many surprises as one day cricket.

When the dust has settled and the euphoria and elation has given way to the daily drudgery of lessons and exams, Swarna will hopefully treasure the fact that it was her native soil that opened up the gateway to stardom to her. The three-hour dazzling finale will be aired globally on Amrita TV on Saturday, April 9
from 7 pm onwards.
Author:Smitha Sivaji

Choti-Si-Zindagi-Starts Tonight on Zee TV at 7PM