PIFAA - 1st Punjabi International Film Academy Awards 2012

Toronto - The first ever PIFAA Awards will be held in Toronto over 4 days -Saturday 4th August 2012 with a number of events in addition to the Awards function.The awards function will be 3 to 4 hours long with lots of entertainment with performances from leading Punjabi actors, singers, comedians and performers. It will be attended by a large number of Punjabi film personalities from India and around the world. Leading Punjabi film personalities have already agreed to come to Toronto for the event. About 100 renowned people from Punjabi film industry are expected to attend the awards function in Toronto.

Fire in TN Express, 47 killed

Hyderabad, July 30
At least 47 passengers were charred to death and 25 others injured today when a massive fire swept through a sleeper coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The tragedy struck in the wee hours when the superfast train was moving at a speed of 110 kmph. The train was just a kilometre away from Nellore station when flames engulfed S-11 coach, turning it into an inferno on wheels.

Most of the passengers were fast asleep when the fire was first noticed at 4.15 am and before the train could come to a halt, the lives of 47 passengers were snuffed out by the raging fire. The screaming passengers rushed towards the exit door to escape from the tragedy.

Such was the intensity of the fire that several bodies were charred beyond recognition and the Railway authorities ordered DNA tests to confirm the identity of the victims. The mishap occurred between Vedayapalem and Nellore stations on Vijayawada-Gudur Section. The dead included some software engineers returning to Chennai after a vacation.

Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately to put out the fire and they managed to restrict the blaze to the S-11 bogie, the Railway officials said. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Mukul Roy did not rule out sabotage angle and indicated that there could have been a blast.

Speaking in Kolkata, the Railway Minister said: “Some of the injured passengers undergoing treatment at the hospitals and a gateman at one of the level crossings near Nellore station heard a loud sound when the fire broke out in the coach”.

He also quoted a Divisional Railway Manager as saying that there was a report of a blast in the bogie.

“Nothing can be excluded and nothing can be said without an investigation. It will be investigated if inflammable substances were in the compartment or it was caused by a short circuit,” Roy said.

Some passengers, who had a miraculous escape from the inferno, said they heard an explosion before a thick smoke and fire engulfed their coach.

However, the Nellore District Collector B Sridhar said there was a short circuit near the toilet which could have led to the devastating fire. 

Mohd Rafi's native village remembers the legend

 

Chandigarh, July 31

Legendary playback singer Mohammed Rafi's native village Kotla Sultan in Punjab's Amritsar district remembered him on his 32nd death anniversary today, with scores paying a tribute to him.

"We organised a function in the village. A number of people and Rafi sahab's fans thronged to pay tribute," Rafi's childhood friend Bakshish Singh's grandson Jodh Singh Samra told PTI.

Samra, district president of the Youth Akali Dal and SGPC member, said village sarpanch Kuldeep Singh along with sarpanches of some neighbouring villages took part in the function, that also had many school children participating.

"A singing competition was also organised for the children," Samra said.

He said that government should help the villagers set up a library, which will have a collection of Rafi's songs.

Rafi was born in Kotla Sultan village, about 30 kms from Amritsar in Punjab and about 250 kms from here. Born on December 24, 1924, Rafi died of a heart attack in Mumbai on July 31, 1980. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1967.

Rafi, who began singing by chanting the notes that a fakir sung in his village, went on to lend his voice to Bollywood megastars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra and Dev Anand in his career as a successful playback artist.

He has numerous hit songs to his credit including several duets with famous playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Working with music directors like OP Nayyar, Laxmikant Pyarelal and RD Burman, Rafi delivered some evergreen hits including 'Yeh duniya yeh mehfil', 'Chura liya hai tumne', 'O Haseena', 'Tum jo mil gaye ho' and 'Aaj mausam bada beimaan'.

Samra recalled that Rafi was a simple man who used to speak from his heart and help everyone in need.

He said that the village is trying to do its own bit to keep the memory of the singer alive.