Youngest MP in 15th Lok Sabha

Youngest MP of the 15th Lok Sabha, Hamdulla Sayeed from Lakshadweep, shares a light moment with Vijay Inder Singla, after attending a tea-party hosted by Rahul Gandhi, in New Delhi.

Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed of the Congress will be the youngest member of the Lok Sabha at just 26. Others Young Turks who are entering parliament in their 20s include Mausam Noor, 27, and Nilesh Narayan Rane, 28 (both of the Congress), Agatha K Sangma, 28 (National Congress Party), and 29-year-old Sarika Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, besides Varun Gandhi, 29, of the BJP.

Being the son of a late Congress veteran is indeed an advantage for 26-year-old Hamadullah Sayeed, the youngest face in the 15th Lok Sabha. But the debutant MP from the union territory of Lakshadweep, realises that while his father's name has brought him thus far, it cannot be a ticket to his political survival.

Hamadullah is the son of late Congress leader P.M. Sayeed, who had won 10 Lok Sabha polls consecutively from the Lakshadweep constituency since 1967, losing only in 2004. Incidentally, the father too had won his first parliamentary election at the age of 26.

'You have to perform and prove yourself to remain in politics. Political legacy can give you a platform, but if you don't perform, the same people who sent you to parliament will vote against you next time. One must have the capacity to perform in politics,' Hamadullah told IANS in an interview.

He is among the 206 Congress MPs elected in the general elections, which have gone decisively in favour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Asked what prompted him to get into politics, Hamadullah, a law graduate from Indian Law School, Pune, said: 'After the defeat of my father, the sufferings of people in the constituency prompted me to get into politics and work for them.'

'Now, I have to prove my worth to people for the faith that they have reposed in me. Also, I wanted to give back this seat to the Congress.'

In 2004, P.M. Sayeed was defeated by P. Pookunhikoya of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) by a margin of just 73 votes. Lakshadweep happens to be India's smallest union territory, situated 200-300 km off the Kerala coast in the Arabian Sea.

Hamadullah, who was associated with politics even in his student life, is the legal advisor of the Youth Congress in Lakshadweep. He believes the role of Congress general secretary and MP Rahul Gandhi in initiating youths into politics has been exemplary.

'Rahulji is a visionary, he is a dynamic leader and he has proved this in these elections. His role in making the Congress win 206 seats cannot be described in words. He is trying to revive Indian politics by giving more representation to youth which makes up a large portion of the Indian population,' he said.

Hamadullah, who is the seventh among eight siblings, had his schooling at the Air Force Golden Jubilee School, Subrato Park, in Delhi before shifting to Pune.

He is single and when asked if he has a girlfriend, laughed and said 'no yaar!' He does intend to get married in the near future though.

A practising Muslim, Hamadullah offers namaz regularly and believes that it brings him peace of mind and makes him disciplined.

'It brings peace to my mind and makes me more disciplined, which helps me to concentrate better on my work,' he said.

Young faces of Lok Sabha

Young faces of Lok Sabha

Youth force is set to dominate the Indian Parliament, with 79 young faces having been elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. The last Lok Sabha had only 34 MPs below 40-year age mark.

While some MPs like Rahul Gandhi and Sachin Pilot have retained their seats, others like Nilesh Narayan Rane and Varun Gandhi have been elected for the first time.

Besides, the Congress is also likely to infuse some young blood in the council of ministers.

"The Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already promised that young MPs who have worked hard and proved themselves will be included in the cabinet this time," said a senior party leader.

Manish Pandey rules out Army Career

After becoming the first Indian batsman to slam a century in the IPL, Manish Pandey is convinced that he is made to fire with bat in cricket fields than firing bullets in the battlefield.

Pandey on Thursday smashed a scintillating unbeaten 114 as Royal Challengers Bangalore secured a semifinal spot after beating Deccan Chargers by 12 runs.

Pandey, who whacked only the second century of the IPL-II, said joining Army was second career option for him but now he need not pursue that.

"I think the plan has changed now. I just had an option that if cricket would not work for me then I would join the Army," he told official IPL website.

The youngster said it was skipper Anil Kumble's  backing and coach Ray Jennings' faith that did the trick for him in the high-pressure match.

"In the team meeting he (Kumble) told me that I would open the innings today. He said he has faith in me and told me to back my abilities. He said the track looked good and no matter how badly I played I would still score good runs.

"Jennings told me to play my natural game. He told me not to fear failure and to have fun in the centre," he said.

Pandey was ecstatic after scoring a match-winning knock.

"It is amazing. I just thought I would back myself today. And it worked. I realised only when I reached 87 that I could make a century here. I am happy to match AB de Villiers  feat of scoring a century in the IPL tournament in South Africa .

"It was a nice wicket to bat on. The ball was coming on nicely. And I got my timing going early in my innings," he said.

Talking about his on-field strategy, he said, "When I saw Sachin Tendulkar  batting I somehow felt that I can also do it on this track. I am a great admirer of Tendulkar.

"I told myself that I would play a ball on merit. Once I got my timing and swing of the bat right, I knew I could bat through the innings. I think today was my day."

KKR richest team in IPL

Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders may have shown a poor performance in the second season of Indian Premier League, but in terms of brand value it is the richest team of the Twenty20 tournament, with a brand valuation of USD 22 million.

KKR has emerged as the strongest brand in terms of valuation measured vis-a-vis the strengths of the eight IPL teams, according to the valuation done by an UK-based international brand valuation firm Intangible Business, in collaboration with MTI Consulting.

It would seem that Bollywood and cricket are not made for each other.

Honestly, I am relieved that SRK, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty are packed off from South Africa as we would get to watch some quality cricket. "Winning games is not enough to build a successful sports brand. Teams need to engage the local community, attract star players, who inspire a wide audience, and develop a strong marketing communications programme," Intangible Business International Director Richard Yoxon said.

While the playing squads will change and the success of each team will fluctuate over time, the brand is the constant that unites supporters and is ultimately responsible for driving the long-term commercial sustainability and success of the IPL franchises, MTI Consulting said in a statement.

"Brand values are a reflection of a brand's ability to generate future income. It is a forward looking study that uses historic performance and future trends to predict future activity," MTI Consulting CEO Hilmy Cader said.

Meanwhile, last year's winner Rajasthan Royals, partly owned by another Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, has been ranked at the bottom with a brand value of USD 10 million.In the ongoing tournament, KKR has shown up the worst performance with just three wins in 14 matches, while Delhi Dare Devils and Chennai Super Kings leading the tally.

Among the eight teams, KKR has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of USD 22 million, followed by Delhi Daredevils (USD 19 million), Chennai Super Kings (USD 39.4 million), Mumbai Indians (USD 17 million), Kings XI Punjab (USD 15 million), Royal Challengers Bangalore (USD 14 million), Hyderabad Deccan Chargers (USD 11 million) and Rajasthan Royals (USD 10 million).

US can't expect too much, too soon from India

The new Indian government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could prove to be an "invaluable ally" of the Obama administration and the United States cannot expect "too much too soon" from the Congress-led coalition rule, a leading US daily said on Thursday.

'The Washington Post' observed that the new government will continue to move at its own pace in meeting regional and global challenges.

"Mr Singh's new government could be an invaluable ally for the Obama administration as it tries to stabilize Pakistan and Afghanistan, control the spread of nuclear weapons and preserve global free trade," the paper said in its editorial.

The observation comes when the US is looking forward to strengthen its strategic relations with New Delhi and make it a valuable partner in resolving key regional challenges including Afghanistan and Pakistan and global issues like climate change and Doha round of WTO.

Prabhakaran Photos

A long time ago: This undated photograph released by Sri Lanka's ministry of defence is said to be taken off the family photo album of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his immediate family at an undisclosed location. 

A private moment: This undated photograph released by Sri Lanka's ministry of defence is said to be taken off the family photo album of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his immediate family at an undisclosed location. 

One from family album: This undated photograph released by Sri Lanka's ministry of defence is said to be taken off the family photo album of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his immediate family at an undisclosed location. 

Kites Movie

Kites

Starring Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori in lead roles, the movie is directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Rakesh Roshan.It is a romantic love story between Indian guy Hrithik Roshan and Mexican beauty Barbara Mori.

The film has Hrithik playing a man named J, who once used to be a clever, street smart, charming guy, but is now a wanted man. To add to his woes he’s left to die in the scorching heat of the Mexican desert. Only one desire keeps him alive, to find the woman he loves.

That woman is Natasha (Barbara Mori). She is engaged to another man, but that makes no difference to J. If loving her brings down loads of troubles on him, J would happily bear it all. 

What is the fate of this love story where the lovers don’t even speak each other’s languages? While she talks in Spanish, he speaks Hindi with a smattering of English. 

Kangana Ranaut completes the love triangle by adding another angle to the Hrithik-Barbara love story. 

The film has some breath-taking dances from Hrithik, Barbara and Kangana. The choreography in these songs is by Flexy Stu, a renowned American choreographer. For one song shot in Mumbai, Farah Khan did the choreography.