Shamed And Crippled
With Tehelka.com's spy-camera taking a heavy political toll after the damning revelations of corruption in defence deals, the beleaguered Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government will have an uphill task restoring its credibility and undoing the damage to its image.

BJP: Old Hype

Interview:
Bangaru Laxman

Jaya Jaitly:
Jhola To Purse

Opposition: On A Roll

INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG Poll: Outraged !

Defence Establishment
: Surgery For Graft

Interview: G. Fernandes

Barak Missiles:
Off The Mark

Tehelka:
Sting Theory

Highlights Of The Findings

Rakesh Kumar Jain: Gasbag Man

Wheeling A Good Deal
The battle for BALCO degenerates into a political chess match between Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, and Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie. Jogi holds most of the aces at the moment--but will he play them all when it could mean loss of investments to the state?

The New Targets
The 60,000 policemen in Kashmir are caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, they are the target of militant attacks, and, on the other, the Army sees them with suspicion. It is not just themselves, but their families that the policemen worry about as they struggle to battle militancy and falling morale.

Crisis Of Confidence While stock prices haven't recovered since the collapse of March 2, the panic has spread from Mumbai to Kolkata. Underlying the fear is a deepening fear of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's will or capacity to regulate the stockmarkets.

Escape to Victory
Down and virtually out, India create a miracle at the Eden Gardens to stun the Australians and break their winning streak.

Mixing Metaphors Music, dance, and tourism synthesise in the famed textile centre of Maheshwar to provide sustainable synergies for its growth.

MUSIC: MUSINGS

So far, We have had classical musicians experimenting with playback singing in films-Ustad Amir Khan (Baiju Bawra), Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (Mughal-e-Azam), Praveen Sultana (Kudrat), Kishori Amonkar (Jhanak Jhanak Pyal Baaje, Drishti), to name a few, but not the other way round. Therefore it comes as a surprise to find playback singer Suresh Wadkar cutting a pure Hindustani classical album. The singer, who began his career with the ghazal Sine me jalan (Gaman), was trained in Hindustani classical music by Parshwanath Digrajkar and then by Acharya Jialal Vasant. This album is a disciple's tribute to his revered gurus through his compositions.

Abhinav Suresh Wadkar Ninaad Rs 75	Yeh Yaarana Renoo BMG Crescendo Rs 65

Wadkar has tried his hand at four ragas. On side A there's raga Jaijaivanti, with compositions in media tempo, Rupak tala and the fast-paced Teental. Side B has three short compositions in ragas Bhoopali, Abhogi and Malkauns, with Wadkar excelling in this last. In the slow passages, his voice resounds and there is clarity in the elaboration but in the faster passages of madhyalaya drut, his voice seems to tire. Somehow not accustomed to improvisation and elaboration, he eschews the vilambit (slow) tempo and prefers sargams instead of aakar taans. The treatment of the ragas too is sketchy. Much remains to be achieved.

The cover says Renoo...Yeh Yaarana. But Renoo who? Just another budding singer making her maiden foray into Indipop. This one could be different from the other albums because the songs have been composed by three members of the group India Ocean (Rahul Ram, Amit Kilan and Asheem Chakravarty).

"I was inspired by world music and this album was not aimed to be deliberately different, it came naturally," says Renoo, who has also trained in classical music. The album has a soulful blend of classical, folk and rock genres. Renoo's thin but tuneful voice is better suited for slow numbers like O jaane jaan than the more peppy ones.

-S. Sahaya Ranjit

As the name (Tabla.com) indicates, this site is dedicated to the art and commerce of the ubiquitous Indian drum set. From shopping for musical instruments-tabla, sitar, sarod, didjeridoo and hammer drums-to selective academic resources and a specially created tabla composition database, there is much that could keep you engrossed here. But then if you are an informed connoisseur there is also much that's missing. The list of recording labels could have been more exhaustive. The basic topography of the site, however, is well planned. The webmaster betrays his bias by offerings such as this: "Recommended Listening: Anything by Zakir or a group with him playing tablas." But then, as a pupil of the late Allah Rakha, Ray Spiegel is only revelling in guru-bhakti.

-S. Kalidas

HOT TRACK

7, S Club 7
(Universal; Rs 125)

It's an album about buddies and bosom pals, about standing by each other and sticking around. Nothing unexpected from a group whose CV so far includes acting credits for the BBC1 teleseries Miami 7 about the adventures of seven friends working in a Miami hotel, and S Club 7 Go Wild, featuring the seven going around the world tracking endangered species. Could not do all that without oodles of Friends-style camaraderie, could they? This album (the second so far from Bradley, Hannah, Jo, Jon, Paul, Rachel and Tina), is a bunch of breezy numbers that may not be very demanding on the vocal chords but are, for the most part, pleasant and hummable all the same. There's the fun and funky Reach, the breathy I'll be there, a spot of rap in I'll keep waiting and shades of Britney Spears in Natural. Granted, you won't exactly ruminate over lyrics like Loving you is not just luck or illusion/ It's in the make-up of our dna ..." but you can't help smiling at them either.

-Anna M.M. Vetticad

ARRIVALS

	Kashish (HMV; Rs 45 ) Compilation of lesser-heard songs of the eternal favourite, Kishore Kumar.
	Shivoham (Times music; Rs 65) Compositions in praise of Shiva by Ashit Desai. Commentary by Harish Bhimani.
	Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (Venus; Rs 55) Sandeep Chowta's unpredictable music rendered by assorted artistes.
	Rock Hard (Universal; Rs 125) A veritable trip down the rock 'n' roll hall of fame with Queen, Scorpions and others.

MetroScape
Pop Corn
"You are the best audience in the whole world," the Vengaboys tell raving crowds
in Delhi.
more...

Looking Glass

Delhi Exhibition:
Pop To Classic

Delhi Restaurant:
San Gimignano

Mumbai Accessories Store: Watches Of Switzerland

Bangalore Concert: Deep Purple

A bloody crackdown on Naxalites in the south-eastern fringes of Uttar Pradesh proves that only developmental programmes, not guns, can help fight the menace. INDIA TODAY's Special Correspondent Subhash Mishra explains why in
Despatches.