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Just a few days before commercial flights with Cuba were reestablished, in the middle of November, the Swiss physician and professor Franco Cavalli traveled to that Caribbean nation. He is president of MediCuba Europe, an important network of healthcare NGOs with a presence in 13 countries. He is also one of the first European scientists to be able to visit Cuba after the severe restrictions were relaxed.

Like few other composers, Beethoven expresses the will for freedom, the democratic longing of the people. His music is the continuation of the French Revolution through the means of art; his Ninth Symphony is a hymn to the humanist utopia of the equality of all humankind.

Sharmila Tagore, the graceful icon of the Indian cinema turned 76 on December 8. My parents rarely went to the films and never with children, so I do not have any recollection of any films seen in my school days. It was only in college that I began to watch films, and that’s when I first saw Sharmila Tagore in a variety of roles. Her most iconic film easily is Satyajit Ray’s Devi, with an unforgettable opening shot, with hundreds gathering at a local zamindaari household’s outer portico to see the deity. ‘Ebaar tore chinechi Maa’, a Shyma Sangeet, ‘Now I know you Mother’ is a genre of music rarely used these days in visual depictions but it builds up expectation—to see a stone goddess and that first shot never fails to come as a bit of a shock, a doe-eyed young woman whose eyelids never flicker.

The spontaneity in the response to the farmers’ agitation makes it stand out from similar campaigns. The agitation is drawing support from all shades of public opinion and patriotic sportspersons from Punjab have threatened to return their awards. The first time this happened was when Anna Hazare launched his anti-corruption crusade. It is a different matter that the movement did not ultimately help achieve its goal, although it swept Narendra Modi’s BJP to power. The farmers stir many not be playing out in the same fashion, but it has the latent energy to sweep the Modi government away from power.

During the last Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress supremo and chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee was quite sure that her party would get most of the 42 seats. Based on that hope she even dreamt of her party playing a major role in national politics. However, it didn’t happen. Her party lost 12 seats and got only 22 out of 42. The main beneficiary was BJP — which increased its seat share from 2 to 18.

New Delhi: Strains of Christmas music will reverberate in Indian homes on Saturday, December 12, when New Delhi YMCA launches Christmas festivities in the country.

Fatorda, Goa: NorthEast United held Bengaluru to thrilling 2-2 draw and split the points in the Hero ISL at the Fatorda Stadium, here on Tuesday.

New Delhi: Union sports minister Kiren Rijiju, on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious scheme to provide employment to retired sportspersons.

Gurugram: Hyderabad based teenager Sneha Singh will attempt to become the first ever amateur back-to-back winner in 2020 as she faces strong field in the eighth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club here from Wednesday.

New Delhi: Hero MotoSports Team on Tuesday named three- rider team for the Dakar Rally 2021 while unveiling new bike and livery.