PM Modi to visit Udupi’s Sri Krishna Math
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Udupi’s historic Sri Krishna Math on Friday.
According to officials, the Prime Minister will participate in the “Laksha Geeta Pathana”, a mass recitation in which more than one lakh devotees will chant verses from the Bhagavad Gita.
He is also expected to offer prayers at the Sri Krishna temple and receive blessings from the presiding Paryaya Swamiji.
This will be Modi’s third visit to Udupi and his second to the Sri Krishna Math.
He had first travelled to Udupi in 1993 and later in 2008 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, during which he paid visits to the Krishna temple.
The visit is expected to draw significant national attention to one of Karnataka’s most revered pilgrimage centres and the spiritual seat of the 13th-century philosopher Sri Madhwacharya, the proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta.
In preparation for the event, the district administration, state police and central security agencies have intensified coordination to manage the anticipated crowds.
Thousands of devotees from across Karnataka and neighbouring states are expected to arrive for the mass chanting and to witness the Prime Minister’s temple visit.
Traffic diversions, security checks and pedestrian movement plans have been put in place around the temple town.
Udupi district officials said that the temple premises, surrounding streets and public congregation areas are being readied to accommodate the large gatherings.
Medical teams, emergency response units and volunteer groups have also been deployed to support the large gatherings.
The visit is expected to further highlight Udupi’s spiritual prominence and bring renewed national focus to the region’s Vaishnavite traditions. The centuries-old Sri Krishna Math, known for its unique traditions including the nine Mathas of Udupi, remains a major centre for religious scholarship and pilgrimage.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
