On CNN’s Talk Asia: The secret life of Amitabh Bachchan

CNN

Legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan talks to CNN’s Mallika Kapur about his new film “Pink,” which he hopes will start a movement where more men learn “No means No.” Watch the interview here.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan speaks candidly to CNN’s Mallika Kapur about the issues that matter to him. Watch it here. 

Amitabh Bachchan, part of the first family of Indian cinema, is idolized by many — he opens up to CNN’s Mallika Kapur about how he copes with fame. Watch this part here.

Source: CNN.

(CNN) Sachin Tendulkar on career, family and future plans

CNN

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar talks to CNN’s Mallika Kapur about his career, fan expectations and future plans.

You can watch the interview here.

November, 2013

(CNN) Growing up with Mother Teresa: ‘No idea I was witnessing work of a saint’

CNN

This video was published in September, 2016 on CNN. You can watch it here. 

I had a pretty ordinary childhood in the Indian city of Kolkata. I was part of a happy, healthy, close knit family. My sisters and I went to school, played some sport, hung out with our friends.

When we could, we tagged along with our mother when she did volunteer work. It had the reassuring rhythm of a routine life. Back then, I had no idea I was witnessing history, and the work of a saint, taking place.

My mother was, and still is, part of a group called the Co-Workers of the Missionaries of Charity.

It’s a community of local volunteers – largely women, of varying age and from different religions – who assisted Mother Teresa, and now her group of nuns, in any way they could.

My mother would go to Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, Mother Teresa’s shelter for abandoned babies and children, to tutor children who were being adopted by European families.

It would be helpful, the nuns felt, for them to know a little English before they started a new life abroad. Often, I’d go along with my mom and practice conversational English with them.

Each time, I was struck by a board outside the dormitory that listed the number of children inside.

There were always many more girls than boys – a stark reflection of India’s preference for boys over girls. As one of three daughters myself, it used to – and still does – fill me with sadness and disgust.

Yet, I remember feeling relieved at the same time. At least the babies who made it to Mother Teresa’s homes were being cared for and stood a chance.

I saw firsthand how well they were cared for – by the volunteers, the nuns and Mother Teresa herself.

Little, but a powerhouse

It was common for me to run into Mother Teresa at Shishu Bhavan. She was often just there – cradling a sick baby, feeding a child, patiently engaging a toddler tugging at her sari.

She was little, but a powerhouse of energy, darting from one end of the house to another with quick steps. I remember her deeply wrinkled face and sparkly eyes with which she made intense eye contact when she spoke to you. She had a tremendous presence.

As clichéd as it sounds, when she was in the room, it had a different energy.

Loreto House was my own school and run by the same order Mother Teresa was part of before she founded her Missionaries of Charity. There, she was often the subject of many conversations, art, essay and poetry competitions. I once wrote a poem on her, which my mother handed to her. The next time I saw Mother Teresa, she beckoned to me.

“Come here, come here,” she smiled and said, “I want to show you something.” She led me to a statue of Mary at Shishu Bhavan and there above it, was my poem – framed. By that, I mean, a sheet of paper with the unsure handwriting of a school student, inserted into a clear plastic packet, taped to a wall.

Then she did what she would always do, clasp my hands tightly in hers and say, “God bless you my child, God bless you”.

When people hear I am from Kolkata, which used to be known as Calcutta, the usual follow up is a knowing nod and, “Oh, Mother Teresa.”

Yes, it’s a city that’s become synonymous with Mother Teresa and as a result, instantly conjures up images of poverty, desperation, despair. It’s known for its slums and squalor. That hurts.

But, it’s also going to be known as the city that produced a saint. As a Calcuttan, I’m proud of that.

That’s my city. That’s home.

(CNN) 3 reasons why India has ‘a lot of concern’ about Trump

CNN

by Rishi Iyengar and Mallika Kapur

This article was published on CNN Money on February 28, 2017

The head of India’s top state-owned bank says the country has good reason to be worried about President Trump.

“We’ve been… watching along with the rest of the world,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairwoman of the State Bank of India.
In an interview with CNNMoney on Tuesday, Bhattacharya said that there was “a lot of concern” in India about recent developments in the U.S.

She cited three main reasons.

Trade

“The U.S. is one of our major trading partners,” Bhattacharya said.
Trade between the U.S. and India was $109 billion in 2015, according to figures cited by the United States Trade Representative last October. Both countries have said they want that to grow to $500 billion in the years to come.
Trump’s “America First” agenda could derail those plans. The president has urged American companies to bring jobs and manufacturing back home.
So far that hasn’t stopped companies such as Apple, Tesla and Boeing from expanding — or planning to expand — their Indian operations.
And unlike Mexico and China, India has not yet been on the receiving end of Trump’s ire on trade. That’s no guarantee it won’t be.

Interest Rates

Interest rates set by the U.S. Federal Reserve are “very material to the way things happen in the rest of the world,” Bhattacharya added.
A hike in interest rates by the U.S. central bank — like the one it enacted in December — can suck money out of emerging markets such as India as global investors take advantage of higher yields on U.S. government bonds.
Fed officials have said they will raise interest rates slowly. But Trump’s plan to spend heavily on infrastructure could fuel U.S. inflation, forcing the Fed to move faster.
Higher U.S. rates can push the dollar higher against currencies such as India’s rupee. That could help Indian exporters but would hurt companies that have borrowed in dollars, and could push up Indian inflation.
India is a major importer of oil — which is priced in U.S. dollars.
With another rate hike expected in March this year, India will likely be watching the Fed with some trepidation.

Visas

India’s most immediate worry when it comes to the U.S. is a possible crackdown on work visas like the H-1B.
“We do have a lot of people who work in the U.S.,” Bhattacharya said.
The Trump administration has said it intends to make changes to the H-1B and several other programs, potentially shutting its doors to thousands of Indian engineers in the process.
Stocks of Indian outsourcing companies — the top beneficiaries of H-1B visas — took a nosedive when reports of changes to the program emerged, and Indian engineering students now appear to be rethinking their U.S. plans.
The fatal shooting of an Indian engineer in Kansas last week has added safety concerns to the mix.
But Bhattacharya echoed Indian tech leaders, who say the U.S. needs immigrants to keep its economy running smoothly.
“One of its major strengths has been its openness, and that has attracted the best of talent from the rest of the world,” she said. “I don’t think they’re going to give up that advantage in a hurry. Let us see how things pan out.”