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Rice and shine: Fragrant Basmati now goes phoren
Ah Basmati! Can a rice by any other name smell and taste just as good? No, if you go by Patent Number 5663484 awarded by the US Patent Office to Ricetec, a Texas-based company. Four researchers of the company won the award for inventions relating to novel basmati rice and a new method for breeding them. They are also said to have discovered new means for determining the cooking and starch properties of rice grains.
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Prize bulls to the slaughter after clamp-down on bouts
In football-crazy Fatorda near Margao, Joseph and his son Joaquim are used to cheers with a difference. Birbal, their prize fighter bull is the undisputed champion of dhirio, the trial of strength between bovines, native to Goa. But the seven-year old animal which has earned thousands of rupees for his owners has not locked horns with a challenger since 1996 when the sport was banned under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
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There are no questions about this vote bank
"Our bite is worse than our bark," says Jit Chamar of Dahi, a tiny Dalit hamlet of Central Uttar Pradesh, hardly 35 km from Lucknow. Tough words. Maybe provoked by a cynical remark from Onkar Singh, a local Thakur landholder that "barking dogs don't bite." But these are not empty words.
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Jewel in the crown
When Rekha took the stage again last fortnight, all that glittered was gold. While she stunned audiences with her perfect taal and adaa, no one could overlook the fact that the jewellery bedecking her voluptuous figure was as real as it was heavy. It was speculated that as the tragic courtesan in Umrao Jaan, her mesmerising look was enhanced by the dazzling emeralds shimmering around her neck.
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