Cuban champ in marathon glare

Rwanda’s Diudone Disi and Ethiopian Deriba Alemu may have set new records in their triumph at the Delhi half-marathon recently.

But through the week preceding Delhi’s most high-profile run to date, all the attention was on the man who first raised the bar in high jump almost two decades back.

Cuba’s Javier Sotomayer, who has held the world record of 2.45 metres, made in 1988, was the half-marathon’s brand ambassador. From inaugurating the official watch that timed the runners to laughing with the winners on the victory podium, Sotomayer, with his loud Latin accent, was the toast of most cameras at the event.

otomayer, considered by many to be the finest high jumper ever, was even in a mood to entertain controversial questions. Sample this one: Did he ever use performance-enhancing drugs, and how many times did the US offer him money to switch loyalties? “No,” he said to the first of the question. To the second, he said living in Cuba was the best thing “God could have gifted” him.

Status binds blast judges

Pramod Kode and K. Uthirapthy might not have shared a cup of coffee. But the two blast judges share almost the same recognition and importance in public life.

Kode was known more than many senior judges in the country when he presided over the Bombay blasts case. Uthirapthy’s trials in the 1998 Coimbatore explosions weren’t as closely watched as the progress in Kode’s special anti-terror court but the man who ruled on south India’s most deadly terror attack became one of the most heavily protected public figures in Tamil Nadu.

Uthirapthy’s security was upgraded to Kode’s level after threats. The protection comes at a cost of Rs 1 lakh each month. His pilot vehicle and an escort car, rare for a district and sessions judge, is envied even by high court judges.

Message in music

If it’s about safe sex, slogans alone don’t strike a chord. The risk-happy could do with some music in the warnings — about facing the music if they aren’t careful.

A new anthem has hit the airwaves in Tamil Nadu, one of the country’s most affected by HIV/AIDS, urging people to take the precautions that help keep the virus away.

Composed in English and Tamil and set to music by Aadithyan, the musical message is the outcome of a joint effort by two NGOs, AIDS Prevention and Control Society and the Indian Community Welfare Organisation.

The track, by playback singer Dippu, seeks to create a better world by asking listeners not to discriminate against those who have been struck by the virus. The patients should be treated as “friends”, the song says, telling the youth to “abstain from sex until marriage and to remain faithful to their spouses”. The anthem could be played in schools and colleges in the days ahead.

Watermark

CII will help Delhi wash away its water woes.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit recently signed an understanding with the industry forum, whose researchers will try and suggest ways to conserve water.

“Hospitals, hotels and factories use water in large quantities. They can help in a big way... by recycling or reusing water through modern technologies,” Dikshit said after signing the agreement.

She stressed the importance of creating awareness among people about using water judiciously. “It is time we spread the message to people in areas, such as unauthorised colonies, where water leakage is high.”

Delhi: Gopaldas Neeraj, Baal Kavi Bairagi, Uday Pratap Singh and Uday Bhanu Hans render their famous Hindi and Urdu poetry at Modern School, Barakhamba Road this Wednesday at 6.30 pm. You can collect invitations from the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, near Mandi House.