Aishwarya Rai: Transcript depict Threat by Khan

SOME leading newspapers in India have published a conversation transcript that shows Salman Khan threatening the bold and beutiful Aishwarya Rai.

He allegedly threatened her because she refused to perform for underworld gangster, Abu Salem.

The taped telephone conversation took place four years ago after the release of Abbas-Mustan's "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke".

In the chat transcript, Salman says that he only did the film (which was partly funded by illegal money) because he was scared of the gangster, Chhota Shakeel.

Furthermore, when the beauty Queen ex-Miss Universe Aishwarya Rai repeats her refusal to do the Abu Salem show, Salman threatens to kill her and her family.

This is a very damaging piece of news that suggest that Salman has links with the underworld.

Maharashtara Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that an inquiry will be conducted into these allegations.

Disney’s Princess Jasmine

A real life version of Disney’s Princess Jasmine, Aishwarya Rai is the epitome of super-groomed glamour. The Asian beauty sticks to natural nudes and pinks to complement her lovely coffee complexion.

The real trick to her entire look is her perfectly shaped eyebrows, easily achieved by using Benefit San Francisco’s Speed Brow. Benefit’s kit, which includes everything you need to define, tint and tame your brows, comes in three different shades to suit your hair colour.

As for make-up, a pink shimmer applied to her eyelids and to her well-defined cheekbones is the only accent used on Aishwarya’s smooth and creamy skin. A great product to define your eyes is Clinique’s Colour Surge Eye Shadow in the super shimmer shade of Lucky Penny.

When smeared all over her brow bone, Aishwarya’s almond-shaped eyes pop! A thin line of black liquid eyeliner (we like Estee Lauder’s Pure Colour Eyeliner in Pure Black) lining the bottom ridges and upper lash lines of both eyes, along with lashings of mascara, complete her alluring look.

The Indian beauty finishes off her signature style with a nude lipgloss like No. 7’s Sheer Temptation Lipstick in Attract. You’ll ace her fairytale look in no time!

Aishwarya lights Africa with solar Flair

The sun is shining on this particularly globalized project: an Indian has been encouraged by a British award to begin manufacturing solar lamps in China with material sourced in Japan to sell to South Africa and Australia.

But until recently, Dharmappa Barki, who lives in Secunderabad in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, did not have the kindest things to say about globalization.

When he won the Ashden awards, with a prize of almost US$50,000, Barki realized the difference between the globalized world of aircraft flying overhead and the dark world of many Indian villages below.

Barki has sought to dispel some of that darkness with a solar lamp he has manufactured, named the Aishwarya after India's best-known actress, Aishwarya Rai. He has sold so far more than 50,000 lamps produced at his company, NEST (Nobal Energy Solar Technologies).

Aishwarya is not the first solar lamp, but it is a particularly efficient one. Priced Rs1,400 ($32), it provides three hours of good light a day. Its battery is guaranteed for three years and its solar panel for 10.

The lamp, which has a bright and constant white light, has found many takers because it is backed by microcredit. Instead of a down payment of Rs1,400, buyers can pay Rs100 a month over 16 months.

The Ashden award for renewable energy presented to Barki last month has done wonders for him. "There's been a huge interest in his product as a result of the awards," said Jo Walton from the Ashden awards trust in London.

"I am receiving a lot of new business inquiries," said Barki. Several new orders are in the pipeline already as a result, he said. "That includes three companies in Sri Lanka, one in Pakistan, one in Somalia and one in Australia," he said.

These deals are all close to completion, according to him. But Barki has been negotiating one of his biggest projects even before the award. "I have a confirmed order for 1 million solar lanterns from South Africa over a period of two years. We are just working out the last details over pricing."

For manufacturing on that scale, Barki has worked out an agreement with a company in China. "I am getting a 40% advantage in manufacturing costs in China compared to India," he said.

A difficulty has been procuring the silicon seed stock need to manufacture the solar panel on the lamp. For that Barki has entered into an alliance with a Japanese company. "This was crucial because there is a shortage of silicon seed stock around the world because of the very high demand and consumption in Germany," Barki said.

"People like us are not getting enough supply, and we would never be able to meet demand without this product. Fortunately we have been able to source it from Japan. Our turnover last year was about Rs2 crore (US$500,000)," he said. Given the huge new orders in the pipeline, Barki is clearly well on the way to becoming the Bill Gates of solar lanterns.

Barki says he named his lamp Aishwarya because the actress is "a combination of beauty and brains". Many would only half-agree with him, but there can be little doubt that both Aishwaryas have found extraordinary success. The solar lamps provide a smoke-free source of light to villagers who have no access to electricity. The use of such lamps has revolutionized the lives of thousands of such people.

Barki set up his NEST in 1998, and has never looked back since he created his Aishwarya in 2001. His aim was to produce a lamp portable enough so that one could serve a whole family, and robust enough to withstand uses as varied as children poring over their studies, farmers milking a buffalo, or stallholders lighting their wares in the market.

What began as a "made in India" operation is now set to acquire global inputs and find a global reach.●