People Trends India

A depressed Ramalinga Raju has turned spiritual in jail. On the third day of his jail life on Monday, when he managed to get a change of clothes, Raju started reading books on Gautam Buddha. The books were brought to him by his son Teja Raju, who accompanied lawyer Bharat Kumar to the jail. The son spent half an hour with his father and also gave him some fruits.

"He (Ramalinga) is not mingling with anyone. He is spending time by himself. Since he seems to prefer solitude, the other inmates are also not taking the initiative to strike a conversation with him," a jail official said. "He is really very downcast," said another jail official.

Swami Vivekananda born was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna and the founder of Ramakrishna Mission.

Vivekananda was the Hindu missionary to the West. He is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a world religion during the end of 19th Century Swami Vivekananda was born in Shimla Pally, Calcutta at 6:33 a.m on Monday, 12 January 1863, and was given the name Narendranath Datta. His father Vishwananath Datta was an attorney of Calcutta High Court.

Randeep Hooda has proudly flaunted his body in Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye but insists that at the end of the day it's about being en entire package rather than just a body-show. He says this in justification of the character he plays in the film where he is the man of the dreams of Raima Sen who enacts the role of a central protagonist.

'Although the film is a fantasical take, it has been treated in a real manner by director Madhureeta Anand. I am an object of fantasy for Raima Sen but then I do look and behave like a real man in the film', says Randeep Hooda who plays as many as 18 characters in the film, all of whom are Raima Sen's 'khwab', 'Yes, there is skin show too but only when required.'

Jagjit Singh, the king of the ghazal, enthralled audiences on December 17 at Mumbai's Nehru Centre.

The houseful show was dedicated to the martyrs who laid down their lives to fight terrorism in Mumbai. The heroes's names were written on a banner on stage.

Jagjit Singh has decided to do two shows, free of cost, for these victims -- the next will be held on December 26 at the same venue.

Indian descent writer Jhumpa Lahiri, with her 'hypnotic eyes', has been placed among the top in the list of 'Thinking Man's Sex Symbols' for 2008 that is headed by Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic.

Pulitzer Prize winner Lahiri, whose writing is characterized by her "plain" language, was placed at No.8 in the list of 'Thinking Man's Sex Symbols' (TMSS) prepared by the popular website The Daily Beast.

Steve Paulson speaks with several scientists, religious scholars and atheists about Albert Einstein's religious beliefs. We hear from Richard Dawkins, Elaine Pagels, and Einstein biographer Walter Isaacson who debate what Einstein meant by "god."

Jungian analyst David Lindorff is the author of "Pauli and Jung: The Meeting of Two Great Minds." He tells Anne Strainchamps about Pauli's therapy with Jung which focused on Pauli's dreams, and led the physicist to an interest in mysticism and alchemy.

Ravi Uppal has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of L&T Power, reported the media. Formerly, he was with ABB as head of global markets and member of group executive committee.

L&T Chairman, A.M. Naik, expressed confidence that his presence would further boost the company's thrust on the power sector.

Uppal played a key role in turning around ABB's business in India and in Asia Pacific region. As a founding Managing Director of Volvo, he had established its operations in India and introduced several new transportation concepts, including the highly successful intercity coaches.