We’re taking a break! Wrong timing, perhaps, but AIM Magazine is going on a short break until the end of March.

Normal service will resume after that.

The BBC’s director-general Mark Thompson yesterday acknowledged that the radio stations BBC Asian Network and 6Music were indeed going to be closed.

The corporation officially launched its Strategy Review, proposing that the Asian Network cease as a national digital service.

But the station could be replaced by a network of local services, with reduced hours, that will operate on analogue as well as digital licenses.
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by Poorna Shetty
Freelance Writer

Call me nostalgic, but there’s something about the process of producing a magazine that I’ll always love.

When I was editor of Asiana, it was a combination of frantic scrabbling during deadline week while the printers yelled on the phone for pages, culminating in the moment that made it all worth it – the first delivery of magazines smelling of freshly-minted paper containing all our hard work.

Going freelance was a choice not a byword for voluntary redundancy, and since then I’ve managed to travel the world and write for The Guardian, The Sunday Times Travel and The Daily Telegraph. Working in your pyjamas with all of the money and none of the office politics – no regrets.
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Author, poet and film-maker Nikesh Shukla has a short story collection in podcast form: titled Wham! Bam! Stories, Man!

Shukla says he was inspired by the oral tradition of griots and felt the podcast format was good instant and current way of bringing his voice to the world.
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The actress Lisa Ray, famous for her role in the film Water, has contracted a rare form of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma.

She has started writing about her experiences in trying to deal with the cancer while getting treatment in Canada. The 37 year old Toronto-born has starred in several British films.

The rare form of cancer, which destroys blood cells, is treatable but incurable. She revealed that she had privately been fighting the cancer since being diagnosed in June this year.
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Internet entrepreneur Lopa Patel, who founded the website Redhotcurry.com, is being awarded an MBE by the Queen, according to the Birthday Honours List 2009. The MBE will be for her services to the creative industries.

She said: “For me it marks that start of a new chapter in giving back to business and the community. Expectations among my family and friends are high – I know that they are looking to see what I can do next in raising the profile of the Asian community in Britain, getting more women-owned businesses off the ground and in helping young Asians feel proud to be British.”

The BBC’s Tamil service, BBC Tamilosai, has launched a special 10-day morning news programme to cover the increasing interest and flow of news out of the situation in Sri Lanka. It will also concentrate on the Indian General Election.
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A 29 year-old entrepreneur has launched a special website offering customisable pages with Asian content, following a trend kick-started by major companies such as MSN, NetVibes, iGoogle and MyYahoo.

Founder Deepak Gandhi said: “I created Indianelement.com so users can access their favourite pages by just clicking onto one site, instead of spending valuable time trawling through the internet. [It] fills a void that was left by other major portals, which are either too western or too ethnic and as an Asian living overseas, I couldn’t relate to either, which is why I developed this start page.”
www.indianelement.com

Online advertising firm Indoor Media has extended its partners to include websites of Chinese and South East Asian origin, the company announced last week. It currently offers advertisers the opportunity to reach ethnic minority audiences online in the UK, covering Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Polish.

A spokesperson said: “This is a continuation of our long-term goal to help advertisers effectively reach out to all ethnic minority groups in the UK, with relevant targeted communications.”

Its clients include Mercedes, Vodafone, Barclays and Sony.

Online ticket agent Chilli Tickets has launched a new entertainment initiative to help raise money for the charity World Vision. The campaign enables its clients to donate a percentage of their ticket sales via the website to the charity.

“We wish to help those working within some of the world’s poorest areas, and especially help vulnerable children fulfill their positive roles in society. That’s why we are doing our bit by working with World Vision as our preferred charity,” said Urvashi Lad, director of Chilli Tickets.

It hopes to raise over £10,000 for charity over the next 12 months.

iCrest, the digital agency behind the successful e-tickets website, Chillitickets, has launched another website to complement its speed dating events.

AsianD8Online is a spin-off from their AsianD8Events (formerly AsianSpeedD8) nights held across the country.
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Birmingham City University’s Media Content Lab this week re-launched Media Talent Bank, a supportive new website to help businesses in the creative industries source talent and freelancers to find work.

The website allows businesses and creatives to upload a profile, CV and portfolio onto an online directory which can easily be browsed by potential employers or collaborators.
See: www.mediatalentbank.com

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant to an ambitious project that seeks to research, film and archive the history of India’s Manipuri and Tagore dance forms in the UK. It will be run by London based organisation The Rhythm.

“Besides researching and recording the oral history of these two dance forms in the UK, we are keen to disseminate the knowledge that we endeavour to gather during the project period by organising talent hunts, workshops and dance recitals at various venues,” said Mrs Raha who herself has specialised in Manipuri dance form. Lord Dholakia, deputy leader of the Libdems, is a patron of the company.

Manipuri dance is one of the oldest classical dances of India. The first Asian Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, became an ardent admirer of the Manipuri dance in the early 19th century.

Rather than going down the traditional route of launching a print based magazine, Fatema Khatun and Shuhel Miah are walking the walk of the internet savvy, blogging generation. The two have launched InsideDesi, an entertainment focused webzine that will combine opinion, interviews and lifestyle.

Halima Khatun told AIM magazine: “Columnists are encouraged to use free reign when writing about news stories they see, and within reason, giving fair comment. It’s written by young people who are the target demographic for InsideDesi.”

The site has far featured interviews with musicians including Jay Sean, Karen David and Kazz of Sona Family. “InsideDesi fills a deficit in the current supply of Brit Asian entertainment news,” Ms Khatun adds.

60×60 Secs, the first project of 360º Britain India Pakistan, was launched this week by Moti roti.
Trailer

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The UK Punjab Heritage Association launched a major new on-line exhibition this week exploring 150 years of the Anglo-Sikh relationship.

‘Empire, Faith and Kinship’ is an exhibition that speaks volumes of a fascinating relationship that has touched and shaped the lives of millions. Through illustrations and detailed captions, the key events and people concerned are presented in eight sections, from the rise of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore in 1801 to the settling of the Sikh Diaspora in Britain in the twentieth century.

Sometimes as friends, other times as foes, the Sikhs and the British have had one of the most rich and intriguing of partnerships. It is accompanied by tools for community groups, student bodies, parents and educators to display the exhibition at their own local venues.

www.efk.ukpha.org

ITN’s multimedia division, ITN On, has launched a channel on YouTube. The ad-funded channel will have entertainment at its heart, plus sports, film and Bollywood programmes made specifically for online platforms allowing YouTube users to view, comment on and link to their favourite ITN content.

Content available on the channel will include Bollywood Insider, one of the UK’s leading, weekly Bollywood programmes, featuring all the latest gossip and movie releases presented by Sunrise Radio’s Suzi Mann.

A fan of BBC Sports Editor journalist Mihir Bose? Well, now there’s a fan club page just for you on the website Facebook.
Mihir was formerly one of the Daily Telegraph’s sports columnists and before that at BBC World Service.

On the BBC Birmingham website, local businessman Nadeem Malik is writing a blog during the month of Ramadan, sharing his thoughts throughout the holiest of Muslim months.

After our meeting we talk in detail about the state of Muslims in the UK, his intrigue and questions about Ramadan were enlightening to me. After my meetings I dash into the Bullring, I remember when this place was alive with market traders, and I expect the same hive of activity, but the place seems a little slower, maybe a little happier.

The people I walk past are all smiling, but I’m not smiling at them. Soon the contagious grin from the last person who smiled at me slides across my face and I find myself walking along New Street with a smile. I guess I’m starting to understand the phrase that a smile in life is charity.

From the authors of Warrior Saints and Sicques, Tigers or Thieves comes a new online exhibition that explores the fascinating Anglo-Sikh relationship over 200 years – a relationship that has touched and shaped the lives of millions. Through illustrations and detailed captions, the key events and people concerned are presented in eight sections, from the rise of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore in 1801 to the settling of the Sikh Diaspora in Britain in the twentieth century. Sometimes as friends, other times as foes, the Sikhs and the British have had one of the most rich and intriguing of partnerships.

More information.

“In the old days it was Paki-bashing that was the norm,” writes Anila Biag, feature writer, The Sun, “now it’s ‘multiculturalism’ that’s being stalked and beaten over the head,” says Anila Baig, sharing her experiences of growing up in 70’s Bradford as a Pakistani in Channel 4’s new website The Race Debate.

But what is racism? Why are people racist? What are your experiences of racism? These are just some of the questions posed on the site – www.channel4.com/racedebate – which offers an open platform for the public to debate issues around race and what it is to experience racism. It also offers additional facts and figures about Britain’s regional diversity.

Shiva Soundsystem has launched it second series of podcasts to entertain its fans in new ways. The theme for this series is ‘Influences’, DJ Nerm tells us. Guest presenters for the show will include Anita Rani, Asian Dub Foundation, Audio Dakoos, Aziz, D-Code, Fundamental, Rock ID, State Of Bengal and Swami.

You can listen to the first episode mp3 by clicking here. You can also subscribe through iTunes or directly use the xml file.

Channel 4 Radio and 4Talent are launching the first ever commercial radio nationwide search for new radio playwrights as part of the channel’s The Play’s The Thing initiative. The competition will give four aspiring writers the opportunity to have their words brought to life, with their scripts professionally produced and broadcast on Channel 4 Radio.

With radio drama an ideal arena for honing writing talent, this year the search is on to discover fresh radio talent by inviting previously un-produced writers to submit their scripts for a 15-minute radio drama. The scripts can cover any genre and users can submit their entries via www.channel4.com/theplay. Individuals and writing teams of up to three people have until Monday 26 March, 2007, to submit excerpts and character sketches from their radio script, which will then be assessed by a judging panel.

Well, you can’t say British Asians can’t spot a marketing angle when it presents itself. Popular England cricketer Monty Panesar has launched his own website and merchandise. A press release sent to us states:

Monty, who is currently on the England Ashes tour in Australia, is the first Sikh ever to represent England at this prestigious level and made his historic debut in March 2006 against India. His new website www.monty-panesar.com comes to life on 15th December 2006 giving his fan base the opportunity to interact with their favourite cricket star.

Fans will be treated to – up to the minute national and international cricket news, register to receive regular e-newsletters and become a part of Monty’s online community. Pictures and wallpapers will be available to download at a later date. There will be opportunities for fans to view exclusive interviews with the man himself, post their own comments about Monty or cricket in general and take part in competitions to win prizes.

Media contact: minaxi@monty-panesar.com

Entrepreneur Sheeraz Hasan, who presents a Bollywood show for Asian channel B4U, has big plans for his website Hollywood.Tv. Actually, calling them ‘big plans’ could be an understatement.

He says in the press release:

I want to control Hollywood online by making Hollywood.TV the Google of Hollywood. Our mission is to organize the world’s celebrity video and make it universally accessible for all people, anywhere in the world.

Ermmm… yeah. Or maybe the mission is to make lots of money quick without doing much work? He adds:

It’s all about getting on the boat before it’s too late. There is no business in the world today that can make you a billionaire faster than the Internet, and there is no better brand than Hollywood.TV, and investors are lining up to be a part of the next big thing.

Don’t rush to buy the website all at once now.