Entertainment
Showbiz denizens welcome Ilaiyaraja’s Padma Bhushan
By Subhash K Jha
Mumbai, Jan 27 (IANS) Film personalities like Lata Mangeshkar, Prasoon Joshi and R. Balki have congratulated music composer Ilaiyaraja for being named for the Padma Bhushan in the Republic Day honours list.
Here is what the celebrities had to say:
Lata Mangeshkar: I have had the privilege and pleasure of singing some Tamil songs for him in the films Anand and Sathya. Then I got to sing a Hindi song for Ilaiyarajai in a film that Raj Kumar Santoshi directed.
His compositions are pure genius. Mastering the nuances of the Tamil language was not as difficult as being able to sing the way he wanted me to.He challenged my vocals like Salil Chowdhary and my brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar’s compositions.
I also sang a Hindi song ‘Kaun dagar kaun nagar’ for Ilaiayaraja in a Raj Kumar Santoshi film(Lajja). His compositions are deceptively catchy . But the singer knows how complex and layered his songs are. Such a simple man and with such unfathomable depths of talent. Ilaiyarajaji deserves the biggest honours and recognition.”
* Prasoon Joshi: It is a very special feeling to have him win the Padma award . I have had the honour of having my very first film song composed by Ilaiyarajaji and sung by Lataji for ‘Lajja’. What better shubharambh could I have wished for?
* R Balki: I’ve had the privilege of working with Raja Sir in all my films from ‘Cheeni Kam’ to ‘Shamitabh’. Even the Bharat Ratna is not enough for him. He is the man who has defined music for one-half of this country.
They fall in love in love to his music in their heads…When they are sad they emote to his music in their hearts.. … When they want to feel better at any time they just hum his music… When they are happy their feet dance to his music…When they want the weather to get cooler they just play his music and shiver in delight… When they visualize death they hear his strings… When they dream of heaven they play his orchestra with their vocal chords. Music cannot be better defined by a simple visit to the south of India than any of my words. To feel Ilaiyaraaja in the air. South India is a living breathing museum of his music.”
* Ustad Amjad Ali Khan: I am very happy to know maestro Ilaiyaraja receiving the Padma Award.He is the most deserving musician. In fact he should have been honoured with many other Awards.He is a true genius and innovator…. I have the greatest regards and love for dear Shri Ilaiyaraja…. Hope he gets much greater awards in his musical life.God bless him and his Family.I am a humble admirer of the maestro Ilaiyaraja.
–IANS
skj/nv/vm
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
Content provided by Adverloom