Mahindra Great Escape Khimsar-Jodhpur Rally

”FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS” Delivered by Secretary Clinton Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland =================================== On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a historic speech at the United Nations in Geneva declaring that LGBT rights are human rights and human rights are LGBT rights. The full transcript of the speech can be found here: www.state.gov

Kishori Amonkar (Marathi: किशोरी आमोणकर) (born April 10, 1931 in Mumbai) is a noted Indian classical vocalist. She sings khyal in the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana style. Kishori Amonkar’s mother was Mogubai Kurdikar (1904-2001), a renowned classical vocalist. Kishori has a sister and a brother. According to a biography written by late Datta Marulkar, her father’s name was Madhavdas Bhatiya. An article on her mother Mogubai by noted music critic Ramkrishna Bakre mentions that Kishori’s father died when she was very young but does not mention the father’s name. Amonkar quickly imbibed the nuances of the difficult Jaipur-Atrauli gharana of music. She has developed her own style which emphasizes the emotional content of musical notes while maintaining the rigor of the Jaipur “gaayaki” (singing style). Music critic Vamanrao Deshpande, who was also her guru-bandhu, had hailed her as one of the greatest artists of 20th century. She has dabbled more in lighter forms of music than the earlier generations of Jaipur Gharana musicians. Popularly known as Gana Saraswati (translation: the Saraswati of Singing), Kishori Amonkar has received the following awards: Padma Vibhushan (2002) Rashtrapati Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1985) Sangeet Samragni Award (Translation: Queen of Singing) (1997) Padma Bhushan (1987)