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‘Hurt, sad’ says Ghulam Ali on cancellation of concert
New Delhi: Pakistani renowned ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali is hurt and sad after his concert in Mumbai was cancelled following threats from Shiv Sena.
Ali said he aims at spreading the message of love and peace through his music, and that his admiration for India remains unstirred.
“I’m not angry, but I’m a bit hurt and sad. But there are can be sad moments in love as well. I don’t know why such situations and conflicts arise. We have performed in Mumbai on several occasion before and people have always showered their love on us. Whenever such news come out, it causes commotion in society,” the veteran told NDTV.
The 75-year-old singer was scheduled to perform in Mumbai and Pune this week as part of the fourth death anniversary tribute to late singer Jagjit Singh. But the show in Mumbai was called off on Wednesday after Shiv Sena threatened to disrupt his live concert.
The world renowned musician said the cancellation was disappointing as the concert was a tribute to Jagjit Singh, who was like a brother to him.
“The programme was important for me as it marked Jagjit’s death anniversary. And that’s why I got tense and thought that the move was wrong. It shouldn’t have happened. Jagjit was like a brother to me and whenever I met him we looked like one, not from India or Pakistan,” he said.
The ghazal singer also said that borders between countries cannot restrict the music from streaming into the hearts of people.
“I would like to tell Indians to remain in ‘sur’, love each other and keep listening to us — be it live or recorded,” said the singer, who made an entry in Indian cinema with his popular song “Chupke chupke raat din” for B.R. Chopra’s “Nikaah”.
Ghulam Ali also said that he wants to spread love, not hatred with his songs.
“We spread love with our music across the globe and have always tried to do this in my 45-year-old career. I’m only hungry for love,” he said.
The concert in Mumbai was scheduled to be held at the iconic Shanmukhananda Hall, a favourite venue for Shiv Sena functions since several decades. The tribute to Jagjit Singh was specially brought to India through “Ek Ehsaas” concerts, which provides a platform to connect people through music.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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