Badar Azim: Does the Queen's ex-footman live in a slum?

Badar Azim: Does the Queen's ex-footman live in a slum?

Recently, like many other journalists in Calcutta, I was trying to find the Queen's former footman, Badar Azim, who returned to India when his UK visa expired. British papers had written about his journey to Buckingham Palace from the "slums of Calcutta"... but this did not go down well with his family. When I and a few other journalists knocked on the door of the house where Badar lived, his uncle opened it. Among the throng were a few of us who worked for British-based media organisations. He stared at us while he asked why foreign newspapers wrote lies about his nephew. And he finished by saying: "They think that all of we Indians live in slums." Some of the local journalists nodded their heads in agreement. Continue reading the main story From Our Own Correspondent Insight and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world Broadcast on Radio 4 and BBC World Service Listen to the programme Download the programme Outside Badar's house I met a friend of mine who works for a local news agency. She had a big smile on her face as she said, "You slumming it today?" Before I could reply, she added: "How do you define what a slum is... I mean how do you guys know which area is a slum and which area isn't?" It was a good question. Answering with more confidence than I really felt I said: "You don't seem to know yourself - so to avoid any arguments about this why don't we Google it." Badar Azim with the Royal press secretary in front of Buckingham Palace Badar Azim played a public role, helping to announce the recent Royal birth Before she could respond, I was typing away on my phone. Within seconds I had a definition from that most trusted of sources - the Oxford English Dictionary. I read it aloud: "A squalid and overcrowded urban area inhabited by very poor people." Continue reading the main story What is a slum? UN-HABITAT defines a slum household as a group of people living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following: Durable, weatherproofed housing Sufficient living space, no more than three people sharing a room Safe, sufficient and affordable drinking-water Adequate sanitation Security of tenure in living accommodation UN Habitat We all then looked up at the building that Badar lived in. He and his two brothers, his mum and dad, and maybe a few more relatives, lived on the top floor. From the outside the structure looked shabby and the building which must once have been white was now a dirty grey colour. There were open sewers outside it and the area was full of people - many of them children, who probably should have been at school. There was silence for what seemed like a minute or more. Then one of Badar's neighbours, Ghulam Mohammed, who had been listening to the conversation announced: "This cannot be a slum - because decent people live here." He then told me he had a proper job in an office - so how could he live in a slum? "I have a television and a motorbike, sir. Do slum-dwellers have these sorts of things?" he asked. A man cuts hair near the residential complex where Badar Azim lives Local residents do not always see their surroundings as slums This is not the first time that people in India have been upset with the use of the "S" word. Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire may have won a host of Oscars but there were protests about its title across the world's largest democracy. Children protest, holding a poster saying: I am not a slumdog, I am the future of India I remember walking around one of Mumbai's largest so-called slums and seeing posters that said "I am not a slumdog but the future of India." In a way, this anger has grown as India's economy has grown. India's new middle class wants the world to look at their success, not the poverty that still exists in many parts of this country - something which, at times, they seem to ignore. A friend of mine recently told me, "The problem with you foreigners is that you still think we are a land of snake-charmers and beggars." When I pointed out that it was the United Nations, not journalists, who said that 50% of Mumbai's population live in slums, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "They are foreigners as well." Recently I had to visit one of the poorest parts of Calcutta when an 11-year-old girl was burned to death after resisting attempts to rape her. Locals took me to the field where she had died. Continue reading the main story More from BBC News Slum tourism: Patronising or social enlightenment? (2012) Vertical gyms solve Caracas slum space shortage (2012) Dark side of the Dubai dream (2009) We walked through large puddles of sewage water and past lots of small houses that looked like they were about to collapse and were crowded with families. There were no toilets - people had to get their water from a dirty-looking well, and what little electricity there was would come and go. At one stage I asked one of the locals who had tried to save the girl whether it bothered him that people call this area a baasti, a slum. "Only the rich have time for such debates," he replied. "Nobody would want want to live here but we have no choice - whether you call it a slum or not makes no difference to us as it is not going to change our lives." You can listen to Rahul Tandon's report on From Our Own Correspondent on BBC World Service, Thursday 15 August at 18:50 GMT and 01:50GMT on Friday. See the World Service programme schedule for more information. You can also listen online and download the podcast. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook




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Cruisers describe fear as fire raged on ship

Cruisers describe fear as fire raged on ship

Passengers on the Royal Caribbean ship that caught fire Monday off the coast of Florida are describing a scary, middle-of-the-night ordeal. "We honestly thought the boat might have been sinking," Danielle Miller, 23, tells ABC News of hearing a call to muster stations around 3:00 am on the line's Grandeur of the Seas. "We were just panicking and running upstairs." Another passenger who goes by the online handle Dharma517 wrote on the message boards at cruise fan site CruiseCritic.com that the lifeboats at muster stations were lowered and opened as passengers had to stand in place for over four hours. "Passengers were ill, passing out and vomiting," she says, adding that crew could be seen running through the ship with fire hoses. "This was scary." RELATED: Fire breaks out on Royal Caribbean ship PHOTO TOUR: Inside a Royal Caribbean ship Royal Caribbean says medical staff on the ship responded to several calls after the fire but had no medical emergencies. Medical issues included fainting, reports of high blood pressure and an ankle sprain, the line says. Royal Caribbean has not said what caused the blaze, which began in a mooring area at the back of the vessel and was doused in about two hours later. Photos show fire damage extending across at least four decks. Based in Baltimore, Grandeur of the Seas was on the way to Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, when the fire broke out. The ship never lost power during the incident and was able to reach Freeport, Bahamas about seven hours after the fire started. Royal Caribbean is flying passengers back to Baltimore from Freeport today after canceling the rest of the current cruise and a subsequent trip scheduled to begin on May 31. Built in 1996, Grandeur of the Seas is one of the oldest ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, although it had recently been refurbished in a major overhaul. At 73,817 tons, it's also one of the smallest Royal Caribbean ships. The fire is the latest in a series of serious incidents on cruise ships that have shaken the industry, and it comes just four after a fire left a Carnival ship dead in the water in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to power for propulsion, the February blaze in an engine room of the Carnival Triumph knocked out power for essential services such as food preparation and, for a time, running water. Toilets stopped working, as did air conditioning and lighting. The vessel eventually was towed to Mobile, Ala., but not before passengers had to spend four days on board in what was described as miserable conditions.


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Mariah Carey suffers wardrobe malfunction as her dress pops open during live ‘GMA’ appearance

Mariah Carey suffers wardrobe malfunction as her dress pops open during live ‘GMA’ appearance

Mariah Carey suffered a profanity-peppered wardrobe malfunction on "Good Morning America" Friday, after the singer's dress burst open on live TV. "Oh shoot, the back of my dress just popped!" said Carey as she was talking to "GMA" anchor Lara Spencer on a stage in Central Park. The "American Idol" judge, who had teetered onto the stage awkwardly moments earlier, sang her first song as part of the show's summer concert series and then began to chat with Spencer when her dress betrayed her. Mariah Carey showed her wardrobe malfunction to the audience at GMA's Summer Concert Series. JASON SZENES/ EPA Mariah Carey showed her wardrobe malfunction to the audience at GMA's Summer Concert Series. Carey twirled around to show that the back of her sparkly, body-hugging gown opened halfway down her back. "It popped, darling," said Carey. "What should we call this? The Central Park saga?" Spencer cooly responded: "I dare say this is a TV moment." Host Lara Spencer helped cover Carey by holding her notes in front of the singer's chest. GMA Host Lara Spencer helped cover Carey by holding her notes in front of the singer's chest. As the diva's handlers rushed over to fix the broken zipper, Carey said, "Ok, I'll just hold them up the whole time," and clutched her breasts. PHOTOS: CELEBRITY WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS Spencer, helped by holding her notes in front of Carey's chest, although no skin was exposed. Mariah Carey continued with the interview as her handlers rushed over to fix the broken zipper. GMA Mariah Carey continued with the interview as her handlers rushed over to fix the broken zipper. The show cut to commercial and when it returned, Carey's dress had been fixed. A few minutes later, she changed into a pink dress and bantered with "GMA's" Josh Elliott. "I've been working out. I've been trying to do the best I can to stay in shape. And these stress-fests, they help. But I need to catch my breath! Please talk," Carey said. Mariah Carey performed two songs on 'GMA' in Central Park Friday morning. GMA Mariah Carey performed two songs on 'GMA' in Central Park Friday morning. Then as she made her way up a flight of stairs to sit on a platform to perform another song, she could clearly be heard muttering a profanity. “Oh, s--t," she said, quickly adding, "You didn't hear that." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/mariah-carey-suffers-wardrobe-malfunction-gma-article-1.1353606#ixzz2UNHmMlIp



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