MADURAI l monday l july 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Legendary Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai dies at 70 Took Chhattisgarh’s folk art to world stage Legendary Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai, who took Chhattisgarh’s traditional storytelling art to global audiences, died on Sunday at the age of 70 Irreparable loss to art and culture: PM Known for her powerful voice, commanding stage presence and expressive style, she transformed Pandavani from a regional folk tradition into an internationally acclaimed art form, performing extensively in India and abroad. She was honoured with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for her contributions to Indian folk arts ■ She breathed her last at 3.15 am at AIIMS, Raipur, where she had been undergoing treatment since May 27, hospital sources said ■ “She gave Chhattisgarh’s folk art a unique global identity through her magnificent performances. Her passing is an irreparable loss to the world of art and culture,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X 1956 she was born in Ganiyari village in Durg district of Chhattisgarh CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI India plans seabed sensors to hunt Chinese, Pak subs DRDO floats Expression of Interest to identify industry partner J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi INDIA plans to have eyes and ears on the Indian Ocean seabed. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is on the lookout for an industry partner to develop and deploy an Underwater Fiber Optic Sensing System (UFOSS), a network of sensors that will keep a watch on submarines prowling Indian waters. Kochi-based Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), the DRDO’s underwater warfare lab, has floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development, deployment and commissioning of the system. The network will comprise seabed sensor nodes linked by subsea fibre-optic cables to a shore station where the data will be received, monitored and analysed. UFOSS will comprise sensor array nodes, subsea cables, junction boxes, and branching units. Based on the response to EOI, NPOL will float a Request for Proposal to solicit detailed proposals from shortlisted firms. The selected bidder will be responsible for the entire project, from integration and deployment to commissioning, and lifecycle support for the system’s planned 20-year service life. Execution has been tentatively pegged at 48 months. Unlike ships and aircraft that WHAT IS UFOSS? Underwater Fiber Optic Sensing System (UFOSS) will have a network of seabed sensor nodes that are linked by subsea fibre-optic cables, to keep track of submarines prowling Indian waters It will be a fixed network for 24x7 underwater surveillance It will have a service life of 20 years Sensor Network on seabed Subsea fiBer-optic cables: High-speed data transfer from sensors to onshore station Global Parallels US: SOSUS tracked Soviet submarines during the Cold War Multiple sensor nodes detect underwater disturbance like sound, vibration, pressure or movement US-Japan: ‘Fish Hook’ undersea surveillance architecture in the western Pacific patrol an area periodically sea, bed sensor networks keep watch round-the-clock, silently monitoring underwater activity and cueing anti-submarine warfare assets towards potential contacts. The move comes amid thick action in the undersea battlespace. Chinese nuclear and conventional submarines periodically prowl the Indian Ocean region, while Chinese “research” vessels systematically map the region’s waters, col- WHY INDIA NEEDS IT Chinese nuclear and conventional subs are increasingly operating in the Indian Ocean Pakistan is inducting 8 Hangorclass AIP subs India currently has no operational SSN (nuclearpowered attack submarines) Indigenous SSN programme a decade away; Project-75I yet to get approval China: ‘Underwater Great Wall’ of seabed acoustic sensors lecting invaluable data for future submarine operations. Meanwhile, Pakistan has begun inducting eight Hangorclass diesel-electric subs. In contrast, India’s underwater modernisation is years away from bridging the gap. The indigenous programme to build two SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines), cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in October 2024, is expected to take a decade before the first boat enters service. TN may extend free ride for women to more buses B A n b u s e lvan @ Chennai 125th BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE Few leaders in modern India embody the confluence of intellect, public service and moral conviction as profoundly as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, writes Prime Minister Narendra Modi | P7 The Tamil Nadu transport department has estimated that around 28 lakh additional women could benefit from the state’s free bus travel scheme each day if it is extended to cover all bus services, barring air-conditioned, non-AC sleeper and premium services. Official sources from the transport department told TNIE that the state is studying the implementation of Karnataka’s Shakti Scheme, which offers free travel for women in around 26,000 buses — the largest such network in the country — excluding premium, AC, luxury and non-AC sleeper services. France survive heated affair Kylian Mbappe & Co edge past Paraguay in a tough battle to set up quarterfinal clash against Morocco. Talking points... Iberian derby for spot in last 8 Last laugh for star forward Powerhouses Spain and Portugal will lock horns in a competitive fixture, a year after Portugal beat La Roja in the UEFA Nations Cup final. Notably, the last time these two nations met at the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a delightful hat-trick in 3-3 draw | P11 Mbappe got the last laugh as he scored his 19th career World Cup goal, and France survived stifling heat to win the tie, sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time inter-caste marriage Man attacked, wife abducted E x p r e s s N e w s S e rvi c e @ Tiruchy In a shocking incident, a seven-member gang assaulted a 27-year-old SC man and abducted his wife, who belongs to an MBC community after , intercepting their vehicle near Maravanur in Tiruchy on Saturday Manapparai po. lice arrested three persons, including the woman’s brother and brother-in-law, and rescued the woman on Saturday night. A fourth man was arrested late on Sunday . According to police, the press Intake 4 killed, 8 hurt as mini-lorry rams tipper in Cuddalore | P5 After bonhomie, tensions arise between guv & TVK govt | P4 PM’s Indonesia visit to focus on digital infra | P7 Heavy rains claim two lives in Mumbai | P8 Two terrorists trapped in Kashmir’s Shopian | P8 Main Vaapas Aaunga When cinema lowers our defences A vina s h R a m a c h an d ran @ Chennai Filmmaker Sasi, in a recent interview, was unable to wrap his head around the possibility of critics crying while watching a film, even if it was his own. He wasn't buying it. He felt it was an exaggeration. Maybe critics aren’t supposed to admit such things. We spend our lives pulling films apart—writing about performances, intent and craft. Somewhere along the way comes the unspoken belief that you should never completely surrender to what is unfolding on screen. You’re expected to keep a safe distance. But that isn’t how most of us fell in love with cinema. Long before previews, deadlines and ratings, films were simply magic. You walked into a theatre hoping to be transported. Every now and then, despite yourself, that still happens. Main Vaapas Aaunga did that to me, largely because of Naseeruddin Shah. As Ishar Singh Grewal—Keenu to the woman he has spent a lifetime remembering—he barely raises his voice. He doesn’t need to. A pause, a glance, a sentence left unfinished; somehow they carry the weight of decades. Films on Partition have often been about violence and migration. This one is about something quieter: an old man’s promise. History is still there, but it reaches us through mem- ory longing and all the conver, s at i o n s t h at we re n eve r finished. I watched the film in Chennai, thousands of kilometres from where Partition unfolded. When the lights came on, there were the usual attempts to hide it. People suddenly became very interested in their phones. Conversations began a minute later than they normally would. Most of us had never known Partition. That didn’t seem to matter. By the time Keenu unfolds an old, crumpled poem, with A R Rahman’s music gently rising beneath Irshad Kamil’s words, you aren’t confusing fiction with reality The film has qui. etly prepared you for that moment. So, do critics cry? Sometimes, yes. Not because they stop being critics. But because, every once in a while, a film reminds them of the person who first walked into a darkened theatre simply hoping to be moved. Partition memoir a sleeper hit Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the movie is a slow burn of love, memory, and unresolved grief rooted in the Partition of 1947. The film revolves around a 95-year-old grandfather (Naseeruddin Shah) whose fading memories lead his grandson to uncover a painful past. It has emerged as a sleeper hit, raking in over `82.8 crore at the box office against a `70 crore budget I had never played a match like this, with so many hits. I mean, cheap shots, shoves in the back. So, yes, it was complicated. — Manu Kone, France midfielder Portugal vs Spain | 12:30 AM*; USA vs Belgium | 5:30 AM* (*IST Tuesday) Today’s matches (Round of 16): `35-cr bribe to TVK MLA: Driver of accused arrested | P4 “If a similar model is adopted in Tamil Nadu, nearly 28 lakh more women are expected to use the scheme. This would increase the total number of beneficiaries who avail free travel in government buses per day from the present 1.31 crore (all concessional commuters combined) to about 1.59 crore,” a senior official said.  P5 Physical battle Mbappe laughed and smiled — and scored, of course — when Paraguay players tried to bait him and his French teammates into fouls and provoke fights. After the final whistle, Mbappe refused the goalkeeper’s extended hands as he kept walking past it. In retaliation, Gill threw the ball at the France captain. It was one of several flashpoints during the contest 20 lakh electors out of Odisha’s poll roll down from 3,33,99,591 in the pre-revision list to 3,13,87,034, a reduction of over 20.12 lakh OVER 20 lakh voters voters. The draft roll Manipur SIR have been dropped now comprises from Odisha’s draft 1,60,19,176 male votManipur Chief electoral roll, re- Electoral Officer Arun ers, 1,53,65,083 female leased on Sunday at Kumar Sinha said the voters and 2,775 thirdthe conclusion of the gender electors, Chief state has 19.34 lakh first phase of the Electoral Officer R S voters in the draft poll roll, which was Special Intensive Gopalan said on Revision (SIR), a published on Sunday Sunday . month-long door-toVe r i f i c a t i o n o f door survey conducted across claims will continue until Septhe state. tember 2, with the final elecThe electorate has come toral rollout on September 6. S u d ar s an Ma h arana @ Bhubaneswar A videograb of the assault | Express woman, A Chithiravalli (26) of Sithanatham village, got acquainted with P Ajithkumar (27), while working at a private plastic store owned by her brother-in-law P Murugesan in Manapparai.  P5