iWorld
HCL Concerts partners Jashn-e-Rekhta 2025 as exclusive music lead
NEW DELHI: HCL Concerts has teamed up with the Rekhta Foundation as the exclusive music partner for Jashn-e-Rekhta 2025, adding fresh energy to the much-loved Urdu festival set for 5 to 7 December at Baansera Park in New Delhi.
For nearly a decade, Jashn-e-Rekhta has been the city’s winter magnet for poetry, language and performance, drawing younger audiences into the world of Urdu. This year’s musical slate, curated with HCL Concerts, promises a lively sweep of styles that travel from classical to qawwali, film to orchestral experimentation.
Across two stages, Mehfil Khana and Dayaar-e-Izhaar, the festival will host a notable line-up. The opening day features Mehakti Khushbu ka Safar Gulzar ke Saath with Gulzar and Divya Dutta, followed by Rang-e-Mausiqi by Sukhvinder Singh.
On 6 December, audiences can experience Dhruv Sangari’s qawwali at Dayaar-e-Izhaar, while Mehfil Khana presents Saaz Aur Sama by Salim-Sulaiman and Rang Aur Noor, Huma Khalil’s homage to cinematic gems shaped by Urdu poets.
The final day brings an Orchestral Qawwali by Abi Sampa and Rushil Ranjan, before closing with Dil Abhi Bhara Nahin, a tribute to Sahir Ludhianvi led by Javed Akhtar, Shankar Mahadevan and Pratibha Singh Baghel.
HCL Group associate general manager Nikhil Soni, said the association reflects the platform’s commitment to widening access to performing arts and supporting artists who shape India’s musical legacy.
Rekhta Foundation head of programmes and festival Satish Gupta, noted that music has always been central to the festival’s charm and that HCL Concerts shares its vision of keeping artistic traditions deeply rooted yet widely resonant.
With this partnership, HCL Concerts continues its push to build a vibrant ecosystem for Indian performing arts while helping cultural expression reach broader, more diverse audiences.
iWorld
OpenAI hits back at Elon Musk’s lawsuit ahead of trial
Company calls claims “baseless” and accuses Musk of trying to disrupt a rival.
MUMBAI: When the stakes are measured in billions and egos are involved, even Silicon Valley titans can turn a courtroom into a battlefield. OpenAI has issued a sharp public response to Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit, accusing the billionaire of filing the case to harass a competitor rather than address genuine concerns. In a strongly worded statement shared on its official X account, OpenAI described Musk’s allegations as “baseless” and suggested the lawsuit is an attempt to disrupt the company as the case heads toward trial later this month in Oakland, California.
The response comes after Musk’s legal team recently amended the complaint, proposing that any damages potentially exceeding $150 billion should go to OpenAI’s nonprofit entity rather than to Musk personally. OpenAI questioned the timing and motive behind this change, calling it a late-stage attempt to “pretend to change his tune” on the nonprofit structure.
The company further labelled the lawsuit a “harassment campaign”, arguing that Musk’s actions are driven by personal rivalry, ego, and a desire for greater control and financial upside.
At the heart of the dispute is Musk’s claim that OpenAI has abandoned its original nonprofit mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. A co-founder who left in 2018, Musk is seeking governance changes, including the removal of CEO Sam Altman from the nonprofit board, and the return of certain financial gains linked to Altman and President Greg Brockman.
OpenAI has firmly rejected these allegations, maintaining that its current hybrid structure, a public-benefit corporation overseen by a nonprofit parent remains true to its long-term goals. The company has also previously accused Musk of anti-competitive behaviour aimed at weakening its leadership.
As the case prepares for a jury trial, this public exchange highlights the deepening rift between two of the most influential figures in the AI revolution and raises broader questions about governance, mission, and power in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence.
In the high-stakes game of AI, it seems the real drama isn’t just inside the models, it’s playing out in courtrooms too.
