Saturday, September 19, 2009 MUMBAI: She is about the size of a cat. With a height of just 1ft 11 in (58 cm), Jyoti Amge is dwarfed even by an one year old toddler (which may be over 75 cm (2.5 ft) tall and weigh over 10 kg (22 pounds), on average), but this girl is 15 years old.The Indian Book of Records registered her as the world's smallest girl. Jyoti's condition is one of the most common types of genetic dwarfism called achondroplasia, in which the fibroblast growth factor receptor gene 3 (FGFR3) is impaired, impeding the normal cartilage formation.Jyoti is now fully grown and weighs only 11 lb (5 kg), but she seems to be happy with her size, because of the fame it brought her. "I am proud of being small. I love the attention I get. I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different," she told Sunday Mirror. Jyoti attends the local high school, in Nagpur, Maharashtra (central India), where she has her own specially made miniature desk. Her parents were unaware of their daughter's condition until some time after her birth. "When Joyti was born she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five. Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much," Jyoti's mother, Ranjanam 45, told a newspaper. Jyoti is like any other teenager: her favorite activities are listening to pop music, watching DVDs and wearing fashionable dresses, and like any Indian girl, her big dream is to become a Bollywood actress. "I would love to work in a big city like Mumbai, act in films and travel to London and America," said Jyoti. Of course, because of her minute size, Jyoti sleeps in a tiny bed and uses special plates and cutlery, as ordinary-sized ones are too large; the girl wears clothes and jewelry specially made for her. Her plans have been partially achieved: she has just recorded an album with her favorite Indian bhangra/rap star, Mika Singh. 'I can't separate myself from her even for a single day. I love her very much. She makes me proud. Lots of gurus come to see and bless her. They pray for her happiness and long life,' Jyoti's father, Kishanji Amge, 52, told the daily.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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