Fabregas vows to take Arsenal to winner’s podium against Barca

Barcelona (Spain), Mar.31 (ANI): Arsenal skipper Cesc abregas has vowed to take the Gunners to the winner’s podium in tonight’s Champion League clash against Barcelona, despite fears over his injury.

However, Coach Arsene Wenger has said that he will wait until the last minute before deciding whether Fabregas has recovered enough from right leg and knee bruises to play, The Sun reports.

The Spanish star has said that he is desperate to face Barca.

He told a pal: “I”ll do everything I can to play.”

In an exclusive Sun interview, Fabregas revealed just how much playing against the Catalans means to him.

“Ever since the draw was made I”ve dreamt about this game and I am desperate to play in it. I”ve never disguised my affection for Barcelona, it”s where I was brought up and where I learned so many beautiful things about football,” the 22-year-old star said.

“But Arsenal has the same principles and this is our chance to show the world that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with Barcelona and emerge triumphant. You can”t imagine how much I want to be part of that,” he added.

A cautious Wenger said: “He didn”t appear in training because at the moment he is not fit to play. We will give ourselves 24 hours more and assess the situation. If Cesc is fit I will play him and the medical staff tells me there is still a chance he will be available. But that will be decided in the warm-up tomorrow night. That tells you how late we”ll leave it.

“If he is not capable to play I wouldn”t even put him on the bench,” he added. (ANI)

Phulan Rani, the ageless painter of Punjab

Amritsar, Sep.11 (ANI): Defying her age, octogenarian Phulan Rani today stands as a tall figure that inspires the youth by her love for painting and deep urge to give creative expressions to her thoughts and observations of the world around her.

A resident of Amritsar, Phulan Rani works in both oils and water colour and paints realistic landscapes and portraits of local leaders.

“I was born on Dec 12, 1923 and have seen various ups and downs during my life span. I have been inspired to paint from all good things in life and the thoughts and the preaching of the gurus that I have heard,” said Phulan Rani, the painter. She is a nature lover by heart.

“Nature is like an open book as we can see many beautiful things through it. Like honeybees collecting nectar from the flowers and then constructing hives. It inspires an artist to paint. The inspiration also comes from beautiful faces, flowers, landscapes and the teachings of the gurus,” she says.

Phulan Rani is full of pride when she realizes how her work has reached in different parts of the world.

“A person can be successful in any sort of work if he or she gets full support from his life partner and children. You can imagine the work done by me through the paintings hanging on the walls of my house. I have sold a number of paintings, but I had enough time to paint replicas of those sold paintings to keep at home. My paintings have reached across the world,” says Phulan.

The sixth President of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, had released Phulan Rani’s book of ‘Painting visions of beauty’ in 1981. By Ravinder Singh Robin(ANI)