Postnoon E-Paper for May 4th 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

PG 16&17

SNAPS AND THE CITY

adhumita Gopalan’s photographs of Hyderabad recreate the mystique and charm of a grand bygone era, and hope to inspire Hyderabadis to appreciate and preserve their rich cultural heritage. WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLEAR AND CLOUDY SKIES; 36°C

MAY 4, 2013 HYDERABAD

SURVIVING THE ODDS Getting a bone marrow match is a one in 20,000 chance for most Indians. This slim margin is further jeopardised by lack of funds, knowledge and donors. REPORT ON PG 5

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

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PAGE TWO SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

WHEN CINEMA HIT A CENTURY

Potters all

Freezing a moment Basic photography workshop by Lakshmi Prabhala. Where: Inner Circle, Somajiguda When: May 10 and May 11, 10 am to 5 pm Contact: 81255-25631

A pottery workshop will be held Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities) (2.6 km), Banjara Hills When: May 6 to May 11, 9 am to 11 am and 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm Contact: Saptaparni, at 66667707 / 6682-1789

Art lovers An art and craft workshop by Meena will be organised. Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities) (2.6 km), Banjara Hills When: May 6 to May 10, 10.30 am to 12 pm Contact: 98855-98856

Foodies' haven Awadhi food festival is on. Where: Bidri, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel, Tank Bund When: Till May 7, 6.30 pm to 11.30 pm

Summer camp

Game of bottles Bartending workshop will be conducted. Where: Liquid Art Bartending School, Begumpet When: May 4, 4 pm to 8 pm Contact: Ashish at 96402-72040

Tailoring training camp for children between the age group of 6 and 16 is being organised. Where: Shilparamam, Madhapur When: Till May 20, 11 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 4 pm

The joy of reading

Army talk

Oxford Bookstore in association with GHAC and LICH is organising an informative, exciting and funfilled workshop in social sciences and Humanities for kids. Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park When: Ongoing, Till May 12, 9:30 am to 2:00 pm Contact: 92461-12461

Fountain of youth Workshop on make-up tips is on. Where: Colorama Printers, Secunderabad When: Till May 6, 10 am to 1 pm Contact: 80086-24949

Movie matter French movie L'Arbre will be screened. Where: Alliance Francaise, Banjara Hills When: May 10, 6.30 pm Contact: 2355-4485

A talk by Captain Alok Bansal on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: The Future Trajectory. Where: Badruka PG Centre (College), Kachiguda When: May 8 from 6 pm Contact: 93978-20222

Tollywood actor Kamal Kamaraju's tribute to Indian cinema: an oil painting featuring actors Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna and Aamir Khan.

Dish out

Summer Fun

A workshop on cake baking and chocolate making. Where: Colorama Printers, Secunderabad When: May 6 to May 8, 10 am to 1 pm

Beat The Heat — Food Fest. Where: GVK One Mall, Banjara Hills When: Till May 5, From 11 am.

Budding geniuses A creative writing workshop for kids above the age of 7. Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities) (2.6 km), Banjara Hills When: Ongoing, May 4, 10.30 am to 12.30 pm

Mega mugs Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) announced TGIF’s mega mugs offer to coincide with the start of the IPL. Where: TGIF, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing

All About Cycling A half-day interactive workshop on cycling. Where: Alliance Francaise, Road Number 3, Aurora Colony, Banjara Hills When: May 4, 2 pm to 6 pm Contact: 96034-73470

CINEMAS

Adventure fun Summer camp in sport climbing and bouldering is being held. Where: Adventure Club of Andhra Pradesh When: Till May 10, 6 am to 9 am Contact: 93948-83999

Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 447677770, Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 08800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Car stolen from SD Road

Adulterated toddy kills two

Unidentified body found

person, pretending to help a man park a car, sped away with it from SD Road, Secunderabad. The unidentified man told Ashok Kumar, the car owner, that his vehicle was parked the wrong way. Kumar then gave him the key and asked him to park it properly, when the accused fled with the car. Ashok lodged a complaint with the Mahankali police.

wo people — M Narsimha, a resident of Subash Chander Bose Nagar, and Mohd Shabbir, resident of LB Nagar — died after consuming adulterated toddy on Friday night. Narsimha, 38, was a contract employee of BDL company and Shabbir, 40, was a tailor. Both were regular customers at a toddy compound in Dattu Nagar of Meerpet.

‘Women should stop flaunting gold’

Dog killed in acid attack Amy Rose Thomas amyrose.t@postnoon.com

esidents and shopkeepers near General Bazaar, Secunderabad, were up in arms against the owner of SK Ali gold polish shop after an acid attack on a street dog. After suffering for a week, the dog succumbed to burn injuries on Thursday. "We have been spotting the wounded dog for the past one week in the locality. We were shocked to see the once healthy dog with its skin and flesh peeled off. We called Blue Cross for rescuing the dog, but both the times they came with the ambulance, we couldn't find the dog. It had open wounds all over its body and carrying it ourselves to the clinic was impossible,” Shravan, one of the shopkeepers in the locality, said. Though they didn’t know who was behind this heinous act, they suspected this particular person as his was the only shop that used acid. "His is a gold polish shop and we knew he used acid. When the dog died, we gathered everyone and confronted

him. He finally accepted that it was someone from his shop who did it. We beat him up after he confessed. We asked him to cremate the body and later we found that he had dumped the body in a lake. He pleaded saying it was an accident and that a child had done it. So, we have decided not to lodge an official complaint this time around. But we will make sure that he doesn't repeat this," Shravan said. This is not a one-off case. According to People For Animals, such incidents have occurred before. People for Animals secretary Vasanti Vaadi says, “Some time ago, we had received another complaint where a person had thrown acid on a buffalo. Luckily she (the buffalo) was a fighter and she survived the burns after medical treatment,” she said. With respect to this case, she said PFA will not let the culprit go scot free. “We won’t take him to court but he can always do something for the street animals. Our inspector will meet the culprit today and accordingly we will proceed,” she said.

he Kukatpally police found the body of a man, yet to be identified, in a nallah at Allwyn Colony. Police suspect the man, around 35 years of age, was murdered by unidentified people, as he has injuries on his body. The police booked a case of murder and the body has been sent to the Gandhi Hospital mortuary for postmortem and identification.

Following confessions from a chain-snatching gang leader, the police said women can help reduce the crime rate if they stop flaunting gold ornaments in public places. Mohd SUBHAN

mohd.s@postnoon.com

eputy commissioner of police, Central Zone, VB Kamalasan Reddy has a word of advice for women: “Don’t flaunt your gold ornaments and tempt snatchers and thieves who abound in busy places, especially RTC stations.” His advice came after the central zone police team arrested a gang from Mangoor Basti, also called ‘Chor Basti’ as majority of the residents there make a living from theft, and recovered 24 tolas of gold chains. The gang leader, Gangappa, was caught on May 1 when police got a tip that he had come

to a shop to dispose of stolen gold. The gang has been involved in dozens of thefts and chain snatches in Abids, Narayanaguda, Begumpet and Saifabad. The other gang members, Jahangir, Anil, Pothula and Preetham, all residents of Mangoor Basti, are absconding. The DCP said Gangappa is well known in City police stations. He has been arrested several times but comes out and continues his old game.

MODUS OPERANDI

“We are unpad (illiterate), sir. We know no other job. We began picking pockets at an early age; snatching was only a step further. We like bus and railway stations where people are worried about their own affairs, not of their neighbours. Snatching is done

Details of snatching and thefts by the gang Police stations No. of cases Abids Road 5 Narayanaguda 6 Begumpet 4 Saifabad 6 Total 21 when women are getting in or getting out of a bus or train that is about to start. A piece of steel blade is kept between fingers to cut the chain. We are also adept at severing the chain’s hook. It is an expertise that needs practice,” said Gangappa.

Police dept’s Telugu site outdated Even as the State is promoting Telugu and press releases from the chief minister’s office are sent out in that language, the police department’s Telugu website provides erroneous and outdated information.

Inkeshaf Ahmed ahmed.m@postnoon.com

t a time when the official language of the State — Telugu — is being widely promoted by the State government in terms of usage, a crucial wing of the government, the Hyderabad police, seems to be oblivious to this fact. Though the CM initiated the process of using Telugu as the official language of his office (CMO) by releasing press notes in Telugu, the City police continues to ignore this fact. For over 6,000-odd police personnel of the Hyderabad commissionerate, the police commissioner is still listed as senior IPS officer AK Khan, the

Terms of officers 51 52 53 54

Sri. Balwinder Singh Sri. B. Prasada Rao, I.P.S., Sri. A.K. Khan, I.P.S., Sri. Anurag Sharma, I.P.S.,

12 Jan 2007 20 Jan 2008 21 Jan 2010 19 May 2012

current vice-chairman and managing director of APSRTC, on the department’s Telugu version of the website. It hasn’t been updated in the last five years. The table, which gives the details of all the commissioners of City police from 1847 to date, lists AK Khan as the 52nd police commissioner. Khan was the 53rd police commissioner of Hyderabad. His term came to an end in May last year when Anurag Sharma, the current City police commissioner, took over. It does not end here. In one paragraph, which is just above the table of the police commissioners, the website misleads its viewers by saying that another

senior IPS officer, B Prasada Rao, the current director of anticorruption bureau (ACB), is the 58th police commissioner of Hyderabad. Rao worked as commissioner years ago in 2008. His term continued till January 2010.

M ATTER OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE The status of City police’s website gives a grim picture to those who read information in Telugu and to the educated class who can only use Telugu as the medium of communication. When the entire State is rooting for the promotion of the language, the City police continues to neglect it.

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Power cuts on the horizon

The near continuous electricity supply that the City has been enjoying will not last long, caution power officials, as the demand from the agriculture sector will increase towards the end of May. Action plan to overcome power crisis n Tender finalisation for short-term purchase of 2,000MW n Bids finalised for 880MW of 2,000MW planned under medium-term buying n The North-South transmission corridor could be booked for the State for 550MW n On the other hand, the grid would get 4,300MW of extra capacity this year, starting with 800MW at Krishnapatnam, 600MW at Bhoopalapalli and 520MW of Hindujas.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

rahul.r@postnoon.com

he near continuous power supply in the City will not last long, predict senior APTransco officials. Given the meteorology department’s weather forecast for the next two months, power companies have advised people to gear up for a hot and uncomfortable summer. According to Hiralal Samariya, CMD of APTransco, the demand-supply gap is expected to widen in the next two weeks. “The Rabi season has ended and demand from the agricultural sector has lightened. But all the 32 lakh agricultural pump sets will begin drawing power by the end of May as the Kharif season will begin. The current daily shortage of 40MU is expected to increase to 60MU and this is partly because of the huge demand from domestic sector,” he says. Added to this is the severe shortfall of power from gasbased plants and hydel generation. Demand from domestic sector rose to 305MU in the months of March and April and this was compensated by the drop from

the agricultural sector. The power generated was only 235MU. “Since the demand dropped from the agricultural sector, the power cuts in cities too dropped. But we are heading into the same, if not worse, situation, with the incoming Kharif and peak summer season in the months of May and June,” says a senior official from APGenco. In April 2012, power generation from hydel plants was 6,000MU which dropped to a

shocking 3,152MU this year. Gas plants generated 15,000MU last April and this has come down to 8,276MU. “Shortfall of natural reserves and fuel shortage is another prime factor in this situation,” the CMD says.

WEATHER

SITUATION

The current weather situation in the State is a cause for worry for the met department. Given the changing temperatures, officials hope that at least the months of

May and June go through a proper heat spell, otherwise, the State may expect very little rainfall. “There should be a considerable heat wave over the land mass otherwise sufficient moisture will not turn into rainfall. The current situation is similar to 2011 when temperatures kept fluctuating during May and June and the State received scant rainfall. The current pre-monsoon heat wave will go on till last week of June. But thunder-

storm activity may happen in remote parts of the State anytime due to cumulonimbus cloud formation because of moisture availability and instability in the weather,” he says. He adds that there is a rising trend in the temperature levels. “Areas like Rayalseema and parts of coastal Andhra are predicted to go through 47 and 48 degrees C. There is nothing to fear as we believe that there will be a normal rainfall.”

Illiteracy hamstrings AP’s progress While the literacy rate stands at a poor 67.02, the good news is that there has been a decrease in the male-female gap in the literacy rate from the 2001 census report. Aleena Alice aleena.t@postnoon.com

ndhra Pradesh is among the bottom five states when it comes to literacy. The Primary Census Abstract (PCA), released on Friday, shows that the literacy rate in the State is recorded as 67.02. Women are still lagging behind in literacy when compared with men. The good news is that there has been a decrease in the male-female gap in the literacy rate from the 2001 census report. From 19.89 in 2001, the male-female gap has come down to 15.73 according to the 2011 census. Among the districts, the gap between male and female literacy rate was found to be highest in Kadapa, where the male literacy rate is recorded to be 77.78 and the female rate is 57.77, a difference of 21.01 per cent. On the other hand, West Godavari has the lowest percentage of the male and female literacy gap in the State. Male literacy is 77.92

Highlights of the Primary Census Abstract n For the first time ever, the population figures of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) have been released as part of the census. The total SC population in the State is 1,38,78,078, while that of STs is 59,18,073. n The decadal growth rate of population in the State has decreased to 10.98 per cent in 2011 census from 11.10 in the 2001 census. n The child population in the State is recorded as 91, 42,802, of which 61,52,022 are in rural areas and 29, 90,780 are in urban areas, according to the 2011 census.

“Overall, in most of the areas in the State, women are lagging behind in the literacy rate,” said census department director YV Anuradha (in pic).

SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN CHILD SEX RATIO IN AP

and the female literacy is 71.36, a percentage difference of 6.56. The City, however, recorded the highest literacy rate in the State. Himayat Nagar has the highest literacy rate, with 88.64

per cent of people being literate, followed by Ameerpet, where the literacy rate is 87.70. The lowest literacy rate in the State is seen in Kosigi in Kurnool where the literacy rate is 33.95.

According to the census report (2011), what is shocking is that statistics show that there is an alarming decrease in the child sex ratio (CSR) in the State, which only goes to prove the prevalence of illegal sex determination before childbirth. The sex ratio is the number of females for every 1,000 males. Though the overall sex ratio has gone up from 978 in 2001 to 993 in the 2011 census, there is a decrease in the child sex ratio. The decline in the ratio is seen considerably in rural areas. Among the urban districts, Hyderabad records the lowest CSR of 914. The highest CSR of 968 in the State is seen in East Godavari.

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Surviving the odds

Getting a bone marrow match is a one in 20,000 chance for most Indians. This slim margin is further jeopardised by lack of funds, knowledge and donors. Donation facts JYOTSNA NAMBIAR

Jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

alini Ambady is the first Indian-American woman to work with the psychology department at Stanford University. As impressive as that is, it is not the reason she is in the news. Over the past few weeks, Nalini’s friends and family have been frantically looking for a bone marrow match for her. The mother of two suffers from a rare form of blood cancer and after chemotherapy failed, a bone marrow transplant (BMT) is her only option. Her siblings are not a match, so the family turned to international and Indian bone marrow registries. Nalini was given a one in 20,000 chance of getting a match. The odds haven’t been in her favour so far. Nalini isn’t the only one. Thousands in India need a BMT to survive and few have the resources to launch a worldwide search like Nalini. Even those who do are hard-pressed to find donors, as there are very few Indian ones. Consider this: There are 2,16,26,844 bone marrow donors worldwide. Of these, less than 50,000 are Indian. Our country, with a population of over one billion, has only four bone marrow registries. The oldest, the Asian Indian Donor Marrow Registry in Delhi, has around 4,000-5,000 donors. Marrow Donor Registry India (MDRI), a non-profit organisation in Mumbai, has 15,000. Datri in Chennai has 37,000 donors on their rolls. Bharat Stem Cell Registry, also in Delhi, has 1,100. The reason why India needs a large number of local donors is simple – the sheer diversity makes it difficult to find a match outside a person’s ethnic gro-

n n

Anyone between the age group of 18 and 55 can donate. There is no limit to the number of times you can donate bone marrow. Like in blood donations, a gap of three months should be left between two donations. There are no side effects to donating bone marrow. There is no drilling involved; the procedure is similar to platelet donation. The process is completely anonymous, so there is no scope for extortion.

THE REASON WHY OUR COUNTRY NEEDS A LARGE NUMBER OF LOCAL DONORS IS SIMPLE – THE SHEER DIVERSITY OF INDIA MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO FIND A MATCH OUTSIDE A PERSON’S ETHNIC GROUP. up. It is important to get as many people from different communities to sign up as donors to address this problem. The patient’s siblings are the first choice; there is a one in four chance that they will be a match. “Earlier, families used to be large. It was easy to find a matching donor if a person had five to eight siblings. Now, with birth control, people have only one or two siblings, reducing the chance,” says Dr Sunil Parekh, chairman of MDRI. Once that option is exhausted, the

patient has to look for unrelated donors. This is where bone marrow registries come in (see box). The problems that plague Indian bone marrow registries are lack of funds, lack of awareness and reluctance of people to become donors. The government is of no help. “It costs around `8,000 to do the HLA (antigens present on white blood cells) typing of one donor. The government also doesn’t have the money because it spends mostly on primary healthcare,” says Dr Parekh. Most countries with strong donor databases are backed and funded by the government, he adds. “Awareness of the problem or the need was the main challenge. There is lack of awareness among not only citizens but also medical professionals,” says Raghu Rajagopal, CEO of Datri. This lack of awareness makes people reluctant to become donors. “When their relative needs a transplant, people will be ready to donate. They will even bemoan the fact that there is no proper registry. But if you ask them to donate later, for an unknown recipient, they refuse to take the responsibility,” says Pooja Kukreja, a research scientist at Bharat Stem Cell Registry. Even if a match is found, there is a high probability of the donor backing out. “In India, more than 50 per cent donors back out,” says Dr Parekh. Kukreja adds that this is a worldwide problem. “It isn’t as if donors don’t back out elsewhere in the world. But in other countries, they have a large database; here, people don’t even register!” The goal now is to get at least 1,00,000 donors across the country quickly, says Rajagopal. The registries approach colleges and corporates and hold donor drives to get more people to sign up. “People can help by spreading the word among co-workers and friends,” he says.

PIC COURTESY BEAT RANGER (WIKIMEDIA)

Donating life

one marrow donation sounds daunting, but in reality, the procedure is only slightly more cumbersome than donating blood. The process is now called peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is relatively easier. The procedure to become a donor is as follows. n Fill a form stating willingness to become a marrow donor. n A bone marrow registry will collect a small sample of blood. n The sample will be tested to ensure the potential donor is healthy. n The blood is typed for six human leucocyte antigens (HLAs), which are used to match patient and donor blood. n When a patient requires a BMT, the doctor will send the patient’s blood, which has been typed, to the registries. The registry will run the data through their database and inform the doctor if a match has been found. n If the patient wishes to continue, the registry runs a high-resolution typing, where they check whether four more HLAs of the patient and donor match. The patient has to pay around `5,000 for this procedure. n If it is a match, the date for the BMT will be set. The registry will contact the donor, run a complete medical check-up and give a green signal for the transplant. n The stem cells will be collected through a process called apheresis. The blood of the donor is passed through a machine that separates it into components. n It is a simple, out-patient procedure.

NATION SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

5 injured in Manipur blast IMPHAL: Five persons were injured when a powerful grenade exploded at a bakery shop in Imphal West district of Manipur, police said today. Suspected militants hurled the grenade at the bakery shop at Chingmeirong area on the outskirts of the city last night. All the five injured were non-Manipuris, police said.

Free encroached land: Kalam

CBI raids Maj Gen premises

NEW DELHI: CBI officials today raided

ormer President APJ Abdul Kalam today asked the Government to ensure that land encroached by Chinese troops is freed. “Indian leadership should ensure the return of Chinese troops from the Indian territory,” Kalam said, referring to recent incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh. He said that encroached land should be freed from Chinese occupancy.

the premises of a senior Army officer after registerng a case of corruption against him on the charge of bribery and amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of his income. “CBI conducted raids at several places of Major General V K Sharma in Udhampur, Pathankote, Delhi and Gurgaon,”a CBI official said.

Pak officials visit Sanaullah

Ranjay was injured during a scuffle with another inmate in Jammu jail where he was serving a life term NEW DELHI: A team of Pakistani High Commission officials today visited Sanaullah Ranjay, who was injured in a scuffle with another inmate in Jammu jail, at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, after India granted consular access to them last night. “Pakistan High Commission officials visited the injured prisoner Sanaullah in Chandigarh hospital at 03:30 hours in the morning. They also met the attending doctor,” a spokesperson in the ministry of External Affairs said. India had granted the consular access to Pakistani High

Bansal keeps mum NEW DELHI: Distancing himself from his nephew arrested by CBI last night in a case of bribery for allegedly fixing a top level position in Railway Board, Railway Minister P K Bansal today said he had no business links with him and denied any wrongdoing. In a statement, 64year-old Bansal, who was made Railway Minister in October last year, claimed he has always observed highest standards of probity in public life and that nobody can influence his decisions. He also sought an expeditious CBI inquiry into the issue.

BANSAL CLAIMED HE HAS ALWAYS OBSERVED HIGHEST STANDARDS OF PROBITY IN PUBLIC LIFE; AND NOBODY CAN INFLUENCE HIS DECISIONS. “Regarding yesterday’s incident involving my sister’s firm in a CBI raid at Chandigarh, I have to say that I have no knowledge or proof about the matter at all. Though a close relative, he or any other relative of mine does not and cannot med-

dle in my official function or influence my decision.There is also no business relationship between his and my family. “I have always observed highest standard of probity in public life and look forward to an expeditious investigation by CBI in the matter”, he said in the statement. Bansal’s nephew V Singla was yesterday arrested by the CBI, which also held a Member of the Railway Board in connection with alleged bribery of `90 lakh for fixing a top level position in the government.

20 hurt in 3 children killed road mishap in wall collapse KRISHNAGAR (WB): At least 20 passengers were injured when a private bus collided with a truck at Goaripara under Krishnaganj Police station in Nadia district today, the police said. The head-on collision occurred on Krishnagar-Majdia Road at about 7 AM when the bus was passing by another truck which was unloading sand by the road side. The injured were taken to Krishnaganj Hospital and most of them were released after first aid. Four persons, were referred to Shaktinagar Hospital.

BALASORE (ODISHA,): Three children were killed in separate wall collapse incidents following heavy rain that also damaged thatched houses affecting 2,000 people in Balasore district, officials said today. Sania Sing (9) and Basanti Sing (8) were killed when a mud wall collapsed on them at Benapada village last evening. In another wall collapse incident, Jitendra Das (9) died and five others were injured in Thalsadha village. Besides, about 2,000 people were affected as many thatched houses were damaged during rain.

INDIA HAD GRANTED THE CONSULAR ACCESS TO PAKISTANI HIGH COMMISSION OFFICIALS LAST NIGHT. THEY HAD ALSO GIVEN TRAVEL PERMISSION TO THREE OFFICIALS AND A DRIVER. Commission officials last night. They had also given travel permission to three officials and a driver. Ranjay was injured during a

scuffle with another inmate in Jammu jail where he was serving life term after being convicted under TADA provisions. He was arrested in 1999. A resident of Sialkot in Pakistan, Ranjay was immediately shifted from high-security Kot Balwal jail to Government Medical College Hospital and later rushed to PGIMR in Chandigarh in an air ambulance after doctors said his condition was critical. The incident involving Sanaullah comes a day after the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who was brutally attacked on Friday last by six fellow inmates in a Lahore prison. PTI

WORLD SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

70,000 arrive for NRA meet

Pro-choice group face jail

ro-choice activists in Ireland are risking up to 14 years in prison with a guerilla-style information campaign designed to help the estimated 11 Irish women per day who travel to Britain for terminations. They are targeting cafes, pubs, clubs, gym changing rooms and public toilets with thousands of leaflets giving contact details for British abortion clinics.

US to tighten visa rules

he National Rifle Association styled itself Friday as the champions of fundamental freedoms in the United States as it kicked off its annual convention in a combative mood. More than 70,000 members of the nation’s premier gun rights organization have flocked to Texas for the three-day gathering, hard on the heels of the defeat of new federal gun laws in the US Senate.

n the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, the US will tighten oversight to help ensure that foreign students seeking to enter the US have valid student visas. Effective immediately border agents at places like the airport or another entry point to the country will verify every international student making sure they have a valid student visa, ABC News reported.

Israeli jets strike Syria?

White House and Pentagon officials declined to comment on the reports. But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was quoted as telling an audience that Israel had indeed bombed Syria. WASHINGTON: Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria targeting a weapons shipment headed for the militant group Hezbollah based in neighboring Lebanon, US media reported Friday. CNN television said that US and Western intelligence agencies were reviewing information suggesting Israel likely conducted a strike in the night from Thursday to Friday, just as Israel was flying many warplanes over Lebanon. But the United States does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes, it added. A senior US official told NBC News that the airstrikes were likely tied to delivery systems for chemical weapons. CNN, however, cited officials as saying there was no reason to believe Israel had struck chemical weapons storage facilities. White House and Pentagon officials declined to comment on the reports. But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was quoted as telling an audience that Israel had indeed bombed Syria. “Israel bombed Syria tonight,” Graham was cited by the Politico news website as saying in passing, without offering any further details. Graham, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was speaking at the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual Silver Elephant fundraising dinner. If confirmed, this would mark the second time that Israel

has conducted airstrikes on Syria this year. Earlier this month, the Jewish state implicitly admitted carrying out a January air strike on a weapons convoy in Syria thought to be en route to Lebanon’s Hezbollah — a longtime Damascus ally. The reports on the latest strike came shortly after President Barack Obama nearly ruled out deploying US troops to Syria, saying he did not foresee a scenario in which that would be

Earlier this month, the Jewish state implicitly admitted carrying out a January air strike on a weapons convoy in Syria thought to be en route to Lebanon’s Hezbollah — a longtime Damascus ally.

Obama does not forsee sending troops to Syria

resident Barack Obama came close Friday to ruling out deploying US troops to Syria, saying he did not foresee a scenario in which that would be beneficial to the United States or Syria. “As a general rule, I don’t rule things out as commander-inchief because circumstances change and you want to make sure that I always have the full power of the United States at

our disposal to meet American national security interests,” Obama said. “Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which

boots on the ground in Syria — American boots on the ground in Syria — would not only be good for America but also would be good for Syria.” Speculation has mounted that the Obama administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after the White House said last week that President Bashar al-Assad likely used chemical weapons on his people.

beneficial to the United States or Syria. Speculation has mounted that the Obama administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after the White House said last week that President Bashar al-Assad likely used chemical weapons on his people. Obama has been reluctant to intervene in the war but faces mounting criticism that he has allowed the Assad regime to cross his own declared “red line” on using chemical weapons. AFP

Bangla building toll hits 540

California wildfire nearly triples in size

UK delays tough press watch dog

DHAKA: The death toll from Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster rose to 540 Saturday after 15 bodies were overnight pulled from the wreckage of an eightstorey building housing garment factories, the army said. Major Sazzad Hossain of the army control room, which was set up to coordinate the rescue operation following the disaster last month, said recovery efforts had gathered pace and the “death toll now stands at 540”. The building housing five garment factories collapsed near the capital Dhaka on April 24, trapping more than 3,000 people. Scores of distraught relatives gathered at the disaster site for an eleventh day as cranes cut through a mountain of concrete and mangled steel.

MALIBU: A raging California wildfire nearly tripled in

LONDON: The British government is to delay plans

size Friday as it threatened 4,000 homes, although firefighters said they had gained more control over it. The Springs Fire, near Malibu 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Los Angeles, grew to 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares) from 10,000 acres in the morning, although it was now 20 percent contained. California typically has fires later in the year, but strong winds and temperatures in the 90s (30s Celsius) have triggered a series of brushfires this week — including a new one in Glendale, just outside Los Angeles. In the fire near Malibu, nearly 1,000 firefighters battled wind-fanned flames that have ripped through tinder-dry brush, threatening some 4,000 homes during the day.

for a new state-backed press watchdog after newspapers rejected the proposal and published their own version, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said on Friday. Downing Street said it was forced to postpone its bid for a beefed-up new regulator, which was drawn up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid, to allow more time to consider the newspapers’ alternative charter. The three main political parties struck a deal in March for a tougher system of press self-regulation underpinned by law, which they said was needed to rein in the excesses of Britain’s famously raucous tabloids.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

EDITORIALS GOOD LUCK Imran Khan Imran Khan is embarked on a journey to bring his people a new Pakistan. But he would sooner admit that winning the World Cup was easier. Though years have deepened the lines on his forehead, he has not lost any of the skills with which he led from the front and made champions of a bunch of men who were collectively thought to be mavericks in cricket, for Pakistan could beat the strongest team one day and lose to minnows the next. If there is one trait that followers of cricket associate Pakistan with, it is this unpredictability. And over the years, this trait of unpredictability may be extended to the nation as a whole. There’s no knowing what’s going to happen next. This is a nation that is haunted by its horrific, tragic past that it shares with its neighbour. Even after six decades after its birth, Pakistan and India cannot be said to be rid of this spectre and both nations are wary of each other like no other neighbours. One may say India fared better and enjoyed better stability and prosperity as a nation and more of less lived up to its ideals on which the foundations of this nation was set. Pakistan’s case has not been so. Perpetual political instability has cost Pakistan a lot, with swathes of land and its people mired in the claws of fundamentalist forces like Taliban, earning it the infamous moniker, the hub of global terrorism. Imran Khan has been around when Pakistan has been through hell at various junctures. The various political leaders could not reverse Pakistan’s fortunes, the Army could not do it, only made the nation gasp for the air of freedom. One is surprised what makes Imran Khan believe that his nation, so weakened by its travails, can pull through. They say it was this man’s will and strength that won them the World Cup. Perhaps it is the faith that comes from winning the World Cup that makes Imran hope that he can do it again with his nation.

Corrigendum

n yesterday's edition, the article on 100 Years of Indian cinema wrongly mentioned that MGR had acted in Parashakti (1952), instead of Sivaji Ganesan. The mistake is regretted.

Those mystical eclipses Soul Curry

SUMAA TEKUR

number of eclipses are taking place during the months of April and May this year. The spring eclipse, which is a lunar eclipse in the Swati Nakshatra, happened on the night of April 25. The annular solar eclipse will happen on May 10 and the penumbral lunar eclipse will happen on May 25. Will these affect us? Yes, at a deeper spiritual level. Eclipses are reminders from nature for our need to connect with the cosmos and know that we’re part of a larger flow that we have little control over. Eclipses are also ideal times to re-connect with nature and with our inner selves through yoga, meditation and any other way that balances the various motivators within us. It’s a good time to get spiritual and think about the larger good of the universe and

not just ourselves and our personal life goals. Eclipses are surely mystical times. They lend us the opportunity to commune with nature. It’s nature’s way of setting the calendar to cleanse ourselves of negativity and power forward with a more positive outlook towards life. Here are some notes on what to expect from each planet during this period. It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer of astrology or not. These are general guidelines for anyone looking for a bit of meaning in the ebb and flow that is life. Swati Nakshatra: This is a great time for those in the creative field. The Swati Nakshatra gives us the insights and the power of understanding to make sense of the various changes in processes and systems that include technology and machines. It enables us to see it all as a whole and not just as an individual part of something larger, which we cannot comprehend. Lunar eclipse: This is the time when we get in touch with our emotions, whether we like it or

ECLIPSES ARE SURELY MYSTICAL TIMES. THEY

LEND US THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNE WITH NATURE. IT’S NATURE’S WAY OF SETTING THE CALENDAR TO CLEANSE OURSELVES OF NEGATIVITY. not. Expect emotional outbursts and some period of turbulence. Solar eclipse: During this time, our false ego is cut to size. We begin to see situations and people in new light. But when this happens to an extreme, it can also be at the cost of our own ego. Sun: It makes us listen to our intuition and to our callings of the soul in ways never experienced before. At the other spectrum of this influence is the possibility of the renunciation of what we’re here for in the first place in search of that eternal peace and bliss. It can be tricky to navigate this path during this time. Saturn: Saturn brings us face

to face with our dharma as well as our karma. While there are some experiences in life we cannot avoid at all, it also teaches us the importance of going through it all with a stoic understanding. It helps to stop thinking about ourselves for a change, and think about the universe and where the world is heading. Ketu: Guard against over thinking about the past, especially about relationships and why they didn’t meet your expectations. The journey down this road can stir up other emotions, and without a real need. Venus: Accept the fact that there are going to be inconsistencies in the way you look at relationships. Rein in your expectations and let this time go by smoothly, without your having to make any big decisions. Mars: On the one hand, you will gain the willpower to complete a job you have taken on. On the other hand, Mars will also make you restless, and will likely take away the anchor of your relationships. Stay calm. Accept it as it comes to you.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Of friends and family… My World SHRADDHA JAHAGIRDAR-SAXENA

am fortunate in that my world is filled with different types of friends and family members… each of whom I connect with for different reasons and on different occasions. And it is extremely heartening to note that some friendships withstand the vagaries of time – and no connect – and we pick up almost as if where we had stopped years ago. One day, a few weeks ago, I got a call from Satish – an old family friend, my contemporary who wanted to meet up to discuss his son’s future. I had last seen him over 15 years ago, yet the instant connect prompted me to invite him over. He came home, one Saturday evening, just as I was readying to go out for a get-together at another friend’s home, and with him was Sheehan. The boy whom I had seen as a young kid was now a poised youngster seeking to carve his own name in the world of movies. Incidentally, Satish is first cousin of Madhuri Dixit — so I curiously asked him about why he sought success in showbusiness when he was fully aware of the ups, downs and vagaries of the industry. Sheehan showed a sense of maturity as he spoke about his

Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU

choices (from animation to acting) and the first offer that he has got. Generation Next seems to know where it is going and is driven by a sense of focus that is admirable. I have just returned

from dropping off my son to a law entrance exam. There was a veritable traffic jam outside the college – and that too on a Saturday morning as kids and parents jammed the road to reach the centre. Luckily (or

should I say unfortunately for me) mine is an independent sort who shuns all displays of affection and prefers receiving his ‘Best of Luck’ as he is getting out of the car. But, to get back to the point, a few of these kids (a

very few) were known to us – and I remember how in discussion, all of them had their next few years planned out in detail. And they had Plan A, B, C…and perhaps more in place. It is interesting to realise that these children are not looking at mere academics and degrees as their future. Many of them are heavily into fitness programmes. Quite a few of them are looking at working with NGOs across the world to give back to society even as they begin to embark on their careers. My friend’s son worked in Cambodia, another did a stint in UP, a third first taught in Leh and Ladakh and now is working at a school in Turkey, my niece opted for a social service job in South Africa. For them, the world beckons and they are not scared to walk down paths not taken by others and more importantly, by previous generations. And what is making all this so much more meaningful is the mindset shift in parents. No longer are parents forcing kids to take up regular jobs. They are giving them the freedom – or as the kids put it ‘gap year’ time – to follow their dreams. And then, when they are ready they can get back to the business of living. Or if they have discovered the rainbow at the end of the road they have chosen, so be it! Shraddha JahagirdarSaxena is the Executive Editor of VERVE and MOTHER’s WORLD

Global edits

All in a day

The NYT (US)

Shooting himself in the foot

resident François Hollande of France has recently been on a campaign to change the widely held perception that his administration is hostile to business. He has sounded more welcoming to foreign investment and has promised to lower capital gains taxes. But barely days into his charm offensive, one of Mr. Hollande’s ministers was triumphantly claiming credit for preventing Yahoo from buying a controlling stake in a successful French online video streaming company, DailyMotion. he announcement by the minister for industrial renewal, Arnaud Montebourg, that DailyMotion was “a golden nugget that needs to be preserved” sends a terrible message to French entrepreneurs and foreign investors. It suggests that any French enterprise that achieves success can never be

acquired by a foreign business. Nations are understandably hostile to foreign acquisitions of businesses important to national security or critical infrastructure. But it is hard to think of what vital French interest would be compromised if Yahoo were to take a controlling stake in a video streaming service that allows users to watch clips from “The Office.” Mr Montebourg seems to hold the mistaken notion that by keeping the ownership of DailyMotion in French hands he will encourage the development of a cluster of French Internet companies. Far from it. The experience of Silicon Valley suggests that companies and entrepreneurs succeed when they are free to work, merge and partner with the best and brightest from around the world. The French economy is in a deep slump, with an unemployment rate of 11 percent in March, up from 10 percent a year earlier. It certainly doesn’t need protectionist measures grounded in meaningless nationalism.

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Spain’s 2016 deadline

No cattle exports to Egypt

ustralian cattle exporters said they had suspended live shipments to Egypt Saturday after abattoir footage shot by animal rights activists showed “horrific” mistreatment of cows. “The outrageous cruelty has left me and my industry colleagues disgusted and horrified,” said ALEC chief Alison Penfold, who said she was “distraught”.

pain will be given time till 2016 to bring its budget deficit down below three per cent of gross domestic product, in line with EU mandates, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said."For France and Spain it is obvious that it is more reasonable to have a correction of the excessive deficit over another two years," he said.

Russia gets Arctic oil fields

he Russian government has granted state-controlled gas giant Gazprom the right to explore four gas fields in the northern Barents Sea. The offshore fields hold an estimated 1.8 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, according to figures provided in the decree of PM Dmitry Medvedev. Russia produced 655 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2012.

Changing the market In several companies, marketing may not get its due while delegating resources or time. This is where Bijoy Babu comes in.

PRUDHVI RAJU K

prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

s a young boy, Bijoy Babu (in pic) did not see the value of studies. For him, marketing became the path of life. The youngster did not know much about the field but he knew it was a practice by which one could seel products and make a profit margin. He sold belts and bats not only within his friends’ circle but also to outsiders when he was in senior secondary school. Over time, marketing became a passion and this drove him to understand the real value of education. He completed an MBA through correspondence. His passion took him places. Bijoy worked with various MNCs like Acer, IBM and Wipro. Eventually, he sacrificed his job as practice manager at Wipro to start his own enterprise. In July 2012, Bijoy started Green Apple Marketing and Consulting. Talking about his business idea, he said, “For any company, marketing is a real challenge. Hiring, managing and driving the team not only takes investments but also takes valuable time and resources. For instance, manufacturing companies put a lot of time and effort in the operational issues. Marketing may not get its due while delegating resources or time. When companies outsource their marketing, the marketing company takes care of everything from training, infrastructure and resources.” He adds that marketing should be conceptualised from the inception of the product.And one may wonder, how can an outsider explain the value addition of the product? “We get training about the product for two to three days before taking up the

job. We do not accept products which are complex in nature and need strong understanding before marketing. “Marketing outsourcing is very common in the West. As of now, we have more IT clients but soon we will reach out to manufacturing and other sectors. We take different approaches in reaching the customer — road shows, field sales, tele-marketing and channel sales. We don’t go blindly for any marketing approach. For instance, brands spend money to get likes on Facebook. Some people who like these pages are not real customers. Each of them have given almost thousand likes to different companies. We don’t follow such techniques but go with a strategy in reaching right and valued customers,” he added. “We generally take 15 days to streamline the marketing after sealing the deal. The idea is to

Marketers have lot of opportunities and getting them to stick to a job is challenging. There are times when recruited people did not turn up on the reporting date. Bijoy Babu limit the costs of the company. We hire experienced people according to the need and give them thorough training before placing them in the job. Even when the project finishes, we try to place them in various other projects,” Bijoy says. The business had gone through a tough time in the initial phase. There were very few clients turning up in the first months. However, Bijoy did not lose hope but gave time for business to pick up. “We know that business needs time to gain

momentum. We even did consulting to manage our costs. At a point of time, I even doubted the timing of the inception of the company. It is important for any business to give time for incubation,” he explains. On challenges, he says, “Hiring people is definitely a tough task. Marketers have lot of opportunities and getting them to stick to a job is challenging. There are times when recruited people did not turn up on the reporting date. Over time, we streamlined the process and

there is enough capable human resource to take up any work.” The business guarantees sales for the client and shares profits if it crosses the target. “We take payment upfront and guarantee minimum basic target according to the product or service. However, we go on with profit sharing if we do sales beyond the basic target. This will push us to go beyond targets and take the business to the next level. Each client approaches us only based on the sales that we bring to other

clients. In a way, there should be sustainable sales, which will help us to get more clients.” Talking about future prospects, he says, “There is a lot of opportunity in the segment as there are very few players. I personally get involved in designing or monitoring the marketing performance for each client. To expand the business, we are also looking for an active partner who has similar expertise. He could handle a few more companies and help us double revenue and clients.”

FOCUS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

DISABLED SYRIA REBEL RETURNS TO THE FRONTLINE Lala’s return inspired awe in his troops, who remember him writhing in pain, still asking after his comrades. Anuj CHOPRA Agence France-Presse

hen a landmine blew Syrian rebel Jamil Lala’s foot off, he expected to be relegated to a non-combat role far behind the front lines and away from his comrades. Instead he learned to walk on a prosthetic limb and headed to the front to be closer to his men. Lala’s return inspired awe in his troops, who remember the 33-year-old Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander writhing in pain on a stretcher, still asking after his comrades. Lala had been on patrol in northern Latakia province, the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community, when he ordered his men to wait while he crept up on a regime outpost. He approached within earshot of Assad’s men to try to gather intelligence on troop deployments in the area, when he stepped on a landmine. He heard a deafening boom and blacked out. When Lala came to, with a searing pain in his leg, he found himself lying outside the outpost where the blast had caused mayhem among the regime

forces. Fearing capture, he crawled into a ditch to hide, where his patrol later found him and whisked him away. He did not realise he had lost his foot until he arrived at a hospital in a Turkish border town and noticed a child flinching at the sight of his bloodied leg. “At first I thought my life was finished. I told my men if I don’t survive tell my pregnant wife to name our child Maya,” said Lala, a slight man with a keffiyeh headscarf wrapped around his neck. “The FSA assigned me a noncombat role to manage logistics inside Turkey. It would have been a more comfortable life.” Instead Lala, also known by his nickname Abu Hudo, returned a few weeks ago to the base in Latakia province of the FSA’s Al-Ezz bin Abdul Salam Brigade on the front line. Returning has been difficult, as his mobility has been impeded. He has struggled to adapt to Latakia’s hilly terrain and is forced to rely on others for things he once did effortlessly, such as clambering into the back of a pickup. And he loathes asking for help. But Lala, who now coordinates military strategy and finance for the brigade, said his

Pick

At first I thought my life was finished. I told my men if I don’t survive tell my pregnant wife to name our child Maya. Jamil Lala, Free Syrian Army

own difficulties seem irrelevant as the Syrian civil war drags into its third year. “I cannot forget the immense sacrifices ordinary Syrians have made for this revolution — people have lost their homes, their families,” he said, sitting on a rock near the brigade headquarters. That cannot be overlooked just because I’ve lost my foot. The fight must go on until Assad is overthrown.” He ducked for cover under a tree as a regime helicopter flew overhead. Seconds later plumes of smoke rose above the rocky outcrops of the Kurdish mountains as the machine dropped a bomb on a village perched on its slopes. “This is like an alarm clock. We wake up with the sounds of explosions,” Lala said. Inside the headquarters, a whitewashed house on a hillside of olive groves and orchards, his comrades had just returned with new secretly filmed footage from a regime-controlled city. He limped with the help of his cane into the projection room where fighters were listening to Bob Marley’s “Get up, stand up” playing softly from a laptop, interspersed with the crump of distant shellfire. “The local people are being held like hostages in their own

at the

town,” Lala said, reviewing the footage on the screen. Filmed from a high vantage point, it showed a maze of residential buildings and desolate streets. A taxi screeched to a halt on a street where armed men darted around a checkpoint. The rebels said the taxi was carrying “shabiha”, the regime’s feared militiamen. Lala nodded in agreement when someone in the room suggested the city desperately needed to be “liberated”. Later, the fighters gathered for a lunch of fresh olives, hummus, green chilies and bread, where one of them recalled a pre-revolution incident that made Lala a “real hero” in his eyes. It was in Latakia city, an Assad stronghold, where someone bet him 500 Syrian Pounds to slap a statue of late president Hafez al-Assad. If caught in the act, the authorities would have arrested him. But he had the nerve to pull it off as they looked the other way. “He slapped the statue, grabbed the money and then ran like a madman before anyone had the chance to catch him,” the rebel said, prompting hoots of laughter from the group, including from Lala himself.

airport,

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

MOBILE GAME REVIEW

APP OF THE WEEK

www.jumbo.com nternet.com's Jumbo! is a great place to sample the world of shareware and freeware. There's no need to scan through thousands of titles here. Just start at the "musthaves" section, where editors have narrowed down your choices.

Pulse News

Replacing Tekken's tense, button-mashing pugilism with a card-battling system sounds like a recipe for a virtual limpwristed slap. But, surprisingly, Tekken Card Tournament is ace. It's tense, strategic, and extremely satisfying to play.

TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT

he average techie likes his information quick and to the point, and the same goes when it comes to news, of course. Pulse News was perhaps made exactly for the techie, in this manner.

Skype

Mobile messaging apps such as Whatsapp have overtaken SMS as far as the volume of messages sent are concerned. Here are the top five apps that you could use to chat with your friends.

t was meant to be a video chat client but over time it has evolved into much more. Microsoft shut down further development of MSN Messenger after they bought Skype and ported all that functionality to Skype making it the default chatting app for those using Microsoft's ecosystem. It also supports group video chat and also lets you send an SMS to those not using the app, provided you're willing to cough up some money for it. Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PC, Mac

THINK

BEYOND SMS

Too many cooks... he problem with the marT ket now is that there is no one app that can reach

NT BALANARAYAN

all people, unlike SMS. There is definite standard in the market to replace SMS and that is expected to be the case for the next few years till all these companies can work on a crossplatform, cross-app compatibility. Services like app.net that was initially promoted as a Twitter alternative could be used as a backend for such a service as it offers very robust APIs for such services. Those using iOS devices however won't need to worry so much as the builtin messaging app iMessage does a good job as it sends good ol' SMS to those who don't have an iOS device.

balanarayan.nt@postnoon.com

Kik Messenger

his was one of the first mobile messaging clients that became really popular, but unlike Whatsapp and Viber it uses the name alias of users and does not display mobile numbers. This privacy feature made it extremely popular among porn stars and was also used by a lot of young people for sexting. If you look beyond these seedy aspects you get a neat messaging app that lets you share pictures, videos and has most of the features found in other apps.

Line

his app was developed in the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan by an ISP which realised the superiority of online chatting applications over SMS in case of emergencies. The app has since grown beyond mere chatting and integrated Facebook like livestreams and a social feature. The app also has desktop clients for PC and Mac and lets you buy 'stickers' as profile pictures. Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PC, Mac

Rise of chatting apps

ccording to Informa nearly 19 billion messages were sent over these mobile apps each day around the world, versus 17.6 billion SMS messages in 2012. The analyst house reckons the contrast will be even starker in 2014, with 21 billion text messages projected, against almost 50 billion app-based messages.

Facebook Messenger

his would have been more popular than Whatsapp if not for the bloat. On Android, Facebook apps have been notorious because of the amount of RAM they suck up and this app suffers because of it. However, because of the popularity of the network it is one of the best apps to go to get in touch with your friends. Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

PET NEWS Puppy lemon law

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

NGO in trouble

he Illinois Senate has approved a measure that would protect consumers who buy a dog or cat at a pet store and then find out that the animal is seriously ill. Lawmakers voted to send to the Illinois House the bill described as a "puppy lemon law."

Messenger birds

he RSPCA, the world's oldest and largest animal welfare organisation, is at the centre of an increasingly bitter row over how it conducts its campaigns.The Charity Commission has confirmed that it is assessing the complaint.

he best tools for tracking how well pollutionreduction laws are working may be seabirds. Seabirds, including pelicans, gulls and terns, are at the top of the food chain, and they absorb the toxins and pollutants contained in the fish they eat.

CATS AND DOGS The Animal Care Clinic 040-2335 2474 Pet’s World Dog Clinic 98856 46259 Blue Cross of Hyderabad 040-3298 9858, 23544355/ 5523 Vet-N-Pet 040-6553 9535, 93463 05890 Bluplus Pet Clinic 040-2712 1739, 2716 2636 Sri Sai Pet Clinic

040-2779 7458, 9848645350 Claws & Paws 98662 82772 All Creatures Animals Clinic 040-2773 0885 BIRDS Govt Veterinary Hospital 040-2331 9656, 2753 5755 Bird Watcher’s Society 040-2355 6166 Friends of Birds9391048315 SNAKES Friends of Snakes 8374233366

Protect your pup from parvo

A highly contagious and ‘deadly’ viral disease in puppies is now emerging in more resistant forms, doctors say, adding that vaccines administered by untrained people and breeders ‘under pressure’ only has adverse effects.

DEEPASHRI V

deepashri.v@postnoon.com

our rescued puppies came to Animal Care Clinic last month with parvovirus for treatment. None of them survived. Canine parvovirus is a highly contagious disease that mostly affects puppies between the age groups of three weeks and four or six months, during which their immune system is not fully developed or is low. Preventive vaccine can be administered in puppies, but

despite the vaccine, puppies take two to three weeks to start developing immunity, during which they can still get infected, said Dr Lakshmi Srinivasa Ramana, one of the founders of Animal Care Clinic, Hyderabad. “It (canine parvovirus) is very common worldwide. Usually puppies that are not vaccinated or have low immunity get infected,” said Dr Ramana. “Supportive treatment is given throughout (once the puppy is infected). It is a deadly disease.” It is very common in poorly maintained dogs living in unhygienic conditions, said Dr Muralidharan from Dr Dogs. A dog diagnosed with parvo is isolated when there is a risk of

What is parvovirus?

anine parvovirus is an extremely contagious and fatal viral disease. It mainly affects puppies whose immune system is weak or when the maternal antibodies wear off. It spreads from dog to dog through infected faeces, direct contact or contact with an infected object.

it spreading to other puppies.

SYMPTOMS

AND TREATMENT

Vomiting, diarrhoea, blood in stools are some of the symptoms, and as the disease pro-

gresses, it affects the liver and other organs, said Dr Muralidharan. “The puppy goes into a coma and dies.” Fluid therapy and supportive therapy to prevent secondary bacterial or viral infections is given to the dog. Adult dogs can get infected too. “The virus affects the heart. It will look like the puppy is recovering, but it dies of a heart disease,” Dr Ramana said. A new drug for the disease, immunoglobulin, is now used, which may not be effective against all strains, she said. “It is effective in 85 per cent of the cases.” She said treatment is very expensive, and can go beyond `2,000 per day, depending on the

severity of the disease.

IMPROPER

VACCINATION

Three doses of vaccinations are given: one at six or seven weeks, and the other two one month later each, said Dr Ramana. But she said most breeders who are not trained to vaccinate a puppy do so “under pressure,” and do not check the health of the puppy or follow protocols before vaccination. “Will you take your child to anyone for vaccination or will you go to a paediatrician?” she asked. “Only technical people under a veterinarian’s supervision should vaccinate a puppy. If you vaccinate an infected puppy there will be side effects.”

Some facts about Canine Parvovirus n Parvovirus, which affects birds and mammals, was found in puppies only in the late 1960s (canine parvovirus CPV1). It mutated into a more severe and common form, CPV2, in

the late ’70s. n Parvovirus can withstand extreme heat and resists soaps, detergents and even alcohol. n If left untreated, CPV2 has a mortality of 91 per cent.

n The virus can survive in the dog’s faeces for up to three months. n One ounce of faeces from an infected dog contains 35 million units of the virus (1,000 units are enough to

infect another pup). n The virus can be carried by shoes, people, rodents, insects and other mobile surfaces. n Supportive therapy is given to dogs.

n If symptoms are detected early and with supportive care and hospitalisation, recovery rate is 80 per cent. Source: vetifo.com, whole-dog-journa.com

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

SHORT READS Title: Control Author: Glenn Beck Publisher: Threshold Editions fter several tragic school shootings, Americans seem more open to the idea of gun control. But for all those who believe that the right to own a firearm is a fundamental one, Glenn Beck’s book is for you.The author makes an impassioned plea for gun rights and claims that gun control would not make for a safer society.

Title: Waiting To Be Heard Author: Amanda Knox Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers fter her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was found murdered in their apartment, Amanda Knox was convicted of her murder. Four years later, she was acquitted and returned home. Knox writes about her ordeal in her controversial memoir.

Title: NOS4A2 Author: Joe Hill Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers young girl who manages to escape from a twisted psychopath as a child is forced to confront him years later. He’s out for revenge and she’s determined to put him away for life and their battle forms the heart of this gripping thriller.

Title: The Woman Upstairs Author: Claire Messud Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group t 40, Nora Eldridge is an unhappy woman. Having given up on her dream of being an artist, Nora is bitter about her life and career. But when a charismatic new family, the Shahids, move into her building, Nora believes her life is about to change.

Dreaming of the good times The book’s greatest achievement is that it highlights how ordinary the life of the imprisoned protagonist is – forcing us to rethink our traditional image of a criminal.

pragmatic about his chances. The author illustrates the boredom and routine of jail, factors which are usually passed over in fiction for more dramatic things like prison riots and police brutality. If the book wasn’t so crowded with characters and subplots, it would have been infinitely more enjoyable. That said, while not exceptional, Vanity Bagh is an engaging enough read.

JYOTSNA NAMBIAR

jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

nees Salim’s Vanity Bagh starts like most books and movies on prisoners do—with the first glimpse of jail. Imran Jabbari, 27, has just been convicted of aiding a terrorist attack and he knows that he won’t see his beloved Vanity Bagh for several years. The plot is a little too close to home, especially here in India — six young Muslim men have been accused of planting scooter bombs at various places in an unnamed city. That they were ignorant of the plot seems immaterial in the face of the death and destruction wrought by their actions. Now in jail, the narrator, Imran, spends half his time plotting his escape and the other half thinking about his previous life. The book doesn’t follow a linear narrative and instead leaps around in time, just like the disordered thoughts of a person would be like. This takes some getting used to but the author hits an even pace around 100 pages into the novel. What could easily have been a depressing tale of misfortune and bad timing is transformed

into one about the ordinariness of the accused. This is perhaps the book’s greatest achievement, as the author doesn’t try to make you like or dislike the characters; he just highlights how mundane their lives are, forcing you to rethink the traditional image of a criminal. The characters are believable, if a little exaggerated and predictable. It sometimes feels like the author is trying too hard to set the scene; as a result, the conversation is a little stilt-

ed and adjective-heavy. Another thing that seems incongruous is the sudden insertion of quotes by random characters in the middle of the text; most of them have nothing to do with what the narrator was talking about. A little later into the book, the purpose of the quotes becomes apparent; each of them has the years of birth and death of the speaker mentioned, thus hinting at things to come which are as yet left unsaid. Still, they are a little

annoying because they break the flow of the story. The pace of the book is relaxed. After all, the narrator has years of imprisonment to look forward to. He finds his voice while binding books in the prison; the blank pages allow him to write his own stories. In fact, the portions set in the jail seem the most genuine. The narrator conveys a quiet desperation for his home and friends through his constant dream of breaking out, but he remains

Title: Vanity Bagh Author: Anees Salim Publisher: PanMacmillan No of pages: 238

WHAT’S SELLING Walden’s best in fiction

Walden’s best in non-fiction

New York Times’ best in fiction

New York Times’ best in non-fiction

n Asura by Anand Neelakantan

n Business Sutra by Devdutt Pattanaik

n Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell

n Oath Of The Vayuputras by Amish Tripati

n The NaMo Story by Political Life

n Daddy’s gone a hunting by Mary Higgins Clark

n The Athena Doctrine by John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio

n Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

n Mastery by Robert Greene

n Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

n Gulp by Mary Roach

n In The City Of Gold And Silver by Kenize Mourad

n Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

n Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

n Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee D

n Follow Every Rainbow by Rashmi Bansal

n Taking Eve by Iris Johansen

n Unsinkable by Debbie Reynolds and Dorian Hannaway n The Way of the knife by Mark Mazzett

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Celebrity bookkeeping

Somehow, for celebrities, ‘writing’ books, launching a new clothesline, getting a perfume named after themselves is all in a day’s work. Why Miss Pepper Potts aka Gwyneth Paltrow has recently released a cookbook. We look at the reasons behind this growing breed. FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com

altrow’s book has been titled It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great, but this isn’t the first time Paltrow has doled out advice. Her first book My Father’s Daughter was — let’s face it — celebrity namedropping and just absurdities. Her latest recipe book offers readers a glimpse into the secret diet that maintains her lithesome figure. Writing books is just an extension of their brand, like perfumes and clothes. Most of these celebrities have ghostwriters to do their dirty work, while they just sit back and relax. In fact most are content that the story and the plotline is theirs, so why should anyone else be given credit. For example Hillary Duff, the pop singer and actress whose novel was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, said in an interview that she came up with the book’s plot and characters. She said she did not consider crediting her cowriter on the book cover instead of in the acknowledgments. “It is my story,” Hillary said. “It is my book. I wrote it and she helped guide me through the process.” Well, that’s that. Now, while Gwyneth Paltrow came up with a cookbook, there are others who like to take up other genres like children’s books for example. We all grew up with books by Hans Christian Anderson, Enid Blyton, Mark Twain and the likes, now adding to that will be the likes of singer Dolly Patron and model Tyra Banks. You will be surprised to know that even a royal has tried his hand at children’s stories. Prince Charles of Wales came out with The Old Man of Lochnagar in 1980. Jamie Lee Curtis, John Lithgow, and Whoopi Goldberg have all made it onto the New York Times bestseller list for their children's books. If you were an author you would know the trouble it takes to get your book out in print. Chasing publishers, editors, finalising edits and then the pain of waiting for it to be published and getting a review. For celebrities, it’s the opposite, there the publishers are chasing them for getting their autobiographies and their cookbooks published, for they know a goldmine when they see one. Anita Nair, author of The

Better Man and more recently Cuts like a Wound says, “It’s not fair that while you painstakingly write a book, a celebrity’s book just flies off the shelf. But it is an unfair world. Publishers always look for numbers and with celebrities they get that. But there is a good thing with a celebrity’s book selling like hot cakes, they inadvertently become the medium for a lesser-known author to get published. Usually publishing houses use the extra money to get this sort of work done.” How OK is she with celebrities turning to children’s stories. For Anita, this is where she draws the line. “Celeb biographies, cookbooks, memoirs are all right. You can’t dismiss all celebrities saying they probably can’t write well. But with children’s stories, they are a different genre. Why bother when all the stories are going to be ghostwritten,” she contends. Grammy award winner Adele recently was in the news for refusing to write her autobiography despite being offered a seven figure sum for it, because, at the tender age of 24, she said she is too young. But on the other hand you have the likes of One Direction, who are barely in their 20s, and Union J, who haven't even released their first single, have already had their autobiographies written, and fellow 24year-olds Jessie J and Tulisa have recently released their autobiographies. Books — once quaintly considered an artistic endeavour sprung from a single creative voice — have basically become another piece of merchandise stamped with the name of celebrities. And the publishing industry has been happy to oblige. But all hope is not lost. There is a discerning audience out there who will still love to read that well-written, well-worded book.

WOMEN SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Letstalk.com: This combination cellphone reference and store is another good place to shop for your next phone. Start in the Wireless Reference section if you're just getting up to speed, or head for the reviews if you're deciding which phone to buy.

KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

ne of the three founders of MadRat games and an INKfellow, Madhumita Halder is one of the three minds behind India’s first Indian language board game—Aksharit. She tells Postnoon how that happened. Growing up, she accomplished all that was needful— graduating from IIT and taking a dead-end, monotonous job at Rhythm & Hues, an animation house which paid her bills. But that only left her creative side asking for more. “I was in the programming team but I was inclined towards the creative team. I used to hang out with them and participate in their work. Coming back to my desk, I would feel frustrated. It led me to ask myself what I wanted to do. We were told the mantra for a happy life was a big salary. But my creative side was getting bored and it didn’t feel right.” It was time to move on, wasn’t it? She chose teaching and soon became a middle-school science teacher at Rishi Valley school, a boarding school in Andhra Pradesh that encourages alternative education. Her classmate from IIT, Rajat Dhariwal undergoing a similar creative crisis joined her. It was in Rishi Valley that they saw an immense potential to learn and teach through games. “We saw how enthusiastic kids were on the playground than in class. It was clear why they didn’t put the same effort in class. ‘To play’ was a motivating factor. So we began incorporating games in class. We never used textbooks again. Teaching was only through activities and experiments.” It made a great difference. “Even the weakest student had the ‘I can do it’ attitude now.” At the same time, her other classmate Manuj Dhariwal had a project to build a game that would bring the first and third generations together i.e. child and its grandparent. They were only a few steps away from their brainchild—Aksharit. Going by the logic that a grandparent wants to teach the grandchild their native language and a child is always up for playing a game, their game had to be language oriented.

Allmovie.com: While the All Movie Guide can't beat the IMDB on the basis of sheer volume of facts, its interface and clever categorisations make it highly useful for any true movie lover. The Guide goes to great lengths to attach all kinds of keywords to the films it lists.

Work is play, play is work

Ballroomdancers.com You want to learn to rumba. But not in public. From the foxtrot to the chacha, this site will teach you all the great dances in the privacy of your own home. So now you do not need to fear stares or comments about that torn socks.

“We have seen dadis and nanis solve crossword puzzles in newspapers on buses and trains but there was no board game for them. Also, there was no game in Hindi at all. In English, same vowels can have different sounds but in Indian languages, you have to combine the consonants and vowels to make words. It then struck us Hindi has 600 letters,” she explains. Building a Hindi board game was not going to be any play now. “It was a nightmare. We had more than 1,000 play tests. It had to be modified to be fun. Sometimes it was boring. We had to find solutions to not leave it cluttered or congested.” Besides, there was discouragement and criticism on creating a “Hindi” product, that too, not in a digital format. “People said, ‘who wants to learn Indian languages’ but parents are always looking for ways to impart their mother tongues to

GOING BY THE LOGIC

From playing board games, to missing them, to creating many new ones, Madhumita Halder has come a long way.

THAT A GRANDPARENT WANTS TO TEACH THE GRANDCHILD THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE AND A CHILD IS ALWAYS UP FOR PLAYING A GAME, THEIR GAME HAD TO BE LANGUAGE ORIENTED. their children. A board game makes you feel connected with players The sense of touch develops first as a child,” she adds. Finally, Aksharit was born. Next on the list was to spread the word. Their first milestone was winning the Ideas to Implement in 2009, an event held by IIM Kolkata. “Hindi teachers back in Rishi Valley saw it as an extra teaching tool. UNICEF contacted us,”she says. Government schools have also introduced it in their curriculum. Nokia and Google have accepted their digital versions. They have about 40 board and card games catering to all age groups. They are creating games around Chhota Bheem, a famous cartoon show, and 9XM, the music channel. Speaking for this out-of-the-box company, Madhumita expresses her passion, “Other companies manufacture, we create games. Our vision is to create games that are light to hold and light on the mind.” What are your future plans? “We want to be the most loved board game company in India,” she smiles.

Stop being helpless All About Eve

FLEME VARKEY

thought I had nothing to write about, until I checked my twitter account. #delhirape is trending on twitter. It’s a shame. The first bit of news that caught my attention was the news headline which said, ‘My resignation will not stop rapes: Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar’. That to some is justifiable and to some plain arrogance on the part of the police official. While it is not right to ask him to resign over the spate of rapes the capital has seen so far, he definitely needs to be held accountable for the numerous tales of atrocities that are coming out from the jails and explain why the system that he looks after has been unable to do its job. Comparing his job to that of a News Editor is pure foolishness. At the end of the day, an editor can at least sleep with a conscience that he/she has not left a voice unheard or an important matter buried. The Delhi Police Chief on the other hand, will have a lot on his mind. Oh, and Mr Neeraj Kumar there are times when Editors have resigned for mistakes caused by their sub-ordinates. The DCP also goes on to say that exemplary action will be taken against those police officials who have been lax. Mr Kumar this is not the time to make examples out of a few so that you can shut the protesting voices. If you had decided to make examples out of the criminals and rapists, you would not have had to face statistics like, ‘Five minor girls brutalised in Delhi this month, 393 rapes since January 1.’ Among the tweets that caught my attention were of those of “Angry Bombay Girl @shadymumbai: Boston gets bombed and their President personally gets involved... Rapes happen in India ..and our Prime Minister ..Sends a TWEET #DelhiRape” Speaks a lot about the mood in the country at present. If the public takes matters into their hands then bloodshed is imminent and then all you can do is resign to your fate Mr Kumar.

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013 1

S BALAKRISHNA

A MATTER OF ART 7

Art lovers in the City were in attendance at Muse Art Gallery where works of artist Aditi Gemini were on display. Spotted at the do were Marziye, Mamita and others. 8

1 Mamta Singh

3 Aditi

2 Namita

5 Ammo

4 Marziye

6 Ankita 7 Menaka Agarwal

8 Shekhila 9 Pooja

10 Shaloo 11 Rumana

S BALAKRISHNA

The launch of Poto Potato Flakes turned out to be a grand affair with former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and actress Mauli Ganguly turning up at the do.

Foodie fad The search begins

Cricket Talent Hunt for Sunrisers was launched with much fanfare at ITC Kakatia Hotel, Begumpet. RN Sports Club is the official talent hunt partner for the Sunrisers.

RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

I AM ALL EARS

am 30 and work in the corporate sector. I have just joined the job and my colleagues expect me to do their dirty work which includes even getting them coffee everyday. At first I thought it will change but now, I find myself sitting in office for longer hours. How do I tell them?

Dear sad kid, Think of it as a ragging process. But at 30, I am sure you have to be wiser than to complain. There are such people in every workplace, who just make a show of working and get away with the honours, while there are some who cite the illness of extended family to their tiny toe paining to shirk work. All you need to do is set boundaries and next time they ask you to do something, ask them for a treat. Hit where it pinches most. They will learn.

You, me and the fantasy

Being intimate with someone mostly requires absolute surrender of one's mind, body and soul. But, there are times when fantasies get the better of our complex brains. Postnoon asks people if fantasising amounts to cheating. NIDHI BHUSHAN

nidhi.b@postnoon.com

ex is probably the most intimate bond between two people in a relationship. While for some it is merely a physical act, a result of attraction and unexplainable urge to get into another's pants, for most it is an act of love and compassion. However, love, faith and trust comprise many gray areas and fantasising about someone else during the act is just one. Is fantasising about someone else during sex a form of cheating? Well, different people — women and men — have varied opinions on the matter. For Vinaykant S, fantasising borders on cheating if it’s a habit. “I won't mind if my partner happens to think of someone else when she's with me. If it's a one-in-a-million kind of episode, I wouldn't make anything out of it. However, I think it would be a problem if she thinks of someone else while having sex with me every time.” Fantasising can be split into two — imagining a person who's totally out of reach like a celebrity or thinking of someone who you know. “Well, if it's a celebrity my girlfriend is fantasising about, I think I would laugh it off. I've fantasised about so many myself. But, if it's somebody I know, I don't think I'd like to be told who it was,” says Vinaykant, adding that the human mind is a mystery and one can't control one's imagination completely, so fantasising is okay as long as it's not a habit. “If it's a habit, I would take my girlfriend for psychiatric counselling,” he

quips. While sharing your thoughts and beliefs with your partner is an ideal thing to do, Sunayana Das believes that your deep dark secrets are only for you to keep. She says: “I don't think it's cheating if you have sex with someone else as long as you don't wreck your partner's life. Anyway, fantasising is a thing of your mind and no-one has the right over your mind. Not even your partner. Moreover, if fantasising helps spice things up a bit, then why not?” Shruti S, who shares Sunayana's point of view, says: “One doesn't need to share everything with their partners and certainly not details of who you are fantasising about. The mind should be given enough space to enjoy.” Surprisingly, out of the people I spoke to, it was the women who were pro fantasising while the men were totally against it. Take what Saurabh Gupte had to say. “Fanatisising about someone else during sex is definitely cheating. It just shows that you are using another person's body to satisfy your mind which is imagining someone else. It's despicable to do something so intimate with someone without any love and affection,” he says. “However, if it's a celebrity and someone out of reach, it's okay. In fact, it's flattering in a way.” While most people measure fantasising through their own moral compass, there are a few who don’t understand how it’s possible to imagine someone else when you’re with a person. “It’s not just the visual element. But, you know your partner’s touch, physique, odour, etc. So, wouldn’t it be so hard to imagine someone else? Wouldn’t it ruin the moment alto-

gether?” asks Ankita Singh. But when it comes to role playing, also a form of fantasy, all seemed to be onboard. “Role-playing is important for people who have been with each other for years. It is one of the ways in which you can spice things up in the sack,” says Neetha G, who also believes fantasising doesn’t amount to cheating. She adds: “If your partner doesn’t approve of your fantasies, allow your mind to do the magic without his knowledge. That way, it works for both.”

aving enough space or privacy in a relationship is more important for a couple to stay together happily than having a good sex life, says a relationships expert. Dr Terri Orbuch a psychologist, research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research found that lack of privacy or time for self was the reason for unhappy marriage among many couples.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

KRR wants to assist Rajamouli! I

n an industry where there’s always a debate over whether knowledge and experience in filmmaking is more important than ideas, it comes as a huge surprise that a director of K Raghavendra Rao’s calibre has expressed his desire to learn from his own prodigy, SS Rajamouli. Before he became a director, SS Rajamouli had worked under K Raghavendra Rao and the former’s first film Student No 1 was also made under the supervision of K Raghavendra Rao. After a long time, the two are once again col-

laborating for Rajamouli’s upcoming Baahubali. Apparently, K Raghavendra Rao was so impressed with the way Rajamouli narrated the story that he now wants to work as an assistant director under Rajamouli. “Director @Ragavendraraoba wants to watch and learn how @ssrajamouli conceives and shoots such amazing scenes!! (sic),” Shobu, the film’s producer, posted on Twitter. Baahubali stars Prabhas, Anushka and Rana and it’ll go on floors in June.

IDDARAMMAYILATHO’S shooting wrapped up

he principal shooting of Allu Arjun, Amala Paul and Catherine Tresa’s upcoming film Iddarammayilatho has been wrapped up. Puri Jagannadh has directed the film and Bandla Ganesh has produced it. Recently, a song was canned on Allu Arjun and Catherine Tresa at Annapurna Seven Acres studio in Hyderabad and we hear that both Puri Jagannadh and Bandla Ganesh have danced in the song Top Lechipodhi. The audio of this action love story was unveiled last week in Hyderabad and the songs have got a fabulous response. Devi Sri Prasad has scored the music. UK-based rap artist Apache Indian has sung a song in this film and this is the first Telugu song in his career. The film’s plot has been kept under wraps, but the trailers and song promos have generated a lot of buzz about the film. Except for some patch work, the rest of the film’s shooting has been wrapped up and the post-production is already going on in full swing. The film is expected to hit the screens on May 23.

Sahasam is soon in the offing

opichand’s upcoming film Sahasam is gearing up for release in the last week of May. Chandrasekhar Yeleti has directed this action adventure film which narrates the story of a common man who goes on a treasure hunt. Most part of the film has been shot in Hyderabad, Ladakh and Kerala. Already, the principal shooting has been wrapped up and producer BVSN Prasad says, “The film has all the commercial elements, although it has a signature style of Chandrasekhar Yeleti. You’ll see a brand new Gopichand in the film.” Gopichand, Taapsee and Shakti Kapoor have played the lead roles. Sri has scored the music and Shamdat Sain is the cinematographer.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Subhash K Jha

BOMBAY TALKIES IS BEGUILING

master-creator of vignettes from everyday life. Here his detailing of chawl life is unerring. Bombay Talkies is segmented and layered, yet cohesive and compelling from the first frame to the last. While unravelling the magic of cinema and its impact on the minds of audiences, Bombay Talkies also displays how much cinema has

girl on a railway station who croons Lata Mangeshkar songs with aching luminosity, a stoic gluttonous ostrich, a flirty cocky gay entertainment journalist, a closet actor, a little boy who likes to dance like Katrina Kaif and a man from Allahabad who just wants to meet Amitabh Bachchan for a few seconds... Such are the engrossing characters that populate the unforgettable world of Bombay Talkies. Bombay Talkies is that rarity, which makes us thankful for the gift of the movies. Four stories directed by four contemporary Bollywood directors emerge and merge with seamless splendour into a pastiche of pain and pleasure. Like four scoops of ice cream, one yummier than the other, Bombay Talkies serves up a flavourful quartet of delights that leave us craving for more. It’s like that song written by the immortal Sahir Ludhianvi — Abhi na jao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin. No, that song isn’t part of the film. But there are songs of the melody queen Lataji which haunt your senses as the restless edgy protagonists, each in search of an emotional liberation that strikes them in unexpected ways at the end of every

Movie: Bombay Talkies Cast: Rani Mukherjee, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Katrina Kaif, Amitabh Bachchan Directed by: Anurag Kashyap , Karan Johar , Zoya Akhtar , Dibakar Banerjee Rating:

story, seek a slice of cloudburst to nourish their parched spirits. So on to the first and my favourite story directed by Karan Johar where a sterile marriage between an urban working-couple played by Rani Mukerji and Randeep Hooda is

An entertainer through and through

ore often than not, filmmakers based their characters on the gangsters of the underworld. Shootout at Wadala is one such movie. Sanjay Gupta’s movie focuses on Manya Surve (John Abraham) who wants to challenge the supremacy of goon Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and take over Mumbai. The movie is prequel to 2007 hit film Shootout at Lokhandwala. Based on the life of the 80s’ gangster Manya Surve, Shootout At Wadala dramatises the first-ever registered encounter of gangster Surve, by the Mumbai Police. John Abraham who is criticised for his wooden act surprises everyone by his intense portrayal of the character. Anil Kapoor, Ronit Roy and Mahesh Manjrekar play the cops while Manoj Bajpayee and Sonu Sood are rival mob-bosses. SAW is an entertaining watch because of the settings and performances especially that of John Abraham.

Movie: Shootout at Wadala Cast: John Abraham, Tushar Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut Directed by: Sanjay Gupta

shaken by the arrival of young ebullient homosexual who enters their frozen marriage in a most unexpected way. This story more than any other, pushes Indian cinema to the edge to explore a theme and emotions that have so far been

swept under the carpet. The second story by Dibakar Bannerjee features that wonderful chameleon actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a man who would have been an actor if only life’s drudgeries had not overtaken his life. Dibakar is a

evolved over the generations. This is a beguiling, beautiful and befitting homage to 100 years of Indian cinema. It’s also proof that different stories in an episodic film could comfortably have directors with different sensitivities staring in the same line of vision. If you watch only one film a year make sure it’s this one. Yup, thank god for the IANS motion picture.

GGG made on a small budget F ilmmaker Krishna DK, who is awaiting the release of his zombie comedy film Go Goa Gone, says the budget of the film is much lesser than any of Saif Ali Khan “kind of films”. The movie is produced by Illuminati Films, co-owned by Saif, who has also acted in the movie. “I would say the budget of the film is very low. I am not allowed to reveal the budget of the film, but I can assure you that this film is made on a much lesser budget than any Saif kind of films,” Krishna DK said. “We have worked in a very controlled budget. Besides, each and every actor charged less than their market price,” he added. Krishna has co-directed the movie with Raj Nidimoru. The filmmakers are experimenting with a zombie film for the first time, and they believe the audience today is ready to accept various genres. “We wanted to experiment

with something new. We know it’s a very unusual concept but I think these days, audience are ready to accept different kinds of films. In fact, we thought it would not be easy to get actors for this film but luckily Saif

was convinced and things fell in place,” said Krishna. The film also features Kunal Khemmu, Vir Das and Puja Gupta. It is slated to release May 10. IANS

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Emilia Clarke cast in James Franco’s new movie

DiCaprio content with life

ctor Leonardo DiCaprio is happy with his current life, and says he does not wish to repeat anything from the past. DiCaprio, 38, has been part of hits like Titanic, The Aviator, The Departed and Inception. He admits that with growing age, comes wisdom, reports eonline.com. “I'm really fine with the way I am and the way I look. With age, comes more wisdom and more relaxation, so I probably wouldn't wanna repeat anything,” DiCaprio said at the premiere of his new film The Great Gatsby. The actor feels lucky for the kind of opportunities he has got till now. “I have been incredibly fortunate and lucky for the opportunities I got in this industry. To me what is paramount is the work and I want to continue doing this and be believable in my roles,” he said. IANS

ame of Thrones' Stormborn Emilia Clarke will star in James Franco's The Garden of Last Days. According to THR, Clarke will play a stripper who brings her three-year-old daughter to work with her. Franco is directing and co-starring in the movie, which is based on Andre Dubus III's novel of the same name. The book is about the said stripper and two patrons of her strip club, and it's also about September 11, though the movie may focus on a present-day terrorism plot. Oh, James Franco, please dazzle us.

Mud artistically captivating,

DON'T MISS IT “Y

ou can't trust love,” his disgruntled father Senior (Ray McKinnon) once warns 14-year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) making him hook on to every emotional straw he can lay his hands on. Mud is a powerful multi-layered story of love, friendship and loyalties inspired by the director's favourite author Mark Twain. It is a thought-provoking drama set at the precipice of adulthood, where harsh realities seep in and replace the utopia of innocence. The film centres around a fugitive named Mud (Matthew McConaughey), and his relationship with two young boys — Ellis and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who stumble upon his hiding place on a small island on the Mississippi River. Set in the backdrop of a small community that lives on a riverbank, the film begins on a suspense note with Ellis

escaping from home when his parents Senior and Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) are having a discussion about the family's future. As an escape route to his trying times, he ropes in his best friend Neckbone, an orphan who is brought up by an uncle, and wanders off in a motorboat to an island downstream Mississippi River. On the island they spot a boat that is mysteriously perched on the top branches of a tree. On investigating, they realise that the boat is inhabited by Mud. Both boys get fascinated by Mud's appearance inclusive of the pistol tucked in the back of his trousers and his request for food. Being emotional, Ellis extends his hand of friendship to Mud, whereas a sceptical Neckbone tags along Ellis' decision only to support him as a friend. Soon, the boys learn that the police are looking for Mud.

Intrigued, both the boys confront Mud who reveals his horrific past. Mud with a matter of fact tone states that anything bad he's done in this life, he's done for love. And that “anything for love” is something Ellis fantasises about and he goes to various lengths to help this kind, ragged stranger. But over a period of time, Mud's complicated story causes Ellis to question his morality for

Movie: Mud Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon Directed by: Jeff Nichols Rating:

the first time. He eventually learns that the world is filled with characters not rock solid, but with feet of clay. The casting is pretty perfect right down the line. A filthy Matthew McConaughey accomplishes to portray the qualities of the complicated guy Mud, who is madly in love with his on and off girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), and kind to the two boys. His tattooed body and rugged look adds to the charm and sleaze of the mysterious and sympathetic persona of Mud. But it is Tye Sheridan as Ellis who steals the show. He is very good in projecting his illusions, painfully broken often. The impressive Jacob Lofland, who debuts as Neckbone, makes a perfect pal for Ellis. Witherspoon's character is a little sketchy and so she doesn't have quite enough to do as the love of Mud's life. Michael Shannon as Neckbone's uncle has a slightly humorous role as

an oddball oysterman. Sam Shepard as Tom Blankenship, is a recluse living on the river across from Ellis and his family. His character becomes pivotal when we learn that Tom has a past relationship with Mud. What adds to the charm of the film is the cinematography. The smooth pans and tilts of the camera capture dreamlike images like a boat perched on a tree, a ghostly white shirt waving its arms underwater and the long shot of the island. While director Nichols' writing and direction impress, the pace of the film may be too slow for some. The dialogues that flow naturally are inspiring and loaded with meaning, but unfortunately some of the gems are lost due to mumbling and strong accent. Nevertheless with its rich depth and engaging style, Mud is a work of art which you wouldIANS n't want to miss.

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

SUDOKU

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Firmness in enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve. – Robert Burns

KAKURO

How to play kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once. Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Nonspender 6 Pro opposite, sometimes 10 Roadie loads 14 Strong string 15 Filet mignon source 16 Motorist's "Move it!" 17 Striped hyenas that feed chiefly on insects 19 Steak specification 20 "The Boys From Brazil" novelist Levin 21 It may be big or bright 22 Slanted type 24 Kim of "NYPD Blue" 26 Psych final? 27 Television plugs 28 Fast-moving waves 32 French Impressionist Edgar 35 Snooty response to an accusation 36 King's proclamation 37 Sicilian volcano 38 Gave peas a chance? 39 "Dark Angel" actress Jessica 40 Events with roast pigs 42 Cause damage to 43 Thermonuclear explosive 44 Pertaining to the beach or shore 46 ___ Heel State (North Carolina) 47 Iron and bauxite 48 Feminine 52 Long-necked wading bird 55 Seeks alms 56 "___-hoo!" 57 Former Berlin landmark 58 Necessity for some remotes 61 In ___ of (as a substitute for) 62 Out of work 63 "Jack Sprat could ___ ..." 64 One looking down on others 65 Film ___ (moody movie)

66 Climbs up the charts DOWN 1 Sedate 2 Appraised (of) 3 Like a popular Internet video 4 Bring to a conclusion 5 Goes back to the beginning 6 Narrow lane between buildings 7 Spectacular star 8 Even contest 9 As located 10 Magical phrase 11 Lunch is one 12 "Frasier" actress Gilpin 13 Blueprint detail, for short 18 Poems of praise 23 Pitchfork prong 25 Group for drivers

52 Sharp punches 26 Wickerwork willow 53 Full of oneself 28 Smash up irreparably 54 Butter replacement 29 Otis' pal, in film 55 Isle serenaded in 30 Titan II, e.g. "South Pacific" 31 Brief try 59 "Without further ___ ..." 32 PC brand 60 ___ chi (martial art 33 Fancy needle case form) 34 Airborne pest 35 Nursery rocker, PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER often 41 Very painful 43 Popular house pet 45 Hold on to 46 Frat party getup 48 Big name in grills 49 Some Duma votes 50 "SNL" producer Michaels 51 Duncan toys

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Seven of Cups

Six of Wands

Strength

Queen of Swords

Five of Pentacles

Two of Swords

ork – You need to take judicious intervals when you work so you are able to be more productive and concentrate better. Romance – You have fatalistic hope in a relationship. That may or may not be a good thing, considering your partner is your diametric opposite. Health – You are unable to break out of a behavior pattern due to force of habit. This is impacting your health. It could be smoking or alcohol consumption. Money – You suspect something amiss when you don’t get the required details about your bank account or investments. Check. Double-check. Tarot message – You are both sensible and cheerful at the same time and will have no trouble managing stuff.

ork –The ‘force of example’ will accomplish a lot of things. You may be following someone’s lead and it will give you new ideas. Romance – A reasonable consideration will prevent a disaster. You need to be selfless and giving of everything in order to reap the benefits of togetherness. Health – Your health may have gone astray because of lack of discipline. You need to get it back on track. Concentrate on diet and exercise. Money – Confide in someone about your doubts with money. It should erase your fears about whether you’re doing the right thing. Tarot message – There is depth in what seems like subtle connections with other people you may hardly know.

ork – Make no room for petty issues and disagreements at the work place. They’re not worth your time. Romance – You get nervous about approaching a love interest and this prevents you from getting what you deserve. Be brave. What’s the worst that could happen? Health – Loneliness may be getting to you. You are not used to living alone and the new arrangement may be bothering you too much. Money – You make a good deal by going the unconventional way. You decide to trust someone and place your bets on something you wouldn’t otherwise. Tarot message – Success is within reach depending on what your attitude towards success is.

ork – Proceed as per your plan and have complete faith in yourself and your ideas. Don’t pay too much attention to what people say about you. Romance – Marriage may be late for singles. But when it does happen, you will be happy and content with what you have. Health – Take in more fresh air, sunlight and cool breeze. Go for evening walks in the neighbourhood park. Create balance in your health. Money – Your persistent efforts pay off. You need money so you can do all the other things you’re more interested in. Tarot message – Laugh at life and it will laugh back at you. What goes around comes around. Be brave and strong.

ork – You are looking for immediate results. Guess what, you’re also getting them. Your hard work is meeting a lucky phase. Good time to plan new projects. Romance – You may be having a very juvenile attitude towards relationships. This is harming your overall outlook at life as well. Health – You are relieved that a health problem has been tackled. You are in a position to continue with normal diet and no medicines. Money – Finances are looking very good. This gives you the confidence to do things your way. Be careful about sharing finance information with anyone. Tarot message – Home life needs attention. You need to balance your career and home.

ork – Don’t continue to fret about what happened a while ago. It should be forgotten and you should move on. Romance – There is no need to quarrel if you have already realized that the affections were shortlived. Come to terms with your state of mind. Health – You need a solitary hour every day in order to maintain peace of mind. You need alonetime to think things through and do what is best for you. Money – If you are nervous about investing somewhere, best to hold off till such a time when you are absolutely sure. Tarot message – Things are going to get complicated, with decision making not being so easy. Keep an open mind.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra Five of Swords

ork – You may be wasting a lot of time in chatter and unnecessary gossip at the work place. This is making you unproductive and you don’t even have the energy for daily tasks. Romance – Romance can hit high gear with an elegant meal, excellently cooked and daintily served. Raise the oomph quotient. Health – You may be getting some doubts about a health issue. Put all doubts to rest by getting a full body medical check-up. Money –You are finally convinced about what finance pundits have been saying all along. Invest for the long term. Tarot message – Your belief in the afterlife is put to the test. These are interesting times. Ride the occult wave.

Scorpio The Wheel of Fortune

ork – Don’t be reasonable! You read right. By being reasonable all the time, you’re missing out on opportunities, which others are walking away with. Romance – There are some intimacy issues to be dealt with. Do things together with your partner to increase the love for each other. Health – Sleep issues are keeping you tense and awake. You need to tackle this and manage better sleep hygiene. Money – Losing temper at someone else’s fault is not going to get you back the money you lost. It’s only money. It will come back to you soon. Tarot message – Admit your mistakes, if you have made any. Be brave and honest.

Sagittarius Queen of Pentacles

ork –Your bosses will entrust you with more responsibility and trust you to do the job without any supervision. Romance – You are at your charming best and are surprised with yourself that you show so much courage in romance. Health – By limiting yourself to home remedies you are allowing your body to heal from within. Try allopathy if you cannot handle the pain anymore. Money – That your finances have gone out of control is not your fault. You need to realize that not everything will go to plan. You need a Plan B. Tarot message – You are relieved that things are still manageable. They could have been worse.

Date 5-5-2013

Capricorn

Aquarius

The Hanged Man

The Fool

ork – Silence, sometimes, is the best answer you can give someone when they are accusing you of something, and you don’t know why. Romance – If you find out something about your partner, don’t panic. There is no use behaving as though the world is about to end. Health – Diet needs attention. You may have to eat the bitter pill (meaning foods that you don’t particularly enjoy) in order to restore your health. Money – It may be difficult to achieve the goals you have set in your mind. Be practical and make realistic goals. Tarot message – Don’t be hasty. Take as much time as you need, even if those around you are forcing you to hurry up.

ork – You may be innocently disclosing important confidential information, which you are not supposed to. Always check with seniors if in doubt about anything at all. Romance – You don’t have to woo your partner in the same way just because everybody else is also doing it. Health – There may be some throat issues and minor irritations, like stomach upset, etc. Treat it immediately to follow normal routine. Money – Some accusations may be made against you. Relax. They will remain unfounded. Ensure that all your papers are clear. Tarot message – You find a common ground of interest with another person and you both hit it off really well.

Pisces Four of Pentacles

ork – You may be straying into another person’s area of expertise and that person may not exactly like it. They may see you as meddling too much. Romance – Your absence during important events defeats the very purpose of being in a relationship. You need to correct this at the earliest. Health – Some unexpected things may happen on the health front. No need to panic. Just do what is needed to stay above trouble. Money –By good planning, you are able to accomplish your financial goals. Make sure you continue to stick to your plan. Tarot message – Life is short but there are many things you want to achieve. Prioritise and don’t waste time.

Vol: 2, No 288 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

IN THE NEWS

Estonian flag contain? 9. What is the name of the month that muslims fast in? 10. Which British monarch assumed the throne in February 1952? 11. In which country was long distance runner Zola Budd born? 12. In Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa what is

on the woman's neck? 13. All's well that ends well is a work by which playwright? 14. Which children's toy can be roughly translated as play well? 15. The English club, Manchester United is mostly linked with which colour? 16. What is the capital of Taiwan?

Answers

4. How many horns does a triceratops have? 5. What did Abraham Zapruder famously film? 6. How many days does it take the moon to orbit the Earth? 7. How many versions did Edvard Munch make of his masterpiece The Scream? 8. How many colours does the

1. North of Yemen 2. 1803 3. Armenia 4. 3 5. John F Kennedy's assassination 6. 28 7. 4 8. 3 9. Ramzan 10. Queen Elizabeth II 11. South Africa 12. Nothing 13. William Shakespeare 14. Lego 15. Red 16. Taipei

1. Saudi Arabia is bordering the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and what? 2. In which year did the Wright Brothers make their first successful flight? 3. Which was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion (in the early 4th century)?

TEST YOURSELF

DO YOU KNOW THESE FAMOUS TOYS?

CURRENT AFFAIRS

1 2 3 4

Which company recreated the world's first web page this week?

WHO WROTE THESE PLAYS?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Our Town

Which company is coming up with a rival for Siri in iPhone and iPad?

The Importance of being Earnest

Which singer has reportedly asked for drinking straws worth 900 dollars on her The Mrs Carter Show World Tour.

Romeo and Juliet

A Dolls House

What is the name of the Brad Pitt's upcoming zombie epic that is supposed to be made on a budge of $400? 4

Pygmalion

A raisin in the sun

1. The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) 2. Google 3. Beyonce Knowles 4. World War Z

Answers

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

1 2

Which mobile company has overtaken Bharati Airtel to become the leading mobile company in rural India?

Death of a Salesman

PICTURE PUZZLE 65 with Santosh Ghule Whom do you see in the picture and what message is it trying to convey?

WHO AM I? I am a former union minister and party leader. Recently I was in news for getting arresting for violating conditions laid down by the police for the conduct of the party's youth conference. Who am I?

OWL

Answer: Anbumani Ramadoss

Answer for 64:

Which car maker has become the top luxury car seller in India?

Answers: 1. The Smurfs 2. He-man 3. Transformers 4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Muslims from which area has outnumbered the rest of country's Haj applicants?

Answers :

3 4 5

India is all set to launch its space mission to which planet in OctoberNovember this year?

1. Thornton Wilder 2. Oscar Wilde 3. William Shakespeare 4. Henrik Ibsen 5. George Bernard Shaw 6. Lorraine Hansberry 7. Tennessee Williams 8. Arthur Miller

A company entered the Guinness World Records for making the tiniest stopmotion movie ever. Which is the company?

1. Vodafone 2. IBM 3. Mars 4. Gujarat 5. German maker Audi

Answers

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Asli charged with doping

Lin ready to play for Rockets

ouston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin will return to the team's lineup on Friday for game six of their first-round NBA playoff series against Oklahoma City after missing two games with an injury. The first Asian-American player in NBA history, has missed the past two games with a right chest bruise, but says he will come off the bench as the Rockets try to force a seventh game.

urkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin, who won the women's 1500m gold medal at the London Olympics last year, was charged with doping by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday. The 27-year-old has been provisionally suspended after anomalies were discovered in her biological passport.

Floyd, Robert in title clash

nbeaten Floyd Mayweather and Robert Guerrero made weight Friday for their Saturday showdown for Mayweather’s World Boxing Council welterweight world title. Mayweather, returning to the ring after a year’s absence that included two months in jail, weighed in at 146 pounds while Guerrero weighed in on the limit of 147.

Knicks hold off Celtics The New York Knicks turned back a furious late charge by the Boston Celtics, holding on for an 88-80 victory to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Knicks turned back a furious late charge by the Boston Celtics on Friday, holding on for an 88-80 victory to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs. The victory gave the Knicks a four-games-to-two triumph in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series. They advanced to a secondround clash with the Indiana Pacers, who downed the Hawks in Atlanta 81-73 to win their series 4-2. “They stood up and they made big plays they needed to make to get the win. It was a total team effort on our part,” said Knicks coach Mike Woodson, whose team will host the Hawks in game one of their series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The Knicks notched their first post-season series win since 2000 — a run of futility that included four first-round exits in 2001, 2004, 2011 and last year. They took a 3-0 series lead

J.R. Smith #8 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball against Paul Pierce #34 of the Boston Celtics in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the NBA Playoffs on Friday. AFP/BRIAN BABINEAU but failed to close the deal as they lost in the fourth and fifth games, raising the prospect that the Celtics could become the first NBA team to recover from an 0-3 deficit to win a bestof-seven series. “It was a microcosm of the

Oz forces athletes to answer probes SYDNEY: The Australian Olympic Committee said Saturday it had introduced new rules forcing Australia’s athletes and officials to truthfully answer questions put to them by the country’s doping authority. The AOC said failure to cooperate with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority would result in athletes or officials being ruled out of future Australian Olympic teams. The new policy, approved on Friday by the AOC executives, follows the findings of an Australian Crime Commission inquiry earlier this year that identified common use of prohibited substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs. The revelations put the spotlight on the sporting culture of a nation that has long had a reputation as being predominantly drugs-free. The AOC said that the country’s athletes and officials must fully cooperate with ASADA even if to do so might tend to incriminate or expose them to a penalty. “To be clear, failure to cooperate with and assist ASADA, in every way, can result in an athlete or official being ruled out of an Olympic team”, AOC president said.

year,” said Boston coach Doc Rivers of his team’s ability to extend the series. “I think we’ve been counted out four or five times this year.” Stung by their last two defeats, the Knicks looked on their way to a blowout victory

when they stretched their lead to 26 points in the fourth quarter. But the Celtics stormed back to narrow the gap to as little as four points before New York put it away. “We set the tone defensively from the start,” Woodson said. “Our rotations were right on the money. Everything fell into place and I think we got too comfortable and they made the run. Nothing seemed to go right for us for four or five minutes.” Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and made two key shots in the waning minutes for the Knicks, who also had 17 points from Iman Shumpert. Pablo Prigion scored 14, making four of his six three-point attempts. The Knicks led 75-49 with less than 10 minutes to play, but Boston scored 20 points in a row to slice the deficit. A steal and dunk by Avery Bradley pulled the Celtics within 79-75 with 3:32 remaining. Anthony responded with a jump shot, and stretched the Knicks’ lead back to nine with a three-pointer with 1:21 to play.

Archer Pratima commits suicide at camp PUNE: In a shocking incident, Pratima Boro, an international archer from Assam, committed suicide at the Army Sports Training Centre on Friday in Pune where she has been participating in the national camp. She was found hanging from the fan of her hostel room by using her bed sheet. It is learnt that she was suffering from depression from some time. Her colleagues got suspicious as she was absent for the morning session for the recurve event and they had gone to look for her. “When her friends went to her room, they found it locked from inside. They opened it and found her hanging from the ceiling fan using her bed sheet,” according to archery sources. The exact reason for her taking the extreme step was not known. Her body has been sent for post mortem. Sources say that the Centre where Pratima was found hanging did not have women wardens. Since the Archery Association of India has been de-recognised by the Sports Ministry, the camp was being held at Army Sports Training Centre and not PTI at SAI Centre.

O’Sullivan in fresh row Ronnie O’Sullivan found himself caught up in a new controversy as he moved to within three frames of a place in the world championship final. SHEFFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM: Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan found himself caught up in a new controversy as he moved to within three frames of a place in the world championship final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. O’Sullivan finished Friday’s play leading Judd Trump 14-10 in their best off 33-frame semi-final, which will be played to a finish on Saturday. But the four-times world champion found himself being spoken to by female referee Michaela Tabb during the penultimate frame of Friday’s play. When ‘The Rocket’ missed a ball he expected to slam into the pocket he ran his hand up the shaft of his cue between his legs and Tabb stepped in to issue a brief reprimand, with O’Sullivan appearing to say “I wanna go home”. He denied making an offensive gesture, arguing his cue was sticky

and he was trying to eradicate the problem. He lost that frame but won the next to go four in front. O’Sullivan, who came into this tournament on the back of a near year-long break from snooker since winning the 2012 World Championship, said Wednesday he’d only returned to the Crucible because he needed the money for his children’s overdue school fees. Not for the first time in his erratic career he also hinted at a complete retirement from snooker. However, on Friday the 37-year-old O’Sullivan said the man who could change his mind was World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn. “You never know with Barry, he’s always changing things. “He might go, ‘Look Ronnsy, I’ve got a little tournament for you, you can turn up, do two weeks’ practice’. “And I might go, ‘You know what, AFP I’m up for that’.

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Reckless drivers face football style bans

Button clears air Tim COLLINGS

Agence France-Presse

LONDON: Jenson Button made clear this week that he has cleared the air with his McLaren team-mate Sergio Perez and will not have any concerns about racing against him again in next week’s Spanish Grand Prix. The 2009 world champion said also that he was suprised at how exaggerated the tension between the two McLaren drivers was made to look — and reiterated that he had not intended to broadcast his immediate emotions of their clashes during last month’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Button, 33, said he felt glad, on reflection, that he and Perez had been allowed to race one another in a genuine and unfettered fashion.

“I think we’re very lucky that we were allowed to race. There are a lot of teams where team-mates aren’t allowed to race, but we’d better respect that decision and not take advantage of it,” he said. “That’s something that we all understand now. Hopefully we can be racing again in Barcelona — fighting cleanly and hopefully for the win, not for sixth or seventh.” He said any ill will or bad feelings between them evaporated after the Bahrain race. “After the race it was important to sit down with the team, and ‘Checo’, and for us all to talk about the race, get it out and move on,” he explained. “The problem with the radio (broadcast) is that my message is not meant for the masses — it’s meant for the

team. “In a way it’s a pity that TV companies just choose the messages they want, because they can come across in the wrong way. I was obviously angry, but the anger was supposed to be kept within the team, because I am radioing the team, I’m not radioing TV companies.” The clashes in Bahrain followed an ill-starred and disappointing start to the season for both drivers and the McLaren team.

LONDON: Reckless Formula One drivers have been warned that the introduction of a ‘football-style’ penalty points system may lead to them facing race bans in future. Discussions into the viability of a revised punishment system for dangerous or other irregular driving are expected to take place at next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and could be introduced later this year. International Motoring Federation (FIA) race director Charlie Whiting is due to meet the teams at a meeting of the Sporting Working Group thinktank ahead of the Barcelona race to discuss potential future rule changes.

RECKLESS F1 DRIVERS

ATP chief Drewett dies

Ariya continues dominance WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA:

PARIS: Australia’s Brad Drewett, the president of the ATP, died on Friday at the age of 54 following a battle against motor neurone disease, the governing body of men’s tennis announced. “The ATP is deeply saddened to announce that Brad Drewett passed away at his home in Sydney, Australia, earlier today,” said an ATP statement. “Brad, who served as ATP executive chairman and president since January 2012, had been suffering from motor neurone disease. “Our thoughts are with Brad’s family on this extremely sad day for them, the ATP and the entire international tennis community. He will be sorely missed by all.” Spanish star Rafael Nadal was amongst the first to pay tribute to the Australian. “A very sad day for the world of sports and tennis in particular. Our president Brad has passed away. Rest in peace,” said Nadal on his Facebook page. A period of silence was observed at the draw for the Madrid Masters which starts on Saturday. Drewett said in January that he was stepping down from his role with the ATP after being diagnosed with the AFP incurable disease.

Thai teenager Ariya Jutanugarn fired an even-par 71 on Friday to keep a one-stroke lead after the second round of the $1.3 million LPGA Kingsmill Championship. The 17-year-old, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, stood on seven-under 135 after 36 holes for a one-stroke lead over US veterans Stacy Lewis and Angela Stanford. Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, German Sandra Gal and American Cristie Kerr were fourth on 137 with China’s Feng Shanshan, Japan’s Ai Miyazato, South Koreans Lee Il-Hee and Ryu So-Yeon and Americans Juli Inkster and Katie Burnett on 138. Ariya, of Bangkok, captured her first professional title in March, when she won the Lalla

Meryem Cup in Morocco on the Ladies European Tour by three strokes. On Friday, she began her round off the 10th tee and opened with a bogey, then stumbled back with bogeys at the par4 16th and par-3 17th. All came with missed putts from within five feet. “I hit my irons very good, my driver is, like, perfect,” she said. “So I just wanted to try to fix my putting.” She found her form with birdies at the par-5 third — where she rolled in a 45-footer — the par-3 fifth and par-5 seventh to jump back into the lead. “You know, when I first started on the front nine, I saw the leaderboard, so it’s OK, I just want to keep (playing) my AFP game,” said Ariya.

HAVE BEEN WARNED THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF A ‘FOOTBALLSTYLE’ PENALTY POINTS SYSTEM MAY LEAD TO THEM FACING RACE BANS IN FUTURE. “It’s a complex question and we need to get the balance right because banning a driver is a serious issue,” he said. “We need to make sure a driver genuinely deserves any ban. We will be monitoring offences and running a (hypothetical) system in the background to see how it would all work if put into practice. We need to do that for a while.” Although there has been some support for the new idea from a number of teams, there has not yet been the necessary unanimous approval required. If this changes, a new rule could be AFP drafted in this season.

Mickelson seizes PGA lead CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson fired a five-under par 67 on Friday to seize a two-stroke lead after the second round of the $6.7 million US PGA Wells Fargo Championship. US left-hander Mickelson, who opened with a 14-foot birdie putt on his way to back-to-back birdies, stood on nine-under 135 after 36 holes at Quail Hollow. “I got off to a good start so that set a good tone for the round,” Mickelson said. “I really am excited about the way I’m hitting it off the tee. If I drive it well this weekend, it’s going to be a fun weekend. And I fully expect to.” Australia’s Scott Gardiner,

who fired a bogey-free 67, shared second on 137 with Americans Nick Watney and George McNeill with world number two Rory McIlroy among five others sharing fifth place, three strokes off the pace. Mickelson also birdied the par-5 seventh and the ninth before taking his lone bogey at the 12th, which he answered with birdies at the 14th and par-5 15th to move atop the leaderboard by himself. “I have to drive it better to be more aggressive to shoot lower this weekend because I’m getting as much out of the round as I can,” he said. Mickelson likes his chances to win an elusive first US Open title after five runner-up efforts next month AFP at Merion.

Phil Mickelson hits out of the bunker on the tenth hole during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina. AFP/MIKE EHRMANN

IPL 6

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 404

We don’t believe in net RR. It’s a question of winning. Net RR comes into picture if you are going to be equal to some other team in terms of points. We believe we should go beyond that. Krishnamachari Srikkanth SRH mentor

Chris Gayle (RCB) 505 runs

Dwayne Bravo (CSK) 19 wickets

Fans' prayers will keep SRH going: Kris

ood batting, bowling and fielding aside, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor Krishnamachari Srikkanth said the "energy" generated by the prayers of the team's fans in Andhra Pradesh will guide it to the Pepsi IPL semifinals. "...we are confident of making it to the semi-finals. I always believe in prayers of people of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh, I am sure that energy will keep us going and keep winning," he said. After faltering for some time, SRH are back in the reckoning after back-to-back wins. "We are very happy with the way things are going. One good thing is the team spirit is very high. With Shikhar Dhawan coming in, batting is also looking strong and nice. The atmosphere in the dressing room is excelPTI lent," he said.

T PT

CSK

18 +0.737

RCB

14 +0.708

12 +0.415

12 +0.134

SRH

37 4S 1281

Chris Gayle (RCB)

Michael Hussey (CRK)

HIGHEST SCORE

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

175*

Chris Gayle (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

5-20

James Faulkner (RR)

DD eye 3rd successive win G APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

unrisers Hyderabad, who have an unbeaten four win streak at home are set to clash with the Delhi Daredevils on the former’s turf. Both these teams have played against each other earlier this season and it was the Hyderabad side which proved to be victorious on that occasion. The Sunrisers who are playing their first season this year, were considered as the underdogs when the IPL-6 began but they proved to be better than that having won six matches from the 10 they played. Their unbeaten streak at home, gives them the advantage over the Daredevils who have performed way below par this year. Delhi, who were the table toppers last season, have put up a contrasting show this time as they are currently staggering at the eight position having won only three of the 10 matches they have played.

SRH VS DD AT 8PM ON SET MAX With more than half the tournament having been completed, every match from now on would be make an impact in deciding who makes it to the playoffs. DD, who have two back to back victories, eye to make it

SCORECARD

three in a row and will have to win every match from here on to reach the top four. While it looks difficult for the DD to reach the qualifiers, Hyderabad would aim to win comfortably in their bid to improve their net runrate which could be a deciding factor at the end of the league stage. While, DD, under the guidance of Viv Richards, look to win

this match, SRH would aim to turn the tide in their favour. Their bowlers have done well on most instances and now, like in their previous match against the Mumbai Indians, the batsmen will also have to do their bit. Meanwhile, most expect it to be a low scoring tie, like it has been in case of all the previous IPL-6 games played here.

LONG-AWAITED VICTORY

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS V RAJASTHAN ROYALS Rajasthan Royals innings (20 overs maximum) SR Watson lbw b Narine

AM Rahane st †Bisla b Senanayake 6 JP Faulkner c Gambhir b Iqbal Abdulla

SV Samson c Kallis b Bhatia

DH Yagnik† b Senanayake

OA Shah b Kallis

STR Binny not out

R Dravid* not out

Extras (lb 1, w 5, nb 1)

Total (6 wts; 20 overs) Bowling S Narwal Senanayake Iqbal Abdulla JH Kallis

O 2 4 3 3

M 0 0 0 0

132 R W Econ 17 0 8.50 26 2 6.50 22 1 7.33 25 1 8.33

SP Narine 4 0 20 1 5.00 R Bhatia 4 0 21 1 5.25 Kolkata Knight Riders innings (target: 133 runs from 20 overs) G Gambhir*st †Yagnik b Watson

MS Bisla†c Rahane b Chavan

JH Kallis not out

YK Pathan not out

Extras (lb 5, w 5)

Total (2 wts; 17.2 overs; 78 mins) 133 Bowling

M R

W Econ

AA Chavan

0 28

9.33

JP Faulkner

0 16

4.00

SR Watson

0 21

7.00

GB Hogg

3.2

0 31

9.30

SK Trivedi

0 24

8.00

STR Binny

8.00

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 8 wickets

12 -0.102

KXIP 10

8 +0.080

KKR

8 +0.005

6 -0.599

PWI

4 -1.382

P-played; W-win; L-lost; T-tie; NR-net run rate; PT-points

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Yusuf Pathan and J Kallis celebrate after beating Rajasthan Royals during their IPL6 match in Kolkata on Friday. PTI/SWAPAN MAHAPATRA

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

Everton hopes hinge on Merseyside Derby Everton still have an outside hope of a Champions League place, with Moyes’ men currently trailing Tottenham Hotspur by three points.

Alec Kennedy

LIVERPOOL: Everton manager David Moyes has insisted winning Sunday’s Merseyside derby away to Liverpool is about far more than personal pride. The Scot has been in charge at Goodison Park for 11 years but has still to oversee an away win at nearby Anfield, where Liverpool haven’t lost to their local rivals since 1999. Everton still have an outside hope of a Champions League place, with Moyes’ men currently trailing Tottenham Hotspur by three points having played a game more than the current occupiers of fifth spot. But the Europa League is

Wenger says it’s Arsenal forever

The Frenchman, the Gunners’ manager since 1996, has recently been linked to a move to Paris St Germain. move to the Emirates Stadium from their nearby former home ground of Highbury tied Wenger’s hands in the transfer market to a certain extent compared to the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. But new ‘front-loaded’ sponsorship means Wenger, who saw star striker Robin van Persie leave last season to join United and win the Premier League in his first term at Old Trafford, is set to enter the transfer market with a reported £100 million to spend. “Every football game excites me and football in general still excites me -- the love for this club as well,” Wenger said Friday ahead of Saturday’s trip across London to relegated QPR. “I have answered that question (about PSG) already. I respect my contracts. “I want to stay (past 2014) if I do well and if I consider or the club considers that I do well, that is all. “I want this club to do well -- that is my basic feeling. “We have gone through a period that was very sensitive. We are coming out of it now, in a much stronger position financially. I believe the club is in a very strong position for the future.” Wenger’s ‘Invincible’ Arsenal side were crowned Premier League champions in 2003/04 without losing a match before he took the club from Highbury across the road to the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium and has ensured a constant supply of Champions League football despite being confronted by bigger-spending rivals.

tion of leaving Arsenal before his current contract expires, he said on Friday and indicated he could yet stay with the club beyond 2014. The 63-year-old Frenchman, the Gunners’ manager since 1996, has recently been linked to a move to Paris St Germain following several trophyless seasons with north London side Arsenal. But Wenger insisted all he was concerned about or the time being was securing a top-four finish for Arsenal that would ensure they once again qualified for the Champions League. The financial implications of Arsenal’s

Number game

Scrabble

Boggle

INCH MILE YARD FOOT METER

Suduko

LONDON: Arsene Wenger has no inten-

SOLUTIONS

well within Everton’s sights and the effect of a victory Sunday on the club as a whole is what matters most to Moyes. “For Everton -- for the team and the supporters -- it will mean an awful lot, but personally, it is not an important thing really. I’m looking forward to trying to get a result for the supporters. “The higher up you finish you get more money, but finishing in Europe is attractive for most players,” Moyes added. “The focus is to get one of those spots. It will be tough but we will do whatever we can.” Victory for Everton would ensure they finish above the Reds for the second successive season but Moyes said that was of minor concern.

Agence France-Presse

Sir Alex cries ‘Freedom!’ The Manchester United manager has asked his already-crowned champions to play with freedom. Chris McKenna Agence France-Presse

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has called on his already crowned Premier League champions to play with freedom for the remainder of the season. United welcome top-four chasing Chelsea to Old Trafford on Sunday and Ferguson wants his side to impress even if they do have their 20th English league title secured. A draw at Arsenal last week ended United’s hopes of overhauling Chelsea’s record Premier League points tally of 95, but Ferguson remains focused. “It is time for us to play with a good enthusiasm, relax and enjoy ourselves,” he said. “That is what I want to see and hopefully we can have a good end to the season.” Having been enjoying title celebrations and the Professional Footballers’ Association Awards ceremony recently, United’s players have certainly been kept busy off the field.

They also have their trophy parade coming on May 13 following the presentation after the Swansea game at Old Trafford the day before, but Ferguson does not want it all to get out of hand while the season is still ongoing. “It is inevitable that these things happen,” Ferguson said. “I never took into account of all the things that were happening, the PFA awards and our own player of the year awards, and then the parade. “Then (club captain Nemanja) Vidic came to me and asked could they go to Chester Races next Wednesday and I said without thinking ‘yes of course’ and then we put all these things together and I was saying ‘bloody hell, I hope they don’t forget there are games of football to be won’. “It is difficult, they have had a fantastic season and they deserve to celebrate as a team. They have had a hard season but they still have to win games.” Ferguson will be without striker Danny Welbeck for the visit of Chelsea but Paul Scholes could make an appearance on the bench.