‘CALM’ BEFORE THE STORM
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outh Korea, also known as The Land of the Morning Calm, attracts a large number of tourists from neighbouring countries throughout the year.
PG 16&17 WWW.POSTNOON.COM
WEATHER: SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM; 34°C
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REPORT ON PG 3
BOTSA GETTING THE BOOT?
Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper
APRIL 7, 2013 HYDERABAD
PCC chief and minister Botsa Satyanarayana is in imminent danger of getting the sack from Gandhi Bhavan if he does not resign. Kiran’s visit to Delhi today is said to include the one-man-one-post agenda. The time has come for Kiran to get back at Botsa who has castigated the CM on many issues.
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ON SUNDAY
BLAST TRAIL LEADS TO MAMATA’S BENGAL
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IA, probing the 21/2 blasts, has gone to Kolkata on the scent of suspects who had stayed in Hyderabad, but escaped to Bangladesh via Kolkata. That the forces manning the Indo-Bangladesh border happen to be lax is evident from this, say senior officials. Focus is also on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in Hyderabad posing as Bengalis. PG 3 N SHIVA KUMAR
DOES INDIA NEED THE
JESSICA CHASTAIN BOARDS DEL TORO’S CRIMSON PEAK
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uillermo del Toro is finalising the guest list for his haunted-house thriller Crimson Peak as Jessica Chastain is in final negotiations to co-star in the Legendary Pictures movie. She joins Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Stone. PG 28
PENTAVALENT VACCINE?
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ith conflicting figures on the incidence of Hib-related diseases and deaths in India — ranging from a few hundreds to several thousands — the question is, how important is this vaccine for the country? PG 5
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CITY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
OUT FOR A SWIM M ANIL KUMAR
Vaishali Bisht’s theatre workshop Vaishali Bisht is conducting special Summer Holidays theatre workshops for children between the ages of six and 12. The course consists of 20 classes held Monday to Saturday. Using theatre games and exercises, the workshop helps children use their imagination and get creative. Where: Road no 7, Banjara Hills When: From April 15, Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm Contact: 94904 40986
Filmmaking workshops for children Yavanika Films is conducting a unique filmmaking workshops this summer vacation for children in Hyderabad. Each participant will make their own short film as part of the workshop. Even a parent and child can register as one student pair to make a short film together. Where: Begumpet When: From April 24, from 2pm to 7pm, Daily classes, Except on weekends Contact: 94901 00404
Igniting minds Dilip Sankarreddy will talk about his experiences in a guest talk, as part of a series of talks on the role of young leaders in politics. Where: Lamakaan, Opposite GVKOne, Road no 1, Banjara Hills When: April 7, 10.30am onwards Contact: 96427 31329
Group painting exhibition An exhibition of paintings by Pradosh Swain and Suchismita Sahoo. Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing Contact: www.alankritha.in
Punjab Da Tashan Ambar sariyan murg, Punjabi chicken keemedar, kalimirch machhi, achari paneer and khumb hardhaniya are some of the items on the menu. There is a starter and welcome drink free for ladies above 21 years. Where: Terrace Bay and Sky Bar, Babukhan Mall, 6-3-1111/B 501, 5th Floor, Somajiguda When: Fridays, Up to April 12
CINEMAS
Children enjoy a dip in the Badlagude lake in the scorching heat. Contact: (040) 2341 8545
French artist B2Fays Alliance Française of Hyderabad, Kalakriti Art Gallery and Park Hyatt Hyderabad present French artist B2Fays. It is an exhibition of paintings and multimedia installations. Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Plot no. 468, Road no 10, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 9, 11am to 7pm Contact: (040) 6656 4466
Special lunch A changing menu, with a wide spread of food items, and special packages for kitty and group lunches. Where: Kailash Parbat, Above Ebony Gautier, 2nd floor, Road No. 36 Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 23558856
Heritage and restoration in post WWII Germany This is a lecture by Anuradha Reddy, an expert in restoration and heritage with many years of experience in Germany. Where: Goethe-Zentrum 20 Journalist Colony,
Road no 3, Banjara Hills When: April 10, 6pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329
Radisson Blu Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 14, all day long Contact: (040) 6733 1133
Crossword Travel Fest
Shakespeare’s Hamlet play reading
Lonely Planet – Crossword Travel Fest is a fest designed to aid all your travel needs, domestic as well as international. You also get a discount on Lonely Planet prodcuts. Where: Available at Crossword book stores When: Up to April 14
Jaya Vilasam
The play reading is being organised by Samahaara theatre group. Where: Lamakaan, Opposite GVKOne, Banjara Hills When: April 7, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329
Rustic Rhythm
Ananda Priya Foundation is organising Jaya Vilasam, a dance presentation by Dr Yashoda Thakore. Where: Saptaparni, Next to Kalpa school, Road no 8, Banjara Hills When: April 7, 6.30pm onwards Contact: 93962 12232
There is an art show and book release of senior artist Yasala Balaiah. Where: Rainbow Art Gallery, Tourism Plaza, Begumpet When: Preview Up to April 8, 11am to 7pm Contact: 92474 48544
Punjabiyaan Di Shaan
World famous moder Punjabi music band RDB will perforom live during the Bikashi mela. Bollywood dancer Shweta Sharma will also be performing live. Where: LB Stadium When: April 14, 7pm onwards Contact: 89778 99777
With Baisakhi ushering in, masterchefs from Punjab, along with the skilled team of Radisson Blu Hyderabad, recreate the lip smacking authentic Punjabi delicacies and an array of cultural festivities. Where: Chill Restaurant & Terrace,
Rhythm Dhol Bass
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
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CITY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
MFC scam report tomorrow
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he team of officials investigating into the Minority Finance Corporation scam has completed its probe and is likely to submit the report to the government on Monday. The `57.55 crore AP State Minorities Finance Corporation (APSMFC) scam broke out in October last year, following which the government suspended three officials of the corporation.
GHMC meeting postponed
Police arrest burglar
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T
he GHMC special council meeting to be held on April 9 is postponed owing to bandh call given by the Left parties. Mayor Md Majid Hussain informed TDP leader Singireddy Srinivas Reddy that due to the Hyderabad District Review Meeting (DRC) on April 10 and Ugadi on April 11, he will be declaring the new dates later.
Boot for Botsa? Botsa is in imminent danger of getting sacked from Gandhi Bhavan if he does not resign.
INKESHAF AHMED
Postnoon's investigation found that apart from Rahul Gandhi's decision, many other factors seem to be coming in the way of Botsa's intention to run the show by riding two horses at the same time. According to a senior PIC FOR REPRESENTATIVE PURPOSE ONLY
NIA has gone to Kolkata, trailing some suspects who had stayed in the City but escaped to Bangladesh via Kolkata. Officials say forces manning Indo-Bangladesh borders are lax. mohd.s@postnoon.com
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NEGATIVE FACTORS
Blast trail leads to Mamata’s Bengal Mohd Subhan
ahmed.m@postnoon.com cion of Gandhi-Nehru family and vice president of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rahul Gandhi's recent announcement at the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) summit that he is committed to reform the Congress from within has created panic among the party's stalwarts and veterans. Prominent among powerful veterans is Botsa Satyanarayana, the AP Congress committee chief. He is currently holding the posts of APCC chief and cabinet minister of the State. According to the new policy introduced by Rahul Gandhi, no party leader should be allowed to hold more than one post either within the party or in the government. Though while speaking to Postnoon the PCC chief denied having received any such communication, reports indicate that he will lose the organisation post very soon.
he Golconda police have arrested one Mohd Abdul Kareem, 27, a resident of Feeran cottage, and seized nearly seven tolas of gold and other articles from his possession. He is charged with breaking into a home on April 1 at Toli Chowki and decamping with gold and other valuables. He was arrested on Saturday and remanded to judicial custody.
D Congress leader, the main allegation against Botsa is that he faced the sensational liquor syndicate scam last year. "The crucial investigation of the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) indicated that the family members of Botsa ran a kingdom of liquor syndicate in Vizianagaram districts.” This case had created a huge public furore in the State and the opposition parties demanded the resignation of the PCC president. Apart from this, the IT department raid at Botsa's close aide and Tollywood film producer B Ganesh's house also led to the impression that Ganesh is a front for Botsa, who channelled the PCC boss’s money. Apart from these factors, the inept handling of party affairs by the PCC president is also going against him. Botsa was in the news for making several
controversial statements against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his administration. Both leaders turned foes for some time before patching up again.
KIRAN
TO RAISE THE ISSUE
According to reliable sources, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is likely to raise this issue of Botsa' dual posts during his Delhi tour, which begins today. The CM is likely to pitch for the candidature of former APCC president D Srinivas to the coveted post. Commenting on the issue, a close aide of the CM told Postnoon that the CM would face stiff competition from Botsa to lead the party during the next general elections if the latter continued in the PCC post. "The CM wants avoid any sort of competition as he wants to lead the party on his own," he said.
esperate to make a breakthrough, the National Investigating Agency (NIA), after 46 days of running in circles, has cast its net to Bengal. A team had gone to Kolkata to learn the whereabouts of some elements said to be linked to Indian Mujahideen backed by Pakistan. NIA believes that some Bangladeshi hands posing as Bengalis have facilitated the blasts with local help. A team of NIA officials went to Kolkatta recently, where they searched for the four persons who are the suspects in th twin blasts case and they met with the Kolkatta police officers. While the NIA did not seem to have their quarry on hand, they came back with substantial information on the four Bangladeshi suspects, sources said. They are identified as Mohd Ahmed, Yaseen Bhaktal, Tahseen Akther alias Hassan and Syed Asadullah Akther, who are all close to IM module
working to deface Hyderabad. They, based in Bangladesh and Pakistan, have been freely making forays into Indian territories with impunity, thanks to the local helps on the Indian side. This local links are what politicians and police officers are unwilling to probe for fear of communal backlash. “As IM hands, the four had been involved in other incidents like the Mumbai blast in 2011 and in August 2012 in Pune. So we believe the foursome had a hand in the City blasts, but they are hiding either in Kolkata or Bangladesh,” an NIA officer confided in Postnoon. NIA admits that the local helps are defeating the investigation. No foreigner can come to India freely and commit the crimes like blasts without local help, they say. But the agency does not seem to have a definite clue on whose brainchild the Dilsukhnagar blasts are. The blasts had killed 17 and injured over 100. The police have declared a reward of `10 lakh for definite information leading to the arrest of the accused.
Poll fever: Netas scurry around Postnoon News
feedback@postnoon.com
W
ith the all-important General Elections fast approaching, leaders of key political parties in the State are seeking pollsters’ reports on their fortune. Services of pollsters are being employed to undertake surveys in various Assembly constituencies. In the last two months alone, as many as 250 sitting MLAs and scores of aspirants of MLA tickets from Congress, TDP, YSRC and TRS
have commissioned surveys to find out where they stand in the rat race of electoral politics. If they are reliable, the survey results point to a known fact that Congress continues to face difficulties and smaller parties are at an advantage. Speaking to Postnoon, a Citybased pollster confirmed the news and said that while the TRS has emerged as a dominant force in the Telangana region, following the ongoing agitation, YSRC continues to enjoy the support of the masses due to late CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy's fac-
tor in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. "Surveys undertaken by us found that both TRS and YSRC are enjoying the support of the people of the State in three different regions — Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema. The status of other two key political players, the Congress and TDP, is very bad in the State,” the pollster said. He further informed that if the disqualification of 15 dissident MLAs from Congress and TDP lead to another round of by-elections, YSRC is likely to benefit during the by-
polls. “Some of the leaders of YSRC held surveys twice after the no-confidence motion. It was found that the MLAs who defied their party whips to support YSRC will emerge victorious if elections are held,” he said.
SITTING MLAS FEEL THE PINCH
Incumbency factor pulverises the minds of sitting MLAs, it is reported. Cost of surveys too has gone up. A survey that cost `1 lakh for each Assembly constituency before 2009 General Election now cost `3 lakh to ` 5 lakh, depending upon the requirement.
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CITY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
The perks of being an SIC Why the drama over appointment of State information commissioners (SICs)? The numerous perks the job promises might be why so many have lined up for the posts. occupies his own house.
TRAVEL
For official journeys performed within the State or out side the State, the State information commissioner shall be paid travelling allowance by road/rail/air and daily allowance as permissible to the chief secretary to the government. The same courtesies as are extended to the chief secretary to the government shall be extended to the SIC.
RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA
rahul.r@postnoon.com
O
ne among the many reasons behind the fuss kicking in about the State information commissioners (SICs) is the number of perks the job promises. While selection of candidates for the posts of information commissioner has had a fairly dubious track record in the State so far, it is nonetheless important to know why “professional rivalries” over the SICs’ posts have stirred up much debate and drama in the commission. An abstract released by the general administration department lists salary and other allowances for officers holding the post of the State information commissioner. The one thing that is bound to grab eyeballs in the abstract is this: For all purposes, the status of the State information commissioner shall be the same as that of the chief secretary to the government. So, the information commissioner wields as much power and pulls as many strings as the chief secretary to the government, who is often considered the most powerful in administrative circles. “They enjoy the same terms of protocol as the chief secretary. Sadly, all kinds
WHILE
of people lobby for the post, as we have seen this year. And since it has been proven that getting there only needs dedication and loyalty towards a political party, people are fighting bitterly with rivals for this post,” Raoji Brahmanand from Guntur, an RTI activist, said. But some information commissioners refuse to state that it is the money and the perks that hold sway. One State information commissioner, in an informal chat, said, “I do not draw my
entire salary but rather use it to sustain unemployed people I come across. I still live in a rented house and try to be as frugal as I can. It is not the money, but the shot at serving the public, that inspired me to lobby for the post.” This might be true, all the dedication and selflessness, but one cannot deny that lobbying for this post also requires a certain amount of steadfast dedication and loyalty towards the current political party in power. Among
other juicy perks involved for the State information commissioner, here are a few:
ACCOMMODATION
The State information commissioner shall be eligible for government accommodation on par with the chief secretary to the government. Where government accommodation is not provided or not availed, he shall be paid house rent allowance (HRA) at 30 per cent of the basic pay. He can draw HRA even when he
ON TOUR ...
Vehicle: The SIC shall be provided with a government vehicle for official purposes as provided to the chief secretary. He will also be eligible for using the official car for private purposes, provided he pays `250 per month up to a distance of 500km in a month. Where no official vehicle is provided, he shall be paid `25,000 per month (or as revised from time to time) conveyance allowance, in lieu of government vehicle for official purpose. Telephones: The SIC shall be provided with telephones; one at office and another at his residence; with STD facility and a cellphone with a National Roaming facility (`5,000/package) from the date of assumption. In case he has personal residential telephone/cellphone, he is permitted to use the same for official purpose, i.e., for the purpose of settling the bills as per eligibility.
Face to face for what?
A programme purported to be a direct interface between the civic body and citizens to redress grievances has been made a mockery due to the all-pervading corruption in the town planning department. Md Nizamuddin
nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com
“W
hat purpose is the face-to-face when we have to keep coming?” was the question in the minds of most people who turned up for the programme yesterday. For instance, Afzal Khan revisited the face-to-face after almost one year. Tired of running pillar to post, he met the mayor and GHMC commissioner once again this Saturday. Earlier, around one year ago, the commissioner had ordered the zonal and deputy commissioners to visit Khan’s site. They gave notice to the illegal construction on public property after the visit. “This is the only lane that connects to my house and construction is still
going on, even after notice was given one year ago,” he lamented. Final notice 636 of HMC Act was issued to the encroacher on May 14, 2012, after the visit of zonal commissioner (north) and deputy commissioner to Lalaguda. Within few days of issuing notice, the construction for G+1 (ground plus one) building resumed. The irony is that the zonal commissioner threatened the aggrieved that he would ‘land in jail’ if the matter continued. He was told that officials were looking into the matter and this was none of his business. “Everything what happened, I explained to the mayor and commissioner. Hope they will be taking some action on this,” he said. Similarly, an octogenarian,
KV Subrahmanyam of Sainikpuri, has been visiting the GHMC for several months. Holding documents in a small bag, the senior citizen with his bent back visited the face-toface earlier, but it did not solve
the problem. The GHMC has laid a road from his plot and he has been running from pillar to post in his old age. The commissioner has assured him that after standing committee approval, within two weeks, a
Cheque of compensation for 72 sq yards he lost would be delivered to him. A total of 18 petitions were received in person, apart from 15 telephonic. Most were related to the town planning department, while some of them were of water problems. The last time the programme was held on January 5, a total of 42 complaints was received. GHMC officials have claimed that for 32 of these, ‘action has been completed’, while 10 remain to be solved. “All this happens because of unchecked corruption. Everyone knows it but nobody does anything about it,” laments Rajesh Moulvi, who too has been observing this programme for a year now. “Officials take refuge in this procedure to fool the public.”
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CITY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
sored community study in Tamil Nadu, found that the incidence of Hib meningitis was only 0.007 per cent (which comes up to 8,750 cases nationwide). This is in stark contrast to the figures projected by the core committee. “This is the only proper study. The study was done for two years, with house-to-house surveys every two weeks,” said the source from NTAGI. He added that this comes up to 1,750 cases of Hib meningitis in a birth cohort of 25 million for five years. Taking the mortality to be 10 per cent, 175 infants may die due to the disease.
DEEPASHRI V
deepashri.v@postnoon.com
I
ntroduction of pentavalent vaccine in India is a ‘very important step in the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP)’, said experts at the media consultation workshop on pentavalent vaccine held in Bangalore on Friday. The core committee on vaccines, constituted by the Indian Council for Medical Research in 2010, projected that there are 52,000 Hib-induced meningitis and 2,60,000 Hib-induced pneumonia cases in the country. Based on the above estimates, it concluded that pentavalent vaccine that contains Hib be introduced in some states and later extended to others, depending on the results of phase I of introduction. “We have almost got to the point of eradicating many diseases. Now is the time for introducing pentavalent vaccine in India,” said RR Jannu, mission director at National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Karnataka, during the session. “If it (Hib-induced meningitis) doesn’t kill, it leaves a trail of neurological damage.” He also said that according to WHO, there are three million cases of Hib-related diseases and 72,000 deaths (2009 statistics), adding that 4050 per cent of meningitis and 35 per cent of pneumonia cases are attributed to Hib. Dr Swarna Rekha Bhat, professor and head of department, neonatology, at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore, presented statistics from various other journals and research, according to one of which 61,000 deaths in children below five years of age is related to Hib. She said with the case fatality and increasing number of antibiotic-resistant strains, it is “worth immunising”.
WHICH
WHAT
Does India need
pentavalent? In the final part of our series, we ask: With conflicting figures on the incidence of Hib-related diseases and deaths in India — ranging from a few hundreds to several thousands — how important is this vaccine for the country?
FIGURES TO GO BY ?
The big question is, how were the figures arrived at? How and in how many districts was the study conducted? A source at the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), on condition of anonymity, explains how this came to be. “In 1999, there were nine cases of ‘presumed’ meningitis in a district in Kerala. These figures were projected to the entire state and then the population of the country (which comes out to be 52,000),” he said. “In the same paper, only three cases were reported the following year. But this was not taken into consideration while projecting the figures.” A writ petition filed in the Delhi High Court, highlighting how newer vaccines are being introduced in the public health system without proper studies or evidence, mentions various conflicting survey results. One of them, a WHO-spon-
IS THE PRICE TO PAY ?
As mentioned in the previous report, a reply to an RTI query suggested that five children out of 40,000 immunised in the first six months had died. Extending this to a population of 25 million, it would result in 3,125 deaths. “In a 25 million population cohort, 175 children are saved from death due to Hib-induced meningitis and 3,125 children (may) die after immunisation.” But experts at the workshop conducted by Unicef deny this, saying the vaccine will only do more good than harm. “There are no real documented cases of adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI),” said Jannu. Dr Vivek Singh, public health specialist and assistant professor at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Hyderabad, said AEFI could be due to various other reasons such as injection reaction due to anxiety, coincidental or temporal reactions and problems related to storage and transportation. Dr Singh said there are systems in place to monitor these effects. In case of severe AEFI, a first investigation report, preliminary investigation report and a detailed investigation report are presented. In extreme cases, the vaccine can cause anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can cause death. The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), in an “open letter to WHO” says that the reaction in India to the vaccine is a form of “hypersensitivity reaction” to the vaccine, and that there is no method to predict which child will show adverse reactions.
‘PIGGYBACK’
What is Hib? Hib is a bacterium that causes pneumonia, meningitis, epiglottis and other diseases. Once a child is immunised with Hib vaccine, he/she still can get meningitis or pneumonia due to other viruses or bacteria.
What is pentavalent vaccine? Pentavalent vaccine combines the protection against five diseases — hepatitis B, DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) and Hib in one vaccine.
VACCINE ?
“If DPT vaccine is withdrawn (and the only option is to give the pentavalent vaccine), people will not have an option,” said the source from NTAGI. In the writ petition to the Delhi Hight Court, the petitioners refer a paper by Madhavi in Current Science in 2006, on how “combination vaccines piggyback new and relatively useless vaccines on the standard vaccines like DPT.” With conflicting views, the overall picture still remains unclear to the common man. The impact of this move will unfold in the years to come.
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READERS’ LETTERS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
THINK OF THE CHILDREN
Aleena Alice’s series of reports on RTE flouters (What happens to these students when illegal schools in Hyderabad are shut down) had parents and activists agreeing that shutting down schools is not the solution. Readers suggested that close monitoring was important to rout corruption from the education sector. he governments, both at the Centre and State, have never taken care of children of poor communities and have allowed rapid commercialisation (of education), which leads to the consequent loss of discipline and exploitation of parents by collecting hefty sums as donations for unjustified reasons. As the department of education lost control over school managements, corruption has become rampant. Corporate schools and religious minority institutions enjoy patronage of political leaders and senior officials in the State government. In such a scenario, who will protect the students of poor and middle classes? But closing down of schools for failure to implement RTE Act may not be the solution. Identifying notorious managements, schools and their prosecution, appointment of departmental officers as special officers for limited periods for proper regulation and functioning of notorious schools may help proper implementation of RTE Act.
T
SUDHAKARRAO VEPACHEDU
Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/02/what-happensto-these-students-when-illegal-schoolsin-hyderabad-are-shut-down/117554
TOP LETTER
hy is that we always see the rules are just brought in in order to just reduce the number of institutions? Will the government bear the expenditure of these children (joining other schools now) who need to quit the schools? Government should at least try to help these schools out. If the number of students in schools is really less in number, it may be accepted. Poor parents hardly get schools for their kids to study in. And now, the government is picking up and throwing out these schools. Firstly, the education minister should properly know how he can spend the money to bring these schools to the right position. Or otherwise, there will be no educated people if this goes on like this. What is the role of the minister for secondary education, what does he do then? Just stretching a little bit will solve many problems, why are they idle? They are not trying to solve the problem, but just trying to place rules.
W
wonder why no one has filed a PIL in the high court. Why is this not news in all the papers on the front page? It is all about money and more money.
I
CKM
Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2 013/04/04/hyderabadschools-openly-flouting-rte-act/117886
hat alternative has the government provided to these thousands of students who will run for other schools when the unrecognised schools close? I suggest that this minister should be booked for ruining the career of the students without giving them a proper alternative.
W
T
Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/02/what-happensto-these-students-when-illegal-schoolsin-hyderabad-are-shut-down/117554
Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/02 /what-happens-to-these-students-when-illegal-schools-inhyderabad-are-shutdown/117554
KHAN
Kudos to the mayor An article by Md Nizamuddin on April 3 (Mayor cracks whip on GHMC officials) showed that the mayor had finally taken a stand on civic issues. He gave officials an earful when he discovered that only 10 per cent of the standing committee resolutions had been implemented. One reader was pleased to see that at least one official seemed responsible. hanks Mr Mayor! Keep up the good work. Accountability/responsibility is lacking in all walks of life. Need someone to make people accountable. Good that it’s the mayor.
T Getting your goat An article about goat thieves causing mayhem in Old City (Violence, clashes over stolen goats in Hyderabad) by Mohd Subhan prompted one reader to offer to educate and rehabilitate wayward youngsters, for whom crime seems the only option sometimes. It is rare to see someone who actually thinks beyond a prison sentence for petty criminals, and we’re glad to find one such person. was shocked by your story ‘Violence, clashes over stolen goats in Hyderabad’ (April 4). Every Tuesday when I visit the Hanuman temple at Jiyaguda, there are lots of goat merchants. Since I have a beard, many of them ask me whether I am looking for a goat, even though I am a vegetarian. I want to take free classes for only poor Muslim youth to teach them personality development, employability and self-improvement.
I
SUBRAMANYAM
Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/04/violence-clashesover-stolen-goats-in-hyderabad/117898
he minister has a big role in this mess. He should be an agent of change and not of corruption! If the idea is good, why not go for it heart and soul rather than trying to make more money!
SUNIL
Via email Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/0 4/violence-clashes-over-stolengoats-in-hyderabad/117898
Win `500 every week
We are giving `500 to the reader who writes in the best letter every week. So get to work. You can e-mail us at feedback@postnoon.com, or write to us at Postnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Rd nos 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, 500033. ALSO SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS.
CKM
SHIVA
Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/04/02/what-happensto-these-students-when-illegal-schoolsin-hyderabad-are-shut-down/117554
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NATION SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
More needs to be done: PM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said reforms have been made in the laws pertaining to crimes against women but admitted that more needs to be done. The prime minister said there was a “national outrage” after the tragedy of the Dec 16 Delhi gang-rape, but “we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by a sense of despair”.
3 detained over Thane tragedy THANE: Three persons, including an assistant municipal commissioner and a NCP corporator, have been detained in connection with the building collapse in Thane district claiming 74 lives, police sources said today. Those detained since last night are - Assistant Municipal Commissioner Babasaheb Andale, police
THOSE DETAINED ARE ASSISTANT MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER BABASAHEB ANDALE, POLICE CONSTABLE S SAYEED AND NCP CORPORATOR HIRA PATIL. constable S Sayeed and NCP Corporator representing the ward, Hira Patil, they said. Yesterday, police had arrested developers Jamil Qureshi and Salim Shaikh - involved in the construction of the illegal seven-storey building, which collapsed in Thane district on Thursday. Suspended Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deepak Chavan was also arrested in connection with the building collapse case yesterday, police PTI said.
Salman hit-and-run hearing tomorrow
Maoist arrested in TN
MUMBAI: Actor Salman Khan’s appeal, against a magis-
COIMBATORE: A Maoist wanted in
trate’s order invoking the charge of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ in a hit and run case against him, would come for hearing before a sessions court tomorrow. The appeal, filed by the actor a month ago, would be heard by Sessions Judge UB Hejib. The actor has not been summoned to appear before the court yet and the matter would be argued by his lawyers in the sessions court tomorrow, sources told PTI. The appeal would be decided first and then the main case would be heard.
several murder cases was arrested here in the early hours today, police said. A police team from West Bengal, with the assistance of ‘Q’ Branch of Tamil Nadu police, reached here last evening after tracing the location of the cellphone number of Shyamacharan Dodo and arrested him from a house at Peelamedu, they said.
Agusta bids for choppers NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding the prospect of being blacklisted over the VVIP chopper scam, Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland has submitted its bid for two military tenders to supply helicopters to the Navy and the Coast Guard. The firm has submitted its response to Indian Navy’s tender for procuring 56 naval utility helicopters and Coast Guard’s Request for Proposal (RFP) for buying 14 medium-lift choppers, defence sources told PTI here. In the naval tender for 56 choppers, AgustaWestland is one of the two bidders along with Eurocopter, which is offering its AS565 Naval ‘Panther’ helicopter. The Navy is planning to procure these twin-engine light choppers to replace its fleet of vintage Cheetah/Chetak helicopters which are operated from warships and air bases of the force. In the Coast Guard tender, two other companies, including American Sikorsky and Eurocopter, have also submitted their bids along the Anglo-Italian firm in response to the RFP last week. The Coast guard, which has a fleet of Cheetah/Chetak and ALH Dhruv helicopters, is strengthening its rotary wing aerial surveillance capabilities after the 2008 Mumbai attacks and is in the process of acquiring several light and medium weight surveillance choppers. AgustaWestland is facing the threat of being blacklisted for the alleged payment of kickbacks of `362 crore by its former CEOs violating the integrity pact signed by it with the Indian government. The Defence Ministry has already initiated the process of cancellation of the deal after the arrest of former Finmeccanica CEO Guiseppe Orsi and former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini by Italian investigators in connection with the case. The Ministry has already ordered a CBI probe into the deal and is waiting for the CBI inquiry report before initiating any further action on the future of the `3,600 crore PTI deal.
Navy personnel perform during a ceremony on the occasion of accomplishment of ‘Sagar Parikrama - II’ a solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigation at Gate-way of India in Mumbai on Saturday. PTI
Agni-II tested successfully
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he medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile was today successfully test-fired with a strike range of more than 2,000 km off Odisha coast. The two-stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, guided by a novel scheme of state of the earth com-
mand and control system was propelled by solid rocket propellant system, they said. The 20-metre long Agni-II is a twostage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1,000 kg over a distance of 2,000 km. PTI
MoEF rejects NH expansion plea
Kolkata at risk from sea level rise: Pachauri
2 bombs defused in Manipur
NEW DELHI: The environment ministry has rejected
KOLKATA: Rising sea levels due to climate change are
IMPHAL: Two powerful bombs, allegedly planted by
a National Highway Authority of India proposal seeking expansion of a road connecting Bhopal and Nagpur that cuts through a proposed tiger reserve in MP. The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife has accepted an expert panel report which said that fourlaning of NH-69 within the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary “cannot be permitted currently” as tigers and other wild animals will be “more vulnerable” to be killed on the road. The decision came amid tussle between the two sides over highway projects through forest areas. The NHAI had sought denotification of 58.5 hectares of forest land in Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary to upgrade the two-lane NH-69 to four lanes.
threatening the survival of big cities located near coastal areas like Kolkata, Shanghai and Dhaka, said RK Pachauri, chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “There is a very high risk in delta cities like Kolkata, Shanghai and Dhaka. They are very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to sea level rise and coastal flooding. Both people and property would be affected in such a scenario,” Pachauri told reporters here. Asking governments worldwide to start adaptation measures as soon as possible to counter the effects of climate change, the scientist said the matter has to be taken up in all seriousness. “Scientific factors are evident. We cannot keep our eyes shut,” he said.
insurgents to attack security personnel, were found in Imphal West district of Manipur, police said today. A sniffer dog of Assam Rifles personnel of 27th battalion detected a powerful bomb, weighing more than two kg and planted at the end of a roadside culvert, while the para military forces were patrolling Wabgai Leirak Achouba area yesterday. The bomb was later exploded at a nearby paddy field by the experts. In another incident, police forces detected and defused another powerful bomb, planted at a roadside area, at Koirengei, sources said. Insurgents had planted at least seven bombs at the roadsides at different places to attack security personnel this month.
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COMMENT SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
DO CHECK YOUR BP TODAY
EDITORIALS AFFAIRS OF BJP: Only time will tell Well, just when Narendra Modi had thought things were going his way in the PM candidature race, here comes a dampener. How small or big it is, we cannot say, but a dampener it is. LK Advani has said that there nothing to regret about in the Ayodhya issue and exhorted party workers to take pride in it, during a speech on the occasion of the party foundation day. He went on to say that the Ram temple and Ayodhya issue is not just a political movement, but it is a cultural one too. Not just that, he points out that whatever the party is today is because of the Ayodhya issue and the efforts to rebuild the Ram temple. The party might have been something then, one might claim, but truth be told, it is only a shadow of its former self now. It lacks powerful leaders, and it is swaying in these modern times when it takes more than an issue that occurred more than two decades ago to rally around people and get support. The party is already teetering under blows of corruption charges, factionism, and infighting. When there is a bout, the contender must be clear about what’s to be done to usurp the champ. If BJP is the contender here, then it is a poor one, for the party is yet to give a clear answer on who is to lead it in the General Elections. Modi is gaining momentum, but it would be a lie to say that everyone in BJP would happily allow him to lead it. If BJP thinks of making a comeback, it should be on the promises of development, a line that converges with the thoughts and actions of Modi, who has been trying very hard to show his secular side and secure PM candidature. And why should Modi be wary of this Titan’s latest statement? Why would Advani who had receded to the shadows come out now? Perhaps he wishes to quit the scene after achieving the top prize in Indian politics? Only time will tell.
WHY WE LOVE... Upright officers In his 20 years of service, Ashok Khemka, who brought light on the illegal land deals involving Robert Vadra, has been transferred 40 times. That’s two transfers a year. That’s what honest officers get in this country.
From the hip SYED SHOAIB n Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally. They account for approximately 17 million deaths in the world each year. n In India, hypertension affects more than 100 million individuals. While the awareness of hypertension is poor in India, the treatment and control rates are abysmally low. n More than one in three adults worldwide have high blood pressure, with the proportion going up to one in two for people aged 50 and above. n The number of people with hypertension rose from 600 million in 1980 to 1 billion in 2008.
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pril 7 is World Health Day every year. The theme for World Health Day 2013 is controlling high blood pressure. For millions of people, high blood pressure leads to fatal heart attacks, debilitating strokes, and chronic heart and kidney disease. Every year, World Health
Organisation selects a priority area of global public health concern as the theme for World Health Day. Last year, it was on Ageing and Health. According to WHO 2012 health statistics, the prevalence of hypertension in India was 23.1 per cent in men and 22.6 per cent in women in equal or more than 25 years age. The raised blood pressure was a high risk condition that caused approximately 51 per cent of death from strokes and 45 per cent from coronary artery disease. It was considered directly responsible for 7.5 million deaths in 2004, about 12.8 per cent of the total global deaths. As the world’s population ages, unhealthy daily life — an unbalanced diet, lack of physical activity, smoking, alcohol — together with stressful lifestyles, all increase the chances of developing high blood pressure. No country in the world is discounted from this growing threat. High blood pressure is both preventable and treatable. Increasing public awareness, particularly through media, is as important as access to early detection. Not many countries have systems and services in place to support healthy lifestyles. In developing coun-
tries, of concern is the access to medicines of good quality at the primary care level. The Global brief on hypertension, published on the occasion of World Health Day 2013, describes why, in the early 21st century, hypertension is a global public health issue. It describes how hypertension contributes to the burden of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure and premature death and disability. The document also explains how hypertension is both preventable and treatable and how governments, health workers, civil society, the private sector, families and individuals can join forces to reduce hypertension and its impact. The prevalence of hypertension is highest in Africa (46 per cent of adults), while the lowest prevalence is found in the Americas (35 per cent of adults). Overall, high-income countries have a lower prevalence of hypertension (35 per cent of adults) than low- and middle-income groups (40 per cent of adults) — because of successful multi-sectoral public policies, and better access to health care. Studies have proposed that hypertensive individuals are genetically predisposed and
that hypertension occurs in only those with a strong genetic contribution. Studies on monozygotic and dizygotic twins have reported a strong genetic component in hypertension. The role of environmental influences has been reported as being relatively minor by some and important by others, according to a study by R Gupta and five others as printed in the Journal of Hypertension.
SIMPLE WAYS TO BEAT BP n consume less salt n maintain a balanced diet n engage in regular physical activity n avoid tobacco use n avoid use of alcohol n inculcate stress-free life n avoid eating foods high in fat like bacon, egg yolks n avoid cooking with excess butter Detecting high blood pressure is the first step in prevention and control of this health issue. On this year’s World Health Day, WHO requests adults around the world to get their blood pressure measured and learn steps to control, if it is higher than the normal range.
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BUSINESS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Caparo to double India biz
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ooking to double its India revenue in the next 3-5 years, Caparo Group has lined up ambitious plans for new businesses like power and financial services and hopes to eventually set up a bank as well in the country. Caparo Group currently has revenues of over `2,000 crore and profits of more than Rs 200 crore from India businesses.
SAIL to ink `500cr-JV
Emirates beats Air India
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n a development that could be of serious concern to Indian carriers, Dubai-based Emirates flew more international travellers in and out of India than Air India in 2011-12, according to official data. While Emirates cornered 13.04 per cent of the total market share of India, flying 45.32 lakh passengers in and out of the country in 2011-12, Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express jointly carried 41.38 lakh passengers or 11.91 per cent, the data showed.
AIL will soon ink an equal joint venture pact with sister firm, KIOCL to set up a 3 lakh tonne a year coke oven plant and a 25 MW power plant at an estimated investment of `500 crore, a source said. The coke oven plant, which converts coking coal into coke for use in the steel mills, would be set up at Mangalore in Karnataka.
Centre struggles to keep the faith Congress has been losing capital, especially during its second stint in power which began in 2009, among both domestic and foreign investors who have been seeking opportunities elsewhere. Penny MacRae
Agence France-Presse
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India’s government is appealing to corporate leaders to “keep the faith” as it struggles to revive a staggering economy, but the reply from business is they need more than talk to win back their support. Business confidence in the Congress-led government has nosedived, with growth at a decade-low of five percent, stubbornly high inflation, a ballooning deficit, policy drift and a string of corruption scandals. The disenchantment is even more worrying for Congress with 2014 polls looming and business hailing corporate-friendly opposition leader, Narendra Modi, the Gujarat state chief minister, as a potential prime minister. Premier Manmohan Singh, seeking to woo back the key corporate constituency, conceded in a speech to the annual meeting of India’s biggest industry group last week there was a need for a “corrective strategy” to jumpstart growth. “Keep the faith and partner with the government in our effort” to put the economy back on track for high growth, said Singh, considered the father of 1990s market reforms that unleashed a two-decade economic boom.“We grew at an average eight per cent in the last 10 years and we can get there again," Singh told the Confederation of Indian Industry on Wednesday. But Singh’s commitments to further open up the still heavily regulated economy, dismantle investment roadblocks and slice through India’s infamous red tape drew yawns from his audience who said they were tired of promises. “It’s like Rip Van Winkle who has woken up after nine years and recognised past failures," said Ravi Chaudhry, chair-
BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE HIGH ADMIRATION FOR
SINGH’S ECONOMIC SCHOLARSHIP, BUT MANY SAY HE IS NOT A POLITICIAN ABLE TO DEAL WITH AN UNRULY CABINET AND NAVIGATE THE HURLY-BURLY POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. man of Delhi-based business strategy consulting firm CeNext Consulting and Investment. “Nobody has confidence, his words are not confidence inspiring," Chaudhry said. “This all happened under their watch." Congress has been losing capital, especially during its second stint in power which began in 2009, among both domestic and foreign investors who have been seeking opportunities elsewhere. The party wheeled out a string of top ministers as well as
reclusive Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, often tagged India’s prime minister in waiting, at the industry meeting as part of their charm offensive. Gandhi’s appearance, however, left business leaders scratching their heads as he lectured them in a rambling speech about the need to reduce endemic poverty and act with compassion, while failing to provide solutions for low growth. “The silver lining is they recognise they have slipped up and it is a positive they are doing something now, but they have only 10 months to turn things around," said Kiran Karnik, former president of India’s flagship outsourcing lobby group NASSCOM. Business leaders said they still have high admiration for Singh’s economic scholarship. But many say he is not a politician able to deal with an unruly cabinet and navigate the hurlyburly political landscape. “He’s basically an economist. What he says now is not going to
change the trend — people don’t have high expectations of the government any more," said another delegate, Anil Sultan. Still, the potential opposition candidate for premier, Modi, a pillar of the Hindu nationalist BJP, remains a controversial divisive figure for failing to halt deadly anti-Muslim riots that inflamed his state in 2002. Modi’s business popularity stems from clean governance and effectiveness as an economic steward that has made Gujarat a go-to investment destination. Industrialists such as Sunil Bharti Mittal, Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani have all voiced admiration for Modi — prompting Congress to draw a parallel with the German corporate sector’s fondness for Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. “The German corporate sector had a similar fascination with a gentleman who was at the helm of affairs there. The implications for the world at large were disastrous," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said recently.
AI eyes KFA’s check-in kiosks MUMBAI: National carrier Air India has shown interest in acquiring some of the self check-in kiosks of Kingfisher Airlines at the city’s domestic airport, weeks after private carrier Jet sought to take over some of the international and domestic routes of KFA, say airport sources. “Since Kingfisher Airlines is no longer operating, Air India has evinced interest in acquiring a few of its kiosks," sources at Mumbai airport told PTI. Air India is negotiating for taking over of six of the 18 kiosks lying unused due to the grounding of Vijay Mallya’s airline in October last year. Air India and Kingfisher had been equally using the 36 self check-in kiosks at the Terminal A. “Of these 18 vacant kiosks, Air India is negotiating with the airport operator to take over six," they said, adding that other airlines are also looking at a few of them. No-frills carrier GoAir, along with a few other carriers, is reportedly in negotiations with the Mumbai airport authorities for shifting its operations from Terminal B to Terminal A with an eye on the Kingfisher office space. Soon after the government had said in February that it was withdrawing both the domestic slots as well as the international flying rights of Kingfisher, Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways had approached the aviation ministry to buy six of them— four domestic and two international— from Mumbai. Besides operating on domestic routes, Kingfisher used to operate 35 weekly flights to Sri Lanka, 21 each weekly flights to the UAE and Thailand, 14 each weekly flights to Bangladesh and Hong Kong and seven each to Singapore, Britain and PTI Nepal.
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WORLD SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Woman doc sells newborn MOSCOW: A woman doctor at a
Mandela out of hospital
Thousands rally in Egypt
JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela
maternity clinic in Russia was detained by police when he tried to sell a newborn baby for one million rubles (around $32,000), police said. The incident took place in the southern city of Vladikavkaz. The woman was caught red-handed as she accepted the first half of the sum, 500,000 rubles from police who posed as buyers.
CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians
has left hospital after a 10-day stay during which the anti-apartheid icon was treated for pneumonia and will now receive “high care” at home, the South African government said. His release was decided “following a sustained and gradual improvement in his general condition,” presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
US not to ‘test’ N Korea’s cool
demonstrated across the country to denounce the president and purse the goals of the 2011 popular uprising. Today’s protests marked the fifth anniversary of the formation of the April 6th Youth Movement started in 2008 under former President Hosni Mubarak. Workers in Mahalla tore down a poster of Mubarak.
ARMED TO THE TEETH
Foreign diplomats stay put in North Korea
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A North Korean official checks the passports of a group of foreign diplomats and tourists as they board an Air Koryo flight to Beijing at the airport in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 6, 2013.
SEOUL: The US has delayed a ballistic missile test to avoid stoking tensions with North Korea, which has warned diplomats to consider evacuating from Pyongyang as a nuclear crisis brews on the Korean peninsula. The Pentagon’s disclosure that it would reschedule the intercontinental missile test due in California next week comes as the international community grows increasingly nervous that the situation could spiral out of control. A US defence official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel postponed the Minuteman 3 test at Vandenberg Air Force Base until next month due to concerns it “might be misconstrued by some as suggesting that we
were intending to exacerbate the current crisis with North Korea.” “We wanted to avoid that misperception or manipulation,” the US official told AFP. “We are committed to testing our ICBMs to ensure a safe, secure, effective nuclear arsenal.” North Korea, incensed by UN sanctions and South KoreaUS military drills, has issued a series of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war in recent weeks. It has also reportedly loaded two intermediate-range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in underground facilities near its east coast, raising the spectre it is preparing for a provocative launch.
oreign diplomats in North Korea appeared to be staying put Saturday, ignoring a warning by Pyongyang that they should consider evacuating their missions amid soaring nuclear tensions. Pyongyang had informed embassies it could not guarantee their safety if a conflict broke out as concerns grew that the isolated state was preparing a missile launch. But most of their governments made it clear they had no immediate plans to withdraw personnel, and some suggested the advisory was a ruse to fuel growing global anxiety over the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
China to safeguard the satefy of its citizens
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s the North Korea advised countries to consider evacuating their embassies in Pyongyang amid rising tension in the region, China today said it will safeguard the legitimate rights and business of its citizens.
AFP
The Elite Unit of the Brazilian Military Police pose under the Christ the Reedemer statue on Corcovado Hill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio will host matches of the FIFA Confederation Cup in June and the World Youth Day international Catholic gathering in July. CHRISTOPHE SIMON
N-talks: Iran worlds apart ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: Iran and world powers have failed to break the deadlock in the crisis over Tehran’s nuclear drive, with the EU’s top diplomat and chief negotiator saying the positions were still “far apart”. After two days of exhausting diplomacy in the Kazakh city of Almaty, no new date was agreed for the resumption of talks searching for an elusive breakthrough after more than a decade of tensions. “It is fair to say that Iran is willing to take very limited steps on its nuclear programme while expecting very significant results in return,” a senior US official said on Saturday.
“They put forward some minimal ideas but expected a great return and a quite disproportionate return.” Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili praised the talks as “comprehensive” but indicated that Tehran wanted to see more put on the table by the world powers to “gain the confidence” of the Iranian people. The world powers -comprised of the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany and known collectively as the P5+1 --had offered some easing of the sanctions that have hurt Iran’s economy in the past two years in return for Tehran accepting limits on its nuclear programme.
Corruption probe against Lula?
US trying to kill me, says Nicolas Maduro
French firm orders spiking Wiki report
BRAZILIA: Brazil has opened a probe into claims link-
CARACAS: Venezuela’s acting president Nicolas Maduro has accused former US officials Roger Noriega and Otto Reich of plotting to kill him to prevent his victory in next week’s presidential elections. Speaking at a televised campaign event on Saturday, Maduro said the plot also involved “right-wing forces” from El Salvador, which had already dispatched paid assassins to Venezuela to implement the plan. “Their goal is to kill me,” said Maduro, who had been designated by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez as his heir apparent. “They want to kill me because they know they cannot win free and fair elections.” A presidential election to replace Chavez, who died of cancer last month, will be held on April 14.
PARIS: The foundation behind Wikipedia has accused the French DCRI domestic intelligence agency of forcing a volunteer to remove an article because it was deemed to contain military secrets. The article on the free online encyclopedia, created in July 2009, dealt with a military radar station in Puy-de-Dome in southcentral France. The Wikimedia Foundation said it was contacted on March 4 by the DCRI, which said the article on the French language Wikipedia “contains classified military information and that publication of such information violates the French penal code”. “The DCRI demanded removal of the article in its entirety,” the US-based foundation said on its website on Saturday.
ing popular ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a corruption scandal, threatening to cast a shadow over his political legacy and future. The Public Ministry on Friday ordered police to investigate an alleged payoff by Portugal Telecom to the ruling Workers’ Party during Lula’s first term in office. Businessman Marcos Valerio Fernandes de Souza has said the former president and ex-finance minister Antonio Palocci negotiated a USD 7 million payoff in 2005 with the one-time president of a Portuguese phone company through an account in Macau. Fernandes de Souza received a 40-year sentence last year after he was found to have run much of the scheme that channeled cash to the ruling party.
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INTERVIEW SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Giving the gift of life Executive director of Heal a Child Foundation Rachna Mehta opens up about the journey so far. What is the objective of the organisation? AMY ROSE THOMAS
amyrose.t@postnoon.com
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aving the lives of more than a hundred babies, Heal a Child Foundation has had quite an eventful three years since its inception. Founded with the objective to provide medical treatment to children who need it, it also offers a helping hand to mothers who face medical complications during childbirth. Trustees of the foundation include media house executive Anil Kumar, fashion designer Asmita Marwa, vicepresident of Y-Axis Caroline Bradshaw, Rainbow Children’s Hospital’s Dr Dinesh Kumar, consultant paediatrician Dr Kiran Krishnamurthi, filmmaker Elahe Hiptoola, nutritionist Campos Bhatia, executive director of Gymboree Play and Music India Rachna Mehta and director and chief operating officer of Y-Axis Sabina Xavier. Executive director of the foundation Rachna Mehta opens up about the journey so far.
How did the idea come about? We are a group of eight friends who came together when Sabina Xavier brought up a case of a baby who needed help. It was a premature baby and had to be kept in an incubator for it to survive. With hospitals charging more than `20,000 for a single day, the child’s parents couldn’t afford the treatment. We decided to pool in money and help the child. However, by the time we could raise enough funds, the baby passed away. It was after this incident that we decided to found an organisation through which we could help babies in need of treatment at the time of their birth.
Each day, as many as 1,000 babies are born in the City and 100 of these babies need intensive and critical care support to be able to survive. Most of the times, since their parents can’t afford the expenditure for the treatment, these babies pass away. Our aim is to save as many babies as possible.
hospitals that are tied up with the NGO. Hospitals that have partnered with the NGO are Rainbow Hospital, Nice Hospital, Sunshine Hospitals and KIMS. Cases forwarded by Heal a Child Foundation are charged a nominal fee. We lay more emphasis on girl children since usually it is them who bear the brunt and parents are hesitant to spend `1 lakh on a girl child.
Former beauty queen Diana Hayden is your brand ambassador. How do you think having a celebrity on board helps the cause? In the beginning, when people were not aware of the foundation, Diana Hayden’s presence helped. After she became part of the trust, we got more people getting in touch with us for help. Not just the needy, we had corporate companies coming forward for a tie-up with the NGO.
WHEN PEOPLE WERE NOT AWARE OF THE FOUNDATION, DIANA HAYDEN’S PRESENCE HELPED. AFTER SHE BECAME PART OF THE TRUST, WE GOT MORE PEOPLE GETTING IN TOUCH WITH US FOR HELP. What are the criteria you follow before helping a family? We have two doctors on board, Dr Kiran Krishnamoothi and Dr Dinesh Chirala, who check the cases that we get. They are responsible for studying the case and do the necessary background check, after which the case is brought to the notice of the trustees. After the vote, if all the trustees approve, then we get in touch with the
Unlike other NGOs, you also host fashion shows and art exhibitions. Has getting involved in these activities helped the NGO? We organise three shows a year and the funds raised at these events go directly to the needy. All the events that we organised, including the fashion show and black-tie dinners, had huge turn-outs. Now, apart from the shows that we hold, we have other companies that organise charity shows and donate the money to us.
PICK YOUR
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How can a person reach out and help children in need through the NGO? Information about children who need help is given on the website http://heal-a-child.org One can go through these cases and provide them with support. We have also started a programme where one can donate `1,000 each month.
Across Stores
ities Twin C
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ART AND CULTURE SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Louvre gets a new leader
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Night Watch is back
rance’s Louvre museum is getting a new director — the man who is leading the restoration of its most famous Greek sculpture and has his hands in some of the institutions latest efforts to expand its reach. Jean-Luc Martinez, a French specialist in Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities who has worked at the Louvre since 2007, was appointed by President Francois Hollande for a three-year term.
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embrandt’s iconic masterpiece the Night Watch has been painstakingly returned to the main building of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum before its re-opening next month after a decade of renovations. Removing the priceless painting from a temporary wing and moving it to the main building Wednesday was an operation of almost military precision.
Love among the ruins
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rarely seen painting by artist Edward Burne-Jones is up for auction, 100 years after it was last publicly displayed. Love Among the Ruins, which shows two entwined lovers, is considered to be one of the finest works of the artist. The painting is especially poignant because the female model was Maria Zambaco, believed to be the artist’s real-life lover.
Playing with words Limitless. Spontaneous. Impromptu. From the sub-conscious. Personal. Spiritual. In togetherness, these independent words constitute freestyle rapping or poetry. Postnoon talks to a few freestyle artistes who gave us a glimpse of this limitless world. KANCHAN AGARWAL
kanchan.a@postnoon.com
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t is free flowing poetry, off the top of your head, provoked or inspired by all that is around you. It is not pre-conceived. It may or may not be free of style, meter or rhyme. As is suggested, this genre comes from the underground culture of hip hop. If you look harder, you will find small pockets of people in parks or parking lots, incessantly spurting words in poetic rhythm over music or a-cappella. “We call our street performances Cypher. It is a circle of rappers, beat boxers and B-boys. We stand in a circle and each has his turn to say. The rappers rap while the beat boxers are producing sound and
B-boys dance at the same time. We do it in parks. The kids always come around to watch. They are delighted by it,” says MC Wisdom Eternal a.k.a Aishan Vali. The point of it is to speak your mind freely on any topic thrown at you. Sometimes the flow is so uncontrolled that thoughts from your sub-conscious, which you did not know existed, find their place in the free flowing rhyme. Staying true to the hip-hop culture, unlike its given conventions of bling, sex and drugs, is reflected by these freestyle artistes. KRS One, an industry legend, in his track Hip Hop Lives, rightly says, “Hip means ‘to know’, it’s a form of intelligence. To be hip is to be updated and relevant. Hop is a form of movement. Hip and hop is more than music. Hip is the knowledge and hop is the movement. Hip and Hop is intelligent
Sometimes the flow is so uncontrolled that thoughts from your sub-conscious, which you did not know existed, find their place in the free flowing rhyme.
The intended meaning of art Interpretations may be many, but intentists question the very debate related to the meaning of artworks.
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ntentism is an art movement founded by Vittorio Pelosi. A relatively new ideology, Intentism deals with questions that have been around ever since art began to be made, i.e. that of authorial intent. The movement has, among its followers, artists, writers and philosophers from across the world. They believe that art can convey an artist’s intended mes-
sage to his or her intended audience. The three principals of Intentism state that the meaning of the work is found in the artist’s intention and not the interpretation of the viewer; a confused, hidden or denied intention leads to zero accountability; and an omission of artist intention can lead to enforced restrictions on the artist and even censorship.
The artistes in the movement include Adrian Haak, Govinda Sah, Julie North, Paisley Livingston and David Dodoukalo. The Intentists say that the movement recognises and celebrates the relationship between an artist's creation and its creator. The artists believe that although their artwork can have a complex meaning and be understood on a number of lev-
movement or relevant movement. What we have has real value. These lyrics have a different level of consciousness. It opens people’s minds. It is a rare sight,” says MC Wisdome Eternal. They have not confined themselves to the passersby in parks. Some of them, by virtue of being DJs, have given a taste of it by inserting these lyrics into the music. But it is not an everyday thing. To get a gig at a club, unlike the commercial DJs, they have to take care of promoting the event and bringing in audience. The world is their stage indeed but they too need to make money nonetheless. “We need some audience who is ready to step out of the stereotypical
mindset”, says MC Free Dome a.k.a Zeeshan. A platform such as Def Jam Poetry is needed but looks like they will have to build one for themselves. Because the likes of commercial hits of Pitbull and Lil Wayne are so common with the pub goers that these freestyle artistes are asked to compromise by mixing their work with the commercial music but that is never an option for them. Is it faith in the nature of masses or the honesty of their work, one cannot say but they are sure once exposed to it, the crowd will begin liking it. “When the number of listeners goes up, something like Def Jam Poetry will automatically happen,” says MC Wisdom Eternal.
ART FOR DUMMIES
els, there are definitely ways it can be misunderstood — therefore not all interpretations are equally valid. Intentist artists work in numerous ways, but at present there appears to be three areas that are of particular interest. Firstly, Intentists often celebrate the artist's intentions in the work by including the entire process of creating art in the final piece. Consequently, elements of every editing decision is left in. Although grounded in art theory, Intentism is primarily a practical arts movement. Vittorio Pelosi’s painting School of Postmodernism is one of the most famous images to emerge from the Intentism movement so far.
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FOCUS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
At
93,
Red Army veteran searches for lost French love
At 93, Nikolai Vasenin, a former Red Army soldier and Gulag prisoner who fought for the French Resistance in World War II, is searching for the love he says he lost 60 years ago in France. VASSENINE FAMILY ARCHIVE / AFP
Marina Lapenkova-Maximova
“H
er name was Jeanne.... A brunette, nothing special. But I must find her at any cost.” “I am 93, there is no reason to wait any longer.” Vasenin’s extraordinary nine decades of life have seen him captured by the Nazis, escape from German captivity, join the French resistance and then be arrested on his return to the Soviet Union. It is believed that Jeanne — the daughter of a top Resistance commander — is still alive but so far Vasenin has been unable to realise his final life’s mission of meeting her. Born in 1919, Vasenin was conscripted into the Red Army soon after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. On July 9, 1941, his regiment was encircled near Minsk, in present-day Belarus. Wounded, Nikolai — just like 400,000 other Soviet soldiers — was taken prisoner by the Nazis. Following a failed attempt to
escape from prison in Nuremberg, he was sent to a labour camp in the Drome region of southern France, which he managed to flee in October 1943 to join a group of Maquisards, rural fighters of the French Resistance. “I did not speak a word of French,” he told AFP by telephone from his home in the Urals region of central Russia. “The Maquis (resistance fighters) did not trust me in the beginning but after my first fight their attitude changed,” the old man recollects. Fairly soon, the young Russian became a commander of a 25-strong guerrilla detachment dubbed later “the group of Nicolas". Vasenin fought against the Nazis in the north of the Drome region, said the French journalist Laurent Brayard, who has worked on stories on the “Russian Maquis” for the Voice of Russia radio station. “The Maquisards had a strange way of fighting: before an operation, they were having coffee at home and coming back
HE WAS SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN THE GULAG “FOR TREASON” BUT WAS RELEASED EARLY AFTER A FEW YEARS — HE DOES NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN — AND CONFINED TO INTERNAL EXILE IN SIBERIA. AT THE END OF HIS PRISON TERM, NIKOLAI MARRIED ZINAIDA, A GEOLOGIST WHO VISITED THE MINE WHERE INMATES WORKED. at noon to have lunch," Brayard said. Through encrypted cables, the “group of Nicolas” was in contact with the British who were supplying the resistance fighters with arms. When Vasenin was wounded in the leg, his commander, Gerard Monot, took him to his
home where his daughter Jeanne, four years his junior, nursed him. When British-American troops arrived in September 1944, Nikolai had to go to Paris and appear before the Soviet mission’s general staff. “Before leaving, I asked Gerard for Jeanne’s hand," Nikolai recounted. The three had a tough talk as the “captain was categorically against”. The Russian had to go. “Probably, because I was poor,” Vasenin said. “And Jeanne... she was sad, but she was afraid of her father.” In the spring of 1945, just before the end of the war, Vasenin arrived in the Soviet Black Sea port city of Odessa where he was immediately arrested, in a cruel twist of fate suffered by many Soviet ex-prisoners of war. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Gulag “for treason” but was released early after a few years — he does not remember exactly when — and confined to internal exile in Siberia. At the end of his prison
term, Nikolai married Zinaida, a geologist who visited the mine where inmates worked. He was rehabilitated during the perestroika reforms under the USSR’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Since Zinaida’s death five years ago, the old man and father of three lives alone in a small apartment in Novoberezovsky, near Yekaterinburg. In 2005 he was made Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest decoration, after his story was made public for the first time. The only survivor of the Drome Maquis group, Vasenin said he will live at least until he sees Jeanne again. “Je t’aime” (I love you) are the only words he still remembers in French, but “it will suffice”, he said. Will his life have a fairytale ending? It remains to be seen. But his friends and relatives have already made contact with the French authorities in the hope of reuniting him with AFP Jeanne once more.
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FOOD SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Coffee with a warm heart
Croods at McDonald’s
The latest trend doing the rounds is ‘suspended coffee’. The idea was born in Naples, but has now caught on in US, Russia, Canada, Australia, Europe and parts of Asia. The goodwill gesture involves buying a ‘suspended’ coffee, which will be reserved for someone who cannot afford to pay for their own. The system is based purely on good faith.
RAJESH RAVINDRAN
rajesh.r@postnoon.com
W
hen you think of Punjabi dishes, what comes to your mind? Butter chicken? Or sarson da saag and makki ki roti? The thing is, Punjabi cuisine, just like its people and culture, is varied and colourful. I was surprised at the number of dishes that are on offer at the Punjabi food festival at Radisson Blu. Veggies and non-veggies: Truly, you are spoilt for choice here. There are no starters as such, but if you cannot do without, you may try the Amritsari fish fry. It’s a very popular Punjabi street food. The batter’s crisp and the flesh very tender inside. And the best part? There’s no smell when it cools a bit. Those familiar with the fish fry available on the streets here will know that when it cools a bit, it reeks a tad unpleasant, howling out to the world that you had it, hot or cold. That’s not the case with the Amritsari fish fry. One may be tempted to down quite a few while you sip your drink. Let me warn you: Don’t, for you risk the chance of not leaving enough space to gather the true taste of Punjab, which is not from one, but a manifestation in many. I have never tasted mutton made Punjabi-style and so I tried rahra ghosht. It was wonderful. It is mutton in kheema gravy. Now before you settle to say what’s so special, know this: the
Fish for long life
As part of its Happy Meal menu, McDonald’s is introducing a new range of toys — the Croods, a bunch of prehistoric nomads. The Croods movie recently released in the US to positive reviews. There are eight pieces, namely Macawniwore Croods, Punch Monkey Croods, Bear Owl Croods, Belt Croods, Mousephant Croods, Ramu Croods, EeP Croods and Grug Croods.
Older adults who have higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids — found in fatty fish and seafood — may be able to lower their overall mortality risk by as much as 27 per cent and their mortality risk from heart disease by about 35 per cent, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Washington.
PUNJABI CUISINE, LIKE ITS PEOPLE AND CULTURE, IS VARIED AND COLOURFUL. AT CHILL, YOU ARE SPOILT FOR CHOICE.
kheema had been left for marination for a day with spices and then made into a gravy with hung curd. Hung curd? “Curd is sieved through fine muslin and what’s left is something buttery retaining some aspects of curd; that’s hung curd,” said chef Santhosh Yadav, who was flown in from Punjab to anchor the show. I had this curry with Amritsari kulcha, which the chef claims has eight layers (it certainly did not look it, for it was soft and relatively thin), slow cooked in a tandoor. After trifling with palak paneer, the next show-stopper I found was pinde ke chole. Pind means village. So it must be something that’s very common
in the villages of Punjab. But there’s more to this than meets the eye, or shall we say tongue? Pinde ke chole is made by boiling chole with amla for long and then made into a hung curdbased gravy. But there’s a difference here. It’s a tad on the hotter side, but like that of the effect of
Where: Chill, Radisson Blu, Banjara Hills. What: Punjabi food festival. Price of buffet for one: `1,500 plus taxes.
pepper that takes a bit to settle, only palpable in a while. So those who wolf down their food will miss this subtle effect of pinde ke chole. Slow and chewy is the way. Next I tried maah ki daal. It sounds simple, it looks simple, but the process of making is not so simple. There’s black urad daal, Kashmiri rajmah, channah in it which serve time in the tandoor and then emerge to become what’s called maah ki daal. Most of these dishes have good amounts of ghee. Of course, it goes without saying. The reason is that Punjabi people were into farming and they needed the energy to toil in the fields. So when you indulge,
MOST OF THESE DISHES HAVE GOOD AMOUNTS OF GHEE. OF COURSE, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING. THE REASON IS THAT MANY PUNJABI PEOPLE WERE INTO FARMING AND THEY NEEDED THE ENERGY TO TOIL IN THE FIELDS. SO WHEN YOU INDULGE, REMEMBER TO SWEAT IT OUT SOMEHOW. remember to sweat it out somehow later . But the one dish I wanted to try very much was makki ki roti and sarson da saag. I have only had it twice before when a friend took me to a small Punjabi place and once at a friend’s place when her mother had come down from Delhi to visit her. It is amazing that such simple everyday ingredients could be made into something so spectacular. The saag I found superb. But the roti disappointed me a little. The thing is corn flour, which the roti is made from, has less adhesive strength; hence it is harder to make than ordinary roti. But when you serve on a large scale, pressing it into roti with your hand, on order, can be difficult. If you like vegetarian food more, there’s aloo gobhi, baingan bharta and bhindi masala. To do my job well, I did not leave any of these untasted and by the time I was done, I was stuffed… happily stuffed.
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FOOD SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 NT BALANARAYAN
Navratan Chutney Mango season special mango chutney! Noor’s Kitchen
SEASONS IN THE BAR
NOOR JAFRI
Seasons bar is a must visit if you’re in the mood to sit back and relax. NIDHI BHUSHAN
nidhi.b@postnoon.com
E
ntering a bar which has a band playing Alanis Morissette’s Ironic live in the background isn’t an everyday occurrence in the City. Usually, it’s the Ke$has and Taylor Swifts who are there to greet us and help us get into the groove of all things hot and spunky. Most bars cater to the young, who they believe are also the happening ones, and don’t really bank on professionals or even those who belong to the older sections of society. However, Taj Krishna with its Seasons bar treads the unbeaten path with finesse and class. A bar right in the heart of the hotel’s lobby, Seasons is an ideal place for those who wish to enjoy their drinks and snacks in peace. However, one shouldn’t confuse peaceful with an environment conducive only to those who visit to drink away their sorrows. The bar has got a lively, yet not over-the-top feel to it as well. The live band, comprising two singers, sets the tone of the bar — a laid back, yet fun
place to drink at. With cushy chairs and an open-air seating area, Seasons gets everything right — ambiance: check; selection of alcohol: check; snacks: check; crowd: check. The bar is also ideal for those who like sipping their poison on tall bar stools —alone or in company of friends. For a first-timer, the choice of alcohol can be a little overwhelming as there are two fat menus one has to choose from — wines and beverages. While Seasons boasts a huge wine selection — reds and whites, it also has the best in store from the whisky and cognac world. Old world wines like French JP Chenet Chardonnay 2009 (white) and JP Chenet Merlot (red) are also part of the wine selection that the bar so proudly terms as its USP. The variety extends to new world
Bottoms Up:
Where: Seasons Bar, Taj Krishna Must-have: White Lily Australian, Chilean and Indians wines too. The price of wines — red and white — ranges from `3,000 to `25,000 by the bottle and `7,000 to `80,000 in the champagne category. Coming to the whisky selection, popular among the local crowd that walks in, Seasons is home to rare whiskies like the Girvan 1964 — a 48-year-old vintage whisky and Johnnie Walker Blue Label KGV. Among the single malts, the Lagavulin (16 years), Glenfiddich (12 years) and Glenlivet (12 years) are sure to lure you to have a good time as well. The Seasons bar is also home to Remy Martin’s Louis Tres (XIII) cognac. Served at `18,500 per 30ml, the vintage cognac bottle has been displayed in the outdoor seat-
ing area. The cocktail selection, including signature cocktails, is also worth a mention. From champagne-based cocktails to whisky-based concoctions, the bar has something for everyone. However, based on the fact that regular cocktails are generally available everywhere, I would recommend you try their signature makes. Among them, White Lily (white rum, gin and triple sec), Fresh Pomegranate and Ginger Margarita (fresh pomegranate juice, muddled ginger and tequila) and Kiwi and Basil Martini (muddled basil leaves and kiwi fruit with gine) are must-haves. Seasons bar, unlike others, sticks to just finger foods that one can enjoy with drinks. Jalapeno and cheese poppers, corn and cheese tarts, Andhra-style Chicken Tikka and Paneer Peshawari are a few recommendations. While we vouch for the ambiance and experience at Seasons, if live music isn’t your thing, you can sit in the other part of the bar and enjoy the IPL matches. Cheers!
NOM NOM AT CHOPSTICKS Rajesh Ravindran
STREETSIDE VIEW
rajesh.r@postnoon.com
I
have passed Chopsticks scores of times, but never once did I feel I must step in. For the first two years in this City my dinner had been Chinese from “bundies” at unearthly hours and as time passed by I made a conscious effort to avoid it — tasty though it is, I found it heavy and sometimes gave me problems the next morning. So, when this great foodie friend of mine took me to Chopsticks on the Srinagar Colony main road, I confess, I was worried. Fantastic and affordable it may be, the risk remains of your run-
ning a gauntlet later. And it’s hardly Chinese now with our folks tweaking the fundamentals. The place looked crowded as we walked in, but we got a table. It may not look posh, it’s not fancy, it’s not sprawling, but Chopsticks has something to it that makes people
brave the heat outside and inside, and eat there. “It’s been there for more than two decades, you know,” said my friend. We ordered the garlic chicken and szechuan chicken noodles. The food came and we helped ourselves. At Chopsticks, there are no chopsticks; we ate with spoons. It was good, because there were no deliberate efforts to bring Indianness to Chinese by an excess of red chilli powder or any other spice. We finished our meal and collected a parcel of chilli chicken for our friend in office and left. A day later I asked her how it was. “Very good,” she said.
Ingredients Quantity n Raw mangoes 6 n Pure refined jaggery 4 tbsp n Dry dates (soaked and cut into thin strips) 3 to 4 n Raisins 1 tbsp n Kalonji 2 tsp n Dry red chillies (cut into small pieces) 4 to 5 n Garlic (clean and cut into small pieces) 1 full pod n Salt to taste n Malt vinegar 1 tbsp Procedure n Peel and grate the mangoes, add chopped garlic, kalonji and salt. n Cover it and cook it on a slow fire for a while. n Add the soaked date strips, raisins and red chilli pieces. n Let it cook for a while. n In the last add melted jaggery and malt vinegar. n Again cover and cook for a while. n Mix it as per the required consistency and switch off the gas. n Can be bottled in a jar when cooled. Chef’s Note: n It’s a sweet and sour pickle and is a speciality of mango season. n It has all nine ingredients with nuts and raisins and hence called ‘ Navratan ‘ chutney. Best served with puri and samosas. Contact us @ Noor kitchen Mobile + 91 9441282318 Residence + 91 40 23356947 Like us @ https://www.facebook.com/Noorkitchen
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HISTORY SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
April 8
April 8
April 9
April 9
April 9
1974: Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's legendary record of 714 homers. A crowd of 53,775 people was with Aaron that night to cheer him.
563 B.C. : Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, thought to have lived in India from 563 B.C. to 483 B.C.
1865: At Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War.
2009: The Honda FCX Clarity, a four-door sedan billed as the planet's first hydrogen-powered fuelcell vehicle intended for mass production, wins the World Green Car award at the New York Auto Show.
1947: The town of Woodward, Oklahoma, is nearly wiped off the map by a powerful tornado on this day in 1947. More than 100 people died in Woodward.
April 14 1912: Just before midnight in the North Atlantic, the RMS Titanic fails to divert its course from an iceberg, ruptures its hull, and begins to sink. Four days earlier, the Titanic, one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
April 9
April 10
April 10
April 12
April 13
2005: Nearly eight years after Princess Diana's death in a car crash was mourned the world over, Prince Charles, her widower and heir to the British throne, weds his longtime mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles.
1942: The day after the surrender of Luzon to the Japanese, 75,000 Filipino and American troops captured on the Bataan Peninsula begin a forced trek, known as the Bataan Death March.
1972: As part of his first visit to the United States in 20 years, British film pioneer Charlie Chaplin accepts an honorary Academy Award for his "incalculable" contribution to the art of filmmaking.
1961: Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space.
1997 : Tiger Woods, 21, wins the prestigious Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes in Augusta, Georgia. It was Woods' first victory in one of golf's four major championships.
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SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
FLORAL FAD
Mom & Me event hosted by Neha Gupta and Neha Gandhi was a huge hit among their friends. Dressed in floral print, ladies were seen having a blast at the do.
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SHOPAHOLICS’ DELIGHT 1
Ladies turned up in droves at the Ugadi special exhibition and sale organised by Akriti Elite at Taj Deccan. 2 4
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1 Pavani Khurana
3 Shobha, Mili
2 Anchal, Rita
4 Shilpa, Lavanya
1 Sonal
5 Shalini
2 Bhavana, Sonia 3 Neha Gupta,
6 Manisha 7 Poonam
Neha Gandhi 4 Gulshna
8 Sweta 9 Sharadha
Health talk
A seminar aimed at helping senior citizens to better understand joint pain and arthritis management was held by Dr K Sudhir Reddy at Chutneys, Kukatpally on Saturday.
Striking it rich
First three winners of twenty — 20 contest organised by TVS Motors were declared at Hotel Fortune Manohar.
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CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Mahesh Babu to sport a new look, again!
A BIG LEAP FORWARD Bhavna Ruparel, who will soon be seen in Sukumarudu, talks about switching from public relations to acting, being Sonakshi Sinha's cousin and adapting to the new career. HEMANTH KUMAR
hemanth.k@postnoon.com
A
cting in front of the camera isn't a new experience for Bhavna Ruparel. Before she found her true calling, she had modelled for Farex, appeared in a Ken Ghosh's music video and did supporting roles in Naa Tum Jaane Naa Hum and Jogger's Park. After graduation, she joined a top talent management agency in the country where she began her stint as a public relations manager, before she changed her mind and made the big switch. “I was doing quite well in my job, but a conversation with Kitu Ghosh, a friend of mine, changed my life. When I began taking about my work, he asked me if this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I think I always had a wish to get back to acting and that conversation gave me a big push. I was overweight and by the time my debut film Chal Pichchur Banate Hain released in 2012, I lost nearly 20 kgs,” Bhavna reveals. Last year, prior to the film's release, she was perennially under the shadow of her cousin Sonakshi Sinha which shot her to limelight. Despite all that, the film bombed at the box office. How did she react to that? “I thought it was a good project to start my career and I was not really disappointed. Every film has its own fate and it was a good learning experience. I am here for the long run,” she says, brimming with confidence. Ask her about Sonakshi
F
or the past four years, Mahesh Babu has been experimenting a lot with his looks and now we hear that he has undergone a major transformation for his upcoming film in Sukumar's direction. Buzz is that he's going to show off a toned body, a feat which surely is bound to make a big splash since the star has never done it in his career so far. “the last 3mths have been really challenging,.as ul know I've been training with Kris Gethin who i consider d best trainer in d world. i took up his DTP challenge n achieved it:) transformation complete..im sure u all will like my new look :):) (sic),” he posted on Twitter. He's currently shooting for the film and this schedule will go on for the next few days in Hyderabad. Kriti Sanon is his co-star and Devi Sri Prasad is scoring the music for this untitled film which will release later this year.
and pat comes the reply, “I am very proud to be associated with her. She's very successful in her career and I love what she does.” The transition from her earlier career to acting has been surprisingly quite smooth for Bhavna. So what's the toughest part of the whole process? “Toughest part is being yourself when you say the dialogues. It's a feeling which I can't put in words and in that state, it's quite easy to get carried away and try to be someone else,” she confesses. She's all set to make her debut in Telugu in G Ashok's upcoming film Sukumarudu. “I had a great time working in this project and it was an honour to share the screen and learn a lot from senior actors like Krishna, Sharada and Rao Ramesh. I play an important role in the film and I must say all three of us —Aadi, Nisha Aggarwal and me got along very well on the sets,” she reveals. The excitement for her new found love is quite palpable and she says, “Everyday, I wake up to practice my craft. I am taking it up with a lot of excitement and I am pretty sure of what I want to do. I love my job.”
I never thought I would act: Anisha A
fter spending most of her life in Orissa, Anisha Ambrose moved to Vizag few years ago to complete her post-graduation in finance and later she took up a job at Dell. It's been two years since she graduated and all of a sudden she has found herself leaving behind her dream of becoming a communications expert to take up acting. “Honestly, I never thought I would act and everything happened all of a sudden. While I was working at Dell, I had got few modelling offers and it so happened that producer Neelima Tirumalasetti spotted my portfolio and offered me a role in Areyrey,” Anisha Ambrose reveals. So how did her parents react when she got the offer? “My father has been a pillar of support for me. Although they
were quite reluctant initially, my father was totally convinced that I am in safe hands after he met Neelima. There was a lot of time left before Areyrey would take off and Neelima offered me the lead role in her other production Alias Janaki as well,” she reveals. So how was the first day on the sets of Alias Janaki? “Initially I was quite nervous, but the entire team pampered me so much that it felt like home by the time shooting began,” Anisha says. Alias Janaki, Anisha contends, is not a regular romantic film. “It's a love story between two people who are quite different from each other. All I can say is that it's not the kind of romantic film which we would have seen in the past,” she reveals.
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CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Ranbir is very special: Anurag Basu
Have to be physically fit, cautious for action scenes:
A
F
ilmmaker Anurag Basu, who is re-teaming with Ranbir Kapoor for a biopic on Kishore Kumar, believes that the young star is the perfect choice to bring alive the versatility of the legendary singer-actor on-screen. Ranbir and Basu earlier worked together on the hit film Barfi. The 30-year-old Wake Up Sid actor is currently busy with two back-to-back movies so Basu is planning to begin shooting the biopic by next year. “Ranbir is very special. We share a special bond and it is not me only. He is great friends with other directors too. He is easy going, effortless, a team person and surrenders himself completely to the script and the director. He is not too much in love with himself which I think is a rare thing in an actor,” Basu PTI said.
nil Kapoor admits that doing action sequences has become tough for him but the 53-year-old industry veteran says he has not given up and is training hard to keep fit and fight the goons. Kapoor flexed his muscles during 90s in many of his films including Rakhwala, Meri Jung and Insaaf Ki Awaaz among others. With Tezz, Race 2 and his upcoming release Shootout at Wadala, he is back in action space. “Today it gets difficult to do action scenes as I am not young. So physically I have to be much more fit and stronger. As there is a possibility of me getting hurt more. The flexibility becomes lesser, the metabolism becomes slower and the bones are little weaker,” Kapoor said. “I have to work hard and be extra cautious. And sleep well before I go for shoot. Earlier there was a time when I used to not sleep properly and go on sets and do action but today I can’t afford that. So I have been mentally alert. I have to act my age,” he said. PTI
Good actors are finally getting work:
Manoj Bajpai M
anoj Bajpai is a busy man these days. After the success of Gangs of Wasseypur and Special 26, he is coming up with two films this year and the actor believes it is a good time for people like him in the industry. The 43-year-old’s Shootout At Wadala is ready to hit the screens while Prakash Jha’s Satyagraha is currently being shot. “When I got recognition with Satya, I used to do one film a year. There were not many new ideas and new directors. I kept fighting my battle in a world of commercialism and formula film. It was a long battle but things are changing now. Many great actors are getting good work now,” Bajpai PTI said.
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CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
MAKING FILM FEARLESSLY SETS INDIA APART:
MAHESH BHATT T erming the current scenario in Indian cinema as “a very very exciting phase”, leading filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says the freedom to make movies “fearlessly” sets Indian cinema apart from Pakistan and/or Bangladesh. “What separates India from Pakistan or Bangladesh is that we have had free space — We have been allowed to make the kind of movies fearlessly. “Yes we have had our share of problems but we have fixed it and we have always tried to broaden..not gone out of the prison... but at least made the prison cell a little broader. The bars are still there but there is more space between the two rods,” Bhatt said at an interaction organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here. Bhatt is known for making critically acclaimed movies like Saaraansh, Arth and Zakhm. Speaking on the challenges and way
ahead for Indian cinema, Bhatt feels the industry needs to shift gears from “medieval” line of thought and respond to social variables. “The new cinematographic act is being discussed as we speak. There is also some kind of sensitising we need to do in the industry. The film industry also needs to go away from its old medieval mindset and respond to the change that’s taken place in the country. “There is a new kind of energy which is demanding that you are more responsible to the social change that is taking place so I think it’s a very very exciting phase,” Bhatt said. Bhatt also laid emphasis on the need to raise voices to protect the right of free speech and expression at a national level. Slated for a May 10 release Aashiqui 2, Bhatt’s next venture as a producer, will revisit his 1991 directIANS ed hit Aashiqui.
`NO BIG DIFFERENCE IN
BOLLYWOOD, SOUTHERN FILM INDUSTRY’
T
aapsee Pannu, who has made her Bollywood debut with David Dhawan’s Chashme Baddoor after starring in almost 10 southern films, says she doesn’t find any major difference between the two industries, except for the language. “Work culture... there also I finish a film in 50 to 60 days and this one (Chashme Baddoor) also we finished in 55 days. There, we have professional stars who come on time, but here also we used to reach the sets by seven,” Taapsee said Friday at the announcement of the association between her film and clothing brand Lawman. “So I didn’t feel any other difference besides the language. Let’s see in future, I hope I have a long way to go here,” she added. In her career of three years, Taapsee has done Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She is already shooting for four other IANS films in the south.
Esha excited about club song with Imran
A
ctress Esha Gupta, who recently shot a special number for Punit Malhotra’s Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, says it is not an typical item song. “I am looking forward to this song. It’s a club song and it’s not a typical item song. It’s a very peppy song, which is a kind of introduction to Imran’s character in the film,” Esha said. Esha sports a “cool” look
in the song, thanks to a short skirt designed by Manish Malhotra, and she believes “he makes any damn thing looks cool”. The actress says she had a great time working with Imran, “Imran is a great guy. I had a great time working with him. I would really like to work with him in films,” she said. The female lead of the film IANS is Kareena Kapoor.
CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
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CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
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CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
MADONNA
VISITS SICK CHILDREN, IN MALAWI
P
op star Madonna visited a children’s ward in a hospital in Malawi Friday (April 5), but her visit to the African nation has also stirred up controversy. Madonna and her children — including David and Mercy, whom she adopted from Malawi a few years ago — have been in Malawi this week visiting several projects Madonna has helped fund through her charity Raising Malawi. On Friday, she spent time with children and doctors at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, the country’s biggest city. Malawi’s president, however, has criticised the singer for her work in building classrooms for children, saying she “insulted the people” by not getting government approval before starting construction on the schools, the Daily Mail reports.
McConaughey to work in Interstellar
H
KELLAN LUTZ
NABS A ROLE IN HERCULES 3D D irector Renny Harlin has found his Hercules in Kellan Lutz Lutz, one of the more popular co-stars of The Twilight Saga, has signed to star in Hercules 3D, Nu Image/Millennium’s bigbudget take on the Greek demigod. Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2) is directing the $70 million epic, which is aiming to shoot in May in Bulgaria. “It takes more than a good physique to portray the most legendary, mythological personality in history
— and Kellan has exactly that, personality,” Harlin tells The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s not afraid to explore the strengths and vulnerabilities of the character, and he impressed me with his passion and heart.” The movie is one of two high-profile Hercules movies being made by Hollywood studios; the other is an MGM/Paramount co-production to be directed by Brett Ratner. Dwayne Johnson is playing the hero in the rival project.
ollywood actor Matthew McConaughey will star in Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi film Interstellar, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The timetravelling movie is said to be inspired by the scientific theories of relativity expert Kip S Thorne, a theoretical physicist, gravitational physicist and astrophysicist at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The movie’s plot will centre around a group of space explorers who travel through a wormhole in a bid to put the scientific theories to the test. McConaughey will play the hero, a man called Cooper.
26
CHAI TIME SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
SUNDAY CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Marshal’s star 6 Gnat 11 Mata Hari portrayer 16 Fend off 21 Typical 22 Kitchen wear 23 Best possible 24 Festive occasions 25 Leitmotif 26 ‘Bye Bye Bye’ band 27 Torah reciter 28 Sticks 29 Broadcast 31 At dawn 33 Montand of movies 35 Pool hall item 36 Trap 37 Camel halts 38 Shrink’s reply (2 wds) 39 Mediocre grades 40 When Paris sizzles 41 Really impressed 42 Saddle part 44 Decided on 47 Tent dweller 48 Huntley or Atkins 49 Accustomed to 53 Spyglass part 54 Half-woman, half-bird 55 Where heather grows 56 Doctor’s manner 57 ‘Wheel of Fortune’ buy (2 wds) 58 Adar or Elul 59 Dogpatch cartoonist 60 To boot 61 Famous Khan 62 If absolutely necessary (3 wds) 64 Blows it 65 Neighbor’s kid 66 Term paper abbr (2 wds) 67 Foolish talk 68 Teen event 69 Attila’s horde 70 Sears rival 71 Affirmative 72 Green dip 74 Gaze at 75 ‘A Boy — Sue’ 78 Mousse alternatives 79 Dampen a stamp 80 Hooded pullovers 84 Pointed arch 85 Roughen from cold 86 Telephone device 87 House pet (2 wds) 88 Ex-Bruin Bobby — 89 Transvaal trekker 90 Bona — (genuine) 91 Pack animal 92 ‘Ben- —’ 93 Place to eavesdrop 95 Treadmill unit 96 Noted absurdist 97 Admirer 98 Jukebox verb 99 For fear that 100 Tongue-lash 101 Drop by 102 Apparel 104 New Mexico’s flower 105 Cave dweller 106 Geological formation 109 Pouches 110 Dock foundation
111 Siddhartha 115 Home page addr 116 Close 117 Feels like 118 Zero altitude (2 wds) 119 Cutting, as a remark 121 Avoids animal products 123 Neck scarf 125 Cutthroat or rainbow 126 Lightweight quilt 127 Rust away 128 Type of surgeon 129 Beethoven dedicatee 130 Steel plow inventor 131 Aquarium scavenger 132 Poplar relative 133 Actress Winona — DOWN 1 Flat-topped hill 2 Pallid 3 Oater showdowns 4 True grit 5 Lift up 6 Vicar’s residence 7 — dixit 8 Put in a kiln 9 On vacation (2 wds) 10 Boxed up 11 Damsels 12 Call it — —
13 CSA defender 14 Play nanny (hyph) 15 Director — Stone 16 Cpls’ bosses 17 Prize marble 18 Mad Hatter’s guest 19 Clear as mud 20 Slalom runs 30 Pique 32 Alert color 34 Spookiest 37 Zing 38 Centurion’s route 39 PC ‘brains’ 41 Value 42 Hit the malls 43 Cancel 44 Assert 45 Auburn tint 46 Shaquille of the NBA 47 Mrs Reagan 48 Admits to 50 Gaucho’s rope 51 Psychic — Cayce 52 Bought and sold 54 Beeps 55 Toast-topper 56 Lesage hero Gil — 58 Stuck in the mud 59 Gator kin 60 ‘Rule Britannia’ composer
63 Check endorser 64 Memorable decades 65 Greater part of 66 Polishing agent 68 Logger’s commodity 69 Pawn 70 Temple city of Japan 72 Equipment 73 Nursery rhyme trio 74 — nous 75 Secluded corners 76 Jibe with 77 Oscar-winner as Sophie 78 Clarified butter 80 Put on the line 81 Throbs 82 Hawaiian island 83 Swagger 85 Frisky 86 Dump, so to speak 87 — Khan 89 Pedro’s mouth 90 It may be shaken 91 Coalitions 94 Juno, in Athens 95 Clothing category 96 Enters the password 97 Scathingly 99 Dais prop 100 Seedless raisin 101 High jumper
103 Soft purples 104 Yang complement 105 Moo companion 106 Ruminated 107 Banks of the Cubs 108 Perform a glissade 110 Committee 111 Advance in age (2 wds) 112 Steer clear of
113 Verdun’s river 114 Shorten, maybe 116 Bone-dry 117 Desert streambed 118 Sensitive, as a subject 120 ‘The,’ to Wolfgang 122 Tibetan gazelle 124 Piece of China PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
27
CHAI TIME SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
STAR POWER Date 8-4-2013
As per Hindu panchang
THIRUVAIKUMAR
thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in 040-27177230 / 9949870449
TAURUS
GEMINI
A peaceful atmosphere will prevail at workplace. Try and ensure that you do not hurt others by expressing opinions in a wrong manner. Never let emotional matters or tension dominate you.
Businessmen will be successful in their new plans to attract more customers. You will be able to meet old friends after a long gap and enjoy their company. Marriage of family member likely.
Increased expenses might upset your financial position. But you will manage all issues well as your self-confidence and boldness. Changes in the planetary situation might create tensions.
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
Problems in ancestral property will disappear. Debt problems might surface but financial support from friends and relatives will help you come out. Children’s adamancy might upset you.
Businessmen do well and achieve profits proportionate to efforts put in. A new friendship will blossom with a nice person which will benefit you. Employees likely to face more work burden.
Blood relatives will extend support as per your expectations. Employees earn recognition from the management with hard work. Avoid luxurious items as expenses will force you into debts.
LIBRA
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
Women need to maintain calm and adopt patience to avoid misunderstanding within the family. You will act swiftly and complete all difficult tasks undertaken as fast as possible.
Happy events to take place in the family; they will bring cheer to all. You plan to save for future by monitoring expenses carefully. Take care of spouse’s health as there is a chance of a problem.
You get help from women friends to your surprise. Debt-related issues might haunt. Businessmen advised to defer fresh investments for some time. Be careful with close associates too.
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
You need to guide children with patience and ensure that they come out of bad habits unscathed. Spouse’s cooperation will keep you in good spirit. Employees likely to be overworked.
You will change your attitude and get co-operation of others to get uncompleted and delayed works done. Share your concern with family members and take a combined decision in all issues.
Suggestions and advice to family members as well to close relatives will bring desired results and earn appreciation. Influx of visitors will keep the atmosphere charged at home.
SUMAA TEKUR
tarotreadhyd@gmail. com
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
King of Swords – You enjoy the epicurean delights that you ignored for so long. Go out with likeminded friends and give your senses something to enjoy.
Eight of Swords – Pay attention to research. Do background check before you commit to anything. Even if you think you know something, double check.
Eight of Pentacles – There is some confusion about how things are progressing. You wonder if you have been controlling a thing which was never in control.
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
The Chariot – You’ve been away from the limelight for some time now. You’re ready to come back and those around you are relieved with your decision.
Knight of Wands – You’re feeling distressed over something and need to talk it over. Even if this person doesn’t have a solution, talking will clear your head.
Page of Cups – There are many masks that people wear all the time to suit different occasions and situations. Don’t trust everything you see.
LIBRA
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
Ace of Pentacles – You may need a shift in focus at the work place to identify the problem. Step back, review the big picture and then consider your action.
Temperance – If someone, especially a close family member or friend, is mocking your style of working, don’t let it affect you. Just continue to do what you believe in.
Queen of Wands – pay attention to your dreams as they hold the key to the reason you are here and the reason fate has put you in this choice of work. Write down.
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
Two of Cups – You feel tongue tied every time you are with your partner. You need to find a way to communicate clearly, without making yourself harsh.
The Star – You discover new ways of doing the same old thing, or you might also find new things to do. This opens up new career choices for you.
Knight of Swords – Summer cleaning in your house is in order. De-clutter to feel good about your living space. It will also make your mind feel energised and fresh.
NON SEQUITUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE POOCH CAFE
STRIP TEASE
AGNES
ARIES
TAROT READ Date 8-4-2013
Thoughts worth pondering over n A person who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world. n A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with bricks others have thrown at him. n All I want is a warm bed, a kind word, and unlimited power. n An unemployed jester is nobody's fool. n As soon as I get some grip on reality, I'm going to choke it. n Aspire to inspire before you expire. n Bad decisions make good stories.
n Beware of the letter 'G'! It is the end of everything! n Bread is square. Why is sandwich meat round? n By the time a man realises that maybe his father was right he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. n Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection... again. n Could you call sweat "workman's condensation"? n Every time I hear that dirty word, "exercise," I wash out my mouth with chocolate.
Vol: 2, No 261 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 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211
28
CINEMA SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Jane Got A Gun has a new bad guy B radley Cooper is poised to join the cast of Jane Got A Gun, stepping in to play the bad guy role that Jude Law exited shortly after We Need To Talk About Kevin helmer Lynne Ramsay‘s abrupt exit. Cooper joins Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton in the film that Warrior helmer Gavin O’Connor took over. As Deadline revealed exclusively, the cast and crew found out the morning of the first day of shooting that Ramsay had withdrawn from the film. They managed to keep the crew and cast from scattering until they could set O’Connor. Then Law exited, because he wanted to work with Ramsay.
Tom Hanks, DiCaprio up for Gorbachev T om Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev will be collaborating on HBO film Gorbachev, chronicling the last years before the Soviet Union's fall. Hanks and DiCaprio will both be taking on executive producing roles. John Shiban (Hell on Wheels) is penning the script. Per Deadline, the film came together via DiCaprio's relationship with the famous leader; Gorbachev had appeared in his documentary 11th Hour. Jennifer Killoran, Gary Goetzman and Keith Addis are also signed on as executive producers. No word yet on casting.
JESSICA CHASTAIN
boards del Toro’s Crimson Peak
G
uillermo del Toro is finalising the guest list for his haunted-house thriller Crimson Peak as Jessica Chastain is final negotiations to co-star in the Legendary Pictures movie. She joins Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam with Guillermo del Toro set to direct. Plot details are unknown at this time as del Toro and Lucinda Coxon work through a rewrite on a script del Toro and Matthew Robins originally penned. Legendary will produce and be a participating financing partner on the movie, with Universal Pictures retaining an option to finance at a later date. The film is set to begin shooting in February 2014. Crimson Peak will reteam Chastain with del Toro, who executively produced the horror film “Mama,” in which she starred. Since receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance in Zero Dark Thirty, the only other project Chastain had committed to was the adaptation of Miss Julie.
29
SPORTS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Zou victorious on debut
Estrada dethrones Viloria
MACAU: China’s Zou Shiming said he was
MACAU: The young Mexican Juan
eyeing up a world title after he won his debut professional fight on Saturday, defeating little-known Mexican Eleazar Valenzuela on a unanimous points decision in Macau. The two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time amateur world champion emerged from a tight contest over four rounds, all three judges giving him victory 40-36. Zou reportedly pocketed $300,000 for his night’s work.
Francisco Estrada (R in pic) claimed the WBO and WBA flyweight world titles in Macau on Saturday with a split points decision victory over reigning champion Brian Viloria. Estrada, at 22 a decade younger than his Filipino-American opponent, was in front on two of the judges scorecards to claim a fully deserved win over the scheduled 12 rounds. He improves his overall record to 23 victories against two defeats.
Promoter: China the future MACAU: Boxing was banned in China under Mao Zedong because it was deemed too Western and too violent. But if top promoter Bob Arum gets his way — and he usually does — the country will be the future of the sport. “For any serious business person... it’s a country of 1.4 billion people and it’s a country that’s emerging economically to be a real super power,” said Arum, founder and chief executive of Las Vegas-based Top Rank promotions.
National Mania for outsider Aurora Katie Walsh could not realise her hopes of becoming the first woman rider to win the greatest steeplechase in the world.
LIVERPOOL: Ryan Mania won on his first ride in the Grand National here on Saturday just two years after giving up riding as he guided outsider Auroras Encore to a shock victory at Aintree racecourse. The 23-year-old Scottish jockey gave a perfect ride to the 66/1 chance — trained by Sue Smith wife of former leading showjumper Harvey — who beat home Welsh duo Cappa Bleu (12/1) and Teaforthree (10/1) while the 2011 runner-up Oscar Time was fourth. Auroras Encore — who won by nine lengths — was a local win as one of the three owners Jim Beaumont is Liverpool-born and started his working life as a bellboy in the upmarket Adelphi Hotel. In a memorable race 17 of the 40 runners finished and most importantly for the racing authorities the reforms to the race after four fatalities in the past two years there were none in this renewal. Mania seized his chance when Teaforthree hit the last after looking set to give Wales their first win in the race since Kirkland in 1905. He was never in trouble after
Lorenzo on pole in Qatar LOSAIL, QATAR: World
Auroras Encore ridden by Ryan Mania goes over the water jump during the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, on Saturday. AFP/ ANDREW YATES that as Cappa Bleu, fourth last year, ran on to rob Teaforthree of second while Cheltenham Gold Cup winning amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen produced another fantastic ride to take fourth. “He gave me a dream ride, he’s brilliant. I had the choice of two horses to ride, I wasn’t sure which one to go for,” said Mania. “He loved every second of it, just class — he was second in the
Scottish National last season. He made a couple of little mistakes then learned from them.” Sue Smith said that everything had colluded to give her runner every chance. “You can ride him anywhere, anyhow, the ground was in his favour, he had no weight, Ryan gave him a fanstastic ride,” she said. Husband Harvey added:
“That was absolutely spot on.” Asked how this compared to his show jumping days the 74year-old told Channel 4: “You’ve got to look forward so this is the best, but unfortunately we’re all getting older.” However, he was less sure about whether it would improve their marriage. “We’re a bit antiquish for that aren’t we!”
champion Jorge Lorenzo (above) will start on pole for Sunday’s season-opening MotoGP in Qatar after the Yamaha rider topped the times in qualifying here on Saturday. Spain’s Lorenzo grabbed the 52nd pole of his career and his seventh at Losail, edging out Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, runner-up to Lorenzo in last year’s world championship title race, in third. Crutchlow led for much of the session before Lorenzo produced a quickest flying lap of 1min 54.714sec. “It’s great to finish in pole position, especially knowing Cal was extremely fast over one lap,” Lorezno told the sport’s official website motogp.com. “When he did a 54.9, I didn’t think it would be possible to beat it, but I put in everything I could and did a very good lap. “So we’re in pole position and have a good advanAFP tage for tomorrow.”
Lin says stereotypes held him back LOS ANGELES: Jeremy Lin (jersey 7 in pic) says he felt a sense of bigotry towards him when he wasn’t offered a US college scholarship despite being one of California’s top players in his final high school year. “Well, I think the obvious thing in my mind is that I was Asian-American, which, you know, is a whole different issue but I think that was a barrier,” Lin said. “I mean it’s a stereotype.” Speaking to the American news programme 60 Minutes, Lin says he likely would have been given a basketball scholar-
ASKED IF NBA TEAMS PASSED ON LIN BECAUSE HE WAS ASIANAMERICAN, NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN SAID, ‘I THINK IN THE TRUE SENSE THE ANSWER TO THAT IS YES.’ ship to a major university if he wasn’t Asian-American. The 60 Minutes show on Saturday released clips of the
interview. The starting point guard for the NBA’s Houston Rockets, led Palo Alto High School to a 32-1 record and a state championship. Lin was named northern California’s divison two player of the year. Asked by CBSNews.com if NBA teams passed on Lin because he was Asian-American, NBA commissioner David Stern said, “I think in the true sense the answer to that is yes.” Lin eventually made his way to New York where the Knicks signed him as a reserve player whose job was to come into the AFP game off the bench.
30
SPORTS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
Arg, Serbia likely to clash PARIS: Argentina lead France 21 in their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie after David Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos came from behind to win Saturday’s doubles. French duo Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra took the first set but Nalbandian and Zeballos fought back to clinch the match 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-3 to give the hosts the upper hand ahead of Sunday’s reverse singles. The teams were all square after Argentine Juan Monaco had levelled the tie following JoWilfried Tsonga’s victory over Carlos Berlocq on Friday. Monaco is set to face Tsonga in the opening singles on Sunday, with Berlocq up against Gilles Simon. “Tomorrow the match remains very open. We’ve got the advantage, we’ve got to get just one point, while they need two. Both singles will be very competitive. We’re leading, let’s hope we can win,” said Argentine captain Martin Jaite. “Horacio and David were excellent. It was a lovely day with a really important victory. We’ve got a real Davis Cup team.” “We wanted to put our teammates in the best possible posi-
Argentina’s captain Martin Jaite (C) is embraced by Horacio Zeballos (R) and David Nalbandian (L) after they defeated France’s Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau in their Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal doubles tennis match tion for Sunday but we didn’t succeed,” said Benneteau. Serbia took a major step towards trying to reach the semi-finals by outlasting host USA in a marathon five-set victo-
Park continues her domination
RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA: - South Korea’s Inbee Park (in pic) extended her lead to three shots after shooting her second consecutive fiveunder 67 in the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Kraft Nabisco Championship on Saturday. The 24-year-old Park finished
just shy of the tournament’s 54hole scoring record as she reached a 12-under-par 204 total at the Mission Hills Country Club course. “I think I played really good the last few years, but I just didn’t putt that well,” Park said. “This week, I’m reading the breaks really good and the putts are rolling in. “We had a similar wind as yesterday so it was easier to judge.” Park’s best finish in this event was a ninth in 2008. She is aiming for her fifth LPGA Tour title and second major championship. American Lizette Salas carded a three-under 69 and remained alone in second place at minus-nine. Salas, who tied for 46th in this event in 2012 has three top-10 finishes in her last four starts, but is still looking for her first LPGA Tour victory.
ry in Saturday’s doubles of their Davis Cup tie. Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic shocked the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 4-6,
15-13 to give Serbia a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five tie heading into a pair of Sunday’s reverse singles matches. World No. 1 and reigning Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic can send Serbia into the semis with a win Sunday over American Sam Querrey, who is ranked 20th in the world. The 25-year-old Djokovic has captured two ATP Tour titles in 2013, winning 19 singles matches and losing just two. Earlier this year he claimed his sixth grand slam title by beating Andy Murray in the final of the Aussie Open. Querrey has a 13-7 record this year with no titles and has lost five of six career meetings to Djokovic. Djokovic beat Querrey in their most recent contest 6-0, 7-6 (8/6) last month in Indian Wells, California. Serbia defeated the 32-time titlist Americans 3-2 in Belgrade in an opening-round tie three years ago in their lone previous Davis Cup encounter. In a match that lasted four hours, 23 minutes Saturday, the Serb duo jumped out to a two set lead before the Bryan brothers AFP battled back.
Davis Cup Results Canada 2 Italy 1 Andreas Seppi (ITA) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 5-7, 46, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 Milos Raonic (CAN) bt Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 Saturday Daniel Nestor/Vasek Pospisil (CAN) bt Daniele Bracciali/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 15-13 Sunday Milos Raonic (CAN) v Andreas Seppi (ITA) Vasek Pospisil (CAN) v Fabio Fognini (ITA) USA 1 Serbia 2 Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt John Isner (USA) 7-6 (7/5), 62, 7-5 Sam Querrey (USA) bt Viktor Troicki (SRB) 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Saturday Nenad Zimonjic/Ilija Bozoljac (SRB) bt Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 4-6, 1513 Sunday Sam Querrey (USA) v Novak Djokovic (SRB) John Isner (USA) v Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Serena routs Venus CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: Serena Willia-
ms (in pic) crushed her sibling Venus 6-1, 6-2 to reach the final of the Family Circle Cup in the most lop-sided match of their WTA Tour careers between the American sisters on Saturday. In the first match between them in four years, Serena needed just 54 minutes to send Venus packing. Serena dominated from the opening serve against Venus who had eight double faults and won just 27 percent of her second serves. Venus even had trouble with Serena’s 70 mph second serve which was considerably slower than Serena was serving in her quarterfinal match on Friday. Serena will get a chance to go for her second straight Charleston crown and third overall when she plays the final against Jelena Jankovic who defeated Stefanie
Voegele 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 in the other semi-final Serena said she is handling pressure better now than she did in the past. “I will never change who I am. I am passionate, I get angry, frustrated but not as much,” Serena said. “As long as I know how to bring it back and not take it too far, US
Open-style, then I can stay calm.” Serena said she was fortunate to be back in good condition and not struggling with health issues like Venus, who has an ongoing battle with Sjogren’s Syndrome — an auto-immune disorder that can cause AFP fatigue.
America’s Horschel leads at Texas Open SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Billy Horschel, who is seeking his first career PGA Tour victory, posted a two-under 70 to maintain a two-shot lead after the third round of the Texas Open Saturday. Horschel, who would also get an automatic berth into The Masters with a win in San Antonio, finished 54 holes at 10-under 206.
Horschel had to battle some windy conditions on Saturday. “It was a good round,” Horschel said. “I felt I hit the ball pretty well. With this wind you have got to stay patient. I did a good job of that so overall it was a good day.” Jim Furyk carded a three-under 69 to move into a tie for second place, and two-time
major winner Rory McIlroy remained in the hunt by posting a one-under 71 to get into a tie for fourth. Furyk is joined at eight-under 208 by Charley Hoffman who shot a 70. McIlroy is tied with two others at six-under 210. That group also comprises Ryan Palmer (68) and Bob Estes (69).
McIlroy said if he can just clean up some inconsistencies in his game he has a shot at a victory on Sunday. “It wasn’t a very good bunker shot at the last,” he said. “It could have been a couple of shots better but I am still in a decent position going into the last day. Hopefully I can AFP make a run at it.”
IPL 6
31
BATTLE OF THE TITANS
METRE
6 S 36
FLASH
Delhi Daredevils’ Unmukt Chand has been reprimanded after he violated article 2.1.1 of the Code of Conduct for a breach of paragraph 4.2 of the IPL Clothing Regulations, during his team’s Pepsi IPL match against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
David Warner (DD) 98 runs
S Narine (KKR), U Yadav (DD) 4 wickets
Was nervous at start of my innings: Dravid
C
It’s not easy to be out of match practice for 10 months especially when one is on the wrong side of 40 and by his own admission Rahul Dravid was a “bit nervous” at the start of his innings during Rajasthan Royals’ Pepsi IPL match against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday. “Probably I did not expect to be batting for so long,” Dravid said when asked about his knock of 65. “I have not played an IPL game since last May. It has been almost 10 months and although you practice a lot, you don’t know what to expect. I was really nervous and worried at the start of my innings. But as the innings progressed, it felt comfortable and it was one of those days when it clicked for me. This innings gives me confidence as it is nice to do it PTI early,” Dravid said.
P
W
L
T PT
NR
SRH
1
1
0
0
2
1.100
KKR
1
1
0
0
2
0.511
RR
1
1
0
0
2
0.250
MI
2
1
1
0
2
0.175
RCB
1
1
0
0
2
0.100
DD
2
0
2
0
0 -0.403
CSK
1
0
1
0
0 -0.403
PW
1
0
1
0
0 -1.100
KXIP
0
0
0
0
0
0.000
P-played; W-win; L-lost; T-tie; NR-net run rate; PT-points
C Gayle (RCB), D Warner (DD), K Pollard (MI)
5 4S 124
David Warner (DD)
13
HIGHEST SCORE
SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
92*
Chris Gayle (RCB)
BEST BOWLER
4-13
Sunil Narine (KKR)
1-man teams to do battle SYED SHOAIB
shoaib.s@postnoon.com
O
ne has come after winning a close-fought match (with a victory margin of two runs) against the formidable Mumbai Indians, and the other was victorious over the not-so-successful Pune Warriors India in a low-scoring affair, but both have their confidence soaring. But Royal Challengers Bangalore and hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad will both be looking at improved performances from their other players, for both have been heavily dependent on just two players, Chris Gayle and Deyle Stene. So what if one is the world’s best Test bowler three years running, and the other, the best batsman in the shorter versions of the game. The day the law of averages catches up with these players, their teams will have a very sorry tale to tell. Secondary support is of great importance in a team
SRH VS RCB AT 8PM ON SET MAX game and plays an important role in the consistency factor. Where Gayle scored 92 runs in the team total of 156, the second best was a distant 24 by Virat Kohli. Not having a substantial contribution from the others
SCORECARD RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS DELHI DAREDEVILS
nearly cost RCB the match. So was it with SRH, with Stene being their pick of bowlers while defending an unimpressive 126 they managed to score while batting first. If it were not for the three wickets he picked up at a miserly rate, SRH would most certainly have ended up losing their debut match. However much one might
look at big names in the two teams like Tillakaratne Dilshan, Cheteshwar Pujara or Virat Kohli in the RCB squad, and Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra or Darren Sammy, it still is going to be a contest between Gayle and Stene. The winner of this eagerly awaited contest might well belong to the winning side on Sunday.
Daunting task for Pune
MUMBAI INDIANS VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Rajasthan Royals innings (20 overs maximum) MDKJ Perera† c Pathan b Yadav14 (12) AM Rahane c & b Nadeem 28 (24) Dravid* c Jayawardene b Yadav 65 (51) STR Binny b Yadav 40 (20) BJ Hodge c Warner b Yadav 5 (7) K Cooper c Yadav b Nehra 2 (2) AL Menaria b Nehra 1 (2) S Sreesanth not out 0 (0) R Shukla not out 1 (2) Extras (lb 3, w 6) 9 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 165 Bowling O M R W Econ IK Pathan 4 0 31 0 7.75 A Nehra 4 0 35 2 8.75 UT Yadav 4 0 24 4 6.00 AD Russell 3 0 31 0 10.33 S Nadeem 4 0 22 1 5.50 J Botha 1 0 19 0 19.00 Delhi Daredevils innings (target: 166 runs from 20 overs) DA Warner run out (Hodge) 77 (56) U Chand b Sreesanth 23 (19) Jayawardene* c Rahane b Shukla 19 (16) MC Juneja c Hodge b Cooper 20 (8) AD Russell b Cooper 7 (6) J Botha lbw b Cooper 2 (3) IK Pathan not out 1 (1) NV Ojha† 0 (1) Extras (lb 5, w 6) 11 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 160 Bowling O M R W Econ S Badree 4 0 34 0 8.50 S Sreesanth 4 0 18 1 4.50 SK Trivedi 4 0 35 0 8.75 K Cooper 4 0 30 3 7.50 R Shukla 3 0 27 1 9.00 STR Binny 1 0 11 0 11.00
Mumbai Indians innings (20 overs maximum) Ponting* c Ashwin b Rajpoot 6 (10) SR Tendulkar lbw b Nannes 0 (1) KD Karthik† lbw b Bravo 37 (25) RG Sharma c †Dhoni b Bravo 8 (10) AT Rayudu c Nannes b Laughlin 7 (10) KA Pollard not out 57 (38) DR Smith c Bravo b Ashwin 3 (5) Harbhajan Singh not out 21 (21) Extras (lb 3, w 6) 9 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 148 Bowling O M R W Econ DP Nannes 4 0 18 1 4.50 AS Rajpoot 3 0 25 1 8.33 DJ Bravo 4 0 44 2 11.00 B Laughlin 3 0 25 1 8.33 RA Jadeja 2 0 12 0 6.00 R Ashwin 4 0 21 1 5.25 Chennai Super Kings innings (target: 149 runs from 20 overs) MEK Hussey b Harbhajan Singh 20 (23) M Vijay b Patel 5 (8) SK Raina c Ponting b Johnson 10 (7) DJ Bravo c †Karthik b Ojha 10 (17) S Badrinath lbw b Ojha 16 (16) MS Dhoni*† c Pollard b Patel 51 (26) RA Jadeja b Patel 16 (11) R Ashwin c Pollard b Harbhajan Singh 2 (5) B Laughlin b Pollard 0 (1) AS Rajpoot not out 2 (6) DP Nannes not out 0 (0) Extras (lb 1, w 6) 7 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 139 Bowling O M R W Econ MG Johnson 4 0 22 1 5.50 MM Patel 4 0 29 3 7.25 Harbhajan 4 0 31 2 7.75 PP Ojha 4 0 16 2 4.00 KA Pollard 4 0 40 1 10.00
Rajasthan Royals won by 5 runs
Mumbai Indians won by 9 runs
G.APARNA SAI aparna.s@postnoon.com
K
ings XI Punjab are set to play their first game in the sixth edition of the Pepsi Indian Premier League. They are to play Pune Warriors India today on the latter’s home turf. The Kings will hope to begin the event on a positive note by clinching victory against the Warriors. Kings XI Punjab skipper, Adam Gilchrist, would find it tough to select the playing XI as the side does poses superb talent in the form of David Hussey, Azhar Mahmood, Piyush Chawla, Parvinder Awana, Dimitri Mascarenhas among the others. Pune on the other hand did
not have the start they would have wanted in this season’s IPL as they ended up losing their first match to the Surmisers Hyderabad team on Friday. The Pune bowlers did a splendid job to restrict the Surmisers to a paltry score of 126 for 6.
PWI VS KXI AT 4PM ON SET MAX But their batsmen fumbled and failed in their endeavour of chasing that target. The Warriors had ended last on the points table in the previous edition of the IPL. If they hope to put up a better performance this season, then they will have to improve their performance in all departments.game.
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SPORTS SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
City still United’s equals says Mancini
Five-star Madrid make light work of Levante
Man United are 15 clear of Man City in the Premier League. Alec Kennedy
victory on enemy territory would at least partially ease the pain of surrendering the title and prove they can hold their own against the champions-elect. “To win 6-1 is impossible," Mancini said. “This can happen every 100 years. But we don’t deserve to stay 15 points behind United. “They play well, they win a lot of games, the last time they lost was at Norwich (in November), so they deserve to stay on the top. “But it is not a true table. Now we have eight games left. If we play well, we win a lot of these games, maybe we can reduce this gap. This should be our target. “I don’t know at this moment
MANCHESTER, UK: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insists his team will use Monday’s derby to show they are still Manchester United’s equals even though the Premier League title is destined for Old Trafford. With United 15 points clear of second placed City, Mancini has been forced to concede his side’s reign as champions is all but over. Yet there is still plenty to play for at Old Trafford, with United looking to move closer to confirming their title triumph and City desperate to inflict a bloody nose on their bitter rivals. City supporters will never let United fans forget their 6-1 win at Old Trafford last season and another
what my approach will be. To play there is difficult but there is not a big difference between us and them." With the title gone, Mancini has set his sights on finishing second place and winning the FA Cup — his team face Chelsea in the semi-finals at Wembley next Sunday. City could kick off against United just two points clear of Tottenham, while Chelsea have still not given up hopes of finishing league runners-up. “We want to get the second place," said Mancini. “We know we have another eight games to play, against United, away against Tottenham. “The next three weeks will be very hard because we play every three days. The next three weeks will be crucial for second place.”
Vucinic’s Juve double trumps Pescara Leaders Juve had the going very tough against heroic Pescara. Justin Davis
MILAN: A brace from Mirko
Juventus’ forward of Montenegro Mirko Vucinic celebrates by taking off his shorts after scoring a penalty during their match on Saturday. AFP
Vucinic helped Juventus to a 2-1 victory over a heroic Pescara and a 12-point lead over Napoli in Italy’s Serie A on Saturday. Four days ahead of a crucial Champions League quarterfinal second leg at home to Bayern Munich, Juventus — with 59 goals boasting the league’s best attack prior to this fixture — were up against the league’s bottom side, who had shipped 61 in 30 games. And the loss of defenders Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, through suspension, and ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was suffering from flu, never looked likely to give the visitors any hope of scoring an upset.
Under attack throughout, Pescara had ‘keeper Ivan Pelizzoli to thank for keeping a clean sheet until Vucinic scored from the penalty spot on 72 minutes. The Montenegrin added a second minutes later, however the hosts were pegged back by a superb 25-metre drive from Emmanuel Cascione which sailed over the flailing arms of Marco Storari and into the net on 83 minutes. Juve coach Antonio Conte expressed his relief that his side had come through unscathed: “It was the typical cursed game. Pelizzoli was tremendous so coming away with all three points is certainly a bonus." With Bayern on the horizon
Saturday results Juventus 2 (Vucinic 72, 78) Pescara 1 (Cascione 83) Bologna 2 (Kone 65, Guarente 86) Torino 2 (Barreto 25, Bianchi 90+4) Sunday fixtures Fiorentina v Milan (1030 GMT), Catania v Cagliari, Sampdoria v Palermo, Siena v Parma, Udinese v Chievo (all 1300), Inter v Atalanta, Napoli v Genoa (both 1845) and Vucinic in fine form having missed most of the first leg through flu, Conte added: “It was important for him to score today, especially given we have Bayern to play in midweek."
MADRID: Gonzalo Higuain scored a goal of the season contender as Real Madrid kept up their pursuit of Barcelona with a 5-1 win over Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu. The visitors had taken a shock lead through Michel just after the half-hour mark, but their lead only lasted five minutes as Higuain swivelled brilliantly to volley in Xabi Alonso’s cross. Kaka then put the hosts ahead before the break from the penalty spot and Cristiano Ronaldo (above) made the game safe with his 29th league goal of the season six minutes from time.
Winning always breeds confidence and this is the thought that we always have to have in mind. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid forward “I don’t believe in miracles, it could be possible but it is very difficult," Ronaldo told reporters afterwards on Madrid’s chances of retaining their title. “As it is we have to win to gain confidence for the Champions League and the cup. “Winning always breeds confidence and this is the thought that we always have to have in mind." Indeed with their upcoming quarter-final return-leg against Galatasaray Jose Mourinho rested Ronaldo from the start and made six other changes to the side that beat the Turks 3-0 on AFP Wednesday.
Vuvuzela-wielding spectator chases referee JOHANNESBURG: A spectator tried to attack the referee with a vuvuzela as 10-man leaders Kaizer Chiefs drew 0-0 at Golden Arrows Saturday in the South African Premiership. The incident occurred during the first half after Chiefs midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane was harshly red carded for a foul, and the match
official moved swiftly to avoid being struck by the plastic horn. Slow-reacting security men eventually dragged the intruder from the Moses Mabhida stadium pitch in Indian Ocean city Durban and the game continued before a 30,000 crowd. Vuvuzelas sprang to prominence during the 2010 World
REPRESENTATIONAL PICTURE
Cup in South Africa with many spectators enjoying the noisy atmosphere they created while TV commentators battled to be heard about the din. It was not a good day for the match officials as a Chiefs goal was wrongly disallowed for offside and Arrows had a genuine penalty appeal for handball ignored. Chiefs moved to 52
points with five matches left, seven more than Platinum Stars and eight above title-holders Orlando Pirates, but both rivals have matches in hand. Platinum walloped lowly Black Leopards 4-0 in northwest mining town Rustenburg. Mid-table Pretoria University came from behind to defeat AmaZulu 3-1.