Epaper 21 july 2013

THE HOT CITY B

udapest has the most number of thermal springs than any capital city in the world, giving birth to a bathing culture that dates to the times of the Roman Empire. The Hungarian capital is also a capital of contradictions: It houses buildings that are embodiments of Roman architecture, Turkish baths, Gothic churches, Baroque museums and Viennese coffee houses. If you are headed there to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix, you must check out these places, too.

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Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

JULY 21, 2013 HYDERABAD

UNARMED POLICEMEN MAKE SOFT TARGETS FOR TERRORISTS REPORT ON PG 4

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ON SUNDAY Cyberabad policemen can only watch as heavily-armed terrorists become the norm. Armed with just canes, our police force is woefully under-equipped to handle this modern day existential threat.

AJAZ WILLING TO GO SOLO

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ctor Ajaz Khan was in the town to walk the ramp for designer Sumit Das Gupta at India Fashion Street Season 2.

The actor, who is known for his negative roles in popular films, spoke to Postnoon about his upcoming films, how he is focusing more on doing solo roles and his bond with Salman Khan.

PG 22

INSIDE THE MIND OF YELETI

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ntrovert, thinker or genius... call him whatever you want, Chandrasekhar Yeleti, the director of films like Aithe and Anukokunda Oka Roju, has kept us guessing about everything he does. He tells Postnoon about his journey so far, what happens behind the scenes and what he learnt while making Sahasam.

PG 11

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PAGE TWO SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Tribal art exhibition

AMALGAMATION OF DANCE & DRAMA

Kalakriti Art Gallery presents Dots and Dashes, a Gond tribal art exhibition, curated by Rati Khemka Malaiya.

Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills When: On till July 28, 11am to 7pm Contact: Kalakriti Art Gallery on Facebook

Theory on music by Hyderabad Western Music Foundation.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara hills When: Till Aug 3, 11am to 2pm Contact: 2329 9779

Go Global

Get a taste of food from around the world, from Europe and the Mediterranean to North Africa, America, the Caribbean and Asia!

All this and much more at the Square.

Where: Novotel Airport, Shamshabad When: February 11, 6.30pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000

Theatre workshop

Theatre workshop for children in the eight years and above age group. It offers a rich mix of outdoor theatre activities, readings, analysis, discussions and performances.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara hills When: Till Aug 3, 10am Contact: 2329 9779

The Open Couple

71 MM Production is organising playwright Dario Fo’s The Open Couple. The 60-minute play is cowritten by Franca Rame and is being directed by Faraz Khan.

Donor pass costs `100 and tickets are available on Book My Show.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: July 30 and 31, 7.30pm Contact: 9848023379

French drama

Alliance Française presents TOMBOY, a French drama film released in 2011 written and directed by Céline Sciamma. Free entry – open to all.

Where: Alliance Française of Hyderabad When: July 24, 6:30pm Contact: +91 40 23554485/86

A confluence of classical dance forms were presented by Kiranmayee and Himansee at Telugu University Auditorium, Nampally on Saturday.

State of the Art

Just for fun

Voyage of exploration, a collection of paintings, drawing and sculptures by students of MFA programme 2013 from Sarojini Naidu School of Art & Communication, University of Hyderabad is on.

Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills When: Till July 25 Contact: +91 40 23554485/86

Aerobics

History of India Viritten will be performed by stand-up comedian Vir Das. Where: N-Convention, Madhapur When: July 27 Contact: 8790432354

Where: Kebab-E-Bahar, Taj Banjara, Banjara Hills When: On till July 28 Contact: +91 40 6676 9999 Ext:

Wiz Kids

South Asia's largest interschool fiesta is coming back to rock schools in the City. You can meet the Hyderabad Horlicks Wizkids at the Sathya Sai Nigamagamam.

Where: Sathya Sai Nigamagamam, Srinagar Colony When: July 23, 1:30pm Contact: Moumita Das at +919177620919

Ramzan special

Relish the season special iftar delicacies at these venues.

Where: Viva, Taj Vivanta When: Till Aug 7, 5.30-11.30pm Where: Deccan Pavilion, ITC Kakatiya When: Till Aug 7, 7.30pm onwards

Mime performance

Where: Green Park hotel, Ameerpet When: Till Aug 8, 6.30-10.30pm

Kebab-E-Bahar

Taj Banjara presents Sizzling Kebab food festival at Kebab-E-Bahar.

CINEMAS

Have fun while you burn calories at this aerobics workshop.

Where: Colorama printers, Begumpet When: Till July 26, 4.30-6.30pm Contact: 2373 0328

1807; Santanu on 9295001511

Music theory

As a result of a 20-day mime workshop, organised by Indian Mime Academy, here is an attempt by mime conucted Madhu to hold this mime performance, which is a rendition of stories created during the workshop.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: July 21, 7pm

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, JULY 21, 2013

Edu workshop for minorities

Air passenger dies on flight

Man killed by RTC bus

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n air passenger suffered cardiac arrest mid-air and later died even as the Bangalore-bound aircraft made an emergency landing at Hyderabad airport here Saturday, an official said. Uttam Singh, on the New Delhi-Bangalore flight, complained of chest pain. The pilot alerted the air traffic controller at Hyderabad airport and was allowed to land.

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tate Minorities Commission has organised one-day State-level workshop on Educational Scholarships for Minorities and Banking Schemes on July 22 at Indira Priyadarshini Auditorium, Public Gardens from 10am to 2pm. The workshop is being organised in co-ordination with NGOs and heads of institution, said chairman Abid Rasool Khan

armesh, 26, a labourer, was killed in an accident when an RTC bus knocked him down on Saturday night on RP Road, Secunderabad. He was standing on the roadside when a speeding RTC bus fatally knocked him.

He was shifted to hospital but he died.

Mahankali police have registered a case against the driver and are investigating.

Venkaiah outlines poll plank BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu said that development and good governance will be the main planks in the agenda of BJP’s election campaign for the 2014 General Elections.

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JP senior leader Venkaiah Naidu said the main goal of the party was to ensure fruits of development reach all sections of the people in the State.

Stating that the BJP has chalked out several programmes for campaigning for 2014 elections, he said he was entrusted with the responsibility of ‘mass campaign’ by the party. Rallies would be conducted across the country pinpointing the failures of the Congress-led UPA Government. “We would also explain to the people about the development achieved in the Congress-ruled and BJP-ruled States. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would address the rallies in selected places in the country.” The mass campaign programme would kick-start in the State with ‘Nava Bharath Yuva Bheri’ meeting to be held on August 11 in Hyderabad.

Naidu said Lok Sabha constituency-level conventions would be held apart from mobilising support of intellectuals

and overseas supporters. The objective was to reach the people up to the bottom level, he added.

Reacting to the claim of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a recent Assocham meeting that the UPA government had a track record of development, Venkaiah Naidu asked the PM whether unprecedented corrupt practices, alltime low rupee depreciation, five per cent GDP growth rate, deficit current accounts, increase of Naxalite activity and a series of terrorist attacks were the track record of the UPA government.

Replying to a question about lifting of CBI case of illegal assets filed against Mulayam Singh Yadav, he quipped it was common to the Congress government. The Congress was notorious in using CBI against its political opponents, he added.

Welcoming the SC verdict debarring convicted political leaders from contesting elections, he opined that political leaders, who were not in custody, should be exempted from it. NSS

Was it fratricide?

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olice are reportedly searching for TDP MLA Erra Sekhar, suspected in the murder of his brother Jaganmohan. Sekhar went underground soon after his brother was murdered. Police have reportedly sent teams in search of the MLA. Jaganmohan was shot dead by unidentified persons on Wednesday near the Devarakadra bus station.

His wife, a candidate in the Sarpanch elections, expressed suspicion about the MLA, stating that he threatened to kill her husband if she did not withdraw from the election.

Police got a wind that the MLA was in Bangalore.

Police are trying to find out if he is holed up there or staying in some relative’s house in Hyderabad. It is not sure if it was to misguide the police.

Police are also inspecting various weapons held

by VIPs, MLAs and former MLAs. Usually all weapons are surrendered before the police during election time.

Delhi gang dupes City medicos of `30L Gullible doctors in Hyderabad fall for the trap of a Delhi gang that put out advertisements claiming to arrange for paid medical seats.

Mohd Subhan

post graduation and they did not mind paying for it.

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MODUS OPERANDI

mohd.s@postnoon.com wo City medicos have been relieved of `30 lakh by a Delhi gang that promised them post graduate seats in medical colleges.

The matter came to light after the victims lodged a complaint with the Bowenpally police station. But the police are making no headway as the crime happened in Delhi and the City police must seek the help of the police station concerned which is a bureaucratic exercise.

The victims are identified as Dr Surjan Kumar and Dr G Satyam, 30, both residing in Bowenpally, Secunderabad. They were trying to secure seats for

Both the doctors saw advertisements in newspapers in June that claimed to help in securing medical seats. The advertisement was inserted by one Venugopal. He claimed that he could get post-graduate seats in a Meerut medical college on the basis of some notification he’d concocted. Both the doctors got him on mobile phone and Venugopal assured them the seats could be theirs if they pay up. The duo went to Delhi and met the man, who assured them he would get them medical seats in Shruti medical college in Meerut on a concessional rate.

The City doctors returned and went back with the amount.

They were accommodated in a five-star hotel. The cheat brought in one Bhatnagar, who was introduced as the director of the medical college and in his presence, the money was handed over to Venugopal. Only after paying the money did they enquire about the college and they realised with a shock that neither was there a college in that name nor a Bhatnagar as its director.

Police now have no idea if that man was indeed Venugopal.

“He could have assumed a name and printed business cards, who knows?” said a police officer.

However, process has begun to take the co-operation of Delhi police to nab the culprit.

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CITY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

No weapons for Cyberabad cops Cyberabad policemen can only watch criminals making good their escape in such an eventuality as they have only canes and no arms. Sorry state of affairs in a hi-tech City.

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RECENTLY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS SOUGHT `5 CRORE FROM THE CENTRE TO PROCURE NEARLY 800 WEAPONS, INCLUDING SLRS AND INSAS.

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ity cops on duty without weapons, unbelievable as it may sound.

Unbelievable but true.

All these days, most of the police stations under the Cyberabad Commissionerate were using the long-outdated .303 rifle of the British era! However, a few months ago, even these were taken away on the plea that these rifles were supposed to be replaced with self-loading rifles (SLR) and INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifles.

“Since the .303 rifles are not self-loading and are heavy, they hinder movement during critical manoeuvres, especially antiNaxalite operations. On the other hand, SLRs are self-loading and give them (cops) a tactical advantage. While Naxalites have been using sophisticated weapons, the police force was still doing with the weapons of the British era. So it was decided to replace the weapons,” a senior police official told Postnoon.

Currently barring inspectors, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, policemen of the 41 police stations in the

Cyberabad police station possess no firearms. In each police station, there are approximately 100 constables. Even after the Dilsukhnagar blasts, the Saroornagar police did not have

any weapons.

Currently, the Cyberabad Commissionerate is taking the help of the Andhra Pradesh Special Battalion Force to guard government establishments. The

AUTO PROTEST

AITUC autorickshaw drivers’ union members held a dharna in front of Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd in Basheerbagh on Saturday, demanding that CNG gas be supplied to autos as per their requirement.

Special Protection Force (SPF) has been set up by the State government for the security of vital installations and industrial units. However, because of the shortcomings of the police force,

there is an increasing demand for the APSPF. According to sources, recently the police department has sought `5 crore from the Centre to procure nearly 800 weapons, including SLRs and INSAS. The police department also ordered for 100 tear gas guns, 50 .22 rifles and 300 VL pistols.

Since 2002, the police have been trying to upgrade themselves with equipment but so far, not many police stations have the mandatory arms. “It’s really a sorry state of affairs,” said a retired inspector-general.

When contacted, the Cyberabad Commissionerate officials refused to divulge any information, expect for stating that very soon all the police stations will be equipped with seven .62 SLRs.

Dacoit gang nabbed, `60 lakh recovered T he Alwal police nabbed a 10-member dacoit gang which committed dacoity of `1 crore, and recovered `60 lakh and some vehicles from the gang.

According to the Cyberabad police commissioner, the principal accused, Anvesh, was working as a technical analyst in his uncle’s firm when one Jayanthi approached him. She gained his confidence and promised to get him gold at a cheap rate. She took the money, but did not give him the gold.

A furious Anvesh decided to steal the money back from her. He sought the help of nine other youths and waited for a chance.

One of his co-accused, Radhakrishna, closely monitored Jayanthi. While watching her, he discovered that she was in the process of conning another person. The complainant, Bachu Venkat Kumar, a realtor in Rasoolpura, met Jayanthi who told her she could arrange for five kg of gold at a cheaper rate. Kumar and his friend agreed to buy five kg for `1 crore and paid an advance of `7 lakh.

Radhakrishna alerted the rest of the gang about the development and they planned their theft. On February 25, Anvesh found out that the deal would happen at the house of one Satyanarayana Sastry in Khanojiguda under Alwal limits.

Jayanthi arrived at the house and the complainant, who was carrying `1 crore in cash, also showed up. While they were waiting for the person who expected to

THE PRINCIPAL ACCUSED WAS CONNED OF SOME MONEY BY A WOMAN, JAYANTHI, AND DECIDED TO ROB HER TO GET THE MONEY BACK. come there with gold, Anvesh and his associates barged into the house and threatened the complainant and others with country-made pistols and knives and took away the cash.

However, the police recovered cash of `60 lakh, two vehicles purchased with the stolen money worth `1.5 lakh each, a pistol, knives and three vehicles used in the commission of offence by the accused.

However, one of the accused, Kailash Singh, is absconding and property is yet to NSS be recovered.

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READERS’ LETTERS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

A new entrant

No more Modi versus Rahul Gandhi debates. There is a new entrant to the field, if our State politicians are to be believed. A section wants to promote Chandrababu Naidu, the original development-oriented CM, for the post of prime minister. completely agree with PL Srinivas. What he said was absolutely true. We really need leaders like Nara Chandrababu Naidu to lead our nation. He has done enormous public service for the development of the State. He

is a great competitor to Modi.

Modi is not a match for Naidu.

I request Srinivas to convince Naidu to plunge into national politics and become PM.

I Don't point fingers Our piece on women feeling unsafe on public transport had a reader write in, asking us not to blame the police. While we agree that the small task force is not enough to protect everyone, we ask this: Who then can we turn to? n my opinion, we should not always criticise the government or police on this.

Hyderabad is such a large city and there is a very meagre police force to look after it. They cannot provide round-the-clock vigil. They are already busy escorting VIPs, looking after bandhs and rallies. It’s more of a moral problem than law and order. Only thing government can do is create a dedicated unit for this purpose. Even women should avoid taking cabs and private buses when they are alone. I do not intend to offend any women but that is the bitter reality.

MD JAFFAR AHMED

via email

t’s a great idea. In fact, much before Modi came to politics, it was Chandrababu Naidu who practised development politics. Naidu can be a national challenge to the BJP if proper support is given to him by political parties and

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Down the drain

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SUBBU,

via email Read the report at http: //postnoon.com /2013/07/18/ no-safety-on-public-transport/135963

his is a very thought-provoking article for those who consider water as a precious commodity in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. In fact, it is a wake-up call for GHMC which should stimulate the government to view the matter objectively; and evolve a longterm strategy to harvest rainwater and arrest the trend of allowing waste water — originating in residential and commercial establishments — onto the streets, to go down the drains, particularly during the rainy season.

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PROF CBV SUBBARAYUDU

via email

ainwater harvesting in Hyderabad is a failed project for the public, but it is a better commercial project for GHMC officials.

R

THIRUMAL

Via email Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/07/18/ rainwater-harvesting-in-hyderabad-a-failed-project/135992

Real estate wrap-up Our Friday real estate spreads are a hit with residents looking for new areas to move into. Some also pointed out problems with the places we mentioned. Uppal and Nanakramguda are some of the spots in the City that were featured.

3 crore per acre. But in east (Hyderabad), they are available for `30-50 lakh at the maximum.

This promises high returns on investments in a very short term.

HARSHA

via email Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/07/12/uppalgrowing-into-another-it-belt-ofcity/135042 t looks so good.

The Nanakramguda area is a future slum with polluted lakes, and no sewage water treatment plants. Nanakramguda is a place with low ground water, it is a real estate ‘haven’ promoted by influential people. HMDA and GHMC both have failed to address the

I am sure East Hyderabad is going to be an attractive real estate arena for investors. Also, note that the land rates around ORR (near Ghatkesar) are bound

I

NARESH NAIR

via email Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/07/1 0/naidu-vs-modi-new-formulatried-out/134651

Lives in balance

Aleena Alice and Padmini C’s article on the new neonatal ambulance (At last, Hyderabad gets a fully equipped neonatal carriage) shone an unflattering light on the sad state of neonatal care in the City. The ambulance is a step forward, but in this day and age, we would expect our hospitals to give better care to newborns. ppalling to say the least. I wonder if these numbers are the total admissions to the hospital rather than just the newborns. Even then, if the hospital’s all-age mortality is as high as mentioned, it is a matter of great shame and concern. It is time the health department of the government got private hospitals to open up admissions to these hapless patients.

The private hospitals in Hyderabad always proclaim results that look too good to be true, be it newborn survival or surgical outcomes. The most important first step should be accurate statistics to plan some strategies. Can we hope for that?

A

TOP LETTER As City streets got flooded this monsoon as well, citizens of Hyderabad wondered what happened to the grand rainwater harvesting plans of the GHMC (Rainwater harvesting in Hyderabad a failed project, Aleena Alice). We wish we knew.

the media.

to increase as soon as the ORR work is completed. When I was looking for investment in similar land parcels in west (Hyderabad), sellers were asking for around `2-

environment consequences.

The Nanakramguda lake is polluted, the sewage water treatment plant is yet to be seen. All the surrounding areas have become dumping grounds for solid waste and the local lakes and nallahs have become sewage lines.

The best example is the adjoining Golldodi lake, once lovely but now a lake of untreated sewage. Let the people know that most of these areas are in the 10km radius of Osman Sagar lake, protected under the GO.111.

SATISH KUMAR

Read the report at http: //postnoon.com/?s= Techie+crowd+makes+Nanakra mguda+attractive+

ARUN NAIR

via email Read the report at http: //postnoon.com/ 2013/07/06/ at-last-hyderabad-gets-a-fullyequipped-neonatalcarriage/133937

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 no 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, 500033.

ALSO SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS.

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NATION SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

2 firms picked for anti-collision devices

7 policemen killed in mishap

MURSHIDABAD: Violence continued

NEW DELHI: Railways has finally selected two firms

JALPAIGURI: Seven policemen were

to rock Panchayat elections in West Bengal with at least three Congress party workers killed and several others, including two policemen, injured ahead of tomorrow's fourth and last phase of polling. Two Congress workersdied when they were hit by crude bombs hurled by rival party supporters at Kapasdanga.

for installing the much awaited Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), the safety mechanism to prevent accidents, in the 200-km-long VikarabadBidar section as a pilot project. Medha Servo and Kernex Microsystems were selected among six contenders, including a few multinational companies, by the Research, Designs and Standard Organisation (RDSO) of the Indian Railways on behalf of the Railway Board, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

killed and another grievously injured when their vehicle collided head-on with a truck in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district today. The vehicle carrying the police personnel from Cooch Behar to Malda collided headon with the truck on the Changrabandha-Mynaguri road at around 6.30am, official sources said.

3 Cong workers killed in WB

Opposition slams misuse of CBI

FORBIDDEN CITY

A paramilitary soldier stops an elderly Kashmiri woman during the second day of curfew in Srinagar on Saturday. Kashmir largely shut down amid heavy security on Friday after troops shot dead four people during a protest over an alleged BSF raid AFP/ROUF BHAT on an Islamic school. The curfew has been lifted today.

Devotees throng Goverdhan for ritual GOVERDHAN (UTTAR PRADESH): Hundreds of thousands of devotees from around the country have flocked to the holy town of Goverdhan to begin the annual 21-km parikrama (circumambulation) around the hill that Lord Krishna, as a child, is believed to have lifted on his little finger to protect his faithful from the wrath of Lord Indra, the Hindu god of rain.

The Goverdhan Parbat is a narrow sandstone hill called Giriraj, about eight kilometres long. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed the parikrama during his visit to Vrindavan early in the 16th century, he did not climb the Goverdhan Parbat, saying it was Krishna himself in the form of the hill.

Followers of Gaudiya Vaishnav community follow the tradition and celebrate Mudiya Poonau as Guru Poornima. The five-day fair will climax on full moon night July 23.

The Mathura district administration, already on high alert, has made elaborate security and traffic arrangements to ensure smooth flow of pilgrims and avoid hassles.

Talking of poor amenities and arrangements, the list could be endless but the devotees take everything in their stride, showing no signs of fatigue or frustration as they spiritedly march to complete the parikrama of the holy hill.

"On Thursday itself, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had taken a holy dip in the Mansi Ganga in Goverdhan," said a police officer. District authorities Friday morning deployed more security personnel on the parikrama marg and the holy pond in the centre of

THE DEVOTIONAL FERVOUR IS HIGH WITH AROUND TWO MILLION PILGRIMS ALREADY TREKKING THE PARIKRAMA MARG. GOING BY PAST FIGURES, THE NUMBER OF PILGRIMS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS SHOULD CROSS 10 MILLION, SAY THE LOCAL PRIESTS. Goverdhan town.

District authorities have banned bathing in the holy kunds on the parikrama trail. At the main centre, the Mansi Ganga, more than 500 sprinklers and showers will allow pilgrims to take a holy bath.

The pressure on police camps sheltering those who have lost their relatives or children their parents is very high, said NGO functionary Ramesh Sharma.

The state roadways deployed an additional 1,000 buses while the railways extended some trains and provided more halts to clear the rush.

More than 20 private parking areas have been developed which are overflowing with vehicles. The district authorities in Mathura said more than 3,000 personnel had been deployed and CCTV cameras were keeping a close vigil. Movement of all types of vehicles, including rikshaws, has been stopped in IANS the parikrama area.

NEW DELHI: The Opposition has slammed the country’s premier investigating agency, the CBI, over reports that it has decided to give Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his two sons in the disproportionate assets case.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out that the coincidence was a quid pro quo for the change of SP’s stance about UPA’s flagship project food security Bill.

Political analysts say that the proposed clean chit has proved that nothing much has changed about operational autonomy of the CBI despite stinging remarks by the Supreme Court a few months earlier that the investigating agency was merely a ‘caged parrot that repeats its master’s voice’.

They also point out that several UPA

POLITICAL ANALYSTS SAY THAT THE PROPOSED CLEAN CHIT HAS PROVED THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY OF THE CBI. allies and outside supporters were kept under control by using CBI investigations against their leaders.

Mulayam himself had, a few months back, stated that the effect of these inquiries were taking a toll on him.

However, Congress leaders have rubbished Opposition claims by saying the clean chit report is merely hearsay.

AGENCIES

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WORLD SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Blasts kill 65 in Baghdad

Belgium ushers in a new king

BAGHDAD: A wave of bombings in

BRUSSELS: Belgium turns a page of history Sunday,

Baghdad province killed 65 people and wounded 190 Saturday, pushing the death toll for July past 500. Twelve car bombs and a roadside bomb struck Baghdad, while another bomb hit Madain to the south of the capital. The bombs struck as Baghdad residents turned out to shop and relax in cafes after iftar, sources said.

Tibetan self-immolates BEIJING: A Tibetan monk died after

ushering in its seventh king, Philippe, on a day of celebrations against a backdrop of continuing concern over the future of a divided nation. At noon (1000 GMT), Philippe, 53, dressed in full military uniform, will take his oath of office in the country’s three official languages — French, Flemish and German — before Parliament. He takes over from his 79-year-old father Albert II, who formally abdicates at 0830 GMT, after 20 years on the throne.

setting himself on fire in southwest China, reports said Sunday, in the first such protest for more than a month.

Kunchok Sonam, 18, carried out the protest on Saturday outside a monastery in Aba prefecture, part of Sichuan province, Radio Free Asia said in a report which cited local residents.

Jay Z, Beyonce join rally The surprise appearance of hip hop star Jay Z and his wife, pop superstar Beyonce Knowles, helped swell the crowd at a Manhattan protest addressed by Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton.

Angus Mackinnon Agence france-Presse

NEW YORK CITY: Superstar couple Jay Z and Beyonce joined protesters across the United States on Saturday amid simmering anger over a not-guilty verdict in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin.

A call for nationwide vigils designed to press for federal

“Trayvon would be proud. Not only do I have to do what I have to do for Trayvon, I’m going to work for your children as well.”

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother Singer Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z attend a rally honoring Trayvon Martin outside One Police Plaza in Manhattan on July 20, 2013 in New York City.

Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton and Martin’s brother Jahvaris Fulton

action in the emotionally charged case drew thousands to one New York rally.

Elsewhere turnouts were more modest, with the crowds drawn overwhelmingly from the black community, including in Miami where the slain 17-yearold’s father spoke.

“The death of my son, we believe, has to make changes in our society and repeal the laws

that allow to kill somebody just because someone thinks (he) is suspect,” Tracy Martin said.

The surprise appearance of hip hop star Jay Z and his wife, pop superstar Beyonce Knowles, helped swell the crowd at a Manhattan protest addressed by Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

Briefly overcome with emo-

tion as she thanked the crowd for their support, Fulton vowed to ensure her son’s death would not be in vain but pleaded for protests to be kept peaceful.

“Trayvon would be proud,” she told the crowd. “Not only do I have to do what I have to do for Trayvon, I’m going to work for your children as well.”

In Miami, between 300 and 500 people turned out for the

rally, but a heavy downpour quickly dispersed the crowd just after noon — and some participants expressed disappointment at the small, mainly black turnout.

“You see only black people, when this should be a Hispanic, white issue,” said Marie Falaise, 39, a Miami resident born in Haiti.

In Chicago, the several hundred protesters came from a mix of racial backgrounds — including one man who carried sign that read “Latinos for Trayvon” — but the crowd was still dominated by African Americans.

Speaker after speaker compared Martin’s death to that of city native Emmett Till, whose racially-motivated murder in Mississippi was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

Grandmother Dorothy Clay, 66, wore a pack of Skittles on her hat in honor of Martin, who was out buying the sweets on the night he died.

She said she fears for her kids and five grandchildren in a country where a “cowardly, wannabe hero-vigilante” can get away with killing an unarmed teenager.

Eight-year-old Anthony Simbler said he came to the rally because “Trayvon didn’t deserve to die.”

In a message posted on her website, Beyonce also recalled 14year-old Till’s brutal killing in 1955. “We must fight for Trayvon the same way the generation before us fought for Emmett Till,” she wrote.

Oz puts bounty on people smugglers

US jets drops unarmed Sympathy for China bombs on Barrier reef blast protester

SYDNEY: Australia said Sunday it would pay rewards

SYDNEY: US fighter jets dropped four unarmed bombs on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in an “emergency jettison” during a training exercise, officials said Sunday, ruling out any risk to the public or environment. The US 7th Fleet said two Harrier aircraft dropped the ordnance on the iconic reef ’s marine park off the Queensland coast on Tuesday. “The selected emergency jettison area was in a deep channel away from the reef to minimize the possibility of reef damage,” the US 7th Fleet said in a statement.

“It is approximately 50 to 60 metres deep and does not pose a hazard to shipping or navigation.” An Australian Defence Force spokesman said that the bombs posed “minimal risk or threat to the public, the marine environment or civilian shipping transiting the reef area”.

of up to US$180,000 for information leading to the conviction of people-smugglers, as it defended its tougher approach on asylum-seekers. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday announced that refugees arriving on unauthorised boats would have no chance of being resettled in Australia in a bid to stop the rush of asylum-seekers arriving by sea. Instead they will be sent to poverty-stricken Papua New Guinea for processing.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said Sunday that Australian Federal Police would also pay rewards for the capture of the people-smugglers behind the boats and their associates. “These people are peddling in misery and death. We need to shut this market down.”

LONDON: Chinese citizens expressed support on Sunday for a disabled man who set off an explosion at Beijing’s international airport, injuring himself in an apparent protest against police brutality. Messages of support posted online came after reports said 34-year old Ji Zhongxing was driven to the act by a years-long battle for justice after being severely beaten by police.

Wheelchair-bound Ji warned passengers in the airport before detonating the small device late on Saturday in an apparent attempt to draw attention to his case without harming others, the Beijing News reported. A policeman who rushed to the scene was the only other person injured in the explosion, the state-run China Radio International said.

8

COMMENT SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

EDITORIALS BYSTANDERS’ HELP in the golden hour A recent study found that about 68 per cent of onlookers in Hyderabad were unwilling to help an accident victim, mainly due to consequent police questioning.

This attitude results in a majority of lives being lost in accidents because of delay in medical treatment to the victims.

The fault lies not with the bystander but with the system for they shirk their responsibility in fear of the consequences. While the number of accidents in the City has been coming down of late, the number of fatalities is on the rise.

Frequent visits to the police station and thereafter to courts are what scare away even those interested in helping. There have been a number of cases where Samaritans have left the victim at a medical facility and fled.

Former city commissioner of police and MD of APSRTC, AK Khan had admitted that police questioning and court cases are the biggest obstacles to bystander care.

There is an urgent need for provisions in law where people who help accident victims are protected rather than harassed. A Good Samaritan law, as suggested by Khan, could help the cause of accident victims in a big way.

Registration and medical expenses is another deterrent.

Voluntary organisations could handle this aspect. Only those cases dealing with very poor people get into a situation where the victim’s family are unable or unwilling to reimburse incurred expenditure.

WHY WE LOVE Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh who berated the overdose of English in our lives is flying off to the US. The paradox is he heads to an English-speaking nation to speak about “India, Afghanistan and regional security” after dissing the language which will be the medium of his choice to convey his valuable thoughts. A greater man who went there a century ago to talk about India and the religion BJP espouses had no qualms about English. In fact, he admired it, mastered it and learned all that came through the avenues it opened.

Don’t forget to mention him in your address, Mr Singh: you may get more applause for that.

THE CAST OF THIS LOVE TRAGEDY IS CASTE From the hip SYED SHOAIB

A

midst the media frenzy of breaking news, my mind keeps going back to the dramatic death of a Dalit boy who paid for falling in love with an upper caste Vanniyar girl, with his life. Even as television anchors convert prime time news into howling sessions, this one story from Tamil Nadu keeps haunting me.

The tall-dark-handsome boy, whose real-life bond — unlike the many love stories we hear daily — crossed the thresholds of imaginary barriers and resulted in caste violence, the suicide of the bride’s father and ultimately the alleged suicide of the groom itself. His family cries murder but the final report has confirmed head injury by a moving train. Although he made several calls before and on July 4, 2013 expressing his intention to end his life, including one to his wife requesting her to return, some believe it could be an accident as he was drunk and depressed.

Love is transient but not caste in this country. In this case, it was politicised to such an extent that in the entire village of Dharmapuri, over 200 houses where the boy’s family stayed were burnt down after the couple got married on October 14, 2012 and the girl’s father, who could not handle taunts of the upper class backed by political groups, hung himself on November 7, 2012.

Ironically, the bigger of these political groups is crying itself hoarse over the alleged human rights violations of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

If all these incidents are not strange enough, the turnabout the bride Divya Nagraj’s made is the shocker. While she married a boy presumably lesser not just in caste and colour but also in age after courtship in college, her parents alleged in court that she was kidnapped.

The girl who appeared strong in love and lived with Illavarasan for eight months, of which four months were on the run, became neutral in her second media briefing after the death of her father. She spoke of the need for both her husband and her widowed mother.

Surprisingly, after the court hearing on July 3, 2013, in a complete face changer and minus her mangalsutra, she said her widowed mother was in failing health and that she

would never ever want to go back to her husband. She was still clear that her husband and in-laws never failed her during her stay with them but circumstances, she said, were now against her going back to him.

For Illavarasan, who in an earlier media interview said that his wife’s claim that she could not stay without him even for an hour was proof enough of her true love, the concoction of caste and electoral politics was difficult to fathom at an early age of 20. After Divya was mysteriously taken away by her family on the pretext of her mother’s illness on June 2, 2013, she was bribed emotionally and in kind by politicians, and continuously surrounded by lawyers and a battery of policemen.

The confident boy, who was to get into the police force soon, was unable to handle the sudden turnabout. He always believed

that his strong wife would return to him but she refused stoically. A day after her court statement, he stuck his head in the path of the Kurla Express at a railway line opposite the house

IRONICALLY, THE BIGGER OF THESE POLITICAL GROUPS IS CRYING ITSELF HOARSE OVER THE ALLEGED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA. where they shared dreams of having a child, despite all the turmoil outside. In his farewell note, he asked her to take care.

The murder angle of the death is being probed.

Illavarasan has turned into a martyr with hoardings of him

adorning Tamil Nadu, curfew imposed after his death and a delayed funeral after three conflicting post mortem reports.

Thousands defied prohibitory orders and wept for a boy who they thought was brave enough to fight a battle that hit national headlines. Illavarasan’s father requested his daughter-in-law for one last visit to quench the thirst of his son’s longing love while dying. Divya refused to bid the final goodbye citing security risk. His burial site has already become a must-visit place for lovers who seek inspiration for marriage. The modest parents seek to build a gym and library at the newly purchased memorial site for their only son.

Illavarasan (meaning young prince in Tamil) has grown into a king of love and July 4 has inadvertently become the Indian Valentine’s Day for a hero-crazy state.

9

BUSINESS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

DMK opposes FDI hike

Driverless tractors till farms

CHENNAI: DMK president M Karunanidhi Saturday came down heavily on the centre's decision to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) limits in various sectors, and said it would result in serious consequences, especially in defence production. In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said: "The centre's decision will have serious consequences.”

Iran, Iraq to sign gas deal

DERENBURG: As the harvest nears,

TEHRAN: Tehran and Baghdad are set

the employees of German farmer Klaus Muenchhoff are busy making the final checks on imposing tractors ready to roll into the golden fields. But these tractors are steel monsters with a difference — driverless and satelliteguided, they can operate on the fields with an accuracy of a few centimetres (inches).

to sign an agreement Sunday under which Iran will supply natural gas to Iraq's Al-Baghdad and Al-Mansouriyah power plants. The agreement would be signed by Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi and his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Kareem Luaibi in Baghdad, reported Xinhua Saturday citing Iran's deputy Oil Minister Javad Owji.

Indian investment moves marred by steel pullouts

Observers say opposition from locals and land acquisition are frequent obstacles to attempts to set up factories, build roads and implement other major infrastructure projects that India badly needs.

Salil Panchal

feedback@postnoon.com

MUMBAI: India may be trying to lure foreign investors to revive its ailing economy, but the axing of two mega steel projects underlines obstacles even industry giants face, analysts say.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and top ministers agreed last week to relax foreign investment rules in a bid to woo investors and boost sluggish economic growth.

“More FDI (foreign direct investment) reforms are on the anvil,” Singh told an audience of industry leaders in New Delhi on Friday.

Among the more eye-catching reforms trumpeted three days earlier were the removal of the FDI cap in telecoms and the loosening of rules in the defence sector for overseas players.

But the announcement came the day that the South Korean giant Posco said it was pulling out of a $5.3 billion deal to build a steel plant in Karnataka, citing problems in obtaining mining rights and vociferous opposition from local residents.

The following day, the world’s largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, said it had scrapped plans to build a plant in Orissa due to delays in acquiring land.

The Posco plant had been due to produce six million tonnes of steel per year, with ArcelorMittal planning double the amount.

Observers say opposition from locals and land acquisition are frequent obstacles to attempts to set up factories, build roads and implement other major infrastructure projects that India badly needs.

“The general business sentiment is weak, with procedural hassles of setting up a business and running it quite tricky,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital.

“Land acquisition, availability of coal and power, and sourcing of key minerals are all becoming very big issues which affect industrial activity.”

India is facing a host of economic problems that the embat-

tled Congress-led government is keen to address before facing voters in a general election that must be held by May 2014.

Growth is at a decade low of five percent, the rupee is Asia’s worst performing major currency and the current account deficit — the broadest measure of trade — for the full fiscal year ended March is at a record high, mainly from huge oil and gold imports and weak exports.

FDI in India is seen as vital to reducing the deficit and spurring growth, as well as improving the country’s creaking infrastructure and providing jobs for its millions of young people.

Last September, the government announced a string of promarket reforms that relaxed or removed barriers to foreign investment in retail, insurance

and aviation sectors.

The measures approved last week, which still need full cabinet clearance, included raising the ceiling on FDI in telecommunications from 74 percent to 100 percent.

They also abolish the need for government approval for certain levels of foreign investment in single-brand retail and petroleum refining.

David Sloan, Asia director at consultancy Eurasia Group, was unimpressed with the moves in a note to clients after the announcement.

“The government’s focus on relaxing investment rules in relatively uncontroversial and unattractive sectors underscores its inability to address India’s more pressing economic challenges,” he wrote.

“Although these moves are

designed to generate capital flows to help bolster the weak rupee and lagging economic growth, they are unlikely either to spur major new investment or have more than a very limited short-term economic effect.”

FDI in India plunged to $36.8 billion last year from $46.5 billion the previous year, government figures show.

To improve investment conditions, economists say India needs to reduce its notorious red tape, cut inflation, lessen widespread corruption and speed up project approvals.

“It will be too far-fetched to expect a quick turnaround for the country based on the pace of current reforms,” said Nick Paulson-Ellis, chief executive with Espirito Santo Securities India.

“Foreign companies entering India for the first time want to see stable policies and a faster decision-making environment,” he told AFP, adding that better land acquisition laws were key to setting up industries.

Although industrialisation is championed as a way to pull tens of millions of Indians out of poverty, many farmers complain they are being forced to sell their land at below market rates and are being robbed of their livelihoods.

Earlier this year the government drafted a land acquisition bill to better reward landowners whose property is bought for industrial development, but consensus on the bill has so far eluded lawmakers.

Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said further issues troubling foreign investors included tax structures, some of them retrospective.

Notably souring sentiment has been British mobile firm Vodafone’s embroilment in a multi-billion-dollar tax dispute with Indian authorities over its 2007 purchase of a stake in a domestic telecoms company.

“There needs to be an improvement in the overall investment climate to reap the full dividend of the easing of FDI norms,” said Banerjee.

10

FOCUS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Nazi-themed Indonesian cafe sparks global outrage When the cafe opened, no one voiced offence at the waiters and guests dressed as Nazi soldiers — the Holocaust is weak on the radar in Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, where the Jewish community numbers a mere 20 people.

BANDUNG: From a painting hung high on a blood-red wall, Adolf Hitler peers down on young students eating schnitzel and slurping German beer in Indonesia’s Nazi-themed cafe.

The SoldatenKaffee (“The Soldiers’ Cafe”) opened its doors in the western Javanese city of Bandung in 2011, named after the popular hangout for soldiers in Germany and occupied Paris during World War II. Eerier than the gas mask canisters and battle flags bearing swastikas is the more than two years’ silence that has followed the cafe’s grand launch.

When the cafe opened, no one voiced offence at the waiters and guests dressed as Nazi soldiers — the Holocaust is weak on the radar in Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, where the Jewish community numbers a mere 20 people.

But a recent report about SoldatenKaffee in the Englishlanguage Jakarta Globe newspaper triggered angry responses online and prompted Bandung deputy mayor Ayi Vivananda to summon the owner for a meeting.

“We need to ask him first in detail what his real intentions are. But what is clear is that Bandung city will not allow anyone here inciting racial hatred,” he said on Thursday.

We’re living in Indonesia and Indonesians weren’t tortured in the Holocaust, so we don’t really care.

Arya Setya, Mining company employee

The cafe’s creator and owner, Henry Mulyana, said he did not intend to bring back memories of the Holocaust but was not surprised to be branded a “bad guy”.

“I don’t idolise Hitler, I simply adore the soldiers’ paraphernalia,” Mulyana, a Christian who likes playing with air rifles, told AFP at the cafe on Tuesday.

His collection is on display for diners and includes a water canteen, bayonet, goggles and a lantern, most of them bought online.

“The ones with swastikas on them are worth more,” he said.

The restaurant had only ever received positive press before the recent exposure in Englishlanguage media and receives a regular stream of customers.

“We’re living in Indonesia and Indonesians weren’t tortured in the Holocaust, so we don’t really care,” said mining company employee Arya Setya, eating a plate of spaghetti at the cafe with his girlfriend.

But now that news of the cafe’s existence has reached a

wider audience, it has sparked outrage among Jewish communities in other parts of the world.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center is reaching out to senior Indonesian diplomats to express on behalf of our 4,00,000 members and victims of the Nazi Holocaust our outrage and disgust,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, from the Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group, told AFP by email.

“We expect that all appropriate measures will be taken to close down this business celebrating a genocidal ideology that at its core denigrates people of colour and all nonAryans,” he wrote.

Under Indonesian law, anyone who deliberately shows hatred towards others based on race or ethnicity can be jailed for up to five years.

But such vilification usually goes unchecked, with hardline Muslim groups carrying out violent attacks on religious minorities with near impunity in recent years.

Mulyana said that his cafe has also attracted Western guests, including Germans, with one photographed on its Facebook page wearing a red swastika T-shirt along with several Indonesians in the same clothes.

He revealed he plans to set up an even bigger cafe on the resort island of Bali, which attracts throngs of foreign tourists each year.

“I’ll certainly display Hitler’s image, as well as Winston Churchill’s, and paraphernalia from American and Japanese soldiers from World War II,” he said.

His cafe could not contrast more deeply with attitudes in Europe, where several countries have criminalised the promotion of Nazi ideology and the denial of the Holocaust.

While Mulyana does not deny the Holocaust happened, he said making the tragedy taboo was hypocritical.

“If we want to speak up about humanity, why don’t they stop wars in this world now, like in Afghanistan? War always claims so many lives,” he said.

However, when contacted by AFP on Saturday Mulyana said he had decided to close down the cafe temporarily, refusing to give further details.

Indonesia, where 90 per cent of the population of 240 million identify themselves as Muslim, does not recognise Judaism among its six official religions.

The country has no diplomatic relations with Israel and

vocally advocates for the state of Palestine, although it has quietly engaged in economic and military ties.

Today just one synagogue exists in the country, in the city of Manado. A century-old synagogue in the city of Surabaya was shut down by extremists protesting against the 2008-09 war in Gaza.

Other Indonesians in Manado are believed to have Jewish roots, some hiding their heritage for safety fears.

A lack of sensitivity towards the Holocaust has also been shown in other parts of Asia.

Thailand’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University was forced to apologise on Monday after its students created a mural depicting Hitler among comic book superheroes during graduation celebrations.

And in 2006, an Indian restaurateur outraged the country’s Jewish community by opening “Hitler’s Cross”. He was forced to change the name days later.

Historian Asvi Warman Adam from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences blames Indonesia’s education system for a lack of awareness about the Holocaust and world wars.

“We don’t hear a lot of criticism against the Nazis and fascism in Indonesia,” Adam said.

“Hitler’s book Mein Kampf is banned in many countries, but it’s freely distributed here. It’s translated into Indonesian and is quite often sold out,” he said.

He said the school curriculum was focused on national history and trying to legitimise Indonesia’s 32-year Suharto dictatorship, which saw the slaughter of at least 500,000.

Islamic hardliners, who are the most vocal when it comes to blasphemy against Islam, are unlikely to make any noise about the cafe, Adam said.

“But if a Jewish-themed cafe opened, they would most likely AFP stage a protest,” he said.

11

INTERVIEW SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Introvert, thinker or genius...call him whatever you want, Chandrasekhar Yeleti, the director of films like Aithe and Anukokunda Oka Roju, has kept us guessing about everything he does. He tells Postnoon about his journey so far, what happens behind the scenes and what he learnt while making Sahasam.

INSIDE THE MIND OF

“F

or the first time in my career, I had to think about how to make few things more accessible to audience in B and C centres, while directing Sahasam. In the past, my films received rave reviews, but didn’t make a lot of money at the boxoffice. I didn’t want that to happen to Sahasam,” filmmaker Chandrasekhar Yeleti confesses as we strike a conversation about his recent film Sahasam and the thought process which goes into making his films.

Here's an excerpt from his interview with Postnoon.

You must be quite relieved that your recent film Sahasam is doing well at the box-office.

What exactly is going through your mind right now?

YELETI

I’m extremely happy with how the audience has responded to our film. Usually, there’s a fear about how it’s going to perform on weekdays, but my current state of mind is that of a happy man. It’s a big relief for all of us.

Leaving aside the last 35 minutes of the film, which banked heavily on VFX, what was the most difficult scene to conceive in the film?

Hmmm...I would say that my team had to brainstorm a lot about how we are going to narrate the grandfather’s flashback in the film. Gopichand finds the diary, but we can’t reveal everything and at the same time, the voice over by the grandfather needed a sense of mystery. That was quite a difficult scene to crack.

Prior to the film’s release, you spoke a lot about shooting in Ladakh. While the footage seemed great, wouldn’t you say that the Buzkashi sequence could have been much better?

Absolutely. There are several reasons behind why it turned out to be so. Safety was a major concern and shooting is Ladakh is really tough because of the low oxygen level. If we had more access to more equipment, perhaps we could have taken more shots. Since it was a dangerous stunt to pull off, we had to use a body double for the long shots, although Taapsee was eager to do it all by herself. If given a chance, that’s one sequence which I think I would have modified.

Sahasam is also the first film in your career where you used visual effects extensively. Are you excited about the possibilities it opens up?

Sahasam has been a great learning experience for me both in terms of shooting the movie with a digital camera as well as using visual effects. I must thank the team at Prasad EFX

Pick

at the

that taught me a lot of stuff which we incorporated in the film. Having said that, I believe it all boils down to the director’s vision. Whether you shoot a movie on film or digital, the vision remains the same. It’s just that when you use a digital camera, it gives you plenty of options and it’s not as expensive as film.

Sahasam is the fifth film in your career and each one has been different from the other. Is there anything which has been constant in your films?

The visual quality has more or less remained the same. Even before writing a scene, I can visualise how it will look on screen, what costumes the actors will be wearing and how it’s going to fit into the film’s narrative. It makes my writing process easier.

A lot of people say that you experiment a lot in your films.

However, when one looks closely, the difference lies in your sensibilities. Looking back, can you recall what shaped your thoughts?

That’s true. I have been an introvert all my life and that has defined my work. Because I was an introvert, my knowledge about the world is more from the books that I have read rather than the people I have come across. It’s funny because I think I know more about what’s happening in other countries than what’s happening in my surroundings.

What are these books that have taught you so much?

I’m not a big fan of fiction because I’m also in the same business of narrating fictional stories. I prefer reading non-fiction books, magazines, newspapers. Recently, I read William Dalrymple’s The Last Mughal and it was quite impressive.

In a recent interview, Taapsee revealed that you didn’t want her to look at the monitor while shooting a scene. Is there a specific way you work with actors?

(Laughs) At times, people who haven’t worked with me before might not understand how I work. I am more concerned about the narrative and not necessarily putting the lead actors under spotlight all the time. Even before shooting the film, we have these discussions about how we are going to cut the film.

There’s great synergy on the sets.

A lot of people look up to you when they think about writing or direction. Is there any advice that you would give to aspiring writers?

A lot of avenues have opened up for filmmakers these days because of digital cinema. As far as writing is concerned, all I can say is, follow your heart while writing the first draft and don’t think too much about plot points while doing that.

airport,

-

12

ART AND CULTURE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Woman artist on focus

P

aintings of a ground-breaking renegade woman artist is the subject of a new exhibition at Britain's National Portrait Gallery (NPG). The exhibition looks at the works of Laura Knight, a painter who worked through the first 60 years of the last century and became the first woman artist to be made a full member of the Royal Academy, Xinhua reported.

IANS

Negatives to be auctioned

Ten paintings stolen

A

T

photographic archive of 75,000 negatives and transparencies by the fashion and celebrity photographer Milton Greene, including around 3,700 unpublished images of Marilyn Monroe, is due to be sold at auction — all with copyright. Greene is best known for his photographs of Monroe. The actress and photographer were close friends

hieves stole ten paintings from the Van Buuren Museum on the outskirts of Brussels on 16 July, including Kees van Dongen’s The Thinker, 1907, valued at more than €1m. What makes the loss particularly poignant is that the paintings came from a family collection, lovingly assembled by the Van Buurens.

Short filmmakers in the country are rising by the number.

Postnoon finds more about their emergence and how they are making a mark.

THE STORY OF

SHORT FILMS NEXT STEP- FILM FESTIVALS

KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

T

hey tell stories. It’s only that they do it a bit differently — through lens of a camera. Short filmmakers in the country are rising by the number. Postnoon finds more about their emergence and how they are making a mark.

THE MAKING

Short films, too are made with a sense of professionalism.

Auditions are held, screenplays are formatted, locations are booked, and a voluntarily overlapping cast and crew puts in all of their energy and knowledge into making a short film. The themes are simple, local and personal. Costumes come from actors’ and their friends’ wardrobes. Little details are paid attention to, and the larger picture is given importance in terms of cinematography. In this age of quick and easy networking, most short filmmakers are able to persuade experienced cinematographers at low or no fees. They rehearse enough to make the best of the little shooting time they have.

Why film festivals, one may wonder. “It gives them brand value,” says Rambhul Singh, Marketing and Content director at Mini Box Office (www.miniboxoffice.com). If you are a winner, you go a step further. Producers see value in that full length feature you have kept aside for when the time is right. If your short’s movie poster has the international white leaf, you are held in high view. Besides, film lovers don’t hesitate to pay even two grand for 2-3 days of back to back independent cinema.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ONE

Independent filmmakers have to be careful of which festival they participate in. “It is a big struggle. You have to scout for them.

The entry fee and postal costs are between ten and hundred dollars, which we bear from our pockets,” Rambhul says.

WHAT DO TO DO FOR A LIVING ?

There is no sponsorship or monetary benefits in this industry.

Short films are a products of passion, or windows to the ultimate goal of mainstream cinema. They have day jobs which may be mundane in comparison but are sustainable. Some have gone to the length of figuring out commercial avenues which

need what they are good at — filmmaking. The answer mostly is corporate films. It may not be a steady life but it is an individualistic one.

THE WAY FORWARD

Founder & Director at Yellow Studio Works, Faiz Rai says “Short films tell us how films will be made in ten years. I think it is so important to take a camera and tell a story. A good sense of community is building here.

With Internet, short film industry may sustain itself.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

It is a simple way to enlarge fandom and make money at almost no cost. Kunal Wadhwa, social media expert at Whacked out tells us how. “Each social media needs to be used differently.

Facebook and Google+ are marketing tools. Youtube is where you make money. Facebook is very visual; you need support from your friends to make it viral. On Youtube, it depends on the number of views and watchtime. The ads on the page generate money, which you get a part of. Twitter is all about text.

All these social media have to be linked together, too. You need to optimise your resources and package your content according to the venue you are using.”

13

ENVIRONMENT SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Puffin numbers recovery Puffin numbers in one of Britain’s bestknown habitats have risen after the population fell under difficult conditions in previous years. A team of 11 National Trust rangers has carried out a full census of the puffins on the Farne Islands, something that happens only once every five years. There are now just under 40,000 pairs of nesting puffins across the eight islands.

Big butterfly count

Star Wars film set in danger

Two teams of butterfly obsessives took to battered Land Rovers in a hair-raising race to woods, meadows, chalk downland and an industrial park to find as many species as possible in the middle of a heatwave. Marking the start of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, in which everyone is encouraged to spend 15 minutes spotting butterflies in their gardens or local parks.

Sand dunes migrating over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous Star Wars film set. The buildings of the fictional city Mos Espa featured in The Phantom Menace, “Episode I” of the Jedi saga. Sited on the planet Tatooine, this was the home of the young Anakin Skywalker, later to become Darth Vader.

Brazilian Amazon

losing forest cover

Deforestation has soared in the Brazilian Amazon since a new forestry code was passed last year at the urging of the agribusiness lobby, a non-profit environmental group said.

BEFORE

B

etween August 2012 and June 2013, 1,838 square kilometers (709 square miles) of forest were lost, a 103 percent hike over the same previous period, Institute Imazon said in its latest report.

The biggest losses since last August were in the northern state of Para and in the central-western state of Matto Grosso, it added.

The institute said deforestation in June totalled 184 square kilometers (71 square miles), up 437 per cent over June last year.

The increased losses coincided with adoption of the new forestry code last year.

The law limits the use of land for farming and mandates that up to 80 per cent of privately-owned land in the Amazon rainforest remain intact.

But it allows landowners

AFTER

to cultivate riverbanks and hillsides that were previously exempt, and eases restrictions for small landowners who face difficulties in recovering illegally cleared land.

More than 60 per cent of

Brazil’s 8.5 million square kilometers (3.3 million square miles) are forests, but two-thirds of it is either privately owned or its ownership is undefined.

Environmentalists say the new legislation encour-

ages deforestation.

“The forestry code sent a bad signal, that past deforestation is being excused and both Congress and the government are signaling that rules are less rigorous,” Imazon investigator Adalberto Verissimo told the daily O Globo Thursday.

“The risk is to lose control once again over Amazon deforestation, which was decreasing,” he added.

Provisional government figures, released on a monthly basis, showed deforestation rose about 30 per cent in the 10 months until May. Authorities normally release annual figures from the August to July period. According to the latest official data, Brazil last year recorded its lowest level of Amazon deforestation, at 4,751 square kilometers (1,834 square miles), down 27 percent. AFP

14

FOOD SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Beer-flavoured ice cream

The rise of the posh burger

Halve the fat in chocolate

They are two of summer’s signature indulgences. And now, beer and ice cream are starting to become acquainted. A new kind of sweet gains traction: beer-flavoured ice creams and floats, from a number of small dairies around the country. Think ice cream made with Belgian-style Tripel ale and apricot jam or or a scoop of vanilla floated in a creamy milk stout.

Next week two US ‘better burger’ chains — Shake Shack and Five Guys — will open their first branches in the UK. In the two decades since the term ‘gastropub’ was coined, the ‘poshification’ of burgers has been steadily spreading. Across the UK, it's easy to see burgers on menus that claim to be something out of the ordinary.

Chemists have found a new way to halve the fat of chocolate using liquids which does not change the ‘mouthfeel’. A report at an American Chemical Society meeting described a method using the popular gelling agent agar to make tiny ‘sponges’ that displace fat. University of Warwick researchers suggested water, fruit juice or even alcohol for the purpose.

Exploring coastal treasures Tara Deshpande Tennebaum has taken her penchant for food a level higher with her new book A sense for spice. Postnoon dives with her into depths of the vast Konkani culture.

they cooked their food. As I listen intently, she adds “I tell people they should record their story, even if they don't publish but for the sake of passing to your children.”

Her formal culinary education in New York and Paris broadened her perspectives on

KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

T

he book is an amalgamation of Konkan recipes and stories that make you wonder about the lives they have lived. A basic need of restoring, translating and contemporising recipes which were inked by her mother, grandmothers and great grandmothers, and passed down generations, prompted the book. The recipes she has date back to late 1800s. "They were falling apart. I wanted to be able to use them later."

The process seems to have started when she was only a child observing the many nuances, stories and origins of Konkan cuisine. Her mother, a Konkan and her father, a Marathi, cooked the same dishes differently, giving her the first reason to go into the depths of this versified culture.

Food was more than just food, when she was growing. It

inculcated culture in her. "My parents loved to entertain. Now the trend is to visit restaurants but my father always said it is much nicer when you call people home."

The tough part was finding the English equivalent of techniques and names of dishes.

“My Konkani is very poor. I kept getting stuck. I went to libraries, referred to botanical books. It is a labour of love.”

Writing the book made her see how food in our country changes every 1 km. "Why is it

THE DESI FEAST There’s great news for all those who’ve been craving ghee-soaked paranthas this monsoon.

The Park is hosting a week-long Parantha Festival at Verandah. Quit worrying about calories and indulge, now that you have a chance.

Nidhi Bhushan

nidhi.b@postnoon.com

I

t’s sun-less and chilly outside. Even though nothing’s really wrong, you can’t help but feel a bit gloomy. You need that warm and fuzzy feeling. Well, you aren’t alone;

we’re all craving some ol’ hot and spicy food from our mum’s kitchen.

Though there’s little that can replace mum’s home-made food, The Park’s Parantha Festival comes a close second.

The festival which offers rich flavours from northern

that sola ki kadi is made differently in two different families?" Her efforts that went into filling these gaps gave character to what would have otherwise been just a cookbook.

Konkans were a migrant community. Names of places where they moved became their second names.

"Take for example the surname Pednekar-Kar is a place.

Pedne was probably name of the village."

This is how you knew where they were from and how India marks the launch of the hotel’s culinary club called Yummy Mummy. Week after week, the club will feature women who specialise in the art of cooking and are willing to share their home-made delicacies with us all.

The Parantha Festival has on offer a variety of paranthas straight from Satinder Khanuja’s kitchen. A homemaker based in the City, Khanuja is famous in her circles for making mouth-watering stuffed paranthas. “My inlaws actually wait for me to organise a get together at home so they can come and eat food cooked by me,” says Khanuja. “I make stuffed paranthas at home at least four times a week. My children are very fond of it.”

Well, after biting into the Sindhi parantha on the menu, I knew exactly why. Served with Malai Ki Curry, Aloo Curry and Dal Makhani, the paranthas were simply delightful. Out of the dishes

served along with the paranthas, the Malai Curry is a must-have — it’s creamy, it’s rich and it’s a burst of delicious flavours. Then came the Methi Paneer and Methi paranthas. Prepared with freshly milled flour, the paranthas are perfect in

What: Parantha Festival Where: Verandah, The Park Price: `295 each for veg paranthas and `395 for non-veg.

Timings: Lunch and dinner; On till July 26

WRITING THE BOOK MADE HER SEE HOW FOOD IN OUR COUNTRY CHANGES EVERY 1 KM. “WHY IS IT THAT SOLA KI KADI IS MADE DIFFERENTLY IN TWO DIFFERENT FAMILIES?” food. “French are methodical and very hygienic. They are kind, and very fascinated by India.” On similarities with Indian cooking, she says “South Americans cook more on andaza (approximation)”. In spite of her cooking show Great chocolate cooking, she is not fond of them.

“But I enjoy baking”, she says. terms of thickness; they are cooked well and are still soft and easy to eat. “The trick is to cook them well on the tawa without making them hard.

I’ve been fond of cooking since I was a little girl and I’ve learnt the trick out of experience. I’m so passionate about cooking that I took over the kitchen from my mother-inlaw soon after I got married. I tolerated her cooking for some time, but then I had to make things myself,” says Khanuja.

In the non-veg section, paranthas are served with Malai Chicken, Mutton and Saag curry and Anda curry.

Out of which, the mutton dish served with missi parantha is a must-have.

The last, but certainly not the least, was the sweet gur ka parantha. Served along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the parantha is the best way to end a hearty meal.

The parantha festival is the go-to event this season.

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FOOD SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Raising The Bar Novotel’s The Bar is an ideal place for an after-work drink. Its chilled out ambiance certainly gives other fivestar bars a run for their money.

Nidhi Bhushan

nidhi.b@postnoon.com

A

fter a hard day's labour, it's only fair to treat yourself to a little fun. The Bar at Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre is the perfect place for it. Tucked away in one corner of the hotel's ground floor, The Bar reeks of class and style. One is transported to a casual yet stylish place the moment one steps into The Bar.

Where: The Bar, Novotel Must-have: Novotel Iced Tea aka Long Island Iced Tea

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Though the area dedicated to this recreational part of the hotel appears smallish, it can accommodate more than 100 people at a time. “The mood at The Bar changes every day.

Though the place looks small, there are times when the place is bustling with 150 odd people at one time,” says Shyam Sunder Vadapalli, F&B manager.

The cozy feel of the bar attracts many corporate employees, especially during the weekend, who are craving a relaxed time. The music at

A GOOD TI

the bar, mostly country and soft rock, also allows people to make conversation and enjoy their drinks. “We also have live performances every day 8 pm onwards,” says assistant F&B manager Guru Shivaram.

Talking about the selection of alcohol, Shivaram says: “We have the highest selection of whiskies — single malt and blended — in the City. We bank on the whiskey section of the menu as most Hyderabadis like to indulge in it. While Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker are immensely popular brands among locals, expats are usually loyal to Jack Daniels.”

Though the whiskey section is very obviously the most important, The Bar has a great selection of cocktails and mocktails too. The Novotel Iced Tea and the After Eight Martini are two musthaves at this cozy bar.

Moving on to the finger food that goes with the drinks, The Bar has a well thought-out menu. The Prawn Tawa Masala, Fish Satay and Chicken Drummets are musthaves. While the satay blends well with the drink, the prawn masala is a delight for all mirchi lovers — I was blown away.

So, if you feel like rewarding yourself after work, The Bar will be waiting with its doors wide open. Cheers!

Mix it up the Spanish way If you’re in the mood for Spanish wine paired with lip-smacking tapas or appetizers, Westin Hyderabad is the place to be. Postnoon reviews.

T

he only thing that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara forgot to advertise about Spain was its food culture. While we are all privy to its scenic beauty and a few quirks (especially running with the bulls festival), there's little exposure to Spanish food. Well, there's good news. Westin Hyderabad Mindspace is hosting a Spanish food festival for folks like us who don't know what we've been missing out on.

The Spanish festival, which has on offer delectable Spanish wines — red and

wine, is being held at Mix Lounge and Bar in the hotel lobby. While the tapas and wine are available a la carte, those of you who aren't willing to dig that big a hole in your pockets can opt for the two tapas plus a glass of Spanish wine offer at `1,800

(exclusive of taxes).

Our Spanish culinary journey began with a glass of red wine, which reeked of dry, oaky flavours from the old world. Needless to say, it was a promising start.

Among the tapas, mostly in the `600 range, the musthaves include Pan Catalan (oven baked fresh flat bread topped with roast peppers, onions and cheddar cheese), Calamares a la Andaluza (quick-fried, battered squid served with

lemon aioli and salsa verde) and Gambas al Ajillo (prawns sauteed in a chilli-garlic infused oil).

So, go for it, you won’t NIDHI BHUSHAN regret it!

What: Spanish food festival Where: Mix, Westin Hyderabad Timings: Sunday to Thursday 4pm-1am; Friday to Sunday 4pm-2am; On till July 25

Khichra A variant to haleem!

Noor Kitchen NOOR JAFRI

Ingredients Quantity Lamb meat with bones 1 kg n Broken wheat 200 gms n Chana dal 50 gms n Urad dal 50 gms n Moong dal 50 gms n Masoor dal 50 gms n Rice grain 20 gms n Chilli powder & salt as per taste n Dhania powder 1 tbsp n Haldi 1/2 a tsp n Garam masala powder 2 tsp n Ginger garlic paste 2 tsp n Ginger juliennes 2 tsp n Onions 1/2 a kg n Bay leaf (tej patta) 6 to 8 n Ghee 200 ml n hara dhania, mint leaves 1 bunch each n Slit green chillies & Lemon wedges for garnishing Procedure n In a pressure cooker fry the onions till golden in colour n Remove half of the onions for garnishing. n In the remaining onions, fry mutton with the ingredients, and pressure cook it. n Boil wheat dalia and all the lentils till soft. n Remove the bones from the cooked mutton and add the cooked dalia, bay leaves and garam masala. n Mash it up nicely. n Cook it for some more time as per the desired haleem consistency. n This should be served hot.

Chef's Note n The dish is similar to haleem when it comes to texture but different in taste. n

Contact us @ Noor kitchen Mobile + 91 9441282318 Residence + 91 40 23356947 Like us @ https://www.facebook.com/Noorkitchen follow us @ https://twitter.com/NoorKitchen

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HISTORY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

July 22

July 23

2003: Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s sons, Qusay and Uday Hussein, are killed after a threehour firefight with US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Qusay's 14-year-old son was also killed in the attack.

1984: 21-year-old Vanessa Williams gives up her Miss America title, the first resignation in the pageant’s history, after Penthouse magazine announces plans to publish nude photos of the beauty queen in its September issue.

July 25

July 25

1965: Bob Dylan abandoned his acoustic folk persona and went electric at the Newport Folk Festival, performing a rock-and-roll set publicly for the very first time while a chorus of shouts and boos rained down on him from a dismayed audience.

2010: WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the war in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in US military history. The documents revealed information on the deaths of civilians, increased Taliban attacks, and involvement by Pakistan and Iran in the insurgency.

July 24

July 24

1911: American archaeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru. For hundreds of years, its existence was a secret known only to the peasants living in the region.

2005: Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France.

He was stripped of his titles, disqualified from those races and banned from cycling for life for doping offences by the US AntiDoping Agency (USADA) in 2012.

July 26

July 27

1956: The Suez Crisis begins when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalises the British- and French-owned Suez Canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for construction of a dam on the Nile River. International intervention was required to ease tensions.

1890: Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh is believed to have shot himself, though no gun was ever found. He died two days later. He was 37. His brother Theo reported that his last words were, “The sadness will last forever.”

July 22

2011: Two sequential lone wolf terrorist attacks against the government, the civilian population and a Workers' Youth League (AUF)-run summer camp occurred in Norway, leaving 77 dead. The Norwegian police arrested Anders Behring Breivik in connection with the attacks.

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SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Wedding carnival Ladies were seen having a field day at Marriott Hotel where Big fat Wedding fair was held. Designer Shravan Kumar put up his bridal collection on display during the occasion.

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Date with the stars Audio launch function of upcoming movie Attarintiki Daredi witnessed a host of stars coming under one roof. Spotted were Pawan Kalyan, Samantha, Brahmanandam and others.

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1 Vinni Singh

3 Neha

5 Roshni

2 Barkha Sanghvi

4 Meenakshi

6 Divya

7 Reema,

Vartika,Jasmeet

A dose of glamour Ramzan collection was launched with much fanfare at Neeru’s, Dilsukhnagar on the occasion of the store’s third year anniversary.

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1 Nadiya 2 Devi Sree Prasad 3 Mumtaz 4 Pawan Kalyan 5 Ali 6 Brahmanandam 7 Samantha 8 Hamsanandini 9 Hema

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CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

I FEEL LIKE A DEBUTANT EVERYDAY: PAWAN KALYAN I

t’s not everyday that you hear Pawan Kalyan talking about his insecurities, but that’s precisely what happened during the audio launch of his upcoming film Atharintiki Dharedhi. “I feel like a debutant everytime I’m on the sets of a film and there is always a fear about how I am going to perform. Thankfully, I share a good rapport with Trivikram Srinivas. The first time he narrated a story to me almost 10 years ago, I had slept off in the middle of his narration, but he came back with another story several years later. We have been good friends for several years now and it’s a pleasure acting in his film. I must thank all

my co-stars for being part of this wonderful film. My fans have been my pillar of strength and whenever I’m going through a bad phase my close friends like Trivikram Srinivas and millions of fans have looked after me,” Pawan Kalyan said. Samantha, the lead actress in the film, praised her costar saying, “Pawan Kalyan is extremely humble and a good human being. I couldn’t believe the response that this film’s teaser had got and all Pawan Kalyan did was walk a bit. I’m lucky to be part of this film.”

Atharintiki Dharedhi also stars Pranitha Shubhash, Nadiya and Boman Irani in important roles and it’ll release on August 7.

THE

SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS

HANSIKA, SIMBU ARE IN LOVE!

K

riti Kharbanda is on cloud nine these days and quite rightfully so. Her recent Kannada film Googly has opened to rave reviews and it’s poised to be one of the biggest hits in her career. On the other hand, her performance in Kalyan Ram’s Om has caught everyone’s attention. Om is the first action film in India to have been shot on 3D format and it’s been a long wait for Kriti to see the film on big screen. “We finished the principal shooting in May last year and I was desperately waiting to see the final cut on big screen. There was a lot of anxiety, but honestly, I’m quite thrilled to have been part of a 3D film. I never thought of myself as a good looking girl, but for the first time I loved the way I looked on screen. Maybe, I look good in 3D,” Kriti gushes. So how difficult was it to shoot the film in 3D? “For a regular film, we end up completing almost 30-40 shots per day, but while shooting a film in 3D, it takes a lot of time to set up the camera and the rig. Moreover, you can’t move outside a specific area while shooting because that would spoil the whole scene. It was really difficult for me because I am usually quite animated and the biggest challenge was to perform within a specific boundary,” she says, adding, “More than anything else, I think people want to know what we have done and why everyone in the industry has been talking about the film.” Earlier this year, she was seen in Ongole Githa which didn’t click at box-office and now, she’s on the verge of scoring two hits.

We wonder if she has a strategy in mind about what she wants to do over the next few months. “Oh no! I don’t think I ever had a strategy. People give all sorts of advice about what films I should be doing. No matter how hard we work, luck is not on our side all the time. You don’t know the value of success until you taste it, but at the same time, luck changes every Friday. I was happy with the response for both my films last Friday and I have moved on now,” she signs off.

H

ansika and Simbu have finally confessed that they have been dating for quite sometime now. Although their relationship was quite apparent in the industry circles, things quickly spiralled out of control. Vexed up with all the unwarranted rumours about their love life, both Hansika and Simbu decided to inform all their fans about their relationship. “Been hearing too many rumours abt my personal life, so jus wana clear.yes!I'm seeing Str:)n hence I wouldnt like 2talk abt my personal life . (sic),” Hansika posted on Twitter. On the other hand, even Simbu confessed that he has been seeing Hansika for sometime now and hinted that their respective families will take a decision about their marriage, since both of them are quite busy with their respective projects.

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CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Aishwarya

Sakhuja to act in a Kannada film T

FLEME VARKEY

fleme.v@postnoon.com

Rishi Kapoor now on weight loss spree T

he rotund Rishi Kapoor, currently going through what he calls the best years of his acting life, has finally decided to take his weight issue into his hands. He is doing yoga, and hopes he can "kick" away his alcohol intake. Apparently, Rishi, with notable help from his diet-conscious wife Neetu Singh, wanted to shed the flab a year back. But director Nikhil Advani had a particular girth in mind for Rishi to play an international terrorist in D-Day. But now the 60-yearold has become seriously weight conscious. "Yes, I've already started doing yoga. That gives me peace of mind. I'm unhappy about the fact that I can't kick my habit of consuming alcohol. It's not good for my health. That's one thing I'd like to change in my life. And I will," said Rishi. "I'd also like to cut down my weight.

But my producers get worried about the continuity in their films.

'Please finish my film and then lose weight'. they say. Uss chakkar mein nahin ho raha hai (That's why it didn’t happen so far)," he added.

Rishi is getting rave reports for his performance in D-Day, which released this Friday.

IANS

here’s no chance that she can go unnoticed in a crowd. With a slim figure, those oh-so-long legs and that endearing smile Delhi girl Aishwarya Sakhuja is a head turner.

Where might have you seen this pretty lass?

She is the one of the reigning telly queens, remembered best for role as the strong and adventurous bahu — Toasty of Saas Bina Sasural. Now, you can also catch her co-hosting one of the most popular dance reality shows on television — India’s Dancing Superstar (IDS) on Star Plus. Well, that’s not all for her, Aishwarya tells Postnoon that thanks to IDS, a Kannada film director has approached her for a cameo in the film.

“I am not allowed to reveal many details as of now. But all I can say is that the character is a surprise element in the plot and plays an important role. I personally liked what was offered to me and therefore I took the role,” explains Aishwarya.

Seems the south is becoming a great entry market for a lot of actresses up North. But this fan of southern star

Sonam Kapoor: 'My first dream was to be a director' S onam Kapoor has said that direction is her first love while acting "came as a mistress". Sonam assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Black and went on to make her Bollywood debut in Saawariya with Ranbir Kapoor. "I love reading books and watching movies. That’s why I wanted to be a directer when I was young. Direction has always been my first love, and acting came as a mistress," the actress said. "You get attached to fame and glamour and I am attached to these. I don’t want lie about it." The 28-year-old actor, the daughter of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol star Anil Kapoor, says that she plans to go behind the camera eventually.

"Yes, I will direct films in future, but right now I want to focus on acting," she explained. "It's too early to talk about direction right now." The actress has had back-to-back successes with Raanjhanaa and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

.IANS

Rajinikanth puts these claims to rest, she says, “I did not choose the south film industry, it chose me.” But Bollywood is not far off on her mind either, “If something comes up, I shall surely attempt it,” she answers.

Aishwarya’s television career started in 2007 when she began as an anchor and later in 2009 she grabbed the role in Sony’s Saas Bina Sasural. This 2006 Miss India participant has done TV shows like Lift Kara De and YRF serial Rishta.com.

In SBS though initially the character seemed a bit alien to her, by the end of the series she realised Toasty became an amalgamation of both herself and the reel persona.

A few months after SBS went off air, Aishwarya was seen in Life OK's Welcome: Baazi Mehmaan Naawazi Ki. The serial was a turning point in her life and her attachment to the show is so much that when quizzed about her choice on playing any other role on television, she answered promptly, “A character like Toasty from SBS, in fact, I wish she came back.”

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CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

A

shish Chowdhry perhaps had an over-ambitious session at the gym as he ended up with a torn ligament following some lightweight squats. "Torn a ligament in my back.

Gotta be tucked in bed for a few days. All thanks to my over excited gymming and the 400 pounds 'lightweight' squats.

Messed up for the first time by indulging in impractical heavy weights," Ashish shared on Twitter. He also had a word of advice for those who work out.

"Weights don't matter, correct form works," added the actor, who acted in films like Dhamaal, Paying Guests and Double Dhamaal. The bedridden actor is making the most of this time to catch up on "lots of TV shows".

GYMMING TAKES TOLL ON ASHISH CHOWDHRY

IANS

ARUN DANIEL YELLAMATY

arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

A

ctor Ajaz Khan was in the town to walk the ramp for designer Sumit Das Gupta at India Fashion Street Season 2. The actor who is known for his negative roles in popular films spoke to Postnoon, about his upcoming films, how he is focusing more on doing solo roles and his bond with Salman Khan, Ram Charan and other Tollywood celebrities.

"I am very happy to come back to the City. The weather here is awesome and I am looking forward to break my fast and enjoy the haleem,� he says. Talking about his first solo film Lakeer Ka Fakeer he says, "It was very hard for me to do the transformation to solo and major roles. It took me nine years but I am happy now. There was a lot of pressure on me and it was wonderful that the movie worked well."

His looks up to Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt when it comes to fitness. "I admire Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan for the bodies they carried off all these years. In the same way, I been carrying same physic for last few years. It's hard work to maintain your body." He is playing a cop in an upcoming movie

by Mahesh Bhatt. “I am again playing a lead role in this movie and I am really looking forward to it. There is also another movie with Mahesh Babu which is in the pipeline," he says.

WILLING TO GO SOLO

Emraan's next titled Shaatir

U

TV Motion Pictures and director Kunal Deshmukh have finally zeroed in on the title Shaatir for their thriller, starring Emraan Hashmi as a conman. When the makers had checked to register Shaatir, they realised that the title already belonged to Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. This was a huge cause of concern for the makers.

Incidentally, when UTV officials met Rohit Shetty for a casual meeting since the two are working on Chennai Express, this topic came up.

Rohit, who has had an exceptional relationship with Ashtavinayak courtesy the superhit Golmaal series with them, agreed to speak to the production company, and helped settle the concern.

CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

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CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

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CINEMA SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

T

wo men have been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly organising fake concerts of pop stars Lady Gaga and Rihanna. The men are said to have absconded with more than $2 million from promoters.

Manhattan District Attorney announced that the two men, namely Sylvester Vincent Carroll and Meceo McEaddy, have been charged with grand larceny and scheming to defraud in the first degree. Carroll also has additional charges of criminal tax fraud, reports tmz.com. According to the District Attorney, the schemes began in 2010 and went as far as Brazil, Taiwan, and Mexico, with Carroll and McEaddy making more than $2 million. The men are in custody.

IANS

Men charged for fake Rihanna, Lady Gaga concerts

Kanye West

not ready for marriage

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apper Kanye West is reportedly not ready to marry girlfriend Kim Kardashian yet because of his difference of opinion with her mother Kris Jenner. Kim, who has been dating Kanye since almost a year, gave birth to their first child North West in June. “Kanye has the perfect out, he can’t marry Kim yet because he is going on world tour later this year.

He loves Kim, but just isn’t sure about marrying into the family,” radaronline.com quoted a source as saying.

“Kim is so close to her mom, and it’s no secret that Kris clashes with Kanye, a lot,” the source added. Kim's previous marriage with basketball player Kris Humphries was celebrated with a lot of hoopla. But Kanye is not keen on a lavish wedding affair either. “Kanye thinks Kris will want a big televised wedding. He’s really not up for that. He loves Kim, but he hates all the scrutiny that comes from being with her,” the source said.

IANS

S

inger Britney Spears has reportedly given pop sensation Justin Bieber some elderly advice and warned him about losing his path in the world of glamour and glory.

Bieber, 19, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, which include having run-ins with the law. He was recently filmed urinating in a mop bucket of a restaurant and saying “F**k Bill Clinton”. The singer later apologised for his behaviour. “Justin’s team asked her to talk some sense into him.

Britney warned him of the slippery slope that can easily lead to rehab — or even death — among young pop stars,” thesun.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

Spears, who has two sons Sean, eight, and Jayden, seven, too has been through her share of bad times, which include going to a rehabilitation centre for drug IANS addiction.

SPEARS

WARNS

BIEBER

about slippery slope of showbiz

26

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

SUNDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Cross one's heart 6 Denmark's — Islands 11 Customs 16 Lower the lighting 21 Antique brooch 22 Change a bill 23 Dickens' — Heep 24 Basketball venue 25 Turn away 26 ‘— — fast!’

27 River formation 28 Like fleabag hotels 29 Bias or Dawson 30 Charmed snake 32 Vermont syrup 34 Stir-fry pan 36 Narrow inlet 37 Ring earth goddess 39 Diver's find 41 Rodeo gear 43 Crete's sea 45 Whale diet 47 Very quickly 49 Updates 51 Encompassing 54 Be gracious 55 De Gaulle's topper 56 Polite cough 60 Give comfort 61 Subatomic particles 62 Debutante's bow 64 Perfume label word 65 Civil rights activist — Williams 66 Wilkes- —, Pa 67 Turkish coins 68 Pull — — one 70 Buckeye's sch 71 Ludlum's ‘The — Identity’ 73 Joins metal 74 Hedge shrub 75 Ark neighbour 77 Ties the knot 78 45 players (hyph) 79 Folly 80 Boudica's people 82 ‘— luego!’

83 Oregon Trail town 84 Pinatubo, for one 87 Labyrinths 88 Put up pictures 89 Vegas rival 93 UFO passengers 94 Entrance hall 95 Preserved salmon 97 Part of LAX 98 ‘Violet’ lead-in 99 Ballet leaps 100 Artful dodges 101 Honshu volcano 103 Rumor, perhaps 104 Let borrow 106 Profits 107 ‘New World Symphony’ composer 108 Semester 110 Youngsters 111 Held on tight 112 Former British colony 113 Marshy hollow 115 Seal a tub 116 Tibet's capital 117 Extra wary (hyph) 120 Take the car 122 Kind of thief 124 Sales slip (abbr) 128 Goat's-hair garment

129 Tenet 131 Spit out 133 Dangerous curves 135 ‘Go, team!’

136 Thick, woolen carpet 138 Ike's opponent 140 Cook slowly 142 Archaeology find 144 ‘Moonlight Gambler’ singer 145 Discover 146 Pentium producer 147 Suit material 148 Famed violin 149 Deep fissure 150 Rock-strewn 151 Chili-pepper dip DOWN 1 Map feature 2 Vacillate 3 Make changes to 4 — Lingus 5 Univ marchers 6 Engine component 7 Ethically neutral 8 Patch the pavement 9 Switch positions 10 Genesis kingdom 11 Beauty treatment 12 Familiar threat (2 wds)

13 Rubs the wrong way 14 Don the feedbag 15 Journalist Bernard — 16 Picnic hamper 17 Before 18 Tractor pioneer 19 Buddha's land 20 Pyramid builder 31 Comment 33 Rickman and Arkin 35 Watering hole 38 ‘Go fly — —!’

40 Punjab capital 42 Met productions 44 Cookie-selling org 46 Fix up an old house 48 Window part 50 Makes a decision 51 It's worth — — 52 Elk kin 53 Warrant officer (var) 54 Chances to play 55 Some Iraqis 57 Pant 58 Slackens off 59 Mongrels 61 — Gras 62 Small hairs 63 Linear units 66 Good, to Juan 67 Boxing jabs

69 Less coarse 72 Track great Jesse — 73 Older but — 74 Hurler Satchel — 76 Friendlier 78 Light fogs 79 Friars or lamas 81 Artificial waterway 82 Put up alfalfa 83 Gulls' perches 84 Arched ceiling 85 Stan's partner 86 Metric quart 87 Dust particles 88 Indochinese people 90 A moon of Jupiter 91 Tent dweller 92 Japanese port 94 Warded off 95 Creeps 96 Brubeck and others 99 Jug or slammer 100 Radio's — Harvey 102 Bat's navigational system 105 Gives a thumbs-up 106 Sticks together 107 Male duck 109 Future bks 111 Mine mishaps (hyph) 112 Awful

114 Complained 115 Tobacco products 116 Dwindle 117 Exasperates 118 WWII movie staple (hyph) 119 Zenith opposite 121 Deliver a message 123 Groovy 125 Fish carrier

126 Shows fright 127 — Bara of the silents 130 Actress — Powers 132 Baseball's Speaker 134 Former JFK arrivals 137 Bambi's aunt 139 Cotillion honouree 141 Ottawa's prov 143 Glasgow pair PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

27

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

STAR POWER Date 22-7-2013

As per Hindu panchang

THIRUVAIKUMAR

thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in 040-27177230 / 9949870449

TAURUS

GEMINI

Some have a chance to buy a house.

Businessmen are advised to postpone decisions of fresh investment. Employees are advised to focus on completing work within the stipulated time.

Family will be in a happy atmosphere.

Administrative abilities will get sharpened. Govt work is likely to get delayed. Those trying for a job will get favourable news. Verdict will go in favour.

Visa will come through without difficulties. You will recall sweet and memorable events of the past. Persons from other regions will extend help.

Some are likely to change residence.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

You will get work done with determination. Travel and tension will increase while helping blood relatives. A minor hitch is likely while buying property; carefully go through parent documents.

Marriage talks will progress well and finalisation is certain. Blood relatives will extend support. Help is likely to come from in-laws too to cheer you.

Some will go abroad unexpectedly.

Spouse’s health is a cause for concern.

Due to children you might face hardship. Stay cool and deal with the problems politely. Some relatives’ behaviour over borrowing money might irk you.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Your innovative approach will resolve long-pending issues. Share market deals will bring decent gains. Relatives will be more affectionate towards you.

Politicians will be in the limelight.

Politicians will gain importance. Friendship circle is likely to expand. Land you wanted to sell will fetch expected price.

Avoid luxurious expenses and take care of mother’s health.

Construction of house will commence as planned. Old friends will help you in your time of need. You will add more movable assets. A portion of major debts is likely to get cleared.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Sudden official trips are likely. Businessmen are likely to be in the growth path. They will also plan fresh investments which will yield desired results.

Marriage talks will progress well.

You will get important work done with a wise approach. Efforts to clear haunting debts will be successful. Close friends and relatives staying abroad will extend help and support.

Plans of an annex will materialise now.

Your talks will show a degree of maturity. Friends and close relatives will respect your suggestions and implement them without a second thought.

SUMAA TEKUR

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

The Moon – You may come across interesting folk tales or art and culture that makes you look at life differently.

Take a closer look at rituals.

Two of Cups – Drive carefully. If you are tired and do not feel like getting behind the steering wheel, do not force it. Get someone else to drive.

The Empress – You come across someone who is going to lie to you about an issue. How you react to that lie will determine what happens to your friendship.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Knight of Cups – You are not lacking in enthusiasm, and this is going to be your biggest strength. The challenge will be to keep the enthusiasm up.

Three of Wands – There is a good career opportunity coming to you in the next few days. Consider it carefully and only go ahead if you’re absolutely sure.

Ten of Swords – You have to keep trying if you want to win.

For, quitters never win and winners never quit. Keep at it and battle the doubts.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

King of Cups – You are spending on a thing that’s unnecessary. It may be because you’re bored and need a hobby to give you company in free time.

The Magician – You will get a lot of encouragement and support for your ideas from your family members. They will stand behind you like a rock.

Four of Pentacles – There will be a need to take a closer look at a project you’ve been working on.

Consider revising your point of view or doing a rewrite.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Five of Pentacles – You will face tremendous criticism for your work. You may be prepared. Do not get aggressive when someone calls your work mediocre.

Nine of Cups – You have seen many ups and downs in life.

Now, the tides are changing and your patience will win. You will get what you have always wanted.

Ten of Cups – There will be a lot of frustration over delays and unexpected obstacles. Keep calm and do not lose your temper with people who matter.

NON SEQUITUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE POOCH CAFE

STRIP TEASE

AGNES

ARIES

TAROT READ Date 22-7-2013

Since laughter is the best medicine The following are taken from actual trial transcripts as reported in the Massachusetts Bar Assoc Lawyers’ Journal

ty-year old, how old is he?

Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?

A: After the accident?

Q: Before the accident.

A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.

Q: Was it you or your brother who was killed in the war?

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

Q: The youngest son, the twen-

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: Did he kill you?

Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?

Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?

Q: How many times have you committed suicide?

Vol: 3, No 1 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, JULY 21, 2013

BRITT ROBERTS

joins Disney’s Tomorrowland opposite George Clooney

D

isney has tapped Britt Robertson (Under the Dome) for a lead role in Brad Bird’s science-fiction vehicle Tomorrowland opposite George Clooney and Hugh Laurie. Clooney has been cast as an inventor while Laurie will play the villain. Tomorrowland also stars Raffey Cassidy and Thomas Robinson. Damon Lindelof and Bird are producing from their script, co-written with Jeff Jensen. The story centers on a high school girl with an unconventional understanding of technology, who is launched on a journey to reclaim her future. Disney has dated the film, which was called 1952 in its early development stages, for December 12, 2014. Robertson’s credits include the upcoming Vince Vaughn comedy Delivery Man.

Comic Con: George RR Martin talks Game of Thrones prequel chances

H

ere's some news, Game of Thrones fans: George RR Martin is considering writing a prequel to his A Song of Ice and Fire book series, the source material for the hugely popular HBO drama.

During the audience Q&A portion the show’s Comic-Con session, the author was asked if he’d consider ever telling the story of the fall of the Mad King in a prequel — the fan’s rationale being that we’d potentially see more Ned Stark and “Sean Bean wouldn’t have to die again”. Martin ruled out only part of that idea. “I might [write a prequel],” Martin said. “I don’t think, however, it would be a prequel about Robert’s Rebellion. By the time I’m done with the last two books, you’ll know all that, all the twists and turns and betrayals.”

Continuing to speculate on what he might write if he ever were to do a prequel, Martin said, “But I might go back earlier and write something about Aegon and his sisters, or Aegon the Unworthy with his nine mistresses. There is lot of material if I want to go back and write about Westeros.” But first, of course, Martin has two more books to complete: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. “That’s going to take a while,” he said, noting that HBO’s ongoing adaptation is expediting the process. “The locomotive is coming and I’m still laying down the tracks,” he joked.

“They’ve killed many characters who are still alive in the books, so I’ll only take some of the blame here,” he said.

WHY IS

MILEY CYRUS always late?

S

inger Miley Cyrus says she has her own concept of time and blames her hectic schedule for being constantly late.

The 20-year-old singer, who is currently in London to promote her new single We Can't Stop, shared her side of the story on her latecoming on Nick Grimshaw’s show on Radio 1, reports contactmusic.com. “I’m always late. I have my own concept of time. They told me, ‘You have to go on air in 15 minutes’ and I was like, ‘I’m rushing, I’m rushing!’ I was putting different sunglasses in my bag, deciding if I like my nails today, what ring I should wear. I’m not too bad. I think some people would say different. But I just have so much going on, you can blame that,” she said.The singer also revealed that she prefers working late night. “When you’re in the studio there is a different concept of time. I don’t ever IANS start working till about midnight,” Cyrus added.

29

SPORTS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Panama in Gold Cup semis

M

anuel Gabriel Torres and Blas Perez each scored twice to spark Panama over 10-man Cuba 6-1 on Saturday, sending the winners into the Gold Cup semi-finals. Panama advanced into a Wednesday semi-final of the biennial North American regional tournament against the winner of a later match between defending champion Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. Jose Ciprian gave Cuba the lead in the 21st minute.

Creamer, Recari share lead

Bradl grabs first MotoGP pole

S

S

tefan Bradl became the first German rider to win a MotoGP pole, edging rookie Marc Marquez, who crashed late in qualifying, at the US Grand Prix on Saturday. Bradl posted a top lap time of one minute, 21.176 seconds, finishing just 17 thousandths of a second quicker than Marquez, whose challenge was cut short by a crash on turn six at Laguna Seca. Defending MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa qualified sixth and seventh.

pain’s Beatriz Recari and US veteran Paula Creamer each fired four-under par 67s to share the lead after the third round of the $1.3 million LPGA Marathon Classic. Both players enjoyed a bogey-free round to finish 54 holes on 12-under par 201, three strokes ahead of Japan’s Chi Arimura and Americans Lexi Thompson and Jacqui Concolino. “I gave myself some opportunities I didn’t really capitalise on," Creamer said.

Froome to cap classic English summer Froome’s victory will cap a superb summer of sport for Britain following the British and Irish Lions’ successful summer Tour, Andy Murray’s maiden Wimbledon triumph, and the England cricket team’s dominance of Australia in the Ashes.

Justin Davis

PARIS: Kenyan-born cyclist Chris Froome was Sunday poised to succeed Bradley Wiggins as the Tour de France champion to complete what has been a superb summer of sport for Britain.

Froome, who finished runner-up in 2012 on his way to helping Sky teammate Wiggins make history, heads into Sunday’s final stage with a 5min 03sec lead on Colombian sensation Nairo Quintana.

The final stage of the world’s biggest bike race is traditionally not contested by the contenders in the race’s general classification, whose prize is the fabled yellow jersey.

Instead, the sprinters are set to do battle for the final stage victory of the 100th edition with Britain’s Mark Cavendish, of Omega-Pharma, aiming for his fifth successive victory on the world famous Champs Elysees in Paris.

After a final day of climbing on the race Saturday, when race debutant Quintana claimed his maiden stage win,

moved up to second overall and claimed both the white jersey (best young rider) and polka dot jersey (best climber), the dream Froome first had while riding a mountain bike on dirt trails around Nairobi was slowly sinking in.

“The journey I’ve taken to get here, from riding on little dirt roads on a mountain bike back in Kenya to be here in yellow on the Tour de France, it’s

difficult for me to put into words," he added.

“This is an amazing feeling."

Froome, who moved to South Africa as a teenager and took a British racing licence only in 2008, has been regarded as a potential multiple winner in cycling’s marquee Grand Tours since finishing second on the 2011 Tour of Spain.

He followed that result with

a runner-up place on the Tour de France last year as he played a crucial role in Wiggins securing the sport’s top prize.

Wiggins did not participate in this year’s Tour after suffering from illness in the wake of his retirement from the Giro d’Italia following a crash.

Froome, however, had been the form stage racer in the peloton this season, winning the Tour of Oman, TirrenoAdriatico, Criterium du Dauphine and Tour of Romandie stage races.

He struck a first blow on stage eight of this year’s Tour de France when he attacked several kilometres from the finish to win atop Ax-TroisDomaines in the Pyrenees.

After a second place finish on the stage 11 time trial, where he stretched his advantage further, victories on the Mont Ventoux (stage 15) and the stage 16 time trial to Chorges virtually sealed his triumph.

It left Froome with a virtually unassailable lead of 5:11 over former two-time champion Alberto Contador.

Fedex looks to revive form Scott Williams

GSTAAD: Roger Federer will seek to resurrect his disappointing season in front of expectant home fans as the 17time Grand Slam winner returns to next week’s claycourt Swiss Open for the first time in nine years.

Federer, 31, with his world ranking down to fifth for the first time in a decade, lost 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) in the weekend semi-finals at Hamburg to Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis as the slumping Swiss

Federer lost 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) in the weekend semi-finals at Hamburg to Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis. struggles to try and get adjusted to a new, larger racquet.

“I’ve been very close on numerous occasions to changing racquets in a bigger way," Federer was quoted as saying on the ATP website while in Germany.

“But then very often, time was the issue. Maybe also just

the records of grand slams so then it was also a bit more difficult to change it because of the time.

“After I lost at Wimbledon, I thought this is a good time to go and test the racquets, to take a bit of time off.”

Sangakkara ton too much for Proteas The left-hander’s 16th ODI century steered Sri Lanka to 320-5 after the hosts were sent in to bat.

COLOMBO: Kumar Sangakkara smashed his highest one-day score of 169 off 137 balls as Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 180 runs in the first one-day international in Colombo on Saturday. The veteran left-hander’s 16th one-day century steered Sri Lanka to a commanding 320-5 after the hosts were sent in to bat in the day-night game at the Premadasa stadium. South Africa were shot out for 140 in reply, the innings lasting just 31.5 overs, to leave Sri Lanka with a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sangakkara chippped in with two catches and a stumping, earning him the man of the match award.

Thompson closes in on win MADISON: American Nicholas Thompson, seeking his first US PGA title, fired a seven-under par 65 to share the lead after Saturday’s third round of the $3 million Sanderson Farms Championship.

Thompson and countryman Daniel Summerhays stood on 17under 199 after 54 holes with fellow Americans Chad Campbell, Woody Austin, Kyle Reifers and Cameron Beckman sharing third on 201. Thompson was among the players who awoke early to finish the storm-interrupted second round Saturday morning before playing the third in the afternoon. “It was a long day but I got a nice little gap in between," Thompson said. “I’m just scoring a little bit better and better."

Lightning returned to halt play as the final group reached the 18th green, with Summerhays having a 19-foot birdie putt to match Thompson.

Third round scores 210 Lee Westwood (ENG) 72-68-70 212 Hunter Mahan (USA) 72-72-68, Tiger Woods (USA) 69-71-72 213 Adam Scott (AUS) 71-72-70 214 Ryan Moore (USA) 72-70-72, Zach Johnson (USA) 66-75-73, Ángel Cabrera (ARG) 69-72-73, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70-70-74 215 Francesco Molinari (ITA) 69-7472, Phil Mickelson (USA) 69-74-72 216 Brandt Snedeker (USA) 68-7969, Sergio García (ESP) 75-7368, Miguel Ángel Jiménez (ESP) 68-71-77, Dustin Johnson (USA) 68-72-76, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 71-73-72, Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 74-7171, Jason Day (AUS) 73-71-72 217 Rafael Cabrera (ESP) 67-74-76 218 - Johnson Wagner (USA) 73-72-73, Justin Leonard (USA) 74-70-74, Richard Sterne (RSA) 75-75-68, Ernie Els (RSA) 74-7470, Martin Kaymer (GER) 72-7472, Ian Poulter (ENG) 72-71-75 219 - Danny Willett (ENG) 7572-72, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 7374-72, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 75-68-76, Shingo Katayama (JPN) 73-77-69, Keegan Bradley (USA) 75-74-70, Matt Kuchar (USA) 74-73-72, Jordan Spieth (USA) 69-74-76, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 75-71-73, Darren Clarke (NIR) 72-71-76 220 - Bud Cauley (USA) 74-7571, Ken Duke (USA) 70-77-73, Harris English (USA) 74-71-75, Tom Lehman (USA) 68-77-75, Bubba Watson (USA) 70-73-77, Todd Hamilton (USA) 69-81-70, Grégory Bourdy (FRA) 76-7074, Webb Simpson (USA) 7370-77, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 71-74-75, Paul Lawrie (SCO) 8169-70, Carl Pettersson (SWE) 74-76-70, Steven Tiley (ENG) 72-75-73 221 - K.J. Choi (KOR) 76-74-71, Y.E. Yang (KOR) 78-70-73, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 79-7171, Boo Weekley (USA) 74-7671, Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) 73-73-75 222 - Gonzalo FernándezCastaño (ESP) 70-79-73, Fred Couples (USA) 75-74-73, Mark O’Meara (USA) 67-78-77, Richie Ramsay (SCO) 76-74-72, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 7670-76, Martin Laird (SCO) 7071-81, Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 72-75-75, George Coetzee (RSA) 76-71-75, Branden Grace (RSA) 74-71-77, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 75-75-72, Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 73-76-73, Mark Brown (NZL) 77-73-72

30

MUIRFIELD, JULY 18 – 21

SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Lee’s final charge

The 40-year-old Englishman is in pole position to break his duck at Muirfield when he carries a two-stroke lead into the final round.

Allan Kelly

GULLANE: Lee Westwood says he knows what it takes to win a major despite having failed to do so 61 times previously.

The 40-year-old Englishman is in pole position to break his duck at Muirfield on Sunday when he carries a two-stroke lead into the final round of the British Open.

Chasing him will be tied-for-second Americans Tiger Woods and Hunter Mahan, with a batch of golfing big names like Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia all lurking within range.

Westwood is already firmly established as the nearly-man of world golf with 10 top-10 finishes in his last 20 majors, including runner-up showings at the 2010 Masters and British Open at St Aandrews.

He believes that this time the outcome can be different.

“I’ve had lots of chances, sometimes I’ve played well, other times I’ve played not too well,” he said.

“Obviously I had a chance at Turnberry in 2009. I messed up a bit.

That can fall back on you, just getting out of the zone, worrying about what other people were doing and not focusing

on my own game.

“I felt like I played well when I had a chance at the Masters, and felt like I had a great round.

“So I know what it takes. Even though I haven’t won a major, I know what it takes to win one. It’s just a case of going out there tomorrow and having the confidence in my game, which I’ve got. And putting it to the test.”

Westwood said he would take confidence from duelling for the lead with Woods throughout Saturday’s third round and winning, his suspect short game, and especially his putting, proving to be the key to success.

That, he believes partly comes down to moving his family from England to Florida last winter and a chance meeting with Australia’s former Open champion Ian Baker-Finch who has given Westwood some “feel” pointers on the greens.

“I’d hoped that living in that kind of

climate and having access to great golf courses and faster greens and stuff like that and practice facilities, that it was going to help my game,” he said.

“And so far this year I’ve contended — you pick out the big tournaments, which so far for me this year, the Masters, The Players, the US Open and the PGA Championship at Wentworth, I’ve contended in all of them.

“And now The Open Championship.

So you’d have to say it’s worked to a certain extent in a positive way for my game.”

What remains for him now is to clinch the deal on Sunday and become the first Englishman to win the British Open since Nick Faldo did so, also at Muirfield, in 1992, adding to countryman Justin Rose’s US Open triumph last month.

Will Woods break the jinx?

All of the American’s 14 major titles were won when he was either leading, or was tied for the lead going into the last 18 holes.

GULLANE: Tiger Woods has never done it before, but he believes he can do it Sunday in the final round of the British Open. All of the American’s 14 major titles were won when he was either leading, or was tied for the lead going into the last 18 holes.

He has never won one when trailing as he will be at Muirfield, two strokes behind England’s Lee Westwood.

After firing a one over 72 on Saturday in the company of Westwood, who had a 70, Woods said that he was happy with his position going into the final round.

“I’m pleased where I’m at.

I’m only two back. There’s only

one guy ahead of me. And tomorrow, we’ll see what they do tomorrow,” said Woods.

“I’ve got 14 of these things [majors], and I know what it takes to win it.

“He [Westwood] has won tournaments all over the world.

He knows how to win golf tournaments. He’s two shots ahead and we’re going to go out there and both compete and play.

“It’s not just us two. There’s a bunch of guys who have a chance to win this tournament.

And all of us need to really play well to win it.”

Woods briefly held a solo lead on Saturday when he sunk an 18-footer for birdie at the second.

URN

SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

IT ASHES 2013

The Root cause

It was an even sweeter century for Joe Root as his younger brother Billy served as England’s 12th man and drinks carrier for much of the day.

SCRORE BOARD

England 1st innings 361 Australia 1st innings 128 England 2nd innings AN Cook* b Siddle 8 JE Root not out 178 JL Trott b Siddle 0 KP Pietersen c Rogers b Siddle 5 T Bresnan c Rogers b Pattinson 38 IR Bell c Rogers b Smith 74 JM Bairstow not out 11 Extras (b 11, lb 8) 19 Total (5 wickets; 110 overs) 333 Bowling O M R W RJ Harris 16 4 28 0 SR Watson 12 5 25 0 PM Siddle 21 6 65 3 JL Pattinson 20 8 42 1 SPD Smith 14 0 65 1 AC Agar 27 4 89 0

Steven Griffiths

LONDON: England opener Joe Root revealed a barrage of goodnatured abuse from his brother inspired him to destroy Australia with a majestic 178 not out on the third day of the second Test at Lord’s on Saturday.

At 22 years and 202 days, Root became England’s youngest Ashes centurion at Lord’s as the Yorkshire batsman recorded his second ton in just his eighth Test.

Root’s heroics provided the foundation for England to push Australia closer to a second successive defeat, with the hosts losing only two wickets to close on 333 for five, a lead of 566 with two days to play.

It was even sweeter for Root as his younger brother Billy, a member of the ground staff of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord’s, served as

ROOT, WHO SCORED HIS MAIDEN TEST CENTURY AGAINST NEW ZEALAND IN MAY, SCORED ONLY 41 RUNS IN 3 PREVIOUS INNINGS IN THE SERIES. England’s 12th man and drinks carrier for much of the day.

That meant England’s star performer was subjected to some good natured jibes from Billy

during every drinks break.

“He has been abusing me all day bringing drinks out, so he actually had to be nice to me when I got the hundred,” Root said.

“He was telling me I was scoring too slowly and saying he would have been smashing it to all parts.

“To be honest it was nastier than anything said to me by Shane Watson and the Australian bowlers.

“It was good to share it with my family though. My parents were here as well and I’m sure they enjoyed it.”

Root, who scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand on home soil at Headingley in May, had only

mustered 41 runs in three previous innings in the series, but he seized his chance to grind Australia into the dust in sensational fashion.

“It would be wrong to say you don’t get nervous but you just try to enjoy it more than anything,” Root said.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It would be silly to ruin it by being anxious. It was great. I really enjoyed it.

“Headingley was quite special but to do it at Lord’s against Australia is very enjoyable.

“I watched the Ashes when I was a boy and it’s great to be part it now.” Australia pace bowler Peter Siddle expects England to keep batting for at least the first hour on Sunday.

31

KP out for rest of Test LONDON: England batsman Kevin Pietersen will play no further part in the second Test against Australia due to a left calf strain, a team spokeswoman said after Saturday’s third day close.

Pietersen, who suffered the injury while fielding on Friday, would be re-assessed ahead of the third Test at Old Trafford starting on August 1.

“Kevin Pietersen will not take the field for the remainder of the second Test after scans showed a left calf strain,” the spokeswoman said.

“He will continue to be monitored and assessed ahead of the third Test.”

Pietersen has missed most of England’s matches since a knee injury forced his early exit from the tour of New Zealand in March.

The former England captain was sidelined from all cricket until making a superb unbeaten 177 for Surrey in a County Championship match in June.

He was recalled by England for their washed out Twenty20 match against New Zealand at The Oval, his Surrey home ground, on June 27.

Pietersen then played in England’s 14-run first Test win over Australia at Trent Bridge last week where he made scores of 14 and 64. Although boasting a Test average of nearly 50, Pietersen managed just seven runs in total across two innings at Lord’s.

McGrath stunned by ‘horror’ at Lord’s Ashes-holders England, already 1-0 up in the five-match series after a 14-run win at Trent Bridge last week, were 333 for five at stumps on Saturday’s third day with Root 178 not out.

LONDON: Australia great Glenn McGrath bemoaned a “horror day” for the tourists as Joe Root batted England into a position of total dominance in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

McGrath, who retired from Test cricket in 2007 with 563 wickets to his name — the most by any fast bowler — was dismayed by what he saw at Lord’s.

“It was a horror day for Australia, it was probably even worse than Friday,” McGrath, a member of BBC Radio’s Test Match Special commentary

team, said. “England saw them off early on and then the runs starting to tick over as the day wore on.”

McGrath was also bemused as to why Australia didn’t take the new ball Saturday, albeit England were 172 for four — a lead of 405 runs — when it became available after 80 overs.

“I am curious why Australia didn’t take the new ball, run in hard and have a red-hot go at England to show they won’t lie down,” McGrath said.

“It became too easy at times.

Nothing shy of a miracle can save them [Australia] from here.”

Meanwhile opening great Geoffrey Boycott, also commentating for the BBC, marvelled at the audacity of 22-year-old Yorkshire and England successor Root.

Boycott could not resist a dig at Australia’s batsmen.

“If Bangladesh had been bowled out for 128 like Australia were, people would be saying they are pathetic and shouldn’t be playing Test cricket.”

32

SPORTS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

Carlo sure that Ronaldo will stay MADRID: Real Madrid’s new coach Carlo Ancelotti believes tying down star striker Cristiano Ronaldo to the club “will not be a problem”, he said Saturday.

Ronaldo has yet to sign a new deal to extend his three-year stay at the Bernabeu but Ancelotti is confdent the former Manchester United star will stay put.

“Everybody knows he is a phenomenon and a great player,” said Ancelotti following a training session.

“Renewing his contract is not my job but it won’t be a problem.”

Ancelotti added: “I think in general the atmosphere among the squad is good.”

But the veteran Italian coach would not be drawn on potential new signings.

Asked about the possible arrival of Gareth Bale from Tottenham or PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ancelotti said simply: “I cannot talk about players who are not Madrid’s.

“I do not want to talk about Bale. Everyone knows what a great player he is but out of respect for those who are here I don’t want to talk about him. Ibramovic today he is not a Real Madrid player.”

Ancelotti said he had sent a message to Barcelona wishing former coach Tito Vilanova all the best.

The Indonesia XI, made up of mostly of national team players, lost in front of a home crowd in the capital Jakarta, but gave a solid performance that ended 2-0.

Zambia lift Cosafa Cup

Liverpool beat Indonesia

JAKARTA: Liverpool defeated

Indonesia XI in a pre-season friendly Saturday, with the frustrated Reds finally scoring a second goal after struggling to break through a solid wall of defence.

The Indonesia XI, made up of mostly of national team players, lost in front of a home crowd in the capital Jakarta, but gave a solid performance that ended 2-0.

The stalls in the cavernous Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were a sea of red from both Liverpool and Indonesia jerseys, with Indonesia fans cheering each time striker Titus Bonay touched the ball.

Despite the loss, Indonesian followers seemed pleased at the

result — more dignified than their team’s 7-0 defeat to Arsenal last week.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers told reporters after the match that the Indonesians “were technically very good, worked very hard”.

“I was really impressed by the attitude, quality and humbleness of the team,” he said.

Swift passing saw the Reds’ Philippe Coutinho score the first goal in ninth minute, but the team struggled to add another to the scoreboard, only doing so in the final stretch after skirting Indonesia’s strong defence.

Liverpool midfielder Luis Alberto wasted several opportunities to score, hitting the cross-

bar in the 29th minute with a firm strike from the edge of the penalty box.

Indonesian keeper Kurnia Meiga worked hard to make up for a weak midfield, facing constant attacks on goal in the second half as Liverpool upped their game.

Clearly frustrated, Liverpool finally got their second in the 87th minute with Raheem Sterling tapping one in, with Meiga unable to mark three players who broke through the defence. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard told broadcaster SCTV he was glad to win and was focusing on getting his team back into the Champions League.

Pep’s thoughts are with Vilanova Bayern thrashed Hamburg 4-0, but manager Guardiola’s thoughts remained with his former assistant Vilanova’s cancer relapse.

BERLIN: New Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola said his thoughts were with former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova on Saturday after overseeing his first match in charge of the Bavarians.

Bayern thrashed Hamburg 40 in a 60-minute runout in their Telekom Cup pre-season encounter to book a final with hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach, who saw off Borussia Dortmund 1-0 courtesy of a last-gasp Filip Daems penalty. But the result was not uppermost in Guardiola’s mind as he spoke to reporters briefly about his former assistant Vilanova’s stepping down as Barcelona boss after suffering a throat cancer relapse.

“It is very diffcult for me to

talk about this subject in German. [Vilanova] is a close friend of mine and I love him very much,” said Guardiola in comments carried by Spanish media.

He added: “I can only wish him and his family the best as they confront this difficult moment with strength. This is very, very tough for me,” he went on.

Both men have been caught up in recent days in something of a war of

words after Guardiola, coming off a year-long US sabbatical, accused the Barcelona board of using Vilanova’s illness to “damage” him.

Vilanova succeeded Guardiola, twice a Champions League winner with the Catalan club in four years in charge, in the summer of 2012, and despite his illness, which necessitated long absences for treatment, led the club to La Liga title last season.

But

Guardiola felt moved to deny he has missed a chance to visit Vilanova while he was being treated in New York.

“I will never forget that they used Tito’s illness to cause me damage, because it’s a lie that I never saw him in New York,” he said.

However, Vilanova hit back this week by saying no-one on the Barcelona board had used his illness to attack him.

Vilanova said that “Pep got it wrong and I’m surprised by his comments. No one on the board used my illness to attack him.

And Vilanova added: “He visited me once in New York when I had just arrived, but during my recovery from the operation I was there for two months and I didn’t see him.”

NDOLA: Early and late goals from free-kicks gave Zambia the Cosafa Cup Saturday with a 2-0 win over holders Zimbabwe.

Promoted Alex N’gonga scored after four minutes and substitute Kabaso Chongo sealed success two minutes into stoppage time in the Zambian mining city of Ndola.

But the scoreline was cruel to Zimbabwe, who won far more possession only to be foiled by some great goalkeeping from Danny Munyau and their own poor finishing.

It was the fourth southern African national team championship title for Zambia, matching Zimbabwe’s record.

And France-born Zambia coach Herve Renard got the revenge he craved for 2005 and 2009 final defeats by Zimbabwe.

It was his second trophy in charge of the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets), having defied the odds to win the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

N’gonga, elevated to the starting line-up after making a big impact when he came on against South Africa in the semi-finals, struck on four minutes.

The position of the free-kick — 25 metres out near the touchline — hardly spelt danger to Zimbabwe.

But as the kick flew goalwards, the defensive wall pushed forward and the ball bounced once before flying over Maxwell Nyamupangedengu into the corner.

A wonderful start for the hosts almost got even better on the quarter-hour mark when a Bornwell Mwape back-header rebounded off the crossbar.

Zimbabwe slowed gained the ascendancy and a purple patch midway through the opening half came close to delivering an equaliser.

Tendai Ndoro headed wide from close range, Munyau acrobatically tipped away a Last Chibwiro drive, and an Eric Chipeta header off a corner flew just over.

There were more substitutions than scoring chances in a second half Zimbabwe often controlled, and Munyau did superbly to keep out a Ronald Chitiyo header.

Zambia substitute Moses Phiri went close with a shot across the goalmouth before Chongo landed the killer blow.