Postnoon E-Paper for 24 February 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY PERIODS; 28°C

PM TAKES A

CHOPPER

TO BE SAFE! BUT WHAT

ABOUT THE REST OF US? REPORT ON PG 3

Eight million Hyderabadis have to chance their luck, but as fresh terror warnings come in, security agencies skip the PM’s 16-km road route from Begumpet to Dilsukhnagar and airlift him from the airport to a garden in Kothapet.

IS THIS THE

CULPRIT?

PG 3

n a development, investigating agencies probing the City blasts arrested Mohammed Rayeesuddin, an accused in the 2007 Macca Masjid blasts, just as the PM landed at the airport around 11am. Rayeesuddin was picked up from his in-laws’ house in Hasham Nagar of Chandrayangutta.

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

FEBRUARY 24, 2013 HYDERABAD

32 PAGES

ON SUNDAY

CITY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

PULSE POLIO

Darpana

M ANIL KUMAR

Exhibition of paintings by Jayadevanna TS, an artist from Mysore, sponsored by Kanasa and Culture Department, Bangalore. Where: Rainbow Art Gallery, GMC Paryataka Bhavan Begumpet When: February 20-25

For the love of fauna ‘For the love of fauna’ is a group art exhibition by G Jagadeesh, Jaya Prakash and Maddileti Gaddam. Where: Residence Inn, Opp SBH Bank, Kavuri Hills, Jubilee Hills When: Up to March 6 11am to 7pm Contact: (040) 2311 3709

Solo art show Display of works by Saraswathi L. Where: Muse, Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre When: Up to March 2

The Oath of Vayuputras There is a discount on the last book in the Shiva trilogy. Landmark is running a pre-booking offer. Where: Landmark, Hyderabad When: Up to February 26

Saree Draping Workshop Topics covered will include styles of sari draping (regular, gujrati, cocktail, ghaGRA) and tips. It will also cover the use of scarfs and stolls. Where: Panache, The Finishing School, Road no. 7, Banjara Hills When: February 28, Contact: (040) 6673 3451

The First Cut A festival of short films and documentaries, where amateurs can showcase their talents. Where: St Francis College for Women, Uma Nagar, Begumpet When: March 4, 10.30am onwards

Double the love

Flavours of authentic family style Korean cuisine prepared by native chefs from Hyatt Regency Incheon. Where: Oriental Bar & Kitchen When: Lunch: 12.30pm onwards Dinner: 19.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 4949 1204

Samahaara workshop Samahaara is organising ‘Samahaara Weekend Theatre Workshops.’ Apart from acting, it includes outdoor theatre activities, readings, analysis and discussions. Where: Lamakaan, Off Road no. 1,

CINEMAS

Listening to classical and jazz music recordings with visual aids, notes, question-answer sessions and discussion on the same. Where: Lamakaan, Off Road no. 1, Lane Adjacent to C-Bay Banjara Hills, Hyderabad When: February 24, 4pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329 Stray Train Trio's charity concert, composed by Krishna (vocal and guitar), Mark (bass) and Riccardo (percussion). It is an Indo-Italian collaboration. Where: Lamakaan, Off Road no. 1, Lane Adjacent to C-Bay Banjara Hills When: February 24, 7pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329

Sculptural paintings by Lester Paul will be on display. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Up to March 2, 11.30am to 7pm Contact: www.iconart.in

Korean Promotion

HWMF-Listening Post

Music for charity

Return Of Innocence

Papa John’s offers heart shaped thin crust pizza for an entire month. It is available in all existent flavours and at no extra cost. Where: All Papa John’s outlets When: February

Cyberabad Post Office When: March 15,, Contact: (040) 2355 4486

GHMC mayor Mohd Majid Hussain administers polio drops at UPHC Chintal Basthi, Khairatabad.

Lane Adjacent to C-Bay Banjara Hills When: Weekends, Up to February 24 Contact: 96427 31329

over four weekends for adults. When: Weekends starting from February 23, 11am onwards Contact: 94901 00404

The Landmark sale

ANANTA Opus 195

Landmark announces its sale of Up to 70 per cent off. Bestselling books starting at `49, 3 for 2 on the top 500 new releases are just some of the offers. Where: Landmark, Hyderabad When: Up to February 25

Concerto for Sarod electronic and symphonic orchestra by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Pierre Thilloy. Where: Shilpa Kala Vedika, When: March 1 Contact: (040) 2355 4486

Filmmaking workshop Alliance Francaise along with Yavanika Films is conducting a film appreciation course over two weekends and a filmmaking workshop

Imany World music- jazz and soul. Where: Hyderabad International Convention Centre Novotel & HICC complex Near Hitec City P.O Bag 1101

ead down to Syn at the Taj Deccan where a Korean feast of flavour awaits you. Korean cuisine is unfortunately the step child of Asian cuisine in Hyderabad, but Syn will change that view, charged with flavour and spicy enough to tantalise even the most spice-damaged Indian taste buds. The festival runs for dinners only till February 28, so be there to experience the Seoul of food (see what we did there!). You can read the full review by The Foodist on page 15. City’s #1 spot

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

CITY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Polls in Borabanda ward

CM should quit: TDP

he State Election Commission issued notifications for conduct of elections in Ward No 108 (Borabanda), Circle No 10, GHMC. Elections will be conducted on March 17. Counting will be held on March 19. The election is being conducted in the backdrop of Congress corporator G Vanaja’s disqualification in a court ruling.

Rahul Ramakrishna rahul.r@postnoon.com

rime Minister Manmohan Singh today arrived here from Delhi in a special aircraft to visit Thursday’s blast sites in the City. Governor ESL Narasimham, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain and other dignitaries received him at the Begumpet airport. Immediately after arriving at the airport, he took off in the IAF helicopter kept ready that took him to Victoria Memorial Home grounds, from where he was driven a couple of kilome-

DP MP T Devender Goud and leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dadi Veerabhadra Rao squarely blamed the CM and his Cabinet for the blasts and demanded their resignation. “The blasts occurred solely because of the State government’s failure. The entire Cabinet should own responsibility and quit,” Goud said.

Labourer commits suicide

labourer, G Ravi, 33, has committed suicide by hanging himself at his home situated in Afzal Sagar of Habeebnagar area. An alcoholic, Ravi reportedly came home late on Friday night and demanded `1,000 from his wife. She refused to give him money. Angry, he is said to have taken the extreme step in an inebriated condition.

PM arrives in City Dilsukhnagar was declared out-of-bounds to traffic as the Prime Minister arrived to assess the extent of Thursday’s blasts. tres to the ground zero at Dilsukhnagar. The whole area was barricaded and declared out of bounds for traffic. All shops remained closed. The road looked deserted. He was led to the ground zero just in front of Anand Tiffins and after the chief

minister explained how it all happened, the PM and his entourage left for Omni and Yashoda hospitals nearby, where some of the injured are being treated. The PM reportedly proposes to visit two more hospitals nearby and drive to the chief

minister’s camp office for a briefing with the top security chiefs and the Cabinet. The PM’s itinerary was a closely guarded secret. Police chiefs and government PRs left a lot of red herrings to thwart the media and possible threats.

Scapegoat or culprit?

MPs not allowed near blast site, protest

P V Hanumanth Rao, ministers Sudhir Babu, Danam Nagender and a host of other ministers and leaders were prevented by SPG near the blast centre. Mediapersons too were kept out of the scene. This provoked the leaders to shout on top of their voices to register their protest. The noise attracted the attention of the prime minister, but he did not pay any heed. M ANIL KUMAR

Macca Masjid suspect arrested again. MOHAMMED RAYEESUDDIN WAS ARRESTED AFTER THE

2007 BLASTS, AND

LATER RELEASED FOR WANT OF EVIDENCE.

n a curious development, the investigating agencies probing the City blasts took Mohammed Rayeesuddin, an accused in Macca Masjid (2007) blasts, into custody, just as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed at the Hyderabad airport around 11am. He was picked up around 10 minutes past 10 this morning from his inlaws house in Hasham Nagar of Chandrayangutta. Rayeesuddin, 30, is an electrician working at a shop at TV Tower. He was one of those arrested in the 2007 blasts, but was acquitted for want of evidence. After his acquittal, he had shifted his residence to Shamshabad.

City unsafe for PM

So what of the eight million residents? Fresh terror warning compels security agencies to skip the 16-km road route from Begumpet to Dilsukhnagar and directly airlift him from the Begumpet airport to a garden in Kothapet area. Postnoon News feedback@postnoon.com

he State intelligence and NIA have suddenly taken an about-turn on the Prime Minister’s visit to the City blast venue today. Redrawing his

road-route from Begumpet airport to Dilsukhnagar, the agencies arranged a direct airlift from the airport to Victoria Memorial grounds, four kilometres from Dilsukhnagar area, in the wake of a fresh terror strike warning.

It is learnt that the Central Intelligence Bureau had issued a fresh alert to the City police last evening that led to the change in the PM’s tour route. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy held a high-level meeting in Secretariat in the wake of

the fresh alert received from IB. The meeting was attended by State home minister Sabita Indra Reddy, DGP Dinesh Reddy, State intelligence chief Mahender Reddy and police commissioners of City and Cyberabad.

CITY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Porous security While illegal immigrants and residents without refugee status flood the City, hawkers who claim they could

No check on refugees So much for the police’s claims of keeping vigil. There is no check on the Rohingya refugees who keep pouring in from Burma, except occasional police visits.

Mohd SUBHAN

mohd.s@postnoon.com

n a knee-jerk reaction, the City’s special branch, whose job is to keep an eye on illegal immigrants and unlawful settlers, has begun a round of the City after the blasts, collecting details about Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who hide in the City or overstay their visa. But no special effort is being made to check the refugees coming in from Burma, who neither a refugee status nor an official recognition, Postnoon enquiries reveal. The joint commissioner of police, special branch, Mahesh Murlidhar Bhagwat, said, “We have a special cell to keep vigil over the Pak and Bangla nationals and our men keep an eye on them.” He insisted that Burmese settlers have refugee status but enquiries revealed otherwise. The arrest of Dr Atiya Jabeen, a Pakistani woman, and her differently-abled son, is the only incident police recorded recently. The doctor’s case is a human rights issue as she was

kicked out by her Pakistani husband and in-laws. She was a Hyderabadi before marrying a Pak national. Burmese nationals keep coming in. From a few hundred last year, the number has gone up 1,500, and more people are coming in. It is said that some local Muslim leaders are taking the initiative to bring them, disregarding national interests. They are settled in Hafiz Babanagar, Balapur, Kishanbagh and surrounding ares. Around 1,000 have refugee cards but others still do not have any. They say the Buddhist government of Myanmar is still persecuting the minority Muslims and they are unable to go back. Since they are unable to pursue their mother tongue, the refugee children are given Arabic language education, which detractors of the Congress government feel was one step away from Indianising them with ration card and aadhar card. The refugees, however, said the Kanchanbagh police summon them to the station once in a while but after the blasts no police check was conducted. “We are happy,” remarked Zubair Mohammed, one of the refugees in the camp. SRINIVAS SETTY

REMOVING

THE SAFETY NETS Hawkers who were evicted from Dilsukhnagar last week by corrupt officials say they could have spotted unusual activity had they been there.

Aleena Alice aleena.t@postnoon.com

hat the new rulers of the country, be it the politician or the policemen, don’t realise is that each ethnic activity serves the people and has a purpose. Hawkers along the streets are one example how thoughtless action and corrupt policemen remove some safety nets available to the masses. The Dilsukhnagar blasts perhaps would not have happened if the ‘cut demanding’ police had not cruelly removed vendors on the pavement, who act as the eyes

4&5

leaves City exposed have spotted suspicious activity were evicted from the road behind Venkatadri theatre before the blast. M ANIL KUMAR

Immigrants cram City “Why do our cities and the country have to be turned into lodges to accommodate illegal immigrants?” asks BJP president Kishan Reddy.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

rahul.r@postnoon.com

ith any terror threat or incidence of violence in the City, fingers are naturally pointed at foreign nationals living here. Given the huge number of Burmese immigrants living illegally in the City or the many Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and African nationals residing here, there is no cognitive action or surveillance taken either by the State government or the local law and order enforcement agencies. It is not legitimate foreigners, but the illegal immigrants who are a cause of concern. Postnoon visited Balapur, where a huge number of Rohingya Muslims have settled; at least about 1,500 Burmese nationals who have travelled all the way from Burma to Delhi and have migrated to the City. In a span of two months, their numbers have increased from 400 to 1,500. They have no refugee status, residential proofs or ration cards. In short, they do not exist as citizens of Hyderabad on record. What does the police or our public representatives do about the weak state of law

M ANIL KUMAR

and order enforcement? How do we tackle the issue of illegal immigration before it has disastrous consequences? We ask our elected leaders and here is what they have to say. MP from Nalgonda, Guttha Sukendar Reddy, says, “ The cause of a major trouble in the country has been illegal immigrants. We, as political representatives, have no idea of the number of immigrants who have overstayed their visit in the City or the country. In Old City, there is no effective policing or monitoring of the number of illegal settlements of foreign nationals. They could possibly harbour anti-social elements. There have been several discussions and debates over this issue in the parliament. Proper governance and enforcement alone can solve this issue.” Jayaprakash Narayan, MLA from Kukatpally constituency ,says, “Before we tackle the issue of illegal immigration, we must strengthen our police services. Conclusions must not be made to ostracise some community, but rather it should be evidence-based. If the London police could survey three terrorists for two months and take them into custody swiftly, why can’t we function in a similar manner? Secondly, the case of illegal immigration is present world-wide. If I were to know that there was a community of immigrants living

in the City in my constituency, I would check to see if they were citizens of the country first. Not all immigrants are foreign nationals. Secondly, I would keep the Centre and the State government informed about this and conduct regular surveys to check for economic, political and civic problems within the community. If no mischief is found, they would very gladly be integrated into our City.” State BJP president G Kishan Reddy says, “We have been the only political party to raise this issue several times during the Assembly proceedings. That does not mean that they are responsible for any anti-social activity. Our question is, why do our cities and the country have to be turned into lodges to accommodate these people? The government should take strict measures to control this issue.”

N SHIVA KUMAR

and ears of the cops, if they care. The road behind the bus stop at the Venkatadri theatre in Dilsukhnagar used to be bustling with nearly 150 street hawkers who sell everything from bangles to bakery items and freshly made food. However, just a week before the unfortunate serial blasts in Dilsukhnagar, the hawkers were evicted. Though it appeared to be a normal activity, this gave a chance to the bomb planters to safely deposit their deadly material without a hitch. “If we were there, we could have spotted unusual activity,” regrets an evicted hawker, Illyas

Ahmed. The hawkers allege that more than the regular checks, the cops would collect a sum of `300 per vendor a day or take away their gas cylinders. These poor chaps, who earned a living without being a burden on the government and society, are treated badly by greedy inspectors of the stations nearby. “Every other day, the cops would come on their regular rounds. However, if we had to continue selling, we had to pay them a sum of `300, or our push carts would be taken to the station and we would be harassed,” said a pani puri hawker, Ramu (pictured). Stating that the blast would

not have occurred if they were not evicted, S Santosh Kumar, who owns a shop in the complex meters away from the theatre, says, “The road is usually occupied by hawkers on their push carts, who sell variety of items. The entire stretch on this narrow road is so chock-a-block that there would be no place for a customer to even stand and bargain for long. The hawkers would not allow any customer or any person to stop their vehicle on that stretch. The reason being, if that happens, the police would ask the hawkers to clear the street and would take away their push carts. So to save their skin, the hawkers would make

sure that no vehicle was parked. Had the hawkers continued selling that day, there would be no scope for any person to park a cycle with the bombs.” So what was the reason for the anti-hawker drive? According to the hawkers, the only reason was because the cops, instead of collecting `300 started demanding `500, which they refused to pay. “There was a new circle inspector who was posted in the area. Hence the rate for the mamool increased. When the hawkers who could not afford it, refused, the police asked them to evacuate the place,” alleged S Santosh Kumar.

READERS’ LETTERS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Congress shifts towards rich, as it sees no use for aam admi

That the Congress wants to now focus on roping in the influential might have taken many by surprise (as per the article Congress wants only the rich and influential as candidates? On Feb 19). But for some readers, this is just a reminder of the fact that in an India with a class and caste-system past, this is not unexpected. t is not all a surprising news as it came to this stage gradually from the time we got independence. Democracy has turned to a mere game of numbers and majority gets more significance here than morality. In such a situation, we need a lot of money and muscle power to create majority in our favour. If you look closely into our history you can see that majority of the leaders of INC are from the influential class. It is not that the common man did not fight for independence. There are many unsung heroes among them too, but the lack of glamour and money left them with no followers. This attitude to follow the rich and beautiful paved the way for the entry of many film actors and bureaucrats to politics. These babies born with silver spoons in their mouths do not understand the woes of the common man. The economical theories taught in Western universities and the lessons they learn from the daily news in different channels will not help them to understand the same too. This is not our fate. We are responsible for it.

Kiran at Modi’s mercy! This particular article seems to have caught a lot of readers’ fancy. After years of Modi bashing, people are bemused that our very own chief minister seems to be borrowing a leaf out of his book when it comes to developing AP. Read some of their thoughts in response to the article Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister needs Modi’s help! (Feb 20) h! Finally someone is taking a positive lesson from Modi, rather than always bashing him for his imaginary involvement in riots in the distant past. Thumbs up to Reddy for taking a positive look at Modi’s Gujarat. Modi will only be happy to have someone joining in the development politics of AP, I believe.

http://postnoon.com/2013/02/20/andh ra-pradesh-chief-minister-needs-modishelp/109752

MEHTA

Via e-mail

The column can be read at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/20/andh ra-pradesh-chief-minister-needs-modishelp/109752

s per a recent survey, AP is the second state in income tax collection, which clearly reflects that the state is capable of handling any crisis. The state has good infra,

here are many ways by which the government can improve production and reduce the burden of consumption. Why can’t the government use solar energy in government offices? Why can’t the government ask the educational institutions to install solar panels and produce energy for their consumption. Incapability and lack of proper planning are the only reasons for this crisis in the state.

technology and natural resources with the help of which it can generate abundant energy. I still remember, during the CB Naidu’s reign, the Gujarat government and its leaders used to copy the schemes and technologies launched by Naidu and implement them in their regions. And when I was in Gujarat in those days, I heard

Gujarat praising AP. Such was the pride of AP. Unfortunately, today the scenario has been flipped. Looking at the present scenario I strongly feel that the state of Andhra Pradesh is cursed! God bless the state.

YOGESH DEV

Via e-mail

The column can be read at

T OVER TERROR ATTACKS? TOP LETTER

VAMSY

Via e-mail

The column can be read at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/20/andh ra-pradesh-chief-minister-needs-modishelp/109752

Drop this ‘ji’ business

It’s about time things changed on the political front but ancestral politics still seems to strike a chord with most readers. Here are a few responses to Postnoon’s article on YSR is Congress property, not Jagan’s (Feb 18). t’s sad to see that even the young leaders are susceptible to the “ji” culture of the INC. If the idea is to serve as a servant without an individual personality how does it matter if you are young or old? Beats me.

SHYAM REDDY

RAVI KUMAR A MBADI

Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/18/ysr-iscongress-property-notjagans/109286

Via e-mail The column can be read at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/19/ congress-wants-only-the-rich-andpowerful-as-candidates/109544

SR was a Congress leader and the party should be proud of his legacy. YSR’s legacy is still under investigation and hopefully CBI will clear father and son.

Win `500 every week

We are giving `500 to the reader who writes in the best letter every week. So get to work. You can e-mail us at feedback@postnoon.com, or write to us at Postnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Rd nos 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, 500033. ALSO SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS.

SATISH

The state has been riddled by trouble ranging from Telangana bandhs to terror attacks for quite some time now. And its people, though resilient have started to grow tired. It doesn’t help, say readers, that the government can’t get its priorities right and chooses to focus on agitators rather than attack warnings (see Telangana over terror for government? on Feb 22)

The T-activists are eating away the time and space of not only the govt, but the common man too. The dastardly act in Dilsukhnagar was a matter of few seconds. Citizens are scared for a moment but have to live with it. But Tactivists are a constant trouble. This is happening for years. The loss caused by the T-trouble is several times bigger than the unfortunate incident we had in Hyd. So it would be wise not to comment on the intelli-

gence. But self realization would really do good. Common man is not the one who can give or deny Telangana. But they target this common man. Rail Roko, Sadak Roko, Bandh Karo… who is ultimately suffering in this whole process?

SABHAPATHY

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/22 /telangana-over-terror-for-government/110299

Via e-mail Read the report at http://postnoon.com/2013/02/18/ysr-iscongress-property-notjagans/109286

his is called politics. Chandrababu back-stabbed NTR and that is what caused NTR’s death. Ms Laxmi Parvathi married NTR and helped him during his old age. Now NTR is Chandrababu’s property. YSR died and his son can’t own him according to Congress. That’s a joke.

RAMA BHASKAR

Via e-mail

NATION SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Green Tribunal raps MoEF

Man stabs wife to death THANE: Doubting her fidelity, an elder-

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal

ly man allegedly murdered his 61-yearold wife here, police said today. The couple, who have three married children, used to have frequent quarrels as the man suspected his wife's character. After a similar argument last night, Pawar, in a fit of rage, brutally assaulted his wife with a sharp weapon and fled from the spot.

has asked the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to explain how inaccurate and incomplete documents were uploaded on its website on various subjects falling in its domain. The NGT was hearing a plea challenging the environmental clearance (EC) granted to fell trees in the Parsa East and Kanta Besan coal blocks in Chhattisgarh.

4.1 quake in Rajasthan JAIPUR: A low-intensity earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale was today felt in parts of Rajasthan. The epicentre was Tonk in the eastern part of the state. The tremor was felt in Jaipur and nearby region in the morning at 6.27am. However, there is no report of loss from anywhere, according to the state police control room.

300% jump in terror financing cases NEW DELHI: Over 1,400 instances of terror financing in country's economic channels were red-flagged by intelligence and security agencies last year, a latest report of the Finance Ministry says, marking a 300 per cent jump in such suspicious transactions. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which functions under the ministry, has reported that it had received 1,444 reports during 2011-12 from agencies like the IB, the RAW and those in the economic domain and affiliated to the I-T and Customs departments. The figure of such reports from these agencies stood at 428 during 2010-11. "The FIU also supports the efforts of domestic intelligence and law enforcement agencies

against terror financing by providing information specifically requested by them, either by searching its database or by calling specific information from the reporting entities," the report says.

The FIU is the national agency responsible for receiving, analysing and disseminating suspicious transaction reports (STRs) to security and antimoney laundering and tax evasion departments of the country.

Indian’s tune drives Shahbagh Movement

NEW DELHI:

Bangladesh's Shahbagh movement may be homegrown but the song which has almost become its anthem is written and composed by a leading Indian folk artiste. The Shahbagh movement began on February 5, hours after fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah was sentenced to life in prison for genocide during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971. The demonstrators are demanding death penalty to all war criminals and a ban on the politics of

religion. "I have written and composed the song Shahbagh Dicchay Daak (Shahbagh Calling) expressing solidarity with the Shahbagh movement. Organisers of the movement have told me that the song has gone viral on the cyber world and mainstream media. Demonstrators were also seen rendering the song at the venue," Kalikaprasad Bhattacharjee of Bangla folk band Dohar told PTI from Kolkata. "Actually, we were to perform in Bangladesh

DELHI: Tamil Nadu Youth Congress president M Yuvaraja, a supporter of Union minister GK Vasan, has been suspended from the post on "disciplinary grounds". The decision to suspend Yuvaraja, who was elected to the post for second time in October last year, was taken by Indian Youth Congress at a high-level meeting yesterday.This is perhaps for the first time that a state Youth Congress leader is suspended on “disciplinary grounds” especially after Rahul Gandhi democratised the functioning of such units across the country.

includes instances of counterfeit currency detected by a bank. Since 2008, the FIU has received reports of fake currency with a face value of over `60 crore. "The FIU, however, does its due diligence while processing these requests by intelligence agencies as a number of these suspicious transactions may not turn out to be actually a potent threat to national security but may have been done in circumstances of unjustified complexity ringing alarm bells," a senior finance ministry official said. He added that the increase in number of terrorist financingrelated requests is also due to security agencies working to crack on the funding route of a number of home-grown and forPTI eign terror modules.

TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL US ON 80082 00713

or SMS „Postnoon‰ to 56161

on February 15 but the programme got cancelled. Since then, I was thinking being a Bengali how to contribute to one of South Asia's biggest mass movements in recent times. Then the idea of the song came into my mind," Bhattacharjee, the lead vocalist of the band, said. Assam-born Bhattacharjee, regarded an authority in Bangla folk music and other folk forms of northeast India, said he has dedicated the song to the people of Bangladesh. PTI

TN Youth Cong BJP to focus prez suspended on South, NE NEW

The agency also reported a more than 100 per cent rise in the number of STRs received during 2011-12 as it collected a total of 69,224 such reports during this period as compared to 20,698 STRs during 2010-11. The instances of reportage of fake currency in Indian banking channels are also on the rise, the FIU says. Indian banks — both private and public — sent across more than three lakh instances of detection of fake currency notes in their channels during the same period, a 30 per cent increase from the last time. While a total of 3,27,382 counterfeit currency reports were reported to FIU in 2011-12, these reports stood at 2,51,448 during 2010-11. A fake currency report

/095 Rs.1 9/: e c 4 r Pri Rs.5 Cove r Price: : 50% g e f n f i O l Sav Tota

NEW DELHI: BJP president Rajnath Singh has said his party will focus on improving its electoral prospects in the southern states and the North-East in the next general elections. "We have had our government in Karnataka and we will try to retain the number of seats we had won last time. Our performance in AP and Tamil Nadu can improve from what it was last time and efforts are on for that. As for the North-East, four MPs won from there last time and I hope that the number will not decrease," Singh told PTI.

A FRESH NEW POINT OF VIEW You can also call or email us at:

040 - 4067 2222 subscription@postnoon.com

COMMENT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Model state on a Twenty20 scale

EDITORIALS A MODERN DAY Animal Farm What is happening in Bengal? A few weeks ago it was a Union minister of state that acted like a rowdy. Now the state’s ruling party is acting like they own the state with next to zero tolerance for members of Opposition parties. A brick kiln worker lost sight in one eye in an attack by TMC workers. The reason? He participated in the Bharath Bandh called by central trade unions.The law and order situation has been looking shaky ever since Didi assumed power. Neither has she eyes to see what’s happening, nor ears to hear the wails of those stifled and oppressed. She sees and hears all right, but what she wants to see and hear. And anything that stands in contradiction to her views and ways, Didi won’t stand it. For instance, the Park Street rape case. If the victim expected sympathy from a government led by woman, she was grossly deluded. Not only did she suffer abject apathy at the hands of the government, the officer who cracked the case, another woman, was relegated to some inconsequential desk job. All this because the development of the case went against the initial claims of those responsible to protect the woman and when the truth emerged, the gross neglect of Didi and her government was exposed. Mamata Banerjee will do well to remember that she is not in power that her men may run amok and blind and mutilate people who are not her supporters and party members. She is the chief minister for the whole state and she must behave as such. She could start by muzzling fanatic party workers. It’s well known that Didi and the CPM go back a long way and the dealings have not been very pleasant. But the ‘punishment’ that the man suffered for not being a TMC-backer is too severe and unjustifiable. There is also the case of a government official who had not appeared for work on one of the days of the bandh being attacked. His ear was chopped off. Incidents there are redolent of passages from Animal Farm. If you are not with us, then you have no reason to exist. And there reigns one supreme who constantly declares any anomaly to be the result of conspiracies of his or her rivals.

From the hip SYED SHOAIB

espite a moderate per capita income, Kerala is an economic marvel. Spread of education among all sections of the population, a large non-resident population and their remittances back home, successful cultivation of commercial crops, especially rubber and spices, spread of co-operative movement, services of social organisations in education and healthcare and fairly high wages for labourers makes Kerala a model of development comparable to those of the developed countries. Different global and national agencies have given the green state the following credits. 1. Highest Human Development Index in India; higher than that of most developed countries. 2. Highest literacy rate in India and achieved total literacy two decades ago. 3. Hopes to be the first e-literate state in India. 4. Only state to have banking facilities in every village. 5. Every village has a public library. 6. India's cleanest state.

7. Least corrupt state in India; according to Transparency International in 2005. 8. Highest thorium deposit in the world and with the technology of laser isotope separation of thorium, will fetch an economic bonanza equal or more to that of oil in gulf countries. 9. First state in the country to implement land reforms. 10. System of decentralised development has been looked upon as a model by other states and foreign countries. 11. The only state with hospital facility in every village. 12. Women outnumber men. 13. Most Googled Indian destination. 14. State with the least number of poor people, despite acute poverty across South Asia. 15. Lowest infant mortality rate. 16. Life expectancy is above 74 years for both male and female; highest in India. 17. Maternal mortality rate is the lowest. 18. Lowest birth rate. 19. Densest cluster of Science & Technology personnel in the country. 20. Highest per capita consumption of newspapers in India. Paradoxically, the globally lauded state also has many discredits to its name. Gradually, this God’s Own Country is losing the Midas touch and its glitter in the bargain. Currently the

state hits headlines for rape cases and irresponsible politicians making foot-in-mouth statements further aggravating the conditions of marginalised women in the state. 1. Number 1 state in India for criminality, according to National Crime Records Bureau Report 2012. 2. Records the highest unemployment rate in India, followed by West Bengal. 3. Highest individual suicide rates (25.3 per cent), with Kollam being highest of 53 mega cities. 4. Of the 1,791 cases registered in India during 2011 under the IT Act of 2000, 227 cases were from Kerala, second to Karnataka. 5. Highest crime rate of 11.2 as compared to the national average of 3.6 in cases related to molestation of women. 6. Highest number of ‘mandays’ lost due to lay-offs; 5 lakh followed by Uttar Pradesh’s 1.37 lakh. 7. Diabetes capital of India. 8. Highest alcohol per capita consumption per person a year — in the nation; overtaking traditionally hard-drinking states like Punjab and Haryana. 9. Rising numbers of divorces in Kerala are linked to alcohol abuse. 10. Majority of road deaths in the state are due to drunken

driving. 11. Waste disposal system is touted as worse than that in Bangalore. 12. Poorest state in record to prosecute child labour violators. 13. Highest number of dengue cases in India. 14. Roads recorded as one of the worst in the world. 15. Highest political murders in the country. 16. State average in road accidents is twice the national average. 17. Religious polarisation growing by leaps and bounds, according to BBC News. 18. Thiruvananthapuram is the first among five cities in India in prevalence of domestic violence after Bhopal, Lucknow, Nagpur and Vellore. 19. Decline of agriculture has resulted in high wages and high cost of living. 20. Tsunami-hit Kerala is a fragile waterlogged land-mass. Now it’s left to you whether to laud or loathe what Nobel Laureate economist Dr Amartya Sen vaunted as the Kerala model of economic development. Social issues are spoiling the celebrations of a state that was supposed to be different! What exactly are the other states in the country looking up to?

WORLD SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Cyprus to pick new leader

Oz floods: Thousands hit

Japan irked by China ships

NICOSIA: Cyprus votes in a left-right

SYDNEY: Thousands of people on

TOKYO: Japan said a Chinese govern-

presidential runoff on Sunday to elect a new leader to seal a crucial bailout for the EU state on the brink of bankruptcy. The vote, being closely watched in European Union capitals, pits rightwing opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades against Stavros Malas, who is backed by the communist party Akel in power during the island’s economic downturn.

US official visited N Korea LOS ANGELES: US officials made two secret visits to North Korea last year in an effort to improve relations after North Korea leader Kim Jong Un assumed power, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. Citing unnamed former US officials familiar with the trips, the newspaper said the visits in April and August were aimed at encouraging the new leadership in Pyongyang to moderate its foreign policy. The April trip was led by Joseph DeTrani, who at the time headed the National Counterproliferation Center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the report said. It was unclear who led the August trip, the paper noted. The Times quotes the officials as saying that Sydney Seiler, a veteran CIA analyst, who speaks fluent Korean and is in charge of Korea policy at the National Security Council, went on both trips. DeTrani left the government last year and now heads the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an industry group, the newspaper noted. “There are certain things I just won’t talk about, and this is one subject I really feel it’s not appropriate for me to comment on,” the report quotes him as saying in a telephone interview. DeTrani said he and other US experts initially saw signs that Kim Jong Un might behave less rigidly than his father, including putting moderate figures in key government positions.

Australia’s east coast were cut off by floodwaters today, with the heavy rain claiming two lives as extreme thunderstorms damaged homes and brought down trees in Sydney. State Emergency Services said the Macleay River peaked lower than had been forecast in the northern New South Wales town of Kempsey.

ment ship briefly entered its territorial waters off disputed islands in the East China Sea on Sunday. The fisheries patrol boat entered the waters east of Kuba, one of the Senkaku islands, at about 8:21 am and sailed out of the zone after 16 minutes. Beijing claims the Japanese-controlled isles, which it calls the Diaoyus.

Iran, world set for Kazakh showdown Western diplomats have said that Iran will be presented with an offer with significant new elements to coax it into a concession. MOSCOW: World powers meet negotiators from Iran in Kazakhstan on Monday in the hope of curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by advancing a “significant” new offer, despite low expectations of a breakthrough after years of dashed hopes. The meeting under the shadow of the Tien Shan mountains in the Kazakh city of Almaty comes as sanctions bite against the Islamic republic and Israel still refuses to rule out air strikes to knock out Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive. Little apparent progress has been made since the last such session of talks in Moscow in June 2012 ended without any breakthrough and the crux of the dispute remains Iran’s insistence on not abandoning uranium enrichment operations. Western diplomats have said that Iran will be presented with an offer with significant new elements to coax it into a concession and end a stalemate that has lasted almost unchanged since 2002. “We are approaching these talks with a sense of urgency. But this is not necessarily a sprint,” one Western diplomat said.

Iran’s nuke facilities Natanz, near Isfahan: Iran enriches uranium here to both 3.5 and 20 percent levels, using in total more than 12,000 IR-1 first-generation centrifuges, machines that spin uranium gas at supersonic speeds.

Fordo, near Qom::

An overhead view of one of Iran’s nuclear sites. Western capitals have been tight-lipped about the nature of the offer but it reportedly may involve an easing of sanctions on Iran’s gold and precious metals trading in exchange for the closure of a major uranium enrichment plant. Iran wants sanctions lifted before it negotiates and demands recognition of its right to enrich uranium to levels that could feed its electricity grid and provide isotopes for a medical research plant.

The positions are too far apart The atmosphere has already been clouded by a UN nuclear watchdog report saying Iran started installing next-generation centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear plant, a move Washington said would be “provocative”. “Both sides want a deal, but on their own terms,” said International Institute for Strategic Studies analyst Mark Fitzpatrick.

Iran has 696 IR-1 centrifuges at this fortified bunker facility, whose discovery in 2009 triggered alarm among world powers. Dug under a mountain to be protected from air strikes, the site is used to produce 20 percentenriched uranium, with a potential capacity of up to 3,000 centrifuges. High-level enrichment: Iran has produced 280 kilos of 20 percent-enriched uranium at Natanz and Fordo since February 2011, and currently makes another 15 kilos every month.

Italians head to poll booths

Pope to lead last Sunday prayers

Palestinian inmates on hunger strike

ROME: Italians head to the polls on Sunday and

VATICAN CITY: Crowds were expected for Pope

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian prisoner died in an

Monday for their first general election since the ousting of Silvio Berlusconi in a climate of economic crisis and amid fears of fresh political instability. European capitals will be watching closely since, whatever the result, there is likely to be a change from outgoing technocratic premier Mario Monti’s agenda of austerity and economic reforms. The most likely winner is centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani who says he will stick to Monti’s budget rigour but also create more growth and jobs. But the scandal-tainted Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister who is also a defendant in two trials for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, could come a close second.

Benedict XVI’s last Sunday prayers, as cardinals from around the world began arriving in Rome to elect his successor and the Vatican battled reports of high intrigue. The 85-year-old pope will read out his traditional Angelus prayer and messages to Catholic faithful in different languages from the window of his apartment high above the crowd in St Peter’s Square. The prayer begins at 1100 GMT and usually lasts only a few minutes. City authorities have announced tight security in and around the Vatican, with more than 100 police officers and snipers on surrounding buildings, as well as two field hospitals and hundreds of volunteers to help pilgrims.

Israeli jail on Saturday, sparking violence in the West Bank city of Hebron, his home town, and a call from the Territories’ prime minister for a full inquiry. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club meanwhile said the number of inmates on hunger strike had climbed to 11. Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said prisoner Arafat Jaradat, a 30-year-old father of two, had died suddenly at Megiddo detention centre in northern Israel. “It was probably a cardiac arrest. I don’t have additional details at the moment,” Weizman said. A statement from the office of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said he “expresses his deep sorrow and shock”.

BUSINESS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

FIIs pump in $4 bn in Feb

US, BP in $16 bn deal on 2010 oil spill?

verseas investors have poured in more than $4 billion into Indian equities in February, taking the investment tally to $8.4 billion for calendar year 2013 so far. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused a net amount of $4.31 billion (about `23,035 crore) in Indian equities in February so far, taking the total for the year to $8.4 billion (`45,094 crore).

S authorities plan to propose a $16 billion settlement to British energy giant BP for civil claims related to the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a media report said. Citing people familiar with the discussions, The Wall Street Journal said late Friday that the settlement would cover fines BP owes under the Clean Water Act, a federal water pollution law, as well as payments under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, an environmental evaluation. But the Journal noted that it remained unclear whether the government had formally proposed the offer to BP.

PF rate decision tomorrow

PFO's trustees are likely to decide on Monday the payment of 8.5 per cent interest to its over five crore subscribers on their PF deposits for 2012-13, higher than 8.25 per cent provided in the previous fiscal. According to EPFO estimates, 8.6 per cent interest rate would result in a deficit of `240.49 crore whereas 8.5 per cent would leave a surplus of `4.13 crore.

Myanmar: Shining new hope for global oil giants The CIA estimates that Myanmar is sitting on some 50 million barrels of oil and some 283.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Shwe Yinn Mar Oo

feedback@postnoon.com

hile other countries may be more reliable and better equipped, Myanmar has emerged as the new promised land for global oil and gas giants unperturbed by a lack of data on its proven energy reserves. Since political reforms helped Myanmar shed its pariah status and prompted international sanctions to be lifted, the world’s major energy firms have been eyeing the potentially oiland-gas-rich country tucked between China and India. Thai explorer PTTEP, EPI Holdings of Hong Kong, Swiss firm Geopetro International Holding and Petronas of Malaysia were among a slew of companies to strike exploration deals last June. In September, French giant Total bought a 40 percent stake in an offshore exploration venture, soon followed by Australia’s biggest energy firm Woodside — while several American and European majors are reportedly poised to join in. The surge in interest is set to continue following Myanmar’s invitation for tenders for 18 onshore oil blocks last month, with offers for a further 50 or so offshore blocks pending. Yangon will host an international conference for the sector in March, as the buzz over the country’s hydrocarbon reserves intensifies — even though very little is known about them. “Due to the impact of economic sanctions on Myanmar for many years, there has been very limited recent investment,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist for IHS Global Insight. “Myanmar’s oil and gas reserves have not been sufficiently explored using modern seismic technology, making it an

exciting prospective exploration target.” Myanmar is one of the rare countries in the world that has not been fully surveyed and “there is huge interest in exploring what we call ‘frontier basins’”, said the spokesman of a foreign oil company. “There is very little information. Prospects are wide open,” he added, requesting anonymity. The CIA estimates that Myanmar is sitting on some 50 million barrels of oil and some 283.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas. On its webpage, the state-run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) cites a 2006 estimate of proven reserves, which stood at 226 million barrels of oil and 457 billions cubic meters of gas. But sources interviewed by AFP admitted that there figures

SINCE POLITICAL REFORMS HELPED

MYANMAR SHED ITS PARIAH STATUS AND PROMPTED INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS TO BE LIFTED, THE WORLD’S MAJOR ENERGY FIRMS HAVE BEEN EYEING THE POTENTIALLY OIL-ANDGAS-RICH COUNTRY TUCKED BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA. raised more questions than answers. The only widely agreed assumption is that offshore reserves are more promising than onshore, and gas probably supersedes oil.

Authorities “have been very cautious lately by not quoting any evaluation of discovered reserves or potential resources yet to be discovered,” said Myo Tin, manager of the Myanmar Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited, which operates an oil field in the centre of the country. Foreign firms must be encouraged to enter the sector, he said, citing the “technology intensive” nature of offshore sites that needs major firms “to transfer knowledge in exploration techniques, drilling and development”. More companies will also reduce the chance of oil giants monopolising territory, he said. In fact, Myanmar has been keenly waiting for interest from the global petro-giants to materialise. Over the last two decades,

only Asian companies, led by the Chinese, have dared venture into a country demonised by the international community for its human rights violations. The two Western groups with a long-term presence in Myanmar, Total and Chevron, entered before sanctions were imposed and then stood accused of serving the interests of the junta and closing their eyes to forced labour. Today, however, political reforms have taken off and Burmese companies are jostling to offer partnership deals to foreigners. This new mood owes much to Thein Sein, a former general turned reformist president, who has made it clear the time has arrived for transparency. A tender offer in 2012 was reportedly delayed to meet international standards. “It was postponed because the ministry wanted to improve transparency,” said Kyaw Kyaw Hlaing, Chairman of Smart Group of Companies and former geologist for MOGE, the highly controversial state-run company. “They want all the procedures and systems to be bulletproof which means no one can be blamed... It is very good news,” he said. In the current atmosphere, all bets are on. For Burmese, it seems that now is the moment to finally fully exploit their natural resources. The sector represents 34 percent of the country’s exports and is set to grow. But transparency must come in tandem as part of “the path to democracy,” said Chit Khaing, Chairman of Eden Group, which runs a joint venture with Vietnam’s state-run oil giant PetroVietnam at an offshore site since 2008. “In our language, we call (oil and gas fields) ‘treasure troves’ as we can expect that they can bring us a large AFP amount of treasure.”

INTERVIEW SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Reaching for the cosmos At the helm of India’s first space start-up, Sanjay Nekkanti and Narayan Prasad aim to unleash the potential of private space research and development in the country.

PADMINI C

padmini.c@postnoon.com

“W

hen we tell people we design satellites, they ask us what our app is called. And we have to explain there is no app, that we design actual satellites that will go into space. Then, the reaction sets in and they go ‘oh’,” grins the duo behind Dhruva Space, the first start-up of its kind in the country which is dedicated to R&D in space science and technology. Sanjay Nekkanti and Narayan Prasad met in 2010, when they were among the 10 Indians to be chosen for the coveted Erasmus Mundus SpaceMaster programme. The international course enabled them to study, work and network with space communities in various countries including Germany, Sweden, France and Singapore. Over the course of the next two years, they realised the immense and untapped potential of the private space industry, especially in the Indian arena, and decided to do something about it. “We realised that we could either do what all the previous batches of Indian spacemasters had done before us — work for some international space agency — or we could start something new. The choice was easy,” says Narayan. Turning down extremely lucrative work offers and PhD invitations, they returned to India immediately and launched their start-up, Dhruva, in Bangalore. But the decision was hardly impulsive. Having already designed a satellite in his college days for SRM University, Sanjay gained valuable experience studying the playing field. “There is a huge demand for satellites, especially small satellite technology in the world today. India is an especially huge market, considering that it is among the cheapest launchers in the world. Not to mention the tremendous price parity between a satellite built say, in Europe, and here. We aim to bridge the demand-supply gap,”

explains Sanjay. But it’s not just satellites that interests the two unconventional engineers. Their portfolio seeks to include a host of products and services using space-based technologies for the benefit of emerging economies. One of their latest projects nearing implementation, for instance, are devices on balloonbased platforms that would provide continuous and real-time imagery/data to be used in times of natural calamities or intelligence gathering for various purposes, at half the cost of a satellite orbiting in space. But by the virtue of having ventured into unchartered territory, the duo first has a more immediate mission to accom-

BEFORE THEY VENTURE INTO SPACE, THE DUO HAS TO FIRST CREATE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND GARNER INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT AMONG THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY. plish before their plans can take flight — create public awareness and garner interest in the subject among the academic community and of course, the powers that be. “The first challenge is getting people to understand what we do. Next, there has been this incredulity about our projects which has led people to believe it cannot be possible. But almost all of the players in other countries who serve as private counterparts to their national agencies have been college spin-offs, just like ours. So, we have to show that it’s very much possible,” says the duo. In the four months since they launched, they’ve already had the distinction of holding India’s first Space Up, an ‘unconference’ focused on space exploration, which was a runaway hit. Their next project is Yuri’s night — a global celebration of Yuri Gagarin’s birthday on April 12. It is, however, one of the many things in the pipeline for Dhruva, which is already a team of four

staffers and seven consultants. “In the beginning, it was a little shaky. One week, I would be down in the dumps and Sanjay would pull me up and the next week, it was vice

versa. But now, we’ve settled a little bit. Looking at the pace of things, it looks like we’re here for the long haul. But that’s okay, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be,” they say with a smile.

PICK YOUR

Across Stores

ities Twin C

ART AND CULTURE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Britain gets £100m paintings A collection of 57 old masters worth around £100m – some bought for as little as £100 apiece by art historian Sir Denis Mahon – are to be formally given to Britain, reports Guardian. If any attempt is made by the host museum to charge for admission; or any item from their collection is put up for sale, the Art Fund, the charity that is donating them, can take them back.

Agnew to sell archive Agnew’s gallery in London, which will cease trading on April 30, plans to sell its extensive archive, says Julian Agnew, the chairman of the gallery. Trade figures consider the archive to be one of the most important and complete records of art market dealings over the past two centuries. A likely bidder is the Getty Institute in Los Angeles.

UNESCO to save heritage UNESCO has launched a $11m rescue project for Timbuktu, following a meeting in Paris. Key heritage experts travelled from Mali to report on the damage to ancient manuscripts and historical sites in the ancient city, which lies on the edge of the Sahara. 3,000 manuscripts had been destroyed by rebels at Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research.

THE ART OF MANIPULATION

An exhibition traces the history of image modification before Photoshop made it so easy.

n this era of Photoshop and Instagram, should people recoil at the notion of photo manipulation? Not at all, said the curator of an exhibition on the topic that opened in Washington. After all, we’ve been living with altered images since photography was invented in the 19th century. Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop at the National Gallery of Art brings together some 200 works to document the history of airbrushing, double exposures and all

kinds of darkroom wizardry. “Technology has helped create a shift in attitudes about photography, and it’s brought about a greater skepticism,” curator Mia Fineman said. “The fact that this technology is accessible, that anybody can get it on their own computers, has made people more aware of how pictures can be altered.” Initially pitched at graphic artists, Photoshop now is available in a variety of professional and consumer versions, while a raft of smartphone apps have

put photo manipulation literally at users’ fingertips. But as Faking It tells it, the first doctored images were motivated by pragmatic considerations. Mid-19th century landscape photographers like Gustave Le Gray and Carleton Watkins got around exposure limits of primitive glass negatives by taking separate group and sky images, fusing them for dramatic effect. When a Union army officer failed to turn up for a group portrait, photographer Mathew Brady snapped the other seven subjects first — then did a separate image of the latecomer to superimpose on the final image. In the 20th century, surrealists inspired by psycho-

A play of shadows Tonalism is a style of painting in which landscapes are depicted in soft light and shadows.

onalism is an American progressive art movement that developed in the 1880s out of an abiding spiritual feeling for the intimacies of the human landscape — often scenes at dawn or dusk of abandoned farms littered with stone walls and old orchards. Tonalism is rooted in the French Barbizon movement, which emphasised atmosphere

and shadow. The Tonalist style employs a distinctive technique by the use of colour’s middle values as opposed to stronger contrast and high chroma, resulting in a understated and compelling overall effect. The tonalist subject matter is never entirely apparent; there is no effort to communicate a message or narrate a story. Instead of relating a story, each sensi-

tively chosen colour, composition, and line is arranged to create an intriguing visual poem. The interiors of Tonalist paintings are generally elegant and sparsely decorated, tonally uniform, simplified and indistinct; the figures are usually presented alone in silent contemplation. Landscapes are typically luscious and luminous

analysis embraced photo manipulation as a means to depict their sleeping dreams, while novelty images — forerunners of memes — found a broad popular following. Faking It goes on to touch upon the use of airbrushing and retouching in communist regimes to enhance the stature of leaders like Stalin and erase the virtual existence of their political rivals. But it also addresses the then-shameless doctoring of news photos in the 1930s and 1940s to illustrate zeppelins docking atop the Empire State Building — they never did — or New York engulfed in an atomicbomb mushroom cloud. In a final section titled

ART FOR DUMMIES

Protoshop, the show explores manipulated photos as an accepted means of artistic self-expression in the 1960s by Yves Klein and Duane Michals. And, in a nod to a peculiar American obsession with aliens, there’s a haunting image of a UFO skimming Earth’s surface, assembled with distorted found images by Oliver Wasow in 1987. Fineman said she spent more than three years crisscrossing North America and Europe to put together Faking It. “I knew that photographs had always been altered and manipulated, but I didn’t really know how prevalent it was and how much a part of the history it was,” Fineman said. “When I learned about photography at university, this kind of thing was hardly ever discussed,” added the AFP curator.

with evocative atmospheric effects featuring misty backgrounds illuminated by moonlight. Tonalists painters were drawn to both the natural and spiritual realms. They sought to awaken the viewers consciousness by shrouding the subject in a misty indistinct veil of emotionalism. The palette is minimal, characterized by warm hues of brown, soft greens, gauzy yellows and muted grays. Preferred themes were evocative moonlight nights and poetic, vaporous landscapes. Tonalist painters seemed to favoured unconscious states and psychological experiences over reality.

ENVIRONMENT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

China’s ‘cancer villages’ China's environment ministry appears to have acknowledged the existence of so-called "cancer villages" after years of public speculation about the impact of pollution in certain areas. For years campaigners have said cancer rates in some villages near factories and polluted waterways have shot up. But the term "cancer village" has no technical definition.

Gelatinous sea creatures wash up The same gelatinous sea creatures that clogged the intake at California's Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant last spring have shown up this winter on the Washington coast, marine life experts say. The harmless jellyfishlike animals are called salps.A salp is a pelagic tunicate. That means it lives in the open ocean and has a tube-like body that pumps water for locomotion and to filter the plankton on which it feeds.

Ecosystems facing threat Invasive alien species pose a greater risk to Europe's biodiversity, economy and human health than previously thought, a report has concluded. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has compiled a list of 28 invaders that highlight the range of threats facing ecosystems in the continent. Nonnative species, such as food crops, can also be beneficial, the study adds.

ore than 500 species of rare orchids and collectible plants are being shown during the Blooms on Broadway: New York Botanical Expo at Gotham Hall in Midtown. The lineup includes orchids, African violets, rare tropical plants and other exotic blooms popular with collectors. Vendors from as far as Japan and Ecuador will be showing off their buds. Blooms on Broadway resurrects the annual New York International Orchid Show, which closed six years ago. The event offers something for everyone from the casual gardener to the orchid enthusiasts to those who are just curious. “We have all types of plants. The $5 African violet, which you grow

on your kitchen window sill to the $4,000 fragmen pedium which grows on a stream in Peru to a beautiful neo phoenecia from Japan. We have vendors from all over the world," said Elle Ronis of Blooms on Broadway. Ronis, who founded the successor with Brian Fischer, a floral expert, detailed what makes this show different. All the plants are for sale — not just orchids, but an assortment of exotic houseplants and perennials. Roughly 30 vendors are ready to impart their wisdom. "Creating hybrids and stuff when you see them bloom for the first time it's just... especially if you have something like the raven claws, the first time that this flower bloomed was just amazing," said John Leathers, a flower grower based in San Francisco.

RARE COLLECTIBLES Despite the cold temperatures, hundreds of rare flowers will be in full bloom this weekend in Manhattan.

TIMOTHY A CLARY/AFP

FOOD SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Preventing malnutrition

ction Against Hunger International (ACF) workers distributed guinea pigs to community members as part of a food security programme in Karete, Congo. Over 500 guinea pigs were distributed to the locals by the non-profit organisation that focuses their programmes and activities in the field mainly of nutrition and prevention of malnutrition.

‘Eat All You Can’ at Holy Basil

at All You Can: The name says it all. At Holy Basil in Radisson Blu, the menu is designed such that by the end you are done, you shall have completed a Pan Asian gastronomic tour. The menu comprises stunning dishes from the cuisines of Japan, China and Thailand. Now the catch: Each of the dishes you have ordered from the five-course meal, you may have as much as you want of that dish, meaning unlimited. For the non-veg meal, it’s Rs 699 plus taxes; for veg it’s 599 plus taxes.

Fine food in Japan

n Japan, Hachikyo, a restaurant actually fines customers who don’t finish all of their fish roe in one of their specialty dishes. This beautiful dish is simplicity itself, white rice topped with well seasoned fish roe, so few find it hard to finish. Reason being the working conditions of the fishermen who caught the fish for the roe were harsh and that it was dangerous work.

Bake me a shoe, will you? A cake is more than just dessert. It is a collage, a sort of scrapbook, a delicious installation art, even. You like shoes or cars, your cake will be made looking like those Jimmy Choos you have always wanted or that Porsche you admire so much or your Nikon camera you can’t go anywhere without. Here’s more about this trendy art. KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

ondant covered cakes are becoming a rage in Hyderabad, and personalised ones, more so. How customised, intricate and elaborate a cake gets is entirely proportional to how creative you can be. “A lot of people are trying to explore and experiment. I did a cake for a sangeet. The couple were movie buffs. So we had pop corn, movie reel, movie poster of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and a curtain raiser. We also enjoy making such cakes thinking how creative the customer must be,” says Shruti Syala of Miss Muffins. Birthday parties have always had birthday cakes. When we

went crazy about it,” adds Ruth Khanna of Ruthie’s. “I wanted to do this for a very very long time. I only do customised orders. When I started, I was apprehensive if customers would want it. Turns out the demand was huge. People want variation in everything these days,” shares Shruti. There are very few people and fewer patisseries that you can go to knowing your brilliant idea for a cake will be materialised. Who are these people and where can you find them? “ I have always been an enthusiastic home cook. I love baking and making Continental food. Over the years, people have asked me to go commercial but I kept rejecting the idea,” says Ruth. But because her food is so popular, she was of course cooking and baking for her friends and friends’s friends and in no time, the word spread and she had no choice but to form Ruthie’s.

Order here

CAKES ARE ORDERED, THOUGHT OF, WORKED UPON AT LEAST TEN DAYS IN ADVANCE. THEY ARE AS GOOD AS PRESENTS.

Miss Muffins, Shruti Syala: 9000006858 Pink Cupcakes: 9963003904 Ruthie’s, Ruth Khanna: 9949453558 Concu: 9985800031

were little, our parents went a day before to the trusted bakery nearby and ordered our preferred flavour of cake. As we grew older, our friends went and bought the readily available ones one hour before midnight. Now things have changed. Cakes are ordered, thought of, worked upon at least ten days in advance. These customised cakes are as good as birthday presents now. Where did this trend start from? “Five years ago, people ordered whatever was available. Now people have travelled. They are more exposed to the western culture through TV shows and internet. Now they want cakes and desserts customised. We say ‘why not’? So we don’t even maintain a standard menu,” explains Swati (in pic) from Concu. “I think the trend has always been there. The demand existed but we never had anyone doing it unless someone took the first step and people

While this is Ruth’s story, a few others have acquired these skills from culinary academies or solely from having travelled extensively. A large chunk of their clientele is young and comes from upper middle class and above. Although these cakes are almost double the price of regular ones, the trend is fast catching up. Not only do these cakes look spectacular, there is no compromise on the taste as well. “The idea is to keep the classics alive. We don’t use commercial fondant at all. We use pure and imported chocolate, pure cocoa, even. We are very particular about things being fresh. People should get a proper taste of the cake,” says Ruth. From what it seems, people don’t mind spending so much. So what is it that has made these cakes such a frenzy in the City? “When you love what you do, people see that,” comments Ruth.

FOOD SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

THE KOREAN

ART OF FOOD This week at Syn, the streets of Korea come alive at their food festival titled Seoul Temptation.Korean cuisine itself might be intimidating for newcomers, but rest assured, an experience with the food here will entice even the most reticent of diners. SRINIVAS SETTY

THE FOODIST

Andrew Josef

DINING WITH THE MASTERS

sk anyone to name some types of Asian cuisine that they enjoy and it’s likely that Korean will not be among them. The reason for that is a dog. Over the years Koreans have got some pretty bad press for chomping on man’s best friend. But take, for a moment if you will, Rover off the menu and what you’re left with is an outstanding and delectable array of food from the Korean peninsula. Syn has long been known for its attachment to flavour and its reluctance to tamper with cuisine to suit

intolerant palates — this newspaper voted it the best restaurant in the city in

2012. In Hyderabad’s restaurant business that’s one of the greatest virtues. And at the Seoul Temptation, Syn’s Korean street food festival, all the restaurant’s highlights are in the proverbial spotlight. The menu is sharp and uncluttered, and the meal starts off with kimchi two ways: a regular kimchi (spicy and sour enough to be your motherin-law) and Kim bap (kimchi in a rice roll). Far from numbing the palate both dishes serve as gastronomic whetters. If you like soup opt

for the Jogaetang, a clam broth with noodles that’s subtle enough not to permeate through every taste bud, but just enough to conjure images of an Incheon sea. The main courses are consummately street; from the Bulgoggi (barbecued chicken) and the Soegogi-Jangjorim (tenderloin braised in soya) to the Bibimbap (fried rice) and Japache (noodle stir-fry) all the dishes are braziers of flavour. Like any great dish, heat simmers around it but is not the epicentre. The crowning glory of the menu, however, is the Ojingeo muchim (spicy squid). Now let me explain for a moment why I’m raving about a cephalopod that in most restaurants resembles the underside of a tramp’s boot. Squid is difficult to cook to perfection — undercook it and its raw, overcook it and you need to be shot. At Syn, its perfection personified. In fact, a couple of cold beers (or five) and a heap of Ojingeo is more than enough to transport you to Tongdaemun under a clear Seoul sky. One thing you can be sure of, this Korean food festival— Seoul Temptation will have you talking about Korean cuisine long after you’ve left.

SEOUL TEMPTATION

Place: Syn, Taj Deccan Price: Meal for two `2,500 Time: 7.30pm-11.45pm (Dinner only)

PANCAKE Dietician from Apollo Hospital Priyanka Shukla gives a recipe for a healthy start to the day. Ingredients n Rava n Curd n Oats n Carrot n Capsicum n Cabbage n Onion n Salt n Red Chili n Oil

Qty 40gms 30gms 15gms 5gms 5gms 5gms 5gms As per taste 1/2 tsp 3gms

Method n Take Rava, Oats & Curd

in a bowl & mix well put water for consistency, keep it for one hour. n Chop all vegetables and add salt & chili powder. n In a non-stick pan put batter in a round shape, put vegetables on the top, put oil in & around and cook both sides. n Serve hot with green chutney.

Dahi Murgh

Chicken with yogurt gravy. Noor’s Kitchen NOOR JAFRI Ingredients n Chicken 1 medium sized (Cut into 8 pieces without skin) n Hung curd 1/2 cup n Thick full fat curd 1/2 cup n Cornflour mixed with yogurt 1 tbsp n Oil 1 tbsp n Chopped onions 1/2 cup n Green chillies 2 to 3 n Ginger 1 inch piece n Garam masala powder 1 tsp n Mixed whole garam masala 1 tsp n Salt to taste n Mint leaves, kasuri meethi for garnishing n Fresh thick cream for garnishing Procedure n Grind into a fine paste—onions, green chillies and ginger. n Heat oil, put in the whole garam masala and add the above paste. n Fry the chicken pieces, add salt and cook along with hung curd and whole garam masala powder till soft and tender. n Add cornflour to the curd and mix it with the chicken, cover it for a while and switch off the gas. n Let the curd gravy remain thick and creamy. n Sprinkle some kasuri meethi. n Garnish with mint leaves and whisked cream. Chef’s Note: n It’s a mildly spiced dish with low calories, best served with paratha or tandoori naan.

Priyanka Shukla

Nutritive value: n Energy - 248 kcal n Protein - 10.2gms n Fibre - 6.8gm

For more healthy food do pick up Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil’s unique Healthy Recipe Book.The book contains 11 recipes.

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

HISTORY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Feb 25

1964: Cassius Clay, now better known as Muhammed Ali, is crowned the world heavyweight champion after a shock win over reigning favourite Sonny Liston.

Feb 25

1570: Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England. He issues a papal bull accusing her of heresy and releasing all her subjects from allegiance to her.

Feb 26

1991: After 208 days of occupation, Iraqi forces leave Kuwait City. The retreat was ordered because of the aggression of 30 countries and the economic blockade.

Feb 27

2002: 58 Hindu pilgrims are burnt to death when a Muslim mob sets fire to a train returning from Ayodhya. The Godhra train burning set off communal riots in Gujarat.

FEB

1953: Cambridge University scientists James D Watson and Frances HC Crick announce that they have determined the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule containing human genes. The formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s edition of Nature magazine.

Feb 27

1986: Prime Minister of Sweden, Olaf Palme, is assassinated while walking down a street in Stockholm. His wife, Lisbeth, was wounded. Palme was known for walking around with no major security.

Mar 1

1932: The 20-month old son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped from the family’s mansion. Though a massive ransom was paid, the child was found murdered less than a mile from home.

Mar 1

1961: President John F Kennedy issues an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. The three goals of the organisation include providing technical assistance and understanding other cultures.

Mar 2

2004: The Ashura massacre takes place in Iraq, killing 178 and injuring over 500 Shi’a Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura. Nine explosions took place in Karbala and three in Baghdad.

SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Dancing up a storm Foodie fad

Salsa guru Alex Diaz got the crowd grooving at Salsa Upanishads workshop organised at Tease. Spotted were Kalpana, Aditya, Divya Sharma and others.

A new outlet of fast food restaurant chain Pollitos opened at SR Nagar on Saturday. Vivek Goud and politician Danam Nagender inaugurated the restaurant.

1 Kalpana, Sowjanya, Alex 2 Yatin

Ranand, Divya Sharma 3 Himmat, Raphni 4 Sanjay, Deepsha 5 Aditya with a friend

And the award goes to... The inaugural session of 7th Global Communication Conclave 2013 was organised by Public Relations Council of India. IAS Officer Bharat Lal Meena received the PRCI Chanakya Award 2013 for Good Governance and Public Administration.

CINEMA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Nani is on a high N

ani, who turns 29 today, is on a high these days. He’s currently shooting for Samuthirakani’s Jenda Pai Kapiraju and another film titled Paisa is expected to release later this summer. The first look of Paisa is going to be launched later today. Apart from these two films, the project he’s most excited about is the official remake of Band Baaja Baarat. “I am eagerly looking forward to begin this project. The film will mark the foray of Yash Raj Films in South India and it’ll be primarily made in Tamil. It’s a privilege to act in a film that is being backed by a production house like Yash Raj Films,” Nani said. He recently met Aditya Chopra in Mumbai to discuss about the film and the duo, apparently, bonded quite well. “I was told that Aditya Chopra loved my performance in Ala Modalaindi and when they were planning to remake Band Baaja Baarat in Tamil, Aditya Chopra felt that I would suit the role perfectly. We spoke a lot about adapting the film to suit the local sensibilities, my look and the film is going to shape up. Aditya Chopra is all the more excited about the film and he is not going to compromise on anything,” he revealed. When we asked if the remake of Band Baaja Baarat has already lost its freshness since the basic plot has already been plagiarised, Nani remarked, “The

best part about Band Baaja Baarat was the chemistry which the lead pair share. That worked wonders in the original film and we are confident that if the audience relates to the chemistry between the lead pair in the remake then it doesn’t really matter if other films had a similar plot. For that matter, there are so many films which are simply a rehash of hit films from the past.” The team is yet to finalise the lead heroine in the film. Gokul, a former assistant of Vishnu Vardhan, is going to direct the film. “Moreover, this remake will be my first full fledged film in Tamil. Although I had acted in Veppam and played a small part in Rajamouli’s Naan Ee, I haven’t done a mainstream film in Tamil,” he says.

Nithin starrer GJG nears completion N

ithin, Nithya Menen starrer Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe is in the last leg of shooting. Vijay Kumar Konda is directing the film and it’s his first film as a director. Isha Talwar is playing the second lead in this romantic entertainer. Nikitha Reddy is producing it. The film’s talkie part has been wrapped up and the lead cast will soon fly to Dubai to shoot a couple of songs. Nithin is going to shoot a song each with Nithya Menen and Isha Talwar and these two songs will be shot in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat. Anup Rubens has scored the music. Post the success of Ishq, Nithin and Nithya Menen have become a hit pair in the industry and there’s a good buzz about Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe as well. The first look of the film was received quite well and Nithin is confident about the film’s success. The film’s audio will be launched in early March and the film might hit the screens in the third week of April.

Jabardasth off to a shaky start S iddharth, Samantha and Nithya Menen starrer Jabardasth has gotten off to a slow start at the box office. The film released a day after the twin blasts rocked Hyderabad and most people seemed to have stayed away from the theatres yesterday. Despite the presence of Siddharth and Samantha very few theatres registered full occupancy in the first couple of shows on February 22. However, sources say that the occupancy in theatres increased considerably in the evening. “Here you

go. Despite the fact that we lost a chunk of our Nizam opening owing to the blasts,Jabardast grossed over `5cr on its first day. By Monday morning, Jabardast will be a break even film for all involved. That’s the only good I have to share…(sic),” Siddharth posted on Twitter. Nandini Reddy has directed the film. Although the performances by the lead pair and Nithya Menen received a good response, the film has been facing a lot criticism for it’s similarities with Band Baaja Baarat.

CINEMA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Sonakshi was my only choice for Himmatwala song: Sajid Khan

Post-Kai Po Che!, UTV signs Abhishek Kapoor for new film

uoyed by the response to Kai Po Che!, movie production banner UTV Motion Pictures has signed director Abhishek Kapoor to helm another film for it. The deal was signed Friday, when Kai Po Che!, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel The 3 Mistakes Of My Life, hit the screens. “With Kai Po Che!, Abhishek has managed to marry commercial success with critical acclaim seamlessly. We are thrilled to be collaborating with him on another film and look forward to many more in the future,” Siddharth Roy Kapur, managing director - Studios, Disney UTV, said. “He is an incredibly gifted filmmaker. His clarity of vision as a storyteller and his ability to faithfully translate that vision from script to celluloid is remarkable,” added Kapur. Kai Po Che!, starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh and Raj Kumar Yadav in key roles, is Abhishek’s third film as a director. In the past, he helmed Aryan and the successful Rock On!!. IANS

ollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha will be seen dancing in a retro peppy number, Thank God Its Friday in film Himmatwala and filmmaker Sajid Khan says that the actress was his first and last choice for the song. “Sonakshi was my first and last choice for the song. I had decided that if she doesn’t say yes, I’ll drop the song,” he said at the launch of the song held on Friday evening. Sonakshi has donned two looks in the song. The first one has been inspired from Parveen Babi’s look in Shaan and the second one is similar to Sridevi from Chaalbaaz. “The first outfit has been taken from what Parveen Babi wore in Shaan, but we have changed it a bit. The next one is from Sridevi’s look in her film Chaalbaaz,” Sonakshi said. Sonakshi was recently also seen in the song Go Go Govinda from the film, Oh My God. Asked if the actress was planning to become a queen of item songs, she said that the song had to be special for her to be a part of it. “I like dancing but the song has to be special for me to be a part of it. Even Go Go Govinda had something special and so does Thank God Its Friday,” she said. The actress also added that she didn’t have to put in much preparation for the song. “I just reached the sets. I did not do any kind of preparation. I have seen these songs before. People say I have the old world charm and I used that,” she said. Directed by Sajid Khan, Himmatwala stars Ajay Devgn and Tamannaah and is IANS all set to release on March 29.

Madhuri has surprise for budding dancers?

ollywood’s dancing diva Madhuri Dixit says there is a “huge surprise” for dance enthusiasts in the country. “We have a huge surprise in store for all you dancers and budding dancers! Watch for news on Monday,” Madhuri tweeted Friday. Perhaps it could be the announcement of a new season of a dance reality show she has judged before. For now, she is heading to Lucknow to shoot for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Dedh Ishqiya.The Mehmoodabad palace near Barabanki has been spruced up for the shoot, which, according to sources, will begin on February 26. There are also rumours that Madhuri is likely to feature in a fiction TV show. However, there is no confirmation on the front. IANS

CINEMA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

EMMA STONE:

ANNE TO SING AGAIN! A

nne Hathaway dreamed a dream... of singing again! And it looks like that dream is coming true.The Les Miserables star is letting her impressive set of pipes take her places as she’s signed on to star (and sing in) Song One, according to Daily Mail. Song One will feature Hathaway as an archaeologist who abandons her dig in Morocco and returns to the States after her brother is injured. Once home, she falls for her brother’s favourite musician, to be played by singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn, who (in real life) fronts the folk band Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit. Johnathan Rice and Jenny Lewis are writing songs for Flynn to perform, with one track being reserved for Hathaway. The award-winning actress originally showed interest in Song One last May.

I WAS AMAZED

BY THE CROODS

mma Stone has declared that she was amazed when she watched her new animated film, The Croods, for the first time. The Croods features the voices of Stone, Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds in the tale of a caveman family who explore the world after a severe earthquake. In an interview with Flicks and Bits, Stone reflected on her first viewing of the DreamWorks comedy. “That was incredible, it was amazing,” she recalled. “I think The Croods has elements of all of my favourite movies, which is that it’s not just funny and it’s not just heartbreaking, it takes you

on a journey throughout the entire film.” Stone went on to reveal that she even shed a tear while watching the prehistoric family’s journey to find a new home. “I cried watching it, and I laughed, and I just went along for the ride and enjoyed myself the entire time,” she admitted. “It’s different than any other animated movie that I’ve seen, in a sense that it feels so true to life the whole entire time — even though we are in the Stone Age.” Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman also lend their voices to the animated film.

ADAM BACK ON SCREEN A dam Sandler has been tapped to star in an upcoming romantic comedy for Warner Bros, it has been reported. The untitled project — which was originally called Blended — tells the story of a man and woman who get trapped at a resort with their children from previous marriages after a bad

first date. Sandler’s Happy Madison company will produce the movie in conjunction with Gulfstream Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sandra Bullock was attached to the project back in 2007, but has since dropped out of the film. Casting is currently in progress for Sandler’s female lead.

CINEMA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Going to jail was sobering: Wahlberg A

ctor Mark Wahlberg says being jailed at the age of 17 was a “sobering” moment for him. The 41-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison for assault and attempted murder after he beat up a stranger during his growing up days in Boston, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “There were moments where I knew I needed to get on the right course. Very sobering moments. As a 17-year-old adolescent going to jail, that’s a very sobering moment,” Wahlberg said on ITV’s Daybreak. “I had a very specific moment where I knew I needed to change my life, but when you decide to change your life then actually doing it, that becomes a very challenging and uphill battle that you need to take on a day-to-day basis," he IANS added.

JOHNNY DEPP

HAD A CLOSE CALL ON LONE RANGER

ohnny Depp appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, Thursday night. At a certain point during the interview, Depp talked about a close call he had on the set of his new movie, The Lone Ranger, in which he was nearly trampled by a horse. While riding his horse in the film, Depp says the animal decided to jump over a couple of bumps in the trail. He was riding on a special saddle, which makes it appear as if he's riding bareback, but isn't safe on a jumping horse. During one of the jumps, the saddle slid to the left, leaving Depp hanging off the side of the horse, with no way to pull himself back up. He says he had to make a decision, “Will I go with the beast until someone wrangles it, or will I drop?” Depp chose the latter, falling on his back under the horse. The horse lifted its front legs, stepping over Depp, but did clip him a bit with its back legs. “I figured that fear would kick in, but it didn't,” Depp says. Letterman asked the question on everyone's mind, “Where are the stunt people for heaven's sakes? You're Tonto!” “That's the exact same question I had,” Depp said, as he and Letterman shared a laugh. The Lone Ranger, also starring Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger himself, is in theatres July 3.

Nick is engaged N

ick Carter is taken! The Backstreet Boys singer revealed to People magazine Friday that he recently popped the big question to his girlfriend Lauren Kitt during a trip to the Florida Keys. In the company of close friends, Carter dropped down on one knee to the utter shock of his overjoyed lady love. “I wasn’t expecting it. It just felt very surreal,” said Kitt. “We both are just so happy in love right now and on cloud nine.” Carter says the romantic spot, an island he used to visit as a child, has now been dubbed ‘Engagement Island’. As for their wedding date, the couple told People they’re still working out a date that doesn’t conflict with recording Backstreet Boys’ new album or their sold-out fan cruise in October.

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

SUNDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Ski slope bump 6 Cartoon hunter surname 10 Plains harvest 15 Digging tool 20 Invisible swimmer (var) 21 More balanced 22 Hagar’s comics wife 23 An archangel 24 Kitchen wrap 25 Banquet host 26 Dendrite opposites 27 Alice’s cat 28 Gumshoe attire (2 wds) 30 Deep-blue mineral (2 wds) 32 Get ready (2 wds) 33 Type of jacket 35 ‘— kleine Nachtmusik’ 36 Actress — Andersson 39 Brown of renown 40 MGM motto word 41 Chatty alien of TV 42 Gold deposit 46 Single-strand molecule 47 Bunkhouse item 48 Eject 51 Hard to climb 53 Chicago Fire starter 54 Not these or those 56 — does it! 57 Old-fashioned 59 Rich kid in ‘Nancy’ 61 Don Diego masked 62 Sandy expanse 63 Bassoon cousin 64 Most taxies 65 Spend like crazy 67 From square one 68 Half a fly 69 Manage somehow 72 Pub pint 73 Tells 76 Not moving (2 wds) 80 Ms Gardner 81 Fill-ins 82 Decompose 83 Freight rider 85 Dent 86 Rummage sale 88 Grew, as interest 92 Winner’s take 93 Doozy 94 One half of Ward/Deschanel duet 95 Homeboy’s turf 96 Jet set destination 99 Deadly 102 Wyo neighbour 103 Common door sign 104 Orange-yellow 108 Wickerwork twig 109 Picket-line crossers 110 Elvis swiveled them 111 Compliments 112 Klutz 113 Showbiz org 115 Ocean fishes 116 Mediocre grade 117 Hosp staffer 118 Wisp of smoke 120 S&L offering 121 Norm, briefly 123 Mammal’s need 124 Remain undecided 125 Hindu royalty

127 Not Ionic or Corinthian 129 The Great Caruso 131 Having fun (2 wds) 135 Rappel pro (2 wds) 140 Surrounded by 141 Jrs’ exams 142 On — — (winning) 143 Holstein’s home 144 Snapshot 145 Pismire 146 Brawl 147 Goggle-eyed Cantor 148 Solitude enjoyer 149 Hits the books 150 Bard or minstrel 151 Is stinky DOWN 1 Crow’s-nest locale 2 Little on ‘The Wire’ 3 ‘Primal Fear’ lead 4 Pierced-lip people 5 Knight’s weapon 6 Prominent 7 Open, as a bottle 8 Bug repellent 9 Treat a wound 10 Ahab, for instance 11 Groups of six 12 Flee to the JP 13 Hindu god of fire

14 Blossomed, as corn 15 Red Sea country 16 Valued greatly 17 Aborigine of Japan 18 Wheel and — 19 Grades 1-12 21 Something to keep 29 Moon rings 31 Vitality 34 Motor City union 36 Marshal Tito 37 Gung-ho about 38 Former NFL kicker Matt — 41 Suits to — — 43 Kareem’s alma mater 44 Ans 45 Low cards 47 Give a crew cut 48 Thick carpeting 49 Harness racer 50 Archaic verb ending 51 Vermont ski resort 52 On the double 55 Gaelic language 56 Avila saint 57 Be generous 58 Aid and — 60 Frankfurt’s river 62 Thermometer base 64 Unchanging 66 Victor’s wreath

67 For all to hear 69 Hired vehicle 70 Caviar, actually 71 La —, Bolivia 74 Mistakes 75 Eschews a beard 77 Outback bird 78 ‘My gal’ of song 79 Play about Capote 81 Bedouin’s domain 84 — Dutra of golf 87 Netster of note 89 For a song 90 Lee J — 91 Sci-fi gofer 93 Prayer-wheel turner 97 Little rascals 98 Steakhouse order 99 Stunt-plane maneuver 100 Hairy twin 101 Petty quarrel 102 Orange Bowl org 103 Grinch victim 105 Digestive juice 106 ‘PTI’ network 107 Tear to pieces 109 Economical one 111 Danger 114 Join the chorus 115 401, to Flavius 116 Compass creation 119 Kind of benefit

121 Did a laundry chore 122 Rendezvous 123 Harem jewelry 124 Brilliantine 126 Infuriate 127 Theater offering 128 Muscle spasm 129 Quebec school 130 Kind of vinegar

131 Junk or snail — 132 BBs 133 Zen question 134 Salinger heroine 136 Black-and-white snack 137 Wait awhile 138 Composer — Satie 139 Blended whiskeys PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

STAR POWER Date 25-2-2013

As per Hindu panchang

THIRUVAIKUMAR

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

TAURUS

GEMINI

Don’t neglect even minor health problems; take necessary treatment. Some in for a surprise as they get an opportunity to go abroad. As financial situation looks strong you will feel cheerful.

Marriage talk will resume and progress in the right direction. Employees might have to struggle hard to get recognition; will be entrusted increased tasks. Children will make you happy.

Misunderstanding with mother likely; avoid this. You plan renovation of the house and furnish it well. Never share secrets with a third person. Students will do well and earn appreciation.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Avoid expressing opinions openly without substantiation proof as you might be misunderstood. Strained relationship will resume. Self-confidence level will be at its high. Do duties diligently.

Be careful while travelling as a minor accident is likely. Govt officials will be promoted as per expectations. Never hurt anyone with harsh talk. Students will receive many good news.

A very happy atmosphere will prevail at home. If planned activities are carried out well, success will be certainly yours. Expenses will rise but it is necessary to keep them under strict control.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Avoid financial help to anyone as your savings might erode and you will have difficulty in getting it back. Financial or job opportunity likely through friends. Tensions and hurdles disappear.

Tension all along will start disappearing. Transfer as expected and promotion on the cards for employees. Unexpected influx of visitors will increase expenses. Children will make you proud.

Those planning to apply for a loan can go ahead as the time is favourable. Some employees are forced to stay away from family as they will be deputed to some other state.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Minor clashes and misunderstanding with spouse will be resolved. Avoid giving importance to minor tensions at home as they will be automatically resolved. Need to pay attention to health.

Though there will be misunderstanding between you and spouse, both need to adjust to sort out issues and lead a happy life. All difficult tasks undertaken by you will end successfully.

Your mannered approach will be appreciated by everyone and work will get completed easily. Drive away unwanted apprehensions in your mind. Avoid getting addicted to bad habits.

SUMAA TEKUR

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Seven of Wands – Expect some good news in an email or letter from overseas. Consider all options carefully before you go ahead with a major move.

Queen of Wands – Your imagination is high. It’s likely that your mind is cooking up situations that are not for real. Don’t confront anyone or invite conflict.

The Wheel of Fortune – Nothing ever stays the same. You need to realize and appreciate the fact that bad times will eventually give way to good times.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

The Magician – You come across synchronicity. They were always there. You notice them now. You now have the ability to make the most of your talents.

Page of Swords – Watch out for signs of a burn out. You’ve been spending way too much time in the office. Take a long break and return renewed.

Seven of Swords – Avoid any kind of conflict, whether at home or work. You will find yourself in a sticky situation, unable to get out easily. Act smart.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Two of Pentacles – Though the financial burden has been heavy on you the past few months, your planning has been good and it takes you through tight spots.

The World – Conquer your fear and go ahead with what you’ve wanted to do for a long time. Have confidence that the plans will work out just fine.

Six of Wands – You keep busy with a number of commitments, prior appointments and deliveries both at work and at home. Take fewer coffee breaks today.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

King of Pentacles – Your work is being noticed by influential people in the business. You hear of an authoritative person praising your work. New contacts help.

The High Priestess – You achieve calm and peace through familiarity of routine. It’s like Zen meditation. Stick to the routine if it makes you feel good.

Seven of Pentacles – You are putting all your skills to good use. There are times when you feel disappointed about not being able to achieve to your max.

NON SEQUITUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE POOCH CAFE

STRIP TEASE

AGNES

ARIES

TAROT READ Date 25-2-2013

Some actual trial transcripts, honest! Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you done on dead people? A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? A: The autopsy started around 8:30 pm. Q: And Mr Dennington was dead at the time? A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy. Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? A: No. Q: Did you check for blood

pressure? A: No. Q: Did you check for breathing? A: No. Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? A: No. Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor? A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless? A: It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Vol: 2, No 219 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

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Les Misérables is an epic saga of love and sacrifice set against the backdrop of a rebellion in France in early 19th century where people aspire to dethrone a tyrannical monarch.

An Epic Saga of Love HEMANTH KUMAR

hemanth.k@postnoon.com

es Misérables can be quite a daunting experience for those who have never had a taste of musicals. Every conversation and monologue in the film is a song and the responsibility to make the film an engrossing experience, as much as the stage play it has been adapted from, falls upon its ensemble cast, led by Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. It’s a miracle that almost all of them pull it off, but the film is extraordinarily superficial precisely because it’s a musical. Hugh Jackman stars as Jean Valjean, a convict who was sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to save his sister’s child. He is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). The latter believes that a thief will never change and that upholding the law is paramount. However, Jean reforms himself after a Bishop pardons him despite stealing silver from the church. Several years later, Jean becomes the mayor of a town and runs a factory where Fantine (Anne Hathaway) works tirelessly to send money for the wellbeing of her child, Cosette. When Jean comes to know about Cosette, he promises Fantine that he’ll take care of her and the rest of the film is about how the destinies of Jean, Cosette, Javert and Marius, a student who falls in love with Cosette, crisscross each other while an uprising led by students breaks out. The film’s director, Tom Hooper, who has earlier helmed The King’s Speech, has a fascinating story and a great cast in hand to adapt the musical play of the same name, which itself is an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, on to the big screen. The opening scene, where hundreds of slaves pull a ship into the dockyard while they sing ‘Look Down’, is a sight to behold and it triggers a plethora of emotions about the times the story is set in. In another stunning scene, Fantine gives away her hair, teeth and becomes a prostitute out of desperation to save her child. It makes your stomach churn and Anne Hathway is so brilliant in her brief role that even her songs, which are filled with pathos, sound passionate. The film’s standout performance, however, is from Hugh Jackman. He’s almost perfect as Jean Valjean, a reformed man who struggles to hide his past. Russell Crowe is perhaps the least impressive of all the actors in the film when it comes to singing. Among others, Samantha Barks shines as Eponine and so do Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Les Misérables is brilliantly shot and the sets are gorgeous, but it’s almost a crime to indulge in singing for 157 minutes. The movie boasts of 52 songs. Even films made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowarikar never felt so long and superficial. There’s only so much one can take, even if it’s an epic film.

SPORTS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Fans hurt in race crash

Heat scorch Sixers

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA:

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA:

Twenty-eight race fans were injured on Saturday when a crash sent Kyle Larson’s car airborne and debris flew into the stands at the end of the NASCAR stock car Nationwide Series season-opener. Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway, said 14 injured fans had been transported from the circuit for treatment at local hospitals and 14 more were treated at the track’s medical facility.

Anand draws with Caruana ZURICH (SWITZERLAND): World

Dwyane Wade had a game-high 33 points and LeBron James (right) notched a tripledouble as the NBA champions Miami Heat downed Philadelphia 114-90 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to 10. Mario Chalmers scored 14 points and Chris Bosh added 13 for the Heat, who improved to 39-14 and have a comfortable 5 1/2-game lead over Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the first round of the Zurich Chess Challenge that got underway here.Playing black in the opener of his third super tournament of the year, Anand was seen pushing for an advantage as black and Caruana had to defend precisely from a difficult position but the Italian held fort to force the split of the point.

Vijays Conquer for main event Laxman Singh-trained Vijays Conquer, who won comfortably in race No 218, retains form for a repeat performance in The Prince Mouzam Jah Bahadur Memorial Cup, the feature event of Monday afternoon races here at Malakpet. 1stRace: The Gold Sovereign Plate (about) 1600 metres, CatIII. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, rated upto 25. 1-40pm 1 Fashionista 60.6 (KV Srinivas) AM Tograllu 2 2 Bernabeu 59 (Silvester) K Anil 1 3 Jaz Elle 59 (Z Shaikh) Ch K Chary 3 4 Classic Wish 58 (Prasad R) PS Chopuhan 6 5 Khalis Gold 56.5 (Hassan) Asbar 5 6 Architect 53.5 (Srinagesh) Nitin Singh 7 7 Kohinoor Adhira 53.5 (Vatsalya) Ajit Kumar 9 8 Great Guns 53 (Hassan) J Vikas 8 9 Anagalekha 50.5 (A Sharma) Khurshad Alam 4 Selections: 1 Classic Wish 2 Khalis Gold 3 Jaz Elle

4 Prince Prashant 53 (D’Silva) A K Pawar 4 5 Pacific Star 52.5 (Srinivas R) P s Chouhan 5 6 True Friend 52 (Hassan) Asabr 1 7 Sweet Candy 51.5 (Satheesh) K anil 6 8 Cannon Ten 50 (Prasad R) P Sai Kumar 7 9 Sun Bird 50 (Netto) Harinder Singh 8 Selections: 1 Hurricane Dancer 2 Pacific Star 3 Bloody Mary

2nd Race: The Super Brave Plate (Div-I) (about) 1400 metres, Cat-II. Terms for Maiden horses 3 year olds only. 2-10pm 1 Aware 55 (Hassan) P S Chouhan 1 2 Half Moon Bay 55 (D’Silva) Kuldeep Singh 6 3 Midnight In Paris 55 (S’narayan) Khurshad Alam 8 4 Ranjah 55 (Laxman S) AMTograalu 3 5 Concours 53.5 (D’Silva) S Nayak 2 6 Goldie 53.5 (D’Silva) R Vaibhav 4 7 Ice Barrier 53.5 (Satheesh) Deep shanker 7 8 Kohinoor Punch 53.5 (Vatsalya) Ajit Kumar 9 9 Princess Cruise 53.5 (Netto) KiranNaidu 5 Selections: 1 Goldie 2 Ranjah 3 Princess Cruise

5th Race: The Eagle Eye Plate (about) 1400 metres, Cat-III. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, rated upto 50. `3-40pm 1 Big Boss 61 (D’Silva) R Vaibhav 8 2 Golden Dash 61 (Vatsalya) Ajit Kumar 7 3 Lady Luck 60 (Netto) P Sai Kumar 5 4 Montego Bay 60 (Prasad R) J Vikas 10 5 Ace Star 57.5 (N Rao) DK Ashish 13 6 Bang OnTarget 56 (Kassam) K Anil 9 7 Sitting Pretty 55.5 (S Abbas) A Imrankhan 3 8 Stolen Date 54 (Netto) KiranNaidu 12 9 Symbol Of Honour 53 (A Sharma) C Henrqiue 4 10 Foudre Rouge 52.5 (Prasad R) G Sai Vamshi 1 11 Ground Crew 51.5 (Satheesh) AK Pawar 2 12 Kohinoor Revanta 51.5 (Vatsalya) AM Tograllu 11 13 Silver Arnage 49.5 (Kassam) Khurshad Alam 14 14 In Reality 49 (Netto) Harinder Singh 2 Selections: 1 Ground Crew 2 Symbol Of Honour 3 Lady Luck

3rd Race; The Super Brave Plate (Div-II) (about) 1400 metres, Cat-II. Terms for Maiden horses 3 year olds only. 2-40pm 1 Flamboyant Star 55 (Satheesh) Deep Shanker 3 2 Magical Punch 55 (D’Silva) Kuldeep Singh 4 3 Racing Ahead` 55 (Deshmukh) P S Chouhan 8 4 Vocation 55 (D’Silva) R Vaibhav 1 5 Golden Art 53.5 (Vatsalya) Ajit Kumar 6 6 Most Impressive 53.5 (Netto) KiranNaidu 2 7 Over Look 53.5 (Satheesh) KAnil 5 8 Par Excellence 53.5 (D’Silva) S Nayak 9 9 Royal Glory 53.5 Prasad R) P Sai Kumar 7 Selections: 1 Vocation 2 Racing Ahead 3 Most Impressive

6th Race: The Circar Cup (about) 1400 metresx, Cat-II. Terms for horses 4 year olds and upward. 4-15pm 1 Ashwa Shakti 61 (Deshmukh) PS Chouhan 1 2 Chal Bhai Chal 61 (Netto) A Imran Khan 6 3 Cristiano 61 (S Abbas) Ch K chary 5 4 Silver Crown 61 (S’narayan) NS Parmar 4 5 Da Xia 59 (Vatsalya) Ajit Kumar 9 6 Dusty Lady 59 (Sequeria) PTrevor 2 7 Oasis Vision 57.5 (Deshmukh) A M tograllu 7 8 Aerosmith 56.5 (Prasad R) S John 3 9 Jewel In The Crown55 (NRao) G Sai Vamshi 8 Selections: 1 Silver Crown 2 Chal Bhai Chal 3 Dusty Lady

4th Race: The Pelican Plate (Div-II) (about) 1200 metres, CatII. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, rated upto 75. 3-10pm 1 Bloody Mary 60 (D’silva) KuldeepSingh 3 2 Hurricane Dancer 57 (S Abbas) A Imran Khan 2 3 Shatakshi 54.5 (A Sharma) C Henrique 9

7th Race: The Prince Mouzam Jah Bahadur Memorial Cup (about) 1200 metres, Cat-I. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, 4-45pm 1 Proof 62 (Sequeria) PS Chouhan 9 2 Vijays Conquer 60.6 (Laxman S) AM Tograalu 1 3 Al Sarraah 54.5 (S Abbas) A ImranKhan 7

HYDERABAD: Spirited, Ashwa Shakti, Surya Lakshmi and Silver Crown impressed when horses were exercised here on Saturday morning at the racecourse in Malakpet.

Sand track 800 metres Aerosmith (N Rawal) Classic Wish (Sai Kumar) 1-2, 600/45 They moved together. Ashwa Shakti (Tograllu) 54, 600/40 Pleased. Flamboyant Star (Deep Shanker) 58, 600/44 Moved freely. Sitting Pretty (Chary) 1-0, 600/44 Easy.

4 Days Of Thunder 52.5 (Prasad R) P Trevor 4 5 Molecule 52.5 (NRao) DK Ashish 3 6 Anacostia 50.5 (D’Silva) Kuldeep Singh 11 7 Alberton Star 50 (Prasad R) P Sai Kumar 10 8 Aphrodisiac 50 (S Abbas) Ch K Chary 12 9 Indian Epic 50 (Prasad R) GSai Vamshi 5 10 Key Note 50 (Netto) Harinde rSingh 2 11 Ice Lolly 49 (D’silva) AK Pawar 8 12 Rio Grande 49 (D’Silva) R Vaibhav 6 Selections: 1 Vijays Conquer 2 Al Sarraah 3 Proof 8th Race: The Hot Chocolate Plate (about) 1200 Metre, CatII. Terms for horses, 3 year olds only. 5-15pm 1 Baazigar 59 (Z Shaikh) A Imrankhan 1 2 Black Bolt 55 (Laxman S) Harinde rsingh 7 3 Chocolate Soldier 55 (A Sharma) AMTograalu 3 4 Dandelion 55 (Prasad R) PS Chouhan 4 5 Field Smasher 55 (N Rao) DK Ashish 2 6 Greek Star 55 (NRao) G Sai Vamshi 6 7 Nano Belle 53.5 (Vatsalya) C Henrique 5 8 Power Drive 53.5 (Netto) KiranNaidu 8 9 Sherman Oaks 53.5 (D’Silva) AK Pawar 9 Selections: 1 Baazigar 2 Dandelion 3 Black Bolt 9th Race: The Pelican Plate (Div-I) (about) 1200 metres, Cat-II. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, rated upto 75. 5-45pm 1 Secret angel 60 (Laxamn S) PS Chouhan 2 2 Scubarioo 58.5 (D’Silva) KuldeepSingh 9 3 Elegant Approach 55.5 (Prasad R) S John 4 4 Power Planet 51.5 (S’narayan) KiranNaidu 5 5 Robust 51.5 (Srinivas R) AMtograalu 10 6 Hidden Power 51 (NRao) DK Ashish 3 7 Mr.Glorious 50.5 (Hassan) Asbar 7 8 Speed Striker 49.5 (Prasad R) Khurshad Alam 1 9 Exclusive 49 (d’Silva) AK Pawar 8 10 Gold Medal 49 (satheesh) Harinder Singh 6 Selections: 1 Secret Angel 2 Hidden Power 3 Mr.Glorius

Days Best: Silver Crown Jackpot Race Nos: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 1st Treble Race Nos: 1, 2 and 3 2nd Treble Race Nos: 4, 5 and 6 3rd Treble Race Nos: 7, 8 and 9 Tanala pool will operate on all races where there are five or more starters. No False Rails.

Spirited pleases Hurricane Dancer (Kiran Naidu) 1-1, 600/46 Moved freely. Mukhtar (app) 57, 600/43 Moved well. Spirited (chary) 56.5, 600/41 Pleased. Bound For Glory (Tograllu) 58, 600/43 Moved well. Mr. Glorious (rb) 59, 600/45 Easy. Star Value (Chary) 58, 600/43 Moved on the bit. Silver Crown (K Alam) 57, 600/43 Moved well. Baba’s

Gift (rb) Silver Arnage (rb) 58, 600/43 They finished together. True Friend (Tograllu) 56.5, 600/42.5 Moved well. Cristiano (Chary) 59, 600/44 Easy. Staying The Best (N Rawal) 57, 600/41 Pleased.

Sand track 1000 metres Surya Lakshmi (Harinder Singh) 1-11, 800/54, 600/40 Pleased.

1200 Metres: Aware (M.Mark) Khalids Gold (rb) 1-27, 1000/1-11, 800/56, 600/43 They moved well. All Pepper (Kiran Naidu) 1-34.5, 1000/1-18.5, 800/1-1, 600/46 Easy. Flower Drum (M.Mark) Great Guns (app) 1-33.5, 1000/1-16, 800/58.5, 600/43.5 They finished together.

Sand track 1200 metres The Himalayas (app) Symbol of Honour (Ajit Kumar) 144.5,1200/1-28.5, 1000/1-13.5, 800/58.5, 600/45 They moved together. Ciel Blu (Kiran Naidu) 1-48.5, 1200/1-33, 1000/1-18, 800/1-2, 600/47 Moved well.

Winter outer ace grass 1000 metres Ann Arbor (NS Parmar) 1-14, 800/58, 600/43 Moved freely. Half Moon Bay (S Nayak) Magical Punch (NS Parmar) 1-12.5, 800/56, 600/41 Moved well.

SPORTS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

James succeeds Victoria as sprint queen MINSK: Great Britain’s Becky James (left) succeeded Victoria Pendleton as world sprint champion on Saturday, breaking the six-year iron-grip on the event held by the retired English golden girl and Australia’s Anna Meares. The 21-year-

Erakovic wins Memphis title over ailing Lisicki MEMPHIS: Marina Erakovic became the first New Zealander since 1989 to win a WTA title on Saturday, lifting her first career trophy with a truncated triumph over third-seeded German Sabine Lisicki in Memphis. Erakovic confidently raced to a 6-1 first-set victory, and the title was hers when the struggling Lisicki retired. The big-hitting German had been battling an undisclosed illness for several days. In men’s action in this combined ATP and WTA event, fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan advanced to Sunday’s final after a short day’s work. He had won the first set against Marinko Matosevic 6-4 when the Australian retired.

Somdev, Yuki return for Davis Cup tie against Indonesia NEW DELHI: Top singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri today made a return to the Indian Davis Cup team even as Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna continued to be pariahs for the crucial tie against Indonesia in April. The national selectors met here today and, as expected, picked Somdev, Yuki, Sanam Singh and experienced campaigner Leander Paes for the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I relegation play-off first round tie against Indonesia in Bangalore from April 5-7. The All India Tennis Association’s selection committee also named Vijayant Malik and N Sriram Balaji as reserves.

Djokovic aims to take Federer’s title DUBAI: Novak Djokovic’s first tournament since his successful defence of the Australian Open title offers him a chance to show why he could remain the world number one for the forseeable future. The 25-year-old Serbian’s triumph in Melbourne saw him avenge a defeat in the US Open final to his most contemporary rival, Andy Murray, making him an even stronger favourite to win back the title at the Dubai Open, which starts on Monday. To do that Djokovic will probably need to overcome the man who took it away from him — Roger Federer, the world number two, who has a home in Dubai, often plays outstandingly well here.

Gate wins omnium New Zealand’s Aaron Gate stunned Olympic champion Lasse Hansen of Denmark to win omnium gold at the world track cycling championships on Saturday. Gate, 22, edged out Hansen by three points.

old Welsh cyclist James edged out Germany’s Kristina Vogel in the final, making the most of the absence of the now-retired Pendleton and Olympic champion Meares, the duo who had shared all the major titles since 2007.

Bolt stretches legs with win KINGSTON: Jamaican sprint hero Usain Bolt (left) continued his low-key early-season programme Saturday, running in the heats of the 4x400m relay at the Gibson Relays athletics meeting. Bolt clocked a 45.7sec split running the third leg for the Racers Lions squad, which won their heat in 3:06.9 ahead of a Dominican Republic team that was timed in 3:08.6. Bolt spectacularly defended his three gold medals — in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m — in the London Olympics last summer. The runner’s decision to skip Saturday’s final was the plan all along, his coach Glen Mills said, telling journalists he was “only down to run the heats”. AFP

Kvitova beats Errani to capture Dubai title Richard Eaton

DUBAI: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (right) scored her biggest success in 15 months when a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Sara Errani earned her the Dubai Open title on Saturday. There were moments in the first and third sets when Kvitova looked as though she could become a Grand Slam challenger, but in between she was thankful that she could discover enough mental strength to recover from a rocky mid-match spell. It means that the fierce-hitting 22year-old Czech has now won eight of her 10 career titles at Premier or Grand Slam level, a statistic which says something about her capacity for delivering when it matters most. Italian Errani, who was voted the tour’s most improved player last year, played with surprising courage to abandon her patient rallying in favour of flatter hitting and net attacks. Although this did not turn the match completely around it did prevent it becoming a rout. “It was up and down, but I can say I was focussed and calm, which was important after the second set,” said Kvitova. “It was important to stay in the game and to do my best and to be aggressive.” It was also notable that Kvitova’s resilience was achieved without the services of her coach David Kotyza whom, she said, was on holiday. “I hope he is happy," she commented. “It was something special. I am here alone. Sometimes it is difficult to go on court and think about the game by myself.”

The hard-hitting Czech looked as though she was going to swamp the French Open finalist when she trampled her way through the first four games in 15 minutes and took the first set in little more than half an hour. During that time Errani, the loser of all six previous sets against Kvitova, managed just a single winner, and looked almost certain to lose two more. But Errani adapted her tactics well in the second set, taking time away from Kvitova’s brilliant ball-striking. Then in the fourth game she produced a brilliant lob-approach-stop volley sequence which roused the crowd for the first time and for a while changed the mood of the match. Kvitova conceded that game with a double fault, delivered another double fault in her next service game, which she also dropped, and began making many more errors, both forced and unforced.

Sania teams with Bethanie to win doubles title

ndia’s Sania Mirza today clinched her second doubles title of the season after she combined with partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands to defeat Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik in the title clash of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, here. The unseeded IndoAmerican duo prevailed over the Russian-Slovenia combo 6-4 2-6 10-7 in a tightly-contested final of the USD 2,000,000 hard court event. The match lasted for one hour and 32 minute. The two had won the Brisbane International last month.

Marathon runner shines at last race HONG KONG: A 101-yearold Sikh believed to be the world’s oldest distance runner retired on Sunday after ending his last race in Hong Kong on a high, describing it as one of the “happiest days” of his long life. Fauja Singh (left), nicknamed the Turbaned Tornado, finished the 10-kilometre run at the Hong Kong Marathon in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds —

half a minute faster than at the same event last year. “Today is one of my happiest days,” the Indian-born British national, who only speaks Punjabi, said through his interpreter after he crossed the finishing line with a broad smile and waving the Hong Kong flag. “I felt so fresh and so good. I felt I’m full of power today. “I will remember this day and I will miss it, but I will

not stop running for charity,” added Singh, who was mobbed by supporters when he completed his final competitive event. The centenarian, who was a farmer in his home state of Punjab before settling in England, began running at 89 and has since completed nine 42-kilometre (26 mile) marathons in London, Toronto and New York. His best time was in Toronto, where he clocked

five hours, 40 minutes and four seconds. The greatgreat-grandfather, who turns 102 on April 1, has said that while he is quitting competitive events, he will not stop running for personal fitness. He was inspired to take up marathons after he saw television coverage of one 12 years ago, not long after the death of his wife and a son, at a time when he said he needed a new focus in life.

SPORTS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Sachin falls short of ton While the maestro fell short of a deserving century, Virat Kohli was inching towards what could prove to be a match-saving hundred. G APARNA SAI

from Chennai WELLINGTON: New Zealand have chosen three new playChennai: India were comfortably placed at 263 for four at the end of the morning session on day three of the first Test match against Australia, here, on Sunday. Virat Kohli (R in pic) and skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, were batting on 37 and 83 runs respectively. Beginning the day at 182 for three, India added another 81 runs losing the wicket of Sachin Tednulkar. Earlier, Kohli along with Tendulkar, steadied the Indian innings after they were staggering at 105 for three on Saturday. Playing patient yet well paced knocks, the duo added another 77 runs before the end of the day’s play. But both the batsmen seemed to have a

SCOREBOARD Australia 1st innings from 380 India 1st innings (overnight score 183/3) M Vijay b Pattinson 10 V Sehwag b Pattinson 2 CA Pujara b Pattinson 44 SR Tendulkar b Lyon 81 V Kohli not out 83 MS Dhoni*† not out 37 Extras (lb 3, w 3) 6 Total (4 wickets) 263 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-12, 3-105, 4-196 Bowling O M R W MA Starc 18 2 46 0 JL Pattinson 14 3 41 3 PM Siddle 14 4 38 0 NM Lyon 22 0 96 1 MC Henriques 9 2 25 0 MJ Clarke 2 0 14 0

little difficult time on Sunday morning, struggling to score easy runs. Nathan Lyon’s bowling seemed to threaten Tendulkar and the batsman soon fell to a brilliantly bowled ball off the Australian spinner. Earlier, the Master Blaster looked all set to get to his 101st international hundred. With just another 29 runs needed to reach his ton this morning, most anticipated him to get there with ease. Huge crowds thronged the stadium but all were left disappointed when Tendulkar fell short of his century by 19 runs. Fortunately, Tendulkar’s dismissal did not apply the brakes on the scoring rate of the Indians. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who came in after Tendulkar’s dismissal, raced

to 37 off just 42 balls, an innings which included four fours. The Indian skipper missed no opportunity of taking on the Australian bowlers. He even hammered Lyon to a couple of boundaries, hardly threatened by the bowler, who just a few overs earlier had sent back Tendulkar. Meanwhile, Kohli supported Dhoni well at the other end. The Delhi also got into the groove and manoeuvred the ball all across the field. His well-paced innings included 10 fours and the young batsman seems all geared to score his fifth Test century. If the hosts do not lose wickets soon, they stand a very good chance of taking the first innings lead and also seeing that the match heads for a tight finish.

Kiwis toy with changes WELLINGTON: New Zealand have chosen three new players, dropped two veterans and will experiment with a new opening partnership in a squad named Sunday for the upcoming England Test series. Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham and Bruce Martin are elevated to the Test ranks while all-rounder James Franklin and spinner Jeetan Patel are omitted from the 12-man squad. Latham, however, is unlikely to make the playing XI after coach Mike Hesson indicated Rutherford and the recalled Peter Fulton were “most likely” to open against the tourists. New Zealand have struggled for several years to establish a productive opening pair with Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum averaging 16.5 in eight innings during the recent series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Guptill has now been sidelined by injury and captain McCullum has dropped down the order opening the way for Fulton to be recalled three years after he played the last of his 10 Tests. Rutherford, the son of former New Zealand opener Ken Rutherford, has played against England in the oneday and Twenty20 series while 20-year-old Latham last played for New Zealand in an ODI against Sri Lanka in November. Hesson said another fast bowler would be added to the squad following England’s four-day match against a New Zealand XI starting on Wednesday where Mark Gillespie leads contenders.

A dream debut nearly missed COLIN BRYDEN CENTURION, SA: When Kyle Abbott’s mobile phone rang at his Durban home early on Tuesday morning he didn’t recognise the number, stopped the call, switched his phone to silent and went back to sleep. What he didn’t realise was that the mystery caller was Andrew Hudson, convener of the South African selectors, informing him that he needed to get on a flight to Johannesburg to join the squad for the third Test against Pakistan at Centurion. Six days later he is a new South African sports hero after

taking seven for 29 on his Test debut, enabling his country to enforce the follow-on and press for a series whitewash. “When I woke up there was a voice message and I thought I had better phone back quickly,” said Abbott, 25. At that stage he was designated as a back-up player and he was happy just to be welcomed by the national players, “seeing how the number one team in the world prepares for Test matches and how they go about their business”. On Thursday, the day before the Test, coach Gary Kirsten told him that Jacques Kallis

had a minor injury and that he might be in the team. Abbott didn’t get his hopes up too high. “Jacques went for a scan and I thought he would pull through.” But later that afternoon Kirsten told him he would be playing. “I still didn’t quite believe it until I was in the bus coming to the ground the next morning,” he said. Out on the field, he said he lived by a motto passed on to him by former South African fast bowler Friedel de Wet. “He told me, ‘Always give a

hundred percent and expect nothing in return’. I have done that the whole season. I have gone out there and left nothing on the table.” Vice-captain AB de Villiers described Abbott’s performance as amazing. “He was really consistent. He didn’t show any signs of nerves. It was what you expect at Test level, hitting the deck hard and hitting good areas more often than not,” said De Villiers, a century-maker on Saturday. “He got a few really big wickets for us. He’s a captain’s dream,” he added. AFP

SPORTS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Cazorla’s double eases pressure on Wenger Arsene Wenger had faced renewed calls for his resignation after last weekend’s embarrassing FA Cup exit against second-tier Blackburn. Miguel Delaney

Collated English Premier League results on Saturday

LONDON: Santi Cazorla eased the pressure on under-fire Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as the Spanish midfielder’s double clinched a crucial 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. Anything but a victory against struggling Villa would have given Wenger’s critics more ammunition to attack the Frenchman, so there was a sense of relief all around the Emirates Stadium when Cazorla bagged the winner with five minutes remaining. Until then Arsenal had laboured to kill off third bottom Villa, who recovered from Cazorla’s first half opener to equalise through Andreas Weimann after the break. Cazorla’s efforts moved Arsenal within one point of fourth placed Tottenham, although their north London rivals can reopen a four-point advantage if they beat West Ham on Monday. Arsenal certainly started as if they had a point to prove. Within minutes of kick-off, Jack Wilshere forcefully got on the end of a misplaced Joe Bennett pass to bring a fine save from Brad Guzan. Only moments later, in the sixth minute, Wenger’s men took the lead when Cazorla had a shot blocked and then immediately

Arsenal 2 Vs Aston Villa 1 Fulham 1 Vs Stoke 0 Norwich 2 Vs Everton 1 QPR 0 Vs Manchester Utd 2 Reading 0 Vs Wigan 3 West Brom 2 Vs Sunderland 1 Sunday fixtures (both 1330GMT) Manchester City v Chelsea, Newcastle v Southampton

Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla celebrates scoring the second goal during their match against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. AFP

United not home and dry yet, warns Ferguson Ian Winrow

LONDON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says the Premier League title race is far from over despite seeing his side move 15 points clear of Manchester City after a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers. With 11 games remaining, and City due to face thirdplace Chelsea on Sunday, Ferguson’s side are in a dominant position, but the man-

ager refused to declare his side to be champions-elect. “We’re in a better position today (Saturday) than we were yesterday,” he said. Rafael da Silva set United on course for victory at QPR with an outstanding opening goal before Ryan Giggs marked his 999th appearance in senior football with the second 10 minutes from time. Ferguson praised the contribution of Rafael.

collected the loose ball and guided his shot around Guzan. Villa looked to capitalise on Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal’s frequent forays forward. The Spaniard was often superb when contributing to attack but lacked a little defensively. It was through his flank that Villa created a series of chances for Gabriel Agbonlahor and Charles N’Zogbia, with Wojciech Szczesny forced into two excellent stops. The lively Weimann was also unlucky when a particularly impressive quick interchange with N’Zogbia ended with his run being forced wide. At the other end, Arsenal did put together some nice passages of play themselves but too often a crucial touch was slightly off or a pass underhit.

Mancini ready to concede title to United Neil Johnston

MANCHESTER, UK: Roberto Mancini (left) says Manchester City are continuing to make progress under his leadership even though he is ready to concede the Premier League title

race this weekend. City will start Sunday’s home game with Chelsea 15 points behind Manchester United if Alex Ferguson’s leaders win at bottom club Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Should that happen, and City fail to defeat Chelsea at the

Etihad Stadium, then Mancini says the title race will be over, with 11 games remaining after the weekend. The Italian says City are making progress and he will only quit if he can no longer move them forward.

Messi winner stretches Barça lead The Catalans had to come from behind after Alberto Botia headed the lead. Kieran Canning

MADRID: Barcelona stretched their advantage at the top of La Liga to 15 points as two goals in eight minutes just before the hour mark from David Villa and Lionel Messi (above) handed them a 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday.

Saturday results Real Mallorca 1 Vs Getafe 3 Real Zaragoza 2 Vs Valencia 2 Deportivo La Coruna 1 Vs Real Madrid 2 Barcelona 2 Vs Sevilla 1 Barca star Javier Mascherano said it was important to get the equaliser quickly after the break. “I think we were aware that we didn’t pay well in the first-half and we needed more,” he told Canal Plus. “In the second-half I think we started with more intensity and luckily managed to find the equaliser quickly.” Barca now face a huge Spanish Cup semi-final second-leg with Real Madrid on Tuesday with the tie finely balanced a 1-1 and Mascherano believes home advantage and an away goal gives them the upper hand.

Beckham braced for French adventure Martyn Wood

PARIS: David Beckham’s (right) eagerly anticipated Paris SaintGermain debut is set to coincide with French football’s biggest fixture as the Ligue 1 leaders lock horns with arch-rivals Marseille on Sunday. Beckham was included in Carlo Ancelotti’s provisional 19man squad for the clash — referred to as “Le Classique” in France — at Parc des Princes, marking the first time the former England captain has featured in the Italian’s plans since his arrival at the end of January.

“He will be available but I don’t want to reveal the team. He has worked well (in training) and is in a good state physically and mentally. He wants to play and he is in a condition to start,” Ancelotti said. “He is capable of playing a full match,” added the PSG boss, quashing concerns over Beckham’s fitness despite the midfielder’s last competitive outing coming on December 1 when his former side Los Angeles Galaxy dispatched Houston Dynamo 3-1 to defend their MLS Cup title. Ancelotti also went on to dismiss suggestions that the club’s

ANCELOTTI ALSO WENT ON TO DISMISS SUGGESTIONS THAT THE CLUB’S HIERARCHY COULD PRESSURE THE ITALIAN TO HAND BECKHAM A STARTING BERTH. hierarchy could pressure the Italian to hand Beckham a starting berth. “I know that (he) has a great image to everyone but for me, if a player deserves to play, he will.

If he doesn’t deserve it, he won’t play,” summarised Ancelotti. A product of the Manchester United youth academy where he starred at Old Trafford for the best part of a decade before mov-

ing on to Real Madrid, Los Angeles and AC Milan, Beckham is more than accustomed to intense rivalries that are the focus of much media scrutiny. “I have played in a lot of big matches in my career, games like AC Milan against Inter, Real Madrid against Barcelona, and the (Los Angeles) Galaxy against Chivas,” Beckham told PSG’s official website. “For me, it is very exciting to play in another very special match.” Beckham is destined to come up against fellow Englishman and midfield Joey Barton.