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

AUSSIE WICKETS TUMBLE AS WICKET STARTS TO CRUMBLE

ustralia were 89 for five in their second innings at lunch on the third day of the fourth and final Test in New Delhi today. Australia are leading India by 79 runs with five wickets still in hand. India were earlier bowled out for 272. PG 31

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 31°C

INSPECTOR

CUPID TURNS YOUNG

LOVE’S SAVIOUR

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

MARCH 24, 2013 HYDERABAD

ON SUNDAY

A police inspector performed the marriage of one of his constables to his lady love in spite of her father’s protests. And when her father tried to lodge a police complaint, Cupid’s arrow thwarted his attempts. REPORT ON PG 3

32 PAGES

METROLOGY GIVES CONSUMERS ONLINE RELIEF The legal metrology department has come up with unique features to help consumers lodge complaints on MRP discrepancies. Consumers can lodge complaints through three options provided by the department — send an SMS to 09490165619, register a complaint with the toll-free number 1860425333 or e-mail the complaint to clm@ap.nic.in. However, there is no way to track the online complaints as yet. According to RP Thakur, controller of legal metrology, this new drive is aimed at helping consumers voice their complaints against fraudulent practices. PG 4

CITY SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

PALM SUNDAY CELEBRATIONS

Double Easter treat There is an exquisite seafood barbecue, along with Easter classics at Okra. Specially crafted Easter hampers are available at The Hyderabad Baking Company. Where: Okra,Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre When: March 31, 12.30pm to 3.30pm Contact: (040) 2752 2567

Innovating traditions Artists with interest in sculptural forms are invited to participate in this workshop. There will be an interactive use of techniques between Nakashi art and contemporary art practices. Where: ICONART Artist in Residency Premises, 1672 SBI building, 2nd floor, Road no12, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing Contact: 98499 68797

Full moon dine Dine with your loved ones under the full moon. A special thali will be served every full moon. Where: La Cantina When: March 27, 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6682 4422

Daily treats Orange is the fruit of the month at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace. Dishes include orange blossom cheesecake, orange creme brule and dark chocolate orange tart. Where: Daily Treats, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace When: Up to March 31 Contact: (040) 6767 6818

Holi special Aam panna, thandai, assorted pakodas and special chat platters are some of the items on the menu. There will also be tattoo and mehendi artistes, musician and bangle seller at the venue. Where: Kailash Parbat Above Ebony Gautier, 2nd floor, Road no. 36, Jubilee Hills When: March 23-31 Lunch: noon to 3.30pm Snacks: noon to 11.30pm Dinner: 7pm to 11pm Contact: (040) 2355 8856

Shaam-e-Deccan GreenPark is hosting Royal Hyderabadi Food Festival – Shaame-Deccan. There will be a spread of vegetarian and non vegetarian delights, especially the nawabi kebabs and a wide choice of biriyanis. Where: Once Upon a Time,

CINEMAS

People gather at St Joseph Church, Abids, on Palm Sunday, that marks the beginning of Holy Week. M ANIL KUMAR GreenPark, Greenlands, Begumpet When: March 15-24, 7.30pm to 11pm Contact: (040) 6651 5151

Women in Public Spaces Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad had called for applications for a group photography exhibition on ‘Women in Public Spaces.’ This is an exhibition of selected entries. Where: Goethe-Zentrum, Hyderabad When: March 15-24, 9.30am to 5.30pm Contact: (040) 2335 0443

It’s Easter! There is a special Easter brunch. Where: Seasonal Tastes, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace When: March 31, noon to 4pm Contact: (040) 6767 6888

French artist B2Fays Alliance Française of Hyderabad, Kalakriti Art Gallery and Park Hyatt Hyderabad present French artist B2Fays. It is an exhibition of paintings and multimedia installations. Where: Preview: Park Hyatt Exhibition continues at Kalakriti Art Gallery When: Preview: March 28,

6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6656 4466

Saturday sunset BBQ Bring your family and friends for a fun barbeque evening with grilled specialties, a variety of Kebabs and a whole lot of Asian delights. Where: The Square When: Every Saturday, 7pm onwards

Thinking form and content An exhibition of art work by Gopal Nayak. Where: ICONART Gallery, Road no. 12, Sri Ram Nagar Colony, Banjara Hills When: Up to March 30, from 11.30 am to 7pm Contact: 98499 68797

Easter goodies Hot cross buns, Easter Bunnies, and Easter chocolates are part of the special Easter menu. Where: Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre When: March 25-31

DocuSplash! Barf, 1997, Sita’s Family, 2002, Delhi Mumbai Delhi, 2006 and Naach, 2008, will be screened. Where: Goethe-Zentrum,

Hyderabad 20 Journalist Colony, Road no. 3, Banjara Hills When: March 24, 11am onwards Contact: gothe.de/hyderabad

The great Oxford sale Discounts on books, magazines, stationery and gift items. Where: Oxford Bookstore, Tresorie, The Park, 22 Raj Bhavan Road When: Up to March 31 Contact: (040) 31002959

Spring treasure sale There is a sale of up to 50 per cent off at Taj Khazana, which showcases artefacts as well as a selection of garments, stoles, shawls and accessories from various Indian designers. Where: Taj Khazana, Taj Falaknuma Palace When: March 15-25 Contact: (040) 6629 8600

Easter brunch This is a family brunch. Items on menu include beef wellington, mushroom pie, Easter eggs and hot cross buns. Where: The Square When: March 31, noon onwards Contact: (040) 6684 4422

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, MARCH 24, 2013 M ANIL KUMAR

Venkaiah predicts UPA’s fall

redicting the beginning of the end of UPA government, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu has asked the Congress government to quit before it is pulled down by its allies. He said the UPA sarkar was a flop on all fronts and it does not understand the coalition dharma. The government is already in a minority and it must quit, he said.

A tragedy gone unnoticed

Maoist leader arrested

assersby had a shock of their lives when they spotted the body of an unidentified person hanging on the railway bridge near Bansilalpet, Secunderabad, this morning. Said to be a male, he seems to have fallen off a train or someone pushed him off. The police have started investigations.

aoist leader Sudarshan alias Sriramulu Srinivas who allegedly made a bid to kill Chandrababu Naidu when he was CM has been arrested. He will be produced before the court on Sunday. Sudarshan is a key accused in the murder attempt on Naidu at Alipiri. He is also accused in the murder of the then home minister Madhava Reddy.

Inspector cupid turns young love’s saviour A police inspector performed the marriage of one of his men in love. When the bride’s father approached the cops for lodging a complaint, he was shooed away. PIC FOR REPRESENTATIVE PURPOSE ONLY

Mohd SUBHAN

mohd.s@postnoon.com

harried father of a girl had to seek judicial help when the police prevented him from lodging a complaint of abduction of his daughter by a constable. The high drama happened at the Reinbazaar police station, where a constable, bearing buckle no. 2655, had fallen in love with a young teacher in a nearby school. It is said that both loved each other and wanted to marry, but the girl’s parents did not approve of the match and raised objections. Thereupon, feeling sympathetic towards his constable’s woes, the circle inspector is said to have given both of

them shelter for a while and arranged their marriage. This happened in the third week of last month. After marriage, he was given leave. Both of them belong to Vikarabad in RR district. Shocked by the development, the father of the girl approached the Reinbazaar police to lodge a complaint against the constable. There, he found an unhelpful police who appeared hostile towards him for disapproving love. They raised many objections to filing a case, as the girl is legally above the minimum age of consent and parents can’t force anything on her. He then approached the court stating that his daughter was illegally detained by a policeman and other policemen were helping him. The judiciary asked for details and wondered how the police could behave in this fashion.

One woe too many for TDP The absence of Chandrababu Naidu has led to the party flock taking a backseat in Assembly protests, while the smaller parties, TRS and YSRC, dominated the session. Inkeshaf Ahmed

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

he main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) seems to be facing a tricky situation in the ongoing budget session of the AP Assembly. While its floor leader and party president is busy with the ongoing padayatra, skipping the budget session, other leaders of the party fail to put up a united disciplined front. Not one of the demands of the TDP was respected by the government. Its continuous demand to hold a detailed discussion on the power crisis in the State failed to evince any response from the ruling Congress.

The latest flop show was the 12-hour-long sit-in inside the House, which they declared on Friday. They saw themselves evicted by marshals within an hour (pictured). "We thought that by holding a sit-in in the House, we could put pressure on the government to take up the power situation.

But it did not happen as the ruling party was least concerned about it," said TDP MLA Jaipal Yadav. Apart from this, there seems to be no co-ordination among the party MLAs too. These differences came to public glare during this week's Assembly session. Party MLAs K Dayakar Reddy, Muddu Krishnama Naidu and D Narendra Kumar had heated arguments with each other over raising a public problem. This had provided full entertainment to the ruling party leaders. Commenting on this, another party MLA attributed this to the absence of Chandrababu Naidu from the House. He said this is leading to lack of co-ordination among the party leaders.

Handshake, no tie-up, say MIM, TDP Indications are that when the General Elections approach, the GHMC’s political landscape will have changed beyond recognition. Md Nizamuddin

nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

he MIM has offered a contract marriage to TDP for MLA elections, causing ripples in civic politics. It is now learnt that TDP would go with MIM on a cautious note of ‘understanding’ before forging any future alliance. It is now MIM’s turn to back the Congress candidate for the MLC seat, as it did for an MIM candidate last term. But the soured relationship between the two of late has caused the former to renege on its promise; MIM has decided to send its own candidate, for which it has sought help from TDP and YSRC. It will be a quid pro quo as MIM will help TDP in the standing committee. The election is for one MLC seat in the Hyderabad legislative council, where corporators, City MLAs and MPs elect the candidate. Congress has, nevertheless, gone ahead and declared its candidate: MS Prabhakar, who is a sitting MLC. According to sources, Prabhakar already received B-Form from the party.

How their City strength bring votes

RIVAL

PARTIES SHINE

TRS, YSRC, even MIM and BJP are having a grand time in this session. They bring up their own issues and fail to put up a united opposition in cornering the government. This gives leeway to the government to manipulate the situation.

ith eight Rajya Sabha, two Lok Sabha, 32 corporators, 15 MLCs, eight MLAs and four cantonment board members, Congress will have 69 votes. With two Rajya Sabha, 16 corporators, two MLCs and one CB member, the TDP will have 21 votes. MIM, with one Lok Sabha, 42 corporators, two MLCs and seven MLAs has 52 votes. The BJP, with six corporators and one MLA, has seven votes and MBT with one corporator, one vote. YSRC will become crucial as a neutral party with five votes.

CITY SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

No way to track complaints

While the legal metrology department has set up an SMS service, a toll-free number and an online complaint registration system, there is no way to keep a record of the complaint so far. M ANIL KUMAR

EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE TO PROVIDE CAN NUMBERS IN ORDER TO SMOOTHEN THE PROCESS OF REGISTERING CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

rahul.r@postnoon.com

he legal metrology department has come up with features to help consumers lodge complaints on MRP discrepancies, but there seems to be no way to keep track of the complaints. Consumers can lodge complaints using three options provided by the department — send an SMS to 09490165619, register a complaint with the toll-free number 1860425333 or email the complaint to clm@ap.nic.in. According to RP Thakur, controller of legal metrology, this drive is aimed at helping consumers voice their complaints against fraudulent practices, especially MRP issues. “There are many who affix MRP price tags to the already existing price tag on many products, which is not allowed by law. If it is a product being sold on rebate, the new price tag should not be affixed on the old one,” RP Thakur said. “On the pretext of including VAT, many traders fool their customers into shelling out money.

Other practices are increasing the weight of stones in jewellery to make the entire ornament seem heavy. Consumers should ensure and demand that the weight of the stones be reduced as much as possible in order to get their money’s worth of jewellery,” RP Thakur said. However, there is a chink in

the services being offered by the department. In the event of calling the toll-free number or sending an email, the chances of receiving an acknowledgement number or receipt of the complaint in order to track the progress of the case seems absent. When questioned about this, several officers from the

legal metrology department said efforts were being made to provide CAN numbers (just like with water tanker registrations) in order to smoothen the process of registering complaints. It should be noted that in its efforts to raise consumer awareness, Postnoon had cited the problems of tampered meters,

fake MRP price tags and other consumer issues. An RTI application filed by Mahinder S Reddy of ITMD highlighted the very same issue, which now, finally, seems to have woken up the authorities. Despite the best efforts, the issue of providing acknowledgement for complaints will probably take some more time. “Until then, one can make use of the SMS option. That way, you will always have a record of the complaint you had sent,” a senior official from the department said. The legal metrology department has filed a string of court cases on as many as 50 petrol bunks and 25 weigh bridges in the City, following an action drive taken up since last month. Over 1,100 cases have been lodged so far. Another drive on checking the malpractices in various business establishments is being planned, officials said.

Time to celebrate failure Risk-taking is an integral part of entrepreneurship, and many refrain from starting their own businesses for fear of failure. This attitude has to change, said panelists at the CII Southern conference. Prudhvi Raju K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

elebrate failures. Often people don’t step into entrepreneurship fearing failure. Changing this attitude is pre-requisite for not just the growth of an individual but also for the society and the country, said panelists at CII Southern annual regional meeting and conference held in the City. Talking about the need to change the thought process of an individual, society and government, CK Ranganathan, chairman and MD, CavinKare, says, “Around 90 per cent of people think of getting into entrepreneurship at some point of their career but only four per cent make it a reality. Many think starting a business is associated with failure. Seldom do they think, what’s wrong with taking risks? It’s time to celebrate failures than celebrating successes. “An individual works hard in life to get a job at a premier IT company and get comforts like

car, house and value in the society. Getting married or family responsibilities are also at times reasons for not taking risks. Many of us believe that we are capable of doing but resist in fear of failure — What happens to my status in the society if I lose my car, house and other assets? This thought process is pulling people from taking risks. Parents say, ‘Why are you struggling?’ Entrepreneurs need enormous will power to stand against these feelings,” he says. A potential entrepreneur should always think that he can and will do it. Family, society and government should nurture risk-taking and entrepreneurship. “For instance, imagine a situation where banks say, nothing happens even if you fail. We will wave off the loans for the small ventures up to this extent. This kind of attitude will push people to come out, try and be successful. Fostering entrepreneurship by applauding risk-taking and failure will spur the economic growth of the

country,” he said. Arun Ananth, CEO of Kasturi and Sons, said, “We are committed not to ridicule the failures in our publication, Business Line. We will cherish entrepreneurship as much as possible.” Sachin Bansal, cofounder and CEO of FlipKart, reiterated that the challenge of convincing society is crucial in the start-up phase. “I convinced my parents saying that this is not the end of the world and promised my dad that there will be a much higher income in a year. However, I had to borrow money from my parents for three years and not take any salary to make the business sustain. Family support and patience is humongous in making business successful.” CK Ranganathan ended the discussion on a lighter note, saying, “Society says, if you study well, you will get a good job or else you have to start a business. Fortunately, I did not study well and my father told me to start a business.”

Winners all

D Purandeswari, minister of state for commerce and industry, and industrialist Adi Godrej gave away the awards to the winners of the CII Emerging Entrepreneurs Awards 2012.

II had received over 400 nominations for the Emerging Entrepreneurs Awards. The main objective of this award is to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship as well as to showcase the emerging entrepreneurs from southern states. The winners included: n Atin Gupta, managing director, Atin Promotions and Advertising Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad n Anil Kumar S, managing director, Great Sports Infra Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad n Phanindra Sama, CEO and co-founder,

RedBus.in, Karnataka Ruchika Gupta, president, Borderless Access Panels Pvt. Ltd., Karnataka Deepak Ravindran, CEO, Innoz Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Karnataka ( Abinav Sree, also co-founder of Innoz, received the award on behalf of Ravindran.) Vivek Steve Francis, cofounder and COO, MobMe Wireless Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Kerala (Manu Scaria, co-founder, received the award.) RS Prabhakar, director, Taiyo Feed Mill Pvt. Ltd., Chennai

READERS’ LETTERS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Babus exempt from the law? You know how the government had encouraged family planning and the whole Hum Do Humare Do concept a few years ago? However, it seems like our babus are exempt from this. A little privilege of the office, we think. Here is what our readers had to say in response to our article Law on children keeps Hyderabad corporators on edge (Mar 20). udos to the unnamed MIM corporators who feel polygamy is rare amongst corporators and one of whom said “This can be seen amongst the rich, like a few MLAs and MPs!” This exposes the reason why corporators see becoming a MP or a MLA as the next big step in their career. I guess polygamy is just one of the perks, for you get so rich that it does not matter how many wives – high maintenance or not, one has. Relying just on birth certificates is idiotic as one can get fudged certificates provided you are willing to shell out some moolah and our corporators, MPs and MLAs know this better than anyone else. If the law chooses to be blind to this, can anything be done?

Rescue winged friends Not too many of us seem to have the time to bother ourselves with the rapidly disappearing species of flora and fauna in the City. But the recent World Sparrow Day seems to have awakened the eco-lovers in us. In response to our article Flight to extinction (Mar 20), we received some interesting responses and suggestions.

due to the rapid population increase of equally tame pigeons. The bigger birds are driving the little sparrows out of their traditional nesting nooks in buildings. Maybe we could promote specially designed bird houses for our little winged friends and woo them back! Although not a truesparrow, would have liked to see an Indian article on Sparrow conservation include the Yellow-Throated

njoyed the article. Read somewhere that the threat to sparrows is also

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com /2013/03/20/law-onchildren-keeps-hyderabad-corporators-onedge/115117

DR SALIM ALI,

M NATARAJAN

VIA EMAIL

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com /2013/03/20/flight-toextinction/115126

Via e-mail

Read at http://postnoon.com/2013/03/20/ flight-to-extinction/115126

WATER WATER

NOWHERE

WELINGKAR

Sparrow, if only for the relevant story behind it: A 10year-old found this injured bird and rushed to enquire what it was. And thus began a lifelong love story with birds and conservation of our “birdman of India”.

t is a timely reminder to the future generation to protect the small winged friend at our doorsteps for our benefit in protecting the environment and giving good company to our children and grandchildren.

There is no escaping the water problem plaguing the State. And it is one problem that is rankling many. While many areas complain about getting water only twice or thrice a week, there are others who don’t even get this meagre supply. In response to Water war a distinct possibility in Hyderabad (Mar 15), our readers have raised several suggestions. ot only our lakes but even the catchment areas of big lakes Osmansagar and Himayat Sagar need to be protected. For people who do not know, Bombay (now Mumbai) has been protecting its catchment areas in the neighbouring Thane district for more than 200 years. Where is that kind of awareness among Hyderabadis or rulers of Andhra Pradesh? In the name of buying peace with rivals and making friends happy, all

ow true. Recycled water will soon become a reality for most of us, at least where there is no human touch like in the ac’s and toilet flushes. It is already mandatory to have an STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) for large commercial

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.

kinds of permissions and violation of rules/practices for protection of water bodies and their catchment areas are being destroyed around Hyderabad. Money making activities like bringing Krishna water and Godavari river waters to the twin cities are being actively pursued.

M SITARAM

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com/2013/03/15/wate r-war-a-distinct-possibility-in-hyderabad/114212

complexes, it may become mandatory for apartment complexes too.

HARITA

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com/2 013/03/15/water-wara-distinct-possibilityin-hyderabad/114212

TOP LETTER

Bone to pick The fact that the government is planning to launch three new fish markets in the City does not hold any water with readers. In response to our article Hyderabad to get 3 big fish markets this year (Mar 18), readers have a bone to pick with the officials. hat about retail fish markets? At present roads and footpaths are being indiscriminately used by people selling fish. And the place is being messed up, not to mention the foul smell. Does the GHMC or CM garu know that there are hundreds of “fish markets”

flourishing in the twin cities right in the open and that in unhygienic conditions?

M SITARAM

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com/2013/03/ 18/hyderabad-to-get-3-bigfish-markets-this-year/114762

irst get water for drinking purposes in Hyderabad, then think of spending money for fish markets.

K VENKATARAMAM

Via e-mail Read at http://postnoon.com/2013/03/18/hyde rabad-to-get-3-big-fish-markets-thisyear/114762

NATION SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Rape victim can abort: HC NEW DELHI: A woman, who had alleged that she was raped and had consequently conceived, was allowed to abort the baby by the Delhi HC which asked AIIMS to preserve the foetus for a DNA test. “To carry a child in her womb by a woman as a result of conception through an act of rape is extremely traumatic, humiliating and psychologically devastating," the court said.

Enough cover for King Cobra: MoEF NEW DELHI: King Cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake, might be a threatened species globally, but according to environment ministry, it is still not on the verge of extinction in India. A network of protected areas such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries has been “providing protection to the habitats," Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said. King Cobra was included in the “Red List of Threatened Species” by the the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last year.

HOLI FROLIC Foreign tourists play Holi during ‘Vasant Utsav 2013’ at Indian Museum in Kolkata on Saturday. PTI/SWAPAN MAHAPATRA

DRDO developing ultra-light UAVs NEW DELHI: DRDO is developing an ultra light-weight Unmanned Aerial Vehicle which can be used by troops for reconnaissance of their area of operation. “The Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) has a span of 300 millimetre (mm) and weighs 300 grammes. It has been equipped with day-light TV camera. Cruise speed is 20 knots (37 kmph) and operational altitude is 30-100 metres," DRDO said in Defence Ministry’s annual report. The MAV can be used for closerange situational awareness by troops within a radius of two kilometres and it is expected to be useful in counterterrorism and counter-insurgency oper-

ations in North East and Jammu and Kashmir, it said. Earlier, the DRDO had developed a 1.5 kg UAV called ‘Netra'. It was developed by Pune-based Aerial Research and Development Establishment. ‘Rustom’ is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) being developed by it for the three services. Another UAV ‘Nishant’ is tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for reconnaissance, training, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction and damage assessment. PTI

4 held with fake notes BARGARH (ODISHA): At least four of a gang involved in a fake currency racket were arrested in Odisha’s Bargarh district and counterfeit notes with a total face value of Rs.49,000 were seized from them, police said Sunday. Based on a tip off, police conducted raids Saturday in the Kendubhata area of Bargarh district. The district headquarters town of the district is about 380 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. Police initially arrested one person after he was found possessing some fake notes. During interrogation, police found that three others had been

helping the arrested man in the printing of the fake notes and their circulation in the local market, police officer Parul Gupta told IANS. The printing unit was located in Khairpali, about 100 km from Kendubhata. Police raided the printing unit and seized two computers, scanners, a printer and other equipment used for producing the fake notes. The three other men involved in the racket were also arrested, the officer said. The fake notes seized were mostly of Rs.100 denomination. Police were investigating if more persons were involved in the IANS crime.

3 die in mishap ETAWAH: Three pilgrims were today killed and 32 others injured when a bus rammed into a stationary truck parked alongside a road near Bilayar village. The bus was carrying pilgrims from Bakud (West Bengal) to Mathura-Vrindavan. While two persons died on the spot, another person succumbed to injuries in a hospital, police said.

Jindal complains of cyber crime NEW DELHI: The cyber cell of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing has registered four cases of cyber crime in the past two days following complaints, including one from Congress MP Naveen Jindal and an AIIMS professor. While Jindal has complained of "derogatory" postings on Facebook and demanded its blocking, AIIMS orthopaedics professor Prakash P Kotwal is aggrieved at derogatory e-mails and postings on social networking sites and blogs. Two other complaints — harassment of a woman residing in south Delhi's Munirka and cloning of the website of

Ministry of Statistics and Implementation — have also been registered in the past two days, a senior police official said. In his complaint, Jindal said that unknown persons with "ulterior motives" want to "tarnish" his image and it has come to his knowledge that community pages have come up in his name in Facebook with defamatory and abusive messages. "There are also some messages posted on the said pages representing as that having posted by me...I suspect that these pages have been created with ulterior motives and may be part of a larger conspiracy," he PTI claimed.

WORLD SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

NY to spend $12 bn on anti-gun ads

14 killed in Mexico MORELIA (MEXICO): Authorities say the bodies of seven men were found in plastic chairs placed along the side of a street in the drug cartel-plagued Mexican state of Michoacan, while another seven were killed in neighbouring Guerrero. Michoacan’s Attorney General’s office said that the seven bodies had bullet wounds and had been placed in the sitting position in chairs.

11 flee Greek prison

NEW YORK: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has

ATHENS: Eleven foreign prisoners

announced a new $12 million television ad campaign that will push senators in key states to back gun control efforts, including comprehensive background checks. Bloomberg, one of the most prominent gun control proponents in the country, announced the ad campaign by Mayors Against Illegal Guns yesterday just days after Senate Democrats touted stronger background checks while acknowledging insufficient support to a ban assault-style weapons.

escaped from a jail in Greece during an exchange of fire with guards, Greek authorities said. The incident, which took place Friday at the Trikala prison, left two prison guards injured. Police said the 11 foreign nationals, convicted for robberies, were missing after a standoff with passengers of two trucks who attacked the prison entrance.

Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky dies in UK

LONDON: Police sealed off the

British home of exiled Russian oligarch and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky on Sunday and sent in hazardous material experts following the discovery of his body at the house. The 67-year-old was found dead in his mansion in the wellheeled commuter town of Ascot, near London, on Saturday. His lawyer, Alexander Dobrovinsky, said his death may have been suicide brought on by depression over his debts. But since the tycoon survived one assassination attempt in 1995 and remained fearful of other bids to kill him, his death is bound to provoke speculation. Police shut down the streets surrounding the gated property overnight and sent in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) experts to investigate what they described as an “unexplained” death. Berezovsky’s friend and fellow Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko was killed by radioactive poisoning in London in 2006, in what his widow has said was an assassination by Russian agents. “Specially trained officers are currently at the scene, including CBRN trained officers, who are conducting a number of searches as a precaution,” a statement from Thames Valley Police said. They were present to enable police officers to carry out their work, the statement said. Almost

He was a confidante of former president Boris Yeltsin but fell out with successor Putin. 10 hours after Berezovsky died, his body had still not yet been removed, it added. Police superintendent Stuart Greenfield said: “I would like to reassure residents that we are confident there is no risk to the wider community.” Berezovsky was one of a handful of businessmen who became billionaires following the privatisation of Russian state assets in the 1990s, but his fortunes had slumped in recent years. He was a confidante of former president Boris Yeltsin but fell out with his successor, President Vladimir Putin, fleeing Russia in 2000 just in time to escape arrest on fraud charges. In London, Berezovsky became one of the Kremlin’s

most outspoken critics, leading a circle of exiled Russian critics that had included Litvinenko before his agonising death. Paramedics were called to Berezovsky’s estate at 3.18pm and the Russian was pronounced dead at the scene, the ambulance service said. “His body was found by his bodyguard,” said a spokesman for Berezovsky, refusing to comment on media reports that he had been found in his bath. In 1995, Berezovsky narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in which his driver was decapitated, and he remained fearful of other attacks. His lawyer however told Russian state television that he had been informed by contacts

in London that Berezovsky had killed himself. “Berezovsky has been in a terrible state as of late. He was in debt. He felt destroyed,” said Dobrovinsky. However, the oligarch’s friend Demyan Kudryavtsev firmly denied that Berezovsky had killed himself. “There are no external signs of a suicide,” he was quoted as saying by the Prime news agency in Russia. “There are no signs that he injected himself or swallowed any pills. No one knows why his heart stopped.” Last year, the tycoon lost a bitter multi-million pound legal battle with Russian fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club. Berezovsky had sought more than £3 billion in damages, accusing Abramovich of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract in an oil deal. When he lost, he agreed to pay Abramovich £35 million in legal costs, although there is speculation that the full fees would come to far more than that. Berezovsky's private life has also taken its toll. A 2011 divorce with his second wife Galina Besharova was dubbed the costliest in Britain, and there has been a more recent legal wrangle with his partner Elena Gorbunova. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the oligarch had written to Putin a couple of months ago saying he wanted to AFP go home.

Syrian rebels seize key air base BEIRUT: Rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar alAssad on Saturday seized a key air base in the southern Syrian province of Daraa after two weeks of fierce battles with loyalist troops, a watchdog said. Meanwhile, in Damascus's ancient Umayyad mosque, thousands of Assad supporters attended the funeral of pro-regime Sunni cleric Mohamed Saeed alBouti and his grandson, who died in a Thursday suicide bombing that killed some 50 people. “Opposition fighters loyal to Al-Nusra Front, Al-Yarmuk Brigade and other groups seized air defence Base 38 near the town of Saida, on the road linking Damascus to Amman, in the province of Daraa," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The seizure came “after 16 days of fighting,” said the Britain-based group. At least seven rebels were killed in the final assault, said the Observatory, which documented the deaths of at least eight regime troops, including an officer. “Dozens of prisoners were freed from the base’s headquarters,” it said. Amateur video filmed by rebels and distributed by the organisation showed the mutilated corpse identified as Mahmud Darwish, an officer. Activists also distributed footage showing a group of men, most bearded, being set free. Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists, said the rebels also captured a checkpoint in the Daraa AFP town of Sahem al-Golan.

Mush returns to Pakistan today

‘Curious’ Japan teen chops mum to pieces

13 people dead in China hailstorms

DUBAI: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf is expected to fly home on Sunday after more than four years in exile, defying a Taliban death threat to contest historic general elections. The 69-year-old ex-dictator says he is prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, billed to mark the first democratic transition of power in the history of a nuclear-armed country dominated by periods of military rule. He seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief of staff in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former AFP prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

SYDNEY: A Japanese teenager who allegedly killed his

BEIJING: At least 13 people were killed and more than

mother and chopped her body into pieces has told police he simply did not like her, and wanted to know more about dissection, reports have said. The 19-year-old allegedly dismembered his mother's body in the bathroom, cutting her into at least 15 pieces using kitchen knives, the Sankei daily said, citing police sources. The teenager, who lived with his mother in a small apartment near Tokyo, then kept the body parts in the bathtub, which he filled with water, before starting to dump it piece by piece in plastic bags, the report said. He also said he was interested in the dissection of a human body, the Yomiuri and Mainichi newspapers AFP reported.

two million affected as hailstorms hit several parts of China, officials said. Nine people died and over 270 were injured when a hailstorm hit Dongguan city in south China's Guangdong province, Xinhua reported. The hailstorm caused an economic loss of over 350 million yuan (around $56 million) in the city. Three people died and more than one million have been affected after hailstorms hit the central Hunan province. More than 74,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Around 1,900 houses have collapsed and IANS 100,000 homes were partially damaged.

COMMENT SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

EDITORIALS CELEBS DESERVE no leniency Indian celebrities have been crying their hearts out after the Supreme Court upheld the conviction and jail sentence of actor Sanjay Dutt aka Sanju Baba in the 1993 serial blasts case. Much has been talked about how ‘unfair’ it is to hand out punishment to someone coming from such a good family. The sob story of a prodigal son who reformed is good for a tear-jerker script, but not for a court of law. Maintaining ‘friendly ties’ with India’s most wanted and possessing AK assault rifles and ammo ‘for protecting family’ is not something the state can overlook. If good deeds are deciding criteria for judicial proceedings, no major gangster can be punished as they all hand out goodies to people in their fiefdoms. After Dutt, it’s now the turn of Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan to face music in a 15-year-old black buck poaching case. The special treatment that is being handed out to reel stars for real life transgressions is a disgrace to our system. If the poacher was a tribal man, he would have spent years in prison as undertrial, his children would have dropped out of school (if they could afford one in the first place) and wife forced into prostitution — all because he tried a shortcut out of grinding poverty. When a bunch of rich spoilt stars and starlets indulge in the same offence, for kicks, they are offered every loophole and procedural flexibility to go about their lives without hassles. Law should not discriminate between people based on their social status. Crime is crime whether the perpetrator was born in a hut or a mansion. There should be no leniency for the on-screen good guys because there is nothing good about what they did to break the law.

IT WON’T BE A cakewalk for Mush Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s return has definitely ruffled some feathers in Pakistan. The General has already angered people in the military, the ISI and top political parties with his rather candid interviews in Britain. Maybe the cancelling of permission for his rally in Karachi is just the beginning of his troubles.

JAIL IS WHERE ALL THE ACTION IS From the hip

SYED SHOAIB

s the country debates the jail sentence for actor Sanjay Dutt in the coming four weeks within which he has to surrender for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, I’m imprisoned in thoughts of interesting jail instances of late. As the following data suggests, behind bars is where all the drama lies in India and for Indians of late. n Two Maharashtra MLAs, Kshitij Thakur of Bahujan Vikas Agadhi and MNS' Ram Kadam, accused of assaulting a police officer, will have to spend at least three days in jail after a court on Friday reserved its order on their bail plea. n Eight pro-Telangana activists, including Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman M Kodandaram, TRS MLAs Etela Rajender and Jupalli Krishna Rao, were shifted to the District Jail in Mahbubnagar on Thursday evening for violating pro-

n n

hibitory orders and damaging public property during a 'Sadak Bandh'. Bitti Mohanty, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for raping a German tourist and absconding after he was released on parole in 2006 to meet his ailing mother in Orissa, was arrested in Kerala on March 9. Delhi gang-rape accused Ram Singh was found hanging in Tihar jail on March 11. Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Prison on November 21, 2012. In a top secret operation on February 8 this year, the 2001 Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged and buried inside the Tihar Jail complex. A court in Norway sentenced an Indian couple — the father Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, a software professional from AP, for 18 months and his wife Anupama for 15 months in prison — guilty of 'repeated maltreatment' of their child in December 2012. Former counsel for the Italian marines in Kerala fishermen killings case, Harish Salve maintains that the Italian Envoy can be sent to jail as he

does not enjoy legal immunity. Dutt’s jail stint is not new to Bollywood. Salman Khan, Shiney Ahuja, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Fardeen Khan, Monica Bedi, Madhur Bhandarkar and even Madhubala have all been sentenced to jail terms for different offences. Earlier, a jail sentence, particularly during India’s freedom struggle, was something to be proud of but today it is corruption that is sending most of our politicians to cool their heels. A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi, MK Kanimozhi, Katta Subramanya Naidu, Janardhan Reddy, Amar Singh, BS Yeddyurappa, Bangaru Laxman, Sukh Ram, Bibi Jagir Kaur, P Balakrishna Pillai, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and many other politicians are jail stars. Many jailbirds have won elections, some with a thumping majority. Abdul Karim Telgi, serving a jail sentence in the `30-billion fake stamp paper scam, paid more income tax in 2008 than business magnates Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji and Narayana Murthy. Outside India, we might have heard of Linsday Lohan, Paris Hilton, Al Pacino, Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton, Macaulay

Culkin, Mel Gibson, Yasmine Bleeth, Vince Vaughn, Mick Jagger, Bobby Brown and Hugh Grant go to jail for varying periods of time but interestingly, so have Bill Gates, 50 Cent, Robert Mitchum, Tim Allen and Don King spent time behind bars before they became famous. While Indians in Pakistani jails make more news than their counterparts here, according to reports, there are over 20 mentally retarded convicts hailing from Pakistan lodged in Indian jails even after completing their jail term as they are unaware of their family whereabouts. According to the 2011 National Crime Records Bureau statistics, there were 5,621 foreigners in Indian jails. Books like Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram have painted hellish pictures of Mumbai’s infamous lice-ridden crammed Arthur Road Prison where he described being chained to a wall and tortured by the “bloody lacerating bite of lathis”. Neil Nitin Mukesh, who appeared nude in the 2009 Madhur Bhandarkar film Jail, depicted the cruel realities faced by prisoners in Indian jails. Of course, all this does not apply to the celebrity jail birds of today!

BUSINESS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Adidas eyes expansion

didas is stepping up expansion for its sports fashion and lifestyle brand ‘Adidas Originals’ in India with plans to have up to 20 exclusive stores by the end of the year. The company is toying with the idea of bringing one of its global brand ambassadors out of footballer David Beckham, singers Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj to India to push the label.

CIL, subsidiaries fined `750 cr

Power output misses target

oal India Ltd and its seven subsidiaries were detected evading excise duty for two years and made to cough up about Rs 750 crore in duty, revenue officials say. Acting on intelligence, the officials of Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence began a probe last month against CIL and its coal producing allied firms and found that they were evading payment of excise duty, official sources said.

ower generation in the last month fell short of target by 6,000 million units in the country mainly due to drop in thermal and hydro power production. Power generation in the country was to the tune of 68,474.92 million units in February this year against the target of 74,532 million units, the data by the Central Electricity Authority showed.

Airbus-Boeing dogfight shifts to Indonesia The two planemakers have a duopoly over the large-airliner market and competition is fierce, with each regularly accusing the other of anti-competitive behaviour. Olivia Rondonuwu feedback@postnoon.com

new rivalry between the world’s biggest planemakers is heating up in Indonesia after a record deal for Airbus in a market with huge potential that until now has been a “fortress” for Boeing. The European company in the past consistently lost contracts to its US rival in Southeast Asia’s top economy, but budget carrier Lion Air’s 18.4-billion-euro ($23.8 billion) order last week for 234 medium-haul Airbus jets may be a game-changer in the feud for market share. “This is a major deal for Airbus because, generally, Indonesia has been a fortress for Boeing,” Ravi Madavaram, an aerospace analyst for Frost & Sullivan in Kuala Lumpur, told AFP. “I think the moment Airbus comes into the picture, more and more low-cost carriers will want an Airbus A320. Then it becomes challenging for Boeing to catch up.” Lion Air’s A320 deal with Airbus announced in Paris on Monday was the most valuable commercial order booked in history. The second-biggest was also made by Lion Air in 2011, in a $22.4

billion order for 230 Boeing jets. The two planemakers have a duopoly over the large-airliner market and competition between them is fierce, with each regularly accusing the other of anticompetitive behaviour. Boeing last year overtook Airbus as the world’s biggest planemaker in terms of aircraft delivered for the first time in 10 years. “Lion Air was in fact one of the few airlines in the region that had never ordered an aircraft from Airbus. But we never gave up,” Jean-Francois Laval, executive vice president of sales for Airbus Asia, told AFP. “We have not exactly been absent from Indonesia. The new order from Lion Air will significantly increase our presence in the important Indonesian market.” But Boeing says the Airbus deal has not ruffled its feathers as it works to deliver more than 300 jets ordered from Lion Air and its offshoot carriers. “Lion Air has ambitious growth plans and no one airplane manufacturer can meet its needs,” Boeing spokesman Ken Morton told AFP. While slow growth in

Western economies is hitting the aviation industry, Asian countries are booming with an emerging middle class keen to take to the air. “There are three billion people in Asia, there are 300 million people in America.

LION AIR HAS ORDERED MORE THAN 460 PLANES IN 6 MONTHS, AN EXPANSION THAT HAS RAISED DOUBTS ABOUT HOW IT WILL FIND THE FINANCING, PILOTS AND LANDING SLOTS. America has about three times more planes right now than Asia,” Tony Fernandes, founder and CEO of Malaysia-based AirAsia, Asia’s biggest budget carrier, said recently in an interview

with Bloomberg Television. Indonesians are increasingly relying on air travel to link the archipelago of 17,000-odd islands, with up to 900 new planes set to be delivered to Indonesia in the next decade, according to the government. The potential is massive — only six percent of Indonesians have travelled by air, according to officials, in a nation of 240 million people that has consistently clocked annual economic growth above six percent. By 2021, some 180 million passengers are expected to fly domestically in Indonesia, triple the 2011 number, according to the CAPA Centre for Aviation. But in their rush to meet that latent demand, airlines risk buying too many new planes, CAPA chief analyst Brendan Sobie said. “In some markets you’ll see over-capacity,” he said,

warning that carriers will find it hard to turn a profit. Lion Air, Indonesia’s biggest private carrier, has ordered more than 460 planes in just 16 months, a dramatic expansion that has raised doubts about how it will find the financing, pilots and landing slots. The airline is banned from the European Union and United States over safety concerns. But it says it plans to broaden its regional horizons, and observers think it wants to take on AirAsia. It now operates 92 planes — all Boeings except for one older McDonnell Douglas — to 72 destinations, mostly in Indonesia. The furthest it flies is to Saudi Arabia, a route packed with domestic workers and construction labourers. In a rare interview with The Star in Malaysia in late 2012, Lion Air’s rags-toriches founder Rusdi Kirana said that Indonesians in the middle-income bracket were already flying to neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. “This group will later think of Hong Kong or even Canton (Guangzhou, in southern China). And when they have more money they will want to travel to Japan, Korea, north China or Australia,” he said. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

INTERVIEW SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Loving an

extended

FAMILY

PADMINI C

padmini.c@postnoon.com

idya Shankar is a woman who dons many hats. But she is, first and foremost, a child rights activist. In 1998, she set up an NGO called Relief Foundation, to find rehabilitation solutions for children in distress and in institutional care. From 2001-2005, she held important portfolios within the government, as a chairperson of the juvenile welfare board, Chennai, and member magistrate of the juvenile justice board. She is now the honorary project head and trustee of Shriram Foundation and the honorary chief of Project GIVELIFE. At present, she is actively engaged in strengthening rural education using Teacher’s Lab, a programme designed to channelise youth with committed hearts and intelligent minds, into becoming change-makers who will work towards serving rural schools after a period of intense training. Through its various projects, her foundation reaches over 10,000 children and families every year. Vidya Shankar gets talking with Postnoon about her incredible journey.

Tell us a little bit about your background. I started my career as a chemical engineer in 1986 after graduating with a BTech degree in chemistry.

After a four-year stint in the industry, subsequent to marriage and two children, I started an NGO in 1998 called Relief Foundation because I felt that there was a big need for new kind of thinking and direction in many areas related to adoption, child welfare and juvenile justice.

But how did you come to be associated with women and child rights movements? Adopting a child was my first experience that evoked feelings and thoughts beyond my family. From there, when my children grew up, I started Relief Foundation and moved into locations where children were rescued and housed in government homes. In time, I got completely involved in the rehabilitation and restoration of children into their families, which threw up a host of issues that revealed real needs of children and families in crisis.

Chennai-based Vidya Shankar is out to change the course of the future. One child at a time.

Likewise, women’s safety is being talked about a lot in the media and social platforms today. Do you think the core problems are adequately addressed in these discussions?

You have essayed various roles, that of a judge, an activist, an author, a social entrepreneur and more. Which among these have you enjoyed the most and why? Working directly with children is what I love to do the most, and I cherish my times with children in the juvenile homes who taught me a lot in life. Now, after the AMI Montessori International Diploma and with my involvement in rural education, I long for time I can spend with children, telling them magnificent tales of the world around them, and to see their eyes

Priorities have been on paper most of the time. Budgets, systems in governments and NGOs alone do not ensure safety for children. Even today, there is a debate on who decides the best interest of the child as per Article 3 of UNCRC. Leaders with children’s safety in the centre of all their discussions and actions need to hold positions of power with responsibility. Reforms in this sector have happened because of such people. We need updating of children’s needs as of today. Many schemes offered by NGOs and governments are still outdated — like orphanages are still in existence hijacking public sympathy in our country where adoption and foster-care is now a law.

pop out in wonder as they listen.

Where are we lacking in providing for and safeguarding children in India? What should be done?

Unless the level of volatility among youth and people (who have had deprivation and bad upbringing as their baggage) is addressed by multiple means with a singular focus and agenda by people in power, nothing will change for the better even 10 years from now. Women must be permitted to introspect on their strengths and given the freedom to exercise choices that safeguard her own nature — motherhood, even if she is not a birth-giving mother. These choices in family building and good familial

relationships will ensure spread of goodwill which alone can lessen the risk of transgression and deprivation. Though this may sound philosophical, it is a tangible outcome in many families in my experience.

How, do you think, a layman can help improve the system in our country? To think of one’s own family and expounding energies into bringing in sanity of relationships and stability from within the family is the way to go. Eschewing violence and exercising patience and faith within is a huge effort thanks to multitude of bombardments families and children receive these days.

What would you say has been your greatest achievement and your greatest challenge? My greatest achievement is that I have been able to discover life truths early, and get clarity on my cosmic purpose of existence. Trustworthy associates join me from somewhere and pledge their lifetime to a mission that seems to be theirs. I am still eager to learn and am learning from children. The challenge has been to be objective when I see misery that I have no influence to change.

Going forward, what will be your areas of focus? Providing access to excellent education to all segments of children and making parents aware on how to help their children grow into productive and happy citizens.

WELLNESS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

TAKE A BREAK!

A day at the salon — a much-awaited treat and something that always seems long overdue — is what we women desperately need but rarely place on top of our priority list. Studio 11 seems a good place to start. S BALAKRISHNA

KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

ou see, there is always a job to keep up with, a house to run and people and their problems to deal with. But a day at the salon is a must. An entire day of others at your service, doing everything they can to please you, while you relax on those giant soft chairs is certainly not much to ask for. So when we spotted a new salon and spa in the City, called Studio 11, we decided to check it out. While it is true that those scenes from chick flicks, when a Plain Jane walks out of the salon after her makeover and there is a song about how cool it is to be a woman in the background, and her hair is flying and swaying while she walks like she has just stepped out of a Vogue cover, almost never happens in real life, you still expect to walk out feeling satisfied and

well, pleased. Honestly, Studio 11 disappointed me in that aspect. There is no denying of how polite they were, there is also no shying away from how they could do a better service. The salon, in its decor and faculty, is just perfect with subtle hues on walls and that soft lighting which quietly pushes into a carefree mode. I started with a slight chopping of my hair, followed by a hair spa. I cannot say the spa did wonders for my hair because nothing can change in just one session but the massage as a part of its routine is something to look forward to. The pressure was just right but I wish it lasted much longer than it did. Basic services of waxing and threading here also are just a little below my fancy salon expectations. If you can come to terms with hot wax dripping on you every now and then, you can try them here. I also went for a brightening and detan pedicure, which demanded of me to demand less from a pedicure. The de-tan pack was itchy as it had bleach in it, and my legs got none of the long massage they were due while undergoing a pedicure. Also,

they forgot to come back and paint my nails and I didn’t have the patience to ask anymore. There are some other interesting services on the menu for which we could not spare time. I particularly fancied their Blueberry Detox Clean-up for `600. They also have a Vitamin C clean-up for tanned skin and Calm and Soothe for sensitive skin. You might want to try Four Miracle and Rose Cool Peel-off masks or their oxy-herbal and rebalancing facial for oily and combination skin for `1,600 and `1,700, respectively. Hair cuts here range from `300 to `1,500, mostly depending on the length. They also have a spa that offers massages such as Balinese, Swedish, Deep Tissue, Aroma Relax, De-Stress and Studio 11 Signature massage which is for `2,500. The salon also offers small to elaborate bridal packages ranging from `3,000 to `25,000. Studio 11 is one of those good looking places which is priced on par with its competitors but if you can lower your expectations by a dozen, you will probably have a good time here.

PICK YOUR

Across Stores

ities Twin C

ART AND CULTURE SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Weiwei and the serpent

Celebrating David Bowie

rare portrait of the wife of Henri Matisse by artist Andre Derain and a monumental work by Jackson Pollock could each sell for $20 million or more in spring auctions in New York, auction houses said on Friday. Christie's will offer Madame Matisse, a vibrant 1905 oil canvas with a pre-sale estimate of as much as $20 million, at its sale of Impressionist and modern art.

Tate man in Royal Opera

ritain's Royal Opera House appointed a figure from one of the country's most prominent art galleries as its new head on Tuesday, filling a post left open when the last opera chief left to head the scandal-hit state broadcaster. Alex Beard, 49, deputy director of Tate, a family of four art galleries, was a surprise appointment as he has never worked in the performing arts.

new multimedia exhibition about David Bowie at London's Victoria and Albert Museum is the fastest seller in the institution's history, with 50,000 advance tickets sold. The "David Bowie Is" exhibition, which opens Saturday, marks the first time Britain's leading museum of decorative arts and design has devoted a show to a pop star.

Remember the time Theatre group Manch brings Tennessee Williams' memory play The Glass Menagerie to life in a uniquely Indian setting. JYOTSNA NAMBIAR

jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

ennessee Williams once said, “Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.” Williams should know. His ethereal memory play, The Glass Menagerie, catapulted him to fame and fortune, making him one of the best known American playwrights. Nearly 70 years later, the play has found its way to Hyderabad, thanks to the theatre group Manch. Manch, whose members are all techies from Infosys, has staged several adaptations of critically acclaimed plays since its inception in 2004, but this is the first play it is adapting to an Indian context. In this, the troupe were also influenced by Akale, a Malayalam movie that brought Williams' play to life in a small town in Goa. “We usually pick up productions that have been done on Broadway and stay faithful to the original. We had staged Doubt and God of

Carnage, both award-winning plays, and made no changes to the story or the setting. “When it came to The Glass Menagerie, we spoke to Shyamaprasad (the director of Akale) while adapting the play. We were inspired by the movie and the play also seemed to be a good fit to be set in India. We

The Glass Menagerie Directed by Riyaz Usman Starring Nimisha Gupta, Snehal Hattikudur, Debraj Sarkar, Phani Kumar Venue: NIFT, Madhapur. Date: March 24, 7.30pm have basically changed the time and place setting of the play — the play is set in 1970s Goa (the original is set in St Louis in the 1930s),” said Riyaz Usman, the director of the play. The original play versions of The Glass Menagerie were known for the projection of images or words on the backdrop to reinforce the emotion or theme that the actors are portraying. Usman says, “We're using a couple of different methods to show it is a memory play. We plan to use live projections

as part of the play. Instead of just projecting the image or word, we plan to use actors to enact the memory projections.” Music also plays an integral part of the play. In this adaptation, Alok Kesarwani will be composing the music. They haven't used the music traditionally accompanying the play, but instead have composed original music. “Since the setting has been changed, Alok has created music according to this shift. It keeps in tone with the 70s Goa feel.”

Manch has been praised for their adaptations; when can we see an original play from them? “First we need someone who is capable of writing a play,” says Usman, laughing. “We have performed a few short pieces that are original works but not a fulllength play as yet.” And if you still need reasons to catch the play, Usman sums it up. “It is the first time a memory play is being staged in Hyderabad, complete with live projections and original music. The subject of the play, too, is rather unusual.”

AROUND THE CITY

Animals on canvasses A

rtists Pradosh Swain and Suchismita Sahoo will be showcasing their artwork at Alankritha Art Gallery from March 30 to April 10. The works on display will be revolving the theme of animals and birds.

Pradosh Swain, Suchismita Sahoo Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery When: From March 30 to April 10. Timings: 11am to 7 pm

Lines & colours K

alakriti Art Gallery, Park Hyatt Hyderabad and Alliance Francaise are presenting Via Presence - B2Fays, multimedia installation and paintings. The opening preview will held at Park Hyatt on March 28 at 6.30pm. The paintings will be on display at Kalakriti Art Gallery from March 29 to April 9 from 11 am to 7 pm.

Via Presence — B2Fays Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery When: On till April 9 Timings: 11am-7pm

ENVIRONMENT SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Giant Sequoias in danger

he world’s largest living species, native to California’s Sierra Nevada, faces a two-pronged risk from declining snowpack and rising temperatures. The threat to sequoias mirrors a growing danger to trees worldwide, with some scientists saying rapid warming this century could wipe out many of the planet’s old trees.

rom Sydney Harbour Bridge, Buckingham Palace and the Brandenburg Gate to the Burj Khalifa tower, the Empire State Building, the Taj Mahal and Table Mountain, some of the world’s greatest landmarks briefly darkened on Saturday night for Earth Hour, a campaign now becoming a broader vehicle for green activism. Earth Hour originated in Sydney in 2007 with an appeal to people and businesses to turn off their lights for an hour to heighten awareness about climate change, driven by carbon-emitting fossil fuels. The annual switch-off is now being followed in locations in three-quarters of the world’s nations and has the potential to touch hundreds of millions of lives, say its organisers. Promoted through social media, Earth Hour has also mutated in some countries into a potent tool to lobby on local issues unconnected with global warming, they add. Switch-off events at the local time of 8.30 pm are planned in more than 150

Pesticides linked to bee harm

he US government is being sued by a coalition of beekeepers, conservation and food campaigners over pesticides linked to serious harm in bees.The lawsuit accuses the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of failing to protect the insects – which pollinate three-quarters of all food crops – from nerve agents that it says should be suspended from use.

countries, including for the first time the Palestinian territories, Tunisia, Galapagos, Suriname, French Guiana, St. Helena and Rwanda. Newcomers to the campaign include Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid, the Statue of David in Florence and Cape Town’s Table Mountain, which in 2011 joined a list of the “New Seven Wonders of Nature". “Last year, Earth Hour was followed in 7,000 communities, an increase of about 30 per cent over 2011," said Andy Ridley, co-founder of the project launched by WWF. “The biggest area of growth has been the Asia-Pacific, the economic engine of the planet, where wherever you go now, people are living with the problems of environmental damage," Ridley said in a phone interview from Singapore. “If you’re in a big city in China, you may well be going to work wearing a face mask, or if you are in the Philippines, you and your family may well have been affected by a super-typhoon."

Ridley added: “What we are finding is that environment issues may be perceived differently in the big cities of Asia compared with how they are perceived in Europe or the States. They may not be perceived as exclusively green

Earth Hour is also becoming a target, with critics saying it is little more than token, encourages smugness about combating climate change and ignores the needs of development.

More Katrinas in the offing

sing modelling data focused on the conditions in which hurricanes form, a group of international researchers based at Beijing Normal University found that for every 1.8ºF (1ºC) rise of the Earth’s temperature, the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic that are as strong or stronger than Hurricane Katrina will increase two-fold to sevenfold.

issues. They are seen as issues that are damaging your lifestyle and potentially threatening your family." In Japan, where floodlights were turned off on Saturday at the capital’s signature Tokyo Tower, campaigners are intertwining Earth Hour with remembrance of the March 2011 mega-quake and tsunami, which unleashed a nuclear disaster at Fukushima. In Russia, activists last year harnessed the success of Earth Hour to secure 100,000 signatures for a petition for a law to protect sea areas around oil exploration sites, says WWF. Uganda created the first “Earth Hour forest” of 2,700 hectares (10.4 square miles) of cleared land, which greens plan to fill with half a million trees. Campaigners in Argentina are hoping that this year’s event will provide traction to protect a 3.4-millionhectare marine zone. As it grows in visibility, Earth Hour is also becoming a target, with critics saying it is little more than token, encourages smugness about combating climate change and ignores

the needs of development. “India observes on average eight Earth hours a day," tweeted VictorTango@airkatana, a reference to our notorious power outages. More than 400 million Indians still lack access to mains electricity, according to the World Bank. Ridley said no figures existed for the overall amount of energy saved by Earth Hour. But the brief switch-off, he argued, encouraged many people to do more to curb waste and think of the environment. Leading French climate scientist Jean Jouzel said Earth Hour at least reminded people of the crisis posed by carbon emissions, which each year scale new peaks while UN talks for curbing them mark time. “Does Earth Hour encourage self-satisfaction? Are its results limited? I would say ‘yes’ to both," Jouzel said. “But if it’s a toss-up between doing nothing and doing something that is not perfect but is still something very visible, I think the answer is: do something. In fact, we need more action of this kind." AFP

‘EARTH HOUR’ evolves into springboard for wider action

FOOD SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Lindt to boost production

Be prepared for an Easter weekend

wiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli is investing close to EUR70m over the next two years in increasing production capacity at its sole French plant. Expansion is largely a result of "the strong development" of the Lindt brand in France, where it says it is market leader for chocolate bars. Around 50 new jobs will be created at the factory in Oloron Sainte-Marie in France.

‘Reason’ to eat chocolate

his Easter weekend, March 30, your kids will get an opportunity to learn the art of making lovely Easter Eggs. This unique workshop will be conducted by The Park’s Executive Chef Mandaar Sukhtankar who has lined up a whole lot of activities for the kids. A special treasure hunt will also be organised, keeping in mind the festive tradition. Registrations are on at The Park and are open till March 29.

ost people don't need an excuse to eat chocolate — its creamy texture and delicious taste are reason enough. Yet, here is another compelling reason to savour chocolate: it helps your brain work better. A study at the University of L'Aquila in Italy established a connection between heightened cognitive ability and the consumption of chocolate.

Blended to perfection I

H EE R

f you’re in the mood for a drink with that special someone, Park Hyatt’s Oriental Bar and Kitchen is your best bet. Tucked away in a corner on the first floor of the hotel, the bar boasts a character of its own. The dim lighting and well-spaced seating area around the beautiful bar at the Oriental Bar and Kitchen would get anyone’s mood going — it’s a promise. The five-star bar houses an envious selection of single malts and blended whiskies. Among single malts, Glenfiddich (12, 15 and 18 years) and Glenlivet (12 and 15 years) are the most popular. The bar has much more in store if you’re in the mood to go beyond the regulars. Their costliest single malt — a 30-year-old Talisker at `8,000 per 60ml — is among one of the finest from the selection. On the other hand, their most affordable single malt is the 10-year-old Laphroaig at `1,000 per 60ml. “We have the Suntory Yamazaki — a single malt from Japan. The Oriental Bar and Kitchen is ideal for

nidhi.b@postnoon.com

NIDHI BHUSHAN

those who are looking for tion of cognacs and good single malts,” says brandies. From the ever-soVinod Addanki, assistant famous Remy Martin to director, food and beverage. Torres, the cognac and Among the blended brandy selection is sure to whiskies, Johnnie Walker lure you into a different King George V, at `12,000 per world too. The bar also hous60ml, is the costliest availes a special selection of able. “We got the whiskey a cigars for those who like few months ago,” says their cognacs Churchill Addanki. From the entire style. “We have a well-spaced Johnnie Walker range to outdoor seating for those Jack Daniels, even the blendwho want to indulge in ed whiskey section, which smoking a cigar along with the bar clearly banks on, cognac,” says Addanki. deserves a pat on the However, smoking a back. cigar or a cigarette “The objective outdoors would be of the bar is to best during the allow people to winters. walk in after a With the clear day’s work and idea of giving an enjoy a couple of Oriental feel to drinks. We have the bar, the cockO focused on our tails and food menu IM has been carefully AG T blended whiskey and OOD chalked out to tingle single malt selection immensely because of their your taste buds. Priced at popularity in the City,” says `750, cocktails under the Addanki. The concept of ‘Oriental Mix’ subhead are heading to a bar after work simply sinful. Whether it’s — a very Western concept — the Watermelon Man (vodka, almost immediately makes pineapple juice, watermelon you think that the bar caters juice) or the Kiwi Margarita to expats. “We have more (tequila, kiwi juice, lime locals coming in to enjoy a juice), they‘re all delightfully drink than expats. In fact, flavourful. However, an including in-house guests at evening at the Oriental Bar the Park Hyatt, expats only and Kitchen without the make for 40 per cent of the Lychee Martini (vodka, vervisitors at the bar while mouth, lychee juice) and the locals make 60 per cent,” Lemongrass Mojito (light says Addanki. rum, lime juice, mint, lemonThe Southeast-Asian bar grass) would be an absolute also boasts a luxurious selecwaste.

The ambience, the selection, and the delicious snacks make Park Hyatt’s Oriental Bar and Kitchen a perfect place to drink at. With Buddha Bar-ish music in the air, it’s easy to forget the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy a single malt peacefully.

The Louis XIII de Remy Martin, which costs around `4 lakh, is a collector’s item that the bar proudly displays.

Bottoms up Where: Oriental Bar and Kitchen, Park Hyatt Must-have: Lychee Martini, Lemongrass Mojito The starters on the food menu, which smoothly blend with the hotel’s signature cocktails, are indulgences one must sample. The Chao Tom Shrimp on Sugarcane, Asian Pan Fried Fish, Lemongrass Chicken Satay and the Malaysian Seafood Dumpling are a few musthaves from the starters’ list. Apart from the food blending with the drinks perfectly, it is also kept bite-sized. “Most of the food on the menu is bite-sized so that it doesn’t interrupt one’s drinking. However, we still have a selection of food for exceptional cases,” says Addanki. To conclude, the Oriental Bar and Kitchen warrants at least one visit. We guarantee, you’ll visit again. Cheers!

FOOD SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

One year down the line, we revisit Taj Banjara’s Chai Shop to see if it’s still all that we remember.

A YEAR OF

NOSTALGIA

Postnoon Team

feedback@postnoon.com

ittle has changed in a year at Taj Banjara’s Chai Shop. Nostalgia still rules — the glass jars with candy and ‘biskuts’ still line the shelves, classic Bollywood numbers set the tone and the menu is as comfortingly familiar as when it first opened. Last year we loved everything about the cosy little five-star cafe that is as warm and welcoming as age-old Irani cafe down the road. The affordable prices, the excellent service and above all, the absolutely amazing food. So when we heard about the new menu, we couldn’t resist checking it out. One of the things we most liked about Chai Shop was that, unlike most places with booklets for menus, it has a carefully curated selection of all-time favourites and then some signature dishes of the chefs that didn’t need you looking for more options. The minor tweaks to the menu only reflect the lengths to which the chefs have gone to ensure a novel dining experience while retaining the classics. The teas

remain the same — staples like adraki chai and khade chamach ki chai jostle with modern offerings like chocolati chai. Chai Shop’s funky beer concoctions also stay put, a testimony to their popularity. If you want to play safe, opt for kala namak ka nimbu pani or LLB, a deliciously pink drink. But summer’s here, so cooling sherbets are the way to go. The restaurant offers a mind-boggling variety of natural sherbets, including badam, kesari and khus. Our pick would be the brilliant green khus sherbet, with a delicate kick of lime at the end. The lassi is not as thick or sweet as you would expect it to be, and comes in a number of flavours. The main change in the new menu is that it now offers as much in terms of main course as it does in starters. Still, however, let’s start at the start. If you are feeling particularly Hyderabadi, choose among the many favourites like lukh-

mi, tootak, irani haleem or patti samosas. But we lost our hearts to the perfectly golden-fried garlay, a crunchy and beautifully flavoured aloo (or kheema) starter served with green chutney and the delicious stuffed mirchi bajjis. If you are up for something hatke, try the dahi ke kebab, soft, succulent patties filled with a hung curd stuffing and deep fried. The dish, reminiscent of hummus, would accompany a spicy dish to perfection as it is rather mild in itself. Non-vegetarians could go for the kheema paratha, all golden and crisp. An all-time favourite is the roti pe boti, which has succulent chunks of meat on a flaky roti. You can’t really go wrong with the Irani haleem either — if you’re a fan of the dish, that is. It’s richer and heavier than the other offerings, but it is served

with freshly baked bread to mop your plate up. Another new addition to the menu is one that will make the vegetarians happy. Chaawal ke saath mein is a meal in itself, with a bowl of hot steaming rice served with a choice of curry or dal, with papad and pickle on the side. We choose the pakora kadi and it didn’t disappoint. Specify to the staff if you like your kadi spicy as this is rather mild but the pakora, oh the pakora, is so perfectly made, you wish they served that as a separate item on the menu. Finally, the desserts. If you had place only for one, we say choose the chocolate gulab jamun. Impossibly soft rounds of brown floating lightly in golden syrup with a core of molten chocolate off set with a surprisingly not-so-sweet khoya, do we need to say more?

Haleem Rotiyani Haleem made with leftover rotis Noor’s Kitchen NOOR JAFRI Ingredients Quantity n Lamb shoulder pieces 500 gms n Medium-sized left over whole wheat chapatis 10 to 12 n Chana dal 100 gms n Curds 1 cup n Red chilli powder 2 tsp n Dhania powder 2 tsp n Haldi 1 tsp n Garam masala 2 tsp n Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp n Oil 100 ml n Ghee 50 ml n Ginger julienne 1 tbsp n Chopped green chillies 1 tsp n Golden fried crispy onions 1 cup n Salt to taste n Lemon wedges for garnishing Preparation For Korma / gravy n Wash clean and cut the lamb shoulder into large pieces. n Heat the oil and ghee mixture and fry the onion slices, till crispy brown. n Remove half of the oil and onions, and keep them separately for garnishing. n In the remaining oil add ginger garlic paste, mirchi, haldi, dhania powder, salt and half of the garam masala. n Cook it along with the lamb pieces for some time. n Add curds and cover it, till it is dried and bhunoed. n Lastly pour 2 1/2 to 3 cups of water and pressure cook it for 20 minutes. For roti mixture n In a separate vessel, boil chana dal with little haldi, ginger paste and with one to two cups of water. n Break the roti into small pieces and leave it soaked, along with cooked chana dal till it gets tender. n Blend the cooked dal and roti mix, with the boneless mutton from the gravy into a rough haleem like consistency. n Heat and mix the mixture thoroughly, adding the remaining gravy. n Taste the salt and add the remaining garam masala powder. n Serve hot, garnished with oil and ghee mixture, with green coriander, ginger julienne, fried crispy onions and lemon wedges. Chef’s Note: n Hot,spicy and delicious preparation, which can be done quickly. n It’s a complete dish in itself and is served with lots of toppings of korma and crispy onions.

M ANIL KUMAR

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

HISTORY SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

March 25

March 27

1967: Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march of 5,000 anti-war demonstrators in Chicago. King declared that the Vietnam War was "a blasphemy against all that America stands for". King first began speaking out against American involvement in Vietnam.

1973: Marlon Brando declines the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Godfather. Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather stated that the actor could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film.

March 26

March 28

2008: The Ford Motor Company announces the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions to the Tata Group, one of India's oldest and largest business conglomerates, for some $2.3 billion — less than half of what Ford originally paid for the brands.

March 26

1979: In a ceremony at the White House, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a historic peace agreement, ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and establishing diplomatic and commercial ties.

March 26

2000: Billy Crystal hosts the 72nd annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. An Oscar crisis had been narrowly averted a week earlier when 52 gold-plated Oscar statuettes were found after they were stolen from a loading dock.

1979: At 4am, the worst accident in the history of the United States nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat.

March 31

1889: The Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers.

March 29

2006: Queen Elizabeth II makes Welsh singing sensation Tom Jones — now Sir Tom Jones — a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He is best known for his songs Delilah and It’s Not Unusual.

March 29

1982: The combination of an earthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico converts a hill into a crater, killing thousands of people and destroying acres of farmland. The eruptions, which continued for over a week, caught many of the area residents unaware and unprepared.

March 30

1981: President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington DC hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr. The president had just finished addressing a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage when Hinckley, standing among a group of reporters, fired six shots at the president, hitting Reagan.

SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013 1

Flair for business Emerging Entrepreneurs Awards was organised by Entrepreneurs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Catalysts of Growth at Taj Krishna on Saturday. Spotted were ministers Dr D Purandeswari, Dr K Chiranjeevi and others.

1 Dr D Purandeswari

3 Shobhana Kamineni

2 Pinky Reddy

Taking it forward Founder and Chairman of Akash Educational Services Ltd. (AESL) inaugurated a new branch of AESL in the City.

Splash of colour Lepakshi Handicrafts Exhibition organised by AP Handicrafts Development Corporation began was launched at TTD Kalyana Mandapam.

All smiles Students of Jain Toddlers celebrated Graduation Day in style at State Art Gallery on Saturday.

CINEMA SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

YEVADU to release BRAHMANANDAM in June is back! R

am Charan’s upcoming film Yevadu is expected to hit the screens on June 14, which happens to be the wedding anniversary of Ram Charan and Upasana. Directed by Vamshi Paidipally, the film also stars Shruti Haasan, Amy Jackson in lead roles whereas Allu Arjun and Kajal Aggarwal have been roped in to play important roles. Of late, the film’s shooting has been happening in and around Hyderabad. The film’s first look is going to be unveiled on March 27 on the eve of Ram Charan’s birthday and the music is going to be launched on May 9. Devi Sri Prasad has scored the music.

HEMANTH KUMAR

hemanth.k@postnoon.com

wamy Ra Ra is a far cry from the kind of films Nikhil has been doing over the past few years. His performance is subdued and never once throughout the film does he bring out the ‘next Ravi Teja’ angle of his onscreen image, a trait which was commonplace in his past few films. While that comes as a big surprise, the film truly belongs to its technical team especially music director Sunny, cinematographer Richard Prasad and debutant director Sudheer Varma. The film is a crime comedy which revolves around a stolen Ganesha idol and the aforementioned trio treat the theme with such panache that it actually gives a reason to look beyond the frailty in its narration. We are told that a rare Lord Ganesha’s idol is stolen from Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and after changing a lot of hands, its value shoots through the roof. Finally, an aspiring politician Durga Prasad (Ravi Babu) sends one of his henchmen to buy the idol from a Chennai-based businessman. However, the deal goes wrong and the idol goes missing. Elsewhere, Surya (Nikhil) and two of his friends, who are pickpockets, meet Swati (Swati) in Hyderabad. She doesn’t know what Surya does but she takes a liking to him instantly. One day, Durga Prasad comes to Swati’s house and demands his Ganesha idol. Swati has no clue about the issue, but Surya and his friends understand the gravity of the situation and they go on a mission to correct their mistake. The film is a sum of series of coincidences as far the possession of Ganesh’s idol is concerned, but the entire track is written so well that it doesn’t seem awkward at all. It’s

rahmanandam’s much awaited film Jaffa will finally release on March 29. Vennela Kishore has directed the film and it has Brahmanandam playing the lead role as a convict who escapes from prison to prove his innocence. Over the years, Jaffa has become one of the most popular words in contemporary Telugu cinema and it has become a trademark dialogue of Brahmanandam. Although it’s a full-length comedy film, in the past, Vennela Kishore has equated it to a cult film like Shawshank Redemption since both the films are based on the theme of prison break. The film’s first look was launched last year and the theatrical release has been delayed for a long time now. Jaffa is Vennela Kishore’s second film as a director post Vennela 1 1/2. Apart from Jaffa, Brahmanandam will also be playing the lead role in another film titled Bangkok Brahmanandam.

interesting to note how quickly and easily the idol changes hands and how luck plays an important role in shaping the destinies of all its characters. Debutant director Sudheer Varma leaves ample hints that Swamy Ra Ra is, in a way, influenced by the works of RGV, Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie among few other directors, although the film isn’t as ambitious as the other directors. The story is quite simple and despite its run of just over two hours, the second half in particular feels way too long. After a promising start where Sudheer Varma establishes the modus operandi of Surya’s gang and Surya’s relationship with Swathi, the freshness in the script takes a backseat and most part of the second half is almost like a web which goes haywire. There are plenty of chase sequences as Surya goes on a mission to find the idol, but the film never hits an emotional high in the third act. However, Sudheer Varma does show a great spark in writing interesting characterisations and some of the actors like Ravi Babu, Pooja Ramachandran and both the actors who play Nikhil’s friend and Ravi Babu’s sidekick show great promise. Swati is a revelation in the film and her onscreen chemistry with Nikhil is palpable. Two people who shine the most in the film are its music director Sunny and cinematographer Richard Prasad. The music and background score is an interesting mix of jazz, rock, blues, dubstep and also partly influenced by European style whereas Richard Prasad gives the entire film a distinct colour palette that almost every frame looks gorgeous, although the slow motion shots are overdone. In the end, Swamy Ra Ra is like a good attempt which nearly breaks the mould but never flies high. Considering how bad some of the recent films have been, this is almost like a whiff of fresh air.

Dude, Where’s my Ganesha? Swamy Ra Ra is a well-conceived crime comedy about an antique Ganesha idol which has everyone clamouring for its ownership, before all hell breaks loose. Although it starts off on a promising note, the film loses its steam towards the end.

Movie: Swamy Ra Ra Cast: Nikhil, Swati, Pooja, Ravi Babu Directed by: Sudheer Varma Rating:

CINEMA SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

TECHNOLOGY

ction in Bollywood films was of the dhishoom, dhishoom variety till the 1990s, but advanced technology and increased use of special effects brought in a new

twist. “Action is not easier (with better technology). Maybe it is safer,” the actor said. Hrithik has done films like Mission Kashmir, Krrish, Dhoom 2 and Agneepath, all of which gave him ample scope to demonstrate the daredevilry that has won him so many fans. He recently wrapped up the action-packed Krrish 3, and even jumped off a cliff in Bali for an ad for Mountain Dew. In his view, actors and filmmakers who dabble in action have many advantages now, especially with the boom in demand for films like Rowdy Rathore, Dabangg, Don: The Chase Begins Again and RA.One. “There is a lot more that you can visualise now than before. There is a lot more scope for you to think out of the box, and things which were unimaginable a few years back are now possible. “In that regard you can say, yes (technology has made action easier). When it comes down to doing them, there is always some adrenaline pumping and there is nervousness,” said Hrithik, who is fit as the proverbial fiddle. At 39, and after over a decade of making his way to the A-listers of Bollywood, Hrithik, son of veteran actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, believes success comes when “dreams turn to challenges”.

MAKES ACTION SAFER, NOT EASIER:

“Once you live enough of life, you realise that all those dreams that you are afraid of are only challenges. So, I call them challenges and it will make you nervous, which is full of good energy. The anxiety and nervousness is good for you. “It is all of this that has got me where I am today. I have

reached this place only with this kind of philosophy,” said the actor, who used to stammer once upon a time. Hrithik, now a father of two, made a blockbuster debut with Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai in 2000. He then cemented his spot in the industry with projects like “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Koi...Mil Gaya, Dhoom 2, Jodhaa Akbar, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Agneepath. A dancer par excellence, the actor admits his only aim in life is still about “putting in my best to find out my true potential”. “I am on a mission to make this the best life, come what may, and every day is a step forward in finding out my true potential,” he said. That holds true for his brand associations too. After endorsing brands like Hide & Seek, Reliance Mobiles and Liberty Footwear, the actor is promoting Mountain Dew, the slogan for which reads: “Darr se Mat Daro, Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai”. It translates to - ‘Don’t fear your fears, victory lies ahead of them’. Hrithik feels it is “one of the best fits” for him. “The brand has taken the philosophy of my life and put it on the billboard, as well as visually expressed it through various channels to the people. The basic principle of my life has always been that way,” he said. IANS

Mandira Bedi, Karan Wahi to co-host ‘Indian Idol Junior’ A

ctors Mandira Bedi and Karan Wahi will take centrestage as co-hosts of the upcoming Indian Idol Junior, to be judged by singer Shreya Ghoshal and composer duo Vishal-Shekhar. This isn’t the first time that Mandira and Karan are hosting a reality show. The upcoming season will be the first time that the singing show has opened its doors to young singers between the age group of 5 to 15. The judges — Shreya, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravijani — will travel across the country to scout the best talents. Talking about the new format, Sneha Rajani, senior executive vice president and business head, Sony, said: “The idea was to give the show a fresh perspective as well as discovering newer IANS talent horizons.”

CINEMA SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

COURT REFUSES TO STAY TV RELEASE OF RACE 2, DABANGG 2

he Delhi High Court Friday refused to stay the television release of films Race 2 and Dabangg 2 and slammed the censor board. A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice VK Jain, declining to stay the release of DVDs and TV telecast of Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg 2 and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Race 2, said it had not seen the films and without watching them, stay could not be granted. The bench, however,

told the petitioners to approach the court if they apprehend the telecast of these films on TV channels. “We are not experts and have not seen the movies. How can we stay the films on the basis of photographs we saw here,” the court told the petitioner, who had moved the court alleging that Race 2 showed nude scenes. The counsel, appearing for the petitioner, said TV telecast of these films should be stayed as these could be released on chanIANS nels during Holi.

SIDHARTH MALHOTRA’S

FOOTBALL FITNESS

odel-turned-actor Sidharth Malhotra, who displayed his chiselled physique in his debut film Student Of The Year, says he hits the field for some football to burn any extra calories, rather than eating healthy. “I’m a true sports lover. I have been in love with football since my childhood. I also prefer the game to working out in the closed environment of a gym. I used to participate in inter-college matches while I was in college,” said Sidharth. Even in Student Of The Year, Sidharth was seen playing football, and indulging in other sports-based activities. “Sports teaches you a lot about life in general,” he said. Sidharth, who started as a model in Delhi, says he prefers home-cooked food. “I follow a simple diet consisting of organic and home-cooked food with less artificial products and sugar. My meals are high in protein and I also drink

a lot of water and eat at regular intervals.” The actor admits it can be daunting to maintain a six-pack the whole year round, and said: “It requires a change of lifestyle with regular workouts and strict dieting. But with correct guidance, it is not impossible.” His next film is titled The Villain. IANS

Priyadarshan accepts Gangnam Style song

ilmmaker Priyadarshan is not much into item songs. When an item song was brought into his last Hindi release Tezz, he had rebelled against the producer, Ratan Jain, and disowned the product. It is surprising then how he agreed to include an item song in his new film Rangrezz. It was only after initial reservations that he was okay with the desi version of Gangnam Style to be part of the Vashu Bhagnani production, which features the producer’s son Jackky in the lead. “Look, I don’t want to come across as the partypooper every time. I don’t want to get the reputation of a director, who comes in the way of songs and music in every film,” said IANS Priyadarshan.

CINEMA SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

ROBERT, KRISTEN CELEBRATE WITH PERRY T wilight co-stars and real life lovers Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were spotted dining out with Katy Perry to celebrate the singer’s assistant’s birthday. In a short video posted on YouTube, Stewart, who is good friends with the birthday girl Tamra Natisin, was seen standing next to Pattinson, while Perry placed the cake and started singing “Happy Birthday”, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Perry seemed to be in a good mood considering she has just split with boyfriend John Mayer after a sevenmonth romance. The Twilight actors had briefly split last summer after Stewart was caught cheating with married film director Rupert Sanders. News of the pair’s reunion became public Tuesday at a karaoke bar in Los Angeles, and a lucky fan even managed to get a photo with the duo. IANS

Eva Mendes wore fake glasses

KATE WINSLET JOINS CAST OF DIVERGENT

scar-winning actress Kate Winslet has been cast in upcoming film Divergent. Divergent, based on the first of a trilogy of novels by Veronica Roth, is set in a society that is divided into five factions that define how a person lives his life, reported E! online. Film studio Summit Entertainment said that Winslet, 37, will play the cold and unlikeable Jeanine Matthews in the film set in a dystopian future. The studio had previously announced the casting of rising star Shailene Woodley, 21, and British newcomer Theo James, 28 in the film. Divergent, due for release in March 2014, is the latest young adult novel to be translated to the big screen following the conclusion of lucrative franchise The Twilight Saga and the success last year of PTI The Hunger Games.

ctress Eva Mendes says she was so desperate to wear glasses as a child, she stared at the sun in an effort to damage her eyesight. The 39-year-old actress started needing prescription spectacles two years ago, and said she has harboured a life-long desire to wear glasses in a bid to look smart, reported Daily Star. “I was obsessed with looking smart. Two years ago I just started needing them. I think wearing glasses adds and instant quirk and elegance,” Mendes said. PTI

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

SUNDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Seismic uplift 6 Giggle (hyph.) 11 Chew the scenery 16 Intolerant person 21 Filmmaker -- Kurosawa 22 Give an address 23 Dawdle along 24 Snapshot 25 Mist or fog 26 Boat made of skins 27 Berry-patch hazard 28 Reject 29 Swiss cheese hole 30 Implied 32 Bilko’s nickname 34 Epoch of the mammals 36 FICA numbers 38 Rajahs’ wives 40 Bulletin -42 Drop-kicks 43 Carnivore’s delight (hyph.) 45 Rustic abode 47 Caustic 49 Horror-flick sounds 52 Suite provider 53 Vast 54 Noncom 57 Saffron dish 58 Author Eudora -59 Hibernian 60 Mountain range near China 61 -- -ski wear 62 Rice field 63 Arrowhead rock 64 Wildlife staple 65 Tijuana “Mrs.” 66 Plant lice 68 Weeping over 69 Overlook 70 After-dinner candy 72 Hayworth of “Gilda” 73 Mountain lions 74 Acted moody 75 Complains bitterly 77 Stopped a squeak 78 Piggy bank stash 79 Nielsen stats 82 Towels off 83 Now, to Caesar 84 Luncheon salad 88 Royal decrees 89 Harmful things 90 Forty winks 92 Exclude 93 Fishing floats 94 Yellow parts 95 -- -dovey 96 Frighten 98 Heavy hydrogen discoverer 99 Power units 100 Steel rod 101 Deli staple 102 John Wayne’s “-River” 103 Airport booth leaser 104 Fringed item 105 Mold contents 106 Urban dwelling 107 Slur together 108 Viscous 109 “The French Chef” 111 Connoisseur

113 UCLA athlete 115 Overcharge, slangily 119 Appetizer tray item 121 Languishes 123 Kind of fund 125 Score big 126 Doled out 127 Tip over 129 Refrain from 131 Car-wash step 133 Puccini work 134 Broad comedy 135 Purplish flower 136 Astaire sister 137 Topsy-turvy 138 Pilot 139 Zoo barriers 140 Matterhorn echo DOWN 1 Wealthy folk 2 Gives thumbs-up 3 Age, as cheese 4 Sellout notice of yore 5 Dainty pastry 6 Big-beaked birds 7 Wintry weasel 8 Caribbean nation 9 Depot info 10 Blondie’s shrieks 11 Drag into a fight

12 -- Freeman of films 13 Basket-maker’s twig 14 Crumpet companion 15 Bronte heroine Jane -16 Doggie treat 17 Threaten or menace 18 Too thin 19 Hideous monsters 20 First-down yardage 31 Savory smell 33 Friar’s home 35 Talk-show name 37 Archaeology find 39 Bawls out 41 Intrepid 44 Ultralight wood 46 Lawyer, briefly 48 -- la vie! 49 Involuntary jerk 50 Blue Grotto site 51 Aired again 52 Ibsen’s -- Gabler 53 Toothy smiles 54 Sign of rain 55 Do a grammar task 56 Like some jackets 58 Hangs around 59 Old war story 60 Buttonhole 62 Collins and Silvers 63 Sulks angrily

64 Dendrite’s partner 67 Goody-goodies 68 Decrees 69 Susan Lucci vamp 71 Fraught with pitfalls 73 Gas mains 74 Like a fair lass 76 Cookout intruders 77 Moo companions 78 More winsome 79 Keep happening 80 Love 81 Bushed 82 Music from Strauss 83 Type of blockade 85 WWII movie staple (hyph.) 86 Supermodel -Campbell 87 Alan or Adam of films 89 Underside 90 Gauzy trap 91 Church reading 94 Measure of length 95 Go first 97 Frolics 99 Makes one’s way 100 Lorelei’s river 101 Fishing net 103 Time off 104 Willowy

105 Light aircraft 106 Mulled quaffs 107 Show clearly 108 Hollywood boulevard 109 Crinkled fabric 110 Finds intolerable 112 Silly behavior 114 Gaucho’s rope 116 Bought 117 Usher’s beat

118 Bow down 120 Snit 122 Ponzi scheme 124 Cavity detector (hyph.) 126 Family member 128 Crony 130 That, to Pedro 132 Familiar vow (2 wds.) PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

STAR POWER Date 25-3-2013

As per Hindu panchang

THIRUVAIKUMAR

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

TAURUS

GEMINI

Accept your mistakes when your spouse tells you and correct yourself — it will lead to a happy situation. Avoid misunderstanding with anyone and be cordial with relatives.

As unexpected fortune is likely, you will be able to clear your debts. Good news from blood relatives will make you happy. Businessmen will march forward with their bold, wise decisions.

Money will come from expected sources, which will solve your deficit financial situation. Friendship circle will expand. You will work sincerely with determination and speed.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Some are likely to go abroad on a new and promising assignment. Misunderstanding at home and with friends will be over. All your long pending expectations will be fulfilled.

Delayed marriage talks will resume and progress towards finalisation. Avoid taking hurried decisions in government related issues. Try to be in your limits when advising friends on their issues.

House renovation work will be taken up and completed successfully. Spouse will be more affectionate towards you. You will solve the important issues wisely and diplomatically.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

You will fulfill the wishes of your children and encourage them. Though financial inflow is good, you will have to spend a part of your savings too for some important issue.

You will feel happy and proud because of your children’s achievements. Close friends and relatives will extend their wholehearted support. Your hidden skills will come to the fore.

You will command good respect from all while attending functions or any get-together. You will be able to judge your friends and relatives perfectly and act accordingly.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Sudden inflow of money likely which will keep your financial position strong. Businessmen will add new and prosperous customers with their innovative schemes.

Never feel let down by failures and disappointments and march ahead with confidence and renewed vigour. Sudden trips might frustrate you. Keep your cool always.

Though a few works might get delayed, major portion will end successfully. Children will co-operate. You will feel cheerful as long pending works will get completed.

SUMAA TEKUR

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Two of Pentacles – The commute from home to office is taking a lot of your precious time and you need to learn to make better use of this time.

Six of Swords – Spending excess time on the internet may not be such a bad thing. It may be giving you ideas to approach a workrelated problem.

Ace of Wands – Are you being too possessive about someone? Learn to make room for yourself and a loved one or you risk losing your partner.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Ace of Cups – Good time to plan a vacation and take time off. Switch off your phone. Better still, leave it at home and enjoy the personal time.

Three of Cups – The quality of your work has improved in the last few weeks and your bosses are noticing your talent. When you let loose, the ideas flow.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Ten of Cups – A family member needs personal care. It could be an elder who needs medical help or a youngster who needs emotional support. Be there.

The Emperor – Finances need attention. Plan this year well and make sure you’re investing. Pay a good advisor instead of trying to do it all yourself.

Four of Swords – Though you love stability, there are many possibilities to explore career options. You don’t have to be stuck in one place.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Nine of Swords – The budget is tight and all your luxury shopping needs may not fit in that budget. Cut corners and understand what you can do without.

Six of Wands – Something’s brewing that may not be to your advantage. Your past is catching up and you need to figure out how to manage people.

Ace of Pentacles – Your strength lies in mastering routine. You may be missing out on that excitement and surge in energy when you find something you love.

The Magician – Take care of your health. Summer heat is especially getting to you. Stay hydrated and drink lots of fresh juices and water.

NON SEQUITUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE POOCH CAFE

STRIP TEASE

AGNES

ARIES

TAROT READ Date 25-3-2013

10 laws of computing Farmer Joe was in an accident with a truck and decided his injuries were serious enough to take the trucking company responsible to court. In court, the trucking company’s lawyer was questioning Joe. “Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine.’” Joe responded, “Well I had just loaded my mule Bessie into the....” “I didn’t ask for any details,” the lawyer interrupted. But the judge was interested in Joe’s answer and said, “I’d like to hear what he has to say about his mule Bessie.” Joe said, “Well I had just

loaded Bessie into the trailer and was driving when this huge semi-truck ran the stop sign and smacked my truck. I was thrown in one ditch and Bessie was thrown in the other. “I was hurting real bad. I could hear old Bessie moaning and groaning. A highway patrolman came on the scene. After he looked at Bessie, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then he came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, ‘Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?’’’

Vol: 2, No 247 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

CINEMA SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

EMMA STONE'S wild time shooting Spider-Man 2

ctress Emma Stone says she has been having a 'wild' time shooting The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with her boyfriend Andrew Garfield. The 24-year-old star has reprised her role as Gwen Stacy for the film, and is enjoying shooting it thanks to its wonderful script and her boyfriend, who portrays the titular character, reported Daily Mirror. "It's wild to be back as Gwen Stacy. I love her and the script is just wonderful," Stone said. Besides finding the film fantastic, the blonde beauty has a great chemistry with Garfield, who she has dated for more than a year. "There's no rhyme or reason to it. I think you just have to click. I don't think you should try to explain the chemistry between two people — it's either there PTI or it isn't," she added.

Fred Savage to direct Charlize Theron

red Savage, the child starturned-prolific TV director, has been tapped by Skydance Productions to helm their upcoming comedy Ladies Night, starring Charlize Theron. Since moving on from his actor days when he played the wide-eyed grandson in The Princess Bride and Kevin on The Wonder Years, Savage has directed over 120 TV episodes for shows such as Modern Family, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Boy Meets World, but the Skydance project

will be his second directorial endeavor for the big screen. His first time directing a film was Daddy Day Camp. Ladies Night will star Theron as a woman who, when confronted with her longtime boyfriend’s inability to commit, decides to have one last night on the town with her girlfriends before uprooting her life and moving to New York. The script is written by David Caspe, the showrunner of ABC’s Happy Endings — another series Savage has directed. Theron will also produce.

Save horses, urges

iley Cyrus has organised a rally to save horses. She has taken to micro-blogging site Twitter for the cause. Cyrus voiced her support for a petition to ban all horse-drawn carriages in New York. She tweeted a link to petition online, at the suggestion of her mother, who was the first to get behind the ban. "Cyrus grew up around animals and with all our horses growing up, so she is very passionate about protecting all animals," contactmusic.com quoted Cyrus' mum Tish Cyrus as saying. "Cyrus' fans have been amazing," said Tish.

IANS

MILEY CYRUS

SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Ghosh surges into lead

Bolt beaten over 400m

Atwal at second spot

rjun Atwal moved into the overdrive with a six-under 30 on the second nine to climb to second spot in the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. At 10-under 132, he is one shot behind Darron Stiles (64) at the midway stage of the tournament, which is the first domestic stop on the 2013 Web.com Tour schedule. Atwal closed with three consecutive birdies and four in his final five after an eagle-3 at the first, which came immediately after a double-bogey at No. 18.

Amittrajit Ghosh, driving a Mitsubishi Cedia, with co-driver Ashwin Naik scrambled into lead after front-running Arjun Rao and his navigator Satish Rajagopal conceded lead following a broken drive shaft to drop to overall sixth on the opening day of AVT Premium South India Rally on Saturday. In the first round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, Gaurav Gill and his partner Musa Sherif of team Mahindra Adventure topped the time charts.

amaican sprint star Usain Bolt, testing himself again over 400 meters, clocked 46.44secs on Saturday in a runner-up finish to Nicholas Maithland at the University of West Indies Invitational. It was the third 400m of the young season for Bolt, better known as the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. Bolt, who also raced the 400m at the lowkey Camperdown Classic and competed in the 4x400m relay at the Gibson Relays.

‘We lost our way’

Gerrans wins 6th stage, Martin in lead

SEPANG: McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh sidestepped questions about his future Saturday but admitted "we lost our way" with a new car design after their early season woes continued at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Whitmarsh, under fire after failing to win a world title in four years at the helm, conceded 2009 champion Jenson Button and Sergio Perez had little chance of victory in Sunday's race after they qualified just eighth and tenth respectively. And Whitmarsh, who watched his drivers finish ninth and 11th at last week's season-opener in Australia, did not rule out the radical option of scrapping the car and returning to last year's model. "Clearly we lost our way in developing this car. Formula One is a relentless and unforgiving environment for

VALLS, SPAIN: Australian Simon Gerrans won the sixth stage of the Tour of Catalonia on Saturday as Ireland's Daniel Martin retained his lead at the top of the overall standings. Gerrans, who rides for Orica-GreenEDGE, prevailed in a sprint finish to the penultimate day's 178.7km run from Almacelles to Valls, beating Belgian Gianni Meersman, already a double stage winner of the race, and Daniele Ratto of Italy. Race leader

Talek Harris

mistakes," he said. "The fact is we took too long to realise that. We are responding now. This weekend and last weekend have been incredibly difficult for the team. "People expect us to be at the front, we expect to be at the front. And every time the car left the garage it was an experiment in process. And the car has a long way to go." The poor start to the year has set off a clamour for the return of successful former team principal Ron Dennis, now McLaren's chairman. Whitmarsh said that would be a decision for the shareholders — and joked that fans like Dennis "because he's warm and cuddly".

McLaren lost Lewis Hamilton to Mercedes last season, with technical director Paddy Lowe now headed in the same direction. New technical chief Tim Goss is such a recent appointment that his name, on a sticker, is pasted over Lowe's in the Malaysian GP media guide. Whitmarsh said it was not his decision to take the "risk" with the new car, hinting that Lowe was instrumental. And he said "all things are options" when asked if McLaren would return to the 2012 model, which won the last two races of the season. "All things are options. We've not ruled anything out but we've made progress here," he said. "We want to make this car into a winning car... but I recognise we haven't given them a good enough car to give them the comfortable option of winning the race tomorrow."

Lorenzo fastest PARIS: World champion Jorge Lorenzo was fastest in Saturday's rain-hit testing at Jerez in Spain, the final weekend session before the season-opening MotoGP in Qatar on April 7. Yamaha rider Lorenzo was more than a second quicker than Honda duo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez after completing 39 laps on the first day of the three-day session where riders struggled with the overcast conditions and water-logged track. "We stayed on the track the whole day in the wet conditions and it was good to see how the bike performed," said Lorenzo, who clocked 1min 47.423sec. We are quite good in the wet here in

Leading times: 1. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 1min 47.423sec, 2. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) at 1.051, 3. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 1.101, 4. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Ducati Pramac) 1.561, 5. Michele Pirro (ITA/Ducati) 1.869, 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 2.020, 7. Nicky Hayden (USA/Ducati) 2.220, 8. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Yamaha Tech3) 2.269, 9. Stefan Bradl (GER/Honda LCR) 2.367, 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 2.843.

Jerez. It's the first time we are in these conditions so it's important to understand what our levels are. It's important to be competitive in this situation." Teammate Valentino Rossi was sixth fastest with a best lap of 1min 49.443sec. "The conditions today were very bad so we had to work on the wet," said the former world champion Italian, who put in 36 laps.” “The feeling with the bike was not so bad but we had some problems with the life of the tyre, after some laps we started to spin a lot. It will be hard in a wet race to do 27 laps in a row,” AFP he said.

League Cricket A3 division one day Zinda 227 for 7(Hussain 31, Azharuddin 70, Ehtesham 30, Abhista Rao 3/36) bt Crown CC 219/8 (Bharadwaj 35,

Martin extended his advantage over Joaquim Rodriguez by three seconds to 17sec with a 45sec gap back to Nairo Quintana. The sixth stage was punctuated by an eight-man breakaway, eventually caught by the peloton four kilometres from the end. Sunday's seventh and final stage is a 122.2km ride from El Vendrell to Barcelona, with the finish up the slopes of Montjuic where Rodriguez will be aiming AFP to attack Martin.

Yaseen 54, Rohit 30) A institution one day MCH 89 (Jatin Mehta 3/19, B Satyanarayana 4/24) bt IAC 78 (R Krishna 30, Balchander 6/15).

Nuggets down Kings for 15th straight win DENVER, COLORADO: The Denver Nuggets stretched their NBA winning streak to 15 games on Saturday with a 101-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 19 points and eight rebounds as Denver matched their club record winning streak. They haven't won 15 straight since the 1969-1970 season, and managed to match the feat despite the absence of starting guard Ty Lawson. Lawson missed a second straight game with bruised heel, while Wilson Chandler was also sidelined with a shoulder injury. Kenneth Faried contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 15 points with eight assists and Denver had 11 points apiece from Andre Miller and JaVale McGee. The Kings' brief two-game winning streak was snapped. DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 24 points with 15 rebounds for Sacramento, while John Salmons had 18 points in the defeat. Salmons drained a threepointer with 16 seconds remaining to pull Sacramento within four points at 99-95, but Miller made two free throws to rebuild Denver's lead. The Nuggets have already

clinched a playoff berth for the AFP 10th straight season.

Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Denver Nuggets goes up for the layup versus DeMarcus Cousins #15 of the Sacramento Kings on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Denver deteated Nuggets to win the match 101-95, in the process, stretching their win streak to 15. AFP/NBAE GARRETT W. ELLWOOD

SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Serena rolls into round 4 MIAMI: World No. 1 Serena Williams was rolling Saturday, even before she got to her thirdround match against Ayumi Morita at the Miami ATP Masters and WTA hardcourt tournament. The American, seeking a record sixth Miami WTA crown, resorted to some unfamiliar transportation -- a bicycle -- to beat the traffic into Key Biscayne and make her match. “The traffic was crazy and everyone was like, I have been here for an hour and I’m staying like eight minutes away,” Williams said. “They were in the traffic for an hour. I’m like, ‘OK, I’m not going to make my match if I don’t get there.’” She asked hotel staff for a golf

Murray rips Bernard MIAMI: Britain’s second-seeded Andy Murray mastered the tricky conditions to make short work of Australian Bernard Tomic on Saturday to reach the third round of the Miami ATP Masters and WTA tournament. Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the final set of a 56minute match dominated by the reigning Olympic and US Open champion, who has a training base in Miami. “It’s very tough conditions,” Murray said of his determination to get off to a quick start in his opening match after enjoying a first-round bye. “You’re never going to feel great your first match, especially when it’s tricky conditions and with his game style, too,” added the Scot. “I don’t know if he was tired or struggling with the humidity, but he was playing pretty low-percentage tennis. That played into my hands.” World No. 3 Murray wasn’t sure that Tomic deserved the jeers he heard from fans as he faded in the second set. “You know, it is tough when you’re going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes,” Murray said. “I have done it before when my head has gone down and you still want to win, but it doesn’t always appear that way.” Murray, next faces Grigor Dimitrov, who won the first set against Simone Bolelli with the second set level at 1-1 when the Italian retired with a wrist AFP injury.

Injured Venus withdraws from Miami MIAMI, FLORIDA: Venus Williams withdrew from the WTA and ATP Masters Miami hardcourt tournament on Saturday with a lower back injury. The US 19th seed was to have faced 16th-seeded compatriot Sloane Stephens in a third-round match at the $8.5 million event. Williams had opened by defeating Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krum 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-4 but said she could not be sure if the tough match played a role in forcing her out of the tournament. “Yesterday I was having some pain, and then just wanted to see how I felt in the warmup -- just not able to play today,” Williams said. AFP

cart, but they didn’t have one, offering a motor bike instead. “I’m like, ‘I don’t do motor bikes,’” Williams said. She was slightly less reluctant to try the bicycle, which she said turned out to be fun. “It was probably one of my best memories I think ever, riding a bike to a match. That’s pretty cool,” said Williams, who was pleased to be told that tennis great Martina Navratilova sometimes rode a bike to Wimbledon. “Yeah?” Williams said. “Honestly, I hear a lot of players do that, but I never did that. So, check.” Maybe the unfamiliar exercise accounted for her slow start against Japan’s Morita, who broke Williams in the second game en AFP route to a 3-0 lead.

Tomic eyes Davis Cup MIAMI: Bernard Tomic quickly put aside a 6-3, 6-1 loss on Saturday to second seed Andy Murray at the ATP Miami Masters as the excitement of a Davis Cup return builds for the Australian number one. Tomic, ranked 45th, was unable to maintain early momentum against Murray in the heat of a steamy Florida afternoon, blaming exposure to too much air-conditioning for a troublesome virus. “I didn’t play very good in the second set,” acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Davis Cup teammate Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in

Miami. “I didn’t feel at 100 per cent, I tried my best but it was not good enough.” “I’ve had some sort of flu for the last few days, I can’t breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court,” he said. “I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C. The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down.” Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn’t sure that

he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd. “I obviously just try to concentrate on my side of the court,” Murray said. “The one thing I would say is that if you aren’t used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play. It is tough when you’re going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes... So I don’t know. The crowd, they’re free to do whatever they want.” Tomic heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup AFP tie against Uzbekistan.

Tiger seizes lead ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Tiger Woods, set to return to the World No. 1 ranking with a victory, fired a sixunder par 66 Saturday to seize a two-shot lead after the third round of the US PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational. Defending champion Woods sank 17 of 18 putts within 20 feet of the cup to finish 54 holes at Bay Hill, where he already has won seven titles, on 11-under par 205. “I played actually halfway decent, hit a lot of good shots,” Woods said. “Made a few putts. That was the key today. I was very pleased with how I played.” Woods made five birdies, a bogey and an eagle at the par-5 16th to grab the lead, with England’s Justin Rose and Americans Rickie Fowler and John Huh sharing second on 207. Woods, who has won 50 times in 54 tries when holding the lead entering the final round, seeks his 77th career PGA triumph --

Tiger Woods celebrates after he holes a putt for eagle at the par 5, 16th hole on Saturday. AFP/DAVID CANNON

five shy of matching Sam Snead’s all-time record -- in his final tuneup event for next month’s Masters. Five days after revealing that he is dating US ski star Lindsey Vonn, the 37year-old American put himself in position to over-

take top-ranked Rory McIlroy by capturing the $6.2 million event. Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the alltime record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, has spent a record 623 weeks atop the world rankings. But Woods has not paced the rankings since October of 2010 after injuries and an infamous sex scandal saw him stumble from the top 50. Woods has won five titles in the past 12 months, a run that began at Palmer’s event last year when he won his first PGA title since the sex scandal. This year, Woods has already collected triumphs at Torrey Pines and Doral. Woods would become the first player to win the same PGA event eight times with a triumph on Sunday. He is already the first to win eight times at the same course after seven PGA titles and the 2008 US Open crown at AFP Torrey Pines.

Beatriz Recari of Spain studies the green during Round Three of the LPGA 2013 Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California on Saturday. AFP/DONALD MIRALLE

Spain’s Recari stretches LPGA lead CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA: Spain’s Beatriz Recari had an eagle and one birdie in a threeunder par 69 on Saturday to stretch her lead in the LPGA Kia Classic to two strokes. Recari, seeking to add a second LPGA Tour title to the LPGA Challenge crown she won in 2010, had a 54hole total of 11-under par 205 and a two-stroke lead over Australian Hall of Famer Karrie Webb. Webb had six birdies, but her four bogeys included two to cap her round at 17 and 18. Her twounder 70 left her on 207, one stroke in front of South Korea’s I.K. Kim and American Paula Creamer. Kim had five birdies and three bogeys in her 70, while Creamer notched four birdies and three bogeys in a 71. Stacy Lewis, playing her first tournament since taking over the world No. 1 ranking, carded a three-under 69 to move into a tie for fifth place with fellow Americans Lizette Salas (70) and Cristie Kerr (71), on 209. “The last time I was in the lead heading into the fourth round was when I won, so it feels good,” said Recari, who had a one-shot overnight lead over AFP Webb and Creamer.

SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Whitewash looms large

With the Oz batsmen falling like a pack of cards in their second innings, a clean sweep for the hosts, for the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy looks very likely. outside the off stump to catch Warner in front. Ashwin too got into the act, trapping Phillip Hughes in front; the umpires seem keen on getting the match over with, this time Aleem Dar. When Shane Watson fell to Ojha after scoring only five runs, and was followed by Ed Cowan, who scored 23 runs, it was obvious that the visitors were going to have enough time seeing around this historic city. Australia went into lunch at 89 for five, 79 ahead with five wickets and a real fight at hand.

SYED SHOAIB

In New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Understanding fully well that every run they manage to score in the last two wickets they have in the first innings here at the Ferozshah Kotla Ground on Sunday, the third day of the fourth Test, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar had an extended batting practice before the start of play. Ishant Sharma, too, was enthusiastic to get to the crease; so much so that he had to be reminded by Australian captain Shane Watson that he was jumping the gun. Enthusiasm alone does not make a good batsman, certainly not on this pitch. Sharma realised that soon enough as he was bowled through a gap between bat and pad to a Nathan Lyon delivery that turned in sharply. Lyon got next man in Pragyan Ojha in the very next delivery, trapped in front of the wicket. India’s first innings total of 272 meant that they had managed a lead of 10 runs over the Aussies’ first innings score. If India managed to get a psychological advantage with the 10run lead, Australia can take solace in that it is the home side that is going to be batting last on this fast-deteriorating pitch. The Aussies decided to take

Scoreboard

Indian players rush to congratulate Ravindra Jadeja after he claimed the wicket of Australia’s David Warner during day three of the fourth Test at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on Sunday. SRINIVAS SETTY the bull by its horns, score quickly and give themselves a good chance of redeeming some grace in the tour, which has been nothing short of a nightmare for them: Glenn Maxwell, it was who walked in to open the innings along with David Warner. For India, since the pitch is all about the dominance of spinners on it, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who bowled the second over after Bhuvaneshwar took the new ball, with four close-in

fielders breathing down the batsmen. Ravindra Jadeja came in for Bhuvaneshwar after he had bowled just two overs and immediately snared Maxwell with a ball that reared up from good length to knock back the stumps. Australia had just about wiped out the deficit at that point. In his next over, Jadeja got lucky when he got a favourable leg-before-wicket decision from umpire RA Kettleborough. The ball had come a long way from

Australia 1st innings 262 India 1st innings 272 Australia 2nd innings DA Warner lbw b Jadeja 8 GJ Maxwell b Jadeja 8 EJM Cowan lbw b Jadeja 24 PJ Hughes lbw b Ashwin 6 SR Watson* b Ojha 5 SPD Smith not out 17 MS Wade† not out 16 Extras (b 4, lb 1) 5 Total (5 wickets) 89 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-20, 3-41, 4-51, 5-53 Bowling O M R W B Kumar 2 0 9 0 R Ashwin 10 1 35 1 RA Jadeja 11 2 28 3 PP Ojha 8 2 12 1

NZ implode after skittling England

New Zealand’s Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of England’s Steven Finn on Sunday. AFP

AUCKLAND: New Zealand imploded at the start of their second innings as they set out to build on a huge 239-run first innings lead on the third day of the final Test against England on Sunday. At stumps at Eden Park in the series-deciding final Test, New Zealand were three for 35, leading by 274 after dismissing England for 204. Opener Peter Fulton, who scored his maiden Test century in the first innings, was unbeaten on 14 which included three boundaries, with Dean Brownlie on 13. In a chaotic final session, eight wickets fell for 39 runs as the England tail collapsed and the New Zealand top order followed suit, increasing the chances of a decision in the deadlocked series. The rain-abbreviated first two Tests were drawn but only fine weather is forecast for Auckland over the next two days. New Zealand decided not to enforce the follow on after ripping out the England tail after tea as they gambled on bowling last on a deteriorating wicket. But the strategy appeared to backfire as Hamish Rutherford fell on the third ball he faced to

start a collapse that reduced New Zealand to eight for three after eight overs before Fulton and Brownlie steered them

Scorecard New Zealand, 1st inn 443 England, 1st inn (overnight 50/2) N. Compton lbw Southee 13 I. Bell lbw Southee 17 J. Root b Southee 45 Baristow lbw Boult 3 M. Prior c Rutherford b Neil 73 S. Broad c Rutherford b Boult 16 S. Finn c Taylor b Boult 0 Anderson c Watling b Boult 4 Panesar not out 0 Extras (w 2) 2 Total (all out) 204 Bowling: Boult 25-9-68-6, Southee 23.2-9-44-3, Wagner 15-3-36-1, Martin 26-10-56-0 New Zealand 2nd innings P. Fulton not out 14 H. Rutherford c Bell b Broad 0 Williamson b Anderson 1 Taylor lbw Broad 3 Brownlie not out 13 Extras (lb 4) 4 Total (3 wickets) 35 Bowling: Anderson 9-6-11-1, Broad 7-4-7-2, Finn 4-1-9-0, Panesar 2-2-00, Trott 1-0-4-0

through to stumps. The New Zealand batting failure came after their strike bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult had ripped through the England tail, taking the last five wickets for 31 runs. The eight dismissals after tea occurred in the space of 18 overs as the wicket which supported the New Zealand batsmen to a first innings 443 began to show assistance for the bowlers. For New Zealand, left-armer Boult produced his best Test figures of six for 68 while Southee finished with three for 44. Broad had the remarkable figures of two for seven from seven overs for England. He removed Rutherford for a duck with a rising delivery that was flicked to Ian Bell in the gully and trapped Ross Taylor (three) leg before wicket. Kane Williamson had scored one run from 11 balls when he chopped a wayward delivery from James Anderson on to the stumps. England, who started the day at 50 for two, staged two collapses in an innings that was boosted by the single partnership of Matt Prior and Joe Root.

Confident of being fit for Ashes: Pup SYDNEY: Australian Test captain Michael Clarke said Sunday it was unlikely his back and hamstring issues would keep him out of the Ashes tour to England later this year. Clarke returned home early from Australia’s series in India after being ruled out of the fourth and final Test in Delhi. It was the first time in his 92-match Test career stretching more than eight years that injury had forced him out of the Australian team. Clarke, has had a long standing problem with back-related issues. “It was taken out of my hands once I was unavailable for selection,” he told reporters at Sydney airport on his arrival home. “The medical staff from Cricket Australia wanted to get me home ASAP to have scans and try and get me as fit again as soon as possible as well. So it was a bit of ‘do as you’re told’, when it came to flying out.” Clarke said he was positive about his chances of recovering well in time for Australia’s Ashes tour to England, which begins in late June.

Dilshan powers SL to victory HAMBANTOTA, SRI LANKA:

Tillakaratne Dilshan hammered an unbeaten 113 to fire Sri Lanka to an eightwicket win over Bangladesh in the first one-dayer, marked by a power failure and bees’ invasion on Saturday. The opener hit 11 fours in his 15th one-day century as Sri Lanka, chasing a revised target of 238 in 41 overs following the outage, won the day-night match in Hambantota with 32 balls to spare for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Dilshan also upstaged Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal who scored an impressive 112 for his fourth one-day ton to prop up the innings, briefly halted by a swarm of bees in the afternoon that forced some of the players to lie on the ground. The play was held up for more than 90 minutes due to the power failure, first during the Bangladeshi innings and then before the start of Sri Lanka’s chase. The organisers apologised for the power failures, saying an investigation will AFP soon be launched.

SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Spain keep faith in style

Friday’s 1-1 draw with Group I’s bottom side Finland, coupled with a 3-1 win for France against Georgia, left them two points adrift of Didier Deschamps’ men in the section. Andy Scott

PARIS: Spain may be the reigning European and world champions, but they will arrive in Paris for Tuesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against France with more than a few nagging doubts. Friday’s 1-1 draw with Group I’s bottom side Finland, coupled with a 3-1 win for France against Georgia, left them two points adrift of Didier Deschamps’ men in the section. It may be a little soon to start panicking, but Spain can ill afford to lose at the Stade de France — do so and they will be five points off top spot with just one automatic berth at next year’s finals in Brazil up for grabs. Indeed, some in Spain are even beginning to entertain the possibility that a defeat on

Tuesday could lead to them missing out on a play-off place. Only the eight best runnersup will get a second chance to qualify in the two-legged playoffs, with the poorest performing runner-up missing out. Such a scenario seems highly unlikely, but it is no exaggeration to say that things have not been this bad for Spain in a long time. Having won three consecutive major international tournaments, Spain have become accustomed to winning, so failing to beat opponents as limited as Finland calls into question the methods that have worked so well in recent years. Spain utterly dominated possession against the Finns at Gijon, with even their central defensive pairing of Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos spend-

ing most of the evening in the opposition half of the field. But they lacked the imagination and the width required to break down the visitors’ defensive wall, and were too often restricted to shots from long

Costa Rica fury over ‘snow game’ SAN JOSE: Costa Rica reacted

with outrage on Saturday following their country’s World Cup qualifying defeat to the United States, angrily claiming the snowhit match should have been called off. Amid farcical scenes in Denver on Friday, Costa Rica slumped to a 1-0 defeat to their CONCACAF rivals in a match which saw both sides labour through a blizzard on a pitch blanketed in thick snow. Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar briefly halted the game in the 55th minute before allowing the match to conclude. However Costa Rica’s press slammed the decision on Saturday. “Outrageous! We were forced to play in caveman conditions,” the Al Dia newspaper wailed on its front page. “It was the only way they could beat us — the USA froze us in Denver. Why was the game allowed to go ahead?” the paper added. La Nacion newspaper agreed. “Snow was the United States’ best weapon. Costa Rica were frozen out by the poor condition of the pitch,” it commented. Costa Rica’s coach Jorge Luis Pinto meanwhile branded the decision to go ahead with the game as shameful. “It’s embarrassing for football and embarrassing for fair play. It’s disrespectful to FIFA, the fans, the players and spectacle,” Pinto was quoted as saying in the Extra newspaper. Manager Rodolfo Villalobos said snow was at least “five inches” deep in parts of the field.

range. Coach Vicente Del Bosque tried several permutations in attack, from Cesc Fabregas in the role of a false nine, to Cesc and David Villa together and the introductions of burly Sevilla

striker Alvaro Negredo and Chelsea’s Juan Mata. They couldn’t kill the game off after Ramos’ headed opener early in the second half and were made to pay when Teemu Pukki equalised late on. Following last October’s 1-1 draw with France in Madrid, Spain have now gone two successive competitive home games without winning for the first time since the 1982 World Cup finals, a statistic that conjures memories of older, far less glorious times. “Teams have found a way of playing against them,” observed France midfielder Blaise Matuidi. The prevailing opinion in the Spanish media is that Del Bosque’s team were over-confident and allowed thoughts to drift towards France before Finland had been put to bed.

Hart warns of ‘tough fight’ England could be either one point clear or five points behind Montenegro . SERRAVALLE, SAN MARINO: Goalkeeper Joe Hart said England “must perform” when they face leaders Montenegro in a European zone Group H World Cup qualifier in Podgorica on Tuesday. England could be either one point clear or five points behind Montenegro depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s match and Hart, reduced to a spectator in Friday’s 8-0 thrashing of minnows San Marino, said: “Tuesday is big, an exciting game for us. We are getting closer to the World Cup finals. “We’ve got to perform.” England let a two-goal lead slip in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro in Podgorica

17 months ago, the hosts recovering to a 2-2 draw in a match where visiting striker Wayne Rooney was sent off. “Maybe we could be accused of taking our foot off the pedal as we let a 2-0 advantage slip away last time against them when we needed just a point,” Hart said. “That is not going to be the case this time. We’ve got a job on our hands in an intimidating arena, but we’ve definitely got the capabilities. “We go there with the intention of doing well against a good nation. “Brazil is a long way off, and I’m not going to get carried away thinking about that.”