Postnoon E-Paper for 05 May 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

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MAY 5, 2012 HYDERABAD

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ON SATURDAY

The barren villages of Nalgonda tell stories of deformity, poverty and death. With over 75,000 people affected by fluorosis, they are living a nightmare, their pleas wiped away by apathy.

Stalked by death in Nalgonda SUPER MOON TONIGHT

oday the moon will be up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the other full moons of 2012, according to Nasa. That's because it will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth.

‘IT’S NOT A JOB, I PURSUE MY LIFE’S PASSION’

he is vociferous on issues related to women, and does not mince words when she says that we, as a society, are not humane enough. Meet Mondira Jaisimha, the woman behind the success stories of the Heroes Project in Andhra Pradesh. PG 18

PG 3

THE SMARTEST OF ‘EM ALL

ROOMIES: BESTIES, ENEMIES?

ooking past the muchsought-after iPhone, there are other smartphones available in the market that are efficient, economical and aesthetically pleasing. We bring to you the best buys this season.

aving a good roommate can have a big influence on the quality of your life. So make sure you aren’t heading into trouble when you pick that person who’s going to be living with you. PG 20

PG 12

THE VESPA IS BACK!

fter ruling the market in the ‘80s and ‘90s with the LML, the iconic Vespa has returned to Indian roads with an all-new model. Check out a retro classic... revamped. PG 11

MURDOCH: THE LAST EMPEROR

committee of British legislators who investigated the phone-hacking scandal that rocked British society concluded with a majority verdict that the 81-year-old Rupert Murdoch was ‘not a fit person’ to be at the helm of News Corp. So does this signal the end of one of PG 5 media’s greatest emperors?

PAGE TWO SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

RISKY RIDE

Play time

M ANIL KUMAR

The Hindi Play Dooth , produced by Sifar Theatre Group, directed by Juniad and written by Sumeet is going to be staged at Lamakaan on May 6. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: May 6, 7pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329

Grill festival Head to the grill festival to sample various grilled delicacies. Thats not all. Along with sampling some great food you can avail a 35 per cent off as it is the anniversary of the restaurant. Where: The Grill Room, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 6557 7722

Solo painting exhibition Ramakanth’s Solo Painting Exhibition which deals with the loneliness of the long distance runner is being held at Muse Art Gallery, Hyderabad Marriott. The exhibition features works which include oil - on - canvas, acrylics and mixed media paintings. Where: Hyderabad Marriott, Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2752 2999

Photo walk Bring along your cameras for a guided photwalk. Walk through the City capturing the ever changing shadows of the populace. Where: Nizamia Hospital, Charminar When: April 6, 8.15am onwards Contact: 99806 55944

Cottonfab 2012 Head to Sri Sathya Sai Nigamam for Cottonfab 2012, an exhibition cum sale of handloom and handicraft products. The exhibition offers products such as ethnic Gujarat printed kurtis, Rajasthani block prints and much more. Where: Sri Sathya Sai Nigamam, Srinagar Colony When: Ongoing, 10.30am -9pm

Theatre workshop

Summer is a great time for food and fun. Head to Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills for Summer Sundae at Encounter. Where: Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: Every Sunday Contact: (040) 6666 1070

Samahaara is hosting special four week summer acting workshops. The workshops will be held for a duration of four weeks. The workshops are being held at three different places in the City. Where: Vidyaranya School, The Terrace, The Actor’s Studio When: May 14 onwards, Monday-Friday Contact: 83411 20303

European film festival

Shifting terrain

A European Film Festival organised by A delegation of the European Union and the embassies of the EU Member States in India from May 10 to May 20 is being held at Alliance Francaise. Where: Alliance Francaise, Banjara Hills, Rd No3 When: April 10 onwards, 6pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4483

An abstract painting exhibition by Pandurang Deoghare, is being held at Iconart Gallery. The exhibition is on till May 5. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No12 When: Ongoing, 11.30 am onwards Contact: 98499 68797

Summer encounter

CINEMAS

The Berlin wall Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad in

association with DEFA Stiftung Berlin and Documentary Circle of Hyderabad presents The Berlin Wall — Memories and Legacies from May 4-May 6. Where: Goethe Zentrum When: May 4-May 6, 4pm onwards Contact: (040) 2335 0443

Scrabble workshop If those long words leave you confused but you still have the inclination to excel at scrabble. Head to Saptaparni for a scrabble workshop for kids in the age group of 8-14. Where:Saptaparni, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 10am-12pm, Contact: (040) 6666 7707

Nature and women A painting exhibition by Kumaraswamy B is being held at Beyond Coffee. The painting depicts women with other natural forms such as butterflies. Where: Beyond Coffee, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 36 When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 2354 5359

Cricket frenzy Mocha and Mocha Express is hosting IPL specials with live screening of the match and various pizzas paying ode to the IPL teams and their spirits.

Where: Mocha — Banjara Hills Mocha Express — Inorbit Mall When: Ongoing, 4pm onwards Contact: (040) 23350144

Artistic strokes A painting exhibition titled Twinkle is being held at Inspire Art Gallery. The exhibition features artwork by R Usha Vinod and B Usha Kumar. Where: Inspire Art Gallery, Hyderguda When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 3062 8447

Painting exhibition An exhibition of paintings by Lalu Shaw is being held at Shrishti Art Gallery. The exhibition is on till April 10. Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 15 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2354 0023

Workshop for kids The Literature, Intellectual and Cultual Hub (LICH) and Oxford Booskstore is hosting a workshop for kids called Enrich which deals with mathematics and science. Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park, Somajiguda When: May 1 onwards Contact: 92461 12461

Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 44767777, Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 8800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

107 schools to be built

Super moon tonight

s part of the Golden Jubilee celebration 2011-12, Round table India is all set to build 107 schools across the country in an effort to educate half a million underprivileged children. These schools are going to be built in one year. These schools will be built under the campaign called Freedom Through Education.

Notorious burglar held

he Begumpet police today arrested an alleged notorious thief, Ravinder Chinna, 35, who is suspected of being responsible for a dozen or more cases of house-breaking in Begumpet and nearby areas. Begumpet ACP ITVS Suryanarayana said valuables worth `10 lakh have been seized from his possession. He has been remanded to judicial custody.

f you missed it last year, the super moon is back for an encore performance. Tonight the moon will be up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the other full moons of 2012, according to NASA. That's because it will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, at 11:34 pm. In India, the super moon can be sighted soon after sunset.

Gaping gap in words and deeds of GHMC Despite the standing committee having passed 434 resolutions, a mere 300 have been executed, while others remain ‘pending’. Md INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

wo days ago, GHMC mayor Mohd Majid Hussain, held a standing committee meeting. The mayor and the commissioner MT Krishna Babu reviewed the status of the resolutions adopted in the standing committee meeting in the past one year. It gave the young mayor a peep into the

Number of resolutions adopted by standing committee: 434

Number of resolutions adopted by general body: 250 (approx)

Number of resolutions executed: 304

typical bureaucratic behaviour where certain terminologies camouflage the actual execution of works. The awestruck novices will nod in assent, but not Majid Hussain. He wanted to know how many of those resolutions have been actually implemented in letter and spirit. The officials confidently informed the mayor that they had taken action on all the resolutions. “All?” he asked, “Are you sure?” The officials answered, “Yes.” The mayor pointed out some resolutions that had not been implemented at all, for instance, procuring hydraulic machines in the electricity department. It was found that some of the excuses put up ranged from “tenders invited,” “action under way,” to “pending.” All these are clubbed together under the head “action taken report.” It was gleaned at the meeting, of the total 434 resolutions passed by the standing commit-

tee since July last, just 300 or so have been executed. The balance is under various stages of “action.” Then it was the query about the meaning of “pending.” It is “remaining,” “undecided.” How then can officials say the action taken? Nobody had the answer. It was also revealed that earlier too many resolutions remain unfulfilled. But nobody thought it amiss, it being the usual way of a public body. As for the resolutions taken at the general body meeting, the situation is not greatly different. Whatever was passed by the standing committee has to be approved by the general body and according to the rules of GHMC Act-1955, the resolutions adopted by the general body should be implemented immediately. If these resolutions are not implemented, the corporation can take action against the officials concerned. Mayor Majid Hussain

‘President rule after bypolls’ U Srinivas srinivas.u@postnoon.com

he utterances of Governor ESL Narasimhan that he would undertake a visit of tribal and remote areas in the State has created a flutter among the political circles. The Governor’s stance is seen as an indictment of the Kiran government. Narasimhan’s thought was revealed in a brief chat he had with the media after his swearing in ceremony. He was of the opinion that the development and welfare measures should cross the boundary of Hyderabad. “Giving Narasimhan a fresh term is another indication that the UPA government will not give Telangana,” Congress MP, Vivek said. “The stance of the Governor indicates that he has no confidence in Kiran’s governance,” he opined. TDP leader and former speaker

Yenamala Ramakrishnudu said the Governor is not confident of his own CM. Narasimhan’s decision to tour the State indicated that the administration is in doldrums. But touring the State is not his duty, Yenamala said. If the Governor wants to tour the State there was no need of a CM, he added. Some Congress detractors of the CM too noted in the Governor’s stance a threat to the Kiran government. “Narasimhan is leading the State to President’s rule and his statements are an indication,” they stated. BJP president Kishan Reddy said that there was no development or stability in Andhra Pradesh. “If a Governor says that nothing was happening it is the worst certificate that a CM can ever get,” he said. TRS leader Harish Rao also decried the Governor’s tour programme. It does not auger well for the State, he said.

MAYOR MAJID HUSSAIN WARNED THE OFFICIALS TO COMPLETE THE SAID PROJECTS WITHIN THE STIPULATED PERIOD. HE SAID THAT HE WOULD TAKE ACTION AGAINST THE OFFICIALS WHO FAILED TO MEET THE DEADLINES IN EXECUTION OF WORKS. warned the officials to complete the projects within the stipulated period. He said that he would take action against the officials who failed to meet the deadlines in execution of works. The mayor was flummoxed by the laxity of the officials for ignoring his directions especially on completion of construction works of Modern Abattoir at Amberpet.

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

N SHIVA KUMAR

‘Ghost town’ haunts locals Ravindranagar has earned this dubious distinction after a spate of suicides rocked the area. Locals believe that this is the wrath of a goddess, after a temple was demolished Five other ‘haunted’ places in Hyderabad

OSAMA SALMAN

1. Kundan Bagh, Begumpet 2. Ramoji Film City 3. Golkonda Fort 4. Taramati Baradari 5. Uppal Stadium

salman.o@postnoon.com

creepy feeling runs down the spine when one enters Ravindranagar in Sitaphalmandi, especially post 6pm. The streets wear a deserted look, the houses have Jai Sri Ram painted in red on the walls and doors. Some of the doors have been locked with the bulbs still switched on as though they were abandoned in a hurry. It is the setting of a horror movie, although the residents in this small community swear that they have been cursed and that the haunting is too real to ignore. They say they are paying the price of a curse, and only an ‘auspicious’ time can save them. As we were searching for what is now infamously called ‘Ghost Town’, we stumbled upon Raju, a painter, who warned us against going there. His mother has forbidden him from going near the area and he is scared of the tales that surround it. Even as we entered the road leading to the location of the supposed hauntings, we could hardly see a soul in sight — the doors were shut and it looked like people did not want to be seen. Upon approaching a big temple in the area, we saw a group of 20 young men along with a few elders. We went up to them to get a clearer picture of why this area has been in the news of late. Joginder, an elder of the community, told that within the same compound of the temple we were seated at, there were two other smaller temples of mata. The temple president demolished them without the consent of anybody after one of the tenants living in the same vicinity said he needed more space. This was a day after Ugadi. “15 days since the demolition,” claims Joginder, “seven

people have died in our community including five people who committed suicide without any apparent reason, and one immolated self.” Allegedly, a man in the community who the residents did not name, wasn’t going to work since three days. When his mother scolded him, he committed suicide. In another instance, a women committed suicide, but neither did she fight with her husband, nor did she have any problem with her children. “Even with the slightest of argument, and sometimes for no reason whatsoever, the residents are being driven to suicide. We don’t know what why they are doing so. This is the curse of the Mata whose temples were demolished,” exclaimed Joginder. While some of the bodies have been buried, others have been burnt and even chopped off to stop the panic. Incidently, they were all aged between 20 and 25. A youth in the group, Satesh Kumar, said that since a week, they have stopped four people from committing suicide. “When we asked them why they were taking this extreme step, they

It is either a mental illness or an illusion. Whenever this type of story breaks out, it’s the duty of the government to depute a team comprising a CMO, a psychiatrist and a professor to verify such reports. Babu Gogineni, Humanist-activist said that they did not know what drove them to it. All of us are really scared,” he said. All the young men, since then, have been spending many a nights at the temple being vigilant of any suicidal activity, and also because they feel safe here. The temple president has been avoiding visits to the temple, despite repeated requests by the residents. Of the 400 houses here, about 30 per cent have been vacated. Relatives of the resi-

dents too have refused to come here. Joginder says that before the mishaps, the area represented a market with scores of people on the street even late into the night. Now the lights are switched off at 9pm. Before it was concluded that the incidents where taking place as a result of the demolition of the temples, panic broke out when Madhu, a resident, who was commuting on his bike suddenly felt as if someone was pulling his bike back. Allegedly, when he turned back, there was no one. He abandoned his bike and ran for shelter to the temple under the Sitaphalmandi bridge. To undo the supposed wrath, the residents have rebuilt the temples, broken the adjacent wall to let sunlight hit the idol, and built a new wall further ahead. They are only waiting for a mahurat to put the Mata’s idols into the temple. “Only then can we hope to be safe,” said Deepak, a resident. Our curiosity to know more lead us to Posayya’s home. He was one among the many to commit suicide for no reason. His mother took us inside his

bedroom where he hung himself with a saree. He was a bright young man who sold flowers, recalled his teary-eyed mother. While walking back, K Rajesh, a resident, pointed out that while the fear spreads, nobody talks about what lead to the suicide. “Did you know that Poschayya was fighting depression after his first wife left him. When he wanted to marry his neighbour, his mother asked for a dowry of `50,000? These things never come to the fore and are instead put under the garb of superstition,” he said.

Ghosts are the mind’s way of interpreting how the body reacts to certain surroundings, say UK psychologists. A chill in the air, lowlight conditions and even magnetic fields may trigger feelings that a presence is in a room but that is all they are, feelings. This explanation of ghosts is the result of a study in which researchers led by volunteers in UK. Dr Richard Wiseman and his colleagues say their work has thrown up interesting data to suggest why so many people can be spooked in the same building but provides no evidence that ghosts are real.

FOCUS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Murdoch: The Last Emperor A committee of British legislators who investigated the phone-hacking scandal concluded with a majority verdict that the 81-year-old was ‘not a fit person’ to be at the helm of News Corp. BARRY NEILD

feedback@postnoon.com LONDON: How do you solve a problem like Rupert Murdoch? That’s the issue now facing sections of his media empire after a damning British parliamentary report labeled the powerful press tycoon unfit to run a major international company. A committee of British legislators who have spent months investigating the phone hacking scandal involving one of Murdoch’s leading UK newspaper titles concluded this week with a majority verdict that the 81-year-old was “not a fit person” to be at the helm of News Corp. A day after the report, elements of his $50 billion media empire appeared to be attempting to distance themselves from Murdoch, not just by prominently reporting the committee’s scathing assessment, but by explicitly stating their independence of his command.

There was speculation that a small surge in News Corp share prices in the wake of Tuesday’s verdict reflected anticipation that the company would soon divest itself of its troubled UK newspaper titles and set wheels in motion to reduce Murdoch’s influence over the company. Rupert Murdoch is “finished in the United Kingdom,” wrote Michael Wolff, author of The Man Who Owns the News, an unauthorised biography of the News Corp founder. “Understanding that Britain is a lost front, he will retreat to his US stronghold. From New York, the process of disposing of the British papers, which, by reliable insider accounts, has begun, will hasten.” Of primary concern in the UK is whether the “not a fit person” verdict will have any impact on a separate inquiry by British communications industry regulator Ofcom over whether News Corp is a “fit and proper” owner of a lucrative 39.1 per cent stake in prominent broadcaster BSkyB. Any decision that would

force News Corp to offload its BSkyB holding would be a considerable blow to the media giant, which had hoped to buy the broadcaster outright but later abandoned the deal after the phone hacking scandal inflamed opposition. On Wednesday, BSkyB’s chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, used the publication of record financial results to disassociate his

company from Murdoch and — clearly wary of the threat to its prized broadcast license — talk up its annual $1.6 billion tax contribution to the British economy. Aware of the potential damage his presence could bring to the company, Murdoch’s son James last month stood down as chairman of BSkyB, saying he didn’t want to be a “lightning rod” for criticism over the hack-

ing scandal. Speculation is now mounting over whether the News Corp brand will also be vulnerable to critical, financial and legal thunderbolts if Murdoch senior resists shareholder efforts to usher him into a backseat role. “I think you have to be careful about extrapolating from what has been an appalling set of circumstances around one newspaper group…to the continuing demise of News Corp,” said Charlie Beckett, director of Polis, a media and society think tank at the London School of Economics. Beckett said that plans would already have been in place to arrange a succession of command, and while these may now be fast tracked down from five years to two, News Corp would be unwise to proceed with too much haste. “It’s in everyone’s interest for the thing to not fall apart in the next year or two. Even those people who want Murdoch to recede don’t want him to jump out of the top floor. That would be far too destabilising.”

NATION SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Ex-CPI(M) activist hacked

n an incident fraught with political overtones, leader of Revolutionary Marxist Party TP Chandrasekharan, who was expelled from CPI(M) a few years back, was killed by unidentified assailants at Vallikkad near Vatakara in Kozhikode district on Friday. Countrymade bombs were hurled at him and when he fell off his motorcycle, he was hacked to death, police said

Remembering martyrs

Indian is UK councillor

ritain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York, lays a wreath at the foot of a memorial on Friday at the Madras War Cemetery in Nandambakkam, a suburb of Chennai, during his weeklong visit to India to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. AFP/

hilip Abraham, an Indian journalist from Kerala, has been elected as a councillor in the UK, becoming the first person of Asian origin to be elected to Loughton Town Council. Philip Abraham, Editor of Kerala Link, won the election to the Loughton Town Council. Philip contested as a candidate for the Loughton Residents Association (LRA).

SESHADRI SUKUMAR

From guns to roses Sheikh Qayoom

RONALD C BLUE

SHOPIAN (J&K): Do they thank God or the government? An extraordinary question in the conflict-ridden politics of the Kashmir valley, but the Dars in Narpora village send their heartfelt thanks to both as they celebrate the homecoming of their son after 11 years of being a gun-wielding militant in Pakistan. After years of fear and uncertainty of not knowing what had happened to their son — who had in 1991 crossed the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan — 65-year-old Abdul Gani and his wife Sara, 60, are looking at hope and a

Guinness to launch India operation PUNE: There is good news for adventure lovers in India eager to enter the world of record books. In order to cope with an ever-increasing number of applications from India, Guinness World Records (GWR), the global authority on record-breaking achievement, has for the first time launched its Indian operations. It has appointed a dedicated Indiabased official in response to the country’s phenomenal interest in the domain. “In 2011, India made the third greatest number of record applications

to Guinness World Records — behind only US and United Kingdom. Applications from India have grown nearly 400 per cent in the past five years and number of actual record holders have grown over 250 per cent in the same period,” said Nikhil Shukla, India representative of GWR based in the city. Shukla, who is to report directly to GWR headquarters in London, will focus on meeting the huge demand for record-breaking within India. GWR will launch an Indian website PTI www.guinnessworldrecords.in.

CLIMATE CRISIS CRY

return to some happiness again. The couple in Shopian district’s Narpora village, about 55km from summer capital Srinagar, say they are thankful to god and the Omar Abdullah government’s rehabilitation policy for making their son’s return possible. “We had lost all hope. It is as if our son has been reborn after 11 years. We have lived under fear during the last 11 years,” Abdul Gani, who has three sons and six daughters told IANS. Jammu and Kashmir’s rehabilitation policy, aiming at an honourable return home for youths who had crossed the LoC during the last 20 years for obtaining weapons, has clearly started paying dividend.

Abdul Rashid Dar, who was only 25 when he left home to join the separatist guerrillas across the LoC, is one of those who has benefited. Dar said he and his Pakistani wife came back after the rehabilitation policy announced by the state government in November 2010. In the 11 years he was away, Dar, who returned about four months ago, met his Pakistani wife Shabina Naaz. The couple has a daughter and a son — seven-year-old Isu and five-yearold Hamzala. The children are going to a local village school, where Shabina, 32, also teaches. And Abdul is tending the family’s agricultural lands. It is a far cry from the tumultuous years he spent away from home.

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WORLD SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS FABRICATION

Clinton closes dissident deal

‘Big Bang’ scientist arrested

S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday closed a tense visit to China with a fragile deal in hand over dissident, with activists anxious to see if Beijing lets him leave the country. After a turbulent week in ties between the Pacific powers, the US said that China would move soon to allow blind rights campaigner Chen Guangcheng to go to the US with his family to study.

Paris court sentenced a FrancoAlgerian nuclear physicist to four years in jail after he was convicted of plotting with Al-Qaeda’s north African branch to carry out terror attacks. Police arrested Adlene Hicheur, a researcher studying the Big Bang at the birth of the universe at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), in 2009 after intercepting emails to an alleged contact in Al-Qaeda.

When blond beat bald LONDON: Boris Johnson was re-

EDUCATION

HEALTH Millennium Dental Clinic, film nagar main road, opp: cafe melange, jubilee hills, HydPh: 040-31000889

SEMINAR To Get Guidance and free solutions for all your problems connect with angels. To join this new world of meditation attend angel therapy workshop. For registration: 9393858950 www.turya.co.in

81 DAYS TO GO P 30

elected mayor of Olympic host city London late on Friday to the relief Prime Minister David Cameron, after his Conservative Party took a beating in mid-term local elections. Eccentric Johnson, famed for his dishevelled blond locks and gift for buffoonery, said he would “continue to fight for a good deal for Londoners” as he accepted a second four-year term just before midnight. “In just 84 days’ time London will welcome the world,” he said at City Hall in southeast London. “The world will see a city that is going through a neo-Victorian surge of investment in public transport.” The 47-year-old won 51.5 per cent of the vote in a closely fought run-off with rival, Labour’s Ken Livingstone. Elsewhere, the Labour Party made big gains in the local elections at the expense of the Conservatives and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners. Capping a bad month for the government after Britain slid back into recession, Cameron’s push to create the posts of elected mayors in England’s biggest cities was widely rejected in referendums. Cameron said the partial polls in England, Wales and Scotland had taken place against a “difficult national backdrop”, and insisted he would not hide from taking unpopular decisions where necessary. “These are difficult times and there aren’t easy answers,” he said. “What we have to do is take the difficult decisions to deal with the debt, deficit and broken economy that we’ve inherited and we will go on making those decisions.” A BBC estimate put Labour up two percent on 38 per cent, the

About Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson speaks to the media after being elected for a second consecutive term as London mayor at City Hall in central London on Friday. AFP/LEON NEAL Conservatives down four on 31, the Liberal Democrats unchanged on 16. They projected a low turnout of 32 per cent. With results in from all 181 local councils, the centre-right Conservatives controlled 42 councils, having lost power in 12. They had 1,006 seats, losing 403. Centre-left Labour were the big winners, gaining control of 32 councils to give them power in 75, and taking 2,159 seats (up 824). The centrist Lib Dems controlled six councils, down one, and had 438 seats (down 329). Across Britain, fewer than a third of English seats were up for grabs, while all seats in Scotland and almost all in Wales were up for election. Northern Ireland did not vote this time. Labour’s showpiece gain was wresting back control of Britain’s second city Birmingham from a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition after eight years.

MCA of Beastie Boys dead at 47 LOS ANGELES: Adam Yauch, the gravelvoiced co-founder of Grammy-winning hip-hop giants the Beastie Boys, died on Friday after a three-year battle with cancer, the band’s publicists said. The 47-year-old, better known by his stage name MCA and who also strongly supported Tibetan rights, died weeks after the pioneering white hip-hop act were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although he was too ill to attend. The Beastie Boys sold over 40 million records and released four number one albums, including the first hip-hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s AFP 1986 debut full length, “Licensed To Ill.”

And in another embarrassment for Cameron, the Conservatives even lost seats to Labour in his own constituency in Oxfordshire, southern England. Cameron wanted elected mayors in all major English cities, but only Bristol in southwest England backed the idea: voters in nine other cities rejected it. Labour’s gains also showed they were winning support in the towns and suburbs of the more affluent south of England, where they need backing if they hope to win the general election due in 2015. Ed Miliband, whose leadership of the Labour Party was heavily criticised just weeks ago, said the vote was the result of Cameron promising change but delivering disappointment. Following a bad month for the Conservatives on a string of domestic issues, some within the party have called for a return to

hile Johnson, 47, is known as much for his bizarre and comic behaviour as for his policies, he nevertheless seen in political circles as an ambitious operator. Johnson won the London post from left-winger Livingstone in 2008 and made a hit with the introduction of Paris-style rental bicycles, known as “Boris bikes” — despite them having been Livingstone’s idea. Johnson is equally famous for moments like falling a river on a publicity appearance and dismissing 2004 claims of an affair as an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. He was sacked as a shadow minister when his party decided it was Johnson who had lied about the affair. More recently, he first dismissed the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s News International as “codswallop”, then responded to media reports linking him with the company with a televised string of expletives.

core right-wing values, bemoaning the influence of their centrist Lib Dem coalition partners. Hinting at the frustration in the ranks, Foreign Secretary William Hague said “Of course the Conservatives can’t do everything that we would like to do in government because we are in coalition within the Liberal Democrats. AFP

US hikers jailed in Iran set to marry

6 dead in Pak US drone strike

WASHINGTON: Two of the US hikers imprisoned in Iran on spying charges after straying across the border in July 2009 are set to marry over the weekend, a lawyer and friend of the couple said on Friday. Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd — who became engaged during their time in captivity, with a ring Bauer made from the threads of his shirt — plan to tie the knot on Saturday at an undisclosed location in California. The two will marry in a private ceremony with only friends and family present, according to a statement sent by attorney Ben Rosenfeld, a San Francisco attorney who is Shourd’s lawyer and a friend of the couple. AFP

MIRANSHAH: A US drone attack targeting a militant compound early on Saturday killed at least six insurgents in a troubled Pakistani tribal district along the Afghan border, security officials said. Pakistani security officials said two missiles hit and destroyed the compound in Shawal area, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border. Pakistan and the US are currently taking tentative steps to repair a serious crisis in relations over last year’s covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and US air AFP strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Check auto menace

My peace ruined

utorickshaws are an integral part of a city because they are used to commute to places not easily accessible by city busses. This mode of transport is used by the middle class, which is the one that has to bear the brunt of these brutes; almost everybody will agree with my usage here. Nalini Sampath Yousufguda

stay in a residential area of Hyderabad and chose this place consciously, so that I could come back home to peace after a tiring day’s work. But after moving in here, I realised that you cannot take even basic things in life like sleep for granted. Hope now authorities wake up. Anu Kirthika Indiranagar

EDITORIALS Readers’ views We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222.

Staying fit by exercising

n your story on arthritis, It could catch you young, your reporter has vividly described the ailment and correction through a procedure. While mention is made of physiotherapy, this aspect of treatment We must focus on getting back into shape through exercises. Details of this could help. Malathy B Kukkatpally

KAHLIL HUDSON AND DANIEL LEEB

EDITORIALS REMEMBERING Adam Yauch It’s been 26 years since the Beastie Boys released their seminal Licensed to Ill. Seminal in part because of the quality of their music, but mainly because it proved that Rap was not the sole domain of the Black musician/ poet. On Friday one of the founding members of the band, Adam Yauch, lost a long battle with cancer. This may not mark the end of the Beastie Boys, but it does mark the end of an era. Rap has come a long way since the violence-laden imagery conjured by NWA. It’s also far-surpassed the visions of Run-DMC, who took Rap off the streets and into homes with the message of social and political change hammering home. Rap today is a multi-billion dollar genre. From Jay-Z and Dr Dre to Eminem, the ghosts of Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur haunt the alleyways of music history. Like Rock in the ‘50s, Rap cast off the social stigma attached to it, and blossomed into a fantastic musical experience, rich with a talent that Pop music has found so wanting over the last few decades. Yauch has been instrumental in the genre’s rise, and with his passing, so passes an age of grit and determination. And age where a style fought for its place in the pantheon. An age that has now ended, only to give way to a millennium of new artists, reaping what those before them toiled to sow.

WHY WE LOVE... Boris Johnson When the tousled blond locks barged their way into the London mayoral limelight in 2008, it was hard not to snigger at the foppish posh boy who just landed London’s top job. But now that Boris has been reelected mayor while his party gets whipped everywhere else, it’s about time we applauded.

Using a fake path to get real Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

ndian-American Vikram Gandhi conducted a social experiment in the US to find answers to these very questions about faith. By taking on the role of a false yogi, Gandhi gained the confidence of a group of ‘followers’ in search of a guru; then he shook their trust when he revealed himself; and then restored it for the willing few by providing his solutions. He shot this in the form of a documentary called Kumare: The True Story of a False Prophet. While creating this documentary, Gandhi found some answers about faith. Gandhi took on the role of Kumare, a spiritual guru from somewhere between India and Nepal. He created a website, uploaded photos of him with other guru-like looking people, grew a beard and long hair,

came up with the ‘formula’ for the right spiritual path by throwing in a few words in Sanskrit. People like to gravitate towards a totem or an icon in almost all religions. So he created a few symbols — one was created by inverting the Om sign; another looked like a testicle (It’s easy to draw on the forehead, Gandhi said). He carried a trident in the unique inverted-Om shape he created. The reason Gandhi conducted this social experiment is as interesting as how the story unfolded. Speaking at the PSFK conference in New York City recently, Gandhi said he grew up in New Jersey and lived in New York most of his life. He had religious Hindu parents — not religious dogmatically, but religious all the same. For most, religion is a tragic incident that happens in childhood. But for Gandhi, in his own words, it was an interesting interplay of characters and stories. When other kids his age grew up on a diet of superheroes like Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc, Gandhi grew up with his

FOR MOST, RELIGION IS A TRAGIC INCIDENT THAT HAPPENS IN CHILDHOOD. BUT FOR GANDHI, IN HIS OWN WORDS, IT WAS AN INTERESTING INTERPLAY OF CHARACTERS AND STORIES. own set of superheroes that included Ganesha, Hanuman, Shiva and Vishnu. This was the start to why he became interested in religion and to understand why religion even exists. Studying religion as a minor in college, helped only to some extent because it only made Gandhi realise that these stories in religion gave people a structured way to believe. Gandhi’s idea behind the experiment was to question this whole industry, which was born by marketing eastern spirituality. He didn’t really buy it. He met lots of spiritual gurus and

what was common to them all was that they believed they were the answer and they were the only answer. He decided to be a 'spiritual guru' to show that it didn’t really matter if something was authentic. He taught something called the mirror, which urges followers to look in the mirror and find their own path. Gandhi created a spiritual placebo to find out if his fake religion could create the same experiences as a real religion. The Mirror technique of only listening to ‘disciples’, and not advising, worked, he says. It made people realise that they don’t need an external force to make them realise what they already have within them. Eventually, the real story is about turning the faith into ourselves. Even if the guru is fake. Kumare won an Audience Award for Best Documentary at the South by SouthWest Film Festival. Gandhi says this process also helped him find his inner guru. The writer is a Bangalorebased commentator.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

I threw you an unsult; you’ve been pwned! Perceptions MINI SINGH

“W

ell, there are these lovely villas close to your preferred location,” the property agent smirked disparagingly at me, “if affordability is not an issue!” Instantly sirens started wailing in my head, steam started coming out of my ears, my hair stood on end and my face turned an impossible beetroot red. “How dare she! How dare she imply that these houses are too expensive for me! I’ll show her,” I fumed and went right ahead and booked the house. Hah! Triumph! Now who’s the fool? Hmmm… “Ooh! Your shoes look interesting,” remarks my friend looking at my flat-heeled albeit very expensive ergonomic shoes, “So… well, so… rustic! I love how brave you are; I’d never have the guts to wear those in public!” I go right ahead and buy several pairs of super high heels that make me feel like I’m walking on thorns, and about to trip

over. But hey! I showed her! I’m not quite sure what I showed her, but show her I did! And that’s not all. I fall for it every time. Another scenario — I am looking at a beautiful golden party clutch; and another shopper gives me a “Do you even ever party?” glance (Yeah — glances can be very specific!). I pick up the clutch and bill it right away. It looks so pretty sitting in my cupboard now; I pull it out every now and then to admire it. I might even use it one day, who knows! These are all examples of

subtle and not-so-subtle ‘unsults’, as Homer Simpson calls them. An unsult is an insult disguised as a compliment. This term was introduced in The Simpsons’ episode Father Knows Worst, in which Homer is teaching his daughter, Lisa to become more popular. The recipient of the unsult doesn’t quite know what hit him and starts responding to the compliment with a smile and a ‘thank you’ when it strikes him that he’s just been pwned. Yeah, ‘pwned’ is a real word that means ‘being perfectly owned.’

Another interesting behaviour that needed a name was being ‘dissed’ or disrespected. A perfect example of this was when Kanye West stormed the MTV stage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while the then 19-year-old Taylor Swift was starting her acceptance speech for Best Female Video award. Snatching the mike from the confused girl, West swaggered around the stage and shouted to the audience that the award should have gone to his friend Beyonce. This was a ‘cringe-minge’ moment for the

mortified Beyonce. Word invention is at its best in this decade, and English has never been more interesting (some would argue, appalling). The Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez affair has faded into oblivion with both moving on; but the trend they started is here to stay. Their romance created the trend of portmanteau. Blended words such as Bennifer (Ben + Jennifer), Brangelina (Brad + Angelina), Tomkat (Tom and Katie) are now used regularly. But this fad does not just stop at celebrity couple names. Soon words such as ‘bromance’ (Brothers + Romance) became part of our vocabulary. So much so that when Sarah Palin mistakenly used the word ‘refudiate’, people went right ahead and started using it like a normal word. Other words such as unfriend were desperately needed to describe behaviours or scenarios that already existed. Seriously, what would we do without all these media-generated slangs that enriched our vocabularies with weird, funnyspelt, obnoxious and outrageous words! This is so rad! The writer is a Hyderabadbased commentator

Global edits Urban sketches

Shade parking

VISWAPRASAD RAJU

The Guardian (UK)

London plumps for blond over experience

t was closer than some had predicted [London’s mayoral elections], but Londoners preferred the shambolic incumbent with a way of raising a smile to the old hand making his fourth straight run for this job, some 31 years after he had first run the capital through its long-abolished council. Ken Livingstone’s undoubted past accomplishments — such as the congestion charge and paving the way for civil partnerships — were overshadowed by a talent for creating divisions. Last night he looked like a man whose great come-backs lay behind him.

International Herald Trib.

Chen Guangcheng’s uncertain future

hina now appears eager to get the Chen Guangchen episode, or at least the international condemnation, behind it. The first test will be whether Beijing expedites Chen’s visa request. Or, once Clinton is gone,

condemns him to a bureaucratic paper chase. Washington must make clear that there will be a high price for any trickery. On Friday, Chen sounded reassured about his family’s immediate security. He reaffirmed that his ultimate goal, after a breather in America, remained a safer, freer life within China, not asylum abroad. This is a brave choice and a bold challenge to China’s government.

Globe & Mail (Canada)

Canada must actively recruit best immigrants

he world has changed, and when it comes to its immigration system, Canada is not changing fast enough to compete in it. It is no longer possible to sit back languidly, as the best and the brightest queue on its doorstep. The global market for human capital is voracious. There may always be migrants wanting to come to Canada, but they may not be the ones that Canada needs. If you are ambitious, skilled, entrepreneurial. If you are educated, impatient for success, you will look elsewhere. Increasingly, elsewhere is looking better.

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

‘Oust Yahoo! CEO’

Google-Oracle jury clash

urors in a high-stakes court battle between Google and Oracle told a judge on Friday that they were in unison regarding verdicts on all but one of the four copyright counts. Judge William Alsup sent the 12-member jury home for the weekend, telling them to return Monday to either reach agreement on the final count or, failing that, reveal what they have decided.

Pranab new Chair of ADB

hedge fund with a large stake in Yahoo! on Friday demanded the immediate ouster of chief executive Scott Thompson, saying he had lost credibility by misrepresenting his educational background. The move by the investment fund Third Point stepped up an ugly battle over control of the struggling Internet pioneer.

inance minister Pranab Mukherjee was today elected as chair of the ADB’s Board of Governors and the country will host the 46th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in New Delhi next year. “India is very happy to accept the chair,” Mukherjee said at the closing business session of the 45th annual meeting of the ADB board of governors.

Want a freebie? Up your mojo After setting up various successful businesses, Kalyan Manyam finally came up with a mobile application that doubles as a game and offers great deals as well

K PRUDHVI RAJU

prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

ho doesn’t love a freebie? Be it pop corn on the house at a multiplex or a green apple soda at your favourite coffee shop, everybody loves a little treat once in a while. That is exactly what Mojostreet caters to. A free mobile application, Mojostreet helps you bag exciting deals from 85 merchants at various locations in the City. All one has to do is check in by clicking on the Mojostreet app and the offer pops up on the screen. “The customer then has to show this at the counter before billing to avail the free goody,” says Kalyan Manyam, founder and CEO, Mojostreet. However, a lot of hard work goes behind putting together these offers for customers. Great businesses cannot be built overnight. It takes a lot of time, money and above all patience by the investors to keep it going till they finally begin reaping profits. And this is exactly what the investors JA Chowdary and Srini Koppolu, who helped Kalyan and Vishnu Manyam set up the business, abide by. Mojostreet was founded in

PIC: M ANIL KUMAR

2011 with an initial investment of `1.5 crore. The second round of investment process is on with an amount of `2.5 crore. Kalyan says, “We are investing all our time and money to build a product which will bring high returns over time. Our investors are extremely supportive on this front.” Talking about the business, Kalyan says, “Mojostreet is a location based mobile game with real world benefits. The user can check in at various places they visit on their phone. They can virtually own the properties and earn points when they check in regularly. My Mojostreet office is not owned by me virtually but some other employee, because he visits office more regularly than me. People can enjoy the ownership (virtually) of any asset including Charminar and can collect virtual rent (points) when somebody visits that place. The users can compete within themselves with the points. It’s not just about the game. This application helps the user to find various nearest locations like ATM centres, restaurants and cinema halls and also see the discounts offered by any of those places. We have around 5.5 million locations on the list from around the world. The user can share his location and get his friends to know where he is at

that particular time by checking in. The user can also give feedback of the place he has visited. Based on this collective feedback, the app will shortlist the best place for users.” This application will not only benefit customers but also the merchants. Merchants can list their location and attract customers by offering discounts. They can also get valuable feedback of customers from the app and reward their regular and loyal customers based on the number of times (check ins) he has visited that place. The application is available across all mobile platforms across the world. “As of now, the

Members in the City:

users in the Middle East, Malyasia, Singapore and UK are using the game part of it as there are no offers in those countries. We are planning to take it global in terms of offers. The first move in the direction is finalising a deal with a merchant this week, who has 300 outlets in the Middle East, India and other South East Asian countries. The company is also coming up with location based ads for the merchants very soon,” says Kalyan. However, not all was hunky dory initially. “There initial challenges like convincing merchants to come on board as there were not too many users at the time. But as we got more users, merchants came to us by themselves by filling out online forms without any sale effort,” he beams. Currently, the 28 employee company is concentrating on making the application stronger to give better value to the customer and merchants rather

Merchants around the country:

THE COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 2011 WITH

YOU’VE

HEARD ABOUT IT, NOW DOWNLOAD IT

Total Members:

77,000

Members in AP:

13,000

10,000 350

Number of merchant locations:

2,500

Merchants in the City:

AN INITIAL INVESTMENT OF `1.5 CRORE AND CURRENTLY HAS 77,000 USERS ACROSS THE GLOBE merely than immediate returns. “More and more merchants will be interested in joining the bandwagon once they see a huge user base. These merchants will be our principal sources of revenue over time,” Kalyan explains. On the personal front, Kalyan receives immense family support when it comes to his work. “Work would invariably follow me home, resulting in dinner table discussions with my brother Vishnu (co-founder). I even dream about work. In fact, I was so wrapped up with my business that I remained unmarried for quite some time. It was only last year that I married Shilpa. Currently, she is trying to figure out how to be a part of my life, without taking my attention away from Mojostreet,” he laughs.

MOTORING SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Yamaha launches new Fazer

amaha is all set to launch a comprehensive campaign to promote these new 2012 bikes. John Abraham, the company’s brand ambassador will be taking the center stage along with the new bikes on the various promotional activities on the web, TV, print etc. New 2012 Fazer would be available in 4 colors: competition white, black, green & lava red.

Bhavneet Singh and Sneha Mashetty

feedback@postnoon.com

espa started in 1945 and created many great models that came to India; most recently the introduction of its 100cc bikes. But after manufacturers like Honda, TVS and Mahindra swamped the market with efficient, low-cost two-wheelers, the scooter market crashed. But just when you thought Vespa was extinct, it has come back, and in style. The all-new Vespa offers a vintage look at a time when every other vehicle in the city is doind the sleek, modern look to death. The scooter looks outstanding. Available in six colours — yellow, white, cherry red, brown, midnight blue and black, it is a show-stealer on the road. Sporting an Italian design that mixes classic and modern Vespa themes it really does catch the eye. The three-spoke alloyfinish wheels add to its class. The trademark headlamp and unique foot-board strips hark to a more innocent time, before the rat race. On the whole, it scores full marks on looks. It has a standard 125cc engine, which can deliver a maximum power of 10.06PS@7500 RPM. The engine has a continuous variable transmission. It has a self-start as well as a kick-start option to add to its vintage look. The suspension is on a single-side trailing arm in the front and has dual-effect hydraulic shock absorbers. The bike has a good body balance and is not as heavy as it looks. It also has a full Monocoque steel frame. The bike has a huge storage space under the seats and

Honda posts record profits

New Audi A4 launched

onda Motor Corporation of Japan, the world’s largest two wheeler company, has posted record profit in Q1, 2012 on the back of strong demand in Asia and North America. The company’s net profit has jumped 61% in the 2012 Q1 compared to earlier quarter. The company reported net profit of 71.59 billion yen (Rs. 4,600 crore approx).

WHY

YOU SHOULD INVEST IN A

udi has launched the new A4 with three engine options: the 1.8TFSI for Rs 27.33 lakh, the 2.0TDI for Rs 29.38 lakh and the 3.0TDI Quattro for Rs 38 lakh. The S Line will also be available to consumers, with sharper styling cues. The A4 competes with the Mercedes C Class and BMW 3 Series and it is one of Audi's highest selling products.

VESPA

n The style and the looks of the n The fuel tank capacity is of 8 n The waiting period of Activa bike are totally different litres which is way more and Access is of 3 months from others. It promises a than Honda Activa and whereas this comes to you in vintage look. Suzuki Access. just a month. n You have an option of choosn It promises a mileage of 55-60 n The storage compartment ing between 6 unique colors kmpl which is much better under the seat in this bike is which are not available with than many other vehicles in bigger and better than the any other company. the city. others. So, hurry and get a new vintage look Vespa.

The Vespa is back!

After ruling the market in the 80s and 90s with the LML, the iconic Vespa has returned to Indian roads with an all-new model. Check out a retro classic... revamped.

also glove storage in the front. The total fuel tank capacity is eight litres. The company also promises a mileage of 50-55 km/l after its three services are completed. This pretty good for our city slickers. The additional features of this vehicle include the easy-tomount centre stand, an autoreturn side-stand, an electronic clock and broad and long comfortable seats. This wonder from Vespa is priced at `78,000 (on-road price inclusive of all accessories) which is a bit on the expensive side. But considering the looks and the style it offers, it is worth the price. While the Vespa, due to its price and retro looks might not knock the big boys off their perch, it will certainly be top of wish-lists among the City’s trendy set. Who said our parents’ vehicles didn’t have a ‘cool factor’.

THE SPECS Engine 4 stroke, 3 valve Cylinder, air cooled.

Displacement 125CC

Dimension (LxBxH) 1770x690x1140 (mm)

Seat height 770mm

Mileage 55-60 kmpl

Fuel Tank capacity 8 litres

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

APP OF THE WEEK

www.addictinggames.com his website offers you a series of flash games. all the games here load very quickly and are fun to play. This website serves as a very good stress buster for all. The best game here is ‘Just shut up and drive.’

Tabla App

VIDEOGAME REVIEW THE GOOD

SNIPER ELITE V2

his app allows to you to play the Tabla on your phone. It is a fun app and is readily available at the android marketplace. You can also add in the Tanpura and other indian instruments if you wish to.

n Nice array of explosive traps and tense competitive multiplayer feel.

THE B AD

n Enemy AI can be transparently dumb and unnatural enemy spawning

The smartest of ‘em all Looking past the iPhone, there are other smartphones in the market that are efficient, economical and aesthetically pleasing. We bring to you the best buys this season.

At the top of the list is the marvel from Sony Ericson called Sony Xperia S. This phone comes in a bar-shape and has been fitted with a touchscreen to complement its sleek and elegant look. The Sony Xperia S runs Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system on 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor to efficiently meet the requirements of multi-tasking. The 1GB of RAM provides enough space to conveniently run any program.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is a Windows phone and runs on the windows 7.5 (Mango) OS. This is new evolution in the Indian phone market. With an 8 megapixel primary camera, and 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen, this phone promises a truly HD experience to its users. The battery serves a talk time of 13 hours in 2G and 9 hours in 3G networks. The price of `23,585 is decent for the features it offers.

Bhavneet Singh

feedback@postnoon.com

The HTC One X comes to you with the Android 4 (Ice-cream Sandwich) software and has a primary camera of eight megapixel. It has a 1.5 GHz Quad Processor which makes the phone super fast. It has an internal storage capacity of upto 32 GB. The only bad part about this phone is a low battery life, but apart from that, it is one of the best phones. The market price of this phone is `37,899 in India.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is a masterpiece from Samsung and has bagged the appreciation of many users. The S2 runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread software. it runs on a 1.2 GHz Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 Processor and has a full HD recording facility in it. But one thing that stands out in this phone is its 4.27 inch AMOLED display. It has a good battery back up of eight hours on 3G networks and 18 hours on the (almost) extinct 2G networks.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a unique phone, offering all the experience of a Tab. This is best in its category. It runs on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Os and had an eight megapixel primary camera. It also has a two megapixel secondary camera. With a 1.4 GHz Dual Core ARM Cortex-A9 Processor and Full HD Recording, this has one of the most responsive touch screens. It has a 5.3 AMOLED screen and also has an sPen that accompanies the phone. The only drawback is its size. Priced at `33,000 this is one phone that everyone would love to have in their armory.

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

PET NEWS Glowing shark

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Rose spots

he Smalleye Pygmy shark hides in the dark by lighting up, according to a new study. Growing to be just six inches long, the shark is among the world’s smallest sharks.

Dachshund

frican leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa Madikwe Game Reserve.

achshunds weigh between 7kgs and 15kgs. The average height of the standard dachshund is 8 inches, while the miniature dachshund stands just 6 inches.The life expectancy is 12 to 15 years.

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

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

Something fishy in NYC Aquaponics is the latest rage among eco-enthusiasts all over the world Sebastian Smith

o you recycle, drive a small car, and try to eat organic. But what about running an eco-sustainable fish farm combined with a naturally fertilized vegetable patch in your kitchen? Christopher Toole and Anya Pozdeeva, two former New York bankers who founded the Society for Aquaponic Values and Education (SAVE), are there to help. “We call it ‘beyond organic,’” Pozdeeva, 39, said. Aquaponics is a technique with ancient roots for breeding tank fish, recycling their effluent-filled water to fertilize vegetation, then allowing this naturally cleaned water to drip back into the tank below. It ‘s a perfect, miniature eco system that will let you grow healthy food right in a cramped apartment with almost no specialist equipment. “We built our system just from trash cans,” said Pozdeeva, a slender woman who emigrated from Russia’s Siberian region 20 years ago and still speaks English with a gentle accent. If growing fish to eat in your New York apartment sounds unlikely, then Toole and Pozdeeva are even unlikelier urban eco pioneers. Just a short time ago they were bankers working crazy hours among the skyscrapers of Manhattan, a far cry from the gritty Bronx where they are based today. After the 2008 financial crash floored the banking industry, Toole, a vice president at Sovereign Bank, discovered he had a serious eye problem, which he says was stress-related. And both of them were severely disenchanted with their careers. “They know how to squeeze every drop out of you and then throw you away,” Pozdeeva said. “We wanted two feet on the

ground,” said Toole, 47, and striking-looking with a bushy gray beard and pork pie hat. Instead, he put two feet in the water. Toole knew a little about fish from childhood summers with his scientist father out at Woods Hole in Massachusetts, a famed marine biology research center in the Cape Cod area. Aquaponics, he reckoned, would let him marry sustainable food production with what he hopes will be an equally sustainable business model. Risky? Yes. “But understanding risks is something they teach you a lot about in banking,” he said.

URBAN

FISH BREEDERS

Each week Toole and Pozdeeva teach aquaponics to about 80 children at SAVE’s base at a community center in the south Bronx, one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the United States. During a recent session, the

Aquaponics is a technique for breeding fish, recycling their waste water to fertilise vegetation, then allowing the cleaned water back into the tank. couple got youngsters to help in everything from cleaning fish tanks to planting mint, cabbage, and other greenery. The children, more familiar with the Bronx’s concrete jungle, were quick to get involved. “I’m afraid he’s going to come up and bite me,” a small girl giggled as she put her hand into the top of a barrel containing large tilapia. “Well, he’s afraid you’re going to go down and bite him,” reasoned Toole. When two boys turned from gardening duties to a mud fight, Pozdeeva calmly stepped

in. “Dirt is precious,” she reminded. The boys got back to gardening. Toole breeds several fish in his trash can farms, but tilapia do best. They require just five to 10 gallons (19 to 38 liters) of water and by nine months are big enough to eat. Besides, they can be entirely vegetarian and seem to like duck weed, a grainy green plant which Toole and Pozdeeva scoop up from ponds in the Bronx’s big Van Cortland Park, then drop into their tanks. “It’s illegal, but on the other hand it’s choking the pond, so you could argue we’re doing it as a favor,” Toole said of the freelance weed harvesting expeditions. In addition to the teaching, Toole and Pozdeeva sell tiny tilapia fingerlings to customers at $5 a head via their www.vifarms.com website, Facebook and other sites. SAVE is barely a year old. But Toole and Pozdeeva clearly have many more fish to fry.

Toole is eyeing partnerships with chefs, other urban fish breeders, and consultancy work for newcomers. But having escaped the banking world, he doesn’t want to end up serving a new master, or “selling our soul,” as he puts it. There seems little danger of that. Pozdeeva has discovered that mushrooms, growing on a simple piece of cardboard, thrive in the same warm, dark, damp conditions that tilapia like. And Toole is excited about branching out into honey production. “Right now I have 10,000 bees in our living room,” he says. “So I’m not just sleeping with fish, but with bees.” In fact, all that could stymie their green revolution, it seems, are NYC’s notoriously tight rules on pets in apartments. “We basically need to keep it quiet,” Pozdeeva said about their domestic fish colonies. “But that’s the good AFP thing about fish.”

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

SHORT READS Title: The Wedding Beat Author: Devan Sipher Publisher: New American Library The book is about an unluckyin-love wedding reporter who falls for a woman only to find out she’s getting married at the next event he’ll be covering. Then comes a litmus test.The plot alludes to rom-coms past, both literary and cinematic.

Title: The Little Red Guard Author: Wenguang Huang Publisher: Riverhead Books Of all the reasons kids are embarrassed to invite friends over, not wanting them to see grandma’s coffin has to rank as one of the more valid. For the young Huang who had to sleep next to his grandmother’s empty coffin has serious psychological implications indeed.

Title: The Singles Author: Meredith Goldstein Publisher: Plume Heresy can be refreshing in genre fiction, which makes the intermittent surprises in Goldstein’s novel about anxious singletons at a wedding, welcome. The singles include some men too. And one of them even dares to dismiss Sex and the City.

Title: The Innocent Author: David Baldacci. Publisher: Grand Central Freelance hitman, Will Robie, has a job from the US government. When he expertly nails his target he sees something on leaving the scene of crime. Robie also saves a suspicious young runaway who has escaped from a private facility and seems to be in great danger.

The Mexican killing fields The 261 pages that comprise The Last Narco are nowhere near enough to encompass the intrigue and sheer violence of Mexico’s cartels; and the forced brevity can be immensely frustrating Andrew Josef

the common man’s plight in the crossfire of the cartels, the Mexican army, and the federal police. The Last Narco is an interesting book, but it serves only to whet the appetite for more, which it doesn’t serve up.

n the 2001 film, Blow, legendary drug trafficker George Jung (played by Johnny Depp) says, “Throughout my lifetime I’ve left pieces of my heart here and there. And now, there’s almost barely enough to stay alive. But I force a smile, knowing that my ambition far exceeded my talent.” And in the global drug trade, ambition abounds… talent, not so much. Cue violence on an apocalyptic scale. Pablo Escobar once allegedly said, “There are two hundred million idiots, manipulated by a million intelligent men.” The problem arises when those million intelligent men forget that it’s time to cut and run. That was what happened to Escobar, and Jung, and as many thought, would be exactly what happened to Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka El Chapo, head of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, and America’s second most wanted man, after Osama bin Laden (pre-assassination). So far, it hasn’t. If you’ve read Bruce Porter’s brilliant Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All, then The Last Narco will underwhelm you.

Simple questions — and simple answers — are what we need in life. Alexander McCall Smith gives us that and much more in this book Fleme Varkey fleme.v@postnoon.com

s a first time reader of McCall’s books, this book certainly presented a challenge which I willingly took on. Initially what seemed to me like mixed-up associations and threads running through, slowly became clear as I wound my way through the novel. This

Although Malcolm Beith has spent years writing on the Mexican drug wars for publications ranging from Time to Soldier of Fortune, he misses the stunning narrative possibilities of his subject, El Chapo. He unfortunately writes like a journalist, which is OK if you’re using this as an academic text, but falls rather flat if you

want a ripping piece of non-fiction. The 261 pages that comprise The Last Narco are nowhere near enough to encompass the intrigue and sheer violence of Mexico’s cartels; and the forced brevity can be immensely frustrating. We gain little insight into the various cartels and their inner workings, nor is El Chapo fully

fleshed out as evil incarnate or, as he is to many, the hero of Narco Corridos. His life is a blur, as are those of his chief adversaries the Beltran Leyva brothers, and his nemeses, the DEA. Beith, however, rivettingly takes us into the corruption-ridden world of Mexican politics and its bureaucracy, and some of the human stories shed light on

Name The Last Narco Author Malcolm Beith Pages 261 Publisher Penguin

A gentle tale of the human heart is McCall’s twelfth book in his The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. For first time readers, here's a recap, The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency chronicles and follows the life of Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, and her adventures as she solves the cases of her clients and the complexities of her personal life with wisdom and a dose of humour. In The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party we find that a wedding is in the offing, other old friends appear including the tiny white van which Ramostwe loved and had solved a lot of

mysteries. Grace Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti’s long-pending nuptials finally take place after some roadblocks. Meanwhile, Ramostwe has to travel to an unfamiliar world, rather a frightening one to Gabarone to solve the mystery of the cows

Name The SaturdayBig Tent Wedding Party Author AlexanderMcCall Smith Pages 240 Publisher HachetteIndia

whose tendons were sliced. In the midst of all this she has also taken up the task of finding Charlie, her husband JLB Matekoni's apprentice at their mechanic shop. Botswana is what you see through the book, McCall makes no attempt to hide his fascination forthe place. Also by adding incidents from previous books, McCall attempts to keep readers in the loop. McCall's stories are slow and relaxing, they allow you to take in the story and its surroundings bit by bit, hence the feeling of being on a vacation. Satisfaction and a smile is guranteed by the end.

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Fifty Shades of Erotica In a bewildering turn of events, Fifty Shades of Grey, the first installment in a trilogy, has emerged on top of book charts across the world. Why? Your guess is as good as mine Padmini C

padmini.c@postnoon.com

he cynics are calling it “Mummy porn.” The readers are calling it “terrific.” Amazon's calling it Kindle's best bet since Twilight. And Universal's just paid $5 million to call it, their next venture. Yes, the book everyone seems to be talking about – E L James', Fifty Shades of Grey. Before you go traipsing off to get your hands on the literary masterpiece that this is, let me tell you a thing or two I wish someone had told me about the book before I read it. First, you'll never guess the back story this best-seller has. Hint, hint. Twilight. No, thank heavens. E L James is no nom de plume for Stephenie Meyer. However, it is a pseudonym for London-based mother-of-two, Erika Leonard though. It seems that Shades of Grey rose from the ashes of a slash fiction series, based on the Twilight novels, known as The Masters of the Universe. Its immense popularity lead to the author rewriting the series, supposedly having removed overt references to the vampire series. Next, the titillating story arc.

Clumsy, headstrong, beautiful virgin blonde Anastasia Steele meets piano-playing, helicopterflying, bachelor billionaire Christian Grey for an interview, for her college newsletter. Eyes meet. Hands touch. Auras clash. Sparks fly. But, and of course there is a but. “Grey is tormented by inner demons, and con-

Name Fifty Shades of Grey Author E L James Pages 528pp Publisher Vintage

sumed by the need to control.” Translated to mean, Grey likes to play kinky. He's a “Dominant” and wants Ana to be his “submissive.” And so what follows is page after page of Christian and Ana going at it, ranging from vanilla to risque, all the while negotiating clauses in their coital contract. Incessant e-mail exchanges about what they'll do in the “Red Room of Pain”. “Is fisting acceptable?”, he asks “No,” she replies. “Caning?” “Flogging?” After a few hundred pages, it's “Negotiable,” we find

out. If you are wondering, yes, an M&B is right. Only, this is for the repressed sex-starved 40 (and above) year olds with a thing for fantastical BDSM. But that's just me. Surely, I'm being prejudiced. After all, as the critics say, Fifty Shades is daring. And as the feminists point out, it's of a woman, by a woman, for a woman. That must mean something. So what does it matter if James writes in English or cliche? Or if this masterpiece is followed by some more orgasmfilled adventures in two more

books in the trilogy, most originally titled Fifty Darker Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Freed. But, semantics aside, this book has been sitting on top of the New York Times Best Seller List for the past six weeks can only mean one thing -- a new dawn has arrived in the world of publishing. If E L James can write something like Fifty Shades and make it a best-seller, so can I, and so can you. In fact, I say, what better place to start than perhaps, a multi-part slash fiction series based on the Fifty Shades trilogy?

WHAT’S SELLING Oxford Books' best in fiction

Walden's best in non-fiction

n The Magic by Rhonda Bryne

n Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

n Sins of the father by Jeffrey Archer n Calico Joe by John Grisham n Revolution 2020 by Chetan Bhagat n Chanakyas Chant by Ashwin Sanghi

n Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson n The 3rd Alternative by Stephen R Covey n Great by Choice by Collins And Hansen

New York Times’ bestseller in fiction

New York Times’ bestseller in nonfiction

n The Innocent, by David Baldacci

n Drift by Rachel Maddow

n The Witness by Nora Roberts

n Let's pretend this never happened by Jenny Lawson

n Calico Joe by John Grisham n Unnatural Acts by Stuart Woods n Guilty Wives by James Patterson

n Imagine by Jonah Lehrer n The President's Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

WOMEN SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK The Bump: The Bump, from TheKnot, is a community website for expecting and trying-to-conceive couples that offers support, advice and features to women and their partners.

LearnVest: Easy-to-understand financial advice, information and tools for women hoping to take control of their financial lives.

Dames Bond: "When dames bond, dames thrive" is the motto of this networking site for women in business. In addition to feature articles on advice, it features a business directory and more.

‘It’s not a job, I pursue my life’s passion’

Why women flock together All About Eve SAMEENA KENAZ

INDIRA ATLURI

indira.a@postnoon.com

She is vociferous on issues related to women, and does not mince words when she says that we, as a society, are not humane enough. Meet the woman behind the success stories of the Heroes Project in Andhra Pradesh.

he is the state director for the Heroes Project but she does not believe that it is just a job. To her, it is more a life’s calling — a métier she was destined for. Mondira Jaisimha makes you realise that when you talk to her. Her words against the oppression of women are powerful and her emotions for their emancipation, filled with compassion. Talking about her foray into social work, Mondira tells us: “I have seen the involvement of my family in social work, right from my grandparents. While my maternal grandparents built a temple through which they did a lot of charity, my paternal grandparents started a school and a hospital, and worked for refugees in Bangladesh. It was but natural for me to think of involving myself in social work since my childhood.” Mondira has been involved in the Heroes Project for the last six years. Talking about her involvement with the pro-

ject, she animatedly tells us, “The last few years of my life have been soul-satisfying to say the least. When I got the call from the executive director of the project in Mumbai, I was happy doing my teaching job in Oakridge International School. I avoided taking up the job for quite some time, but it was my husband Vivek Jaisimha who urged me to give it a try. And today, I know I could never have been happier.” On her take on women today, Mondira’s expressions speak more than words: “I believe that when it comes to women, we are not humane enough. There still are families

CV First Job: Interned with the Bombay Magazine in 1987 Last book read: Not Like Most Young Girls. Last Movie: Tangled Motto: Live and let live

that drive women out of houses if they are HIV+. We are not bad, but we just don’t want to know the realities of life. But at the same time, many urban women, are emancipated and privileged. However, it surprises me that a woman’s health always comes last. Family may be important, but it is time she makes herself and her health as a priority too.” Mondira is a proud woman when it comes to her family. She believes that the support she gets from her husband Vivek, who is the coach for the Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence, and her children Anirudh and Dhruv enable her to be what she is today. She tells us, “Like me, they are all very respectful to women, and it makes me happy to see that. I do strongly believe that society should not be judgmental and moralistic about people and issues that they are involved in.” Truly, charity begins at home and it is no surprise that her family upholds the values she strongly endorses.

itting in class, the lecturer just left the room. My friend realises she doesn’t have a pen. She asks around for one, but pens are apparently the one thing that college students are always falling short of. So she turns to me, “Come with me to stationary?” Like a loyal friend, I accompany her. Actually it’s not loyalty; it’s more because I might need her to come with me when I need to go somewhere. This brings us to the topic of discussion: why do women always flock together? Be it to ‘stationary’, the restroom, the canteen, shopping, anything! We go in groups or at least in pairs. But never alone. We dread occasions when we have to tread out on our own, even if it’s just as far as going to the counter to pay a bill. Dont get me wrong. It’s not that we are afraid. Of course, we know no one is going to eat us up. And it’s not that we’re not insecure either; no one would really bother to bug us in public places in the middle of the day. But that begs the question, are we just, simply, incapable of doing things on our own? Answer: None of the above. Here’s my theory on why women flock together: we need someone to talk to, rather just something to do along the way to our destination and even after we reach it, we need to do something while we’re waiting for our ends to be achieved. What can we say, women are wired differently from men. What? Men have their quirks too. Anyway, going back, women happen to be very sensitive to surroundings. So, as long as it’s not a place we’re familiar with (read: home), we want to hang out together. This phenomenon is slowly changing though. With the advent of interesting technology like smartphones, women too, are evolving. We now don’t dread going anywhere on our own as much. We just take our cell phones along. As long as someone is with us, if not physically, even virtually, we’re fine.

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Clothes & matching footwear on display

Deepthi & Nikki

Meghna & Rashi

An all-new Project The Project which stocks everything from covetable jewellery to stylish outfits launched its new store at Road No7, Banjara Hills

Deepthi Reddy

Rummy Azad

Gurleen Bagga

Asmita Marwa

Suhani Pittie

Kavitha Gulecha

Shilpa Reddy

RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

I AM ALL EARS

am a college-going girl. I got to know a boy through common friends. He is a year senior to me and I find him increasingly attractive. He often calls me and also drops me home. But my friends say he has the reputation of being a casanova. I really like him, but I am afraid to get hurt. Please help.

COPING WITH STRESS

Dear frightened kid, You say are afraid of getting hurt but you never mention of a romantic possibility between you two. For all you know the lad is either good or just trying to make your neighbour/ friend jealous. If I were you I would listen to your friends, but then some casanovas make the most romantic boyfriends. My advice to you would be to wait and watch, get to know him a little better, figure out his reputation and then take a decision.

eople in good relationships were better prepared to cope with stress without being anxious and depressed compared to people in bad relationships, showed a study. Researchers also examined how one partner’s perception of the relationship affected the other’s mental health. Even if one is unhappy they will still cope with more stress in other areas if the partner is satisfied with the relationship.

Those cheating hearts Single ‘n’ Loving it

MARIE CLAIRE

Roomies: Besties or enemies? Having a good roommate can have a big influence on the quality of your life. So make sure you aren’t heading into trouble. SANA MIRZA

Sana.m@postnoon.com

or those who were fans of the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you may remember the character Eddie Menuek, Chandler’s crazy roommate who has a strange sense of humour and an obsession with drying fruits. In one of the episodes, Eddie is seen watching Chandler sleep because it makes him feel peaceful. Creepy, much? While having a roommate is often an exciting and rewarding experience, at the same time it may be taxing if your roommate is much like Eddie. Roommates become an essential part of your college life. Some of us have even met our best friends like that. Kumail Sadiq, a student in Bangalore says that he shared some of his

most memorable experiences in college with his roommate, Aaron. “Living in a hostel with roommates is one of the best experiences in college. Spending three amazing years with roommates eventually makes them your extended family whether you expect it or not. A good roommate would know all your quirks and idiosyncrasies and you would know theirs in a couple of weeks,” he says. “Since we have just moved away from family and the college experience is new to us, there are times when you are glad that they are around,” adds Kumail. Now finding the perfect roommate is a myth. In this day and age when the economy as at an all time low and prices are soaring high, sharing a house with someone has become something of a necessity. Roomies may be easy to find but its difficult to find someone who actually fits the bill . Everyone has a horror story about how the pretty girl from

Warnings

Be flexible at the same time, be assertive. Don’t let them take you for granted.

2 3 4

Don’t nag. You are not their mother. Don’t yell or scream. Talk it out calmly. Be careful when you lend money. Keep a track of how much money has been borrowed.

college (read Megan Fox) eventually transforms into the roommate from hell. One who trashes the place, doesn’t clean up after, gets random strangers home, borrows your clothes and forgets to return them and also eats up all your food. Devender Kainth studied at the University of Windsor,

Canada. “Moving to a whole different continent and being among new people is always a testing transition. It was in my second year that I moved out and got a place of my own. “Flatmates are either best friends or your worst enemies. It all depends on how your relationship with them is. A two-way communication is very important especially if it is with someone who is a complete stranger to you,” he explains going on to add, “You need to find a roommate or a flatmate who isn’t nosy and lets you do your thing without really interfering in matters that do not concern him or her.” At the end of the day, all you need is open communication and respect each other’s living habits and space. Or a better suggestion is to draw up a Roommate Agreement like Sheldon Cooper from the The Big Bang Theory. With clauses that will read: “Section 8.c: Roommates shall give each other 12 hours notice of impending coitus.”

was faced with an interesting case of double standards this week that left me scratching my head for a few days until I finally realised, life isn’t always black and white but rather various shades of grey. Cheating. A dirty word to be sure but why is it if someone cheats on a friend of ours we become all indignant and enraged but if it’s the friend that has someone else on the go, we’re likely to high-five them and congratulate them for ‘keeping their options open’? Equally there are those who will turn a blind eye to having an affair with a married person but should that married person then happen to being seeing someone else as well they are a low life cheating rat. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way condoning the practice of cheating. In fact I am in full agreement that it is absolutely wrong…in theory. But in practice, whether we like it or not, it’s something that happens all the time all over the world. In fact a cynic might say that as a general rule cheating on a partner is probably more common than staying faithful, some are just better at getting away with it than others. We are taught to believe that we will meet a partner that we will want to spend the rest of our lives with but if that was really the case why would we be so genetically disposed to finding so many different people attractive throughout our lifetimes. Surely if we were supposed to stay with just one person for the rest of our lives, that person would be put in our paths at some point and then no one else would ever appeal to us again. After all dolphins, gibbons, wolves and swans, all mate for life, so why not for us humans? Did I ever come up with an answer to my dilemma? Yes. What’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

T-TOWN TWEETIES @RGVzoomin

@RanaDaggubati

@sneha_ullal

@sundeepkishan

Theoratically a husband might be the head of the family but practically a wife is the neck and its the neck which turns the head.

“@juniorbachchan: “@vrinda_j_mehta: Its your road n your road alone..Others can walk it with you but they can never walk it for you!”

Can’t eat any fruit cheese cake, or gummie candy or jello or mashmellow coz I found it was hardcore nonveg... and I love them all... ☹☹☹

Saw Spacejam(Looneytoons) at the gym while doing cardio. Had such a nostalgic effect on me. #BugsBunny rocks

@Actor_Siddharth

@tashu_02

@taapsee

@shrutihaasan

See you in Bangalore in the stadium guys. Let’s see if we can be kingmakers if not kings... we’ll compete in ipl6. Gnite.

Shooting outdoors in this pleasant weather... yay... n that too gonna drive around... !! Fun fun fun...

It’s strange n funny how a few of u manage to build n glorify negativity out of any possibly positive tweet.

Had a fabulous day getting over my jet lag now watching IPL with my darling @pujj

Dhammu collects `31 crore in first week

TR starrer Dhammu has stormed the box office in the first week of its release. Directed by Boyapati Srinu, the film was released in record number of theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Talking about the film's success streak, K S Rama Rao said, "Dhammu has been doing phenomenal business at boxoffice. In Andhra Pradesh alone, the film has collected a share of Rs 24 crores and on the whole, the film collected around Rs 31 crores in the first week of its release. We are quite confident that the film will reap profits for all the stakeholders." He announced these numbers at a press conference held recently in Hyderabad to celebrate the film's success. NTR thanked his fans for making it such a big hit and also credited the success to the entire team of Dhammu. "I was disappointed when the film received mixed reviews from the audience on the first day but now I am quite happy with the way the film is doing at boxoffice," NTR said. M M Keeravani had composed the music. Trisha, Karthika, Bhanupriya, Nazar and Suman played important roles in this action entertainer.

Sairam Shankar's next is Romeo

airam Shankar is making his comeback with two projects— Yamaho Yama and Romeo. While Yamaho Yama is currently being shot in the US, his other project Romeo is almost complete. Adonica is making her debut in Telugu with this film. Puri Jagannadh has once again written the dialogues for his brother's film. Most part of the film was shot in Verona, which has the reputation for being the romantic city of Italy and in other parts of Europe. Gopi Ganesh has directed the film which is being touted as a love story. Sunil Kashyap has scored the music and P G Vinda is the cinematographer. Three years ago, Sairam Shankar, Bindu Madhavi starrer Bumper Offer went on to become a hit at boxoffice and since then Sairam Shankar had been on a break from work.

Poga’s first look released

he first look of Navdeep, Madhu Shalini, Randhir, Bindu Madhavi and Soumya starrer Poga is out and it has already quite a lot of buzz. Poga is touted to be a horror film and a major part of the film has already been shot. Shankar Marthand is directing the film and Anand Ranga is producing it. Interestingly, Siddharth, who had acted in Anand Ranga's debut film Oy! released the poster of

the film on Twitter and said, "The very talented Navdeep leads an ensemble cast in "Poga"...it's a brave new kind of film. Nice to see a different genre in telugu cinema:) (sic)" Few months ago, Poga made waves in the industry when Anand Ranga announced that he was in talks with some American firms to enable the audience to watch Poga in 2D, 3D and 4D in the same theatre.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

B-TOWN TWEETIES @rampalarjun

@bipsluvurself

@SrBachchan

@AnupamPkher

Rushing back from Pachmari, trying to get the last flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, it suddenly rains. Love the smell of rain on dry earth.

If I could offer u only one tip fr the future! Listen To Baz Luhrmann’s Everybody's Free (To wear Sunscreen)

T 732 — What peculiarities as one grows older... you start recollecting at every given opportunity, of the past !!

Only When you are not good at your job, you feel the need to be popular to cover up your flaws.:)

@NeilNMukesh

@FarOutAkhtar

@udaychopra

@sonamakapoor

Simplicity has a natural attractive quality. The moment u try hard it shows. The lesser u do the more attractive it is — NNM

Everyone loves giving advice. Don’t mind them. It’s the ones who love forcing it down your throat you should have a problem with!!

I’ve just realized I’m not related to myself at all... I’m not my son, not my brother, not my father, not my uncle... I’m nothing to me!!!

Have been called a lot of things.. Good bad and ugly... How not to get affected by them is a tough lesson learnt.

National award winners on high after ceremony

“E

xcited”, “proud” and “humbled” and even “amused” were the feelings the winners went through after being conferred the most prestigious film award of the country at 59th National Film Awards. Vidya Balan (below), who got an award for best actress for The Dirty Picture, said: I am very happy and I feel humbled because it is the highest honour for an actor. I wish my entire team of Dirty Picture would have been here to share the award, but this goes out to the team. It is actually hitting me now.” Girish Kulkarni, who got the best actor award for Deool, said: “This is a big day for me, Marathi film industry as well for the regional film industry, where a more meaningful cinema is being created. There is a whole lot of talent that is making films at par with the world cinema. I feel like a child happy with gifts in my hand. No words to express the emotions.” Choreographers BoscoCeaser, who won an award for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, said: “This feeling would almost be like a lifetime achievement award. We never thought we would ever get it. It is a stepping stone and motives us to keep working hard, be more creative and try our best.” Ashvin Kumar, who won an award for Best Film on Social Issues for Inshallah Football, said: “I am quite amused that the film that was banned is getting the national award.”

Jannat 2 is like hell The film fails on so many levels that you wonder why they made a second installment of the same name

Sana Mirza

sana.m@postnoon.com

et another raunchy thriller from the Bhatt camp, Jannat 2 is an utter disappointment if keeping in mind the first part, even though there is no connection to it. An unoriginal entry, we are introduced to Sonu Dilli (Emraan Hashmi) who is a charming mix of rogue with a handful of street smart which gets him the cash as well as the ladies. But our hero decides to

give up his goony ways when he falls in love with Dr Jaanvi Singh Tomar (Esha Gupta). In order to transform his image, he decides to join hands with ACP Pratap Raghuvanshi (Randeep Hooda) who is on a revenge mission since his wife’s death to bust the illegal arms racquet. It’s Kunal Deshmukh’s second film but looks like he hasn’t learnt from his previous mistakes. There was no real action in the film and it looked like a messy clutter. The dialogues were definitely strong

Movie: Jannat 2 Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Randeep Hooda Directed by: Kunal Deshmukh Rating:

and kept the boat from sinking. Even though the songs have made it to the billboard, I wouldn’t recommend them.

Emraan Hashmi is a really good actor in the league of present day game-changers but Jannat 2 probably won’t fall into his best performances. Then there was Esha Gupta, banal and trying to look only pretty for the camera. She barely looked the part of the doctor. Randeep Hooda however shines in his role as the ACP constantly mouthing foul words and ringing up his landline only to hear his dead wife’s voice on the answering machine. Not worth wasting your time over this one.

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Safe to watch

Safe is your average action thriller replete with gun battles and car chases Indira Atluri indira.a@postnoon.com

ei is a little girl with a great memory. And Luke is man who has lost hope to live. And destiny has it to bring them together. What follows of course, are umpteen number of ‘Stathamisms’ that leave the audience waiting for more. Little Mei is so good with numbers, she can even correct her teachers. And she is a perfect ‘safe house’ for a numerical code that computers today fail to be. She is then sent to America where Russian mobsters and corrupt police men want to get the code from her, to lay their hands on an elusive booty. Statham gets involved in the game, and then what follows is what makes the movie what it is – little emotion, less talking, and even less silence. Statham is interested in the money of course, but apart from

Movie: Safe Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan Directed by: Boaz Yakin Rating: it, is also concerned about Mei. No wonder he goes out of his way to make sure the big beasts don’t lay a finger on her. His oneliners are to watch out for and his action scenes are to die for. We can’t help but notice that there seems to be something with helpless Chinese women and girls and Statham – stories with them in his movies always seem to work for him. Remember the first edition of The Transporter with another Chinese girl Lai for whom he breaks all rules? Yea, we agree it’s not a manufactured-in-planet- Mercury kind of story, we say its still better than the balmy Bollywood and tapori Tollywood movies on any given day. Statham fans, don’t play safe, just go watch it.

Megan Fox makes geek look sexy

at your heart out, Brookstone. Sharper Image appears to have figured out a way to become every gadget-loving dude's favourite store again—it got Megan Fox in bed! With a tablet computer, no less! As the new face of the modern-convenience specialists, the currently pregnant Transformers star is poised to bring sexy back to ionic air purifiers and motorised tie racks using purely old-fashioned techniques: Lingerie and bedroom eyes, of course! Don Draper would be so proud. Sharper Image will be unveiling a redesigned website along with its Foxy new campaign later this year.

Bird signs on a sci-fi D

isney has tapped Brad Bird to direct 1952, a sci-fi project written by Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and Entertainment Weekly writer Jeff “Doc” Jensen. Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) is coming off the huge success of last year’s Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, his first live-action film, which grossed nearly $700 million worldwide. The plot for 1952 is being kept under wraps. The movie is understood to be a major tentpole for Disney. Doc Jensen, EW’s point person on all things Lost, began his relationship with Lindelof after the series ended in May 2010. Per Time Inc. policy, Jensen continues to report and write about TV series and films, excluding those produced by Disney and its affiliates.

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

SOLUTION ON PAGE 32

SUDOKU

KAKURO

How to play Kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

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

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

– Basho

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Box-office smash 4 Stored fodder 10 Phony deal 14 ‘Without further ___ ...’ 15 Phonograph inventor 16 Poet Angelou 17 ‘Quit it!’ 19 Troubling sign 20 Bald bird 21 Coat named for a British lord 23 Quite a lot 25 Pastoral poem 27 Hurricane centre 28 Makes a run for it 29 Direction from LA to KC 30 Western flick 32 Chanoyu ritual drink 33 Something nourishing 35 Digressing from the main topic 40 Hanging loosely 41 Newsworthy time in history 43 Russian prison camp 46 In need of heartening 47 Either of two illustrious Sugar Rays 49 Mispickel or cinnabar 50 Genesis shepherd 52 Word processor user 53 Business with many tables 55 Get ___ of (obtain) 56 Formicary dwellers 57 Place in a classic Frank Sinatra tune 62 Cambodian capital 63 Like some paths or now-clean rugs 64 Out ___ limb 65 Shipping container weight 66 Alpine warbling 67 Singer Charles DOWN 1 Held for a time 2 Words that end bachelorhood 3 Constantly losing

one's keys? 4 Swamp grasses 5 Stars who inspire fanzines and such 6 ‘Less filling’ choice 7 Louisville Slugger material 8 ‘Can you ___ little faster?’ 9 Contest submission 10 Houston problem 11 ‘To be, or not to be’ speaker 12 ‘Affirmative, captain!’ 13 Way of doing things 18 Canterbury story 22 ‘Merrily We Roll ___’ 23 Frequently, to a bard 24 Toast spread 25 Monogram character 26 Insist on 29 Expire 31 Breakfasted 33 Santa ___, Calif

54 ‘Lies’ 34 Chang's twin anagram 36 Cosmetics-overseei55 Feed the pot ng agcy 58 Zodiac lion 37 Church music maker 59 Family man 38 A house away 60 Biochemi stry abbr 39 Yuletide decoration 61 Mary ___ Cosmetics holder 42 Flight board abbr 43 Amusement park PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER vehicle 44 A Muse 45 Flatt of bluegrass 47 They play in Cleveland 48 Like garage floors 51 Type of prize you don't want to win 52 Bicycle part

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Aries Ten of Cups

Four of Swords

ork – Stability is important if you have to do some good work. If your boss is making too many changes, maybe it’s time you had a chat. Romance – Times have changed and so has society’s expectations. Think about why you need to be in a relationship. Will marriage serve that purpose? Health – Avoid extra dessert helpings and any foods that might keep you from achieving your dietary goals. Be a little harsh on yourself. Money – A promotion or raise is in the offing, or it may have already been handed out to you. Plan your finances with the new salary hike. Tarot message – Planning is very important. But then life happens to us when we’re busy planning other things.

ork – You’re in the right flow with ideas and execution. Keep it up by maintaining a good work-life balance. Romance – If you and your partner are thinking of deepening the commitment or starting a family, this is the right time. Health – You’re feeling positive and good. This shows on your health. Nothing to worry about. Just maintain your diet and exercise. Money – There is no problem here. There is enough for your every need. Make sure you have invested in the right places and are saving enough for a rainy day. Tarot message – When things go smooth, it gives you a breather. You might want to ruminate on the larger issues of life.

Gemini

Taurus

Nine of Wands

ork – You’re reaching the end of a project and it’s made you realise that there’s so much more to learn in the field you thought you were very familiar with. Romance – Singles are having a good time. When you get more comfortable with your single status is when your life opens up to romantic possibilities. Health – Are you pushing yourself too much at the gym? Getting fit and feeling healthy is good. But also do it within safe limits. Money – You may need to be a little pushy and aggressive in trying to achieve your financial goals. Get good deals from banks and negotiate. Tarot message – You’re in the middle of a hectic learning period although the pace may not seem so.

Cancer Five of Cups

ork – Some form of loss is indicated. Maybe the project you worked on didn’t fall into your kitty. Don’t worry. Move on to the next project. Romance – Don’t be in a hurry to make a commitment. Get yourself more comfortable with a partner and decide how you want to take it forward. Health – Beware of stomach upset, sore throat or tooth pain. These are minor issues but will stop you from functioning normally. Home remedies are good. Money – Take sound advice before you put your money somewhere. Also, tighten your purse strings when it comes to shopping for fun. Tarot message – Setbacks are bound to slow us down every now and then. Only so we can power forward.

Leo

Virgo

Knight of Pentacles

Four of Cups

ork – You’re enthusiastic and your bosses are likely to take advantage of this enthusiasm and adventurous streak in you. Romance – Candlelight dinners, flowers, perfume and all things exotic and nice will make your romantic life more than fun. Health – Maybe your exercise routine needs some change. It’s not that you don’t have the energy. You are just bored and need to bring in excitement. Money – Money flow is excellent. A recent hike is giving you the confidence to increase the EMI payments and reduce the loan tenure. Tarot message – Your youthful verve will take you places. Make use of it when it lasts. Sometimes you have to keep the faith and plunge in.

ork – A job offer is likely to come your way. But your current bosses are reluctant to let you go. Consider all your options for the long term. Romance – You’re not short of suitors. If one relationship is not working out, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and try dating someone else. Health – There are many treatment options available and some options work for some people based on body needs and faith. Money – You may not be making optimum use of your investment needs. You need some good advice from the tax man to maximise your money inflow. Tarot message – When one door closes another opens. You need to have faith and be patient.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra Six of Cups

The Tower

ork – Lots of changes are in the offing. You may be expected to work in an unfamiliar area, and excel. Take up a refresher course if you think it’ll help. Romance – You are entering a new stage of the relationship. Those committed will be happy with this change. Singles may find it more difficult to manage. Health – You need to take good care of your health because, if not, it will lead to problems later. Start by eating fresh. Money – Finances are looking stable and good. Before investing big amounts of money, though, get the right advice. Tarot message – Change adds spice to life. If there is no change, there will be no reason for us to live interestingly.

ork – You get to work on something that will remind you of the past. It will make you realise how life has changed and how much you have moved on. Romance – A Facebook friend request from an old flame sends you down memory lane. You wonder if you should accept or not. It’s not an easy decision. Health – Try alternative healing methods for chronic ailments like migraine, sinus. Keep the faith and trust that it will work. Money – Not a time to make emotional decisions, especially when it comes to real estate and inheritance matters. Be practical. It’s only money. Tarot message – Not everything remains the same. Nostalgia is a good way to hold on to time gone.

Sagittarius

Scorpio

Judgement

ork –You’re in the spotlight at the work place. Seniors are watching you because they’re considering whether to give you an important role or not. Romance – You need to make a move and bring changes to your situation if you’re unhappy with your current status. Health – Eating right will solve lots of issues. It will immediately show on your health. Be disciplined about your intake of liquids, especially. Money – Be careful while lending money. Not a good time to lend large amounts of money without any record. Take it in writing if you’re lending. Tarot message – Everything happens for a reason. There is an account book called karma, which keeps track of your every move.

Capricorn

Date 6-5-2012

Aquarius

Justice

Nine of Cups

ork – There are good times and there are excellent times. Now, you will go through the latter. It’s almost like everything you touch turns into gold. Romance – You get what you need at this point in time. Don’t be upset if you have to be away from a loved one. The distance may be needed. Health – You feel good, emotionally. This is good to heal you from within and make your body respond to your needs. Money – There is no dearth of anything, You feel confident of your financial situation. Make yourself more secure by consulting an advisor. Tarot message – Everything goes to plan, and there is nothing better. Enjoy your time and give love to close family members.

ork – Your hard work is paying off. An increment and bonus will do your work justice. You will also be given perks to support your commitment. Romance – All the tough times you had in the past has ended. Now, only good times are ahead. Be open to trusting a potential partner. Things will work out well. Health – Change your health routine. Apart from a combination of physical exercise and diet, also consider meditation or reiki to reduce mental stress. Money – Finances need attention. You need to start planning for the long term seriously. Make realistic goals and work towards them. Tarot message – Not everything will be the same – situations, people. You need to start trusting.

Pisces Five of Pentacles

ork – You may be assigned some work you don’t like. Don’t fret or feel disappointed. Not every job will be to your liking always. Romance – Disagreements and arguments can be sorted out by talking through it. Make sure you’re open to communicating. Health – Take care of your mental health. Keep depression at bay by taking up meditation. You need to think positive and stay fresh in your mind to take on challenges. Money – An investment may not yield the results you were looking for. No need to feel low. Take it out immediately and do something new. Tarot message – When things go wrong, it’s an indication that you need to go slow. Reflect on your decisions and move on.

Vol: 1, No 293 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

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

FAMOUS SPOUSES

6. What does Docomo stand for? 7. An eminent Indian physicist was passed over for the Nobel Prize more than once — the second 'miss' led to an international outcry. Do you know who is this? 8. Edson Arantes do Nascimento is the only

football player in the world to have been part of three World Cup winning teams. What is he popularly known as? 9. To which sport are the terms Drop Kick, Dummy, Ruck and Scrum associated with? 10. Who played James Bond in Dr No?

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR ROYALTY?

IDENTIFY THESE FAMOUS BETTER HALVES

Answers

3. Jolly Roger and Union Jack were always at odds. Why? 4. Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, won a Nobel Prize for peace. He is popularly known by another name. What is it? 5. What is Brothers Grimm famous for?

1. The phrase was shouted by John Wilkes Booth after killing Abraham Lincoln. 2.The advanced programming language ADA is named after her. 3.Jolly Roger is the skull and cross bones flag of the pirates and the latter is the British flag. 4.Dalai Lama 5.Fairy tales 6. DO COmmunications over the MObile 7. EC George Sudarshan 8. Pele 9. Rugby 10. Sean Connery

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1. The Latin phrase Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants) is an important part of the history of USA, do you know why? 2. What is the connection between Lady Ada Lovelace, who lived in the first half of 19th century and high-end computers?

BRAND CORNER IDENTIFY THESE TAG LINES

He recently made headlines for alcohol and drug abuse. He was fired from his role in the sitcom Two and a Half Men, and was once married to the actress Denise Richards. Who is he?

1 2 3 4 5

He is known as the ‘fittest Bond’ ever. His act of impulse is famous, when he married actress Rachel Weisz in 2011, just after a year of dating her. Who is he?

Change we need

A Diamond is Forever The Best a Man can Get

Invent

She was an Italian actress and a singer before she married the President of France, Nikolas Sarkozy and became the first lady of France. Who is she?

The best kept automotive secret in America

6 7 8 9 10

Made from the best stuff on Earth

1. Charlie Sheen 2. Daniel Craig 3.Ccrla Bruni

Answers

Think Small

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY Which state does Iron Sharmila belong to?

Sheer driving pleasure

Where did India's First War of Independence break out? Where was Jim Corbett, the legendary hunter, conservationist and author, born?

with Santosh Ghule What is the cascading water here?

Answer for 12:

A "hidden" language spoken by only about 1200 people has been discovered in a remote corner of Arunachal Pradesh. What is it? 1. Manipur 2.Meerut 3. Nainital 4. Bihar 5.Goa. 6. a Tibeto-Burman language nearing extinction called Koro.

Answers

PICTURE PUZZLE 13

WHO AM I? I am an Australian billionaire, a mining magnate and an ambitious man because I set out to rebuild a luxury version of the Titanic yet again. Who am I?

Answer : Clive Palmerd

India fought a war with a European country after independence. Over which region was the conflict over?

What else? A woman!.

Which state has the ruins of erstwhile Nalanda University?

Answer:1.Ashi Jetsun 2. Rania of Jordan.3 Margarethe 4. Sheika Morzah

4 5

Never Follow

Answer

2 3

1. Barack Obama 2. De Beers 3. Gillett 4. Hewlett Packard 5. Peugeot 6. Snapple 7. Volkswagen 8. CNN 9. BMW 10. Audi

The most trusted name in news

SATURDAY MAY 5, 2012

METRE

6S 413

29 4S 1065

Chris Gayle (RCB)

Ajinkya Rahane (RR)

HIGHEST SCORE

103*

AM Rahane (RR), Kevin Pietersen (DD)

BEST BOWLER

5-16

Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)

PWI in dire need of win It is about holding to catches, I know mistakes happen but we dropped far too many to win a close game. We batted and bowled well but our fielding has cost us many games. Kumar Sangakkara DC Captain

Ajinkya Rahane (RR) 458 runs

Morne Morkel (DD) 19 wickets

Crick strength for Indo-Pak relations F

ormer Paksitan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood feels that cricket is something that has always strenghthened the relationship between India and Pakistan and would continue to do that in future too. "In 1999, when we toured, there was tension between the two nations. After that tour, tension eased out and the situation improved. The game of cricket has no boundary. In the past, it has been cricket which has brought the two nations together and in future too I hope the sport will play the same role," the 37year-old, who plays for Kings XI Punjab, said. The cricketing ties between the two neighbours have remained suspended after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. PTI

G APARNA SAI

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une Warriors India seem to have suddenly run out of steam what with the team losing all their previous five clashes. Having begun the season on a winning note, Lady Luck seems to have evaded the team of late. Presently placed just one place above Deccan Chargers in the points table, the Warriors are set to meet Kolkata Knight Riders today at the latter's home turf. It looked like the Ganguly led said ran out of luck in their last match when they played Mumbai Indians. Having stalled their opponents at 120 runs, the Warriors failed to capitalise on their situation and lost the thriller by just a run. Earlier, Pune Warriors lost to Delhi Daredevils by 20 runs on the first count and then by eight wickets four days later. This defeat was followed by their loss to the Chargers on

KKR VS PWI AT 4PM ON SET MAX two instances - initially, by 18 runs and then by a smaller margin of 13 runs. This makes them the only team this IPL to have lost to the Bulls on both occasions. Meanwhile, The Knights have a different tale to narrate. They have been on a roll in the

W 8 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 2

L N/T PT NRR 2 0 16 1.037 3 1 13 0.632 4 0 12 -0.162 5 1 11 0.025 5 0 10 -0.280 5 1 9 -0.446 6 0 8 -0.061 7 0 8 -0.115 7 1 5 -0.540

P-played; W-win; L-lost; N/T-no result/tie;NRR-net run rate; PT-points

Gautam Gambhirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side have seemed to have picked themselves up and all the players have been contributing at during all the required moments. Playing at home, they would certainly have the edge. Though the Knights would certainly be cheered all along, it may not come as a surprise if many pledge their support for local favourite Sourav Ganguly.

SCORECARD CHENNAI SUPER KINGS Chennai Super Kings innings (20 overs) Plessis c Dhawan b Pratap Singh 42 M Vijay c Mishra b Pratap Singh 14 S Raina c Jhunjhunwala b Mishra 32 MS Dhoni b Christian 34 A Morkel b Jhunjhunwala 13 Jadeja c Sangakkara b Ashish Reddy 4 Bravo not out 12 S Badrinath not out 1 Extras (lb 5, w 2, nb 1) 8 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 160 Bowling O M R W Econ Ankit Sharma 2 0 13 0 6.50 D Steyn 4 0 25 0 6.25 V Pratap Singh 3 0 35 2 11.66 D Christian 4 0 35 1 8.75 A Jhunjhunwala 3 0 13 1 4.33 A Mishra 2 0 18 1 9.00 Ashish Reddy 2 0 16 1 8.00

VS DECCAN CHARGERS Deccan Chargers innings (target: 161 runs from 20 overs) P Patel b Morkel

S Dhawan run out (Bravo)

C White run out (Jadeja/Dhoni)

K Sangakkara c & b Raina D Christian not out

1 27

Ashish Reddy c Vijay b Hilfenhaus

A Jhunjhunwala not out

Extras (lb 2, w 2)

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) Bowling B Hilfenhaus A Morkel D Bravo R Ashwin S Jakati S Raina R Jadeja

Chennai Super Kings won by 10 runs

P DD 10 KKR 10 MI 10 CSK 11 KXIP 10 RCB 10 RR 10 PWI 11 DC 10

recent past and are comfortably placed at the second position in the standings, just below tabletoppers Delhi Daredevils, who seem to be having an amazing time this edition. With all the players firing it right, KKR seem to have little to be worried about. KKR would hope to extend their winning streak and cement their place among the top four.

O 4 3 4 3 2 1 3

150

M R W Econ 0 31 1 7.75 0 16 1 5.33 0 35 0 8.75 0 19 0 6.33 0 17 0 8.50 0 5 1 5.00 0 25 0 8.33

Royals take on Punjab

resh from their victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab are set to clash with the Royals from Rajasthan today, in Mohali. It is for the first time this season that Preity Zinta's Kings have figured among the top four teams on the points table though they have lost this place after CSK defeated the Chargers. However, the Royals have a different tale to narrate. With their consecutive defeats in the recent pasts, RR seem to have cut out a sorry figure. Though the team boasts of the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Owais Shah and Kevon Cooper, they have failed to capitalise on their strengths like it happened in their previous

KXIP VS RR AT 8PM ON SET MAX match when they lost to Delhi Daredevils by a run. Meanwhile, KXIP under the wings of stand-in skipper, David Hussey, have done pretty well. The absence of captain cum mentor, Adam Gilchrist, does not seem to have deterred them. They did well against Chennai Super Kings and managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when they played against the Challengers. With both teams in a dire need for the victory, it remains to be seen who makes the best of AS the given opportunities.

81 DAYS TO GO SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Cambodia’s choice is a ‘laugh’ But the nation’s best is not amused MARATHON PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has selected an eccentric Japanese comedian to compete in the men’s marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games — but the country’s best long-distance runner is not amused. His record time may be seven minutes faster than that of Japan-born television star Kuniaki Takizaki, mostly known for his quirky cat impressions, but Cambodian athlete Hem Bunting will not be competing in London in August. The 27-yearold quit the national team in a huff last year after complaining about training conditions and falling out with the national athletics federation, prompting the

body to tap Takizaki for a wild card to the Games. But the move has proved controversial in both countries, setting Internet forums abuzz with critics bemoaning Takizaki’s hasty nationality change late last year and arguing that Cambodia should be nurturing homegrown talent. “I wasn’t happy when I heard that the National Olympic Committee gave the wild card to Neko,” Bunting told AFP, referring to Takizaki’s stage name Neko Hiroshi, which translates as Hiroshi The Cat. “I see it as an injustice. Even though they’re not sending me to the Olympics, they should choose qualified Cambodians,” he said as he laced up his shoes for an afternoon run at the Olympic

LONDON DREAMS

A file photo of Cambodia’s best long-distance runner Hem Bunting (C) and Kuniaki Takizaki (R)

Kuniaki Takizaki. Stadium in the capital Phnom Penh. Bunting’s last hope to get to the Olympics under his own steam was dashed at the Paris marathon last month when he failed to meet the qualifying time that would have earned him an automatic berth. He ran a personal best and set a new Cambodian record of 2:23:29 for the 42.2-kilometre (26.2-mile) course, but fell short of the required time of 2:18.

Impoverished Cambodia has limited means to promote sporting talent and plans to contest only a handful of Olympic events, all thanks to wild card entries to encourage developing countries. Takizaki, 34, who first ran a marathon as part of a TV variety show, has performed well in several long-distance races in Cambodia. While he has never outrun Bunting, he is faster than other Cambodian marathon runners and his efforts have won over fans and impressed local officials. “It’s true that he is faster than I am at this point, and I face up to this reality,” Takizaki, currently training in Japan, wrote on his blog last month. Takizaki’s Cambodian spokesman Keo Visal told AFP

Ad ignites new Falklands row LONDON: London con-

India’s Narsingh Pancham Yadav celebrates after winning the 74kg wrestling freestyle weight class during the Vantaa Cup 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament’s finals in Vantaa. AFP/RONI REKOMAA

the celebrity runner, who was given Cambodian citizenship after he impressed officials while visiting to compete in long-distance races, was working hard to improve his speed. “He loves Cambodia... and he’s Cambodian now,” the spokesman added, noting that Takizaki had helped secure sponsorship for the Phnom Penh half-marathon and provided aid to victims of last year’s unusually severe floods. But it’s far from certain Takizaki will be Londonbound soon.The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is set to announce soon whether he’s even eligible to compete amid doubts he meets the requirement of having been a Cambodian citizen for at least a year.

demned an Argentine government advertisement Friday showing an Olympic hopeful training on a British war memorial in the Falklands, as the agency behind the ad urged Buenos Aires to pull it. Foreign Secretary William Hague branded the clip a “stunt” and accused Argentina of trying to exploit the 2012 London Olympics for political purposes, while Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond called it “tasteless” and “insulting”. The ad was aired on Argentine television amid high tensions between the two countries as they both mark the 30th anniversary of the

Falklands war over the Britishheld islands. It shows Argentina hockey captain Fernando Zylberberg running through the Falklands capital Stanley, and exercising on the town’s Great War Memorial, which honours British sailors who died in World War I. The ad carries the tagline: “To compete on English soil, we train on

Argentinian soil.” Created by the Argentine arm of global marketing agency Y and R, it was released by Argentina’s presidency and claims to be a “homage to the fallen and ex-combatants” of the conflict. Y and R’s headquarters has now condemned it as “contrary to everything that we as a company stand for”. Hague told Sky News television: “Argentina has had some diplomatic setbacks in the last few weeks. “They have failed at a summit of the Americas to get other countries — South and North America — to issue a declaration on the Falkland Islands.”

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Pranav leads pack

hirteen years old V. Pranavananda of Visakhapatnam beat Deepthamsh Reddy and is in sole lead with 6 points out of 6 rounds. Praveen Prasad, T.Purushothaman, Abhilash reddy of Kadapa are in second

ROUND 6 TOP

spot with 5.5 points, while P.Ramakrishna (Nalgonda), S Raviteja (Vijayawada), Venkataramana of SC Railway, Nookaraju of Vizag, Adiratnakumar of Ananthapur, M Chakravarthy Reddy of Hyderabad are in third spot with 5 points.

BOARDS RESULTS :

1. Pranavananda (6) 2. Praveen Prasad (5.5) 3. Ch. Sahajasri (4.5) 4. Sandeep naidu (4.5) 5. B.Harsha (5) 6. Sai Agni Jeevitesh (4) 7. Venkataramana J (5) 8. Dhanunjaya rao (4.5) 9. Nookaraju (5) 10. Adiratna Kumar (5)

beat Deepthamsh Reddy beat Lakshmi krishna bhushan lost to Purushothaman lost to Abhilash reddy. M drew with P. Ramakrishna lost to Ravi teja beat Khan S drew with Kalyan kumar Y beat Hinduja reddy beat Anand Naik

(5) (4.5) (5.5) (5.5) (5) (5) (4) (4.5) (4) (4)

76ers hold Bulls PENNSYLVANIA: The Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the top-seeded Chicago Bulls 7974 on Friday and gain a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round NBA playoff series. The battered Bulls, already without reigning league Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, suffered another injury blow as French center Joakim Noah hurt his ankle in the third quarter of the defeat. After receiving treatment Noah returned to the game briefly but was clearly hobbled

and the 76ers closed the game on a 23-5 scoring run. Spencer Hawes scored 21 points to lead the 76ers, who will try to press their advantage when they host game four on Sunday. Hawes put Philadelphia ahead for good with a jump shot from just inside the three-point line with 2:11 remaining. Jrue Holiday scored 17 points, Evan Turner had 16 and Lou Williams added 14 off the bench. Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulls.

IN HOT PURSUIT

A Maisaram player is pursued by players of MADs Soccer during their match at the Peter Thangaraj Memorial Football Tournament. Maisaram won 1-0 thanks to Omer Bilwili’s single. They along with Shasthri, Johnson, Mursheed, Gymkhana Rangers, Red Hills, Hyderabad Sporting, Onslaught football clubs have qualified for the quarterfinals that start on Sunday at 4.30pm. SALEEM

Woods fails to make the cut CHARLOTTE: Tiger Woods’s bid to bounce back from a disastrous Masters ended abruptly Friday as the 14-time major champion missed the cut at Quail Hollow. Woods carded a secondround 73 for an even-par total of 144, one shot outside the cut line of one-under 143. It marked the eighth time as a pro Woods has missed a cut -and the second time he has missed it at this event. Woods struggled with his accuracy off the tee but really suffered on the greens, needing 33 putts in his round. Long before the cut was official, Woods was resigned to an early exit. “This is one of my favorite tour stops, and unfortunately, I’m just not going to be around for the last two days,” said Woods, who won at Quail Hollow in 2007. Woods missed the cut here in 2010, not long after he returned to golf in the wake of the sex scandal that rocked his personal life. American Nick Watney was the halfway leader after a 64 for leader in the clubhouse after a sparkling 64 for 12-under 132. Webb Simpson posted a 68 for sole possession of second place

on 133. Woods, whose tie for 40th at the Masters was his worst ever finish at Augusta National as a professional, again couldn’t capitalize on good scoring conditions early in the day. He failed to birdie any of the parfives and said that as at the Masters, he allowed old habits to creep in and disrupt the new swing he has put together under the guidance of coach Sean Foley. “It’s just that I get out there and I want to get comfortable, and I follow my old stuff,” he

said. “I know what I need to do. It’s just I need more reps doing it.” In an odd twist to the 14time major champion’s day, Woods was awarded a free drop after a fan apparently walked off with his ball at the par-five fifth, where Woods went over the gallery as he tried to reach the green in two. When Woods walked up, his ball was nowhere to be found. Tour official Mark Russell spoke to several people who saw the ball land and determined that someone took it.

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012

Captain Terry backs Di Matteo LONDON:Chelsea

Di Matteo’s captain John Terry future at Stamford believes victory in Bridge remains the FA Cup can uncertain, with strengthen interim Chelsea’s hierarmanager Roberto chy insisting no Di Matteo’s claims decision on a perto be appointed to manent successor the job on a fullto Villas-Boas will time basis. be taken until the Di Matteo has close season. overseen a dramatHowever Terry ic transformation in told reporters Chelsea’s fortunes Friday that victory since taking over Sat, 9.45pm, Sony Pix over Liverpool at from sacked predeWembley on cessor Andre Villas-Boas in March, Saturday could enhance Di Matteo’s guiding the club to the FA Cup and CV. Champions League finals. “It would do him no harm at all,” Although Chelsea’s league form Terry said. has left the club struggling to secure “He’s obviously done very well in an all-important top-four finish, Terry the league and all competitions to get has praised the impact Di Matteo has us where we are today. had in such a relatively short space of “To win it (the cup) will put himtime. self in a very good position.”

THE FA CUP FINALS

Wenger 900 not out LONDON: Arsene Wenger takes charge of

“For us it is important to win our remaining games,” said the Frenchman, whose first game as Arsenal manager was a 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers in October 1996. “Anything less will not guarantee third place and automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League group stages. “I feel that this year the players have shown fantastic mental qualities and we have improved. You could see again at Stoke that this team is ready for a fight. Defensively I thought we were solid and we are now fully focused on finishing the season strongly and claiming third place.” Norwich have little to play for except pride and finishing as high as they can in their first Premier League season since 2005 as they are now safe from relegation. That had never been a real threat anyway for Paul Lambert’s side, who had given Arsenal a tough time at Carrow Road earlier in the season when the Gunners came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from top-scorer Robin van Persie. The Canaries have wobbled of late, losing at Blackburn in between heavy home defeats by Manchester City and Liverpool but winger Elliott Bennett promised the fans they would not be going through the AFP motions at the Emirates Stadium.

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his 900th game as Arsenal manager against Norwich on Saturday looking for the victory that will keep his side on course for Champions League qualification. Away wins for Tottenham and Newcastle on Wednesday night brought both clubs to within a point of the third place Gunners, who host the Canaries on Saturday lunchtime in the only Premier League fixture of the day. A home win would therefore extend that advantage to four points ahead of Newcastle’s home game with Manchester City on Sunday and Tottenham’s trip to Aston Villa the same afternoon. Tottenham are currently fourth, ahead of Newcastle on goal difference. Chelsea, who are in sixth, could still catch all three of the teams above them and would further complicate matters by winning the Champions League, which would mean only the team that finishes third will qualify for next season’s competition, provided it is not Chelsea. It was no surprise therefore that Wenger, who saw his side draw 1-1 at Stoke City at the weekend, wanted maximum points from the two remaining games, the last of which is a trip to West Bromwich Albion.