Postnoon E-Paper for 11 June 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

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MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012 HYDERABAD

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WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 33°C

IS THE CITY

READY? REPORT ON PG 4

It’s almost time for the rain gods to unleash their payload, but is the City ready to handle it all? The jury’s still out. BRAZIL’S NEXT TOP MODEL! Supermodel Gisele Bundchen will find a model from some of the poorest areas in her native Brazil. The 31-year-old was in the country to promote a model hunt contest titled Top CUFA. P25

CHAMPION OF CHILD RIGHTS

His is usually the last word on welfare and protection of a child in the City. Meet the founder-director of Divya Disha and chairman of Hyderabad’s Child Welfare Committee, Isidore Phillips.

32 PAGES

JAGAN THREATENS HUNGER STRIKE The CBI has sought judicial consent for conducting a narcotic test on YSRC chief Jagan. Jagan has threatened to go on a hunger strike if he was subjected to the test.

Page Two

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Spirit of Twin Cities

LET ME SEE! SRINIVAS SETTY

Hyderabad Library services Library and librarian services offered to members and groups (institutions) at `3,650 per year (per member). It covers study, career, competition, business of research. Welcome to APSET enrolled. Where: Hyderabad library services, Sagar View Complex When: June 9 to July 8, Contact: (040) 2322 2247, 94412 37751

Dance show Alliance Française in collaboration with the Directorate of Culture, government of AP, French Embassy and Seagram’s is showcasing Zac & Angelo, a comic hip hop dance show by DeFakto. Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad When: June 11, 7.30pm Contact: (040) 2355 4485

Friends with Bird Friends with bird, a patining exhibition by artist Pallavi Wallunj is being held at Colours Art Gallery. The exhibition is on till June 23. Where: Colours Art Gallery, Chikoti Gardens, Begumpet When: Ongoing, 10am-7pm Contact: 93470 01275

A mothers tale All about mothers by is about a single mother in Madrid, who sees her only son die on his 17th birthday as he runs to seek an actress autograph. She goes to Barcelona to find the boys father. Where: Sri Sarathi Studios, Ameerpet When: June 12, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2373 2050

When: Ongoing, 11am-7pm Contact: (040) 66564 466

When: June 13 and June 14, 11.30am onwards Contact: (040) 6666 3939

Rhythm it is

The master of arts

Rhythm it is! is a film by Thomas Grube at La Makaa. The film will be shown at Lamakaan on June 12. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills Rd No 1 When: June 12, 7pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329

Abstract landscapes

Vision of blue gold, an exhibition of paintings by Pranay will be on display at Muse Art Gallery.The exhibition is on from June 9. Where: Muse Art Gallery, Lower Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11.30am onwards Contact: (040) 2752 2999

A painting exhibition by artist Bhaskar Rao B titled A leaflet and a drop will be on display at Iconart Gallery. A preview for the exhibition was held on June 6 and will be on display till June 20. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: 98499 68797

Serenity

Akriti elite

Vision of blue gold

Serenity- an exhibition of painting is being held at Kalakrithi art Gallery. The paintings are by artist Aninda Varma. The exhibition is on till June 23. Where: Kalakrithi Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 10

CINEMAS

An exhibition cum sale of top designers will be held at Taj Deccan on June 12 and June 13. The exhibition will feature designer wear, home decor and accessories. Where: Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1

An exhibition and sale of original lithographic prints by artists like Rabindranath Tagore, Eshwar Das Gupta, Somnat Hore, KG Subramanyam and K Laxma Goud called The Master of Arts is on. Where: Arts Heaven Art Gallery, Lakdikapul When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: 99495 71031

Madhubani workshop The YMCA Secunderabad is hosting a madhubani painting workshop. The workshop is being felicitated by an artist from Madhubani. A part of the fees earned through the workshop will be used to train underprivileged women in madhubhani painting. Where: YMCA Secunderabad, West Marredpally When: June 18-June 29 Contact: 98490 07736, 99595 57183

Theatre workshop Samahaara is hosting special four week summer acting workshops. The workshops will be held for a duration of four weeks.

Where: Vidyaranya School, The Terrace, The Actor’s Studio When: Ongoing Contact: 83411 20303

Brunch sparkles Choose from grills, pastas, Oriental, Continental or Indian and follow it up with a delicious selection of desserts at The Arena’s brunch. Where: The Arena, Taj Deccan, Rd No 1 When: Every Sunday Contact: (040) 6652 3939

Sunday brunch Spend the perfect Sunday afternoon with Aqua’s special brunch. Where: Aqua, The Park, When: June 10, 12pm to 4 pm Contact: (040) 2345-6789

Buy art Iconart Art Gallery as a part of its Buy Art initiative is hosting an exhibition featuring abstract art, sculptures and paintings. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 11.30am onwards Contact: 98499 68797

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

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Meet Hyderabad’s own autorickshaw thief No other city boasts of a thief who specialises in stealing three-wheelers. Amarnath, a young man from the City has achieved this dubious distinction

CRIME Mohd Subhan mohd.s@postnoon.com

marnath, a poor painter turned to auto-lifting only three years ago but has ‘accomplished’ the rare task of spiriting away 24 autorikshaws by now! He was caught and sent to prison the other day by sub-inspector Mohd Mahmood Ali of Saifabad police station. Amarnath, 32, was picked up by the Saifabad team from a public garden on June 7 o charge of stealing an autorickshaw from PG Science Collage at Saifabad the day before. He was trying to sell the three- wheeler when the law caught up with him. SI Mahmood Ali told Postnoon that Amarnath is a resident of Nehrunagar in Masab Tank area and is a profes-

sional painter but he finds it hard to lead a comfortable living with his earning. He is married and has two children. How he got into the weird business

of stealing the ponderous vehicle is as yet not clear. But he made his inaugural lifting three years ago from Nehru Nagar. He succeeded in spiriting away the auto and selling it on the sly. This encouraged him to go for more and slowly he built up a reputation of being an expert in auto-lifting. Some two dozen cases are pending against him in many police stations. Amarnath was convicted in some cases of auto thefts and some cases are under trial in court. Since he has lost the fear of the law, he coolly accepts the conviction and goes in and out of prison, SI said. Mahmood Ali drew a comparison with ‘Maruti Nayeem’ who specialised in lifting Maruti vehicles and was recently killed by a rival gang. But in Amarnath’s case there is no rival in his area of functioning is unique. Police do not deny that there could be a gang behind this for stealing and selling autorikshaws is not easy without papers and documents.

Woman killed, husband and kin injured in car crash Postnoon News feedback@postnoon.com

n an early morning road tragedy, a woman was killed and three others sustained grievous injuries when their car lost track and hit a roadside tree near Bollaram checkpost. The accident took place around 3.30 am, Bollaram police said. K Umadevi, 45, her husband Hanumanth Reddy, 50, and their relatives Madhusudan Rao and his wife Prasanna Lakshmi were travelling in a Maruti car back to Rao’s native place in Karimnagar. Hanumanth was driving the car. when the car suddenly skid and hit a roadside tree, when they reached near Bollaram checkpost. The impact was so great that the vehicle was smashed. Umadevi died on the spot while the other three suffered serious injuries. They have been admitted to a nearby hospital. Bollaram police is investigating how the accident took place. The police are investigating three angles: the driver nodded off, he was drunk or the vehicle developed a sudden snag. As it was early in the morning, not many were on road and it took a while before any help arrived. Umadevi’s body has been kept in the Gandhi Hospital mortuary for post mortem. It is learnt that Madhusudan and Prasanna had come to see their children studying in the City.

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CIVIC

IS THE CITY READY?

Bhavneet Singh feedback@postnoon.com

onsoon is that time of the year when we love to go out on the roads and enjoy the rain. But most of the time, the enjoyment is ruined by stinking water that comes from overflowing drains. A very common sight during this season are the overflowing drains that clog the streets and make matters worse for commuters. The low lying areas of Padmarao Nagar, Lower Tank Bund, RTC crossroads and Chikkadpally are the worst hit during this season. The main reason for this are the blocks in the drains. There are no preventive measures or maintenance during the rest of the year. Just before the monsoon hits, septic tanks are sent to clear up the drains. What is disheartening is that even after clearing up the sewage, silt is left lying right next to the manhole. So as soon as it rains, the silt goes back into the drain and the problem continues. This apparently happens most of the time because of the tiff between the HMWS and SB and GHMC. The consequences of this problem are suffered by the common man. Ratna Kumar, a resident of Padmarao nagar shares his

It’s almost time for the rain gods to unleash their payload, but is the City ready to handle it all? We find out

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agony. “It is absolute nonsense. They come once a year and leave the silt outside. There is a stench, in spite of that no one bothers to clean it. When we call them to clear it, we do not get a proper response. This is outrageous.” Tejinder Chhabra, a resident of Himayatnagar has similar complaints. “The problem is not only the stench from the silt, but also the disease it carries along with it! Adding to all this is knee deep water when it rains. Monsoon is one season we all dread!” The government officials on the contrary have a different side to the story. They say that this year everything has been cleared and the problem wouldn’t occur. “We have made better arrangements this year and people wouldn’t face the problems.” assures Suresh Kumar, the chief engineer of GHMC. “We have cleared up the drainages of 90 per cent of the City and the other 10 per cent would be completed before the monsoons hit the City. The police had reported about 150 non functional drainages out of which we have replaced 130,”he adds. If we go by the officials, then this monsoon will be a smooth ride. But will it actually sink it all? or will the implementations remain just on paper this year as well? Only time will tell.

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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

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Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

Political tug-of-war in Rayachoti Inkeshaf Ahmed ahmed.m@postnoon.com

here are many Assembly constituencies in the State that are considered to be Congress strongholds. Regardless of the Congress being in power or not, the voters here have always stood by the party and one such constituency is the Rayachoti Assembly constituency in Kadapa district. It also happens to be the home turf of the YSRC chief Jagan Mohan Reddy. Barring the five general elections since 1955, Congress has managed to retain this seat. But the situation is bound to be very different during the upcoming bypolls for the Congress. The sitting Congress MLA Gadikota Srikanth Reddy, a protégé of former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Jagan loyalist is con-

testing from Rayachoti on the YSRC ticket. Elections in this constituency were necessitated following his disqualification from his position for voting against the Congress during the no confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party a few months back. However, Gadikota Srikanth’s popularity is worrying Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana who are leaving no stone unturned to retain this seat. In fact, the importance of this seat is obvious from the fact that AICC incharge and union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi personally toured this constituency to seek voted for party candidate M Ramprasad Reddy. They also addressed a public meeting here and were accompanied the CM himself. On the other hand, Srikanth

ON THE

What was once the Congress stronghold now seems to be swaying dangerously towards the YSRC, even as TDP jumps into the fray to garner votes

CAMPAIGN

TRAIL

Reddy is confident of his victory. He says that the people of Kadapa and Rayachoti are angry

with the injustices meted out to YSR’s family by the State government and Congress party. “Former CM YSR is considered as the tiger of Kadapa and son of the soil. Therefore, the people of Kadapa will never forgive the Congress for insulting YSR and his family members,” he said. Srikanth Reddy is buoyant after the recent tour of his party’s working president Vijayamma and Sharmila to seek votes for him. He is expecting that the sympathy that was generated after Jagan’s arrest will bring him a landslide victory. Given the prevailing circumstances in the constituency, the TDP is making a daring attempt to attract the votes in Rayachoti. It fielded S Subramanayam, son of former MLA S Palakondraidu, a four time MLA from the constituency and a veteran politician. He won from Rayachoti in

1978 for the first time as a Janata Party candidate. In 1983, when the TDP routed the ruling Congress, Palakondraidu won the seat as an independent candidate. Later in 1999 and the 2004 general elections, he won the seat on TDP ticket.

Youth to decide the fate During the bypolls, the new voters will decide the fate of political party candidates. The reason for this is that Rayachoti recorded a whopping 33 per cent swell in the number of voters within a span of one year. There is an increase about 50,000 votes since the 2011 census. According the census-2011, the population in this constituency stood at 1.52 lakh. But the State election commissioner Banwarlal announced that during the bypoll a total of 2,00,226 voters would cast their votes.

Chiranjeevi scores Babu, Ramdev join hands with the public “B Postnoon News

M ANIL KUMAR

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Postnoon News feedback@postnoon.com

ctor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi seems to be giving anxious moments to political parties with his election campaign. His oratory skills have become the talk of the town. During the ongoing bypoll campaign, Chiranjeevi is delivering aggressive speeches. These speeches have become an instant success with people who are thronging his meetings. His recent potshots at Jagan and Chandra Babu Naidu drew the attention of his opponents. Many analysts and supporters of Chiranjeevi say that he has matured a lot during the last four years in terms of delivering speeches. “Yes, there is a change. This is because as a politician and

as the president of PRP, Chiranjeevi met the public to gauge their problems. His interaction with the SEZ victims and Vanpic victims made him understand public problems,” P Vikram, a close associate of Chiranjeevi said. Another Congress leader and minister, P Viswaroopu reasons that Chiranjeevi’s entry did the required magic. “After joining the party, he met seasoned politicians and big leader . His interaction with these leaders and observation of their speeches helped him gain experience,” Viswaroopu said. During one of the campaigns at Allagadda constituency, AICC AP incharge Gulam Nabi Azad. praised the actor and called him a star campaigner. According to Chiranjeevi’s associate Vikram, Chiranjeevi is striving to fulfill his promise. “He promised the high command that he would play a catalyst for strengthening the Congress,” he said.

Complete metamorphosis Four years ago, when he founded PRP, Chiranjeevi was a completely different man. When launched a state-wide Praja Ankita Yatra, as precursor to 2009 general elections, being film star, he could attract crowds but failed to engage them. Many of his speeches lacked substance. Political circles are abuzz with news that Chiranjeevi, would get an elevation post by-election for his services. A confidant of the actor told Postnoon that he will be made union minister after the election.

ecause of corruption, our economic growth is going down, rupee value is sliding, and people are suffering. We extend our support to Baba and Hazareji in their fight against black money stashed away in foreign banks,” said Chandrababu Naidu today. Holding a joint media conference at his residence after Baba Ramdev met him, Naidu said, “I told Baba that he and Hazareji are doing a noble cause.” Baba and Naidu are learnt to have discussed the 3G scam and Jagan being charged in the disproportionate assets case. Drumming support for his proposed nation-wide movement to bring black money stashed away in foreign banks, Baba Ramdev has

been meeting parties that subscribe to the demand of unearthing black money. Baba’s stance is that if unspecified sum deposited by Indians in foreign banks are brought back, the country could become far more advanced than China and US. Talking to Postnoon, the TDP senior leader Laljan Basha rebuffed the argument that supporting Baba will be counterproductive for the party. He also rejected the view that the Baba may lend his support to the BJP.

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PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

Champion of Child Rights His is usually the last word when it comes to the welfare and protection of a child in the City. Meet the founder-director of Divya Disha and Chairman of Hyderabad’s Child Welfare Committee, Isidore Phillips

(Right) Isidore Phillips

Padmini C padmini.c@postnoon.com

rrespective of who you are talking to in the child protection community, his name is bound to pop up at least a few times in a conversation. Most often it is with a hint of pride, to have a person amidst them who will fight tooth and nail, even against the powers that be, if there is the welfare of a child at stake. As founder of NGO and rescue home Divya Disha, and chairman of Child Welfare Committee in Hyderabad, there are a few who know about child welfare as Isidore Phillips. l What’s the status quo? Earlier we never spoke of child labour. We never publicly acknowledged that there have rights. Now, we do. So obviously, I’ll expect that there is a change in tact when it comes to sensitisation and when it comes to employers. But it isn’t happening. Ultimately it’s an indicator based management system, tell me how prosecutions happened. lWhat’s the thing about child labour today that most alarms you? We recently rescued a young girl in a domestic child labour case, who was severely injured. We realised there were bite marks and knife wounds all across her body. The impugnity with which employers are hurting children today, with no fear of repercussions, has increased. Labour markets are becoming invisible and impossible to track. This needs to be treated with gravity. Our apathy and tolerance of abuse, emotional and policy paralysis that we seem to be caught up in. The least you can do when you see a child in distress is to call 1098. lHow are the laws standing up? When you have a policy framework, a

legal framework with legislations like Child Labour (Regulation and Prohibition) Act 1986, The Minimum Wages Act, RTE, The Juvenile Justice Act and so on, I would say it’s fairly good. But in this context, I would have expected a little more. Now if you say, after all these years, enforcement is a problem, I would say there’s something wrong. l What exactly is the problem with the enforcement of these laws? You have a department which does hundreds of things and Child Labour is one . Now, if it really mattered, there would be specific machinery allotted to dealing with it. But there isn’t. It might not make a difference to you. But for a child it does. Because this one day can change his or her life. If children are important to us, why haven’t we changed the way we respond to child labour? We don’t have a dedicated mechanism to deal with it.

gle politician or party who has ever talked about child education or health? If our policy makers-to-be don’t care, who will? Give children voting rights and you will see how quickly things change. l What seems to be the biggest challenge in the process? The population is so large and we don’t even know where our children are. So, how can you respond to them? In other words, for most of our children, childhood is work. Can you imagine what kind of attitudes they will grow up with? l What can and should be done? In the CWC, where sometimes, it seems like we are all alone with the child against a hos-

tile system, it’s a scary feeling. Not because we are fighting the system but because of how alone the child would have been if even we were not there. So much has to change. For instance, that a child’s place is at the side of his parents, even if they are abusive, violent, destitute or callous to have sold them off, that has to go. Letting a child work in a home or a shop thinking it’s better than being in a rescue home where they can be rehabilitated and sent to school, is another. There needs to be more integration between CWC, police and the women’s development and child welfare departments. We need a more comprehensive take on child labour. Children shouldn’t be treated as objects of charity.

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How come we always dialogue in the future tense? I like the Juvenile Justice Act because it has specific time frames. You have to produce a child in a certain time. You have to dispose off a case in four months. You can’t keep a child for too long. Every day is important. That sense of urgency needs to creep in to the programme and our approach. Who is responsible for the loss of these childhoods? There is simply no accountability. lAs almost half our population, shouldn’t they be getting the most importance? No one cares because they are not a voting population. Have you heard of a sin-

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ATM slip can cause cancer? M ANIL KUMAR

HEALTH Rahul Ramakrishna Rahul.r@postnoon.com

very added convenience to life adds a health hazard too. The ATM slip is the latest health hazard of which Indian government is either unaware or don’t care, Postnoon’s reality check in Hyderabad reveals. ATM paper roll is made of thermal paper that contains a fine plastic layer that degrades phthalates into the human bloodstream. With such a dire consequence attached to its usage, the need of the hour is to reduce usage of thermal paper that are most extensively used in ATMs, cashier receipts, movie tickets, flyers etc. Coated paper products found in almost every aspect of human functioning have been found to have tiny amounts of “endocrine disruptors”, a carcinogenic present in minute amounts that has been proved to cause birth defects in children and hormonal changes in pregnant women. Long standing research linked with the FDA of the United States lays blame on ‘bisphenol-A’ (BPA), an endocrine disruptor that wrecks havoc on the thyroid system, triggering hormonal changes that in future. The FDA US has yet to ban the drug which indirectly affects the millions of users in other countries linked with it, thereby Food and Drug Authority India. According to the FDA India website the last drug to be banned in India was diclofenac that nearly pushed vultures to

extinction. Although countries in the West have slowly started phasing out the usage and presence of bisphenol-A in paper and packaging products, India is yet to wake up to its growing dangers. The high usage of thermal paper in printing receipts from ATM’s, cash registers, and carbonless copy paper are all hosts to the “phthalate”, a substance added to plastic to increase its flexibility and durability. Endocrinologists in the City have not come across any cases relating to endocrine disruptions but nonetheless do not downplay its importance. Dr Raman

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Boddula, an endocrinologist working for KIMS said, “We come across many cases of thyroid problems and hormonal imbalances in women and children but this is certainly a new case and we have not pinpointed bisphenol-A as the root cause. We shall however look into the page analysis published in Endocrine Reviews and find out more about this issue.” Sources at a paper manufacturer company said that the health hazards involved in manufacturing and distributing paper rolls, especially thermal paper are not known to many. The plastic coating present on paper is the key culprit that degenerates into the skin and causes infections among the workers who handle the packing and transport of paper supplies. “Workers involved in packaging and distribution are often beset by respiratory problems and infections among the workers,”, they say. Dr Mohana Vamsi, a leading oncologist said, “Yes, the many effects of carcinogens present on paper products have been in public knowledge. But we cannot hold them alone responsible as causes for cancer, as there are many environmental and genetic factors that are involved in it. Nonetheless, we cannot downplay the importance of banning bisphenol-A, and reduce paper usage.” Alternative methods of recording transactions such as e-transactions and opting not to receive paper receipts at an ATM should be encouraged. The City’s ATMs often sport bins filled with transaction receipts bearing testimony to our unhindered usage of paper throwing light on the importance of reducing unnecessary paper and dangerous usage of paper.

‘Packed’ autos trouble students

HEALTH

REAL ESTATE

n the wake of reopening of schools shortly, devotees thronged the Saraswathi Temple, Basara to have a darshan of the goddess of knowledge, on Sunday. Over one lakh devotees visited the temple till now. NSS

s some of the schools have reopened, a debate has come to the forefront yet again. The sight of autorickshaw drivers carrying school children more than they can accommodate, will be common. Making brisk business, the autorickshaw drivers risk the safety of the children, blatantly flouting rules. This brings us to question, shouldn’t schools provide a bus service so that the children aren’t exposed to such a dangerous environment? “Even if schools provide a bus service, the costs are high. The school has to pay the driver and for the fuel. The costs to cover this can be high and for parents who have more than one child studying in the school, it can be expensive. Under such circumstances, they find sending their children in an auto cheaper. Having said that, if the APSRTC comes up with a special school bus, then it will help tremendously as not many schools can afford to have a bus service,” said Ayesha Rubina, director, Genesis School.

“Most of the government schools don’t provide transport facilities to the kids and the only option left with parents is either autos or private cabs. Parents need to be careful while selecting the proper mode of transport for their children. Even the traffic department needs to keep a eye on the errant auto drivers who should be punished for rash driving,” said, Sadhana Thakur, a government school principal. In addition to autorickshaws, matador vans and omni-vans are also hired by many parents in the City. The main reason behind this is that many schools do not ply their vehicles in all the areas of the City. Even if some schools do, some

parents opt for private services because of the high cost levied for these services by the school management for using transport. M Laxmi, who sends her daughter Keerti to a school in Marredpally in a private auto, says she has no other option as the school vans did not cover their locality. “We are left at the mercy of these auto drivers who do not follow the traffic rules or ensure that they will make sure the kids reach safely to school. The children are literally squashed in the vehicle. Even after paying huge amounts the safety part goes for a toss. Either the schools should reduce the transport fees and provide services in almost every part of the City or the traffic police should start a drive against these auto drivers,” she opines. PVS Ramakrishna, DCP traffic-I, from Hyderabad Traffic Police says, “We are planning to start a drive against overcrowded school autos. In a day or two, we will come up with special campaign. However, we can’t force any school managements to provide compulsory transport facilities to the kids or start any new routes.” He also thanked Postnoon for bringing this issue and promised to start a drive against auto drivers before all schools reopened on June 14.

100 YEARS OF INDIAN CINEMA

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

The influence of literature on Indian cinema is an age-old phenomenon. Several novels, written by Bengali, Tamil and Hindi writers, have been adapted to the big screen over the past few decades. We trace literature's contribution to cinema

THROWING THE BOOK AT THE MOVIES

Hemanth Kumar hemanth.k@postnoon.com

he debate whether art imitates life or life imitates art has intrigued filmmakers, sociologists, poets, writers for several decades now. In India, arts like music, literature and theatre have had a huge impact on the lives of people across the nation. When cinema came to India in the early part of the 20th century, Indian filmmakers took inspiration from mythology and social issues in that era to make their films. Right from Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra in Marathi to the initial wave of mythological and devotional films in Telugu and Tamil, the infatuation to bring alive some of the greatest stories ever told is quite clear. By late 30s, directors had already begun

adapting great works of writers like Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Gudipati Venkatachalam to name a few. Gudavalli Ramabrahmam’s Mala Pilla, which created a huge controversy when it released in 1938, was based on a story written by Gudipati Venkatachalam. Several novels and stories written by Rabindranath Tagore like Kabuliwalah, Uphaar, Lekin, Milan, Charulatha, Teen Kanya, Choker Bali were adapted into films. But it is Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay who holds the record for inspiring most number of adaptations in Indian cinema. Some of his classic works like Devdas, Parineeta, Vipradas, Bindur Chhele were adapted into films in different languages. Several Satyajit Ray’s films including Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar, Shatranj Ke Khiladi were

adapted from popular works of Bengali and Hindi writers. The Tamil film industry saw a sea change after India’s independence. During India’s struggle for independence, cinema had become a medium to reach out to the masses and inspire

them to fight for the country. After 1947, the Congress stopped using this medium and some of its leaders in South like K Kamaraj even denounced it completely. Around this time, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was slowly gaining prominence and one of its founders C Annadurai, who was an extremely popular orator and writer, used cinema to spread the party’s ideologies. Films like Nallathambi, Velaikaari and Rangoon Radha were adapted from the works of Annadurai. In the 70s, another Tamil writer Sujatha Rangarajan stormed into Tamil film industry and he was among the first writers to introduce science-fiction in Tamil films. Sri Sri, one of the most influential Telugu writers, had a huge impact on filmmakers for several decades. Novels written by Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani too inspired directors like K Vishwanath and others to adapt them into films. The Hindi film industry has had its share of adaptations right from the 50s. Guru Dutt’s Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam was adapted from a novel of the same name written by Bimal Mitra. RK Laxman’s Guide was adapted into a film starring Dev Anand. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, books written by Gulshan Nanda became fodder for several hit films like Kati Patang, Neel Kamal, Khilona, Sharmilee. In the recent few years, adaptations of classics has been on the downfall in all the film industries

in India, although few filmmakers are keeping an eye on novels written in English. Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake was adapted into a film by Mira Nair. Vishal Bharadwaj adapted works of Ruskin Bond like The Blue Umbrella and Susanna’s Seven Husbands, apart from Shakespeare’s novels like Othello and Macbeth. Chetan Bhagat’s books like Five Point Someone, One Night @ Call Centre and Two States have all been adapted into films. Of late, books written in regional languages haven’t been able to find patrons which is why so few literary works are adapted into films. Inspiration, these days, comes from films made in other languages. Has literature lost the race to other arts? Has the golden age of literature come to an end? That is an issue worth pondering upon.

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GET SET TO GO DIGITAL K Prudhvi Raju prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

ndian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) urged the government to go ahead withdigitisation implementation deadline (July 1, 2012) in the metros. Naresh Chahal, director (Finance) of IBF said, “Even if the government extends the deadline by two months, there will still be last minute chaos. It is the general tendency of the public or cable operator to abide by it only if the deadline is nearing. Postponement of deadlines will not yield results.” It may be recalled that earlier the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments had requested that the Centre postpone the deadline for digitisation in the metros as there only 20 per cent of the people had set top boxes. Talking about benefits of digitisation, Naresh said, “It will bring in huge benefits to the customer, broadcaster and the government. It is not just quality, the customer will be able to watch around 500 channels. As of now, the quality deteriorates after the first 30-40 channels. The customer also does not need to depend on the cable operator’s discretion to watch a specific channel. He can pay and subscribe to his choice of channels and all at the same clarity. Value added services like movies on

demand, games and other interactive programmes will be the icing on the cake.” Digitisation of television will also bring in transparency in the industry. In the current scenario,

Oil prices boosted Oil prices SINGAPORE: jumped in Asian trade Monday with traders cheered by a eurozone agreement to bail out Spain’s beleaguered banks and easing Chinese inflation. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, soared 2.51 per cent, or $2.11, to $86.21 per barrel in morning trade. Brent North Sea crude for July delivery added 2.67 per cent, or $2.66, to $102.13. Justin Harper, market strategist for IG Markets Singapore, said prices “saw a huge boost... after weekend news that Spanish banks were bailed out by the EU and Chinese inflation eased”. He said in a report that oil saw its biggest rise in five months after suffering heavy losses recently because of the eurozone troubles, increased supply, rising stockpiles and threats of weaker global demand. The crude rally mirrored that of the euro, which rose after the 17-nation eurozone agreed to

cable operators are declaring only 20 per cent of teh actual subscribers while paying the broadcasters. The operators also avoid huge taxes as a result of this underdeclaration, he explained.

lend Spain up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to rescue its battered banks. The Spanish bailout package, which was agreed over the weekend, marked a dramatic climbdown for Madrid, which had denied any need for outside aid to prop up its troubled lenders. Despite the bailout Phillip Futures said in a report that Spanish concerns as well as upcoming elections in debt-ravaged Greece will be the predominant factors moving crude markets this week. AFP

As an added benefit, digitisation will not only bring revenues to the broadcasting industry but will also enhance revenues significantly by the way of income tax, service tax and entertainment tax to the government. The IBF is also hoping there will be a significant reduction in the carriage fee that broadcasters are paying to the MSOs, he said. For many years, the carriage fee, the amount that broadcasters pay to the MSOs to be on cable TV, has been informal. However, TRAI recently interfered and legitimised the carriage fee. After the concerns from the broadcasters, it has indicated that the carriage fee level between 50 paise to `1 per subscriber per year is reasonable. Anything more than that needs TRAI intervention. The IBF is also confident that this will reduce huge costs to the channels that they incur as a result of paying the MSOs. The set top box is a one-time investment for the customer. He can also pay the amount in instalments to the operator, if he cannot afford to pay it in full. This will not only benefit him but the entire industry, he added. Talking about the concerns on imported set top boxes, he said, “We want consumer friendly digitisation. There will be indigenously manufactured set top boxes in the second and third phase of digitisation.”

Airline industry profits to plummet in 2012 BEIJING: Airline industry group IATA warned on Monday global profits would more than halve this year owing to surging oil prices and the eurozone crisis, with European carriers suffering losses of $1.1 billion. The head of International Air Transport Association, Tony Tyler, also hit out at a controversial carbon tax scheme put in place by the European Union, lashing it as a “polarising obstacle to real progress”. Tyler told the group’s annual general meeting in Beijing that “2012 is another challenging year. We expect revenues of $631 billion but a profit of just $3.0 billion”. That compares with a profit of $7.9 billion in 2011.

`85.98

Tyler cited cost of oil as one of the main reasons for “anaemic global profitability” — with the industry group expecting an average of $110 a barrel this year — and warned volatile political situations could push up prices. But he added, “The biggest and most immediate risk ... is the crisis in the eurozone. If it evolves into a banking crisis we could face a continent-wide recession, dragging our profits.” In a statement released as the AGM began Monday, IATA said it had downgraded its outlook for European airlines in 2012, projecting losses of $1.1 billion compared with its previous forecast of $600 million. AFP

POUND MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012 9 NUMEROLOGY

lakh crore

was the estimated amount pulled out by overseas entities that invested in Indian markets in less than three months for fear of getting caught in govt’s taxation net and black money trail.

THUS SPAKE “If Europe does slip into a crisis, it is going to be a very difficult time. There is no escaping from that. Though we (government and the Reserve Bank) have a team that is working on different scenarios, to see how we will react, it will be a lie to say that we have the strength to weather that. It will hit us in the face,” Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor

EURO SOARS The euro soared against other major currencies in Asia on Monday as traders flocked to the common currency on the back of a eurozone deal to rescue Spain's banking sector. The single currency bought $1.2637 and 100.73 yen in Tokyo morning trade, up from $1.2514 and 99.49 yen in NY on Friday.

CAR SALES UP Domestic car sales rose 2.78 per cent to 1,63,229 units in May 2012 from 1,58,809 units in the same month last year. Figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) today also showed that motorcycle sales grew 7.24 per cent during the month to 8,87,634 units from 8,27,746 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales in May increased 11.40 per cent to 11,92,688 units from 10,70,603 units in the same month last year.

India‑View

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

India unveiled

India’s gift to C Asia: E-network NEW DELHI: Stepping up its diplomatic footprints in energyrich Central Asia, India is set to replicate the success of the Pan Africa e-network by creating a similar project of tele-education and tele-medicine that will span all the states of the strategically important region. The e-network project will be unveiled during Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed's visit to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, June 12-13, a senior official familiar with the region, told IANS. Ahamed will be accompanied by senior officials of the external affairs ministry, including Ajay Bisaria, joint secretary in charge of the Eurasia division. In Africa, the e-network has been a success with 47 African countries signing onto it. The Central Asian e-network will be a pioneering attempt by India to leverage its prowess in the IT to bridge the digital divide in developing countries and to

bolster their capacity in critical areas of health and education by linking India's top hospitals and educational institutions with hubs in the region. The Krygyz capital will also see India unfurling its Central Asia policy, the first such

SUMMER SPLASH

Bhavini unit to raise `1,200 crore CHENNAI: India’s fast breeder reactor operator, Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (Bhavini), is planning to raise around Rs.1,200 crore, tapping the domestic debt market, for its upcoming 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. With the reactor slated to start operations in 2013, Bhavini has started to ring-fence the project against protests by antinuclear activists as it happened in the case of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).

attempt to articulate New Delhi's vision for the region where China has made deep inroads. Bishkek will host a Track 1.5 dialogue that will bring experts and academics along with officials from India and Central

Asian countries to map out a coherent and effective IndiaCentral Asia partnership. The dialogue has been organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). Given the critical importance of the resource-rich Central Asian nations, India has been raising its profile by proactive initiatives on multiple fronts in the region which is already sold on the charms of Bollywood cinema. Culturally, India is strongly placed with its soft power attractions - many Tajiks and Uzbeks who trained in India speak fluent Hindi and love humming Hindi songs. With its core strengths in capacity building, IT and human resource development, India is uniquely poised to transform the resource-rich strategically located region that suffers from a massive infrastructure deficit. During his visit, Ahamed will also inaugurate a potato processing plant.

Indian children cool off in a fountain beside the landmark India Gate monument in New Delhi on Sunday. The temperature in India’s capital has steadily risen with the mercury reaching 45 degrees AFP/SAJJAD HUSSAIN Celsius.

Donald Duck’s desi voice “Many Happy MUMBAI: Returns, Dear Don!" And, Vinay Nadkarni grins mischievously and accepts the greetings. But it is not his birthday. On Saturday (June 9), the globally favourite cartoon character created by Walt Disney Studios, Donald Duck turned 78. Vinay Nadkarni (50), a shy, unassuming Mumbai banker, is the Indian voice of Donald Duck since 1992 and is identified as the cartoon character in his Indian ‘avatar.' “In fact, most people greet me every year and I have become quite used to this,” he smiled. After all, his was the only voice

selected from among thousands of others that had been sent for a voice test to the US in the early 1990s after Walt Disney Studios decided to enter the Indian market in a big way by dubbing all their cartoon films in Hindi.

Vinay Nadkarni, 50, has been the Indian voice of Donald Duck since 1992. Long before Nadkarni came on the scene, the original Donald Duck was ‘born’ June 9, 1934, in the cartoon film, “The Wise Little

Hen” which was part of the Silly Symphonies series of theatrical cartoon shorts. Though it was a bit role, it was the only one dubbed in a ‘duck voice’ and became popular among the movie-going public. Donald Duck was also known for his trademark temper swings and he became angry first time Aug 11, 1934, in the Mickey Mouse cartoon, “Orphan’s Benefit”. The original voice of Donald Duck was provided by Clarence ‘Ducky’ Nash and the distinctive semi-intelligble speech he created helped catapult them both to stardom in over 120 shorts and films spanning five decades. IANS

Myanmar refugees do not want to leave India By Nikhil Walia

NEW DELHI: Myanmar is embracing democracy after decades of military rule, but refugees from the country living in India say they have no immediate plans to return home. Spokespersons for the mass of refugees here say despite the globally hailed changes in Myanmar, the situation was far from conducive for them to go back to their original homes and lives. “At present there is no guarantee of safety (in Myanmar). There’s no system for resettlement," said the campaign coordinator at the Burma Center Delhi (BCD) who gave his name only as Kim. BCD is one of the groups working among the Myanmar refugees, thousands of whom live in Vikaspuri in west Delhi. “Civil unrest continues in Kachin state. A majority of our refugees don’t want to go back," Kim told IANS. Tint Swe, a doctor and a member of the so-called Burmese government-in-exile, had another point to make. “Most refugees don’t trust the government’s assurances of better living conditions. Also, with Myanmar opening up, other countries are not as willing to take us as they were earlier," Tint told IANS. He added that only political activists were thinking of going back. But even among them, not more than five had left India. Mizzima, a news service started by exiled activists, is however shifting base from India to Myanmar. “We have already started operations in Myanmar with two editors," explained Thin thin Aung, Mizzima’s co-founder. IANS

India‑View

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

India unveiled

Centre tells AI to decide on striking pilots’Taxes fate make air W

ith Air India considering a further crackdown on the striking pilots, the government today said it is for the airline’s management to decide for how long to keep them on their payroll when they are not working. It “is for the Air India management to take action now. These pilots have not come to work for more than 30 days... It is an illegal strike. They have defied the High Court,” civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said. “We have requested them again and again to return to work. So, it is for the management to decide for how long can they keep them on their payroll when they are not working. And they have no intention of coming back,” he told reporters. Around 400 Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) have been on strike since May 7 and the services of 101 pilots have already been terminated. Sources in the stateowned airline have said “tough action” would be taken against the remaining 300odd pilots.

IATA attacks govt for airport charges fares higher here BEIJING: India today came under

BEIJING: Air fares in India were about

attack for the recent hike in charges at Delhi airport and delays in building new airports and strengthening infrastructure, with IATA saying this was “clearly unacceptable” and the government should encourage the aviation sector for overall economic growth. Observing that India’s airport regulator AERA allowed a whopping 346 per cent hike in Delhi airport charges, IATA director general and CEO Tony Tyler said, “this is clearly unacceptable.” “The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has to pay 46 per cent of its revenue to the government... This is neither in the interest of the airlines nor of the airport.” Addressing the annual meeting of the IATA here, Tyler said he would be holding discussions with Indian authorities on this issue soon.

300 per cent higher than those in China and some other countries because of high tax rates, Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal said today, asserting that the aviation industry could not grow with such taxation. “The Indian (aviation) industry can’t grow with the taxes. In fact, India is the only country in the world to impose a service tax on their airlines. Do you know that the fares of Chinese airlines are a third of the Indian carriers? Why is it so? Because there are no taxes here. In fact, the Indian fares are higher by 200-300 pc if compared with the world’s other carriers, leave alone Chinese,” Goyal said. Comparing Chinese airlines with the ones here, he said Chinese airlines were are all state-owned and “have solid government backing”. Elaborating on Jet’s expansion plans, Goyal said, “We want to go to a few places in Europe and are looking at those destinations which will make money.” PTI

NATION AT A GLANCE Three tech students drown in Arabian Sea RAIGAD (MAHARASHTRA): A weekend trip turned tragic for three engineering students, including a girl, who drowned off the Harihareshwar Beach on the Konkan coast here Sunday, a police official said. The victims, students of the Institute of Technology in Pune’s Chinchwad, had gone for an outing to the popular beach resort, along with a teacher.

Robbery bid at BoB in Trinidad and Tobago PORT-OF-SPAIN: An Indian bank here was targeted by four robbers who tied up three Indian employees and demanded keys to the vault. Policemen who were passing by noticed the heist and nabbed them. The four people charged with the robbery in the Bank of Baroda branch will appear before a Port-of-Spain court.

BJP candidate for municipal corporation elections Sandhya Sikka (R), the wife of the BJP councillor Anuj Sikka (L).

SAD-BJP sweep civic polls in Punjab PUNJAB:The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-

REACHING OUT

Delhi property dealer swindles South Korean embassy of `57L NEW DELHI: A property

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav shakes hand with his supporters during the bypoll rally for Matt assembly seat at village Bajana on Sunday. PTI

dealer swindled the South Korean embassy here of `57 lakh, on the pretext of providing premises to set up a cultural centre, police said Sunday, citing the complaint filed by the mission. According to the FIR filed by Kim Kum Pyoung, first secretary (cultural affairs) at the South Korean embassy, the accused, Yashwant Singh had promised to rent a fourstorey building in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash area to the embassy, despite already renting out the premises to another tenant. “Based on the com-

plaint, a case has been registered against Singh and the investigations are on,” a police official said. During his state visit in 2010, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had promised Manmohan Singh to open a cultural centre in New Delhi. According to the complaint, the embassy selected the property, A-24, Kailash Colony, as the location for the centre and contacted Singh who held the power of attorney for the property and promised the diplomats that the building will be available to them. However, Ashutosh Verma, brother of Singh’s

friend was already living in the first floor and Singh assured the embassy officials that Verma would vacate the premises, the complaint said. Assured, the embassy signed the lease and handed over the cheque of `57 lakh to Singh, who duly encashed it. However, he “concealed the fact that Verma is a tenant with whom he has signed a lease deed on January 2011 for three years”, Kim said in his complaint. The fraud was revealed when the embassy tried to get a phone installed in December 2011 but Verma objected to it. IANS

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance made a clean sweep in the municipal election in Punjab Sunday winning four municipal corporations, three municipal councils and 26 nagar panchayats, an official said. Stray incidents of violence, including a firing incident in Ludhiana city, and clashes between Akali Dal and Congress workers.

Separatist shutdown affects life in Kashmir SRINAGAR: Life in Srinagar and other towns in the Kashmir Valley was impacted Monday as shops, educational institutions and business establishments shut down in response to a call by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani. Geelani, who heads the Hurriyat Conference, called for a Kashmir-wide shutdown to remember those killed in clashes with security forces.

Pune: Devotees take part in the Palkhi of Sant Tukaram at Dehu in Pune on Sunday. PTI

Around the World

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Beyond Borders

Myanmar now tourism hotspot AFP/ SOE THAN WIN

YANGON: The hotels are full or eye-wateringly expensive, creased dollar bills are worthless and credit cards are widely refused — welcome to Myanmar, Asia’s next big tourist destination. The Southeast Asian nation, once shielded from international eyes by a brutal military junta and a travel boycott supported by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, has become a must-see for many travellers. “Because the country has been so isolated, the deeply Buddhist ‘Land of the Golden Pagoda’ resonates with a strong sense of place, undiluted by mass tourism and warmed by genuine hospitality,” the New York Times said in January, ranking the country third on its list of the top 45 destinations of 2012. But the influx of tourists is posing a challenge to the burgeoning travel industry in a country where a string of political reforms has not been matched by infrastructure development. The few hotels in Yangon offering international standards of business accommodation have begun to charge up to several hundred dollars a night for rooms that were half the price, if not less, a year ago. Even hoteliers admit that the situation is unsustainable. “To be really honest at this point I don’t think that Myanmar

A western tourist poses with a Buddhist monk at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. is ready yet to cope with the high demand of mass tourism,” said Thomas Moons, front office manager at the colonial-style Governor’s Residence hotel in Yangon. “At the moment in terms of availability and accommodation that we’re able to offer, it’s just not enough to cope with demand,” he told AFP. “People might think that if they come to Myanmar they will have a cheap holiday when it’s completely the opposite.” While few doubt Myanmar’s attraction to tourists, some people returning to the country say they enjoyed it more before the hordes arrived.

Klaus, a 61-year-old German travelling with his wife in the remote western town of Sittwe, said they were “disappointed” by their third trip to Myanmar. “There are too many people this time, even though it is April (the peak of hot season),” he told AFP. International arrivals have rocketed, with almost 3,65,000 foreigners jetting into the main city Yangon in 2011, up 22 per cent on the previous year and almost double the figure for 2003, industry figures show. This year is likely to see another jump, with more than 1,75,000 arrivals between January and April, against almost 1,30,000

in the same period of 2011. Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, of the Myanmar Tourism Board, said the tourism influx had also caused “unprecedented congestion” at hotels, especially in Yangon, which have begun inflating their prices in response. “Potential holiday makers may opt for other destinations in the region,” he added. Westerners used to the relative ease of travelling in other Southeast Asian countries, like neighbouring Thailand, are also being caught out by other symptoms of Myanmar’s long years of isolation under military rule. There are almost no places where credit and debit cards or travellers’ cheques are accepted so visitors must bring all the money they need for their trip with them in US dollar bills. While recent reforms mean there are more official moneychangers competing with the black market, the dollar bills must be crisp and clean or they will be rejected. “Candidly speaking, there have been some tourists who arrived in Myanmar with insufficient information and did not bring enough cash for their stay,” said Phyoe Wai Yar Zar. But he stressed that travel agents were often able to help. “It is the nature of Myanmar people to give assistance to the people in trouble.” AFP

A droop in the ‘boost’ harvest KATHMANDU: Every summer, Himalayan villages empty as locals rush to the mountains of northern Nepal to harvest yarchagumba, a high-altitude wild fungus that is prized for its aphrodisiac qualities. In recent years, however, the yield has been severely depleted by over-picking and the probable effects of climate change, experts have warned, prompting fears about the future of the ‘Himalayan Viagra’ harvest. This season’s crop has been particularly poor, say the villagers who rely on the rare, parasitic fungus to earn money to feed their families. “We returned home as we could not even collect more than 10 pieces of yarchagumba in a month,” Nar Bahadur Bohara, who had been harvesting in the remote northwestern district of Darchula, told the Kathmandu Post. “Those who had collected 150 to 200 pieces last year could make it only 20 to 30 pieces.” Fellow forager Narendra Thekare said the area had seen no rain for two months while

winter snowfall, which is needed for the fungus to thrive, had been minimal. “Production of yarchagumba has declined over the past five years. If this situation remains for some years, yarchagumba might vanish,” Thekare said. Neighbouring China has a huge appetite for the obscure fungus, pushing prices above

$11,500 per pound (450 grams) and putting its value somewhere between silver and gold. Despite declining harvests, the export trade still brings essential cash into the impoverished local economy with Darchula district earning about 7.3 million rupees ($85,000) last year, according to officials. Thousands of foragers in the mountains are able to support

their families for a year with a decent haul from the April to June season, but competition for yarchagumba can turn violent. In November a court convicted 19 villagers over the murder of a group of seven farmers during a fight in 2009 over the fungus in Nar, an isolated village 13,000ft (4,000m) above sea level. Yarchagumba is effectively two organisms, the larva of the Himalayan ghost moth and the Cordyceps fungus. The fungus spores attack the larva while it lives beneath the ground, killing it and causing a mushroom to sprout out of its head. There has been no definitive research conducted by Western scientists but Chinese herbalists believe the fungus — an excellent balance of yin and yang, as it is both animal and vegetable — boosts sexual performance. Boiled in water to make tea, or added to soups and stews, it is said to cure a variety of other ailments from fatigue to cancer. AFP

Possums push Aus PM from home SYDNEY: Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard will move out of her official Canberra residence, in part due to some badmannered possums which have made their home in its roof. It has been known for some time that Gillard and partner Tim Mathieson will have to move out of The Lodge, which is more than 80 years old, as it undergoes vital repairs, including the removal of dangerous cloth wiring and asbestos. But Gillard revealed om Sunday that the urgency of the renovations came home to her when an unnamed foreign official had to be rushed out of one

room after the possums’ lack of toilet training became obvious. “We had a celebrated incident where we had a visiting foreign leader, so you put dinner on for them,” Gillard said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph. “There was much shooing of people out of the dining room in a way that looked — it wasn’t rudely done. “But it was because someone had spotted that wee was making its way down the wall to one of the very precious paintings from the National Gallery.” Government officials last year announced that the 40room Georgian revival-style mansion known as The Lodge would undergo a major renovation to fix the leaking roof, redo the electrical wiring and remove asbestos. Gillard said she was unconcerned about her upcoming move, and she would consider living in her Sydney harbourside residence, Kirribilli, when parliament was not sitting. But where she will stay in Canberra once renovations begin towards the end of the year is not known. “The dudes who do things like that, they think about security issues, they have a tribe working on it,” the prime minister said. The Lodge was built in 1927 as a temporary residence but plans to build a permanent prime ministerial home have never progressed. AFP

Around the World Opposition urges for mass defection DAMASCUS:

The new head of Syria’s main opposition group has called for mass defections from a regime he says is “on its last legs” after a series of massacres, as the death toll in the uprising tops 14,000. Similar calls were made by the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), which also urged a campaign of mass “civil disobedience” to ratchet up internal pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’s beleaguered regime. “We are entering a sensitive phase. The regime is on its last legs,” Kurdish activist Abdel Basset Sayda told AFP on Sunday shortly after being named the new leader of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC). “The multiplying massacres and shellings show that it is struggling,” he said of mass deaths of civilians. At his first news conference since taking over the reins, Sayda called on all members of the Damascus regime to defect, while reaching out to minority groups by promising them a full say in a future, democratic Syria. “We call upon all officials in the regime and in the institutions to defect from the regime,” Sayda told reporters in Istanbul. The FSA, meanwhile, called for a campaign of civil disobedience and urged officers and troops in Assad’s military to jump ship and join the rebel ranks. AFP

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Beyond Borders

Socialists set to win

GLOBE AT A GLANCE Pakistan police to launch FM radio

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande’s Socialists and their allies knuckle down to campaigning today ahead of next week’s crucial parliamentary run-off flush with their first-round success. The Socialists came out of Sunday’s first round vote eyeing the absolute majority needed to pass tax-and-spend reforms after an election marked by inroads for Marine Le Pen’s far-right anti-immigrant National Front party. The Socialists, Greens and allies won almost 47 per cent of the vote, ahead of the 34 per cent for ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP party and its allies, the final results released by the interior ministry showed. Pollsters TNS Sofres, Ipos and OpinonWay agreed that the Socialists and close allies might win between 283-329 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly and may secure a majority in the parliament without having to rely on the votes of the Greens or the anticapitalist Left Front. Hollande defeated Sarkozy in last month’s presidential election and wants voters to give him a strong mandate to enact reforms as France battles Europe’s crippling debt crisis, rising joblessness and a stagnant economy. If next Sunday’s secondround confirms the results, it will boost his status in Europe as champion of the movement away from German-led fixation on austerity towards growth, which he favours as the solution to the economic crisis. The National Front won

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will soon launch a “Police FM” radio service to provide information about traffic jams, accidents, crimes and weather conditions besides broadcasting interviews and talk shows to create awareness among the people. The radio service would start soon after getting permission from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

Qaeda claims Iraq attack killed 25 Francois Bayrou, candidate for France’s parliamentary elections answers journalists’ questions. AFP/ PIERRE ANDRIEU 13.6 per cent of the votes on Sunday, far above the 4.0 per cent it achieved in the last parliamentary election in 2007. But under France’s firstpast-the-post system, that would at best give it only three parliamentary seats and possibly none at all. The Communist-backed Left Front, headed by firebrand anti-capitalist Jean-Luc Melenchon, won 6.9 per cent of the votes, though he himself bowed out in a head-to-head fight against Le Pen in the first round. Although the National Front, which wants to quit the euro, has not won a parliamentary seat since 1986, Le Pen is seeking to build on her strong showing in the presidential vote and cement her party’s place in national politics. Melenchon won 11 per cent of the vote in the April-May presidential vote that was won by Hollande, while Le Pen won

almost 18 per cent of votes. Hollande wants to secure a parliamentary majority in order to carry through on his pledges to hire an extra 60,000 new teachers and to hit top earners with a 50-per cent tax rate on some of their income. The Socialists took control of the upper house of parliament, the Senate, last year. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s interim government has taken a series of popular steps in the wake of Hollande’s presidential victory in the May 6 run-off. He has cut ministers’ salaries by 30 per cent, vowed to reduce executive pay at stateowned companies and lowered the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers. After Sunday’s vote Ayrault hailed the results and urged voters to return to the polls in numbers for the second round to hand a “large, solid and coherent majority” for the Socialist party and its allies. AFP

Just Once for the Tony’s

Laura Bell Bundy attends the 66th Annual Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on Sunday in New York City. AFP

NEW YORK: The musical Once, which tells a love story between a musician and an immigrant singer and pianist, was the big winner at this year’s Tony awards ceremony here late on Sunday, scooping a total of eight prizes. Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris won the Tony for best play and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman won the awards for best revival play and best director of a play for Mike Nichols. Tony awards are given for excellence in theater and are considered to be the Broadway equivalent of the Oscars, which are given for best performances in the movie industry. Once, which went into

the contest with a total of eleven nominations, gained some of the most important awards: best musical, best director of a musical for John Tiffany, and best actor for Steve Kazee. In addition, it gained the prizes for best screenplay, sound, instrumentation, lighting and scenery. Based on an Irish musical film, which in 2007 won the Oscar for best original song for Falling Slowly, Once tells the story of a musician and an immigrant singer and pianist, who meet and fall in love in the streets of Dublin. The controversial musical The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which features a shorter version of the legendary opera by George Gershwin, won the awards for best

musical revival and best actress. The leading role of Bess in this production was played by Audra McDonald. Other winners included Peter and the Starcatcher, which obtained a total of five awards. The play, which recounts the early adventures of Peter Pan, is based on a children’s novel by the same name published in 2006 by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It won the Tonys for best supporting actor for Christian Borle, best costumes, best sound, best scenery and best lighting. The Tony award ceremony was held for the second consecutive year at the Beacon Theatre in New York, which can accommodate 3,000 people. AFP

BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq today claimed a suicide car bombing against the Baghdad headquarters of an Iraqi Shiite foundation that killed 25 people, in a statement. “One of the passionate sons of the Sunnis came out in a quick attack against this evil lair that is called the Shiite endowment,” the Islamic State of Iraq said.

Revelers dance atop a float during the annual Gay Pride Parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. AFP

Three dead in Alabama university shooting BIRMINGHAM: Three people have been shot, at least one of them fatally, during a fight at a late-night student party in Alabama. Reports differed on the number of fatalities at the off-campus shooting at the University Heights apartment complex near Auburn University. Police planned a press conference for later today as they continued to look for the shooter.

Wildfires rage in Colorado, one missing LOS ANGELES: Wildfires raged on Sunday in the western US state of Colorado, leaving thousands of acres of land destroyed, one person missing and forcing hundreds of evacuations in the Denver area. The fire, dubbed the High Park Fire, broke out early on Saturday near Fort Collins, about 100 kilometers northwest of Denver.

Priests march next to carpets made of petals during the celebration of the Corpus Christi in Lima’s main square on Sunday. AFP

Comment

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Fair, free and forthright

Talk back Law and order in Bengal The state of law and order in Didi’s Bengal seems deteriorating as more stories of rape emerge. The latest is the incident in which a woman was raped in a moving taxi. I wonder what would Mamata say now. The accused has been arrested. I wonder what fate follows the officer who solved the case. Will it be that of the other who caught the culprits in an earlier case which had sent ripples all across the nation? Suresh Jain Musheerabad

England will have to do a lot to remain kings Twelfth Man Babu Kalyanpur

Supercool YMCA When you want to pursue a sport or an activity without burning your pocket, everyone knows that YMCA is the place to go. Whether it’s rollerskating, basketball, badminton, chess, table tennis, or learning to play the guitar, you may go approach the YMCA. The story about YMCA was very nice. I remember their service during the communal riots in 1991; many people who were suffering received help and food. But I think YMCA facilities face competition from private concerns. I think the government should chip in to improve and broaden the activities of YMCA. Naveen Gopal Secunderabad

Probe jail death We must have a thorough probe into the mysterious circumstances under which the suspected IM operative was found dead in a Pune jail, that too in a high security zone. I think the man was silenced so that he does not spill the beans about the top shots behind him. This is also an incident that throws light on the poor security in jails. The whole prison policy needs a complete overhaul is what I feel. Mukul Govind Banjara Hills

Need good facilities I appreciate your good work on bringing focus to the curse of child labour. However, I wonder what real options these kids have. I don’t believe if they move to foster homes or child care centres they would be properly looked after. We hear so many stories of children running away from such places only to end up working elsewhere. There are stories aplenty of child abuse by officials in places intended for them which is one of the main causes that a child that has been saved from doing menial jobs wishes to go back. What we need is proper schools and hostel facilities for them where both the kids and the officials are monitored. Ramakrishna Malkajgiri

ngland will have to answer a lot of questions despite having comfortably won the Test series against the West Indies.

With the tough series against South Africa coming up later in the summer, England will need to get back to the drawing board and clear some of the hurdles which came up in the series. There were times during the Tests when England just let the game drift away when they should have got a firm grip. In almost every Test England managed to send the West Indian top and early middleorder packing very quickly. Then the frustration mounted as either Shivnaraine Chanderpaul or Marlon Samuels led the fightback with the tail. England’s problems were in sharp focus particularly in the third Test. After claiming four wickets with the score on 128, England let West Indies off the hook. Marlon Samuels started the recovery with 76 before Denesh Ramdin and Tino Best put on 143 for the last wicket. Best got the highest score by a number 11 with 95. Importantly he played some audacious shots which would have made any batsman proud. Ramdin also got a hundred to take West Indies to 426. England looked ragged and there were a few dropped catches to add insult to injury. Even Darren Sammy, who barely averages 20, got a magnificent hundred in the second Test. England’s batting also seemed vulnerable at times. Thankfully, skipper Andrew Strauss struck a rich vein of form and kept England in the hunt. When the series started, England were confident that they would overcome the West Indies easily. But they were proved wrong in almost every Test as the West Indies, despite their inexperience, made England fight hard. The lack of a couple of experienced batsmen in the top order ultimately hit the West

Editorials

Indies fortunes badly. Samuels was undoubtedly the star player. After enduring so many setbacks, the Cool Cat finally got his act together with consistent performances throughout the series. He played with assurance and authority. Samuels must capitalise on this now and finally live up to the respect he gets as a top Test player. The West Indies bowlers set themselves high standards. Kemar Roach was the pick. He troubled all the batsmen with his pace and accuracy before he got himself injured. He was well supported by Ravi Rampaul who bowled with deceptive pace. Best came back after three years and hustled and bustled the batsmen. This larger than life character needs some more success in his primary role as a bowler after writing himself into the record books with the bat. He is an entertainer and cricket needs more characters like that. England decided to rest two of their best bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, for

the third Test. This was rightly rapped in many circles as cricketers these days are thorough professionals who want to play regularly and maintain continuity. This will now mean that both Anderson and Broad will have find their rhythm again when South Africa come over. This will only compound England’s problems. Though Tim Bresnan, Graham Onions and Steve Finn did adequately in the final Test, they still let West Indies get past 400. Onions was the only bowler who looked capable of striking regularly. England seem much like India after they clinched the No 1 spot. India stuttered and began their downward journey on cricket’s ladder after claiming the crown. England had a winter of discontent early in the year and a few jolts against the West Indies. Their day of reckoning will certainly come this July against the strong South Africans. Cricket’s crown has not been resting easily since the dominating days of the Australians and before that the West Indies.

THE FRENCH HAVE SPOKEN: A different approach needed

rancois Hollande's Socialists and allies have won the first round of polling in the French Parliamentary elections edging out Nicholas Sarkozy’s party. Though at present it is hard to tell what the outcome would be before the final round of voting in the following days, it appears that Mr Hollande will have a majority in the lower house and with holding sway in the Senate, the latest victory will help him go forward with the reforms he proposes to get back France up and running. He had already with his election as the president expressed disagreement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s proposed plans of saving the Euro zone. The impact of the latest victory of Francois Hollande and allies on the Euro crisis will be interesting. The voters have clearly signaled that to beat the slump that the Euro zone is going through, a different approach is required, which the rest of the leaders of the Euro zone now cannot ignore.

WHY WE LOVE Saina Nehwal

nce again the Hyderabadi girl has made us proud with her victory of the Thai Open. There were doubts about her Olympic prospects, with her ouster in two major tournaments recently. The score, 19-21, 21-15, 21-10 itself proves she has grit and she is on track to represent India In London.

Campus

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Ivy League impressions Th big eight colleges in US are the dream destinations for Indian students. But are they really all that they are made out to be? Neha Alluri feedback@postnoon.com

“J

ust because a school is highly ranked or well known, doesn’t mean that it’s the perfect fit for every student,” said Vaishali Ravi, an undergraduate student at Scripps College. Scripps is a small school in Claremont (California) with 950 undergraduate students. It has an acceptance rate of 36 per cent and is one of the most competitive liberal arts schools in the United States. But not everyone’s heard of it. With hordes of Indians flocking to schools like University of Michigan and Purdue, the smaller, more competitive schools, that are just as good, are going unnoticed. Besides the popular ones, the

Ivy leagues are the only highly regarded colleges. But do rankings and popularity say everything about a school? “When I go to India, most people cannot name a single other Ivy League except Harvard. Though Harvard is listed as the number one school in the world, it isn’t the best for Engineering,” said Vaishali. Students from her school who were accepted to MIT, Stanford and Caltech (The California Institute of Technology) chose to attend Scripps instead. “Scripps has really small classes with just around 20 students. The biggest class I’ve ever attended had 30 students,” said Vaishali. “It is a very nurturing community and extremely welcoming,” added Vaishali. Scripps has a lot of international students from Asia, but has predominantly more Americans.

Things to keep in mind when you apply to college n n n n n

Your needs: Majors, clubs and student organisations that interest you. Profile: Will it be the perfect fit for you socially? Class size: How interactive are the classes? Are the professors accessible? Location: Is it a college town or a city? Alumni: Try to talk to alumni of the school. Their almuni will give you an idea of what kind of people graduated from the school.

Supriya Chak, a student from Tufts, also loves the small-school atmosphere. Tufts University is a private college in Boston with around 6,000 undergraduates. “You are not just a name or a face to a professor, you are actually somebody,” she said. “Tufts was the number one school on my college list. It is everything I expected it to be,” she added. According to Supriya, rankings are a combination of many factors. “They don’t always tell us everything about a school,” said Supriya. Forbes, the American business magazine, ranks Williams College as the number one undergraduate institution in the United States while US News lists Harvard. While Princeton and Harvard are among the top 10 on Forbes, Brown, Dartmouth and Columbia have slumped to the

low 20s and 40s. But why is there such a startling difference? Because US News claims that it tests the quality of students being accepted to college through factors like acceptance rates, high school ranks and test scores. On the other hand, Forbes claims to assess students who graduate from college. It ignores the “reputation” and “spending” factors and instead focuses on alumni salaries, post-graduate success and the number of nationally acclaimed awards and scholarships students receive, like the Marshall and Rhodes. Another major difference between the two is that Forbes considers the amount of student debt after graduation while US News does not. Suhas Tummalapalli said, “I don’t enjoy big lectures. I really like classes that are interactive and discussion-based. The pro-

fessors are extremely accessible in these type of classes.” Suhas studies at Carleton College in Minnesota, which has an undergraduate population of around 2,000 students. “Though Ivy Leagues accept the best students from around the world, the quality of education and the professors are overrated. But that’s the problem in India, everyone relies on rankings which are generalised. Every student has different needs so it’s hard to go by just rankings.” There will always be a disagreement on how to judge a school. The Ivies have given us geniuses like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs but Yale also gave us George W Bush. So no school in the world can assure you of anything. Maybe, just maybe, college is more of what you make of it, than what it is. Think about it.

H‑Factor

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

Is your child being bullied? Is your child reluctant to go back to school for the new academic session? Chances are they is being bullied and you may want to watch out for those tell-tale signs Ranjani Rajendra ranjani.r@postnoon.com

he new school year is here and most kids will be excited to go back to school. Sharing notes, flaunting their new bags and stationery, making new friends etc are bound to thrill any child. But you suddenly notice that your child is absolutely reluctant to go back to school after his vacations. In fact, he’s positively terrorised at the thought of it. It puzzles you and you try coaxing and cajoling him into going, but he’s just too upset at the thought of it. Chances are, the atmosphere at school is intimidating for him and he yearns for the security of his home. If you delve deeper you might find that it is some older kids bullying your child that is the real reason for him to be upset. Bullying in

schools is a reality, that most parents and often teachers too try to shrug off. It is often written off as a childhood thing that one outgrows, but for the child it is a very real fear and can disrupt their academics apart from leaving them frightened and insecure. “When my daughter joined her new school in class II, she was initially excited. But within a few days she seemed reluctant to go to school. She’d come up with excuses to stay home and was broody all the time. When we asked her she wouldn’t say anything, but just seemed withdrawn. She finally confessed that some girls in her class were bullying her and taking away her things when we noticed that she frequently ‘lost’ her belongings,” says Rekha Chandrashekhar, a mother of two. “These days there seem to be more cases of bullying., but surprisingly not much seems to be done by schools and parents to curb this. Often the child is asked to be brave or ignore the incident,” says Dr Kalyan Chakravarthy, consultant child psychiatrist at Rainbow Hospital. When a child is bullied, says Dr Kalyan, he/she

will typically display the following signs: their usual level of activity decreases, they often make excuses to avoid going to school, while some others just withdraw into a shell, they become moody, isolated and irritable, temper tantrums are common. Some children might also suddenly become more demanding when it comes to their parents’ attention and there may also be a deterioration in academic performance. However, it is best not to suppress such incidents. “When I learnt my daughter was being bullied, I asked her older cousin, who studied in the same school, to talk to the girls. When that didn’t help, I went and spoke to my daughter’s teacher myself to sort out the matter,” says Rekha. “It is important that parents understand these signs and take proactive action to sort out issues. When they suppress it, the child gives up and stops discussing problems with the parents. Parents should encourage communication with their children and allow them to talk about issues that stress them. It also helps to regularly ask your child how his/her day went and how their friends are to maintain healthy communication channels,” says Dr Kalyan.

Don’t push your child too much

Dr Diana Monteiro

I have a 9 year old son who withdraws completely in social gatherings. He simply refuses to talk, even to relatives. But he is fine when just my husband and I are around. What can we do to draw him out. Socialising for children among adults can be a challenging experience depending on the personality of the child. An extroverted child talks easily to others, while for an introverted child this is a difficult and uncomfortable experience. Extroverts get energised by people, while introverts prefer their own company and look for inner solitude. Introverted children, like introverted adults naturally tend towards fewer close relationships of good quality. Socially, extroverts get more attention, while introverts are often told to ‘be more extroverted’. Fortunately, both types are completely normal and just different dimensions of personality. For a child, there are simple markers of whether something is wrong and needs attention. When a child is going through any difficulty, academically, a child’s performance will likely suffer. Behaviourally, the child will start to act out or withdraw from everyone, so look for changes in behaviour that are suddenly different from before. Socially, a child should have friends and if they are unable to make or maintain some friendships, this might be a sign as well. If a child is able to socialise normally with parents and talks to them openly, has at least one or two friends, and is doing normally in school and at home, then there is little to worry about. There is nothing wrong with this behaviour so accept the child the way he/she is. If the child refuses to socialise much, allow them the space to do so, while also gradually exposing them to different people and situations without forcing them. As long as all other areas in the child’s life are fine, introverted behaviour is not something to be worried about. It is a normal part of development. (The writer is a counselling psychologist at the Hyderabad Academy of Psychology. You can write to her at askdrdiana@gmail.com)

H‑Factor

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

EMBRYO STEM CELL THERAPY brings hope to those with incurable diseases NEW DELHI: Simran Kaur, 42, was suffering from cerebellar ataxias, a rare genetic disorder, which left her wheelchair bound, incontinent, with slurred speech and no chances of improvement. Her family then came to know about human embryonic stem cell therapy. A few weeks of treatment later her condition improved, giving a new ray of hope to the family. Simran is among the few people from 43 countries who are undergoing human embryonic stem cell therapy in a Delhi-based hospital, Nutech Mediworld, which claimed to be the first facility in the world providing treatment for incurable diseases through this therapy. In this therapy, cells are taken from a discarded embryo during IVF, cultured and injected into the body of a person suffering from terminal disease. Embryonic stem cells can divide and grow into any body part and cell following the normal division that is initially inherent in an embryo. Over the last 10 years, the technology developed by Geeta Shroff, the medical director of Nutech Mediworld, has been used to treat more than 1,000 patients, one-fourth of them from abroad, suffering from conditions labelled as incurable or terminal. “I have been on a wheelchair for the last 10 years and with time, the condition was becoming worse. I was not able to talk, walk or do any routine work on my own. Doctors had told my family that for the rest of my life, I would be wheelchair bound,” Simran told IANS. While searching online for any possible cure, Simran’s brother who lives in Canada came to know about the treat-

ment offered by Shroff, and the family approached her two months ago. The results of two months of treatment have left the family with hope of Simran becoming self-dependent if not recovering fully. “I was injected with human embryonic stem cells two months back and I can feel the change. I can talk much clearer and move my limbs a little bit,” said Simran, who has been enrolled for 18 months of treatment at a cost of Rs.8 lakh. Shroff, 46, an IVF expert, hogged headlines in 2005 when she treated Ajit Jogi, former chief minister of Chhattisgarh, after he was seriously injured in an accident. It all started in 2000, when during an IVF she stumbled upon certain things in the process and this attracted her to research. “I have developed the

HOUSECALL rrhythmia refers to a disturbed heart rythum. It occurs when the heart’s natural pacemaker does not function with a normal heart rate or rythum. This is because the normal blood flow is blocked or another part of the heart becomes more active and takes over the natural pacemaker that is already present in the heart. The symptoms usually depend on the type of abnormal rythum that is noticed. Once the symptoms have been identified and diagnosed, the patient is sent for an ECG. Depending on if the heartbeat is fast or slow and how fast or slow the heart beat is, drugs or a pacemaker are advised by the doctor.

AN DIVIDE AND GROW INTO ANY BODY PART AND CELL FOLLOWING THE NORMAL DIVISION THAT IS INITIALLY INHERENT IN AN EMBRYO. technology to isolate stem cells from embryo, culturing them and preparing them for clinical application. The technology involves the use of only one embryo. Once the cells are isolated, they can be cultured indefinitely,” Shroff told IANS. “The embryo was used with full consent of a couple who came to me for IVF and it would have been discarded in any case. There is no repeated need for embryos and theoretically

one cell line can treat the entire human population,” she said. Shroff, who has worked for eight years in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, is using the technology clinically to treat patients suffering from various conditions - spinal cord injury, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons’s disease, cardiac conditions and many more said to be incurable. “In more than 10 years of clinical application in over 1,000 patients, the results are nothing short of astounding and patients paralysed neck downwards have resumed full function of their arms and taking steps with support, diabetics on high doses of insulin are leading lives insulin free,” she said. Explaining about the benefits of embryo cell therapy over the umbilical cord, fetal and other such therapies, Shroff says

APP-LY YOURSELF

Arrhythmia

EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS

DID YOU KNOW?

RunKeeper

hat could be better than to be able to keep a track of your running? RunKeeper is an app available for the iPhone and Androids and is a GPS fitness tracking application for runners and cyclists. With this app you can track, measure, and improve your fitness. RunKeeper uses GPS to track your fitness activities, including distance, time, pace, calories, heart rate, and path traveled on a map. RunKeeper also provides audio cues, customised interval workouts, manual entry for treadmill and other cardio equipment. So the next time you decide to jog or cycle, don’t forget to turn on the RunKeeper.

the unique cell culture methodology makes the cells universally acceptable without the need for cross-matching, irrespective of gender, or race. “There have been no side effects in over 10 years of therapeutic usage,” she said. According to Shroff, embryo stem cell therapy is not a magic wand and patients ought to have patience as it takes years for healing. “Although responses are seen immediately after transplantation, the cells continue their development process as per their pre-programmed time frame. It can be said that the time frame of embryonic stem cells transplanted into a patient is closely linked with the time frame of the human embryo’s development,” she said. The procedure is expensive but realising the pain which the patient undergoes throughout life, it is worth trying for. The treatment package is tailor-made for every patient according to the disease. The cost lies somewhere between USD 3,000 for a 10-day treatment to USD 25,000 for a complete package that includes treatment, food and lodging for patient and his family, physiotherapy and other facilities. Shroff has applied for patent of technology and has been following the draft guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). “As per the draft guidelines, embryonic stem cell can only be used for treating incurable diseases and this is what I am doing. I send details of all my patients to ICMR for record,” she said. All patients are followed up from the beginning of their treatment, their progress monitored and documented. IANS

Fruits and veggies are helpful

ell you all remember how your mother always told you about how fruits and vegetables are good for you and that you need to eat more. Well know she has the support of scientists. It is being said that ave found a new possible explanation for why people who eat more fruit and vegetables may gain protection against the spread of cancers. They have shown that a fragment released from pectin, that is found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to galectin 3 (Gal3). This protein that plays a role in all stages of cancer progression. Pectin produces several other health benefits as well. So eat well and stay healthy.

Spotlight

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

SRINIVAS SETTY

Putting talent to the test Calantha, a celebration of fashion by Hamstechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Class of 2012, was held on Sunday at the HICC. The students were mentored by Neeta Lulla and the show was choreographed by Prasad Bidappa. 1

1. Poonam Kaur 2. Rasna 3. Asra 4. Damodar Raja Narsimham 5. Neeta Lulla, Ajita Reddy & Prasad Biddapa 4

Advanced dental care The Ameerpet Dental Hospitals Dental Laser and Implant Centre was inaugurated by MP Venkaiah Naidu (second from right) at Madhapur on Sunday.

Magic Screen

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

T-TOWN TWEETIES

Sundeep, Varun pair up

@RanaDaggubati

Marriage is such a grown-up thing to do and dammm Charan’s getting married!! I feel grown up now! Love always forever my friend!!

undeep Kishan and Varun Sandesh are pairing up for the first time for a Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s upcoming production venture. The director duo had earlier written the script of Inkosaari and directed films like 99 and Shor in the City in Hindi and this is the first time they are producing a Telugu film. The untitled film is said to be a first of its kind crime comedy in Telugu. Melanie Kannokada who was recently seen in Love, Lies and Seeta is playing an important role in the apart. Although the film’s story has been kept under wraps, we hear that there two other important characters in the film apart from Sundeep, Varun and Melanie. Siraj, a protege of Raj and DK, is directing the film.

@actor_Siddharth I was quite amazed at how quick and painless Lasik is. Technology at its nature defying best. I’m fighting fit and ready to see more:)

@shraddhadas43 In love with this song ‘lakshya’ from the film ‘lakshya’... awesome lyrics... inspirational!

@tashu_02

Shakuni, David Billa set to clash on June 22?

DSP gives Julaayi’s audio launch a miss

Okay finally my performance will come now.... I hav hardly seen myself performing on stage.... So even I am gonna watch it today :-)

@sundeepkishan Movie marathon today after ages... Saw #Shangai loved it @pitobash Rocked, bow 2 Dibakar Banerjee, a class performances Abhay and Emraan #respect.

@actressanjjanaa

wo of the biggest Tamil films this year Shakuni and David Billa might end up clashing at box office on June 22, if the latest buzz in Kollywood is anything to go by. The producers of both of the film are reportedly reluctant to back out and it’s become a cause of concern for those who have bought the distribution rights in Andhra Pradesh. Shoba Rani has bought the dubbing rights of Ajith’s David Billa in Andhra Pradesh and Bellamkonda Suresh had snapped the distribution rights of Karthi’s Shakuni. The buzz surrounding both the films is good and it remains to be seen if the producers of these two films come to an agreement to end the stalemate at box office.

he audio launch of Allu Arjun, Ileana starrer Julaayi was a glitzy affair; however, the film’s music director Devi Sri Prasad was conspicuous by his absence. Recently he flew to Singapore to be a part of IIFA and when he wanted to return to Hyderabad on time for the audio launch of Julaayi, he was shocked to hear that his flight had been delayed. “Stuck in singapore airport since 6am this mrng..But till now the 9.15 am dint take off bcoz of tech prolms.. Mite take off only at 7pm. :( “JULAI” audio launch this evng.. But am stuck in Singapore airport..No direct flite to hyd!! OMG!! Was eager to meet the Fans n hav fun. :-( (sic)” Devi Sri Prasad posted on Twitter yesterday. The film, directed by Trivikram Srinivas, is all set to hit the screens in July.

Gonna catch up wid friends now,my triceps muscle got sprained during gymming in udupi, so jus resting !! Not very fond of free time !

@snehaullalheart Just saw the iphone 4s Siri... I had no idea what its all about... I have to have it.

@ssrajamouli Looks like my mom liked the sunshine hospital very much. She had to be shifted to ICU again.

Magic Screen

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

B-TOWN TWEETIES

@TheShilpaShetty Todays thot: No relationship is a waste of time. The wrong ones teach you the lessons that prepare you for the right ones.

@iamsrk Charming book ‘kamchatka’ says... in the end we always become what we were. all of u think wot u were and r u becoming that all over again...

‘Zindagi Na..’rocks IIFA Z

oya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar triumphed at the 13th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards Saturday, with each winning four trophies. Zindagi Na.. won the awards for best film, best story, best actor in supporting role for Farhan Akhtar and best director for Zoya. Rockstar won the best actor in the leading role for Ranbir, best music direction

for A.R. Rahman, best lyrics for the song and best playback singer male for Mohit Chauhan for Nadaan Parindey. Ranbir, who played the role of an aspiring singer who aims to make it big, beat actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, to walk away with the trophy. On the other hand, actress Vidya Balan continued her winning streak by

picking up the award for best actress in a leading role for The Dirty Picture. She emerged victorious among Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Mahie Gill and Kangna Ranaut. The award for best performance in comic role went to Riteish Deshmukh for the film Double Dhamaal. While, hosts Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar kept audience in splits with their wit and humour, the

BIG B SHOOTS FOR MAGGIE AD A

mitabh Bachchan, who has endorsed various products, has now shot for a Maggie noodles ad and says making an effective commercial is tougher than creating a three-hour movie. “Did a shoot for ad campaign.. Maggie

Noodles. Fun,” the 69-yearold tweeted. However, he feels it is an uphill task to make ads that can leave an impact. “One would imagine for a 1 minute film it would be a cake walk for those that make films that last 3 hours. No .. baby! Its a tougher job! In one minute one has to convey and convince the viewer what most of us need 3 hours to do!,” the actor wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. Creativity is very important to make an ad effective and Big B says a lot of effort and research by specialised are needed to make every advertisement. The actor has endorsed brands like BPL, ICICI, Parker Pens, Maruti Versa, Pepsi, Reid & Taylor, Nerolac Paints, and Dabur. IANS

show saw star-studded performances by Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu, Prabhu Deva, Priyanka Chopra, Shahid, Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor. Though this year’s IIFA awards had its own appeal, the actors who were missed by all included Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, and Sonam Kapoor.

Viewers support Aamir’s exposé

amir Khan’s effort to highlight malpractices in the medical profession on Satyamev Jayate may have upset many doctors, but viewers are on his side. “I’ve lived in India and travelled there over 13 times over several decades. Your medical industry is frightening,” wrote a reader under the name Dee. “Many doctors who got their degree 20, 30 or 40 years ago have never gone back and learned anything new. India has allowed doctors to run wild. What is truly surprising is that it took a talk show, and not an official investigation, to bring this out,” adeed Dee. “I have not insulted the medical profession at all. I have the highest regard for the medical profession,” Aamir said in an interview. Several fans and doctors agree. IANS

@Kailashkher Just Landed in Mumbai,Finally we (Kailasa) wrapped up our World Tour traveling almost 30 Countries, now Home, family, Kabir, real Wonderland

@SrBachchan T 770 — “If you want someT 770 -Fast and furious game at Euro2012... Spain vs Italy..great chances missed by both, a fair 1-1 result... and French Open rain suspended.

@NeilNMukesh No guys haven’t found my iphone. I just hope whoevers hands its in its happy coz no one can take care of it more than me ! :( :( owwaaaa!

@RahulBose1 What a day for sport. Football, tennis, cricket (a surprise). more’s the pleasure india wasn’t involved. Love watching for sport’s sake.

@rampalarjun What’s the score keep me posted, filming all night for Chakravayuh. Please make sure Nadal wins this one. Send him the energy.

@sonusood18 Back from #iifa.Singapore was Superb. ”Aa Ante” from #Maximum ROCKED. Count Down for JUNE 29th Begins... Fingers Crossed.

Magic Screen

D I S P L A YA

D S RATE ` 150 sq. cm

For Further Details Please Contact Abhinay 9989399972 Nandlal 9951467988 Ravi Chander 8106039919

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Magic Screen

The glamour behind the glitz

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Magic Screen

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

Bundchen heads back to Brazil

upermodel Gisele Bundchen will find a model from some of the poorest areas in her native Brazil. The 31-year-old was in the South American country to promote a model hunt contest titled “Top CUFA” (Central Unica das Favelas, or Central Union of Slums), which will focus on finding model talent from Brazil’s most underprivileged areas. The contest, which aims “to boost slum dwellers’ self-esteem”, will narrow down applicants from each of Brazil’s 27 states, before crowning one girl, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “I feel privileged to be the sponsor of this project,” said Bundchen.

Matthew McConaughey says ‘I do’ T

he Magic Mike star swapped vows with longtime girlfriend Camila Alves in an intimate ceremony at their home in Austin, Texas. E! News has confirmed after first reporting that the wedding would take place this weekend. Preparations were underway since Friday, with a partyrental truck seen passing security outside the McConaughey compound, after which a van loaded with orchids also made the cut. And no one had to worry about the guests being late—they spent the night! The bride and groom’s nearest and dearest had a pre-wedding slumber party last night, camping out in the several dozen or so two-

person luxury tents erected in the back garden, each with its own air-conditioning unit, patio and doormat. A giant white tent was set up on the grouds, as well as six or seven long wooden dining tables, each one looking as if it could accommodate 15 to 20 people. We do know the identities of at least one adorable duo that was there: the bride and groom’s nearly 4-year-old son, Levi, and 2year-old daughter, Vida. McConaughey and Alves, a Brazilian model turned handbag designer and TV host, met in 2007. He popped the question on Christmas Day. The happy couple can just keep livin’ together as always, albeit now as husband and wife.

Adam Levine

loves British game shows M

aroon 5 singer Adam Levine loves British game shows like Deal or No Deal and Countdown. The 33-year-old admits that programmes fronted by Noel Edmonds and Nick Hewer are amongst his favourites for mind relaxation. “Daytime TV quiz shows like ‘Deal or No Deal’ and ‘Countdown’ are brilliant. We don’t have anything like that in America, grab some tea and slob out,” contactmusic.com quoted Levine as saying.

Chai Time

KAKURO

How to Play Kakuro 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.

SCRIBBLING PAD

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Take a shot at the brain game while sipping your cuppa

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 They might precede bravos 6 Does one better than 10 Energy-focused org. 14 “___ for the sky!” (cry in a western) 15 Singular operatic performance 16 The Vatican’s vicinity 17 ___ allegro (very quickly) 18 Boxing officials (abbr.) 19 ___-Cola 20 SOS card 23 Volvo’s homeland 25 It’s obtained by leaching 26 “Do the Right Thing” director 27 Fall into decay 28 Economy size 31 Apply a bandage to 33 A very small quantity 35 Sallie ___ (student loan company) 36 Amateur’s antonym 37 SOS Bible book 42 “... ___ daily bread” 43 Howard Hughes’ airline 44 Evidence of healing 46 Church engagement announcement 49 Home of Barack Obama’s father 51 Indecisive result 52 “How was ___ know?” 53 ___ chi 55 Ailing 57 SOS donation 61 Coil in the yard 62 1952 Winter Olympics setting 63 Administers (with “out”) 66 Portentous sign 67 ‘50s French president Coty 68 Non-reactive, like some gases 69 Aphid, to a gardener 70 A cheese 71 “A Modest Proposal,” e.g. DOWN 1 Supply with guns

2 “Anna Karenina” author Tolstoy 3 Register for Tiny Tim 4 Appeared on stage 5 Snow-removing tool 6 Alpine lake 7 White-and-black stacked snack 8 Senseless talk 9 Backtalking 10 “Free Willy” animal 11 Sometimes-dyed dog 12 Awards-show hosts 13 Discontinues 21 Inflame with love 22 California’s San ___ Bay 23 “Lanka” start 24 Seeks the affection of 29 Battle of Britain fliers (Abbr.) 30 “Beau ___” 32 CD-___ (computer inserts)

34 “Author” of many quotations 36 Emphasize the importance of 38 Hearty or keen enjoyment 39 Rent to ___ (purchasing option) 40 Eightsomes (var.) 41 Manicurist’s concern 45 ___ paese (cheese) 46 Certain chess piece 47 In one’s abode 48 Hangman’s knots 49 Exchanged smacks 50 Absence of societal val-

SUDOKU

ues 54 Earlier, in poetry 56 Brown songbirds 58 “They ___ thataway!” 59 Bone below the elbow 60 Rhyming literature 64 “Big Band,” for one 65 Barnyard pen PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

THOUGHT OF THE DAY To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness. Edgar Allan Poe

Chai Time STAR POWER

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Your tomorrow today̶Star Power and Tarot THIRUVAIKUMAR

As per Hindu panchang

FOR 12-6-2012

thiruvaikumar@yahoo.co.in 040-27177230 / 9177596118

TAURUS

GEMINI

Good events to take place at home. Don't ever ignore your intuitions, implement them so that you really will get beneﬁtted by them. Avoid getting irritated and hurting others.

You are ﬁnancially strong and also take necessary steps to keep the expe‑ nses under control. Your energy level will be so high that you keep on work‑ ing without showing any let down.

Financial position will be weak and hence you have to be very cauitous. But you will soon take necessary steps which will improve your position ﬁnancially.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Entering in new ventures will be suc‑ cessful. Avoid standing guarantee for anyone as there are chances that your very close friends or relatives themselves will ditch you.

Opportunities are going to knock your door and its your duty to grab them.Financial posi tion looks very strong and promising. A good news from abroad will make you happy.

Your creativity looks promising and any project based on that will work successfully. New activities planned by businessmen will be beneﬁcial and hence just go ahead.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Be careful in court issues ,as there are chances of disappointment if not dealt with, in the right direction. Indirect enemies are very active and you have to be very cautious with them.

Businessmen need to exercise caution as there may be a revolt from your own partners. But keep your cool and handle it wisely as you are capable enough to handle such situation.

Businessmen will have some new opportunities in their way and they can go ahead with the same as it will not disappoint them. Take your own decisions trusting your intuitions.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You will be in a dilemmatic situation and confusion will prevail. But it will end soon and the situation will improve for better. Never ﬁnd fault with others. You have to be strict in certain issues.

You will spend memorable times with family members and close rela‑ tives. Fatherʼs health may be a cause for concern, hence take a good care of him.

You look to be charged with a good energy level and it will help you to struggle hard to achieve your planned goals.Never change your decisions and policies.

SUMAA TEKUR

FOR 12-6-2012

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Eight of Swords – You are ﬁghting some withdrawal symptoms even as youʼre trying to overcome some addictive habit. Keep strong.

The Sun – Time to ruminate on your lifeʼs journey and reﬂect on all the things that could have been. Donʼt let this reﬂection make you feel regret.

The Empress – The person who falls will also stand again. Do‑ nʼt feel depressed if things are not going your way. Keep a positive attitude. It will eventually work.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Ten of Swords – You may be asked to counsel someone about taking some important decisions. Donʼt get too personal while doing this.

Two of Wands – Take stock of your ﬁnancial situation and do whatʼs best for you at the moment. No point trying new things at the moment.

Three of Pentacles – Continuity is very important in all the work that you do. You need to stay sta‑ ble and focused on your work. Donʼt get bored.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Eight of Cups – You seek validity of someone/something before you can trust. Do your homework, look around, ask people before you give in to something.

Ten of Pentacles – Your actions are going to attract some reactions from coworkers and fami‑ ly members. Keep an explanation ready, as it will come handy.

Eight of Wands – Some form of guilt is eating you from inside. Youʼve done something to harm someone and youʼre now unable to deal with the guilt.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

King of Swords – Be a team player and par‑ ticipate as much as you can in group act‑ ivities. You learn to be part of the larger group and realise that not all can think alike.

Ace of Wands – You will be receiving some important news — good or bad depends on how you are going to use it. Donʼt completely trust someone new.

Six of Wands – The frequency with which you are meet‑ ing someone or doing something new is giving people mixed ideas about your intentions.

For Better or for Worse Stone soup

SOLUTIONS

Boggle ARK RAFT FERRY KAYAK BARGE CANOE

Number game

Suduko

Scrabble

Ink pen

COMICS

Fred Basset

ARIES

TAROT READ

Vol: 1, No. 330 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 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

60 59 58

DID YOU KNOW...? n After the Games, the BMX Track will be open to the general public as part of the Velopark in the Olympic Park.

LEGENDS OF THE SPORT

THE BMX BANDITS

51 50

Maris Strombergs (born March 10, 1987) was the winner of the first ever men’s Olympic BMX event, which took place at the in 2008. In claiming the gold, at the Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross venue, he became Latvia’s first ever Olympic Cycling champion. Strombergs burst onto the scene when he won European Championship junior gold in 2005, before taking the senior title three years later.

Anne-Caroline Chausson (born October 8, 1977) won the women’s Olympic BMX event in 2008. The French rider took the gold in a time of 35.97 seconds, triumphing ahead of her compatriot Laetitia le Corguille, with American Jill Kintner taking third. With the women’s final staged before the men’s, Chausson became the first person to win an Olympic medal in the discipline.

DAYS TO GO

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

n BMX made its debut at the Beijing 2008 Games. The winners of the two events were Maris Strombergs of Latvia and Anne-Caroline Chausson of France. n BMX was inspired by motocross, the motorised version of the sport.

TALLY 2008

49 48 47 46 45 44

FRANCE LATVIA USA

1 1 0

1 0 1

0 0 2

MEDAL EVENTS August 10 Men’s BMX August 10 Women’s BMX

43 42 41

TRIVIA

40 39

36 35 34 33 32 31

and furious sport of BMX makes only its second Olympic appearance at the London 2012 Games. BMX (Bicycle Motocross) began to take off in the late 1960s in California, around the time that motoc-ross became popular in the US. The motorised sport was the inspiration for the pedal-powered version – a breathtaking spectacle that’s since become very popular all over the world.

Field of play

38 37

CYCLING BMX: The fast

A glance into the past BMX started in the early 1970s when children began racing their bicycles on dirt tracks in southern California, drawing inspiration from the motocross superstars of the time. The size and availability of the Schwinn Sting-Ray and other wheelie bikes made them the natural bike of choice, since they were easily customized for better handling and performance. BMX racing was a phenomenon by the mid-1970s. Children were racing standard road bikes offroad, around purpose-built tracks in California. The 1972 motorcycle racing documentary On Any Sunday is generally credited with inspiring the movement nationally in the US.

The men’s track is 470m long and the women’s is 430m long. Both outdoor tracks are built up with jumps, bumps and tightly banked corners.

qeb=sbkrb

he brand new 400metre BMX Track is located next to the Velodrome in the north of the Olympic Park. The entire venue covers a total area of 160m by 90m. An internationallyrenowned BMX track designer helped to create

THE LINGO Berm a banked corner Bunny-hop to lift both wheels off the ground at once Gate the start of the BMX Track Holeshot the first rider to take the lead after the start Whoop a small, wave-like bump in the track

BMX at Games Having made its debut at the Beijing 2008 Games, BMX Cycling is the most recent discipline to have been

added to the Olympic programme.

The basics The BMX races at London 2012 will be held on a short outdoor track, with the riders starting on an 8m-high ramp. Each race lasts around 40 seconds. BMX bikes have only one gear and one brake. Most racing riders use wheels that are 20 inches in diameter – roughly two-thirds the size of wheels used on a standard road bike. Bikes need to be strong enough to endure the wear and tear from the jarring landings after jumps, yet light enough to remain fast and competitive.

Competition format The men’s and women’s events at both start with a

seeding phase; each rider runs the track once to determine the seedings, which ensures that the fastest riders don’t meet before the final. The women progress straight to the semis while the men’s event continues with the quarters. The top four riders from each semis adv-ance to the final, where the medals are decided over one run.

Officials Officials include inspectors, who ensure that all bikes conform to International Federation regulations, start and finish officials, and race officials, who are stationed along the course and ensure riders adhere to all rules and regulations. SOURCE: LONDON2012.COM

OLYMPIC PARK – BMX TRACK a fast and challenging course, which features an eight-metre high ramp at the start, followed by jumps, bumps and tightly banked corners. Around 14,000 cubic metres of soil were used to build the BMX Track. This soil was excavated

elsewhere on the Olympic Park site, cleaned then reused to create a series

of levels up to four metres high, on which the final track was formed. Construction was completed in around six months and finished in time for the third round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup, a test event for the ‘12 BMX competition.

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

DAYS TO GO

SULLIVAN BACKS D’ARCY S Y D N E Y: Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan has backed his Australian teammates Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk, saying he saw “nothing wrong” with them posing with guns in images posted on social networking sites. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said Saturday that D’Arcy and Monk will be sent home from the London Games as soon as their swimming events are completed as punishment for the firearm photo controversy. But Sullivan said he did not have a problem with the photos, adding that in 2007 Swimming Australia took the swim team to a rifle range in Canberra as part of a bonding session. “We went to a gun range and had a bit of fun, a bit of a bonding session,” he told Channel Nine on Sunday. “Nothing wrong with it then, so I don’t see the difference now.” D’Arcy and Monk, both 24, have apologised for posting pictures online of themselves with high-powered weapons in a US gun shop, saying it was just “a bit of fun”. Sullivan agreed saying: “Shooting is an Olympic sport and shooters don’t get into trouble for posing in their speedos.” Australian Olympic officials said the Canberra gun range visit was a Swimming Australia initiative.

Zara Phillips still in hunt for Olympic spot LONDON: Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, remains in the hunt for a place at the Olympics after a stylish display in the final trial for the London Games on Sunday. World and British number one William Fox-Pitt dominated the Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials, winning both feature three-star classes to continue his brilliant run of form. But 2006 world champion Phillips will still be in the thoughts of Great Britain selectors Ian Stark, Mandy Stibbe and Angela Tucker following an impressive ride on High Kingdom. With the selectors due to announce their eventing team of five for the Olympics later this week, Phillips gave a timely reminder of her talents as she earned a thirdplaced CIC finish behind Fox-Pitt and New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson. Phillips’ 2004 and 2008 Olympic selection hopes were dashed by injuries to her former top horse Toytown.

“It had nothing to do with the AOC. It was 2007, they were not members of any Olympic Team at that time,” an AOC spokesman said in a statement to the media. The young swimmers have been sanctioned by the AOC for breaching their Team Agreement as members of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team, he added. D’Arcy is a chance in the 200m butterfly at the Olympics and Monk is in the

We went to a gun range and had a bit of fun, a bit of a bonding session. Nothing wrong with it then, so I don’t see the difference now. Eamon Sullivan, Australian swimmer

4x200m freestyle relay team but both have been dogged by controversy. D’Arcy was kicked off the 2008 Olympic team after assaulting former swimmer Simon Cowley in a Sydney bar, leaving him with multiple facial injuries. And Monk last year avoided charges after telling police he was the victim of a hit and run accident only to later confess he broke his elbow when he fell off his skateboard.

Oz thrash China to book their spot T O K Y O : Australia clinched a ticket to the L o n d o n Olympics when they outgunned China on Sunday to take the top place among Asian teams at the men’s volleyball qualifying tournament in Tokyo. Australia’s 25-12, 25-20, 25-13 victory gave them a 52 win-loss record for 15 points, and an unassailable lead over Iran and Japan. “Today was a do-or-die game again, the final show and it was up to us to perform. We were the actors

and it’s an amazing feeling to come to the last day and dominate a team like that,” said Australian captain Igor Yudin. Serbia, who whipped Venezuela 25-14, 25-13, 2523 for a seventh straight win, had already qualified on Saturday as the winners of the tournament, which was also run as the Asian qualifying event. Serbia and Australia will join the three medallists from last year’s World Cup — Russia, Poland and Brazil — and continental winners Italy, Tunisia, US and Argentina, as well as hosts Britain.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

‘New starting blocks enhance performance’ NewlyPARIS: designed starting blocks to be used at the London Olympics will “enhance” the performance of athletes, according to the sport’s world governing body, the IAAF, and not slow them down as claimed by Usain Bolt. The IAAF insisted that changes to the blocks, used in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays, as well as the 100, 110 and 400m hurdles, would not affect those using them.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

BEAUTY

Euro 2012: Chance to air grievances

Euro 2012 has not stopped political life in Ukraine. Far from it. Instead, it is providing the perfect platform to air a range of local and national grievances in the former Soviet state. The day after Germany’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the city, it was the turn of a group of nuns and purists of the Ukrainian language to take to the streets to demonstrate.

Sweden on high with Elmander’s return to team

THE BEST

Croatia set for UEFA dock after fan flares Croatia looked set to be the latest team in UEFA’s dock on Sunday after their fans lit flares and let off smoke bombs to celebrate two first half goals in their Group C opener against Ireland here. At least two flares were clearly visible in one section of the crowd in Poznan’s Municipal Stadium as ecstatic Croatia fans marked Mario Mandzukic’s goal.

Blanc in attack mode Tom Williams

DONETSK, UKRAINE: France coach Stanislas Touchot

KIEV: Sweden coach Erik Hamren said on Sunday that he and his squad were taking their opening game against Euro 2012 cohosts Ukraine seriously despite their openly relaxed approach in training. The 54-year-old who has been in the post since 2009 - was in a lightJohan Elmander hearted mood helped by the fact that Johan Elmander had been passed fit to play. Hamren had taken a risk in selecting the 30-year-old in the squad when he broke a toe in his final league game of the season with Turkish champions Galatasaray. “He has had the green light from the doctors and that is excellent news,” said Hamren. “All that remains is whether he plays or not. There is still one training session and for the moment we have no injured players. “It will also be up to the player himself. He will know if he is able to play and he will tell us. We have thought about it, we have spoken about it and we will talk more this evening.”

Ukraine vs Sweden 12.15am (Tuesday) Neo Prime

Laurent Blanc has promised that his side will attack England in their Euro 2012 opener on Monday, and says he hopes “the team that tries to play football, wins”. France produced some impressive attacking football in their three warm-up matches, coming from two goals down to beat Iceland 3-2 before a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Serbia and a 4-0 rout of Estonia. England, by contrast, played on the counter-attack in their two preparatory matches — a pair of 1-0 successes over Norway and Belgium. The stage is therefore set for a clash of styles in the Group D curtain-raiser at Donetsk’s Donbass Arena, and Blanc has pledged that his team will not abandon their attacking principles. “If England wait, should we wait for them?” he asked reporters. “It’d make for a nice 0-0. Maybe you’d get a late goal from a set-piece. But we’ll play our game. Both teams will. “Will there be two different approaches? Yes. I hope the team that tries to play football, wins. But that’s not always how it goes in football.” Having spent the two final years of his playing career at Manchester United, Blanc said he “knew (the English) mentality a bit”, and he said new England coach Roy Hodgson has not had enough time to introduce a fresh approach. “It’s hard to drill your ideas into a team as the national coach, and he’s only had two months,” said Blanc, the only coach at the Euro to have lifted the trophy as a player. “In their last two matches, I don’t think they were bluffing about how they will play — he’s not had enough time to do anything else with them.” Allied to France’s encouraging recent form, which has stretched their unbeaten run to 21 games, Blanc received fur-

French head coach Laurent Blanc (L) talks with his players during a training session on Sunday. AFP/PATRICK HERTZOG

France vs England 9.30pm (Monday) Neo Prime ther good news on Sunday when it was revealed that Yann M’Vila was fit to return after his ankle injury. The Rennes defensive midfielder is expected to start on the bench against England but Blanc

said that, apart from a few minor niggles, his side’s build-up had been largely untroubled. “We have a feeling that we’ve prepared well,” he said. “We had a few problems, like England, but we feel like we’ve done everything we planned to do, despite the time constraints. “So we feel we’re ready for June 11. It’s been the objective since the start of the training camp. And we’re ready for tomorrow (Monday).” AFP

Greece’s Fotakis limps out of training WARSAW: Greece’s Giorgo Fotakis limped out of training on Sunday, AFP has learnt, potentially creating a fresh headache for coach Fernando Santos after the loss of central defender Avraam Papadopoulos. The PAOK midfielder did not start in the Euro 2004 champions’ opening Group A game with co-hosts Poland last Friday, which ended 1-1, but will be unavailable

for the crucial match with the Czech Republic in Wroclaw on Tuesday. Papadopoulos suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the game and was later ruled out of the rest of the tournament. Santos will also be without Papadopoulos central defensive partner Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was sent off for two bookable offences.

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

Croatia thrash Ireland POZNAN, POLAND: Croatia dealt a major blow to Ireland’s hopes of reaching the Euro quarter-finals beating them 3-1 in their Group C opener here on Sunday, with Mario Mandzukic scoring a double. Keenly aware that on the road ahead lie heavyweights Italy and defending European champions Spain, both Ireland and Croatia had been clear that they needed a convincing start to the tournament. Ireland’s goal scorer Sean St Ledger was dejected at the final whistle. “It was a poor performance by our standards and the goals we conceded were sloppy,” said St Ledger, who hadn’t scored all season for his club Leicester City. “I’m happy I scored but disappointed to have lost this game as we had targetted this one in getting something from it given the two other games that lie ahead. “Still we showed plenty of spirit towards the end and we can still hope to go through to the last eight.” Just three minutes in, Wolfsburg striker Mandzukic moved into position for a cross from captain Darijo Srna, stumbling briefly before steadying himself to beat Irish goalkeeper Shay Given with a powerful header. Veteran Given - Ireland’s most capped player with 123 -

Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic (C) celebrates with teammates after defeating Irelan 3-1 in their Euro 2012 match on Sunday at the Municipal Stadium in Poznan. AFP/FRANCISCO LEONG appeared uncomfortable as he was caught off guard, conceding his country’s first first half goal in 15 matches. The 36-year-old Aston Villa keeper had been a doubt because of a knee injury but

after being able to train fully on Friday suffered no reaction and was cleared to play in Sunday’s match giving coach Giovanni Trapattoni a boost. Croatia’s ecstatic fans let off flares to celebrate Mandzukic’s

goal, and did so again to mark the ensuing strikes despite appeals from the announcer, meaning the team looks set to be the latest to be fined by UEFA for the behaviour of its supporters at Euro 2012. Ireland, roared on by their fans, battled back. They had a chance to equalise after winning a free kick on the edge of the area in the 11th minute when Gordon Schildenfeld fouled Kevin Doyle, but Keith Andrews’s shot was blocked. Eight minutes later, however, came a repeat performance, as Doyle was brought down by Vedran Corluka. Aiden McGeady delivered a superb curling free kick which found St Ledger running in at the far post, and he headed it past Croatian keeper Stipe Pletikosa. Ireland’s green, white and orange-clad supporters responded by doing “the Poznan”, a backs-to-the-pitch jumping dance made famous by fans of the city’s top-flight club Lech. However, that was to be brought to a halt two minutes from the break when the Croats restored their lead. An unfortunate touch by Stephen Ward put Nikica Jelavic onside, and he beat Given. Three minutes after the break, Croatia made it 3-1 when Mandzukic fired towards the far corner of the net. AFP

Italy holds Spain to draw Barnaby Chesterman

Italy’s Antonio Di Natale (L) scores past Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas during the Euro 2012 match on Sunday. AFP/GIUSEPPE CACACE

GDANSK, POLAND: Holders Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by a dogged and determined Italy at the Arena Gdansk here on Sunday in the opening Group C match at the European Championship. Italy took the lead on 61 minutes through substitute Antonio Di Natale only minutes before the world champions equalised through Cesc Fabregas.

But Chelsea striker Fernando Torres missed two glorious late chances after coming off the bench to replace the goalscorer. A draw was a fair result as Italy were the better side in the first half and were fearless in taking the game to the world champions. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli admitted he regretted the fact his team didn’t hold onto their lead for longer. “It was with difficulty that we got in front against the world

champions, but we were there, we wanted to play,” he said. “We’ve given Spain the opportunity to equalise so we have to improve and that’s the mentality we need.” Both coaches sprung a surprise with their team selections as Vicente Del Bosque opted to go without a striker, playing Fabregas between Andres Iniesta and David Silva. And the coach denied he had made a mistake playing Fabregas up front. AFP

Win opens road for Rnd 2: Bilic POZNAN, POLAND: Croatia coach Slaven Bilic lauded his team on Sunday for their 3-1 victory over Ireland, saying they had opened the road to the quarterfinals, though he conceded that going further could be tough. “Tonight we showed that we can play,” Bilic said after the final whistle at the Municipal Stadium of Poznan, where Ireland and Croatia launched their Euro 2012 campaign. “Maybe the Irish were the better team in some moments, but I think that if you look, the overall impression is that we were the much better team,” he added. AFP

Euro 2012 Standings Group C Croatia Italy Spain Ireland

P 1 1 1 1

W 1 0 0 0

D 0 1 1 0

L 0 0 0 1

F 3 1 1 1

A 1 1 1 3

Pt 3 1 1 0

(played, won, drawn, lost, for, against, points)

TOP GOAL SCORERS 2 goals: Dzagoev (RUS), Mandzucic (CRO)

1 goal: Lewandowski (POL), Pavlyuchenko (RUS), Pilar (CZE), Salpingidis (GRE), Shirokov (RUS), Di Natale (ITA), Fabregas (ESP), Gomez (GER), Jelavic (CRO), Krohn-Dehli (DEN), St Ledger (EIR)I

Team needs to stay calm, says Prandelli GDANSK, POLAND:

Italy’s coach Cesare Prandelli says his team need to keep cool heads when they’re under pressure late on in a game. Italy earned a creditable 1-1 draw with European and world champions Spain in their opening Group C match at the European Championship. After having the better of the first half they came under increasing pressure in the second period and at times late on were hanging on by the skin of their teeth. They took a 61st-minute lead through Antonio Di Natale before Cesc Fabregas equalised just three minutes later. AFP

Playing Field

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012

The games people play

Hamilton powers to Canadian GP win Gordon Howard

MONTREAL: A delighted Lewis Hamilton made it a magnificent record seven different winners in seven races this year on Sunday when he drove with flawless speed and control to win the Canadian Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Briton produced a magnificently judged performance in a race that passed off smoothly despite a weekend of student protests and police action resulting in around 60 arrests in the city, to seize his first win of the year. Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus came home second after an equally welljudged race to finish ahead of third placed Mexican Sergio Perez of Sauber. Hamilton’s triumph came five years to the day after he had claimed his maiden F1 victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and was his third win at what must be one of his favourite circuits. It was his 18th career victory and it hoisted him back into serious contention for the drivers’ title in this year of unex-

Manish Kumar lifts Chess trophy

chief Martin Whitmarsh in champagne on the podium. Grosjean was delighted with his best-ever F1 result and said: “”We thought about going for one stop and seeing what happened. Then suddenly I went past Fernando Alonso who was slowing, and I was second. It was a crazy race. The team did a fantastic job in giving me a car that was good on its tyres. We knew with the heat today we would be better. It’s fantastic.” Perez said: “When you start 15th, you don’t expect to get a podium finish, but we went off very aggressively, and I managed to overtake a few cars - the tyre degradation was not bad for me, and I managed to keep moving up the field so this is a great boost for the team.” Vettel of Red Bull finished fourth after a late second pit stop ahead of two-time champion Alonso of Ferrari and sixthplaced Nico Rosberg of Mercedes. Australian Mark Webber was seventh in the second Red Bull ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

pected results and unpredictable racing. Hamilton, who now leads with 88 points, said: “I knew today would be a tough, tough race. “I loved every single minute of it and I’m really very, very grateful. I never had a doubt in mind that there would not be a possibility to win. “But right now, it’s still sinking in. It’s been five years since I first won here but it feels just as good. I’m massively proud of the team for continuing to push. It feels great to finally be here on the top step. It feels like one of best races I’ve had for a very long time. “I was thinking they (Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso) were falling behind and I assumed they were doing a one-stop so I decided to keep pushing. We had a couple of problems during the stops, they may have been my fault I don’t know, but otherwise it was a great race.” Hamilton, still wearing his helmet, celebrated by embracing his girlfriend former Pussycat Dolls pop singer Nicole Scherzinger and soaking McLaren team

DODGERS WIN BASEBALL PREMIER LEAGUE

L Manish Kumar of Defence Lab school, Kanchanbag, emerged the winner in the Junior category of the 73rd Brilliant Trophy chess tournament with 5.5 points from six rounds while M Akash Smaran and Tarun Gopal got second and third places with five points each. In the Open Category, P Ramakrishna of Nalgonda lifted the trophy with 5.5 points from six rounds. In the final round he defeated D Suresh (4.5). S Sai Krishna and M Suryanarayana also scored 5.5 points. Due to better tie-break score Ramakrishna was declared the winner. Sai Krishna and Suryanarayana placed second and third respectively.

Feng makes Chinese history PITTSFORD, NEW YORK:

Abijit Dodgers celebrate after winning the first Baseball Premier League. The Dodgers beat the ProM ANIL KUMAR Fit Smashers 11 to 10.

LeBron close to dream title For OKLAHOMA CITY: LeBron James to finally claim his long-sought NBA Finals title, he and the Miami Heat will have to shut down NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Two star-studded teams begin the best-of-seven championship series at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, ending a campaign shortened by a financial dispute between players and team owners that delayed the season’s start to December 25. James, this season’s NBA

Most Valuable Player, departed the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 for Miami to join fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and spoke of not only winning an NBA crown but taking multiple titles. The Heat lost to Dallas in last year’s NBA Finals but James has worked to reach the NBA Finals for the third time in his career in his ninth NBA season, having also lost with Cleveland to San Antonio in 2007. James averaged 27.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists to spark Miami.

Feng Shanshan became the first Chinese golfer to win a major title by firing a bogey-free fiveunder par 67 on Sunday to capture the LPGA Championship by two strokes. The 22-year-old from Beijing, who began golfing at age 10 and came to America as a teen before joining the LPGA in 2008, took her first career LPGA triumph by finishing 72 holes at Locust Hill Country Club on six-under 282. “I still can’t believe that I won a major. It just feels so good,” Feng said. “I’m just so excited right now. I did it.” Japan’s Mika Miyazato, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, American Stacy Lewis and South Korean Eun-Hee Ji shared second on 284. Feng, whose victory was worth $375,000, will rise from 10th to fourth in the world ranking on Monday. She fired the week’s low round on the final day. “My goal for the year was to win on the LPGA Tour and a top 10 in a major. I did them at one time,” Feng said. But as meaningful as the shock victory was for Feng, it could resonate far more in China, which opened its first golf course in 1984, only five years before Feng was born. “Golf wasn’t that popular in China,” Feng said. “I was lucky to have a chance to start.” Feng said she had planned to play upcoming LPGA events, but will instead celebrate her victory.