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

DRAGON BUSES FOR CITY APSRTC is all set to conduct a trial run of three Chinese buses that will save money and reduce air pollution. The prospects are exciting, say corporation officials REPORT ON PG 4 Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY SPELLS; 34°C

32 PAGES

Page Two

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Spirit of Twin Cities

BRANCH OUT

Library summer camp

SRINIVAS SETTY

A library summer camp for parents and faculty of UG and PG students will be held from May 10 onwards. The camp will provide guidance for faculty and final year PG students for National/State lecturership and scholarship test(NET/APSET) for `3,650. Where: Hyderabad library services, Sagar View Complex When: May 10 - June 10, Contact: (040) 2322 2247, 94412 37751

The amazing summer shuttle A summer camp for children in the age group of 1-15 and for adults in Thai flowers, stocking flowers and marble painting is being held Where: Plot-26, Gunrock Enclave, Secunderabad When: 11am-1pm, 11am-5pm Contact:98498 04416, 93921 05310

Children’s carnival SPAR along with popular cartoon fanchise presents a fun-filled childrens carnival titles Dholakpur@ SPAR. The carnival consists of plenty of games and prizes to be won. The event will be held at SPAR, Begumpet on May 12 and Banjara Hills on May 13. Where: Spar HypermarketBanjara Hills and Begumpet When: May12 and 13, 11am onwards

Play time Samahaara Workshop Production presents three plays. The plays include Vijay Tendulkar’s — The Cyclist , Samuel Beckett’s - Waiting for Godot Act 1 and Guan Han Qing’s — Snow in mid Summer. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Rd No1 When: May12, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329

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

European film festival A European Film Festival organised

CINEMAS

by A delegation of the European Union and the embassies of the EU Member States in India from May 10 to May 20. Where: Alliance Francaise, Banjara Hills, Rd No 3 When: May 10 onwards, 6pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4483

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

Yoga Camp

Cricket frenzy

The third part of a series of sevenday yoga camp will be held by Yoga Healing Foundation in Yousufguda.The last part of the Yoga Camp will be held in Saroornagar from May 20. Where: Krishnakanth Park, Yousufguda When: May13 onwards, 5.15 am onwards Contact: 98489 92354

The awakening A painting exhibition titled Buddha — The awakening will be held at Iconart gallery. The exhibition which was inaugurated on the occasion of Buddha Purnima on May 6 will be on display . Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No12 When: May 7 onwards, 11.30 am onwards Contact: 98499 68797

Grill festival Head to the grill festival to sample

Mocha and Mocha Express is hosting IPL specials with live screening of the match and various pizzas paying ode to the IPL teams and their spirits. Where: Mocha — Banjara Hills Inorbit Mall When: Ongoing, 4pm onwards Contact: (040) 2335 0144

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

Food and cricket Great food and a great game of cricket makes for great news. Head to News Cafe to catch the IPL matches live and exclusive along

with some great IPL special food. Where: News Cafe, Inorbit Mall, Madhapur When: Ongoing, 8pm onwards Contact: (040) 4010 1236

Mothers Day surprise Head to TGIF to give your mum an Mother’s day suprise. With every order on Mother’s day, TGIF is offering mothers a sweet suprise. Where: TGIF, Banjara Hills, Rd No 2 When: May 13 Contact: (040) 4015 1925

Etching prints A group exhibition of etching prints by various talented artists is being held. Where: Gallery Space, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6554 1836

Solo exhibition Ramakanth’s Solo Painting Exhibition which deals with loneliness of a long distance runner. Where: Hyderabad Marriott, Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2752 2999

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

Hyper Local

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

Eamcet blues for City students With the Eamcet and physics improvement exam slotted within three days of each other, students are burning the midnight oil trying to strike a balance between the two

EDUCATION Sudeshna Koka Sudeshna.k@postnoon.com

amcet which is the most important exam for any engineering and medical aspirant in AP has given the students a bitter parting gift. For years this exams has been one of the most important competitive exams and students start preparing for it right since class XI. However, with the HRD ministry introducing Neet (National eligibility and entrance test for medicine) this will be the last Eamcet exam to be held. But all does not seem to end well with Eamcet. This year the physics examination for inter second year was very difficult and more than 31 per cent students failed. After several discussions and protests, the AP education board is conducting an improvement exam for second year students. However, this has turned out to be a double edge sword. Students who are appearing for the improvement exam have to strike a balance between the two exams. Given the gap between both the exams is only three days, it is causing a lot of stress for not just students but concerned parents as well. “Since I am appearing for

up the previous one,” said K Syed Mukrram, director, I Class junior college. Immediately after the results were declared, the education minister said that the exam would not be conducted again. This was however, later changed. Mukrram further added, “Counseling is also a confusion. Initially they’d said that students appearing for improvements will appear in the second counseling list. But this has been changed now. Everything is very uncertain and unclear.” “Engineering students have several options but Medical students have to burn their oil and do well,” said G Venu, vice principal, Sri Chaitanya College. “After the physics exam we thought my daughter could appear for the improvement exam and take a year off to prepare for next year’s Eamcet. But now as the exam pattern is changing next year, she has to give both the improvement and Eamcet this year,” said Padmaja W, a parent. This year 3,88,463 applications have been received of which 95,490 were for the medical stream and 2.92 lakhs for engineering. Out of the total 744 examination centers, 559 are for engineering and 185 for medical stream. The results would be announced on May 24.

both the exams, I have to strike a balance somehow. I spend half the day studying for physics and the second half I dedicate to Eamcet. It’s very stressful, but there’s no choice. Since the national level colleges will not consider our improvement scores, Eamcet is our only hope,” says Vikayath Arya, a second year student. Most national colleges refuse to accept the improvement result as they cannot wait just for one state. Entrance exams like AIEEE which were once a high priority, have now taken a back seat as students now focus on their reexam. “It’s like a do or die situation now. All these days we had other colleges as our option but now Eamcet is the only one. It is difficult to balance time and prepare for both. The stress is also very high as parents expect us to do well,” says Annam Anurag, a student. College managements blame the government for this mess. “Eamcet plays a big role and the government should not play with students’s lives. First, they set a question paper that was out of syllabus and claimed that they were right. Now, they are coming up with new rules. It was bad enough that they made a mistake in the first place, but now they are making more mistakes to cover

Fuel fraudsters flourish As spurious petrol sales pick up, the civil supplies department feigns ignorance Anubha K Singh anubha.k@postnoon.com

t’s a sunny day, you’re driving in the midst of heavy traffic when you suddenly run out of fuel. There is no petrol bunk in sight and you’re terribly late. Just as you’re reaching the end of your tether you spot a man selling petrol in bottles by the side of the road. It’s the perfect stopgap solution, but at the same time you know that this is illegal. Although you are unsure of the quality of the petrol, you are forced to go with what is available. Drive past any busy stretch of road and you’re bound to come across vendors selling petrol in bottles. In fact, this illegal sale of petrol is highest in the ‘upmarket’ Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills areas. Be it Banjara Hills Road no 1 to 14, Jubilee check post or the road connecting Hitech City and Kondapur, the streets are dotted with vendors sell-

SRINIVAS SETTY

CRIME

ing spurious petrol. Incidentally, these vendors are supplied fuel by petrol bunks in the City. “Most of the times we get the petrol from the petrol dealers in the City and sometimes from the government vehicle drivers too. They charge us around `50 to `60 per litre and we sell the same for `70 or more. The price also depends upon the situation. For instance, during

the petrol strike the rate went up to `140 to `180 per litre,” said Yadaiah, a vendor in Banjara Hills. Despite the high prices, business is brisk, considering these areas have few petrol bunks in the immediate vicinity. “We sell nearly around 20 to 25 litres of petrol each day. Business is better on weekdays and most of our customers are office goers. During strikes we sell around 70 to 80 litres of petrol,” said Govind Raju, another petrol vendor. Surprisingly, despite this open sale of spurious fuel, the practice goes unchecked by the Civil Supplies Department. “We have not received any complaints so far and most of the times these people go unchecked because of the reasons they cite. Their most common refrain is that they aren’t petrol vendors but employees at petrol bunks. According to them they sell petrol only when they get a call from customers who run out of fuel. Now that the matter has been brought to our notice, we shall look into it,” said Harpreet Singh, commissioner, Civil Supplies.

Case against Naidu T

he Kurnool police have booked a case against Telugu Desam Party president N Chandra Babu Naidu for violating the model code of conduct in Allagadda Assembly constituency where the bypolls are going to be held. The case was registered following directions from a local court. Former ZPTC member M Ravi complained against Naidu alleging that he and other TDP leaders had used the government junior college land for holding a public meeting and desecrated the premises by tying party flags to electricity and telephone poles.

Hyper Local TRANSPORT Md Inkeshaf Ahmed ahmed.m@postnoon.comer

f you see a colourful, compact bus that emits no smoke in the crowded traffic of Hyderabad in the next couple of months, you are watching the future of city buses. The country’s largest public transport service providerAndhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC)— is scouting for new options to reduce its manufacturing and operational cost. A viable solution it looks around for is how to cut down on the bus procurement and operational cost. The corporation has found that Chinese buses could do the trick. These buses are said to be

considerably cheaper. Moreover, they can be operated on rechargeable batteries. Each bus can accommodate 41 passengers. The corporation officials have decided to operate three buses on a trial basis initially to see their operational capabilities and response from public. If the trial run proves to be a successful the corporation will procure these buses in large numbers. China- based Foton company is the producer of these buses.

Joint Venture Speaking to Postnoon executive director (engineering, IT and HRD) G Jaya Rao said that China- based Foton company and the City-based Deccan Auto Works company will manufacture these buses in a joint venture at it’s Patancheru plant.

DRAGON BUSES FOR CITY

Helpline GAS BOOKING IVRS NO: HP 9666023456 Indane 9848824365 BSNL Complaints HMWS & SB Complaints

198 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOM: Hyderabad 27852435 Traffic Control Room 27852482 DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499F Pollution Control Board 23887500 ELECTRICITY: General Complaints Breakdown Section

155333 23431178 23431179 MUNICIPAL CORPORATION: Commissioner & Spl Officer 23262266

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

24166666R ENC 23225267 Engineering 23220418 MCH Tankbund 23225397 Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842 MCH Circle III 24736912 MCH Circle IV 23326975 MCH Circle V 23326976 MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100 Head Office 23225397 IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRY PHONE NUMBERS (TRAIN & RESERVATION) RAILWAYS Rail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216 Railway Information 131 Reservations 135 Recorded Information 1345 Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

“Both the companies will import the main parts of the buses from China by the first week of next month and will assemble them at their plant. Once this is done, a permission from Automobile Research Association of India (ARAI) will be taken before handing over these buses to the corporation. The entire process will take at least a month’s time to complete,” Rao said. The corporation hopes to launch these buses officially in July this year.

Features Saving on fuel is the most illuminating attraction of these buses which will in turn give a great relief to the corporation. With every recharge of the batteries, the bus can cover a distance of 200 km. Each bus will also have two additional bat-

teries as backup at the respective depots from where these buses operate. It is claimed that the operation cost will be down by 30 per cent per kilometre which in turn could be passed on to the passengers. The current cost is `8.50 per kilometre on diesel. An additional advantage is that it helps curbing air pollution. The petrol-diesel vehicles

Fact file Saving on operational cost `2.50 per km n No air pollution as it is battery-operated n Total saving in fuel by corporation `300 crore per annum n Companies involved — Photon and Deccan Auto Works n Place of production — Patencheru n

are the main culprits behind the pollution in the City. An increasing carbon footprint is a major concern for the population. “These buses, if proved a success, will drastically reduce our operational costs especially at a time when prices of diesel are going up in international markets,” Rao said. The company is presently spending over `2,000 crore on diesel and could save about `300 crore with the induction of these buses. And, now if you are calculating how much are you going to save on your transport cost, don’t. This money is not for you. The introduction of these buses will plug the losses being incurred by the corporation which amounts to `2,000 crore on account of fuel prices and operational costs.

APSRTC is all set to conduct a trial run of three Chinese buses that will save money and reduce air pollution. Prospects are exciting, say corporation officials

WATER SUPPLY: Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL: General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospitals, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital,

LB Nagar 155313 23307328 23313163 27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666

BLOOD BANKS: Blood Bank,Narayaguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills

39879999 27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332

AIRLINES Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec’bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999

UK Visa Office VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7 Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills34. Working hours are from 8 AM to 1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM. MUSEUMS Salar Jung Museum AP State Museum Nizams Museum

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

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

Hyper Local

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

Inimitable Shanker Rao is at it again! Former minister Shanker Rao has been relentlessly predicting the downfall of the chief minister. He is now set to lodge a breach of privilege against the party leadership with the Assembly secretary lock the CLP office. I’ll make a formal complaint to the Assembly secretary.” When asked how he complained against his own leader (CM), Rao replied that the CM was not an elected leader and that only a month is left for the CM and after the elections it will be a new episode again in the State. Shanker Rao did not agree with the argument that the CLP was becoming a dais for bashing the chief minister from time to time. Both Shanker Rao and the Minster DL Ravindra Reddy are accused of using CLP media room for making statements against the chief minister. “I have every right to address a press conference at the CLP office. No one can prevent me. The CLP leader and the CLP executive are nominated to their respective positions. They were not elected by the members of the CLP,” he said in support of his argument that the CLP had no powers to impose restrictions on him. “The chief minister had

POLITICS U Srinivas srinivas.u@postnoon.com

hanker Rao former minister and MLA who threatened to break open the CLP office in the Assembly premises yesterday but was frustrated in his bid to force open said he was approaching the Assembly secretary with a complaint of breach of privilege and atrocity on him. Rao who had vowed to forcibly enter the CLP yesterday had to refrain from it as the Assembly staff and marshals prevented him doing anything of the sort. Rao then sat on dharna before the locked office. The Congress leaders had asked it kept closed owing to the increasing tendency of some party members to address the media on real and imaginary grievances against the leadership. Talking to Postnoon, Shanker Rao said, “No one has the right to

CEO to expose 2009 poll malpractices soon ELECTIONS Postnoon News feedback@postnoon.com

he State chief electoral officer Banwarlal announced that he will come up with a detailed account of the malpractices by the candidates and others in the 2009 elections. He told Postnoon yesterday that he has already written to the district collectors, police and IT officials for a detailed account of the malpractices during the last elections and the action taken by the officials over the matter. “I will come up with a detailed account to the media soon,” he said. Banwarlal said that employing chilAction taken by EC Total so far (12 districts ) 1.Licensed arms deposited/impounded 2,235 2. Persons bound under 107,108 of CrPc 8,213 3.Non- bailable warrants Executed 445 4. Non-bailable warrants pending 2,724 5.Cases under defacement of property 40,349 6.Cash seized About `7 crore 7.Liquor seized 87,188 litres 8.Probation cases 4,596 9.Arrested 1,161

dren for the election campaign is an offence and action would be taken against the respective candidates if it is proved. An amount of `7 crore and around one lakh litres of liquor were seized and 1,161 cases booked, he said. An all party meeting would be held on May 16 and only political parties recognised by the election commission would be allowed to take part in the meeting. Banwarlal made it clear that model code of conduct comes into effect from the day of election notification. The government should not release advertisements to the media on development programmes in view of model code of conduct, he added. The media should not telecast and print pre-poll surveys till the elections are over. Instead of pre-poll surveys, the media could propagate the provisions of model code of conduct that ensures free and fair elections, the CEO suggested. The candidates will have to open election accounts from the day of nomination and every transaction should be in black and white and through a bank. The election commission usually appoints observers to watch expenses of parties and candidates. Nodal officers and IT department can take action on poll violations. Elections to 18 Assembly constituencies and one Parliament seat would be held in 5,405 polling stations. Total number of voters in these constituencies is 44,01,392.

sacked me from the cabinet. He is now warning DL Ravindra Reddy. If he does that, he will also face similar action from Sonia Gandhi. I am only answerable to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, not this baccha.(CM).” Raja Sadaram, secretary of the AP Legislative Assembly told this paper that Shanker Rao has sought an appointment today for moving a privilege motion. Sadaram said that he would forward the same to the speaker Manohar and he would look into the issue. On the other hand the CLP staff is maintained by the contributions from the MLAs and not of the government. Senior Congress leader Gade Venkat Reddy who first declined to comment over the issue said that it was not right on the part of Shanker Rao to make comments against the leader of the house in the CLP office. Chief whip Gandra Venkataramana Reddy on the other hand appealed to Shanker Rao not to criticise the leader of the House in the open.

Babu condemns farmer leader’s arrest T

DP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has condemned the arrest of farmers’ leaders at Hyderabad and various districts to prevent them from meeting Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to explain their problems to him. On Thursday, he said it was sad that though the CM had no capacity to solve the problems of the farmers, it was unfortunate that he had no patience to hear them. The former CM lamented that farmers were not getting remunerative price for the produce despite pawning everything they have to raise the money required for cultivation. He said it was strange that the government has permitted export of rice after farmers had disposed their stocks at distresssales.

Naidu has criticised the government for allowing the prices of fertilisers to be increased nine times in one year. He said the price of DAP has shot up to `1,100 from `400 and the price of complex fertilisers was hiked twice. Stating that the government had increased the price of seeds also, Naidu said only substandard seeds were being distributed. He said Khariff season has once again arrived, the government has not rendered the help to farmers, who suffered losses due to calamities. He said the CM has no answer to the question on how heproposed to make payments to farmers online, without first opening bank accounts. He said that of the `18,816 cr input subsidy, only `200 cr was paid so far. Even in this, a large part of the amount was swallowed by Congress workers, he said. AGENCY

Hyper Local

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

An alcove of peace in Secunderabad AS Rao Nagar and Sainikpuri, apart from providing a picturesque landscape, offer the best of amenities SRINIVAS SETTY

Bhavneet S and Sneha M

5 must-visit places this side of town

feedback@postnoon.com

ainikpuri is one of the most beautiful areas of the City. Amidst the chaos, traffic and pollution, Sainikpuri remains an area that promises an ambience to die for. It has everything required to live a comfortable life. You name it and Sainikpuri has it. This area has come a long way from being a cantonment area to a hotspot in the City. Currently, Sainikpuri is under the Kapra Municipal authority. The architecture of the houses takes us back to the colonial times. Subid Sen, a resident of Defence colony in Sainikpuri says, “Once you live in Sainikpuri you cannot live anywhere else, it makes you fall in love with it. The area is beautiful.” It is said that arterial road of the AS Rao Nagar is one of the fastest growing business roads. The areas cater to almost all your needs — from vegetables to the luxury cars. In the evening it brightens up like a bride. RN Singh, ex-president of

n Visit the famous cane juice

n n n

at.” With the likes of KFC, Mc Donalds and Dominos lining the roads, AS Rao Nagar has its share of hang out spots. For shopping, you got many shops and showrooms. Sainikpuri is home for cricketers too like Pragnyan Ojha and

Saipuri colony says, “I have been a government employee and had many transfers in my life but once I came to Sainikpuri I fell in love with this place. Now I live a peaceful retired life in this area. Unlike other places, I get fresh air to breath and greenery to look

Power, water shortage play spoilsport DEEPAK DESHPANDE

joint, Cane Express. It’s located on the AS Rao Nagar Main road. Visit the Temple on the 3rd Radial Road in Sainikpuri. It is one thing you wouldn’t want to miss. Eat at Sai Food Station, on A.S Rao Nagar. The Chinese here is amazing! Shop at Max. It’s one place where you will find everything for everyone. Have coffee at Coffee and Books. The ambience will make you come back again and again for it.

Ashish Reddy. The entire stretch from Sainikpuri to AS Rao Nagar has many prestigious schools, colleges, academies, libraries etc. So, for people who are looking out for a peaceful colony with every facility, this is the destination for you.

Subscribe Today!

1 Year

` 349/-

Subscription Offer

6 Months Hyderabad’s first afternoon newspaper

eaven too has it’s share of problems. Ramesh Sarangapani the ex-treasurer of Hastinapuri colony says, “The locality may look very beautiful but it does not provide adequate water for drinking and others purposes.” It solely depends on supplied water, having no source of its own. Shubham Dutta, a resident of AS Rao Nagar says, “As it is a commercial area it is not exactly a model residential area but you have everything you need within the radius of two kilometres. One problem here is the way-

ward electricity. Once it goes, it has no signs of coming back soon.” “We have door to door garbage collection which functions.” says Upender Reddy, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. “We also have complaint boxes in every colony and we make sure that we respond to them.” On water woes, he said, “The basic problem is that there is no underground water that can be fetched. We tried digging as deep as possible to lay bore wells, we are helpless as there is no ground water level here.”

040 - 4067 2222 subscription@postnoon.com

` 199/-

Hyper Local

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

Stampede at Cong workers’ meeting

CLASSIFIEDS FABRICATION

Postnoon News

P EDUCATION

City eyes Anand’s win Rahul Ramakrishna rahul.r@postnoon.com

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

he Tretyakov Art Gallery will play host to the World Chess Championship at Moscow. Boris Gelfand will take on defending champion Vishwanathan Anand, who while remaining the obvious favourite, will be defending his title for the third consecutive time. Monitored by the World Chess Federation, FIDE carries a bounty prize of USD $2.55 million. Awaiting the historical game are chess players and enthusiasts, and given Anand’s history with the game, it comes as no surprise that he remains the unanimous favourite for all aspiring chess afficionados in the city. K Narsimha Rao, chess coach and a FIDE rated player says, “The opening move, as

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

hopefully.” Chess enthusiasts in the City are slightly disappointed that Anand has not had the opportunity to meet his equal, Magnus Karlson. Karlson, now the highest FIDE rated player couldn’t make it to the championship due to personal reasons. Prashant Narayan, a chess player said, “It’s nice to see two gentlemen playing the game in a different venue, as opposed to the usual age gap between the challenger and the defender. Unlike the previous championship where Topalov was out and out aggressive from the start and caused cold vibes, there will be a show of gentlemanship this year. But, Karlson’s absence this year from the championship is slightly off-putting. It would have been a spectacular show to watch Karlson pitted against Anand for the championship.”

ICONIC CITY

REAL ESTATE 100 Acres farm land@ Warangal Highway in Bhongir, 20 Fruit Plants & Resort Membership for more details Contact: Sri Hema 7386064709

always, will be the surprise element in the game. Anand is known for his favouritism towards the King’s Pawn opening. Considering, that both the players are of almost equal rating, it will be interesting to see them play the 12 round game, as both of them are tactical players and are theoretically very strong.” Lanka Ravi, member of the Cyber Chess Academy points out, “Anand is too strong for Gelfand. Gelfand’s history points out how errors creep into his game, easily. Anand’s preparations include playing with a 300 permutation and combination game player, that tests theory, tactics and positions. He has paved the way for a new approach towards chess, as mentioned by the great Gary Kasparov. All said and done, Anand remains the favourite and is sure to blitz his way to a glorious hat-trick,

Chilkur Balaji Temple

yderabad has no dearth of temples but one temple that really stands out is the Chilkur Balaji temple. It is the only temple in India that does not accept monetary offerings from devotees nor does it have a hundi. Most importantly, it does not mete out special privileges to VVIPS. Famously known as the ‘VISA’ God, the temple is a popular haunt for those aspiring to go abroad and hoping to get their visas. The temple is located in Chilkur village near Gandipet and is more than 500 years old. It is believed

Aishwarya Yerra Hyderabad as a City has a lot to offer in terms of heritage and sights. We take a look at the various places that make this City so special

that the temple was built during the time of Akkanna and Madanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramdas. Thousands of devotees throng the temple every year and usually those who cannot make the pilgrimage to the Tirupati temple come here for Lord Venkateshwara Swamy’s darshan. The usual tradition here is that one circles the temple 11 times (pradakshanas) and makes a wish. When the wish is fulfilled they come back and walk around the temple a 108 times.

anic was created at the Ramatulasi Kalyanamantapam in Tirupati where the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was to address an election meeting today. A minor fire broke out from the kitchen nearby and the crowd ran out in fear. However, everything was declared under control. This happened minutes before the CM arrived. The chief security officer of the CM, Vijay Kumar said on phone that it was a kitchen fire and not a suspicious case of sabotage as some people tried to portray the incident. The whole area was soon surveyed and nothing suspicious was found. The CM was on the way. It was a Congress party workers meeting, not a public meeting, it was later clarified. Coming close on the heels of yesterday’s misfire incident where PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana was addressing a poll meeting in Nellore, the news of the fire at the CM’s meeting venue generated much concern among the party leaders and security staff. It was said that Botsa’s gunman’s firearm went off while controlling the crowd. The gunman was hurt but nobody else was harmed.

16,240.76 179.29

4,908.30 57.40

BSE

NSE

Business

10g= `28,407

GOLD

1kg= `54,150

SILVER

`53.57

DOLLAR

Matters of saving and spending

Microsoft weaves FB into Bing SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Thursday said that it is weaving insights from user’s Facebook friends into Bing results as part of the biggest revamp of the search engine since its launch three years ago. A new version of Bing will be rolled out in the weeks ahead and was to be widely available in the United States in early June. Google in January meshed posts from its social network into search results based on a similar belief that people value input from friends or others they respect. The new version of Bing will feature a “social sidebar” that will list Facebook friends who may know something about a query topic, according to Microsoft. For example, when handling a query about “Hawaii,” Bing will check Facebook “likes,” photos and other public profile information to suggest people who could provide useful insights, according to principal development lead Sandy Wong. Social search has the potential to be a winner, and Facebook could take a chunk of the market if it launched its own online query service, according to survey results released by Londonbased digital marketing agency Greenlight. AFP

$2 bn loss stuns JPMorgan, markets NEW YORK: US banking giant JPMorgan Chase said on Thursday it had lost $2 billion on derivatives since March in what chief executive Jamie Dimon called a “flawed” and “poorly executed” hedging operation. In a unscheduled conference call, Dimon also said the bank could face another $1 billion in losses through the end of June due to market volatility. “It could easily get worse this quarter,” he told analysts and journalists. The shock loss came over the past six weeks in the New York bank’s risk management unit, the Chief Investment Office, and involved trading in credit default swaps, a so-called “synthetic hedge.” The CIO trades bank assets with the aim of hedging against other risks the bank takes on its assets and investments. But Dimon called the CIO’s strategy “poorly reviewed, complex, poorly executed.” “These were egregious mistakes,” Dimon said. “They were selfinflicted and this is not how we want to run a business.” JPMorgan shares fell 6.7 percent to $38.00 in after-hours

Money Matters Nupur Pavan Bang

“T

he students of BSchools now a days are so much more up to date with the latest news that we have to be on our toes. It is so different from the days when there was no Internet and majority of the students were content with what the professors and the books taught”, thought Prof. Nicky while walking to her class on Investments. Dheeraj was the first to raise his hand, as usual. “Go ahead Dheeraj. Ask your question”, she said. Dheeraj: Prof. Nicky, I recently read that the BSE and the NSE have launched new platforms for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to raise equity through IPOs. Why do they need a separate exchange? Why

POUND FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 8 NUMEROLOGY

4.5

billion euros

is what France will have to shell out after an adverse ruling from the European Court of Justice over discriminatory tax treatment of foreign investment funds.

THUS SPAKE

trade, pulling down the shares of other banks with it. The losses are a humiliation for Dimon — one of Wall Street’s best known titans — and for the bank, after it proudly came through the 2008 financial crisis in far better shape than its rivals. Then, the collapse of the market in mortgage derivatives punched a giant hole in banks’ balance sheets and plunged the world’s largest economy into the worst recession in a generation, costing millions of jobs. As recently as last month, JPMorgan executives told

investors they were “very comfortable” with positions held by the bank, raising questions about how much was known by senior management and when. But Dimon downplayed the reports by the Wall Street Journal last month that a powerful London-based JPMorgan trader, nicknamed “The London Whale,” was behind huge losses in the company’s derivatives trading. The losses he reported Thursday only had “a little bit to do with the article in the press,” he said, branding much of the reports “speculation.” AFP

SME exchanges: New kid on the block can’t they get listed on the main exchange? Prof. Nicky: Because you must compare artists with artists and geeks with geeks. What I mean to say is that the SMEs have different characteristics in terms of growth, number of employees, size, and risks. They tend to get lost in the pool of large, multi billion organisations on the main exchange. The larger companies get all the visibility, pushing the smaller ones to the periphery, making them illiquid. Dheeraj: But if the companies are good, won’t they anyways get noticed? Prof. Nicky: Ideally yes! There are many companies which are good and have the growth potential, but they are perceived as having very high risk due to their size. This keeps the investors away. Also, being listed on the main exchange is an expensive affair. There are many costs like the

`86.36

fees of the merchant banker and marketing costs pre IPO. Followed by expenses to meet the regulatory and legal requirements of disclosures, reporting etc. Rajat intervened to ask, “So aren’t these expenses going to be there even in the case of SME exchanges?” Prof. Nicky: The SEBI has tried to minimise these expenses as much as possible. Instead of Quarterly reports, the SMEs need to publish only half-yearly reports. That too only on their website. They can send an abridged version of the report to the shareholders instead of the full version. SEBI has also tried to keep the marketing and stationery costs of IPOs minimum. Abhijeet: Professor, what is the benefit to the investors like you and me? Why should we bother about the SME exchanges? Prof. Nicky: When a SME gets

listed on an SME exchange, it adds credibility to the company and its business. There is a compulsory credit rating requirement before getting listed. SEBI has mandated appointment of market makers for these companies who would provide liquidity to the market. So as investors, we can now invest in these companies, which by nature are riskier, but have a higher growth potential and hence have the potential to provide higher returns. Though the ticket size for investing in these companies is fairly large, a minimum of `1 lakh. The idea is to shield the retail, smaller investors from any kind of risk. But high net worth individuals and financial institutions like banks, mutual funds, venture capital and private equity funds etc. can invest in them. The author is a senior researcher at Centre for Investment, ISB

“Our capex for this fiscal will be around Rs.1,000 crore which includes the balance unspent during the last year. The investments will by group companies Tube Investments of India, Coromandel International, EID Parry, Carborundum Universal and others,” N Srinivasan, director (finance), Murugappa Corporate Board

POTTER DEAL Amazon said it has signed a deal for the electronic books rights to all seven Harry Potter titles in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish for its Kindle lending library. The deal allows subscribers of the Amazon Prime service, which requires an annual subscription, to borrow the e-versions of JK Rowling books.

DEAL OFF Australian magnate Clive Palmer said Friday he had terminated a Aus$40 billion (US$40.2 billion) supply contract for Swiss energy trader Vitol to buy coal from his planned “China First” mine. Palmer plans to build the Aus$8 billion coal mine, and associated rail and port facilities, in the Galilee Basin in Queensland state. The first production is targeted for 2015. Vitol signed an agreement in late 2010 to buy around 20 million tonnes of thermal coal. But Palmer said in a statement that the deal had ended, without saying when it fell through.

India‑View

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

India unveiled

Prisoners embroider a new life in Jammu

Binoo Joshi

JAMMU: They crossed over to India illegally to find a livelihood, but landed in prison. Now many Bangladeshi infiltrators are being provided training in Kashmiri embroidery at the Kot Bhalwal jail here. Many of the nearly 90 Bangladeshi prisoners lodged in the jail, on the outskirts of Jammu, feel the skill will help them live a dignified life back home after their release. Poverty is the main factor that drives them to infiltrate into India to either stay put or further cross over to Pakistan in search of work. But many get caught by police or the Border Security Force (BSF). One such convict, Shamshul Alam, a resident of Chittagong in

Bangladesh, told that he belonged to a very poor family, “so I thought of crossing over to India to work as a labourer but police caught our group of 10”. Alam, aged 25, says he along with nine others worked for a few days as labourers in Arnia village near here before police arrested them. “There are agents in Bangladesh who bring groups of people into India with the promise of getting us small jobs,” he told IANS. “Bangladesh is a poor country and, on top of that, floods and cyclones spell havoc. This forces many like us to flee illegally,” says Jashimian of Dhaka who along with a group of 25 was arrested by the BSF while trying to cross over to Pakistan from the border near Jammu with the help of an agent. They were later convicted of ille-

PARCHED IN PROTEST

gal border crossing. He says he has a big family, including parents, six brothers and two sisters, to support. Now while they are in jail they are getting training in Kashmiri zari embroidery on crewel fabric. “I learnt it in just two weeks, and thereafter I have embroidered a number of curtains, bedcovers, tablecloths and ladies’ suits,” Alam says proudly. All of them realise that they have learnt a great art which can make earning a living easier. Expressing gratitude to the jail authorities, another Bangladeshi, Mohammad Johail, says, “Our jail sentence has become a boon, as now we know Kashmiri embroidery which can help us earn our bread back home in Bangladesh. It is like taking a great gift of Kashmir to our country.” Jashimian gets emotional as he remembers his home. “It is going to be a beautiful blend when we do world famous Kashmiri embroidery on the famous Dhaka cotton.” Now all of them are much more confident about life. Mohammad Illiyas says, “We can start coaching classes for this embroidery, or can sell embroidered items when we go home... at least we are sure of earnings now.” When asked what prompted the jail authorities to teach Bangladeshi inmates Kashmiri embroidery, Superintendent of Jammu district jail Rajni Sehgal said, “Our effort is that when these inmates are released they do not feel lost in the world. This is to make them learn an art that can help in earning and surviving and make them skilled workers.” There are around 90 such Bangladeshi convicts in this jail in the age group of 20 to 30 years.

Prathiba Raju

NEW DELHI: The coolers are on as are the water sprinklers. Bread is off the menu and kheer, melon, cucumber and ayurvedic medicines have been brought in. Delhi Zoo’s 1,300 inmates are set to chill out this summer. “We take special care of the animals and birds during summer so that they do not develop summer blues or illnesses,” N Paneer Selvam, the zoo’s veterinary officer, told IANS. “We have placed coolers and fans inside animal enclosures. Usually pneumonia, typhoid and heat strokes are common among the animals in summer. So regular checkups are carried out,” he said. Temperatures here could touch 46 degrees Celsius during summer, making life uncomfortable for the animals. “About 80 coolers have been installed for various enclosures for maximum air circulation. The coolers are usually provided to the Himalayan black bear pair

and cubs and white Siberian tigers which are from cool climes. Even lions, leopards and chimpanzees are provided with fans, coolers and sheds for a peaceful afternoon nap,” Riaz Khan, the zoo’s curator, said. Water sprinklers are working round-the-clock in the enclosures to keep the animals wet and cool. For enhanced cooling, moats around animal enclosures are filled with water so they can take dips to beat the heat. Apart from that, a summer diet chart has been prepared for the animals, with more glucose and fibrous food. “When the temperature goes up, the metabolic rate of the animals goes down. Therefore, the animals have reduced appetite. For example, the meat intake of lions and tigers is reduced by 2kg. Usually, lions consume 8kg of meat a day. Now it has been reduced to 6kg. The meat intake of tigers has been cut from 9 to 7kg. We are also giving them lots of glucose water,” Selvam said.

Man guilty of manslaughter in Oz Natasha Chaku

Protesting farmers collect drinking water from a water tanker on a hot summer day in New Delhi on Thursday. AFP/ SAJJAD HUSSAIN

Coolers, cucumber beat heat at zoo

MELBOURNE: A 24-year-old Indian, who cut his wife’s throat eight times with a box cutter and left her bleeding to death, has been found guilty of manslaughter by an Australian court which acquitted him of the murder charge. The New South Wales Supreme Court found Singh not guilty of murdering his 28-yearold wife Manpreet Kaur in their western Sydney home on the grounds he was provoked.

During the course of his trial in the court, the jury heard that Singh had been jealous of the new friendships his wife had forged in her adopted country and had beaten her on a number of occasions prior to killing her on December 29, 2009. Singh pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but said he had been provoked and was therefore not guilty of murder. The couple married in India in September 2008 and Kaur moved to Australia on a student visa in January 2009. Her hus-

band joined her on a dependent spouse visa in May 2009. Singh’s barrister Chrissa Loukas told the jury his client had been caught in a “triangle of desperation” involving his wife’s infidelity, the threat of deportation, and family and financial pressures. Crown prosecutor Paul Leask alleged Singh became jealous of his wife developing new friendships in Sydney, became violent towards her at times and killed her when she said she was leaving him. PTI

India‑View

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

India unveiled

RS passes bill on sexual offences against children NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to protect children from sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and to establish special courts for the speedy trial of such offences. The house passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2011 by a voice vote. The bill provides for stringent punishment, including life sentence, for sexual assaults on minors. It has provisions to safeguard the interest and wellbeing of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating childfriendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial. Women and child development minister Krishna

Clinton praises Mamata for ousting Left WASHINGTON: Terming her trip to Kolkata as remarkable, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was all praise for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying despite being a women she successfully ended 34-yearold Left rule in the state. Clinton was on a 3-day visit to India from May 7. This was the first-ever visit by a US Secretary of State to Writers’ Buildings to hold a meeting with a chief minister. Clinton and Mamata are among Time magazine’s 100 top influential people in the world. In a keynote address, Clinton termed her trip to Kolkata as remarkable. PTI

94 rescued from NGO-run shelters ROHTAK: 94 children, mostly girls, have been rescued from shelter homes in Haryana’s Rohtak district run by an NGO, where some of the inmates were allegedly sexually abused, and its owner and her son-in-law arrested. Following a complaint by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Jaswanti Devi, Tirath said the legislation had been necessitated due increase in the incidents of child abuse. The bill said that whoever used a child for pornographic purposes shall be liable for rigorous imprisonment which may

US envoy will address India’s power woes Lalit K Jha

WASHINGTON: A top American diplomat on energy issues will travel to India next week to discuss several broad themes; including emerging trends in the global energy economy and helping India address its challenges in the energy sector. In his first trip to India in this capacity, the Special Envoy and Co-ordinator for International Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual will travel to Delhi and Mumbai, from May 14 to 17 to meet with Indian officials, energy industry experts, and members of civil society. “India is a vital and growing

actor in world energy markets,” the State Department said in a press statement. “On this trip, Pascual will engage with the Indian government, private sector, and civil society on broad themes, including regional energy security in South Asia, the next steps for India and the United States on unconventional gas, energy access, the UN initiative Sustainable Energy for All, the development of power markets, and emerging trends in the global energy economy,” the State Department said. The announcement was made by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. PTI

operator of the NGO Bharat Vikas Sangh that runs child and women protection houses at Sri Nagar locality in the city, and her son-inlaw Jai Bhagwan were arrested, Rohtak’s Superintendent of Police, Vivek Sharma told PTI. “Jaswanti was arrested from the house last night while Jai Bhagwan, was nabbed later,” Sharma said. extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine. IANS

NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR: It is an animal that is as much an icon of Kashmir as the beautiful Dal Lake and its shikaras. The magnificent spiral-horned Markhor, the largest member of the goat family, has for centuries inhabited the high mountains of Kashmir. But human greed and interference have placed this graceful animal on the ‘critically endangered’ list with barely 350 members remaining. Which is why the notification of the Tatakuti Wildlife Sanctuary near Shopian in South Kashmir by the Jammu and Kashmir government April 27 has come as a big boost to conservationists fighting for the very survival of the Markhor.

NEW DELHI: The people’s respect for the police is declining and so is the morale of the police, National Human Rights Commission secretary general Rajiv Sharma said here on Thursday. “Respect for police forces is eroding in the public. Morale of the police is also declining. This can be set right only by restoring poeple’s confidence in governance,” Sharma said at a workshop on police’s functioning for NHRC’s investigation officers.

Three held with arms in Guwahati GUWAHATI: Three people carrying arms and ammunition were arrested on Thursday night from the Bharalumukh area here, police said, adding that the accused might be linked to a militant organisation. A .9mm pistol, a revolver and some live ammunition were recovered from their possession, said the police.

AI strike: 12 flights cancelled NEW DELHI: As the agitation by protesting pilots entered the fourth day today, 12 Air India international flights were cancelled even as the Civil Aviation minister hoped that the airline "does not enter the ICU". "All our long haul flights to US, Europe, Riyadh and Jeddah have been cancelled", an Air India official said. This has been done due to non-availability of pilots who are on mass sick leave since Tuesday, he said. Overhaul flights to New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Toronto, Frankfurt, London, Paris from Delhi and Mumbai were cancelled. PTI

Spiral-horned Markhor goat vanishing Rajat Ghai

NATION AT A GLANCE People’s respect for police declining: NHRC

Tatakuti is the latest addition to the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks already declared to conserve the Pir Panjal or Kashmir Markhor (Capra Falconeri Cashmiriensis). Others parks are Hirpora (Shopian), Limber and Lachipora (Baramulla). There is also the Kajinag National Park (Baramulla). The Pir Panjal Markhor is one of five distinct species found in Asia. It is found only in Jammu and Kashmir. “They were once distributed from Banihal, through the Pir Panjal range, crossing the Jhelum river over to the Kajinag and Shamsabari ranges, into Gurez. But the present Markhor population is very small and unconnected,” Yash Veer Bhatnagar, Senior Scientist for the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation, told IANS.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi performs rituals on a cow during the ‘Krishi Mahotsav’ in Diodar, Gujarat on Thursday. PTI

Natarajan gets bail in 2 land-grabbing cases MADURAI: M Natarajan, husband of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s close friend Sasikala, was today granted bail in two land-grabbing cases by the Madras High Court. Justice M Sathyanarayanan of the bench here granted bail to Natarajan in both the cases. In one case, a woman complainant Sakuthala filed an affidavit withdrawing her criminal complaint.

Now, Aamir Khan to connect through radio NEW DELHI: After being appreciated for his TV show Satyamev Jayate, Aamir Khan will now connect with millions of radio listeners in a programme called Dil Pe Lagi Aur Baat Bani. From May 12, the show anchored by the actor will be broadcast every Saturday at 11am on channels of All India Radio. It will be also available on all Vividh Bharati stations of AIR on Saturdays at 3.30pm.

Activists of the Special Trainer Teacher Union, shout slogans against Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal in Amritsar on Thursday. PTI

Around the World

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Beyond Borders

Clooney’s charm works for Obama LOS ANGELES: George Clooney, who hosts a star-studded fundraiser for Barack Obama Thursday, is a Hollywood A-lister turned activist for liberal causes like Sudan, Haiti — and now the US leader’s re-election The movie heartthrob’s $40,000-a-plate dinner is being tipped as possibly the biggest presidential fundraiser ever, bolstering Obama’s coffers to the tune of $12 million as he gears up for a fierce re-election fight. Clooney will welcome at least 150 people at his 7,400-square foot home in Studio City, where catering and security preparations have been underway for days. Locals are bracing for snarled traffic when the celebrities descend on Clooney’s mansion. The 51-year-old Oscar-winning actor has long been used to turning heads, but his stature has been further enhanced by his campaigning activities of recent years, arguably making him Obama’s celebrity activist-inchief. It is all a long way from the young actor who made his name as a doctor in TV medical drama ER in the 1990s. Even though his first bigscreen lead role, in 1997’s Batman and Robin, was widely

panned, Clooney became an Alist star with role in the high-seas blockbuster The Perfect Storm in 2000. In that year he formed his own production company with director Steven Soderbergh, Section Eight Productions, and together they turned out such hits as 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, followed by sequels in 2004 and 2007. But Clooney also broached more thoughtful fare like in the 2005 spy thriller “Syriana,” which earned him a best supporting actor Oscar, and the black-andwhite film Good Night, and Good Luck about freedom of speech and governmental abuse of power. His growing political interests also came to the fore in last year’s primary season thriller Ides of March, while Hawaiian-set family drama The Descendants won a best adapted screenplay Oscar. Clooney’s rise has been matched by an increasing activism. He has campaigned tirelessly to draw attention to the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. In 2010 he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in recognition of his work. Also that year Clooney was

THE BIG-O

The Big-O, a giant circular structure for nightly laser and light shows, performs on the seafront site of the 2012 Expo during the media preview in Yeosu, a small city on South Korea’s south coast. Yeosu, where 105 countries will showcase exhibitions under the theme of The Living Ocean and Coast from May 12 to August 12, has undergone a 10 billion USD transformation as it prepares to host a major international expo. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE

one of the driving forces behind a star-studded telethon which raised more than $58 million for victims of the Haiti earthquake. In March this year Clooney was handcuffed and arrested along with several members of the US Congress outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington DC, as they demanded an end to an offensive they fear will cause thousands to starve. He was released three hours later after paying a $100 fine for crossing a police line.

In the same month Clooney visited the White House to brief the president on a clandestine visit he had made to war-torn Sudan. He also attended a state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron. Obama appears to be keen on wooing wealthy donors in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, as money from Wall Street may be harder to come this election cycle as he gears up to take on likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney in November.

Tim Groeling, an associate professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), said Clooney’s fundraiser was important both for the cash raised and the impact of his celebrity endorsement. “Most successful Hollywood entertainers are well-liked by the public, or else they wouldn’t have been successful in the first place,” said Groeling, UCLA’s head of communication studies and an expert on political communications. “Although they are not always regarded as politically knowledgable, if someone you like endorses something or someone, that connection should be at least somewhat credible to you,” he told AFP. Organization for Thursday’s dinner has been spearheaded by DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, the president’s major entertainment industry fundraiser, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The soiree is expected to make $5-6 million, while a further $6 million had been made by an online sweepstakes, in which the winner gets two seats at the head table with Obama and Clooney, the industry paper reported. IANS

Japan gears up for Hogwarts OSAKA: Japanese fans of boy wizard Harry Potter will soon be able to explore the magical world of Hogwarts when Universal Studios Japan expands its theme park with a half-billion dollar investment. The company is going to boost the footprint of its park in Osaka, western Japan, by one fifth, with new attraction The Wizarding World of Harry Potter slated to open in 2014, a spokesman said Thursday. “We will build several attractions, including a school for wizards,” he said. The company later added a recreation of wizarding village Hogsmeade would be among the attractions. James and Oliver Phelps, who played the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter movies, were greeted by dozens of Harry Potter fans dressed as characters from JK Rowling’s books at the official announcement in Osaka. The blockbuster series has been a huge success in Japan, sparking long queues of costume-clad fans at bookstores every time the Japanese translation of a new novel was released. Cinematic releases of each instalment have also proved wildly popular. The Harry Potter commercial juggernaut, with its seven books,

eight films and huge merchandising operation, has made author Rowling a millionaire many times over. Brad Globe of Warner Brothers, the studio behind the movie franchise, said the Universal Studios Japan expansion was a boon for Harry buffs. “Harry Potter continues to captivate generations of fans around the world and we are

delighted to announce this partnership... that will allow us to bring the magic of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Asia,” he said. The operator of Universal Studios Japan, which opened in 2001, is a private firm licensed by the US Universal group. It has attractions featuring Sesame Street, Peter Pan’s Neverland, and the Land of Oz, among others.

Twin actors James and Oliver Phelps (C-L and C-R) - who played the Weasley twin speak at a press presentation in Osaka. AFP

Around the World Obama challenged to waterski WASHINGTON: Republican Mitt Romney took the White House race into uncharted waters on Thursday, suggesting he would like to challenge President Barack Obama to a bit of waterskiing. “I don’t think I’ll play the president a round of golf but I’ll be happy to take him through a waterski course,” the presidential nominee said when asked whether he was as “hip” as the commanderin-chief. The comments were the latest in a series of tone-deaf remarks made by Romney in which his cheery honesty has only pushed his immense wealth further into the spotlight, leading some to question if he can relate to everyday Americans. ^cm

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Beyond Borders

GOP may use gay stick to beat Barack WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama’s sudden public endorsement of samesex marriage caught Republicans off guard, but the party seeking to win back the White House must now decide whether to make gay rights a crucial campaign issue. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee who is already locked in a fierce campaign battle with Obama ahead of the November 6 election, quickly and expectedly reiterated his opposition to gay marriage. He doubled down Thursday, telling Fox News that “my preference is to have a national standard for marriage and that marriage be defined as being (between) a man and a woman.”

States, he said, should be allowed “to determine what rights would be provided for people of the same gender that wanted to have a relationship.” But while Romney and House Speaker John Boehner both said the campaign should be about the economy and

FOR HER MAJESTY

jobs, some party luminaries say the race has a new wedge issue, and blasted out emails calling for donations to help fight for traditional marriage. Romney’s onetime rival Rick Santorum, who bowed out of the presidential race last month and now backs Romney, called Obama’s endorsement “a tragic day for America” and for supporters of conservative values. “While we were always suspicious of his sincerity on this issue, his public proclamation that he now opposes preserving marriage as one man and one woman — the very building block of our society — means the charade is now over and our fight begins in earnest.” ^cm

Wife-beater ordered to read Qur’an RIYADH: A Saudi man found

Cook Island Dancers take part in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in Windsor on Thursday. Celebrating the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 1,200 performers and 600 horses take part in the show in the private grounds of Windsor Castle running on the 10-13th of May. AFP

guilty of hitting his wife has been sentenced by a court to read the Quran and two Islamic books on relations between spouses. He will later sit for a test on what he learned from the books. The man was told to memorise five of the 30 parts of the Quran, as well as 100 sayings by Prophet, the Gulf News reported. He was also ordered by a court in the Red Sea resort of Jeddah to give his wife around $1,900 and to make sure to preserve women’s rights. The wife had complained to the authorities after her husband hit her during an argument when she told him that he should go to hospital to visit his cousin while she sees her family. The husband became angry and he hit her and caused her bruises. f^kp

Sarkozy faces slew of probes after exit PARIS: Outgoing French leader Nicolas Sarkozy will face a slew of legal probes into corruption and campaign financing violations after he leaves office next week and loses his presidential immunity. Sarkozy could face questioning as soon as mid-June as he will lose his immunity a month after his successor, Francois Hollande, is sworn in on May 15.

The most immediately dangerous case for Sarkozy involves a series of inquiries surrounding alleged illegal campaign financing by L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman. Magistrates are investigating claims that Bettencourt’s staff handed over envelopes stuffed with cash to Sarkozy aides to finance his 2007 cam-

paign, with her former bookkeeper testifying to one 50,000 euro donation. Under France’s electoral code, individual election campaign contributions may not exceed 4,600 euros. Sarkozy and his camp have also been accused of ordering an illegal police investigation to identify an official leaking information on the Bettencourt scandal to a journalist. ^cm

GLOBE AT A GLANCE Five die from toxic gas in China mine BEIJING: Five people died on Thursday due to toxic gas poisoning in an abandoned mine in China, officials said. The incident took place in Guizhou province. A county official said three villagers entered the mine for illegal mining. After they passed out, another villager posted as a lookout went back to their village and attempted a rescue. However, three rescuers also found themselves trapped.

Crews in arduous climb to Russian jet CIJERUK: Indonesian searchers with body bags and hoists scaled a steep volcano Friday to retrieve at least 45 bodies spread over the jungly terrain where a Russian jet crashed during a sales flight. The crews were using climbing equipment to ascend the near-vertical face of Mount Salak, a dormant volcano south of Jakarta.

A Palestinian youth throws a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers during clashes near a prison in Ramallah. PTI

UN condemns Syria attacks after 55 killed DAMASCUS: The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the deadliest bomb attacks of Syria’s 14-month uprising, urging all sides to stick to an international peace plan after at least 55 people were killed. The Syrian government and opposition traded the blame for Thursday’s twin suicide bomb attacks in Damascus, which also left nearly 400 people wounded.

‘Dead’ Australian leaves hospital MELBOURNE: A man pronounced dead following a car crash by Australian paramedics who then left the scene has been discharged from hospital after making a remarkable recovery, a report said on Friday. Daniel Huf, 30, was trapped upside down in the wreckage of a Porsche in a Melbourne suburb and was declared dead after being treated at the scene on April 1.

British PM David Cameron and Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani wave after a meeting at 10 Downing Street on Thursday. AFP

Comment

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Fair, free and forthright

Shhhh. Daddy’s come drunk again

Talk back Owners’ problems I totally agree with the people who are opposing the demolition of their property for road widening. They weren't considered while laying out the plans. Plus, even if they want to move to another place, the amount that government is offering as compensation is much less than the value of the property. So I totally understand the problem of the owners and support them in this matter. To get out of this tangle, either the government should find an alternate route or should pay the property owners their rightful due and also compensate them for the inconvenience. Pratap Reddy Jubilee Hills

Focus Secunderabad I'm a resident of Marredpally and I fully agree with articles being published by your esteemed paper about this area. Your have described the picture pretty well. The difficult-to-motor roads in our area are the biggest problem. The way the traffic is managed, which causes traffic jams, which in turn leads to loads of problems for the citizens are pathetic. It’s a humble request to the authorities to do something about this everyday nuisance. We, as law-abiding citizens of the city must be given our due. Mehek Chandan East Marredpally

Vitamin not medicine There is a big complex we Indians face with taking vitamins. While it is a good thing to avoid medicines, consuming vitamins, especially during pregnancy is not just okay, it is a necessity. We have to keep in mind that most of us cannot afford to buy the kind of food required for a healthy embryo. And if denied at that stage, the child and subsequently the adult that the embryo will be will not be healthy. Swathi Shekhar Ameerpet

Internet menace Internet indeed has ruined the entire generation. All my son does all day long is to sit in front of the system and talks to random people. I'm very concerned with this indulgence of his. I don’t even feel like curbing this. There is always a risk of kids falling into wrong hands. The only solution probably is parents keeping a watch on their kids. But with technology moving at the pace that it is, this is easier said than done. And the dilemma is how much freedom to bestow on our children. Eshwar Rao Abids

HILLA

The Anonymous Alien

have a housekeeper. After she had been working for me a month or two, she arrived one day with a bruise on her face. I asked her about it, and after much prodding, she confessed that when her husband got drunk, which was often, he sometimes hit her. Not surprisingly, it turned out her husband’s parents both drank a lot as well. In fact, according to my housekeeper, they drank every night. When drunk, they are verbally abusive to her and her kids, and sometime physically abusive, as well. In Mumbai, I had a driver who spent his time hanging out with friends at night, instead of with his kids. What did his friends do? They drank. A lot. Many of them beat up their wives and kids when drunk. My housekeeper in Mumbai was married to a man who drank constantly, and beat her whenever he was drunk. Same with my housekeeper in Delhi. A sample size of 4 or 5 people does not tell a complete or accurate story, so I am reluctant to draw broad conclusions about alcohol abuse in India from the above anecdotes. I can tell you that when I relay the above information to friends and contacts, I get an “isn’t that obvious” kind of response. They feel that alcoholism is ubiquitous in lower socioeconomic groups. My gut is it’s ubiquitous in all groups. And there is some hard data to support this belief. In India, it’s been estimated that 90,000 people die in alcohol-related car deaths each year. That means there are a lot of drunk people in India. And fortunately, to India’s credit, there is a fairly serious effort to crack-down on this: I frequently see road-blocks, where cops are stopping cars and checking drivers for drunkenness. That’s all good. But stopping alcohol-related car accidents is a small part of fixing the drinking problem in India. If some 90,000 people die in alcoholrelated car accidents each year, I can only imagine how many millions of wives and kids in India are beaten or verbally abused by

Editorials

drunk men each night. Likewise, I can only guess at how many mothers are abusing their kids due to drunkenness each day. And make no mistake; the damage to these spouses and children is catastrophic. Kids that grow up with a drunk parent have dramatically increased rates of depression, suicide and of course, alcoholism. Those that were abused by an alcoholic parent have dramatically increased rates of abusing their own kids relative to children who grow up in nonalcoholic families. Unfortunately, there are no police officers protecting these kids; “road-blocks” unfortunately don’t penetrate the doors of an alcoholic’s home. And, truth be told; for a mother wanting to protect her kids on her own from a violent and drunk husband, there is virtually no place for her to turn for help. Even for an alcoholic, there are few places to go to start the long road to recovery. What’s the key to turning this dreadful situation around? First, education. Businesses, educational institutions and the India government need to step up and start educating people about alcoholism — what it does to families, how to get treatment, etc. Second, churches, hospitals, charities and the India government need to start offering shelters to battered women and kids and treatment to alcoholics. Until then, here are a few quick points that

DIG WHO BACKED HONOUR KILLING should be sacked

he audacity of a top police official to back honour killing shows how these social evils are entrenched in our minds. We hear of highly qualified people with degrees from India and abroad harassing and torturing their wives over dowry and birth of girl child. Right from Parliament to panchayat, it is the caste and community equations, and not merit, that determines the candidate. Progressive legislation on social issues has been held up for several decades owing to our medieval mindsets — Uniform Civil Code and Womens' Reservation Bill are some of the best examples. Imagine the state of affairs where the police, which is supposed to protect couples from their caste-crazy relatives, is itself advocating their persecution. UP has a relatively young chief minister and this is the best opportunity for Akhilesh Yadav to demonstrate that he will usher in an era of change and progress. Taking into account that courts have repeatedly put the onus of protecting inter-caste couples on police and the state administration, the CM should sack the DIG and set an example.

can start the educational process: n Alcoholism is an illness, and it will not just go away. Unless the alcoholic wants to get better, and seeks treatment himself, there is no hope n Tell-tale signs that you are living with an alcoholic: Someone who drinks alone frequently, drinks more than 2-3 drinks per night, has their personality change when they drink (turns violent, abusive, angry), and/ or gets angry when there is no alcohol in the house n You cannot shield yourself or your kids from the devastating impact of an alcoholic. Either the alcoholic gets treatment, or you have to get yourself and your kids away n The best known organisation for treating alcoholism is Alcoholics Anonymous. There are branches in most major cities. Google ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ and the name of your city and you’ll find one. Finally, the best hope for India is to stop the whispering about alcoholism and start yelling about it. Let’s strip the stigma away from having an alcoholic in the family and instead announce it to the world and protect our children. No more, “Shhhh. Daddy’s drunk again.” Instead, let’s yell to the world: “MY DADDY’S DRUNK AND WE NEED HELP!” A foreigner’s observations on living, working, surviving and thriving in India.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK it’s over... it’s back

P Morgan has posted $2 billion losses. An American bank is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. In Europe the Euro dream is crumbling under the weight of governments with dreams well beyond their station. The Free Market stands on the brink of collapse... again! That we are heading into another global recession is no longer up for debate; it’s only matter of when, and whether this time the damage is reversible.

Rhythm Nation

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

SYSTEMATIC CHAOS The men behind Gunpowder Treason talk to Postnoon on the travails of living, breathing and making music SAI RAM REDDY

Rahul Ramakrishna rahul.r@postnoon.com

aking music and playing to their heart’s content is what puts together Gunpowder Treason, a band from the University of Hyderabad. What was initially a jam band in 2007 with just two people, quickly became a live performing act by 2011 that catered to the musical demands of the University. Anhad, Rahul, Along Aow and Ashwin, the young gentlemen who make up Gunpowder Treason say ‘playing music is an act of expression’. “When we started out, we were just two people trying to learn and play. By 2009, we were four people trying to sound like a band. By 2011, we were playing gigs at malls, pubs and college festivals, much to our delight,” says Rahul, a bass player and a physics student. While the band feels that much needs to be done to the music scene in Hyderabad, they say encouragement comes from the most unexpected corners. “It is disappointing when we are asked to churn out routine numbers as opposed to what we have to say in our own style. But, we were much surprised with the kind of overwhelming response that we have received over the past few years with parents, classmates and friends encouraging us and digging our band’s sound,” says front man and rhythm guitarist Anhad, also a sociology student. In the age of film music, dub step and psychedelic trance, these youngsters’ journey as a band makes for an interesting read. “The cultural gap between the audience and the band

needs to be bridged. Not that we have had people asking us to play Kolaveri, but we have had a few harrowing incidents of similar nature, in the past. Because it is important for us to have our own style of saying something. We do not want to play what the other person wants to hear, all the time,” says Along Aow, a student of literature. Termed ‘progressive music’, the band’s influences range from Porcupine Tree to

Audioslave to Wolfmother. One of their compositions, inspired by John Keats titled Ode to a Nightingale is the audiences favourite. “For a band to grow musically, a lot of hard work and dedication is needed. We first started out playing at freshers and farewell parties and college festivals, and did a lot to promote the band on social media forums, advertised through posters etc. But more importantly, we have always played for

iTUNES Top 10

1. Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra) Gotye 2. Call Me Maybe Carly Rae Jepsen 3. 99 Problems (The Voice Performance) Tony Lucca 4. Boyfriend

Justin Bieber 5. Yesterday (The Voice Performance) Adam Levine & Tony Lucca 6. We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) Fun. 7. Wild Ones (feat. Sia) Flo Rida 8. What Makes You Beautiful One Direction 9. The Prayer (The Voice Performance) Christina Aguilera & Chris Mann 10. I Believe I Can Fly (The Voice Performance) Jermaine Paul

ourselves,” says drummer Ashwin. “The fact that we have inspired people around us, and that they like listening to what we have to say through our music is perhaps our best achievement so far,” Rahul adds. About Hyderabad’s music, the gentlemen are positive about a change in the current trends. “There are many people playing music with utmost dedication here. Hyderabad has got a lot of talent and things might change,

some good day,” they say. As the boys curriculum comes to an end, their band’s curriculum is still looking ahead. “We want to hit the studios and record what few songs we have made so that all of this does not remain just a memory after a few years. Who knows, we might just get back together after 20 years and decide to take up what we had left behind,” says Anhad.

Bollywood Top 10

Top 10 albums 3.Tuskegee

Jannat 2 Lionel Richie

3. Naine Re

4. Up All Night One Direction 5.Hard 2 Love Lee Brice 6. Up All Night Kip Moore 7. The Wanted

1.Blunderbuss Jack White 2.21 Adele

The Wanted 8. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Nicki Minaj 9. Making Mirrors Gotye 10. Love is a four letter word Jason Mraz

1.Pani da Rang Vicky Donor 2. Jannatein Kahan

Dangerous Ishq 4. Sang hu tere Jannat 2 5. Chokra Jawaan Ishqzaade 6.Mar Jaiyan Vicky Donor 7. Pareshaan Vicky Donor 8. Tu hi rab tu hi dua Dangerous Ishq 9. Aa re Pritam pyaare Rowdy Rathore 10.Chandaniya Lori Rowdy Rathore

H‑Factor

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

Experts urge approval of first AIDS prevention pill

Down

doesn’t mean out

Down’s Syndrome is one of the most common genetic disorders. Though the syndrome has no particular treatment, care and acceptance can go a long way anishaa.k@postnoon.com

child’s growing years, are the most important. Every child has a dream and hopes to succeed in life. But what about a child who for no fault of his/her is subjected to a lifetime of challenges, often in the form of genetic disorders? One of the most common genetic disorders is Down’s Syndrome. “Down’s syndrome is the most common genetic disorder. The disorder may occur because of an extra chromosome,” says Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant neurologist, Apollo Hospital. Explains Dr Amitava Ray, consultant neurosurgeon, “We usually have two copies of the chromosome 21 in our body, but children with Down’s tend to have three copies.” Incidentally, Chromosome 21 is the smallest chromosome of the 23 chromosomes that are present in our body.

Causes Like many genetic disorders the exact cause is not very clear. Dr Amitava says that it is more prevalent in children born of elderly parents. Dr Sudhir says,

“It may occur because of family history but the most common cause is due to a mutation at the time of conception itself.

Symptom Children with Down’s may have certain physical features that can help people identify the syndrome. Dr Sudhir says, “Children with Down’s Syndrome may have Mongoloid features (features like those belonging to Mongolian regions), have an increased space between the eyes, an epicanthic skin fold (extra skin fold on the eyelids), small chin, a flat nasal bridge, may have only a single crease on their palms, a protruding tongue, shorter neck, white spots in the iris, little space between the toes and a reduction in muscle tone.” He mentions that children with Down’s don’t necessarily have all these symptoms. Sometimes a child may have just one symptom in prominence. Apart from the physical appearance, children with Down’s Syndrome may also suffer from other issues. Dr Amitava says that children with Down’s may have a low intellectual capacity. Dr Sudhir says, “Because of their lower IQ they may not be able to go to regular schools, may have trouble emoting and speech may also be

Symptoms of Down’s Syndrome

1 2 3 4

Flattened face and nose Slanting eyes Small mouth with protuding tongue Extra skin folds on the eyelids

5 6 7 8

Small chin Nasal bridge Single crease on palms Shorter neck

9 10 11

White spots on iris Reduction in muscle tone

Development delays such as IQ, motor functions and speech

delayed.” He adds that children suffering from Down’s Syndrome may also suffer from Alzheimer’s at a younger age, may suffer from heart problems mainly pertaining to the valves such as CHD, VSD and blood cancer.

home births. In most major hospitals paediatricians will see a child after he is born and will be able to diagnose the ailment. He mentions that the ailment is not very common and effects five in 10,000 children.

Diagnosis

“There can be no particular treatment, children with Down’s Syndrome need support and counselling. No particular medicines can be given. The child may be treated based on their associated ailments,” says Dr Sudhir. “People with a mild form of the ailment can lead a normal life and can get employment and are friendly though they may not do well at school,” says Dr Amitava.

A paediatrician or neurologist can identify a child suffering from Down’s Syndrome based on these physical symptoms itself. “The syndrome can also be diagnosed in the foetal stage itself through close monitoring, ultrasound tests and aminosynthesis which helps diagnose the syndrome,” says Dr Amitava. Dr Sudhir mentions that many cases go undiagnosed especially when it comes to

Scar Removal Pixel treatment for Scars is very effective. It not only treats acne scars but also accidental & surgical scars. It helps reduce open pores, treats skin discolouration, pigmentation issues, fine lines and wrinkles, improves the tone and texture of the skin, and tightens the skin whilst imparting it with a healthy glow all at the same time. The fractionated energy beam is delivered under the skin where it heats up the tissues causing microscopic wounds. The body produces collagen in response to this during the repair process which helps to lift and smoothen then scar. Energy delivered in this fractionated way is less harmful than other ablative methods of skin resurfacing. « Free consultation for Scar therapy « 20% off on Scar therapies and Peels

Treatment

AN ADVERTISING INITIATIVE

Anishaa Kumar

WASHINGTON: US health advisers on Thursday urged regulators to approve Truvada, made by Gilead Sciences, as the first preventive pill against HIV/AIDS instead of just a treatment for infected people. The favourable vote came after clinical trials showed Truvada could lower the risk of HIV in gay men by 44 to 73 per cent, and was hailed by some AIDS advocates as a potent new tool against HIV. However, many concerns were raised during a marathon 11-hour panel meeting in which about three dozen health care providers warned that the pill could boost risky behaviours and possibly lead to a drug-resistant strain of HIV. A final decision by the FDA is expected by June 15. Mitchell Warren, executive director of HIV prevention group AVAC, said after the vote that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or the method of taking a drug ahead of potential exposure to HIV, “while not a panacea, will be an essential additional part to the world’s success in ending AIDS.” “For the millions of men and women who remain at risk for HIV worldwide, each new HIV prevention option offers additional hope,” he added. The drug, made by the California-based Gilead Sciences, is currently available as a treatment for people with HIV in combination with other anti-retroviral drugs, and received FDA approval in 2004. But critics noted that the pill is costly — up to $14,000 per year — and could offer a false sense of protection, leading to a spike in unsafe sex and a new surge in AIDS cases. AFP

Dr Shuba Dharmana MBBS, DFFP, DPD (UK), Anti-Ageing Skin Specialist, Cosmetic Dermatologist, Laser Specialist Dr Shuba Skin & Laser Clinic Plot no 24, Maxivision Building, Opp. Cyber Towers, Madhapur 040-64647071, 8978575733 Website: www.drshuba.in

H‑Factor

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

You’ve got to do it for yourself Gym Diaries Sudeshna Koka

KEEP THE LITTLE ONES FIT THIS SUMMER It might be vacation time, but it is also when most kids turn couch potatoes. Here are ways they can be encouraged to get a move on and stay healthy Kuldep Sethi feedback@postnoon.com

ummer is here. It’s vacation time but unlike in the days gone by, it does not mean you will find children running around and playing outdoors. Unfortunately nowadays we find kids spending all their free time watching TV, playing computer games or the Nintendo. As responsible adults and caregivers, it is our duty to make sure that children get off the couch and get moving. The health of a whole generation of kids is in danger — minimal or no physical activity,

unhealthy eating habits, and lack of respect for their own bodies threaten the future of our children. Many parents and kids think of organised sports when they think of fitness. Though there are many advantages to signing a child up for tennis lessons, practice and games once or twice a week, it will not be enough to reach activity goals. In addition, we

cannot really rely on schools to provide enough physical activity for our children. Here are some ways to keep your kids moving at home n Incorporate physical activity into their daily routine. Get your kid to help you with regular house work or go for a walk in the evening. n Allow enough time for free

play. Kids can burn more calories and have more fun when left to their own devices. Playing catch, riding bikes around the neighbourhood, and chor police are fun and healthy. n Keep a variety of games and sports equipment at hand. It doesn’t have to be expensive — an assortment of balls and skipping ropes can keep kids busy for hours. n Be active with your child. It’ll get you moving and kids love to play with their parents. n Limit time spent in sedentary activities, such as watching TV, going online and playing video games. n Take your child on family fitness activities like picnics. Anything is good as long as your youngster is up and moving and not sitting all day. Reputed gyms now not only provide memberships for adults but also have classes like Bollywood dance, kickboxing, yoga etc for kids as well. You can help show your kids that exercise is important by being active yourself. Be a role model for your child. Children learn best by imitation so set a good example for your child. Live fit, be strong! (The writer is a fitness expert and director of 360 Degrees Fitness, Hyderabad)

fter the zillion ouch moments I finally began working out. The first few days were a test of all my will power and determination. I struggled to drag myself to the gym each day after work even as every cell in my body protested. With every new exercise regime I was put on, my body would be sore for days. For instance, the days I worked out my legs, I walked like I had a limp. The days I did abs, it was worse. The muscles in my tummy and sides hurt so much, it was challenging to even laugh. Just when I thought I’d give up (I mean it was not worth the pain), I realised that as the muscles in my body got used to being exercised, it actually got easier. I realised that the secret was to keep at it, no matter what, and then your mind and body get used to it. All my initial misgivings about the people at the gym and the crazy workouts I was subjected to, began to fade as I began enjoying my exercise. Besides, after every work out I’d come out more refreshed and confident. In fact, this happiness began to reflect on my face (the fact that I sweated it out and my skin got clearer may have a minor role to play here). But in general too I became more chirpy. Friends thought I was in love, while my mother thought I was finally ready to meet the ‘nice boys’ she was picking out for me. But no, I was just enjoying the moment. After three weeks of work out I realised that my purpose of joining the gym, which was to shed the kilos, was a long-term goal. But the present goal was to enjoy my work outs. I realised that my mindset was gradually switching from weight loss to fitness. I was gymming not primarily to lose weight anymore but to maintain my fitness level. In the end, I realised that I didn’t gym anymore to please my parents or look nice. It was all about setting aside some time for myself. This is the real reason for the glow and happiness, not my 2 kilo weight loss. That is just a bonus. (The writer is determined to fight the flab. Readers can inspire her at sudeshna.k@postnoon.com)

F‑Folio

Because you are what you wear

The writer Surabhi Chauhan feedback@postnoon.com

Is a fashion blogger (www.lovestruckcow.blogspot.com) who attempts to bridge the gap between creator and consumer. She hopes to promote Indian fashion among Indians and on a global level too.

‘Indi-genius’

collaborations We take a look at five Indian designers who have recently collaborated with varied brands to create a collection very different from their own yet similar in design sensibilities

Suneet Varma for Judith Leiber

n already successful tie-up, the Suneet Varma designed handbags for Judith Leiber have got great press and celebrity placement (this year’s Oscars red carpet had three sightings of this collection). Designer Suneet Varma whose aesthetics could be described as opulent, flamboyant and maximalist transpires to the clutch bags as well. Judith Leiber is a handbag company most famous for their minaudieres (A small ornamental case for a woman’s cosmetics, jewellery, or personal items that is often carried as a handbag), mostly covered in crystals. This collaboration has been seasonal and Suneet has taken inspirations from Russia, to the Pietra dura inlay work at the Taj Mahal. Celebrities like Catherine Zeta Jones have carried the SV for Judith Leiber and the Pietra dura clutch on the Red Carpet. Encrusted with Swarovski crystals, these handbags are an average of price $3,000 and available at Judith Leiber stores worldwide.

Tarun Tahiliani for Timex

aster ‘draper’ and couturier Tarun Tahiliani found an association to perfectly match his style. Jewelled bracelet style wrist watches made by Timex titled ‘TT for Timex’. This collection has a generous range in two categories – bridal and ready-to-wear. Reflecting a very Indian craftswork, these watches are pieces of art and a perfect Indian accompaniment to your fashion choices. Though I imagine this collection was designed to wear for Indian traditional events with ensembles like saris, lehenga, suits, I wouldn’t mind seeing these watches worn by international celebrities with gowns on the red carpet or even by regular women for an evening glamorous look fusing the Indian-modern. With a very small dial, these are not the most convenient to own as the only wrist watches. These could however be treated like ornaments/jewellery. Traditional Indian jewelled Jadau work with various precious stones, pearls and dull gold are some of the elements of this series. A very classic range that would stand the test of time or trends and like any other heirloom this too could be passed on to generations.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Malini Ramani for Bata India

alini Ramani is a known name in Indian fashion. Her fashion evolution has been gradual and she has mostly stuck to her resort wear aesthetics showcasing irregularly — skipping a season or two in showcasing collections. But this doesn’t hinder the fact that she has a distinct personality which clearly comes through in her brand. For the Spring Summer 2012 collection, Malini collaborated with renowned footwear brand Bata India to come out with a range of cork heel wedge heel shoes. The wedges have the ‘Malini Ramani’s bohemian vibe with the bright coloured leather Kolhapuri style heels. This collaboration for both the brands seems to make good sense. For Bata the excitement of a well known personality associating could be just what the basics footwear brand needed. For Malini, her reach to the masses increases as now a brand with her name is being available from hundreds of Bata stores nationwide with an affordable price range in between `1,499 and `2,999.

Shivan & Narresh for Kitty Su

his one is an unusual collaboration between a night club and upcoming designer duo. But the end result is exciting and quite covetable. Designers Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja worked for an exclusive line for Delhibased night club called Kitty Su. With a very distinct fashionable sense it was just a matter of time they came out with a range of fashion merchandise. The boys lent a unique take on swimwear which could in a crazy way be worn while partying late night at a discotheque too! This collection also marked the premiere of a menswear from the designers. The Shivan & Narresh for Kitty Su line has men’s swimwear, tan leather Moccasins, horn handle duffle bags, iPad bag in block colours, and for women: trikini swimsuit, pareo. Swarovski encrusted bow clutches, wedges, necklace and their signature swimsuit sari – a blouse and draping style most untraditional yet super flattering on different body shapes. Price range from `4,500 to `28,000. Available at Kitty Su website.

Manish Arora for Notify jeans

he designer with the most number of collaborations under his belt, not just in India but arguably worldwide, Manish Arora’s recent collaboration was with denim brand Notify. The great thing about Manish’s famous tie-ups is that the result is something which is iconic. The ‘Manish Arora for Notify’ denim collection was showcased as part of the Manish Arora Paris Fashion Week show. The neon yellow, red, green with embellishments were not the most unusual denims from this collection. The Robert Altman photographs print denims or the peacock feather tassels denims or even the rainbow fading shade metallic foil denims are on the forefront of being original and unique. If this still doesn’t excite you, then prepare yourself for the boot-jeans: pair of denims with attached footwear where once the jeans are worn- the shoes are worn as well with it. A concept which I wonder why no one else thought of before? (Never again would you have to complain of having pebbles or sand in your shoes. But on the flipside, wearing these trousers to a Bowling Alley would be impossible with the mandatory bowling shoe change.) While I am not sure this footwear cum jeans style is available for sale, I am quite sure this collection is anything but typical. Price range for this collection is from $385 to $815.

20&21

Spotlight

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Birthday girl Koyal Chandhak celebrated her special day at the N Grill on Thursday. She was seen enjoying the evening with family and friends.

Europe in Love

Sharing the joy

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Jean Marvel,Coline,Pavel,Monika & Catherine at the inauguration of the 17th European Union Film Festival at Prasads IMAX on Thursday.

Fun on the go Ladies night at Bottles & Chimney, Begumpet, is always a fun-filled affair and Thursday night was no different. DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Gurleen Bagga & Gurupriya

Payal

Mishel

Vijaya

Mansi

Koyal Chandhak

Aishwarya & Shivani

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

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Magic Screen

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

e b i r c ubs

! y a Tod

6 Months

` 199/-

1 Year

` 349/-

Magic Screen

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

Ravi Teja’s new film titled Balupu

Directors praise RGV’s rogue methodology

GV is widely regarded as a trendsetter in Telugu cinema. In his career spanning more than 20 years, he has popularised several methodologies like using a steadicam and Canon 5D. Now he’s pushing the bar even higher. We hear that he is using seven different types of cameras to film his upcoming film

t’s turning out to be quite a hectic year for Ravi Teja. After Nippu, Ravi Teja signed as many as three films this year alone. Now, Ravi Teja and Gopichand Malineni are teaming up again after two years. The duo had earlier worked on Don Seenu which did quite well at the box office. The latest buzz is that their new film has been titled as Balupu. SS Thaman is composing the music. Prasad V Potluri is producing the film under the PVP Cinemas banner. The film will go on floors later this year after Ravi Teja wraps up shooting for Parasuram’s Saar Vastharu. Meanwhile Ravi Teja, Taapsee starrer Daruvu is ready for release on May 18 and next month, Puri Jagannadh’s Devudu Chesina Manushulu is going to hit the screens.

Department. In a bid to promote the film, he explained how the film was shot. Ever since this so called ‘rogue methodology’ of filming was unveiled, some of the prominent filmmakers in South have been praising RGV for setting a new standard. “Destroy the rules.. Wow Rgv sir.. Amazing stuff. Saw the rogue methodology video. Desperate to watch ‘department’ now. Inspiring stuff! (sic)” Gautham Menon posted on Twitter. SS Rajamouli is also quite impressed with what RGV has done in Department. Puri Jagannadh praised RGV for making a great film and said, “Amithji’s role in Department is Superb.Department is going to change the history. It’s a trend setter.RGV rocks with his ROGUE methodology.(sic)”

Maruthi’s new film launched M

aruthi, who recently directed Ee Rojullo, is gearing up for his next film titled Bus Stop. The film will be produced by Bellamkonda Suresh and we hear that Bus Stop is also going to be an experimental film like Ee Rojullo. VV Vinayak launched the film earlier today at

Ramanaidu Studios. Prince and Nanditha, who were recently seen in Teja’s Neeku Naaku, have been signed as the lead actors in Bus Stop. Incidentally, Maruthi was supposed to direct a film with Nithin in lead role; however, the film has been shelved.

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

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Take a shot at the brain game while sipping your cuppa

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Turns a maxi into a mini, eg 5 Noteworthy achievement 9 Concert stack 13 One of the Muses 15 Eye flirtatiously 16 Was for several people? 17 It may be covered with blips 19 Arabian Peninsula port 20 Solemn 21 Take vain steps 23 Aloha gift 24 Auto-tank filler 25 Three-___ (tricycle) 27 Unpaid debt 29 Wishing-well deposit 30 Pastoral place 31 One of 150 in the Bible 32 Evidence of drunkenness 33 ‘___ port in a storm’ 34 Very cold time, for many 38 ___-I-Am (Seuss character) 41 Mapmaker ___ McNally 42 Some office notes 46 ‘What was ___ think?’ 47 St ___ (Florida city, for short) 48 Figure out 49 Like flushed cheeks, color wise 51 Alternative to air conditioning 52 Petal wetter 53 Tackle box items 54 City or province of Spain 56 Airtight tower 57 Any substance that lessens purity 60 Junker of a car 61 Slumber-party attendee 62 Fasten again 63 Commits a blunder 64 MacDonald's co-star 65 Fish similar to a herring DOWN 1 Pronoun for a peahen

2 Aids for the error-prone 3 Portalternative 4 A feature of Old Glory 5 Cameraman's concern 6 Prima donna problems 7 High peak 8 Casual pullover 9 Not uninformed 10 Lower half of the brainstem 11 Many a Little Leaguer 12 Former coin of Japan 14 Art of paper folding 18 Hit the heights 22 What a king may be worth 23 What you stand to lose? 25 Cause for stitches 26 Bit of sunshine 28 Massachusetts' state tree

29 Country singer Patsy 32 Mower's wake 35 Equestrian event 36 Correctional worker? 37 Sunburned 38 Round Table title 39 Artist's workshop 40 Like some furniture 43 Spa offering 44 ‘1984’ location 45 Follow certain patterns? 47 Banana cream, for one 48 Tavern projectile 50 Throat medicine

SUDOKU

51 Seward's Alaska purchase, to some 54 Soy bean ___ 55 Cinnabar, taconite, etc 56 ‘___ sells seashells ...’ 58 Accomplished 59 Spread hay PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

THOUGHT OF THE DAY When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him. – Thomas Szasz

Chai Time STAR POWER

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Your tomorrow today̶Star Power and Tarot THIRUVAIKUMAR

As per Hindu panchang

FOR 12-5-2012

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

TAURUS

GEMINI

Chances of good gains from foreign co‑ nnections and travel abroad will bring good beneﬁts. Your attitude will change for better. You will take bold decisions on many issues and implement them.

Decisions taken in haste will cost you dear. Avoid being alone as you might feel confused and deserted. Encourag‑ ement by your spouse will be a tonic. Influx of visitors makes family happy.

Money inflow will allow you to meet out all expenses though savings rema‑ in a distant dream. Blood relatives might put you in a fix. You will plan and fulfill wishes of your family.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Comforts are likely to improve. Conside‑ rable improvement likely in ﬁnancial situation. Family will remain in a peace‑ ful atmosphere. You will have to spend more for fulﬁlling wishes of your kids.

All plans in your mind will be given a shape and get implemented. You will work non‑stop till you achieve set goals. Relatives might try to create rifts between family members.

You will meet with unexpected events and will be surprised as things take place just in the oppsite way to what you wanted. Expenses will increase due to inﬂux of visitors.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Jobs that are expected to get complet‑ ed fast will be delayed. Be careful while driving. Take care of the objects you carry while travelling as there are chances of getting robbed or stolen.

Need to be cautious in all transactions as there are chances of loss or disappoi‑ ntment. Debt problems might surface again and haunt you. Chances of unwanted blames too likely.

Take care of spouse well as health problems might create a concern. Be alert and careful while carrying out any ﬁnancial transaction. Kids make you proud. New litigations are likely.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

A steady ﬁnancial ﬂow will keep you happy. Friendship circle will expand. Debt problems will be under control. You will get good co‑operation from the spouse in all your new efforts.

You will act with courage and works will be completed as planned. There will be a satisfactory and comfortable position likely in ﬁnancial matters. Con‑ struction of own house will happen.

Financial ups and downs possible. Businessmen will undertake frequent ofﬁcial trips. Employees are likely to get a desired transfer. As conﬁdence is high, you complete all work quickly.

SUMAA TEKUR

FOR 12-5-2012

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Seven of Pentacles – Avoid picking a ﬁght with someone you for sure you need in the future. By antago‑ nising him/her, you run the risk of creat‑ ing obstacles.

Seven of Swords – If youʼre in doubt abo‑ ut something, hold off making a decisi‑ on until youʼre abso‑ lutely certain. You will come across ma‑ ny such situations.

Nine of Pentacles – There are many peo‑ ple around you will‑ ing to help and get you on the right track. You must be in the frame of mind to accept help.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Six of Wands – Your mind opens up to new possibilities. If you get a brilliant idea and know it can work, how about giving it an honest push to test your own limits?

The Hermit – Spiritu‑ al awareness will ma‑ ke you realise many things about yourself. You need to discon‑ nect with the materi‑ al world and go on a path of discovery.

Five of Wands – Con‑ ﬂict, contradiction and confusion might make you take some wrong decisions. If you can, put off all important work till there is more clarity.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Ten of Pentacles – A fruit diet will be good to rejuvenate you. A detox session will cl‑ eanse you from with‑ in. It will also help you think clearly. Bri‑ ng the spa home.

The Fool – Youʼre in the ﬁrst steps of an exciting new journey. Youʼre learning som‑ ething new and are excited about being associated with this project with others.

Page of Wands – Cre‑ ativity is at its peak. You get new ideas and want to be able to put them to good use. Forget about be‑ ing practical for some time and chase ideas.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

The Hanged Man – Youʼre seeing life from a very different per‑ spective and not ever‑ yone may be able to understand your point of view. Donʼt try to force your ideas.

The Devil – Tempta‑ tion for more things material is making you do some irrational things. Get a hold of yourself and think of the long term. Is it all going to be worth it?

Queen of Pentacles – Finances are in focus. You need to organise your inﬂow and out‑ ﬂow of money is a proper way to ensure that all loose ends are tied up well.

For Better or for Worse Stone soup

SOLUTIONS

Boggle YEN PESO EURO POUND RUBLE DOLLAR

Number game

Suduko

Scrabble

Ink pen

COMICS

Fred Basset

ARIES

TAROT READ

Vol: 1, No 299 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

Magic Screen

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

Esha Gupta

B-TOWN TWEETIES

@realpreityzinta Today feels like 1of those days where I wanna speak my mind! On a positive note saw the trailer of EK THA TIGER n Omg! Salman Rocksss !!!

not intimidated by

Bipasha

@singer_shaan Sang a gorgeous Bengali Song for Jeet Da for Jaaneman... And then a Rocking duet with @shreyaghoshal for Shameer Tandon... Good fun!!

odel-turned-actress Esha Gupta, who would be seen sharing screen alongside sultry Bipasha Basu in Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz 3, says she did not feel intimidated by the presence of her co-actress but was definitely nervous. In Raaz 3, a sequel to Raaz and Raaz: The Mystery Continues, Esha will be seen alongside Bipasha and Emraan Hashmi. “I wasn’t intimidated but definitely nervous. Working with Bipasha was great. She is very lovely and makes sure she gives you full attention. I don’t think I ever felt that oh I am not in the film. The film revolves around the three of us — Emraan, Bipasha and I are part of the film,” Esha said. “I have seen her and I have been a fan of her...seen her on big screen, the scene of her coming out of water in white outfit in Jism has always left an impact not only on me but on millions of people. It is an honour to work with her,” she said. Raaz 3, a romantic-horror film, is shot in 3D. The film is slated to release in August end this year. PTI

@AnupamPkher Mr Sanjay Verma, Counsel General of India in Dubai wanted me to write something about my country on his wall.

@TheShilpaShetty Wat a nail biting match, unfortunately we fell short of at least 20 runs :( but a good effort from RRs side :)

@SrBachchan

Gulzar mentoring Karan Arora

eteran lyricist Gulzar is mentoring Bhindi Baazaar producer Karan Arora for his new film Kya Dilli Kya Lahore, which talks about a unique bond between an Indian and a Pakistani soldier stationed at the IndoPakistani border. “I heard the narration before the film went on

floors. What I loved about it is the fact that it is an anti-war film and talks about peace but in a very light-hearted manner. It doesn’t have bloodshed and is not political in nature at all, yet makes such a beautiful point of peace between two neighbouring countries,” Gulzar said in a statement. “Finally, after the film

was shot, producer Karan Arora came to me and showed it to me. The way it has turned out is commendable. I would do everything in my capacity to help it. I am, in fact, going to talk to people associated with ‘Aman Ki Asha’ (campaign) since this is a film that has to be shown in both countries,” he added. IANS

T 739 — Switched on the TV .. every bit of news alarming and most depressing... went back to IPL... !!

@priyankachopra Today is the day!! Ishaqzaade! Good luck to my sister @ParineetiChopra and Arjun kapoor!! U guys r gonna flyyyy!I just know! Love u both!!!

@bipsluvurself

Dilip Kumar praises Aamir B

ollywood thespian Dilip Kumar has praised Aamir Khan for his initiative Satyamev Jayate, his debut TV show which raises issues of national concern and sensitises public towards them. Aamir received accolades when the show went on air on Star Plus on Sunday. “Dear Aamir, you deserve all the compliments you are getting for the TV show. Brilliant. We are proud of you @aamir_khan,” Dilip posted on Twitter. The 89-year-old, who had been keeping unwell, says he is fine healthwise now. “By the grace of god, my health is good. I am doing well. Thank you,” he added. IANS

Relaxed n Refreshed n Tanned! Nature enriches you really! Now getting back into work mode!

@bomanirani Mom gives me a `1 coin when I travel as pocket money/gudluck. Today I got 50p by mistake. I questioned, So she said. ‘don’t u make enuf’?

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 Chris Gayle (RCB)

6 527

METRE

37 4S 1434

Ajinkya Rahane (RR)

HIGHEST SCORE

103*

Ajinkya Rahane (RR), Kevin Pietersen (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

5-16

Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)

Warriors up against RCB Leaving it too late is not something we do intentionally. As the tournament progresses, we need to get going, the batsmen are coming under pressure early and they need to bat freely. Mahendra Singh Dhoni CSK Captain

G Aparna Sai feedback@postnoon.com

n a high after their victories against the Deccan Chargers and the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Pune Warriors India today on the latter's home ground. The Challengers, under the captaincy of stand-in skipper, Virat Kohli, have done quite well. They walloped the Chargers on Sunday and repeated their demolition act on Wednesday when they clashed with Mumbai. Having a very strong batting line-up with the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the side, Bangalore do not have much to worry about. However, the same cannot be told about the Warriors from Pune, who, like the Charges, do not stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. They currently have only eight

RCB VS PWI AT 8 PM ON SET MAX

Chris Gayle (RCB) 515 runs

Morne Morkel (DD) 21 wickets

RR can still make it to the playoffs T

heir campaign has been thrown haywire after the fourwicket loss to Chennai Super Kings but Rajasthan Royals’ Johan Botha says his team still has a chance of making the IPL playoffs. "It was a bad loss against Chennai but we can still make it to playoffs if we win the three matches. The fact that we have to play two against lowly Pune Warriors and Deccan Chargers and the last against Mumbai Indians gives a little chance. While the other teams fighting for a playoff slot will be playing against big teams," said Botha. Referring to the match against Chennai, Botha said it was close and the visitors finished it very well. PTI

SCORECARD DECCAN CHARGERS VS DELHI DAREDEVILS Deccan Chargers innings (20 overs) DJ Harris c Jayawardene b Morkel

S Dhawan run out (Nadeem)

KC Sangakkara c Nadeem b Aaron

CL White c †Ojha b Aaron

JP Duminy not out PA Patel

not out

Extras (lb 1, w 1)

Total (4 wickets; 20 overs)

187

Bowling

W Econ

AD Russell

IK Pathan

0 11.50

M Morkel

8.00

VR Aaron

7.50

S Nadeem

0 9.75

9.75

Delhi Daredevils innings (target: 188 runs from 20 overs) V Sehwag c White b Dhawan

DD KKR MI CSK RCB RR KXIP PWI DC

P 12 12 12 13 12 13 12 13 13

W 9 8 7 6 6 6 6 4 2

L 3 3 5 6 5 7 6 9 10

N/T 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1

PT NRR 18 0.977 17 0.6 14 -0.198 13 0.081 13 -0.223 12 0.184 12 -0.309 8 -0.238 5 -0.717

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

DA Warner not out

109

NV Ojha not out

Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 2, nb 2)

Total (1 wicket; 16.4 overs)

193

Bowling

W Econ

S Dhawan

13.50

TP Sudhindra 3.4

11.72

MS Gony

5.50

Ashish Reddy 2

14.50

A Mishra

11.00

Ankit Sharma 1

16.00

Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets

RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS Rajasthan Royals innings (20 overs) R Dravid c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 4 AM Rahane c Ashwin b Mahesh 17 SR Watson c Ashwin b Hilfenhaus 5 STR Binny c Raina b Mahesh 27 BJ Hodge lbw b Ashwin 33 J Botha b Jadeja 12 AL Menaria not out 6 DH Yagnik not out 10 Extras (lb 6, w 6) 12 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 126 Bowling O M R W Econ JA Morkel 3 0 19 0 6.33 Hilfenhaus 4 1 8 2 2.00 VY Mahesh 4 0 21 2 5.25 DJ Bravo 3 0 38 0 12.66 RA Jadeja 4 0 21 1 5.25 R Ashwin 2 0 13 1 6.50 Chennai Super Kings innings (target: 127 runs from 20 overs) MEK Hussey run out (Tait) 19 M Vijay b Watson 0 SK Raina c Rahane b Pankaj Singh 23 DJ Bravo c Binny b Trivedi 10 MS Dhoni c Rahane b Trivedi 10 RA Jadeja c Botha b Pankaj Singh 16 JA Morkel not out 18 S Anirudha not out 18 Extras (w 12, nb 1) 13 Total (6 wickets; 18.1 overs) 127 Bowling O M R W Econ SR Watson 3 0 32 1 10.66 Pankaj Singh 4 0 34 2 8.50 SW Tait 3.1 0 20 0 6.31 J Botha 4 0 23 0 5.75 SK Trivedi 4 0 18 2 4.50 Chennai Super Kings won by 4 wickets

points from 13 matches and are placed at the eight position on the points table. The Sourav Ganguly led side were considered under dogs when the fifth season commenced but they proved otherwise and began the tournament on a winning note. Their performance even saw them figure among the top four sides in the standings. But the recent past has seen the Warriors perform in a contrasting manner. They have lost tight matches and their performance has not been upto the mark. Many key players failed to fire and luck also seemed to be evade them. Meanwhile the Challengers would do all to win this match as every clash from now, would determine if they could make it to the playoffs or not. With most of the teams going neck to neck in the points, it is highly likely that even the net run rate would come into account. In this match, what remains to be is seen, is if Pune would salvage their pride and play party spoilers to the Challengers or will RCB manage to extend their winning streak.

PUMPED UP

Chennai Super Kings’ Srikant Anirudha celebrates his side’s victory over Rajasthan Royals during their IPL match at the Swai AFP/PRAKASH SINGH Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.

75 DAYS TO GO

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Against the odds, swimming for peace

Fernando dropped from warm-up tournament BUENOS AIRES: The Argentine field hockey player who was controversially filmed training on the disputed Falkland Islands in a television commercial has been dropped from an Olympic warm-up tournament. Fernando Zylberberg, 34, was filmed running and exercising at locations on the British-ruled islands for the pre-London 2012 Olympics advertisement, which featured the slogan “to compete on English soil we train on Argentine soil.” But the player, who has captained his national side, has been omitted from the 18-man squad picked for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia this month, where Argentina -- which claims the Falklands as its territory - could face Britain. The Argentine Hockey Confederation did not state on its website any reasons for Zylberberg’s omission from the squad for the May 24 to June 4 tournament, the final major event leading up to the summer Games in London. Zylberberg, who has twice competed for his country at the Olympics, was pictured running through the streets of Port Stanley, the capital of the disputed islands. He was also filmed doing step-ups on the town’s Great War Memorial, which honors British sailors who died in World War I. The ad was aired on Argentine television amid high tensions between the two countries as they mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war over the British-held islands still claimed by Buenos Aires as its own. British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the TV spot but Alicia Castro, Argentina’s ambassador to Britain, said that the commercial was not meant to be a provocation.

Joris Fioriti

KABUL: Afghan teenager Malek Mohammad balances on his hands, readies his stumps, then dives perilously into the water. The 18-year-old, whose legs were blown off by a Soviet landmine, dreams of swimming for Afghanistan in the London Paralympics. “I hope they select me to participate in the London Games. So I am just praying,” he told AFP at the small pool where he trains in Kabul, in a nation known better for a deadly Taliban insurgency than international sporting prowess. “If I get a medal from the Olympics that will be good for my country, for my people. Disabled people will be proud of me, my family, everyone.” Malek is one of tens of thousands of Afghan amputees, victims of three decades of war -- 10 years of fighting against Soviet troops in the 1980s, civil war and the current Taliban insurgency -that have made Afghanistan one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. In January, the United Nations estimated that in 20 years it had dismantled more than 500,000 anti-personnel mines, 22,000 anti-tank mines and 15 million unexploded munitions. Such weapons killed or wou-

Sutton takes 1,500m crown

Afghan amputee Malek Mohammad trains in a swimming pool in Kabul. AFP PHOTO/JOHANNES EISELE

them and landed on another that then exploded. His mother, Sabza Gul, recalled her shock when she saw him gravely wounded in hospital. “He didn’t even look human. When I saw my son in pieces like that, I fell unconscious right in the hospital. I felt like someone ripped my insides out.”

nded 375 people in 2011, according to the United Nations. Last year, homemade bombs planted by the Taliban along roads and ditches killed another 1,000 people, the world body said. Malek’s life changed forever in 2005, when he walked into a Russian mine field near Kabul airport. He stepped on one of

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: America’s Chloe Sutton won the women’s 1,500m freestyle event on Thursday ahead of training partner Ashley Twichell as the Charlotte Ultra Swim kicked off with two distance events. Sutton won in 16 minutes 23.96seconds, the seventhfastest time in the world this year in the event, which isn’t contested by women at the Olympics. Twichell was second in 16:25.25, with Venezuela’s

Adreina Pinto third clocking 16:38.64. America’s Chad La Tourette won the men’s 800m freestyle in 7:59.31. Connor Jaeger was second in 8:00.81 and Sean Ryan third in 8:07.43. The meeting is part of United States of America’s Swimming’s Grand Prix series and features several US Olympians tuning up for their London Games bids, including Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Natalie Coughlin.

Playing Field

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The games people play

SCF LIFT BOSTON CUP

Johnson nearly quit SYDNEY: Paceman Mitchell

Players in action during the 13 Boston Cup cricket tournament under-16 match between Sports Coaching Foundation and VS Super Cats on Friday. SCF won the match and the tournament by two SRINIVAS SHETTY wickets. Taking first strike, Super Cats scored 81 runs in 10 overs.

Rajesh Ravindran rajesh.r@postnoon.com

ashmitha Reddy won the Sinnet Super Series in the girls under-16 section beating Shambhavi Dikshit 63, 6-2. Rashmitha did not have to struggle so much in amatch in which her opponent could not be her usual resilient self. Right from the start, Rashmitha took lead. At no point in the match could Shambhavi catch up. It was as if her form, her repertoire were spent in the semifinal itself. Nothing went right for Shambhavi. Her slices that had been spot on throughout the tourney lost their sharpness and Rashmitha had no problems picking them. Rashmitha and Shambhavi are close friends and both of them used to train together whenthey were young. “It was not a tough match. She did not seem her usual self and it got easy when she committed a lot of faults,” said Rashmitha. “I was not my usual self. Nothing but my backhand worked for me,” said Shambhavi. In the boys under-16 final, Vishnu Prasad outplayed Indra Patwardhan 6-4, 7-6 (5). In the girls’ under-12 final, Rachana Reddy beat Shajija Syeda Begum 6-4, 6-3.

Johnson, recalled this week to the Australian team, revealed Friday he had lost his love of cricket and a foot injury this year probably saved him from quitting the game. Johnson’s roller coaster career was in limbo after he injured ligaments in his big left toe while batting in Australia’s Test victory over South Africa last November and he missed the entire Australia season following surgery. But the enigmatic 30-year-old fast bowler said he was already mentally shot by that point and in the doldrums over his cricket future. “Going into that Test in Joburg, I was unsure if I could perform to be honest. It was at that point where I really just wanted to get away from the game and step back from it,” Johnson said in

RASHMITHA CLAIMS CROWN

Rashmitha Reddy

Vishnu Prasad

Perth. “The injury did come at the right time. I’d probably lost a bit of interest in playing the game. “If I didn’t get the injury, if I kept going, I could have got dropped and that could have been it. “That (retirement) could have been on the cards for sure. “I guess being away from the media helped a little bit, not copping it day in, day out. So that’s been a bit of a relief.” Johnson, who has a reputation for erratic bowling, said he was confident his dark times were behind him, saying he felt mentally and physically stronger than at any previous point in his career. The 47-Test veteran, with 190 wickets at 31.29, will have the chance to prove his worth in Australia’s one-day tour of England in June-July. AFP

Playing Field Lotus hopes to bloom again in Spain BARCELONA: Highly-rated French driver Romain Grosjean and Finnish star Kimi Raikkonen believe they must deliver faultless performances if Lotus are to challenge for a win at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. "We are in good shape, we had a good race in Bahrain but the base of the car in the race is good," said Grosjean Raikkonen echoes his French team-mate's sentiments, stressing that the competition between teams is so fierce that the smallest mistake can be costly. "I don't know how it will go, it is difficult to say before the weekend starts," said the 32year-old.

76ers beat Bulls in Philly thriller PHILADELPHIA: The Philadelphia 76ers edged Chicago 79-78 on Thursday, ousting the top-seeded Bulls from the first round of the NBA playoffs and booking a clash with the Boston Celtics. Andre Iguodala drained two free throws with 2.2 seconds to play as the 76ers advanced with a 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series. In the second round, the 76ers will face the Celtics, who held on for an 83-80 victory over Atlanta in Boston that gave them a 4-2 series triumph. The Bulls suffered another injury setback when center Joakim Noah sprained an ankle in game three.

Poulter, Laird lead at Florida Players PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA: Ian Poulter and Martin Laird shared the firstround lead at the US PGA Tour's $9.5 million Players Championship Thursday on seven-under par 65. England's Poulter put together four birdies in a row around the turn, finishing the day with eight birdies and one bogey, while Scotland's Laird birdied his final hole of an error-free round to join Poulter atop the leaderboard. They were one stroke in front of American Blake Adams, who posted a 66 at TPC Sawgrass. Kevin Na and Ben Crane were at five-under 67. Tiger Woods fired a poor first round of 74.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The games people play

United downturn marks topsy-turvy season Rob Woollard

LONDON: As Manchester City's players trudged off the pitch on April 8 following a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, only the most wildly optimistic of their supporters would have believed that barely a month later they would be on the brink of a historic league title triumph. Manchester United (right) were the masters of timing title charges to perfection, blessed with the near-mythical quality of knowing what it takes to get over the finish line. Nothing would stop them now. But a catastrophic sequence of results, which saw United claim only one win in their next four matches, allowed City to edge clear of them on goal difference after their momentous 1-0 win over their neighbours on April 30. "I think the Everton game was

the killer for us," Ferguson reflected last week. "It was an absolutely ridiculous performance in the last 10 minutes of the match. Just absolute carelessness," said Ferguson. Regardless of what happens on Sunday, few will argue that the current campaign has been

among the most compelling in English football history. This season is also on course to be the most prolific. With 10 matches left 1,034 goals have been scored — 30 more on Sunday would break the existing record of 1,063 set in the 2010/2011 campaign.

Federer, Djoker go through in Madrid Open Scott Williams

MADRID: Rafael Nadal went down in frustration as the second seed lost his first match of the season on clay, with Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco triumphing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 on Thursday in the third round of the Madrid Masters. It was entirely another story for top seed Novak Djokovic, who needed two match points to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and Roger Federer (below), who rolled over Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2.

Record quest spurs on La Liga Dermot Ledwith

ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. Two points clear of Valencia in fourth, Malaga can seal Spain's final Champions League berth by beating Sporting Gijon at a soldout La Rosaleda. Even unfancied Levante could still grab fourth spot if they win at home to Athletic Bilbao and the sides above them all slip up. Meanwhile, Mallorca and Osasuna are in contention for a Europa League berth, while Athletic are already certain of returning to the competition having made it through to the Copa del Rey final.

MADRID: The Spanish league season reaches its climax on Sunday and, while Real Madrid have already wrapped up the title, there is plenty still to play for at both ends of the table. If Real win on Sunday, they will break a new Spanish league record in reaching the 100-point mark — Barcelona holding the record of 99 set in 2009/10. Meanwhile Barcelona go to Betis on Saturday with Lionel Messi (right) looking to take the 'pichichi' award as La Liga's top scorer — currently on 50, he is five

With the exit of Nadal, Federer now has a chance to return to the ATP number two ranking if he can win the title, according to ATP calculations. "It was a surprising loss for Rafa," said the Swiss. "But Verdasco is a quality player who should have maybe beaten Nadal in the past. "Down two breaks in a match on clay you don't expect a guy to come back. But the tournament goes on without Rafa.”

Football’s bridesmaids seek trophy groom THE HAGUE: World football's perennial bridesmaids, the Netherlands, will be hoping that Euro 2012 is the tournament at which they end their 24-year wait for a major title. Beaten World Cup finalists in 1974, 1978 and 2010, they have reached the semi-finals at the European Championship three times since they last lifted the trophy in 1988, only to fall before the final on each occasion. Nobody could accuse the Netherlands of being boring on the road to Poland and the Ukraine. With 37 goals in 10 matches they were the top scorers in qualifying, while their 11-0 annihilation of San Marino last September was the biggest victory in the country's history. There have been mixed

Euro 2012 results in recent friendlies, with a 0-0 draw against Switzerland in November followed by a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Germany in Hamburg a few days

later. Key players, including Robin van Persie, were missing for the Germany game, however, and there was encouragement to be found in February's 3-2 defeat of England at Wembley, where Arjen Robben scored a fine brace.

With Robben fit and firing for Bayern Munich, van Marwijk has plenty of options in attack but Wesley Sneijder has endured an injury-plagued season for Inter Milan, making just 16 league starts. The Netherlands match with old rivals Germany in Kharkiv on June 13 promises to be the big match in Group B but coach van Marwijk says his players cannot afford to look beyond their opening game against the Danes four days earlier. The game against Portugal will also revive memories of ‘The Battle of Nurember’" in the 2006 World Cup, which saw an unprecedented 16 yellow cards awarded. But van Marwijk said: "I only look at the first match. For me the first match is the most important.”