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PAGE TWO SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

THAT FINAL MOMENT

Library summer camp 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

Metamorpherscense A painting exhibition titled Metamorphescense by Pranatu Khanna is being held at Iconart Gallery. The exhibition is on till May 19. Where: Muse Art Gallery, Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2752 2999

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

Mothers Day surprise

A girl studies outside an exam centre as over three lakh students appeared for the EAMCET exam being conducted today. M ANIL KUMAR Banjara 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

When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 6557 7722

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

Cricket frenzy

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

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

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

Children’s carnival

Grill festival

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 Hypermarket-

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

Yoga Camp

CINEMAS

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

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

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

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

3 die in road mishap

ATM robbed in Mehdipatnam

Woman duped in Begumpet

hree persons died and two sustained injuries in two separate road mishaps on Friday late night. Ch Vasu, 32, died and his friend Srinivas escaped with injuries when their bike hit a divider in Begumpet. In another incident, a speeding ambulance hit a stationary autorikshaw in Rajender Nagar. K Peedajangaih, and P Shankraih were killed.

n a second attempt at robbing an ATM machine within a week, robbers damaged an ATM machine belonging to Axis bank in Mehdipatnam, last night. It is as of now still not clear if the marauders managed to get cash or not. The bank officials were not responding when informed at night, police said. ACP Asifnagar is investigating the case.

wo women sweet-talked a woman shopper, Punyavathy, 55, in Begumpet and duped her of her gold chain weighing five tolas in lieu of purported 10 tolas worth of gold biscuits. By the time the woman came to realise that she was being conned by them, the duo had escaped. The Begumpet police are investigating the incident.

Babus retreat from AP The State is plagued by a shortage of IAS officers and those that are there are looking to be deputed outside AP after the recent hauling up of officers in the State

U SRINIVAS

srinivas.u@postnoon.com

AS cadres who run the fulcrum of government machinery are making a beeline for deputations out of AP while the State is facing an acute paucity of administrative officials. Many of them prefer a deputation to the Centre rather than

sloughing in the State. Others prefer to go on a long leave. Reasons for this are not far to seek. The recent hauling up of many IAS officers has created a sense of panic among them. The IAS Officers Association had made it clear to the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy recently that they cannot function in this environment where the politicians are protected and the officials are being penalised in the name of ‘fighting corruption’. The IAS fraternity has already come to an understanding that they should not put

The IAS Officers Association had made it clear to the CM recently that they cannot function where politicians are protected and the officials are penalised in the name of fighting corruption. their signatures blindly on the dotted line just because a certain minister had called them up and asked them to do so. Nothing

short of a black and white copy will be acceptable as a directive or order. The CM has already put on a cleft stick with regard to prosecution sought of some IAS officers in the mining scandal. The quota of the IAS officers allotted to AP is 376, but it short of 92 officers. While a considerable shortage stares at the State, 35 of them are on deputation in Delhi. Ten officers are on a long leave. The State, thus, needs more than 100 officers as of today, certain governmental sources pointed out.

There is also a shortage of 20 percent officers in the State cadre. The CM has requested the Centre to allot 92 IAS officers to the State as an urgent requirement. The Centre may, by all probability, depute non-IAS cadre officers to the State said a retired official. It is because there is a shortage of 30 percent officers in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) nation-wide. Minister of State for personnel V Narayanasamy told Rajya Sabha that against a total of 6,154 IAS officers, there were only 4,377 while 1,777 posts are vacant.

CLARENCE THE CHEETAH QUENCHES CITY’S NEED FOR SPEED

Three spotted beauties — two males and one female — were released into their enclosure at Nehru Zoological Park on Saturday. A massive crowd gathered to cheer the three cheetahs into their new home in the presence of forest minister Vijayarama Raju. Though the Zoo has named them Monk, Dark and Munia, visitors around suggested more apt Chezian names — Clarence, Alois and Amalie. The Cheetah enclosure had been vacant for 26 years. N SHIVA KUMAR

CITY SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

SAI RAM REDDY

City consumer forum in doldrums A barometer of a healthy society is the consumer grievance redressal forum. Hyderbad has been severely debilitated with two of the three forums remaining without judges for a long time

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

rahul.r@postnoon.com

e are often told that the consumer is the king. But the statement does not hold true if you seek the help of the consumer forum in Hyderabad. Here, you face vacant seats of judges, indifferent attitude of underlings, and virtually no assistance. Two of the three district consumer forums have been without judges for over a year. This

means for an 80 lakh population, just one Forum and one judge! “Damn good show!” exclaimed a former secretary when pointed out the plight of the aggrieved consumers in the City. Consequently, a public interest litigation has been filed at the High Court, the hearing of which is slated for July 6. Incidentally, even simple information like since when the judicial positions are vacant is not forthcoming. One official said it is since two months and assistant registrar says it has been lying vacant since a year. So much for the care of consumers! “Ever since the previous judge Venkatesham finished his tenure, the position has been

vacant. We have issued notices in this regard to the state government. However, the code of conduct issued by the election commission has blocked the vacancy from being filled. Forum 1 is being headed by P Sridhar Rao who is actually the President of the Mahboobnagar district consumer forum. “We have been pursuing the matter

Two of the district consumer forums have been without judges for over a year. So, for 80 lakh people, just one forum and one judge.

and the vacancy shall be filled within a month’s time,” informed Janardhan, assistant registrar at the State Consumer Redressal Forum. President of the Ranga Reddy district consumer forum, P Raghavendar however has a different take on the situation. “Venkatesham’s post has been vacant since February. It has been only two months since the position has been vacant however, members of the forum continue to hear cases. We try and maintain a minimum number of 200 pending cases, in the current year of 2012. The vacancy of the post will be filled up as soon as the State government issues permission and notifies the State com-

mittee. This may take 1 to 2 months and after this, a GO needs to be issued which might take another couple of months. It all depends upon how fast the government acts.” “The absence of a vibrant consumer forum helps the unscrupulous,” observed MK Ramakrishna, a public spirited citizen who tried to collect a mass signature campaign to make the consumer forum a formidable authority. He blames the public attitude for the kind of situation. “Government on its own never moves, we must move it,” he said. Thousands of people who everyday face problems as consumers are left voiceless. But does anybody really care?

Road woes for Krishna Nagar Anubha K Singh anubha.k@postnoon.com

Colony. Many a times, fourwheeler and three-wheelers find it difficult to cross this stretch because of the traffic coming from the Chiranjeevi Blood

Bank road. “Every day I take this road as it is the only route for my home and my car suspension is getting spoiled because of the terrible road. It takes me SRINIVAS SETTY

raffic snarls have now become a common problem for Krishna Nagar residents and commuters who use the stretch on regular basis are having a tough time. Even after the recent introduction of one-way traffic movement on the stretch the traffic flow is not at all smooth along the one-way route. “The road is very narrow and adding more problems to it is the debris of the digging work that was undertaken. Half the stretch is covered with debris that makes it more difficult for big vehicles to commute. During the evenings, the traffic goes haywire because many buses ply on the road. This is a problem for the auto drivers and other

vehicle drivers who use this road” said K Neelkantan, a regular commuter. The stretch also connects to Yousufguda and Srinagar

more than 30 minutes to cross the area,” said Ajay Nayak, an MNC Employee. “Many a times we stop our vehicles somewhere in the corner or under a tree shade and carry the gas cylinders to the houses in the area which are more than 200 to 300 metres away,” said one of the gas suppliers in the locality. Adding to the woes of the commuters is the recent summer showers that have left water logged at many places. This makes the road even more inaccessible. The commuters and residents of the nearby areas feel the traffic jam is more because of the pathetic road and not because of the one-way. When we tried to contact the local corporator to get her views on the issue, she was not reachable.

FOCUS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

They probably do one of the most noble jobs, but for a pittance. On World Nursing Day, the nursing community in the City talks about long hours of work, bad pay and difficult conditions they face every single day

Ranjani Rajendra

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

hey spend their days caring for the ill, comforting worried families, gently coaxing their patients to have their medicines, sponge bathe them, stay up at odd hours taking care of their needs and still wear a bright smile all through. Nursing is unarguably the backbone of our health care industry. But with high attrition rates, there seems to be a perpetual shortage of nursing staff in most hospitals, putting tremendous pressure on the existing nurses. To top it all off, are the long hours at work, ill treatment and terrible pay. On an average nurses are expected to work in six hour shifts. But given the shortage of staff, most are forced to work double or triple shifts, unless it is a top corporate hospital where the rosters are slightly better organised. According to one nurse in the City, the ideal nurse patient ratio should be 1:4, but the existing ratio stands at 1:7 or more. But the worst is faced by nurses assigned duty at emergency wards. Considering it is the one ward that sees a huge influx of patients, there are just a couple of nurses shouldering the entire work load — especially on weekends when there are a higher number of accidents and emergency cases. “The stress of the job is very high and there is no room for mistakes. But given how short-staffed we are and the other limitations, some things are just not in our control. Things are worse around the financial year end when a lot of nurses quit their posts and the additional pressure falls on us who stick on. Despite these factors, we are at the receiving end from the management and patients and are often admonished in public,” says

Being taken for a ride? Mariam P, a nurse at a leading corporate hospital. For Mariam, nursing was her chosen field partly due to interest and partly due to peer pressure. Most women who take up nursing as a profession are driven by the service aspect of the industry. But the reality can be a rude wake up call for many. Take for instance, the meagre salaries most of them are paid. When Sandhya Joseph decided to take up nursing it was purely out of her desire to help people. “After my nursing course I was offered a job at a prominent hospital in the City for a salary of `4,000 per month. But to my shock when I got here they told me that since I was an intern I would be paid `1,500 only. What’s worse, after all the mess fee deductions all I got in hand was `750. This went on for a couple of months, till we threatened to resign. Finally, the management intervened and revised our salaries to `4,000. Now after four years my CTC is `8,700 and take home is `6,600,” she says. In fact, currently, this particular hospital located in Secunderabad is on the verge of a strike by the nurses for similar reasons. Despite the pittance they are paid, nurses are expected to work long hours and even put up with fussy patients and rude attendants. If the hospital they work at provides hostel facility then life is easier for these nurses. For those assigned duty at ICUs the perks are slightly better, but the job is even more demanding. For instance, women nurses find it challenging to handle male patients; be it sponge bathing them or transferring them onto another bed. What’s worse is that the meagre salaries that these nurses get paid barely cover their expenses. “We take student loans to pay our nursing course fees which could cost around `4 lakh. But given that we start off with as less as

`5,000 at top corporate hospitals (the pay is even less in smaller healthcare institutes), this salary barely covers the monthly interest that we have to pay,” says Anuradha K, who joined a prominent corporate hospital in Jubilee Hills a month back. She adds, “None of this even covers the poor staff treatment that we are meted with.” The one thing that keeps these nurses going is the prospect of going abroad where there is a huge demand for nurses. It’s this reason alone that keeps them from aggressively voicing out their concerns either in public or to the hospital managements. “We have little choice. The grievance redressal system in these hospitals is very poor. If we are too vocal about the problems we face, we risk getting unsatisfactory codes of conducts, which is extremely important if we want to apply

for a job abroad. Besides, there is very little respect for our profession in the society,” says Mariam. Despite the numerous challenges these nurses face, they continue to render services to their patients with a smile on their face. In fact, the bonds that they form with their patients turn out to be lasting ones at times. “I’ve had patients who continue to remain in touch with us even years after they’ve been cured and are back to their normal routine. It is gratifying to see them pick up where they left off in life. There are occasional heartbreaks too when we lose a patient, but for the most part the job is satisfying to a large extent,” smiles Annie M, who works at a nursing home in the City. with inputs from Arun Koshy Philip (All names of nurses have been changed to protect identity)

NATION SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

‘Better sex ratio by 2015’ JALANDHAR: Stating that the number of females would outnumber males by 2015, Punjab health minister Madan Mohan Mittal told reporters that the state government has taken a lot of efforts to improve the sex ratio. “The sex ratio has improved to 848/1000 from 791/1000 and it is expected to further improve to 900/1000 by the end of March next year,” he said.

Mamata declares war

Lightning kills 3 persons DUMKA (JHARKHAND): Three per-

rinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has hinted about the possibility of early parliamentary polls and fuelled speculation about a secret meeting held to discuss advancement of the Lok Sabha polls. Mamata says that the next parliamentary polls are likely to be advanced to 2013 from 2014 and has asked her party workers to stay prepared for the eventuality.

sons were killed when lightning struck them in separate places in Dumka district today, police said. A man and his son died at Makrampur village while a youth was killed when the thunderbolt hit him at Sitkoria village. The incident occurred when they were standing under trees during heavy rain.

‘Witch-hunt an excuse to kill’ RANCHI: In the space of just over a month four persons were brutally killed in Jharkhand this year, all four stated to be the victims of witchcraft. On March 10, throats of Sushil Oraon and Jhibi Oraon were slit in Lohardaga’s Lawagai village, while on April 16 the head of Budhva Mahali was severed and his wife Etwari Mahali suffered a macabre death at Haslata village in Gumla district. The police said that the killings were the result of witchcraft being practised widely in the remote villages of Jharkhand. The police’s contention was corroborated by a recent survey

which found that 1,157 murders, committed between 1991 and 2010, were due to the evil practice. Since 2001, there exists a law in the state “Jharkhand Dayan Pratha (witchcraft) Act” to control the crime, but it has been proved more effete than effective. According to an official report of the Jharkhand Social Welfare Ministry, mostly widows, single women and families with no male members fall victims to these arcane beliefs. The ministry pointed out that the real motive behind the killings was usurpation of the helpless women’s moveable and unmoveable property.

Runaway bride couldn’t hold it Mohit Dubey

LUCKNOW: Lack of a proper toilet is the least of reasons a young woman revolts. Not at least in Uttar Pradesh’s countryside where half the population is forced to defecate out in the open. But for Priyanka, a Class 12 student in Maharajganj district, 365km from here, lack of a toilet was a big challenge. So much so that she refused to stay in the house of her in-laws and ran away on the third night after her gauna — the traditional formal induction of a bride married in childhood. Talking to IANS on telephone, the chirpy girl said she ran away from Vishunpur Khurd on April 13, demanding that they build a toilet to get the bahu back. While she says that the toilet is still under construction, she found it shameful to go out in the open at her in-laws’ place every morning. “Sir, I felt very embarrassed as many villagers were there in the open.

“It’s because of lack of awareness (that such incidents happen). An awareness campaign will be launched to eradicate this superstition,” Gumla Superindent of Police Jatin Narwal said. If necessary, action would be taken against those spreading the superstition, he said. The Dehradun-based Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), an NGO engaged in rooting out witchcraft across the country, has recently approached the Supreme Court pleading for a direction to all states to have strict acts in place to deal with witchcraft-related crime. PTI

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So one day I ran away,” the runaway bride said. Married to Amarjeet, a student, in 2007, she said she wants to live honourably and would like the toilet to be made before she decides to go back to her hubby. Unless that happens, “I will stay put in my father’s house.” Her father, a driver, who lives in Kanchanpur Kuiya, says he supports

Sir, I felt very embarrassed as many villagers were there in the open. So one day I ran away.

Jharkhand social welfare minister Bimla Pradhan said `20 lakh was earmarked this fiscal to organise workshops, publicity campaigns through the Jharkhand Information and Public Relations Department in an effort to weed out witchcraft. “This superstition has led to atrocities against women. The need of the hour is to launch a widespread awareness campaign to root out the evil belief,” she said. Hardly a month passes without a witchcraft murder happening in Jharkhand, particularly in the districts like Chatra, Latehar, West Singhbhum and Gumla.

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6 Months the will of her daughter and does not mind keeping her home till a proper toilet comes up at his damaad’s house. Ram Jeevat, father-in-law of Priyanka, admitted that he was initially taken aback at the demand of his daughter-in-law and was furious that she had disappeared. Jeevan told that a little later he understood the trauma the bahu must be going through as his own daughters — 17-year-old Sangeeta and 12-year-old Pana — shared their similar ordeals with him. “What to do, Sir, I am an unemployed man. How do I construct a proper toilet?” Priyanka’s desire for a toilet seems to have been heard. Sanitation NGO Sulabh International has decided to reward her `2 lakh.

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WORLD SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS

MUNICIPAL APPROVAL

FABRICATION

Carroll Shelby dies at 89

5 children die in house fire

ritish police arrested two people on suspicion of murder after five children died in a house fire Friday in the central English city of Derby. “Sadly I can now confirm that five children have died, and their ages range from five to 10 years,” said assistant chief constable Steve Cotterill of Derbyshire Police. Detectives are keeping an open mind about what caused the fire, he said.

ace car driver and automobile manufacturer Carroll Shelby, who created the best known US sports cars of the 1960s has died at age 89, his company said Friday. Carroll Shelby International hailed him as “a man whose vision for performance transformed the automobile industry.” It said he died Thursday of an undisclosed illness at Baylor Hospital in Dallas in his native Texas.

Greece faces acid test ATHENS: Greece’s president

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was set Saturday to call lastditch talks in a bid to forge an emergency unity government and avoid fresh elections, after the main parties failed to form a working coalition. Highly-indebted Greece is deeply torn over the tough austerity measures imposed as conditions for its IMF-EU bailouts, and the crisis has raised the threat it could default and leave the 17-member eurozone. Legislative elections last Sunday saw voters punish the mainstream parties and left a fractured political landscape that has raised the spectre of new elections within weeks, amid intense EU pressure over Greek finances. Socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said Friday he had failed in the latest bid to form a government, after radical leftist party Syriza refused to join a proausterity coalition with the socialists and conservatives. The latest twist in the tortuous political drama came as EU paymaster Germany threatened to cut off the country’s loan lifeline and hinted that the crisis-ridden eurozone could get along without Greece. Venizelos was the third party leader who tried and failed to cobble together a government after the inconclusive elections.

Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos makes a statement after his meeting with President Carolos Papoulias on forming a cabinet after indecisive weekend elections left the country adrift. AFP/LOUISA GOULIAMAKI “I am going to inform the president of the republic (Saturday) and I hope that during the meeting with Carolos Papoulias, each party will assume its responsibilities,” Venizelos said. The head of state is then expected to urge party leaders to form a government of national salvation. If the parties cannot agree a compro-

mise by next Thursday, elections will have to be called. Venizelos had been hoping to win the support of Syriza, a party deeply opposed to the terms of the 240 billion euro (311 billion dollar) EU-IMF bailout and which surged to second place in Sunday’s vote. Earlier, another possible ally, the small Democratic Left party, said it would not join a

government made up of only Pasok and the conservative New Democracy party that did not include Syriza. Earlier this week both Syriza and the New Democracy party failed in their own attempts to assemble a coalition. German leaders warned Friday that Athens could expect no more money withAFP out reforms.

Balfour guilty US resumes Quake leaves of killing family Palestinians shaken arms supply CHICAGO: Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson wiped away silent tears Friday as a jury read the verdict she had long awaited: her brother-in-law was guilty of killing her mother, brother and young nephew. William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia, was accused of killing his in-laws in October 2008 and then hiding his stepson’s body to try to cover his crimes. It was three days before the boy’s mother and aunt learned that he was also dead and not held captive. “This was a vicious, cold-blooded, inhumane execution of three people, including a seven-year-old boy who just happened to be home from school,” State Attorney Anita Alvarez told reporters. Jennifer Hudson declined to comment after the verdict, but Alvarez said the family was relieved and grateful. “She was very emotional about the verdict but relieved,” Alvarez said.

JERUSALEM: Israelis and Palestinians were shaken Friday night by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake centred in the Mediterranean sea, but local media reported no casualties or major damage. AFP correspondents in Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jenin said buildings shook for several seconds around 9:50 pm (1850 GMT). Local media said the quake was also felt in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel. The United States Geological Survey said the epicentre was about 76 kilometres southeast of the Cyprus coast at 19.8 km below the sea. Cyprus state radio said the tremor was felt on the island’s west coast. The last notable quake, a 4.2 magnitude tremor, was registered in Israel and the Palestinian territories in August 2011. The Jordan valley, the Dead Sea, the southern Negev desert and the Red Sea all lie close to the Afro-Syrian rift.

WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it was partially resuming sales of military supplies to Gulf Arab ally Bahrain after having frozen most shipments last year amid a bloody crackdown on protests. But in a nod to concerns over ongoing prodemocracy demonstrations, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said “the items that we are releasing are not used for crowd control.” Tear gas and stun grenades were excluded from the sales. A senior US administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity that a frigate and harbour security boats as well as upgraded F-16 engines would be transferred to Bahrain as well as other items he declined to disclose. The equipment and services were released “for the purpose of helping Bahrain maintain its external defense capabilities,” Nuland said.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Case of chopper crashes

Suburbs become attractive

f chopper accidents continue to occur at the rate they are shortly, we might lose all our leaders. I don’t understand why the aviation department is not replacing them with planes. Strong steps need to be taken soon. Hope the narrow escape of the Jharkhand CM serves as a wakeup call. Michael T Himayatnagar

t’s true that suburbs are becoming a talking point. These places have everything and are not as crowded and polluted as the major areas in the city. People love to move out from the traffic-haunted roads to these calm and peaceful localities. Good to see Postnoon cover something like this. Vinay Kumar Madhapur

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

Property tax increase bad

don’t understand the policies of the government with regards to taxes. All they do is keep increasing taxes on everything, but when it comes to the use of the money with the taxes, there is no result. The money is just collected, but nothing productive is done with it. This is outrageous. Gautam Banerjee Masab Tank

ROGER

EDITORIALS BARACK’S BIG Bahrain blunder In what has to be one of the most cynical decisions of the year, the US has “partially” resumed arms sales to the strifetorn island kingdom of Bahrain. Bahrain, as readers of this paper would know, has been buffeted by civil unrest after the majority Shia population rose up against the totalitarian and often tyrannical rule of the Sunni minority headed by the Khalifa family. The Arab Spring blew into Bahrain at the same time it swept across North Africa, but it didn’t stop on the island. As the world forgot the tiny country, those who had hoped for liberation were pummelled underground. Bernie Ecclestone’s stupendously idiotic idea to host the Bahrain F1 GP has now been trumped by the Americans (who have a large naval base on the island) putting guns in the hands of killers. This week Obama stood up for gays all over the world, and commendable it was too. But does the desire of the world’s gay population matter more than the right of civilians being killed using American weapons? It is unlikely Bahrain will see the changes that have rocked Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. But that’s not for want of trying; it’s just that the world cares a little less about the islanders.

WHY WE LOVE... Carroll Shelby The Americans don’t make very good sports cars. The Americans have no idea how to make an eco-friendly vehicle. Luxury sedans? Same problem. Let’s face it, the American only know how to make one type of car... the muscled ones. And Carroll Shelby designed arguably the most iconic one of all: the Shelby Cobra. Carroll died last night aged 89, but in the roar of that engine, he lives on.

ATM: Anytime Meditation Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

t’s been a rough week so far. I’ve had a particularly harrowing time in getting my passport renewed. It’s my fault, entirely. I have trouble filling forms, following processes, waiting in endless queues and dealing with ambiguity. I wasn’t well prepared on the day of my appointment with the passport officer. A crucial document got left out and so I had to re-book my appointment and go through the drill… all over again. The first time around, I got back home in the evening in a very rotten mood. This time, I was not going to allow some processes suck me into an uncomfortable state. So I decided that apart from being more organised, I will, throughout

the process of going from counter to counter in the office, try different types of meditation. It was a game I was playing with myself. I was surprised with how well it actually worked. Zen meditation: While waiting in the queue My Reiki master taught me this method. I used to cycle around the lake in Kodaikanal when vacationing in that charming hill station. Through this method, I became completely aware of every movement of the legs (making their way towards the counter) or the craning of the neck (to check how much longer). It makes the wait less painful. In fact, even if someone cut the queue, I only observed and didn’t get angry. Awareness meditation: While seated at the waiting area This is similar to Zen meditation. However, in this, one focuses only on one sensory experience. I focused on a child, who was restless and running all around the waiting area. I

didn’t necessarily have to see the child all the time to do this. I became aware of the sounds the child was making; how she was pestering her mother for ice-cream; the clothes she was wearing; the watch worn awkwardly on her right hand, etc. Breathing meditation: While seated at the counter The official took away all my original documents to scan and feed into the system. It was not a long wait but because I didn’t have much to do, it felt very long. So I started to focus on my breathing. I took deep breaths and paid attention to the ebbing and rising of my stomach as I was breathing. The wait seemed short, somehow. Open-eye meditation: While waiting to go to the next counter There wasn’t much place to sit at the next counter, as it was quite crowded. So I stood, waiting for my token number to appear on the LCD screen. I focused only on the screen and didn’t allow my mind to waver

at all. When other thoughts came into my mind, I pushed them away and observed only the screen. Creative visualisation: During an argument between two officials This sounds a bit quirky but it works. When two officials argued about some process that needed more accurate checking, it was uncomfortable for us customers to watch. I tried the creative visualisation meditation. I imagined that the words that the officials spoke filled up a bus. The more they spoke, the more the words filled up the bus. When they stopped talking, I imagined that the bus drove away taking away with it all the negativity. Meditation is really about being completely aware to the world around us. When we decide to hold that string of calm within us, it becomes difficult to shake us up from within. The writer is a Bangalorebased commentator.

COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Set your heart on fire Quirky-side-Up ARPITA BHAWAL

here is the fire burning? Well, besides 42° Celsius of scorching heat on the Deccan Plateau, in offices cooking up controversial appraisals, summer holiday planning in affluent homes with children, a new fire is spitting and crackling every Sunday morning at 11am on your television set. No, I am not talking about a Saas-Bahu serial, this one is called Satyamave Jayate. Star Plus can probably still be saved if they start hosting more shows like Satyamave Jayate, which reminds me of the good old days of Doordarshan when monotone TV serials came with a social message and ignited our hearts. Aamir Khan’s famous words in his hugely disruptive show Satyamave Jayate, which is now being aired on Doordarshan and paid television channels, revives the same sentiments and forces me to reawaken my idealist self. Aamir says, “Sirf hungama khada karna mera maksad nahi. Meri koshish hain ki yeh surat badalni chahiye. Mere seeney mien nahi toh tere seeney mien sahi… ho kahin bhi aag, lekin jalni chahiye.”

Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU

ERICA

What the sexy face of perfectionism, the alter ego of Bollywood, the heart-throb of my college years, means is that we need to light the holy fire in our conscience once again as we watch him every Sunday showcase the loss of ‘human’ from ‘humanity’ in India. But, will we, the people of India, all burn our hearts out trying to fit into the grand scheme of altering human behaviour with action instead of remaining mute spectators indulging in the charms of our quintessential star? Satyamave Jayate, undoubtedly, is the sexiest new idea in town after Anna Hazare’s drive against corruption. Perhaps what we all need is a burning desire to change the world neatly packaged by a believable star. Why not? Most Hollywood films gross billions when their heroes save the world. Maybe our Bollywood heroes, who dare to step off the big screen, and light up our hearts and homes with programmes like Satyamave Jayate can help us change what we hate most — ourselves. From ignoring a five-year-old child begging at your car window to glazing over the face of a bent old man with a walking stick outside the restaurant where you stuffed yourself like a turkey, you may have done it all. How did those people get there? That question always has a priceless answer which has no

relation to the question: “Don’t give them money, because they are lazy and that is why they beg.” Our apathy towards the human condition has reached alarming proportions, perhaps for our fear of being taken for a ride! That is the very reason we have to take a stance when we hear of our women friends getting beaten up by their husbands, or parents selling off their daughters to the richest man under the façade of a respectable match, or victims of child abuse being accused of having “encouraged the abusers”. But the test of the pudding will be in the community’s eating — which is to say that Truth Shall Prevail only if we work together towards keeping the fires of positive change burning by participating, endorsing, supporting and actively working on the issues that this show dares to bring forth rather graphically. Satyamave Jayate — the title that needed no registration because it is free for use by every Indian — heralds Social Change. It is calling out to test, not Aamir’s star power alone, but ours as well. I will be watching, contributing, writing and welcoming social change in India, because I believe in Satyamave Jayate. What about you? The writer is a communication specialist.

Global edits

Machines

Manila Times (Philippines)

War, not more fun for the Philippines

resident Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd is playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship with China in the West Philippine Sea. The President’s approach toward asserting the Philippine claims is antagonising China and stoking xenophobic feelings among some Filipinos. Only the blind and those who do not understand China fail to see that it is now poised for war. He and his advisers should ask a serious question: “Is the Philippines prepared to go to war over its claims?” Even if we are, we believe that the losses far outweigh the possible gains.

Daily Mail (UK)

Why Ministers must prepare for the worst

fter a week of tumultuous upheaval among our trading partners, when will the Coalition wake up to the terrifying implications of the storm hurtling towards us from the eurozone? Ministers carry on as if

everything is hunky-dory, pursuing their private obsessions with wind power, Lords reform and overseas aid. Like everyone who loves this country, the Mail prays the worst won’t happen, as it still may not. But it is the job of any responsible government to prepare for it. Just hoping for the best is not even the beginning of a strategy for survival.

USA Today

Obama’s gay-marriage evolution mirrors nation's

bama’s comment to ABC News that “same-sex couples should be able to get married” is an important, even historic, marker of how far public opinion has shifted. No previous president has endorsed gay marriage. Politically, his declaration injects another hot-button social issue into the presidential race, to uncertain effect. But practically, Obama’s “evolution” changes little. Marriage remains a state matter. Same-sex marriage is unlikely to become the law of the land any time soon. And polls aside, the idea has yet to catch on where it matters most: with voters.

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Forevermark goes hitech

orevermark, the diamond brand from the De beers group of companies has launched a multi language iPad app for the countries like China, Hong Kong, Japan and India, where the brand is available. This is being followed after the successful iPad app in the US last year. The app brings to life the beauty of the diamond with interactive media content.

New megastore in Kukatpally

Snapdeal gets sporty

ditya Birla Retail Limited (ABRL) has launched its megastore in the City at SBR Pride in Kukatpally. With the launch of this 55,000 sq ft hyper market, ABRL completed a total of 12 successful hypermarket launches in the country. The company also has 165 supermarkets in the State. Commenting on the launch Russell Berman, CEO, More Megastore said, “We have tailor-made the store ambience, especially for Hyderabad.”

napdeal, an e-commerce company, has launched a sports and hobbies category to increase its product portfolio. The launch of this category will further increase the assortment on the platform and offer a range of sports products and fitness equipments. Snapdeal’s recent acquisition of esportsbuy.com has helped it to build strong supply network.

Reaping profits digitally Kalyan Yerra gave up a well-paying job to launch his digital business with a mere `3 lakh SRINIVAS SETTY

K PRUDHVI RAJU

prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

uccessful businesses, at times can start really small. 84 ideas, a digital agency, saw its beginnings with a spur of thought, with little investments, even without parental support. Kalyan Sagar Yerra left a well-paying job and ventured into business with his childhood friend Karthikeyan Krishnan. This was three years ago. Talking about the initial business idea, Kalyan says, “There is a gap to be filled. Businesses in India did not exploit social media to its full potential like in the West. For most companies, a website is simply a brochure or a hoarding that can be accessed 24x7. One fine day in June 2008, Karthikeyan and I started off the business without a plan and with a mere `3 lakh.” “Not every business falls into this category. When you are planning to launch a new product in the market, obviously, there is need for research, drawing up of investment and business plans but it was not the case with 84 ideas,” he adds. There was not much support from the family either. He says, “I don’t hail from a business family. My father is a government employee and so is my grandfather. They were completely against the idea of me quitting a good MNC job to set

up a business. However, I was sufficiently convinced to go ahead with my idea.” There were challenges to tackle during the formation of 84 ideas. “It is quite challenging to start without any entrepreneurial experience, funds and mentorship. We had initial trouble convincing the businesses. They were unwilling to give it a try. But when they saw the success of other companies in engaging customers, creating conversations and driving more business, they began warming up to the idea as well,” says Kalyan.

LAUNCHING A BUSINESS WITH NO EXPERIENCE, FUNDS OR MENTORSHIP WAS A CHALLENGE. CONVINCING CLIENTS WAS TOUGH The 22-employee company has since run many successful social media campaigns. “Online presence should reflect the core part of business function. We use different social media tools depending on the industry. For example, for Kalamandir, we cre-

ated communities where people interact about saris. The whole experience of buying a sari should not be limited to the shop. We inform the people about where the company sources saris from, the people who make them, etc. We also conducted many contests, where people shared their pictures and experiences about their saris. In a way, it connects people with a common interest. These types of social campaigns lend an emotional connect to the user while also helping in brand recall when needed,” he says. The company expanded its

Airtel network strength praised Postnoon News feedback@postnoon.com

harti Airtel, one of the leading global telecommunications company, bagged the ‘Star News Viewers Choice Best Mobile Network’ and ‘Best Quality Mobile Network Service Provider’ at the 6th edition of National Telecom Awards 2012 organised by Communication, Multimedia and Infrastructure

Association of India (CMAI). The award was based on votes gathered in a survey conducted by ZipDial and StarNews. ‘Best Quality Mobile Network Service Provider’ award was awarded based on the choice of an eminent jury at CMAI. Jagbir Singh, director, network services group, Bharti Airtel said, “It is great to be acknowledged for our effort. We also take this as a responsibility

to sustain our performance and efforts towards taking a consumer experience to a newer level by enriching their lives,” After a customer survey and Telecom Centre of Excellence Awards, this is the third major recognition Airtel has received for its contribution towards building a robust national telecom network and providing an effective means of communication to its customers.

presence to Dubai and Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. The duo has invested whatever they earned back into the company enabling them to reach a turnover of `2 crore last fiscal. The company is expecting a `3.5 crore revenue this year. Talking about their new plans, Kalyan says, “We are trying to build applications on Andriod and on iOS, which can solve simple problems common to India. For example, a tweet from a refrigerator saying that ice is chilled and opening the lock of the house with a smart phone without the need of a key.” “These applications targeting general consumers and business will give a boost to our revenues,” says Kalyan. The company enjoys margins ranging from 5-10 per cent on different projects. Kalyan’s parents are now happy with the progress of the company. “My parents were just wary about me getting into uncharted water, not against it. They were concerned about me. The happiest moment of my life was when my parents realised that I can actually do it,” he beams. On the personal front, Kalyan loves to go on long drives in his Mahindra Scorpio. He even drives it to business meetings in Bangalore and Mumbai. Reading books and watching films are his hobbies. His favourite authors are Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and Malcom Gladwell. Tipping point by Gladwell is his all time favourite book.

Rajgopal Reddy as AIBOC AP president

Rajagopal Reddy of Indian Bank has been elected as president and M Manaiah of State Bank of India has been elected as secretary to All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) AP state unit. P Narasimha, returning officer and president of Associate Banks’ Officers’ Association (ABOA) SBH unit has declared the names of the above elected comrades.

MOTORING SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Force India unsure of Spain

orce India is unsure if a new update package will be enough to lift its performance much at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. However, Vijay Mallya says the unpredictable nature of the season so far, allied to the fact that most teams will be bringing their own developments, means that he cannot predict the benefit of Force India's work yet.

Suzuki’s Hayate

uzuki has launched the Hayate, a 112.8cc motorcycle that looks all too similar to their existing Slingshot model, with its new name meaning Swift wind in Japanese, while sporting a fresh set of graphics. The Hayate comes with an 8 litre fuel tank. The Hayate is set to target the high volumes commuter bike market in India, priced at an affordable `40,162-42,162 (ex-showroom, Pune).

Volkswagen to clear stocks

he demand for petrol cars has taken a big hit in the past year due to skyrocketing petrol prices, but those looking for a petrol car could turn it to their advantage. This is because despite it being five months into 2012, Volkswagen still hasn’t cleared its 2011 Polo and Vento petrol versions and is desperate to clear stocks.

The campus rides BHAVNEET SINGH

feedback@postnoon.com

For any bike to be a hit, it should be popular with the youth. We scouted college campuses in the city and found out which bikes are making waves and why

ampus trends usually decide the future of any new product, and if the product is a bike, then a college campus is the best judge for that. Currently, three bikes are the hot favourites on campuses in the city. We take a look The most famous bike with the youngsters is the Pulsar 220.

This bike is an amazing combination of style and speed. Immediately after its release, the bike struck a chord with college students and from what we found out it seems like the Pulsar is what makes heads turn on campus. Jay John, a second year Engineering student at Malla Reddy Engineering College says, “It was love at first sight for me. When it came into the market, I was one of the first to buy it. What an amazing bike it is. I am totally in love with it. It gives me wings.” On the second spot is the evergreen Royal Enfield. This bike just can’t get old, especially with the students. Mohit Mouldgy, a student at Loyola Academy and a proud owner of a Royal Enfield says, “Class, that's the word for it. It gives me a lot of power and along with it, it gives me a sense of style. This bike is designed for men. Of course, the mileage is on the lower side, but you can overlook that when you are talking about the Enfield.” Royal Enfield, no

matter which one, guarantees you style, and that is what attracts the youngsters. Though it’s not the most famous bike on the campus, it definitely is the most powerful bike. From speed, to power, we now move onto pure adrenaline — the third bike that is a hit with these speed loving youngsters. We are talking about the Avenger. “The tag line ‘feels like God’ is completely apt for the bike, as it actually makes me feel like that,” says Harsh Vasani, owner of an Avenger. This bike is sheer class. A 220cc engine along with its dead-

ly looks makes this bike a popular pick for the students on the campus. “The Avenger is easily the most comfortable bike to ride in India. Style, mileage, class, everything. Just name it and this bike has it. Beginners might find it difficult to manage the extra long handle initially but later, you will get used to it,” he adds. With the class of a cruiser and promise of good mileage this bike is certainly a must for all the stylish men out there. The call of speed is too good to resist and these bikes just making riding in the city a different experience altogether.

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK twusic wusic is the simplest way to stream your Twitter music feed to your social network just by tweeting the song and artist’s name together with the #nowplaying hashtag ! Explore and retweet your friends's radio stations and playlists.

VIDEOGAME REVIEW THE GOOD

APP OF THE WEEK

FIREBURST

Fitocracy

his app makes exercising into something of a video game, letting users log activity and receive points for each exercise they perform.

n Heat system makes boosting tricky and exciting

THE B AD

n Lacks interesting singleplayer content nCharacters are obnoxious

What can you do with 4G? Even as 3G is still making inroads into the country, the latest generation of mobile technology is here. So what does it have in store for us? A bag of tricks, it seems

PADMINI COPPARAPU

padmini.c@postnoon.com

or many of us children of the '80s and '90s, technology was wonderful. We witnessed the birth of the mobile phone. We saw the coming-of-age of the personal computer. For us, Internet was a wonder, the greatest invention of our time. We didn't mind, to set a movie for download in the morning, come back after work, eat, read, sleep, walk the dog and come back to find it, still crawling desperately to the finish line. We couldn't quite conceive then, of a day when we'd be able to stream a video online, have a download ready in the same time it takes to make maggi and, and have it all on the go, on our very own smart phone. All of that had once seemed like a distant reality. But, here we are now already in the future. Even as rows over 2G auctions go on and Abhishek Bachchan's omniscient Idea 3G campaign fades from memory, 4G has arrived. Qualcomm just bagged a license and Airtel has already deployed its wi-fi services in Bengaluru. So we know, 4G essentially means that everything you can do on your PC, you can now do

on your mobiles at the better speed and with stability. But just how different will it be? We give you the pros and cons.

SPEED

LIKE YOU ' VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE

Okay, lets put it this way. 3G's thoroughput is about 3 mbps. So, as speeds go, 3G is pretty fast. That is, until you consider 4G. Providers claim that 4G has the potential estimated to be 10 times that. In the range of 100 – 300 mbps, to be precise. Unbelievable? Maybe. Practically speaking, experts say it will be average about 3-5 mbps, which on your mobile phone is seriously fast.

NEVER AGAIN

HAVING TO WAIT

Even at the best of times, streaming videos on a mobile phone is not the best of experi-

On the Flip side n Limited coverage: It might be a while yet before there’s complete 4G coverage in India. n Accelerated battery drain: Faster speeds means more stress on battery, making 4G enabled handsets to be heavier. n Needs 4G enabled handsets: Only android powered devices, notably Samsung and Motorola currently support 4G n Trial and Error: Considering how new it is, there might be many glitches before we enjoy 4G at its best.

ences. The frames are fuzzy and pixelated making it a long way from the experience you get on a PC. But unlimited speed that comes with 4G means watching high definition YouTube videos, downloading music on the go, surfing the web 10x faster, gaming and more will be absolutely seamless.

VIDEO

CHATS / CALLS

Finally Skype, video conferences and video calls will never be more fun to use than when 4G kicks in. Since the networks are fast and consistent, they will support cheap VoiP services, making video finally viable.

WI-FI

HOT- SPOTS

At long last, 4G might force us to wake up to the infinite potential of the devices we access, coercing the network providers to offer wi-fi hotspots around the

country therefore making it ideal to access 4G devices.

UNLIMITED USAGE

Many complain that 3G networks are crowded, and carriers put caps on how much data you can use per month. On the other hand, 4G with its incredible bandwidth might be more inclined towards offering truly unlimited plans, letting you use as much as bandwidth as you want.

NO COMPROMISES

A natural by product of slow internet speed is that high resolution files, especially pictures, clicked on phones are reduced dramatically when uploaded, thereby lowering the quality. Similarly, transfer of heavy files, downloads of apps take forever on mobiles today. With the emergence of 4G, these will automatically become non-issues.

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

PET NEWS Mexican wolf pups

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Know your dog

Obesity killed the cat

ight rare Mexican wolf pups have been born at a preserve in the New York City suburbs. A development that could aid the federal program that has reintroduced the endangered species to the wild.

ome of you may have already heard the story of Meow, the 39 pound cat. Meow was, by all accounts an extremely sweet and loving cat. He was only two years old. But he was so obese, that it killed him..

almatians were bred to run under or along-side of horse-drawn carriages and therefore have a vast amount of stamina and energy. They do not like to sit idle.They are playful, happy, easy going and very dedicated.

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

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

PETS AREN’T PLAYTHINGS Bright eyes, smooth fur and their unwavering loyalty may make you want to keep a pet. But is raising one as easy as you think? We find out from pet owners

TIFFANY

SNEHA MASHETTY

feedback@postnoon.com

e had earlier carried stories about Fighter the St Bernard puppy which died due to canine distemper owing to the negligence of his owners. Unable to take care of it, the owners left it, so is raising a pet all that easy? You may decide to get a pet home just after spending an hour with your neighbour’s dog, but it’s a big no, no. Never have a pet just out of excitement, get a pet if you love it. Having a pet as most owners will say is like having a baby. All

the so called ‘cuteness’ may vanish when your pet will pee on your favourite gown or fall ill. Be ready to face torn curtains, soiled floors, chewed slippers, missing footwear and all kinds of weird insects and animals in your house once you get a pet. If you are still thinking of going ahead with getting one, then you have to be in for the long haul. When we asked Jacob Mathew, a vet at the Vet and Pet clinic in Srinagar Colony, he says, “The first thing to be kept in mind if you want to buy a pet is that you should be an animal lover. It requires a lot of time and effort to maintain a pet. If you’re a person who travels a lot it is not advisable to have a pet at home as you won’t have anyone back home to take care of

Things to keep in mind n Try to consider your lifestyle that you have at present. n You must always consider providing a safe environment for yourself and your pet. n Think about allergies. Check if you or any of your family members is allergic to pets. n Make sure you always have someone at home to take care of the pet. n Most importantly, figure out if you will be able to afford taking care of a pet.

your furry friend.” Arvind Kumthekar an active member of the Blue Cross too reinforces what the doctor says, “When you have a pet try to provide a natural habitat as much as possible and help make it feel like it is at home.” We also talked to some enthusiastic pet owners, here’s what they had to say about their experience. Preethi Iyer a final year MBA student from Indian School of Business, who has been a dog owner for six years now says, “My dog sets my mood right whenever I’m upset. One thing you should always keep in mind when you have a pet is to vaccinate it on time as you do not want your dog to be a threat to your neighbours. It is also very important for the pet owner

to be affectionate towards it, if you expect love from it in return.” Rachel Jacob a pre-school teacher at Star Kids says, “I fell for the cuteness of my dog Simba but once I got it home I realised that it requires a lot of patience. At first it just looks like a cute doll but then you realise that it’s a living being just like us.” “So please get a dog only when you think you can take good care of it,” she advises. This is not a discouragement for anyone who wishes to buy a pet, it is just a reminder that at the end of the day pets are not dolls which you get and dump in your house, they are living creatures who need love and care. So think twice before you get a pet.

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

SHORT READS Title: The road to Grace (The Walk) Author: Richard Evans Publisher: Simon & Schuster Reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, his home, and his business, Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, has left everything he knew and set off on an extraordinary cross-country journey.

Title: Bring Up the Bodies Author: Hillary Mantel Publisher: Henry Holy & Co. The sequel to Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son.

Title: Thunder and Rain Author: Charles Martin Publisher: Center Street Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed— a modern day cowboy hero living in a world that doesn't quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can't defend themselves.

Title: State of Wonder Author: Ann Patchett Publisher: Harper Perrenial In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, State of Wonder presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional resonance and moral complexity.

Typical Bollywood potboiler many Indians continue to take over the corporate world or the tremendous progress our country makes, we will still be perceived as a bunch of people who struggle to strike a conversation in broken English and fleece foreigners (this I suppose happens in every nation). However, despite my rants about her showing Indians in poor light, the book makes for a light read if you enjoy thrillers and Bollywood style masala.

RANJANI RAJENDRA

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

hamini Flint is back with her Inspector Singh Investigates series and this time the potbellied, bumbling Singapore-based cop finds his latest mission in aamchi Mumbai. Forced to go on a sick leave by his superior, Singh is rather bored, which is why he lets his wife cart him along to India for her niece’s wedding. Expectedly, he doesn’t really look forward to his visit to India, the dirty country where touts abound looking to fleece ‘phoreners.’ As the Singhs arrive at the shaadi ka ghar they are met with the distressing news that the beautiful bride-to-be Ashu Kaur is missing. Just as Tara Singh, a noted businessman and Ashu’s grandfather entrusts Singh the responsibility of locating Ashu (they don’t want to involve the local police as word will get out and create a scandal), a corpse is found. Confirming everyone’s worst fears, Tanvir, Ashu’s brother an attractive but hot-headed young man, identifies the body as his sister’s, casting a pall of gloom over what was to be a happy affair.

As Singh continues to dig into scrumptious food and myriad clues, he finds that this is not the simple case that it seems to be. With its predictable twists, the plot is a typical Bollywood potboiler. But to give the author credit, the plot does widen and connect to the social and political world that makes up the

patchwork that is India. So as you go along you will get a glimpse of events like Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Mumbai terror attacks and other communally volatile situations that have rocked our world from time to time. Shamini’s style of writing is clutter free and makes for an

easy read. But what I found irksome throughout was the fact that while Singh and his wife seem to speak impeccable English, the Indian characters, be it a cabbie or a top cop, invariably lapse into broken English — a trait that one seldom finds these days. It only goes to show that no matter how

Name Inspector Singh investigates: A Curious Indian cadaver Author Shamini Flint Pages 320 Publisher Hachette India

An English Rose under a warring sky A story of growth, and the sacrifices people make to maintain life’s elusive equilibrium Andrew Josef feedback@postnoon.com

he strangest thing about war is one often tends to forget those who do not fight it. And by fight it I mean man the guns, brave the snipers and mines, and above all look into a man’s eyes before gutting him with the business end of a Bowie.

Those that history forgets toil in the factories, and till the fields; build the rivets that hold the machines of war together; and fill the gaping voids in lives bombarded by the violence of man. For Woodward’s protagonist, Tory Pace, World War II was not so much about the free world and its salvation as it was about putting food on the table for her family, and awaiting news of her husband, who was missing in action. And when news comes, it changes her life forever. Tory’s husband, Donald’s request for a ‘dirty’ letter from his wife to tide over the time spent in a German POW camp startles, even disgusts, her.

Name Nourishment Author Gerard Woodward Pages 320 Publisher Picador

But after a tryst under the Blitz with the owner of the gelatin factory in which she works,

Tory’s sexual horizons expands to the extent where she can only gain relief from putting pen to paper. And she does…in letters to her husband. The letters are the pivot of Nourishment, a sharply written book that charts the life of the Pace family and its tragedies. It’s a journey into the heart of

an English society stiffening its upper lip against everything Nazi Germany can throw at her, but it is also about life after the war. The return of her husband proves to be a disaster; the birth of a son from her illicit affair complicates her life already strained looking after three other children, and an ageing, opinionated mother. But Tory is the eternal English Rose, stoic and measured; a dreamer afraid of her dreams. Nourishment is a story of growth, and the sacrifices people make to maintain life’s elusive equilibrium. It is also a magnificent testament to human strength…against all odds.

BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

A love story with Paris Tatiana de Rosnay with this book gives her readers a glimpse of Paris of a bygone era

HEMANTH KUMAR

hemanth.k@postnoon.com

hange is good but a lot of people end up paying a heavy price for it, sometimes for no fault of theirs. Sometimes, nostalgia becomes the only respite from the transformation which your surroundings and your own life must go through to adapt to the future. Tatiana de Rosnay narrates the story of one such woman who cannot accept the fact that her neighbourhood, her house and her life are being razed as part of a bigger plan. The book is set in Paris when hundreds of buildings were being torn down in mid-19th century to transform Paris into a modern city and how one woman takes a stand to protect her past. Set in the 1860s, Rose Bazelet, a Parisian widow, spends her days reminiscing about her husband who died several years ago. She lives on the rue Childebert in a house left behind by her husband. Having spent more than 40 years in this house, she has too many fond memories of her husband, her children and the best days of her life. She can't think of leading a happy life beyond those four walls. When she receives a letter from the Prefect that her neighbourhood is going to be razed as a part of transforming the landscape of Paris, she's shattered. Although she had an idea about the major renovations being car-

ried out in the city, she didn't expect this change to knock on her door. Slowly she begins to write letters addressed to her dead husband, Armand Bazelet to pacify herself. Rose has fond memories of her childhood, the first time she saw Armand, the first time he kissed her, the beautiful love letters he had written for her, their kids and almost every other aspect till the day Armand died. A year after Armand's death, she meets Alexandrine who befriends her and in her company, she tries to get over the grief. As Rose delves deep in her memories, she reveals too many secrets about her life and she also decides to fight back until the last breath of her life to protect her house.

Name The House I loved Author Tatania de Rosnay Pages 254pp Publisher Pan Macmillan

Tatiana de Rosnay writes about Paris of a bygone era in such detail that you get a clear picture of life on rue Childebert. The prose is neatly written and Tatiana leaves enough clues behind to conjure an image of Paris in the 1860s when it was at the brink of a major transformation. For instance, Tatiana equates the massive construction to a land torn down by war. Only a person

who is deeply in love with the past could have come up with descriptions like that. In another instance, she argues that houses have a soul and they remember a lot of things. To summarise why Rose Bazelet loves her house so much, she says, “This house is like my body, it is like my own skin, my blood, my bones. It carries me like I have carried our children. It has been dam-

aged, it has suffered, it has been violated, it has survived, but today, it will collapse.” The House I Loved is a book for those who like nostalgia and it’s thought provoking at times. It is subtle and heartwarming in so many ways and at the same time, Tatiana paints a harrowing picture of how people respond to change especially when it destroys something which they love.

WHAT’S SELLING Walden’s best in fiction

Walden’s best in non-fiction

New York Times’ best in fiction

New York Times’ best in non-fiction

n Calico Joe by John Grisham

n The wind through the keyhole by Stephen King

n Drift by Rachel Maddow

n Sins Of The Father by Jeffrey Archer

n Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman n MBA at 16 by Subroto Bagchi

n The Innocent by David Baladacci

n Zero Day by David Baldacci

n Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

n Calico Joe by John Grisham

n Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

n Reforms 2020 by Express Group

n The Witness by Nora Roberts

n The 3rd Alternative by Stephen R Covey

n The Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick

n Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James

n Lots of candles, plenty of cake by Anna Quindlen n Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright & Bill Woodward n Imagine by John Lehrer n The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy

WOMEN SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Kevincoffee.com On this website detective Kevin Coffey, an expert in travel safety and other crime avoidance advice, lists important safety measures that women should take in their daily livess

suite101.com This is yet another website that should feature in a woman’s must-check list. There are a wide range of topics on women safety that are covered here.

Photographer Shreya Sen gives voice to the secret fear on the minds of most single women today — is time running out for them?

Watching the clock tick away SHREYA SEN

feedback@postnoon.com

n the past few decades we have been noticing that women in urban cities in India are steadily moving towards being career centric. That does not necessarily mean that the idea of being a housewife or a family woman has been shunned, but it is the age where women are equally qualified and exposed to ample job opportunities allowing them to be on par with men. With these growing opportunities, the need and thirst has grown to reach one’s own potential, contribute, make a difference and most importantly be financially secure.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, MEN OR WOMEN, HOWEVER SUCCESSFUL WE MAYBE; MOST OF US STILL DO NOT WANT TO END UP ALONE. ALL THAT SUCCESS AND MONEY SEEMS DIFFICULT TO ENJOY WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A COMPANION. I have a whatsapp group on my phone of friends from my childhood; we went our separate ways but thanks to technology came together again. One is currently in New York working in Goldman Sachs, the other is studying her MBA from a reputed university in Paris and one is working in a multinational company in India. All four of us fairly successful, driven, individualistic and three of us are single. The chat is our digital therapy session; we have various discussions through the day or week and

our topics range from men to politics to television shows to books to heartbreaks, bad bosses and various existential angst. Of course, one of the recurring discussions is when will we find the one? The point of me mentioning this is that even if women are moving towards building their careers they still want that balance, love and that someone who they can come back to the end of the day. Also after a certain age, you look around and all your friends are slowly getting married, so suddenly even if you are comfortable with how life is going, the questions start surfacing at the back of the head, “Is there something wrong with me?, “Will I end up alone?” “What if men want only younger women?” “What if I have to quit my job or move cities?” I guess it is the just moving to a similar curve as men, where men build their career till they are around 29-30 and then think of settling down. The difference being, men at 30 are seen as attractive, mature and successful, however women not married at 29-30…Well, let’s just say women are not viewed in the same manner; society seems to have a double standard. But at the end of the day, men or women, however successful we want to be; most of us still do not want to end up alone. All that success and money seems difficult to enjoy when we do not have a companion. It still is a choice; there is nothing wrong in choosing to be single and live life on our own terms. But we are meant to be social animals at least most of us are and we have grown up with the gift of loving families. Wouldn’t we want that too?

Beauty Bean: Concerned with women's magazines' obsession with weight loss and body image, Beauty Bean is devoted to inner beauty — without dieting tips and tricks.

When she emerged All About Eve

ROSHNI DONNY “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

he day she is born, she is born a fighter. Being born in a male dominated world and a male child preferred country, she is made to every menial task. As she grows older, the task of ironing her dad’s shirts and polishing her brother’s shoes are on her shoulders. The list goes on to include cooking and making breakfast for the whole family and so on and so forth. All these household chores leave her no time for herself and the only best friends she has is her books. When the day is done, and everyone has drifted to dreamland,

SO MUCH OF THE WORLD TO SEE, EXPLORE AND LEARN. SHE PACKS HER BAGS AND AWAY SHE RUNS, FAR AWAY FROM THE WEDDING PLOT. her focus is on completing Pride and Prejudice. Day in and day out, as she learns to manage the house, she has also excelled in studying art, literature, science and math. She is slowly becoming a beacon of knowledge at college, while her parents at home are busy planning a wedding. So much of the world to see, explore and learn. She packs her bags and away she runs, far away from the wedding plot. To become a person of substance and worth, not a prized trophy at home. Survival isn’t tough for her, since she has always been a fighter, but support is hard to find. Ten years have passed since she fled, a woman of substance she did become indeed. There was a time when all she had to do was give birth; today she can walk on the moon. There was a day when cooking was her only skill, today she is known to multitask, be a mother, be a professional, be a wife and most of all be a proud Indian woman.

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Reena

Saloni & Poonam

Manisha Kapoor

Mango mazza

The ladies club Pink hosted a party to celebrate their seasonal event titled Tango with Mango at Syn in Taj Deccan on Friday.

Dimple

Corporate bonding

Parthasarethi & Raghuram

Jayadeep Anand & Alka

Jayadeep Anand, GM of Ista Hotel & Alka hosted a get-together in honour of Parthasarathy, chairman Karvy Group and Mona at Ista on Friday. Spotted in the gathering were a lot of members from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate sector.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Rummy Azad

RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

I AM ALL EARS

am 18-year-old girl. My elder sister is five years older than me. She recently got married and is settled in the city. My mother is away at my native place since a year. So my sister basically takes care of me. Of late her in-laws have started mocking me. How am I to tell this to my sister? Please help

WOMEN NEED APPROVAL

ore than 10 per cent women would dump a partner if their friends didn't approve of them. A newly launched double dating website, www.datewithamate.com, has conducted a research if women needed their friends approval when they started dating a new person, to which more than two fifths answered ‘yes’. Source: The Tipping Point

Dear disturbed kid, It certainly is a dilemma. Stuck between the inlaws and your sister, you might have to make a choice now. Talk to your parents about this situation and explain that you do not want to jeopardise your sister relationship. As far as the in-laws go probably it is their way of telling you that you have overstayed their welcome. If your mother cannot come to the rescue. It is better you find another place to stay for the time being.

Oh mother, don’t be a bother! Of course, every mother loves her child. But how much love is too much? INDIRA ATLURI

indira.a@postnoon.com

“I

miss you sonny, it’s been three hours since we last spoke!” Your ‘ladla’ Duppu, Monu, Chintu or Sonu (or all of them) are definitely the cynosure of your eyes, we agree. But dear mothers, it’s time you accepted that they have all grown up, and started to walk on their own feet! And more, under your able ‘culinary leadership’, have also developed a distinct little paunch to show they come from khaate peete ghar.

And some 20 odd years later, they have also landed up a job in the Hitech city too! So isn’t it time to wean them off your love? Your constant calls to ‘just check’ what your little baby is doing is, let’s accept it, is more a ‘mother-bother’ phenomenon than anything else. Give your love a break and if you skipped noticing it, your sons have turned to men! Yes!

SUITOR FOR DEAR DAUGHTER

We can understand the chaati pe bhoj syndrome that our Indian mothers exclusively ‘suffer’ from. And this peculiar disease or let’s say unease does not warrant for seeking suitors in every baaju waali galli ka

ladka. We say, dear mothers, you should wake up to the fact that your dainty daughters know when it is right for them to settle down with the right man, and even better, who the right man is. So next time you are out socialising at a dinner party along with your daughter, try not to ask too many details about that handsome boy with the neatly combed hair. Not unless you are an undercover FBI agent or a mole in the Soviet Intelligence please.

NEED

TO PICK SOME CLOTHES FOR MY ‘ LITTLE BOY ’ Once upon a time, being a helpless and dependent ma ka ladla was oh so cute and acceptable.

Unfortunately, your little sonnies have grown up since, and mommies have just remained mommies. How else would you explain their need to be part of every shopping escapade their son sets out to? From choosing the clothes, to the bride, to deciding when it’s time to ‘pop the good news’, mommies are the omnipresent influences in many ‘little boys’ lives. We think it’s time to take it easy, and let them decide what to do, when to do, how to do, and spare them of the urge to tell them what underwear to wear and when! Having said all of that, we will all still agree that as troublesome as they might be, we cannot imagine a world without mothers.

Mothers who defined their kids QUEEN ELIZABETH II

lizabeth learnt all she had to from her mum and in fact went a degree further. She still calls the shots in this family. From making Prince Charles toe the line to keeping errant grandsons under control, the Queen does it all.

PRINCESS DIANA

he was England’s favourite daughter. Even after her untimely death, the sons had to bear the brunt of their mother's popularity. So much so, that William's wife Kate is still under pressure to fill in the shoes of her famous mother-in-law's reputation.

SONIA GANDHI

fter the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, she took charge of both the Gandhi house. Both her children Priyanka and Rahul take their values from her even now. Rahul for that matter is often called Mamma's boy.

JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS

She once said,“If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.”How she helped her kids Caroline and John cope with their father’s death is what earned her the respect of the entire nation.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

T-TOWN TWEETIES @RanaDaggubati

@me_sushanth

@shraddhadas43

@actressanjjanaa

And to the home land!! Go #GabbarSingh. Best Wishes and loads of luck to the PowerStar PawanKalyan, @shrutihaasan and Harish!!

Heartbreaking end to the Chicago bulls’ season :( was a matter of time with Rose n Noah out. Talent needs luck too. Next season bulls!

Just landed in hyd,been at d airpt since 6pm, flight just gettn delayed! Been a long tiring day with sleep in half hour installments! Phew!

So wanted to attend d gabbarsing premier in hyd @harish2you shoot in banglore so could nt :-( Congrats hearing superb reports already

@Actor_Siddharth

@taapsee

@tashu_02

@sundeepkishan

Jury’s out! Gabbar Singh is the new paisa vasool blockbuster to beat! PowerStar fans everywhere rejoice! It’s time to watch records fall:)

A nice end to 1 of d most hectic days of my life... Good night to all my twitpals. May v all hav a calm sleep n a bright 2moro.

Gonna sleep now... it was kinda long travel... got early morning rehearsals tmrw... so gudnite guys... God bless :-)

Loved #Ishaqzaade. Officially in love with @ParineetiChopra. Arjun kapoor rocked. Mr Habib Faizal take a bow :) lovely piece of cinema :)

Gabbar Singh is a one man show Pawan Kalyan gets his mojo back with Gabbar Singh and it has all the makings of a blockbuster

Hemanth Kumar hemanth.k@postnoon.com

awan Kalyan is back with a bang and this time for real. Some of his films in the past may have failed to click at the box office for various reasons, but Gabbar Singh is proof enough of what he can do when everything falls into place. Despite the tag of being a remake of Dabangg, Harish Shankar has inculcated plenty of changes in the script to suit Pawan Kalyan’s image and it turns out to be a thorough entertainer. Pawan Kalyan stars as Gabbar Singh who grows up to become a police officer. He’s transferred to his hometown Kondaveedu and soon he becomes quite

Movie: Gabbar Singh Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Shruti Haasan, Abhimanyu Singh Directed by: Harish Shankar Rating:

popular. One day, he bumps into Bhagyalakshmi (Shruti Haasan) and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, Siddhappa Naidu (Abhimanyu Singh), a local goon, decides to contest in elections and in an interesting turn of events, he locks horns with Gabbar Singh. How Gabbar Singh puts an end to Siddhappa’s atrocities forms the rest of the story. Pawan Kalyan’s performance

Sneha and Prasanna wed T he much talked about wedding of Sneha and Prasanna took place yesterday at Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai. Their marriage was in the news when they decided to sell the rights of telecasting their wedding to a prominent channel for a bomb. We hear that Sneha and Prasanna fell in love on the sets of their film Achamundu Achamundu, however, they kept it under wraps for almost three years.

is the biggest strength of this film. There are plenty of references to his style, mannerisms and even his charisma much to the delight of his fans. If ever there was a film tailor made for Pawan Kalyan’s fans, Gabbar Singh will rank high on the list. Shruti Haasan looks beautiful in her role and she delivers a fine performance. Abhimanyu Singh and Thanikella Bharani stand out with their splendid performances. Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Ali, Brahmanandam fit quite well in the story. Jayanan Vincent’s cinematography and Devi Sri Prasad’s peppy music are big assets for the film. Harish Shankar’s biggest achievement in Gabbar Singh is giving Pawan Kalyan a license to go berserk. All said and done, Gabbar Singh completely belongs to Pawan Kalyan. Go watch it.

Monal Gajjar is a busy lady M

onal Gajjar, former Miss Gujarat, hasn’t made her onscreen debut yet, but that doesn’t seem to be bothering filmmakers. She has already signed up four films including Vennela 1 ½, an untitled Varun Sandesh’s film, Allari Naresh’s Sudigaadu and Oka Love Story. She will be also playing one of the lead roles in an upcoming Malayalam film titled Dracula 3D.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

B-TOWN TWEETIES @bipsluvurself

@AnupamPkher

@kunalkohli

@NeilNMukesh

Basking in the crisp Cyprus sun with my friends:) @deannepanday n me r like soul sisters!

Thank you for all your love and wishes. People of Dubai enjoyed my play. Tomorrow another show. Jai Ho.:)

Yes the team of #TeriMeriKahaani is going to be at IIAFA in individual & team capacity and the Indian Film Festival in Melbourne.

Here is wishing my buddy Arjun kapoor all the best for a smash debut and the gorgeous @ParineetiChopra for her 2nd outing. Ishaqzaade.

@SrBachchan

@realpreityzinta

@sonakshisinha

@RahulBose1

The silence of the night, your company and a reflection of the work done . nothing more rewarding. Work keeps the spirit going !

Shooting over 4 da day ! Bro & me decided 2 go in an auto rickshaw & hehe! Its soo much fun! Sitting in an auto rickshaw after 1998 :-) Ting

Its OUT!!! The First song i shot for Rowdy Rathore Chammak Challo Chel Chabeli... choreographed by Saroj ji...

Have to learn rowing, waltzing, playing piano for ‘shesher kobita'. tried changing script to rugby, cool 80’s moves & air guitar. no luck.

Fearless love

ALSO IN THEATRES

A mission called Rohan

It may be similar to a lot of films that we have seen before, Ishaqzaade still has its own story to tell SANA MIRZA

sana.m@postnoon.com

hate it when the promos of a movie look extremely promising but end up being a complete disappointment. Ishaqzaade is one of those films. It builds up your expectations but fails to deliver. The film focuses on a fictional town of Alnor where two warring political families-

Now Maharashtra seeks Aamir’s support for girl child

the Chauhans and the Qureshis - who just need a reason to pull out their arms out of a holster just so they could win a mere election. Set against a backdrop of cultural and religious differences, fierce parental oppositions, an obvious love story brews between Zoya Qureshi (Parineeti Chopra) and Parma (Arjun Kapoor), despite their infinite hate for each other. From here on, we realise, the story isn’t simply going to have a happily-ever-after. The title song, Ishaqzaade and Pareshan have both

fter well-known actress Madhuri Dixit reportedly turned down Maharashtra’s offer as brand ambassador for tourism, the state has sought Aamir Khan’s support for its various public welfare schemes that aim to protect girl child, a top official said. Health Minister Suresh Shetty said following the immense popularity of Aamir Khan’s new tele-show Satyamev Jayate, he has already written

Movie: Ishaqzaade Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Gauhar Khan Directed by: Habib Faisal Rating: found their way up the music charts and are sure shot winners. Habib Faisal highlights every emotion there is which makes the situations and its

to the film star for support to the government’s campaign against female foeticide, which is rampant in some pockets. Besides, top stars like Ajay Devgn and his wife Kajol will make a documentary on “Save the Girl Child” free of cost for the state government, an official said. “They have penned the script which has been approved and will now be taken forward,” the official added. In his letter to Aamir Khan,

characters quite real. The first half of the film sets your mood right for the second half but ends up in a drag race to the finish. Winner takes it all for us Parineeti brings the trophy home with her million dollar expressions. Arjun Kapoor as the rowdy Chauhan does well with his silly antics but still has long hours of grooming. Gauhar Khan is the surprise element in the film and transits smoothly from an item girl to a supporting actress. The story may not have an original plot but it still works.

Shetty said Maharashtra has so far registered cases against 317 sonography centres in the state found conducting unauthorised sex determination tests on foetuses. Highlighting various other measures initiated in this regard, Shetty appealed to Aamir Khan to support and associate with Maharashtra’s cause of elevating the status of the girl child and campaign against sex determination. IANS

upermodel Sanjana (Karisma Kapoor) and Rohan (Rajneesh Duggal), son of one of the nation’s biggest business tycoons are a popular couple in the social circuit. When Sanjana decides against flying to Paris for a lucrative modeling assignment, she does so, not just because she cannot bear to stay away from Rohan, but more importantly she relies on her instincts which bend towards a solid negative. But what her instincts cannot change is Rohan’s fate who gets kidnapped with the kidnappers demanding `50 crore as ransom. The high profile kidnapping creates chaos in Sanjana’s life. The police however believe that even paying the ransom will not bring Rohan back. It is during this extreme phase that Sanjana discovers something extraordinary. She sees visions of them together sometime in the past- in different eras. She is confused initially but in her visions lay definitive clues that could lead her to save the love of her life. As she follows the clues she gets closer and sometimes further away from the love that has been eluding her through the ages. An enticing suspense thriller, Dangerous Ishhq is Sanjana’s tryst with destiny. Would she be able to unravel the past to save her future? Would she be able to rescue her love and expose his true captors?

Movie: Dangerous Ishhq Cast: Karisma Kapoor, Rajneesh Duggal, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta Directed by: Vikram Bhatt

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

D I S P L A YA

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Russell Brand TO HOST 2012 MTV MOVIE AWARDS

he MTV folks have a brand-new host for next month's MTV Movie Awards: Russell Brand! The comedian, who's taken on emceeing duties for the network twice before at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008 and 2009, will be hosting his first MTV Movie Awards shindig on June 3 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. "The MTV Movie Awards incorporates two of my favourite things: movies and awards," quipped the funnyman in an MTV statement. "If somehow group sex could be involved it would be the greatest night of my life." Let's hope the Rock of Ages star is finally all caught up with his Twilight know-how, because Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is one of the nominees for the night's top prize, Movie of the Year. It'll be slugging it out with

Bridesmaids, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Help and The Hunger Games. Games, in particular, is the film to beat this year, snagging nods in eight categories including Best Female Performance (Jennifer Lawrence), Best Male Performance (Josh Hutcherson), Breakthrough Performance (Liam Hemsworth) and Best Cast. Then again, the gonzo awards show is also known for its tongue-in-cheek shout-outs, so expect showdowns for Best On-Screen Dirtbag (we're lookin' atcha, Horrible Bosses nutjob Jennifer Aniston) and Best GutWrenching Performance. Natch, expect a starstudded show, as celebs like Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are expected to attend.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Beyond the shadow of doubt

Whacky it certainly might be but boring it definitely is not. Dark Shadows is classic Tim Burton

he new film from Tim Burton does something rather different than what you’d expect. It whelms you. The film delivers precisely the satisfaction that a sympathetic audience would expect from its director.You will be whelmed by the Goth style, by Johnny Depp's vampire makeup, quasi-English accent and occasional funny line. Burton and screenwriter

Seth Grahame-Smith strive to create a Lynchian/Twin Peaks episodic feel for the strange story which actually leads you to expect a little more than what you get after the initial 15 minutes of the movie. Johnny Depp who plays Barnabas Collins, is an 18th century millionaire who is cursed by a witch- Angelique (Eva Green) — for trifling with her affections. Depp wakes up, two hundred years later, in the

Movie: Dark Shadows Cast: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green Director: Tim Burton Rating: middle of an ice storm in America in 1972 only to be confronted by his dysfunctional descendants, who are living off of the dwindling profits of the family business; which is being crushed by ruthless competition

Zooey Deschanel

signs musical

ooey Deschanel has signed on to portray Loretta Lynn in a stage adaptation of the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter. Lynn announced the casting and musical during a performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Thursday, where she was joined onstage by Deschanel. “It’s a long way from Butcher Holler to Broadway in New York City. I never imagined I’d see Coal Miner’s Daughter on a movie screen, and now I can’t believe it’s going to be on a stage for people to see,” Lynn said in a statement. “I’m going to be right there in the front row. And I know Zooey is going to be great – she sings and writes her own songs just like I do, and we even have the same colour eyes!” Coal Miner's Daughter tells the story of the country singer's rise from poverty to country music legend. Sissy Spacek won the Oscar for her portrayal of Lynn, and Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for a Golden Globe for playing her husband, Doolittle Lynn. “Loretta Lynn and her music have been inspirations for me for as long as I can remember,” said Deschanel.

from Angelique, who is now a spiteful businesswoman. Barnabas now has to rebuild the family fortune. Another interesting character is that of Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Dr. Julia Hoffman, the resident psychiatrist hired by the family to help young David come to terms with his mother’s death. Carter’s character of course does nothing of the sort and slouches about drinking booze with nameless

pills which are to help take the edge off a working day. The dashes of comedy in the middle of the dialogues keep the movie from getting drab. Depp’s delivery of the same is done intelligently and is charming. The Gothic, jokey darkness of Tim Burton’s style is starting to feel very familiar and it enforces his brand to perfection in the film marketplace. The film does have shadows but they conceal nothing.

Catherine Zeta Jones in Red 2 “T

raffic star Catherine Zeta-Jones is joining the cast of Red 2, Summit said Thursday. The Oscar winner will join Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren in the sequel to the 2010 film about a group of aging CIA operatives who find it difficult to retire. Expect lots of jokes about creaky bodies and failing vision to go along with a new European setting. Despite — or perhaps because of — its cast of AARP members, the first film was a surprise hit with audiences, racking up $200 million worldwide. Also rounding out the film's cast will be ByungHun Lee (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra), the studio said. The film is scheduled to be released later this year, on August 2, 2013.

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

SOLUTION ON PAGE 32

SUDOKU

KAKURO

How to play Kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

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

Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

– Anonymous

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Pizza perimeter 6 Ty of Cooperstown 10 Kind of salmon 14 Way from the heart 15 Hip-shaking dance 16 Eager, and then some 17 Bright or clever 18 Blackjack needs 19 As one entered the world 20 Experiments with nuclear fission, eg 23 Hawaiian dish 24 Sit ungracefully (with ‘down’) 25 Fender attachment 28 Name of several Norwegian kings 31 Portion of hair 34 Shortening 36 Had debts 38 Puts up, as 10 cents 40 Ends a relationship badly 43 City inTuscany 44 Sprawl comfortably 45 Rip in half 46 Hot under the choler? 48 Potatoes' partner 50 Petal wetter 51 Big birds 53 Kind of story or sister 55 Demands results 61 Kind of pony 63 So long, in 43-Across 64 Site of the Arab League headquarters 65 You, formerly 66 Golden Fleece carrier 67 They're no pros 68 Egyptian vipers 69 Copy editor's mark 70 Not in vogue DOWN 1 Musical Mama 2 Win easily

3 River to the Caspian Sea 4 Remove the paint from 5 Body image? 6 Bit of chin-wagging 7 ‘That hurts!’ 8 Cuss word surrogate 9 Kind of igneous rock 10 Kitchen appliance 11 Female gamete 12 Concealed 13 ‘___ to Billie Joe’ 21 Missile or grain containers 22 Synagogue scroll 25 Priestly robes 26 Shriver or Callas 27 Groom 29 Army deserter 30 Weapon of 68-Across 32 Not adventurous

57 ‘Beep!’ on the ocean 33 Badminton opener 58 Chart-toppers 35 Unsafe 59 Spring flower 37 Opposite of 60 One may be 69-Across assumed 39 Beef and vegetable 61 School's booster org dish 62 Cries of excitement 41 Cause and effect, in Buddhism 42 Reduce, as PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER prices 47 Agave family plants 49 Boot part 52 Maxi or mini 54 ‘Call Me ___’ (Bob Hope flick) 55 Hoof sound 56 Spice-rack member

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Aries

Taurus

Six of Pentacles

Two of Pentacles

ork – Develop your knowledge in your subject area. You may have to take up a course to update yourself. Do it in order to survive. Romance – Midlifers need to do the balancing act because they may be enjoying life without the company of their spouse… and be comfortable with it. Health – If your exercise routine is not showing expected results, consult a good fitness expert. Your body metabolism may be slow. Money – Shopping may make you feel great but will you be able to live with the guilt late at night upon seeing the goodies you picked up? Tarot message – Balance is the need of the hour. There are ways to achieve this without compromising too much.

ork – A sense of humour is needed. Imagine as though your daily office routine is a play, in which your boss plays leader and you all, assistants. Romance – A getaway will make things very clear with a loved one. Take time off and spend time doing things you both like. Health – If you are consulting a doctor on a niggling health problem, make sure you do a background check on the doctor’s credentials before you trust him/ her. Money – Make a list of all things you need to do – pay property tax, file returns, sign up for a pension plan, etc. Tarot message – A mix of creativity and structure can make life more interesting.

Gemini Ace of Cups

ork – You may not know the whole truth about a project and will be expected to deliver anyway. Reason with your boss on how much you can do with the limited information. Romance – You and your partner are enjoying the company of each other and have reached a happy equilibrium where you both give each other space. Health – Go for natural and organic foods to feel rejuvenated. A detox day with nothing but fruits will do wonders to your health. Money – A shortcut route to achieve your financial goals is possible as long as you know the risks involved. Speak to your advisor. Tarot message – Creativity is at its best. You feel confident about your choices.

Cancer

Leo

Four of Swords

Five of Cups

Four of Cups

ork – There are ways to increase your creativity at office. Start by visualization and mentally dismantling the structures that hold us back. Romance – Wine and dine with your loved one to reignite the passions. Candlelight always works. Good food also always works. Health – You may need to focus on your mental health especially if you have the tendency to feel bad about what cannot be, or what was. Money – Investing in creative new ways will make the process of money-making itself more interesting. Think of investing in art or on antique whisky. Tarot message – The world will always seem black and white unless you decide to go out and add some colour.

ork – Spice up your work space by taking photos of your vacations and family members. Remove the dullness and boredom from work. Romance – An unlikely pairing may leave you quite surprised with yourself. You discover new things about what you like and don’t. Health – You are interested in all things spiritual for healing. You take extra interest in reikie, pranic healing, naturopathy, etc. Money – You need to find a job that you like and also pays you well. Not everyone is this lucky. But such an opportunity presents itself to you soon. Tarot message – There are ways to make life less mundane and you’re in a space where you can experiment. Add variety to your daily life.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra

Scorpio

The Tower

Justice

ork – Rave, rant, manipulate, beg, borrow, steal, all these are part of life. Don’t judge another person by how much of any of these they do. You don’t know their realities. Romance – You run the risk of adding your own interpretation, feelings and thoughts to your spouse’s. Avoid colouring your emotions by judging what it might be. Health – Feeling good is half the battle won to good health. Spend a few minutes every day doing something you really enjoy. Money – If you have made your investments, then you need to just wait for the results to show. Hold the reins on your spending. Tarot message – Perception is everything. It will decide how you face life’s challenges.

ork – Some change in the office, either a new boss, or a shift to a new project, will upset your routine. Don’t be stuck on one thing. You might even like this change. Romance – You and your partner reach a new level of understanding and it opens up many wonderful things for you two. Health – Stick to your exercise routine no matter what. Even if you have to wake up two hours earlier, do it. Money – Market changes are impacting your investment requirements and needs. Assess your situation well before you make your move. Tarot message – A little shaking up is required for each of us to get us out of our comfort zone. Be open to experiencing the new.

Sagittarius Five of Pentacles

ork –Too much analysis of why something happened is not going to get you answers. If your boss favours someone else, there’s little you can do about it. Romance – Fights, misunderstandings and arguments can all be solved by keeping a calm mind and listening to your partner when he/she speaks. Health – Take care of the joints, knees especially, as they are weak and may tend to show some problems. Money – Secure what you have and do not bet on something you do not have. Be completely practical, and not emotional while making money decisions. Tarot message – This may be a difficult phase but it’s not the end of the world. You come out successful.

Virgo

Date 13-5-2012

Capricorn Four of Wands

ork – Good luck will put you in the limelight. It’s also your hard work and preparation that are working in your favour. Romance – This is a wonderful time for those in relationships. Don’t be in a hurry to take it forward or make any commitments. Health – There are many ways one can solve a health problem. Reduce stress by doing things you enjoy. Music, books, movies could work well. Money – Finances are in good shape. A salary hike has put you in a comfortable position and you are able to invest well. Tarot message – Good time to plan ahead and think about things. Take action when you feel the time is right.

ork – A job offer will set you thinking about your current work place. Are you plain lethargic to move out of your comfort zone? Romance – If a relationship is not going well, or not moving ahead at all, don’t fret. There are many fish in the sea. Health – Be careful while making important health related decisions. Always consult only a reliable doctor who will not take you for a ride with unnecessary tests. Money – You need to see clearly the role of money in your life. Being blinded by the idea of making more money may be robbing you of your sleep. Tarot message – Remove the tinted glasses and see clearly. Assess where you’re headed and make changes.

Aquarius The Moon

ork – Your mood swings are putting you in more trouble than you can imagine. People are going to use it as a weapon to undermine your importance. Romance – Distance from the partner is important to figure out your priorities. Don’t let another person interfere with your romance. Health – A volatile mind is the root cause of many problem that may or may not exist. Think of ways to calm the mind down. Meditate! Money – Finances are stable. Keep them where they are and don’t move around the money too much if you don’t want to take risks yet. Tarot message – Learn to take people along with you. You are not better than everyone else.

Pisces Five of Swords

ork – Some embarrassment is possible. It may not be avoidable. Just think of it as another unfortunate thing and don’t take it too seriously. Romance – Fights, conflicts are all part of the game. Think of why you two are together and it will become clear why these fights happen – to make your bond stronger. Health – Anxiety and depression need to be avoided at all costs. Do regular cleansing of both mind and body. Spend an hour every day in maintaining your mental health. Money – Safeguard your wealth. Don’t be cool about letting an investment be unsupervised. Tarot message – Life would be nothing without the testing times. Make this time an important learning experience.

Vol: 1, No 300 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 14. To which body organ does malfunctioning cause jaundice? 15. Lance Armstrong, a sportsperson of international repute, belongs to which country? 16. Modern Indo-Aryan languages are based on an ancient language called?

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He is the first African-American to hold a such a prestigious office. He was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years. He is married to Michelle LaVaughn Robinson and has two daughters. Who is he?

Take care

Do what you love, love what you do

World’s first, India’s first, My first

He is a British born Pakistani Canadian singer,musician and composer. Keyboard Magazine has even called him the fastest man on keyboard in Asia. His personal life is however a bit a tumultuous. He is supposed to have had four marriages. Who is he?

Lord of the streets

The closer, the better Reach out and touch someone

1Dilip Kumar 2. Barack Obama 3.Adnan Sami

Between love and madness lies obsession

Answers

4 5 6

The three main Gods of Hinduism?

Who received Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2011? Who is the great Indian Mathematician who invented number “zero”?

Which is the oldest Hill range in India?

PICTURE PUZZLE 14 with Santosh Ghule Spot the embedded beauty

Who designed the Indian flag?

WHO AM I? I was born in 1984 in White Plains, New York. I was awarded the TIME magazine’s person of the year 2010. I was the world’s youngest billionaire in 2008 and own 28.4 per cent of the common stock of my company. I brought the world closer. Who am I?

Answer: Mark Zuckerberg

Which place in India receives highest rainfall?

Answer

Shahnaz Hussain 3 Richard Branson 4.KM Birla

1 2 3

Answer: 1 Verghese Kurien 2

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

He was born Muhammad Yousuf Khan and is an actor and former member of Parliament. He is married to Saira Banu and has three children, Khatija, Rahima and Ameen. He was the first actor to receive Filmfare's Best Actor Award. Who is he?

BRAND CORNER

1.OLX 2. Raymond 3. D’damas 4. Sony 5.Garnier 6. Blackberry 7. Toyota Etios 8. Yamaha FZ 9. Close Up 10. AT & T 11. Calvin Klein

FAMOUS SPOUSES

producer of ‘rubber’ in the world? 11.Logarithm tables were invented by? 12.With which sport is the Jules Rimet trophy associated? 13.Liquids transmit pressure equally in all directions. This is known as...

Answers

6. Mount Everest was named after? 7. The Japanese call their country as? 8. The river which carries maximum quantity of water into the sea is? 9. The biggest island of the world is? 10. Which country is the largest

1. Australia 2. Soil 3. Nazi Party 4. Fiji 5.China & Britain 6.Sir George Everest 7.Nippon 8.Amazon 9.Greenland 10.Malaysia 11.John Napier 12. Football 13.Pascal's Law 14.Liver 15.USA 16.Sanskrit

1. The great Victoria Desert is located in? 2. Plants receive their nutrients mainly from where? 3. Hitler party which came into power in 1933 is known as? 4. Golf player Vijay Singh belongs to which country? 5. First China War was fought between?

13: Hidden in the shape of the woman is another face. Answer for

1.Mawsynram 2. Soumitra Chatterjee 3.Aryabhatta 4. Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva 5. Aravalli hills 6. Pingalli Venkayya

Answers

SATURDAY MAY 12, 2012

6S 536

METRE

Chris Gayle (RCB)

43 4S 1447

Ajinkya Rahane (RR)

HIGHEST SCORE

103*

AM Rahane (RR), Kevin Pietersen (DD)

BEST BOWLER

5-16

Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)

MI take on upbeat KKR I get the feeling we are peaking at the right time, we started poorly but now we are doing well. [Chris] Gayle is a special guy, he has helped us get into the top four. Zaheer Khan RCB Player

Chris Gayle (RCB) 572 runs

Morne Morkel (DD) 21 wickets

We can’t take CSK lightly, says Simons D

elhi Daredevils might have virtually qualified for the playoffs but head coach Eric Simons today warned his players not to take their feet off the pedal when they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings in a crucial IPL match here tomorrow. Simons said that CSK were a good side and they would come hard against DD. "In all games, we try and understand the mindset of the opponents we are playing against. One thing surprising in the IPL is that the higher you are on the table, the more freedom the opposition takes against you. They will take more chances. Not just in that perspective but CSK is a very good side. They are full of quality and will take a lot of PTI chances,” Simons said.

G APARNA SAI

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umbai Indians may currently be placed among the top four teams on the points table but this may not remain their fate if they lose another match. Having being thrashed by the Challengers from Bangalore in their previous match, Mumbai will have to pull up their socks and improve their performance to stand a chance to make it to the playoffs. Mumbai were in shambles when they played RCB on Wednesday. Most of their main players failed to fire — James Franklin managed to score just one run and Rohit Sharma failed to open his account while Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu could not get past the twenties. In their bid to have a successful campaign, the Champion League title holders will have to win against KKR when they clash with the

MI VS KKR AT 4 PM ON SET MAX Knights today. The Knights began the tournament on a dismal note but soon found their footing and are currently placed at the second position with 17 points. A win in this match will have KKR once again top the table — a position which has seen a tussle

P 12 12 13 12 13 13 12 14 13

W 9 8 7 7 6 6 6 4 2

L 3 3 5 5 6 7 6 10 10

N/T PT 0 18 1 17 1 15 0 14 1 13 0 12 0 12 0 8 1 5

NRR +0.977 +0.600 -0.058 -0.198 +0.081 +0.184 -0.309 -0.348 -0.717

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

worry about as they and Delhi are comfortably perched at the top of the table. However, season’s favourites, MI, even if they clinch victory against the Knights, cannot breathe easy yet, since their poor net run rate, performance of the other teams and also their own is going to make an impact on deciding which teams proceed to the next round.

SCORECARD PUNE WARRIORS V ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE Clarke c Tiwary b Vinay Kumar 13 RCB innings (20 overs) CH Gayle c Pandey b Mathews 57 Pandey b Khan 0 TM Dilshan run out (Thomas) 53 Uthappa st de Villiers b Muralitharan 38 V Kohli c Smith b Sharma 9 AP Majumdar c Khan b Patel 31 SS Tiwary not out 36 Mathews st de Villiers b Appanna 4 AB de Villiers not out 9 Smith not out 24 Extras: (lb 4, w 4, nb 1) 9 B Kumar b Muralitharan 2 Total: (3 wickets; 20 overs) 173 AC Thomas b Vinay Kumar 7 Bowling O M R W Econ R Sharma b Vinay Kumar 0 K Upadhyay 4 0 33 0 8.25 K Upadhyay not out 11 AC Thomas 4 0 46 0 11.50 Extras: (lb 3, w 1) 4 B Kumar 4 0 40 0 10.00 Total: (9 wickets; 20 overs) 138 AD Mathews 3 0 14 1 4.66 Bowling O M R W Econ R Sharma 4 0 31 1 7.75 Z Khan 4 0 21 2 5.25 MJ Clarke 1 0 5 0 5.00 R Vinay Kumar 4 0 32 3 8.00 Pune Warriors innings HV Patel 4 0 36 1 9.00 (target: 174 runs from 20 overs) KP Appanna 4 0 30 1 7.50 Mishra lbw b Khan 4 M Muralitharan 4 0 16 2 4.00 Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 35 runs

DD KKR RCB MI CSK RR KXIP PW DC

between the Knights and the Delhi Daredevils. Kolkata have put up a splendid performance in the recent past, which even saw them defeat the Daredevils. Gautam Gambhir has led from the front amassing 457 runs this season. The other Knights have shone too — Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine, to name a few. KKR do not have much to

Chennai to battle DD

he last time Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings met in this season, Delhi drew first blood and defeated Chennai by 8 wickets. Taking first strike, Chennai were restricted to a paltry 110 from 20 overs, an innings which saw four run outs. The Daredevils reached the target comfortably in 13.2 overs. Weeks after that encounter, table toppers, Delhi Daredevils and defending champions, Chennai Super Kings meet again, today. While the Daredevils do not have much to worry about, Chennai will have to win this game in a bid to keep their playoffs' hopes alive. Delhi have put up a superb

DD VS CSK AT 8 PM ON SET MAX show this season. From being the team placed at the bottom for a major period last year, DD have done well to have literally turned tables and find a place right at the top this year. Skipper, Virender Sehwag has led from the front while the other players have risen to the occasion whenever they were required to. CSK, on the other hand, are struggling. Their win against RR on Thursday, has certainly boosted thier confidence but would they be able to repeat this act against DD, AS remains to be seen.

74 DAYS TO GO SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Phelps loses out to Ricky Berens CHARLOTTE: Michael Phelps outraced Ryan Lochte in the 200meter freestyle at the Charlotte UltraSwim on Friday but both US favorites for the London Olympics lost out to hometown hero Ricky Berens. Berens won in 1min, 47.32secs with Phelps second in 1:48.01 and Lochte sixth in 1:49.70 in a sign that each swimmer was on a different training schedule ahead of the Olympics and the US Olympic trials next month at Omaha, Nebraska. “We’re all doing different training,” Phelps said. “That’s how (Lochte) has always done it. I’m sure that’s what he’s going to do this year.” Lochte wore older-style briefs rather than a more modern competition suit such as the one used by Phelps, whose only other event at Charlotte will be the 200 butterfly.

DOHA: Justin Gatlin, dead and buried after a four-year doping ban that saw him, in desperation, mull a potential career in American football? Not likely, the American insisted after scorching to a blistering 9.87 seconds to win the 100m at the opening leg of the 14-meet Diamond League here. Gatlin’s time, his fastest outdoor season opener since he started professional sprinting at the age of 19, places him firmly in the same bracket as absent Jamaican arch-rivals Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Bolt and Blake skipped this meet, preferring to open their seasons on home soil and clocking 9.82 and 9.84sec repectively. Fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell finished just one-hundredth behind Gatlin in Doha, setting up the prospect of a battle royale between the US and the Caribbean island’s finest sprinters come this summer’s London Olympic Games. “I want everyone to know Justin Gatlin is back and I want the Olympic title,” insisted Gatlin. It would be an unlikely tale for the athlete who claimed 100m gold at the Olympics in Athens in 2004, but then fell foul of drugs and served a fouryear ban, coming back in late 2010. His path back to form, and acceptance by meet directors and fans, saw him win a second world indoor 60m title in

I’m back: Gatlin

AFP/KARIM JAAFAR

Istanbul in March, after a first success way back in 2003. “You’ve got to take track and field as a soap opera with spikes on,” Gatlin said of the global athletics circuit. Wherever he goes, there is always a question on doping lurking, something he never shies away from. “I feel that whatever time we’ve served, innocent or guilty, we’ve served that time. Taking that privilege (of com-

peting) away from us, after being tested again and again, is unjust,” is how Gatlin’s measured reply goes. He even went to pains to stress that he had only happy memories of competing in Doha, where he ran 9.77sec in 2006 to match Powell’s then world record, only for it to be rescinded after the doping violation came to light. On Friday, Powell got away to his usual blistering start,

only to seize up at the vital moment in the run-in to the line, Gatlin producing his trade-mark final surge to win by a head. “I was feeling a little sluggish, but that felt great,” said Gatlin. “Everybody wants to see great competition. They’ve watched the Usain Bolt show for a couple of years, they want to see someone else in the mix and I’m happy to step up and be in the mix as well.”

Hooker vaults his way to London SYDNEY: Australia’s reigning Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker is set for the London Games after clearing the qualifying height in Perth. Hooker, 29, making his first competitive outing in three months, cleared 5.72 metres on his second attempt to secure his berth at a third Olympics. A persistent knee injury and an accompanying lack of confidence had threatened to derail his Olympic campaign earlier this year. But Hooker easily cleared the required qualifying height in a specially sanctioned meet held in his own purpose-built indoor training facility before an invit-

ed-only crowd of around 150 supporters. Hooker high-fived the crowd and hugged his coach Alex Parnov after successfully completing the 5.72m jump to huge relief after a turbulent few months. “I’m very relieved but at the same time so damn excited,” Hooker told the Athletics Australia website. “For a while there I thought I was a shoo-in to make London and losing that certainty and having to fight like I have to get back was a challenge I didn’t see coming. It is something that I am just stoked to have gotten over.”

Hooker said qualification was the culmination of months of hard training to get back to his top form. “It has been months and months of jumps, jumps and more jumps -- thousands of jumps, seriously -- to be back at this level,” he said. “We stripped it right back to basics, made a real effort to get the things that were letting me down right and from there begun the process of building my heights up.” Hooker will now return to international competition, starting with the second round of the Diamond League in Shanghai next weekend.

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

McLaren put down marker BARCELONA: Jenson Button and McLaren laid down an early marker on Friday when the Englishman topped the times in opening practice for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix as drivers sweated over tyres for the race. Button, the 2009 world champion, overcame problems with under-steer to clock the fastest time in the afternoon second free practice session in one minute and 23.399 seconds. This gave him a comfortable advantage of more than one tenth of a second over defending double champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull at the end of an intriguing open day run in warm sunshine at the Circuit

de Catalunya. Button made the most of Pirelli’s unforgiving softer tyres, much criticised for their lack of durability by other

WOODS IN, McILROY OUT

drivers including seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, as McLaren delivered a strong showing on the opening day of the European section of the

2012 season. “It was a positive afternoon. The car is running well, and our upgrades seem to be working. But there are still some improvements to be made,” said Button. “The Option tyre seems to be a bit easier for everyone as it’s softer and therefore more receptive to generating temperature. In P2, we also started to find a way to get the Prime to work, but then, later in the session, we couldn’t quite get back to that sweet-spot. “If we can solve these issues with the Prime and get it into its correct working range, I think we can be quite competitive this weekend.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH: Tiger Woods made the cut, top-ranked Rory McIlroy did not and a US trio that included 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson shared the 36-hole lead on Friday at The Players Championship. Johnson fired a six-under par 66 to share the lead with US PGA Tour rookie Kevin Na and Matt Kuchar on eight-under par 136 after two rounds of the $9.5 million event at TPC Sawgrass. Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, avoided what would have been the first backto-back missed cuts of his pro career by firing a 68 to stand on two-under 142. “I probably could have gotten one or two more out of it but I really played well,” Woods said. “I was just very consistent, nothing spectacular, just real solid golf.” Woods sank four birdies in a row starting at the par-3 eighth, including birdies at the par-5 ninth and 11th holes, to finish in a share of 30th among 72 players who made the cut on level par 144. “I’m still with a good chance,” Woods said. “I was trying to just keep plugging along. I ended up making four in a row.” Missing for the weekend will be Northern Ireland star McIlroy, who defends his US Open crown next month at San Francisco. Last week, McIlroy lost in a playoff at Quail Hollow. This week, McIlroy opened with a 72, then followed with a 76 to miss the cut for the first time in more than a year. AFP PIC: ANDY LYONS / GETTY IMAGES/AFP

Fatigue threatens Spain’s bid MADRID: Spain head to Euro 2012 looking to make history but their bid for a third consecutive major tournament triumph could be hit by fatigue, with top players feeling the effects of several years competing at the highest level. Spain were the big underachievers of the European game before their triumph at Euro 2008 but having since gone on to win the 2010 World Cup they will be the team to beat in

Euro 2012 Poland and Ukraine. No team has ever retained the Henri Delaunay trophy or won three major tournaments on the bounce, even if West Germany came close, losing the 1976 European Championship to Czechoslovakia after previously winning the 1972 Euros and the 1974 World Cup. There are plenty of reasons

why Vicente Del Bosque’s side can hope to go all the way this year, though, especially as their leading players know each other inside out and are not lacking in experience. They also cruised through qualifying, winning all eight games and scoring 26 goals in the process. “The entire team know that as the reigning European champions the heavy weight of responsibility lies on our shoulders,” Del Bosque said recently.

“But everyone in the team wants to defend our current position in world football even if this task looks tricky. We can be proud of what we have achieved but it belongs in the past and now we need to focus on the future.” However, Del Bosque must solve some major problems if La Roja are to really compete with the youthful exuberance of Germany and the class of the Netherlands, among others.

Blue clay: Joker sees red MADRID: Novak Djokovic on Friday declared war on the Madrid Masters’ controversial blue clay, with the world number one charging that double-dealing by a former ATP chief was the cause of this week’s player revolt. Defending champion Djokovic went down 24 hours after the exit of Rafael Nadal, losing in the quarter-finals to Serb compatriot Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. Djokovic mentioned no names in his broadside, but left little doubt he blames former chief executive Adam Helfant for the debacle. “I don’t blame the new president (Australian former player Brad Drewett),” said a fuming Djokovic. “He came to the job in January. It was the last president. He was going away and knew his contract was not renewed. He made the decision on his own.” AFP

Vishy held

efending champion Viswanathan Anand was held at bay by a solid defensive play by his challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel as the first game of the World Chess Championship ended in a tense draw here today. Anand drew the favourable colour in the first game, but could not call the shots that he is used to in World Championship matches as his efforts were met with a perfect counter attack by Gelfand who is looking for his maiden world title. The opening was a major surprise for Anand in the opinion of many experts as Gelfand went for the Grunfeld defense, something he has not been playing.

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Spurs won’t lose top players, says coach Redknapp LONDON: Harry Redknapp has denied Tottenham risk losing their biggest players if the club fails to secure a place in the Champions League on Sunday. Spurs will clinch a place in the top four if they beat Fulham at White Hart Lane in their final Premier League fixture. And they could overtake north London rivals Arsenal in third place if Arsene Wenger’s side fail to beat West Bromwich Albion. However, should they fall short of qualifying for European football’s premier competition - and a Chelsea victory in the Champions League final on May 19 will mean the team that finishes fourth misses out - fresh focus will be thrown on the future of a number of star names. Gareth Bale and Luke Modric are the two Tottenham players most frequently linked with a move away. Modric was a target for Chelsea and Manchester United last summer while Bale has been linked with a move to Barcelona after admitting he would have to consider his future if Spurs missed out on the Champions League.

Wenger aims to pip Harry’s boys again BIRMINGHAM: Arsene Wenger will be looking for a repeat of six years ago when his Arsenal team look to pip Tottenham to a Champions League place this weekend. There are many similarities to the 2006 season finale when the two north London rivals were competing to reach Europe’s top club competition on the last day of the campaign. On that occasion Spurs were favourites but lost at West Ham after a mystery virus hit the squad — blamed on a lasagne players ate at their hotel — allowing Wenger’s team to overtake. During that season there were also doubts whether fourth place would be enough for Spurs as Arsenal were also in the Champions League final - and this time Chelsea could claim the final place if they beat Bayern Munich. “Frankly, I didn’t know what happened," said Wenger.

NET SET SERVE COURT RACKET

Suduko

hester City manager Roberto Mancini believes it will be good for the Premier League if his side secure the title on Sunday. City go into what promises to be a thrilling final day of the season

level on 86 points with neighbours Manchester United. But City’s vastly superior goal difference means Mancini’s side will secure a first topflight crown in 44 years if they defeat relegationthreatened Queens Park Rangers at Eastlands.

Boggle Number game

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM: Manc-

SOLUTIONS Scrabble

City’s win good for EPL: Mancini