‘STOP ILLTREATING OUR CHILDREN’
T
he recent spate of cases of corporal punishment have created panic among parents and educationists. It’s time to set things right.
E SREEDHARAN
‘TIME IS MONEY, BE ON GUARD’ I
n the City to receive an award, noted engineer, E Sreedharan, who is an advisor to the DMRC, spoke about the importance of time when it comes to implementation of the Metro rail project. PG 4
PG 3 WWW.POSTNOON.COM
WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 26°C
Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper
SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 HYDERABAD
`3
32 PAGES
ON SATURDAY
WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIAN...
PAMPER YOUR PETS IN STYLE
T
hose besotted with their pets are showing their love by treating them to body massages, colouring, streaking and more, reveals pet salon owner Aditi Sharma. PG 13
A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
P
admasri Lagadapati is always on the lookout for platforms through which she can help women because according to her, empowering them is the only way forward. She has undertaken this through an NGO called Help.
On International Day of Democracy we ask people their opinion of the political system in India. What we find is a very unhappy electorate. REPORT ON PG 5
PG 18
2
PAGE TWO SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
PICTURESQUE SETTING
Paper filigree
N SHIVA KUMAR
Oxford Bookstore, Hyderabad and Narayani Events is organising an innovative and exciting workshop on ‘Paper Quilling and Craft’ with Ms. Soumya Uppalanchi, an experienced workshop conductor. Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park, Somajiguda When: September 15 and 16, 11am onwards Contact: 91601 48444
Film workshop A film making workshop and film appreciation workshop is being held by Yavanika films from September 29. The workshop will be held on weekends. When: 29 September onwards, 11am Contact: 94904 40986
Sunyata An exhibition of paintings by Suniyata Khanna is being held. The exhibition is on till September 15. Where: Alankritha Art Gallery, Residency Inn Kavuri hills When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2354 0023
Life of others A German film Leben der Anderen (The life of others) directed by Floren Henckel Von Donnersmarck wil be shown on September 21. Where: Goethe Zentrum, Banjara Hills, Rd No 3 When: September 21, 4pm onwards Contact: (040) 2335 0443
Daawat-e-biryani The first thing that comes to anyone’s mind when we say Hyderabad is the popular speciality of the City, the traditional Hyderabadi Biryani. ITC Kakatiya is hosting a biryani festival. The fest is on till September 16. Where: Deccan Pavilion, ITC Kakatiya, Begumpet When: Ongoing, 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2340 0132
Mediterranean food fest Take a trip and experience a variety of Mediterranean delights such as bruschetta and seafood marinara pasta, bruschetta and antipasto at Truffles cafe. The fest is on till September 30. Where: Truffles Cafe, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 10
CINEMAS
When: Ongoing, 8am onwards Contact: (040)2355 0105
Play time Lamakaan will be hosting Manch Theatre’s A Plateful of Plays on October 6. This 120-minute offering is a varied and interesting collection of humorous short plays. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: October 6, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329
Ganesh exhibition An exclusive exhibition-cum-sale of Ganesh Idols is being organised. It will feature exclusive idols and ecofriendly clay Ganeshas. The expo is on from September 7 to 19. . Where: Lepakshi Showroom, RTC Cross Roads, Musheerabad When: Ongoing, 10 am onwards
For art’s sake Iconart Gallery is hosting Buy Artfor Arts Sake, an affordable art show. A preview will be held on September 15 at 6.30pm. The exhibition and sale will be on till
October 15. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: September 15 onwards, 11.30 am-7pm Contact: 98499 68797
Book release The book Edanthi Na Katha, autobiography of AG Krishnamurthy is being held on September 15. Where: Filmnagar Cultural Centre, Road No 6, Film Nagar When: September 15, 6.30pm onwards
East coast food festival Sample food from the states of Bengal, Orrisa and Tamil Nadu at multi-cuisine restaurant Haldi’s East Coast Food Festival. The fest is on till September 15. Where: Haldi, Novotel, Shamshabad When: Ongoing, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6650 3000
Rajwar food festival Rajdhani celebrates the rich food of the kings from Rajasthan and Gujarat with the Rajwar food festi-
val. The food festival is on till September 16.. Where: Rajdhani, Banjara Hills, Rd No 3 When: Ongoing, 12pm onwards and 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6459 3998
The woman in you “The woman in you” a one-of-its kind programme for a life-time of a health & beauty exclusively for women. The programme is designed to educate women about the all the things they all love. Where: The Park, Rajbhavan Road, Somajiguda When: September 21, 4pm onwards Contact: 9160 172000
Mudra in style An exhibition of paintings featuring various forms of Lord Ganesha will be held at Iconart Gallery. A preview will be held on September 15. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: September 15 onwards, 11.30 am-7pm Contact: 98499 68797
Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 44767777, Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 8800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973
3
CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Youth found murdered
A
Lokesh seeks security
25-year-old youth was found murdered in the City outskirts. The body was found near Sheriguda, last night. The unidentified body was clad in blue jeans and a t-shirt. He has still not been identified. The Ibrahimpatnam police have registered a case. They are trying to acertained the exact cause for his death.
T
he heir apparent of the Telugu Desam, Nara Lokesh, has sought security cover. The request sent to the government assumes importance in the wake of news of his imminent entry into politics. The State police authorities are likely to take a final decision on the issue a in security review committee meeting.
Doctor couple mugged
I
n a shocking incident, marauders mugged a doctor and his journalist wife in their home last night and looted cash and jewellery. Police said that the men knocked at Flat no 101 of Mahalaxmi Villa in Banjara Hills Rd No 3. As the couple opened the door, the trio put a cloth on their head and held chloroform to their nose. They escaped with cash and gold.
‘Stop ill-treating our children’ Recent cases of corporal punishment have created panic among parents and educationists. Mohd SUBHAN
mohd.s@postnoon.com
F
our cases of corporal punishment demolishing the morale of young students has caused panic among parents and educationists. The death of 14-year-old Mohd Ismail Hussain of a Santosh Nagar school after his Arabic teacher made him bend and stretch endlessly for hours is the latest in the series of the crimes reported against students in the State. The boy’s father Mohd Siddique Hussain has
lodged a complaint. It is believed that several other cases go unreported after authorities hush them up or strike a compromise with the parents. Just two months back, a girl Syeda Sadaf Fatima, was assaulted by her school teacher in Noorkhan Bazar, where she was allegedly beaten black and blue. A 5-year-old student Naveed was beaten by the school teacher in Mustafa Nagar in the Old City resulting in his eye being damaged. Two more similar incidents also occurred. Expressing a strong view against this, Aqeel Saleh Dayani of Royal Grammar High School at Salala Barkas said, “If we treat children so cruelly they
will never become good citizens. I appeal to school managements and teachers to take a humane approach to education.” (With inputs from Sudeshna Koka)
Corporal punishment is wrong. No one has the right to hit children, not even parents. One cannot force a child to study, a child will develop hatred for education if he is not treated well in school. Usha P, parent
It’s wrong. One should not use a cane to teach students. Love has immense power and I have seen that when I teach with love and not shout, it has a better impact. Padmaja W, teacher, Centenary Baptist Church School
When we shout at or hit children it leaves an impact on their sub conscious mind. It may also affect their thought process. At times it’s important to be firm but a cane is not needed for that. Sekhar K, parent
4
CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
‘Time is money, be on guard’ In the City to receive an award, noted engineer, E Sreedharan who is an advisor to the DMRC, spoke about the importance of time when it comes to the implementation of the Metro rail project.
DEEPAK DESHPANDE
RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA
rahul.r@postnoon.com
C
elebrated engineer of India, E Sreedharan, struck a warning note regarding the metro rails being implemented in India which includes the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. He said that the success of such projects depended a lot upon the timely implementation of the project. It is a capital intensive venture and each day’s delay cost the exchequer `2 crore and also caused trauma to the people affected. Architect of the most successful metro rail project, the Delhi Metro, Sreedharan was in the City on Friday to receive the V Krishnamurthy Award for Excellence. During his crowded meet with the press and later in a brief chat with Postnoon, the suave but firm task master of huge engineering projects including the ‘engineering marvel’ the Konkan Railway, Sreedharan dropped enough hints that warn Hyderabad Metro to be on its guard and implement the project on time or else they may have to repent later. The only saving grace for Hyderabad Metro, he said, was that it was being implemented by a reputed engineering firm, L&T. However, he was skeptical of Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) model in metro rail. Hyderabad Metro is a PPP. The only Indian engineer to be honoured by France with its highest award, “Chevalier de la
legion d’honneur” (Knighthood of the Legion of Honour), Sreedharan spoke on public rail transportation though he shied away from answering very controversial questions like if the overhead metro is viable or advisable in a crowded city like Hyderabad.
Now that the Delhi Metro Rail has set a model for other projects in the country and several of them being under progress what do you have to say in this matter? While dealing with a Metro rail network, time is money. The challenge to compress the work schedule and finish the project before the stipulated time is the essence. I do not see it happening anywhere else, be it Chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad.
You have mentioned that Hyderabad has an advantage over the rest of the cities with regard to the Metro rail project. Please elaborate. Hyderabad has an excellent PPP (public private partnership) — the L&T, who are very competitive and reputable. So I wish this partnership was taken as an advantage and time is not wasted. I hear that the initial planned budget for the Metro rail was `16,000 crore. Each day of delay will only cause an approximate `2 crore loss to the exchequer.
With the success story of the Delhi Metro, you have set a standard, a disciplined organised structure of project completions. What do you have to say about it personally? Have you penned your thoughts about that successful chapter? I am just an advisor for the DMRC. Besides, I don’t have a flair for writing and I believe writing success stories is just another way of beating your own drum. So yes, I have not done anything of that
I hear that the the initial planned budget for the Metro was `16,000 cr. Each day of delay will cause an approximate `2 cr loss to the exchequer. N Sreedharan advisor, DMRC
sort.
Why is it that projects like the metro rail are restricted only to the biggest cities in the country? Why can’t the metro rail connectivity be gifted to other cities, apart from the metropolitans? It is a slow process that starts from the top. And the current rate of progress has picked up too, for instance it was necessary for a city to have 5 million population to be considered for metro rail connectivity. Now that standard has been dropped to 2 million. Things are changing and they will gradually change, as I said, from the top.
How effective was the Public Private Partnership in major projects like DMRC? DMRC had about 60 per cent private participation and 40 per cent public participation in the entire project, which did not prove to be quite effective as you can see.
Given your experience in the field, how do you spot talent? Is there a particular method you employ? (Laughs) Talent is usually easily spottable from a distance. Dr E Sreedharan’s felicitation was attended by senior members of the journalist community and well wishers from all walks of life. S Ramadorai, Habil F Khorakiwala were also present at the ceremony.
IT’S SHOW TIME! On their maiden multi-city tour to India, San Francisco’s House of Floyd is all set to play in the City. Padmini C
padmini.c@postnoon.com
I
t’s rare to find a tribute band that doesn’t want to be more. It’s rarer still to find one that swears playing in India is better than playing in the States. House of Floyd is both. One of the foremost tribute bands to Pink Floyd in the USA, HoF is content recreating the Floyd experience — music, lights, inflatable pigs, et all. On their first international tour, the band which has played in Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow,
Bangalore is now headed to Hyderabad as part of a 100 Pipers series. “We can’t wait to play in Hyderabad. Most of our performances have been at private institutions so far but the fans have been great, they are wild and animated and not at all like the reserved sit-down crowd in the US. The India tour is undoubtedly the pinnacle of our career. It has put big smiles on our faces. We couldn’t have asked for more,” they say. What can fans expect? “A few of Pink Floyd hits from every
decade — Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall etc. We have accomplished recreating the sound of Floyd but we will bring our own nuances to it,” adds Mark Showalter, keyboardist and vocalist. Having grown up listening to, and being influenced, by their namesake, Mark Showalter, Pat Potter, Lou Portela formed the band seven years ago and were later joined by Greg Studley, Stewart Burr, Sheri Showalter and Mellisa Harley. Where: Secunderabad Club When: September 16
5
CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Our Netas betrayed L us, say voters
Sudeshna Koka
sudeshna.k@postnoon.com
argest democracy in the world, India is held out as the paragon of practicing democracy in a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual society. India does not discriminate against any caste or creed as far as exercise of voting right is concerned. But this vast country has a population of over 25 per cent citizens that are still barely literate and millions still go hungry to bed. At the same time, India has made a mark in many fields like science, engineering and technology, which the world acknowledges. Today, September 15, is celebrated as the International day of democracy. Postnoon talks to citizens from different walks of life to know their take on Indian democracy. We find widespread disenchantment with the parliamentary democracy we practiced, thanks to mindless exploitation of the system by the selfish political leaders and corrupt bureaucracy. It sounds like a warning signal, if such a warning is required, to the powers that be.
Aditya Kabra, businessman Democracy is a joke in today’s world. Politicians are corrupt; there is so much malpractice in the system. Today, democracy is not to and for the people but just for the power. Politicians who are our representatives are so just for name’s sake. They are greedy and all they want is money, caring for the public welfare is nowhere on their agenda.
Pulla Reddy, police officer Democracy means freedom of speech, but in today’s set-up who listen to us? The politicians only control and rule us, no one cares for us. Only if one has money they have the freedom to express themselves.
Meenakshi Viswanathan, homemaker We call ourselves independent but we are not. Even for a job we need recommendation, to use government services we need money. These days, if we don’t vote someone else will vote on our name. Today democracy is nothing but a political gimmick.
Krishank Manne, student activist For us democracy is removing the police from the OU campus. Standing up for our rights and fighting for justice is democracy. Democracy is for and by the people, not politicians. We need to fight for true democracy even if it means being criticised and being beaten up by the police.
Sumona K, student For me democracy means freedom but today there is no freedom. We teenagers are always questioned; people have a problem with everything we do from chatting, using social media to personal choice of what to eat and whom to hang with. If this is not being accepted how will they accept our opinion and views?
Ajay S, IT employee
G Gundappa, shopkeeper
In the given context more than 50 per cent people do not vote. A true democracy is only when everyone votes and participate in the functioning of the State. To some extent it’s happening in India but real democracy will come into being only when the masses are awakened.
A few years ago the government would care for the poor and citizens who come under below the poverty line. Today looks like we are not a part of the system. We feature nowhere. The government is doing nothing, in what way is this democracy?
No curb for commerce
Postnoon News
feedback@postnoon.com
D
elicate power situation in the State has put more shackles on HT and LT users during peak hours. These measures are
being practiced not as a moral drive but as a desperate attempt by the DISCOMs to keep every functioning consumer sector of the power grid reasonably happy. According to a notification from the APERC, September and October
of 2012 are expected to fall short of 38 and 49 MU of power on a daily basis because of a monthly deficit of 1513 and 1177 MU. This has been attributed to the load growth on the grid, outages of thermal generating plants, non availability of hydel capacity and gas shortage. However, not all commercial establishments have come under the imposed restrictions. Emergency and important sectors like agricultural services, lift irrigation services, hospitals, police stations, nuclear fuel complex, cold storage plants and defence establishments have been spared. The Federation of AP chamber of commerce and industry has acceded to the restriction but it is keenly watching the situation, chamber sources said. In view of the forthcoming CoP-11 the State government has ensured a 24-hour supply during the 15 day event. “A meeting is being convened to discuss allotment of power schedules in the City during the CBD” said a member of the distribution operations from APTransco.
6
NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
CBI raids on Gali associates’ premises
Robbery on Delhi-bound train
T
A
he CBI today conducted searches on the premises of three associates of jailed mining baron G Janardhana Reddy at Hospet in the district as part of its probe into illegal export of iron ore. A 10-member CBI team searched the houses of Karapudi Mahesh, Swastik Nagaraj and Somasekhar, who runs a transport firm, all aides of Reddy, CBI sources said. Raids are being conducted in Sandur Taluk of mine-rich Bellary district also, they said.
FOES THEN, FRIENDS NOW
group of armed criminals looted cash and valuables from passengers on a train in Bihar’s Rohtas district early Saturday, injuring four people who tried to resist them, police said. The robbery took place on the Howrah-New Delhi Express in Rohtas, about 200 km from Patna.”The incident took place between Gaya railway station and Sasaram,” police said.
CLASSIFIED HOME APPLIANCES
Protest over Qur’an desecration
1 killed and dozens injured in police firing Angry mob burn down a police station and a number of vehicles in Ghaziabad’s Masuri town
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (left) is greeted by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee upon his arrival at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Friday. Mukherjee is on a three-day visit to his home state and his first visit to the state as the country’s president. AFP/DIBYANGSHU SARKAR
Manmohan Singh finds 7.9% growth commendable NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said that the conclusion of the 11th Plan with 7.9 per cent growth was “commendable”. Speaking at a Planning Commission meeting Saturday, the prime minister said the growth was laudable for a period “which saw two global slowdowns”. He said that the 12th Plan targets has been brought down from 9 percent to 8.2 percent, with agricultural growth at 4 percent. The prime minister said that poverty declined twice as fast between 2004-05 and 2009-10 than it did in the previous 10 years. “Our objective is not just growth of GDP, but growth that is inclusive and also sustainable,” Manmohan Singh said stressing on the inclusion of Dalits, tribals and backward classes in the growth.
GHAZIABAD: One man was killed in police firing and dozens injured when a mob, protesting the desecration of a Quran, burnt down a police station and a number of vehicles in Ghaziabad’s Masuri town, police said. Police said the irate members of Muslim community burnt the police station, set about five dozen public and private vehicles afire. They said a passerbye had on Friday evening found few pages of the Qur’an lying on the ground near Adhyatmik Nagar railway crossing and reportedly thrown from the moving train. The pages had abusive words written on them
as well as mobile number. The passer-bye contacted the senior persons of his community who reached the police
A PASSER-BYE HAD ON FRIDAY EVENING FOUND FEW PAGES OF THE QUR’AN LYING ON THE GROUND NEAR A RAILWAY CROSSING. station with a mob, burning it down, jamming traffic movement on National Highway24, and setting over five dozen public and private vehicles afire. However, a commu-
nity member said the violence ensued after police allegedly ignored the complaint of the desecration of the holy book. “Police personnel, instead of taking action, ignored the complaint,” said advocate and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ayub Ali. Police used force to disperse the mob, leading to the death and injuries. A senior police officer confirmed the incident. “Yes the mob have set the police station afire, jammed traffic on the national highway, burnt vehicles,” said Deputy Inspector General, Meerut, Zaki IANS Ahmed.
AQUARIUM
K Sudarshan passes away K Sudarshan, former chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), died of a heart attack in Raipur in Chhattisgarh early Saturday, an official said here. He was 81. He is survived by a brother. Sudarshan had been ailing for sometime and was under the care of an attendant. According to Vikas Telang, an official of RSS headquarters, Sudarshan had gone for his usual morning walk Saturday and later returned to the RSS headquarters in Raipur. Some RSS volunteers noticed that Sudarshan had fallen down while meditating in his room, said Telang.
Believing him to be asleep, they shook him but he was motionless. Later, a medico was summoned who confirmed Sudarshan dead. His body shall be brought to the RSS national headquarters in Nagpur Saturday evening and kept in its Reshim Baug premises, said Telang. The last rites will be conducted in Nagpur Sunday afternoon, he added. Sudarshan led the RSS between 2000-2009, before seeking voluntary retirement due to health problem. Sudarshan was born in Raipur (now in Chhattisgarh) in a Sanketi Brahmin family. IANS
PEST CONTROL
7
CLASSIFIED SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
TRAVEL
HEALTH / CLINIC
HEALTH / CLINIC
INTERIORS
ELECTRONICS
ART GALLERY
SAREES
To advertise on this page, contact:
F o r Secunderabad -9 2 9 0 2 0 4 0 3 0
Satish.K.B 9866074747
Fo r H y d e r a b a d - 9 8 6 6 6 6 3 2 1 2
For Cyberabad - 9866698879
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
RECRUITMENT
COMPUTERS
FURNITURE
8
COMMENT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Good show by police
Treat strays better
I
B
am glad to see that the Madhapur police are all set to make sure that the CoP is safe (Police ready, but city still a shambles, Sept 14). It’s high time our police force was given the hi-tech tools to allow them to do their job better. This sort of system should be kept in place even after the CoP has ended. Pratibha Rao via e-mail
oth the columns on yesterday’s Comment page made for interesting reading. I am from the UK and have been living and working in India for the best part of 10 years now. I am often appalled at the way people treat animals, especially stray dogs. Just because they are not pedigree does not mean you can abuse them. Simon Doughtrey via e-mail
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.
Engineering marvels
A
s an engineer I was delighted to see your Knowledge Central celebrating Engineers’ Day (ManMade Marvels, Sept, 14). It’s strange that your were the only newspaper to do so. For a country so besotted with engineers it’s strange how few people actually recognise their contribution. Samir Kashyap via e-mail
EDITORIALS DON’T LET GOVT CoP out of this! As CoP nears, the chaos on the streets of Hyderabad seems to grow exponentially. In typical fashion we’re more bothered about what the neighbours think, rather than taking care of our own family. Beautifying the City and doing up the roads (shoddy as that process may be) is all well and good, but why wait for a major international event to do so. Are the taxpayers living in the city not worth the GHMC and politicians’ time and effort? Do we not deserve good roads anyway, whether there’s a major event or not? The government has also stated that the CoP will not have to face any power shortages. What about the common man who suffers due to unannounced power outages, and has to mould his life to fit in with these cuts? It’s high time the citizens began to hold the government responsible for their apathy towards you who actually pay their salary. It’s high time we stood up for what are basic civic requirements. Vote bank politics may work on the ignorant, but we believe a majority of Hyderabad is well-informed and deserving of much more than what the inept GHMC and government are delivering at the moment. The only way the government and the civic authorities can show the local populace that they care about their needs is to make sure that life after CoP is one filled with good roads, uninterrupted power and more green cover. It’s a long shot, but without hope we’re nothing.
WHY WE LOVE... Will and Kate So the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided to go to war with French mag, Closer. Good for them. It’s high time the Brits lost that stiff upper lip and gave someone a fat one.
An act of faith Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR
T
hose who have strong faith believe that it can move mountains. Unconditional faith also rises above the rules we’ve created in order to institutionalise social stratification and social restriction. My house help, Mary, displayed similar strong unconditional faith last week when she saw a clay sculpture I had modeled over the weekend. It was the clay model of elephant God Ganesha, which I make every year a few weeks before the festival. When Mary came to work as usual on Monday morning, she saw the portly Ganesha model sitting on a small stool. She reacted instantly. She felt a surge of energy when she saw the Ganesha, and there were tears flowing down her cheeks. She couldn’t explain what she felt. I didn’t ask her to either
because these are emotions to be experienced. By verbalising them and trying to define them, we restrict the nature of these free-flowing emotions. Mary has seen me painting, gardening, cooking and doing pottery. But never before has she reacted to any of my crazy art experiments in this manner. She immediately ordered me to step aside and stand facing her. I didn’t question her and did as she told me to. She whispered what I thought were a few mantras while circling her arms around my aura. From my head to toe, without touching me, she was vigorously moving her hands clockwise and anticlockwise, bending down near my toes and stretching up above my head three times. Then, she cracked her knuckles on the floor. She was pleased with the sharp, popping sounds. In the traditional ritual of getting rid of the evil eye, the louder the sounds, the more protection the person gets from the evil eye. Once done, she just quickly moved on to the day’s chores. This ritual left me with a number of questions.
SOME RITUALS HAVE MORPHED WITH THE TIMES, AND INTO DIFFERENT RELIGIONS TO TAKE ON NEWER FORMS IN THEIR REPRESENTATION AND PRACTICE. Being a Christian, how is it that Mary follows these rituals, which are known to originate in Hinduism? Being an uneducated woman from a lower income group, how is it that her faith transcends the symbols, signs and lessons she is taught at church every Sunday morning? On deeper introspection, I realized that Mary’s action was the localised version of indigenous rituals. Some rituals have morphed with the times, and into different religions to take on newer forms in their representation and practice. But at the very core, they’re really what the people of that land believe in. New religious and thought
leaders come and go but these rituals stick on because of the faith of people. These rituals anchor us and, somewhere, give us a feeling of unity. Left to themselves, most believers would be happy to follow a faith that gives them a sense of purpose, makes them feel peaceful and calm within, and feels instinctively right. The list of dos and don’ts only complicate matters and goes against our very intuitive nature to live harmoniously. Mary displayed this instinct with her act of being overcome with emotion on seeing an idol she doesn’t even otherwise have faith in. Yes, there are many similarities in the teachings of both Hinduism and Christianity. Both religions believe in compassion, unconditional love, inner purity, harmlessness, prayer, forgiveness, egolessness, etc. For Mary to follow her instinct and act according to it is truly wonderful. The act broke all the shackles created by humans in the name of paths to God. She created her own path — one that’s full of faith and love.
9
COMMENT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Hurray for me! I’m in love with a complete idiot My World SHRADDHA JAHAGIRDAR-SAXENA
A
few weeks ago one of my friends – a lawyer with an auto giant – called me up and asked me if I could find out whether Anandi will marry Shiv (Collector Saab) or go back to her prodigal ex husband, Jagat. A question that is preying on the minds of those who watch the small screen soaps. The reason she asked me this question was because one of my other friends is a writer on the highly popular soap, Ballika Badhu. Naturally, I did not ask, for I knew that even if I did, the truth would be a well-kept secret till the twists and turns in the tale revealed it at a later date. But that small conversation showed me how involved quite a few of us – and I speak for the countless viewers of several serials popular and not so popular – are with the daily dramas that unfold on our small screens. Our new friends and family – and they have been so for a long time – are the characters that people the world of the idiot box and enter our homes with regularity. Having grown up watching a number of serials – the earliest ones I can remember are The Ramayan and The Mahabharata, our Sunday viewing – it was interesting to read that many
Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU
people actually lit agarbattis before their TVs before sitting down to watch the mythologicals. I may not have reached that limit of reverence for the small screen gods and goddesses but I do confess to having a fondness for a few characters and watching their tale with interest. The first was Tulsi – played by Smriti Z Iraani – who turned into an icon for several women. When I met her on the sets, I found her to be a fun-loving, down-to-earth woman. And, in fact, when we shot her, she was expecting a child and cheerfully wore dungarees for the shoot. Giving us fun shots and great angles and of course, an interesting conversation. The other character, Mr Bajaj, and his real life
Polo
IIT WAS INTERESTING TO READ THAT MANY PEOPLE LIT AGARBATTIS BEFORE THEIR TVS BEFORE SITTING DOWN TO WATCH THE MYTHOLOGICALS. avatar Ronit Roy. The former, a man of few words, the latter, more ebullient. In recent times, Ammaji – Meghna Malik – fascinated me. Her walk, her talk made her a figure one feared and respected on the small screen. But, once again, in real life, she created a marvelous picture in a chiffon sari, low cut blouse and short, attrac-
tive hair. She joined us one afternoon for lunch at a Sobo five star, taking time out from her tight shooting schedule and regaled us all with tales from the set, surprising other followers of her soap by her so much younger presence. Perhaps, I am growing older, but the actors today seem to be getting younger. Right now the girl who scores the highest is young Anandi in Balika Badhu. Played so effectively by Pratyusha Banerjee, this sarpanch of the village shows many young girls the way forward even as she battles the demons in her personal life. Right now, like many viewers I am waiting to see where her destiny takes her – to a newfound happiness or back to her first and perhaps lasting love. Strange are the ways of a woman’s heart. Speaking of small screen ‘characters’, I cannot forget to mention Barkha Dutt. A gutsy girl – bouquets and brickbats notwithstanding, she continues to hold her own, seeking out stories, making a difference in her unique way. Just as Aamir Khan did recently in his own way with Satyamev Jayate. There were those who did belittle his efforts but no one can deny that the Sunday watch was viewed for him – his face was the one that highlighted the problems that many of us face in different corners of the country. So, whether it is through its melodramatic soaps, news shows or chat programmes the small
screen grabs our attention – in some measure or the other. So what if it is an Anandi who urges women to improve their plight, a Simar who opts for surrogacy, a Jivika who makes a great sacrifice for her sister, a Barkha who turns the spotlight on the real world – and there are many more names that all of us could mention – television is a part of our world in more ways that we think. And that is simply because the characters and the plots touch our heart and emotions in different ways. As Isha Sharwani is doing with her seemingly boneless body in the dance show Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa every weekend. Her fans were sorely upset when she hurt her arm and could not perform. What will her fate be? Perhaps, this weekend will tell if she will continue or not. And of course, lest I forget the imports – Richard Castle, Nick Caffrey, his mentor Peter Burke…and the latest who has caught my attention – Meredith Grey! Not as close to us as our desi characters, but interesting enough to keep you gripped. More power to the ‘idiot box’ that has often given us a wake-up call, bonded us in our wins and losses, showed us different roads that can be followed – in short, this way or that shaken and stirred us to feel, to think and to act. The writer is currently Executive Editor, VERVE magazine.
Global edits The New York Times (USA)
No rush to war
A
mid the alarming violence in the Arab world, a new report about the costs of a potential war with Iran got lost this week. It says an attack by the United States could set back Iran’s nuclear program four years at most, while a more ambitious goal — ensuring Iran never reconstitutes its nuclear program or ousting the regime — would involve a multiyear conflict that could engulf the region. Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is trying to browbeat President Obama into a pre-emptive strike. On Tuesday, he demand-
ed that the United States set a red line for military action and said those who refuse “don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.” Later, Mr. Obama telephoned him and rejected the appeal. On Friday, Mr. Netanyahu suggested in an interview that Israel cannot entirely rely on the United States to act against Iran’s program. The best strategy is for Israel to work with the United States and other major powers to tighten sanctions while pursuing negotiations on a deal. It is a long shot, but there is time to talk. And that’s where the focus must be.
PICK YOUR
@
Across Stores
ities Twin C
10
BUSINESS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Yamaha unveils Ray
US hails India for reforms
C
orporate America and media have hailed India's economic reforms as a welcome signal to investors and a push to boost the nation's economy. New Delhi's resolve to open the door to FDI in retail and aviation "serves as an assurance to investors that its economic liberalisation agenda is back on track,' said the US-India Business Council.
SBH celebrates Hindi Day
Y
H
amaha unveiled its sporty and stylish scooter, RAY, in Hyderabad yesterday. With Ray, the company formally announced its entry into the rapidly growing Indian scooter segment. RAY is the first Yamaha model to enter India’s scooter segment and is strategically positioned to have 20 per cent share in the scooter segment by 2016.
indi Day was celebrated jointly by the Head Office and Gunfoundry Branch of State Bank of Hyderabad in Prabhat Towers on Friday. Winners of Hindi competitions conducted and bank employees were given prizes by the chief guest and bank officials. Durgesh Nandini, HOD (Hindi), Osmania University, was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
Making learning fun
With Edutor products, Ram Gollamudi and his associates hope to make education more interactive and fun for students across the country. M ANIL KUMAR
er big challenge.” “Another fear parents have is that their children will spend their time playing games on the tablets. But a tablet can be customised to access only those sites that parents want their children to,” he explains. The company also offers features like Soduku, Kindle, interactive textbooks, Cambridge dictio-
PRUDHVI RAJU K
prudhvi.k@postnoon.com
P
rasanna Boni, Ramesh Karra, Ram Gollamudi, all alumni of IIT Madras, along with Sravan Nasipuram, got together to turn what was impossible into possible. Their dream was to build an interactive learning solution on touch devices for students to make studying intuitive, enjoyable and fun. Their objective was to help millions of students discover and learn more and make e-learning affordable. That is how Edutor came about. “The idea was to help students learn better with these devices. We want to build our platform on tablets as they are portable, easy to carry, intuitive and at the same time personal. Students can carry this wherever they want and can be a portable tool for effective learning,” says Ram Gollamudi. Talking about his entrepreneurial journey, Ram said, “After passing out from IIT, Madras, I left for the US and did my MS from Iowa State University followed by an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. After working with multiple technology start up companies for 14 years I returned to India. Once here, I wanted to do something on my own. I discussed ideas with other co-founders to venture in to business in April 2010.” Ram adds, “A strong enterprise cannot be built by a single individual. There is a lot of effort needed from indi-
nary, encyclopedia Britannica, question bank and some yoga and cricket material. “The tablet works seamlessly offline and gets updated through cloud whenever the student goes online. This also helps monitor a child’s progress,” he says. The company is not merely looking for a breakeven but to reach a
larger customer base. “Our goal is to reach 10 million students in the next 5-6 years. We make some money for every tablet sold, but the amount of investment put in is much more. We are checking, if we can use the Aakash 3 for our content and work with the government to make this product affordable for more students,” he says.
TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL US ON 80082 00713
or SMS „Postnoon‰ to 56161 Ram Gollamudi, co-founder, Edutor year to integrate learning material as per n Product Price: school syllabus in touch `8,000 with one year screen devices. This subscription includes digitised textn Subscription cost: books, multi-media mate`1,500 to `3,000 (IIT) rial, interactive conceptmaps and assessment. n Offered from: Class For instance, there is a III to class XII seamless communication n Syllabus: SSC, ICSE, between teachers and CBSE, IGCSE student. They can easily share content with stun First generation dents with the click of a product deployed: button,” he says. 40 schools The company develn Second generation ops 30 per cent of the content in-house and the product deployed: rest is got from various 12 schools and content developers. “We institutes want to bring the best of n Target: 70 schools content, which is develnext year oped for different platforms like PC and smart n Students using boards. We have a tie-up product: 5,000 with Next education, Pearson and text book viduals with multiple publishers for the conskill sets to make things tent,” Ram says. possible, which we are Talking about chaltrying to do at Edutor.” lenges, he says, “It was The company has always challenging to developed a first generaattract and convince tion product, Edutor potential employees with Advantage Home our vision and to make Learning Device and them grow along with deployed it to 2,500 stuthe company. Educating dents from class III to students, teachers and class X in 2011. “We parents about the launched Augmented strengths of e-learning Classroom Solution this and the product is anoth-
5
/095 Rs.1 9/: e c 4 r Pri Rs.5 Cove r Price: : 50% g e f n f i O l Sav Tota
A FRESH NEW POINT OF VIEW You can also call or email us at:
040 - 4067 2222 subscription@postnoon.com
11
WORLD SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Birthday boy Romney
2 men held for eating cash
C
olombia police said Friday they have arrested two men who had each ingested about $40,000 before trying to enter the country, in what may be a novel form of money laundering. The men were detained separately during the past week at the international airport in Colombia's second city of Medellin and were on flights arriving from Costa Rica.
2 US marines killed
U
T
S Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hands NBC producer Scott Foster a piece of cake as he celebrates his birthday aboard the Romney campaign plane en route to Boston on September 14. US President Barack Obama is leading Mitt Romney by three points, a new opinion poll shows. AFP
wo US Marines were killed in an attack Saturday on the military post in southern Afghanistan where Britain's Prince Harry is based, officials said, while adding he was "not in any danger". The attack, involving small arms and mortar or rocket fire, started around midnight local time (1930 GMT Friday), sources with the Nato told AFP.
Six die in anti-US protests
Tension flares in Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Sudan as cops struggle to contain riots Ripple effect n
n
n
n
An Egyptian protester standing amid a fog of tear gas prepares to throw stones towards policemen during a demonstration against a film mocking Islam in Cairo on September 14, 2012.
KHARTOUM: Furious protesters targeted symbols of US influence in cities across the Muslim world on Friday, attacking embassies, schools and restaurants in retaliation for a film that mocks Islam. At least six protesters died in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Sudan as local police battled to defend American missions from mobs of stone-throwers, and Washington deployed US Marines to protect its embassies in Libya and Yemen. The protests broke out when Muslims emerged from mosques following weekly prayers to
voice their anger at a crude film made in the United States by a right-wing Christian group that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed. Clashes or demonstrations were reported from as far apart as Mauritania and Indonesia. Troops in Nigeria fired live rounds in the flashpoint city of Jos and Egyptian police fought street battles in downtown Cairo. In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, guards on the roof of the US embassy fired warning shots as the compound was breached by protesters waving Islamic banners, after earlier
ransacking parts of the British and German missions. Tunisian demonstrators, meanwhile, set fire to several vehicles and an American school during a failed attack on the main embassy compound, and in Lebanon, 300 Islamists set fire to a branch of the US fast food chain KFC. In Washington, President Barack Obama welcomed home the bodies of four US officials who were killed on Tuesday when armed militants stormed the consulate in Benghazi, cradle of last year's Western-backed Libyan revolu-
The UN Security Council strongly condemned Friday attacks on US and other Western embassies and consulates. resident Barack Obama vowed Friday to "stand fast" against spreading anti-US violence raging in the Arab world. The United States is working with Middle East and North African nations, particularly Tunisia and Sudan, to beef up security at its missions hit by violent protests, US officials said Friday. 53 police officers were injured during clashes outside the US embassy in Cairo where demonstrators decried a USmade film that mocks Islam, security sources said.
tion. "Their sacrifice will never be forgotten, we will bring to justice those who took them from us. We will stand fast against the violence on our diplomatic missions," Obama said at Andrews Air Force Base. The fighting brought foreign policy back to the heart of the debate in the US presidential race, and on Friday also clouded the start of Pope Benedict XVI's three-day visit to Lebanon to promote Muslim-Christian coexistence.
Inflammatory film made by porn movie director LOS ANGELES: The inflammatory anti-Islam film that has triggered rioting across the Muslim world was produced by a US religious group called Media for Christ and reportedly directed by a pornographer. The man apparently behind the film — entitled Innocence of Muslims on its 14-minute YouTube trailer — is a US-based Egyptian Copt and fraudster who may have violated his parole, US officials said Friday. The film was directed by 65year-old Alan Roberts, a veteran whose prior oeuvre was dominated by schlock soft porn and hammy action with titles like Young Lady Chatterley II and Karate Cop, according to website Gawker. Gawker interviewed members of the cast of Innocence of Muslims, who say they were duped into appearing in what they thought was a fictional epic, only to discover their lines had been dubbed over with anti-Muslim propaganda. Roberts's casting call lists the leading roles as George, Condalisa and Hillary, but in the finished version, the script was doctored to make them represent the Prophet Mohammed and figures from the Koran. The film was promoted by a network of right-wing Coptic and Evangelical Christians with a radical anti-Muslim agenda, like Egyptian American provocateur Morris Sadek and Terry Jones, a Florida pastor notorious for pubAFP licly burning a Koran.
Brahmini set to meet Assad
Finally, China VP Xi Jinping surfaces
16 dead in drug cartel war
DAMASCUS: International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was set to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus Saturday, hoping to breathe life into stalled peace efforts. On Friday Brahimi met Syrian opposition figures who said he was bringing "new ideas" to the peace effort, as blasts rocked Damascus and regime air strikes targeted rebel areas in Aleppo. Brahimi held talks with opposition groups tolerated by Assad's regime such as the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change. "We told Mr Brahimi... of our support for his efforts to resolve the crisis by ending the violence and killings, providing medical care and releasing political prisoners," Hassan Abdel Azim, the bloc spokesman, said.
BEIJING: China's Vice President Xi Jinping has made
MEXICO CITY: A total of 16 dead bodies were found
his first public appearance in two weeks, state media said Saturday, following swirling speculation about the whereabouts of Beijing's leader-in-waiting. Xi had not been seen in public since September 1 and cancelled meetings with four foreign dignitaries including visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, giving rise to intense speculation about his health. The vice president arrived at China Agricultural University Saturday morning for "activities marking this year's National Science Popularisation Day", state-run news agency Xinhua said. His unexplained disappearance came at a highly sensitive time for China, which is gearing up for a generational handover of power.
Friday in northern Mexico as a war between drug cartels over lucrative delivery routes to the United States continued to take its toll. Nine of the dead were found hanging from a bridge in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, a killing spree authorities blamed on drug gang violence. A Mexican drug cartel claimed responsibility for the murders, a state government official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He did not say which cartel. Some 40 percent of Mexican exports sent by land to the United States cross through Nuevo Laredo, making the town a choice site for drug smugglers. "The nine bodies were hanging from a bridge on Colosio Boulevard," the official said.
12
TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
APP OF THE WEEK
Fluffless here is no shortage of project management tools on the web, but this one targets freelancers. You can create projects, assign them to particular users and create tasks and to-do lists under each project.
T
Robin
MOBILE GAME REVIEW HOMERUN BATTLE 3D
R
obin is the first true Siri challenger. We love the expanded capabilities of the newer virtual assistant. You can ask Robin for directions, local places, traffic info, weather, your Twitter news, and much more.
A straight-forward baseball game in which all you do is bat.The objective is to score points by hitting homeruns and basehits. It’s as easy as it comes and you just need to tap the screen at the right moment. Available for iOS and Android.
Disappointed by iPhone 5?
What is it about the new iPhone that is making tech enthusiasts worldwide say “boo”? Is it the lack of features or is there something more to it? BALANARAYAN NT
balanarayan.nt@postnoon.com
D
id you watch Tim Cook and Phil Schiller present the iPhone 5 on Wednesday and get utterly disappointed? Did you think that their products weren’t revolutionary anymore? You’re not alone; there were millions ranting on Twitter after the announcement saying the same thing, but everyone seems to have missed the point. The phone is more revolutionary than iPhone 4 — remember that device? When the iPhone 4 launched, the biggest feature was multitasking. Take a moment and let that seep in; two years back, when Steve Jobs came on stage to introduce the all new glass-coated all-black iPhone 4, he made multitasking sound revolutionary. So was it? No, it was only evolutionary. The hardware looked impressive in comparison to iPhone 3Gs; it looked thinner, had a better resolution screen, 5 megapixel camera that could record video at 720p, a faster processor, gyroscopic sensor and support for bluetooth keyboards. Oh yes, the rear camera also had a flash now. Were the features good? Yes, but purely in terms of specs. Was it better than other phones in the market then? No it wasn’t! However, what made iPhone 4 better than Android phones in the market then was the refined OS and the new features it packed. The OS has been improved further and a new look was created. Now users could create folders (OMG... but Android had that from the beginning) and set-up custom wallpapers (all mobile OSes supported this feature) — none of which are revolutionary. The ‘one more thing’ was FaceTime, which let iOS users make video calls, which was really cool, except Skype already existed and they did it better. The only unique feature was Game Centre, which was like Xbox Live and let users compare their scores with their friends and play competitively. iPhone 5 matches iPhone 4 in terms of hardware improvements. The new device
has a bigger 4-inch screen which has a resolution of 16:9, a smaller 9-pin dock connector called Lightning and a new A6 chipset at its heart making iPhone 5 the first device to run on ARMs A15 chip. The new phone was thinner, lighter, supported 4G LTE, yet offers the same battery life as the older device and that is impressive. The software updates is what most users are not happy with. The phone now supports panoramic photos (a feature introduced by Android two years back), better video recording with image stabilisation, new Maps app with turn-by-turn navigation and 3D buildings (replace-
ing Google Maps), improved Game Center with live multiplayer game support, improved Safari browser with full-screen support and sync between Apple devices (much like Chrome sync), passbook for making payments (no NFC yet) and improved Photostream in which users could comment on friends’ photos. Apart from these updates, Siri has become smarter, but most of those features will still not be supported in India. Yet everyone seems to be disappointed
PERHAPS IT IS NOT THE DEVICE ITSELF THAT HAS DISAPPOINTED PEOPLE; IT IS THE LACK OF SURPRISE THAT ANGERED THEM. AFTER ALL, THAT’S WHAT APPLE IS KNOWN FOR. with iPhone 5 though it has a significant hardware update and a few decent OS updates. Perhaps it is not the device itself that has disappointed people; it is the lack of surprise that is angering people. After all, that’s what Apple is known for. Almost all the details of iPhone 5 were out before it launched. Everyone knew about the larger screen, the new dock connector, the LTE support; the only factor that wasn’t leaked was the chipset, which Postnoon incidentally came close to guessing. Apart from the surprise element, there is also the Android factor. Two years back, Android was still a clunky OS. However, now it is a slick OS and with the Jelly Bean update, Android has become a great competitor to iOS in terms of functionality and ease of use. With the ground shrinking around them, everyone expected Apple to come up with some feature which would put them in the lead against Android. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time around. With iOS 6, Apple is doing something different — they are slowly reducing their dependence on Google, moving on to their own services and improving integration with Facebook and Twitter. Those features might be small now, but Apple believes it’ll pay off in the long run. It’s like the company suddenly realised the importance of controlling location specific information and how it could help them as a company.
13
ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
PET NEWS Two pets to wed
A
Miniature Pinschers
New monkey found
pet wedding will take place on September 23 at Bayshore Drive. The ceremony will be at noon, with a reception to follow, including live music and dancing. Proceeds will benefit the Humane Society of Pinellas.
A
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
shy, brightly coloured monkey species has been found living in the rainforests in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a find that utterly surprised the researchers who came upon it.
M
iniature Pinschers are strictly for experienced dog owners. It is an assertive, outgoing, active and independent breed. They are good watch dogs, are alert and wary of strangers.
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
Those besotted with their pets are showing their love by treating them to body massages, colouring, streaking and more.
Pamper your pets in style
AMY ROSE THOMAS
amyrose.t@postnoon.com
T
here isn’t anyone who wouldn’t mind a special treat once in a while. The same goes for your fourlegged and feathered friends. Pet owners in the City are not thinking twice before treating their pets to spa and grooming sessions and treating them in style. And the place many are heading to is Nails n Tails, a pet grooming parlour, which offers services ranging from spa, grooming and colouring. Owner Aditi Sharma (right) says that it was the love she had for animals that prompted her to start the parlour. “I always had a passion for animals. It was a decision I had taken long back that whatever I become in my life, at one point of time, I would like to do something for them. One fine day, I came up with the idea of opening a grooming parlour for animals. I have four dogs at home and never could get enough time to give a bath to the dogs. The whole process of giving them a bath takes 45 minutes in the least. And if you have more than one dog, then bathtime becomes a nightmare. I was living my nightmare and that is when I thought that others in my position will be feeling the same,” she says. A wide range of services are being offered to dogs and cats at the parlour, including hair cut, nail and teeth cleaning, colouring, streaking and body massages. She also runs a pet boutique at the parlour, where she gets dresses and frocks for pets from Korea, UK, Malaysia, Singapore and the US. “Apart from these services, we are also coming up with something called Pawdicure,
which is like a pedicure. When a dog is a puppy, their paws are very tender and soft but as and when the dog grows, their paws become very hard. So with
pawdicure, we intend to soften and moisturize their paws. After that, we plan to introduce facials for pets,” she says. Bathing a pet is a hassle
especially because they are paranoid about this and try all the tricks in the book to get away. It’s worse when a stranger is trying to give the animal a bath.
These are some of the problems that Aditi faces at the parlour. “The only time a dog goes outside is when it is going for a walk or visiting a vet. So, when they are brought here, their first reaction is that they are at the vet’s and they freak out. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for them to calm down and for us to convince them that we are not going to hurt them. Some are very friendly and clearly enjoy the bath and grooming sessions. They keep licking us and are curious rather than angry. Some others are not that friendly. They are never convinced and are ferocious when we try to touch them. There are times when they like one person at the parlour, so we do the ‘good boss bad boss’ thing to get them through the sessions. But this situation changes with time and by the third or fourth time, they begin to trust us and make friends. Compared to dogs, cats are snappy and more difficult to handle,” she says. At the same time, there are some pet owners who are not as loving. “I have had more than three costumers asking me to cut off their puppy’s teeth so that they wouldn’t bite anyone when they grow older,” she says.
14
BOOKS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
SHORT READS Title: This is how you lose her Author: Junot Diaz Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover The Pulitzer Prize winning author turns his attention to impossible love in all its forms in this collection of short stories. Exploring longing, weakness and heartbreak, Junot Diaz taut fiction will wring the hearts of the readers.
Title: The Malice of Fortune Author: Michael Ennis Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group The Borgias, a scheming pope, a beautiful courtesan and Niccolò Machiavelli teaming up with Leonardo da Vinci to catch a deadly serial killer... do you need more reasons to read this book? Early 16th century Italy comes to life under Michael Ennis's skilful pen.
Title: The Price of Politics Author: Bob Woodward Publisher: Simon and Schuster Bob Woodward, who won a Pulitzer for exposing the Watergate scandal, is back with another political novel. He examines the political situation in the US against the debt crisis negotiations of 2011.
Title: The Wildings Author: Nilanjana Roy Publisher: Aleph Book Company A small band of cats prowls around an old neighbourhood in Delhi. The members of the tribe fear no one, go where they please and do what they want to, until their lives are disrupted by the appearance of kitten with remarkable powers.
The call of the water
Every once in a while there comes along a book aimed at teens, a good blend of ancient myth and modern-day fiction. But then who said a book need be limited to a specific age group? RANJANI RAJENDRA
rajani.r@postnoon.com
I
f a Harry Potter could be enjoyed by children and adults alike, then there’s no reason why a Wake cannot do the same. The first instalment of Amanda Hocking’s Wake series, Watersong, is one such book. A refreshing change from the usual thrillers and murder mysteries, this book juxtaposes ancient Greek mythology with modern times. Sixteen- year-old Gemma is the school swim team’s star member and she’s working hard to try and make it to the next Olympics. Despite her father and older sister Harper’s disapproval, Gemma
loves going for her late night swims at Anthemusa Bay in Capri, her hometown. It’s the one time she feels like she’s one with the water and completely at peace. Life for Gemma is just as regular as it is for any American teenager, coming to terms with growing up and trying to do things she likes to all within the boundaries set by her father. At the same time there’s Alex, her sister’s best friend, who all of a sudden seems to be transforming from a geek to a good looking young man and is definitely interested in Gemma and she can’t help but feel the same. Just as Gemma and Alex’s budding romance begins to blossom enter the three sirens — Thea, Lexi and Penn. All drop dead gorgeous and assumed to be Canadian movie stars holidaying in Capri, there’s something about
them that unnerves Gemma and Harper. Around the time of their arrival comes news of youngsters beginning to go missing, usually boys, never to be found again. For reasons that baffle Gemma, the three girls take an unusual amount of interest in her and want to benefit her. Then one night, Gemma fails to return home, leaving Harper worried sick. The next morning they find her entangled in a net like no other, near the bay. While Gemma seems otherwise fine, something’s changed. She’s gotten even more beautiful and has powers she didn’t possess before. Even as she’s learning what she’s truly become, she is now required to make a tough choice. Either leave with the sirens and answer the call of the water or stay behind and die and watch her family be destroyed too. While the plot in
itself is interesting, Hocking does like to leave her readers hanging, waiting for more, without easily giving away much. Her writing
style is easy and clean. For those with a taste for Greek mythology, this book will definitely tantalise the reader in you. What I thought the book lacked was pace. Most of the book is taken up just describing Gemma’s life and not much is revealed about her transformation until the end. Though not quite as thrilling as Potter zooming on broomsticks, Wake has its own charm. One that makes you want to listen to the elusive watersong. Worth a read.
Name Wake Author Amanda Hocking Pages 320 Publisher Pan
Who will guard the guardians? Arun Koshy Philip arun.k@postnoon.com
A
reclusive journalist with a good nose for news, a history professor, a police inspector, RAW, ISI, a dead white man, nuclear weapons and overlapping conspiracies — The Shadow Throne packs a lot in its cloak-and-dagger plot to keep you riveted. The backdrop is set in the current Indian political scenario. The Central government is paralysed by coalition compulsions and myriad scandals. The higher echelons of the security apparatus are unmonitored and caucuses have formed. With little monitoring, a daring plan has been set in motion and
When there are wheels within wheels, none have control. lives of millions are at stake. Freelance journalist Chandrasekhar answers a call from his acquaintance, inspector Hassan, and visits Qutab Minar, where a white man’s corpse is lying. For others, it might look like a suicide but the veterans have their doubts. Even before a day passes, the gamut of the incident changes as Hassan is taken off and all related material is confiscated — by the Research and Analysis Wing. Soon the scribe, teacher and cop find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy involving state and
non-state actors and international players. A force that was believed to have vanished in the course of history has made a comeback and will play a pivotal role in the scheme of things. A search begins with utmost urgency, and so does a chase. The stakes are high, lives are at stake — the players will kill without hesitation. Aroon Raman has done an excellent job in capturing all the elements in the most convincing manner. The political landscape and security concerns are presented through a pragmatic perspective without the usual nationalistic
gung-ho one usually finds in this genre of fiction. Attention has been paid to detail and each character adds to the feel of the story without being obtrusive with the depth of their roles.
Name The Shadow Throne Author Aroon Raman Pages 338 Publisher Pan Macmillan
15
BOOKS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
An American Era nears the end America may not have the ‘decades’ some feel it requires to rid the national psyche of the moss collected over the last few decades. THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET THAT WILL SUDDENLY FIX OUR SCHOOLS. WE TOOK DECADES TO GET INTO THIS PROBLEM, AND IT IS GOING TO TAKE DECADES TO GET OUT OF IT. John Hennessy, president of Stanford
DEAN WILLIAMS
dean@postnoon.com Name Time to Start Thinking: American and the Spectre of Decline Author Edward Luce Pages 291 Publisher Hachette India
T
hat America has been standing at crossroads for the better part of the late-90s and much of this century is well-known. But what is the crossroads, and what does the world’s most powerful nation’s stagnation mean to its people? In Edward Luce’s insightful and often scathing indictment of
how the US lost its way in an increasingly-competitive global market, the author charts a trajectory that is so steeply descending at the moment that the crater it will leave if the fall is not arrested may result in an almost existential crisis. Much of America’s fall in terms of manufacturing output, scientific innovation, and educational quality is a study in selfdestruction. The ‘fail harder’ principle that saw the Silicon Valley boom in the 80s and early90s has given way to a ‘never fail’ doctrine that preaches at innovators to cease innovation and look at merely improving existing technologies. The doctrine, embedded in the psyche of financial institutions that have replaced the venture capitalists that enabled the rise of the likes of Google, Facebook, and Apple, has seen the US slide down the scale of global innovation. China, South Korea and Taiwan have filled the space vacated by the once-giant to capture the technology market making the US a has-been in every sense of the word.
The problem, according to Naren Gupta, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, lies with the new investor, who is invariably a former banker. “They think very differently from entrepreneurs,” he tells Luce, “They look back at what has worked and put money into that. They don’t believe in deferred gratification.” Both Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist and Internet founder Robert Kahn (now Chairman, CEO and President of Corporation for National Research Initiatives) believe that America’s scientific heyday began with the creation of the government-funded Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) in the 70s. It was from DARPA that emerged ARPANET (the precursor to the Internet and its founding stone). “If DARPA [read government] had withdrawn support in the 1980s, there would have been no Internet,” says Cerf, “The private sector would not have had the patience or the firepower to fill DARPA’s shoes.” But as the Cold War ended and the overarching fear of a nemesis receded so did the US government’s backing of big science and technological projects. The writing was on the wall when in 1993 Washington
refused to put up the cash for a supercollider particle accelerator project in Texas. The Europeans had no such qualms and the result was CERN just outside Geneva. Even at the grassroots level America is being nipped at its Achilles tendon by its creaking and often obsolete education system. Almost half of America’s students fail to complete their college degrees in the allotted time. Almost a third drop out. Barack Obama has sought to change that scenario, but a Congress rabidly opposed to his presidency has prevented him from doing so. Obama hoped that America would once again “outinnovate and outeducate” the rest of the world, and believes that by 2020 the US would once again lead the world in ratio of graduates to workforce. But even after all that, the facts paint a grim picture. “There is no magic bullet that will suddenly fix our schools,” John Hennessy, president of Stanford, tells Luce, “We took decades to get into this problem, and it is going to take decades to get out of it.” But America may not have the ‘decades’ some feel it requires to rid the national psyche of the moss collected over the last few decades. As politics gets in the way of innovation, the likes of China and South Korea are drawing more innovative talent away from America. Even India, more a services industry than an innovation one, is seeing a number of its citizens return to jobs at home. The sun is rising in the East, and if America doesn’t act fast, it may very well set permanently on the West.
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 Angel of the Dark by Tilly Bagshawe
n Turning Points by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
n Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
n Obama’s America by Dinesh D'Souza
n Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James
n Breakout Nations by Ruchir Sharma
n Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
n Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi
n Eat Delete by Pooja Makhija
n The beautiful mystery by Louise Penny
n Govinda by Krishna Udayasankar
n What Young India Wants by Chetan Bhagat
n Just Married, Please Excuse by Yashodhara Lal
n Jugaad Innovation by Navi Radjou & Others
n Last to die by Tess Gerritsen
n Wild by Cheryl Strayed
n Bones are forever by Kathy Reichs
n Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
n The light between oceans by ML Stedman
n Paterno by Joe Posnanski
18
WOMEN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK www.getthefive.com Here creativity is explored and out-ofthe-box thinking is encouraged. The Five is a great way of keeping abreast of news of creative endeavours around the world.
www.metacritic.com The content selection at Metacritic is broad and the reviews on movies, TV serials and games are, for most parts, balanced. You might not find too much on offbeat stuff here.
www.foodily.com: Food, I Love You is a drool-worthy site. It works as a recipe aggregator, helping you find how to make that perfect pasta. Keep track of what your friends are cooking as well.
A catalyst for change
Padmasri Lagadapati is always on the lookout for platforms through which she can help women because according to her, empowering them is the only way forward. She has undertaken this through an NGO called Help. DEEPAK DESHPANDE Amy Rose Thomas
All About Eve
FLEME VARKEY
F
amyrose.t@postnoon.com
S
he has made all the right noises to get the voices of the unheard to the forefront. Be it during her tenure as an executive member of the SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneur Council in 2009 and 2010 or now, with her involvement in the upliftment and development of girl children through NGO Help, Padmasri Lagadapati lives by the motto of helping those who are in need of help. She is the wife of politician Rajagopal Lagadapati, the daughter of the late union minister Parvathaneni Upendra and the director of Lanco Horizon Properties Private Ltd. Despite hailing from such an illustrious family, she lets her work speak for her. “I am always on the lookout for platforms to help people. It was my father who taught me that politics is a great platform for this work, provided you are not corrupt,” she says. Padmasri says that the idea to start the NGO Help came about when five friends got together to talk about the increase in the number of girl dropouts from schools. “Five of us — Sarita Reddy, Sakuna Reddy, Leena Joseph, Heera Rupani and me — had met up and we got talking. We realised that it was high time that we did something other than just talk about it. So, we went ahead and got the NGO registered and have been working together ever since,” she says. The foremost reason why girls dropped out of schools at a young age was the dearth of toilets in government schools. After realising the same, Help has been focusing on this aspect. “We wanted to know the reason why girls were dropping out and we found that mostly it is at a time when they came of age. Since then, we have been narrowing down schools and building toilets for them. Once we began this phase, we stumbled upon another problem;
The writing on my wall
THE CV Last book read: True Believer by Nicholas Sparks
Last movie watched: I saw the movie Gabbar Singh for the sixth time two days ago. I am a big fan of Pawan Kalyan. Motto in life: I believe in being genuine, rational and helpful. Inspiration: My father former union minister Parvathaneni Upendra. He was an inspiration not just to me but for many others. Politics is in my blood and I studied political science and public administration in college. I would love to enter the field one day to bring about changes in the society.
most of the kids studying in these schools were not toilet trained. We have tied up with other schools to provide the kids in government schools with the necessary training,” she adds. The NGO is also associated with providing accommodation to 100 women who were rescued from the streets. “We came across a man who had rescued about 100 women from prostitution and was going through a tough time because of the lack of space. We helped him build a floor above his house so that there is enough room for the women. Most of the women living there were mentally and visually challenged,” she reveals. Padmasri feels strongly that empowering and making them independent is the only way to get those who are rescued from prostitution from relapsing and getting back to the same profession. “As part of SAARC, I participated in various programmes that ensured that girls do not get back to the same life. Most
of the times, girls go back to selling their bodies, since that’s the only profession they know of and this gives them easy money. As part of SAARC, we had provided these women with training so that they could make money sitting at home. The programme was a tie-up with an Italian company and the girls here make lace for them. We had initiated a similar programme for women prisoners as well. Empowering them can only ensure that they do not relapse and go back to their old lives,” she says. According to her, youngsters today are enthusiastic about social work but most of them are in it for the certificates and not because they truly want to make a difference in the society. “I think what’s missing in the youth is that they do not put their heart into the work they do. They should work for the underprivileged but not for the sake of certificates and a seat in a swanky foreign university but for their inner happiness,” she signs off.
acebook can be a saviour as well as a curse. More a bane than anything else. I visit the site sparingly but when I do, I am faced with the many weaknesses of our kind. A friend of mine got married when she was out of college, she is rich and has bagged an even richer husband. She makes it a point to let the world know about her whereabouts — where they are honeymooning, holidaying or even sitting. Earlier, my wall used to be tagged with pictures of her and husband cavorting in Maldives and Sri Lanka, how she celebrates her monthly marriage anniversary. Now, a mother, she posts pictures of her son’s monthly birthday, apart from the usual anniversary pictures. If this was not enough, a newly wedded acquaintance has decided to tell the world about what she is cooking for her husband, the colour of her walls at home, the time she fights with her husband and her family insisting on calling her the ideal bahu and daughter. A lot of air kissing also happens. And to my bad luck, a lot of my friends have taken to doing just that; giving minute-tominute updates about their ohso-interesting lives. My Facebook page makes me often wonder about women’s need to seek attention. A new haircut or a phone inspires almost 50 comments. In fact, I have had friends tag me on random pictures of cartoons and take offence if I do not like the picture or even comment on it. A guy friend went to the extent of asking me ‘instead of telling me what you want to say, why don’t you comment on my picture for the world to see?’ He probably understands that language better. So thankfully, this attention-seeking behaviour is not limited to women alone. For all such people out there, I have only this to say, ‘No one is bothered if your little toe is paining or wants to know what colour shorts you are wearing’. Privacy is a luxury few can afford.
19
SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
A night of fun
1
When you have friends and a glass of the best spirits, 10 D is the place to be.
Fashionable cocktail
DEEPAK DESHPANDE
1
Tease at Vivanta by Taj on Friday launched some of its signature cocktails at a grand event. Also launched was the Nawabi collection by Italian designer brand Canali.
DEEPAK DESHPANDE
2
3
4 2
1 Daniel, Sushma & Deepa 2 Actor Vishal 3 Actor Santhu & Rajesh 4 Actor Uday
1 Karen Bhatia 2 Radhika, Anand
5 Deepthi Reddy 6 Sunny, Kashish
3 Rohit Reddy, Asmita Marwa
7 Amruta 8 Priti Reddy, Deepika
4 Rekha, Sandeep
5
6
7
5 Mitali, Tanvi 6 Sravan, Sunena
3
4
8
5
6
An evening of art, fashion and history 1
Sanskruti, Ladies Club celebrated its annual dinner with a fashion show by renowned royal designer Umang Hutheesing. He also spoke about the rich Indian heritage of textiles. On the occasion he displayed his Durbar collection. The dinner was held at Taj Krishna.
2
3
1 Umang Hutheesing 2 Priti 3 Tanvi
5
6 Apeksha 7 Vandana & Simran 8 Bela & Praful
4 Sakshi 5 Athithi
7
4
9 Prachi, Adithi 10 Munmun, Pradeep
8
9
10
6
DEEPAK DESHPANDE
20
RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
I AM ALL EARS
M
y girlfriend is a huge fan of Twilight. Hero-worship is okay but now she wants me to behave like that Pattinson guy too. Even in bed. I keep telling her its fantasy and that she better get her act togther, but none of it is working. How do I tell her that I want to leave her? Please help.
LOVE AMONG ANIMALS
Dear harrowed kid, Well Robert Pattinson had that coming. First his girlfriend cheats on him and now other women want a piece of him. Your girlfriend is just going through a phase, I am sure with some help she will be ok. Thinking of leaving her is no answer to your problems. Instead behave like she wants you to and get your message across. Tell her Edward would do that if he were you. Slowly when she realises the dream is iver, she will be back.
You deserve better Anyone who has had their share of dating will definitely have gone through the It’s not you, it’s me routine. But is there any better way to say it?
Fleme Varkey fleme.v@postnoon.com
B
arney Stinson the Playboy of the popular sitcom How I met Your Mother talks of Barney’s Dump of Fame on his blog. He mentions that the award went to Ted Moseby, his friend on the show, for dumping his girlfriend on the answering machine and that too on her birthday. And if you thought this is television, well Nitin actually took Ted’s doing a bit too seriously and did exactly that to his girlfriend of three years. Needless, to say the girl was distraught, but breaking up and meeting new people are part and parcel of life and the girl has moved on since the embarrassing episode. Youngsters today have a really short attention span and for most, words like ‘commitment’ and ‘together forever’ look good only in movies. When things become too complicated to state in a relationship, people often resort to some really dumb excuses to avoid commitment. Here are some of the reasons we found out. Sandeep Kumar, a sports instructor in Delhi, did not think twice before leaving his girlfriend of one year. Here’s why he broke up. “She was 23 and behaved as if she were a teen princess — in love with pink, stuffed toys and chocolate. All her notions of romance seemed like out of a fairytale. I could not take it any more so I told her ‘You’re too nice and I am tired of playing prince charming. It’s
creeping me out. So from now on it’s just you and the teddy bear’.” Two lines that most boys and girls dread hearing is ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ or ‘we should give each other some space’,
She was 23 and behaved as if she were a teen princess. All her notions of romance seemed like out of a fairytale. I could not take it any more so I told her ‘You’re too nice and I am tired of playing prince charming. It’s creeping me out. So from now on it’s just you and the teddy bear’. Sandeep Kumar
Excuses that have been trending on Twitter
n How can I miss you when you won’t go away? n I guess the problem is L-O-V-E. Lets resolve it by being friends. n Sorry Jaan, nothing personal, but none of my wives like you! n My mum want me to concentrate on studies. Sooo...
which usually translates into I want out and by space I mean ‘come back after a year’. Sneha K, a chartered accountant in Delhi, admits of using them as her ticket out of a relationship. “There was this man I was seeing at work for some six months and he was a thorough gentleman, his only problem was that he was too inquisitive and sensitive. I wanted out so I gave him both these lines. I pretended to be the wounded one and he bought it.” Most people lack originality and try to imitate what they see and hear in the movies. “My best friend was too scared to tell her boyfriend that she found the relationship going nowhere, so she decided to get some inspiration from the movies. She texted him that her parents were getting her married and that she could not go against the wishes of her parents. The very next week, she was seen roaming around with his best buddy,” shares Pallavi Pal. Some other ridiculous reasons given for breaking up are —Your’e too good for me; My parents will never agree to our match;Your facebook profile still says you are single and the one that takes the cake, I think we should just be friends (after dating a person for like a year).
H
umans are not alone in their difficulties with monogamy. Of the nearly 5,000 species of mammals, only about 4% stay with one mate for life. Some believe the desire to couple with multiple partners stems from a biological instinct to spread genetic material. For many black vultures, infidelity is too hard to resist.
21
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
All in the name of nostalgia
Sekhar Kammula recreates the nostalgia one associates with life in a colony in his latest film Life is Beautiful, but it’s also his weakest film to date.
CMGR’s
audio launch on Sept 24? T
he principal shooting of Pawan Kalyan, Tamannaah starrer Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu is going to be wrapped up on September 20. Except for a song, the rest of the film has been completed. Puri Jagannadh has directed the film and both Pawan Kalyan and Tamannaah will be seen as journalists. DVV Danayya is producing the film. The music, composed by Mani Sharma, might be launched on September 24.
HEMANTH KUMAR
hemanth.k@postnoon.com
L
ife is Beautiful is yet another trademark Sekhar Kammula’s film replete with familiar characters and human emotions which he has been depicting since Anand. The film follows the template set by one of his earlier films Happy Days, although here, the story unfolds in a colony instead of a college. As a result, it’s natural to deduce that Sekhar Kammula has liberally borrowed some subplots and even the twists and turns from Happy Days.
Movie : Life Is Beautiful Cast : Abhijeet, Sudhakar, Kaushik, Zara, Shagun, Rashmi Director : Sekhar Kammula Rating :
The film opens with Srinivas (Abhijeet) and his sisters being forced to move to Hyderabad by their mother (Amala Akkineni), who promises that she’ll meet them after a year. Soon after arriving in the ‘B’ phase of Sunshine Valley, Srinivas meets Nagaraju (Sudhakar), Abhi (Kaushik), Paddu (Shagun),
Allari Naresh is in demand
Lakshmi (Zara) and all of them become good friends. The rest of the story is about the ups and downs in the lives of these characters over the span of next few months. The film’s biggest strength is its cast and all the newcomers have done a good job. Among the lead actors Sudhakar impresses the most with his exceptionally good histrionics. The film also stars Amala Akkineni, Shriya Saran and Anjala Zaveri in important roles and all three fit their roles to the T. There are some fine moments scattered all over the film, but the excruciatingly long runtime and lack of a strong conflict leave a huge dent on the overall experience of watching the film. There are
A
several loose ends and it leaves an impression that Sekhar Kammula fell in love with his film so much that he didn’t want to drop any scene in the final cut. Vijay C Kumar’s cinematography and Mickey J Meyer’s music are good. Sekhar Kammula sticks to what he knows best; however, with so many characters and subplots, the film doesn’t really have an strong arc when it comes to storytelling. At best, the film is a series of little vignettes stitched together to make us yearn for our past. The intention behind the film is great, but is that enough to make a good film? The answer is a resounding no.
llari Naresh is basking in the glory of Sudigadu’s success. The film turned out to be the highest grosser in his career and its success seems to have rubbed on the business prospects of his upcoming films as well. Rumours are abuzz that the distribution rights of his next film Yamudiki Mogudu have been sold at record amounts in all the areas. We also hear that the actor has hiked his remuneration for his upcoming films.
22
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
‘Preity is a business woman in her head’ S
he is a successful actress, has represented many brands, co-owns an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise and is now ready with her debut film production. Preity Zinta has a good business sense, says Prem Raj, director of her home production Ishkq In Paris. “She is a taskmaster. She is a business woman in her head. She has worked a lot, owns an IPL team. So it is not possible that she will not have a business sense,” Raj said during a media interaction. He was particularly happy that Preity, who also plays the lead in the youthful
romantic drama, was a director’s producer. “She is not stingy at all. I am sure she will become a big producer some day,” he said. Preity, who co-owns IPL team Kings XI Punjab, was not just handling finances and didn’t just focus on getting her shots right. She was also actively involved with the movie’s creative side along with Raj, he says. “We have no ego. We can say anything to each other. This is how we have been,” he said of their chemistry and understanding. The movie marks Preity’s comeback to films after 2008 film Heroes. The director gaurantees it will showcase the actress at her best and says her chutzpah is the film’s biggest USP.
Charming, pure, ‘Barfi!’ a modern masterpiece
S
ilences seldom spoke so eloquently. It’s been a while since we saw a film that set style at a subsidiary state to substance, put the characters’ inner life ahead of the flamboyant manifestations of selfidentity in a world governed by benevolence and charm. Barfi! is a very charming film. It’s remarkably devoid of vanity. The story of a deaf-and-mute man who could have grown up watching Chaplin and Raj Kapoor’s cinema, and an autistic girl who has definitely not seen Shah Rukh Khan in My Name Is Khan, is told without the props of a loud background music and other prompters to get audiences’ involved in the proceedings. This dazzling glow originates from the protagonist Barfi who lives his life king-size with many Chapliesque comic antics creating a chain of comicbook adventures for our happy-go-lucky hero, even though he can’t speak or hear. But then speech was always supposed to be the least essential component of cinema. Significantly Anurag Basu, a master storyteller does away with the crutches of a sign language and a voiceover. An incredibly enterprising actor, Ranbir Kapoor brings a Chaplinesque aura to Barfi’s character. Blending a very physical pie-in-the-face style of comic act-
ing with an intangible poignancy, Ranbir turns his character and the film into a muted celebration of life. The tears are hidden from view. But they are there. His grandfather, Raj Kapoor, has never been very far from Ranbir’s acting skills. Raj Kapoor was highly influenced by Chaplin. Ranbir brings both the legends into the same line of vision, and yet creates a character which is unique in its buoyancy and optimism, never mind the sleeping dogs. Priyanka Chopra as the autistic Jhilmil steals the show from Ranbir, if that’s possible. Lately, she has been found to be guilty of overacting in Agneepath and Anjaana Anjaani (with Ranbir again). In Barfi!, all her recent sins of excess are washed away. This is one of the most flawless interpretations of a physicalpsychological disability seen on celluloid. While Ranbir and Priyanka effortlessly prove themselves the best actors of their generation, Ileana D’Cruz makes a confident engaging debut into Hindi cinema. Is she here to stay? Time will tell. Barfi! celebrates life without dismissing the dark passages and roadblocks that we often encounter as we travel through that craggy road to death. IANS
“You will see her (Preity) in her elements. I don’t remember when she did a romantic comedy earlier,” he said. Preity was originally not a part of the cast and was just producing the film, but the director says he tricked her into the project. “I didn’t give her a choice. I said, ‘You are acting and producing it.’ I actually locked her up and said ‘You have to do it. When do we start? Tell me the date’,” recounted Raj. Ishkq In Paris is Raj’s second film as a director. He forayed into direction with Salman Khan- and Kareena Kapoor-starrer Main aurr Mrs Khanna. About Ishkq In Paris, he said: “It is not a mature love story or a classic romantic film.” IANS
Sonakshi Sinha wants a beach wedding
B
ollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha says that she wants to be a simple bride whenever she gets married. The actress walked the ramp for designer Jyotsna Tiwari, Thursday, on the second day of the India Bridal Fashion Week 2012, held in Mumbai. “I want to be a simple bride when I get married. I want a beach wedding where I am running around on the sand in a white dress,” she said after the show. The collection was called ‘Mystical Romance’. It showcased a variety of bridal predraped saris, sari gowns, anarkalis and lehengas in colours like black, gold, amber, coral, blue and red. “One speciality of this collection is that it is a mix between a modern and a traditional bride,” the actress added. Sonakshi looked spectacular in a red bridal lehenga-choli with heavy goldwork and gold jewellery. The show was followed by a live advertisement by Saif Ali Khan for Sansui’s TV commercial for brush series. The advertisement came as a surprise with fireworks on the ramp and models dancing to peppy music as they came to IANS the head ramp.
Movie: Barfi Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana Directed by: Anurag Basu
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
23
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
24
25
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Rooting for Gere A story of crime, ambition and the fall of a hero
T
he enjoyable thriller Arbitrage seems to promise a Margin-Calllike reminder of the dangerous Madoff-like gambling and ponziing in stock trading. It is much less than that, but in its own way it draws you in to a world of high finance where this time the people affected play a much larger part than computers and manipulative moguls. Arbitrage is all about family and allegiances and the flawed decisions made partly on their behalf. Robert Miller (Richard Gere, a fortunate replacement for Al Pacino) has borrowed over $400 million for his company and must give it back at the awkward time of negotiating the company's sale, which depends on that money to be a part of the company's value. Negotiating for that sale is the most fun and maybe most original part of an otherwise clichĂŠd script, where most of the action can be foreseen. Few actors can carry the silver-tongued, silver fox better these days than Gere, whose
Movie : Arbitrage Cast : Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling Director : Nicholas Jarecki toned body and outrageously full hair complement the slippery billionaire who is always minutes away from financial ruin and family disintegration. While that tension is formulaic, writer/director Nicholas Jarecki does a couple of plot twists that are unpredictable, therefore defending the film against derivative charges (pun intended). Plus, the first-rate supporting cast of Susan Sarandon (Miller's wife), Brit Marling (his daughter), and Tim Roth (the nosey detective) give enough pleasure to keep Arbitrage from being a retread of Wall-Street type films.
IMDB
Earliest colour film footage discovered T
he world's earliest colour film footage has been uncovered by this week, after resting in a tin for 110 years. The footage, which was shot by English inventor Edward Raymond Turner, features various test films of colourful objects, including a macaw, a goldfish, and children playing with sunflowers. The Film Stage reports that the film was discovered by Michael Harvey, curator of cinematography at the National Media
SJP and Broderick to sell Manhattan house
N
o need to wonder where the shoes are going to go. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have listed a Manhattan townhouse for $25 million, according to the New York Observer. The long-
time couple and their three kids, James WIlkie, who's almost 10, and 3-year-old twins Marion and Tabitha, actually never lived in this particular location — but not because the building just off tony Fifth Avenue was lacking for space,
mind you. Parker and Broderick bought the Greenwich Village pad they're currently selling for just under $19 million in March 2011, but reportedly decided against moving in due to a lack of privacy.
Museum in Bradford, who worked with experts at the BFI National Archive to transfer the material into digital files. Film historians have regarded Turner's invention, which he collaborated on with entrepreneurs Frederick Marshall Lee and Charles Urban, as a significant achievement but a practical failure. However, the advent of digital technology means that the footage can finally be seen as it was meant to be seen.
26
CHAI TIME SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 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.
Facing a mirror you see merely your own countenance; facing your child you finally understand how everyone else has seen you. – Daniel Raeburn
QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Two-___ (ballroom dance) 5 Bad-news child 9 French clergyman's title 13 Novelist Caleb or singer Vikki 14 Top-rated group 16 Fine pajama material 17 Shortened version of a written work 19 Not made up 20 Saskatchewan city 21 Omitted, as a syllable 23 Wise Biblical king 24 Book jacket bit 25 Business end of a pen 26 Guys pursue 'em 27 Tumultuous quarrel 30 Abates 33 200 milligrams, to a jeweler 34 Prefix with ‘gram’ 35 Costello or Gehrig 36 Picnic take-alongs 38 ‘___ now or never!’ 39 ‘No, that's not a typo’ 40 Acted human? 41 Alphabet quartet 42 Animal on the Michigan flag 43 Clam and onion 44 Dish eaten with the fingers 46 ‘The Wonder Years’ years 48 Corner store owners 52 ‘In spite of that ...’ 54 Suspicious looks 55 ‘The ___ Piper of Hamelin’ 56 Way to kick a habit 58 ‘... ___ the wild blue yonder’ 59 Legally old enough 60 ‘Billy Budd’ captain 61 Mindy of ‘The Facts of Life’ 62 In the hay, so to speak 63 Abbr in many job titles
DOWN 1 Frauds 2 Strictly forbidden 3 Swashbuckler Flynn 4 Attica and San Quentin 5 Illegal entry 6 Word with ‘candle’ or ‘numeral’ 7 With a fresh twist 8 Original Amendments count 9 Moving busily about 10 Noodlehead 11 A primary color 12 ___ out a living (barely scraped by) 15 Outstanding, as a performance 18 Moore of ‘A Few Good Men’ 22 Commits a deadly sin 24 Didn't keep secret 26 Hurricane harbingers
28 29 30 31 32 33 36 37
41 44
45
47
48
like critter ‘I'm ___ your tricks’ 49 Dick and Jerry, the Garden stinger Van ___ ‘... or ___!’ 50 Dukes and earls Cook, as lobsters 51 Thus far Reason to get braces 52 Tale on a grand scale Military group 53 Chianti, in Chianti Surrenders, as 54 Excess body fat territory 57 ‘Son ___ Preacher Man’ Part of the PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER VenezuelaColombia border Daughter of Jupiter Attached with sticky stuff Pearl Harbor's island ___ a high note (finish well) Mosquito-
27
CHAI TIME SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Six of Cups
The Hermit
Queen of Cups
W
ork – There are many things you may not know about your own field of expertise. Obtain new knowledge. Don’t be content in the false impression that you know it all. Romance – Nursing a broken heart is never easy. Take time off to do things that you enjoy. Be kind to yourself. Health – Clear your doubts by taking a second opinion from another doctor. It is not necessary that good doctors all work only in big hospitals. Money – There is a structure to managing money. A finance advisor should be able to help you. Tarot message – Finding yourself in the spiritual growth is an important part of your journey. Don’t stop looking and you will make headway.
W
ork – You are stretching yourself too much and need a break. Your stress is showing on the quality of work as well. Take time out. Romance – Catch a movie or go out to dinner on a week night. Break the routine and bring the passion back into your life. Health – Be careful of the foods you’re eating and where you drink water from. The season change might affect your health. Money – Stay in charge of your money and make sure you have enough funds locked away in a safe place for a rainy day. Tarot message – Write down your thoughts if you cannot share them with anyone. Make sure your emotions have an outlet from your system.
ork –Not everyone is going to be happy with your position in the office. There are some people who will want to take your place. Watch out! Romance – Alone together! This sums up what you need in a relationship. You like your own space and are willing to wait for someone who understands this. Health – You need to let go. By trying to control things too much you run the risk of making everyday simple tasks difficult for yourself. Money – Don’t hold back too much. If you really want to buy something, take the plunge but also ensure you can afford it. Tarot message – By being an over-the-top control freak, you make life boring for yourself and others, too.
W
Cancer
Leo
Nine of Pentacles
W
ork – Before you blame someone else for something that’s going wrong at the work place, you need to look within yourself. Romance – Change the scene with your partner. Go to a restaurant and spend time talking about your day instead of doing it at home while doing laundry. Health – There are options before you in how to treat a chronic health issue. Don’t be overwhelmed by the pain. Think in a practical way. Money –When the markets are looking down, there are ways to reduce the losses. Don’t lose the rupees while counting the paisa. Tarot message – Treat yourself to some me-time. This is needed every now and then to connect with your inner self.
Nine of Wands
W
ork – Don’t compare your salary or work responsibilities with others because that is always likely to make you unsatisfied. Be content with what you have. Romance – There are many feelings deep down within you that need an outlet. You need to share your thoughts with your close friends/ partner. Health – Try going organic and eating healthy. Change diet to a healthier one and see the difference on your body. Money – See if you can pool resources for a project instead of putting in all finances yourself. That way, you will divide the risk. Tarot message – Your mindset will determine what kind of a life you will lead. You can feel free even in a dungeon if your mind thinks it.
SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com
Libra
Scorpio
The Devil
Queen of Swords
W
ork – A situation may catapult on you at a time when you least expect it to. Keep calm and show that you can work with a cool head in the most trying circumstances. Romance – A holiday to an exotic location can bring your partner and you closer together. You discover wonderful new things about each other. Health – Mental stress and anxiety is taking a toll on you. How about hiring an assistant to take care of planning your schedule? Money – You will have to use your disposable income in a way that your investments and EMIs are not affected. Don’t try to stretch yourself too much. Tarot message – Clear your thoughts and approach situations on a fresh slate.
ork – Be on your guard and don’t mistake a favour for a mere helpful gesture. Romance – You are confused about love and don’t really know what to expect from it. You may be in love but you miss the heady feeling everyone talks about. Health – Take special care of your hair and skin. You may want to take a course of Vitamin E tablets. It will do you good. Money – Remove the rose-tinted glasses and know that not every investment will bring immediate returns. If it does, there is something wrong with it. Tarot message – You need to bare your heart. Talk to a trusted friend. Or find a counselor and use a session just to talk about your feelings.
W
Sagittarius Knight of Wands
W
ork –Expect a gift from a colleague. It will surprise you and make you wonder if there’s a motive behind it. Romance – It’s a good idea for you and your significant other to join a club – book club, horseriding club – that will make you learn something new together. Health – It’s tempting to walk in the rain. But you must also be aware of the water-borne infections that might cause harm. Money – On a trip, whether business or personal, take time out to review your expenses. Take good care of your credit cards and cash. Tarot message – You are preparing for the next phase of life and are likely to feel confused about what’s happening to you right now.
Capricorn Five of Cups
W
ork – Your career is about to soar to great heights. You worked very hard to get here. You will get everything you rightfully deserve. Romance – You are fed up a moaning and groaning partner. You like someone who lives in the moment and enjoys it for what it is. Health – If you think you have a problem, then you most certainly do have a problem. Think positive and all will be fine. Money – There are some ugly truths about money and spending, which you have to deal with in order to be comfortable with finances. Tarot message – There are many opportunities that come your way. Recognise and make use of them.
Virgo Seven of Swords
W
ork – Colleagues envy you your position and also ability to do stuff really well. Be on your guard and don’t get too close to anyone. Romance – You need to feel more and think less in relationships. You cannot have a route map for the way a romance should work. Health – If allopathy is not working for your ailment, go natural. This is a good time to try something completely different. But you need to have faith. Money – Finances are in control as long as you don’t make rash decisions. Do not lend or borrow money. This will ruin your plans. Tarot message – You are an intellectual genius and handling that can be quite a task for you.
Date 16-9-2012
Aquarius The Star
W
ork – Bring a business-like formality to your interactions and you will see a marked difference in the way coworkers respond to your requests. Romance – You may feel rejected despite being in a relationship. Bring about some changes in the way you spend time with your partner. Health – Dispose of ideas that don’t work. If an exercise is not working for you, don’t push it. Change the plan. Money – There are some pending tasks and you have the tendency to push this to the last minute. Avoid it. Tarot message – The clouds are there. But there is also a silver lining. Don’t lose hope and continue to chase your dreams.
Pisces Three of Pentacles
W
ork – Time is of the essence when you’re delivering on important subjects and doing things differently. The idea may be great. But putting it out at the right time is equally important. Romance – A fight is not going to be pleasant and more than losing your cool, you’re likely to completely blame the other person for what went wrong. Health – A holistic approach is needed in order to achieve better health. You may be doing just one thing very well. Add to that a few other healthy habits. Money – This is a lucky and favourable time for fortune. Tarot message – There are many offers that come your way. Business partnerships work well. Team up with someone you know.
Vol: 2, No 60 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad–500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad–500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211
28
THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
NEWSMAKERS IDENTIFY THESE PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
9. Which grocery retailer has a fir tree inside a circle as its logo? 10. Who played Mr Brown in the 1991 film ‘Reservoir Dogs’? 11. What is a turret or tower called which is attached to a building and provides an extensive view of the sur-
roundings? 12. The Stinking Rose is another name for which herb? 13.What does the letter L stand for in S.W.A.L.K when written on the back of an envelope? 14.Seal Point and Blue Point are types of which cat?
DO YOU KNOW YOUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
1
Answers
5. Where is US sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s largest and most famous work? 6. In the game of Bingo, ‘Little Boy Blue’ is the nickname for which number? 7. A podiatrist works on which part of the human body? 8.How many properties are on a standard Monopoly board?
1. Dr Mahila Lodhi 2. Sri Lanka 3. Hossein Vafaei Ayouri 4. Vaclav Havel 5. Mount Rushmore, South Dakota 6. Two 7. Feet 8. 28 9. Spar 10. Quenten Tarantino 11. Mirador 12 Garlic 13.Loving 14. Siamese
1. Beyond the crises state is a book written by whom? 2. Which country has decided the grant the status of most favoured nation to India? 3. Name the Iranian teenager who won the World Snooker championship? 4. Who was associated with the Velvet Revolution?
WHAT’S NEW IDENTIFY THESE SLOGANS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
He is a American pop and blues rock musician, singersongwriter, recording artist and music producer. His first two albums did well commercially and have achieved multi-platinum status. He won a Grammy in 2003 for the song Your Body is a wonderland. A few months he was rumoured to be dating singer Katy Perry and now it seems the couple is also drifting apart. Name this musician.
A diamond is forever
Don’t leave home without it Between love and madness lies obsession It takes a licking and keeps on ticking
2
If you search for her pictures online it’s likely you will land up with a virus attack.She is the favourite bait for cyber criminals. Ready for her new film, this actress managed to avoid a wardrobe malfunction quite recently. Eager to leave behind the young wizard tag, she has gone on to do some serious movies as well. But she has always put her studies first. Who is she?
Melts in your mouth, not in your hands The lion leaps from strength to strength
When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight Imagination at work
1. John Mayer 2.Emma Watson
Answers
Ideas for life
KNOW YOUR COUNTRY
Your world. Delivered.
Diu is an island off which state? Shivasmudram Falls is found in the course of which river?
Manna Pass is located in which state?
PICTURE PUZZLE 32 with Santosh Ghule Who is the tallest of the three men in the picture?
Answer for 31 :
Which state is set to get the Green Field Industrial Corridoor?
Love.
4 5 6 7
4. Tambourine
Name the NRI architect who won the Glory of India award and Certificate of Excellence?
Answers: 1.Arianna Harp 2. Ukulele 3. Oboe
3
WHO AM I? I shot to fame with my role as a damsel in distress in a film that was based on a book by Stephanie Meyer. I recently split with my boyfriend and am now awaiting the release of my film On the Road?
Answer : Kristen Stewart
According to Assocham ,which of states are the favourite destination for foreign direct investment?
Answers:
2
1. DeBeers 2. American Express 3. Calvin Klein 4. Timex Corporation 5. M& Ms 6. Peugeot 7. Federal Express 8. General Electricals 9. Panasonic 10. AT &T
1
Which two countries signed an agreement for the Modernisation of Indian Railways ?
1.India and Belgium 2. Odisha and Andhra Pradesh 3. Ar Mohammed Aun 4.Arunachal Pradesh 5. Gujarat 6. Cauvery 7. Uttarakhand
Answers
29
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
AP lad to train in Manchester
A
irtel selected 12 kids who will travel to and train at the Manchester United Soccer Schools in England in November. Among the selected students is AP’s Teja Pavan Kumar. The others selected are Mukul Mohindra, Kartikeya Swarup, Russel Lyndoh, Remitri Thama, Ashish Sharma, Porus F Shroff, Jijo, Rahul, Afdal, Krishanu Santra and Rushabh Dhere.
Tomic learns lesson
Manny-Juan to fight again
A
F
ustralia’s Bernard Tomic has insisted he has learnt his lessons af-ter his US Open defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick was branded “disgraceful” by Davis Cup team captain Pat Rafter. Tomic has been under pressure since tennis great John McEnroe said the 19-year-old seemed to give up during his 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 loss to Roddick at Flushing Meadows.
ilipino superstar Manny Pacquiao will fight Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time on December 8, promoter Bob Arum confirmed on Friday. Pacquiao and Mexico’s Marquez will embark on a three-city international media tour touting the fight starting on Monday in Beverly Hills. Between them Pacquiao and Marquez have won world titles in 12 weight divisions.
BCCI discharge Chargers
The BCCI sought to justify the decision to terminate the IPL contract of Deccan Chargers, saying it was compelled to do so after the franchise claimed that it had not committed any breaches and threatened legal action. NEW DELHI: The BCCI today sought to justify the decision to terminate the IPL contract of debt-ridden Deccan Chargers, saying it was compelled to take action after the beleaguered franchise claimed that it had not committed any breaches and threatened to take legal recourse. The BCCI said the decision to terminate the IPL contract of Deccan Chargers was taken after “careful deliberation” and only due to the absolute inability of the franchise to effectively run the team. In a late night development yesterday, the BCCI cracked the whip on the cash-strapped Deccan Chargers by terminating the contract, ending the suspense on the fate of the beleaguered franchise. The decision was taken at an emergency Governing Council meeting of the IPL in Chennai. “BCCI was compelled to hold an emergency meeting of the IPL Governing Council late Friday evening to discuss certain developments due to the Deccan Chargers’ defaults,” Board secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a press release. “This evening (Friday), BCCI
has received a lawyers notice invoking arbitration from the franchise stating that it had not committed any breaches and even if such breaches were committed, the BCCI should not act to terminate the franchise till Yes Bank Ltd furnishes sufficient finance to cure the breaches. “By this, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd has clearly admitted its inability to cure its breaches within the time stipulated in the BCCI notice despite every bit of assistance from the BCCI. Since the month of May, BCCI has received repeated assurances that the overdue player fees would be paid; all of these promises have been unfulfilled,” Jagdale said. Jagdale said the BCCI made every effort to save the beleaguered franchise which also rejected the sole bid that was received at the auction. “Despite the Bombay High Court appointing a court officer to act as Observer at the opening of the tender, which was conducted under the aegis of the BCCI to save the beleaguered franchise, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd rejected the bid that was received in the amount of Rs 450
Delhi in tight spot
ON A ROLL
In this file photo taken on March 28, 2012 Deccan Chargers co-owner Gayatri Reddy (3L) and Emirates India and Nepal vice president Orhan Abbas (C) pose with team cricketers during a press conference announcing Emirates as a team sponsor in Hyderabad. AFP crores cash and an equal sum in convertible debentures. This was despite the bidder meeting the eligibility criteria of the BCCI,”
Jagdale said in the release. Jagdale said The Governing Council took note of the sudden change of stance by the fran-
T
amil Nadu began well when they restricted Delhi to 265 in the Moin-ud-Dowlah final, here on Friday. M. Ashwin rattled the Delhi line-up having claimed five wickets for 88 runs. For Delhi, Dhruv Shorey led the batting having hammered 79 runs. In reply, Tamil Nadu made a run without losing any wicket from the one over they played on Friday.
Scores: Delhi 265 (Mohit Sharma 32, Dhurv Shorey 70, Milind Kumar 39, Pradeep Sangwan 35 n.o., M Mohammed 2/47, Vijay Shanker 2/32, M. Ashwin 5/88) vs Tamil Nadu 1 for no loss in 1 over (K.B. Arun Karthik 1 n.o., Athiraj Shandilya 0).
Players of SSC-HPRC and PBG in action during the final of the Bison Cup held at the Bison Polo Grounds in Secunderabad on Friday. SSC-HPRC won the match with nine and a half goals to six.
chise and also the fact that any further extension of time would seriously prejudice the interests PTI of the players.
League Cricket A 2 and 3 Division two day matches Kosaraju 122 (Charan Sai 50, M. Radhakrishna 5/25) lost to SA Amberpet 129/1 (Faiz 82). Sultanshahi 350 (V Rakshith 74, E. Mahesh Kumar Goud 75, Vamshi Raghava 58, Roop Kishen 4/31) vs P&T Colony 27 for no loss. Charminar CC 284 (Ravi Chandra 55, Younus 56, M. Vijay 6/65) vs National CC 12/1. Sayi Satya 392 (A.P. Aakarsh Kulkarni 100, B. Chandrasekhar 104, C.H. Rakesh Kumar 85, Kalyan Chakravarthy 57, Md Munnawar 5/118) vs Venus Cybertech 19/1. Osmania 133 (Santosh Reddy 64, Jaysurya 5/42) lost to Sporting XI 134/6. Crown 183 (Swamy 55, Zeeshan Ali Khan 5/26) vs Nizam. Gemini Friends 219/8 (Navdeep Singh 74) lost to Saleemnagar 225/4 (Md Zameeruddin 102 n.o., Ahmed Aksari 56 n.o.)
30
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Spain on final brink, Del Potro in tears
Spain edged closer to a sixth Davis Cup final in 10 years while Del Potro broke down during his victory speech after defeating Radek Stepanek. Dave James Agencie France-Presse
PARIS: Champions Spain edged closer to a sixth Davis Cup final in 10 years on Friday when they shrugged off the absence of Rafael Nadal to open a 2-0 lead over the United States in the semi-finals in Gijon. Five-time champions Spain are defending a run of 23 consecutive home victories in the tournament, a streak stretching back to 1999. World number five David Ferrer beat Sam Querrey 4-6, 62, 6-2, 6-4 before Nicolas Almagro won a four-hour slog against giant American John Isner, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. "It was a hard match, difficult at every moment," said 30year-old Ferrer. Isner saved three match points in the ninth game of the decider but buckled on a fourth when he went long with a weary forehand in the 12th
Spain's David Ferrer returns a ball to US’ Sam Querrey during the first Davis Cup semi-final match between Spain vs USA in Gijon, Northern Spain, on Friday. Ferrer won 4-6, 6-2,6-2, 6-4. AFP/RAFA RIVAS game. "That was really disappointing because I did such a good job the whole fourth and fifth set of just hanging in there and I just kind of gave it away at the end," Isner said.
Veteran Bland leads Italian Open
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, who have yet to win the tournament, and were defeated by Spain in the 2008 and 2011 finals, were 1-1 in the other semi-final against the Czech
HOYLAKE, UNITED KINGDOM: Severe winds wiped out the second round of the Women's British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Friday, but organisers insisted they were determined to finish the event by Sunday. Play started at 7am local time in the final major of the season but was stopped at 8.18am as winds reached gusts of 60mph and balls moved on several greens. At 11am it was decided, in accordance with Rule 33-2d, that the early day's play should be declared null and void. Three hours later it was decided to suspend play for the day. In order to try and get play finished by Sunday, the cut has been reduced from the top 65 and ties to the top 50 and ties. The top 65 and ties will all receive prize money. Rounds three and four will take place on Sunday with a twotee start and no redraw after the third round. South Korea's Ryu So-Yeon, joint overnight leader on two under par, was one of the early starters on Friday and she had played one hole, taking a bogey six at the long 10th, her first AFP hole.
Berdych pulls Czechs level in Argentina
TURIN, ITALY: English 39-
BUENOS AIRES: Tomas
year-old veteran Richard Bland put himself in contention for a first European Tour title when a late birdie charge gave him a one-shot lead at the midway point of the Italian Open on Friday. Bland carded a six under par 66 for the second round to stand at 12 under with France's Gregory Bourdy, Spaniard Gonzalo FernandezCastano, South Africa's Garth Mulroy and Scot Marc Warren all one shot back. Bland admitted that he needs a good performance this weekend to help retain his Tour place — he currently lies 126th on The Race to Dubai, with only the top 115 keeping their cards. "I've had a tough couple of
Berdych recovered from two sets to one down, and 1-4 behind in the fourth set, to stun Juan Monaco 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and pull the Czech Republic level 1-1 with Argentina in the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday. With Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and former tennis glamour girl Gabriela Sabatini amongst the raucous 13,00-crowd inside Parque Roca, Berdych dug deep to claim a famous win for the Czechs. Berdych, who defeated Roger Federer on his way to the US Open semi-finals last week, won nine straight games to lead 5-3 in the decider. But Monaco stopped the rot for a break to trail 4-5 before Berdych broke again to seal victory. Earlier, Juan Martin del
years, but that's behind me now and I'm just trying to move forward and improve every day," said Bland who birdied the last three holes. "There's still 36 holes to go — all it is right now is a great position. There are great players behind me, it's low scoring, so two 70s isn't going to get it done." There were solid performances from members of Europe's Ryder Cup team taking part in the Italian Open.
Republic. Tomas Berdych recovered from two sets to one down, and 1-4 behind in the fourth set, to stun Juan Monaco 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and pull the Czechs level. With Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and former tennis glamour girl Gabriela Sabatini amongst the raucous 13,00-crowd inside Parque Roca, Berdych dug deep to claim a famous win. Berdych, who defeated Roger Federer on his way to the US Open semi-finals last week, won nine straight games to lead 5-3 in the decider. But Monaco stopped the rot for a break to trail 4-5 before Berdych broke again to seal victory. Earlier, world number eight Juan Martin del Potro beat Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to earn a comfortable first point. Del Potro was playing against medical advice after hurting his wrist at the US Open and he broke down in tears as he gave his victory speech.
Storm disrupts 2nd rd
Potro got Argentina off to a winning start with victory in straight sets against Radek Stepanek.Del Potro, ranked eighth in the world, needed two hours and 41 minutes to beat Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on the clay of Parque Roca. Argentina will now look to their doubles pairing of Carlos Berlocq and Eduardo Schwank, who face Berdych and Stepanek, to restore their advantage on Saturday. Argentina have never won the Davis Cup, falling in the final in 1981, 2006, 2008 and 2011. The Czechs were champions in 1980 and reached the final in 2009 where they were defeated by Spain. The winner of this tie will go through to the final against holders Spain or the United States, who are meeting in the other semi in Gijon this weekend. AFP
31
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Mourinho plays down row The Real coach says he doesn’t worry about how Ronaldo feels as long as he delivers. MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho on Friday played down the significance of Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent claims to being unhappy in the Spanish capital by saying all that matters are his on-field performances. “If Ronaldo is sad but plays like he has been playing, that is perfect for me,” Mourinho said at a press conference ahead of his team’s trip to play Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday night. It was the first time Mourinho had spoken of the controversy, which erupted in
the wake of Madrid’s home win against Granada two weeks ago when Ronaldo claimed he was “sad” at the club for “professional reasons.” The player has since been away on international duty, helping Portugal to wins against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in their opening two qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. “Cristiano gives everything in training and when he plays,” added Mourinho. “If he plays terribly (on Saturday) and is tired, then I will take
If Cristiano is sad but plays like he has been playing, that is perfect for me. He gives everything in training and when he plays. Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid coach
him off after 75 minutes like I would with any other player. “As coach, I have responsibilities when it comes to how my players perform, but not when it comes to anything else. “I don’t need to worry about things that are unnecessary and not important.” However, the ‘Special One’ admitted that he has not been entirely happy with his side’s start to the season, which has seen them win the Super Cup against Barcelona but win just one of their first three games in La Liga.
Kohinoor Wish looks best
HYDERABAD: Anupam Sharma’s
Kohinoor Wish who won 2000 metres race in a grand style will be fancied here in The AP Chief Minister’s Cup a small field of three runners, the feature event of Sunday afternoon races here at Malakpet. 1st Race: The Mr.Prospector Plate (about) 1600 Metres, Cat-III. A handicap for horses, 3 year olds and upward, rated upto 50. 115 P.M. 1.Nano Desire 60 N.Rawal (4) 2.Sarvagnya 58.5A.K.Pawar (1) 3.Lake King 56.5 S Narredu (5) 4.Killer Instinct 51 D Shanker (3) 5.Silver Spur 50.5Ch.K.Chary (2) 6.Superb 50 Nitin Singh (6) Selections: 1.Nano Desire 2.Lake King 2nd Race: The Sweeping Success Cup (Div-II) (about) 1200 MetresCat-II. Terms for Maidenhorses, 3 year olds only. 1-45 P.M. 1.Ice Hill 56 Suraj Narredu (5) 2.Manipulator 56 D Shanker (2) 3.Pakat Pakat Pakat 56 A.Imran Khan (3) 4.Rebut 56 Khurshad alam (4) 5.Salvadore 56 N.Rawal (1) 6.True Scholar 56 J.H.Christopher (8) 7.Chitrangada 54.5 N Singh (7) 8.Over Shadow 54.5 S.Sreekant (10) 9.Racing Queen 54.5 P.Venkat (9) 10.Sweety Girl 54.5 M.Mark (6) Selections: 1.Rebut 2.Pakat Pakat Pakat 3.Ice Hill 3rd Race: The Sweeping success Cup (Div-I) (about) 1200 Metres,Cat-II. Terms for Maiden horses, 3 year olds only. 2-15 P.M. 1.Baba’s Gift 56 G.Sai Vamshi (11) 2.Kohinoor Revanta 56 J.H.Christopher (4)
3.Moghul Emperor 56 Harinder Singh (10) 4.Prince Of Arabia 56 Suraj Narredu (2) 5.Regal Groom 56 S.Nayak (1) 6.Super Cool 56 Deep Shanker (6) 7.Tabdeer 56 Laxman (9) 8.True Friend 56 M.Mark (3) 9.Ceremonious 54.5 A. Imran Khan (7) 10.Mystic Deer 54.5 K Alam (5) 11.So Be It 54.5 B.Dileep (8) Selections: 1.Ceremonious 2.Super Cool 3.Kohinoor Revanta 4th Race: The Deccan Prince Plate (Div-I) (about) 1400 Metres,Cat-II. A handicap for horses, 5 year olds and upward, rated upto 75. 2-45 P.M. 1.Suchiman 61.5 A.K.Pawar (4) 2.Royal Shaan 60 P.A.Culhan2 (2) 3.Young Sapper 58.5 Ch.K.Chary (1) 4.Dream Deal 57.5 S.Nayak (10) 5.The Kohinoor 57 J.H.Christopher (9) 6.Chesapeak 55 K Singh (5) 7.Sorbitrate 53 Nitin Singh (7) 8.Star Prospect 52.5 P.Sai Kumar (8) 9.Cascading Glory 50.5 G.Sai Vamshi (3) 10.Combined Force 50 P. Venkat (6) Selections: 1.Dream Deal 2.Royal Shaan 3.Suchiman 5th Race: The Forest King Cup (about) 1400 Metres,Cat-III. A handicap for horses, 3 year olds and upward, rated upto 50. 315 P.M. 1.Speedtosucceed 60.5 Suraj Narredu (9) 2.Cannon Ten 59.5 N.Rawal (4) 3.Striking Gold 59.5 M.Mark (1) 4.Azaiba 58 Ravinder Singh (8) 5.Royal Sword 56.5 A.Ramana (6) 6.Deccan Queen 50.5 P.Sai Kumar (2) 7.Rockig Racer 50.5 Deep Shanker (5) 8.Art Ace 50 A.K.Pawar (7)
Don Valentino, Flying Spur impressive
D
on Valentino, Flying Spur, Machiavellianism, Ring Of Fire and Pacific Star were pleased when the horses excercised here on Saturday morning: Sand track 800 metres: Oru Oru Oru (rb) 57.5, 600/43 Moved well. Wedding Gift (SaiVamshi) Rob Roy (rb) 58, 600/43.5 Former finished a length in front. Royal Craft (Mukesh) Rise Of Emerald (rb) 1-3, 600/47 They moved freely. Friendly Equation (rb) 1-1, 600/47 Easy. Fighting Fit (rb) 1-3.5, 600/48.5 Easy. Kohinoor King (app) 58, 600/42 Moved well. Laurel Canyon (Kuldeep Singh) San Ramon (rb) 12, 600/46 Former finished a length in front. Aegis (app) 57, 600/43 Urged. Castle Town (P.Venkat) 1-0, 600/45 Easy. Vijays Winner (Joshi) 1-0, 600/46 Unextended. Tripple Eight (app) Castle Rock (B.Shinde) 12.5, 600/46.5 Former finished in front. Tribal Magic (Ravinder Singh) Steel Breaker (Pawar) 1-0, 600/44 Former finished in front. Transition (Anil) 57, 600/42.5 Moved well. All Pepper (rb) 1-1, 600/45 Easy. Days Of Thunder (Laxman) 58, 600/44 Moved freely. Sand track 1,000 metres: Kohinoor Angel (Ajit Kumar) 1600/600 in 1-13.5, Easy. Ring Of Fire (Joshi) 1-12, 800/57, 600/43 Pleased. Sand track 1,200 metres: Bharatanatyam (app) 1-35, 1200/600 in 44 Urged. Specialist (Ravinder Singh) 1-33, 1000/1-15, 800/1-0, 600/45 Unextended. Travaldo (Sreekant) Dauntless (rb) 1-31, 1000/1-16, 800/1-0, 600/44 They moved together. Pacific Star (Chary) 1-26, 1000/1-9, 800/54, 600/40 Impressed. Hurricane Dancer (Imran Khan) 1-27.5, 1000/1-11, 800/56, 600/41.5 Pleased. The Challenge (Chary) Thirteen Black (Ravinder Singh) 1-29, 1000/1-12.5, 800/58, 600/44 Former finished in front. Our Mascot (Imran Khan) 1-29, 1000/1-11.5, 800/55.5, 600/42 Moved well. Sand track 1,400 metres: Machiavellianism (Joshi) 1-42, 1200/1-26, 1000/1-10, 800/56, 600/43 Moved on the bit. Sand track 1,600 metres: Don Valentino (Chary) Flying Spur (Imran Khan) 1-56.5, 1400/1-40, 1200/1-25.5, 1000/1-11.5, 800/57, 600/43.5 They put up an impressive show 9.Stolen Date 50 P.Venkat (3) Selections: 1.Speedtosucceed 2.CannonTen 3.Art Ace 6th Race: The Prince Of Berar Trophy (about) 2200 Metres,Cat-II. A handicap for horses, 4 year olds and upward, rated upto 75. 345 P.M. 1.Qinghuangdao 60 Suraj Narredu (4)
2.Front Line 59.5 Harinder Singh (1) 3.Westminister 57.5 A.Imran Khan (6) 4.Nano Storm 54 N.Rawal (3) 5.Sporting Star 51.5 Deep Shanker (5) 6.Kansas City Mac 50.5 Laxmikant (2) Selections: 1.Nano Storm 2.Westminster 7th Race: The A.P.Chief Minister’s Cup (about) 1600 Metres.
Terms for Indian Horses, 3 year olds and upward. 4-15 P.M. 1.Kohinoor Wish 56 Suraj Narreu (3) 2.Aristos 55 R.Marshall (1) 3.Pedalo 55 A.Imran Khan (2) Selections: 1.Kohinoor Wish. 8th Race:The Deccan Prince Plate (Div-II) (about) 1400 Metres,Cat-II. A handicap for horses, 5 year olds and upward, rated upto 75. 445 P.M. 1.Hard Kingdom 60 Khurshad Alam (1) 2.Sun Strikes 59 Suraj Narreu (5) 3.Ruffiano 58 Laxmikant (9) 4.Fearless Mission 56.5 J.H.Christopher (4) 5.Strategic Command 56 R.Marshall (8) 6.Kohinoor Victory 55.5 N.Rawal (7) 7.Tell Me A Tale 53 Nitin Singh (3) 8.Aarohan 52 P.Sai Kumar (6)) 9.Airborne Magic 52 A.K.Pawar Selections: 1.Hard Kingdom 2.Strategic Command 3.Ruffiano 9th Race: The Cuddapah Plate (about) 1200 Metres,Cat-III. A handicap for horses, 3 year olds only, rated upto 50. 5-15 P.M. 1.Rustic Gal 61.5 A.Imran Khan (2) 2.Mr.Glorious 60.5 J.H.Christopher (9) 3.Sweet Candy 60 B.Dileep (5) 4.Green Bay 59 Suraj Narreu (4) 5.CannonLaw 58 N.Rawal (6) 6.Kohinoor Destiny 58 Laxmikant (8) 7.Golden Dash 56 G.Sai Vamshi (3) 8.Skander 54 P.A.Culhane (1) 9.Khalis Gold 51.5 Harinder Singh (7) Selections: 1.Golden Dash 2.Green Bay 3.Rustic Gal Days best: Rebut Jackpot Race Nos: 4,5,6 , 8 & 9 1st Treble Race Nos: 1,2 & 3 2nd Treble Race Nos: 3,4 & 5 3rd Treble Race Nos: 6, 8 & 9. False Rails are up.
32
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Latvala leads Great Britain rally
8-time world champion Sebastien Loeb was in the third spot on the first day of the race. CARDIFF, WALES: Ford dominated the first day of the Rally of Great Britain on Friday with last year’s winner Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland leading after the first six specials ahead of Norwegian teammate Petter Solberg. Eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb was sitting third for Citroen after the day’s racing around Cardiff which proved slippery after overnight rain. Latvala has a 12.1sec advantage on Norwegian Solberg while Loeb, who failed to win any of the day’s specials, admitted he had an “impossible” task against the Fords as the threetime winner sits just over 21sec behind the leader. Solberg, a four-time winner of the race, won the first two stages of the day but Latvala, the 2011 race winner, took control after claiming the third special and increased his advantage by topping the remaining stages of the day. “It worked very well, nothing
Lorenzo sits out rainy Marino MISANO, ITALY: World
special at all. It was a very tricky stage and Jari had a fantastic time,” Solberg told wrc.com. “The car worked very well.”
Latvala added, “The road is very slippery, more challenging to drive than on the first passage. The car is very good to AFP drive.”
Will he, will he not Tim Collings
Boggle
INCH FOOT YARD MILE METER
Suduko
Scrabble
SOLUTIONS
Hamilton (above) might never have arrived in Formula One in 2007 as the best-prepared and most-polished talent to make a Grand Prix debut. And without the generosity and competitive ambition of Ron Dennis, the McLaren team chief who is now the group chairman, he might not have maintained his progress and enhanced the zeal and pace
Number game
LONDON: Will he stay with McLaren — or will he go? The soap opera that is Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One career reached a new pitch of melodrama last weekend at Monza where he was besieged by rumour and then won the Italian Grand Prix in faultless fashion. On the track, he was poetry in motion. Off it, he sometimes seemed to be a man who lives like a rabbit caught in the media headlights. If after nearly 15 years with McLaren, the 27-year-old Briton is taking time to reflect on his future, it is not a decision to be taken in haste amid reports he may be in line for a switch to Mercedes. Without the drive, energy and vision of his father Anthony to push him on,
that made him champion in 2008. As he ponders his next move, when his current contract with McLaren ends, the choice is stay home — or start afresh. It is complicated by issues such as Formula One’s future engine regulations, the respective teams’ potential to deliver success and contractual details that may or may not allow Hamilton to exploit his own image and brand value. If McLaren’s offer for the future does not match his current one in terms of pay, he may move on.
championship rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa opted out of Friday practice for the San Marino Grand Prix after rain dashed hopes of any useful dry runs. Only 13 of the 21 riders went out on the partly dry Misano circuit with nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi managing just one careful lap before he headed back to the Ducati garage. “On days like this it’s almost impossible to get any feedback on the bike,” said Honda’s Pedrosa, who has won the last two races and trails
Yamaha star Lorenzo by just 13 points in the world title race. “Actually, we saw in both sessions that the weather was changing so quickly that the riders going out with slick tyres had to come back in because it started raining or the other way around: going out with wets and destroying them in just a few laps as it was drying up again. “The weather forecast looks better for tomorrow and Sunday, so let’s hope we can take advantage of tomorrow morning’s session to find a good setting and have a good AFP qualifying.”