among children will result
in their ability to learn
better. It\u2019s this vision that is
taking this Ashoka Fellow
and founder of
Hippocampus Reading
Foundation to the rural
and semi-urban areas.
Umesh Malhotra on his
pioneering efforts.

While it\u2019s nice to get in touch
with old school buddies, two
Orkutians have started a blog to
recognise people who have
started online communities to
help others.

A senior of\ufb01cer with the Chennai
Corporation was all set to go for a training
programme to Korea but cancelled his trip.
The reason \u2013 swine \ufb02u scare. Apparently,
the of\ufb01cer and his team were warned by
some health of\ufb01cers days before they were
scheduled to board the plane to the

An actor who recently turned politician is
said to have kidnapped a journalist with the
help of his gang due to a long-standing
rivalry. As the matter created a \ufb02utter
among media men, a top state politician
was quick to jump in and release the
abducted man. He also made a compromise
between the two sides and closed the issue
with a piece of advice for the actor-

Two senior cops who were previously in the
city and now posted in other districts due
to punishment transfers are now on a quest
to get back to the city. Reliable sources
reveal that both the khakis are gunning for
one position and therefore the \ufb01ght for the
seat has intensi\ufb01ed. The triumphant one is
likely to be known in a month\u2019s time.

kies from Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Adyar, led by their lecturer Janani Rangarajan, were the winners of the Agni Nakshatra newbies ultimate Fris- bee tournament organised on the sands of the Elliots Beach over the weekend.

Eight teams participated in the tournament organised by the Ul- timate Frisbee Club over the wee- kend, speci\ufb01cally to introduce newcomers to the action-packed sport that combines \ufb01tness and fun. All the teams had been prac-

tising for a month now. The win- ners of the tournament \u2018Blitz-1\u2019 team from KRMMC won a closely fought \ufb01nals against the \u2018Whiz- bees\u2019 team from Valmiki Nagar.

Elated Janani said, \u201cWe en- joyed all our matches. All of us practised as a team only for the last three weeks. The passion for the game made us win the tour- nament. We are looking forward to play the next national tourna- ment.\u201d Although Blitz-1 were the winners in the \ufb01nals, the nail bit- ing and longest match of the tournament was the semi \ufb01nals between Whizbees and \u2018Stall 7\u2019 that well lasted for 45 minutes.

Each time Whizbees took a point, the Stall-7 (freshers) caught up with them with their excellent dives and catches.

Gopi, captain of the Whizbees, said: \u201cWe have been playing this sport to build and maintain our \ufb01tness and the tournament was very thrilling.

The club has done an excellent work in organising such a kind of tournament where we could learn a new sport.\u201d

All the teams - Blitz-1, Blitz-2, Noobies, Whizbees, Bharani, Ram, Chapati tum jao and Stall 7(freshers) were given certi\ufb01- cates.\u25a0

Blitz-1 team from Kumararani Meena Muthiah College
comes up trumps at the Ultimate Frisbee\u2019s Agni Nakshatra
competitions for \ufb01rst-timers

Graceful Sparky has a fondness for
human company, games with a ribbon
and posing for the camera. To adopt
her, call Ananya Ashok at 9952040339.

re you on Orkut? Are you unique? Have you created a community for the bene\ufb01t of someone else? If your answer

It\u2019s not an award that Orkut hon- ours you with; it\u2019s two individuals\u2019 effort to encourage your efforts. And to help those in search of people with certain talents.

orkutheroes.com is a blog started by Zaheer Abbas, which contains write-ups

Media entrepreneur Zaheer Ab- bas (27), better known as Zazo, a native of Rajasthan, joined Orkut just to increase his network of friends and keep in touch with old buddies. But as he began to visit other communities, it opened his eyes to people\u2019s contributions to- wards making of groups and com- munities.

Zazo felt the media has many times projected Orkut as a culprit behind many nefarious activities. \u201cAfter going through certain com- munities I found that not everyone is wasting their time on Orkut.

There are some who are friendly, trustworthy and successful and who have given a lot of their time build- ing something inspirational and in- formative in the form of Orkut communities on different subjects,\u201d adds Zazo.

\u201cBut how will others come to know about them?\u201d The question plagued Zazo and made him open two communities on Orkut \u2013 \u2018Or- kut\u2019s Hall of Fame\u2019 and \u2018Rated Wow!\u2019

But membership to these com- munities is on invitation-only basis. \u201cGenerally people gaze through communities and join them out of their own interest, but these two communities are dedicated to some outstanding personalities for their activities, profession and achieve- ments, which can be a lesson in mo- tivation, inspiration and knowledge to anyone. And we invite them,\u201d says Zazo. In case you are in search of such people, a visit to these com-

Zazo is not alone in this whole process. His sister Tarannum (23), quit her job at IBM Daksh to join her brother\u2019s initiatives. \u201cI was very inspired by my brother\u2019s initiative and decided to extend my full sup- port to take it forward,\u201d says Tara proudly.

And there started their idea of ex- panding it outside Orkut. Zazo thought the hard work of Orkut members should be appreciated more.

He started his blog in the year 2008 \u2013 orkutheroes.com \u2013 and that\u2019s how the concept of Orkut Heroes came into being.

This blog contains pro\ufb01les of peo- ple who have achieved in different \ufb01elds. \u201cWe select people from their active, useful and helpful contribu- tion to any subject of interest like academics, social work, etc.\u201d Due to complaints about fake IDs, he clar-

i\ufb01es with the friends in his/her friend list. \u201cWe see the types of communities he/she has joined and his/her partici- pation by sending scraps, messages and community activities. After a thorough scanning we try to approach that person either by scrap or by email if possible.\u201d After conducting more than 50 inter- views and the going through responses he got from his readers he is now into upgrading his website.

\u201cThough I have won many notable awards for music I was more recognised among my online friends as a hero after I won the Orkut Heroes award,\u201d says Sa- meep Kulkarni, a sitarist, one of the he- roes of Zazo\u2019s blog. Orkutheroes.com has become a platform for many online communities to take it further from mere online work to real meetings and groundwork.

If you as an individual or as a commu- nity have done something motivating, you can contact Zazo at zazo@orkuthe- roes.com\u25a0

While it\u2019s nice to get in touch with
old school buddies, two Orkutians
have started a blog to recognise
people who have started online
communities to help others