.M. Karthikeyan, a software engineer with Tata Consul- tancy Services, has covered a distance of 80 km on foot to

This associate started his four- day walkathon on June 24, visited 50 Panchayats, covering a popu- lation of 15,000 people, and dis- tributed pamphlets insisting on the importance of basic educa-

tion. He educated the villagers about the importance of sending their children to school and child labour problems. Karthikeyan walked around 10 to 12 hours per day to complete the mission.

\u201cThe locals of these Panchayats are so downtrodden that they don\u2019t send their kids to schools. There are around 16 government schools here and attendance is very poor. So I thought of stress- ing on the importance of educa- tion to these villagers who are mostly illiterates,\u201d says Karthi- keyan, who was assisted by his fa-

Another feather to the techie\u2019s cap was getting the TCS Soldier Award from the company for his contribution towards society.

Why thepadhayatra? \u201cI pre- ferred walking as it is the Gand- hian way of sensitising people.\u201d

Ergo had published an article on Karthikeyan for helping stu- dents from underprivileged fam- ilies

and surrounding villages complete their basic education. This he achieves through the ARAM Trust.\u25a0

The Accord Metropolitan, has wowed
partygoers with its dance \ufb02oor, spacious
ambience and a warm place to hangout.
Be it Ladies Night on Wednesday, Retro
Nights on Thursday and Desi Nights on
Friday, the night club was a place to
unwind with its music and entertainment.
OPM now gears up to celebrate its \ufb01rst
anniversary. Popular DJ Nikhil Chinapa will
entertain guests for their anniversary
special, to be celebrated on July 10 and
11, from 8 p.m. onwards.
The party will start on July 10 with DJ Ray
V and DJ Vijay, who are popular for their
Hip Hop and House music. Nikhil will be
the star attraction on July 11, playing
House music along with DJ Craig and DJ

lavishly spent the money and gold his passenger left behind in a bag in his vehicle, fell into the police net.

The culprit even sold some je- wellery from the bag for a gala drinking session.

According to MKB Nagar po- lice, the passenger, Mani of Vy- sarpadi, had the hired the

autorickshaw of the accused Ma- nivannan a few days ago. He got down at a speci\ufb01c destination in north Chennai, forgetting his bag containing Rs. 12,000 in cash and \ufb01ve sovereigns worth of gold je- wellery. Later, when he realised his folly, he rushed back in panic only to \ufb01nd that the autorickshaw had gone, police said.

Mani lodged a complaint with the MKB Nagar police after giving detailed identi\ufb01cation on the au- to driver.

Following this, a police investi- gation was underway and auto driver Manivannan was appre- hended on Monday. Upon ques- tioning Manivannan confessed to have driven away with the mis- sing bag. He later sold two sover- eigns of gold jewellery and spent more than half of the cash on lav- ish drinking sessions with friends, police added.

Manivannan was remanded to custody and sent to Puzhal pris- on.\u25a0

The bi-annual sale of Westside is on till July 26.
Shoppers can avail discount of 20 per cent on purchase
of merchandise worth Rs. 5,000; 15 per cent on goods
worth Rs. 3,000; 10 per cent and 5 per cent on purchase
worth Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 15,00 respectively.

Silk corset tops to beach wear
to Indo-Western \u2013 the collection
at Pasadi is a pleasant mix

hile it\u2019s easy to spot the store\u2019s board on Montieth Road, a less-determined soul wouldn\u2019t cross the

Pasadi has been there for over three years and caters to a speci\ufb01c

The latest addition to shelves is the Beach O Nine line, a range of, you guessed it, beach wear in the form of denim shorts with se- quinned embellishments, knitted rainbow-hued

linen summer dresses and

tunics. There are \ufb02ip- \ufb02ops to match too.

used to design clothes, but chie\ufb02y for friends and on a non-profes- sional basis. I opened the store with my mom, Sara. Known clients and word-of-mouth publicity have kept it going,\u201d Divya says. \u201cWe make it a point to launch a new line every three months,\u201d she adds.

Elaborating on the Beach O Nine, she says, \u201cWe don\u2019t have a beach culture in Chennai. We have

piece line, all but about 10 have been snapped up already.

quinned tops and embroider- ed salwar kameez sets. Except the fabric, everything is made in- house. \u201cWe\u2019re all about custom- making clothes,\u201d says the former PR executive who now takes care of the store\u2019s business full-time. \u201cWe do saris, sari blouses, corsets,

for brides and bri- desmaids,\u2026

of the store\u2019s USP, she says, \u201cWe can cater to any- body who walks in and the pric- ing is pretty good for design- er stuff.\u201d\u25a0