A BYTE OF LIFE Wednesday, March 25, 2009

02 03
TOO GOOD FOR CRITICS WINDOW SHOPPER
Sri Saibaba Mess, Mootakanchavadi Cinderella and Cute

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 56

Tennis takes centrestage at the

Cetennis residential academy in the
outskirts of Chennai. With a keen eye
on the basics and also on education,
this academy is sure to send out a few
winners in the coming years.
» PAGE 08
02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

New and fresh

Christian Dior has launched its latest fragrance
‘Escale a’ Pondichery’ at The Dune Eco Beach
Hotel recently. The new fragrance is a tribute to
the erstwhile French colony, inspired by the
fragrance from Pondicherry and Kerala.

Senior One for the

auditor
arrested for
car theft
ROAD
This retired couple running Sri Saibaba Mess on OMR are
A brand new car belonging to a senior
executive of HCL Technologies at sure to win you with their warmth and homely food
Kandanchavadi on Rajiv Gandhi Salai was
stolen on Monday morning. The car thief,
who police say is a senior auditor with the
AGS office in Teynampet, was arrested
within three hours of the crime.
The victim A.V. N. Prasad (54) found his
new Honda City car missing from his office
car park on Monday afternoon. Following
this, he lodged a complaint with the
Thoraipakkam police, who launched a
search for the missing vehicle.
Reliable police sources revealed that
Prasad’s mobile phone that he accidentally
left behind in his car was vital in tracking
the vehicle, which was found parked on the
AGS office premises sans the registration
plates.
Further investigations led the police team
to the accused Andrew Rajkumar (35) of
12th Main Road, Anna Nagar, who was
employed as a senior auditor. Upon
questioning, Andrew confessed to have
committed the crime after closely following
the victim to his office and work. He even
managed to obtain an impression of the
victim’s car key and a false parking ticket
before committing the theft, police added.
Andrew was arrested and remanded to :
custody and sent to Puzhal Prison on Wholesome lunch: Sri Saibaba Mess at Mootakaranchavadi. PHOTO: M. KARUNAKARAN
Tuesday.
Ergo Correspondent
LIFFY THOMAS rant. The mess was opened to noon meals).
liffythomas@goergo.in fulfil Rao’s long-cherished desire
to serve customers with his culi- Homely food

N
estled in the IT companies
on OMR, one wouldn’t
easily give this small ea-
tery opposite ASV Tech
Park in Thoraipakkam a miss. Sri
Saibaba Mess stands out as a
humble place, with acrylic sheet
as roof and an artistical-
ly done door giving it a
visual luxury.
Couple P. Lakshman
Rao and Hemavathi
Lakshman have been
running this mess since
July 2007, catering to
those on the move for
some inexpensive lunch
and dinner option.
Fulfilling a dream
It has been 25 years since
Lakshman Rao has been chasing
a wish – a dream to start a restau-
rant on wheels. But the idea was
shot down by Hemavathi as it
was “below their dignity” to quit
her well-paying job at State Bank
of Hyderabad and Rao’s job as
marketing manager at a pharma-
ceutical company to run a restau-
nary abilities, and this time He-
mavathi played the dutiful
business partner.
“I did not want to sit idle after
retirement. That’s when we de-
cided to take the business idea
forward,” says Hemavathi. “Ini-
tially, I was a bit reluctant…but
now I enjoy serving food to cus-
tomers who are as old as my chil-
dren.”
IT professionals bored of the
food served in their cafeteria and
construction workers employed
on the site are their major clien-
tele. Seeing Hemavathi dotingly
listen to your request for gravies
and serve them on to the plantain
leaf is a delight.
Interestingly, the leased place
where the restaurant runs on a
meagre rent is a goodwill gesture
Chinna Thambi, whom the
Lakshmans know for the last four
decades, wanted to shower on
the couple. The Lakshmans say
that whatever concession they re-
ceived on the rental they are re-
turning by offering reasonable
and homely food at Rs. 30 (after-
“We call it is a mess as we are
not experienced in the food busi-
ness and it is a modest start,” says
Hemavathi. Everyday the couple
come from Besant Nagar to open
the place at 8.30 a.m. and return
at 11.30 p.m. (They go home after
the afternoon rush for a few
hours of rest to again open the
mess for dinner). The popularity
of the restaurant is quite evident
from the milling crowds – from 75
meals a day, today they serve over
150 meals. For lunch (noon to 3
p.m.) there is homely South Indi-
an food. They again open for din-
ner (6.30 p.m.) with tiffins like
roti, sabzi, idli and dosa. “Every-
day we have one variety of dosa
served,” they add. ■
Address: 5/397, Mootakaran-
chavadi, Old Mahabalipuram
Road (diagonally opposite
Cognizant).
(Too Good for Critics is a weekly
column to celebrate Namma
Chennai’s ‘Kaiyendi Bhavans’ and
small eateries. If you can think of a
similar place, mail us at
feedback@goergo.in)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
C for Cute,
C FOR CINDERELLA
For lounge wear in funky prints and pretty casuals for a day
out, these two shops in Cisons Complex are a good idea
W
hat is your idea of lounge
or night wear? If it’s pol-
ka-dotted, heart-print,
star-spangled or Tweety
bird pyjamas, cute tops and hou-
secoats with Hello Kitty motifs
and the like, Cute in Cisons Com-
plex is the place to go.
And if your choice in casual
wear extends to dainty tops with
crochet work and pin-stripe de-
tailing, pretty wraparounds in un-
usual and colourful prints and
smart check shirts, Cute’s sister
concern, Cinderella, located just
two doors away, is a good bet.
Run by brothers-in-law A.J. Mo-
hammad Sajid (Cute) and Mo-
hammad Asif (Cinderella), the two
stores have most of the clothes
03
sourced from Tirupur.
Mohammad Sajid tells you how
Jackie Shroff once visited Cute
way back in the late 1980s. Cute
The more regular and day-to-
day customers mostly comprise No. 13 & 14, Basement,
college students from Ethiraj, Cisons Complex,
Women’s Christian College and No. 150, Montieth Road,
M.O.P. Vaishnav.
Egmore,
While wraparounds cost Rs.
150, t-shirts cost Rs. 50, Rs. 100 Chennai – 600 008
and Rs. 150. That’s it.
“We sell the clothes at a very
small profit margin. That doesn’t
mean the clothes are such that the
Cinderella
colour starts fading from the first No. 10, Basement,
wash. Quality is our USP,” says Cisons Complex,
Mohammad Sajid. No. 150, Montieth Road
Sizes range from S to XXL. Plus,
Egmore,
there’s new stock every month.
At Cinderella, you can lay your Chennai – 600 008
hands on some very interesting Ph: 044 – 42145242
pieces, like the pleated plaid skirt Store timings: 10:30 a.m.
we spotted.
to 8:30 p.m.
At Cute, we loved the oversized
(knee-length or longer) cartoon-
print t-shirts that are any comfort-
loving home worm’s delight. ■
04
BACKPACKERS
Anandamide
at 10,000 feet
In this – the second and final part of
how things can go wrong while
travelling – the author finds himself a
little under two hours to go to reach
Hong Kong International Airport after a
series of miscalculations. And he finds
himself running helter skelter to board
the bus that would take him to Hong
Kong International Airport to somehow
catch his flight to Singapore. And then
Murphy’s Law set it.
KARTHIK SUBRAMANIAN
karthik@goergo.in
M
y longest morning ever
was to pave way for my
longest afternoon ever.
I found myself puffing
and panting as I climbed up all
seven stories of my cousin’s
apartment in Tung Chung to re-
ach the apartment on the eighth
floor. Stumped? See Chinese peo-
ple fear the number four because
it’s phonetic is eerily similar to
the word for death: “Si”. So they
don’t have a floor numbered four
in any of their buildings. My faith
in mathematics and numbers,
though I was never strong at it,
was taken a beating on the day I
would remember really well for
the rest of my life.
My cousin’s wife, who had ear-
lier in the day made me a perfect
South Indian brunch, was thank-
fully there. For some odd reason I
figured things would continue to
go wrong and she would be not
be there. I was thinking maybe
she went out shopping for some
Indian curry.
Thankfully, she did not. She
handed me my bags and asked
me to head as quickly as I could
to the airport. “There is a remote
chance that you might still make
it. Don’t give up,” she said.
The good thing was Tung
Chung terminal was nearby and
the International airport was a
stone’s throw away. Of course,
that’s a metaphor. You would
have to be Superman to throw
even a small stone from there to
the airport. And armed with com-
edy and ‘kadi’ triggered by a good
dose of Anandamide, I headed for
the bus terminal.
The public transport system at
Hong Kong should rank amongst
the best in the world. Efficient
and affordable, the bus and un-
derground train networks criss-
cross through the island and are
also the most comfortable way to
commute. For a city that is choc-
a-bloc with skyscrapers, the
roads can be notoriously narrow.
Hence there are different kinds of
buses for the routes – the double
deckers for the main roads and
the mini buses for the narrower
roads that not necessarily mean
the lanes.
I found myself a mini-bus with
the signage that showed the air-
craft and was quick to find the
word ‘terminal’. I could not con-
trol my joy. Less than two hours
to go, and there it was – the gold-
en chariot that would take me
within ten minutes to the airport.
And so I reeled into thought
again, breaking up the two hours
ahead into bits and pieces: 10
minutes to airport, 10 minutes to
check in the luggage and get the
boarding pass, 20 minutes for im-
migration and customs clea-
rance, 20 minutes for security
check … and that would still
leave me with an entire hour to
gape at all the stores at the fan-
tabulous airport. March 15, 2006
was after all going to turn out to
be a great day.
Change please
There was one minor hitch
though. Despite its great facilities
and efficiency, I overlooked the
fact that the buses in Hong Kong
required the passengers to tender
exact change. The buses run on a
fixed fare. For example, this mini
bus required 5 Hong Kong dol-
lars, and it does not matter if you
are getting off the very next stop
or are planning to go on a
merry-go-round.
ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009
And a five dollar coin was just
the one I did not have. I offered
the driver (the buses don’t have
conductors by the way) a Hong
Kong 10 dollar bill. He glanced at
me and nodded as if in a manner
saying: “Bro, I don’t have time for
this.” And as I tried to tell him in
the right earnest that he could
keep the change, he stared at me
once more as if to say: “Bro,
please get off.”
I have never believed in ran-
dom acts of kindness to strang-
ers. But that day an old Chinese
lady, with probably the most
roundest face on a Chinese per-
son possible, who was seated
next to the driver’s cabin laughed
and nodded at my plight and
handed me two Hong Kong five
dollar coins. I did the most ap-
propriate Chinese bow I could
possibly do, summoning images
of disciples bowing to masters in
the kitschy Hong Kong Kung Fu
movies. And as I dropped the
coin in the ticket receptacle, the
driver for once did not bother to
turn and gesture to me. Instead
he just hit a button in front of the
steering wheel and a ticket
popped out. The doors automat-
ically shut and I was on my way to
the airport.
Confusion strikes
And as I was heading to the air-
port, I started counting the min-
utes. I pulled out my wrist watch
from my pant pocket and wore it
right back. I was hoping that at
least from now on things would
be like clockwork. I had close to
an hour and fifty minutes to my
flight. But there was a small prob-
lem. I could not read the digital
Chinese signage that was running
in the bus on the upcoming desti-
nation. And the friendly Chinese
lady probably could not talk any
English.
That’s when I noticed the three
beautiful Cathay Pacific air-host-
esses. (Alright, alright … I was
ogling at them from the begin-
ning.) But the point is, I drew a
master plan. Just follow the air
hostesses and they would lead
you to the airport. Piece of cake.
The route to the airport was
unusually deserted. Tung Chung
is a suburb of Hong Kong and
kind of leads to the airport
through a non-descript route. So
there is no big sign of things to
come. Which is why I thought the
plan to trail the air hostesses was
fool-proof.
“Idiot, idiot, idiot”
So I got off at the stop that the
airhostesses got off and followed
them into a building that looked
quite hip as the airport but was
strangely deserted. I followed the
air hostesses two storeys up and
still there was no security, no re-
ception, not nothing … That was
when I summoned enough cour-
age to walk ahead of one of the air
hostesses, stop her and ask just
where the heck I was. “This is the
Cathay Pacific headquarters. Air-
port is just 15 minutes away on
foot.”
Gulp.
My mind went hyper. All the
Anandamide had evaporated and
it was screaming: “Idiot, idiot,
idiot.”
As I rushed to the bus stop, I
tried to decipher the signage
there. And I figured out that the
mini-bus service was once every
half-hour. I wanted to pull my
hair out. I did a few strands but
stopped short. The pamphlet of
the Ngong Ping ride I took earlier
in the day fell out of my shirt
pocket. As I bent down to pick it
up, the glare of a bus windshield
blinded my eye. And from afar, I
could see a mini-bus approach-
ing. Wow. It was my lucky day af-
ter all.
And as I bus stopped and the
door opened, I dug my hand into
my pant pocket to retrieve that
second Five Dollar coin that the
lady gave me. And that point, the
driver let a voice out: “Don’t
bother”.
It was the same bus, the same
driver and the old lady was seated
right behind him. She was laugh-
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
ing out of control. Remember? All buses
in Hong Kong follow circular routes.
The bus had completed its run to air-
port and was on its way back. So that
meant me going back to Tung Chung?
Hell, no. I gestured to the driver that I
wanted to the airport. “Airport … air-
port,” I told him, making a cone sign
with my hands.
“Why did you not ask me,” he said.
The bastard knew to speak in English.
And he was kind enough to take me
back and drop me at the departure
lounge.
Last ticket
I ran as fast as I could to the Singa-
pore Airline counter. Thankfully there
was just one European traveller ahead
of me, and he was enquiring with the
counter assistant if any tickets were
available on the business class. He ap-
parently did not want the economy
class. I was finally breathing. And as I
stepped forward – the touchy European
decided to take the next flight – the
flight attendant took my email printout
and smiled.
“You are lucky. This is the last ticket
and he nearly took it,” she said gestur-
ing to the man, with wild Italian or
French looks. I would like to forget just
how smart he was. It is good for my
self-esteem. And as I heaved a sigh of
relief, I looked at my watch. Just over an
hour to go and I was set. Or so I thought
as I gently trudged to the biggest queue
ever for customs check. And though
there were several queues for EU mem-
bers, Americans and other nationali-
ties, they decided to have one queue
only for Asians. Now correct me if I am
wrong, but are we Asians not the big-
gest group there is.
Last minute entry
For the first time in my life, I was
actually able to hear my heart beat. I
was able to realise exactly how long a
minute really is. And I knew for a fact
that Japanese, Chinese and Korean kids
in a queue are such brats you want to
just sock them hard.
As I went past the customs and secur-
ity check, I looked at my boarding pass
and went in search of the gate where
the Singapore Airlines flight was
parked. I still had a good 20 minutes.
The new International Hong Kong air-
port is one of the biggest in the world
and in 20 minutes, you can only get lost
there. And I ran, not for the first time on
that day. I ran helter skelter. And by the
time I reached my gate, the clock there
ticket just two minutes close to take-off
time. The Singapore Airlines personnel
05
gesticulated madly and thrust me to the
aircraft. I was the last passenger to
board it, quite literally.
And as I settled down, the captain
was already reading out the day’s
weather and other customary greetings.
I closed my eyes for the next 15 minutes
as the aircraft descended and settled
down in flight. I opened my eyes with a
start because of the smell of pork lunch
that the Japanese passenger in the next
seat started taking.
It had been one hell of a day. And at
that moment, I dug the pamphlet of
Nnong Ping Village cable car trip from
my shirt and read the text: “Journey of
Enlightenment,” it said.
I never make promises to God. But
that day I made an exception. “Dear Big
Buddha, no matter what, I promise one
day I will return to see you.”
Concluded
06 VILLAGE ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Daddy’s double trouble

A Spanish transsexual man is pregnant
with twins boys and is due to give birth
this September.

Astronauts finish final

spacewalk
Two Discovery space shuttle astronauts completed
maintenance work on the International Space Station
during the final spacewalk of the ongoing mission in
orbit. During the six-and-a-half hour spacewalk,
astronauts Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold
repositioned an equipment cart, deployed an external
cargo mounting mechanism, lubricated the space
station’s robotic arm and reconfigured cables that
power the station’s gyroscopes.
DPA
AIG protest goes online
Internet users are pelting AIG with virtual tomatoes in a
MoveOn.org campaign to express outrage over huge
Dutch city to reward motorists who bonuses awarded to executives at the bailed-out financial
giant.
avoid rush hour MoveOn’s stated mission is to splatter an image of an
A Dutch city is planning to offer bonuses next year to entrance to American International Group offices with 6.4
encourage people to avoid driving during rush hours, million cyber tomatoes to symbolise the number of dollars
Radio Netherlands has reported. one executive received as a bonus at the failing firm.
In an experiment to reduce the number of traffic jams Tomato hurlers target portions of an AIG entrance photo
around the central Dutch city of Utrecht, 1,000 people will with a curser and then fire with computer mouse clicks.
be eligible for a bonus Visitors to the website are also prompted to sign an online
of up to 1,200 euros if petition demanding that Congress retrieve the more than
they stay away from USD 200 million in bonuses given to AIG executives while
motorways during rush US tax money was being pumped into the company.
hours. AFP
Participants’ cars will be
installed with electronic
devices, which will
check how often the Malaysian army wives urged to
driver is using the
motorways in the join slimming programme
Utrecht area. The lower The wives of Malaysian Armed Forces’ officers were urged
the use, the higher the to join a slimming programme to draw the attention of
bonus will be. their husbands, a news report said on Tuesday.
The premium is paid for The recently launched programme, which roughly
by the road user’s translates to “From fat, frumpy and lumpy to slim,
employer, who in turn fashionable and glamorous”, was aimed at giving
is granted a tax makeovers to the women, organiser Rositah Mohamad
reduction and a subsidy Mawi was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news
by the authorities. agency.
Xinhua DPA

Ronaldo
turns to watch collection
P ortuguese footballer Cristia-
no Ronaldo has found a new
hobby in collecting luxury
watches of every kind, and he is
said to already own several of
them.
Ronaldo, 24, is reportedly the
proud owner of 70,000 pounds
Franck Muller timepiece, and he
is now looking at investing in
Rolex and Cartier watches, and
timepieces from Breitling and
club sponsor Hublot.
“Ronnie is becoming more ma-
ture with his money and, al-
though he loves cars, he now
wants items which hold value,”
the Sun quoted an Old Trafford
source as saying.
“He has been told how some
watches increase in value over
time and he has developed a
great eye for these things. “A
few of the United lads compete
over cars and watches, but Ron-
nie always seems to be one step
ahead,” the source added. ■
ANI
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Websites of the day
Keep your home and belongings safe with these easy steps:
http://www.studentnow.com/features/burglerproofing.html
Share your bad boss experiences:
http://www.employeesurveys.com/bosses/badboss.htm
Tipu’s throne to go under the hammer
The golden throne
was broken up so
quickly - much to
the disapproval of
the then Governor
General Lord
Wellesley
A
fter Mahatma Gandhi’s
personal belongings, some
more of India’s heritage is
to go under the hammer -
this time, a gem-set gold finial
from the throne of Tipu Sultan
will be auctioned in London next
week.
The recently discovered gem-
encrusted gold finial plundered
from Tipu Sultan’s huge golden
throne is being put up for sale in
the British capital on April 2, ten
years after it was found lying in
the vaults of an English bank.
The object, found by the Bon-
hams Islamic Department during
a routine valuation, is one of
three surviving tiger head finials
Facebook users revolt
against site’s redesign
M ore than 1.7 million Facebook
users have joined a protest
against another redesign of the
popular social networking site, in
one of the biggest consumer re-
volts seen in the online world.
As of midday on Monday, the
Facebook group called Petition
Against the New Facebook had
1,727,394 disgruntled members,
while a Facebook-sponsored poll
on the redesign had received
more than 1.2 million votes, with
just 75,000 approving the new
look. The redesign was foisted on
A Bonhams auction house employee holds a recently discovered gem-encrusted gold finial from
the octagonal golden throne of Tipu Sultan in central London.AFP PHOTO/Shaun Curry
Love All
the site’s 175 million
worldwide users late last
week in a bid by Face-
book to better compete
with micro-blogging
sites such as Twitter
while also making its
pages more
advertiser-friendly.
Opponents of the new
design say it clutters
their home page with updates
from people they don’t care
about, while also limiting the
number of features available to
users.
“The new Facebook home page
is one step in the continued evo-
lution of the site, designed to give
people more ways to share and
filter all types of content, such as
status updates, photos, videos,
notes and more,” the company 쒀 Andy Murray of Britain and Venus Williams of the USA play an impromptu game
said in a statement.
■ ERICSSON/AFP
DPA
07
Search for elephant angel
Belfast Zoo is searching for an unidentified woman who
looked after one of its elephants in her backyard to save it
from German bombs during the Second World War.
that adorned Tipu’s elaborate
throne.
It had lain at Featherstone Cas-
tle, Northumberland, where it
was listed in an 1843 inventory of
the late Baron Wallace of Knars-
dale (1768-1844), who oversaw
the East India Company, and af-
terwards was hidden away in a
bank.
However, a large gold tiger
head from the front of the throne
platform now resides at Windsor
Castle, while another surviving
finial lies at Powis Castle, ac-
quired by the second Lady Clive
in India.
Auctioneers Bonhams, who
have described the finial as ac-
tually “one of the most important
Tipu items ever to appear for
sale”, valued it at 800,000 pounds,
the British media has reported.
“It holds huge fascination for
both India and Britain as it is part
of our shared history. It is, with-
out a doubt, of the greatest his-
torical significance as it belongs
to the most important symbolic
object in Tipu’s kingdom, his
throne, which he refused to
mount until he had defeated the
British,” Claire Penhallurick of
Bonhams was quoted as saying.
■
PTI
of traffic tennis on Ocean Drive in Miami. PHOTO: CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGES FOR SONY
08 SPORT ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

SA leads the race

While uncertainty over the offshore venue of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) continues,
Cricket South Africa and the government there have moved swiftly and taken steps to host the
Twenty20 championship. CSA has got in touch with the South African government and intimated
them of the urgent requirements to host the event. CSA has already told various provincial unions
around South Africa to keep their venues in prime condition to host one of the eight teams.

Ace
it up
Cetennis the only
residential tennis
academy in India will
see two more courts in
its premises by April
and calls for tennis
enthusiasts from the
corporate world to
enjoy the sport

(Left) Coach Meenakshi Sundaram shows a few tricks as his wards watch in awe. Students
strike a pose at the Competitive Edge Tennis Academy in Navalur. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

DEEPA VENKATARAMAN just completed two years in the acade- dents get scholarships at colleges
my says: “Every day our study time is abroad.

W
ho said that the Old Mahaba-
lipuram Road (OMR) belt has
only software companies? Ex-
plore the serene Navalur area
along the Thambalur road, and you
will reach a tennis academy – Ceten-
nis at Meenakshi Gardens, with a dif-
ference.
At 5.30 a.m. the lights of the hostel
rooms at the academy are switched on
and in half an hour, one can see eight
kids between the age of 11 and 16
years practicing vigorously on the two
clay courts. What was started by pro-
fessional tennis trainer Meenakshi
Sundaram as a summer camp in 2002
has turned into a one-year-tennis res-
idential school in 2004, where not on-
ly the nuances of the sport but also
education is taken care of. The three-
acre academy amidst a green lawn has
thirty six rooms, a mini gym with
weights, an internet facility, swings
and a small mess area.
Giving equal importance to sports
from 8 pm to 10 pm. I had a personal
tutor who took care of my educational
curriculum at the academy and hence
my studies were never affected.”
Forty-year-old Sundaram’s child-
hood dream came true when his
brainchild churned out national
champion in the Under-14 category
few years back. “When I did my four
year training at the age of eight from
John Newcombe’s Tennis Ranch at
Texas, I didn’t get any personal atten-
tion and hence I decided to start one
with private coaching in India for tal-
ented, young tennis enthusiasts. I en-
rol students who already know the
basics of the game and further train
them to take part in tournaments con-
ducted by the All-India Tennis Asso-
ciation (AITA).”
For eleven-year-old Ramya Natra-
jan, who started to learn tennis in her
native at Chidambaram at the age of
nine, the academy has made a lot of
difference to her game.
The kids are also exposed to inter-
national training and tennis culture
once in a year. Sharadh Ramesh (14)
says: “I got to interact with foreign
players and exchange notes of the
game at Texas.” Sundaram plans to
make it a corporate affair.
Appealing to companies located on
the OMR for financial support, he
says, “It is a good source of recreation
which is close to their work place.
They can also get some tips on ten-
nis and have a good game after work.”
■
Various programmes in Cetennis
1 year programme for interested
students
2 Weekend programme
3 Expats welcome to come with
family to enjoy the game on
hourly basis
● Address

and education, the academy has got
tie-ups with two schools – Sacred
Heart and Gateway International. Un-
like other kids of her age who run from
pillar to post for classes during HSC,
Susita Das (17) from Orissa, who has
“It was only here, I got the right 2/191 Competitive Edge,
training and confidence,” says the Meenakshi Gardens,
state champion who won the AITA Thalambur Road, Navalur,
Under-14 tournament last December. Chennai 603103.
Medals and accolades from the insti-
tute have even helped the earlier stu-
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
09

‘‘
I wouldn’t like to comment. It is sensitive
issue. The decisions have been taken by
the powers that be. I am just a player and will
have to play wherever I am asked to.
Sourav Ganguly

Locked & Loaded

The scene now moves to Napier where the Kiwis would look towards a seaming wicket to restore parity
AKSHAY RAMASESHAN sand odd people. The last outing In- capped bowler Brent Arnel) and Ja-
dia had in Napier was during the mie How as a cover for the injured

T
alk what you want about the 1989-90 tour, when the match ended Daniel Flynn. The bruised seamers
young blood infusing new life in a draw after rain washed out more have however been retained, that
into Team India, but it still took than two days of play. Sachin, in his goes on to suggest the captain’s confi-
the oldest workhorse (at least in first tour of New Zealand then, had dence in them. Jeetan Patel will cer-
terms of the matches played) in the scored a cautious 88. tainly get a look into the XI, as hinted
team to mastermind a victory over The Kiwis are expected to go in for a by the coach. Ian O’Brien would most
the Black Caps in the first Test played more seamer-friendly strip. Coach likely pave way.
at Hamilton last week. Andy Moles was heard saying: “We Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on the oth-
This is ‘The Curious Case of Sachin need a typical New Zealand wicket er hand, would not think twice on
Tendulkar,’ who it appears to be ag- where it nips for about a couple of fielding the same eleven. He would
ing in reverse all of a sudden, show- days so it brings our seamers into the like to go for an instant kill and seal
casing his prodigal days. The Mumbai game against their batting attack matters off before heading down to
Maestro has only set the die. Now it which is used to the ball being true Basin Reserve for a final word. He
is for the others to cast the series. and turning a bit.” Phil Stoyanoff, the must be relatively happy with every-
chief curator at McLean Park, has body’s perfomances albeit he would
Scene 2: Napier promised a similar deal. However, he like to see Virender Sehwag and VVS
The tour party now ruled out a green-top, in the interest Laxman among the runs.
proceeds to Napier, of witnessing a five-day contest. In-form Sehwag missed out on a
the port city of the good chance to bat, after being run-
Northern Islands, Team Composition out by his partner. The bowling de-
which is the fifth lar- New Zealand and Daniel Vet- partment too showed signs of com-
gest populated ur- tori will have to get their combina- mitment and took wickets at crucial
ban dwelling in tion right. Vettori will obviously be junctures. The weak-link before the
New Zealand, disappointed with Jacob Oram’s un- first test Munaf Patel has also man-
with a count of availability. The Kiwis have roped aged to remain in Captain Cool’s
hundred thou- in Jeetan Patel (in place of un- good books. ■

Sachin Tendulkar tests his football skills

along with teammate Ishant Sharma at
the Eden Park stadium in Auckland on
Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP
10 FLICK ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Robin Williams recovering

from heart surgery
Oscar winner Robin Williams is expected to make a complete
recovery from his recent heart surgery in the next two months
and plans to resume his comedy tour afterward, according to his
representatives.

‘Preity has done a splendid job’

Director Deepa Mehta on her next film Videsh- Heaven on Earth and the leading lady Preity Zinta

D
eepa Mehta is the person
of the moment. She is
ready with her next film
Videsh — Heaven On
Earth, a yet another poignant
story about the tale of an Indian
woman married and settled
abroad. The ace director speaks
to TWF correspondent Ritesh
Sharma on her film and more
You have once again
chosen a very interesting
subject and the protagonist
in your film is a female.
It’s not about the protagonist
but the subject. It’s a very top-
ical issue and very delicate. I
have given my best and hopeful-
ly people will like it.
Tell us something more
about the story
As I said it’s a very delicate
subject and needed to be han-
dled with care. It’s about the life
of an Indian woman, Chand,
who leaves her homeland to go
to Canada and settle with her
husband Rocky. It’s about how
her life changes and the turbu-
lent situations she has to over-
come.
The film, apparently deals
with how this woman is tortured
by her husband after she gets
married and goes abroad.
It’s not only that. It’s not
about the tyranny a married In-
dian woman is subjected to. It’s
only one side of it. It’s about a
fight within oneself and how one
overcomes it. It’s also about life
and hope and there is a bright
side to it also. Videsh is a subject
that is very close to my heart.
Why did you choose Preity
Zinta?
I think she was the perfect one
who could have done justice to
the film and she lived up to the
expectations. In fact she has giv-
en a power packed performance
and exceeded my expectations. I
think this is one of her best per-
formances till date and I must
compliment her for doing such a
splendid job.
What about your next
project, Midnight’s Children?
We are yet to start on that. I
have had a word with Salman
Rushdie and we will soon sit
down together. It’s a long proc-
ess and the script has to be writ-
ten. But I hope that won’t take
much time.
So what do we expect
from Videsh once it
releases?
Expect a good story that will
be entertaining at the same time
though provoking. I think Preity
needs to be applauded for her
effort and after this film she will
be held in high esteem. ■
Trans World Features
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Jacko’s invite to Harry Potter stars
King of pop Michael Jackson is such a big fan of the Harry Potter films that he has
reportedly invited its young stars to be his guests at the opening night of his Live 8 gig.
Actors Daniel Radcliffe, 19, Emma Watson, 18, and Rupert Grint, 20, have been invited
to the show, and they will even be able to go backstage at the O2 on July 8.
Aniston
dumped Mayer because of twitter
A
ctress Jennifer Aniston dumped her boy-
friend rocker John Mayer as he was appar-
ently twittering too much.
Thesun.co.uk reports that Mayer said he
was too busy to call Aniston back while she was
promoting her new film. But she could see that
he was regularly updating his page on the social
networking site. A friend said: “Jen was fuming.
There he was, telling her he didn’t have time for
her and yet his page was filled with updates!
Cine City
11
Every few hours, sometimes minutes, he’d update
with some stupid line. She was like, ‘He has time
for all this Twittering, but he can’t send me a text,
an email, make a call?’ He didn’t deny it. He
knew he was avoiding her. So when she ended
things, he just said OK, and he was sorry it didn’t
work out.”
The two had started dating in 2008 and have
been on and off. ■
IANS
Diaz asks for a Moss
hairstyle in salon
H ollywood actress Cameron Diaz walked into a hair salon in California with a picture of British
model Kate Moss.
According to dailymail.co.uk, the picture was a headshot of Moss with blonde hair.
A source said: “Cameron is obviously a fan of Kate’s hair do. She took the photograph with her and
showed the stylist exactly what she wanted. Kate must be very flattered that someone like Cameron
wants to copy her look.”
After Diaz asked for a particular cut, a stylist got ready to work on the hair. Diaz spent close to
three hours in the salon with her hair covered in foil. She spoke on her phone, sent messages and
read magazines. ■
IANS
Pazhassi Raja to hit the
theatres on Aug 15
Mammootty’s magnum opus historical Pazhassi Raja will
Gopika’s sister
to debut
finally hit the theatres on this Independence Day. The
movie scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair and directed by
Hariharan, has Tamil star Sarath Kumar playing a
prominent role. The movie to be released simultaneously
in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi also has actors
Actress Gopika’s sister Glini is Suman, Kanika and Padmapriya.
all set to enter the Malayalam
film industry. She will be
playing actor Mukesh’s
daughter in a new film to be
directed by Binu Kumar. Glini
is at present doing a hospital
management course.
Meanwhile her sister Gopika,
who is on a sabbatical after
her marriage, has restarted her
studies. She is currently
pursuing a course in Sociology
in Ireland, where she is settled
with her husband Dr. Ajilesh.
12
Writers Club
The globe is warming and humans are responsible
T
he Arctic: Rudolph, the seal
is lazing on the bed of ice
next to the ocean enjoying
the cold breeze. All of a
sudden he hears an unusual
crash and opens his eyes to a
huge chunk of ice running down
the glacier next to him. He im-
mediately flips and falls into the
ocean just in time to escape the
chunk and watches it crash into
his bed.
Before he recovers Rudolph
starts swimming incessantly to
escape another block about to
crush him. In a frenzied run, he
swims to the shore while watch-
ing huge chunks of ice break
down from the top of the gla-
ciers around him.
Amidst all the rumbling, the
seal frantically moves to the city
and heads to the master seal’s
cave. The master seal, the oldest
in the community, opens his
eyes disturbed from his medita-
tion by the agitated Rudolph.
Confused at the master’s
amusement, Rudolph begs him
to explain what’s going on.
The master seal says: “Ru-
dolph, the polar ice caps are
melting!” Again confused, Ru-
dolph questions the master why
the ice caps are melting and
who is responsible for it. “The
globe is warming and humans
are responsible for it. Humans
are the most intelligent and
youngest species of evolution
who have taken over the world
for 10,000 years!”
ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hello folks,
Look out for this space every Wednesday for short stories and
poems you have penned during your free hours. Short stories should
be original and not exceed 600 words. Send them to wc@goergo.in
with your contact details.
Rudolph approaches the humans. Energy resources
replies: “If Deforestation destroys trees. These later results the forest, she are then used up for selfish cor-
the humans in hurricanes that destroy the earth including is perplexed porate greed, which will render
are so intel- the humans. Energy resources are then used up by the ab- the planet barren in a few years.
ligent, which sence of
makes them for selfish corporate greed, which will render some of the Who is destroying whom!
certainly the planet barren in a few years. trees that Rudolph is flabbergasted with
smarter than housed her this new realisation and ab-
us, why are friends. Won- horred by humans who he real-
they destroying our home? upon a window sill. An old man dering what’s going on, she ises are stupid enough to
Don’t they know that we won’t sitting inside was explaining to a lands on one of trees and sees destroy their own home and
be able to survive in any other bunch of students about some humans cutting down the trees. others’ too. He looks at Sally and
place?” “greenhouse” gases in the atmo- As they start cutting the tree sees her eyes drooping uttering
The master grins and replies, sphere that was creating so- that she is perched upon, Sally her last words with a grin before
“Rudolph. No one has even mething called “global flies now both confused and she drops down dead! “The hu-
been able to answer that ques- warming”. Intrigued by the dis- frustrated with what humans mans are too delusional to un-
tion!” Rudolph goes back to his cussion, Sally starts paying at- are doing. Lost in thought and derstand that mother earth is
home, staring into the vast tention and hears the horrific aggravated about humans de- destroying them one by one in
ocean reflecting the full moon consequences of this phenome- stroying her friends’ abode, Sal- the pretext of cleaning up the
right above it. His thought gets non. Sally then decides to go ly is flying, when the sight of culprits that have vandalized
distracted by a blurred figure around the world to see what’s something awfully familiar cap- her!”
across the moon. actually going on. She rises into tures her attention. It’s her Rudolph crashes down next to
A sea gull flying in a haphaz- the air, but this time making friend, dead and floating in wa- Sally’s body with tears in his
ard way comes towards him and sure she doesn’t get into the ob- ter with the current that just de- eyes and desperation in his
perches right in front of him. noxious gaseous clouds. Howev- stroyed an entire city – a mind to make the humans un-
Worn out, with soot all over and er, to her surprise she sees hurricane. Sally lands down next derstand what Sally could.
droopy eyes, the sea gull intro- clouds beneath her originating to a rescue worker with a red The sight of dead Sally petri-
duces herself as Sally. Rudolph out of tall pipes. Surprised by cross on his back, who looks at fies him and also jolts a little kid
asks Sally what happened to her. these new clouds, she goes her dead friend and says, “An- in whose dream Rudolph and
Sally then looks at Rudolph, down to explore them and real- other victim that would’ve been Sally existed. Perplexed and
coughs and then starts narrating ises that they’re made out of the saved if it wasn’t for the damn confused himself, the little kid
her recent travel experiences. same gases that were in the deforestation!” walks down the stairs to his
clouds above. Greenhouse gases That’s the moment when it all mom who is fixing breakfast and
Sally’s encounter polluting the atmosphere. dawned upon Sally. She con- asks her, “Mom, why is global
A week ago, Sally decided to Sally decides to keep away nected the dots and realised that warming bad and how can we
travel around the world. As soon from these gases and carefully everything is inter-related and fix it?”
as it rose in the air, it started flies right in between them. everything is exactly what the Hearing the kid’s question, his
flying into the thick clouds that However, she is caught choking professor in the class said. De- dad, sipping coffee answers
were definitely not made of wa- and coughing. As she flies by, forestation destroys trees that “Son, we don’t believe in global
ter vapour. Choked by these she decides to meet her friends have high amounts of water. warming! It’s a false concept!” ■
weird clouds, Sally flew down in a nearby rainforest and dis- These later results in hurricanes Richard Kodamanchili,
into buildings and perched cuss this new revelation. As she that destroy the earth including Cognizant Technology Solutions
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
■ Villu because the movie
is full of comedy in the
name of romance
Lokeswaran Allsec,
Vijayachakravarthy Infosys
■ Narasimma, for the
chemistry between captain
and Isha Gopikar
Pari Cognizant
■ Jab We Met. I like the
story and characterisation
of both Shahid and
Kareena
Thivyanathan, Nagesh TCS
■ Minnale, for Maddy’s
romance and Vivek’s
comedy both at its peak
Sabarish.JM Cognizant
■ Kadhalikka Neramillai.
The movie suits for all
generations and it had the
flavour of both romance
and comedy. After that
movies either had romance
or comedy but not both. I
Art featured in this co-
lumn will receive gift
coupons from Fruit
Shop on Greams Road.
Send in your addresses
so that we can post the
coupons.
Gayathri AD from Cognizant
Technology Solutions doodled this.
1) Innaiku thoonguna nalaiku enthirikalam.aana
naalaiku thoonguna inaiku enthirika mudiyuma????
2) Bus la collector-yae erinalum.. mudhal seetu driveruku
than......
What happens when an amplifier is thrown into the ocean???
Tsunami would come, because amplifier amplifies smaller waves
into bigger waves.
wonder if such a film comes
up in the future. Best of
luck directors
Deena Wipro
■ Micheal Madana Kama
Rajan acted by Padmashri
Kamal Hassan
Sripradha Chakravarthy Infosys
■ Siva Manasula Sakthi. It’s
full of comedy
Thirumalai RBS
■ Panchathanthiram.
Romance can also be shown
in such a lighter effect is
something amazing
Anuradha Prakash TCS
■ Fifty First Dates because
the way Adam Sandler does
things to win short term
memory loss Barrymore
heart again with every new
day with his unique sense
of humour
Senthil Arjunan
Calsoft Ltd
Saravanan.V,
HCL Technologies Ltd.
Selva, Srini,
Tata Consultancy Services
■ Dear Srini,
Happy Birthday SRINI -
Smart Robust Intelligent
Nasty Intellect. Nothing
more..We all wish that all
the troubles around you
get vanished and you to
get into the new
’interesting’ , fun-filled’
trouble of marriage...! !
Urs Everloving Friends werone
(Kannan,Mugi,Jai,Magi,Jaggu,Hari)
■ Dear Sreevas,
May all your hopes and
dreams come true, and may
the memory of this day
become dearer with each
passing year. Happy
Marriage Anniversary!!! Best
Regards,
Panasonic Team. R Systems
International Ltd.
■ Happy Birthday Venkat !
Whatever Dream u r
Dreaming , may each one
of them come true .
Whatever plans u r making
may they all work out for u
. Wish You all Happiness,
Health and Prosperity with
many more returns of the
Day....!
Regards,
Rajkumar , Krishna , Raghu ,
Saba, Bala ,Sudalai
e Services Mainframe - iNuatix
Technologies
■ Dear Sampath,
May your day be filled with
laughter On this your
special day And may the
finest things in life Always
come your way. Regards,
PrabhuMohan V
■Dear Jayapriya,
This is our wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness
intrudes, beauty for your
eyes to see, friendships to
brighten your being,
confidence for when you
doubt and Love to
complete your life. Have a
wonderful birthday!!!
Ur lovable sisters,
Sowdha(HCL), Vaishu
■Dearest Ragini,
It’s your birthday...and we
are thinking how glad we
are that you were born.
You have given us so much
- supported us, encouraged
us, cared for us; I didn’t
even need to ask.
We celebrate your
wonderful self! We are in
awe of your boundless
generosity, your infinite
kindness— that gentle
inner glow that you so
freely use to warm our life.
Your birthday is as much a
celebration for us as it is
for you, maybe more, and
We wish for you the best
of birthdays, the best one
ever. May each birthday be
better than the last.
Most of all, We hope you
will always be As happy as
you have made us.
With love,
Vinesh, Prathap, Sangith,
Muthu, Revathy, Reena, Divya.
■Happy Birthday Deepa !
Whatever Dream u r
dreaming, may each one of
them come true . Whatever
plans u r making may they
all work out for u. Wish
You all Happiness, Health
and Prosperity with many
more returns of the Day....!
Regards,
Chennai Pat 2008 - Batch 1,
iNautix Technologies.
■Dear Kannan,
Our heart is filled with
wishes
For a very special day,
One that brings a world of
joy
And happiness your way-
It’s also filled with loving
thoughts
Especially meant for you,
For you’re the kind of
person
Happy things should
happen to!
Best Wishes,
S. Jayaprakash Wipro, and
Nalini IBM, and all IBM
Banking friends
■Dear Manager Sir (Paul),
Hope all that you do, Turns
out happy for you, And all
that you wish, Comes your
way,
Like warm and loving
wishes, And happiness and
cheer,And everything you
need to start
Another happy year Hv a
wonderful Birthday!!!
inimelavadhu Alavoda sight
adi pls :) Treat
maranthudadha!!
Cheers,
RDS,SD
■Hi Deepan,
We have no choice of what
13
color we’re born or who
our parents are or whether
we’re rich or poor. What
we do have is some choice
over what we make of our
lives once we’re here.YOU
HAD THE CHOICE N U
CHOSE US.
Regards
Bhavna , Deepa , Abirami
,Sweety
■ Hi Anbu,
Wish You a Many More
Happy Returns of the Day
Saran Anna. Let Your
Dreams become true. Have
a Beautiful and Joy full
Year ahead Anna. Enniya
pirthanal naal valthugal
anna.
Best Wishes & Regards from,
Your Friends & Team mates.
■Dear Tiju,
Today you are blessed with
another beautiful year.
Wish you all happiness,
health and success on your
Day.
Happy Birthday...
With Love, Sudhagar & Josny
■Wish you Many more
Happy Returns of the Day,
Doctor.Subathra.
"There are three hundred
and sixty-four days when
you might get un-birthday
presents ... and only one
for birthday presents, you
remember...25’March"
Anbudan,
Vijay.G, i|Nautix
■Dear Krishna
(Krishnaveni),
Some things are left
undone,
Some words are left unsaid,
Some feelings are left
unexpressed,
But some ones as nice you
could
Never be left wished.
Happy birthday my friend
Logesh, Infosys
■Dear Paramesh (CPW),
Belated B’day Wishes da
Palam,Have a great ’nd fun
year ahead.
Cheers,
Nandha & Karthi -
Motorola,TCS
Sakthimurugan -TEG,TCS
■Hi Iniyava
Iniyavarukku Iniya Pirandha
Naal Nal Valthukkal.
Wish u Many Many More
Happy returns of the day
!!!
Priyamudan,
Jayapriya Rajasekaran, Infosys
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Alien encounter
The U.K.’s Ministry Of Defence has released a
document detailing a British woman’s encounter
with an "alien" who had a Scandinavian accent.

sudoku

Vasanth Dandapani of
iNautix Technologies
captured this insect on
his Canon G6. Hobbies:
Photography, Animation

Preference this month is being

given to photographs that talk
about ‘happiness’, which you
need to tell us in a line or two.
Please do not repeat any of
your previous pictures and also
make sure that the photograph
is people-oriented. Happiness is
not always a smile, so put on
your thinking caps and keep
clicking!
Winners can collect their gift
vouchers on Sundays, between
3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Ergo
office
KAKURO
So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the
platform? Mail us your best work and we’ll publish it in this space, with
credit. E-mail: clickpick@goergo.in

TEAM
Editor: Karthik Subramanian
karthik@goergo.in

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem Kumar

Dy Chief Designer: R. Ravi Kannan
Illustrator: R. Venugopal

Technical Support:
V.R. Vasudevan, K.G. Gurumurthy
N. Ravichandran, E. Baskar

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Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik
(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Watch out!
Swiss watch-makers have teamed up with Indian psychics
to design a watch they claim predicts the future - turning
brown when trouble is about to strike.
15
Word’s worth
“Ichthyoallyeinotoxism” (ick-thee-oh-al-ee-ayn-oh-toks-izm) a
kind of food poisoning, which causes vivid and terrifying
hallucinations in people who eat fish that have themselves eaten
certain algae containing indoles, chemicals similar to LSD.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Routine activities may take up a lot of time today,
feels Ganesha. Hence you need to be more
attentive. This might dissolver your interest for
important tasks. Initiations from your end will be
seen only after lunch, feels Ganesha.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

Your mind might go for a ‘world tour’ today.
Ganesha warns you against thinking in too many
directions. Probably it would be better to handle
one thing at a time. You might be over expressive
or over enthusiastic in approaching your beloved.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

Logical thinking is fine, but incessant brooding or
BORN LOSER pondering might not prove to be useful. Ganesha
suggests that you should not try to push yourself for
something which is practically impossible. Try to
streamline your thoughts in a proper direction.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Luck will favour you in the second part of the day.
The first part of the day might be eaten up by
impractical thoughts or actions. Ganesha warns you
against such thoughts. Ganesha further insists you
to not react impulsively in meetings. E
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
The so-called dull and slow paced day will seem
active only when the evening is closer. Obviously,
the later part of the day will keep you busy. Since
you are a true romantic at heart, you might feel like
expressing your love in a very dramatic manner.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
You will be doing a variety of work in the first part
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT of the day. This might agitate you and might affect
your tone or way of talking. In such circumstances.
However personal life is hassle free. On the whole,
the day seems to be average day.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Today your work will be heavy from the moment
you step into the office. Important activities or
communication might take up yor time, feels
Ganesha. This might take a toll on your energy
levels.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
You might feel like conquering the North Pole
today. In other words, you may have a strong urge
to take up challenging and invincible tasks today.
Unfortunately, you might not be able to spare much
time as your schedule at office will be very tight.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
Ganesha finds you composed today. You will be
able to handle office work very smoothly and on
time. Old creative projects may now start coming to
conclusion. Thankfully you will be able to spare time
for family and close friends.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
You will feel very brave today as you won’t mind
taking up challenges. Ganesha thinks you will be
able to handle difficult tasks very easily. The good
thing about the day is that you strengths and plus
points will be highlighted in front of your superiors.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Progress is on the cards today. Before lunch, you
will be involved in important communication
ISSUE’S regarding work. Post lunch, you may deal in some
other important work and decide to finish it off
SOLUTIONS quickly.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
You will be able to clear your confusions at work
with positive and firm decisions. Ganesha thinks
persistent hard work will help you gain clarity at
work place. You might spend a wonderful evening
with your sweetheart.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Primate keepers Louise Grossfeldt (L) and Mandy McLellan (R) display
an infant Francois Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) named ’Elke’
through the window of Taronga Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital in Sydney on
March 24, 2009. There are only around 1,000 of the critically
endangered leaf-eating monkeys still in the limestone karst region of
northeast Vietnam. AFP PHOTO/TORSTEN BLACKWOOD
British actor Gemma Arterton arrives in London’s
Leicester Square on Monday to attend the world
premiere of her latest film, The Boat That Rocked,
directed by British film director Richard Curtis.
AFP PHOTO/MAX NASH

Rescuers prepare to herd a pod of long-finned pilot whales and

bottlenose dolphins back out to sea from Hamelin Bay, south of the
city of Perth, on Tuesday. Rescuers used trucks and cranes fitted with
giant slings in a bid to transport 11 surviving whales from a mass
beaching on Australia’s west coast to a safe harbour for release. AFP
PHOTO/TONY ASHBY