A BYTE OF LIFE Thursday, August 21, 2008

Korea leads the Olympic charge! P.09

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 163

The hero
next door
» Page 10
Full-time Techies Part-time teachers P.04

Photo: S.S. KUMAR

02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

Climax on day one

John Britto’s Dance Company will perform its annual
dance spectacular ‘Climax’ today at Kamaraj Memorial
Hall; 7 p.m. If you can’t make it, reserve your tickets for
Friday or Saturday. For tickets, call 4224 4224

Man who immolated wife

also dies
A 36-year-old painter who killed his wife by
setting her ablaze also died of burns on
Wednesday morning.
The deceased was Saravanan, a painter
from Perumal Koil Street in Choolaimedu.
Last Sunday evening, Saravanan in an
inebriated state had an argument with his
wife Manjula at home and in a fit of anger
doused her with kerosene and set her afire.
A burning Manjula grabbed her husband, A photo taken by Dr Afzal Mohamed in
severely injuring him in the process. the initial stages of Bhaskar’s recovery
Police booked Saravanan on charges of
murder after Manjula’s death in
Government Kilpauk Medical College
Hospital on Sunday night. Saravanan, who

Here’s to
was admitted to the hospital with third-
degree burns, also succumbed to his injuries
on Wednesday morning.

2 die after floor gives way

Two people died after a floor of the

happy endings
building at the thermal power station in
Ennore collapsed on Wednesday morning.
According to Ennore police, the victims
were Ramesh and Chokkalingam, who were
employees of the power station. The two
sustained serious injuries after the cement
floor they were working on gave way. They
were rushed to the hospital but
pronounced “brought dead”.
Ennore police registered a case and are
investigating the incident. Bhaskar would have been just another animal who
suffered a road accident and died. If not for the
guardian angels, that is …
SRIYA NARAYANAN Afzal Mohamed were deter- funded the complicated sur-
pets@goergo.in mined not to give up even gery, reveal that they kept
after seeing that his hind legs nine friendly mongrels in

I
n this column on June
12th, the Cattitude Trust
appealed to Ergo readers
to become a part of the
Guardian Angel programme
and fund medical treatment
and surgery for cats and dogs
in need. A few generous folk
came forward to help Bhas-
kar, a gorgeous Indian dog
who survived a serious road
accident. Two months later,
Bhaskar’s bandages are off
and he’s glad to have made a
marvellous recovery.
When the dog with soulful
eyes was first brought to The
Ark, a private veterinary
clinic in Namma Chen-
nai, Dr Aravind Kumar
and his colleague Dr
were completely smashed.
Dr Kumar talks about how
“everyone came together” to
help the suffering animal, in-
cluding the Cattitude Trust
and people who saw posters
of the dog. “It’s great when
society takes responsibility
for an injured animal. It was
not a situation where the dog
was left at a shelter and was
forgotten. And time is the
most precious thing you can
offer in a situation like this. If
you take the injured cat or
dog to a doctor who says, for
example, that it needs a ban-
dage-change twice a week,
try to make time for it in your
schedule”.
The vets, who partially
their hostel rooms in the Ma-
dras Veterinary College. “It
was against the rules and
there were some complaints
initially but over a period of
time, everyone unofficially
adopted these dogs”.
Bhaskar is now the mascot
for the programme and will
live at The Ark with his doc-
tor friends until he finds a
family to move in with. ■
If you’d like to
sign up to become
a Guardian Angel,
call Cattitude at
98840 97862.
 Thursday, August 21, 2008
03
Chugging through MADRASPATTNAM
Asan Memorial School plays host to an exhibition of old photographs, coins and all things Chennai

MONISHA MOHANDAS

I
t would take at least a week to tour Chennai. Agreed!
But one visit to the Asan Memorial School auditori-
um will make you feel like you have taken a trip of
the entire city. The bustling school campus wears a
festive look this week. It is playing host to the Madras
Week Celebrations, and an exhibition of photographs
and miniatures of historical sites is on display.
A series of charts explaining how Madraspattnam
grew to Chennai takes one to the days of the Colonial
rule. Sandeep, a Class IX student, exhibited models of
the Rippon Building and Chennai Central. Students of
Class IX caught the
attention of many
visitors. Their ex-
hibits on different
brass lamps – kut-
tu vilaku, ka-
makshi vilaku and
agal vilaku – ex-
plained their com-
position and why
the city holds
them dear. Sharing knowledge about the
The famous city
landmarks of Chennai, including St. George Fort, Light
House, Egmore Railway Station, to name a few, stood
out with their illuminating lights. That’s not all, there is
also an exhibition of rare coins.
On the whole the exhibits took visitors on a trip down
memory lane, starting from Beerangi times to the mod-
ern ‘golden chariot’ buses.
If you are foodie, you must try some of the cuisines
native to Chennai. For the next one week students of
the school will offer guests samples of traditional dishes
like sambar rice, pongal, vada, and filter coffee.
Drop in at
Asan Memorial
School, Anderson
Road. The
exhibition is on
till August 22;
from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m.

Students dressed in traditional

costumes as part of the Madras Week Celebrations.
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

Cats and dogs

Cats have more than one
hundred vocal sounds, while dogs
only have about ten.

Chennai SNAPSHOT

Full-time techies, part-

time teachers
Employees of Mphasis double up as
teachers at Panchayat Government
Schools

Neck deep in fun: At the Thiruvanmiyur

Beach, a youngster finds out what mud
therapy is all about. Of course it is all for fun!
Photo: N.Sridharan

V.HARIPRIYA The education core group han- Engineer, who conducts classes
haripriya@goergo.in dles the tutorship programme. in one of the schools says that the
Meenu Bhambhani|, manager, main aim of the initiative is to im-

“E
ach one teach one”
goes the slogan to pro-
mote literacy.
As part of their Cor-
Dark Knights aplenty! porate Social Responsibility
At the Museum complex, it is easy these (CSR) initiative, several em-
days to catch a glimpse of the fruit bats. ployees of Mphasis tutor students
PHOTO: S.THANTHONI
of two schools in namma Chen-
nai. They spend about six hours a
week teaching students from Std
VI to VIII of Panchayat Govt
Schools at Neelangarai and Pe-
STOCKTRACK rungudi the basics of computer
and spoken English.
134.50 47.50 Mphasis, an EDS company, as
part of its CSR, had formed four
core groups – education, health-
14678.28 4415.75 care, general awareness and envi-
ronmental awareness in their 3
facilities in Chennai. There are
more than 2,300 people em-
ployed in these facilities and 200
employees have volunteered for
SENSEX NIFTY
community initiative activities.
Community Initiative, leads the
CSR activities that are co-ordinat-
ed by Gokul Santhanam, HR-
Leader, Raghuram V (Senior
Manager - HR), Anand C ( Assis-
tant Manager-HR) and Arun Pra-
sad P (Assistant Manager-HR) in
the city. “The CSR-education
group has come up with specially
designed course materials on ba-
sic computers and spoken En-
glish,” explains Arun Prasad. “We
have also provided study materi-
als to the students. This is a three-
month course and conduct reg-
ular tests for these students.”
Apart from this, the firm has al-
so tied up with an NGO Kazhin-
garya that works for the welfare of
school dropouts in Tirusulam.
There is a plan to adopt this vil-
lage and carry out community
service, Arun Prasad added.
V. Karthick, Senior Software
prove the standard of govt
schools in par to that of matric-
ulation schools. “In the begin-
ning, we found it difficult to
control the students who lacked
discipline and they didn’t even
know alphabets properly. We had
to start everything from the scrap.
We handle basic computers, spo-
ken English and moral science. It
has been 45 days since we started
and now we have started receiv-
ing positive feedback from the
teachers, both in terms of stu-
dents discipline and studies.” ■
CSR Dossier will be a regular
feature in Ergo to showcase the
activities of the companies that we
reach out to. If you want to feature
your organisation’s CSR activities in
Ergo, ping us at feedback@goergo.in
or haripriya@goergo.in. Phone:
2857 6690.
 Thursday, August 21, 2008
Websites of the day
The ultimate movie website:
www.chud.com
All you ever needed to know about
handbags: www.armcandygirl.com
MITHRA SURESH
mithra@goergo.in
A
red carpet welcome, bu-
gles blaring, fireworks and
flower girls welcoming
guests with rose petals
made the launch of Anise on
Tuesday night a big affair. Taj
Coromandel announced the
shutting down of their 24 hour
multi-cuisine diner, Matchpoint,
which will be replaced by the
Anise.
While cocktails and finger
food were served at Match-
point, the guests were enter-
tained with live music by
namma David Pascal who sang
songs by artistes as varied as
Frank Sinatra to Bob Marley to
Creed. Adding to that was DJ
Steve, who played classy retro
tracks and Cuban lounge music,
and flair bartender David
Coulthard who displayed fantas-
tic acrobatics, especially with his
blindfolded juggling.
Post-fireworks by the pool, a
05
US $ 43.72
SOURCE: RBI
Pound 81.45
Euro 64.47
100 Yen 39.75
bugle announced the final
countdown to the opening of
Anise. The crowd was lead up
stairs to view the restaurant,
where champagne was served.
The minimalist ambience was a
slight reminder of The Park’s
Leather Bar minus the leather
but with more Zen. After that,
the crowd was again led back
downstairs to one of their halls,
where dinner was served. The
tedious journey up and down
the stairs was forgotten howev-
er, thanks to the choice of cui-
sine displayed.
The menu at Anise is as exten-
sive as Matchpoint’s but the at-
traction is the live dosa counter
in addition to a separate table (Clockwise) Minnie
for South Indian cuisine only. Menon, the newly
And if the same desserts are to opened Anise,
be served, then the top-rated fa- friends Nadia and
vourite should be strawberry Devika enjoy a
cream with pieces of fresh drink, bartender
strawberries in brandy snaps. David Coulthard
Yum. For more on specific dishes PHOTOS: R. RAVINDRAN
and their delectability, await a
food review next week.
06 VILLAGE
Phone
a friend for exams
A
ustralian high school stu-
dents will be able to tele-
phone a friend, surf the
Internet and listen to pod
casts during exams under a plan
revealed by a girls’ college on
Wednesday.
Sydney’s Presbyterian Ladies’
College said it was updating the
‘open book’ exam concept, in
which students are able to bring
in reference books, to take into
account new technology.
The school is trialling the use of
the new media with 14 and 15-
year-old English students but
hopes to expand its use across all
subjects by year end, the Sydney
Morning Herald reported.
English teacher Deirdre Cole-
man, who is coordinating the pi-
Australian college can
surf Internet and listen
to pod casts during
exams
ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008
Badminton
The world’s fastest racquet sport is
badminton. Shuttlecock speeds
approach 200 mph.
PM’s voicemail: call my
predecessor
Ever wished your predecessor was there to take the
flak for the problems you inherited? Ireland’s Prime
Minister Brian Cowen may have the answer. Three
lot programme, said students months after Cowen took office, callers to two
were being encouraged to access numbers for the prime minister’s office listed in
information using their mobile Dublin’s telephone directory were still being redirected
phones, the Internet and from to the previous incumbent. “Thank you for calling the
pod casts on their MP3 players office of the Taoiseach (prime minister), however if
during exams. you wish to call Bertie Ahern’s constituency office,
But any time a source is used, it please ring ...” a recorded message instructed callers.
must be cited on the test paper to Cowen became prime minister in May after Ahern
prevent plagiarism, she said. stepped down amid mounting questions over his
“In terms of preparing them for complex personal finances.
the world, we need to redefine Reuters
our attitudes toward traditional
ideas of cheating,” Coleman told
the newspaper.
“In their working lives they will
McCain copies material from
never need to carry enormous
amounts of information around
Wikipedia
Senior U.S. Senator John McCain has been
in their heads.”
accused of copying material, some from
“What they will need to do is
Wikipedia, for the speeches he made on the
access information from all their
campaign trail. A speech McCain made about
sources quickly and they will
Georgia on August 11 is also said to bear strong
need to check the reliability of
similarities to the country’s entry on Wikipedia,
their information.” Student Anne
the online encyclopaedia compiled by the public.
Achie, who called an aunt during
her English test, told the new-
Congressional Quarterly alleged that two
passages were almost identical to Wikipedia, and
spaper that ‘phoning a friend re-
a third of the speech bore striking resemblances.
ally helped.’ ■
AFP
McCain has also been accused of exaggerating or
concocting the prison story, which he periodically
uses in his stump speeches.
ANI
Used Olympics tickets get second
life
Used tickets from the Olympics have become a much
sought-after item among Chinese collectors since the
Games began. On popular Chinese collectors’ websites,
an ordinary used ticket for track and field was going
for about 50 yuan (US$ 7.3) while tickets to popular
fixtures such as the China-U.S. basketball preliminary
were going for some 300 yuan. When China met the
United States on the basketball court in Wukesong
Sports Center on August 10, many Chinese collectors
queued up to buy tickets from spectators leaving the
stadium. Many of these tickets will find their way into a
growing online market for Olympic souvenirs.
Xinhua
Maradona slams ‘stingy’ Brazil
Diego Maradona said he had rarely seen Brazil play
as negatively as they did in their Olympic Games
semi-final defeat to Argentina. “It’s a long time
since I’ve seen Brazil so stingy and defensive,” the
former Argentina captain was quoted in his
country’s media as saying. “I didn’t think they could
do any damage. They never managed to play their
way out of defence, nobody helped Ronaldinho
and they never played coherently. I think Argentina
were better in every metre of the field.” Maradona
watched Tuesday’s 3-0 win at the Workers’ stadium.
He has also been to see Argentina’s men’s
basketball and women’s hockey teams in action in
Beijing.
Reuters
 Thursday, August 21, 2008
07
This day, that year
Oak tree It was in August 21, 1911 that Leonardo da
The average mature oak tree sheds Vinci’s most famous painting ’Mona Lisa’
approximately 700,000 leaves in the was stolen from the Louvre Museum in
Autumn. Paris by Italian waiter Vicenzo Perruggia.
The painting was recovered two years later.

Divine right to education

Nepal’s SC rules that ‘kumari’ can go to school

A
Nepali tradition of locking
a young virgin girl in a pal-
ace and worshipping her as
a ‘living goddess’ has been
dealt a blow with the country’s
Supreme Court ruling she has the
right to go to school.
The court said there was no
justification for the specially cho-
sen pre-pubescent girl, known as
the Kumari, to be subjected to a
practice that dates back centu-
ries.
The current Kumari is nine-
year-old Preeti Shakya.
The ruling comes barely three
months after Nepali lawmakers
abolished the country’s 240-year-
old Hindu monarchy, who re-
ceived annual blessings from the
Kumari in a ceremony designed
to underpin the legitimacy of the
royals.
The court’s verdict was
prompted by a complaint from
local lawyers that keeping a Sajani Shakya who has just retired as the living goddess Kumari in the town of Bhaktapur, at Mount Valley School in Kathmandu.
young girl cooped up in an ornate (Right) Nepalese living goddess Kumari attends the festivities. AFP PHOTOS
but decrepit palace in Kathman-
du’s medieval quarter was a vio- manta Rawal told AFP. things just because she is the Ku- to do away with the country’s her total separation from the out-
lation of her rights. “The court ruled there were no mari.” ‘feudal’ practices. side world.
“The Supreme Court came up historic or religious documents Furthermore, the ‘living god- But it was not immediately The people in charge of looking
with a verdict... asking the go- that state the child should be de- dess’ concept is facing redundan- clear whether the court’s decision after her said they took orders
vernment to take action to pro- nied the rights of education, cy given that Nepal is now would herald the end of the tradi- from the heavens – and not the
tect the rights of the Kumari,” movement etc. officially a secular republic run by tion, given that the Kumari’s aura Supreme Court. ■
Supreme Court spokesman He- She should not be denied these ultra-leftist ex-rebel Maoists keen is to a large part dependent on AFP

Ex-con is now Prince Oh my God!

Charles’ window-washer
A former convict is now washing
windows at Prince Charles’s
new Llwyny Wormwood Estate in
Wales after having been appar-
ently hired without any screen-
ing, the Daily Mirror reported on
Wednesday.
Matthew Bell, 35, has previous-
ly served two jail terms, nine
months for burglary and 21 days
for not paying a traffic fine. Bell,
who at the outset of 2008 had set
up a cleaning company, had
worked two days cleaning the
windows of the new residence
before Prince Charles and his
wife Camilla arrived.
Bell received 1,200 pounds
(1,500 euros) for his work. The “I don’t go to houses thinking,
Mirror said the royal household ’I could get 100 pounds for that
intends to hire Bell out every TV’, because that’s a part of my
month. life that’s gone,” he added.
“I’m a changed man and I’ve “Prince Charles has talked of of-
worked bloody hard for this,” Bell fenders being given a second
쒀 A Chinese girl with a bust of Chinese basketball star Yao Ming on display at the
said. “I did an absolutely beauti- chance. Now it’s his chance to
2008 Beijing Olympic Games fine arts exhibition in Beijing. AFP PHOTO
ful job up there and nothing went give me one.” ■
missing. DPA
08 SPORT ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

China vaults to glory

China muscled aside the competition to proclaim itself the gy
superpower at the Beijing Games, dominating the sport in a m
China’s gymnasts hit form as they were cheered on night afte
National Indoor Stadium, snaring nine of the 14 gold on offe
Seoul in 1988.

Sharath disappoints
Indian challenge ended in the table tennis
event of Olympics after Achantha Sharath
Kamal meekly
surrendered 1-4 to
Austria’s Chen Weixing in
the second round clash of
the men’s singles event in
Beijing on Wednesday.
Not looking in good
touch the Chennai
paddler struggled to get
his rhythm and was
outplayed 5-11, 12-14,
2-11, 11-8, 10-12 by his
Austrian opponent.
Chen played an attacking
game and the Indian
wilted under pressure,
struggling to get his placements right.
The Indian, undone by his unforced errors,
could manage to win just one game in the
match, which lasted just 32 minutes.
Neha Aggarwal had already crashed out of
the women’s singles event after losing her
first round match.
PTI
GETTY IMAGES

young Twenty20 cash-cow, Mor-

Good start for Bhupathi-

Knowles
Cricket ponders gan admitted trying to find space
for yet another tournament – one
whose date won’t be set by a
cricket official – was a potential
barrier to Olympic participation.

Olympic declaration
Ace Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi
“It is something that cricket has
and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles
to think about very carefully,” he
cruised into the second round of USD
said. “This visit, these few days
708,000 Pilot Pen tennis tournament with a
gives us the opportunity to assess
straight-set win in the opening round in
the potential for cricket becom-
New Heaven. The second seeded Indo-
Bahamian pair got the better of French duo
T20 can make its Olympic debut in 2020 ing an Olympic sport.”
He added: “2020 must be the
of Marc Gicquel and Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-3

W
hen veteran Chinese
in one hour and 14 minutes, on Tuesday.
leader Zhou Enlai was
Bhupathi-Knowles saved two breakpoints
asked in the early 1970s
and converted two on their opponent’s
what he thought of the
serve to pocket the first set. In the second
impact of the French Revolution
set, they dropped their serve once but
of 1789, he replied: “It is too early
converted two of the three chances they
to say.”
got to script a convincing win. They next
How much harder it must be
play the American-Slovakian pair of James
then to speculate on the future.
Cerretani and Filip Polasek, who defeated
And when it came to cricket’s
the American pair of Eric Butorac and Scott
possible inclusion as an Olympic
Lipsky 6-2, 6-4 in their opening match.
sport, International Cricket
PTI
Council (ICC) president David
Morgan, in Beijing for the ongo-
ing Games, weighed his words
with a care that would have ap-
pealed to both Zhou and the
opening batsman deciding on
what to play and what to leave.
It is not so much too early as
too easy to say that while Adam
Gilchrist is in favour of Twenty20
cricket, the shortest international
form of the game, becoming an
Olympic sport and Ian Chappell
is very much against; Morgan is
very much sat on the fence.
Unlike the two Australians,
Morgan leads a large multi-na-
tional organisation which finds it
difficult to make decisions with-
out the consent of its most po-
werful members, who do not
always see eye-to-eye.
Add in the fact that the earliest
likely date for the return of crick-
et, which did feature in the 1900
Games, to the Olympics is 2020
and Morgan’s caution is all the
more understandable.
Cricket’s rulers are often ac-
cused of being obsessed with
money and one of the initial con-
sequences of being recognised by
the International Olympic Com-
mittee (IOC), an organisation
founded to promote lofty, ama-
teur ideals, is a financial one.
“The important first step for
the International Cricket Council
was gaining recognition of the
sport and of the council from the
IOC,” Morgan said in Beijing.
“That is important particularly
for many of our smaller nations
because to belong to a sporting
body that has recognition from
the IOC improves their opportu-
nity for funding,” the Welshman
added.
Twenty20
Morgan believes Twenty 20
would fit into the Olympic fort-
night “without any difficulty
whatsoever”. But with adminis-
trators already dealing with fix-
ture clashes caused by the
relentless milking of the still-
earliest realistic date but I must
emphasise the International
Cricket Council has to consider
its position just as the IOC has to
consider its position.”
Even though athletes are not
paid directly for competing at the
Olympics, former Australia wick-
et-keeper Gilchrist said they
would jump at the chance to play
in the Games.
It’s not about the money
“Cricketers won’t care about
the money. The chance to stand
on top of the Olympic podium, to
wear an Olympic gold medal and
the pride of belting out your na-
tional anthem would be a life-
changing money-can’t-buy expe-
rience,” he said.
But legendary Australian cap-
tain Chappell said while the
Olympics would be fine for a few
fortunate players from the sport’s
top teams it would do nothing for
cricket as a whole.
“Marching in an Olympic
Games opening ceremony might
give individual cricketers goose-
bumps,” Chappell said. “But as
part of the evolution of the game,
it wouldn’t raise a pimple on the
backside.” ■
AFP
 Thursday, August 21, 2008
ymnastics world’s new Olympic
manner not seen since the Soviet era.
er night by18,000 screaming fans at the
r, second only to the USSR’s 10 in
09
Dream run
South Africa’s Natalie du Toit says she wants to inspire others to
realise their dreams after fulfilling her ambition to compete at
the Olympic Games despite having her leg amputated seven
years ago. The 24-year-old finished 16th in the women’s 10
kilometres marathon swim on Wednesday.

North Korea,
Georgia head
Games medal table
N
orth Korea and Georgia are the
most successful countries at the
Olympic Games; according to al-
ternative medal tables which take
into account a country’s size, wealth
and even human rights. Of the 75
countries who have made the
official table, based solely on
gold medals, China have a
strong lead with 43 com-
pared to the United States
on 26 and Great Britain’s
16. However, a table pro-
duced after the first week by
Bri- tain’s Daily Telegraph taking
population into account put Georgia at the top with
its two gold medals amounting to one for just over
every two million people. China’s 43 medals
equal one for every 30 million. But if the medal
table are based on a country’s gross domestic
product then impoverished North Korea (two
gold; one silver, three bronze) leads from Zim-
babwe (1-3-0) and Mongolia (1-1-0), accord-
ing to both the Billmitchell.org and Britain’s
Channel 4 television websites.
On a population basis, and a weighted
value for the various medals, it is Jamaica
from Slovenia and Bahrain. The official
medal table is generally considered to re-
flect economic input, and Britain with a
population around 60 million has made
no secret of the fact its rapid leap from North Korea’s
36th in Athens to third in Beijing is a An Kum Ae
pay-off for years of investment. “We’ve after losing to
invested in sports’ governing bodies, Xian Dongmei
getting them to step up and profes- of China in the
sionalise,” said Peter Keen, UK women’s 52
Sport’s head of performance. “Today kg judo final
we’re a nation feeling really good at the Beijing
about it.” But statistics can prove any- Games. AFP
thing and Britain is second to the Unit-
ed States if you go by Channel 4’s human
rights medals table, where the number of
medals won is weighted against a country’s rating
by the US Freedom House organisation. China is
ninth on this table. The Billmitchell.org website be-
lieves its version of the medals table is “more
meaningful than the official rankings which just
reflect world power”. The Daily Telegraph said
Georgia leads its table compiled on “an alterna-
tive ranking that more fairly represents a coun-
try’s performance”.
India are ranked 16th according to the
GDP per capita ranking but in population
weighed ranking India is placed at the bot-
tom on 75th position. ■
AFP
 10 FLICK ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

Winehouse’s rehab
Troubled English singer Amy Winehouse will enter a
drugs rehab centre in Suffolk, so that she can be near
her jailed husband. Winehouse, 24, will be getting
treatment at the ‘small and friendly’ Focus 12 Clinic in
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where comedian Russell
Brand is said to have overcome his own addictions.

‘I wanted to become
a music director’
PHOTO: S.S.KUMAR

A
fter the success of Chennai
Petlee Peter 600 028 and Subramaniap-
uram, actor Jai has carved a
catches up niche for himself in the Ta-
mil film industry. Ergo caught up
with the with Jai at the mahurat ceremony
of his forthcoming flick, Aval
young Peyar Tamilarasi, on Wednesday
morning.
sensation Jai Tell us something about Aval
at the Peyar Tamilarasi?
It’s a very interesting script and
sidelines of the film is directed by debutant
Meera Kathiravan. I play a 28-
the launch of year-old in the film, about four
years older than my actual self.
What then?
I wanted to become a music di-
rector. I learnt to play the key-
board for nearly six years and was
training in the studios with music
director Deva and his son Sri-
kanth Deva during my leisure
time.
Then how did your
Kollywood entry happen?
You can call it my luck that
struck in 2002 when director Ven-
katesh was making the film Bha-
gavathy with actor Vijay.
He was searching for a new
of director Shankar’s Boys but it thronged by some of my fans.
didn’t work out towards the end. I
came back with Chennai 600028.
And it took an unbelievable 30
minutes to go from one street to
You have the mannerisms of
another for the shoot. I can never
forget that.
actor Vijay.
That could be because I am a Any unpleasant moment?
great fan of his. I don’t miss any
of his movies. Priyamanavale and
I get so pissed when people
drop garbage out of their cars on-
Gilli are my all-time favourites. I
bought a new Ford Fiesta recent-
to the road.
I can’t stand that.
ly and specially got the number
567 for it, similar to actor Vijay’s Which is one destination you
cars. want to visit?
Switzerland. To see the
What is your dream role and
with whom?
snowfall.

his new film Keeping in mind the character, I

had to do my homework quite
face to play the role of Vijay’s
brother in the movie. And he
A villain in director Venkat Pra-
bu’s movie is what I am dying to
And in India?
I’m happy with Elliot’s Beach
Aval Peyar well and play the character to
perfection.
happened to meet me at the stu-
dio and offered the role which I
play. Hope I get the call soon
(laughs).
and Sathyam Cinemas. I can nev-
er get bored of the two places.
Tamilarasi Ever thought you would be
accepted.
The happiest moment of your Friends?
an actor? After Bhagavathy there was a life? The Chennai 600028 gang are
Not even in my wildest of long gap. Recently, I was in Dindigul for my best buddies with whom I of-
dreams. Yes. I almost made it to the cast the shooting of a TV show. I was ten hangout.
 Thursday, August 21, 2008

Serendipity
11
WALL- E? In the movie serendipity when both the actors
In the movie WALL-E the main character’s are on a subway staircase they see an ad that
name is actually an acronym, standing for reads"Six Degrees of Separation". "Six Degrees
"Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth-class" of Seperation" is a theory which claims that any
and EVE stands for "Extraterrestial two given people on the planet are linked by a
Vegetation Evaluator." chain of only six mutual acquaintances.

ZOHAN comes to India

B
est known for his funny characters in
hit films like Anger Management and
The Wedding Singer, Hollywood actor
Adam Sandler is all set to tickle the
funny bone of Indian fans with the latest
comedy flick You Don’t Mess with Zohan.
Directed by Dennis Dugan, the film is based
on the comic antics of a Mossad agent, who
is out to catch a terrorist. The theme of San-
dler’s latest film is based on Israeli-Palesti-
nian conflict. The film is being released by
Sony Pictures Entertainment in India on 19
September.
Sandle and scissors
The story of You Don’t Mess with the Zo-
han revolves around Zohan Dvir (Adam
Sandler), an Israeli Mossad agent whose
dream is to become a successful hair stylist
in New York. Zohan becomes upset with his
officers after they cut short his holiday and
send him on a mission to recapture the
Phantom, a known terrorist. Zohan takes
advantage of the situation and fakes his
own death. Armed with his scissors and his
coveted book of hip hairstyles, Zohan final-
ly heads for America. Shunned by the up-
tight salons of New York, he makes a name
for himself in a lesser known shop of a Pal-
estinian woman.
Word of his extra special attention to de-
tail spreads and soon the ladies start lining
up to sit in Zohans chair and be serviced.
But his fame invites not only friends but
attracts the attention of enemies old and
new, who try to take their revenge with him
and Zohan has to deal with them in his own
style.
Besides, Sandler, the film also casts tal-
ented actors like John Turturro, Emanuelle
Chriqui, Rob Schneider and the gorgeous
Mariah Carey and tennis legend John
McEnroe in guest appearances.
With You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
Adam Sandler has also teamed up with two
celebrated comedy scribes of Hollywood --
Robert Smigel of Triumph the Insult and
Saturday Night Live fame and Judd Apatow
of Knocked Up and Fun with Dick and Jane.
The film, which was released worldwide
on June 6, has already generated a very
good response at the box office and with its
India release makers are hoping that the
film will be successful in wooing the Sa-
dler’s fans in India as well. ■
US actors Adam Sandler (R) and Rob Schneider pose during a PTI
photocall to promote their film "You Don’t Mess with the
Zohan" Photo: AFP

Bond man on memoirs

B
eing Bond could be scary
New York, Aug 20 (AP) It’s
not easy being Bond.
Roger Moore, who starred
in seven Bond films in the 1970s
and 1980s, recounts his days as
the dashing super-spy in his up-
coming memoir, "My Word Is
My Bond," and says things we-
ren’t always as they seemed.
"Jimmy Bond had a big jet
boat chase in ’Live and Let
Die,’" writes Moore, now 80. "I
did quite a few run-throughs to
practice and whilst banking on
one such run, the engine cut
out. I had no steering! I there-
fore continued in a straight line
... directly into a wooden boat
house."
He instantly catapulted from
the boat into a wall, cracking his
front teeth and twisting his
knee.
"There I was, as a fearless 007, producer Albert R ’Cubby’ Broc-
hobbling on a cane to my boat coli) to tell him."
and then pretending to be inde- But Broccoli, who steered the
structible for the cameras. Who Bond franchise over three dec-
says I can’t act?" ades, shook his head and
Moore replaced Sean Con- asked, "Do
nery in the 007 franchise in you know
1973. His films include "The Spy how much of
Who Loved Me," "Live and Let a percentage
Die," "The Man With the Gold- he’d want?"
en Gun" and "A View to a Kill." "It’s always
The book, due out November been policy
4, also recounts the time Moore that no Bond
bumped into a young Steven director ever
Spielberg at a Paris hotel. got a slice of the
"He was a huge Bond fan and box office prof-
said that he would love to direct its," Moore
one of the films," Moore says. says.
"He’d recently had great suc- "So, Spielberg
cess with ’Jaws’ and ’Close En- went off and
counters’ and was considered a made ’Indiana
very hot property. Jones’ who I
I was rather excited at this reckon to be a period James
news and went looking for (film Bond!" ■
AP
12 SCAN ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

Responsible Sara
According to bollywood hungama, Saif Ali Khan’s
daughter Sara ensured that all safety gears were
in place before Saif did a dare-devil stunt on the
sets of Race. She didn’t let him shoot until she
double-checked safety cables that Saif had to
wear while filming a difficult action sequence.

PICK OF THE DAY

Star World Star Movies HBO Animal Planet

Less than perfect - 8 pm Good Will Hunting – 11-25 pm
Upon returning from vacation, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin
Claude learns that her boss, Williams star in Gus Van Sant’s
network anchor Will Butler, has Oscar-winning film, with Damon as
resigned, leaving her jobless. Will Hunting, a school janitor who
also happens to be a savant with a
photographic memory and the
ability to solve seemingly impossible
math problems.
The Departed – 11 pm
Two just-graduated officers from
Massachusetts State Police Academy
follow opposite sides of the law:
William Costigan is assigned to
work undercover with the Irish
mobster Frank Costello to get
evidences to arrest him.
The Blue Beyond – 9 pm
After final research to understand
dolphin life in the wild more fully,
the conservation team opens the
dolphin’s pen. The choice of a world
of humans or a world of dolphins is
now hers.

,
Dear Diary day! And
I go t o ut of jail to
So , o w yo u go in
range h
it’s pretty st l these precon-
al
there with s of what convicts
on
ceived noti images borrowed
–
will be like Holly-
Bolly/Kolly/
from bad . But the truth is
es
wood movi that. The people
nothing like ormal; they seem
n
there are so than the outside
sa n er
much iendlier.
o rl d . A n d so much fr e – to
w tim
e they have ce, in-
For in ther to re m inis
e,
philosophis rd the best, most
ea
vent! I’ve h es of my life to-
n ta st ic st ori theat-
fa
go in to teach them ith a
day. I u t w
come o
re, and I memo-
o f st ories and
wealt h ’t h el p but
! I can
ries! Phew o con-
se
here are th
wonder – W ake the movies
m
victs they
abou t? is that
ally funny
What is re atch the
nes who m
the only o e cops in charge,
th

Dear Diary
movies are tive and
u n co uth, insensi
just as th ei r screen
tal as
verbally bru They seem to
ts!
counterpar life roles far more
r re al
take thei nvicts.
th an the co t. ■

Deesh Mariwala
seri o u sl y o u gh
ood fo r th
Hmmm... F ld to Nandh
ini
As to
Ramkumar

Deesh on how he changed his opinions about convicts

 Thursday, August 21, 2008
Greetings
Hello Senthooran,
On your Birthday we
wish u much
pleasure and joy,we
hope all your wishes
come true.many
More Happy returns
of the day with love
and prayers
Vicky’s Team
CSS Corp pvt ltd
(Cybernet - Slash
Support)
Dear Saravana
Birthdays are good
for you. Statistics
show that people
who have the most
live the longest! We
are so glad you were
born, because you
brighten our life and
fill it with joy.
Happy birthday!!
Cheers
Arun, Ramesh, Raghu,
Prabha n Shakthi The
Ghauls Satyam
Computer Services
Dear Sukanya
Birthdays are
nature’s way of
telling us to eat
more cake! ...We are
waiting ;) Happy
Birthday!
With love n wishes
Diptee, Durga,
Manidipa, Meenakshi,
Sathiya, Sudha
Dear Abhilash A
Many more happy
returns of the day.
Have a great day
and wonderful year
ahead.
A Shanmugam, HCL
Technologies Ltd
Dear Dhinnesh
Many more happy
returns of the day.
May the coming
year be the best for
you and may you
achieve all your
dreams.
Regards, Team-Beacon.
HCL Technologies Ltd.
Hi Yojna
Many more "HAPPY
RETURNS OF THE
DAY". May GOD
give you lots & lots
of happiness & fulfill
all your wishes
With Ocean of LOVE
from Hardik Thaker
13
Electrifying ride
A light aircraft which hit a 380,000-volt
power line ended up entangled in it
and dangling 20m (65ft) above the
ground for nearly three hours.
Tata Crucible
Tata Crucible – The Business
Quiz 2008, is ready to hit the cor-
porate world once again. The
Chennai leg of the quiz will take
place on September 21. Corpo-
rates can register online on
www.tatacrucible.com. The Busi-
ness Quiz 2008 will be conducted
by the well-known quizmaster
Giri Balasubramanian.
When:
September 21
Register online:
www.tatacrucible.com
Impressions 18th - 20th Housewives work out
Century
An art exhibition of artistic cre-
ation by national award winner
P.Krishnamurthy, eminent art-
ist and art director is being
held at Gallery Sri Parvati on
the topic ‘Madras: Impressions
18th to 20th century’. The exhi-
bition contains paintings and
sketches of Madras in the past
and the present.
Where:
Gallery Sri Parvati,
Eldams Road,
Teynampet
When:
August 21, 10 a.m. - 7.00
p.m. The Academy of Fitness Management is conducting a unique fit-
ness workshop for housewives who do not have the time or space
to work out. Into their busy lives FitnessOne plans to build in a
fitness life style using simple exercises, basics of yoga and aerobics.
A registration charge for each workshop is Rs. 150 per head. Repea-
ters will be given a concession.
Where:
Academy of Fitness Management
Kilpauk Garden
When:
August 21, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
TOP 5 FUNNIEST PICK UP LINES
2. Baby did you fart, ‘cause you
1. Coff blow me away! (Make sure you
e
(Comm e? Tea? Me? are two feet away from her)
issione 5. I’ve been
daugh no
ter me r not noticing ticing you
!) m
(Certification e.
for good
observation)
g 4. I’m invisible. (Really?)
parkin got
you a Can you see me? (Yes)
3. Are (What?) You you. How about tomorrow
ticket? ten all over night? (Yeyy! Mr India)
rit
fine w a)
in Chin
(Made
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008

Dead man holidaying

A missing man returned after an extended holiday in
Australia. To his surprise he found that his near and dear
ones have been mourning his death - after he forgot to
tell them he was going away.

sudoku

Vijay Venkatesh
of Altrion
Technologies
clicked this
picture in
Kumbhavaurutty,
about 40 kms
from Tenkasi.
Hobbies: Bird
watching,
photography and
surfing

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

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

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

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KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,
CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,
Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:
603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,
Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik
(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Thursday, August 21, 2008
15
Word’s worth
Standing stiff "Xenomenia" (zen-oh-mee-nee-uh) a medical condition in
A Puerto Rican man has been granted which blood flows from some part of a woman’s body at a
his last wish - to remain standing, even different place than (but at the same time as, and replacing)
after death. her regular menses. Also called ’vicarious menstruation.’
From Greek words meaning ’strange’ and ’menses.’

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

It’s a power day for you, says Ganesha. You will be
full of vitality, vigour and creativity. You will be
ready to take initiative. You may be assigned new
projects at office. A positive turning point in your
love life may add to your happiness.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may start your day at a very dull note. Office
circumstances may be very demanding. Ganesha
suggests you to see to it that you are not working
in a wrong direction, else you will have to redo the
task already done. Love life may remain passionate.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You may be in a position to lead discussions. Your
BORN LOSER performance at work will be appreciated by others.
You may discuss important matters with your
superiors. Your beloved one may shower love on
you so you will be satisfied with your love life.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
You will be thinking about career progress . Your
efforts will be appreciated by others. If you are
assigned new responsibility, consider it as
opportunity. You may have hot discussions with
your spouse or beloved, over very trivial matters.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
Your luck is shining today hence you will be ready
to take any kind of risk. Office work may be
handled well and you will be appreciated. . Your
participation in meetings may be enthusiastic. Lovers
may enjoy togetherness in quite environment.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Your mind may be thinking about unresolved issues
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT today. Willingness to finish off pending activities
may be high. Before starting anything new, think
twice. Love life may not be much charming provided
you put in lot of effort to woo the beloved.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
You may face opposition from someone regarding
work. You may not be in a position to prove your
points, hence you are advised not to confront much.
Stress regarding work may make you feel tired.
However, your partner may treat you so nicely.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
You might have to put in back-breaking hard work
at office today. You will not be interested in any
side talks. You may be so engrossed in work that
you may even forget your family life. Ganesha
suggests you to handle love life with due care.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
Your mind will be full of new ideas that you want
to implement at work. You will develop new skills
today. As the day favours you, nothing will bother
but work pressure may increase because of your
initiative. Lovers may enjoy a ball time together.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Your day may start with a small discussion about a
domestic matter. You may reach office in a little
strange mood but you will get over it as soon as
you start working. . There may not be any
remarkable event in your love life.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Your complete concentration may remain on
communications related to work. You may be
ISSUE’S dealing with new things with new approach.
Ganesha finds you handling love life very easily but
SOLUTIONS partner may feel that you are taking it too lightly.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
Ganesha finds you highly sensitive to your work.
You will have good time at work and may finish
your job with complete dedication but as soon as
the day is over, you may wish to rush home or wish
to see your beloved. A romantic evening awaits you.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 !
Sushil Kumar adds to India’s medal tally
F
reestyle grappler Sushil Kumar pro-
vided an unexpected boost to India’s
Olympic campaign by clinching a
bronze medal, beating Kazakhstan’s
Leonid Spiridonov in the repechage
match of the men’s freestyle wrestling
66kg class in Beijing on Wednesday.
Sushil also thwarted the challenge from
American Doug Schwab and Belarusian
Albert Batyrov in the first two repechage
rounds after losing his opening round
bout earlier in the day. Sushil is only the
second Indian wrestler to win an Olympic
medal after Kashabha Jadhav had re-
turned with a bronze from the 1952 Hel-
sinki Games.
This will be after 56 years that an Indian
ERGO Thursday, August 21, 2008
Holy gas
A society of churches in Germany has
set up its own gas company to help
credit crunch families hit by spiralling
energy prices.
Grappler
grabs
bronze
contingent will return with more than one
Olympic medal with shooter Abhinav Bin-
dra already winning the first-ever individ-
ual Games gold medal for the country.
Sushil had lost to far superior Ukrainian
Andriy Stadnik in his first round bout.
Immediately after the win Delhi chief
minister Sheila Dixit announced a cash
award of Rs 50 lakh for the wrestler.
“It is a great achievement for Sushil. He
is the new icon for Delhi and I will give
him a cash award of Rs 5 lakh. If he
doesn’t have a job I will provide him with
one and if he has one he will get an out-of-
turn promotion. His coach Satpal will also
get promotion,” Dixit said.
PTI