Professional Documents
Culture Documents
08
LITTLE BIKE-
RIDING HOOD
Pocket bikes for tiny bikers
in namma Chennai
New hues
Amethyst presents an exhibition by
Inka Fashions at 14/30, Padmavathi
Road, Jeypore Colony, Gopalapuram.
The sale is on till March 15.
O
n March 10, big brands,
celebrity RJ at Citi Centre. Even the non-partici- royalty from around the In a recent Polo Event in Sri bypassed.
pants will be pampered with nail-art, hair- world and celebrities from Lanka, a traumatised elephant The jumbos are powerless
braiding and mehendi sessions. Interestingly, India will get together to went berserk and caused injuries against the greed and ignorance
every woman walking into the venue with her endorse an event deceptively ti- to people, making headlines the of a select group of people and
grandmother will be instantly rewarded. tled ‘Elephant Polo’. It sounds world over. have no choice but to suffer in
The Woman’s Day event is co-hosted by But- gentle enough but in truth, in- Wildlife experts testify that silence.
terfly, Green Trends and Samsung. Three Roses volves torture and brutality of un- when large animals are expected
Mind Sharp will be the beverage partner and imaginable proportions and is to manoeuvre small objects like
Radio One is the radio partner. Chennai Citi
Centre will be the venue partner. The prizes for
nothing but calculated cruelty
under the pretence of fundrais-
polo balls, it leads to injuring
them and suffering excruciating Speak up for them
the day will be given away by Pink, Jang Leath- ing. “Forcing elephants to ‘play pain in the process. Further, they It takes less than one minute.
er, Raasi Silks, Uma Lockers, Cookspace and polo’ is totally unnatural and are imprisoned for life and de- Lend your voice to the campaign by
Viba and the treasure hunt will be managed by contrary to their nature. The ele- prived of the company of their logging on to
Events. ■ phants are trained using a bull- families and natural habitat. www.stopelephantpolo.com.
hook or ankush, a sharp steel Scorching concrete floors and Check out the link ‘Take Action’ for
hook that is used to prod the ani- systematic abuse becomes their contact info of the authorities.
mals into obeying instructions. new and permanent reality. Iron- Spare a moment to sign the guest
These hooks can cause open ically, this event is conducted for book and tell five friends. Time’s
wounds, which can become in- fundraising for elephant welfare running out and one click can make
fected,” says a statement issued when non-violent methods that all the difference.
by Advocates for Animals, U.K. could do the job just as well are
EXPERT SPEAK
‘‘ ‘‘ ‘‘
Sending an Elephant polo Elephants are not
elephant out is just another designed to play
to earn money to raise way of deriving sadistic polo and nor should they. All
awareness on the plight pleasure by rich and who support this cruel activity
of elephants is as famous humans in contribute to unnecessary
ridiculous as sending a watching the captive suffering of animals that have
child out to work to jumbos in excruciating already suffered enormously
create awareness on child pain, for nothing but from the brutal training
labour. entertainment of techniques they endure.
Anuradha Sawhney, Chief mankind. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick,
Functionary- People for Azam Siddiqui, Master Trainer UNEP 1992 Global Laureate
Ethical Treatment of Animals in Animal Welfare for Animal and recipient of the 2000 BBC
(PETA) India Welfare Board of India (AWBI) Lifetime Achievement Award
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Barbie turns 50
03
On March 9 this year, Barbie turns 50. For many, Barbie has progressed from being a childhood
luxury to childhood-must. For many dreamy-eyed little girls, Barbie has been life’s first fashion
idol. Share with us your fondest recollection of the first Barbie you owned (or even one that you
wanted and never got). Write to us at feedback@goergo.in in less than 200 words with the
subject line BARBIE, before Thursday (March 5) noon. Also, send in your contact number in case of
any clarifications.
R
ebuilding a village is a ning to construct public toilets, nity programme. them with uniforms and footwear spend at least one weekend on
tough task, but not for for which talks are on with NGOs. “The village, with a population from the coming academic year. field work.
these techies. The asso- The funding is volunteered by of 3,500 school-going children, Plus, the possibility of providing The colour scheme helps the
ciates of UST Global, a pro- our associates.” also has dropout cases,” says Ga- scholarships.” staff select the sector in which
vider of end-to-end IT services they want to do “extra-curricular
and solutions, as part of their work”.
Corporate Social Responsibility “Colours programme is an in-
activity are in the process of giv- house volunteering initiative
ing life to Azhinjivakkam, a vil- seeking to achieve organisational
lage near Red Hills, in namma objectives by contributing to the
Chennai. The pilot programme, communities where the company
launched this month, is named operates. We have around seven
Mitra (meaning friend) and in- colours and each one stands for a
volves providing health care, different field. Example: rose for
educational support and greener charity, green for environment
environment to the village, which and orange for organisational ef-
is polluted due to industrialisa- ficiency,” Ganesh Kalyanaraman
tion. said, adding that no volunteer is
Ramakrishnan Narayanan, compelled to provide funding or
head of UST, believes that enter- do the work.
prises have a responsibility to- Interestingly, Mitra has all the
wards society. seven colours. ■
“We are committed to improv- (CSR Dossier showcases the
ing the lives of our associates and activities of companies that we
the communities in which they reach out to. If you want to feature
live. Our adoption programme your organisation’s CSR activities in
aims at uplifting downtrodden Ergo, ping us at feedback@goergo.in
villages. As far as Azhinjivakkam or haripriya@goergo.in. Phone:
goes, the first and foremost thing 28576692)
04 VILLAGE ERGO Thursday, March 5, 2009
Cruelty
A man from Nebraska is facing animal
cruelty charges after he stuffed his cat in
a homemade bong and smoked cannabis
in a bid to calm the creature down.
Obama taking ‘wrong’ path over Israel, says Iran leader Huge asteroid
Iran’s top authority said U.S. President Barack Obama was pursuing the same “wrong path” as
George W. Bush in supporting Israel and described the Jewish state as a “cancerous tumour”. flies past
The comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all policy in
Iran, are likely to disappoint the new U.S. administration which has been seeking to engage Iran Earth
but has called on Tehran to “unclench its fist”. “Even the new president of America, who has An asteroid as big as a
come to power with slogans about changing Bush’s policies, is defending state terrorism by 10-storeyed building
talking about unconditional commitment to Israel’s security,” Khamenei told a conference on flew past Earth on
the Palestinian issue in Tehran. Khamenei also said Obama was following the same “wrong Tuesday, the US space
path” of his predecessor in the White House. The United States has long called on Iran to end website has said. The
its opposition to peace-making in the Middle East and stop supporting organisations like space rock was perhaps
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas group that Washington considers terrorist. a bit larger than one
Reuters thought to have
created a colossal
explosion in the air
above Siberia in 1908
Pakistan hunts for cricket attackers that flattened 500,000 acres (2,000 square km) of forest.
Police were hunting on Wednesday for the gunmen behind Asteroid 2009 DD45 was closest to Earth on Tuesday at
a deadly assault on Sri Lanka’s cricket team. Six Pakistani about 8.40 a.m. It was some 72,000 km away, which is
police and two civilians were killed in Tuesday’s brazen twice the height of a geostationary communications
daylight attack on the team, who were on their way to a satellite. Astronomers had known the asteroid was coming
Test match in Lahore. Seven Sri Lankan cricketers and a and said there was no risk of collision. Other asteroids
coach were among 19 wounded. Police said around two have been known to pass by closer to our planet.
dozen people were being questioned, but declined to Asteroids as big as the 1908 Tunguska object that
speculate about the identity of the attackers. Sri Lankan devastated the Siberian forest might strike Earth as often
players flew home to Colombo on a specially chartered jet. as once every two centuries, scientists speculate. As space
Batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana, rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere, smaller ones can break
both wounded by apart or explode before hitting the surface.
gunshots, were placed in Xinhua
an ambulance and taken
to hospital.
Mahela Jayawardene
lauded their driver’s YouTube Symphony Orchestra selected
"remarkable bravery" in The YouTube Symphony Orchestra is tuning up and getting
the face of the attack. ready to play. YouTube has selected the winners of its contest to
"Had he not had the create the world’s first online orchestra, choosing more than 90
courage and presence of professional and amateur musicians from over 30 countries
mind to get the bus through audition on the video-sharing service. Google-owned
moving after the initial YouTube announced the winning musicians on Monday in a post
attack, then we’d have on the YouTube blog and the orchestra’s YouTube channel,
been a far easier target youtube.com/symphony. The winners will travel to New York to
for the terrorists," he take part in a three-day classical music summit culminating in a
said. performance at Carnegie Hall on April 15 directed by Michael
AFP Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony.
AFP
T
he last survivor of a pod of refloat the stricken pod. The
192 pilot whales that came whale was the last of 54 survivors
ashore on Tasmania’s King of the mass stranding that re-
Island at the weekend swam turned to the ocean.
back out to sea on Wednesday. A All are now safely back in deep
recalcitrant creature had beached water. The adult female was slung
twice in as many days to the dis- between two jet skis and towed
may of a volunteer army of Aus- out to sea, where delighted res-
tralian nature lovers trying to cuers saw it join a group of at
least 20 other
whales. Chris Ar-
thur, spokesman for
Tasmania’s Parks
and Wildlife Service,
said the world had
witnesses the most
successful whale
rescue in recorded
history. “It was in-
credibly pleasing, 쒀
because of the work Red Panda cub ’Pemba’ receives a treat as he explores his outdoor exhibit at
that the King Island Taronga Zoo in Sydney. The young male ’Pemba’ which means ’Saturday’ in
community have Nepalese was born to Taronga’s female ’ Wanmei’ on November 29, 2008 but has
put in,” he said. ■ just started to venture out of its warm nest box. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD
DPA
06 SPORT ERGO Thursday, March 5, 2009
Get-together
Lankan cricketers feel lucky
Those few minutes are still haunting the Sri
Lanka players, who got a close shave after
their team bus was ambushed by masked
terrorists near the Gaddafi Stadium in
Lahore. The cricketers
of unlikely friends
are considering
themselves simply
lucky as they could
safely return home
after the terrorist
attack. “Everyone is
safe. Nothing bad has
happened. A lot of
guys are really lucky With high-spending sponsors withdrawing support, Indian
as there were bullet
holes everywhere in our bus. I am very conglomerates are coming to the rescue of international
happy that I could see my family and came
back to Sri Lanka in one piece. None of the sporting giants
members believed that they could come
alive out of that situation,” Jayawardene AYON SENGUPTA
said. ayon@goergo.in
The 31-year-old cricketer wants to move
S
ahead with the game, leaving the incident porting powerhouses
behind. “The best thing we can do is go on around the world,
playing cricket,” he added. Batsman spending millions of
Tillakaratne Dilshan recalled those terrifying dollars to retain their
moments: “It was a sound like cracker set on pre-eminence, are in for
fire. I didn’t take it seriously. A shot landed some rough times as
very close to the driver. I then realised we the worldwide financial
were being fired at. I heard some of the crisis has robbed them
players shouting that they have been hit. of lucrative sponsorship
The firing continued for more than three deals. These high-spend-
minutes. The driver was in shock and the bus ing entities facing the
was stationary for over a minute. I asked the prospect of empty coffers
driver to drive fast and we left the site.” Ace have turned their attention
spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said: “We all to the relatively unaffect-
got scared. At that time all that I could ed Indian market to
think was who had been shot and who stem the deluge.
escaped. The driver of the bus saved us.” Over the last few
The Lankan cricketers also paid tribute to months, football
the police officials who laid their lives clubs like Man-
shielding the visitors and driver of the bus chester United
who held his nerve to drove away the and Formula
vehicle. “We pay tribute to them for One teams Fer-
sacrificing their lives only to save the lives of rari and Renault
our cricketers. And the driver was real hero have approached
here,” Jayaewardene said. or entered into
PTI partnerships with Indian busi-
ness conglomerates. While Ferra-
ri had acquired the services of
software giant TCS as an IT and
engineering service provider way
back in 2004, this year onwards
the TCS logo will also appear on
the world-famous red car. Speak-
ing of their association with Fer-
rari F1, Jayant V. Pendharkar,
Vice-President and head, Global
Marketing, Tata Consultancy Ser-
vices, says: “The F1 car is the
most complex and advanced car
platform in terms of packaging
research in aerodynamics, engine
technology, brakes, tyres and
modelling. It is a sport that relies
heavily on technology and suc-
cess is determined by split sec-
ond decision-making. We are the
first Indian company to partner
with the F1 stadium in the global
arena. And it’s a very proud
association.”
Fringe benefits
And the association has helped
them immensely, as Pendharkar
Thursday, March 5, 2009
07
‘‘
The Twenty20 leagues in India have played a big part. We lost players that possibly should still be
playing. But it still highlighted the fact we need to be aware of how we use our resource and how we
introduce resource. The introduction of new talent has been exciting. But it has been a bit frustrating as well.
Former Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming
explains. “Due to the great work expecting a positive outcome. However… out US$ 5 million. whole team. There are a few Indi-
done for Ferrari F1, team TCS “The economic meltdown has se- We have always seen it’s the an FMCG companies who are al-
bagged a multi-million dollar, verely hit North America and Eu- But Das Blah is sceptical about lead sponsor who hogs all the li- ready in talks with Ronaldo and
multi-year agreement with Duca- rope, which has led the sporting the recent developments and melight and the other sundries we can expect him to hit our tele-
ti, the leading manufacturer of bodies to see beyond. feels it is virtually impossible for are left virtually unnoticed,” he vision screens soon, maybe
motorbikes and superbikes based We have emerged as a strong Indian companies to associate says. “But the sheer value of the crooning some Hindi film track.”
out of Bologna, to deliver tech- economic power and one of the themselves as lead sponsors with deals will deter Indian compa- According to him, Indian com-
nology-based services to help im- least-hit countries by the reces- such high pedigreed and expen- nies. panies that are likely to get run-
prove customer responsiveness sion and for us it is the right time sive sports as F1 and football for I think what we are looking at ning in the international
and business efficiency,” he says. to foray into the global market the time being. “It is always better right now is Indian companies sponsorship highway soon are
“Association with Ferrari not only and make an impact,” says Ab- to be the lead sponsor paying signing sporting stars like Cristia- telecommunication giant Airtel
reinforces TCS’ high quality of hijet Sircar, head, Communica- US$ 50-60 million than being an no Ronaldo and Lewis Hamilton and consumer durable leaders
work, but also acts as a reference tions, Sahara. associate sponsor who is shelling for their niche brands and not the Videocon. ■
client in geography and indus-
try.”
Another F1 giant, Renault with
two-time world champion Fer-
nando Alonso in its ranks, is also
in talks with Indian houses for
strategic investment. Ashish Sin-
ha Roy, Vice-President, Commu-
nications and Corporate Affairs,
Renault India, says: “The shift in
the global scenario and, more im-
portantly, the stagnation of the
European and American market
is forcing every major player to
look eastward. And the emerging
Indian and Chinese economies
are the target. With India expect-
ed to be on the F1 calendar by
2011 with a circuit in Delhi, it’s
natural for teams to look for in-
vestors here.”
In the pipeline
Speaking about Renault’s
broader plans, Sinha Roy says:
“We are in talks with three Indian
companies and it has been very
fruitful.
It would take at least US$ 50
million to be a title sponsor for a
F1 team but in India we are look-
ing for smaller partners who can
easily shell US$ 5-10 million.” To
build a brand value in India, Re-
nault had organised a road show
at Rajpath in November 2008
with the 2007 Renault F1 car
whooshing down Indian roads.
“It was a first-of-its-kind experi-
ence in India and we again plan
to host it in other Indian cities,
with Alonso behind the wheels,”
Sinha Roy says.
Explaining the trend, Indranil
Das Blah, Vice-President, Sports,
Globosport, an ace sports and ce-
lebrity management company in
India, says: “Indian companies
are known for their deep pockets
and unlike their South-Asian
counterparts are not fly-by-night
operators looking to catch some
eyeballs.
This gives them respectability
and stability that attracts sports
bodies looking for long-term
association.”
Football giant Manchester
United is also believed to have
approached Tata and Sahara as
possible partners after AIG with-
drew its shirt sponsorship deal
with the team.
According to Sahara head Sub-
roto Roy, talks are on with the En-
glish club and both parties are
08 ROADSTER ERGO Thursday, March 5, 2009
Little bike-ridin
PHOTOS: S.S. KUMAR
W
hat if your kid brother or
son or daughter throws a
tantrum about not want-
ing a ride on a motorcy-
cle but to ride one? Well, you
don’t really have to stand puzzled
by your loved one’s request.
Ergo introduces to you the
‘Pocket Bike’, a 49-cc motorcycle
exclusively designed for children.
Exact replicas of big branded
bikes, these petite two-wheelers
are designed for 10 to 15-year-
olds.
Pocket bikes, which are usually
imported pieces, are available
only with a few dealers in Chen-
nai city. One among them is
Ubidhullah of Moto Designr in
Royapettah, who claims to be the
Earlier, vehicles like Bajaj Sunny and a few other mopeds used to be modified into pocket bikes, but
Thursday, March 5, 2009
09
Easing stress
A rider puts a portable brain-machine interface with optical sensors to measure prefrontal cortex
activity, developed by Hitachi, for their research of the driver’s brain activity by riding motorbikes in
Japan. Riding motorbikes helps the driver invigorate his or her brain while easing stress, say scientists.
P
op megastar Michael Jackson is to make an announcement in London on Thursday London Boulevard, for which they begin shooting next
amid speculation that he is going to perform a series of comeback concerts in month.
Britain. But after novelist
A statement from concert promoter AEG Live called media on Tuesday to a news Emma dumped
conference on 1600 GMT Thursday at the giant O2 music venue in the British capital, Colin, the 23-year-
without giving further details. old actress has
Jackson flew in from Los Angeles on a private jet with his children. This is his first trip in become a close
Britain since 2006 and he was being guarded by a dozen security guards. He was then confidant for the
taken away in a white limo to a hotel in Knightsbridge, reports thesun.co.uk. actor.
Last month, sources close to the negotiations said that Jackson was in talks with concert “Keira thought it
organisers to perform up to 30 live shows in London’s O2 Arena this year. would be helpful
The source, who requested anonymity, confirmed British media reports that the 50- to speak to Colin
year-old ‘King of Pop’ could be set to play his first major concerts since his 2005 acquittal about their parts
on child molestation charges. but she has been
If the deal is confirmed, it would be a spectacular return to the limelight for Jackson, trying to support
who dominated the pop world with hit albums like Thriller and Bad in the 1980s but has him while he goes
virtually vanished from public view since his trial. ■ through girlfriend
Agencies troubles,” the
Daily Express
quoted a source
as saying.
The insider added:
“Keira says it has
helped her
understand the
man she is going
to be playing opposite and is delighted to have
connected so well with him.”
Emma reportedly walked out on the Phone Booth actor
because he didn’t mention her in his Golden Globes
acceptance speech in January. ■
ANI
No
Bhoothnath
sequel Jai Ho goes political
We hear that Congress party will be using the
Oscar-winning song ‘Jai Ho’ from the film Slumdog
Millionaire for its election campaign. Though other
parties were contemplating on acquiring the rights
of the song, Congress acted fast. The party has
acquired the rights of the lyrics and tune of the
song, which is a hot favourite among political
parties.
12 ERGO Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday’s Query:
Your suggestions to curb
terrorist activities.
■ We will make many clones of captain
Vijaykanth and put them for patrol across
India.
Jacob, Antony, Kannan ,Sify,
Radhan Wipro,
Suresh, Allsec
Today’s Query:
Wish J.K.Ritheesh of
Nayagan fame on his
birthday. Venkatesh from Trimble Navigation Limited has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime.
This pic was clicked in Manimutharu.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
13
■ Dear Metilda,
Many more happy returns of the day. May God bless you in all your endeavors.
Entries are pouring in, so buck up before you miss the Regards,
Alex
train. Let your creative juices flow, and for all you know,
TCS
you might become a writer on the go! Ergo invites origi-
■ Dear Thanni Dhaya,
nal literary pieces in the form of short stories, flash
Neenga thaana “Thanni thoti thedi vanthe Ottaga kutti“
fiction and poems from its readers. Short stories and We wish u a very Happy Birthday…:)
Regards,
flash fiction must not exceed 700 words. So, pick up
12Bees
those pens and start writing! Send in your entries to
■ Dear Swetha,
my.ergo@goergo.in mentioning ‘Ergo Writer’s Club’ as
Sorry that we couldnt attend your program. Saw the pics and videos. You looked
the subject. And keep watching this space for updates. good. And your jazz performance was rocking. I deeply regret for not turning up.
Shall make it up to you. Sorry once again.. hey ivolo sorry than sollamudiyum..
collar romba thookade :p
With love,
Orion team
■ Dear Swati,
Take good care of yourself, friend.
We hope to see you up andrunning and back at garden again.
The place just isn”t the same without you.
With Loves,
Anush
■ Dear Dev,
I’m so blessed 2 have a friend like uThis comes with manyLoving thoughts & warm
wishesI send 2 u,May ur day be filled with laughterOn this ur special day & may the
finest thingsIn life always comeUr way happy birthday!
Sandeep Suresh of IBM Your friend,
Daksh has been nomi- Manoj
nated as Office Angel by
his team-mates.
Deja vu De Feo
An Italian football team is a
referee’s nightmare - because
every single player has the
same surname, De Feo.
sudoku
The monkey
biker:
Gnanaskandan
K of Verizon
Data Services
shot this at
Point
Calimere.
Hobbies: bird
watching,
wildlife
photography
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
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B.C
Academy award-winning actor Sean Penn (L) looks on as California Sen. Mark Leno (R) speaks
during a press conference announcing legislation to create a Harvey Milk Day in California on
March 3, 2009 in San Francisco. AFP PHOTO