A BYTE OF LIFE Friday, July 4, 2008

19 12
FRIENDS, A LA SATC WHERE ARE THE
Film version of the series SHOELACES?
coming soon The new kind of sneakers

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 130

BRAVING IT AT
BODI HILLS
» PAGE 04

A couple of Ergo
journalists got out
of their lazy couch
and took a hike to
Bodi. Tour
operators Ecologin
bore the brunt

In our weekly relationship column,

learn how tog get over break-ups
without any hangups!

We have done our best!

Hello guys,
We have done our best as far as the arrangements go. The orchestra we arranged for the Singing
Sensations contest has received a whopping 68 song nominations and have already started
rehearsing.
Participants please note: the Orchestra will only play an unplugged version of the songs. As in, it
will not be the exact BGM of the song, but a hint of the original song. But it will be to the same
scale and tempo of the original song.
Team Ergo
SEE YOU AT IMAGE AUDITORIUM
02 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Free motor service

Namma Chennai
Tata Motors is organising a free monsoon check-up campaign for
its passenger cars and utility vehicles in India. The campaign will be
held in Namma Chennai from July 1 to 10 at select Tata Motors
dealerships(Concorde,Manipal,VST) and authorised service centres
like Pokma and KRS car care. To avail of the opportunity head to
one of these places soon. Contact details: 1800-209-6688

Ex-convict climbs
building, creates
flutter
It was high drama at Kilpauk
Coffee and
conversation
on Wednesday night when an ex-convict
being pursued by the cops climbed a three-
storey building and threatened to jump
from there. It took an agonising three
hours for the police and fire service
personnel to get him to the ground.
According to police, two men later
identified as Velu (22) of Kannappar Thidal, Over a cuppa, Siddharth Govindraj and his friends talk about
Vepery, and his aide Charan (24) from
Andhra Pradesh, made a mad dash after entrepreneurship and everything related
spotting a police patrol at Kumalamman
Street on Taylors Road at around 11.30 p.m. RINI MUKKATH Club (OCC) was started by Saul OCC comes in as a support sys-
The cops gave chase and caught Velu, while rinimukkath@goergo.in Klein in London last year. He tem, queries ranging from what
Charan managed to climb the building, mentions in his blog that it is an forms to fill when one starts a

threatening that he would jump down if
police tried to apprehend him.
When initial attempts by the cops to
convince him to step down failed, the fire
and rescue services were called in. At
around 2.30 in the morning the crew finally
managed to safety bring down Charan, who
was soon arrested by the waiting cops,
police added.
It is known that the duo was involved in a
number of thefts and cases against them
were booked at police stations including
Vepery, Sembium and Basin Bridge.
Man found dead in train
A man believed to be in his mid-twenties
was found dead in the compartment of a
train that arrived in Chennai on Thursday
morning.
Police said he was found hanging from a
cable inside a three-tier AC compartment of
the Nilgiri Express.
The body was sent for an autopsy and an
investigation is underway.
“W
e helped create a fo- “attempt to establish recognized, company or who to approach for
rum for entrepre- open and regular meeting places finances are all answered during
neurs to meet other where entrepreneurs can meet these meetings. If you are lucky,
entrepreneurs and with investors (and anyone else you might even meet your future
get tips on everything from legal who fancies coming along) in a investor in one of the meetings.
matters to the hiring of em- totally informal setting.” The suc- The contacts built during these
ployees,” says Siddharth Govin- cess of the club caught on and it meetings help to find solutions to
draj, the founder of the Chennai has now spread to places like problems that might occur in the
Open Coffee Club that meets over New York, Dublin, Seattle, Cape- future as well. Networking is
a cuppa every first Saturday of the town, and Paris. In India, the hence, given a whole new mean-
month. OCC started out in Chennai, but ing at OCC, it helps bring togeth-
He started the club with his eventually it spread to cities like er like-minded people who might
friend Vaidyanathan, on Ning, a Bangalore and Pune. even become business associates.
social networking website. They
had their first meeting last Au- Knowledge sharing and more
gust, and since then the Most often when an indi-
Less is more
Not everyone registered on the
club has become vidual starts a com- website, comes for all the meet-
quite popular pany on his own, ings. If you miss one, you can
with over Next meeting: 6th July he is unaware catch the next, as it happens ev-
140 regis- Website: http:// of all the as- ery month. They meet at Ameth-
tered chennaiopencoffee.ning.com/ pects that go yst, in Gopalapuram and prefer to
members, Contact person: Siddharth into the func- have smaller numbers as it’s easy
who chat Govindraj- 99400 36487 tioning of a to arrange. When asked if main-
and have on- company. He taining the club eats into his work
line discussions might be adept in one time, Siddarth said, “that’s the
on the website as well. or two aspects, like manage- best part about this club, it re-
ment and finance, but he might quires no effort, all I do is, call
Origins know nothing about legal matters Amethyst a day in advance and
The international Open Coffee and administration. This is where tell them I need a table for 20.” ■

Korea calling
K orean movies have always
charmed audiences worldwide
with their sensitive storytelling
and keen eye for emotion. You
can now catch some award-win-
ning Korean cinema at the South
Indian Film Chamber Theatre,
from July 8 to 11.
The Embassy of the Republic of
Korea, New Delhi, along with the
the Hyeong-jin Kwon-directed
For Horowitz. The movie is the
tale of Kim Ji-su, a 31-year-old
single woman who once wanted
to become a famous pianist like
Horowitz. Her dream is shattered
but she is able to go on by teach- Inauguration:
ing children to play the piano. 6.30 p.m. July 8
One day, she discovers that a SECRET SUNSHINE:
young boy, Gyung-min, is a mu- 7.00 p.m., July 8
SCHEDULE

Indo Cine Appreciation Founda- sical genius. MAUNDY THURSDAY:

tion, Chennai, have come togeth-
er to organise this movie festival.
The movies being screened at this
festival include the international-
ly acclaimed Secret Sunshine,
which has won several awards,
including best actress, won by
Do-yeon Jeon at the Cannes Film
Festival 2007.
Another movie to watch out is
She starts to give him intensive 6.30 p.m., July 9
music lessons, preparing him for HOROWITZ:
a competition, but it does not 6.15 p.m., July 10
turn out well. Later, when all HIGHWAY STAR:
seems lost, Ji-su is utterly 8.00 p.m., July 10
shocked when she realises that SOLACE:
Gyung-min carries a secret that 6.15 p.m., July 11
will change her life forever. RADIO STAR:
For details about the festival 8.00 p.m., July 11
contact 98401 51956. ■
ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008 03
04
Big Story
Over the hills and far away
Rini Mukkath and Liffy Thomas explore
and experience the beauty of the Bodi
hills from Lakshmi Estate.
Time: 7.15 p.m.
Location: Somewhere in the
middle of the forest
Rini: “No torch lights please,”
someone cried. I was leading the
way with the moon light and
min-mini-poochi (fire fly) for
company. Each steep turn I took,
I had to warn the rest in ad-
vance. “Steep curve ahead…take
right…watch out for the rolling
stones.” It was apparent that we
were at a much higher altitude:
our breathing was heavier, our
heart rates faster, and ever so of-
ten we would feel an ache in our
muscles.
No water, no halts, no painful
cramps, it was just a need to re-
ach the peak. The constant joke
about the nadan kozhi curry
awaiting us was mouth-water-
ing enough to keep me going.
Liffy: I hated HER (my col-
league) for being the trailblazer.
Just the other day, she almost
collapsed on a rock, and Arul
had to charge her with glucose.
Today, there was nobody to keep
me company. Nobody wanted a
break. I was the last and slowest
to trail the rocky path. Pleading
for a two-minute rest every 10
minutes, only brought me a new
name – Lazzzy Thomas. To add
to my physical fatigue were the
constant jokes centred on me
(“Lazy will only get the bones”)
Sigh!!! We finally reached our
abode – 3,500 ft from ground
level, nestled between hills and
far away from crowded cities.
W
e are part of an eco-
tour organised by Eco-
login, which truly be-
lieves in roughing it out
and adding a little bit of uncer-
tainty to a getaway. We started
on a Thursday night, where we
met trip organiser Sridhar
Lakshmanan from a leading
software company, Milli Maria
Thomas from UNDP and Kar-
thikeyan Vaitheeswaran from
ILO, at Koyambedu Bus Termi-
nus. Later, Vishnu Priya, a stu-
dent of NID, Ahmedabad and
Arul Sekar, a student of IIT-Ma-
dras joined us at Madurai. After
a quick visit to the famous Mad-
ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008
urai Meenakshi Temple and
stopping for some coolers
(Moor and Kanji) in a local
shack near Uslampati, we head-
ed to Bodi.
Up above
Our home for the next two
nights was a quaint mud house
called Lakshmi Estate on the hill
top of Puliyout in Bodinayaka-
nur also called Bodi. Though
Bodi is in close proximity to
Munnar and provides the best
vantage point for tourists, you
will hardly find any activity
here. The most exciting part of
camping at Bodi was that we
had to each time we trekked up.
It took us city-breds close to 45
minutes to do the drill; while
the estate workers managed the
same in 8 minutes.
Gone with the wind
The 45-year-old Lakshmi Es-
tate is amongst the last estates
to line the Kerala-Tamil Nadu
border. The place runs on hy-
dro-electricity, generated by the
estate’s very own stream. With
gritting teeth, we forced our-
selves to have a quick wash in
the ice-cold water from the
nearby fall each morning.
“Watch out, else you might
just fly away,” said Gopal, the
estate manager. The wind ve-
locity can almost sweep you off
your feet. Thanks to Vasuvi, the
estate manager’s wife, our fa-
tigue quickly vanished after the
wholesome meal and freshly
grounded coffee she provided.
Despite our ‘lazy morning
syndrome’, we were up to watch
the panoramic view of the hills
and morning sun. “Oh! My
phone has not charged,” some-
body complained. Not for long,
before the beauty of the rising
sun, tranquillity of the grey sky
and dancing of the trees just
made life so full.
On Sunday morning, we
trekked down the estate to make
another round of stops to Surli
falls, a vineyard in Cumbum
and the lush Thekkady. But, this
time around we wouldn’t be Resort on top of the Bodi hills Trek through the coffee estates
back. ■
 Friday, July 4, 2008
ECO STOP
Tie-ups with around 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu and a little bit of
uncertainty, Ecologin promises a different experience for adventure seekers
T
hree ligament reconstructed and a crutch
in hand to trail through rugged surfaces.
Sridhar of Ecologin, at first glance, seemed
to be the most unlikely guide on a trip that
combines trekking and long drive along hills.
But, with his enduring spirit Sridhar turned out
to be the champion of one more trip, something
he has been doing for the last one year.
Eco call
Ecologin is a start-up promoted by Sridhar
Lakshmanan, an alumnus of IIM-A, and Arul Se-
kar, pursuing his post graduation at IIT-Madras.
They have been taking small groups – usually
referred by friends and those with an interest for
forest and natural resources – to lesser known
pockets of Tamil Nadu, where it combines trekk-
ing, stay in a tribal settlement, visit to a social
organisation involved in some occupation or
anything rustic for that matter.
‘Organised’ is one word they hate to use. So
don’t frown if there has been a deviation in plan.
They only fix rough contours but keep their
plans really flexible. “We expose people to an
uncertain environment and experience what we
believe in,” says Arul, a certified trekker and rock
climber.
“Until now, we have been running trips very
informally and on a non-commercial basis, but
Catch the morning view from the hill top Take a dip in the pristine water falls
05
from August 15 we plan to start off on a commer-
cial basis,” says Sridhar, an employee of leading
Software company in Chennai. To start off, they
have tied up with around 20 places where trips
will be organised in the months to come.
Let’s go Dutch
The organisers usually put in the initial
amount, and for the rest of the journey a note is
maintained of the amount each of the group
member spent. The calculations are tabulated at
the end of the trip and sent to all the members
via excel sheet.
“We have tie-ups with NGOs and the local
community which makes our trip more econom-
ical,” says Sridhar, who has worked for a couple
of NGOs. “Irrespective of the destination we
don’t increase the price.”
The Rulebook
~ Send in a mail to info@ecologin.org with
details like group size and interest (wildlife,
nature, trekking…)
~ They usually take groups ranging from
a minimum of six to a maximum of 20.
~ Prices range from Rs. 2,000 to Rs.
4,500.
~Log onto www.ecologi-
n.org and view the many
options
Where is Bodi: This town in
Theni district is located on the
foothills of the Western
Ghats.
How to reach Bodi: If
you are making a trip to
Munnar via road then Bodi is
around 45-50 km from the tea
estates of Kerala. As there are
not many tourist hotels in
Bodi, the closest camp should
be Theni
Things to do: Apart from
trekking you can explore the
coffee and cardomom estate.
Fishing and bathing in the
many falls are other options.
06 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Village
Newspapers
Almost half the newspapers in the
world are produced in the United
States and Canada.

Is he she?
Over a cup of A Brit man is seeking help from medical experts after
he started turning into a woman naturally. Pub singer
Terry Wright started losing his hair and beard ten

COFFEE
years ago and since then he has developed smooth
skin, hot flushes and breasts. The father-of-five has
revealed that kids living nearby make fun of him by
calling him ’She-Man’. According to his blood tests, the
60-year-old has abnormally high levels of the female
hormone oestrogen. And doctors who have examined
Two Taiwan sisters separated for 40 years him say that they have never seen such a case - and do
not know what to do to reverse the process. Wright,
were reunited while sharing coffee of Birmingham, is now begging medical experts to
help him. A psychiatrist has judged him mentally
sound.
ANI

No nicknames on gravestones
The Church of England has banned nicknames on the
gravestones, it has been revealed. According to the
rule, a person’s full name as it appears on their birth
certificate must now be engraved. The decision came
after a family appealed to church authorities because
they were not permitted to use a shortened version of
a dad’s name. Rodney William Lawton Stone’s relatives
said that he had never liked his full name and would
have preferred just ’Rod Stone’ to mark his grave.
However, clerical legal chiefs said no exceptions should
be made to the rule. “Plenty of people are known by a
shortened name or nickname,” Judge Martin Cardinal,

T
wo Tai- fee because of the Church of England’s Consistory Court said. “Not
wan sis- the cup was everyone is happy with their proper names but that of
ters too large for her. itself does not justify a memorial recording the
separated since So they sat down to preferred name alone,” he added.
childhood 40 years ago were chat and asked one another’s ANI
recently reunited, virtually age.
by a cup of coffee, a new- Both Ho and Fang said they
spaper reported on Thurs- are older than their regis-
day. tered age because they were
No skimpy outfits on bar staff
China’s government has told discos, karaoke bars and
Ho Mei-yun and Fang adopted and their adopted other entertainment venues to install windows in
Chuang-li were born into a parents did not register their private rooms and ensure staff dress modestly from
poor family which had 13 correct birth date. The more October 1 as part of an effort to crack down on
children. Hoping to give Ho and Fang recalled their prostitution and drugs. According to rules released on
their kids a good life, their childhood, the more they felt the Ministry of Public Security entertainment venues
parents kept only 8 kids and they were from the same must install transparent partitions between rooms that
gave away the rest to better- family. ensure ‘the whole environment of the consumer’s
off families, the United Daily So from the Los Angeles entertainment area in the room can be seen.’ Discos,
News said. Ho was put up for airport, Ho phoned her eldest karaoke nightclubs and other bars have private rooms
adoption when she was 11 sister in Taiwan to check the for hire, and are a favorite places for businessmen to
months old. Fang, Ho’s details of the Number 8 sister, entertain guests, sometimes with prostitutes. Staff
younger sister, was given and concluded Fang is the No clothing is also covered in the new rules. “The dress of
away when she was 2 8 sister. When Ho brought staff members should not be exposing.”
months old. Ho and Fang the news to Fang, the two Reuters
have been working as insur- cried in a tight embrace while
ance agents at the Cathay their colleagues stood
Life Insurance but did not around clapping hands for
know each other. Recently their reunion. Made-in-China cellphones
the company paid for its out- Ho and Fang returned to
standing insurance agents to Taipei several days ago. Cath-
go to Los Angeles. ay Life Insurance held a news
blocked in Pak
The Chinese cellphones that flooded Pakistan markets
Ho and Fang sat in the conference Wednesday to over the past one year, and are in great demand for
came coach but did not break the good news to the being cheaper than the branded phones, have
know they were re- press. At the news suddenly been blocked allegedly by the Pakistan
lated. On the day of They were conference, Fang Telecommunication Authority (PTA), though the
departure, Ho said the theme of the Authority denied having done so. According to the
bought a large cup working in company’s annual Dawn, hundreds of Chinese mobile phones of one
of coffee. Seeing the same meeting in Los An- particular serial number or International Mobile
Fang and another geles was "Change
colleague also want-
company Your Life," and the
Equipment Identity (IMEI) 135790246811220 suddenly
went dead in Pakistan last evening. Over the past two
ed to buy coffee, she for several trip has certainly days, hundreds of users had been fighting to get their
suggested the two years changed her life. ■ phones activated after they became non-functional.
share her cup of cof- DPA ANI
 Friday, July 4, 2008
Billions for pooch
A New York real estate magnate has decided to leave
her dog billions of dollars. The woman left the dog
her charitable trust estimated to be worth between
US$ 5 billion and US$ 8 billion and her estate is to be
used to keep her dogs comfortable and happy.
TN has the maximum potential for IT
Details emerge in a NASSCOM-A.T.Kearney study released on sidelines of NASSCOM HR Summit
ERGO CORRESPONDENT
feedback@goergo.in
T
amil Nadu was the state
with the maximum potential
for IT and aligned industries
in the country, according to
NASSCOM-A.T.Kearney’s study
on “Location roadmap for IT-
BPO growth: a study of 50 cities”.
Five of its cities figured in the de-
tailed findings released on the si-
delines of the NASSCOM HR
Summit in Chennai on Thursday.
The study that categorised 50
locations based on growth poten-
tial amidst other parameters
named Chennai as a ‘leader’ city,
while Coimbatore, Madurai and
Tiruchi fell under ‘challenger’
and Salem was labelled a ‘follow-
er’ city. “We see this report serv-
ing as a planning input for State
Governments, educational insti-
tutions, policy-makers and local
industry bodies when they look
for means to attract investment
to their regions,” said Som Mittal,
Predisent, NASSCOM.
Faceless people in UK
T wo mysterious faceless people
have been spotted in some of
the UK’s A-list events like Wim-
bledon, Henley Regatta, the Har-
rods sale and Elton John’s White
Tie and Tiara Ball.
With a membrane of skin
stretched tightly over their eyes,
noses and mouths, the alien-like
figures were most recently
snapped ‘watching’ a match
perched on Murray Mount at
Wimbledon.
Close inspection of the pictures
rules out an alien invasion - small
perforations around the eye areas
of the masks allow the people be-
neath to see the world outside.
The anonymous figures have
provoked much speculation
among Internet bloggers, desper-
ate to guess what they are trying
to achieve.
One theory is that they are a
couple of celebrities keen to
avoid the glare of the paparazzi
lens. Indeed, they seem to have
A membrane of skin
was stretched tightly
over eyes, noses and
mouths of the figures
Som Mittal, president, NASSCOM and Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-president, Cognizant, at a press
conference in Chennai on Thursday PHOTO : BIJOY GHOSH
Commenting on the study’s
findings, Lakshmi Narayanan, ex-
Chairman of NASSCOM and cur-
access to some of the most
sought-after A-list events.
Another suggestion is that they
are from a group named Anony-
mous, which formed on the In-
ternet and is best known for
organising protests against Scien-
tology.
The favourite theory seems to
be that they are part of a viral
marketing campaign, possibly for
BBC science fiction television se-
ries Dr.Who, or even - according
to one internet site - for luxury
car brand Lotus. ■
ANI
rent Vice-Chairman, Cognizant
Technology Solutions, said, “Ta-
mil Nadu has the maximum
Holy spirit
07
This day, that year
It was in July 4, 1999 that Spice Girl Victoria
Adams - better known as Posh Spice - wed
English soccer hero David Beckham at a 15th-
century Irish castle in a ceremony shielded from
the prying eyes of the press and fans.
move to the next level, these loca-
tions will have to strengthen in-
frastructure, find ways to attract
talent and improve the quality of
life.”
The emphasis was on getting
leading companies to take their
business to India’s tier-II and
tier-III cities. “By 2018, we would
like to have evolved a system
whereby the industry’s workforce
would have grown from 2 million
to 8 million people, where 40 per
cent comes from the emerging ci-
ties,” said Mittal.
NASSCOM, the premier trade
body for the software and servic-
es industries in India, on Thurs-
day began its fifth edition of the
annual NASSCOM HR Summit
(2008) in Chennai.
The inaugural session was at-
tended by C. Chandramouli, IT
Secretary, Tamil Nadu Govern-
ment.
The summit seeks to find ways
for Human Resources to move
number of potential IT and BPO beyond recruitment and attrition
locations, including three cities issues and function as a catalyst
in the ‘challenger’ segment. To to change. ■
쑸
Supporters
of Brazil’s
Fluminense
cheer their
team before
their
Libertadores
Cup second
leg final
match
against
Ecuador’s
Liga de
Quito on
Wednesday
at the
Maracana
stadium in
Rio de
Janeiro. AFP
PHOTO/ARI
VERSIANI
08 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

‘Robotic’ caddy for golfers

Technorama
Scientists have invented a “robotic caddy” that can carry
golfers’ bags and equipments as they play. The Shadow Caddy
robot follows the golfer who has the transmitter clipped to
his/her belt. It also has an infrared collision-avoidance system
ANI

GEEK TALK

How to cut typing Nokia 6220 launched in India

A s part of its strategy to consolidate its position in con-
vergence field, mobile handset maker Nokia India, on
Wednesday, announced the launch of new mobile phone

errors on mobile ‘Nokia 6220 classic’ with 5 mega pixel camera in Chandigarh.

Specifications
Price I Rs. 19,959
PTI

Study finds mobile users commit same mistakes as physically impaired PC users ♦ Xenon flash
♦ Autofocus, Carl Zesis
optics

A
new study by researchers
at the University of Man-
chester has revealed that
mobile phone owners
make similar mistakes as physi-
cally impaired computer users
when typing and ‘mousing’ on
phones.
Researchers in the School of
Computer Science working on
the RIAM (Reciprocal Interoper-
ability between Accessible and
Mobile Webs) project said mobile
owners press the wrong key and
press the same key repeatedly by
mistake.
“These types of errors have
been a big problem for physically
impaired users for a long time,”
said Dr Yeliz Yesilada, a senior re-
searcher on the project.
“But solutions have been de-
veloped for all of these problems
in the form of small assistive
computer programmes, which
supplement Windows and Mac
operating systems,” Yesilada
added.
For the study, researchers at
Manchester re-analysed earlier
work by scientists at the Universi-
ty of Edinburgh who had looked
into the problems of physically
disabled users.
They then re-ran the experi-
ments with mobile users and
found that a significant correla-
tion existed between the two user
groups.
“By using solutions developed
for disabled users we can help
handset manufacturers, such as
Nokia and Sony, to reduce the
time we all spend correcting er-
rors on our mobiles,” said fellow
researcher Tianyi Chen. “Soft-
ware already developed for PC
users with disabilities could auto-
matically correct erroneous com-
mands and help reduce those
annoying times when you acci-
dentally cancel a text message or
call someone by sitting on your
phone,” Chen added. ■
ANI
♦ A-GPS enabled to allow
sharing of photographs
♦ Nokia Maps 2.0 which
would allow users to see
the detailed image of a
particular place of a city.
Presently, navigation
maps of nine cities __
Delhi, Jaipur,
Ahmedabad, Pune,
Mumbai, Chennai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad
and Kolkata __ are being
offered.
♦ HSDPA data connection
for fast web browsing
and downloading
♦ Adaptive multi rate
speech coding technology
Equipped with Nokia
MBlog application which
allows maintaining a blog
directly from handset.
Flexible laptops soon
R obot ‘skin’, flexible lap-
tops and electric posters,
all made from plastic may
electronics market. Transis-
tors, the fundamental build-
ing block in modern
soon be a reality, thanks to electronic devices, are tradi-
the advance in research into tionally made of silicon.
“plastic electronics.” Plastic-based transistors
Plastic has long been however are easier and
thought of as an insulating cheaper to manufacture
material that could not con- than their silicon equiva-
duct electricity, but ground- lent. And because plastic is
breaking research proved flexible, the world could also
that some plastics could do soon see ultra thin, flexible
so. Now, some of the poten- laptops.
tial applications of these The details of these ad-
breakthrough materials – vances are published in the
electronic billboards, flexi- recent edition of Physics
ble laptops and high-defini- World. ■
tion television screens only ANI

one centimetre thick – are

coming to light. Plastic-
based transistors and orga-
nic light-emitting displays
will soon be rocking the
The story behind the country’s cheapest colour mobile
U nivercell Mobiles in Chennai has claimed that it played an
important role in the cheapest possible colour mobile. In a
press note, the mobile retailer has said that it had some time
back commissioned an extensive consumer research through a
reputed MR agency to understand the expectations and aspira-
tions of the growing mobile user base in the country.
A key finding from the research was that people were eagerly
looking forward to the launch of a colour mobile from an estab-
lished brand in the sub Rs. 1000 range. The result was the
colour mobile of Motorola brand launched by Univercell at
Rs.999 for the first time in the country. ■
ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008 09
10 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

No tickets

Backpackers
As of 2008, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited
and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing
transport. The price for a flight brokered by Space Adventures
to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft
is now $20 million. Flights are fully booked until 2009.

Space odyssey
T
he Russian space agency has sealed a deal
with a private investor to build a Soyuz
spacecraft especially for tourist hire and
operational in 2011, a statement said on
Wednesday.
“We have concluded an agreement with an
investor to begin financing such a Soyuz vessel
with an anticipated launch date of 2011,” the
Roskosmos website stated.
The craft, piloted by a professional astro-
naut, is designed to carry two so-called space
adventurers. A Roskosmos spokesman refused
to identify the investor despite the agency hav-
ing signed a deal in June with private American
company Space Adventures for a commercial
flight to the International Space Station. Set up
in 2001, Space Adventures has already sent five
tourists into space on board a Soyuz.
The firm has been in negotiations with Ros-
kosmos to rent the third seat on board a ship
which regularly ferries Russian and American
astronauts to the ISS.
American Dennis Tito, South African Mark
Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen of the United States,
Iranian-born Anousheh Ansari and Hungar-
ian-born Charles Simonyi are the five who
have each paid up to 25 million dollars (16
million euros) for the thrill of a lifetime. The craft, piloted by
The next independent space traveller is Ri- a professional
chard Garriott, an American electronic games
entrepreneur and son of former astronaut
astronaut, is
Owen Garriott. His flight is due to take off in designed to carry
October. ■ two so-called space
AFP
adventurers

Wildlife tourism
W
ildlife tourism is gaining
popularity in Kerala and
many tourists, especially
foreigners, are enthu-
siastic about spending time in the
wild – spotting birds, endangered
species and just being in the lap
of nature.
Many such wildlife enthusiasts
keep coming back for the special
interest tours once again. Though
only five per cent of the total
tourists visiting Kerala are inter-
ested in wildlife tourism, their
numbers are growing, say wildlife
With the help of local communities and
forest department, the company had created
well-planned wilderness experiences
tour operators.
The tourists have six options to
choose from -- Silent Valley Na-
tional Park, Chimmony Wildlife
Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife
Sanctuary, Peechi Wildlife Sanc-
tuary, Thattekad Wildlife Sanctu-
ary and Periyar Tiger Reserve
(PTR), CEO of Wild Kerala Tour
company K G Pramod said.
He formed the company five
years ago to promote and prac-
tice eco tourism as he was con-
cerned about the impact of mass
tourism on wild landscapes, par-
ticularly in Kerala.
With the help of local com-
munities and forest department,
the company had created well-
planned wilderness experiences
that introduces small group of
travellers to new environments
and cultures with minimum neg-
ative environmental impact and
maximum support to conserva-
tion efforts, he said.
People in the 35-70 age group
take the tours, he said. The book-
ings are made with the help of the
forest department which in turn
informs the local forest office and
the local eco-development com-
munities. The tribal youth and lo-
cal communities were also
involved, he said. ■
PTI
 Friday, July 4, 2008
11
Elephant orphanage
Pinnawela orphanage is situated northwest of the Kegalla, halfway between Colombo and
the ancient royal residence Kandy in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It was established in
1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife department. This 24 acres large elephant orphanage is also a
breeding ground for elephants. Twenty elephants were born since 1984, and it has the
greatest herd of elephants in captivity in the world.

R.VIJAY SUBRAMANIAN hire a cab at around Rs 1,350 (In- long road which for a stroll to have a spectacular greenery and tall
vijaysubramanian@gmail.com dica) and start to Valparai passes through glimpse of the local mystic mountains surrounding
through a unbelievably well-laid some patches of market and saw the us. The roads were narrow but

O
ne need not have signifi-
cant disposable money to
go on a holiday, more so
when it comes to domestic
peninsular destinations. All it
takes is proper planning, zeal and
the correct information about a
place. I am going to narrate my
experience and share with you
the beauty and tranquillity of a
place called Valparai, tucked
away in the Annamalai Mountain
range about 100 kms from
Coimbatore.
Valparai is a small town situat-
ed at an altitude of 1300 metres
with lush green tea estates and
constantly kept at vigil by a mag-
ical and mysterious mountain
called the Grass hills. Perhaps the
remoteness of this place has kept
away undue human intervention
and as a result offers a wide range
of attractions for a traveller who
is passionate and thrives on a
aimless travel.
People from Chennai can take
any overnight train to Coimba-
tore and from there reach Polla-
chi, which is 40 kms away at the
foothills of the Annamalai moun-
tain range. From Bangalore, one
can take a bus or train to Coimba-
tore and reach Pollachi which is
kind of a base camp for Valparai.
and maintained road which pas-
ses through a serene and quaint
ashram called Arivuthirukoyil
just before the Ghat Road starts.
People who seek calmness can
have a brief stopover here (any-
way the uphill will replace your
well-guarded composure with
child like joy and bubbling en-
thusiasm). Exactly opposite to
this is the famous Aliyar dam
which has been a quintessential
shot in many south Indian rural
films. It is said that the catchment
area of the dam resembles Indian
map when seen from the 9th hair
pin bend overlooking the dam
and which is around 15 kms
uphill from this location enroute
to Valparai.
Another stopover awaits us
about 10 kms uphill where the
beautiful Monkey Falls finishes
its last journey before joining the
Aliyar dam but not before giving
the tourists a wonderful opportu-
nity to have a thundering shower
in a safe manner. The water here
is literally sweet and has an in-
trinsic chillness which will put to
shame the mineral water that we
get in our offices.
After this, one has to take the
dry and decidu-
ous forests and
slowly gets re-
placed by rain
forests as we re-
ach the 9th hair
pin bend. From
here one gets to see
the whole Aliyar, acres of
paddy and coconut farms and if
one is incredibly lucky the great
Nilgiri Tahr. This place is situated
at a height of 1000 metres and is
the gateway for the mysterious
land of Valparai and grass hills.
We spotted two tahrs quite a dis-
tance away but thanks to our dig-
ital camera we could take some
close up shots of the elusive
animal.
We continued our journey with
awestruck faces in the car (except
the driver) and after meandering
our way through serpentine
roads, we reached Valparai about
an hour later around 1.30 pm. En
route a statue has been erected
for Carver Marsh, who found this
place while serving the British go-
vernment . After reaching our ho-
tel, all we could do was to have
lunch and hit the bed for a short
nap. Around 5.30 p.m., we went
giant grass hill
looking at us cov-
ered in mist and as
it got darker the
grass hill slowly dis-
appeared from our
sight. Next day we had
planned to visit Athira-
pally falls situated about 85
kms in Thrissur district of Kerala.
Next day morning we started
our trip by visiting the famous Vi-
nayagar temple situated on the
way to Malakaparai (the state
border). The place, its settings
and the unbelievable silence,
made us very comfortable and re-
juvenated. In fact we were
breathing with our mouths wide
open in order to inhale fresh
mountain air with a greenish
smell and refreshing chillness.
The more we inhaled the brighter
our faces and minds became in
this process. At Malakaparai
(about 35kms from valparai) we
crossed the checkpost and en-
tered into Kerala after spending
some time at the Sholayar dam
located in Valparai taluk right at
the border. As soon as we crossed
the checkpost the terrain sudden-
ly became uninhabited with
well maintained and were filled
with moist and damp leaves.
About 10kms after we stopped
our car because we saw the fa-
mous lion tailed macaque jump-
ing between treetops, this sight
was amazing and the sound of
moving branches literally filled
the whole place. We switched off
the engine of our car and took
photographs of the place. We re-
sumed our journey and slowly
started descending from an alti-
tude of 1700mrts to around
700mrts in athirapally. The jour-
ney took nearly 5hours and after
having many stopovers, we final-
ly reached around 2 p.m. At this
place the River Chalakudi de-
scends from a gorge of 70 metres
in to the plains of Thrissur.
After being in the cool, pure
waters for nearly 2 hours we went
to a nearby small hotel for lunch.
After that we started returning
and has a small stopover at a
place called Vazhachal, which is
again a series of small and swift
water ways. These waters are
flowing from the Sholayar dam
upstream making their way
through many untouched forests
and hidden areas so the purity or
rather the divinity of these waters
cannot be explained. ■

Valparai,
Pollachi itself is an attractive des-
tination whose attractions swing
from one end to the other namely
from temples, historical sites to
elephant camps and numerous
waterfalls. From here one can

a hidden gem

Fact file
Valparai – easily accessible
from Chennai and Bangalore
through Coimbatore and
Pollachi
From Pollachi, take a cab to
Valparai (around 65 kms).
There is no connectivity to
any mobile service provider so
be prepared to “switch off”.
Only one ATM (SBI) and two
decent hotels are there.
12
Portfolio
SHALINI SHAH
shalinishah@goergo.in
Y has everything that a
ou can’t really imagine
sneakers without those
stinking shoelaces. The
ones that you keep tripping
on. The ones that are a ready-
made tool for someone’s idea of a
practical joke.
Or can you? Now, thanks to a
certain Mr. John Varvatos and a
company that originally started
out as a basketball shoe compa-
ny, you can now get sneakers that
have all the regular features of a
pair – except the shoelaces.
Everything else is there – the
regular canvas uppers, rubber
outsole, even those metallic eye-
lets through which to run the
shoelaces!
We tell you how it works.
The essential purpose of a
shoelace is to ensure a snug fit
while ensuring ease during wear-
ing and removing. To dispense
with the entire tedium of tying
and untying the chords, designer
John Varvatos worked with Con-
verse and brought out a shoe that
looks exactly like the classic Con-
verse, minus the shoelaces. In-
built support beneath the tongue
ensures that the purpose that
shoelaces normally serve is
achieved. The perfect shoe for the
lazy ones.
That was just a beginning of the
anti-shoelace tirade.
Varvatos also worked with
Converse to bring out the ‘crazy
ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008
Goodbye,
SHOELACES?
laces’ pair. There are 19 eyelets
on either side! Imagine threading
and unthreading them! Thankful- The new kind of sneaker
ly, the fact the laces are made of
elastic ensures that the wearer
can use them as slip-ons, without
tying or untying the laces. Shoe- regular one has, right
laces, here, have effectively been
reduced to an embellishment. down to the metal
In namma Chennai, the slip-on
Converse variety is yet to make an eyelets. Only the
entry.
However, there are other shoelaces are missing
brands which have started fol-
lowing suit and bringing out their
eyelets-without-laces varieties.
Most multi-brand footwear out-
lets have just started stocking
them.
Grab a pair, set a trend. Andre
Agassi, too, is a fan. ■
 Friday, July 4, 2008
Givenchy
Karl Lagerfeld
for Chanel
PHOTOS: AFP PHOTO
T
he Paris Fashion Week kicked
off amidst some high-voltage
action.
Jean-Paul Gaultier’s exotic
birds of paradise all came complete
with their cages. “Twenty years ago
I was already doing corsets like cag-
es,” the designer reminisced after
the show. Lefranc Ferrant’s models
walked the ramp with bubble-top-
covered heads.
Elie Saab acknowledged Miche-
langelo’s Sistine Chapel for the mut-
John Galliano ed palette of grey-blues, faded
for Christian pinks and reddish purples like wine
Dior dregs. Karl Lagerfeld’s show for
Chanel came with metallic columns
in the backdrop and heavy ruching
and ruffs on the clothes. The decor
dictated the lack of colour in his
(From left) Dior, Christian Lacroix,
Giorgio Armani Prive and Elie Saab
13
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul
Gaultier
Kenzo
haute couture collection for next au-
tumn-winter, he explained. “There
is just a splash of pink. Otherwise it
is all in half tones.”
For the men, pink ruled.
The notion of wardrobe androgy-
ny was the fitting theme of Yves
Saint-Laurent’s men’s collection that
kicked of the just-ended men’s
shows. Making his menswear debut
for Givenchy, the house women’s
designer Ricardo Tisci went for
shocking pink, throwing out a suit
with socks, shirt and shoes in pink in
a gothic-cum-romantic collection
mingling masculine and feminine –
lace shirts over tattooed skin, kinky
leather shorts worn with cropped
leggings.
Inputs from agencies
14 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Diet for monkeys

Wellness
Around 50 primates at a Japanese zoo have been
put on strict diets after becoming so obese they
could barely move. The monkeys, who have piled
on the pounds, are called the Rhesus monkey, and
have drawn crowds for their chunky figures .

Life is enthusiasm
SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV tle plant on top of that roof and
just give it a little mud and noth-

F
rustration, discouragement,
and depression are contin-
uous process. Once you get
frustrated you’ll get discour-
aged. Once you get discouraged
you will get depressed.
Once there is no enthusiasm,
once there is depression in you,
there is no possibility of life. So
when you say I am getting frus-
trated with something, you are
not far away from discourage-
ment and depression. Frustration
is the first step. Now, how do I
drop it?
You don’t have to drop it be-
cause life is enthusiasm, isn’t it?
Every life, just see the very way
the ants are moving about, you
try to stop him… you put all kinds
of barriers around him. Will he
ever get frustrated? Or discour-
aged? Till he falls dead he will
make his effort. Look at the little
grass, pluck and see, just uproot
the grass and see, just see with
the kind of enthusiasm the root
system has gone. You put one lit-
ing else. It will just keep two leav-
es for survival and from there it
will put one root down, running
over 25 meters down: one single
root into the ground. Do you
think ever he gets frustrated? Life
energy knows no frustration. It is
a limited mind which knows frus-
tration; because the limited mind
works out of expectations, false
expectations. When your expec-
tations are not in line with the life
as such, when your expectations
are fanciful psychology, not life
phenomenal, then when it
doesn’t get fulfilled, mind feels
this is the end of the world.
Even now, mentally if you get
frustrated and mind says ‘no
good living, let me die.’ Just close
your mouth, hold your nose for
two minutes and see, the life
within you doesn’t say ‘let me
die.’ It says, ‘let me live.’ Frustra-
tion, discouragement, depression
means just this: you are working
against your own life, your own
fundamental nature. ■

Sex cuts erectile dysfunction risk: Study

A
new study has revealed
that frequent intercourse
can reduce erectile dys-
function (ED) risk in men.
Researchers from Finland have
revealed that men who had in-
tercourse more often were less
likely to develop ED.
Over the period of five years,
the team studied 989 men be-
tween 55 to 75 years from Pirkan-
maa, Finland.
They found that men who had
intercourse less than once per
week were twice as likely to suffer
from erectile dysfunction.
Further, the risk of erectile dys-
function was inversely related to
the frequency of intercourse.
Of 1,000 men, who had sexual
intercourse less than once per
week, 79 had ED, whereas the
count dropped to 32 among men
who had intercourse once per
week
The number further dropped development of complete erectile “Regular intercourse has an Tampere University Hospital, to coital frequency,” Koskim’ki
to 16 with regard to those who dysfunction, with an approxi- important role in preserving Department of Urology, Tam- added.
had reported intercourse 3 or mate 2.5-fold risk among those erectile function among elderly pere, Finland. The study is published in the
more times per week. with less than 1 morning erection men, whereas morning erection “Continued sexual activity de- July 2008 issue of The American
In addition, the frequency of per week compared with 2 to 3 does not exert a similar effect,” creases the incidence of erectile Journal of Medicine. ■
morning erections predicted the morning erections per week. said Dr Juha Koskim’ki, PhD, dysfunction in direct proportion ANI
 Friday, July 4, 2008
15
Junk food and pregnancy Mud lures kids
Mums who live off of junkfood while Dozens of American high school aged
pregnant or breastfeeding could be boys and girl are wanting to play in the
making their children face a lifetime of mud and test their strengths – and the
obesity. Effects include obesity, high Army obstacle course summer camp is
cholesterol, and the risk of diabetes. letting young adventurers do just that.

Beware of diet sized snack packs

T
he small, diet-friendly pack-
ages of snacks -cookies,
chips, and the like – might
be designed to help you
control the waistline, but accord-
ing to a new research, the mini
packs may actually encourage
people to eat more.
Research from the Netherlands
has found that small ‘diet packs’
of lollies, biscuits or chips could
be encouraging people to drop
their guard and eat more than
they usually would.
Those who eat the mini por-
tions feel they don’t need to exer-
cise self-control because it is a
pre-portioned pack, and they end
up eating several of them. The
scientists gave different sized
bags of potato crisps, divided into
small and large packets to 140
students.
Each of the volunteers was giv-
en either two 200-gram bags of
crisps or nine 45-gram bags, to
munch as they watched TV. The
group was asked a series of ques-
tions and was weighed in front of
a mirror to trigger a diet ‘mind-
set’.
The findings, published on
Thursday in New Scientist maga-
zine, show that students who large packets. bags. Almost 60 per cent of those assigned large bags. Smaller bags believe that the size of small bags
were worried about their weight The group was also more likely with small bags opened them and did not appear to curb the appe- could encourage dieters to drop
ate twice as many crisps if they to open the crisps and start eating started eating, compared with tite of students without weight their guard. ■
came in small packets rather than them if they came in smaller only a quarter of those who were concerns either. The researchers ANI

Get over it!

DIVYA M. CHANDRAMOULI times when it just has to be done. Pro-active
divya.c@goergo.in Here are few steps that will help
bring back the smile faster. Sign up for the class you’ve al-

E
nding a relationship is nev-
er easy and no one wants to
deal with the process of
breaking up, but there are
Ask the question
Why? By examining the reasons
for a failed relationship, you will
be able to understand how you
might have contributed to its de-
mise.
It will also save your from fu-
ture heartache as you can learn
from your mistakes and look not
to repeat them.
Stop the blame game
While it takes two people to
make a relationship, one unhap-
py individual can bring it to a
close.
Instead of finding ways to
blame the other, accept your irre-
concilable differences and move
on.
ways wanted to take or look to
develop new interests.
Or go out with your friends
more often. Physical exercise can
also help you get back on track.
Tidy up
Living in a messy environment
can only add to the clutter in your
mind. Clean up your room, draw
out the curtains and light your fa-
vourite incense stick. You will feel
an immediate sense of relief.
Let go
Let go of the hate and the pain
lessens.
Let go of frail hope and there is
an opportunity to achieve happi-
ness with someone else. ■
16 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Sunitha Rao excels

Sport
Sunitha Rao shrugged off a poor start to beat Kristina Kuvoca of Slovakia in a tough three-setter to
advance to the singles second round of the USD 50,000 ITF women’s tennis event in Boston, USA. The
USA based Indian, seeded fifth, rallied to beat her Slovakian opponent 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the first
round of the hard court event. Sunitha, second highest ranked Indian in WTA charts, next faces American
qualifier Gail Brodsky.

Premiership dreams
Nineteen-year-old Chiraag Paul became the
first Indian footballer to be signed up by a
second-tier English club side. The striker
from Kolkata signed a £1,500-a-week
contract with the Championship side,
Nottingham Forest. Earlier, Indian football
icon Bhaichung Bhutia had spent two
seasons with English second-division side
Bury FC in the late nineties.
Three years ago, Chiraag became the first
Asian to get a full-time scholarship to study
and train at the South Birmingham College
sponsored by Birmingham City FC. He
graduated from their programme and was
inducted to play for the Midlands club in the
Premiership before a knee injury last
SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

February ruled him out of action. However,

under the supervision of Kolkata-based
orthopaedic surgeon Vikas Kapoor, who
performed an arthroscopic surgery on the
troublesome ankle last year, and Chennai-
based sports medicine specialist P. Kannan,
Chiraag has recovered completely and is
now just a few steps away from realising his
dream of playing in the Premiership.
According to his mother Arunima, he had
offers from Premiership sides Chelsea and
Tottenham Hotspurs but had opted for
FIGHTING FOR GOLD
Forest to get more first-team action.
Ergo Correspondent Under-achievers India hope to turn the corner

I
ndia travel to the Olympics
without their trademark field
Comeback man hockey team, but determined
to prove they will not compete
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India at Beijing just to make up the
(BCCI) and International Cricket Council numbers. The hockey stars, In-
(ICC) president Jagmohan Dalmiya has dia’s flag-bearers at past Olym-
decided to throw in the hat for the pics despite winning the last of
forthcoming Cricket Association of Bengal their eight gold medals way back
(CAB) elections. in 1980, have fallen on such hard
“I’ve agreed to contest in the CAB poll after times that they failed to qualify
CAB members approached me. They for the first time. But officials are
requested me to fight to rescue Bengal confident Indian hockey’s ab-
cricket from the doldrums and I had to sence in Beijing will be made up
accept the challenge. Cricket has always by a promising display from other
been my first love and I want Bengal cricket competitors like shooters, arch-
to do well. An official announcement will ers, boxers and tennis players.
be made shortly,” Dalmiya said. “The Olympic world knows In-
Dalmiya had stayed at the helm of CAB for dia for its hockey, but this is a
13 years at a stretch before relinquishing good chance to prove there is
power in December 2006 more to our sport than that,” said
after the BCCI headed by the country’s senior Olympic offi-
Sharad Pawar had barred cial Randhir Singh. India, a grow-
him from cricket ing economy with ambitions to
administration. Dalmiya was host the Olympics, has just four
charged with embezzlement individual medals to show for its
of Pilcom accounts set for efforts at the four-yearly Games,
the 1996 World Cup by the the first one a bronze by wrestler
current officeholders of the Khasaba Jadhav at Helsinki in
BCCI. But, backed by a 1952. The last three Games pro-
reprieve from the Calcutta duced a medal each with tennis
High Court, the cricket star Leander Paes winning a
administrator is back in the bronze at Atlanta, women’s
fray and will definitely give weightlifter Karnam Malleswari a
the current incumbent, bronze in Sydney and shooter Ra-
Prasun Mukherjee, a run for jyavardhan Rathore a silver at
his money. Athens.
Having taken over the reins of CAB post-
Dalmiya era, Mukherjee has reportedly lost Improvement
significant support, especially after Bengal’s “No one gave them a chance,
relegation from the Elite Group this season. but they proved everyone wrong,”
Ergo Correspondent said Singh, who also serves as the
secretary-general of the Olympic
Council of Asia. “There is no rea-
son to be pessimistic.” The shoo-
ters remain the country’s best bet
with army officer Rathore hoping
to relive his Athens moment of
glory in the double trap, despite
inconsistent performances at the
World Cup. Officials also have
great hopes on rifle shooters Ga-
gan Narang and Abhinav Bindra,
both among the top 10 in the
world, pistol ace Samaresh Jung
and trap shooter Manavjit Sand-
hu. The seventh-ranked Narang,
25, returns to the Beijing shooting
ranges where he won the air rifle
gold medal at the World Cup in
2006 and followed that with a
bronze at a similar event in April
this year. “It helps to have com-
peted at the Olympic ranges,”
said Narang. “I have the picture of
the range in my mind and it is part
of my mental training for Beijing.”
In tennis, Paes rubbished sug-
gestions that his on-off partner-
ship with Mahesh Bhupathi had
hurt the three-time Grand Slam
winners’ chances of winning a
doubles medal. “Never write us
off,” warned Paes, 35, with whom
Bhupathi won the Asian Games
title in Doha in 2006 after losing
the Olympic bronze medal play-
off in Athens. “We click well on
court and that is half the battle
won.” Paes and Bhupathi, who
parted ways in 2000, differ on
most matters and reunite only to
represent India at the Davis Cup,
Olympics or Asian Games. It,
however, needed Indian tennis
officials to broker a peace deal at
the French Open in Paris for the
duo to agree to team up in Beijing
after Bhupathi had flatly refused
to play with with his erstwhile
partner.
A few surprises
Tennis queen Sania Mirza,
making a comeback after a wrist
surgery, faces a tough field at Beij-
ing, but India is counting on the
archers and boxers to spring sur-
prises. Archer Mangal Singh,
picked up from a remote village
by steel baron Lakshmi Mittal’s
sports foundation in 2006, helped
India win the men’s recurve team
event in the World Cup in Turkey
in May. Boxing officials have
pinned their hopes on Common-
wealth Games 54kg champion Ak-
hil Kumar and Vijender Singh,
who recently beat Olympic cham-
pion Bakhtiyar Artayev of Uzbe-
kistan in the 75kg category. ■
AFP
 Friday, July 4, 2008
17

‘‘
There’s something about racing in your home country that definitely af-
fects you. You can’t really say what it is, but there is something about
the familiarity of your surroundings and the constant support of the crowd that
gives you a boost throughout the whole weekend.
Lewis Hamilton about the British Grand Prix

Off to USA
Chief coach Colin Toal of Under-16 Indian
football team, which is on a four-week tour to
United states, feels the team’s stint would
boost the sport in Indian in the long run and
would help in the development of the national
team. “The results can’t disrupt the commit-
ment for the long term goal, it is important to
get the boys playing better football and the
development of the team (heading into the
AFC Championships in October),” he said.
The Under-16 team, which reached Charles-
ton on Wednesday, would begin their training
session from Friday at Schoenbaum Stadium,
West Virginia. Apart from the training, India
will be playing seven games as a part of the
tour. India will play against the Dayton, Ohio
Metro FC Rapids, Columbus, Ohio NCAA Blast
FC, Marshall University Elite Camp All-Stars,
the West Virginia Olympic Development Pro-
gram State Team and two teams yet to be
named.
The senior national side, meanwhile, is off to
Portugal where they will play two friendly
matches against club sides to prepare for the
AFC Challenge Cup in Hyderabad.
PTI

Bhambri ousted Kirsten warned

Yuki Bhambri’s challenge at the Wimbledon Board of Control for Cricket in
championships ended on a dismal note after India (BCCI) has told coach Gary
he made a first round exit in the boys’ Kirsten not to comment on the
doubles event along with Chinese partner Ze team on his personal Web site.
Zhang. The un-seeded Indo-Chinese pair lost “Kirsten cannot write post-
6-7 (6-8) 6-3, 9-11 to Australian combine of match comments or columns as
Jared Easton and Andrew Thomas in a rain- per our policy,” Ratnakar
affected match. Yuki had also crashed out of Shetty, the board’s chief
the singles competition in the first round administrator officer said on
itself. Poojashree Venkatesh had Thursday, adding that only the
disappointed with her first round exit in the team captains are allowed to
girls’ singles event. The Delhi players’ best write newspaper or Web site
performance at junior Grand Slams this year columns. On the site
remains his singles semi-final appearance at (www.garykirsten.com), the
the Australian Open. The 15-year-old teen South African, who took over
had cut a sorry figure at the French Open in March, said there was a need
too after failing to go beyond the first to introduce a rotation policy,
round in singles and second round in the adding that one-day captain
doubles competition. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in
PTI need of rest.
Reuters
18 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Signature Spears

Flick
Britney Spears’ signed Mickey Mouse Club T-shirt is
expected to fetch up to 20,000 dollars at an
auction. Spears had signed “I love you grandma”
on the T-shirt that she wore during the show,
reports Contactmusic.
ANI

Owner of Bruce Lee’s

T
he owner of Bruce Lee’s family mansion in Hong Kong has former home abandons
abandoned his plan to sell the property and will consider
turning it into a museum celebrating the kung fu film legend, sale after fans’
a report said Thursday. pleas
Millionaire philanthropist Yu Panglin, who bought the house
for 850,000 Hong Kong dollars (109,000 US) in the 1960s, had
invited bidders for the property, the South China Morning Post
said.
But he decided to withdraw from the sale, following calls from
fans of the star to preserve Lee’s former home.
“I will consider the views of the community and different par-
ties. I may consider donating the property if the majority thinks
we should preserve it,” he told the newspaper.
His original plan was to have part of the proceeds donated to
the Sichuan earthquake victims, the newspaper said.
Yu said the sale of the house, which until five years ago was
used as a seedy “love hotel”, had attracted many bidders in-
cluding one who offered 105 million dollars for the house, accord-
ing to the report.
The US-born Lee died at the age of 32 in 1973, after a brief
but bright career as the high-kicking hero of Hong Kong
movies like “Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury”, which re-
main hugely popular across the world. ■
AFP

A spokesman for
Angelina Jolie on
Tuesday said the
actress is "doing
great" following
reports that she has
checked into a
hospital in Nice,
U.S. pop star
France, ahead of the
Madonna and her
birth of twins. Media
husband, British film
reports said the 33-
maker Guy Ritchie,
year-old Oscar
are not planning to
winner, whose
divorce, her
partner is actor Brad
spokeswoman said
Pitt, was admitted to
on Tuesday, denying
the Lenval Hospital
media speculation
on Monday, citing a
that their marriage is
hospital
ending. “There are
spokeswoman.
no divorce plans,”
Reuters
Liz Rosenberg,
Madonna’s publicist,
said in a statement.
Reuters
 Friday, July 4, 2008
Harry Potter and Trainspotting
Daniel Radcliffe admits that certain scenes in Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are similar to
Trainspotting, the cult movie about a group of
heroin addicts in late 1980s Edinburgh and their
passage through life.
m o v i e
s , t h e
i e n d
Fr
T
he highly anticipated film
production of the famous
television series Friends
has finally been given the
go-ahead, according to reports.
The cast are said to have
agreed to the project after wit-
nessing the box office success of
Sex and the City, another hit tel-
evision series given the movie
treatment.
Rumours of a reunion for the
six Friends stars – Jennifer An-
iston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Ku-
drow, David Schwimmer,
Matthew Perry and Matt Le-
Blanc – have been around ever
since the show ended in 2004.
The cast is now reported to
have signed up for a movie ver-
sion, produced by Warner Bros,
with filming scheduled to start
within the next 18 months.
“Jennifer, Courtney and the
rest of the cast are keen to re-
prise their roles, under the
right circumstances. The suc-
cess of Sex and the City has
really got their wheels spin-
ning about how a Friends
film could be just as big, if
done right,” the Tele-
graph quoted a source,
as saying.
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sacha Baron Cohen will star as detective Sherlock
Holmes and Will Ferrell as his loyal assistant,
Watson, in an upcoming film comedy inspired by
tales of the fictional English sleuth, Columbia
Pictures said on Wednesday.
As the biggest star of
the Friends franchise,
Jennifer can’t help but
look at what’s happened
with Sarah Jessica Parker
and the Sex and the City
film and be a little
jealous.
TV’s most
beloved pals
might be there
on 70 mm
“Timing and the script are re-
ally important, but now that
Courtney and Jen both have
production companies, they can
potentially get very involved in
those decisions,” the source
added. Cox has made no secret
of her desire to get the gang back
together for one last outing, but
Aniston has been reluctant.
The source said: “As the big-
gest star of the Friends fran-
chise, Jennifer can’t help but
look at what’s happened with
Sarah Jessica Parker and the Sex
and the City film and be a little
jealous. What’s held back a
Friends movie so far is that peo-
ple were worried that Jennifer
had simply become too famous
to play Rachel again.
But the truth is that Jennifer is
finally willing to do it, and she’d
love to work with that whole
team of actors and producers
again. She says she and
Courtney have already
talked this summer about
what they want out of a
Friends movie, and if deals
can be made with them,
everything else can fall
into place rather quick-
ly.” ■
ANI
19
Cine City
Rajni, Kamal to do cameo
A film on St.Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ, is
being produced at a cost of Rs 50 crores. The
project was inaugurated by Chief Minister
M.Karunanidhi on Thursday. The film would initially
be made in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi and later
dubbed into various other languages, including
English and French. The movie is expected to match
Hollywood big-budget movies such as Ben Hur and
the Ten Commandments in budget and quality. Top
actors like Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith, Vijay
and Vikram will do the guest roles in this film. The
film is funded by the government of Canada and
the Vatican.
Actor Ajmal in
high spirits
The doctor-turned-model-turned-
actor Ajmal is in high spirits after
the grand success of Anjathey. His
excellent performance has shot him
to fame. He played Kirupa, a
friend of Naren, in Anjathey.
Ajmal has signed two films in
Tamil. One being the
remake of the Hindi
blockbuster Taxi No 9211
being produced by GV
Films titled TN 07 AL
4777 and the other
film is produced by
Pyramid Saimira.
He has also
finished a
Malayalam flick
with Mohanlal.
www.cinesnacks.com
20 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Career Crossroads

Scan
According to tv.com, Orlando Bloom
says that he is considering alternate
careers should his Hollywood career not
work out. He says he’d be a
photographer or maybe a sculptor

PICK OF THE DAY - Friday

Star World Discovery Travel And Living Star Movies HBO

In Case Of Emergency
– 8 pm
After the surprise visit of Kelly to
her strict parents, she decides to
create a new life for herself and to
start from scratch.
Indian Rendezvous – 8-30 pm
Indian Rendezvous takes viewers off
the beaten path, traveling to
various cities in India. Indian
Rendezvous covers the most exciting
and interesting things to do in each
Indian city.
Lucky Number Slevin – 9 pm
A case of mistaken identity lands
Slevin into the middle of a war
being plotted by two of the city’s
most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi
and The Boss. Slevin is under
constant surveillance by relentless
Detective Brikowski.
Wild Wild West – 9 pm
Special Agent Jim West must save
the world from an enormous steam-
powered tarantula created by the
evil Dr. Loveless in this fun-filled
action packed movie.

PICK OF THE DAY - Saturday

Start Movies Star World Star Vijay Discovery

Ice age 2 – 9 pm
While Skrat the Saber Toothed
Squirrel is still ineffectually trying to
regain his precious acorn, the misfit
trio of Manny the Mammoth, Sid
the Sloth and Diego the Sabretooth
Tiger have settled down in an
isolated valley with numerous other
animals.
Bones – 4 pm
The Man in the Bear. Series 1,
episode 4. Brennan and Booth
travel to Washington to investigate
a human arm that was found in the
stomach of a black bear.
Thirandhidu Sesame – 7 pm
A game show that is based on luck
and that tempts the participants
into taking risks and keeps the
audience on the edge of their seats.
Journey to India – 8 pm
We’re about to embark upon a
journey of surprise, of enchantment,
of horror and of joy, through an
elusive country, India. India would
not exist without this widespread
and devotion to religion.

PICK OF THE DAY - Sunday

Star World HBO Sony Max Sony Pix

Friends – 12-30 pm
Rachel and Phoebe convince Joey to
keep dating a girl that they like.
Monica unintentionally invites
Janice to her wedding and she and
Chandler try to find a way to
tactfully uninvite her.
Casper – 9 pm
Carrigan Crittenden is ready to burn
her old mansion to the ground
when she discovers a map to a
treasure hidden in the house. But
when she enters the mansion, she is
frightened away by a wicked wave
of ghosts. She decides to call an
expert of excorcise them.
Dhoom 2 – 12 pm
In the second installment of the
Dhoom series, Jai and Ali are back
as the buddy cops on their toughest
job so far. "Mr.A" is an
international thief who has planned
to steal a priceless artifact in
Mumbai and the police have got to
nab him.
The Devil’s Own – 10 pm
Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt star in
this harrowing thriller about an IRA
gunman who draws an American
family into the crossfire of
terrorism.
 Friday, July 4, 2008
21
Good aim
A Georgia woman knocked her husband
unconscious when she threw a potato at his
head. Police found the woman’s husband called
her a dirty name, and she claims she didn’t mean
to hurt him. Her husband did not press charges.

Greetings
Dear Bond,
Many more happy returns of
the day!
May you live long and lead
a happy and successful life.
MAG CORP
Tasty Italian Cuisines
Prego, Taj Coroman-
del’s authentic Italian
May all your dreams come SATYAM fine dining restaurant
true ! Hey Siva, has introduced execu-
God Bless you darling ! Hope we are the “first” to tive lunch for people
Love, wish you a happy birthday on the move. The spe-
Salma in advance… have a blast cially designed Execu-
iNautix on your special day tive Lunch is timed for
Dear Swapna, Cheers, a 60- minute experi-
Happy Birthday. Wishing you Satyam ELTP 289 ence of a three-course
a very happy and colourful Dear Utthar, meal with three choic-
year ahead Many More Happy returns es in each course. Why
Luv, of the day!!!!! not try and enjoy the
Lavnaya& K4L4. Let your life filled with tasty delicious Italian
TCS complete bliss, delight and dishes?
Hi Menaka, peace. Have a fantastic Where: Prego
Wishing you wonderful year Birthday. Taj Coromandel
of joy and happiness..! Lots of Love, Nungambakkam
Feel the shower of blessings Sangi and Rums. When: July 3rd
on this special day... Wipro Technologies. Contact: 6600 2827
Regards, Dear Nambi,
Syamkumar Wherever You go, Here’s
CTS Wishing that,Happiness,
Hi Ramesh, Success and Good Luck,
Wish you many more happy Be With You… Always”
returns of the day. Have a Chandra, Manisha, Maithreyi,
very bright Rohan The film Himalaya by Eric

Himalaya
future and colorful day Neelima, Velu, Janani, Paul, Valli, is screened at Alli-
ahead. Enjoy your special Giri ance francaise auditori-
day! Satyam um. The extreme
Cheers, Hello Jeyanthy, environment of the Hima-
Saamurai,Nishanth,Velusamy, We wish you nothing but layas is magnificently
Viswanathan,Vishnu.Chota, Good things, for you truly contrasted to the delicacy
Elavarasan do deserve the Best!!! of humanity and the
Dear Praveen, Have a very Happy beauty of Tibetan culture.
Many many happy returns of Birthday!!!! Where:
the day. May you prosper like Hearty wishes from, AFM Auditorium,
America on its Independence G T Gang, Pius, Aravind, Alliance Francaise
day. Happy Birthday! “ Prasanna, Deepa &Vignesh of Madras,
Aman Dwivedy Hexaware Technologies College Road
Wipro Hi Chakku, Nungambakkam
Dear Saravana, Many Many More happy When: July 4th,
Wish you Many More Happy returns of the Day. 6.30 p.m.
Returns of the day. Your Wife,
May God bless you with Anu Chakra,
happiness and Prosperity. TCS
With Love, Hi Baby(Lucy) Balaji,
Poorni & Friends Happy Birthday !!! God
Infosys Technologies Limited Bless U!!!!
Dear Vel, Best Wishes fromCKB ULL(AXA)
Wishing you a very joyful
birthday in advance and have
Support Team,
Steria
Retro
a wonderful year ahead with
lot of surprises.
Hearty wishes from
Hi Mathangi, Wish you a
very happy and peaceful
married life.
night
Srikanth, Siva,Gopi,Kathir,Karthi Amalan, Satyam For all you retro rangers,
TCS Happy Birthday Sowmya, now’s the time to go
Dear Vithya and Shobi, May all your dreams come down memory lane and
Many More Happy Returns of true. Have a colorful and do the groove. The 70’s
the day!! May all your a blasting year ahead. God welcome you with open
dreamz come true..:) bless you! hands at 10 downing
Loving Wishes Madhuri and SudhaRani street.
Fun Team, WIPRO Technologies. Where: 10 Downing
Wipro Street,
Dear Satish, No 50 Kences Inn,
We all Wish you a very Happy B.N Road, T Nagar
birthday. When: July 4,
Hello gang, 6:30 p.m.
Send your greetings to sticky@goergo.in, with
the word ’greeting’ and the preferred date of
publication in the subject line.
Cheers, Team Ergo
22 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Passing with a crash

Traffic Jam
A learner driver who crashed half way through
his test, still passed, much to his surprise. The
20-year-old driver hit a Ford Puma while
pulling out from a parking lot and finished the
test with a dent in the side of the car.

sudoku

T Annamalai
working with
HP, Olympia
Tech Park,
clicked this
photo at
friend’s garden
in Neyveli.
Email:
tan_jam@
yahoo.com

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
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karthik@goergo.in

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(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act).
 Friday, July 4, 2008
US$ 4 million mistake
A 16-year-old boy from Shropshire, England was shocked
when he found an extra US$ 4 million in his bank account.
The boy immediately withdrew US$ 600 and bought an
iPod and new clothes. The boy later discovered the balance
was a mistake made by the bank and he is now in debt.
23
Mosquito corpse sale
A man has sold 10,000 mosquito corpses
online in only two days. Nin Nan, of Shanghai,
China came up with the idea of selling the
corpses to attract customers to his jewellery
store. The mosquitoes sell for around US$ 1.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

In spite of domestic affairs bothering you, you may
not let your work suffer due to this. In official
meetings, you might have to agree to the view
points of others. On the personal front, you may
arrange a small outing with your family.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may remain indifferent to most things around
you. Ganesha suggests you keep a close watch so
that they don’t turn into major woes. Don’t let
frustration displace on performance, by evening
things will be better. So love life will not suffer.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

A lucky day for new things. New ventures may
BORN LOSER achieve success. On the romantic front, Ganesha
feels you will be more intense and may express
possessiveness. It is advisable for you to keep a
check on emotions for matters related to the heart.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
There may be some issues on the domestic front
where Ganesha advises you to be diplomatic. Work
is smooth and easy. On the personal front, serious
issues may come up today. Solve the issues right
now, or forget about them forever, notes Ganesha.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
The day may begin with routine activities but later
you might have to take up more tasks. You will be
able to carry out all the tasks perfectly. Your life
partner’s support will keep your spirits high. At
home, you may expect guests.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
You are passing through ‘low strength phase’ today.
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT Ganesha suggests you not to spar against anyone
at office or even at home. Keep your ‘ego’ aside in
love life and abide to what your beloved one
decides. If you do so there won’t be any loss.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
In your personal life, you might take practical
decisions. This indeed will take your relationship to
another level. At work, superiors will appreciate
your work. Ganesha feels you will receive a lot of
credit and appreciation for your work.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Ganesha feels that some of your colleagues might
try to compete with you. You are advised to be
careful and alert of some serious trouble might hit
you. On the same lines, being alert and careful will
help you in your personal relationships as well.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
Your grey cells might feel active today due to
important discussions. Remain focused and the
outcome of the discussions will be in your favour.
On the romantic front clarify some matters with
beloved. A best day to discuss issues regarding love.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Have you been waiting for a raise since ages? This
is the day to negotiate about remuneration.
Ganesha feels that you will experience job security.
Before you end the day in a beautiful company, you
might contribute intellectually to your organisation.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS The day is unique in its flavour. You may bump into
old friends. This might call for party times in the
ISSUE’S evening. On the work front, you may have to put in
a lot of efforts to utilize time efficiently. You will be
SOLUTIONS in good mood as the evening is all set to rock!
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
You might want to complete the targets and meet
deadlines at any cost today. Do not worry; you
won’t have to stretch yourself. The work will be get
done by the end of the day. With your beloved, you
might discus matters related to occult or philosophy.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
24 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

! Fly backwards!
The hummingbird is the
only bird that can fly
backwards.

From the streets of Asia

ERGO CORRESPONDENT
feedback@goergo.in

T
ravel through your taste
buds and relish the rich fla-

PHOTOS: S.S. KUMAR

vours of the South East
Asian countries in Chennai.
Paprika, the restaurant at Cour-
tyard Marriott, is showcasing an
extensive spread spanning food
available across the bustling
streets of Thailand, China, Singa-
pore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
You can savour the delicacies of
these countries and enjoy eve-
rything from satyas to kimchis,
noodle soups and dim sums.
The food festival is aptly
named Truly Asia, and is the col-
lective expertise of Chef Seher
Muniyandy and Chef Yogeswaran
Latchamanan from Renaissance
Mallaka, Chef Kripa Ram Oli from
Goa Marriott and Chef Ashok
Nautial from Renaissance. Since
Asian food is becoming one of the
most sought-after cuisines in the
world, it is only natural that the
fever caught on in Chennai as
well. "Asian food today is easily
one of the most popular cuisines
around the world and we wanted
to bring the charm of the old
world wok to our Restaurant,”
said Ramesh Jackson, GM, Cour-
tyard Marriott.
The festival is on till this Sun-
day, July 6, so hurry before it’s too
late. For details contact 6676-
4488 . ■