Ergo December 1

8/14/2019 Ergo December 1

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Monday, December 1, 2008A BYTE OF LIFE

RGVS NEXTAgyaat, aninspired thriller

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 228

EARLY STARSChennais rising television artistes

0310

On the guardAs an aftermath of the Mumbai carnage, the Indian Govern-ment affected a futile change of guard with the resignationof the Home Minister. Whether it is enough remains tobe seen. With the recent increase in the frequency andintensity of terror strikes and the failure of intelligenceagencies to predict and handle such situations, a com-plete overhaul of the countrys internal security mech-anism is needed. With the loopholes seemingbigger than ever, will Indian politicians rise overpetty differences and address the situation?Post your comments to [email protected] the subject line Mumbai.

Beads make it bigHer label Aticute (Attitude + Cute)is only six months old, but herdesigns already have a place in manyboutiques in the city. Twenty-one-year-old Preeti Agarwal on herchildhood hobby growing larger.

PAGE 05


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ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008NAMMA CHENNAI02

Pay for fingerprintsAn investigating officer in the cityvisited a house that was struck byburglars sometime ago. The khakipocketed Rs. 800 from the victim asfee for fingerprint extraction andleft. Little did he know that the victimwas a relative of a top cop. And when thematter reached the top officer, the corrupt copreceived a royal dose. His punishment was notjust returning the money but also buyinggroceries for the victim.

No raincoatsThe recent torrential rains that lashed our citymade life tough for not only civilians but alsothe police. The inadequate number of

raincoats for the force hit the junior-levelkhakis big-time. Some had to make do withplastic sheets and large polythene bags onduty during the downpour. A few evenborrowed rain jackets from their kids asschools were luckily closed due to rains.

An eye for an eyeThe leader of a caste-based group based inMadurai and some followers are said to be inChennai. The reason they are collectingdetailed information on all students whoattacked and grievously injured three studentsin the Law College clash on November 12. Adetailed list is known to have been preparedwith the intension of an eye for an eye.

Taking revengeThe khakis are on vengeance mode after theLaw College incident here. All the pendingcases against Law College students in the city,including that of students attacking cops, havebeen unearthed. The result is a spree of arrestsover the last few days. One student was alsobooked for a pending motorcycle theft caseagainst him.

V. Suresh Babu, a third-yearMechanical Engineeringstudent of SRM Easwari,goes to prove that there are

no limits, once you are deter-mined to lend a hand.

The 20-year-old was your aver-age college student, living life forthe minute, until one particularincident changed his life.

It was during my first year. Myfriend and I were driving downthe Marina stretch when I saw asmall boy begging at the signal.

As the signal turned green, theboy was trying to cross the road

but was hit by a car and he diedon the spot. This incident shookme and right then I decided that I

would help children, wheneverthey were genuinely in need ofit.

Following this incident, he ap-proached a few orphanages andstarted doing his bit by donatingmoney, clothes and the like. This

went on for quite sometime untilone day; he and a friend were ap-proached by two young boys,studying in their 11th standard,outside Citi Centre.

I was puzzled when two chil-dren ran up to me asking if Icould buy them their study guide.

When I asked them why, they

said that they didnt have enoughmoney to buy them. I enquiredabout their family and learnt that,like every other poor Indian fam-ily, half of their total earnings

were used up by their alcoholicfather and they barely ate onemeal a day. I felt really bad andsince the book was a matter of Rs.100, I decided to pitch in, hesays.

This was soon forgotten and afew days later, when he hap-pened to be at the same place he

was the other day, the very sameboys approached him, requestinghim to pay their examination fee.He then took it upon himself tofund their education. He gavethem his number and asked themto contact him if they needed

anything at all and this went onfor more than a year until theyfinally completed their secondaryeducation.

To finance his mission, he tookup to working part time for a callcentre. Whatever they needed, hefunded from his pocket. The twoboys are now perusing an engi-neering degree at a governmentcollege in Coimbatore.

My part-time stint paid me Rs.7,000 monthly and I wanted toput it to good use. What was Igoing to do with so much moneyanyway? Their cause seemedgenuine and I wanted to help.

Whenever they called me with re-quest for books, pens, pencils,paper or whatever little they

wanted, I would provide with it, he says.

Sureshs long-term goal ibuild a school to educate t

who cannot afford education erwise. He also hopes to expato include an orphanage anold age home, whenever poss

Currently, he is pursuingdegree and hopes, when he cpletes, he will be able to enin this activity full-time.

Im not part of any NGOany organisation as such. I

just a person who wants to hTheres no greater satisfacthan seeing someone yohelped use the opportunitgrow. Those two boys gavethat satisfaction, he smiles.

How far would you go to make a difference in a childs lifeespecially when you are still a college student anddependent on your parents?

SWETHA GANESAN

I am just a personwho wants to help

And a thousand imagesPhotographs taken by 12 participants at aworkshop are on display at Geothe-Institut/MaxMueller Bhavan. Photo stories from thousandlights is on view till December 14. For details call2833 2343.


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Theres a brand new dance but I

dont know its nameThat people from bad homes doagain and again

Its big and its bland full of ten-sion and fear

They do it over there but wedont do it here

The song from David Bowie isapt for the child artists whodo modelling with suchease, innocence and profes-

sionalism, remaining untouchedfrom the tantrums, glitz and glossof the fashion world.

Where child actors like TaareZameen Parfame Darsheel Safaryand Shriya Sharma, the PaanchviPaas kid making nation widewaves, Namma Chennais child

artistes are no less. From hoard-

ings to TV-advertisements, theyare everywhere.

Ten-year-old Manav Sanklechahas done modelling for Chennai

Silks, RS Brothers, and Maruti Es-teem and is looking forward tomany more ads in the future.

When asked about his model-

ling experience, he says: Its fun while shooting as everyonearound are sweet and pamper mea lot. Sometimes, when the shoot

becomes too long or when askedfor continuous retakes, I feel likerunning away but at the end ofthe day I finish my work and go

back home happy. Yash Lodha was spotted in

Ajith-starter Aegan, where heplayed child Ajith.

Despite sharing screen with bigshots and modelling for brandslike VSNL, Chennai Silks, Pothysand Appy, seven-year-old Yash istimid and shy and turns back tohis mom after each question forhints, but when it comes to workits a different story.

Like any other actor he patient-ly does what he is asked to with-out complaining.

Where adults are still trying tofigure out what time manage-ment and multi-tasking is, thesekids seem to have mastered it al-ready.

They juggle their tasks so wellthat they surprise their class-mates by performing brilliantly instudies as well. I do my model-ling work on Saturdays and Sun-

days or during holidays. Stucome before anything ebeams Yash

Aamina, an eight-y

model, has all reasons to mher mother happy. Aaminafirst-rank holder in her classery year. In spite of her co-cuular activities, she managesacademics equally well, saysminas mom.

Being the Mr or Miss Populschool or having tasted starat such an early stage doematter much; they are their ents children and they mthem happy in all ways.

Some want to become dosome choreographers, sbusinessmen and some ac

when they grow up, but blend of sugar-coated innocand professionalism makes

want them more.

Meet Chennais childartistes who very wellknow how to strike abalance between schooand modelling

VIPASHA SINHA

TWINKLE, TWINKLELITTLE STAR

Monday, December 1, 2008

Go DigitalFastrack has launched its new range of digital watches. From the white digital watchfor the fast track girl to a steel case with a bright orange leather strap, the watchesare cool and trendy. They are priced from Rs. 895 to Rs. 2,495.

Yash Lodha is oneamong the leadingchild artistes,making a mark infilms andcommercials, Aeganbeing his latest

Raring to go: (From left) Ameena, Anush, Neha, Manav, Yakshi and Yash. Photo: S.S. Kumar


4/16

Constructing or owning a househas a niche in the minds of ev-ery Indian. A house is alwaysmore than just a building; it has

an emotional bonding with us. Ahouse for ones self is always a dreamfor every one of us, but not all havethe solid cash at hand to make it ontheir own.

Traditionally, our grandparentsused to depend on their providentfund and gratuity amounts receivedafter retirement while consideringbuying a home, i.e. building a houseseemed a dream only post-retire-

ment. But lately, incomes of familieshave been rising and their purchas-ing power and loan repayability wentup, promoting the sector.

With the emergence of housing fi-nance as a major business in thecountry, an increasingly large num-ber of people started going in forhome loans. Satellite towns aroundthe metros shaped the demand forhousing finance that catered to thecommon mans dream.

But the smooth road got eroded bythe recent global economic hurri-cane. In the past few months, due toslowdown in the economy, depletedmarket confidence and plummeting

stock markets, huge question marks were thrown up in air. Most homebuyers, investors or end users post-poned their purchasing decision inanticipation of a price correction,thus bringing stagnancy in quantumof sales across most major markets.

Despite falling housing sales,builders are continuing to hold theirprice line without effecting the muchanticipated downward correction.The situation has developed into atug of war between builders andhome buyers. The banks, who are thecredit lenders, urge builders to re-

duce housing price.The builders cannot reduce hous-ing prices because of rising inputcosts and high land price. In generalthe construction cost has increaseddue to the shortage and high cost ofconstruction materials like cementand steel. In case of residential prop-erties, there are two prices to be tak-en into account, the price of the landand the price of the flat, where landprices remain unyielding due to theland availability factor while the in-creased cost of construction will addto the hike in housing price. Ofcourse, location of the property has amajor bearing on the prices.

This high cost of housing ismajor deterring factor when we sider the idea of a house. Whilebanks say the builders should redhousing price, builders put the oon the banks saying it is the intrate on home loans that is reduhousing sales. But interest ratesdetermined by other factors affecthe greater economy and banks ity to bring down interest ratehome loans is not a function ofmand-supply of housing stock.

The extensive rate cut by the Rwidely expected to bring in mo

quidity into the system by reduthe cost of borrowing for retail sumers. Property prices in Ineed to decline further beforemand picks up around 10 per drop in property prices is equivato 1.5 per cent interest rate cuterms of affordability.

The final take: Although the loacheap, the product needs some mtime to cool down its prices. Aftea Tamil adage says PoruthtBoomi Aazhvaar meaning mepatience will rule the world.

Ambiga RajesResearch Associate, e

ambiga@finerva

To buyornot to buy

A look at the housing loan industry in todays perspective

ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008KALEIDOSCOPE04

Open-ended fundThese are mutual funds whose units can be

bought and sold anytime without any so-called last date. Thus investors can come andgo at any time during the operation of thefund. This implies that the AUM will keepchanging everyday and so will the NAV. Theseare the more common type of mutual fundstoday in the country.

Close-ended fundThese are mutual funds whose units can on-

ly be bought during the NFO-New Fund Offer.After the closing date, no new investor can buyunits. Also the fund has a fixed maturity date

and withdrawals can be only made on maturi-ty date (excepting certain exceptions). Closeended funds usually give a better return astheir expenses are usually lesser and the fundmanager does not have to bother about re-demptions till maturity date, hence having thefreedom to make better investments.

Answers on Page 6


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Women love jewellery. From earrings to anklets, bagsand mobile accessories, women are dressed in theirtrendy best. Twenty one-year-old Preeti Agarwal not

just dons but also makes them. After completing B.Com from MOP Vaishnav College for

Women, Preeti decided to go a step further by pursuing herpassion for jewellery.

What started as a hobby to collect different kinds ofbeads for fun has today turned into a full-time

venture.Ever since a child, I had a flair for design. Itried out different things, including a corre-spondence degree in fashion designing. I real-ised jewellery designing is my forte, says Preeti.

In April 2008, Preeti named her fashion andjewellery brand Aticute(Attitude + cute), whichshe started in a small way at her home in Sow-carpet.

Business apartIn spite of coming from a business family, Preeti decided to

start off with her independent venture. Her first assignment?Initially, I had a tough time convincing people about mywork. I neither had a professional degree in design nor theexperience, she recalls. Luckily, her visit to Theories on ECRdid not backfire. The client was impressed with my design.

From 50-100 accessories, which she is currently supplying toChennai-based boutiques, Preeti is confident of more orders

coming her way. Frenzzy, Ashaara, Marks and various otherboutiques are her regular clients.Aticute is my baby. Every piece or a design from Aticute is

self-made. Right from the raw materials, beads to designs, Itake care of them.

My focus group is young women who love funky accessories .Thats why I limit myself to fashion jewellery rather than goldor diamond. Each work is unique and different from the oth-er, she claims.

Besides regular accessories like earrings, bracelets, chains,mobile and bag hangings, Preeti also designs bags, and foot-wear. Unlike my other accessories, I dont make the bags andfootwear. I give the design and brief the concerned person whomakes the final product.

Its just the beginning and Aticute is only six months old.We do make reasonable profit but we need to work hard formore success, she says. Her future plans? I wish to open myown big jewellery store that specialises in all kinds of jeweller-ies and accessories.

(If you are an entrepreneur with a successful business model or

know one, write to us at [email protected])

What started as a hobby collecting

different beads has now turnedinto a full-time venture for thiscommerce graduate

VIPASHA SINHA

Design is allover her place

Websites of the dayEverything you could ever want to know aboutpumpkins: http://pumpkinnook.com/Fan of Superman? Check this out for all thelatest news and updates: http://www.supermansupersite.com/

Preeti Agarwal with some of her designsPHOTO:S.

S.

KUMA

R

In a MinuteName: Aticute

Started: 2008Founder: Preeti Agarwal

Focus: Designing accessoriesFunding: Self

Email:[email protected]


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ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008VILLAGE06

Iran presses case for

OPEC output cutIrans oil minister said on Sunday the oil market isestimated to be oversupplied by about 2 million barrelsper day (bpd) and OPEC will have to decide nextmonth in Algeria about how to stabilise prices.Gholamhossein Nozari made the comments a day afterOPEC ministers met in Cairo, where they deferred adecision on a new supply cut amid signs Saudi Arabiaand its Gulf allies wanted more adherence to curbs putin place over the past two months.

Reuters

Bill Clinton agrees todisclose donors: reportFormer US president Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose thenames of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation sohis wife, Senator Hillary Clinton to become secretary ofstate, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The moveis part of an agreement with President-elect Barack Obamato allow his wife to take up the key foreign policy position.Citing unnamed Democrats close to both sides said, thenewspaper said Clinton had decided to publish the list of

donors to avoid anyappearance of conflictof interest with Clintonsduties as the nationstop diplomat. Obamaplans to announceHillary Clintonsnomination on Monday,

the paper said. Thedisclosure ofcontributors is amongnine conditions that BillClinton agreed to duringdiscussions withrepresentatives ofObama, The Timesnoted.

AFP

Microsoft and Yahoo! in talks

again on online unit: reportMicrosoft Inc is in talkswith Yahoo! Inc to buythe U.S internetcompanys onlinesearch business for US$20 billion, according toa report in BritainsSunday Times. Theproposal underdiscussion involves acomplex transactionthat would see the U.S.software giant support

a new managementteam to take controlof Yahoo!, but it hasno intention ofrefreshing its bid, said the newspaper. Microsoft withdrewits US$ 47.5 billion buyout offer for Yahoo in May afterYahoo chief executive Jerry Yang and his board rejectedthe bid as too low. Bid speculation was sparked againearlier this month when Yang announced he was steppingdown. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ruled a bid out at thetime, but said he was open to talks on a deal forYahoo!s search business.

Reuters

Seventy-two whales have

died after becomingstranded on rocks insouthern Australia, one

week after 53 of the giant ani-mals died nearby in a similarbeaching, an official said onSunday.

The long-finned pilotwhales are believed to have

beached themselves at therocky and remote Sandy Capeon the west coast of the south-ern island of Tasmania on Sat-urday.

There are 72 deceased ani-mals, Chris Arthur of Tasma-nias Parks and WildlifeService told AFP. Arthur saidrescuers had shepherded 32more whales, which had beentrapped in a channel offshore

among reefs, to safety using a

small boat and these animalswere now swimming strongly.Tasmanian officials were

alerted to the beaching on Sat-urday and a helicopter inspec-tion of the remote areashowed that 12 were still alive,despite being badly cut by therocks.

A rescue team reached thearea on Sunday but found onlytwo of the pilot whales, whichcan reach up to more than sev-en metres (20 feet) in lengthand weigh up to three tonnes,alive.

There were two alive in therocky shore, but they died ear-lier this afternoon, Arthursaid.

Rescuers had been afraid

that the whales would not sur-

vive the night as they wouldhave thrashed heavily on therocks, unlike the 64 animals

which beached on a sandyTasmanian beach the previous

week.Eleven of those animals

were saved after they weretransported to another beachand dragged into deep water.

On sand they tend to liefairly quietly but when theyland on rocks and in amongstboulders they thrash, they cutthemselves. Theres a lot ofblood loss, the parks and

wildlife services RosemaryGales told the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation onSaturday.

AFP

72 whales die in mass stranding in Australia

Thai police order airportprotesters to disperseThai police on Sunday again ordered anti-government protesters who have laid siege to thecitys airports to disperse, banning gatherings ofmore than five people and warning offenders wouldbe jailed or fined. Hours after a grenade blastwounded more than 50 protesters, and ahead of abig rally in the Thai capital planned by governmentsupporters, the five-point statement did not say howpolice intended to enforce the emergency rules.

Reuters

GirandoleA cluster of fireworks thatrevolves is called a girandole.


7/16


Farmer builds robot armyA Chinese farmer has built himself 26 robots over thepast 30 years. The machines are capable of climbingwalls, lighting cigarettes, playing musical instrumentsand writing calligraphy.

This day, that yearIt was on December 1, 1953that Playboy magazine waslaunched in Chicago bypublisher Hugh Hefner.

Candles and flowers placed for victims of the Mumbai attacks are seenin front of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai on Sunday. SHASHI ASHIWAL

Cafe Leopold,the famous restaurant of southern Mumbai which was one of the first sites to be attacked by theterrorists, opened on Sunday amidst patriotic slogans andpresence of huge crowd outside it.

Slogans Bharat Mata Ki Jai,Vande Matram and Pakis-tan Murdabad rented the airthe moment the cafe opened

its door. It became the firstterror hit site to start the oper-ation.

Established in 1871, thecafe is behind another terrorattack site, the Taj Mahal Pal-ace hotel. It offers the scenicview of the vibrant street lifeof the metropolis making it afamous joint of foreign tour-ists.

Its openness to the streetmade it an easy target whentwo terrorists equipped withassault rifles opened fire hereon November 26 evening. Ac-cording to reports about 10 people

were hit during the mayhem.The cafe known for offering

cheap beer, has its mention in roman clef novel Shanta-ram by Gregory David Roberts, a convicted Australianbank robber.

On the dot of midday Farzad Jehani and his brotherFarhang pulled up the shuttersof the 137-year-old cafe.

Supporting him is his 67-strong staff, who had reported

for work at 11 in the morning.The kitchen staff, who arrivedearly, participated in a Jewishprayer organised at the cafe.Dressed in bright red t-shirt withLeopold written on the back, a

waiter says, I was so angry thatsuch a thing happened here. Wehad to re-open as fast as possibleto tell the terrorists that we arenot cowards to be bowed downby their bullets.

Named after an AustralianKing Leopold, the cafe was firstan oil store, which opened in1871 before it took its present

form in 1987. PTI

Cafe Leopold opensamidst sloganeering

A bullet mark at the Leopold Cafe atColaba which served its first customersafter reopening at Colaba, Mumbai onSunday morning. PTI PHOTO

Live Earth India, a mega musical concert feaing western and Indian musicians, incluBon Jovi and Anoushka Shankar, scheduleMumbai for December 7, has been called ofter the terror attacks.

A statement issued by the Live Earth fouKevin Hall said the show had to be calledbecause of circumstances beyond our cont

The concert at the Andheri Sports Comwas to promote Light a Billion Lives camp- a project to light up Indias villages with senergy.

But for now, our thoughts and our prayerwith the victims of this terrible attack, the s

ment said.Billed as one of the largest green events acthe globe, the show founded by Emmy winproducer Kevin Hall in partnership with forUS vice-president Al Gore, Live Earth was on the belief that entertainment has the poto transcend social and cultural barriers to mthe world and the community.

Concert called off

Answers to

Finergo Jumble1. Salary

2. Budget3. Saving4. Stocks5. Dollar

Megastar Amitabh Bach-chan has blasted a sec-tion of media forpresenting his act of

keeping a gun under his pillow asone of ridicule, mirth and the onethat reflected fear on his part.

It is a pity that the intel lectualmedia portrays the incident ofthe gun under my pillow as oneof ridicule and mirth. Of one that

reflects a fear on my part and thatmakes an absurd simile with mycharacters on screen and that ofthe real, Bachchan wrote on hisblog.

"It is a shame that the mettle ofmy comment was not put acrossin the context of its entirety, the-reby bisecting the thought andmaking it weak," he said. "The actof pulling out my revolver is asymbolic metaphor, to demon-strate my complete loss of faith inthe system and in the gover-nance, in providing me, a citizenof India, with my rightful sense ofsecurity," he said.

Bachchan said that respon-dents on his blog had taunted

and subjected him to mocand derision. He said his critithe cyberworld had written a

what they would have donethey been in his place.

I keep my security accorto my own assessment of mynerability. When you will weashoes, and I do hope that yoone day, you shall also be

jected to the kind of vulnerabthat I and many others likeface each day. Perhaps then

would be better placed to apciate the hollowness of your asation, he said.

Media portrayed gununder pillow incident amirth: Big B


8/16

ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008SPORT08

India cancels Pakistan tourIndias government has refused permission to senda cricket team for a full tour of Pakistan early nextyear following the deadly Mumbai attacks,according to reports on Sunday.The tour was cancelled amid a government probeinto Pakistani links to the assaults on the countrysfinancial capital by heavily-armed militants that leftnearly 200 people dead. Unnamed governmentsources were quoted saying that the matches werealso unlikely to be played at neutral venues.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)declined to comment on the reports, saying itsrequest for a security clearance for the tour waspending with the government. India werescheduled to play three Tests, five one-day

internationals and a Twenty20 match during thefive-week tour from January 13 to February 19. Itwas to be the fifth bilateral series between thetwo countries since 2004, whencricket ties resumed after a 15-yeargap due to political tensionsbetween the warring neighbours.The tour was first put in doubtearlier this month when the Indiangovernment denied permission tothe national junior hockey team tovisit Pakistan. Australia cancelled aTest tour of Pakistan in March andthe International Cricket Council put off the high-profile Champions Trophy there in September dueto security concerns. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)chief Ijaz Butt had said on Friday the fate of Indiastour lay in the hands of the respectivegovernments.

AFP

Key players reluctant to tourEngland will return to India to play their two-match Test series as per schedule, but without

several senior playersincluding talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff,according to a media reportin London. Following theterror attack on Mumbai,Flintoff and fast bowler SteveHarmison and perhapsanother bowler in the squadof 15 are expected to pull out

in the next two days, citing their children andwives as their prime consideration, a report inSunday Telegraph claimed.Harmison has pulled out of tours before, butFlintoffs absence would deprive England of their

best bowler in Indian conditions, the report said.A lot hinges on the attitude of captain KevinPietersen, but assuming he is persuaded by ECBof the enormous compensation which would bedemanded by the Indian board (running intomillions of dollars) and falls into line, the rest ofthe England party will follow his lead, it said.England and Wales Cricket Board will makeavailable by Monday a security risk assessmentreport on returning to India but the newspaperclaimed that the report was just a formality andthe ECB has already decided on going ahead withthe Test series with first match starting inAhmedabad on December 11. The report also saidthat England players are likely to have practiceeither in Dubai or Abu Dhabi instead of playing athree-day practice game at Vadodara fromDecember 5-7, and then fly directly from there toAhmedabad for the first Test.

PTI

Fighting against all odds andafter a two-year sabbatical,pocket-sized Manipur dy-namite M.C. Mary Kom

bagged an unprecedented fourth world crown at Ningbo City inChina on Saturday.

The Indian woman has dom-inated womens boxing since

winning her first gold at the sec-ond AIBA World Womens SeniorBoxing Championship held in

Antalya, Turkey, in 2002. She de-fended her title twice successful-

ly at world championships inPodolsk, Russia, in 2005 and alsoin New Delhi in 2006.

Surprising everybody, MaryKom withdrew from the ring af-ter her success in 2006 and wentback to Manipur, detaching her-self completely from the world ofboxing. But after a long two-yearlayoff she made a comeback ear-lier this year and won the Na-tional Championship beforebagging a silver medal at the

Asian Championship inSeptember.

But with just four

months training before the world championships, her de-tractors had ruled out any fairy-tale comeback and date withhistory. But again proving every-body wrong, she stunned Roma-nian Steluta Duta 7-1 in the final.

I lost in the final of AsianChampionship. I wasnt upsetbut, yes, the confidence wasslightly affected by that loss. Ithink my willpower saw methrough during the world cham-pionship. Besides, things havent

changed much in my weight cat-egory. You can still see the samefighters around, Mary Kom, whocompetes in the 46 kg category,told agencies.

Mary Kom started followingboxing and first entered the ringinspired by the success of anoth-er Manipuri pugilist, DingkoSingh, who had bagged gold atthe Bangkok Asian Games.Dingkos success triggered a

revolution of sorts inManipur and

surprisingly Ifound that

I was not the only girl who wdrawn into boxing. In just tw

weeks I had learnt all the basicsguess I had god-given talent fboxing, she recalls.

Happy with her grand return the boxing arena, she says: thank god and my husband fsupporting me so much. I wasnconfident going into the tournment. I was away from the rinfor two years after my twins weborn and trained for just fomonths. Dedicating her win

the twins, the amateur boxer nohopes that womens boxing walso be included in the Olympic

Its difficult leaving them (thchildren) behind. They dont taat the moment but when thlooked at me when I was leavinI knew they were wonderin

where mama was going. I deicate this win to them. They amy world. Its difficult to staway from them but I love boing, too, she says. Now I wdream again to represent India the Olympics at least once till thtime my body permits.

ERGO CORRESPONDENT

[email protected]

Marymakesmerry

Mary Kommakes afairytalereturn tothe boxingring

PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Symonds elbowed my jawAndrew Symonds never-ending woes may be compounded furtherthe man involved in the Brisbane hotel altercation has claimed thathe controversial Australian all-rounder elbowed him withoutprovocation. The 22-year-old man, identified only as Robert, said hwas merely trying to click a picture with Symonds when the burlyall-rounder lost his cool and hit him with his elbow.


9/16

Abrace from Lionel Messi

helped Barcelona clinch a 3-0victory over Sevilla on Saturdayand open a six-point lead at

the top of the Spanish league as RealMadrid crashed 1-3 at city rivals Ge-tafe. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiolahad told his players beforehand to

show commitment and it was need-ed against a Sevilla side who battledfor every ball.

The game was played at a franticpace with few clear chances but itwas Barcelona who made the mostof theirs with Messi once again theoutstanding player. In the openingminutes Luis Fabiano shot over frominside the box for Sevilla but after 20minutes it was Samuel Etoo whoopened the scoring latching onto aloose ball in the area and firinghome. Fabiano then went closeagain and Frederic Kanoute felt un-lucky not to be awarded a penaltyafter tumbling in the box following achallenge from Gerard Pique, butthe clearest chance came later for

Kanoute who could only hit thecrossbar after beating the offsidetrap.

In the second half, both sides werereduced to shots from distance be-fore Messi took centre stage. The Ar-gentine ran onto a ball from midfieldand volleyed into the corner from 25

yards to extend Barcas lead after 78minutes and then he completed hisbrace in injury time, rounding thekeeper before slotting home.

Red card

Sevillas night was made worse bythe controversial dismissal of Fabia-no for elbowing Sergio Busquets.Im happy as this was a step forwardfor us and these are important pointsagainst a very strong rival, saidGuardiola. In the first half we weresloppy and took a lot of risks but af-ter the break we were a lot betterand more organised. Sevilla coachManolo Jimenez said: In the secondhalf they showed what they are ca-pable of doing. In the first half Sevil-

la played well and it was unfair thatBarcelona went into the intervalwith a lead but afterwards they werelethal. The quality of Daniel (Alves),Messi and Xavi (Hernandez) causedus a lot of damage and to say other-wise would be lying.

Real faltersEarlier, a convincing 3-1 victory by

Getafe piled the pressure on RealMadrid coach Bernd Schuster whoseside have now lost two out their lastthree league games. It was not apainful defeat because from thestart of the game it was clear that itwould have been very difficult towin, said Schuster. A lot of thingshappened in the match and at notime did we have the feeling that wecould win. Getafe were superior andthey produced a spectacular game.

Schuster was forced into fielding amakeshift team with seven playersunavailable and they got off to theworst possible start conceding a goalafter just three minutes with Juan

Angel Albin converting a Jaime Gavi-lan cross. Getafe, brimming withconfidence following their drawagainst Barcelona a week ago, con-tinued to take the game to Realwhose outlook further deterioratedwith Wesley Sneijder and MiguelTorres both limping off before half-

time.Fernando Gago did graze the

crossbar but Real were unable totake a hold of the game, and only afew minutes after the interval Albinknocked in his second, slipping theball past Iker Casillas. Real were giv-en hope when Javier Saviola finishedwell inside the area, after Juan Gutihad won back possession, but ratherthan building on the goal, Madridsoon lost impetus and it was Getafewho looked more likely to scoreagain. With nine minutes to go Ike-chukwu Uche secured the win for Ge-tafe with a clinical finish after thehard work had been done by hisstrike partner Albin.

AFP

Magical Messi firesBarcelona clear asReal crash

PHOTO: AFP


Every time I see the TV footage of the carnage in the Indian city, I realise howclose we were to death. I havent slept thinking about the three-day rampage

and siege. We were 800 miles from the attack, but suddenly we felt very vulnerable,especially as we had stayed at the targeted Taj Mahal Hotel just two weeks ago.

Kevin Pietersen

Barca run away


10/16

Ram Gopal Varma is set to make yet another

thriller, titled Agyaat, and the filmmaker sayshe has taken inspiration from acclaimed in-ternational thrillers like Ridley Scotts Alien,

John Carpenters The Thing and Daniel MyricksBlair Witch Project.

I have always been an incredible fan of the thrill-er genre where there is an unknown or a knownelement which is out to kill at random a group ofpeople trapped in a certain situation, Varmahas said in a post on his blog.

According to the filmmaker, thrillersare a popular genre abroad, but nofilm in the same genre has beenseriously attempted with Indianactors and with a story de-signed for Indian audiences.

My movies intentionwould be to explore that andit would also be about the

emotional complexities that ex-treme fear would unleash, hesays.

Shooting forAgyaatis expect-ed to begin next month and thefilm is likely to be ready for re-lease by June next year.

The movies plot would re-

volve around a film unit on a shoot in a remote

region, and how the members get killed one by oneunder mysterious circumstances.

The film will be very near to a reality show in acertain sense as in putting a set of people in a cer-tain situation and to see what happens to them,says Varma, whose last offering was horror flickPhoonk.

Agyaatwould have an assorted list of charactersranging from a self-obsessed star, a heroine, direc-

tor, producer, a frustrated action director and asubservient spot boy, apart from others.

These parts will be played by unknownor little known actors based on the com-

plete suitability of the way the charac-ters are written in the script, Varmareveals.

The director says that the most ex-citing and challenging part of mak-ing such a film would be to

capture how the attitudes, perso-nalities and inter-relationships ofthe protagonists change rapidly inthe face of the impending danger.The filmmaker is apparently going

to use a lot of special effects for thisproject.

IANS

A self-obsessed star, heroine, director, producer,a frustrated action director, a spot boy and onemysterious killer RGVs next is a thriller with areality show feel

Inspired to thrill

ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008FLICK10

Puppy love

After 35 years in show business, John Travolta hastaken his first stab at animation as the voice of

an adorable puppy in Walt Disneys Bolt. Themovie, which debuted in U.S. theatres a week ago,was a leap of faith for Travolta after a film careerthat started with musicals like Grease and SaturdayNight Feverand went on to embrace surprises likePulp Fiction and stingers like Battlefield Earth.

Reuters

GE

TTY

IMAGES

Shriya to act with

Akshay KumarActress Shriya Saran will play a prominent role in Hindi film opposite Akshay Kumar. The movie titlKomagata Maru would be directed by Deepa Me

Mirror, mirrorBritney Spears, who recently performed on thetalent showX Factorin Britain, motivatesherself by standing in front of a mirror.Mirror.co.uk reports that Spears asked for a bigmirror in her dressing room during the X Factorshow. And she told herself , I am beautiful andI am a singer.

IANS


11/16


Nothingwill make

me comeback tofilms

Gowtham to remake VettaiyaduVilaiyaadu in HindiGowtham Menon is on cloud nine after his recenthit Vaaranam Aayiram. Not relaxing even a bit, thedirector is ready with his next flick, Chennaiyil OruMazhaikalam. He has also completed penning thescript for a Telugu film to be produced by UTVPictures, starring Mahesh Babu in the lead role.And the greatest of all excitements is that hewould be remaking his magnum opus VettaiyaduVilaiyaadu in Hindi. Soundarya Rajinikanth isexpected to produce the film as a joint venturewith Warner Bros. Gowtham had requestedSoundarya to recommend Amitabh Bachchan toplay the lead role.

www.cinesnacks.com

Karthi pairs up with NayanParuthiveeran fame Karthi will be pairing up withNayantara in a film to be directed by Lingusamy.The shooting of the film would commence onceKarthi completes SelvaraghavansAyirathil Oruvan.The movie is tentatively titled Paiyya, meaningboy. Meanwhile, Lingusamys production house,Thirupathy Brothers, is currently doing a couple offilms including the Nadhiya-starrer Pattalam.

Yuvan to actThough he has made a fleetingappearance in Saroja, music directorYuvan Shankar Raja will play aprominent role in Venkat Prabhusnext flick, Goa.

Cine City

Actress Sonali Bendre, who iscurrently seen on television as ajudge on music reality showIn-dian Idol says she wontbe returning to Bolly-

wood any time soon asher son needs her morethan the film industry.

Nothing will makeme come back tofilms. My three-year-old needs me more.I want to be homefor my child. Im

definitely not look-ing at a commit-ment that willtake me awayfrom home,says Sonali.

A sourcefrom the setsof Indian Idolsaid that Sona-li is the first oneto zip out of thestudio to her lit-tle one as soon asshooting wraps up.

IANS


12/16


13/16


Oru Suriyanuku padhilaaga 10 suriyan udicha enna agum?

TenSun Agum Venkatesh N, HCL

Kolammavil kolam podalam. Kadalai mavil kadalai poda

mudiuma?Thooka marundhu sappitta thookam varum... Anaa...Irumal

marundhu sappittairumal varathu

Subramanian K from AIG SystemsStudy = dont fail---------(1)dont study = fail---------------(2)add (1) and (2),=> Study + dont study = dont fail + fail=> (1+dont)study = (1+dont)fail=> study = failHence proved..so dont study...

Venugopal Koleti

ASE-TraineeTata Consultancy Services

Hi Karthick,Many more happy returns of the day!May this birthday bring moreprosperity in our life. Have awonderful birthday.

With sincere wishes,T&Q Team, DPIBPL

Hi Durairaja,Hope your birthday lights up withsmiles.. and glows with love. Manymore happy returns of the day! Havea wonderful birthday.

With sincere wishes,

T&Q Team, DPIBPL

Dear Balaji (Kumaran Systems) andShakthi,Wish you a happy married life.May all your dreams come true.Have a wonderful life ahead.

Best wishes,

Saravanarajah, Porkodi, UST Global

Hi Karthik [H.R],U r 1 year older now, 1 year smarternow, 1 year bigger now, and now u r1 year closer to all your wishes.Wish u a many more happy returnsof the day. May all ur dreams cometrue. May god bless you with health,wealth & happiness in your life.It must be a rainy day when u were

born cuz the sky was crying for losingone of its precious stars.Hearty wishes from...Ram, HCL

Hi Raj,We wish for u that wahtever u wantmost in life, it comes to u. Manymore happy returns of the day.

- CSS Corp Friends

Dear Aarthy Kutty,A Warm Birthday Wishes For MyKutty Pisasu...May God Bless YouDear...Im Glad That We AreTogether And Not Only Friends, YouAre My Sweetheart From BeginningTo End

Yours Ever Lovable Friend,

Ramya,Tata Consultancy Services

Dear Maha,Many More Happy Returns Of TheDay! May God Bless U WithSuccess,Peace And Joy Forever!Have ASupercalifragilisticexpialidocious Day!

From

Ravi K Indran, Wipro Technologies

Dear Mi,Many More Happy Returns Of TheDay! Have aSuperficalifragilisticexpialidociousDay! May U Get Ur 2 LakhsSooooooon And Achieve EverythingU Wish For In Life..

FromUr "Mama"

Ravi K Indran

Dear Senthil Kumar,

Wishing you a many more happyreturns of the day.

Yours, Vinoth.G

Financial Software Systems, Tidel Park

Hai da Kotte (enoah)Many more happy returns of theday.. May the forthcoming year befilled with love and joy and let yourdreams come true.

With lots of love and friendship..

Ganesh M,

Sify Technology

My Dear Joyce Kuruvi,This is a special birthday wishThat comes with love to youIt brings warm and heartfelt thanksFor all the thoughtful things you do,It also comes to let you knowYou mean more to me each dayAnd to everyone your lives havetouchedIn such a loving way my dear Joyce...

With Love,Karthiga, Abhishek, Vijay, Ganesh,

Vivek, Hari,Vinoth, Farzi, Mangs, Kalps,

Kans, Thyanesh, Purna, Annapurna,Vijayanth, Karthik, Fareen..

Hexaware Technologies

Dear Tony,"Happy Birthday." We wish you to behappy!!! (Anything that makes youhappy to be there for you!)

Lovable FriendsMalarkodi and Narayani

Hi BhavaniMany more happy returns of theday...You are the best among all..Enjoy ur day..

Ramshankar, HCL BPO

Dear Nisha (HCL),Nee yena mattum vitutu thaniyahome ku poita , irunthalum enjoywell in your home town. Enjoywell.Seekiram vaa, namma team odascore unnoda kaila than iruku.

Wishes fromDhanyaa(HCL) , Arathi (AT&T), Nithya

(L&T) , Subathra (RR Donnelley).

Hey Nithya Kumaran (Mr.Cool nLethagic),Birthday ku apuram wish panuren nukova padatha , Wish U all success da.

Wishes from BPN( Ms.Innocent Idiot),

TNMM (Ms.Yehathalam) , AS(Ms.Singakural Singari)

Dear Suresh,Wish You Many More Happy ReturnsOf The Day.May This Brings You aLot Of Happy And ProsperousMoments In your Life.

Sheshu,Ashok,Arjun, Pandi, Rajan&Dhana, Kavi, Iindu

TCS

R.S. Sarathy of DATMARKProdapt. has been nominat-ed as Office Angel by Ra-

jesh, Venkat and Aravind.R.S. Sarathy is a very

helpful person and he cares

for people and their growth.

He owns the responsibility ofsetting a career path for the

growth of his team members.

We love him.

Bhargav Medhifrom AT Softwarehas doodled this.


14/16

ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008TRAFFIC JAM14

Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf ofKASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik(Editor responsible for selection of news underthe PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553

TEAMEditor: Karthik [email protected]

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem KumarDy Chief Designer: R. Ravi KannanIllustrator: R. Venugopal

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

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SNAIL MAIL

859/860, Anna Salai,Chennai - 600 002mail your feedback [email protected]

FAX 2857 6691

sudoku

KAKURO

Tomato raidScottish police raided a 79-year-oldwidows cottage - after mistaking htomato plants for a crop of cannabi

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had theplatform? Mail us your best work and well publish it in this space, with credit.E-mail: [email protected]

Vijai ParthibanEP of HexawareTechnologiesclicked thispicture inKodaikanal.

Hobbies:Cricket, musicand biking


15/16


B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

At office, you may be very persistent about taskshand. You can be highly practical and to someextent shrewd to people around you. Ganeshaadvises you not to misuse your authority. Mainfocus of the day could be your occupation.

You may work hard to accomplish the goals. Youmay be firm in decisions and may want others tfollow you. Ensure that this doesnt create dislikfor you at office. In personal life, you may have practical approach, even in matters of love.

You must avoid being dependant on others. If y

are in a situation to count on someone and if wis not done in time, you may feel frustrated. Try seek guidance of elders or seniors at work. Inrelationships, you may be more passionate.

Let others handle important task and trust them.not your day, so even if you try to do somethinggood, you may not get due credit for the same. relationships, you may enjoy togetherness. It is bday to bring positive changes in relationships.

If you are at highest position in the organisationwould be a power day for you. However, if you reporting to someone, you may disagree with yosuperiors views, yet will have to accept them. Yobeloved one may understand you very well.

This is best day to plan activities of week or moYou will minutely observe practical aspects relate

to your work. It is favourable day for meetings. Ilove life, you must avoid calculations as love canbe measured with yardstick of give and take.

You should avoid confrontations with people aroyou. You would not be able to prove your pointsthrough relevant arguments. In love life, you neeto have a mature approach. If you expect morefrom partner, it will reduce the joy of life.

It is a favourable day for all technical work. If yoneed to download or sort out some data, it will done within time. In personal life, Ganesha doesfind you facing any major issue. In short, dayensures smoother sailing.

Ganesha finds you thinking seriously about finanmatters. You may also be thinking about jobsecurity. Honesty is the best policy, keep this in

mind and go ahead with your endeavours. You discuss money matters with your life partner.

You may set a target today and start working inthat direction. Nothing will matter, except yourprofessional progress. You may be highly concerabout way ahead in your vocation. You will recenough care and nurturing from your beloved on

Ganesha suggests you not to hurry up in anythinDo your work calmly. Your primary goals may bekept aside and you might have to get involved isorting out issues related to other people. In lovlife, it is day to sacrifice or compromise.

You are likely to establish beneficial associationstoday. You will receive support from your teammembers. Day favours all group activities likeseminars and conferences. In love life, partner mtake a lead and initiate good conversation with

Words worth"Katavothron" (kat-uh-vah-thrun) asubterranean channel or deep chasmformed by running water. From Greekwords meaning swallow and hole.

Robotic deliveryRobots are appearing on stagealongside human actors in a new playin Japan. The machines deliver linesand move around the stage.


16/16

ERGO Monday, December 1, 2008!16

Madonna performsat the Foro Sol on Saturdayin Mexico City. AFP PHOTO

Emma Watsonarrives at the UKpremiere of AnoUna at CurzonRenoir Cinema onSaturday inLondon, England.GETTY IMAGES

Mao Asada ofJapan competes inthe Ladies Free ofthe ISU Grand Prixof Figure Skating

NHK Trophy atYoyogi NationalGymnasium onSaturday.GETTY IMAGES

Natalie Imbrugliaarrives at the UKpremiere of AnoUna at CurzonRenoir Cinema

on Saturday inLondon, England.GETTY IMAGES

News and newsmakers in pictures

ONE LOOK IS ALL IT TAKES

Ergo December 1

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Transcript of Ergo December 1