Ergo February 17

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Tuesday, February17, 2009A BYTE OF LIFE

LAXMIPATHI BALAJIAll set for the New Zealand series

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 30

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Delhi-6 is not an autobiography

1009

FLORISTS FILM TRYST

He once helped Shalini throw a surpriseparty for Ajith. While for Rajinikanthsdaughters wedding, he wove a storyin marigold. If its flowers in a Tamilfilm or a celebrity household,Sarangan has to be there.

PAGE 03

PHOTO:R.

RA

VINDRAN


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ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009NAMMA CHENNAI02

Madras Gymkhana ClubIts posh lounge with an old world charmmakes this place tick even today. A number ofsporting events are conducted for members.Contact Mr. Jagan at 2536 8160

Presidency ClubThe club was formed in 1929 and is one ofthe premier clubs of Chennai. A health club,sports facilities and a host of other featuresmake this special. To become a member anexisting members needs to forward yourname and details. Contact them at 2822 6881

Cosmopolitan ClubThe club was started in 1873 and is located onAnna Salai. Residential facilities for membersand guests are among the many features the

club houses. Contact general manager at 28525004

Madras Cricket ClubIf you are a sports buff, not only cricket, thenthe club welcomes you to be part of itsdifferent sporting activities.Contact 2852 3976

Club rulesFurnished guest houses, plethora ofevents, like-minded people tosocialise with and a horde lot ofother activities to keep you out ofboredom. These city clubs should bea good place where the entire familycan unwind. However, a majority ofthem will need an existing memberto forward your details.

In a shocking incident on Sun-day afternoon at a supermar-ket in Royapuram, anunidentified man stabbed a

young woman employee andfled. The victim died on the wayto hospital. Police suspect an un-reciprocated love interest tohave sparked the attack.

The victim, identified as G.Ananthi (23) of Sharma Nagar inMKB Nagar, was employed as asalesgirl in a supermarket inRoyapuram. Around 3.30 p.m.on Sunday, a man believed to bein his mid 20s walked into thesupermarket where Ananthiwas on duty.

Police said the youth guided

Ananthi to a corner in the shopand the two had a heated argu-ment. Suddenly, the youngster

took out a knife from his pocketand stabbed her and ran out ofthe supermarket. Following analarm raised by Ananthis co-

workers, neighbouring shopkeepers came in and rushed aninjured Ananthi to Governmen

Stanley Medical College Hospital. Doctors at the hospital pronounced her dead on arrivalpolice added.

Royapuram police have registered a case of murder and aninvestigation is underway.

Reliable police sources reveathat Ananthis recent engagement to a man is known to havesparked tension between heand her male friend from thesame area who was interestedin her romantically.

However, police have questioned the victims colleagueand friends and a breakthroughis expected in the next 24 hours

Anunidentifiedyouth killed a23-year-old onSunday afternooninside a

supermarket inRoyapuram whereshe was employed

ERGO [email protected]

nthis recentengagement to a manis known to havesparked tensionbetween her and hermale friend from thesame area who wasinterested in herromantically

Woman stabbed,one-sided love

suspected

Brush with fameYoung Picassos Art with a Heart an exhibition-cum-sale of paintings ofparticipants who took part in The Hindu Young World painting competition will be on display till February 22. Visit Apparao Galleries #7, Wallace Gardens3rd Street, Nungambakkam, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.


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Be it a dream song or a wed-ding scene, the first callfrom any art directors of-fice reaches Sarangan.

More than 40 years into the busi-ness, this florist is still the favou-rite of many directors andproducers in the Tamil film in-dustry.

With a jasmine garden inheri-ted from his father, this experi-enced entrepreneurs entry intotinsel town was nothing but pru-dence. My father owned a jas-mine garden in Poonamallee andhe used to supply flowers to ven-

dors in Chennai. Later, when Iventured into business, I thoughtof doing something creative rath-er than just selling flowers andmy craze for movies landed me inKollywood, says this florist, whois a well-known figure for peoplefrequenting Kapaleeswarar tem-ple in Mylapore.

Getting in touch with art direc-tors was not that difficult for S.Sarangan, as he was already sup-plying flowers to most of them.So apart from supplying flowers,he asked art directors to give hima chance to decorate the setsbased on the designs drafted bythem.

The first movie for which Sa-

rangan did the floral decorationwas MGRs Kannan en Kadhalan.With a rough sketch from the artdirectors, Sarangan and his teamgave life to the set with colourfulflowers. To his surprise, orderspoured in. In fact, there weretimes when this florist-turned-decorator handled most of themovies that released.

Some of the famous filmswhich Sarangan has worked on

are Sakala Kala Vallavan, Rajad-hi Raja (the Maama un ponnakoodu song set), ThoongatheyThambi Thoongathey, MayMaatham, Ejaman, KadhalarDhinam, New, Roja Koottam andA Aa E Ee. He has worked withmany art directors, includingChalam and Thotta Tharani.

After winning the trust of cine

personalities, Sarangan was evencalled to decorate their real-lifewedding venues. To name a few,Sarangan has decorated homesand wedding halls during the

wedding ceremonies of actorChiranjeevi, the AVM family andthat of Dhanush and Aishwarya.He also does decorations for peo-ple outside the film fraternity.

Once Shalini planned tothrow a surprise birthday partyfor actor Ajith Kumar and we

were asked to deck up a spookyset in Taj Coromandel. We madea scary setting with lots of skele-tons, each carrying a red rose inits hands, and the work was well-appreciated, recalls Sarangan,

who has studied only up to classIV.

Thriving in this business is not

easy as flowers are a perishablecommodity, says this florist, add-ing that there have been situa-tions where he had to arrange forflowers during the off-season.Customers order flowers threemonths in advance and fix theprice.

In case of a price hike duringthose three months, we have tobear the loss as our prime mottois customer satisfaction, says Sa-rangan, who was honoured withthe title Maamalar Chakravar-thi(King of Flowers) by saint Ki-rupanandawarriar.

Asked him about his futureplans and Sarangan says there isno limit to creativity. Till I havethe strength to work, I want tocreate wonders with flowers.

Kannan en Kadhalan to Sakalakalaavallavan to New If its flowers in a Tamilfilm, Sarangan is the man responsible

V. [email protected]

Sarangan at his flower mart in Mylapore. PHOTO : R. RAVINDRAN

Saranganof the Kollywood flowers

A still from AVM productions A Aa E Ee. The flower decoratin this song was done by Sarangan and team

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Attention Project ManagersSPIN (Software Process Improvement Network), Chennai, is conducting a knowledge sharing session onsoftware processes and project management related areas on February 20. The topic of discussion woube Effective Lean Management in Software Delivery. For details visit www.spinchennai.org or get intouch with Major Chandra Sekharan @ 98410 14969. The target audience for this session could be ProjeManagers, Delivery Managers/ Heads, Process Improvement / Quality Professionals.


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ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009TECHNORAMA04

Pocket rocketSony wows with its new VAIO P

Sony unveiled its new lifestyle laptop, the Vaio P. At roughlythe size of a business envelope, this is as small as a laptop canget. But dont be fooled bythis diminutive package, for it packs a punch. With an IntelAtom processor, 2GB RAM and a 60GB hard drive, it runsWindows Vista comfortably and also uses Linux for Instant

Start mode. Asmall mousepointer nestlesbetween thefull-sizedkeyboard.ConnectivityincludesBluetooth and

Wi-Fi (Draft N)and a donglethat offers VGAand Ethernet,readily snappingon to the dinkypower adapter.

Rs 49,990 onwards,www.sony.co.in

Robo-anticsWowWee, the kickass robotic toymaker brings to lifeyet another creature, the Rovio. This three-wheeledcontraption can move in any direction and find itsway around the house using an indoor GPS system. AWiFi-enabled webcam become your eyes, allowing youto see whatever Rovio is seeing from

anywhere in theworld. It can evenbe controlled usinga cellphone. Isnt itthe perfect homesurveillance tool?

TBC,www.meetrovio.com

Feeling blu already?The HT-BD7200, a funky home theatre

system from Samsung comes with anultra-thin wall mountable Blu-rayplayer and a 2.1 audio setup. Itsfinished in a redaccented design, andincludes an iPod dock. It can alsostream from an A2DP Bluetooth device.How cool is that?

TBC, www.samsung.com

Handy lightSammys little 2-inch handheld

projector packs enough juice todisplay into as big as a 50-inchviewing area, withoutcompromising picture quality.The MBP200 pico beamer alsofeatures a microSD card slot, a3.5mm jack, and a 2.2-inch QVGALCD screen for previews, and iscompatible with all formats.

TBC, www.samsung.com

Snippets sourced from T3magazine of Infomedia18 Group

Technorama


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S

hall we start, guys?

Jose said. He and Marc were getting ready fordinner at our home. It

was our 60th day in Amsterdamand spring was beginning tochase the winter winds out. Westarted walking through the lanesand canals. Just 10 days more inAmsterdam. You must be count-ing the days, Jose smiled. In fact,we were! We were five of us wholanded at the Schiphol Airport inFebruary. It was my first onsitetrip. We had no clue how our ex-perience would be. Nevertheless,friendly faces awaited us at Ro-kin.

Beauty in bliss We were thrilled when we

checked into our apartment at

Leidsekade. It was a beautifulplace by the canal with boatsstreaming through all day. As

peaceful as it was, one would loveto sit for minutes together to gazethrough the open windows

when the sun is warm, of course and enjoy the scenic view.

We started cooking, while ourguests started sipping the straw-berry juice. Take your own time,guys. Marc wants to have spicyIndian food, said Jose. Marc isthe UI designer, as ebullient asthe colours on his monitor.

Need directions: Contact Map-Man Marc. That was what weused to do. Be it Holland, Paris orany other country, Marc wouldbe there with the maps in hishands, showing clear directionsand instructions.

Did you like Holland? theyasked. Five days of work would fly

in a jiffy and then we were underthe open sky for the two blissfuldays. A five-minute walk from our

doorstep would take us to theVondel Park, a place where beau-ty speaks its language. Winter hadnot yet ended completely and thetrees were pretty bare. But still, it

was awesome. We had also beento Holland countryside along Vo-lendam, which was dotted withDutch-style houses. It was a pret-ty sight to see the sea birds chas-ing the boat over the sea when we

were on-board the Marken Is-lands. We also stopped at the tra-ditional windmill site of Holland,Zaanse Schans, as well as wit-nessed the magical smile of MonaLisa when we toured Paris duringthe Easter weekend. I wished mymother Happy Easter from thetop of Eiffel Tower one Easter I

will not forget. Feast day

Our dinner was ready. We pre-pared steamed rice, sambar, ra-sam, fried potato and pepper eggcurry, making sure that it was nottoo spicy. Marc was a great chefand we had to be careful with ourcooking, too.

Good! Jose acclaimed, Mymother prepared some similardhaland potatoes a few days ago.

And if your food reminds me ofmy mothers cooking, it is reallyspecial. That was the best remarkone could get for the food. I wasvery happy.

Choco cake was later served asdessert. By 9 p.m. they retreated.

They bid farewell and it was

time for us to go to bed.The clock was ticking and

at the reading table, browsinplaces to go during the weekThe Amsterdam Excursions Tours brochure, on one ofpages, had a few pictures withlights. I smiled to myself flipped the pages. It was quitepothetical.

After all, Amsterdam had mother colours and more gorgcolours that one could and t

would really love to experienc(The writer works with Mindand his hobbies include sin

writing and photogra

BERNARD KATHIRAVAN

A dinner atLEIDSEKADE

An onsite to Amsterdam, which was special for more reasons than one

I wished my mother Happy Easterfrom the top of Eiffel Tower oneEaster I will not forget

Backpackers

Sriram, RamaJoji, Raja,Bernard, Kumand Ram

Hello Backpackers,Keep it up! For the last couple of weeks, we have been

getting some really different articles. This is one platform foryou to explore the writer in you through short and interestingtravelogues, which you explored with your team or family.Do send us your articles and photographs to

[email protected]


6/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009VILLAGE06

Dan Brown to release next bookAuthor Dan Brown has finished writing his book TheSolomon Key, which will be his first release since theauthor shot to international fame with his bestseller,The Da Vinci Code. The news was revealed by directorRon Howard who turned Browns book into the 2006box office hit, The Da Vinci Code. reported New YorkDaily News. . The upcoming book is proof of theauthors standing fascination for cults and occultpractices, as it delves into the mysterious world of theFreemasons.

PTI

Tech tycoon is richest RussianTechnology tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov is Russiasrichest man with a fortune of 14.10 billion dollars(11.0 billion euros), closely followed by Chelseafootball club owner Roman Abramovich, a report saidon Monday.However aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, wholast year was Russias richest man, has been hit hardby the economic crisis and now barely makes the top10, the report in the weekly magazine Finans said.The report, which showed that the economic crisishad cut the number of Russian billionaires in half,comes as Russias super rich battle to pay off debtsbuilt up before the slowdown struck last year.Prokhorov seen by many as Russias most eligiblebachelor and famous for leading a lavish and athleticlifestyle owns the Onexim Company, which is aninvestment fund for technology and mining projects.He profited in 2008 by selling 25 percent of theworlds largest palladium and nickel producer NorilskNickel to Deripaska in April, well before the globalcrisis struck and asset prices shrunk. Thanks to hissuccessful exit from Norilsk Nickel just before theeconomic collapse, Prokhorov has earned himself thereputation of a guru, the magazine said. DeripaskasUC Rusal aluminum company owes three billiondollars in debt to Prokhorov.

AFP

Blackberrylooking for3,000 recruitsThe maker of Blackberryphone handsets, CanadasResearch In Motion, saidon Monday it wasrecruiting 3,000 newworkers to keep pace withdemand despite the globaleconomic crisis. We havegrown our employees baseby 50 percent in 2008. Andwere still hiring and we

plan to keep hiring. Wehave growth in our business, co-chief executive JimBalsillie told AFP. We hired about 4,000 people in 2008,currently we have 3,000 open jobs. Were still hiring alot. The optimism at Research in Motion contrasts withother makers of handsets such as Nokia, the worldsbiggest, which announced 1,200 job cuts late last year.Japanese-Swedish group Sony-Ericsson has said it plans toslash 2,000 positions. Were still seeing a wonderfulmomentum in Blackberry. We shipped our 50 millionthBlackberry two weeks ago, Balsillie added.

AFP

Bollywood actress Karee-na Kapoor and cricketstar S. Sreesanth havebeen crowned the win-

ners of People for the EthicalTreatment of Animals (PETA)annual Sexiest Vegetarians

Alive poll. The online contest was conducted by petaDish-oom, PETA Indias youth arm.

Kareena captured the femaletitle for the second year in suc-cession, while fast bowler Sree-santh beat out fellowvegetarian cricket stars Ishant

Sharma and Anil Kumble towin the title. Kareena and Sree-santh narrowly edged out 2007

winner R. Madhavan, modeland doctor Aditi Gowitrikar,Pentagram vocalist Vishal Da-dlani, and singer Kailash Kher,among others.

Other top contenders in-clude Olympic Bronze Medal-list Sushil Kumar, actors AliciaSilverstone, Pamela Anderson,Hansika Motwani, Mallika She-rawat, Mahima Chaudhary andRajneesh Duggal, musicians Sir

Paul McCartney and Moby anddesigners Anita Dongre andHemant Trevedi.

When you look at the doz-ens of gorgeous celebrities inthis years poll, there are nobones about it - a vegetariandiet makes you beautiful insideand out, said Anuradha Sawh-ney of PETA India.

After all, going vegetarian isthe best thing you can do forthe animals, the earth and yourhealth, Sawhney added.

IANS

Kareena, Sreesanth votedPETAs sexiest vegetarians

Military-style boot camps for teencriminals in New ZealandHardcore teenage criminals in New Zealand will be sentto military-style boot camps under a new lawannounced by the centre-right government Monday.The camps will take the most dangerous and recidivistyoung offenders aged 14-16 whose persistentoffending indicates they are heading for the adult courtsystem, said the Minister of Youth Affairs Paula Bennett.About 40 teenagers would be sent to a boot camp inthe first year.

DPA

DNA doughnutPolice in Indiana quickly traced a thwho stole instruments from a churchhall - by analysing the DNA he leftbehind on a half-eaten doughnut.


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Scientists, who compare development to hopping into abus and then getting off two stops later, say that falling inlove is merely a chemical reaction in the human brain. So,a love pill may be invented soon to trigger this chemical

reaction to make people in love. And then there could be ananti-love pill to make people fall out of love.

According to an American neuro-scientist, researchers maysoon find the right kind of chemical mixture to help people fallin and out of love.

Researcher Larry Young of Atlantas Emory University Schoolof Medicine told a televisionnetwork that researchersmay soon be able to show

that emotions such aslove are directly triggeredby biochemical events inthe human brain.

He said his research in-to prairie voles - which areshort-tailed, mouse-likeanimals found in the prai-ries (fertile plains) of the USand Canada - has shownthat sexual bonding can betriggered and blocked by theaddition or subtraction of cer-tain chemicals to the brain.

(The voles) are monoga-mous. That is, they form a life-long bond with a partner. We havebeen studying the chemistry behindthat, he said.

But when Young injected thechemical (hormone) oxytocin into

the brain of a female prairie vole, she quickly abandoned hermonogamy and fell for the nearest male.

When the chemical hormone to her brain wasstopped, her bonding with the new mate was over.

Said Young: The hormone interacts with thereward and reinforcement system driven by theneurotransmitter dopamine - the same circuitrythat drugs such as nicotine, cocaine and heroineact on in humans to produce euphoria andaddiction.

The happy news, said Young, is that his researchhas shown that there is an overlap between thebrain areas involved in vole bonding and those

associated with human love.Whats more, the chemical oxytocin, which was

observed to trigger bonding in voles, also changeshuman behaviour.

People who inhale oxytocin become more trusting... They engage in more eye contact ... (It) tunes them

into the social world. Dopamine gives us a reward, so you feel good.

Creating a cocktail of these two chemicals (oxytocinand dopamine) in the form of a love pill could create anattraction between two people, he said.

But if attraction could be chemically induced, he add-ed, the opposite was also possible in the form of anti-love pills.

You could block those chemicals when yourearound this person. All drugs are just mimicking orblocking our own natural brain chemistry, Youngsaid. He said these chemical cocktails could helpcountless couples who spend huge amounts of

money on marital therapy in future. IANS

Coming soon: Love pill

Soon, it will bepossible to fall in and

out of love at whim or

at the pop of a pill

The population of Hong Kong, one ofthe worlds most densely populatedcities, rose 0.8 percent in 2008 to 7.01million, official figures showed Mon-day. The net increase in the southernChinese territorys population was

56,100, made up of a natural increasethrough births and deaths of 37,400and a net increase of 18,700 from newresidents, mainly from mainland Chi-na, the Census and Statistics Depart-ment said. The population has grownby 211,200 in the past five years. HongKong has one of the worlds lowest fer-tility rates, with less than one babyborn for every woman of child-bearingage. Officials fear the underlying trenddownwards will put pressure on ashrinking workforce to support thegrowing number of elderly. In 2007,Hong Kongs chief executive DonaldTsang tried to use tax incentives to en-courage couples to have more babies,including higher child allowances anda one-off tax rebate upon the birth of ababy.

AFP

Hong Kong hasone of the worldslowest fertilityrates, with lessthan one babyborn for everywoman of

child-bearing age

Hong Kong populationtops seven million

Munching on

Chimpanzeesmunch onleek atTokyos TamaZoo onMonday. Thezoo started t

give welshonions tochimpanzeesfour yearsago to helpthe primatesstay healthyin winter andto avoidcatching coldaccording toJapanesetraditionalmedicine.AFP PHOTO /

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

Websites of the dayHire a professional dwarf for the day:http://www.theminiman.co.uk/Are these pets adorable or just plain ugly? You decide:http://www.sugarloot.com/photoentry/274775003

Caught you!A teenage female thief got the shock of her life whenshe stole a 72-year-olds handbag - after the victimturned out to be a former 100 meter sprint championand caught up with the girl with great ease.


8/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009SPORT08

Sania moves upSania Mirzas sizzling run at thePattaya Open, where she made thetitle clash, has propelled her back tothe top 100 as she jumped 39 placesto be at 87 in the latest WTArankings issued on Monday.The semi-final appearance in thedoubles competition at the sameevent also helped Sania gain sevenplaces and she is now 63 in thedoubles ranking. Sanias ranking hadplummeted to 126 as she spentalmost half the 2008 season out ofcourts due to a wrist injury.In the ATP rankings, appearance inthe doubles final at the SAP Open in

the United States helped RohanBopanna gain seven places and henow stands at 78.However, the same result forLeander Paes at the World Tennistournament did no help improve hiscurrent ranking of seven. MaheshBhupathi, who did not play lastweek, remained stationary atnumber five.

PTI

PHOTO: R. RAGU

ING opts out of F1 sponsorshipDutch financial services company ING announced on Monday that it would no longer sponsoFormula One team Renault citing the need to cut costs. In light of the recently announcedcost-reduction programme, ING confirmed not to renew the three-year sponsorship (2007-20contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in F1 beyond the 2009 season, the compasaid in a statement.


9/16

Isinbayeva setsnew worldrecordRussias athletics icon YelenaIsinbayeva set a new indoor worldpole vault record of five metres atthe annual Bubka memorialtournament in Donetsk on Sunday.The 26-year-old beat her previousrecord of 4.95m, which she achievedin Donetsk last year, and it was thesixth time in as many years that shehas set a new world record indoors inDonetsk. Two-time Olympic championIsinbayeva was trailing BrazilianFabian Murer, who set a new SouthAmerican record with a 4.81m vault,but managed to clear the 4.86m markin her next attempt to assure herselftop place.Her next two attempts at 4.96m wereunsuccessful, but on her third try shemanaged to clear 4.97m to set a newworld record. It was justsuperstition, she said. We decidedfor 4.97 instead of wasting anotherattempt on an unlucky number. Shethen ordered the five-metre mark,which she managed to clear on hersecond attempt. Isinbayeva said thather pre-meet game plan was to add

two world records to heralready bulging

collection. We had inmind to first do 4.96and then fivemetres, she said.

AFP

After making a comeback in the one-day sidein Sri Lanka, 27-year-old Smiling AssassinLaxmipathi Balaji is ready to take the flightto New Zealand for the three-match Test se-

ries. In an interview, Balaji talks about his come-back, highly successful domestic season and alsohis stint with the IPL for Chennai Super Kings,

where he became the first bowler to claim a hattrick.

So after making a comeback in the One-dayside, you are back in the Test side as well?I am happy that the hard work I have put in all

these years to come back didnt go waste. I keptmy mind open for this selection. Now when I amin the squad, I and grateful to the selectors for

showing faith in me. I have always enjoyed playingthe game and have to keep enjoying it. New Zea-land pitches will suit my bowling and am confi-dent of doing well.

You played your first international matchafter a long time. How was the feeling ofcoming back to the international stage?It feels great to be back in the India squad. I have

worked hard the entire season for this day. Co-incidentally my last international match was alsoin Sri Lanka. Making a reselection was the bestthing I could have done in my playing career. It

was something I have been waiting for the lastthree years. It was a long wait but I made steadyprogress. It was a culmination of hard work andperseverance.

A lot has changed in the dressing room inthe last three years with new faces comingin. Was it easy or difficult to adjust with the

new bunch of players?I feel this is much better bunch I have everplayed with. But I was no stranger to them. Attimes I have played with and against them in do-mestic tournaments. What makes the dressingroom special is the never say die attitude. Theteam is winning every match and that shows themorale in the dressing room. There is a healthycompetition in the team so it was never difficult toadjust with them.

India now has a good pace battery. So howdo you see the competition?It is good for the team and the results are also

coming. I feel India has now the best bowling at-tack in the world cricket. We have bowlers with

variety and have the ability to pick wickets in allkind of tracks. I am enjoying the competition andit will take the best out of me.

How difficult was the comeback?It was the toughest phase in my life. When I was

not bowling it was difficult but once I s tarted bowl-ing things seemed to get going. The injured backalmost crippled me and I missed out two seasonsafter the back surgery. The last three years hadbeen tough, but I always told myself never to giveup. First I started working on fitness, strengthen-ing back muscles. Then I remodelled my bowlingaction and everything fell in place since late 2006.

How much has the remodelled action helpedyou?

After my back surgery the old action couldnttake the workload. So I remodelled my action tosuit my body. Now I am comfortable with thisaction. It didnt affect my performance and bow-led well in the Ranji Trophy matches as well.

Who has been the biggest motivation foryou during the recovery phase?It was a tough call for me, when I underwent the

surgery in London. But it was my fitness trainerRamji Srinivasan and coach W.V. Ra-man who helped me to come back inshape. WV was the biggest motiva-tion for me as he took the pressureoff me. I started bowling in October2007 and played my first first-classmatch in March 2008. And then in Aprilthe IPL happened.

In the IPL, you became the firstbowler to get a hat-trick. How was the

IPL experience?It was a big step forward for me. I am grate-ful to Chennai Super Kings. They believed inme and gave me the platform to prove myselfagain. I just kept on giving my best and everythingfell in place. In the IPL I had a clear thought proc-ess. I had to bowl four overs with full intensity andmaintained that all through out the tournament.

Has IPL changed Indian cricket forever?It is the best thing that could have happened to

Indian cricket. Imagine overseas players are com-ing and playing here for Indian teams. It has givena great platform to domestic players and also forplayers like me to make a comeback. Waiting ea-gerly for the second edition of the IPL.

Trans World Features

I always toldmyself never to

give up


If we look at those on the plane to South Africa, four have never played a Test, two haveplayed only one and just four have played more than Mitchell Johnsons 18: (Michael)

Clarke, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich and myself. That creates extra responsibility for us four. Assenior players, we must stand up and lead from the front to show the younger players the way.

Ricky Ponting


10/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009FLICK10

Filmmaker Rakeysh Ompra-

kash Mehra dismisses ru-mours that hismuch-awaited Delhi-6 is

an onscreen autobiographicaladaptation but admits he hasused some fond memories of hischildhood and youth in themovie.

Delhi-6 is not an autobiog-raphy at all. Ive just delved intomy childhood memories andmy youth in the film. Ive onlyused what I observed when I

was growing up in the backdrop.Its more of the colour of thatlife that has been used in thebackground than anythingelse, says Mehra.

Its the story of an Indian-

origin American boy RoshanMehra who comes to India todrop his ailing grandmother...like taking a fish back to water. It

is the journey of this man and

his search for his roots, he says.Releasing Friday, Delhi-6 has

been written by Mehra alongwith Prasoon Joshi and KamleshPandey.

It stars Abhishek Bachchan,Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rah-man, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri,Gulshan Grover, Atul Kulkarni,Divya Dutta and a dove thatserves as the romantic leitmotifin the plot. Superstar AmitabhBachchan also makes a guestappearance.

Talking about the symbolicmeaning behind the films un-usual title, Mehra says: Delhi-6is a microcosm of India. It sym-bolises all the small towns of the

country where the heart of a cityresides and the walled city ofDelhi is an attempt to representthat.

Though the film is woven

around Delhi-6, which is thePIN code for the walled city ofDelhi, what stands out in themovies poster is the presence ofthe Statue of Liberty in ChandniChowk.

The Statue of Liberty willmean a lot to the people whenthey watch the movie as it hasmultiple symbolisms. India to-day is a melting pot of cultures,religions and castes and now isalso finding its place in the glob-al arena. Thus, the Statue of Li-berty would signify that and alsothe land from where this boy(Roshan) comes from, Mehraexplains.

The 45-year-old director says

he had the time of his lifewhile shooting the film.

Every day was an anecdotefor us. Basically, we shot with a

lot of chaos but with balanceand thats what personifies In-dia. That is the basic energy ofthe film. We recreated Delhi inSambhar (Rajasthan) and about75 percent of the film is shotthere, and the rest in ChandniChowk, he reveals.

A major part of the film wasshot in Rajasthan because hedid not want to disturb the peo-ple living in Chandni Chowk,says Mehra.

Except for capturing someaspects of the walled Delhi, wecouldnt have shot the wholefilm in that part of Delhi. Other-

wise, we would have disturbedthe life out there.

Mehra made his directorial

debut with box office dudAksin2001 before carving a niche forhimself with Rang De Basantiin2006.

Asked about the long breakbetween his projects, he saidThats because of multiple reasons. Cinema is very personafor me. I need time to unwinbefore I can recharge my batteries. I need time to express myself and that takes a lot of time

I write, produce and direcWhile production takes close tRs.500 million in a film, gettinthe screenplay and the casright, pre-production and theto post-produce it all takes lot of time.

Now bogged down with promotional work for Delhi-6 aninterviews, Mehra says he ithinking of a diving holidaride once the film releases.

I can only see an emeraldblue sea right now where I casoak myself in the sun.

IAN

Delhi-6 releases this Friday. And coming from the director ofRang de Basanti, the film is eagerly awaited. An interviewwith Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra:

Delhi-6 is not anautobiography at all

A still from Delhi-6

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Most Stylish Man in AmericaSinger Justin Timberlake has been named the MostStylish Man in America by mens magazine GQ.Second on the list is New York-based deejay andproducer Mark Ronson. Photographer AlexiLubomirski earned the No. 3 spot.

Except for capturing some aspects of the walled Delhi, we couldnt have shot the whole film in that part of Delhi


11/16


From winners sobbing uncontrollably to shocking po-litical outbursts, bizarre snubs and streakers, the Os-cars have seen it all, and Sundays Academy Awards

will likely provide fresh drama of its own.Organisers of Hollywoods biggest night are white-knuck-

led as they brace for more tales of the unexpected that couldanger viewers or throw the finely-calibrated global telecast offschedule.

But the raw emotion and the unscripted moments of whatremains a tightly choreographed extravaganza are alsowhat makes Oscars night memorable.

With a global television audience in the billions, thetemptation to use the event as a platform for politicalstatements has proved irresistible throughout the

years. Taking a swipe at critics who say Hollywood isout of touch, Oscar-winner George Clooney in 2006noted that moviemakers had crusaded for civil rights andagainst AIDS long before the issues became popular.

Im proud to be out of touch, Clooney said.As statements go, it was on the mild side.Three years earlier, boos rang out around the auditorium when maverick filmmaker Michael

Moore launched a vitriolic attack on US President George W. Bush for waging war in Iraq. ButMoore was only following the tradition of turning the winners podium into a pulpit.

Arguably the most famous example came in 1973, when a woman calling herself SacheenLittlefeather stood before the stunned audience to collect Marlon Brandos best actor Oscar forThe Godfather.

Littlefeather promptly refused to collect the award on Brandos behalf to protest the movie

industrys treatment of Native Americans.Four years later, Vanessa Redgrave drew gasps and boos from the Oscars faithful when shethanked the Academy for honouring her inJulia despite the threats of a small bunch of Zionisthoodlums. In the same awards ceremony, Oscars presenter Paddy Chayefsky chastised her tomuch applause: I am sick and tired of people exploiting the Academy Awards for the propagationof their own personal propaganda. I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an

Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation, and a simpleThank you would have sufficed. Sometimes, the choice of awards recipients can stoke contro-versy. The decision to grant director Elia Kazan a lifetime achievement award in 1999 divided theglitterati, with dozens of stars refusing to rise or applaud, in protest at the filmmakers decision toco-operate with the authorities during the 1950s communist witch-hunts.

Politics aside, Oscars night has been littered with memorable one-offs.In 1974, a naked man invaded the stage as actor David Niven was hosting the show, prompting

him to quip: The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping ... and showing hisshortcomings.

More recently, in 2003, actor Adrien Brody stunned viewers and superstar Halle Berry by kissingher passionately on the lips as she presented his best actor statuette, creating an Oscars signaturemoment. Italian Roberto Benigni made a stir in 1999 when he euphorically leapt onto a chair and

jumped from one seat to the next when he won the best foreign film Oscar for Life Is Beautiful. AFP

Oscar night drama in store

I am sick and tired of

people exploiting theAcademy Awards for

the propagation of

their own personal

propaganda. I would

like to suggest to

Miss Redgrave that

her winning an

Academy Award is

not a pivotal moment

in history, does not

require a

proclamation, and a

simple Thank you

would have sufficed

Jayam Ravi to tie the knotActor Jayam Ravi, the eligible bachelor ofKollywood, has finally been hooked. The actor willbe tying the knot with his love interest Aarthi,daughter of noted television producer SujathaVijayakumar, soon. Aarthi is an MBA graduatefrom UK. It was said that Ravis father Mohan wasagainst the actors love affair initially. Now, withthe support of his family, the marriage will beheld after the star finishes shooting for the lastschedule of his upcoming movie, Peranmai.

KB back to stageAfter staying away from stage plays for over 30years, veteran director K. Balachander is re-entering the dais with a play titled Pournami. Theplay featuring actors Delhi Ganesh, Fathima Babuand Renuka will be inaugurated on April 18 inChennai. KBs popular plays Server Sundaram,Naanal, Ethir Neechal, Neer Kumizhi, Navagrahamand Major Chandrakanth were later made intofilms that became runaway hits.

Amchi MumbaiShah Rukh Khan has opted to undergo a shoulder surgery in Mumbai on Monday to avoid the sort ofcriticism that came his way after he chose to be operated on by doctors in London for a back problem in2003, says a friend of the actor. When he got his back surgery done in London there was criticism abouthis lack of faith in Indian doctors. Shah Rukh feels that some of the finest doctors in the world are inMumbai and so he sees no need to go to the West for treatment, King Khans friend said on conditionof anonymity.

Cine City


12/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 200912

Mondays Question:

In which Tamil film would you like to see AngelinaJolie as the heroine? Enthiran: the Robot.

Ram, Perot Systems

Remake of "Karagaattakkaaran"! But not as heroine. Kovai Saralas role.Mukund (SCB Scope International),

Ganesh, Sasidaran, Vignesh, Guru, Deepan.N (TCS), Janani (CTS)

Aval oru thodarkathai, Sujatha role.K.B.Santosh, TCS

Jolie and Chiyan in Kandasamy. Mohan Kumar, TCS

Bombay. Its a rather challenging one.Rekha, Uma, Shiv, Accenture

Villu, the terrorVinothkumar, CSPL

Vijayakanth and Angelina in Virudhagiri.Sivaprakasam.G, Birlasoft

Selvaraghavans Aayirathil Oruvan.Suresh.R, TCS

Paruthiveeran.Aravindhan (Cognizant), Murali Krishna (Accenture),

Anandhi, Mahi, Sangu (Wipro), Kavi (Infosys)

Padaiappa - Neelambari characterVimprash, Patni Computers

Kovilpatti VeeralakshmiJegan, Kannan, Rak, TCS

Pithamagan, Lailas roleDelliBabu, Selvaraj, TCS

Gajini (Asins role) because an angel can only play a role of an angelBrahan, TCS

In Billa, Nayans role will perfectly match her.Pradeep Maran, Yuvraj, Saravanan (TCS), Suresh Kumar (HCL),

Mohan Kumar (Allsec), Karthikeyan (Infosys), Josh (Caliberpoint)

Star In any of director Perarasus movie.Sebanto, Cognizant

In Vijays mass movie Vetaikaran. It will be great to see this pair on the screen.

Dhilip RR, Cognizant

SubramaniyapuramT.V.Seshwanth, Ramco Systems

Kakka KakkaSenthil, Wipro

16 Vayatheneley in the role of mayulu (Sridevi), because she can pair with boththe legends of Kollywood Vijay,

Seenivasan, Technip

Todays Query:Cant imagine your life without a very specialfriend? Thank him/her during this FriendshipWeek...

Mukesh Kumar from TCS has nominated his team asPartners in Crime. This photo was taken in their officepremises.

Prathap Selvan of Business Development Meet hasnominated his friends as Partners in Crime.

Umasree Raghunath from Hewlett-Packard hasnominated her team as Partners in Crime. This photo

was clicked during a team outing for a cricket match.


13/16


1. Doctor : Naan pudhusha oru nursing home kattalam-nu iruk-kaen.

Doctors Wife : Veettula naan oruthi irukkum bodhu unga hos-pital-la ulla nurse-kku veedu katti thara poreengalaa?

2 . Man-1 : Vaithu vali operation-ku oru patient vandharae,yenna aanaru?

Man-2 : Doctor fees-i kaettadhum avarukku nenju vali vand-huduchu....

Mohamed Yusufdeen

HCL

Belated wishes Dear Prakash,Happy Happy Birthday!!God Bless U!Let this year bring moren more cheers into your life!Wish u long life n gr8 future:)

Fondly

Amirtha

Dear Deepa Venugopal,What a joy it is to send theseBirthday greetings to someone like

you;May life shower on you specialhappiness and grant you all thethings you desire.You turn not older with years butnewer everyday :-)MAY YOU LIVE ALL THE DAYS OFYOUR LIFE.Belated Birthday Wishes!!!

With Loads of Love,Kavitha CL

Tata Consultancy Services

Dear Madhu Chakkravarthi,May this day be the beginning ofanother special year.May god will shower all his blessingon you.Many more happy return of the day.

Vikram & TeamTCS

Dear Baaji,Happy Birthday to You & May GodBless you.May this day be the beginning ofanother special year.Let this birthday bring you lot of joyand happiness in your life!A Warm Birthday Wishes from All ofus!I wish all your dreams will soon cometrue!!

Regards,Bhavani Ananthan.

Team Beacon.HCL Technologies Ltd

Dear DeepaRani,Wish you many more happy returnsof the day!May the coming years bring lots ofhappiness and cherish in your life.

Best Wishes,

Shobi, Krithi,Arul, Aarthi

Hi Karthi,Wishing u many more happy returnsof the DAY!!!Let all ur wishes cum true and hav aSuccessful year ahead!!Happy Birthday

With Luv,Meena,

Deepa..

Wipro Technologies.

Dear Siva,

Wish you a belated Happy Birthday.May this birthday bring you GoodHealth, Friendship, Wealth andHappiness.We wish you that whatever you wantmost in life it come to you more thanhe way you imagined!!!!!!!!You are not spl only on this day butyour our ever greenHeroooooooooooo.

With Luv.

South West HUB .Mphasis

an EDS company

Dear KADALAI Kannan (BOONGUTEAM),Wish u a many more happy returnsof the day.May this birthday be the best andbring u a lots of joy, happiness andwealth in ur life...

Wishes from

Aathi, Azhagiri,Sreenath, Mani,

Srikanth, Suresh M,

Venkat, Sathishand TCS Siruseri.

Azhagiri Viswanathan

Tata Consultancy Services

Todays wishes Dear Ram,Loving thoughts of you make abeautiful difference to my days..!Sweetheart...you are very special tome..!Belated Valentines day..Dear...

Sakthi

Dear Salahudeen,Happy Birthday to You & May GodBless you!May this day be the beginning ofanother special year!Let this birthday bring you a lot of

joy and happiness in your life!A warm birthday wished from all ofus!I wish all your dreams will soon cometrue!

Regards,Shehanaz, Nasreen,

Fathima, Ismail

Software EngineerThirdware Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Dear Ranjani (Ranju),We Wish u avery Happy Birthday.MayGod Bless u.Have a Delightful day.

Best WishesiRonicz SpidersTeam

Tata Consultancy Services,

iNautix, fidelity Chennai & MumbaiMusigma,NSN,

Tata Elexi, vEMC-Bangalore

Juno,Deshaw, Commvault-Hydrabad

Nishchal Pandey from HPhas been nominated as Of-fice Angel by Umasree Ragh-unath.

Nishchal is a dynamicgo-getter, who is passionate

about the work he does, has

got a twinkle in his eyes whenit comes to challenging tasks

and is a very cooperative team

member. He is highly regardedas the best colleague and a

good friend to all of us and is

very kind, compatible and a

pleasure to work with.

B.Parthiban of Sundaram BusinessServices Ltd. doodled this.

Art featured inthis column will

receive gift cou-pons from FruitShop on GreamsRoad. Send in

your addresses sothat we can postthe coupons.


14/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009TRAFFIC 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

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FAX 2857 6691

sudoku

KAKURO

Meerkat madnessA woman looking out on her gardeWales wasnt too shocked when shespotted a furry creature in theundergrowth - until she realised it wan African Meerkat.

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never reallyhad the platform? Mail us your best work and well publish it in thisspace, with credit. E-mail: [email protected]

Love is still inthe air. Belated Valentines Day.Clicked byGowrisankar N.of RamcoSystems.

Thanks to the

stupenduous

response to its

promotion, Kantilal

Diamonds has

decided to extend itsgift vouchers for the

column for two

more weeks. From

now, winners are

requested to collect

their gift vouchers

directly from Ergo

office on Sunday

afternoons between

2 p.m. and 5 p.m.


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

The day may begin at a very dull note and you be feeling unenthusiastic when you enter office.However, as the day progresses, you may startfeeling charged up.Day may end at a positive noThis includes a good news from your beloved on

At the beginning of the day, you may find manyadverse circumstances hampering your progress.While in the second half, you will be more targeand focussed.You will spend a wonderful time inthe company of your spouse or beloved.

You may feel like heading in wrong direction in

your routine work when the day starts. Howeverthe day progresses, you will find the right directto move on. If there are any confusions related work, they may be sorted out.

At the beginning of the day, you may remain vesentimental and emotionally attached.In the secohalf of the day, you may be less sentimental andmore practical in your approach. Love life may bkept aside for the day.

In the first half of the day, you can be littleinflexible in your views. However, in the later hathe day, you may change your views and will bemore motivating and mood to inspire someone oeven take responsibility of a project.

Ganesha doesnt find you in mood to take upchallenges or difficult tasks. Day may pass smoo

without much of hassle. At the end of the day, ymay spend quite time with family members. Youmay share philosophical views with your beloved

You may be in search of success on the careerfront, be it a small challenge or a big target. Yowill be able to accomplish everything only in thesecond part of the day. Love life may remain fulgrace and encouraging dialogues.

You will remain optimistic and determinedthroughout the day. In first half of the day, you seek others attention. As soon as office is over,may rush to meet your beloved with a surprise,feels Ganesha.

At the beginning of the day, you may feel that yare slogging for some project or work, endlesslyHowever, you will be able to look at things with

different angle after the noon time. Love life masee a positive turning point.

Even if the day begins very positively, later you realise that you were working in a wrong directioGaneshas foresight says that you might have todepend a bit on others, like it or not. You may to spend quality time with someone specia.

You will be working very hard till the noon timethen you will just be concerned about gains thatyou are likely to get out of the hard work. Practpatience at workplace.Time may be spent withgroup of friends or in company of beloved.

You are sensitive and touchy throughout the daybut in first part, you may be more emotional abdomestic matters or issues. If you keep all tensioaside, compose yourself and just throw your entibeing in work, it will surely repay good dividend

Words worthJiffle (jif-uhl) to fidget or shuffle. This is just oneof several words that can mean fidget and end in-le, including figgle, fissle, nestle, sessle, tiddle, andtrifle.

Nail nightmareThe woman with the longest fingernails in the world - measuring inat 33 inches (83cms) - has lost them in a car accident. Lee Redmondof Lake City, Utah, had been growing her fingernails since 1979 onlyto have them break-off when she was involved in a car accident.


16/16

ERGO Tuesday, February 17, 2009!16

Ergo February 17

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