A BYTE OF LIFE Friday, July 4, 2008

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

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 130

BRAVING IT AT
BODI HILLS
» PAGE 04

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

In our weekly relationship column,

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

We have done our best!

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

Free motor service

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

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

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

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

Indo Cine Appreciation Founda- sical genius. MAUNDY THURSDAY:

tion, Chennai, have come togeth- She starts to give him intensive 6.30 p.m., July 9
er to organise this movie festival. music lessons, preparing him for HOROWITZ:
The movies being screened at this a competition, but it does not 6.15 p.m., July 10
festival include the international- turn out well. Later, when all HIGHWAY STAR:
ly acclaimed Secret Sunshine, seems lost, Ji-su is utterly 8.00 p.m., July 10
which has won several awards, shocked when she realises that SOLACE:
including best actress, won by Gyung-min carries a secret that 6.15 p.m., July 11
Do-yeon Jeon at the Cannes Film will change her life forever. RADIO STAR:
Festival 2007. For details about the festival 8.00 p.m., July 11
Another movie to watch out is contact 98401 51956. ■
ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008 03
04 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Big Story
Over the hills and far away
Rini Mukkath and Liffy Thomas explore
and experience the beauty of the Bodi
hills from Lakshmi Estate.
Time: 7.15 p.m. urai Meenakshi Temple and
Location: Somewhere in the stopping for some coolers
middle of the forest (Moor and Kanji) in a local
Rini: “No torch lights please,” shack near Uslampati, we head-
someone cried. I was leading the ed to Bodi.
way with the moon light and
min-mini-poochi (fire fly) for Up above
company. Each steep turn I took, Our home for the next two
I had to warn the rest in ad- nights was a quaint mud house
vance. “Steep curve ahead…take called Lakshmi Estate on the hill
right…watch out for the rolling top of Puliyout in Bodinayaka-
stones.” It was apparent that we nur also called Bodi. Though
were at a much higher altitude: Bodi is in close proximity to
our breathing was heavier, our Munnar and provides the best
heart rates faster, and ever so of- vantage point for tourists, you
ten we would feel an ache in our will hardly find any activity
muscles. here. The most exciting part of
No water, no halts, no painful camping at Bodi was that we
cramps, it was just a need to re- had to each time we trekked up.
ach the peak. The constant joke It took us city-breds close to 45
about the nadan kozhi curry minutes to do the drill; while
awaiting us was mouth-water- the estate workers managed the
ing enough to keep me going. same in 8 minutes.
Liffy: I hated HER (my col-
league) for being the trailblazer. Gone with the wind
Just the other day, she almost The 45-year-old Lakshmi Es-
collapsed on a rock, and Arul tate is amongst the last estates
had to charge her with glucose. to line the Kerala-Tamil Nadu
Today, there was nobody to keep border. The place runs on hy-
me company. Nobody wanted a dro-electricity, generated by the
break. I was the last and slowest estate’s very own stream. With
to trail the rocky path. Pleading gritting teeth, we forced our-
for a two-minute rest every 10 selves to have a quick wash in
minutes, only brought me a new the ice-cold water from the
name – Lazzzy Thomas. To add nearby fall each morning.
to my physical fatigue were the “Watch out, else you might
constant jokes centred on me just fly away,” said Gopal, the
(“Lazy will only get the bones”) estate manager. The wind ve-
Sigh!!! We finally reached our locity can almost sweep you off
abode – 3,500 ft from ground your feet. Thanks to Vasuvi, the
level, nestled between hills and estate manager’s wife, our fa-
far away from crowded cities. tigue quickly vanished after the
wholesome meal and freshly

W
e are part of an eco- grounded coffee she provided.
tour organised by Eco- Despite our ‘lazy morning
login, which truly be- syndrome’, we were up to watch
lieves in roughing it out the panoramic view of the hills
and adding a little bit of uncer- and morning sun. “Oh! My
tainty to a getaway. We started phone has not charged,” some-
on a Thursday night, where we body complained. Not for long,
met trip organiser Sridhar before the beauty of the rising
Lakshmanan from a leading sun, tranquillity of the grey sky
software company, Milli Maria and dancing of the trees just
Thomas from UNDP and Kar- made life so full.
thikeyan Vaitheeswaran from On Sunday morning, we
ILO, at Koyambedu Bus Termi- trekked down the estate to make
nus. Later, Vishnu Priya, a stu- another round of stops to Surli
dent of NID, Ahmedabad and falls, a vineyard in Cumbum
Arul Sekar, a student of IIT-Ma- and the lush Thekkady. But, this
dras joined us at Madurai. After time around we wouldn’t be Resort on top of the Bodi hills Trek through the coffee estates
a quick visit to the famous Mad- back. ■
 Friday, July 4, 2008
ECO STOP 05
Tie-ups with around 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu and a little bit of
uncertainty, Ecologin promises a different experience for adventure seekers

T
hree ligament reconstructed and a crutch from August 15 we plan to start off on a commer-
in hand to trail through rugged surfaces. cial basis,” says Sridhar, an employee of leading
Sridhar of Ecologin, at first glance, seemed Software company in Chennai. To start off, they
to be the most unlikely guide on a trip that have tied up with around 20 places where trips
combines trekking and long drive along hills. will be organised in the months to come.
But, with his enduring spirit Sridhar turned out
to be the champion of one more trip, something Let’s go Dutch
he has been doing for the last one year. The organisers usually put in the initial
amount, and for the rest of the journey a note is
Eco call maintained of the amount each of the group
Ecologin is a start-up promoted by Sridhar member spent. The calculations are tabulated at
Lakshmanan, an alumnus of IIM-A, and Arul Se- the end of the trip and sent to all the members
kar, pursuing his post graduation at IIT-Madras. via excel sheet.
They have been taking small groups – usually “We have tie-ups with NGOs and the local
referred by friends and those with an interest for community which makes our trip more econom-
forest and natural resources – to lesser known ical,” says Sridhar, who has worked for a couple
pockets of Tamil Nadu, where it combines trekk- of NGOs. “Irrespective of the destination we
ing, stay in a tribal settlement, visit to a social don’t increase the price.”
organisation involved in some occupation or The Rulebook
anything rustic for that matter. ~ Send in a mail to [email protected] with
‘Organised’ is one word they hate to use. So details like group size and interest (wildlife,
don’t frown if there has been a deviation in plan. nature, trekking…)
They only fix rough contours but keep their ~ They usually take groups ranging from
plans really flexible. “We expose people to an a minimum of six to a maximum of 20.
uncertain environment and experience what we ~ Prices range from Rs. 2,000 to Rs.
believe in,” says Arul, a certified trekker and rock 4,500.
climber. ~Log onto www.ecologi-
“Until now, we have been running trips very n.org and view the many
informally and on a non-commercial basis, but options

Where is Bodi: This town in

Theni district is located on the
foothills of the Western
Ghats.
How to reach Bodi: If
you are making a trip to
Munnar via road then Bodi is
around 45-50 km from the tea
estates of Kerala. As there are
not many tourist hotels in
Bodi, the closest camp should
be Theni
Things to do: Apart from
trekking you can explore the
coffee and cardomom estate.
Fishing and bathing in the
many falls are other options.
Catch the morning view from the hill top Take a dip in the pristine water falls
06 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

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

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

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

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

T
wo Tai- fee because of the Church of England’s Consistory Court said. “Not
wan sis- the cup was everyone is happy with their proper names but that of
ters too large for her. itself does not justify a memorial recording the
separated since So they sat down to preferred name alone,” he added.
childhood 40 years ago were chat and asked one another’s ANI
recently reunited, virtually age.
by a cup of coffee, a new- Both Ho and Fang said they
spaper reported on Thurs- are older than their regis-
day. tered age because they were
No skimpy outfits on bar staff
China’s government has told discos, karaoke bars and
Ho Mei-yun and Fang adopted and their adopted other entertainment venues to install windows in
Chuang-li were born into a parents did not register their private rooms and ensure staff dress modestly from
poor family which had 13 correct birth date. The more October 1 as part of an effort to crack down on
children. Hoping to give Ho and Fang recalled their prostitution and drugs. According to rules released on
their kids a good life, their childhood, the more they felt the Ministry of Public Security entertainment venues
parents kept only 8 kids and they were from the same must install transparent partitions between rooms that
gave away the rest to better- family. ensure ‘the whole environment of the consumer’s
off families, the United Daily So from the Los Angeles entertainment area in the room can be seen.’ Discos,
News said. Ho was put up for airport, Ho phoned her eldest karaoke nightclubs and other bars have private rooms
adoption when she was 11 sister in Taiwan to check the for hire, and are a favorite places for businessmen to
months old. Fang, Ho’s details of the Number 8 sister, entertain guests, sometimes with prostitutes. Staff
younger sister, was given and concluded Fang is the No clothing is also covered in the new rules. “The dress of
away when she was 2 8 sister. When Ho brought staff members should not be exposing.”
months old. Ho and Fang the news to Fang, the two Reuters
have been working as insur- cried in a tight embrace while
ance agents at the Cathay their colleagues stood
Life Insurance but did not around clapping hands for
know each other. Recently their reunion. Made-in-China cellphones
the company paid for its out- Ho and Fang returned to
standing insurance agents to Taipei several days ago. Cath-
go to Los Angeles. ay Life Insurance held a news
blocked in Pak
The Chinese cellphones that flooded Pakistan markets
Ho and Fang sat in the conference Wednesday to over the past one year, and are in great demand for
came coach but did not break the good news to the being cheaper than the branded phones, have
know they were re- press. At the news suddenly been blocked allegedly by the Pakistan
lated. On the day of They were conference, Fang Telecommunication Authority (PTA), though the
departure, Ho said the theme of the Authority denied having done so. According to the
bought a large cup working in company’s annual Dawn, hundreds of Chinese mobile phones of one
of coffee. Seeing the same meeting in Los An- particular serial number or International Mobile
Fang and another geles was "Change
colleague also want-
company Your Life," and the
Equipment Identity (IMEI) 135790246811220 suddenly
went dead in Pakistan last evening. Over the past two
ed to buy coffee, she for several trip has certainly days, hundreds of users had been fighting to get their
suggested the two years changed her life. ■ phones activated after they became non-functional.
share her cup of cof- DPA ANI
 Friday, July 4, 2008
07
Billions for pooch This day, that year
A New York real estate magnate has decided to leave It was in July 4, 1999 that Spice Girl Victoria
her dog billions of dollars. The woman left the dog Adams - better known as Posh Spice - wed
her charitable trust estimated to be worth between English soccer hero David Beckham at a 15th-
US$ 5 billion and US$ 8 billion and her estate is to be century Irish castle in a ceremony shielded from
used to keep her dogs comfortable and happy. the prying eyes of the press and fans.

TN has the maximum potential for IT

Details emerge in a NASSCOM-A.T.Kearney study released on sidelines of NASSCOM HR Summit
move to the next level, these loca-
ERGO CORRESPONDENT tions will have to strengthen in-
[email protected] frastructure, find ways to attract
talent and improve the quality of

T
amil Nadu was the state life.”
with the maximum potential The emphasis was on getting
for IT and aligned industries leading companies to take their
in the country, according to business to India’s tier-II and
NASSCOM-A.T.Kearney’s study tier-III cities. “By 2018, we would
on “Location roadmap for IT- like to have evolved a system
BPO growth: a study of 50 cities”. whereby the industry’s workforce
Five of its cities figured in the de- would have grown from 2 million
tailed findings released on the si- to 8 million people, where 40 per
delines of the NASSCOM HR cent comes from the emerging ci-
Summit in Chennai on Thursday. ties,” said Mittal.
The study that categorised 50 NASSCOM, the premier trade
locations based on growth poten- body for the software and servic-
tial amidst other parameters es industries in India, on Thurs-
named Chennai as a ‘leader’ city, day began its fifth edition of the
while Coimbatore, Madurai and annual NASSCOM HR Summit
Tiruchi fell under ‘challenger’ (2008) in Chennai.
and Salem was labelled a ‘follow- The inaugural session was at-
er’ city. “We see this report serv- tended by C. Chandramouli, IT
ing as a planning input for State Secretary, Tamil Nadu Govern-
Governments, educational insti- Som Mittal, president, NASSCOM and Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-president, Cognizant, at a press ment.
tutions, policy-makers and local conference in Chennai on Thursday PHOTO : BIJOY GHOSH The summit seeks to find ways
industry bodies when they look for Human Resources to move
for means to attract investment Commenting on the study’s rent Vice-Chairman, Cognizant number of potential IT and BPO beyond recruitment and attrition
to their regions,” said Som Mittal, findings, Lakshmi Narayanan, ex- Technology Solutions, said, “Ta- locations, including three cities issues and function as a catalyst
Predisent, NASSCOM. Chairman of NASSCOM and cur- mil Nadu has the maximum in the ‘challenger’ segment. To to change. ■

Holy spirit
Faceless people in UK
T wo mysterious faceless people
have been spotted in some of
the UK’s A-list events like Wim- 쑸
bledon, Henley Regatta, the Har- Supporters
rods sale and Elton John’s White of Brazil’s
Tie and Tiara Ball. Fluminense
With a membrane of skin cheer their
stretched tightly over their eyes, team before
noses and mouths, the alien-like their
figures were most recently Libertadores
snapped ‘watching’ a match Cup second
perched on Murray Mount at leg final
Wimbledon. match
Close inspection of the pictures against
rules out an alien invasion - small Ecuador’s
perforations around the eye areas Liga de
of the masks allow the people be- Quito on
neath to see the world outside. Wednesday
The anonymous figures have access to some of the most at the
provoked much speculation sought-after A-list events. Maracana
among Internet bloggers, desper- Another suggestion is that they stadium in
ate to guess what they are trying are from a group named Anony- Rio de
to achieve. mous, which formed on the In- Janeiro. AFP
One theory is that they are a ternet and is best known for PHOTO/ARI
couple of celebrities keen to organising protests against Scien- VERSIANI
avoid the glare of the paparazzi tology.
lens. Indeed, they seem to have The favourite theory seems to
be that they are part of a viral
A membrane of skin marketing campaign, possibly for
was stretched tightly BBC science fiction television se-
ries Dr.Who, or even - according
over eyes, noses and to one internet site - for luxury
mouths of the figures car brand Lotus. ■
ANI
08 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

‘Robotic’ caddy for golfers

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

GEEK TALK

How to cut typing Nokia 6220 launched in India

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

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

Specifications
Price I Rs. 19,959
PTI

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

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

one centimetre thick – are

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

No tickets

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

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

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

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

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

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

a hidden gem

Fact file
Valparai – easily accessible
from Chennai and Bangalore
through Coimbatore and
Pollachi
From Pollachi, take a cab to
Valparai (around 65 kms).
There is no connectivity to
any mobile service provider so
be prepared to “switch off”.
Only one ATM (SBI) and two
decent hotels are there.
12 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Portfolio

Goodbye,
SHALINI SHAH
[email protected]
shoelaces!
SHOELACES?
laces’ pair. There are 19 eyelets
We tell you how it works.
The essential purpose of a
on either side! Imagine threading
and unthreading them! Thankful- The new kind of sneaker

Y has everything that a

ou can’t really imagine shoelace is to ensure a snug fit ly, the fact the laces are made of
sneakers without those while ensuring ease during wear- elastic ensures that the wearer
stinking shoelaces. The
ones that you keep tripping
ing and removing. To dispense
with the entire tedium of tying
can use them as slip-ons, without
tying or untying the laces. Shoe- regular one has, right
on. The ones that are a ready-
made tool for someone’s idea of a
and untying the chords, designer
John Varvatos worked with Con-
laces, here, have effectively been
reduced to an embellishment. down to the metal
practical joke.
Or can you? Now, thanks to a
verse and brought out a shoe that
looks exactly like the classic Con-
In namma Chennai, the slip-on
Converse variety is yet to make an eyelets. Only the
certain Mr. John Varvatos and a
company that originally started
verse, minus the shoelaces. In-
built support beneath the tongue
entry.
However, there are other shoelaces are missing
out as a basketball shoe compa- ensures that the purpose that brands which have started fol-
ny, you can now get sneakers that shoelaces normally serve is lowing suit and bringing out their
have all the regular features of a achieved. The perfect shoe for the eyelets-without-laces varieties.
pair – except the shoelaces. lazy ones. Most multi-brand footwear out-
Everything else is there – the That was just a beginning of the lets have just started stocking
regular canvas uppers, rubber anti-shoelace tirade. them.
outsole, even those metallic eye- Varvatos also worked with Grab a pair, set a trend. Andre
lets through which to run the Converse to bring out the ‘crazy Agassi, too, is a fan. ■
 Friday, July 4, 2008
13
Givenchy

Karl Lagerfeld Jean-Paul Gaultier

for Chanel
PHOTOS: AFP PHOTO

Jean-Paul
Gaultier

Kenzo

T
he Paris Fashion Week kicked haute couture collection for next au-
off amidst some high-voltage tumn-winter, he explained. “There
action. is just a splash of pink. Otherwise it
Jean-Paul Gaultier’s exotic is all in half tones.”
birds of paradise all came complete For the men, pink ruled.
with their cages. “Twenty years ago The notion of wardrobe androgy-
I was already doing corsets like cag- ny was the fitting theme of Yves
es,” the designer reminisced after Saint-Laurent’s men’s collection that
the show. Lefranc Ferrant’s models kicked of the just-ended men’s
walked the ramp with bubble-top- shows. Making his menswear debut
covered heads. for Givenchy, the house women’s
Elie Saab acknowledged Miche- designer Ricardo Tisci went for
langelo’s Sistine Chapel for the mut- shocking pink, throwing out a suit
John Galliano ed palette of grey-blues, faded with socks, shirt and shoes in pink in
for Christian pinks and reddish purples like wine a gothic-cum-romantic collection
Dior dregs. Karl Lagerfeld’s show for mingling masculine and feminine –
Chanel came with metallic columns lace shirts over tattooed skin, kinky
in the backdrop and heavy ruching leather shorts worn with cropped
and ruffs on the clothes. The decor leggings.
dictated the lack of colour in his Inputs from agencies

(From left) Dior, Christian Lacroix,

Giorgio Armani Prive and Elie Saab
14 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Diet for monkeys

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

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

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

Sex cuts erectile dysfunction risk: Study

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

Beware of diet sized snack packs

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

Get over it!

DIVYA M. CHANDRAMOULI times when it just has to be done. Pro-active
[email protected] Here are few steps that will help
bring back the smile faster. Sign up for the class you’ve al-

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

Sunitha Rao excels

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

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

February ruled him out of action. However,

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

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

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

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

Bhambri ousted Kirsten warned

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

Signature Spears

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

Owner of Bruce Lee’s

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

A spokesman for
Angelina Jolie on
Tuesday said the
actress is "doing
great" following
reports that she has
checked into a
hospital in Nice,
U.S. pop star
France, ahead of the
Madonna and her
birth of twins. Media
husband, British film
reports said the 33-
maker Guy Ritchie,
year-old Oscar
are not planning to
winner, whose
divorce, her
partner is actor Brad
spokeswoman said
Pitt, was admitted to
on Tuesday, denying
the Lenval Hospital
media speculation
on Monday, citing a
that their marriage is
hospital
ending. “There are
spokeswoman.
no divorce plans,”
Reuters
Liz Rosenberg,
Madonna’s publicist,
said in a statement.
Reuters
 Friday, July 4, 2008
19
Harry Potter and Trainspotting Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Daniel Radcliffe admits that certain scenes in Harry Sacha Baron Cohen will star as detective Sherlock
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are similar to Holmes and Will Ferrell as his loyal assistant,
Trainspotting, the cult movie about a group of Watson, in an upcoming film comedy inspired by
heroin addicts in late 1980s Edinburgh and their tales of the fictional English sleuth, Columbia
passage through life. Pictures said on Wednesday.

As the biggest star of

the Friends franchise,
Jennifer can’t help but
look at what’s happened
with Sarah Jessica Parker
and the Sex and the City
film and be a little
Cine City
jealous.

m o v i e
s , t h e Rajni, Kamal to do cameo

i e n d
Fr TV’s most A film on St.Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ, is
being produced at a cost of Rs 50 crores. The
beloved pals project was inaugurated by Chief Minister
M.Karunanidhi on Thursday. The film would initially
might be there be made in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi and later
dubbed into various other languages, including
on 70 mm English and French. The movie is expected to match
Hollywood big-budget movies such as Ben Hur and
the Ten Commandments in budget and quality. Top

T
he highly anticipated film “Timing and the script are re-
production of the famous ally important, but now that actors like Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith, Vijay
television series Friends Courtney and Jen both have and Vikram will do the guest roles in this film. The
has finally been given the production companies, they can film is funded by the government of Canada and
go-ahead, according to reports. potentially get very involved in the Vatican.
The cast are said to have those decisions,” the source
agreed to the project after wit- added. Cox has made no secret
nessing the box office success of of her desire to get the gang back
Sex and the City, another hit tel- together for one last outing, but
evision series given the movie Aniston has been reluctant. Actor Ajmal in
treatment. The source said: “As the big-
Rumours of a reunion for the gest star of the Friends fran- high spirits
six Friends stars – Jennifer An- chise, Jennifer can’t help but
iston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Ku- look at what’s happened with
drow, David Schwimmer, Sarah Jessica Parker and the Sex The doctor-turned-model-turned-
Matthew Perry and Matt Le- and the City film and be a little actor Ajmal is in high spirits after
Blanc – have been around ever jealous. What’s held back a the grand success of Anjathey. His
since the show ended in 2004. Friends movie so far is that peo- excellent performance has shot him
The cast is now reported to ple were worried that Jennifer to fame. He played Kirupa, a
have signed up for a movie ver- had simply become too famous friend of Naren, in Anjathey.
sion, produced by Warner Bros, to play Rachel again. Ajmal has signed two films in
with filming scheduled to start But the truth is that Jennifer is Tamil. One being the
within the next 18 months. finally willing to do it, and she’d remake of the Hindi
“Jennifer, Courtney and the love to work with that whole blockbuster Taxi No 9211
rest of the cast are keen to re- team of actors and producers being produced by GV
prise their roles, under the again. She says she and Films titled TN 07 AL
right circumstances. The suc- Courtney have already 4777 and the other
cess of Sex and the City has talked this summer about film is produced by
really got their wheels spin- what they want out of a Pyramid Saimira.
ning about how a Friends Friends movie, and if deals He has also
film could be just as big, if can be made with them, finished a
done right,” the Tele- everything else can fall Malayalam flick
graph quoted a source, into place rather quick- with Mohanlal.
as saying. ly.” ■ www.cinesnacks.com
ANI
20 ERGO Friday, July 4, 2008

Career Crossroads

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

PICK OF THE DAY - Friday

Star World Discovery Travel And Living Star Movies HBO

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

PICK OF THE DAY - Saturday

Start Movies Star World Star Vijay Discovery

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

PICK OF THE DAY - Sunday

Star World HBO Sony Max Sony Pix

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

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

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

Passing with a crash

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

sudoku

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

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

TEAM
Editor: Karthik Subramanian
[email protected]

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem Kumar

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

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

Head of Advertising:
Sriya Narayanan
[email protected]

Head of Circulation:
RA. Babu Vijay
[email protected]

SNAIL MAIL
859/860, Anna Salai,
Chennai - 600 002
mail your feedback to
[email protected]
FAX 2857 6691

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES
Call our
Advertisement Manager
at 2857 6695.
email: [email protected]
Website: www.goergo.in

Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf of

KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,
CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,
Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:
603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,
Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik
(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act).
 Friday, July 4, 2008
23
US$ 4 million mistake Mosquito corpse sale
A 16-year-old boy from Shropshire, England was shocked A man has sold 10,000 mosquito corpses
when he found an extra US$ 4 million in his bank account. online in only two days. Nin Nan, of Shanghai,
The boy immediately withdrew US$ 600 and bought an China came up with the idea of selling the
iPod and new clothes. The boy later discovered the balance corpses to attract customers to his jewellery
was a mistake made by the bank and he is now in debt. store. The mosquitoes sell for around US$ 1.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

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

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

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

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

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

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

From the streets of Asia

ERGO CORRESPONDENT
[email protected]

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

PHOTOS: S.S. KUMAR

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