A BYTE OF LIFE Monday, March 2, 2009

09 02
WORLD CUP Ad Club-Business Line Quiz
Eves ready to take on the world TCS employee part of winning team

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 39

Farm fresh
In this week’s
First Innings,
we profile
entrepreneur
couple,
Venkata
Subramanian
and Srivalli,
PHOTO: N.SRIDHARAN whose agri
supply
model links
farmers to
suppliers.

» PAGE 05
PHOTO: S.THANTHONI

THE OUT-OF-
BOX ACT
Veteran playwright N.Muthuswamy
of Koothu-p-pattarai is back with
Arjunan Thabasu
» PAGE 03
02 NAMMA CHENNAI
Strings attached
A senior IPS officer was all set to make
good of his very lucrative recent posting
but to his dismay some string pulling at the
political level saw him shunted out
immediately after. Infuriated by the
“injustice,” the officer took out his
frustration on the poor orderlies.
According to sources the orderlies had
a tough time to sway out of the way
of innumerable office stationeries
that were thrown at them.
The last laugh
There’s at least one policeman who
keeps to his words. A senior IPS
officer was recently transferred out
and while grudgingly leaving the man
had promised to be back at his position
anytime soon. True to his words he is back
and is indeed having the last laugh as
others watch in awe and envy.
Hoax, hoax
Journalists were in for a rude shock at the
state top cop’s office recently. Eagerly
waiting for a scheduled press conference
the reporters were in for a rude shock
when the visibly irritated IPS said it was a
hoax call and shooed them out of his office.
Join the club
The policemen in the city are all set to form
their own union to protect their rights. Few
of the top officers who were rudely awaken
from their slumber during the recent High
Court clashes, where they were literally
manhandled by the advocates, are pressing
for a Police Union. If the move comes
through it will be a first of its kind in the
state.
ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009
Classic comics on your phone
Now get to listen to folk stories, read Amar Chitra Katha comics
and download ring tones and wallpapers on
Vodafone Essar. The service is available through a voice portal and
through Vodafone Live.
TCS associate part
of winning team
R. Jayakanthan of TCS partnered Gopal Kidao of MMS
to form the winning combination at this year’s
Ad Club-Business Line Quiz
ERGO CORRESPONDENT
feedback@goergo.in
A
t a competition that had
questions that were more
cerebral than trivial, Tata
Consultancy Services asso-
ciate R.Jayakanthan combined
forces with Gopal Kidao of Ma-
dras Metallurgical Services
(MMS) to be crowned the win-
ners of Ad Club – Business Line
Quiz 2009.
The competition that was held
at Hotel Savera on Saturday eve-
ning was a marked departure
from regular popular quizzes as
Quiz Master Mitesh Agarwal with Gopal Kidao and
R.Jayanthan. PHOTO: BIJOY GHOSH
quiz master Mitesh Agarwal
chose to put to test the grey cells stunners. Sample this: Which was was a Satyam employee.
much more than ever before. It the most emailed attachment in The winners took home a cash
was hard and serious quizzing, recent times, pushing aside even award of Rs. 25,000, LCD TVs
and several participants savoured the likes of the King Khan? There from Samsung, watches from
it as a welcome change. Agarwal was some one in the audience Helvetica, mobile phones from
unleashed as series of mind- that got that right – it was Sa- Wavetel, printers from Modern
bending visuals for the teams and tyam’s Ramalinga Raju’s confes- Computers and several other gift
there were also some absolute sional letter. Needless to say, it hampers. ■
Jai Ho!
쒀 Governor Surjit Singh Barnala felicitates A.R. Rahman for his Oscar win at Durbar
Hall, Raj Bhavan on Sunday. PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
 Monday, March 2, 2009
03

The out-of-the-box Act

V. HARIPRIYA
haripriya@goergo.in
roles as a modern licence. “As it
is a modern play we can bring
and a different narrative style.
The play portrayed that from
formed more than
characters each, displaying
two

in lot of innovation. Here the time immemorial mankind has dexterous change in body lan-

I
n a delightful departure
from norms, that in hind-
sight probably not all got,
Koothu-p-pattarai over the
weekend debuted its play ‘Ar-
junan Thabasu,’ in which all the
actors took turns to play the
role of the protagonist and the
jester in different scenes.
Veteran playwright and direc-
tor of the play N.Muthuswamy
explained the inter-change of
story and characters never
change; only actors change.
This is a new attempt from me
and the audience has also re-
ceived it well.”
The neatly-packed play was
all about Arjuna’s journey to Hi-
malayas to receive the Paasu-
pathaasthra from Lord Shiva
and the obstacles that he over-
comes before getting the weap-
on, with new interpretations
indulged in the arms race and
countries continue to horde
weapons for war.
It also gave equal importance
to all the actors to perform the
role of Arjuna and the kattai-
kaaran (jester). Though a bit
confusing in the beginning, the
play in due course of time
helped the audience travel
along the story easily. The elev-
en actors took turns and per-
guage and voice modulation. In
a way, the actors got to perform
more than one role, stretching
their skills to the extremes.
And as the koothu-p-patta-
rai’s current crop of artistes per-
formed at the group’s
auditorium at Chinmaya Nagar
in Virugambakkam, the group’s
veteran and actor Pasupathi
watched from the shadows.
■

Arjunan
Thabasu,
a new
experience.
PHOTOS:
S. THANTHONI

WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
What: Arjunan
Thabasu
When: On till March
15 (Weekends only)
between 7p.m. and
9 p.m.
Where: Koothu-p-
pattarai, No.1
Vaikasi Street,
Chinmaya Nagar,
Virugambakkam
Donor pass available
at the venue. For
details contact Devi
@ 9941446543
04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Ask your query

Is it beneficial to buy the new housing loans, which says that the interest rate
will be fixed at 8 per cent for one year? Since this is lower than what other
banks are offering my friend suggested that it’s a good deal.
Ravi Kumar, Cisco
From a broad perspective the idea of paying a lower interest rate seems to
be a profitable one for the borrower. But when we look deeply into it we need
to realise that no bank will give you a loan on loss. What it means is that any
loan has to be lent at a rate higher than the rate at which banks borrow
money. Thus what will happen is that they will try to recover the lost amount
by adjusting for it in the balance years of the tenure. Also there will be a lot of
“small text” which could have other clauses like no change in interest rate
even if the rates go below the 8 per cent level and such which need to be
prudently checked before taking the loan.
Mail your queries to finergo@goergo.in, with subject line ‘Doctor’.

Mini Quiz
1. ETF stands for:
a) Exchange Traded Funds It’s good bye to all the paper work required to claim your travel allowance.
b) Electronic Transfer of Funds PHOTO : NISSAR AHMED
c) Exchange and Trade Finance
d) Equity Traded Fund

No bills required for LTA

2. PFRDA stands for:
a) Pensioners Fund for Research in Debts and Assets
b) Provident Fund Regulatory Development Authority
c) Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority
d) Prudential Franklin Reliance Deutsche Association
Send your answers to finergo@goergo.in or SMS your answers to 92813 98889.
Example: If you choose ‘a’ as the answer to question 1 and ‘b’ as the answer to
question 2, type 1A2B. Winner get a free book on mutual fund and will be chosen
The SC’s rule comes as a sign of relief for all
Answers for last week’s quiz:
by lucky draw from all correct answers. those who are used to producing fake bills
SEBI – Securities and Exchange Board of India
NBFC – Non Banking Finance Company
or spending money to get them
SNEHA BAJAJ ticket, taxi voucher, etc.). This also
sneha@finerva.com meant that if the bills were not pro-
duced, the employee would have to pay
a tax and if he produced bills worth just
News you can use
A
recent verdict of the Supreme a certain amount, then he would be ex-
Court could bring a sigh of relief empted from tax only for that amount
to employed individuals all over regardless of the total LTA amount for
New pension scheme the country, especially those in which he/she is eligible. This meant
The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority has announced its the taxable brackets. that your hard earned money went to
intention to appoint fund managers for the new pension scheme. It has been The SC has said that employees need the tax man because you did not have
reported that there are six fund managers who have been short-listed. These not show bills or vouchers to claim their the time to spend on maintaining those
fund managers will be responsible for handling the funds invested in the LTA while filing their tax details with travel papers. The court said: “The ben-
pension funds of the NPS, which is for the unorganised sector. their company. This in one shot takes eficiary of exemption under Section 10
away the entire headache associated (5) (of the Income Tax Act) is an indi-
NHAI bonds with maintaining those small tickets vidual employee. There is no circular of
The National Highways authority of India is offering non-convertible bonds and related bills to show proof of your Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
that will give benefits for individuals who want to park their long-term capital travel. requiring the employer under Section
gains. Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) is the 192 to collect and examine the support-
The bonds will give the investor a return of 6.25 per cent per annum and reimbursement paid by the employer to ing evidence to the declaration to be
will be fully taxable. NHAI will repay the entire investment amount at the end the employee, for any travel expenses submitted by an employee(s).” In sim-
of three years. If you are an investor who will be receiving any capital gains within India, but for this two conditions ple terms, why should the company
from sale of land/house or other means then you need to pay a minimum need to be satisfied. (a) The expenses spend its resources/money on verifying
LTCG tax of 10 per cent, but if you invest it in the bonds you will not be taxed. can be claimed only for travelling with- the veracity of something which is a di-
in the country; (b) The expenses can be rect benefit to its employees? This has
RBI puts the safety net claimed only if the employee travels indirectly also benefited the employees.
The Reserve Bank of India has said that keeping in view the growing num- with the family and not if the family The bottom-line for both the orga-
ber of credit cards and debit cards and also the high levels of usage of the travels alone and (c) This allowance is nisation as well as the employees is
Internet for financial transactions, it’s imperative to have stronger safety paid to the employee every year but can drastic reduction in paper work related
norms. be claimed only for two travel journeys to claiming the LTA. Probably hence-
The newly devised safety measures would ensure higher safety for online every year. forth, your company would directly
transactions and also ensure that online alerts be sent to card holders when In the recent past, to claim the ex- credit it to your account at the end of
card is used. penses, it was necessary that the em- the year rather than waiting for you to
ployee shows his bills (hotel, train send in the claims. ■
 Monday, March 2, 2009
In the bazaars of …
Venkata and
Srivalli are
more than your
next-door
vegetable
vendor. They
left their plush
corporate jobs
to start a
supply and
distribution
system that
links rural and
urban market
T
heir home and their car
are a mini-godown of
perishable commodities.
On weekends (6.30 – 9.30
a.m. and 5 – 8 p.m.) they are
out on the Thiruvanmiyur
Beach running their weekend
bazaar selling organic fruits
and vegetables.
The next time you spot an
eFarm van stopping from
street-to-street or an enterpris-
ing couple taking orders from
customers, sourcing vegeta-
bles or, for that matter, even
counselling others on how to
run a mandi, make sure you
shop there.
Venkata Subramanian (Ven-
ky) and Srivalli Krishnan are
more than your next-door veg-
etable sellers. The duo left their
well-paying corporate jobs and
years of industry experience to
tap agri supply between rural
and urban market, with a mod-
el linking farmers to suppliers.
Ideas to Implementation: Venky and Srivalli on Thiruvanmiyur Beach.
Matchbox Solutions is a so-
cial enterprise, which is based
on the “bottom of the pyramid
engagements”. Besides consul-
tancy, the start-up is involved
in building core competency in
niche areas, including eFarm.
“The regular perishable
commodity you shop from the
retail shops goes through three
to five jumps before it reaches
the consumer,” explains Venky
about the community-driven
farm-to-home supply chain
that makes buying vegetables
more transparent and eco-
nomical. “Here, we bring it to
you within one or two jumps.”
To facilitate the supply,
eFarm is in direct touch with
10 to 15 farms in Tamil Nadu,
200-odd self help groups and
micro finance institutions.
Entrepreneurial call
A B.Arch graduate from IIT-
Kharagpur, Masters in Com-
puter Science from the U.S.
and over 12 years of IT experi-
ence, Venky decided to seize
the opportunity when it
knocked.
“I had the experience of
working in various domains in
IT, especially in crisis-driven
situations. As an entrepreneur
I was keen on working in a
niche area,” recalls Venky
about how the idea struck him
when the farmer crisis was at
its peak.
Venky’s homework started
with “setting the process
right,” studying different buy-
ing patterns, linking up with
farms, training the ground staff
and above all building a data
system.
Venky’s search for a business
partner yielded more than he
bargained for. He met Srivalli,
a Business Management with
over eight years experience.
“All my life I have been an
entrepreneur, selling biscuits,
crafts, textiles and all things
branded. But, I never thought
of selling vegetables,” Srivalli
says how her current profile
“adds value” into the venture.
It took Venky a month to
convince Srivalli about the po-
tential in the market. “We have
complementary skills and are
very clear on each of our
roles,” says Srivalli, who taps
clients through social network-
ing sites, online marketing, etc.
Vegetables on the go
The couple say eFarm has
grown from pilot to growth
stage, though it still concen-
trates on selling vegetables to
05
PHOTO: N. SRIDHARAN
pockets in Valmiki Nagar, Ta-
ramani, Besant Nagar, Indira
his greatest hurdles.
Until then, it is late night de-
Nagar, among others, via its
mobile van. “We get people
livery trucks, early morning
distributions that will keep this
from different strata of society
and our perishables our sold
couple awake! ■
(This column celebrates the
accordingly. Around four to six
tonnes of vegetables and fruits
spirit of entrepreneurship.
are sold a week,” they say.
So, why should you buy? “It
is 10-20 per cent cheaper than
shopping from a retail shop, Alert
but as our volumes pick it will In the coming issue of
get even reasonable. We are as First Innings, we are fea-
cheap as going to Koyambedu turing start-ups who
market,” says Venky. share an office space. So
eFarm’s revenue model is if you know of a friend/
“cash and carry”. Plus, it has colleague who would like
received a grant this January to be featured in these
from the Government of India. columns, do mail us his
Venky is new in the market, details to
but he considers those prick- firstinnings@goergo.in
ing questions and convincing
his family about his decision as
In a Minute
Company: Matchbox Solutions
Started: 2007
Founders: Venkata Subramanian and Srivalli Krishnan
Team: 10
Funding: Self (friends and alumni)
Know Me Better: www.matchboxsolutions.in
Email: venky@matchboxsolutions.in
06 VILLAGE ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Scary school trip

A school bus driver in Australia grew so fed up with
rowdy passengers he drove them to a police
station. The students angered Graham King by
throwing a lollipop at his head.

Computer Recession creates 50,000 police

desktops mirror jobs in US
Economic downturn has wiped off thousands of jobs
from hundreds of the American companies, but the

your personality same crisis has prompted the US administration to

announce a massive hiring of 50,000 police personnel.
In its first budget, the Barack Obama government has
proposed necessary funding to begin hiring 50,000

P
ersonalised desktops can displaying their past successes, additional police officers. “Supporting the hiring of
reveal a lot more than just meanwhile, risk revealing their police nationwide will help States and communities
your ‘fun side’, claims a egocentric side to colleagues. prevent the growth of crime during the economic
new study, which suggests A list of desktop personality in- downturn,” the Office of Management and Budget
that people’s personalities, habits dicators from the report includ- said in the government’s budget proposals for FY2010.
and ambitions could be laid bare ed: PTI
by analysing their computer 1. Desktop with icons strewn
screens. across the screen - the owner is
The study into desktop psy- muddled and tends to lose focus
chology was conducted by Win- easily.
dows Vista. 2. Even icons on each side - the
Michelle Obama’s dream guests
To reach the conclusion, Don- owner values balance and pro- Guess who US first lady Michelle Obama is “dying” to
na Dawson, a psychologist spe- portion and tends to keep a cool meet? Hollywood couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett,
cialising in personality head in tricky situa- reports contactmusic.com. When asked who she was still
and behaviour, re- Having too tions. Likely to be orga- ‘‘dying’’ to meet, Michelle told People magazine: ‘‘Will
viewed a selection of of- nised and dislike Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He strikes me as a very
fice workers’ desktops many icons clutter. interesting and conscientious individual with a very
and identified several may suggest 3. Desktop with many strong family.’’ The first lady is keen to entertain her
clues that could indi- a person is rows of icons - reflects a “dream guests” - Smith, his actress wife and their three
cate a person’s perso- person who needs eve- kids. The Smiths, who married in December 1997, are
nality, reports The disorganised rything to hand, likes to parents to 10-year-old son Jaden, eight-year-old daughter
Willow, and the actor’s 16-year-old son, Trey, from his
Telegraph. and possibly feel in control and on first marriage.
She also said perso- top of their life, while at
nalities could be divided insecure. the same time revealing IANS
into categories: Generic, a tendency to be slightly
Specific place; Goal-orientated; disorganised.
Trophy; Escapist; Artistic and So- 4. Personal photos as wallpaper
ciable. - indicates the kind of person you
She said: “Our desktops are our are and what priorities you have.
Neo-Nazis plotting
personal space and as such pro- Often a parent will have a pho-
vide a fairly accurate personality tograph of their child, or a keen
‘Fourth Reich’ in Germany
A defector from Germany’s hard-core neo-Nazi party,
description of an individual. traveller will have a photo of an the NPD, has given a chilling picture of the rise of new
My belief is that everything exotic location. Photos of friends Hitler worshippers and their plans to build the “Fourth
says something about what we’re show popularity, which is useful Reich”. Uwe Luthardt, who was a senior member of the
like. You may not consciously be in work environments where you NPD, quit to inform on the party that Germany tried
aware of it but once you know, need good people skills. unsuccessfully to ban several years ago. The Telegraph
then your desktop can be used to 5. Plain blue wallpaper - sug- quoted him as telling about weapons stores and how
give off a positive message about gests the kind of person who likes members greet each other with “Heil Hitler” salutes,
who you are.” to keep their personal life private. sing the banned songs of the Third Reich and relish the
The expert said, for instance, 6. Trophy photos as wallpaper - idea of a new Holocaust against the Jews. Last year
having too many icons may sug- can suggest a big ego and some- neo-Nazi attacks in Germany reached an all-time high
gest a person is disorganised and one who revels in their past suc- and the authorities are battling to stop youngsters from
possibly insecure. cesses. ■ being attracted to the politics of the right, particularly
People with desktop pictures ANI
now that Germany is in a deep recession and jobs are
being lost by the thousands every day.
ANI

Photographer Leibovitz pawns

her life’s work to pay debt
Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, who shot Michelle
Obama’s picture for this month’s cover of Vogue magazine,
has pawned her life’s work to pay the mortgages on her
property. The 59-year-old artist has reportedly approached Art
Capital with her art as collateral to borrow 10 million pound
to pay the impending debt. Leibovitz, who is famous for
taking the picture of John Lenon and Yoko One just hours
before his death, is concerned about the mounting debt on
the properties that she inherited after the death of her lover
Susan Sontag.
PTI
 Monday, March 2, 2009
07
Websites of the day Frogs for dinner
Want to keep track of your calorie intake? www.sparkpeople.com Scientists in Belarus are breeding edible frogs in a bid to revive the
Read all sorts of interesting facts about the Fab Four at the former Soviet state’s poor economy. Belarus is home to the marsh frog,
BeatlesArchive: www.beatleslyricsarchive.com the pool frog and the edible frog, considered delicacies in many
countries around the world.

World’s
oldest steam
engine ride
D
espite recession and slow-
down in tourists’ inflow to
the country, travel by the
world’s oldest working
steam locomotive on the Delhi-
Ajmer route has gained momen-
tum with the heritage train run-
ning to full capacity.
Plying only eight times a year
during the first and the last quar-
ters, the ’Guinness Book of World
Records’ recognised train chris-
tened "Fairy Queen" ran with its
full capacity of 60 passengers on
Saturday when it left the Delhi
Cantt station. Among the passen-
gers of the 154-year-old train, 30
were foreigners, a senior Railways
official said. The official said pas-
sengers can now book a ticket of
the train through Internet on the
Railways website. "Fairy Queen"
train was rolled out for the first
time by the East Indian Railway
in 1855.
The locomotive of the heritage
train is the oldest working engine
in the world. On January 13, 1998
it was recognised by the ’Guin-
ness Book of World Records’ as
the world’s oldest working en-
gine. A comprehensive two-day
tour package with ’Fairy Queen’
is being offered by Railways and
includes on-ground catering,
lodging, boarding, transfer facil-
ity, a visit to Sariska National Park
and cultural programme, the offi-
cial said. ■
PTI

High-flying
Giant Panda fever
still grips Taiwan

G
iant panda fever continues
to grip Taiwan as the bears
received their 500,000th
visitor on Saturday.
The Taipei zoo awarded a pri-
mary school student from Chang-
hua County with a stuffed animal,
stationary and a book to cele-
brate the occasion.
Jason Yeh, the zoo’s director,
said the panda pair remained in
good physical condition despite
their big audience which is limit-
ed to 22,000 people per day.
The male weighed 108 kg while
the female, “Yuan Yuan,” lost
some weight as it just finished its
fortnight oestrus period that
started in mid Feb-
ruary, he said. “Yuan
Yuan” now weighs
103.6 kg. The two
pandas, named
“Tuan Tuan” and
“Yuan Yuan” (when
linked, their names
mean “reunion” in
Chinese) arrived at
the zoo on Decem-
쒀
ber 23 last year. They
A member of Japanese ski jump team Noriaki Kasai soars through the air during the
made their public
Large Hill Team event of the Nordic Skiing World Championships in Liberec. AFP PHOTO /
debut on January 26.
MICHAL CIZEK
■
Xinhua
08 SPORT
Practice game for
Sachin & Co.
Six Indian Test cricketers will get match practice
in New Zealand’s domestic
competition under an
arrangement that avoids any
conflict over the Indian Cricket
League (ICL), officials said on
Sunday. Test specialist batsmen
Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and
Murali Vijay along with bowlers
Amit Mishrah, Lakshmipathy
Balaji and Dhawal Kulkarni will
make guest appearances to acclimatise to New
Zealand conditions.
The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI)
demanded the six players get time in the
middle before the Tests start on March 18, but
there was to be no contact with any player
linked to the Indian Cricket League (ICL). The
BCCI’s opposition to the so-called “rebel” ICL
league was underlined last week when it
barred Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik
from an exhibition Twenty20 game because a
former ICL player was also involved. Under the
pre-Test deal, five of the Indian players will join
New Zealand teams with no ICL connection and
playing teams without any ICL players. The
exception is Dravid who will play for
Canterbury but their ICL players Chris Harris and
Shane Bond will not be involved. New Zealand
Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said he
was pleased they were able to meet the Indian
requirement for game time for the players.
“There have been a number of issues to work
through, including the involvement of ICL
players, NZC’s rules around overseas and
qualifying players, player allocation, scheduling
and travel arrangements,” Vaughan said.
AFP
India down Kiwis
India downed New Zealand 2-0 in Auckland on
Sunday, giving them a series win by the same
margin. India’s Dilip Tirkey and Sandeep Singh
stepped up after a scoreless first half. Tirkey
nailed a penalty corner
strike in the 43rd
minute and Singh
followed suit in the
67th minute, flicking
the ball into the top
left of the goal.
New Zealand felt they
should have been ahead
just before the interval
when the ball hit an
Indian body, stopping a
certain goal, but India
successfully appealed on
the grounds that the
ball first hit a New
Zealand player’s foot.
The Indians were then
spectacular on the
counter-attack in the
second half, exposing
the inexperience of the
New Zealanders who
were frequently
punished for turnovers.
India won the second Test 2-1, while the first
and third Tests were drawn 1-1.
AFP
ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009
Modi humbled
BCCI vice-president and IPL chairman Lalit Modi lost the
Rajasthan Cricket Association top job to IAS officer Sanjay
Dixit by five votes. Modi received 13 votes while Dixit
bagged 18 votes to come out as a winner on Sunday.
Real roll on
Real put pressure back on Barcelona
R
eal Madrid reduced the gap
on bitter rivals Barcelona at
the top of the Spanish
League table to four points
when substitute Guti and veteran
skipper Raul scored in a 2-0 win
at Espanyol.
Espanyol, who had defeated
Barcelona last weekend, were in
charge at the Olympic Stadium
through Ivan de la Pena’s
promptings in midfield, but their
inability to create clear-cut
chances was to prove crucial. An
impressive run from De la Pena
from the midfield and a strike
from Nene, which went close,
were all that Espanyol had to
show for their possession in the
first half.
Top notch
Real soaked up the pressure
before Guti put them ahead from
a free-kick conceded after a rare
attack in the 67th minute. He cur-
led a left-footed shot from 30
yards into the top corner and five
minutes later Raul slotted home
to give Real the three points and
extend their winning run to ten
matches.
Real coach Juande Ramos sin-
gled out Guti for special praise.
“We knew that the game was not
going to be easy but we were very
motivated,” said Ramos whose
team had been stunned by a
home midweek Champions
League defeat to Liverpool.
“There was little difference be-
tween the teams in the first half
but after the break Guti changed Real Madrid skipper Raul Gonzalez celebrates his goal against
the match and after his goal Es- Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona on Sunday.
panyol had to take risks which led PHOTO: AFP
to the second goal.”
Espanyol coach Maurico Po- brace helped Sevilla come from after the visitors’ defence made a
chettino felt his side deserved behind to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 hash of clearing a corner and the
more. “We knew that the only in a dress-rehearsal of the Copa left-winger fired home from 12
way they would get a goal would del Rey semi-final on Wednesday. yards.
be from something like a set-play. Sevilla are third in the table, but Kanoute deservedly brought
It was the only way they could 13 points behind leaders the sides level, bringing the ball
break us down,” said Pochettino. Barcelona. down inside the area before beat-
“We tried to play football and we Mali international striker Ka- ing the keeper in the 38th minute.
had chances to score but the noute scored either side of half- Just before the hour mark, he
game changed with the free-kick. time to see off the challenge of calmly finished in the corner as
In basically one and half chances Bilbao who took the lead through Sevilla continued to take the
they have scored two goals Inaki Gabilondo. game to Bilbao whose coach Joa-
against us.” Both sides started with wea- quin Caparros defended his deci-
kened sides but while Sevilla sion to leave out players with on
Late comeback were dominating it was Gabilon- eye on the Spanish Cup. ■
Earlier, a Frederic Kanoute do who made the breakthrough AFP
 Monday, March 2, 2009
09

‘‘
It seems that, at the minute, everybody is going on about the IPL. It’s a hot
topic. But I want to play for England. The IPL is still a few weeks away and
my goal is to play for England and, after that, the IPL will take care of itself. It’s
something I want to play in, but my ultimate goal is playing for England.
Andrew Flintoff

Eves ready to take on the World

Members of India’s women’s cricket team
before their departure to Australia for the
ICC women’s Cricket World Cup. PHOTO: PTI

AYON SENGUPTA teams in India’s group are Sri Lanka and were successful in scoring over 200 runs.
ayon@goergo.in England. Once you start scoring runs, you get the
Goswami will be aided by Anjum Chopra confidence of taking on any team.”

E
yeing to end Australia’s dominance in and Mithali Raj and feels the perfect blend Despite their dismal showing during their
world cricket Indian eves left for of youth and experience will hold the team Tour to Australia in November, Goswami
Down Under for the ICC Women’s in good stead in alien conditions. “Our team thinks the experience will help them to
World Cup on Sunday. Led by Jhulan is very balanced with the right mix of experi- tackle the Australian conditions better.
Goswami, the fastest woman on the cricket ence and youth. “Even if we played badly in Australia last
field, the Indian side will be trying to usurp Only three players have not played over- year but all of us have a fair idea about the
the mighty Aussies who had defeated them seas. This is the World Cup that comes every pitches and conditions there and that is a
in the last Cup final. four years and every team would be eager to positive.
“We are confident and we had a long con- do well. We are not taking any team lightly,” Accordingly we have chalked out our
ditioning camp in Mumbai. All our players Goswami says. “I am glad that I have players plans and made the required adjustments.”
are in good knick and we will also play two like Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raj on Mithali also sounds optimistic about the
practice games whom I can rely for suggestions and advice. team’s chances and
before our first Mithali is our Sachin Tendulkar and every says: “Our openers
match against opposition fears her.” were getting out
Pakistan in Mithali also understands her role in the quickly last time we
March 7,” Gos- squad and says: “In the series against En- toured there. But
wami says. “Our gland and Australia, the batting line-up had now it’s the end of
primary aim is to flopped and we were constantly being bow- the season and the
reach the Super led out for totals between 120 and 130s. wickets won’t be
Six stage and Bowlers hardly had any chance to defend too bouncy. If any-
take it one game the score. You cannot win with such totals; thing they will keep
at a time from we have to score at least 200 runs to ensure low and we are
there.” a competitive total. But few days back in a used to those con-
The other practice match against a men’s team, we ditions.” ■

“I am glad that I have players like Anjum

Chopra and Mithali Raj on whom I can rely for
suggestions and advice. Mithali is our Sachin
Tendulkar and every opposition fears her.”
10 FLICK ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Mickey Rourke to play baddie in

fifth Rambo
Although actor Mickey Rourke lost the Oscar to Sean Penn,
his career seems to be back on track, and that too in a big
way-he has been offered a role by pal Sylvester Stallone in
the next Rambo film.

Priyanka goes
de-glam for
Kaminay
S
he donned work with Bharadwaj, a master
trendy mini skirts and a bi- story teller known for giving
kini in Dostana and was an his leading ladies a very ‘real’
absolute stunner on the lived-in look.
ramp in Fashion, but Priyanka Speaking about her charac-
Chopra is going the de-glam ter in the film, Priyanka says:
way for Vishal Bharadwaj’s “Sweety is a very real char-
Kaminay. acter. She is a college-going
“In terms of look, it’s defi- girl in her early 20s and we
nitely not glamorous. In fact, have tried to keep her ex-
you don’t really see me wearing tremely believable.”
too much make up in the film,” “We tried to ensure that
Priyanka told IANS. the look fits the charac-
Kaminay will be her first re- terisation,” she adds.
lease of 2009 as a leading lady Since she was seen in a
after a hectic 2008, which saw glam avatar in both Fash-
her featuring in six back-to- ion and Dostana, did she
back releases - Love Story have any apprehensions
2050, God Tussi Great Ho, about donning an entirely dis-
Chamku, Drona, Fashion and tinct look in Kaminay?
Dostana. “Not at all. It was a con-
What makes Kaminay spe- scious decision. I have al-
cial is that she has got to ways striven to do different
things in each and every film of
mine, be it with the character or
the look. That’s visible in films
like Don, Love Story 2050, Fashion
and Dostana.
“In continuation of that, Kami-
nay and What’s Your Rashee (by
Ashutosh Gowariker) will see me Priyanka
essaying different characters, far
removed from what I have ever stars
played. I am very excited about opposite
both!” Priyanka stars opposite Shahid
Shahid Kapur in Kaminay and the
actor too is said to have a distinct Kapur in
look. Shahid, known for his choc- Kaminay
olate boy image, plays a double
role, and one of the characters and the
played by him not just stammers actor too is
but also keeps an unkempt look. said to have
But audiences will have to wait
to see their makeovers until June a distinct
5, when Kaminay is set to release. look.
IANS

Hrithik, Priyanka bag Oscar-winner Penn

Filmfare Awards
Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan and
Priyanka Chopra were declared the
best male and female actors
respectively at the glittering 54th Idea
Filmfare Awards ceremony here late
Saturday night. Hrithik won the award
for essaying the role of Emperor Akbar
in Jodhaa Akbar, while Priyanka
walked away with the black lady
statuette for her performance in
Fashion. Jodhaa Akbar pipped Dostana,
Ghajini, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, Rab
Ne Bana Di Jodi, and Rock On!! to bag
the best film trophy, while the best
director award went to Ashutosh
Gowariker for Jodhaa Akbar.
Held at the Yash Raj Studios here,
the evening saw a plethora of
Bollywood’s Who’s Who dressed in
their fanciest best walking the red
carpet at the event.
IANS
hopes to take ’Milk’
to White House
Hollywood rebel Sean Penn,
winner of the best actor Oscar for
his role in Milk, said Friday he
hoped the film would soon get a
showing before President Barack
Obama. “Eventually we are hoping
for a White House screening,” the
48-year-old told reporters ahead of
the French launch of the acclaimed
biopic about gay San Francisco
politician Harvey Milk. As
California’s Supreme Court prepares
to rule on whether to annul a
referendum that banned same-sex
marriages last years, Penn said he
expected the movie would weigh
on the debate. “I think this film will
be one of the steps forward,” Penn
told reporters.
AFP
 Monday, March 2, 2009
Look, who’s in car?
Sameera Reddy’s run with Kollywood continues. After the success of Varaanam
Aayiram, these days she is busy shooting for Asal. Late night movie goers were
recently surprised to see the pretty actress resting on a car, parked at the Sathyam
Cinema Complex, after the shooting. The movie has Ajit in the lead role.
Pierce Brosnan’s
hi-tech home
The 6.5 million pound mansion to be built in
California will be equipped with modern technology
REUTERS
F
ormer Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is all set
to build a high-tech home which will even
rival 007 films. The 55-year-old actor, who
handled many gadgets while playing the
iconic spy on screen, is building a 6.5 million
pound mansion in Malibu, California.
The mansion will be equipped with modern
technology. “Pierce has always loved technology
and playing Bond only cemented that love. He
says this will be his dream house and it will have
every possible boy’s toy imaginable, plus a few
for his wife,” a source told Daily Mail. “It will
have a high-definition home theatre which
Cine City
Pierce says will rival anything out there for clar-
ity and sound. And the security system is going
to revolve around pressure sensors in the floor-
ing and infrared lights,” the source added.
Brosnon will have a basement gym, music
room and games room in his two-storey build-
ing complete with wireless and bluetooth con-
nectivity. The master bedroom will have blinds
that rise at the touch of a button to reveal ocean
views, with adjoining separate bathrooms and
walk-in closets for Brosnan and his 46-year-old
wife Keely Shaye Smith.
PTI
11
I am not Sita of
Ramayana: Ash
Actor Aishwarya Rai, who is busy shooting for
Mani Ratnam’s upcoming flick Ravana, has said
that the name of the character which she plays in
the movie is not Sita. But she is playing a woman
who has similarities with that of Sita of
Ramayana.
Ash, who is acting with her hubby Abhishek
Bachchan in Ravana, has added that they have
never played a conventional couple on-screen so
far, when asked whether she is paired opposite
Abhi in the film.
Arasan to hit the screens
Good news to Rajini fans who are eager to watch
their Thalaivar on-screen soon. Rajinikanth’s
yesteryear Hindi film Khoon Ka Kaarz is being
dubbed and released as Arasan in Tamil. The
background score and songs of the film are made in
the Qube UFO format and have been remixed in 5.1
DTS Surround Sound. Rajinikanth appears in three
songs and three fights in the film, which also stars
Sanjay Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Sarika
and Sangeeta Bijalani. The film has been cleared by
the Censor Board and will hit the screens across
India during the third week of March.
12 ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Friday’s Question:
Your favourite
childhood fairytale and
why?
■ "Paati vada sutta kathai" that’s the
only fairy tale I know.
Senthil Kumar.P,
RRD,
Sowsheelya, CSS,
Mukund
SCB Scope International,
Padhu, Sify

■ Woodcutter and angel told by my

grandma because I didn’t tell lie after
hearing that story (not now)
Kalaivani,
Perot Systems
Jayalakshmi M. from Cognizant Technology Solutions has nominated her team members
■ Vikramadittan and vedalam for as Partners in Crime. The picture was clicked in Yelagiri.
giving a thrilling experience and for
the interesting questions and answers
between them.
Arun Kumar,
Beny Raja Jerome,
Babu,
Allsec Technologies Limited

■ Peter pan - because I’m too

fascinated by fairies and their
glowing wings
Amritha,
Tata Consultancy Service

■ Beauty and the Beast because a

love which melts the heart and soul
of every one
Senthil Arjunan,
Calsoft,
Sridhar.R, STG,
Manimozhi,
Senthil, Raja and Puru have nominated the Hexaware Internal Cricket Tournament Final
TCS
Winners as Partners in Crime.
■ Jungle book I like that Mowgli and
the share khan character in it.
Sathyaraj,
Allsec Technologies Limited

■ Cindrella with her magical beauty,

shoes n the princes.
Hashim,
Allsec Technologies Limited

Today’s Query:
February 3rd is ‘I want
you to be happy day’.
Whom would you wish
to see happy. Prakash from Wipro Ltd has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This photo was
taken during team trip to Wayanad.
 Monday, March 2, 2009
■ Dear Cargo Ravi,
Mr.Pichu Mani of Allsec Technologies Belated B’Day
Limited has been nominated as Office Wishes.....!!!
Angel by Dennis Miller, Team Manager Chemoil-ODC Team
and his team. California Software(Calsoft)
He is a wonderful and a fun loving ■ Hi Revz,
person to be with on the floor. He prefers For idli, chatney is d
to be a “Man of Action” rather than a correct match,
man of words. A perfect example of a For chappati, chicken is d
down to earth person. correct match,
For friend, you are d
correct match,
For you we are d correct
match
Long live our friend
KAPPAL
Happy birthday Revz.
Yours kappal friends,
Mythili, S.Kavitha.M, Vino,
Karthi.
Wipro Technologies
■ Hi Anu,
Wish u Many more Happy
Returns of the day :-)
Loving Wishes,
COAF LS Team,
Wipro Technologies
■ Hi Senthil nathan,
Sorry I missed your
Art featured in Birthday, Hope you had a
this column will wonderful time and
receive gift cou- wishing you for many
pons from Fruit more to come. Love you,
Shop on Greams Your Best Friend.
Road. Send in
your addresses so Wishes from the Heart,
that we can post P. Jayasri
the coupons. TCS.
■ Dear Gopal,
Thinking of you and the
good times we spent!! me
A.Kamalika Krishmy had doodled this. smile! HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to friend who is always
close to my heart. Wish
you many more happy
returns of the day. May
God bless your future
with lots of surprises.
Keep Rocking!!
We wish for you that
whatever you want most
in life, it comes to you,
just the way you imagined
it or better.
With Love,
Manivannan, Vasant, Prabhu,
Merlin, Krithika. Team TCS.
Dad : If u pass in the exam, I will present u 1 cycle.
Son : If I fail ? ■ Dear Jansi jenifer,
Dad : I will present 10 cycle Hope your BIRTHDAY is a
Son : why ??? day
Dad : hmmmm…. to open cycle shop that makes you feel full
Shiva Kumar . A, Accenture of ZEST and ENTHUSIASM,
13
Because YOU’RE really
wished
all the THINGS in life
that will give you
HAPPINESS.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Wishes from the Heart,
Prabhu, Amala, Glory, HCL
■Hi Muthu, (lal)
Many More happy returns
of the day & God bless
you. " We turn not older
with years but newer
every day. May your every
day successful!"
Rockers!
Bilal, Shakeer & Balaji
PerotSystems
■Dear Victor,
May the new year that
opens ahead be filled wid
happiness n joy.. Wishing
you a very Happy Birthday
and many more to come...
Cheers,
Shaji & Divya, TCS
Belated Wishes
■ Hi Gayathri,
Wish you Many more
happy returns of the day.
Let all your dreams come
true. Have a great year
ahead.
Happy Birthday !
from your beloved friends ,
HCL Technologies Ltd
■ Hi Anitha,
Wish You happy birthday.
May all yours dreams
come true.
Have a great and fun year
ahead.
Keep smiling always!!!
Best Wishes From,
Susi & Anu,
Wipro Techonologies.
■ Dear Kirti Kathuria
Wishing many more
happy returns of the day
to this fun loving, rocking,
lazy freak
From
Shrikanth N C (The S.P.E.C
buddies)
Infosys
■Dear Vidhya,
Wish you many more
happy returns of the day.
Best wishes,
Anand, Prem, Balaji
iNautix Technologies.
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Thief’s heist foiled

An Australian car thief was caught
by police after he accidentally
locked himself in the vehicle he
was trying to steal.

sudoku

S.N Saraswathi
of TCS clicked
this picture in
Kuala Lumpur
with her Canon
G5. Hobbies:
Sketching,
stitching

KAKURO
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the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Monday, March 2, 2009
Life’s a beach at Uni
A university in the U.K. is
offering a two-year, full-time
course teaching teenagers how
to surf.
15
Word’s worth
Quadragesimarian (kwah-druh-djess-uh-mair-ee-un) an obsolete and rare
word meaning ‘someone who observes Lent.’ This certainly applies to those
people who observe Lent only as an opportunity for a Friday fish fry as well
as to those who take the more traditional and spiritual ascetic approach.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Logical thinking is fine, but incessant brooding or
pondering might not prove to be useful. Do not try
to push yourself for something which is practically
impossible. Try to streamline your thoughts in a
proper direction. Love life will be smooth today.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

Achieving targets won’t be difficult at all. You will
be able to meet the deadlines very easily today. Pay
equal attention to all the pending work or it may
pile up into a huge mess. Lovers may spend a
wonderful evening in the company of their beloved.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You may wish to establish proper work routine and
BORN LOSER schedule in order to perform better at workplace.
You may want to devote equal time to your life
partner too. Lovers may find a positive turning point
in their romantic life, by the Grace of Ganesha.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
On the work front, the day is going to be very
hectic. More than productive work, you may have to
spend a great amount of time for solving queries
and problems. Romance on the whole can be
smooth and satisfying, but watch your temper.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
You need a break. So finish off the pending work
and select a time when there is nothing major
happening and then finally go and ask for a leave.
Once that is sanctioned, you may want to take off
on an adventure trip or a romantic cruise. Try it.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Hard work has wonderful rewards and there is no
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT doubt about it. However, Ganesha advises you to
be patient. Things may not work according to your
plan or schedule.The Grace of Ganesha will bestow
upon the lovers like there is no tomorrow!
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Not all days will be as fruitful as yesterday, but
there is always a tomorrow. Don’t let your mood
affect your performance or behaviour towards other
people. Even on the personal front, avoid stress and
take it easy.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
It is best day to have a look at past and finish off
pending social and official work. At office, you may
interact with others in order to find solution to
some long-pending issues. Love life may remain
almost uneventful today, feels Ganesha.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
“Why worry?” asks Ganesha. Everything will have a
solution. It is just a matter of time that things seem
to be so difficult and impossible. Plan everything in
advance. This includes everything from your official
tasks to fixing up a party.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
You may be very verbal while at work so Ganesha
finds you giving suggestions to everyone around
you. Ensure that you are not hurt if your
suggestions are not accepted by others with due
grace.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS There is no weapon more powerful than words.
Ganesha wants you to realise that and take proper
ISSUE’S advantage of the same. Since you are capable of
impressing others with your speech, you should use
SOLUTIONS that on the professional front as well.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
Ganesha feels you will wait for your lucky charm to
show wonders today. Hence during the second half
of the day, you might find yourself wasting time.
Lovers might feel a pinch when the beloved doubts
his/her integrity. All will be well soon.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Foxes up a tree
A family of foxes has made an unlikely home at
the top of a tree in Suffolk, England.

Sky-high Makeup seller

costs to use is YouTube star
A
27-year-old Brit mum has how to recreate Leona Lewis’

a toilet become a YouTube sensa-

Ryanair’s chief executive said Europe’s
largest budget carrier might start
charging passengers for using the toilet
while flying, but his spokesman
cautioned Michael O’Leary often just
made things up at will.
“One thing we have looked at in the
past and are looking at again is the
possibility of may be putting a coin slot
on the toilet door so that people might
actually have to spend a pound ($1.43)
to spend a penny in future,” O’Leary
told BBC television.
Reuters
tion with her make up ap-
plication videos. Lauren
Luke’s YouTube channel, pan-
cea81, has drawn more than 4.5
million viewers, and Luke moves
between the first and second
most watched YouTuber slots in
Britain. Luke, a single mother liv-
ing with her mother and sister,
decided the time had come to try
something that would allow her
to work during her son’s school
hours.
She began selling makeup on
Ebay. She also started posting tu-
torials on proper makeup appli-
cation for her Internet customers.
The turning point, Luke says,
was when she posted a tutorial on
make up from her Bleeding Love
music video. “That’s when things
really started to go berserk,” CBS
News quoted her as saying.
The video shows her in her be-
droom applying makeup to her-
self while looking straight at the
camera. Many of the videos dem-
onstrate how to create celebrity
looks - musicians like Miley Cy-
rus, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift,
and actresses like Kim Kardash-
ian and all of the stars of Sex and
the City.
“I’m over the moon about it,”
she said.
“It didn’t dawn on us until peo-
ple started to come up and say,
‘Aren’t you the girl of YouTube?’
she added.
The Brit mom’s
video is among the
most watched slot
Luke has also been approached
by gaming mogul Nintendo for
creating a makeup game centred
on her for the Nintendo DS.
“It’s mad to think I’ll be on a
Nintendo game,” laughs Luke.
She’s set to launch a cosmetics
line in the beginning of April, and
a book is also being published in
October. ■
ANI