A BYTE OF LIFE Friday, July 31, 2009

07
MITHALI RAJ
on her career so far and future plans

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 144

Wish and it shall

Far, yet so near come true
Movin Stilz creative
director talks about
the special effects
and his journey with
August 2 is Friendship Day. Ergo scans the the much-talked
about Vikram-starrer
world of virtual friends in the age of Twitter Kanthasaamy

and Facebook. Plus, readers have their say. » PAGE 05

» PAGE 04

PHOTO : AFP
02 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

For adoption

Namma Chennai
Danny is a 4-year-old male Labrador
cross who is healthy, playful and
affectionate.
He has been neutered and is up for
adoption. Call Praveen at 9884144161

Shop

Ties that bind

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The sale is on from
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attending this workshop.
Speaker and author of
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Spine-chilling thrillers secrets of money,
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When was the last time you jumped up your seat watching a thriller
Drop in at Nahar Hall,
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Friday, July 31, 2009
L E R T p l e a s e :
A
Do n ’ t s t o p
and s t a r e
a senior delivery manager with HP, started this
NGO so that passers-by do their bit for helping accident victims
MONISHA MOHANDAS
monishamohandas@yahoo.com
H
ave you stopped and stared seeing an acci-
dent victim on the road wondering if you
should reach out for help? The legalities of
running behind the cops and doctors general-
ly make one think twice. But, the least one can do is
offer some first-aid. Before that make sure you learn
some lessons from ALERT.
Amenity Lifeline Emergency Response Team, or
ALERT, is an NGO started in 2006 by Kala Balasunda-
ram, Senior Delivery Manager with Hewlett-Packard.
Kala and her team of volunteers train “focus
groups” comprising educational insti-
tutions, corporates and drivers on WE HELP BY
how to lend help to any accident vic-
tim. PREVENTING
The volunteers, along with a group THE CONDITION
of expert doctors and trained profes-
sionals, are involved in training citi- FROM GETTING
zens. The three-hour programme held WORSE
weekly covers first-aid topics, basic
life-support techniques and cardio
pulmonary resuscitation. It also orients one to avail more than 10,000 people in the city and the numbers
of the ‘108’ emergency service. Lawmakers and po-
lice are also invited to these weekly meeting to edu-
cate public in facing them in times of distress.
“I always wondered why people never come for-
ALERT volunteers’ training in progress
03
Kala Balasundaram,
ward to help an accident victim,” says Kala. “When
we conducted a survey in this regard, we found that
the hassle of running behind police and hospital au-
thorities stopped them.”
These accidents need not be on road. “It can hap-
pen anywhere – at your house, industries, institu-
tions, etc. And we train public on how to handle each
of them,” says Kala, who played an active role in
starting the Burn Ward Unit at Kilpauk Medical Col-
lege.
Orienting with ALERT
Anyone can help a victim but an ALERT trained
person makes the difference. “We help by preventing
the condition from getting worse,” says
S. Balaji, volunteer.
The NGO currently has 20 core
members, with a number of floating
volunteers around the city. ALERT has
also signed a MoU with the Indian
Medical Association (IMA) to train
volunteers. “The training costs nothing
and there is a lot to be gained,” adds
Kala. ALERT has successfully trained
are growing. ■
If you would like to get trained, drop in an email to
info@alert-wecare.org or call ALERT at 98843 18848.
Visit them at www.alert-wecare.org
04 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

Big Story
Virtual people, real friends
are shy and a little socially awk-
ward, moving a conversation from
Long-distance friendships that cut across cultural barriers the Net to a coffee shop is a much
more normal and hassle-free proc-
are blossoming on social networks ess.”
Although the Internet has
stretched the boundaries of friend-
R. PREETHI friends is scary to many others. “I ship, it has created a lot of exciting
preethi@goergo.in was scared initially. How can I possibilities to compensate the tra-
make friends with random strang- ditions it may have ended. Making

T
he first thing that Denise
Mckenney from U.S.A. wanted
to do on November 27 2008
was to log on to her favourite
site and send a message to a friend
in India.
“I’ve been thinking of you and all
those in India the whole day. I hope
you’re safe and okay. I’m praying
for all of you.”
Nearly 8,000 miles and nine
hours away, Kalathmika in Chennai
is greeted by a flurry of concerned
messages, including Denise’s. De-
spite the tense moments that she
along with million other Indians
across the country had to go
through, she was able to smile.
Thanks to her online friends, who
know nothing or care about the
Mumbai attacks but are willing to
help, even if it is through a virtual
hug.
Making friends online is still an
alien concept to many. And pro-
moting them from virtual to real
ers? But now I’m so happy that I
have friends from across the
world.” Kalathmika affirms.
Thanks to pre-conceived notions,
like the Internet is just an endless
repository of potential serial killers,
many people are yet to find out the
actual truth. That the Internet is al-
so full of like-minded engaging
people. For the first time in history
we’re lucky enough to choose
friends not by location or luck, but
pinpoint perfect friends by round-
ing up people with amazingly simi-
lar interests, matching politics,
senses of humour and passionate
feelings about the tiniest hobbies.
For Pradeep, online friends seem
to be much closer than his real col-
lege friends. “By making friends on-
line, you’re simply speeding
through the whole process, bypass-
ing shyness and getting rid of the
social awkwardness that comes
with trying to make a friend out of a
stranger. For people like me, who
online friends is a great way to
know more about different cultures
and happenings across the world.
For instance, the Lunar New Year,
Hanukkah, Kwanzaa take a whole
new deal of importance on your list
because you have a very dear friend
celebrating it.
At the end of the day, the very
thought that you have someone to
whom you can rant on about any-
thing is a very invigorating pros-
pect. It is strange at first. People
you’ve never met before are the first
to wish a ‘Happy Birthday’. But
even if they’re strange, you
wouldn’t want to trade them for
anything.
Kalathmika sums it up best.
“These are friends whom you play-
fully promise to meet some day
soon and secretly make a note to
yourself that you will. These are
friends who despite everything
have stayed with you, despite never
seeing you.” ■

Ergo readers write on their experience with friends on social networking sites
Annoyingly funny
A pretty picture of your true
self or a fake one is enough to
catch the eyes of the wanderers
on these social networking
sites. Boom comes the request,
“Do you wanna friendship wid
me?” Arghhhhh!
Countless ‘NO’ to ignore
these friendship requests
doesn’t work and you eventu-
ally add the person to your list,
reluctantly and wondering if
the person is real or unreal.
Nevertheless, you are so
overwhelmed when everyone
on your friends’ list makes a
sincere effort to scrap a wish
on your birthday. Nothing
wrong in saying these are “An-
noyingly Funny”.
Mistaken identity!
An unknown and mistaken
identity opened the doors of
friendship. I was lucky to find
one of my best pals a year ago.
To what I was before and to
what I am today I owe it to this
buddy. It all started with a mis-
taken identity and the friend-
ship grew with mails and daily
SMSes. Today I have a shoul-
der to share my joys and sor-
rows. There’s never been a day
where we missed making a call.
Thanks a lot, Raji.
Senthil, Wipro
Fraanship request
When I first heard about Or-
kut, I was hesitant about join-
always haunted me.
But my curiosity got over my
fear to take a look at how it
works. And in no time I got in
touch with so many of my
school friends, most of whom I
lost touch.
The long wait for my joining
date thanks to recession got
me to explore Facebook, too. I
got active with two-three com-
munities, this after carefully
monitoring the people who
post in these forums. I have
even met some of these online
friends, though I was nervous
initially.
One such friend whom I got
is Ramya. She is also a twin like
me and we have so many com-
mon hobbies. She has been
there for me during my tough
ly or meet regularly, we know
what’s happening in each oth-
er’s lives and are always there
for each other. I also know of a
couple of friends where the
friendship has changed life
partners.
But, it’s very rare that you
meet nice people through
these sites. There are people
who’ll irritate by scrapping you
or sending friendship requests
(actually its fraanship re-
quest!!).
Personally for me, Orkut has
been a great source of commu-
nication between me and my
friends.
B. Soundarya, Cognizant
I am social
the social networking sites
have added spice to my life
Linkedin.com – It’s here
where I get good consulting/
insights on business and work
free of cost
Twitter – It’s the formula to
become popular
Blog – A writers land for sure
Orkut – This is mainly for
those I know on a personal lev-
el.
It’s also where people (girls)
encounter “can we be friends”
scraps – the only bug in orkut
Facebook – A cool applica-
tions to play with
Digg – Get all the bizarre in-
formation you want to see/
hear is available.
Girish Mahadevan

Anita Clementina, Cognizant ing it as Internet security issues times. Even if we don’t talk dai- Read on to know how each of
 Friday, July 31, 2009
05

Wish and it shall come true

Vikram’s
female getup
and other
highlights in
Susi
Ganesan’s
Kanthasaamy
are the talk
of K Town. It
is not just
makeup that
has done the
magic also
the special
effects by
Movin Stilz.
Harish,
Harish Vijayakumar, Creative director, and
creative Sanjana Rajendran, technical head
of Movin Stilz. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR
director of
the company,
DEEPA VENKATRAMAN The movie is based on a super- Quite a few different techniques
throws light hero story and this could not were used to get the required ef- STEADY
have been done without VFX. It fect. Like any other movie, there
on the How did Kanthasaamy come
your way? was an integral part of the story. were last-minute changes, new CLIMB
There are a lot of fantasy ele- requirements by the team to be
special visual After doing the visual effects for ments, surreal scenes and plenty delivered in short deadlines. But
Set up in 2007
First claim to fame was
Kamal Haasan’s Dasavathaaram, of green screen shots, which the whole team headed by my Dasavathaaram
effects and we got the lead for this movie but helped us achieve the final look. wife Sanjana, technical head of Upcoming project is Vijay
it was a challenge as it came from Around 1,500 shots of VFX, much the company, handled it brilliant- Prabhakar’s Thasai Innaithee
his journey a big banner. Director Susi more than an average movie ly. Chudinam and Nandhini
briefed us for one piece of visual (which has about 200-300 VFX Arts’ Nee Inru Naan Illai and
through effects work. It took us two shots), have been used. How was it working with the few others
months to complete this partic- Kanthasaamy crew? Talks are on of tying up
Kanthasaamy ular requirement and finally he What were the challenges Initially, there was a lot of con- with a television company
was convinced with the output faced? fusion about certain scenes
and of the fact that visual effects We had to create a scene of a where the scenes were shot in
(VFX) are an effective alternative. cornfield located near an IT park. multiple locations and had to be even massive green screens at the
This was quite difficult to accom- assembled into one seamless corn field in Theni, the produc-
What unique visual effects plish realistically as there were scene. But Susi had a clear vision tion team comprising art director
have you incorporated in the day and night scenes. So we had and this helped us a lot. Be it bal- Thota Tharani, director of pho-
movie? to add 3D buildings in the back- loon lights for the night shoots or tography Ekambaram and pro-
ground in addition to the real ducer Kalai Puli Thanu discussed
buildings and recreate them for with us each shot and also sup-
the night scene as well. AROUND 1,500 ported us with all the require-
For the first time, we made a ments with regards to VFX.
male actor feminine, in a se- SHOTS OF VFX,
quence where Vikram appears
dressed as a woman. It took us a
MUCH MORE THAN Your views on the current
scenario of the visual effects
while figuring out how to do it AN AVERAGE MOVIE industry in Kollywood…
but it was not an impossible task. Filmmakers have started to
We used skin-grafting techniques (WHICH HAS ABOUT recognise the potential of visual
by using heroine Shriya’s skin to effects and are open to exploring
soften his face. We also toned
200-300 VFX SHOTS), it. Extensive usage of visual ef-
down his muscles and made him HAVE BEEN USED fects can also reduce the budget
slimmer by around 20 per cent. of a movie. ■
06
Sport
Saina diagnosed
with chickenpox
Chicken pox has rendered Saina Nehwal
doubtful for next month’s World Badminton
Championship even though the ace shuttler
remains hopeful of competing in the high-
profile event at her home town Hyderabad.
Saina, who won
the Arjuna
Award on
Wednesday, has
been suffering
from mild fever
since Saturday
and it was
diagnosed with
chicken pox on
Wednesfay and
advised
complete bed
rest for the
next few days.
“I have been
suffering from
fever since
Saturday but
then I saw
some
pockmarks appearing on the skin. Initially I
thought it must be pimples or boils but in
the last couple of days some more
pockmarks developed and I had this itchy
feeling,” Saina said from Hyderabad.
“So we decided to see the doctor, who
confirmed that I have chicken pox. I have
been advised complete rest for the next 4-5
days and then we’ll see how it goes,” she
added.
PTI
False start for India
Indian hockey team began their Europe
tour on a losing note, suffering a 1-3 defeat
against England in the rain-soaked opening
encounter of the three-match Test series.
After an opening ceremony that included
the Lord Mayor of Birmingham meeting the
two teams, the match got off amid
torrential rain late on Wednesday night and
England got off to a perfect start with a
goal inside 60 seconds when Ben Hawes’
effort went in off Ajitesh Roy’s stick.
Two minutes later England earned their first
of 10 penalty corners but Ashley Jackson’s
effort was well charged down by the first
runner Vikram Pillay. India recovered soon
and responded in kind, earning their first
penalty corner six minutes later. Gurwinder
Singh Chandi’s pass found its way to
Dhananjay Mahadik, courtesy V.S. Vinaya’s
dummy, and the Indian army man flicked it
powerfully across James Fair and inside the
post to equalise. England took the lead
again in the 18th minute after setting the
foundations from their fourth penalty
corner. At the fag end, Richard Smith made
sure of an English victory when he smashed
home from beyond the penalty spot off a
corner rebound in the 68th minute. The
second Test will be played on Friday at the
University of Birmingham.
PTI
ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009
Sharapova advances
Maria Sharapova rolled over fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-2
in the second round of the US$ 700,000 Bank of the West Classic
on Wednesday. Former world number one Sharapova needed just
over an hour to beat current world number 10 Petrova.
Target practice
After a lacklustre Singh got their first feel of match
play on this tour and looked at
These guys have a huge height
advantage over our boys and we
draw in their first ease combining well with Mehra-
juddin Wadoo in midfield.
have to account for that,” coach
Houghton said.
practice game in The reserves were actually a
step or two ahead of their regular
They were paid for their hard
work in the 60th minute when R.
Barcelona, Indians counterparts – Syed Rahim Nabi
and Yadav looked lethal upfront
Mohanraj’s long clearance was
picked up by Nabi, who played it
come good in with a steady burst of pace.
Senior internationals Renedy
to Renedy, and the veteran mid-
fielder’s cross was headed in by
the second Singh and Dipak Mandal too
combined well down the left
Yadav to give India the lead.
Eleven minutes later, on the
flank and most of India’s attacks other side of another mini-break,
ERGO CORRESPONDENT generated from that side. Show- the former Mumbai FC forward,
feedback@goergo.in ing a tendency to hold on to the who is yet to find a club, doubled
ball and playing short passes, a his and India’s tally when he
A
brace from lanky Abhishek departure from the long-ball tac- headed in a Mondal cross.
Yadav gave the visiting In- tics of the last game, the visitors India played out the rest of the
dian team their first win on dominated possession for most game in a relatively easier tempo.
Spanish soil late Wednes- part of the last 45 minutes. Still, Yadav came close to scoring
day night. The Indians, who are “We were playing too many his hattrick way into the five min-
out on a month-long exposure long and aerial passes during the utes of injury-time. But he nar-
trip to Barcelona, won their sec- first game. And the big bodied rowly missed the flight of a Govin
ond practice game, downing local and taller Spaniards were centre again from the left in
fourth division side AE Prat 2-0. easily dealing with it. the 94th minute. ■
The Indians came out in full
throttle and the makeshift for-
ward pairing of skipper Baichung
Bhutia and Sushil Singh showed
some urgency and combined well
to create problems in the rival de-
fence. The duo produced a few
half chances with Bhutia even
testing the keeper with a long-
ranger a quarter of an hour
into the match.
Throwing in a sur-
prise of his own and
much to the relief of
the players the referee
called for a water
break in the 22nd
minute. The match was
played in four quarters in-
stead of the usual two halves, a
necessity considering the heat
wave Barcelona is facing this
year.
The hosts looked a little more
energised after the mini-break
and came close to scoring the
opener 10 minutes to the interval.
The Indians were lucky to scram-
ble out from a goalmouth raid
and both sides went into the
break on a deadlock.
Like the first game, Indian
coach Bob Houghton went in
with a new setup of players for
the second session, replacing his
whole team except goalie Subrata Abhishek Yadav
Paul. Govin Singh and Jagpreet PHOTO: S. PATRONOBISH
 Friday, July 31, 2009
07

‘‘
Irfan is talented but he never had the class of Kapil or Akram. All the comparisons early on meant he was playing
under immense pressure. That wrecked his bowling and confidence. Many have started doubting his abilities and
fitness now but they should have thought earlier if he was capable of being all he was touted to be. The intention in
keeping him out of the probables list is to give him a jolt.
Maninder Singh

No rife, no catfight
Mithali Raj on the rumoured friction with skipper Jhulan Goswami, secret behind her footwork, and T20
AYON SENGUPTA (Kiran Baluch later scored 242 the mantle well. “Most of the girls men’s and women’s game during
ayon@goergo.in against West Indies in March 2004) are very young and it’s our job to the last T20 World Cup in England.
and even now she proudly occu- guide them through. The three of “Playing the semi-finals as a cur-

A
lmost as dominating and
with every possible batting
record under her belt, Mith-
ali Raj is correctly called the
Sachin Tendulkar of women’s
cricket. A comparison she admits
to enjoy a lot.
“I know about the title and it is
an honour. But it puts up added
pressure too,” she says. “I under-
stand that every time I go out to
bat they expect me to score. So-
metimes I fail to overcome the
pressure. But again, I have always
given my 100 per cent on the
field.”
Like Tendulkar, she too basked
in the limelight very early in her
career, scoring a mammoth 214
against England during the second
Test in Taunton in 2002 when she
was just 19. At the time it was the
highest Test score by a batswoman
pies the second spot. “I didn’t
even think I was good enough to
hit a century. A double was just a
dream and I think that changed
my career,” the trained Bharatana-
tyam dancer says.
A lesson or two from her classi-
cal foray in her early years might
well have helped her become a
classic bat for which she is known
world over. “At least, I am nimble
on my feet. Maybe all that dancing
during childhood has something
to do with it,” she acknowledges.
Mithali matured on to become
the mainstay of Indian batting
along with former skipper Anjum
Chopra, whom she succeeded
briefly before handing over the
reigns to present incumbent Jhu-
lan Goswami. At just 26 she is one
of the senior-most in a relatively
young team and has taken over
us are the unofficial think-tank
and fortunately we get along well
contrary to all the running ru-
mours,” Mithali clarifies. Media
glare hasn’t even spared this form
of the game and rumours were rife
with a tiff between her and Jhulan
during the just-concluded T20
World Cup. It was said that Mithali
was not too pleased batting lower
down the order and was keen on
opening the innings but was not
given a chance by the skipper. “In
T20s you have to innovate and at
times your best players should be
promoted up to get the maximum
time,” she says. “But we are play-
ing it only off late and will take
time to get our strategies right.”
But she is quick to recognise the
sudden adulation the women’s
game is getting because of the si-
multaneous running of both the
tain raiser for the men’s game was
a huge experience. We have hardly
seen packed grounds before and
the game was telecast live eve-
rywhere,” Mithali recalls. “I wish
we had qualified for the final.
Would have played at Lord’s
then.”
The Indian Railways employee
has her focus set on the next T20
championships in the West Indies
and feels the team should play
more of the shorter version of the
game to adapt quickly. “I think the
best way for women’s cricket to go
forward is adopt T20 readily. Test
matches in our circle are far in-
between and One-Dayers are get-
ting out of sync,” she says. “A few
more T20s will keep us in good
shape and our first trip to the Ca-
ribbean isles may turn out to be a
memorable one.” ■
08 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

Portfolio
Highest c
The las
season h
seen seve
Antonio Marras for Kenzo promine
Dries Van Noten trends
emergin
and re
emerging
from on
shoulde
Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy gowns t
red-carp
pantsuit
Christian Lacroix the mon
sleeve,
croppe
Emporio Armani Prada pants, m
skirts an
nude as t
new blac
Ergo pic
out thre
trends th
look set
carry ov
to nex
season
Jean-Paul Gaultier John Richmond Louis Vuitton Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy

Formal shorts Trophy jackets

These singularly dominated the 2009-2010 Spring/Summer menswear fashion weeks in
Milan and Paris. While shorts are no new invention, this season saw a more formal twist, Bling is in, as far as jackets are concerned. The seas
paired as they were with suits, blazers, collared shirts and jackets. house of Givenchy, with Armani, Christian Lacroix a
 Friday, July 31, 2009
09

common denominators
st
has
eral
ent
s
ng
-
g– Koushik Ghosh and Priti
Alexis Mabille
ne- Christian Lacroix Bansal

er
to
pet
ts,
no D&G

,
d
midi
nd
the Lefranc.Ferrant

ck.
cks
ee
hat
to
ver
xt
n.
Giorgio Armani Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy Giorgio Armani Prive Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel

Monochrome
son’s best trophy jackets came from the The monochrome trend isn’t fading off yet. Black and white remained
Compiledfavourite
by ShaliniatShah.
Armani
and Dolce & Gabbana not far behind. Prive, Chanel, Lacroix, Lefranc.Ferrant, Alexis Mabille and Josep Font.
PHOTOS: AFP
10 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

Flick
RAKHI KA
SWAYAMVAR
NDTV Imagine head sees no obstacle
to the item girl’s wedding

S
amir Nair, CEO of NDTV
Imagine, says that the police
complaint filed against item
girl Rakhi Sawant and five
others linked to the reality show
“Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” for infrin-
gement of copyright won’t affect
the live telecast of the wedding
Sunday.
“We’re telecasting the marriage
deferred - live (minutes after ac-
tual shooting) and we don’t an-
ticipate any trouble. This guy
from Jaipur (Gaurav Tiwari) filed
a case against us in a district
court.
They passed an order against
him. Then he moved to the high
court. His case was dismissed
from there,” Nair said.
“Now he has filed a criminal
case against us. Our legal team is
looking into it as we speak.
Strange that the case has gone
from civil to criminal. This guy
runs a portal and claims he owns
the word ‘swayamvar’. It’s like
me claiming I own the word Ra-
mayan or Mahabharat. There’s
shadi-com. So we can’t do soap
with the word shaadi?”
The show “Rakhi Ka Swayam-
var”, through which Rakhi decid-
ed to find her life partner, is on its
last leg now. She will be tying the
knot with her chosen groom Sun-
day in the presence of family,
friends as well as officials from
the channel. ■
IANS

Brad Pitt adds Megan Fox wants

bike to his collection
Hollywood star Brad
Pitt, who has a
penchant for
motorbikes and has
a huge collection of
them, has added
another to his fleet.
The new entrant is a
heavily customised
Chrome bike
sporting a metal
seat, reported
dailymail.co.uk. Pitt’s
collection includes a
Ducati Desmosedici
RR, a Monster 696
and a selection of
Harley-Davidsons. ■
IANS
to date a geek
After dating a fire fighter
and actors, model-turned-
actress Megan Fox is looking
forward to date a geek. The
23-year-old revealed that
she is scared of being single
after splitting from her
fiancé Brian Austin Green
and now wants to get into a
relationship with a nerdy
guy, reported dailystar.co.uk.
“They are more appreciative
of what you do,” she said.
Earlier she was linked to
David Gallagher and before
joining Hollywood she was
dating Ben Leahy, a fire
fighter.
IANS
 Friday, July 31, 2009
11
Shiantology!
Shia LaBeouf is no longer a Hollywood actor - he has become God! The
actor’s fans have started a fictional religion called ‘Shiantology’. And the
crazy followers of the Transformers star have accepted him as the Messiah
of the religion. They have even set up a website with mock-up pictures of
Shia as Jesus Christ, the Sun reports

MJ’s last moments Cine City

Chef Kai Chase sheds light on the
events that took place in the late
M
ichael Jackson’s chef
has shed light on the
events that took place singer’s LA home
in the late singer’s LA
home during his last moments.
Kai Chase, the pop legend’s
professional chef has spoken
about Dr. Conrad Murray’s ac-
tivities at the house, who is ap-
parently emerging as a prime
suspect in the investigation.
She claimed that she almost
everyday saw the doctor come
downstairs carrying oxygen
tanks from the icon’s room,
but on the unfortunate day he
did not and she “thought
maybe Mr. Jackson is sleeping
late.”
“I started preparing the
lunch and then I looked at my
cell phone and it was noon.
About 12:05 or 12:10 Dr. Mur-
ray runs down the steps and
Rahman’s son turns singer
screams, ‘Go get Prince!’ He’s Chennai Mozart A.R. Rahman’s son Alim enters
screaming very loud,” the Tele- Hollywood by crooning a song for the flick Couples
graph quoted her as telling in Retreat. Alim completed his recording last week.
an interview. The film, touted to be a romantic comedy, is
She narrated: “I run into the Rahman’s first complete Hollywood venture. It is
den where the kids are playing. said that Rahman’s children have lent their voice for
Prince (Jackson’s oldest son) the chorus sections of a few songs, most notably
runs to meet Dr Murray and ‘Dhinam Dhinam Deepavali’ in Varalaaru.
from that point on you could
feel the energy in the house
change.
“I walked into the hall and I
saw the children there. The
daughter was crying. I saw pa-
ramedics running up the stairs.
We were all praying, ‘Help Mr
Jackson be OK.’ Then everyone
was very quiet.”
The use of oxygen tanks by
the personal physician and its
purpose did not make sense to
her as she claimed she saw no
sign that Jackson was on drugs
or was in failing health.
The facts could be incrimi-
nating for Murray whose house
and office have been raided by
drugs enforcement agents.
The late King of Pop report-
edly wanted Chase to travel The late King Tragedy strikes Raavan
with him to London for his O2
concert. of Pop
In fact she said his 12-year- reportedly team again
old son, Prince Michael II, per- Director Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Raavan has
sonally made the request to
wanted Chase already been delayed over a couple of months due
her. to travel with to some unfortunate incidents, one being the
She recalled: “Prince said, him to London director himself being hospitalised following a
‘Daddy wants me to tell you he heart attack. Now what we hear is that a wild
wants you to go to London for his O2 elephant entered the shooting spot in Chalakudy,
with us’,” I said, “Tell your dad- concert Kerala, and trampled a team member. The entire
dy that I’m pleased and hon- team, including Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek
oured.” ■ Bachchan, have been camping there for a couple
ANI of weeks.
12 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

Lolith from CSS Corp has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This Deepa from HCL Technologies has nominated her friends as Partners in
pic was taken during the 7th anniversary celebrations of their project at Crime. This pic was clicked in Pookkkot lake at Wayanad in Kerala.
GRT Temple bay, Mahabalipuram.

Gowrisankar from Perot Systems has nominated his team members as Rajasekar from Sutherland Global Services has nominated his friends as
Partners in Crime. This picture was taken in munnar during their team Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked during their team outing in
outing, Munnar.

Devi Kandasamy from HOV Services has nominated her friends as Partners Umadevi P. from TCS group has nominated her friends as Partners in
in Crime. This picture was clicked at Manimuthar Falls at Tirunelveli. Crime. The picture was clicked during their Kodaikanal Trip.
 Friday, July 31, 2009
■ Dear Gopinath,
Tis is 2 wish u a vry happy birthday!May God
bless u in all ur endeavours! Tons of wishes!
Friends, New Age Software & Solutions.
Vijay of Honeywell Auto- ■ Hey Ashy
mation India Ltd, Kilpauk If there’s something that u’re dreaming of
has been nominated as then may it all come true, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Office Angel by his Wishing u all the great things in life, Keep
colleagues. Rocking DUDe!! LoL. ! Pooja
■ Atmeeya Mitra Malatesha nige,
Vijay is an over sincere
"Janma Dinada Hardika Shubhashayagalu"
and proficient person.
Nimma ella kanasugalu nanasagali.. :) Nimma
Though people run away
Jeevana Swati... Muttinante Holeyali..
when he starts his speech,
Snehapoorva Guru, Sunil, Uday,
his words make sense
Chakki, Gururaja, Raghu, Pradeep
sometimes. He deserves to
■ Dear Divya,
be an office angel because
Best wishes for a happy married life !! Have
of his loyalty, sincerity,
a blissful life ahead, Don’t forget to give us
dignity and chivalry.
the treat. God bless u always! Regards, Santo
■ Dear Manikandan …
I wish u a long and healthy life with lots of
happiness forever with god’s grace, May this
spl day be filled with sweet memories.....:)
With cheers J, Krish, Joe, Pallu , mom and dad
■ Happy 61st Birthday Dad (A.C.Vasudevan)!
I find myself wondering. Did I give u ur due.
For all tat u’ve done 4me Did I evr thank u?
If I hav forgotten, I’m thanking u nw.I hop u
Sreekanth P.S. know how much you’re lovd. Happy Birthday,
of Wipro Dad. Love Gayathri. V Hexaware
Technologies ■ Dear Hari,
doodled this. Many more Happy Returns of the Day! You
He has dedicated are a wonderful and fun loving person to be
this doodle to his with. Have a blessed year dear spiky!
grandmother who With tons of love Loky, Prabhu, Antony, Ravikanth,
passed away on Joseph, Lima, Hema, James, Barry, Annie, Lydi,
July 31 last year. Vandy, Sreeni, Leena & all your dear Allsec friends
This was her ■ Dear Sravani,
favourite of all Many happy returns of the day. May god
that Sreekanth bless u. All the best for everythin in ur life.n
drew. days be filled wit rainbow colours of joy. tons
n tons of wishes to u !your friends n wellwishers.
■ Dear MuthuKumaran Ardhanary,
Many More happy returns of the day. We r
wishing u a very happy birthday. Njoi the
Birthday with ur family!!! Happy Birthday
By PORTAL Team Members.
■ Hi Lalitha,
How do u expect us to remember your
birthday, when u never look any older?
Happy Birthday Dear. May you blessed with a
wonderful year ahead! Cheers, KK, Viji, Manju,
Sivakami, Selvam, Senthil. TCS - Siruseri
Belated Wishes
■ Poo Akka,
ivlo naal apdiyae velaila romba busy a iruka
maari nadichadhu podhum.inaikavadhu
naanga koopta odanae respond panunga
vera onnum illa happy birthday solla dhan:)
with kgs of love kandupudinga..
1.Man-1: Namma thalaivar yaen jump panni practice pan- ■ Hi, May god smile upon ur face and gift
nuraaru? you with everything that ur heart desires
Man-2: Arasiyal katchi-la saera poradhukku-dhaan... now & always! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAVITHRA
By, UBH team, Cognizant Technology Solutions
2.Man-1: Makkal yellorum paarkura padam, aanaa T.V. ■ Dear Gayathiri,
channel, cinema theatre-la podadha padam, adhu yenna? Sorry for not wishing for ur birthday at right
Man-2: Kalapadam... time. Happy Birthday da. Wish u all success
and keep smiling always. Take care my dear
3.Man-1: Yedha vachu andha pair-i lovers illa-nnu solrae? friend. By, Kalaichelvan Patni Comp
Man-2: Andha pair-i naan yendha park / beach / cinema
theatre-layum paarthadhillayae... Advance Wishes
Mohamed Yusufdeen J Dear Pushparaj,
HCL Technologies Ltd And the peace of God, which passeth all
13
understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. B’Day Wishes
from HCL Teradyne Team & Sam Jasper S 2
■ Hi Ramah,
U greeted all of us through ergo. But on ur
birthday (Aug 2), v will not be getting
printed version of our ergo. So Advance
Birthday Wishes! Happy Birthday:)
Best wishes, Navanee, Ravi, Madhi, Suresh, CTS
■ Dear Physcie (RajaGuru)
Growing old is like being increasingly
penalized for a crime u have nt committed.
Inside every older person is a younger person
- wondering what the hell happened to u.
Happy Birthday:)
Your’s lovingly Manjunath, Rajkumar, Kathir, Bala,
Rajesh (TCS) Ragavan (CTS) Arun (Chola DBS)
Varun (cisco) Pathi(Microsoft) Mathan(Planetsoft)
Bhoo, Ram
■ Dear SMA
Krish and friends wish u a long and healthy
life with lots of happiness forever. May this
spl day be filled with sweet memories with
our warm wishes!!! Best wishes frm , Krish, shaffi,
sashi, sanju, mahe, mani, mom and dad
■ Dear Devasena,
May u hav all the joy ur heart can hold, All
the smiles a day can bring, All the blessings a
life can unfold, May u hav Gods best in
everything. Happy Birth. With Loads of wishes,
Container Centralen Team, TCS
■ Dear Srimathi,
Wat a joy it is to send these Birthday
greetings to someone like u; May life shower
on u special happiness and grant u all de
things u desire. May u Live All Days ofur Life.
Happy Birthday!
Wishes, Container Centralen, TCS
■ Dear Ganesh
Many More Happy Returns of the Day
GANESH S. May God bless u with good
health and future". With Love, Pratheesh. H,
Ganesan R, Leo, Rosario, Devi and Lakshman.
Technosoft Global Services Pvt., Ltd.
■ Dear Lavanya and Lokesh
The meeting of 2 personalities is like the
contact of 2 chemical substances: if there is
any reaction, both are transformed. U hd the
action so called Love and it resulted in the
reaction so called marriage. Adv Happy
Married Life!!! Best wishes from a Musketeers
(Santhosh,Vignesh,Vengatesh)-TCS
■ Hi Siva Shyam Kumar mogili,
Advance Heartfull & Cheerfull wishes for
your Birth Day. May god bless u and ur
dreams come true.
Team - Billing Cable & Wireless. Wipro
■ Hi SivaGuru,
I wish u a sweet and wonderful birthday!
May each day to come make you feel happy
than B4. U are my best friend in the world
Thanks, Ammbiga Ponnusamy UST Global
■ Dear Bacchu,
Beauty of togetherness is two of the most
commonly used words when brought
together elicit feelings which are so rare.
Such is the beauty of togetherness. Happy
Birthday Crocodile Tata Consultancy Services
■ Dear Rajesh,
Iniya pirandha naal vaazhthukkal da:) May
this special day be filled with sweet
memories, fun and excitement. Have a
colorful life ahead:) Enjoyyyy!
Urs, Mani, Viji, Saras & Maha Infosys
14 ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009

Traffic Jam
Trick to avoid church
In an attempt to avoid going to church, a seven-year-old boy stole
a car and led police on chase that ended when the child parked
the car in a driveway and ran inside a home.

sudoku

VIjay Kumar
Sukhlecha
from
3i-infotech
has shot this
picture in
Udaipur,
Rajasthan
using Sony
cybershot
w-95
camera.

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

TEAM
Editor: Karthik Subramanian
karthik@goergo.in

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

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES:
Contact: 2857 5757
E-mail: ads@goergo.in
Website: www.goergo.in

Head of Circulation:
M.G.M. Sharief
copies@goergo.in

SNAIL MAIL
859/860, Anna Salai,
Chennai - 600 002
mail your feedback to
feedback@goergo.in
FAX 2857 6691

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). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Friday, July 31, 2009
15
Diver saved by whale Word’s worth
A diver was rescued by a beluga whale after
Quaestuary(kwess-choo-err-ee) an adjective
suffering from leg cramps. The whale reached
meaning ‘money making.’ Look for this word to
the bottom of the aquarium and pushed the
show up in spam email any minute now.
diver to the top.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

You may be very assertive today, says Ganesha.
Because of your boosted self-esteem today you may
behave a little differently with others. However, you
are suggested to be as polite and as easygoing as
possible with your superiors.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

Others can be jealous of your progress on the
professional front. This includes everyone starting
from a friend to relative or even your colleague. It’s
not your day so better to refrain from arguments
with others.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

It may be a demanding day at work front, feels
BORN LOSER Ganesha. You may be dealing with some complex
issues but as your technical mind is highly active
today, you will be able to demystify and find
resolution to persistent problems.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
You may be very resourceful today, hence everyone
around you may seek your help and guidelines.
Knowledge and in-depth understanding of the
subject is your power today. Ganesha suggests you
to use it to your benefit.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
You would be in a mood to discuss ’bottom lines’
with whomsoever you interact today, but sometimes
it doesn’t work that way. At work, you might have
to indulge into discussions and contemplations in
order to find solutions to some issues.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
You may enter office with a mood to finish off a
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT major part of your job as quickly as possible.
Ganesha finds you inclined towards research based
activities. You may be in a mood to do something
radically different.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Money matters will be ruling your mind so while
putting in lot of effort at workplace, you may
constantly compare efforts and gains. You are
advised to avoid harsh speech while talking to
others at office and even at home.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Ganesha foresees you dealing with everything very
confidently. If you are head of technical department,
you may feel very much responsible than usual.
Your concern for technical issues may be high but
you will be able to solve all the problems.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
’There is no point in running after a mirage’, this is
what you may feel today. Ganesha finds you
becoming extra sensitive about things that you are
unable to solve or handle. It’s a stressful day on the
whole.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
You may be in a mood to knit every aspect related
to your work very carefully. In personal life, you
might have to allow some tolerance as expectation
for perfection may lead to differences between you
and your partner, warns Ganesha.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS People holding similar designation as yours may be
jealous of you. Alternatively, you may have
ISSUE’S differences with them. You may need to control
your temperament in order to maintain good
SOLUTIONS inter-personal relations at office.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
It is a favourable day for you so you are likely to
take everything very easy. Desire to do something
creative and extra-ordinary will be very high. You
may not be willing to take risks and may desire to
play as safe as possible.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16
I
n less than a few hours, our
last print edition goes to
print. And the single most
difficult decision to take at
this point is what story to run
and what to retain for the on-
line edition. It feels as if the best
way to work, and if I philoso-
1st Issue
phise a bit and extend it to life
as well, is to treat each day as
your last. (That by the way is no
way inspired by that Nickelback
song on your best friend’s
advice.)
I had decided to do away with
feeling soppy and writing emo-
tional stuff about all the strug-
gles we faced to put this tabloid
together. Not because I can’t
sound soppy – ask my friends,
they know I can be a real drama
queen – but the fact remains
that we have had a lot of fun in
putting it together. An overtly
emotional farewell to the print
product will only be unfair to
the memories of the fun we had
in putting it together.
We started our print run on
100th Issue
December 10, 2007. But the core
team has been involved with
the product from the days it was
on the drawing board. The
brainstorming sessions and the
chatter on how Ergo should
shape up consumed a good
three months at least before we
hit the ground running.
Unlike the efforts involved in
running online operations that
we will concentrate upon he-
reafter, launching the print
product was a more elaborate
exercise because of all the cogs
and levers involved. It was a
blessing that we had on board
young yet experienced journal-
ists who had an idea on what
would work and what would
not.
There were 10 of us at the
time of our launch – Vijay Par-
250th Issue
thasarathy (the then deputy edi-
tor), C.Divya Meenakshi, Petlee
Peter, Abirami Muthukrishnan,
Shalini Shah, Liffy Thomas, R.Ra-
vindran (photographer), Mithra
Suresh and Ayon Sengupta. Nid-
hi Thomas joined us in February,
and S.Sreejith, V.Haripriya and
Francis Barclay in March. Pho-
tographer S.S.Kumar on loan
from The Hindu.Through the
first year of running, we had the
best numbers in terms of con-
tributors.Ergo also benefited
considerably through contribu-
tions from our student report-
ers: Anusha Parthasarathy,
Monisha Mohandas, Vipasha
Sinha, Nandhini Ramkumar,
V.Lokpria, Rini Mukkath, S.Mad-
humita, Archana Thiagarajan,
Swetha Ganesan, K.Malathi and
Tharini Viswanath. We also had
a freelance contributor in Dee-
pa Venkatraman and our two
industry ‘insiders’ – Uturn car-
toonist Arun and Roadster co-
lumnist Vikram Sunderraj – who
contributed regularly to keep
the tabloid abuzz.
While the responsibility of
producing the content and
packaging the product fell on
the full-time and part-time jour-
nalists, designing it was the re-
sponsibility of our Senior
Deputy Chief Designer J. Prem
Kumar and Deputy Chief De-
signer R.Ravi Kannan. It in-
volved extensive preparation of
templates and design guides. A
special mention here for Ravi
Kannan to have come up with
close to 50 mastheads for Ergo.
We eventually zeroed in on the
current masthead because the
advertising and marketing team
felt that the blue and red com-
bination was sure to garner the
attention – it was like combin-
ing the best of the world of the
colas.The design of the tabloid
was further boosted by regular
contributions from two young
designers – S.Kannan Sundar
and Prathap Kumar. Our illus-
trator R.Venugopal came up
caricatures that brought the
pages to life.
On the technical side, we
were supported by V.R. Vasude-
van, K.G. Gurumurthy, N. Rav-
ichandran and E. Baskar.
While it is going to be impos-
sible to make a mention of near-
ly every person who has been
ERGO Friday, July 31, 2009
involved with the birth and
growth of Ergo, it is my duty to
thank all those at The Hindu’s
press facility at Maraimalai Na-
gar and many others from the
circulation department, who
toiled through the night to en-
sure that the tabloid reached
you.
A big thank you for Shanka-
ranna for all the lemon tea that
kept us warm while we warmed
the chairs.
As we step into the purely on-
line world, most of my team
members are heading off to
roles in other departments of
The Hindu and its supplements.
Do keep an eye open for all of
them who kept you informed
and entertained over the past
year and a half.
Some of the columns – First
Innings, Made in Chennai, Win-
dow Shopper, Too Good for
Critics – will continue online. We
are also working on some brand
new content that should augur
well with the online audience.
We are also working on the fin-
ishing touches for a site revamp
that must improve the online
experience considerably.
We have been flooded with
requests to continue with our
reader contribution columns –
partners in crime, clickpick, doo-
dle corner and mokkai of the
day – on the website too. The
ambition is to make www.goer-
go.in a true web 2.0 offering.
Follow the developments on our
twitter feed –
www.twitter.com/goergo.
Send us your feedback and sug-
gestions to
feedback@goergo.in.
It has been great fun knowing
you all. Ergo, our association
will continue.
Karthik Subramanian
Editor
Ergo
contact: karthik@goergo.in