Ergo March 25

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009NAMMA CHENNAI02

Senior

auditor

arrested for

car theftA brand new car belonging to a seniorexecutive of HCL Technologies atKandanchavadi on Rajiv Gandhi Salai wasstolen on Monday morning. The car thief,who police say is a senior auditor with theAGS office in Teynampet, was arrestedwithin three hours of the crime.

The victim A.V. N. Prasad (54) found hisnew Honda City car missing from his officecar park on Monday afternoon. Followingthis, he lodged a complaint with theThoraipakkam police, who launched asearch for the missing vehicle.Reliable police sources revealed thatPrasads mobile phone that he accidentallyleft behind in his car was vital in trackingthe vehicle, which was found parked on theAGS office premises sans the registrationplates.Further investigations led the police teamto the accused Andrew Rajkumar (35) of12th Main Road, Anna Nagar, who wasemployed as a senior auditor. Uponquestioning, Andrew confessed to havecommitted the crime after closely followingthe victim to his office and work. He even

managed to obtain an impression of thevictims car key and a false parking ticketbefore committing the theft, police added.Andrew was arrested and remanded tocustody and sent to Puzhal Prison onTuesday.

Ergo Correspondent

Nestled in the IT companieson OMR, one wouldnteasily give this small ea-tery opposite ASV Tech

Park in Thoraipakkam a miss. SriSaibaba Mess stands out as ahumble place, with acrylic sheet

as roof and an artistical-ly done door giving it a

visual luxury.Couple P. LakshmanRao and HemavathiLakshman have beenrunning this mess sinceJuly 2007, catering tothose on the move forsome inexpensive lunchand dinner option.

Fulfilling a dreamIt has been 25 years since

Lakshman Rao has been chasinga wish a dream to start a restau-rant on wheels. But the idea wasshot down by Hemavathi as it

was below their dignity to quither well-paying job at State Bankof Hyderabad and Raos job asmarketing manager at a pharma-ceutical company to run a restau-

rant. The mess was opened tofulfil Raos long-cherished desireto serve customers with his culi-nary abilities, and this time He-mavathi played the dutifulbusiness partner.

I did not want to sit idle afterretirement. Thats when we de-cided to take the business ideaforward, says Hemavathi. Ini-tially, I was a bit reluctantbutnow I enjoy serving food to cus-

tomers who are as old as my chil-dren.IT professionals bored of the

food served in their cafeteria andconstruction workers employedon the site are their major clien-tele. Seeing Hemavathi dotinglylisten to your request for graviesand serve them on to the plantainleaf is a delight.

Interestingly, the leased place where the restaurant runs on ameagre rent is a goodwill gestureChinna Thambi, whom theLakshmans know for the last fourdecades, wanted to shower onthe couple. The Lakshmans saythat whatever concession they re-ceived on the rental they are re-turning by offering reasonableand homely food at Rs. 30 (after-

noon meals).

Homely foodWe call it is a mess as we

not experienced in the food bness and it is a modest start, Hemavathi. Everyday the cocome from Besant Nagar to othe place at 8.30 a.m. and reat 11.30 p.m. (They go home the afternoon rush for a hours of rest to again open

mess for dinner). The populof the restaurant is quite evifrom the milling crowds frommeals a day, today they serve 150 meals. For lunch (noon p.m.) there is homely South Ian food. They again open forner (6.30 p.m.) with tiffins roti, sabzi, idli and dosa. Evday we have one variety of served, they add.

Address: 5/397, Mootakchavadi, Old MahabalipuRoad (diagonally oppoCognizant).

(Too Good for Critics is a w

column to celebrate Nam

Chennais Kaiyendi Bhavanssmall eateries. If you can think

similar place, mail

feedback@goerg

This retired couple running Sri Saibaba Mess on OMR aresure to win you with their warmth and homely food

LIFFY THOMAS

[email protected]

One for theROAD

New and freshChristian Dior has launched its latest fragranceEscale a Pondichery at The Dune Eco BeachHotel recently. The new fragrance is a tribute the erstwhile French colony, inspired by thefragrance from Pondicherry and Kerala.

:

Wholesome lunch: Sri Saibaba Mess at Mootakaranchavadi. PHOTO: M. KARUNAKARAN

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

What is your idea of loungeor night wear? If its pol-ka-dotted, heart-print,star-spangled or Tweety

bird pyjamas, cute tops and hou-secoats with Hello Kitty motifsand the like, Cute in Cisons Com-plex is the place to go.

And if your choice in casual wear extends to dainty tops withcrochet work and pin-stripe de-tailing, pretty wraparounds in un-

usual and colourful prints andsmart check shirts, Cutes sisterconcern, Cinderella, located justtwo doors away, is a good bet.

Run by brothers-in-law A.J. Mo-hammad Sajid (Cute) and Mo-hammad Asif (Cinderella), the twostores have most of the clothes

sourced from Tirupur.

Mohammad Sajid tells you howJackie Shroff once visited Cute

way back in the late 1980s.The more regular and day-to-

day customers mostly comprisecollege students from Ethiraj,

Womens Christian College andM.O.P. Vaishnav.

While wraparounds cost Rs.150, t-shirts cost Rs. 50, Rs. 100and Rs. 150. Thats it.

We sell the clothes at a verysmall profit margin. That doesntmean the clothes are such that thecolour starts fading from the first

wash. Quality is our USP, saysMohammad Sajid.

Sizes range from S to XXL. Plus,theres new stock every month.

At Cinderella, you can lay yourhands on some very interestingpieces, like the pleated plaid skirt

we spotted.At Cute, we loved the oversized

(knee-length or longer) cartoon-print t-shirts that are any comfort-loving home worms delight.

C for Cute,C FOR CINDERELLA

Cute

No. 13 & 14, Basement,

Cisons Complex,

No. 150, Montieth Road,

Egmore,

Chennai 600 008

Cinderella

No. 10, Basement,

Cisons Complex,

No. 150, Montieth Road

Egmore,

Chennai 600 008Ph: 044 42145242

Store timings: 10:30 a.m.

to 8:30 p.m.

For lounge wear in funky prints and pretty casuals for a dayout, these two shops in Cisons Complex are a good idea

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 200904

M y longest morning ever was to pave way for mylongest afternoon ever.

I found myself puffingand panting as I climbed up allseven stories of my cousinsapartment in Tung Chung to re-ach the apartment on the eighthfloor. Stumped? See Chinese peo-ple fear the number four because

its phonetic is eerily similar tothe word for death: Si. So theydont have a floor numbered fourin any of their buildings. My faithin mathematics and numbers,though I was never strong at it,was taken a beating on the day Iwould remember really well for

the rest of my life.My cousins wife, who had ear-

lier in the day made me a perfectSouth Indian brunch, was thank-fully there. For some odd reason Ifigured things would continue togo wrong and she would be notbe there. I was thinking maybeshe went out shopping for someIndian curry.

Thankfully, she did not. Shehanded me my bags and askedme to head as quickly as I could

to the airport. There is a remotechance that you might still makeit. Dont give up, she said.

The good thing was TungChung terminal was nearby andthe International airport was astones throw away. Of course,thats a metaphor. You would

have to be Superman to throweven a small stone from there tothe airport. And armed with com-edy and kadi triggered by a gooddose of Anandamide, I headed forthe bus terminal.

The public transport system atHong Kong should rank amongstthe best in the world. Efficientand affordable, the bus and un-derground train networks criss-cross through the island and arealso the most comfortable way tocommute. For a city that is choc-a-bloc with skyscrapers, theroads can be notoriously narrow.Hence there are different kinds ofbuses for the routes the double

deckers for the main roads andthe mini buses for the narrowerroads that not necessarily meanthe lanes.

I found myself a mini-bus withthe signage that showed the air-craft and was quick to find the

word terminal. I could not con-trol my joy. Less than two hoursto go, and there it was the gold-en chariot that would take me

within ten minutes to the airport. And so I reeled into thoughtagain, breaking up the two hoursahead into bits and pieces: 10minutes to airport, 10 minutes tocheck in the luggage and get theboarding pass, 20 minutes for im-migration and customs clea-

rance, 20 minutes for securitycheck and that would stillleave me with an entire hour togape at all the stores at the fan-tabulous airport. March 15, 2006

was after all going to turn out tobe a great day.

Change pleaseThere was one minor hitch

though. Despite its great facilitiesand efficiency, I overlooked thefact that the buses in Hong Kongrequired the passengers to tenderexact change. The buses run on afixed fare. For example, this minibus required 5 Hong Kong dol-lars, and it does not matter if youare getting off the very next stopor are planning to go on amerry-go-round.

And a five dollar coin was justthe one I did not have. I offeredthe driver (the buses dont haveconductors by the way) a HongKong 10 dollar bill. He glanced atme and nodded as if in a mannersaying: Bro, I dont have time forthis. And as I tried to tell him inthe right earnest that he couldkeep the change, he stared at meonce more as if to say: Bro,please get off.

I have never believed in ran-dom acts of kindness to strang-ers. But that day an old Chineselady, with probably the mostroundest face on a Chinese per-son possible, who was seated

next to the drivers cabin laughedand nodded at my plight andhanded me two Hong Kong fivedollar coins. I did the most ap-propriate Chinese bow I couldpossibly do, summoning imagesof disciples bowing to masters inthe kitschy Hong Kong Kung Fumovies. And as I dropped thecoin in the ticket receptacle, thedriver for once did not bother toturn and gesture to me. Insteadhe just hit a button in front of thesteering wheel and a ticketpopped out. The doors automat-ically shut and I was on my way tothe airport.

Confusion strikes

And as I was heading to the air-port, I started counting the min-utes. I pulled out my wrist watchfrom my pant pocket and wore itright back. I was hoping that atleast from now on things wouldbe like clockwork. I had close toan hour and fifty minutes to myflight. But there was a small prob-lem. I could not read the digitalChinese signage that was runningin the bus on the upcoming desti-nation. And the friendly Chineselady probably could not talk anyEnglish.

Thats when I noticed the threebeautiful Cathay Pacific air-host-esses. (Alright, alright I wasogling at them from the begin-ning.) But the point is, I drew amaster plan. Just follow the air

hostesses and they would you to the airport. Piece of c

The route to the airport unusually deserted. Tung Chis a suburb of Hong Kong kind of leads to the airthrough a non-descript routethere is no big sign of thingcome. Which is why I thoughplan to trail the air hostessesfool-proof.

Idiot, idiot, idiotSo I got off at the stop tha

airhostesses got off and follothem into a building that looquite hip as the airport but strangely deserted. I followed

air hostesses two storeys up still there was no security, nception, not nothing That

when I summoned enough cage to walk ahead of one of thhostesses, stop her and ask

where the heck I was. This iCathay Pacific headquarters.port is just 15 minutes awayfoot.

Gulp.My mind went hyper. All

Anandamide had evaporatedit was screaming: Idiot, iidiot.

As I rushed to the bus sttried to decipher the signthere. And I figured out thatmini-bus service was once e

half-hour. I wanted to pullhair out. I did a few strandsstopped short. The pamphlethe Ngong Ping ride I took eain the day fell out of my pocket. As I bent down to piup, the glare of a bus windshblinded my eye. And from afcould see a mini-bus approing. Wow. It was my lucky dater all.

And as I bus stopped anddoor opened, I dug my handmy pant pocket to retrieve second Five Dollar coin thatlady gave me. And that pointdriver let a voice out: Dbother.

It was the same bus, the sdriver and the old lady was seright behind him. She was lau

In this the second and final part ofhow things can go wrong whiletravelling the author finds himself alittle under two hours to go to reachHong Kong International Airport after aseries of miscalculations. And he findshimself running helter skelter to boardthe bus that would take him to HongKong International Airport to somehow

catch his flight to Singapore. And thenMurphys Law set it.

KARTHIK SUBRAMANIAN

[email protected]

Anandamideat 10,000 feet

BACKPACKERS

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ing out of control. Remember? All busesin Hong Kong follow circular routes.The bus had completed its run to air-port and was on its way back. So thatmeant me going back to Tung Chung?Hell, no. I gestured to the driver that I

wanted to the airport. Airport air-port, I told him, making a cone sign

with my hands.Why did you not ask me, he said.

The bastard knew to speak in English. And he was kind enough to take meback and drop me at the departurelounge.

Last ticketI ran as fast as I could to the Singa-

pore Airline counter. Thankfully there was just one European traveller ahead

of me, and he was enquiring with thecounter assistant if any tickets wereavailable on the business class. He ap-

parently did not want the economyclass. I was finally breathing. And as Istepped forward the touchy Europeandecided to take the next flight theflight attendant took my email printoutand smiled.

You are lucky. This is the last ticketand he nearly took it, she said gestur-ing to the man, with wild Italian orFrench looks. I would like to forget justhow smart he was. It is good for myself-esteem. And as I heaved a sigh ofrelief, I looked at my watch. Just over anhour to go and I was set. Or so I thoughtas I gently trudged to the biggest queueever for customs check. And thoughthere were several queues for EU mem-bers, Americans and other nationali-ties, they decided to have one queue

only for Asians. Now correct me if I am wrong, but are we Asians not the big-gest group there is.

Last minute entry

For the first time in my life, I wasactually able to hear my heart beat. I

was able to realise exactly how long aminute really is. And I knew for a factthat Japanese, Chinese and Korean kidsin a queue are such brats you want to

just sock them hard.As I went past the customs and secur-

ity check, I looked at my boarding passand went in search of the gate wherethe Singapore Airlines flight wasparked. I still had a good 20 minutes.The new International Hong Kong air-port is one of the biggest in the worldand in 20 minutes, you can only get lostthere. And I ran, not for the first time onthat day. I ran helter skelter. And by the

time I reached my gate, the clock thereticket just two minutes close to take-offtime. The Singapore Airlines personnel

gesticulated madly and thrust me to theaircraft. I was the last passenger toboard it, quite literally.

And as I settled down, the captain was already reading out the daysweather and other customary greetings.I closed my eyes for the next 15 minutesas the aircraft descended and settleddown in flight. I opened my eyes with astart because of the smell of pork lunchthat the Japanese passenger in the nextseat started taking.

It had been one hell of a day. And atthat moment, I dug the pamphlet ofNnong Ping Village cable car trip frommy shirt and read the text: Journey ofEnlightenment, it said.

I never make promises to God. Butthat day I made an exception. Dear Big

Buddha, no matter what, I promise oneday I will return to see you.

Concluded


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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009VILLAGE06

Astronauts finish finalspacewalkTwo Discovery space shuttle astronauts completedmaintenance work on the International Space Stationduring the final spacewalk of the ongoing mission inorbit. During the six-and-a-half hour spacewalk,astronauts Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnoldrepositioned an equipment cart, deployed an externalcargo mounting mechanism, lubricated the spacestations robotic arm and reconfigured cables thatpower the stations gyroscopes.

DPA

Dutch city to reward motorists whoavoid rush hourA Dutch city is planning to offer bonuses next year toencourage people to avoid driving during rush hours,Radio Netherlands has reported.In an experiment to reduce the number of traffic jamsaround the central Dutch city of Utrecht, 1,000 people will

be eligible for a bonusof up to 1,200 euros ifthey stay away frommotorways during rushhours.Participants cars will beinstalled with electronicdevices, which willcheck how often thedriver is using themotorways in the

Utrecht area. The lowerthe use, the higher thebonus will be.The premium is paid forby the road usersemployer, who in turnis granted a taxreduction and a subsidyby the authorities.

Xinhua

AIG protest goes onlineInternet users are pelting AIG with virtual tomatoes in aMoveOn.org campaign to express outrage over huge

bonuses awarded to executives at the bailed-out financialgiant.MoveOns stated mission is to splatter an image of anentrance to American International Group offices with 6.4million cyber tomatoes to symbolise the number of dollarsone executive received as a bonus at the failing firm.Tomato hurlers target portions of an AIG entrance photowith a curser and then fire with computer mouse clicks.Visitors to the website are also prompted to sign an onlinepetition demanding that Congress retrieve the more thanUSD 200 million in bonuses given to AIG executives whileUS tax money was being pumped into the company.

AFP

Portuguese footballer Cristia-no Ronaldo has found a newhobby in collecting luxurywatches of every kind, and he issaid to already own several ofthem.

Ronaldo, 24, is reportedly theproud owner of 70,000 poundsFranck Muller timepiece, and heis now looking at investing inRolex and Cartier watches, andtimepieces from Breitling andclub sponsor Hublot.

Ronnie is becoming more ma-

ture with his money and, al-though he loves cars, he nowwants items which hold value,the Sun quoted an Old Traffordsource as saying.

He has been told how somewatches increase in value overtime and he has developed agreat eye for these things. Afew of the United lads competeover cars and watches, but Ron-nie always seems to be one stepahead, the source added.

ANI

Ronaldo

turns to watch collection

Malaysian army wives urged tojoin slimming programmeThe wives of Malaysian Armed Forces officers were urgedto join a slimming programme to draw the attention oftheir husbands, a news report said on Tuesday.The recently launched programme, which roughlytranslates to From fat, frumpy and lumpy to slim,fashionable and glamorous, was aimed at givingmakeovers to the women, organiser Rositah MohamadMawi was quoted as saying by the official Bernama newsagency.

DPA

Daddys double troubleA Spanish transsexual man is pregnawith twins boys and is due to give bthis September.

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After Mahatma Gandhispersonal belongings, somemore of Indias heritage isto go under the hammer -

this time, a gem-set gold finialfrom the throne of Tipu Sultanwill be auctioned in London nextweek.

The recently discovered gem-encrusted gold finial plunderedfrom Tipu Sultans huge goldenthrone is being put up for sale inthe British capital on April 2, tenyears after it was found lying in

the vaults of an English bank.The object, found by the Bon-hams Islamic Department duringa routine valuation, is one ofthree surviving tiger head finials

that adorned Tipus elabothrone.

It had lain at Featherstone tle, Northumberland, wher

was listed in an 1843 inventothe late Baron Wallace of Kndale (1768-1844), who ovethe East India Company, anterwards was hidden away bank.

However, a large gold head from the front of the th

platform now resides at WinCastle, while another survifinial lies at Powis Castle,quired by the second Lady Cin India.

Auctioneers Bonhams, have described the finial astually one of the most imporTipu items ever to appearsale, valued it at 800,000 pouthe British media has report

It holds huge fascinationboth India and Britain as it isof our shared history. It is, wout a doubt, of the greatest torical significance as it belto the most important symbobject in Tipus kingdom,throne, which he refused

mount until he had defeatedBritish, Claire PenhalluricBonhams was quoted as say

The golden thronewas broken up soquickly - much tothe disapproval ofthe then GovernorGeneral Lord

Wellesley

A Bonhams auction house employee holds a recently discovered gem-encrusted gold finial fromthe octagonal golden throne of Tipu Sultan in central London.AFP PHOTO/Shaun Curry

Tipus throne to go under the hamme

More than 1.7 million Facebookusers have joined a protestagainst another redesign of thepopular social networking site, inone of the biggest consumer re-volts seen in the online world.

As of midday on Monday, theFacebook group called PetitionAgainst the New Facebook had

1,727,394 disgruntled members,while a Facebook-sponsored pollon the redesign had receivedmore than 1.2 million votes, withjust 75,000 approving the new

look. The redesign was foisted on

the sites 175 millionworldwide users late last week in a bid by Face-book to better compete

with micro-blogging

sites such as Twitter while also making itspages moreadvertiser-friendly.

Opponents of the newdesign say it clutters

their home page with updatesfrom people they dont careabout, while also limiting thenumber of features available tousers.

The new Facebook home pageis one step in the continued evo-lution of the site, designed to givepeople more ways to share andfilter all types of content, such asstatus updates, photos, videos,notes and more, the companysaid in a statement.

DPA

Facebook users revoltagainst sites redesign

Andy Murray of Britain and Venus Williams of the USA play an impromptu gameof traffic tennis on Ocean Drive in Miami. PHOTO: CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGES FOR SONYERICSSON/AFP

Love All

Websites of the dayKeep your home and belongings safe with these easy steps:http://www.studentnow.com/features/burglerproofing.htmlShare your bad boss experiences:http://www.employeesurveys.com/bosses/badboss.htm

Search for elephant angelBelfast Zoo is searching for an unidentified woman wholooked after one of its elephants in her backyard to save itfrom German bombs during the Second World War.

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009SPORT08

Who said that the Old Mahaba-lipuram Road (OMR) belt hasonly software companies? Ex-plore the serene Navalur area

along the Thambalur road, and youwill reach a tennis academy Ceten-nis at Meenakshi Gardens, with a dif-ference.

At 5.30 a.m. the lights of the hostelrooms at the academy are switched onand in half an hour, one can see eightkids between the age of 11 and 16

years practicing vigorously on the two

clay courts. What was started by pro-fessional tennis trainer MeenakshiSundaram as a summer camp in 2002has turned into a one-year-tennis res-idential school in 2004, where not on-ly the nuances of the sport but alsoeducation is taken care of. The three-acre academy amidst a green lawn hasthirty six rooms, a mini gym with

weights, an internet facility, swingsand a small mess area.

Giving equal importance to sportsand education, the academy has gottie-ups with two schools SacredHeart and Gateway International. Un-like other kids of her age who run frompillar to post for classes during HSC,Susita Das (17) from Orissa, who has

just completed two years in the acade-my says: Every day our study time isfrom 8 pm to 10 pm. I had a personaltutor who took care of my educationalcurriculum at the academy and hencemy studies were never affected.

Forty-year-old Sundarams child-hood dream came true when hisbrainchild churned out nationalchampion in the Under-14 categoryfew years back. When I did my four

year training at the age of eight fromJohn Newcombes Tennis Ranch atTexas, I didnt get any personal atten-tion and hence I decided to start one

with private coaching in India for tal-ented, young tennis enthusiasts. I en-rol students who already know thebasics of the game and further trainthem to take part in tournaments con-ducted by the All-India Tennis Asso-ciation (AITA).

For eleven-year-old Ramya Natra-jan, who started to learn tennis in hernative at Chidambaram at the age ofnine, the academy has made a lot ofdifference to her game.

It was only here, I got the righttraining and confidence, says thestate champion who won the AITAUnder-14 tournament last December.Medals and accolades from the insti-tute have even helped the earlier stu-

dents get scholarships at collegesabroad.

The kids are also exposed to inter-national training and tennis cultureonce in a year. Sharadh Ramesh (14)says: I got to interact with foreignplayers and exchange notes of thegame at Texas. Sundaram plans tomake it a corporate affair.

Appealing to companies located onthe OMR for financial support, hesays, It is a good source of recreation

which is close to their work place.They can also get some tips on ten-

nis and have a good game after work.

Cetennis the only

residential tennisacademy in India willsee two more courts inits premises by Apriland calls for tennisenthusiasts from thecorporate world toenjoy the sport

DEEPA VENKATARAMAN

(Left) Coach Meenakshi Sundaram shows a few tricks as his wards watch in awe. Studentsstrike a pose at the Competitive Edge Tennis Academy in Navalur. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

Aceit up

SA leads the raceWhile uncertainty over the offshore venue of this years Indian Premier League (IPL) continues,Cricket South Africa and the government there have moved swiftly and taken steps to host theTwenty20 championship. CSA has got in touch with the South African government and intimatethem of the urgent requirements to host the event. CSA has already told various provincial unioaround South Africa to keep their venues in prime condition to host one of the eight teams.

Various programmes in Cetennis

1 year programme for interestedstudents2 Weekend programme3 Expats welcome to come withfamily to enjoy the game onhourly basis Address

2/191 Competitive Edge,Meenakshi Gardens,Thalambur Road, Navalur,Chennai 603103.

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I wouldnt like to comment. It is sensitiveissue. The decisions have been taken by

the powers that be. I am just a player and willhave to play wherever I am asked to.

Sourav Ganguly

Talk what you want about the

young blood infusing new lifeinto Team India, but it still tookthe oldest workhorse (at least in

terms of the matches played) in theteam to mastermind a victory overthe Black Caps in the first Test played

at Hamilton last week.This is The Curious Case of Sachin

Tendulkar, who it appears to be ag-ing in reverse all of a sudden, show-casing his prodigal days. The MumbaiMaestro has only set the die. Now itis for the others to cast the series.

Scene 2: NapierThe tour party now

proceeds to Napier,the port city of theNorthern Islands,

which is the fifth lar-gest populated ur-ban dwelling inNew Zealand,

with a count ofhundred thou-

sand odd people. The last outing In-dia had in Napier was during the1989-90 tour, when the match endedin a draw after rain washed out morethan two days of play. Sachin, in hisfirst tour of New Zealand then, hadscored a cautious 88.

The Kiwis are expected to go in for amore seamer-friendly strip. Coach

Andy Moles was heard saying: Weneed a typical New Zealand wicket

where it nips for about a couple ofdays so it brings our seamers into thegame against their batting attack

which is used to the ball being trueand turning a bit. Phil Stoyanoff, thechief curator at McLean Park, haspromised a similar deal. However, heruled out a green-top, in the interestof witnessing a five-day contest.

Team CompositionNew Zealand and Daniel Vet-

tori will have to get their combina-tion right. Vettori will obviously bedisappointed with Jacob Orams un-availability. The Kiwis have ropedin Jeetan Patel (in place of un-

capped bowler Brent Arnel) and Jamie How as a cover for the injureDaniel Flynn. The bruised seamerhave however been retained, thagoes on to suggest the captains confidence in them. Jeetan Patel will certainly get a look into the XI, as hintedby the coach. Ian OBrien would moslikely pave way.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on the other hand, would not think twice onfielding the same eleven. He wouldlike to go for an instant kill and seamatters off before heading down tBasin Reserve for a final word. Hmust be relatively happy with everybodys perfomances albeit he wouldlike to see Virender Sehwag and VVLaxman among the runs.

In-form Sehwag missed out on good chance to bat, after being runout by his partner. The bowling department too showed signs of commitment and took wickets at crucia

junctures. The weak-link before thfirst test Munaf Patel has also managed to remain in Captain Coolgood books.

The scene now moves to Napier where the Kiwis would look towards a seaming wicket to restore parity

AKSHAY RAMASESHAN

Locked & Loaded

Sachin Tendulkar tests his football skillsalong with teammate Ishant Sharma atthe Eden Park stadium in Auckland onTuesday. PHOTO: AFP

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009FLICK10

Deepa Mehta is the personof the moment. She isready with her next filmVidesh Heaven On

Earth, a yet another poignantstory about the tale of an Indian

woman married and settledabroad. The ace director speaksto TWF correspondent RiteshSharma on her film and more

You have once againchosen a very interesting subject and the protagonistin your film is a female.Its not about the protagonist

but the subject. Its a very top-ical issue and very delicate. Ihave given my best and hopeful-ly people will like it.

Tell us something moreabout the story

As I said its a very delicatesubject and needed to be han-dled with care. Its about the lifeof an Indian woman, Chand,

who leaves her homeland to goto Canada and settle with herhusband Rocky. Its about howher life changes and the turbu-lent situations she has to over-

come.The film, apparently deals

with how this woman is torturedby her husband after she getsmarried and goes abroad.

Its not only that. Its notabout the tyranny a married In-dian woman is subjected to. Itsonly one side of it. Its about afight within oneself and how oneovercomes it. Its also about lifeand hope and there is a brightside to it also. Videsh is a subjectthat is very close to my heart.

Why did you choose Preity

Zinta?I think she was the perfect one

who could have done justice tothe film and she lived up to theexpectations. In fact she has giv-en a power packed performanceand exceeded my expectations. Ithink this is one of her best per-formances till date and I mustcompliment her for doing such asplendid job.

What about your nextproject, Midnights Children? We are yet to start on that. I

have had a word with Salman

Rushdie and we will soondown together. Its a long pess and the script has to be wten. But I hope that wont much time.

So what do we expectfrom Videsh once itreleases?Expect a good story that

be entertaining at the same though provoking. I think Pneeds to be applauded foreffort and after this film shebe held in high esteem.

Trans World Fea

Preity has done a splendid jobDirector Deepa Mehta on her next film Videsh- Heaven on Earth and the leading lady Preity Zinta

Robin Williams recovering

from heart surgeryOscar winner Robin Williams is expected to make a completerecovery from his recent heart surgery in the next two montand plans to resume his comedy tour afterward, according torepresentatives.

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Actress Jennifer Aniston dumped her boy-friend rocker John Mayer as he was appar-ently twittering too much.

Thesun.co.uk reports that Mayer said he was too busy to call Aniston back while she waspromoting her new film. But she could see thathe was regularly updating his page on the social

networking site. A friend said: Jen was fuming.There he was, telling her he didnt have time forher and yet his page was filled with updates!

Every few hours, sometimes minutes, hed updatewith some stupid line. She was like, He has timefor all this Twittering, but he cant send me a text,an email, make a call? He didnt deny it. Heknew he was avoiding her. So when she endedthings, he just said OK, and he was sorry it didnt

work out.

The two had started dating in 2008 and havebeen on and off.

IANS

Anistondumped Mayer because of twitter

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz walked into a hair salon in California with a picture of Britishmodel Kate Moss.According to dailymail.co.uk, the picture was a headshot of Moss with blonde hair.A source said: Cameron is obviously a fan of Kates hair do. She took the photograph with her and

showed the stylist exactly what she wanted. Kate must be very flattered that someone like Cameronwants to copy her look.

After Diaz asked for a particular cut, a stylist got ready to work on the hair. Diaz spent close tothree hours in the salon with her hair covered in foil. She spoke on her phone, sent messages andread magazines.

IANS

Gopikas sisterto debutActress Gopikas sister Glini isall set to enter the Malayalamfilm industry. She will beplaying actor Mukeshsdaughter in a new film to bedirected by Binu Kumar. Gliniis at present doing a hospitalmanagement course.Meanwhile her sister Gopika,who is on a sabbatical afterher marriage, has restarted herstudies. She is currentlypursuing a course in Sociologyin Ireland, where she is settledwith her husband Dr. Ajilesh.

Pazhassi Raja to hit thetheatres on Aug 15Mammoottys magnum opus historical Pazhassi Raja willfinally hit the theatres on this Independence Day. Themovie scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair and directed by

Hariharan, has Tamil star Sarath Kumar playing aprominent role. The movie to be released simultaneouslyin Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi also has actorsSuman, Kanika and Padmapriya.

Jackos invite to Harry Potter starsKing of pop Michael Jackson is such a big fan of the Harry Potter films that he hasreportedly invited its young stars to be his guests at the opening night of his Live 8 gig.Actors Daniel Radcliffe, 19, Emma Watson, 18, and Rupert Grint, 20, have been invitedto the show, and they will even be able to go backstage at the O2 on July 8.

Diaz asks for a Mosshairstyle in salon

Cine City

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 200912

Writers Club

The Arctic: Rudolph, the sealis lazing on the bed of icenext to the ocean enjoyingthe cold breeze. All of a

sudden he hears an unusualcrash and opens his eyes to ahuge chunk of ice running downthe glacier next to him. He im-mediately flips and falls into theocean just in time to escape thechunk and watches it crash intohis bed.

Before he recovers Rudolphstarts swimming incessantly toescape another block about tocrush him. In a frenzied run, heswims to the shore while watch-ing huge chunks of ice breakdown from the top of the gla-ciers around him.

Amidst all the rumbling, theseal frantically moves to the cityand heads to the master seals

cave. The master seal, the oldestin the community, opens hiseyes disturbed from his medita-tion by the agitated Rudolph.Confused at the mastersamusement, Rudolph begs himto explain whats going on.

The master seal says: Ru-dolph, the polar ice caps aremelting! Again confused, Ru-dolph questions the master whythe ice caps are melting and

who is responsible for it. Theglobe is warming and humansare responsible for it. Humansare the most intelligent and

youngest species of evolution who have taken over the worldfor 10,000 years!

Rudolphreplies: Ifthe humansare so intel-ligent, whichmakes themcertainlysmarter thanus, why arethey destroying our home?Dont they know that we wontbe able to survive in any otherplace?

The master grins and replies,Rudolph. No one has evenbeen able to answer that ques-tion! Rudolph goes back to hishome, staring into the vastocean reflecting the full moonright above it. His thought getsdistracted by a blurred figureacross the moon.

A sea gull flying in a haphaz-

ard way comes towards him andperches right in front of him.

Worn out, with soot all over anddroopy eyes, the sea gull intro-duces herself as Sally. Rudolphasks Sally what happened to her.Sally then looks at Rudolph,coughs and then starts narratingher recent travel experiences.

Sallys encounter A week ago, Sally decided to

travel around the world. As soonas it rose in the air, it startedflying into the thick clouds that

were definitely not made of wa-ter vapour. Choked by these

weird clouds, Sally flew downinto buildings and perched

upon a window sill. An old mansitting inside was explaining to abunch of students about somegreenhouse gases in the atmo-sphere that was creating so-mething called global

warming. Intrigued by the dis-cussion, Sally starts paying at-tention and hears the horrificconsequences of this phenome-non. Sally then decides to goaround the world to see whatsactually going on. She rises intothe air, but this time making

sure she doesnt get into the ob-noxious gaseous clouds. Howev-er, to her surprise she seesclouds beneath her originatingout of tall pipes. Surprised bythese new clouds, she goesdown to explore them and real-ises that theyre made out of thesame gases that were in theclouds above. Greenhouse gasespolluting the atmosphere.

Sally decides to keep awayfrom these gases and carefullyflies right in between them.However, she is caught chokingand coughing. As she flies by,she decides to meet her friendsin a nearby rainforest and dis-cuss this new revelation. As she

approachesthe forest, sheis perplexedby the ab-sence ofsome of thetrees thathoused herfriends. Won-

dering whats going on, shelands on one of trees and seeshumans cutting down the trees.

As they start cutting the treethat she is perched upon, Sallyflies now both confused andfrustrated with what humansare doing. Lost in thought andaggravated about humans de-stroying her friends abode, Sal-ly is flying, when the sight ofsomething awfully familiar cap-tures her attention. Its herfriend, dead and floating in wa-

ter with the current that just de-stroyed an entire city ahurricane. Sally lands down nextto a rescue worker with a redcross on his back, who looks ather dead friend and says, An-other victim that wouldve beensaved if it wasnt for the damndeforestation!

Thats the moment when it alldawned upon Sally. She con-nected the dots and realised thateverything is inter-related andeverything is exactly what theprofessor in the class said. De-forestation destroys trees thathave high amounts of water.These later results in hurricanesthat destroy the earth including

the humans. Energy resourceare then used up for selfish corporate greed, which will rendethe planet barren in a few years

Who is destroying whom!Rudolph is flabbergasted with

this new realisation and abhorred by humans who he realises are stupid enough tdestroy their own home anothers too. He looks at Sally andsees her eyes drooping utterinher last words with a grin beforshe drops down dead! The humans are too delusional to understand that mother earth idestroying them one by one inthe pretext of cleaning up thculprits that have vandalizeher!

Rudolph crashes down next tSallys body with tears in hi

eyes and desperation in himind to make the humans understand what Sally could.

The sight of dead Sally petrifies him and also jolts a little kiin whose dream Rudolph anSally existed. Perplexed anconfused himself, the little ki

walks down the stairs to hmom who is fixing breakfast andasks her, Mom, why is globa

warming bad and how can wfix it?

Hearing the kids question, hidad, sipping coffee answerSon, we dont believe in globa

warming! Its a false concept! Richard Kodamanchil

Cognizant Technology Solution

Hello folks,Look out for this space every Wednesday for short stories andpoems you have penned during your free hours. Short stories shouldbe original and not exceed 600 words. Send them to [email protected] your contact details.

Deforestation destroys trees. These later resultsin hurricanes that destroy the earth including

the humans. Energy resources are then used upfor selfish corporate greed, which will renderthe planet barren in a few years.

The globe is warming and humans are responsible

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1) Innaiku thoonguna nalaiku enthirikalam.aananaalaiku thoonguna inaiku enthirika mudiyuma????2) Bus la collector-yae erinalum.. mudhal seetu driveruku

than......Saravanan.V,

HCL Technologies Ltd.

What happens when an amplifier is thrown into the ocean???Tsunami would come, because amplifier amplifies smaller wavesinto bigger waves.

Selva, Srini,

Tata Consultancy Services

Dear Srini,Happy Birthday SRINI -Smart Robust IntelligentNasty Intellect. Nothingmore..We all wish that allthe troubles around youget vanished and you toget into the newinteresting , fun-filledtrouble of marriage...! !

Urs Everloving Friends werone

(Kannan,Mugi,Jai,Magi,Jaggu,Hari)

Dear Sreevas,May all your hopes anddreams come true, and maythe memory of this daybecome dearer with eachpassing year. HappyMarriage Anniversary!!! Best

Regards,Panasonic Team. R Systems

International Ltd.

Happy Birthday Venkat !Whatever Dream u rDreaming , may each oneof them come true .Whatever plans u r makingmay they all work out for u. Wish You all Happiness,Health and Prosperity with

many more returns of theDay....!

Regards,

Rajkumar , Krishna , Raghu ,Saba, Bala ,Sudalai

e Services Mainframe - iNuatixTechnologies

Dear Sampath,May your day be filled withlaughter On this yourspecial day And may thefinest things in life Always

come your way. Regards,PrabhuMohan V

Dear Jayapriya,This is our wish for you:Comfort on difficult days,smiles when sadness

intrudes, beauty for youreyes to see, friendships tobrighten your being,confidence for when youdoubt and Love tocomplete your life. Have awonderful birthday!!!

Ur lovable sisters,Sowdha(HCL), Vaishu

Dearest Ragini,Its your birthday...and weare thinking how glad weare that you were born.You have given us so much- supported us, encouragedus, cared for us; I didnteven need to ask.We celebrate your

wonderful self! We are inawe of your boundlessgenerosity, your infinitekindness that gentleinner glow that you sofreely use to warm our life.Your birthday is as much acelebration for us as it isfor you, maybe more, andWe wish for you the bestof birthdays, the best oneever. May each birthday bebetter than the last.

Most of all, We hope youwill always be As happy asyou have made us.

With love,

Vinesh, Prathap, Sangith, Muthu, Revathy, Reena, Divya.

Happy Birthday Deepa !Whatever Dream u rdreaming, may each one ofthem come true . Whateverplans u r making may theyall work out for u. WishYou all Happiness, Healthand Prosperity with manymore returns of the Day....!Regards,Chennai Pat 2008 - Batch 1,iNautix Technologies.

Dear Kannan,Our heart is filled withwishesFor a very special day,One that brings a world of

joyAnd happiness your way-Its also filled with lovingthoughtsEspecially meant for you,For youre the kind ofpersonHappy things shouldhappen to!

Best Wishes,S. Jayaprakash Wipro, and

Nalini IBM, and all IBM

Banking friends

Dear Manager Sir (Paul),Hope all that you do, Turnsout happy for you, And allthat you wish, Comes yourway,Like warm and lovingwishes, And happiness andcheer,And everything youneed to startAnother happy year Hv awonderful Birthday!!!inimelavadhu Alavoda sightadi pls :) Treatmaranthudadha!!

Cheers,

RDS,SD

Hi Deepan,We have no choice of what

color were born or whoour parents are or whetherwere rich or poor. Whatwe do have is some choiceover what we make of ourlives once were here.YOUHAD THE CHOICE N UCHOSE US.

RegardBhavna , Deepa , Abiram

,Sweet

Hi Anbu,Wish You a Many More

Happy Returns of the DaySaran Anna. Let YourDreams become true. Havea Beautiful and Joy fullYear ahead Anna. Enniyapirthanal naal valthugalanna.

Best Wishes & Regards fromYour Friends & Team mate

Dear Tiju,Today you are blessed withanother beautiful year.Wish you all happiness,health and success on yourDay.

Happy Birthday

With Love, Sudhagar & Josn

Wish you Many moreHappy Returns of the Day,

Doctor.Subathra."There are three hundredand sixty-four days whenyou might get un-birthdaypresents ... and only onefor birthday presents, youremember...25March"

Anbudan

Vijay.G, i|Nauti

Dear Krishna(Krishnaveni),Some things are leftundone,Some words are left unsaidSome feelings are leftunexpressed,But some ones as nice youcouldNever be left wished.

Happy birthday my friendLogesh, InfosyDear Paramesh (CPW),Belated Bday Wishes daPalam,Have a great nd funyear ahead.

Cheer

Nandha & KarthiMotorola,TC

Sakthimurugan -TEG,TC

Hi IniyavaIniyavarukku Iniya PirandhaNaal Nal Valthukkal.Wish u Many Many MoreHappy returns of the day!!!

Priyamudan Jayapriya Rajasekaran, Infosy

Villu because the movieis full of comedy in thename of romance

Lokeswaran Allsec,

Vijayachakravarthy Infosys

Narasimma, for thechemistry between captainand Isha Gopikar

Pari Cognizant

Jab We Met. I like thestory and characterisationof both Shahid andKareena

Thivyanathan, Nagesh TCS

Minnale, for Maddysromance and Vivekscomedy both at its peak

Sabarish.JM Cognizant

Kadhalikka Neramillai.The movie suits for allgenerations and it had theflavour of both romanceand comedy. After thatmovies either had romanceor comedy but not both. I

wonder if such a film comesup in the future. Best ofluck directors

Deena Wipro

Micheal Madana KamaRajan acted by PadmashriKamal Hassan

Sripradha Chakravarthy Infosys

Siva Manasula Sakthi. Itsfull of comedy

Thirumalai RBS

Panchathanthiram.Romance can also be shownin such a lighter effect issomething amazing

Anuradha Prakash TCS

Fifty First Dates becausethe way Adam Sandler doesthings to win short termmemory loss Barrymoreheart again with every newday with his unique senseof humour

Senthil ArjunanCalsoft Ltd

Art featured in this co-lumn will receive giftcoupons from FruitShop on Greams Road.Send in your addressesso that we can post thecoupons.

Gayathri AD from CognizantTechnology Solutions doodled this.

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ERGO Wednesday, March 25, 2009TRAFFIC JAM14

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

TEAMEditor: Karthik [email protected]

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FAX 2857 6691

sudoku

KAKURO

Alien encounterThe U.K.s Ministry Of Defence has released adocument detailing a British womans encounterwith an "alien" who had a Scandinavian accent.

Vasanth Dandapani ofiNautix Technologiescaptured this insect onhis Canon G6. Hobbies:Photography, Animation

Preference this month is beinggiven to photographs that talkabout happiness, which you

need to tell us in a line or two.Please do not repeat any of

your previous pictures and alsomake sure that the photographis people-oriented. Happiness isnot always a smile, so put onyour thinking caps and keepclicking!

Winners can collect their giftvouchers on Sundays, between3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Ergooffice

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

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B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

Routine activities may take up a lot of time todafeels Ganesha. Hence you need to be moreattentive. This might dissolver your interest forimportant tasks. Initiations from your end will beseen only after lunch, feels Ganesha.

Your mind might go for a world tour today.Ganesha warns you against thinking in too mandirections. Probably it would be better to handleone thing at a time. You might be over expressior over enthusiastic in approaching your beloved

Logical thinking is fine, but incessant brooding o

pondering might not prove to be useful. Ganeshsuggests that you should not try to push yourselfsomething which is practically impossible. Try tostreamline your thoughts in a proper direction.

Luck will favour you in the second part of the daThe first part of the day might be eaten up byimpractical thoughts or actions. Ganesha warns yagainst such thoughts. Ganesha further insists yoto not react impulsively in meetings. E

The so-called dull and slow paced day will seemactive only when the evening is closer. Obviouslythe later part of the day will keep you busy. Sinyou are a true romantic at heart, you might feelexpressing your love in a very dramatic manner.

You will be doing a variety of work in the first pof the day. This might agitate you and might aff

your tone or way of talking. In such circumstanceHowever personal life is hassle free. On the whothe day seems to be average day.

Today your work will be heavy from the momenyou step into the office. Important activities orcommunication might take up yor time, feelsGanesha. This might take a toll on your energylevels.

You might feel like conquering the North Poletoday. In other words, you may have a strong urto take up challenging and invincible tasks todayUnfortunately, you might not be able to spare mtime as your schedule at office will be very tight

Ganesha finds you composed today. You will beable to handle office work very smoothly and ontime. Old creative projects may now start coming

conclusion. Thankfully you will be able to spare for family and close friends.

You will feel very brave today as you wont mindtaking up challenges. Ganesha thinks you will beable to handle difficult tasks very easily. The goothing about the day is that you strengths and plupoints will be highlighted in front of your superi

Progress is on the cards today. Before lunch, youwill be involved in important communicationregarding work. Post lunch, you may deal in somother important work and decide to finish it offquickly.

You will be able to clear your confusions at workwith positive and firm decisions. Ganesha thinkspersistent hard work will help you gain clarity atwork place. You might spend a wonderful eveninwith your sweetheart.

Words worthIchthyoallyeinotoxism (ick-thee-oh-al-ee-ayn-oh-toks-izm) akind of food poisoning, which causes vivid and terrifyinghallucinations in people who eat fish that have themselves eatencertain algae containing indoles, chemicals similar to LSD.

Watch out!Swiss watch-makers have teamed up with Indian psychicsto design a watch they claim predicts the future - turningbrown when trouble is about to strike.

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Ergo March 25