A BYTE OF LIFE Monday, August 25, 2008

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 165

PHOTO: R.RAVINDRAN
FANTASTIC FOUR
In her weekly column
on entrepreneurs,
Liffy Thomas features
Invention Labs
» PAGE 05

All set for the

SAROJA Blitz
PHOTO: S.S.KUMAR

» PAGE 10

1,50,000 pounds Arun, the Ajal

for a number plate Gujal RJ
Soccer stars get A freewheeling

03 what they want,

no matter what 12 chat with the
Radio One star
02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Booked!
If you are a book lover then don’t miss
the Crossword sale. A number of
exciting offers on books, movies, music,
toys and more are on offer. The sale is
on till September 7.

SHALINI SHAH
shalinishah@goergo.in

I
f an album features Dr. L. Subramaniam, Pt.
Bhimsen Joshi, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna,
Kavita Krishnamurti, Pankaj Udhas, Sikan-
dar Langa, the Wadali brothers, Richa Shar-
One electrocuted while ma, Purno Das Baul, Sikandar Langa, Shaan and
Remo Fernandes, to name a few, you under-
erecting flag post stand that unity in cultural heterogeneity is the
A 43-year-old man was electrocuted when aim and USP.
he and his colleague attempted to remove On Saturday, Landmark, Spencer Plaza,
a flag post at Semmancheri on Sunday. hosted a CD-signing session with Dr. L. Sub-
According to Thoraipakkam police, the ramaniam to mark the release of his new al-
deceased was one Natarajan who lived in bum, Visions of India. Wife and singer Kavita
the tsunami rehabilitation settlement. Krishnamurti, who also features in the al-
Natarajan and his colleague, Seith (35), who bum, was present, too.
are daily-wage labourers with the Tamil
Nadu Slum Clearance Board, were erecting Visions of India
a DMDK flag post near their locality as the Different genres of Indian music, be it
birthday of actor-politician Vijaykanth falls Hindustani, Carnatic, ghazal, folk and
on Monday. popular, come together. So on one hand
On Sunday morning, when the duo lifted if there’s a Vaishnav Janato, there’s a
the post, it came in contact with a live wire youth anthem rendered by Shaan and
on top. Both received an electric shock and Kavita on the other.
were instantly thrown off. Bystanders “The whole concept of Visions of In-
rushed them to a private hospital but dia started some years ago. I wanted to
Natarajan died on the way. Seith is bring different styles of India into one
undergoing treatment, police added. album. For this, I approached artistes
Thoraipakkam police have registered a case who are different in their own ways,”
and are investigating. says Dr. Subramaniam.
“The most exciting part of doing
Pedestrian hit by bus, dies the album was that some of the ar-
tistes were old friends from our
A 21-year-old pedestrian died on the spot struggling days, like Pankaj Udhas
after he was run over by a bus on ECR on and Suresh Wadkar,” added Kavita
Sunday. Krishnamurti.
Adyar Traffic Police identified the victim as
Ram, a welder from Kannathur on ECR. The 3 days to New Year
accident occurred at around 8 a.m. on Replying to an ardent follower’s
Sunday on Muttukkadu Main Road when a request for a live symphony, Dr. L.
government bus coming from Puducherry to Subramaniam revealed that the
Chennai knocked him down when he was last three days of every year would
walking home after meeting a friend be dedicated to the Lakshmina-
nearby. rayana Music Festival, to be hosted
at the Seva Sadan Auditorium on
Harrington Road, Chetpet. ‘The
Freedom Symphony’, which features
poems of Rabindranath Tagore and
‘The Freedom Symphony’, which Bharatiar, will be performed. The
Leipzig Philharmonic Chamber Or-
features poems of Rabindranath chestra from Germany, which previ-
Tagore and Bharatiar, will be ously performed with Dr. L.
Subramaniam in Bangalore, will also be
performed (at the three-day coming. One keenly-awaited event in the
festival in December) city’s crowded Margazhi calendar. ■

PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

Violin and Dr. L. Subramaniam talks

about new album; reveals
plans of a three-day

vision festival in December

 Monday, August 25, 2008
03
Q : What does Wall E stand for?
Options : A) Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-Class
B) Waste Automaton Landfill Laborer, Earth-Class
C) Wide Area Landfill Laborer, Earth-Class
Over the next four edition days, we will give away 40 tickets
for the ‘quickest fingers’ with the correct answers.

Jivesh
completely
The perfect gift!
engrossed
with the
As iPhone rang in Friday midnight, Petlee Peter caught up with
IPhone 3G in
hand. PHOTO
the first customers at the Vodaphone shop on T.T.K. Salai
: R. RAVINDRAN.

Oh God, that

A
ugust 22 was like New
Year’s Day in the giz-
mos calendar here. Rea-
son: Apple’s celebrated
mobile phone, iPhone, was of-
ficially launched in Chennai. In-
terestingly, Steve Job’s maverick
mobile set the cash registers in
our city at 12.00 a.m. Ergo visited
a Vodaphone outlet in Alwarpet
at midnight and met a few inter-
esting buyers.
The midnight was extra special
for 33-year-old Jivesh and his
wife Amritha from Harrington
Road, Chetpet. The romantic
husband had booked the iPhone
for his wife four days prior to the
launch and brought her to the
Vodaphone store after telling a
sweet lie. When the clock struck
12, Amritha was stunned when Ji-
was the best
surprise ever
vesh gifted her a brand new white
iPhone 3G amidst an applauding
crowd. “Oh God, that was the
best surprise ever,” the home-
maker kept saying. Speaking
about the surprise and the new
phone, Jivesh said that the latest
handset was the best gift for his
wife at the moment.
Jivesh was among the four cus-
tomers to grab the mobile at mid-
night itself. Disc Jockey
Tuhin Mehta from Nun-
gambakkam was another
happy new iPhone custom-
er. The 28-year-old booked
the phone a month ago and
opted for the white colour as
black was a common model. “I
wanted the iPhone as it can in-
tegrate well with my Macbook
and other music gadgets. More-
over the handset has a feature
than can guide me through my
software while I’m performing
live,” added Tuhin, whose first
call from his new phone is going
to be to his mom. ■
The iPhone 3G is available in
8GB and 16GB models and is priced
at Rs. 31,000 and Rs. 36,100
respectively. Prices may vary with
different networks.

from sub-inspector to Inspector to

The real deal
A senior IPS officer well-known as
‘moustache man’ in the media circles
is into real estate dealings big-time.
The khaki along with his son seems to
have completed some big lucrative deals
in the last few years. Apparently, the offi-
cer’s new posting was requested and received
eyeing some mega land deals inside his vast and I’m the police commissioner in my area,”
jurisdiction.
AC from just one police station in
a VIP area inside the south zone
has now become a pain for his
senior officers. The AC doesn’t
obey any orders, even from the
top cops as he is well connected to
the wife of a top politician in the
ruling party. “No one can transfer me
often boasts the cop to his close circles.

Crying cop Biryani trouble

A deputy commissioner of police attached to
It was high drama recently at the SRMC police the south zone can’t do without turkey biryani
station limits when a police constable assaulted a for dinner. Recently, when the delicacy was mis-
head constable. The constable who was shifted sing from his dinner table, he got furious and
here from high court duty was being made to gave his orderlies a piece of his mind.
work like mad. The poor fellows had no choice but run all over
Annoyed by the treatment he was receiving, he the city the whole night and hunt for a restaurant
picked up a fight with the station’s head con- that sells turkey biryani. It was only when the
stable after the latter gave him some work. The DCP got his biryani that he calmed down.
assaulted head constable lamented about the
matter to his superiors but walked away disap- Smart intelligence
pointed. The ashamed cop took two days off Traffic Ramaswamy, who had planned to hold
from work, rented a hotel room, got drunk and a fast in New Delhi against the Tamil Nadu go-
cried his heart out. He got back to duty now. vernment, was arrested last Friday before he
could board the train to the capital. Apparently,
I’m the commissioner the information on his scheduled departure was
tactically gathered by the police intelligence de-
An assistant commissioner of police who rose partment from some scribes.
04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

‘‘
I have always loved the competitive forces in this
business. You know I certainly have meetings where
I spur people on by saying, "Hey, we can do better than
this. How come we are not out ahead on that?" Thats what
keeps my job one of the most interesting in the world.
Bill Gates

"URLs in local languages soon”

Stephen Crocker of ICANN spoke at Satyam Computer Services Limited recently.
Ergo reader Shrinidhi Hande reports

"In those early days,
when the idea came
up that multiple
computers can be
interconnected, many
labs (of universities in
the US) were
reluctant to
cooperate, as they
preferred a captive
environment and felt
that allowing their
computers to be
connected to other
computers would
pose a threat to their
privacy and
confidentiality of
their research data"
I
t was an exciting session for those of us
who got an opportunity to listen to Steve
Crocker, Chair, Security and Stability
Council, ICANN when he went on to de-
mystify the evolution of internet.
Dr.Crocker, who was deeply involved in
the evolution of the idea that computers can
be inter-connected, from its early days of
ARPANET way back in 1960s to the current
day internet, had too many experiences to
share but too little time. He was in Chennai
and was invited to share his experiences
with current generation of techies and in-
ternet users, in a talk organised by ISOC,
Internet Society, Chennai Chapter. The talk
was organised at Satyam Computer Services
Limited.
“In those early days, when the idea came
up that multiple computers can be inter-
connected, many labs (of universities in the
US) were reluctant to cooperate, as they
preferred a captive environment and felt
that allowing their computers to be con-
nected to other computers would pose a
threat to their privacy and confidentiality of
their research data,” said Dr. Crocker, add-
ing that the lab chiefs didn’t prefer to spare
their senior scientists and professors for this
research (of connecting different comput-
ers) and delegated this task to few graduate
students. “That’s how I got to work on it,” he
recalls.
We’re all struggling to fight the evils of
internet. Building a robust architecture that
is fool proof is much better than fighting the
bad guys. We need to shift our focus in this
direction he continued.
While speaking on domain names, TLDs
(top level domain) and URLs, he said there
was a strong lobby which wanted a TLD of
.xxx to host sites that offer exclusive adult
entertainment. There was a strong debate
on ICANN board and eventually this request
was turned down, Crocker narrated, adding
that URLs in local languages will soon be a
reality and the monopoly of typing all URLs
in English, irrespective of the language of
the website, would end soon.
The session that lasted an hour-and-a-
half had several such interesting experienc-
es to delight the audience and was a memo-
rable experience for those who were
present. ■
The writer blogs on www.enidhi.net

An
unforgettable
Saturday KAMATCHI G

A
team of 12 members from WIPRO BPO started their
Saturday with a fun-filled and noble reason recently.
The team celebrated their project’s second anniver-
sary at Good Life Centre, Tambaram. The centre is
home to 110 kids, of which 75 are school goers and the rest
are special children.
We came to know about the place from one of our col-
leagues. We promised a day’s breakfast, a few essential edu-
cation expenses and most importantly five hours of tuition
every month. At 8 a.m. when we arrived the kids were ready
for breakfast.
Baskaran, Founder of Good Life, introduced us to the
entire group and they in-turn greeted us with a big smile.
After breakfast started the actual fun. The children wanted
us to play antakshiri and ring-a-ring-roses with us. We
couldn’t help but recall some songs and our childhood
days. The Senior Analysts of my team were playing number
games. We promised to come next month. By noon we were
all ready to leave as they had to get ready to greet their next
visitor.■
(The writer is an employee of WIPRO)
The best of the memories
Maria – A year and a half baby wanted to be hand-fed
Appu Kutty – A boy from L.K.G ‘A’ who can dance just
like actor Vijay
Balaji – A Class V boy who can do stand-up comedy.
We bet he beat the television shows
Krishna – The family’s youngest member is only nine
months old was just adorable
Friends, They are in need of a lot, Specially – Educa-
tion, Food & Medical Support
Do spend one of your Weekend’s Time & if possible a
few bucks at a Special place like this & See the happi-
ness that your mind & heart enjoys
Kamatchi G, WIPRO
 Monday, August 25, 2008
05
Websites of the day
Everything you need to know about the sleep US $ 43.38

SOURCE: RBI
disorder: http://www.narcolepsy.org.uk/
Play pranks on your pals with this anonymous Pound 81.34
email service: http://deadfake.com/ Euro 64.55
100 Yen 39.84

Four point someone

This product design firm promises to make a difference, starting with ‘Kavi’— developed for cerebral palsy children

ways been inquisitive, unusual in

class and caught the attention of
professors. That probably ex-
plains why RTBI (Rural Technol-
ogy and Business Incubator) is
incubating them.

B
oys will be boys – they love
to dirty their hands and ex-
periment on new products.
Tucked inside Kuppam
Beach Road in Thiruvanmiyur is
the quaint little office of Inven-
tion Labs, where a young team of
creative engineers are working on
designing new products for the
Indian consumers. Electronic
components, a soldering station,
developing kits and prototypes of
different products make up this
office-cum-lab, which is lit up till
as late as 2 a.m.
Ajit Narayanan, Adib Ibrahim,
Aswin Chandrasekaran and
Preetham K. Shivanna – four IIT-
Madras alumni from different
branches – have come together
after their respective stints in a
variety of jobs to float a product
design company, Invention Labs,
which completed a year this July.
Engineering an idea
Wondered why a car built in
Germany is not ideal for the Indi-
an roads? Though technology is
universally available, it has to be
designed and developed keeping
in mind the local condition. It’s
this philosophy that they believe
can make a difference.
“Becoming an engineer is
about working and aiming on
your ideas,” says Ajit.
True to that, their entrepreneu-
rial venture is an extension of
what they learnt in their engi-
neering college days. Ajit worked
on a low-cost bio ATM during his
college days, while Preetham
commuted on a solar-powered
bicycle to the IIT campus. “He
was so lazy to drive,” the others
joke. Moreover, the four have al-
Road ahead
The last one year for the team
was more about lending their ex-
pertise to an engineering product
or working on prototypes. This
September they will be launching
the prototype of their product,
Kavi (Read box), for field trials.
But, isn’t that a slow growth?
“Engineering products have a
longer gestation period and we
are happy with the pace at which
we are going,” say Adib and Ajit.
“We will be launching two to
three products a year, which
could be in sectors like automo-
biles, retail, banking, etc,” says
Aswin.
Finding their feet
Coming from diverse back-
grounds has been a boon, but
they are yet to define themselves.
And they reason out by giving ex-
amples of Motorola and Coco Co-
la, which started with no specific
goal. “Having focus is a new con-
cept. We hope to find our feet in a
year’s time.”
The company was started with
all the savings they had and fund-
ing doesn’t really bother them, at
least at this point in time. “We are
not approaching any VC. Fund-
ing is more a means. When we
need money for ‘Kavi’ we will ap-
proach them,” says Adib.
Inventor in you!
Invention Labs is keen on get-
ting more creative engineers who
are ready to dirty their hands. In-
terestingly, the first person whom
they recruited had designed 20
robots in college! ■

Kavi to their aid In a Minute

Their first product, ‘Kavi’, combines technological advancement
and a social purpose, for which Vidya Sagar is giving the inputs. Name: Invention Labs Engi-
The hand-held communication aid promises to be a great help for neering Products Private
children with cerebral palsy, where it augments their Limited
communication abilities. The device is mounted on a wheelchair Started: July 2007
and runs with the help of a processor capable of running Linux Team: 7
operating system and a USB-based non-contact switch that can be Know Me Better:
easily controlled by children with poor motor skills. www.inventionlabs.in
The first prototype of the product will be launched in early Contact: 044- 24405139 Engineering Products: (From Left) Adib, Preetham, Aswin and
September for field trials. Ajit. PHOTO R. RAVINDRAN
06 VILLAGE ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Columbus, the great

Columbus had three ships on his first
American exploration. On his second
expedition, seventeen ships were under
his command.

Contraceptive pills for pigeons! Woman arrested for not returning

Stamford town councillor has suggested that
pigeons should be put on contraceptive pills to cut library books
down their population. The town council has been An US woman was
getting lots of complaints about the mess pigeons arrested after ignoring
have been creating. He is planning to place pellets four notices from the
laced with the chemical OvoControl P in rooftop library telling her she
feeders dotted around the town. OvoControl P owed money for two
interferes with egg development, and the council overdue books, local
believes the use of the drug could halve the local media reported on
pigeon population by 2012. He came up with the Friday. Heidi Dalibor,
idea after hearing of its success in America. of Wisconsin, had kept
ANI the copies of Angels
and Demons and
White Oleander since
last year, but never
Prize for throwing the mobile expected to be led
Two Estonians, a Finnish boy, and a dog entered the books away in handcuffs over
on Saturday as winners of the Ninth Mobile Phone the missing books,
Throwing World Championships in the eastern Estonian broadcaster WISN
town of Narva. Timmo Lilium won the men’s category with reported. “I said, what could they possibly do? They can’t
a throw of 85 metres, while Valeria Kadorova won the arrest me for this ... I was wrong,” she said. After
women’s category with a throw of 41 metres. Riku shrugging off the library notices, she had received - and
Kankkunen, a 12-year-old from Finland, came out best in ignored - a summons for a court date after the matter was
the children’s category turned over to police. When she didn’t appear in court,
with a throw of 55 she was taken into custody, where she paid her 170-dollar
metres. The freestyle fine, but chose to keep the books, claiming she had now
competition - for the paid for them.
most artistic approach - DPA
went to an Estonian
dog named Cara, who
spat the mobile phone
30 centimetres. The Shoppers injured in cheap food
contest was the first
mobile phone-throwing rush
championship held At least a dozen shoppers, many of them retirees,
outside Finland. It drew were injured in a rush to buy cheap cooking oil and
more than 50 eggs on offer at a supermarket in the eastern
participants from Chinese city of Nanjing. Four were taken to the
countries as far as the hospital, including a 58-year-old woman who broke
United States, Korea, several bones. The oldest, a woman surnamed Wu,
Japan, Finland, was 81, the Yangtze Evening News reported on
Sweden, Estonia, and Wednesday. A stampede at a store in Chongqing last
Russia. year killed three and injured dozens.
DPA Reuters

It’s there, but you can’t see it

Dept of Health in Britain bans display of betel leaf but shop owners can stock it

A
hearty Indian meal is con-
sidered incomplete with-
out a paan but the humble
betel leaf may soon be
banned from being displayed in
restaurants and shops across Bri-
tain.
Several restaurant owners
across Britain offer Banarasi paan
at the end of an Indian meal, a
service that is performed in the
presence of the customer by mix-
ing the desired ingredients.
There are also several paan
shops near restaurants in towns
with large Asian populations such
as Leicester, Birmingham and
parts of London such as Southall,
Wembley and Harrow.
But owners have protested
against Department of Health’s
proposals to impose a ban on dis-
play of tobacco in shops, since it
will also affect the display and
sale of paan, which is considered
a key feature of Asian culture.
Ashraff Chaudhary, an Asian
business leader, said, “It’s a tradi-
tion from the Indian sub-conti-
nent to prepare a fresh paan in
front of the customer, according
to their requirements.
“If shopkeepers are not allowed
to do that they will suffer. A lot of
smaller businesses are not aware
of the consultation.” Over 1,500
signatories have signed a petition
to Prime Minister Gordon Brown
to reconsider the proposal.
Instead, they want the govern-
ment to ensure stronger enforce-
ment of the law to prevent
underage sales and illicit trade
and to make it illegal for adults to
buy tobacco on behalf of anyone
under 18.
In Leicester, for example, own-
ers of at least three prominent
paan shops offering the full range
of varieties on Belgrave Road are
worried that they may have to
close shop if the ban is con-
firmed. ■
PTI
 Monday, August 25, 2008
Ancient medicine
The first medical use of leeches dates
back to approximately 2,500 years
ago. The leech’s saliva contains a
property that acts as an
anticoagulant for human blood.
1,50,000 POUNDS FOR
CAR NUMBER PLATE
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo
Beijing Olympics most
watched Games
A record 4.4 billion people,
about two-thirds of the world’s
population, watched the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games from Aug
8 to 17, making the current edi-
tion of the quadrennial sporting
extravaganza the most watched
in history, a top market research
firm said on Sunday.
The Nielsen Company drew TV
audience data from 38 nations
and regions, including host Chi-
na, the United States, Brazil,
South Africa, Italy and Australia.
The viewership for the Beijing
Games had already exceeded
those achieved by the 2004 Ath-
ens Olympics’ 3.9 billion mark.
The Sydney Games in 2000 had
3.6 billion viewers.
The company said the Beijing
Games closing ceremony tonight
looked “all set to break further
records,” Xinhua news agency re-
ported. ■
PTI
07
This day, that year
It was in August 25, 1970 that British
singer and pianist Elton John made
his first U.S. appearance at the Los
Angeles Troubador, kicking off a
17-day tour.
A
ce footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has
splashed out 150,000 pounds on a
splashed out 1,50,000 number plate for his motor.
The Man United star paid such a
pounds to obtain the huge sum just to obtain the registration
CR7, his initials and shirt number at Old
number CR7 Trafford.
The number plate will be placed on Ro-
naldo’s 140,000-pound silver Bentley con-
vertible.
“Cristiano is developing an obsession
with CR7. It has to
be on everything
he owns – cars in-
cluded,” British tab-
loid The Sun quoted a
source as saying.
“He has been after the
number plate for ages
and finally got his
hands on it,” the
source added.
At least the new num-
ber will help ease confusion in the Car-
rington training ground car park. There are
a lot of Bentleys lined up there after all.
Besides this personalised registration
number, Ronaldo is said to have his logo
inscribed on a cupboard, sofa and bed
cushions, matching his seven-shaped table
and jewellery in his Cheshire mansion. ■
ANI
Go, cheer
쒀 Cheerleaders perform on drums
during the men’s water polo gold
medal match between Hungary and
the US at the the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games on Sunday. AFP PHOTO
08 SPORT ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Gold quest goes up in smoke

Cuba’s young boxers looked ahead to the next Olympics after
their rollercoaster ride ground to a halt without a single gold
medal on Sunday. Yankiel Leon and Carlos Banteaux missed out
in the bantam and welterweight finals respectively to cap a
miserable run in the last few days of competition as Cuba’s
boxers were left without a gold for the first time since 1968.

Bolt an immature icon:

Rogge
International Olympic Committee
President Jacques Rogge stuck by his
criticism of treble gold medallist
Usain Bolt on Sunday, although he
Pat on the
BACK
did acknowledge the Jamaican’s
world record-setting exploits had
made him an icon of the Beijing
Games. Rogge, 65, had chided the
gangly sprinter for his exuberant
victory celebrations, urging him to
show more respect for his opponents. The
comments prompted a flurry of criticism in
return, along with an “I’ve gotta be me”
response from Bolt. “The Bolt issue I take
with a big smile,” Rogge said as he
addressed journalists on the final day of the
IOC gives Beijing Games seal of approval
Games. “I said he was an icon of games,

along with Michael Phelps they are the two
outstanding athletes. But I repeat what I
said – he should show more respect for his
opponents. I also said he was a young man
of 22, and he has time to mature.”
In fact, Rogge had earlier stopped short of
according Bolt icon status, originally handing
that tag only to swimming superstar Phelps,
whose astonishing eight gold medals at the
Water Cube were the most ever won at one
games and gave him a record career total of
14. While Bolt couldn’t match Phelps for
quantity, there was no doubt he delivered
quality at the Bird’s Nest. He completed a
rare 100m-200m sprint double with two
world records, and helped Jamaica’s 4x100m
relay to gold in a world-record time. The
head of the International Olympic
Committee’s athletics commission, Frankie
Fredericks, had backed Bolt in the Rogge
row. “We cannot tell a guy who’s run 9.69
seconds how he needs to react,” Fredericks
said.
AFP
Kalmadi in a soup
Stung by criticism for his no-show at
Vijender’s medal ceremony, Indian Olympic
Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi
on Sunday defended himself and said it was
not possible for him to shrug international
commitment to see the Indian boxer at the
podium.
Kalmadi said that he and IOA Secretary
General Randhir Singh were scheduled to
give away the medals and bouquets to the
winners of the women’s 4x400m relay event
at the Bird’s Nest, which made it impossible
for them to attend Vijender’s medal
ceremony.
“I’m startled by the criticism. Giving away
medals and bouquets was an
international commitment for me.
After all, I’m also the president of
the Asian Athletics Association. I just
could not be at two places at the
same time,”said Kalmadi, also an
IAAF Council member.
“I went when it mattered most. I
went to see his bouts and also
visited him in the Olympic village to
congratulate him. I think that was more
important than attending his medal
ceremony, which I would have done anyway
but for this commitment to give away
Olympic medals,” he added.
PTI
T
he International Olympic
Committee gave the Beijing
Games its seal of approval
on Sunday, expressing itself
“extremely pleased” with the
event which saw China emerge as
the new sports power. Kenyan
Samuel Wanjiru lead off the final
day of competition, relishing the
heat to record an historic first
Olympic marathon for the Afri-
can nation. Zou Shiming won
China’s first ever boxing gold and
his country’s 50th gold of the
Games when he claimed the
light-flyweight title. The USA
bagged a gold in basketball.
As the closing 12 events are
played out after 15 days of com-
petition, China has 51 gold med-
als, 15 more than the United
States on 36, with Russia win-
ning 23 and Great Britain 19. It
is the first time China has won
the gold medal count, although
in total medals won the USA
has 110 to China’s 100. Wanji-
ru, striding to Kenya’s first mar-
athon success, celebrated in the
hot sun as be broke the 24-year-
old Games record while those
around him wilted.
“I had to push the pace to
tire the other runners. I had
to push the pace because
my body gets tired in the
heat when I slow down,” he
said as temperatures rose to-
wards 30 degrees. “It feels good
to make history here. It feels good
to make history for Kenya and
win the gold.”
Kenya may have won accord-
ing to the script but the principal
actors were different as the out-
standing Martin Lel, a triple Lon-
don marathon winner, faded to
fifth and it was half-marathon
specialist Wanjiru who pulled
through. China’s Zou Shiming
had a quick finish to the box-
ing light-flyweight title
when Mongolia’s Serdam-
ba Purevdorj hurt his
shoulder in the first round.
Purevdorj came out for the sec-
ond but unable to use his right
arm and his corner threw in the
towel after 19 seconds. There was
success for Mongolia in the ban-
tamweight final when Badar-Uu-
gan Enkhbat won their first ever
boxing gold beating Cuba’s high-
ly fancied Yankiel Leon 15-5.
So close yet so far
The United States picked up
further gold beating Brazil 3-1 in
the men’s volleyball final, revers-
ing Saturday’s result in which
Brazil beat USA in the women’s
final. After two weeks of excep-
tional triumphs and heart-
wrenching defeats, IOC president
Jacques Rogge said that overall
“the IOC is extremely pleased”
with the Games. “More
than 40 world rec-
ords were set,
more than 100
Olympic rec-
ords, and of
course we had
PHOTOS: AFP
the two icons of the Games, Mi-
chael Phelps and Usain Bolt.”
Rogge pointed to heightened en-
vironmental awareness, greater
enthusiasm for sport among Chi-
nese and the new stadium in Beij-
ing as the legacies for China. But
he skirted around questions re-
garding China’s response on such
issues as human rights and Inter-
net access, and diplomatically re-
fused to be drawn into debate
about the medals table.
Rich rewards
For China, the investment of
more than 40 billion dollars on
the Games reaped handsome re-
wards. They not only topped the
gold medal count, but a near
flawless organisation meant the
controversies that marred the
build-up largely slipped into the
background.
Phelps, with his unpreceden-
ted eight gold medals and seven
world records, and Bolt, the fas-
test man on earth winning three
gold medals with three world rec-
ords, were the headline stories.
There were also the hardluck
stories such as Italian weight-
lifter Genny Pagliaro who
failed her first three at-
tempts and was out of
the Games in a matter
of minutes on the
first morning. On
Sunday evening,
Beijing hands
the Olympics
over to Lon-
don which is
talking of a
more modest
affair in 2012. To
show off the next
Games city, the London
organizers plan to intro-
duce themselves to a
global audience with the
help of Led Zeppelin gui-
tarist Jimmy Page, sing-
er Leona Lewis and
football icon David
Beckham. ■
AFP
 Monday, August 25, 2008
09
Honour for Vijender
Vijender Kumar, India’s first ever Olympic boxing medal winner carried the Indian
tri-colour at Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The Bhiwani pugilist
won a bronze medal in the 75kg category event, which made him the national
hero. Army marksman Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was India’s flag bearer during
the spectacular opening ceremony of the Games on August 8.
AFP

A
rgentina’s unrestrained joy in
winning a second consecutive
football gold medal reflected the
absolute importance they placed
on playing at the Olympic Games.
While European nations largely deva-
lue an Olympic medal, South American
powers Argentina and Brazil along with
GOLD
whistle and savoured the big occasion lot of their chances. That is why we
of winning Olympic gold before 89,102 have the silver and they have the gold,”
fans at the Bird’s Nest national stadi- he said. Nigeria went in with the psy-
um. Even old stager and team captain chological edge of beating Argentina
Juan Riquelme, one of five current full 3-2 in the corresponding final 12 years
internationals in the Argentine Olym- ago in Atlanta to become the first Afri-
pic team, was overwhelmed by the can Olympic champions, but were let
Beijing experience. down by profligate finishing.

African heavyweights Nigeria threw
everything into winning in Beijing. Ar-
gentina had a tug-of-war with Spanish
giants Barcelona to release their mer-
curial forward Lionel Messi for the
Games.
The powerful European club even
won an appeal in the Court of Arbitra-
tion for Sport against a FIFA rule oblig-
ing them to release all under-23
players, including Messi. In the end
Barcelona allowed Messi to play at the
Olympics, reportedly after making a
deal with the Argentine federation.
Messiah
Messi proved the winning difference
as Argentina vanquished Brazil 3-0 in
the semi-finals and edged out former
champions Nigeria 1-0 in the final to
become the first nation in 40 years
since Hungary to clinch back-to-back
Olympic football gold. Messi conjured
the winning goal for Angel Di Maria in
the 58th minute, taking possession just
inside his own half and putting the
Benfica midfielder in a one-on-one sit-
uation to chip the goalkeeper Ambruse
Vanzekin. The Argentina players cele-
brated enthusiastically after the final
FEST
“I’m absolutely delighted because
this was the last opportunity I had to Bronze for Brazil
play in the Olympic Games,” Riquelme Brazil may be revered as five-time
said. “I’ll be wearing the medal on the World Cup champions, but they left
plane home. I won’t be taking it off for Beijing once again without an Olympic
anyone. We had the good fortune to gold medal.
stay in the athlete’s village and meet They had to settle for the bronze af-
athletes from all over the world. For me ter a demoralising semi-final loss their
it was incredible and I fully enjoyed it. deadly rivals Argentina and claimed
Never before had I experienced any- the consolation prize in a 3-0 win over
thing quite like it.”
The Beijing football tournament will
Argentina savour double Belgium, who dumped Italy out 3-2 in
the quarter-finals. The Brazilians were
be remembered as the stage where
Messi once again illustrated why he is
Olympic football gold so fixated on winning the tournament
for the first time that they brought in
widely regarded as the world’s best former two-time FIFA World Player of
footballer. the Year Ronaldinho as one of their
“People said a lot of things that an- three over-age players and senior
noyed me before I came to China, eve- coach Dunga to lead the side. The loss
ryone knows that,” Messi said. “That’s to Argentina was described as “shame-
what makes this medal so special. I ful” by the country’s president Luiz In-
think Argentina won the gold because acio Lula da Silva and Brazilian
we had a fantastic team that really newspapers have called for Dunga’s
pulled together. You could see that on dismissal as senior coach. Yet again
the pitch.” football was immensely popular at the
Nigerian coach Samson Siasia made Olympics and was watched by a record
no bones about the difference between 2.14 million spectators for the 58
the two teams in the final played in matches in the men’s and women’s
brutal midday heat. “Messi terrorises tournaments – an average of around
not only our team, but all teams in Eu- 36,000. ■
rope. He didn’t score but he created a AFP
10 FLICK ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Maxim’s Hot 100

Deepika Padukone was voted as the world’s sexiest
woman by Maxim. Deepika joins the likes of Lindsay
Lohan, Eva Longoria and Marissa Miller by topping the
list that features several Bollywood celebrities like
Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor.

I THINK I CAN
HELP ANYONE
WITH
ANYTHING
EXCEPT
DANCING

RJ Shiva (of Radio Mirchi

ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY
After Chennai 600 028, your
latest movie is Saroja. Tell us
about Saroja.
About your dancing…
Next question please. It is a ve-
ry nice question. I really appre-
ciate the effort you have put into
the question. Can we go to the
fame), who first hit the big
PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR
screens with ‘Chennai 600
028,’ is now starring in the
The movie’s main song is an
new Venkat Prabu flick,
engagement song where we tried
to bring in a lot of TV serial actors
‘Saroja’. He shares a light
(since I play a TV actor in the mo-
vie). For that song, right before conversation with Ergo
the shooting started, I was in-

Saroja? Uh.. yeah, Saroja is a

movie (laughs).
Chennai 600 028 had an
unusual storyline which made
it an instant hit. Can we
expect the same from
Saroja?
I think you must not have any
expectations. Only then will you
like the movie. Expect the least.
The movie has a lot of comedy. It
is more like a thriller comedy.
Hopefully, the audience will like
it then. And I am playing a TV
serial actor in it. Well… was that
your next question?
Yes it was. Carry on anyway.
I play Ajay, a TV serial actor.
The character is someone who
overacts. I initially didn’t under-
stand the character. But at the
end of it all I realised he is some-
oe who has a lot of mood swings.
H gives a complete array of reac-
tions. And he also has a shade of
Shiva in him. You will realise it as
you watch the movie.
next question?
Both your films have been
with Venkat Prabu. Your
experience?
Beyond the experience as such,
I had a lot of fun. I never had a
feeling that I did a movie. Every
bit of the shooting was packed
with fun. When you see Chennai
600 028 you will know that the
movie is basically fun and enter-
tainment. And the director is like
a friend. There’s always someth-
ing to smile about.
Are there more projects
coming up in the future?
Well, I have got many offers.
But right now I am happy with
what I am doing. So I am only
choosing a few roles that I really
like. I have signed up for a couple
of movies. One is called Sixteen
and shooting will start in
September.
The heroine in Saroja is new.
What have you shared of
your experiences with her?
structing people on how to dance
(actually, I was just giving a
‘build-up’). But when the director
said “Action”, everyone, especial-
ly Kajal, saw my true colours and
started wondering how they took
lessons from me. Apart from that,
I helped her with certain emo-
tions. I think I can help anyone
with anything except dancing!
Your first time in front of the
camera...
It was nothing special. I went
and stood in front of the camera.
I’ve never been scared of the
camera. But I was too lazy to
emote anything. When the cam-
eraman asked me to focus, I first
started laughing. He then asked
me to focus again. And I just
stared at the camera. What an
experience!
How do you balance acting
and RJing?
The shooting mostly happens
at night. So I do a late-night show
nowadays. I come to office in the
morning, record my show and go
about the movie that hits the
theatres this month-end and
on himself
for shooting during the nights. I
do Kadhala Kadhala, so it’s not
much of a problem. If there is no
shooting, I do a live show.
What do you relate to more?
Acting or RJing?
I can’t sit in an office and work.
So I feel I was meant to be in the
entertainment field. It doesn’t
matter if it is acting or RJing. If it
is not both I’ll be doing someth-
ing else that is different.
Would you like to foray into
directing?
Yes, I want to direct. I think I
will start doing it in a couple of
years.
To you love is….
What a scary question! You
should love everything. It is very
important.
Love your breakfast, lunch,
dinner. Love whatever you eat!
One a serious note, love is neces-
sary. If you don’t love what you
are doing, what’s the point of do-
ing it?
Philosophy of life….
We are going to live only a cer-
tain number of years. It is a uni-
versal truth. Don’t think too
much. Enjoy what you want to
do. Keep yourself and people
happy.
One word to describe your
life till now…
Circus ■

Colour: Bright colours Dress: Yes, I like dresses! Brand: Local Movie: Life is Beautiful. Is the next question about my favourite actor? Favourite actor: M.R. Radha, Ranga
Rao, Thanga Velu, Sivaji and Kamal Hassan Singer: Shiva (me!). No, it’s actually SPB Sir. He sang a song for my movie. It has made it all the more special.
 Monday, August 25, 2008

Gwen Stefani gives birth to baby boy

11
Singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani gave birth to a boy named Zuma on Thursday in Los
Angeles, her second child with husband Gavin Rossdale, her spokesman said. Stefani and
her baby are “happy and healthy” following the birth at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,
publicist Dave Tomberlin said in a statement. Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale weighs 8.5
pounds, Tomberlin said.
Reuters

Sticky, Sweet
and Hard Candy
M adonna kicked off her ‘Sticky And Sweet’
world tour in Britain late Saturday with a
two-hour extravaganza of hits and high fash-
ion showing why she is still the queen of pop
despite recently turning 50.
The US star played hits including ‘Like a
Prayer’, ‘Into The Groove’ and ‘Hung Up’ at
the giant Millennium Stadium in Cardiff,
Wales, on the first night of the 49-date tour.
The show, promoting her latest album Hard
Candy which has hit number one in 27 coun-
tries, was watched by her British film director
husband Guy Ritchie and three children.
To screams from fans, Madonna took the
stage in a one-piece black sequinned outfit by
French fashion house Givenchy for the first
section, known as ‘pimp’, a homage to gang-
ster chic from the 1920s to now.
She then revisited New York in the early
1980s – where she arrived aged 20 with just
35 dollars in her pocket before hitting the big
Cine City
time – for the ‘old school’ section of the show
featuring songs including ‘Music’ and a
dance-off on stage. During the song ‘Get Stu-
pid’, she appeared to take a swipe at US Re-
publican presidential contender John McCain
whose picture flashed up alongside images of
destruction and global warming as well as Na-
zi dictator Adolf Hitler and Zimbabwe’s Presi-
dent Robert Mugabe.
The show featured eight costume changes,
16 dancers, a 12-piece band and a million
pounds (1.3 million euros, 1.9 million dollars)
worth of Swarovski crystals.
The tour continues in Nice, southern France
on August 26 before heading to the rest of
Europe, the United States, Canada, Mexico
and Brazil. It wraps up in Sao Paulo on Decem-
ber 18. Madonna’s last tour, 2006’s ‘Confes-
sions’, was reportedly the top-earning show
ever by a female artiste, grossing nearly 200
million dollars. ■
AFP
Yuvan to direct film
Yuvan is one of the most happening music
directors in town. But the news is that he is
trying his hands at direction. Yuvan Shankar Raja,
with so many music projects in his kitty, plans to
direct a movie with a script that has not been
made anywhere till date, says director Venkat
Prabhu. Venkat is elated about Yuvan’s support
for Saroja. The highlight of Saroja’s album is that
all the songs were composed within 24 hours,
and all the songs are said to be real chartbusters.

Jai’s turn
now
Following the
footsteps of Sarath
Kumar, Suriya,
Vikram and Vishal,
actor Jai will soon
be seen with six-
pack abs. Shooting
simultaneously for
the films Aval Peyar
Tamizharasi and
Adhae Neram
Adhae Nimidam, Jai
is again joining
hands with Venkat
Prabhu for a film.
Sources say it was
Venkat Prabhu who
asked Jai to develop
a six-pack. The film
is about four
youngsters and
Soundarya
Rajinikanth would be producing the film under the
Ocher Studios banner. Jai, who weighed 84 kgs
while shooting for Subramaniapuram, has reduced
to 64 kgs now.
Madonna opens ‘Sticky and Sweet’ world tour in Britain www.cinesnacks.com
12 SCAN ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Claustrophobic Uma
According to TV.com, Uma Thurman
has revealed she is scared of closed
spaces and in the scene where she was
buried alive in Kill Bill 2, found the
experience "horrific".

PICK OF THE DAY

Zee Studio Star World Star Movies Zee Cafe

The Matrix Revolutions
– 7-45 pm
Neo discovers that somehow he is
able to use his powers into the real
world too and that his mind can be
freed from his body, as a result of
which he finds himself trapped on a
train station between the Matrix
and the Real World.
According to Jim – 8-30 pm
Dana and Jim both covet their
reverend - she for romance, he for
the pastor’s prowess at bowling.
War of the Worlds – 9 pm
Ray is a dock worker. Witnessing,
and barely escaping the horror,
first-hand, it’s up to Ray to protect
his two kids from terrorist and races
up to Boston before one of them
gets murdered by a large tripod
machine in its path!
The O.C. – 8 pm
Ryan, a troubled teenager adopted
by Sandy and Kirsten and his
surrogate brother Seth deal with
life as outsiders in the high-class
world of Orange County and their
dramatic relationships with women.

The Ajal Gujal RJ

V. LOKPRIA The best thing about Radio One…

Y
ou would have seen him hosting Ergo Blitz,
heard him on College Road every afternoon.
Now you can get up-close and personal with
RJ Arun from Radio One. The happy-go-
lucky person that he is, he has found a place in
the listeners’ hearts with his spontaneous jokes.
Join him as he speaks of his journey as an RJ.
With a degree in Computer Science how did
RJing happen?
From my childhood I was interested in speak-
ing. I was an orator in my school and college days.
It was during my second year of college that radio
stations started coming up in Chennai. I gave au-
ditions for World Space Radio, got selected and
worked there as an RJ in its Tamil channel for five
months.
How did you join Radio One?
A friend of mine saw an ad of Radio One in-
viting people for RJ auditions. I had a passion for
music, had the gift of the gab and was a good
entertainer. So he insisted that I give it a try. I
went for the audition and out of about 200 people
I got selected.
How did the tag ‘Ajal Gujal’ come about?
When I was working
with World Space, every Arun in School: School Pupil
RJ had a tag to their orig- Leader
inal name so I was think- Arun in College: College
ing of what name to keep Student Union Leader
for myself. The name Arun now: RJ
Arun in Future: Politician
In Radio One there is no policy of seniority.
Nobody here has airs of being RJs. We
are normal human beings and aim to
entertain people. From the top pro-
gramming head to the housekeeping
boy, everybody has a good rapport
with each other. Moreover, we inter-
act with people and do what they like
us to do.
The stupidest thing you have
done on air…
(Gives a quizzical look) Well, it was
last year in April. I was giving teasers
of the songs which were to follow
along with the movie names. It was
only when the songs were playing
that I realised my blunder. I had mis-
matched the movie names and the
song list. In the next link I was quick
enough to set it right by saying it was an
April Fool’s Days trick.
Two wishes you would ask of a genie?
To become the next Anil Ambani and to go
on a world tour with my favourite person
(shhh…can’t reveal who it is).
How has RJing changed your
life?
There were days when I was
kicked out of Ethiraj College
for ‘bird watching’. Recently,
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN

had to be catchy and sig- when I had gone there as a

nify happiness, and
that’s how Ajal Gujal was
born. When I joined Ra-
dio One I continued with
the same name.
Favourite Movie: Veerasamy
Favourite Actress: Paravai
Muniama
Favourite Actor: Kamal
Hassan
judge for a cultural event, the
same watchman who kicked me
out opened the gates and wel-
comed me. That is one of the memora-
ble changes! ■
 Monday, August 25, 2008
13
Tallest man wins back title
A Chinese man has been reinstated as the
world’s tallest living male because a ’taller’
Ukrainian refuses to be measured, according
to the Guinness World Records.

sticky@goergo.in

Greetings
Dear Anand KG,
Get on your marks and get set
for, for it’s the time to run, to
unite and the time to get to-
gether and commemorate the
GIVE LIFE
Wishing you many more happy returns of the aspect of fellowship amongst
day. Happiness keeps u sweet. Trails make u us. Give Life Chennai Mara-
strong, Sorrows keeps u humble, Success keeps thon is a marathon for a cause
u glowing wishing u lovely and sweet day. May conducted by Marg.
all your dreams come true and God Bless You. Where:
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Your Team - General Administration, Marina Beach
CSS Corp When:
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Dear Selva, Starting time Men: 6.30
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happy returns of the day. Contact : 9444960704
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TCS-Ignitians

Dear Preethy,
Belated happy B’day dear. May life’s brightest
joys illuminate your path, and may each day’s

MONSOON SPECIAL
journey bring you closer to your dreams. Hope
you had a wonderful birthday with lots of
cakes.
Your lovable roomies,
Sumol(Cognizant), Rinu(Syntel), Anitha(Sathyam)
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Karuppa samy, Kattu raja Vazhga pallandu…! freshed.
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Dear Kamal, Contact: 42676000
Today’s the day we get to say we are happy
you were born. Let all your dreams may come
true this year. Many more happy returns of the
day dear friend! Happy Birthday!!
Giri Babu (TCS), Antony David (FL Smidth), Parthiban
(HDO), Saravanan (HSBC), Dinesh (HDFC), Pathy
(HDFC), Dharmesh (Kotak), Deepan Balaji

Dear Anand,
We hope your Birthday is Great. We hope you
have lots of ice cream. We hope your greatest
birthday wish comes true. HAPPY BIRTHDAY...!
Best Wishes from FMG Family,
CSS Corp Pvt Ltd.
Hello Gang,
Send your greetings to sticky@goergo.in, with
the word ‘greeting’ and the preferred date of
publication in the subject line. Example:
’Greeting: August 28’. This will help us organise
the column. Also, those who want to dedicate
greetings, please send your full name, company
name and contact number for verification.
Cheers,
Team Ergo
TOP 5 THINGS TO DO ON A RAINY DAY
The best activity of all - get wet. Jump
in poodles of water and make splashes
all around.
Have a film festival at home. Get all
your DVDs and CDs together and watch
an assortment of movies.
Who said the only place to go camping
was outdoors. Pitch a camp indoors.
For the purpose, make use of draping
sheets.
Rainy day, a weekend, with almost
everyone at home, is the perfect time
to delve into family history, remember
some funny incidents and have a good
laugh.
Rainy season is supposed to be the
most romantic season of all. Time to
make your loved one feel special, what
do you say?
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008

Wild enough
A wild monkey caused chaos as it ran
amok in a central Tokyo railway station
after it jumped the ticket barriers.

sudoku

P.K.K. Muralidharan
of HCL Technologies
clicked this picture
near Suruli Falls,
just 10 km from
Cumbum in Theni
district.
Note the difference
in the evergreen
trees on the banks
of the river.
Hobbies: Listening
to music and
photography.

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

TEAM
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karthik@goergo.in

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N. Ravichandran, E. Baskar

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KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,
CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,
Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:
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Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik
(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Monday, August 25, 2008
15
Pop-tart art Word’s worth
"Zeitgeber" (tsite-gebb-er) a cyclical event in the
An artist has created collage of figures
environment, especially one that acts as a cue for
such as Pamela Anderson, Larry King
biological rhythms in an organism. From German
and Osama Bin Laden completely from
words meaning ’time’ and ’giver.’
breakfast cereal.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

This is best day to work on a software that has to
be designed based on various data sources. It’s a
good day to combine two softwares. Logical
discussions may not lead to fruitful conclusions.
Lovers may enjoy intelligent discussions.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may be very vocal today. All verbal
communications related to work may bear fruits.
Important meetings should also go well. You may
enjoy delicious dinner with your beloved. Love life
may be full of charm, by the Grace of Ganesha.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

Renewed energy makes you feel very active. You
BORN LOSER will be able to develop good logic for the softwares.
The day also favours important discussions regarding
new development. In love life, you may experience
similar intensity from your partner, says Ganesha.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Time and energy may be spent behind things that
you think are unnecessary. Because of this, you may
remain frustrated at office. However your sweetheart
may help you pacify this feeling. Ganesha suggests
you to control temper and also take care of health.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
Even if you try harder to solve certain issues, they
may persist. You will be able to impress others with
your skills. Intelligent discussions with someone you
praise or adore, is possible. Your partner may take
the lead and you will have to take the back-seat.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Your total focus may be on career progress and
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT related matters. You will not be wasting time in
anything that doesn’t add any value to your current
profile. Love life may undergo some turmoil if you
both don’t refrain from arguments.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Luck is favouring you today. It is perfect day to
negotiate promotion. There will be strong desire to
progress quicker in career. Intellectual hard work is
also on the cards. At the end of the day, you will
spend memorable time with your beloved.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Ganesha finds you bit upset today because of delay
in routine activities. Projects that you may be
working on may get delayed. In short, it’s an
average day for you. In personal life you may
remain physically attracted towards your mate.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
You are suggested to watch your energy levels. You
may feel tired. You will have to put in lot of effort
to achieve success. In love life, you may give more
importance to beloved, but Ganesha suggests you
to see to it that it doesn’t work against you!
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
At office, you may work very hard. You may not
wish to take responsibilities of goof ups which
might have hampered your own or company’s
progress in past. Handle the blames little carefully.
Lovers may spend little but high quality time.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS It is a day to learn lots of new things at workplace.
Best day to hone your professional skills. Working
ISSUE’S under senior’s guidance may benefit you more. In
the evening, you may wish to go for some
SOLUTIONS entertainment programme with your lover.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
Ganesha finds you very much confused today.
However, this is best day to think about pros and
cons of things. You are advised to avoid negative
thinking. Ganesha foresees you spending a very nice
time with family members or lover, in the evening.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 !
A fitting
CLIMAX
RINI MUKKATH
E
ven if the show started a bit late,
Climax, the annual dance show of
the John Britto Dance Company
dazzled the audience on Satur-
day. John dedicated the show to the
parents of all the dancers who had en-
couraged them to pursue their passion.
The show started with a soulful lyr-
ical jazz performance by the senior
dancers of the company who have
received training in the US under
the US Consulate Scholarship.
The Latin Jazz performance
was also very sensational and
they even jumped off the
stage to dance with
the cheering au-
dience. For those who walked in think-
ing it was all about western dance
styles, the Kalari performance came as
a pleasant surprise. The skilful render-
ing of this ancient Indian art form
made it clear that these dancers are ca-
pable of adapting to any style. Hip-
Hop, crimping and the Lambada were
also delivered with much ease, thanks
to the months of practise they put in.
Kids steal show
The students who performed at the
show were also fun to watch. Kids of
the age group five to seven years per-
formed an Elvis Presley dedication.
When the One Republic hit single ‘Apo-
logize’ filled the hall, dancers in the age
group of eight to twelve hit the stage
ERGO Monday, August 25, 2008
with slow hip-hop steps and a pair
emerged enacting a break-up sequence
that included a slap scene was per-
formed all in sync with the lyrics of the
song. Within minutes Madonna’s 4
minutes replaced the brooding lover’s
mood and provided scope for action.
The exciting bit came when the kids
enacted a mafia shootout sequence
complete with fake deaths.
The lights seen on stage added to the
glamour quotient of the entire show.
From the huge wall too wall lights seen
during the hip-hop performances to
the ultra bright and jazzy ones seen
during the latin jazz, the lights did
bring the stage alive. John was right
when he said the show was going to be
a dance extravaganza. ■
Actors
Jeeva and
Vineeth
were
among the
many who
witnessed
the
fantabulous
show.
PHOTOS:
R.RAVINDRAN