150 and on Gautam Gambhir, Without a Doubt Team India's Best

A BYTE OF LIFE Monday, April 6, 2009

0703 150 AND ON Empowered Vote Dilli Rathnam collects t-shirts Interview with Barun Mi- tra, Liberty Institute

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 64 History BECKONS Gautam Gambhir, without a doubt Team India’s best batsman in recent times, has once again played a pivotal part in a Test match setting up the opportunity to grab a historic series win at Kiwi Land.

» PAGE 08 02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009

CEO backs ‘No Vote’ option Launches website www.empoweringindia.org Strict senior, grumpy juniors A senior police officer under the suburban commissionerate is often addressed as the ‘sleepless terror’ by his juniors. The reason – the khaki remains insomniac, angry and agitated until a crime case handed over to him is cracked. Some subordinates even lament that the man doesn’t give them a moment’s peace till the case is over. Best bet Gambling has become a regular affair in many parts of the city, including places like T. Nagar and Ayanavaram. Apparently, in Central Chennai station an ‘influential’ man and his gang are regular gambling offenders and mostly go scot-free by paying a minimal amount as fine to the law and a higher amount to the khakis. Going undercover Police are getting ready a team of lady constables to act as baits to nab chain- snatching offenders as there has been a steady rise in the number of chain- snatching incidents in the city, especially over the last few months. Reliable sources Barun Mitra, Director, Liberty Institute, explains the website www.empoweringindia.org at Press revealed that more undercover constables Institute of India on Saturday. Naresh Gupta, Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, T. S. will be posted on the ECR stretch. Krishnamoorthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, and Era Sezhian, former MP, are also seen. PHOTO: N. SRIDHARAN

ERGO CORRESPONDENT option gaining momentum, he during an interaction with Pakis- [email protected] said it shows disinterest among tani journalists, they said the people. The CEO also backed the ‘smooth transition of power’ in hief Electoral Officer of Ta- No Vote option, saying, “It would India is absolutely great and the mil Nadu, Naresh Gupta, put moral pressure on political way elections were conducted in launched a unique website parties to field ‘efficient’ candi- India was amazing,” he recalled. Cwww.empoweringindia.org dates (as many parties have nom- As the regional parties are rap- on Saturday. Speaking at the inated contestants with criminal idly expanding their base and function, Mr. Gupta said the Elec- charges against them) and also gaining importance in national tion Commission has taken sev- the parties would be forced to politics, the former CEC urged eral measures to ensure that free rethink their policies, focus on them to have a national outlook and fair polls are conducted in developments, which will boost and work towards the develop- the country and encourage peo- the functioning of the democra- ment of the nation. ple to vote, in order to prevent cy.” He also admitted that there The programme was jointly or- bogus voting. are certain deficiencies on the ganised by the Press Institute of “Since the portal has informa- part of Election Commission, India, Liberty Institute and Frie- tion about all candidates and which have resulted in bogus drich Naumann - Stiftung fur die constituencies for the Lok Sabha names being included in the vot- Freiheit, a German foundation and Assembly elections, well- ers’ list and people left out of the promoting liberal politics. N. packaged in a user-friendly man- electoral rolls and said appro- Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu; ner, I hope this would improve priate steps will be taken to plug Era Sezhiyan, former MP; B.S. the polling percentage and result these loopholes so that high tur- Raghavan, IAS (Retd); Sathiya in meaningful democracy,” he nout could be achieved. Moorthy, Director (Chennai said. He also lauded the ‘Jaagore’ T.S. Krishnamoorthy, former Chapter), Observer Research campaign and said such private Chief Election Commissioner of Foundation; A.K.Venkatasubra- sector initiatives have the power India, said the EC has a mam- manian, IAS (Retd); Barun Mitra, to reach out to voters and en- moth task to perform during polls Director, Liberty Institute; and V. courage them to exercise their and employed 5 million people Murali, Director, Press Institute franchise. for poll duty. “I was sent to Pakis- of India, also attended the gather- On the issue of the ‘No Vote’ tan as an election observer and ing. ■ Monday, April 6, 2009 03 In full spirits Bike and Barrel at The Residency Towers has some interesting offers for guests. Buy one and get one select brand free on Monday and Tuesday between 9.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. On Wednesday, the ‘Ladies Day’ get complimentary beverage anytime from noon to 11 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday, sway to hip hop and house from 9 p.m. onwards. The T-shirt hunter

met cricketer Anil Kumble there. I Yahoo! “I was running behind the J.S. Dilli Rathnam used this as an opportunity to get South Indian marketing head of Team India’s official t-shirt from STAR Sports for more than a fort- has a collection of him. I was surprised when he night to get that t-shirt. Similar gave it to me without hesitation.” was the case of the Yahoo! t-shirt. 150-odd official But collecting official t-shirts is But I still got them,” says Rath- not an easy task, he says. “Not nam, who says the size of the t- company t-shirts. everyone gives you one so soon. shirts doesn’t matter. For instance, when I approach a “One of the t-shirts I have be- And he’s looking company the instant answer I get longs to my nephew. It was given will be ‘company policy prevents to him by the Chicago Hospital, for more us from giving t-shirts to outsid- where he was born,” he says. ers’. But then they give me the But the one t-shirt that Rath- V. HARIPRIYA option of getting the t-shirts from nam is trying hard to get is Nes- [email protected] employees who are willing to part cafe’s. “Nescafe has a different with it.” policy. They will never give t- uy or barter – J.S. Dilli The next step is bartering – get- shirts to outsiders, and neither Rathnam makes sure he ting the t-shirt from the employee should their employees. Em- gets them by whichever and compensating it with a ployees have to give back their Bmeans. branded t-shirt. Money is not a worn-out t-shirt to get a new one. Come Fridays, the test lead at matter for Rathnam, who once So I know it’s hard to get. But I HCL Technologies flaunts his exchanged a prize for a t-shirt. will get it.” not-so-easy-to-get t-shirts at of- “Macromedia conducted a On whether his company pol- fice, much to the envy of his col- member the day he wore the Bulls, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Bacardi, seminar and in the end they gave icy allows him to wear to office leagues. The credit, or blame, Budweiser t-shirt the first time. “I Bosch, HBO, Pooh, Singapore away Macromedia software official T-shirts of other compa- goes to his brother J.S. Muralidh- enjoyed the attention I received Airlines, Master Card, Volkswa- worth Rs. 30,000 to three people nies, he says, “They are okay as aran, an employee of Capegemi- when I wore the brewing compa- gen, Red Hat, 2006 FIFA World selected by lucky draw, of which I long as I don’t wear their compet- ni, who presented him the ny’s t-shirt. I became the star of Cup and the Indian and Austra- was one. I told them I was ready itors’ t-shirts.” Budweiser t-shirt in 1997. Now, the day. So I started hunting for lian cricket teams, among many to exchange this software for If, by chance, you meet Dilli this 33-year-old owns 152 t- more such t- shirts.” others. And he has a story behind their official t-shirt and I got it.” Rathnam, the questions he might shirts, the recent addition being Rathnam is the proud owner of each of them. The t-shirts which made Rath- probably ask you are: “Which HBO’s. the official t-shirts of Macro- “Once I went for a seminar at nam run pillar to post to collect company? Got your official T- The techie says he can still re- media, STAR Sports, Chicago Taj Coromandel and by chance were those of STAR Sports and shirt?” ■

funtY for kids In the shadow heatre Y announces its summer and as a group activity. Special ex- Ttraining programme for children ercises on creative visualisation are and young adults, funtY. In addition conducted through solo and group to their ongoing programmes in exercises. acting, voice, scriptwriting and Individual assessment of the chil- communication skills, funtY is spe- dren will be shared at the end of the cially designed for the age group of programme so that parents and the eight to 16. child can sustain the learning proc- funtY is a 14-day programme ess even after the duration of the (two hours daily) that is a blend of programme. basic acting, voice, storytelling and theatre Y is also working towards writing skills. The techniques are its theatre production for children taught through fun-ﬁlled theatre as part of its endeavour to create a exercises focusing on the individual platform to perform for the children from funtY. The programmes will be conducted at studYo, the- funtY one (April 14 to 29, excluding atre Y’s training space at Sundays) No. 35, Mandaiveli Street, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. – 8 to 11 years off R.K. Mutt Road, Man- 11.30 a.m. – 1.30 p.m. – 12 to 14 years daiveli (beside Mandaiveli 3 a.m. – 5 p.m. – 15 to 17 years post ofﬁce). The fee for the programme will be Rs. funtY two (May 1 to 16, excluding 4,000 Sundays) For more details, call 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. – 8 to 11 years Yog at 9884070796 or email 11.30 a.m. – 1.30 p.m. – 12 to 14 years [email protected] or İ The lighthouse on the Marina becomes an umbrella for people visiting the 3 a.m. – 5 p.m. – 15 to 17 years [email protected] ■ beach on a hot summer afternoon. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR Ergo Correspondent 04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009

Mini Quiz Will 2009 be a year of 1: The coupon rate offered by Tata Capital NCD is bonds and investments A) 11% B) 9% Bond 009 in bonds? C) 10% D) 15% PRADEEP YUVARAJ 2: Bonds offered at a discount are also pradeep@finerva.com called as A) Discounted Bond ith the kind of negative sen- B) Zero Coupon Bonds timents seen across the C) Sale Bonds global financial markets it D) Convertible bonds Wlooks like there is a silver Send your answers to fi[email protected] or SMS lining in the clouds. Investors are your answers to 92813 98889. For example, if you keenly looking at the bond market as choose A as the answer to question 1 and B as the investment category to bet on in the answer to question 2 type it as 1A2B and 2009-10. So, is it the good bet for you send it. Winner will be chosen by lucky draw too? In all probability it could be. from all correct answers and get a 2009-10 Under the assumption that interest budget planner. rates are going to go down it seems that bonds will rule the roost as a Answers for last week’s quiz preferred investment vehicle for the a) Monthly coming year. b) Asset Under Management Bonds for dummies A bond is a debt instrument issued by a company to raise capital for the News you can use business. In simple terms the company borrows money from you (the investor) and promises to pay you an Nominee on bank interest (annually or semi-annually) statement as well as the principal at the end of The RBI has recently asked banks to print the pre-decided period. The interest the name of the nominee on the passbooks, is called coupon and the date when bank statements and fixed deposit receipts. It the principal is repaid is called ma- is also being mooted that it becomes strictly turity date. compulsory that such accounts can only be How does it give me the edge? opened if they have a nominee named. This is Bonds have an inverse relationship mainly an attempt to reduce the hassles of to interest rates. i.e. when interest dependents after the death of the bread ear- rates go up the bond investor tends ner. to lose and when interest rates go down the bond investor will gain Next RBI deputy governor profit. The race to fill the RBI deputy governor seems headed to a finish with K.C. Chakrabar- How it works ty, Chairman and MD of Punjab National Example: Say you invested Rs. 100 Bank and T.S. Narayansami, Chairman and in a bond with a coupon rate of 10 Bonds and interest rates are inversely propotional MD of Bank of India being short listed for the per cent. In simple terms, this means high profile post. The final selection will be you have lent Rs. 100 for which at the the market are down by 9 per cent it Income Scheme - Growth, Franklin done by the Finance Minister Mr. Chidamba- end of the year you get Rs. 10 as in- becomes more attractive to buy the India International Fund, ICICI Pru- ram. terest. Now say the government an- bond, which is at 10 per cent inter- dential Income Fund - Growth, Sah- nounces an increase in interest rate, est. More people would like to buy it ara Classic Fund - Growth, IDFC D B Cash anytime any ATM meaning that you would get more and the price could go up to around F - Plan A - Growth, Sahara Income Now you can withdraw money from any interest (let’s assume 11 per cent). Rs. 111.11. If you sell the bond at this Fund - Growth, Kotak Bond Regular ATM without paying any charges to your par- This would ensure that the price of point you would make Rs. 11.11 Plan - Growth, Birla Sun Life Income ent bank irrespective of the number of trans- your bond will reduce to approx rather than Rs. 10 and also much Plus – Growth, Reliance Income actions. Rs.90.91 as investors will get to in- earlier than the maturity period. Fund - Retail - G P - Growth Fortis vest at 11 per cent outside. Some well performing bond funds Flexi Debt Fund – Growth and Kotak Conversely, if the interest rates in available in India: Canara Robeco Bond Deposit – Growth. ■

(Tax planning options you must check out. This week we have some of the government schemes) Monday, April 6, 2009 05 Bulletin Board

$100 million dreams Google Inc is forming a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage start-up ﬁrms. The fund, to be called Google Ventures, will be wholly owned by Google, but will operate as a separate entity and will seek investment opportunities to maximise returns rather than looking for investments that strictly ﬁt with Google’s strategic vision. Rich Miner, a co-founder of Android smart phone software that Google acquired in 2005, and Bill Maris are the fund’s two managing partners. Google Ventures will look at a wide variety of companies to invest in, including consumer Internet products, information technology, health care and biotech, among other areas. The fund will focus primarily on companies seeking seed funding and early stage funding, and Google Ventures will have the ability to make investments ranging from tens of thousands to “several tens of millions” of dollars. Reuters

Searching a friend? The most interesting person you been searching for all over the world (web) may be a street away. Hard to believe! Log to www.areapal.com. That’s not just the phrase but the goal of this new “Instant Networking Site” that helps you discover the friend. Five friends from Chennai have started this website, which they say is “beyond networking”. The start-up currently connects people in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Salem and Calling women Mumbai, with its team of students in each of the cities. Why, waiting may be the most interesting entrepreneurs person in your neighbourhood. Is there a women entrepreneur next door who needs help in restarting her business or training to improve her business skills? If you know of interested women who run micro, medium and large-scale enterprises across manufacturing, services and social sectors, refer them to the TiE Stree Shakti (TSS) initiative. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which has one of the largest networks of entrepreneurs and professionals, has launched its first women entrepreneurship platform – TSS. Learn to start your own business TiE chapters across India is reaching out to entrepreneurs Do you know of a neighbour who is talented in craft by holding knowledge and training sessions in over 15 work, DTP, cooking… or for that matter has excellent cities. Some of these women will be encouraged to send managerial skills? The individual only needs a little them applications for the workshop and later for the encouragement and some finance to start. You could awards to be held in June. Hurry! Around 300 women help her scale her business from her/his home itself. gain to benefit from this initiative. Or, are you bored with the regular job and want to For details log on to www.tiestreeshakti.org or email your explore your hidden talent in a different area? queries to [email protected] Women Entrepreneurship Promotional Association (WEPA) conducts training in various entrepreneurial skills whereby one could know the business that best suits you. They offer training in over 40 different (Know of any event, workshop or seminar that should interest aspiring businesses. Email Prema Desikan at [email protected] or call entrepreneurs? Mail us the details to fi[email protected]. Also, ping us 94440 44068/ 22440683 to learn more with your suggestions and queries on this weekly column) . 06 VILLAGE ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009 Bringing home the bacon A farmer has adopted a dozen wild pigs as pets - and trained them to follow him as he rides a motor scooter.

’Hope’ the German Shepherd ’Jai Ho’ can play piano touches Hope, a white German Shepherd, has been revealed to possess skills that no other ordinary dog does. hearts of The dog has the capabilities of mowing the lawn and even showed off his skills with the Flymo at his home in Chinese Sutton Coldfield, reports the Telegraph. The movie Slumdog Organisers of a new talent show have also laid claim Millionaire has become that the four-year-old, who was the winner of National a rage in China with its Pet Month in April 2008, has the ability to play the Oscar-winning track Jai piano. Ho reverberating ANI across this Communist nation. Music maestro AR Rahman’s anthem Jai Now, enjoy honeymoon in Ho has won the hearts of people here who are enjoying the rhythmic nuances of its tune even though the lyrics is Saddam’s bedroom beyond their comprehension. It might sound a bit eccentric, but Iraq is offering Saddam “Frankly speaking I do not know the meaning of Jai H’. Hussein’s palatial boudoir to newlyweds to make their first But I like the song as it touches my heart,” said Dong Hui, night extra special. a Beijing University student. The ex-dictator’s bedroom is on offer for 150-pound a The film has been dubbed in Chinese language, is running night. At the moment Hussein’s presidential palace, which full house in theatres across China. includes Roman columns, chandeliers and gargantuan “It is a proud moment for everyone of us as an Asian film bathrooms, is undergoing renovation in the town of Hillah. got eight Oscars. Since the film tells about a rag-to-rich “We hope that many people will visit,” The Times quoted a story, it struck the imagination of an average Chinese,” tourism official, as saying. documentary filmmaker Zhang Jie said. Till 2005, the mansion was PTI occupied by US troops. However, now outlying buildings that used to house soldiers from Amy eyes £3m villa in Caribbean Saddam’s special guard Amy Winehouse is planning to buy a gorgeous have been turned into Caribbean hideaway within weeks. luxury hotel rooms with The 23-year-old is apparently in love with a 3-million televisions and king-size pound villa on sunny St Lucia - her new adopted beds. home. “I’ve been here three years “Amy has instructed lawyers to draw up contracts with and I can’t tell you how the developers and everything is set for her to buy it. many bedrooms or But a few days ago Mitch (her dad) stepped in and bathrooms there are,” said said he wasn’t sure. He’s worried about the possible Abdul Satar Naji, in charge distractions of drugs and partying on the island,” The of security at the palace. Mirror quoted a source, as saying. ANI ANI Recession hits Disney

he US economic downturn has account for a quarter of its total says. begun to take its toll on the en- business and revenue. According to it, trafﬁc to Orlando tertainment industry, with gi- According to the Los Angeles International Airport, which trans- Tant Walt Disney Co. axing 1,900 Times, Disney is bracing for an ex- ports visitors to and from Disney - jobs from its theme parks in Cali- tended downturn as people skip was down 14 percent in February fornia and Florida. theme parks to save money. compared with the same period last According to reports, the compa- “The recession, and the recent de- year. ny’s Walt Disney World in Orlando, cline, has really hit the theme park Hotel bookings at the Disney re- which is the world’s most visited industry, but it has hit the destina- sorts were also falling sharply, with recreational resort, has eliminated tion parks more than the regional March ﬁgures down 20 percent from 1,400 jobs. parks,” the newspaper quoted Ed- the same period last year, the new- The original Disneyland Resort in ward Shaw, an associate with travel spaper said. Anaheim, California, will also axe industry consultant Economics Re- The original Disneyland at Ana- 300 positions. search Associates, as saying. heim near here has also seen its The rest of the jobs are being elim- “People are staying closer to bookings shrink by 12 percent in Ja- inated at the company’s corporate home,” added Shah. nuary-February and 15 percent in headquarters at Burbank near here, The entertainment giant’s spraw- March compared to the same period reports said. ling 25,000-acre Walt Disney World last year. Disney employs about 80,000 peo- in Orlando has been particularly ■ ple in its parks and resorts, which hard-hit by the recession, the report IANS Monday, April 6, 2009 07 The empowered vote

‘actual’ voter is minimal. These In conversation channels can only create impact on policy changes, but can’t per- with Barun Mitra, suade people to vote, because half the Indian population can’t director of Liberty read English and they are the people who go and vote, not the Institute elite or English-speaking section of our society. What we need is S.SREEJITH the help of local language new- [email protected] spapers, who can take it to the voters who matter. The motive behind Any plans to collaborate launching this website is to with other social create awareness among networking websites? voters. But Internet We are planning to promote penetration in India is our website via Orkut, Facebook, scanty, how are you going where youngsters meet and net- to promote this website, so work with their friends. They can that information is spread the information and it disseminated to all? will surely result in more young- “I’m fully aware about the In- sters thronging the polling ternet penetration in India, but booths. We have also included that’s least of our problem, as links of several civil society orga- long as the demand for informa- nisations, who are also working tion exists it will reach the con- for the same cause – encourag- cerned people one way or the ing people to vote; also we are other. During last year’s As- trying to include web links of sembly polls to 6 States, the web- politicians, who already have site registered around 30,000 hits their blogs or websites. We have per day and I was stunned, as the provided the information in a portal was not advertised or pro- well-packaged manner, so that moted via any media. News everyone can benefit from that. channels’ (mainly English chan- Do you think this website nels) penetration is very mini- help securing a bigger voter mal as far as elections are turn out? concerned and they can’t create The website as such cannot much impact on the voters, but lead to high voter turn out, but “The Shiv Sena the local district-level newspap- we can convince the public, po- does not ers found the information on our litical parties that voting mat- appeal to the website very useful, and they are Mr. Barun Mitra, Director, Liberty Institute. ters. Every one should go out the ones who are really capable PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR and vote, by not voting we are youth and the of disseminating the informa- committing disservice to our educated tion to the people. For this pur- “When I demonstrated the utilised that trigger to reach out country. “Democracy may not pose, we have also partnered website to slum-dwellers, they to the public,” he added. be perfect, there may be deficit section of with several NGOs, local con- were awe-struck because of the What’s the role of media in in electoral rolls, booth-captur- voters. I’m cerned citizens, grassroot volun- valuable information the portal creating awareness on such ing may occur during polls, but tary organisations, who actually provided and they were least websites? we have to elect our representa- confident of use the website and spread the concerned about Internet, We are not depending on En- tive in a representative democra- achieving a message, encourage people to broadband or access. They just glish news channels or newspap- cy, otherwise we are second vote.” wanted information and we just ers as their penetration to undermining our democracy.” ■ consecutive victory” Milind Deora

VOX POP My Party’s name would be People Party. The send your views to [email protected] differences would be: The members of my party would be nominated only by the public; The nominated candidate must hold a minimum 38 degree, with knowledge of computer; Their Friday’s query: income and income tax will be under my sight, so all should pay tax for all the properties they Would you ever start your own; We will never say “vote-for-us, we-will-do you-this” as it is not a democratic way; Our own political party? campaigning style will be different, which I don’t This can be answered only after the elections. want to mention; People will always be allowed Let’s see what Lok Satta (the party started by to come and meet me for any grievances; IAS, IIT & IIM alumunus) fare this election. If at Nobody can bribe my party members, etc. This is all I start one, I would teach the people about the trailer, the main picture will be screened the various rights they can exercise. only live. Ziaulhaq Sooﬁ Bala Kumaran, Sella Synergy 08 SPORT ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009 Kipruto wins Paris marathon Kenyan Vincent Kipruto on Sunday won the 33rd Paris Marathon in a record time of 2hr 05.47min. The previous record was held by the 21-year-old runner’s compatriot Mike Rotich, who clocked 2hr 06:33min in 2003. Kipruto, who broke away from a leading group of 15 runners in the Bois de Boulogne, ﬁnished ahead of Ethiopia’s reigning Paris half- marathon champion Bazu Worku (2hr 06:15).

Button wins abandoned Malaysian GP All’s well in fair Jenson Button won a chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday for a second straight victory after the race was abandoned when a ferocious storm lashed the Sepang circuit. Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber came second, benefiting from pitting only once to Button’s four times weather in a race that became a lottery. Timo Glock in a Toyota was third. It was finally halted after 32 laps as rain pelted down, lightning flashed Chennai Super Kings have around the circuit and visibility deteriorated, the first time since Brazil started training at the in 2003 that a race has been called off due to weather. M.A. Chidambaram Formula One supremos must take some of the blame after pushing for a Stadium here. Despite 5:00 pm start instead of its regular 3:00 pm slot to satisfy European much criticism over the IPL television audiences. moving to South Africa, With tropical Malaysia routinely getting wild storms, it was clear that if one hit during many feel the climate the 56-lap race they would have trouble finishing with daylight disappearing.Toyota’s Jarno Trulli came fourth, there should do the Rubens Barrichello in the other Brawn was fifth and Mark Webber in the Red Bull was sixth. players good after all World champion Lewis Hamilton picked valuable points by coming seventh with Nico Rosberg filling out the top eight. AYON SENGUPTA However, the drivers and constructors only get half the [email protected] usual number of points with the race halted at less osing a close final in the than three-quarter distance. first edition of the Indian AFP Premier League (IPL) had Lbeen a big heartbreak for the superstars of Chennai Su- Azarenka beats per Kings. The team is all geared up to do better this year Serena Williams in South Africa. The Indian players of the side sans skipper Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka clinched the first Mahendra Singh Dhoni and major title of her career by beating top seed and world medium pacer Lakshmipathy number one Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 in the Miami WTA Balaji, who are in New Zealand, hardcourt final. are going through their paces Williams, bidding to claim a record sixth title and third in at the M.A. Chidambaram Sta- a row, was badly affected by a left thigh injury, which got dium before their departure to worse as the match progressed. South Africa on April 8. Former Despite the defeat, the American was already assured of Aussie opener Matthew Hay- hanging on to her world number ranking for the 71st week den also arrived late Thursday of her career. Chennai Super Kings cricketers Manpreet Gony (left) and night and will be the fulcrum of It was a poor quality final. The players reached 3-3 in the Suresh Raina seen during a practice session at M.A. the team’s batting after another first set before Serena, who had defeat- Chidambaram Stadium on March 30, 2009. Aussie, Mike Hussey, has ruled ed sister Venus in the semifinals, began PHOTO: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN himself out of the competition. to feel her thigh, which was heavily- While every player and critic bandaged and which was also support- is moaning the tournament sweating it out in the sultry ekhar says. ing her knee. moving out of India, team phy- Chennai summers every morn- Punjab fast bowler Manpreet From that point on, the reigning US sio and South African Gregory ing. The team has already se- Gony, who was a revelation last and Australian Open champion man- King is happy with the move. cured Durban as their base and season, also shares his view. “I aged to win just one more game. “This time of the year, summer will get 10 days to acclimatise made it big because of the IPL “It was a little difficult moving to the would be drawing to a close with the conditions there, be- and now there is some pressure left, and a little bit to the right. A little and the weather would be far fore their first match against to live up to it again,” he says. “I forward was also difficult,” she said. cooler than it is here. It should Mumbai Indians in Cape Town will give my best and try to gain The American said she almost would help the teams considerably,” on April 18. from the experience.” have preferred to lose to her sister Ven- he said, while expressing satis- According to CSK’s Director - Chandrashekhar is also hap- us in the semi-finals, except that then faction with the seven Indian Cricketing Operations, the py with the composition of the she would not have kept her world players who have joined the move to South Africa will act as side and says: “Experienced number one ranking. trainings. The players who are a boon to a lot of the Indian players from South Africa, like And she had praise for her young opponent, who had attending the conditioning youngsters in the side, who will Albie Morkel and Makhaya Nti- retired ill against Williams after taking a set off the Amer- camp are Suresh Raina, Parthiv get a chance to play against ni, will play to our strength. All ican in the Australian Open fourth-round in January. Patel, Joginder Sharma, Man- quality opposition in alien con- the youngsters will benefit “I think she has really, really improved,” Williams said. “I preet Gony, Sudip Tyagi, Sha- ditions early in their career. from playing alongside players actually look forward to playing her again so I can play a dab Jakati and S. Anirudha. “It’s a very exciting prospect for like Matthew Hayden and An- little better and obviously do better. The players, no doubt, will the players, especially boys drew Flintoff. The balance in “But I think she obviously has potential and she’s going to welcome the more pleasant who have only played at the the team will us help deal with be a really good player.” ■ weather in South Africa after state level so far,” Chandrash- any eventuality.” ■ AFP Monday, April 6, 2009 09

This one is shaping into a battle to save the match. They are proud of their performance and they know that they haven’t played well in the ﬁrst innings. This is an opportunity to go out there and score some big runs. So they are looking forward to the opportunity. Andy Moles, New Zealand cricket coach

pener Gautam Gambhir scored a sions, then we don’t deserve to win this ‘‘magnificent 167 to close the door Test match.” on New Zealand’s faint hopes of New Zealand had a grim day in blus- Osaving the series in the third and tery conditions in the field, although deciding cricket Test on Sunday. their heads lifted briefly when captain India were 531 runs ahead of New and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori cap- Zealand and had reached 349 for five in tured two wickets in the eight overs af- their second innings when bad light ter lunch. Vettori toiled on from one stopped play on the third day at the Ba- end through the afternoon without fur- sin Reserve. ther reward but the decision to intro- Gambhir and Rahul Dravid ended any duce the new ball 10 overs after tea hopes of a New Zealand comeback by brought instant results. putting on 170 runs in a second-wicket Iain O’Brien took the vital wicket of partnership, which ended soon after Gambhir in the first over of his new lunch with Dravid’s dismissal for a pa- spell, trapping him lbw after a slightly tient 60. But after the cheap dismissal of angled shortish ball straightened on the Sachin Tendulkar for nine, VVS Laxman batsman. joined Gambhir to add another 106 runs O’Brien struck again in his next over for the fourth wicket. with an in-swinging ball of good length New Zealand have been on the back going between Laxman’s bat and pad to foot since Saturday, when they were dis- smash into the stumps. missed for 197 in reply to India’s first New Zealand’s only chance of getting innings total of 379. back into the match was to take several The 27-year-old Gambhir batted for early wickets but Gambhir and Dravid nearly seven hours for his sixth Test cen- were rarely troubled. They brought up tury, hitting 16 fours and two sixes in a their 150 partnership in the second-to- nearly faultless display. last over before lunch, with Gambhir He brought up his hundred by strok- taking the lead and Dravid generally ing Tim Southee through the covers for content to play the anchor role. a boundary in the second over after Dravid brought up his 57th half-cen- lunch and smashed the next ball tury in uncharacteristically flamboyant through the gully for another four. style, hitting Southee for consecutive Despite his brilliant performance, fours behind square and through Gambhir hung his head in frustration as mid-wicket. he trudged from the field after being India’s charge slowed in the after- dismissed. noon after Dravid’s dismissal, which was “I thought it would be very special if I down to an inspired piece of anticipa- could get a double hundred in New Zea- tion by wicketkeeper Brendon McCul- land - overseas,” he said. “I was very dis- lum. The wicketkeeper saw Dravid was appointed, I wanted to get a double shaping for a paddle-sweep shot off hundred.” Vettori and moved quickly across to the “I think if we can set New Zealand leg side, where he was in a perfect posi- over 600 runs, they are going to be out tion to take the catch as a bemused Dra- of this Test match and they will only be vid looked on. playing to survive rather than winning,” Captain Dhoni was not out 16 and he said. Yuvraj Singh was on 15 at stumps. ■ “If we can’t get them out in five ses- AFP Gambhir makes merry

Hits sixth

Test ton, Gautam Gambhir celebrates after scoring a century during the third day of the final Test match gives India against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve stadium in Wellington. massive lead AFP PHOTO/DIBYANGSHU SARKAR 10 FLICK ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009 First James Bond museum opens The world’s first James Bond museum, showcasing several gadgets and vehicles from popular Bond films, opened to public on Sunday. According to mirror.co.uk, the new 007 attraction is located in Keswick, Cumbria. Among the exhibits at the museum are the Triumph Stag convertible from Diamonds are Forever and the Colibri gun from The Man with the Golden Gun. Madonna loses adoption bid

The Malawian government, which said it would support the adoption, does a U-turn

adonna will not be allowed to after a judge denied her adoption bid. adopt a second child from Ma- As her lawyer broke the news, the lawi, a 4-year-old girl named shocked singer yelled: “Whaaat?” MMercy James, the African coun- The 50-year-old singer had been told try’s High Court ruled on Friday. The by government officials that Mercy ruling will please campaigners who say James was “definitely hers”, reports authorities have given the pop star spe- The Sun. Following the decision, Ma- cial treatment. Malawi’s government, donna, who had spent nearly two years which came under fire after Madonna preparing to adopt the tot as a sister to adopted a 13-month-old Malawian Malawian son David Banda, sat mo- boy, had said on Thursday it would sup- tionless before “furiously storming port a second adoption. off” to her room at the luxury lodge The 50-year-old singer was said to be where she had been staying in the Afri- “in pieces” at being forced to return to can country. Britain without Mercy, the little girl she A worker there said: “She was unrec- hoped would become her fourth child, ognisably angry – she seemed in emo- the Daily Mail online reported. tional agony. We couldn’t tell if she “Madonna is in absolute pieces. She was crying, but her daughter Lourdes is devastated. This is the first time she ran and put her arms round her. Ma- has not got something she longed for. donna said to her lawyer, ‘This is the Lourdes will also be devastated. She worst day of my life’. She yelled at him, helped get a room ready for Mercy and ‘What went wrong? How could this chose clothes for her,” a source said. happen?’ He was staring at the Madonna screamed in disbelief and ground.” ■ held her head in her hands on Friday Agencies

Posh Spice lands princess role in As good as it ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ gets fter Scarlett Johansson and Johnny Depp, Victoria ans of Marilyn Monroe, ABeckham is making a cameo appearance on TV cartoon FJames Dean, the Beatles Spongebob Squarepants. and Cher can now get their The 34-year-old former Spice Girl has landed a guest role hands on their own life-sized as a princess on the hit Nickelodeon cartoon. models of the stars, as wax Posh recorded the voice-over late last year and, representations of the icons according to the sources, studio bosses are quiet are going up for auction in impressed. May. “Victoria was a complete pro and finished all her takes Executives at the in a day,” the Mirror quoted a source as saying. Hollywood Wax Museum in “She isn’t interested in becoming an actress, but voice- Los Angeles are selling off over work is something that appealed. She joked that she the imitations along with could simply rock up to the studios in a trackie and no nearly 200 other waxworks of make-up and no one would ever know… Scriptwriters celebrities including actors Stevie Wonder, Will Smith and created the role of a posh British princess especially for her Charlie Chaplin, sportspersons Michael Jordan and Tiger and were blown away by what a natural she was,” the Woods, and former US presidents Bill Clinton and George source added. “Victoria enjoyed every minute and is keen Washington, contactmusic.com reports. to do more. Network bosses have been in touch since, offering more work – she really does A portion of the profits from the Profiles in History sale have her pick of projects.” will be used to help preserve Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. She was persuaded to take the part by youngest son Cruz (4), who is a huge fan of The auction, the first in the wax museum’s 44-year history, Spongebob. Posh’s episode is likely to air during an hour-long special this summer. ■ is due to take place May 1. ■ ANI IANS Monday, April 6, 2009 11 Pigging out on fried chicken Reese Witherspoon says that whenever she feels down in the dumps she reaches for a bucket of fried chicken. “I just love it. I can’t help it, though – I’m from the South. It’s just the best and always picks me up. Then I always eat lots of biscuits, too. People look surprised when I say that but it’s true,” the Daily Star quoted her, as saying. ANI ‘I am NOT getting married!’ Miley Cyrus’ plan to marry Justin Gatson was a mere joke

eenage actror-singer Miley Cyrus has laughed off reports that she is planning to marry Tbeau Justin Gaston. The reports began circulating after the Hannah Montana actor joked about an engagement with Gaston on a radio interview. Cyrus joked that she was set to exchange vows with the 20-year- old on April 3. When Los Angeles DJ Ryan Seacrest asked her whether she planned to spend the rest of her life with Gaston, she had replied, Anil Kapoor to star in ‘24’ “If he gets a pretty ring.” However, she has finally clar- with Kiefer Sutherland ified that it was a mere joke. nil Kapoor, after the Oscar-winning Slumdog “I am NOT getting married! AMillionaire, is to take a leading role in the television I’m 16 and super focused on thriller 24, Hollywood daily Variety said. my career and just livinnggg Kapoor (49) will play a Middle East leader in the eighth life! I was kidding on Seacrest!!! season of the adventures of intelligence agent Jack Ha-ha! A joke!” the Daily Star Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland. The series is due to quoted Cyrus as stating on Twitter. be seen at the end of the year in North America. ■ Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus and her AFP former beau Nick Jonas have re- united again, but only for work. The duo will be joining other celebrities for the making of the video called ‘Pass It On’. Fifth sequel to Terminator The track will be featuring mul- tifarious celebrities and Cyrus in the pipeline and Jonas just happen to be two ans of the ‘Terminator’ franchise have cause to rejoice of them. The video is about kind- Fas a fifth instalment of the series is in the offing. ness and passion. Filmmaker Joseph McGinty Nichol, fondly called McG, Cyrus has revealed that there is who is helming the fourth movie, Terminator Salvation: no ill feeling between her and The End Begins, has been lined up to direct the fifth Nick. movie in the action series, reports contactmusic.com. “We don’t hate each other,” The McG is eying Terminator 2: Judgment Day star Robert New York Daily News quoted Cyrus Patrick for the as telling Seacrest. forthcoming “We really love each other. He’s project. Patrick really cool, and I’m happy we’ve shot to fame for been able to stay friends. Eve- his part as evil ryone thinks that me and the Jonas metal Brothers have this big feud going shapeshifter on, and me and Nick are really robot T-1000 in close friends now. We talk all the the first time and he’s one of my best Terminator friends,” she added. ■ sequel. ANI “I love McG. He’s a great guy... we I’m 16 and super saw each other and he talked to focused on my career me about it, so we’ll see what happens. The sci-fi genre, and just livinnggg and specifically that character, is something I’m very proud of. It’s what broke me out big to the world,” said life! I was kidding Patrick. ■ on Seacrest!!! IANS 12 ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009

Friday’s query: Bharath from What’s the biggest Sify Technologies ‘bulb’ you’ve ever has nominated his friends as given someone? Partners in Crime. This To our pity HOD during a picture was national level technical taken just symposium before the Hashim Allsec capture of One day I emptied my purse jamal pandi purposely and kept in my pant jaggaya at Paint pocket, my brother took my purse Ball in without my knowledge and he Kotivakkam. ate with his friends in a hotel, he stayed there for half an hour without paying the money, then I went and rescued him Srikanth Technip Took a snap of my close friend who was sleeping with her mouth wide open Ramkumar.M Perot System Once my teammate commented Juanita from about me, u are the shortest girl Ajubanet in our gang. I told him that they has are wearing heels. He told if u nominated wear heels also u look short only. her friends Immediately I reacted, if u use as Partners Lux soap also u r black. Everyone in Crime. in the ﬂoor burst into laughs This picture Saranya.M Cognizant was clicked Once a man told me while driving at Yelagiri. bike your head light is on, I asked him are you paying current bill Rockfort Ramesh Technip My ex-boyfriend changed his number bcoz of me and he informed to all his friends not to give his number to me and his friend challenged me that I will never ﬁnd his number. But in a mater of 5 minutes I found my ex’s number and sent him an SMS “I’m back” Deepa CSS Today’s query: Deepak R from Perot Systems You are shuttling has nominated his HR team as between meetings Partners in Crime. and line of assignments to meet, with no time even for a break. How would you control your hunger pangs? Monday, April 6, 2009 13

■ Dear Windows Mobile Malli from the Heart, "Guruji" Vinayak from Veri- (Garjunan), M24 Team, zon has been nominated as Iniya piranthanal Valthukkal… Financial Software & Systems (P) Ltd Ofﬁce Angel by Indru pol endrum HTC mobile-im Lakshminarasimhan and Windows-im pola valla valthukkal… ■ Hi Divi his team. Wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY J ’To this World U r someone, With luv & prayer To this Someone U r The World’ He is our teams Oracle Dot Net Spiders, FSS Luv u loads Sweetypie :) Specialist. He is very well Njoi de day... Wish u gr8 yr ahead :) known for his commitment ■ Dear Sharanya Mohan, Love u loads... and problem solving abilities. May this day be the beginning of Gayathri, Tanya, Akruti, We fondly call him "thaatha" another special year which fulﬁlls Anirudh, Yogesh due to his seniority! your wish. Let this birthday bring you Cognizant lot of joy and happiness in your life ! A Warm Birthday Wishes from All of ■ Dear Gayathri, us! Belated Birthday wishes gayathri... Ur friendly, Wishing u a gr8 and Wonderful Maami Shree (HCL), Problem Krishnan Birthday!!! God bless U... (HCL), Malayalam Bhavana(HCL), Silent Oh sorry, Angels bless u:-) Sathish (HCL), Janthu Jasmine (HCL) Wishing u all success in your life, may all your desires come true. Art featured in this column will ■ Hi friend, Cheers!!!! receive gift coupons from Fruit Bikshapathi M of HCL we are missing you very much my Krish, Preethi, Radha, Shop on Greams Road. Send in dear friend vardharajan, all the best Mithra, Banu and Sudha. your addresses so that we can Technologies Ltd doodled this. for your carrer. We will pray to god CTS post the coupons. for your wonderfull future. But, we will never forget you in your life. Go ■ Dear Muthu (Trick Trick), head care take, bye... Wish You Advance Happy Birth With regards, day!!! May the coming years brings U-pst(Tcse-serve) lots of happiness and cherish in your ■ Dear Friends, life. Life is short Best Wishes, Break the rules DCMS Team forgive quickly FSS, Tidel Park love truly laugh constantly ■ Hi Packi, And never stop smiling “Pirandha Naal Valtukkal!...” no matter how strange life is May all your dreams come Life is not always the party we true…B.…C……G…L… expected to be “If you ever notice anybody driving but as long as we are here, we slower than you, is an idiot and should smile and be grateful. anyone going faster than you is a HAVE A NICE DAY maniac?” Happy birthday Regards, From Team CCS-AS (HCL-GE aviation) Ponniah ■ Dear BoniFace, ■ Dear Tandooo (Jaya), Many more Happy returns of this day Wish you Many More Happy Returns Dear. May god Bless you . of the Day. May God Bless you Non- With lots of love and prayers from our Stop. May you Laugh Non-Stop. family members Appa, May you eat Non-Stop. Amma, Xavier, Jansi, May all Happiness in your life be Celestin & Eugene cherished Non-Stop. Special Wishes from, ■ Annai Bhuvana, Ur "Non-Stop" Close Ones!!! Twinkle !! Twinkle !! Little Fool ! Wipro Bhuvana is the Super Fool. Happy Birthday Genius Fool :-). Regards, Belated Wishes Intelligent Idiots ■ Dear All Rounder, Inautix All Rounder na??? 1.Naayai(dog) pola irukum aanaal 3 kaalil nadakum mirugam Aravind...... ■ Dear Maheswari Ambika (animal) yethu? think?????????????? Aravind na??? Here is a wish coming in this Nondi Naai A- Aristocrat wonderful occasion for you from 2. Man1: Tonic Saapidum bothu yen door close pannikurey? R- RoyalChallenge your friend. Wishing you a many Man2: Doctor arai moodi tonic kudika sonnar A- Antiquity many Happy returns of the day and Man1:???????? V- Vat 69 Every steppings for you will be 3. A girl named ShrUTI changed her name to ShrAXIS. U know I- Imperial Blue Success from this year. why? N- Napolean Best Wishes, BCoz UTI is now AXIS. D- Director’s Special Karthikeyan A, Saravanan V, Belated B’day wishes Wipro Technologies. HCL 14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009 Universe’s beautiful bay Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, from Venezuela, has branded the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay “calm and beautiful” in her online blog, writing: “I didn’t want to leave; it was such a relaxing place.”

sudoku

Thriller ride! N. Deepan of TCS, Siruseri clicked this picture with his new Olympus digital camera at Queensland. Hobbies: Photography and dancing

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B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20 Ganesha ﬁnds you to be very practical, calculative and analytical at work today. This will boost your performance for your routine activities. Your energy and enthusiasm might astonish your beloved. Enjoy it!

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20 If you assess things in advance, you will find ease in dealing with them. Overall, Ganesha finds you to be very decisive and confident. Try to be very practical when you are handling issues related to your love life. Do not ignore your love life.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20 Ganesha feels that your domestic life will require BORN LOSER special attention today. Nevertheless, your practical and logical abilities will help you balance ofﬁce and work simultaneously. Work at ofﬁce will be smooth. Don’t enter get into any kind of arguments. CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20 You will remain active and focussed today. Hence you might want to go into some research and development activities. Due to heavy research, you might come across a lot of new information. Do not ignore your love life.

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20 You are in a mood to talk a lot today. Hence you might feel like giving suggestions to everyone around you. However, be careful with your words as everyone might not be able to welcome suggestions. This applies to your love life as well. VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20 You might not be able to meet your deadlines. It is FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT high time you start managing your time. At work, you will be judgemental about things. On the love front, grace of Ganesha will keep your lovers tuned to each other’s frequency. LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20 Being a true Libran, problem solving and justice come naturally to you. Hence, you might end up spending a lot of time in problem solving. But, do not get frustrated if there are unsolved issues. Love life may take a back seat due to heavy work load. SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20 Work will be easier today as office might be almost empty. The day is favourable for you, especially on the career front. Superiors might encourage you to take up more challenging tasks. Add spice to your relationship by an outing or a movie. SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20 In the second half of the day you will be bothered due to some technical issues related to work. Your mindset will require a change and you will need to learn to forget and forgive. Ganesha advises you to try and be as nice as possible to your loved ones. CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20 Attending a lot of meetings is on the cards today, and these meetings might offer you new opportunities. As far as work is concerned, you will be able to fix your deadlines. You may devote due time and attention to your love life. AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20 PREVIOUS You might have to focus a lot on pending work and social engagements. You will have to do a lot of communication to sort out pending work. However, ISSUE’S your work efficiency might turn some eyes green. SOLUTIONS Love life might remain uneventful. PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20 Emotions might seem very important as you are feeling emotionally fragile. Do not be hurt if someone tries to point out your mistakes. Try to avoid any pressure or tension due to this. Happy times on the love front. Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni 16 ! ERGO Monday, April 6, 2009

Penitents take part in the ‘Hermandad penitencial de nuestro senor Jesus de luz y vida’ brotherhood procession in Zamora, on Saturday, as part of the Holy Week of Easter. AFP PHOTO/MIGUEL RIOPA/TOPSHOTS

Actor Bipasha Basu showcases a creation of designer label Mona Pali during Kolkata Fashion Week in Kolkata on Saturday. The Kolkata Fashion Week runs from April 2 to 5. AFP PHOTO/ DESHAKALYAN CHOWDHURY

A researcher of the Osaka University displays the internal mechanism of a child robot ‘Child-robot with Biomimetic Body’ or CB2 (CB square at the laboratory in Osaka University in Suita city in Osaka prefecture on March 10, 2009. Osaka University professor Minoru Asada’s team is trying to teach the android to think like a baby that evaluates its mother’s countless facial expressions and ’clusters’ them into basic categories, such as happiness and sadness. AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO