ergo august 28

8/14/2019 Ergo August 28

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Thursday, August 28, 2008A BYTE OF LIFE

Bindra

calls for moreprofessionalism

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 168

Trophy Unveiled

Corporates gear up for Olympiad

0409

Part-time

Vipasha Sinha talks to agroup of college students

and IT professionalswho volunteer at the

Crocodile Bank

PAGE 03

Success!RJ Dheena of Big FMbroke the Guinnessmark for non-stopRJing at the strokeof 8.05 p.m. onTuesday. He has notstopped till 6 p.m.on Wednesday.

PHOTO:R.R

AVINDRAN


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ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008NAMMA CHENNAI02

Men try to steal,heldTwo men who allegedlyattempted to steal goldjewellery from a shop were arrested.Ayanavaram police said Zahir Hussain (22)and his friend Rajesh (20), both fromTondiarpet, had gone to a jewellery shop onMettu Street, Ayanavaram, on Tuesdayafternoon. On the pretext of looking at thejewellery, the duo pocketed three sovereignsworth of gold jewellery and attempted toflee. Following an alarm raised by a storeattendant, the two men were chased by thepublic. Zahir Hussain was caught and handedover to the police. Following interrogation herevealed his aides whereabouts, who was

later caught. Interestingly, the motive behindthe crime was to obtain jewellery for Zahirssisters wedding, police added. The two wereproduced in a city court and later sent toPuzhal prison.

Hoax bomb threats toprominent city locationsProminent city institutions received hoaxbomb threats over the telephone onWednesday morning. A 13-year-old wasarrested in connection with one of the calls.According to police sources, a fewanonymous calls, warning about bombsplanted at the Central Railway Station,Egmore Railway Station, Madras High Courtand a private hospital on Greams Road, were

received at the Railway police and city policecontrol rooms on Wednesday morning. Policeteams rushed to the spots and conducted athorough search, which proved the threatcalls to be a hoax.Police said a teenager from MKB Nagar madeone of the calls from his fathers mobilephone. Further probe is on.

DO

Check that your pups collarisnt too tight. It will cause severediscomfort or choking. If youve

recently adopted a puppy, put your hand throughthe collar (when thepuppy is wearing it)and ensure that

youre able to do soeasily. For growingpups, collar sizeshave to be changedfrequently.

Maintain a vacci-nation card thatsfilled meticulouslyand kept carefully.

Your pet will requireregular shots and if you havetrouble remembering them, logon to futureme.org to email your-self a note that will reach you on aspecified date reminding youabout the vaccination. Or use this

good old-fashioned technique: Attach the card to your refriger-ator with magnets.

DONT

Dr. S. V. Sujatha, a veterin-arian who runs Sri Krishna VetClinic in Abhiramapuram, advis-

es owners not to shave their dogsfur completely during the sum-mer. They can get sunburn. Furcan be trimmed but it has to bekept in mind that the fur offersprotection to the skin againstsuns rays.

She also warns that chocolate,onions, hot and spicy foods andraisins can be deadly for dogs.High fibre foods can also beavoided.

Last and certainly not theleast, theres the ABC factor: Ani-mal birth control surgery is a safe

procedure that increases quality and length of your plife.

Benefits of neutering incthe prevention of territory ming by males and chronic uteproblems in females. Birth trol surgery can be performe

early as five to six months offor both cats and dogs, says jatha. Often, there are too manimals struggling to find homes and spaying our petssolve a significant part ofproblem.

To quote a tongue-in-chsignboard thats displayed

well-known, Chennai-basedmal shelter: They cant rea

write. But they suremultiply!

And of course, theyre counon you.

Fur can betrimmed but ithas to be keptin mind thatthe fur offersprotection tothe skin againstsuns rays

ERGO Pets Pick of the Week

Vidya B. of Infosys Technologies Ltd. has offered to help Mary the Thirty Cats (featured in this column on August 14). On beha

of the furry ones and their caregiver, thanks a million!

Heres a simple checklist on caring for our cats and dogs

SRIYA [email protected]

Movie timeO Outro Lado da Rua will be screenedtoday at South Indian Film ChamberTheatre at 6.30 p.m. The Brazilian filmis directed by Marcos Bernstein and haswon many awards.


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making a new ex-hibit for the Al-dabra giantturtles.

At the youngreptile hut, wemake the visitorshold baby snakesand turtles, ex-plains Ganesh, a

financial analystby profession.Initially theyhesitate but weassure them thatthey do no harm,after which theircuriosity over-shadows theirfear and they en-

joy it. The aim ofsuch an activityis to createawareness andremove miscon-ceptions aboutthem.

Handling the

crowdsHandling the crocs and snakesare fine, the volunteers say. Themore difficult job is to control thecrowd, especially during wee-kends. Some miscreants tend tostand on the enclosure to distractthe muggers. It becomes worse

when parents lift their childrenpast the safety enclosure directly

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Can crocodiles be good pets?

Yes they can, but not ev-ery one can train them. Onlyan expert who knows the

precise petting skills can handlethem. It is completely differentfrom petting cats and dogs, saysShafeeq, a volunteer at the Ma-dras Crocodile Bank Trust(MCBT).

Shafeeq is one of the manyvolunteers at MCBT, who helps

the park staff over the weekends.The volunteering programmewas launched six months ago andhas since found 20 regular volun-teers, most of them from colleges,according to Soham Mukharjee,assistant curator, MCBT.

Orientation programmeCrocodile Park is hardly childs

play. It requires a lot of trainingbefore they can get started withhigh-risk work like handling thecrocs and the snakes. Their initia-tion into the park usually hap-pens with an orientation from anexpert. In the case of Shafeeq, it

was Soham who explained to himthe nitty-gritty of managing thepark. Soham has more than 10

years experience and was able toexplain the volunteers the dosand donts. The volunteers workat the park normally includescleaning the pit, feeding the rep-tiles and guiding visitors, some-times even for the night safaris.

Apart from this, they also takecare of the turtle breeding centre.They recently helped the staff in

above the pit. We cant kecheck on each and every Crocodiles rest in the day and show very less movementhat case the normal mentalithe visitors is to make the crdiles move somehow. As voteers we have to stop them also be polite at the same timsays Yogi, a software professi

.Most of the volunteers sp

their weekend the CrocoPark.

They are provided with cotrooms and food. Its their lovnature and reptiles that bthem here.

It is so much of fun worhere that we dont realise time passes by, smiles Yogtheir free time they hang aroon the beach or spend time ring books in the MCBT librarythe work at the park takes motheir time.

We plan to introduce an eorate orientation for the voteers in the future, says

Gowri Mallapur, The EducatiOfficer.

To know more abut the Ma

Crocodile Bank Trust you can c

the following webwww.madrascrocodilebank

http://madrascrocbank.blogspot

and if you interested to join Ma volunteer, drop in a ma

mcbtindia@gmai

College studentsand some ITprofessionals taketime off duringweekends to

volunteer at theCrocodile BankVIPASHA SINHA

Right from the crocodiles mouth

Oh Maama! Whats that on my shoulder? PHOTOS : R. RAVINDRAN.

Awedding was called off af-ter the bridegroom slippedaway on Wednesdaymorning following the re-

ception on the previous day. Ac-cording to police, he didnt findthe bride pretty enough.

Aminjikarai police said thebridegroom was Jagan (26) ofSunnambu Kalvai Street inAminjikarai.

Six months ago Jagans mar-riage was fixed with Sulochana(21) of Tindivanam. As sched-uled, the reception was held onTuesday night at a marriage hall

in Aminjikarai and the wedding

was to be solemnised onWednesday morning.

Hours before the muhurthamon Wednesday, Jagan went mis-sing, spreading panic amongboth the families. Later, his fam-ily received information that he

was spotted near Parrys Corner,

following which they broughthim back. Repeated persuasionby both the families went in vainas Jagan was strong in his refusalto tie the knot with Sulochana,police added.

The matter reached the police,who also tried to make the par-ties reach a compromise.

Meanwhile, an enraged fatherof the bride bundled up the dow-ry goods, including a motorcy-cle, a cot and an almirah, and

walked away with his daughterand relatives.

Police suspect that thegrooms alleged affair with an-other girl is the reason behindthe refusal to tie the knot. No

case has been registered yet.

Man escapes wedding ceremony; says bride isnt pretty enough

ERGO [email protected]

Runaway bridegroom

Later, his familyreceived informationthat he was spottednear Parrys Corner,following which theyrushed there and

brought him back

How to register?We are flooded with queries on the Marg Chennai Mar-

athon from enthusiastic readers. You can register for the

run by logging on to www.givelife-chennaimarathon.com

or www.margchennaimarathon.com.


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ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008KALEIDOSCOPE04

Ella Yu (top) and Karen Kwong preparefor an Indian dance show at their home inHong Kong. Both have an obsession withall things Indian and spend most of theirtime in Hong Kong promoting Indiandance, yoga and cultural activities.

AFP

Indian school teacher Ratilal MancharamMandali poses with his copy of Macbeth byWilliam Shakespeare on August 27, 2008. The

book which is 5cm by 3cm by 1cm (length/width/height) consists of 315 pages. Mandalibought this tiny book from "Ravivari" or"Sunday Market" in the western Indian city forIndian Rupees 50 in 1975 (USD 5.97 at thistime) not knowing of the potential wealth thepages held. He is in communication with TheShakespeare Birthplace Trust in Britain whohave reportedly offered him 200,000 IndianRupees (USD 4,564) for the book. However,bibliophile Mandali is unwilling to accept lessthan 1,000,000 Indian Rupees (USD 22,820) forthe miniature work.

AFP

T

he second edition of ETAStar Corporate Sports Olym-piad 2008, which will pit the

skills of employees of over35 corporates in around 60 dis-ciplines, was launched on Tues-day night at a star hotel in thecity.

The rolling trophy was un-veiled in the presence of the

sponsors, representatives of thecompanies and a well-knownKollywood starlet.

The Olympiad organisers, F5 Ventures, said the idea was to

promote healthier lifestyles at atime when the Beijing Olympicfever was yet to subside.

The event covers disciplines in-cluding cricket, football, volley-ball, basketball, swimming, trackand field events, tennis, golf,

bowling, karting,snooker, table ten-nis, badminton, ca-rom, chess anddarts.

The first eventwill be the bowlingchampionship atDu Bowl, Egmorethis Saturday.

Fayaz Ahmed,Director, ETA Star

Property spokeabout the impor-tance of imple-menting healthyliving and makingtime for sports inthe IT corridor andoutside.

He also men-tioned that the next

biggest project to look outfrom the ETA Star Property gr

would be their Rosedale resitial community, located onOld Mahabalipuram Road.

Actress Lakshmi Rai ofDhDhoom fame also spoke but bly.

Participating teamsCognizant , Ajuba Soluti

GAVS, TVS Logistics, Syntel, Cgruent Infotech , CLRI, Shell,

Adventnet, Isoft, Kumarantems, Vaishnav Automation, son Toyota, ICICI PrudenPrecision Informatics, NDFord Technology, OptimThinksoft, MMC Infotech, KSecurities, ETA Group, RMPfotec, FSS, Mahindra, InteleKeane, TNT, Paypal, Wipro, Vzon, Chemoil, Aspire Systemsfosys, SRA Systems, Xansa HCL.

Media PartnerErgo is the media partne

the ETA Star Corporate SpOlympiad 2008 and will actcover the events. If your compis participating, do remembesend us the list of winners their photos to [email protected] with the subject line: porate Olympiad 2008.

35 companies to pit their teams in around 60 disciplines in the twomonth-long tournament. Ergo is the media partner.

ERGO [email protected]

Corporate Olympiadtrophy unveiled

eBay investigation launchedAuthorities are launching an investigation to determine how a computer with b

customers personal data was sold on internet auction site eBay. The PC, sold forcontained details of customers at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and its subsidNatwest. The information included account details, customers signatures, mo

phone numbers and mothers maiden names.

Turkey lifts YouTube banA court in Turkey has lifted a ban on video-sharing website YouTube, after h

dreds of sites blocked themselves in protest at growing online censorship. AcceYouTube had been blocked since May 2008 as part of a ban triggered by the posof clips deemed insulting to the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Ke

Ataturk. Users clicking on to YouTube were greeted by a message reading: access to this site is denied by its own decision.

Phone-in paymentMexicans will soon be able to pay for small purchases such as restaurant meals

taxi rides using their cellular phones. Technology firms Telefonica SA and Iusaceljoining with Citigroup Inc and BBVA to launch the service, marketed at tech-steens. Users will be able to link their savings accounts to their phones to mpayments by sending a text message. The service is expected to debut over the few months.

W

STOCKTRACK

NIFTYSENSEX

45.40126.25

I always turn to the sports pages first,which records peoples accomplishments.

The front page has nothing but mans failures.Chief Justice Earl Warren

14296.79 4292.10

(From left) Rajesh Chandan, Director, RMP Infotec; ActressLakshmi Rai; Fayaz Ahmed (Director, ETA Star Properties);Shahul Hamid (Executive Director, ETA Star Properties)


5/16


Are you in search of a stageto unleash your creativity?Then Blitz may help you.

Blitz, a registered non-profit organisation founded by a

group of professionals, workswith an aim to merge the I in thepersonality to the I in the socie-ty. Their goal is to bring out hid-den talent and provide a platformfor everyone who approachesthem.

P.R. Sandeep, a project manag-er with Citigroup Global Servicesand founder president of the or-ganisation, says, There are a lotof youngsters with talent whostarve for an opportunity to ex-press their talents. Blitz lendsthem a helping hand.

Sandeep, along with his friendsSandhya (School of Audio Engi-neering), Karthik (TCS) andShankar (S&S), founded the orga-

nisation in 2001 with the sole ideaof providing a platform for the youth. Located in Mylapore, theorganisation also works for the

welfare of special children. Thereare more than 15 volunteers inthe team who conduct fundrais-ers with the help of college stu-dents and pool money for the

welfare works. Apart from this,members also contribute a fairamount from their pockets everymonth.

Personality developmentBlitz has conducted four perso-

nality development classes in-volving college students. Theclasses are conducted to make

the youth understand their capa-bilities and energies. More than200 students have benefited fromthis programme. Apart from this

we conduct Rag to Riches, Just aMinute and similar thought-pro-voking contests to help them im-prove their leadership qualities.

We reach out to the studentsthrough posters and notices,Sandeep says.

SatvaSatva is a concept designed by

the Blitz for the welfare of SpecialChildren and to discuss issues ongeneral parenting. With severalmulti-national companies on therise, there is no time for parentsto spend time with their children.

We conduct counselling sessions

for parents as well as childreunderstand their needs, Sandeep.

FundraisersBlitz has, so far, conducted

fundraisers and the money lected was donated to AIschool for the differently-aand to an accident victim. Afrom this, Blitz has allocabout Rs. 25,000 for deserstudents who are in need of mey to continue their studies.

Future plansThe Blitz team is plannin

start a multiplex creativity cefor youth in the near future. plan to equip the centre high-end infrastructure. The tre will really be of help to y

who want to nurture theients, Sandeep adds.

Have a talent but dont know how to showcase orchannelise it? Blitz is just for you

Platform ticket

Name: P.R.SandeepProfession: Project ManageCitigroup Global ServicesOrganisation: BlitzLocation: MylaporeContact no: 9884044551Email id:

[email protected]

Websites of the dayCheck out photos of cats with weird and wackyitems stacked on top of them. http://stuffonmycat.com/ Prank call your friends bypretending to be Arnold Schwarzenegger http://www.crocopuffs.com/soundboard/arnold.html

US $ 43.73

Pound 80.57

Euro 64.29

100 Yen 40.05 SOURCE:RBI

Satva

Blitz is conducting a twday workshop for special kunder the banner Satva September 6 and 7 at TCommunity Centre on CRamasamy Road. Studefrom eight special schools wbe exhibiting the creatproducts made by them. Ap

from this, Visual Communition students from Loyola Clege will be giving a theaperformance. The worksh

will provide enough space children and parents to exhitheir creative side. There wbe a special session on the sues of Parenting on Septeber 6. A panel of psychologist, occupatiotherapist, parent of specchildren and an ex-schprincipal will be answering questions posed by the pents. For more details contP.R. Sandeep at 9884044551e-mail [email protected]


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Asking millions of her sup-porters to back one-time ri-val Barack Obama in therace for the White House,

Hillary Clinton sought to presenta unified Democratic front at theNational Convention in Denver,saying the partys Presidentialnominee is my candidate and hemust be our President.

In an unambiguous endorse-ment for Obama, the New Yorksenator stressed that Democratsdo not have a moment to lose ora vote to spare and the fight forthe Presidential post has to bewon together.

At a time when questions werestill being posed on the kind ofbacking the Clintons were bring-ing to the campaign and with Re-

publicans playing on thedifferences in the Democraticcamp, Clinton tried to addressapprehensions that a sizeablenumber of her supporters werenot backing Obama.

No way, no how, no McCain.Barack Obama is my candidate,and he must be our president,Clinton said to a rousing ovationfrom the delegates.

Calling herself a proud moth-er, a proud Democrat, a proud

American and a proud supporterof Barack Obama, Hillary

warmed up to the cheering crowdat Denver on the second night ofthe convention, maintaining theneed for unity following a bitterprimary battle between Obamaand herself.

My friends, it is time to takeback the country we love. Andwhether you voted for me or youvoted for Barack, the time is nowto unite as a single party with asingle purpose.

We are on the same team. Thisis a fight for the future, and its afight we must win together, Clin-ton said.

PTI

Obama must be our Prez, says Hillary

Hillary called herself aproud mother, aproud Democrat, aproud American and aproud supporter of

Barack Obama

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008VILLAGE06

Lucky mums mid-air maternitywell attendedAn Indian woman was lucky enough onWednesday to have not one but four doctors tohelp her deliver a baby boy on a flight betweenHong Kong and Adelaide. There were four of us -one surgeon, one orthopaedic surgeon, one kidneyspecialist and a humble GP, who was the only onewhod done very much in the way of deliveries - soI got that end, Melbourne general practitionerJudith Hamel told the national broadcaster ABC.

DPA

School to review ban oncartwheels in playgroundA school in northern Australia will review a ban oncartwheels, handstands and other gymnastic tumbles in theplayground after a community backlash, the stateeducation department said on Wednesday. Belgian GardensState School in Townsville, Queensland, recently banned allunsupervised gymnastic activities outdoors in what it calledan effort to protect students from injury. The policybecame nationwide news on Tuesday when a parentcomplained to the Townsville Bulletin newspaper. Kylie

Buschgens said her 10-year-old daughter hadbeen threatened with asuspension last week fordoing cartwheels, evenon the grass, afterstudents were told of

the ban at a recentassembly. She told thenewspaper that herdaughter and otherstudents now sit aroundand do nothing duringrecess and lunch breaksbecause they are notinterested in othersports.

PTI

Priest stops beauty contestAn Italian priest whohad planned an onlinepageant for nuns hassuspended the project,saying he wasmisinterpreted andhad no intention ofputting sisters on abeauty catwalk. Mysuperiors were nothappy. The localbishop was not happy,but they did notunderstand me either,Father Antonio Rungi

told Reuters bytelephone from hisconvent in southernItaly on Tuesday. It was not at all my intention to putnuns on the catwalk, said Rungi, a priest of thePassionists religious order, speaking from his convent inthe town of Mondragone. Rungis idea appeared innewspapers around the world after he wrote of a contestfor nuns on his blog, called by some Sister Italy 2008. Itwas interpreted as more of a physical thing. Now, no-oneis saying that nuns cant be beautiful, but I was thinkingabout something more complete, he said.

Reuters

Japanese man kept dozens ofpoisonous snakesA Japanese man was arrested for illegally keeping51 poisonous snakes in a tiny Tokyo apartment, theJiji Press news agency reported on Wednesday.Among the snakes kept by the man in dozens ofplastic boxes piled on top of each other was ahighly poisonous 1.9-metre Black Mamba fromAfrica. The dock workers snake pit was discoveredin July when he was forced to call emergencyservices after one of his pets, a cobra, bit him whilehe was feeding it.

DPA

Oak treesOak trees can take as long as 30 yeato produce acorns.


7/16


The iconic touchscreen hand-set iPhone, it seems, is notas smart as it claims, withthe UK advertising watch-

dog on Wednesday banning a TVad for over-hyping its internet ca-pabilities and misleading theconsumers.

The 3G version of iPhone,

made by American technology gi-ant Apple of iPod music playersand Mac computers fame, madea mid-night debut in India last

week after much fanfare.In a ruling in London on

Wednesday, the Advertising Stan-dards Authority (ASA) asked Ap-ple not to broadcast itscommercial that claimed thatpeople can access all parts of in-ternet from the smart phone.

The ruling follows two com-plaints recieved by ASA againstthe TV ad that showed the phonein someones hand and a fingerswitching it on to reveal the me-nu page.

The ad further shows the finger

touch the weather icon to showthe forecast for Cape Town andthen navigate through a Heath-row Airport area map, a Safariicon, hotels and stock market

webpage.At the same time, the phone is

shown ringing and then being an-swered, with a voice-over saying

You never know which part ofthe internet you;ll need... Whichis why all the parts of the internetare on the iPhone.

However, the complainantssaid the claim about all parts ofinternet being accessible wasmisleading because iPhone didnot support Flash or Java, bothintegral to many web pages.

In its response, Apple said thatthe ad was aimed at highlightingthe benefit of the iPhone in be-ing able to offer availability to allinternet websites, in contrast toother handsets which offered ac-cess to WAP versions or sites se-lected by service providers.

PTI

The Advertising Standards Authority bans ad saying it is over-hyping the internet capabilities

UK watchdogdisconnects iPhone ad

Curry lovers in Britain will nowbe able to watch their food be-ing created, thanks to an Indianrestaurant boss in Chesterton,whos offering its customers to

keep a track of their order on asite.

Mohammed Ali, 30, has in-stalled a webcam for his kitchenat Maliks in Chesterton, Staffs,

along with a GPS navigation kit.The customers will get a

chance to watch their order beingcreated and then track its deliveryon a website.

Ali expects his system to beginon Sept 1.

I believe this is a world first,The Sun quoted him, as saying.

ANI

An Indian restaurant in UK to install awebcam in kitchen

Track your orders

A person wears buttons during day two of the Democratic National Convention(DNC) at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday. Barack Obama will be officially benominated as the Democratic candidate for US president on the last day of thefour-day convention. AFP PHOTO

Hard-core Obama fan

African snailThe giant African snail grows to afoot long and reaches weightsgreater than a pound.

This day, that yearIt was in August 28, 1996 that adivorce decree was issued forBritains Prince Charles and PrincessDiana.


8/16

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008SPORT08

Australia-India Test in

Bangalore to go onAustralias high-profile cricket Test series inIndia will begin as scheduled in Bangalorein October, even though a tennistournament was called off there oversecurity fears, officials said on Wednesday.There is no change in the itinerary.Bangalore will host the first Test, saidIndian cricket board secretary NiranjanShah. Indias four-match series against worldchampions Australia opens in Bangalorefrom October 9-13. The remaining Tests willbe played in Mohali, New Delhi andNagpur. A string of bomb blasts last monthin Bangalore, the countrys high-tech hub inthe south, left one person dead and adozen injured. Australia last week joined aboycott of next months Champions Trophy

tournament in Pakistan dueto security concerns, forcingthe International CricketCouncil to put off the eight-nation tournament till 2009.The ATP confirmed in astatement issued Wednesdaythat the tournament, due tobegin on September 29, hadbeen cancelled. The ATPboard can confirm that it hasregrettably accepted apetition from the BangaloreOpen to suspend the 2008 event due to thelocal promoters security concerns, thestatement said. The total event prizemoney of 400,000 dollars will now be paidinto the ATP player pension fund.

AFP

From dictator to coachFormer Fijian coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka isin the running to be appointed manager ofthe Pacific Islands rugby team for its tour ofEurope in November, the Fiji Times reported

on Wednesday. Rabukabecame Prime Ministerof Fiji in 1987 afterstaging the countrysfirst coup. Pacific IslandsRugby AssociationChairman KeniDakuidreketi told theFiji Times that Rabukawas one of severalcandidates beingconsidered as managerof the team, which

brings together playersfrom Fiji, Tonga and

Samoa. The position has not beenfinalised, Dakuidreketi said. I can confirmthat he is one of the names in the frame.We hope to finalise the touring team andmanagement by Monday.Rabuka is a former captain of the Fiji rugbyside, playing two internationals and 10 othermatches for the Pacific Islands nation. TheIslanders play England on November 8,France a week later and finish their tourwith a match against Italy on November 22.

Reuters

China to auction Yao Mings bedChina plans to auction off 20 million items related to the BeijingOlympics, including the bed that basketball star Yao Ming sleptin while taking part in the Games. Also on the block will beelectric appliances used by Liu Xiang, the celebrity 110m hurdlerwho was forced to quit the Games with an injury, and ancientmusical instruments from the opening ceremony.

As China laps up the plauditsfor its staging of the BeijingOlympics, some within the

worlds most populous na-tion are turning their attention tocricket. Administrators in varioussports have long regarded Chinaas one of the great untapped

markets and cricket is no excep-tion. As China topped the overallmedal table at an Olympic Gamesfor the first time, the rest of the

world ought to be aware of whatChina is capable of when it setsitself a sporting goal. Anyone stilldoubting the seriousness of Chi-nas intent should be aware that

the current secretary-general ofthe Chinese Cricket Association(CCA) was previously in charge ofthe equivalent snooker organisa-tion. I used to be in charge ofsnooker. Later, after the Cricket

Association was established, I gotto know more and more about

cricket and began to like it moreand more, so I changed fromsnooker to cricket. Snookermight not be a native Chinesesport but that didnt stop the then18-year-old Ding Junhui from

winning the 2005 UK Champion-ship, the sports second most im-portant title. Further proof of

Chinas snooker progress camethis year when Ding was joined atthe world championships bycompatriots Liu Chuang andLiang Wenbo. China may still besome way off from making a simi-lar impact upon cricket but DavidMorgan, the president of the In-

ternational Cricket Council (ICC)says what the country has alreadyachieved in the game is evidenceof a commitment to the sport. Ithink that cricket in China is al-ready moving ahead, he saidThey have 140 Level One coach-es and umpires now. Theyveachieved that in the period since2005. That is indeed very note-

worthy, the former chairman othe England and Wales CricketBoard added. The ICC has be-lieved for quite some time thatthere is a real opportunity forcricket in China and one of ourprojects is to explore the possibil-ity of cricket becoming very largein this country. Morgans words

echoed those of Ross TurnerCricket Australias global devel-opment manager. China hassuch a strategic approach to eve-rything. They wont be bench-marking against some atoll in thePacific, Turner told said earlierthis month. They will be (asking)

what is the world standard andtrying to better it, seeking promi-nence and world recognition.

Liu, who met with Morganwhile the Welshman was in Beijing to explore further the possi-bility of cricket becoming anOlympic sport, explained how thegame, which was first takenaround the world by means of theBritish Empire, had established

itself in China. The ICC came tous and said they had a verycharming game which could beintroduced to China and at thattime the then vice president andsecretary general of the CCA paida visit to Hong Kong to observethe Hong Kong International Six-es. We found that cricket is verygood for Chinese people becauseit emphasises hand-eye co-ordi-nation, he said. He said the 2010

Asian Games, which featucricket and will be staged in thesouthern Chinese city of Guangz-hou, would play a key role inhelping expand the sports pop-ularity beyond the several thou-sand already playing Banqiu (theMandarin for cricket) in China.

AFP

AFP

GETTING READY

TO BE BOWLED OVER

CRICKET

TRIES TO

GET A

FOOTHOLDIN CHINA


9/16


I am what I am because of my boxing achievements. Whatever recognitionI have received is because of my performance in the ring. So my first

priority will be boxing, I will never leave it. I can do modelling only if I have timeto spare, not otherwise.

Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Kumar

Gunningfor more gold

Indias Olympic shooting champion AbhinavBindra has urged sports administrators toadopt a more professional approach to help thecountry build on the three medals it won at the

Beijing Games. Bindra became Indias first individ-ual Olympic champion after claiming the 10m air

rifle before freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar andmiddleweight boxer Vijender Kumar added bronzemedals to the tally. Hundreds turned up to wel-come the bronze medallists when they returned onTuesday, with wrestler Kumar and his coach evengiven a celebratory elephant ride. At a separatefunction, Bindra said he planned to use his newstatus to raise the profile of sport in India.

Right timeI dont have any definite answers but it is a great

opportunity to promote Olympic sports, he toldreporters late on Tuesday. India is rejoicing overthe modest success, having won just a s ingle medalat each of the previous three Games. We wonthree medals (in Beijing), but that also gives us a lotof responsibility to keep this momentum going,Bindra said. Weve to give our athletes the bestopportunity to perform well at London 2012. The25-year-old Bindras medal success came as a re-

sult of his own initiative and the help of his wealthyfather, who had a shooting range installed at theirhome. Bindra said more companies should nowsupport athletes. Everything has to be profession-ally done, he added, when asked about the ab-sence of a proper sports structure in India. Weneed to have a goal, how we want to do goingahead, if we are to replicate our performance.Boxer Kumar was hungry for more success. Theysay a man is never satisfied and Im not, he said.Next time, I will try to get a gold medal in Lon-don.

The handsome Vijender, who has dabbled inmodelling, grabbed attention after a popular Bolly-

wood actress had offered to go on a date if he wonthe gold medal. My priority will be boxing but if Iget time, I will also do some modelling.

Reuters

BINDRA URGES GREATER

PROFESSIONALISM


10/16

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008FLICK10

Tattletale time for LindsayLindsay Lohans close friend Samantha

Ronson is reportedly in talks to pen a tell-alltome.

A source close to club DJ Ronson said:Well, shes certainly telling friends shes

planning to write a book.Its supposed to be about her, allegedly.But come on, you know Lindsay will be allover that book. Shes the only one peoplewant to read about, E! Online quoted thesource, as saying.

Lindsays father, Michael Lohan, says hesalso been told that Samantha is writing abook, though he has not spoken directly toLindsay or Samantha about it. Still, he sayshe is already furious over the notion.

Ive shut up about this long enough,Michael said.

Shes using my daughter. People nevereven knew who Samantha Ronson was untilshe met Lindsay. She was just some LosAngeles deejay. And now she is writing abook? I am at wits end with this stuff. headded.

ANI

George and Brad host fundraiserAmerican actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt hosted a fundraising dinner on

the eve of the 65th Venice Film Festival in aid of the Not On Our Watch charity.The charity had been set up by the two actors and their Oceans Thirteen

colleagues to help disaster-hit areas of the developing world and it has so farraised seven million dollars. The funds will be used for victims of both the

humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the cyclone in Myanmar.The reason the dinner wahosted in Venice wasbecause Clooney and Pitt,who were never free fromtheir various commitments,were for once together atthe same place.

The charitys executivedirector Alex Wagner wasquick to make use of theopportunity and to put it togood use. Scheduling is vedifficult. The two of themhappened to be in Venice atthe same time, so there wasa brainstorming session, thTelegraph quoted her assaying.

AN

Q

ueen of Pop Madonna has been forced outof her personal gym by a bunch of leering

workmen.The Material Girl hit-maker, who

spends a reported three hours a day pounding thetreadmill, spent a whopping 12 million pounds

converting the Georgian house next doorto her home in Mayfair, London, into

a state-of-the-art gym.However, the 50-year-old got

fed up of builders sleazy com-ments that were directed ather whenever she left herown place.

Besides that, the sound ofear-splitting drilling wascausing such a commotionthat it ruined her workouts.

Finally, after seven monthsof putting up with the bawdy

builders, noise and ear splittingdrilling, the singer decamped to her

personal trainers gym in nearby St

Johns Wood.Madonna felt as if she has been living in asiege situation, the Mirror quoted a close pal, assaying.

The noise of the drilling meant she was forcedto listen to her iPod at full volume, potentiallydamaging her ears, the pal added.

ANI

GETTY IMAGES

MADONNAFLEES FROM NEW GYM

The singerhad to faceear-splittingdrilling andsleazycomments

fromworkmen

FYIThis is to point out that the awesomphoto that appeared on Page 16yesterday was clicked by our staffphotographer S.S. Kumar.

THE NOISE OF

THE DRILLING

MEANT SHE

WAS FORCED

TO LISTEN TO

HER IPOD AT

FULL VOLUME


11/16


Vijay not to act with VadiveluWe hear that the actors, directors and producers arenot happy with the way comedian Vadivelubehaves. If sources are to be believed, the actor isnot turning up to the shooting spots as per the callsheets. Recently for the movie Villu, a sequenceinvolving Vijay, Nayanthara, Vadivelu, Prakash Rajand Sriman was supposed to be shot atSwitzerland. But Vadivelu had backed

off at the last moment sendingmessage through his assistantthat he cannot make up forthe schedule since he isbusy with some otherprojects. . Annoyed withVadivelus act, Vijay hasconfirmed that hewouldnt be sharing thescreen with him anymore.Even, the leadingproducers and directors ofthe Tamil film industryhave decided not to ropein Vadivelu at any cost.

www.cinesnacks.com

Cine City

The rumour mills were

working over time over ac-tress Rambha being hospi-talized. The walls

whispered that the actress hasattempted suicide. Only one ofmy arch enemies could havespread this kind of a rumour,said the actress when she wasapproached by the media.

The source of this rumourcan be traced to Tuesday night,

when Rambha had fainted and

was rushed to Vijaya Hospital inVadapalani. When asked aboutthe fainting spell, the actress re-plied deftly that she had beenfasting continuously on the oc-casions of Krishna Jayanthi and

Varalakshmi Nombu which arebelieved to be auspicious daysfor Hindus.

Why should I commit sui-cide when I am very happy withmy life? was the actress angryretort. Rambha, who had herfirst break through Malayalamfilms became highly popular inKollywood for her rebellious

wardrobe and style. While mak-ing waves with her Tamil films,she has experimented with Tol-

lywood and Bhojpuri films. And now, Rambha is set tomake a comeback with the filmVidiyum Varai Kaathiru star-ring Prakash Raj in the lead.

www.cinesnacks.com

xxxxxONLY ONE OF MY ARCH ENEMIES COULDHAVE SPREAD THIS KIND OF A RUMOUR :

RAMBHA

Who is the voice behind Wall E?A) Ben Burtt B) Jack Black C) Jack Nicholson

We will publish the list of all the winners

in our weekend edition tomorrow.


12/16

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008SCAN12

PICK OF THE DAY

HBO

Poseidon 11 pmA big-budget disaster movie. Aluxury cruise ship is capsized by a

rogue wave on New Years Eve, anda group of passengers try to find away out of the ship.

Discovery

Fearless Planet 9 pmGrand Canyon. The life story of theGrand Canyon, from the moment of

its birth, to the dramatic events thatgouged this massive andbreathtaking scar into the earth.

Zoom

Lets Talk 7 pmTune in to catch the celebritiesspeak about themselves, their

forthcoming projects, the hobbiesthey indulge in, people dearest tothem, and the makes and breaksthat form part of their lives.

Star World

Ghost Whisperer 10 pmMelinda and Jim discuss akidnapping where the family has

contacted a psychic who Melindabelieves is telling the family stuffthat they want to hear just so hecan make money off of them.

Dear Diary,

I was not sure if somefriend was playing a prankon me or if, what I heard

was real. I was surprised when so-meone called and asked me if I

was interested in acting in a SriLankan movie. When I learnt it

was for real, this became themost memorable incident of my

life.As an actor I always wished todo something different and notrestrict myself within the bound-ary of languages. When I heardthe script of Rosakele (wild roses)I was deeply touched.

In this Singhalese movie, I playthe lead role of a 19-year-oldteacher who teaches in an or-phanage of 40 to 50 students. Thefilm is about how she bringsabout a change in their lives.Each moment spent shooting was

special to me. Though we shotback-to- back for 45 days I was asenergetic as I was on day one.

I am happy that there were noviolence and bomb blasts duringthe shoot and the film was com-pleted on time. Rosakele was re-leased three months ago and wasa hit.

The other event that is close to

my heart is the experience ofshooting the Tamil movie A, aa, e,ee in Chaallakudi.

I had to dance in a saree in the waterfall but it started rainingheavily. Everyone was worriedabout the slippery surface whichcould hinder the shoot but we de-cided to commence with theshoot. It looked difficult initiallybut as we shot I had fun shootingfor it and the dance turned out

well.As told to K. Malathi.

Youngest Actress on CoverAccording to TV.Com, Emma is the youngestactress to appear on the cover of TeenVogue Magazine at the age of 15.

SILANTHI FAME MONICA TALKS

ABOUT HER SINHALESE MOVIE

AND UPCOMING A, AA, E, EE


13/16


The TerminatorThis friend will be willing to give up his life for you,provided you are willing to give up your bank account,especially if you are well off!

The Smooth TalkerThis ones clever. Hes so smooth that hell talk you intocommitting suicide even! And. Hell make you writeyour will, mentioning that he is your benefactor.

The plain John/ JaneThis friend will seem to have nothing special about him.He will be a normal guy, with a normal attitude, with anormal smile with a normal purse. Argh!!! Irritatingisnt it?

The SanyasiOh, this is one you should look out for very carefully.He will be the saint, who hears no lie, speaks no lie ansees no lie. He just practises it under the table!

The Best FriendThis ultimate time bomb is always ticking and no oneknows when itll go off though sources say it is mostlikely to when it is around your girlfriend. So, watchout!

Anusha Parthasarat

TOP 5 FRIENDS TO WATCH OUT FOR

1

2

3

4

5

A reading of Williams Shakespeares Othello will be ren-dered by Aradhana Batabyal, Vasudev Menon, Malathi Mu-ralikrishna, Suresh Koul, Arjun Vasudev, Ajit Chitturi andothers at Chamiers

Where:Anokhi, Chamiers,85 (old : 47), Chamiers roadWhen:Aug 29, 7 p.m.

Othello

Rain Tree at the Taj Connemara presents the That-tukadai Food Festival a rare chance to savour thedelights of authentic street food. The chefs at TajConnemara will recreate that unmistakable patternof flavours and aromas and serve delicacies.

Where:Taj Connemara ,Binny road.When: Aug 28 Aug 31

ThattukadaiFood Festival

Rotary Club of ChennaiSamudra (An All Wom-ens Club) affiliated to Ro-tary International District3230 is holding an Exhibi-tion of ReproducedPaintings of EuropeanGreat Masters. The saleproceeds would be util-ised for community de-velopment activities ofthe club, such as hospi-

tals, schools, and seniorcitizen and destitutehomes.

Where: Lalith KalaAcademy,

Greams RoadWhen :11 a.m. 7p.m.Aug 28 Aug 30

ReproducingEuropes Finest

Thieves donate money to victimA Brazilian woman says car thieves left her money instead of takingher car when they realised its poor condition. The woman left a noteon the windscreen that read: "Mr Robber, please do not steal this car.It has no batteries, no spare tyre. It is in bad shape. Thank you foryour attention." The thugs ended up leaving her a banknote instead.

Dear Vinithra,To the happy couple,congratulations on thishappy occasion and bestwishes for everythinggood in the years tocome. Best wishes fromthe whole team. Happywedding..!

From BI&A (Unisys),HexawareTechnologies

Dear Harish,Many more happyreturns of the day. Letthis birthday bring allsort of joy n happiness

in your life.Warm Regards,

Ashok,Technosoft Global services (p)

ltd.

Hi Balu,Wishing you a veryhappy birthday my dearpal. Let this birthdaybring all sort of jay andhappiness in your life.Im so blessed to have afriend like you, thiscomes with may lovingthoughts and warmwishes.

Siva,Hexaware Technologies.

Dearest Shreya,

To Love someone whoLoves you is no big deal;to love someone whodoesnt - that is the Artof Living. Happy BdayMoti! Tu hai sundarFOOL is sansaar ki.

Ashwani, Citigroup

Hi Akila,We wish you many morehappy returns of theday!! May all yourdreams come true thisyear!!

Love, Vibin, Jeya, Balaji,

Wipro Technologies

Dear Chethan,Wish you a very veryvery Happy birthday.May all your Dreamscome true. May you livelong and lead a happyand successful life.

MAG CORP CMR ,

Satyam computers

Hi Lipenza,Happy Birthday. GodBless you.

Lukeson, Wipro Ltd

Hello Gang,Send your greetings [email protected], withthe word greeting andthe preferred date ofpublication in thesubject line.

Cheers,

Team Ergo

Greetings

What, when, whereIf you have anything interesting or informative that can be featured in these columns, mail us at [email protected] send the release mentioning where and when the event is happening, along with the contact details.


14/16

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008TRAFFIC JAM14

TEAM

Editor: Karthik [email protected]

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem KumarDy Chief Designer: R. Ravi KannanIllustrator: R. Venugopal

Technical Support:V.R. Vasudevan, K.G. GurumurthyN. Ravichandran, E. Baskar

Head of Advertising:Sriya [email protected]

Head of Circulation:RA. Babu Vijay

[email protected]

SNAIL MAIL

859/860, Anna Salai,Chennai - 600 002mail your feedback [email protected]

FAX 2857 6691

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESCall ourAdvertisement Managerat 2857 6695.email: [email protected]: www.goergo.in

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

sudoku

KAKURO

Camels spineDespite its hump, a camel has astraight spine.

Malathi

Subramaniam

of HCLTechnologiesclicked this picture

with her OlympusFE-15. She loves toread SidneySheldon books.

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

Over the next two

weeks, the photosfeatured in this

column will win

special discountvouchers from travel

portal www.yatra.com.

So do send youraddress.


15/16


B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

You might have to focus a lot on pending workGanesha thinks you will have to do a lot ofcommunication with your colleagues to sort out pending work. Your work efficiency might turn soeyes green. Love life might remain uneventful.

You might have to agree on everything yoursuperiors say today. Ganesha thinks you might hto take a back seat at work. This is a temporaryphase. Unmarried couples may start planning forengagement or marriage. All the best!

This day is not very favourable for you. Try not t

confront anyone at your office today. Personal liftoo, faces a threat of stress. You might lose youtemper on your beloved for no strong reason.Ganesha suggests you to remain cool.

Ganesha thinks you may lack support at work pThere may be some events where you will have prove your worth. However, do not expect anyonto stand up for you. Ganesha feels you will havewonderful evening with family and friends.

It is the right time to look for better opportunitieGanesha feels you have a lot of potential if youconsider a field change. On the relationship fronis best to let things be as they are as you mayundergo a challenging time with your career.

There has been an eternal fight between career romantic life. Ganesha feels you may have to go

through something of the same sort. Do nothesitate to take the help of friends. Think of a loof options, in case the situation worsens.

A brilliant day at work today. All the officialcommunications will happen smoothly. If you areleading a team, everyone under you will appreciayour work today. It is a good time for a familydinner. Single people may find their ideal matche

Ganesha feels that your domestic life will requirespecial attention today. Your practical abilities whelp you balance office and domestic needs. Woat office will be very smooth. Do not enter into kind of arguments with your superiors.

The best way to achieve success is to stay calm.Ganesha feels there may be some problems on tdomestic front. There are chances of appraisals

happening very soon. Ganesha wants you to beready for happy events coming your way soon.

Hold on to your seat as there may be some evewhich take you completely by surprise. Ganeshafeels this is a good day to introspect and observyour behaviour with family and spouse. On therelationship front, you need to work on your bon

You are in a mood to talk a lot today. Hence yomight feel like giving suggestions to everyonearound you. However be careful with your wordseveryone might not be able to welcome suggestThis applies to your love life as well.

If you assess things in advance, you will find easin dealing with them. Overall, Ganesha finds yoube very decisive today. Be practical while handlinissues related to love life. However, in the proceof maintaining peace, do not ignore your love lif

Words worth"Campaniform" (kam-pan-i-form) an adjective meaningshaped like a bell. Since such a lot of things are bell-shaped, there are several adjectives with the same meaning,including campanulous, campanulate, and campanular.Campaniliform means shaped like a bell-tower or steeple.

Marmite manA British man has lived on a diet ofMarmite sandwiches for the last 25years. The 35-year-old eats it forbreakfast, lunch and dinner.


16/16

ERGO Thursday, August 28, 2008!16

Honouring a legendA century after Sir Donald Bradmans birth, the proud students of theschool where he scored his first century honoured his life and legacy. Theentire school population of 530 marched to the Oval from Bowral PublicSchool. They also unveiled a plaque on the school bell post that Sir Donused as a wicket when he hit his first century, aged 12.

A Bradman posterCricket whites worn byBradman at the BradmanMuseum.

Don Bradman on his 90thbirthday with SachinTendulkar, at his Adelaidehome.

SALUTING THE DON

It was fabulous to visit themuseum. The icing on thecake was to get to holdBradmans bat. It felt terrific.It was a very differentexperience, completelyunique. After all, how manypeople have actually held abat which Bradman actuallyplayed with?

Sachin Tendulkar

1During my trip to playfor World Eleven (captainGary Sobers) against

Australia in 1972-73, Sir DonBradman came specially to meetme at Adelaide Airport. Iconsider it to be the happiestmoment and great honour ofmy life. I have preservedthis picture and shall

cherish it throughoutmy life.

Zaheer Abbas

2

Of the 2,519 batsmenwho have taken thecrease in 131 years ofTest cricket, Bradmanstands alone anduntouched. I am noaware of any other sport

which has onecompetitor so far aboveany other performer.

Ricky Ponting

3

A cricket capworn byBradman duringa Test matchagainst India in1947-48, thelast Test matchhe played onAustralian soil.

He was chairman of selectorswhen I was captain. We wouldhave many discussions aboutvarious players. He was a person

who very much knew his ownmind. You had to have a veryconvincing argument if you

wanted to disagree with him. Hedid not suffer fools gladly.

Ian Craig, the youngest ever

Australian cricket captain

4

It (Bradman Mu-seum) would becomethe worlds spiritual homeof cricket. It will not only bethe Bradman Museum but it

will be the international cricketHall of Fame whose captain will beDon Bradman. The initial team of12 people will be from all overthe world and will includepeople like (Sachin) Tendul-kar from India.

Michael Ball,

chairman Bradman

Foundation

5

ergo august 28

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