postnoon e-paper for 02 june 2012

ON SATURDAY

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JUNE 2, 2012 HYDERABAD

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WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 37°C

32 PAGES

REPORT ON PG 4

With Yahoo! launching itsnewest web browser,

Axis and Google knockingout new versions of Chromeat an alarming rate, Firefoxand Microsoft are hangingon for dear life. So whoseside are you on?

BROWSER WARS K-STEW AND CREWAWED BY THERON

Move over, RobertPattinson —

Cha r l i ze Theron is takingyour place! No, Kristen

Stewart is not replacing herboyfriend with her Snow

White co-star, but K-Stew,really digs Ms Theron.

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

OFF THE COURT

Years ago, when her parents gifted her a

badminton racket, little didthey know they were shaping her future. Now,she is representing thecountry at the upcomingOlympics. Meet AshwiniPonnappa.

PG 18

PG 12 PG 25

LICENCE TO

KILL?Many driving schools in theCity fail to train their studentsin the basics of driving as wellas road etiquette. Illegallicences are also a concern.

Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 44767777,Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 8800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973CINEMAS

Contact: (040) 4914 1234

Paradigm shiftMumbai-based fusion bandPARADIGM will be performing liveon May 3. Where: Hard Rock Cafe,

Banjara Hills,Rd No

When: May 31,9pm onwards

Contact: (040) 6463 6375

Colonial Cousins liveColonial Cousins — the extremelypopular duo of Hariharan and LeslieLewis will be performing live atShilpa Kala Vedika to supportSparsh Hospice Care Centre.Where: Shilpa Kala Vedika,

MadhapurWhen: June 3,

6.30pm onwards

Calligraphic worksHead to Truffles Cafe for the calli-graphic works of Sri ParameshwarRaju in the exhibition titledRamayanam.Where: Truffles Cafe,

Jubilee Hills, Rd No 36When: Ongoing,

11am onwards

Library summer campA library summer camp for parentsand faculty of UG and PG studentswill be held from May 10 onwards.The camp will provide guidance forfaculty and final year PG studentsfor National/State lectureship andscholarship test(NET/APSET) for `3,650.Where: Hyderabad library

services, Sagar View Complex

When: May 10 - June 10, Contact: (040) 2322 2247,

94412 37751

Brunch sparklesChoose from grills, pastas, Oriental,Continental or Indian and follow itup with a delicious selection ofdesserts at The Arena’s specialbrunch.Where: The Arena,

Taj Deccan,Rd No 1

When: Every SundayContact: (040) 6652 3939

The refundThis play takes a dig at existingeducational system. It shows howsystems and practices of educationfollowed all over the world focusmore on rote learning and prepar-ing the individual for examinationsrather than imparting knowledge. Where: Lamakaan,

Banjara Hills, Rd No1When: June 2,

7.30pm onwardsContact: 96427 31329

For the womenHead to Tease at Vivanta by Taj forLa Femme, a day dedicated to thewoman of toady every Saturday.Where: Vivanta by Taj,

BegumpetWhen: OngoingContact: (040) 6725 2626

Agnii for allAgnii Art For All is a Bangalorebased non-profit group. Throughmusic, dance and theatre, theyspread awareness on social issues.Their teams consists of people fromall works of life.Where: Truffles Cafe,

Jubilee Hills, Rd No10When: June 2,

11am onwardsContact: (040) 2355 0105

Summer campAnnapurna International School ofFilm and Media will be holding aSummer Camp program in film-making, acting and photography.The second batch is from May 28.Where: Annapurna School,

Banjara HillsWhen: Ongoing

The Terrace,The Actor’s Studio

When: Ongoing ,Monday-Friday

Contact: 83411 20303

Kid’s day outOxford Bookstore is organising aunique fun-filled workshop ‘A Kid’sDay Out’ for the children. The five-day workshop will host excitingactivities and competitions like babyshow, painting, clay moulding.Where: Oxford Bookstore,

The Park,Somajiguda

When: June 2-June 6,11am onwards

Contact: 91601 48444

Budding entrepreneursA unique management andentrepreneurial workshop for stu-dents of age group 11-17, at ISBHyderabad from June 4 to June 9.The workshop is open for childrenin the age group of 11-17.Where: Indian School of Business,

GachibowliWhen: June 4-June 9,

9am onwardsContact: 98665 61690

Contact: (040) 2355 0105

Artistic exhibitsOn a look out for traditional printsand crafts? Head to an exhibitionalof traditional handicrafts and artis-tic handlooms of Gujarat which hasaround 10 tribal craftsmen and 10other artisans from Gujarat.Where: West Marredpally

community grounds, Marredpally

When: Ongoing, 10am onwards

Madhubani workshopThe YMCA Secunderabad is hostinga madhubani painting workshop.The workshopis being fecilitated byan artist from Madhubani. Where: YMCA Secunderabad,

West MarredpallyWhen: June 18-June 29Contact: 98490 07736,

99595 57183

Theatre workshopSamahaara is hosting specialfour week summer acting work-shops. The workshops will beheld for a duration of four weeks inthree different parts of the City.Where: Vidyaranya School,

PAGE TWO 2

COSTUMED COMPANION

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

SRINIVAS SETTY

CITY 3

TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidusaid the former CM YSR had writ-ten to him in 2004 for permission

to sell his house to clear debts.Permission was sought because it was

on government land. Addressing anelection meeting, Naidu wondered

how YSR had amassed wealth in a fewyears. He asked people to realise whatYSR was and what his son wants to be.

Naidu blasts YSR

The Market police have arrested afour-member pickpocketing gangand seized `76,000 from them.

The accused were identified as TDayanand, 55, of Regimental Bazaarand Mohd Obeid, 28, Mohd ChandPasha, 28, Azmathullah, 55, all resi-dents of Kishanbagh in the Old City.Several cases of pickpocketing hadbeen reported in and around the area.

Pickpocketing gang held

Venkat Sai, 11, a class VI student of Secunderabad, dieddue to drowning on Thursday.

He drowned while swimming in a poolsituated in Patny area under theMahankali police station limits. TheMahankali police said that his swim-ming coach Ramakrishna pulled himout and shifted him to a hospital buthe died soon after.

Teenager drowns in pool


Like an old drunk, a Swift carzigzagged along the Shamshabadroad around 7.30 pm on Thursdaynight, scaring other motorists,

pedestrians and push-carts out of theirwits. Many ran for cover but no casualtyoccurred. Some even suspected it could bea reality show or a film scene. But sometraffic cops noticed the dangerousbehaviour and informed their colleagueson duty ahead about the car number. AtNampally, policemen stopped the car andconfronted the driver. Sitting beside himwas a glamorous sex worker.

The man turned out to be besotted. Hewas unable to speak clearly but blurtedout his identity: do you know who I am?Managing director of so-and-so channel.“Keep off.” The confusedcops got in touch with thechannel and got a shock. Thechannel managers told thepolicemen that the man wasa fraud who had approachedthem with a partnership pro-posal some time ago but theyhad rejected him knowinghis character.

Emboldened, policemenpulled the man out andreleased the sex worker whomumbled her gratitude to thepolice and bolted.

Here was Mohd MansoorKhan, a self-styled channel managingdirector who had earlier made some docu-mentaries and small budget art films forTollywood.

Unveiling the filmy-type saga for thebenefits of the Postnoon readers was ACPAbids, B Limba Reddy.

Mansoor Khan, 40, belongs toMeriyalguda of Nalgonda and came to theCity 15 years ago to make a career, saidReddy. Slowly, Khan befriended some filmproducers and became an assistant pro-ducer. He made some documentary filmstoo.

Along the way he developed friend-ship with a channel manager of an Urdu-Hindi-English. Khan too got enamoured

with the channel because herealised that media has pow-ers. Thus, he approached afairly successful local channeloffering them some money toget in but the channelrefused. Despite rejection, hecontinued to use the channelname and made visiting cardsas MD of that channel.

Reddy said his new-foundfriend had a farm house inShamshabad-Hyderabad andKhan allegedly used to lure

young women with the promiseof making them TV stars.

The Thursday evening incident wasone of them, only, this time it happened tobe a sex worker.

Interrogation revealed that Khan wasliving alone and was a divorcee. He used a‘press’ sticker on his car prominently toscare away law keepers.

The ACP said the police found somemore misuse of press identity. “Many people are abusing the ‘press stickers’which give them some immunity, thanksto police respect the media holds but themisuse hurts the genuine media peoplemore than anybody else, “he observed.

Khan has been arrested and producedin court. He is currently in jail.

GA

RY E

DW

AR

D M

ON

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Mansoor Khan

The Election Commissionhas issued a notice to APChief Minister N Kiran

Kumar Reddy for allegedlyviolating the model code ofconduct with comments overreligion for the June 12bypolls at Tirupati.

Reddy had on May 11allegedly said in Tirupati thatvoters should vote forCongress to ensure the reli-

gious sanctity and sacrednessof the temple town.

Reddy was issued a noticeearlier this week for allegedlysaying at a campaign meetingthat each party workershould cast 10 votes in favourof Congress. He however,clarified that it was a slip oftongue and not a deliberateattempt to violate the pollcode. PTI

EC notice to AP CM for violationPseudo mediaMD in lock up

[email protected] SUBHAN

Police find that many elements with unsavourypasts are using the ‘press’ sticker on their

vehicles to evade policemen

4CITYSATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Driving schools in theCity teach more oftenthe rote techniquethan the traffic rulesand sensibilities of

driving a vehicle in the busystreets. Enrolling into any of thehundreds of driving schools inHyderabad leaves one with aneasy-to-get driver’s licenseregardless of his/her knowledgeof driving. With no commonsense or knowledge, many ofthese drivers armed with legiti-mate driving licenses, createhavoc on road.

In fact, one particularschool emphasises only on the“clutch-gear-accelerator-testpass” formula that guarantees adriver a license. While theHaryana government has madea very welcoming move of grant-ing the authority to license

drivers right at their educationalinstitutions, Andhra Pradeshremains far behind when itcomes to driving etiquette andtraffic sense.

A driving school inSomajiguda teaches students ona batch basis. Four or more stu-dents are taken out for drivingclasses, where the instructor isseated next to the driver’s seatand offers guidance (averting adisaster by braking at the rightmoment etc.) A check conductedby Postnoon reveals that notmany of the driver-teachers areaware of the importance of lanediscipline, seat belt safety, indi-cator usage etc. The manualguidance and knowledgerequired to know how to drivean automobile is taught.

Surprisingly, some teachershave never taught their studentsapproximation of the length ofthe car bonnet and the rightseating methods!

Harish Yadav, a student at adriving school offers an interest-ing insight into the teaching.“When four or more people aretaken on a trip to learn driving,

it gets difficult to adjust to everystudent’s style of learning. Ihave not been told about theimportance of indicators, halfclutch, full clutch and accelera-tion pressure. There is no sayover how to drive vehicles in dif-ficult weather conditions, espe-cially during the rains whendriving a car on the City roads isa nightmare.”

What is more interesting is,half-trained drivers who oftenfail the driving test manage to

get a driving license, thanks toan unholy tie up the test inspec-tors have with the drivingschools.

When contacted about thevalidity of teaching, RTA jointcommissioner Pandu Ranga Raosaid, “Issuing the licensedepends upon how well the can-didate has fared in the test. It ishowever true that there is novalidity to these tests anymore,considering that touts and bro-kers play the middlemen in it.

We will look into this situationand ensure stricter norms arepracticed.”

Surprisingly, a middle agedlady who is a resident ofBegumpet was granted a driver’slicense, even though she couldnot drive a car or even a twowheeler! This decadent systemof teaching driving and issuinglicenses ought to be seriouslylooked into considering theimportance of road safety forour lives.

Osama [email protected]

GMR, which manages theRajiv GandhiInternational Airport

(RGIA) in Shamshabad, wasrecently forced to introduce acharge of `20 at the arrival sec-tion aka the airport village, fordenizens who come to receivetheir friends and family. Why?Because there were ‘other’ peo-ple who came here to spendsome time away from the City.However, this hasn’t gone downtoo well with the visitors.

You pay about `1,200 in totalfor a trip to the Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport (RGIA)and back in a taxi, or fill yourtank with `600 worth of fuel, oreven pay `350 for a return trip or` 200 for a one-way trip in theAero Express for each passenger.Then you pay a minimum park-ing charge of `70.

Till here, people were willingto pay, although they weren’t too

happy about it either. But theadditional `20 just to sit in thewaiting lounge outside thearrivals, which until a few daysback was free, is making themfeel the pinch.

“Using the services of theairport is only becoming more

expensive by the day. Just to siton a chair, the airport is levyingcharges on us which, in my opin-ion, is unfair. Reaching the air-port itself takes so much money,`100 to `150 for sitting in a visi-tor’s lounge inside the airport, isalright as you have an AC hall at

your disposal. But `20 more isn’tacceptable. It's more like if youwant good infrastructure at yourdisposal you have to pay for it,"said Vimal Singh, a business-man from the City who goes tothe airport regularly to receivehis clients.

“Last week, I was at RGIA topick up my sister. She was com-ing from Dubai and five of uswent to receive her. Each of uswas charged `20. It isn’t aboutpaying `20, it’s about paying foreverything — from the cab, food,waiting at the sitting lounge,and parking. Everything has aprice. Anyone coming or goingto the airport needs to thinktwice because of the chargesthey levy on every little thing,”said Shailender S, an accountsexecutive working in a multina-tional bank.

A spokesperson from GMR,who wished anonymity, said thatthey have started charging cus-tomers only to unclog the arrivalarea.

“Earlier, the arrival sectionsfor domestic and internationalflights were separate. We havemade it common now. Therehave been instances where up to15 people come to receive a sin-gle passenger. It gets very crowd-ed. For a single person who hascome for the same, he might notget space. Since the airport isopen 24x7, a lot of people comehere just to spend time, evencouples. We introduced thischarge to screen this crowd,”said the spokesperson.

On the other hand, if theflight is delayed, denizens haveto wait a long time, even hoursin the worst-case scenario.

“Our primary focus is theconvenience of passengers. Wewant only people who come witha passenger or to receive some-one to come here. The amount isaffordable, and while many maycomplain, we have started charg-ing this fee for the ease of pas-sengers,” said the spokespersondefending the charge.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

[email protected]

Teaching them how to create chaos on the road

Now pay for ‘waiting’

Many driving schools in the City failto train their students in the basicsof driving as well as road etiquette.

Illegal licenses are also a concern

N SHIVA KUMAR

FOCUS 5SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Hemanth [email protected]

Calling Ilayaraja a geniuswould be nothing short ofa cliche. With over 900

films to his credit since 1976,Ilayaraja will always be ratedamong the finest composers whobrought a new wave of musicinto films. Born on June 2, 1943,Ilayaraja took a keen interest inTamil folk music from an earlyage, but what really set himapart later on was his use ofWestern Classical music.

In 1976, PanchuArunachalam, the producer ofhis debut film Annakili, gavehim the official screen nameIlayaraja. Music director duoslike Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy,Shankar-Ganesh who were rul-ing the roost in Tamil for mostpart of the 60s and 70s by thetime Ilayaraja found a break-through. By 1977, the audiencewere already mesmerised byIlayaraja’s compositions and oneof his films Kavikkuyil provedhis classical prowess. He cement-

ed his place with films likeKizhake Pogum Raill, Poonthalir,Jhonny, Nizhalgal, Moodu Paniand Raajapaarvai. He went on tocompose music for severalTelugu films like Abhilasha,Sagara Sangamam, SwathiMuthyam, Rudraveena to name afew. An entire generation wasswining to his peppy numbers.

People who have workedwith him can’t stop praisinghim. Lakshmi Manchu, who col-laborated with Ilayaraja forGundello Godaari, recalls, “Hecomposed six songs for the filmwithin few hours. It was unbe-lievable and I was amazed thathe remembers things we had dis-cussed eight months ago. Hewrites his own music which isso rare in India.” He has evenstunned the directors he hasworked with. Singer Suchitranarrates one such incident andsays, “A scene in Chinna Thambirequired background score andIlayaraja hadn’t scored themusic for a long time. P Vasu,the director of the film, was agi-tated but Ilayaraja asked him to

wait till the film’s release. PVasu was even more shocked tosee that the final version didn’t

have any background score inthat scene, but it didn’t matterbecause the audiences were in

tears.” In 2005, singer Chinmayihad the honour of performing inhis concert in Italy. “He wasquite humble which surprisedme a lot because people kepttelling me that he gets angryvery easily. Before the concert,when I met him for the firsttime, out of fear I cried beforehim and he said, ‘Why are youcrying? Do I look like a ghost?’He has a nice way of easingthings out.”

His music will continue toinspire generations to come.Music director Devi Sri Prasadsums up, what people feel aboutIlayaraja, saying, “Ilayaraja isthe human form of the divineexpression called music. This iswhat I feel about him in myheart and I have this writtenunder his huge wall size photo-graph in my studio. What morecan I say about this legend whohas been the sole inspiration tonot just any musician but also toany director, writer or actorsince his evolution. Ilayaraja isthe first name of music or musichis alternate name.”

A life less ordinary Ilayaraja, one of the greatest music directors of all time, turns 69 today. We pay a

tribute to this living legend who has enthralled us for over three decades

NATION 6

Central Railway genearal manager Subodh Jain flags off Deccan Queen, whichcompletes 82 years of service, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbaion Friday. PTI

QUEEN OF THE TRACKS


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LUCKNOW: The previous Mayawatigovernment in Uttar Pradesh had spent

over `121 crore on decorative adver-tisements during the last five years to

showcase its programmes and achieve-ments, the UP Legislative Council wasinformed today. In a written reply, the

state government said in 2007-08 over`13 crore was spent on advertisements

while in 08-09 over `20 crore was spent.

Maya spent crores on adsNEW DELHI: BJP today announced it willhold a fortnight-long agitation across thecountry from June 7 which will culminate in acourt arrest programme on June 22 to proteststeep hike in petrol prices, alleged attack onthe country’s federal structure by the Centreand price rise. In a statement issued here, BJPgeneral secretary Ananth Kumar said the deci-sion to launch a ‘Jan Sangharsh Abhiyan’ wastaken on Friday.

BJP to launch countrywide stirMADURAI: Unable to bear the vege-tative state of his 26-year old son whowas in coma for more than a year, aretired police sub-inspector allegedlykilled him and ended his own life atKannanendal near here today, policesaid. Vigneswaran was in coma formore than a year after being injured ina road accident and was being takencare of by his parents in their house.

Ex-SI kills son, self

NEW DELHI: Indians may not be thatfamiliar with Doc Watson, the Ameri -can pioneer of bluegrass and countrymusic who died May 30, but BobbyCash, India’s own Watson, says “thesalt-of-the-earth music is slowly catch-ing up” with the country’s children.

Bobby Cash, who has made a namefor himself as an independent artist inAustralia and as the only Indian torecord in Nashville, the country musicMecca in the United States, sustains onhis solo music. He ascribes the growingpopularity of country music — mostly

ballads with powerful narratives — inIndia to the Internet and live concertsthat have spread to the remote reachesof the country.

The fact that country music sports aSpartan instrumentation of guitar,mouth organ and a banjo makes render-ing of the genre easy, he says.

“Internet has almost changed theawareness about music in the country.Once people start researching countrymusic on the Internet, they begin tolike it. It is so easy to share your music.You can watch videos,” Cash told IANS.

NEW DELHI: INLD MLABharat Singh was shot at thismorning in south-west Delhi by“four-five” unknown attackerswith police suspecting it to be acase of personal rivalry.

A passerby Dharampal wasalso injured in the incidentwhich took place near theMLA’s office in Najafgarh’sSarangpur village at around8.30am, a senior police officialsaid. According to the official,four to five people came andopened fire at Singh, the 35-year-old MLA from

Najafgarh, who suffered a bul-let injury.

Dharampal, a villager whowas passing through the areaalso, was caught in the firingand got injured. Both wererushed to the hospital and areundergoing treatment.

“We are investigating thematter. No arrests have beenmade,” the official said.

Singh is the brother ofMCD councillor KrishanPahalwan against whom thereare several criminal cases.

PTI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Voting for the assembly by-elec-tion from Neyyattinkara seg-ment near the Kerala capital gotunderway this morning on abrisk note.

Candidates of the rulingCongress-led UDF, CPI(M)-ledLDF and BJP are engaged inthree-cornered fight in the ruralconstituency, located about 15km south-east of the capital.

According to official sources,an impressive voter turnout wasreported from most parts of therural segment in the initialhours itself.

A total of 1.6 lakh voters areeligible to cast their ballots in

the polls.Though the main battle in

Neyyattinkara is between RSelvaraj (Congress) and FLawrence (CPI-M) of LDF, entryof former Union Minister andsenior BJP leader O Rajagopalhas virtually turned the contestinto a three-cornered one.

The bypoll is especially cru-cial for CPI-M as it is their sit-ting seat, vacated by R Selvaraj,who has joined Congress. Thepoll also came at a time whenCPI-M is on the defensive withseveral of its activists beingarrested in connection with themurder of RMP leader TPChandrasekharan on May 4. PTI

INLD MLA shotat in New Delhi

Brisk voting on inKerala bypoll

Music that endears

DAMASCUS: Russia stood firmin the face of growing internation-al pressure for tougher action overSyria, rejecting military interven-tion and questioning sanctions asfears of civil war grew.

And as world leaders on Fridayvoiced fears the violence-wrackednation stood on the brink of civilwar, the UN Human Rights Councilordered an independent probe tohunt those guilty of last week’smassacre in Houla.

The London-based SyrianObservatory says as many as 2,300of the more than 13,400 peoplekilled since the uprising againstBashar al-Assad’s regime began inMarch last year have died sinceApril 12.

But despite the relentless vio-lence, there are sharp differencesbetween Arab and Western govern-ments and Damascus allies Beijingand Moscow on the way forward.

Russian President VladimirPutin, who met separately withGerman Chancellor Angela Merkeland French President FrancoisHollande, warned the situation inSyria was “extremely dangerous”and said he saw emerging signs ofa civil war. But he struck a fierytone in a joint press conferencewith Hollande, saying “sanctionshardly ever work in an efficientmanner” and indicating thatBashar al-Assad’s departure wouldnot in itself resolve the crisis.

“What is happening in Libya?What is happening in Iraq? Has itbecome safer there?” he said inParis. “We propose to act in anaccurate, balanced manner at leastin Syria.”

But Hollande kept up the pres-sure for decisive action, insistingthat Assad’s departure was “a pre-requisite for a political transition”and that “there must be sanctions”against his regime.

“Bashar al-Assad’s regime hasconducted itself in an unaccept-able and intolerable manner. It hascommitted acts that disqualifyitself ” from governing, saidHollande.

Earlier, Merkel and Putin foundcommon ground on backing thepeace mission of UN-Arab Leagueenvoy Kofi Annan but the former

UN chief himself admitted to frus-tration at the slow progress he wasmaking in staunching the blood-shed.

After his talks in Berlin, theRussian president underlined hisopposition to military interventionto stop the bloodshed.

“You cannot do anything byforce,” Putin told reporters. He alsohit back at suggestions Moscowwas supplying arms for use inSyria. “As far as arms supplies areconcerned, Russia does not supplythe weapons that could be used in acivil conflict,” Putin said. AFP

Syria massacre frays US-Russia tiesWASHINGTON: Tensions betweenthe United States and Russiahave sharply escalated since amassacre in Syria, as Moscowholds firm in the face of UScharges that it has emboldenedBashar al-Assad’s regime.

The latest friction comesweeks into a new term byRussian President VladimirPutin, who has little patiencefor Western criticism and hasalready butted heads in a long-standing row over a NATO mis-sile shield in Europe.

Russia and Iran are Syria’sprimary allies and the US hasramped up criticism since theMay 25 massacre in pro-oppo-sition Houla, where gunmenrounded up and killed 108 peo-ple, 49 of them children.

Secretary of State HillaryClinton has denouncedMoscow’s arms sales to Syriaand warned that Moscow’s poli-cies could help spark a “civilwar.”

Russia hit back, pinningblame for the massacre on for-eign support for the rebels.Syria is Moscow’s main remain-ing foothold in the Arab worldand provides access to theMediterranean Sea at the portof Tartus. AFP

7WORLD

Moody’s lowers Greek rating on fears of euro exitNEW YORK: Moody’s rating agency late on Friday said it was lower-ing Greece’s highest possible credit rating because there was anincreased risk that the country would exit the euro zone. Moody’s said it“has lowered its assessment of the highest rating that can be assignedto a domestic debt issuer in Greece to Caa2 based on the increasing riskof a exit by the country from the euro area.” The highest rating “on anyGreek security is currently B1, which is rating assigned to certain cov-ered bonds. Any rating actions taken as a result of the new ceiling willbe released during the coming week.” According to Moody’s, althoughthe risk of Greece’s euro exit “is substantial,” it is still not what the rat-ings agency considers its most likely scenario. Greece’s radical leftistparty Syriza surprised Europe on May 6 by placing second in an incon-clusive election that saw voters fed up with salary and pension cutsshift their loyalties to radical parties. AFP

MIAMI: A judge revoked bail on Friday for a Florida neighbour-hood watch volunteer charged with killing an unarmed black teenag-er, and ordered him back to jail for misleading the court about hisfinances. Prosecutors had filed a motion urging the bond to berevoked and accusing George Zimmerman of deceiving the courtabout his access to an Internet fundraising account and about hold-ing a second passport, obtained two weeks after the February 26shooting. Seminole County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lesteragreed with the request and revoked bail for Zimmerman, who wasnot in court at the time. He said the guard had engaged in a “materi-al falsehood” about his finances in the run-up to his April bail hear-ing. Zimmerman faces second-degree murder charges in the shootingdeath of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.

AFP

Judge revokes bail forGeorge Zimmerman

Putin stands firm on Syriaas civil war fears grow

Britain’s famed parliament clocktower Big Ben is set to be

renamed the Elizabeth Towerin honour of the queen’s diamond

jubilee, a report said on Friday. PrimeMinister David Cameron is among 331

lawmakers who have signed up to acampaign to bestow the tribute to

Queen Elizabeth to mark her 60th yearon the throne, the Daily Mail reported.

Big Ben aka Elizabeth Tower?

Republican Mitt Romney is not thewealthiest American to run for presi-dent, but he is undoubtedly a member

of the mega-rich, according to disclosureforms he filed on Friday with US authorities.The Romney campaign pegged his networth at between $190 million and $250million — not quite the billionaire status ofRoss Perot, who sought the White House inthe 1990s, but mighty wealthy nonetheless.

Romney is still mighty rich


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DAYS TO GO

53P29

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and France’s President Francois Hollandetake part in a press conference at the presidential Elysee in Paris on Friday.

AFP/ BERTRAND LANGLOIS

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to us comments, sugges-tions, viewpoint or just about anythingto [email protected] or#1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033 oreven by way of a call on4067 2222.

COMMENT 8

It is when science takes a backseatthat people like Mohsin takeover.Most uneducated women lack confi-

dence and this is what is tapped bysome ruthless people to their personaladvantage. Education also brings incommonsense and these gullibleladies will then not get exploited.

Sumaira KBy email

Education is the answer

In a city as big as ours, one sure-shotway of solving parking problems is tohave multi-tier parking lots. In a rela-

tively small area, a lot of vehicles canbe parked in a very efficient and neatway. Another aspect that can be effec-tively addressed this way is that ofever-increasing thefts of vehicles.

Santosh KumarBegumpet

Solution to parking woes Ban is good move

EDITORIALS

EDITORIALS

While It was ‘shutshop’ on Fridaythroughout Indiato express ourcollective displea-

sure at the steepest petrol pricehike the country has ever seen.Led by political parties, con-sumers everywhere were askedto put their pens down, givetheir vehicles a day’s rest andthey, themselves, take rest toshow the government howunhappy they were with theprice hike.

The country came to a literalhalt, almost, with confusionreigning over whether one couldgo ahead with one’s normal rou-tine or not. Some offices didn’tdeclare a holiday saying theiremployees were free to decideeither way. Some of the busesthat did try to ply on their regu-

lar routes were caught in themiddle of the wrath of a mob,which was most unhappy thatthe bundh call was not respect-ed. So the offending buses werestoned and set on fire to showthe world that there is someonethere who can wield power inthese harmful ways.

What the protesting politicalgroups failed to understandeach time a bundh is called, isthat damage to public propertyis akin to damaging one’s ownhousehold article that one haspaid for. Not only does taxpay-er’s money go up in flames, itsends out the illogical messagethat we are still a country thatneeds to grow up. But then, thatis the topic of another column.Or two.

The manner in which weexpress our unhappiness largelydetermines how mature ourrelationships are. These rela-tionships could be with otherpeople, institutions, ideologiesor processes. Dissent, no doubt,is an important part of changein society at the micro andmacro levels. But how this is

expressed also determineswhether we live in a world thatis ready for progress andchange.

People use various channelsto express displeasure andunhappiness. It could bethrough words, actions, non-ver-bal behaviour like body lan-guage, the tone of the voice, etc.In a day, we find many reasons toshow that we prefer it if thingswere done in another way (read:our way). While protesting forchange is the dharma of everyindividual, doing it for thewrong reasons and at the wrongtimes in the wrong way can allhave a negative impact on theotherwise desirable process ofprotest.

By constantly expressingthis negativity, we’re drawingmore energy from it and alsofeeding more energy back intoit. To break the vicious cycle,there is a need to think different-ly, think creatively. It is a bigenough challenge to live spiritu-ally in the modern world thathardly gives us a minute’s rest.However, there are ways to

achieve calm. Sorting out themess within our own headsshould be the very first step inthis direction.

Peel off the different layersof conditioning built over theyears owing to societal expecta-tions, and ask these questions: iswhat I’m fighting for reallyworth it? Are there more impor-tant things I need to attend to atthis point? Should my time bespent in the pursuit of thosemore important things?

Aiming for simplicity andreducing distraction and nega-tivity automatically allows us toslow down. We start to thinkclearly and notice the little plea-sures of life around us.Watering plants, watching thesun set, walking barefoot ongrass and simply doing nothing,assumes greater meaning in thisstressful life — more meaningthan burning down buses andcausing inconvenience.

It is time to get that missingjoie de vivre back into our lives.

The writer is a Bangalore-based commentator.

1 NATION, 1 TESTwill ease pressure

The HRD ministry has decid-ed to introduce one common

engineering entrance exam —Joint Entrance Exam — for cen-

trally-funded engineering institu-tions including IIT, NITs and IIITs.This is being opposed by facultyand alumni of IIT. The HRD min-

istry has been in consultationwith various stakeholders over

the last two years before takingthe decision to introduce the

system from 2013. The IIT coun-cil has succeeded in its demandto set papers, evaluate and pre-pare the merit list and also useClass XII scores for short-listing

the candidates. The governmenthas conceded to the IIT’s will to

use 50 per cent each for ClassXII scores and 1st level JEE toshortlist the students for 2nd

level JEE and the final list will beonly based on the 2nd level JEEwhereas other institutes will use

40:30:30 formula for Class XII,1st level and 2nd level JEE. Theministry’s ‘one nation, one test’formula is laudable and consid-erable efforts have been taken

to maintain the autonomous sta-tus of these institutions. Whilerecognising the elite status of

the IIT across the world, thestand taken by faculty and alum-

ni to move court is perplexing.The common entrance exam will

hugely reduce the pressure onstudents having to prepare for

multiple exams after their ClassXII.

WHY WE LOVE...Usain Bolt

Only last Friday, one gentle-man runs the 100m at the top-

most level in the world at a veryslow 10.04sec. Not a speed that

could fetch him the Olympicmedal. To those who doubt

whether he is past his best, hecockily says that he stays justahead of the pack. If you still

had doubts, he stops the clockat the year’s best 9.76sec.

The decision to ban governmentmeetings in 5-star hotels is a wel-come one. These meetings when

held in an elaborate way help in manyways; they draw in a lot of investors,both local and international, but weneed to also see our abilities too.Right now we are down on that front.

Swamynathan VJubilee Hills


Soul CurrySUMAA TEKUR

COSTAS PITSIOS

Joie de vivre missing

COMMENT 9

Wessel JohannesCronje aka HansieCronje would havebeen forty-threeyears old had he

been alive today. Words used todescribe this fiery former SouthAfrican cricket captain includedpositive, enthusiastic, inspiring,supportive, winner and greatleader. And yet at the time of hisuntimely demise, he found him-self working as a financial man-ager with an earthmoving equip-ment company. What caused thedownfall of this cricketinggiant? Was Cronje the victim ofcircumstances, or was he just acorrupt, horrible person whodeserved every bit of the harshpunishment meted out to himthat essentially ended his crick-eting career; maybe even hislife?

The turn of the century sawcricket grappling with the murkyworld of match fixing and bet-ting. Many big names weredragged into the scandal; whilewe watched open-mouthed won-dering how such respectablecricketers, our heroes, couldstoop so low. Either way, manycricketing careers ended, includ-ing that of Cronje. While othersgot away with smaller bans andfines, Cronje was the worst hit,

wherein he was banned fromplaying and coaching for life. Inessence, he was to dissociate him-self from everything evenremotely connected to cricket.

This had to hurt, becauseCronje was playing professionalcricket even in his teens. It wasprobably the only work he wasqualified to do. He challenged hislife ban, but his application wasdismissed. This was done in spiteof the fact that he was the firstcricketer to admit guilt, and waswilling to come clean. He wantedto start over. His conscience wasprobably stronger than those ofothers involved in the bettingand manipulation nexus. Whichis probably why the othersinvolved breathed a sigh of reliefwhen Cronje’s confessions wereburied with him in 2002.

Just like the historical figureAngulimala who was assaultedand abused by people after he hadgiven up his crimes and wasrepenting as a Buddhist monk,Cronje was punished after he hadalready realised his folly and haddecided to give up corruption.Considering that the objective ofpunishment is to deter the indi-vidual from indulging in illegalor immoral activities; Cronje’slife ban from cricket was a mootpoint. In fact, allowing him tosave face would probably havesaved his life, in more ways thanone.

Cronje had a great passionfor the game and his teammates,which was unfortunately over-shadowed by his love for money.Surprisingly, we are not talking

huge sums of money here. Thecaptain was willing to throwaway a game for as little as$15,000. When I was ponderingthis, I thought to myself, “If itwere me, I wouldn’t sell out forsuch a paltry amount.” Thisthought surprised me, because itmeant that there was a figure forwhich I would be willing to sell

out my team (considering I was acricket team captain, or in simi-lar position of influence). Whichmeans, I am not above corruptioneither, were the opportunity topresent itself to me. On reflectingfurther, I realised that I would betoo chicken to indulge in anyform of corruption.

So am I living as an honestperson because I am a scared catwho doesn’t have the guts to doanything risky, as opposed tobeing genuinely upright? If so,how many of us are scrupulousjust because we are worriedabout the implications of beingdishonest? Fear, not integritydrives us! Surely, I’m not the onlyone; there have to be others likeme, even if they don’t admit it tothemselves. We’re so happybelieving we’re good people,because it makes us feel betterthan the guilty party, at whom wegleefully point a finger. We’renice, we gloat. But seriously,what if there are no repercus-sions of doing a dark deed?Wouldn’t the temptation to givein be great?

There are so many peoplewith corruption charges againstthem within the state as well asnationally; not even the primeminister is spared. As for cricket,while the game is changing withthe times, so is the dirty side of itgetting dirtier with more namescoming forward in match-fixingscandals. Are these young boysso poor that they are desperate tomake money in any way; or dothey feel intimidated and pres-surised into participating due to

peer pressure from senior play-ers? Are these people just likeyou and me, or is there some tell-tale sign of a potentially corruptperson? What causes the deterio-ration of morality?

The interesting question hereis what is the mental process orthe circumstance that tempts aperson to indulge in corruption?Are the brains of corrupt peopledifferent from the brains of non-corrupt people? If so, how does acorrupt person reform? Or does aperson with a predisposition tobe corrupt choose certain cir-cumstances or professions thatlend themselves to indulge in cor-ruption?

It’s a lot more fun to watchcelebrities being pulled downfrom their pedestals rather thanto think that these people are ashuman as the rest of us; who canbe swayed by the momentarytemptation. But the latter wouldbe such a non-sensational andboring idea. It’s a lot spicier towatch scandalised as darksecrets of others are revealed tous, and we gasp in disbelief.

Incriminating evidenceagainst several bookies and play-ers got buried with Cronje. All inall, the bloke was a good egg andmy guess is that had he lived,he’d never have indulged in anyillegal or immoral activity for therest of his days. But that was notto be. One can only hope that hehas found the peace that evadedhim during his lifetime.

The writer is acommunication specialist.


Global edits

The Queen's jubilee: diamond is not forever

Royal diamond jubilees do not comeround often. That of QueenElizabeth II this weekend is the

first since the end of the 19th century.It seems likely, given the ages of theQueen's prospective successors, thatthis will be the first and last diamondjubilee which any British person alivetoday will witness. Because of this rar-ity, it is tempting to invest the eventwith more significance than it merits.Yet this is to misunderstand the differ-ence between a historically remarkableevent and a historically important one.

This jubilee is remarkable, as thatof Queen Victoria also was, andcharged with enough meaning to keepcommentators and academics prof-itably engaged for the week to come. Itwill be marked by great national happi-ness — and hopefully by good weather.But it is surely not an event of greathistoric significance, any more thanVictoria's turned out to be. In 2012, forone thing, just as in 1897, national self-confidence is too fragile for that — andfor some of the same reasons; a distant

and divisive war, a deteriorating situa-tion in Europe, uncertainty about thefuture unity of the kingdom and theshadow of recession.

Any monarch who occupies thethrone for 60 years becomes a symbolof continuity and of stability. It hap-pened to Victoria. Today it has hap-pened to Elizabeth II. For most of us,she is the only British monarch wehave ever known. Both queens havebecome symbols partly through thesheer passage of time and partlythrough an institutional adeptness foradapting. The monarchy's watchword,as Robert Hardman's recent biographystresses, has been to keep doing thesame thing differently. Across thecourse of 60 years, that strategy hasbeen very successful. As her best biog-rapher, the late Ben Pimlott, wrote,while it is hard to point to majorachievements, it is also hard to thinkof mistakes. The Guardian/ICM polllast week found the monarchy enjoyingrecord support. The Queen herselfenjoys personal ratings that ourdespised politicians would die for.

The principal public feeling thisweekend is respect for a woman whohas done her anachronistic andundemocratic job with tact and judg-ment for far longer than most of uscould ever imagine.

The Guardian (UK)

Quirky-side-Up ARPITA BHAWAL

The legend and the fallAFP

Urban sketchesVISWAPRASAD RAJU Mobile mango shop

THE INTERESTING QUES-TION HERE IS WHAT ISTHE MENTAL PROCESS ORTHE CIRCUMSTANCE THATTEMPTS A PERSON TOINDULGE IN CORRUP-TION? ARE THE BRAINSOF CORRUPT PEOPLE DIF-FERENT FROM THE BRAINSOF NON-CORRUPT PEO-PLE? IF SO, HOW DOES ACORRUPT PERSONREFORM?

Facebook began letting its mem-bers vote whether they approveof privacy policy changes intro-

duced last month. The polls opened ata “Facebook Site Governance Vote”

page at the social network and willclose June 8 at 9 am (1600 GMT).The vote will be considered bind-

ing if more than 30 per cent of activemembers take part.

Users vote on policy changes

Megaupload has filed papers inUS District Court to dismiss thefederal government’s online

piracy case against it. “Megauploadbelieves that the US didn’t follow therules,” lawyer Ira Rothken said. The USindictment alleges Megaupload andrelated file-sharing sites netted morethan $175 million by offering piratedcopies of movies and other content.

‘Dismiss piracy charges’

The US added a scant 69,000 jobsin May and the unemploymentrate rose for the first time in

almost a year, the government said,spelling more trouble for PresidentObama's reelection. The weak num-bers signaled that the recovery in thejob market has stalled, but fueled speculation that the Reserve will step inwith a fresh stimulus for the economy.

US jobs report raises fears

BUSINESS 10SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

He might have started outsmall, but over time andwith sheer hard work,M Rajgopal has scaled

the corporate ladder to nowbecome a successfulentrepreneur. When helaunched Hybiz.tv, an onlinebusiness television channel, inNovember 2009, he made aninvestment of `24 lakh. But by2011-2012 the company’s rev-enues had grown to `1.5 crore.

Talking about his humblebeginnings, Rajgopal says,“After writing my B.Com finalyear exams, my father told me,‘Just work, success will follow.If you don’t work and wait forsuccess, it will never come.’ Hiswords have stuck with me eversince and have been my inspira-tion. So even as I awaited myresults, I applied for a job as anoffice boy with a textile store.Subsequently, I worked withseveral companies likeYellowpages and media compa-nies in various positions in themarketing department.”

Given his background inmarketing, his decision tolaunch an online businesschannel seems surprising. “Myfather ran a cyber cafe after hisretirement. My wife,Swarnamukhi, helped manageoperations there and one dayshe came to me with this busi-ness idea. She told me that theinternet was rapidly growing interms of viewing video contentand the new generation wasmore inclined to watchingthings rather than read aboutthem. This is when she suggest-ed that we start an online busi-ness with video on demand ser-vices. It seemed like an interest-ing idea and I began to researchits viability,” he says. Rajgopalthen put forth the idea to hisclients. “If you place an ad, itonly remains in public memoryfor a day. So why not maintainan archive of videos of variousbusinesses in the City? Peoplecould watch whatever they

wanted at any point of time,”he explains.

Rajgopal launched his busi-ness with an investment of `24lakh, which he got by sellinghis piece of land and from thePF he received after quittinghis job. “We started the compa-ny with two employees in a cargarage in August 2009 and byNovember we officiallylaunched the business,” hesays.

It was not a smooth sailingthough. “Initially, I faced a fewchallenges with PR agenciesinviting us for press confer-ences. They doubted theauthenticity of the online chan-nel. I worked as a reporter forthe channel from 2009 to 2010 tocreate a base for it. Soon theagencies realised the power ofthe internet, when I startedsending them a link of thepress conference videos. It was

easy for them to send this totheir client and share it onsocial media platforms for max-imum coverage. Today we getplenty of invitations and weexclusively cover businessevents. This shows the credibil-ity we have built for ourselvesin the market over the years,”he says.

“We generate revenuesthrough advertisements andthrough paid coverage, wherebusinesses pay for the videoshoots. We charge nominalprices for exclusive shoots torecover our costs. The businesscan use this video across thenew and social media platformsto convey their brand message.Even major media agencies areplacing ads with us based onthe traffic our channel sees.Advertising revenue will alsocontinue to grow, with internetadvertising growing at a rate of450 per cent every year,” hesays.

The company, which tookoff quite positively has almostlost `50 lakh by entering 12 dis-tricts of the State in 2010. “Iused to pump the revenue I gen-erate here in to the districts.Even though, my team has cov-ered a lot of business events,there is very poor responsefrom viewers. Internet penetra-tion and usage is far lower intowns and districts. After a fewmonths, I have decided to pullback the crew from all the dis-tricts except in Vizag. However,we were able to bring the com-pany back on track with highrevenues last year.

The company now has plansto expand to 10 major cities ofthe country and aims to reach`10 crore revenues in the nexttwo years. It has already startedoperations in Vizag, Bangaloreand Chennai. It is also planningto expand to Mumbai and NewDelhi by July this year.

On the personal frontRajgopal enjoys travelling,going for long drives with hiswife and daughter and relishingthe mutton biryani his wifecooks on weekends. “My familyloves beach vacations so, Imake it a point to take them tobeaches once in a while tounwind,” he smiles.

From rags to richesHe started his career as an office boy. But with sheer hard work M

Rajgopal is now the proud owner of an online television channel

[email protected] PRUDHVI RAJU K

Number of crew: 12

Archives: More than 50,000 business videos

Employees: 70

Number of visits to the site (traffic):

12 lakh per month

Number of videos watchedacross the platforms:

6 lakh videos per month

Turnover for 2010-2011:`7.6 lakh

Turnover for 2011-2012:`1.55 crore

Margins:Around 25 per cent

INITIALLY, IT WAS DIFFI-CULT TO GET INVITEDTO PRESS CONFERENCESAS PEOPLE WEREUNSURE ABOUT THEAUTHENTICITY OF ANONLINE NEWS CHANNEL

Siddharth TSS and Osama [email protected]

You can see this sign at petrol pumps— “Please don’t smoke here. Your lifemay be worthless but petrol certainlyisn’t!” Well, that sure explains the

worth of petrol, considering the ridiculousrise in its prices. Forget petrol, did youknow there was a time when India had itsown electric car run entirely on electricity?It was the Reva. It saved you thousands inpetrol, and if you ever owned one, you’dnever care about the rising cost of fuel.

THE REVAReva, this tiny toy-looking machine as it’scalled, was launched to defy the rules of tra-ditional driving, and perhaps aimed atchanging the scape of the roads. In the ini-tial stages, this electric car was criticisedfor its size and shape, but now people haveunderstood the potential of using electricityas a fuel and its economical and environ-mental advantages.

The Reva can shell out a commendable18 PS at 1300rpm and a torque of 68Nm.This two-door hatchback can charge itselfup to 80% in 2.5 hours and consumes 9-10units of electricity on a 100 per cent charge.This amount roughly translates to say `24.5in terms of electricity consumption.

So this makes us wonder, how advanta-geous electric cars are, or even how practi-cal they are for everyday use.

Well, for starters, you need less frequentmaintenance. Electric engines don't needthe oil changes and other regular mainte-nance that conventional engines need tostay running. That can add up to significantsavings over time. Even the cleanliness ismore. Leaving aside the environmental ben-efits, which are considerable, an all-electriccar means freedom from a substance thatcan be really messy: oil.

However, there are disadvantages to an

all-electric car as well. Current battery tech-nology can't yet match the energy stored ina regular old tank of unleaded petrol. Thatmeans in the near future, electric carswill have significantly less travel rangewhen compared to fuel cars. And thenthere are the expenses. Unless you wantto wait eight hours or more to "fill upyour tank," you'll want a high- speedcharger installed in your home, poten-tially adding thousands to your electric-car price tag.

Then there is the battery uncertain-ty. Just like the batteries in your iPodor laptop, the large, expensive batteriesin an electric car will inevitably rundown. The question is, how will theyperform in the real world, under real-world weather and traffic conditions.

HYBRID VS ELECTRIC CARSMost hybrid cars still rely on combus-tion of fossil fuels for their motivation.But the implementation of regenerativebraking technology in Hybrid ElectricVehicles is another plus point.Whereas, in electric cars a battery thatcan store enough electricity equalling a

tank of fuel is big, heavy and prohibitivelyexpensive. But electricity can be attainedeasier than Hydrogen fuel cells.

Toyota Motor said it would roll outeight compact car models tai-lored for emerging markets by

2015 in an attempt to catch up tofront-runners. Toyota, which lost thecrown as the world's top automakerlast year, is looking to reduce itsdependence on the mature NorthAmerican, European and Japanesemarkets.

Toyota plans 8 compact cars

Mazda Motor and Fiat will joinforces to make new versions oftheir most famous sports cars,

the MX-5 and the Alfa Romeo Spider,possibly paving the way for a deeperalliance. A joint venture will not includeany equity tie-up but joins a long line ofpartnerships aiming to share researchand development costs and keep pricescompetitive in a tough market.

Mazda, Fiat join forces

11MOTORINGSATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

The e-car paradox

While India seems to just have warmed up to electric and hybrid cars, elsewhere Hydrogen is the new fuel. It might only be a matter of time before

we take the ‘Hy’ road. Until then, take a peek into the electric car market

TESLA ROADSTER: The firstcar in the world to poweritself using a lithium ion bat-tery. It is also one of the firstcars to make it over 300 kilo-metres on a full charge. Thecoup de grace can go 0-100kmph in 3.9 seconds.

CHEVY VOLT: This plug-inhybrid vehicle combines thepower of an internal combus-tion engine and two onboard electric motors capa-ble of going from 0-100kmphin 10 seconds.

NISSAN LEAF: The designfor this car is stylised by itscharacteristic V shape. Thecar can pull itself through for117km on full charge. Anoth-er feature of this car is itsheadlights as they consume50 per cent lesser power thanregular halogen lamps.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETFOR ELECTRIC CARS

Famous electriccar ownersGeorge ClooneyTango T-600Jay LenoTesla Roadsterand a VintageBarker ElectricLeonardo DiCaprioTesla RoadsterAlyssa MilanoNissan Leaf

Think of it as something of a poorman's Mercedes CLS; althoughfor the updated model, poor is

clearly a relative term. Volkswagen’s CC(Comfort Coupe) comes with a

makeover three years after the CC wasfirst launched in South Africa. Changescan be seen in the front end where thesedan swaps its smiley face for the lessdistinctive but neater default VW front.

Volkswagen’s ‘Comfort Coupe’

12TECHNOLOGY

Hooked offers personalised gamerecommendations and advancedsearch features. This Android app

provides recommenda-tions for more than200,000 games. So findthe best possible gamesthrough Hooked .

Gamesheep THE GOODn Pleasing aestheticn A real sense of speed.

THE BADn Narrow course design

restricts freedomn Getting stuck behind

scenery mid-race.

www.gamesheep.com This with its easy to loadand simple games is a goodway to kill time and stress.one game that is a mustwhile here is ‘Mad doctors.’We’re sure you would behooked to it!

VIDEOGAME REVIEWWEBSITE OF THE WEEKMAD RIDERS

APP OF THE WEEK


Browser wars

1

3

Google Chrome As much as it pains for a Firefoxuser to admit, Google Chrome,

as of May 2012, is the mostpopular web browser in the

world according to StatCounter. It alsosuggested that Google Android’s built-in

browser is now the most popular pro-gramme on mobile phones. Regardless of

Chrome’s popularity, it is quite evidentthat Google has managed to produce a

very efficient application which isextremely fast, easier to use and one can

customise it using the different themesavailable. It also takes in lesser memoryper tab and even if the tab crashes, you

can still continue with your other brows-ing activities. Of course it doesn’t have asmany plugins as Firefox but it reduces the

hassle of updating your browser as thereare automatic updates.

Mozilla Firefox Alot of people swear byFirefox when it all

boils down to usingan efficient and cre-

ative web browser. As of May2012, Firefox has approximately

25% of worldwide usage shareof web browsers, making it the

third most widely used webbrowser. It has long been thehead of the Mozilla browser

family and even with Chromein the market, it still remains

the prime rival for Microsoft’sInternet Explorer. With a mas-

sive number of plugins, itallowed geeks to create, add andshare their own content: exten-

sions (their main attraction)and themes

2

4 5

What was probably the most widely usedbrowser a decade ago is facing the heatfrom Chrome and Firefox with its newestversion 9, smarting other browsers with

epic new changes. It has been resurrected from recy-cle bins and stands at a respectable position, earninga sweet spot in this legendary league. It takes its inspi-ration from Chrome and combines the search boxwithin the location box making navigation to sitesand viewing of browsing history, a simple task.

Microsoft InternetExplorer

With Safari launching its newest version 5,not much has changed except for someneat features. With a slight improvementin performance, Safari is still touted to be

the best browser for MAC. It’s lack of Aero supportbrings it down on the list for a Windows user as it iscomparatively slower than the other browsers. Thebest feature yet in v5 is the Safari Reader, an adapta-tion of bookmarklet “Readability”. While scoring100% in Acid3 test, surfing has been a near pleasureon Safari.

Once a paid software, Opera till date is themost feature rich browser ever. With acandy interface combined with speed, secu-rity and lightness, it gives us a rich brows-

ing experience. Opera was one of the pioneers oftabbed browsing but with the introduction of Tabstacking, working with multiple tabs has become awhole lot easier. Despite the fact that it offers a wholelot of interesting and pioneering features, Opera doesnot have an extensive backup from the user commu-nity— unlike other top browsers such as IE, Safari,Chrome and Firefox. Even though it is slowly losingground in the desktop environment, it still has a goodhold in the mobile space.

OperaApple Safari

With Yahoo! launching itsnewest web browser, Axis,Google knocking out new versions of Chrome at an alarming rate, Firefox andMicrosoft are hanging on for dear life. So whose sideare you on?

Google Chrome – 1 n Mozilla Firefox – 2 n Internet Explorer – 3 n Apple Safari – 4

COMPILED BY SANA MIRZA

Opera is not really a popular desktop browser but is the best option for mobile s. About 65% of smart phone users avail Opera on their cell phones.

Popularity meter

Paralysed rats walk

Wearing a roboticharness, paral-ysed rats have

been made to walk again,according to a new study albeit while

stimulated by judicious jolts of electricityand chemicals. A technique which might

hold hope for some disabled people.

13ANIMAL KINGDOM

AAn analysis led byEmory Universitybiologists finds that

eastern and westerngroups of monarchs are geneticallymixed. Their research,suggests that envi-ronmental factors may be the key to thebutterflies' choice of winter homes

Monarch butterflies

The Deer hound wasbred to course

Deer to the denseScottish Highlands. It has acoat that is harsh and protects it from the

cold. It comes in fawn, red, red brindle,blue grey, or black brindle colour. This

dog is generally seen in the eastern India.

CATS AND DOGSThe Animal Care Clinic

040-2335 2474Pet’s World Dog Clinic

98856 46259Blue Cross of Hyderabad

040-3298 9858, 23544355/ 5523

Vet-N-Pet 040-6553 9535,93463 05890

Bluplus Pet Clinic040-2712 1739, 2716 2636

Sri Sai Pet Clinic

040-2779 7458, 9848645350Claws & Paws 98662 82772All Creatures AnimalsClinic 040-2773 0885BIRDSGovt Veterinary Hospital040-2331 9656, 2753 5755Bird Watcher’s Society040-2355 6166Friends of Birds9391048315SNAKESFriends of Snakes8374233366

Know your dog

PET NEWS IMPORTANT NUMBERS


Alot of petownersnowadaysprefer to

take their petsalong with themwhile on holiday.And once you havespent that time rac-ing on the beachwith your pet, it’stime for rejuvena-tion. You surecould do with aninvigorating mas-sage but what ofyour pet? Well,WuffVital dog hotelin Jarplund, north-ern Germany, has asolution. The hoteloffers day andnight care for theanimals, dog swim-ming and massagesfor the dogs andtheir owners.Some pamperinghuh? And the posi-tives, you get tohave fun with yourpet as well.

ANGELIKA WARMUTH/AFP

PAW FRIENDLYFor some pet owners, nothing is too good for their beloved animals.

A massage, a leisurely swim and a wonderful time— dog hotels offer this and much more

Malgorzata Szymanska swims with dogQuaniit at the WuffVital dog hotel in

Jarplund, northern Germany.

14BOOKS

Title: Home Author: Toni Morrison Publisher: KnopfFrank Money is an angry, self-

loathing veteran of the KoreanWar who, after traumaticexperiences on the front lines,

finds himself back in racist America withmore than just physical scars.

Title: Trapeze Author: Simon MawerPublisher: Other PressA smart, well-paced spy thriller

and a memorably cunning hero-ine, based on the extraordinarytrue story of French-speaking

British women recruited to go undercoverin Nazi-occupied France during World War.

Title: I suck at girls Author: Justin HalpernPublisher: IT BooksI Suck at Girls is full of his

dad's patented brand of wis-dom. But it's also full of newcharacters just as funny as his

dad—from his brother, who providesinsights into wedding night rituals.

Title: A night like this Author: Julia QuinnPublisher: AvonAnne Wynter’s job as gov-

erness to three highbornyoung ladies can be a chal-lenge. She finds herself hiding

in a closet full of tubas and tending to thewounds of the Earl of Winstead.

SHORT READS

Arun Koshy [email protected]

Across-border intrusionby a Pakistani patroland their actions in anIndian village trigger a

chain of events that escalateinto a full-fledged war betweenthe nuclear armed neighbours.The United States finds itself ina tricky situation as China'sshadow darkens the skies overthe conflict zone.

Former Delta operativeDewey Andreas is working in an

Australian ranch, away from thedangerous elements he oncefought — but unknown to him,foes from the past are hot on histrail. Even before he realises,

Andreas finds himself in thethick of action and on a missionto avert a nuclear war in theIndian Subcontinent.

The author has written apiece of fiction that would lightup the day for Chuck Norris butdisappoint hard-core action fans.

All I have to say is that asimple Google search wouldhave told Ben Coes that theIndian government structure isnot what he has portrayed in thebook. True, the American herohas to save the day — but theoverdose of his skills kills the

enjoyability of the plot for any-one with average understandingof warfare.

If common sense had pre-vailed, the author would haverealised that his hero wouldhave died several times over inthe course of the story. The bookwould make a good read for thehardcore American nationalist,but falls flat in its ability to pro-vide a realistic picture.

A little more effort andhomework on the area wherethe action unfolds wouldhave helped.

Short on facts, high on adrenaline

NameCoup d'état

AuthorBen Coes

Pages468

PublisherPan Books


Love isin the air

The Statistical Probability of Love ofFirst Sight makes you yearn wistfullyfor the warm fluttery feeling of first

love and the magic of happy endings

So, a book titled TheStatistical Probabilityof Love of First Sight isnot going to be the firstpick of any self-respect-

ing bibliophile, I’ll give you that.But before you dismiss it out ofhand, all I ask of you is afair trial, which you have toconcede, is every book’s funda-mental right.

In my opening statement, letme place on record — the plot isguilty as charged. It is the verydefinition of ‘been there, donethat.’ Hadley Sullivan is a claus-trophobic 17-year-old, who hav-ing missed her flight (by fourminutes), is stuck in JFK enroute to her father’s wedding toa woman she’s never met. Just

when everything seems hope-less, cue in cute, wry, funny,chivalrous Oliver. Also, her seatmate on the flight.

Somewhere over the Atlanticthat night, in the warm glow ofcabin lighting, love happens. Butin the harsh glare of the morn-ing sun streaming throughHeathrow, they part, unsure ofthemselves and their feelings.With no phone numbers or lastnames exchanged.

Will Hadley survive herfather’s wedding? What’s Olivertrying to hide? Will they seeeach other again? Was it reallylove? You have to read the bookto find out.

But no, the killing suspenseis not the reason this bookdeserves a chance. Neither is it,the originality of the story. It israther the endearing sense offamiliarity — the thrill of meet-ing someone interesting on aflight, the strange isolated inti-macy of night, shy unfurling offacts in conversation, and the

first rush of feelings and achance to relive the experiencethat makes it worth the read.

It’s in the telling of a story— even if only a familiar one —that makes all the difference.And there’s where Jennifer ESmith scores. She brings out allthe innocence of adolescence,capturing perfectly the fearlessfashion in which you offer your

heart to a stranger without aniota of self-preservation. A par-allel thread, of a child stuck in abroken home between lovable

parents, adds the much-neededgravitas to the story and aninteresting dimension to Hadley.

This is my closing statement.To remember a time before rela-tionships got so complicated andwe became so cynical, read thisbook. To remember what ahappy ending looks like withoutfeeling silly about it, read thisbook. It may not be the mostsparkling book you’ve ever read,but it will be a book that mightjust make you start teach tohope again.

And, it is most definitely thebook to pick to read on a flight.Because, did you know? AsOliver says, “People who meet inairports are seventy-two per centmore likely to fall for each otherthan people who meet anywhereelse.”

NameThe Statistical Probability of

Love at First SightAuthor

Jennifer E Smith Pages

238PublisherHachette

PADMINI C

[email protected]

15BOOKS

Walden’s best in fiction

n Revolution 2020by ChetanBhagat

n Micro By MichaelCrichton

n Secret Of TheNagas by AmishTripati

n Time of my Lifeby Cecelia Ahern

n Lethal by SandraBrown

Walden’s best in fiction

n Great by Choiceby Collins AndHansen

n Journey byBrandon Bays

n Most And Moreby Voice Ra

n Target 3 Billionby APJ AbdulKalam

n Confessions Of ASerial Dieter by Kalli Purie

New York Times’ best in fiction

n Stolen Prey byJohn Sandford

n 11th Hour byJames Pattersonand MaxinePaetro.

n Deadlocked byCharlaine Harris.

n The ColumbusAffair by SteveBerry

n Calico Joe by John Grisham

New York Times’ best in non-fiction

n The Amateur byEdward Klein

n The Passage ofPower by RobertA Caro

n The Art ofIntelligence byHenry ACrumpton

n My Cross to bearby Gregg Allmanwith Alan Light

n Most talkative by Andy Cohen

WHAT’S SELLING


A dream fantasy

Fast-paced, to the point, and interesting

Bhavneet [email protected]

This book is the dawn ofthe new wave Indianwriting. The book is set

in an imagined world remi-niscent of post Vedic India.The book defies the typicalIndian style of writing andhas a very complex and amulti layered style of writ-ing.

In short, it is the story ofArihant, the protagonist ofthis book, who has to destroyAushij, the Lord of Maya.The book starts off with theflashback where Aushij wastricked by Arihant’s siblingsinto a prison of dreams inorder to save the world.

Despite being in theprison, he manages to wreckhavoc on the real world andthus Arihant takes up thechallenge to destroy him.The story from here is hisjourney on how he reachesthe Lord of Maya anddestroys him. The book hasthe potential to teleport youinto another world.

Since the journey ofArihant in this book is in thedreams, sometimes the nar-rative becomes so confusingthat it becomes hard tounderstand if he is dream-ing or is he in the real world.

According to whatSangeeta says in her blog,Arihant has the universalappeal of the super herowho, even as he grows to fitthe prophesy of his incredi-ble destiny, never outgrowsthe emotional vulnerabilityof his humanity, his sense ofperspective, and his sense ofhumour. Arihant appeals tothe invincible spirit in all ofus, for he shares with us hisstrength and gives us the gift

of hope and dignity to facethe vicissitudes of life.

But a drawback of thebook is that it has a very slowstart to it. This is definitelynot the kind of a book youwould like to read as a new-bie. There are a few thingsthat make the book stand out.The first one is SangeetaBahadur’s choice of words.There are many Hindi,Sanskrit and mythologicalterms used in the book. Thisworks in a very positive wayas it adds to the entire set-upof the story. The book scoreson the visual description.The character of Arihant andhis struggle demand a specialmention here. The effectivechoice of words and strongexpressions make Arihant, acharacter that we just cannotforget.

Apart from these things,the idea in itself is unique asthe protagonist battles it outin the dreams.

NameJaal

AuthorSangeeta Bahadur

Pages460

PublisherPan Macmillian

In her third novel, VictoriaHislop (of The Island and TheReturn) weaves a story of loveand loss in the backdrop of two

wars which tear apart theThessaloniki throughout the 20thcentury. Much has been writtenabout the rise and fall of Greecein the early years of the milleni-um; however, Victoria Hislopthrows great insight into whathad happened in the countrysince the outbreak of the firstworld war. The Thread is thestory about one such familywhich withstands many strugglesto keep the memories of its andthe city’s existence alive.

The story begins in 1917 whena massive fire devastates theGreek city Thessaloniki whereJews, Christians and Muslimslive in perfect harmony.Thessaloniki is far away fromAthens and is a thriving hub fortrade and cultural exchange.Dimitri Komninos and his familyare forced to live in a simplehouse after the fire. Five yearslater, Katerina Sarafogolumigrates to Thessaloniki afterher home is destroyed by theTurkish army. Here she meetsDimitri and the two become greatfriends and as they grow up, theyrealize that they are in love witheach other. Katreina grows up tobecome the finest seamstress inthe city creating beautiful gownsfor the rich ladies and soon shemarries Dimitri. However, fatehas different plans for this per-fect couple and the residents ofthe city whose bond is tested time

and again with wars and culturalstrife.

Victoria Hislop succeeds inbringing alive the city’s variousfacets. Every detail of the city’sresidents daily lives is so wellnarrated that it fuels your imagi-nation. What’s interesting aboutThe Thread is the political con-

text in which the story is set in.There’s hardly a moment in thelives of Dimitri and Katerinawhere the overwhelming circum-stances in which they live indon’t bother them about theirfuture. That’s one of the reasonswhy the couple send both theirchildren abroad. However, theduo have such a strong bond withthe city they lived almost theirentire lives that they never con-sidered to migrate to the UK orthe US despite repeated pleasfrom their son and daughter. Cutto 2007, when Dimitri andKaterine narrate their story totheir grandson Mitsos, we aretold that their memories are toostrong. ‘Even if we were given asmany diamonds as there aredrops in that ocean, there is noth-ing which would induce us toleave. We will stay in Thessa -loniki until we die,” Katerinadeclares, when her grandson asksher why they didn’t migrate.

The Thread is heart-warmingand devastating in equal mea-sure. It’s a story which is boundto make a huge impression if yourelate to the gravity of the situa-tion in which Dimitri andKaterine had had to make deci-sions in.

History comes alive

HEMANTH KUMAR

[email protected]

Victoria Hislop’s The Thread brings alive several forgottenaspects of Greek history, when it was torn apart by

World War II and civil war

NameThe Thread

AuthorVictoria Hislop

Pages400

PublisherHachette

18WOMEN

Pedometer:Aside from track-ing your steps, it

also allows you toset a target andkeep a diary to

achieve yourgoals. This is one

app you musthave

iStylist: iStylistwill help you find

skirts, dresses,jeans, etc. that willflatter your figure.

Who wants anexpensive personal

stylist when youcan have this on

your phone?.

Chanel: With the Chanel

app, any chic geekcan get news, pho-

tos, videos and prod-uct info, as well as

watch fashion shows,see the latest Chanellineup and follow the

latest Chanel news.

APPS OF THE WEEK

All About EveMADHU JOSHI

The NewAge Sati

Iused to frequently read about‘Sati’ — a woman, irrespectiveof her age, sacrificing her life

on her husband’s death. Today,in this century of progressiveIndia, we are witnessing a ‘newera Sati’. Here, she does not diewith her man, but succumbs tohis family’s decision of not let-ting her live beyond a fewmonths. The number of girlchild deaths in our country areno more just statistical data tobe analysed and concluded witha reports. The mission to savethe girl child now needs to beour daily agenda, completelyfocused towards bringing a posi-tive change.

A day’s revolt, dharnas andslogans can be effective, mighteven bring about media atten-tion as well. But for how long?Its effect may last for a month orso and then what? Whatmedicine do we need then whichwill have a long term effect? Theprescription is ‘empowerment’.

We can define empowermentas a process of awareness, effec-tive decision-making power andcontrol leading to transforma-tive action. Most importantly itinvolves at the psychologicallevel women’s ability to assertthemselves. Every women needsto be empowered and feelempowered. From a very youngage, a girl needs to be instilledwith a belief that she is capableof achieving anything and over-come challenges in her owncapacity. Every mother needs tounderstand the importance ofsowing the seed of awareness,confidence and self-belief in herdaughter. It basically starts andends with a woman playing thelead role to eliminating thisdeadly disease.

Education and work opportu-nities have shown us the way awoman is going forward butthese are form the later part ofthe main story. We have wit-nessed several educated womenwho have succumbed to theirfamily decisions and allow suchatrocities to happen to them. So,the change needs to start fromthe beginning, in our minds. Thenew age Sati will need no prohi-bition act to stop the practice, itwill just need a step from womanherself, to empower herself andmake the change.

To one of the most popu-lar gyms in the citycomes a young girl,who does her workoutslike any other fitness

enthusiast present there. She isdiligent with her routine, bare-ly ever complains, and mostlyseems to love being incognito.But she is not your average girl— she trains for a reason — sheshoulders the responsibility ofrepresenting India at theOlympics set to take place inLondon this year. She isAshwini Ponnappa, India’scharge for badminton.

After striking up a conver-sation with her, I found a reallydown-to-earth woman whoseinterest lies in performing bet-ter. What in the first place trig-gered off her affair with theracquet I ask her, and she tellsme, “I was too young to decideanything really. But being ahyperactive kid, I took away alot of my mum’s time from mybrother who was a baby then.To keep me occupied, I wasgiven the racket, and that ishow my affair began.”

Obviously, for a girlwho has won many tourna-ments since then, and for who,a constant pressure to performis the order of the day, howdoes she deal with it ? “I think Iget the right amount of atten-tion — not too less, and not toomuch, and I like it that way. Butthe last few months have beenpretty stressful, and sometimes,I do get snappy. But when Igo out with my friends for din-ners or to the movies, I ammore relaxed and ready to takeon more.”

As she sips on her greentea, she recollects her child-

hood as being the best anyonecould ever ask for. She says, “Inever felt differentiated as akid. My parents never distin-guished me from my brother,and I think that is the greatestplace any kid can grow up in. Iam truly a lucky girl. Aroundme, I see women progressing inall fields, and I think theyshould get better in all walks oflife. And am sure that we are onthe right path.

Like any other girl,Ashwini loves watchingmovies whenever she gets thetime. She says, “I recentlywatched The Notebook movieand just fell in love with it!Rachel McAdams is a fantasticactress. I also loved The Vow,also starring Rachel McAdams– and she was fantastic in thattoo. I enjoy the easy romanticcomedies.”

Living in Hyderabad isan experience like no othersays Ashwini. “Four yearsdown, I have a few friends here,and thankfully get some timeoff my work. The roads hereare much better than they arein Bengaluru. But sometimes,I notice that people thrive on‘connections’ to get theirwork done.

Sometimes, there is a senseof unrealistic living which Idon’t understand. After all, it isnot about how much you earn,or what kind of car you drivethat determines who you are.”

A fighter she maybe on thefield, but off it, she lives the

simple life of a normal girl — atrait so charming that an hourlater, at the end of our conver-sation, I forget the sports starthat she is, after letting youpeek into the life of a girl withhopes, dreams and aspirations,just like any other.

Years ago, when her parents gifted her abadminton racket, little did they know

they were shaping her future. Today, sheis representing the country for the first

time at the upcoming Olympics.Meet Ashwini Ponnappa


CV

First Job: With ONGC toplay their tournaments.

Motto: I learnt this inschool, and it remainswhat I follow ever since,“Do unto others as youwould have others do untoyou.”

Last book read: Haven’tread one in a long time!

Last Movie: The BestExotic Marigold Hotel

INDIRA ATLURI

[email protected]

Off the court DEEPAK DESHPANDE

19SPOTLIGHTSATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Doyens of Tollywood graced theaudio launch of the movie All theBest at Hotel Daspalla on Friday

Off to a flying start

Srikanth & J D Chakravarthi Dasari Narayana Rao

Ramanaidu

Kota Srinivasa Rao

Ashok Krishna Bhagavan Uppala Ramesh Bramhaji

Showstopper

Shraddha Das at the launch ofWeaves lifestyle exibition atImperial Gardens.

It’s here!

Shruti Hassan unveils themuch-awaited SamsungGalaxy S III at GVK One.

DE

EPA

K D

ESH

PAN

DE

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

DE

EPA

K D

ESH

PAN

DE

Dating a believer or anatheist can be quite thetest for most of us. Themore dominating person

in the relationship will end upconverting the other, which canbe quite taxing not only on theperson, but also on the relation-ship. But, how much is religioneven discussed in a relationship?“My partners religious belief ishardly an issue so as long as mypartner is understanding aboutit,” says Krishna Bharani, aagnostic Journalism graduate.

A believer, Bhavya Giri sec-onds Krishna and says, “Nothingin the extreme will do. As longas my partner doesn’t forcehis views on me, things canwork out.”

However, some have verystaunch views, “I would not datea believer. It defines and repre-

sents a basic contradictionbetween the rational and irrational parts of his personali-ty,” says Adithya Srinivas, anatheist and a student of Arts.

Taking a more moderatestance, Prerna Vazir, a digitalanalyst says, “I wouldn’t minddating someone with oppositebeliefs. If he does not haveissues with my faith being differ-ent from his then I’m okay withdating him. But, of course reli-gious faith is important some-where down the line.”

Bhavya, however wonders ifsuch people can be found.“Whatever your partner’s beliefsare, they will try to influenceand convince you. It’s humannature,” she muses.

So then, it’s up to us whetherwe choose to be influenced bythe views of our partners. But,trying to bar something yourbetter-half is trying to tell youcan land you in a mess, some-times even lead you to go yourseparate ways.

So is religion a match makeror breaker? Most people prefer

not discussing matters of reli-gion in a relationship unlessthey plan on getting married.

Ranvijay Singh, a freelancephotographer says he wouldn’t

mind dating an atheist so long asshe doesn’t impose her ideals onhim, he thinks it shouldn’t mat-ter even if you want to take therelationship further,

“As long as she lets me fol-low my beliefs, there will neverbe a problem.”

“Well, I think beliefs differfrom person to person but thatmust not stop one from lovingsomeone provided the other per-son too holds the same amountof respect for your beliefs,” saysRatna Bharti, a student of MassCommunication.

All of this brings us toan inevitable query, how muchdoes faith even matter in arelationship?

“Faith is the least of theproblems in a relationship.There are so many other thingsthat you need to take intoaccount,” says Suriki Sen,a BA student.

So, the solution that seems tobe doing the rounds is ‘the prin-cipal of non-interference’. Aslong as the views of one partnerare not forced onto another therelationship can survive andsustain rather effortlessly. Afterall, as the saying goes, ‘Love con-quers all’. Here’s saying amen tothat!

5 thingsthat’llhelp Talking it out: It might soundlike stating the obvious butwe’ll say it anyway.Communicate, communicate,communicate. There’s no easierway to solve an issue than tohave an open mind and talk itout. Establish ground rules thatboth of you are comfortablewith. Stick to them

Mutual Respect: Irrespectiveof whether you share theirbelief system or not, rememberthat everyone is as entitled totheir opinion as you are toyours. Faith is a deeply personal issue, so don’t hold itout against them.

Unconditionality: Differencesof opinion are common in anyrelationship. And this shouldbe no different. The importantthing to remember is to accepta person as they come, with noconditions.

Prioritise: There are a millionother things in a relationshipthat are more important. So ifyou can agree to disagree onthis and give each other space,it will become a non-issue.

Compromise: Note that anysource of conflict is really onlyas big as bad as you want it tobe. Find a middle path andyou will be just fine!

20RELATIONSHIPS

Iam 28-year-old man and workin an software company. Of

late, a girl has been trying toput me down in front of the

boss and as a result my moralehas taken a beating. My bosstoo supports her, despite the

fact that she is wrong most ofthe time and an inexperienced

in her work. Please help.

Dear perplexed kid, How old are you again? I think it’s time yourealised that in every office you have these kind ofpeople, who live only to get into the boss’ goodbooks. It requires them to be manipulative andevil. Next time the kid does that put her in herplace by explaining in really polite terms that hergame is up. Be sure to steer clear from her and tryand get the boss to see where the hard work iscoming from.

Scientists have discovered that actualactions on objects, such as physically stir-ring a spoon in a cup, have less of an

impact on the brain’s understanding of speechthan simply gesturing as if stirring a spoon in acup. This is surprising because there is less visu-al information contained in gestures than inactual actions on objects. In short: Less mayactually be more when it comes to gestures andactions in terms of understanding language.

I AM ALL EARS

MATTERS OF FAITHDating someonewhose beliefsystem is theopposite ofyours seemslike an obstaclehard to overcome.But is it really?


SAMEENA KENAZ

[email protected]

I wouldn’t mind datingsomeone with oppositebeliefs. If he does nothave issues with myfaith being differentfrom his then I’m okaywith dating him.

Prerna Vazir

Beliefs differ from per-son to person but thatmust not stop one fromloving someone provid-ed they too hold thesame respect for yourbeliefs

Ratna Bharti

Gestures speak louder than actions!

CINEMA 21 T-TOWN TWEETIES

@Tashu_02Lil bit cold n throat infectionremaining but that will settlegradually... I can finally stepout of my house today...Feels gud... :-)

@PriyaWajAnandHad an awesome time

taking in d beautiful sceneryat Nariman Point! Highlightbeing d horse carriage ride!

Mumbai is breathtaking.

@snehaullalheartNever make urslf acigarette,so that ppl pay tobuy u,burn n then crush uMake urself a DRUG n Letthem DIE to get u.

@shraddhadas43I finally will step foot into my

new home today,justreached Mumbai!!Happiness galore!!

@Actor_SiddharthChashme Baddoor comesout August 31st. MidnightsChildren expected endOctober.Nandini Reddy andVetrimaaran’s films also out.

@actor_NikhilThanks 4 the birthday wishesguys...Thanks 2 the tv chan-

nels 4 airing special birthdaywishes 4 me... U all made

June 1st special 4 me.

@LakshmiManchuWishing the entire team of#rowdyrathode a supersuper duper super hit. Let’sall get dinchaku dinchak din-chak I say …

@actressanjjanaaI hav honestly sowed d

seeds of my hardwork, juswaiting for d results,my nxtbaby sagar my nxt kannada

film rel in July !!


That sinking feeling Adhinayakudu is all about the sacrifices the protagonist

makes to uphold his family’s honour. Hemanth Kumarhemanth.k @postnoon.com

Adhinayakudu is the per-fect example of whatcan go wrong with a fi -lm, despite having a re -

a sonably good script and starca st. The political context inwh i ch the film is set lays a goodfoundation for an high voltagedrama; however, too many cli c -hed scenes in the first half playspoilsport. Directed by Para -churi Murali, the film starsBalakrishna in triple roles forthe first time in his career.

The film begins with theas s assination of HarishchandraPrasad (Balakrishna). Fifteenyears later, we are introducedto Bobby, played once again byBalakrishna, who’s a professi o -nal killer. He’s a man of princi-ple and vows to never kill inno-cent civilians. One fine day, hegets a contract to kill Rama Kr -i shna Prasad (Balakrishna),but soon Bobby comes to knowthat he’s in fact his father. Else -

w here a top politician, playedby Kota Srinivasa Rao, has be -en plotting to kill Rama Krish -na Prasad. Who’s Rama Krish -na Prasad? Why was Harish -chandra Prasad assassinated?This forms the rest of the story.

One of the major problemswith the film is that ParachuriMurali saves the best part ofthe film for the second half. Asa result, the proceedings in thefirst half begin to test your pa -ti ence right from the beginni -ng. Except for a couple of act i -on sequences, nothing else, wh -i ch includes the romantic trackbetween Balakrishna andLa k sh mi Rai and comedy sce -nes featuring Brahmanandamhold the attention.

The second half begins on ahigh note with Rama KrishnaPrasad (Balakrishna) taking ce -ntrestage. If it wasn’t for thosebizarre costumes and wigs, per-haps we would have concentrat-ed a lot more on the dialoguesand the emotional content. Thescenes featuring Harishchan -dra Prasad (Balakrishna) andhis son, Rama Krishna Prasaddeserve an applause.

Balakrishna comes upwith an excellent performanceas the politician. KalyaniMalik’s music and backgroundscore is decent. If onlyParachuri Mu rali had stayedhonest with the actual storyhe had in mind, Ad hi nayakuduwould have been a muchbetter film. The violen ceand cinematic liberties in thesecond half are justified,but it takes too much time toreach the actual crux of thefilm. It’s a pity that a potentialsubject like this ended up withvery few things to boast aboutin the end.

Movie: AdhinayakuduCast: Nandamuri Balakrishna,

Lakshmi Rai, JayasudhaDirector: Parachuri Murali

Rating:

Ravi Teja, Kajal team up again

The search for the leadheroine in Ravi

Teja’s upcoming filmSaar Osthara has officially

ended. Kajal is all set to playRavi Teja’s romantic interest

in the film and this is thesecond time that the duo is

teaming up for a Telugufilm. Last year, they hadacted together in Veera,

which failed to click at thebox office. In the past,

Trisha and Amala Paul werein talks with Parasuram, the

director of the film, to playthe lead role; however, after

the two walked out of thefilm citing lack of dates,

Kajal was roped in. Anotheractress will be finalised in a

week. Ashwini Dutt is pro-ducing the film and Thaman

is scoring the music. Thefilm will commence from

June 16 in Ooty.

Arya, Anushka off to GeorgiaArya, Anushka starrer

Irandam Ulagam will soon beshot in Georgia.

Selvaraghavan, the director of thefilm, has planned a marathon 65days schedule in the East Europeancountry which is fast becoming oneof the hottest destinations for filmproduction. Recently, Ajith’s Billa 2was also shot in Georgia. IrandamUlagam was earlier shot inHyderabad and Goa and there was

a buzz that it might be shot inBrazil; however, Selvaraghavanchose to shoot a major part ofthe film in Georgia. Anushka isplaying a dual role in this filmwhich is simultaneously beingmade in Telugu and Tamil. TheTelugu version has been namedas Brindavanam loNandakumarudu. Arya,Anushka and rest of the crewwill fly to Georgia on June 15.

For those who havewatched the superhit filmin Telugu titledVikramarkudu, RowdyRathore won’t come as

much of a surprise if not asmuch for the story but forAkshay’s crazy action antics.The protagonist of the film is acharming conman, Shiva(Akshay Kumar) who with hisslick ways romances everywoman in a radius of 10 metres.However, what he is not pre-pared for is falling in love withPriya (Sonakshi Sinha) at one ofhis robbing venues. Their lovestory starts to blossom whenin walks another girl,Neha who Shiva seemsto have no memory of.

Neha is a 6-year-old girl whoassumes Shiva to be her father.Confused and angry about hav-ing been bestowed the unwantedresponsibility of a child, Shivadecides to find her real father.What follows is a series of reve-lations and a whole lot ofrevenge.

While the film lacks decentvisual effects, it makes up in thedrama and the action that major-ly unfolds in the second half ofthe film. Probably, the easiestway to earn brownie points withaudiences is to remake hit filmsand Prabhu Deva smartly usesthis tactic. All the songs in thefilm are mood changing withChinta ta ta slotted at No 1 sinceits release.

This movie sees AkshayKumar at his action best com-bined with his sleazy wit andhumour. After two movies, I amstill unsure where Sonakshiwould fit in. Though the chem-istry between the two is almostnegligible, there are instanceswhere she seems a natural espe-cially the dance sequences.

I somehow have a thing forvulgar humour and as Rowdy

says, “Don’t angry me”, myverdict is this movie is

worth a watch if youenjoy a lot of cliches.

CINEMA 22SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

B-TOWN TWEETIES@MadhuriDixit1Morning everyone! How r u?My schedule is going to pickup... Take a look at the trail-er we made on the websiteunder the dance tab.

@NeilNMukeshShot an intense fight

sequence last night chore-ographed by me. Turned out

strong. I’m happy :)

@AnupamPkherOn my way to Hay-on-Wyeliterary festival in U.K.Supposed to be the biggestfestival of books. Happy,honoured and humbled.

@bipsluvurselfNw IIFA singapore wouldlove to meet my fans andppl who give me endlesslove frm Singapore!Keep

tweeting ur info!

@udaychopraIts official, Im the greatest dadOk Fine! Maybe not the great-est Ok Fine! I’m average atbest Ok Fine! I don’t even havekids#OkFineTweets.

@kjohar25Huge congratulations toshabina khan, SLB,team

UTV,@sonakshisinha,@akshaykumar For

roaring ROWDY RATHORE!

@sandymridulIn a country where civicsense is lacking miserablywhat right do we have todrive fancy cars?!

@shreyaghoshalQuite a roller coaster day.

Good to know that there isat least a friend who knows

what’s going on before evenu know.

Cheap thrillsWhat happens when a Tollywood superhit film

is remade with a Bollywood Khiladi? You get a rib-tickling,action packed entertainer

Movie:Rowdy Rathore

Cast: Akshay Kumar, SonakshiSinha, Nasser, Supreeth

ReddyDirected by:

Prabhu DhevaRating:

No personal life forSonakshi SinhaActress Sonakshi Sinha

has been in the lime-light since making herdebut with Dabangg

in 2010, be it for her figure orthe men she is supposed to bedating. With four of her filmsdue to hit the theatres thisyear, the 24-year-old actor saysshe does not have a personallife and would rather talkabout her films.

“I want to be talked aboutfor the films I am doing ratherthan a party I attended, thedress I wore and the men Imay have met and dated. Inany case, by and large I think Ihave spoken about more forthe profession I am in than mypersonal life. That’s the way I

like it because frankly, I don’treally have a personal life tobegin with,” Sonakshi said.

When asked how she dealswith all the talking about her,she said, “One thing which Iknow about this world ofglamour is that it is better tohave people talking about youthan not being talked about atall. It is okay, they are doingtheir job; I would continue todo mine. I can’t have controlover what others think or sayabout you.” The daughter ofactor-politician ShatrughanSinha has quite a hectic sched-ule as four of her films RowdyRathore, Joker, Son of Sardarand Dabangg 2 are in the off-ing. PTI

Usha Uthup looking formeatier roles in filmsShe took the audience by

surprise appearing inSaat Khoon Maaf and singerUsha Uthup says she is look-ing forward to some meatyroles in Bollywood now. The64-year-old singer played aloyal help to PriyankaChopra’s character in the

film directed by VishalBhardwaj.

“I am waiting for goodroles, looking for somethingmeaty. In the meantime Ihave done a bit of acting inKerala and Bengal. I hope Iget some offers inBollywood,” Usha said. PTI

[email protected] MIRZA


` 150 sq. cm

For Further DetailsPlease

Contact

Abhinay 9989399972

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DISPLAYA

DS

RATE

Sylvester Stalloneand Robert De

Niro are cur-rently in negoti-

ations to star in a new boxingmovie. The stars of Rocky andRaging Bull are reported to be

close to signing on to appear inGrudge Match, a comedy abouttwo retired fighters who return

to the ring for one more bout.Written by Entourage creator

Doug Ellin and directed by PeterSegal (Get Smart), The Wrap

reports that the movie is likelyto begin filming next year.

Stallone’s representa-tives have stated

he is currentlyconsidering

the role, whileDe Niro’s

have declinedto comment atthis time. Both

actors have abusy upcoming

schedule, with De Niro lined upto appear in seven moviesbetween now and 2013. Stalloneis currently working on threenew action movies, despiteclaiming that “the action genre

is fading away”. Theseinclude the upcoming

Expendables 2, andThe Tomb in 2013,also featuringExpendables co-starArnoldSchwarzenegger.


in a boxing movieStallone, De Niro may star

JB’s camp regretsfree Oslo show

Justin Bieber’s label hasstated it “regrets” hisrecent free show in Oslo,

Norway. The singer previewedtwo new tracks off his forth-coming album Believe at aconcert in the city’s OperaHouse on Wednesday (May 30)and was met by huge crowdsof fans. Despite Bieber warn-ing fans to be careful at thegig, it was reported that 78people were injured duringthe event, which sawunprecedented crowdsform. Universal Music saidin a statement that it“regrets strongly that someof those who were [atthe] Justin concerthad a bad experi-ence” and added:“Fortunately no-onewas seriouslyinjured.” The labelinsisted that it has-n’t put the star offperforming in thecountry and saidthat Bieberwould love to“return toNorway and[perform] anew concert”for his enthu-siastic fan-base.Meanwhile,Bieber accidentallyran into a pane of

glass during a gig in Paris onMay 31. Addressing the inci-dent, he tweeted: “i will see uagain Glass. I will have myrevenge. BIEBER vs GLASS.MGM LAS VEGAS 2013. lol.#GottaLaughAtYourself ”Justin Bieber’s third studioalbum Believe will be released

in UK on June 18and a day later

in the US.


AN EPIC LETDOWN

W hen the fun-but-frivolousMirror Mirrorcame out

a couple of months ago, all eyesturned to the big budgetedSnow White and the Huntsmenfor relief. With a cast likeChris Hemsworth, KristenStewart and Charlize Theron(as the evil queen), it waseagerly awaited as the nextbig epic action-adventure.In its extravagant scale,strong visuals and perfor-mances, it succeeds. But as arendition of our favouritefairy-tale and the ultimate lovestory, it disappoints in everyway possible.

We all know the story— in aland far, far away, a kingdomlives in peace and prosperityunder the aegis of a fair andjust ruler. Until he is seducedby a war captive and forced tomarry her. Surprise, surprise,she is the evil Queen (CharlizeTheron) who quickly disposesof him, seizes the throne and

locks up the beautiful SnowWhite (Kristen Stewart) in anivory tower.

Unlike the tales of yore,Snow doesn't sit idle. Now of

age, she escapes into the darkwoods. Huntsman (ChrisHemsworth) is commissionedto hunt her down but uponmeeting her turns sides and

becomes her hero. Almost as an after-thought,

Snow White enlists thedwarfs (Toby Jones, EddieMarsan, Bob Hoskins, Nick

Frost and Ian McShane). Overthe course of the next act,Snow gathers herself an armyand leads charge to overthrowthe evil Queen. And that's that.No really.

Except for the truly fairestof 'em all Theron, the rest ofthe cast most notablyHemsworth and Stewart areinsipid at their best.

Visually, the movie isspectacular. Sadly, its nothelped by the saggy script andthe grimmer than Grimm ren-dition. If you are looking for ahappily-ever-after, sorry folks,this is not it.

Snow White and the Huntsmen is a lot of potential gone waste thanks to thesaggy script and grimmer than Grimm rendition of the fairy tale

Movie:Snow White and the

HuntsmenCast:

Kristen Stewart, CharlizeTheron, Chris Hemsworth

Directed by:Rupert Sanders

K-Stewand crewawedby TheronMove over, Robert Pattinson—

Charlize Theron is takingyour place! No, Kristen

Stewart is not replacing her real-life Twilight boyfriend with herSnow White and the Huntsmancostar, but K. Stew, 22, really digsMs. Theron, 36. “I want to stand onmy tippy toes when I’m aroundher,” Stewart said.

SWATH costar Sam Claflinappeared at the MTV sneak peek oftheir new fairy-tale action flick.“She’s mad intimidating. Most peo-ple would make you feel really badabout yourself when you’re intimi-dated by them, but I feel so greataround.” Claflin gushed, “Shemakes you step up your game.”

Theron is also, well, supercool. “She’s awesome,” Stewartsaid. “And she’s hilarious—she’sso fast and quick.”

Even with all this lovin’,Stewart and Claflin aren’t going tobe babysitting for the new mumanytime soon. “I don’t think sheshould trust either of us,” Stewartsaid. Claflin cracked, “I don’t thinkshe’d trust us with the kid or evenher dogs.”

The Avengersgoing to outer space

We’re not trying to be cute here, theAvengers really are going to makea presence in space, but it’s prob-

ably not what you’re thinking. As cool asit would be to get Scarlett Johansson,Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and com-pany up close and personal with the stars,the flick’s cast will be seen above andbeyond while onscreen.

Marvel Studios announced that theymade a deal with Nasa to transfer theirpopular film to Nasa’s Mission Control inHouston, which will uplink the film to theInternational Space Station to bescreened for the space station crew’sexclusive enjoyment. And the ISS is cur-rently orbiting at 220 miles above Earth. How cool is that?!

CHAI TIME 26SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

How to play KakuroKakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is alsosuitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, wellhere are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike insudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cellslike in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the darkcells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers.

However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In akakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of thedigits in the row or column referenced by the number.

Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the num-bers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only beused once.

Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly:In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle,

you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14.This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and soon...

So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this isdone through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as youwork out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limitthe valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run.

Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of thenumber 11.

KAKUROACROSS1 Heidi's mountain4 Have a go at11 Bio class setting14 Boardwalk view15 Quick dance of old

France16 Donned the feedbag17 Some linen19 Considerable degree20 Acquires21 Shooting locale23 ‘He ___ got a clue’25 ‘Ah, I see!’28 Doberman's warning29 Ending for ‘alarm’ or

‘bass’30 ___ and void32 Brought to court33 Ceremonial

procession37 Stocking shade39 Corporate owner43 ‘How do?’ in

Honolulu44 Yet to hit theshelves

46 Box-office disaster49 Absorbs (with ‘up’)51 A Bobbsey twin52 Like the Leaning

Tower of Pisa54 It's in the center of

Jerusalem?55 Depleted of energy57 Like a direct

descendant59 Computer addicts?61 ‘Iron Horse’ Gehrig62 Where one might

spot a king67 It's not an exact fig68 Obvious69 Pigeon's sound70 ‘Time out!’ hand

signal71 Kicks out of the

country72 Chop down, as a

tree

DOWN1 African slitherer2 Blooming necklace?3 Old Greek gymnasium4 Call off the launch5 It's larger than a

village6 University of Arizona

location

7 Period of history8 ‘___ Doubtfire’ (Robin

Williams comedy)9 Shopping center?10 Aptitude

determiners11 ‘Ed Wood’ Oscar

winner Martin12 Dress code concern13 Lo's partner18 Computer network

acronym22 Defeat, as the

incumbent23 Kind of pocket or

roof24 ‘... and make it fast!’26 They conceal lug

nuts27 Alternative bread

spread31 Outline in great

detail34 Agriculturally viable35 Costa-Sol connector36 Eve's grandchild

38 Fed pamphlet producer

40 ‘O Brother, WhereArt ___?’ (2000 film)

41 Model of excellence42 Chinese monetary

unit45 You might get a

bang out of this46 Baryshni kov's

medium47 Serving no

purpose48 Itsy-bitsy50 Cup's

companion53 Recorded

for laterviewing

55 Offshootgroups

56 In favor of58 Give a

goodscrubbing

60 Already in

the mail63 Balm application site64 ‘And now, without

further ___’65 Landmark Supreme

Court name66 Wrecker's service

SCRI

BBLI

NG P

AD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

QUICK CROSSWORD

Only two thingsare infinite,the universeand human

stupidity, andI’m not sure

about the former.

SOLU

TIO

N O

N P

AG

E 3

2

SUDOKU THOUGHT OFTHE DAY

– Albert Einstein

CHAI TIME 27SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo VirgoFour of Pentacles

Work – You may bestraying into anoth-

er person’s area of exper-tise and that person maynot exactly like it. Theymay see you as meddlingtoo much. Romance –Your absence duringimportant events defeatsthe very purpose of beingin a relationship. Youneed to correct this at theearliest. Health – Someunexpected things mayhappen on the healthfront. No need to panic.Just do what is needed tostay above trouble. Money–By good planning, youare able to accomplishyour financial goals. Makesure you continue to stickto your plan. Tarot mes-sage – Life is short butthere are many things youwant to achieve. Prioritiseand don’t waste time.

The Hanged Man

Work – Silence, some-times, is the best

answer you can give some-one when they are accus-ing you of something, andyou don’t know why.Romance – If you findout something about yourpartner, don’t panic. Thereis no use behaving asthough the world is aboutto end. Health – Dietneeds attention. You mayhave to eat the bitter pill(meaning foods that youdon’t particularly enjoy)in order to restore yourhealth. Money – It may bedifficult to achieve thegoals you have set in yourmind. Be practical andmake realistic goals.Tarot message – Don’t behasty. Take as much timeas you need, even if thosearound you are forcingyou to hurry up.

Queen of Pentacles

Work – Your bosseswill entrust you with

more responsibility andtrust you to do the jobwithout any supervision.Romance – You are atyour charming best andare surprised with your-self that you show somuch courage in romance.Health – By limitingyourself to home reme-dies you are allowing yourbody to heal from within.Try allopathy if you can-not handle the pain any-more. Money – That yourfinances have gone out ofcontrol is not your fault.You need to realise thatnot everything will go toplan. You need a Plan B.Tarot message – You arerelieved that things arestill manageable. Theycould have been worse.

The Wheel of Fortune

Work – Don’t be rea-sonable! You read

right. By being reasonableall the time, you’re miss-ing out on opportunities,which others are walkingaway with. Romance –There are some intimacyissues to be dealt with. Dothings together with yourpartner to increase thelove for each other.Health – Sleep issues arekeeping you tense andawake. You need to tacklethis and manage bettersleep hygiene. Money –Losing temper at someoneelse’s fault is not going toget you back the moneyyou lost. It’s only money. Itwill come back to yousoon. Tarot message –Admit your mistakes, ifyou have made any. Bebrave, honest, open andupfront about everything.

Five of Swords

Work – You may bewasting a lot of time

in chatter and unnecessarygossip at the work place.This is making you unpro-ductive and you don’t evenhave the energy for dailytasks. Romance –Romance can hit high gearwith an elegant meal,excellently cooked anddaintily served. Raise theoomph quotient. Health –You may be getting somedoubts about a healthissue. Put all doubts to restby getting a full body medi-cal check-up. Money –Youare finally convinced aboutwhat finance pundits havebeen saying all along.Invest for the long term.Tarot message – Yourbelief in the afterlife is putto the test. These are inter-esting times. Ride theoccult wave.

Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces

Two of Swords

Work – Don’t continueto fret about what

happened a while ago. Itshould be forgotten andyou should move on.Romance – There is noneed to quarrel if you havealready realised that theaffections were short-lived.Come to terms with yourstate of mind. Health –You need a solitary hourevery day in order to main-tain peace of mind. Youneed alone-time to thinkthings through and dowhat is best for you.Money – If you are ner-vous about investing some-where, best to hold off tillsuch a time when you areabsolutely sure. Tarotmessage – Things aregoing to get complicated,with decision making notbeing so easy. Keep an openmind.

Five of Pentacles

Work – You need totake judicious inter-

vals when you work so youare able to be more produc-tive and concentrate better.Romance – You have fatal-istic hope in a relationship.That may or may not be agood thing, consideringyour partner is your dia-metric opposite. Health –You are unable to breakout of a behavior patterndue to force of habit. Thisis impacting your health. Itcould be smoking or alco-hol consumption. Money –You suspect somethingamiss when you don’t getthe required details aboutyour bank account orinvestments. Check.Double-check. Tarot mes-sage – You are both sensi-ble and cheerful at thesame time and will have notrouble managing stuff.

Queen of Swords

Work –You are lookingfor immediate results.

Guess what, you’re also ge -t ting them. Your hard workis meeting a lucky phase.Good time to plan new pro-jects. Romance – You maybe having a very juvenileattitude towards relation-ships. This is harmingyour overall outlook at lifeas well. Health – You arerelieved that a health prob-lem has been tackled. Youare in a position to contin-ue with normal diet and nomedicines. Money –Finances are looking verygood. This gives you theconfidence to do thingsyour way. Be careful aboutsharing finance informa-tion with anyone. Tarotmessage – Home life needsattention. If career hasbeen your sole focus tillnow, you need to balance it.

Strength

Work – Proceed as peryour plan and have

complete faith in yourselfand your ideas. Don’t paytoo much attention to whatpeople say about you.Romance – Marriage maybe late for singles. Butwhen it does happen, youwill be happy and contentwith what you have.Health – Take in morefresh air, sunlight and coolbreeze. Go for eveningwalks in the neighbour-hood park. Create balancein your health. Money –Your persistent efforts payoff. You need money so youcan do all the other thingsyou’re more interested in.Tarot message – Laugh atlife and it will laugh backat you. What goes aroundcomes around. Be braveand strong.

Six of Wands

Work – Make no roomfor petty issues and

disagreements at the workplace. They’re not worthyour time. Romance – Youget nervous aboutapproaching a love interestand this prevents you fromgetting what you deserve.Be brave. What’s the worstthat could happen? Health– Loneliness may be get-ting to you. You are notused to living alone andthe new arrangement maybe bothering you too much.Money – You make a gooddeal by going the uncon-ventional way. You decideto trust someone and placeyour bets on somethingyou wouldn’t otherwise.Tarot message – Successis within reach dependingon what your attitudetowards success is, andhow you wish to view it.

Seven of Cups

Work – The ‘force ofexample’ will accom-

plish a lot of things. Youmay be following someone’slead and it will give younew ideas. Romance – Areasonable considerationwill prevent a disaster. Youneed to be selfless and giv-ing of everything in orderto reap the benefits oftogetherness. Health –Your health may have goneastray because of lack ofdiscipline. You need to get itback on track. Concentrateon diet and exercise.Money –Confide in some-one about your doubts withmoney. It should erase yourfears about whether you’redoing the right thing.Tarot message – There isdepth in what seems likesubtle connections withother people you may hard-ly know.

The Fool

Work – You may beinnocently disclos-

ing important confidentialinformation, which youare not supposed to. Alwa -ys check with seniors if indoubt about anything atall. Romance – You don’thave to woo your partnerin the same way just beca -use everybody else is alsodoing it. Health – Theremay be some throat issuesand minor irritations, likestomach upset, etc. Treatit immediately to follownormal routine. Money –Some accusations may bemade against you. But,relax. They will remainunfounded. Ensure thatall your papers are clearand don’t leave any stoneunturned. Tarot message– You find a commonground of interest withanother person and youboth hit it off really well.

Vol: 1, No 321 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by himat Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: [email protected] and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

SUMAA [email protected] Date 3-6-2012

KNOW YOURCOUNTRY

THE SATURDAY QUIZ 28

1. What is the name of thebomb dropped onNagasaki?

2. Who is the celebrity whoowns the most number ofcars in the world?

3. The largest fast food chain inthe word?

4. The politician who was inpower for the longest period

of time?5. The most famous cuisine in

the world?6. How many oscars did Titanic

win?7. Which musician was recently

given the presidential medalof freedom?

8. What is the longest beach inthe world?

9. What is the costliest wine inthe world?

10. What is the national animalof Madagascar?

11. What is the most denselypopulated volcanic regionin the world?

12. Who is the tallest man inthe world ever?

13. What is the most visited

website in the world?14. Recently Japan had

launched its first commer-cial rocket that carried intoorbit the satellite of whichcountry?

15. Who is the youngest solosailor in the world?

16. What is the most expensivecoffee in the world?

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

NAME THEM

1What a fool I’vebeen!

2Go on. Get out! lastwords are for foolswho haven’t saidenough.

3It’s very beautiful

4Go away! I’m alright.

5Hey Ram!

6Love one another.

7Brothers! Brothers,please! This is ahouse of peace!

8Money Can’t buy life.

9Don’t worry, Theyusually don’t swimbackwards.

WHOSE LAST WORDSWERE THESE?

FAMOUS SPOUSES

1Nicknamed ‘Crunchy’, thisperson has been called one of themost devastating batsman of alltimes. He has a reputation of hit-ting the ball out of the park, andhas been the captain of the IPLwinning team. He is married toMel. Who is he ?

2After Rahul Dravid, he is the great-est test cricketer of all times. Hehas led his side to many victoriesand has been the most consistentperformer. Known for his orthodoxbatting style and his unique look,this south African is married toSumaiyah.Who is he ?

3He was the youngest cricketerwhen he joined his side. Alsoknown as the chocolate boy ofcricket, he has led his side suc-cessfully for many years now. Withhis batting and bowling capabilityhe is the ace of New Zealandcricket team. He is married toMary O'Connell. Who is he?

IDENTIFY THE BETTER HALVES

WHO AM I?I was born in Kolkata to anAnglo Indian family, I start-ed of my career as a journal-ist and then went intoadvertising. I hosted a tele-vision quiz show and inter-school quiz contests in India

and other places aswell. I am currentlythe member of

Rajya Sabha. Whoam I? ?

with SantoshGhule

What is he fish-ing for?

Answers1.Little boy 2.Jay Leno 3.Mc Donalds4.Saddam Hussein 5.French cuisine 6.117.Bob Dylan 8.Praia Do Cassino Beach,Brazil.150 miles 9.Domaine de la Romanee10. The Ring Tailed Lemur 11.Mount Vesuvius12.Sultan Kosen, 8 feet 3 inches 13.Facebook14.S Korea 15.Jessica Watson 16. Kopi Luwak

Answer:1. Winston Churchill 2.Karl Marx3.Thomas Alva Edison 4.HG Wells5.Mahatma Gandhi 6.George Harrison7.Malcolm X 8.Bob Marley 9.Steve Irwin

Answers: 1. Adam Gilchrist 2. Hashim Amla3. Daniel Vettori

1Which is the longest tributaryriver in India?

2Who owns the costliest house inIndia?

3What is India’s national tree?

4What is the age of the youngestfilmmaker in India?

5Who was the first person toreceive the Bharat ratna posthu-mously?

6What was Lata Mangeshkar’sprofession before she startedsinging?

Answers1.Yamuna 2. Mukesh Ambani and NeetaAmbani 3 The Banyan tree 4.9 years 5.L.B.Shastry 6.Actress

IDENTIFY THESE TOWERSAnswer:1. Sears Tower, Chicago 2.Rose Hotel, Dubai 3. Q1, Gold Coast, Aaustralia 4. Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, China

PICTUREPUZZLE 17

Answer: Florence Nightingale


Answer for16: Hiddenbetween the leavesand the tree is awoman

53 DAYS TO GOSATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 29

LONDON: Usain Bolt haspromised to “wow” the worldwith his performances at the2012 London Olympic Games.

The Jamaica sprinter is thereigning Olympic 100 metres and200 metres champion after daz-zling displays in Beijing fouryears ago, where he also helpedthe Caribbean island in the4x100m relay gold medal.

World record holder in bothindividual sprint disciplines,Bolt endured a relatively modeststart to the European track sea-son, but was back into top formwinning the Rome DiamondLeague 100m in 9.76 seconds onThursday.

“I know I can go fasterbecause this is the start of theseason. I have a long way to go,”Bolt said in London on Friday,where he was launchingJamaica’s Bob Marley-inspiredkit. “I’m really looking forwardto competing here. I haven’t com-peted in London for a while soI’m really looking forward to it.”

Bolt said he would seekinspiration from London’sJamaican community, adding: “Iknow all the Jamaicans livinghere are looking forward to italso so I’m just preparing to puton a great show.

“At the end of the day I justwant to wow people after thisOlympics so I’m looking forwardto it.”

Asked whether he will needto improve on 9.76secs to wingold, and whether he can go

faster, Bolt said: “That’s what Ido. The season is still early.Everybody is running 9.8 sothat’s good competition. 9.7 isalso good for me.

Bolt ‘only’ managed a 10.04sec run in winning the 100m inOstrava last week, but he said: “Inever doubt my ability, never.People forget, and I keep explain-ing to people, that athletes havebad days.

“Every athlete can... youhave bad days and that was justone of mine and I got past it andnow I’m just moving forward.”

Bolt’s triple Olympic tri-umph in Beijing was powered ona diet of chicken nuggets — butthere will be no repeat of that inLondon. “The good thing aboutthe fact we are in London isthere will be a lot of Jamaicanfood — the only thing I have toworry about is putting onweight,” he said. “There will beno chicken nuggets this year.”

The Jamaican kit wasdesigned by Cedella Marley, whodrew inspiration from her fatherand his music. “We took the fit ofwhat my dad would wear andupdated it to 2012,” Marley said.

“You have the Iron Lion mili-tary jacket, the Buffalo Soldiershirt. I tried to incorporate theBob Marley fit in as many piecesas possible where we were ableto accommodate that.

“You did see dad on the jack-et, right? So that’s a little pieceof him that’s going to be inLondon.”

Bolt vows towow world

AUSTIN, TEXAS: USOlympic swimming greatMichael Phelps won the 100mbutterfly and lost the 100mfree on Friday in his finalmeeting before the USOlympic swimming trialslater this month.

Phelps, whose 14 Olympicgold medals include anunprecedented eight in oneGames at Beijing four yearsago, settled for second behindJimmy Feigin in the 100mfreestyle, Phelps clocking49.05sec to Feigin’s 48.63.

Phelps said he used thatsetback to fuel his bid in the100m butterfly, in which hepowered to a comfortable vic-tory in 52.02.

“I didn’t swim smart orvery well in the 100 (free), andI got beat because of it,”Phelps said. “I was angrywith myself for that, and Iturned it around a little inthe 100 butterfly.”

The meeting, organizedby the by the University ofTexas aquatics department, isopposite the USA SwimmingGrand Prix event of the sea-son, in Santa Clara,California. Phelps opted notto make the trip to California,instead using the Texas meet-

ing as his last prep races forthe Olympic trials in Omaha,Nebraska, starting on June25. “Without a doubt, theclock is ticking for theupcoming Olympics, and Ihave to keep working hard tobe where I want to be by July27,” said Phelps.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt poses for photographs during the official presentation of the Jamaican clothing for the2012 Olympic games, in London, on June 1, 2012. AFP/ANDREW COWIE

Phelps tunes upPARIS: French middle-distancerunner Mehdi Baala has seenhis London Olympic plans take ahit after sustaining what hiscoach Jean-Michel Dirringersaid was a “serious injury” intraining.

Baala, world silver medallistin 2003 and bronze medallist inthe Beijing Olympics in 2008,suffered a tear to a tendon in thearch of his foot during trainingon Thursday in the Pyreneestown of Font-Romeu, Dirringertold AFP.

“He felt a sudden, shootingpain and had to stop in the mid-dle of training,” the coach said.

“You can’t hide from the factthat a tear in the arch of the footis a serious injury.”

Dirringer added: “It’s nowup to the medical team. As forhis rehabilitation, we’ll take thedecisions when it’s time.

“If it’s a question of twoweeks, the Olympics will be fea-sible.”

Mehdi Baalasuffers injury

PARIS: The next world anti-dop-ing code, scheduled for 2015, willbid to prevent athletes who havebeen found guilty of dopingfrom competing at the OlympicGames following the end of theirsuspension.

The International OlympicCommittee (IOC) had included asimilar ruling in its Olympiccharter in 2008. But the Court ofArbitration for Sport (CAS)ruled last October that this wasan illegal sanction, and the IOCwas forced to backtrack andabandon the stipulation beforenext month’s London Olympics.

The 2015 world anti-dopingcode will seek to legalise a banby implementing a “Limitationon Participation in the OlympicGames”, a first draft of the coderevealed on Friday. An Olympicban could also be imposed onathletes deemed to have commit-ted an anti-doping rule violationlike filing failures and missedtests, prohibited association.

Stricter banfor dopers

KIEV: Ukraine’s legendary striker AndriyShevchenko is dreaming of leading his nationto home glory in Euro 2012 as he heads intothe swansong of a glorious career which tookhim to Europe’s finest leagues.

The life of Shevchenko, who first emergedin the 1990s at Dynamo Kiev under the lategreat coach Valeriy Lobanovskiy, has nowturned full circle as he plays out the twilightof his career for Dynamo Kiev and in Euro2012 at home.

Shevchenko’s career saw him collect theEuropean footballer of the year award in 2004during a glorious seven-year spell with ACMilan, an unsuccessful stint at Chelsea fol-lowed by his return to Kiev in 2009.

“When I was a child I dreamed a lot,"Shevchenko told reporters as he watched the

Euro trophy start its journey throughUkraine.

“I dreamed sincerely and with all myheart. So, I ask all Ukrainians to believe withall their hearts that the dreams of Euro 2012can become reality.

“And this also concerns the dream of theUkrainian national team in the final," headded. “We need to dream about victory withall our hearts."

Shevchenko has been the standard bearerof his nation’s football hopes for over 15 yearsand nothing would cap his career better thanglory in the Euro which Ukraine is co-hostingwith Poland.

Shevchenko had admitted that with theyears going by, he is not in top form and isstill 30 per cent short of the full physical fit-ness required for the Euro. “If I do not feel Ican play at the highest level then I won’t.”

A legend’sswan songdraws near

PLAYER TO WATCH

Viktor Branitsky

KIEV: Oleg Blokhin takes Ukraine intoits home European championships asmanager, hoping to inspire the teamwith his successes from the glory daysof Soviet football in the 1970s and 1980s.

“This tournament is very importantfor all of us and very special for me per-sonally as I never played at theEuropean championships during myplaying career,” Blokhin said. “So Iwant to catch up as a coach.”

The 59-year-old — who set animpressive series of records in his play-ing days with Dynamo Kiev and theUSSR — took over Ukraine’s nationalteam for the first time in December 2003in the midst of a dreadful run of form.

Until then, all of post-SovietUkraine’s attempts to reach the finalsstages of the football major events hadended in fiasco.

So, when Blokhin promised at hisfirst press conference to “qualify for the2006 World Cup by winning our group”,few people took him seriously.

But he kept his word by winning thequalifying group and leading his sideall the way into the 2006 World Cupquarter-finals, where they were elimi-nated by eventual champions Italy.

After Ukraine’s failure to qualify forthe Euro 2008, Blokhin stepped down.Three-and-a-half years later, though, hewas back, when the national side failed

to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.One of Blokhin’s first steps was to

ease up the pressure on the playersweighed down by another qualificationfailure and the unrealistic expectationsof the public and the media.

“Of course we want to win the Euro2012 but at least 10 other teams have thesame intention,” said Blokhin. “Ourfirst goal at the event is to reach theknockout stage. Then we’ll see.”

Even after his team were drawn inGroup D with England, France andSweden, Blokhin remained adamant,saying: “Our goal remains unchanged.”

Despite serious injury worriesahead of the Euro 2012 kick-off, Blokhinhas insisted that past records will countfor nothing when he comes to pick hissquad, warning players that none ofthem was assured a place.

“We don’t call up players only fortheir beautiful eyes.”

Hosting dreamsPreparing for their first finals as an independent nation,

the co-hosts have been set a minimum target by their coach OlehBlokhin: reaching the knockout stages from Group D

BEAUTY & THE BEST


30ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UKRAINE UKRAINE’S FIXTURES EURO STATS

MATCHES PLAYED

UKRAINEGROUP D

At a glanceHaving reached the 2006 WorldCup quarter-finals in their only pre-vious major tournament appear-ance since independence in 1991,the co-hosts are eager to go evenfurther at Euro 2012. The tourna-ment is likely to be the last hurrahfor Andriy Shevchenko (see right),Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and OlexandrShovkovskiy; for the likes ofYaroslav Rakitskiy and YevhenKonoplyanka, it could be just thestart.

It’s highly unlikely thatUkraine are going to make itout of this group. Of coursethere’s always a chance thatFrance will implode, andSweden be stuck in eternaldefense and score zip.PO

STNO

ONPR

EDIC

TION

Overall:P42 W16 D13 L13 F56 A48

Final tournament:P0 W0 D0 L0 F0 A0

Qualifying:P42 W16 D13 L13 F56 A48

Monday 11 June:Ukraine v Sweden, 20.45CET, Kyiv

Friday 15 June:Ukraine v France, 18.00CET,

DonetskTuesday 19 June:

England v Ukraine, Donetsk

Best EURO performance:never qualified

Coach:Oleh Blokhin

Leading scorer: : all-time – AndriyShevchenko (46); current –

Andriy Shevchenko (46)

Most appearances: all-time –Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (113); cur-rent – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (113)Association formed:1992Nickname:Synyo-Zhovti (Blue and yellows)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland crosses a bridge on the 14th hole during the second round of the Memorial Tournament presented by NationwideInsurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Friday in Dublin, Ohio. SCOTT HALLERAN/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

SPORTS 31SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

DUBLIN, OHIO: RorySabbatini posted a secondstraight 69 on Friday to seizethe halfway lead at TheMemorial, with 14-time majorchampion Tiger Woods leadinga group just one shot adriftwhile Rory McIlroy, his USOpen title defence a fortnightaway, missed the cut in histhird straight tournament onFriday.

The 23-year-old star fromNorthern Ireland had regainedthe world number one rankingfour weeks ago but has sincemissed the cut at the US tour’sPlayers Championship andEurope’s BMW PGAChampionship at Wentworth.

McIlroy’s seven-over 79included two double-bogeys — aseven at the par-five 11th holeand a six at the par-four 14th.

Sabbatini had a 36-hole totalof 139 on the rain-sodden par-72Muirfield Village course.

Woods, a four-time winnerof the tournament hosted byJack Nicklaus, carded a 69 andwas tied for second on 139 withSpencer Levin (72) and first-round leader Scott Stallings(73).

A victory come Sunday for

Woods would be significant. Itwould tie him with tournamenthost Nicklaus for second on theall-time PGA Tour wins listwith 73.

But Woods wasn’t lookingthat far ahead.

“We’ve got a long way to gofor that,” said Woods. “Yeah,obviously it would be nice, butI’ve still got half a tournamentto go.”

Woods moved briskly up theleaderboard with three birdiesin his first six holes. Somemissed short putts kept theround from being even better,including a three-footer at the11th that would have given himthe lead at six-under par.

At the next hole, Woods wasin trouble with a tee shot intothe gallery.

After a poor chip, he finally

reached the green in three, andtook a double-bogey from 13feet.

Woods, who has endured anerratic season, shook it offwith back-to-back birdies at 15and 16, had a birdie chance at17 then drained a testing four-footer at the final hole to keepthe pressure on Sabbatini.

“I missed a couple outthere, but overall I knew inthese conditions to shoot some-thing in the 60s was going to bea pretty good effort,” Woodssaid. “Pleased with my round.”

McIlroy wasn’t the onlymarquee name to miss the cut.Bubba Watson, winner of theMasters in April, and PGAChampion Keegan Bradley, alsoexited early.

A heavy storm preventedplay for almost two hours onFriday, and South Africa’sSabbatini endured the wettestconditions in the afternoon.

After a bogey at the first,Sabbatini rebounded with a 12-foot birdie at the fourth.

A wayward drive at the par-four sixth led to another bogey,but a birdie at the ninth sawhim make the turn at even parfor the day.

LONDON: The Boston Celtics,buoyed by a return to theirhome floor, jumped to a big leadand held on to beat Miami 101-91on Friday to narrow the gap onthe Heat in the NBA EasternConference Finals.Kevin Garnett scored 24 pointswith 11 rebounds, Paul Pierceadded 23 and Rajon Rondochipped in with 21 as the Celticsnarrowed the gap in the best-of-seven series to 2-1 after droppingthe first two games in Miami.The winners of the seriesadvance to the NBA Finals,where they will battle either SanAntonio or Oklahoma City forthe league championship.Rondo also added 10 assists andsix rebounds in anothersparkling performance.

Celticsbeat the Heat

LOS ANGELES: Unbeaten USboxer Floyd Mayweather tweet-ed a picture of himself and hisyoung daughter Friday, beforesurrendering in a Las Vegascourt to begin a 90-day jail sen-tence. “Me & my daughterspending precious time togetherbefore I leave my family, friendsand fans...” Mayweather said onthe social networking site.

Mayweather’s sentence forbattery had been postponed untilJune 1 so that he could fightMiguel Cotto on May 5 — whenthe American won Cotto’s WorldBoxing Association super welter-weight title with a unanimouspoints decision.

Mayweather had pleadedguilty on December 21 to domes-tic violence charges.

Floyd’ssentencestarts

Floyd Mayweather tweeted a pictureof himself and his young daughteron Friday.

Rory Sabbatini of South Africa watches his tee shot on the 18th hole dur-ing the second round of the Memorial Tournament presented byNationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Friday.

ANDY LYONS/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

Rory exits while namesake takes lead

SPORTS 32SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

SOLUTIONS

Sud

uko

Num

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Scr

abbl

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Boggle BROWN BEIGE GREEN WHITE BLACK

PARIS: When RogerFederer was winning hisfirst Wimbledon in 2003,David Goffin was astarstruck child, hangingposters of the great Swisson the wall of his bedroomin the Belgian city ofLiege.

Now, nine years on, the21-year-old gets the oppor-tunity to play against hisidol with a French Openquarter-final place atstake.

However, just one weekago, such a scenario hadlooked impossible.

Goffin, the world 109,had lost in the qualifyingtournament at RolandGarros and was ready topack his bags for home.

But when top Frenchplayer Gael Monfils pulledout of the event with aknee injury, he was hand-ed a lifeline into the maindraw as a lucky loser -- analternate on standby -- andhas not looked back.

Goffin has become the

first lucky loser to reachthe last 16 of a GrandSlam since compatriotDick Norman atWimbledon in 1995 and thefirst at Roland Garrossince 1978.

“I haven’t realizedwhat has happened. Notyet. Maybe next week,”said baby-faced Goffin,making his Grand Slamdebut.

“Now I’m playingagainst Roger, and I can’tbelieve it. When I wasyoung I had a lot of pic-tures of him in my bed-room. I will give it my beston Sunday.”

Thanks to his effortsthis week, Goffin’s GrandSlam record now stands at3-0.

Federer, nine years hissenior, has 16 Grand Slamtitles in his total haul of 74career trophies, a 235-35match record at the majorsas well as more than $70million in prize money.

“I’ve been watching

Roger playing on TV for somany years. He has alwaysbeen my favourite. He hasperfect tennis, perfecttechnique, and I like theman,” added Goffin.

“From a human stand-point, he is a great person,whether on the court oroutside the court.

“So I expect a very dif-ficult match on Sunday. Idon’t know exactly how Ishould prepare for thismatch, but I’ll try andhave fun.”

Goffin, whose best per-formance on the main tourso far was a quarter-finalappearance in Mumbai inJanuary, has looked com-fortable so far at RolandGarros, defeating experi-enced Radek Stepanek andArnaud Clement in thefirst two rounds.

A straight sets winagainst Poland’s LukaszKubot paved the way forhis dream Sunday datewith Federer.

AFP

PARIS: Some love it,some hate it, others arenot quite sure what tomake of it — but all agreethat Twitter is on themarch among tennis pro-fessionals.

Serena Williams is afrequent user of thesocial media platform asis Caroline Wozniacki,but the world’s best paidsportswoman MariaSharapova has little time

for it.“I think it’s too much

for me,” she said afterwinning her way throughto the last 16 of theFrench Open on Friday.

“I mean, I’m boredwith myself on a dailybasis, and I think if I’mbored, like eating a bowlof pasta, I don’t need tolet the world know thatI’m at this restaurant eat-ing a bowl of pasta.

That’s not how risingAmerican player SloanStephens sees it.

Asked what it meantto her to have reached thelast 16 at Roland Garrosfor the first time, andwith a promising careerstretched out ahead ofher, she replied: “Yeah,I’m excited, because nowI’m going to have moreTwitter followers. That’sgood.”

Goffin has a datewith his idol

Tweets ring on court

Men3rd rd

Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Andreas Seppi (ITA x22) bt Fernando Verdasco(ESP x14) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x18) bt Gilles Simon (FRA x11) 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x5) bt Fabio Fognini(ITA) 7-5, 6-4, 6-4

Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Nicolas Mahut(FRA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

David Goffin (BEL) bt Lukasz Kubot(POL) 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 6-1

Juan Martín Del Potro (ARG x9) bt Marin Cilic(CRO x21) 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1

Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Kevin Anderson(RSA x31) 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4

Women3rd rd

Victoria Azarenka (BLR x1) bt Aleksandra Wozniak(CAN) 6-4, 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x15) bt Maria Jose Martinez(ESP) 6-2, 6-1

Sloane Stephens (USA) bt Mathilde Johansson(FRA) 6-3, 6-2

Samantha Stosur (AUS x6) bt Nadia Petrova(RUS x27) 6-3, 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x26) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x3) 6-1, 6-2

Sara Errani (ITA x21) bt Ana Ivanovic (SRB x13) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3Angelique Kerber (GER x10) bt Flavia Pennetta

(ITA x18) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2Petra Martic (CRO) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues

(ESP x29) 6-2, 6-1

How they fared

postnoon e-paper for 02 june 2012

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