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Monday, April 13, 2009A BYTE OF LIFE

ENCOURAGING

ENTREPRENEURSSramana Mitra on her book series

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 69

GLENN MCGRATH

on Sachin, IPL and Dhoni

0805

J.M.

Karthikeyan

is a 27-year-oldTCS employee.He is also the

founder of atrust that iseducating3,000 studentsof Valangaimanvillage inThiruvarurdistrict.

Page 03

KKaarrtthhiikkeeyyaann ooff tthhee 33,,000000 ssttuuddeennttss

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009NAMMA CHENNAI02

Mom n MeWhat better way to know your kid evenbetter, along with giving him/her oodles offun, joy and knowledge at a camp whereboth kids and their moms are involvedtogether!At Mom n Me, kids and their mothers learnvarious forms of creative arts together. Thecamp comprises five days of activities likepaper quilting, envelope-making anddesigning, chocolate-making, perfume-making and Iris art and dance.Mom n Me is being conducted at 4A,Abhirami Krishna Tulasi Apts, No. 34, 2ndMain Road, Kasturibai Nagar, Adyar,Chennai 20, from April 21 to 25.To register call 9884049371/9381059721.

Power Yoga timeGet ready for some Power Yoga, as VarahasGurucool is conducting a camp this summer.The classes will be conducted by SastriArunachala and his trained disciples. ThePower Yoga course is designed andstructured by Sastri Arunachala, under

whoseguidancethe classeswill beconducted.The classeswill beginfrom April20 atBamboola,New No.73,

Venkatakrishna Road, Raja AnnamalaipuramChennai - 28 . Two batches will beconducted, one between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.and another between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.from Monday to Friday. For details contact9941295549/98412 14778.

Prized catch An accused in a chain-snatch-

ing incident in Saidapet was ap-prehended by the public andhanded over to police. The victimin the incident, a young girl, tookpity on the accused, who was

found to be an unemployed MBA.She didnt want to register a com-plaint and requested the releaseof the man. But the cops werentready for it, saying, Chain-snatchers are a prized catch forus these days.

Cub watchThe birth of two white tiger

cubs at Arignar Anna ZoologicalPark, well-known known as Van-

dalur Zoo, has attracted m VIPs and VVIPs of the city.biggies are on their heels to ca glimpse of the white cubsthe zoo officials have dethem permission citing thatmother tiger could get infuriand injure her cubs if they an army of visitors.

Raining DVDsIt was raining DVDs for s

mediapersons and policemea recent press meet held by

City Police Commissioner tonounce the seizure of 25,000rated DVDs in the city. As soothe meeting was over dashed to the DVD display stuffed as much as they coutheir bags and walked away a big smile of satisfaction.

Louder than wordA police officer attached to

Mylapore limits is known tothe action man there. Apparehe is the best khaki there totract the truth from the accupersons in his own police stThe man is so proud and cmitted to his work skill tha

even cancelled his one-day land came back to questiorobbery offender.

Policemen and others select their favourite ones from a box of seized CDs andDVDs, which were on display at the City Police Commissioners Office inChennai on Sunday. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

Children playing at the construction site of temporary shelters for fishermenfamilies at Nochikuppam in Chennai. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

Face-to-face

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Idont want to save

money for my future. Iam ready to spendeach and every paisa of

my salary for the uplift of myvillage, says 27-year-old TCSemployee J.M. Karthikeyan.

And true to his words, hetakes care of the educationalneeds of about 3,000 studentsfrom the poor and downtrod-den families of Valangaimanvillage in Thiruvarur district,and provides free training incomputers, technical and tai-loring courses for widowed,poor, destitute and adolescentwomen through Annai Rajesh-wari Ammal Memorial (ARAM)Trust.

Grandma shows the wayKarthikeyan, along with his

father J. Manoharan, runs thetrust started in memory of his

paternal grandmother, who hesays is the saviour of his family.My grandfather died earlyand it was my grandmotherwho struggled hard to bringup her kids. Though illiterate,she provided basic educationto my father and his siblings bydoing menial jobs. And if I am asoftware engineer today, itsbecause of her. She partedwith her pension amount formy Engineering studies, hesays. And even during thosedays of hardships she adoptedtwo orphans and broughtthem up with her kids. So wethought its apt to start a trustin her name, says Karthi-keyan, adding that the fundingfor the trust is from his salaryand contribution from hisfriends, colleagues and rela-tives.

Karthikeyans father J. Ma-noharan, who works with thepolice department, and moth-er Malarvizhi, a housewife, are

the people who take care ofthe trust in their sons absence.Manoharan says he is happy

to serve others. I want my sonto follow me. Let him not saveeverything in a bank and callhimself a rich man. I want himto share knowledge and mon-ey with others and lead a sim-ple and normal life. If he doesthat, I will be the worldsproudest father.

Taught processThe trust provides free eve-

ning tuitions to about 3,000students, from Class I to XII,everyday in 14 centres, out ofwhich 13 are handled on theschool premises itself and onein the corridor of Karthikeyanssmall tiled house. We cant af-ford separate buildings for theclasses. So we sought permis-sion from the school author-ities to conduct classes there inthe evening. The students aretaught by staff we haverecruited. Through this weaimed at giving employmentto educated girls whose par-ents are not interested in send-ing them out of the village fora job. We provide the studentssnacks before class starts, sincewe know that kids cant con-centrate in hunger, says Kar-thikeyan, who was a school

topper in both the class X andXII Board exams.I never had proper guid-

ance during my school days.When I opted for ComputerScience group in Plus One, myfamily was not in a position tobuy a computer. So I made a listof my classmates who had PCsand befriended them so that Icould learn computers. Now Idont want that to happen tothese kids, he says. There area couple of computers in myhouse, which the children canuse. Every weekend I go homeand teach them computers fortwo days. Karthikeyans basicaim is help these students com-plete their basic education andlearn technical education.

The trust also provided foodto villagers for more than fivedays when the village was hitby cyclone Nisha last Novem-ber.

PraiseworthyWhen we spoke to P.Guna-

vathi, deputy educational offi-cer of Valangaiman, she was allpraise for Karthikeyan. Withthe job that he has, Karthi-keyan could have built a pala-tial house and bought a car.But instead, he uses it for the

welfare of his village. I am ableto witness a steady growth inthe education of the studentsafter the commencement oftuition centres. If each villagehas a person like Karthikeyan,rural empowerment is not faraway.

S. Kubendran, director, JanShikshan Samsthan (MakkaKalvi Niruvanam), Thiruvarur,also had the same words to de-scribe Karthikeyan. Villagersare migrating to cities in searchof better jobs. They are not uti-lising the services provided bythe government. ThroughARAM Trust, Karthikeyanmakes them aware of the ser-vices provided and also encour-ages them to take up technicaltraining. We are now certifyingthe technical courses conduct-ed by ARAM Trust. When ayoungster like Karthikeyandoes so many welfare mea-sures for the villagers, this isour small gesture towardshim.

For more information onARAM Trust, you can visitwww.aramtrust.org

To teach isto change

A TCS employee is catering to the educationalneeds of 3,000 students in Valangaiman village inThiruvarur district. And the village is responding

J.M. Karthikeyan (extremeright) and his father J.Manoharan with the kids.PHOTO: M. SRINATH

V. [email protected]

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009KALEIDOSCOPE04

T

he SENSEX has shown excep-tional growth over the past

week as compared to the last sixmonths.

Its a time when those on the edgeof the markets feel the itch to startinvesting. So is this a good time toinvest in equities? The answer is thatany time is a good time as long as

you let time nurture and grow yourmoney rather than greed.

Sounds philosophical, eh? But itstrue; any long-term investment instrong stocks will surely give greatreturns in spite of various condi-tions.

Why stocks perform in the longterm?

Dividends: Dividends give imme-diate cash to the share holders. Eventhough the ratio of dividends to thecurrent market price may be less (1to 5%) in the long run they will be

significant as the companies growlarger and the profit base is large.Bonus Shares: Sometimes, com-

panies may need cash made fromtheir profits to grow further andmay not declare dividends.They continue to reinvestprofits in the company it-self. When the accumulat-ed profit of a company islarge enough, theymay declare bo-nus shares. This isdone by convert-ing the retainedearnings intocapital. Thus ourholding value inthe company goes

up. In a 1:1 bonus,our 10 shares willbecome 20 shares.

Companies Inherently Take Timeto Grow: Can our companys salesincrease by 40% in a month? Can weexpect the projects that we handle to

jump by 25% in a month? No way.Companies are made of people andprocesses; and growth can be ex-pected only over a period of time.But can all the three above happenin say a year? Definitely.

The stock market is an indicator ofthe companies growth, leave alonethe short term rise and fall which canbe influenced by a number of factors

including political issues, terro-rism, cost of inputs, managementchange, labour issues, internationalfinancial markets, takeovers, newtechnology, social structure chang-es, inflation, financial policies of Go-vernment, strength of the rupee, thecost of crude and so on. But as acompany grows, its value is reflectedin its share price in the market and

an increase in your wealth too ifhold its shares.

Would you believe it if somsaid that investing Rs 10,000 in eties in 1992 would be worth 1.5 ctoday? You better believe it. Ke

watch out for the next Mondknow more

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KARTHIKEYAN JAWAHAR AND

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I have 3 credit cards and an outstand-ing balance of over Rs. 2 lakh. One ofthe card companies has sent me a let-ter stating that my limit has been re-duced from Rs. 62,000 to Rs. 30,000based on my activities. Is it legal forthem to do so? And how do I get out ofmy card debt?

Shankar, ThiruvanmiyurThe card company is well with its

limits to reduce your credit limit with-out asking you. The problem is most ofus fail to read the fine print and therules and regulations booklets that ac-company our new card. It will surely bestated that the company can at any

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is concerned, there are a few strategiesthat you could follow. First try to liqui-date as much cash as possible and set-tle off whats possible. No point inkeeping cash in a savings account

which give 5-6% when your negativeout flow is 36% ! Second could be totake a personal loan and clear off theoutstanding. This helps in two ways,one, reduces your monthly burden andtwo, binds you with a commitment topay the EMI. The third and most effec-tive method is to break your cards intofour pieces and forget them. Learn tolive on cash and forget credit.

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Answers for last weeks mini-quiz A) 11B) Zero Coupon Bonds

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T

here are way too manythings keeping this 38-year-

old technology entrepre-neur and strategy consult-ant in Silicon Valley busy.Sramana Mitra is working on fivebooks in an 18-month period,four of which are releasing thisyear. Besides, she has a very ac-tive consulting practice, a weeklycolumn in Forbes, and her blog,Sramana Mitra on Strategy(www.sramanamitra.com) pub-lishes close to 100 articles permonth.

I run a full-fledged onlinemagazine on top of everythingelse. Then, I do Strategy Round-tables, where I mentor entrepre-neurs online. Theyre like realityshows, where entrepreneurs

pitch me their ideas and I givethem feedback and strategy guid-ance, she says.

Entrepreneurship has been away of life for the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology pass-outwho did her Masters in ElectricalEngineering and Computer Sci-ence.

Since childhood she grew up inan environment where she sawher father (who started one of theearly container shipping venturesin the 70s, Himalaya Shipping)make, lose and remake money.After MIT, where she wrote herthesis as well as first businessplan, Sramana floated three ven-tures.

Sramana Mitra in an email in-terview with Ergo from the U.S. on

her books and more:We know of films inspiredby books and books inspiredby real-life incidents. Dostart-ups take inspirationfrom books?I think entrepreneurs take in-

spiration from books a lot. Askhundreds of entrepreneurs who

have read Atlas Shrugged, for in-stance. And ask me this questiontwo years from now. I will point

you to those who have drawn in-spiration from the Entrepreneur

Journeysseries. That is why I amdoing this project so that we canunleash a vast mass of entrepre-neurial energy upon the world.

How is How to Stop Lookingfor a JobAnd Start UpYour Lifes Work differentfrom other books onentrepreneurship? Who is itaimed at?It is one of the first books

where entrepreneurs themselvestell their stories and strategies ofhow they have navigated their

ways in the midst of entrepreneu-rial waters in their own voice,guided by an experienced entre-preneur me who knows whatto ask. Its like sitting down andhaving coffee with an entrepre-neur whom you admire, andlearning the lessons from him/her directly. It is aimed at entre-preneurs who are trying to learnfrom others who came beforethem.

Technology entrepreneursare some of the worldsyoungest and richest, andthere are many aspiring tomake a mark in the techworld. At the same time,there are other emergingsectors which can be tapped.What, according to you, are

they and whats thepotential these sectors hold?Many. Education, healthcare,

alternative energy and water. Ihave discussed some of them inthe book. There is a story aboutan entrepreneur who has built a

water desalination company, ERI.Theres Harish Hande who isbuilding SELCO with solar ener-gy. These are great stories, inspir-ing case studies that point to

ways to tap into what I havecalled Planet Scale Problems inthe book.

What are the greatestlessons you learnt as anentrepreneur?

Where do I begin? I learnt mostof all to fail. If you are a good en-trepreneur, you have to knowhow to take risks. Conduct exper-iments. And by definition, all ex-periments do not succeed. Mymessage to any and all entrepre-neurs out there is: Do not fearfailure. It is a necessary piece ofthe equation. If you trip, you justneed to stand up and keep

walking.You are planning volumes(Two to Seven) with thecurrent series. When do youplan to bring each of themout? Have you started workon them?

For the moment, I am about torelease Volume Two (Bootstrap-ping, Weapon of Mass Recon-struction) in the U.S. It willrelease in India in October. Vol-ume Three (Positioning, How toTest, Validate and Bring Your Ideato Market) comes out in the U.S.in September.

Volume Four is on Innovation, Need of the Hour, scheduled forOctober. Volume Five will be Vi-sion India 2020, which will be outin India next January.

I have written 2, 3 and 4 , and 50

per cent ofVision India 2020. Itsbeen a very busy period of mylife, but also extremely produc-tive. I hope entrepreneurs willfind these books helpful in navi-gating their journey, and findboth inspiration and education inthem.

How is Vision India 2020,your next book with a seriesof essays on entrepreneurialopportunities in India,different from the currentbook?Vision India 2020 is fiction,

whereas the rest are real-life sto-ries of entrepreneurs. In VisionIndia, I am showing readers bigopportunities based upon whichbig companies can be built, butthe essays are all written as if we

have already created those tures. We are in 2020, looback on how we created tmega brands, big successes. Ireally fun book and I am haviblast writing it. I think rea

will have as much fun readin And my hope is that entrneurs will actually go out build these ventures. I wilhappy to work with some of t

who decide to pursue these idSridhar Vembu of Adventis among the few Indianentrepreneurs who are

featured in the book. Whinspired you the most abthe company and SridharSridhar Vembu is one of

most important Indian entreneurs working today. I beSridhar will change how Inentrepreneurs view what is sible completely and, yes, I alutely love his guts, resourcefulness and his usuming ways. Indian entreneurs need to learn a lot f

what Sridhar is doing, and courage everyone to go readchapter on him in Entrepre

Journeys Volume Oneright awithout wasting a minute.

Entrepreneur Journey (Volum

is published by Hachette India

is priced at Rs.

Sridhar Vembu is one of themost important Indianentrepreneurs working today. believe Sridhar will change howIndian entrepreneurs view whais possible completely and, yesabsolutely love his guts, hisresourcefulness and his

unassuming ways.

If you trip,you just needto stand up andkeep walkingTechnology entrepreneur, writer andstrategy consultant Sramana Mitra on herbook released by Hachette India

Sramana Mitra

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009VILLAGE06

Man divorces wife via SMSA Saudi man has divorced his wife by text message, anewspaper reported.The man was in Iraq when he sent the SMS informingher she was no longer his spouse. He followed up witha telephone call to two of his relatives, theArab Newsreported.A court in the Red Sea city of Jeddah finalised the split -the first known divorce in Saudi Arabia by text message- after summoning the two relatives to check they hadreceived word of the husbands intention, the papersaid.

Reuters

Obamas finally get a dogThe first US family has reportedly gotten a new addition -a dog promised by President Barack Obama to hisdaughters months ago.The identity of the first puppy has not been officiallydisclosed. But The Washington Postreported that it is a6-month-old Portuguese water dog that has black fur overmost of his body, a white chest, white paws and a whitegoatee.It has been given to the Obama daughters, Malia andSasha, by a close family friend, Democratic Senator Edward

Kennedy ofMassachusetts.According to The Post,the girls named their petBo in part because theircousins have a cat namedBo.Bo charmed the first

family, the paper said,citing an unnamedsource. He made notoileting errors and didnot gnaw on thefurniture because he hasbeen receiving lessons ingood behaviour from theKennedys dog trainers.

AFP

Kim wouldlove to be aBond girlSocialite KimKardashian isdesperate to become aBond girl, insisting therole is the dream ofher life.After doing realityshow Keeping Up WithThe Kardashians, the28-year-old is keen tocrack Hollywood.

I would love to be aBond girl, that wouldbe my dream of life,Contactmusic quotedher as tellingPopEater.com.Kardashian also admitted that shes a huge fan ofTwilight, and would love to play a sexy vampire in asequel to the teen hit.I would, like, die to be in Twilight... being around allthose hot guys. I want to be a vampire. I kind of want tobe evil, she added.

ANI

Aparty of 50 cricket-loving

explorers departed for anunusual tour. In 11 daystime, after flying, driving

and finally trekking to a plateau17,000 ft up in the Himalayas,more than three miles above sealevel, they will play a match ofTwenty20 cricket and set a worldrecord: the highest altitude rec-orded for a field sport.

According to The Times, theNokia Maps Everest Test match isdue to be played on a frozen lakenear Everest base camp calledGorak Shep, which means dead

raven in the language of theSherpas who will accompany thecricketers.

The teams, named Hillary andTenzing, will play a match of 20overs a side.

They will use wooden stumpsand bats, a pink leather ball(which stands out better againstthe snowy terrain) and a full-sized artificial pitch that has beenbroken into three parts and willbe carried up the mountain.

The match is due to be playedon the Queens official birthday,and a message of support from

Buckingham Palace was sent tothe two teams.

After the match, a proper Brit-ish cricket tea will be taken andthe Union Jack raised in theQueens honour.

The match is being played forcharity, and it is expected thatover 250,000 pounds would beraised for the Himalayan Trustand the Lords Taverniers.

Andrew Strauss and AlastairCook, the England Test captainand vice-captain, have agreed tobe the honorary captains.

ANI

Gareth Wesley (L), captain of the Tenzing team; RebeccaStephens (C), the first British woman to climb Mount Everestand Richard Kirtley, captain of the Hillary team, pose forpictures at Lords in London. AFP PHOTO/LEON NEAL

Cricketers head for

match on Everest

Mom fined for phoning son too muchAn Austrian woman who bombarded her son with phone callsover a two-and-a-half year period was fined by a court for

stalking him, Austrian media reported.The 73-year-old woman, who phoned her son up to 49 times aday, was fined 360 euros by the court in the southern city ofKlagenfurt.I just wanted to talk to him, the woman told the court,according to Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. I cant talkto my son, nor my daughter. Ive never seen my grandchild -who is already 15-years-old, she said.

Reuters

Corpse hits cyclistA cyclist in China was knocked unconscious by a corpsethrown from a passing car. Wu Dan was riding home iDongyang when he was hit by the body thought to bvictim of an earlier crash that was being dumped.

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E

fforts of political parties to

cash in on the popularityof the IPL have suffered asetback with the league

management making it amplyclear that it will not allow tele-cast of any political advertise-ments during the secondedition of the mega cricketevent.

Chairman of BCCIs FinanceCommittee Rajeev Shukla saidIPL Governing Council has de-cided to ban advertisements bypolitical parties and there willnot be any rethinking on theissue.

The IPL Governing Councilin its meeting in Goa decided

not to entertain any political ad-

vertisements and we are not go-ing to reconsider it, Shuklasaid.

Shuklas comments came inresponse to reported efforts bymajor political parties to get therestrictions lifted on the telecastof political ads during thematches beginning April 18.

An official of the IPL broad-caster, Multi Screen Media, re-fused to comment on thedevelopment but admitted thatit would definitely affect its rev-enue generation.

On whether a section of theCongress and BJP leaders hadrequested IPL to reconsider its

decision, Shukla, also a Con-

gress MP, said: It was a unani-mous decision and BJPs ArunJaitley was also present at thegoverning body meeting. Asked

whether BJP was disappointedover IPLs decision not to allowpolitical ads, BJP spokespersonSidharth Nath Singh said theparty knew about the decision.

We are aware of the IPL con-dition. It does not allow politicaladvertisement, he said.

Bhaskar Rao, Chairman of theCentre for Media Studies, saidthe IPL decision had dampenedthe enthusiasm of the politicalparties.

It would have been a real op-

portunity for the political par-

ties to connect with the youngvoters. I do not know why IPLdecided not to allow politicalads, said Rao. According to es-timates, a total of 100 million

young voters will exercise theirfranchise in the elections.

As per the estimates of CMS, atotal of about Rs 10,000 crorecould be spent during the LokSabha elections, which includesabout Rs 2,000 crore by theElection Commission and othergovernment agencies and theremaining Rs 8,000 crore by thepolitical parties and candidatesfor campaigning.

PTI

It is estimated that the total ad spend of the political parties willbe around Rs. 1,000 crore

IPL says no topolitical ads

It seems to bea manifesto ofa party livingin 19th centurywhile theyouthfulnation isaspiring tolead the worldin the 21stcentury

BJP on SP

manifesto

31

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009SPORT08

Buchanan blasts GavaskarFormer Australian coach John Buchananhit back at Sunil Gavaskar for taking a digat his modest playing career andquestioning his success as coach, saying hissimilarities with ex-captain Steve Waughtook the team to dizzy heights.There were always people who weremore than willing to put the knife in, andthe fact that I never played Test cricketwas simmering in the background ofthese digs, particularly by a select few,Buchanan was quoted as saying by theTimes.I never shook the feeling that the axe

was alwayshovering, headded.

Buchanan, who isnow the KolkataKnight Riders coach,last week drewstrong criticism fromGavaskar, whodescribed the

Australian failed former cricketer makinga living telling international players to dowhat he couldnt do.Steve Waugh and I were similar in someregards and this helped Australian cricketto reach the heights it has. We bothchallenged the existing parameters andnorms, and created a vision of lifeeducation outside the dressing room,Buchanan said recalling Australias dreamrun during his tenure as the coach.

PTI

Sania-Chuang in FloridafinalSania Mirza and Chia-JungChuang extended theirbrilliant run by sailing intothe final of the USD 220,000MPS Group ofChampionships after aconvincing straight setvictory over Liga Dekmeijereand Angela Haynes.The unseeded Indo-Taipeipair carved out a 6-4 6-3 win over theLatvian-American pair in the semifinalmatch in just one hour and eightminutes.In the summit clash, Sania and Chuang

will fight it out against top seeded pairKveta Peschke of Czech Republic and LisaRaymond of the United States, whoscored a 4-6 7-5 15-13 victory overBarbora Zahlavova Strycov and CarolineWozniacki in their semifinal match.Sania and Chuang converted both thebreakpoints that came their way to raceaway with the first set apart from savingtwo on their own serve.The second set saw a fierce fight as boththe teams traded seven breaks but it wasSania-Chuang who managed to get themaximum out of those chances.They dropped their serve thrice but broketheir rivals four times to emerge winners.

PTI Despite initialreservations you arenow in India to play inthe IPL. So was the

decision taken because theIPL is now being held inSouth Africa?

It was a tough decision for meto make. I was in two minds

whether to come or not. It hasbeen a terrible year for me. Butthe challenge for me was to take astep ahead and fulfill my commit-ment. I have a two-year contract

with Delhi Daredevils.

You lost your wife Jane lastyear. Tough time for you?

That was another reason why I was initially reluctant to comeand play in IPL. My children are

with their grandparents and it

was tough leaving them behind ata time when their mother haspassed away. It was a toughchoice for me to make. But againI am a professional cricketer andhad some commitments.

The Federation ofInternational CricketersAssociation (FICA) had raisedits reservation on Australiancricketers visiting the sub-continent in the wake ofMumbai incident and Lahoreattack on Sri Lankancricketers. So why did youcome to India? You couldhave flown directly to SouthAfrica.

Look mate, I had no choice. Iam contracted with Daredevils. Ifeel sorry for the incidents thatare taking place in the sub-conti-nent. But still the England teamalso came back to play in the Testseries after terrorists attack inMumbai. So why cant I?

International teams havestopped touring the strife-torn country that has given alot to the game. Do you feelsorry for Pakistan cricket?

It is unfortunate that cricket inPakistan is suffering due to insta-bility in the country. It is, in fact, ashame and the most horrificthing is that now cricketers arealso being made target by terro-rists. There are lots of talentedcricketers in Pakistan and theyare not able to get the taste ofinternational cricket. You canthelp them until and unless thegovernment comes out with astrong policy to stop terrorism.

It is going to be a differenIPL this time since it is beheld outside India. How dyou feel about it?

It is unfortunate that the tnament was shifted out of InLast time we got a wonderfu

sponse and will feel bad forfans in Delhi. But on the hsight, this time IPL will haglobal appeal.

Last time Daredevils camevery close. What do you thabout the teams chances time?

I think all the guys are in atastic form. Be it our openersrender Sehwag or GauGambhir) or our bowlers. side is much balanced and thclusion of a youngster like D

Warner will make team spe Warner is a special talent afeel he will be the guy to wout for this time.

Despite his initialreservations, GlennMcGrath is back to playin the second edition ofthe Indian PremierLeague (IPL). This 40-

year-old will spearheadDelhi Daredevils bowlingattack in South Africa.McGrath spoke to A. Royon issues ranging fromsecurity to Tendulkarvs. Bradman.

Sachin is ver

Federer ties the knotRoger Federer married his long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in his home town of BaseSwitzerland on Saturday. Earlier today...surrounded by a small group of close friends afamily, Mirka and I got married, Federer said on his official website. It was a beautifuspring day and an incredibly joyous occasion.

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009FLICK10

Big Bs personatends toovershadow

a characterFilmmaker Rakeysh OmprakashMehra says AmitabhBachchans larger-than-lifescreen presence sometimesoutshines his characters in films.

Mr. Bachchan is a school onhis own. His persona is hugeand he has a style of his own.He has given birth to a differentkind of acting approach, whichhas generations to follow. But itis a double-edged sword asoften than not it tends toovershadow a character in afilm, said Mehra.

Three-film-old Mehra debuted in the Hindi film industrywith Amitabh in the lead in Aks (2001). The actor was alsoseen in a cameo in his last film Delhi-6(2009).

IANS

Enough of tragedy

Saakshi Tanwar, who played the character ofdistressed Parvati in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki,says she would return to the small screen ifoffered romantic comedy roles.

Saakshi is now working for her upcoming film,

Coffee House.Right now I am not working in any soapbecause I have no interest doing the same kindof roles. I have done lots of roles that portraysadness. Now I want to play some romanticcomedy roles, she says.

Saakshi essayed Parvatis role for eight yearsand later hosted a reality show, Yeh Hai Jalwa,and played the role of Ganga in Ekta Kapoorsmythology-based show Kahaani HumaarayMahabhaarat Ki.

Talking about her role in Kahaani..., she says,It was great! When I started I never thought people will like Parvatis character somuch. While playing that character, I learnt about different relationships too.

Now Saakshi is gearing up for the release of Coffee House, where she will beplaying actor Ashutosh Ranas wife. On Coffee House, Saakshi says: The story of thefilm is about a coffee house and groups of different peopleIt depicts youth,unemployed, retired and old people. The film has feelings, humour, pain and joywhich will make the audience search for a few answers in their own lives.

IANS

Prachi Desai has teamed up

with mentor Ekta Kapoor forOnce Upon A Time, inwhich she plays a dons wife.

The role requires Prachi to looklike a Muslim working-class girl in1975 who gets involved with a don(played by Emraan Hashmi). Prachi,along with Ekta, has been catchingup on all the video footage andhunting for clothes all over to pre-pare for the role. She went to theMuslim localities of Mumbai lastmonth, including Haji Ali, to pickup salwar-kameez suits.

This character is from a timethat existed before me. Yes, Ivedone plenty of reading on my char-acter. I want to look and feel likeMehjabeen. And its such a chal-

lenge, says Prachi.While Ekta is producing it, MilanLuthria will wield the megaphone.

Doing a film with Balaji is likecoming home. Shobha aunty, Jeetu(Jeetendra) uncle and Ekta are likefamily. I remained connected withthem when I did Rock On!! because

it was made by Ektas cousin, Gattu(Abhishek Kapoor).

Though she didnt want to play

wife again, Prachi couldnt resistthis role.

Thats true. I didnt want to getinto yet anoth-er wifes roleafter RockOn!! and LifePartner. Im soyoung. I wantto have funand I keep get-ting these seri-ous roles. Butplaying thedons life part-ner in Once Upon A Time was achallenge that I couldnt resist,says Prachi, who made her bigscreen debut as Farhan Akhtars

wife in Rock On!!. My second film,Life Partner, has Ektas brother Tus-shar Kapoor as my co-star.

And now Im finally doing a Balajiproduction, says Prachi, who start-ed her acting career with Ektaspopular TV series Kasamh Se.

IANS

Prachi Desai on Once Upon A Time

SUBHASH K. JHA

IIdidnttwantt toogett intoyett anotherrwifess roleafterrRockkOn!!IIddiiddnnttwwaanntt ttooggeett iinnttooyeett aannootthheerrwwiiffeess rroolleeafftteerrRRoocckkOOnn!!!!

A still from RockOn!!

Whats with the moustache, Miss Miller?Sienna Millers new film, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, has been panned by criticwith some saying she has a moustache. You know a movies got problemswhen the most memorable thing about it is Sienna Millers moustache. Thatgrowth above her lip is clearly visible in two scenes, once in profile, thesun.co.quoted a New York Postcritic as saying.

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After three years of their on-off romance, KateHudson and Owen Wilson have finally called itquits for good, according to reports.

The couple started dating in 2006 afterworking together in You, Me & Dupree, but latersplit in 2007.

However, they reunited again earlier this year.But, according to In Touch magazine, they finally

ended their relationship for good after Hudsonturned down Wilsons marriage proposal.

Owen wants to get married and he proposed to

Kate soon after they got back together. But shes notready, the Daily Express quoted a source as tellingthe magazine.

ANI

No I dohere

Kate Hudsonand OwenWilson finally

split

FILE PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES


The actress desperately tried toget rid of photographers whofollowed her during a club-hopping night out in Hollywood

Arya pairs up with ShriyaArya, the actor in demand after the release ofBalas Naan Kadavul, has signed a new projectwith Shriya Saran. The movie, titled ChikkuBukku, is being produced by Media One GlobalEntertainment. Preetika, the younger sister ofBollywod star Amrita Rao, is debuting in themovie. Chikku Bukku will be directed byManikandan, the man who took over the mantleof Dhaam Dhooms direction after the untimelydemise of director Jeeva. The music is scored by

Leslie Lewis and Hariharan.

Sathyaraj to do Periyar againActor Sathyaraj, who donned the role of E.V.R.Periyar in the film Periyar, will be donning thesame role in Thangar Bachchans next flick. Themovie titled Kalavadiya Pozhudhugalhas actor-direcor Prabhu Deva and Bhumika playing thelead roles. Sources said that actor Sathyaraj isplanning to concentrate more on character rolesrather than looking out for hero roles.

Robbie Williams wont rejoin Take ThaTake Thats Gary Barlow has confirmed that Robbie Williamswould not be rejoining the band. People constantly ask ifRobbie will rejoin us. But nothings changed, the Daily Starquoted him as saying on Quiz Night.

Cine City

L

indsay Lohan continued her love-hate

relationship with the paparazzi by pelt-ing them with eggs from her kitchen whenthey followed her.

The incident happened Thursday night,reported contactmusic.com.

The 22-year-old actress, who recentlysplit from girlfriend Samantha Ronson,desperately tried to get rid of photogra-phers who followed her during a club-hop-ping night out in Hollywood. But when shecouldnt, she started attacking them witheggs.

The actress and two of her friends play-fully hurled eggs at photographers whohad gathered outside her home at 2 a.m.,said the report.

IANS

Say it likeLohan

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 200912

There wont b election 4 d nexttime

Karthik, Sathish, TCS-eserve

Makkalai eamatra maatenVenkatesh, TCS

No power cutM.Venkataraj, Perot Systems

Veetukku veedu pipe connectiondirectly from Tasmac

Hashim, Allsec

All outgoing phone calls withinIndia will be made as free

irrespective of the networkS.Narasimhan, RR Donnelley

Free PC with unlimited BSNLbroadband connection 4 everyone

Solomon, John Allsec

Solve the drainage problem inChennai

Akil, TCS

Will start a govt IT company,provide job to a person from eachfamily

Rajasekar, TCS

This would be my last electionSenthil, CSS

A Nano car for every family whowill vote 4 me

Harsha.R, TCS

AC will be given to everyone inthe ration shop for free

Deepa, Slashsupport, Nirmala, PerotSystems

Ill present a car to each houseand 5 litres free petrol in rationevery month

Anto, TCS

Laptop to students, Palmtop toteenagers and Rooftop homes for dpoor

Rajiv, Allsec

Rs.1 lakh to all people who votefor me

Sheik, Perot Systems

I will make sure the autorickshaw guys dont demand anything more then the meter fare orthey would be in remand andlicense cancelled

Imran Sherif, Wipro

I will promise to be an honestpolitician and abolish corruption

Harish, Wipro

Nano with ten litres petrol everymonth for the family that does notown a carJihush, Allsec

I will bring Godavari river toChennaiHarish, Hewitt

I will break reservation in IITMohan, TCS

Lokeshkumar from Gtech has nominated his friends asPartners in Crime. The picture was clicked at EagleTown Mountain.

Lekshmi Kurup from Infosys Technologies hasnominated her team as Partners in Crime. The picture

was taken at Kodaikanal Vathakkanal Falls.

Prasad from California Software Labs, Velachery, hasnominated his friends as Partners in Crime.The pic was taken in Kodaikanal.

Fridays query:

If you were a politician and had to make anelection promise, which you are very clear that you will break, what would it be?

Todays query:

If you were a colour, what wouldyou be? Why?

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Man-1: Yen friend oru naalaikku 100 kai, 50 kazhutha vettuvaanMan-2: Av-valavu periya rowdy-yaa?

Man-1: No, avan oru tailor...

Man-1: Stage-la aadikkittu irukkura dancer oru tailor-nnu yedha vachusolrae?

Man-2: Thai Thai-nnu aaduraarae... Mohamed Yusufdeen J

HCL Technologies Ltd.

Dear Mani,A birthday is just the first day of another 365 day

journey around the sun.Enjoy the trip.We hope all your birthday dreams and wishes cometrue.

Wishing you another wonderful year of happinessand joy.Happy Birthday TG Mani.

With Tons of Luv,Route No. 4 Friends, Scope International.

Hai Paanks...(Pangajam),Enakku swasam thanthavalai patri Nan sonnamuthal kavithai AMMA Happy Birth DayAmmaa.......With Love, Ur daughter,

Latha Pandithangam, TCS

Dear Saranya @ Swarna,

Wish U a Very Happy Birthday...May God Bless U...Enjoy the Dance....With Love ,

Amma , appa , dhans , Sabari, Taj , Arathi,

and SMV family PDKT.

Dear Santosh,My Hearty Birthday wishes to U . May this yearfilled with joy, Happiness and success. May Godbless u dear.

By

Rekha, Bhuvana, Gowthami, Pushpa Rex ( Sify)

Dear Sainthavi,May your birthday bringYou as much happinessAs you give to everyoneWho knows youHappy Birthday and a wonderful year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yours Loving,

Sakthi, Gopal, Sanju,

Sadhanandham, Banu and Padmananban Family

Dear Karthick,

Its our pleasure to be part of your pages of lifeand today we are here to wishyou both have laughter and tearsthat will bring lasting joy to each other.Best Wishes for your wonderful Future together asa couple

- Route 4 friends, Scope international

Dear Shanu,

Though we r miles apart here is a wish coming foru from someone who is close to ur heart....Many more happy returns of the day....

RegardsSandy

Shweta and Deepali fromAccenture have nominatedtheir team mate Jani as theirOffice Angel.

Jani is a gem of a person

with an amazing attitude

towards work and peoplearound him. Always ready

and delighted to help others. A

very soft-spoken guy whotreats everybody with a sweet

smile which not only helps

people forget their stress butalso brings Life at work. Truly

an Intelligent guide, a Nice

colleague and a Great Friend.

Ranjith A. from Wipro Technologies doodledthis.

Art featured in this co-lumn will receive giftcoupons from Fruit Shopon Greams Road. Sendin your addresses so that

we can post the coupons.

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009TRAFFIC JAM14

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

TEAMEditor: Karthik [email protected]

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

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

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES:Contact: 2857 5757

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Head of Circulation:M.G.M. [email protected]

SNAIL MAIL

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

FAX 2857 6691

sudoku

KAKURO

Suicide survivorA Russian man survived after downing three bottles ofvodka and leaping from a fifth floor balcony. AlexeiRoskov managed to stagger back upstairs with barely ascratch after the 50ft fall.

Cats sleepanywhere...any table,any chair...

Anitha G. of Infosyssent this pictureHobby: Drawing

Entries to thecolumn will get giftvouchers fromBubbles Spa worthRs.1,000. Winnerscan come to Ergooffice on weekendsbetween 3 p.m. and5 p.m. to collect thevouchers.Call 2857 6688.

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

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B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

Today you will be in a very good mood as luck be favouring you in almost every matter. You mnot be worried about finishing off your work intime, as automatically things will be falling in plin time.

Ganesha finds you lost in serious thinking most the time. At office, you may not be able toconcentrate in work, due to which work may sufOn the love front, there are no issues and you mhave philosophical discussions with beloved one.

You will not be able to work with full efficiency

This may not be apparent but you need to see tthat your work doesnt get affected. If you go fomeetings, you are suggested to remain low profifor the day.

You may be on the verge of finishing off oldprojects and start working on new ones. You mawish to put in lot of hard work to prove yourabilities. Health may require attention. You may be able to devote much time to personal life.

It may be a very successful day on the career froYou will be able to get work done by others.Positive side of the matter is, your love life mayalso blossom and you will be able to take someimportant decisions in regard to the same.

This is perfect day to think seriously about how wish to go ahead with your current career. In ot

words, its a favourable day to draw career planstry to put them on paper. You may share your hwith beloved one.

You can be more inclined towards people whoshare similar type of interest with you. Mental aintellectual hard work is on the cards. There aredistinct probabilities of problems in the love life,says Ganesha.

You can be looking at life with a very differentangle, as desire to progress financially rules yourmind today. Office work will be routine and hasfree. If you are unmarried and wish to talk to yofamily members about your love to make it offic

Your energies are recharged today so it is best tfocus on your prime abilities. You may sharpen yintellect by doing some important reading or

interaction. Office work may be very demanding you will enjoy the day at work.

You may not wish to waste time behind fruitlesspursuits today but circumstances may force you tdeal with some mundane activities at work. Besiyou might also have to get into problem shootinYour hard work will repay you good dividends s

Important meetings, planning and joint activitiesshould go well today. Responsibilities at work mincrease but will be good for your career progresso dont refrain from taking up new jobs, adviseGanesha.

Ganesha finds you very objective and careeroriented today. You will not waste single momenbehind activities that eat up too much time. Youmay be in a mood to work on bottom lines as seem to be in a bit of hurry today.

Words worthVeilleuse (vay-ooz) a small and highly decoratednightlight. Also, for those fond of midnight snacks,a bedside food-warmer.

Lucky escapeA lorry driver had a miraculous escape in China after an accidentleft his cab hanging precariously over the edge of a high flyover.The container crashed to the street below but the drivers cabsomehow managed to avoid following the same fate.

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ERGO Monday, April 13, 2009!16

Chihuahuas Lillybell (L) andSweet Pea (R) before being

blessed by Cardinal RogerMahony at the annualBlessing of the Animals in LosAngeles, California onSaturday. The ceremony,which takes place each yearon the day before EasterSunday, is held in recognitionof the services that otherspecies provide to humans.PHOTO: AFP/ROBYN BECK

A model presents a creation by French designer PierreCardin during the Fall/Winter 2009 ready-to-wearcollection show in Beijing on April Friday.PHOTO: AFP/PETER PARKS

Gene Simmons of U.S.rock band Kiss performs

during a concert onSaturday in Bogota. The

concert is part of thebands tour to celebratetheir 35th anniversary.

PHOTO: AFP

Ergo April 13

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