A BYTE OF LIFE Monday, July 20, 2009

03
BUY, SELL, GIFT
At Chennai’s social networking site
hurdum.com
FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 135

Playing it Saif
Chotte Nawab on
his upcoming movie
Love Aaj Kal and
also his sweetheart
Kareena’s movie
Kambakkht Ishq
» PAGE 05
02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

Donning the chef’s hat

The ‘Cook and Dine’ concept has become a trendy affair in Courtyard by Marriott
as Master Chef Suresh Thampy offered his bag of culinary expertise this time to
Rajasthan Cosmopolitan Ladies Club. The hotel had welcomed 75 ladies of the
association to don the chef’s hat and try their hands on Italian food with Master
Chef Suresh Thampy.

Art of
graphic novel Their paintings speak
a thousand words
The talent
A
riot of colours filled the in the event. The participants
venue at the Taj Coroman- were divided into three age
del on Sunday where groups – 10-15 years, 16-20 years
hundred of participants ex- and 21-30 years.

competition for hibited their creative expression

on the canvas. Keeping in mind
that art is a tool in therapy, heal-
The speciality of the contest
was that all participants received
a bag with crayons, t-shirts and

special children ing and a fun form, a painting

competition was conducted for
special children and adults by the
little gifts. Prizes for the first, sec-
ond and third prize winners in
each category were awarded. Al-
Down Syndrome Association of so, the award-winning painting
T he British Council is organising a graphic
novel display with wrap around events.
Over 100 graphic novels from authors
received good Tamil Nadu, Round Table No 1
and the Member Associations of
of last year’s event would be sold
and the proceedings received out
the Round Tables of India. of that will go towards a partic-
ranging from Sarnath Banerjee, Neil
Gaiman, Peter O’Donnell, Agatha Christie,
William Shakespeare, H.G. Wells and
response Children from around 40
schools in Tamil Nadu took part
ular child. ■
Ergo Correspondent

Charles Dickens are on display. Parallel to

the display is a ‘Comic Strip’ competition
on the theme ‘Climate Change’.
Participants can send in their entries before
July 23, which is open to children, students,
professionals, parents and homemakers.
Finally, on July 25 at 6 p.m. an interactive
presentation ‘Walk through on graphic
novel’ will be organised by Ashok
Rajagopalan, an illustrator and writer of
children’s books. The graphic novel display
is on view till July 31 at British Council, 737,
Anna Salai. For details call 4205 0600.

Splash of
colours at
the painting
competition
organised by
Down
Syndrome
Association
of Tamil
Nadu and
Madras
Round Table
No.1 on
Sunday.
PHOTOS:
S.S. KUMAR
 Monday, July 20, 2009
03

There for you

Two CEG alumni launch
www.hardum.com, where one
can buy, sell and search for a
variety of day-to-day goods
MONISHA MOHANDAS
monishamohandas@yahoo.com
Hardum (Hindi for ‘always’) is
the entrepreneurial venture of
two alumni of College of Engi-
The first move
Lakshmi, a B.Tech IT (2006)
graduate, always dreamt of be-
coming an entrepreneur and her
first step towards that was getting
a Management degree.
“After graduation I worked
with CTS for 10 months and left
to Scotland to pursue my MBA,”
says Lakshmi.
Networking and e-commerce
was a rage in Scotland and the
ing the social networking model
as a platform.”
“We brainstormed on various
ideas and finally decided on the
name Hardum,” says Harsh, who
was famous in college as the Stu-
dent Union President plus as the
main organiser of 2008 Techofes.
After graduation, Harsh also
worked in the U.K. for six
months.
Click on
Also for example, say you have
a college textbook that you no
longer use. You can put it up as
“freebies” on the site and it can
be availed of by other users. Har-
dum has various friendly fea-
tures. One could check out for
discounts and events and read
around nine newspapers online.
So far, the website received
around 2,700 members who have
undertaken various deals, a good
start they say.

A
chance meeting with an
old friend at Adyar Bakery
brought Lakshmi Parkavi
and her college junior Dav-
loor Harshavardan together to
launch a social networking site
with a cause. Hardum.com is the
most recent local social network-
ing platform in news, because the
platform was inaugurated at the
Raj Bhavan, with Tamil Nadu
Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
and actor Kamal Hassan gracing
the launch.
neering (CEG), Guindy. Hardum
has divided namma Chennai into
different pockets, whereby you
can chat, buy and sell things and
search jobs, to name a few. Its
buy-and-sell feature is the most
effective for those looking to con-
nect with the neighbourhood
store.
Around 70 such areas have
been networked so far, and in a
few months from now the team
hopes to connect entire South In-
dia.
24-year-old knew she had to in-
corporate the two in her business
model but did not know how to
start off.
Finding Harshavardan, better
known as Harsh who passed out
of CEG in 2008, helped in sowing
seeds for their venture.
Interestingly, the idea for the
business was sprouted at CEG,
where the two met up often in the
college parking lot, canteen, etc.
The main motto for their venture
was: “Do something different us-
Why should one visit Hardum?
“Hardum, in a way, is eco-friend-
ly and one can donate stuff over
the site. We thus contribute to a
pollution-free environment,”
says Harsh. How? “We have di-
vided the city area-wise, like An-
na Nagar, Avadi, Sholinganallur,
etc. So if you want to buy someth-
ing you can go to that suitable
segment in Hardum and see if so-
meone is selling that in your area
or a nearby area, thereby saving
time and money.”
Besides Lakshmi and Harsh,
the venture had many enthusias-
tic college students of CEG play-
ing a role. Like, the website was
designed by an alumnus, while
some friends helped in market-
ing. “From the naming of the
website to its design, marketing
and funding, students were the
pillars and the Vice-Chancellor
our path-breaker,” they say. ■
(This is a weekly column that
celebrates the spirit of
entrepreneurship)

Tamil Nadu Governor

Surjit Singh Barnala
launching hardum.com
at Raj Bhavan in this
July 9 photo. Also
seen are Anna
University Vice
Chancellor Mannar
Jawahar (left),
Harshavardan (second
from left) and actor
Kamal Hassan (right).
PHOTO: K.V. SRINIVASAN

Networking and e-commerce was

a rage in Scotland and Lakshmi
knew she had to incorporate the
two in her business model but
did not know how to start off
04 KALEIDOSCOPE
Mini Quiz
1. TPA in health insurance stands for:
a) Third Party Administrator
b) Third Person Administrator
c) Total Personal Accident cover
d) Third Party Assurance
2. NPA in banking stands for:
a) Net Permanent Assets
b) New Priority Accounts
c) Non Performing Assets
d) NRI Permanent Account
Send your answers to finergo@goergo.in or SMS
your answers to 92813 98889. For example, if you
choose A as the answer to question 1 and B as the
answer to question 2 type it as 1A2B and send it.
Winner will be chosen by lucky draw from all
Answers for last week’s quiz:
correct answers.
1.60 Lakh
1.90 Lakh
Personal finance news
Platform for mutual funds
The Association of Mutual Funds (AMFI) is
working on finalising a service provider to cre-
ate an electronic platform for common access
to fund managers, AMCs, distributors and unit
holders of mutual funds to undertake their
transactions including switching, buying units
and even comparing products of different mu-
tual funds.
Safer credit card transactions
Come August and your credit transactions
will become safer with the introduction of a
password based security check. Till now, the
security systems in place include the CVV
number, date of birth of the card holder and
the card number, all of which are easily attain-
able and lead to misuse of credit cards. The
CVV number was designed to be the password
but many card holders do not erase it. Hence-
forth all card holders will have to register with
Visa/MasterCard and create a password. This
will increase the security manifold.
Loans from BoB for Honda
Honda Siel and Bank of Baroda have inked
an agreement under which customers buying
Honda cars can avail of easy loans from BoB at
interest rates between 10.5 and 11%. The major
attraction being that the facility will be offered
via the dealerships as well as bank branches.
New partner with LIC Mutual Fund
LIC Mutual Fund, the largest domestic in-
stitutional investor, has announced a tie-up
with Nomura Asset Management Company, a
Japanese investment company. Nomura will
have 35% stake in LIC MF. The assets under
management with LIC MF are to the tune of Rs.
34,000 crores.
Upcoming NFO from Mutual Funds
Birla Sunlife Enhanced Arbitrage Fund
JP Morgan JF Greater China Equity off-shore
fund
Mirae Asset Short Term Bond fund
Sahara Super 20 fund
ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009
Your ATM knocked
you over?
cially, after the directive to allow free the Central Bank regarding com-
RBI directs banks to ATM access across all Bank ATMs. plaints of banks imposing withdraw-
Although there have been instances al limits for cash transactions by
reimburse where the Issuer Banks (Bank in customers of other banks using their
which the user actually has his/her ATMs. This is against the principle of
wrongfully debited account) have put the blame on the allowing free access to all ATM card
Acquirer bank (Bank whose ATM the holders to use any-bank ATM.
ATM transactions client has used) for delay in reim- So the next time your ATM trans-
bursing the monies payable, the RBI action fails, be sure to wait for 12
within 12 days or has clearly stated that this should
not be a reason to harass the
days for reimbursement for incorrect
debits, else log in to www.rbi.org.in
pay penalty of customers. and send a mail to the Banking Om-
Strong note has also been taken by budsman in your region. ■
Rs.100 a day
thereafter till the “For any failure to re-credit the customer’s
customer gets his account within 12 working days from the
money. date of receipt of the complaint, the bank
shall pay compensation of Rs.100/-, per day,
to the aggrieved customer.”
H
ave you been harassed by an
RBI directive
event of trying to withdraw
cash from your ATM and hav-
ing the transaction declined
or not being able to withdraw cash.
And, to add insult to injury, have you
been consequently shocked to see
your bank statement showing a debit
for the amount the ATM never dis-
pensed? Rest assured the RBI has
taken note and issued a dictum to
the banks.
The RBI in a circular has said that
“It is mandatory for the banks to re-
imburse the customer; the amount
wrongfully debited on account of
failed ATM transactions, within a
maximum period of 12 working days
from the date of receipt of the cus-
tomer complaint”
It has also said that “For any fail-
ure to re-credit the customer’s ac-
count within 12 working days from
the date of receipt of the complaint,
the bank shall pay compensation of
Rs.100/-, per day, to the aggrieved
customer. This compensation shall
be credited to the customer’s ac-
count automatically without any
claim from the customer, on the
same day when the bank affords the
credit for the failed ATM transac-
tion”. Thus if your bank fails to pay
you for say 18 days after complaint,
it will need to pay an additional Rs.
600.
The RBI has felt that there is a
huge increase in such cases, espe-
Monday, July 20, 2009
05
Don’t make me more nervous! Let me
succeed as a producer and then see.

“Kareena and I are

What do you believe in personally-
Aaj –wala love, or Kal-wala love?
I would love to have the best of both
worlds- a mixture of faith and commit-
ment that represents yester-years’ love,
and style and passion that stands for to-

mirror images” day’s love. Waise dekha jaaye toh emo-

Let’s start with a typical one…
which is easier-acting or producing
films?
At the moment, I don’t have a choice
but to vote for acting. Know what, don-
Saif Ali Khan ning a producer’s hat is too strainous-
starting from pre-production, produc-
marches to a tion and post-production, you have to be
100% involved in your project. And then,
different you don’t have the option to lay back
since your money went into it.
drummer’s beat. Be Thankfully, my co-producer Dinesh
(Vijan) shared most of the technical haz-
it his roles, or his ards, while I was spared to handle the cre-
ative part of the project, like film
love life, and now promotion, trailors.
But the satisfaction must be greater
his new avatar as as a producer than an actor?
Definitely the attachment is more.
producer, the Love Aaj Kal is a small budget film. But we
took care of even the minutest detail. And
chote nawab
knows how to live
life king-size. TWF
correspondent
Sreya Basu is all
ears while Saif
plays his witty self
tions and sensations in love remain
unchanged.
Have you seen Kanbakhht Ishq?
Kareena is looking gorgeous!
I asked you a different question…
But you wanted this answer…
as the release date is nearing I am feeling True. Since we are back to Track
nervous. Kareena, we would like to know
What’s the one thing that you what makes your relationship tick
realized that producers hate about amid your busy bee status?
actors? Kareena is a thorough professional and
Hate is too strong a word. But I would
like to say that producers work under lot
I too have become one, thanks to her.
Both of us have lots of things in com-
of time constraint and actors too must re-
alize this value for time. Don’t tell
mon…we love cinema and old tele seri-
als, Italian and Chinese food, exotic and
anyone, but during the making of my
film, there were times when I told myself
adventurous holidays. We are emotional
and headstrong. In a way, Kareena and I
‘Heroji, can you please turn up earlier, it’s
already lunchtime!’
are mirror images of each other. And
above all, we respect each other. So we
Why did you decide to start your
producer avatar with a love story?
really don’t have to force and stretch our-
selves to keep ticking together.
Because everyone wants to watch a
love story. And Love Aaj Kal is a fresh love
Kareena said you are perfect for
her?
story with fresh dialogues and fresh sit-
uations.
Did she? How sweet! But I don’t think I
am perfect. In some departments I am
Don’t you want to try directing a
film?
good, some departments need more ho-
mework.
Like?
As in, I have a restless mind. I must
learn to relax.
Are your kids fond of Kareena?
Yes, they bond quite well with her.
Are you more a friend or a father to
Sara and Ibrahim?
Sara and Ibrahim are very well-brought
up kids. I am more a friend to them than a
dad. I can be in the same room even when
Sara is on the phone, she has allowed me
to see her Facebook wall. Ibrahim has the
attitude of a rockstar. He likes to gel his
hair and wear wristbands. (smiles) ■
Trans World Features
06 VILLAGE ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

Mattress blows up flat

A man managed to blow up his apartment building in
Dusseldorf, Germany when he tried to mend his air
mattress by leaving tyre repair solvent in it overnight.

Hamas produces its first feature film Gay penguin

Hamas has debuted in the field of feature film production this
weekend when the action-packed thriller was being screened in dumps lover
Gaza to an exclusive crowd of celebrities. The film, homage to a
top Hamas operative, cost only 200,000 dollars to make and is for widow!
being shown to segregated audiences of bearded men and After six years of
veiled women. The movie tells the story of Emad Akel, togetherness, the
commander of the Hamas military wing, who was killed in a relationship between a pair
firefight with Israeli troops in Gaza in 1993. In the two-hour of gay male penguins at
movie, titled Emad Akel, there’s plenty of action. The hero San Francisco zoo has
frequently leaps out of cars to open fire on Israeli soldiers, apparently come to an end,
prompting bursts of applause from the audience each time. with Harry leaving Pepper
ANI for a widowed female
penguin, named Linda. The
Los Angeles Times has
reported that the
Fujitsu to build Japan’s next- relationship between Harry
and Pepper, who lived
generation supercomputer side-by-side, protecting eggs abandoned by other
Japan’s next-generation supercomputer will be made by penguins, came to a shocking end when Harry moved into
Fujitsu Ltd. after its two partners withdrew from a a neighbouring nest with Linda. The development has
government-sponsored project to develop the computer sparked a variety of reactions in the blogosphere, where
which will achieve the world’s highest performance of 10 Linda has been called a “home wrecker” who “lives for
petaflops. Fujitsu will make the supercomputer for the her own happiness, no matter who gets hurt.” With
Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, an Pepper rejoining the ranks of the single, Christian website
independent administrative institution known as RIKEN. OneNewsNow.com took the split as a sign that “nature
As originally planned, Fujitsu and RIKEN said they will prefers heterosexual relationships”.
complete the ANI
supercomputer at a
facility in Kobe,
Hyogo Prefecture, by
fiscal 2012 ending in
March 2013 under the Kate Middleton’s uncle supplies illegal drugs
USD 1.22 billion In what may shock the British royal family, the maternal uncle of
project. The Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton reportedly supplies
supercomputer is illegal drugs and fixes hookers. This has emerged after two News
designed to use a of the World reporters, posing as business people, were last
128-gigaflop central weekend invited into Goldsmith’s villa in Cala Jondal on the
processing unit, the south of the island after meeting him at a nightspot. The paper
world’s fastest at reports that the bald-headed 49-year-old braggart, brother of
present, to achieve Kate’s mum Carole, couldn’t keep his mouth shut before its
the world’s highest reporters, and stunned its team by doling out deadly cocaine and
performance of 10 ecstasy. He even offered to arrange door-to-door deliveries in
petaflops. the resort and in London.
PTI ANI

Meet Sasha and

Malia Obama’s
look-a-likes
A pair of Long Island sisters are con-
stantly stopped for autographs -
because people keep mistaking them
for Sasha and Malia Obama, daugh-
ters of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Nandra Best and her young sister
Krissy Best are basking in the adora-
tion that follows the First Daughters
and even won an Obama daughters
look-a-like contest on “Live With Re-
gis and Kelly.”
“We tell people, ‘No, we’re not’ but
they keep on insisting that we’re
them,” the New York Daily News
quoted Krissy as saying.
Their mom, Karen Noel Best,
wasn’t surprised her daughters made
it to the finals of the “Live” contest.
“People have been saying they look
like the Obama girls since the elec-
tion. We go to the mall and restau-
rants and people always stop us.
Sometimes I say, ‘Yes, they are the
girls, and I’m their nanny and we
have to go,’” she said.
The girls said being on TV was a
thrill that could only by topped by
meeting Sasha and Malia in person.
“That would be so awesome. My
family voted for Obama and we
worked for the campaign,” Krissy
said.
Karen says she’s glad that her
daughters picked up Obamas as their
role models.
“I really do share a lot of values
with the president and I like the way
he raises his daughters. He talks
about how important reading to kids
is. I love that my daughters look up to
the Obamas,” Karen said. ■ Sasha and Malia Obama with their
ANI mother Michelle Obama
 Monday, July 20, 2009
07
Websites of the day Cinema proposal
Fancy a holiday with a difference? Why not take a break in Romania, A man hired out a cinema in Bristol,
one of Eastern Europe’s most stunning nations. England and screened a spoof video
http://www.romaniatourism.com/ to his girlfriend so that he could
Hyperactive child rocks out singing school nursery rhyme propose to her.
http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=23636

Ten strangest guest requests at luxury hotels

Asking for sheets with holes, to lower down the volume of the sea, or filling the bath-tub with
ice-these are just some of the most bizarre guest requests luxury hotels around the world have dealt with

T
he Great Hotels of the
World, a group of five star
hotels and resorts around
the globe, released a list of
the most extravagant and un-
usual guest requests they have
experienced as part of their 91
Days of Summer campaign, re-
ports The Courier Mail.
And based on the list, new-
s.com.au has compiled a selec-
tion of the 10 strangest requests.
The strangest requests are:
A bed that’s ‘too high’
This VIP guest thought his
bed at Hotel Puente Romano,
also in Spain, was too high so
requested that the feet be cut off
in order to make it a more com-
fortable height. Unfortunately
for him, hotel staff didn’t agree.
Holey sheets
A well-known US singer re-
quested that three holes were
made in Portugal’s Dom Pedro
Palace’s bed sheets before she
slept in them.
Desire to bury dogs in the
garden
The Swiss Beau-Rivage Palace
has an animal cemetery in the
hotel gardens dating back to
1861. Some guests visiting the
hotel have asked if it’s possible
to bury their dog in this cem-
etery when their time comes.
The cemetery is no longer used
these days so hotel staff had to
refuse.
The sea is too loud
A very demanding guest
found the sound of the sea so
irritating he actually asked
Spain’s Gran Hotel Elba Estepo-
na & Thalasso Spa hotel staff if
they could stop it.
Milky bath
This Premier Palace, Ukraine,
guest requested that his bath be
filled with milk, not from any
bottles but from glass bottles in
particular. After several hours of
milk-buying, his request was fi-
nally fulfilled.
Very specific sun angle
A very demanding guest re-
quested a room where the sun
sets at an angle of precisely 45
degrees to the right of the room
window at Honeymoon Petra
Villas in Greece.
Sea-water to go
A distinguished guest asked
for a bucket of sea-water to be
delivered to his room at the Ho-
tel Splendid Conference & Spa
Resort, Montenegro.
It’s too hot
One guest at Villa Padierna
Thermas de Carratraca in Mala-
ga, Spain complained he was so
hot, he demanded that the tem-
perature of the room to be lo-
wered to sub-zero temperatures
just so he could cool off.
Fill the bath up with ice
This Kairaba Beach Hotel,
Africa, guest was so desperate to
cool down that he requested the
bath be filled to the brim with
ice.
Bungee jumping off the top
of the hotel
A lot of people like to visit the
top floor of a luxury hotel to take
in a breath of fresh air and enjoy
the fantastic views. This guest
did just that. But unlike most
people, this daredevil then flung
himself off the top of the Hotel
Barcelona Princess attached to
nothing but an elastic band. ■
ANI

Hindi only please, this is A tribute to Mandela

Jairam Ramesh!
S amajwadi Party chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav’s admonition has
evidently got under Union Minis-
ter Jairam Ramesh’s skin. Having
been asked to speak in Hindi, the
latter stuck to the language for an
entire day. 쒀
Mulayam Singh had asked Ra- France First
mesh to speak in Hindi, saying Lady Carla Bruni
“this is the Lok Sabha, not Lon- performs at
don”. At a press briefing the same Radio City
afternoon, Ramesh - whose Music Hall July
mother tongue is Telugu - started 18 ,2009 for the
reading out long numerals in 91st birthday
Hindi in response to a question concert for
from a journalist in a Hindi new- question in English, and Ramesh Nelson
spaper. immediately responded. "You are Mandela. The
Then he got stuck at the num- from a Hindi newspaper,” he told Nelson Mandela
ber 47. “What’s 47 in Hindi?” Ra- her in the national language, Foundation and
mesh asked the official sitting “Why are you asking a question in 46664 hosted
next to him, quickly adding: “I English? Shall I tell Mulayamji?” the headliner
hope Mulayamji is not listening Taken aback, the journalist event.
in!” could only mutter: “There’s no AFP PHOTO /
A bit later at the same press ban on asking a question in En- TIMOTHY A. CLARY
conference, another journalist glish, is there?” ■
from a Hindi newspaper asked a IANS
08 SPORT ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

SAF TT kicks off

Much against the speculations, Pakistani paddlers will take part in the SAF Table Tennis championships after they
were granted No Objection Certificate (NOC) by their government for the event which kicks off at the Sawai Man
Singh Indoor stadium in Jaipur from Sunday. The Pakistanis, who got their visas at the eleventh hour reached last
night. Meanwhile, India, who topped the previous edition of the tournament, once again starts as firm favourites.

Indian captain
Baichung Bhutia
(second from left)
and other team
members pose with
the trophies at the
Indira Gandhi
International Airport
after coming back
from a successful
SAFF Cup campaign
at Karachi in 2005.
FILE PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

matter. GFA secretary Savio Mes-

sias expressed ignorance about
any such move and said: “The
AIFF had asked the Goa FA if they
were willing to host the SAFF Cup
in Goa. The GFA had agreed to
host the championship. There
has been no further
communication.”
The parent body had also asked
GFA to repair the floodlights at
the Nehru Stadium in Margao
and work on that is also expected
to start soon. “Though the tour-

Dhaka might replace Goa

Visa problems for Pakistani players might lead to the SAFF Cup going from India to Bangladesh
ERGO CORRESPONDENT
feedback@goergo.in
India, which was initially hand-
ed the eight-team South Asian
championship last year, may lose
tion president Kazi Salahuddin
has already welcomed the move
and said the country is ready to
ed that the next SAFF Congress
will be held in October 2009 in
Dhaka, giving a clear indication
nament dates have not been fi-
nalised, we are ensuring every
facility is in place for the mega
event,” Messais said.
Officials at both GFA and AIFF
feel the problem could be sorted
out and with Pakistani paddlers
allowed to travel to Jaipur for the
SAF table tennis championships
things are slated to improve be-
tween the two neighbours.
“Things are looking brighter and I
think by December everything
will calm down and sporting ties

I
ndia may lose their right to
host the 2009 South Asian
Football Federation (SAFF)
championships tentatively
slated to be held in Goa in De-
cember. According to reports
from Asian Football Confedera-
tion (AFC) headquarters in Kuala
Lumpur, a decision in this regard
was taken at its annual Congress
a couple of weeks ago.
out to neighbour Bangladesh be-
cause of external problems. “Goa
was all set to hold the champion-
ship. But after 26/11 there is
some ambiguity about visas be-
ing issued to Pakistani players,”
an AFC official said on condition
of anonymity. “If things don’t im-
prove, AFC and the regional body
will have to take a stand.”
Bangladesh Football Federa-
host South Asia’s biggest football
tournament event at short notice.
But no official directive has been
issued by AFC so far. “There are
some talks going on at the Asian
body. But nothing concrete has
come off yet. We are waiting for
an official word from them,” All-
India Football Federation vice-
president Subrata Dutta said.
But the AFC has already decid-
of their change of stance. Elec-
tions for office-bearers of the
SAFF will be on the agenda be-
sides the development of the
game in the region. Amongst oth-
ers, AFC president Mohammed
bin Hamman is also set to attend
the annual congress.
Meanwhile, the Goa Football
Association – hosts for the event –
expressed their surprise over the
will again be established,” Dutta
said.
India are the most successful
team in the tournament’s history
winning it four times in eight out-
ings since its inception in 1993.
However, their last success came
in 2005 in Pakistan, while in the
last edition at Maldives and Sri
Lanka the favourites were piped
0-1 in the final by Maldives. ■

Somdev shown Vaas to quit Test cricket

the door
Somdev Devvarman’s brilliant run
at the US$ 75,000 ATP Challenger
event was halted by Australian
Chris Guccione, who outplayed the Indian in the straight sets at
Aptos (USA).
The sixth seed Indian lost 2-6, 1-6 in the semi-finals to the big
serving seventh seed. Somdev’s effort was worth 29 ATP
ranking points and US$ 3765 prize money. This is Somdev’s
second best performance of the year after making the final of
the Chennai Open.
Indian challenge also ended in the doubles event with the
defeat of Harsh Mankad and his American partner David
Martin. The second seeded Indo-American pair lost 3-6, 3-6 to
third seed Australians Guccione and Carsten Bell, thus bringing
curtains on the Indian campaign.
PTI
Sri Lanka’s veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas said on Sunday he
will retire from Test cricket after the ongoing Pakistan series,
but will still play limited-overs internationals. “I am officially
retiring from Test cricket after the third Test against
Pakistan, but will continue playing one-day and Twenty20
matches till the 2011 World Cup,” the 35-year-old told
reporters.
The left-armer, however, declined to take questions, saying he would speak at the
conclusion of the third Test which starts at the Sinhalese sports club on Monday. The
110-Test veteran, who had been overlooked for the first two Tests, was drafted in for
the final match despite Sri Lanka having taken a decisive 2-0 lead in the series. Vaas has
claimed 354 wickets at an average of 29.40 since his Test debut against Pakistan at
Kandy in 1994, with 12 five-wicket hauls, and twice took 10 wickets in a match. The
left-hander, who also scored 3,085 Test runs, is only the third Sri Lankan cricketer after
Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan to play more than 100 Tests. He has 400
wickets from 322 one-day internationals, including a hat-trick off the first three balls of
the match against Bangladesh during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
AFP
 Monday, July 20, 2009
09

‘‘
Yes injustices have been done to me but not by all selectors and my nine
times come back to top cricket proved them wrong and every time I had
deserved my place. Legendary cricketer Mohinder Amarnath had made come backs
eight times but I have done for nine times.
Vinod Kambli

Hockey experts raise pitch for

insurance after national keeper
Baljit’s career threatening injury

I
ndian hockey players have always been a
neglected lot when it comes to getting
basic amenities and senior team goal-
keeper Baljit Singh’s career-threatening
eye injury is a wake up call for the adminis-
trators to set things right before it is too late.
In foreign countries insurance cover for
athletes are a must in any contact sport, both
at club and country level, but for Indian
hockey players, it is a distant dream. Howev-
er, 28-year-old Baljit’s injury has united the
hockey fraternity in advocating the need for
insuring players during national duty.
Baljit underwent an emergency eye oper-
ation at AIIMS in Delhi after suffering a rup-
ture in his globe (eye ball) that damaged the
retina, cornea and lens of his right eye after
he was hit by a golf ball during a national
team training camp in Pune.
Sympathising with the Chandigarh keeper,
a senior national team member said it’s high
time the administrators seriously take up the
matter of insuring players. “It’s a grave in-
jury, very bad news for Indian hockey. I wish
to God to give strength to Baljit and his fam-
ily in this hour of crisis,” the player said on
condition of anonymity. “There is no insur-
ance coverage for us when we are in a na-
tional camp or playing in an international
tournament. After Baljit’s incident, I strongly
feel all the players should be insured because
in a contact sport like hockey, anything can
only insured during interna-
tional assignments, provided
the visa rule of the host nation
demands so. “There is no in-
surance coverage for players
during international and do-
mestic events. The players are
insured only during an interna- National
tional tour if the visa rule calls goalkeeper Baljit
for it. But in most of the coun- Singh. PHOTO:
tries it is not necessary,” the coach AKHILESH KUMAR
said. “Hockey can be a risky game,
so I feel the players should be provided
with insurance.”
The coach also cited the example of
India skipper Sandeep Singh’s life-threat-
ening bullet injury before the 2006 Germa-
ny World Cup. Sandeep was accidentally hit
by a bullet while travelling in a train from
Kalka to Delhi to join the World Cup-bound
squad. “See Sandeep’s case, it could
have been more serious. He was hit
by a bullet when he was on the
move to join the national
team. When we leave our
home to join the team
or attend a camp we
are on duty,” the
coach said. {Zsqf}
PTI

Wake
happen on the field.”
He said a few years back, team sponsor
Sahara did come up with the idea of insuring
the players but the plan never materialised.
Olympian Baljit Singh Saini went a step fur-
ther and said all athletes participating at
competitive level should be insured, irre-
spective of the nature of the sport.
“I am not aware if there is any insurance

up call
cover for hockey players. But in my opinion
even if the game is not a contact sport, insur-
ance cover is a must for sportsperson playing
at the competitive level,” said Saini, who rep-
resented India at Atlanta and Sydney
Olympics.
Saini also wished a speedy recovery of Bal-
jit, who according to doctors has very little
chance of regaining full vision. “What hap-
pened is very sad, I wish all the best. Al-
though I have not played enough with him, I
know he is a true gentleman of the game,”
Saini said of his namesake.
The idea of providing an insurance cover
to players also got support from a national
coach, who pointed out that the team was
10 FLICK
Katie Price to adopt an orphan
Katie Price is set to follow in the footsteps of Queen of Pop Madonna by adopting an
orphan to get over her break-up with husband Peter Andre, it has emerged. She
ostensibly told a friend that she hated being pregnant and instead preferred to adopt,
the News of the World reports.
Pregnancy queries
irk Sandra Bullock
A
ctor Sandra Bullock says she is tired of people
asking her why she hasn’t had a baby yet.
Contactmusic.com reports that Bullock,
who married motorbike enthusiast Jesse
James in 2005 and is stepmother to his three chil-
dren – Chandler (15), Jesse Jr. (12) and five-year-
old Sunny – is frustrated with people who keep
asking her why she hasn’t had children of her
own.
She said: “It always seems that people want to
talk about my uterus. I’m not talking about
theirs... Why are they talking about my in-
nards?”
The 44-year-old says she avoided falling
pregnant earlier in her life because she didn’t
want to be a selfish mother.
“I didn’t want to have a child without a part-
ner and I loved kids too much to have them
right then, because I knew that the minute I
have children my life would change. And then
I met Jesse and I went, ‘Wow! There’s that feel-
ing of wanting to procreate because I love so-
meone and I see him to be a good
father,” she said.
Despite not giving birth her-
self, Sandra enjoys the chal-
lenges of looking after her
stepchildren and loves them
as if they are her own.
“A life is a life. Whether
or not it came from your
body should be second-
ary, in my opinion.
If tomorrow I got
home and went, ‘Oh
my gosh, I’m preg-
nant,’ I’d be like,
‘Wow! Isn’t the
universe amaz-
ing?’ But what I
learnt was that
it’s being more
of a parent to
care for a child
that’s not
yours. It’s har-
der,” she told
Britain’s The
Times newspap-
er. ■
IANS
ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009
Jackie Chan floored by
Will Smith’s son
J ackie Chan has heaped praise on Jaden Smith’s
martial arts skills, insisting the youngster’s
dedication for kung fu puts his own son to shame.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s 11-year-old
son has been taking lessons from the action man’s
stunt co-ordinator for his role in Kung Fu Kid, the
forthcoming remake of the 1984 hit The Karate
Kid, reports China Daily.
And Chan has been left wowed by Jaden’s
dedication, after he studied Mandarin to speak
with his teachers and learned the Chinese phrases
for various kung fu moves.
Chan writes on his official webpage, “When he
was thirsty, he gave the traditional hand gesture,
putting one
fist into the
palm of the
other, bowed
and asked
permission to
drink some
water.”
Chan added:
“He put my
son to shame!
I provided my
son with the
best martial
artistes in the
world, and he
could not be
persuaded to
try it. In just
two months,
Jaden had
learned so
much. He is truly a talented boy.
Training in martial arts is hard work. It takes
years to perfect even one punch or kick. Jaden’s
father is a famous celebrity, and Jaden probably
knows he could get away without having to work
very hard. If I couldn’t get my own son to train in
martial arts, how could anybody else succeed?” ■
ANI
Photojournalist after Potter
D aniel Radcliffe is set to play a celebrated
photojournalist who
was killed in Somalia.
The 19-year-old, who
finishes shooting on the
Harry Potter franchise
next year, is determined
to take the part close to
his heart.
He will play the role of
British journalist Dan
Eldon, who was battered
to death in 1993, reports
Contactmusic.
Radcliffe says, “I have a
few projects on the boil,
but the one that I am
really interested in is
based on the real-life
story of a photojournalist, Dan Eldon, who was
only 22 when he was killed by an angry mob in
Somalia in 1993.
He was a really heroic guy and we are just waiting
for the green light on that one. It all depends on
the funding.” ■
ANI
Monday, July 20, 2009
11
Charges against MJ’s ‘murderers’
Police investigating Michael Jackson’s death have reportedly
informed his family that a few people would soon be charged
for playing a role in his sudden demise. The doctors or anyone

Butler’s
else who injected an overdose of heavy-duty painkiller Diprivan
that killed the late singer will be booked and have to face a
criminal trial.

wedding list Cine City

only gets
better
F
ed up with reports that he has been
dating co-star Jennifer Aniston, Scot-
tish actor Gerard Butler has jokingly
said that they are tying the knot soon.
Butler (39) and Aniston (40) are current-
ly filming their new movie The Bounty to-
gether, and when they were spotted
strolling arm-in-arm on a Los Angeles
beach rumours started that they were lov- Proud parents
ers. Actor Narain’s wife, Manju, gave birth to a baby
But when the speculations got a little girl at a hospital in Calicut last Tuesday. The actor
out of hand, Butler lashed out at married Manju, a TV anchor, after courting her for
the media on July 16, brand- a couple of years. Narain said it was a normal
ing the press coverage of delivery and the child weighed 2.8 kg at birth. The
their “romance” ridicu- Anjathey star is currently working in Tamil film
lous. Pookada Ravi and Malayalam film Robinhood.
He has since cooled
down enough to joke
that Aniston is his
soon-to-be bride
during a guest ap-
pearance on U.S.
TV’s The Tonight
Show with Conan
O’Brien.
“We’re very
much in love. Es-
pecially her. I have
an announce-
ment: We’re ac-
tually going to tie
the knot next
Tuesday, or
Wednesday, or
Thursday... one of
those days,” the
Daily Star quoted
him as saying.
“Then Saturday
I may marry Ca-
meron Diaz. Joan
Rivers will be the
next weekend. Then I
fill out applications for
the next one because, you Jeeva’s Hollywood trip
know, all (who) come (are) Actor Jeeva is on a tour aboard and is planning to
welcome,” he said. make a visit to the makeup studios in Hollywood.
But the actor was keen to This is not a fun trip and is part of his homework
make sure that his remarks for his next flick, Singam Puli. The actor, who is
were only taken in jest. donning a double role in the movie, wants to
“It’s not true, just so you differentiate his characters – a hero and a baddie.
know,” he added. ■ So the actor is meeting makeup artistes across the
ANI globe to get the techniques right. The movie will
kick-start once the actor finalises the two looks.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

12 ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

Edwin P.K. from Williams Lea Indian Pvt. Ltd. has nominated his friends Pushpa Vinayagam from Wipro has nominated her team as Partners in
as Partbers in Crime. This pic was clicked at Green Meadows, ECR Road. Crime. This photo was clicked in Elagiri.

Manivannan Santharam from iNautix Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. has Sreemathi from LogicaI has nominated her team as Partners in Crime.
nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked at This photo was taken during a birthday celebration at their office
Sentosa Theme Park, Singapore. premises.

Manoj from Kumaran Systems has nominated his friends as Partners in Karthikeyan from HCL Technologies has nominated his team as Partners
Crime. This picture was clicked during their team outing at a Food Village in Crime. This photo was clicked during their team dinner at Fishermans
Resort. Cove.
 Monday, July 20, 2009
Aarthi from Tata Consul-
tancy Services has been
nominated as Office Angel
by her colleagues of BB&T
team.
Charismatic, naughty,
creative, playful are the
adjectives to define her. She is
a very sportive person and has
also a great helping tendency.
Its always fun to be with her.
She is very good at organizing
team events at office. We are
lucky to have an Angel in our
office.
Suganya
Rajagopalan
of Tata
Consultancy
Services
doodled this.
1) Man -1 : Naan pudhusa oru Paatu ezhutinen
Man -2 : Etha Vechi
Man -1 : Ennoda Penna (Pen) Vechi Thaan
2) Kokku En Otha Kaal la Nikkuthu
Enna innuoru kaala Thookina Kizhe vizhunthudum
3) Teacher is teaching English Grammer about Compound
Sentence in his Class, After teaching he asked a student to state
any compound sentence
Student replied: Stick no bills
Jayaraman V., HCL Technologies Limited
■ Dear Vasu (Anni),
Iniya Piranthanal Nalvazhthukkal...
Indru Pol Endrum Punnagaiyodu
Iruppayaga... May this day bring you
endless happiness and may GOD
shower all blessings on you...
Ippadiku, Aarthy, Lavanya,
Girija & ANNAN, FSS.
■ Dear Kumar,
Belated birthday wishes to you!!
May God’s blessings be with you all
through you life!!
Wishing you all fun and happiness!!!
Friends, New Age Software
and Solutions. Ashok Nagar.
■ Hi Lakshmipriya
"WISH YOU MANY MANY HAPPY
RETURNS OF THE DAY",Be happy
always and we all wish that all your
dreams come true.Keep smiling
always.
From, All the freshers
of TCS Bancs
■ Dear Vasumathi
Because time itself is like a spiral,
something special happens on your
birthday each year:
The same energy that God invested
in you at birth is present once again.
Wishing you many Happy Returns of
the Day.
From, Projects Team Chennai
Financial Software & Systems (P) Ltd
■ Hi Praveen (funniest rocker)
Every year, on your birthday,
I think about how glad I am
that you were born, how thankful
I am to have you in my life.
Every year is another year filled with
the special joys you bring just by
being yourself.
Every year, when you open your
birthday gifts, realize what a gift you
are to everyone who knows you,
especially me. Happy Birthday!
By, SERENA DSOUZA
KUWAIT & ALLY
■ Hi praveen
We wish u many more happy returns
of the day. May GOD bless you.
Keep smiling and rocking always...
By, Gershom, Srini, Kevin, James,
Vandana, ATG rockers-vinoth,
Ragu, Prakash, Sushma, Serena,
Rafiya, Saipratha, Mala, Prathiba, Ramya
(Team ATG), Allsec Technologies.
■ Dear Prince,
In this world, where everything
seems uncertain, only one thing is
definite. You’ll always be our friend,
beyond words, beyond time and
beyond distance.
Happy Birthday!
By, Aby, shibin, Meril and Shaiju.
Sutherland Global Service
13
Belated Wishes
■ Hi Priya Akka, (Vel Tech- Bus No 14
– Kodambakkam Meera Jasmine)
Wish u Many More Happy Returns of
the Day.Wishing u a lot of Happy,
Good Health, Success in ur Future
endeavor. May all ur Dreams come to
live in Upcoming Days. Enjoy ur day
with Fun & Color.
With Love, Kavitha.S, Infosys
■ Dear Sasi,
Belated Happy Birthday Wishes. May
all your dreams come true and this
be another fantastic year for you.
With lots of love MIS TEAM, TCS e-Serve
■ Dear Sri Lakshmi Sahith,
It must have been a rainy day when
u were born, but it was not really
raining,the sky was crying becoz it
lost his beautiful son. Wish u a
wonderful & splendid Happy
Birthday.
With Love, TCS-IRA Team
■ Dear Bineesh,
On UR birthday we wish U much
pleasure and joy; We hope all UR
wishes come true , Special people like
you deservers the best that each day
can bring, Many more happy returns
of the day & May God bless you
forever.
With Best wishes from, Anoop Nair,
Mithun.V & From TEAM TTSL ABU KL
Circle, Allsec Technologies Ltd.
■ Dear Uma Sankar and
Mohammed Faizan,
Wishing you a belated birthday and
throughout the coming year. May
your spirit keep the freedom
of a butterfly in spring, and may your
heart be filled always with the joys
of simple things. May your essence
claim the freshness of the new laid
morning dew. All of this... and
more... is our Birthday wish for you.
With Cheerz,
Jesi, Gaja, Gayu, Gow, Suvi, Buvi,
Saran, Pros, Prem, Paul, Srini, Ravi, PV,
Nazir, Marjook, Sankar G, John, Bala,
Ganesh, Gokul, Raj, Senthil, Ismail
■ Dear Sathya,
Happy Belated Birthday Wishes... We
missed the day, but our good wishes
are for you always :)
With loadz and cartz of luv & luc from,
Team Worldsource, TCS
■ Dear Vinoth Babu
"Count your life by smiles, not tears.
Count your age by friends, not
years." "May the years continue to
be good to you. Many More Happy
Returns Of The Day!!!!
Wishes from, MCSD & MTMD Team
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

Car driven into train tunnel

A German man accidentally drove his car 200
metres into a train tunnel before he realised
he was no longer on the motorway.

sudoku

Balakrishnaraja
from Cognizant
Technology
Solutions shot
this picture at
Cowy in Wales.
Camera used
Canon A610.
Hobbies:
Photography,
sketching and
blogging

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the
KAKURO
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the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Monday, July 20, 2009
15
Dogs to catwalk Word’s worth
A company in Taiwan has put on a pooch Chiliad (kill-ee-ad) a group of a
catwalk show - with dogs wearing a special thousand things, especially a period of
canine swimsuit range and evening wear. a thousand years.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

You may lose some valuable time due to your
inattentiveness at work. This waste of time may
affect your efficiency. Ganesha advises you to slow
down and not exert too much pressure on yourself.
Things will get better on the latter half of the day.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

Haste makes waste. Hence, Ganesha suggests that
you look before you leap. The best way out is to
deal with things things one at a time. In the
evening, you will have a wonderful time with your
darling. Don’t rush into doing something stupid.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You have been wrecking your head over a few
BORN LOSER problems for quite a while now. Don’t lose hope,
be a little patient and everything will fall into place.
Ganesha advises you to stop thinking about the
troubles in your life.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Ganesha observes that you will waste precious
moments on pointless debates and conversations.
This may also lead to frustration. Exercise a little
patience. Empathising with your partner’s feelings
will create better understanding between the two.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
A busy day ahead. You will be on your toes for the
entire day. You will remain occupied with work and
there’s not much you can do about it. Lovers will
be in an adventurous mood and may go out to
some unusual destination.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
You may be very vocal at office today. Ganesha
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT finds you offering suggestions to all those around
you. Make sure rejection of your viewpoint by
others does not upset you. Be attentive at work and
finish it as per schedule.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Ganesha envisions a taxing and frenzied day ahead.
You will need to do the relaxation exercises before
the day begins and after it ends. But it’s not just
work that will keep you occupied. There is a lot of
socialising and networking involved.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
You will be lively and full of energy throughout the
day. Ganesha notes that you will experience a
strong ardor to excel in all spheres of life. Being
hasty may pose a few problems and you need to
pay attention to your personal life.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
An uneventful day ahead. Your performance will be
at its peak at work, and deadlines will be met. But
besides that there is little to mention. A good time
to spend with family and friends. Arrange a small
get-together to brighten up the day.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Professional and personal life both demand
undivided attention today. You will feel the heat
and will struggle between the unfair demands of
both. But being practical and prioritising things will
solve most of your problems.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS You have a wonderous day ahead of you. Progress
and an amazing sense of fulfilment awaits you. You
ISSUE’S will succeed as well as excel in everything that you
take up today. Romance is in the air and you will
SOLUTIONS thoroughly enjoy yourself in every aspect.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
You will be able to avail new opportunities to
expand your knowledge and familiarize yourself with
innovative things. You will be motivated to enhance
your skills. Ganesha finds you in a lively mood all
through the day.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Monday, July 20, 2009

A Florida Marlins
Mermaid dances
prior to the
groundbreaking
ceremony for the
In this handout photo provided by the US State Florida Marlins
Department, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton baseball team’s
and Bollywood actor Aamir Khan arrive at St. new stadium on
Xavierâs college to speak at an event dedicated July 18, 2009 in
to education and community service in Mumbai Miami, Florida. The
on July 18, 2009. AFP PHOTO park is scheduled
to open in 2012
and the team
intends to change
its name to the
Miami Marlins
prior to the
completion of the
ballpark.
AFP PHOTO

Sebastian
Bachmann of
Germany (L)
competes against
Richard Kruse of
Great Britain (R)
during their men’s
team foil bronze
medal match at
the European
Fencing
Malaysian Pandelela Rinong Pamg competes Championship in
during the diving Women’s 10m final on July 18, Plovdiv on
2009 at the FINA World Championships in Rome. Saturday. Italy
The 13th FINA World Championships takes place won the gold. AFP
from July 17 to August 2, 2009. PHOTO / DIMITAR
AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU DILKOFF