ergo november 21

8/14/2019 Ergo November 21

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Friday, November 21, 2008A BYTE OF LIFE

ONE, TWO BUCKLE MY SHOE

The simple but fashionable canvasfootwear for Chennaiites

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 222

Review

Yuvvraaj is a damp squib

1008

Ergo looks at Corporate Indias new-found formula of employees sabbaticalsand profiles some places you can opt for. PAGE 4 & 5

Spirit of ServiceSpirit of Service


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ERGO Friday, November 21, 2008

Namma Chennai

02

South East Asian fareThai chicken with coconut milk soup, Vietnamese fish inlemongrass sauce, Burmese lamp...whats cooking here?A South East Asian food festival, with chef Kroongthanaflown in from Thailand, is on at Rain Tree.When: November 21 to 30

Where: Lemongrass, Rain Tree HotelThe buffet dinner is priced at Rs. 750 + taxesFor reservation call 4225 2525

Crowning momentsThe Femina Miss India pageant is back. The 2008-09 season rolls out withPantaloons Femina Miss India South 2009. The winner of the South pageantstands to get a direct entry into the top 10 finalists of the Pantaloons FeminaMiss India 2009 pageant scheduled to take place in April 2009.When: Audition on November 24Where: Pantaloons Store; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.For further information log on to or http://fmi.idiva.com/ or email yourqueries to [email protected]

She...Womanhood these days iscelebrated in different forms,beauty, mother and childrelationship, successful homemanager, etc. LifeCell Internationalis organising the Future MomsContest. Moms to be can alsoparticipate for the contest. Theevent is being conducted as part ofMrs Chennai 2008 contest.When: December 4Last date for receipt of entries isNovember 25.

Going nutsover coffeeDo you always need a reason tospring a surprise? At least notBaristas new range Nuts aboutcoffee, a delicious range ofcoffees with nuts and an incredibledose of sinful chocolate. Hazelnutsand almonds combine with coffeeshot and cold, adding a rich taste.Where: All Barista outlets

When: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Film fiestaIn celebration of the 52nd anniversary of The Madras FilmSociety, an Italian Film Festival is being organised inassociation with Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce andIndustry and ICA Foundation.When: November 22 to 27; 6.30 p.m.Where: Film Chamber Theatre, Gemini Circle

For further information contact 2495 8691

Rising rhythmInterior designer Lahira isshowcasing her acrylic works.Her collection of abstracts artworks are inspired by apassion for music like thebeat of ones heart, thechords repetitive with thepitch and tone rising andfalling, awakening and

energising ones senses.When: November 22 to 30Where: Tangerine, No 5,Murrays Gate Road, AlwarpetPh: 24355834 / 42110888

Contest

Food

Food

Art

Movies

Contest


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Friday, November 21, 2008

T

here are few places in theworld that offer as much in-

spiration as the East SideGallery in Berlin a 1.3-ki-

lometer-long remnant of the erst-while Berlin Wall that in the

December of 1989 became thecanvas for 106 contemporary art-ists to display their interpretationof freedom. It was poignant jus-tice to a construction that cameto exist to divide the people.

But the worlds largest open airgallery has deteriorated over thepast decade.

BO Shailesh, a contemporaryartist from the Cholamandal Vil-lage, who was in Berlin thisMarch, was so moved at seeingthe art work and its stage of dete-rioration that he decided that he

would not relegate it to being justa memory. Instead, he has put to-gether an art installation, com-bining panaromic photographsof the gallery as well as his owninterpretations on canvas.

It is important for artists toshare with others what they havelearnt by way of their overseastravel, he says. When an artisttravels, he has a dialogue with theplace he is visiting. These are myinterpretations of what I felt.

Shailesh was in Lyon, Franceearlier this year to receive theS.L.B.A. award when he decidedto travel to Berlin and some othercities in Europe. I had a fascina-tion for museums that took me tovarious cities, including Amster-dam and Berlin. Though I visitedmany places, it was my visit to theEast Side Gallery that reallymoved me.

To Shailesh, the East Side Gal-lery epitomises the spirit of Ger-man expressionism but feels sadthat it is slowly but surely fallingaway. You cannot even see someof the art works anymore. Thereis a lot of punk graffiti on that andthe wall itself is crumbling slowly.It is entirely possible that in tenyears time the gallery itself willnot remain. Which is why I decid-ed to photograph as the gallery asextensively possible.

The photo installation at theGoethe Institute, Shailesh prom-

ises, is as close an experience of

the gallery one can get away fromthe original. And his own set piec-es for the installation bear the Ta-mil words Naan (me). There arealso some of this own grafitti onit, including a reference to a pop-ular students movement.

On the floor of the hall, I findmy own favourite art work fromthe East Side Gallery. The East

German mural of the famous

Brotherly Kiss between formerUSSR leader Leonid Brezhnevand East German President ErichHonecker on the occasion ofGDRs 30th anniversary. Just for amoment, good memories of Ber-lin come rushing back. In case

you have visited Berlin, I wouldrecommend dropping by at theGoethe Institute to feel that rush.

Cholamandal artist BO Shaileshs was so moved by hisexperience at the East Side Gallery in Berlin that he did notwant to relegate it to being just a memory

KARTHIK SUBRAMANIAN

[email protected]

Artist Shailesh BO with his art works at Goethe Institute.

PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

The wall of

inspiration

Our music has flavour of mainstreamGerman pop. We will play punk rock,classical rock mixed with pop music,say the young and upcoming German

rock band Nulltarif.The band is all set for its first-ever South Asian

tour. The poppy punk rock specialist will per-form in nine cities.

The four-member band from Stuttgart areahas performed over 200 concerts in Germany.

We are looking forward to our South-Asiantour. The people here are friendly and helpfuland we hope that we take back great memories,says With Jules, vocalist and guitarist.

Bollywood seems to be a hit with people world-wide including this German rock band.We are a big fan of Bollywood. It is very popularin Germany and we would love to meet somestars during our tour, smiles Jules.

The band has With Jules and Danny (vocalistsand guitarists), Denis Bass and Tobi (drums). Ev-ery song of theirs is different from another interms of the mood and meanings sometimes itis melancholic, humorous or sometimes with apinch of self-irony The Nultarifs tour to India is apart of the German Foreign Ministrys global ini-tiative called Schools: Partners for the Future. Itaims to develop a network around 1000 partnerschools worldwide, to promote young createawareness and inculcate interest and enthu-siasm for modern Germany and German society.

Our songs are in German but we will com-municate through our music. Regardless of thelanguage barrier, our music makes things mucheasier, adds Jules.

Nulltarif will perform on November 22 at Mu-seum Theatre, Egmore at 6.30 p.m. Entry is free.

Vipasha Sinha

We will, we will rock you


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Big Story04

explain the reason behind thepolicy: Very often employees

who may want to participate insocial action initiatives hold back

because of various commitments work, family, financial commit-ments etc. Through this policyInfosys will accept requests fromup to 50 employees who will besupported by the company finan-cially. Post the period the em-ployees will return to the regular

job structure.HCL Technologies also sends

employees on a paid leave on avoluntary basis; it has not intro-duced any formal structure aboutsabbaticals though.

Ma Foi had five of its em-ployees deputed for its social

wing the Ma Foi Foundation. Air India also came up with a

slightly different sabbatical pro-

G

lobal recession, pink slips,

cost-cutting measures corporate India is certainlynot in the pink of health

these days.But there are also things that

are happening against the run ofplay. Some software engineersare handing over files, clearingtheir desks and moving out toowillingly. They are on a break

from regular office chores to pur-sue whatever dreams they have inreaching out through social caus-es.

India Inc is warming up to thepossibility of sending its em-ployees on paid leave for a con-siderably long duration in a bid toboth hone their leadership skills

and also to allow them to pursuetheir passion something that

will ultimately help retain them.Infosys Technologies has seen

a tremendous response to its re-cent sabbatical initiative.On October 1, 2008, the IT ma-

jor introduced a new policy, whe-rein its associates could go asabbatical for community servicefor a period of six months to one

year. Fifty employees are to be se-lected by a panel of seniors forthe paid leave, where Infosys willpay 50 per cent of the individualssalary.

A voluntary initiative whereemployees, who have involved insome kind of social work, will begiven preference for a philan-thropic work he wants to take up.

Nandita Gurjar, vice-presidentand group head HRD, Infosys,

gramme, which is still under con-sideration, where staff involvedin non-operational work get be-tween two and five years off from

their job.Unlike Indian companies, sab-batical, or extended paid leaves,have always been a trend amonginternational organisations. Byencouraging employees to go onleave, companies show that theycare about the employees needs,as the break sometimes providedemployees an opportunity to es-cape from workplace pressures.

Companies least preferred tolay-off its workers, Ma Foi said ina recent survey.

Social callingSocial organisations are seeing

an opportunity in the presentscenario. iVolunteer, an initiative

of MITRA a not-for-profit onisation working in the sosector, for example, launcheIndia Fellow Professional

gramme, to enable professioto work with NGOs and cmunities across India.

We target employees whoplanning to take a break bemoving to a new organisatisays Rahul Nainwal, director,TRA.

Now with corporate opeup to the possibilities of sentheir employees on a sabbatthey iVolunteer plans have

with Infosys, HP and Citi Grto take it as an opportunity tvest in their staff.

We only want employees are interested in offering theiputs for the development of rsectors, says Rahul.

Sabbaticals are a good grooming exercise and an attractiveoption to retain talent. But is Corporate Inc. ready?

LIFFY THOMAS

[email protected]

On a break!On a break!


5/24


A

s a youngster I did not give seriousthoughts to my career. Most friends

were looking at engineering or medicineas career options. Having joined thebandwagon, I considered myself lucky to getadmission to a premier engineering college,and subsequently get placed in the manufac-turing sector.

Work made me reflect a lot on what I wasdoing, and where life was supposedly takingme. The more I thought about it, the more Ifelt that working with machines was not mycall. I wanted to do something that wouldleave me with a sense of fulfilment.

On impulse, I decided to kick the job. I trieda stint as a part-time teacher in schools and itleft me with a profound sense of grief and

yearning. Grief, that the future generation wasbeing put through mindless things in thename of education, and yearning, to see how Icould make a change. I was beginning to real-ise that education is where I could contributemeaningfully, and hope for a lasting change.

It was entirely by accident that at that pI came across EZ Vidya. I decided to give

shot. The passion that the members herepecially its founder Ms. Chitra Ravi, exudethe initial days was palpable. It has almbeen three years now, and I havent looback. We work with schools, both urbanrural, with a desire and commitment to bmeaningful change.

The remunerations may not be as lucraas some of the conventional jobs, but theof watching educators reflect, and attempchange is incomparable to anything tang

People tell me I wasted my engineering cation, but I believe the sound logic thacourse built in me, is only helping me with

work. We have a long way to go, and I belwe will, for the drive comes mostly from win, with willing support from all membethe organisation, and of course, my fami

(Balasubrahmanian S works as senior man

- Trg. & Dev with EZ V

You can email him at bala@ezvidya.

A short narrative of how an individual decidedto give up a conventional job for analternate career option

A sabbatical for life

AssociationforSustainable

Community

Development

(ASSCOD)Your role: Train

field staff

oncomputers,partnerinfield

programmes

Duration:3to6months

Website:www.asscod.org

Email: [email protected]

(Attn:Loganathan)

iVolunteerYour Role: Ifyou have skills in

web

designing, marketing, marketresearch,

business development,consulting, film-

making, data management,proposal

writing, banking, its India Fellowship

Programmepromises toenrichyou with

anewexperience.

Duration: 3 to6 months

Website:

www.ivolunteer.in/professional

Email: [email protected]

DHAN FoundationYour Role: Urbanisation,Infrastructure facilitiesDuration:1 to6monthsWebsite:

www.dhanfoundation.orgEmail:[email protected](Attn:Uma Rani, programmeleader)

Hand in HandYour Role: Website man-

agement, database man-agement, MIS, settingextranet

Duration: 6 months to 1year

Website:www.hihseed.org

Email:[email protected]

Akshara FoundationYourRole:Ifyourskills as softwareengineer, tech-nologymarketing, etc.match with theirrequirementthen there is nothing like sharing your knowledgehere.Duration:MinimumofoneyearWebsite: www.aksharafoundation.orgEmail: [email protected] (Attn: Su-zanne)(Pleasemail themandcheck ifyour skillsmeet theirrequirements.Also, some of theseprogrammesofferaccommodation, travel expenseandamonthly stipend)

NOTICE BOARD


6/24


Village06

No kissing pleaseThe decision by a headmaster in Austria to ban kissing from his school made front-page news onThursday as outraged pupils and politicians slammed the move as medieval and excessive.Siegfried Biermair, the head of a school in Gunskirchen, Upper Austria, sent a letter to parents on

Monday informing them of the kissing ban after teachers complainedthat the kissing rituals of some girls were getting out of hand.Instead of simply greeting each other with a light peck on the cheeksbetween lessons, some 14-year-olds had taken to theatrically falling intoeach others arms and kissing each other on the mouth, sometimes veryintimately and for many minutes, Biermair complained.However, the move was immediately slammed as ridiculous andexcessive, not only by pupils, but by politicians as well.

AFP

Rahman to sing election tuneThe electoral office in the national capital is trying to ropein playback singer A.R. Rahman to educate people aboutthe benefits of elections and improve voter turnout for theNovember 29 assembly election.Rahman has already given us permission to use one of hiscompositions for our awareness campaign. Now we aretrying to rope him in personally to campaign for us andtell people to come out and vote, said Satbir Silas Bedi,

chief electoral officerof Delhi.The electoral office isusing one ofRahmanscompositions, Pappucant dance fromthe Bollywood movieJaane Tu Ya JaaneNa for creating TV,

radio and print addsto encourage votersto cast their ballots.The campaign aimsat creating awarenessamong 12 differentsegments of peoplewho generally dontvote.

IANS

Hugh Jackman is the

Sexiest Man AliveThe 40-year-oldAustralian actor HugeJackman has beenvoted as Sexiest ManAlive for 2008 byPeople magazine.The actor beat JamesBond star DanielCraig to the top spot.Jackman also eclipsedstars like Brad Pitt,Zac Efron and DanielCraig for the number

one spot on a list byPeople magazine.The other Britisherswho have made tothe list are SimonCowell, race-car driveLewis Hamilton,football star DavidBeckham and TV chefGordon Ramsay.

PTI

Britains secret service wantsmore Black and Asian spies.But wannabe 007s needntapply.

The head of recruitment at MI6,Britains external spying agency,says the service needs to be moreflexible, more adaptable, after

years of a rather comfortablecold war existence, the Guardiannewspaper reported on Thursday.

The man was identified as John.MI6 has placed adverts in publi-

cations aimed at ethnic minoritiesfor several years, but broke thetradition on Wednesday by invit-ing Black and Asian people tomeet with serving intelligenceofficers.

This was the first time in its 99-year history that it had taken a di-

rect approach to recruitment, thepaper said.Ten per cent of the services lat-

est fast-track intake of high fliers was from ethnic minorities, and35 per cent were women, but it

wants to increase the number.

The high fliers will be trainegather intelligence and recruitrun agents abroad. However, wnabe James Bonds have beennot to bother applying.

John said MI6 needed pewith discretion, people who good at sustaining relationsand who could recruit andpeople as spies.

We are not looking for a JaBond - people jumping out of dows, running around disobeorders, drinking dry marclutching women and figuns, explained Catherineagent.

Although the job might sdangerous, in general it wasshe added.

We are not looking fora James Bond - people

jumping out ofwindows, runningaround disobeyingorders, drinking drymartinis, clutching

women and firing guns

Asian in Britain? You can be aspy

New HP trailer todayA new trailer on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a film on the famous boy wizards sixthyear at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will go online on Friday with a whole lot

of new characters and a love-struck Ron Weasely. The release of the new satellite trailer followslast months international teaser that previewed the forthcomingfilm which was scheduled to be released by Warner Bros onNovember 21 but got postponed to July 17, next year, according to astatement. Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle andwizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it oncewas. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, butDumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battlethat he knows is fast approaching.

PTI

Websites of the dayBreak a World record:www.guinnessworldrecords.comGet a Geordie accent:www.wikihow.com/Talk-Like-a-Geordieal


7/24


A

new Canadian study showsthat paying too much per-formance-related incentive

may not get you the topperformance.

Citing studiesdone in India andthe US, Canadianuniversity research-ers in behaviouraleconomics warnthat employers hop-ing to get the bestout of their em-ployees with highsalaries may actual-ly be helping themto do worse.

If the paymentsare too high, theymay backfire, saidNina Mazar, study co-author and

Toronto University marketingprofessor.I dont think people realise

that there is a threshold, she wasquoted as saying in a statement

by the university.She said a moderate hike in in-

centives improved performance

of participants doing tasks re-quiring creativethinking, problem-solving or memoryskills. But once theincentives crossed acertain threshold,they did not performas well and justchoked.

What we were re-ally surprised by isthat it didnt matter

what kind of task assoon as it involvedeven a little bit ofcognition, very highincentives did not

work, said Mazar.

However, performance-relatedincentives seemed to work very

well in tasks that were purely roteand mechanical, according to thestudy.

In the experiments (whichform the basis of the study), par-ticipants were given games toplay, anagrams to solve, addingtasks and jobs involving pressing

keys.One such experiment was con-

ducted in rural India where par-ticipants were offered highfinancial incentives of up to half a

years income on a modest re-search budget, the statementsaid.

Another experiment was con-ducted on American university

students at the end of an aca-demic term, when they were lowon funds and thus more respon-sive to financial incentives.

But there was no difference in

the findings in the differentperiment settings, Mazar sai

There is evidence from chology that too high levelstimulation can harm pe

mance. We show that a similalationship can be found financial incentives and pemance, she said.

Yes. Thats what a recentstudy has to say aboutperformance-related incentives

Too many incentives spoil the employer

Its a revolution! Nearly two mil-lion students pursuing educa-

tion in the Indira GandhiNational Open University (IG-NOU) across India and abroadwill soon be able to choose theirexamination date.

No stress, no fixed exam date.Students can walk in to examina-tion leaving behind stress, ten-sion or fear, IGNOU spokesmanRavi Mohan said on Thursday.

Walk-in-examination wouldgive learners the liberty to decidethe dates of exams as per theirown suitability and convenience,thus lowering the exam pressureon them and thereby bringingdown the percentage of failures,he added. The varsity, which haspresence in over 35 countriesacross the globe, said that underthe scheme, students, instead ofwaiting for the six-monthly termend examination, could simply

walk into any identified test cen-tres of the university. The results

would be processed on a monthlybasis.

The flexible examination pat-tern will reduce the possibility ofmalpractices in the examina-tions, as each student will get adifferent set of question papersand examinations will be con-ducted with camera surveillance.

Registration of students, allot-ment of the dates and the issue ofhall ticket to the examinees forthe walk-in examination wouldbe done online.

Authorities said initially select-ed regional centres of the univer-sity would conduct the

walk-in-examination once a week- Sunday. The frequency of con-duct of walk-in-exam may be in-creased in future depending onthe need.

IANS

Choose your examdate at IGNOU

Some 2,000 South Korean housewives make 140 tons of kimchi, a traditionalKorean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish, in a park outside themetropolitan government building in Seoul on Thursday. City officials will handout kimchi to about 13,000 poor households in an event marking the start of thewinter season. AFP PHOTO

The big, fat kimchi feast

Skull therapyAn oversize skull with a built-in sauna is turning heads inthe Austrian capital. The white walk-in structure - situatednear a busy Vienna intersection - is known as the "WellnessSkull" and also boasts a bathtub and shower.

If thepaymentsare toohigh, theymaybackfire


8/24


Technorama

08

Seeing doubleNEW SONY CAMERAS OFFER SLIM

BODIES. AND FAT STORAGE.

Sonys latest Cyber-shot is the slimmestcamera ever with a 4x optical zoom. TheT77 (front) is just 15mm thick -thats just a little thicker than aCD album case. Its packing tenmegapixels, as is the T700,which is slightly portlier,

but has 4GB of storagebuilt in - enough for upto 40,000 pics. Bothcome in a range ofcolours and have greatextras such as SmileShutter, which fires off ashot when it sees a smile (sonot much use in the local trains).Both are very sexy indeed, we trustyoull agree.

T77 Rs 15,990, T700 TBC, www.sony.co.in

PSP 2Sonys next

incarnation of thePSP should be landing

here soon. Expect thePSP-3000 to have a betterscreen, offering improved imagequality and crisper colours withmore definition in natural light.GTA: Chinatown Wars while

sunningourselves in the park? Yes please. Itll alsohave a built-in microphone to use withGo! Messenger and Skype.

TBC, www.playstation.com

Snippets sourced

from T3 Magazineof Infomedia 18

Group

Touch the tubeNOKIAS 58OO TOUCHES OUR

HEARTS

Codenamed Tube, Nokias newest all-screen and (mostly) buttonless wonderNokia 5800 XpressMusic is not aniPhone-killer! Thats because we

presume the Finnish manufacturer iswise enough to lay off a year and a halfold design and instead cough up ablower thats compelling in its ownright. And by golly, they seem to havedone it! Spec-wise, this music phone is awireless fi end and comes with WiFi,HSDPA and Bluetooth 2.0. Theres also8-gigs of storage and a 3.2-megapixelshooter. The 640x360 3.2inch screen israther pixelicious too and handwritingsupport is the icing on the cake. Wordon the street goes that its easy on thewallet too.

TBC, www.nokia.co.in

Kick-asswatchThis piece is

used by the SAS,hence the logo.

Theres a limited runof 300 Chronofighter

Oversize Commanders,they feature a carbonbezel and carbon fibredial. The trigger on theside that looks like a handgrenade pin doesnt blowanything up,disappointingly; it starts

the stopwatch. Its so bigbecause in war, accuratelap timings are veryimportant.

Rs 5,00,000*, www.graham

london.com

THE NOKIA TOUCH

Nokias 58OO touches our hearts.

The media bar provides direct access

to entertainment, while the contacts

bar lets you highlight four favourite

contacts on the home screen


9/24


Microsoft Corp Chief Exec-utive Steve Ballmer ruledout an acquisition of Ya-hoo Inc on Wednesday

but said his company was inter-ested in resuming talks on a Websearch partnership.

Yahoo shares fell 19 percent onthe remarks, after gaining thisweek on renewed investor hopesthat Microsoft may refresh its bid

for the Internet company afterYahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yangannounced that he would stepdown.

Let me be as clear as I think

Ive tried to be publicly. We aredone with all acquisition discus-sions with Yahoo, Ballmer toldMicrosofts annual shareholdersmeeting, in response to a ques-tion on what was happening with

Yahoo.Ive said that a bunch of times.

Somehow some people have got-ten confused nonetheless, Ball-mer added. We thought we had

something that made sense. (It)didnt make sense to them. Wevemoved on.

Microsoft withdrew its $47.5billion buyout offer for Yahoo in

May after Yang and his board re- jected the bid as too low. Thesoftware company then offered tobuy Yahoos search business, but

Yahoo decided instead to sign asearch advertising deal with Goo-gle Inc. The Google deal has sincefallen apart, after oppositionfrom U.S. antitrust regulators

who were concerned about an al-liance between the Webs two

biggest search companies.Microsoft has said that it was

still interested in pursuing asearch deal with Yahoo, and Ball-mer reiterated that on Wednes-

day. Theres no active discussionon that front. But wed be veryopen to it. But acquisition discus-sions are finished, he said.

At the meeting, which wasbroadcast over the Internet, Ball-mer told shareholders that whilethe worlds biggest software mak-er is seeing growth in all of itsbusiness groups, it is not im-mune to the tough economic cli-

mate.He repeated that Microsoft is

looking for areas to cut costs, in-cluding hiring, which points tomuch, much slower growth ... in

head count for the remaindethis financial year and I susinto next financial year.

However, investment insearch and development wcontinue, Ballmer said.

Microsoft, the worlds larsoftware maker with more 91,000 employees worldwidebeen on a hiring spree, admore than 20,000 employee

the last two years.Shares of Yahoo fell 19 per

to $9.38, while Microsoft shwere down 3 percent at $18.9

Re

Microsoft

RULES OUT BUYING

Yahoo

LiveJournal.com, the SanFrancisco-based global

blogging platform,marked the next phase oftheir development in In-dia by launching a num-ber of new India-focusedcommunities designed toprovide forums for in-formed and intelligent us-er-generated content.

LiveJournal unveiledbrand new India com-munities on cinema andsport respectively:

1. India Movies, whichaims to bring leadingvoices from the movie In-dustry, critics and fans to-

gether on one commonforum. The communitycan be found online here:http://india_movies.

livejournal.com/2. India Sport a new

community, which willshare Indian sport in all itsdimensions. The commu-nity can be found onlinehere: http:// india sport.livejournal.com/ Thesenew projects build uponon earlier LiveJournal ini-tiatives in India that fo-cused on writing, travel,Bollywood and US elec-tions.

PTI

Livejournal.comlaunches newcommunities

Interactive Toy

Japans toy giant Bandaiemployee Hajime Kondosticks his finger into the boxfrom a small hole "Tuttukibako", which has a LCDdisplay showing his virtualfinger and another object to

interact with such as a humanface animation, a pandaclutching a ball or a karate-practicing stickman at thecompanys headquarters inTokyo. Bandai, whichintroduced the toy in Japanon November 15 for theChristmas shopping season,aims to sell 100,000 unitsby the March.AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO


10/24


BackPackers

10

My wife and I decided to makea five-day road trip to see whatthe fuss was all about, focusingon two regions with growing rep-utations in the beer world: Pied-

mont, along Italys Frenchborder, and, next-door, Lombar-dy, which borders Switzerland.Most travellers would probably

want to start in Milan, Lombar-dys capital and the heart of theregions beer scene.

Birrificio Italiano

We reached our first brew pub,Birrificio Italiano, in the smalltown of Lurago Marinone. Thepubs legendary beers hadbrought tourists from around the

world to the glorious Alpine foot-hills minutes from the shore ofLake Como.

We celebrated our arrival witha couple of the brewerys pilsner-style beers, a ubiquitous, often-overlooked style that BirrificioItalianos brewmaster, Agostino

H

alfway through our six-course tasting menu of re-

gional Piemontese cuisine,the sommelier arrivedwith a special beverage to accom-pany the plate of raviolini stuffed

with local pumpkin andasparagus.

I think this will go well, be-cause it matches the sweetness ofthe pumpkin, he said, settingdown a glass not of wine, but ofslightly oxidized golden ale,which, he explained, had been

fermented with wine yeast andhad spent four years aging in thebottle.

Strange combination A cold beer might seem like a

strange pairing for traditional Ita-lian cuisine, especially in theheart of wine-loving Piedmont,

but the entire meal that night wasbased on local brews, and thesommelier himself was Teo Mus-so, a brewmaster with near-rock-star status in the Italian culinary

scene.Through his artful small brew-ery, Le Baladin, Musso hashelped bridge the worlds of craftbeer and fine dining, ensuringthat fine beers have a large pres-ence in Eataly, Turins high-endsupermarket, and founding hisown beer-themed restaurant andhotel, Casa Baladin, where my

wife and I stayed one night thisspring.

Craft beer

Around Italy, a craft beer scenehas sprung up, bringing well-made specialty brews into hautecuisine dining rooms and elevat-ing the fare served in brew pubs,creating an attractive destinationfor beer lovers who also love greatfood.

Arioli, has attempted to redeem with hoppier, more flavourfulversions, travelling to Germany toselect his own hops.

Lambrate

Milan has a growing reputationfor beer lovers, in part owing to whats said to be the citys firstbrew pub, Lambrate, with itsbrewmaster, Fabio Brocca.

Lambrates Ghisa smokedstout is the 180-degree oppositeof the gassy, golden lagers thatdominate Italys industrial beerproduction -- hefty and malty

with a clean, dry finish followedby a lingering smoky note.

Grado Plato

In Piedmont, in the village ofChieri, near Turin, we found ournext brewery, Birrificio GradoPlato, and sampled the brewpubs line of beers and its uniqueculinary specialty: snails.

After a drive past blossomingmagnolias, terraced hillside vine-

yards and hazelnut orchardsfound Piozzo, a village celebrfor just two things: an anpumpkin festival on the first day in October, and the Bal

brew pub on the towns msquare.Casa Baladin

Across from the brew pubCasa Baladin, a slick new hand restaurant with a cascum-clubhouse feel, where

wine-free dinner started off an aperitif of Baladins own hcider.

"I find that, for me, beerbecome a great beverage for ping with food," said Musso,brewmaster-by-way-of-sommlier, introducing one of his bthat, he added, "had never bput on the market" as the accpaniment for a fillet of wild bseared in Cognac and served a spicy, ginger-scented cney.

EVAN RAIL

Savouring Italy,ONE BEER AT A TIME


11/24


With the global slowdownthreatening tourism, Ar-gentina is banking notonly on its budget status

to woo visitors, but also a newly-reopened attraction that it canbill, quite literally, as breathtak-ing.

The Train to the Clouds, ElTren a las Nubes in Spanish,takes its passengers high into theAndes in the countrys north sohigh, in fact, that oxygen bottlesare a feature in every carriage, tohelp those left light-headed bythe journey.

The train, which leaves thetown of Salta for a 400-kilometreround trip into the South Amer-ican mountain range, reaches analtitude normally reserved by hel-icopters.

Different experienceIts totally different from whatIve seen before. Its high wereabout 4,000 metres. And its verywarm about 20 degrees centi-grade. You dont feel cold. Andits great, said Roswithr Brueder,a 48-year-old German tourist.

She was one of around 200people peering from the windowsof the train as it sauntered lei-surely across an arid plain and upbarren slopes on its 16-hour trek.

They paid upwards of 100 dol-lars a ticket for one of the tripswhich are conducted three timesa week.

Despite the length of thevoyage, the passengers seemed

transfixed by the landscape thehighlight of the tour: a long curv-ing viaduct straddling two peaks.

Its amazing when we see peo-ple crying at seeing the viaduct,crying at seeing people who livein this area, seeing the landscape.Its amazing to me, said CaterinaSalcedo, one of the trains guides.

Third-highest railway in theworld

The train line was built in the1920s and 1930s as a freight ser-vice for mines in the region. Itwas designed by a US architect,Richard Maury, who is consi-dered something of a hero in thelocale, and who has a stationnamed after him.

More than a thousand labour-

ers strived in the thin atmosphereto lay the track. After being closeddown in mid-2005, the touristtrain has re-opened under new

management and has again be-come a draw for foreigners and

Argentines alike.One of the trips in October

even attracted a minor Britishroyal, Lady Gabriella Windsor,the 27-year-old daughter of Prin-cess Michael of Kent. Despite be-ing a self-styled freelance

journalist, she avoidedother passengers car-rying cameras andspent most of thetrip in the diningcar with friends.

The Tren a lasNubes today ranksas the third-highestrailway in the

world, after one inthe Peruvian

Andes, and anotherhigher one in Tibet.

A team of threenurses and a doctorare on hand to treatthose sufferingfrom altitude sick-ness.

Doctor on boardOf the 200 people

on each trip, thereare 30 to 40 passen-gers who need care.The main thing they needis oxygen, said nurse LorenaTorres.

Symptoms from the altitudecan include headaches, stomachpain and nausea. Many passen-gers are prepared, though -- anda few prefer to turn to the tradi-tional remedy used by the An-dean locals: paste or tea madefrom coca, the plant that can alsobe processed to produce cocaine.

I feel a little sick, but its OK.Thats why I have coca, said one

Argentine tourist from BuenosAires, Laura Carta, as she showedthe green gum in her teeth.

Maire-France Mayet, a Frenchtourist from Bordeaux in thesame carriage, said she had beentaking coca tea since the morn-ing. And its really effective, shesaid.

AFP

Argentinas head-in-the-cloudstourism is breathtaking

The train known as Train to the Clouds crosses La Polvorilla

viaduct, the highest structure in the line at around 4,200metres above mean sea level, 219 km from the city of Salta,in the Argentine northern province of the same name, some1670 km from Buenos Aires. AFP PHOTO

ON CLOUD NINE

Land of silverArgentina means land of silver.It is a rich and vast landsecond largest(after Brazil) in South America andeighth largest in the world.

The Tren a lasNubes today ranks

as the third-highest railway inthe world, after

one in thePeruvian Andes,

and another higherone in Tibet


12/24


Bollywoods King Khan andChotte Nawab have worn it. Ar- jun Rampal and Farhan Akhtarhave flaunted them a bright red

pair in movie Rock On. Even Surya isseen in it in Vaaranam Ayiram andChiyaan Vikram leaps in one for thepromo of his does anybody knowwhen it will release Kandasami.

The simple and workman grade can-vas shoe have just gotten itself a met-rosexual makeover. For some timenow, celebrities have started flauntingit, as have some college students andeven professionals. The USP of thesecanvas shoes is that they are availableat affordable prices and are now consi-dered high on the style quotient.

The god father of canvas shoes prob-ably is the brand Converse. Knownworld over as chucks (named afterAmerican basketball player CharlesHollis Taylor), the shoes come in vibrantcolours and in designs that haveevolved over decades. They even have acult following worldwide, an exampleof that is a youngster from US whoholds a Guinness Record for owning alarge collection of Chucks. In fact, thepopularity of Chucks has inspired manyother brands like Adidas, Reebok andPuma to bring out similar footwearcollections.

In Namma Chennai, Chucks basicrange is available at a price range fromRs. 850 to Rs. 2,000. Designer Jack Pur-cells line of Converse Shoes are also

available here for Rs 2,600.Brands Adidas, Reebok, Puma andBata have their line of canvas shoes tofulfil the fashion-hungry ones here.The footwear model fea-tures in brands likeRed Tape, ID, Forcaand few other

brands.

You used to shunwearing them dayafter day after dayto school. But thecanvas shoe hasgraduated. Have

you?

THE SHOES

Converse models are priced betweenAdidas have models starting from RsReebok have models in both its Reguprices above Rs 1,000.Batas own brand line North Star alsoshoe starting from Rs 600.Some store in city also stock replica mEd Hardy shoes for Rs 1,800.Shoe designs called Slips (comes sans lmodel and a hit, is available here in b

Fashion

Hollywood actor Will Smithseen in Converse shoes

While actor Sriya Saran isseen in ballerina shoes,Vikram performs a dancemove in a pair of Converseby Jack Purcell. A promoshot from upcoming Tamilmovie Kandasamy.


13/24

Portfolio


Mega mallFashion Avenue inside the newlyopened Dubai Mall in Dubai hasover 70 flagships includingChanel, Calvin Klein, Armani,Versace, Louis Vuitton and Dolce& Gabbana

The highly anticipated Dubai Mall opened onNovember 4, unveiling the first phase of a newretail, fashion and entertainment mecca.At 5.6 million square feet of retail space, the mall is

considered the largest in the world. There are 1,200stores plus 160 food and beverage outlets, and the mall isexpected to attract 30 million visitors in its first year. Andwhile Dubai, like the rest of the worlds economies, isexperiencing a slowdown, the mall is poised to dobusiness in this major shopping and leisure destination.The mall houses 10 mini-malls within the massivestructure. These include a Gold Souk, designed to recreatea traditional Middle Eastern gold bazaar, and a designer-focused Fashion Avenue. Bloomingdales and GaleriesLafayette will anchor the 440,000-square-foot sectiondedicated to high street brands. Fashion Avenue has over70 flagships, including Chanel, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Dior,Armani, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Dolce &Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, HugoBoss, Loewe, Galliano, Givenchy, Cerruti, Missoni, TomFord, Escada, Ermenegildo Zegna, Pucci, Marc by MarcJacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino and SalvatoreFerragamo.Adding to the exclusivity of Fashion Avenue is adedicated VIP valet entrance. A special event facility is

also part of the area.We will have the ability to host year-roundentertainment and high-profile fashion events. OurFashion Catwalk atrium with a (65-foot) runway will be alaunching pad for unveiling collections, hosting productlaunches or VIP functions, said Al Ali.The Dubai Mall is the UAEs most ambitious retail launchto date. Besides an array of shopping, the mall has anumber of entertainment options. It hosts the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink, an indoor waterfall that drops fourlevels and a 22-screen cineplex, the largest in the region.One of the malls most complex attractions is the DubaiAquarium & Discovery Centre. Set in the center of themall, visitors can enter a 270-degree walk-through tunnelto view over 33,000 aquatic creatures, including 400sharks, the largest single school of sharks on earth.

NYT News Service

0

with

anvas

brand

entrynd ID.

Canvas

THERE IS EVEN A CULT FOLLOW FOR CHUCK SHOES

WORLDWIDE AND AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS A YOUNG-

STER FROM US WHO HOLDS A GUINNESS RECORD FOR

OWNING A LARGE COLLECTION OF CHUCKS

Actor Saif Ali Khansporting a pair of Nike.


14/24


Wellness

14

It is very important that the spiritualdimension of life is brought into ev-erybodys lives.

Why many people have devel-oped an allergy to spirituality is be-

cause somebody always told them,spirituality meansleaving everything andgoing to the moun-tains. Even if you

want to go, there is notenough space for all of

you there. You hadbetter learn how to bespiritual in your office,in your home, on thestreets, wherever youare. You had betterlearn that becausespirituality is about

your interiority, notwhat you do outside.

Spirituality is an in-ner science to create a

more conducive inneratmosphere. This is because the qualityof your life is dependent on how youare within yourself. That quality, thismoment depends on how joyous, howpeaceful you are. This dimension youhave completely neglected. Unless youdo something to the inner, you will notknow what it is to be peaceful, to be

joyous; you will not know how to gobeyond the limitations of being just aphysical body and mind.

See, your body is simply accumula-tions of what you have gathered from

the Earth when you leave you canttake an atom of this body. So this bodyis not really yours. Your mind is not

yours too. It is also just an accumulation what you have gathered from thebackgrounds in which you werebrought up in life. So there is something else which needs to be looked abeyond these dimensions.

Even if I erase all your memory, still you will be here. Yes? Your family wildisappear, your status will disappear

your business will disappear, and everything that you own in the world wildisappear. But still you are here. So be

yond all the things that you identif yourself with, still there is somethingcalled as You. That you is not subjecto what you accumulate from outside

But unfortunately that you have beenso much covered, so much crowded

with other things that you never allowed yourself to look at that. You al-

ways thought that what you aidentified with is much more impor-tant than who you really are. Now if

your focus shifts, then the other dimen-sion can start opening up for you. The

whole process of spiritual science, yogain particular, is to somehow elevate youto an experience that is beyond the five

sense organs. When you transcend the limited ex

perience of what you know as yourselfyour experience of life is naturally in adifferent dimension. Then you begin toexperience that which is not physicalthe spiritual, the Divinity of your truenature.

If you are ready and willing to experi-ence life in a deeper dimension, to betruly happy, there are many methodsThen you can begin to experience the

joy, the blissfulness of knowing wh you really are.

SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV

Have you laughed today? Goodthing if you have because most

people take life too seriously.But those who laugh are health-

ier because laughing helps themloosen up. Though it causes thepulse initially to quicken, it slowsdown considerably, so that bloodpressure sinks.

The skeletal muscles relax andthe overall result is better circula-tion to the muscles, said psy-chologist Michael Titze, chairmanof an association called HumourCare in Tuttlingen, Germany, and

a researcher into laughter.Laughing also helps to break

down stress hormones and buildup hormones associated withhappiness.

And laughing helps to increasethe immune defences in thebloodstream, including those thathelp the body protect itself fromcancer and heart disease.

The antibody-containing im-munoglobulin in the saliva, whichinhibits germ attacks on respira-tory organs, also rises.

Laughing, among other things,

tenses the muscles in the eye andactivates positive emotions in thebrain, said Titze, adding thatlaughter is an expression of puredeliverance and total tension re-lease.

The therapist therefore advo-cates looking for things that trig-ger laughter in daily life andactivating the laugh reflex.

Laughing induces good moodand that in turn engenders heartyand intense laughter, Titzesaid.

DPA

Laughter as medicine

Honey powerHoney is believed to be the only food thatdoes not spoil. Honey found in the tombs ofEgyptian pharaohs has been tasted byarchaeologists and found to still be edible.

Better learnhow to bespiritual inyour office,in yourhome, onthe streets,whereveryou are

Allergic to Spirituality


15/24

Now that youre pregnant,taking care of yourself hasnever been more impor-tant. Of course, youll

probably get advice from eve-ryone-your doctor, family mem-bers, friends, co-workers andeven complete strangers- aboutwhat you should and shouldnt

be doing. But staying healthyduring pregnancy depends onyou, so arm yourself with infor-mation about the many ways tokeep you and your body ashealthy as possible.

Wherever you are in yourpregnancy, these months areyours, you are special, its your

special time, so cherish yourchanging body, nourish it, in-dulge it, says Psychologist RekhaSudarshan of Seethapathi Hospi-tal, Chennai.

Expert adviceThis is the time to call in all

favours and revel in attentionyoure getting especially from

your spouse. Allow yourself to bepampered silly. But you shouldtake massage only from an ex-pert Ms. Sudarshan suggests.Dont feel embarrassed to shareyour doubts, myths, and miscon-ception about your pregnancywith your doctor or a professionaladvisor. Dont be a Google-con-

fined mom.Special outfits

Maternity outfits are actually in

fashion, so go on a shoppingspree and buy some of thosefashionable clothes. Since youvegot it, flaunt it.

Weight gainHealthy eating is always impor-

tant, but especially when you arepregnant. According to Rekha Su-darshan, there is nothing calledeating for two. For a pregnantmother, a calorie intake of 300-400 a day and for a lactatingmother, calories intake of 400-500- a day should be sufficient. .

Weight gain is different for eve-ryone but pregnant womenshould gain about 10-12 kg andnot more than 14 kg.

Regular exercise

Exercise during pregnancyhas been shown to be extremelybeneficial, provided you come toright instructor and of course

with green chit from your doctorsays Ms. Sudarshan. Exercising issuch a joy when youre pregnantbecause you dont have to kill

yourself working out to burnmaximum calories. Right now,

your goal is fitness, health andhappiness. There are few stretch-es and pregnancy yoga that youcan learn from your instructor.

Tight sleepGet all sleep you can, while tak-

ing care of your work. It is gener-ally advisable to sleep on your leftside because one of those bigblood vessels is on the right sideof your abdomen. Lying on your

left side helps keep the uterus offof it and also optimizes bloodflow to the placenta and your

baby.For working womenThere is no harm in working

women to continue with their work till the last month of preg-nancy, says Ms. Sudarshan un-less there is problem withpregnancy. Working on comput-er will not cause any harm to youand your baby. Talk to your doc-tor, your personal instructorabout your work environment.

Misconceptions And while you are at all these,

dont forget to play sex goddess.It is said to initiate labour. Avoidsex during first 3 months of yourpregnancy. According to Ms. Su-darshan, there are no rooms for

many theories, horrified storiesabout labour because of whichmany pregnant women arescared to go out after 8 months oftheir pregnancy.

Mood swingsDue to hormonal changes in

the body during pregnancy themood will be on its swing. Relaxand try to find some moments ofquiet, un-interrupted time eachday for yourself. Stretch marksappear as red mark on your skin.Lotion with shea butter can helpkeep your skin soft and moist andmay reduce itchiness.

So, you have this wonderful ex-perience to look forward to andanticipate changes, which comeduring pregnancy with positiveoutlook.

MOUSHMI KISHORE

DONTs

Avoid drugs, smoking and alcohol.Limit your caffeine intakeDont eat raw uncooked food or meat.Dont change your cats litter box. Avoid foul smell. If youare allergic dont keep pets in homeDont sit in sauna/hot bath, as there is risk of miscarriage.Avoid two-wheelers, if it is hurting your tummy.


Antenatal WorkshopLife Cell International, pioneer in the Stem Cell Banking and Research and Therapy in India, is holding, first of itskind all free one-day Antenatal Workshop for pregnant mothers at Hotel Accord Metropolitan, G.N Chetty Road,Nagar on November 23 from 2 p.m.to 5 p.m. Sessions will be conducted by Ms. Rekha Sudarshan, psychologist, chbirth educator and lactation consultant who is an expert trainer for mother-to-be in pregnancy management. ForRegistration Call 24892798/28171385 or Mobile 9941018210/ 9841702271.

DOsMaintain a well balanced diet and dont miss your meal.If you feel hungry in-between your supplement it wsprouts, salad, juice, fruits, soup.Increase your intake of galactagenic food like garlic, almonfenugreek, apple, guava, and pomegranate. This helps lactation.Drink plenty of fluids especially water and exercise regulaGet enough sleep and relax yourself.Take care of your breast. Do not apply soap. Wear right kinof under-garments.

WARNING SIGNALSCall your Doctor if you have

Blood or fluid coming from vagina.Sudden swelling of face or fingers.DizzinessHeadache that are severe and wont go away.Nausea or vomiting that are severe and wont go away.Fever or feeling chill.Blurry vision.Severe pain in lower abdomen.Less urine or burning while urinate.Change in babys movement.Anything that bothers you

PSYCHOLOGIST REKHA SUDARSHAN

Arm yourself with information about the many ways to stay as healthy as possible

FOR THE

MOMMYTO BE


16/24


Sport16

Asif in trouble againDope-tainted pacer Mohammad Asifs miseries doesntseem to end as the troubled Pakistani cricketer hasnow been slapped with a whopping bill as the legalcosts for his release from detention in Dubai earlierthis year.Asif was detained for 19-days in Dubai for possessionof a banned substance and the Pakistan Cricket Board had hired the legalfirm, Afridi and Angel, to represent the pacer in the case contested with theDubai police.The issue now is that the previous PCB management have forwarded a billsent by the Dubai-based Afridi and Angel firm to Asif for payment, a well-informed PCB source told PTI.Asif has taken up the issue with the present management pointing out thatno one ever consulted him or took his consent while hiring the services of thefirm that time, so why should he pay for the legal costs, the source added.

PTI

Gangulygets new jobBarely a few weeks after retiring frominternational cricket, former India captainSourav Ganguly was on Thursdaynominated as a member of the BCCIstechnical committee.Sourav Ganguly has been nominated to

the technical committee of the BCCI, a press release from theBCCI secretary N Srinivasan said.Ganguly has the experience of close to 20 years of cricket behindhim and will be a key addition to the technical committee, thepowerful body, which takes decisions on cricketing matters andrule changes.The BCCIs technical committee is headed by former captain SunilGavaskar and also has former Test batsman Chetan Chauhan,national selector Kris Srikkanth among other members.

PTI

Sunil Gavaskar hit back atRicky Ponting for his un-called for remarks thatthe former India captain

was no angel in his playingdays, saying the Australian skip-pers comments were an indica-tion that his side was "rattled"to find a challenger in India.

I think it was totally uncalledfor and it is showing the worldthat they are rattled, Gavaskartold a TV channel.

The former Indian captain

said Pontings comments alsosmelled of publicity gimmick.I think they have been a

champion side and suddenlythey find that they have a chal-lenger in India. And therefore,its not just Ponting but all theother statements that we haveheard from other Australians,he said.

...Probably (they are) tryingto sell their books or whateverit is, he added.

Ponting, in his just-publishedCaptains Diary 2008, haslashed out at Gavaskar and oth-

er former players for oftenblaming the Australian teamfor on-field confrontations.

Unfortunately, as soon as aspectator or a commentatorspots one of my teammate chip-ping on opponent, they assumeit is a pre-meditated attack. Themost laughable aspect is when Ihear former players complain-ing, as though they never put atoe out of line in their day.

I still have a vivid image ofSunil Gavaskar angrily trying to

take his opening partner off theMCG with him in 1981 when hewas given out lbw in a Testmatch, but to hear him todayyoud think he was positivelyangelic when he was the bestopening batsman in the world,he wrote.

Gavaskar pointed out thatPonting would not have a clearunderstanding of the incidentas he was just a child then.

Ponting was just seven-year-old when MCG incident hap-pened. He does not know thebackground, he said.

PTI

Gavaskarblasts

Ponting

Prize money reducedThe LPGA is cutting its tournaments from 34 to 31 in 2009 and slashing itsofficial prize money by just over five million dollars, commissioner CarolynBivens announced. He said the prize money would drop to 55 million dollarsfrom a little more than 60 million in 2007 and blamed the decrease on theworsening US and European economies.


17/24


Diego Maradona said he felt"proud" after his first match ascoach of Argentina ended in a1-0 friendly international win

over Scotland at Hampden Park hereon Wednesday.

Maradona said he hoped hisplayers could banish the memories oftheir poor start to their World Cupqualifying campaign after claiming amorale-boosting victory.

I am a very proud manager to-night. It was a great experience andthe lads made me feel very relaxedthroughout, Maradona said.

We have been in a bit of a mini-crisis but the players are men andshowed they were men out there andthey made me proud, added Mara-dona who, as a teenager, scored hisfirst international goal at Hampden ina 3-1 win over Scotland in 1979.

What really encouraged me wasthere were great performances outthere which gave me hope and heartfor the future.

And the midfield maestro said as hetook to the bench for the first time histhoughts has been with his daughterGiannina after she suffered problems

with her pregnancy earlier in theweek.

I had been thinking of my daugh-ter and her baby. My thoughts are ob-

viously with my daughter. She washappy for me to be head of the Argen-tina side tonight and that is why I washere.

The lads made things easy for meand gave me great support to workthrough a difficult time and I wouldlike to thank them.

I can assure the people of Argenti-na these players will give everythingfor the shirt and wont leave anythingbehind on the field.

Earlier in the week former centre-half Butcher said he could not forgiveMaradona for his opening goal ineventual champions Argentinas 2-1

World Cup quarter-final win 22 yearsago.

Maradona punched the ball pastEngland goalkeeper Peter Shilton andfurther infuriated England afterwardsby claiming the goal had been scoredby the Hand of God.

Barely five minutes after his contro-versial opener, Maradona dribbledpast half the England team to score asuperb solo goal.

Asked if he had the chance to speak with Butcher after Wednesdaysmatch, a mock-puzzled Maradona re-plied: Who is Butcher? I am asking

you who is Butcher?I greeted the manager of Scotland

(George Burley) and you are askingme about Butcher.

Since all the bad news about mydaughter this has been the first time Ihave been able to laugh.

Maxi Rodriguezs eighth minutegoal, the result of a slick passingmove, was all that separated the twoteams although Argentina, a classabove their opponents, should haveincreased their lead.

I thought in the first 25 minutes wewere brilliant. We played some excel-lent football and scored the goal,Maradona said.

Unfortunately we werent able toconvert any of the other chances we

made but we kept the ball prettymuch throughout the whole of thegame.

Burley added this match was whatScotland needed ahead of their WorldCup qualifier against the Netherlandsin Amsterdam in March.

We were playing against one of thebest teams in the world and Hollandare also a top-10 team.

It was good for our players to playagainst Carlos Tevez and other topnames just as it was good for me

when I played against Diego here in1979.

AFP

Maradonastarts with win

Aussie cricket coverage boycottedGlobal news agencies have boycotted coverage of the first cricketTest between Australia and New Zealand because of conditionsimposed by organisers. The agencies -- AFP, AP, Reuters and GettyImages -- have also suspended coverage of all Australian cricketnews until further notice over demands made by Cricket Australia.

Aussies stumbleMichael Clarke top-scored with 98, as Australia was allout for 214 in their first innings in the first Test on dayone against New Zealand at the Brisbane CricketGround on Thursday. New Zealand pacer Southeepicked up 4 wickets and the Kiwis were 7/0 at stumps.


18/24

Well party harder if Yuvvraajfails: this was a pre-releasestatement by Zayed Khan,about his plans after the re-

lease of Yuvvraj, which also coincides withhis third marriage anniversary. Only Godcan save him and his crew from not party-ing harder.

Yuvvraaj is a Subhash Ghai musical afterTaal starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif,Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan in lead roles.The music is by A.R Rahman which unfor-tunately fails to create a Taal-like impact.

The story is about Devan Yuvvraaj (Sal-man Khan), who has been disowned by hisLondon-based billionaire father, and his re-lationship with two brothers Gyanesh (Anil

Kapoor) and Danny (Zayed Khan). Anushka(Katrina Kaif) plays a cellist in the movieand is Devans love interest.

Like typical Bollywood story, here alsoheroines father hates the poor hero and thehero (Danny) is ready to do anything for theheroine (Katrina). To convince the hero-ines father he goes back to acquire his fa-thers inherited property to become rich.Here he meets his much-hated brotherswith whom he plays mind-games. As usualeventually starts feeling the brother-brotherlove. And the goodness, simplicity, inno-cence etc of elder brother Gyanesh turnsbad boy into good boy. The only thing newabout this movie is the exotic locations ofAustria and Prague and the sets. More thanthe actors you tend to notice the wall-paint-ings in the background and invariably start

deciding on your wall designs. Thinking

about these wall designs is much entertain-ing and pleasant than watching the movie.

The first half of the movie is slow anddraggy, so much, so that you find the movietrailers in the interval much moreinteresting.

Salman Khan with his transplanted hairhas nothing special to play rather it lookslike he is being himself throughout. ZayedKhan flys aeroplanes, he kisses his girl-friend, he shouts and ya he also acts hereand there. The only saviour and the onlyreason to make you sit on your seat is AnilKapoor. He makes you love him when youhate yourself for having come for the movie.He plays a mentally-slow musical genius

whose innocence is sweet and convincing.He is the only one who has seemed to haveput in some detail to his role, right from

fidgeting hands, oiled hair to child-like walk. Rather, he is the only one who hasdone some acting in the movie out of thethree.

Oh by the way, Katrina Kaif is also seen inthe movie for her regular glamour-quotientbut on the whole is convincing. Boman Ira-ni and Mithun Chakraborty come in asbreathers in their small roles

After Kisna, Black & Whites failure wecan only pray for a miracle to save Yuvvraj.Things to watch in Yuvvraaj are Anil Ka-poor, Anil Kapoor and only Anil Kapoor.

VIPASHA SINHA

DampSquib

THINGS TO WATCH IN

YUVVRAAJ ARE ANIL KAPOOR,

ANIL KAPOOR AND ONLY ANIL

KAPOOR.


Flick

18


19/24


Prakash Jhas Rajneetiwas tobe Raveena Tandonsdream comeback but theactress quit the project

once she learnt that she wouldhave to play Ajay Devgansmother.

You cant blame me for sayingno to playing mother to an actorwith whom I co-starred in so

many films. But I had a biggerreason for my refusal. The film re-quired me to leave Mumbai fortwo months at a stretch. Both mychildren are too young to be leftbehind for such a long time, es-pecially since they dont even goto school yet, Raveena toldIANS.

Raveena was expected to playthe role of an all-powerful politic-ian in director Prakash Jhas Raj-neeti, inspired by late Prime

Minister Indira Gandhis life andtimes. Raveena was to play Ran-bir Kapoors mother. And Ranbir

would play Rajiv Gandhi.Raveena, who had earlier

played a politician in Satta, hadseveral meetings with Jha andboth of them were excited aboutit.

Raveena had to age from 20 to60. Her makeup, saris and styling

were all finalised. Until she real-ised the role required her to playnot just Ranbirs mom but also

Ajays mother.

Thats when the NationalAward winning actress decided toback out, thereby halting herspectacular comeback plans.

Raveena, who was last seen inthe 2006 dud Sandwich, is readyto return to the big screen. Butshe will only do a film that re-quires her to shoot in and aroundMumbai.

The actress is best remem-bered for her hits likeMohra,An-daz Apna Apna and Bade MiyanChote Miyan.

As for the role of the femalepolitician in Rajneeti, Jha is nowthinking of casting either TiscaChopra or Mrinal Kulkarni.

IANS

Raveenarefuses to playAjay Devgans mom

Raveena had to age from 20 to 60. Her makeup, saris and styling wereall finalised. Until she realised the role required her to play not just

Ranbirs mom but also Ajays mother.

Makkal Thilagam, Dhanushsnext flickActor Dhanushs future project is beingtentatively titled as Makkal Thilagam. Themovie is directed by Malayalam film directorVinayan who earlier made films like Kaasi, EnMana VaanilandArputha Theevu in Tamil. Atpresent Dhanush is busy shooting forPadikadhavan and his brother Selvaraghavans

directorial Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam.

Salary goes down inKollywoodIt seems global recession is hitting Kollywoodtoo. According to sources the corporate filmcompanies are planning to reduce the salariesof big stars. it is also heard that actors likeAjith and Vijay would be reducing theirremuneration. It is to be remembered thatthe trend of huge pay packets was introducedto the film industry by the same corporateswho are now reducing it.

SRKs knighthood postponedBollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan has postponed a controversial ceremony toaward him a Malaysian "knighthood" because he is too busy.

Cine City


20/24


Thursdays Question:

Which comedy dialogue ofVadivelu do you think isbest and make us laughanytime? Venaam, valikuthu, Aluthiduven

M.Laxmipathy(RR Donnelley), Prabahar.P(Perot

Systems), Mohamed Siddiq(TCS), Hariharan(Sify), Vijayachakravarthy(Infosys)

Risk Edukrathellam Enaku RuskSapdramathri

Pravin.S (TCS-RTSC), Bharathiraja(CSS),

Gavaskar Ezhilarasan(Hexaware), Balky(Wipro)

Kaiya pidichi iluthiya? Enna kaiyapidichi iluthiya???

Vijaya (Infosys), Jagan(Dell), RR (ALLSEC TECH)

Eppadiyae ussupaythee ussupaytheeodamba ranagalam aakeytanga da

R.Viswanathan(Hexaware), Kalaiyarasan, BruceVimalageethan(Perot Systems)

Enne vachu comedy keemady panalaiaeThiru(Satyam), Divyatha Swaminathan, Gopi

L3(Wipro), Mohana Krishnan S(Perot Systems)

"Aaniye pudunga vendam"Rekha(TCS), Praveen(CGSL), Jagan(Capgemini),

Rajalakshmi, Karthik Sekar(TCS), GayathriBheemannan(Infosys), J.Karthikeyan(Wipro)

Ergo Pick

Yenna edu chinna pulla thanamaerukku rascal

Nirmala(Perot Systems), Sultan(Mphasis)

Yenda! Intha ooru inuma nammalanambikitu iruku

Balaji(Perot Systems), Arasu A(TCS)

Vokkandhu yosippanungalooNithyaalangaran, HCL

Vanthitangaya.. Vanthitangaya &Kelambitaya... kelambitaya...

Anusha(TCS), Praveen Kumar(Allsec Tech),

Ashwin(Satyam)

Edhu pannalum plan panni pannanumDinesh S Infosys

Ungala ellam paatha enaku paavamairukku

Umapathy M(TCS), Rajesh, Moodys(RRD)

Thodada! Keela thodada! Tharaiyathodada! Kolraangalae

MAK, Infosys

Ssh..sapbha ippovae kanna kattutheyKarthik Sampath(Wipro Technologies), Sasi,

VDSI, Thulsz(Wipro)

Kudutha kasuku mela kuvuranda goyalaKolappan S K, CTS

Sing in the rain..... I want more in therain

Vinoth Kumar(Allsec), Selva(Perot Systems)

Sinam konda singatha serailla adachaauthu cellaiye sethai chidum paravalaiya

Sathish Babu(CGSL), Rajesh,Geetha(Ramco

Systems)

Punch dialogue ka paesurae nee ennaperiyaaaa ...... Paruppa... Ama da ungauruppu edukka vantha karuppu paruppu

Rajeshkumar.P, TCS

Parthiban(P): Sir, mani enna aachu,Vadivel(V): watch kattala, P: watch illaatienna, meena paarthu sollu, V: yo.. meenapaarthu eppadiyaa maniya solluva!!?? P:watchla enna iruku? V: mullu,p: meenla enna iruku? V: mullu, p: sari,ippa sollu mani enna? V: !!?? Aiyoo.!Paduthuraane

Dhanabal (TCS)

Mappu....Mappu.... Vechittanya appuRAJESH. R(Perot Systems), Satish(Ramco

Systems), Rohit (Bell Canada), Nari(Wipro),

Krishnaveni(Accenture), Murugan(Ramco

Systems), Rajee Anand(Coastal Trainingtechnologies)

Building strongu basement weakuSuresh(Allsec), Praveen(CGSL), Revathy(Perot

Systems), Thara Comedy Club(Wipro), Bala,

Sathish Babu(CGSL), Mahesh Rajamani(PerotBase Camp), Sha(Slash Support), Dude Team

Evalavu adichalum thangaran evanRomba nallavanu sollitan ma

Jayaseelan.S(Perot Systems), Vimprash(Patni

Computers), Priyadarshini, Antony(TCS)

Dangerous fellow!!! Ivana carepulladeal pannanum

Ganesh, John, Jhenu, Komal, Mithun, Sid Target

Supply, TCS, RTSC

Ahaa Oru groupa than ya alayarangaathuvum ennaiye sutti sutti varangaawhhh

Sasi Subbaraman, Perot Systems

Opening nallathan irruthu, aanaFinishing seri ellaiye pa from the filmWINNER.

S.Sundaresan, Software SpecialistPatni Computer Systems Ltd,

Todays Query:

If the world would bedestroyed within a fewminutes, what would youlike to do within thattime period?

By Ramachandran M, CGSL

Gomathy of Hewlett Packard(HP) has nominated herfriends as Partners in Crime. This photo was taken atSterling Resorts, Mahabalipuram.

Nagamathan S of Tata Consultancy Services hasnominated his team as Partners in Crime. This photo

was clicked at Kart Attack on ECR road.

T. Sankarlingam from Changepond Technologies hasnominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This photo

was taken at Madurai Railway Station.


21/24


1. Santa standing on platform suddenly jumps on the railwaytrack.

Banta: Santa ull die.Santa: You will die bcoz havent u heard train is coming on

platform?Banta:??????2.Santa : Sitting on The Top of the Mountain and Studying....

When Banta asked what he was doing....He replied... Oye!! Higher Studies Yaar...!!!

Manonmani Kesav, HCL

Capt Stuart LawrenceWishing you a very very happy advancebirth day greeting from all us. Mayblessing come from God for eternal joy,peace, happiness and all roundprosperity.

Chennai Admin Team (CAT), CGSL

Dear SumanaaWish u many more happy returns of theday:) Wish u the best of health,happinessand hope all ur wishes get fulfilledforever.

With lots of love,Subhashini, Rajeswari, Rajamathy

Hi Anil,Hearty wishes on your birthday! Let ourfriendship continue forever!!!

Luv, Swaroop, TCS

Dear MDDThough deepa may not be roja andkonapuli may never be kodukkapuli..U will always remain the sweetest..Heres wishing lots of fun on ur birthday

with loads of love, Sapg ,T.A.P, Sify

Dear PriyankaWish u a very Happy Birthday! May Godbless u a Prosperous and healthy life.May all ur dreams come true. May uhave gods best in everything.

With Luv, Sudha, EDS

Hi Cute UmaWhile lighting the candles every year, the

count will increase, But dont know howit decreases as the days passes over...May be will it be applicable to "CuteAngel" Happy Birthday:)

Sharanya & Kamal TCS Siruseri

Hey Arjun (Mr.Drupal )May God bless u with good health andhappiness.Have a fun-filled birthday n letall ur dreams come true :-)

cheers, Customer World Team

Dear Little Angel (Savitha)Happy Birthday to u. May God showerhis blessings through out your life. Mayyour laughter bring us more joy.

With luv, Dad & Mom, Uma, TCS

Dear PattupaHappy birthday to you pattupa. And mayyour good times multiply, till theyreflying off the chart! Have a Lovely daydear.

Mrs. Devi Loganathan, Patni Computer

Dear PadmaHappy birthday, and have a great year!Enjoy your life and the dance of lifekeep on shining like the sun, Spread thepleasure like moon light.

Love N Wishes,Ur School Friends Preethi, Anne, Amudha,

Archana, Anna, Komala, & Vanniya, HCL

Dear ThiruWish u belated birthday wishes. May uget all the happiness in this world. All

the best for your future endeavours.Viswa, Rajasekar, Kayal, Swapn

Shahila,Madhavi, AV018-BOA,Siruseri, TC

Dear Thoufiq chatrimany many more happy returns of the

day. Let all ur dreams come true. ParveCGS

Dear FriendsCongratulations for the successfulcompletion of one year at Infy M city. Allthe best for the coming years.

Yuva - Nov 19th Batch, Infosys, M cit

Hey JijiMany More Happy Returns Of the Day.May God bless you:) Happy Birthday:)

Regards, Alwin Raj & CSA OOH Team,Wipr

Dear DineshGod bless you on your birthday. Let thecelebrations start, Enjoy lifes preciousgifts, And remain young at heart.

HCM BOFA Team,Infosy

Hi BVJ KarthikaHave a Wonderful Day & beautifulUpcoming yrs. Happy Birthday day. ManyMore Happy Returns of the Day.

CHNTS 23 & 24 Team (Chandy) Cognizan

Dear JawahharEnjoying every moment of IT, Experience

Certainty, We know all these captionshave meaning for the on track we inTCS only because of ur presence. We wishu all the best in ur future endeavors:)

Hearty Bday wishes, PA_Web Testing Team

12Bs in Chinna Gounder Srini avargale,Avan UC la enna solla varan na! Nangaottuka enna solla varomna! Kasa kasanupesama matterku varom!!! Advance happybday dham dham srini

Cheers, 12Bees, Hexaware technologi

Dear Rajesh (Little Master)Many more happy returns of the day. MayGod bless you with all the happiness..

Ashwin, Satyam, Muthu, Quinteg

Hi Arun

Many more happy returns of the day. Nowthat you have got your payWe want a party by the bay, Many happyreturns of the day!!!!

ERS Recruitment Team.

Dear SARANYA mamiIts a nice feeling when you know thatsomeone likes you,someone thinks aboutyou, but it feels much better when youknow that someone never ever forgetsyour birthday. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY".

With love Sethu, catherine ,TC

Hi Karthik (Madurai Veera)Advance Birthday Wishes to u. Keepsmiling and wishing you a year full ofsuccess, happiness, fun and may all yourdreams come true this year.

With Regards, Siebel team, Infosy

Prabhu of Satyam ComputerServices Limited has beennominated as Office Angel bythe ADMS team, SumithraMathew, Sheeba Joshua,Sridhar Krishnamurthy,UmaRamesh, Saravanan Thina,Sridhar V, Senthilkumar S,

Atul Nashine and LavanyaMenon

He is our office assistant. Heis very helpful and is

responsible for handling

various HR activities. Heperforms all activities within

the time period and does it

neatly.

Vijayagowri of InfosysTechnologies ltd, M-City doodledthis


22/24


Traffic Jam

22

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

Head of Advertising:Sriya [email protected]

Head of Circulation:M.G.M. Sharief

[email protected]

SNAIL MAIL

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

FAX 2857 6691

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESCall ourAdvertisement Managerat 99400 13255.email: [email protected]: www.goergo.in

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

sudoku

KAKURO

Tree monster terrifies JapanResidents in the Japanese region of ChibaPrefecture are being terrorised by a gigantic trewhich has been cut into the shape of giant lizarmonster Godzilla.

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]

SenguttuvanSugumaran ofHCLTechnologies,

Vadapalanisent us thispicture of theMalpe Beachin Karnataka.Hobbies:Photographyand Travelling


23/24


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

Career progress expected today. Your work will bappreciated says Ganesha and you will be givenmore responsible work to do. Do not beoverconfident as it may be a cataclysm. Your busschedule may hamper time with your beloved.

You may not be focussed when the day beginshowever Ganesha suggests being practical todaybe beneficial. This may seem to be the right attito achieve good results on the career front; but love front, wouldnt be of much help.

Being busy with your routine activities will consu

a lot of time hence you are required to be moreattentive. You may lose interest in important tasand initiations from your end will be seen only alunch. You will have a good time with your belo

You will be very easy going today and as the daadvances, there will be an augment in yourenthusiasm. Known for being emotional by natutreating people around you in a different mannewill surprise them.

You will kick start your day with a powerful charup morning which may be beneficial in finishing your work. As a pleasant day at workplace endsyou will be penchanted to share your joy with yobeloved.

Creativity will bloom today however you might nbe successful to implement your ideas in projects

Do not get disheartened. By the end of the day will be focussed on improving your professionalskills. Pay as much attention to your love life.

A busy day but your mind will be focussed on rithings at right time. Communication skills will beits best. The later part of the day is expected to on lighter side. A dinner with your beloved will pleasant.

A tricky day on its way, but be careful with wordespecially with strangers. To maintain peace atwork, being too ingenuous is not advisable. In tevening you may have a prolonged discussion wyour beloved regarding career prospects.

Your career graph doing amazingly well saysGanesha; however the overconfidence developednot good. Finish your important work as you are

likely to forget. Given a chance, do not restrainyourself from helping or motivating colleagues. .

As the day starts, you may want to contemplateabout your pending work. By concentrating on ywork, you may be able to finish off everythingbefore the day ends. Pay more attention on youcareer front rather than love life.

The day may begin on a positive note. Since youcan handle meetings well, do not hesitate in calfor meetings, if required. The professional in youmay forget to pay due attention on love life. Tryspice up the evening with a romantic dinner.

You will not be bothered by heavy workload andGanesha congratulates you for your sincere andhard working attitude. This is the best time toimplement new goals and ambitions. Along withcareer boost, love life will flourish.

Words worthEmmetropia" (em-uh-troh-pee-uh) the condition of theeye in which no correction of vision is needed - inother words, 20/20 visition or better. From Greekwords meaning (well) proportioned and eye. If botheyes have the same vision, they are isometropic.

Spaced outA NASA crewmember is in hot waterafter dropping her toolbag during aspacewalk - the unfortunate astronautwatched helplessly as her precious cargofloated off into space.


24/24


!

24

The cardboard box fugitiveGerman police searchingnationwide for a convicted drugdealer who escaped from jail byhiding in a cardboard box to betaken away for recycling, plan toissue an international arrestwarrant for him. A Viersen policespokesman said the 37-year-oldTurkish national, whose seven-yearprison sentence for drug dealingruns to 2011, had escaped from theWillich prison by hiding in acardboard box about to be pickedup by a recycling truck.

Reuters

Police hq in Norway robbedThieves broke into the Norwegian criminal polices headquarters inOslo, making off with several computers, police said on Monday.I can confirm that we were the victim of a robbery overnightSaturday to Sunday, Pia Solhaug, a spokeswoman for Norwayscriminal police Kripos, told AFP.

Several computers were taken,she added.According to tabloid Verdens Gang(VG), the intruders smashed awindow to gain entry into thebuilding. The robbery wasdiscovered three hours later. Oslopolice have launched an

Coffin containing dead Germanbillionaire stolenA coffin containing the remains of German-born billionaire FriedrichKarl Flick was stolen from his mausoleum in the southern Austriantown of Velden, Austrian news agency APA reported. Policeinvestigators said they thought several criminals were involved inremoving the granite slabs weighing several hundred kilograms fromthe grave last weekend. The motive for the theft was unclear, butunnamed investigators told APA they did not exclude the possibilitythat the crime was related to extortion. In 2006, the billionaire withdual Austrian-German citizenship died at the age of 79 in Austria,where he had been living with his wife. His four children have beenreported to have inherited a total of 5 to 6 billion euros (6.4 to 7.6billion dollars) of the family fortune, which was built by investmentsin the steel, paper and chemical industries.

DPA

Powerful toddlerTom Cruise and Katie Holmes daughterSuri has been named the Worlds MostPowerful toddler.

A total of 1,323,218books were read bychildren between theages of three and 14 inthe course of a two-

week campaign in theUnited Arab Emirates(UAE) aimed at helpingthe education of chil-dren in developingnations.

What is that again,you would ask? Well, theidea is simple, novel,challenging, innovativeand exemplary.

Dubai Cares, a charit-able establishment of the Dubai go-vernment established last year by VicePresident and Prime Minister of theUAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mo-hammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, tohelp educate children in developing

nations had put unique challenge tschool children herRead a million books two weeks and for eac

book read, a book wbe donated to childrein need in developinnations. A total 141,415 students fro159 schools in Al Ain ithe emirate of Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah anSharjah, apart from Dubai, read up 1,323,21books, an equivalennumber of which will b

distributed to children in developinnations. According to the UAEs Minitry of Social Affairs, students with spcial needs also proactively got involvein this unique initiative.

IAN

The count is out

ergo november 21

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