Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

`2FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 HYDERABAD WWW.POSTNOON.COM WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY SPELLS; 33°C 32 PAGES

FLASH

TSUNAMI GHOST SHIP SUNKThe US Coast Guard sunk a Japanese “ghostship” with bursts of heavy gunfire when it drift-ed into Alaskan waters more than a year afterbeing set adrift by a devastating tsunami. Thedeserted trawler was first spotted off the coastof Canada on March 24, having drifted thou-sands of miles across the Pacific on the current.

WESTWOOD LEADSCHARGE AS WOODS,RORY STRUGGLEWorld No 3 Westwood birdiedfour holes in a row on the frontnine on his way to a five-underpar 67 for a one-stroke leadover Peter Hanson andLouis Oosthuizen

HEAR THEMUSIC THISSUMMERSummers can be alazy time or you couldspend it doingsomething productivelike learning howto play a musicalinstrument. Here are a fewplaces that mightinterest you

FLASH

ARMY HAS ONLY 10-DAY STOCKOF AMMUNITION

Adding to the Centre’s embarrassment, anews channel has reported that the Army is fac-ing a severe shortage of critical ammunition and

the current stock will run out in less than 10days in the eventuality of a war. The report also

says a substantial stock of ammo is faulty.

P29

P15

TRADERS IN HUMANMISERY FLOURISH

The multi-crore human organ trade continues unabated in CityREPORT ON PG 7

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

When: Ongoing,11am to 8pm

Contact: (040) 6550 6662

Asian barbequeThe Square, Novotel, Madhapurplays host to an Asian barbeque.Sample grilled specialities fromaround the world — from Lebaneseto Japanese.Where: The Square, Novotel,

MadhapurWhen: Every Saturday,

7pm onwardsContact: (040) 6682 4422

Unique buffetYellow Chilli is offering a lunch buf-fet which is truly different. TheBuffet which costs `199 (Mondayto-Friday) and `249 (Saturday andSunday). The dinner buffet costs`299 and `349.Where: Yellow Chilli, Banjara

Hills, Rd No 12When: OngoingContact: (040) 2338 3838

A suitable lunchSyn at Taj Deccan is offeringSyn-to-suit you lunches. Variouslunch offers for various require-ments from the quick 15 minutelunch to the healthy and longlunches.Where: Syn - Asian Bar and Grill,

Taj Deccan,Banjara Hills, Rd No 1

When: Ongoing,

Crepes and wafflesLover of waffles and crepes? Deli9is offering a crepe and waffle festi-val. Taste a variety of waffles suchas fruit waffle and the classic waffleor a variety of exotic crepes such ascaramel apple. The festival is onfrom April 7-April 21.Where: Delhi 9, Banjara Hills,

Rd No 1When: April 7 onwards,

8am to 8pmContact: (040) 6550 6662

Acoustic nightIt’s Acoustic Night featuringLuminium at Via Milano.Where: Via Milano,

Jubilee Hills,Rd No 36

When: April 6, 8pm onwardsContact: (040) 6455 5544

It’s EasterBring in Easter with loads of good-ies and hampers. Head to Novotelfor a special Easter brunch, spiritsfun, games and egg painting forthe children.Where: Novotel, KondapurWhen: Ongoing, 12pm onwardsContact: (040) 6682 4422

Angkor WatA painting exhibition based on theAngkor Wat in Columbia is beingpresented by Kalakrithi Art Galleryand ITC Kakatiya.Where: Hyder Mahal,

ITC Kakatiya,Begumpet

When: Ongoing, 11am-7pmContact: (040) 2340 0132

Solo showA display of paintings by wellknown artist Rayees Ahmed will beheld. The exhibit is being held atIndian Art Gallery B, ChitramayeeState Art Gallery.Where: Chitramayee State Art

Gallery, MadhapurWhen: Ongoing,

10.30 am onwardsContact: (040) 2311 3308

Easter timeGodrej Natures Basket is offeringEaster treats which include somedelightful hot cross buns and marzi-pan cakes. Celebrate Easter with avariety of Easter eggs.Where: Nature’s Basket,

Banjara Hills,Rd No10

When: OngoingContact: (040) 2335 5399

Combo plattersDeli 9 is offering Combo Platters init’s lunch and dinner menu. Choosefrom various salad and sandwichcombos also. Where: Deli 9, Banjara Hills,

Rd No1

12 pm to 3.30pmContact: (040) 6666 3939

Go SplashSplash lounge is the perfectleisure destination for you tounwind. There is also great music,martinis and aperitifs.Where: The Westin, Mindspace,

MadhapurWhen: Monday - Friday,

5pm - 10.30pmWeekends,8am - 10.30pm

Contact: (040) 6767 6828

Being ’together’Together, an exhibition of paintingsby Shravan Kumar GK will be ondisplay from April 6.Where: Iconart Gallery,

Banjara Hills, Rd No 12When: March 6 onwardsContact: 98499 6879

Play timeCatch two humorous back to backplays April Fool and Miya-Biwi onlyat Nift auditorium on April 8.Where: Nift, MadhapurWhen: April 8, 7pm onwardsContact: (040)2311 4537

Silk expoThe National Silk Expo is being heldat Sri Sathya Sai Nigmagamamfrom March 31- April 6. Catch anexclusive collection of traditionaland designer materials and sarees

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES

with fabrics such as Tussar etc.Where: Sri Sathya Sai

Nigmagamam,Sri Nagar Colony

When: OngoingContact: 93688 82225

Water coloursIconart is hosting Aquarelle as apart of it’s Buy Art initiative.Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara

Hills, Rd No 12When: Ongoing,

11.30 am onwardsContact: 98499 6879

Photo exhibitionVillart is hosting a photography andvideo exhibition from April 6-April8. The exhibition which basi-cally is for photography and videog-raphy aims at promoting aims topromote and educate the variousself-employed photographers thatare present in AP.Where: Villart Photography,

Hitech City, MadhapurWhen: OngoingContact: (040) 6663 3327

The great Sunday brunchITC Kakatiya offers The GrandSunday Brunch. Great food is thebest way to spemd your Sunday.You can choose from the brunchesat Deccan Pavillion, Dakshin,Kebabs and Kurries.Where: ITC Kakatiya, BegumpetWhen: April 8 Contact: (040) 2340 0132

SRINIVAS SETTY

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 2Spirit of Twin CitiesPage Two

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 3Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin CitiesHyper Local

Mohd Subhanmohd.s@postnoon.com

You have experiencedthis. An uncharitableneighbour lets out

stinking water into your plotor someone uses abusivelanguage or your neighbourencroaches a few yards ofyour property. You go to thenearest police station andtell them. The poker-facedcop at the desk fobs you offsaying, “All civil matters goto the court.”

No longer. Help is athand. The first-ever initia-tive taken by a young DCP(South Zone) Manish KumarSinha, has instructed allpolice stations in his juris-diction to help citizens withsuch cases so that theywould not go to court or endup taking violent measures.The rationale Sinha gives forthe move, which puts addi-tional burden on the police,is that if not attended, manysuch cases turn into crimi-nal cases and the police any-

way have to step in.“Prevention is better thancure you know,” he said.

The initiative begansome 20 days ago and isproving to be a boon toscores of people who wereotherwise driven to themercy of advocates dealingwith civil cases and alengthy litigation. “I amgrateful to the police,” saidSulaiman, a shop owner in

Nayapul, who had a civilcase which was solved.

On an average, 15 civilcases are reported in eachpolice station in South Zone.Most of them concern prop-erty issues, petty cases,threats or abuse which hadso far not been entertained.“We are able to bring a smileon many faces and that’s ourreward,” said a beamingSinha. South zone has 17police stations and thepolice are already workingon 200 cases, Sinha said.

City cops playnew role ofpeacemakers

Prevention is better than cure.Small mattersignored can turnbig and prove tobe a headache forlaw keepers. Soquell them.

Governor ESL Narasimhan, unveils the book To theCloud at ISB, Hyderabad along with Raj Biyani, authorof the book and head of Microsoft IT India, and SalilDave, senior director, Microsoft and co-author

REACHING FOR THE CLOUD

NEW

S BR

IEFS

Man kills paramour indrunken rageIn a shocking incident, N Kistaiah, 45,

attacked his paramour N Bhagyammain an inebriated condition, resulting inher death. Bhagyamma is said to havesustained head injuries. The couplewere resident of Mansaanpally inMaheshwaram. Surprisingly, theMaheshwaram police are yet to arrest the man though a case has beenregistered.

Burglars abscondwith gold, cashBurglars decamped with six tolas of

gold jewellery, 20 tolas of silverand `20,000 in cash when they struck one Mohd Moizuddin’s housein Tandoor on Wednesday. Accordingto the police, the family were attend-ing a function when the burglarsseized the opportunity. The policehave registered a case and investiga-tions are on.

Srinivas Reddy nowIG Coastal SecurityThe chief secretary of AP Pankaj

Dwivedi is learnt to have issued acharge memo to ACB additionaldirector K Srinivas Reddy this morn-ing asking him to accept his newposting as IG Coastal Security. Hismidnight marching orders had creat-ed a rancour in the ACB top brassand reportedly happened due topressure from Botsa Sayanarayana.

POLICE

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 4Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin CitiesHyper Local

GAS BOOKING IVRS NO:HP 9666023456Indane 9848824365

BSNL Complaints 198HMWS & SB Complaints 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOM:Hyderabad 27852435Traffic Control Room 27852482DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499FPollution Control Board 23887500

ELECTRICITY:General Complaints 155333Breakdown Section 23431178

23431179MUNICIPAL CORPORATION:Commissioner & Spl Officer 23262266

24166666RENC 23225267Engineering 23220418MCH Tankbund 23225397Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842MCH Circle III 24736912MCH Circle IV 23326975MCH Circle V 23326976MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100Head Office 23225397

IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRYPHONE NUMBERS(TRAIN & RESERVATION)RAILWAYSRail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216Railway Information 131Reservations 135Recorded Information 1345Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

WATER SUPPLY:Complaint Cell 155313Sewerage Complaint 23307328Hyd. Water Supply 23313163

HOSPITAL:General Hospital, Sec-bad 27505566Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills 23314095NIMS, Director, Punjagutta 23390933Osmania General Hospital 24600146Railway Hospital, Lalaguda 27001134Apollo, Jubilee Hills 23607777Care Hospital, Banjara Hills 30418888Care Hospital, Nampally 30417777Care Hospitals, Musheerabad 30419000Care Hospital, Sec-bad 30416666Kamineni Hospital,

LB Nagar 39879999

BLOOD BANKS:Blood Bank,Narayaguda 27567892Chiranjeevi Blood Bank 23559555Blood Bank Mediton Goal 23226624Red Cross, Vidyanagar 27633087ADRM Blood Bank 27035588Mythri Charitable Trust 27550238NTR Memorial Trust 30799999Care Banjara Hills 30418296

30417445

AMBULANCESApollo 23548888, 23607777Kamineni 24022222Medwin 23202902, 23204616Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979Red Cross 27627973Niloufer Hospital 23314095Gandhi 23320332

AIRLINESAirport Director 27903785, 27906001For Air India Flight Information Toll free(from any network) for IC Flights18001801407And for All Flights: 1800227722Air India has revised its flight timings.For more information call (Toll free)18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from otherlines and mobile Website;www.airindia.in

TOURISM OFFICESAP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54Sec’bad 27893100Dept of Tourism 23453110India Tourism 23261360AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999

UK Visa OfficeVFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A,Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills-34. Working hours are from 8 AM to1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM.

MUSEUMSSalar Jung Museum 24523211AP State Museum 232431300/7641Nizams Museum 24521029

Helpline

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to us

comments, suggestions, viewpointor just about anything to

feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road

No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033

or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222

Osama Salmansalman.o@postnoon.com

Areality check at theGandhi Medical Collegeand Hospital, the pre-mier public hospital,

reveals startling facts aboutabuse of alcohol. Alcohol relatedaccidents are on the rise in theemergency wing of Gandhi Hos -pital. Most of the accident casesthat come to the hospital are be -cause the people act irresponsi-bly in an inebriated condition.

Take for instance the bizarreincident of Santosh Kumar, 28,who poked a broken tubelightinto his stomach after consum-ing alcohol. In a separate inci-dent, Rajashekhar Reddy, a 28-year-old residing in Warasiguda,attempted suicide by cutting hiswrist with a blade. He was foundto be in an inebriated condition.

Drunk driving cases too con-tinue to plague the City. Around1 am on Tuesday Tanoov, 37, anative of Warangal, met with anaccident in Tarnaka while driv-ing drunk. He sustained he adinjuries. In yet another incident,Shiv Raj, 30, jumped from hissecond floor apartment in LBNagar on March 4. He sustainedgrave injuries and had to berushed to Gandhi Hospital.

For the staff at GandhiHospital, drunken scenes are alltoo familiar. Only recently, 35-year-old Laxmipathy created aruckus in the casualty ward, fol-lowing which he had to beadmitted to the emergency wardto control the situation.

Situations like these are aneveryday affair for hospital staff.

In fact, doctors in the emergencywing of the hospital first checkfor traces of alcohol before pro-ceeding with any treatment. DrAfzal K at the emergency sectionsaid that over the past fewmonths, alcohol-related acci-dent cases have increased. “Weused to get many such cases ear-lier, but the numbers haveincreased drastically in the

recent past,” he said. The doctorsaid alcohol cases in the pastone year averaged 300 a monthas compared to 200 in the corre-sponding period last year.

Confirms Dr Naina Acharya,a senior doctor at GandhiHospital’s emergency wing, “Tomy knowledge, such cases haveincreased by about 30 per centwhen compared to last year.Most of the accident victimsconsume alcohol, losing motorcontrol and end up hurtingthemselves and others aroundthem. We advise them to controltheir alcohol intake.”

Why you shouldn’tdrink too much?

Medical experts say exces-sive alcohol consumption cancause alcohol poisoning. Thiscondition can be extremely dan-gerous, or even fatal in extremecases. Alcohol poisoning occurswhen a large amount of alcoholis consumed, such as drinking acocktail of more than five alco-holic beverages in a shortamount of time, though theexact amount of beverages thatdetermines the limit for one isdetermined by age and body constitution.

Other substances containingforms of alcohol can also causealcohol poisoning is consumingwittingly or unwittingly substa -nces like antifreeze rubbing alc -o hol and some lotions. Accide -ntal consumption of any of theseproducts may result in alcoholpoisoning. The use of illegaldrugs and many prescriptionmedications can also cause alco-hol to be fatal. Some prescrip-tion medications and otherdrugs amplify the effects of alco-hol, causing alcohol poisoning.

ALCOHOLISM

Drunken dramaskeep Gandhi on toesUse and abuse of alcohol happen to be on the rise as is evident from the number of victims brought to City’s premier public hospital

Alcohol-relatedcases haveincreased by about 30 per centwhen compared tolast year.

Dr Naina Acharya

Postnoon Newsfeedback@postnoon.com

LK Meena, director ofFinancial services in theUnion Finance Ministry, has

suggested that AP speed up thedigitisation of the land records inthe State to help banks verify theland holdings of farmers for cashand disbursement of loans.

The revenue department inthe State was assigned the task ofcompleting the process of onlinerecords. Minister for RevenueRaghuveera Reddy said that theprocess was going ahead well.“We know digitisation of theland records will also help theState government in a big way,”he stated.

The minister also said that 200lakh land records of 67 lakh farm-ers in 203 talukas have been com-puterised in Karnataka under theBhoomi programme and the APgovernment was completing theprocess in a similar format. Thefarmers also can have the landrecords verified wheneverrequired once they are comput-erised.

Deposit of Title deedsfor Equitable Mortgage

The State government hassuggested to notify the placeswhere bank branches wouldwork for creation of equitablemortgage by deposit of titledeeds under Section 58(f ) ofTransfer of Property Act, as thebranches in those areas are fac-ing a lot of inconvenience forcreation of mortgage whilefinancing loans to borrowers.

Digitisationof lands inprogress, saysminister

PAULO ROCKER

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 5Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin CitiesHyper Local

1 Year` 349/-

6 Months` 199/-

SubscriptionOffer

Hyderabad’s first afternoon newspaper

Subscribe Today!

040 - 4067 2222subscription@postnoon.com

U Srinivassrinivas.u@postnoon.com

Alot has to be done forengineering education, Areport on the engineer-ing education in the

State submitted to the high levelcommittee formed by the AP gov-ernment gives a grim portrait ofthe colleges and suggests ways toimprove them.

“Number of students is goingup but the standard is goingdown,” says the report. The mainreason is lack of infrastructureand faculty. Besides permanentinfrastructure, health care,grievance redressal, counseling,and placement are far below par.

Talking to Postnoon, ministerfor higher education DamodaraRajanarsimha agreed that despitehaving 707 engineering colleges,

the number meeting the criteriais small. The government willcheck the quality of education inthe colleges, he said. The bench

mark given by the experts wouldbe taken and will be implement-ed without delay and the qualitywould be improved he assured.

Md Inkeshaf Ahmedahmed.m@postnoon.com

The lottery scheme exposed them, andnow the property owners who had

been paying `100-150 per annum tax dueto the corporation’s failure in makingperiodical reassessment are receivingcalls from the GHMC officials.

The GHMC in its drive to collectproperty tax, managed to net a record`634 crore by the end of March. The offi-cials are now concentrating on a specialdrive to reassess the low tax payers.

The fact that the Corporation had

been losing substantial revenue due tothe officials’ failure to revaluate the prop-erties came to the notice of the commis-sioner M T Krishna Babu when the lot-tery scheme launched and the propertytax payers who won used to pay a paltrysum of `150 or so. This amount seems tohave been fixed 30-40 years ago.

The commissioner, after having ahearty laugh, ordered a check and foundthat over 50,000 property tax payers arepaying measly sums. This years target is`720 crore

“We implemented many innovativesteps. These steps resulted in augmenta-tion of our income. This year we are plan-ning to dispatch demand notices in Mayitself. This would mentally prepare thetax payers,” GHMC chief valuation officerPankaja told Postnoon. During the lastfiscal, the officials began to send thedemand notices in June and sentreminders through SMS till the tax payersrealised the dues. It may be emphasisedthat during 2010-11, the corporationcould only achieve `494 crores incomethrough property tax. Officials are fret-ting that the higher-up are caught in theglitz of corporate behaviour. “What dothey think we are, marketing managers?”queried a lower-rung functionary.

Postnoon Newsfeedback@postnoon.com

The Centre has received areport that some leaders of

the Congress in AP were work-ing against the government andthe party.

They were named ascohorts in the report. Sourcesindicated that the report couldhave been prompted by theCMO through the intelligence.The report named those who

are providing fodder to rivals. The prominent names are K

Kesava Rao (MP), Jeevan Reddy,DL Ravindra Reddy, MadhuYashki Goud (MP), Peddi ReddyRamchandra Reddy, Vivek(MP), Shanker Rao (ex-minis-ter).

There are reports thatShanker Rao would resign fromthe party on or after April 20.There are speculations that hemay now join TRS or YSRCongress.

Panel finds fault withengineering collegesHigh level committee report on engineering colleges in AP finds thatthe colleges are far below par in infrastructure and quality education

1.Preference was given to the out-ward splendor of the buildingsrather than the facilities insidesuch as e class rooms and labs

2. No lab equipment, no Internetfacilities

3. Low priority to home work,usage of library and subscriptionof standard journals

4. No trained faculty nor encour-agement to upgrade the teachingability

5. Less concern at the time of selec-tion of the faculty

6. No video lessons7. Less emphasis on bridge and

remedial courses8. No encouragement for research

and consultancy9. Low priority to linkage with

industry10. Treating engineering colleges as

a business proposition11. Priority to just fill the seats

What the committee found

GHMC goes corporate,new target for 2012-13Encouraged by a record collection of `634 crore prop-erty tax, the Corporation sets a new target for officials

A play depicting the crucifixion of Christ being presented inthe City on the occasion of Good Friday M ANIL KUMAR

THE PASSION

Report on cohort Congress leaders

1. A change from the exam orient-ed teaching system

2.Valueable additions in terms ofinternships and collaborations

3. Core specialisation and soft skillsmust be included

4. Strengthening home work,research and project work

Remedies:

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 6Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin CitiesHyper Local

FABRICATION

CLASSIFIEDS

The APSRTC Staffand Workers

Federation haslashed out at theRTC managementfor calling upon theemployees to getready for sacrificesto save the corpora-tion, which was inrecurring losses.They also demand-ed that the man-agement immedi-ately stop harassingthe workers.

Speaking to themedia here onThursday,Federation leaderssaid that it wasshameful on thepart of the manage-ment to say that theworkers have toprotect the RTC.They alleged thatthe managementitself was throwingthe RTC into crisis.

They alsoalleged that theRTC managementwas allotting primeland worth severalcrores of rupees toprivate peopleunder the pretext ofbailing out the RTCfrom losses. Theemployees were notin a position to bearthe harassment andincreasing burden,they said.

Meanwhile, theAPSRTC executivedirector KoteshwaraRao said that theywere plying 6,126buses additionallyfrom Hyderabadkeeping the sum-mer rush in mind.

APSRTCworkers slammanagement

ICONIC CITYChowmahalla palace, Moti Gali, Charminar

Hyderabad as a Cityhas a lot to offer interms of heritage

and sights. We takea look at the vari-

ous places thatmake this City so

special

Osama Salman

SRINIVAS SETTYIf you ever want to expe-rience the grandeur ofthe royal city of

Hyderabad, go toChowmahalla Palace in OldCity. Being the official resi-dence of the Nizam, youwill be transported to theglorious history thatrevolves around thesebeautiful gardens. Thename literally translates tofour palaces. Chowmahallatakes you aback as soon asyou enter. With intricatedesigns, this is truly anarchitectural marvel.

Upon coming here, youcan see the epitome of roy-alty that the Nizams werefamous for. On display arerare family photographs,

clothes, jewellery, furniture,chandeliers, clocks andcars, all displayed in thetrue Nizami style. It tookyears of hard work anddetermination to restorethis palace and this hasbeen concreted withUNESCO heritage award.

Do see the cars put ondisplay here, especially thefleet of rare Rolls-Royce.The palace is closed onFridays. But it’s best to visitthis heritage site early inthe day spend it soaking inthe sheer opulence. Timecomes to an halt as youenter Chowmahalla. It is atrip worth making, and noholiday is complete with-out a visit here.

Anubha K Singhanubha.k@postnoon.com

Thousands took partin a grandHanuman Jayanthiprocession that

began from the GowligudaRam temple around 11 amthis morning.

Eager devotees hadbegun to arrive at the tem-ple since early morning.The air was rent with JaiHanumanji slogans. VHPinternational presidentPravin Thogadia and VHPpresident Raghava Reddyparticipated in the pooja.Two prominent leaders,Yaman Singh andRamaswamy flagged offthe rally.

The City police madeelaborate arrangements inview of Hanuman Jayanthi,Good Friday and FridayMosque prayers all takingplace together. Some 10,000policemen have beenmobilised and the policehad barricaded somemosques the rally wouldpass in a bid to preventpossible trouble.

Chief Minister N KiranKumar Reddy also held atelephonic review with DGPDinesh Reddy over thesecurity arrangementsbeing made for the festi-vals. He instructed thedirector general of police totake all possible measuresto ensure the peaceful pas-sage of the HanumanJayanthi procession.

FESTIVAL

Grandeur rules at rallyN SHIVA KUMAR

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 7Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin CitiesHyper Local

Anubha K Singhanubha.k@postnoon.com

It’s time for hot cross buns,bunnies breads, cookies andnot to forget the traditional

Easter eggs. It’s time for theChristian community inHyderabad to celebrate Easter onSunday. Easter is the culminationof the 40-day lent, which is a timeof fasting and spiritual renewal.

“Easter is a big celebration forour community. Christmas is acelebration of the birth of JesusChrist, and Good Friday is thedeath day or crucifixion day andresurrection from the death is

celebrated as Easter. The pecu-liarity of Easter is that it is a com-mon fest for all denominations ofChristians,” said, FR Michael, aRailway Employee. Hyderabad ishome to some five lakhChristians and they have nearly20 churches.

Easter prayers are heldevening in all the City’s churches.There is no mention of Easter bun-nies and eggs in the Bible but cele-bration of Easter is incompletewithout Easter eggs and bunnies.

“Easter has been synonymouswith the long-eared, cotton-tailed creature and kids paintingor adding creativity to eggs. Thereis a special tradition going on inmy family since ages. The elderpeople from the family hide dec-

orated eggs during Easter cele-brations and children in the fam-ily hunt for them in return of can-dies, chocolates, cookies andother goodies,” said Binoy Jacob,

a pharmaceutical employee.“Initially, real chicken eggs

were decorated with colourfulpaint for the festival but nowplastic and chocolate eggs are in

the market and are being increas-ingly used instead of the real onesfor the Easter egg hunt,” he adds.

“I have only been having vege-tarian food since the last 40 daysas a part of lent. I have collectedmoney in my piggy bank which Iwill spend on having non- vege-tarian dishes in restaurants. I willattend evening prayer on Easterday in Holy Family Church,” saidBeula CH, team leader in RealPageIndia.

On Easter, there is a pre-dawnservice. The services on the dayare comparatively large and dif-ferent from regular services. Thecommunity members believethat the day symbolises the victo-ry of good over evil and everyhousehold rejoices on this day.

Rahul Ramakrishnarahul.r@postnoon.com

Hyderabad has contraryto the general belief, arampant human organtrade that remains hid-

den from public view. The secre-tive trade is mostly aided andabetted by rogue doctors andpolicemen, victimising theunwary poor who are in direstraight. A close look at thegoings-on in some of the City’sleading public hospitals revealsthe nasty face of human avarice.

While the OrganTransplantation Act of 1994banned donation or sale ofhuman organs and tissues fromany person other than a near arelative, organ traffickers havecashed in on a loophole thatallowed “sympathy donation”,thereby making it easy for themto get away with their heinousact. A compounder at the GandhiHospital, when asked about theavailability of kidneys or liver fordonation said, the whole thingwas an expensive affair but itcould be managed. A kidney’srate can cost anywhere from`50,000 to `2 lakhs depending onthe availability and requirements.

While recent legislations havepromised stricter regulations andharsh punishments for thosecaught in illegal organ trade, thescene on the streets is gravely dif-ferent. The compounderexplained that the most sought

after organ was the kidney andthat it is mostly labourers andpeople from the lower strata ofthe society who, desperate formoney, go in to sell their kidneysfor as cheaply as about `10,000when the kidney is then sold torich patients at a high price. Thisracket is conducted by a fewimmoral doctors under the pro-tection of the police. Apparently,people from Hyderabad havegone to other Metros to donatetheir organs, indicating the widenetwork of the organ trade.

Apart from the poor scape-goats who part with their organsand tissues very easily, the nextmajor source of organs and tis-sues are unclaimed corpses. Thetraffickers have a wide network ofinformants who perform unau-thorised removal of organs froman unclaimed corpse. These bod-ies are often whisked away fromthe mortuaries after greasing thepalms of the concerned officials,said the medical compounder atGandhi.

Satya Harischandra Found -ation, a society active in cremat-ing and disposing unclaimeddead bodies had been combatingthis issue for many years. GMahesh Chandra, president ofthe foundation, said “It is notuncommon to find an unclaimeddead body with many of its vitalparts missing. The dangerousthing about it is that the bodycould be a host to many infec-tions and diseases. And if a kid-ney or a liver were to be removedfrom it and sold in the black mar-ket, the recipient's fate is sealed.”

The need for organs is muchgreater than the supply that haspaved the way for the black mar-ket of human organ trade toflourish so well. Citizens are notaware of the importance ofpledging their organs after deathso that it may be of immense helpto a person in need. MOHAN(Multi Organ Harvesting AidNetwork), a charitable, non profitorganisation works towardsspreading awareness about thesocial responsibility of pledgingorgans after death. LalitaRaghuram, director of theMOHAN Foundation said, “Wehelp people donate and pledgetheir organs after death throughawareness programs. In the past5 years we have helped over 120transplants and have gatheredmore than 750 organs and tis-sues. We ensure that the pledgedorgans are donated by a personafter death and work closely withthe police in spreading aware-ness and importance aboutorgan donation.”

Traders in human misery flourishThe multi-crore human organ trade continues unabated despite the law banning it. The involvement ofsome black sheep in the medical fraternity and in khakhi contributes to the crime

Easter preparations in full swingCity Christians are all set to celebrate Easter on Sunday with prayers, feasts and family get-togethers

FESTIVAL

WHILE THE ORGANTRANSPLANTATION ACT OF1994 BANNED DONATIONOR SALE OF HUMAN ORGANSFROM ANY PERSON OTHERTHAN A NEAR A RELATIVE,TRAFFICKERS HAVE CASHEDIN ON A LOOPHOLE THATALLOWED SYMPATHY DONA-TIONS.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

CRIME

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 20128Matters of saving and spendingBusinessNUMEROLOGY

THUS SPAKE

GOOGLE PLANS

BAD NEWS

$5.14billionfirst-quarter operating profit

of South Korea’s SamsungElectronics — a 97 percentrise from the previous year.

This (allowing for-eign airlines topick up stake inIndian carriers)has been dis-cussed with theFinance Minister,the Civil AviationMinister andmyself and anappropriate viewand decision willbe taken verysoon,”

Anand SharmaCommerce and

Industry Minister

Google co-founder Larry Pageon Thursday said that his firstyear back at the company’shelm has been marked by bigbets on social networkingand mobile gadgets. Pagemarked the anniversary of hisreturn as chief executive ofthe Internet colossus by shar-ing his thoughts in a letterposted at Google+ social net-work. “Since becoming CEOagain, I’ve pushed hard toincrease our velocity, improveour execution, and focus onthe big bets that will make adifference in the world,” Pagesaid.

A small credit ratings agencyon Thursday downgraded theUnited States’ credit ratingfor a second time, arguingthe country was no closer tosolving its runaway debtproblem. In a move thatcould foreshadow decisionsfrom larger agencies, Egan-Jones downgraded the US toAA from AA+. The companycited “the lack of any tangi-ble progress on addressingthe problems and the contin-ued rise in debt to GDP.”“For the first time sinceWWII, US debt exceeds 100per cent,” analysts said, pre-dicting that would rise to106 per cent by the end ofthe year, calling that an“inflection point.” Egan-Jones scrapped the US’ top-level AAA rating in July, onemonth before S&P.

Laxmiamma has beenputting away the `500 thatshe saves every month,under her mattress. This

has been going on since 2002.She likes the smell of moneywhenever she picks up the mat-tress. She likes to keep countingthem. She likes their fadingcolour; it indicates that she hasbeen saving since really long andspeaks volumes about her disci-pline!

Somewhere in her heart,Laxmiamma has the desire to buyback the gold bangle that she hadto sell off when her husband tookseriously ill some 25 years backand the family needed the moneyfor his treatment. The bangleswere a wedding gift from hergrandmother and had 25g of gold.They were her pride. She felt like aqueen when she wore them.

Alas, there is still a long way togo. She only has `61,500(500*12*10yrs and 3 months)under the mattress. Two yearsback when she had gone to thejeweller, he told her that it wouldcost her `40,000.

When she went with `40,000to him, he said that the price ofgold has gone up and it will cost`60,000. Three months backwhen she went with `60,000 tohim, he said that now the banglewill cost `70,000. “If this is theway the price keeps going up, I’ll

never be able to buy those ban-gles”, thought Laxmiamma withtears welling in her eyes.

This is the story of a lot of us.While prices keep going up, ourincome and savings do not go upin the same proportion. And thisis where Prof. Nicky enters thescene.

Prof. Nicky does not promiseto solve all your financial prob-lems or make money grow ontrees. Prof. Nicky gives simpletips on money and investment,which might help ease your situ-

ation.Enter Laxmiamma and Prof.

Nicky.Prof. Nicky: Laxmiamma,

why do you keep your moneyunder the mattress? Does it growthere? And what if there is a thiefin the house one day? Why do youtake the risk of keeping it athome? Why don’t you invest it? Inthis way, the money is not onlysafe, it grows too! Yes, money cangrow if invested well.

Laxmiamma: “You meankeep it in the bank?”

Prof. Nicky: That is the easiestway to invest. You could at leaststart by putting your money inthe bank. Infact, you would havebeen able to buy your gold ban-gles by now if you had investedyour money in a recurringdeposit with a bank every month.By now you would have `84,682— (using 6% p.a. interest and theFuture Value of Annuity Formula)in your account instead of`61,500 under the mattress.

With popping eyes,Laxmiamma asks, “Really?”

Prof. Nicky: Really. You mightactually have earned even more,if you had invested in other assetslike Equities, Mutual Funds,Bonds, and Derivatives. In thepast ten years, the Equity indiceshave given over 400% returns inIndia. Of course with returncomes risk, but one must balancethe two and invest in asset classeswhere they are comfortable withthe risk.

Laxmiamma: I understandthat I should invest. And I amgoing to start by putting mymoney in the bank from now on,rather than under the mattress.But pray do tell me more aboutrisk and return and these otherasset classes that you have men-tioned.

Prof. Nicky: I will tell you thatin this column some other time.Till then, why don’t you thinkabout risk and return in our dayto day affairs?

The author is a seniorresearcher at Centre for

Investment, Indian School ofBusiness

Let your money growMoney MattersNupur Pavan Bang

HYDERABAD: Acer Indiatopped desktop segment with amarket share of 13.2per cent percent in the fourth quarter of2011 calendar year, according toIT market research and advisoryfirm IDC’s report. Acer regis-tered a growth of 5.2 per cent,quarter on quarter, (QoQ) basisand also a growth rate of 19.4per cent, year on year.

Acer also became the leaderin Mini-Notebook/ Netbookvendor in India for four consec-utive quarters, with a marketshare of 42.2 per cent in lastquarter of 2011 (calendar year).

The desktop marked hadtough macro-economic chal-lenges in 2011 with the dollarfluctuation and hard disk driveshortage. However, Acer contin-ued to maintain its position bysizeable wins from the govern-ment, large private corporateand the education segment.“Our business model ensured

fresh technology being contem-porized ahead of others, alongwith efficient and seamlesslogistics support proved to beextremely critical for us in meet-ing customers’ requirementsacross various industry verticals.We also had various channelpartner initiatives that helpedmotivate our partners duringdifficult business environment,”said S Rajendran, chief market-ing officer, Acer India.

Acer also topped the desk-top category in 2011 (calendaryear) with a market share of10.67 per cent.

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter onTh u rsday turned to a US federal co -urt in its latest effort to stop spa m -mers targeting the worldwide one-to-many text messaging service.

Twitter sued a small cadre ofwhat it described as “the mostaggressive” culprits behind blitzesof messages ranging from junkpromotions to frauds and evenlinks to websites or files booby-trapped with viruses. “Our engi-neers continue to combat spam-

mers’ efforts to circumvent oursafeguards, and tod ay we’re add -ing another wea pon to our arse-nal: the law,” the San Francisco-based firm said in a blog post.

“With this suit, we’re goingstraight to the source.” The suitfiled in a San Fran cisco federalcourt targets five spam-generatingsoftware programs and their cre-ators, according to Twitter.

“By shutting down tool prov -iders, we will prevent other spam-mers from having these services attheir disposal,” Twitter said.

“Further, we hope the suit actsas a deterrent to other spammers.”

AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebookhas picked the technology-heavy Nasdaq exchange for amuch-anticipated stock mar-ket debut expected nextmonth, according to uncon-firmed reports on Thursday.

Facebook will trade underthe symbol “FB” in a record-

setting initial public offering ofshares on the Nasdaq, the NewYork Times said in a story citingunnamed sources.

Facebook in February filedto go public and could raise asmuch as $10 billion in thelargest flotation ever by anInternet company. AFP

Facebook to debut on Nasdaq

Twitter sues spammers Acer tops the chartsin desktop category

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201210India unveiled India‑View

LEH: At 73, Ama Sonam Dolmais a successful entrepreneur. Shegrows the seeds of exotic vegeta-bles and herbs which we buy at ahandsome price to spice ourpasta, soups and salads. Theonly difference: the seeds of herbroccoli, lettuce, bok choy andleek are very much Indian unlikethe European varieties in themarket.

Staying in Upper Tukcha, avillage about a kilometre fromLeh town in Ladakh, Ama(Mother) Dolma got into thisbusiness at the age of 58 whenmost people retire. Her seedsinstantly became a hit with theforeign tourists.

“My seeds are kept in thelocal products’ shop of theWomen’s Alliance, an NGO. Mostforeigners like the seeds as theyare organic," she said.

Seeds in Ladakh are increas-ingly becoming a lucrative busi-ness, thanks to the region’s coldand dry climate. With a mini-mum investment of `2,000,those like Ama Dolma are earn-ing about `30,000 annually fromseeds.

“Seeds, like that of leek forinstance, are imported fromEurope. They cannot be pro-duced anywhere in India butLadakh. Other seeds like beet-root, knol khol, celery and zuc-chini can also be easily grown inLadakh because the regionenjoys long daylight hours,which means high light intensi-ty," said Dorjay Anghcuk, a sci-entist at the Defence Institute of

High Altitude Research (DIHAR)in Leh that works under theDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation.

“This, combined with verylow humidity, makes Ladakhquite congenial for the produc-tion of seeds," he said. “Thesealso fetch a good price."

Added Shashi Bala Singh, aformer director of DIHAR“Because of the weather, vegeta-bles transform from vegetativeto reproductive state, which iswhen they breed seeds. Also,their size grows bigger than nor-mal. The flowers are also biggerand more in number, whichmeans more seeds."

Surprised tourists stop to

buy the unusually fat zucchiniand cauliflower (sometimesweighing more than 2kg) in theLeh market where many awomen sit selling their extraor-dinary stuff.

In one acre of her field, AmaDolma has a treasure trove ofparsley, celery, Swiss Chard, theGerman Knol khol, beetroot andzucchini apart from carrot,radish, cabbage, cauliflower,onion and a variety of spinachseeds which would be any chef’sdelight.

All her seeds are certified bythe National Seeds Corp ofIndia. “I sell lettuce seeds for`840 a kg and knol khol for`2,000 a kg. The mongol variety

of spinach goes for `2,000 a kg.Onion and radish seeds sellcheap at `500 a kg but mostlocal farmers easily buy them,"said Ama Dolma.

“If these seeds are exportedto other regions in the country,farmers will get better rates. Butagricultural labour cost is higheras compared to other states.This, along with transportationcost, would mean that we cancompete only in high valueexotic vegetables and not onionand cabbage."

Mohammad Hussain, thechief agriculture officer of Leh,said “Scientists say there is greatpotential to produce organicseeds in Ladakh. The soil here isnot yet contaminated; thereforethe disease incidence in plantsis very low. Most seed varietiesIndia imports can be easilygrown here."

AVT Natural Products Ltd, aKochi-based company, is exper-imenting with the production ofmarigold seeds in Ladakh.

Although farmers aroundLeh town are growing seeds,most in Ladakh still farm tradi-tional crops.

“Young people, whom oneexpects to experiment with newthings, are moving out for armyor tourism jobs. Old people stillfarming do not take to new ideaseasily. We need to convince theyoung to stay back and experi-ment with production of seedsand tab the market outsideLadakh," said Angchuk ofDIHAR. IANS

NEW DELHI: History books are inchingback on the shelves — but with a dash ofdrama and peppy language to hook theaverage reader.

“I think there are two major attractionsthat a historical narrative holds for us.First, history is all about stories...storiesabout people and places with the benefitof hindsight. And who doesn’t like a goodstory?" asked Udayan Mitra, publisher ofAllen Lane and Portfolio imprints atPenguin Books India. “And the second his-torical epics are full of heroism, grandeurand romance - something that entertainseveryone,” Mitra said.

People read historical fiction becausethey give readers a window into a time theyhave no idea of, says Priya Kapoor, editorand director of Roli Books.

“Historical fiction brings alive historyin a more entertaining way. We would cer-tainly like to know how people of that timelived, what they ate and what did they do.Such books take history to another level,”Kapoor told IANS.

Roli Books have two new titles underproduction — a fictionalised volume,Hidden Women, by British Nepalese writerGreta Rana about the Rana (royal) womenof Nepal and an untitled fictional workabout Maurya and Gupta rule in Magadh -what is now Bihar — by Geneva-basedIndian debutante Sumedha Ojha, a nativeof Bihar, Kapoor said. The market is flood-ed with historical titles.

“History books priced `299 to `499with exciting tales fetch maximum busi-ness,” Mirza Asad Baig of the MidlandBookstore in the capital told IANS.

Hot on the shelves for almost a year isa fictional trilogy — built around facts -about the life of Mughal emperor

Jahangir, wife Noor Jahan and son ShahJahan by Indu Sundaresan — The ShadowPrincess, The Twenteith Wife and TheFeast of Roses.

Sundaresan says she decided to “writethe trilogy after she stumbled upon abook on Mughal harems in her last year atthe graduate school at the University ofDelaware” and later realised that “therewere stories to be told".

Author Alex Rutherford gives Mughalhistory a racy fictional twist in his trilogyEmpire of the Mughal, while New Zea -land-based award-winning author DavidHair connects to young Indian readerswith lores from Ramayana in his Return ofthe Ravana trilogy — Pyre of the Queens,Swayamvara and The Ghost Bride.

And the exploits of Lord Ram ofAyodhya gets fictional makeover in writerAshok Banker’s six-part Ramayana novels.In The Forest of Stories, Banker retells theMahabharata while the The KrishnaCoriolis scripts the exploits of LordKrishna. IANS

Ladakh home to boomingexotic veggie market

History doused with drama a big hit

Italy’s lastresort: priestsKOLLAM: After the visit of threeItalian ministers to try and gettwo Italian marines released fromprison, Kerala witnessed a roundof Church diplomacy when twoItalian priests arrived at the homeof one of the fishermen shot deadby the marines.

Confirming to IANS that onWednesday two Italian priestsarrived here and visited the homeof Gelastine, one of the two fish-ermen killed by the Italianmarines, Father Rajesh Martinsaid the visit was “just a spiritualexercise”.

“Reports that have appearedin a section of the media that thevisit of the Italian priests was tofind an out-of-court settlementare baseless.

Two fishermen, Ajesh Binki,25, and Gelastine, 45, were appar-ently mistaken as pirates andshot dead by marines aboard thevessel Enrica Lexie on February15, off Alappuzha.

The marines, Latorre Massi -mi llano and Salvatore Girone, we -re picked up from the vessel andsent to jail February 20 on murderch arges by a court in Kollam. Theyare lodged in the Central Prison inthe state capital Thiruvanan th -apuram. Gelastine’s wife and chil-dren have filed a petition in thehigh court demanding compen-sation of `1 crore.

The Shadow PrincessThe Twenteith WifeThe Feast of Roses.Pyre of the QueensThe Krishna Coriolis

Hottesthistorical

dramas

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201211India unveiled India‑ViewGLOBE AT A GLANCE

Hostage crisis: Orissa tofree 27 Naxal prisonersBHUBANESWAR: Orissa ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik on Thursdayannounced the names of 27 people,including a Maoist’s wife, whose releasewill facilitate the freeing of an Italian anda legislator being held captive by Maoists.Patnaik said the decision to facilitate therelease was taken on humanitariangrounds and he expected the rebels wouldreciprocate and release the hostages.

Eight killed in roadGujarat accidentANAND (GUJARAT): Eight personswere killed today and 10 others injuredwhen a truck collided with a luxury bus inKheda district. The incident took place onthe Mahuda-Dakore road near Alina vil-lage, police said. The injured have beentaken to the government hospital in Khedadistrict headquarters Nadiad and areundergoing treatment.

3 injured as constable’srifle fires accidentallyPUNE: Three persons were injured as aservice rifle belonging to a police consta-ble accidentally fired inside a hotel thismorning. According to the police, constableVilas Nivrutti Kashid of Khadak PoliceStation was at the hotel, having tea, whenthe incident happened. His rifle, kept on achair, slipped and three rounds got fired,injuring a waiter and two customers.

Kashmir gunfight ends,five guerrillas killed

ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani withhis family during a visit to theTulip garden in Srinagar onThursday. PTI

Uttarakhand Chief Minister VijayBahuguna meets Uttar PradeshChief Minister Akhilesh Yadav inLucknow on Thursday. PTI

SRINAGAR: Five separatist guerrillaswere killed Thursday in a 10-hour gunfightbetween the security forces and the guer-rillas in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district,police said. Last week, five guerrillasbelonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) out-fit were killed in two separatist gunfightsin the same district.

UNITED NATIONS: Indiaand China will witness thelargest growth in their urbanpopulations in the next fourdecades, posing new chal-lenges of providing jobs, hous-ing, energy and infrastructureto their people, the UnitedNations said today.

The UN’s ‘2011 Revision ofthe World Urbanisation Prosp -ects’ said Africa and Asia willlead the global urban populati -on growth in the next four de -ca des with the largest increasesexpected in India, China,

Nigeria, US and Indonesia.India will add another 497

million to its urban populationbetween 2010 to 2050, whileChina will see 341 million peo-ple moving into urban citiesfollowed by Nigeria (200 mil-lion), the US (103 million) andIndonesia (92 million).

The projected increase inurban population in India andNigeria between 2010 and 2050will be higher than that of thepast 40 years.

This trend is particularly pr -ominent in Nigeria, where its

ur ban population grew by only65 million between 1970 and2010, but is projected to incr ea -se by 200 million betw een 2010and 2050 — the third lar gestincrease in urban population ofall countries of the world.

Africa’s urban populationwill increase from 414 millionto over 1.2 billion by 2050 whilethat of Asia will soar from 1.9billion to 3.3 billion.

The UN said both regionswould together account for 86per cent of all increase in theworld’s urban population. PTI

Senior citizenturns ‘serial’killer in TNSALEM (TN): Fearing thathis son would send him awayafter inheriting the property,as he saw in a TV serial, anoctogenarian former pan-chayat president killed himwith an iron rod while he wasasleep, police said.

They said the 80-year-oldman was watching the seriallast night at Valpadi pan-chayat, showing a man send-ing his parents away from atown after inheriting theproperty.

Scared that the same fatemight befall him, he took aniron rod, went to where hisson was sleeping and beathim to death, police said.

His wife and daughterwere also asleep at the timeof the incident.

The old man, who hasbeen arrested, was running aschool in the village and had20 acres of cultivated land,police said. PTI

KOLKATA: Faced with criti-cism over transfer of senior IPSofficer Damayanti Sen, whohad differed with MamataBanerjee on the genuineness ofthe Park Street rape case, theWest Bengal CM defended thedecision saying it was a prerog-ative of the government.

Banerjee, without referringto the transfer of Sen, the for-mer JCP (Crime), said “it is theprerogative of my governmentto get the job done by some-one who can perform in a bet-ter way.”

Pointing out that it was themanagement of media houseswhich decided who would beeditor and other staff, Banerjeealleged a section of the mediaand television news channelswere making personal attackson her and trying to malign hergovernment.

“This is yellow journalism.The manner in which personalattacks are being made is aconspiracy and a plantedgame.

“Those who are engaged inthis planted game, how can

they claim that they areimpartial? Just as I cannotimpose or bulldoze, you can-not impose or bulldoze,” shesaid at the launch of ‘Kalom’, aBengali daily.

Banerjee said “one can dis-agree with my policies. Thefreedom of the press has abroad meaning. The deliberatemisuse of the pen can be dan-gerous for society.

“If self-interest is notserved, one will resort to lies.This is not the freedom of thepress,” she said. PTI

NEW DELHI/RANCHI: Arm edwith the Jharkhand High Courtorder, the Election Commissionsaid it will write to Governmentseeking a CBI probe into allega-tions of use of money power in lastweek’s countermanded RajyaSabha elections in the state.

Hailing the Court’s dismissal ofthe petition challenging the ECdecision to countermand elec-tions and its order for a probe by aspecialised agency like CBI, ChiefElection Commissioner SYQuraishi said it was yet anothersuccess aganist corruption. Healso said he was “extremelydelighted” with the court verdict.

Quraishi said the poll body willformally write to the Union HomeMinistry on Monday for the CBIprobe.

He also said that a probe bythis central investigating agencywas one of the options which wasunder the consideration of theElection Commission early thisweek. IANS

Mamata defendsace cop’s transfer

Jharkhand:EC to seekCBI probe

India, China to lead urbanpopulation growth: UN

Artists present a show to pay tribute to the late singer Kishore Kumar at Nautanki Mahal inGurgaon. PTI

GRAND CEREMONY

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201212Around the World Beyond Borders

Today the finalists forthe Wolfson Econ om -ics Prize were annou -nced. This year, theprize is offering

£2,50,000 to whoever has thebest idea for an orderly breakupof the Euro.

The finalists are allhere:a) Catherine Dobbs - The

NEWNEY approach tounscrambling the Euro.

b) Roger Bootle - Leaving theeuro: A practical guide.

c) Jonathan Tepper - A Primer onthe Euro Breakup: Default,Exit and Devaluation as theOptimal Solution.

d) Jens Nordvig - Planning for anorderly break-up of theEuropean Monetary Union.

e) Neil Record - If member statesleave the Economic andMonetary Union, what is thebest way for the economicprocess to be managed to pro-vide the soundest foundationfor the future growth andprosperity of the currentmembership?

All the papers certainly make forgood reading on the issue.

There was also an hon-ourable mention to 11-year-old

Jurre Hermans of theNetherlands. And we have to say,it’s actually kind of tyrannical

from the mind of an 11-year-oldboy:

Greece should leave theEuro. How do you do that?

All Greek people shouldbring their Euro to the bank.They put it in an exchange

machine (see left on his picture).You see, the Greek guy does notlook happy!! The Greek man getsback Greek Drachmae from thebank, their old currency.

The Bank gives all theseeuros to the Greek government

(see top left on my picturebelow). All these euros togetherform a pancake or a pizza (seeon top in the picture). Now theGreek government can start topay back all their debts, every-one who has a debt gets a slice ofthe pizza. You see that all theseeuros in the pizzas go the com-panies and banks who havegiven loans in Greece (see rightin my picture)

Now here comes the cleverpart of my idea.

The Greek people do notwant to exchange their Euro’s fordrachmas because they knowthat this drachmas will lose itsvalue dramatically. They try tokeep or hide their Euro’s. Theyknow that if they wait a whilethey will get more drachmas.

So if a Greek man tries tokeep his Euros (or(or bring hiseuros to a bank in an othercountry like Holland orGermany) and it is discovered,he gets a penalty just as high ordouble as the whole amount ineuros he tried to hide!!!

In this way I ensure that allGreeks bring their euros to aGreek bank and so the Greek gov-ernment can pay back all thedebts. I hope my idea helpsyou!!!! Of course if a country haspaid back all his debts, he canreturn to the eurozone.

A bit more about myself: Iam 10, love animals since I havea dog and a bird. I live in a familyof 5 in Holland. I have 5 friendswith whom I play all day, mostlyoutside.

PS: My father helped mewith my English translation as Ispeak Dutch

Jurre Hermans

WillKat flyeconomyIn this era of European austeri-

ty, even Prince William andKate Middleton are watching

their spending. The royal couple flew the

budget airline easyJet home fromtheir vacation in the Alps Sunday,Marie Claire said.

Will and Kate boarded theirflight early with their securityteam as other passengers Tweetedabout it, the magazine said.

While their memories of thetrip may be priceless, the UK’sDaily Mail points out Will andKate’s tickets for the Geneva toManchester flight may have costas little as £60 each.

And the royals didn’t get toskip security. Said the Daily Mail :“They went through the usualsecurity checks before boarding,and received no special treat-ment in the air.”

The paper noted that theflight wasn’t Will and Kate’s firston a budget airline.

The Duke and Duchess ofCambridge flew the budget air-line Flybe when returning to theManchester area from a weddingin Edinburgh last year.

Prince Harry also has beenspotted aboard EasyJet, MSNsaid.

Real cupid going strong 40 years onDHAKA: Kazi Ashraf Hossain’swork colleagues always told himhe had a talent for getting couplestogether, so when he was forced toquit his job as a crane operator, heset up as a matchmaker.

Nearly 40 years later, Hossain -known by his nickname “PakhiBhai” (Bird Brother) — is cele-brated as Bangladesh’s national“cupid” who has put togetherabout 10,000 couples.

“They said I had this naturalability to persuade a stubborngroom. I had to stop operatingcranes after an ulcer operation, soI thought why not give match-making a go?” he told AFP at hissmart office in the capital Dhaka.

“With an armful of photos, Iset myself up in business. Myfather vehemently opposed it. Forhim it was the worst job.”

In the early years, Pakhi Bhaiused to go about his trade like astreet hawker, visiting familiesdoor to door with photographs of

potential brides and grooms.“The number of clients was

negligible in the early days,” saidPakhi Bhai, who started out in

1973. “The reward was meagre,not enough to feed my familyproperly.”

“I used to travel betweenclients so fast that they wonderedwhether I flew in like a bird.Hence the name: Bird Brother.”

His break came in the late1970s, when he invested moneyand started to buy newspaperadvertisements.

“It shocked a lot of people.The hotel where I lived threat-ened to evict me,” he said.

But now he is a well-knowncelebrity, a regular feature onannual Valentine Day televisionspecials and widely admired forhis wealth, influence and con-tacts.

The job has changed from thedays of walking the streets, andPakhi Bhai now works out of hisheadquarters in a swish city mallwith three mobile phones on thego, a computer database and fivefemale assistants.

For Pakhi Bhai, all marriagesshould be “arranged” by familymembers in the traditional man-ner instead of being “love” mar-riages between two individuals.

“I have seen thousands oflove marriages break up after thewedding. These divorcees thencome to us for an arranged mar-riage,” he said. AFP

Kazi Ashraf Hossain, known as ‘Pakhi Bhai’, works in his office inDhaka. AFP/MUNIR UZ ZAMAN

Pakhi Bhai charges betweenUS$1,200(S$1,508) and

US$4,000 when a marriage takesplace, and also runs a membershipscheme that gives access to thou-sands of online resumes and pho-tographs.

Pizza solution for Euro!

Lord Wolfson, chief executiveof Next and a donor to theConservative party launched TheWolfson Economics Prize. It will bethe second largest cash prize toan academic economist after theNobel Prize.

Jurre Hermans pictorial representation of the solution.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201213Around the World Beyond Borders

GLOBE AT A GLANCEHackers claim to havedefaced 500 websitesLONDON:Hacker group Anonymous hasclaimed to have defaced around 500 web-sites in China to protest against theChinese government’s strict control of itscitizens, BBC reported.The targets includedgovernment sites, official agencies andtrade groups among others.The websitesdefaced had a same message posted onthem that chided the government for itsrepressive policies.

Man contacts MI5 toget wife arrestedLONDON:A man who tried to get hisestranged wife arrested by emailing MI5and claiming she had planted a bomb at aschool was jailed for 16 months.GhulamKibria, 33, caused panic after he sent abomb threat to the security service’s web-site.He pretended to be his wife and wroteon the website: ‘There is a bomb in PrinceAlbert Junior and Infant School in Aston’.

Mega Millions mysterydrags onBALTIMORE:The Mega Millions mys-tery dragged on Thursday with no one yetcoming forward for a share of a world-record $656 million jackpot, even after aBaltimore woman claimed she had a win-ning ticket. “No one has indicated to usthat they have the winning ticket,” saidStephen Martino, director of the Marylandlottery.

Tiny US town fetches $900,000 at auction

Parishioners in the Chapel of StJoseph of Arimathea, WashingtonDC, following the MaundyThursday mass. AFP

A man stands in front of riotpolicemen during a protest, helddue to the suicide of an elderlydebt-ridden Greek man. AFP

LOS ANGELES: Billed as the smallesttown in America, Buford, Wyoming, wassold at auction for $900,000 to aVietnamese national who wants to remainanonymous, the seller said. the packagewent to a Vietnamese man from Ho ChiMinh City. He actually flew here fromVietnam.

25 years in prison for‘merchant of death’NEW YORK: A US judge onThursday sentenced Russian‘merchant of death’ arms smu g -gler Viktor Bout to 25 years inprison for conspiring to sell amassive arsenal to anti-Am -erican guerrillas in Colombia.

Bout, 45, has been accusedof selling arms to despots andins urgency groups embroiled insome of the world’s bloodiestconflicts and was the inspirationfor the arms smuggler played byNicolas Cage in Lord of War.

Prosecutors had asked forlife in prison, but US districtjudge Shira Scheindlin decidedto give Bout the minimumrequired sentence of 25 years onone count and 15 years for eachof the three other counts ofwhich he was found guilty, torun concurrently.

“Twenty-five years is suffi-cient,” Scheindlin said, citingthe “unique circumstances” ofhis case and the fact that it wasthe result of a sting operation.

“He embraced an opportu-nity presented to him to makemoney, but didn’t seek it,” shesaid, adding there was “no evi-dence that he was looking to getactively involved with a terrorist

organisation.”She handed down the sen-

tence after the mustachioedBout, dressed in a light greenprison suit, stood before herand, dramatically pointing tothe packed court room, insistedhe was innocent.

“I am not guilty,” he said,speaking in Russian. “I neverintended to kill anyone and Inever intended to sell arms. Godknows the truth,” he said firmly.

His wife Alla and daughterLisa, 17, who wrote a letter to thejudge proclaiming her father’sinnocence, were seated in thesecond row in the courtroom.

The sentencing had beendelayed twice, with Bout’slawyer demanding more time toprepare his request and accus-ing prosecutors of “outrageousconduct” in allegedly entrap-ping the Russian.

Bout was eventually extra-dited and convicted inNovember on four counts ofconspiring to sell missiles to ter-rorists. “Today’s sentence is a fit-ting coda for this career armstrafficker of the most dangerousorder,” said US Attorney PreetBharara. AFP

Ex-CIA officer indicted

WASHINGTON: A formerCIA officer was indicted onThursday on charges of leak-ing secrets to journalists,including the name of acovert agent and the role ofanother CIA employee in clas-sified operations. JohnKiriakou was charged inJanuary with leaking secr ets.The indictment allows thecase to proceed to trial with-out an evidentiary hearing.The indictment grand jury inVirginia charged Kiriakou withone count of violating theIntelligence IdentitiesProtection Act and violatingthe Espionage Act. AFP

PENNSYLVANIA: The rally herebegan — as most Rick Santorumcampaign events do — with aprayer.

But barring divine interven-tion, it will take a change of heartby much of Pennsylvania’s diverseelectorate to help the religious ar -ch-conservative win his home sta -te and stay in the hunt for the Rep -

ublican presidential nomination.Santorum, trailing a distant

second in the battle to see who willchallenge President Obama inNovember, will spend the nextthree weeks criss-crossingPennsylvania after Easter.

He readily admits “we have towin here” on April 24 in order tokeep going. If he prevails it wouldprovide momentum into morefavourable contests in May, but ifhe loses it would likely be the endof his candidacy.

“Pennsylvania can be a newstarting point for Rick, and it cantake him through other states likeTexas,” state Senator John Eichel -berger told AFP at Wedne sday’srally in Hollidaysburg.

“It’s going to be much moredifficult for him to continue if hedoesn’t win Pennsylvania.” AFP

Santorum surge under doubt?

RENNES: Radioactive co -ol ing fluid leaked at a Frenchnuclear reactor on Thursdayfollowing two small fires, butthe spillage was safely col-lected separately, officialssaid.

A reactor at the powerplant in Penly near the portof Dieppe shut down auto-matically after two smallfires broke out Thursday, theplant’s operator EDF said.

Firefighters easily extin-guished the blazes but acooling pump was dam-aged, in turn causing a jointto leak radioactive waterinto collection tanks located

inside the reactor building.The reactor continued to

be cooled properly and tea -ms were working to lowerthe water pressure, the com-pany said.

EDF said the installationwas secure, no one wasinjured, and there were “noconsequences for the envi-ronment”.

It was not clear whatcaused the fires but theFrench Nuclear SafetyAuthority (ASN) said fire-fighters had found smallpools of burning oil butquickly extinguished theflames. AFP

Rick Santorum AFP

Mali rebelsdeclareindependencePARIS: Tuareg rebels ofnorth Mali’s NationalMovement for the Liberationof Azawad (MNLA) todayproclaimed the “indepen-dence of Azawad” in a state-ment on their website andthrough a spokesman onFrance 24 television.

“We solemnly proclaimthe independence of Azawadas from today,” said Mossa AgAttaher.He added that therebels would respect “theborders with other states.”

Armed Islamists hadstormed the Algerian con-sulate in northeastern Maliand abducted seven diplo-mats amid fears Al Qaeda-linked fighters are turning thecountry into a rogue stateand fuelling a crisis.

As the Tuareg trumpetedthe success of a decades-old-struggle to liberate theirhomeland, their fundamen-talist comrades-turned-rivalsbegan imposing Sharia law inparts of northern Mali.

The MNLA said as a resultof their successful conquestof an area they call theAzawad, they were halting allmilitary operations frommidnight on Thursday. AFP

Radioactive fluid leaks atFrench nuclear reactor

Obama team slams Romney over recordsWASHINGTON: US PresidentBarack Obama’s camp on Thursdayaccused Republican foe MittRomney of hiding his finances in a“black box” following a report heused an ethics loophole to avoidoffering details of some earnings.

The Washington Post reportunleashed a new spat between thepresident’s aides and Romney.

The report said that Romneylegally used an obscure exceptionin ethics laws to provide a limitedaccounting of his assets, making ithard to trace his wealth. Thepaper said the strategy made ittough to determine whether therewere conflicts of interest, or if hisassets were offshore or invested incontroversial companies. AFP

Firefighting vehicles are parked within the Penly nuclearpower plant. AFP

This courtroom sketch ofViktor Bout. AFP

TALK BACKAnger managementThank you for that piece what to do whenyou blow your top. I work in a very stressfulenvironment and by the end of the daysomeone in the office or the family has tobear the brunt of my anger. I realise thisis a bad habit but was having a lot ofdifficulty controlling it. After I read thehealth piece, I decided to put it intopractice and surprisingly I was muchcalmer. The idea of counting from one to10 never appealed to me , because for meby the end of my count, I would be evenmore angry. There are several incidents ofhighly talented people quitting jobs due toanger management issues. These kinds ofarticles are really helpful.

Kinshukh DalmiaKukatpally

Pets pageI am a fairly new reader of Postnoon and Iwould like to say that your paper with atruly refreshing look. I like the different cate-

gories your pages have beendivided into. The knowledgecentral page is my favouriteafter the pets page. The petspage provides so muchinformation that comes inhandy for us animal lovers.I was surprised to see theway you bring out gen-

uine articles and things thatnot many newspapers will care about looking into. Kudos and keep up the goodwork.

Ankit GuhaSecunderabad

No tears for copThe constable who shot himself in the tem-ple deserves no mercy. Cowards like himshould not have been inducted into theforce at all. The weapons are given to policeofficials so that they canuse it to save others andtheir lives in case of dan-ger and is not to be usedas an easy escape routefrom life. He never oncethought that by doing so hecould have harmed people inthe temple itself. Suppose theshots had ricocheted? If some-one wants shoot themselves, they shouldchoose some location where they will be thesole victim. Khateeja

Banjara Hills

Didi’s poor decisionMamata Banerjee’s decision to transfer thewoman IPS officer who was instrumental incracking the sensational rape case smacks ofnarrow minded arrogance. When she calledthe story cooked up and her minister ques-tioned the morals of the victim, the policeofficers refused to be prejudiced andbrought the culprits to book. By punish-ing such upright official, Mamata hasonce again proved that she is populistleader and horrible administrator.Earlier the railway minister from her

party who took the pragmatic decision tohike fares was forced to step down. If theCM continues like this she will disappointthe people who elected her with high hopes.

Vishal ChatterjeeKhairatabad

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201214Fair, free and forthrightComment

Iblast India too much. I’m not going to jus-tify or defend myself, just stating a fact.My housekeeper blasts India too… she’shad a hard life and blames her mother

country. The executives in my company blastIndia also… some of them have lived abroad,and they now find much fault with theirhomeland.

And newspapers, this one included, seemto blast India and its scandals and corruptionrelentlessly. But the truth is, all of us I think –ALL OF US – love India, love what it is, andlove what it could be. And I thought, for amoment, I’d spell out some of the little thingsthat make this country so extraordinary to livein for me, a foreigner, and maybe for you, ifyou’re a native. Things we should all appreci-ate, but maybe don’t.

Let’s start with mangoes, a very good placeto start. If heaven is filled with fruit, it wouldbe mangoes from the orchards of India.Nothing else like them on the planet. Okay,maybe huckleberries, but practically

nobody’s heard of huckleberries, so mangoesget the nod.

How about this? A doctor giving you theircell number! To many of us foreigners, that’salmost as bizarre and wonderful as, say, agreat restaurant saying you can eat there for-ever, for free. Simply unheard of, truly extraor-dinary and taken for granted here in India.

What about the water hose in bathrooms?I don’t want to get too intimate here, but thisinvention for me rivals the wheel, the com-puter and space travel. Life-altering. Now, ifonly someone would tell me what the bucket’sfor…

Himalayan Bottled Water. Please, toss outthe processed stuff you find in Kinley andAquafina bottles and splurge for theHimalayan. A water so light and delicate thatit belongs in a wine glass, served with a fineslice of French cheese. Perfection in H20.

Indigo and Spice Airlines. These amazing,low-cost airlines have personally called me onmy cell when I was at the wrong gate, theirplanes are always immaculate and their per-sonnel professional. In short, they kick thestuffing out of most foreign airlines I’ve flown,and they’re dirt cheap. What’s not to love?

Tandoori ovens. Is there anything thatdoesn’t taste great when cooked in aTandoori? Yummy!

Natural Ice Cream…delivered! Have youtried their tender coconut? Their mango? Thisstuff stimulates taste buds you didn’t evenknow you had and get this…they’ll deliver it toyour door! Watch out, waistline.

Monsoon. Every time the monsoons start Ifeel like a potted plant being watered by theheavens. Glorious.

Goa. What a tropical paradise should be.Fresh. Wild. Affordable. Exotic. As the BeachBoys once noted about Kokomo, everyoneneeds a place to get away, and the reality is,everyone should have a Goa.

There you go. A starter list. A glorious list.But really, missing the best of what India is…the thing we all live, every moment, every day,the thing that permeates every aspect of lifehere: the pure energy. The vibrancy. The hope.In a world that in the last four years has most-ly been devoid of optimism, India stands out.A great, frenetic, insane, extraordinarydemocracy moving forward to the future withpassion and spirit. It may drive you crazy, itmay drive me crazy, but when I step out ofIndia and back into the West, a part of meshifts into a somnambulist stupor from whichonly India can awaken me. Because Indiainvigorates the soul. Thanks, India.

A foreigner’s observations on living, work-ing, surviving and thriving in India

Editorials Incredible India!

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to us

comments, suggestions, view-point or just about anything to

feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,

Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033

or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222

PRISONER SWAPsets bad precedent

0rissa government’s deci-sion to swap 27 Maoistprisoners to secure the

release of two hostages – anItalian and an MLA – though

driven by humanitarian consid-erations, sets a dangerous

precedent. This is not the firsttime the Naxals have taken

hostages and forced the stateto accede their demands.

Considering the fact that thereare thousands of officials and

elected representatives in areaswhere Maoists are active, such

policies will open floodgates formore abductions. Thousands of

crores spent in anti-Maoistoperations and the loss of lives

suffered by security personnelin ‘liberating’ Maoist-controlled

territory and arresting theirleaders are nullified by such

incidents. The Maoist menace isas challenging as the threat the

country faces from terrorists.The Central government has

come out with clear guidelineson dealing with hostage situa-tions and negotiating with thecaptors – without compromis-

ing on national interests.However, the states are yet to

adopt similar strategies for situ-ations at state level. There

should not be a situation whereextremist outfits are allowed togain an upper hand because of

complacency of the states.

WHY WE LOVEGhost ships

Nothing says maritimemystery like a ghostship, and though we

were sad to see the sinking ofthe Ryou-Un Maru, we’d like to

think the ship’s etherealdenizens had a fun time from

Japan to Alaska.

The AnonymousAlien

1. Rabbta– Agent Vinod

2. Piya Tu Kahe Rootha Re

– Kahaani3. Mann Jaage

– Bittoo Boss4. Pyaar ki Pungi

– Agent Vinod5. Tore Bina

– Kahaani 6. Kaun Kenda

– Bittoo Boss7. Tujhe Sochta Hu

– Jannat 28. Rab ka Shukrana

– Jannat 29. Tera Deedar Hua

– Jannat 210. Thehree si Zindagi

– London Paris New York

1. We are young (feat.Janelle Monáe)

– Fun2.Somebody That I Used to

Know (feat. Kimbra) – Gotye

3.Boyfriend

– Justin Bieber4.What Makes You

Beautiful– One Direction

5.Wild Ones (feat. Sia)– Flo Rida

6.Call Me Maybe– Carly Rae Jepsen

7.Glad You Came– The Wanted

8.Drive By– Train

9.Stronger (What Doesn'tKill You)

– Kelly Clarkson10. Dance Again (feat.

Pitbull) – Jennifer Lopez

1. Hunger Games– Soundtrack

2. 21– Adele

3. Port of Morrow– The Shins

4. Up all Night– One Direction

5. The OF Tape Vol. 2– Odd Future

6. Wrecking Ball– Bruce Springsteen

7. The MF Life– Melanie Fiona

8. NOW 41– Various Artists

9. Whitney: The GreatestHits

– Whitney Houston10. Radio Music Society

– Esperanza Spalding

Bollywood Top 10 songsiTUNES Top 10 songs Top 10 abums

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201215Rhythm Nation

Hear the this summerSummers can be a lazy time or you could also spend it doing

something productive like learning how to play a musical instument. Here are a few places you might be interested in

Warm sunshine andthe occasionalrains automati-cally paints a pic-ture of tall palm

trees, long vacations, sandybeaches and of course bucketsfull of free time. No doubt sum-mer is the time to unwind, putthose overworked grey cells torest after weeks of studying forexams, just relax and reconnect.But, this could also be a greattime to nurture the musician inyou. For those you who areinterested in learning aninstrument or two,there are a lot optionsavailable. Give wingsto your new hobbyand register at anyone of the followinginstitutes offeringsummer courses inmusic.

Alliance Francaise:

It is the largest network of foreigncultural centers in the world. Apart

from offering courses in learninghow to speak fluent French, theorganisation also pays attention tohoning musical talents. A guitarlearning course is available forbeginners and intermediates, it isbased on an international standardcurriculum. Then, there is also amusic notation reading workshopwhich puts an emphasis on vocaland harmony. The classes will beginon April 7 with rudiments of readingmusic with vocal practice duringlearning. The workshop is open to allinterested in music.Website: www.hydmusic.comPhone number: 9912201659/23554485

Swaramela Music Academy:

This 16-year-old musicinstitute is well-equipped

to teach students to play notjust western musical instru-ments but classical as well.Whether you are interestedin learning the guitar or theveena, the keyboard or thetabla, Swaramela has it all. Itawards certificates and diplo-ma courses in Carnatic andHindustani music to approxi-mately 500 students everyyear. website: www.swaramela-music.comPhone number:237326216, 9246341990

Philip’s School of Music

This particular school of music trains students to play theguitar, the violin, harmonica, drums and piano. It trains

about 150 students each year and prepares them for theAssociated Board of the Royal Schools of Music exami-nation which is considered to be the standard of clas-sical music in London. Your best bet here would be totake the instrumental courses which provide lessonsin learning the acoustic guitar right down to under-standing the theory of music.Website: www.philipschoolomusic.comPhone number: 9849477277

If you believe that your child needsto hone their musical talents, then pri-vate coaching is for you. A certificatecourse in learning about keyboardbasics is being offered by KarthikSuman in Sai Krishna Nagar.

So let the music play this summer.

MUSIC

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201218Holistic view of mind, body and soulH‑Factor

Till now for many of us amention of Asperger’sSyndrome was restrictedto movies like My name

is Khan and Rain man. But formany others, it is a reality.

“Asperger’s Syndrome is aform of autistic disorder. A per-son suffering from autism gener-ally is not able to reciprocate in anormal way. It tends to begin atthe age of 4-5 when the parentsnotice that the child is not ableto emote or talk properly,” saysDr Phani Prasant, consultantpsychiatrist, Care Hospital.

“A particular sign of someonewith Asperger’s Syndrome is thatthey have a highly developedsplinter function. This impliesthat certain functions of thebrain are highly developed. Forexample, they may have anunusual ability to rememberlarge numbers without battingan eyelid,” explains Dr AshokAlimchandani, senior consultantpsychiatrist, Apollo Hospital.

The highly developed splin-ter function is a symptom asso-ciated only with Asperger’s.Apart from that a person suffer-ing from this syndrome displayssymptoms such as those associ-ated with autism like poor

social bonding and absence ofeye contact. Dr Phani explainsthat people with Asperger’s maybe slightly better in terms ofcommunication and socialbehaviour. It is said to be aslightly milder version ofautism. The main issue is that itis not diagnosed very easily andif it is, it is diagnosed quite late,says Dr Ashok.

Although the nature ofAsperger’s Syndrome has beenfound, researchers and doctors

are yet to find a cause.Asperger’s Syndrome like

many other ailments till todayhas no specific cure. Dr Ashoksays, “There is no particulartreatment available but general-ly people with this syndromeare treated symptomatically likefor temperament and anyobsessive behaviour as peoplewith Asperger’s tend to have apenchant for routine.”

These therapies help peoplefit into general society althoughthey do not provide a cure.

Medical science has seenprogress over the years. When itcomes to Asperger’s Syndromethere have been a number ofstudies conducted. Dr Ashoksays that a study is being con-ducted to see the effectivenessof a particular Alzheimer’s drugwhich shows an improvementin terms of social behaviour.

Dr Ashok states, “The mostimportant fact is that peoplewith Asperger’s should betaught to integrate with society.The people around them shouldbe counselled in order to under-stand how to deal with suchpeople.” Dr Phani explains thatas they are unable to under-stand emotions and hence peo-ple may take undue advantageof them. Asperger’s Syndrome isnot a choice for those sufferingfrom it, it’s time we accept andunderstand them and give thema chance to be an active part ofsociety.

Asperger’s Syndrome is a developmental and social disorder which may make the personsuffering from it temperamental, distant and non-responsive to those around them

Give them a chance

Anishaa Kumaranishaa.k@postnoon.com

Greenvegetables vitalfor breastcancer patientsLONDON: Women diagnosedwith breast cancer are more like-ly to survive if they eat up theirgreens, a study suggests.

A Chinese study has found alink between higher consump-tion of cruciferous vegetablessuch as greens, cabbage andbroccoli, and reduced breastcancer death rates.

Researchers followed theprogress of almost 5,000 womenfor around five years after theywere diagnosed with breast can-cer, Daily Mail reported.

They found that the morecruciferous vegetables womenate during the first three yearsafter diagnosis, the less likelythey were to die.

As consumption increased,the chances of dying from breastcancer fell by between 22 percent and 62 per cent and from allcauses by between 27 per centand 62 per cent.

During the study period, 587women died, 496 from breastcancer, the Mail said.

The researchers pointed outthat cruciferous vegetable con-sumption habits differedbetween China and the West.

“Commonly consumed cru-ciferous vegetables in Chinainclude turnips, Chinese cab-bage/bok choy and greens, whilebroccoli and brussels sprouts arethe more commonly consumedcruciferous vegetables in the USand other Western countries,”said study leader Sara Nechuta,from Vanderbilt University inNashville, US. IANS

Asperger’s Syndrome getsits name from the

Viennese paediatrician HansAsperger who in the 1940s issaid to have observedbehaviours and difficultieswith social and communica-tion skills similar to autism inboys who otherwise had anormal development andbehaviour.

The name game

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201219Holistic view of mind, body and soulH‑Factor

PREGNANT DIABETICS more prone to birth defect: Study

NEW DELHI: Pregnantwomen with diabetes are morelikely to have birth defectsthan women without the con-dition, a study by a Britain-based major research-inten-sive university said onWednesday.

“The study led byNewcastle University andfunded by Diabetes UK, for thefirst time has evidence thatquantifies the effect of glucoselevels. The blood glucose levelaround the time of conceptionis the key factor predicting the

risk of congenial anomaly,” astatement from NewcastleUniversity that has publishedthe study said.

The study carried out inmainly white women inEngland suggested that asmany as one in 13 deliveries towomen with Type 1 or Type 2diabetes involved a major con-genital anomaly, also known asa birth defect.

“The researchers havefound that during pregnancy, awoman with Type 1 or Type 2diabetes has a risk of a birth

defect which is about sevenpercent, as compared to anaverage of around two per centin women without diabetes,”the study said.

The study involved an

investigation of the recordedoutcomes of 401,149 pregnan-cies, including 1,677 pregnan-cies in women with diabetes,between 1996 and 2008 in thenorth of England.

“The good news is that,with expert help before andduring pregnancy, mostwomen with diabetes will havea healthy baby. The risk ofproblems can be reduced bytaking extra care to have opti-mum glucose control beforebecoming pregnant,” saidRuth Bell, the study's lead

researcher.Birth defect is a physical

anomaly which is recognisableat birth and which is signifi-cant enough to be considereda problem. “Any reduction inhigh glucose levels is likely toimprove the chances of ahealthy baby. All youngwomen with diabetes need toknow about preparing forpregnancy, and should contacttheir doctor or diabetes teamas soon as possible if they arethinking about pregnancy,"Bell added. IANS

Alexander Besant

Acompound know aspiceantannol, present inred wine was found by

researchers at Purdue Universityto stop fat cells from developing,a finding that may pave the wayfor new advances in weight loss.

Resveratrol turns intopiceatannol when consumed,which was found to be effectivein stopping fat cells from matur-

ing.Kee-Hong Kim, an assistant

professor of food science, andJung Yeon Kwon, a graduate stu-dent in Kim’s laboratory, said thatpiceatannol would be able tobind the receptors of immaturefat cells and block their ability tomature, according to the DailyMeal.

According to Science Daily,piceatannol is also present in dif-ferent amounts in red grape

seeds and skin, blueberries, pas-sion fruit, and other fruits.

The next step in testing thisfinding is creating an animalmodel.

The hope is that piceatannolcan be preserved for long enoughin the blood stream to prevent fatcells from forming in the longrun. The findings of the study canbe found in the Journal ofBiological Chemistry.

GLOBAL POST

A new study at Purdue University found that a compound found in redwine, grapes and other fruits was able to prevent fat cells from developing

Red wine may help blockfat cell formation

Because you are what you wearF‑Folio

One of the products that becameinstant classics from the house ofMarc Jacobs was the Stam bag. The

quilted bag with thick metal chains andsignature kiss lock closure comes inmany colours, and textures. It is one ofthe most coveted series to come from thelabel. Designer Marc Jacobs named thisbag after the Canadian model JessicaStam in 2005. The handbag is popularwith women of all ages because of itsvintage charm juxtaposed with modernMarc Jacobs elements. Stam is a leadingmodel who has appeared on manymagazine covers, ad campaigns andrunways in Milan, Paris, New York, and

is one of Victoria’s Secret Angels too.Perhaps it was one of the reasons

why the designer thought to namethis evergreen handbag after her.

The MarcJacobs Stam

Price: $1350

TheElizabeth Woolridge Grant better known by her stage

name Lana Del Rey is an American singer andsongwriter and the latest to be bestowed with an

honour of having a handbag inspired by her. This 25-year-old beauty is the latest to have the Internet andentertainment industry buzzing because of her sultryvoice and her chart topping singles like Video Games andBorn to Die. Mulberry, a British leather goods brandlaunched ‘The Del Rey’ handbag during their Fall Winter2012 show. The Del Rey is described as ‘designed to be amodern classic; practical, refined and timeless with atouch of Lana’s signature glamour and mystique’, on thecompany’s website. Thebag will be availableat Mulberry storesabroad or onlinefrom mid-May2012.

Pric

e : N

ot a

vaila

ble

in th

e m

arke

t yet

.

The Del Rey by Mulberry

Surabhi Chauhan feedback@postnoon.com

Fashion and luxury brands have time and againdedicated a popular style of their handbag tocelebrities. Today we look into the story of six

such handbags, who they were named after andthe reason for their popularity

JessicaStam

Lana Del Rey

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 20&21The Birkin bag by Hermes

The writeris a fashion blogger

(www.lovestruckcow.blogspot.com) whoattempts to bridge the gap between creatorand consumer. As a fashion writer, she hopesto promote Indian fashion among Indians and

on a global level too.

Perhaps the most well recognisedand easiest symbol of wealth is theHermes Birkin bag. Named after

actor and singer Jane Birkin, this baghas a waiting list for its customers evenafter 28 years of its launch. The storybehind this collaboration was acci-dental. In 1981, Hermès chief execu-tive Jean-Louis Dumas was seatednext to Jane Birkin on a flight fromParis to London. She had just placed

her straw bag in the overheadcompartment of her

seat, but the contentsfell to the ground,leaving her scram-

bling to

replace the contents. Birkin explained toDumas that it had been difficult to find aleather weekend bag she liked. In 1984, hecreated a bag for her based on a previousdesign. Each Birkin bag is made over a spanof several days in France by Hermes’ expertartisans. The house uses its signature saddlestitching on this otherwise logo-free hand-bag. Celebrities like Victoria Beckham,Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, KatieHolmes, Pamela Anderson, Catherine ZetaJones, Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts and SarahJessica Parker are just a few names who own

this coveted bag. The bag even caused a stirwhen Pakistan’s foreign minister HinaRabani Khar visited India last year carrying

a pricey Hermes Birkin handbag.

Namesake

Price: $9,000 to$150,000

Alexa Chung is a the newest joinee tothe celebrity circuit, she started hercareer hosting a show on MTV and

soon becoming a fashion icon gracing maga-zine covers and fashion shoots. Her androgy-nous figure and sense of style is what grabsmost attention. In 2009, English leathergoods label Mulberry released a handbagnamed after the young Brit-it girl. The bagmatches her personality and thereforeappealed to a lot of people who admired herstyle. The Alexa bag is a cross between thebrand’s classic Bayswater bag and the men’sElkington briefcase combined to become anunderstatedly cool satchel. Constructed withtwo straps – one on top and one longer likeof a messenger strap allowing it to be wornacross the body. This bag comes in three dif-ferent sizes: the Mini Alexa, Alexa andOversized Alexa.

The Alexaby Mulberry

Tod’s D-Bag

Italian luxury label Tod’s named its icon-ic bag after Lady Diana in 1997 after herdeath. A fan of the Tod’s brand, Lady

Diana owned a camel colour D-bag whichshe carried to many of her trips. The D-Bagrepresents understated luxury, taste andquality similar to that of Lady Di. Her ele-gance and charm made her a muse formany designers of her time. Tod’s has asimilar ethos since its inception in theearly 1900s as a shoe manufacturer. AllTod’s products are handcrafted by skilledcraftsmen and are made out of the finestleather. The D-Bag is still a favourite withmany celebrities and drew a lot of atten-tion when last year, princess-to-be KateMiddleton was spotted carrying a grey ver-sion of it. Her decision to carry a handbagwhich was named after the formerprincess was accepted by the British peo-ple as the sign that she was to be filling hermother-in-laws shoes —at least when itcame to style and good taste. This bag ispopular in Hollywood and Bollywood aswell. Kareena Kapoor, HalleBerry, Julianne Moore, KatieHolmes, Nicole Kidman,Jessica Alba and FreidaPinto have been seentoting the bag. TheD-Bag comes in var-ious sizes, styles andcolours as well start-ing from the D-Mini.

Pric

e: Ł

795

Pric

e :`

67,0

00 –

`94

,000

Kim Kardashian Victoria Beckham

Alexa Chung

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201222Spotlight

A soulful eveningMembers of the Kashti & Krishalaclub had on Thursday organised athemed night titled Nitya gharanamehfil. The event was held at theFortune Park Vallabh Hotel atRoad no. 12 in Banjara Hills.

Trisha Trends boutique cele-brated their first anniversaryfollowed by afashion showat theirshowroomin Vikram -puri.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Bandana Jaju

Keerthi

Namita Kanodia & Savita Bansali Priyanka & Ritu

Neha

SRINIVAS SETTY

The fashion destination

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201223The glamour behind the glitzMagic Screen

` 150 sq. cm

For Further DetailsPlease

Contact

Abhinay 9989399972

Nandlal 9951467988

Ravi Chander8106039919

DISPLAYA

DS

RATE

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201224Magic Screen

Subscribe

Today!

6 Months

`̀ 199/-

1 Year

` 349/-

Contactus

on :

040 4067 2222

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201225The glamour behind the glitzMagic Screen

ALL ABOARDWas there a need to make Titanic

in 3D? Absolutely not. Are we glad, theymade it anyway? Most definitely

Padmini Cpadmini.c@postnoon.com

In the interests of full disclo-sure, you should know that thiswriter is not a fan of 3D con-versions. Especially of classics

with sentimental value, say, like theLion King. She’d rather, the makersjust re-release the movie (in 2Dminus the subterfuge) saving usthe trouble of having to wear thoseridiculous glasses, furiously trying

to ‘spot the difference’ and suc-ceeding only to come out of thehall with a dent on your nose.

It’s obvious anyway that thosewho come to watch these moviesaren’t here expecting visual wiz-ardry ala Avatar. All we care aboutis, to go and maybe take our kids tothe theatre, and re-live the cine-

matic experience that was such abig part of our growing up experi-ence.

However, in this case, that’snot to take anything away fromCameron or his 300 best, who weare led to believe, spent 60 weeksand $18 million, working on aframe-by-frame reconstruction ofthe original. The work is there forus to see, especially in the lasthour of the movie. The costumesare more refined, the ship largerand grander, the iceberg, morelooming and ominous, the rush ofthe water more severe and imme-diate, and finally the sinking,infinitely more detailed and heart-breaking.

But it’s while you are watchingthe long, sweeping, iconic shot ofthe young Rose and Jack standingagainst the bow as the king andqueen of the world, you areinstantly transported back to thatmagical time in your own youthwhen this scene changed yourworld and then know that it’s stillevery bit the Titanic you remem-ber. And its precisely for many,many moments like these that youshould see the movie. 3D being thehandy ruse.

Movie: Titanic in 3DCast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate

Winslet, Gloria Stuart andBilly Zane

Director: James CameronRating:

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201226Chai Time

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

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

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

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

will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. Thismeans that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14.Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on...

So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is donethrough elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work outthe answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid com-binations, and hence the answer for this particular run.

Note the second cell in row two - it contains two numbers, 30 and11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

KAKUROACROSS1 Overhead ovals6 Not-so-hot grade9 Jordanian port14 Soap-on-___15 Historical period16 Haul off to jail17 Grantrecipient18 On behalf of19 Cheap and tawdry20 What marijuana users

hope for?23 They turn millionaires

into billionaires?24 Get a move on25 Restorative resort28 Where local government

goes to play tennis?32 Former Russian space

station33 Voice quality34 It has 14 lines35 "Yikes!"37 Hoedown participant39 Pro'sopposite40 Like some checkups43 It prevents a win-win

situation46 Last word on a list,

sometimes47 Alex Trebek's favorite

legal term?50 Kingston duo?51 Metro maker, once52 Prefix meaning "bil-

lionth"53 Electricalquality inspec-

tor?58 Solidified in the cold61 I might signify this?62 Villains of some fables63 Device for catching

speeders64 Bro's sibling65 Big name in department

stores66 Some court hearings67 Part of a telephone no.68 Lauder of cosmetics

DOWN1 Mecca pilgrimage (Var.)2 "Buck"add-on3 Jennifer on "WKRP in

Cincinnati"4 "___ Christmas Day"

(gift-tag command)5 Manager's terse order6 Calming down, as a tense

situation7 Winged archer8 Singer Kitt9 The Chrysler Building's

style10 Wharf where ships dock11 Pismire12 Drill attachment13 Start for "body" or

"way"21 "Only When I Laugh"

actor James22 Lubricates25 Got some rays26 Adjective in a Julia

Roberts film title27 Cellar'sopposite28 Filet ___29 Heavenly discovery of

1781

30 Positive thinker NormanVincent

31 "Based ___ true story"32 Maryland fort name36 Do a film editing job38 Most out-to-lunch41 Capital on the

Mediterranean42 Lascivious look44 Marital

squabble45 California's

first statecapital

48 Full of merri-ment

49 They makeyou red inthe face

53 Industrymagnate

54 Alternativeto DOS or

Windows55 "Gosh darn it!"56 Richard of "Breathless"57 To be, in Latin class58 One way to swing?59 Tampa player60 Poetichomage

SCRI

BBLI

NG P

AD

SUDOKU

Great things

are not

accomplished

by those who

yield to trends

and popular

opinion

THOUGHT OFTHE DAY

Take a shot at the brain game while sipping your cuppa

QUICK CROSSWORD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

– Jack Kerouac

27Chai TimeC

OM

ICS

Ston

e so

up

ARIESThere will be incidents that will makeyou happy. The worst phase of life youhave faced will now be over. You haveto be polite and should not becomeheadstrong. Avoid criticism on others.

CANCER

LIBRAYou will be very happy. Plan to buildthe base for your future. Employeeswill be recognised; elevation and payhike too are certain. Differences withthe spouse will disappear.

CAPRICORNBe polite and straightforward. At work‑place, never interfere in anyone's per‑sonal issues unwantedly. Avoid argu‑ment with superiors. Also never magni‑fy other's mistakes.

TAURUSTalk nicely. Never share personal fami‑ly matters with office colleagues.Responsibilities entrusted to you areto be handled by you only, don't passit on to others.

LEOEmployees need to be obedient to supe‑riors. Avoid unwanted arguments anddiscussions with colleagues. Personworking in the palce of dealings withcash, need to be extra cautious.

SCORPIONever be in a hurry while executingwork. If you put in necessary hardefforts, expected transfer and elevationwill come through. Avoid bringing in athird person to solve a family feud.

AQUARIUSYou have to put in your hard effortsto get the desired results. Employeescan expect desired transfer or eleva‑tion. Avoid murmering about yourfate as workload has increased.

GEMINIBe careful in executing the works. Neverbe negligent or work in a hurry. Youhave to be responsible enough, evenwhile discharging very small responsibili‑ties. Never interfere in other's issues.

VIRGOYou need to adopt a slow and steadypolicy to taste success.Employees, ifgiven any unexpected transfer, just pro‑ceed as it is for your good only. Do notshare secrets with friends and relatives.

SAGITTARIUSBad things will disappear and whatev‑er you touch will become successfullydone. All your efforts put in all thesedays will start yielding result. Butavoid hurting anyone at this time.

PISCESYou have to drive away the laziness,plan properly and maintain punctuali‑ty. Either avoid night travels orundertake with extra caution. Wast ‑eful expenditures need to be curtailed.

For B

ette

r or f

or W

orse

Ink

pen

Three of Wands ‑Success is imminent.All your plans areworking out fine andyour patience in thelast few weeks is pay‑ing off.

Temperance ‑ Travelis on the cards.Spend time withloved ones beforeyou set out on longtrips. If your travelplans go awry, bepatient.

King of Wands ‑Youʼre in the moodto show off yourideas and somethingnew. A party at yourhouse is a good plat‑form for this.

CANCER LEO VIRGO

The Hanged Man ‑Spiritual awarenessis in focus. You maybe in the mood toachieve greaterunderstanding ofspirituality and lifeʼsphilosophies.

Eight of Wands ‑This is a lucky phasewhen all plans areworking to yourexpectation. Time tosit back, relax andhave some clean fun.

Ace of Swords ‑There are clouds ofconfusion. Despitethat, youʼre able todisplay clarity ofthought. Youʼre clearabout what you need.

LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS

Six of Swords ‑ A for‑eign trip is possible.There is also astrong chance thatyouʼll meet someoneattractive. Singleshave a chance ofcommitment.

Six of Cups ‑ Youmeet someone fromyour past and thatperson will have animportant role toplay in dictating howyour future plans panout.

Three of Pentacles ‑Upgrade your skillsand learn somethingnew. This is the onlyway you can moveahead in your careerand not get stuck inany one job.

CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES

SOLUTIONS

Sudu

ko

Scrabble

Num

ber g

ame

Boggle

ARSON FLAME BLAZE SMOKE

You will become bold enough and confi‑dent. Avoid laziness and the air that youare solely responsible for your success.Expected transfer and pay hike likely foremployees.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012Your tomorrow today̶Star Power and Tarot

Vol: 1, No. 264 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No. 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad–500033 and printed by himat Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad–500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

SUMAA TEKURtarotreadhyd@gmail.com

THIRUVAIKUMARthiruvaikumar@yahoo.co.in

040-27177230 / 9177596118As per Hindu panchang TAROT READ FOR 7-4-2012

Queen of Wands ‑Youʼve created anatmosphere of com‑fort and are on theright path to whatexactly you need atthis point in time.Avoid mental tension.

Two of Cups ‑ Get apartner on board toexecute your ideas.Two minds workingtogether is better.Singles find a loverand wish to deepenthe commitment.

Seven of Wands ‑

Youʼre feeling tired

and need to rest. Use

this time to look back,

review your decisions

and plan ahead for

the months to come.

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI

STAR POWER FOR 7-4-2012

Fred

Bas

set

BRIEF SCORESKKR 97/9 IN 12 OVERS (LSHUKLA 26, M MORKEL3/18) LOST TO DD 100/2IN 11.1 OVERS (IRFANPATHAN 42 N.O., R BHATIA1/7) NOTE: AS RAIN DELAYED PLAY, EACH SIDEWAS ALLOWED TO PLAY 12 OVERS.

FRIDAY APRIL 6, 201228

The way Morne[Morkel] bowled, hebowled some qualitystuff. The total wehad was a qualitytotal in the end, butthey [Delhi Daredevils]batted well.

Fingers crossedShahrukh Khan is still a worried manwhen it comes to his IPL team, KKR.His side has had fluctuating fortuanessince the inception of this toruna-ment. Although KKR began as favouri-ties in their clash against DD, yet theyfailed to fire right. Having begun onthe losing side, this would not giveSRK any reason to smile.

Gautam Gambhir,KKR Captain

METRE 6S 15

The number of balls IrfanPathan took to make his

quick-fire 42 which included3 sixes and two fours and tobe adjudged the man of the

match

20

3Richard Levi(MI), Irfan

Pathan (DD)50HIGHEST

SCOREBESTBOWLER 3-184S 29 6Richard

Levi(MI)

MorneMorkel(DD)

P W L T NR PTMI 1 1 0 0 0 2DD 1 1 0 0 0 2CSK 1 0 1 0 0 0KKR 1 0 1 0 0 0KXIP 0 0 0 0 0 0DC 0 0 0 0 0 0PW 0 0 0 0 0 0RCB 0 0 0 0 0 0RR 0 0 0 0 0 0P-played; W-win; L-lost; T-tie;NR-no result; PT-points

PLAYER OF THE DAYMORNE MORKEL: The match againstthe Delhi Daredevils and the KolkataKnight Riders began with KKR asfavourites. It would have continued toremain so until Morne Morkel spoilttheir party.

The 27-year-old South Africanbowler, who was on the verge of taking ahat-trick, applied brakes on KKR’s innings to end with figures of 3for 18 and help his side restrict their opponents to 97 in 12 overs.Delhi Daredevils went into this match without the experienced AjitAgarkar but it did not seem like a bad decision at the end as theteam got the required result with Morkel leading the way.

Although Irfan Pathan was adjudged the man of the match forhis brilliant 42 of 20 balls, yet credit needs to be given to the bowlerwho not only bowled well but was exceptional on the field too.

Last night, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, unlike what happened atthe MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, saw a large num-ber of spectators gather (56,742 to be exact) to watch KKR take

on Delhi Daredevils in their opening match this IPL season.But unfortunately the rain Gods decided to play spoil sport and

soon the covers were brought out. Yet this did not dampen the spir-its of the spectators who still waited patiently in the hope of wit-nessing some action.

Eventually, the summer showers stopped bringing some respiteto the patient spectators and the game did take place but with only12 overs being bowled by each side.

KKR, having been asked to bat first, had a brilliant start withBrendon McCullum and Gautam Gambhir thrashing the DDbowlers.

But soon KKR lost wickets at regular intervals and this broughabout their downfall. Yet the crowd, which was mute most of thetime with not much to cheer, sat through the rain-affected matchand acknowledged the performances of DD.

Richard Levi(MI)

OUT OF PURE LOVE FOR THE GAME

High on adrenal levels andconfidence, MumbaiIndians (MI) take on PuneWarriors (PW) today in

their second match of IPL’s fifth edi-tion. Having defeated defendingchampions Chennai Super Kingswith a comfortable margin in thisseason’s first clash, MI would look torepeat their demolishing act.

With all departments firing per-fectly for the Mumbai team, manyare already laying their bets on MI.

Wednesday’s game certainlyspoke volumes about the confidencebrewing within the whole squad —the batting did not falter, the bowlerspitched the ball in the right areas andthe fielding was upto the mark.

Having players like SachinTendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, LasithMalinga, Richard Levi and PragyanOjha, Mumbai needn’t lose mushsleep before the match.

On the other hand, PuneWarriors, under the captaincy ofSourav Ganguly would hope tothrash Mumbai’s ambitions andbegin their season on a winning note.

Dada would keenly look forwardto erase the ‘unfortunate player’ taghe has been carrying along since theinception of this money-churningextravaganza.

But the absence of a match win-ner like Yuvraj Singh, who is recuper-ating following treatment for a can-cerous tumor in his left lung, is aworry for the Warriors.

While Mumbai can comfortablybank on their high profile players,PW will expect Marlon Samuels,Murali Kartik and Ashish Nehra tofire up. These men who have loads ofexperience will be the ones oppo-nents need to watch out for.

Young Manish Pandey, who in2009 became the first Indian to notchan IPL ton, is still a force to reckonwith. At the moment, Pune Warriorsmay seem like a team with some loseends. But Mumbai Indians cannotafford to be complacent since this iscricket and unpredictability is thenature of the game.

Very few players can boastof Adam Gilchrist’s IPLfeats. He took over the

reins of Deccan Chargers, ateam that was rock bottom inthe pointstable in the first edi-tion, and won the title in thesecond — he literally turnedtables, from bottom to top.

Fast forward to 2012, AdamGilchrist, now the captain ofKings XI Punjab (KXIP), wouldhope to recreate the magic of2009. Rajasthan Royals underRahul Dravid will be trying torestrict Gilchirst who will openfor his team, for if Gilly getsgoing, there’s no stopping him.

And then there’s the prodigiousPaul Valthaty and DavidHussey. And if Praveen Kumar,Ryan Harris and Ramesh Powarclick, the bowling departmentis taken care of.

But Rajasthan Royals arenot a team which would bebogged down easily.

The winners of the first IPLwould look to repeat historywith the composed anddependable Dravid at the helmand players like Johan Botha,Paul Collingwood, ShaneWatson and Sreesanth givingthe team balance and strength.

ASG

Pune hope to erase Blues

Kings XI look forRoyal beginning

APARNA SAI G

feedback@postnoon.com

PW vs MI at 4pmon Set Max

KXIP vs RRat 8pm onSet Max

M ANIL KUMAR

M ANIL KUMAR

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201229Augusta Masters Special

Jim Slater

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: LeeWestwood has the opening-round lead at a Major for thefirst time in 55 tries and the 38-year-old Englishman might justcapture his first major title thisweek at the 76th Masters.

World No. 3 Westwoodbirdied four holes in a row onthe front nine on his way to afive-under par 67 on Thursdayfor a one-stroke lead overSweden’s Peter Hanson and2010 British Open winner LouisOosthuizen of South Africa.

“It’s nice to get off to a goodstart and have a platform tobuild from,” Westwood said.“Just trying to cruise my wayinto the tournament, get in agood position and then hope-fully stay there.”

Westwood said the roundmight have been the best he hasplayed in the first day at amajor, a span dating to the 1995British Open.

“I played well. I’ve beenplaying well all year and I justtried to continue with that,”Westwood said. “I hit prettymuch every fairway and 16

greens in regulation and rolled afew nice putts in from five to 10feet, which, when you are hit-ting it close is productive.”

Westwood matched his lowscore at Augusta National fromlast year’s second round andround one in 2010, when he fin-ished second to Phil Mickelson,in 43 rounds over 13 Mastersstarts.

“I didn’t realize it was the13th time,” Westwood said.“Hopefully that’s the luckynumber for me.”

Westwood was unconcernedthat his legacy might be dmin-ished if he never won a majortitle, worried more about howhe is remembered as a manthan as a golfer.

“Obviously if I sit down atthe end of my career and there’sno major championship wins,I’ll be disappointed,” he said. “Ifthere’s five or six, I’ll be delight-ed.

“But at the end of the day,that won’t actually change thatmuch, will it? It will be theimpression I’ve had on peopleand whether I’ve basically goneaway having done more goodthan bad.”

Westwood has produced fivetop-three finishes in his pastnine major starts without col-lecting that elusive first victory,including second at the 2010British Open and Masters, andshares of third at last year’s USOpen and the 2009 British Openand PGA Championship.

“I’ve been in this position alot recently, in contention,”Westwood said. “When you arein contention and you don’t fin-ish it off, you then go home andyou assess what you did wrongand where you can improve. Sothat’s what I did.

“I’ve done a lot of fitnesswork through winter and startof this year to strengthen up.This is a demanding golf course.There are a lot of hills out there.You’re concentrating all thetime.

“It’s mentally draining andphysically draining. So bothshould help me as the weekgoes on.”

Westwood began the backnine with a bogey but birdiedthe par-5 13th and par-4 17th toseize the lead, late-day rainseasing lightning-fast greensonly slightly.

DAY 2 PAIRINGSn Scott Verplank, Gonzalo

Fernandez-Castano, Sean O’Hair n Mark O’Meara, Chez Reavie,

Martin Laird n Sandy Lyle, S Dyson, Corbin Mills n Ian Woosnam, Edoardo

Molinari, Kevin Chappell n Louis Oosthuizen, Mark Wilson,

Graeme McDowell n Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter,

Patrick Cantlay n Kevin Na, Fredrik Jacobson, Ben

Crane n John Senden, Jonathan Byrd, Paul

Casey n Bernhard Langer, Jason Dufner,

Charles Howell n Mike Weir, Brandt Snedeker,

Webb Simpson n Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood,

Jim Furyk n Thomas Bjorn, Scott Stallings,

Rory Sabbatini n Fred Couples, Darren Clarke, Ryo

Ishikawa n David Toms, KJ Choi, Sergio

Garcia n Angel Cabrera, Rory McIlroy,

Bubba Watson n Phil Mickelson, Hunter

Mahan, Peter Hanson n Craig Stadler, Brendan Steele, Tim

Clark n Jose Maria Olazabal, Robert

Garrigus, Randal Lewis n Larry Mize, Paul Lawrie, Anders

Hansen n Ross Fisher, Ryan Palmer, Harrison

Frazar n Ben Crenshaw, Robert Karlsson,

Bryden Macpherson n Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt, Martin

Kaymer n Steve Stricker, Padraig

Harrington, Stewart Cink n Aaron Baddeley, Kim Kyung-Tae,

Lucas Glover n Kyle Stanley, Jason Day, Bill Haas n Trevor Immelman, Rickie Fowler,

Justin Rose n Tom Watson, Johnson Wagner,

Hideki Matsuyama n Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy, Yang

Yong-Eun n Gary Woodland, Henrik Stenson,

Alvaro Quiros n Charl Schwartzel, Keegan

Bradley, Kelly Kraft n Tiger Woods, Miguel Angel

Jimenez, Bae Sang-Moon n Luke Donald, Francesco

Molinari, Nick Watney

Westwood leads chargeas Woods, Rory struggleWorld No 3 Westwood birdied four holes in a row on the front nine on his way toa five-under par 67 for a one-stroke lead over Peter Hanson and Louis Oosthuizen

Leaderboard: day 1-5 Lee Westwood (Britain)-4 Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)

Peter Hanson (Sweden) -3 Paul Lawrie (Britain)

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) Francesco Molinari (Italy) Ben Crane Jason Dufner Bubba Watson

-2 Zach Johnson Vijay Singh (Fiji) Jim Furyk Scott Stallings

Selected others-1 Steve Stricker

Matt Kuchar Nick Watney Rory McIlroy (Britain)

E Tiger Woods Martin Kaymer (Germany) Justin Rose (Britain) Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) Hunter Mahan

+2 Phil Mickelson+3 Adam Scott (Australia)

Luke Donald (Britain) +4 Jason Day (Australia)

Ryo Ishikawa (Japan)

Quote of the day

I hit some ofthe worst

golf swingsI’ve ever hit

today, andthat’s all

rightqfdbo

tllap

“

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA:World No. 1 Luke Donald ofBritain remained in the hunt forhis first major title on Thursday atthe Masters after an inquiry intowhat was wrongly feared to bean incorrectly signed scorecard.

The concern was that Donaldhad signed for a birdie at the par-4 fifth hole when he in fact tooka bogey on the hole. Signing anincorrect scorecard would haveresulted in disqualification.

Donald had a birdie postedfor his score on the hole afterdetailing how he suffered athree-putt bogey on the hole.

A smudge on the fax copy ofhis card caused those who postDonald’s score to incorrectly trimtwo strokes off his score for thehole and thereby the round.

But after an inquiry byAugusta National officials, theclub issued a statement on thematter, putting the issue to rest.

“Due to administrative error,an incorrect score was enteredinto our scoring system.”

Donald misses DQ,heads into Round 2

Lee Westwood of England chips onto the tenth green during the first round of the 2012 MastersTournament at Augusta. ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201230The games people playPlaying Field

CHARLESTON: Fifth-seededSerena Williams overpoweredNew Zealand’s Marina Erakovic6-2, 6-2 on Thursday as she andsister Venus edged closer to aclash on the green clay courts ofCharleston.

Serena fired six aces and won80 percent of her first servepoints to advance to the quarter-finals in emphatic style.

She could eventually face asemi-final showdown with eldersister Venus, who rallied from 2-4down in her opening set to beatAustralian Anastasia Rodionova7-5, 6-2.

“I hope we both get there,”said Serena, who must get pastbig-hitting German Sabine Lisi -cki, the sixth seed, in the quarter-finals. “I have to win anothermatch, and I really, really hopewe both get there, so we’ll see.”

Lisicki rallied from a breakdown in both sets to beatKazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova7-5, 6-4.

This is the third time bothWilliams sisters have played theWTA tournament in Charlestonin the same year, but the first

time both have made the quar-ters in the same year.

Venus will have to wait untilFriday to find out who she facesin the quarter-finals after heavystorms moved into the area andhalted play for the night as sec-ond-seeded Samantha Stosur ledunseeded Galina Voskoboeva ofKazakhstan 4-2.

Stosur, the US Open champi-on ranked fifth in the world, wasleft as the highest-ranking playerin the field after the injury with-drawal on Sunday of AgnieskaRadwanska, just a day after hertriumph in Miami.

Marion Bartoli, the third seedfrom France, was toppled 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 by 14th-seeded PolonaHercog of Slovenia.

Hercog set up a quarter-finalclash with Russian Nadia Petrova,a 6-1, 6-4 winner over AnastasiaPavlyuchenk ova of Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia’s VeraZvonareva and Czech’s LucieSafarova set up a quarter-finalmatch-up. Zvonareva beatStefanie Voegele 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 andSafarova defeated AleksandraWozniak 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1. AFPVenus Williams

WHEELS OF FIRE

Simon Van Velthooven of New Zealand speeds to the bronze medal in the men’s 1km time trial at the 2012 TrackCycling World Championships in Melbourne, on Thursday. AFP/WILLIAM WEST

Deng leadsBulls to victoryCHICAGO: Luol Deng scored aseason-high 26 points onThursday to lead Chicago to a 93-86 NBA victory over Boston as theBulls bounced back from theirfirst two-game skid of the season.

Deng, who is expected to leadBritain’s basketball squad at thisyear’s London Olympics, addedsix rebounds, three assists andfour steals. Joakim Noah had 17points and nine rebounds andCarlos Boozer had 12 points and14 rebounds for the Bulls, whoerased a 13-point first-half deficitto hand the Celtics a secondstraight defeat.

The Bulls took control in thethird quarter, when they out-scored Boston 29-17. We neededthis one,” said Deng, who scored12 of his points in the fourthquarter. “We haven’t been playingwell and we just played hard.”

Paul Pierce scored 22 points,Brandon Bass added 15 pointsand Kevin Garnett chipped inwith 12 points and 14 reboundsfor Boston. AFP

IOC asked toban SaudiThe International Olympic

Committee (IOC) faced callsto ban Saudi Arabia from London2012 after the country’s Olympicchief ruled out sending womenathletes to the Games, accordingto The Guardian.

The Saudi Olympic Com -mittee president Prince Nawafbin Faisal said he was “notendorsing” female participationin London as part of the officialdelegation. Sue Tibballs, chiefexecutive of the Women’s Sportand Fitness Foundation (WSFF),said that was unacceptable.Tibballs said, “Saudi Arabia’s cur-rent refusal to send sportswomento the Olympics puts them direct-ly at odds with one of the IOC’sfundamental principles as laidout within the Olympic Charter. Itreads that ‘any form of discrimi-nation with regard to a country ora person on grounds of race, reli-gion, politics, sex or otherwise isincompatible with belonging tothe Olympic Movement’.”

Williams sisters advance

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201231The games people playPlaying Field

DOHA: World champion CaseyStoner (below) threw down thegauntlet to his rivals in impres-sive style on Thursday when hetopped the first free practice forthe season-opening Grand Prixof Qatar.

The Australian Honda riderclocked 1min 56.474sec to edgeout former champion JorgeLorenzo on a Yamaha withDucati’s Nicky Hayden almosthalf a second off the pace inthird.

Seven-time MotoGP worldchampion Valentino Rossi, whohas won this race three times,endured a miserable start to hisseason, managing just the 10thbest time, over a second behindStoner.

Stoner will start as favouritefor Sunday’s race to be heldunder the Losail circuit flood-lights having won four times inthe elite class in six visits.

“The track wasn’t so bad, Iexpected the conditions to bemuch worse but in general itwas ok,” said Stoner.

“We finished quickest whichis good but we’ll have to waituntil tomorrow for some realtrack time and with the condi-tions a little better and seewhere we are.”

Lorenzo said he was contentwith his lap on his new 1000ccmachine after setting his besttime in the closing minutes ofthe session.

“A quite good start, but thetrack seems pretty dirty,” saidthe Spaniard.

“I feel good, we are at thetop, close to Casey and we haveimprovements to come fromthe bike, the track and myself.”

Stoner fastestin practice Zaragoza hope to

avoid Messi affairTim Hanlon

MADRID: After breaking therecord of goals in a ChampionsLeague season in midweek,Lionel Messi turns his attentionback to La Liga where Barcelonacontinue their pursuit of RealMadrid with a home clashagainst Zaragoza.

Last month, with Madrid tenpoints clear at the top and oncourse for their first title since2008, Barca coach Pep Guardiolaclaimed that the championshiprace was over.

But Barca have won eightleague games in a row to narrowthe gap at the top down to sixpoints and, with Messi in blister-ing form, the Catalan side stillhold an outside chance of suc-cess.

Barcelona and Real safelysecured their passage into thesemi-finals of the ChampionsLeague in midweek, with Messibagging a brace of penalties inBarca’s 3-1 win against AC Milan.

The records continue to tum-ble for the Argentine, who hasscored an incredible 24 goals inhis last 12 games and now has 58in total for the season.

Messi’s brace against Milanmeans that he now has a total of14 in the Champions League,

which is two more than therecord that he and Ruud vanNistelrooy held.

He is now level with JoseAltafini, who scored the samenumber in the old European Cupfor Milan in the 1962-63 season.

Messi resumes his battle thisweekend for the honour of beingLa Liga’s top scorer on 36, trailingCristiano Ronaldo by one.

Barca are up against aZaragoza side fighting relegation

but a victory away to SportingGijon last weekend took them offthe bottom of the table andcoach Manolo Jimenez deniesthat it is a hopeless task againstthe reigning champions.

“We can win although it willnot be easy and you just need tolook at the statistics to see thatBarcelona are superior to us,” hesaid. “I am not going to lie andwe are going to go out and give100 per cent, looking to play on

the counter-attack. If I felt thatwe could go out and play them attheir own game of one-touchpassing then I would be crazy.”

Jose Mourinho’s Real are inthe midst of a run of key matchesbut after making light work ofOsasuna last weekend and thenbeating APOEL 5-2 in theChampions League onWednesday, they are favourites toget the better of an off-colourValencia.

Yu got that lovin’ feelingShigemi Sato

TOKYO: When Yu Darvish(left), Japan’s latest high-pricedbaseball export, makes hisdebut in the regular US majorleague season, it is not just thereputation of his blazing righthand that will be at stake.

Darvish has taken it uponhimself to rescue the pride andbragging rights of reigningworld champions Japan, after arun of failures by his country-men in Major League Baseball.

“The ratings of Japaneseplayers are declining consider-ably,” the 25-year-old TexasRangers pitcher told Japan’s TV

Asahi network as he wound upspring training in Arizona lastweek.

“Some of them wereunlucky. Some struggled to winas pitchers or shape up as bat-

ters. I want to turn thataround,” added the 196-cen-timetre (six foot, five inch) tallstarter, who can hurl at 156kilometres (98 miles) per hour.

Darvish, who starts againstthe Seattle Mariners at home onMonday, sparked a media stormwhen the Rangers acquired himfor a whopping $111.7 millionin January, including nearly $52million to negotiate his transfer.

That was a record under thebidding system for MLB-boundJapanese. “If Darvish fails,Japanese professional baseballwill be dismissed,” the Japaneseweekly Baseball warned in itslatest edition this week.

Blue Jays downReds

JP Arencibia hit a three-runhome run in the top of the

16th inning Thursday to giveToronto a 7-4 victory over theIndians in Cleveland in thelongest opening day game inMajor League baseball history.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 201232The games people playPlaying Field

Jon West

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspurknow they will reclaim third placein the Premier League if theyavoid defeat at Sunderland onSaturday.

Harry Redknapp’s side arelocked in an intriguing battle withnorth London rivals Arsenal for aguaranteed spot in theChampions League next season.

Only goal difference currentlyseparates the capital clubs and,whatever happens on Wearside,the door will still be open forArsenal to go back ahead onSunday by bettering Tottenham’sresult when they face ManchesterCity at the Emirates Stadium.

Tottenham are in action onMonday as well, at home toNorwich, while Arsenal next havea fixture on Wednesday, whenthey travel to Wolverhampton.

Redknapp is sure to rotate hissquad for the two Easter gamesand has already confirmed thatAaron Lennon, the winger, is onlyfit enough to feature in one.

“Aaron will be ready for 90minutes but you won’t get twogames out of him at the weekend -no chance,” Redknapp said.

“He’ll play one game —whichever one I choose to playhim in. He keeps getting littlehamstring problems and he andthe medical people would be a bitwary of playing two games inquick time.”

Forwards Jermain Defoe andLouis Saha will be hopeful ofbeing handed starts after beingforced on to the sidelines by thereturn to fitness of Rafael van derVaart.

Tottenham lost three of theseven games the Dutch playmakerwas unable to start because ofinjury but have posted an unbeat-en four-match run since hisreturn.

Centre-back Ledley King’schronic knee problem means hetoo can only play one game a weekso that will open the door for ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas.

The France international, now34, cautioned his team-mates notto let tiredness get in the way ofachieving their goal.

“We have to be strong if wewant to finish third,” he said. “Wehave to play every game with 100per cent, and at the end of the sea-son we will go on our holidays andfeel that maybe we deserved tofinish third.

Ian Winrow

LONDON: Chelsea’s achieve-ment in reaching theChampions League semi-finals will be put to one sidewhen they continue their bidto break into the PremierLeague top four against Wiganat Stamford Bridge onSaturday.

The London club contin-ued their impressive revivalunder interim coach Robertodi Matteo with victory overBenfica in midweek to set up atwo-legged meeting withEuropean championsBarcelona in the last four.

But before the Blues meetthe Catalans, they face Wigan

and Fulham over the courseof 48 hours in the PremierLeague before the FA Cupsemi-final with Londonrivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The cup clashes maycarry extra glamour, butleague points are crucial ifChelsea are to close the five-point gap on fourth-placedSpurs and ensure qualifica-tion for next season’sChampions League.

They now face a Wiganside still fighting for top-flight survival despite show-ing impressive resilience tobeat Stoke last weekend.

Chelsea’s cause will notbe helped by the absence ofclub captain John Terry.

Julian Guyer

LONDON: Manchester Citymanager Roberto Mancini(above) believes the destiny of anintriguing battle for the EnglishPremier League title could bedecided this weekend.

The mathematics of the situ-ation have become increasinglystark for City, bidding to becrowned champions of Englandfor the first time since 1968, asthey have dropped points inrecent weeks.

They are currently five pointsbehind leaders and reigningchampions Manchester United.

And that deficit could beincreased to eight points by thetime they kick-off against Arsenalon Sunday, should United beatQPR earlier in the day.

If that happens, and City loseto Arsenal, the Eastlands clubwould be eight points behindtheir local rivals with just sixgames left.

Mancini, asked if such a sce-nario would mean the end of thetitle race, said Thursday: “If welose against Arsenal and theybeat QPR — yes.”

City have dropped points in a

defeat at Swansea and drawswith Stoke and Sunderland buttheir Italian manager said: “Weshould think positive for the nextseven games.

“I think it may be more diffi-cult but it is my opinion that thischampionship is not finished.”

Mancini gears upfor pivotal weekend

LONDON: Manchester City’sMario Balotelli was involved in acar carsh on Thursday, althoughthe striker was said to haveemerged unharmed.

The 21-year-old Italian, whodrives a Bentley, was in collisionwith another vehicle Manchestercity centre. Although Balotelliwas unscathed, a passenger fromone of the cars was taken to hos-pital. In a statement, GreaterManchester Police said: “Shortlyafter 3.15pm on Thursday 5 April2012, police were called toManchester city centre to reportsof a collision between two cars.“The passenger of one of thecars was taken to hospital forprecautionary measures.”

Chelsea come down to earth

Spurs eye third, ifonly for a moment

Super Mario inBentley crash