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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 HYDERABAD

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We’ve put on some new clothes,and dolled up, just for you. The

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DARK

NESS

DESCENDS

CITY BOY, STUDYINGIN LSBM STABBED INLONDON

City boy, Praveen Reddy,studying in London

School of BusinessManagement, was stabbedby unidentified assailants lateon Friday. His parents are try-ing for a visa to go there.Further details are awaited.

REMOVE POLITICALSTOOGES FROM RTI,SAY PROTESTERS

Asizeable number of RTIactivists under the ban-

ner of United Forum for RTItoday staged a dharnademanding four of the eightnewly named commissionersfor Information Commissionbe dropped as they are political appointments.Forum leaders said they had met the chief ministerand governor but neithercommitted to reviewing thelist. The Forum vowed tostep up the stir.

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Editor’s note on Pg 9

A peek into Laad BazaarPg 16&17

PENNY MATHEWS

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For those looking for great foodbut don’t have the time for aleisurely meal head to Prego at theWestin for a quick 45-min Where: Prego, Westin, MadhapurWhen: Ongoing, 7pm onwardsContact: (040) 64566692

Cultures of resistanceAlliance Francaise along withDocumentary Circle of Hyderabad& Goethe Zentrum will be screen-ing the documentary movieCultures of Resistance. The filmdeals with artists, musicians, anddancers throughout the world who

Musical tributeA musical tribute to Late GhazalMaestro Jagjit Singh will beheld.Head to Lamakaan for anmemorable and soulful music.Where: Lamakaan,

Banjara HillsWhen: February 11, 7.30pmContact: 9642731329

International pizzafestivalPizza lovers this is the news foryou! News Cafe is host to theInternational Pizza Festival. Where: News Cafe, Inorbit Mall,

Hitech City When: Ongoing, 12.30pmContact: (040) 64603341

A suitable lunchSyn presents three lunch offers tosuit your needs. There is a lunch forthose in a hurry, a lunch for thecalorie conscious and a lunch forthose who are planning a reunionwith pals.Where: Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills When: Everyday, 12pm onwardsContact: (040) 66663939

NumaishA childhood favourite of everyHyderabadi, The All India IndustrialExhibition is on.Where: Exhibition Grounds,

Nampally When: Ongoing

Martini ‘n musicEnjoy winter evenings with martinisand crooner Kelly.Where: Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills When: Every EveningContact: (040) 66662323

Lunch specialsNautanki Galli offers its expansivelunch buffet.Where: Nautanki Galli, Madhapur When: Everyday, 12:30 pm

onwardsContact: 7893010000

Anniversary celebrationsBottles and Chimney is celebratingit’s 9th Anniversary. The celebra-tions are on from February 9 toFebruary 14.Where: Bottles and ChimneyWhen: OngoingContact: (040) 77664646

Cognac and CigarThe Seasons Bar opens up again asa Cigar and Cognac lounge with awide selection of cognac, rarewhiskies, single malts and cigars.Where: Taj Krishna, Banjara HillsWhen: Ongoing, 7pmContact: (040) 66662323

Get my food-Pronto!

Eat in the darkHave you ever wondered how itfeels to eat in the dark? Come andexperience this. Pay `499 to enjoy a4-course meal worth `1,000 atDialogue in the Dark.Where: Dialogue in the Dark,

Inorbit Mall, Hitech City When: Ongoing, 12.30pmContact: (040) 64603341

Valentines grooveA valentines special workshop isbeing held. The workshop on salsaand theme dancing is being held byPromod Sanghi.Where: Park hotel SomajigudaWhen: OngoingContact:: (040) 23456789

HeydeyA one day music festival featuringperformances by two Rock bandsand 2 top DJ’s ranked in Top 100list will be held at Rock Heights. Where: Rock heights, MadhapurWhen: February 11, 8.30pmContact: 9908572850

are working for peace and justice. Where: Alliance Francaise,

Marredpally When: February 11, 5.30pmContact: (040) 27700736

Love BalletRabindranath Tagore’s Chitrangadais the story of a warrior princesswho falls in love with Arjuna, thePandava. The love ballet enacted by25 talented artistes is being pre-sented by Nishumbita.Where: Ravindra Bharti, Saifabad When: February 11, 7.30pmContact: 9849256440

Get set for valentinesDJ Kanna is set to play the bestmusic and is sure to steal yourhearts this valentines. Get set forthe romantic groove.Where: Kismet, The Park,

Somajigua When: February 11, 8pmContact: (040) 23456789

Go GlobalGet a taste of food from aroundthe world, from Europe and theMediterranean to North Africa,America, the Caribbean and Asia!All this and much more at theSquare.Where: Novotel Airport,

ShamshabadWhen: February 11, 6.30pmContact: (040) 6625 0000

PAGE TWO 2SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Students strike a pose at the Charminar during an excursion. A SUDHEER REDDY

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU KID

CITY 3SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Three people were killed when aspeeding car overturned at MirzaGuda near Chevella in Ranga Reddy

district on Saturday morning. The accidentoccurred when the driver lost control of theFord Ikon he was driving and it overturned.The Chevella police said that two victimswere identified as Ramulu and SantoshKumar, both students of Vidya VikasEngineering College, and the third was SaiKumar an intermediate student.

3 killed in accident

Faced with the dark prospects of its MDlanding in dungeon, the AP transportdepartment has begun to move fast on

implementing the high-security tamper-proof number plates for vehicles. The Courthas set a cut-off date of April 30, 2012.Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana saidthe APSRTC is entrusted with the task. Thenew plate will have a uniform serial with aunique hologram so that those stolen orused in terrorist acts could be traced easily.

High-security number plate

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy,who went to Tirupati on a day’s visit, made a surprise stop at the

government maternity home. The ChiefMinister was accompanied by ministersGalla Aruna Kumari, C Ramachandraiah,Tirupati MLA Chiranjeevi, MP ChinthaMohan. The Chief Minister will review the political situation with district leaders of Kadapa on the three Assembly constituencies.

CM pays a surprise visit

Six people died in Gandhi Hospital in the Cityon Saturday due to suspension of emergencyservices by junior doctors. Over 4,000 junior

doctors have struck work across the State and arepressing for their demands to be met, includingenhancement of stipend. The Cabinet sub-com-mittee which met on Friday night said that thedemands of the junior doctors were unjust andthat the government could not consider any hikein stipend. TDP is planning to file a public interestlitigation (PIL) on the issue.

The spectre of a curiousclash of law and popularvision is looming over theGHMC, and the subject of

battle is the citizenry ofHyderabad.

The Corporation whose trea-sury has several holes is in theprocess of raising the only easyway to replenish revenue — prop-erty tax. This will ensure the cor-

poration is able to pull throughdifficult times. But in steps theMayor who must bat for populace.Mohd Majid Hussain announcedthat there would be no propertytax hike for now.

But the GHMC commissionerMT Krishna Babu says he isbound by the law to raise the tax.According to section 212 of GHMCAct-1955 the property tax must berevised every five years and therise has to be a minimum of fiveper cent. “As officials, it is ourduty to implement the Act. And,we are bound by it.”

Now, the GHMC is eager toincrease the property tax becauseit will net a substantial amount.

The GHMC was formed in April2007 from its former avtar MCH.The new areas under its ambitwill have a million properties thatwill have to pay corporation taxes.

This issue looks like it maysnowball into a big controversyespecially at a time when scores of

residents are flooding the corpora-tion with complaints pertainingto irrational imposition of proper-ty tax citing GO No 88. As many aseight corporators of the LB Nagarcircle have already warned thatthey will go to any extent to pro-tect the interests of their resi-dents.

Meanwhile, the Oppositionparties are understandably watch-ing the ongoing tussle from thegallery so that they can add fuel tofan the fire.

Residents and prominent peo-ple of the City have joined the cho-rus of protests. Their argumentgoes that the corporation lacks arational approach in levying prop-

erty tax. The leader ofProgressive Organisation ofWomen (PoW), Sandhya wantedthe corporation to drop revisingthe property tax and improve itsincome by rectifying gaps in theexisting system. A resident, GVasanth Kumar Goud, said thatthe corporation should take theviews of residents into considera-tion before taking any decision.KS Stevenson, a professor of MassCommunication and Journalism,OU said the service deliverymechanism of the corporation isvery poor viz-a-viz Health andsanitation. “It should improve itsservices before resorting to anyrevision of property tax,” he says.

Property tax revenueYear Amount (in Lakhs)2007-08 `32227.532008-09 `36954.722009-10 `47769.982010-11 `56881.002011-12 (RBE) `59400.002012-13 (BE) `72000.00

ahmed.m@postnoon.comMd INKESHAF AHMED

Mayor vs Commissioner

Emergency services hit

4SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CITY

Something wickedthis way comes

In a village near Suryapet,Nalgonda, a man paradesaround the village with hismother’s head attached to hisbicycle. Her crime? She hap-

pened to be visiting around thesame time her grandson hap-pened to fall deathly ill. The vil-lage, which had earlier drivenher away on the same charge,immediately concluded that itwas her “witchcraft” that causedthe boy’s affliction, not the watercontamination prevalent in thevillage.

In a nearby village calledNoonthankal, lived BonagiriSomaamma, popularly knownaround town as the progressivemid-wife who helped locals indelivering their babies. But sheoutgrew her station it was decid-ed, when she began giving outloans for an interest. Witnesseswatched as three debtors hackedher to death. She was a practi-tioner of witchcraft, they said.And that was that.

After thirty years, two elder-ly men apprehensively return totheir village, not far fromRamoji Film City. They had lefttheir village in a rush when theywere thrown out by the locals onsuspicions of witchcraft, but notbefore their teeth were bashedinto their mouths (so that theycan’t chant any evil incanta-tions). When the villagers spot-ted them now, they tied them toa pole and burnt them alive. Thewomen in the village admitted tothe crime but maintained that itwas in self-defence as the menhad returned to harm the localswith their occult practices.

STATUS QUO“Andhra Pradesh is a hotbed ofbanamati (black-magic), chetaba-di and chillangi. Telgangana,Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram,Nalgonda and Mehboobnagarare particularly dangerous.Witchcraft is basically a magicalconception of the universe, thatby thought or deed you changethe way the universe functions.The person accused ofwitchcraft has to be eliminatedbecause they are a threat,” saysrationalist and humanist BabuGoggineni, former executivedirector of IHEU.

“The reasons for believing inblack-magic are obvious. Thereis no basic scientific educationamong people in these villages,

rampant casteism, no fear oflaw; fuelled by mass-hysteria, alot of personal, political scoresare settled in the guise,” BabuGoggineni adds.

INHERITANCE OF IGNORANCEActivists desolately rue that theeducated and the intelligentsiaare increasingly deserting theirvillages to move to cities, leavinga lacuna that is exploited bywitchcraft doctors and perpetra-tors of crime. The lack of evenbasic scientific education is theroot cause of the evil, they say.“Courses dispelling myths andsuperstition should be intro-duced in high-school curricu-lum. Children who are educatedwill educate their parents. That’sthe only way to fight this,” saysanti-superstition activistChandraiah.

GOVERNMENT SILENCEThe rising number of casesrelating to witchcraft in theState tell their own story. But thegovernment has taken no dis-cernible actions to address the

issue despite cases of torture,child-sacrifice, kidnapping, dis-crimination, murder and evendisplacement of whole villagesroutinely make headlines.Veeraswamy, director of NGOSpoorthi, works towards empow-erment and education inSuryapet.

He says, “The official num-bers are misleading becausemost of these cases are notreported. Personally, I haveknown of over 100 of these inci-dents in the past six years. Thegovernment knows, the minis-ters know, everyone knows. Noone cares enough to do anythingabout it. The police arrive afterthe crime is committed and bookthe offenders under some pettysections. So there is no real fearof repercussions.”

THE LIMITATIONS OF LAWUnlike other states such asJharkhand, Odisha and Bihar,AP has no anti-witchcraft legis-lation. Cops say that they gener-ally look to The Drugs andMagic Remedies Act (1954) or

sections pertaining toCheating/Fraud in the IPC todeal with these crimes. But, jointcommissioner of police, admin-istration, Mahesh Bhagwat says,“The lack of laws are not theproblem, the lack of informationis. There is need for a mecha-nism at the grassroots whereinformation is passed on by therevenue officers or other govern-ment officials to the authoritiesso that there can be preventiveaction taken.”

WORKING ON A SOLUTIONThe activists are all unanimous,their two-fold demand is simple— one, the government shouldwork towards creating aware-ness, improving health and sani-tary conditions, and promotingscientific education in theseregions. Two, the laws should bemade more stringent.

Those committing theoffences should be punishedseverely and more importantly,those accusing others of practic-ing witchcraft should also beheld liable.

Witchcraft involves a beliefsystem that professes that

a person or a thing can beused to harm or influencenature through occult. Historyshows that Europe during the1300s till the end of the 1600ssaw a witchcraft craze that sawtens of thousands of womenaccused of being ‘witches’being executed. But eventoday, accusations of witchcraftis a cause for the displacementor deaths of thousands of peo-ple across the world.

What is witchcraft?

Indian statesnotorious for blackmagic crimesJharkhand50 – 60 women killed every year

Andhra PradeshApproximately 30 womenkilled every year

Haryana25 - 30 women killed every year

Odisha24 - 28 women killed everyyear. Approx 150 – 200 women arekilled in India every year onaccusations of being ‘witches’. 2,500 women have been killedin the past 15 years. The num-ber of men killed is unrecordedbut is estimated to be twice asmany as this.

Source: National CrimeBureau statistics

PADMINI C

padmini.c@postnoon.com

This is supposedly the century of science and not superstition. Yet, thedemons of Salem continue to haunt us. Postnoon investigates

HERMIN ABRAMOVITCH

FOCUS 5SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

The $100bn revolution

500 Milliontotal users

88%41%

30%

40%

51%

12%70%High School 21%

In College 28%College Grad 22%

Other 29%Education

Age

Income

Gender

13 to 17 11%18 to 25 29%

26 to 34 23%35 to 44 18%

45 to 54 12%55+ 7%

0 – 25k 13%26k – 50k 34%51k – 75k 30%76k – 100k 12%100k – 150k 7%150k or more 4%

Women 54%Men 46%

of all people areaware of Facebook

login every day

login viamobile device

follow a brand

of brand followerswill purchase thatspecific brand

of logins update theirstatus every dayare located

outside the US

106 Milliontotal users

87%27%

37%

25%

67%

52%60%High School 7%

In College 48%College Grad 28%

Other 17%Education

Age

Income

Gender

13 to 17 4%18 to 25 13%

26 to 34 30%35 to 44 27%

45 to 54 17%55+ 9%

0 – 25k 17%26k – 50k 34%51k – 75k 23%76k – 100k 15%100k – 150k 7%150k or more 4%

Women 52%Men 48%

of all people areaware of Twitter

login every day

login viamobile device

follow a brand

of brand followerswill purchase thatspecific brand

of logins update theirstatus every dayare located

outside the US

Obsessed withFacebook

AS OF 2011, THERE ARE 500,000,000ACTIVE FACEBOOK USERS.

APROX 1 IN EVERY 13PEOPLE ON EARTH.

HALF OF THEM ARE LOGGED INON ANY GIVEN DAY.

48% OF 18 TO 34 YEAR OLDSCHECK FACEBOOKRIGHT WHEN THEY WAKE UP...

THE 35+ DEMOGRAPHICNOW REPRESENTSMORE THAN 30% OFTHE ENTIRE USERBASE.

THE 18-24 (COLLEGE) DEMOGRAPHIC

GREW THE FASTESTAT 74% IN ONE YEAR.

ABOUT 28% CHECK THEIR FACEBOOKON THEIR SMART PHONESBEFORE GETTING OUT OF BED.

The Facebook’s share offer will create billionaires. We deconstruct a modernbusiness marvel and find out how it stacks up against its rivals

SOURCE: ALEXA, FAST COMPANY, CNBC, ZDNET, UNLINESCHOOLS.ORG, CNN

NATION 6SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

NEW DELHI: She was a run-away bride, but she won anaward of `5 lakh for revoltingagainst the lack of toilet at herin-laws’ place.

Sulabh International, an In -d ia-based NGO for environmen-tal sanitation, announced thecash award for newly-wed AnitaBai of a Madhya Pradesh tribalvillage, describing her as a “rev-olutionary of a different kind”.

Anita Bai, according toSulabh, ran away from her in-laws’ place on the first night ofher wedding to press the issue oflack of toilet there.

Acknowledging her toughstand for insisting on cleanli-ness and hygiene, BindeshwarPathak, founder of SulabhInternational said Anita Baiwould be given `5 lakhSanitation Award.

According to Pathak, Anitaacted “as an inspiration for oth-ers to follow” in the country,where more than half of its pop-ulation still defecate in the open.

“By revolting on the issue ofnon-availability of toilet, thisrural woman has created a revo-lutionary action in India wheremore than 660 million peoplestill defecate in the open, caus-ing serious diseases,” said

Pathak.Anita Bai, who hails from

Chichouli village in Betul dis-trict, returned to her father’splace, despite repeated assur-ances by her in-laws and hus-band to provide a toilet.

“She came back to her in-laws’ place only when her hus-band managed to construct a toi-let within a week with the helpof a Gram Panchayat grant,”said Pathak.

Pathak said this case wouldgive a “fillip to his ongoingSulabh movement in the coun-try”, and that Anita Bai will behonoured in an award ceremonyin New Delhi in April.

According to Pathak, lack ofproper sanitation conditions inmost of rural areas in India wasstill a grave problem, particular-ly for women. IANS

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee presents ‘BangaSaman’ to footballer Baichung Bhutia during inauguration of ‘UtarBanga Utsav’ in Siliguri on Friday. PTI/ASHOK BHAUMIK

HONOUR FOR CHAMP

Left Front chairman Biman Bose,right, and other CPM leaders

collect money from the peoplefor the their party fund in Kolkata on

Friday. After being in power for morethan three decades it was always the

funds that sought the BengalMarxists but with new CM MamataBanerjee wooing the industrialists,

the Reds are not taking chances.

Reds hit the road

Jammu and Kashmir educationminister Peerzada Sayed, whoseson was involved in using unfair

means for his Class X examinations,has resigned. According to familysources, Sayed sent the resignationletter to Congress president SoniaGandhi and not to Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah. Officials of theschool board allegedly helped hisson pass the secondary school exam.

J&K minister resigns

The Delhi police has arrestedRajkumar, the key accused inbaby Falak case. He was arrest-

ed while trying to flee from theCapital. The police has also arresteda woman, who is key member in thehuman trafficking racket which vic-timised the 14-year-old girl whobrought Falak to AIIMS. Falak is stillbattling for her life with the doctorsterming her condition a critical.

Falak: Brain arrested

FABRICATION

CLASSIFIEDS

LUCKNOW: Polling began today ona slow note or the second phase ofthe Uttar Pradesh Assembly elec-tions for 59 seats in 10 districts thatwill decide the fate of two state partypresidents, 31 MLAs and 24 formerministers.

More than 1.92 crore voters areexpected to cast their votes to sealthe fate of 1,098 candidates in thepolling to be held in Sant KabirNagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur,Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh,Mau, Ballia and Ghazipur, ChiefElectoral Officer Umesh Sinha said.

Stakes are high for ruling BSP,Co ngress, SP and the BJP in the no-ho lds-barred fight for the 403 As s -embly seats in the seven-phase polls.

The voters will exercise theirfranchise at 20,425 polling booths at12,995 polling centres. While 3,265polling booths have been identifiedas sensitive and 9,971 as hyper sensi-tive for which adequ ate force hasbeen deployed, he said.

A total of 1,098 candidates are infray, including 1,021 men and 76women.

The second phase would seal thefate of many senior leaders, includ-ing speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar, Rev -enue Minister Phagu Chauhan, statepresidents of BSP and BJP, deputyleader of SP Ambika Chaudhary, 31MLAs and 24 former ministers.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rajbhar

is in fray as BSP candidate fromnewly-created Deedarganj seat inAzamgarh district, whereas deputyleader of SP in Assembly AmbikaChaudhary is seeking re-run fromPhephna in Ballia.Prestige of statepresidents of BSP and BJP is also atthe stake in this phase.

While BSP state president andcabinet minister Swami PrasadMaurya is contesting from Padraunaseat in Kushinagar, BJP state presi-

dent Surya Pratap Shahi is tryinghis luck from newly-createdPathardeva seat in Deoria district.

Former BJP state presidentRamapati Ram Tripathi is in the frayfrom Siswan seat in Maharajganjdistrict, whereas revenue ministerPhagu Chauhan is contesting fromGhosi seat in Mau district.

Former forest minister FatehBahadur Singh, who was sacked anddenied ticket by Chief Minister Ma -

yawati, is contesting from Kampia -rganj candidate on NCP ticket.

Naresh Yadav, son of MPGovernor Ram Naresh Yadav, hasbeen pitched against BJP candidateYogendra Yadav, nephew of MPRamakant Yadav as Congress nomi-nee for Phoolpur seat in Azamgarhdistrict. Aman Tripathi, son of SPMLA Amarmani Tripathi, facing jailterm in poetess Madhumita murdercase, is in the fray for Nautanwa seatin Maharajganj district.

Independent MLA MukhtarAnsari, facing several criminalcharges, is contesting from two seatsMau and Ghosi and is the candidateof his brother Afzal Ansari’s partyKaumi Ekta Dal.

For the BSP, which had secured29 seats out of 59 in the 2007 polls, itwould be a do-or-die situation as bet-terment of performance by rivalswould botch political prospects ofthe party, which was mired in con-troversies due to corruption cases.

The SP is also under pressure toperform in the area to increase itstally from 20 seats in the 2007Assembly polls. BJP’s performancehas not been upto the mark in lastelections. In 2007, BJP had succeededin getting victory on six seats only.

Congress, which secured onlytwo seats in the last elections, is alsomaking desperate efforts to improveits tally in the region. PTI

SRINAGAR: A 22-year-old civilian was

killed allegedly infiring by security

forces in a remotevillage of Baramulla

district in northKashmir, leading toprotests in the area,official sources said.

A defencespokesman said

troops of 32Rashtriya Rifles andpolice had launcheda joint operation fol-lowing information

about presence ofmilitants in the area.“At about 9pm, some

firing was reportedand it is believed

that a civilian hasbeen killed in the fir-

ing. Due todarkness there

are problems inascertaining the

details.”

Civilian killedin J&K firing

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reacts during an election campaign rally in Nanda Khera inRaebareli on Friday. PTI/ATUL YADAV

Heavyweights slug it outin second leg of UP polls

`5 lakh loo war booty!ANITA BAI, FROM BETULDISTRICT, RETURNED TOHER FATHER’S PLACE,DESPITE REPEATEDASSURANCES BY HER IN-LAWS AND HUSBAND TOPROVIDE A TOILET.

7SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

WASHINGTON: White House hopeful MittRomney cast himself as a dedicated conser-vative on Friday, insisting he’s the man whocan unite Republicans and defeat PresidentBarack Obama in the “battle for the soul of

America. ”Romney and his main rivals forthe nomination, Newt Gingrich and reli-

gious conservative Rick Santorum, all madethe pilgrimage to the Conservative PoliticalAction Conference to court the Republicanbase and lay out their plan to oust Obama.

Romney promises unity NEW YORK: Argentina’s foreign ministerhas accused the UK of sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic,after making an official complaint to the UNover the Falklands dispute. HectorTimerman demanded that the British con-firm the locationin the region. But UK offi-cials said the accusations of militarisationwere “absurd”. UN chief Ban Ki-moon earli-er called on both sides to avoid an “escala-tion” in tensions.

‘UK has sent an armed sub’US: Hackers have claimed responsibility formaking the CIA website inaccessible onFriday, the latest attack on a US federalagency. A Twitter post on a feed used byhackers’ collective Anonymous said “CIATango down”, a phrase used by the USSpecial Forces after killing an enemy.Anonymous said in another tweet that justbecause it reported a hack, that did notmean it carried out the attack.This is notfirst time the website has been disabled.

‘CIA Tango down’: Hackers

WORLD

LONDON: The Arab League is likely to launch a“Friends of Syria” coalition and appoint a specialenvoy to the strife-torn country at a meeting thisweekend, a Western diplomat said on Friday. Thediplomat also said that Iranians were “on the ground",giving technical help to Syrian intelligence services,and warned that President Bashar al-Assad’s regimehad yet to use “many levels of violence.”

Syrian opposition leaders said that they expectedGulf states to follow Libya in granting them diplomat-ic recognition at the expense of the Damascus regime.Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomat saidthat at an Arab League meeting due on Sunday “Itlooks like they’re preparing to appoint a special envoy.

EU diplomat calls for‘one voice’ on SyriaBRUSSELS: The world must stand united in demand-ing a halt to violence in Syria and for President Basharal-Assad to step down, the European Union’s top diplo-mat Catherine Ashton said on Friday.

“I am appalled by the reports of the brutal attacks bythe Syrian armed forces in Homs,” she said, referring tothe assault unleashed by regime forces on Syria’s protesthub that activists say has killed more than 450 peoplesince Saturday. “I condemn in the strongest terms theseacts,” Ashton said in a statement.

“The international community must speak with onevoice, demanding an end to the bloodshed and urgingAssad to step aside and allow a democratic transition,"she stressed.

WASHINGTON: US ambassador to Syria, RobertFord, has posted declassified photographs on hisFacebook site that the State Department said onFriday shows an army attacking a civilian area in thecity of Homs.

An apparent satellite image shows columns ofsmoke rising as well as a line of vehicles, though it isnot possible to tell if they are armored military vehi-cles, as the photograph claims they are.StateDepartment spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the“declassified US national imagery” shows the destruc-tion of Homs, which activists have said is beingshelled relentlessly by the Syrian army.

Images of Syriaposted on FB

DAMASCUS: Twin car bombstargeting security posts in Syria’ssecond city of Aleppo killed atleast 28 people on Friday, Statemedia said, as rebels accused theregime of launching the attacksas a diversion.

The explosions came as tank-backed troops advanced on pock-ets of resistance in the batteredand besieged protest hub ofHoms, and as heavy securitydeployments nationwide thwart-ed planned protests againstregime ally Russia.

The powerful blasts rippedthrough the northern commercialhub, also wounding 235 people,said State television, whichbroadcast gruesome footage.

Mangled bodies were shownin pools of blood outside rows ofshattered buildings and piles ofrubble strewn across a broadavenue.

State television called thebombings, the first in Aleppo

since the uprising againstPresident Bashar al-Assad’sregime erupted almost a year ago,the work of “armed terroristgangs."

It said a “suicide bomber in acar packed with explosives” hadattacked a police station, flatten-ing a nearby food distributioncentre. The second targeted anintelligence base.

The rebel Free Syrian Armyblamed the government itself forthe attacks.

“This criminal regime is...carrying out bomb attacks in

Aleppo to steer attention awayfrom what it is doing in Homs,Zabadani and elsewhere,” itsspokesman, Colonel MaherNouaimi, said in a telephoneinterview.

“The number of casualtiesfrom the two car bombs in Aleppohas risen to 28 dead and 235wounded," said the health min-istry. Among the dead weresoldiers and civilians, includingchildren.

The Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights said that at least30 people were killed in the

Aleppo blasts.Several people interviewed on

television denounced Turkey andQatar for not standing by theregime as it seeks to put downthe revolt.

“Is this the freedom theywant?" asked one angry lookingman, holding up a severed armand referring to those leading theprotest movement.

Syria blamed the blasts on“terrorists” backed by Arab andWestern nations, in a letter sentto the UN secretary general, theUN Security Council, the Arab

League and other organisations.“Certain countries in the

region are behind a propagandacampaign against Syria and areharbouring armed terrorists forso-called humanitarian reasons,"it wrote.

Aleppo has been largelyspared the unrest that rocked thecountry since mid-March andkilled more than 6,000 people, sayrights groups.

In central Syria, tanksstormed the Inshaat district inHoms overnight, Rami AbdelRahman from the Observatorysaid.

Inshaat is next to Baba Amrdistrict, which has been subjectedto a withering assault by regimeforces since Saturday.

In addition to the victims ofthe attacks in Aleppo, theObservatory said another 44 peo-ple were killed across Syria onFriday.

“Demonstrations broke out invarious parts of the country, butthey were small in numbersbecause of the heavy deploymentof army and security forces aswell as the cold weather," saidAbdel Rahman.

Saudi King Abdullah saidworld confidence in the UnitedNations had been “shaken” afterRussia and China vetoed theresoulution.

In Geneva, the UN rightsoffice said Syrian officialsresponsible for carrying out thesecrimes should face prosecutionby the International CriminalCourt.

28 killed in Aleppo as Syriantanks advance on Homs

Damaged police vehicles and helmets scattered on the ground amid blood and debris at the scene of one of the blaststhat rocked Syria’s second largest city of Aleppo on Friday. AFP

This criminal regimeis... carrying out bombattacks in Aleppo tosteer attention awayfrom what it is doing inHoms, Zabadani andelsewhere.

Colonel Maher NouaimiSpokesman, Free Syrian Army

‘Friends of Syria’to be launched

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to us comments, sugges-tions, viewpoint or just about any-thing to feedback@postnoon.comor #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033 oreven by way of a call on4067 2222.

COMMENT 8SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Ihave read your paper a few times beforeand I try to get my hands on it. I like thearticles that are there in the paper. I hap-

pened to pick it up today and I really likedthe cover page. It made me get to the storydirectly and it’s surprising to read that thisis actually happening. The story was alsointeresting to read and a few other articleslike F folio was a fun read.

Ashwin SriramSecunderabad

Lovely cover page

This is with regards to your story titledThe genesis of leadership, datedFebruary 8. My child is currently

deciding whether to join NCC or not andso the story couldn't have come at a moreappropriate time. As a former NCC Cadetmyself, I know the pure, unadulterated funyou can have, not to mention the valueaddition it will have to your personality.

Vijay SGachibowli

NCC story Don’t condemn drug trials

EDITORIALS

EDITORIALS

Isn’t it an idea that we fall inlove with? And when wecome across someone whotantalises our eyes, weattribute all those characters

to their physical form and getattached to that idea: A figmentof our imagination that webegin to live with, dream andaspire for and build an exis-tence around.

Though we may all disdain-fully scorn the idea of the filmitype of romantic love, (everwondered why most films withthe love theme are a guaranteedsuccess?), we are all out to findthat singular, ever-elusive goal;and each of ours seems to beburied deep in the hearts orminds or where ever else it isthat people go looking for! The

odds that we really do find aperfect match to all our soft-ware and hardware require-ments are so marginal.

Hmm… It may not be all sogrey. This wonderful creation ofAlmighty, the human being, hasso many hidden attributesbesides the physical form. Allthat energy with little else thatis in the spirit cannot be con-tained. Not even by the limita-tions of its very nature. Againstall odds, it will venture ahead,undaunted it will challenge des-tiny or hesitant, it will takerisks anyway.

As marginal as the chancesmay be, one will still set out tofind love. As numerous as thedisappointments maybe, he willsettle down, thinking it the rig -ht thing to do at that moment;Continuing to hope still.

I’m not sure if we ever trulyachieve it and have it all. Butalong the way we do stealglimpses of this magical en -chantress: In the pride of a par-

ent, in the eyes of an admirer,in the trust of a child…

Is it not enough to keepgoing, keep hoping? For as theysay: Love never grows old norgets outdated.

Something as ubiquitous asthis, perhaps, needs to be celeb -rated. Celebrations are after allspontaneous public expressionsof joy, a connect with one’s fel-low beings who also feel the sa -me way, a kind of declaration,seeking acceptability in thesociety for assurance that it isnot a maverick syndrome, ra -

ther a common and sharedexperience.

Should this kind of univer-sal quest not be celebrated?What if the celebration madeits appearance in the last fewyears and has a modern garb toit like saying it with flowers,chocolates and what have you?Who says it is limited only tolove between the oppositesexes? So what if the coloursymbolising the celebration isred? Can we not grab the occa-sion to bring down our inhibi-tions and tell one’s parent,child, spouse, teacher, studentor even the neighbour that welove them. It is perhaps only anarrowed definition of love thatconstrains us to look on its cele-bration as something that islimited to young lovers stealingtime and glances in parks. Loveneither has age nor boundariesand it is LOVE that makes theworld go round... merrily. Thisuniversal truth is what shouldbe accepted across the board.

GEN SINGH SHOULDexit gracefully

The controversy over thedate of birth of the Army Chief

has been laid to rest (at leastlegally) when the Supreme Court

refused to admit General VKSingh’s plea to get it corrected

to his version. The court pointedout that twice, in 1998 and 2004,

he had accepted the govern-ment’s version for career-related

reasons. The whole issue hasbeen dragged through mud by

politicians and bureaucrats alikeand aspersions have been caston the integrity of a decorated

soldier. General Singh has beenheading the force at a time

when it is rocked by scandalafter scandal and court martialand expulsion of high-ranking

officers — Sukna land scam,Adarsh building scam, rationscam... the list goes on. Now

that the judiciary has acceptedthe government’s stand as cor-

rect, the only dignified stepremaining for the army chief is

to step down without a huff.

WHY WE LOVE...Digvijay Singh

Even in the middle ofpitched campaigns for the

Assembly elections there aresome politicos who will bring

the house down — and Diggy isone. Union minister Salman

Khurshid, who is the minorityface of the Congress was work-

ing hard at consolidating votebanks by announcing sub quo-

tas and topping it up with SoniaGandhi’s tears and anguish over

Batla House ‘encounter’ pic-tures. Hardly had the news chan-

nels aired the story, Digvijaycame out with a statement that

such a thing never happened.This is not the first time the firebrand leader, also considered aloose cannon by many, has leftthe party red-faced. More than

anyone else, it’s the BJP whoshould be thanking him for

handing out ammo to them.

From the hipSYED SHOAIB

Trial for new drug (We are not a nationof human guinea pigs, February 8) isgenerally conducted on subjects who

have already received the standard treat-ment available in the market without result.If a new drug increases life by 4-5 months, apatient would like to take up the trial. It’seasy to use words like Guinea Pig withoutknowing the ground fact of the research.

Ramkumar PTHyderabad

The Quest for LoveCELEBRATIONS AREAFTER ALL SPONTA-NEOUS PUBLIC EXPRES-SIONS OF JOY, A CON-NECT WITH ONE’S FEL-LOW BEINGS WHO ALSOFEEL THE SAME WAY

RENATE KALLOCH

COMMENT 9SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

The vicious grip of supe -rstition over people, andthe general indifferencein society to the plightof its victims, is both

infuriating and baffling. Thoughts, wishes, incanta-

tions or magical spells cannotaffect the physical universe inany way, and yet, the belief thateveryday objects are dangerousor could attain special powersthrough magical rituals wreakreal havoc in people’s lives. Theabsurdity of the belief notwith-standing, for the sorcerer andfor those believing in the occult,witchcraft is real as are itssocial consequences.

Perpetrators of delusion anddeception, sorcerers are bothoffenders and victims.

They terrorise people withclaims of magical powers; andthey are very often victims ofmob justice when people igno-rantly attribute their woes tosuspected spells cast by the sor-cerers. The intelligentsia hardlyhelp, obsessed as they are them-selves with new- age rituals and

the occult.In India and in Nepal, a

lemon, a few chillies, someturmeric powder and a deadchicken placed outside one’shome can lead a household topanic since this indicates thatsomeone has cast an evil spell.The search for the offender whohas planted these ‘lethal’ objectswill end in the eventual identifi-cation of one who will belynched by the mob.

Very often, the ‘accused’ sor-cerers abandon their homes andflee, or sadly kill themselves to‘es cape’ the physical punishme -nt, humiliation, torture, ritualabuse, plucking of teeth as wellas death that surely awaits them.

Over 2,500 women werekilled in India in the last 10years after being branded aswitches, as per the NationalCrime Bureau statistics. Thenumber of men thus killed isstill unknown. Associated withwitchcraft is the sacrifice ofchildren for obtaining hiddentreasures, but no reliable statis-tics are available.

Other underdeveloped anddeveloping countries too have asimilar gruesome record:Bolivia, Guatemala and Haiti arehotbeds of sorcery and voodooand extreme violence against

witches. In 1998, about one hun-dred alleged sorcerers werekilled in just the one district ofBanyuwangi District, East Java,Indonesia.

In 2007, in Papua NewGuinea, 200 were killed in oneyear in one single district.Almost all the victims of suchviolence are women, just as theywere in medieval Europe whenover 50,000 witches weredrowned, hanged or burnt at thestake by the church.

A leaked home affairs min-istry report in Tanzania says5,000 persons were killedbetween 1994 and 1998, while inthe next three years around17,220 women suffered seriousphysical abuse on suspicion ofpractising sorcery. A BBC jour-

nalist helplessly recorded the bu -rning alive of a witch in Ke nya,where there have also been ins -tances of old people being acc -used of witchcraft just so thatrelatives could get rid of them.

Ghana has officially spon-sored witch camps where thou-sands of women accused ofwitchcraft are incarcerated andalso administered potent andpoisonous potions to get rid oftheir evil powers. Some diebecause of the potions.

I saw posters in Nigeriaannouncing services by witchesclaiming to turn your enemiesinto dogs! Indeed, in Angola agoat was arrested by the policebecause people claimed that acriminal transformed himselfinto a goat to escape.

The heart rending fact fromthe Democratic Republic ofCongo is that nearly 50,000 children are homeless becausetheir parents expelled them afterbeing told by Church leadersthat there were signs of thedevil in their children and thateven exorcism would not help.

Hundreds of albinos in EastAfrica are hunted and killed fortheir body parts which are con-sidered good luck. It was the hor-rific killing in the UK of eight-year-old Victoria Climbié from

Ivory Coast by her own familyon suspicion that she was pos-sessed by evil spirits that high-lighted to the world the problemof witchcraft and sorcery evenin the developed world.

Indeed, it is a most distress-ing situation; a UN report in2009 indicated that the internaldisplacement of people who fleebecause of witchcraft or allega -tions of sorcery amounts to tensof millions all over the world.

How should the problem betackled?

The American and Europeanexperience where the machineryof the State was put to the servi -ce of educating people about theabsurdity of these beliefs andtheir deadly consequences andthe weaning away of the peoplefrom the lure of the magical conception of the universe is tobe implemented worldwide.

For India, it should be con-sidered a national emergencyand the services of school teach-ers, science popularisers, scien-tists and opinion makers shouldbe used to usher India into themodern age.

This is, especially importantbecause we also know that inperiods of uncertainty and eco-nomic distress, the incidentswill rapidly go up, worldwide.

By invitationBABU GOGINENI

Urban sketchesVISWAPRASAD RAJU

Shalt thou not suffer awitch to live?

Redesigning a newspaper is likeredecorating your home: You wantthe new look to represent the new

you, but you also want it to containsome of the core values that got youthere in the first place.

We at Postnoon believe that the timehad come to speed up our evolutionaryprocess; to take that next step inbecoming a paper that grows with itsreaders, rather than trailing in theirwake.

The weekend is a time when you sit

back, enjoy the simple pleasures of lifeand pick up a newspaper that reflectsthe new, modern you. Postnoon aims tobe that newspaper, and our new week-end design delivers a product that youWANT, rather than one WE think youneed.

Art director Madhava B Kulkarniand the team spent weeks poring overtypefaces and colours that representthe City and its denizens.

Each aspect of the new design hasbeen created keeping you in mind,from the new fonts, Glasgow andChunkyfive, to hues that highlightrather than dominate.

Our new approach will also incul-cate a new phase in visual storytelling,branching out from the traditionalsterotypes that should never be set instone.

We don’t believe those who say you,the digital generation, don’t read. Weknow you do, it’s just that you’re morediscerning. And Postnoon will endeav-our to give you not only somethingsubstantial to read, but content thatwill entertain, educate, and above all,energise you to live your life.

Heritage

Editor’s NoteDEAN WILLIAMS

Our new look’sinspired by you

OVER 2,500 WOMENHAVE BEEN KILLED ININDIA IN THE LAST 10YEARS AFTER BEINGBRANDED AS WITCHES, ASPER THE NATIONALCRIME BUREAU.THENUMBER OF MEN KILLEDIS STILL UNKNOWN.

POSTNOON’S NEW WEEKENDDESIGN DELIVERS A PRODUCTTHAT YOU WANT, RATHERTHAN ONE WE THINK YOUNEED.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd unveiledthe new Xylo in Hyderabad. Thenew avatar of Xylo has five vari-

ants. The all-new Xylo boasts of voice com-mand technology for vehicle commands,

enabling customers to control over 30 fea-ture — actions merely by talking to it. The

new Xylo, will start at `7.37 lakh (D2, BS4ex-showroom Hyderabad) and is available

in six colour options.

Talk to your Xylo

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)announced that the Greater ParisInvestment Agency (GPIA) had con-

ferred on it the ‘Prix spécial de l'innovationde Paris-Ile de France CapitaleEconomique 2011’ (Special Innovation prize2011 of Paris). Valérie Pécresse, Republic ofFrance’s cabinet minister for budget, pre-sented the award at an exclusive ceremonyon Thursday.

French award for TCS

Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI) is likely to submit its draft report oncorporate governance to the Ministry of

Corporate Affairs (MOCA) in two weeks."The draft report on ‘National CorporateGovernance Policy' is likely to be submittedin the next two weeks," ICSI presidentNesar Ahmad said. He, however, declinedto reveal what the report says. The govern-ment is working on a framework for aNational Corporate Governance Policy.

MOCA policy in two weeks

BUSINESS 10

6 Months`̀ 199/-

1 Year` 349/-

Hyderabad’s first afternoon newspaper

Subscribe Today!

040 - 4067 2222subscription-cir@postnoon.com

Entrepreneurial bug did not bitehim, but it befell him. He doesn’tmake those flashy smiles and tallclaims like those flamboyantyoungsters who tasted success

by a dint of luck. He stayed focussed totranslate the hard work of his elderbrother, who met with an accident a cou-ple of year ago and is convalescing, andeagerly awaiting return to work. At 21,Mohammed Atif Hyder, the business hechose is a heady brew. Atif joined a teamof six entrepreneurs, who are connectedthrough one another, and his blueprinton the drawing board became a jazzyhangout for the bubbly.

TestoRossa, a truly Italian coffeeshop, is delivered to Hyderabadis by ateam of six enthusiasts, of whom Atif isa stakeholder, leading the strategy, mar-ket feedback and dealing with theAustrian super franchisees for securingthe recipe, and base material.

Atif ’s friend Arjun conceptualisedthe project. TestoRossa’s first outletcame up in Banjara Hills and another inJubilee Hills. Now it is raring to gonational.

Not a gadget geek like many of hispeers, Atif says he is a car fanatic. He,for now, drives a two-door Fiat 500 andwishes to zoom past the starry edifices inthe upmarket blacktop streets of the Cityin his dream car, a Ferrari. He lovesPorsches too.

The fragrance of Givenchy, Frenchperfume, intersperses with that ofArabica coffee beans and Italianespresso at Café TestoRossawafts through the nostrils, asAtif walks around the restau-rant. He charms the glint ofMovado, though he sports aKenneth Cole (wrist watch) as astyle statement. The Todd’s arehis sole-mates, typifying Atif as anesquire persona.

Gitanjali, St Mary’s andcricket was the path hetook and he used towield the willow untilhe suffered an injuryand had to retire hurtfrom South Zone crick-et league. Had he notbecome an entre -preneur, he wouldhave found his for-tunes in IPL.

Why a coffee shop? Because, the cof-fee culture is growing with youngsters inthe City. Association with a brand likeTestoRossa would be advantageous whenthe competition is cutthroat, especiallywhen the big names like Starbucks arelikely to open their outlets in India.Entry into Hyderabad provided Tes -toRossa the necessary experience, asthere are 150-200 footfalls in each of theoutlets.

In fact, he spends the most on food.While each showroom had cost the

company `50 to 75 lakh, their next coffeeshop will come up in Secunderabad.“We have separate gaming areas, pooltables, play stations, and board games,and private dining areas.”

On the expansion plans, Atif saysit would be Delhi, Bangalore andmaybe in Chand igarh. “Before ente -ring Mum bai, we want to make itreally big.” The estimated break -even time is 20 months.

Atif says the company is look-ing at sub-franchise model by get-

ting people to invest there. “Wehave the master fran-

chise of the compa-ny.” The company istargeting a businessof `3 to 4 crore.

He loves to let his hair down playing cricket, and watching soc-cer. He signs offchuckling, “I am abig big MaheshBabu fan.”

A SAYE SEKHAR

saye@postnoon.com

Spilling thecoffee beans

Postnoon News

HYDERABAD: India is mov-ing towards a paperlessinsurance industry. “IRDA isworking on the repositoriesand contractual liabilities tosuit the requirements of apaperless insurance indus-try,” said J Hari Narayan,chair man, Insurance Regula -tory and Development Autho -rity (IRDA).

He spoke at a CII-spon-sored session on addressingdistribution challenges in theinsurance sector here onFriday.

Narayan pointed out that India followedrule-based regulations as opposed to princi-ple-based regulations, which suited more tothe Indian context. “However, we are alsotrying to implement the best practices of

both the approaches into theIndian system,” he said.

He felt that low-costbroking intermediaries mustcater to the insurance require-ments, especially in the tier-II& tier-III cities. “Insurancedepends on trust and compe-tence”, he said.

Ashvin Parekh of Ernst &Young Ltd, said that the regula-tor might usher in changeswith appropriate phase-ins onthe life insurance front, regula-tory guidelines should allowroom for innovations, differen-tiated approach for licensing of

intermediaries; and awareness creation ini-tiatives. Presenting the recommendationson the non-Life Insurance front, Parekh saidthat the regulator may explore creating ofclass 1 (retail) agent and class 2 (all prod-ucts) agents for general insurance.

Paperless insurance soon

ZIM & ZOU

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Jaguar Land Rover plans to partnerwith Chery Automobile to build

vehicles in China, two people withdirect knowledge of the matter said. The

companies have applied for regulatoryclearance to establish the joint venture, the

people said, declining to be identifiedbecause the deal has not been finalised.

The partnership may be officiallyannounced as early as April at the Beijing

auto show, they added.

Jaguar to partner Chery

German car and truck makerDaimler has said it achieved recordsales and profits in 2011. The

company, which owns Mercedes-Benz,reported a 29% rise in net profits to6.029bn euros. Underlying profit, rose 20%to 8.755bn euros, on revenues up 9% to106.5bn euros. Vehicle sales rose 11% to2.11 million, with Daimler saying thatMercedes had “never performed betterthan in 2011”.

Daimler posts record profits

Fiat-Chrysler will delay the launch of anew Jeep compact SUV planned forproduction in Italy. The new Jeep,

which is code-named B-SUV, had been dueto go into production in 2013 in Fiat’sMirafiori plant in Turin. Fiat now says pro-duction will begin in the second quarter of2014. A sister model for Fiat brand willbegin production at the factory earlier inDecember 2013. This will replace the FiatSedici currently built by Suzuki in Hungary.

Fiat delays launch of B-SUV

11MOTORING

Three men on one missionTop Gear is one of the most controversial TV shows, and one of the most popular. In spite of offending

everyone from Albania to India, its hosts continue to pull audiences from across the world. Here’s why...

Osama Salman

Controversy and Top Gearare synonymous and bynow the show’s viewers

will be well accustomed to thatfact. In its stint in India, the

show’s hosts did manage to ruf-fle quite a few feathers. How?

Well, for starters it featuredjokes about food and trains and aJaguar fitted with a toilet seat on

its boot. The BBC received 188complaints about the show. Oneparticular scene, which drew a

lot of flak was when JeremyClarkson took off his trousers at

a party to demonstrate how touse a trouser press. Apart from

that, he also showed off the cus-tomised Jaguar, complete with atoilet roll on its aerial. Clarkson

had said on the programme,“This is perfect for India

because everyone who comeshere gets the trots.” The com-

ment was so ‘offensive’ that eventhe High Commission of India in

London complained about it.

JEREMY CLARKSON

Jeremy Clarkson definitely has adistinctive style of hosting the

show. With his unique tongue-in-cheek humour, he has earned thereputation of being politically incor-rect. But that doesn’t deter him fromtrashing cars that he doesn’t like, orpraising cars that he does. Millionsof people trust his judgement andwatch the show only for laughs. Theaward-winning host is, without adoubt, the heart of the show.Cars ownedn Mercedes-Benz SLKn Volvo XC90n Mercedes-Benz 600 Grossern Lamborghini Gallardo Spydern Lotus Ellise 111S

Series 9, Episode 1 – Brain Injuryand insensitivity

Clarkson asked Hammond fol-lowing his horrific 370kmph crash,“Are you now a mental?”, whichwas followed by James May offer-ing Richard Hammond a tissue “incase he dribbled”. The BBCclaimed the comments were meantas a joke, but also claimed they sawhow the comments could causeoffence to certain viewers.Series 15, Episode 7 – Stig shooting

The show received over 7,000complaints regarding the presen-ters’ American East Road Trip. Theepisode depicted the trio, Jeremy,James and Richard, carrying out adrive-by shooting of The Stig, usingcardboard cut-outs. Ofcom claimedthat the scene ‘idolised the use ofguns’ and was ‘an outright attackon The Stig’.Series 16, Episode 2 – Mexico

Reviewing the Mastretta,Hammond said, “Mexican cars arejust going to be lazy, feckless, flatu-lent, overweight, leaning against afence asleep looking at a cactuswith a blanket with a hole in themiddle on as a coat.” The presen-ters, known for their edgy jibes,then described Mexican food as‘refried sick’. Clarkson said he wasconfident he would not receive anycomplaints about their commentsbecause the Mexican ambassadorwould be asleep.Episode 4 – Albania

The BBC received 600 com-plaints following the fourth episodeof series 16, it was related to anincident in which the presenters‘murdered’ a fat Albanian andattempted to find out which ofthree car boots he would fit intothe best. The episode was also criti-cised for its stereotypical views onAlbania, claiming it is a nest forMafia car thieves.

Courtingcontroversy

FARHAN AHMEDIT professionalThe way the hosts put the laptimes of all cars on one scale isamazing, which is one goodpart about Top Gear. I like howthey test everything from Kiasto Aston Martin. I think theirhumour makes the show a littlemore personal and entertain-ing, and interesting, of course.

Richard Hammond: [Talkingabout the Ford GT’s poorfuel economy ] Actually, 17-and-a-half gallon tank. 4... 4miles to the gallon, how fardoes that mean you will beable to go before you ran outof petrol?Jeremy Clarkson: 75 miles.Richard Hammond: 75miles?Jeremy Clarkson: Yeah.Richard Hammond: Well,how far then do you live, forinstance, from the Top Gearoffice?Jeremy Clarkson: 76 miles.

MEET THE CASTRICHARD HAMMOND

Hammond, 41, is a heart-throb.His exceptional style and witti-

ness, often to shut Clarkson up, iswhat is best about him. Since he isthe youngest of the three hosts, heconnects well with the younger view-ers and has the right attitude.Having recovered from his high-speed crash, Hammond returned toa hero’s welcome in 2007. Also hisverdict on cars is spot on.Cars ownedn Porsche 911n Vintage Dodge Chargern Vintage Mustang GTn Morgan Aeromaxn Land Rover Defendern Opel Kadett (Oliver)

JAMES MAY

There is never a dull moment whenJames May is around. The 49-

year-old has earned the nickname‘Captain Slow’, for his careful drivingstyle, a love of small, underpoweredcars and a habit of getting lost anddistracted driving. However, in a July2010 episode he drove a BugattiVeyron Super Sport, reaching aspeed of 417.6kmph, surprisingeverybody. He is exceptionally good with cars, and he isn’t shy ofshowing it.Cars ownedn Porsche Boxster n Fiat Panda n Bentley T2 n Dacia Sandero

SUDHEER REDDYStudentWhenever I watch Top Gear, Ienjoy watching the hosts enjoythemselves. And what othercar-show hosts drive a truck, anaeroplane and go on road-trips? That is what is uniquehere. Their wisecracks are sofunny. It’s a pity people find itoffensive.

SHAJI ALISelf-employedEvery night before I go tosleep, I watch Top Gear reli-giously. Jeremy is fantasticallyfunny. I remember this oneepisode where Bentleyrefused to give their car forthe show. So they startedcomparing a rundown car tothe Bentley. Sweet revenge!

ABHISHEK SAMAStudentTop Gear is awesome! Myfavourite host is RichardHammond. What I loveabout the show is that theylook at the overall drivingexperience and leave therest of the boring specifica-tions out. Plus, they reallypush the cars to the limit.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201212TECHNOLOGY

If you’d like to show off the amazing graphicsor games available on that new tablet, be sureand get Riptide GP. This is the premiere racing

game for Android — only it’swater-based. This jet-ski stylehigh-paced game will leaveyou sitting on the edge ofyour seat.

Riptide GPTHE GOODn Only tennis game with all

four Grand Slam venues.n Various control options that

are all-easy to grasp. n Great roster of classic players.

THE BADn Only a few court locations.n Female roster lacks top stars.

www.healthy-india.org

Healthy India endeavours to ad -van ce consciousness of diseaseprevention, enco urage early

detection and treatment of chronicdiseases, and foster healthy livingthrough information on a healthylifestyle. This is one helpful website.

VIDEOGAME REVIEWWEBSITE OF THE WEEKGRAND SLAM TENNIS 2

APP OF THE WEEK

Types of GPSPortable

Portable GPS units are smallenough to be carriedbetween the house and the

car or between different cars butnot small enough to fit in a pantor shirt pocket. They typicallyweigh about 10 ounces and areabout 4 inches in width. Thebiggest brand by far is Garmin,which makes the Street PilotSeries of portable GPS units.

In-Dash

An automobile In-Dash unitis built into the dashboardof the car and so it’s not

portable. New cars offer In-DashGPS as an option but they areusually expensive for what youget in terms of functionality. Theadvantage is that they are inte-grated into the dashboardinstead of being mounted ontop of the dash and they aren’teasily lost like a portable unit.Pioneer is a good buy.

Camping and hiking

These GPS units aredesigned to be lightweightand rugged for outdoor

use for hiking, camping, andgeocaching. Some of the moreexpensive units are also water-proof. They usually comepreloaded with some maps butyou will often have to load addi-tional maps onto the device ifyou are heading off road.

Fitness and cycling

Fitness and cycling GPSdevices are used for walk-ing, jogging, running and

cycling. Typically they fit on yourwrist like a watch and can trackspeed, distance, pace and calo-ries burned. Cycling GPS unitsoften fit on the stem or handle-bars of a bike.

Motorcycles

GPS units designed formotorcycles are very simi-lar to those used for cars

except that they are often water-proof, vibration resistant, anddesigned to fit on a motorcycleconsole. Bluetooth handsfreetechnology is also popular forthese devices.

Marine

Marine GPS units typicallyhave chart plotting func-tionality. They are loaded

with a special marine databaseincluding marine navigationalaids like buoys, sound signals,day beacons and tide data.

To many directionally-challenged people the Global Positioning System(GPS) is more than just a helpful tool. It is a saviour of sorts

GPS to the rescue

“We weretravellingto Kuntalawaterfallsin

Adilabad. On the way, werealised that there were no sign-boards. We turned on our GPSand got directions for the water-falls. And before you know it, wereached Kuntala waterfalls spoton,” recalls Rajesh Kandregula,an IT professional in the city.Rajesh has used the GPS on sev-eral other instances and swearsby the technology.

Having installed Google

Maps on her Nokia E72, ManishaKunta, an IT professional in aleading BPO said that it was ablessing in disguise. “I travel alot and in cities that I am notfamiliar with, I have to switchon my GPS. Although on roam-ing, it can cost a bomb. Havingsaid that, there have been manyoccasions where a GPS has comein handy,” she says.

“I was lost in the bylanes ofGoa near Anjuna Beach and hadto reach my hotel on CalanguteBeach. I tried asking people fordirections and no one seemed todirect me properly. I used GoogleMaps and voila, I was back at myhotel! I don’t think I will evertravel without a GPS,” she saysstressing on how much the GPShelped her in a dire situation.

Mansoor Ali Khan, a resi-dent of Chennai, who travels to

the city often, says that a GPSnavigator helps him get to hisdestination faster. “GPS shows adirect route to your destination.It keeps updating the maps andthis, especially helps when I amon unfamiliar roads. Hyderabadhas lots of one-way streets and aGPS helps me navigate throughthem and save time,” believesMansoor.

Venkat Naidu, deputy salesmanager at KUN Exclusive, aBMW showroom in the city, saysthat the 7-series and 5-series areequipped with GPS as a standardaccessory. However, the 3-seriesdoesn’t. “But we will have GPSin the 3-series in a couple ofmonths,” he assures.

On the other hand, AbdulRahman Mohammed says that aGPS isn’t all that handy, at leastin Hyderabad. “I use

MapMyIndia to get directions togo to places that I don’t often goto. However, older areas inHyderabad are difficult to navi-gate, especially through a GPS.There are hundreds of by-lanesand the GPS can’t detect themall. But for people who have thememory of a goldfish when itcomes to recalling routes, GPSdefinitely helps,” says Rahman.

Sanjay Sumani, accessoriessalesman at Saboo Maruti,points out that no Maruti carscome with GPS as a standardaccessory. “But if you want topurchase one, you can get eithera MapMyIndia or SatNav naviga-tion system for `9,000 only,” headds.

So, whether it’s a voice-navi-gated or just one of the apps inyour phone, a GPS is a fantasticthing to have.

How doesa GPSwork?

GPS is a location system basedon a constellation of about 24satellites orbiting the earth at

altitudes of 11,000 miles. GPSreceivers take this information trans-mitted by GPS satellites, and use tri-angulation to calculate the user’sexact location. Essentially, the GPSreceiver compares the time a signalwas transmitted by a satellite with thetime it was received. The time differ-ence tells the GPS receiver how far

away the satellite is. Now, with dis-tance measurements from a few moresatellites, the receiver can determinethe user’s position and display it onthe unit’s electronic map. GPS wasoriginally developed by the UnitedStates Department of Defense (DOD),for its application as a military locat-ing utility. However, over the past sev-eral years, the GPS has proven to be auseful tool in non-military mappingapplications as well.

salman.o@postnoon.comOSAMA SALMAN

Peta loses suit

Afederal judge onWednesday

quashed a law-suit of animal rights group

People for the EthicalTreatment of Animals accus-

ing Sea World of enslaving captive killerwhales, ruling that orcas cannot avail the

same constitutional rights as people.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201213ANIMAL KINGDOM

12 rulesfor dogowners

In this day and age, if youwant to be a dog hero,it’s not enough to learn

how to use a home phone.You have to be able to dialfrom a cell phone. Belle, a

17-pound beagle from Orlando, Florida didjust that to save her owner’s life. She hit 9

(speed dial for 911) on a cell phone.

Belle

The Akita is the largestof the Japanese

Spitz-type breeds. It’sa powerful, solid, muscular,well-proportioned and dis-tinctive looking dog with aflat, heavy head and strong, short muzzle.This breed has webbed feet and is a very

strong swimmer.

CATS AND DOGSThe Animal Care Clinic

040-2335 2474Pet’s World Dog Clinic

98856 46259Blue Cross of Hyderabad

040-3298 9858, 23544355/ 5523

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

Bluplus Pet Clinic040-2712 1739, 2716 2636

Sri Sai Pet Clinic

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

Know your dog

With an array of theso-called authen-

tic breedersaround, getting

pedigree dogs in the city isquite difficult. So for all thosewho are stumped when choos-

ing a dog, the HyderabadCanine Club (HCC) has come tothe rescue of those wishing fornone but the best, and is actingas a warrant against unscrupu-

lous breeders raking in themoolah. In an interview with

Kiran Chitnis, the secretary ofthe HCC, we learn more about

getting a dog with a properpedigree.

“The average man is notinterested in the ears, the tails

or the legs of a dog really. Aslong as they look good, that is

all that matters. Unfortunately,there is more to buying a dog

than its external features,”says Kiran. “Every breed has a

specification and a qualifiedbreeder is able to tell how the

tail should be, what its gaitshould be like, and the shape of

the teeth, to give a few exam-ples. Unfortunately, there is noorganised association that tellspeople what good dogs are likeand how to get good dog train-

ers and breeders. So we, atHCC, came together to get the

breeders and trainers to give asample of the services they

provide. This way, people aremore aware of what they get,”

he adds.

Kiran tells us, “When thepups are born, the breeder

is supposed to take a certifi-cate for each pup from theKennel Club of India (KCI).Today, it has become a man-date to insert a microchip whenthe pup is born. The chip has anumber that is there on the

certificate also.This way, anauthenticity has been estab-lished. We, at the HCC, ensurethat the breeders ask for onlythe number of certificatesrequired for the litter and wealso check on the number our-selves. And then the KCI sendsthe certificates to the breeder.”

Another important thingto keep in mind is that the KCIhas also made controlledbreeding a mandate. Whichmeans that a dog can give a lit-ter only for a particular numberof times a year, or in its life-time. This way, the health ofthe litter is not compromised.

1 Feed your dog at regulartimes, avoiding titbitsbetween meals.

2 Provide suitable dishes foryour dog’s food and water,and wash these separatelyfrom those of the rest ofthe family.

3 Provide your dog with itsown draught-proof bed.

4 Keep your dog clean andproperly groomed.

5 Train your dog well, so it isunder control at all times.

6 Make sure that your dogdoes not become a nui-sance for the neighbours.

7 Never allow your dog tofoul pavements, lawns,gardens or open spaceswhere children play.

8 Keep your dog on a leashalong or near roads ornear farm livestock.

9 Never take your dog(unless it is a guide dog)into food shops.

10Find good boardingkennels and book aplace there early if youintend to take a holidaywithout your dog.

11Get to know your localveterinary doctor andarrange regular healthcheck-ups and vaccina-tions for your dog.

12Ensure that your dog isnever responsible forproducing unwantedpuppies. Seek veteri-nary advice if need be.

That perfect pedigreeIf you’re looking to buy a dog with a pedigree, remember, it’s a jungle out there. From puppy

farms to cruel breeders, finding the right pooch requires research and knowledge

PET NEWS IMPORTANT NUMBERS

On how tospot a good

breed

INDIRA ATLURI

indira.a@postnoon.com

JOHN VIAU

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201214BOOKS

Title: Bringing Up Bebe Author: Pamela DruckermanISBN: 978-1594203336 Publisher: When American jour-nalist Pamela Druckerman has ababy in Paris, she doesn't aspireto become a ‘French parent’.

There's no role model, as there is in America,for the harried new mum. With a notebookstashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman setsout to learn the secrets to joining the societyof reasonably relaxed parents.

Title: Behind the BeautifulForevers: Life, death, andhope in a Mumbai undercity

Author: Katherine BooISBN: 978-1400067558 Publisher: Random House From Pulitzer Prize-winner

Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrativenonfiction that tells the dramatic and some-times heartbreaking story of families strivingtoward a better life in one of the twenty-firstcentury’s great, unequal cities.

Title: Catch MeAuthor: Lisa GardnerISBN: 978-0525952763 Publisher: Dutton Adult Detective DD Warren is hard tosurprise. But a lone woman out-side DD's latest crime scene

shocks her with a remarkable proposition:Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes shewill be murdered in four days. And she wantsBoston's top detective to handle the deathinvestigation.

Title: The Fear IndexAuthor: Robert HarrisISBN: 978-0307957931 Publisher: Knopf Dr Alex Hoffmann’s name is care-fully guarded from the generalpublic, but within the secretive

inner circles of the ultra rich he is a legend.One morning before dawn, a sinister intruderbreaches the elaborate security of his lakesidemansion, and so begins a waking nightmare ofparanoia and violence.

SHORT READS

Dean Williams

Greig Beck’s debut novelwas written for the bigscreen. From the mon-

sters that lurk under theAntarctic ice to the buffed spe-cial ops soldiers and suitablysexy female scientists, the novelteems with cliché, plot holes anda penchant for rollicking adven-ture and tales of derring-do thatwould see Indian Jones reducedto a quivering mess in the centreof an old Mayan temple. But forall that the novel is still a rip-ping good yarn, and the perfectread for that long-haul flight.

Set in the frigid wastelandthat is Antarctica Beneath theDark Ice follows a team ofHAWCs (yup that’s right, butthat’s not all) led by one AlexHunter (well he could hardly becalled Harold Pennysmith), who,by the way, has superpowers(will the wonders never cease).Mr Hunter and his HAWCs alongwith the brilliant, and necessari-ly beautiful scientist AimeeWeir; another suitably diaboli-cal, not to mention cowardly bof-fin Dr Adrian Silex; and fewmonster-fodder sidekicks are ona mission to find an earlier (nowmissing) party of scientists andGreen Berets looking for thepetroleum mother lode under

the frozen continent. On the wayto find their lost colleagues theystumble upon a lost civilizationand a subterranean ‘zoo’ full ofrather peculiar nasties that havebeen left out of the evolutionarycycle for being far too grim tomeet Darwin’s high standards.So far so formulaic. As theybegin to get picked off like liceon a baby chimp they find them-

selves in a race through thetreacherous labyrinth, fightingto reach the surface against agigantic beast, some ratherpesky worms, and even peskierRussian covert ops hell-bent onsending them to an early grave.Needless to say Alex Huntershows his ‘super’ prowess onmore than one occasion much tothe blushing delight of the love-

ly Dr Weir. Beck is not a badwriter, far from it, the atmo-sphere he creates is freezing andat times claustrophobic, ideal forthe picnicking spelunker.

The pace never lets up asyou’re hurled from one cavern toanother with just the raspybreathing of a millenniums-oldcreature for company. Althoughhis characters appear sorely one-

dimensional, his non-humansare brilliant. It’s like he’s takenthe imagination of Jules Verne,put it into a blender with ahealthy dollop of Crichton, andfolded in a teaspoon of StephenKing. The result? One heck of aride.

Padmini Cpadmini.c@postnoon.com

The undeniable success ofAmish Tripathi's Immorta lsof Meluha trilogy, not to

mention the spate of recent best-seller material has establishedtwo things. One, IIM/IIT gradu-ates have discovered a new

domain to conquer. Two, Indianmythology is back and here tostay. Except to base their storieson skeleton sketches of mytho-logical stories and derive theircharacters from them, thisgroup of storytellers is not both-ered by verisimilitude or eventhe need for linguistic proficien-cy. Their aim is to sell. And inthe process, entertain. Whichthey seem to do.

Nilanjan Choudhury is thelatest addition to this genre. Hisbook Bali and the Ocean of Milkre-imagines the ‘Sagar Manthan'story, famous in Hindu mytholo-gy. It revolves around how thegods and the asuras are com-pelled to come together to churn

out the nectar of immortalityfrom the ocean, each for theirown reasons and what happensafter. The holy trinity ‘Sambha,Jai and Viru’ assist them in theprocess. To give him credit,Nilanjan is definitely a far betterwriter than the rest of his kind.His book claims to be a “wackythriller littered with bad jokes

and corpses” and it lives up tothe claim. Unlike Tripathi'sunintentional hilarity, Nilanjan'sbook at least is meant to becomic and in that it even suc-ceeds. Be it Urvashi's demandsfor 'TLC' and a better sex-life,Indrah's use of hair colourMolten Midnight by So'Real orthe idea of the sun-god Suryabeing afflicted with sunburn,there are moments when thereaders will be left chucklingdespite themselves.

All in all, Bali is entertain-ing, evenly-paced but sadly losesmomentum towards the end. Ifyou are a purist who likes theirmythology the old-fashionedway, this is not the book for you.But if you like to your mythicalstories with a twist, you mightjust enjoy what Bali and theOcean of Milk has to offer.

What lies beneathGreig Beck is not a bad writer, far from it, the atmosphere he creates is freezing and at times

claustrophobic, ideal for the picnicking spelunker, with a penchant for tight spots

Mythology with a twistName

Bali and the Ocean of Milk

AuthorNilanjan P Choudhury

Pages320

PublisherHarperCollins

NameBeneath the Dark Ice

AuthorGreig Beck

Pages410

PublisherPan

A somewhat-funnysomewhat-vapid take

on the eternal conflictbetween gods andasuras laden with

cocky humour, actionsequences and smoky

seductresses

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201215BOOKS

Shiba Minaishiba.m@postnoon.com

Arib-tickling comedian nowturns author with his newbook The Wednesday Soul:

A novel on the Afterlife. We askwhy this transition? He says, “Ihave always been a writer. I was avery keen observer as a kid and Iused to pick up a lot of unusualthings like a pigeon banging intoa wall and some funny things.Writing just became my passion.”

Sorabh has been a scriptwrit-er for a lot of comedy shows onIndian television and we askhow did that start, to which he

says, “When I was in college Ilooked quite funny with my longhair. I was given the job ofpulling a practical joke on peopleby a paper, where I had to sell iceand write about it, and guesswhat, I even got paid for it!” Helaughs and continues, “And thusstarted my career in comedywriting, as I would like to call itand then into television thanksto Vir Das, who pushed me to trya hand at comedy.”

Sorabh's book The WednesdaySoul: A novel on the Afterlife,begins where most books end; tothat he says, “It's is a product of adisturbed mind who wants atten-

tion from people.” It was a joke,but he said it deadpan. Laughing,we continue to ask, why death?He replies, “A part of me hasbeen philosophical in a way,although I don't even how it ispronounced (he attempts theword three to four times).”

He continues, “Death, fasci-nated me and every religion inthe world seems to be revolvingaround death and it's one destination everyone will reach,sooner or later. I think I am apontificate on death and I wantmy nonsense about it to reach outto everyone.”

Sorabh’s witticism is quiteevident as he continues to give usa gist of what the book contains,"Well, you will see Jesus as arockstar, and will also see a lot ofmythological characters in mybook. It will be a joyride throughheaven, hell or whatever you liketo call it.”

Religion is a very touchytopic in our country, what withthe number of religions beingpracticed here. Obviously, Sorabhcould hurt people's sentiments atsome point. The comediandefends himself by saying,"Actually, I have been extremelycareful and have been mindful, toensure that I do not hurt the sen-timents of any community.

“Although controversy is saidto be good for writers and I wouldlike to be living in London likePadma Laxmi and the likes, butthat's not what I have in mind,just yet. My book is only meantfor a fun read.”

Walden best in fiction

n Secret of the Nagasby Amish Tripati

n Can Love HappenTwice by RavinderSingh

n Zero Day by DavidBaldacci

n Revolution 2020 byChetan Bhagat

n Aleph by PauloCoelho

Walden best in non-fiction

n Steve Jobs byWalter Isaacson

n Great by Choice byCollins And Hansen

n Confessions of aSerial Dieter byKalli Purie

n Most and More byVoice Ra

n Art of Stress-FreeLiving by Sri SriRavi Shankar

New York Times best in fiction

n Taken, by Robert Crais

n Private: #1 Suspect,by James Pattersonand Maxine Paetro

n Death Comes ToPemberley, by PD James

n The Girl WhoKicked the Hornet’sNest, by StiegLarsson

n 11/22/63, byStephen King

New York Times best in non-fiction

n Ameritopia, by Mark R Levin

n American Sniper byChris Kyle

n Scott McEwen andJim DeFelice

n Steve Jobs byWalter Isaacson

n Quiet by Susan Cain

n Killing Lincoln by BillO'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Take a dig at afterlifenDivine Comedy by Donald

Denoon

nExperiencing the afterlife byManuele Gragnolati

nA Newcomer’s guide to afterlifeby Daniel Quinn

What started off at the age of 11 as mere musings in a diary, translated tocomic scripts in adulthood. Meet Sorabh Pant, one among India's top comedians

A DOSE OF DEADLY HUMOUR

WHAT’S SELLING

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201218WOMEN

PopSugar: Theparent site for all of the

PopSugar networkblogs that cover all

manner of life, fromwork and fashion to

kids to celebrities.PopSugar is one-stopshopping site for hip

female-friendly content.

Rachael Ray: Thequeen of 30-minute

meals offers her uniquebrand of getting thingsdone with a smile, and

her site offers adviceand features culled fromher daytime TV show as

well as must-cookrecipes.

Start UpPrincess:

A resource forfemale entrepreneurs

by femaleentrepreneurs througheducation, encourage-

ment and networking opportunities.

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK

All About EveSANA MIRZA

A little morethought

Valentine’s day is 3 daysaway and we hear themen scurrying, hunting

for perfect gifts. Unplannedagain?

It is one of those dayswhere every girl feels it ismandatory that if she is in arelationship, her significantother needs to go out of hisway to make her feel special.We can't blame them now, canwe? After brainwashing menfor years with sappy moviesand mushy novels, women nowhave a pre-conceived notion asto how exactly they would liketo be treated on V-day.

But then again makingsomeone feel special is notrocket science. All they need isto put a little extra thoughtinto the gifting since theyseem to always fall behindwhen it comes to doing thingsfor their women. While women love surprisingtheir men with occasionalgifts, dinners, lunches, mas-sages etc, men on the otherhand look at it as a Herculeantask. It’s unfair and then yousay we are never satisfied andcontent with what you do.That is because you barelytouch the bar that is leastexpected of you.

Know this and know itwell. Women will do anythingto please their men. This iswhat unconditional love is andnot saying it repeatedly sothat it sounds even more con-vincing in your head. Whyis it that women need to telltheir men specifically whatthey want. Why can’t men be alittle bit more observant andcrib less?

Let’s admit it. We are nottoo demanding, at least thenew-age woman isn’t. There isnothing wrong with havingexpectations. Apart fromanniversaries and birthdays,Valentine’s day is the onlyother day that we expect ourmen to do something out ofthe ordinary. Don’t we womendeserve a little appreciationfor balancing it all out ever soperfectly? No, I don’t want youto tell me what an amazingperson I am, I want you toshower me with gifts, love andexcessive pampering.

Growth the organic way

Cherazad was all of 12when she was con-vinced that whatevershe would do in lifewould be something

to do with fashion. She says shegrew up with her parents dis-cussing Chermas, “I rememberas a kid no matter where theconversation began, it wouldeither end up with Chermas.After finishing my ISC, I decid-ed to give fashion designing ashot and I got through Nift.”

Cherazad lets in that shewas not very inclined towardsthe creative side of designingand therefore headed for a mas-ters degree to UK in ClothingTechnology, as it interested her.“When I went there, it wasalmost like a culture shock. Ilearnt the role of IT in fashion,global economics, basically acombination of business man-agement with global sourcing.There was a lot of research andwe learnt how to be completelyindependent,” she says. “I alsolearnt how to deal with buyersand met a variety of brandsand designers,” she adds.

By the time Cherazadreturned from her PG course,Chermas had invested in a stateof art manufacturing plant andit gave her the perfect launchpad. “When I returned theplant was a year old and it gaveme a great scope to use andimplement what I learnt. Justthen we got our first customer,the Edinburgh Mills, fromScotland. They had over 80stores in UK. This is when westarted off and then we eventually moved to theUS markets,” reveals the busi-nesswoman.

The enterprising business-woman says her parents areher inspiration. “My dad taughtus how to be dedicated andcommitted to our jobs. Also mymum, who did an incredible jobin balancing work and home. Idon’t think she ever missed asingle PTA in school or anyother important occasion forany of us,” she says with a hint

of pride in her voice.Cherazad has been an inte-

gral part of the large businessthat Chermas has made, shesays, “We have worked withsome of the large players in theindustry like Disney, Macys, JCPenny, Walmart etc.”

On their internationalassociations and projects, shesays, “We have always focusedon product development, sourc-ing of raw material and thefinal stage of manufacturingand exporting of the product.”

Back in Hyderabad,Chermas has not exactly ven-tured into a segment for theupmarket, to which Cherazad

says, “We have always believedin value for money and contin-ue to believe in the same. Wehave always believed in operat-ing in a more personalised way.It has been like a family busi-ness.” But she is quick to add,“That definitely does not meanthat it is any less than a corpo-rate. We do not believe in grow-ing the ‘inorganic’ way.”

On one of her best achieve-ments — Anahita, her latestventure with sister cum part-ner Maniza Pestonji, Cherazadsays, “The launch and the suc-cess thereafter has been over-whelming and this is surelysomething I take pride in.”

SHIBA MINAI

shiba.m@postnoon.com

Cherazad Pestonji took to fashion like a fish takes to water. She found success withChermas, and now with Anahita she aims to raise the bar to unimaginable heights

THE CV

Name: Cherazad Pestonji

Birthday: 27 September

Last book read: New book

on Alexander McQueen

Last film seen: Bridesmaid

Motto in Life: Honesty is the

best policy

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201219SPOTLIGHT

Actor Rana Daggubati and a radiostation have come together to selectthe City’s Jodi No 1 on the occasionof Valentine’s Day.

Let the bestcouple win

A fast food giant recently launched itsbreakfast menu along with actor

Aksha. They have on offer hashbrowns, sausages and pancakes.

Breakfastwith Ronald

Indira Atluriindira.a@postnoon.com

The Chowmahalla Palace waswhere all the music lovers ofthe City headed to on Fridayevening, and for the right rea-

sons. The lawns of the palace werefilled with an enthusiastic lot waitingfor a ‘passport’ to a musical world.Remember Shakti’s performance wasmore than one could ask for. Begi nn -ing with a jugalbandi of John Mclau -ghlin, Zakir Hussain, Selvaganeshand Mandolin Srinivas, the eveni nggot better with each musical pieceand Shankar Mahadevan’s entry intothe coterie only added to the intensi-ty of the evening. It was a thrillingexperience to watch one of the finalpieces by Zakir Hussain andSelvaganesh, who were seated oppo-site to each playing the tabla and thekanjira — their expressions were likea mode of communication as theymoved their fingers dexterously overtheir instruments. What followed ofcourse, was a mammoth reception bythe audience. Truly, RememberShakti’s visit to Hyderabad was aproof that the City endorses classicalarts with great appreciation — it wasan evening which every individualpresent, would mark the day as one ofthe finest in their musical sojourns.

REMEMBER SHAKTIENTHRALLS CITY

A stylish affair

SRINIVAS SETTYA SUDHEER REDDY

The brunch do at The Parkby Nikita Reddy of Club SeLa Vie saw the who’s who ofthe City turn up lookingtheir best.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 201220RELATIONSHIPS

Iam 24. I have been in a relation-ship for the past three years.

My girlfriend has had to moveto Bangalore for work. She has madequite a few friends at the office and

since she is pretty she has manymen talking to her. I think she is

falling for one of her coworkers. Shekeeps telling me that she loves metoo much but I am a bit disturbed.

What should I do?

Dear disturbed kid, What do the men over there do that you don't?Probably they go around spewing poetry and talkabout much more interesting stuff than you do. She isprobably way better off with some bloke in a suit thanwith a fellow who needs to be reassured of being lovedevery time he picks up the phone. She is not somewoman staying in purdah that you are getting soworked up. Probably you are right, better city meansbetter prospects and so son, you better pick up yourbag of woes and move on. The bird has fled the nest.

Is the number, suggested by British anthro-pologist Robin Dunbar, of people withwhom one can maintain stable social rela-

tionships. These are relationships in which anindividual knows who each person is, andhow each person relates to every other per-son. No precise value has been proposed forDunbar's number. It has been proposed tolie between 100 and 230, with a commonlyused value of 150.Source: The Tipping Point

150I AM ALL EARS

Idid not realise that I was alesbian until I turned 21and it was only after I metmy partner that I realised

what was lacking in my life.But, for the fear of societyand the thought that wemight get shunned at college,we did not come out. Allthrough our college life andfor over four years at ourworkplace we were closeted.We stayed away from any-thing that would brand usgay. We laughed at gay jokescracked by friends and silent-ly felt something wither anddie deep inside. This went onand on until we were forcedto come out to our parents,and after that there was nostopping us. Once we wereout, there was no going back.

I was lucky that I had mypartner for support and eventhough at that time I was notaware of any organisationthat worked for LGBT rights,I managed fine. However, noteveryone is that lucky. It istraumatic to lie every day ofyour life and hide things fromyour loved ones.

This morning I woke upto an article on an e-zineabout a homosexual youthwho ended his life becausehis lover abandoned him.What struck me most aboutthe story was that the entirevillage knew that the youngboy was depressed after beingjilted by his lover but it wasonly after the media reachedthe village did they open upand talk about it.

It is really hard for some-one gay to come out andaccept their sexuality and itis harder when everyonearound is ready to point fin-gers and laugh or pretend notto notice. Everyone has theright to lead their lives theway they want to. Today, itmight be someone in a far offvillage who ended their lifebut it could be someone nearus the next time, so it is timewe opened our minds andshow that we care. It doesn’ttake too much effort, all weneed to do is not just hearwith our ears but listen withour hearts.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

In the 1960s, Aaron Beck andAlbert Ellis changed the faceof psychological theory andpractice by pulling it out of

the mysterious shadows of thesubconscious and making itmore practical and real.Counselling moved from Freud’spsychoanalysis to Cognitive-Behavioural therapy that was alot more effective and functional.Today, new-age gurus likeDeepak Chopra, Louise Hay,Anthony Robbins, Esther Hicksand Rhonda Byrne are tellingyou that you can turn your lifearound and create your reality,one day at a time; simply bythinking right.

Call it Neuro-linguisticProgramming (NLP),Neuroassociative Conditioning(NAC), the Law of Attraction, orsimply Positive Affirmations;the basic idea of this school ofthought is that a positive mentalattitude supported by affirma-

tions will achieve success inanything.

In The Secret, Rhonda Byrnestates, “Thoughts becomethings... Remember that yourthoughts are the primary causeof everything. So when youthink a sustained thought it isimmediately sent out into theUniverse.” This is how the law ofattraction works — thoughtsemit specific frequencies andtherefore attract similar ener-gies, it is how our thoughtsshape our experiences. “The lawof attraction says like attractslike, and so as you think athought, you are also attractinglike thoughts to you,” saysByrne. “The law of attraction isthe law of creation. Quantumphysicists tell us that the entireUniverse emerged from thought!You create your life throughyour thoughts and the law ofattraction, and every single per-son does the same,”she says.

So if you wish to attract yourdream lover into your life, it fol-lows that you need to conscious-ly change your thought pattern.There are, however, some funda-mental rules to be followed toachieve this:

Think about what you ‘do’want, as opposed to what youdon’t want: So many of us feelthat we are worthy of more, bet-ter, brighter things in our lives.And yet they seem to elude us.You attract that which you thinkabout the most. For instance, ifyou keep thinking, “All the men Idate are jerks,” that is whatyou’ll get more of. And you don’twant that!

Avoid negative terminolo-gy: When you think, “I do notwant to date a loser this time,”or “My girlfriend is so great, Ihope she never dumps me,” thelaw of attraction processes it as“I want to date a loser this time;I hope my girlfriend dumps me.”So you may want to replacethese negative statements withpositive affirmations. Also stateyour affirmations in the presenttense. The affirmation shouldnot be presented in the form of awish or a future event. So toattract a warm, caringboyfriend, your affirmationwould be, “My boyfriend iswarm, caring and is genuinelyinterested in what I say.”

Be clear and specific:Sometimes we are not particu-

larly clear about what we want.Simply thinking that you wantyour girlfriend to be ‘nice” is notvery specific. Have you eventhought about the other qualitiesyou value in a mate? The morespecific you are about what youwant, the better it works for you.

Keep it real: Your wishneeds to be something real. Ifyour wish is so fantastical thatyou yourself know that it is notpossible, then the NLP or affir-mations are not going to work.

Power of repetition: Youcan write, say or simply thinkthe affirmation again and again.The more you emit the frequen-cy of your thought,the betteryour chances of attracting yourdream mate.

What do you think aboutyourself ?: Many of us grow upbelieving that we are not worthyof all the good things in ourlives. Probably, we believe thatlove needs to be earned and weneed to do something or be a cer-tain way to get it. As long as youfeel unworthy, even of the thingsyou think you rightfully deserve,you are blocking the law ofattraction.To attract love, beginby loving and accepting yourself.

Loud & ProudSHWETA PAI

Listen withyour heart

MINI SINGH

If you wish to attract your dream lover into your life, you needto consciously change your thought pattern

Love, actually

LEONID AFREMOV

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CINEMA 21

Tamannaah isswamped with somuch work thesedays that she doesn’thave time to consider

new projects. In the past,there were rumours that shewas approached forSukumar’s upcoming filmwhich has Mahesh Babu inthe lead role. However, shehas no dates to accommodateanother film since she’salready busy acting inEndhukante Premanta,Rachcha and Rebel. Whenasked why she isn’t signingany Tamil or Hindi films, theactor said that her first priori-ty is to do justice to the filmsshe’s currently part of. Sinceshe is flooded with a lot ofwork in the South, the actorhas also made it clear that shedoesn’t have any Bollywooddreams, as of now.Tamannaah had begun heracting career with a Hindifilm titled Chaand Sa RoshanChehra, which released backin 2005; however, she came tolimelight only after acting infilms like Happy Days andKalloori.

Tamannaahhas herplate full

Nag busy withshoot in Badami Nagarjuna’s upcom-

ing film Shirdi Saiis currently being

shot near Badami,Karnataka. The actorbegan shooting for thefilm few days ago and pro-ducer A Mahesh Reddysaid that this schedulewill go on till the end ofFebruary. K RaghavendraRao is directing the filmand this is his third devo-tional movie withNagarjuna after

Annamayya and SriRamadasu. MMKeeravani is composingthe music. The film is saidto be a biopic on ShirdiSai Baba’s life. “I have read a lot aboutShirdi Sai and when Iheard stories about hisgreatness and the influ-ence he had on the people,I knew that this role wasgoing to be something spe-cial,” Nagarjuna toldPostnoon.

A satire onthe media?Puri Jagannadh has announced

the title of his upcoming filmwith Pawan Kalyan. The film

has been titled as Cameraman GangaTho Rambabu and early buzz is thatit could be a satire on the media. Thetitle is a wordplay on the actualwords used by all TV reporters whilecovering a story. Kajal Aggarwal isplaying the lead role and DVVDanayya is producing the film.Pawan Kalyan and Puri Jagannadhare teaming up after 11 years andgiven the title of their latest film, itmight very well be a full-fledgedentertainer.

T-TOWN TWEETIES@ramsayzGlad u all liked d pics and mylook!& YES!! It looks lavish coz#ENDHUKANTEPREMANTA isThe Most Expensive film in mycareer! Spendin a BOMB!

@sundeepkishan6 out of 7 reviews call Regina

the find of the season..Woooohoooooo Reggu,celebra-

tions are on in Rishikesh :D plswatch the movie guys #SMS.

@shrutihaasanWhat’s worse than people whodon’t work? People who don’tdo a thing who pretend to bebusy..:D

@prakashraajMind blowing response to

DHONI. I am moved by thewarmth in every appreciation.Thank you all. THANK you my

TEAM. Another journey begins...

@shraddhadas43Gonna start attending bellydancing classes from today,seems exciting! Another form offun exercising apart from myusual kickboxin

@LakshmiManchuShooting for #UKUP.. Ballaya,

the super duper rock star isshooting w us. His energy and

love for cinema iscontagious.wrapped at 5am

@tashu_02How Beautifully God Keeps OnAdding,One More Day In OurLife.!!Not Only Because U NeedIt....!Because Some One ElseNeed U Everyday.!!

@vennelakishore4 days...4 hrs of sleep...wanna

personally thank redbull andirani chai in helping me bal-

ance my shootings in morningand postprod in evenin

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CINEMA 22

Sana Mirza

Rahul Kapoor (ImranKhan) is an architectworking in Las Vegas. As

unhappy as he is on theinside, fulfilling his parents(Boman Irani and RatnaPathak Shah) unending wish-es, he still seems content.Then all of a sudden he loseshis job. Distraught, he decidesto hide it from his parents tillhe finds another one. EnterRiana (Kareena Kapoor) whois his complete opposite. Afun-loving, witty hairstylistwho feeds off optimism eventhough she is completely

broke. A chance coincidenceand countless drinks later, thetwo end up marrying. Thenext day, the two, decide to getthe marriage annulled. The 10days that follow prior their

appearance in court, is whatforms the next two hours ofthe movie. Debutant ShakunBatra gives us a fresh storyleaving out the mush and try-ing to keep it real. The scriptmisses out on establishing therealisation of love and under-plays it. The cinematographyworks and lifts up the spirit inmost of the scenes, so does themusic. Kareena and Imranboth deliver flawless perfor-mances. The small supportingcast has done a fabulous jobtoo. To classify it as the per-fect date movie on V-day planmay have consequences.Strictly a one time watch.

Bollywood actress Esha Deolis set to exchange rings

with her long-timeboyfriend Mumbai-based busi-

nessman Bharat Takhtani onSunday, two days before

Valentine’s Day.“Yes, it is going to be a tradi-

tional ceremony at their Juhuresidence on Sunday. It will be a

family affair,” Esha’s managersaid.

The time of engagement isyet to be revealed, but the family

is said to be excited.Last year, Hema relaunched

her 29-year-old with Tell Me OKkhuda, but it failed to resur-

rect her career as the movietanked at the box office. IANS

Esha Deol toget engaged to

businessman beau

Abhishek Bachchan, whoselast flick Players failed toset the box-office afire, has

teamed up with Aamir Khan inDhoom 3 and says it’s an honourto work with the talented actor.

“Very excited about startingDhoom again and working withAamir. Aamir has become astandard for us today. He is asenior. He is somebody whosework I have admired since thestart of my career, even when Iwas in school,” the 36-year-oldsaid while launching the newOmega watch.

“(I have) Grown up watchinghis films, it’s a matter of greathonour for me to be able to sharescreen space with him, veryexcited,” he added.

Dhoom 3 will see Abhishekreprising his role of ACP JaiDixit as seen in the first twofranchises of the series

Besides Dhoom 3, Abhishekis also working on Bol Bachchanand Chakravyuha. IANS

It’s an honour towork with Aamir inDhoom 3: Abhishek

Ranbir invites Shahid for world tourThey get along well enough

to be called friends aftertheir bonding in Macau

for the Zee Cine Awards — andnow Ranbir Kapoor has madea special request to ShahidKapoor to join him on a worldtour in August. Shahid is try-ing his utmost to adjust hisdates to accompany Ranbir.

Confirming these develop-ments, Ranbir’s father RishiKapoor, who would also be the

tour’s producer, said “Shahidand my son have become goodfriends. He is likely to join us.The rest of the details are stillbeing finalised.”

Shahid earlier had to optout after his next film directedby Maneesh Sharma gotdelayed because of the direc-tor’s back problem. But then,something unforeseen hap-pened and Ranbir’s bondingwith Shahid got stronger in

Macau during their perfor-mance at the Awards.

Regarding his own perfor-mance on stage with his son,Rishi said, “There’s a demandfor it. But whether my injuredknees allow me the pleasure ofdancing with my son, remainsto be seen.” Besides Ranbir,Shahid and Katrina Kaif, theworld tour would also featurePriyanka Chopra andAnushka Sharma. IANS

Ek Main aur Ekk tu may not impress everyone but it’s thefreshest offering from Dharma productions yet

Movie:Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor,

Boman Irani, Ratna PathakShah, Ram Kapoor

Directed by:Shakun Batra

Rating:

One-sided love

B-TOWN TWEETIES@iamsrkBad part at airport for 5 hours.Good part back home... Daugh -ter has taekwondo match...nobody else home so she wasnervous...now she has me.

@rampalarjunEarly morning workout, now

Delhi winter, nice way to cooldown. On route to airport.

Excited about Lap most proba-bly will spin tonight.

@RGVzoomin “We know everythng happensfor a reason.Bt snce we nevrcme 2 knw wht tht reason iswht’s the point in knwng thtevrythng happens fr a reason?”

@NeilNMukesh Sum can mak u cry & give u

tears Many cn mak u laugh & givu smile Bt only very few cn giv u

laughin tears & cryin smiles.

@bipsluvurself Lots of love 2 al my BangladeshiFans as I could nt interact withthem at al after my performanceas I was running high fever!Next time:)

@udaychopra Radishes are uneducated but

they have a good heart.Cucumbers on the other hand

are so temperamental, guess itsall the pretence of coolness.

@AnupamPkher Thank You ALL for your heartfeltmessages about my father.Hewas my best friend also. His lastwords to me this morning. LIVELIFE.

@priyankachopra In transit...looking forward to

Brrrrrrlin! What a wonderfulplace... should b there in a fewhours..greateful for courage...

strength... love... life.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CINEMA 23

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CINEMA 24

Postnoon News

Monsieur Lazhar, theCanadian film in con-tention for Best ForeignFilm, is about how a

new teacher helps the class ofchildren to comprehend theirerstwhile teacher’s demise.

The story is set in Montreal.

A group of grade six students isstunned to discover the tragicdeath of their class teacher.Monsieur Lazhar (MohamedFellag) is an Algerian immigrantwho talks his way into the job oftaking over the classroom wherethe teacher has died. He’s veryhappy to have the teaching posi-tion, but there’s an immediate

culture clash in Lazhar’s highexpectations of the children. Thekids are not afraid to speak theirmind, which puzzles Lazhar. Thegrowing relationship betweenLazhar and two of his students,who are particularly troubled bytheir teacher’s death, forms the

centre of the story. On the other hand, Lazhar is

coping with an immeasurableloss in his own life and is fightingdesperately to be permitted tostay in Canada. His story unfoldsquietly in parallel to his experi-ences with the children, but whatthey have in common is grief.

It is a film about how childrencope in the world of adult experi-ence and emotion. The children’sperformances are heart-rending,and Mohamed Fellag puts in anunderstated performance that isprofoundly affecting.

Macaulay Culkin’s Repslams health speculation

Macaulay Culkin is fit as a fiddle, hisspokeswoman insists — despite whatEntertainment Tonight suggests. The

31-year-old actor’s publicist has fired back atETOnline, after the site published a photo ofthe star looking thin on the streets of NewYork on Wednesday. “Macaulay Culkin is inperfectly good health,” Culkin’s publicisttold TheWrap in a statement. “ForEntertainment Tonight — or any othermedia — to speculate otherwise is reckless.”

Work onParadise Lostshut down

Paradise Lost,LegendaryPictures’ big-bud-

get, special effects-laden take on the JohnMilton classic poem,has been shut down.

The movie was tohave been directed byAlex Proyas and tohave starred BradleyCooper as Lucifer. Theproject couldn’t over-come two challenges;budget and specialeffects. The budget wasmore than $120 millionand was responsiblefor one postponementalready. Legendary hasbeen looking to makemore movies on itsown and away from theslate-financing busi-ness that had been itsbread and butter.

A gem ofa film

An exploration of how adults speak tochildren about issues they’d rather not

confront themselves

ROAD TO OSCARSName: Monsieur LazharDirector: Philippe FalardeauCast: Mohamed FellagCategory: Foreign

PHILIPPE FALARDEAU,THE FILM’S DIRECTOR,WON ‘BEST CANADIANFIRST FEATURE’ AT THETORONTO INTER NATIO -NAL FILM FESTIVAL FORHIS FILM LA MOITIÉGAUCHE DU FRIGO(2000).

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CINEMA 25

MILEY CYRUS OUT OF ADAM SANDLER’S

Miley Cyrus was planning on joining the vampirecraze, but the former Disney darling has decid-

ed that Dracula isn’t for her right now. Theactress-singer is no longer attached to Adam

Sandler’s upcoming animated flick, HotelTransylvania. Cyrus was to voice Mavis, the young daugh-

ter of the quintessential bloodsucker Dracula (Sandler).So why’d Miley ditch the project? Some are speculat-

ing that she’s more interested in partying thanworking. However, a source says that Cyrus sim-

ply decided to take some more time to figureout what her next move in the movies

should be.

Actor Daniel Radcliffesays he has devel-oped a fascination

towards Ryan Gosling. “This year I have a

talent crush on RyanGosling. I think he’s

fantastic and you knowhe’d be nice afterwards.

He seems smart. If I wasgay I would go for a smartman,” Gosling was quoted

as saying.IANS

auditions for an actionmovie villain

After winning a slew of awards,including a best actor Golden

Globe for his part in The Artist,Jean Dujardin is ready for his next

big American role. And according tohis team in Hollywood — or at least

in this Funny or Die video — theyhave the perfect character in mind for

the French movie star, 39. Using fellowEuropean natives Christoph Waltz andJavier Bardem as examples, Dujardin’s

team points out his obvious next role will bea villain in an action film.

JEAN DUJARDIN

VAMPIRE HOTEL FLICK

I have a talent crushon Gosling: Radcliffe

CHAI TIME 26SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

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

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

Within each collection of cells - called a run - any of the numbers1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be usedonce.

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

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

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

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

KAKUROACROSS1 "Get Yer ___ Out!"

(Stones album)6 Moby Dick, for one11 Tax computer?14 "That's ___!" (par-

ent's admonition)15 Carbon monoxide

creators16 ___ polloi17 Up-front money, as

for a car19 "Zone" or "table"

lead-in20 Ax kin21 Part of a wash cycle22 VIP on Oscar night24 Clams and oysters,e.g.26 Difficult journey27 Number in the

"Pledge ofAllegiance"

28 Just adequate32 1998 British

Petroleum acquisition35 "___ la Douce"36 Racetrack tipster37 Prima donna38 Prickly shrub39 Corporate symbol40 A Baldwin brother41 Billions and billions of

years42 Trifle43 Shopkeeper45 Espionage grp.46 Designer Christian47 Redd Foxx role51 Gold measure53 Like a new penny55 "7 Faces of Dr. ___"

(1964 movie)56 Historical period57 Bank freebie60 Santa subordinate61 Bake-off needs62 Furious63 "Knot" homophone64 Ungainly65 A bit teary-eyed

DOWN1 The three words of a

"Seinfeld" catch-phrase

2 "+" pole

3 "You scared me!"4 "Raggedy" doll5 Surname of an HBO

crime family6 "The Shootist" was his

last film7 Joins in wordlessly8 Suit to ___9 "Man of a Thousand

Faces" Chaney10 Compounds that

contribute to beer'sfruity flavor

11 It can be balanced12 Cornmeal bread13 White House intern,e.g.18 Suffix with "million"23 Entree for a carnivore25 Flat Italian bread26 Big man in Russia,once28 Make a hard copy29 Iowa university town30 Racing sled

31 School on theThames32 "The Wedding

Singer" star Sandler33 1,760 yards34 Balance problem?35 Blacksmith's material38 Grizzly, for one42 "A Christmas Carol"

character44 Ballparkpurchase45 "___ Get a

Witness"(MarvinGaye hit)

47 Spacek ofthe screen

48 Earthe -nware jars

49 "Nick ofTime"singerBonnie

50 One of the

Seven Dwarfs51 Having a sharp edge52 Woody's son53 Eject, as lava54 Hit the horn58 Magda and Zsa Zsa's

sister59 Hindu Mr.

SCRI

BBLI

NG P

AD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

QUICK CROSSWORD

Love rules thecourt, the camp,the grove, Andmen below, and

saints above:For love is

heaven, andheaven is love.

SOLU

TIO

N O

N P

AG

E 3

2

SUDOKU THOUGHT OFTHE DAY

– Sir Walter Scott

CHAI TIME 27SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo VirgoSix of Pentacles

Work – You do notneed to feel over-

whelmed by the job athand. Your bosses areaware of how much youcan deliver. They will alsoprovide you with assis-tance. Romance – You’vereached a comfortableunderstanding with yourpartner where you bothknow when to give spaceand when to be there forthe other. Health – Youwill get whatever therapyyou need at this point. Itcould be in the form oftouch therapy or Reiki orsomething alternative.Money – Your financesimprove through the int -er vention of a third party.Your debts are clea red.Tarot message – Keep anopen mind and share withothers – wheth er giving ortaking. Don’t be rigid withyours-and-mine theory.

Ace of Cups

Work – You think withyour heart and some-

times in a very rigid cor-porate setup this may notwork very well. Creativeprofessionals do well.Romance – Singles arelikely to meet someoneinteresting while travel-ling. Don’t close yourmind to any possibility.You only lose by doingthat. Health – You feelgood from within and thisshows on your health as well. Sip on cups ofgreen tea and eat moresalads to keep healthy. Money – You may get anopportunity to moonlighton a creative project. You begin to enjoy it somuch that you plan totake it up seriously. Tarot message – Listento your intuition and pay attention to your feelings.

King of Cups

Work – You want moreflexibility and freedom

in your work situation andare working to make this areality. Plans will work outwell. Romance – You reachnew levels of understandingwith your partner. You dis-cover each other throughsensual pleasures. You wineand dine. Health – Get a dayat the spa, switch off yourphone and indulge. Getmassages, pamper yourself and come awayfeeling rejuvenated. Money – Review yourfinance portfolio. Don’t be lazy to move things around if you’re not getting the returns you hoped for. Tarot message – You get in touch with your innerself. After a long time, you have it in you to make decisions based on intuition.

Ten of Wands

Work – You’re takingon more than you

can handle and feeling theburden of it all. Do nothesitate to delegate. Itdoes not mean you’re abad employee. Romance –You and your partnerneed some time away tosort things out in yourheads. Space will do yougood. Health – Your ownexpectations are threaten-ing to get you down. Stepaway from the situation,view the big picture. Don’tget depressed. Money – Managing yourfinances is importantwork. Take time out, nomatter how difficult it is during the week, to do this. Tarot message – You areyour own best friend. Butyou still live in society.Learn to open up andshare more easily.

King of Swords

Work – You have accessto the best informa-

tion and network of people.Use this to your advantagewithout being pompous orarrogant about it.Romance – You areapproaching a relationshiptoo much from the head.It’s hardly about howexpensive the restaurantwhere you dined is. Health– Give free flow to your cre-ativity and allow yourheart to lead you. This will make you feel goodabout yourself. Money – Finances are ingood shape. You may be toothrifty and feeling the needto cut corners whereveryou deem fit. Loosen up.Tarot message – You’re all about the intellect. Your heart may be feeling left out at this point. Listen to your feel-ings, too.

Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces

Four of Pentacles

Work – Are you beingtoo rigid about an

idea suggested by a collea -gue? Learn to open up andfollow adventurous newpaths. Romance – You’re atraditionalist when it com -es to courtship and mar-riage. You like to do thingsthe conventional way. Findsomeone who thinks likeyou. Health – You need toget into a rhythm as far asyour health is concerned.Control your weight andstop that junk food. Resistbuying those packets at thesupermarket. Money –The bank balance is look-ing excellent. You’ve savedfor a rainy day and you’refeeling confident about yo -ur choices. Tarot message– You must try to ach i evestability in your life. At thesame time, don’t lose sightof unstructured fun.

Four of Wands

Work – You get a joboffer from a better

company for more moneyand bigger responsibility.Be confident that you canhandle it. Romance – Ifyou’re seeing someone, thecommitment deepens. Youstart living together, or youdecide to tie the knot.Health – You makechanges in your exerciseroutine. The change itselfis refreshing. Your bodyresponds to the new plan.Try new foods like saladsand soups, too. Money –You change your tax advi-sor and plan your financesdifferently. It will have apositive impact on yourportfolio. Tarot message –This is a good time. Youneed to lie low and contin-ue working to make themost of this fortunatephase.

Eight of Cups

Work – You’re sick ofthe nine-to-five rou-

tine and want to do some-thing on your own.Experiment with ideas.Romance – If somethingis not working out as perplan, give it up and moveon. Learn to let go. Thereare many fish in the sea.Health – It’s more mentalstress that is getting toyou. You’re worried thatnot everything is going toplan. You’re also anxiousabout the outcome of aproject. Money – You’reworried that your savingsmay not be enough to man-age your future. Plan bet-ter. Sit with pen and paperand review your monies.Tarot message – You findmeaning in solitude. Longhours spent with yourselfmakes you look at life dif-ferently altogether.

The Empress

Work – Creativity isheightened at the

work place. Colleaguescome to you for new ideas.Think out of the box.Romance – This is thebest time for romance. Youenjoy a passionate relation-ship. The timing is justperfect. This was some-thing you were waiting for.Health – Creative tasksenergise you like no other.Get into painting, pottery,poetry, or just about any-thing that challenges yourright brain. Money – Ifyou have been eyeing a realestate property or some-thing big, go after it. Don’tback out because it’s toobig a deal. It’ll work out.Tarot message – Cultivateyour dreams and don’t beafraid to go after them.This is a wonderful love-filled phase in your life.

Seven of Cups

Work – Though you’refeeling extremely cre-

ative, your job might needyou to be more practicaland rational in your choic-es. Romance – You lovethe idea of falling in love.But what happens afterthat heady initial journeyis damaging to your psy-che. Tone down expecta-tions. Health – Mentalworry is so heightened thatyou wonder if everythingyou’re seeing is a mirage.You need to calm down andmanage your thoughts.Money – Don’t trust any-one who praises an invest-ment or land deal toomuch. Use your own judge-ment. Be careful whileinvesting. Tarot mes sage– There is a lot of confu-sion in your mind and thismay have to do with thetime, not so much you.

The Moon

Work – Someone youwork with isn’t telling

you the whole truth about asituation. You don’t knowthe full story about a situa-tion. So play your cards ba -sed on this knowledge. Ro -mance – You and your sig-nificant other are connectedthrough karma. The upsand downs you face now arebecause of your bond witheach other. Health – Youhave good intuition. Ifsomething is not feelingright, trust that feeling andget help sooner rather thanlater. Money – Don’t cashin any investments you pur-chased on a whim, withoutfully checking out all theconditions. Tarot message– Feelings of anxiety hauntyou. You haven’t been sleep-ing very well and need toreassure yourself that goodtimes will come soon.

The Hermit

Work – You need towork out a solution

on your own. Though youmay work in a team, youwill be expected to doyour bit by yourself.Romance – Though youmay be together withsomeone, during this time of your life you’re on your own personalinner journey. Explainthis to your spouse. Health – You may be rest-less because you are anx-ious to find what you’relooking for. Pay attentionto your dreams. They havethe answers. Money –Finances are in goodshape. You have whateveryou need at this point. It’sanother thing that moneyis not your top priority.Tarot message – This isa crucial time for yourspiritual path. You beginto discover yourself.

Vol: 1, No 209 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 Date 12-2-2012

KNOW YOURCOUNTRY

THE SATURDAY QUIZ 28SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

1. The telecom giant Nokiabelongs to which nation?

2. Expand NASDAQ.3. Following the huge success

of Hotmail and its eventualsellout to Microsoft, what isthe name of the new ventureplanned by Sabeer Bhatia?

4. Who is the co founder ofApple with Steve Jobs ?

5. Floodlights, stump vision,coloured clothes and whiteballs were first used in whichWorld Cup?

6. What does Docomo standfor?

7. Name the tree that is seenon the reverse side of a `20note?

8. The instrument used for

measuring blood pressure iscalled...?

9. The Constitution of India isdivided into how many parts?

10. With which field is thePullitzer prize associated?

11. Which river crosses theEquator twice?

12. Who is the longest servingwoman chief minister of

India?13. Who is the first Indian

woman to receive theOscar?

14. Who is the first Twitter userto cross 1 crore followers?

15. 'Ace', 'Double fault','Smash', Second service',and 'Game point' terms arerelated with which sport?

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

MOVIE GURU

1Bade bade deshomein aisi chhotichhoti baatein hotirehti hein

2 Picture abhi baakihai mere dost

3 I can talk in English, Ican walk in English, Ican run in English…because English is a very phunny language

4Jab gaaon mainbachchha rotahain,to uski maakahti hai ki beta sojasoja warna crimemaster gogo aajayega..

5Main tumhe bhoolnahin sakta kyunkiyeh ho nahin sakta,aur tum mujhe bhoolnahi sakti kyunki yemain hone nahidoonga….

IDENTIFY THEMOVIE FROM WHICHTHESE DIALOGUESHAVE BEEN TAKEN

FAMOUS SPOUSES

1We all know her as the PrettyWoman. Her husband is cam-eraman Daniel Moder. Who isshe?

2His wife is the US Secretary ofState. But a roll in the hay witha certain Miss Monica Lewinskyalmost got him the boot aswell as international humilia-tion. Who is he?

3Known as the dhak dhak girl,she broke many hearts whenshe got married to a US-based

cardiologist. Who is she?

IDENTIFY THESE FAMOUSBETTER HALVES

WHO AM I?I was a young man fromYork when I started off, a lifeat sea is what I desired andso I became a merchant ona ship. A storm wrecked myship and I was cast on anisland for 28 years. There I

learnt what it was tobe human and howto use my environ-

ment to survive. Whoam I?

with SantoshGhule

Find the motherand her unbornfoetus in thepicture

Answer nextweek

Answers1.Finland 2. National Association ofSecurities' Dealers Automated Quotations 3. Arzoo! Inc. 4.Steve Wozniak 5.1991-92World Cup in Australia vs New Zealand 6. DoCommunications Over the Mobile Network 7. Palm tree 8. Sphygmomanometer 9. 22parts 10. Journalism 11. Amazon 12. ShielaDixit(1998 to present) 13. Bhanu Athiya(Costume design) 14. Lady Gaga 15.Tennis

Answers1. Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge(Shahrukh Khan) 2.Om Shanti Om(Sharukh Khan) 3. Namakhalal (AmitabhBachchan) 4.Andaaz Apna Apna(AamirKhan) 5. Dhadkan ( Suneil Shetty)

Answers1. Julia Roberts 2. Bill Clinton 3. Madhuri Dixit

1Which Indian state is the largestproducer in the world of thegold-coloured ‘Muga’ silk ?

2Which is the first state to beformed on the basis of lan-guage?

3Which actor-turned-politicianwas also a nominee for a Nobelprize?

4Which Indian town is also knownas the little Japan?

5The twin cities of Hyderabad andSecunderabad are divided by alake. The famous stone embank-ment across the lake is known bya pretty simple name. There aretwo theories associated with howit got its name. State both ofthem.

Answers1. Assam 2. Andhra Pradesh 3. Jayalalithaa;She was nominated for the 2006 Nobel PeacePrize by the World Federation of Tamil Youth 4. Sivakasi 5. It's called Tank Bund becauseover the years the size of the 22 km² lake hasreduced and people started referring to it as areally big 'tank. Also, there's an old M48Patton Tank on display next on the Bund. Thetank is one of 100s captured during the Battleof Assal Uttar in the Indo-Pak 1965 war.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR STARS?Answers: 1. Christopher Reeves 2. Penelope Cruz 3. Kylie Minogue 4. Harrison Ford

PICTUREPUZZLE

Answer: Robinson Crusoe

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SPORTS 29

Josh Charles

DUBAI: World number two RoryMcIlroy and red-hot ThomasBjorn shared the lead at thehalfway stage of the DubaiDesert Classic on Friday.

At the $2.5 million EuropeanTour event, the 2009 championMcIlroy posted an early bogey-free round of seven-under par 65to set the pace, and his tally of 13-under par 131 was matched laterin the day by the 2001 championBjorn (65).

Among those lurking behindthe leading duo was Germanworld number four MartinKaymer (67) and English worldnumber three Lee Westwood (65).

Kaymer, who made the firsthole-in-one of his life during theround, was tied for fourth placeat 11-under par 133, whileWestwood was another shotbehind at 134.

Overnight leader RafaelCabrera-Bello came in with a 69to be at a 12-under par 132 to beone off the lead.

Tied alongside Kaymer wereFrenchman Gregory Bourdy (67)and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson(68). The day’s best round was by2007 champion Henrik Stenson ofSweden.

An eight-under par 64 showedthe Swede was reaping thereward for all the hard work putin after a knee surgery inDecember last year, and hesurged to tied 11th place at 136.

Scoring continued to be easyin exceptional weather condi-tions and the cut was applied atone-under par 143 and 79 players,including past champion FredCouples and Mark O’Meara,made it to the weekend rounds.

Kenny Dalglish has indulged in somewishful Liverpool thinking before theirvisit to Old Trafford by advocating his

old adversary Sir Alex Ferguson as the logi-cal choice to succeed Fabio Capello as theEngland manager. The Liverpool manageris acutely aware of his fellow Scot's aversionto coming to England's rescue or to leavinghis post at Manchester United. However,Dalglish believes the FA should makeanother inquiry into his rival's availability.

Fergie for England: Kenny

Ireland called Paddy Wallace into theirsquad on Friday as injury cover for fly-halfJonathan Sexton just a day before

Saturday's Six Nations international againstFrance in Paris. Starting stand-off Sextonsuffered what an Ireland team spokesmansaid was a ‘tweak’ in his thigh muscle dur-ing Friday's kicking session. After Sextonwas examined by medical staff, officialsdecided to send for Wallace, who had beendue to play for Ulster in the Celtic League.

Wallace in for Sexton

Bernie Ecclestone's hopes of stagingthe Bahrain Grand Prix on April 22 arelooking increasingly remote following

an attack on a British man, Peter Morrissey,who is recovering in hospital after havingtwo fingers severed by a sword. Morrissey,51, reportedly lost his way while driving inthe suburb of Karranah, in the north of theisland, and was forced from his car beforebeing attacked by masked youths. He alsosuffered broken ribs and bruises.

Bahrain GP in doubt

Greg Heakes

PEBBLE BEACH: Tiger Woodshopes to make a weekendcharge at the leaders, havingheld steady with a pair of 68sthrough the first two rounds ofthe PGA Tour’s Pebble BeachNational Pro-Am.

Former world number oneWoods shot a two-under 68 onthe par-70 Monterey PeninsulaCountry Club Course on Friday,leaving him at six-under 136and six shots back of leaderCharlie Wi.

“I drove it good today, unfor-tunately I just didn’t makeenough birdies,” Woods said.“The golf course got a littleinteresting coming in. Thegreens had a little movement tothem, so I just had to hit theball closer.”

The 36-year-old Woods hasbeen brandishing his driver allweek, missing just four fair-ways in the first two roundsplayed at both MontereyPeninsula and Spyglass Hillcourses.

He now heads to the PebbleBeach Links where he has fondmemories, including a dramat-ic rally from a seven-shotdeficit in the final round in2000. Later that year, Woodscaptured the US Open at PebbleBeach by a whopping 15strokes.

Woods said he slightly dislo-cated his right wrist on theeighth hole Friday but “poppedit back in”. Woods was trying tohit a shot out of deep divotwhen he jammed it. It botheredhim for one hole and that wasall he said.

“It was just a joint. No bigdeal,” said the 14-time majorwinner. “Once I popped it backin, it was good.

“The problemwas, I was in a divoton an uphill slopeand it was a toughcombo.”

This is Woods’ first timeplaying Monterey which is con-sidered the easiest of the threein the rotation. Woods is play-ing in this event for the firsttime in 10 years and Montereywas not in the mix back then.

Woods got the toughestcourse, Spyglass, out of the wayon the first day. After a perfectsunny, windless conditions onThursday, an unexpected heavymist and cooler temperaturesmoved in quickly in the after-noon on Friday.

Like everyone else Woodswas caught offguard by thestorm.

“My dad always said ‘youonly get wet once.’”

In keeping with the natureof the Pro-Am aspect of theevent Woods even had toendure some trash talking fromplaying partner Tony Romo,who plays quarterback for theNFL's Dallas Cowboys.

After rolling in a 25-footputt on No. 2, Romo had thegallery laughing after heturned to Woods and said “I gotthis hole Tiger."

Woods began the secondround at four-under and openedwith a birdie for the second dayin a row as he tackled theMonterey course.

On his second hole hisapproach sailed straight at thepin but bounced once beforestopping about 20 feet awaybefore making par.

Woods was unlucky on thepar-three 155 yard third whenhis putt for birdie caught thelip and did a horseshoe aroundthe cup before spitting back athim. He tapped in for par leav-ing him one under for the day.

Woods made his first mis-take of the round on No. 4when his drive sailed into theright fairway bunker. It wasjust the third missed fairway ofthe tournament for Woods. Hethen three-putted for a bogey.

Woods is still test-drivinghis re-shaped swing and is mak-ing his first appearance of theseason on the PGA Tour. He fin-ished tied for third two weeksago at a tournament in AbuDhabi.

Woods made the turnFriday in two-under 32 afterposting three birdies and onebogey.

Woods picked up one morebirdie on the back nine andclosed with two pars on 17 andthe par-four 18th holes.

Pebble braces forWeekend Woods

Rory, Bjornheat up thedesert

Rory McIlroy reacts as he follows ashot. AFP/KARIM SAHIB

Woods reacts to a missed putt on the 14th hole during the second roundof the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SPORTS 30

Dave James

PARIS: Roger Federer slumpedto his first Davis Cup defeat innine years on Friday when hewas shocked 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 by John Isner as the UnitedStates opened up a 2-0 lead overSwitzerland.

World number threeFederer, playing a World Groupfirst round tie for the first timein eight years, saw his 15-matchwinning streak in the competi-tion ended by the giant Isner onthe indoor clay courts atFribourg.

Isner secured victory withthree return winners as the 32-time Davis Cup championsmoved closer to a quarter-finalspot.

Federer insisted that he andStanislas Wawrinka, the

Olympic doubles champions,can still pull the tie around bywinning Saturday’s doublesagainst Mike Bryan and RyanHarrison.

“I played a good match con-sidering the altitude and thefact that it was my first matchon clay since the French Open,”

said Federer.“It’s a tough loss, but we are

not down and out yet. Stan andI will pick ourselves up just likewe did at the Olympics.”

Isner described the win asthe best of his career and gavecredit to captain Jim Courier.

“The way I played today isthe way I need to play in all mymatches. I owe it to JimCourier — he was on at me tohit all my shots. It’s the win ofmy life,” said Isner, whounleashed 85 winners.

Courier said Isner got histactics just right against the 16-time Grand Slam title winnerwhose last Davis Cup singlesloss came in 2003 when he wasdefeated by Australia’s LleytonHewitt in Melbourne.

“The mission was to go outthere and not allow an artist a

canvas to work with,” saidCourier.

Earlier, Mardy Fishhad defeated Wawrinka 6-2,4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7 in theopening rubber.

“There’s something specialabout the Davis Cup. You justnever give up,” said Fish.

Defending championsSpain, who are without RafaelNadal, were comfortably placedat 2-0 ahead of Kazakhstan inOviedo.

Veteran Juan CarlosFerrero clawed out a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(7/2), 4-6, 6-4 win over MikhailKukushkin before NicolasAlmagro defeated AndreyGolubev 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

World number one NovakDjokovic is also absent from2010 champions Serbia’s tie inNis against Sweden.

Roger and out!Federer stunned

Tom Williams

PARIS: Top seed MariaSharapova crashed out of theWTA Paris Open in the quarter-finals on Friday after falling 6-4,6-4 to German ninth seedAngelique Kerber.

Sharapova had breezed pastKerber in straight sets en route tothe Australian Open final lastmonth but the 24-year-old exactedsweet revenge on the world num-ber three at a disbelieving Pierrede Coubertin indoor arena.

“It was a tough day becausemy opponent played really well,”admitted Sharapova. “I did haveopportunities but I didn’t takethem today. “I was up in both setsand I had breaks but she playedextremely well — much betterthan I did, in any case.

“I wasn’t as aggressive as Iwould have liked. She’s someonewho also likes to go in and shehas a good amount of power. Sheused that to her advantage morethan I did.”

Kerber, the world number 27,had never previously beaten atop-10 player.

“It’s amazing,” she said.“It’s my first top-five win. I knewbefore the match that I had noth-ing to lose and my coach wastelling me: ‘If you want to winthis match, you’ll have to playyour best tennis.’

“I tried to do that and I’mvery happy that I beat her and I’min the semis.”

Second seed Marion Bartoli,the last Frenchwoman in thedraw, came perilously close to fol-lowing Sharapova out of the tour-nament before fighting back from4-6, 1-4 down to defeat Italian sev-enth seed Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2). She will now face worldnumber 51 Klara Zakopalova onSaturday, after the Czech camefrom behind to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-1against Julia Goerges.

Sharapova’sParisiannightmare

World number three Roger Federer waves to supporters after losing to John Isner during the Davis Cup World Group first round. AFP/SEBASTIEN FEVAL

The world number three, saw his 15-match winning streak in the DavisCup ended by the giant American, John Isner

It’s a tough loss, butwe are not down andout yet. Stan[Stanislas Wawrinka]and I will pick our-selves up just like wedid at the Olympics.

Roger Federer

AFP/JACQUES DEMARTHON

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SPORTS 31

Shahid Hashmi

SHARJAH: Afghanistan’s first-ever One-Day Internationalagainst Pakistan achieved whatno other sport had managed —support from the once cricket-hating Taliban, an official saidSaturday.

“Friday’s match was a bigmilestone for Afghanistan, somuch so that the Taliban sent amessage of support, saying theyare praying for the success ofthe team,” Omar Zakhilwal,president Afghanistan CricketBoard told reporters.

Although Afghanistan lostby seven wickets in the first-everone-dayer against Pakistan onFriday, they gave a good accountof themselves, scoring 195 andthen capturing three early wick-ets before succumbing.

Cricket has become the topsport in the war-ravaged countryin the last three years after itwas introduced by youths wholearnt the game in refugee

camps in Pakistan following theSoviet invasion of their countryin 1979.

Under the Taliban regime nooutdoor sport was allowed andgrounds were primarily used forexecuting political opponentswho defied the hardliners.

But since the ouster of theTaliban, following the war onterror led by the United States in2001, cricket has taken root withAfghanistan winning one-daystatus in 2009.

Zakhilwal, also the financeminister in the Hamid Karzai-

led government, said cricket isuniting the nation.

“Even president Karzai waswatching the match and wishedthe team well,” said Zakhilwal.

“Across the country 80-90percent of the kids were watch-ing the game as this was a bigoccasion for our cricket.”

Zakhilwal said no otherthing unites Afghanistan likecricket.

“On streets you can see kidsplaying, there is no other sportwhich mobilises the people, nei-ther politics nor any other event,neither the reconstruction, thereis nothing which can matchcricket.

“This [cricket] becomes anexample of progress in otherareas as well. Even with littlepeace in our country we haveachieved this much in cricket.We can achieve more — whenthere is a will, there is a way,with the support of the people.”

Zakhilwal said his board willpush other nations to play his

team. “We are pushing the topteams,” said Zakhilwal, praisingPakistan for giving them theopportunity.

“It was great support fromPakistan. We are pushing India,Australia, Bangladesh and SriLanka and with this kind of per-formance and following I see noreason why they don’t play us.”

Zakhilwal urged theInternational Cricket Council(ICC) and Asian Cricket Council(ACC) for more help.

“They have done their partbut they should help us get morechances against top teams,” saidZakhilwal, hoping countrieswould not shy away from facinghis team.

“My personal opinion is thattop teams shy away from playingus because winning againstAfghanistan is not huge but los-ing against them would be bigfor them. We now have two inter-national stadiums — in Kabuland Jalalabad — and we areopen to all teams.”

Afghanistan’s cricket fans celebrate after Pakistan’s cricketer Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed during the first One Day International match between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Sharjah CricketStadium in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates on Friday. AFP/LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

A young supporter of the Afghan team at the first ODI between Pakistan andAfghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. AFP/LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

Cricket trumps politics

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SPORTS 32

Julian Guyer

LONDON: Harry Redknappmay be the fans’ favourite tobecome the next England man-ager but the man himself was inno hurry to take on the job onFriday, saying he wanted to seeout the season with TottenhamHotspur.

England are looking for anew manager following FabioCapello’s shock resignation andRedknapp is the leading con-tender to replace the Italian.

After Capello quit onWednesday, four months beforeEuro 2012 in Poland andUkraine, the FootballAssociation installed Under-21manager Stuart Pearce as care-

taker boss for this month’sfriendly against the Netherlandsat Wembley.

England then don’t have amatch to play until two weeksafter the conclusion of thePremier League season andRedknapp could yet be in a posi-tion to manage his country atEuro 2012 in Poland andUkraine. But the 64-year-old,with Spurs third in the table andpushing for a first English titlesince 1961, wants to stay atWhite Hart Lane until the sea-son ends.

“I’d be very surprised if Ididn’t finish the season withTottenham, that’s for sure," hetold reporters at the club’s train-ing ground. “I haven’t thought

about not being here at the endof the season and I’ve got noidea why I shouldn’t."

Redknapp is in pole positionto succeed Capello, who resignedin protest at the FA’s decision tostrip John Terry of the Englandcaptaincy. But the Englishman,who won the 2008 FA Cup withPortsmouth, insisted he did notexpect the FA to come calling.

“I don’t think you ever thinkyou’re going to be in a position”where you will be appointedmanager, he said. “Whilst it isflattering to be mentioned at themoment, I never think I shouldbe doing this or that. If theopportunity comes, and I getasked [about England], I’ll haveto consider it."

First in line, Harrytakes his timeEngland are looking for a new manager following Capello’s shock resignation and Redknapp is the leading contender to replace the Italian

Neil Johnston

MANCHESTER: Sir AlexFerguson has insistedManchester United will “keeptheir dignity” when they faceLiverpool in a potentially fieryPremier League game at OldTrafford here today.

The latest match betweenthe bitter rivals is set to be thefirst time Liverpool strikerLuis Suarez will come face-to-face with Patrice Evra sincethe Uruguay internationalwas hit with an eight-game

ban for racially abusing theUnited defender in a game atAnfield in October.

Ferguson, asked at a pressconference in Manchester onFriday whether he was con-tent with the way Liverpoolhad handled the matter,replied: “Well, they’ve saidplenty haven’t they?

Ferguson also played downthe pre-match handshakebetween Evra and Suarez.

“I’ve never really thoughtabout it," Sir Alex Fergusonsaid.

Fergie trumpetsUnited’s ‘dignity’

City calm under fireNeil Johnston

MANCHESTER: Roberto Mancini hasdenied suggestions his Manchester Cityplayers are buckling under the strain ofleading the Premier League.

City skipper Vincent Kompany(knee) and Samir Nasri (groin) are incontention for City’s game against AstonVilla after treatment, but Mario Balotelliis again missing as he completes a four-

match ban. Midfielder Yaya Toure anddefender Kolo Toure are still at theAfrican Nations Cup.

Villa start the weekend 13th in thetable after one win in five games but theBirmingham club are eight points abovethe relegation zone.

They have not won at Villa Park insix matches, a run including fourdefeats. Villa’s last home victory wasagainst Norwich on November 5.

Harry Redknapp (C) prepares to address the media outside Southwark Crown Court in London. AFP/CARL COURT

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