Ergo November 17

A BYTE OF LIFE

Monday, November 17, 2008

09 GRAND ENDING Djokovic wins Shanghai Masters FREE CIRCULATION

Vol. 2

No. 218

Suriya ALL THE WAY It is an out and out Suriya special as the actor plays the father and son duo in Vaaranam Aayiram. Read our review. PAGE 10

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Seeds of CHANGE Unfazed by previous failures, a group of social entrepreneurs in Kerala are working out a system that could take ATM Banking to the villages. Liffy Thomas reports. » PAGE 05

02 NAMMA CHENNAI

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Malaysian films The Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation in collaboration with the Consulate General of Malaysia is organising a Malaysian Film Festival, starting today till November 20. Duyung will be screened at South Indian Film Chamber Theatre at 6.30 p.m. on Monday. For details on the other films, call 98401 51956.

K-Community, a forum for Knowledge Management, will conduct an unconference at the Cognizant Technology Solutions facility in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam on Tuesday. Sukumar Rajagopal, co-chairman and chief knowledge officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions, has welcomed associates from all companies to participate in the ‘unconference,’ an exciting format of meetings where the agenda is set by the attendees and where they also nominate themselves as speakers. It has been proven to be a success worldover, especially in topics relating to blogging and wikipedia. On the meeting itself, Mr.Rajagopal said he hoped that the KCommunity in Chennai would become as active as its counterpart in Bangalore. The unconference was an attempt to get more people involved, he added. Among other things, the K-Community is currently putting together a primer on Knowledge Management meant not just for the IT companies but also others such as manufacturing industries. Those interested in participating in the ‘unconference’ can send in their requests to [email protected]. For further details, call S.Venkatesan at 98404 23438. ■

PHOTO: S.S.KUMAR

Unconference Alert

Caring and sharing Sterians rock with a gala celebration for Children’s Day V.HARIPRIYA [email protected]

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y tearing apart the rope at the tug of war contest, employees of Steria marked the finale of the ‘One Day Challenge’, a CSR initiative to celebrate Children’s Day. It was all fun amid tight work at Steria India Limited. The Sterians were on a fund-raising spree for the last three weeks through various contests for the staff as well as school children. “Our CSR team took special care to include all employees in the fundraising event and it was real fun,”

said an employee. Competitions like gully cricket, bay area decoration, tambola, mehendi, treasure hunt saw a good response. Education is the primary focus area of Steria’s CSR programme and

The Sterians were on a fund-raising spree for the last three weeks through various contests for the staff as well as school children.

they made sure it dominated the event. “We teach English and Computer Science to government schools in our vicinity. We provide scholarships to the students of Padma Adarsh School and have set up well-equipped Computer centres with P4 systems and UPS provision,” said N. Kanchana, an employee. Prize distribution and cultural programmes were held in the latter part of the evening, where employees danced to various beats. Inmates of Share and Care, a home for orphanage and physically challenged, also performed on the occasion. ■

Fun and frolic at Sify Sify Technologies Ltd. celebrated Children’s Day with employees and their kids on Saturday. A correspondence from the HR team said that around 50 children along with their parents spent an evening of joy and fun at Tidel Park. The events organised for the little ones includes fancy

dress competitions, painting contest on the theme ‘My School’, games and a magic show. “Such events would provide a platform for the spouse and children to interact with other families more closely and develop a strong relationship,” say the organisers.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Totally animated The Alliance Francaise of Madras is hosting a festival of animated movies, from November 17 to 21 at the AFM Auditorium; 6.30 p.m. Five movies will be premiered. The festival starts with the screening of The Short and Long of It. The 63-minute movie on the French animation masters takes a retrospective of seven animated films from the 40’s.

15 minutes of fame On Children’s Day, Cognizant and its associates saw to it that school students got their share of attention ERGO CORRESPONDENT [email protected]

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n Children’s Day, associates of Cognizant looked more like proud parents than software engineers as the students they had reached out to through the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative ‘Outreach’ took to the stage to receive prizes for the inter-school competitions ‘TalHunt’. They cheered and whistled as around 150 students, who excelled in the competitions, received their certificates and prizes from top executives of Cognizant, including president and managing director R.Chandrasekaran, and also the Kanchipuram Collector Santosh K.Misra. Little Buds Alternative Primary School, Panayur and Government Higher Secondary School, Pallikarani received the TalHunt primary school championship and secondary school championship trophies respectively. Cognizant also gave away a Rs.50,000 grant to the schools for setting up library facilities. The various teams of Cognizant’s associates, who took up different tasks in the CSR initiative in reaching out to the schools, were also felicitated. A press note, released to the

media on Saturday, said more than 5,000 students studying in classes one to twelve from various schools participated in the preliminary rounds of ‘TalHunt’ held from October 29 to November 5. Of them, over 600 students from 14 schools had made it to the final rounds held on November 8 at the Sholinganallur Government Higher Secondary School. The felicitation began with a lively dance performance by the students of Little Buds Alternative Primary School. Audio-visual presentations showcasing TalHunt highlights, ranging from the enthusiastic student participation in various rounds of the competition, to their grooming by over 500 volunteers from Cognizant, were screened. Congratulating the winners and Cognizant associates for their dedicated efforts in dispensing their corporate social responsibility, Misra, an IIT Kanpur graduate, said: “Every individual should make an effort to change the life of at least one kid.” He is himself a member of the pan-IIT social outreach programme ‘Reach Out India’.In his address, Chandrasekaran expressed happiness over the way the company’s associates showed their passion to social commitment, the same way they did with their office work. ■

Crime forecast The recent clash between two groups of law college students created much ripples amongst the media, public, politics and police. Apparently, some students claiming to be from the college, had called the office of a famous Tamil news channel in the afternoon, before the clash and said: “we are going to assault some students please come with cameras.”

Man behind the attack A national party functionary in Chennai is known to have orchestrated the Law College students clash. The man had sent his car, packed with weapons and two of his men to the college campus. The clubs, iron rods and tube lights were distributed to the students near the canteen before the deadly clash.

쒀 Students of Little Buds Alternative Primary School, Panayur performing at the Children’s Day celebrations at Cognizant Technology Solutions

쑸 R Chandrasekaran, president and managing director, Cognizant and Santosh K Misra, district collector, Kanchipuram

Bad luck Many police officers, including the city’s top cop, were transferred after the law college incident. A deputy commissioner, who was scheduled to be transferred to a ‘lucrative’ post last week, ended up being very annoyed after he was asked to retain his post. The government had cancelled all scheduled transfer orders due to the sudden turn of events.

An eyewash arrest A lady pimp, who is known to be a kingpin in business, was arrested recently by the suburban police. Reliable police sources say that the woman is good friends with some top officers. And the arrest was eyewash following a complaint letter being sent to the CM’s office and the DGP’s office stating the steady rise of prostitution in the suburban areas of Chennai city.

Fishy death A salesgirl employed in a well-known store in Pondy Bazaar committed suicide inside the store a few days back. The sister of the deceased who is also the staff of the store claimed that she was murdered. But the police stood by their stories of ‘suicide as a result of severe stomach pain’ and even ‘heart attack.’

04 KALEIDOSCOPE

■ Can I reduce the TDS that my company deducts from my salary? Vignesh

Yes you can. The extent of reduction depends on your actual salary – higher the salary, higher will be the deduction and lesser will be the reduction. The TDS can be reduced by planning your Section 80C benefits, housing loan, leave travel allowance, etc, but as salaried people there is only an extent to which income tax can be reduced. Hence, TDS is a pain that we have to live with. The positive side of TDS is that there will be less burden at the end of the year to clear our tax arrears. And we can always claim additional tax paid if any with our tax returns. Mail your queries to [email protected]. Your queries will be replied by mail as well as printed in this column. All the answers will be neutral and your personal details will be kept confidential

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■ Term Insurance Plan This is the most basic and fundamental type of insurance plan. Under this you pay a premium to the life insurance company to cover your life for a period of one year for N number of years where ‘N is the term. After the year is over, the premium is not valid and you need to pay for the next year. (It is exactly like your car insurance, except that it provides cover for your life)

■ ULIP (Unit linked Insurance Plan) In very simple terms it is a combination of a life insurance policy and a mutual fund. Part of the amount you pay as premium is used to give you life cover and part of the premium is used to invest your money in other investments. Thus you get the benefit of life cover as well as wealth creation at one go.

GOLD - Jitter or Glitter The best investment in gold assets should be in the form of gold bullion and exchange traded funds, but not in jewellery AMBIGA RAJESHWARI [email protected]

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ndians simply adore the yellow metal for cultural and religious reasons and buy gold jewellery for most social and family celebrations. The amount of gold in Indian households is close to 15,000 tonnes, which is valued at a whopping Rs. 17, 06, 190 crores as of March 31, 2008. But, this trend is also changing as most youngsters are not very keen about buying gold. Today, we don’t even spend 2 per cent on jewellery as against 32 per cent 50 years ago. In cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, surging incomes, changing lifestyles and introduction of high-end goods have pushed gold downward on consumers’ lists of must-haves. The disposable income that traditionally went exclusively to gold is now going to diamonds, overseas holidays, fancy car, etc. India is still the world’s largest consumer of gold, but most of the gold ends up in bank safes, viewed as a hedge against inflation and as the source of a woman’s security. With expected price shoot up of gold during the marriage season beginning November, portfolio strategists have begun to advise people to invest in gold. This view seems strong enough as most other assets are in trouble following the global financial meltdown.

Is it a wise investment? When we compare the price of gold with the inflation index, we can see that gold gives only 0.8 per cent more

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(This column will try to simply personal finance related jargon)

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

For answer turn to page 07

returns over inflation. Though it has high liquidity and is easy to procure and protect, it is not one that will give returns. Hence, it should be used for what it is good at, that is, a hedge against inflation. The reason why gold is considered ‘inflation-resistant’ is that the amount of it on the surface is pretty much fixed. Since the demand for gold is almost twice the amount that is actually mined, the prices for gold are likely to go up steadily. At present, gold prices are hovering between Rs.11,000 and Rs.13,000 per 10 grams, giving investors an idea of easy return between 15 and 30 per cent in a year. To look at, gold seems to be a good harbour amidst the havoc of other assets caused by the global crisis.

Gold bullion Good investors consider gold as a compliment rather than a replacement for stock investments. In the long run, stocks have much higher growth potential, but gold can complement a diversified portfolio and help hedge against some risk. Having gold comprise 10 to 15 per cent of any portfolio would probably be sufficient. The best investment in gold assets should be in the form of gold bullion and exchange traded funds and never in jewellery. Gold can be a saviour from inflation and recession rather than a high return opportunity. ■ The author is a Research Associate with Finerva

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Websites of the day A chronicle of enterprising demises: http://www.darwinawards.com/ See how far your personal computer has come with a visit to this technology archive: http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org

Banking for the COMMON MAN With its low-cost ATMs and STMs, Cashnxt Technologies promises to provide banking solutions for rural India partner with companies that had already launched similar lowcost banking devices for the rural poor.”

Branching out

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he branchless banking initiative of countries like Brazil and Philippines inspired these social entrepreneurs to start a financial service outside conventional banks using information and communication technologies. Cashnxt Technologies is the latest entrepreneurial venture of Anish Achuthan (26) and Rameena Rabeedin (28). Both have either worked or founded a couple of start-ups based in Kerala, making their entrepreneurial journey more interesting. Ridiculed by classmates and finding no support and encouragement from parents, the friends are out to prove that dreams can be fulfilled even in the least conducive of environments.

Learning from failures The seeds for the venture (Mobeo Technologies) were sown in 2007, where they christened their low-cost banking terminal as ‘Personal Banking Machines’. These machines enabled customers access ATM and banking services using their finger print and a mobile pin. But after a year of operation they were forced to close down due to unfavourable market conditions, including RBI regulations, viability of PBM hardware distribution, etc. “We realised our mistakes and took the failure of Mobeo as a learning experience,” says Anish, president and CEO of Cashnxt Technologies, which they relaunched in 2008. “We decided to

Their new kiosk is a plug ‘n’ play branchless banking network that enables customers in semi-urban and rural markets to undertake most financial transactions. It uses a network of low-cost ATMs (manufactured by Vortex Engineering, Chennai), Smart Teller Machines (developed jointly by interns of IIT-Varanasi

and SKIT, Jaipur, which enables a customer perform all transactions done in a regular bank by interacting with a real teller from the bank using two-way audio and video), E-POS terminals, and a mobile and branchless banking gateway to offer services like cash withdrawal, depositing cash, printing cheque books, etc. “Huge operational cost and poor connectivity are main reasons why banks do not set up ATMs in villages. As service providers our network can be used by any bank or MFIs on a pay-per-use basis without any capital investment or additional infrastructure,” explains Anish, who also founded companies like Ifuturz Wireless and TNGiCube. Cashnxt has partnered with four banks in Kannur for their pilot project, which will commence from December, and has deployed 10 such kiosks. They are currently looking for funding and partners to take them places. The company is also moving its base to Gurgaon where it hopes will give them more access to Venture Capitalists and like-minded banks.

Funding dreams Anish’s exposure with various companies, which he was associated since his engineering days, helped him pool the initial resource for Cashnxt. “We started in Kochi with a 15-member team, with investments from a group of friends and alumina of our college,” they recall. Thanks to Venturewoods, where Anish blogs, and LinkedIn he found more like-minded people who were ready to share their

Rameena and Anish; (below) The personal banking machine

In a Minute Company: Cashnxt Technologies Started: 2008 Founders: Anish Achuthan and Rameena Rabeedin Team: 25 Funding: self Focus areas: Offering banking service to the banked and unbanked customers in rural and semi-urban markets using low-cost ATMs and STMs Website: www.cashnxt.net Email: [email protected] expertise with him. Kishore Bobba (former VP of First Bank of Delaware, USA), Pradeep Bhutani (former VP technology of Knowcross Solutions) and Shivani Vig (financial consultant with IBM Global Services) are other core members in his team, which he connected through online plat-

forms. Their road ahead is challenging, but they agree if they cross these obstacles it will bring smiles to rural bankers.■ (If you are an entrepreneur with a successful business model or know one, write to us at [email protected])

06 VILLAGE

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Dog glues jaw shut A dog glued its jaws together after sinking his teeth into a fast food menu. Cymbeline, a Scottish terrier, turned the high-gloss finish into a papier mache after biting into the pamphlet to bring it to her owner Kimberly Fisher, 41.

New Zealand Nationals sign deal to form government

Husband’s foreign deals may pose issue for Clinton

New Zealand Prime Minister-elect John Key announced on Sunday his party has signed a deal with allies to form a government, allowing him to start work on pulling the country out of recession. Key’s centre-right National Party won the largest share of the vote in a November 8 general election, ending nine years of centre-left Labour Party rule under Helen Clark, but not enough to govern outright.

Former President Bill Clinton’s globe-trotting business deals and fund-raising for his foundation sometimes put his activities abroad at odds with Hillary Rodham Clinton, and it could cause complications for her if President-elect Barack Obama considers her to be secretary of state. During her own presidential campaign earlier this year, the New York senator criticised China for its crackdown on protesters in Tibet and urged President George W Bush to skip the Olympics in Beijing. Her campaign was embarrassed by reports that her husband’s foundation had raised money from a Chinese Internet company that posted an online government ‘Most Wanted’ notice seeking information on Tibetan human-rights activists that may have been involved in the demonstrations.

Reuters

Turkey’s energy minister in Iran for gas talks Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler held talks with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on Saturday on expanding the two countries’ gas ties, an official from Turkey’s embassy told Reuters on Sunday. Turkish Energy Ministry sources had told Reuters last month that the two neighbours had resolved problems on planned investment in Iran’s South Pars gas field and they may sign a production deal in November. Iran’s Oil Ministry news website SHANA reported he had met with Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari the same day, but did not say whether the two sides had signed any deals or whether they would meet again on Sunday. “Negotiations on the development of three phases of the South Pars gas deal are underway,” Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted Nozari as saying on Sunday.

PTI

U.S. to withdraw Apache helicopters from S.Korea The United States will withdraw Apache attack helicopters from South Korea in March and replace them with A-10 attack aircraft and MH-53 helicopters, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency quoted Seoul’s defence ministry as saying on Sunday. The 24 Apache helicopters, to be replaced with 12 A-10 attack aircraft and two MH-53 helicopters, will be redeployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, it said.

Reuters

Reuters

Oxford extends freeman right to women

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he right to be a freeman of Oxford has always been awarded to men, but now for the first time it has been extended to women by the Oxford Freeman association. Founded in Saxon times, the association has now decided to include the women folk also and has this year accepted its first ten female members, with another 20 expected to be welcomed next year. The admissions overturn a ban that was set out in the admission rules contained in the association’s charter of 1551. “In the old days there was no need for women to become freemen because they were busy having kids, but we live in an era of

equality with women doing the same roles as me and rightly so,” the Telegraph quoted Chris Butterfield, an Oxford freeman, as saying. “The old rules stated that membership could only be passed from father to son or

The association has now decided to include the women folk also and has this year accepted its first en female members

through becoming someone’s apprentice. We felt that things should become equal,” he said. The Privy Council agreed to change the charter in May and on 30 October Linda Cox, 23, Butterfield’s daughter became the first woman to join the association. “To me it was important to join because my dad and the others had worked so hard to change the rules so that we would be allowed to join and become Freewomen,” she stated. At the time of the Domesday book, only freemen could vote and trade in Oxford. They were also the only people who could be elected to the town council until 1835. ■ ANI

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Couple get hitched in a tractor

This day, that year

A Chinese couple has tied the knot - mid-air in two tractor digger buckets. The pair wanted to honour Chinese tradition not to allow the bride’s feet to touch the ground - so they stood in the tractors, as the groom sells heavy machinery for a living.

It was on November 17, 1869 that the Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.

Brown mulls tax to welcome Santa Claus B

Jab we met

ritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown is said to be contemplating a package of tax cuts, thereby enabling people to have enough money to celebrate Christmas. The PM will make changes to the tax credits regime and target extra help at less well-off families “as quickly as possible” to meet what he said was the government’s ‘fairness agenda.’ The better off are not expected to be among the winners from the package, to be announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in the Pre Budget Report (PBR) next week, reported The Telegraph. The total ‘stimulus’ to Britain’s beleaguered economy

could be more than the 15 billion pounds initially expected, which works out at 500 pounds for every family in the country. However, there are clear signs of tension between Downing Street and the Treasury over the overall scope of the tax-cutting programme, which will be targeted at boosting retail spending in the run-up to Christmas. Darling is understood to be advocating a more cautious approach, particularly as the measure can only be funded by increasing already high levels of government borrowing. The Prime Minister admitted that other countries were less willing than Britain to bring in

their own tax cuts - a stance which could hurt UK exporters. He hit back at George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, for accusing him of pushing sterling to ‘collapse’ by increasing government borrowing. The pound fell to 1.48 dollar last week. The Prime Minister said: “I believe that at a time when nations are coming together all over the world to deal with these problems, I think people are looking to politicians to be responsible and to show leadership. We are taking the policy that is absolutely essential to take people through these difficult times.” ■

쒀 Bollywood actresses Mahima Choudhary and Mandira Bedi at a promotional event iat Taj Hotel in Lucknow on Saturday. PTI PHOTO

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British PM will make changes to the tax credits regime and target extra help at less well-off families as quickly as possible to meet what he said was the government’s ‘fairness agenda’

ANI

08 SPORT

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Nestor, Zimonjic win Masters doubles Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic downed Bob and Mike Bryan in straight sets to claim the Masters Cup doubles title and snatch the US twins’ number one ranking on Sunday. The Canadian-Serbian Wimbledon champions won a first-set tie-break and dominated the second set to win 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in 74 minutes, ending the Bryans’ three-year run as end-of-season number ones.

Dhoni takes on Hayden Un-amused by Matthew Hayden’s “third world” remark, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday hit back at the Australian opener and said the Aussies are always slow in going through their overs, no matter which part of the world they play. “The Australians have played all over the world and their over-rate has been slow all over the world,” was Dhoni’s sarcastic comment at the mandatory pre-match media conference before Monday’s second One-Day International against England. Back home after the 0-2 defeat in the Test series against India, Hayden spoke about, what he perceived, poor ground conditions and inordinate delays during the matches “that happen in Third World countries”. “They (opposition batsmen) are very difficult to get to face up,” Hayden said. "Often we find ourselves with hands on hips waiting for someone to either face up or someone in the sight board to move away; all the little frustrations that happen in Third World countries and the heat as well,” he said. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has already hit back at Hayden for his excuses for his team not maintaining the required over-rate at Nagpur which cost them dear at a crucial stage of the fourth and final Test when they could not use their frontline fast bowlers. “The thing about the Aussies is that they are sore losers. They get personal when they get beaten,” Akram said.

India start fa

England scrambling to find the right balance before the second O

PTI

No place for Becks England manager Fabio Capello has given a surprise call-up to Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne for Wednesday’s friendly in Germany and left out former captain David Beckham. As well as Mancienne, who is on loan with Championship (second division) leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers, Capello also named Aston Villa pair Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor in his 23-man squad on Saturday.

Squad Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart (Manchester City) Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), John Terry (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Micah Richards (Manchester City) Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal) Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur), Peter Crouch (Portsmouth), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa). (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Tony Jimenez) Reuters

Indian cricketers enjoy a game of football during a training session ahead of the second OneDay International between India and England in Indore. PHOTO: AFP

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ith their confidence on a high after the landslide win in the opening ODI, in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh’s back injury is India’s only concern as they prepare to take on a battered England in the second one-dayer of the sevenmatch cricket series on Monday. After drubbing the visitors by a massive 158 runs, the Indians are hoping that Yuvraj, who pummelled the English attack with an unbeaten 138, would be fit to take the field on Monday. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says a final call on the attacking left-hander, who required a runner for most part of his innings in the Rajkot ODI, would taken just before the match. Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma, meanwhile, is all but out of the match after Dhoni admitted that his ankle sprain needs more time to heal.

Time to crawl back England, on the other hand, have to battle low morale after the pasting they received at the hands of the marauding Yuvraj.

Skipper Kevin Pietersen says his team would bounce back and come hard at India in the second clash. But that looks easier said than done against an in-form Indian line-up, which did not show any sign of missing a stalwart in Sachin Tendulkar, who has been rested for the first three matches.It was Tendulkar’s masterly batting that enabled India to tame Australia in the latter’s lair in the triangular ODI series Down Under at the beginning of the year and his absence was surprisingly not even felt at Rajkot’s Madhavrao Scindia ground. The array of stroke-players that India possess in the batting line-up, starting with the potent opening combine of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir followed by Suresh Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni, must be causing not only envy but also awe among the visiting team. The Indian new ball bowlers Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel in particular extracted life even in the afternoon on what was a perfect belter in Rajkot while their

England counterparts – led by the redoubtable Andrew Flintoff – looked quite innocuous and failed to take advantage of whatever juice it possessed in the morning. Pietersen’s decision to ask India to take first strike must have been prompted by the array of pace bowlers at his disposal, but to his chagrin all of them were taken to the cleaners by the Indian batsmen. It is unlikely the South Africa-born batsman, who top-scored in England’s reply with a confident and attractive 63 before he was run out, will repeat the same mistake henceforth.

Lessons learned “It’s definitely disappointing to lose. But there are six games left in the series and we intend to bounce back and hit India hard on Monday. We would give them a good run for the money,” the England captain said after his team’s humiliating defeat in the first ODI. However, to achieve this he said the team has to improve in all aspects of the game. India, on

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Monday, November 17, 2008

‘‘ avourite

No. No. I beat probably the best player of all time. I have no regrets about doing that. To beat him means a similar amount to winning a tournament like this (Masters Cup). Ideally I would have liked to have beaten him easier, and given myself a slightly better chance to prepare for this match, but I’m proud that I gave 110 percent in the match.

ODI

Andy Murray has no regrets about his draining win over Roger Federer

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orld number three Novak Djokovic thrashed Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-5 in the Masters Cup final on Sunday to lift his second major trophy this year. The Australian Open champion fizzed through most of the match in front of a packed Qi Zhong Stadium and snuffed out a late revival as he ended a sixmonth title drought at the lucrative season finale. The 21-year-old Djokovic, who becomes the first Serbian year-end champion and takes home 1.24 million dollars in prize money, also moves to within just 10 points of Roger Federer’s second rankings spot. “I certainly put it at level of the Grand Slams. It’s a great achievement for me, I’m so happy,” Djokovic said. With defending champion Federer knocked out and top-ranked Rafael Nadal injured, it was up to Djokovic to add a dash of class to the final and he duly delivered in a clinical first set.

Good start

the other hand, could not have asked for a better start to the seven-match series that concludes on December 2 at the Ferozshah Kotla ground in Delhi. The mandatory new ball after 34 overs and the new Power Play rule, taken by India from 34th to 38th overs, also is a big advantage for big hitters. At the end of the 34th over, India were 216 for two giving a run-rate of 6.35 and the team added 171 runs in the last 16 overs at a whopping 10.6 per over, a clear indicator of the difference these two rules made to the overall picture.

Spin problem Yusuf Pathan, who lasted just two balls after the electric start provided by the openers, could give way for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha if the think tank feels that more variety is required in the spin department which had three off-spinners to fall back on at Rajkot. England, meanwhile, are grappling with their problems of how to forge a potent bowling attack to take advantage of the

wicket and weather conditions. Samit Patel, who was set upon by Sehwag and Gambhir as soon as he was introduced to bowl, took two wickets but conceded 78 runs. With Monty Panesar not a part of the ODI fold, visitors’ spin options are limited. They are also missing the swing bowling of Ryan Sidebottom, who could have caused some problems with his movement as the other four – Flintoff, Steve Harmison, James Anderson and Stuart Broad – rely on pace and bounce more than movement in the air to get wickets. Sidebottom has not played since suffering a heel injury during the Stanford Super Series of matches in the West Indies and even if passed fit, it is difficult to see him getting in without bowling extensively at the nets after having had such a long break.The odds, thus, seem to be in India’s favour ahead of the second ODI, but the home team needs to guard against complacency more than anything else. ■ PTI

The 21-year-old Serb was immediately spraying backhands past Davydenko and he broke at the first attempt when the Russian netted. Davydenko was in deep trouble when he miss-hit a backhand to go 4-0 down. Djokovic lifted a perfect lob over Davydenko, who managed just six points in the first five games before finally holding serve 5-1. The Serb briefly wobbled as he served for the set, saving two break points before going ahead after just 32 minutes. The fifth-ranked Davydenko unfroze at the start of the second set and he won a peach of a point with a savage approach shot and tightly angled backhand volley. But the Russian’s shoulders slumped again as he hit an easy smash wide and was broken again as the backhand volley failed him. He saved two match points on his serve and then, as Djokovic served for the match, broke for the first time in a sudden resurgence. However,

Djokovic broke back for 6-5 and made no mistake at his second attempt to serve it out, sinking to his knees as Davydenko netted a return at 40-0.

Previous meeting Djokovic had already beaten Davydenko in the group stage along with Juan Martin del Potro and downed Gilles Simon in the semi-finals. He lost all three group matches on his debut last year. The two had only met once before this tournament, when Djokovic retired from their Davis Cup match in February with dizziness and exhaustion. After the Australian Open, Djokovic won Masters events in Indian Wells and Rome but had not claimed a title since May. Davydenko is appearing at his fourth straight end-of-year tournament after another busy season when he won more than 50 matches including titles at the Miami Masters, Poertschach and Warsaw. The Russian, who beat Britain’s Andy Murray in the last four, is left waiting for his first top-level title after four Grand Slam semis and nearly three-and-a-half years in the top 10. ■ AFP

Djokovic crushes Davydenko to win yearending Masters Cup

Novak reigns supreme PHOTO: AFP

10 FLICK

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Pitt furious Brad Pitt is said to be furious over his exwife Jennifer Aniston’s comments about his present spouse, Angelina Jolie. Aniston has said that it was ’uncool’ for Jolie to spill the beans about falling in love with him while he was still married to her.

ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY

T

hey say when a man is possessed; there is no limit to what he can do. He loses all reason and does things out of sheer instinct as though he has the strength of a 1000 elephants. That is ‘Varanam Aayiram’ for you. It explores the father-son bond in depth, trying to bring out how a father inspires his son since his childhood days and how the child grows, struggling to find himself until passion overtakes him and he finds solace in it, just as his father did. Here, both father and son are possessed. Possessed by love and possessed by passion. The movie begins with Krishnan (Suriya), dying after a long struggle with throat cancer. His son Surya (Suriya again), an army major who is heading to Kashmir on a rescue mission, crumbles when he hears the news. He drifts into his past, remembering and savoring every memory of his father and the things he taught him. As the flashback begins, Krishnan is shown as a romantic, who woos Malini (Simran) and marries her. He is also an open minded and caring father, who always wants the best for his son though they were facing financial problems. Somewhere between these things, he teaches his son how to love and how to live. And Suriya looks up to him as an idol. A scene where Krishnan drops

It is an out and out Suriya special as the actor plays the father and son duo with ease his son at college and says “You are on your own now. We’re grown men. Take care”, you are not only overwhelmed by the maturity of the father, trying to push his son into the world but also crushed by Suriya’s reply; “Bye daddy”, with tears in his eyes. So daddy taught him to fall in love. And he falls in love, twice. And both times, loving with all his heart. The first half of the movie breezes away light heartedly with five of its seven songs coming even before the interval. The general pace of the movie is quick with scenes flashing by, all of them having some impact or the other on you. The latter half gets more serious and its message shows quite bluntly; saying no to drugs, booze and smoking. The movie hits the smokers hard as that is what ultimately leads to Krishnan’s death. Suriya as Krishnan is brilliant and is almost perfect if it weren’t for the makeup that was screaming for attention. The youngster role too is equally brilliant and

sometimes overshadows the older Suriya’s character. His oozing charm and shirtless escapades were too much for the girls to take. Simran looks graceful as she ages in the movie and in her quiet support and unending love for her husband. Sameera Reddy with her dashing smile looks adorable throughout and Divya Spandana plays a mature, level headed Priya who becomes a vital part of Suriya’s life later on in the movie. Gautham Menon has indeed lived up to his name of being a versatile, mature director with this movie being his most personal one yet. Thamarai’s lyrics give the right mood for each scene and Harris Jayaraj’s melodies complement them. Antony has yet again proved his editing brilliance. Totally realistic with many scenes tugging at your heart and at your tear glands, ‘Varanam Aayiram’ is an out-and-out Suriya movie that not only shows him maturing as a person in reel life but also as an actor in real life. ■

GAUTHAM MENON HAS INDEED LIVED UP TO HIS NAME OF BEING A VERSATILE, MATURE DIRECTOR WITH THIS MOVIE BEING HIS MOST PERSONAL ONE YET

11

Monday, November 17, 2008

Fockers to return

M wants to quit

Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro have signed up for a second sequel to the Focker series. (Meet the Fockers was titled ‘Meet the Parents’ here). The film is tentatively titled “Little Fockers,” thesun.co.uk reports. Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman are also likely to reprise their roles

Judi Dench, who plays M in the James Bond movies, wants to leave the 007 franchise, producer Barbara Broccolli, who is against her exit, has revealed. Dench first appeared as M in 1995 when Pierce Brosnan played Bond in “Golden Eye”. After that, she starred in seven more Bond movies.

MADDY

Cine City

heads to UK for slim pill

M

addy, a.k.a. R. Madhavan, has headed to slimming clinics at Ashford in the United Kingdom to fit the role of a college student in Raj Kumar Hirani’s “Three Idiots”. Madhavan, who has temporarily shifted base to Mumbai to seriously pursue a career in Hindi movies, has taken off for two weeks to Ashford to work on his physique. “My sister lives in Ashford and there’re very good health clinics here. Whenever I need to change around my metabolism or rework my physique for a role, I head for Ashford. And at the moment I’m re-working my physique to look like a student,” Madhavan told new agency IANS over the phone. Apparently, Hirani has asked all his three leading men - Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and Madhavan - to “look like IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) students.” The interpretation of that instruction has been left to the individual actors. “Aamir will lose some of that aggressively mus-

cular look that he has acquired for ‘Ghajini’. He needs to look leaner and more athletic, as he did in ’Dil Chahta Hai’. Playing a student at 40-plus won’t be difficult for Aamir. He has done so in ‘Rang De Basanti’ with great success. Sharman doesn’t need to lose any weight. He looks completely in character. Madhavan needs to look more toned,” said a source close to the project. A time frame has been set for each of the actors to get into shape to suit their characters. “It’s not about looking thinner or younger. All three of us need to look convincing as IIT students. How we choose to do so has been left to us,” said 38-year-old Madhavan. He returns in two weeks to resume the shooting of “Teen Patti”, which was suspended when his co-star Amitabh Bachchan fell ill. “It was scary how suddenly he was taken ill. We really don’t care about the delay. All we want is for Amitji to be perfectly all right again,” Madhavan added. ■

Vaaranam Aayiram trimmed Vaaranam Aayiram has hit the screens finally. But the talk among the film viewers is that the movie is too long. There is lot of emotional drama and the film to an extent is similar to Cheran’s Thavamai Thavamirundhu. Now we hear that the Varanam Aayiram team has cut 15 minutes of the film. It is said that the sequence where Suriya goes in search of a kidnapped boy in Delhi is trimmed. If that’s the case, the sad part is that actor Prithviraj (Babloo) will be no more be in the film.

Ghajini goes for reshoot We hear that Aamir Khan is not satisfied with a few shots of the Ghajini remake. The actor, after seeing the rushes of Ghajini, has requested director Murugadoss to reshoot a few scenes. As per Aamir’s request the scenes will be shot again. We have to wait and see whether the film would be released in December as announced earlier.

12

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Friday’s Question: Recall your favourite fancy dress moment from school days... ■ ’The Hindu’ published my photo wearing Nehru dress during school Children’s’ day fest in 1994. What a moment! Sivakumar Ganesan, Athena PA/S1

■ Yeah, I must say this instant where my younger brother stood like a stranger by wearing a coat and dhothi to portray Mahakavi character with a bunch of people who were all dressed as foreigners. Arunkumar Raja, CGSL

■ When I dressed as ’kudkudupukaran’ and started shouting ‘Nalla Kaalam Porakudu’ on the stage. Radha, E4E-Nittany

■ When I was studying in 1st standard my favourite fancy dress was MAHAKAVI BHARATIYAR. Venkat.S, Sutherland

■ When I was in the attire of Chatrapati Sivaji on that day, the duplicate moustache fell down on stage. But got first prize. Good news was that I was the only participant :) he he he… Divakar, Patni Computers

■ There wouldn’t have been a worse embarrassing situation than the one I faced when I stood in front of our folks during dress the couple event. People pass comments on me even now. Ravi, Wipro

■ Yeah.. I could remember I have participated in a fancy dress competition by wearing an elephant dress I could not see anything in the stage as I covered my face with a mask.. I fell down in the stage as I did some few dance steps Satish, Ramco Systems

■ Once I dressed up like Lord Hanuman with all the perfect costumes for a function at school.. That was my memorable moment Vinoth Kumar, Allsec

■ My sister with Gujarathi dress in UKG Magesh, Polaris

■ I had a tiff with many of my friends when they played sprinkling ink in my white shirt on 1st April as I sprinkled ink first on their clothes Tony, CGSL

■ My favourite fancy dress moment will be the one in which I was dressed like a tribal girl, complete with black make-up, spears and head-gears Rakshita Sreenivasan, Wipro Technologies

■ In my LKG and I was wearing Barath Maatha dress... Being in the stage itself I asked my teacher ’ mam enna pannaradhu’. All the audience started to laugh...

Viswanahan Reddy from TCS has nominaed his collegues as Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked at Kodaikanal.

Krishnaveni, Accenture

■ When i was in 3rd standard I was dressed up as Gandhiji and my dhoti came off before I reached the stage... Tats unforgettable for me Rohit, Bell Canada

■ I played Ravana with ten heads . With coolers. Jagan, Capgemini Tidal

■ I dressed as a heaven angel when I was in my 3rd standard and I started eating fruits instead giving that to the audience... Manonmani, HCL Tech

Nazeer from HCL technologies has nominated his friends Karthik, Venmani and Saravanan at Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked at Wayanad.

■ Dressing and pretending like Mahathma Gandhiji, Nehruji and waving our Indian flag in air with pride... Was my favourite one from my school days... Ahmed, TCS

Today’s Query: What Friends character would you like to be and why? Readers, you can nominate your query for the Ergo Mobile column. Just send in your question to [email protected] with the subject: Mobile query. If we like your question, we will publish it with credit. Cheers.

Sakthi Nivashan MS from Infosys Technologies has nominated his team as Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked at their project party.

13

Monday, November 17, 2008

Mano, Venkat, Prasanna, Laks, Durga, AValli, Seshu, Binod, Bala, Arun, Divya and Sri have nominated B.Ramesh of HCL Technologies for Talent Scout. He is very much talented in acting and dancing. He never compromise perfection with anything else. That is the specialty of him. His performance in Semi finals plays the major role for getting the first place in the HCL Tidel Galatta event.

Badhri from HCL Technologies doodled this

■ Dear Thiru, From morning till night, May ur birthday be bright, And nicer than ever before. And as years come and go, May ur happiness grow, and ur deams come true.Happy Birthday!

ATG ROCKERS- Kevin,Srini,Raghu,Sai Pratha,Arun Babu, Sushma, Vinoth, Rafiya, Prakash, Praveen, Team Kevin & Team Srini

by AP1, AP2, AP3 and EBPP Team, Wipro ■ Hi Vijay Krish,

■ Dear Nehru Dinakaran and Hima Bindu Happy Birthday, Bhoomi Ethirparthirupathu Suriya Ozhi kaga, Nangal Ethirparthirupathu Un Anbana Treatu Kaga. We all Wish u a Happiest Birthday:)

A birthday is jus the first day of another 365day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. With luv,Venkat,Deepu,Aravind,Senthil, TCS

■ Hey Bricky (Athish) Wishing u a very happy and fantabulous Dinesh,Fiaz,Sheik,Bindu,Prem And Colleagues birthday. Njoi and tc:)

■ Dear Srinivasulu Sir (manager) We wish u very happy birthday and a great year ahead

Regards,... Sharanya.. HCL Technologies

■ Dear Chandana (colleague Shankari’s daughter), Wishing u in advance of ur Kesavan, Klenpal, Murali, Citi edp team stepping into 366th day of ur life. May God bless u with all love & affection. Hav a fun ■ Dear Chithu, filled Birthday. A heartfelt birthday wish to my sister. Wish u Hearty Wishes, Vinothkumar.A, CTS many more happy returns of the day. Hearty Wishes, Balamurugan-CGSL ■ Sir [Polachupo] Shivaprakash (BoK), Namma Sangam sarbaga Engal Iniya pirandha ■ Dear Venki Remo naal nal vazhthukul. Nee sonna madhiriye vilambaram pannitom. Sandhoshama ?? Many Many more Happy returns of the day Wishes by.... Stpi-hsdc group Idhallam pannadhu nee treat vaipannu oru nambikaiyil dhan. ■ Dear Ragava .. By Sangam, Software Engineer, CMED, Infosys Wish you many more happy returns of the ■ Dear Rupa, day. Happy Birthday:) wishing you always...T-50 Friends ILP 2007 We wish u belated happy birthday. May god give u good health, wealth and ■ Dear Nancyga, peace of life. Wish u a many more happy returns of the Best Wishes, DCMS –Team, FSS. day.May God bless each and every desire of ■ Dear Thayir Sadham, urs.Blessed to hav u in my life. Dennisa Wishing u a day soft as silk. White as milk (to make curd rice). Sweet as honey & full of ■ Hi Chitra, money (To sponsor us snacks everyday). Wish u Many more Happy Returns of the Day. Message24 Team, FSS, Tidel Park. May this day bring abundant joy and pleasure to u. May this birthday bring u prosperity and ■ Dear Subhasri (Tina), be the beginning of another spectacular year. "Happy Birthday" wish u many more happy Chantigadu Local(Tadi), Kundavai, returns of the day. wish u all success. CHEERS! Praveen Kumar, Allsec Tech.

Arunachalam,Krishna,Thiru, TCS-GE Wind Team

■ Dear Suya Annie May ur birthday be extra special, may ur dreams and wishes come true, We wish u will be a child forever, with ur face always smiling and ur focus always on ur planned acheivements. We wish u a very Happy Birthday. Kalainathan.P, SundaramBusinessServices Ltd

Question : You are driving a bus from Washington to Detroit with 33 people on board. At New Jersey, 12 people get down and 7 people get in. At Chicago, another 11 people get in but no one got down. After 8 hours, the bus reaches Detroit with 42 people on board. Now find out what is the driver’s name? Ans : You are the driver. Shakeeb Aadil & AshokKumar Muniyandi from HCL

Pallu valina palla pudungalaam aana... kannu vali na kanna pudungamudiyuma... :) Thannikulla kappal pona jolly... Kappalkulla thanni pona gali... Nee evalo periya swimmera irundhaalum, Tumbler thannila neechal adikka mudiyaathu!! Jayalakshmi.S Hexaware Technologies.

■ Dear Sowmi, Belated happy birthday shorty. Many many more happy returns of the day dear. May ur dreams and wishes come true. Keep smiling always!!! Aparna, Sutherland

■ Dear Senthil, We wish u a very Happy Happy Birthday with lots of Fun and Happiness. Let Gods Blessing be always with u to reach ur targets. May u hav a Special Birthday filled happiness.

■ Hi Annathey (Uchi Kanna), Wish u Happy Birthday:)Thanks is not a word which would equal all ur caring and helpful actions, Still I would like say that for all ur efforts in each and every step in my life. Also for being a good friend and Philosopher for me. Your’s Sister, Mottai :) and Family Members, Infosys

■ Hi my dear Pattaani, Wish you a very happy Birthday. It’s a special time to celebrate and I hope all your wishes come true. Have a colourful day da. Hearty wishes,... ur Tulasi :) Infosys

■ Hi Cathy Kutty, Wish U Many More Happy Returns Of the Day! With Lots Of Luv,... Kanimozhi S, Selvamani K, Ramco Systems

With Lots of Care, Bell Wholesale Team, Sutherland ■ Hey Jan (Janani)

■ Hi Serena, Wish u a very happy Birthday. May god bless u and all ur dreams come true...

Happy Birthday MISS Bittu Have a rocking year ahead. Continue ur extra curricular activities he he ..... Luv,... Mega, Sindhya, Jeya, Wipro

14 TRAFFIC JAM

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Hen-pecked? A husband has been granted a divorce after complaining his mother-in-law keeps nagging him. Shopkeeper Luca Rossi, 36, told the court in Salerno, Italy that his wife’s mother didn’t leave him alone throughout four months of marriage.

sudoku

Bright-eyed butterfly. M. Madhava Kannan of Visteon clicked this picture in Kodaikanal last week. Hobbies: Photography, reading and listening to music

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

TEAM Editor: Karthik Subramanian [email protected]

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

KAKURO

15

Monday, November 17, 2008

Stolen church

Word’s worth

A church has vanished from the Russian village where it stood for almost 200 years. The Church of Christ’s Resurrection, in the central Russian village of Komarovo, was reportedly removed in October (08) when someone took it away brick by brick.

"Acroama" (ak-ro-am-uh) oral teachings heard only by close disciples, teachings that are not written down. From a Greek word meaning ’anything heard.’

B.C ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20 You may be warm and sympathetic towards others. At office, you would be helping out others and may handle their responsibilities too. You may be more devoted to the family. Your beloved will be glad to see your positive attitude towards family.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20 Your thoughts and beliefs will be deeply rooted. You may not be willing to do anything superficial and you may deal with details of each work. In love life, you will be able to word your feelings properly which will be appreciated by your mate or beloved.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20 You may be very sentimental with others. Ganesha finds you talking to everyone very nicely at office and home. Due to this, colleagues will also have high regards for you. Your beloved will have high regards for you, feels Ganesha.

BORN LOSER

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20 You may be emotional and dedicated today. You will be studying all aspects related to work. In love life, because of your soft and sweet nature, partner will remain happy. On the whole, it’s a positive day in your favour, by the Grace of Ganesha.

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20 At office, don’t work on anything without knowing proper details of the matter. Else, you may end up slogging. Ganesha feels that you may have difference of opinion with your life partner in emotional matters. In short, it’s a tricky day for you.

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

FREE RANGE

WORKING IT OUT

You will be able to work very amicably with your colleagues. Positivity surrounds you today which will help you perform in a very good manner. You may have very friendly terms with your life partner. In short, it’s a favourable day for you, says Ganesha.

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20 You will be giving lots of creative inputs to your colleagues. This will add to your plus points. You may have emotional conflict with your life partner as you may not be ready to compromise on work and domestic life may also demand attention.

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20 It is a lucky day for you. You will be able to finish your routine work quickly. There will not be any hassle in office work which will help you handle everything efficiently. Love life may also be full of romance. In short, day is beneficial and cool.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20 Despite hard work, you may not be able to finish your work in time. Ganesha finds you bit apprehensive about others at workplace. In love life, you may remain passionate but there are chances of disappointments leading to conflicts.

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20 The day is not in your favour so it will be better not to arrange important meetings today. You will not be in a mood to rush for things. Pending work may be done successfully. Personal life may be full of love and you will be inclined towards your partner.

PREVIOUS ISSUE’S SOLUTIONS

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20 Ganesha finds you working hard at office. The moment you sort out a problem, there may be other issues to deal with. Domestic life may be sidelined for a while. Your partner may not be happy with your attitude. Handle everything with care.

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20 It’s a day to develop better professional skills. You will be able to perform well, specifically if you are combining technology and creativity. If you are planning to propose someone, it’s a favourable day. Married couples will enjoy each other’s company. Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni

16 !

ERGO Monday, November 17, 2008

Woman sells her name in eBay Eileen De Bont, 37, is auctioning off her name for charity on eBay. The dental assistant from Wales will legally change her name to the pick of the highest bidder. Half the funds raised will go to charity and the other half will be spent on her children for Christmas.

ONE LOOK IS ALL IT TAKES News and Newsmakers in picture

A boatman rows his boat amid snowfall in the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. Heavy snowfall and thunderstorms hit Kashmir Valley marking early onset of winter as normal life was paralysed and all flights cancelled. PTI PHOTO

Foreign tourists enjoy a light moment at the annual Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan. PTI

Bollywood actress Dia Mirza presents a creation by Indian designer Rocky S during a fashion show at the ’Chivas in Fashion Tour 08’ in New Delhi. PTI PHOTO

An owner shows his rabbit in a Thai style dress during a rabbit fashion contest at the Rabbit Festa in Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo. Some 8,000 rabbit lovers visited the annual two-day event. AFP PHOTO