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Adyar Poonga, an ambitious project for restoring the fragile eco-system of the Adyar Estuary and Creek, will be open to the public by November next, Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Aug. 04

Briefing news-persons after reviewing

the progress o f t h e project, he said out of t h e t o t a l 8 5 , 0 0 0 s a p l i n g s planned for t h e p a r k , 60,000 had b e e n planted so far. “About 45 per cent of the work in the first p h a s e i s over, with 55 per cent of lawn laying and 85 per cent of water shed works completed in the sprawling 58 acres of land.” An environmental education centre to create awareness of ecology would also be set up, he added. Till now,

Rs.11 crore had been s p e n t t o w a r d s t h e project, planned at a total cost of Rs 100 crore.

In the second phase,ILFS,a consultant, had been asked to submit the project plan in six months, Stalin said . Answering queries of reporters, he said, the

quality of water in the park has improved. E a r l i e r , h e a l s o inaugurated a temporary shed, which houses the basic amenities for the poonga.

A r e l e a s e

issued on the occasion said a f resh water demonstrative pond had been deve loped to demonstrate the water quality supposed to be in the Adyar River. Storm water retention zones have been created which will carry storm water during rains, and fresh

water ponds have also been created. A wooden bridge h a s b e e n cons t ruc ted to connect the swale and f i ve such b r i d g e s a r e proposed in the area.

T h e r e c o n -struction of Karpa-gam bridge will commence shortly. M a n g r o v e plantat ions are p i l o t e d i n t h e eastern side of the Karpagam bridge.

These activities h a v e a l l o w e d nesting of many new species of birds and insects.

Varieties of fishes are seen in the poonga with this development. It is expected that this park will restore ecology to a l a r g e e x t e n t . Performance indicators are in the process of

being developed to benchmark the success of this restoration project, through a variety of research studies. Anna

University is guiding the Adyar Poonga Trust in monitoring the water q u a l i t y i n s i d e t h e Poonga.

‘Adyar Poonga will be opened by November ‘

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Page 2 Alpha Times August 09, 2009

VOL: 2 ISSUE 60 August 09, 2009

Stars this weekStars this week

Your desire to have more than reasonable may fail. Tuesday is a crucial day.

`Financial self-suff iciency is gaining momentum. Whatever caused irritation to you earlier should now be a thing of the past.

A luminous moon brings a lucky phase. You can to catch the bull by the horns.

Business-oriented Leos shall be minting money as their business-stars in full bloom. They will prove their worth in short time.

The incoming week may witness more mobility. You will meet new people, make new friends and sort out pending matters.

With Venus in the limelight, your romantic hopes are growing. Work occupies second place. Good time to enrich your love life.

A friendly Mars brings financial luck. Good time to lend, borrow, buy or sell. You can have your cake and eat it too.

Those committed to work, will add to your coffers by weekend. More opportunities will come your way. You may persuade a stubborn associate.

Those with Gemini and Libra as their lunar signs are sincere. Don’t expect any favours from a Cancerian or a Leo.

Saturday-born Aquarians will score a decisive victory over their rivals. Monday-born will suffer due to the vagaries of weather.

A retrogressive Jupiter may obscure your judgement. Don’t ignore good advice or doubt intentions of a friend. Look beyond usual concerns.

Dominant Venus makes you ambitious. You could tackle opportunities with wisdom and courage. But don’t aspire too much.

- Dr. Anuj Vikram Sharma

The efficacy of Bhakthi or devotion as means of salvation can never be fully emphasized. Its power and the results one gains through this chosen path are such. Guru bhakthi is the one where the disciple loves and serves Guru and accepts Him as the God. For such a disciple there is no other thing in the world which is more important, meaningful, and fulfilling than Guru. When the disciple performs his duties with reverence, Guru empowers him with unusual boons and showers His grace in the form of capabilities to perform miracles. The disciple who by now has succeeded in surrendering his body and soul to the supremacy of the Guru can only perform his duties in a selfless manner without moving even a bit from his disposition of humility.

S h r i R . Parthasarathy in "God who walked on Earth", a classic work on Sadguru S a i n a t h , wrote, "Baba stressed the importance of devotion to one's Guru and treating him as God. It was seeing G o d i n , through and

as the Guru and identifying the Guru with God that marked the bhakthi path shown by Baba. Baba's method of teaching varied.

He would simple touch with his palm the head of the devotee and that would have one kind of influence. Sometimes, He pressed His hands heavily on the devotee's head as though He was crushing out some of the low impulses.

On occasions He would pat on the back of the devotee or would press His palm over his hand. Each had its own effect affecting the sensations and feelings of the persons concerned. Apart from touch, He effected an invisible operation on the devotee which brought about a great change in him".

In the same work, an incident narrates the boon given by Baba to Kusa Bhav, a devotee. "Henceforth", He said, "you will have the power to produce udhi from the dhuni of Mayi of Shirdi by merely remembering me and holding forth your hands. Give this udhi freely.

It will help all people and you will get punya". Kusa Bhav gave this udhi to Narasimha Swamiji when he met him in Pune.

Kusa Bhav closed his eyes and stretched his hands with uplifted face and suddenly his palm was full of udhi and he said:

"Hold your hands and receive the udhi". Narasimha Swamiji found the udhi to be warm coming as it did fresh from Dhuni Mayi in Shirdi on a cold day.

The Power of Bhakthi

For the week Aug. 09 - 15, 2009

Education, a birthrightAt last, the enshrined principle of free

education is becoming a reality, with Parliament adopting the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009. It envisages free and compulsory education in the 6-14 years age group. The need for giving a big boost to children’s education cannot be overstressed in a country where some 30 crore people are illiterate. Many of even those who have been pushed into the list of literates are hardly beyond the level of signing their names. Obviously, the country cannot progress till it addresses this basic shortcoming. It is the moral responsibility of the country that not a single child should be out of school, for whatever reason.

But even after 62 years of Independence we keep them out of the system in millions. Many of the African countries have a better track record than that of India. Vast poverty faced by the parents is the main reason. Now that the government has committed itself to providing free education, the situation may improve. While implementing the law, the authorities have to ensure the quality of education imparted to the students.

To ensure that, the government must increase expenditure on education – particularly elementary education – way beyond what it is setting aside today. That will also ensure that good salaries can be paid to teachers, attracting more qualified persons to the profession. The Bill provides for building neighbourhood schools in three years. That will come about only if states provide whole-hearted support to the Central scheme. This is one enabling move on which the Centre and states should be on the same wave-length instead of quibbling over trifles. Significantly, the Bill aims to do away with capitation fees and screening of children and parents at the admission time.

Loka Dharma Seva Foundation Trust is organising a religious tour to Tiruvaiyaaru/ Thanjavur by bus.

The bus leaves Chennai on August 17, 5 a.m. and will return on August 19, 7 a.m.

T h e t o u r includes abishekam and p r a d o s h a m a t P a n c h a n a t h e s w a r Temple, Tiruvaiyaaru, a

dip in the Cauvery and visits to other temples in the vicinity.

T h e a l l -inclusive cost per head is Rs.650.

F o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s c a l l : D r. R . Subramaniam at 2476 0 5 5 6 ; 9 4 4 4 3 81476(Valasaravakkam); J.K. Sivan at 2224 0797; 98402 79080.

Religious tour

H a n u m a t h Suktham, a powerful manthra. If chanted once relieves you of all sins. If chanted twice, it will have the effect of a holy dip in sacred waters, and also the effect of learning vedas and vedangas. If chanted thrice it fulfills all mundane desires and merges oneself with Lord Hanuman.

A hanuma th

suktha pooja is being conducted on Sunday Aug. 09 between 6.00pm to 7.00 pm (108 Banana P o o j a ) a t S r i Sanjeevaraya Samajam,

st16/45, B.R.P. 1 Street, G-flat Krishna Kamalam apts, West Mambalam, Chennai- 33. For more details contact Secretary ( S r i S a n j e e v a r a y a S a m a j a m ) , 9 8 4 0 4 45633.

Sri Hanumath Suktha Mahima

A spiritual doubt clearing meeting will be conducted on Aug. 9 from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm at Sri Rathnagireswarar

thTemple, 6 Cross Street, Besant Nagar. The subject for discussion will

be “ Ou r Sas t ras ” (Memamsa Sastras).

The resource person will be Sri Rajagopala Ganapadigal Ed i to r Va i th i kas ree magazine. Al l are welcome.

Sandheha Nivaranee

Page 3Alpha TimesAugust 09, 2009

Daily Trip to Thirupathi

With a view to decongest traffic and solve parking problems near commercial hubs, the Chennai Corporation is planning to introduce graded parking lots in the city.

If the proposal gets going and receives patronage in the next C o u n c i l m e e t i n g , charges for parking vehicles in spots located inside commercial zones may shoot up to 10 times from the existing ones.

Besides 100-odd on-street parking lots in the commercial hubof Adyar have more than half of them.At present the parking charge is Rs 5 per hour for two-wheelers and Rs 10 per hour for cars.

According to Corporation sources, though the proposal is in its initial stages, it will help to decongest places near the ident i f ied commercial hubs in the neighbourhood thus reducing piling up of vehicles inside the zone.

The proposal is a part of the develop-ment scheme for a comprehensive parking policy and management plan for the whole city with an eye on future growth in the coming years.

A s p e r t h e proposal, parking lots located well inside the declared commercial zones would be entitled to charge more on vehicles and gradually reduced when the same vehicle parked in grade two or grade three parking lots located outside the zone.

The idea behind this move is to persuade the peop le v i s i t i ng commercial establish-ments to use public transport or park their vehicles out of the commercial zones.

If need arises, the civic body also plan to i n t r o d u c e b a t t e r y -operated vehicles to m o v e p e o p l e f r o m distance parking lots to commercial zones.

Corporation plans grading system for parking lots

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has issued g u i d e l i n e s f o r t h e immersion of Vinayaka idols at the end of Vinayaka Chaturthi , saying immersion of i do l s pa in ted w i t h chemical paints should be avoided.

Idols made of raw clay and without any chemicals alone shall be used for worhsipping as these could be safely immmersed in water bodies, a release from TNPCB Chairman R

Balakrishnan here said.Idols must not

be immersed in water bodies such as lakes and on seashore and should be taken 500 metres into the sea and immersed in p laced no t i f i ed by government,it said.

Normally, the administration identifies spots for immersion few days ahead of the rou t i ne p rocess ion where the idols are taken for immersion. This year, Vinayaka Chaturthi is being celebrated on August 23.

Guidelines on immersion of Vinayaka idols

T h e m u c h awaited ladies special services in the suburban s e c t o r b e t w e e n Tambaram-Chenna i Beach, Arakkonam-Chennai Beach and C h e n n a i B e a c h -Velachery will be flagged off on August 12 at Tambaram.

T h e Tambaram-Chenna i Beach Ladies Special E M U w o u l d l e a v e Tambaram at 0837 hrs, Arakkonam-Chennai Beach Ladies Special E M U w o u l d l e a v e Arakkonam at 0838 hrs and Chennai Beach-Ve l a c h e r y L a d i e s Special EMU would leave Chennai Beach at 0839 hrs, a Railway release here said.

R e g u l a r services of these ladies special EMUs would commence on August 13, it said.

I n t h e Tambaram-Chenna i sector, the morning p e a k - h o u r L a d i e s special would leave

Tambaram at 0837 hrs and reach Chennai Beach at 0932 hrs. In the return direction, the Ladies Special would leave Chennai Beach at 1757 hrs and arrive Tambaram at 18.52 hrs, it said.

I n t h e Arakkonam-Chennai sector, the morning peak-hour Ladies Special would leave Arakkonam at 0700 hrs and reach Chennai Beach at 0855 h r s . I n t h e r e t u r n direction, the Ladies Special would leave Chennai Beach at 1750 h r s a n d a r r i v e Arakkonam at 2005 hrs, it said.

O n M R T S sector, the morning peak-hour Ladies Special would leave Chennai Beach at 0900 hrs and reach Velachery at 0940 h r s . I n t h e r e t u r n direction, the Ladies Special would leave Velachery at 1705 hrs and arr ive Chennai Beach at 1745 hrs, the release added.

Ladies special services from Aug.12

C h e n n a i C e n t r a l - N a g e r c o i l -Chennai Central weekly Garib Rath special will continue to run t i l l October-end. Nagercoil-

bound trains will run on Wednesdays till October 28, and the Chennai-b o u n d t r a i n s o n Thursdays till October 29.

Garib Raths to run till October 29

V i o l i n d u o , Ganesh and Kumaresh in association with Times Music, will launch their new thematic album, ‘Aksharam,’ a confluence of music, numbers, mantras and hymns, at a programme to be held on August 9, 6.30 p.m., at Narada Gana Sabha.

Conceived by Jayanti Kumaresh, the event will have veteran

musician M. Balam uralikrishna, maestro I l a i y a r a j a , M . S . Gopalakrishnan and Har idwaramangalam A.K. Pazhanivel as the guests of honour.

A b r i e f p r e s e n t a t i o n o n ‘Janagraha’ wi l l be followed by the violin concert of Ganesh and Kumaresh.

Thematic album by Violin duo

T o commemorate the birth a n n i v e r s a r y o f Papanasam Sivan, the P a p a n a s a m S i v a n Rasikar Sangam is conducting its annual m u s i c a n d d a n c e competit ions on his c o m p o s i t i o n s , o n September 5 and 6.

It will be held at Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road. The dance competition will be on

September 5 and the vocal competition (Sivan’s kritis, varnams and operas) on September 6.

Application forms can be downloaded from www.shivanisai.net.

Last date to submit applications is September 1.For further details contact Dr. Rukmini Ramani, Flat 1-A, Sai Sakthi, 41, Umapathy Street, West Mambalam, C h e n n a i - 3 3 , P h o n e : 65295949 / 24722928.

Music, dance competitions

Page 4 Alpha Times August 09, 2009

R. Karthikeyan, 90947 99009

The Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan has announced a 20 per cent special rebate on khadi varieties in cotton, polyester, silk and readymade up to August 14. According to a release, the rebate is being offered at showrooms on Anna Salai, Avvai Shanmugam Salai in Gopalapuram and at the Indira Nagar branch.

Kunnakkudy School Of Music has organised Chaturti concert on August 9, 6.30 p.m. at Ishta Siddhi Vinayakar temple, Kapaleeswarar Nagar, Neelangarai. Radha Kalyanaraman will present a Carnatic vocal concert accompanied by Sivakamasundari and Neyveli Ramkumar.

Music Club IIT Madraswill be presenting a series of carnatic music programmes at the Central Lecture Theatre (CLT), IIT Madras. from Aug. 10 to 13.daily at 6.45 pm

August 10, .N. Vijay Siva.; August 11, .S. Sowmya.; August 12, P. Unnikrishnan.; August 13, Ganesh and Kumaresh (violin).

All are welcome

Asthika Samajam will conduct music programmes at Amarabharathi, 12, West Tank Street, Thiruvanmiyur.on Aug. 08 and 09 daily at 6.00 pm

August 8 - Neyveli Santhanagopalan.; August 9 - Gayathri Venkatraghavan.

All are welcome

Khadi rebate

Vocal concert

Carnatic music programmes at IIT

Programmes at Asthika Samajam

Plus Two students are invited to a discussion of the papers at the International Maths Olympiad 2009 by former Olympiad medalists at the Children’s Club at 96, V.M.Street, Mylapore on Sunday, August.9 and 16; Registration at the Club between 5 PM and 6.30 P.M on weekdays. For details call Ph. 2847 4140

International Maths Olympiad 2009

Cooptex 'unfolds'five-in-one silk sariThe Tamil Nadu

government owned Co-o p t e x , w h i c h w a s

celebrating its platinum jubilee celebrations,

recent ly launched ' T h a n g a G o p u r a m ' (Golden Tower), a five-in-

one new silk saree.T h e u n i q u e

feature of the saree, l a u n c h e d b y c h i e f secretary K S Sripathy, is that it has five exclusive designs and belongs to Kancheepuram silks, a press re lease f rom Cooptex said.

The saree has been designed in such a fashion that each of its parts including pallu, body, frill and blouse would have different designs.

The pallu would have the designs of gold fish with pearls imbibed in the stomach portion, Priced at Rs 35,000 the saree has 401 gms of pure silk and 569 gms of pure zari.

Thanks to the

launch of des igner sarees, the sales of Cooptex has crossed the target of Rs 150 crore at Rs 150.40 crore during the year 2008-09.

In the current year from April to June, Cooptex has registered

sales of Rs 25.04 crore, which was 62 per cent more than the sales during the same period last year. This year, Cooptex was making all efforts to achieve the sales target of Rs 200 crore.

The Mad ras High Court ordered notice to the Chennai Municipal Corporation Commissioner on a contempt case related to removal of unauthorized advertisement boards in and around the Chennai City.

While admitting the petition filed by Social A c t i v i s t T r a f f i c Ramasamy, a Division B e n c h c o m p r i s i n g Justices F M Ibrahim Kalifulla and P Rajendran d i r e c t e d t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r o f C h e n n a i M u n i c i p a l Corporation to file the counter with in two weeks.

I n h i s defamation petition, Mr Ramasamy submitted that the First Bench of the court ordered to remove all the unauthorized hoardings in the State.

''Till recently, several unauthorized hoardings were erected on the stretch of Anna Salai in connection with the family marriage of the M a y o r o f C h e n n a i C o r p o r a t i o n M r Subramanian and the s a m e w e r e n o t r e m o v e d , ' ' M r Ramasamy contended.

Mr Ramasamy a l s o s h o w e d t h e photographs of the hoardings to the judges. The bench posted the matter on August 21 for further hearing.

Earlier in April 2008, the High Court had directed the Chennai District and Municipal A d m i n i s t r a t i o n authorities to remove, with police help, all

unauthorized hoardings in and around the city and constituted a committee, headed by a retired High Court Judge, to oversee the operation.

The Committee will also identify places of historical and aesthetic importance and popular places of worship. Laying down comprehensive guidelines to regulate hoardings and remove illegal structures, the court had said the District C o l l e c t o r a n d t h e jurisdictional Tahsildars would be ''personally r e s p o n s i b l e ' ' f o r enforcing the orders.

Unless the new applicants removed their unauthorized hoardings, authorities concerned should not consider their applications.

The Bench also directed the District Collector to ''remove and d e m o l i s h ' ' a l l

unauthorized hoardings, erected after the cut-off date of June 15, 2006 and on the basis of applications made to the Collector within eight weeks thereafter.

Making it clear that no licence shall be granted to hoardings that are not in conformity with the rules and regulations, the Bench said if the applicants were owners of existing hoardings, the views of the traffic police should be elicited.

I f t h e applications and appeals were dismissed by the competent authority, then the relevant hoardings should be removed forthwith.

The Collector, Commissioner of Police and the Corporation Commissioner should take s teps fo r the removal. The Collector and Tahsildars must

Jeep Thrills, a club for jeep-owners and drivers, is organising its annua l o f f - the- road competition from August 13 to 15. The Palar Challenge is a team-b a s e d o f f - r o a d competition open to individual as well as corporate teams with

f o u r - w h e e l d r i v e vehicles.

The s ta r t ing point for the contest will be Adventure Zone on Cheyyur Road and the route covers about 100 km. For details and to r e g i s t e r , v i s i t http://thepalarchallenge. 8k.com.

Off-road jeep rally

HC notice on hoardings

recover tax dues and penalties from defaulters.

The bench asked t h e C o r p o r a t i o n Commissioner to extend all cooperation to the Collector. He should supply necessary equipment and working force for the operation.

U n d e r n e w French regulat ions, trainee visas will be issued for a period of one year instead of three months as before. These regulations would apply to both students and professional trainees sent by companies, said Joelle Rayet, French C o n s u l - G e n e r a l i n Puducherry..

Speaking at a meet organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Tamil Nadu State Council (FICCI TNSC), on the new French visa guidelines,

Ms. Rayet said that the visas could be renewed in France if there was a need to do it. She said that the new regulations a l s o a l l o w e d a n “ E m p l o y e e o n Assignment” permit, under which employees seconded to a group company in France could obtain a visa for three y e a r s , w i t h f a m i l y m e m b e r s g i v e n a “Private and Family Life” permit after six months.

A “Skills and Talents” permit would be g i v e n t o i n v e s t o r s involved in a project of worth one million euros or

more. This new permit would be given for an initial period of three years and the Ambassador of France would decide on the merits of each application under this permit.

Ms. Rayet, who said she was scheduled to leave for France to take up a new assignment next week, addressed concerns from FICCI members on visa processing formalities. She said that it was advisable to plan for the visa well in a d v a n c e a n d a s k e d members to avoid applying for visas at the last moment.

France extends trainee visa period to one year

Page 5Alpha TimesAugust 09, 2009

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Chennai Sai Sankara Matrimonials functioning at 7 (15/2), 9th Avenue, A s h o k N a g a r a r e o r g a n i s i n g “ F r e e S w a y a m v a r a m " f o r B r a h m i n s ( M e m b e r s Only) on Sunday, Aug. 16 at Balaji Kalyana Mandapam, T.Nagar (Beh ind Agas th iya r Kovil).

The p rog ra -mme will be as follows: Iyers ( 9Am – 1PM) , Iyengars (1PM – 3Pm) Remarriages (PM – 5PM) . For Grooms minimum Income criteria for participation is Rs 25,000/-P.M

Free swayamvaram for Brahmins

For Member-ship and other details contact Phone No: 2471 6 9 2 0 o r 9 8 4 0 3

3 0 5 3 1 ( F o u n d e r – N . P a n c h a p a k e s a n ) Web: www.ssmatri.com

Praveen Mani, a core member o f maestro A R Rahman's troupe is all set to conduct a grand musical event to pay tribute to the late legend Michael Jackson.

T h e R o t a r y Club of Chennai is presenting the show in the name of Artists United which will be held on Aug. 29, the birthday of Jackson, at the Wesley School Grounds a t R o y a p e t t a h i n Chennai at 7 pm. The concert seems to serve a social cause also. While p a y i n g h o m a g e t o Jackson, it will also collect funds in aid of Autism Awarness and cure.

Explaining the grand plans and purpose of the show, Praveen M a n i a n d S a n j a y Ramasamy of Rotary club, said, "The entire show will be dedicated to Jackson and his songs. All leading voacalists and musicians who have

worked for Oscar winning music director AR Rahman will be performing under the banner Artists United. Top performers of the country including Shankar Ehsaan and Loy apart from Ko l l ywood ’s s ing ing f ra te rn i ty comprising of top singers like Benny Dayal, Karthik, Naresh Iyer, Suchitra Karthik Kumar, Anu Cheyur, Sunitha Sarathy, Keith Peters, Blaaze, Joshua Sridhar, Suresh Peters and Timothy Madhukar will be performing..."

Rahman will not be physically present at the concert, but a recording of his tribute to Jackson will be played for the audiences which is estimated to be around 20,000 people.

Kollywood's tribute to Michael Jackson!

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Prakash Raj, the most versatile actor of South Indian film i n d u s t r y i s o f t e n

ennobled as Jacks of all trades.

Emerging from theatre group, the actor made his onscreen debut

with ‘Duet’ in negative role and later continued p e r f o r m i n g s i m i l a r characters. Gradually, he was successful with some prominent roles

and la ter established himself as protagonist. Almost, his e v e r y production turned to be a box office hit receiving c r i t i c a l acclaims.

Recently, he produced the film ‘ A b h i y u m N a a n u m ’ (based on Hollywood flick ‘Father of the Bride’)

featuring himself and Tr isha as dad and daughter. The film was d i rec ted by Radha Mohan and Prithviraj did a cameo role.

With the film running successfully in Ta m i l a n d Te l u g u , Prakash Raj has decided to remake the film in Kannada. He makes his debut directorial with this f i l m w h e r e D i v y a Spandana of ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ fame performs his daughter’s role. With the film’s shooting slated to hit the floors by November, buzz is that Puneeth Rajkumar will perform a cameo role.

Prakash Raj forays as film director

I n t h i s e ra , where filmmakers are stepping into the shoes of actors, lyric writer Pa. Vijay attempted for the

same endeavor.His debut film

‘Tha i Kavyam’ was shelved due to unknown reasons while his recent release ‘Gnyabagangal’

won him appreciation for the decent performance.

Although, the film didn’t witness good response at box office,

m a n y filmmaker s h a d approache d h i m with their s c r i p t s . A f t e r h e a r i n g 1 5 s c r i p t s , t h e l y r i c i s t -t u r n e d -a c t o r seems to h a v e

finalized couple of them a n d h a s a l r e a d y commenced shooting for one of the projects.

H e s t r o n g l y admits that he would

Pa. Vijay to prove himself as a commercial hero

A Tamil film 'Thambivudaiyan', which deals with the Cauvery water dispute has run into trouble with the censor board, which has placed a ban on the release of the film.

T h e f i l m i s about the sufferings of the farmers of Thanjavur region. The censor board has objected to its content and banned the film's release.

Director Raja Mahesh, however, has a different version.

'The problem has been there for decades but it sti l l remains unresolved. As I t o o a m f r o m Thanjavur district, I wanted to attempt a solution to this long-pending issue through a movie.'

Talking about the scene the censor board has objected to, Mahesh said: 'The hero of the film abducts the wife and children of a powerful minister and says that they would be released only if the 'other side' releases water to the starving farmers'.

W h e n t h e censor board asked Mahesh to remove this particular sequence he refused saying that it was an important sequence. The censor board went ahead and banned the film.

' W e h a v e decided to go in for another appeal,' Mahesh said.

Film on Cauvery issue runs into trouble with censor board

prove himself as a commercial hero. The actor is keen on not revealing either film’s title or d i rector ’s name. M e a n w h i l e , h i s ‘ G n y a b a g a n g a l ’ i s recommended for the screening at Cannes international film festival.

O o h H e r e comes the biggest star-spangled event of this s e a s o n . P r o d u c e r Kalaipuli S Dhanu has cleared all the rumors

about the release of 'Kanthaswamy'.

He con f i rms that by all means, the film will get released on I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y ( A u g u s t 1 5 ) . T h e previous night will have

star-studded red carpet premiere w h e r e a c t o r V i k r a m a n d producer Kalaipuli S Dhanu have invited Bollywood ce lebs . C loser s o u r c e s h a v e r e v e a l e d t h a t A b h i s h e k Bachchan and

Aishwarya Rai seem to have accepted the invite

as they’ve been filming together with Vikram for ‘Raavana’. It will be the first-ever red carpet premiere to be telecasted live on a leading satellite channel.

K a l a i p u l i S Dhanu of V Creations has shelled out more than Rs.60 Crores for this film. He is more confident about rais ing prof i t merely within first week. The f i lm is gett ing released simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil with 900 prints and will get dubbed in Hindi version too.

'Kanthaswamy' red carpet premiere for Bollywood celebs

Page 7Alpha TimesAugust 09, 2009

“ I w a n t m y children to be number one. There is no place in t h i s w o r l d f o r t h e mediocre.” A mother insisted on a popular US talk show. “Children’s activities are not about having fun. They are about competing and winning every time.”

Armed with the motto, “the second place goes to the first loser” she continual ly shouted, lectured, criticised and pushed her two children to excel. Needless to say, this unbending attitude destroyed the woman’s relationship with them and her husband who viewed her as a pushy, aggressive person. Her constant rows with her son’s sports coach and her daughter’s teachers were a major source of embarrassment for them.

I n s t e a d o f enjoying their academic and sports activities, they began to dread them. The r e s u l t i n g s t r e s s , frustration and unhappi-ness nearly caused the family to split apart while the woman remained clueless about what caused the children to rebel and turn against her.

Sometimes, as parents, we have a pre-conceived notion of what constitutes “success” and we force our children to live up to our interpre-tation of that word. At other times, we try to live vicariously through our children and push them to succeed in areas in which we failed while we were young.

G e t t i n g t h e coveted first position in school exams, A+ grade,

inclusion in school cricket team (or being made the captain, since the sky is the limit when it comes to our aspirations and never mind the merit), top positions in declamation c o n t e s t s , a r e a l l hallmarks of truly gifted children but not every child can achieve this pinnacle of success. S o m e t i m e s t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g a n d competing in an event, making new friends and developing new skills are rewards enough as they enrich your child’s overall personality and personal growth.

I h a v e witnessed parents who scold and berate their children in public for not performing up to their desired expectations. Miffed by their child’s second or third position in a contest, they bicker and c r i t i c i s e t h e j u r y ’s judgment while insisting that their child should have won. Some parents argue endlessly with teachers and coaches over minute matters and over what they perceive t o b e i n e q u i t a b l e decisions going against their child.

In most cases, c h i l d r e n f e e l embarrassed by their parents ’ aggress ive demeanour, especially if it occurs openly in front of their class fellows and teachers. In another scenario, this negative attitude teaches the children not to accept disappointment wi th grace. They learn to shift the blame on teachers and coaches and feel as if the whole wor ld is involved in a giant conspiracy against them.

They do not learn to evaluate their o w n m i s t a k e s a n d performance with any degree of fairness.

C h i l d psychologists assert that ch i ld ren shou ld be praised for their efforts and not on the final result. Getting praise for their efforts teaches them to value hard work while the focus on final results makes them afraid of m a k i n g m i s t a k e s .

Children whose results are praised feel pressurised to succeed at all costs even if they have to resort to unfair means.

I n a s t u d y regarding habits of high achievers in the field of

academics and sports, it was found that children whose p a r e n t s e m p h a s i s e continuous effort, hard work, practice, and learning from mistakes turn out to be especially resilient when confronted with challenges. These children are eager to take on new tasks; they are more inquisitive and creative and are always willing to learn something new.

As parents, we should teach our children to be gracious winners and courageous losers. The parents’ reaction to their children’s wins and losses often determines their on-the-field and off-the-field attitude. If we lambaste our children for their defeats and belittle their efforts, we turn them into sulky and whining individuals. If we crow too much over their triumphs, they can become c o n c e i t e d , e g o t i s t i c a l monsters. The parents must keep their reactions within a c c e p t a b l e l i m i t s t o encourage the children to be fair spirited and generous team players. Every effort should be praised and every achievement celebrated but we must also remember to offer solace, encouragement and our full support when the chips are down.

There is no doubt that failure in any form can be very painful. It is equally true that failure is inevitable at some stage in life. Strange though it may sound, tasting a morsel of failure is sometimes necessary for chi ldren because it teaches them to dust themselves and start afresh after a hard fall. It teaches them the importance of not taking anything for granted and equips them with determination, perseverance and resilience. Above all it teaches them to appreciate and aspire for victories that life has to offer.

If we really want to be sure that our children become ha rd -work ing , successful adults, we have to encourage them to recognise and develop their individual strengths and work hard to improve any weaknesses. Sweeping their flaws under the carpet of bribery, cheating and corruption will never do them any good. Life has a way of tossing up challenges. If children are not taught to d e a l w i t h p e r s o n a l weaknesses with grit and d e t e r m i n a t i o n , t h e s e problems wil l keep on surfacing in other and more important aspects of life, leaving your children ill-equipped to handle them and then … whither success?

- S. Raghunathan

Of success and failure Planning to buy

p r o p e r t y b e i n g auct ioned? I would suggest that you tread carefully. Get all the in fo rmat ion on the property. Make sure that the property is free of encumbrances (ask for a n e n c u m b r a n c e certificate and check it’s authenticity) and there is a clear title to the property, and that it would be transferred to your name without any problem. Or, to put it differently, check the legal status of the land, land use, title deeds, tax r e c e i p t s a n d t h e encumbrance certificate (encumbrance is a general term for any claim on the property that restricts or impairs its transfer or renders it less marketable).

V i s i t t h e property and make sure that it actually exists. Also, read the terms and conditions pertaining to the auction very carefully, and go ahead only if you have no problem with those. And bid only if you can pay the bid amount within the stipulated time. I say all this because if something were to go wrong, you cannot seek the intervention of the court. Most consumers are unaware of the fact that cour ts do not a d j u d i c a t e o v e r problems arising from or re lated to proper ty bought in an auction.

In one of the earliest cases of that nature (Ashok Tayal vs the Delhi Development Authority) brought before it, the national consumer d i s p u t e s r e d r e s s a l commission held that there was no hiring of service in an auction sale, and, therefore, the

transaction did not come under the purview of the courts. This has been the consistent view of the courts ever since. In Ashok Tayal’s case, the complainant was the highest bidder in an auction of a commercial p l o t b y t h e D e l h i Development Authority. However, after taking possession of the plot, when he visited it, he found a board stating that it belonged to the post office.

T h e complainant filed a civil writ in the Delhi High Court and was informed b y t h e P o s t a l Department that it was the earlier purchaser of the land, and it belonged to the department. Tayal then filed a complaint before the nat ional commission, alleging negligence on the part of the DDA, and seeking compensation for the loss su f fe red . The national commission, however, dismissed the complaint, saying that it was an outright sale of immovable commercial property in a public a u c t i o n , a n d t h e comp la in t was no t maintainable.

In subsequent cases pertaining to auctions, the apex court held a similar view. Now, in a recent order, it has re-examined this issue and reiterated its earlier opinion. In this particular c a s e ( R a j a s t h a n Financial Corporation vs MK Bhoot, RP No 740 of 2006), the complainant participated in an auction held by the Rajasthan Financial Corporation in respect of movable and immovable properties. His bid of Rs 34,50,000, being the highest, was

accepted and approved. As per the terms of the auction, the complainant h a d d e p o s i t e d R s 1,75,000 as earnest money at the time of the bid but could not pay 25 per cent of the bid amount within 30 days of acceptance of the bid, as stipulated in the terms and conditions of the auction.

Consequently, he lost the bid and also forfeited the earnest amount. The national commission, in this case, observed that in its c o n s i d e r e d v i e w , purchase of property in a n a u c t i o n w a s tantamount to outright sa le o f immovab le property, and there was no arrangement of hiring o f s e r v i c e f o r consideration between the parties Therefore, disputes pertaining to such transactions could not be adjudicated upon by the courts.

In fact, in the initial years following the e n a c t m e n t o f t h e consumer protection law, housing boards and land development authorities had argued that courts could not adjudicate over disputes pertaining to allotment of plots or houses as those were issues of sale or transfer of immovable property.

Dismissing this v i e w, t h e n a t i o n a l commission, and later the Supreme Court, had clarified that when a private builder or a s t a t u t o r y a u t h o r i t y develops land and allots a site or constructs a house for the benefit of the customer, there is an element of ’ as defined under the law.

- Pushpa G

Check legal status before land purchase

Consumer Beware

Across 1. A class of scriptures of ancient India 6. ____ Khusro, great medieval poet 8. Charles ____, great English essayist 11. Central point of anything 12. Not in; away from 13. A kind of network in computer use (abbr.) 14. Pound, famous U.S. poet 19. Erase; efface; bring to ruin 21. Pertaining to molecules Down 2. Outer edge; border 3. Another name for Shiva 4. Competent; skilful 5. Equip with weapons 6. Negative terminal of a battery cell 7. Bury; put into the ground 9. Woody ____, great film-maker 10. Lotto like game, much played in English pubs 15. Crippled or physically disabled 16. Bishop ____, Nobel prize winner 18. Park in which live animals are kept 20. Our genetic code is hidden in this (abbr.)

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Page 8 Alpha Times August 09, 2009

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