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A BYTE OF LIFE

DARE BARE JOHN JA’s next film is to featurea full monty

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 243

Entrepreneur at 25

Rajesh Kanagasabai runs his ownconsultancy firm in Velachery

0511

He is back in the news andfor good reasons, for achange. Srikanth on his rolein ‘Poo’ and his future plans

» PAGE 10

Monday, December 22, 2008

P

H O T O : S . S . K

U M A R



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008NAMMA CHENNAI02

Christmas withPlayStation 3All those who have been waiting forChristmas to get more playful can nowrejoice. The new Christmas prices for thePlayStation 3 model have beenannounced. Backed by the launch of anumber of attractive titles and platinumprice points for games; the 40 GB PS3prices have been set at Rs. 22,990, downRs. 2,000 from its original price.Moreover, each 40GB PS3 will beaccompanied by a free game softwareto get one started.This offer is only valid till December 25.

Nobel Laureate AmartyaSen on Sunday supportedreservation during admis-sion into Indian Institutes

of Technology (IITs) for the underprivileged sections as the step

would benefit the society in the

long run. Addressing the plenary session

at PanIIT 2008, a conference of IIT alumni in Chennai, he said:“In Sanskrit, there are many

words equivalent to justice. Thetwo important words are ‘nidhi’and ‘nyaya’. The former is aboutinstitutions and their rules of be-haviour while the later is aboutrealisation of the benefits. People

who are benefited from affirma-tive action tend to contributemore for the poorer sections of the society.”

According to Sen, the econom-ic slowdown will have its impacton the government spending onsocial sectors like education,

health and others and it is impor-tant to protect public income.“India has high proportion of

malnourished children and illit-eracy rate is high,” he added.

He said famines do not occurin functioning democracies as al-so in places where the media is

free and the opposition is strong.“But in India, there is a huge pop-ulation that is malnourished,” he

noted.He said many of the ser

concerns of poor like huneducation and healthcare doget the attention of the m

and are crowded out by othesues. ■

Nobel winner supportsaffirmative action

Noble laureate Amartya Sen at the valedictory sessionof Pan IIT 2008, the global conference for IIT alumni,in Chennai. PHOTO: BIJOY GHOSH

Sen for reservations

C

an you ever imagine your child

sleeping on a concrete floor without a mattress or bed sheets?No? Then it is time you know thatthere are children in nammaChennai who face many strugglesfor survival.

Soya Somanathan, an IT pro-fessional working with TrimbleNavigation Limited, recently vis-ited Hands of Compassion, ahome-cum-school which sheltersabout 110 children between theages of 2 and 16 years. She saysthat the children, who are victimsof terror attacks in the north-eastern part of India, live andstudy in the school comprising seven sheds on an acre of land.

Soya, who plans to help thesekids through Trimble, also wantslikeminded volunteers from oth-

er firms to extend help. The care-taker of the home has told Soyathat they need sleeping mats, bedsheets, towels and soaps urgent-ly. The children also require eyeand dental checkups. Also, it

would be nice if every child couldget a small gift for Christmas orNew Year.

Persons interested in helping these kids can directly visit Hands

of Compassion located near Vnian Chathram Bus Stop (bethe Panchayat office), AlamRoad, Redhills, Chennai. Or, d

your contributions at: TrNavigation Limited, A NoNinth Floor, Tidel Park, No. 4nal Bank Road, Taramani, Cnai - 600113. For details con

Arun Reddy of Trimble Nation Limited at 98409 11350 .

Children at Hands of Compassion need sleeping mats, sheets, soaps and health checkups

ERGO CORRESPONDENT [email protected]

NEEDED: HELP

Party time for your kidsMagic Hat, the play lounge for children at Sathyam cinemas, wiremain open till 3.30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. So if you areplanning a ‘spirited’ party and are thinking about leaving the kto have their own fun, just dial 65666777 for registrations. Andhurry, because registrations close on December 27.




It’s on a Saturday that we, a bunch of

journalists, accompany the groupfrom Courtyard by Marriott on oneof their regular visits to the Rising

Star Outreach school that they help runnear Uthiramerur, an hour-and-a-half drive from Chennai.

It’s the last day of school for the chil-dren before they head home for the va-cations. If you ignore the fact that the150 children studying and living hereare children of leprosy-affected par-ents, it’s like any other pre-vacationday. Parents are busy collecting reportcards from their wards’ teachers andthe kids are soaking in the fact thatbooks can be forgotten for a few days.

Also, this is the day of the culminationof Shaun Parry’s month-long efforts.

The Broadway performer is here in

his capacity as a member of Prometh-ean Spark, the NGO he started to helpthe underprivileged develop a morepositive outlook through arts-basedprogrammes. Promethean Spark be-cause he believes that “one spark is allthat is needed”.

It’s still some time before the chil-dren perform what Shaun has taughtthem. As some volunteers play DJ inthe meantime, popular Vijay numbersappear a clear favourite. “I don’t know Indian dance, so I haven’t tried teach-ing it,” explains Shaun. Vijay numbers,clearly, can wait another day.

“A lot of people see dance as someth-ing liberating. It is. But dance is alsoabout discipline and focus, and that’s

what I have tried to teach the children,”

he says. Having been a part of Broad- way productions such as Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Beowulf and Aida, thisman should know. Parry has also per-

formed with the New York Theatre Bal-let and Martha Graham DanceCompany.

A stint in Peru laid the seeds of Pro-methean Spark, which is now based inNew York. “We were a group of 30 in aroom with barely enough standing space,” he says, recalling Peru.

A chance encounter with Becky Dou-glas, founder of Rising Star Outreach,took place in New York. Becky, real-ising the motivational potential of hisprogrammes, brought Shaun to India.He comes down for a month every year.

“It’s not just about what you see onstage today. It’s also about the shift inattitude,” says Shaun on the perfor-mances that are to start shortly. He isnow trying to rope in dance schools in

the city to send in volunteers to contin-ue the classes once he leaves. As each class, beginning from Class I,

comes on stage on by one, Shaun, inhead-to-toe black, gets to his positionin front of the stage. With the childreneager to watch others perform, it takesa little coaxing to make them go back-stage and get ready for their own. Younotice that during performances alleyes and heads on stage are turned toone side – the side where Shaun is mak-ing movements for them to imitate.

With Parry’s perfect steps and the chil-dren’s sincerest attempts, it’s quite asight. ‘The lion sleeps tonight’ and El-vis’ ‘Come on everybody’ receive ahuge round of applause. Nobody ismissing Vijay. ■

Broadway performer Shaun Parry has been busy imparting dance lessons

at the Rising Star Outreach school

SHALINI [email protected]

Twinkle, twinkle

RISING STAR

(Top) Shaun Parry performs with the children at Rising Star Outreach.(Left ) The Christmas celebrations. PHOTOS: R. RAVINDRAN



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008KALEIDOSCOPE04

While the ministerare required to patheir own fines,reports suggest ththey exploit asecurity loophole tget the amount ouof the public’spockets

Brit taxpayers have paid for ministers’ parking fines

UK-based TelesoftTechnologies, which

manufactures equip-ment for monitoring fixed and mobile tele-phony networks, willlaunch a solution tohelp telecom compa-nies pin down frauds intheir networks.

“We are in talks withclients to provide thetelecom operators pas-sive monitoring probe,”Telesoft TechnologiesDirector, Sales andMarketing, Andy Evri-pides said.

The probe solutioncan be connected toany mobile network and it provides the sig-naling information re-lated to location of asubscriber within 100-500 meters.

Besides, the compa-ny plans to invest 2-3million pounds over acouple of years to cus-tomise their productsfor the Indian market.

“We expect in two years the revenue from

our India operations will double the European operations. Tofuel the growth we willcontinue investing inIndia,” he said.

The actual location-based applications areprovided by SIs andOEMs, who access theinformation using Tele-soft’s probe technolo-gy. Typical applicationsinclude directing mo-bile subscribers to thenearest cash machineor providing weatherreport of a geographicarea.

The solution can helpin fraud detection intelephony networkssuch as finding spoofnumbers that cannotbe billed and networkabuse.

The signaling infor-mation in a mobile net-

work contains locationinformation such as cellID and area informa-tion that allows loca-tion-based services. ■

PTI

Telesoft Tech to

introduce solution for

fraud detection

The solution can help in frauddetection in telephony networkssuch as finding spoof numbersthat cannot be billed andnetwork abuse

Parking fines run up by Cab-inet ministers have costBritish taxpayers a stagger-ing 33,000 pounds in the

last three years, almost 1,000pounds a month.

While the ministers are re-quired to pay their own fines, re-ports suggest that they exploit asecurity loophole to get theamount out of the public’s pock-ets.

“Motorists will be outraged by

this. They are already being fleeced left, right and centre-now they are having to pay for politic-ians’ parking fines,” News of the

World quoted a fuming HughBladen, of the Association of Brit-ish Drivers, as saying.

Figures from the Departmentfor Transport have reveal thatCabinet ministers were hit with13,930 pounds in parking finesthis year, and 7,540 pounds and11,928 pounds in the previous

two years.Transport Minister Lord Bas-

sam admitted: “Parking ticketsremain the responsibility of theindividual.”

He, however, added: “The go-vernment car and despatch agen-cy pays parking fines incurredoperationally in circumstances

where the overriding security re-quirements necessarily dictatethe choice of parking location.”■

ANI




R

esigning from a lucrative

job to start an independentventure was a resolutely easy decision for 25-year-

old Rajesh Kanagasabai. While pursuing his Architec-

ture degree at SRM College, Ra-jesh always knew that he had toestablish and run his own busi-ness. But accomplishing thatdream had never been easy forhim because he was a first gener-ation entrepreneur of his family.

One-man army“Life had been fun during col-

lege,” he recalled in an interview to Ergo. “But once I decided tostart my own business, the in-vestment required was a big con-cern. I did not want to takemoney from my parents and to

earn money the faster way I joined a BPO. After four years of savings, I was confident enoughto take the next step. I was crit-

icized for resigning on a job highbut I had other plans in life.” While working, his mornings

were dedicated to practising ar-chitecture dna the nights to his

job. After slogging for four years, he

started his company ‘ShrrushtiKartha’ in 2007. The company isinto designing residences, bun-galows and is looking forward to-

wards commercial campuses.One can feel the sense of art

and architectural knowledge afterentering the Shrrushti Kartha of-fice. Keeping the sun as thetheme, the details and the colourscheme makes the office a designin itself. “I wanted to design my office in such a way that oncepeople enter, they feel like they

are in safe hands and automat-ically trust my work. My office

was my first piece of work afterstarting the business,” says

Rajesh Working in a BPO didn’t only give him the moolah but also pro-vided him with fair amount of ex-perience and healthy contacts.“The communication and man-agerial part of business I learntduring my job. Apart from that Igot to know many people who

later helped in my business insome ways.” adds Rajesh.

Matter of awareness

After crossing the initial capi-tal-hurdle, spreading awareness was the next concern. Appointing an architect to design is consi-dered as a rich man’s fair in India,in that case to establish a brandnew company was a challenge.

On several occasions, Rajeshhad to explain people what archi-tecture was all about, after they gave blank looks when he intro-duced himself.

“People don’t realise thatbuilding a house needs a properplanning. It’s just not about thebricks, cements and the look alone; we have to take care of things like safety from earth-quakes, aesthetics, usage of ther-mal resistant material, chemicaltreatments involved and most

importantly the usage of cocombinations to create pospsychiatric effect,” he explai

Against all the odds and

facing several struggles, the cpany under Rajesh has tasuccess. From their first clienSingapore based client’s dence – to the bigger projecthandles every client of his the same passion.

The company had recent rvered its capital investmentshas even managed “reasonaprofits of late.

Rajesh dreams of making Nma Chennai a skyscraper parse. ■

First Innings is our wcolumn celebrating the spi

entrepreneur

If you know any entreprewhom you think can be feature

this column, write to

firstinnings@goer

Rajesh Kanagasabai has his own design consulting firm at the age of 25. And he built it out of the money earned from a BPO job.

VIPASHA SINHA

“Once I decided tostart my own business,the capital was thebiggest concern.I did not want totake money from

my parents.”

Building success



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008VILLAGE06

Group asks Google to stopmap image service

A group of Japanese lawyers and professorsasked on Friday that Google Inc stop provid-ing detailed street-level images of Japanese ci-ties on the Internet, saying they violatedprivacy rights. Google’s Street View offersground-level, 360-degree views of streets in 12Japanese cities and is also offered for some 50cities in the United States and certain areas inEurope.

Reuters

Support, fame, marriage offers -the shoe-thrower has it allDespite being detained by Iraqi forces, the reporter who

threw his shoes at US president George W. Bush now seems tohave more than what he ever wished for before this incident.

With hundreds of groups carrying his name on Facebook, textmessages hailing his action being sent from one cell phone toanother and protests held all over the Arab world supporting him, Montazer al- Zaidi has turned into an instant sensation inthe region. The 29-year-old reporter threw his shoes at Bush on

Sunday during a pressconference Bush held

with Iraqi Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki. As al-Zaidishouted in Arabic: “This isa farewell kiss from theIraqis, dog,” A page for al-Zaidi on the social net-

working website Face-book has more than14,500 fans, while “OneMillion Shoes for George

W. Bush” is just one ex-ample of the groups ded-icated to al-Zaidi - somecalling for his release, oth-ers hailing his courage.

DPA

British-Indian shopkeeper bannedfrom telling jokes!

A British-Indianshopkeeper has beentold he faces prosecu-tion unless he stopsputting jokes on lea-flets advertising hisstore over Christmas.Police officers have

warned Bob Singh, of Port Talbot, South

Wales, that he couldface prosecution forbreaching public or-

der if he did not stop.Singh has been leftbaffled by the policeintervention. “The

world has gone crazy. They wouldn’t tell me which jokes wereoffensive or who had complained about them,” he said. Someof Singh’s jokes include: What is the technical name for threedays of horrendous weather followed by bright sunshine? A

Welsh Bank Holiday! What do you call a sheep with no legs? A Cloud!

ANI

State-run BSNL is losing

about Rs 400 crore a year forfulfilling yet another socialobligation – telegram ser-

vice.The PSU, which delivers the

telegram messages to people,carries crores of messages a yearand since the service is offeredmuch below cost, the lossesmount as the volume goes up,sources in the PSU said.

As per an estimate, the lossescould be around Rs 400 crore ayear from such heavily subsidiseservice, sources said.

When contacted, BSNL Chair-man and Managing Director Kul-deep Goyal told PTI, “Telegramservice of BSNL is a loss making proposition. We would like tohave USO subsidy from the Go-

vernment to cover this service”.

Even in an age of internet, SMSand instant messaging, the im-portance of telegram has not di-minished as the message sent

through it is admissible in court

as proof making it a sound mech-anism for Government offices touse this process.

Sources said even if tariffscould be revised in anytime, it

would not match the huge gapbetween the cost of sending a tel-egram for BSNL and the consum-er tariffs.

Unlisted BSNL, which has seenits marketshare eroding in mobileservices due to heavy competi-tion, also suffers huge losses dueto its legacy operations of giving telecom facilities to rural and re-mote parts of the country.Though it gets most of the USOFund at a later stage through bid-ding, it does have to pay for USOFund like private players first. ■

PTI

A telegram from Count Basie to a promoter is on display at Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on December 2, 2008, presspreview day. AFP PHOTO

BSNL losing Rs 400 cr a year for telegram services

The PSU, whichdelivers thetelegram messagesto people, carriescrores of messagesa year and since theservice is offeredmuch below cost,the losses mount as

the volume goes up

Sneering UK bankers release ‘CreditCrunch Christmas’ song

A group of bankers in Britain have released a song aboutthe economic misery that millions of people have been fac-ing, entitled ‘Credit Crunch Christmas’. A member of thegroup, called the City Boyz, has revealed that he roped in his

young son to sing. According to reports, the song was madeduring a boozy session, and it has echoes of Harry Enfield’sloathsome Loadsa money TV character from the 1980s, withthe line: “We have made loadsa money, in fact we’re swim-ming in it.” It begins with the child singing about how peopleare sad due to the credit crunch.

ANI

New pants smellThe smell of a football changing room hasbeen made into a new aftershave by themakers of a popular sports game.




Ecuadorianartist JohnVargas presentsa body paintmodel duringthe pre-opening

of ColombiaExposhow-NewYork in Cali,department ofValle del Cauca.AFP PHOTO

Aamir Khgives his fan a haiduring thpromotio’Ghajini’ New Delhon SundAFP PHOTO

Indonesian anti-terror army special forces K-9 unit takepart in a counter-terrorism drill at Borobudur five-starhotel in Jakarta on Sunday. AFP PHOTO

Akshay Kumar addresses the participants before a run

with ’Flame of Hope’ during a programme ’SpecialOlympics World Winter Games 2009’ at Red fort inNew Delhi on Sunday. PTI PHOTO

One look is all it takesNEWS AND NEWSMAKERS IN PICTURES

Quote of the day

‘‘If the makers ofthe film worked

hard on the look ofAamir’s character SanjaySinghania, there wasequal effort to keep mylook very ordinary andsimple”

Asin on her character Kalpana inGhajini



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008SPORT08

Jeev eyes Major titleNew Asian number one Jeev Milkha Singh believes hecan now win a Major title that will enable him to “sitat the same table with my father”. The Indian starwrapped up his campaign at the season-ending Volvo

Masters of Asia on Sunday when he was officiallycrowned the 2008 Asian Tour’s Order of Meritchampion, and said his next goal was one of the fourmost prized trophies in world golf.“This has been the best year so far in my career,” hesaid after shooting rounds of 76, 70, 70 and 72 to finishin the middle of the field at Thai Country Club.The 37-year-old made history by becoming the firstplayer to win over a million dollars in a single seasonon the Asian Tour, thanks largely to his triumph over aworld-class field at the Barclays Singapore Open lastmonth. He also finished tied 25th at the US Mastersand posted a career-first top-10 in a Major by finishingequal ninth at the US PGA Championship. “I think I’vegot the game to win a Major. I feel it all depends onthe mindset that week and how you deal with thepressure. A lot of it comes down to the short game.Hopefully before my golfing career is over, I will have aMajor under my belt,” said Singh. The son of Milkha

Singh, who is a decorated Olympic runner for India,Singh said that despite his golfing achievements overthe past three seasons, he still feels he has yet tomeasure up to his father’s iconic status.

AFP

Hayden seeks Wessels’ advice onretirement

Embattled Australian openerMatthew Hayden has sought formerSouth African captain Kepler Wessels’advice on when to end his cricketcareer amid the ever increasingscrutiny of his place in the side. The37-year-old big-hitting left-handerdeveloped a close rapport withWessels during his stint with Chennai

Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. “He playedunder me at the Chennai Super Kings and we spent alot of time together. We had some good chats,” saidWessels, who coached the IPL finalists, was quoted assaying by The Sunday Telegraph.“We talked about his future. When you get to the

stage of his career, you always end up talking aboutwhat’s happening and what you’re thinking becauseI’ve been through it,” he added. Wessels said Hayden,struggling for form this season, was going through anuncertain phase but seemed eager to continue as longas his fitness allowed. “The impression I got was that hewas still pretty keen, he still wanted to play. He wasn’tentirely sure how long he wanted to go, but he felt theend of the Ashes was his goal,” he revealed.

PTI

BCCI only went by the in-struction it received fromthe Indian governmentand there is no question of

sanctioning the cricket board forscrapping the tour of Pakistan,International Cricket Council(ICC) president David Morgan

said on Sunday.Morgan lamented the lack of

international cricket in Pakistanbut cited ICC regulations whichrule out sanction in such cases.“No doubt Pakistan suffers fromlack of international cricket onhome soil. But I understand it

was Indian governments decisionthat the cricket team should nottour Pakistan. As per ICC rules,this is acceptable non-compli-ance and ICC would have nosanction against BCCI,” Morgansaid.

All credit to EnglandHailing England’s decision to

return to India to continue with

the series, Morgan, a former En-gland and Wales Cricket Boardchief said credit should go tothe ECB and Englandcaptain KevinPietersen. “Ithink it was avital deci-sion. (ECBsecurity adviser)Reg Dick-ason is

highly respected and he decidedit was safe and secure for theteam. I am delighted that they re-turned, lot of credit goes to Pie-tersen and ECB. It would havebeen wrong to give terrorism avictory,” he said.

Continuing the series, howev-

er, could not amuse the likes of Imran Khan who accused India of double standard by shunning Pa-kistan on security grounds andcontinuing with the ongoing home series against England de-

spite the recent terror attackMumbai. Morgan, howbegged to differ and felt stions in both the countries cnot be equated.

No double standards“Pakistan is a different coun

Quite clearly, the security expsaid India is safe and secureEngland) to return but that isthe case with Pakistan,” theglishman said. “Security asment was carried out by criboards from West Indies, gland, Australia and New Zeaand all advised it was not ap

priate to tour Pakistan forevent. So that was again anceptable non-complianceexplained.

Morgan, however, pressed hope that canction of India’s Pakistan

would not have any adveffect on the 2011 World C

which they host, along

Bangladesh and Sri La“There has to be some conabout the next World Cup wthese four countries host. Buare confident that among th

we would have a good WCup. We have learns a le

from the last World and I am sure the

continent would hgreat World Cupsaid. ■

ICC rules out sanctions against BCCI for not touring Pakistan

‘BCCI not at fault’

PHOTO: AFP

Dokic earns Australian Open wildcardFormer world No. 4 Jelena Dokic has won a direct wildcard entry into next month’s AustralianOpen by winning a qualifying tournament in Melbourne on Sunday. Dokic, who came from a down to beat Queensland junior Monica Wejnert 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, will now attempt to qualify forlead-up tournaments in Brisbane and Hobart in the New Year. The 25-year-old Dokic, a formerWimbledon semi-finalist, is currently 179th in the world rankings.




‘‘We are concerned about the impact of the crisis on clubs. The economic situationis getting worse by the day, and it is hitting those at the bottom end the most.

Certain leagues are losing their sponsors, then their TV rights. We need to show solidarityin these troubled times.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter

R

ussia’s Nikolai Valuev successfully defended his WBA title here with a

majority decision win over former world champion Evander Holy-field over 12 rounds. Despite a brave dis-play from 46-year-old Holyfield, who wasbidding for his fifth world crown, the

judges scored it 114-114, 116-112, 115-114 in Valuev’s favour on Saturday as thegiant Russian successfully defended thevacated title he won against John Ruiz in

August.“He was a strong opponent and he

made me work very hard for the win,”said Valuev after his victory. But it wasnot an impressive display from Valuev

with both Klitschko brothers Vladimirand Witali, who between them hold four

world titles, eager to fight him to add the WBA title to their collection. Holyfield, who beat the likes of Riddick Bowe, MikeTyson, George Foreman and James “Bus-

ter” Douglas in the 1990s, now has a rec-ord of ten defeats, 42 wins with 27

knock-outs and two draws from his 54fights.

Disappointed“Of course I am disappointed,” said

Holyfield. “I thought I had done enough,now I will just have to go home and think about my future. I am honoured to havehad the opportunity to fight for the title.It was a good fight, his hands aren’t asslow as people think. I was trying to dothe things my corner asked me to do by moving him around, when I did I wasable to catch him off guard. He had apretty good defence by the way he posi-tioned his body, he is a hard target to hit.”He might have been a long way from At-lanta, but Holyfield could have beenfighting in front of a home crowd so loud

were the chants of “Holyfield, Holyfield!”

ringing around Zurich’s Hallenstadionfrom the sellout 12,500 crowd.

Good startHolyfield came out all guns blazing

and landed a strong right-hand to theface in the first round, later catching thechampion flush in the face three times inthe second round. Despite being 11 yearsolder, 43kg lighter and nearly 30cm shor-ter than Valuev, 35, the heaviest and tal-lest champion in history, Holyfield usedhis experience to good effect. He stayedahead of the champ by never allowing himself within Valuev’s reach for long.The deeply religious Holyfield caught

Valuev with two jabs in the fourth andunleashed a fierce combination early inthe fifth. By the sixth round, Holyfield

was showing signs of tiring after his fran-tic start and the champion caught him

with several shots. Despite his limited

statics of throwing punches from themiddle of the ring, Valuev got involved in

heavy exchanges in the seventh and eightrounds, while Holyfield stumbled in theninth on a wet spot on the canvas. It wasthe signal for Valuev to go in for the kill

with a quick flurry of punches, but Holy-field stood his ground and hit back hard,the challenger finished the round stron-ger. A big right early in the tenth roundfrom Holyfield was neutralised on the

judge’s scorecard when Valuev forcedthe challenger into the corner, landingseveral shots. But at the end of the elev-enth there was very little between thefighters and in the twelfth the crowd

were firmly behind the United Statefighter as cries of support again echoedaround the arena. In the end, Holyfield’sdream of becoming the oldest man inhistory to win a world title was gone. ■

AFP

Valuev sees off Holyfield despiteunimpressive display

Russia’s Nikolai Valuev (right) fightsagainst US Evander Holyfield for theWBA heavyweight title at Hallenstadionin Zurich. PHOTO: AFP

No fairytale comeback



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008FLICK10

How difficult was it to change from anurban image to rural?

Honestly, I was not interested in the script when I listened to it the first time. It was directorSasi who pushed me into doing this film. I wassurprised that I was chosen for the charactersince I had an urban image. I wanted to have achange in the roles I played and the character of

Thangarasu was challenging. Moreover, thetradition of adapting stories from novels is

lost and I wanted to encourage that trend.

Tell us about the efforts that wentinto playing Thangarasu in Poo

The role of Thangarasu was a chal-lenging one. I had to change my look from the metro to rural. I had toblend with the nativity of Rajapa-layam. The consoling factor was Sasididn’t want me to learn the local lan-guage as he felt the character was

caught amidst his dreams and love.I had to workout to get the villagemacho guy look.

Poo is a heroine-orientedsubject. How much scope foracting did it leave you?

I had 22 scenes in the film and Par-vathy, the heroine, had 72.When Isigned up for the film I knew I didn’thave a major role to play but I wentahead with it. I wanted to encourage thescript because it had a whole bunch of newcomers. I liked the characterisationof Thangarasu. I had to underplay thatrole. And the role was not clichéd; it wasdifferent and gave me scope as an actorto experiment with my looks and acting.

Which part of the film waschallenging to enact?The climax of the film was challenging. It

was a mid-frame and it’s my eye that does allthe acting. I had to show a variation of emo-

tions in my sight. I had to capture an eye-lock in a shot frame. It was difficult to do many

things at the same time.

Do you think you are underrated as anactor?

In cinema, all that matters is success. Here,success is a different league altogether. You areeither on top or at the bottom. The problemarises only when you are in the middle. The suc-cess of an actor also depends upon the director who moulds him. An actor grows with the direc-

tor. In my case I have worked with Fazil Sir, butthat film did not do any magic to my career. All Ican say is that my timing has not been properand I am still waiting for my turn.

Tell us about your stint in Telugu films.

I lived in Hyderabad for 10 years, am familiar with the language. My fithat were dubbed and released in AnPradesh did well. I also did a guest permance in a Telugu film that was rece

well by the audience. So when I gooffer I wanted to give it a shot. Policelice was my first film. It ran for 100 day

was a cop subject and gave me a start. But my concentration is on Tfilms.

A lot has been said and writtenabout your personal life rather th your professional life. Does it bo you?

Initially, it did but I got used to it.take the decision to be close withmedia, so I blame myself for it. When

enters cinema, it’s natural to draw attion of this kind and it’s best to ignoIn course of time I realised the more ple write about you, the more popularare. These are professional hazards. Ning can be done about it. It’s best to centrate on one’s work rather than paheed to fretting issues.

What are your future projects?I have a lot of films lined up for rel

in 2009. There is a multi-cast film actor Jeeva called Throgi ; Indira VRasikum Seemane, a commercial entainer; Manavar Thinama, a project tam looking forward to; and Nanchil Atham Thisai , an action flick.

What is the best compliment you

have received for Poo?Suhasini madam appreciated memy work in Poo. I was completely taaback when she gave me the title ‘Chpion of the Week’ on her show Hasinsum Padam. Her accolades boostedconfidence.

When is Sathurangam releasing?It’s a sad story. There is a problem

the production side. I helped the proers by assisting them financially bdidn’t work. It’s a thriller and if it come out on the right time it would hbeen a turning point in my film care

Rate yourself as an actor on a scaof 1 to 10.

I would rate myself between 5 anThere is still a lot to learn and improupon. ■

Accolades have started pouring Srikanth’s way after his realistic portrayal of Thangaras

in director Sasi’s ‘Poo’. The young actor is finally heaving a sigh of relief that the

attention has turned from his tumultuous personal life to professional life. He was in

a relaxed mood as V.Lokpria caught up with him at his Harrington Road home

The Rustic Romeo

P

H O T O : S . S .

K U M A R

PETA’s ‘Person of the Year’Oprah Winfrey has been named as the ‘2008 Person othe Year’ by animal-rights group People for the EthicaTreatment of Animals (PETA).According to PETA, the philanthropist uses her fame alistening audience to help the less fortunate, includinanimals.




A fter he stripped down to the barestminimum on the beach in Dostana,John Abraham now has reportedly bared all for a torture scene in his

next film, New York .In the tale of friendship and terrorism

by director Kabir Khan, John has done acomplete nude shot for a prison scene.

John would be the third Bollywood ac-tor in recent times to drop all his inhib-itions. Earlier, Kunal Kapoor in Rang De Basanti and Ranbir Kapoor in Saawariya

did bare-back scenes that were deleted when the films opened.

But John’s nude scene is set to re-main in New York , which is slated fora January release.

Said a source close to the project:“It’s a prison sequence in the US where John, suspected to be a ter-rorist, is denuded of all dignity.This is how they break your spiritin an American prison when they

want you to confess to being a ter-rorist. They make you eat, sleep,urinate and defecate in the sameroom. Then they begin to strip yourdignity down ... until you are left inthe cold, dingy cell completely naked. John had to enact thissequence.”

When briefed about the sequence,John apparently didn’t hesitate for asecond.

“He immediately agreed to do thescene and was quite traumatised at

the end of it,” the source added. While John refused to comment on

the scene, director Kabir Khan smiledand said: “You’ll just have to see the

film to know the nature of the scene.”■

IANS

He immediately agreedto do the scene andwas quite traumatisedat the end of it

Johnbares all in New York

Kandasamy for May releaseIf Internet buzz is to be believed, the much-awaitedVikram-starrer Kandasamy would hit the screens onMay 1, 2009, incidentally the birthday of actor Ajith.Directed by Susi Ganesan and produced by KalaipuliS. Thanu, Kandasamy is a big-budget movie. Said tobe shot extensively in various countries across the

globe, the movie features Shriya Saran as the femalelead. Vikram has pinned all his hopes on this movieas his last release Bheema could only manage alukewarm response at the box-office.

Superstar’s favouriteDuring a recent function in Chennai, actorRajinikanth disclosed who his all-time favouriteheroine is – actress Saroja Devi. Ruing that hemissed acting with the actress, Superstar said he didnot enter filmdom during her heydays to play herhero. Rajinikanth also jocularly remarked that thedoyens of Tamil cinema – M.G. Ramachandran andSivaji Ganesan – would have posed stiff competitionto him if he was ever considered for a role withSaroja Devi.

U2’s new album in MarchU2 will be releasing their new album , No LineOn The Horizon, in early March 2009, it hasbeen announced. It would be the group’s 12thstudio album, and also their first since 2004’sHow To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Cine City



ERGO Monday, December 22, 200812

Friday’s Query:

What would be your firstreaction if you see yourpartner with somebody else and why?■ I’ll be really happy to see my partnergoing wit someone else, because theother person will become beggar verysoon

Arun.N,Sutherland

■ I’ll feel really lucky and thank god forthis. I’ll ask same boon for every girl friendI have.

Uday,Sutherland

■ I will ask about that matter calmly whois this, why you come with him to hotelsand then I will shout at her.

Arun,Sify

■ Give her a big hug! Only she canunderstand my feelings.

Arun Prasad,

Sutherland

■ I won’t go in front of them because I’mdam sure, that guy should be her father oruncle.

Arun.M,Sutherland

■ Oh god I’ll be happy as I can try forbetter option.

Arun CGSL,

Srinath Perot Systems,Sudhan, Wipro

■ I’ll be angry with her towards extremelevel. But later I’ll fall in her feet becausewhatever it might be she is mine no.

Satish,Ramco Systems

■

I will scold him and tell "Unaku veranalla allae kidaikaliya."Ramachandran M CGSL,

Senthilkumar, Perot Systems

■ I will wait outside with broom stickwhen he/she return to home.

Ramya, John,

Perot Systems

■ Is same as what his’ is, because I wouldbe wit someone else too

Annapoorani M, TCS

■ I’ll be cool. I won’t ask anything. And Iwon’t doubt.

Geetha, Seethalaxmi, Saravanan, Saranya,

S.Sriram Perot Systems,

Asath Kani M, TCS, Magesh, HCL

■ I’ll be ready 2 choose that guys partner

Feby Jose Optimus

■ I’ll feel bad. But if she is happy andthinks that she is right then I’ll let her behappy.

Subhransu, Hexaware

■ I’ll take 2 girls in front of her and makeher angry.

Javid,

Cognizant

■ Veetuku Vantha Piragu Veedu KattiAdipen

Menaka,Tata Consultancy Services

■ Of course, I would feel possessive but Iwon’t show it out in front of that girl.Once my hubby gets back home, I wouldinquire him of who she is.

Ridhuna,

Wipro

■ I will thank my partner’s new partner.Build a temple for him and pray.

Natarajan,RR Donnelley

■When he comes alone I’ll dip him in hot

and sour soup and toast in toaster Mittu,

Wipro Technologies

■ I would go and thank the person withwhom my partner was with.

Karthikeyan.R, Infosys

■ I will think that god finally listened mywords.

Krishna, HCL,Senthilkumar,

Perot Systems

■ I will go and join with them just to givethem company.

Sridhar,Tata Consultancy Services

■

I’m happy that he found a best andgood one than me Archana,

Wipro Technologies

Today’s Query:

Given a chance tochange your profession,which other careerwould you choose? Why?

By AnanthasubramanianSify Technologies Limited.

You can nominate Ergo Mobile Query too. Just

send us an email to [email protected] withSubject Line: "Mobile Query Suggestion".

Haria from Tata Consultancy Services has nominated TCSFinance Team as Partners in Crime.

Sandeep Jan from Tata Consultancy Services has nominatedhis friends as Partners in Crime. This photo was taken atHotel Residency Towers.

Maris Prabhakaran from Aspire Systems has nominated hisfriends as Partners in Crime. This photo was taken at aResort.




Postman post koduppar Watchman watch koduppara.?Goal keeper goal post kku munnadi nippar. Wicket keeper wicket kku mun-

nadi nikka mudiyuma...?koli kku paravai kaichal varum. paravai kku koli kaichal varuma...?Sivanandam,

Wipro.Question : If a cow gets affected in a earthquake,what will it give instead of

milk ? Answer : MILK SHAKE ;-) Jubair,

Cognizant

Fan-ukkum rekkai irukku. Paravai-kkum rekkai irukku.Fan-ala parakka mudiyaathu. Paravai-ala sutha mudiyaathu. Aaanaa...Fan-a amukina suthum. Paravai-a amukina kathum... :))

Rajee Anand,

Coastal Training Technologies Person1: oru erumba "cut" panna enna Aagum...Person2: "cuterumbu" aayidum....MAN 1: "Ponnuku enna vaiasu aavarudhu " ?MAN 2:"Aadi vandha... 16 mudiyum "MAN 1:"Appo Aaadama vandha ???? "

Mrs.Manonmani Kesav,

HCL

■ Dear Saravanan,Belated Birthday Wishes toyou...Enjoy your birthday todayand don’t worry too much aboutwork!Don’t forget to treat us all...

With love,

Shanny, Deepa, Swami,Pradeep, Yamini,

Vinodini and

FTM DEV TeamWipro Technologies

■ Dear Sridhar,

Wishing you another wonderfulyear of happiness and joy.Hope your special day,brings youall that your heart desires!Here’s wishing You a day full ofpleasant surprises!Happy Birthday & many more tocome.

With Warm Wishes,Indra.S

HCL Technologies Ltd,

Navalur

■ Hi Vasumathi and Vinod,We wish you both a very HappyBirthday.

Best wishes from,

Base Aviation Team,Ramco Systems

■ Arun,Wish you a Very Happy Brithday.Its a special time to celebrate andwe hope all your birthday dreamscomestrue. Have a colourful day.

Wishes from,

Padma, Meera and Francis

Tata Consultancy Service

■ Hi Yaso(Kutti Pisasu),Wishing u many many more happyreturns of the day...May all yourdreams come true this year...Happy Birthday Kutti Sathan...

Wishes from,

Angels and beloved friends,

HCL-CODC

■ Mokkai queen R.A. SuganthiShree ku oru mokkai dedication:Birthday kondadaradhu nammaSuganthicake la vaipaanga chinnamelugupathiAdha oodhum podhu pakkanumvaaya pothiillana naama aagiduvom adhogathi!ippadiku un mokkai al badhikapatta,

Un Anbu Thozhigal!

Wipro

■ Hi Raja (Dharani Raja),May this be a day when dreamsare married to reality and hopesfor good times are born.

Your are wished everything yourheart desires the Most.Two tips on your birthday:1) Forget the past, you can’tchange it.2) Forget the present, We didn’tget you one.

FromShanthi, Jagadees

Kavitha, Senth

Balaji, & AnushSify Technologies Limite

■ Dear Lakshmi

Happy Birthday Lakshmi...LDS, The Tallest Girl In OurTeam!!"

ETRM Integration Tea

Chemoil-OD

Calso

■ Dear Sandhiya (Malayala kutti)We wish you happy Birth day Mathis birthday brings you lots ofCourage, successes and happinessWe wish you once again happyBirthday

Regard

Manimozhikarthik,udhabalan, Rajeswa

Sunitha, Nagaraja

Sify TechnologieParameshwari, Mari

SaravanaTataCconsultamncy Service

Muskan, R.B

■ Dear Lokesh (ust global),Many More Happy Returns Of ThDay... Wishing U All Happiness InLifeHave A "Wonder-Filled" Day

Youeverlasting frien

Koushy Priy

Wip

■ Dear Raja Vignesh(Global Analytics),Many More happy returns of theday. May god shower you withhappiness and success. Have a

blast Happy Birthday. Hearty Wishe

VenkaTata Consultancy Servic

■ Dear Arunkumar Babu,Your Birthday is a special day..One that’s just for youA time for doing everythingYou specially like to do..And on this day that belongs toyou,The wish this greeting bringsIs for the joy you so deserveAnd all life’s nicest things!~ Happy Birthday ~

Happy Birthday to yo

My dear FrienKumaran System

Balaguru from HCL Technologies Ltdhas been nominated as Office Angel by his colleague Jothiraj.

He is the man who can impress any one

with his peculiar character. He never hurts anybody but if it happens, he never feels

shy to ask sorry. He likes to help others

and is not biased towards anyone. For me he is an example for how a professional as

well as human being should be.

Vasanthi Raja of CitigroupGlobal Services Ltd (CGSL)doodled this.



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008TRAFFIC JAM14

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

TEAMEditor: Karthik [email protected]

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sudoku

KAKURO

Monkey businessThree angry monkeys beat their trasenseless with his own stick after hehad cruelly punished one of them.

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]

S. Thiyagarajanof AdventNetInc. clicked thispicture at hishome during the recentKaarthigaifestival.Hobbies:Reading andphotography




B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUE’S

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

On the professional front, you will get good outif you try your hand at software developing.Ganesha feels that there may be a lot of logicaldiscussions you may get into, however they mayyield good results but will give you a good learn

Your communication skills will do wonders for yotoday. Not only will your work get done quickly, you will also be successful in meetings at work. may feel like relaxing with your beloved over aquiet dinner table. Love life will be blissful.

Your energy will be so high today that you will

seen brimming with joy. On the personal front, ybeloved will share the same intense feelings. Onprofessional front, Ganesha suggests that youshould work more on R and D due to high ener

Don’t waste time on insignificant things if you anot comfortable. However, the good thing is thatyour beloved will be supportive during your mooswings. Frequent mood fluctuations may cause hto your health. Maintain cool temper.

You may encounter some matters which may neget solved. Ganesha feels you just need to bepersistent. At office, you might try to show off ynegotiation skills. These tactics may also follow to your personal life.

Ganesha feels that today you will be concentrationly on work and nothing else. Matters related

career and progress will be of prime importancePay proper attention to love life as well or you mhave to face conflicts.

This is a good day to ask for a salary rise. If youare satisfied with your salary, you will feel a strosense of job security and may get a quick level sin the organisation. You may feel like taking youbeloved out for dinner.

Sadly, the day is not in favour for you. You mayface unnecessary delays for particular results orprojects. However, things are going great on theromantic front. Ganesha feels lovers might indulgin activities that make your bonding stronger.

Ganesha foresees a very busy day at work todayHowever, you may feel lazy to take up too muchwork. On the personal front, you will remain

submissive and flexible. The best thing is that yobeloved will adore you for that.

You will face a cut-throat competition at worktoday. Keep a keen watch on things happeningaround you. Ganesha further states that being awill also help you in your personal relations as tis a possibility for conflicts and differences.

You may experience extreme and frequent moodswings today. If you have to indulge in multi-tasking, try to distribute it, if possible. Ganeshaassures that this tough day will end on a positivnote. You will have a gala time with your belove

In spite of domestic affairs bothering you, you mnot let your work suffer due to this. In officialmeetings, you might have to agree to the viewpoints of other people. On the personal front, yomay arrange a small outing.

Word’s worth"Varve" (varv) a pair of thin layers of clay and silt of contrasting color andtexture that represent the deposit of a single year (summer and winter) ina lake at some time in the past, usually in a lake formed by a retreatingice sheet. The word comes from a Swedish word meaning ’layer.’

Bird rescueAnimal welfare officials in Berlinhave rescued 1,500 parakeetbirds from a tiny two roomapartment.



ERGO Monday, December 22, 2008!16

ergo december 22

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