A BYTE OF LIFE Tuesday, June 16, 2009

02
MADE IN CHENNAI
Ambika Appalam Depot

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 111

SOCIAL ENGINEER
21-year-old Lalitha Ramesh runs Maatrutva, an NGO that not only collects funds for the
needy but also ensures that every penny is well spent. Anusha Parthasarathy reports.

» PAGE 03
02 NAMMA CHENNAI
All the way from Thrissur
This appalam company
started in a humble way
in the 1920s, has today
branched out to over
half-a-dozen outlets
in namma Chennai
Taking business forward: (From left)
Velayudham, Vijayaraghavan and
Sukumar. PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
DEEPA VENKATRAMAN
T
heir appalams have always
been a part of the traditional
meal in most households and
their paruppu and sambar
powders have become a hit over the
years. Ambika Appalam Depot is
one brand that has carved a niche in
namma Chennai, and in two dec-
ades they will complete diamond
jubilee.
Dawn of a business
It all started in a humble way in
the early 1920s. K.A.Velayudham’s
father came to Madras from Thris-
sur to earn his livelihood, where he
started by making papadams at his
residence.
“My grandfather passed away in
early 40s and hence my father Ve-
layudham took over the business at
the age of 17,” says K.V. Sukumar,
the third generation who runs the
business along with his brother Vi-
jayaraghavan.
“In Chennai, appalam was pop-
ular amongst the masses and my fa-
ther wanted his business to grow.
He soon rented a 50 sq ft shop in
Madavan Nair Street and started
selling about 10 to 15 bundles of ap-
palams daily.”
In 1945, Velayudham moved to
North Mada Street in Mylapore and
named the shop after Goddess Am-
bika. In two years time, Ambika Ap-
palam Depot’s second outlet
opened on Usman Road.
“In mid-1960s, the goddess trade-
mark was registered and my father
got a proprietorship. This is when
he started to export to various cities
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– Bombay, Delhi, Pondicherry, Jam-
shedpur, Trichy, Madurai and
Coimbatore. On a mutual under-
standing, for easy administration
and sharing of profits, I took care of
the business in the southern belt
and my brother was in charge of the
exports to various cities,” says Su-
kumar. What started of with just
four people increased to 300, com-
prising all relatives assisting them.
Ups and downs
However, the unit did face some
challenges. “There was a labour
strike in the early 70s and the unit
was closed down for about two
years. While some labourers got
scattered into other trades, a few
started making appalams from their
homes. We restarted by buying ap-
palams from them and soon got our
own manufacturing unit at Choolai-
Time Line
1920 Velayudham’s father
comes to Chennai to start
papadam business
1940 1st shop opens on
Madhavan Narayana Street,
Mylapore
1945 2nd shop at North
Mada, Mylapore
1966 Velayudham gets
proprietorship and the brand
is registered
1975 First ad on the radio
and many stores opened in
the following years
1996 Website is created
ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009
medu. My mother was very good at
making various cooking powders,
snacks, vadams and we began man-
ufacturing them too,” says Vijaya-
raghavan.
Marketing
Their first medium of advertising
was the radio in 1975. With the
business getting better, shops
opened under the brand of Ambika
Appalam Depot in Adyar, T. Nagar,
Nanganallur, Alwarthirunagar and
Triplicane, with the latest being on
C.P. Ramaswamy Road.
With requests coming from cus-
tomers the depot also started stock-
ing provisions and groceries from
the late80s.
With their thinking caps con-
stantly on, they launched an instant
semia payasam and health drink
powder having 27 ingredients and
various flavours of appalams: jeera,
jackfruit, tapioca, pepper and garlic.
“We plan to rename our outlets to
Ambika Super Store in a couple of
months as ours is now a one-stop-
store selling all that one needs to
run a kitchen,” adds Sukumar.
What makes their appalams dif-
ferent is the taste and freshness.
“We use grade-A urud daal and
avoid preservatives to retain the
original taste. Maximum produc-
tion happens during the summers
and we stock our appalams for the
entire year,” says Vijayaraghavan.
They plan to start e-business in
their website that was created in
1996. ■
Made in Chennai is a column that
showcases the evolution of home-
grown busines
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A social engineer
21-year-old Lalitha
Ramesh began
Maatrutva as an
NGO that would
not just donate
money to the
deserving but also
see to it that every
penny counts
ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY
anushaparthasarathy@hotmail.com
M
aatrutva’s modus operandi
is unlike your usual NGO.
Though the intent is the
same – providing basic
amenities and uplifting the poor –
the means used in attaining these
goals are on a different tangent. Per-
haps this is because it is being run by
a 21-year-old girl.
Lalitha Ramesh, an Engineering
graduate, began Maatrutva knowing
well that donating funds to deserv-
ing orphanages wouldn’t really
make a difference because there
were no accounts on how the funds
“We were
shocked to find
out that some
of them didn’t
even have
toothbrushes
and had to
share with
others over a
period of many
years. And we
came to realise
how little of
the funds that
were given
were actually
used to help
the kids”
were used. So, she decided to pool in
a group of friends to ascertain exact-
ly what the needs of orphans are.
Though Maatrutva – sanskrit for
‘motherhood’ – officially came into
being February this year, it was after
three months of groundwork and re-
search to make sure the work they
did would make a difference in the
lives of a few. Gathering a few volun-
teers, who later became members of
the team, Lalitha set out to different
orphanages and, with or without the
consent of official authorities there,
interacted with the children about
the facilities and made a list of things
that weren’t provided to them.
“When we approached ashrams to
interact with the children some let
us but most didn’t. They were rude
and didn’t want us to interact with-
out supervision. But we managed to
work our way through them with a
few white lies. The kids were pretty
expressive about their problems and
quite ready to tell us what they need-
ed. We were shocked to find out that
some of them didn’t even have
toothbrushes and had to share with
others over a period of many years.
And we came to realise how little of
the funds that were given were ac-
tually used to help the kids,” Lalitha
explains.
After they drew up a list, they be-
gan to gather volunteers, doctors,
professors and donors to help them
out with their tasks. And they make
03
sure no funds reach the orphanages
directly and provide for the kids in
the form of textbooks, clothes and
other kind. And they don’t stop
there. Periodic visits are made to
these orphanages to make sure the
materials reach the target people.
Maatrutva will also be teaming
with Chennai-based music band Ra-
diance, who will be releasing their
second music album next month.
“Our band was thinking of our
second venture when Maatrutva ap-
proached us for a tie-up. We knew
the cause was genuine and our work
wouldn’t go vain and hence accept-
ed the deal. All proceeds from our
upcoming album, Pudhu Yugam,
will go directly into Maatrutva’s
funds. This way we know we are do-
ing our bit for society,” Jayanth, a
member of Radiance, says. Accord-
ing to Lalitha, Maatrutva would be
using the proceeds to fund educa-
tion of underprivileged children and
set up a library for the poor.
Maatrutva has carved a niche for
itself in the four months that it’s
been around. Though the team did
have difficulty convincing people to
donate in the beginning, word of
their work has spread around and
brought more volunteers, willing to
help.
“We have many plans but need
some support from whoever can of-
fer it, to make them real,” Lalitha
insists.
To contact Maatrutva mail them at
contactmaatrutva@gmail.com or
contact Lalitha at 9952969058. ■
04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

‘‘
HP’s commitment has really been there, certainly
through the ‘90s and the fact that society is really
focusing on green right now is great. We’re in an industry that
can truly demonstrate environmental leadership
Bonnie Nixon, HP’s director of sustainability

Snippets sourced from

T3 magazine of
Infomedia18 Group

ACER IN,
PVR OUT
Life is busy,
Acer makes it
easy. Looks like
engineers at
Acer take this
ad-line a little
too seriously. Take for
instance, the H series
LCD monitors. Powered
by Acer standard features
The details
along with eColor Management,
1 LIGHT TECH
adaptive contrast management and
It uses Luminus’ PhlatLight LED tech
SensorTouch , these 23-inchers claim to bring
that promises 30,000 hours of lamp life
true multiplex style movie-watching experience
2 CONTROLS
right into your living room. Aiding this are the
The touch sensitive controls light up for
HDMI and DVI-D ports that ensures hassle-free
easy access
connectivity to pure-digital devices, and a rapid
3 MULTIMEDIA
response time of up to 2ms (G-to-G), which
There’s a built-in speaker for playing
means high-quality moving pictures for 3D
DivX movies directly from an USB drive
games and videos. Multiplex owners,
watch out!
TBC, WWW.ACER.CO.IN

TUX-E-TOES
That’s right, Puma’s latest Black Label
collection claims to dress your feet the same
way as Armani does your torso, but with a
twist. The new collection reinvents classic
Puma sneakers and tweaks them with a sleek,
modern design to amp up the luxury and
sports factor. So now put
your best foot
forward every time.
RS 8,999 ONWARDS,
LG’s HS102G is a remarkable combination of cutting-edge technology, WWW.PUMA.COM
versatility and portability. What’s different here though is the use of
solid state LEDs as a light source with an estimated life of 30,000
hours. Unbelievable!
Another advantage is its zero warm up and cool down time meaning
instant switching on and off. Optimised for 800x600 resolution at
4:3 aspect ratio, it delivers a crisp 160 ANSI lumen, 62inch diagonal
image at 1.6 meters. But its ability to project DivX video, play MP3
fi les on a built-in speaker and show JPEG images directly off the USB
port make it truly a class apart.
Tipping the scale at 780g, it’s light and small enough to fi t in your
palm. Sweetly priced, this ultra-mobile projector surely tops our wish
list.
RS 59,990, IN.LGE.COM
 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
05
Adobe’s new online service
Adobe has launched an online service called Acrobat.com Presentations that allows for shared
editing of presentations. The tool is available for free at http://www.labs.adobe.com/technologies/
presentations, the company reports. The product is currently a so-called public beta version, which
is a bit like a dress rehearsal for the final product.

Mac users
warned of porn
malware attacks
S
ecurity experts than for Windows, so
have discovered Anti-virus firm Mac users sometimes feel
two new virus at- invincible,” the BBC
tacks targeting Mac Sophos revealed that quoted him as saying.
users who surf porn the OSX/Jahlav-C “Apple has marketed
sites. their system on the line
OSX/Tored-A - an up- runs a script that of ‘you won’t suffer spy-
dated version of the Mac “uses http to ware like you would on
OS Tored worm - and a communicate with a Windows’ and that has
Trojan called OSX/Jah- reinforced people’s atti-
lav-C have been found remote website and tudes.
on popular pornograph- download code “And one thing we do
ic websites. know is that you are less
Users surfing these supplied by the likely to be running anti-
sites are asked to down- attacker” virus software on a Mac
load a “missing Video than on a PC,” he added.
ActiveX Object” but are Christopher Phin, dep-
sent a virus instead. uty editor of Mac Format magazine said
Until now Mac users didn’t need the that Mac users needed to be more aware
anti-virus software. of potential threats.
Graham Cluley, a security expert with “The Apple community is guilty of
anti-virus firm Sophos, that the small peddling the line that they are re-
number of Mac viruses had made some moved from security issues,” he
users complacent. said. ■
“There is a lot less malware on Mac ANI

Twitter helps
Dell rake in sales
S T
ocial media company
Twitter is struggling to
craft a profitable busi-
ness model, but the
Web-based service has
helped Dell Inc chalk up mil-
lions of dollars in sales.
Dell said it has raked in
more than $3 million from
Twitter followers who clicked
through its posts to its web-
sites to make purchases. The
company, which has posted
to Twitter about two years
and tracks the sales with pro-
prietary software, made more
than $1 million in the past 6
months.
“We’re going to watch it
over time to make sure it’s
tracking at the right level,”
said Lionel Menchaca, Dell’s
chief blogger. “It is trending
upward and that’s what we’re
going to be looking at
overall.”
Three million in sales over
two years is a pittance for
Dell, ranked by IDC as the
world’s second-largest PC
maker in the first quarter of
2009. Dell posted $12.3 billion
of revenue in the first quarter
of this year, alone.
But the PC maker has be-
come one of the first public
examples of how companies
might profit from Twitter.
Twitter does not charge
companies for such benefits,
but does not rule out doing so
in the future.
“For now, monetization of
this type of activity remains
unknown,” Twitter spokes-
woman Jenna Sampson said
in a statement. “However, as
the network grows, the com-
pany will be committing more
resources toward profitabili-
ty.” ■
Reuters
Windows 7 due on October 22
he new Windows 7 operat-
ing system (OS) will be
available starting on Octo-
ber 22, Microsoft says.
Users who buy Microsoft’s
current OS, Windows Vista, in
the Home Premium, Business,
or Ultimate versions will soon be
able to take part in an upgrade
program with “participating
dealers and PC makers.” tended to provide longer battery ternet. This includes Windows
That will provide purchasers life for mobile usage. Mail, calendar, and contact
with a no-cost switch to Win- The HomeGroup function will management as well as Win-
dows 7 as soon as it is available. make it quicker and easier to dows Photo Gallery and Movie
Depending on the provider, add several computers onto a Maker. Other changes: the
some processing charges may home network. The networking icons on the task bar are bigger,
apply, Microsoft indicates. of audio and video devices to with a new pop-up bar to help
Windows 7, which was recent- play back data stored on com- users access their most heavily
ly released in a test version, of- puters will also be easier than used programs more quickly.
fers expanded protection before. Some functions previ- There’s also the new Aero Shake
against data theft and improved ously included within the oper- function: users can make a win-
energy management in compar- ating system itself will be dow bigger or smaller by shak-
ison with its predecessor. The available in Windows 7 as “cloud ing the mouse briefly. ■
latter function in particular is in- computing,” that is, on the In- DPA
06 VILLAGE ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Saliva for sale

A Chinese auction website has banned
a trader from selling bottles of saliva
from “pretty” teenage girls.

Perry blown away by May’s presence Revealed: The

Singer Katy Perry has revealed that she was blown away when Queen
guitarist Brian May came to watch her play at London’s O2 origins of swine flu
Shepherd’s Bush Empire. A new research has revealed the
Perry, 24, was stunned when she saw May, and just could not hide origins of swine flu after
her adoration for him. scientists discovered that the
“Me and Mr. May!!!” Contactmusic quoted her as writing on her transmission of the H1N1
blog next to a picture she had posted of herself and the legendary influenza A virus to humans
rocker. occurred several months before
“He was so sweet and my stalker side came out for sure... we had a recognition of the existing
photo session... and I wanted to share a picture with you of me and outbreak.
one of the men responsible for my love of music (sic),” she wrote. In the new research, an
ANI international team, led by
Oxford University, used
evolutionary analysis to estimate the timescale of the
origins as well as the early development of the swine flu
Rat Island rat-free after 229 years pandemic.
Alaska’s Rat Island is finally rat-free, 229 years after a According to the scientists, the virus was actually derived
Japanese shipwreck spilled rampaging rodents onto the from several viruses circulating in swine, and that the
remote Aleutian island, decimating the local bird initial transmission to humans occurred several months
population. before recognition of the outbreak.
After dropping poison onto the island from helicopter- Lead scientist Dr Oliver Pybus said: “Using computational
hoisted buckets for a week and a half last autumn, there methods, developed over the last ten years at Oxford, we
are no signs of living rats and some birds have returned, were able to reconstruct the origins and timescale of this
according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. new pandemic.”
Rats have ruled the island since 1780, when they jumped “Our results show this strain has been circulating among
off a sinking Japanese ship and terrorized all but the pigs, possibly among multiple continents, for many years
largest birds on the prior to its transmission to humans.”
island. The incident PTI
introduced the non-
native Norway rat - also
known as the brown rat
- to Alaska. Arnie may become Austria’s next President
The $2.5 million Rat Arnold Schwarzenegger has a back up plan after his term as
Island eradication Governor of California ends next year- he has his eyes on presidency
project, a joint effort of Austria, his home country.
between the US federal The 61-year-old has both US and Austrian citizenship.
government, the Nature The ex-body builder has in fact told his home country, “I’ll be
Conservancy and Island back...as President.”
Conservation, is one of Nikolaus Berlakovich of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) confirmed:
the world’s most “Yes, we are backing a Schwarzenegger candidacy.”
ambitious attempts to “He is an excellent and extremely successful politician,” The Daily Star
remove destructive alien quoted him, as adding.
species from an island. ANI
Reuters

Beckham wants a daughter

S
occer star David Beckham wants
to have another baby with wife
Victoria as he wishes his three
sons to have a sister.
Beckham and his fashionista wife
Victoria Beckham have three young
sons, Brooklyn, 10, Romeo, six and
Cruz, four, and the football star now
wants a baby girl, Contactmusic
reported.
“I really want more kids and I hope it
happens soon. I want a little girl. That
would be amazing,” Beckham said.
Similar sentiments were expressed
by former Spice Girl Victoria who said,
“If it happens, I’d love it. You can’t
choose what you have but after three
boys I would love a girl.”
Meanwhile, Beckham also heaped
praises on Victoria for her “amazing”
fashion sense.
“My wife looks just amazing. She al-
ways does. Whenever she tries so-
mething new she manages to pull it
off,” Beckham said. ■
PTI
 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Websites of the day
A list of wacky U.S. laws:
http://www.crazylaws.com/
Make your own animated film:
http://www.digitalfilms.com/
Guns expel snakes
from police station
P
ower hoses and AK-47 as-
sault rifles have succeed-
ed where Sierra Leone’s
snake-charmers failed by
removing 400 cobras and vipers
that overran a police station.
Authorities in the southern
district of Bo called in police,
army and fire fighters after the
snakes scared away police offi-
cers and residents reporting
crimes.
“We have forced water into
the building and some of the
Woman arrested over fake sick notes
A woman has been arrested for forgery after writing fake
doctor’s notes for four school children in South Carolina.
snakes trying to escape were
shot by our men carrying
AK-47s,” said Brima Kontu,
head of the police station in
Gerihun.
About 250 of the estimated
400 snakes who had made the
station their home have been
killed.
“Hopefully the combined
force will be able to free the
house from the snakes by next
Tuesday,” Kontu said. ■
Reuters
Bipasha
REAL REASON FOR
GLOBAL WARMING
B
ipasha Basu should be India’s environ-
ment minister because she was “the real
reason for global warming all over the
world.”
This was the choice of International Indi-
an Film Academy (IIFA) Awards hosts Bo-
man Irani and Riteish Deshmukh who
unveiled their dream cabinet before a
packed auditorium at the Chinese resort
here as the annual event marked its 10th
anniversary.
Director Ashutosh Gowariker should
be agriculture minister for what he had
done for the rural community with his hit
film Lagaan; Raakesh Roshan, the coal min-
ister because his successful film Koyla had
shown that he knows everything there is to
know about the black product; and Katrina
Kaif should be the youth affairs minister be-
cause every youth wanted to talk to her, the
pair added.
Aamir Khan should be home minister be-
cause all he did for eleven months in every
Calm before the storm
쒀 Lightning streaks the sky and reflects off the buildings of Bangkok. The ‘wet
season’ monsoon rains in Thailand start in late May or early June and continue
until October. AFP PHOTO/NICOLAS ASFOURI
07
year was sit at home and then just release a
single film in the last month.
Akshay Kumar, shown on screen with his
face on a Rs1, 000 note, should be the finance
minister because with the money he makes he
could finance almost the entire population.
Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto would
do well in the post of minister for overseas and
foreign affairs because she knew exactly how to
start an affair abroad, Irani jested.
Always on the defensive, Salman Khan would
make the ideal defence minister and Malika
Sherawat could occupy the new position of
minister for the upliftment of the downtrod-
den.
Others in the Irani/Deshmukh cabinet would
be Sunny Deol as law and transport minister;
Yash and Aditya Chopra of ’Punjab Power’
fame for their film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi as joint
power ministers; and Viveik Oberoi as telecom-
munications minister because he knew how to
make calls quickly when necessary. ■
IANS
08 SPORT ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ferguson eying Torres

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to use his 80 million pound bonus from Cristiano
Ronaldo’s shift to Real Madrid to rope in Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. Liverpool, who had paid
20m pounds to bring Torres from Atletico Madrid, would like to keep him with the club, but a record
transfer offer may give the Anfield boardroom serious food for thought, the Sunday Express reports.

Dhon
Buchanan, Warne in war
of words
John Buchanan defended himself against Shane Warne’s allegation that the high-profile
coach “overcomplicate things” with his methods, saying the legendary spinner felt so
because he was naturally gifted and for him
everything was straightforward.
“Because of his natural gifts, for him everything was

apolo
straightforward and he would accuse me of
complicating things. However, Shane underestimated
how easily things came to him. After all, when you
have such natural talent, why would you want to
’over complicate things?” Buchanan said.
“What he was doing by dismissing me was belittling
the role of coach,” he was quoted as saying by the
Herald Sun.
Warne had taken a dig at Buchanan for accepting

to fan
the role of a consultant with the England team
ahead of the Ashes, saying the coach’s habit of “over
complicating things” would only benefit Australia
against their traditional rivals, England.
PTI

Phelps beaten twice

in Santa Clara
I
ndian captain M.S. Dhoni
apologised to cricket fans af-
Two races, two defeats - it definitely was not a normal day at the pool for Michael
ter crashing out of the ICC
Phelps.
Twenty20 championship but
The Olympic hero lost to Canada’s Brent Hayden in the 100-meter freestyle and to fellow
rejected suggestions that ex-
American Ryan Lochte in the 100m backstroke at the Santa Clara Invitational.
haustion from playing too many
Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at
games caused the failure of his
the Beijing Games, now has lost four of eight
top batsmen.
races since those Olympics last summer.
“We are sorry for what hap-
“Anyone is beatable, it’s just a matter of time
pened but we can say we gave
and where,” Lochte said. Phelps has won two
our best,” Dhoni told a news
races and lost two others at each of the two
conference after losing to En-
meets in which he has competed since
gland by three wickets before
returning from a three-month suspension last
thousands of Indian supporters
month, a penalty imposed by USA Swimming
at Lord’s cricket ground in Lon-
after he was photographed with a marijuana
don.
pipe.
“We had experienced guys
Phelps, who is venturing into new events as he
who can handle the pressure. It
looks toward the London Olympics, said he was
was a day when nothing much
pleased with his times in both races, despite
worked for us.”
the defeats.
“India is an emotional coun-
AFP
try,” Dhoni said, adding: “We
are more disappointed than
them (Indian fans).”
But Dhoni denied repeated
Arthur: We wanted to suggestions at the press confe-
rence that Indian players were
knock out India exhausted from playing too
many matches in the Indian Pre-
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur is disappointed that India has been knocked out of the mier League (IPL).
Twenty20 World Cup as he wanted his side to do what England did and extract revenge “You can’t blame it on tired-
from Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men for sending the ness. It’s not an excuse,” the Indi-
Proteas packing in the 2007 edition. an skipper said, adding playing
South Africa have already made it to the semi-finals more matches was better for
while the other spot from Group E will be decided players.
by the match between England and the West Indies.
“It still does hurt us, to go out in our own country.
India beat us and played better than we did. RP
India out of “It is a demanding format be-
cause you play at different ven-
ues. It’s not like you play three or
Singh bowled fantastically well. It’s funny how it’s
coming back on us against India again,” Arthur said.
World T20 four games at the same point,”
he said.
“Well, now the match has only academic value but
given South Africa’s resolve, and Dhoni’s
determination to secure even a consolation win for
after heart- “If you see me and say he’s not
giving his hundred percent then
hold me responsible. Perfor-
his team and countrymen, tomorrow’s (Tuesday)
game would be anything but an aimless match by breaking mance is a different matter.”
“We didn’t really perform well
the two sides.” as a team.”
PTI defeat Dhoni, however, admitted
 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
‘‘
A lot of English supporters were there (to watch the game) but we got booed
at the home of cricket by the Indian fans. It felt bit strange to be dealt so on
our own home ground at the home of cricket. So that gave us a bit of motivation.
ni
ogises
nsthat he was failing to fire his
guns while batting, having
scored only three boundaries
and not a single six in a knock of
30 on Sunday that was relatively
sedate by his explosive
standards.
“I’m not comfortably clearing
the park - that’s for sure. I’m
working hard on it, and hopeful-
ly I’ll be back with hitting sixes.”
Dhoni said he elected to field
after winning the toss because
the wicket plays “a bit better”
under the lights.
He gave credit to England’s
battery of pace bowlers, who
fired a steady stream of short-
pitched shoulder-high balls at
the Indian batsmen, working to
a game plan.
“Their bowlers started well.
They were aggressive and used
the bouncer and the short ball
well,” Dhoni said.
“They bowled the bouncer re-
ally well. They used the short
balls and mixed them with slow-
er bouncers. There are quite a
few lessons to be learnt from
this, hopefully during the time
we have off from here, we can
really look to work on this area.”
“The run rate climbed and the
timing of the wickets was crucial.
We failed with the bat. There is
no excuse.”
He said the decision to pro-
mote Ravindra Jadeja in the bat-
ting order was taken to help
stabilise the Indian innings.
“Yuvraj could have gone in
higher but we expected Jadeja
to play for a few overs and stabil-
ise the innings for us.”
“It was unfortunate that Yuv-
raj was out that way (by stump-
09
England captain Paul Collingwood
ing)…. It was one of those days.”
“We lost wickets at unfortu-
nate times. If the opposition
score 153 runs and you are not
able to score them there is no
excuse.”
“If the run-rate was close to
nine or 10 an over I thought we
could achieve that but the tim-
ing of wickets was crucial and
the run-rate really climbed on
us.”
However, Dhoni promised In-
dia will bounce back at the next
Twenty20 World Cup in the Ca-
ribbean.
“We lost in the 2007 World
Cup and we lost in 50 overs that
was the worst part of my career.
This loss is disappointing but still
I don’t think it comes near to the
loss we had in the 50-over World
Cup.” “We were never really up
to the mark but in nine months’ DEJECTED DHONI PROMISES TO
time there will be another World FIRE AGAIN. PHOTO: AFP
Cup and that is the only good
thing we can say now.”
“We’ll try to do well.”
“Cricket never tests your char-
acter when you are doing really
well. It tests you when you are
not doing well. I think this is a
testing time for us but it’s not
the end of the road.”
Asked if injured opener Viren-
der Sehwag’s absence had an im-
pact on India’s performance,
Dhoni said: “He is the sort of
player you can’t really replace -
we missed him. When he starts
off the bowler is under pressure.
He’s a great player to have in
your side.”
He said Sehwag’s replacement
Rohit Sharma “did the job in per-
centage terms”. ■
IANS
10 FLICK ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Bond girl getting married?

According to rumours, Bond girl Gemma Arterton is
getting married to her new boyfriend. Reportedly,
Arterton’s unnamed suitor popped the question and the
actress was celebrating the news with friends at Britain’s
Download music festival this weekend.
ANI

‘There is no role for

Kajol in my next film’
Ajay Devgan on his next directorial venture

K
ajol, who is busy shooting for her
friend Karan Johar’s upcoming
film My Name Is Khan, will not be
a part of her actor husband Ajay
Devgan’s new directorial venture.
“I’m directing a film in mid-2009.
There is no role for Kajol in my next film.
The leading lady’s role in that film
doesn’t suit her,” says Devgan.
His directorial debut U Me Aur Hum
was critically praised for its brave por-
trayal of the ravages of Alzheimer’s.
Devgan, who has not done an action
film for long now, said: “My next film as
a director would be an action film with
an undercurrent of dark humour. Even
Milan Luthria’s film that I’m acting in is
an action film. I believe audiences want
to see me back in action. In fact when I
made my entry balanced between two
speeding cars in Golmaal Returns people
immediately remembered my entry in
my first film Phool Aur Kante. The action
in my directorial venture will be someth-
ing unusual.”
Recalling how he broke many of his
bones while performing stunts, the actor
said: “Action scenes have become much
safer now. Earlier we had to do it all by
ourselves. Now when you jump from the
fifth floor you’re harnessed. Earlier you
just did it, or didn’t.”
He also complained of the stories be-
ing made out of his bonding with actor
Salman Khan. The two actors recently
completed shooting for Vipul Shah’s
London Dreams in which Devgan plays a
musician.
“We always have been friends ever
since we did Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
together. But we didn’t go out partying
and pubbing every night together, as
was reported. And he didn’t present me
with any paintings. Where did that come
from? I’m right now neck-deep in pro-
ducing my next film and putting togeth-
er my next directorial venture,” Devgan
said.
Devgan, who altered his looks for Lon-
don Dreams, said: “I needed to look
cooler. So I cut my hair, grew a stubble.
Salman and I play very close friends, so
naturally we had to have a certain
amount of bonding between us. But
that’s it. What I really enjoyed was
shooting in London at one go. No dis-
tractions. Vipul is one of the most orga-
nised filmmakers I’ve worked with. And I
didn’t get much of a chance to miss my
family. Kajol and my daughter came for
a visit.” ■
IANS

PHOTO: AFP

Tom Cruise to James Bond to

return with MI4 take on Taliban
T om Cruise is certain to reprise his role as agent
Ethan Hunt and return in the fourth instalment
of the Mission Impossible franchise. in new film
The actor will join forces with Mission Impossible
3 director J.J. Abrams, who will act as producer on
the new project, reports thesun.co.uk.
The 23rd edition of the
James Bond franchise
will see the super spy
“I am incredibly honoured that Tom has invited taking on the Taliban
me back as a producer on Mission Impossible 4,” and heroin barons in
said Abrams. No casting has yet been announced Afghanistan.
but the movie is expected to release in 2010. ■ Newsoftheworld.co.uk
IANS Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace reports that scriptwriters
have been quizzing
British Embassy staff in Kabul about life in the war-torn
country for the next Bond instalment.
An ex-member of the Foreign Office’s Afghan anti-drugs
team is also giving an insight into the British operations
there.
“They (producers and writers) are trying to get an accurate
picture of the military situation (in Afghanistan),” said an
insider at Eon Productions, the producers of the franchise.
A still from The film, starring Daniel Craig as 007, is earmarked for
Mission Impossible 3 release in late 2011. ■
IANS
 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
11
Adam Levine to write a song on Cameron Diaz
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, who is reportedly dating Cameron Diaz, is all
set to write a song on the actress. “I tend to be inspired by and write about
the relationship I’m in,” Contactmusic quoted Levine as saying. “Cameron and
I have known each other for a while and have been hanging out,” he added.
ANI

Double the Cine City

action, but no
double role
Shah Rukh to do “We’re shooting Don 2 in Du-
blin. No Indian film has been
daring stunts in Don 2 shot there. We want to make sure
that the sequel goes ahead of the
first film. While the first part was
SUBHASH K. JHA a remake (of the Amitabh Bach-
chan starrer Don), the sequel is

H
is shoulder surgery and In- an original script and would be
dian Premier League much tougher to film for Shah
matches put him out of sil- Rukh and Farhan,” said producer
ver screen action for a Ritesh Sidhwani.
while. Now Shah Rukh Khan is all And there’s Priyanka Chopra
set to do daring stunts in the se- for company again. Though the
quel to Don: The Chase Begins actress has apparently been left
Again, though there will be no
double role.
out of Dostana 2, she’s very much
part of Don 2. Family song
Director Farhan Ak- “We’re very much going Now that the music album of Selvaraghavan’s
htar will shoot Don 2 ahead with the original Aayirathil Oruvan has released, you can get to hear
with the original star cast of Shah Rukh, Pri- Dhanush and wife Aishwarya crooning. The song,
cast from May 2010 yanka, Boman Irani, which has both Tamil and English lyrics, has been
in Ireland and Ber- Arjun Rampal and written by Selvaraghavan and Andrea Jeremiah
lin and says Shah Om Puri. Only those respectively. Initially, Selva had planned to make
Rukh will do who died in the orig- two separate songs. It was Dhanush who suggested
some of the most inal won’t return, combining both the songs. The couple also surprised
heart-in-the- obviously,” said the audience at the audio launch by singing the
mouth stunts, Sidhwani. ■ song on stage. Aishwarya Dhanush has also worked
making it his IANS as assistant director for Aayirathil Oruvan.
most audacious
actioner yet.
“He’s always
game for the auda-
cious. But the health
problems really frustrate
him,” said Farhan referring
to the superstar’s shoulder
surgery this year.
Sources say there will be no
double role for Shah Rukh in Don
2.
Shah Rukh underwent a suc-
cessful arthroscopic surgery for
acute pain in his left shoulder at
the Breach Candy hospital in
Mumbai in February. He needed
to rest for a month after the sur-
gery, which had put on hold the
filming of Karan Johar’s
My Name Is Khan till
March 14.
When the pro-
posal to do the se- Where is the spot?
quel first came up, Naan Avanillai II, the sequel to Jeevan-starrer Naan
the superstar was Avanillai, was extensively shot in Switzerland. An
very sure it would interesting incident that director Selva shared with
have to go be- Ergo was about a shooting spot there. The unit
yond the first had shot some scenes in a snow-covered area.
part in terms After a few weeks, the team returned to the same
of locales, ac- spot and was surprised to see a river there.
tion and dra- Confused, the team asked the locals and they
ma. Don 2 will learnt that the crew had actually shot the scenes
be the first In- on the frozen river.
dian film to be
shot in Du-
blin, Ireland.
12 ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Monday’s Query:
If you were to give an
award to your favourite
actor, what title would
you give and to whom?
■ Actor 360 degree to the great
Kamalhasan because he is matchless
Sridhar.D TCS,
Saranya.M Cognizant

■ Vikram Nadigar Thilagam – II

Sivaramakrishnan Allsec
Syed from Sify Corp has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This picture was
■ Best flopper to Vijay. clicked at Kodaikanal.
Senthil, Magesh, Srinivasan,
Rajesh, Divahar.R Wipro,
Mayilraj Allsec,
Ranjith.R Menon, Sugan.P IBM, Kuppusamy
Nattudurai CSS

■ Talent star to Ajith

Subha Cognizant,
Abhinetri TCS

■ Surya - cute smiler

Dhivya Wipro

■ Ramarajan - ’Trendsetter of the

Millennium’, even now his name is
mentioned whenever somebody wears
bizarre colored dress
Manoj Wipro

■ Manithan to Rajinikanth
Rajarajan.R Cognizant

■ Jackie Chan – Air walker Kausik Bhattacharya from TCS has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This
Pinky IBM pic was clicked at Basera Restaurant, ECR.

■ Vijaykanth - Terrorist catcher

Sohail IBM

■ Kodura Joker to Vadivelu

N.Deepan TCS,
G.Sudha Cognizant

■ Messiah of acting award to Antony

Hopkins
Guhanathan CSS,

Today’s Query:
Who according to you has
the best voice to croon for
movies among the young
heroes?
Sridhar from Wipro Ltd. has nominated his team as Partners in Crime. The photo was
clicked during their team outing at Nagari.
 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Murali Krishnan from
Spryance India Pvt. Ltd, Ti-
del Park, has been nominat-
ed as Office Angel by his
team members.
Murali is a sincere,
dedicated, and terrific team
player. His alertness to the
work assigned to him is
always appreciated by his
superiors. He is always there
with some snacks in his bag
when needed and entertains
us with his mobile.
Veeralakshmi
D. from
Cognizant
Technology
Solutions
doodled this.
1) Daughter (by seeing the big wind): Daddy, is this big wind called "Cyclone"?
Father: Looking at the speed of the wind it could be "Bikelone" or may be "Carlone"
Daughter: ???
2) A man built two Swimming Pools and he left one of them unfilled. Why??? When asked him,
He said, "Oye, that’s for those who don’t know Swimming.
Raghavan S.S.
Tata Consultancy Services
13
■ Hi Anbuselvan
May this special day be filled with
sweet memories and happy hours.
Wishing you all the fun and
excitement that only birthdays can
bring!
With Cheers,
Human Resources,
Coastal Training Technologies
India (P) Ltd, Chennai
■ Hi Sudee...
Because today’s so special
it really wouldn’t do, to send one
simple birthday wish to last the
whole year through...
So this wishes happy moments,
a day when dreams come true,
and a year that’s filled with all the
things that mean the most to you.
With lots of love
Orion gang
■ Dear ABAP Thaya,
Wish you a happy B’Day and
have a delightful year ahead.
Please sponsor a treat today @
Nallas Appa Kadai
and we are not ready for Dutch
treat.
From,
Suresh, Selva and Sakthi,
Cognizant-TCO, Chennai
■ Hi Anbu thozhi
Engal anbu thozhi
karuppu vairum
nee minniya indha pon naalai
un pirandhanalai kondadugirom
Wish u many more happy returns of
the day dear
Regards
Priya, Sathya & Team Members
■ Dear Usha,
Instead of counting candles,
Or tallying the years,
Consider special people
Who love and care for u.
Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar,
Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.
May each hour and minute
be filled with delight,
Crispy Birthday Usha !
with luv,
Surya, Hema, Subha,
Shobana, Vidya Wipro, Chennai
■ Dear Arul.T,
Tons and tons of birthday wishes to
you…
Tons of lov,
Ecnet,
R systems
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Pregnant man gives birth again

Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who shocked the
world by giving birth to a girl last year, has given birth to
his second child - a baby boy.

sudoku

L. Varun from
Tata
Consultancy
Services shot
this picture at
Central Park,
New York using
his Canon S5IS
camera.
Hobbies:
Photography,
blogging, social
activities

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the
KAKURO
platform? Mail us your best work and we’ll publish it in this space, with credit.
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 Tuesday, June 16, 2009
15
Burglar bites through steel bars Word’s worth
A thief who can chew his way through metal bars Unwelewable (un-well-yoo-uh-ble) an obsolete and rare adjective that
was caught after police identified a string of broken means ‘unfadable.’ This word is related to an obsolete wallow, meaning
windows with teeth marks on them. ‘to fade away, to waste.’

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Today, you will be highly creative. Your laid back
approach, however, will slow things down. So avoid
conflicts with your seniors as it may blow in your
face. Today you will go out of your way to impress
your beloved, says Ganesha.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

Today is your day. But you will feel lethargic and
will avoid doing anything more than your routine
work. Ganesha suggests that you adjust and
co-operate with your beloved to avoid strains in
your relationship.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You will stay busy communicating with your
BORN LOSER superiors today. Ganesha says, be careful in what
you say or write as you are prone to be
misunderstood by your superiors. You will surprise
your partner with a gift or a candle-lit dinner.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Your colleagues may find you a bit domineering
because of your choice of words. Make sure your
relations with others do not get strained because of
it. You will spend quality time with your partner,
says Ganesha.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
You may take crucial decisions today at work
because of your positive and innovative approach,
which will also help you impress your colleagues
and seniors. Your beloved will find you appealing
and pleasing, says Ganesha.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Today, you will have your priorities all mixed up.
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT You will lack confidence in what you do. Technical
difficulties will bog you down. Ganesha advises you
to relax and take every matter one at a time. Don’t
be extravagant in spending money on your beloved.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
By the Grace of Ganesha group discussions,
important meetings and conferences will go well.
You will be able to express your talents well and
you will be immediately rewarded for all the hard
work that you have put in.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Ganesha finds you taking it easy at work. However,
you will be very focussed while working.You will not
tolerate indiscipline and may reprimand those
working under you for failing to deliver desired
results. Your love life may take a backseat.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
You will be oozing with energy and vigour and will
be able to achieve the day’s target. Your superiors
will take a note of your hard work and there will be
a marked improvement in your relations with them.
Personal life will be good.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Today, you will be in an irritable mood and even
the most trivial matters will frustrate you. Ganesha
advises you to make sure that your outbursts do not
create problems between you and others at office.
Keep your temper under check.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Don’t participate in unnecessary arguments at work.
You may feel a bit threatened at work but your
ISSUE’S friendly nature will help you win people’s heart and
prevail upon all attempts to tarnish your image.
SOLUTIONS Avoid arguing with your beloved.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
You have a lot of grey matter. You will need every
bit of it today. Work will be demanding and so will
be your personal life. There will be no respite and
you’ll have to match the expectations and demands.
Be careful about your health.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Tuesday, June 16, 2009

E X T R A V A G A N T F A R E
Selva Raghavan’s magnum opus Aayirathil Oruvan’s audio was launched at a glittering event on Sunday.
Celebrity couple Dhanush - Aishwarya, actress Andrea and music composer GV Prakash Kumar belted out few foot-tapping numbers live from the movie.
The audio DVD of the film was carried in a palanquin and was unveiled by director Shankar. Karthi, Reema Sen, Parthiban and Andrea made
their presence felt. Latha Rajinikanth, director A.R.Murugadoss and Yuvan Shankar Raja were present.
The event included a fashion show, a Kalari performance, Singaari Melam by an all-women troupe from Kerala and a classical dance by actress Poorna.
Renowned magician Dayanidhi floored the audience with his pigeon vanishing act. PHOTOS:: S.S.KUMAR

Engrossed: Yuvan and Karthi

Ice maiden: Reema Sen

Dazzling duo: Selva Raghavan and Sonia

Family fare: Director Selva Raghavan’s brother Dhanush,

his wife Aishwarya croon along with Andrea