A BYTE OF LIFE Monday, January 5, 2009

08 03
BATTLE BEGINS VIRTUAL HILARITY
First round action starts at the Jammy is India’s funniest
Chennai Open blogger

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 3 No. 2

LEADING MAN
Comedian Karunas on playing the hero in Dindigul Sarathy
» PAGE 10
PHOTO: R.RAVINDRAN
02 NAMMA CHENNAI
Annoyed over no transfer
In the telephone-tapping case that
rocked the political circles in the city, one
was arrested sometime ago. The accused
is known to have leaked the tapes after
he was thoroughly disappointed over a
denied transfer to work at a place which
he had requested for.
The fearing and waiting
Following the Law College incident, most
cops are praying that they shouldn’t be
posted in the area under whose
jurisdiction the college falls. Meanwhile,
the khakis suspended after the college
clashes are still running from pillar to
post to revoke their orders and get back
to service.
Unnecessary info
Most police inspectors and constables
attached to stations don’t gel well with
police intelligence department constables
who work in their police limits. The
reason – the intelligence men are seen as
‘unnecessary information providers’ to
the senior police officers and
mediapersons.
Is it the real
estate mafia?
Mystery surrounds the murder of three elderly couples in
the city in the last two years. However, police claim to have
solved the most recent one in Saidapet
PETLEE PETER
petleepeter@goergo.in
R
esidents of Jones Road near
Saidapet railway station
woke up on January 1, 2009
to the shocking news of the
brutal double murder of an elder-
ly couple in their locality. The vic-
tims were Anantha Krishnan (60)
and his wife Yamuna Bai (55),
found dead inside their apart-
ment by the cops after a domestic
help complained of foul smell
coming from inside.
Similarly, on November 20, Sa-
ravanan (75), a retired Tamil Na-
du Minerals Limited (TAMIN)
official, his wife Kasturi (73) and
their maid Inbarasi (17) were
found murdered in their bunga-
low in Ashok Nagar. The bodies
were discovered by a family
friend who came home to accom-
pany Saravanan for a morning
jog.
In a similar case on November
18, 2007, once again an elderly
couple, Jacob and Mono Jacob,
were found dead at their home
on Sankaran Avenue, Indira
Street in Velachery. The son of
the deceased found the body
three days after the incident.
Suspicions are running high in
police circles now on whether all
the three murders are intercon-
nected and could be the hand of
real estate mafia. Special police
teams have been formed to in-
vestigate the recent murders and
the Jacobs’ murder case is also
likely to surface during
investigation.
“In the murders in Saidapet
and Ashok Nagar, the property
documents were stolen along
with some jewellery and cash.
Moreover, both the couples
didn’t have children and even
had some property dispute with
relatives,” said a senior investi-
gating officer.
Apart from the victims being
senior citizens, there are also
some strong similarities between
the first two murders. Investiga-
tors add that there are no signs of
forcible entry into the houses and
ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009
is suspected to have been taken
there is a possibility that the in- away by the killer(s) from Jacobs’
truders were persons known to home after the crime.
the victims. All the victims were However, to this very day po-
brutally hacked; their throats lice are clueless about the Vela-
were slit and they were left to die. chery twin murder. The situation
In the Jacobs’ case, reliable po- is more or less the same in the
lice sources reveal that the de- case of the Ashok Nagar murder.
ceased Jacob, a retired employee However, according to most re-
of MRF, had planned to sell his cent developments, police have
property as both their sons had cracked the Saidapet murder case
settled outside the state. He had of Anantha Krishnan and wife Ya-
changed his mind later and that muna Bai. Three persons have
decision is suspected to have been arrested and a 30-year-old
sparked tension among some woman, Sangeetha of Vellore,
major bidders for his home. suspected to be involved in the
Later, Jacob and his wife were murder is absconding. The ar-
found dead in a decomposed rested, identified as Dinesh (27),
state inside their home in No- Pugazhendi (29) and Senthilnath-
vember, 2007. Police say eyewit- an (25), had murdered the couple
ness saw a man clad in white on December 29 with the assis-
abandoning Jacob’s car in Padap- tance of Sangeetha, who was an
pai a couple of days before the old acquaintance of Yamuna Bai.
discovery of the murder. The car ■
(Top) The body
of Saravanan
being taken to
hospital; the
apartment
complex on
Jones Road,
Saidapet,
where an
elderly couple
was found
murdered on
January 1.
PHOTOS:
S. S. KUMAR AND
S. R. RAGHUNATHAN
 Monday, January 5, 2009
Jamming with Jammy
It’s easy enough to hold a humorous
conversation with ‘India’s Funniest
Blogger’ but a totally different sphere to
pull him into a serious one. Business head
at ibibo.com, Jamshed Velayuda Rajan
a.k.a ‘Jammy’ (his nom de blog), who
blogs about the idiosyncrasies of life on
www.ouchmytoe.com, dons a serious
mask with flashes of his ever-present
humour as he talks about his life and blog
ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY
When and why did you start
blogging?
I started blogging on May 19, 2003
for no apparent reason. I love writ-
ing and used to write short stories
and poems from when I was young.
The thing is, whenever I asked
friends to read my poems, they
wouldn’t bother. On the other hand,
if I told them it was a poem by Long-
fellow or Robert Frost (it was still
my poem), they complimented it.
This led me to think that people are
very biased. So I began a blog to see
if people could appreciate me for
my writing.
Why did you choose humour as
your blog’s theme?
No blog starts with a theme. A
theme evolves into the process of
writing. That’s when you find your
ground and realise what exactly
people like reading in your blog. I
started my blog by publishing my
poems and short stories. But, I have
always loved satire. And a bad sati-
rist ends up being a humorist. I
guess that explains me being a hu-
mour blogger today.
What’s the story behind ouch
my toe?
A lot of time was spent on decid-
ing the name for my portal. The
world is a pretty crowded place and
no one has time for others. Some-
times in this rush, someone may
unintentionally hurt you. Don’t
make a fuss about it. If, suppose,
someone stamped your leg in a
crowded street, don’t pick a fight.
Just say “Ouch, my toe!” and move
on.
And your name to fame;
Jammy?
Jammy was a nick-
name given to me by
my first boss because
he couldn’t decide
what name to use
for me – Jamshed,
or Velayuda or Ra-
jan and it has stuck
wherever I have
gone. You talk
about your wife a
lot on your blog. How
did she react?
She didn’t quite like it in the
beginning. She thought I was belit-
tling her and her family. It was then
that I introduced her to writers like
Erma Bombeck, Bill Cosby and
Townsend who made fun of their
families and thus became rich; I
guess ‘rich’ being the operative
word. With time, readers started to
get involved with Rekha and got
talking to her via comments. She
03
loved it.
Some of them even recognised
her offline. This made her a big fan
of my writing.
What factors do you think pulls
readers to your blog?
The blog talks about incidents
without holding back anything.
Nostalgia is always of the hard times
(for example, when one only had
two trousers). There is no attempt
made to look cool. The in-
cidents mentioned have
always ended up being
a part of the reader’s
life somehow. I sus-
pect all my readers
to associate with at
least some of the
incidents men-
tioned in each post.
So when a reader can
associate with an inci-
dent, he/she is more
likely to like the writer.
How different is Jamshed
from Jammy?
Very different. In the blog, Jammy
is a loser. In real life, he is a bigger
loser. He projects himself as a very
quick- witted person. In real life he
can hardly tell a joke.
Have you ever used the phrase
‘Ouch, my toe!” in real life?
Yes, of course. Many times! ■
04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

Mini quiz
First correct answer wins a free 2009
executive diary
Tax planning can also be
about maximising wealth
Q1. How many stocks are there in the
sensex?
A.10
B.30
C.4523
D.10000

Q2. Which of these funds invest only in

fixed income securities?
A.Equity
B.Debt
C.Balanced
D.Money market

Send answers to 9281398889 or

finergo@goergo.in If you think the right answer for
Q1 is A and for Q2 is B sms as 1A2B

Word morph
Below are some words related to Part 3
personal finance. Try to find out the

T
he objective of any tax planning
max number of words by changing exercise should be to maximize
just one letter wealth and not reduce tax by
itself. Many a times by reducing
For example: money - 1 toney 2 motey 3 tax to the minimum, we are actually
mosey 4 mopey 5 honey 6 coney 7 boney reducing our wealth. Let’s see how
optimize tax benefit tools and maxi-
1. Stock mize wealth.
Invest, Save and Spend- Maxi-
2. Invest mize Section 80 C benefits
This section includes a number of
3. cash tools for investments, savings and
expenses with tax benefits up to a
4. Insure maximum of Rs.1,00,000/-.
Investments options include ELSS
Mutual Funds, ULIP (Unit Linked In-
surance Plans) Insurance premiums
(Subject to Life cover being equal to
Scary protest a minimum of 5 times the premium)
and Pension plan investments.
The Savings options are: EPF,
PPF, National Saving Certificate, Ki-
san Vikas Patra and Housing loan
principal
The Expense option: Children’
school fees (excluding special fees,
bus fees, etc)
Pension plans are better avoided
as they generally do not get tax bene-
fits at the time of maturity which
means you save tax today but pay it
when you get the pension. Only 30% Rs.15,000/- for non-senior citizens funds (zero tax in this case) and > 3
of the maturity amount in a pension and Rs.20,000/- for senior citizens. years for buildings (20% of indexed
plan is tax free. The rest can be used Maximize this with good insurance value). Don’t sell land as land itself,
to buy a pension annuity or add the cover. Check Finergo dated 08 Dec make some development on the land
money to “other income” in income 2008. This premium is not an invest- - build a house, a commercial space
computation and get taxed again. ment per se. But in times of emer- or at least develop it into multiple
Ordinary ULIPs with 5 times cover gencies, it is a life saver! Literally! sites with water & EB connections,
can give you the benefit without the Shift to Long Term Capital Gain and then sell. That way you attract
쒀 Protesters hold a scary mask as they pain. (Avoid Short Term Capital Gains) long term capital gains, which is al-
demonstrate against Israeli military Maximize Section 80D Ensure that your investments are ways lesser than short term capital
strikes on Saturday in Germany. This section is for health insur- long term in nature - >1 year for eq- gains. Next week we will understand
AFP PHOTO ance premium. The limits are uity and equity oriented mutual the other tax savings options. ■
 Monday, January 5, 2009
MUSIC for your soul
and for your ears
Watch your lifestyle
Is staying fit and healthy
topmost among your New
Year resolutions? Well, this
online place could be your
answer, where you can ana-
lyse your body and lifestyle,
get tips about healthy eating,
exercises, wellness and mo-
tivation, among others.
LifeMojo is the entrepre-
neurial venture of three En-
gineering college friends –
Himanshu Khurana, Namit
Nangia and Varun Gupta –
who quit their jobs with Tril-
ogy in Bangalore to launch a
“healthy lifestyle start-up”.
Their target: People who
are always on the lookout for
interesting weight-loss pro-
grammes or those with dia-
betes. Or, you could be a
busy bee whose free time
never matches that of the
nutritionist and would like
the idea of a diet consultant
who could answer your
umpteen health queries on-
line.
“While there are many in
the U.S catering to the West-
erners, there is no site cater-
People behind LifeMojo – Himanshu Khurana, Namit
Nangia and Varun Gupta
05
Musically inclined
ing to Indian tastes,” says Don’t you love to croon? At with feedback and com-
Himanshu. least sometimes? You may ments,” says Nithya, who
The friends say that hav- not have a voice like Lata was working in a wireless
ing Dr. Shikha Sharma, a re- Mangeshkar, but you know start-up with Prateek before
nowned weight
management and health ex-
Home is their your rock when you sing be-
fore friends. So, the next
they decided
entrepreneurs.
to turn
pert based in Delhi, on their
team is one of their biggest
office, hiring time log on to www.muzi-
boo.com where an easy on-
Though Muziboo started
as a music-sharing service in
motivating factors.
Their next big task is rop-
is not on their line recorder lets you plug-in
your microphone and start
2007, over the months it has
users from all parts of the
ing in more nutritionists and
popularising online consul-
immediate recording.
Muziboo is an online
world. “People upload any-
thing from interviews and
tation. “It will be a market-
place for nutritionists,”
agenda, and community bringing musi-
cians – amateurs and profes-
speeches to mimicries and
creative voice mails,” says
Himanshu says, citing an ex-
ample of the community in
maintaining sionals – to upload and
discuss music with many
Nithya talking about the suc-
cess of Muziboo. “The inno-
Orkut where there are over
800 nutritionists.
a sustainable like-minded people.
Nithya and Prateek Dayal,
vative user behaviour has
actually helped us diversify
While some of the applica-
tions are free, once a mem-
business is the couple who started it,
say their advantage over oth-
our offering. We have half a
million page views every
ber takes up consultation
he/she will have to pay.
their goal. Two er similar platforms is their
pricing – $25 per year (for 20
month.”What does Muziboo
mean? “It doesn’t mean any-
If the online medium is
not your kind, then LifeMojo
Bangalore- and more uploads). Their
other means of revenue is
thing. We wanted to come
up with some name which
is gearing up to launch simi-
lar features on the mobile.
based start-ups Google advertisments.
Muziboo as an idea came
would have a global appeal
as we did not set out to build
Diet planner, tracker…. How
about getting health talk on
on how simple up during a conversation
with a friend who wanted to
an India-specific service.
This was the first name we
your phone?
Log on to www.lifemojo-
observations put up a website for sharing
his music videos. “Our idea
came up with and we stuck
to it,” says Nithya.
.com to learn what the start-
up has in store for you.
and was to build a solid commu-
nity of amateurs and profes-
Now, log on to www.muzi-
boo.com to upload your mu-
conversations sionals who can help others sic.
became a Nithya and Prateek Dayal the couple behind Muziboo
business idea
06 VILLAGE
Bon Jovi to
sing at NYC
Hillary Clinton
fundraiser
T he final note of Hillary Rodham
Clinton’s presidential cam-
paign may very well be sung by
Jon Bon Jovi.
The musician is performing at
a fundraiser for the former presi-
dential candidate as she tries to
close out her campaign debt.
The January 15 performance at
Manhattan’s Town Hall is being
billed as “a final evening in sup-
port of Hillary Clinton for Presi-
dent Debt Relief.” Ticket prices
range from US$ 75 to US$ 1,000.
The former first lady and New
York senator has been working to
pay down her debt to clear the
way for confirmation as Presi-
dent-elect Brake Ob’s secretary of
state. Federal ethics rules prohib-
it Cabinet officials from actively
ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009
Goldfish survives
A goldfish has amazed experts by
surviving out of water for up to 21
hours.Fish usually die in minutes without
water as they need it to breathe.
Stolen Madoff statue returned
with note attached
A statue stolen last month from Wall Street
financier Bernard Madoff’s Florida home has been
returned undamaged, and with a note attached, to
a country club where the accused swindler is a
member, Palm Beach police said on Thursday. The
attached note read: “Bernie the Swindler, Lesson:
Return stolen property to rightful owners. Signed
by The Educators,” according to police.
Reuters
Orangutan enjoys riding on a jet
The January 15
performance at ski
Manhattan’s Town Surya, a four-year-old rescued orangutan, enjoys riding
Hall is being billed as on an inflatable jet ski at The Institute of Greatly
Endangered and Rare Species in Miami, Florida, USA
“a final evening in centre, which is its home. Surya, who was dressed in a
support of Hillary child’s wetsuit to keep warm, enjoyed floating across
the wide pool, waving at onlookers as the inflatable
Clinton for President
moved around. Trainers at the centre put him in the
Debt Relief” pool every week to keep him active and challenged,
and he enjoys splashing about with them. “Suyra loves
playing in the water. But he doesn’t like getting his
soliciting campaign contribu- head wet, so he wears a lifejacket so he doesn’t go
tions. underneath,” the Telegraph quoted animal expert Dr
As of last month, she still owed Bhagavan Antle as saying.
US$ 6.3 million to vendors. She ANI
also wrote off US$ 13.1 million in
personal money she lent to the
campaign. ■
PTI World’s longest marine causeway
to connect Bahrain, Qatar
The world’ longest marine causeway, a US$ 3 billion
project which will link Bahrain and Qatar, will come up
in the Gulf region by 2013. The over 40 km twin
carriageway, running across 22km of viaducts over the
sea and 18km of embankments, will reduce travel time
by car between the Gulf countries by about four hours.
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive
of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, said the
construction of the ‘Friendship Causeway’ has already
started. “Geological and maritime surveys have already
started and the implementation stage will begin soon.
PTI
Obama mulls compensation
packages for jobless
US President-elect Barack Obama is considering major
expansion of government-assisted health care
insurance and unemployment compensation packages
for helping the jobless, a media report says. “Barack
Obama and Congressional Democrats are considering
major expansions of government-assisted health care
insurance and unemployment compensation as they
begin intensive work this week on a two-year
economic recovery package,” the New York Times
reported in its Sunday edition. As part of the
proposal, unemployment compensation would be
extended to part-time workers.
PTI
 Monday, January 5, 2009
07
Dead parrot This day, that year
An ex-prisoner is suing a prison warden who he claims refused to let him make a It was on January 5, 1919 that
phone call that would have saved his pet parrot’s life. Thomas Goodrich is seeking Adolf Hitler joined The German
$500,000 in damages after he was denied the chance to contact a friend to feed Worker’s Party and renamed it
Freddie the parrot, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Nazi Party.

It’s not a school,

but ‘a place for learning’
T
he head teacher of a new
school in Sheffield, South
Yorks, has banned the usage of
the word ‘school’, as it could
have a negative impact on the pu-
pils’ parents.
Watercliffe Meadow, known as a
‘Place for Learning’, has 481 pupils
and the kids from nursery to Year 6,
are allowed to wear slippers instead
of shoes.
“We decided we didn’t want to use
the word ‘school’,” the Sun quoted
head teacher Linda Kingdon as say-
ing.
“One reason was many parents of
children here had very negative con-
notations of school. Instead we want
this to be a place for family learning.
There are no bells or locked doors.
We wanted to de-institutionalise the
place and bring the school closer to
real life,” she said.
However, the decision to do away
with the word ‘school’ has not been
met with much favour.
“A school is a school. Seriously,”
local mum Kimberley Dunne, 26,
said.
British school bans the
word ‘school’ as it could
have a negative impact
on the pupils’ parents
“The word ‘school’ doesn’t have
negative connotations, it’s just
where you go. A school’s always
been a school, why change it?”
Marie Clair, of the Campaign for
Plain English, said: “It’s laughable.
Do they think by changing the name
they will change the environment?
We all know what the building is.
There is this whole political correct-
ness agenda. Using unfamiliar
words instead of a simple one, like
‘school’, will get in the way of chil-
dren’s ability to learn.”
Andrew Sangar, Sheffield Council
cabinet member for children’s ser-
vices, added his thoughts.
“It’s a school,” he said.
“We consider it a school and that’s
how we refer to it,” he said. ■
ANI

Prince William and Kate Mr. Handsome

to get married?
S peculation is rife that Prince
William and his ladylove Kate
Middleton may soon tie the knot
this year after her parents have
been invited to meet Prince Char-
les and his wife Camilla.
Britain’s king-in-waiting and
the Duchess have asked Middle-
ton’s mother Carole and father
Michael to visit them at the Royal
Family’s Scottish estate Birkhall,
according to the Daily Star.
An unnamed friend of the Mid-
dleton family was quoted by the
British newspaper as saying: “The
Prince wanted to get to know
Kate’s parents better, and it
seemed to be the ideal time for
everyone.” In fact, only two days
back, William and Middleton had
joined Charles and Camilla for a
final break together before the
second-in-line to the British
throne begins his training as an
Royal Air Force rescue helicopter
pilot.
쑸
A pug
ready to take
part in the
160th dog
show in
Ahmedabad
on Sunday. PTI
PHOTO
As Kate turns 27 on Friday, Wil-
liam will throw a party at Tam-
na-Ghar, his own secluded three-
bedroom shooting lodge on the
estate. The Prince has told his
friends he is planning to spring a
surprise to make her day, the
newspaper said. Later this
month, William begins an 18-
month training programme as an
RAF search and rescue pilot. ■
PTI
08 SPORT ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

Tennis intellectual
Serbian Janko Tipsarevic who downed world No. 6 Andy Roddick to reach the fourth
round of the Wimbledon is the seventh seed at the US$ 450,000 Chennai Open. A sports
management student, the Serbian is an avid reader and is always engrossed reading
psychiatry books of Nietzchse, Dostojevski and Goethe. He has a tattoo on his left hand
with inscription “Beauty will save the world” from Dostojevski.

AYON SENGUPTA
ayon@goergo.in

I
ndia’s biggest tennis gala en-
ters its 14th year and promis-
es to keep the momentum
going as a host of internation-
al stars descend on the tennis
capital of the country for the
week-long Chennai Open starting
at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in
Nungambakkam from Monday.
The last edition saw a host of

THOUGH THIS exciting matches culminating in a

grand final between then world
No. 2 Rafael Nadal and Russian
Mikhail Youzhny, which the Rus-
YEAR’S CHENNAI sian dominated from the word
go. But with both skipping the
meet this time, the mantle will be

OPEN SEEMS A
on another Russian and world
No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko to en-
thral the crowd along with all-
time favourite Carlos Moya. The

LITTLE LOW ON Spaniard, a regular feature at the

season-opener since the last
eight years, has a relatively easy
first round taking on a qualifier at

STAR POWER, the bottom half of the draw.

However, Davydenko will be
up against Daniel Koellerer from
Australia, ranked 125 in the

SPECTATORS CAN world, who has had a decent suc-

cess in the ATP circuit since turn-
ing pro in 2003. Davydenko, who
had a great 2008 season reaching
ond seed here had a relatively
good 2008 reaching the finals at
the Doha and Rome ATP events,
a very high cut-off point and with
a few of the top players vying for
the title you can expect some
his ticket to fame lies in the fact good tennis.”

EXPECT AN the final of the year ending Mas-

ters Cup in Shanghai, will look for
some valuable ATP points and
that he partnered the great Roger
Federer to win gold at the Beijing
Olympic Games.
Others in the fray are the Croa-
tian duo of Marin Cilic and Ivo
Karlovic, besides German veteran
will fancy his chances against a Rainer Schuettler, who won the

EXCITING somewhat subdued field. Al-

though the competition this year
claims to have roped in as many
as seven top-50 players and 15
Star attraction?
Devoid of star powers, these
players will find it hard to attract
doubles title in 2005 partnering
Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei. The fifth
seed from Germany takes on In-
crowds at the 5,000-seater stadi- dia’s wild card entrant Prakash

TOURNAMENT from the top-100, it seems devoid

of any star value that a Nadal,
Youzhny or Patrick Rafter had
brought to the tournament in the
earlier editions.
Although Swiss World No. 13
Stansilas Wawarinka and the sec-
um, though the organisers prom-
ise a packed house.
Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj
rubbished the claims of a deplet-
ed field and said: “The field is
even this year and you can’t
name a favourite again. We have
Amritraj.
Apart from Amritraj the Indian
contingent will be eagerly looking
to some magic from Somdev Dev
Varman, who shot up to become
India’s top-ranked singles player
at 201 after turning pro at the

What a racquet!
 Monday, January 5, 2009
‘‘
’This would be my seventh visit in the last eight years. I always look forward
to coming to Chennai. I love the courts and the crowd always supports me. I
just want to come here and give my best and enjoy being part of this popular
tournament.
start of the 2008 season. The US
college champion has shown
enough promise on the pro-cir-
cuit, winning a challenger event
at Lexington, and is expected to
go past American Kevin Kim (117)
in his first round match based on
his present form. But in all prob-
ability, next up for Somdev will be
former world No. 1 Moya, thus
ruling out any chances of a fairy-
tale debut at his home turf.
The doubles event shows more
promise than the singles line-up
even after the top doubles pairing
of Mike and Bob Bryan pulled out
at the last minute. With no love
lost between Leander Paes and
Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian
duo will be looking forward to
surpass each other playing with
their respective partners. Lean-
der, who along with Mahesh
broke into the world doubles
scene from this very champion-
ship during the mid 90s and then
went on to win two Grand Slam
doubles before the two fell out,
said: “It feels great to be back
among friends and at a familiar
environment. I really have a lot to
look forward to in this edition
and I expect Chennai
Open to act as a step-
ping stone for me for
more success in 2009.”
Security
Security measures
for this year’s Chennai
Open have been height-
ened in the wake of the recent
terror attacks in the country. Brit-
ish security consultant Reg Dick-
ason, who oversaw security
arrangements during the India-
England Test series in Chennai
and Mohali, would be handling
the arrangements for the ATP
Tour event.
Assuring a safe tournament,
Dickason said: “Arrangements for
the tennis event is very different.
Security for cricket was enhanced
because of spectator support and
also the number of entry and exit
points. Here also we have con-
ducted a pre-event check in for-
malising the security
arrangements and security initia-
tives were addressed to. Our role
will be to add to the existing se-
curity arrangements with a lot of
police personnel.”
09
Two-times winner Carlos Moya
From left: Lukas Dlouhy, Leander Paes,
Vijay Amritraj and Rainer Schuettler at
the draw ceremony of the Chennai Open
Tennis Tournament. PHOTO: R. RAGHU
Leander Paes at a practice session at the
Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium. PHOTO: S. S. KUMAR
Rumours say that top players
like Mike and Bob Bryan of the
US and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic
pulled out of the US$ 450,000
event because of security con-
cerns. But differing from the pop-
ular view, Ravi Krishnan,
consultant to IMG, owners of the
ATP Chennai Open, said: “Not
one communication came from
any player or ATP about security
concerns.
We took the step because of the
environment that we are living in
today. No one expressed hostility
or any concern.” ■
10 FLICK ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

Padikkathavan for Pongal?

The Dhanush-starrer Padikkathavan may
be released this Pongal. The movie is said
to be a racy entertainer with loads of
comedy.

The phenomenal growth

of actor Karunas from a
comedian to hero

V. HARIPRIYA woman and his travails thereaf- of the college culturals, I wore a “I am a great fan of actor
haripriya@goergo.in ter. “It was initially decided that salwar for three days to make Chandrababu. He is a good actor
director Srinivasan himself everyone look at me. Since child- as well as musician. I started my

K
arunas is on top of the would direct the movie. But that hood my aim was to become career as a singer. I never dreamt
world now. His new re- didn’t happen, as he had other popular.” of acting in movies. Now with
lease, Dindigul Sarathy, assignments. As I liked the story The off-screen Karunas is a se- the popularity I enjoy in cinema,
where he plays the hero very much, I started looking out rious person. “I am not a humo- I am concentrating fully on act-
Sarathy, is the talk of the town. for a director and producer. Sun rous person like actor S.Ve. ing. One day I will surely bag the
“Recently, director Balu Mahen- Pictures and director Siva Shan- Sekhar. But I can guarantee that National Award for Best Come-
dra called me to congratulate mugham fulfilled my dream. We I can make people laugh dian, though there is no such
me for my new movie. He said it worked for two years to bring through my acting. I don’t mind award category now,” says Ka-
is difficult to make the audience out the movie and from the re- appearing for just one scene, runas, who is now eagerly
sit for two-and-a-half hours at a sponse I get now I think we have but my part should be impor- awaiting shooting for Rajini-
stretch, and that I have achieved done a decent job.” tant. In Yaaradi Nee Mohini I just kanth’s Endhiran. ■
it easily. This is more than an A post graduate in Tamil Liter- had a few scenes, but people
award for me,” says comedian ature, Karunas says that during liked me very much in the film,”
Karunas aka Karunanidhi. his college days he would do the actor says, adding that he
Introduced by director Bala in anything to make himself the would never act in comedy
Nandha, Karunas immortalised centre of attraction. “During one scenes with double-entendres.
the role of Lodukku Paandy in
his debut movie. And since then,
there’s been no looking back for
him, now one of the busiest co-
medians in Tamil cinema.
Dindigul Sarathy was a sur-
prise package for Karunas’ fans,
as the comedian turned a full-
time hero. A remake of actor-di-
rector Srinivasan’s Malayalam
movie Vadakku Nokki Yendram,
Dindigul Sarathy is the story of
an average-looking youth who
gets married to a good-looking

During one of
the college
culturals, I wore
a salwar for
three days to
make everyone
look at me.
Since childhood
my aim was to
become popular
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
Monday, January 5, 2009
11
Travolta’s son dead
Jett Travolta, 16-year-old son of
Hollywood actor John Travolta, was
found dead in the bathroom of a
resort in the Bahamas.

P
op star Britney Spears has been warned by model Jesse Randhawa, who is the girlf-
riend of Spears’ new love interest Sandip Soparrkar.
According to mirror.co.uk, Randhawa warned Spears to stay away from her man.
The 39-year-old Randhawa is upset about reports that Spears has started an affair
with Soparrkar.
Spears and Soparrkar reportedly spent three days during Christmas in Jodhpur and also
spent New Year together where he introduced her to his parents.
Randhawa said: “Britney’s gone through so much turmoil in her life and instead of
making her a better person, it looks like she’s just left all her morals and ethics behind. She
knows he’s in a relationship and is happy – so why spoil it?”
She added: “Britney did come over to India and she and Sandip went away for a few days,
but it was purely professional. They were busy rehearsing. I really do wish she’d just leave us
alone now.”
“It was Britney and her management who keep hassling Sandip to get his pictures taken
with her and her dad Jamie. And one of her team even borrowed Sandip’s laptop and sent
out emails from Sandip’s address saying that he was on a romantic break with her. Since
I’ve known Sandip I’ve not seen him even once have a roaming eye on another girl. He
would never go for Britney anyway. She’s just not his type.”
Spears had first met Soparrkar at Madonna’s 50th birthday bash in London. ■
IANS

Where there’s a Will, there’s hay

W ill Smith, star of Hancock and Seven Pounds, has
been voted the top money-making movie star of
2008 in an annual poll of movie theatre owners and
film buyers.
Smith is only the second African-American actor after
Sidney Poitier to top the Quigley poll, which has
been running for 76 years.
Robert Downey Jr came second, Christian Bale third
and Shia LaBeouf fourth in the list.
Anne Hathaway was named a star of tomorrow as
was Chris Pine, who will play Captain Kirk in 2009’s
Star Trek movie, reports the BBC.
Tom Cruise did not make the Top Ten for 2008
despite being voted No. 1 seven times since 1983.

‘Britney’s
Depp, the Pirates of the Caribbean star who was
placed first in 2007, also did not make the 2008 list.
The Quigley Poll has been conducted every year since
1932 by the publishers of the International Motion
Picture Almanac.
It asks movie theatre owners and film buyers to vote
for the 10 stars they believe generated the most box
office revenue for their theatres during the year. ■

just not his type’ ANI

12 ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

Friday’s Query: A.T.Karthikeyan,

S.Stanly George
Sagar from IBM
has nominated
- Perot System, his friends as
Who would you Minu
- Sutherland,
partners in
crime. They
like to build a Dhananjayan
- Scope International,
clicked this pic
at Queensland.
temple for and Subhashini
- CGSL
why? ■ Actor Vijay. He proved
■ Everyone should build attraction is important than
temple to their parents for beauty
their care and love Balaji Thanappan,
Mani,
S Balaji, Amit, Lokee - TCS, Wipro
Sandy - HCL,
Baskaran Ramasamy ■ A temple for my father
- Ramco Systems, who left this world recently.
Sasi Kumar Thiagarajan He was one such dad like
- Infosys, Prakashraj in Abhiyum
Lavanya.R Naanum movie
- Hexaware Priya, Vasudevan from
CSS Corp AdventNet has
■ Tamizh thaathha "Shri nominated his
U.V.Swaminathan". He is the ■ Mother Teresa for her team "Sabai" as
real saviour of our mother love to the deprived and Partners in
tongue. Had he not been devoted to be love in action Crime.
there, we would’ve missed on earth
most of the precious Tamizh Sathyanarayanan
literatures once for all - FSS,
Mukund, Raguraman
SCB Scope International - Wipro

■ Superstar Rajnikanth for ■ Dr.Abdul Kalam

his divine look. Attitude Rakshita Sreenivasan,
towards problems he is Wipro Technologies
facing and his way of
carrying himself in on screen ■ E.V.Ramasamy (Periyar).
and off screen. He made a Because he is the person
great impression on Indian who said to believe in man
youths. He is the role model instead of god
for millions of youngsters Gunasekaran.N,
Shiva, HCL
Perot Systems
■ Namitha. She is the
■ Sachin Tendulkar, because goddess of Tamil cinema
he is the man who made Annapoorani M,
each and every Indian feel TCS
proud to be one by being Neetha S
the owner of almost all the ■ Martyrs’ who lost their Thomas of
world records in both forms life in the Mumbai attack Hexaware has
of international cricket because worshiping them is nominated her
S. Prasanna Kumar equal to worshiping god friends as
- RamTéch Software Solutions, Archana Ramakrishnan, partners in
Vignesh C TCS Crime.
- Cognizant

■ My ex-team leader for the

Today’s Query:
support and care which I got
from her during my initial
If a new planet
days at office
Ajeet,
is discovered by
TCS India, what
■ For my mother because
she only gave life for me and
would you name
she gives love, affection and
everything for me
it and why?
 Monday, January 5, 2009
13

■ Dear Kamesh,
Murali from Scope International has been nominated
A warm Welcome to CGSL. New
as Office Angel by his friend Dhananjayan.
career in your life, in this New
He is a very nice guy, never says NO to any request from
Year.Yet another successful
the employees and completes it before the deadline. He
journey, starts today. Wishes for
knows 90 percent of the staff by their names. He is nice to
a bright future and, "All The
all the employees from the Head to the canteen guy. He
Best."
deserves to be “Office Angel” of our company.
Heartfelt Wishes from,
Ramya.S, CGSL.

■ Dear Raja alias Raasukutty,

Wish you many more happy
returns of the Day and have a
splendid year ahead. May all
your dreams come true.
Klarity Defect Team,
HCLT

■ Hi Harini,
Wishing you all the best in the
year to come. May your days be
filled with sunshine and
beautiful colours. And may your
nights be filled with comforting
dreams and wishes to come.
Your loving friends,
Hannah and Krithika

■ Dear HCL Vijay,

Iniya Pirantha Naal Vazthukkal.
We wish that your HCL dreams
come true by this Year!!!
Where’s the Party????
Team Worldsource
– TCS

■ Dear RudhraShree M,
Wish u many more happy
returns of the day. May the god
bless you with
Prosperity, joyful health and
Bharathi of Infosys has peace filled year ahead.
doodled this. With Loving Parents,
Manianand & Kirthika

■ Hi Sobi & Jeni,

Wish u happy prosperous "NEW
YEAR 2009" to u & ur Family.
May God bless U wid Hapinez,
peace. My Heartiest New year
Wishes.
with warm wishes from,
H.Nizam.
Optimus Global Services
,
■ Dear Suda,
Belated Birthday wishes!! Let
this birthday make ur life
brighter than ever and let all ur
dreams come true.
Regards,
Naraine,Infy
If a Flower is empty what do u call it,
Cauli-Flower ■ Dear RudhraShree M,
Thiruvalluvar 1330 kural ezhidhirundhaalum avarala oru kuralil thaan Wish u many more happy
paesa mudiyum returns of the day. May the god
Saravanan , HCL
bless you with
avar romba munjakkirthai ullavar inu eppadi sollura? prosperity,joyful health and
Avar Email ku kuda stamp otti anuppuvaar. peace filled year ahead.
With lots of luv,
Sivanandam
Murugesan & family.
Wipro
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

Overdraft
A student from England was left stunned after
looking at his online banking statement - it
showed him to be overdrawn by almost $146
billion (GBP100billion). Barclay’s bank blamed a
technical error.

sudoku

Starting today till

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Kantilal
Diamonds.
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with their entries.

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 Monday, January 5, 2009
Vegetable oil
An Air New Zealand jumbo jet has
successfully completed a two-hour
test flight that was partly powered
by vegetable oil.
15
Word’s worth
"Empasm" (em-paz-’m) a perfumed powder sprinkled on the body to
prevent sweating or for medicinal purposes. A similar word with the same
meaning is diapasm; both come from a Greek verb meaning ’to sprinkle.’
There is no recorded use of either word since the late nineteenth century.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

The first half the day seems very good. You will be
working on money generating ideas. Ganesha finds
you full of vigour throughout the day. Try to relax,
suggests Ganesha, or you will be completely drained
out even for a sweet romance with your beloved.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may feel as if you are married to your
computer, but do not worry much, it’s just for a
day. As soon as you are done with work, you may
want to rush home. A tiring day at work may
motivate to attend recreational activities.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You may be in a ‘self-developmental’ mood today.
BORN LOSER You may get inspired by someone. All your
communication will be affective. On the relationship
front, if you want to receive affection, you should
be considerate towards your beloved.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Work may not be too heavy hence you will remain
busy with routine work. Ganesha warns you against
wasting time as work pressure may increase. In the
evening you may entertain your beloved and have a
good time. The day might be tricky to handle.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
Sentiments and emotions might drench you in the
morning. Interestingly, the noon may appear with a
paradox. Ganesha feels you will be more practical
towards your final objective later during the day.
Love life may take a back seat.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Ganesha finds you behaving very amicably with
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT colleagues. You will be able to put your point
across in official meetings. Love life will be flooded
with sweet conversations and moments. Due to this,
you will feel on the top of the world today!
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Your memory will be very sharp today. Hence you
will remain good with digits and integers. Also,
memory will also ease the process of rectifying past
errors related to work. On the love front, you might
need to develop a compromising approach.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
To err is human and to rectify is smart. If you
realise that you are working in the wrong direction,
stop immediately and change the direction. Ganesha
assures that your efforts won’t get wasted. In love
life you are noticed to be judgemental.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
You may try to be friendly with everyone at office.
Along with the routine work, you may also feel like
doing some more research on work related topics.
Ganesha advises you to work according to your
priorities in life. Love life may be full of emotions.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
The day favours combination of creativity and
technology. Ganesha feels you should work on final
designs of products and softwares. If finalized now,
the final product will be wonderful. Since you are so
engrossed in work, personal life may suffer a bit.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Philosophical and practical thinking go hand in hand
today. Your advices for others might just go in vain
ISSUE’S today. Since you are feeling ‘divine’, you might try
to establish a spiritual connection with beloved.
SOLUTIONS Ganesha finds this Karmic day to be good for work.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
It is always advisable to clear the back log.
Ganesha feels your pending work might bother you
today. Ganesha also advises you to avoid mental
stress and take proper care of your health. Love life
will not cause any tension today.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Monday, January 5, 2009

One look is it takes

NEWS AND NEWSMAKERS IN PICTURES

Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan attend the book launch of ’Bachchanalia’
in Mumbai on Saturday. PTI PHOTO

A man dressed as a King distributes candies to residents during

an event to mark the end of Christmas season in Manila on
Sunday. AFP PHOTO

A member of the Sikh Nihang Army Baba ’Jagir’ Singh wears a

turban made with 250 metre of cloth while paying homage at
the Golden temple in Amritsar on Sunday. AFP PHOTO