A BYTE OF LIFE Friday, December 19, 2008

10 08
HAND IN GLOVE
Say yes to
MOVIE REVIEW fingerless gloves
Silambattam disappoints
FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 242

DATE DUDS
Murphy’s Law on Dating: things
that can go wrong will go wrong.

» PAGE 04
02 ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

Touch wood

Namma Chennai An exhibition-cum-sale of idols and wood carvings is on display as

part of the All India Handloom and Handicrafts Exhibition. The sale
is on till January 4 at Sri Karpagambal Kalyana Mandapam, No. 16,
Venkateswara Agraharam, Opp Sai Baba Temple, Mylapore.

Music

Splash with
Sale Sash
DJ Sash from Bangalore will rock
party goers with Bollywood
New for old numbers at OPM today. The
interiors of the pub are based on
It’s time to put your old winter an oriental theme with fiery
wear to good cause. Shoppers Stop dragons on the walls. Sash
has introduced the ‘Winter Wear specialises in a wide array of
Exchange Offer’ where one could music, from hip hop to R&B, from
donate old winter wear and get desi to world music and an
discount on purchase of new interesting choice of Bollywood
winter clothes. The old clothes will music as well.
be donated to Concern India For info call 2816 1000/ 4391
Foundation. 1000
When: Till December 31
Where: Shoppers Stop, Harrington
Road
Art

Theatre Splash with

Gender wars colours
Anupam Mandal, an alumnus of
Watch your corporate friends The Government College of Arts,
stage ‘The Battle of the Kolkata and The National
Sexes’ this weekend. Rebelz, Institute of Design is presenting
a theatre group started by IT his latest works in water colours
professionals, this time is titled ‘Prakriti’. He is known for
presenting a play drawn his stylised portraits of Bengali
from their personal women and landscape paintings.
experiences in "pursuit of When: December 21 to 31
love". Where: Tangerine, 5, Murrays
When: December 21; 2.30 Gate Road, Alwarpet
p.m., 5 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Ph: 2435 5834/ 4211 0888
Where: Top Storey, Alliance
Francaise
For tickets call 98400 95253
Reading

Entertainment Poet’s corner

There is lot happening in the
The big city for poetry lovers. Tom
Paulin, one of UK’s leading

fat circus contemporary poets, will

share his fascinating blend of
contemporary and classical
Acrobats, tricks,
trained animals…circus elements through a session on
conjures up various poetry. His works
images. And here’s encompasses a wide range of
one spectacular show themes relating to poverty
for you. Gemini Circus with the complex and
will present different disturbing realities of history,
feets with the famous politics, religion and society.
Russian artistes. When: December 19; 6.30
Where: SIAA Grounds, p.m.
Near Central Station Where: British Council, Anna
Shows at 1 p.m., 4 Salai
p.m. and 7 p.m. For queries call 4205 0600
03 NAMMA CHENNAI
Money, money, money
It is over eight years since Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich
Dad, Poor Dad was released, but a financial board
game inspired by the book continues to be popular
LIFFY THOMAS
liffythomas@goergo.in
A
fter four failed ventures, to-
day Kamesh Waran is reap-
ing the benefits of all the
“costly mistakes” he took in
life – whether it be investing in the
wrong place at the wrong time or
blindly trusting his partner.
Kamesh is one among the 200-
odd members of Cashflow Club,
Chennai, who swear by a board
game to help rebuild their for-
tunes.
Every Sunday, a group of six to
eight people gather at Life Acade-
my in Thousand Lights to revise all
what Robert Kiyosaki, author of
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, scripted in his
bestselling book, through a finan-
cial board game.
Introduced in the city in 2006 by
Ashraf (who brought the game
from Singapore), the game aims to
motivate one to learn about ma-
naging money in a fun and inter-
active way.
Proof of the fact is what people
of different age groups have to say:
One person’s income has in-
creased eight-fold; someone has
learned to associate with the right
kind of people, another has found
a financial mentor, one has un-
derstood his risk ratio and some-
one else has got addicted to the
game. “And for a change, this ad-
diction is good,” says Kamesh, who
calls himself a freelancer.
“I had a debt of Rs. four lakh
which I had to repay with a huge
interest. But, the book opened my
mind,” recalls Ashraf, a mechanical
engineer turned entrepreneur.
Rat race
The game is generally played in
two parts – Cashflow101 (funda-
mental investing) and Cashflow
202(technical investing). The for-
mer teaches you to get out of the
“rat race” by building up one’s
passive income. All you need is a
calculator, pencil, rubber and a
record sheet to the play the game
with dice and play money. For be-
ginners, there is an auditor to help
out.
Played for around three hours,
the analysis at the end of the game
is another interesting part the par-
ticipants look forward to.
“The analysis is important as you
learn from your mistakes. In fact,
many have even gotten to reading
the book after one or two visits,”
says R. Padmanaban (better known
as Paddy), a former Citi Group em-
ployee who moderates and men-
tors at most of the sessions.
Game on
Cashflow Club also organises the
money game in your colony, pro-
vided you gather a group of six to
play. Or, you could drop in at 36,
Aziz Mulk First Street, Thousand
Lights. Call 98412 92715/ 98414
38486 to confirm your participa-
tion. Also visit: http://groups.ya-
hoo.com/group/cashflow-chennai.
■ returned home on Friday to
Friday, December 19, 2008
Four arrested for
woman gangster’s
murder
E lephant Gate police on
Thursday arrested four
men in connection with
the murder of a woman
gangster on Wednesday
morning. Two of the arrest-
ed are brothers of the
deceased.
Police identified the ar-
rested men as Thambidurai
(28), Selvaraj (35), Kamaraj
(20) and Gopi (27). They
have been charged with the
murder of Parameshwari
(40) on the pavement on
Adiappanayakan Street in
Elephant Gate while she
was fast asleep early
Wednesday.
Parameshwari, who was
involved in gang-related
crimes in the area, was
found dead with cuts and
stab wounds on her face
and body.
7-year-old dies, father
alleges ragging at school
T he death of a seven-year-
old schoolboy in Sholin-
ganallur has prompted his
father to lodge a police
complaint alleging ragging
by the boy’s seniors in
school.
The victim, Devadanam,
was residing at Gangaiam-
man Street, Parameshwa-
ran Nagar in
Sholinganallur. He was a
student of Class I in a Go-
vernment School nearby.
Last Friday, Devadanam fell
ill and did not go to school.
His parents, Iruniya and Li-
ma, sanitary workers in a
private Engineering college
on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, had
find the boy trembling with
A police investigation
that followed revealed that
Thambidurai and Selvaraj,
who are brothers of Para-
meshwari, had a history of
quarrel over acquiring
loading contracts at lorry
sheds in the Elephant Gate
area. “Parameshwari
owned loading contracts
for four godowns and had
attempted to obtain the
fifth one started recently.
The move had annoyed the
brothers, who later plotted
and murdered their sister
along with two of their ac-
complices,” said an investi-
gating officer.
The four accused were
arrested within 24 hours of
the crime. They were later
produced in a city court
and remanded to custody.
■
fever. When the fever didn’t
subside the next day, Iruni-
ya questioned him about
what happened and Deva-
danam started crying and
replied that some Class VII
students in school had
been repeatedly harassing
him.
His parents took him to a
private hospital, but later
shifted him to Children’s
Hospital in Egmore, where
Devadanam died on
Wednesday night.
The boy’s father has
lodged a complaint with
the Thoraipakkam police
seeking necessary action
against the students who he
alleges are the cause of De-
vadanam’s death. ■
04
Big Story
That black date on
my diary
VIPASHA SINHA
T
alk about a perfect date and
Google comes up with
11,200,000 websites, out of
which thousands claim to
provide you with perfect date
ideas. Trust me, none of them re-
ally works.
No matter how hard you try,
when fate is not on your side all
efforts and planning prove futile.
You might have worn the best of
clothes, put on the perfect make-
up and loaded your wallet to por-
tray your best to your date. But
on that very day, for the first time,
your car decides to conk in the
middle of the road. You reach an
hour late, only to realise that the
date is flirting with someone else.
These are simple disasters, but
listed below are a few worst-case
scenarios. Disasters so bad that
just the thought of them makes
one want to drown.
Dung walk
Shorna, a 20-year-old college
student, made sure her long-time
crush would fall in love the in-
stant he sees her that day. She
made sure she was perfect head
to toe. She planned the series of
events in her mind while she
walked outside her door. Deeply
engrossed in her thoughts, she
did not realise that she had
stepped on a cake of cow dung.
Her date picked her up on his
bike and they went to a posh res-
taurant for dinner. But this time,
there was something wrong with
the way the place smelled, so-
mething like the inside of a farm!
After a few moments of awk-
ward silence, he said: “I guess it’s
your shoes. Do you mind going to
the restroom?”
Zip zapped
It was a first date for Vijay at his
favourite café. The date proceed-
ed well with quality talk as
planned. The lady seemed im-
pressed – until he got up to pay
the bill, that is. The waiter came
to him and told him in a not-so-
discreet voice, “Sir, please don’t
get me wrong but your fly is
open.”
These are just a few disastrous
date experiences, compared to
which incidents like forgetting
one’s wallet at home, coming
face-to-face with a psychopathic
stinky moron on a blind date,
How topsy-turvy can things go on bumping into obnoxious relatives
or exes when you’re just getting
your date? Read on cosy are pretty common. So the
next time you plan a date, don’t
forget to pray. ■
ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008
Green or brown?
H e had the perfect eyes, specks of green drowned in
molten chocolate. Is it green or brown? I always
wanted to find out. One seemingly, boring day he
walked up to me and asked me something I couldn’t
comprehend. I was lost in the hurricane of colours of
his eyes and painted a pathetic picture blushing and
staring at a perfect stranger. It was then that he
asked me out. My heart was beating at a rate that I
thought could create a mini quake in that peaceful
canteen. Though extremely willing, it took me a while
to croak in the affirmative. As he smiled and faded
away, I got lost in a daydream.
We are by the beach, a golden Labrador running
close on our heels. The wind is teasing my hair like a
long lost lover. Then a little girl tugs at his hand and,
pointing at me, asks him, “Who is that?” He looks at
me and says, “That is my darling wife, baby.” And we
all start laughing.
So the next day I suggest that we go to the beach.
There is no Labrador on our heels. But the wind is
teasing my hair and I feel him staring at me. I ask him
casually about his hobbies. He says he loves to sing. I
plod him to sing for me. He does. It’s a slow romantic
song and his voice is beautiful. Meanwhile, the sun
goes down and he is still singing for me. My eyes
start to water. I stifle a yawn and he is still singing.
My shoulders ache and finally my head starts aching
and he still doesn’t stop. He was so much in love…
with his own voice.
The next day we met in the canteen again. My
heartbeat is normal and it doesn’t take me a second
to know that his eyes were the exact colour of mud.
Brown.
Namitha Jayanarayanan
Oh, hell!
T his incident occurred in 2003. I was then taking
care of the restaurant which my father started. At
that time in Tirunelveli, mobile phones were not
widely in use. We had a landline number. My friend,
who had gone to attend a wedding, had given our
landline number to a girl he met there. He would
show up at our restaurant early morning and sit
beside the phone for a two-minute chat with that
girl, who would call from a PCO booth.
After he had gone one day, I received a call asking
for me. I started to talk. What a voice! Susheela,
Janaki… even Shreya Ghoshal can’t match that voice!
The girl introduced herself as Helmina. She was a
friend of the girl who called our restaurant everyday
to speak to my friend. We had a small chat that
lasted two hours.
This continued daily. I was dying to see her. She said
she would like to meet me, too, and laid down the
condition that we must not go to a cinema hall or
secluded place. I was happy to accept. I fought and
cried to my mom for Rs. 100 so that I could take her
to a decent restaurant (other than ours, obviously). I
borrowed a motorcycle from my friend. I was five
minutes early for the date.
Then disaster followed. I really understood the
meaning of her name, “Hell”mina. Even now I cannot
describe her. Let’s just say she looked like a pillar
from head to toe. Her hands were hairy like
Satyaraj’s. She must have expected a smart hunk. We
were both disappointed, which was clearly visible.
Then I thought for a moment, “Should I spend Rs.
100 on her?” I parked the bike and walked to her. I
told her I was getting late for an appointment, so we
better hurry. She accepted happily. I bought her a
sugarcane juice for Rs. 3, escorted her to the bus,
waved goodbye and came back whistling.
Petrol - Rs. 36/per litre; sugarcane juice – Rs. 3;
getting out of that disastrous date - priceless. There
are surely some things money cannot buy.
B. Bragadeesh Prasanna
Friday, December 19, 2008
05
06 ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

Davenport withdraws from Aussie Open

Sport
Three-time Grand Slam winner Lindsay Davenport announced that she is
pregnant and has taken herself off the WTA Tour indefinitely. After agreeing to
participate in the Australian Open last week, the 32-year-old former world No. 1
pulled out of the event on Wednesday.

Tata signs sponsorship

deal with Ferrari
Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy
announced on Thursday a sponsorship deal
with Formula One team Ferrari, bucking
predictions that the
Reds sit pretty
sport could collapse
in the global
Inconsistent Arsenal host leaders Liverpool
economic crisis.

Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) will
display its logo on
Ferrari cars during
the 2009 season, a
company statement
released in Mumbai
said. “TCS has
entered into a
historic agreement
with Ferrari for an
enhanced
technology and
marketing partnership,” the statement reads,
without giving financial details of the deal.
Formula One has agreed cost-cutting
measures following a meeting of the FIA
World Motor Sport Council in Monaco last
week to survive the current financial crisis.
With Honda’s recent shock withdrawl from
Formula One critics have expressed fears of
more teams falling down unable to bear
financial meltdown, raising fears over the
future of the multi-million dollar sport.
TCS has been a technology partner of the
Ferrari team since 2005 and Tata was also
one of the sponsors for the Jordan team
when Narain Karthikeyan drove for them in
2005.
Ergo Correspondent
O
ften reserving their best
form for tougher games,
manager Arsene Wenger
hopes the right Arsenal
side turns up for Sunday’s clash
with Premier League leaders Li-
verpool. The two teams have al-
ready beaten title rivals
Manchester United and Chelsea
but fifth-placed Arsenal have too
frequently stuttered against less-
er opposition. Defeats by Ful-
ham, Hull City, Stoke City,
Manchester City and Aston Villa
have left the Gunners eight points
behind Liverpool.
Grand opportunity for Reds
Typically one of the best fix-
tures on the calendar, an away
win for Rafa Benitez’s men would
open a four-point gap at the top,
with United contesting the
Club World Cup in Japan and
second-placed Chelsea not
playing until Monday.
“We have beaten
Chelsea and United this season
but we have to remember Arsenal
have done the same,” Liverpool
midfielder Javier Mascherano
told his club’s website (www.li-
verpoolfc.tv). “I think they play
much better against the top
teams and so we know it will be a
hard match. But if we play our
football and use our heads then
we can win the game.”
Bridge of sighs
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea
travel to Everton, in seventh, and
will be glad to get away from
Stamford Bridge having won only
one of their last five home match-
es. New Blackburn Rovers man-
ager Sam Allardyce, who replaced
the sacked Paul Ince on Wednes-
day, faces a relegation battle at
home to Stoke City in his first
match on Saturday. Second-bot-
tom Rovers have lost six succes-
sive league games and are six
points adrift of safety in a crowd-
ed bottom half of the table. A win
for Aston Villa at West Ham Unit-
ed, buoyed by a draw at Chelsea
last weekend, would lift Martin
O’Neill’s side to third spot while
sixth-placed Hull can keep the
pressure on Arsenal with a victory
at home to managerless Sunder-
land.
The other matches on Saturday
are Bolton Wanderers at home to
Portsmouth and Middlesbrough
visiting Fulham. On Sunday, sur-
prise relegation scrappers Man-
chester City travel to bottom club
West Bromwich Albion having
won only once in eight league
games while Newcastle
United host a resurgent
Tottenham Hotspur. ■
Reuters

Stanford’s ire
directed at WICB
In what would be a welcome
relief to the shattered
England and Wales Cricket
Board, billionaire Sir Allen
Stanford of Texas has said he was not going
to withdraw from his multimillion-pound
investment in English cricket. Stanford’s
comments contradicted remarks made by his
own spokespeople that a complete pull-out
from the sport was “being evaluated”,
according to a report in English tabloid The
Mirror. Liverpool
“Sir Allen Stanford last night insisted that he players
is not going to withdraw from his celebrate
multimillion-pound investment in English after another
cricket,” said the report. “The billionaire is triumph in the
conducting a full review of his involvement EPL. PHOTO: AFP
with the sport but he said its focus will be on
the future of his work in the West Indies and
will not affect his commitments with the
England and Wales Cricket Board,” it said.
The ECB was stunned by Wednesday’s
announcement of the pull-out, but its
Chairman Giles Clarke, currently in Mohali for
the second and final Test against India, had
said the quadrangular international series at
Lord’s next summer, for which the Texan is a
principal sponsor, will go ahead.
PTI
 Friday, December 19, 2008
07

‘‘
India’s pullout would make it worse for us (PCB).
With no international cricket ahead obviously no
sponsors are willing to sign long term deals with us.
PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf

India cancel Pak tour Central government instructs BCCI to call of the five-week tour
ERGO CORRESPONDENT
feedback@goergo.in

T
he Board of Control for Crick-
et in India (BCCI) on Thurs-
day officially called off the
national team’s scheduled
tour to Pakistan following instruc-
tions from the central government.
According to BCCI sources, Exter-
nal Affairs Minister Pranab Muk-
herjee and Sports Minister M.S.
Gill had personally called on BCCI
president Shashank Manohar to
convey the government’s decision.
BCCI chief executive officer Rat-
nakar Shetty confirmed the news
and said: “We received a commu-
nication from the government stat-
ing that in the present
circumstances it is not feasible to
tour Pakistan.”
Earlier, Gill had made the same
announcement in the parliament.
The tour, already under the
scanner for security reasons, was
further jeopardised after the terror
attack in Mumbai on November
26. With the government and also
the entire nation blaming Pakista-
ni-based elements for the terror at-
tack that left 172 people dead and
more than 300 wounded, it was vir-
tually impossible for the series to
go on. India were scheduled to play
three Tests, five One-Day Interna-
tionals and a Twenty20 match dur-
ing the five-week tour from Tour Troubles
January 6 to February 19.
2001: New Zealand returns home
Pakistan hardly saw any cricket- from Singapore on their way to
ing action in 2008 and has already Pakistan after the September 11 terror
been hit by cancellations and post- attacks in the US.
ponements of other cricketing en-
gagements, including the 2008 2002: Kiwis agree to come back but
on the morning of the second Test a
Champions Trophy, amidst secur-
bomb explodes outside the team hotel
ity concerns.
in Karachi, killing 11 people. The team
They played only 21 One-Day In- catches the next flight home.
ternationals, mostly against Ban-
gladesh and Zimbabwe, as top 2002: Australia refuse to tour
teams refused to tour Pakistan, and because of safety concerns and the
no Test matches. The cancellation series is moved to Sri Lanka and the
UAE.
of the tour will hit the cash-
strapped Pakistan board hard and 2003: Following bombings in
PCB has already proposed neutral Karachi, South Africa cancel their tour.
venues for the bilateral series. 2008: Australia refuses to tour in
However, BCCI officials have re- March, claiming to have knowledge of
fused to comment on the matter a direct threat to players from a
and have left the ball in the Indian terrorist organisation.
government’s court. 2008: The eight-team Champions
The two countries resumed Trophy One-Day International
cricketing ties in 2003-04 when In- tournament is postponed after
dia completed a full tour of Pakis- Australia, South Africa, England and
tan after a gap of 15 years. New Zealand express security concerns.
There was a rare show of unison The ICC postpones the event and it is
between the supporters of the two scheduled to be held in Pakistan in
countries and Pakistan reciprocat- October 2009.
ed with a tour to India in 2005 and 2009: India cancels it tour to
bilateral series between the two Pakistan following the Mumbai terror
countries were hailed as “cricket attack.
diplomacy”. ■
08 ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

Portfolio
Forget keeping warm;
fingerless gloves are chic, cool
and Goth, all at the same time

Clockwise from top: Kate Perry, Karl Lagerfeld, Beyonce, Lola Ponce,
Madonna and Palestinian designer Mirvat Ghandur

not, his favou

his collections.
Arm warmers,
variety of the fing
‘I Kissed a Girl’ s
ion icon, her quir
tegral part of her w
New Act Award
Awards in Liverp
uous was the yello
a bold ‘YES’ emb
Obama.
Rihanna, during
cert series, looke
stone-studded j
emerging through
Beyonce’s sudd

G
loves have been affected by several interpreta- metallic thing tha
tions. They’re what mime artistes use to drama- ered and fingerle
tise and exaggerate gestures on stage. They’re And to the cons
also what royals don to prevent their lovely hands less gloves and pr
from coming into contact with things common and low- dictionary, singer
ly. Originally designed to keep wearers’ fingers from these gloves look
freezing in sub-human conditions, they soon turned to Not all can carry
red-carpet accessory. Ergo loves the fingerless variety. and pretty Zhang
‘Material Girl’ Madonna was one of the earliest fans looked pretty con
of the fingerless glove, appearing on the cover of her white pair with a
1984 album, Like a Virgin, in a white wedding gown and jacket at Cannes l
fingerless gloves to match. Her recent world tour, in a P.S. Keep your
way, revisited the era. shocking red, a l
Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld is never seen without his break from the b
trademark netted fingerless pair. And more often than used to seeing ev
 Friday, December 19, 2008
09

PRICETAG
Esprit Timewear
Fall Winter 2008
The Rose Group
through Egana India Pvt
Ltd launches the new
Fall Winter 2008
collection of Esprit
timewear. The
collection marks the
return of a design that
focuses on the wearer.
Belle Époque: The
delicate curves in each
of its joints not only
lend certain airiness to
the ‘belle époque’
bracelet, but are also
noticeably flattering to
any wrist. Polished
lustre adds to its
exclusive look and
gentle touch – available
with black or white
dials as well as rose-
gold plating. Price: Rs.
2950 to Rs. 4450
Light My Soul: In
anthracite, white, or
leather, the watch
always exudes a
nostalgic aura. Price: Rs.
2950 to Rs. 4450
Shiny bit: A braided
textile strap is wrapped
twice around the wrist and ends in glittering
joints. Price: Rs. 3450 to Rs. 4450
Icon X: An established design icon in the
women’s range now comes in a Houston
urite palm-hugger also finds a place in model for men. Price: Rs. 7490 to Rs. 7950
. Esprit timewear is available at Shopper’s Stop,
akin to leg warmers, are an extended Lifestyle, Westside and Watches And More
gerless gloves. stores.
singer Kate Perry is an emerging fash-
rky Manish Arora outfits being an in-
wardrobe. When she received the Best Nike outerwear
during the 2008 MTV Europe Music Nike has launched its range of outerwear for
pool, England, in November, conspic- this winter.
ow fingerless glove on one hand with The clima-fit (CF) lined jacket is suited for the
blazoned across in support of Barack winter and its features include ventilation at
the back and the iconic Windrunner 26 shape
g the Tokyo leg of the Live Earth con- at the front. Price: Rs. 2,795
d every bit the biker chick in rhine- The light fill jacket is a stylised women’s
acket and blood-red fingernails woven light filled water-repellent jacket,
h black leather fingerless gloves. perfect for winters. Packable hood and
enly seen everywhere with a strange shoulders provide additional flexibility. Price:
at looks like a cross between the cov- Rs. 2,995
ss variety. The zoned thermal fill jacket has a light-
sternation of those who think finger- weight mesh lined
retty are on opposite ends of the style zone with contrast
r Lola Ponce succeeding in making dobby fabric at the
good with a silver floor-length dress. underarm and
y it off, though. The otherwise elegant contrast piping at
g Zhi (of Memoirs of a Geisha fame) raglan and hood
nfused when she paired a black and panel. Price: Rs.
a black tulle skirt and white waiter’s 4,995
last year. The clima-fit zoned
outfit dull and try a pair of gloves in lined jacket comes
la Agyness Deyn. This is a welcome with waterproof
black leather ones we’ve become so zip for the side
verywhere. ■ pocket. Price: Rs.
3,995
10 ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

Flick
Silambattam disappoints
KALPAGAM SARMA his maternal grandfather
played by veteran Nedumudi

L oaded with double entendre,

‘Little Superstar’ Simbu’s
latest ‘Silambattam’ pans out
Venu. His village friends’ circle
feature all the usual suspects,
including Santhanam. An oth-
like an unabashed extravagan- erwise neat comedian, who
za targeted at the front bench- has proved that with the right
ers. Neither the story nor its script like “Arai Enn 305thil
treatment is fresh. In fact, the Kadavul” he could be quite
movie reminds one of previous good, Santhanam once again
duds of the actor. It is also so slips into the vulgar, double
loaded with vulgar dialogues entendre that is bound to
and a twisted comedy line that bring a smirk to the faces of the
is bound to set the audience, audience. Karunas, who has a
especially the women, twitch- separate comedy track in a
ing in their seats right through. flashback sequence, is a saving
The one high point of the grace though.
movie though is the ‘Where is Young heroine Sana Khan
the Party’ number that has makes a debut and has done a
been playing on a loop in sev- pretty decent job of it. Sneha,
eral FM station. The song, with looking pretty petite after a
lyrics by Silambarasan and long while, sleepwalks through
sung by Mukesh and Priyadar- her role and manages to get
shan, is well choreographed noticed. Ultimately, a whole of
and cinematographed. actors, including Prabhu, get
For the second time in his lost in a confusing and convo-
career, Silambarasan portrays luted plot. That makes it two
a double and in a first that of a out of two for Simbu, whose
married person. And behold, last movie ‘Kaalai’ too suffered
his pair is Sneha, surely his se- because of a confusing
nior in Kollywood. He plays narration.
the role of the father Tamil, in Silambarasan had proved
the flash back, as also his son, with ‘Manmathan’ that he is
Vichu in the main narrative. capable of rising above the
The done-to-death routine mediocrity that is synonymous
of a pious Brahmin who takes with Tamil commercial cine-
to violence gets all the regular ma. But he should come up
treatment in director S.Sarava- with movies better than Silam-
nan’s debut. Simbu is Vichu, battam to guarantee one and
the Brahmin who learns all the all that Manmathan was no
good nature of being one from flash in the pan. ■

Carrey on laughing
A fter Ace Ventura and The Mask, it’s a surprisingly
restrained character that ‘Chewing Gum’ Carrey gets to
play in Yes Man – at least, for a greater part of the
movie. Carl (Jim Carrey) has a readymade answer for
everything, be it for friends asking him to hangout or
hapless bank customers who want him to put an
‘approved’ stamp on their loan requisition papers – “No”.
The way lying was Carrey’s character’s bane in Liar, Liar,
an inability to say yes is his undoing here.
So when an irritatingly cheerful friend drags him to a
‘Yes’ camp by motivational guru called Terrance Bundley
(Terence Stamp), Carl is told to say ‘Yes’ to everything for
a whole year or face dire consequences. What doesn’t
begin like a very pleasant outing (he’s stranded in a
jungle without money, cellphone battery life and car fuel,
thanks to generosity that springs from the obligation of
saying yes) soon changes and Carl finds a new girlfriend,
better job and unexpected joys that come from lack of
planning or foresight. (Saving sad guys from jumping off
ledges seems to be a universal method of endearing
oneself to sentimental women.) The welcome-life-with-
open-arms theory has been dragged a little too often and
the situations that crop up following Carl’s initiation into
the ‘Yes’ life aren’t exactly fresh. However, the film has
its funny moments that the lack of originality doesn’t
dilute. Carrey is especially good in scenes where he is
trying hard to mask his scepticism of the ‘Yes’ theory
behind a veil of laughter. Zooey Deschanel, as Allison, the
antithesis of the original gloomy Carl, is fun to watch too.
Shalini Shah

Film: Yes Man; Director: Peyton Reed; Cast: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Terence Stamp
 Friday, December 19, 2008
Mamma Mia beats Titanic
“Mamma Mia!” has become Britain’s highest grosser, beating
the box office collection of “Titanic”, a record that stood for 10
years. The Abba-inspired romantic comedy grossed 69,066,035
pounds since its release nearly 23 weeks ago.
11
Ali was my childhood hero
Actor Tom Cruise fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he met boxing
legend Muhammad Ali at a gala event. Cruise admits the three-time
World Heavyweight Champion was his hero as a kid, and he was an
emotional wreck when he finally had the chance to meet him in 1998.

Sunny days ahead for

ENDHIRAN
F
or a production house that
is still in its first year, Sun
Pictures seems to have hit
the jackpot.
In a possible fallout of the fi-
nancial meltdown, Sun Pictures
has come forward to bail out Su-
perstar Rajinikanth-starrer in the
making ‘Endhiran’. The project
was announced officially in Sep-
tember as a co-production be-
tween Ayngaran Films and Eros
Films International. But specula-
tion has been rife that the pro-
ducers wanted to wash their
hands of the project, after direc-
tor Shankar refused to make
some budget cuts post global ec-
onomic meltdown.
On Wednesday night, in a press
release issued to all media orga-
nisations, Sun TV Network Limit-
ed announced that it would be
producing the movie. It quoted
Kalanithi Maran, chairman and
managing director of the Sun TV
Network, as saying: “This is a big
moment for Sun Pictures as we
feel this is going to be India’s big-
gest movie. We are very happy to
be associated with Superstar Raji-
nikanth, Shankar and
A.R.Rahman”.
The press note also quoted the
Superstar as saying: “This is In-
dia’s biggest movie and I am very
happy and honoured to work
with Sun Pictures and Mr.Kala-
nithi Maran.”
The deal was reportedly firmed
up on Wednesday, in the pres-
ence of Kalanithi Maran, Rajini-
kanth, Shankar, Sun Pictures
Chief Operating Officer W.Hans-
raj Saxena and the movie’s cine-
matographer Rathanvel.
The announcement also coin-
cided with the leaking (or maybe
even official release) of the first
set of production stills from End-
hiran. Readers may recall the
‘leaked photographs’ of the song
featuring Rajinikanth and Aish-
warya Rai at the Machu Pichu in
Peru. The production stills are
from the same sequence.
Endhiran, in which Rajinikanth
is rumoured to play a dual role –
that of a scientist and a robot –
has listed some of the world’s
best technicians, including a few
from Hollywood, and could well
turn out to be one of the costliest
productions ever from India. It
features the likes of Mary E.Vogt,
the costume designer from Men
In Black, Batman Returns and In-
spector Gadget, Yuen Woo Ping,
the stunt choreographer whose
credits include The Matrix and
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
and technicians from the re-
nowned Stan Winston Studio,
which has worked on smash hits
including Jurassic Park, Termina-
tor and the more recent Iron
Man. ■
12
Thursday’s Question:
Following Sania
Mirza, which
sportsperson do you
think should get a
doctorate?
■ Vishwanathan Anand for taking
chess to a highest level and
putting India on top of the ladder
Joseph Matthew - Allsec Technologies,
Manimala, Durga,
Gopi, K.Senthil - PMC, Banupriya -
Cognizant, Manimozhi Karthik - Sify
Technologies
■ The Great Indian Wall Rahul
Dravid for his excellent
performance
Balaji, Wipro
■ Sachin Tendulkar should get
doctorate for his contribution to
cricket
Sundar Narayan - Polaris, Idayath,
N.Vijayaraj - Perot Systems,
Gopinath.R - PMC
■ Olympic gold medal winner
Abhinav Bindra
Aristo John - Sutherland, Bhanupriya.R
- CGSL, Praveen Kumar - Allsec Tech
■ MS Dhoni. For his excellent
captaincy
Prabhakaran.S - HCL Tech, Sabarish,
Surendar - Cognizant, John, Ramya,
Prabahar Raj.P - Perot Systems
■ Maria Sharapova for the way
she carries herself in playing
tennis
Serena D’souza, Allsec Technologies
■ Virender Sehwag. Being a
match winner and evergreen
entertainer, he really deserves it
Venu Prakash, Perot Systems
■ Deepika pallikal, who is making
India proud in squash, should be
given doctorate
Arun.N,
Sutherland
■ Dada for his priceless
ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008
contribution to the team
Asath Kani M - TCS, Vasudev -
Cognizant
■ Badminton queen Saina Nehwal
Vignesh R
■ Andrew Symonds. We all know
what he is good at
Keerthi,
Allsec Technologies
■ Nadia Comaneci for her perfect
10 in history of gymnasium
Sripradha Chakravarthy, Infosys
■ Leander Paes or Mahesh
Bhupathi cause they have won Priya SN of TCS has nominated her friends as Partners in
Grand Slams and made nation Crime.This picture was clicked at Pulicat Lake.
proud. Sania hasn’t crossed fourth
round of Grand Slam
Rege, Cognizant
■ Aamir Khan, yenna avar than
lagaan-la last ball-a six adichi,
jeika vecharu
Chandru, TCS
■ Another Doctorate for Dr.Vijay
who played kabbadi in Gilly,
athlete in ATM and for car racing,
high jump, long jump, etc in
Kuruvi
Satheesh KC,
Cognizant
■ Superstar for his outstanding
performance in volleyball (film Ganeshkumar of RR Donelley has nominated his team as Partners
Baba) in Crime. This pic was clicked at Temple Bay.
Jubair, Cognizant
■ The Indian former Hockey
captain Dhanraj Pillai will be the
right person
Selvakumar,
TCS
Today’s Query:
What would be your
first reaction if you
see your partner
with somebody else
and why?
Rekha S,
TCS Sanjay of TCS has nominated his team as Partners in Crime.
 Friday, December 19, 2008
December 18 (Belated):
■ Hi kokila (@kuyil),
You are a little hyper. You will have psychic
gifts. You have the ability to masteranything in
life. Ur wise decisions will take you to newer
heights in career as well as personal life. You
will prove to b beneficial. Wish You Many
more Happy Returns of the Day!!!(Kuyiluku
Iniya Piranthanal Vazthukkal...)
With Luv, Sabarinathan.K, Ashok, Akilan, Sada,
Sethuraman, Balaji, Mani, Raja md...and
friends...Perot Systems.
■ Dear Ganguly,
Happy Happy birthday to u !!!!! Have a blast
!!!! Let ur life be filled with happiness and
gods blessings always !!! You deserve all the
love and admiration that I have for you
Because you’re the kind of person That I can
turn to :))))
With loads of love,
Priya
■ Dear Erni,
Many more happy returns of the dayWe are
wishing you another year Of laughter, joy and
fun, surprises,love and happiness.
With love,
Nithya and Naga
■ Dear Uma,
We both wish you a very Happy Birthday.All
the very best for your future.
With Luv,
Savitha and Vidhya.
December 19:
■ Dear Mani,
Sending birthday blessings filled with love,
peace and joy wishing sweetest things happen
right before your eyes!!! Hope your Birthday
gently breezes into your life all the choicest of
things and all that your heart holds.…Have a
Fun- Filled Day
Regards,
Viji, Maha n Swathi
■ Dear Bhai ,
Congrats! Wishing You God’s Blessing on Your
Wedding Day in advance. From this day
forward, as you share life’s joys and trials, may
you always comfort one another with a smile...
Always be together through both laughter and
the tears... Loving happily ever after. Wishing
you a wonderful beginning, and love to last a
lifetime!
Insha Allah !!
“Papa padum patu , ketu thalaiyea aatu “
(Guess who I am)
■ Dear Amrutha,
Happy Birthday to you ,From the bottom of
our heart.May your good times multiply,Till
they’re flying off the chart!.Have many
more......With u 4ever
Team AMPM(Perot systems)
■ Hi Sathish Kumar,
Wish you a very happy birthday. May the
Almighty gives you all the things that you are
waiting for this year & coming years.
Hearty Wishes from,
AMPF Team
Infosys Technologies Limited (Mcity)
■ Dearest kanna
Wish you many more Happy returns of the day
May this day be your most memorable day in
13
your life. God bless you!!! Wish you a Bright
Future ahead With love and care Your Loving ■ Hi Praveen,
- Coastal Training
Ponnu. If there’s something that you’re dreaming of
■ En Chellast Riii, then may it all come true, because you deserve
Many more Happy Returns of the Day!May this it all...
Bday be just the beginning of a year filled Advance Birthday Wishes
with happy memories & wonderful With Best wishes,
moments.Wishing you all the joy that your Om Debashree & Team
heart can hold.Happy Birthday Buddy :) ■ EZHUCHI NAYAGAN’ SRI
With lots of luv, Avargalukku,"ENIYA PIRANDHA NAL
La - SAP Labs VAZTHUGAL!!!"Vazhga SRI, Vaalarga Ungal
■ My Dearest Fiance Ramky, Thondu!!!
Wish you a very happy birthday..Let our life be By,
filled with happiness and we will continue Ungal Sishya Kodigal.
celebrating many more birthdays of yours with ■ Hi PrasaDevi,
great funafter marriage.Dont worry you are Advance Happy Birthday, May all your wishes
growing younger and not older :) and dreams come true for the coming year
With Lots of love, ahead and also for all the upcoming years. Let
Gayathri (Hexaware) the luck shower on you from this day onwards
■ Dear Madhavan, and u will find success in all walks of ur life
Wish you many many more Happy returns of (Ithukagavavathu treat pls …..:)
the Day. Hope you have a wonderful year 4ever ur gud friens
ahead. HAPPY BIRTHDAYRegards, Macrovision Team
Gayathri, Cognizant Technologies
TCS ■ Dear Sam,
■ Dear Tiger(Tharani Metilda), "Your birthday is a special time to celebrate
From the day you started cutting your nails to the gift of ’YOU’ to the world." Advance
till date(more than a year) we had a very good birthday wishes. Ever Yours, A.M.Kesavkumar,
time as a team. Today we planned to invite all Wipro Technologies.
your friends from your past but unfortunately S.Indhu,
all are busy in entertaining the public coming TCS.
to ZOO. So now it becomes our responsibility
as a team to protect and make happy the
endangerous species rarely existing on the December 20:
■ Dear Melvin,
earth. Agha moththathile ungaliku
pirandhanal nal vazhthukal solrathukku than The first ball was a ’wide’
ivalavu vetti pechchi. Have a wonderful future Second a ’no ball’ and
a head fulfilling all your needs. Third a ’free hit’
Your ever loving team, Every time u bowled to us , u gave us extras
Quality TN Tigers. Extras of enjoyment, refreshment and
■ Dear bharath, knowledge.
Advance Birthday Wishes(21st Dec).You’re We join hands to wish this encyclopedia cum
older today than yesterday but younger than bowler a very wonderful birthday.
tomorrow, Happy B’day!Have a wonderful day From your loving colleagues
& fabulous year. 5th floor Rear wing
Cheers,Chalz Ramco Systems
■ DearBrother, ■ Hi RIA,
With Dad’s blessing ourAdvance wishes for Many more happy returns of the day! Enjoy
your sweetest Birthday. Be happy and smiling your life. Keep on shining like the sun. Spread
always. Enjoy the day and all your years. pleasure like the moon light. WISH U SUCCESS
Yours, FOR U R LIFE !!!!!
Amma,Dhana,Saradha,Saravanan,Ammu Douglas Henry,
Kutti,Kartheepan TCS
■ Hi Deepa, ■ Hi PrasaDevi,
Wish you many more happy returns of the day Advance Happy Birthday, May all your wishes
ma and keep smiling all your life..... and dreams come true for the coming year
With love ahead and also for all the upcoming years. Let
Sharan, Arvind the luck shower on you from this day onwards
■ Bubly, and u will find success in all walks of ur life
Always think that whatever happened to you (Ithukagavavathu treat pls …..:)
is good for you. Always feel that you are the 4ever ur gud friens,
best. I am always with you with full support. Macrovision Team
Baptu. Cognizant Technologies
■ Hi Thulasi Raman,
Wish you many morehappy returns of the day.
May all your dreams come true in your life. December 21:
Your’s Everloving Friend, ■ Dear Praveena,
Manikandan K We all wish U A merrifull and bright Bday:-)
■ Hi Anitha, May All Ur DreamsCome true and hav a
We wish you spiritual peace, inner strength, & greatDay & year ahead..UrBday’s are feathers
universal joy. God bless you with all good in the broad wing of time...With Lots Of
things in your life. Happy birthday to Luv,FriendsForever :-)
you!!!Rajee Anand, Kalpanag Wipro Technologies.
14 ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

Traffic Jam
Men jailed
Two Chinese men face possible jail
terms for throwing eggs at the national
flag in a square in the southwest city of
Chongqing.

sudoku

S. Nagalakshmi
of Barry-
Wehmiller
International
Resources
captured the
rainbow after
Coimbatore
witnessed gentle
showers
recently.
Hobbies:
Reading,
listening to old
movie songs
and collecting
pens.

KAKURO
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 Friday, December 19, 2008
Cat’s eyes
A 15-year-old cat’s eyesight has been
restored by contact lenses in what is
believed to be a first in medical history.
15
Word’s worth
"Undern" (un-dern) an early meaning was ’the third hour of the day’
(meant to be about nine o’clock). Later, confusingly, the sixth hour of the
day, or midday, and the afternoon or evening. A wonderful word to use
when you know you will be late but don’t want to admit it: "See you about
undern!" It can also mean a meal eaten at midday or in the afternoon.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Ganesha insists that you must plan your activities
for the forthcoming week. The day today and the
following week may remain loaded with work. If
you have made promises to your beloved, you will
be able to fulfil them.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

The beginning might make you feel a crunch due to
heavy workload, but later you may feel relaxed and
things will be under control. Second half is also
good for developing new ideas. And new ideas
indeed; you wish to go out with your beloved.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

You may get a feeling that your superiors are
BORN LOSER unsatisfied with you. Don’t feel burdened for that.
For the whole day you should avoid meetings as
your power to negotiate or discuss seems to be
low. Love life will be blooming at its full.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Your dedication towards work will be at peak
today. You colleagues will appreciate your work and
your attitude. However, the day might wear you out
and you might want to spend a quiet evening with
your lover. You will be pampered by your beloved.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
Feeling wise today? Keep it to yourself, advises
Ganesha. Not everyone will lend you an ear for your
suggestions. Also, some might take it in the wrong
sense. Ganesha also advises you to watch your
‘advising’ mood in your personal life.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Today you may feel a little pinch when dealing with
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT personal and professional life. You may have to
learn to distribute your time in a more efficient way.
Ganesha feels you should be more patient. On the
love front, things will be better than last week.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
If you want to work with zest and vigour, you will
have to wait till the lunch time. You may indulge
actively in SMS or phone conversations. However,
your conversational skills will surely add some spice
in your relationship with your beloved.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Your colleagues will be ready to help you with your
endeavours today. You may get lucky, and your
superiors may also help you. Today you will have a
wonderful time in professional and personal life.
Ganesha suggests you to go easy on your beloved.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
From now on, you must finish off work as it comes.
Pending work takes a toll on your energy. You will
realise this today, says Ganesha. Ganesha advises
you to distribute work according to priority. Love life
and personal life will be demanding.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Ganesha finds your attention bifurcated in two parts
– professional and domestic. Ganesha suggests you
to be practical to get rid of any confusion that
arises. On the romantic front, you will be able to
spend good time with your partner.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Every minute of the day will seem like an hour. You
may have to deal with some additional work along
ISSUE’S with your routine daily work. These long working
hours may take a toll on your stamina. Ganesha
SOLUTIONS feels that you should not ignore your personal life.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
If you find people getting apprehensive about your
work techniques, don’t panic. Ganesha thinks you
may also feel paranoid on office matters. The most
logical solution to this would be to be patient. On
the love front, there are rare chances of mishaps.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Friday, December 19, 2008

NEWS AND

One look is all it takes NEWSMAKERS

IN PICTURES

Actress Frieda Pinto attends the ’Slumdog Millionaire’ premiere during day
seven of The 5th Annual Dubai International Film Festival held at the Madinat
Jumeriah Complex on Wednesday in Dubai. GETTY IMAGES

Anil Kapoor with his daughter Rhea attend

the ’Slumdog Millionaire’ premiere during day
seven of The 5th Annual Dubai International
Film Festival held at the Madinat Jumeriah
Complex on Wednesday in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates. GETTY IMAGES