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The Hindu : Virtual mechanicCar and bike questions? We have the answersI want to buy a car and my budget is Rs 4 lakh. I have short-listed the Spark, Palio and Santro. My priorities are fuel efficiency, low maintenance, reliability, safety and good space at the front and rear. Is the Pal io a good choice?Ganesh Kumar KThe Palio is a good choice in terms of space. But it will not be as fuel efficient as the Santro or the Spark. You might want to look at the new Hyundai i10, its got decent space, is reasonably peppy to drive and fuel efficient as well.I want to buy a Maruti SX4 but someone has suggested that I buy the Aveo instead. Is there a clutch problem in the SX4? I want to know the pros and cons of both cars and don’t care much about resale value. My priorities are fuel economy and comfort.ChandanThe SX4 comes across as a good buy. We are not aware of any clutch issues with the SX4. But the Aveo is also a good choice if you have comfort in mind. Both the cars have similar fuel efficiency figures of about 9-10kpl in the city and 14.5-15kpl on the highway with the Aveo having slightly better figures. The SX4 gives you a lot of features especially in the ZXi variant, but the Aveo has more up-market interiors. But if you want comfort and fuel economy, the Aveo it is.I am planning to buy my first car and though I know there are several choices available in the market, I have a limited budget. I am interested in the Stile and want to know your opinion. Is it a good car to drive locally and for long trips. Could you tell me if it is fuel efficient, easy to maintain, and the parts are easily available.SaravananThe Palio Stile is a good car, but the…More

The Hindu : When we thought small town is out of the picture in Bollywood, Sooraj Barjatya gave us “Vivah”. Panned by critics for being out of sync with today’s sensibilities, the film went on to do good business in most centres. Recently premiered on telly, the film raked in decent TRPs. Now Sooraj is bringing the same sensibilities to the small screen with “Main Teri Parchhain Hoon” on NDTV Imagine.“Thanks to the multiplex boom, many of us have started believing that India resides only in the metros. It is a myth. Critics even called the language out of sync. But they forgot that the film was set in Mathura where people still use similar language, not the Hinglish of the metros. And even if purity in language is fading, as creative people it is our responsibility to try and bring the glorious days back. The film has broken many a myth and now we want to depict the same values on television.” Sooraj says “Main Teri…” is an emotional story of a young girl who follows her conscience and tries to set right the wrong she has unknowingly and unintentionally done to a family.It is often said Sooraj has not seen the harsher side of life. And that’s why all his films have a happy feel. “It is true to an extent. But I have grown up in a value system that is fast becoming a thing of the past in different media. So I want to celebrate it through my film stories. In our films nobody is a villain. It is only the circumstances that are villainous. Be it the fire in “Vivah” or the death of sister in “Hum Apke Hain Koun”, it has always been the circumstances.”He tried to bridge the gap between the small town values and big city lifestyle with “Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon”, but the film bombed. “It was a…More

The Hindu : German cars like the Audi, Mercedes and BMW are the kings of the luxury car segment and for good reason. These cars are known for their gorgeous looks and brilliant performance. They are also for the fact that every detail has been thought of meticulously and is of superior quality. The Swedish Volvo S80 falls into this category of luxury cars, and should not be discounted because of its country of origin. The people buying these vehicles havehigh demands with regard to what the car should offer and one can’t blame them. The cars, after all, do cost a lot and so should offer a lot.In fact, of the four cars mentioned above, three are manufactured in India; the Mercedes E-class, BMW 5-series and, more recently, the Audi A6. The Volvo is the only car that will be imported. Though all four cars belong to the same segment, they have distinct designs. So if it is high levels of quality and luxury you are looking for and have the money to spend, which of the four should you choose? Read on…Design and engineeringThe E-class is the oldest car in the competition. Though the design is old, it still looks classy and maintains its charm.The A6 is easy to recognise and typical details like the ‘Bulgarian beard’ (the big grille stretching all the way down to the chin spoiler), the high-mounted twin-barrel lamps and smoothened nose give the Audi a sophisticated look. The uncluttered lines add to the desire quotient of the A6. Overall, it is a stunning piece of design.Equally good looking is the BMW with Chris Bangle’s design features such as the sharply creased lines, eagle-eye headlights and Dracula-cloak skinning. All these add to the style element; it certainly looks the most aggressive of the four.As for the S80, though in the past Volvos have been given the ‘box-like look’ tag, the new Volvo…More

The Hindu : After the star-studded “Murder on the Orient Express”, which included tinsel town’s brightest like Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Vanessa Redgrave and John Geilgud among others and “Evil Under the Sun”, Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot will put his little grey cells to use once again in “Death on the Nile”. The film will be aired on PIX tonight at 10 p.m.Like all her well crafted whodunits, “Death On The Nile” also has an enclosed space, the cruise ship, the S. S. Karnak this time and a list of suspects all of who have reason to want the victim dead. Everyone seems to have a grouse against the rich heiress Linnet Ridgeway. Could it be the elderly Mrs. Van Schuyler, her maid , the writer Salome Otterbourne who has a drinking problem, Salome’s daughter Rosalie, the American Andrew Pennington and former friend Jacqueline de Bellefort. But when a series of murders take place and Linnet too becomes the victim, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot takes charge to unravel the mystery.The film is directed by John Guillermin and Peter Ustinov plays Poirot. Others in the cast include Jane Birkin, Lois Chiles, Bette Davis, David Niven and Maggie Smith. So get that popcorn and watch the mystery unfold….More

The Hindu : Inspired as they were by The Beatles, the members of America also seem to have retained the late Beatle George Harrison’s Indian fascination. “It’s an unbelievable pleasure after 37 years of touring and performing to find our way here,” says Dewey Bunnell, who with Gerry Beckley and former member Dan Peek first shot to fame in 1972 with the song “A Horse With No Name”.“Of course, the reality is that we have to go where we’re asked. If we could pick where we could go, we would have been here long ago,” adds Beckley.The duo, in Bangalore for a concert, might not ring many bells for younger generations here. As after their meteoric success in the ’70s, the band faded from the scene. All that changed last year when Dewey and Beckley found respect and support from Adam Schlesinger of the band Fountains of Wayne and James Iha, former guitarist of Smashing Pumpkins.It started off when Beckley, who liked the music of Fountains of Wayne, got in touch with Schlesinger through a friend. It turned out that Schlesinger was a huge fan himself and wanted to produce America’s next album with Iha. “It all happened in a real organic way, and we just decided to try it out and see how it goes,” says Beckley. Sony, who happened to be in touch with Schlesinger showed interest in the project and the result was this year’s “Here and Now”. “From start to finish it was a good project, completely natural and not in the least bit calculated,” says Beckley. The album, he adds, is an America album: not a compilation of special guest appearances, a comeback album or an “America for the new millennium”. “We’re comfortable in not reinventing ourselves, just letting the audience know we are here in case they want our music rather than chasing after the audience,” says Bunnel.In fact, explains Bunnel, in…More

The Hindu : Sudhir Mishra is quite the king of nostalgia. First there was the homage to the swinging Seventies with its angst-ridden students, “Hazaaron Khwashien Aisi”.And now there is his tribute to the feisty Fifties, “Khoya Khoya Chand”. The film traces a tumultuous relationship between a reigning movie star and a poet writer played by Soha Ali Khan and Shiney Ahuja respectively. “Every one discouraged me when I decided to cast Soha Ali in this film. But now they say, you made the ‘perfect’ choice,” Mishra says with a chuckle.Mishra says that the film is also a take on the sexual harassment of a woman in filmdom.“But I believe it is more in academics than in films. I know that because I have seen both worlds very closely.”Chef secretsConversation shifts to food and Mishra admits that he has never been a good cook.“I would always end up making a mess of it. So, I when was living in Delhi and Mumbai with a few friends during my days of struggle, they would never ‘allow’ me to cook.“They would assign me jobs like buying vegetables, bringing water and so on,” laughs Mishra.Mishra who hails from Lucknow cannot but help talking about his hometown that made him “eat only good food”.But he adds that he is not an adventurous food eater.“I can’t eat octopus, monkeys, dogs or whale when I visit other nations.“I think one must eat only fish and mutton and leave the rest of the animals in peace. I love mutton kebab and pulao.“In Lucknow, today’s elite ‘biryani’ was considered ‘substandard’ in olden times. The standard rice meal was pulao and nawabi kheer.”Talking about food in films Mishra says: “On film sets, if a producer doesn’t arrange for oily food, people think that he is a kanjoos.“So, to keep all workers happy, it has to be made sure that the food is rich in masalas and oil….More

The Hindu : Painter Kisalay Vora’s imagination soared when his orator-father told him stories of mythology and history, which he in turn would reproduce visually, as he grew up to become an artist.The Bombay-based artist from Gujarat and J.J. School of Arts alumnus who was recently in the city, surprisingly, was not here to promote his works of art through an exhibition or a fancy inaugural but was here as the ‘non-commercial’ artist.To further his stand: “I am here to promote public art – to find out more about young commercial artists and invite them to paint with me for a public cause.”Why would a commercially successful artist, who sells his paintings for two to five lakh, and has the freedom to paint his own style, want to emphasise on public art?“I think that as an artist, I should give back to society what it gave to me.” He adds: “Every artist should remember where art came from and what he or she went out in the world to become an artist for — to re-communicate.”He feels that art has a timeless value to it, rather than what it has become today — one measured by monetary success. “Stone Age artists painted and carved for the very essence of art and that’s what I am here for.”He stresses, “When a lay person looks at a painting, I think the important chord that should be struck is of the reality of art. It should not be relegated to some philosophy, but rather, be an extension of creative energy and life.”Also, he feels that it’s baseless to talk of lines and strokes in art and comment on its usage. “Lines are used to guide, not divide art forms”.“I don’t differentiate good art from bad. I don’t believe that some paintings are good or bad,” says the former advertising professional about cases of vandalising art in the name of religion.Kisalay, who…More

The Hindu : A word of praise works wonders. After all, who doesn’t want to feel good about themselves? Especially children. The label of ‘smart kid’ makes them walk about with an air of confidence.But, when in excess, praise does more harm than good. And, it does not prevent kids from underperforming. Be it from parents or teachers, only deserving appreciation works.Kids who receive an overdose of praise are more likely to exhibit helplessness when they encounter problems. Academic performance is just one of them.“Praise has to be genuine, meaningful and reassuring,” says M.Thirunavukkarasu, National President-Elect of the Indian Psychiatric Society. “When it comes to children, whatever be the response, it has to be consistent. Only then does it become real, and the children will feel secure,” he adds.Be genuineFalse praise creates conflict in children. It makes them feel insecure and they tend to become diffident. “Because they stand exposed when they get punishment from their teachers, and they begin to doubt their capabilities,” he adds. The first and easy defence is to stay withdrawn. “They become anxious,” says consultant psychiatrist Ponni Muralidharan.That is when they become ‘difficult children’.“Such children will always be doubtful about everything, including relationships, and it affects their personality traits,” warns Dr. Thirunavukkarasu, who has done extensive studies on ‘difficult children’.Focussing on praise and avoiding criticism makes everybody feel good. But children who have high self-esteem may become rude and uncooperative when they are criticised.“They lose faith in their parents and think they can easily fool them. But, when it comes to a hostile world, they tend to become brash and aggressive,” adds Dr. Ponni. For instance, when they realise that they are not good enough, unduly praised children will have problems taking up board exams because of fear of becoming everyone’s laughing stock. “What is required is realistic feedback. Because, be it undue praise or criticism, both can trigger neurotic disorder in children,”…More

The Hindu : A new series “The Universe” will premiere on December 12 at 10 p.m. on History Channel. The channel employs “cutting-edge computer-generated imagery to recreate the moment it all began. The series brings distant planets and farawaystars up close allowing viewers to gaze at black holes and comets, and witness the birth and death of galaxies and solar systems,” say the makers.The series begins with a two hour special titled “Beyond the Big Bang” tonight. Rajesh Sheshadri, Senior Vice President, Content and Communications, The History Channel India, says: “The Universe is a premiere series for the channel, enhanced further by Prof Yash Pal’s involvement. Together with Nehru Planetarium, we celebrate a stunning visual experience that showcases universe as one has never seen before. The series poses one of history’s greatest questions – Where did we come from? – and recreates that amazing moment when everything started.”“The Universe: Alien Galaxies” will be telecast on December 19, while “The Universe: Spaceship Earth” will be telecast on December 26. “Alien Galaxies is takes the viewer through the “milky way, which consists of more than a billion stars, our sun being only one of them. Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres,” say the makers.“Spaceship Earth” takes the viewers “through the formation of the third planet from the Sun. Galactic investigators will hunt for answers to some of man’s most puzzling questions. How was Earth created? What creatures hold clues to how life began? Where did the planet’s water come from? Why does Earth have the best ‘real estate’ for humans in the Universe? And what evil forces threaten its ultimate demise? From its early struggles with asteroids and comets to its current battles against global warming, the creation of Spaceship Earth is one…More

The Hindu : Wintry weather often derails workouts. Winter blues, the fog and chill of dawn, the short days, the cold evenings, and the comfort of a warm bed sap resolve. Winter is also the season of comfort food, and most people put on a few kilos during the holidays.Exercise in cold weather has its benefits and risks. Though winter blues make it difficult to get out of bed, making the effort helps. Exercise is a known mood elevator and helps fight winter depression. With few exceptions, 30 minutes of exercise every day is a must, and most people can achieve it with precautions.People with heart disease can have chest pain sooner and frequently in cold weather. Cold air can trigger airway spasms in asthmatics.Exercising indoors, or outdoors in the late afternoon, is ideal for such people. Asthmatics and cardiac patients should have their medication handy. If cold weather has triggered an attack of asthma in the past, a couple of puffs of your asthma inhaler medication before exercise may be beneficial. Consult your physician before making changes in your dosage. Cold muscles need longer warm-up times, and injuries are less common after a thorough warm-up. Late afternoon is the ideal time for exercise as the muscles are already warm by this time.The right clothing makes a difference when exercising outdoors. Wearing multiple layers of clothing helps keep warm. The inner layer should be a synthetic materialwhich draws sweat away from body surface.The outermost layer should be a breathable fabric like cotton. In chilly weather, wear a face scarf or a ‘monkey cap’ to warm the air you breathe. Wear gloves if the weather is damp and cold.Cold, dry air can be dehydrating, and it is important to drink water frequently during exercise.Fog decreases visibility and it is important to wear reflective clothing when exercising outdoors in misty weather. The roads tend to be wet in the morning,…More