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The Hindu : Virtual MechanicCar and bike questions? We have the answersWe have decided to buy a small family-size car and have short-listed the Chevrolet Spark, Zen Estilo and Maruti Swift. Which of these would be best given our priorities are mileage, low maintenance cost and ultimate driving pleasure? Could you suggest other options too?Nishant GautamThe Swift and the Spark are both very good cars, but your purchase should depend on your budget and usage. If you will be driving the car exclusively in the city, then the Spark is a better bet. If however, you intend to take driving holidays on weekends, the Swift it is. We wouldn’t recommend the Zen Estilo. We also recommend the Hyundai i10 strongly.I plan to buy a Hyundai Santro or Maruti Wagon R. Do let me know about the advantages and disadvantages of the two models that I have mentioned in terms of fuel efficiency, maintenance, level of space and resale value. I heard that Hyundai is planning to stop production of the current Santro Xing (erlx) models. Is it true?SudhirBoth the Santro and Wagon R are tall boy designs and offer lots of space. While Maruti has the advantage of a very extensive dealer network, the Santro is a better drive. Resale of both is good. But overall, we recommend the Santro.If I had to choose between the Santro, Spark, Estilo and Wagon R Duo, which would be the best choice?KannanThe Wagon R Duo offers very low running costs, and that makes it an attractive proposition. However, it compromises on luggage capacity, so choose accordingly. If you’re city based and want a car with low running costs, go for the Wagon R Duo. The Santro and Spark are both excellent cars for the price, but we feel the Santro is still hard to beat as a city car. Also, the residuals of GM cars aren’t very encouraging.I have a family…More

The Hindu : Paint your loveMyntra.com, an online personalised gifting portal is holding a Valentine’s Day contest ‘Paint Your Tee with a Tint of Love’ for the best creative that symbolises love. The contest is on till February 15, winners will be announced onFebruary 25. The total prize money for the winners is Rs. 25,000. The contest is open for all wordsmiths and creative minds; age no bar. The contest urges participants to be original, catchy, creative, sarcastic, and humorous – as long as you talk about love. All quotes and designs have to be original.Log on towww.myntra.com, select the product that you want your design on – which could either be a T-shirt, mug, watch, coaster, poster, greeting, notepad, calendar, plate, teddy bear, pendant or even a mouse pad. Upload your design and click on “publish” to proceed with publishing your design. You will be required to sign up to complete the publishing.Once you fill in the details of the design, accept the terms and conditions and click on “finalise publish” your design will be sent for approval. Your design will be approved after a review. You can track your design from the “My Account” page.Five designs selected by a special panel of judges, five decided by public rating, five decided on the basis of the top five best-selling designs, and 50 voted on by another committee of people would get attractive prizes. The best five designs selected by Myntra will win a cash prize of Rs. 1,000 each. The best 10 designs selected by designers will win a cash prize of Rs. 1000 each and 50 personalized coffee mugs by Myntra worth Rs. 200 will be given out as consolation prizes….More

The Hindu : Those who have seen “Taare Zameen Par” would have noticed that acting is not all about making your presence felt. At times, actors have to be part of the scenery. But Tisca Chopra was one of those who was ‘seen’ – she was an eye-catching figure in the meaningful panorama.A competent actor, she is, however, choosy about where she is ‘seen’. We last saw her in “Hyderabad Blues-2”. In between, she was also seen in a couple of tele-serials. “I am not after films. I am after roles, and meaningful roles are hard to come by. I want to play a Taliban fighter, a spy, a mentally challenged person…” And a mother? “Of course, provided it is a challenging role as in “Taare…” The moment I read the script, I was ready to get into the character to portray it with as much sensitivity as possible. But I must tell you, like every member of the cast, I too was auditioned by Aamir.”Few know that Tisca started her career opposite Ajay Devgan in a typical Bollywood pot-boiler “Platform”. “I did a couple of similar films and realised that I was out of place. I started looking for alternatives. In the meantime, I was offered an English film ‘Binodini’, where the director organised workshops before the shoot. Suddenly I felt this was the format I wanted to be associated with.” The experience made her turn to theatre. “I wanted to polish my craft. I joined Feroz Abbas Khan and worked in his plays such as ‘Mahatma vs Gandhi’ and ‘All the Best’. The plays became quite popular.”During this period, Bollywood changed for the better and Tisca returned to the fold. But does she have age on her side, which still remains aprerequisite for central roles? “No, we had films such as ‘Raat Aur Din’ where Nargisji played the central character when she was in her 30s….More

The Hindu : ContestCRY has conceptualised an ‘Express your rights contest’ on crybuddies.cry.org for children between 10 and 14. This contest offers a platform for children to do fun things like drawing, writing a poem, sketching etc. – this contest is about their thoughts, ideas and dreams. The contest ends on February 10. The first 20 entries will receive CRY bookmarks and the 10 best entries will receive special CRY prizes. Visit www. crybuddies.cry.org to find out more….More

The Hindu : Let me not pretend to say anything new. Amitav Ghosh, with his large body of fiction and non-fiction, has attracted the attention of critics and academicians.Any attempt to talk about his writings, and you’re hardly sure it hasn’t been articulated earlier. Share the feeling with the unpresumptuous writer and he, looking rather bashful says, “Oh, yeah… a lot has been written about my works…”.Speak about the tedious nature of these analyses and he’ll quickly add, “They scare me too… I don’t understand most of what is said, so I’ve stopped reading these theoretical pieces.”Amitav Ghosh’s writing is about the unsaid, undiscovered stories of history. In most of his fictional works one finds him negotiating with the past even as he reconstructs the present. This can be extended to his non-fiction too. In his essay on the Moghul emperor Babur, a man with remarkable literary and language sensibilities, he quotes a poem that Babur wrote while fleeing from the Uzbeks.“Like us many have spoken over this spring, but they were gone in the twinkling of an eye,/We conquered the world with bravery and might, but we did not take it with us to the grave.”Calling it a unique literary work, he says, “Its tone is disarmingly open and trusting, and in self-revelation it yields nothing to the confessional memoir of the 1990s.”He adds: “The Muslim fundamentalists of contemporary Afghanistan would do well to read ‘The Baburnama’: they would find that the past they want to return to is not quite what they imagine it to be.”Excerpts from an interview with the writer who was in the city for a Toto Fund for The Arts event:Many writers have a marked literary territory. Faulkner, Hardy, James Joyce, Pamuk… Calcutta becomes an indispensable geographical location in most of your writings. Even when we talk of colliding worlds, do specific physical locations anchor a sense of rootedness, and become embodiment…More

The Hindu : The runways are awash with colour. Fashion is set to take you on a visual overdrive in the coming months with splashes of colour revving up relaxed styles. As designers crack the code of conformity to create lines that mix East-West aesthetics in aneffortless way, fashionistas too are switching to experimental mode.“I think those days of safe-play are over. People now want to live life. And they are pulling out all stops to enjoy the moment. Fashion is a celebration. And celebration is about colour. This year, we’ll see a lot of colour. Spring-Summer will go beyond white and beige. There’ll be yellow, green and pink. Personally, colours make me happy,” says ace designer Manish Malhotra.“Digital prints have been overdone. So this time round, light, interesting textiles will be in focus. Too much colour does not mean kitsch. The look veers towards the bohemian. But it will be an upgraded, refined version. The season is also about volume – layers and ruches,” he adds.For Rahul Khanna of the famed “Cue” label, “The quintessence of style this year is mix and match. Whimsicality makes fashion exciting. Think of teaming Gucci trousers with an ethnic top or pairing Jodhpurs with trendy Western tops. Mixing styles is fun and just perfect for today’s transcontinental woman.”Talk about silhouettes, and Rahul says, “Structured clothing is in. Empire lines are out and the waist is going to be in focus. Dresses will be feted this year too. But the hemline will extend to the knee. After the blizzard of bling, designers have turned to subtle ceramic and metal embellishments. Classic checks and fitted trousers will be high on the fashion radar for men. Every season takes some inspiration from the past. This year too, retro styles will be re-visited, but incorporated in an unconventional way.” To the guru of cool, Wendell Rodricks, “The mix-and-match game makes for better personal expression. It…More

The Hindu : Ranvir Shorey. The name itself sets off the funny bone. After creating an impact with second leads, Ranvir will be seen as a central character in Rajat Kapoor’s “Mithya”, releasing this Friday. “It is the role of a lifetime, arole for which an actor can give at least his left arm,” quips Ranvir. Known for his one-liners from his days as a veejay, Ranvir says: “My one-liners are not always scripted. I have this habit of putting my foot in my mouth and at times I even start chewing it!”Ranvir says he plays Virendra Kumar or VK, a struggling actor, whom most people don’t take seriously. “VK gets trapped in the underworld and is asked to play an impostor. Things take an ugly turn…”Ranvir says the script is non-linear. “It works at multiple levels. Rajat had scripted it eight to nine years ago. He has added different nuances to the characters and the storyline. While on one level it is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, it is also a search for one’s identity.”Ranvir is aware that success might force him to get repetitive. “I am aware of it. It is not that I have not done central roles before. “Mixed Doubles” is one example. But I am trying to do different things even if the role is small — like ‘Aaja Nachle’ and ‘Traffic Signal’. The thing that probably works in my favour is I have not set out to become a star. I don’t suffer from insecurity and hence won’t get caught in an image trap.”Ranvir feels it is the industry which limits the growth of the actors. “You can’t attribute it to the audience or the media. Call it business or safety perspective, it is the producers who make actors repeat themselves. If I can continue to have a decent existence, why would I allow such boredom to set in and get trapped in an…More

The Hindu : Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the new C-Class in the city by Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and CEO Of Daimler Chrysler India, Sharat Vijayraghavan, executive director Sundaram Motors. With a length of 4596 mm, the new C-Class is 68 mm longer than its predecessor. The body width has increased by 42 mm to 1770 mm, and the wheelbase by 45 mm to 2760 mm. The design of the new C-Class is based on the modern Mercedes idiom, which reflects the technical superiority of automobiles bearing the star with taut lines and large, tranquil surfaces.The pronounced wedge-shape of the front end serves to emphasise attributes such as agility and performance….More

The Hindu : The serenity of her face is arresting. Her speech simple. Her expression lucid. Taking time out by the side of the discussions at the recently-concluded Jaipur Literature Week, Sudha Murthy tells us life is not easy for a writer. Never mind if she isNarayana Murthy’s wife!The unassuming author who bridges the gap between the generation reared on the black-and-white television and MTV kids, feels a writer is judged in his own capacity by the readers. “People pay for a book. As Narayana Murty’s wife, maybe five persons can pick up the book, maybe 10. That’s all. Ultimately, the book has to stand on its own. The author’s political-social or economic standing won’t help sell a book, because the man who buys it has to pay through his pocket.”Loss of innocenceMaking sure that the reader gets his money’s worth, Sudha writes for children. “I talk to children. I don’t write about them,” she sums up her adeptness at writing for children.“I write stories which hold their interest. I write for children of the soil. I realise my childhood was spent in a different era. There is a lot more Western influence nowadays. Today’s children are more knowledgeable. They lose their innocence too soon.”Yet, she does not feel that it is proper to lay all the blame on children, hooked as they are to television and fast music these days.“Well, if as an adult you are unbiased, the children like it. An author has to relate stories children can identify with. For instance, Panchatantra was written 5,000 years ago. For little children you can stoke their imagination with such tales. But after some time you have to stop it. The characters’ harshness has to be developed in a softer way for growing children. They can no longer be satisfied with fairies and princes.”She should know. After all, not only does she work with women and children as…More