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The Hindu : Travelling coaches are a common phenomena in tennis, but in badminton they have been rare.Indian badminton ace, Anup Sridhar now has a travelling coach, Tom John.John is no stranger to India. He last came to India in association with Pullela Gopi Chand’s Badminton Academy. John’s father was naval attaché in the Indian High Commission in London. Tom John stayed behind, completed his education and worked for a while in British Telecom and his interest in badminton also saw him play and win several tournamentsbefore he turned his eyes to coaching.John rose to become one of the noted coaches in the England Badminton Association and he trained several top-notch English players. He was also in charge of the High Performance Training Centre of the EBA and had a stint as National coach of Portuguese team.Talking about coaching Anup, John says, “It is important for any good player, who wishes to make it big on the international circuit to have a travelling coach. The coach helps the player through rough patches and ensures that he stays fit. The coach helps with technique and practice as well as prepare better for a match. The coach also ensures the right schedule for the player, in terms of travel, tournaments and stay. In short, a travelling coach is a manager, coach, guide and philosopher.”While on tour, a player after an early loss, tends to fritter away his time till the next event.However, with a travelling coach, he stays focussed on the tournament and starts preparing better, John comments. “Our biggest goal is to ensure Anup plays at the Olympics We don’t have much time on hand. We want to ensure Anup gets into physical shape and makes the grade.”While giving credit to his ward for his attitude, John says: “I want him to be more deceptive at net, work on his overhead shots and backhand defence.”Anup’s big test comes next…More

The Hindu : First the good news. If you’re a jazz fan and would like to listen to some good live music while you eat and/or drink, or even nurse a drink, every alternate Monday evening you can do so at Olive Beach, a quaint little eatery located in an old house on Wood Street. Last Monday was their inaugural jazz night, with Amit Heri on guitar, Holger Jetter on electric violin, Keith Peters on electric bass guitar and Hamesh on drums, with a young and possibly debutante Mili Nair pitching in with vocals on a few numbers.Heri and Peters need no introduction to jazz cats or regular readers of my writing, but a word about Jetter would perhaps be in order. A resident of Auroville for the last 18 years, he is part of an apparently thriving jazz community in the place! He’s been heard here in Bangalore nearly a decade ago and what we heard of him on Monday was enough to convince anyone that once in ten years is not nearly enough. I’ve heard Hamesh a few more times in this millennium, but I would likewise wish his appearances to be more frequent. As for Nair, a first acquaintance left me with no doubt that I hoped she would go far.The group performed about a dozen numbers, the first half of their concert being devoted almost exclusively to Heri’s compositions (except Herbie Hancock’s hit “Cantaloupe Island”) and the second half to jazz and pop standards (except for the closing piece, Heri’s “What’s That Smell?”).From their track record, one would have expected most of the solo improvisations to come from Heri and Jetter. Indeed, they took a large share of the solos, and gave plenty of evidence of their virtuosity. But Peters has over the years stepped into the limelight more and more, and in this concert we got a fairly generous dollop of his solo…More

The Hindu :  Did you know?South African cricketer Justin Kemp is optimistic about a possible patch-up between the ICC and the ICL. “I believe that the doors have not been closed permanently for us to come back to international cricket. I hope that will happen in the interest of the sport and cricketers,” he said recently.The famous K.S. Ranjitsinhji (better known as Ranji after whom the Ranji trophy is named) played Test cricket for England and was the first Indian to represent England. His sublime skills once made a critic refer to him as the ’Midsummer night’s dream of cricket’.Brian Charles Lara of West Indies, considered by many to be the best batsman of his era, was born on May 2, 1969, in Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad. Incidentally, besides Lara, this tiny island has produced some of the world’s best sportsmen including several of West Indies’ all time great cricketers and also Olympic sprinter Ato Boldon.Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has been named by many rival batsmen as the best seam bowler they had ever faced in international cricket. He was born on June 3, 1966, in Lahore and went on to play for Pakistan, Hampshire, Lahore and Lancashire. As a batsman too, hehas a double century as his highest score.Former world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis took the unusual step of announcing his retirement while he still held the world title like the incomparable Rocky Marciano had done in 1956. Lewis’ record was 41 wins, two losses and a draw, with 32 wins by knockout. Incidentally he avenged both his defeats in rematches….More

The Hindu : Amar Chitra Katha has launched “Ram Charit Manas”, the new illustrated classic that recreates Tulsidas’ popular version of the Ramayana.The 160-page comic is a masterful blend of dialogue and illustration that makes it appealing to children of all ages. It depicts five different stages in the life of the hero of Ramayana, including the childhood days of Ram, Ram in exile, abduction of Sita, in search of Sita and Ram – the Victorious.“Ram Charit Manas”, popularly known as Tulsi Ramayan, has been the most popular book in Hindi for more than 400 years. It narrates the divine story of Ram.The Ramayan is an integral part of the Indian heritage and the most influential version among these is Tulsidas’ Ram Charit Manas. Like Valmiki’s Ramayan, it is a literary masterpiece that has acquired the status of a scripture and it is this version that is usually enacted in Ram Leelas all over India.The entire collection in hard bound form is priced at Rs. 250. For more information on ACK Media, log on towww.ack-media.com…More

The Hindu : “I am done with thrillers. I’m fed up.” He might have grabbed attention in racy movies like “Rakht” and “Fight Club” . But it’s clear that actor Dino Morea is now looking for a change. He now wants a “clean slate”. What would that be? “Action or romantic comedy,” he blurted out.While “Bhram” has already disappointed at the box-office, Dino had been hoping that the movie would be appreciated. The story he said is about a character, who falls in love “with a woman with issues”.Like what happens in reality? “No, No,” he clarified with a laugh. The woman is complicated because of her childhood. It further explores the relationship between two brothers, (played by Milind Soman and him) he explained.His next film is “Anamika”. Directed by Anant Mahadevan , the film stars Minissha Lamba and Koena Mitra. To be released in a few months, Dino agreed that the movie is indeed based on Daphna Du Maurier’s iconic 1938 novel “Rebecca”. He plays a rich executive from a royal Rajasthani family. His other projects include Suparn Verma’s “Acid Factory”. With a star-studded cast of Danny Denzongpa, Irrfan Khan, Fardeen Khan and Manoj Bajpai, Dino wasnaturally excited about the project. The shooting is to begin in May in Hyderabad and will continue in Cape Town.Dino’s now focussed on his production house Clockwork Films. While the company has produced ads like the paint one with Kareena Kapoorand Karan Johar they haven’t yet branched into films. “We are looking for that good script. We are yet to find it.” He is hoping to find that perfect action comedy. He also continues to be involved with his brother’s restaurant in Mumbai, Crepe Station, finding it a perfect break from acting and producing.NANDINI NAIR…More

The Hindu : Glory daysFive Point Someone will be staged this weekendEvam, the entertainment entrepreneurship started in Sept 2003, completes four years.In the past four years it has 14 plays, completing 200 shows. Evam was started by Karthik Kumar and Sunil Vishnu, graduates from MICA, Ahmedabad.On April 12 and 13, Evam celebrates the completion of 200 shows with the stage adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s “Five Point Someone” at Ranga Shankara. The play is about what happens when you join your first college? What if the college is called IIT, Remember your first love, and her father! How you make your first friends, your best friends and your first enemies. What happens when you get your grades and wish it was not yours, what happens when you try to fight the system and the system hit back, what happens when you believe this is never going to change, never going to end.. The play is adapted and directed by Nikhila Kesavan.The shows will be at 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. on both days and tickets, priced at Rs. 200, are available at Landmark (Forum), Crossword (Residency Road) and Ranga Shankara. For details call 0-98402-22363/0-98406-12333….More

The Hindu : Sport QuoteWhat can I say about Shoaib (Akhtar)? His whole career has been full of controversies. Those who have played with him know him well. He has got into one scrap after anotherInzamam-ul-Haq, former Pakistan captain…More

The Hindu : Anna Singh dabbles with the finery of a Moghul empress and the look of a chic girl next door with equal finesse. With over 700 films behind her in a career spanning two decades, costume designer Anna admits it is difficult to find inspiring work.But it is the challenge that a “Taj Mahal” or an “Umrao Jaan” poses that makes her day. She took home the National Award last year for bringing alive an era in costumes for “Taj Mahal.” Now, it is another project that has taken her back “to work.” The much-hyped directorial venture of Ajay Devgan, “U, Me or Hum”, to be releasedthis Friday, hasrevived Anna’s spirits. Working for a long-time friend and a committed director who gave her all the creative freedom makes “U, Me or Hum” special.Excerpts from a conversation with the designer.There is a lot of hype around “U, Me aur Hum.” Besides being Devgan’s directorial venture, it also brings back Kajol and Devgan together on screen after a considerable gap. From a designer’s point of view, how have you approached the film?“U, Me or Hum” has been a fantastic experience. Firstly, I have been taking care of Ajay’s personal wardrobe for over five years now. He is a person who leaves it to you totally. The colours used in the film are extremely refreshing. We sat and worked on each character’s look. The characters have a very real appearance as imagined by its director.Whom have you designed for in the film and what is the look you have given them?I have done the entire cast, except Kajol, whose clothes were done by her personal designer Manish Malhotra. I made the costume for the primary and secondary cast and also the junior artistes. In terms of costume, Ajay’s character is divided into two phases. I have given him a happy and bright, sun-coloured look for the cruise phase, and…More

The Hindu : Keep the faithGovernments have come and gone. Elections in Karnataka almost feel like a soap opera. There is no stability, and Karnataka seems to have failed in governance and delivering to the people. So have people lost faith in the process or do they still believe in the power of their vote?The people we spoke to were optimistic. They believe that the Voter ID and the act of voting makes a difference. They feel that it is necessary. As citizens who want to see change, the vote is the key. They feel it is important to put all prejudices and cynicism in back burner and vote. For, now will be the time of testing and evaluation, and people have no time to wait for another five years.In the past, there have been poor voter turnouts, so they stress that to make a change, people will need to make that effort to go to the polling booth and vote for their choice. In a time of river disputes, poor infrastructure, corruption and religious intolerance, these elections will tell us whether the citizens of Karnataka want change or don’t.There have been political clashes and loss of ideologies, but a few people still feel that the vote will bring back democracy and a stable government for once.As citizens of the country, it is our duty and personal right to vote. We must not lose interest in politics just because there has been a clash of political parties. We have to vote the government we want to power and then evaluate their performance.VinaySoftware engineerIt is our basic right to vote. Elections are also a time when we judge whether the leader delivers on his promise during his tenure. There have been no stable governments, and we have to vote to bring the stability back. It is a time to analyse their manifesto.MohammedSoftware engineerThere have been many changes in governments….More

The Hindu : The Beijing Olympics will be held in August this year. The Chinese authorities are working round-the-clock for the success of the quadrennial event. So isa 25-year-old Indian paddler, who is quietly toiling in San Sebastian de Los Reyes, a suburb18km north of Madrid, Spain. Realising the enormous expectations the country has placed on him, A. Sharath Kamal is putting in eight hours of training everyday to script a new chapter for Indian table tennis in the capital city of China. He modestly puts,“It will be a miracle if I win a medal. At the best, I want to cause one or two upsets, say beat a top-40 or a top-20 player. I am looking forward tothat.”Multi-ball trainingRanked 78th in the world, Sharath has mapped out his plans meticulously. After playing the World Championship and the Olympic qualification tournament in Hong Kong, Sharath has returned to Madrid to play for his Club, San Sebastian.For now, Sharath is into multi-ball training (which is akin to playing a robot) and is focussing on building endurance.“Till April end, I want to practice and improve on my stamina. From May to June, more rigorous practice and physical fitness sessions. And from June to July, the emphasis will only be on quality,” he says.Aside from practice, Sharath will compete in Brazil, Chile Open in April and Japan and China Open in May.Fortunately, Sharath has found the right people to train in Spain. His friend at San Sebastian, Alfredo and his Polish coach Jarek have been encouraging him.At his club, there is a Chinese, a Slovakian, a Russian and a Spaniard — a variety of players with different strokes.An ideal situation to better one’s skills.When not at the TT table, Sharath loves to listen to rock and pop music and plays the guitar.He jells well with his team-mates and Alfredo, a Slovak, is a good friend.“Unlike in some other countries, where team…More