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The Hindu : Virtual mechanicCar and bike questions? We have the answersI am not happy with the headlights on my Maruti Baleno. I drive a lot on the highway and feel the need for better lighting. I have heard about Xenon lamps and want to know if it is a good idea to install them. If not, what can I do to solve the problem.Aditya RYou can go ahead and fit Xenon (high intensity discharge or HID) lamps on your Baleno. A single lamp is priced Rs 12,000 and upwards. There are many lamps being marketed as Xenon that are available for as low as Rs. 500 each, but don’t be fooled by them as they just emit white light. Original Xenon lamps are available as a kit with lamps, ballasts and wiring. Alternatively, you can fit higher capacity lamps with appropriate wiring, relays and holders. But these are not legal for road use.I want to purchase a second-hand car. My budget is around Rs. 2 lakh. I have short listed the old Honda City and the Fiat Siena Adventure. I know both belong to different segments but I like these cars. I am more incl ined towards the Fiat. Please advise after comparing performance, mileage, spares, service, and resale value.Syed Mohammad AliThe Honda City has a gem of an engine, as does the Adventure. The latter is quite practical with extra space while the Honda City will return better fuel economy. The Adventure is also more comfortable. Both cars are good, but at your budget they might not be in very good condition. The resale value of the Adventure isn’t good. Alternatively, you could try the Palio which, apart from offering less boot space, is just as good.I am planning to buy a SUV, preferably diesel-engined and a 7 to 8 seater. My budget is Rs 12 lakh. I will be travelling about 7,000 km per month.Sanjay…More

The Hindu : Mithun Jayaram realised that science never worked for him. The 27-year-old Dubai-raised and Singapore-educated artiste says, “Art started late for me.” When he was 23 and failed chemistry, he had to drop eight months before graduating. That was when he took up fine arts. He participated in an art competition where the judge advised him to pursue art. So, he enrolled at the Lasalle College of Fine Arts in Singapore, where he was awarded a research scholarship to Romania.That was also when Mithun re-discovered his father’s old camera. “When I was a child I was always curious about the camera.” Several years later, his father allowed him to use his Pentax ME. “I took pictures of everything”, recalls Mithun. Inspired by the movie “Memento”, Mithun “Went crazy with the Polaroid camera and began collecting ‘moments’.” The young photographer did not think about textures and shapes of the objects that he captured.Mithun suddenly looked at his camera, photography and photographs in a whole new light. “I noticed that the photograph had its own life span and a camera was a living thing which was trying to remember.” The art of photography for Mithun, then became more than a tool — it was about memory and mortality.Three years of photography and a lot of photos later, things changed again. “I felt that carrying my camera was then becoming a way of replacing memory, of looking at subjects as objects. Where instead of memory becoming an experience, it was now a mere picture with objects.Mithun was facing a dilemma but did not want to draw any conclusions. Though Mithun thought twice about exhibiting this personal collection of “sixty Polaroid enlargements of mundane moments in a city; moments that are rooted by the quality of being temporary”, he wanted to put a full stop to everyday images.Mithin feels that the objects photographed are mostly mundane objects, with a sense…More

The Hindu : The world’s largest-selling motorcycle has received another cosmetic upgrade. The more than a decade-old 100cc Splendor, whose NXG model arrived in June 2007, has been given a facelift. Its rivals may show a dip in sales figures, but Hero Hondahas consistently registered skyrocketing sales. But in today’s world of changing buyer preferences and a string of new models, will it deliver what it has in the past?Design and engineeringThe new Hero Honda sports a more contemporary styling, with angular body lines and loud graphics. It is on a par with its competitors in visual appeal — five-spoke alloy rims and a matt black paint finish for many body parts, including the engine and alloy grab-handle.The front fairing is unique – a wide, friendly visage that houses a bright halogen headlight within a smart-looking recess. Spiffy analogue instruments, dominated by a white-on-black speedometer, are flanked on the right by a fuel gauge. There is a trip meter as well as cleverly-placed indicator icons on both corners of the console.The latest NXG has top-class grips, levers and switchgear that include a pass-light switch as standard fitment. All controls and switches feel good and operate smoothly.The 10.3-litre fuel-tank on this bike is ergonomically designed to improve rider feel and is flanked by a simple chrome fuel-tank lid.There is excellent fit and finish on this bike as found in all Hero Honda products.Engine and performanceThe Splendor NXG uses an air-cooled horizontally placed twin-valve power plant displacing 97.2cc. Friction within the motor is minimised by roller bearings present on the rocker arms. Peak power is 7.7bhp at 7500rpm, and maximum torque is 0.77kgm at 6000rpm.The engine feels refined, gossamer-smooth and is built like a rock. The well thought out gear ratios and near-vibration-free powerband make for comfortable riding. The engine shifts its 4-speed gears in all up pattern, while the clutch feels light, yet positive. Gearshift quality is decent and…More

The Hindu : National Geographic Channel presents a brand new season of the series, “Inside.” “Inside” will take its viewers on a journey of a lifetime covering events like the ultimate Sumo wrestlers’ clash, world’s greatest party in Rio, the largest air show, the greatest museum tour, a theatrical magnum opus and much more. It makes an attempt to unravel the real story behind the places and events where dreams are realised, hopes are shattered but the show goes on.These epics have hundreds of untold fascinating stories that are captured by the Nat Geo lens for the viewers to Think again.In the episode, “Sumo’s Ultimate Clash,” flesh meets flesh as two colossal wrestlers smash into each other, half a ton of muscle and fat collide.Crashing into this tradition-bound world is Mongolian outsider Asashoryu.With permission from Asashoryu to film his inner sanctum, Nat Geo penetrates the hidden culture of this ancient sport. With a line of lower-ranking fighters waiting to defeat him and Japanese fans waiting to see him disgraced, will Asashoryu fall?Catch the action tonight at 9 p.m. only on Nat Geo….More

The Hindu : People do really try a lot of things to enjoy that rush of adrenaline, don’t they? As if bungee jumping, plane jumping and other adventure sports weren’t enough, we now have another new entrant into this realm — parkour. A gravity-defying sport, it is the latest for adventure sport enthusiasts, wherein they will have to move from one point to another, through an obstacle course that involves walls, buildings and trees, in the fastest possible time, using nothing but their faculties. The male practitioner of the sport is known as a traceur, and the female, traceuse.Rewind modeNow, let’s trace the history of this sport. Also known as l’art du deplacement, this physical art of French origin was founded by David Belle. Later, Sebastian Foucan, known as the ‘second generation’ founder of parkour, developed it further.Like all things novel, this sport too has caught the attention of the entertainment industry in a big way. The last Bond flick, “Casino Royale” showed Daniel Craig chasing the sprightly Foucan as he leaped across buildings. When Hollywood does it, can Bollywood be far behind? So we have a few movies and commercials experimenting with this sport. Remember the Thums Up and Parachute commercials where ‘our desi Bond’ Akshay Kumar and cricketer Yuvraj Singh are seen parkouring for their respective products?Akshay has been trained by a specialist from London and has been parkouring for more than a year now. Known to perform all his stunts himself, prior to the Thums Up ad, he underwent training in Australia for 10 days. “It is a hobby for me; I also got a parkour gym installed at home by a team of German technicians and architects,” says the actor. A die-hard adventure sport lover, he finds parkour thrilling.“It is great for an adrenaline rush, but most important, it’s a complete fitness regimen,” adds the hunky star. We will get to see him display…More

The Hindu : If you in recently-sprouted parts of the city and blithely believe this is all there is to the city, you are hysterically mistaken. Beyond the malls, the posh restaurants and IT companies, there exists another city; steeped in myths, legends and history.However, exploring the past was not the only objective of the walk “PaytayKotay Keray Thota: Changing Geographies and Fragile Futures” held jointly by Visual art collective, Group SCE and the Indian Institute of geographical Studies. “It’s not mere story-telling,” said Dr. Chandra Shekhar Balachandran, cultural geographer and director of The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies. “The idea is to tell people about the process of modernisation of Bangalore and how these processes have changed the economics and geography of the market area. The city lacks in investment by people and through this walk we want them to think how they can play a role in making the city better.”The walk explored four areas – “paytay” (commercial area like markets) “kotay” (fort) “keray” (tank) and “thota” (grove). A group of 75 boarded the BMTC bus from Unity Building on J. C. road. The first stop was Dharmaraya temple in Nagarathpet, “a site considered the only site connecting the city with mythology,” said Suresh Jayaram, a visual artist and art historian. “The temple from the Ganga Period is dedicated to the pandavas and aadishakti.” Displaying the images of the annual Karaga festival, Jayaram talked of how the change has affected tigala community who once lived in and around the temple. “Thetigalas came from Tamil Nadu and were primarily farmers who lived around this area as it had many tanks. Gradually their land were taken away and tigalas moved away,” said Jayaram who belongs to tigalacommunity.On Karaga, “for one night tigalas reoccupy the city. They take out a procession at 2 a.m. A man dressed as woman, carries the Karaga, (an earthen pot symbolising Draupadi, believed to…More

The Hindu : Nihal Nikam, one of the finalists of MTV’s reality show “Roadies 5.0” is thrilled at making it to the final two. He is in the final stages of a journey that began with 13 persons in Goa spanning locations spread across India, Thailand and Malaysia. The roadies in the course of the show, had to compete in a host of activities ranging from hanging upside down over a river to eating Thai delicacies like toads, frogs and snakes. The boy from Mysore says, “It feels great that I have managed to stay in the show and reach the final stages.”Talking about his experience, he laughs, “It was a very different. We learnt a lot about other cultures, their lifestyles, their eating habits etc. We competed in a host of activities such as Thai kick-boxing and lady-bird dances, which we had never dared to attempt before. It was indeed a lot of fun.”Nihal had his share of controversies, including a much-hyped “romance” with other roadies. Quiz him on these and the 23-year-old sighs, “When I was selected, I had decided to maintain a low profile in the show, like Ashutosh (another finalist) managed to. However, things did not pan out that way and I was in the eye of a storm in a number of situations. I was dragged into the debate involving Sambhavi and was falsely accused of starting the entire thing.”What about the slapping incident involving Nikhil during the auditions? Nihal admits, “Nikhil had accidentally slapped me during the auditions. He had apologised later and said that he just wanted to provoke a reaction. The issue was sorted out after the auditions itself.”To a question on whether he is treated differently by his peers after his shot at fame and Nihal says: “My friends still treat me like they used to. As far as fame goes, it has affected me more than them. I…More

The Hindu : Talking machinesC.K. MEENATechnology As the microchip takes over our lives, our nightmare will be a computer that refuses to obey usThe telephone rang. “Namaskara,” said a voice. I have only one friend who greets me that way so I immediately launched into a torrent of hearty how-are-you’s and long-time-no-hear’s in Kannada. But why did his voice overlap mine? He didn’t appear to be listening to me at all. Then I realised it wasn’t him. It was a machine. A machine that had muscled its way into my living room and insisted on lecturing to me.The inexorable voice belonged to a senior politician I don’t care for. His taped message urged me to make use of the golden opportunity to vote for his party. I was going to do nothing of the sort, of course, and his intrusion into my privacy made me doubly determined to vote against his ilk. It is another matter that my name was excluded from the voters list, and that I came back from the booth in a huff, and that I had to console myself by ordering comfort food from my favourite takeout, and that I was only slightly mollified after reading a front page headline the next morning about “missing” voters who were “left fuming”.I always feel foolish after conversing with an inanimate object. When I leave a message on an answering machine it’s like interacting with a wall, so in order to feel at ease I have to imagine a person at the other end — a tongue-tied person, a person who is gagged and bound to a chair and can only nod at everything I say. After I hurriedly speak a few words and hang up I realise I have forgotten to identify myself. I also realise that I’ve said something like “Call me back in half an hour” without mentioning at what time I have left…More

The Hindu : The Jonga takes it name from the acronym of Jabalpur Ordnance and Guncarriage Assembly. In 1996, 100 vehicles powered by 4-litre diesel engines were sold in the civilian market. The DNA of the Jonga can be traced back to the jeep, another favourite of the army. The jeep was born from the U.S. army’s requirements for a lightweight vehicle that could easily carry men and equipment through all types of terrain. The U.S. army extended an open invitation to manufacturers to put together a prototype vehicle that could accomplish this.Three companies responded – Bantam, Willys and Ford. Freelance designer Karl Probst was hired by Bantam to help design the prototype. The Bantam vehicle was the only one to meet the deadline and came closest to the specifications. The army tested the car to destruction. Willys and Ford were given access to the car and its engineering drawings and they came out with prototypes based on the Bantam model. As Bantam did not have the production capacity to meet the army’s requirements, the contract was awarded to Willys. Willys too could not keep up with the army’s demands and eventually Ford was given the contract.Thus, while Bantam was responsible for the first jeep, the company never got to enjoy the vehicle’s stupendous success. The 1977 Jonga owes its genes to this little piece of history.This Jonga is actually a Nissan. It was the Patrol 60 or P60 model introduced in 1960. This Nissan Patrol was inducted into the Indian Army in 1963-64, and built by the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ) under an exclusive license from Nissan for the Indian Army. Production of the vehicle stopped in 1999.The vehicle is powered by a six-cylinder 3956cc in-line petrol engine developing 110bhp at 3200rpm. That is not lot of power for a 4-litre engine. Maximum torque 26.9kgm at 1200rpm. That too from a petrol engine! The Jonga had a…More