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The Hindu : Hyundai i10 eating into Santro’s salesHyundai dealers in Mumbai feel that the Indian Car of the Year (2008) is denting sales of its own siblings, that of the Santro in particular.Apparently, customers appreciate the i10’s beige interiors which feel more upmarket than the Santro and its bigger space. Customers also like the styling of the car and think that the i10 rides better as well.Most customers actually come into the showroom enquiring about the Santro and end up booking the i10 after thorough research.The Rs 20,000 price difference between the two similar spec variants of the two cars is absorbed into the EMI which translates into an additional Rs 750 for a three-year car loan.According to dealers, the Era version with power steering and front power windows is the most preferred variant, while the fully-loaded Magna version, which comes with options like a sunroof, hardly has any takers.Understandably, there are no discounts on the i10, but you can get some discounts on the Santro and the Getz….More

The Hindu : Music lovers can look forward to an evening of violin recital by acclaimed Bulgarian violinist Yoana Strateva tomorrow. Accompanied by Rebbeca Thomas, the duo will play the compositions of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Douno and others. The concert has been presented by Dockers San Francisco in collaboration with The Bangalore School of Music.In her career spanning over 20 years, the violin virtuoso has performed at major halls throughout Bulgaria, USA, England, France, Denmark, Switzerland and Russia to name the few.She has been featured on a variety of Beinsa Douno CDs “Duet Esoteric” with Peter Ganev, “Paneurhythmy” with her son Bozhidar and “Music on violin and guitar” with Petyo Tzanov.Strateva graduated from the Music Conservatory in Sofia and specialised in violin and chamber music in France. She has had successful stints at New Bulgarian University, State Music Academy and The Music School at Sofia in Bulgaria.The concert will be held on June 5 at 7:30 pm in Alliance Francaise. Donor Cards in aid of the BSM Charitable project are available at the Bangalore School of music, The Alliance Francaise and Dockers San Francisco stores at Brigade Road, 100 Feet Road, Indira Nagar and Vittal Mallya Road….More

The Hindu : Gearless 125cc scooters are fast making their presence felt across India. The Suzuki Access and Kinetic SYM Flyte are slugging it out in the market. It took a no-holds-barred shootout to find out who wins. Despite belonging to the same segment, the Suzuki Access and Kinetic SYM Flyte look as different as night and day. The Access sports retro hints and seems larger, while the Flyte conceals its bulk very smartly with petite styling that is bound to hold more allure for women.Both scooters feature analogue gauges but we prefer the Access’ fascia. Both have bold, legible speedometers and vital fuel gauges along with the obligatory sets of warning lights. Again, while both scooters are equipped with similar control levers and switches, we prefer the Access’ grips. We also found the lack of a rear brake-locking clamp on the Flyte a nuisance. However, the Flyte scores with body-coloured, impact-resistant and adjustable mirrors that enable excellent, vibration-free rear vision.Both scooters feature handy multi-functional ignition key slots — an innovation — that includes a security feature which shuts the key slots for extra security. But the Access suffers from some glaring omissions — no front storage bib, front fuelling facility or an integrated floor mat. Also, its solitary bag hook is poorly-located and too low to hang an average-sized bag.The Flyte houses a useful mobile charging slot within its front panel as well as a much larger, illuminated storage cubbyhole under its saddle. Both scooters boast outstanding paint quality, good fit-and-finish and great attention to detail. However, the Access has better quality rubber bits.Engine and performanceThe automatic and electric-started Access (124cc) and Flyte (124.6cc) have plenty in common — both four-stroke engines use air-cooling and long-stroke dimensions. Their single-cylinders feed from carburettors and are equipped with twin valves. The Access puts out 8.58 bhp at 7000rpm, marginally higher than the 8 bhp made at 7000 rpm by…More

The Hindu : The Galeej Gurus were recently in the news for winning Shamal — an international Battle of the Bands held in Dubai — which serves as a gateway to openthe headlining acts at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival.Such international acclaim was long overdue for the Galeej Gurus as they now look to woo crowds at the Phuton Rock Festival in Thailand, followed by tours of Singapore, China and the U.S.Formed in early 2000, the name Galeej Gurus comes from a Christ College mad-ads team of the same name that the members were part of. “The name sounded really cool so we decided to stick to it,” says lead guitarist Ananth Menon. Initially, the Gurus started out as a three-piece band with lead singer Nathan Harris doubling asvocalist and drummer. But soon they transformed themselves into a five-member band in search of more power.The band, which believes their genre is beyond any classification, is well-known for their Indie approach. However they have also proved their mettle in various other forms like alternative, progressive-funk, and blues-rock. One can see that the influences of the Galeej Gurus range from Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple to Eric Clapton and Red Hot Chili Peppers. “Our personal influences are poles apart from our influences as a band. But I guess at the end of the day we gel well as a band and everything just comes together for us,” says bassist Matthew Harris, Nathan’s twin.The Gurus, who shot to fame on the Bangalore rock scene alongside bands like Thermal and a Quarter and Zebediah Plush, feel the rock ’n’ roll community is slowly becoming a dying breed not only in Bangalore, but across the country. “The current situation is quite lamentable. The audience exists but there are very few ways of reaching out to them. There should be more corporate involvement. Moreover, the ban on live music is a bane on the entire…More

The Hindu : There are a lot of artists who work on paper, but there are very few who sculpt with it. Ravikumar Kashi belongs to the latter category. Kashi’s two sculptures “Books” and “Armour” will be showcased in Santa Fe International Art Fair in USA, in July. He will representBangalore’s Sumukha Gallery. His love affair with paper started at the Glasgow School of Art in 2001 and has been making sculptures with pulp ever since. But this is the first time he has attempted a sculpture of this size.The sculpture “Books” is a set of 30 books cast in paper pulp with text and images, while the other is a soldier’s armour. Kashi makes his own paper pulp and then puts the semi-solid pulp into the plaster of Paris mould. Once it dries, he transfers the images on the book through a chemical process. Each book has a theme: Repent, Truth, Never Hide, Karma and more . “There is a concept of ‘chakradrishti’ just like management concept 360 degree in which you look at a concept from various angles without being judgemental. This work shows how the mind wanders, based on the chakradrishti concept. It is not linear,” explains Kashi.One of the books has “Keep the distance” as its theme. Through various images taken from Internet, advertisements, newspapers and clip art and texts around them, the artist has tried to bring in different interpretations. “Nimboo-mirchi image here refers to the distance that people want to keep from evil by hanging a charm at the entrance of their homes.”The sculpture evokes a feeling of reading someone’s diary. The book of “Karma” has a diagram of mother whereas “Truth” has a reference to “a meditative maze in front of a church in San Fransisco” while “Repent” with a drawing of Christ carrying the cross to Mount Golgotha where he was crucified. And there is texts scribbled in Kannada and…More

The Hindu : When Minakshi Ghosh organised a birthday party for six-year-old son, Aryan, birthday party, she ensured there was magic on the cards. As expected, it was a huge hit. “The theme was football and the magician did tricks around football and children loved it. After the show, the children went up to the magician and wanted him to teach them tricks,” says Minakshi. While stage magic is facing tough competition from internet, cricket and film, the takers for close up magic or street magic has only increased.Magician Chandrashekhar, a manager with Uday’s Magic World which sells magic products and also organises birthday parties, says, “Around 50 to 60 per cent of the people want to have magic in their birthday parties. They want the children to participate. Sometimes I perform at more than 20 birthday parties. Thanks to the growing interest, today Bangalore boasts of 500 magicians.”Ugesh Sarcar’s “Third degree” on UTV’s Bindass has taken magic back to the streets. In the show, the kohl-eyed curly haired performer roams the streets and casts his spells. He repertoire includes bending cutlery and sliding a coin into a sealed bottle of water without opening it among other things. “The show is among the top-rated shows,” says Ashok Abraham Cherian, associate director, marketing, Bindass. “Sarcar’s magic is not hocus pocus but an art that combines surprise, precision, practice and personality.”Senior magician Prahlad Acharya is not surprised when children ask him to teach similar tricks in summer camps. “They are not interested in the old tricks shown on stage. They want to know how to bend the spoon and how to put coins in a bottle,” says Acharya, who conducted magic sessions at about 12 summer camps last year. The fact that of late, summer camps too have started offering to teach magic is enough to suggest the growing popularity of magic.Magic appeals to children’s inquisitive minds. Anything out of…More

The Hindu : Save the best for the last. Why? Because after lying low while rivals Mercedes and BMW were updating their C-Class and 3 Series ranges respectively, Audi is finally out with the new A4. And it’s hoping that the last-mover advantage works in itsfavour.The new car’s look attempts to link it with the outgoing one but unlike the earlier car, which was too understated, the new A4 has plenty of finesse. The new Audi saloon gets the same emotive front styling. The lamps look menacing when they’re on and pretty good even when they’re switched off.The A4’s sides get strong lines running across the body from front to rear. This design lends the A4 a lean, muscular look and a very purposeful stance. The rear is quite similar to the earlier car, tidy and clean, in harmony with the car’s graceful design.But just because the new A4 looks similar, don’t be fooled into thinking that this car is merely an update. Beneath the surface, the changes are substantial. It is also bigger and wider than the C-Class and the 3 Series.Audi is aiming to position the A4 as the sportiest car in its class (and outgun the 3 Series in the bargain) for which it’s leaving no stone unturned. The German carmaker has worked hard to improve the A4’s driving dynamics. To do that, they have integrated a longer wheelbase thanks to a re-packaged engine/transmission, which Audi got after shifting the front axle forward by 154mm. Audi has also used high-strength steel and suspension components to keep the car’s overall weight down.Varied settingsYou also get the Audi Drive Select (as optional), a system that can adjust the operating characteristics of the engine, automatic transmission, steering and the shockers at the touch of a button. There’s a ‘comfort’ setting, and an ‘automatic’ mode that reacts to how the car is driven. But the ‘dynamic’ mode has the…More

The Hindu : At Magic Spaceyou can watch magic, read about it, buy magical wares and even learn it. The space aims to become a hotspot of magic in India.Giridhar Kamat who was for over a decade in the business of manufacturing and exporting magical apparatus is behind the project.“I have got so much from the world of magic and now I want to give something back to it,” he says.By hosting regular workshops and sessions with renowned magicians from across the world, Indian magicians will be exposed to what is happening around the world. “The idea is to take magic to the world-class level. There was a lack of space where magicians could just chill out, meet, interact and learn from each other,” says Vishakha.The space boasts of a library, mini stage, coffee shop and a shop stocking the latest magical stuff. Beginners can buy the magic kit which comes with an instructional CD or can attend their teach-in-sessions.The place will have resident magicians as well. On June 8, Magic Space will host a session by Mumbai’s Mysto Pinto, who is one of top clown magicians of the country. Contact 9900970099 or log on towww.themagicspace.netS.T.T….More

The Hindu : At 19, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman’s son, has not only completed two filmsbut alsosigned four more. And to quote the father, he hassigned one of them for Rs.1 crore!Produced by Kumar Mangat and directed by Anil Devgan, his debut film Haal-e-Dil is due to release in June. , “I play Rohit, a rich guy but not a spoilt brat. He is naughty, doesn’t really take interest in studies. The film traces his journey from an immature lad to a mature person as he falls in love.”Though this role fell into his lap, he admits he wasn’t quite ready to join films so early.After completing school, he acquired a diploma in direction and acting from New York and had come to Mumbai for his vacation. “I had gone for a usual haircut to my hair stylist. I asked him to spike up my hair, he asked me to wait and said, ‘Someone important is coming here’. As I was about to leaveafter the haircut, I saw Ajay Sir (Devgan) entering. I heard him asking, ‘Who was this guy?’ And within half an hour, I got a call from Kumar Mangat.” Adhyayan’s next release is “Raaz-2”, opposite KanganaRanaut, and Mohit Suri’s untitled comedy.“I have signed three films with Zee.”RANA SIDDIQUI…More

The Hindu : Cleaning ladiesC.K. MEENAWomen are obsessed with cleanliness because girls are trained from an early age to be cleanI leaned out of my first floor window one morning, wet wad of newspaper in hand, and half-heartedly removed the grime from the glass. A passing neighbour hailed me admiringly: “Really working hard, eh?” “The last time I cleaned it was five years ago,” I shouted back. She began to shush me vigorously as though I’d said something pornographic. “Not so loud, people will hear!”I could never understand what’s so terrible about being a poor housekeeper. See, this is where I think there is something wrong with me. I am a woman without a cleanliness fetish. I can think of a million reasons not to rub, scrub, wash, wipe, dust and polish. Most women I know are house-proud, which is another word for anal retentive. They seem to have been born with duster in hand. They bombard the kitchen sink and platform with toxic jets. They hang out vast quantities of washing on the line. They are terrified of being judged as women who neglect their domestic duties. But me, I couldn’t care less if the whole world knew I was a slattern.Why am I harping on women? Because a man does not, as a rule, play a major role in running a spotless house. He does not scan the ceiling for cobwebs, for example. Should his eye chance upon one he immediately informs his wife of his finding and majestically leans back to watch her clamber up a stool and brush away the offending structure. You’re a man and you have a few days off. What do you do? You sit down to enjoy the IPL match over a couple of beers. Or else you and your buddies go over to another buddy’s house and sit down to enjoy the IPL match over a couple of beers….More