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The Hindu : Putting pedal to metalTeam Winspeed Motorsport is all set for the Indian National Rally ChampionshipWith the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) set to kick off at Mysore from June 12 to 15, Team Winspeed Motorsport looks upbeat about its prospects for the seven-leg annual event conducted by the Motorsport Association of India (MAI). Formed about four months ago, Winspeed Motorsport’s President Sravan Kumar K and Vice President Sai Giridhar presented the ace driving duo G.B. Girijashankar Joshy and Mazdayar Vatcha. Both will compete in the N series; Joshy in his Maruti Suzuki Baleno in the 1600 cc category and Vatcha in a Maruti Suzuki Esteem in the 1400 cc. Both the drivers have an impressive track record. Joshy made his debut in 2005 in the RSC Championship, where he won three first places and two second places out of six rallies at Tura, Mysore, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi and Hyderabad.The Chickmangalur native won two successive championships in 2005 and 2006, the first in the Rally Star Cup category and the second in the 1400 cc group N section in the following year. Joshy was placed first in the 1400 cc and second in the Indian Open category in an autocross organised by Sakleshpur Sports Club.In the ‘King of the Hills,’ a hill climb event organised by Prosports in Chamundi Hills, Mysore, he emerged first. The year 2006 proved quite productive for him, as he was crowned the Indian National Champion in the 1400 cc, placed first in the Overdrive Rally, Pune, the Bosch K1000 and the Monsoon Rally of Kerala. In 2007, he sped away with the Heera Rally title at Kochi.Vatcha ventured into every kind of motor racing, evidence of which is a trophy from each category. He has individual achievements ranging from motocross to GoKarting, from bike rallying to autocross events. Vatcha’s also into motorsport journalism.After all, he has 18 years of successful motorsport…More

The Hindu : Look, we’re not trying to be sexist or anything. We have nothing against men, and in fact, wherever possible, we try really hard to be inclusive… why, we would only be too thrilled if men stormed a few female bastions. We would greatly appreciate it if they somehow figured a way to start having babies; we would actively encourage them to take charge of the kitchen and draw-up elaborate weekly menus. But, we draw a line when it comes to wearing girly colours. Like candy pink. And peach. Oh, and parrot-green too.Why these perfectly nice colours are so ew, ew, when worn by men, we have no clue. One gentleman we asked said it was all just indoctrination, and that given half a chance a man would look as yummy-in-pink as women do. Another argued that these colours looked good on females only because women are so chic and they’ve got the right curves!Whatever be the case, we understand men may suddenly develop these urges to look cool, hip, maybe even metrosexual. So we thought we would be doing thema great service by letting them know which colours are just not on.For instance, candy-pink looks hot on hot men on the ramp. These men typically have six-pack abs and their shirts are seldom buttoned. They are, as a rule, assiduously accessorised — uber-cool sunglasses, tattooed biceps, spray-painted jeans, the works. Naturally, this colour doesn’t sit well on aprosperous paunch and/or balding pate.Pastel pink is altogether a different ball game… Though it is fast finding a place in the men’s formal section, it is still an explosive colour that needs to be handled with great care. Few men can carry it off withthe panache of Tony Blair; and to team it with a pink tie, man, you really need guts.Green, of course, isn’t quite so bad. There are some shades that are wholly suitable for men,…More

The Hindu : “I have already lost half my hair; I don’t want to lose the rest contemplating who is saying what about my technique.” It is this simplicity which defines Virender Sehwag on and off the field. Going back in time, his partner in the Kotla journey used to be Ashish Nehra. “After the first Ranji season I bought an LML Vespa. Whoever rode pillion had to handle the heavy kits.” Viru, who still lugs his own kit bag, says it surprises him how young players ask others to carry their kits. “You have to respect your equipment. It is this equipment which makes your sporting life.”Today Viru drives a BMW. “I could have bought it three or four seasons ago but I believed I didn’t deserve it then. So I continued driving my Santro. I firmly believe in living a life you deserve notwithstanding your bank balance. This helps in concentrating on the career.”“I came from a joint family and my father was a grain merchant.My father gave me a free hand till I completed my graduation. After that he expected me to join his business. But before completing graduation, I was playing international cricket. From the beginning I knew that if I continue playing well nobody can stop me. Money would come automatically. A semi-urban background or lack of English speaking skills never gave me any complex because these things don’t matter on the ground.”But we thought it is songs that help him ease the pressure on the pitch. “They do. When I sing, and it doesn’t matter which over of the innings it is, I concentrate on the lyrics and it takes me away from the pressure situation.”His songs could be from films or devotional. “My all-time favourite is ‘Chala Jata Hoon Kisi Ki Dhun Main’.” Another thing that helps him is meditation. “I do deep breathing for around 20 minutes every day.”Viru says…More

The Hindu : Kunal Kapoor looks as hot off screen as he appears to be on screen. But the actor is not content with just showing off his face before the camera. Be it editing, writing or directing, every aspect of filmmaking appeals to him. “Ilove the whole process.” In town for a store launch, Kunal who started off as assistant director to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in “Aks”, has turned to scriptwriting. “It is a romantic comedy with a fair amount of drama. I am writing it with a director friend. Every time we feel that we are through with the script, we realise it needs more work. We plan to start shooting next year.”This is not Kunal’s first attempt at writing. He has been writing poetry for long.“Usually everything we do, has a purpose, but writing poetry is something I do for fun. It gives me a chance to express what is happening around me and also to look at things objectively. What I scribble may not make sense to everybody.”The script is not going to be a one-off effort. “I love stories. My eyes and ears are open to anything interesting.”Spirituality fascinates the lanky star. A follower of Art of Living, Kunal also practises Sudarshan Kriya everyday. “I want to keep growing. I never close myself to anything. It is not easy to quantify what I have got from spirituality, but it has introduced me to new things and given me a different perspective,” says the actor who also practises the martial art, Goju Ryu Karate.Kunal made his debut in M.F.Husain’s “Meenaxi: A Tale of three cities” (2004) but things didn’t look up until “Rang De Basanti” (2006).His performance as Aslam got him recognition and plum projects. “Life changed post ‘Rang De…’ When you are an outsider in the industry, people are inaccessible. That changed after ‘RDB’.”While the success of “RDB” yielded big banner projects, none…More

The Hindu : Andhra dietician whose former boyfriend gives up bird-watching to espouse Palestinian cause meets gay tramp with Hawaiian mother and unknown father in a park in Columbus, Ohio. Texan banker meets Sri Lankan from Oslo in Houston museum. Serbo-Hungarian novelist on his way to meet German translator meets Tamil teacher of under-privileged children in Washington’s Dulles airport two days after September 11. This is multiculturalism with a vengeance. You might also call it laying it on too thick.Contrived situations weren’t only what was amiss with “Water Lilies: A Trilogy”, a play in three parts written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan and performed by JustUs Repertory at Ranga Shankara last weekend. There was altogether too much education going on. Indian characters explained India to western ones. The (Indian) audience had the West explained to them. There were lessons in Indian history and culture and lessons in western art and culture. To complete the classroom feel, Clarke Ashton Smith’s poem “Fawn Lilies” was recited at the end of section one which was titled “Fawn Lilies” and Ted Hughes’s “To Paint a Water Lily” at the end of the second section titled “Water Lilies”, both in schoolboy fashion, while an Upanisadic sloka heralded the last section, “Black Lilies”. The middle section began with a slide-presentation on Masterpieces of French Painting. A taped commentary elucidated the salient points of each work of art. And just as you were wondering whether this was a play or an art class, you got the answer (an art class) when the man and woman on stage exchanged informed comments on the Impressionists and discussed the relative merits of Van Gogh and Monet. I could have got all of that on Google. I did, in fact, when I was gathering background before the play and boning up on old Claude Oscar who founded the Impressionist movement. He did paint a lot of lilies, yes. But…More

The Hindu : In a polarised world fraught with conflict and violence, non-profit organisation Meta-Culture Dialogics steps in to bridge those disputes by building communication and understanding.Established in 2006 by Ashok Panikkar, the conflict management organisation celebrated its third anniversary at Alliance Francaise recently, to coincide with the 63rd anniversary of the end of WWII. A string of lively, dynamic discussions, talks and a dance performance bound this stimulating cultural programme.With circular table arrangements dotting the space, and posters, the evening looked like a promising start to induce conversations over the table.Stepping inSays Meta-Culture Dialogics’ founder Ashok Panikkar: “Dispute transformation and dialogue is about building a consensus between the two individuals or parties involved. Our organisation steps in as the mediator where we strive to resolve and rebuild the relationship.”So whether it is a family or property dispute, an inter-religious clash, neighbourhood or corporate conflict to even a misunderstanding amongst NGOs, Panikkar says that very often, these cases end up in the civil court.“Drawing from the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), we try to use the right method to mediate conflict resolutions before they come to court, which can be disempowering.”He asserts that the mediators do not make the final decisions; rather they re-engage the concerned disputants in a dialogue.In an attempt to initiate the concept of “a safe space where one can understand the other better in a process to humanise rather than dehumanise,” the event started with talks by Ashok Panikkar, President of Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Chiranjeev Singh, and founder-chairman of PAC Samuel Paul.In most conflicts where all points of views are not given the room to be articulated and arguments turn into destructive and heated wars, the concept of the third party is brought in to give space to all standpoints.Panikkar is quick to clarify that mediation is different from counselling because it does not deal with the psychological issues of the past in the…More

The Hindu : The Taj West End on the occasion of World Environment Day will encourage visitors to take care of saplings in jute bags, which will be placed in their cars as an environment- friendly gift, each resident guest will also be given a helpful small booklet with tips to prevent global warming, which will be placed in all rooms and public areas and will also be invited to plant to sapling in the garden. The award winning Al Gore documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” will be screened in all rooms and public areas. A Landmark counter will be set up to offer books, movies and documentaries on global warming.***The movie rental company, Seventymm, is offering environment-centric movies, quizzes and videos for World Environment Day. Movies from across the world like “China Syndrome”, “Born Free”, “An Inconvenient Truth”, plus a host of documentary movies are on offer. One can take quizzes, share ideas on saving the environment and check out the music albums by famous bands and singers in the section ’Heal the world’.So, log on towww.seventymm.com to drive the change towards saving planet earth….More

The Hindu : Weather woesOf late, freak weather conditions have ravaged parts of the planet. Unseasonal rains and hurricanes have wreaked havoc with life and property. The spectre of global warming looms large and threatens to reduce food productivity and eventually affect economies across the world, already under stress following the food crisis.The relentless industrialisation of much of the planet, especially the emerging economic superpowers are to take much of the blame for this situation.On World Environment Day today, a number of demonstrations and rallies will be held by various organisations calling for a way to save the planet for the future generations.MetroPlus asked city residents about their views on World Environment Day and what they felt were the alternatives to arrest the slide. Most people agreed that the relevance of environment has been lost and called for a comprehensive environment policy to ensure that real estate and development sharks are unable to cut trees and deplete the forest cover.They felt that unless the government takes a proactive stand, the situation would deteriorate to a point of no return.Environmental pollution has been unrelenting. Days like Environment Day no longer hold any significance to most people.In the mad race for development, countless trees, forests, parks and other green spaces have been destroyed.VenkateshStudentNo one has any time for environment. Though many token measures will be undertaken by some NGOs and other groups, nothing will come out of it. The need of the hour is to ensure that a comprehensive policy on environment issues is mooted .NirmalHorticultaristIt is going to be just another day. It is a sad situation. The drive towards development has altered the ecological balance. Tree planting sessions must be undertaken. New laws must be enacted to ensure that the green cover is not destroyedHarishIT professionalJune 5 is not going to be any different. Though tall promises for making the environment better and cleaner are made, no concrete…More

The Hindu : Six-year-old Karthik. S enjoyed hockey and taekwondo but wants to become a boxer while Chandini, a bubbly eight-year-old wants to take up hockey as, “it’s our national sport”. The 25-day multi-discipline summer camp that concluded at the Green Country Public School campus in Hebbal had each of the 76 students and their parents singing praises. The camp was in contrast to the regular summer camps where children pursue their ambition in one chosen sport.The camp coordinator, former State hockey player, Raju Venkateswar, conducted a similar camp last year. “The response has been very encouraging. More importantly there is no point in ‘pushing’ a child into one particular event.Here, all children participate in all events (10 disciplines) from 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and at the end of the camp, the coaches sit with me and take stock of each child’s capacity. The student and his/her parent are then counselled on the potential available and the follow-up chalked out accordingly,” says Raju, who quit his bank job to take up the coaching with the school.“The camp for children in the age group of six to 16 had entries from nearly 36 schools in the Bangalore North region. We also had a student each from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Guntur who were accommodated with the teachers from Green Country PS. Two, one each from Calicut and Chickmagalur, returned after about 12 days as they were home sick,” says Raju.The camp would start with yoga and then an hour of rigorous adventure sports like rope ladder, rope bridge, rope climb and Tarzan swings before getting into the nitty-gritty of the chosen events — aerobics, basketball, boxing, cricket, hockey, football, taekwondo and volleyball — under the watchful eyes of NIS- trained coaches.“The boys and girls were initially tentative and scared of rope-climbing. But after the early fear vanished, they looked forward to this event eagerly and some of them now…More