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The Hindu : y>Car and bike questions? We have the answers

I am planning to buy a new sedan (small car such as Swift, Fabia, Hyundai i10 or i20). My budget is between Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 6 lakh. I am a tall guy (6 ft 4 inches), so could you please let me know the best available car in the market that will suit my my height. It should be a decent family car with low maintenance cost.

Patrick

Considering your height, Swift, Fabia and i20 make more sense as these are bigger than the i10. But as you are looking at a car that does not cost much to maintain, we recommend you opt for the Swift as it is a Maruti, which is known for its after sales service. Besides, it is much cheaper than Fabia and i20.

I work as deputy commissioner with the customs department. I am planning to buy a car. My budget is between Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh. I will drive around 80 km a week. I have shortlisted Hyundai i10 magna (kappa engine) and Maruti A Star. I believe that A Star gives better mileage than i10. What is the mileage of i10? Also, which car is better in terms of overall performance?

M. Gnanasundaram

Both i10 and A Star are good cars. A Star will give you more mileage, by around 1kpl, than the i10. But considering overall performance, the i10 makes more sense. It has a more powerful and smooth engine. It is much more spacious than A Star and considering you will drive around 80km per week the mileage difference will be negligible.

I have a Maruti 800. My daily travel covers 40 to 50 km and I make two annual trips of 1000 km each. I have shortlisted Alto and WagonR. I would like you to compare them on the basis of…More

The Hindu : y>

Confrontation Big Brother-Till Death Do You Part

The mystery continues in the Big Brother household as the head of the household, Sheila has nominated Adam and Sharon for eviction. However, Natalie is the actual target.

Sharon feels that Natalie will be the one going home this week. Meanwhile, Natalie has no clue about this sinister plot. Meanwhile, Adam pours his heart out stating that he is unhappy being put on the nomination block. Catch all the drama on Wednesday at 10 p.m. on VH1.

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There is drama of another kind on Fox History and Entertainment. A one-hour documentary takes an exclusive look at both the public and private side of Martina Navratilova’s final tennis-playing trip to the UK. Special attention is given to her final appearance at Wimbledon, where she holds an unprecedented nine singles titles. “Martina Navratilova: Farewell to a Champion” will be aired tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox History and Entertainment.

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The Hindu : y>It’s the features and equipment list of Mahindra Xylo that makes it truly special, says Shapur Kotwal

Refined and comfortable The Xylo uses the tried-and-tested CRDe engine, re-badged the mEagle

The Xylo is Mahindra’s most important model since the Scorpio and is the company’s first crack at the MPV market. The Scorpio made an immediate style statement when it was launched in 2002 and so expectations were running high for the Xylo to do the same. But the attempt to stamp M&M’s SUV DNA on an MPV and a conscious endeavour not to give a generic van-like shape has resulted in a mish-mash of a design that’s, to put it mildly, a bit odd. The Xylo’s upright A-pillar gives it more of an SUV stance and it lacks the sleekness of the longer and distinctly ‘monospace’ Innova. The idea was to save on length and use as little road space as possible and in this regard the Xylo makes good use of its vertical shape. This is, after all, an MPV that’s been designed ‘inside out’ and it shows.Space shuttle

Walk up to the Xylo and things get immediately better. You notice the impressive level of fit and finish, the best on a Mahindra yet. The chunky, pull-type door handles make a great first point of contact, even at the back where Mahindra has given the Xylo a more practical rear door (the Innova uses a less practical hatch). The doors shut snugly but don’t feel as solid but that’s because they have been fashioned out of weight-saving ‘tailored-blank’ steel sheets. The step up to enter the Xylo’s cabin is higher than the Innova’s but it doesn’t require pole vaulting skills. Plonk yourself on any of the seats and the immediate impression is of massivespace. Be in no doubt, this is the most spacious MPV by far in every dimension and the huge…More

The Hindu : y>It’s been 60 years since Murphy came up with a law we all love to blame when things go really really wrong, observes APARNA NARRAIN

PHOTO: K. R. DeepakCHANCES ARE You are stuck in knee-deep rainwater after a bad day at work. You get splashed

It is one of those days that you can’t wait to get done with. Your car won’t start and you are late for work. You hail an autorickshaw but for some reason all the autorickshaw drivers are avoiding the area where your office is. Finally, one kind soul agrees to take you. When you are minutes away from your office, the auto has moved a grand total of two centimetres in the traffic jam. You get out cursing your bad luck, your boss and everything else.You tell yourself it can’t possibly get any worse, only to be caught in what forms into the downpour of the century. Does the situation sound familiar?

You’re probably familiar with Murphy’s Law. The law, which turns 60 this year, states: “If anything can go wrong, it will”. There has been some dispute over the precise origin of the law.

The law as we now know it was named after Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr., an American pilot and aerospace test engineer who worked on safety systems for experimental aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird.

According to Nick T. Spark, author of “A History of Murphy’s Law”, in 1949 the U.S. Air Force set up a series of experiments to test the tolerance of the human body to G-forces (gravitational forces) during rapid deceleration. Colonel John Paul Stapp, an Air Force medical officer, was in charge of the tests. Murphy was also involved in these tests. Four sensors, were attached to the subject’s body. However, Murphy’s assistant installed all of them the wrong way round, resulting in a zero reading. Apparently at that moment Murphy said, “If…More

The Hindu : C.K. MEENA

A competitive show is meant to provide entertainment but most participants don’t enjoy themselves

Photo: T. SingaravelouShowing off The saddest victims are animals and young children

For one-and-a-half hours I matched my vocal cords against a loudspeaker booming outside the classroom. I emerged, exhausted but curious to meet my competitor. Looking down from the second floor into the quadrangle I could see a dog show in progress.The young man I’d been trying to out-shout was the emcee.

I decided to peer over the railing and watch for a few minutes. This appeared to be the final round of a show conducted by an animal rights organisation, and each entrant had to speak about her pet and show off its tricks. The audience sat in chairs under a large tree. A youngster walked into the arena with his chocolate-coloured Boxer. He kept repeating that his pet was “very aggressive”, as though that were an asset that would win it a medal (which it probably would, for all I knew). The emcee wanted to know what it could do. The youth made it sit on its haunches, extend its paw, and lie down on its belly. The audience applauded.

Its last trick was unrehearsed. It stood up, bent its hind legs, scrunched up its rear, and produced three pieces of shit.

I clapped in sheer delight. Strangely, no one seemed to share my appreciation. I realised that I had read too much into a pile of turds. To me it was a statement: “Here’s what I think of your show.” Without confirming what the dog thought, I was projecting my own opinion onto it – my opinion of all shows – dog shows, fashion shows, baby shows, talent shows, the lot.

Let me think aloud for a while. Indulge me. What exactly is it that puts me off most shows? Is it the competition? No, I am…More

The Hindu :

When the generously-proportioned shop for clothes, they must weigh comfort over looks

Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.Look good Wearing the perfect clothes reflects style

It’s a cliché worth repeating. Happy New Year and all your clothes are last year’s. The round of parties and a collection of well-used excuses (Where is the time for exercise?) have left you looking, er, fuller than last year. Your shopping expeditions have been hinting at a visible truth. You’ve progressed from XL to XXXL and beyond.

Trial room mirrors have spoken: you’re trying to fit into clothes that don’t fit you. ‘Stretch’ shows up those unseemly bumps and shape-wear looks downright offensive. Jeans sure are convenient, all-weather, and a fashion staple, but sadly, highlight the over-sized areas.

You have a couple of options. One, you could go the Priya way. She bikes down to a well-known store,pulls out fabric (three metres for the kurta-cum-shirt, 2.7 mt for the salwar) in black, with long stripes or with small prints, and leaves them with the family tailor.

If she looks like a battleship covered with canvas, it’s her “my body, my style” defiance. “This is my signature suit, clothes I’m comfortable in,” she shrugs.

Alternatively, you could stop sucking in for those tight-as-a-miser’s-fist outfits.

Desist spending party hours feeling sore and self-conscious in something ridiculous.

You could vow not to buy designer wear not meant for you. Yes, it’s now possible to find clothes that look good on you. All you need are a few basic, easy, styling suggestions. Here’s what designer Tina Vincent has to say. “Don’t fall for those Vogue-cover-type dresses,” she says. “It’s better to go for longer ones than shorter. Give the dress a hem; fold it so you can change it if you want.” She recommends a plunging neckline. “Got it? Flaunt it!”

Small prints, definitely, she says. If you insist on bold ones, layer them with something plain — a…More

The Hindu :

Footsteps offers specialised footwear and food products for diabetics as well as foot products for non-diabetics

Photo: Sampath Kumar G P.SWEET NOTHINGS Special footwear can be custom-made

I can’t decide whether this is a store that specialises in footcare for diabetics or even non-diabetics with foot problems. Then, there are also a whole range of food products as well for diabetics to choose from. Looking at it as a health store, then, would be beneficial.

Footsteps in Malleswaram is manna for the average family today, where at least one person is diabetic. And apparently, one of the biggest problems of diabetics are those concerning their feet, according to the owner B. Gopakumar. He set up this enterprise seeing his parents, aunts and uncles — all diabetic, go through a tough time.

The store offers a large range of footwear, with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal treated shoes and slippers with micro-holes in the sole that allow for air circulation. The advantage Gopakumar offers customers is that they have their own footwear manufacturing factory in Bangalore, so he is able to custom-make footwear, depending on an individual’s problem. “I am able to take pictures of a person’s foot, club it with their doctor’s advise, measure each foot separately and have shoes or slippers made to a person’s specific need,” he explains, showing a pair made for a person who can barely walk. It comes with extra ankle-and-above cushioned support to give steadiness to the walker. Imported polymers are used to create soft insoles. “Often, specialised footwear doesn’t come in socially acceptable looks. We try to give it a good finish so that when a person goes out, others aren’t staring at their feet,” he says. The custom-made shoes come at a price range of Rs. 1,000 onward, depending on the needs.

The store also offers products that cater to all sorts of foot problems (not necessarily caused by diabetes)…More

The Hindu : y>

An all-new version of Tata Indigo, based on the the new Indica Vista, is set to hit showrooms by March.

It gets a lengthened wheelbase and different engine.

The lengthened wheelbase is sure to liberate more in-cabin space, to improve upon what is already a roomy car.

Engine options will be the same as those on the Linea, with a 90bhp version of Fiat’s multijet motor, but whether Tata will stick to the quadrajet nomenclature, as on the Indica, is to be seen. There could also be the 16-valve twin-cam 1.4-litre petrol from Fiat as well.

The nose of the new Indigo will retain the Indica’s sweeping angular headlights, but should benefit from a more prominent grille, with oodles of chrome.

At the rear, the Indigo gets vertically-stacked tail-lights. Tata’s designers have done well to disguise the bulk of the rear. The tapering roof and C-pillar, with a more rakish rear windscreen give the whole car a more cohesive look.

As far as budget limos go, the new Indigo should set a benchmark. Prices should start around Rs. 5 lakh for the base versions, and there could also be an executive variant, complete with rear A/C vents, bluetooth, and, perhaps, even a DVD screen, just like the Indigo’s XL variant.

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