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The Hindu :

Michael Grylls tames the wild, once more

Wild adventures Bear Grylls with an alligator

Michael Bear Grylls nurtured a childhood dream “of climbing big mountains and getting a job where he could be covered in mud and grime all day”. Years later, he became the youngest Brit to scale Mount Everest at 23. Bear Grylls is now a celebrity survival expert, hosting the third edition of “Man Vs. Wild” on Discovery Channel.Unforgiving conditions

In the third series, Grylls raises the bar and tests his skills in the toughest terrains. “These are some of the most unforgiving places we’ve been to — like the Belize jungle, where we used to train as part of British Army,” he says.

Grylls will parachute into the Siberian Tundra, face the wrath of the waterfalls of Dominican Republic, journey through the Sahara Desert in peak summer and step into swamps in Indonesia.

“We went to Sahara Desert in mid summer when the temperature was above 50 degrees. Three crew members had to be evacuated with heat stroke.”

“My dad taught me to climb when I was five. In school, I was always the kid who could reach the top of the highest building or the highest tree. That formed my identity at that age.” Before his stint with the British Army, Grylls wanted to work with the Indian army. He shares, “I went mountain climbing in West Bengal and Darjeeling. I’m looking forward to getting back to India to shoot.” Grylls recalls leading an expedition to Mt. Everest in 2007 for the channel’s “Bear’s Mission Everest”, where he filmed with power gliders above Everest.

His daring adventures have also given him broken bones and back injuries. “I suffered a parachuting accident that made me realise I’ve been lucky to survive. We have one life and we must be bold. I take a laminated picture of my wife and two…More

The Hindu :

Actor Neetu Chandra on her big releases and bigger controversies

Photo: K. GopinathanGLAM QUOTIENT Neetu Chandra is thrilled to share screen space with the Big B in Rann

Competition! What competition, asks Neetu Chandra, shrugging her slender shoulders. “I don’t squander time playing the numbers game or scan glossies to see who’s the next pretty thing or sulk over somebody getting a plum project,” says Bollywood’s current dare-bare girl.

And going by the variety of films she has done — “Garam Masala”, “Traffic Signal”, “Oye Lucky Lucky Oye” and “Yaavarum Nalam” (“13B” in Hindi) — she has reasons to sound upbeat.Great going

“I think I have done well for myself. It’s not a small thing when Ram Gopal Varma compliments your performance and signs you for a film (‘Rann’) in which the Big B features. It takes some courage to do a bilingual horror film (in Tamil and Hindi) early on in your career or to play a mentally-disturbed girl (in Jagmohan Mundra’s ‘Apartment’).”

This Bihar-bred girl took the usual route to cinema — modelling and music videos.“Filmmakers are looking beyond eye-candy flicks . The economic slowdown has forced them to think on their feet.Good films are making more news than big-budgeted ones.”

Thinking actor? Yes.

But, what about those titillating girl-on-girl pictures for a magazine that generated so much heat, or her statement that she can go nude for a James Cameron film.

“The photoshoot was done very aesthetically. It was a contemporary adaptation of the Ajanta-Ellora murals. As for the Cameron comment, I think too much was made out of it. It was a small part of an interview,”she says with cool candour.

Back to work.

“Yaavarum Nalam” is one of the biggest grossers this year and she has already signed her next Tamil film “Theeratha Vilayaattu Pillai” with Vishal. She is also excited about “Apartment”. “I finished the shoot in 35 days. It was a…More

The Hindu : y>

Andy Roddick’s loss to Roger Federer at Wimbledon meant that he joined Gottfried von Cramm and Fred Stolle in losing three men’s singles finals without winning the title even once. At 26, Roddick still has age on his side. If he plays another final, will he go the way of Goran Ivanisevic, who was fourth time lucky in 2001, or Ken Rosewall, who appeared in his fourth final in 1974, having lost his previous three, only to lose again?

Roger Federer served 50 aces in the Wimbledon final, but missed out on the record for most aces in a match. That distinction belongs to the 6’10″ Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who pounded 55 aces in his first round match at Roland Garros this year, only to lose in five sets to Lleyton Hewitt.

By beating Venus Williams in straight sets in the Wimbledon ladies’ singles final, Serena Williams nudged ahead in the sibling rivalry – the head-to-head currently stands at 11-10 in Serena’s favour.

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The Hindu : y>

Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.Make a choice RJ Vinayak (top) faces competition from Pradeep

Think you the know Kannada music? Here’s your chance to prove it. Radio City 91.1FM presents a music challenge – Music Na Khiladigalu.

The show presents a chance for the listeners to choose their favourite music and RJ’s by voting. The contest is open till July 11.

“Music Na Khiladigalu” is an interactive show that invites votes from listeners supporting their favourite jockeys and also allows listeners to choose their favourite songs.

To vote text RCBLR P /V to 57007. P is the code RJ Pradeep and V is the code for RJ Vinayak. Listeners can also get an opportunity to win prizes such as bikes, home theatres, phones, restaurant and shopping vouchers etc by participating in the contest.

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The Hindu : y>Percussive Arts Centre conducts its annual arts festival

Percussive Arts Centre celebrates its 28th Thalavadyotsav with an annual percussive arts festival and a music conference from July 8 to 12. It is organised jointly with Bangalore Gayana Samaja at the Samaja premises . Eminent scholars, musicians and musicologists will participate. Member of the legislative assembly of Jayanagar Constituency, B.N. Vijayakumar, will inaugurate the festival.

Call: 94484-63079.

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The Hindu :

The new trend of simulated games that can be applied to life and decision-making is catching on

PHOTO: S.S. KUMARGAMES PEOPLE PLAY To learn new things

For those who think gaming is all fun and something for kids and adrenaline junkies, think again. Igor S. Mayer talks of an emerging growth of “serious games” that is taking the world by storm. Igor is director of a Centre for Process Management at Delft Technical University (TU-Delft) in Netherlands. Based upon the assumption that the individual and social learning that emerges in the game can be transferred to the world outside, gaming stimulates real-life situations, so people know how to react.

These were some of the ideas that were thrown up at the Modelling and Gaming Simulation Workshop organised by the Centre for Study of Science Technology and Policy (CSTEP), and TU-Delft recently. Igor says, “It is indisputable that games are more than just recreational activities. They are wonderful instruments for experimentation and learning”

Experimental

“Simulation games are experimental, rule-based and interactive environments where players learn by taking actions and by experiencing their effects through feedback mechanisms that are deliberately built into the game,” he explains. Mayer adds that the good thing about simulation is that they have minimal external risks, giving players a sense of safety, a prerequisite for experimentation and creativity.

Quoting the example of the Dutch Army, which uses serious gaming to prepare soldiers for missions such as in Afghanistan, he says, “The combination with game technology has increased the possibilities of game simulations enormously. Three-dimensional visualisation techniques make gaming a perfect way of teaching people how to handle risky situations in a safe environment.”

Games allow players to feel the long-term implications of their choices. Though intended for the use of decision-makers, serious games can also be used to teach.

Margot Weijnen, Chair of Process and Energy Systems Engineering at TU-Delft, says that simulation modelling…More

The Hindu :

NBA star Baron Davis talks of enhancing public interest for the game in India

Photo: V Sreenivasa MurthyMagic moments Baron Davis: ‘There is a lot of talent, it must be channelled properly’

The NBA basketball circus was back in Bangalore, with LA Clippers star, Baron Davis conducting a training clinic with a set of trainers. This exercise conducted by the American Pro basketball’s supreme body for the globalisation of the game offers many lessons for the Indian basketball community, and the State basketball fraternity in particular.

Davis has played the game at the highest level and proved an inspiring personality for the young hopefuls at the Kanteerva Indoor Stadium, during the camp.

He also aided the State coaches and gave tips about the latest training trends; motivation, fitness levels and other aspects of the game.

The administrators of the sport in the country will do good to heed to his advice about developing interest and infrastructure for the game in India.

Davis talked about the need for good infrastructure and the need to create a professional league system in India. He contends, “The young players have potential and are willing to learn. There is a lot of talent out there, it must be channelled in a proper manner.”

He adds, “Like China, if you provide youngsters with the right platform, you could have an NBA star in five to 10 years.”

Davis felt that the game must be made moreentertaining for the general public.

However, unlike the interactive format that NBA follows, Most ties played in State league and other events are mundane and does not offer quality, resulting in public apathy towards the game.

This is not due to any lack of interest, as the writer remembers a full house at an India- Syria match played at Beagles court in Malleswaram in the 1990s at 1.30 a.m.

Davis also discussed the need toprovide more courts, but the need of…More

The Hindu : y>AYESHA MATTHAN tries to figure out what the recent reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code means to the LGBT community

Photo: AFPUNITED COLOURS OF CITIZENS Whatever be their sexual orientation

Until a few days ago, housing, employment, inheritance, the right to visit one’s partner in hospital, legal guardianship, housing loans and pension benefits were denied to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community. The Delhi High Court division bench comprising Justice A.P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar read down Section 377 (passed in 1860) of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises same sex relationships.

Says Winnie Varghese, a gay rector and gay rights activist in New York City, “It is a powerful anti-colonial statement for India to say it rejects a section of the British Penal Code. This should cause generations to question what has been taught to them as normal, what they have suppressed or oppressed, to create a more accepting space for the next generations of Indians to enjoy the freedom to live as they are.”Constant victimisation

Undercover cops have always arranged meetings with gays and laid traps, gays were given shock therapy to be cured of a “mental illness”, health officials denied HIV/AIDS treatment to the LGBT community, hijras are victims to police brutality and sexual violence. As a minority, homosexuals represent 0.3 per cent of the population. Feminist and political scientist Nivedita Menon distinguishes between nature and culture in “How Natural is Normal”, published in “Because I have a voice — Queer Politics in India” edited by Arvind Narrain and Gautam Bhan. “The assumption is that ‘normal’ sexual behaviour springs from nature, and that it has nothing to do with culture or history. But if we recognise that sexuality is located in culture, we have to deal with the uncomfortable idea that sexuality is a human construct… Only the heterosexual, patriarchal family is permitted to exist….More

The Hindu :

Spice up your wardrobe for the season with bold prints, funky shoes and leather jackets

Photo: R. RavindranMonsoon wardrobe Prints juxtaposed with textures in bright colours suit the look of the season.

This monsoon it is going to be a bold and chic look that is set to rule the fashion world. And, lots of colours. Says Tarun Nagpal, a Bangalore-based fashion designer: “ Colours are set to brighten up the monsoon season.Electric blues, raspberry reds,shocking pinks and monsoon’s favouritepurples and yellows are going to be in .” Fashion designer Nida Mahmood agrees.“Monsoon is a fun season. One should exploit the seasonal splendour in techni colour. Prints when juxtaposed withtextures in bright hues work well. Short hemlines teamed withwaterproof gum boots or funky shoes are the mantra for this season.”For a dramatic look

For young women, Nida recommends trapeze tunics that give a dramatic lookwhen paired up with boots.you can spice up your outfits with accessories such as beaded neckpieces, a cool printed umbrella and a colourful rainproof bag.

Checkered shorts with boots orthree-fourth trousers in linen and other light materialswork well for working women. Theylook stylish, functionaland most importantly do not get dirty during therains. “Fabrics like linen, knit, double knit or light and lycra viscose are light, warm and makes one feel at ease during the monsoons”, adds Tarun.Cosy cardigans

Actor Radhika Pandit says she loves to wrap herself with cosy cardigans and thick leather jackets.

“My fashion statement for this season is to wear one-piece thick dresses in bright colours and team it up with boots. It makes me look smart and keeps mewarm.Trendy caps is an added style quotient.For a rugged look,I would opt for a denim skirt or a leather skirt with a turtleneck full sleeves cardigan. Itsuits the gloomy weather the best.”

For those who love to flaunt their skirts, Nida says knee-length peg skirts should be…More