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Battling the odds Les takes on the wilderness with a few basic tools

No food, shelter or fresh water, one man stays alone in the wild for seven days. Wilderness survival expert and filmmaker Les “Survivorman” Stroud spends many weeks alone in a variety of survival simulations. In addition to surviving without supplies, Les must film everything, which includes dragging 50 pounds of camera gear and batteries along the way.

Join Les as he takes on the wilderness with a few basic tools and camera gear on Discovery Channel’s new series “Survivorman”, to air every Thursday at 9 p.m.

From the frozen Arctic to the fetid jungles of Central America, “Survivorman” is an extreme test of Les’ extraordinary self-reliance and survival skills. Armed with a unique one-person camera rig, Les documents his struggles to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in climates as diverse as the Costa Rican rainforest, swamplands in Georgia, the high Sonoran desert and Arctic ice floes.

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Climbing Following the success of Neha Prakash and Chea Amelia Mark at the Asian Championship in Kazhakstan, the sport is becoming more popular

Photo: K. GopinathanSoaring high Neha Prakash and Chea Mark (left) are keen to pursue the sport for another six years

They could give Spiderman a run for his money! Neha Prakash and Chea Amelia Mark, two sports climbing champions from Bangalore spiced up the Indian performance at the Asian Sports Climbing championship held at Almaty, Kazakhstan with their superb performances. The seven-member squad bagged seven medals. While Neha won a gold in lead climbing, Chea bagged two bronzes in speed climbing. The event saw the participation of 90 athletes from eight countries.

Sixteen-year-old Neha Prakash, a first year PUC student from Mount Carmel College, was initally trailing in the qualifying rounds. She was in the fifth position in the semi-finals. Neha upped her performance in the finals to bag the gold. Neha beat top seeded Iranian Fatenen, Hong Kong’s Wing Sze and Kazakhstan’s Zhaina.

Chea Mark, bagged two bronze medals: one in the individual speed climbing, and the another with her compatriot Sujjan Limbu in the mixed doubles speed relay. Neha Prakash was ranked second in the meet, a dream come true for the youngster.

“We underwent intensive training for seven months. We also had training sessions at the Tata Sports Foundation in Jamashedpur and Badami. Initially, we had decided to send the boys team, after observing the girls’ potential, I persuaded the Indian Mountaineering Foundation to send the girls team, who put up a superb show in Kazakhstan,” says Keerthi Pais, chief coach of the MFI.

Neha had taken up the sport in 2006 and is thrilled by her performance. “This was my first international meet and I wanted to put up a good show. I never expected to win a gold.” Sports climbing involves climbing an artificial wall, which…More

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World champion boxer Mary Kom says that returning to boxing after becoming a mother was not an easy task. “I have to thank my husband and children.” Speaking of her success in the ring, Mary Kom said, “My ability to stay in the same weight group when others moved up in the weight class was of great help.”

Sailor Rajesh Choudhary who has bagged two Asian Games medals in sailing was born and raised in a village called Raghunandanpur in land-locked Bihar. But he learnt his sport on the waters of the Hussainsagar after being posted to Hyderabad when he joined the army.

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The five-member band from South Africa likes to call their musicblue-collared commercial rock

Going round The name denotes a circle of friends, musicians and songwriters

Rock lovers have something to look forward to as one of South Africa’s legendary rock bands Prime Circle is coming to town. The five-member band is on a nationwide tour organised by Hard Rock Café that will cover Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.

With Ross Learmonth on lead vocals and guitar, Dale Schnettler on the drums, Dirk Bisschoff strumming the lead guitar, Neil Breytenbach playing the keyboard and Marco Gomes picking the bass, the band has become synonymous with South African music.Prime Circle is thrilled about breaking new ground in India. “We have been eagerly looking forward to coming to India ,” says bass guitarist Gomes over phone.

“Our friends in the South African Cricket team have often shared their experiences of the sub-continent and we are excited about experiencing the new culture and food. Moreover, India has a lot of musical talent and we hope to exchange ideas .”

The band also gave multiple performances during the Indian Premier League and played live at the finals. “Playing at the IPL was a phenomenal experience none of us would ever forget. It is even more exhilarating to come to the country that appreciates cricket and music just as much as we do,” Gomes says.

Calling themselves Prime Circle to denote a circle of friends, musicians and songwriters coming together, the group like to call their music “blue-collared commercial rock”.

Coming from humble roots from the Southern part of South Africa, the band met up in a local concert and started off their musical career in 2001. Later, they toured the countries such as the United Kingdom, Middle East and Europe.Drawing inspiration from bands such as Bush, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Korn and Dave Matthews Band, Prime Circle laces their music…More

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The cast of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen came up with a nuanced performance

Repetitive The play deconstructed and reconstructed, over and again, the meetings between Bohr and Heisenberg

On a cold September evening in 1941, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, two of the fathers of modern particle physics, set out from Bohr’s home on a fateful walk together into the streets of Copenhagen. Heisenberg was by this time firmly rootedin Germany, working against his will on weapons development for Adolf Hitler’s government. He was visiting Denmark on the pretext of delivering a series of lectures. Heisenberg’s real agenda was to catch his old friend Bohr alone.

Niels Bohr, the distuinguished theoretical physicist who had mentored and guided Heisenberg in his early years, was highly regarded for his groundbreaking work on the structure of the atom.

As they walked, Heisenberg revealed that he had recently initiated a nuclear program for the Nazis, and that given adequate time and resources, it was indeed possible for them to manufacture an atomic weapon. What Bohr might have replied to this revelation has been disputed furiously by generations of historians and scientists. The subsequent actions of the two men, however, realigned the genetics of world politics: Heisenberg returned to Germany to continue work on the Nazi nuclear program, while Bohr escaped first to Britain, and then to the USA, to begin work on the Manhattan Project. How much of these decisions were affected by individual politics, ethics and egos has been subject to much speculation.

Nearer home, the last weekend at Rangashankara, a rapt audience was invited to speculate on the nature and effects of the 1941 meeting at a showing of Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen”. “Copenhagen uses physics as a lens to explore the politics of identity, on the one hand, and the politics of power, on the other,” explains Prakash Belawadi, the play’s director.

“Copenhagen”, which starred Belawadi as Bohr, Balaji…More

The Hindu : y>Ram Gopal Varma insists he makes movies for his audience, and not for himself. Otherwise he would have simply made them in his head, he tells NIKHIL VARMA

Scream Nisha Kothari looks suitably spooked in this scene from Agyaat

Ram Gopal Varma is a maverick in the Hindi film industry. His films can rarely be typecast into a specific genre. From the underworld (“Satya”, “Company”) and psycho thrillers (“Ek Hassena Thi”) to spooking the country with “Bhoot”, RGV is back with “Agyaat”, a movie that promises to deliver many more scares.

About his latest film, “Agyaat-The Unknown” that releases tomorrow, Varma says, “It is the story of a film crew, which gets lost in the jungle. The crew members are attacked and murdered one by one by an unknown force, which is never revealed. This provides a surprise element to the movie.”

He quips, “It is very similar, as far as content and the storyline are concerned to Hollywood movies like the ‘Predator’ and the ‘Blair Witch Project’. The element of surprise is used in a manner that has not been seen in many Hindi films.”

Varma feels that the film cannot be dubbed a horror film. ‘“Agyaat’ can be termed as an adventure thriller. It is not a horror movie, since it does not involve ghosts or spirits as such. It is a simple story, with a hidden surprise element.”

He feels that the use of the background score is very important in the making of any thriller/horror movie. “Sound plays an important role as it helps in creating the image or the idea in the minds of the viewers. It helps you guide the story to a large extent and sets the mood.”

He adds, “Many sequences in the movie have no sounds at all. In many shots, only the sounds of the jungle have been used. It helps build audience attention and blends with…More

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Net result The panel at the meet held in the city recently

“Is Tennis just another sport?” was the topic of discussion at a tennis seminar organised by the Kinesis sports academy. The academy is managed by the affable Krishna Kumar, who gave up a corporate career to become a tennis pro coach. The seminar supported by Wilson Racquet Sport and Planet Sport, addressed various issues pertaining to the game, and talked about why individuals take to tennis or want their wards to become tennis players. It also discussed issues such as whether inborn talent is a necessity and the factors that make a good player. Many such queries were answered by an eminent panel consisting of Davis Cup star, Rohan Bopanna, Capt. Pavan Murthy, former Middle East champion and Bahrain coach, Ted Murray and many others.

Krishna Kumar said, “Ihave no dreams for my childor students. They have theirown dreams. It is our responsibilityas coaches orparents to help them achievethese dreams.”

Does success in tennis dependson talent or hard work? Capt. Murthy held the viewthat if a young child builds agood foundation by receivingscientific coaching, itwould be easy to reach thetop rungs of the ladder. Hisview was attested by otherparticipants also. The seminaralso discussed the issueof ethics in tennis.The panellistsfelt that while cheatingcould not be prevented atunsupervised matches, it is aunhealthy practice and selfdefeating. Rohan Bopannasaid, “In tennis, players needto be selfish on the court andforget about friendship withtheir opponents. However,the game must be playedfairly.”

Bopanna also advisedyoungsters seeking glory inthe game to put tennis aboveeverything, make sacrificesand remain passionateabout the game. Manyyoungsters face problemswhen they are forced to stoptennis and switch to a professionalcareerOne of thepanellists, Balaraj, was a juniorchampion before hemoved on to a corporate career.He went to the UnitedStates on a tennis scholarshipand took up a job. Hesays, “Though I left tennis,but tennis has not left me.Tennis was a great help…More

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McDreamy Grey’s Anatomy is back

Cut, fix, suture! The famous lingo returns as “Grey’s Anatomy” is back with the fourth season premiering this Saturday at 10 p.m. on Star World. The Emmy-winning medical series returns with more medical mysteries and traumas for thehighly competitivedoctors at Seattle Grace Hospital. The series promises to entertain and surpriseviewers with new relationships, romances and unimaginable surgeries.

The third season finale left the audience anxious as Burk left Christina at the wedding altar, George did not graduate due to the emotional turmoiland Meredith and Shepherd broke up. So what actually happened? Did Burk return? Will Izzie and George commit to a relationship? Can they be best friends again? Find out all the answers in the new season.This year, “Grey’s Anatomy” boasts of a slew of guest stars, including Tony Award winner Ben Vereen, Oscar nominees Diahann Carroll and Amy Madigan, Edward Hermann (“Gilmore Girls”) and Seth Green (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).

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