News

The Hindu : y>Log on before buying a car

Indian car buyers are increasingly turning to the Internet before buying a car to get more information about the model they are interested in, comparing it to rivals and seeing what kind of deals are available in the market.

In fact, according to a research as many as 68 per cent of Indian car buyers go online before stepping into a car showroom.

However, they still prefer to purchase the car from a showroom where they can ‘touch and feel’ the car.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Chat IIFA Award winner Javed Ali says he is thrilled to be singing for A. R. Rahman

Photo: by authorSinging with ease Javed Ali on the taste of success

Dressed in a figure-hugging T-shirt and sunglasses, Javed Ali looks every bit a film star in the making and not a singer with a soul-stirring voice.

His ‘boisterous’ image is quite in contrast to the tracks he has rendered till now. Be it the melodious Kehne ko jashn-e- bahaara hai from Jodha Akbar (The song also fetched him an IIFA award) or the romantic Hai Guzaarish… from “Ghazini” Javed has lent his voice to some of the hit songs.

The unassuming singer says he had the best time singing for A.R. Rahman.

“In fact, my other two songs from ‘Delhi 6’ and ‘Yuvraaj’ for Rahman have also been very popular,” says Javed as he takes his glares off.

He is in awe of the Oscar-winning music director and admires the way he composes tunes.

“For listeners, the song Kehne ko jashn-e-baharaa hai looks a very easy number. In fact, it was a challenge to sing the song as I had to really suppress my voice and make it appear like a casual track. And, that’s the beauty of Rahman as he knows how to extract the best from a singer. He’s always looking for new singers and gives them opportunities,” he says.

Hailing from Delhi, music is in Javed’s genes (his father is also a singer). Another impressive feature of this young singer is his command over Hindi.

So, does it anger him when he sees singers who do not have a good diction or lyrics peppered with English words. “No, it doesn’t. I think the singers are singing according to the changing times. Earlier, the word ‘Chandni’ evoked a romantic feel. Today, the word will be sung differently as the treatment is different and that’s how the audience likes…More

The Hindu : y>Maruti Grand Vitara has upped its game with more power and better equipment, while Honda CR-V combines practicality with strong performance and easy handling. Ameya Dandekar reports

The Vitara is roomy with spacious and comfortable seats. The 40:20:40 split rear seat on the CR-V offers varied seating combinations

Ever since its launch, the Honda CR-V has been the automatic choice for buyers looking out for an easy-to-drive SUV.But being the largest car manufacturer in India, Maruti won’t give up so easily.

Now in an effort to get to the top of the urban SUV pile, Suzuki has put a bigger and more powerful engine in the Vitara’s bay and has added a host of other improvements. But with a price hike of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh, do the improvements justify the extra dough you have to shell out? Considering the CR-V is still a whopping Rs 6 lakh dearer, the Vitara makes a good case for itself.Step in

The Vitara’s interior design is recognisable as a Suzuki. You can see SX4 and Swift parts all around.Hard plastics abound and the all-black interiors are not very inviting either — not something you expect from a Rs 17-lakh car. However, on the plus side, the Vitara’s interiors do deliver a lot of comfort. The front seats are wide and very supportive to the shoulders, back and thighs.The driving position is good too, with the steering and the driver’s seat adjusting for height. The design of the centre console is quite attractive as well with deep red illumination.

The two-tone interiors of the CR-V look fresh and crisply designed. The dash is neatly laid out and there is much more of a quality feel here, similar to what we find in the other Hondas. The cabin is substantially more spacious.The dashboard design is also very clever and frees up a lot of space between the front seats….More

The Hindu : y>

Bug fads Dr. Mick Leahy hunts for health hazards

Dr. Mick Leahy searches for the planet’s weirdest health hazards and wildest cures “India – Bite Me” on the National Geographic Channel. Catch him in action as he travels across India, from the hustle and bustle of the mega metropolis Mumbai to Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in the world. With so many people living in such close quarters, India is also home to a vast population of nasty bugs keen to invade or attack the unwary and unprotected people and infect people with low immunity levels.

From intestinal hitch hikers to a beetle with a specially developed arsenal of chemical weaponry, Mike sees and experiences much more than he plans in one of the world’s largest countries.Catch the action as Mike discovers many pests and bugs in his journey across India on Wednesday at 10 p.m.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Cinematographer-filmmaker Rajiv Menon talks about what inspires his stories, the duality in his creativity and his recent short films

PHOTO: R. RavindranFocusing right Rajiv Menon: ‘Even in films, I like the ping-pong game between people, how they interact and affect each other through their actions’

A cinematographer loves to focus. A storyteller finds the need to explore and wander.

Rajiv Menon loves this duality. He loves to put himself out there between polar opposites and get sucked into the conflict.

He’s a traveller. But he loves being home.

He’s a teacher. But he’s also a student of cinema.

He makes a living shooting some very slick ad films anonymously and comes alive with deeply personal, moving stories when he’s filming with his students. The duality gives him a sense of balance. And, satisfaction.

“Even in films, that’s what I like… the ping-pong game between people, how they interact and affect each other through their actions…,” he says in the middle of an hour-long chat at his office last week, when we finally pin him down between his endless flight schedules.Packed with emotions

His recent shorts, “Sakhi Prane” and “Plain Sita”, have a strong emotional core.

“I like telling stories and over the last couple of years, I’ve written and re-written scripts not because there are no opportunities, but because I am quite critical of my own work,” says Rajiv.

“Some of these stories cannot be explored as a feature length film but lend themselves well to the short-film format. Considering how much my students pay for their course and the cost of making a short film by themselves, we make it a point to give them an opportunity to work on a film before they pass out.”His story-telling

So what is it that provokes his stories?

“I was listening to this song called Sakhi Prane written by Dharmapuri Subbarayar who was said to be in love with Veena Dhanammal.

She was…More

The Hindu : y>Tina Ambani opens up to Harshikaa Udasi on why ‘silver’ citizens mean so much to her

Photo: Paul NoronhaAll about harmony Tina Ambani: ‘There are no expiry dates for personal development’

It’s not a story that Tina Ambani likes to relate often. Eight years ago, she had a life-altering experience. An acquaintance, a 60-plus man who lived outside India, lost his mother. As close friends and family, including Tina, condoled the death, this man who had never expressed his emotions freely, began to cry.

“He sobbed, and told us how he never got to see his mom express herself freely. He blamed himself for neither giving her a chance nor the time to speak up.”

This led Tina to help ‘silver’ citizens enjoy their living by launching the Harmony for Silvers Foundation.

“Over the years, we’ve built it step-by-step, and now we have the Harmony magazine, a portal, an interactive centre for silver citizens in south Mumbai, and a research and publishing arm. The idea is to use the wealth of experience silver citizens have, and to make them aware that they are not a spent force. We want them to achieve financial stability and get the best of healthcare services. We also want them to self-indulge. They’ve worked for so long!” she adds.

Right now, the centre is gearing up for one of the highlights of Harmony Foundation — the Harmony Silver Awards, to be presented on October 1.

“Hats off to my team! I have a dedicated bunch of professionals. They start tracking nominees as soon as one award ceremony gets over. It involves a lot of research, and takes almost a year to finalise. We like to put the spotlight on real people, who are also senior citizens working for the betterment of life,” she says.The same person

As Tina saunters into the interactive centre for seniors in Mumbai’s Girgaum area, a group…More

The Hindu : PRINCE FREDERICK

This 1955 AJS 350cc provokes comparisons with the Matchless 3G/L, a popular war machine

Persistence pays Parameswaran (in picture) and Suri got this AJS after many trips to a remote village

Peoplecan’t help comparing a child’s physiognomic features with those of its parents and other relatives.

Someone familiar with the AJS and Matchless bikes manufactured after the two marques came to have a common parent company (Associated Motor Cycles), will indulge in a similar exercise. For the knowledgeable, the 1955 AJS 16MS 350cc single, owned by brothers Parameswaran and Suri, will bring back memories of the G3/L, a military Matchless.

The 350cc single G3/L was developed from the G3 and pressed into war duty.

A path-breaking front suspension technology distinguished the G3/L from the G3. The G3/L featured a front fork with lower legs that moved within two tubes attached to the T-stem; and also a hydraulic pump. This feature, which added to the G3/L’s popularity was not new. BMW and Norton had dabbled in the same telescopic fork principle, but only where its racing machines were concerned. By introducing the feature in its stock Matchless bikes and also patenting it as ‘Teledraulic’, AMC had broken fresh ground.Added features

Before other motorcycle makers introduced this feature in their own bikes, bike nuts searched for dilapidated G3/Ls so that their bikes got the advantage of a teledraulic front fork. The post-War AJS/Matchless 350cc and 500cc singles are descendents of the G3 and G3L models.

This 1955 AJS single has teledraulic front forks, as also the products born out of post-War advancements and changes surrounding the Matchless/AJS range.

In 1954, metal badges gave way to plastic ones.

This 1955 AJS was among the early AMC bikes with a monobloc carburettor, a magneto with automatic timing control and a speedometer on the headlight. Earlier, the speedometer was yoked to the handle-bar head.

While they have not used the bike…More

The Hindu :

Poetry Slam presented by the Bombay Elektrik Projekt was an evening of self-expression

PHOTO: by authorSilent performers Two of the contestants wore brown paper packet masks and held up their words for the audience to read

A delayed start, embarrassed silences, lots of initial inhibitions, but a good turn out in Bacchus F&B, marked the first of the Poetry Slam events presented by the Bombay Elektrik Projekt.

Debutantes, amateurs, professionals, published poets and closet writers of Bangalore, were all encouraged to participate.

The first poem by Bambi was called “Mulaquath”, a Hindi poem all about love. “Khidki se jhank kar dekhte hai

Ke shayad tumhari ek jhalak dikh jaye,” said Bambi her hair a riot of curls flowing down her back and framing her face. Barefoot and petite, standing on tiptoe to speak into the mike she ended with “Jayaz rishta toh na ban sakha,

Najayaz mulaquath hi rahi.”

Prayas came on to share his unnamed poems, but probably a second reading would have helpedto clearly grasp his philosophic turn of phrase.

Seemingly experienced Dominic Franks was next with a really long effort called “A spot of silence”. Itrevolved around the fact that he was ‘tired’ for a lot of reasons expletives were thrown in for good measure). Maybe I am in a time warp, but there is no need for obscenities to be forceful, but then it was an evening of self-expression.

Dominic said the event is a great platform for talented people to get their due recognition.

“There is no market for poetry in India, but hopefully it is changing with gigs like these,” he added.

Then Aria and Bambi decided to be silent performers, so they wore brown paper packet masks and held up their words for the audience to read. A long round of applause greeted their unusual act.

“Sometimes beauty comes out of filth,” said Jason in his Apologise series. His khol-lined eyes, a glittery silver…More

The Hindu :

A novel on our appetite for violence in the present day

A write beginning Sampurna Chattarji

Poet Sampurna Chattarji has come out with her first novel, “Rupture”.A psychological narrative, “Rupture” follows the lives of nine characters who introspect about the past while coming to terms with the chaos in their presentlives.

“I believe that only through the amplification of language could I show the sense of desperation surrounding each character,” said Chattarji in response to reviews that described her languageas indulging in “linguistic gymnastics”and “alarmingly vague flights of fancy”.

Published by Harper Collins, the book reflects on the various forms of violence that surround an individual in today’s times..

“I wrote the first draft in 2001, when the horrifying attacks took place (on the World Trade Centre, New York). But more than that, what really served as an inspiration was the proclivity of ordinary individuals towards violence nowadays,” said the author.

Chattarji said that some aspects of the reviews have come as a revelation to her. As pointed out by one of them, her book uses a number of writing styles — a fact that she admittedly has not noticed herself.

BINAYAK DASGUPTA

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>The hard-rock super group Mr. Big will perform in Bangalore on October 10

The Indian lap of hard rock super group Mr. Big’s Asian tour begins with Bangalore on October 10 at Gayatri Vihar, Freeway 19, Bangalore Palace Grounds. This hard rock super group comprises legendary bassist Billy Sheehan,Eric Martin on vocals, Pat Torpey on drums and guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert (Racer X).Formed in 1988, Mr. Big created a legacy by playing and challenging larger confines of rock genre. The band is revered by the fans and critics for their exceptional compositions which include melodies, guitar shredding and choruses.Some of the biggest hits include ‘To Be With You’ and ‘Just Take My Heart’ from their album ‘Lean Into It’. Mr Big’s music is seen by many as the perfect combination of fiery instrumental virtuosity tempered with accessible melodies and grooves. Mr Big succeeded where many before and since have failed. They are a band that musicians and non musicians are equally impressed by, neither being laughed at by musicians for being ‘sell outs’ nor being ignored by non musicians as being ‘esoteric and technical’.

Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, both of whom are known for their bag of technical skills, playing the electric guitar and bass with their teeth without much effort is going to be a visual treat for the rock enthusiasts. Their performance also includes a jam-up by the duo using their ‘double-neck’ guitar and bass, with Eric Martin & Pat Torpey lending helping hands. Eric Martin is known for his soulful voice and who can sing any genre of music be it rock, soul or even country. Tickets will be available at all Planet M stores.

Visitwww.bookmyshow.com or call: 39895050. For further information, visit:www.neoclasse.com/mr.big

<FONT …More