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The Hindu : y>

Yamaha has come up with the price list of performance parts to bolt onto its YZF-R15, FZ-16 and FZ-S motorcycles. To be sold through the company’s authorised dealer network, these performance-enhancing parts are meant for track use only.

The YZF-R15 engine kit, which includes a reworked ECU, high-lift camshaft and performance exhaust will retail for Rs. 31,000 (ex-showroom, India). A tuned length exhaust system can also be bought as a standalone for Rs. 16,000. The body kit, featuring a large-size 298mm front petal disc, upgraded front brake master cylinder, braided brake hoses and HID headlamp will set you back by Rs. 20,000.

The FZ-16 and FZ-S’s sole performance add-on — a tuned length exhaust — will cost Rs. 16,000 while a body kit can be bought for Rs. 20,000.

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The Hindu :

Sheela Murthy, a successful Indian-American lawyer, exhorts people with wealth to part with some

JOINING THE MILLION DOLLAR ROUNDTABLE Sheela Murthy

When Sheela Murthy says “Make me look cheap,” she really means it. That’s how the popular Indian-American immigration lawyer gives her call when she’s exhorting people wealthier than her in America, to better her philanthropic move.

Attorney Sheela Murthy is founder, president, and managing attorney of the Murthy Law Firm, in Maryland, USA. Her firm concentrates on U.S. Immigration Law. She was recently in Bangalore, visiting her parents, who live here.

Sheela has the distinction of being the winner of the Philanthropist of the Year award of the United Way of Central Maryland (one of America’s oldest charities) and of the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Maryland in 2009 — the first time anyone’s won both the same year, she says. She has committed one million dollars to support community projects and establish a Global Empowerment and Change Fund, becoming the first woman to join the United Way’s Million Dollar Roundtable.

It wasn’t easy to break into the legal profession, especially when it wasn’t regarded as highly as medicine or engineering in her family. With her father in the defence forces, Sheela has been in several places in India. She completed her degree in law at the University Law College in Bangalore, and went on to study at Harvard Law School. “I feel comfortable here in Bangalore. It was part of my growing up. But 25 years ago, in India, law wasn’t a big career option. Everyone in the family was into engineering or medicine. From the beginning, I was always fighting for women’s rights and went on anti-dowry marches in the city,” she recalls.

She moved in 1986 to the land of opportunity, and despite being a lawyer had a really bad experience with her own lawyer in the almost…More

The Hindu :

From a teen go-karter to a 20-year-old Formula driver, Ashwin Sundar has pitch-forked himself into the highly competitive world of racing.

HOT WHEELS Ashwin Sundar

One go-kart contestant cornered all the attention. Well short of the minimum height required (4 feet 9 inches) to comfortably drive a racing go-kart, the adolescent was made to recline against a 4-inch pillow placed before the backrest and wear high-heeled shoes. The crowd at Danny’s Karting was full of admiration for this pint-sized, 13-year-old driver. Barely into learning the nuances of karting, he was taking on men many years his senior. He pulled off a coup. This sensational victory was followed by a title-grabbing performance at the 2002 MRF National Go-Kart Championships (Under-17). He repeated the feat in 2003. Meet 20-year-old Ashwin Sundar.

Since his spectacular entry into the world of motor racing, he has gone from strength to strength. In seven years, he has traversed the gamut of motor racing. From karting, he quickly graduated to saloon cars and then to Indian Formula cars, switched to bike racing, juggled bikes and cars with results that left the racing fraternity gaping and finally settled down to racing only four-wheelers. Now, he has a foot firmly planted on the international stage. In addition to sponsorship by JK Tyres, Ma-con has taken him under its wing and Volkswagen is projecting him as its face in India.

Despite huge international exposure in recent years, Ashwin still remains a shy, reticent boy. As the interview unfolds, he displays the same nervousness that engulfed him when Volkswagen opened him up to a blinding glare of media attention last year. It was the launch of the Jetta at Delhi and Mumbai. After fielding questions from over a hundred journalists, Ashwin quipped that facing journalists was more unnerving than facing opponents on the speedway.

As Ashwin discusses the high points of his racing career, an unpretentious…More

The Hindu : y>

Getoffurass is organising a three-day photography workshop in Hampi that commences on November 5. You can discover the ruins of Hampi and Anegundi with instructor Hellmuth Conz and team at the third Photography-on-the-move workshop. The workshop is designed to experience Hampi away from the tourist trails. Accommodation has been organised in Anegundi by the river with access to more local experiences. The workshop will focus on giving you an understanding on the uses and workings of an SLR camera, improve your framing and composition of an image and to shoot more quality instead of quantity. Different aspects of photography such as portrait, architecture, street photography, night photography, and abstract will be covered. The workshop is priced at Rs. 14,500 including food, stay and local transport. For details log on towww.getoffurass.com.

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The Hindu :

Raveena Tandon joins Nickelodeon’s Let’s Just Play movement

Photo: AFPProactive Raveena Tandon as mom is all for the outdoors

Her four-and-a half year old daughter says no to aerated drinks, prefers dal and chawal over pizzas and goes outdoors in the evening to sweat it out. All the credit goes to a healthy lifestyle put in place by her celebrity mother Raveena Tandon. “It is important to introduce children to a healthy lifestyle,” says the proud mother. She takes her daughter and her two-and-a half year old son to a street Children’s Park in Bandra regularly to ensure that they run around the grass a bit, play in the sand, slides and sweat it out.

Raveena is now associated with Nickelodeon’s “Let’s Just Play” movement to spread the message of ‘active play’ among children. The channel will go blank for 30 minutes on November 7, encouraging children to go out and play. There will a 10-hour play-a-thon on the same day comprising inter-school sports events, high-energy games, and movement therapy and dance workshops. It will be held simultaneously in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“It is an excellent initiative and it is something close to my heart ever since my kids were born,” says the actor.

Recalling her childhood games, she says: “We used to rush out when it starts raining, make paper boats and float them. We’d be out all the time playing games such as hide and seek.”Cycling and swimming

Raveena says new age children are missing out on the joys of playing and growing up.

“The experience of jumping off the bicycle and getting those bruises on your knees are lost. Earlier, when you drive around in Mumbai, you would see a lot of children out in the open and playing. There used to be so much of football and gully cricket happening. Now, they are glued to the television…More

The Hindu : y>This Is It, a quick fix of nostalgia for Michael Jackson fans, hits the screens today. MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER on the making of the film

Remember the time A chance to watch Michael Jackson on the big screen

Michael Jackson was a pop cultural phenomenon who strode the dance floor like a colossus. He was the essence of the Eighties who gave a new meaning to the word showman.

All the later strangeness, the multiple plastic surgeries, changing skin colour, the child molestation cases and the bankruptcy, could not take away from the sheer performing brilliance of the man who made music and electric dance moves segue together to take the audience breath away.

While Pink Floyd’s stage shows are supposed to be the last word in psychotropic tripping, Jackson on stage had the energy of a gazillion whirling dervishes. Watching him do the moonwalk to ‘Billie Jean’, lead the nimble zombies in the iconic mini-movie ‘Thriller’ or trip the light fantastic to Eddie Van Halen’s screeching riffs in ‘Beat It’ is guaranteed to bring out goose bumps every single time.En route to weirdville

While there was no way he could top 1982’s ‘Thriller’, from the mid-Nineties on, Jackson was more in the news for his eccentric lifestyle than his music.

So die-hard fans were thrilled to bits when this March, Jackson announced his “final curtain call”, a series of comeback concerts in London’s O2 arena, called ‘This is it’. The response caused the original 10-date concert tour to be increased to a 50-date one.

Just three weeks before the concerts were to begin on July 13 this year, Jackson died of cardiac arrest on June 25 at the age of 50. The world was engulfed in a tidal wave of grief fuelled by wall-to-wall media coverage.

All of us dusted off our Michael Jackson albums and swapped stories of how we first saw the moonwalk back…More

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

I currently use a Hyundai Santro for my 20-km daily run, but want to upgrade to a bigger hatch, one that is powerful, safe and economical. My budget is Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 6.5 lakh, and I have been considering the Hyundai i20, Skoda Fabia and Fiat Grande Punto. Which car best suits my needs?

Denish Desai

Since you have been a part of the Hyundai family, we suggest you first check out the i20, as it is a logical upgrade for you. This big Hyundai hatch suits your budget, and is extremely spacious, reasonably peppy and quite inexpensive to run and maintain. The Punto 1.4 is another option, as it is the most powerful of the lot and the nicest car to drive. But it is not as economical as the i20. The Fabia has the best build quality and overall comfort but it is the least powerful and isn’t the most fuel-efficient either.My wife is looking for a new car with excellent features and good resale value too. She has a budget of Rs. 4 lakh and her heart is set on the Chevrolet Spark LT. Should she buy it?

Arun D Jadhav, Khopoli

The Spark is a good car for your wife, and is quite popular among women, thanks to its user-friendliness. The steering, gearshift and other controls are very light, which makes for effortless driving. The engine is peppy and refined. However, remember that the resale value of the Spark is not that good.I am looking to buy a car that costs between Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 5.5 lakh. I have a daily commute of 50km, and require a car with good mileage and low maintenance. I can’t decide whether to buy a petrol or a diesel. Please help.

Vikas Namdeo Garad

For a mileage of 50km a…More

The Hindu : y>

In step Home to many traditional art forms

Take a journey into a vivid kaleidoscope of beautiful landscapes, magnificent archaeological sites, dense forests, abundant wildlife, pristine beaches, rivers, art and culture, as Discovery Channel explores Orissa.

A land of mystery and home to many traditional Indian art forms, Orissa boasts of the classical Odissi dance, exotic sculptures and rituals like Jagannath Yatra which attract thousands of visitors and pilgrims from across the world.

Hosted by the popular television personality, Kim Jagtiani, “Orissa: The Divine Land” will be telecast on October 31 at 9 p.m. The show undertakes a remarkable journey to rediscover the divine beauty, incredible heritage and fascinating culture of Orissa.

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The Hindu :

An argument on the conflicting nature of art

Photo: Murali Kumar K.CONFLICTING Opinions on art

The play begins with Marc, one of the protagonists, entering the stage from behind the audience talking about his friend, Serge’s sudden interest in a painting. What makes this particular painting so fascinating is that the ‘masterpiece’ is a five by four foot white painting with a white background and white lines!

“Art”, a play by Cult Productions staged at Alliance Française recently, revolves around this white canvas and the role it plays in the bond between three friends – Marc, Serge and Ivon. Written by French playwright Yasmina Reza, it was adapted in English by British playwright Christopher Hampton.

The three characters, being aesthetes in their own right, question their individual prejudices and opinions against each other while debating art in the context of society and culture.

Paying 200,000 Francs for the Antrios painting, Serge, a modernist and puritan, tries to convince Marc of its ingenuity. But Marc, characterised by the epitome of self-acclaim and classicist snobbery, shows utmost resentment to the painting as it poses a symbol of change in their friendship and an expression of Serge’s wish to associate him with high society. Ivan, an oblivious chap, is caught between these two companions and flows in whichever direction the wind blows.Man’s journey

Mark marches to Ivan’s house to appeal to him to knock some sense into Serge’s head. Ivan mellows Marc’s mood down and heads to Serge’s house but is himself enamoured by the painting as Serge shows off his new acquisition to his friend.

Tension builds in the air as Marc comes to Serge’s house and tries to reason with his friend again. A war of words leads to blows. Ivan, the mediator is struck in the head and falls to the ground.

In an act of reconciliation to rebuild the friendship, Serge encourages Marc to draw on…More

The Hindu : y>The last date for submissions for the TFA Awards has been extended to November 15

TOTO Funds The Arts (TFA) 2010 Awards has extended the last date for submissions for its entries in all three categories of awards — photography, music and creative writing — to November 15.

Young persons from all over the country in the age group of 18 to 30 are eligible to apply.

The details about the application process for each award category can be found on http://totofundsthearts.blogspot.com.

You can also mailtotofundsthearts@yahoo.com.

TOTO Funds The Arta (TFA) is at H 301 Adarsh Gardens, 8th Block, 47th Cross, Jayanagar.

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