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The Hindu : y>

I want to buy an MPV for my eight-member family. Between the Mahindra Xylo and the Tata Sumo Grande Mark II, which one do you recommend, considering good ride and handling, stability while cornering, comfort, passenger safety, styling, highway manners, maintenance costs and resale value?

Dhananjay Mandhare

The Xylo is known for its superior performance and better ride. Also, it will have better resale value and offer the long-term ownership experience.

Can you guide me about the usefulness of an extended warranty? I have bought a Hyundai i10 Magna A/T for my wife. We are very pleased with the car and plan to keep it for the next seven years at least. The dealer has quoted Rs. 12,650 for an extended warranty for the third, four and fifth year. Should I go for it, and how cost effective will this be in the long run?

Dr Mahesh Siddheshwar

An extended warranty is always a useful addition as you get additional cover over the standard warranty package. Most cars start asking for attention only when they get a little older, so it is always wise to go for extended warranty. For the i10 automatic, you can buy the third year warranty for Rs. 4,417; this is valid for up to 80,000km. You could also opt for a total cover of four years and 1,00,000km for Rs. 8,500. To the best of our knowledge, fifth year coverage is not available. The extended warranty cover for the i10 automatic covers the engine and the gearbox, which are very expensive to replace if something does go wrong. Therefore, if you want peace of mind, go in for the extended warranty, and you won’t have to worry about major expenses for four years.

I am in the market to buy a new car between Rs. 6 lakh and Rs. 7 lakh. My monthly mileage is 1800km. I want to go in for the…More

The Hindu :

Mridula Garg’s Anitya — Halfway To Nowhere, deals with personal and political choices and the aftermath

M ridula Garg wrote “Anitya” set against the backdrop of Indian freedom movement 30 years ago in Hindi. An interplay of personal and political choices, the novel weaves in the ‘violent’ form of the freedom struggle put forth by leaders such as Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad and the non-violent movement led by Mahatma Gandhi with the lives of the protagonists.

“It is more relevant today,” the author says. Mridula was at Reliance Timeout, recently to launch her book “Anitya- Halfway to nowhere”, translated from Hindi by Seema Segal and brought out by the Oxford University Press (Rs. 395).

“It is not a historical novel and there is no dramatisation of historical events, it is about personal lives set against the freedom struggle,” Mridula says. There is angst, anger and frustration, as the characters feel responsible for the self-destructive choices they make. A kind of transition from “why not I” to “Why me?”

“When I started writing about my central protagonist Avijit, he had to be a political being, because his personal life is co-ordinated with the political developments,” adds the feisty writer, known for her ‘audacious and lively’ themes.

The author read a passage, a conversation between two important characters Anitya (Avijit’s alter ego, his brother, who is disillusioned with life) and the vivacious and adamant Kajal. The introduction begins with “Ten steps forward…ten steps back. Forward…back again”, which the author says is a motif which signifies the craft and content of the novel. Anitya, the disillusioned man underlies the concept of the novel. “Even when we got freedom, we reached nowhere. Over the years, we have realised freedom is not the independence of the mind,” Mridula says.

Her choice is not with the Gandhian movement and the kind of independence we brokered in. “We are our choices. Personal choices…More

The Hindu : y>Merc to give E-class diesel-electric power

Mercedes-Benz is poised to become the first car maker to sell a diesel-electric hybrid. The new car, to be badged E300 Hybrid when sales begin in late 2011, uses a specially tuned version of Mercedes-Benz’s twin-turbocharged 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine from the E250 CDI.

It combines that power with a brushless electric motor and a lithium ion battery similar to that employed in the S400 Hybrid.

The new E-class will be a mild hybrid, meaning the electric motor is used to assist the diesel engine rather than propelling the car on its own.

Fuel economy of the E300 Hybrid is expected to be more than 24kpl on the combined cycle.

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The Hindu :

Neeraj Chhibba, the author of Zero Percentile – Missed IIT Kissed Russia , wants to give his inspirational book free to government schools

“T here is life beyond IIT.” Well, this is what the author of “Zero Percentile — Missed IIT Kissed Russia”, Neeraj Chhibba, attempts to tell the young generation for many of whom success in IIT becomes a question of life and death.

The recently-published book is about its protagonist, Pankaj’s, journey across two countries — India and Russia. Pankaj misses selection to the IIT and is sent to Russia to study engineering by his father.

There, he excels in studies, becomes a powerful businessman but is troubled by goons of already established entrepreneurs.

How he handles them under a disadvantageous political climate, conquers the situation and finally leaves the country to be back home in India as an established professional, is the crux of the book.

Says the author, touted by many websites as a bestselling author, “The book would inspire young minds who look for greener pastures beyond their country.”

Neeraj would like to distribute copies of the book to the Government-run schools across India for free.

“I want each school to have at least one copy of it. Students can mail me, even individuals can write in if they require the book. Till now, I have couriered copies to many students who didn’t find the book in their cities. My target is to distribute at least 500 copies of the book free. I am buying them from my publisher, Rupa and Co.”

Neeraj, now an engineer with a reputed firm in Gurgaon, is also looking at giving career talks at those schools / colleges that want their students to look beyond the IITs.

Contact Neeraj at neeraj@neerajchhibba.com.

RANA SIDDIQUI ZAMAN

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The Hindu : ASHISH MASIH

Maruti hasn’t given up the mini-van platform and Maruti Eeco is proof. It is a Versa with minor changes to the exterior, says Ashish Masih

So you thought the Versa was dead. Not quite. Maruti isn’t giving up on the mini-van platform just as yet and here’s proof. The car maker decided to update the 1.3-litre petrol shared till recently with the Swift. It’s been downsized to 1.2 litres from 1.3 and there are other changes as well to make it meet Bharat Stage IV emission norms, which come into effect from April this year.

One look at the Eeco, and it’s immediately apparent that this is the same Versa with minor changes to the exteriors. The head- and tail-lamps have subtle modifications as do the bumpers, which improve the looks. But there is no getting away from the fact that this is a boxy design. The narrow 155-section tyres which come on 13-inch rims look small when compared to the tall dimensions, giving the car a very odd stance.

Step inside and you’ll instantly appreciate the fact that you do not have to crouch or bend to get into the cabin — you simply walk into it.

Steering and seats

The dashboard is very similar to the Alto in design. There’s a big scoop above the glovebox to keep items in and very similar AC vents as well. The steering wheel is also borrowed from the Alto. Overall quality is poor — the plastic on the seat-recline knob came off on our vehicle.

If you are looking for any creature comforts, you will be disappointed. While there’s a choice of five or seven seats, there are no power windows, no power steering and no central locking. In fact, in its bid to keep costs low, Maruti won’t be offering boot or fuel release buttons inside the cabin. Both will have to be…More

The Hindu :

Ambika Kameshwar’s A Dance with Butterflies reaches out to children with special needs

Communicating through art To channel their potential

Fine arts awakens, beautifies, cheers, develops, energises, frees, heals and governs. Healing and enabling children with special needs to achieve their potential, is an approach to explore the joy in fine arts, in the style of Ambika Kameshwar.

Much has been written and said about Ambika, educationist, dancer, singer, choreographer, music composer and Founder Director of Rasa, Chennai, who was in Bangalore last month for her dance production, ‘Ramana Shanmatham’. Talking to her made one feel that there is no secret formula or science that makes her the person that she is.

A dance with butterflies, a metamorphosis of teaching and learning through theatre, is Ambika’s experiment. The story of Rasa centre for theatre arts and special needs is a voyage of discovery of possibilities within an individual.

“As a person who has always believed that dance, music and drama are for more than just performing arts, it has been a God given opportunity for me to discover and develop the use of these very aspects of Indian theatre as developmental tools.

“Years ago, my belief in the universal aspects of dance and music, was reinforced when I worked with visually-impaired children from Ramana Maharishi Academy for Blind in Bangalore.

“This belief was strengthened by my interactions with the children from Spastic Society of India and it found structure as I expanded my work to children with Down’s syndrome, mental retardation, other physical and mental disabilities,” says Ambika.

Ambika recollects the way at the Ramana Maharishi Academy for Blind, she instructed a child to run downstage, without considering the possibility of the child falling off the stage. To her surprise, the child stopped after exactly the number of steps he was told to take. From there, things took a turn in Ambika’s life.

The magnitude of the mission was…More

The Hindu :

The talented cast of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler came up with strong performances

Coveted role Sheeba Chaddha’s portrayal of the female protagonist was done with ease and panache

Just Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s groundbreaking play “Hedda Gabler”, which began with an interesting stage design — a line of stools behind the centre of action with all the non-players as on-lookers — would not get any more interesting than this, in terms of doing something new, despite its strong performances.

Even the green spotlight on the actors outside the marked territory of the living room, only worked the first time Hedda (Sheeba Chadha) in her flowing white robes stood there, her stance inciting curiosity and intimidation at the same time.

After the first few scenes, this device lost its intent – if it was to pre-empt a character’s entry or to denote their presence despite their physical absence in the scene. Until, of course, it was used in the very end of the play.

The actors using the stage area to change and being involved in changing the simple, yet effective set around, also had only a minute bearing on the overall feeling one was left with after the play: What was it that made this production of “Hedda Gabler” different from any other?

The use of adaptation is not so much about indianising a play as it is to allow for a different register.

In that sense, with their period costumes and forced accents, the talented cast would have certainly have been able to deliver less restricted performances, if it was not for the formalism.

With the play a little over two hours (with a ten-minute interval), it got heavy and staid as it lingered on. However, there was little doubt that the performances were strong.

The role of Hedda Gabler is a coveted one. Hedda’s truly neurotic nature, her seemingly strong but staunchly feminist female character, whose…More

The Hindu : SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO

Save Our Tigers strikes an emotional chord through Stripey. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo reports

Dwindling numbers Stripey, as seen in the ads, draws our attention to the larger issue

The campaign could have been driven by hard facts (there are merely 1,411 Royal Bengal Tigers surviving in India as against 40,000 at the turn of the last century), but it may not have evoked such a response. Save Our Tiger campaign urges us to look at the threat to tigers through the eyes of Stripey, the cub. Stripey is hungry, concerned and awaiting his mother, who’s fallen prey to poaching.

Save Our Tiger campaign by Aircel, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund, calls for immediate action to protect the national animal.

The campaign went on air on January 30, has a dedicated site (www.saveourtigers.com) where the service provider’s brand ambassadors actor Suriya, cricketer Mahender Singh Dhoni and footballer Baichung Bhutia insist that we roar with them for the cause. A group dedicated to Stripey on Facebook has more than 1 lakh fans (the numbers swelled each day and as of Saturday, the group had more than 1,12,000 fans) and more than 3000 tweeple following Stripey on twitter. A meet held in Delhi on Valentine’s Day urged people to show their love for Stripey.

The idea of having an emotional campaign stemmed from “Lion King”, says Shivanand Mohanty, creative head, Dentsu Communications, the ad agency that designed the campaign. Remember how our eyes welled up watching Mufasa breathe his last trying to protect Simba? “We were considering many ideas and felt this would work,” says Mohanty. Since shooting in tiger reserves is not permitted, the agency used stock footage for the ad.

For once, celebs remain in the background and therein lay the campaign’s success. Says Mohanty, “Celebrities have been used thoughtfully, to create a sense of urgency and drive home the point that each one…More

The Hindu : y>Merc GLK SUV to be fitted with a right-hand-drive steering

The next-generation Mercedes GLK SUV will be available with right-hand drive, according to Mercedes R&D chief Thomas Weber. The current model is only built as a left-hooker due to the difficulties involved in fitting the right-hand-drive steering mechanism around the propshafts taking drive to the front wheels. However, Mercedes has said it was a mistake not to make the vehicle for RHD markets, and it will develop all of its next-gen 4×4s for conversion. That means the next-gen GLK could be sold in India as well.

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The Hindu :

How is it that the selfless effort of packing lunch for the husband does not fetch a good-wife badge?

THE IDEAL WIFE?Michelle Obama

Many moons ago, early one foggy morning, I was up long before the sun, busily polishing my goody-goody halo, and rolling out rotis for the husband’s (packed) lunch. Oh yes, I understand, this is hardly going to make you gasp and / or swoon… after all, millions, probably, do this sort of thing every day. Except, since I’m not one of them, I was dearly hoping a friend of mine would recognise my one-off selfless effort and award me a ‘good wife badge’.

But, guess what — she refused. Flatly! “I might consider you for the ‘Order of the Night Owl’,” she said, consolingly, “but you can’t go by a simple 1950s’ rule book and clamour for a complex 2010 good-wife badge!” Now this came as a dreadful shock, and for two good reasons… I didn’t know they had good-wife rule books back in the 1950s; plus, I thought the game was supposed to get a little easier with time — what with feminism and everything; not harder!

Except, it has.

Do you know what all nice married women were expected to do back in the 1950s? I have it from the ‘Home Economics High School Text Book’ (1954) that women were to touch up their make-up, wear a ribbon around the hair and look very happy when the husbands came home from work. Next, they were to ‘arrange his pillow, and offer to take off his shoes’.

The rule book

The 2010 rule book — I’ve just had a sneak peek into the yet to be published tome — is a lot more complicated. It states that women, to qualify for the good-wife badge, have to do all that their mums and grand-mums did (please the husband, raise kind, intelligent children, be the…More