Events And Movies Today in Hyderabad

Art	Top
Artists Collection Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  4 p.m. Mystic Inspirations, Plot No.33, Banjara Hills. An exhibition of paintings by various artists like Suman Roy, Arif, Jaya Baheti, Deeraj Choudhary and Kishan will be on display.
Fragrance Of Life Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  6 p.m. Diara Art Gallery, 100A, Banjara Petals, Road No.5, Banjara Hills. An exhibition of figurative paintings on human life, by renowned artist Sukanta Das.
Solo Show Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  7 p.m. Shrishti Art Gallery, 267, Jubilee Hills. A solo exhibition of water color paintings on canvas by Rini Dhumal (Prof. of fine Arts, Baroda) will be on display.
Special Events	Top
Diwali Dhamaka Sunday, October 25th, 2009. The Square, La Cantina, The Bar, The Deli, Sunset Lounge and Boulder Hills, Novotel Hyderabad, Hitech City, Madhapur. This Diwali, patrons who dine for Rs 1000, get a chance to win a Hyundai i20.
Eating Out	Top
Moon Cake Festival Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11:15 p.m. Golden Dragon, Taj Krishna, Road No.1, Banjara Hills Taj Krishna is hosting the ‘Moon Cake Festival’ at Golden Dragon. The age old Autumn Moon legend comes alive as Chef Hung Fong Ng recreates the exotic, colourful Chinese Moon festival with delicious moon cakes and special menu of exquisite specialities. The Moon Cake Festival is often compared to a sort of “Chinese Thanksgiving” because of its spirit of gratitude and its inclusion of abundant food.
Lunch Buffet Sunday, October 25th, 2009. noon to  3 p.m. Sweet Nirvana, Plot No.105, Phase II, Kavuri Hills, Madhapur Sweet Nirvana is offering a variety of delicious continental dishes which include soups, salads along with the main course and desserts.
Evening Snacks Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  6 p.m. Promenade, Aditya Park, Ameerpet. An array of South and North Indian snacks and light meals at the Promenade.
Happy Hours Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  8 p.m. The Bar, Novotel Hyderabad Airport, Shamshabad. The Bar at Novotel is having happy hours – there’s a complimentary drink on purchase of every drink.
Midnight Biryani Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11:30 p.m. to  3 a.m. Tulips, Hotel Greenpark, Greenlands, Begumpet. Tulips is serving an array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryanis. Other delicacies like Haleem, Sheermal, Paneer Burjee and desserts are also available.
Southern Delicacies Sunday, October 25th, 2009. noon to  3 p.m. Deccan Pavilion, Hotel ITC The Kakatiya, Begumpet. The coffee shop is offering authentic Hyderabadi biryanis and delicious kebabs along with other Chinese and continental cuisines. Also on the menu are soups, salads, cold cuts, pastas and desserts.
Snacks and Desserts Buffet Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  7 p.m. Sweet Nirvana, Kavuri Hills, Madhapur. A variety of savoury snacks like chicken barbecue and even desserts are up for grabs.
Dim-Sum Festival Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7:30 p.m. to  11:30 p.m. Strings, Taj Banjara, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. The menu consists of a wide-range of Dim Sums in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options like Baby Spinach and spring vegetables dim sum, Five spiced mushroom dim sum, Garlic and cabbage dim sum, Burnt garlic fish dim sum, Chicken dim sum, Crispy shrimps dim sum and delicious desserts from Executive Chef Hrudananda Behera.
Vegetarian Buffet Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11 p.m. Venue, Quality Inn Residency, Nampally. The restaurant offers delicious south Indian vegetarian buffet, along with snacks and desserts for lunch and dinner.
Lunch Buffet Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 12:30 p.m. to  3 p.m. Tandoor, White House Building, Begumpet. An authentic North Indian buffet – peas pulao, paneer tikka, biryanis, desserts and more.
The Curry Bar Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7:30 p.m. to  11:30 p.m. Spice Junxion, Taj Deccan, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Executive Chef Sachin Joshi has prepared a menu which includes an array of the most popular, authentic, spicy south Indian curries. The chicken, fish, lamb and vegetable curries are made using home-made spices and served with portions of Appams, Malabar Parathas, Dosas, and steamed rice. The non-veg curries on offer are Kozhi Chettinad, Kori Gassi, Meen da Kajippu, Kundapur Chicken, and Meen Moily, and among the veg curries – Cauliflower, Alambo Arepu, Kaikari Chettinad and Gutthi Vankaya Kura are available.
Gourmet Lunch Sunday, October 25th, 2009. noon to  3 p.m. Taj Deccan, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Indulge in unlimited kebabs, grills, smoothies and much more.
Guiltf Free Indulgence Sunday, October 25th, 2009. noon to  3 p.m. Little Italy, 275, Film Nagar Society, Jubilee Hills. Authentic Italian cuisine and a specially crafted menu for lunch during the weekdays. Indulge into unlimited soups, salads, desserts, choice of starters and main course (which includes home made wheat pastas and pizzas).
Sizzler Festival Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11:15 p.m. Me’Lange, The Golkonda Hyderabad, Masabtank Melange is offering an array of hot sizzlers for both lunch and dinner.
FUNjabi Food Festival Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11 p.m. Swagath-De-Royal, #2-36, Kothaguda X Roads, Kondapur, Cyberabad Enjoy authentic Punjabi cuisine here. Some of the specialties on the menu are Sarson ka Saag, Paneer Tikka and many more.
Nightlife	Top
House Music Night Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  1 a.m. Dublin, Hotel ITC The Kakatiya, Opp. to Walden, Begumpet Rocking party tracks by in-house DJ Daman.
From Goa With Love Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Seasons Bar, Taj Krishna, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Singer Wahida belts out hit songs from 70s, 80s to latest chart busters.
Russian Melodies Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Atrium Bar, Taj Deccan, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Russian singer Polina will perform at the bar. She is versatile and covers a wide variety of world styles, from contemporary popular repertoire to retro and hip-hop.
Shopping	Top
Season Sale Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. Planet Sports, Shop No.1-2, Afzia Towers, Opp. Lifestyle, Begumpet. There is a 20% discount on apparel, footwear and other sports accessories for women and men.
I Anniversary Celebrations Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  8 p.m. Sri Krishna Silks, 3-2-102, General Bazar Avail up to 100% cash back, gold and silver coins and assured gifts on every purchase, on the eve of the anniversary celebrations.
Festive Collection Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. New Meena Bazar, Abids. The store is has an exclusive range of reviting kurtas, pyjamas and sherwanis, featuring Lucknowi, Chikandari, Kashmiri works, Brocades and thread embroidery in exotic range of colors and designs. The fabrics used to create these masterpieces include plain cotton, crushed cotton, cotton silk, linen tissue silk and ploy silk.
Festive Collection Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  8 p.m. Musaddilal Jewellers. Musaddilal Jewellers and Exporters have launched adesigner jewellery collection for Diwali and the wedding season. The collection specialises in diamonds, ruby, antique jewellery like satlada, chokers and much more.
Hyderabadi Cushions Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  8 p.m. Inhabit, Novotel lobby store, HICC complex, Hitech City, Cyberabad Syed Arif Ali’s collection of cushions are on display at all the Inhabit outlets in the city.
Workshops	Top
Music Notation Reading Sunday, October 25th, 2009. 6:45 p.m. to  9 p.m. Alliance Francaise, Desk Edufrance, West Marredpally. Hyderabad Western Music Forum presents the second Music Notation Reading training course. The workshop is conducted by Joe Koster and Laure Menegoz. It is the second in the series by the Hyderabad Western Music Forum. The participants will learn the art of reading Western music notation.

 

MOVIES TODAY

 

English	Top
Inglorious Basterds
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 19:30
Under The Sea
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 14:00 and 19:30
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 10:30
Star Trek : The Future Begins
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 17:00
G-Force
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 18:30
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 12:10 and 17:45
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 20:00
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 18:15
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 16:35
Away We Go
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 16:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 14:00 and 23:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 20:15
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 22:30
Shorts
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 18:45
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 11:10 and 16:00
Fly Me To The Moon
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 12:00, 15:00 and 22:30
Hindi	Top
Wake Up Sid
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 14:45
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 13:15 and 23:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:30, 16:30 and 22:35
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 20:15
Blue
Talkie Town Shetty’s Complex, Aland Road, Bombay Highway, Miyapur., 11:30, 14:30, 18:30 and 21:45
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 10:30, 12:45, 18:30, 22:45 and 23:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 12:00, 17:50 and 22:30
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 11:00, 16:00 and 23:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 12:00, 14:30, 17:00, 19:30, 22:15
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 13:50, 16:50 and 22:00
Main Aurr Mrs Khanna
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 11:00, 16:00 and 22:30
All The Best
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 13:30, 16:15, 19:10 and 22:00
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 10:00, 15:00, 17:45, 23:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 11:00, 17:00 and 22:40
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 11:15, 14:15, 19:30 and 22:30
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 11:10, 16:30, 19:10 and 22:15
Bal Ganesh 2
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 18:15
Tamil	Top
Aadhavan
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 9:30
Telugu	Top
Magadheera
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 15:15
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 13:15
Bendu Appa Rao
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 12:30 and 20:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 12:00 and 17:15
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 16:20 and 19:10
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 13:30 and 16:45
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 11:00 and 16:15
Jayeebhava
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 10:30, 13:15, 20:15 and 22:45
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 10:30 and 19:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 12:15, 17:50 and 22:15
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 13:45, 19:45 and 22:00
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 10:45, 13:45, 19:15 and 22:45
Ghatikudu
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 15:15

Mother, daughter ‘age the same’

 

A new study has revealed that the faces of mothers and daughters wrinkle and sag in exactly the same “pattern” as they get older.

  Like mother, like daughter — the generations age the same.

A new study has revealed that the faces of mothers and daughters wrinkle and sag in exactly the same “pattern” as they get older.

Researchers have based their findings after scanning the faces of mothers and daughters — and found that the skin and soft tissues-especially around the eyes showed the same pattern of wasting away and loss of elasticity.

The similarity becomes most apparent when the daughter reaches their mid—30s, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Matthew Camp of Loma Linda University Medical Center.

In fact, to measure the full spectrum of ageing, they examined 10 sets of similar looking mother—daughter pairs, aged from 15 to 90 years old, leading newspaper ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

Using state of the art facial imaging and 3D computer modelling, the authors found a consistent pattern of sagging and volume loss specifically around the inner corners of the eye and lower eyelids in the mothers.

The study found a “consistent pattern of atrophy and regression” around the tear ducts and lower eyelid.

Analysis of the soft tissue around the eye found that it lost elasticity and plumpness in exactly the same way.

The findings back up the perceived wisdom — mainly of men — that women will age like their mothers.

In general women are believed to age more badly than their male contemporaries because female features are more susceptible to the age of gravity and loss of muscle and elasticity, the researchers said.

This is mainly because the shape of their face tends to change from oval to square as the skin sags.

Concerns about H1N1 vaccine safety snowball in Germany

 

Concerns about the safety of H1N1 vaccine in Germany has snowballed and appears to derail the vaccination programme.

Only about 12 per cent of people have expressed their willingness to be vaccinated and another 19 per cent have indicated that they would probably have the vaccine.

The controversy is about the use of adjuvant in H1N1 vaccine. Adjuvant is a substance that is added to the vaccine to improve body’s response, and its use will reduce the amount of inactivated virus needed for an effective dose.

What started as concerns expressed by a few physicians about the safety of vaccine containing an adjuvant has now become a major issue.

Michael Kochen, President of the German College of General Practitioners and Family Physicians was quoted as saying in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that “Pandemrix [H1N1 vaccine containing an adjuvant] has not been sufficiently tested to be declared safe for millions of people, especially small children and pregnant women.”

He has apparently told BMJ that he will not take the vaccine and has also advised other doctors not to take it. Pandemrix is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

But what made things worse was a report by Der Spiegel magazine that the Federal Interior Ministry had bought 2,00,000 doses of Celvapan, an adjuvant-free vaccine to be used by top government officials. Celvapen is manufactured by Baxter.

The Defence Ministry had later confirmed the procurement of Celvapen, and according to BMJ, it was intended for use by Bundeswehr soldiers and their families on foreign deployments or preparing for missions abroad.

The German Medical Association has now advised against giving the adjuvant vaccine to children and pregnant women.

However, the World Health Organisation recommends the use of an adjuvant as it would increase the number of people who can be vaccinated. The European Medicines Agency had cleared Pandemrix and Celvapen for H1N1 vaccination.

Pandemrix was also approved for use by Germany’s Paul Ehrlich Institute, which advises the government on vaccination matters. However, the Federal Vaccination Agency, another government body, has contradicted the institute and has advised against the use of vaccines containing adjuvant.

Wolf-Dieter Ludwig, Chairman of the German Medical Association’s Drug Commission had described the swine flu vaccination programme as a “scandal.” According to BMJ, Dr. Ludwig thinks that Pandemrix has not been adequately tested. However, he thinks the same about Baxter’s adjuvant-free H1N1 vaccine Celvapan, too.

GlaxoSmithKline in a press release dated October 23 announced that more than 150,000 people had received Pandemrix, as part of government initiated vaccination programmes across Europe. Additionally, over 2,000 people have received Pandemrix in clinical trials which are ongoing. The company has not raised any safety concerns about its product.

A.R. Rahman’s Jai Ho at GMR

 

 

A.R. Rahman performs with Sivamani at the live in concert Jai Ho at GMR Arena, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Complex, in Hyderabad on Saturday. The proceeds will go to the CM’s Relief Fund

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s engagement ceremony

 

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty (second from right) waves to the crowd gathered below her apartment after her engagement ceremony with her fiance London-based millionaire Raj Kundra (second from left) in Mumbai on Saturday

Mobile phones may be linked to cancer

 

London: Heavy mobile phones users face a higher risk of developing cancers, according to a landmark international study overseen by the WHO.

According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, the decade-long investigation overseen by the World Health Organisation will publish evidence that heavy users face a higher risk of developing brain tumours later in life.

Even though the conclusion of the research will be revealed only later this year, a preliminary breakdown of the results found a “significantly increased risk” of some brain tumours “related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more” in some studies, the report in the British daily said.

The conclusion of the 20 million pounds study, while not definitive, will undermine assurances that the devices are safe. Several countries, notably France, have started strengthening warnings in this regard and American politicians are urgently investigating the risks. The Interphone inquiry has been probing the link between exposure to mobile phones and three types of brain tumour and a tumour of the salivary gland. Its head, Dr Elisabeth Cardis, backed new warnings.

“In the absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radiofrequency radiation, precautions are important,” she was quoted as saying by the London daily.

Cellular phones lead to bone weakening: Study

 

Washington: Do you wear your cell phone on your belt? Well, here’s some news for you-the electromagnetic rays from mobiles lead to decreased bone density in an area of the pelvis that is commonly used for bone grafts.

A study by Dr Tolga Atay and colleagues of Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey, found that with long-term exposure, electromagnetic fields from cell phones could weaken the bone, potentially affecting the outcomes of surgical procedures using bone grafts.

The researchers measured bone density at the upper rims of the pelvis (iliac wings) in 150 men who were cell phone users and carried their phones on their belts.

They took the measurements via a technique called dual x-ray absorptiometry-the same test used to measure bone density in patients with osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

Bone density was compared on the side where the men wore their phones (the right side in 122 men and the left side in 28) versus the opposite side.

The men carried their phones for an average of 15 hours per day, and had used cell phones for an average of 6 years.

The results showed a slight reduction in iliac wing bone density on the side where the men carried their phones.

The difference was not statistically significant, and did not approach the reductions seen in osteoporosis.

However, the researchers have noted that the men were relatively young – average 32 years – and that further bone weakening may occur with longer follow-up.

The results raise the possibility that bone density could be adversely affected by electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones.

The ilac wings are a widely used source of bone for bone grafting, so any reduction in bone density may be of special importance to reconstructive surgery.

However, the researchers emphasize that their findings are preliminary.

Meanwhile, Atay and colleagues concluded: “It would be better to keep mobile phones as far as possible from our body during our daily lives.”

The study has been published in the September issue of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.

Mission impossible?

 

MEETA LALL

With World Obesity Day just past us (October 24), look at these tips to shrink your stomach safely and quickly.

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Our stomach is actually only the size of our closed fist. When full, it stretches

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At work, your colleague gives you a big laddu as prasad. Next, your secretary comes with samosas and gulab jamuns; her son has done extremely well in board exams.

You eat this too, and then, drink a cup of hot, sweet tea to wash it all down. Soon, at home, you will have your tea and a snack. A short while later, it’s time for dinner. Nothing new, is there?

Overeating increases stomach size: Our stomach is actually only the size of our closed fist. When full, it stretches; as it empties, it starts returning to its original size. However, when we habitually eat large meals, the stomach muscles lose their natural elasticity and the stomach actually increases in size.

Experts say that it may take as little as two to four weeks of overeating to expand stomach size! A bigger stomach needs a lot more food to feel full and we end up eating more food at every meal.

But we can shrink our stomach. As impossible as it may sound, research shows that it is possible to shrink the stomach back to its original size. Here are a few tips for shrinking your stomach quickly and safely.

Never skip a meal: Dieters think that they are saving on calories when they forego meals. In reality, self-starvation leads to overeating at the next meal.

Eat small meals frequently: Reduce the amount of food you eat at every meal gradually. This will slowly but surely minimise the stomach’s daily stretch; over time, it will shrink and you will need less food. So, eat 5-6 small meals instead of tree large ones every day. This reduces the size of your stomach by one-third!

Stretch your meals: Make the meal last at least 20 minutes. Your stomach, mouth and brain are all connected and it takes 20 minutes of chewing before your stomach signals to the brain that you are full. So extend every meal to at least 20 minutes. Put down your spoon after every bite. Chew the food well and take the next bite leisurely.

Increase intake of fibre-rich foods: Foods high in fibre like chapattis, dal especially whole pulses, fruits and vegetables fill you up faster. This means that your stomach gives the signal of ‘fullness’ to the brain much before you have eaten a large amount of food.

Drink cold water before meals: Drink a large glass of ice water just before meals. The cold causes your stomach to shrink slightly, which will make you feel full faster.

Be positive: Negative emotions such as sadness, depression, anxiety, fear, guilt and anger push us towards overeating. Try yoga for a sense of optimism.

The writer is a nutrition and health researcher and the author of The Power of N: Nutrition In Our Times.

An end to obesity?

In recent years, gastric bypass surgery is becoming increasingly popular. The surgery shrinks the stomach’s capacity from the size of a bottle to that of a small glass and also reconfigures the small intestine. Within a year, patients lose more than 60 per cent of their excess weight.

However, experts caution that gastric bypass is major surgery and should not be undertaken lightly. Surgeons recommend surgery only in cases where obesity is a huge problem.

Chavan, Hooda retained as Chief Ministers

 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan flashes the victory sign after a press conference in Mumbai on Thrusday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has chosen Chavan to head the new Cong.-NCP government in Maharashtra. Photo: Special Arrangement

Shortly past midnight on Saturday, the Congress announced that incumbents Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Chavan would continue as Chief Ministers in Haryana and Maharashtra respectively.

The announcement came after a series of meetings — the last round being at Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s residence — through the day in the two State capitals and here.

This put an end to the 48-hour-long uncertainty that has prevailed over the Chief Ministership issue since the results of the Assembly elections put the ball in the Congress court in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Haryana Chief Ministership was the most vexed issue as the poor showing by the party had Mr. Hooda’s detractors gunning for him. The day was marked by a series of meetings of Haryana leaders in the Capital. While the warring groups within the Congress met among themselves to strategise, the three-member team of central observers held two rounds of meetings with senior leaders from the State.

In the morning, the observers Mohsina Kidwai, B. K. Hariprasad and Prithviraj Chavan met all members of Parliament from Haryana to seek their views on the contentious issue of Chief Ministership .

Even as the central leadership was wrestling with the chief ministership issue in Haryana — with the three central observers having a late night meeting with Ms. Gandhi — the entire senior leadership of Maharashtra reached the Capital. Along with the Maharashtra observers, the Chief Minister and other hopefuls — Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Narayan Rane — were closeted with Ms. Gandhi till midnight in a bid to evolve a consensus.

CLP resolution

Special Correspondent writes from Mumbai:

Earlier in the day, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) passed a one-line resolution authorising Ms. Gandhi to elect a new leader.

Wasim Akram’s wife passes away in Chennai

Huma Akram, wife of former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram, died at the Apollo Hospital here on Sunday morning after battling for life for the past five days.

According to hospital officials, Huma breathed her last around 9.45 a.m.

Huma was suffering from sepsis (an inflammation of several tissues, including blood leading to kidney failure) and was admitted to Apollo Hospital on Tuesday after developing complications mid-air while on her way to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore from Pakistan.

She was accompanied by Wasim Akram.

At Apollo Hospital, she was in the intensive care unit (ICU) since then and died on Sunday morning without regaining consciousness.

Arrangements are being made to take her body back to Pakistan, the sources said.

Photography contest

GUNTUR: A photography contest on climate change has been announced with the name HP Climate Change Photography Contest, in association with Sanctuary Asia and WWF-India. In release here on Saturday they said any person interested in photography could record these changes happening around them.

A single, striking image has the power to tell a story that truly hits home, it said. “Through your photos, we hope to spread your message to the world and help bring about a change in the way we look at our planet.”

When most people think of global warming, they think of icebergs melting, seas rising and low-lying areas getting flooded. But, it is no longer just an apocalyptic warning of doom, no longer something that will happen in some distant land, flash floods, hurricanes, droughts, heat waves and other natural disasters were becoming commonplace, it noted.

The jury will look for images that will help draw attention to the challenges and solutions of climate change and drive us toward local and global action.

You are limited only by your imagination, it teases the participants.

The best 100 entries will win subscriptions to Sanctuary Asia magazine.

The last date for submission of the entries is December 31, 2009. Prizes valued at Rs. 3 lakh can be won.

Further queries can be addressed to hpcapturechange@in.com

Film festival from today

The first edition of Visakhapatnam International Film Festival 2009 will begin here on Sunday. The five-day festival hosted by Visakhapatnam Film Society at VUDA Children Theatre will be inaugurated by Andhra University Vice-Chancellor B. Satyanarayana. Mayor P. Janardhana Rao will light the lamp.

Photography classes

Dots & Pixels Club will conduct a course on the essentials of basic photography from November 1. Interested persons could contact Ravi Kumar on 2552412, 2543941 or Krishna Mohan on 2552757 for details.

Nandi awards: ‘Gamyam’ hogs the limelight

HYDERABAD: ‘Gamyam’, the Telugu movie about two friends on a motorcycle, bagged the Golden Nandi award for the Best Film while Ravi Teja (for ‘Neninthe’) and Swathi (‘Ashta Chamma’) won the awards for the Best Actor and Actress respectively.

 

As many as four awards were bagged by ‘Gamyam’, including Best Director award for Jagarlamudi Radha Krishna, Best Supporting Actor for E. Naresh and Best Lyric Writer for Ch. Seetharama Sastry and Best Song ‘Enthavaraku and Endukoraku’.

The Nandi Film Awards – 2008 were announced by the 14-member AP State Nandi Film Awards Committee headed by Thammareddy Bharadwaja on Saturday. Commissioner for Information C. Parthasarathy said that the awards would be presented in December first week.

The Nandi TV awards would be announced in November and Nandi Theatre awards in January, 2010.

‘Vinayakudu’ and ‘Parugu’ won the second and third best feature film awards while ‘Ashta Chamma’ got the best home-viewing feature film and ‘Ready’, the best popular feature film award.

The special jury awards went to Anushka for her role in ‘Arundhati’, Allu Arjun for ‘Parugu’, and the film ‘Bathukamma’.

There were no eligible entries for the first best film award under the children’s, documentary and education film categories. Mr. Bharadwaja said that the quality of the film entries they received was much better this year. The jury also sent a message, by not giving ‘first best’ award when there were no deserving entries in some categories, that only quality work would be considered for Nandi awards.

Following are some of the Nandi awards won under various categories: Best feature film on national integration: 1940 Lo Oka Gramam; Best character actor – Mukku Raju; Best comedian – Brahmanandam (Ready); Best Villain – Sonu Sood (Arundhati); Best child actor- Master Bharath (Ready); Best child actress- Baby Divya Nagesh (Arundhati); Best first film of a director- Sai Kiran Adavi (Vinayakudu); Best screenplay writer – A. Karunakaran (Ullasanga Uthsahanga) ; Best story writer – R.P. Patnaik (Andamaina Manasulo); Best dialogue writer – Puri Jagannadh (Neninthe); Best cinematographer – Chotak K. Naidu and Best Music Director – Mickey J. Mayer (Kotha Bangaru Lokam); Best male playback singer – Shankar Mahadevan; Best female playback singer – Geetha Madhuri.

‘Protecting networks from hacking not an easy task’

 

 

Intrusion detection systems have to be improvised: V-C

Kakinada: The information technology sector, which is well established throughout the world, is currently facing increasing threats to network security with the number of intruders rising by the day. To be secure on an insecure network is the task on hand, said JNTU-Kakinada Vice-Chancellor Allam Appa Rao.

Participating as a chief guest in a workshop on ‘Network Security and Embedded Systems’ at the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department here on Saturday, Prof. Rao said while the experts grapple with existing problems, new threats were continuing to emerge. It was like a game between the intelligent and equally capable adversaries.

Protecting the networks from hacking and other forms of intrusions was not an easy job as new ways of gaining illegal access to data belonging to private persons and certain sensitive information in the public domain are invented.

The intrusion detection systems, firewalls etc have to be constantly improvised.

Security of networks and the huge amounts of information hosted on the World Wide Web was therefore an important function of IT professionals.

IT firms were bound to invest a lot of their resources on securing the networks in the future.

Key area

T Jagadeesh, a networking specialist from TCS, Hyderabad, said network security was a key functional area of IT professionals, who need to brace for future challenges. Students of IT have to specialize in a particular subject to improve their job prospects, he advised.

TCS Academic Relationship Manager K. Suryanarayana, JNTU-K Director (Industry Institute Interaction) K Padma Raju, JNTU College of Engineering, Kakinada principal E.V. Prasad and others took part in the sessions.

Write in English, read in Hindi

‘Quillpad’ allows you to deliver your thoughts in the local language

 

Indian language transliteration tools for mobile phones will change the way we SMS.

BANGALORE: If you are to spy on the thousands of messages darting across Indian mobile networks at any given point of time, you may find some interesting linguistic patterns.

Indic Language computing enthusiasts believe — and are willing to bet on it — that the predominant SMS lingo of the average Indian is the local language. Then why must one be forced to SMS in English?

Tachyon Technologies, a Bangalore company, has released a midlet (a mobile application) ‘Quillpad’ that allows you to ‘transliterate’ or key in your thoughts (phonetically) in English and watch it being delivered in Hindi (Devanagari script). While online transliteration services have been around for some time now — with several home-grown companies and large email, chat and blogging services offering it for free — this is the first of its kind application on the mobile platform.

Quillpad’s web avatar, which (in 2006) preceded Google’s now popular transliteration tools by a year, registered no less than 1.16 lakh unique users in September. What makes it click? For starters, Quillpad’s predictive engine is far more intuitive (in interpreting the phonetics), offers more options and is more powerful than most home-grown technologies that clutter the Indi-webspace.

In its beta mobile release, Quillpad is a light-weight 355 KB application file that can be downloaded from the web site (or transferred through Bluetooth). Once installed, it offers a text-input mechanism — you can toggle between English, Hindi and numbers — and a full-fledged messaging menu. On typing the word phonetically in English, it offers multiple spelling options much like (and as powerful as) its online widget. It then encodes this into Unicode, connects to the phone and sends the message.

Offers choices

The USP of Quillpad’s transliterator lies in the choices it offers for every set of phonetics you hurl at it. While writing Hindi (or any Indian language) in English, there is no correct spelling, and this engine seems to understand it. Tachyon founder Ram Prasad H. says it has been coded to interpret variations in phonetics. For instance, the word ‘Flight’ comes up as ‘flith’ or ‘fleeh’ on most extremely popular tools. “Instead of a dictionary of words, we evolved a pattern. So even if a word has never occurred in our dictionary, it uses the patterns it has learnt from other words [in the database] to throw up more accurate options,” he explains. Quillpad’s test version is available for free download (for 25 messages) and costs a one-time fee of Rs.149. Currently, it is available only for Hindi, but will soon be extended to nine other languages, the company claims.

Minor bugs

So can Tachyon hope to repeat this success story on the mobile? Perhaps it could. The test version is ridden with minor bugs such as space or line issues. The biggest issue, however, remains the threat of a potential lock-in or getting into a situation in which only two Quillpad-installed phones can talk to each other. About a dozen messages sent out could not be rendered on other handsets owing to the absence of pre-installed fonts.

Quillpad’s release has been on hold for two years now for this very reason. However, Mr. Prasad believes Indian fonts come bundled with most new handsets. “Biz heads have got it wrong. They think that Indian mobile users use only English. To take this forward, that has to change, and I hope this project will drive the demand for that change.”