DIVYA VASISHTTimes News Network

Facts, they say, are strangerthan fiction. And the fact ofthe matter is that — beyondthe real or perceived costs att-endant on living in this city,Delhi seems to be becoming amore affordable place to stay.Or so indicates a recent survey co-nducted by Mercer Human Resou-rce Consulting, which has measu-red the cost of more than 200 it-ems — including housing, food,clothing, transportation and en-tertainment — in 144 cities wo-rldwide.

Based on a cost-of-living ind-ex, the survey shows that Delhihas moved down 19 places from lastyear to become the world’s 109thmost-expensive city, with Mu-mbai moving down to No 114 asagainst its position of 92 in2002. With NY as the base cityscoring 100 points, Delhi scores63.3 and Mumbai, 62.5. This ma-kes Delhi and Mumbai half asexpensive as Tokyo, which topsthe list with a score of 126.1.

So, what makes Delhi a cheap city to live in?‘‘The consistently low levels of inflation in thepast couple of years, coupled with a moderate ap-preciation against the US dollar, seem to be brin-ging down the cost of living in Delhi,’’ says AlokMathre, professor of economics at DU.

Says Cushman and Wakefi-eld India director Sanjay Ver-ma, ‘‘There has been a slumpin real-estate rates since 1997.Unlike suburbs such as NewJersey in the US and Hampst-

ead around London, Delhi’s neig-hbouring towns have the adva-ntage of vicinity. Property-wise,Delhi works out to be a cheap op-tion on the global scale.’’

Adding credence to the fin-dings of the survey is the tre-nd of NRIs seeking medicaltreatment in Delhi. As Indra-prastha Apollo Hospital MD

Yogi Mehrotra puts it, ‘‘Treatm-ent for cardio, neuro and cancer-re-

lated diseases in Delhi is eight-10 ti-mes cheaper than in the US and atlea-

st six times cheaper than in the UK.While the NRI traffic to India is high, we

expect to get patients from theUK if the national health sch-eme there makes this possible.’’

According to Greesh Bindra,resident manager, Crowne Pla-za Surya, ‘‘A hotel room whichcosts $ 250 in the US and $ 320 inLondon is available for $ 130 inDelhi. Then, while a meal for

two at a high-end restaurant costs Rs 2,000-4,000in Delhi, the corresponding rates amount to Rs4,800 in London and around Rs 3,000 in NY.’’ Inother words, Delhi offers value for money. And,at the end of the day, that’s what counts.

divyavasisht@indiatimes.com

CMYK

For Diaz’s mother,there’s somethingabout Timberlake!Page 7

Ravs and Tabu:Forgive,forgetand move on...Page 8

OF INDIA

What kind ofexpectations doyou have of yo-ur maiden mov-ie Paanch?I am really look-ing forward tothe release of Pa-anch, which isthe story of a fi-

ve-member rock band. I am really exc-ited about the film, specially since it ismy first. Of course, the fate of Paanchat the box-office will, to quite an extent,decide my future roles in the industry.

Does this imply that you will notsign any films till Paanch is rele-ased?On the contrary. I have already started

work on a film with Sudhir Mishra. Be-sides, I feature alongside Sanjay Duttin Ek Raat Achanak. In any case, thisis only the beginning. I might have ma-de a small-screen appearance with theTV serial Mujhe Chand Chahiye, butthere are new possibilities to exploreon the big screen.Did you always want to be an act-ress?Actually, getting into films was nevermy childhood dream. I wanted to sec-ure an MBA degree after graduating incommerce and follow in my mother’sfootsteps —she has a job with an air-

line. But then, modelling happened.Things then took a different turn and Icame into acting. Needless to say, havi-ng had a taste of it now, I want to donothing else but act.Considering that your elder sisterPadmini Kolhapuri has precededyou as an actress, does sibling rival-ry figure in the scheme of things?Not really. Rather, Padmini and Ishare a fabulous relationship. We arethe greatest of friends. Being muchyounger than her, she is very protec-tive and takes constant care of me.

ASHOK CHATTERJEE

‘There is no question of sibling rivalry with Padmini’TEJASWINIKOLHAPURIActressOn her tryst withtinsel town

VINOD NAIRTimes News Network

Appearances, specially re-el appearances, can bedeceptive. As a child, thisyoung lady never believed aword of the grandma talesabout ghosts and goblins. Shenever looked under her bed tocheck for evil spirits and nei-ther did she peer over hershoulder to see whether theshadow behind the curtainswas for real. But when thechance to play a ghost inBhoot came her way, BarkhaMadan accepted the role withopen arms. For, if not ghosts,

she certainly believes in tak-ing up challenges.

‘‘Right from the time I wasa kid, I have been very clearabout what I want to do... andI don’t want to follow standar-ds set by others,’’ maintainsthe English literature gradu-ate, ‘‘I saw the role in Bhoot asbeing unconventional. And,at the end of the day, I am gladthat I have managed to liveupto expectations.’’ And how!

As Manjit, the charactershe plays in Ram Gopal Verm-

a’s horror film, Barkha hasnot only sent chills down thespines of viewers, but alsowon acclaim from all quarte-rs, including the film fraterni-

ty. ‘‘Of course, playing the roleof someone who is actuallydead is more challenging thanenacting someone who is ali-ve,’’ says Barkha, ‘‘But what ismore interesting about my ro-le is that, unlike typical ghost

movies, I wasn’t supposed tocreate fear through gory scen-es, but with my facial express-ions and hand movements.’’

Barkha’s brief was to whipup fear through her eyes. ‘‘Iwas expected to stand still...and keep my eyes wide open,’’she recalls, ‘‘But I must alsomention the film’s cine-matographer and make-upartiste, who helped me lookconvincing as a ghost.’’

While all this might soundscary, there’s nothing ethereal

about Barkha’s ascent to thebig screen. After appearing asJhansi ki Rani in the TV seri-al Kranti: 1857 and playing adoctor in Dhadkan, she wasready when Bhoot came a-call-ing. And now, she is ready togo many steps further, withfilmi offers starting to flow in.

‘‘I have received several of-fers, but am playing choosyas of now,’’ says Barkhathrough a smile, ‘‘My sole cri-terion is that any role I acceptshould be a challenge.’’ Well,after playing a ghost, it isonly human to settle for noth-ing but the best!

vinodnair@indiatimes.com

It pays to live in Delhi!

Something to crow aboutJYOTI SHARMA

Times News Network

Here, there, everywhere. Be it terraces, bal-conies, trees or electric poles, crows are fastreplacing the friendly house sparrow as themost familiar bird around in thisconcrete jungle that is the Capi-tal. So much so, ornitholo-gists are worried.

‘‘The rising number ofcrows in the city spells badnews for smaller birds,’’ ex-plains ornithologist RajatBhargava, ‘‘One will norm-ally not find other birds in-habiting areas where crowsbuild their nests because cr-ows feed on their youngerones.’’ One upon a time, sm-all birds such as the red-ve-nted bulbul, the little browndove, the white-eye, and the Indian robin builttheir nests in areas frequented by the king dron-go — a traditional enemy of the crow and a birdwhich scared it away. ‘‘But with population ofthe king drongo falling dramatically, crows are

free to scare away smaller birds,’’ says Bhargava.Bird-watchers, in turn, know crows as scaven-

gers, which hang around where there is garbage.‘‘Crows can survive on anything from tree nect-ar to vegetable peels,’’ explains bird-watcher Ra-njit Lal, ‘‘The rising number of crows finds refl-

ection in Delhi’s civic health.’’Besides, the rising population

of crows seem to be cause ofconcern for the food chain.‘‘The crow does not rely onany particular prey base —it can survive on anything,’’explains Bhargava, ‘‘If thepopulation of the crow con-tinues to rise, there will be aquestion mark on the survi-val of other species.’’

At the same time, Lal po-ints out that crows, per se,are not the problem. ‘‘Theproblem lies in the garbage

lining the city. Clean the garbage, and crows willleave.’’ Paradoxical as it sounds, in a city whosebirds are on a wing and a prayer due to pollution,the crow grows where garbage thrives.

sharma.jyoti@indiatimes.com

NIKITA DOVALTimes News Network

It doesn’t get any worse than this. Bollywoodhas had 41 releases in Year 2003 and a paltryseven movies have managed to hit the bull’seye at the box-office.

Industry insiders peg Bo-llywood’s losses over the pa-st six months at a whoppingRs 125 crore. ‘‘Things couldhave been worse. The firsthalf of the year did not wit-ness the release of big-bud-get blockbusters. So, theamount at stake wasn’t allthat high. But exhibitorshave lost out as there hasbeen an erosion in the volu-me of movie-goers,’’ saysdistributor Uday Kaushish.

What’s more, even for th-ese seven lucky films, profi-ts haven’t exactly been exte-nsive. ‘‘But since no one lostmoney with these movies,’’says distributor Sanjay Me-hta, “this is heartening initself.’’ Perhaps, becausethe year started on a badnote with most films bitingthe dust and, in the monthsthat followed, only Jismand Tujhe Meri Kasammanaged to make money.‘‘People believed that Jismis all about a show of skin,but it was successful becau-se it has an interesting sto-ryline and portrays Indianwoman like never before,’’says producer Pooja Bhatt.

Still, most films provedto be a flash in the pan,withmuch-awaited films such as

Satta, Talaash, Khushi and Dum failing to cli-ck. ‘‘Beyond the speculation surrounding flo-ps, the fact remains that the audience rejectssub-standard products,’’ reasons trade analystTaran Adarsh, ‘‘Then, with movies facing stiffcompetition from TV, why should the viewer

pay for sub-standard fare?’’To add to the woes of the

film industry, the producer-distributor stand-off madematters worse. “March-Ap-ril is peak vacation time,but we lost out,’’ says Meh-ta, ‘‘While the strike delay-ed the release of movies su-ch as Bhoot, Andaaz andArmaan, it cost the indus-try losses to the tune of Rs12 crore. Simultaneously,the price at which The Heroand Ek Aur Ek Gyarah wassold to distributors came inthe way of these films beingbilled as hits even thoughthey made money.’’

The past two months ha-ve been good for the indust-ry, but is that enough?‘‘No,’’ feels producer PahlajNihalani, ‘‘The audiencehas started returning totheatres, but more is need-ed. The next six monthswill be crucial.’’ AgreesAdarsh, ‘‘Koi Mil Gaya,LoC, Rudraksh, DarnaMana Hai, Boom, MumbaiSe Ayaa Mer Dost... there isa flow of films in thepipeline. This phase will bea litmus test for the indus-try.’’ So far so bad. The goodnews is that things can onlyget better for Bollywood.

nikita.doval@indiatimes.com

Rs 125 crore... and growingThis is the amount of money Bollywood has lost in the first half of the year

The dating game has sparkedoff a star war. The triangle mig-ht not be Angelina Jolie’s favou-rite geometrical figure but, as ofnow, Kiefer Sutherla-nd is locked in a battlewith Nicholas Cagefor the heart of Jolie.

Recently, Sutherla-nd asked the moviebeauty for an exclusi-ve dating arrangeme-nt after a st-ring of nigh-ts out in Qu-ebec, wherethey are sh-ooting forTaking Liv-es. But theTomb Raid-

er star, recently divorced fromBilly Bob Thornton, refused.‘‘Angie had already promisedto go out with Nic in LA,’’ reve-

als an insider. Sutherland, though,

is not impressed. Andyes, Cage and Suther-land are said to havebeen poker-playingpals ‘‘until two yearsago, when Nic hit a

lucky streakand cleanedKiefer out.’’Will it be di-tto in the ca-se of Jolie?All’s well th-at ends witha sequel.

It s Sutherland Vs Cage for Jolie

Dressed to thrill,Tendulkar-style...

Times News Network

Sachin Tendulkar’s world isrocking once again. ComeJuly 6, and he will fly to Chenn-ai to team up with internation-al cricket stars Brian Lara andSteve Waugh. Of course, the th-ree won’t just be playing cricket— they’ll go-karting. But that’snot Sachin’s only diversion fr-om the game. At the moment,the biggest diversion is someth-ing else.

T h e

master blaster will launch hisown clothes line next week. Buthey couturiers, hold your hors-es; as of now, Sachin is stickingto sports gear. And despite Rac-hna Narang’s assertion (he hasdesigned the outfits with her)that he has a creative side, Sac-hin refuses to acknowledge it.For those not clued in, Rachnais the sister of Sanjay Narang,

Sachin’s business partner.‘‘My limitation was time, but

the Narangs, being friends, un-derstand this,’’ says Sachin. So,Rachna designed the line withspecifics from Sachin, who pro-vided the final approval. Thenew line spans T- shirts, capsand sports bags — all in his fav-ourite colours orange and blue.

While on the topic of clothes,does wife Anjali shop for him?‘‘No,’’ laughs Sachin. ‘‘Of cour-

se, shedoes this

occasionally, but I chose myown wardrobe.’’ If all this talkof design has fazed the cricke-ter, he doesn’t show it. After div-ersifying first into food, then fa-shion, is he looking to conquernew horizons? ‘‘I haven’t thoug-ht about it,’’ says Sachin. Butthen, masters of the game nev-er reveal their game-plan.

delhitimes@indiatimes.com

Meet Barkha, the bhoot in BhootYEHI HAI FRIGHT CHOICE, AHA! Delhi Times captures the spooky side of Barkha Madan as the aspiring actress, who dares toscare viewers in Bhoot, ‘chills’ out at Spice Garden (To send this photograph to a friend, log on to www.timescity.com/delhi/)

SPEAKBEAK

MANOJ KESHARWANI

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SAVING GRACEOf the 41 releases this year, sevenfilms have managed to make money

Chalte Chalte AndaazBhoot Jism The Hero Ishq VishkTujhe Meri Kasam(Based on box-office performance)

MATTERSMONEY

Delhi’s growing crow populationhas affected the ecological balance

THE TIMES OF INDIAThursday,

July 3, 2003

STORYGHOST

COST ANALYSISA recent survey indicatesthat Delhi has become

more affordable to live inas compared with 2002

NEELABH

Talaash

Khushi

ENCOUNTERSCLOTHES

Now, the cricketer is all set to unveil a clothes line

Man gets phone after 97-year waitA 136 -year-old man has had a phoneinstalled — 97 years after he appliedfor it. Mohammad Ismail’s applicationwas lost by the telephone departmentand his repeated requests for the linewent unheeded. But, the telephonecompany suddenly ‘found’ his applica-tion. The company promptly connect-ed the line and even threw in a freetelephone. ‘‘I am so happy. But I am a

bit sad, also. When I applied, I was a young man of 33 andhad dreams about owning my own telephone. Now allthose dreams are gone. My children will use the phonenow,’’ Ismail said.

Bee stings helped addict quit drugsA Chinese man claims he overcame drug addiction byletting bees sting him every time he felt the need to gethigh. Li, 30, had been addicted to drugs since leavingschool ten years ago. Li had entered rehabilitation pro-grammes many times but had never managed to shakethe addiction.

In 1999, his girlfriend persuaded him to go live in themountains for a while in the hope that spending timeaway from temptation would help. They rented a housein Songpan County and began a new life. It was therethat Li read a magazine article that touted bee stings asa cure for drug addiction.

He found some wild bees on the mountain and letthem attack him whenever he felt a craving coming on.After two years, he finally conquered his addiction. Henow lives in Chengdu where he works as a bee-keeper.

Man travels 600 miles A Bristol jewellery shop manager has travelled by foot tosouthern Ireland to deliver a 6,000 pounds ring in timefor an internet customer’s marriage proposal. He had totravel by foot since there was a transport strike for amonth and he wanted to meet his commitments.

An Irishman had booked a romantic weekend with hisgirlfriend Caroline where he planned to propose, and theshop was going to courier the ring over in time. Howev-er, Dennis got on to his foot and headed for the port ofFishguard in south Wales to catch a ferry to Cork. Butwhen he got there he was told the ferry was out of actionand wouldn’t be sailing.

Said Dennis, from Severn Beach, ‘‘It really was a likea comedy of errors — everything that could go wrongdid go wrong, but we got the ring to John by the skin ofour teeth. It was worth it though, especially when Iheard that Caroline had said yes. I wish them both everyhappiness.’’

CMYK

MANOJ KESHARWANI

D E L H I I S T A L K I N G A B O U T DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA2 THURSDAY 3 JULY 2003

We all know that filmstars frequently changetheir mobile numbersor just switch off theirphones to avoid getting

h o u n d -ed. Thelatest todo so isA n t a r aM a l iwho tooh a schangedher mo-

bile and landline num-bers, leaving friendswondering where tocontact her. ‘‘Should wecheck with Ramu?’’ oneof them is reportedlysupposed to have asked.

THE MATTERFACT OFKissing each day keeps the dentist away. Kissing en-courages saliva to wash food from the teeth and low-ers the level of the acid that causes decay, preventingplaque build-up.

Flirtatious SMSof the dayI’m wearing

colourstay lipstick.Wanna help me testthe claim it won’t

kiss off?

To find that special someone to flirtwith, sms DAT to 8888

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I f music be the food of lifeplay on... So said Shake-speare and so believessarod-player Amaan Ali Ban-gash. Though still in his earlytwenties Amaan Ali Bangashis already a very well-recog-nised name in the field of clas-sical music.The grandson of Ustad HafizAli Khan and son of UstadAmjad Ali Khan, Amaan start-ed learning the sarod at avery young age. And he wasall of 16 when he gave his firstsolo performance. ‘‘While atschool I was very active insports and theatre, in fact, Iwas even a member of theschool cricket and footballteams. However, somewheredown the line the desire to doanything other than playingthe sarod just took a backseat. My father never forcedme to play the sarod but Icould see his happiness when

I did play and realised that hehad great expectations fromme,’’ says Amaan.Performing since a very youngage, Amaan, while acknowl-edging people’s love and af-fection is aware that many ofthem ‘‘think I’m spoilt andhave had an easy life becauseof my father. But that isn’t true.When I took up music it be-came a challenge to provethem wrong,’’ he states.Meanwhile, having performedthe world over, Amaan talksabout one of his most memor-bleperformances—at CarnegieHall. ‘‘As against musicianswho get to perform over therein their 40s or so, I did so at18! It was such an honour,’’ hesmiles. The coming months willsee Amaan performing at theChicago Symphony Hall withfather Amjad Ali Khan and

brother Ayaan Ali Bangashand the release of Amaan’s al-bum, Strings Attached, whichis a live recording of a per-formance he gave at the Roy-al Festival Hall with Ayaanand cellist Matthew Barley.Incidentally, Amaan has alsobeen receiving offers to actand compose music for moviesbut says he wouldn’t like to be

a part of a typical Bollywoodpotboiler. ‘‘I would like to be apart of a project that really ex-cites me, like a good cross-over film. I am not over-ambi-tious but I do believe indreaming big and wouldn’tlike to be a part of a projectthat doesn’t bring out the bestin me.’’

VEDICA KANT

LIGHTSPOT

When royalty comesto town, nothingbut the best will do.So, the UAE ambassador DrSaeed M Al-Shamsi pulledall the stops to welcomeSheikh Mohammed Bin Za-yed Al-Nahyan who also hap-pens to be the chief of staffof the UAE armed forces.

A dinner was organised atthe Durbar Hall of Hotel TajPalace, which saw the diplo-matic community gatheralong with some heavyweights from the Indian po-litical community.

The hall came alive witho l i v e

greens as mili-tary men fromthe UAE andother armedforces alsomade theirpresence felt.As chilled beer

and snacks did the rounds,guests mingled with eachother. Former minister Ghu-lam Nabi Azad from the Con-gress was seen talking to ac-tor and director SanjayKhan who was accompaniedby wife Zarine who sure daz-zled in a purple sari. FormerPM IK Gujral, RS-memberLalit Suri, former cabinetminister Bhishma NarainSingh. Mukhtar AhmedNaqvi, All India GeneralSecretary-BJP and MukeshGupta were seen too.

(With contributions from Allen O’Brien, Nikita Doval

and Vedica Kant)

Think it’s easybeing a star?Here’s whatfame really

looks life as theweb offers a fewcandid shots ofstars escapingthe paparazzi.

■■ One of the best thingsabout Delhi is the greenery.During the past few yearsthere has been a drasticturnaround in the image ofthe city due to planting oftrees all over.■■ Driving around in thecity is a pleasurable experi-

ence. Thanks to the wideroads and green roadsides.■■ I started performing inDelhi and feel that mystaunchest supporters arein the city. I feel that Delhihas given me a lot and that

the people of this city be-lieve in me.■■ The food available in Del-hi is just fantastic. The va-riety of food one can gethere just cannot bematched. The large num-ber of restaurants, pubsand discos in the city make

one look forwardto the evenings!■■ As an alumni ofLady Shri Ramcollege, I feel,campus life inDelhi is great. Notonly is therestress on studiesbut also on the ex-tra curricular ac-tivities and oncampus events. Iremember per-forming in inter -college festivalsand was even partof a girl band incollege. Inciden-tally, my first al-bum was releasedwhile at LSR!■■ My work is such

that I have to travel a lotspecially to Mumbai. How-ever, I cannot wait to getback to Delhi everytime Igo on such trips. It is onlywhen I smell the air of Del-hi I know I’m home.

STRING

SATTACHED

Amaan Ali Bangash:

Mukesh Gupta and Lalit Suri Bhishma Narayan Singh and Elyes Kasri

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan & IK Gujral

Zarine and Sanjay Khan

THE ROYAL TOUCH!

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spearssaw their way more scrutinised in press

Michael Jackson employs thespecialised umbrella against camera

Judging from Osbourne’s expression,fame can seem like living in a fishbowl

Now, Pamela Anderson shows theonly place to hide is in the car

During their brief marriage, LisaMarie and Nicolas were prime targets

NATTERNET

Photos: SATISH JAISWAL

!Delhi DelhiDelhi DelhiShibani Kashyap, Singer

CMYK

THURSDAY 3 JULY 2003 3DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA D E L H I I S T A L K I N G A B O U T

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Ricky Martin’sShake YourBon Bon num-ber set in motion a mo-vement that wouldprobably have shockedpeople in India a coupleof decades ago. Butnow, Delhiites have wo-ken up to the high of sw-aying and twirling to thebeats of the Rhumba,Samba, Salsa or Tango.

And it looks like Latinois here to stay, what withDJs like Luis and choreog-rapher Sandip Soparrkarorganising Latino nights,like the one organised onMonday evening.

Said DJ Luis, ‘‘Learn-ing dance together iswhat many are doing.’’That is why the eveningcomprised a mixed gath-ering of diplomats, so-

cialities, college-goersand students of thetwo expert-dancers. ‘‘Ifirmly believe thatdance is the mostbeautiful way to chillout and have fun,’’added the DJ.

With the usualcocktails and kebabsdoing the rounds, bythe stroke of mid-night there was liter-ally no space left toshake a leg or two. Asone of the guests re-marked, ‘‘We are nothere just to chill out.

We are here to learn jazzy dancesteps.’’ The get-together was in-deed the ‘‘beginning of moreLatino parties’’ to be held after‘‘every three weeks’’, courtesythe Latino World in India.

Put on your dancing shoes...

Deepali Ghosh & Sandip Soparrkar

Jango and RenataJango and RenataEva and Simran

Eva and Simran

Photos: N

ITIN M

ALIK

DJ Luis

CMYK

THURSDAY 3 JULY 2003 C U T T I N G E D G E 5DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA

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HENRY FOUNTAIN

S cientists have longknown that there ismore to speech per-ception than meetsthe ear. Humans, even infantswho cannot yet speak, pick upvisual cues from the move-ment of the lips and otherparts of the face tohelp understand whatit is they are hearing.

Now there is evi-dence that this abilitymay go back a longway. Researchers inGermany say theyhave found that rhe-sus monkeys can alsocombine visual andauditory informationto perceive vocal sig-nals, suggesting thatthe ability had somekind of evolutionaryprecursor before hu-mans and other pri-mates diverged mil-lions of years ago.

The researchers,Asif A. Ghazanfar and NikosK. Logothetis of the MaxPlanck Institute for BiologicalCybernetics in Tibingen, test-ed monkeys by showing themside-by-side video images ofanother monkey making twosounds, while playing asoundtrack of just one of thesounds. Time after time, thetest monkeys were able tomatch the sound with the cor-rect video image. The re-search was reported in the

current issue of the journalNature.

‘‘We know that for humanspeech perception, when youcommunicate one on one withsomeone, you glean a lot of in-formation not only fromsound, but from facial expres-sions,’’ Ghazanfar said. Butwith other animals, he said,

‘‘we didn’t know if perceiversuse that multimodal means ofperception as well.’’

The experiment is verysimilar to the kind that hasbeen done with infants asyoung as 18 to 20 weeks toshow that even at a prelin-guistic age, they use facial ex-pressions as an aid to perceiv-ing speech.

But Ghazanfar said suchstudies had not been done onother animals, particularly

closely related primates.‘‘In many ways it’s kind of

an obvious experiment to do,’’he said, and rhesus monkeysare an ideal subject becausethey have evolved a set of veryelaborate vocal and facial ex-pressions. But one reason ithad not been done before, hesaid, is that it is difficult to get

the right kind of videotapedimages, free of body languageor other visual activity thatmight skew the results.

By videotaping the animalsin a standard primate re-straint chair, Ghazanfar gotgood images of their two mostcommon calls a friendly, longand tonal coo, and a short,pulsed and noisy threat call.

The two calls have the ad-vantage of being from differ-ent social contexts, and are

different from a visual stand-point, too. The coo is formedwith the mouth open slightlyand the lips protruded; withthe threat call, by contrast, thelips appear normal and themouth is open wider. The re-searchers edited the video im-ages to two-second loops each,and synchronised the soundwith the beginning of them.

Ghazanfar, who describeshimself as a neuro-ecologist,said he wanted to study themonkeys’ behaviour furtherto gain more understandingof the precise cues they use.

‘‘You might imagine mor-phing the sounds togetherand then feature by featureasking at what point do mon-keys no longer make amatch,’’ he said. Conversely,

he might manipulatethe video to make hy-brid images, then alterthe degree of mouthopening orlip-pursing tod e t e r m i n ehow varia-tions in thevisual cuesmake a dif-ference.

Beyond th-at, Ghaza-nfar said, hewould like tolook at whatis going onin the brainat the neu-ron level

when speech or oth-er vocalisations areperceived. One pos-sibility is that thevisual cues and au-ditory cues are be-ing processed sepa-rately, in parallel.‘‘The alternative,’’he said, ‘‘is that thebrain is not as seg-regated as onemight think.’’

(NY Times)

I t was greatfun wheelingthe 223-cc 17-bhp bike thr-ough the lanesand gullies ofHauz Khas anddoing a few fast

turns around Chor Minar.The first thing that strikes

one about the Karizma is itsvery distincti-ve styling that,like many cur-rent cars andbikes, departsfrom curvaceous shapes of the90s to the lean and mean angu-lar and wedgy look of a stealthbomber or bat mobile. It hasneat aluminium alloy wheels

with big ventilated front brakedisk and a fat bronze chromedexhaust that slopes upwards atan angle corresponding to thetilt of the engine block.

But just 17 bhp from a 223-ccengine shows that it has beenderated to improve fuel con-sumption that still seems to bea major factor with Indian buy-ers. If a 100 RX100 can deliver 12

ponies, 223should be ableto generate 26horses. But thetorque re-

mains unaffected for effortlessacceleration and can move thebike from 0 to 60 kmph in 4 sec-onds and hit a top speed of 125kmph when the cops are not

AUTO FOCUSMurad Ali Baig

The Karizma of abrand ambassador

Post a letterunder water

Vanuatu has unve-iled what it claimsis the world’s first un-derwater post office.

The office providesjobs for four dive-ac-credited postal workersoperating in shifts.Tourists to the South

Pacific island nation will beable to buy special water-proof postcards from shopsand then scuba dive threemetres down to have theirpostcards embossed with awaterproof stamp. It was es-pecially created by Vanuatu

Post to celebrate the 83-islandarchipelago’s status as a ma-rine paradise. Vanuatutourism described the fibre-glass post office as being sur-rounded by beds of coral andshoals of multicoloured fishin a marine sanctuary off

Hideaway Island on the out-skirts of the island’s capital,Port Vila. It’s aimed at draw-ing attention to the diversityof Vanuatu’s underwaterworld, and easily accessibledive sites, says Australia’sABC website.

BREA

KER

PATH

looking.On the road it did not initial-

ly feel like a big bike mainly be-cause it is light and manoeu-vrable. Though 40 kg heavierthan the 110 kg Passion it iswell balanced for easy han-dling. But the power is instant-ly released when one twists thethrottle even though I wouldhave liked to hear a morethroaty exhaust note. The 5-speed gearshift was easy tonotch and the bit-too-bright,neutral light made it easy tofind the neutral position. TheKarizma also has a brilliantLCD instrument display and abright multi-reflector head-light. The electric charge re-mains constant regardless ofengine speeds to ensure uni-form brightness. Those whowant to make a personal state-ment will not find the price ofRs 86,000 too excessive.

(These are the views expressed bythe author and do not represent the

views of the paper)

Rhesus monkeys can combine visual and auditory information to perceive vocalsignals, suggesting that the ability had an evolutionary precursor before humans

MONKEY SEE,MONKEY SPEAK

CMYK

THURSDAY 3 JULY 2003H E A L T H & F I T N E S S6 DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA

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Mom’s size, habits canaffect child’s birth weightWomenw h oare heavieror tallerthan aver-age orwhose preg-nancies lastlonger thanusual, aremore likelyto have anextra-heavybaby, re-searchersreport.

Other fac-tors thatseem to in-crease theodds of hav-ing a bigbaby include having had at least two previouspregnancies, being pregnant with a boy, lowcaffeine intake and not smoking.

While women have long been advised not togain too much weight during pregnancy, thenew study confirms that it may make sense toslim down before becoming pregnant.

But women shouldn’t conclude that it’s al-right to smoke cigarettes. Such behavioursmay result in a smaller baby, but that baby willhave more problems.

Identifying risk factors for high birth-weightis important, the researchers note, becausehaving an extremely heavy baby can causefractures and breathing problems in the infant,as well as a difficult delivery and long-term in-continence for the mother.

In addition, a number of studies have sug-gested that heavy newborns tend to becomeheavy adults.

While some of the high-birth-weight risk fac-tors may not be possible or even desirable to

change, weight seems to be an obvious charac-teristic to try to modify.

The research also points out that exercisingmoderately while pregnant can reduce the riskof having a large baby.

Chronic stress...Investigators found that older people underchronic stress had higher-than-normal ele-vations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an immune-sys-tem protein in the blood that promotes inflam-mation. IL-6 has been linked with various age-related conditions such as heart disease, dia-betes, osteoporosis, frailty and certain cancers.

The take-home advice from this study is thatit’s really important to try to deal with stress.

Over the course of the six-year study, IL-6levels increased an average of four times fasteramong men and women who were caring forspouses with dementia than among people whowere not caring for ill spouses.

Tests conducted showed that the caregiversexperienced consistently higher levels ofstress and loneliness than the non-caregivers.

It is also likely that the caregivers would goon to develop a greater number of illnesses due

to their high-er IL-6 levels.

This dataprovide im-portant evi-dence of akey mecha-nism throug-h which chr-onic stresso-rs may havepotent healthconsequenc-es for olderadults, accel-erating riskof age-relat-ed diseases,the resea-rchers con-cluded.

A change in lifestyleand the commer-cial possibilitiesin preparing andmarketing food stuffs haveled to a boom in factory madeand packaged food. Thesefoods indicate nutrition pat-terns different from those infresh or hom-emade food.All of us con-sume biscui-ts, noodles,chips, bread,and other re-ady madefoods and it isimportant tobe aware ofthe highs andlows of suchfood.

C o nve n i -nce foods arealso known asReady-to-Eatfoods haveseveral ad-vantages.

Save time:All one has todo is re-heatthem, no culinary skills re-quired, no extra time spent.

Are appealing: Conve-nience foods are sold on thebasis of taste. They temptthe palate and that is whythey fly off the shelves.

However, there are certaindisadvantages of conven-ience food.

Emphasis on tasterather than nutrition:Since convenience foods aremanufactured commerciallythey are low in nutrition.

Unsuitable to diet plan:Their energy, protein, fatand carbohydrate contentmake these foods unsuit-able in therapeutic dietplans requiring complexmanipulation of the nutri-ents such as energy, proteinand/or electrolyte.

Additives may beharmful: Ready-to-eat foodabound in preservativesand colourants. They haveingredients that are addedto increase the shelf lifewhich may not be listed andcould be harmful.

Complementary FoodsFoods are consumed in

combination. These combi-

nations are not accidental.Certain foods are nutrition-ally complementary. Tradi-tionally combinations havebeen effectively used to in-clude all nutrients in the diet.

Carbohydrate and fatsmust be consumed with pro-tein at each meal. Food com-

binations are more impor-tant for vegetarians as theymust aim for a balanced pro-tein intake and must get ade-quate amino acids.

Pay attention to foodcombinations: Avoid eatingchapaties with only chutney.Vegetables and dal are essen-tial. Similarly idllies withjust sugar or ghee do notmake for a balanced diet.

Fast FoodsFast foods are foods al-

ready made or cooked to or-der within minutes for con-sumption. Cheese burgers,

fried chicken pieces, friedfish, milk shakes, chips, sal-ads, pizzas, stuffed baked po-tatoes and sandwiches aresome of the universallyavailable fast foods. Idllies,vadas, dosas, poori potato,samosas, vegetable puffs, mu-ruku, and chaats, are exam-

ples of Indianfast foods.

Many ofthese are nu-tritive andare accept-able as partof a balanceddiet, if fresh-ly cooked. Ifthese foodsare eaten fre-quently andbecome sub-stitutes forthe regularmeal, theymay result ina high intakeof salt, ener-gy and fat,and a low in-take of folicacid, biotin,

pantothenic acid and iron.They may however provideadequate protein, thiamin,riboflavin, ascorbic acidand calcium.

Junk FoodsJunk foods are foods that

contain little or no nutrientsapart from energy. These arefeel-good foods like choco-late, artificially flavouredaerated drinks, and crisps.

If these are consumed inlarge amounts, it can causemarginal malnutrition andcreate a Thiamin deficiency.This deficiency is caused be-cause more of this B com-plex vitamin is requiredwhen more energy is con-sumed. Sugary drinks do notcontain it even in traceamounts. Persistent con-sumption of junk foods willlead to severe malnutrition.

Young children have atendency to make a mealout of these junk foods, asthey taste good and there-fore are addictive. Thoughconsumption of biscuits oc-casionally is good, the sub-stitution of these for mealscan be harmful, as they donot form a balanced diet.

It is the jet age andeverything has been

simplified for ourconvenience. So whynot food? But ready-to-eat meals and fastfood can cause moreharm than good. One

can avoid that byknowing all the pros

and cons

The Best And WorstOF JUNK FOOD

“My fitness regimen is quite erratic. Six days in aweek, I practice at the shooting range and I spendthe major part of my day there. I reach the rangeat 9:00 am, on an empty stomach and am there till4:00 pm. That means that my first meal of the dayis around 6:00 pm. Call it breakfast or what youlike but that’s how it is! I usually enjoy a full mealat this time andthen try to takeit easy for therest of the day.

My weekendbegins when it is the beginning of a new week forothers. Yes, Monday is my day off since that coin-cides with the off day at the shooting range.

Swimming and golf are the two games I enjoy.I am also fond of football and volleyball. Thank-fully weight does not hamper a shooter’s per-

formance. But now I intendpracticing yoga on a regularbasis. It soothes my mindand is also a great stressbuster.

Indian food tickles mytaste buds like no other cui-sine. I have travelled exten-sively and have come to thisconclusion after a lot of ex-perience. I don’t fancy alarge spread, just two-threedishes cooked well sufficefor me.

On a holiday I like to cookmyself. The entire process ofcooking fascinates me. Idon’t have a sweet tooth sothere is no craving. I alsodon’t take tea. Black coffeewithout sugar peps me up.

(As told to RITA SAWHNEY)

Breathing is so automatic that onedon’t even have to think about it,right? Wrong —especially whileworking out. In addition to food and wa-ter, our body needs to process oxygen,transferring it from the lungs throughthe bloodstream to the muscles.In a day, a person takes an average of28,000 breaths, most of which are shal-low inhalations in which air does notreach deep into the lungs. This tightensneck muscle, which in turn cause stiff-ness and pain. Hence it is important tounderstand the technique of properbreathing.

Breathe through your diaphgram:Breathe deeply and rhythmically, ex-panding the rib cage and pulling airdown to the bottom of the lungs anddeep into the belly.

Breathe deeply several times dur-ing warmup: During aerobics, breathethrough your nose as long as you can,because the nose helps humidify the dryair of the gym. When you are breathinghard and your nose can’t pull in enoughair, use your mouth to fill your lungs.

Breathing properly is relaxing andstress-reducing, and it is less taxing onyour neck muscles.

And, yes, it will improve your per-formance as well by giving a push toyour body’s metabolism.

Every breathyou take

Jaspal RanaMY WORKOUT

‘Yoga is a stress buster’

CMYK

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THURSDAY 3 JULY 2003 E N T E R T A I N M E N T 7DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA

Nicole Kid-man: I don’town it but themost incredi-ble necklace I’ve everseen was this chokerof 1,300 diamonds setin an openwork gar-land design by Aus-tralian jeweller Ste-fano Canturi that Iwore in MoulinRouge. Director BazLuhrmann’s wifeand production de-signer, CatherineMartin, commis-sioned it and it wasmade-to-measure onmy neck. It’s calledthe Satine necklace,after the character Iplayed. It’s becomesomething of acelebrity itself. Thenecklace appears inthe Guinness Book ofWorld Records as themost valuable piece ofjewellery ever createdfor a film.

Jennifer Lopez:When I borrowed a 13-carat, emerald-cut pink-dia-mond ring from Harry Winston for a special occa-sion, I fell in love with pink diamonds. My fianci BenAffleck knew this and he bought me a magnificentpink diamond as an engagement ring. (It’s 6.1 carats,reportedly valued at more than $1.1 million).

Catherine Zeta Jones: One of my favouritepieces is a 50-carat Aascher-cut diamond pendantfrom jeweller Fred Leighton. I’ve worn it manytimes.

Gwyneth Paltrow: After I won my Oscar forShakespeare in Love, my parents Blythe Danner and

Bruce Paltrow bought me the incredibly beautiful($160,000) diamond-and-platinum choker I was wear-ing that night. Jeweller Harry Winston called it theprincess necklace.

Mariah Carey: Do you remember the classic 20-carat diamond, Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflakebracelet that Julia Roberts wore when she won herOscar in 2001? She borrowed it. I own it! (It was a$98,000 gift from Mariah’s then-boyfriend LuisMiguel).

Benjamin Bratt: When Talisa (Soto) and I weremarried, we exchanged custom-made gold pendants

inscribed with the words, ‘May you have luck andlaughter’ in ancient Greek.

Madonna: When Guy Ritchie and I were mar-ried, he gave me an Edwardian platinum ring withan ornate band and three diamonds, symbolizing us:mother, father and child.

Sharon Stone: Phil Bronstein gave me a very spe-cial anniversary ring with three emerald-cut dia-monds totalling 4.5 carats to symbolize our past,present and future together.

Minnie Driver: I was in an absolute panic when,back in 1998, I had borrowed a vintage ruby-beadbracelet from jeweller Martin Katz and it fell off mywrist during the Oscars. I got down on the floor ofthe Shrine Auditorium and searched under theseats. I found every bead!

(Asia Features)

Singer Justin Timberlake’s momthinks that her son will propose tohis actress girlfriend Cameron Diaz be-cause a psychic told her so. Justin hasbeen dating beautiful Hollywood starCameron for just two months - but hisdevoted mother, Lynn Harless, says apsychic has told her, her son will proposeto the Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle babeearly next year. Lynn is said to be par-ticularly delighted with her son’s new re-lationship because she was never fondof Justin’s childhood sweetheart BritneySpears, who he broke up with last yearfollowing a three year relationship.

STARsparklers!

When it comes to Hollywood celebs and their favourite

jewellery, diamonds are a star’s best friend

The truth behind SaayaSaaya isn’t a remake of aHollywood film. It’s sup-posedly a remake of morethan one Hollywood flick.While some say that it’s in-spired from the Kevin Cost-ner starrer Dragonfly, oth-ers claim that it’s a remake

of Ghost. However, directorAnurag Basu dispels theserumours by explaining thathis film belongs to the samegenre, and that’s the onlyreason it might draw simi-larities from these Holly-wood films. Well, only timewill tell whether Basu’s di-rectorial debut will bear thetitle of a remake or simply —well made!

She had thefizz, the zestand the zing toland in PlanetBollywood. TaraSharma wasfirst seen in aPepsi advertise-ment with ShahRukh Khan.Next thing weheard was thatshe was cast byAnupam Kherfor Om JaiJagdish oppositeA b h i s h e kBachchan. Andnow she’s theBhatt camp’sleading lady inSaaya oppositethe dashing John Abraham. The originalchoice for the role was Katrina Kaif, but Taracomfortably snuggled into her shoes. She hasa lot more coming her way — the Bhatts’ Za-roorat and Divakar Banerjee’s Khosla KaGhosla.

Tara Sharma’slucky stars...

Justin, Cameron: A psychic wedding?

RAPW

ORLD

CMYK

Venus Films’ previousproject Humraaz was awinner all the way — thestars, the music, the storyand, last but not the least,the whooping collections atthe box-office. After ridinghigh on their last laurels,Venus Films launched

their next big project.This one stars ManishaKoirala, Karan Nathand new find NatanyaSingh. The film waslaunched amidst mu-ch fanfare with a trackfrom the film record-ed by Adnan Sami.What will be the raazin this one, let’s waitand find out.

THURSDAY 3 JULY 20038 DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIAB A C K B E A T

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Vol. 03 No. 183RNI Registration No. DELENG/2001/5765.

Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. by Balraj Arora at Times House, 7 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi — 110 002 and printed by him at Times of India Press 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi — 110 002 and 13 & 15/1, Site IV Industrial Area,Sahibabad (U.P.). Regd. Office: Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Mumbai — 400 001. Editor (Delhi Market): Sabina Sehgal Saikia, responsible for selection of news under PRB Act. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Circulated with The Times of India in Delhi & adjoining areas.

Sanjay Kapoor threw a surp-rise bash for wife Maheep’sbirthday at brother AnilKapoor’s fancy home inJuhu. Most of the guestswere the socialites withwhom Maheep spends a lotof her time. Also presentwere ex-flames Tabu andRaveena Tandon, both of

whom were very cordialwith each other. Ravs isthrilled she got a chance toresolve all her differenceswith Tabu, who she thinksis one of the best actresseson the scene. Yeah, the two

girls haven’t been too friend-ly for a long time now. Butnot any more. Right, Rav-eena?

Y eh dosti... It’s not alwaysthat Jai and Veeru meet,but when they do, inrare cir- cum-stances,l i k et h e ydid

at the mahurat of Ab Tu-mhare Hawale Watan Sa-thiyon, it’s a special meeting.When Dharmendra enteredthe venue, he went straight toAmitabh Bachchan, ad-dressing him as Jai. Yeh RamBalram ki dosti nahin tutegi.

DOSTI ZINDABAD!

Bobby, the reel heroWhere has Bobby Deol gone? Af-ter his last release, he has notbeen in news for some time now. Butnow he is back with Bardaasht,which co-stars Lara Dutta and

Ritesh Deshmukh. Directed by ENiwas, the film is yet to be complet-ed. The director is of the view thatBobby has done excellent work in

the film and is clearly impressed. Allthose who doubted the youngerDeol’s acting capabilities shouldtake notice.

TABU-RAVEENA:FORGIVE

AND FORGET

Manisha spells

SUCCESS

Kamaal Khan came andwent. Maybe, he sang afew love songs. The most fa-mous of being O Oh JaaneJaana... and also the numberfrom Pyar Kiya To Darna Kyawhich was picturised onSalman Khan. He was alsoseen in a brief romance, almostfour years ago. That was thetime when Amrita Arora wasjust finding her feet in tinseltown. What happened?? Justgrew out of it, maybe. Of late,Malaika’s lil’ sis had foundlove in some one else.

Single again!Single again!

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