iQUBE magazine version 1

Volum

e 01

Issu

e 01

Sep

t 2009

I m a g i n e | I n i t i a t e | I n n o v a t e

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Have we all turned chronic depressives?

Someone walked up to me last week and said, ‘Ah, it’s the monsoons again, don’t you feel like just curling up with a hot cup of coffee on the couch and watching TV?’. ‘Of course’, I said, ‘but I’m saving that for the time I turn fifty!’. Since when have we not enjoyed the drizzle? Spending summers inside our homes to escape the heat, its easy to while away life doing nothing - but look around, its raining, its time for paper-boats, coffee and non-stop singing to wash away the heat and madness!

It took more than trouble, stress and willpower to put together this magazine – it took spirit. Here’s the best part - There are no more advice columns on what you should and should not do. So take a break and flip through the pages, and give us a call if you’ve got something to say – Bathroom singers, Drama-queens and Chinese clowns, we don’t care whoever you are.

With the launch of ‘IQUBE’ this September, let us step outside, to let the world know that we aren’t afraid to let our hair down, get our feet wet, and feel the wind on our faces. We’re not here to harangue the waywardness of youth, in fact, we’re here to celebrate its spirit.

Meera. Managing Editor

Scribble space

EdItorIAl Meera Vijayann, Nikila Srinivasan, Daniel Thimmayya dESIgn & IlluStrAtIon Magesh Ravi, Vi-

nayak Vohra, Ram Ganesh, Anshul Chandel ProductIon Ashwath Rao, Hanumanth LR concEPt And crE-

AtIvE Alan Hadle Hamilton PhotogrAPhy Thalabathi SS, Venkatakrishnan. G MArkEtIng & SAlES Pragash

VM, Layeequlla Baig, Sagarika Mitra PrIntEd By Shree Balaji Printers

www.iqubemag.com Page 5

young EntrEPrEnEurS - SocIAl nEtWorkIng For A cAuSE 06

by Madhura Raju

thE dArk rEPort - thE dArk SIdE oF cyBEr SPAcE 08

by Naveen Ramkumar

SuccESS Story - SunIl chErIAn 10

by Gayathri Kalyanaraman

MInd ovEr MAttEr - gEttIng It rIght 12

by Karan Patel

SocIAl ISSuES - IlluMInAncE 14

by Nikila Srinivasan

hErE And thErE - lIFE AcroSS thE ShorES 16

by Hariharasudhan Dinakar

EducAtIon - cIvIl SErvIcES 18

by Aparna Ghosh

rElIgIon - kABAllAh 19

by Gayathri Kalyanaraman

EXPErIEncE - crAZy collEgE conFESSIonS 22

by Meera Vijayann

thE ArtS - grEEn rooM BluES 24

by Naveen Ramkumar

rEvIEWS - thE BESt oF All WorldS 26

by Madhumitha Madhavan

tEch & gAdgEtS - A ‘I’ For gAdgEtS 28

bu Vinay Dora

Food & FItnESS - EAt WIth A tWISt 30

by Aparna Ghosh

trAvEl - gEt SEt gEt goIng 32

by Madhura Raju

huMor 34

by Sharmila Dutta

contEntS

for a goodSocialnetworking

cause

Walking into a huge hall at the IIT Madras , the first Sunday of the month, I expected a rather silent, formal set up for the

monthly meeting of the ‘Open Chennai Coffee Club’, a gathering that aims at serious socialization with people who share com-mon interests. But to my surprise, though the hall was partly

filled, there was so much interaction!

Entrepreneurships and start-ups being their prime agenda, the people at the OCC meet are a motley crew of professionals – young entrepreneurs, wan-nabe entrepreneurs, students, professors and other working professionals –

who get together with a motive of expanding their knowledge and assisting the people with start-ups. The community headed by Siddharta Govindaraj and

Vaidhyanathan had its first meeting in August 2007. From then invariably every first Sunday of the month, the Chennai OCC meet up. The first meeting had

begun with barely 20 members and recently, at the 25th meeting, there were seventy five members turning up for the event.

The session was kickstarted by the new comers introducing themselves to the crowd and the organizers choosing a ran-dom topic for discussion - ‘What level of customers, could a

start-up can expect - Enterprise level or Consumer level?’. After a lengthy debate, the group reached a consensus that it is an ardous task for start-ups to target ‘Enterprise level’ customers.

However, Parveen Sikkandar insisted that ‘Market Study’ is mandatory for any start up. Well said, as money and focus are

most important resource constraints for start-ups today.

Interestingly, another woman transitioned her passion for artefacts and jewellery into a business platform. It struck her that the idea of people bargaining with

artisans was absolutely unfair. She then launched a ‘Damini- Artisans of India’, which has more than 16 branches in the country. Today, it houses all kinds of unusual accessories that could make brilliant gifts. She also supplies goods to

Odyssey and Landmark. This lady entrepreneur could not have climbed heights if she had not taken the first step. And the end result was worth it!

How often do we meet, greet and share knowledge? Madhura Raju drops in at the

Chennai Open Chennai Coffee Club

Talking to the organizers of the Chennai Open Coffee club , Siddharta Govindaraju has his own start-up called ‘Silverstripe Software,’ a company that provides agile project management tools that promises better software delivery. Vaidhyanathan, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the reason behind most of the start-up talks having something to do with the IT Sector is that it requires less capital and the availability of the web based tools is almost free. When questioned about benefits students obtain from the OCC he said that they could find fellow stu-dents with similar interests and expand their knowledge on starting a business. Siddharta Govindaraj and Vaidhyanathan both realised the need of regularised meetups to benefit individ-uals consistently, early on. Therefore, OCC meetings are almost always informal and have no fixed agenda - any stochastic theme can become the crux of that day’s discussion.

It is startling to know that only online blogs and the word of mouth publicized OCC. It requires no registration and anybody who feels they fit into this frame of interest can become a part of the OCC community. The OCC meetings can prove a confidence-builder for those who are hesitant to take risks as it helps students to explore the world beyond their boundaries. The OCC is also cou-pled with NEN (National Entrepreneurship Network) that constitutes a network of academic institutions all around the country, supporting students in business plans, start-up business idea, venture plans and angel-funding.

Proto.in, a support platform for the Indian startup community has in many ways assisted the OCC. It has inspired a large number of start ups to lay their foundation. Regular OCC meet-ings now take place in Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkotta, Vellore, Pune etc. but they remain unassociated with one another. Every OCC is a stand alone and has its own modus operandi. However, the Chennai Open Coffee Club was the first of its kind in India.

‘Everyone has questions. Only if you take a leap forward will you get the an-swers’ – Siddartha.

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cyberside of

thedark spaceChild predators, hackers and virtual con men - Naveen Ramkumar looks at the dark side of the Internet.

From hacking email accounts to seriously damaging crimes like identity theft, cyber criminals have access to touch the ordinary man’s life. It could be your neighbour, your co-worker or even your best friend.

The fast-faced growth of technology has given birth to a new breed of crimi-nals. And what makes them especially malignant is that they are virtually invisible. Tackling them continues to be one of the greatest chal-lenges to law enforcement agencies around the world, because it demands its own set of skills and expertise. Misuse of the Internet for illegal purposes has spread at an alarming rate, not only in other parts of the country, but also Chennai. In a recent case, a youth was arrested for sending a threatening email to the Chief Minister’s cell, and other senior officials, in order to frame an associ-ate with whom he shared an animosity. This highlights the growing prevalence of cyber criminals in the city.

With computer prices coming down by the day, the pool of potential victims keeps increasing. With respect to the bulk of the general public with low technical knowl-edge, it’s a walk in the park for online conmen.

Sometime ago, cyber fraud-sters used the brand names of reputed firms such as HCL Technologies to con jobseekers online. Using the company’s name, but through easily accessible email accounts in popu-lar sites, they send bogus emails providing numbers of bank accounts to job aspirants requesting them to deposit money in those ac-counts as a form of security, and promising them a call letter and air ticket. Once the money is deposited, the bank accounts are immedi-ately closed.

The recent economic reces-sion has just added fuel to the fire. Recently laid off techies have slowly started to resort to illegal methods to earn their livelihood. Malware, the software that is designed

to infiltrate and damage the host computer system with-out the owner’s knowledge, coded by these IT profes-sionals, is slowly on the rise and spreads easily through popular websites, especially social networking sites includ-ing Facebook, Orkut and Twitter. IT security firms are on the alert, as the threat of these desperate hackers looms large by the day.

Social Networking sites also serve as a breeding ground to spread malevolent soft-ware. They promote a host of identity and privacy related intrusions. The list of sex of-fenders including paedophiles who take advantage of the growing trend in younger us-ers now use these websites, to access a user’s private information. Identity theft, using this private information that ignorant users display on their personal page, has been a problem since the advent of the social network-ing websites. Faking an individual’s identity, whether it is a celebrity or a com-mon person, and disrupting that person’s life has be-

come commonplace in the city. There have been many incidents in which men and women alike have com-plained that the personal in-formation and pictures which they share online have been pulled up to either create fake profiles degrading them or in more severe cases, using software to modify the pictures.

Awareness and education are the only ways that cyber crime can be truly curbed. Internet security software must be mandatory for every system, and must be regu-larly updated to fight new threats. Social networking sites that are low on security and visibility options must be avoided and the most personal of information and pictures shouldn’t even begin to make an appearance. Every major city has a cyber crime cell, the one in Chennai being at Egmore, who take complaints and track offend-ers.

So be aware. If careful, the cyber world can be fun and safe.


NEED HELP?

Assistant Comissioner of PoliceCyber Crime Cell

Commissioner office CampusEgmore, Chennai- 600008

044- 55498211 [email protected]

hackingHacking is an illegal intru-

sion into a computer system or network. Some hackers hack for personal monetary gains, such as to stealing the credit card information, trans-ferring money from various bank accounts to their own

account.

virus dissemination

Malicious software that at-taches itself to other soft-

ware. (Virus, worms, Trojan horse, Time bomb, Logic

Bomb, Rabbit and Bacterium are the malicious).

PhishingThe act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surren-

dering private information that will be used for identity theft.

Software Piracy

Theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or the counterfeit-ing and distribution of prod-ucts intended to pass for the original.

Sunil herian

Illustration: Vinayak Vohra


What drives successful people to do the things they do, is it amazing foresight or just a matter of luck? Gayathri Kalyanaraman talks to the genius behind ‘Burger man’

If you take a walk into any neighborhood, chances are that you will meet a cheer-ful man donning a red hat and ready to serve you burgers and hot dogs. Yes, we are talking about ‘Burger Man’ and the man behind it all – Sunil Cherian. What first started as an idea for a college paper presentation eventually ended with him bag-ging the ‘Best Business Idea for the year’ award from The Economic Times. No mean feat considering that he already has part of the family business to take care of, and that the food industry is completely unchartered waters as far as his family and friends circle are concerned. The initial budget was 20 Lakhs and the aim was to set up one outlet. Sunil was always keen on having a chain rather than just one outlet and during one such improvisation, the kiosk idea became visible. His USP was clear – availability and customization of the food.

When he first pitched the idea at home, his mom dismissed it as a ‘Pottikadai’ – a stall. Undeterred, he kept pitching the idea to many people and amidst all the nay-sayers, his MBA professor thought it was a pretty good idea. That was the impetus that led Sunil to go about working ways to materialize his idea. Today, there are only good things to be said about ‘Burger Man’. To name a few, they serve low calorie food by grilling, instead of frying the patty, and are very socially conscious allowing disabled people to handle most of the outlets. That’s not all. The movie ‘Shivaji’ and ‘Burger Man’ have something in common - BRANDING. To ensure that people take the brand seriously and to give it an edge in the market, Sunil went to only the best for branding. The trick worked considering that there are 40 outlets all over the city in just a span of two years or less and big supermarket chains like MORE, Spencer’s Daily and Big Bazaar have been roped in to play the genial host. Financially, break-ing even happened after 18 odd months, which is quick progress when taking into consideration the time that many startups require to rake in profits.

But before the dough came the bite! Apart from the disinterest shown by family and friends initially, no one was ready to offer him space for the simple reason that he had no experience with running food chains. During this period, he used his time to regroup his thoughts. Once he had proved his mettle by setting up the first outlet in front of Stella Maris College, there was no looking back. Today, all the forty outlets are GPRS connected and Sunil monitors sales and stock levels while taking care of his father’s business simultaneously. Talk that for tech savvy fast food! What’s more, they are entering into the home delivery market and expanding the existing range of burgers and hotdogs.

Taking it one step further, Sunil and his crew plan to set up a tutorial in kiosk man-agement for the interested few and also award them a diploma in the same. Physi-cally challenged people and school dropouts are the target students for this course. Considering all the details, it is no surprise that Burger Man has grown to where it is and has no plans of halting. Talks are on about expanding into other states too!

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is this – ‘Keep it simple. Ideas are all around us, and the talent lies in spotting it. Have a well-defined plan and have the passion to follow it up no matter what others have to say. Make sure your selling point is very unique and creative and it doesn’t matter if you don’t have too many harbingers. If your idea is novel enough, funding and evolving into a brand automatically follows. People like NEN or CII will arrange for funds provided the idea appeals to them. Be-lieve in the potential of your dream and market it well’, he says with a smile.

itgetting right

Photo: Venkata Krishnan G


I can still recall my first day of college; with the sprawling campus, it was necessary to know where I could find my class as the possibility of being ragged was high. Having found the class just in time when it should have started, I found myself a seat and sat listening to the visiting chemistry teacher lecture on how we could pass the subjects for the semester and giving us details on the examination system. All of us were interested when he said ‘pass’, for we dreaded failing.

The first class of every subject, every semester that year ended up being the same way – a few of the subjects were ‘difficult’ and ‘tough to pass’ and others were just a tad bet-ter. The whole semester all I did was worry about the different tests I had to take. Labs weren’t that easy either. Every week our work would be valued on written reports and viva questions. And come finals, every four to five months, I was drained and stressed out!

Above all this, my family occasionally pestered to keep up my grades so that I get placed in a ‘very nice’ company with a fat pay cheque. This may not seem serious, but uncon-sciously, the brain does not forget and it was always at the back of my mind. I couldn’t help but think - if this was to repeat every semester for four whole years for a student who was used to just a little homework here and there in school, added to pressure of ragging, how should we cope with this? How could we beat the stress?

To begin with, let us chart a plan.

To relax, we need to either get away from stress or ignore it. That said, let us exclude the college hours and look outside those stressful hours to relax. Now with about four to five hours each day just to relax, what could we do to keep our batteries charged enough and going for the rest of the day? Remember, the timing of these ‘relaxing’ hours is important. It is also periodic, so the two options we have are to accept this situation or create another one where something else in the 24 gets to be in installments, and our relax hours come as the whole package. We need a series of activities like this for the week or fortnight.

Initially we could try to do a few things that please us easily, like listening to music, reading, watching movies or doing just about anything we want to. Of course, we can get easily bored, but then, change is necessary. When resources are limited, change can be easily sought by innovation. We could do the same things we did in a different way!

That said, you could also try dancing to loud music on your earphones late at night when the rest of the stressed-out world is asleep or learning a musical instrument all by yourself (use internet hours productively!). By sketching interpretations of what you are studying, reading, listening and feeling, you might also enjoy the spirit of blogging.

If you crave for something better, try concentrating on the one pastime that interested you in these secretive relax hours. Look for ways how this could be your forte - if you want to take it up seriously, you can even think of taking it up as a career (you can have your own ‘very nice’ company). In short, find ways to sharpen your skills. Gradually, you can try yoga and meditation. It sure helps in getting your mind off everything else.

By enjoying a few of those ‘relax’ hours and having a lot on your plate, four years would sail through. Later, the best memories you have would be about those four hours you wor-ried about!

PS: As Morpheus says, ‘I can only show the path’, not to worry I’ve walked it and it works!

Stress, frustration and anger is something every student goes through at college, yet Karan Pa-tel believes that there are easy ways to deal with these feelings.

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A posh husband and wife duo climb out of their brand new sports convertible, making their way stylishly through the parking lot, the press of a button and a beep confirming that their car’s been locked, her heels clicking away in tune to his boots. It does seem like the shopping mall has been lying ahead waiting for their arrival for it instantly brightens and throws open numerous billboards with the trendiest of clothes. The lady leafing through the ‘what’s in’ collection is momentarily distracted by the incessant loud wails of the infant nearby. She turns for a motherly pat on his head as he shuffles clumsily in the hands of the maidservant. The fact that the helper herself is barely above her master’s knee seems to bother no one. It is as common a scene as any other is in a bustling metropolis.

We, the active campaigners against the employment of children in the match-stick and other such industries fail to realize that we, too, are in fact, employ-

> Nikila Srinivasan

Illustration: Mihir Ranganthan


ing the innocent and economically backward young ones, cashing in on their need to survive. The media has been quite quick and effective in this respect, highlighting at all the right times what needed to be brought out of the closet. How-ever, using children as domestic help is something that has, surprisingly, not been taken as seriously as their employ-ment in industries. True, it does seem a lot less severe and is not close to a criminal activity. Though there are laws to protect the interests of such children and every government that steps in does look into it, the elegant of the upper class somehow have not spotted the cue yet. Either that, or they choose to ignore it.

The average working woman would feel her right arm missing if the maid was to take a day off from work. The household would be pushed into a state of mayhem. Bed-lam would break loose if the junior of the house chose this specific day to wail away to infinite glory! A segment of the society establishes its living through the earnings from such petty jobs. The divide between the haves and the have-nots cannot be bridged, especially in a country like ours where it is so well pronounced. The only aspect of it that we could work towards lending some relief to would be employing children for domestic help.

Shifting focus to this employment of children at households could be a lot more accessible. After all, you probably em-ploy a barely teenaged child in your own home. Or at work. Sharp criticism has been meted out to child labour. Its time we lent our unified voices to its domestic prevalence as well. What would a child, after all, know about rearing another child, just a few years younger than he she is? The most pathetic aspect of it all is when the family chooses to let the ‘tag-along’ accompany them on pleasure trips and vacations and offer little or no time for that unfortunate child to dwell in its own world. After all, they are being paid for it and they’re just doing what they’re supposed to. This is the general at-titude adopted widely over this issue. A Utopian soul or two would probably take the effort to educate or instill some basic values in such child labourers.

Above anything else, we need a lesson in Civics. A good, lengthy one at that. Learning the ‘Rights of citizens’ by heart didn’t quite help us in coming to terms with the fact that there do exist people, and children, most importantly, who are denied the basic right of education. The world is a great teacher, alright, but a formal education is no one’s monopoly. It’s a basic right and an essential tool in sculpting the child’s future. Though our hearts may go out to the sole bread winners at a tender age and we may employ them for the simple reason that this gives them a source of income, we are sabotaging that kid’s future in the process. Today if he/she is a child labourer, where do you think he/she’d head tomorrow? To the nearest IT park and transform into a gizmo wizard? This child would grow up to be a grown-up daily labourer and eventually the parent of yet another child la-bourer. Why harbour hopelessness? Why not make an effort to reach out to such children and try making their existences a lot easier?

Let us choose to bring into the world’s notice such causes that deserve our immediate attention and help.

Wish to know more about child labour?http://www.childlabor.in/http://www.indianchild.comhttp://www.sadashivan.com/http://wiki.vibha.org/India:Home

Wish to help a suffering child?

- Promote awareness in your neighbouhood.- Contact and volunteer at the Child Help centres in your area.- Call toll free 24-hour helpline ‘1098’ to report children in distress.

did you know?

- One out of every six children in the world is involved in Child labour that is damaging their health, mentally and physically.- Most families depend on their chil-dren to work to survive and maintain a livelihood.- Almost every year, 22,000 children die in work-related accidents.- 73 million of the children who work are below the age the ten.- 8.4 million children are trapped in slavery, trafficked or bonded labour-ers.

Courtesy: www.ilo.org

acrossthe

lifeshores

A few years ago, I stepped out, a serious young man, hardly a month out of college, carrying a couple of large suitcases to Chen-nai’s international airport. Yes, I was on my way to the ‘land of opportunities’ - America. At first, my decision to leave the country that I loved the most, my family, friends, and a high paying job, to go to an unknown land worried me. My fears were not just of what I would miss back in India, but rather about what I would be experiencing in the States. For a guy who spends most of his time in the A.C. Tech canteen, the ground, parking lot, cool biz and of course, Satyam Cineplex, things are going to be different once I am in a different country.

Thanks to the Indian market sector and the IT boom today, my salary as a chemical engineer had been rising hand over fist, as companies competed vigorously for ‘talent’ — a quality that is be-ginning to sound more like a mineral to be mined. In reality, Amer-ica isn’t so much the land of opportunity (there is plenty of that back in India), as it is the land of leverage, of certain well-defined comparative advantages. Good graduate education is one thing what India lacks. Going to America was only a rite of passage into the Indian technical elite. So I made my decision based on this conservative, farsighted logic; that a graduate degree would give me more status and security in the Indian job market.

The first several days were a learning experience. Nothing seemed

Is an education abroad worth all the time and money? Hariharasudhan Dinakar speaks out


alien to me since I was surrounded by a close-knit bunch of fellow Indian graduates who were often at home having ‘Desi’ food. There were seniors who were mentors in fact; there were other newcomers, who just like me were having fun learning about the new world. Except the odd homesick-ness, it didn’t feel like I had ever left India. As a matter of convenience most of us Indians stayed together, not in the apartment, but in housings they renamed ‘the Desi colony’. This cleared the pain of anonymity in a foreign nation.

At university, the tight relationship with other international stu-dents and Americans is very unique. The dominant groups, by far, are Chinese and Indian students. Like most Indian guys, I never cared much about homework or academics, I only worried about it in the last moment! But here’s some se-rious advice – Make friends with American students because they lead a scheduled life, and spend time with the Chinese because you have no other option but to see them and start reading your lessons. Among all this confusion over academ-ics I had to do laundry, cry with onions, cook good food (at least for my room-mates), clean vessels, and walk to shop-ping centers.

Ever heard of a term called ‘Dead’ week? Yes, you guessed right! It’s the week when you are assigned tons of home work, article reviews, project submissions, presentations and finally have to study for final exams in the following week. This is where we as Indians churn out to be the best among the best. With all the hype about life abroad you get to show

what you are made of.

Sometimes the stress could wear you out. Everything you do would seem like a desk job –sit around for hours, watching movies or chatting with your friends back home online. But, don’t be jealous, it isn’t all that rosy - Life isn’t easy here. Statistics is one subject every Indian learns in academic life. This means asking yourself - How much money do I need to keep myself off the bankruptcy shelf? How much do I need to save to buy that one iPod that I have dreamed of for months?

On the other hand, life is not about money alone. For those who want to really achieve in life and those who have the necessary finances, America is a great option for education. It gives you an opportunity to experience life independently. Do not think that it is the time to prove your worth by apply-ing to software companies, and dreaming that life would be heaven with a higher pay. As a chemical engineer by heart and not by degree, I suggest you apply to core companies.

With this mindset am sitting in my lab working on my experi-ments. Work is fun here. Fun is life here. Desis we are when it comes to fun, Indians we are when it comes to achieve-ment. I like being both. Which one are you going to be?

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the IAS Examtake it, crack it, and make it!

How many of us dream of sitting on a chair and giving recommendation letters rather than running around for one? You and I, both know that the only possibility of it happening is by cracking the civil services exam. It is neither an easy game to play nor an easy path to tread, but the respect earned in a service career is incredible. The recession that hit Wall Street and indirectly massacred all our dreams of IT prosperity only helped real-ize that there are other better options that India can offer us. Civil Service is one of them. There are also many coaching centres and institutes that provide free coaching for this exam. Why? Because they want strong back up for the set of people running the country. Here are a few things that you must know before you set out on the Civil Services journey.

1. Are you eligible?

The eligibility criterion is basic. You must be in the age range of 21-30yrs, and possess a degree from a recognized university and must be an Indian National. There is a lot of relaxation for the backward classes (BC/OBC/SC/ST), who get an age relaxation of 3-5 years and the physically handicapped who get ten years relaxed. Ex service men in the commis-sion also get age relaxations of upto 5yrs.

2. how should you apply?

Candidates must apply in the Common Application Form devised by the Commission for its examination, which can be purchased from the Des-ignated Head Post Offices/Post Offices throughout the country against cash payment of Rs. 20/-.

3. What about the preliminary test?

The prelims will be held in the month of May. The preliminary exam is divided into two categories, General Studies and an Optional paper.

4. What if I get through the preliminary test?

Once you pass the preliminary exam, the main exam is generally be-tween October and November. There are 51 subjects to choose from.

5. Is there an interview?

Yes, and keep in mind here is where a large percentage gets eliminated. The most important thing in this round is the person’s attitude. The most likely thing to happen here is a debate with the interviewer, on a current scenario and its possible effects or how it could have been avoided.

6. What happens after the results are published?

After the interview results are declared, you will be trained for a short while and then given a posting anywhere in India.

For more information: http://www.civilserviceindia.com http://www.threeauthors.com/

> Aparna Ghosh


Spirituality For dummies

So what do Madonna, Britney, Demi Moore and Paris have in common apart from the incessant con-troversies and seasonal hairstyles? If you haven’t noticed the red string bracelets already, the answer is Kabbalah.

Kabbalah is an esoteric offshoot of Judaism teachings with mystical add-ons. In essence it tries to bridge the gap between the finite and infinite (the universe and the creator) and establish a rational relationship between the two. This spiritual realization helps people to be more positive, less ego driven and in sync with their surroundings.

With gaining popularity, it has also raised a multitude of questions from various schools of thought. Some dismiss it as just another exotic alternative while others are convinced by its sanctity. The most shocking turn of events being the publication of books like ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah’ and ‘Kabbalah For Dummies’. This coupled with celebrity fixation on Kabbalah has lead to commercialization that in turn has transformed it into a new age self help guide rather than an ancient spiritualist practice!

The difficulty in Kabbalah is that it’s an ancient practice and needs in depth understanding of Jewish con-cepts for apt execution. Most of its concepts are based on the Torah. For an average Joe who makes no effort to understand the nuances, this religion will be lost in translation. Those who manage to go the extra mile swear by Kabbalah for a better lifestyle. Like other spiritual practices, Kabbalah also focuses on energy transformation in the body and the notion that meditation opens doors to different realms of spiritual existence.

As far as India is concerned, Kabbalah has come only as far as the capital. Since the Jew population is relatively sparse in the south, Chennai is yet to open its doors to Kabbalah. We are all aware of the western fascination for eastern traditions, but it will be interesting to watch the growth of Kabbalah in a country like India where mysterious and cryptic religions and practices are already in abundance and spiritual gurus aplenty!

> Gayathri Kalyanaraman

kaapi Bliss


Photo: Thalabathi

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Sometimes it’s difficult to trust anyone in hostel! I remember when I stayed on campus; there was this really friendly girl who stayed a few rooms away from mine. At first, I thought she was really nice, she always came over, and we would spend a lot of time talking to her. She became really close to my room-mate as well. Soon after that, we no-ticed that things from our room began to vanish into thin air! Believing we had misplaced our stuff carelessly, we never gave it much thought. But one day, I saw this girl walk around wearing my earrings! It was only then that we found out that she had been stealing things from our room every time she paid a visit. Eventu-ally she confessed and returned all our things – I learnt an important lesson about trusting people then!

Our hostel didn’t allow non-vegetarian food in it so we used to sneak in non-vegetarian food in our lungis or shorts! Since we would eat on our beds, we would put powder on the fan and switch it on so that the room doesn’t smell and the warden doesn’t catch us. One day, we sneaked into our room with the food and we were just going to eat when the warden began knocking at our door! Hurriedly, we surrounded our bed, hiding the food so that the warden would not notice that we’d been eating. He came in and asked us why we were sitting in the heat and turned the fan on! We had to throw away all the food in the end… Argh!

Bittersweet, memo-rable and absolute nuts! Is that how life is in college hostels? A select few confide in Meera Vijayann.

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We had four hostels or resident halls on campus, and the college often held alot of activities for those who lived on campus. I remember once being part of a ‘Challenge’ night where we had to at-tack one of the other halls. It was a play deal but there were a few of the students who were proving real spoil sports! At first, we challenged the guys from the first two halls and we threw tomatoes and eggs at each other. When we came to the last hall, then the warden didn’t allow us to hit the students from his hall - then a guy from our crowd randomly flung an egg on them and it landed on the warden’s bald head!

I stayed in a private college hostel during my first two years, and it was the most amazing time of my life. I remember once, while our hostel was being renovated, we weren’t allowed onto the top floor. One evening, out of curiosity, we sneaked up and out onto the floor that was be-ing renovated and onto the terrace. We were too busy snooping around that we forgot that our warden routinely locked the only entrance downstairs! Finally, after being stuck there for hours, we had to climb down a drainpipe, and knock on my warden’s second floor window to ask for the keys – yes, you can imagine her reaction. That too at midnight!

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The spotlight, the adulation and the satisfaction that comes with captivating and entertaining an audience, are just a few of the aspects of live theatre that motivate and encourage young actors who take to the stage today. But is theatre in Chennai driving the audience away or toward it?

Amit Singh, the founder of ASAP Productions, states the simple and most obvious answer to this. ‘People generally tend to prefer watching cinema to theatre,’ he says, ‘the publicity and the resources that cinema possesses ensure that they can run packed houses no matter how bad a film might be’. However, he admits that theatre in Chennai has plenty of room for improvement, if they meet the high standards set by their peers in other states in the country. Many feel the same. But how is it possible if potential sponsors and the public in general do not feel theatre is a viable form of entertainment?

Sundar Subramanian, who has 8 years of experience in theatre, working with groups in the USA, Ban-galore and Chennai, is of the opinion that there is a much-needed alteration in the mindset of the Chennai public. He feels that there should be enthusiastic support from society towards dramatics and plays.

English plays in Chennai are yet to become popular. While plays in regional languages have been a rel-evant part of people’s lives for generations, the concept of plays in English have yet to make an impact on them. The public must be aware that the art of theatre is multi faceted. Until that awareness is spread, the bulk of theatre audiences will continue to remain within the extended networks of the production team itself. Many young and talented actor-entrepreneurs in the city have established themselves and have been able to not only work with something they are passionate about, but are also able to draw an income from it, proving wrong the cliché that theatre should always be assumed as a secondary occupation.

Apart from this, standing there in the green room, fresh from make-up and last minute dialogue rehears-als, the greatest fear is the most basic fear of all- blanking out on stage. Letting down your fellow actors

Hurried dressing, hasty make-up, and numerous rehears-als - Is there more to being on stage? Naveen Ramkumar steps behind the curtain to find out.

Blues


after months of rehearsals by forgetting lines on stage is enough to jangle even the most seasoned actor’s nerves. For that, the most important skill on stage is to have good reaction skills, whether it is covering up your own forgotten lines or by helping out your fellow actor remember his lines.

Technical difficulties, including malfunctioning lights or sounds are another cause for on-stage nervousness. Do not fret! Most lighthearted audiences would accept the shortcomings of a live performance. The key is that an actor must never lose character on stage, no matter what happens. Continuing in character once the problems have been sorted out is a lesson that everyone on stage must keep in mind.

Against popular belief, theatre actors do not fear a sparse crowd sitting before them. In fact a small audi-ence has never been a cause of worry, because theatre in Chennai is here to stay. No matter how large or little the crowd is before you, as an actor, I believe, it is an artistes’ duty to entertain them, to keep them on the edge of their seats, in the most professional way possible, to promote theatre and to ensure that the audience get their money’s worth.

To youngsters who aspire to get into theatre as a genuine career option, given Chennai’s present theatre scenario, I would say that it is wiser to set aside theatre as a hobby, working slowly through production and acting until experience and publicity has established a niche for you in the drama society. It goes without saying that the influence of youth and their continuing enthusiasm and participation in theatre are essential in promoting theatre in Chennai.

Photo: CC by .Page.(flickr.com)

the Best of All

WorldsBy MAdhuMIthA MAdhAvAn

MovIE rEvIEW

Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton

This enchanting 1990 parable about a classic misunder-stood genius who is alienated from society for being differ-ent is a sweet, endearing fantasy with gothic undertones that the director, Tim Burton, is famous for.

THE STORY

Artificial boy, Edward (Johnny Depp), is created by a lonely inventor away from the prying eyes of the society to keep him company. The inventor dies before Edward is complete leaving him with scissors for hands. Edward continues to live in the old mansion of the inventor until he is discovered one day by a kind lady, Peg, selling cos-metics. Peg takes him home and tries to help him fit into the normal suburban society where Edward displays his extraordinary ability to cut hair and shape hedges. He becomes popular but due to a series of misunderstand-ings, the town turns against him and Edward is forced to abandon attempting a normal life and return to his lonely mansion. What follows is Edwards struggle to understand the society’s hate and his attempts to win back his love.

WHaT I LIkED

Depp has added new dimension to the movie with his innocent and tender portrayal of Edward, a Frankenstein kind of a monster. Filled with haunting visuals, gothic imag-ery and defiant illogic, it is a bizarre yet magical fairy tale with a modern twist.


Book rEvIEW

MuSIc rEvIEW

A Fraction of the Whole

Steve Toltz

out of the Shadows

The Shadows

‘A Fraction of the Whole’ is Steve Toltz’s debut novel with a little bit of everything – murder, drama, love, politics, spiritualism, philosophy, science and just about anything you would like an opinion on. With the opening lines “My father’s body will never be found”, the book promises a family drama but delivers much more than that.

The narrative alternates between Jasper and his father, Martin Dean, who as a child was struck by an illness putting him in a coma for the better part of his childhood. Martin describes how he had visions about the universe and everything in it including “Buddhists bitten by spiders they wouldn’t kill”. The tale goes on to describe how Martin’s brother, Terry Dean assumes the role of Martin’s protector. Terry’s over the top exploits turn him into one of Australia’s most infamous men and he is finally arrest-ed and jailed in the same prison his father helped build. A fire then destroys the prison and Martin, learning that Terry is dead, decides to fly to Europe in search of his brother’s ex-lover and ends up having Jasper. The book talks at length about Martin’s many exploits, his eccen-tricities, his ill conceived schemes, his take on everything in life, and the musings of Jasper who is subjected to the whims and fancies of his father who he both hates and loves by an equal measure.

WHaT I LIkED

Funny, witty, quirky and cynical are the words that best describe this novel. Every page is filled with wry humor and bleak philosophies. The only drawback of the book is that it is quite an earful. But it’s worth all the trouble if you get around to it.

Few of us remember the masterminds who pioneered the Rock n’ Roll revolution. Hugely successful, ‘The Shadows’ were among the founders of Rock and Roll music and have served an inspiration to many great guitarists including Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Originally a backing group for Cliff Richards, ‘The Shadows’ saw a meteoric rise to fame with their hit song ‘Apache’ in 1961.‘Out of the Shadows’ is the band’s second album and is a marked improvement from the first. Although not their best album it gained popularity with its raw, enthusiastic rock and roll music as well as some melodic, jazz in-spired music that was targeted at a larger, more mature audience.

WHaT I LIkED

While tracks like ‘Some Are Lonely’ and ‘Perfidia’ lean more towards pop, “The Rumble” is true rock and roll with raw emotion. The track “Spring Is Nearly Here” is a beautiful jazz inspired piece that continues to remain one of their most popular tracks to this day. A must have for every rock and roll fan.

an forigadgets

Move over PlayStation 3 and

Xbox 360, and make room for

the Wii (pronounce ‘we’) gaming

console introduced by Nintendo.

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siasts

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Price: Rs. xxxx/-

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These lightweight energy-efficient laptops have been making waves by offering its users excellent web-based and wire-less performance. With real-wide LED screens, easy touch-pad keyboards and funky designs, these laptops are now a rage among youth.

> Vinay Dora


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could take you several miles away from your des-

tination, GPS has been widely successful in aiding

users navigate worldwide. So if you’re one who

loves to drive places, make sure you have a good

GPS system in your vehicle. CNET has listed down

the top 5 GPS systems, which are Garmin Nuvi

880, Navigon 7200T, Magellan Maestro 4370, Mio

C520 Navigation Receiver and TomTom ONE 125 –

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kerala Malabar Biryani centre

naga reju Fast Food

This small but bright and airy eatery located right op-posite Adyar bakery on Nelson Manickam road was something I was surprised seeing. The people were very friendly, (Obvious Kerala roots!) and on the wall there were so many ‘Gotta Die For Offers’! It ranged from ‘The normal I’m-gonna-escape-cooking’ Dum Biryani to the variety of grilled combinations from the ‘Arabian delights’. I came across something called Pathiri that is a nicer version of the Khuska. There were combina-tions of grilled chicken, Shawarma, Parathas, Pathiri and Chapattis. I just had combo with Shawarma and trust me, I was convinced that I was living the Arabian Nights tale! I also took away a plate of Biryani. The good news? Nothing on the menu crossed Rs.100 and on my bill. More good news - They also door deliver!

While doing some shopping at the Indian Terrain show-room in Nelson Manickam road, I couldn’t help noticing a sign saying ‘Fast Food’ nearby. Curious, I stepped inside an eatery just slightly bigger than the average bedroom at home. I was not in the mood for criticism, so I de-cided to ask for a menu. Not only was I surprised by the western accent the workers had, I looked through to find that they served North Eastern food - Momos and Chowmein with a variety of Noodles! Contemplating if it might be good, I tried the widely spoken about ‘momo’ and loved it. The spicier version of Chinese ‘Dimsums’ was so tender and tasty and you must try fried momos served with some sauces to enhance the taste! I looked at the menu card again and here’s the thing - Noodles to Chopsuey to Fried rice to Manchurian - nothing was more than Rs 60!

#132/89,Nelson Manickam rd,aminjikarai, Chennai-29Phone: 9962864358Timings: 12.30-3.30pm and 7.00-11.00pm

Opposite Vicenza, (near kenith Parker showroom)Nelson Manickam road, Chennai-94Phone: 044- 65739535Timings: 1.00-10.30pm

Aparna Ghosh

Street Food As It Is


vicenza loyola Fast Food

When a foodie gets bored of eating in places like Ac-cord Metropolitan and Barbeque Nation, the newspaper provides temporary relief – This was how I came across a small leaflet talking about a ‘Meal Deal’ that one could not overlook. The next thing I knew, I was seated in cozy little place overlooking the Nelson Manickam road and the Indian Terrain showroom. When I saw the deals they offered I was shocked. The ‘Burger/Sub deal’ with French fries, garlic bead and a 500 ml coke cost only Rs.94. A ‘hot dog combo’ cost Rs.84 and a ‘Croc-a-deal combo’ was Rs.114. There were a variety of choices! For everybody’s happiness they made sure they had ‘The-all-walking-running-crawling-special’. The Vegetarian spread was decent enough too. This is a place many still thank me for guiding them to.

When I was a little girl, I wished I could eat at the Loyola Fast Food joint every time I passed it. Dad always convinced me that it was only for the Loyola college students. Today, it is one of my favourite quick bites stop over. Not only does it serve the students of ‘Loyola’ college, but other ‘loyal’ foodies in that area. While there is nothing unique about the place, it promises great food at pocket-friendly prices. I went with my friends, on my way to wvatch a movie. We ordered a plate of Chop-suey, Chicken fried rice, Prawn 65, Chilly beef and Dum Biryani with an Omlette. Take wild guess how much I might have paid? Rs. 195 for four people! And to add to it, the portions were huge and we could barely finish it. The food was served in exactly 8 minutes and we were out by the 20th minute. They also have an A/C hall on the first floor. This is a place to be…for anyone in a hurry. And a piece of advice for last minute movie-ticket book-ers- Try Loyola Fast food! #80, Nelson Manickam rd, Chennai-94

Phone: 9884379738, 9884199816 Timings: 11am-11pm(Please do not tip them, they consider it offen-sive)

#37, Nelson Manickam road, Choolaimedu, Chennai-94Timings: 11.30am-11pm

Photos: Thalabathi

Want to go on a holiday but worrying about bankruptcy? Don’t worry! Buzz your friends, check your calendar and start planning. I suggest you think instead on how many days you can spare to break the stretch of a humdrum lifestyle, for a relaxing trip to the Scotland of India. This place has enough distractions to keep your thoughts away from your rather stressed-out schedule.

Coorg, more commonly called Kodagu, is a small hill station in Karnataka. Silent, simple and splendid, the strikingly beautiful panoramas, wide acres of planta-tions, hazy hills and deep lush valleys could get you glued to Coorg forever.

With vacations just around the corner and pocket-friendly options like ‘Budget travel’ on offer, it would be thoughtless not to gather your friends, pack your suitcases and go on a holiday. The best bet is to take a night train or bus to Mysore, since night travel usually means no heat and definitely cool breeze. Take your iPod along in case you want a substitute to boring conversations and noisy buses. Travelling this way will at all odds not burn more than 250/- from your wallet.

From Mysore any local bus will transport you to Kutta, a small town on the border of Coorg. Apart from the Nagarhole National Park and the Wildlife Sanc-tuary (don’t miss them if you are an animal-lover) Kutta is also known for the “Home Stay” concept. You can get decent and comfortable accommodation for just Rs.400/- per day, including your food for the whole day. If you are a bit-time foodie, the delicious Karnataka Homemade delicatessen is going to keep you enthralled.

A short-Drive from the town of Kutta, amidst the forest, are the famous ‘Iruppu

Setget

getgoing

So your pockets aren’t full… So what...? says Madhura Raju.

www.iqubemag.com Page 33waterfalls’. Take a chance and venture beyond the falls as well. If you are lucky, you will find hidden pools out that you might find really romantic, especially if your better-half is with you. If you are with friends, take a dip to beat the stress out of your system; take a stroll, grab a coffee, listen to music, trek through the and you will realise there are very few things in life that have made you feel better. Otherwise, enjoy the magnificent scenery; the vast coffee and tea plantations of Kutta will undoubtedly leave you charmed.

If you have more time, travelling to Coorg’s capital city, Madikeri, by bus would be a good idea. The Madikeri Fort built in the 17th century, which houses a temple, a prison, a chapel and a small museum, is surely worth visiting. The ‘Raja Seat’ also provides a refreshing view of the gardens and fountains. The ‘Omkareshwara Temple’ dedicated to Lord Shiva, is a blend of Islamic and Gothic architecture and another attraction of Madikeri. If holy places fascinate you further, you could visit to ‘Talakaveri’, the birthplace of the river Kaveri. The autowallah is going to charge you a little superflu-ously, but you have no choice. Having done that, don’t miss the pork in Madekeri, its unbelievably yummy.

The Buddhist Monasteries in ‘Bylakuppe’, one of the largest Tibetan Settlements in India, are amazingly beautiful as well. Here, you will experience the feel of visiting the real Tibet; the chanting, the art, ambience, culture, food and the Tibetan people. If you tend to go gaga over Tibetan delicacy, don’t leave without relishing Momos. The dumplings or Momo-cha’s here might also turn out to be the best ones you ever had.

For those who wish to stay the night, there are lodges for rent within the monastery for Rs.200/- for a day. But you might have to sacrifice late night alcohol and parties if you are with friends. Still long for more adven-ture? Try river rafting (one of its kind in the south) or go for trekking into the nearby hills. This should make your jaunt complete.

In the end, if time permits, and your wallet remains half empty, head to Bangalore city, which is not too far away, on your way back home. A Coorg trip will leave you captivated for long, and you will always want to keep coming back. It is the best place in the southern peninsular that can give you boundless pleasure with no squandering.

So, don’t wait, get going! Gute Reise! Bon Voyage!

Wish to plan a quick getaway?

www.makemytrip.comwww.sgltours.biz

www.ootyindia.comhttp://www.travelahead.page.tl/

Home.htm

Pho

to: Flickr.co

m

WITH


I’m a media personality, socialite and active crusader for the orga-nization Conservation Of Celebrity Rights Prevention Of Violation Of Celebrity Privileges for the past many years (CCRPVCP).

A celebrity is not the ‘Aam janta’ - a celebrity is a celebrity and has to be treated differently. If we treat them the same, what would be the difference between a Komal Sharma and a Priyanka Chopra? or an Imtiaz Ahmed and a Saif Ali Khan? They earn themselves special rights and privileges. Communists, socialists, liberals, they must all realize and respect this.

What has happened to King Khan is treacherous and outrageous; the disgrace meted out to him is in fact a disgrace to our entire na-tion. The symbol of Bollywood, the icon of our culture to the world was treated shabbily by stupid twits masquerading as custom of-ficials. He was detained for two hours at the Newark Liberty Inter-national Airport apparently because his name was Khan. I seriously wonder how someone could say they do not know Shahrukh? I’ve personally never met anyone who has not heard of him. Even if someone has not heard of him, a glimpse of him, and even a fish would know that its a superstar its looking at; that mega watt smile, those gorgeous looks, that sizzling body, and I can go on. That aside, I would not mind being a custom official to Shahrukh. I’d get a chance to be alone with him in a dark room and may be even a strip-search (*blush*). Nevertheless, this incident has brought to prominence the fact that in the recent past there has been an increasing number of violations on celebrity rights and privileges.

Emraan Hashmi is another of our celebrities who has been mistreated and discriminated against, and that too in Mumbai; a place that has the maximum number of celebrities residing in a square area, yet a place where the awareness of celebrity rights and privileges is slowly diminishing. Bollywood’s best kisser was denied permission to purchase a flat in the posh Pali Hill area apparently because he had a Muslim name. We must understand that communal discrimination only exists within the aam junta and not for celebrities. Rioting and killing each other in the name of religion has always existed within the lower rung of society, and every-one has been content that it remained. The rearing of its head into the celebrity stratosphere calls for immediate action.

It is not as if celebrities are not doing anything to help the lower strata of society either. Through promotional shows they educate us about various problems that exist in society. Mallika Sherawat, another celebrity who has opened our eyes and changed our views on so many things used Twitter (a social networking site), to convey her opinion on the racism meted out to Indian students in Australia. Her message and solution to us and the world was: ‘Re Australia: racism is for losers! Eradicate ignorance and racism will cease to exist.’

In short, celebrities help propagate greater awareness about ancient Indian culture and heri-tage. The ‘Rakhi Ka Swayamvar’ of Bollywood star Rakhi Sawant has projected a brand new image of the Indian woman to the world, depicting that historically women in the country enjoyed a greater freedom than elsewhere when it came to choosing their bridegroom. ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’, her next show, which is likely to be aired next month on NDTV Imagine, is all about the Indian way of parenting and is aimed to educate those who are yet to become parents.

Through incidents that happen in the lives of celebrities we come to know about so many things that exist in society. For instance, after rape charges have been levied against Shiney Ahuja we have come to realise that these were baseless allegations. Thus, we benefit in so many ways through the lives of celebrities. And we as a community, with the co-operation of the government must do our best to conserve their rights and preserve it from being violated upon.

After all, aren’t celebrities greater human beings and don’t they need to have their own rights? If not now then when?

> Sharmila Dutta

Documents

iQUBE magazine version 1