Bond in life and beyond

BANGALORE: Filial affection is not the domain of human kingdom alone. It is found in the animal kingdom too.

A mother monkey, unable to come to terms with the death of its young one, is roaming at the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, carrying the carcass of its baby, for the past two weeks. The simian was seen clinging on to its offspring as though it was alive.

Dr Jagadeesh, deputy director (Horticulture) said, "The monkey has made Lalbagh its home for the past one-and-a-half months. Two adult male monkeys accompany the female on either side when she roams about. Probably one of them had fathered the baby monkey," he said.

Regular visitors to the garden say that the mother has not been taking food ever since the death of her baby. "Many monkeys visit Lalbagh during summer and stay for a few months," he added.

Source:Deccan Herald

Confessions Of A Shopaholic

If ‘The Girl with the Green Scarf’ (remember the colour of money) can write for Successful Saving, a firm that advises people to spend their money wisely she must be hiding something behind her back that compels her to take up the job. For Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), the fashion journalist, who dreamt of working at Elle, life is particularly hard as she has an addiction to shopping, even when the world’s economy is at its lowest.

Shopaholic, as one may call her she goes on a buying spree as if there won’t be consequences. End result — huge credit card debts.

Life gets worse when her employer goes on downsizing to face global meltdown. Out of work and desperate, Rebecca somehow manages to impress upon another firm, of course accidentally.

Still hiding behind a pseudonym — The Girl with a Green Scarf — to avoid being traced by her creditor she begins writing on things which she herself can never do — spending less on high-end accessories. But she becomes an instant hit with the masses. Then, all that’s left of the plot are: Will her true identity be out before her readers? Can she give up shopping to get back to the people who really mattered? These two questions are then tied together loosely by love strings up to the end.

The script is full of childish scribble assorted with the signs of innocence here and there. Can there be anything more senseless than a lady who finds her ‘real freedom’ only when she is shopping? Even as we try to reason Rebecca’s love for shopping being the result of lack of love at home, her parents seem very supportive. The film also fails to tell you why such thing happens?

Perhaps, the only consolation is Isla Fisher’s adorable portrayal of Rebecca. She carries the whole weight of the film on her shoulders despite the tattered storyline. If you are keen on watching it you need to close all the gates that lead to your sense of reasoning. Only then will you be able to witness the humorous side of a shopaholic’s life.
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English (U)
Cast: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman
Director: P J Hogan

No. of Women Never Touch 50 in Parliament

New Delhi: So much for woman power. The number of women MPs in India's 545-member Lok Sabha has never touched 50, the Election Commission said on Friday.

"The nearest when women members could reach this mark was in the 13th Lok Sabha in the 1999 elections when 49 women candidates were elected. It was barely 9.02 percent of the total Lok Sabha Seats," a communique said.

The number of women elected to the Lok Sabha came down to 45 in 2004. It was the second highest in the house since its inception. "It was only 8.29 percent of the total seats," the communique said.

"The lowest number of women elected to the Lok Sabha was in 1977 when only 19 women reached the lower house," the Election Commission said. It was only 3.5 percent of the total seats (542 at that time).

"There was no other occasion in the history of Lok Sabha when the women did not even reach the mark of 20," the poll panel said.

There were only three other occasions when women candidates could touch the figure of 40 in the Lok Sabha.

"In the 8th Lok Sabha (1984) 42 women, in the 11th Lok Sabha (1996) 40 women and in the 12th Lok Sabha (1998) 43 women were elected.

"This also means that prior to 1996, there was only one occasion (in 1984) when women elected to the Lok Sabha could even touch the figure of 40s," the communique said.

"As far as number of women contestants is concerned, there were 599 women aspirants in the fray in 1996 followed by 355 women candidates in 2004 and 326 in 1991." The number was always below 100 before 1980.

Source: www.ibnlive.com

Salim Must Die

Salim Must Die
By: Mukul Deva
ISBN:	9788172238193
Cover Price:	Rs. 225.00
Format:	Paperback
Extent:	280 pages

Mukul Deva, an alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, was commissioned in December 1981 into the Sikh Light Infantry of the Indian Army. He took premature retirement after fifteen years of service, including ten years of active combat duty / operations in India and overseas. He is now an entrepreneur settled in New Delhi.

Review coming up....

Indian businessman arrested for suspected Fritzl-like incest crime

NEW DELHI, March 19 (Xinhua): In a suspected incest crime similar to that of Joseph Fritzl in Austria, a 60-year-old Indian businessman was arrested Wednesday in Mumbai for allegedly raping his daughter for nine years, reported local TV network Times Now Thursday.

The 21-year-old elder daughter of the man finally mustered enough courage to declare shocking crime committed by her father, after the latter began assaulting her 15-year-old sister, said the report.

The mother of the sisters has also been arrested for trying to hide the crime. The man owns a manufacturing unit of radium plates and automobiles in Mumbai, according to the report.

The case is highly similar to that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian man who confined his daughter to a cellar for 24 years while repeatedly raping her and making her to give birth for him seven children.

The report said the couple were told by a yoga master that the family would prosper if the father were to have a sexual relationship with his daughter.

The yoga master has also been arrested by police and all three arrested would be brought to a judge later on Thursday, said the report.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

The film is based on the memoir of ‘Vanity Fair’ writer Toby Young. Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young, a self proclaimed righteous entertainment journalist working for New York’s top lifestyle magazine ‘Sharps’ in this fiction.

Young is unenthusiastic about celebrity culture and his main target is to ridicule it in ways he could. But clumsy as he could be, he never really gets the chance to be even near to celebrities. In the midst of this he argues with fellow worker and aspiring writer Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst), being the only one who would speak with him.

Young also finds that in the pretentious world of celebs, you have to collaborate with sharp publicists like Eleanor (Gillian Anderson), if you want to write stories on top stars like Sophie (Megan Fox). However, when he is promoted, not only does his life takes a new turn but also his whole philosophy about upright journalism changes. Will he make a comeback to get back his life and his true love? As for the cast Simon Pegg makes a funny character of a passionate and awkward Briton among ‘polished’ American co-workers. Dunst proves to be a bankable co-star.


Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson is perfect as the no-nonsense PR woman.

Megan Fox, as the sexy rising Hollywood star is not bad either unlike in her earlier films. In fact, the entire cast presents life in the showbiz world quite well.

This film also clearly shows the difference between reel and real life situations involving human relationships.

Director Robert B Weide also manages to portray a stark contrast with a funny touch. Altogether, the film remains fun for its witty script and its comprehensively engaging romantic plot.
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English (A)
Cast: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Danny Huston
Director: Robert B