Box Office Analysis - Sivaji reigns supreme

Rajnikanth's charm has managed to create a firm grip at the box office for Sivaji. Even after completing three weeks, Sivaji still reigns supreme at the box office. The magnum opus, produced by AVM Productions and directed by Shankar, has managed to witness houseful shows not just in Tamilnadu but all around the globe.

Even after three weeks, the movie is running to packed houses especially in Chennai city. All the 23 screens where the movie released is full of avid Rajnikanth fans. With average theatre occupancy of 96 per cent, the trade analysts feel the movie is sure to break several records in the history of Indian cinema.

Rajnikanth and more of Rajnikanth have done wonders for the movie. The coming together of big names like Rahman, K V Anand and Thotta Tharani had created more hype for the movie and thankfully it sustained all the hype.

Movies like Naan Avanillai and Chennai 600028 have managed to complete 75-day run.

The former produced by Hitesh Jhabak and directed by Selvah had several top heroines like Sneha, Malavika, Keerthy Chawla, Namitha and Jyothirmayee sharing the screen with Jeevan.

A remake of yesteryear flick titled the same, Naan Avanillai is putting up a decent show.

Chennai 600028 is continuing its victory lap. Directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by J K Saravana and S P B Charan has won enough support among the young audience. Starring newcomers, the movie thanks to the good work by the star cast and catchy music score by Yuvanshankar Raja is continuing to woo the audience.

Not far behind is Karuppasamy Kuthagaitharar. Starring Karan in the lead role, KK, directed by debutant Moorthy is winning good patronage especially in the rural areas.

Praveen Kanth's long-pending Thullal finally managed to hit the screens last week. Directed by Praveen Kanth himself, the movie has managed to draw audience thanks to Vivek's good comedy.

Meanwhile, the Chennai box office has witnessing the release of English movies like Fantastic Four, Mel Gibson's Apocalypto and Mohanlal's Hello.

On a comeback mode

Kavya Madhavan, who is making a comeback to Tamil cinema with Sadhu Mirandal, is confident of putting up a good show in her second innings in Kollywood.

The actress from the God's Own Country made her debut with En Manavanil. Unfortunately, the movie did not do well at the box office and she made a retreat to Malluwood.

Now Malayalam director Siddhique has brought her back to Tamil cinema with Sadhu Mirandal. Says Kavya Madhavan, "After En Manavanil, I had no big offers here. Now I am confident that Sadhu Mirandal would bring more fortunes to me".

A die-hard fan of Rajnikanth, she says, "I would love to share the screen with Rajnikanth soon. Also I love to be part of director Mani Ratnam's film".

Young girl says she is Kalpana Chawla!

A four-year-old girl who claims her name is Kalpana Chawla and that she died up in the skies four years ago is drawing huge crowds in a village here in Uttar Pradesh. Residents of Nar Mohammadpur village, about 35 km from here, where little Upasana is visiting her relatives, think she might be the reincarnation of the India born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died when US space shuttle Columbia crashed four years ago.

The news of the girl's claim spread quickly in the area after she spoke to some villagers here.

"I am Kalpana Chawla," says Upasana, who reportedly fears the sight an aircraft. She has been telling her illiterate parents that she died in a "crash" up in the skies.

"Upasana has been telling us ever since she started speaking that her name was Kalpana Chawla and that her father's name was Banarsi Das Chawla but we could not figure out anything as we had never heard of Kalpana," Upasana's father Raj Kumar told reporters Friday.

Raj Kumar is a resident of Pata village of Etawah district where he works as a labourer. "Yet Upasana's proclamation led us all to believe that she was actually talking about her previous birth," he said. "She claims that the spacecraft was hit by a huge ball of ice that sent it crashing and ended her life."

Upasana was born barely two months after the astronaut's death in 2003.

Rajasthan: mass evacuation as dam breaches

A dam has breached in Rajasthan following heavy rains, forcing authorities to hurriedly evacuate hundreds of villagers and halt traffic on the Jaipur-Jodhpur highway leaving thousands stranded. A portion of the 118-year-old Jaswant Sagar Dam in Jodhpur district, 340 km from here, breached Friday night after being fed by swollen rivers.

"We are in the process of evacuating 39 villages as there is a danger of them getting submerged," Kiran Soni Gupta, the Jodhpur divisional commissioner, said. She said soldiers and others frantically tried to control the breach by piling up sand bags. However, it did not work and villagers living nearby were asked to go to higher places.

The administration has stopped traffic on the Jaipur-Jodhpur highway, leaving thousands stranded. Around 30 buses ply daily on this route. "There is some water on the highway near Bilara," a district official said.

Pali, Sirohi and other nearby areas received heavy rainfall in the last few days. While local media reports said at least three people have died in rain related incidents, there is no official confirmation.

Of the 227 small and big dams in Rajasthan, 28 are full and 131 partially full in the wake of heavy rains.

Indians wait almost 23 years to lose virginity

All those who cried hoarse about school-going children being corrupted by sex education have no reason to worry, as a new survey shows that the age for "first sex" among Indians is 22.9 years.

Globally, the average age at which people lose their virginity is 19.25 years, but there are significant differences between eastern and western countries with regard to the age, the study said. It's not only Indians who want erience, but this is common to Asia, said the 2007 Face of Global Sex Report.

"People in Asian countries tend to have their first sexual experience at a much later age than those in the west. Chinese, Malaysians, Indians and Singaporeans are over 22 when they lose their virginity," it said. In China, the figure stands at 22.1, in Malaysia it is 23, while in Singapore it stands at 22.8 and in Thailand, it is 20.5, said the survey done by Durex Network, a social marketing arm of Durex Manufacturers SSL International, one of the leading makers of condoms in the world.

This is in contrast to countries like Austria, Brazil and Germany, where the mean age is below 18 years. The survey showed that today's youth are smarter than their grandparents as far as sex is concerned, with the use of contraceptives going up at least eight times.

More people go in for contraceptives as compared to condoms, the study showed. In India, condom use is 39.7 per cent, while the highest use is in Poland at 63.2 per cent. Over 67 per cent of youth in India used contraceptives while having sex for the first time, a figure higher than Nigeria (48.6 per cent), Russia (56.5 per cent), US (60.5), Canada (61.2) and France (61.8).

Software to monitor mosquito density

Tamil Nadu Public Health Department in association with National Informatics Centre has developed a software that would help monitor the density and virulence of mosquitoes at a given area.

The software would provide instant access to information regarding the insects and would be a "strategic move" in containing vector-borne diseases, especially chikun gunya, department officials said.

The state-wide statistics would help officials monitor effectively and take preventive measures once the density of mosquitoes crossed the critical level in any area. The district-level officials would post the data on the department website and the online facility would be open from July 12.

The website would be updated on a regular basis. The officials hitherto used to exchange information regarding the presence of mosquitoes by post. A system to forecast incidence of Japanese Encephalitis also is being prepared.

Jammu-Srinagar highway closed

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed to traffic on Sunday after landslides triggered by heavy rains blocked it at Samroli, 80 kms from here, leaving thousands of vehicles stranded including those carrying Amarnath pilgrims.

Landslides caused by rains in Samroli area in Udhampur-Kud sector forced closure of the highway around 0800 hours, official source said. Men and machines of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working to clear the highway of landslides to ensure smooth passage of vehicles, they said.

However, incessant rains was making the task of the BRO personnel difficult, the sources said adding efforts are on to re-open the highway for one-way traffic.

335 students killed in Lal Masjid operation: claim

At least 335 religious students, mostly women, were killed in an overnight operation launched by the Pakistan Army at the besieged Lal Masjid here, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, cleric of the controversial mosque, claimed on Sunday.

Rashid said that 310 female and 25 male students were killed in bombing of the compound of the mosque, TV channel reported.

There was no official confirmation of Rashid's claim.

The bombing was expected to blow up sections of the walls and make holes in the compound so that the students who had been taken hostages could escape, an army spokesman said.

The five-day heaviest firing and explosions continued late Saturday night and the security forces made advancement towards Lal Masjid, Jamia Hafsa.

15 armoured vehicles advanced from the rear side of the building and opened fire, as the electricity of the nearby areas was cut off.

Rajinikanth enquires the trade

Rajnikanth starrer Sivaji is doing extremely good business all over the globe and is in the process of breaking old records and setting up new ones. Meanwhile it has been reported in the industry that Rajnikanth is personally enquiring about the status of the film at every level. It is claimed that he calls up the distributor and theatre owners personally to enquire about the status of the film, its collections etc.

Needless to say, industry is awestruck by this artist's involvement and dedication towards the film.

It would be remembered that Rajini is still to get his due for the movie. Just a 1000 Rupees advanced has been handed over by AVM to the actor.

Will Shahrukh Khan Pull off a Jim Carrey?

Shahrukh Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood is said to play a super hero in the Shirish Kunder directed movie slated for a 2009 release. Rumor mills talk in hushed whispers that Shahrukh is playing a guy with gifted talents who wears a clown’s mask. Now does that strike a chord somewhere that the story sounds familiar? Yes, the movie is inspired by the 1994 super hit The Mask that catapulted Jim Carrey into the big league.

Shirish Kundar, the director of the movie is the husband of the famous dance master Farah khan. He has also directed the decent grosser Jaan-e-maan starring Akshay kumar and Salman Khan recently. His second movie, tentatively titled Joker, is expected to have a whole lot of special effects. Will the Don be able to pull off a Jim Carry successfully? Well, only time will tell.

Home loan rates - Fixed

Home loan rates - Floating

Before you buy a flat

* Check whether the details of approved plan have been displayed at the site.

* Verify whether the entire undivided shares of land have been transferred by the land owner/promoter/power of attorney to you.

Keep elders in mind while designing home

For many, a home means a couple of bedrooms, a hall, kitchen, a shower and toilet. And a bit of open space for the maid to wash utensils and dry clothes and of course, a small corner to park vehicles.

But do spare a moment to consider if this is how one should approach setting up a dwelling or try to be different in factoring out the actual needs of the occupants.

Should one adjust according to the design of the house or else design the abode according to one’s needs is the question. This is where the question of working out the actual requirements and comforts of the dwellers come into sharp focus. And lost is the fact that very little thinking goes into planning comforts of the elders at the home.

If there are elders in the family, certain advance planning while taking up construction itself will help. An architect can be approached for professional advice on catering the needs of the seniors at home.

There are several measures that can be put in place to make their movement hassle free and also aid easy access for them.

A barrier free design with easy and convenient passage to different sections of the home is crucial. An obstruction free movement is what need to be ensured.

Distances from the room of the seniors to the hallway, dining area and also the main entrance should be kept in mind at the design stage itself. Do provide hand rails wherever possible including along staircase, in bathroom, kitchen and on way to the entrance. This will offer some support in their movement. Adequate attention should be paid to the placement of the switches to operate light, fans and appliances.

The night lamp, television and fan or air-conditioner controls should ideally be located in arm’s reach from the bed so that there is no demand for much physical movement.

Similarly, have the telephone cable points positioned in such a way that the instrument can be placed close and there is not much cable hanging along to trip one.

The room should be well ventilated and the windows should come with easy to handle shutters and curtain strings. The storage facility in the room such as almirahs and cupboards also has to be worked out in a manner that they do not call for much stretching or exertion in operation.

Even the cots and the chairs in the bedroom should be easy to reach and use. In the bathroom, one ideally should go for non-skid surface on floors to prevent accidental slipping and falling.

A grab bar should be installed for toilet and shower also. Care should also be taken to do away with any sharp corners jutting out and pose the risk of injury. And let there be enough illumination in the passageways and staircase.

Benami transactions and implications

By following the basic guidelines, one can avoid getting into a legal tangle of Benami transactions.

Many persons want to know whether they can purchase properties in the names of their brothers, sisters, relatives or friends. For various reasons, they do not want to hold the properties in their own names. Often, only a Power of Attorney is taken in the name of a nominee. The general feeling is that, if a Power of Attorney is taken, the transaction is as good as a sale. Many problems may arise out of these situations. It is better to understand the implications of these i ssues.

The purchase of property by one person in the name of another person will amount to a Benami purchase. The person in whose name the property stands does not pay the sale price. He or she is a name lender. Such a person will be a loyal holder and acts at the directions or at the behest of the person paying the sale price. A situation is created where the title vests in the name of one or more persons, but the property is actually purchased by one or others who are the beneficial owner or the owners as the case may be. Earlier, these transactions were permitted and were legal. However, now, these types of transactions are prohibited. In addition, there are various issues that may arise.

Many issues

Benami transactions cover all kinds of properties. It is now covered by an Act known as “The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988. After the passing of the Act, Benami transactions of the above said nature are prohibited and the Act specifically provides no person shall enter into any Benami transaction. Assume that one person purchased the property in the name of another. Thereafter, there is a change of loyalty. The person having the property in his or her name denies that the property is beneficially owned by the person who has paid for it. In such a case, the person who has paid for the property cannot file any suit or other proceedings to enforce his or her rights in respect of the property in issue held Benami in the name of the other person or any other person who may be involved in the transaction. Similarly, if such other person who is holding the property in his name is involved in any suit or proceedings, the person who has paid for the property cannot plead any defense based on any right in respect of such property held Benami.

Therefore, person contemplating to buy properties in the names of others will have to consider issue seriously as besides resulting in loss of title, it also amounts to an offence punishable as per the provisions of the Act.

Points to consider

To have a better understanding, the following example may be helpful.

As already stated, to come under the purview of the Benami transaction, the property must be in the name of one person, the sale price or sale consideration should be paid or provided by another. The sale consideration thus flows from a person other than the person in whose name the property is purchased. If the person in whose name the property is purchased has made a contribution towards the sale consideration, then the transaction may not amount to a Benami transaction, Further, the reasons for withholding the names of the persons making the contributions for the purchase of the property will also be looked into. It will also be screened as to whether there is any intention to avoid public revenue or any dishonest intention is entertained.

If the intention to purchase the property is to avoid payment of taxes, the transaction will be scrutinized from this angle as well.

Insofar as the name lender is concerned, they may not also be very happy as the Act provides that the properties held Benami shall be subject to acquisition by the Authority concerned. The Authority can follow such procedure as is required under the facts and circumstances.

In a typical Benami transaction, the Sale Deed or Deed of Conveyance will not contain any details on the source of funds. Therefore, the source of funds for both the persons claiming to be real and beneficial owner and the person lending his or her name will have to be looked into. All the attendant circumstances will be seen. Inferences may be drawn on the conduct of parties involved in the transaction. Other events which are related to the transaction may also provide a clue in this regard.

The background of the person in whose name the property is purchased, his or her capacity to invest or raise funds, the participation of the name lender in the transaction and the involvement in the transaction will also become relevant issues. This has to be decided on the basis of attendant facts and circumstances and considering all the relevant facts and issues, it may differ on a case to case basis.

In addition to the above factors, the sources of funds, nature of property, motive for holding the Benami property, the relationship between the parties, the person having custody of title deeds and the contact of the parties are all factors which will be vital in these transactions.

The exceptions

There are certain exceptions to the above said position. The property may be purchased by a person in the name of his wife or unmarried daughter.

Such a person may be able to prove that he is a real and beneficial owner of the property. The securities held by a depositary as a registered owner under the provisions of The Depositaries Act, 1996 or participants or the agents of a depositary may also be proved by the real owner.

Further, the property which is held by a coparcener in a Hindu Undivided Family and the property held for the benefit of the other coparceners of the family will not amount to a Benami transaction. Similarly, the property held by a trustee or other person who, in a fiduciary capacity has the benefit of another person for whom he has a trustee will also normally not amount to a Benami transaction. Fiduciary capacity means being in a position of a trustee and being in a position where the person can be stated to have duties of good faith, trust, confidence and transparency and one who must exercise a high standard of care in managing another person’s money or property.

The above positions are only basic guidelines. The simple matter however is that all persons intending to purchase properties in the names of others have to consider the implications of the legal provisions, the fact that the persons concerned may unwittingly or unknowingly commit an offence and the fact that both real and beneficial holder and the name lender may ultimately lose the property.

The circumstances may also engender manipulations by other persons who are in the know of things and who may be in a position to cause mischief or nuisance or even more serious situation in the lights of having knowledge of the transaction.

Real estate prices set to fall?

Current real estate prices are driven by speculation and are unsustainable , writes A.Srivathsan

“Rupees six crores worth sales in one day,” screamed the headline. Project sold out - all apartments booked on the first day of ground- breaking, said another. Such news and claims were common last year this time. Land prices reached dizzy heights and there was no end in sight to the price rise. It was like a gold rush, but waiting to take a downward turn. And it has now - Chennai’s real estate prices are falling. The prices of land have come down by 15 per cent and so have the apartment prices.

Plots on the Vandalur-Kelambakam road were selling thick and fast a few months ago. Prices went up every week. What started at Rs.8 to 9 lakh per ground (2400 sq.ft) rose to a quick Rs 15 lakh per ground in four weeks. The promoters enticed the undecided buyers and cautioned them that if they wait more, the prices will only rise. This week, not only are plots still available, the prices have also come down to about Rs.10 to 11 lakhs per ground. If things continue to stagnate, they may even come to where they began - Rs. 9 lakh per ground.

Six months ago, far beyond the Padappai- Kancheepuram road, land was priced between Rs.4 lakhs and Rs.15 lakhs per ground depending on how close or far it was from the main road. Rice merchants and other traders in Padappai, Mudichur and Tambaram overnight turned part-time realtors.

Friends, who had lands in Velachery, demanded Rs.1 crore per ground and refused to entertain offers that hovered around Rs 8O lakhs per ground. Surfeit of IT parks were promoted and rent as much as Rs.50 per sq.ft was promised.

On the OMR, Velachery and Tambaram roads, apartments were priced nothing less than Rs.3,500 a sq.ft. At Rajakilpakam, a suburb far beyond Thoraipakam, land was priced at Rs.35 lakhs per ground.

Absence of schools, good roads and public transport never mattered. Lack of sewage connection and water supply was not a major deterrent.

Land and buildings were considered as solid investments and sought after. As prices shot up, the middle class and poor were totally excluded from this land rush

Slowing down

In the last two weeks, things have slowed down. Plots on the Padappai road priced at Rs.12 lakhs each are not entirely sold. Many plots are still available near Sriperumbudur and on the Vallakottai road at prices around Rs.5 lakhs. The prices are negotiable, assure the local brokers. IT parks are no better. Rents have come down. The current rentals are about Rs.25 to Rs.28 per sq.ft, a far cry from Rs.40 and Rs.50 that was offered a few months ago. A promoter near Navalur, off the OMR road, is struggling to sell apartments at Rs 3250 per sq.ft. The salesperson says the prices are negotiable, and admits that about 50 per cent of flats remain vacant.

The price to earning ratio (PE) of Chennai properties was never encouraging. The PE ratio is an indicator to measure the value of the property. This is arrived at by dividing the cost of the property with the earnings. Imagine an apartment of 1500 sq.ft costs Rs.50 lakhs. This would fetch say a rent of Rs.15,000 per month. If you had paid 20 per cent down payment and taken a loan for the remaining Rs.40 lakhs at 11.5 per cent interest, then the outgoing would be about Rs 46,800 per month. To this you add the maintenance and other costs of Rs 2,000 per month. The outgoings would then be about Rs.48, 800 per month. Now divide the outgoings by Rs.15,000 which is monthly rent. This will give a PE ratio of 3.25.

Any figure more than 1 is not considered a great investment and certainly 3 is not a sustainable figure. If you add the interest to the 20 per cent down payment the figure would get even discouraging. If you take the route of interest calculation, for a Rs.50 lakh investment the annual returns are about Rs. 1,80,000. This is about 3.6 per cent. Compare this with a minimum of 10 per cent the bank deposits guarantee.

What drives the prices is not such simple calculation of return. After a few years it is hoped that the prices will increase many fold and that would offset any short-term loss in returns.

But the current level of prices is less promising. How much more can a residential property get? Will it be possible for individuals to buy land at Rs. 1 crore and expect it to soar to Rs.2 crore in a year?

Flow of funds

The prices have increased to high levels not because of lack of supply. It is also neither due to stringent land use regulations nor development control rules. It appears the rise is primarily because of unconstrained flow of funds into real estate.

Ever since real estate has turned into an investment possibility and a commodity for speculation, the prices have only gone up. Even a cursory look at the land parcels in the city suburbs would show that most of them would never be built for a long time to come. They are meant to be only investment options.

Similarly, apartments priced at Rs.3, 000 per sq. ft. and above are aimed at, apart from the small number of upwardly mobile and IT employees, as investment option. As studies show, what is happening is not a correction in physical cycle of real estate.

There is no fluctuation in the demand and supply of built spaces. Instead, the correction is only in the financial cycle of the real estate.

Kumar of Navin Housing and Properties (p) Ltd welcomes this fall in price. He thinks that the hype is over. The speculators will phase out and direct end users will benefit, he says. He disagrees with any prediction of further fall. Mr Prakash Challa, Managing Director, Srinivasa Shipping and Property Development Ltd, estimates that about 20 million sq.ft of IT spaces will be added to Chennai by 2008 and it may put pressure on rentals. He too confirms the reduction in prices and would look at it as a correction.

Many agree that the land price and interest rates have been the two main reasons for this situation. A.V.Ramaswamy, Chairman, Builders’ Association of India, Southern Centre, also concurs with this.

He cautions that any further rise in price will not only affect the buyers but also drive the small builders out of the market. Big developers with deep pockets might monopolise the supply of houses and that may not be good for the city, many builders say.

This 15 per cent fall in price will not bring great cheer to many. Properties are still highly priced and many middleclass, first homebuyers have to wait for the land prices to fall drastically by another 40 per cent.

History — does it make sense?

I AM not a historian. I taught and researched in mathematics. Even in that discipline, I was allergic to the topic “history of mathematics.” My question has always been: why should we study history — somebody’s story of someone else’s past? What is the use of the information that 10,000 years back, the land on which I am now standing was owned by a person whose right hand was shorter than the left and was squint eyed? Qualitatively that seems to be the core content of history, besides one other issue which I will discuss later.

A few professors of History asked me: “How would you know from whom you have descended, from where they came and their culture?” My counter is: “Why should I bother? I am what I am and will be what I have to be. Further, when a politician with corrupt record comes to power, you silence his/her critics saying ‘past is past; we should look for what he/she does in future.’ Then, why should the historians dig up the past and produce juicy controversies?” I am not answered till today.

It is common knowledge that you can score well in the examination by remembering about a king of the 16th century without knowing anything about his predecessor or successor. All you need to know is how many wives he had — officially and unofficially — how he hunted, the wars and battles he waged, the taxes he imposed and the like.

Dynamic

If the storyteller, I mean the historian, favours this king, all these deeds (misdeeds) are glorified; else, condemned. It is a certainty that a few decades later the same king would be shown in a diametrically different colour by a new storyteller, again I mean historian. In that way, history is dynamic, maybe periodic and chaotic but surely dynamic.

In the study of dynamical systems in mathematics, physics, or economics, techniques like interpolation, extrapolation and regression are used based on sound theoretical foundations. In history too there is a lot of extrapolation but the application is arbitrary. A historian asks for evidence from others. For him evidence is an interpretation convenient to him.

While looking for evidence, he ignores the certainty that incidents of very distant past may not leave material evidence to this date — time consumes it. Thus historians make themselves notorious for their inability to see beyond their nose.

Apart from these deficiencies, history has proved harmful to humanity. Was not Hitler’s genocide a result of history — both pride (Aryan) and prejudice (Jewish)? In 1993, a Turkish Muslim friend of mine confided that the carnage on the Muslim community in Bosnia-Herzegovina going on at that time was a direct revenge for what the invaders of the Ottoman Empire did to the Christian population. I do not know the realities. History is far from them. I wanted the title to be ‘History is Myth.” But to my shock, I realised that the antonym of myth is history.

The following quote from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown says it all:

…History is always written by the victors. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated; and the winner writes the history books — books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe.

When this is history, does it make sense?

IT boom or bane?

I read with great interest the article ‘Placement parables and IT industry’ by Raji A Raouf (Open Page, June 3). I totally agree with the author. Today the software firms are luring newly passed out engineering and humanities graduates. What they require are trainable employees to do the sundry jobs. In the process we are losing out on the bigger picture of nation building to fulfil our President’s dream of making the country a developed nation.

Manufacturing strengths

Does this spell the end of core engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical and civil)? Not at all. IT like healthcare is only supportive. All developed countries have reached their pre-eminence because of manufacturing strengths. It is important that the IT sector should integrate with the manufacturing sector within the country to produce goods we can sell.

But why do we go for software or management jobs? Chetan Bhagat, the author of Five Point Someone, was a Mechanical Engineering graduate. He studied capstan and turret lathes, struggled to learn the concepts of air compressors and m ultipoint fuel injection systems and now he is working for an investment bank. Why does this happen? The following factors are responsible:

* Haste to get a job: The youth of India are eager to get a job. Most companies come for placements as early as the sixth semester. During that time the only conversation that echoes through the campus is placement related. So the students are subjected to a lot of pressure. It is actually humiliating not to be placed. So the students grab whatever job they are offered, not thinking whether it relates to what they have learnt.

* IT companies have more to offer in monetary terms than any other company. The higher pay cheques are due to the offshore nature of the jobs and the huge government concessions. This factor could also spell the stagnation of our indigenous manufacturing. Here again we are happy with short-term gains and are content with the generous ‘peanuts’ offered by the software companies.

* Another reason is that the popular big time manufacturing companies do not want fresh engineering students. This trend will slowly decimate the core engineering capabilities. It is time the manufacturing sector hired more of the fresh talent.

* The present engineering colleges do not make the students think big and develop entrepreneurial skills. We are satisfied with the so-called ‘fat’ salary we get. This will prevent us from thinking on entrepreneurial lines. The focus should be on setting up engineering firms, which can create more jobs for the core engineers.

* The trend of easily getting software jobs stymies the need to excel in the core competencies giving the students a laid-back attitude. This will hit the very foundations of our economy. For a long-term economic agenda we need to manufacture quality goods.

It is time we stopped glamorising the software jobs. Yes, computerisation is important. But it should be used as a tool to increase our productivity. At present the developed countries use our talent to improve their productivity. This is done by outsourcing menial software jobs.

Our model should be the Chinese who are challenging the world with their manufacturing abilities. With firm democratic values we can develop our manufacturing base sans the Chinese shortcomings. The entry of auto majors setting up manufacturing base in India is a ray of hope. The setting up of the space university is also a step in the right direction. What we need is industry support for core science and engineering courses. This will jump-start a whole new development paradigm.

(The writer is a third year Mechanical Engineering student at Sathyabhama University, Chennai. He can be reached at tgshimon@yahoo.com )

Fake encounters and the Indian state

There is little legitimacy for the kind of killings police and other security forces have been resorting to lately

All the gory details of the calculated murders of Sohrabbudin Sheikh, his wife Kausarbi and a police informer late last year in a fake encounter near Ahmedabad by a police party, comprising, among others, three IPS officers, are now in the public domain. While the shock and outrage felt by a concerned civil society at the gruesome event is understandable, the extent of support and approbation that Vanzara and his co-accused have received from several quarters, including so me politicians, is somewhat difficult to readily accept.

Not that it is an altogether new development. Only a few years ago, similar approbatory affirmations greeted the Punjab police for their brutal handling of Sikh militancy. Indeed the Punjab police could not have employed the shockingly repressive measures in the centrally-ruled State unless its leadership was sure of full state backing.

A large segment of Indian society too approved of its tactics, despite its deeply tainted operational record of kidnappings, disappearances, extortions and brutal killings, which left thousands of Sikhs traumatised and disabled for life.

In fact, the Punjab police are believed to have refined the art and science of fake encounters to near perfection, right up to ferrying alleged terrorists from far off places in vehicles with fictitious number plates to home ground and then bumping them off.

If Vanzara and other such encounter specialists are found to have accumulated assets worth several crores, one has only to look around Chandigarh and its satellite towns to marvel at the mansions, farmhouses and holiday resorts that cropped up in the aftermath of Punjab militancy. Yet those nightmarish happenings in Punjab remain shrouded in a conspiracy of silence for obvious reasons, although they have become a veritable model for anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism strategies, spawning a culture of state terrorism and hard policing all over the country.

Dangerous trend

This is obviously a deeply flawed and dangerous trend. For, Indian law does not sanction the use of deadly force against alleged criminals of whatever category except when a member of the public is under an imminent threat of loss of life or serious injury from a criminal act and there is no other means available to the police to save his life.

This right of private defence is also available to a member of a police or security organisation, placed in a similar situation. Even then the law requires that adequate warning is given before using deadly force to neutralise the threat. There is thus little legitimacy or justification for the kind of encounter killings the police and other security forces have been resorting to lately all over the country.

Even then, cold-blooded acts of murder to deal with dacoit gangs, crime mafias, extremists and terrorists and faking the misdeeds as encounters have lately become a much-favoured strategy with South Asian police forces as our legal and judicial architecture remains rooted in mid-nineteenth century concepts and enactments and is frequently found wanting in delivering quick and effectual justice to cope with the current upsurge in militant and extremist violence.

What is more, South Asian political and bureaucratic establishments are not averse to promoting the belief that encounters, fake or otherwise, are an acceptable mode of combating terrorism, militancy, mafia crimes and other such organised and ruthless criminal activity. Encounter killings have, thus, not only acquired substantial acceptability among many otherwise fairly discerning members of our civil society, the so-called encounter experts are also greatly lionised in films and other media.

Most military and security top brass openly and many politicians secretly prescribe the same treatment for the growing Maoist insurgency. In the face of such demonstrated state support for extra judicial killings, is it any wonder that more and more policemen, including IPS officers, are inclined to short-circuit the due process and win medals and accolades in the bargain?

Unless substantive and sustainable corrective measures are taken urgently, the ability of our police to meet the myriad emerging challenges in a lawful manner will continue to deteriorate, leading soon to a collapse of the rule of law and civilised governance that form the bedrock of a modern, democratic and responsive polity. Are we prepared for that to happen?

(The writer is a former Director General of Police, Punjab)

Students seek online admission in Cusat

The conventional system of counselling for admission to B.Tech. and postgraduate programmes offered by the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) is posing problems to students. Parents and students demand that the university should immediately switch over to online admission. This will reduce the mental stress experienced by students during admission time, they say.

Complaints have started pouring in from students who term it unscientific. From day one of the counselling, being handled by the International Relations and Academic Admissions Wing of the university, students had been seen running from pillar to post, seeking help from the authorities. A candidate who was placed top in the rank list for admission to the biotechnology course was denied admission, as she reached the venue 10 minutes late. After being held up in a traffic snarl, she intimated the university authorities that she might turn up late.

The officials refused to accept the request and advised her to contact senior officials of the university. But their mobile phones were switched off. The girl could not hold back tears. Repeated attempts to get the decision reversed failed.

A Syndicate sub-committee monitoring the admission procedure later recommended the complaint-redress committee to hear the case. Students said this was one among several problems reported during the counselling session.

Students of three Government Polytechnics in the State were denied admission on the ground that their certificates did not mention the duration of their course as three years.

A student from Thiruvananthapuram, who had lodged a complaint with the redress committee, produced a letter from the Directorate of Technical Education ratifying the fact that the course was of three years.

But the committee rejected his application, saying that the admission guidelines had clearly mentioned that only students who had completed three-year diploma courses could be admitted to the B.Tech. lateral-entry programme. The student filed a petition before the Kerala High Court. On Thursday, the court directed the university authorities to grant him provisional admission.

11-year-old charged with driving drunk in Alabama

MIAMI (Reuters) - An 11-year-old girl was charged with drunken driving after leading police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph that ended when she flipped the car in an Alabama beach town.

A video camera in the police car captured the look of surprise on the officer's face when he approached the wrecked car and got a look at the motorist.

The Mobile Press-Register newspaper said the patrolman saw the Chevrolet Monte Carlo speeding and flashed his lights to signal the driver to stop. Instead, the car sped faster, travelling at up to 100 mph (160 kph) before sideswiping another vehicle and flipping over in the Gulf Coast town of Orange Beach, Alabama, on Tuesday night.

The young driver, who lived nearby in Perdido Key, Florida, was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises and released to relatives. Police also charged her with speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.

The car belonged to a relative and police were still trying to find out where she got the alcohol. There was none in the vehicle but her blood alcohol level was over the limit for adult motorists, police told the newspaper.

Pope allows wider use of Latin mass

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI gave the go-ahead Saturday for greater use of the old Latin mass, signalling a bid to heal a decades-old split in the Roman Catholic Church.

But the move, which also applies to other religious rituals, is controversial and leading figures have already expressed misgivings.

A papal decree said priests should now meet requests by the faithful to hold mass in the traditional Church language, which had widely been dropped after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

"In parishes where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their request to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962...," said the decree.

"The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it," it added.

The virtual abandonment of the Tridentine mass after the Second Vatican Council in 1965 was one of the causes of a breakaway led by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970.

The move was to encourage the greater use of the mass in local languages, one of a series of reforms made by the council in a bid to modernise the Church.

Traditionalists say the Tridentine mass, named after the town of Trento, now in northern Italy, is more spiritual and historically authentic than the modern version.

French bishops secretly approached the pope late last year to voice their concerns about his then apparent readiness to revive the Tridentine mass.

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, chairman of the French bishops' conference, said in November that differences with followers of Lefebvre were not only liturgical, but also theological, dealing with religious freedom, ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue and politics.

He warned Saturday that the pope's "real motivations may not be well understood" by the public and the priests, but he did not expect many requests for traditional mass.

"I don't see a tsunami coming," he said.

Lefebvre's followers hailed the pope's decision, adding however that other difficulties remained.

The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, in a statement from Lefebvre's successor Bernard Fellay, said it "rejoices to see the Church ... regain her liturgical Tradition, and give the possibility of a free access to the treasure of the Traditional Mass for the glory of God, the good of the Church and the salvation of souls, to the priests and faithful who had so far been deprived of it."

The favorable climate established by the decree should make it "possible -- after the decree of excommunication which still affects (the society's) bishops has been withdrawn -- to consider more serenely the disputed doctrinal issues," the association added in the statement posted on its website.

The pope opened a dialogue with Lefebvre's followers in August 2005, four months after he was elected as head of the Roman Catholic Church, by receiving Fellay.

Prior to his death in April 2005, Benedict's predecessor John Paul II sought to bring traditionalists back into the Roman Catholic fold, allowing the celebration of the Tridentine mass so long as it was conducted only by bishops.

In a separate letter to the bishops, Benedict said he was motivated by a need to reconcile worshippers as it had become "apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite which had been familiar to them from childhood.

"This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep personal familiarity with the earlier form of the liturgical celebration.

"We all know that, in the movement led by archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level."

The pope asked bishops to report back to the Vatican three years after the new decree takes effect on September 14.

"If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought," he said.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi insisted Saturday that the choice given to priests did not mean that the Church was taking a step back.

"Benedict XVI does not mean to revolutionise today's liturgy which was updated by the Second Vatican Council, as it will continue to be followed by a large majority of worshippers," he said.

"He does not impose a step back, he wants no weakening of the Council authority or of the authority and responsibility of bishops."

And Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican commission which speaks to the dissidents, said they should recognise the validity of the more modern mass.

The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre meanwhile criticised Benedict's decision, as the old Latin mass included a prayer for the conversion of Jews.

The centre asked Benedict "to declare this text contrary to the current teaching of the Church, in accordance with the Second Vatican Council".

Is the Mysterious Tasmanian Tiger Really Extinct?

Wildlife scientists have re-opened the cryptic case of a carnivore that resembled a striped coyote and vanished from its Australian haunt nearly 80 years ago.

While the scientists think chances are slim that the so-called Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) still roams the island off the coast of Australia, they can’t help but turn over every possible leaf to look for evidence of the elusive animal.

The last wild Tasmanian tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920, and the last captive one died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. In 1986, the creature was declared extinct. The extinction marked the demise of the only member of its family, Thylacinidae, and the world’s largest marsupial (pouched) carnivore. It weighed about 65 pounds and had a nose-to-tail length of six feet.

However, rumored sightings of the creature continue to emerge from the island's ancient forests.

Now zoologist Jeremy Austin of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA and his colleagues are examining DNA from animal droppings found in Tasmania in the late 1950s and 1960s, which have been preserved in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Eric Guiler, a thylacine expert who found the scats, said he thought the droppings probably came from the Tasmanian tiger rather than a dog, Tasmanian devil or a quoll, according to Austin.

“If we find thylacine DNA from the 1950s scats it will be significant,” Austin said. “This would prove that either the thylacine produced the scat or a [Tasmanian] devil ate a thylacine and dropped the scat. Either way that is proof that the thylacine was there at the time.”

If they were to find evidence the Tasmanian tiger was alive between its last sightings in the wild (between 1910 and 1920), that would mean the beast was hidden from humans for 40 to 50 years.

“If they could survive this long with no real physical proof, then it does add a little more hope to the possibility that they could survive another 50 years without ever being caught, killed [or] hit by a car,” Austin told LiveScience. “This chance is of course not great, but the glimmer of hope is ever so slightly brighter.”

Paes-Shaughnessy out of mixed doubles

The Indian cupboard returned bare at yet another Grand Slam after Leander Paes [Images] and the United States' Meghann Shaughnessy went out of the Wimbledon mixed doubles in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

- Venus claims fourth Wimbledon crown

Paes and Shaughnessy, the eighth seeds, suffered an agonizing 6-2, 3-6, 4-6 defeat against the French duo of Fabrice Santoro and Severine Bremond after an hour and 49 minutes.

The Indo-American pair was superior, at least in terms of statistics, on court. They had a first serve percentage of 74, against their opponents' 65 percent. They also converted two break points, as many as Santoro and Bremond did.

Crucially, Paes and Shaughnessy won an equal numbers points in the match, 85. If anything, they hit more winners, 40 as against 35 by their vanquishers, but were unable to deliver when it mattered most and bowed out.

Hopefully, the collective pay cheque of 10,300-pounds would be some consolation for them.

Hamilton on pole for British GP

McLaren's Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton [Images] screamed to an emotional pole position for his home British Grand Prix on Saturday.

With the crowd standing and roaring their adulation on a bright afternoon at Silverstone, the 22-year-old rookie sensation pipped Ferrari's [Images] Kimi Raikkonen [Images] in the dying seconds with a stunning lap of one minute 19.997 seconds.

It was the third pole position of an extraordinary, nine-race career that has already seen Hamilton win twice from the top slot on the starting grid.

"I came across the line and I could hear the crowd," said Hamilton, the first black driver to win a race and now the first British driver on pole at Silverstone since former champion Damon Hill with Williams in 1996.

"I don't know if they could hear me but I was screaming just as loud as them."

Hamilton had been fourth just before the chequered flag fell but he put everything into his final run around the former World War Two airfield to push the Finn aside and blast to pole position.

"It was an extremely intense qualifying session," said the rookie. "It was all down to the last lap. I just had to pull it all out and I think I did quite a sweet job of putting the lap together. I'm very excited about tomorrow now."

ALONSO HOPEFUL

McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso [Images], winner in Britain last year with Renault, qualified third with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa [Images] alongside him on the second row.

The Spaniard, who said earlier in the week that McLaren would be happier if his team mate won in Britain, did his best to put a brave face on being dealt yet another setback to his title hopes.

"We wanted to be on pole position but third is the best we could do today," said Alonso, who had been quickest in the first two sessions of the three-part qualifying. "Hopefully we can overtake people in the race.

"Tomorrow I will try to win the race, that's for sure."

Hamilton, chasing his ninth successive podium in Sunday's race, leads Alonso by 14 points in the championship. Massa is third, 17 points behind the Briton, with Raikkonen a further five adrift.

McLaren are 25 points clear of Ferrari.

While Hamilton celebrated, there was misery for his compatriot Jenson Button [Images].

The Honda driver, who missed Friday's second practice due to back pains, failed to get through the first session and will start 18th in his home race -- his lowest qualifying position of the season.

"It's disappointing. The car wasn't going to go a lot quicker but it would have been nice to get into Q2," said the Briton, who complained of a BMW [Images] holding him up on his first quick run.

"The back's fine, It's hurting but not slowing me down. I'll have physio on it this afternoon and it shouldn't be a problem."

Provisional starting grid for the British Grand Prix:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari
3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren
4. Felipe Massa (Brazil [Images]) Ferrari
5. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber
6. Ralf Schumacher (Germany [Images]) Toyota
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy [Images]) Renault
9. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber
10. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota
11. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault
12. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault
13. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams - Toyota
14. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda
15. Scott Speed (U.S.) Toro Rosso - Ferrari
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso - Ferrari
17. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota
18. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda
19. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri - Honda
20. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker - Ferrari
21. Takuma Sato (Japan [Images]) Super Aguri - Honda
22. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker - Ferrari

Twenty20 WC: Dravid, Tendulkar opt out

Three senior pros -- captain Rahul Dravid [Images], Sachin Tendulkar [Images] and Sourav Ganguly [Images] -- have opted out of the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Cup in South Africa as the national selectors on Saturday announced a list of 30 Indian probables, which included out-of-favour players like Virender Sehwag [Images] and Harbhajan Singh [Images].

Paceman Irfan Pathan [Images], who has also been out of the Indian team for long, has been named in the list which has a number of young players who have performed consistently at domestic level.

Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina have also got the nod from the selection committee while Neeraj Patel (Gujarat), Karan Goel (Punjab), Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (Bengal), Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra), Niranjan Behera (Orissa), Anirudha Srikkanth (Tamil Nadu) and Praveen Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) were some of the youngsters chosen in the list.

The final squad for the championship to be held in South Africa from September 11 to 24 would be selected on August 6 or 7, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah said.

National selection committee chief Dilip Vengsarkar said Dravid called him from Hove to inform that the three senior players were opting out of the Twenty20 World Cup.

"I got a call from Rahul today morning who said on behalf of all the three players that they were opting out of the Twenty20 World Cup," Vengsarkar said.

Asked why the trio, who have played tremendous amount of cricket at the highest level, had opted out, the 'Colonel' said: "I think they wanted to give chance to youngsters".

With the big three opting out and two other seniors -- Anil Kumble and V V S Laxman -- not in the running, the selectors had the option to induct a number of youngsters.

"I am sure the youngsters chosen for the Twenty20 tournament would do well," said Vengsarkar.

The selectors also chose the India A squad for the month-long tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya starting later this month.

Kaif will lead the team while Gujarat wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel would be his deputy for the tour starting July 21.

Asked why Raina and Munaf Patel [Images] were not chosen in the 'A' team squad, Vengsarkar said: "I don't think they are 100 per cent fit. Let them play in tournaments like Buchi Babu and Atreya Trophy".

Probables for Twenty20 World Cup: Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh [Images], Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images], Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir [Images], Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Neeraj Patel, Karan Goel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan [Images], Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar [Images], S Sreesanth [Images], Munaf Patel, Joginder Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Niranjan Behera, Anirudha Srikkanth, Praveen Kumar.

India A team: Mohammad Kaif (captain), Parthiv Patel (vice-captain), Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Piyush Chawla, Arjun Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan, V R V Singh, V Yo Mahesh, Pankaj Singh and Neeraj Patel.

Windies win series with 93-run victory

-Scorecard

Man-of-the-match Daren Powell [Images] took four for 40 as the West Indies [Images] beat England [Images] by 93 runs in the third One-Day International at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Saturday to clinch the one-day series 2-1.

The West Indies, who bowled England out with more than five overs to spare, had set themselves up with a good chance of victory when they amassed 289 for five in their 50 overs, having won the toss and elected to bat first.

Powell had opener Alastair Cook [Images] caught by Dwayne Smith at backward point for 18 and talismanic but off-form batsman Kevin Pietersen [Images], out for a duck, caught by Devon Smith in the slips. He also had Matt Prior caught by keeper Denesh Ramdin for one.

When Ian Bell [Images], batting at number three, was out for 27, caught by Dwayne Smith off Fidel Edwards, Owais Shah and captain Paul Collingwood [Images] dug in to try and stop the rot.

However, Dwayne Smith had Shah caught by Ramdin for England's top score of 51 and Collingwood was bowled by Dwayne Bravo [Images] for 44, leaving Edwards to help wipe up the tail for a tally of three for 30.

CHANDERPAUL MAN-OF-SERIES

For West Indies, Runako Morton, who was unbeaten, and opener Chris Gayle, who hit eight boundaries, both made 82 while Bravo chipped in with a quick-fire 42 off 24 balls.

England thought they had seriously dented the West Indies challenge when in-form Shivnarine Chanderpaul [Images], declared fit after being doubtful with an ankle injury and batting at number three, was out for 33.

They had not counted, however, on Morton and Bravo's fifth-wicket stand of 92 off 54 balls after poor fielding had handed Gayle and Morton second lives.

Chanderpaul, whose unbeaten century in the second match at Edgbaston in Leeds helped West Indies square the series 1-1 and helped earn him Saturday's vote as man-of-the-series, was caught by Pietersen off Liam Plunkett.

Plunkett, whose first wicket was that of captain Gayle, caught and bowled, also dismissed Marlon Samuels for nine, caught behind by wicketkeeper Prior, for a haul of three for 59, while James Anderson took two for 51.

Indian top order fires in unison

The Indian top order quickly slipped into the groove on the England [Images] tour as they came up with a strong batting display on the opening day of the warm-up match against Sussex at Hove on Saturday.

Helped by solid half-centuries from Dinesh Karthik (76), Gautam Gambhir [Images] (81) and skipper Rahul Dravid [Images] (57 batting), the Indians finished the day with a formidable first innings total of 281 for 3.

V V S Laxman, on 37, was the other unbeaten batsman at stumps.

The tourists lost a wicket in each session while scoring 69, 97 and 115 runs respectively in the first, second and final sessions.

Former Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was the most economical bowler for Sussex with figures of 1 for 47 from 19 overs.

Wasim Jaffer (7) was an early casualty in the innings, after Dravid called correctly and had little hesitation in batting first.

The Mumbai opener edged pacer Robert Martin-Jenkins to wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd for 12 in the 17th over of the day.

However, Karthik and Gautam Gambhir batted confidently to share a 129-run for the second wicket before they both got out when looking well set for a hundred.

That brought Dravid and Laxman together in the final session and the senior pros complimented each other well to press home the advantage on a good pitch.

At the start of the day both Karthik and Jaffer had a good look at the opening bowlers, James Kirtley and James Lewry, without taking any risks.

While Jaffer was subdued right through, Karthik opened up with two consecutive square-drives off left-arm pacer Lewry. In the next over, he played another fine shot straight driving Kirtley to the boundary.

A few overs later, Jaffer played his first stroke of real authority when he cover drove Robert Martin-Jenkins to the fence. However, the bowler had his revenge in the 17th over of the day when India were 37.

Martin-Jenkins had Jaffer caught behind by wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd, playing away from the body, for a laborious knock that consumed 47 balls.

Both Karthik and Gambhir matched each other stroke for stroke as they enjoyed the perfect batting conditions � bright and sunny afternoon, a placid pitch and an attack that was at best friendly.

Karthik took a heavy toll on Martin-Jenkins, hitting him for three fours in an over, in the process getting past his half century.

It took him 161 minutes and 115 balls; he hit seven fours while reaching the 50 mark.

Karthik fell in the final over before tea when he was beaten by flight and turn, and was bowled by former Pakistan offie Saqlain Mushtaq for 76 off 177 balls, inclusive of 10 fours.

Gambhir overcame his early circumspection and came into his own cutting forcefully and pulling powerfully.

He was particularly severe on anything short or wide and he brought up his half-century with a couple on the on-side off Liddle.

It took him 153 minutes and 91 balls; he struck four fours.

Gambhir followed him to the pavilion soon after tea, when he tried to go over the top and offered a return catch to left-arm spinner Michael Yardy, who was leading the side in the absence of Chris Adams.

The Delhi left-hander in all faced 167 balls and struck seven fours.

In the final session Dravid batted positively, thriving on a dropped catch to pile on the agony for Sussex.

Dropped on 11 when he pulled Mardy to Liddle at mid-wicket, the Indian captain played some handsome shots in front of the wicket to collect boundaries.

He then became the third Indian batsmen to post a half-century, pulling Kirtley to the fence.

At the other end, Laxman too stroked the ball beautifully to pierce the field with ease.

A lovely cover-drive off Kirtley with sweet timing underlined his class.

India rested Sachin Tendulkar [Images], Sourav Ganguly [Images] and Zaheer Khan [Images] from its playing eleven to try out the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Ranadeep Bose.

Sussex gave a break to its captain Chris Adams, Murray Goodwin, Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

Scorecard

Indians (1st innings):
D Kaarthick b Saqlain Mushtaq 76
W Jaffer c Hodd b Martin-Jenkins 12
G Gambhir c and b Yardy 81
R Dravid batting 57
VVS Laxman batting 37
Extras: (b-11, lb-5, w-1, nb-1) 18
Total: (for 3 wkt, 90 overs) 281

Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-166, 3-206.

Bowling: James Lewry 14-5-38-0, Richards Kirtley 18-6-56-0, Robert Martin-Jenkins 13-2-29-1, Chris Liddle 15-1-48-0, Saqlain Mushtaq 19-4-47-1, Michael Yardy 9-1-33-1, Ollie Rayner 2-0-14-0.

Anand to meet Topalov in final

In a repeat of last year's final, Viswanathan Anand [Images] will take on Veselin Topalov in the title match of the Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess Tournament after the Bulgarian Grandmaster defeated Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the semi-finals in Leon, Spain.

Anand had won the title last year by defeating Topalov 2.5 -1.5.

Anand is eyeing his seventh title in the rournament.

Topalov defeated his Uzbek opponent 2.5-1.5 in the four-game semi-final of rapid chess. Topalov took an early lead in the match by winning the first two games. He lost the third game but managed to hold a draw in the last game to advance to the finals.

Unlike the first semi-final between Anand and Ponomariov, which the Indian won quite easily, the Topalov-Kasimdzhanov match was a close contest. In fact, it was Kasimdzhanov who

held the upper hand in most of the games.

The first game was a Queen's Gambit declined with Topalov opting for the Catalan Opening. Kasimdzhanov chose a solid setup with black and obtained a grip on the light squares on the queenside. Topalov reacted by launching a king side attack, but Kasimdzhanov defended resourcefully and slowly outplayed his opponent.

Topalov was clearly struggling by move 30 and was lucky to escape an outright loss after he made a tactical mistake on the 38th move. Kasimdzhanov's play went downhill thereafter and Topalov fought back to win in 70 moves.

The Bulgarian, playing the black pieces in the second game, chose to defend with the Modern Benoni.

Kasimdzhanov obtained some advantage from the opening, but Topalov managed to create enough counter play to prevent his opponent from getting a free hand.

The middle game play was very complicated and unclear. Topalov rallied his pieces to the kingside and the black king began to look quite unsafe. He conducted the attack very skillfully and won in 60 moves.

Kasimdzhanov kept his hopes alive in the third game with a quick win with the black pieces. The Uzbek Grandmaster played the Slav defense and obtained easy equality from the opening.

Desperate to stay in the match, he sacrificed a piece in the middlegame and got a promising attack against the white king.

Topalov failed to find the best defense and Kasimdzhanov managed to crash through the kingside to score a thumping victory in 33 moves.

Topalov needed a draw in the last game to ensure a place in the final and he achieved this aim without any problem.

Kasimdzhanov did not gain much from the opening but kept on creating some chances for himself with inventive play.

Topalov was unfazed by the complications and started creating threats against his opponent's king. The hard fought game ended in a draw after 52 moves when Topalov managed to get perpetual checks against the white king.

The moves

Game 1: Topalov Kasimdzhanov

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 00 6.Qc2 Nc6 7.00 Nb4 8.Qb3 a5 9.a3 Nc6 10.Bf4 a4 11.Qc2 dxc4 12.Qxc4 Nd5 13.Nc3 Nb6 14.Qd3 Bd7 15.Rad1 Na5 16.h4 Nac4 17.Ng5 Bxg5 18.Bxg5 Qe8 19.Bc1 Bc6 20.e4 Rd8 21.Rfe1 f6 22.g4 Qf7 23.Qg3 Kh8 24.Rd3 f5 25.Rf3 Rxd4 26.gxf5 e5 27.Bg5 Nd7 28.Bc1 Nf6 29.Rd3 Rfd8 30.Red1 Qe7 31.Nd5 Rxd3 32.Rxd3 Bxd5 33.exd5 Nd6 34.Bh3 Nde4 35.Qe3 Nc5 36.Rd1 Nb3 37.Bg2 c6 38.Qa7 Nxc1 39.d6 Ne2+ 40.Kf1 Qf7 41.Kxe2 Qc4+ 42.Ke1 Qb5 43.Rd2 e4 44.Bf1 Qe5 45.Be2 h6 46.Qxb7 e3 47.fxe3 Qxe3 48.Qe7 Qg1+ 49.Bf1 Rd7 50.Qe6 Kh7 51.Rd3 Qh2 52.Be2 Qxh4+ 53.Kd1 Qf4 54.Kc2 c5 55.Rd1 Qf2 56.Rd2 Qf4 57.Bb5 Rd8 58.d7 h5 59.Qe7 Qb8 60.Rg2 Ng4 61.f6 Rg8 62.f7 Rf8 63.Rxg4 Qxb5 64.Qe4+ Kh8 65.Rg5 Qb3+ 66.Kc1 Qxf7 67.Rf5 Qxf5 68.Qxf5 Rxf5 69.d8Q+ Kh7 70.Qe8 10. Black resigns.

Game 2 Kasimdzhanov - Topalov

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 00 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Ne5 9.Ng3 e6 10.Be2 exd5 11.cxd5 h5 12.00 Nh7 13.Qd2 h4 14.Nh1 f5 15.Nf2 Bd7 16.Rab1 Qf6 17.f4 Nf7 18.Kh1 Rfe8 19.Nb5 Qd8 20.b4 b6 21.bxc5 bxc5 22.Bd3 Nf6 23.Nc3 Qa5 24.Qc2 Ng4 25.Ncd1 Ba4 26.Qe2 Bxd1 27.Nxd1 Nfh6 28.Bd2 Qxa2 29.Rb7 Qa3 30.e5 dxe5 31.d6 Kh8 32.d7 Re7 33.fxe5 Rxe5 34.Qf3 Rd8 35.Bb5 Qa2 36.Bg5 Bf6 37.Bf4 a6 38.Bc6 g5 39.Bxe5 Nxe5 40.Bd5 Qd2 41.Qb3 Kg7 42.Be6 Qe2 43.Rg1 f4 44.h3 c4 45.Qb6 f3 46.Qf2 Nd3 47.Qxf3 Qxe6 48.Rf1 Nf4 49.Ne3 c3 50.Rd1 Nf5 51.Re1 Ng3+ 52.Kh2 Be5 53.Ng4 Nfe2 54.Qd3 Bf4 55.Qxc3+ Kf7 56.Qd3 Nf5+ 57.g3 hxg3+ 58.Kg2 Nh4+ 59.Kf1 g2+ 60.Kf2 Bg3+ 61.Qxg3 Nxg3 01. White resigns

Game 3 Topalov Kasimdzhanov

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.a3 Nbd7 9.g3 Bd6 10.b3 00 11.Bg2 b5 12.00 Rb8 13.c5 Bc7 14.f4 a5 15.b4 Ra8 16.Bd2 Qe7 17.Qe2 Ra7 18.Rab1 Rfa8 19.g4 axb4 20.axb4 Ra3 21.Bf3 Nh7 22.g5 e5 23.dxe5 Nxe5 24.fxe5 Nxg5 25.h4 Nh3+ 26.Kg2 Qxe5 27.Rh1 d4 28.exd4 Nf4+ 29.Bxf4 Qxf4 30.Rh3 Rxc3 31.Rf1 Re3 32.Qd1 Rd8 33.d5 Rxd5 01. White resigns.