The youngster, an NCC air wing cadet and an active sportsman according to his college mates, had started the marathon at around 6.30 a.m. outside the Island Grounds along with more than 5,000 participants, including professional athletes.

The runners had to pass through the light house, Santhome High Road, Adyar Bridge, Elliots beach and back to the Marina Beach to conclude the Rs 10 lakh prize money race at Gandhi Statue.

After a two-hour-long run, Santhosh was passing through the light house stretch and collapsed a few metres away from the finish line. A medical team from Sri Ramachandra Medical College, who were following the runners, attended to him and provided first aid. He was `rushed to the Government Hospital but was pronounced ‘brought dead’.

A.Valarmathi, Resident Medical Officer at GH told Ergo that the victim could have died of a heart attack following fatigue. More information on the death will be known only after the autopsy is carried out. The deceased was a native of Pochampalli Taluk in Krishnagiri district and was residing at the university hostel.

The play was read out over 90 minutes, and was attended by a small crowd. Although the founder of Thespian En Ajit Chitturi likes to say that there were many first-timers in the play, it was really the lack of direction that showed up most.

Othello (Ajit Chitturi) is a general of the Venetian army who is married to Desdemona (Aradhana Batabyal), the daughter of a senator. The play opens with Roderigo (Suresh Koul), a rich gentleman lamenting to Iago (Vasudev Menon) about Desdemona’s marriage. Iago, a senior officer manipulates Othello for promoting a soldier, Cassio (Arjun Vasudev) whom he believes has no talent for strategy.

While Shakespeare is known for the twists and turns in his plays, this repertory could not have made the affair blander. A row of chairs were arranged for the characters to sit on, which is all they did. The drama – the jealousy, the hatred, obsessive love - were completely lacking in their reading. And this is only the first in the series of Shakespearean plays to be staged by Thespian en.

But not all is lost in the traffic-congested city and much could be salvaged if integrated transport solutions were introduced, according to speakers at a meeting organised at Ajuba Solutions on Saturday.

Facility managers of all the major IT companies discussed on the possibilities of creating ‘transport hubs,’ where inter-modal transport solutions will help provide a seamless transfer between different modes of transport – just imagine a connectivity between MRTS, MTC, motorists, cyclists and even the notorious autorickshaws. (Those who have been to cities like London, Berlin or Cape Town will be nodding in approval.)

But are such things possible in Chennai or are we beyond redemption? It is possible, according to Raj Cherubal, coordinator from City Connect, a non-governmental organisation backed by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

He said that lack of proper pedestrian paths, parking lanes and dedicated lanes for vehicles lead to traffic congestion in Chennai. But he added that it was possible to salvage the situation. “Mobility hubs are the need of the hour.

These hubs need to be much more than transportation facilities. Apart from connecting various modes of transportation like public transit (buses and rails), automobiles, cycling and walking, these hubs should also be centres of activity encompassing entertainment, shopping, recreation and other amenities. This is possible through integration of various technologies.”

Seshadri of Ashok Leyland suggested that use of global positioning system (GPS) will be useful to keep track of the bus arrival times.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation is already doing a trial run of GPS in two of its routes. Similarly the other options, he said, was the use of double deck buses, dual mode vehicles – vehicles which can ply on both tracks and roads and i-bus. “A bus is equal to 4 cars, so why can’t people prefer buses which can cut the cost as well as traffic congestion. i-bus can also help to improve the productivity time.

Instead of wasting travel, if the bus is equipped with laptops and wireless connection, it is possible to develop the concept of office on wheels,” Seshadri said. So are you game to start working as soon as you board the bus?

Taking a break from their busy schedule, employees of some of the top corporate houses in the city had a gala time. Although the level of competition was very amateur, the sense of enthusiasm was palpable at every corner.

Speaking about the level of competition, Satish, representing defending champions Cognizant, said: “All of us are here to compete but at the end of the day it’s more like a place where you can interact with people from various spheres of life. All of us are enjoying the healthy rivalry.”

MNC Infotech walked away with the first day’s honour winning the men’s bowling team competition scoring a whopping 559 points. Lanson Toyota came a close second with 556 points while the bronze went to TNT (552 points) and Intelenet (536 points).

In the women’s section, TNT blew away all competition on their way to grab gold with a total tally of 421 points. Ford Technology came a distant second with 306 points and the bronze went to RMP Infotech (260 points).

Around 38 corporate houses are vying for the top honours in the two-month long sporting extravaganza.

Former champions East Bengal will take on new entrants Chirag SC in the first match of the League at the Salt Lake Stadium. The organisers are again expected to meet next week to finalise the schedules and prize money for the 12-team League.

The 30th Federation Cup will be held in New Delhi and Gurgaon from December 4 to 22. The B R Ambedkar Stadium in the capital is likely to host the final.

Flitting between the fun-filled past and a grim, more practical (if heartless) present are the lives of four friends –Aditya (Farhan Akhtar), Joe (Arjun Rampal), KD (Purab Kohli) and Rob (Luke Kenny). Magik, their band, has broken up and is no more than a distant memory. Then emerges a pile of old photographs which leads to a test of Magik’s magic.

Another find is Prachi Desai, who plays Farhan’s wife. One television-to-film transition to watch out for. After an forgettable Aryan (that Sohail Khan-starrer boxing movie), director Abhishek Kapoor makes a film that completely relies on treatment and comes up trumps. The choice of lead actors is perfect and so is the way music has been used in the film.

It’s easy to forget that Farhan Akhtar started off as a director in the first place. He may not be the most silken-voice singer around but that edge of amateurishness makes the stage performances in the film natural instead of too perfect to be believable.

Seeing him you realise why the director was insistent that the guy who plays his lead vocalist should sing his own songs. Purab Kohli as KD (Killer Drummer a.k.a. Kedar Zaveri) is the eternal PJ guy, Purab Kohli as KD (Killer Drummer a.k.a. Kedar Zaveri) is the eternal PJ guy, and his ability to poke fun at himself makes his character adorable.

(Watch out for his performance of ‘I Will Survive’). Rob (Luke Kenny) is the band’s peacemaker, while Arjun Rampal is apt as Joe, the long-haired hunk whose ego is pricked too easily.

Every attention to detail has been paid (like Joe digging into his pocket for the guitar’s plectrum after his vocal performance) and each character looks like he’s playing his own instruments.

Another find is Prachi Desai, who plays Farhan’s wife. One television-to-film transition to watch out for. Music plays a crucial role in the film and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy more than succeed in lending an impromptu/live feel to the compositions.

Another Olympian, Preeja Sreedharan, bagged the top honours in the women’s event, while Preethi L. Rao came second. Pocketing the winner’s cheque of Rs. 10 lakh, a visibly ecstatic Preeja said: “It gives me immense satisfaction to win this event. I will try to continue with the good form and do well in other long-distance events across the world.” [ View Gallery ]

Kavitha Raut bagged the third spot. ccording to estimates, over 50,000 people turned up for event, designed as a fundraising event for Give Life, an NGO but one of the organisers, Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, claimed the number to be in excess of 1,70,000. “Conservative estimates say that we had at least 170,000 runners today. We have outclassed even the Boston Marathon in popularity,” Fr. Gasper said. [ View Gallery ]

The organisers also claimed the event to be the third richest of its kind, with a total prize money of Rs. 70 lakh. Earlier in the day, Union Minister of Sports M.S. Gill inaugurated the proceedings and termed the presence of thousands of participants a “river of people”.

Rajya Sabha MP and DMK leader Kanimozhi, Chennai City Police Commissioner R. Sekar, actors Suriya, Napolean and several corporate bigwigs were amongst the participants.

Results:

Half marathon (21.097km): Men: 1. Santosh Kumar 1 hr.04min 3sec, 2. Surendra Singh 1:04.5, 3. Sandeep Kumar 1:05.01; Women: 1. Preeja Sreedharan 1:18.30, 2. Preethi L Rao 1:18.32, 3. Kavitha Raut 1:19.20.

For Tamil Nadu: Men: 1. P. Nagendra Rao, 2. G. Lokaraja, 3. Padmanabhan; Women: 1. M. Sudha, 2. Shanthi, 3. Maheswari.

Welcome to the virtual exhibition space for brands. Buzzar TV (www.buzzar.tv) is the latest online product from Chennai-based PixelKraft Media Solutions. [ Listen Podcast ]

Exhibition platform

Started in 2003 by Siddharth S. Kumar and Christie Fernandez to provide advertising and emerging media solutions, the company is in the news for its new-age advertising platform. “Bazaar is all about window shopping, making search more natural and simple,” says Christie Fernandez, whose core responsibility involves marketing and business development.

The team has been working on the product for close to a year and believe it will take advertising to an all-new level as its prices are very competitive when compared to the conventional medium. “Getting people to believe that there is a hybrid of design and information technology was a real challenge,” says Siddharth S. Kumar, co-founder and director.

Today, Bazaar showcases over 1,000 brands and has a lot more in the offing. It is working with brands and agencies to popularise this visual search.

True calling

The journey toward starting PixelKraft started when Siddharth, a microbiologist-turned-advertising professional then working with Lowe, met Christie during a client meeting. Christie, on the other hand, pursued a career in IT Marketing.

It was while selling computers that Christie realised his interest in graphic use of computer, multimedia and networking.

The two shared a common interest and decided to start their own venture. “For our advertising business we did not need much money. We were lucky to get projects and were never out of work,” recalls Siddharth.

Other services where it caught the attention of many professionals on the go include Indiabiz TV, an online video directory for brands; and Ram & Ria, a short video capsule available free and featured regularly.

While taking Buzzar TV places is next on their agenda, the duo, sure of how technology works, are confident that visual exhibition platform will be the next thing.

(If you are an entrepreneur with a successful business model or know one, write to us at firstinnings@goergo.in)