The director’s Nandhalaala, which features maestro Illayaraja’s music, meanwhile is ready for release and if all goes well could well hit the theatres next month.

Crediting Danny Boyle for the success of the movie, Rahman said he was drawn to Slumdog Millionaire because it was a movie about an underdog who found success in his life amid struggles.

“I don’t think the movie degraded India by showing the slums. In fact, the movie has brought the attention of whole world on Dharavi and I heard that it has already become a tourist spot. [ View Gallery ]

I liked the subject and accepted the offer. Though the budget allocated for the music was meagre, I wanted to be associated with a legend like Danny Boyle. To tell the truth, there was even no one to buy the movie in the beginning. Now you all know the status of the movie”.

On a question about naming the movie Slumdog, Rahman said that though the word dog is offensive for us, for Americans dog is a pet which they adore a lot. “So they didn’t do any wrong in naming like that as the movie is about an underdog.”

Admitting that Jai Ho is not a masterpiece, Rahman said that the song appealed to the Americans as “it was a release of extraordinary energy. So the appeal was greater and it created an impact.

But whenever I work for a song, I want it to be my masterpiece. But regarding the Oscars I just had five percent expectation, even on the eve of the award ceremony,” Rahman said.

Rahman, who has got a few Hollywood offers, said that he will continue scoring music for Indian films but the scripts had to be good. At present Rahman is working on Thirukkural and Kunnankudi Masthan Sahib’s poems.

Expressing happiness for the kids from the slum who acted in the movie, Rahman said that the movie has given a new lease of life for them.

Rahman also chose not to skip the volatile question on the Sri Lankan Tamil situation. When a vernacular journalist urged him to express his views on the ongoing strife in the island nation, Rahman said: “I am not here to politicise the issue. But I want peace in Sri Lanka and I will pray for that.”

Planet Adventure, in association with The Paintball Co, New Delhi, has brought the battle game named Paintball Gaming Destination to the Kotivkkam beach. Spread over an 8,500 sq ft area, the play area beams colourful inflated bunkers to provide cover to the player.

A team sport, Paintball features three or more fighters in a team who are all armed with a Paintball gun (also called the ‘Marker’) and guarded by protective gear including a jumpsuit, chest-guard, face mask, gloves and shoes while coming in the line of fire from paint-filled pellets.

Craig Dominic, Business Developer of Paintball Gaming Destination, says the game that came to India in 2006 is gradually gaining popularity, especially among youngsters in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “We introduced the game in Chennai at IIT Saarang as a promotional event and later started it fulltime on January 26, 2009, at our facility in Kotivakkam,” Craig adds.

The Paintball arena is open seven days a week, with weekends witnessing the maximum turnout. Games like ‘Capture the Flag’, ‘Centre Flag’ and ‘Zombie’ can be played, out of which the first is advised for beginners. Two officials called Marshalls, for each of the two teams competing, will officiate in the game.

“The response for the game has been good so far and we are planning to start the Paintball league and tournaments in the near future,” informs Craig, who also plans to introduce night paintball under lights from mid-March. So all those combat-spirited souls, run to Kotivakkam, grab your gun and hit bull’s eye.

What is Paintball?

Paintball is a combat game usually played outdoors, where two teams comprising up to five players each involve in a paintball gun battle against the opponent team. Players take cover behind inflatables called bunkers. The team that captures the flag planted on the opposite side and brings it to their respective post first wins the game.

When and where to play?

Paintball Gaming Destination is at No. 8, Sri Krishna Enclave, Water Land drive, Kotivakkam beach (near Bella Ciao restaurant). Open on weekdays (3 p. m. to 6. 30 p. m.) and weekends (10 a. m. to 6. 30 p. m.), paintball enthusiasts should preferably make a booking in advance to avoid last-minute disappointments.

Playing fee

Anyone above the age of 12 years can play. Players can opt for packages of Rs. 250 for 25 paintballs, Rs. 375 for 50 paintballs and Rs. 500 for 75 paintballs. The amount is for a single player. For details and bookings, Contact Craig Dominic at 96000 16350 or write to paintballchennai@gmail.com.

One of Yves Saint-Laurent’s most memorable items of clothing is the Mondrian-inspired shift dress, which drew inspiration from the Dutch artist’s grid-based paintings in blue, red and yellow on a white background. The YSL Mondrian dress, with black seams separating the colours, has been declared iconic enough to win a place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Diane von Furstenberg had her own version of the Mondrian dress, with black, white and beige replacing blue, red and yellow. Also, the Mondrian dress, which first made its appearance in 1965, is probably the most recognised example of colour-blocking.

Recent runway shows have used colour-blocking on a frequent basis. House of Holland’s Autumn/Winter 2009 show at London Fashion Week almost entirely resorted to colour-blocking. So did designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s line presented at the Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 edition of Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week in Spain. Forget the clothes, even accessories like boots and clutches were colour-blocked.

At the Haute Couture Week in Paris, Felipe Oliveira Baptista used a clever mix of digital prints and colour-blocking. Departing from primary and neon shades, as is usually the case in colour-blocked garments, Marcel Ostertag colour-blocked jewel tones to create a more subtle illusion.

Narciso Rodriguez’s line at New York Fashion Week saw white and black colour-blocked. Other labels to use colour-blocking in recent days are Chado Ralph Rucci and Isaac Mizrahi.

Not leaving the men out, Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, at menswear week in Paris, and Christopher Shannon on the penultimate day of London Fashion week used colour-blocking, too. Only, while the former was subtle, the latter was anything but that.

Mr. Narasimhamoorthy greeted us and showed us around. The all white Mongolian cat, Bush, was the most adorable one while another one was called Laptop because it jumps up and sits on people’s laps. Several dogs and cats lived in harmony with Mrs. Padmavathi and Narasimhamoorthy who have been treating these abandoned pets as their own children. The few hours we spent in the company of these animals were well worth it.

(The writer Shrinidhi Hande is a business analyst with Satyam Computer Services and blogs at enidhi.net)

The findings did not prove that Internet addiction breeds violent behaviour in children. Lead researcher Dr. Chih-Hung Ko, of Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan, claims it is possible that violence-prone teenagers are more likely to obsessively use the Internet.

Displays of Internet addiction include preoccupation with online activities, moodiness and irritability after a few Internet-free days and skipping other activities to spend time online.

Involve, a monthly volunteering initiative by iVolunteer, a not-for-profit organisation working in the social sector, is creating awareness on community development at Kannagi Nagar Community in Thoraipakkam.

How you can play a role? You need to volunteer for around three hours, where you will be required to clean up the kindergarten rooms, add some colour to the classroom by putting up posters and paint a classroom with creative art works.

This will be followed by a general awareness session on the community by the programme coordinator of The Hope Foundation Nursery and Primary School for the Kannagi Nagar Community. You can come in as groups and be part of this community programme.

What, when, where

What: Community work

When: February 28; 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: 5/8, Bharathiyar Street,

Saravanbhava Nagar,

Mootaikaranchavadi, Thoraipakkam,

OMR, Chennai – 97

To confirm your participation call

98414 87984 or email

anusha@ivolunteer.in