Case1: Sonia Gandhi: Her only interest is to save the gaddi for her son. Let the country be damned, let the people be damned….but her son should be the PM. So she installs a number of puppets. But before telling about her puppets, let us look at the achievements of Rahul baba…

Case2: Congress can not pin-point even one seat as its sure shot. If Congress gets a seat or two in Chattisgarh, it will not be because of its hard work or will of the public, but due to stupidity of BJP.

Mind you we in Ergo are not bashing any individual/political party or doing any pre-poll predictions in the run-up to the elections. These are what some of our netizens are posting online, stealing some moments from their daily chores.

The above were excerpts from http://swabhimaan2008.blogspot.com titled ‘UPA Hall of Shame: The puppeteer and her puppets’ and Chakresh Mishra’s post ‘Chattisgarh pre-poll prediction: BJP bastion, Congress might get consolation prize’.

The big, fat Indian election hungama has rolled out and if political parties are going all out to woo voters, net-savvy people are making more than a point by debating political issues, following campaign trails and posting interesting nuggets – some of which you don’t read or hear from the print and electronic media.

“Watch out there is more to come,” says Mishra, an M.Tech student from IIT-Delhi. “Pre-poll prediction of every state, 10/12 major issues that concern Indians and interview with politicians.”

The UP youngster started blogging about politics a year ago and today he has a healthy viewership – around 5,000 hits a day. “I have set a target of 25,000 for the next month,” says Mishra, who is preparing for Civil Service and devotes weekends to compile five reports and post them every day of the week. Join Mishra at http://promiseofreason.com.

The mechanical engineer is joined by many such enthusiastic from different regions and geographies. According to indiblogger.in five per cent of the Indian blogosphere blogs about politics at any given time.

While some are cashing on the season by showing support to a political party, others are posting on issues to sensitise voters. So, what is triggering bloggers to write about Indian elections?

“There have been many issues pertaining to social and national interest but we forget after a few months,” says 20-year-old Arpit Parihar who blogs at speakingconscience.blogspot.com.

“I think blogs can clean the dust from the minds of people and make them assess the performance of a particular party in the previous years.”

But are blogs going to play a crucial factor in influencing the voters? L.K. Advani (blog.lkadvani.in) probably is the trendsetter this season. He has been cashing in heavily to popularise his party’s ideology by advertising in almost all the top blogs and websites. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.R. Reddy and Captain Gopinath have also followed suit.

Parihar says how Advani’s posts on why Muslims should vote for BJP changed some impressions about the party. “Through very well integrated facts, figures and different view points he has written what the BJP thinks about the Muslim voters. Now, this can really influence the thinking of a particular community.”

Sample the case of Meenakshi who blogs at http://swabhimaan2008.blogspot.com – a group formed to encourage Hindus to voice their opinion against pseudo-secular politicians and media. The blog sees the NDA as its alliance and has traffic increase considerably since the last month.

“Politics affects our lives. Politicians frame policies that affect the country and its people, from national security to education. So, it is important for people to know what they are doing or what they are not doing,” says Meenakshi, one of the bloggers of Swabhimaan.

She has been roped in to play a village belle in Hari’s Singam, in which she pairs up with Suriya, and has also signed a film with Karthi titled Siruthai.

The store stocks an eclectic mix of things sourced from Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, Egypt and Sri Lanka. The things vary from wall clocks to leather seaters to ashtrays, handbags, showpieces, leather jewellery and lampshades. Common stuff, you might think. But you couldn’t be further off.

Each good is handpicked and not likely to be found elsewhere. We’re talking purses made of Coke and Sprite cans (Rs.1,200 each), incense-holders designed in a way to look as if an old man is having a puff when the incense is lighted, pretty horn combs (Rs. 200) and hairpins (Rs. 175) that look better in showcases than dressing tables, miniature Volkswagen T2 bus-like porcelain things that turn out to be salt and pepper shakers, and the like.

Zulaiha Cader travels once every four months to pick the stuff, so four months is how long the things remain on the shelves. “It all started with holding exhibitions at Vominisha Gallery on Khader Nawaz Khan Road.

We then decided to expand and set up our own store,” says Zulaiha. The four-year-old store has a steady clientele in the doctors at Apollo and interior designers.

“Moreover, our vacuum-sealed fresh flowers are very popular among people visiting patients at the hospital as these flowers do not wilt in a day,” she adds. Coming to vacuum-sealed flowers, there are also table jars (in sets of four) with orchids inside transparent lids.

“We try not to repeat stuff, unless someone places an order and demands more of the same piece. Everything here is unique, 99 per cent handmade and eco-friendly,” stresses Zulaiha.

So you can find picnic baskets made with braided nylon ribbons normally used to pack goods, lampshades and wall pieces embedded with pressed flowers, wall clocks in frames that on closer inspection are revealed to be iron scrap, transparent plastic bangles with dead beetles inside them, bamboo roots curved into ashtrays, coconut shell lamps … Exotic!

From fruit nectars to carefully selected fresh juices and milkshakes, which are prepared as prescribed in the Ayurveda, a drink here promises many health benefits.

Some of the interesting refreshers we spotted include Munna Bhai, Karma Tail and Threesome.

Karma Tail, for example, is a cocktail of papaya and apple and is recommended for people with ulcers, intestinal disorders and anaemia, while Threesome is a cool blend of orange, sweet lime and honey.

Pavan, one of the partners, says the use says the health benefits in these fruit juices come by using refined sugar. Says se of refined sugar in fruit juices usually offsets the health benefits these drinks have to offer. So he recommends having them with honey and brown country sugar. “Almost all our juices are pure nectar and if we do have to add water, it is always mineral water,” he says.

My other picks Celestial Citrus and Lips Flare were equally amazing. While the former is a blend of orange, grape and pineapple, the later tasted like Virgin Mary with a twist. The chef wouldn’t tell us what that was though! The milkshakes again have exotic names – Bazooka Blend, Pharoah’s Favorites and Disney Nut.

These are made from a combination of exotic fruits and nuts in skimmed milk and honey.

However, Nutty Professor, a blend of strawberry and nuts, is the hottest moving drink. Surprisingly, each of the drink has a secret ingredient that the chef wouldn’t reveal.

Yes – he rattles off names like 8Zingo – a fresh fruit juice cocktail of 8 different fruits, Rising Mountain - a foaming drink without any fizz added, which I have now begun to love. The surprise package at Juice Tree, though, is their selection of vegetable juices. They are amazing healers, says Sridhar, who believes that this is his way of giving back to society.

For someone who has the time and the inclination, he is ready to reel out a list of health benefits his fruit juice cocktails and vegetable juices have to offer – Apple juice helps combat hypertension and heart diseases, Grape for Asthma and Migraine, Amla for rheumatism, glaucoma and ageing-related illness, Papaya for liver, spleen and menstrual problems, Pomegranates for liver, kidney and gall bladder related ailments, Karela for diabetes, Radishes for thyroid and sinus problems – the list just goes on.

Try Juice Tree if you are a health freak moving towards natural wellness or just a plain juice aficionado like me looking for some great refreshment at an affordable price.

Too Good for Critics is a weekly column to celebrate Namma Chennai’s ‘Kaiyendi Bhavans’ and small eateries. If you can think of a similar place, mail us at feedback@goergo.in

But that theory evaporated at the joint press conference that he addressed with the man he himself called ‘Prince of Kolkata’.

It is reliably learnt that the top brass of KKR – team owner Shah Rukh Khan, director John Buchanan and the man himself Sourav Ganguly – will come up with a compromise formula (read reinstating Sourav as the singular captain). Co-owners Jay Mehta and Juhi Chawla are also expected to attend the meeting at the actor’s Mumbai residence.

If sources are to be believed, KKR will take the field under Ganguly for their first match against Deccan Chargers on April 19. He will be evaluated on his performance for the first few games before a call is made on the future captaincy issue. Trying to clear the air, Khan, on the sidelines of the Lakme Indian Fashion Week, told reporters: “Let me tell you, there is no Kolkata Knight Riders without Dada. We love him.”

Reasoning out Buchanan’s “four captain” theory, the KKR boss added: “We are a team and no decision is taken by one person. Twenty20 is a new format and new things are being tried. Too much has been said, we are not having four captains in one match. It’s going to be one captain in one match. We may have some standbys in case of emergencies.”

Australian World Cup-winning coach Buchannan had advocated a theory that the Kolkata side will play under multiple captains – Ganguly, the West Indian Chris Gayle, Aussie Brad Hodge and Kiwi wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

When Ergo contacted him over the phone, Ganguly preferred to remain non-committal. “I would not like to comment on the issue but yes, I’ve spoken to him (Shah Rukh Khan) earlier,” Ganguly said.

“Let’s see. I’m hoping for the best.” The first batch of KKR players, which has been rechristened as just Knight Riders, will leave for Bloemfontein on Wednesday morning from Mumbai, while Ganguly will leave on Sunday.

Twenty seven players are expected to make it to the conditioning camp in South Africa and Debabrata Das and Mohnish Parmar will be left out of the 28-member players’ list announced earlier. As of now, former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar is the only player outside the initial list who is expected to travel to South Africa.

However, even a day before the departure, CEO, Joy Bhattacharya refused to divulge the name of the selected players and said: “I don’t want to disclose the names of the players who would be going to South Africa now as we want to keep all options open. The whole team may go there and after having a look at all the players we can take a call.”

The team is expected to practice at their base in Bloemfontein and play a few practice games till April 15, before moving down to Cape Town where the final 22 for the competition will be picked.

We were five of us who booked for the 9:45 a.m. expedition. The photographs on display were scary and we were also asked to sign that they are not responsible for any eventuality. We reserved for the middle river trip, which takes two hours.

There were four other groups for the trip and they started by giving basic instructions on how to use the paddle and get back if we fall in the river. Our trainer was Liz. She taught us the forward, backward movement and other basics of rafting.

We were all set and took our seats. I was sitting on the last row on the left side with Liz behind me. As soon as we got into the water, the boat hit the rock scaring us. Added to that our trainer started shouting that we were not rowing uniformly.

After getting comfortable, we were doing good and one rapid after other we kept on navigating. Some boats got stuck and people fell into the water. Luckily, no one fell from our boat. We were having fun but at the same time were fully exhausted.

(The writer Varun works with TCS)

Ram, in his free time, who did some social work in USA for seventeen years says, “After coming to India, I wanted to continue the good work. When I got together with Karthikeyan, we thought of spreading our computer knowledge to deserving kids. We approached government-run schools and self help groups and then started to teach at Nalandama Community Centre at Besant Nagar, Pudhiyador center and Olcott high school on weekends.

Karthikeyan adds: “In course of time, we learnt they have a spark and are intelligent and hence we also started to focus on three other areas – general awareness, English skills and personality development.”

Over a period of one year with the help of dedicated volunteers – Archana Chauhan, Meera Sivakumar, Vijay Kaushik, Anbu, Balaji Raghavan, Shweta, S N Basu and Mohan, who teach between 2pm and 4pm, Deepam has managed to maintain a regular 20-week class every Saturday at Olcott and Nalandama and at Pudhiyador center on Sunday.

They have about thirty children for one course. Meera, a marketing consultant, and Vijay, an investment banker who comes from Banglaore every weekend say: “We feel satisfied and happy by spending our quality time teaching these kids. Our day is made when we can answer their questions which we ourselves didn’t know much about.”

Basu recalls: “We were looking for a camera to take a photo of a session and we were amazed to note one kid’s presence of mind when he spotted a webcam. Apart from their economic conditions, they are no different from the other kids.”

One can see the children really actively participating and enjoying activities like quiz, debates and English word building activity. Fourteen-year-old P Prashant of Olcott Memorial High school says, “I got to know of Dhanraj Pillai and Abhinav Bindra during the GK session.

The talk given by Sharath Babu at the first anniversary celebrations, was very inspiring and the sessions on public speaking has boosted my confidence.”

At the end of the course, the children are given certificates. Archana, the driving force of Deepam’s education curriculum, plans to focus a lot in e-learning, internet know-how and flash communication in the next academic year.

She says: “We want to teach lessons that would be of long term utility to the kids. Google browsing and E-learning is very important where they can get any information and also be in touch with us through emails.”

When we ask Karthikeyan how they managed to draw a systematic curriculum sans any guidance from educationists, he says: “We formed it on the basis of our childhood experiences during our school days. But we plan to partner with like-minded people this year for better results.”

The Skype for iPhone will be available for download from Apple’s iTunes store from Tuesday. Skype plans to launch a service for BlackBerry users in May.

Welcome to the world of iron scrap hunters who can be spotted with a piece of magnet at the end of a wooden stick on their hand. Moving the magnet-fixed stick over every nook and corner of the city, they hope to attract nuts, bolts or any iron matter, which they sell at the end of the day for their livelihood.

Twenty-four-year-old Amoi scans through the automobile spare parts den in the city, Pudupet, and Ambattur Industrial Estate for a living. Part of a Narikkurava community temporarily camped behind the Madras High Court complex, Amoi says she has been collecting iron with magnets for a few years now.

“Some days, I’m lucky to find more iron and end up with some good money to take home. Sometimes, my stick has attracted even bigger objects, like a pocket radio that I use at home even to this day,” she says. Amoi takes a break on Sundays as establishments at her work spots remain closed on the day.

The magnets are usually cylindrical and are retrieved from old radios or even dismantled heavy machinery parts. Custom-made and fixed on the tail-end of a thick wooden stick, some even have attached brushes to the magnet to clean their picks. These scrap collectors usually carry a bucket or a bag to save their collection to sell it after work.

“Our efforts will fetch Rs. 11 or Rs. 12 per kilo of iron. Waste-paper shops usually pay without hesitating as they know we have acquired them after a day-long honest handwork,” adds 47-year-old Samikannu, who also frequents Pudupet and some streets around the Guindy Industrial Estate.

Both Amoi and Samikannu refused to pose for photographs. An elderly woman scrap collector, who finally consented, however, refused to reveal her identity. “Don’t ask me my name but I can tell you that I have been collecting iron with magnets for more than 20 years after quitting my job as a domestic help, which paid very less,” says the senior citizen, while going through a bin with her stick to find iron for food.