Point blank
What still hooks readers to Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes or even Nancy Drew? For some, it's the alluring cover and for others, the thriller element
When a body is hauled from River Tyne, Sarah Tucker heads north for a closer look. She identifies the dead woman as private detective Zoe Boehm…A smooth-tongued stranger conquers the ladies of Lochdubh with fatal results…The tranquility of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head.

Know the truth

Rampage
Bollywood actors Imran Khan (L) and Ranbir Kapoor (R) walk the ramp with Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri displaying creations of Karan Johar with Varun Bahl during the India Couture Fashion Week in Mumbai on Friday night. PTI photo: Santosh Hirlekar	Actors Zayed Khan and Shruti Hassan in designer Manav Gangwani's creation during the India Couture Week 2009 in Mumbai on Thursday night. PTI photo: Santosh Hirlekar

Chemical reaction
Unlike those blessed ones whose profession meets their passions in life, Uday Narayan Shahane's life has been marked with recurrent phenomenon of contrasts. A born theatre devout Uday, who wanted to study and practice drama, had to complete his M Sc in chemistry and later serve in the State Bank of India. Better late than never. Uday finally opted for voluntary retirement to be a fulltime theatre practitioner.

‘I know I am desirable’
Says Maxim's cover girl Amrita Rao
Actress Amrita Rao, who has shaken off her girl-next-door image with a sexy makeover, is the latest cover girl of the men's magazine Maxim and believes that she is one of the most desirable actors in Bollywood. The 28-year-old actress who played the coy beauty in films like Vivaah and Ishq Vishq went for a glamorous makeover for Shortcut and she continues to sizzle on the cover of the magazine's October issue.

Chiggy wiggy blues!
Kylie Minogue has failed to impress movie critics who have slammed her Bollywood debut in the film Blue. The Aussie singer was reportedly paid 611,000 pounds to appear in the 14 million pound project, the most expensive Bollywood film ever made. But the movie was tagged "idiotic" with critics panning the pint-sized beauty "as sexy as a fat housewife in a kaftan",” reports News of the World.The 41- year-old star also apparently missed the mark in her dance song Chiggy Wiggy. -ANI

Your Honour
Renowned and celebrated actor, Om Puri, an old student of the institute was honoured with `College Ratan Award' at the Old Students Meet organized by Khalsa College, Patiala at the college campus.The function had been organised to commemorate and celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year of the college.

Optical illusion

This young boy, who hails from the nearly-extinct Bahrupiya tribe, enacts the role of a vanar sena on the busy university road in Chandigarh. Lifestyle photo: S. Chandan

Cold Shoulder
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is unwell and has been advised bed rest following severe cold and shoulder pain, according to his latest blog post."A beastly cold sets upon me and a chest condition that threatens to develop into a disturbing congestion, drains all my energy.

Bigg gets bigger
It’s the third week now, the madness, the chaos and the tamasha is getting scandalous. Not that it is supposed to be a clean show, but the Bigg Boss steps up the entertainment quotient this time as the contestants expose themselves a bit too early. Not wasting time, everybody seems to be working hard towards the purpose, to win.

Candlelight drama
Mahesh Dattani’s play Brief candle is all set to illuminate the city’s theatre zone
As enshrined in celestial thespian Bharat Muni’s Natyashatra, a complete Drama is an imitation or representation of the inner psychological conditions, external manifestations of these mental states, and situations to which human beings react psychologically and physically. These features and more are embellished in yet another new and boisterous theatrical spectacle Brief Candle in English, being brought to the city by the Durga Das Foundation, is all set to illumine the aesthetic vision of art aficionados on October 27 at Tagore theatre.

Spade work
Potpourri
No matter how beautiful you have made your garden and added many a rare feature, the bad things attract the attention the most, and fast. This may be a broken tile in the garden path, a disfigured statue, a mangled light system, a rusted stand, or a disproportionate or damaged pot. The last factor makes the difference as even the most beautiful plant cannot distract the eyes. It is the human nature.

Charity begins at cyberspace
If you feel for a cause, you can contribute your bits in cash or kind through websites
Flood, earthquake, landslide, famine, hurricane…unannounced and most-dreaded natural calamities can turn the existence upside down, anytime and anywhere. Worst still, are the remnants of the tragedy, a painful insight of which, we get to see on our small screens. The slow-paced rescue operations, victims facing hardships due to lack of adequate infrastructure, deplorable condition of the relief camps leave a bad taste. The ghastly picture of kids marooned and wailing, ruffles the conscience, and springs in a desire to do something. But, the ‘how’ factor mars the whole ‘let’s do something’ enthusiasm.

Cancer call?
Studies on whether mobile phones can cause cancer, especially brain tumors, vary widely in quality and there may be some bias in those showing the least risk, researchers reported on Tuesday. So far it is difficult to demonstrate any link, although the best studies do suggest some association between mobile phone use and cancer, the team led by Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung of South Korea's National Cancer Center found.

Stars don’t twitter!
Movie bosses are reportedly prohibiting stars from leaking film information on popular social network sites such as Twitter. Studios were said to be including the ban as part of the clauses in their contracts, believing the "tweets" were damaging showbiz.

Geek Speak
Charged up
New ground breaking hydrogen-powered charger is health and environment friendly
The continuous growth in the number of electronics in use around the world has tempted researchers to think of ways to keep them charged, with minimal impact on the environment and also sparing a thought or motivation about altering them. Common power supplies for either cell-phones or laptops is (as they have been for a very long time) a non-reusable battery or presently a rechargeable one. Now that we are in the 21st century, it’s time to introduce ourselves to the “21st century fuel” known as hydrogen.