Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Looks like Nokia's announced their new E60, E61, and E70 3G (WCDMA) phones with WiFi and mobile mail targeting mobile business users (yes, it's got GoodLink, Nokia Business Center, Seven Always-On, Visto Mobile, and BlackBerry Connect support). All the Series 60 Es run on Symbian OS 9.1 and will support advanced voice services such as Push-To-Talk and SIP allowing companies to integrate these phones into their Avaya or Cisco IP PBX (think 4-digit dialing and assisted call answering). The E60 candybar is optimized for voice and targets GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 and WCDMA2100 networks while the E61 takes a shot off the Motorola Q's bow and includes all the IP telephony functions but is optimized for mobile email and operates in quad-band GSM and WCDMA 2100 networks. The E70 is their enterprise all-in-one messaging device and will be released in two flavas: one for Europe and Asia and another for the Americas. Available in the first quarter of 2006 worldwide priced between €350 an

There has been quite a buzz about Hrithik Roshan’s appearance and his negative role in Dhoom 2. But the Krrish actor says that he doesn’t see his character, Aryan, as negative. “He is always on the wrong side of the law. My character, Aryan, is a guy who has this secret mission to rid the world of all objects of desire that give rise to greed and dirty politics.” H r i t h i k ’s character believes gold and diamonds create greed and come in the way of true compassion, so he steals them. “So I don’t really see him as a vil lain. However, one really doesn’t know what he does with all the things that he steals in the film. His modus operandi is unique because he steals with such skill that it really makes you want to be like him,” says Hrithik. About his look in Dhoom 2, Hrithik says that the makeup artists from London completely transformed him. “They were truly people with a magic wand. It was exciting to try out these different disguises. Aryan is very good at what he does, but he’s an

London: British-born Preeti Desai has become the first person of Indian origin to win the Miss Great Britain title replacing original winner Danielle Lloyd after she was stripped off the award for reportedly dating judge Teddy Sheringham and agreeing to pose for Playboy magazine. The 25-year-old, from Guisborough, North Yorks will now represent Britain in the Miss Universe beauty pageant. Preeti’s family — mother Hema, father Jitu, and sister Anjlee are ecstatic at her win, according to the Sun newspaper. Preeti gave all credit to her mum, who is recovering, from a serious illness. “When she was crowned Miss Great Britain she rang to tell me and said, ‘The crown is for you.’ I burst into tears. I felt as if I won that crown. I felt as if I am Miss Great Britain,” Hema said.

Simon Winder London: Half a cen tury after his invention, having now outlived his creator by more than 40 years, James Bond has taken on an almost religious role in our lives, miraculously reincarnating and retooling. His arrival in multiplexes in his fresh, blond avatar, Daniel Craig, adds to this mystic atmosphere. The film, Casino Royale, is a remake based on the first of Ian Fleming’s Bond books: an attempt to return the character to his roots, a fresh beginning after the increasingly witless Pierce Brosnan years. In astrological terms, this is the equivalent of several planets or suns or whatever being perfectly aligned. Will Bond’s latest rebirth usher in some new era in our history? The comparison is far from facetious. Like all cults, the Bond sect has gained strength through a constant rain of setbacks and humiliations. The wild success of the books and the initial 1960s films created the range of texts against which all later experience has been judged. Ian Fleming and Sean C

Kylie Minogue dazzled an adoring homeland crowd on Saturday in the diva’s triumphant first foray onto the stage since she discovered 18 months ago that she had breast cancer. “Good evening, Sydney!” were the Australian’s first words as she rose on a platform from the centre of the stage. “How are you feeling tonight?” she asked the cheering crowd. The 38-year-old Grammy winner’s performance before a sell-out crowd of 10,000 was the much-anticipated comeback from her shock diagnosis in May last year, just days before the Australian leg of “The Showgirl Tour” was set to begin. Minogue had a successful surgery in her hometown of Melbourne and underwent chemotherapy in Paris, where her French actor-boyfriend, Olivier Martinez has a home. During her recovery, she wrote a children’s book, The Showgirl Princess and launched her own perfume, Darling. The former soap opera teen star wore a pink feathered headdress and flowing gown by designer John Galliano to kick off her renamed “Showgirl Home

It’s just a myth that that some people look good even in sackcloth. Just check out how terrible the otherwise gorgeous Angelina Jolie is looking in this drab ensemble. It just goes to show that even if you are blessed with stunning good looks you still have to make an effort and dress well. So get into the habit of being neatly turned out at all times.

CHRISTINA FRANCIS HYDERABAD You can believe it or not, but if jeans are your second skin, unfailingly updated every season, you are making a huge contribution to environmental pollution. According to a recent report in Slate, large amounts of carbon dioxide emitting chemicals and fertilisers are used to produce cotton clothes, particu larly jeans. The report revealed that ‘to produce one pair of regular cotton jeans it takes threequarters of a pound of fertilisers and pesticides’. Seen this way, your jeans are not as harmless as the look. So does that mean that ecofriendly youth will ditch their denims? “No way. I’ll never give up jeans,” exclaims 20-year-old Divya Bhandari, an engineering student. “If I had to remove all my jeans, I’ll have a totally non-functional wardrobe,” she says. Divya points out that most young sters are totally dependent on their jeans, which have become “365-days-a-year clothing,” because they can be worn both as casual and for mal wear. In fact, many youngst