The Hindu Articles

Friday, January 4, 2013

Gold prices dip by Rs. 31 per gram

Patna:24/04/2012:A woman purchasing gold jewellery at a shop on the occasion of "Akshaya Tritiya", in Patna on 24/04/2012. Photo by:Ranjeet Kumar

TOPICS

metal and mineral gold and precious material

The price of 22-carat gold fell by Rs.31 per gram on Friday following a slump in global demand and international cost fixed for the precious metal. One gram of 22-carat-gold cost Rs. 2,864 against the previous day’s price of Rs.2,895. However, the depreciation of the rupee meant that customers could only reap a limited benefit.

The cost of the yellow metal had peaked to Rs.3,068 per gram at the end of November. For the past one month, the price had not witnessed any drastic hike as the demand too had dropped by 25 per cent, said members of Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants Association. On Thursday, the cost of gold had increased to Rs.2,895, which was Rs.20 more per gram than the previous day’s price. Jewellers said the rise was due to Union Minister P. Chidambaram’s announcement that import duty on gold may be increased.

On Friday, the price fell by an unusual Rs.31 per gram. However, only a few jewellery showrooms, including those at Anna Nagar, saw a marked increase in the number of customers. Some customers like R. Vasantha of Kilpauk who had planned to purchase jewellery a few days later said they had advanced their visit to the jewellery showrooms.

Jayantilal Chalani, the association’s president, said that demand for gold and silver has decreased in the past one month. The global economic slowdown had also impacted on the cost of gold, which has not seen much fluctuation in price.

However the weakening of the value of the rupee meant that jewellers have to pay more to import the gold, said N. Ananthapadmanabhan, regional chairman of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation. One gram of silver cost Rs.60.50, which is Rs. 2 less than Thursday’s price. The present trend may continue for one more month.

The volume of import has already come down by 30 per cent over the past six months as the price has peaked last year, Mr. Chalani said. Jewellers said that the decision to increase import duty may also lead to smuggling of the precious metal.

Keywords: Gold prices

Ratham, Sussex Downs may fight out the finish

TOPICS

sport horse racing

Ratham and Sussex Downs may fight out the finish of the Bangalore Oaks (2,400m), the chief event of the races to be held here on Saturday (January 5).

There will be no false rails.

GLASS HOUSE PLATE (Div. II) (1,200m), maiden 3-y-o only, 1.45 p.m.: 1. Blackbird (8) P. Mulrennan 55, 2. Diamond Quest (5) Vaideeshwaran 55, 3. Extra Spark (4) Jagadeesh 55, 4. Peter Parker (9) Suraj Narredu 55, 5. Smokey Sid (1) S. John 55, 6. Transformer (7) B. Paswan 55, 7. Turf Striker (3) Gnaneshwar 55, 8. Arziki (2) P. Trevor 53.5, 9. Flashing Colours (6) Sreekanth 53.5 and 10. Sur La Tete (10) David Allan 53.5.

1. Arziki, 2. Flashing Colours, 2. Peter Parkers

MALPE PLATE (Div. II) (1,200m), rated 40 to 65, 2.15: 1. Speedy Girl (1) P.S. Chouhan 60, 2. Pack Ur Bags (3) S. John 59.5, 3. Point Taken (9) M. Wepner 59.5, 4. Amalfi (8) Suraj Narredu 59, 5. Biutiful (4) R. Anand 58.5, 6. Living Legend (7) C. Henrique 58.5, 7. Saphira (2) S. Babu 57, 8. Indravati (6) Kiran Rai 56.5 and 9. Red Admiral (5) S. Hussain 53.5.

1. Speedy Girl, 2. Pack Ur Bags, 3. Amalfi

GLASS HOUSE PLATE (Div. I) (1,200m), maiden 3-y-o only, (Terms), 2.45: 1. Albertino (4) P. Mulrennan 55, 2. Aryan Warrior (3) R. Marshall 55, 3. Charlatan (8) Vaibhav 55, 4. Divine Ruler (7) Sreekanth 55, 5. Evraz (2) M. Wepner 55, 6. Great Secret (5) Gnaneshwar 55, 7. Jersey Shore (6) P.S. Chouhan 55, 8. Love Is Life (9) C. Henrique 55, 9. Man Of Vision (1) S. John 55 and 10. Beauty Is Truth (10) V.R. De Sousa 53.5.

1. Albertino, 2. Charlatan, 3. Evraz

SPLENDID ROLE PLATE (1,200m) rated 20 to 45, 3.15: 1. The Muse (7) Prabhakaran 62.5, 2. Motivation (10) S. John 61.5, 3. Bella Pinky (1) P.S. Chouhan 57, 4. Fire Storm (8) M. Wepner 57, 5. Copper Red (9) Ashok Kumar 54, 6. Isle Of Fire (6) Noornabi 54, 7. Many Wishes (2) Sahanawaz 54, 8. Scuffle (3) S. Hussain 54, 9. Ensatus Elegans (4) Chetan Kalay 53.5, 10. Balance Of Nature (5) Jagadeesh 53, 11. Go Green (11) N. Ganesh 51.5 and 12. Che Guevara (12) Rajesh Kumar 51.

1. Bella Pinky, 2. Motivating, 3. Balance Of Nature

MALPE PLATE (Div. I) (1,200m), rated 40 to 65, 3.45: 1. Flying Tricolour (8) Mallikarjun 62.5, 2. Will Star (9) Ashok Kumar 61, 3. Ultimate Fantasy (3) Noornabi 60.5, 4. Samara Sun (7) Mudassar 58.5, 5. Forest Spirit (4) Sreekanth 58, 6. Volcano (6) V.R. De Sousa 58, 7. Too Cold To Hold (1) Afsar Khan 57.5, 8. Somethingdifferent (5) P. Culhane 57, 9. Jaanvi (-) (-) 56.5, and 10. Truman (2) Sahanawaz 56.

1. Samara Sun, 2. Volcano, 3. Somethingdifferent

BANGALORE OAKS (2,400m), 4-y-o Fillies, (Terms), 4.15: 1. Auburn Beauty (1) Gnaneshwar 57, 2. Cocktail Circuit (8) P. Trevor 57, 3. I Say (4) M. Wepner 57, 4. Jersey Girl (6) P.S. Chouhan 57, 5. Ratham (5) S. John 57, 6. Snow Bird (2) Sreekanth 57, 7. State Secret (7) David Allan 57 and 8. Sussex Downs (3) Suraj Narredu 57.

1. Ratham, 2. Sussex Downs

MADHUGIRI PLATE (1,600m), rated 40 to 65, 5-y-o & over, 4.45: 1. Mi Amor (13) P.S. Chouhan 62.5, 2. No Doubt (7) David Allan 61.5, 3. Veyron (14) Noornabi 61, 4. Kripa (3) S. John 60, 5 African Queen (11) Vaibhav 59.5, 6. Ibelieveinmiracles (1) P. Culhane 59.5, 7. Neron (8) V.R. De Sousa 59, 8. Apollo King (9) Mudassar 58, 9. Strive And Serve (5) Shahbuddin 56.5, 10. Arun (12) Rajesh Kumar 54.5, 11. Cowboy Cal (15) P. Mulennan 54.5, 12. Mountain Range (6) Suraj Narredu 54.5, 13. Vega (10) Ashok Kumar 54, 14. Chronicle (4) Arshad Alam 52.5 and 15. Angel Queen (2) C. Henrique 50.5.

1. Mountain Range, 2. Neron, 3. Mi Amor

NEW YEAR CUP (1,400m), 4-y-o & over, (Terms), 5.15: 1. Optimus Prime (2) S. John 60, 2. Lovely Kiss (10) Gnaneshwar 58.5, 3. Southern Bay (3) Sreekanth 58.5, 4. Atlantus (7) C. Henrique 58, 5. Speed Six (1) R. Marshall 58, 6. Sprint Star (4) Suraj Narredu 57.5, 7. Show Time (5) P. Mulrennan 56.5, 8. Atlas Power (6) Afsar Khan 56, 9. Talisker (9) V.R. De Sousa 56, 10. Valahak (12) B. Paswan 56, 11. Caribbean Queen (11) Vaibhav 55.5, 12. Color Me (13) Jagadeesh 54.5, 13. Klipspringer (8) David Allan 54.5 and 14. Sovetskaya (14) P. Trevor 54.5.

1. Sovetskaya, 2. Klipspringer, 3. Atlantus

KITTY BANK PLATE (1,400m), rated 20 to 45, 5-y-o & over, 5.45: 1. Provocateur (15) David Allan 61.5, 2. Words Of Wisdom (4) Noornabi 61.5, 3. Lucky Sam (3) Shobhan 60, 4. Brave Cat (14) Kiran Rai 59.5, 5. Javanica (5) Mudassar 59.5, 6. Sivanta (2) R. Anand 59.5, 7. Gorgeous Gold (8) Ramesh Kumar 59, 8. Hillton (1) Rajesh Kumar 58.5, 9. A Game To Remember (11) S. John 58, 10. Beautiful Life (13) Sreekanth 57, 11. Spark Of Blue (10) Sahanawaz 56.5, 12. Click (6) D. Patel 56, 13. Rusty (9) P. Culhane 56, 14. Dream Runner (7) S.K. Paswan 55.5 and 15. Jewel Lady (12) R. Pradeep 54.

1. Provocateur, 2. Lucky Sam, 3. Words Of Wisdom

Day’s best: Sovetskaya

Double: Albertino - Provocateur

Jkt: 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9; Mini Jkt: 2, 4, 6 and 7; Tr (i): 3, 4 and 5; (ii): 6, 8 and 9; Exacta: 4, 7, 8 and 9.

Keywords: Bangalore races

More In: Races | Sport

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/ratham-sussex-downs-may-fight-out-the-finish/article4272773.ece

New World excels

TOPICS

sport horse racing

New World excelled when the horses were exercised here on Friday morning (January 4).

Inner sand:

600m: Bunga Bunga (rb), Mesmeric (Neeraj) 40. They finished level freely.

800m: White Knight (Pradeep) 53, 600/40. Moved freely. Song Dynasty (N. Jodha) 55, 600/41. Easy. Noble Reward (Dashrath), Set Sail (Neeraj) 57, 600/42. Former ended four lengths in front.

1000m: Hemisphere (Jethu) 1-11, 600/43. Easy. Sharaarat (Pradeep), Colourful Prince (Sandeep Jadhav) 1-7, 600/41. Former finished five lengths ahead. Ace Jet (Dashrath), Arabian Fighter (P.Naidu) 1-10, 600/44.5. They ended level. Kismat (Pasha) 1-9, 600/41.5. Moved freely. Milano Green (T.S.Jodha), Brazil (C.Rajendra) 1-10.5, 600/42. Pair level. Expelliarmus (Trevor) 1-11, 600/42. Easy.

1200m: Dixie Delight (Sandesh), Kerrisdale (Hamir) 1-23.5, 1000/1-7.5, 600/41. Former started two lengths behind and finished four lengths ahead.

1600m: New World (Trevor), Myla Rose (Merchant) 1-48, 1400/1-34, 1200/1-20.5, 1000/1-7, 800/53.5, 600/40. Former made up three lengths and finished one length ahead. Former excelled.

Outer sand:

600m: Umarkot (N. Jodha), Adams Spirit (C.S.Jodha) 40. Both moved freely.

800m: Hidden Goodness (Dashrath), Star Legacy (T.S.Jodha) 53, 600/39.5. They moved level freely. Sacred Soul (P.Naidu), Skywalk (C.Rajendra) 53, 600/41. They moved neck and neck freely.

1000m: Moonscape (rb) 1-10, 600/44. Slightly urged. Blue Casper (S.Kamble), Victoire (rb) 1-7, 800/53, 600/41. Former was three lengths superior.

Gate practice noted on the inner sand:

1000m: Sydney (Daniel Grant), A chestnut filly (Carnival Dancer/One Uttama) (Pasha) 1-10, 600/42. Former ended five lengths in front. Feodor (rb), A bay filly (Soviet Star/Rhuepunzel) (Pereira) and Domingo (Agarwal) 1-11, 600/44. Trio moved freely.

Keywords: Mumbai races

More In: Races | Sport

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/new-world-excels/article4272811.ece

Carducci impresses

TOPICS

sport horse racing

Carducci, Courage In Red, Scarlet O’ Hara and Alcazaba impressed when the horses were exercised here on Friday morning (January 4).

Inner sand:

1400m: Arabian Warrior (R. Marshall), Sovereign Rule (Suraj) 1-35, (1,400-600) 52.5. They are in fine trim.

Outer sand:

1000m: Inspirator (Shobhan) 1-14, 600/42.5. Strode out well. Raja’s Pet (R. Pradeep) 1-13, 600/43.5. Stretched out well. Spark Of Diablo (A. Velu), Samovar (V.R. De Sousa) 1-13, 600/44. They stretched and finished level.

1200m: Summer Breeze (Culhane) 1-30, (1,200-600) 43. Eased up. Sebright (Anjar), Wind Wonder (B. Paswan) 1-28, (1,200-600) 41.5. Latter to note. Scarlet O’ Hara (Vaibhav), Alcazaba (R. Marshall) 1-28.5, 1,000/1-12.5, 600/44. They pleased. Carducci (R. Marshall) 1-25.5, 1,000/1-11.5, 600/43.5. Impressed. Vigorous (B. Paswan), Hillsboro (Anjar) 1-27.5, 1,000/1-13.5, 600/45.5. They moved fluently.

1400m: Courage In Red (Vaibhav) 1-42.5, 1,200/1-26, 1,000/1-10, 600/42. In fine nick.

Keywords: Bangalore races

More In: Races | Sport

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/carducci-impresses/article4272817.ece

Toroloco bags Chief Minister’s Trophy

TOPICS

sport horse racing

M/s. Vikram Singh & Nirmal Singh’s Toroloco (Suraj Narredu up) won the Chief Minister’s Trophy, the chief event of the races held here on Friday (January 4). The winner is trained by Irfan Ghatala.

The results:

1. B.A.R.I. PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), rated 00 to 25: Black Blossom (Vaideeshwaran) 1, Jeyem (Mudassar) 2, Buzzword (Sreekanth) 3 and Impressiveattitude (Sahanawaz) 4. Lnk, 3 and 1-3/4. 1m 15.17s. Rs. 290 (w), 50, 15 and 16 (p), SHP: Rs. 48, FP: Rs. 1,744, Q: Rs. 173, Trinella: Rs. 2,458 and Rs. 1,316. Favourite: Buzzword. Owner: Mr. Chandrakant Narshi Dedhia. Trainer: Samar Singh.

2. B.A.R.I. PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), rated 00 to 25: Spiritual Star (B. Paswan) 1, Starstruck (Afsar Khan) 2, All Clear (Mudassar) 3 and Artic Breeze (Suraj Narredu) 4. Not run: Narnia. 6-3/4, 3/4 and 1-1/4. 1m 14.81s. Rs. 16 (w), 13, 21 and 20 (p), SHP: Rs. 75, FP: Rs. 144, Q: Rs. 164, Trinella: Rs. 319 and Rs. 184. Favourite: Spiritual Star. Owner: Mr. Nirmal Singh. Trainer: Irfan Ghatala.

3. CHITRADURGA PLATE (1,100m), maiden 3-y-o only, (Terms): Valerian (P.S. Chouhan) 1, Nayan Star (V.R. De Sousa) 2, Tiger Eyes (C. Henrique) 3 and Someone Special (M. Wepner) 4. 5-1/4, 4-3/4 and Shd. 1m 7.69s. Rs. 23 (w), 12, 25 and 187 (p), SHP: Rs. 69, FP: Rs. 128, Q: Rs. 57, Trinella: Rs. 3,028 and Rs. 742, Exacta: Rs. 29,455 and Rs. 6,644. Favourite: Valerian. Owners: M/s. Marthand Singh Mahindra & Ashraf Salam. Trainer: Dhariwal.

4. GOMOS PLATE (1,400m), rated 20 to 45: Open Page (R. Pradeep) 1, Ice Kingdom (Suraj Narredu) 2, Abbas Dreams (Noornabi) 3 and Wing Commander (David Allan) 4. Lnk, 3 and 1. 1m 27.29s. Rs. 120 (w), 25, 12 and 16 (p), SHP: Rs. 49, FP: Rs. 252, Q: Rs. 64, Trinella: Rs. 1,245 and Rs. 769. Favourite: Ice Kingdom. Owner: Mrs. N. Rajamma. Trainer: Puttanna.

5. CHIEF MINISTER’S TROPHY (2,000m), 4-y-o & over, (Terms): Toroloco (Suraj Narredu) 1, Spark Of Silver (V.R. De Sousa) 2, Camorra (Vaibhav) 3 and Maths Baby (M. Wepner) 4. Not run: Spearhead. 1-1/2, Snk and 1. 2m 6.85s. Rs. 13 (w), 12 and 21 (p), SHP: Rs. 30, FP: Rs. 28, Q: Rs. 25, Trinella: Rs. 161 and Rs. 59. Favourite: Toroloco. Owners: M/s. Vikram Singh & Nirmal Singh. Trainer: Irfan Ghatala.

6. K. RAMA RAO MEMORIAL TROPHY (1,400m), rated 40 to 65: Wind Of Soul (Suraj Narredu) 1, Simpleton (P. Mulrennan) 2, Whistlejacket (P.S. Chouhan) 3 and Rich Celebration (V.R. De Sousa) 4. Nk, 1-1/4 and 3/4. 1m 26.34s. Rs. 67 (w), 22, 14 and 15 (p), SHP: Rs. 46, FP: Rs. 126, Q: Rs. 55, Trinella: Rs. 259 and Rs. 119, Exacta: Rs. 978 and Rs. 437. Favourite: Simpleton. Owners: M/s. Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan & Waryam Singh rep. Wadhawan Livestock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: S. Narredu.

7. TAJ STUD PLATE (1,200m), rated 60 to 85, 5-y-o & over: Mitraya (P.S. Chouhan) 1, Swift Star (S. Hussain) 2, Superb Style (C. Henrique) 3 and Shuddering (Sahanawaz) 4. Not run: Wild Nexus. 3/4, Lnk and 1-3/4. 1m 13.47s. Rs. 38 (w), 14, 24 and 35 (p), SHP: Rs. 77, FP: Rs. 131, Q: Rs. 73, Trinella: Rs. 2,503 and Rs. 878, Exacta: Rs. 1,56,880 (carried over). Favourite: Free Law. Owners: M/s. R.R. Byramji & Berjis Minoo Desai. Trainer: R.R. Byramji.

8. AMBER REGENT PLATE (1,600m), rated 20 to 45: Sumitomo (P.S. Chouhan) 1, Velvetine (Gnaneshwar) 2, Glycys Bay (Vaibhav) 3 and Alianz (Rajesh Babu) 4. 2, 1-1/4 and 1-3/4. 1m 39.58s. Rs. 50 (w), 20, 34 and 20 (p), SHP: Rs. 105, FP: Rs. 270, Q: Rs. 197, Trinella: Rs. 1,799 and Rs. 544, Exacta: Rs. 43,152 and Rs. 12,945. Favourite: Nation’s Glory. Owner: M/s. Rajan Aggarwal & Gautam Agarwal. Trainer: Darius.

Jackpot: Rs. 12,310 (22 tkts.); Runner-up: Rs. 1,095 (106 tkts.); Mini Jackpot: Rs. 3,720 (10 tkts.); Treble: Rs. 188 (216 tkts.).

Keywords: Bangalore races

More In: Races | Sport

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/toroloco-bags-chief-ministers-trophy/article4273244.ece

Drumbeats in the head

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/drumbeats-in-the-head/article4272990.ece

Thursday, January 3, 2013

LPG explosion kills four, injures six in Old Washermenpet

The Hindu The gas leak occurred in a two-storey building in Bhojarajan Nagar. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

The Hindu Riyana, who died in the LPG explosion in Old Washermenpet on Thursday.

The Hindu Thenmozhiyan, who died in the LPG explosion in Old Washermenpet on Thursday.

The Hindu Thenmozhiyan's son Karthik, who died in the LPG explosion in Old Washermenpet on Thursday.

The Hindu Fazullah Khan, who died in the LPG explosion in Old Washermenpet on Thursday.

TOPICS

disaster and accident

Accident occurred when resident turned on a light unaware of gas leak; balcony collapsed onto adjacent house in impact

Four persons including a four-year-old girl died in a gas cylinder blast in Old Washermenpet in north Chennai on Thursday morning.

Police said that the accident occurred when Fazullah Khan (68), a resident of 6th street, Bhojarajan Nagar and an accountant at a private firm, turned on a light in the kitchen. A gas leak through a faulty tube resulted in an explosion and Khan died in the impact.

At the time of the accident, Khan’s wife, Khushika (60) was sleeping in the bedroom and she sustained a few burns caused by the fire. Their son, Mushtaque Mohammed, who works in a BPO, was away from the house on a night shift.

Due to the impact of the explosion, the wall of a small balcony outside the kitchen collapsed onto an adjacent asbestos-roofed house where three independent families were living. Two of the residents, Thenmozhiyan (42), a labourer, and his younger son Karthik (7) died on the spot.

Thenmozhiyam’s wife, Jothi (37), his elder son Tamilselvan (11) and his daughter Mathumita (8) were injured. A family of three — Imtiaz (30), Farida (23) and their daughter, Riyana (4) — who were living in a rented portion of the house were also injured.

The injured were admitted to the Stanley Government Hospital. Later in the day, Riyana, who sustained severe head injuries, succumbed at the hospital. “The incident occurred around 5.30 a.m. and due to the impact, many glass windows of adjacent houses broke,” said Old Washermenpet’s police inspector, R. Chitibabu.

Fire tenders from Mint and Old Washermenpet rushed to the spot and put off the blaze.

As the locality is congested, with many big old houses divided into portions let out on rent, the impact of the blast was felt by many neighbours.

At the time of the accident, the cylinder was full resulting in heavy leakage of gas from the faulty tube.

Thursday's accident is the fifth such in less than four months in north Chennai alone. On September 12, an LPG cylinder technician and three others of a family in Thirumangalam died, and a boy suffered burn injuries, in a fire following a gas leak. Two days later, a septuagenarian and two youngsters were injured in an apartment in Porur in a similar accident. The old woman and one of the youths died later.

Keywords: LPG explosion