South Indian Food

The Malabar Coast in the South India is famous for its spices of pungent aromas that lured many foreign invaders like the Dutch, the French and the English. Cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are some of the notable spices, which are found in abundance in the South. The availability of coconut, fish and root tubers have influenced the culinary creations of the South. Rice is the staple food for the people of South India instead of wheat, which is more popular in northern states.




The very mentioning of the name of South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, brings to ones mind the tastes of Idlis, dosas, Sambhar and Vada. However, there are more than these that can treat the taste buds. Most of the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes of this region have a generous use of spices and coconuts. The final tempering with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and urad dhal is almost the same for most of the dishes. In Kerala, the staple food of the people is fish accompanied with steaming rice of big size. Banana chips and jackfruit chips are the specialty snacks of this state and most of the visitors make sure they have at least a few bags of these items in their carry home luggage!

The Andhra cuisine has a great Mughal impact. Their food is known for its spiciness and hotness. The kebabs and the Briyanis are not to be missed. Home made pickles, pappads and dry chutney powders to be used with dosa or idli or rice are the famous culinary traditions of this region.

India's first medal

Abhinav Bindra (born September 28, 1982) is an Indian shooter specializing in the 10 m Air Rifle event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and first gold medal since 1980 for India by winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event.

Abhinav Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In the 10 m Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Bronze in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he broke the Olympic record but failed to win a medal. He is a recipient of the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002. Abhinav Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by his first coach Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon.

Apart from being a shooter, Abhinav Bindra holds an M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration). He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh. He studied at the Doon School, Dehradun till 10th standard and then left for St. Stephens school, Chandigarh to pursue shooting.

Medal record
Competitor for Flag of India India

Men's shooting
Olympic Games
Gold 2008 Beijing Men's 10 m air rifle

ISSF World Shooting Championships
Gold 2006 Zagreb Men's 10 m Air Rifle

Commonwealth Games
Silver 2002 Manchester Men's 10m Air Rifle
Gold 2002 Manchester Men's 10m Air Rifle
Bronze 2006 Melbourne Men's 10m Air Rifle
Gold 2006 Melbourne Men's 10m Air Rifle

Thanks, for setting a great precedence for the rest of Team India.... We hope the entire team India makes us proud the same way....

Good wishes to Abhinav, and good luck to all..

Tendulkar to act in a film

India’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who is also a brand ambassidor for several adds will make his entry into cine industry and soon he will be making his debut by a Marathi film “Vighnaharta Shri Siddhivinayak”. The movie is based on Lord Ganesha, though Sachin has received many invitations to act but he doesnot signed for a single movie also and the main reason for signing for this movie is Sachin is a big fan of lord Ganesha and that is the reason he is going to act in this movie. Movie is produced by Rajiv Singhvi and he has cleared to all that movie will move on to the sets after completion of Sachin’s tour of Srilanka he also added that the main reason for maknig a film on god is he is intrested to give a social message to the public.
The main intresting news is that voic-over for this movie will be given by Bollywood big B Amitabh Bachan. Meanwhile, Sachin is very eager to participate on to the sets and he is very thankful to the directorand producers who has given this oppurtinuity and at the same time he will be very thankful to Amitabh for his voiceover performnace. Lets wait and see whether Sachin able to acquire craze by this movie or not, the other news about the movie were not yet known to anyone.

Muttiah Muralitharan vs Anil Kumble

Muttiah Muralitharan born 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka), often referred to as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test-Match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002.

Muralitharan is Test cricket's highest wicket-taker, having overtaken the previous record-holder Shane Warne on December 3, 2007. Muralitharan had held the record before when he surpassed West Indies' Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004. But he suffered a shoulder injury later that year and was then overtaken by Warne. He is also second in the list of wicket-takers in One Day Internationals.

Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the game and the greatest player in Sri Lanka's history. He plays domestic cricket for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, and county cricket for Lancashire as an overseas player.

Muralitharan's career has been beset with controversy; his bowling action called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community. After biomechanical analysis in non-match conditions, Muralitharan's action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, first in 1996 and again in 1999. The legality of his doosra was first called into question in 2004. This delivery was found to exceed the ICC elbow extension limit of five degrees, assigned for spinners at that time. Based on of official studies into bowling actions, the International Cricket Council revised the elbow flexion limits applying to all bowlers in 2005. Muralitharan's doosra falls within the revised limits.

Muralitharan was left out of the one-day touring squad to West Indies in early 2008, leading to speculation that he may be focusing on Test cricket in the future whilst Sri Lanka built a younger squad for One Day Internationals.

Career statistics
Tests ODI FC LA

Matches 121 310 219 378
Runs scored 1,156 524 2,087 693
Batting average 11.56 5.86 11.28 6.41
100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/1 0/0
Top score 67 27 67 27
Balls bowled 40,287 16,822 62,929 20,095
Wickets 746 475 1,309 575
Bowling average 21.77 22.85 19.06 22.97
5 wickets in innings 65 9 115 10
10 wickets in match 21 n/a 32 n/a
Best bowling 9/51 7/30 9/51 7/30
Catches/stumpings 68/– 122/– 119/– 142/–




Anil Radhakrishna Kumbleborn 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm leg spin (legbreak googly) bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches. At present he is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and one of only three bowlers to have taken more than 600 Test wickets. Kumble has had success bowling with other spinners, notably Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan in the 1990s and Harbhajan Singh since 2000.

Kumble was appointed the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007. His first assignment as captain was the three-test home series against Pakistan that India won 1-0. Then he led the Indian Test team on its tour to Australia for the 2007-08 four-test series of The Border-Gavaskar Trophy that India lost 1-2. Kumble succeeds his state team mate Rahul Dravid, who resigned as the captain in September 2007 . Since his debut in international cricket in April 25, 1990, he has taken over 600 Test wickets and 330 ODI wickets. Although often criticized as not a big turner of the ball, Kumble is the second highest wicket taker among leg spinners in Test cricket behind leg spinner Shane Warne of Australia and the third of all bowlers after Warne and off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and has claimed over 600 Test wickets. He is one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket to have taken all 10 wickets in a test innings, the other being Jim Laker of England. Kumble is currently ranked the 5th best bowler in Tests by the International Cricket Council. He was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honours, by the Government of India in 2005.
Career statistics
Tests ODI FC LA

Matches 127 271 238 380
Runs scored 2427 938 5475 1456
Batting average 18.24 10.53 22.16 11.20
100s/50s 1/5 0/0 7/17 0/0
Top score 110* 26 154* 30*
Balls bowled 39450 14496 65399 20247
Wickets 608 337 1120 514
Bowling average 29.06 30.89 25.54 27.58
5 wickets in innings 35 2 72 3
10 wickets in match 8 n/a 19 n/a
Best bowling 10/74 6/12 10/74 6/12
Catches/stumpings 57/– 85/– 117/– 122/–

Bugatti Veyron Fastest Autocars

The Bugatti Veyron has wiped the floor with the opposition in Autocar's annual 0-100-0mph contest, featured in the current issue of the world's oldest car magazine, even managing to beat a Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike.
Featuring 25 of the world's fastest cars, from the 14th placed £79,995 Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the second-placed £34,995 Ariel Atom, the shoot-out pitches the cars against each other in a straight fight to see which is the fastest to 100mph. There's more to it than just outright speed though –" slowing from 100mph to a dead halt is just as importantThe Veyron, with its 987bhp 16-cylinder engine, wasn't necessarily the favourite to win. "A low weight tends to be the key to a good 0-100-0mph car," said Autocar's road test editor Adam Towler. "Cars like the Ariel Atom and Caterham Superlight historically dominate this contest."
But the 1890kg £880,000 Bugatti ripped through the gears to hit 60mph in 2.8sec and 100mph in an astonishing 5.5sec. It then stopped in just 3.4sec, giving a 0-100-0mph time of 9.9sec.Not only is the Bugatti faster than the Suzuki, it creates more g-force at maximum acceleration than you'd experience in an F-16 jet fighter at take off or when skydiving.
But the lightweights still turned in an impressive performance, from the relatively unknown £32k Brooke Double R in fourth place to the £35k Ariel Atom 300 in second.
"Although the Veyron is undoubtedly the quickest road car ever, you can still have nearly as much fun for much less money," said Adam Towler. "It's good to see British sports cars doing so well against such an impressive machine as the Bugatti."
Autocar also brought along an A1 GP car, driven by Brit Robbie Kerr, to see how a purpose-built race car would compare with road-going machinery. The 550bhp single seater weighs just 695kg, and proved to be the fastest vehicle on the day with a 0-100-0mph time of 8.4sec.
Competing Cars
0-100-0 Time(seconds)
A1 GP
8.40
Bugatti Veyron 9.90 Suzuki GSX-R1000 10.70
Ariel Atom S'Charged 11.00 Ariel Atom 450 11.05
Atom Private Owned 11.05 Caterham CSR260 11.95
Brooke Double R 12.50 Porsche 911 Turbo 12.50
Ford Focus WRC 13.57 Lambo Gallardo 13.65
Ascari KZ1 13.80 Corvette Z06 13.80
Alpina B6 14.80 BMW M6 14.95
TVR Tuscan 2 15.00 BMW M5 15.20
Audi RS4 15.80 Aston V8 Vantage 15.81
BMW Z4M Roadster 15.95 Porsche Cayman S 16.46
Lotus Exige S 16.60 Nissan 350Z 18.80
Vauxhall Astra Sprint 18.85 Vauxhall Astra VXR 19.05
Renault Megane F1 20.55 Mazda 6MPS 21.00
Ford Focus ST 21.35 Vauxhall Vectra VXR 22.35
Vauxhall Astra Thurlby 22.65

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher born January 3, 1969, in Hürth-Hermülheim, Germany) is a former Formula One driver, seven-time world champion, and current test driver for Ferrari. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen". He is the first German to win the Formula One World championship, and is credited with popularising Formula One in Germany. In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver among Formula One fans.

After winning two championships with Benetton, Michael Schumacher moved to Scuderia Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive drivers' titles with them from 2000–2004. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes. His driving sometimes created controversy: he was twice involved in collisions that determined the outcome of the world championship, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve. After the 2006 Formula One season Schumacher retired from race driving.

Off the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. He is the elder brother of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, currently racing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM).



He is currently acting as advisor and special test driver for the 2008 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team.

Early years
Schumacher was born in Hürth Hermülheim, to Rolf, a bricklayer, and Elisabeth. When Schumacher was four, his father modified his pedal kart by adding a small motorcycle engine. After Schumacher crashed it into a lamp post in Kerpen, his parents took him to the local karting track at Kerpen-Horrem where he became the youngest member of the karting club. His father soon built him a proper kart from discarded parts and at the age of six Schumacher won his first club championship. To support his son's racing, Rolf Schumacher took on a second job renting and repairing karts at the circuit, while his wife worked at the track's canteen stand. Despite the extra income, when Schumacher needed a new engine costing 800 DM (400 €) his parents were unable to afford it, but their son was able to continue racing through support offered by several local businessmen.

In Germany the regulations require the driver to be at least 14 years old in order to obtain a kart license. To get around this, Schumacher obtained a license in Luxembourg in 1981, at the age of 12.

In 1983 he obtained his German license and the year after he won the German Junior Kart Championship. From 1984, Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships. He joined Eurokart dealer Adolf Neubert in 1985. By 1987 he was the German and European kart champion, at which point he withdrew from school and began working as a mechanic. In 1988 Schumacher made his first step into single-seat car racing by racing in the German Formula Ford and Formula König series, winning the latter.

In 1989 Michael signed with Willi Weber's WTS Formula 3 team. For the next two years, funded by Weber, he competed in the German Formula 3 series, winning the title in 1990. Towards the end of 1990, along with his Formula 3 rivals Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, he joined the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Sports-Prototype Championship. This was an unusual move for a young driver: most of Schumacher's contemporaries would instead compete in Formula 3000 on their way to Formula One. However, Weber advised Schumacher that exposure to professional press conferences and driving powerful cars in long distance races would help his career. He gained victory at the season finale at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in a Sauber-Mercedes C11 and finished fifth in the drivers' championship. He continued with the team in the 1991 Formula One season, winning again at the final race of the season at Autopolis in Japan with a Sauber-Mercedes-Benz C291, leading to a ninth place finish in the drivers championship. In 1991 he competed in one race in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, finishing second.

Racing record

Season Series Team Name Races Poles Wins Points Final Placing
1988 European Formula Ford 1600 Eufra Racing 4 1 2 50 2nd
German Formula Ford 1600 Eufra Racing ? ? ? ? 6th
Formula König ? 10 1 9 192 1st
1989 German Formula Three WTS Racing 12 2 2 163 3rd
European Formula Three Cup WTS Racing 1 0 0 N/A NC
Macau Grand Prix WTS Racing 1 0 0 N/A NC
1990 World Sportscar Championship Team Sauber Mercedes 3 0 1 21 =5th
German Formula Three WTS Racing 11 6 5 148 1st
European Formula Three Cup WTS Racing 1 1 0 N/A NC
Macau Grand Prix WTS Racing 1 0 1 N/A 1st
1991 Formula One Jordan 1 0 0 0 14th
Benetton 5 0 0 4
World Sportscar Championship Team Sauber Mercedes 8 0 1 43 =9th
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Zakspeed Mercedes 4 0 0 0 NC
Japanese Formula 3000 Team Le Mans 1 0 0 6 12th
1992 Formula One Benetton 16 0 1 53 3rd
1993 Formula One Benetton 16 0 1 52 4th
1994 Formula One Benetton 14 6 8 92 1st
1995 Formula One Benetton 17 4 9 102 1st
1996 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. 16 4 3 59 3rd
1997 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 3 5 78 DSQ*
1998 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16 3 6 86 2nd
1999 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 10 3 2 44 5th
2000 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 9 9 108 1st
2001 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 11 9 123 1st
2002 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 17 7 11 144 1st
2003 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16 5 6 93 1st
2004 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 18 8 13 148 1st
2005 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 19 1 1 62 3rd
2006 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 18 4 7 121 2nd