drawing the net in

Big brother is coming for you. And I?m not talking about the Chinese. The music industry, tired of losing money to Internet piracy, is striking back at vendors of pirated music CDs and at individuals who download and share music on software like Kazaa. So what? Well, for the first time, the battle has reached Asia. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has filed about 11,000 lawsuits worldwide against illegal file sharers, and the net is drawing ever closer to your own little illegal music folder. I asked the noble CD buccaneers of Palika Bazar, Delhi, what this might mean to them. Would they have to shut shop? They smirked, and offered me a music CD for Rs 12.

Hardly shutting shop lPrince Charles?s blushing bride, Camilla, the new Duchess of Cornwall, was beaten at a charity auction in Wales by a pile of dung this week. A letter, a book and a signed photograph of hers fetched ?15 ? while 12 tons of vintage horse manure fetched ?70. Gourmet?s delight To Sunny Deol, who in his new movie, the extremely avoidable Jo Bole So Nihaal, mouths what I insist is the most brilliant action punchline in Bollywood history ? ?No if! No but! Only Jat!?

Hardly shutting shop

Not chickening out

As a nuclear power, and a major poultry producer and consumer, India cannot afford to ignore this startling revelation ? during the Cold War, the British had secret plans of making a nuclear landmine powered by chickens. This sinister scheme, along with other equally bizarre ideas revealed to the public for the first time, is on display at a new exhibition at the British National Archives. The seven-tonne nuke had a plutonium core and was surrounded by high explosives. Scientists developed a bizarre plan to keep vital components warm during winter by casing the lining with live chickens, who would give off enough heat while dying to keep the delicate explosive mechanism functioning. This should give indigenous-production advocates something to think about ? instead of blowing billions in the F-16 and Mirage markets, we should be coming up with our very own Chicken Tikka Nukelar Bum.

Hardly shutting shop lPrince Charles?s blushing bride, Camilla, the new Duchess of Cornwall, was beaten at a charity auction in Wales by a pile of dung this week. A letter, a book and a signed photograph of hers fetched ?15 ? while 12 tons of vintage horse manure fetched ?70. Gourmet?s delight To Sunny Deol, who in his new movie, the extremely avoidable Jo Bole So Nihaal, mouths what I insist is the most brilliant action punchline in Bollywood history ? ?No if! No but! Only Jat!?

lPrince Charles?s blushing bride, Camilla, the new Duchess of Cornwall, was beaten at a charity auction in Wales by a pile of dung this week. A letter, a book and a signed photograph of hers fetched ?15 ? while 12 tons of vintage horse manure fetched ?70.

When hunger calls

At the other end of the digestion process, Indian food recently got James Statham, an ambulance driver in the UK, in a great deal of trouble. While answering an emergency call, curry cravings overcame the call of duty ? our hungry hero pulled up at an Indian takeaway, leaving his ambulance outside with the lights flashing, much to the delight of watching tabloid journalists.

Food chain

Hardly shutting shop lPrince Charles?s blushing bride, Camilla, the new Duchess of Cornwall, was beaten at a charity auction in Wales by a pile of dung this week. A letter, a book and a signed photograph of hers fetched ?15 ? while 12 tons of vintage horse manure fetched ?70. Gourmet?s delight To Sunny Deol, who in his new movie, the extremely avoidable Jo Bole So Nihaal, mouths what I insist is the most brilliant action punchline in Bollywood history ? ?No if! No but! Only Jat!?

Gourmet?s delight

Overcome by a sudden craving for Bengali food, I recently went to Chowringhee, a popular new restaurant in Patparganj, Delhi, which offers a range of Bengali dishes, from Tangra Chinese to kosha mangsho. Munching in a most undignified manner on some delicious daab chingri, I listened with interest as Pallavi Thakur, the owner, described the two kinds of Bengali foodie ? ?One type comes in, orders minimal amounts of luchi-mangsho and complains about the prices. Fortunately, the other type comes in large groups, eats everything and is always full of praise.? Luckily, type B Bong foodies are faithful customers, which should see Chowringhee doing fabulously well in the years to come.

AWARD OF THE WEEK

To Sunny Deol, who in his new movie, the extremely avoidable Jo Bole So Nihaal, mouths what I insist is the most brilliant action punchline in Bollywood history ? ?No if! No but! Only Jat!?