Ajith's brilliant 360 drifting

Ajith's brilliant 360 drifting

click here to visit our website

Thala Ajith, who is awaiting the release of his film 'Yennai Arindhaal' directed by Gautham Menon, is known for his love for bikes and cars. The star actor who is also Formula 2 racer, has recently performed a 360 degree drifting on his bike with actor Arun Vijay sitting behind.

Impressed with Ajith's riding skills, Arun Vijay tweeted, "Lesson learnt... Never to sit behind, when he is on the wheels.. haha :) #Ajith sir's brilliant continuous 360 drifting.. #YennaiArindhaal."

A little over a year back, Ajith had bought a new BMW S1000RR, a new model from BMW. The adorable handsome star fully geared up in his riding suit and enjoyed the bike ride and cruised the streets swiftly on his brand new hunk! He even decided to drive his motor bike from Pune to Chennai to create awareness about the need to wear sagefy gears.Ajith had also gifted his own helmet to a fan who had come to meet him at his residence. When the youngster was about to leave, Ajith noticed that his fan had come in a bike without wearing his helmet. Advising him not to drive without a helmet, the Ultimate star gave away his own helmet to his fan once again stressing on the importance of safety gears.

Virat Kohli creates new records in Sydney Test

Virat Kohli creates new records in Sydney Test

click here to visit our website

The amazing Virat Kohli scored his fourth century of the series and KL Rahul made his first in only his second Test as India fought hard on the third day of the fourth Test. At stumps, India were 342/5, still trailing Australia by 230 runs, and a defeat for India is still the likely result. India must, after all, bat last on a spinner-friendly wicket. But today’s performance was heartening because Kohli was supported very well by a young batsman playing in his second Test match.

Kohli, leading the team for the second time in the series, and this time as a regular captain, became the top run-getter for India in a Test series against Australia, home or away. His unbeaten 140 took his total for the series to 639, improving on Rahul Dravid’s record of 619, made on the 2003-04 tour of Australia.

Kohli and Rahul added 141 runs in 43.2 overs for the third wicket after the team had been reduced to 97/2. The Sydney wicket remained good for batting on the third day, yet the effort of the Indian batsmen deserve credit, for they were under the pressure of chasing a huge Australian total. The 22-year-old Rahul, who had a horrendous debut in Melbourne, did not wilt under pressure and managed to support his captain in that partnership, taking India out of the woods. 

“It was all going too fast,” Rahul today said about his debut Test, in which he played horrible shots to get out in both the innings. “That was one of the key things the players told me. To give myself time between balls and not to forget to breathe. I made a conscious effort to give myself more time between balls.”

Chinese doctors punished for so-called 'surgery selfies'

Chinese doctors punished for so-called 'surgery selfies'

Doctors pose for a photo next to a patient in an operating theater at Fengcheng Hospital in August 2014

.Senior executives and a team of medical staff from a Chinese hospital in the northwestern province of Shaanxi have been punished for taking group photos next to apparently unconscious patients after surgery, state media reported on Monday.

A series of photos recently circulated on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, shows Chinese doctors and nurses decked in scrubs, posing with reportedly unconscious patients on the operating table in the operating theater.

A man makes a V-sign in one of the happy snaps, while other doctors are seen leaning over the patient mid procedure.

click here to visit our website

The Xi'an Bureau of Public Health has taken action for the photos taken in August this year, removing three top executives from administrative duties at the privately-run Fengcheng Hospital, reported Xinhua News Agency.

The other staff pictured in the photos have been reprimanded and docked three months' pay.

The hospital issued a public statement and apology, explaining that the photos were taken to commemorate the last day that the operating theater was in use, before it closed down in favor of new facilities.

"Our staff members have neglected the possible negative consequences of their actions, we will undergo an in depth review of the incident," the statement reads.

The photos have triggered a backlash on China's microblogging platforms. Bloggers have taken to social media to express their opinions using the hashtag"surgery selfie", with many condemning the doctor'z lack of professional ethics.

"They are not acting professionally at all. They are treating the patients' suffering as a joke, how can they even take a selfie at a time like this?" one Weibo user, Penny Zhutou, commented on a discussion thread.

Others expressed sympathy for the doctors.

"Doctors are humans too. I don't think there is anything wrong with them wanting to take a photo to celebrate after a long and successful surgery. We should look at this rationally, instead of being limited by those so-called restrictions," another Weibo user, "Diaolinghoucanque" commented.

Trisha finally announces marriage plans

Trisha finally announces marriage plans

click here to visit our website

Actress Trisha who was reported to have been engaged to producer Varun Manian over the last couple of months, has finally come out in the open to confirm her engagement. The pretty actress announced her engagement tweeting, "To my fans n friends from d media,I will be getting engaged to Varun on the 23 of Jan in a very private ceremony between our families."

"Pls dont speculate about my wedding date as we have not fixed it as yet.

And as always you will hear it from me first when we do," she further tweeted.

Meanwhile the pretty actress is awaiting the release of her film 'Yennai Arindhaal' with Ajith playing the lead. Directed by Gautham Menon and music composed by Harrias Jayaraj, the film is set to hit the screens on January 29.

Talking about her career, she tweeted, "I have no intentions of quitting films. Infact will be signing two new films soon and looking forward to four of my releases in 2015."

Siddharth breaks up with Samantha

Siddharth breaks up with Samantha

click here to visit our website

As we had earlier reported, Kollywood's cute pair Siddharth and Samantha are no longer a couple. They ended their relationship some time ago, according to sources. Both Sid and Sam, as they are known to friends, never openly admitted to dating each other. But they were spotted together everywhere. 

When we had reported about their split, speculations were rife that the reason for their split was Samantha glamorous avatar in her last few releases.

But then, Sam made put in surprising appearance at Sid's Enakkul Oruvan audio launch, and put rumours to rest. The latest, however, is that it was Sid who has finally called it quits.

Siddharth who is active on social networking platforms, had been quiet for over month, and then, he tweeted, "2015 looks filled with surprises. exciting announcements soon! hoping to continue with the momentum of 2014. thank you for the love people," a couple of days ago.

As per sources close to Sam, the whole experience has been painful for her, as she was quite serious about this relationship, and she has decided to focus on her career for the time being.

Siddharth had earlier been linked with Shruti Haasan and Soha Ali Khan, following his divorce. Though the news of the breakup has surfaced only now, sources reveal that the two had called it quits a couple of months ago.

NASA finds more Earth-like planets outside solar system

NASA finds more Earth-like planets outside solar system

click here to visit our website

Earth has a few more near-twin planets outside our solar system, tantalizing possibilities in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Astronomers announced on Tuesday that depending on definitions, they have confirmed three or four more planets that are about the same size as Earth and are in the not-too-hot, not-too-cold "Goldilocks Zone" for liquid water to form.
These planets are likely to be rocky like Earth, and not gas giants or ice worlds. They get about the same heat from their star as we get from the sun, according to the latest results from NASA's planet hunting Kepler telescope.
But don't book your flights yet.

They may be close to Earth in size and likely temperature in the gargantuan scale of the universe, but they aren't quite close enough for comfort.
Consider two of the new planets, the nearest to Earth discovered to date. If they have atmospheres similar to Earth's - a big if - one would be a toasty 140 some degrees and the other would hover around zero, said study lead author Guillermo Torres, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Life conceivably could evolve and adapt to those temperatures, he said.
Oh, and they aren't actually within commuting distance of Earth. Those two are 500 and 1,100 light years away; a light year is 5.9 trillion miles.
What's important, said SETI Institute astronomer Douglas Caldwell, a study co-author who presented the findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, is that astronomers are a bit closer to finding twins of Earth and answering the age-old question: Are we alone?
"These planets do exist; we didn't know that before," Torres said in a phone interview from Cambridge, Massachusetts. "What we're really looking for is signs of life eventually. We're not there yet. It will take many years but this is the first step."
Torres' team confirmed earlier discoveries and added new ones, bringing the total known number of planets that are no bigger than twice Earth's size and in the habitable temperature zone to eight or nine. But that's only from a short search of a small part of our galaxy, so Torres believes that Earth-like planets are common throughout the cosmos, though he cannot prove it yet.
Torres likes to include one planet that would bump the new findings from three to four, but Caldwell said that planet may or may not be habitable.
It doesn't matter much. "We do not need to talk about the one or two exoplanets that could be like Earth, we are finding so many," said Lisa Kaltenegger, director of Cornell University's Pale Blue Dot Institute. She wasn't part of the study.
Torres and Caldwell highlighted the two new planets that are closest in size to Earth. The closest, called Kepler 438-b, is only 12 percent larger than Earth and gets about 40 percent more energy from its star than we do from the sun, so it would probably be warmer, Torres said. It tightly circles a small cooler red star with its year lasting only 35 Earth days and the sun in its sky would be red, not yellow.

It may hot, but "there are bacteria on Earth that live very comfortably in those temperatures, no problem," Torres said.
The other, Kepler 442-b, is about 34 percent bigger than Earth but gets only two-thirds of the energy from its sun as we do, Torres said.
NASA also announced that its planet-hunter telescope confirmed its 1,000th planet outside the solar system, most quite unlike Earth and not in the habitable zone. Added to those discovered by other telescopes, astronomers have now discovered more than 1,800 planets that are outside the solar system

Shah Rukh Khan gets a graphic makeover

Shah Rukh Khan gets a graphic makeover

click here to visit our website

Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan will soon be seen in a whole new avatar, thanks to the efforts of the Chennai-based Virzu Studio. King Khan will be seen in a graphic novel titled Atharva - The Origin, slated for a mid-2015 launch. The project, headed by educationist Vel Mohan and entrepreneur Vincent Adaikalaraj, will have illustrations by Ramesh Acharya and his team.

Talking to Times of India, the author of the novel, Ramesh Thamilmani says, "We came up with this idea roughly a year ago, and approached Shah Rukh Khan with all the illustrations and story sketches we had created. He immediately approved the project and mentioned he wanted to go ahead with the idea in a big way. Each and every illustration and the latest trailer (whose music has been scored by Kollywood composer Dharan) have Shah Rukh Khan's approval."

A 20-member team has been working on the project over the last one year. "The graphic novel, set in prehistoric times, chronicles the difficult journey of a prospective king and takes its hero and the reader on an awe-inspiring trip," says Ramesh, and adds, "We have plans to add more celebrity characters to the novel."

The graphic novel is set to be released in various platforms such as print and e-book among others and in different sizes like folio, standard and portable sizes.

"The graphic novel will be available in both normal and 3D format. We also have plans of coming up with games with the same character of Shah Rukh Khan in the future," says Ramesh.

The story is of the genre fantasy fiction and is set on a mythical landscape with birds, beasts and monsters which are the author's and artist's invention. 3D, full page illustrations in a graphic novel is an innovative concept for the graphic novel media space. Virzu Studio aims to introduce a whole new aesthetic which will be different from what a graphic novel reader has come to expect.

Gurgaon, Delhi Police create 32km green corridor to transfer heart for transplant

Gurgaon, Delhi Police create 32km green corridor to transfer heart for transplant

click here to visit our website

The Delhi and Gurgaon Police on Saturday came to the aid of a 16-year-old boy who needed a heart transplant by creating a 32km 'green corridor' from Sector 44 in Gurgaon to Okhla in south Delhi, which enabled ambulances to deliver the live, beating heart in 29 minutes flat.
Traffic in Delhi came to a near halt as the convoy of traffic police and ambulance raced through the otherwise congested road to save the life of the teenager suffering from a failing heart at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in Okhla
The donor was a 30-year-old IT professional who was declared brain dead around 8.48am on Saturday by doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon. After receiving consent from the deceased's family, doctors quickly identified the recipient.
The challenge lay in transporting the organ at the earliest so that the life-saving transplant could be carried. A human heart can be preserved for only up to four hours, but experts say the earlier the transplant is completed, the higher the success rate.

Doctors harvested the heart, as well as other organs for donation, at 3.30 pm. Within minutes, the vital organ was safely loaded into a waiting ambulance.
The road leading to the Delhi-Gurgaon border and ahead had already been cleared by traffic personnel. The ambulance drove at a high speed from the Delhi-Gurgaon border, sometimes touching 120kmph. Regular traffic was stopped at several other intersections to give it uninterrupted passage.
"We had conducted a dry run with FMRI last August. As soon as the request for transportation of the organ was received, we contacted our counterparts in Delhi and first decided on the shortest possible route. A pilot gypsy and bike-borne personnel were deployed to clear the route for the ambulance," said Navdeep Singh Virk, the Gurgaon police commissioner. The ambulance entered Delhi from the Aya Nagar border and travelled through Mehrauli-Gurgaon and Mehrauli-Badarpur roads.
"All traffic signals were put on manual mode and the ambulance was allowed to run signal-free," said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner of police (traffic), Delhi.

"The recipient was waiting in the operation theatre. As soon as the heart arrived, the transplant began. It has been successfully transplanted into the 16-year-old and the patient is recuperating," said a doctor.
According to Dr Avnish Seth, director of the Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant, the dry run in August came handy in carrying out the job."The 30-year-old donor had suffered a stroke on December 30. When he was referred to FMRI from another hospital, the patient was on ventilator support. Despite our best efforts, he could not recover and finally on Saturday he was declared brain dead. His parents, who were called from Hyderabad, consented to donating his organs," he said.
The donor's kidneys, liver and cornea were also harvested to be transplant

Hansika Thanks and Wishes Fans on New Year!

Hansika Thanks and Wishes Fans on New Year!

click here to viist our website

Hansika, who has had a fantastic year in 2014, says she doesn't believe in making any resolutions. "I don't believe in making resolutions because if I have to change something I would change it then and there, in that moment and not wait for the entire year to get over. The year 2014 has been massive for me. I have done so many Tamil films this year and one of them (Aranmanai) went on to become a blockbuster, too. Almost every major festival saw the release of one of my films, so that has been very encouraging. I am looking forward to starting 2015 on a positive note, and would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year."

The actress is presently busy shooting for Romeo Juliet with Jayam Ravi and Chimbudevan's next film with Vijay and Sridevi.In an official press statement released by the actress, It was stated "Greetings!!! 2014 have been a special year with all your love and encouragement."

"I would like to express my thanks to all my directors, producers, co-stars, crew and my well-wishers for all the trust and support. Keeping fingers crossed for the upcoming releases."

"I thank all my fans for all their support from the bottom of my heart. I wish everybody a very Happy New Year and joyful 2015! - With love, Hansika"

Virat Kohli: I hope to be as calm as Dhoni

Virat Kohli: I hope to be as calm as Dhoni

click here to visit our website

Thrust back into the India captaincy after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's shock decision to retire from Tests last week, Virat Kohli hopes to put right some of the mistakes he made in his first match in charge against Australia.

The aggressive right-handed batsman had deputised in the injured Dhoni's absence in the first Test in Adelaide, which India lost by 48 runs. The 26-year-old has again been thrust into the leadership role for the fourth and final Test in Sydney, which starts on Tuesday, after Dhoni unexpectedly called time on his Test career following the drawn third match in Melbourne.

"There were quite a few things that I sat down and analysed in Adelaide that can be improved on and I've thought about them in the past few days," Kohli told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday.

"What are the things that I can correct from Adelaide, the mistakes I made in that game?

"Hopefully I'll get those right and try to make the right decisions in every situation out there in the middle."

Australia have already won the series, rescheduled after the death of Phillip Hughes, after taking the first two games in Adelaide and Brisbane.

Dhoni's decision to retire had come as a shock to people inside and outside the team, said Kohli.

"We were all taken aback by his decision because it was so sudden," Kohli added. "We had no clue. We never saw it coming, so it was pretty shocking."

The hot-headed Kohli has been involved in a running verbal battle with several Australian players during the series, though his chief target, Mitchell Johnson, has been ruled out of the Sydney match with a slight hamstring injury.

Kohli said he had hoped that some of Dhoni's calm demeanour had rubbed off on him a little bit, though he would continue his aggressive approach on the field and encourage his team-mates to play positively.

"There's so much to learn from him, especially in tough situations. His composure, his decision making at important times. These are the things which are priceless, any captain would love to have them. I hope I can be as calm as him, but everyone has different styles.

"It's important for the players to know that we need to be in a positive frame of mind, a line doesn't need to be crossed.

"But we are not here to back down from any sort of confrontation or any sort of battle

Ayodha devotee's eye balls gouged out then thrown on road by goons

Ayodha devotee's eye balls gouged out then thrown on road by goons

click here to visit our website

Krishnadev who hails from Jharkhand's Giridh district will never be able to forget his religious trip to Ayodhya.

The poor man had gone to Ayodhya to pay homage to Lord Ram and was returning back when something ridiculous happened with him. Two men stopped him on his way and took lift from him. Next moment when he woke up he was crying out in pain as he had lost his eyesight.

Faizabad's senior police officer B. Singh said that some goons attacked Krishnadev, took out his eyes and left him to die at the railway station.

He also said that a sub-inspector has been suspended for carelessness in the case.

Explaining the situation, the police officer said that some goons asked for a lift from Krishnadev who was returning back from Ayodhya.

After some time they made him unconscious and took out his eye balls and threw them on the road.

With the help of local police, Krishnadev was rushed to the hospital and is undergoing treatment. He is now back in Jharkhand.

The investigation is on, the police has not been able to nab the culprits till now. 

'Simbu and Nayanthara' become lovers again ??

'Simbu and Nayanthara' become lovers again

click here to visit our website

 

                     Simbu and Nayanthara who have broken up their love, two years ago were again said to have regenerated their love.

After their breakup, Simbu was in love with Hansika Motwani, which was a break-up, recently.

At the meantime, Nayanthara also had a breakup with Prabhudeva.

Now these two Ex-lovers were said to have revived their love while they were shooting for Ithu Namma Aalu.

There was a question initially how Nayanthara has accepted to act with Simbu. This has even paved the way for the news that they are in love again.

The two stars were spotted together in the birthday bash of Trisha and has even posed for a photo hugging each other.

Tamil stars Simbu and Nayanthara were all the rage when the two were dating. The couple broke up a few years ago, and since then they have not been on very good terms. In fact, they ensured that they didn't bump into each other and kept a distance at public events. But now there have been whispers that the two might be back on again.

 Simbu was recently spotted at parties and premieres with Nayanthara and Dhanush, and many have noticed that the two former lovers are once again warming up to each other. When asked about this, Simbu said that they are just co-stars and friends and that there is nothing more to it.

Government launches integrated women safety mobile app Himmat

Government launches integrated women safety mobile app Himmat

click here to visit our website

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on January 1, 2015 launched India's first integrated mobile application for women safety called 'Himmat', in the presence of Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi and Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.

The application was launched in order to strengthen safety of women, this smart phone based application carries distinctive feature of alerting the police just by the shaking or pressing the power button twice. 

The application is directly linked to the Police Control Room and there will be an indication immediately. After that the location can be traced and will be updated every ten seconds.

Himmat Application (App)

Himmat app can be downloaded free of cost from the Delhi Police website - www.delhipolice.nic.in and also from the Google Play Store

The app will start a 30-second audio and video recording on the phone once the distress button is pressed and the same will be relayed to the Police Control Room (PCR) and the victim will get a call back from the PCR

It also have a feature of sending SMS alert to minimum of five friends and relatives of the user and a status will be posted on his Facebook and Twitter timeline which will be connected to the App

All the details of the victim, including location and time will be transmitted simultaneously by the Police Control Room to the Police Patrol cars in the area and the local Station House Officer (SHO) through the Delhi Police Cyber Highway.

Yuvan's sister, only one to attend wedding

Yuvan's sister, only one to attend wedding

click here to visit our website

For months, there was speculation about his marriage. Finally, Yuvan Shankar Raja secretly got married to Zafrunnisa in a traditional nikah ceremony in Keezhakarai (in Ramanathapuram district) on January 1, in the evening. Apparently, he informed his family just two days before his wedding, and Bhavatharini, his sister, was the only one from Yuvan's family who attended the wedding.

Confirming the news of the wedding, Bhavatharini told us, "Yes, he got married on January 1. It was held in a beach house in Keezhakarai, which is the girl's native place. It seems he planned it suddenly as he informed us only a couple of days before the wedding. I had to cancel my New Year plans to attend the wedding. His cousin and I were with him on his D-Day."

Ask her if their dad, the legendary Ilaiyaraaja, had been informed about the wedding, and she says, "Yuvan called our dad, too, but as dad was not in town, he couldn't attend the wedding. I think dad had told Yuvan that he would meet him later. Yuvan has always been like this since childhood; if he feels right about something, he will do it immediately."

Reports say that Yuvan has changed his name to Abdul Haliq. Has he? Bhavatharini clarifies, "For the marriage, he changed his name. But as a music director, he will be officially called Yuvan Shankar Raja only."

Zafrunnisa is a Dubai-based designer and according to Bhavatharini, this is an arranged marriage. "Yuvan wanted to get married to a girl from a Muslim family. He had asked his friends to find a suitable match for him. His friends in Malaysia looked for a suitable alliance and arranged this wedding. Yuvan's happiness has always been the family's first priority. He looked happy at his wedding, and that's all we want," says Bhavathari

Illayaraja's son gets married for the third time

Musician Yuvan Shankar Raja Marries Zafrunnisa; Rechristens Himself as Abdul Haliq

click here to visit our website

Musician Yuvan Shankar Raja has married a girl named Zafrunnisa on 1 January, 2015. It is the music director's third marriage after his first two weddings ended in divorce.Yuvan Shankar Raja's marriage was held as per the Muslim customs. The music director did not invite much guests to his wedding with Zafrunnisa, a Dubai-based fashion designer, and only his close relatives were part of the wedding. It was a low-key event performed at Keezhakarai in Ramanathapuram District on Thursday.

Some of the local Jamaat leaders and VIPS graced the occasion. It is surprising to see that his father Music Maestro Illayaraaja did not attend the wedding. The real reason behind his absence in unknown but it has paved way for the rumours that his father was not happy with Yuvan's decision to get married again.

However, Yuvan Shankar Raja's sister Bhavatharini and husband Sabari attended the marriage and wished the newly married couple.Earlier, Yuvan Shankar Raja had tied the knot to Sujaya Chandran in 2005, but their relationship ended with divorce in 2008.

A few years later, he married Shilpa Mohan at Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh. Unfortunately, this relationship also failed and the couple got separated in 2014.

In the mean time, there are reports that Yuvan Shankar Raja has embraced the Islam and converted to it. He has reportedly rechristened himself as Abdul Haliq.

Aam Aadmi Party launches a mobile game called Muffler Man

Aam Aadmi Party launches a mobile game called Muffler Man

click here to visit our website

The Muffler Man campaign, started by Aam Aadmi Party volunteers on social media, has now reached mobile phones with a group of volunteers launching a mobile game by the same name in which the main character goes by the name of Muffler Man and overcomes hurdles like corruption and bribe to win the game.
The Android-based game was developed by party volunteers and digital agents interactive private limited, in an effort to increase donations. "We wanted to use the Muffler Man tagline and impart the ideals of our party which are honesty, fighting against corruption and women safety," said Mohit Ramani, an engineer, who along with six volunteers developed the game.

The team has decided to keep Muffler Man faceless so as to represent the common man. "There are platforms like women safety, water supply and good governance which the player will have to cross to keep moving in the game. Then we have some platforms like Janlokpal, which can make the player jump two platforms at once. The player can get powers by getting broom. With every third broom you get some extra power," Ramani said.
But like every other game there are hurdles as well. "There are platforms like bribe, scam and corruption which will bring you down. We have around seven-eight such platforms which the player will have to jump over," he said.
The mobile application is free of cost and will soon be made available on Apple and Windows. "It is a 2D game and we have had over 500 downloads in just one day. In the game you can earn various merchandise," said Ankit Lal, who heads AAP's social media cell.

"Our focus is to increase donation. We will link all new campaign hashtags on the game page. The game will also change background depending on location, so if you are playing it in Delhi it will have India Gate as the background while in Mumbai it will change to Taj hotel," he said.

This is how Dhoni broke the news about his retirement to BCCI and his teammates and his family

This is how Dhoni broke the news about his retirement to BCCI and his teammates and his family

A teary-eyed Dhoni with Suresh Raina after the announcement.

Moments after the post-match presentation ceremony of the third Test match in Melbourne on Tuesday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni got in touch with BCCI Secretary, Sanjay Patel to deliver what can possibly be called the most shocking and unanticipated news in Indian cricketing history.

Soon after the match ended in a draw, Dhoni reportedly spoke to the BCCI Secretary and informed him about his decision to retire from Test cricket.

Taken by surprise, Sanjay Patel said he asked the cricketer if he was injured. But Dhoni calmly told him he simply wanted to quit Test cricket "for good" and requested him not to break the news until after he himself had informed his team members, who were clueless about the development.

Just before the press conference, where too he did not give , the 33-year-old called on the entire team and dropped the bombshell, who were left astonished. It has been reported that the turn of events was so overwhelming for all that including Dhoni, all the team members broke into tears.

Players, then posed for pictures with the former-Test captain in the dressing room. Amid tears, they hugged and bid an impromptu farewell to him. It has been reported that even his family members were unaware of his plan to retire from his white Test flannels. After the team members, it was his family's turn to know about his decision.

Even though questions were raised on his overseas performance as a Test, Dhoni did give a hint sometime last year that he will retire from one format of the game before the World Cup. But that it would come in the middle of this tour, and unannounced was unexpected both by his team members and the BCCI.

The only hint he gave about his retirement on the field on Tuesday was at the end of the third Test when Dhoni plucked a stump on his way back. "Why would he collect a stump in a drawn game?" asked Ian Chappell on Channel Nine. "Why not," replied Dean Jones. "He has nine victims from the Test- some sort of a record."

Kerala Sabarimala temple has a post box that delivers letters to God

Kerala Sabarimala temple has a post box that delivers letters to God

click here to visit our website

A temple in Kerala on the foothills of the holy city of Sabarimala has a post office that works only during the special Sankaranti season. But what makes this post office stand apart is that it receives letters to god. People write their wish and prayers, hoping that God is reading them.This post office is offering a strange service which is attracting a lot of attention. A post office dedicated to Lord Ayappa. Yes, this post office says it delivers letters to god. This must be the only post office in the country that does not function round the year.

The post box is the busiest during the Sabarimala season.Located near the famed Hindu temple at the Sabarimala hills, the post office comes alive when the peak

pilgrimage season of the Ayyappa shrine begins on the first day of the Malayalam month in November, and the period ends towards the middle of January.

The post office is also open for 10 days during the Vishu season.

Functioning six days a week from 8 in the morning to 8 at night, the six employees, led by 23-year-old Sai G. Prakash, have a lot to do.

Prakash is happy to be here, and says he was a devotee of Lord Ayyappa.

"Our post office mostly gets invitation cards for weddings and shop openings addressed to Lord Ayyappa, obviously to seek divine blessings," Prakash told IANS.

Most such mail come from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said.

But the three letter boxes kept in the temple complex get more than post cards and envelopes. Every morning, the staff find scores of identity cards and wallets too in them.

"We make it a point to mail these cards to the individuals concerned," Prakash said. The employees often spend their own money to do this.

"Since this season began, I have posted close to 20 PAN cards to the income tax office."

Police say all this is the work of pickpockets who operate in the temple town -- crowded during the pilgrimage season.

The criminals pocket the money from the wallets and dump the cards -- and wallets -- in the post boxes.

Situated in the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats at 914 metres above sea level, the Sabarimala temple is four kilometres uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district, around 100 km from Thiruvananthapuram.

The temple is accessible only on foot from Pamba.

During the last pilgrimage season, more than 4.5 million devotees visited the shrine. This season the authorities expect a 10 percent increase.

A feature of the post office is the special pictorial cancellation stamp of the 18 steps that led to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

"Some devotees come and buy covers or cards and write their own address and post them here," said Prakash. "This is their souvenir."

The post office helps pilgrims to post 'appom' and 'aravana' (the temple prasad). It also sells mobile recharge coupons.

Of the six employees, three walk down the hill daily carrying the outgoing mail on their heads. When they walk up, they carry bags of mail -- mostly addressed to Lord Ayyappa.

"Overall we enjoy what we do here," said Prakash. "We are very happy we got this posting."