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Howler heat on last-word guide
 The Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names is said to be the last word when it comes to places and names. But now, its bloomers have ruffled the feathers of normally cool Kannadigas.
Its 2005 edition claims Bangalore “is a city which takes its name from the fact that it was founded as a mud fort in 1537 by Kempe Gowda, a local chief, where the population spoke Bengali”.
It even goes on to state that “the Bengalis took their name from a chief called Banga”. The flaws have got the goat of academics and those in the government.
They point out that Bangalore derived its name from the popular belief that an old woman offered a tired King Ballala boiled beans (benda kaalu in local Kannada). That is believed to be the root of Bendakalooru (city of boiled beans). Later, this was shortened to Bengalooru. The anglicised Bangalore came later.
Oxford University Press has apologised and halted sales of the dictionary. It has said all erroneous references in John Everett-Heath’s edition will be shredded.
Can steal cash, not count
 Desperate times call for desperate actions. Gangaram Debuha lived up to that adage. Now, he is living down its fallout.
The 18-year-old was caught in Mumbai with Rs 10 lakh he had stolen from a Gandhidham businessman he had been working for.
Gangaram needed Rs 50,000 for the surgery of his mother, who stays with his brother in Punjab.
Gangaram’s plans went awry when he, along with a friend, got off a train from Gujarat. The wads of cash popped out of his bag during a routine police check at the station.
The youth, whose family moved to India from Nepal in search of livelihood, had won the trust of the Gujarat entrepreneur.
But, in his statement to the police, he said he cleaned out all the cash from his employer’s locker because he was too illiterate to count. It was hard to believe him on that count. The duo is in judicial custody.
Big bucks, large heart
 They are known for their large wallets. Now, they are showing they also have a big heart.
Employees at the Mysore office of Infosys are using their spare time to give under-privileged children in government schools of Chennai lessons in soft-skills (like embroidery and candle-making).
The employees, working through common friends, are trying to put in an extended network in key cities of the south so that more initiatives like the Chennai one can pan out.
course on soft-skills for poor children has been prepared. There is direct assistance too: old and discarded, but re-usable, clothes are being handed out to the needy.
Once the planned network of friends and colleagues takes root, the Infosys staffers hope to do more.
One of the ideas doing the rounds is to set up centres where NRIs can donate old garments.
Track trouble
Commuters in Mumbai better be prepared for two tough days.
Western Railway will enforce a “mega block” on May 25 and 28 to facilitate quadrupling work between Borivali and Virar stations. The curbs will remain in place from 7 am to 11 pm. Those travelling from Churchgate to Goregaon/Malad will not have any problems.
But with 25 per cent of the trains cancelled, delays are inevitable. BEST will run additional buses from Borivali to Bhayander. Services from Borivali to Goregaon and Malad on the two days will also be increased.
While the backup facilities will help, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if you skipped trains altogether and hit the road.
 Chennai: Vinnyasa Art Gallery is holding an exhibition of landscape paintings by A. M. Bekwad till May 30. The venue is at 21/11, First Main Road, CIT Colony, Mylapore. Timings: 11 am to 7 pm. Art lovers passing through Chennai till the end of this month could find a visit to the gallery worthwhile.
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