In a last-minute settlement between the Finance Minister and the Home Minister, over what has come to be known as &lsquo;India&rsquo;s Chewingate&rsquo;, both leaders have jointly issued a statement that seeks to put the matter to rest. &ldquo;We are concerned that the media has been reporting news of a rift between the two ministries, and of a growing distance between the leaders of the cabinet. To allay such stories, we would like to announce that we have the highest regard for each other, seek each other&rsquo;s guidance on important matters, and only yesterday shared a lollipop and a candy bar while we rode our tri-cycles around North Block.

Aching news

Business Standard

Joshua Foer won the 2006 US Memory Championship. Moonwalking with Einstein tells the story of his transformation from normal, forgetful human being to champion of recall.

'Where are my car keys?'

Go ten years back in time. Fresh out of college, it was time to find your feet in this world. You wanted the thrill of motorcycling, but there weren&rsquo;t too many realistic options around then. You opted for a trusty run-of-the-mill two-wheeler and it ensured that you got things done in time. Today, you&rsquo;ve made it. You&rsquo;ve got a comfortable life and couldn&rsquo;t ask for much more, and, along the way, you parted ways with your two-wheeled steed and opted for the safety of a car. But your motorcycling dream has always been at the back of your mind. And there couldn&rsquo;t be a better time than right now to realise it. Here then, are three great options that are available in India today &mdash; the Kawasaki Ninja 650R, Hyosung GT650R and Harley-Davidson Super Low.

Fantastic three

Back in the summer holidays of 1990, not yet 13 years old, I sat down to write a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev. He was then still General Secretary and head of state, and beloved of Time and Newsweek, which came regularly to my school reading room.

Before the fall

Bill Gates, the story goes, takes an annual vacation with his ex-girlfriend - and it&rsquo;s legit.

Pleasure is good

Young people don&rsquo;t get heard in the traditional media, says Shiv B Dravid, so he founded the Net-based Viewspaper. He tells Rrishi Raote about its growth and prospects.

Loud and clear

Have your kids been gushing to you about a certain Sebastien Loeb? Does their vocabulary now include words like &lsquo;yump&rsquo;? And have they been eyeing the family car with a glint in their eyes and a wicked grin on their faces? Don&rsquo;t worry &mdash; the solution to your problems is not the neighbourhood correctional facility. Instead, your kids will be happier at The Rally Academy &mdash; an initiative by MECO Motorsports and JK Tyre. The academy, set up in MECO Motorsports&rsquo; Ministry of Speed facility at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, will be functional next month. And as the name suggests, it is the place for would-be rally drivers. The Rally Academy aims to train people interested in the sport with two types of training programmes &mdash; basic and advanced. The basic programme will be run over two days, while the advanced programme will be run over three days.

Back to school

In death, as in life, M F Husain overshadowed his peers. As news of his demise made headlines across India, most people missed the news that on June 10, an Untitled work by Tyeb Mehta was auctioned by Christie&rsquo;s London for a record Rs 14.5 crore &mdash; his highest, and the second-highest price for a work of Indian modern art after S H Raza&rsquo;s massive Saurashtra fetched Rs 16.5 crore last year. Bought by a European collector, Untitled (Figure on a Rickshaw) was estimated at $1.3-1.95 million; its gavel price at $3.24 million is a pointer not just to the rare quality of his art but a nod also to its rarer availability.

He's worth it

Guitar legend Prasanna&rsquo;s academy is looking to transform the way music is taught in the country.

Play school

I want to upgrade to a sedan from a Tata Indica Vista. I am considering the new Hyundai Verna and the VolksWagen Vento. I was also interested in the Vento diesel but I read that the 1.6 motor is noisy. I verified this myself on a test drive. The fit and finish is great and the driveability is excellent but the engine noise levels were a bit of a let down. However, the latest reviews are all praise for the Verna&rsquo;s 1.6 diesel motor.

Hit for A 1.6

A BBC docu-drama on Atlantis mixes fact with computer-generated imagery.

Lost world, lost chance

The Mahindra Group has grand plans for the defence industry.

A call to arms

Sula Wines&rsquo; Rajeev Samant gets Bollywood support.

Wine and spirit

It was a John Updike moment when VVS Laxman was about to catch the ball that deflected from Wasim Akram&rsquo;s bat, which would complete Anil Kumble&rsquo;s achievement of 10 wickets in an innings: &ldquo;It was in the books while it was still in the air.&rdquo; The latest book to chronicle that world record is journalist Amol Rajan&rsquo;s Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket&rsquo;s Greatest Spin Bowlers. But there&rsquo;s a twist of schadenfreude to the tale here: Englishman Tony Lock was giving his team-mate Jim Laker no easy route to the 10 wickets that he would eventually take against Australia at Old Trafford in 1959. Cut to Delhi. &ldquo;By the time Kumble was on his ninth, Javagal Srinath was bowling wide long hops at the other end&rdquo;.

Pitch reports

With a population of about 1.2 billion, in 2010 India consumed some 250 million cases of spirits, 215 million cases of beer, and 1.5 million cases of wine. Despite this disparity, the popular perception is that &ldquo;wines are doing really well&rdquo;, which indicates that there are many more labels now available than, say, 10 years back &mdash; and all those society photographs on Page 3 depicting all those people with wine glasses in their hands no doubt contribute to the image of wine &lsquo;being everywhere&rsquo;.

Size does matter

Magnus Carlsen and Sergei Karjakin tied for first in the Fifth Medias, scoring 6.5 points from 10 games. Carlsen had the better tiebreak and he gains enough rating to go to 2821. This will let him edge ahead of Anand (2817) in the next rating list.

Chess (#683)

    The King&rsquo;s Speech, the Oscar winning movie, paid tribute to King George VI&rsquo;s triumph. Name the writing instrument brand that has come out with a special edition in his honour.

Answers to last week's quiz (#206)

Sample this. Tata Group&rsquo;s retail flagship Trent was profitable from Day 1. It&rsquo;s a record, anywhere in the world, anyway you look at it. The secret? Fifteen years ago, the Tata Group managed a steal for itself as it shopped its way into big ticket retailing with perhaps the best deal in town.

Showcase

At 54, Noel Tata is a believer. For him, once you are in retail, you stay sold to it. Over the years he has played a pivotal role in the evolution of the retail strategy for the entire group as the MD of Trent, the flagship retail company of the Tata Group. Responsible for many foreign tie-ups, strategic rollouts and acquisitions, he is now giving Tata International, the trading arm of the conglomerate, a retail twist.

Q&A: Noel Tata, MD, Trent

Toyota is hoping to drive volumes in the passenger car market in the country with its made-for-India small car, the Liva.

Less is more

The Korean chaebol is making its presence felt in technology-led segments such as flat-panel television sets, while LG retains its domination in white goods and appliances.

Samsung strikes back

- Find Specials News, Features, Analysis and more at Business Standard. Full coverage of Goafest 2014

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