GATE EXAMINATION INDIA

Graduate aptitude test in india...is the most important exam in india which serves as a real test of genuineness of an engineer....Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all India examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordination Board - GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.

The GATE committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and declaring the results.

GATE is conducted through the constitution of eight zones. The zones and the corresponding administrative institutes are:

Zone-1: Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru
Zone-2: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Zone-3: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Zone-4: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Zone-5: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Zone-6: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Zone-7: Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Zone-8: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

The overall coordination and responsibility of conducting GATE 2012 lies with Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2012 .

Admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD and some other Government scholarships/assistantships in engineering colleges/institutes is open to those who qualify in GATE examination. GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture or Master's degree in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications are eligible for admission to Master's degree programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture as well as for Doctoral programmes in relevant branches of Science with MHRD or other government scholarships/assistantships. To avail the scholarship, the candidate must secure admission to such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. However, candidates with Master's degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture may seek admission to relevant Doctoral programmes with scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination.

GATE qualification is also a minimum requirement to apply for various fellowships awarded by many Government organizations.


WHAT IS NEW IN GATE 2012?

Application Process:

In GATE 2012, candidates need to register and fill the application ONLINE only by accessing the zonal GATE websites of IISc and seven IITs. The application process is complete only when a print out of the filled ONLINE application with the candidate's signature and a good quality photo affixed in the appropriate place is received by the respective GATE office along with necessary documents, if any, on or before 24 October 2011. Please note that sale of application forms through banks and GATE office counters has been discontinued.

Downloadable Admit Card:

Sending Admit cards by post has been discontinued from this year. Admit cards can only be downloaded from the zonal GATE websites from 2nd January 2012. Bring the admit card to the test center along with at least one original (not photocopied / scanned copy) and valid (not expired) photo identification.

Use of black ink ball point pen:

The use of pencils to darken the bubbles in the answer sheet has been discontinued from this year. Candidates should use only black ink ball point pen for darkening of the bubbles in the answer sheet. Since bubbles darkened by the black ink ball point pen cannot be erased, candidates should darken the bubbles in the answer sheet very carefully.

ONLINE examination in two additional papers:

In GATE 2011, the papers with codes GG, TF, AE and MN had ONLINE examination. In GATE 2012, two additional papers, AR and AG, will also have ONLINE examination. The ONLINE examination will be conducted in two sessions on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

Forenoon session (09:00 hrs to 12:00 hrs): AR, GG and TF.

Afternoon session (14:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs): AE, AG and MN.

Numerical answer type questions in ONLINE papers:

In the ONLINE papers (AE, AG, AR, GG, MN and TF), the question paper will consist of questions of multiple choice type and questions of numerical answer type. For multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices for the answer. For numerical answer type questions, each question will have a number as the answer. The number of numerical answer type questions may vary between 5 and 10 in each question paper.

Pre-final year students:

Pre-final year students are not eligible to write GATE 2012. For details, refer to eligibility for GATE examination.


Eligibility for GATE
The following categories of candidates ONLY are eligible to appear for GATE:
a) Bachelor’s degree holders in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and
those who are in the final year of such programmes.
b) Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture (Post-B.Sc./Post-Diploma)
and those who are in the final year of such programmes.
c) Master’s degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/ Statistics/Computer
Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final year of such programmes.
d) Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master’s degree
programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology.
e) Candidates in the fourth or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master’s degree programme
or Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.
f) Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional
societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institute of Engineers (India); AMICE
by Institute of Civil Engineers (India)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have
completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.


 GATE Qualification
Admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD and some  other  Government
scholarships/assistantships in engineering colleges/institutes is open to those who qualify in
GATE examination.  Candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/
Archit ect ure or Master’s degree in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer
Applications, who qualify in GATE examination are eligible for  admission to  Master’s degree
programmes in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture as  well  as  for  Doctoral  programmes  in
relevant branches of Science wit h MHRD or ot her Government scholarships/assistant ships. To
avail  the  scholarship,  the  candidate must  secure  admission  to  such  a  postgraduate  programme,
as per  the prevailing procedure of  the  admitting  institution. However, candidates with Master’s
degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture may seek  admission to relevant  Doct oral
programmes with  scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination.



1.5 Application Submission Process
a) Candidates need to apply/register  ONLINE for GATE 2012. Application process for GATE
2012 is  entirely ONLINE, and  sale  of  application  forms  through  banks  /  GATE office
counters has been discontinued.  Details for applying ONLINE  are available on the websites
of IISc and the seven IITs as given below in Table 2.  
Table 2: Websites of IISc and IITs
b) The application fee is Rs.1000/- for  General/OBC  Category  candidates  and  Rs.500

indian fantasy league

Indian Fantasy Cricket A Reality With IndianFantasyLeague.com
As Twenty20 draws near, one of the largest fantasy cricket game websites is all set to make Fantasy Cricket a reality for fans. Indian Fantasy League (http://www.indianfantasyleague.com) is giving dream cricket a whole new meaning.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 18, 2008 ) With the Twenty20 matches right around the corner, Fantasy Cricket in India is taking on a whole new meaning thanks to one of the largest Fantasy Cricket game websites http://www.indianfantasyleague.com, which was unveiled recently. Free member registration is now open to fans from everywhere. The aim of the portal is to give cricket fans a platform to realize their dream of managing a team of their favorite players.

“Our aim is to give Indian Fantasy Cricket a makeover and make it as close to reality as possible and I have no qualm in declaring that users of our site will agree that we have achieved our goal”, says Indian Fantasy League (IFL) representative Mr. Prashant Sethi. “IFL lets you play Fantasy Cricket like never before! Not only are we one of the largest portals for Fantasy Cricket games, the prizes we are offering are the most expensive than anyone has ever witnessed before for an Indian dream cricket game. IFL invites all cricket fans to register and take a flight of fantasy which is as close to reality as it can get!”, he is quick to add.

Indian Fantasy Cricket will take place concurrent to Twenty20 matches, to be played in India between April 18 and June 1, 2008. Playing is very simple indeed. All a user has to do is login or register and start building a team of his 16 favorite players. Based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams in the actual matches, points will be awarded. Users have the option of changing players as the matches progress.

“Fans will get to decide everything, right from the players in their team to how it goes forward, who stays and who goes out. Actual on field performances of players will determine the outcome and the winners. So anyone who is choosing their dream team must take care to select the best possible players who are playing well in the current tournament. Do not get swayed by a player's popularity and go strictly by statistics”, suggests Mr. Sethi who also assures that IndianFantasyLeague.com is a safe platform and doesn't have any loopholes. “We don't collect any personal information and contact users through e-mail only”, he asserts.

The IFL will be played in 5 phases and prizes will be awarded to the top scorers in the phases as well as to the overall leaders. Registrations will be open right till the end of IFL. Cricket lovers can register for free at - http://www.indianfantasyleague.com/registeruser.aspx

About IndianFantasyLeague.com:

Indian Fantasy League (http://www.Indianfantasyleague.com) is one of the largest Indian Fantasy Cricket game websites. Designed as a platform for cricket fans who want to get more involved in cricket and the upcoming Twenty20 matches, IndianFantasyLeague.com is offering luxurious prizes to the winners. Registration is free and open to everyone. The IFL will be played in conjunction with Twenty20 matches. Fans can make changes to the team members based on the players' actual performances. Registrations will be open right till the end of the IFL.

All the procedures and terms have been clearly explained on the portal, which also features an FAQ section. The scoring card, winning conditions and complete match timetable have also been posted.

bujjigadu

The cast and crew of director Puri Jagannath's upcoming venture, Bujjigadu-Made in Chennai, are all set to leave for New Zealand to wrap up the final leg of the shooting.

The filmmakers say they are planning to release the film in the second week of May to cash in on the holiday season. Prabhas and Trisha are playing the lead in the film being produced by KS Rama Rao.

However, veteran actor Mohan Babu's performance has got the director all excited. "Dr Mohan Babu is in a class of his own he has proved it once again with a superb performance in the film.

He will be seen in a stylish new avtar in the film. He is a thorough professional and it's been a privilege to work with him," said Puri adding that they plan to release the music on April 18th.

Padma Shri Dr M Mohanbabu, made his debut in films as a hero,but became more famous with the villain roles. After playing villain and comedy villain, he slowly became a character artiste and then again went back to playing hero roles. However, this versatile artiste had no notable hits as hero in the recent past.

In order to keep his identity alive, he is accepting character artiste roles in a few films. He played 'Yamudu' in 'Yamadonga' of Young Tiger NT Rama Rao and enthralled audiences with his dialogue modulation. He is also playing the role of heroine Trisha's brother in 'Bujjigadu'.


Dell Inspiron 1525Laptop Now With Bluetooth Headset
Ads by Google

Full Movie Downloads
Bollywood, Asian, Indie Films And More. Watch 2 Movies For Free Now!
Bollywood's Sexiest Moms
Get the sizzling and scorching hot bollywood mommies. Catch them now!
Hot Sexy Bikini Photo
Girls in Bikini All Types & Styles. See larger Sexy pics and other view
తెలుగు సినిమా
తెలుగు సినిమాల గురించి వెతకండి
Telugu
Finding The Perfect Match Is Very Important. Join Free! Chat & Marry
Seagate – Play & Win
Play Need for Storage Contest and grab a chance to win Moto Rokr!
Jalsa Movie Tickets
Book Tickets for Pavan Kalyan's new Jalsa Movie. Get Your Tickets Now!
Jobs in Star TV.
100's of Jobs in Television Co's Submit your Resume Now & Find Jobs
DesiScreen: Telugu Movies
Free Telugu Movie Online Video Site Telugu Movies, Stars, Videos, Songs

Now it is reliably learnt that he had accepted to don the role of villain in a film in which a producer's son is making his debut as hero. Mohanbabu reportedly liked the subject and his role which has a negative shade. It is quite interesting that Mohanbabu is going back to his good old ways by accepting the negative role.

world heritage day

After the newly-created cultural department failed to kick-off the heritage rally much to the embarrassment of the officials of department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums who had made elaborate arrangements for it, fresh directions have been issued by the authorities to organize a rally on Friday, April 18 which according to the sources in the department is a “mere eyewash and damage control.”
“This is just eyewash. We had made all arrangements for the rally on April 15 after an advisory committee that met on April 4-5 decided that a heritage rally and exhibition-cum- seminar would be held in Srinagar to celebrate the World Heritage Day. However, at the last moment we were directed not to hold any such rally or exhibition, and the department had to face the music from the parents of schoolchildren who had turned up in large numbers for the rally,” a source in the department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums told etala’at on the condition on anonymity.
Earlier a heritage rally which was scheduled to be flagged off by the divisional commissioner Kashmir on April 15 was called off leaving schoolchildren who had assembled at Pratap Park Srinagar from different schools high and dry. The secretary Culture had issued directions that no such rally and exhibition should be held in Srinagar “till further orders.”
“Everything was planned and the advisory committee which proposed the dates for the rally and the exhibition was chaired by none other than the Additional Commissioner Kashmir Abdu Rashid Mir. The advisory committee comprised department officials and noted historians and intellectuals of the society .By sabotaging the schedule and program, the Jammu-centric administration has made it clear that it is biased against the promotion and preservation of rich heritage of Kashmir which has a recorded history of more than 5000, years,” the source added.
When contacted, secretary Cultural department, NK Verma feigned ignorance about the proposed heritage rally and the exhibition saying that the administration was not taken into confidence before the advisory committee “which we do not recognize.”
“We were not informed about any such rally or exhibition,” Verma told etala’at. “The administration is not subservient to fund and allow any such program organized by some advisory committee which we do not recognize. Few people sitting in some office in Srinagar cannot take the department for a ride.”
About the inconvenience caused to hundreds of students who had assembled in Srinagar on April 15 for the rally, Verma said, “We are not responsible for the inconvenience caused to them as nothing was announced from the administration. It is the department of Archives Srinagar which is at fault.”
Verma added that a heritage rally would be flagged off simultaneously in Srinagar and Jammu to celebrate World Heritage Day which falls on April 18.
However, a senior official at the department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums told etala’at, “The administration cannot be ignorant to the proposed rally and exhibition. The dates and schedule of the events to be held during the heritage week were made public and everything was circulated in press.”
Meanwhile in the run up to the world heritage day several seminars, rallies, exhibitions and workshops are being held in Jammu whereas not a single seminar and exhibition has been held in Srinagar.

UET Abbottabad Campus to celebrate World Heritage Day

PESHAWAR: The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Abbottabad’s Department of Architecture will celebrate World Heritage Day on Friday (today) by arranging a national seminar on ‘Religious Heritage and Sacred Places’, which has been declared as the theme of the 2008 worldwide celebration by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

World Heritage Day, also known as the ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’, is celebrated to raise public awareness about the richness and diversity of the world’s cultural heritage, and the efforts required to protect and conserve it. The ICOMOS has been celebrating the day since April 18, 1982. The seminar will start at 10am with key presentation on ‘Heritage and the Work of Architects Today’ by Abdul Qayyum Khan, the professor at the UET Abbottabad Department of Architecture and ‘The Heritage of Earthen Architecture and its Environmental Relevance’ by Dr Shakeel Qureshi, the director of the Conservation Programme at the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore.

A panel discussion will also be held with representatives from the Sarhad Tourism Corporation; the Sarhad Conservation Network; and faculty members of the UET, Abbottabad Campus. Students of the Architecture Department will present visual displays related to Pakistan’s place in global cultural heritage. staff report

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Former champion Justin Leonard made the most of ideal conditions and a relaxed frame of mind to charge into a share of the lead at the Heritage Classic in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on Thursday.

Four days after battling gusting winds to tie for 20th at the U.S. Masters, Leonard fired a sparkling five-under-par 66 to set the first-round pace with fellow Americans Lucas Glover and five-times winner Davis Love III.

American Stewart Cink, the 2004 champion, was a further stroke adrift along with nine others, including compatriots Anthony Kim, John Rollins and Charles Howell III, plus Colombia's Camilo Villegas.

"It was a nice day, and wonderful weather-wise," Leonard, 35, told reporters after hitting a five-iron to two feet at the last to set up his sixth birdie of the round on the picturesque Harbour Town Golf Links.

"It was great to play without a whole lot of wind after last week when you (had to) play so defensively. You come here and play a little more aggressively."

Asked to compare this week's PGA Tour event with the opening major of the year at Augusta National, Leonard replied: "Last week was like final exams and this week is like spring break.

"You come here and it's such a relaxed atmosphere. We go on bike rides and do a lot of fun stuff with the kids. Golf is almost secondary here."

Leonard, winner of the 2002 Heritage Classic, said his most significant hole of the round was the par-four 10th where he chipped in to save par.

BIGGEST SHOT

"I hit a bad tee shot there, hooked it in the water," he said. "Then I hit a five-iron up toward the green and chipped it in for par. That was probably the biggest shot of the day."

Love was delighted to make a strong start at one of his favourite venues, having battled to regain form after an ankle injury last September.

"I've been putting myself behind the eight-ball usually the first nine holes or first day or first hole, it seems like every round," said the 44-year-old, who birdied the first two holes for an outward nine of four-under 32.

"So it's nice to birdie the first two and get off to a good start, get a good round and get ahead of the eight-ball rather than behind it.

"I have worked extremely hard this year to get the mind going," added Love, who clinched the last of his five Heritage Classic titles in 2003. "If it's not this week, it will be Charlotte. And if it's not Charlotte, it will be the Players.

"I'm close and it's got to pay off eventually. Keep sticking the tokens in the machine, eventually you'll get it right."

Among the other big names, American world number nine Jim Furyk opened with a 68 and third-ranked South African Ernie Els battled to a 72.

American Boo Weekley, who won last year's title with spectacular chip-ins to save par on the final two holes, started with a four-birdie 69.

April 18 (IANS) Heritage protection in Agra is “Taj centric”, ignoring in the process dozens of lesser-known protected monuments that are in a shambles, say conservationists as World Heritage Day is observed Friday. Local historians point out dozens of structures that need immediate attention and repairs. “Our total approach has been Taj-centric, paying very little attention to other historical monuments like Babar’s Ram Bagh or Chini ka Roza. Several important monuments including the Jama Masjid of Agra and the tomb of Rasul Shah in Fatehpur Sikri have been wilfully neglected,” said R. Nath, a Mughal historian.

Amit Mukherjea, head of the history department at St John’s College, says the Jama Masjid, overlooking the Agra Fort, is crying for attention. “It has been under repair for years, and god alone knows when the total renovation and maintenance work of this beautiful structure will end.”

“The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is neither following guidelines drawn up in various manuals nor adhering to the Unesco rules for heritage monuments. Some buildings in the Agra Fort complex are still under repair and not open to public, without justification and in blatant violation of the 1958 Act,” he added.

Conservationists feel that except for the Taj Mahal other lesser-known monuments are in a shambles calling for urgent restoration work.

The ASI in the Agra circle has close to 400 protected monuments under its charge.

“Ritualistically celebrating World Heritage Day without doing anything tangible other than allowing free entry to the monuments makes no sense as half a dozen other recommendations of the International Council for Monuments and Sites (Icomos) as also of the Unesco have not been implemented,” said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

Superintending Archaeologist D.N. Dimri denied these charges and said all the monuments in the Agra circle are being properly maintained. So many delegations and even members of parliament have appreciated the ASI’s work, he added.

The ASI has announced ticket free entry to the Taj Mahal and other monuments on World Heritage Day.

Distortion of history is another serious charge against the ASI in Agra. Two years ago, a structure bearing an inscription in Persian and invocation to Allah was identified as Haveli Ratan Singh in the Fort and opened with pomp to the tourists by local MP Raj Babbar.

Work on the so-called Ibadat Khana of Akbar in Fatehpur Sikri had to be abandoned when historians raised several questions about its veracity. Similarly, a structure in the Fort was identified as the jail Shivaji was lodged in by Aurangzeb. Historical records indicate Shivaji was never detained in the Fort but was perhaps lodged in a haveli now in the Jaipur House colony of Agra.

Perhaps the most alarming lapse has been the ASI’s abject failure to rid the monuments of illegal structures and encroachments.

Most smaller protected monuments in Agra - and there are scores of them - have been virtually overwhelmed by new structures which threaten their existence. Delhi Gate, Etmauddaula, Sikandra, Ram Bagh and dozens of others have been dwarfed by encroachments.

A recent decision of the ASI to review a ban on allowing construction within a radius of 100 metres of the protected monuments has been questioned by historians.

Encroachments are the biggest threat to survival of historical monuments in Agra. “Take the case of Babar’s Ram Bagh, one of the most beautifully laid out Mughal gardens. It is obscured by encroachments and is hardly visible from the road,” said Mukherjea.

With land prices skyrocketing and builders making a beeline to usurp every inch of available space in the city, the survival of some of these structures has become uncertain.

Even Christian cemeteries are going off the map, their land taken over by colonisers and government town planners. The encroachers’ long arm now threatens to gobble up Babar’s Ram Bagh across the Yamuna, Mariam’s tomb near Sikandra, Bagh Farzana and Begum Samru’s garden to name just a few of the relatively better known places.

The ASI routinely sends out notices about the encroachments, but the district administration rarely ever takes any action, say conservationists.

They allege the police usually look the other way.

This year’s Icomos theme on the International Day for Monuments and Sites is ‘Religious Heritage and Sacred Places’.

Historic sites, places, objects, and spaces that relate to the past are the soul of the community. For many people, commitment to the historic environment goes deeper than just visiting historic sites. Without emotions and attachments, these heritage sites, monuments, or objects will be much less than the sum of their parts.

Heritage defines our identity. It is part of what makes nations, and because history matters, heritage is also valued across all social groups and across nations. The approach towards heritage has changed. Most of the ideas on heritage revolved around monuments or historic sites in the past. It has now evolved to include natural and intangible heritage, most recently biodiversity.

To remind us of our common purpose as nations who are diverse but unified, the UNESCO has designated April 18 of each year as World Heritage Day. The event represents an opportunity for citizens of nations to work together with government and many cultures, languages, traditions, and divergent inheritances in renewing their call to action and recommitting to preserving the world’s heritage. The urgency of the call to action is even more relevant today with the world’s heritage at risk from globalization. This year’s theme "Religious History and Sacred Places" indicates the important role religious history and sacred places play in centuries-old traditions that influence the ways of life of nations, and their significance in uplifting the spirits, in stimulating minds, and in enriching the lives of people beyond the reach of daily communications.

Heritage is not only about the past or present. It is fundamentally about what we could call the building of memories for the future and the torchlight we need as we navigate our way through the darkest of times. We are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that our nation continues to enjoy our historical uniqueness.

parminder nagra

Parminder gives an insight into her (now considerable) experience of portraying a medical professional in a piece by Jean Schiffman for Back Stage, the actor’s resource.

The article, published this week in the journal for aspiring thespians, includes details of an ER actor’s background research and preparation, including practicing a blood draw on a banana and tourniquet! The challenges of articulating the legendary medical jargon while at the same time authentically simulating medical procedures is also covered.
Read the whole piece here.

Mindi can be seen stateside tonight in a new episode of ER entitled 'As the day she was born'. This episode will be first broadcast in the UK on More4 (Digital) at 10:00am on Thursday April 24th and again at 8:00pm on Saturday April 26th on Channel 4 (Terrestrial).

One of the most eventful Survivor seasons in recent memory looks like it'll continue its streak tonight as one contestant sacrifices immunity to stay in the game. Yes, it sounds counterintuitive to me, too, so we'll just have to watch and see. 7 p.m., KTVT/Channel 11

My Name Is Earl: With Earl (Jason Lee) still in a coma, brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) continues dealing with karma, this time trying to rectify a situation that happened years ago when their father (Beau Bridges) discovered a stash of pot at home. 7 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5

Smallville: Tonight's first-run episode is being promoted as "the day Clark [Tom Welling] and Lex [Michael Rosenbaum] became mortal enemies," which is a day this series has been leading up to since its premiere. We're also being told that a longtime character dies tonight. 7 p.m., KDAF/Channel 33

30 Rock: In a typically strong, funny episode, go-to guest star Dean Winters (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Rescue Me) returns as Liz's beeper-salesman ex, who still has an effect on Liz (Tina Fey), and Tim Conway appears as a classic-TV star whose tales of the old days disturb ever-naive page Kenneth (Jack McBrayer). 7:30 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5

The Office: Of all the NBC sitcoms that have returned with post-writers-strike episodes this month, this is the one that returned with a vengeance, with last week's very funny, very uncomfortable dinner-party episode. Tonight, the discomfort continues as Michael (Steve Carell) becomes obsessed with an office-catalog model, and Andy and Kevin (Ed Helms, Brian Baumgartner) join forces in a battle over parking spaces. 8 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: So we've only had new episodes for a couple of weeks, and now here's a repeat? Fortunately, it turns out to be a good one: October's A La Cart, with cases involving a go-kart death and a murder that occurs during a "dark dining" event. 8 p.m., KTVT/Channel 11

Supernatural: With new episodes of this cult fave about the demon-hunting Winchester brothers set to return next week, the CW repeats Mystery Spot, in which Sam (Jared Padalecki) watches as Dean (Jensen Ackles) is fatally shot -- and then Sam has a Groundhog Day-type experience, in which he lives the same day over and over -- so that he may (or may not) be able to save Dean. 8 p.m., KDAF/Channel 33

Scrubs: The janitor (Neil Flynn) creates a stir by starting a hospital newspaper, The Janitorial. (Dude, you know you have to start a blog now, too, right?) 8:30 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5

ER:The Sopranos' Aida Turturro guest-stars as a patient with a torn aorta, but judging from the promos, all eyes will be on Neela (Parminder Nagra), whose all-night shift has a strange effect on her. 9:01 p.m., KXAS/Channel 5

Eli Stone: I'm not sure what the future holds for this new drama, but it made it to its first-season finale, and that's saying something in this warped season. In tonight's finale, Eli (Jonny Lee Miller) finds his life in the balance when he has surgery to remove the brain aneurysm that is apparently the cause of all his weird visions -- such as seeing God. Who looks like George Michael. I don't think this is what Michael had in mind when he wrote Faith. 9:02 p.m., WFAA/Channel 8

When Lee Strasberg directed the Group Theatre's premiere of Sidney Kingsley's Crisis (better known as Men in White), he took the cast to a hospital to talk to doctors and nurses and rehearsed the operating-room choreography more than 100 times in three months. (Wendy Smith documents this in her book Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940.) The actors also practiced their operating-room moves on their own every morning in pantomime, and those playing doctors kept stethoscopes in their pockets to get the feeling of the medical gait.

Today's TV doctors and nurses are even more rigorous: They have to know lots of procedures and terminology -- and make the fake look real for the camera. It's not just an acting challenge; it may also change your mindset about the medical profession.

On the set, medical advisers are always present, and on some shows real nurses work as extras. Actors also get training after they're hired. For example, when Yvette Freeman was cast as a nurse on ER, she shadowed some nurses at a Los Angeles hospital. They taught her how to use the various machines and do basic things like wrap bandages and put on surgical gloves quickly. "In real life you have time, but on TV you have to do it in seconds," Freeman says. Now she can fake taking blood pressure faster than it's taken in real life.

Parminder Nagra, who plays ER's Dr. Rasgotra, initially followed an attending physician around the UCLA Medical Center for a day. "Observing the different mentalities, the different temperaments, was fascinating," she says. She also went with med students to a seminar about anti-venom and visited UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital.

Like Nagra, who practiced drawing blood at home with a banana and a tourniquet, many actors do their own research. Kal Penn, who plays Dr. Kutner on House, went to UCLA's library and bookstore, studied anatomy and pharmacology manuals, and watched online footage of surgery and other medical procedures. Ellen Crawford, who played a nurse on ER for nine years, ultimately became friends with a real nurse.
The technical elements of playing medical personnel are one thing, the character elements another. Jennifer Morrison, who plays Dr. Cameron on House, read several books by doctors in order to understand their feelings. They wrote about how scary their first surgery was or their frustration with being human and sometimes making mistakes. "Dr. Cameron cares so much for her patients, is potentially too involved," says Morrison, "and this was the key I needed to find that place in her: the need to be perfect and not being perfect."

Several actors compared learning the necessary medical vocabulary to learning lines of Shakespeare: You have to understand what you're saying -- and know exactly how to pronounce the words -- for the audience to understand. The on-set doctor is available to explain terminology, and Freeman says she tackles unfamiliar words phonetically -- they don't exactly roll off her tongue.

"We learn our lines to get the gist of what things mean, and if we're not sure of the pronunciation, we phone the [adviser] doctors," says Nagra. "Once I get the gist, hopefully the words will fall into place." Often she goes to tech websites on the day of a shoot to get up to speed on the jargon du jour.

"The terminology makes you feel like you're speaking another language," adds Morrison. "Early on, I'd look up practically every term. That helped me feel more connected, more familiar with the words. As time goes on, so much repeats itself -- the names of tests, drugs, diseases. We've all said it over and over for four years, so it becomes more familiar."

Blood and Guts

But putting dialogue together with actions is another matter. On ER, Freeman explains, a technical adviser usually shows the actors a diagram of what they'll be doing in a scene, what instruments they'll be using, on which lines to pass the instruments or use them, and so on, so everyone understands the blocking in advance. Then the actors run the physical part of the scene, followed by the verbal (or vice versa), then both together. Freeman pictures herself doing the physical action when she runs her lines.

The hardest part for Morrison is doing fussy physical stuff while saying lines in what feels like a foreign language. "If we were actually intubating someone, it might be easier," she says. "But we're faking it, and you're doing eight things with your hands, and you don't want to hurt the patient or stab them. You're almost doing a sleight of hand while you're saying things like, 'He's going into cardiac arrest!' "

Sometimes the dialogue has nothing to do with the action, especially if a patient is anesthetized and the doctors and nurses are carrying on side conversations (or exchanging yearning looks, as often happens on Grey's Anatomy). "You need to be on top of your game," says Penn. "It's like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach. It's a unique set of challenges."

Just a few of the things TV docs have to fake realistically, expertly, while cheating for the camera: spinal taps, palpation, echocardiograms, drawing blood, inserting an I.V., intubation, injections, scrutinizing an ultrasound screen, hand sutures, and coping with copious quantities of blood. In surgery scenes, of course, a prosthesis is placed on top of the patient's actual body part and the blood is fake, but intestines, for example, might be actual pig intestines. Nagra says she didn't mind working with the porker's innards and even found their texture fascinating, but she got queasy at the sight of blood pumping out of a prosthetic arm stump -- the fake blood grossed her out more than real organs.

"When we have people bleeding out of orifices, blood spraying from an artery, it's kind of gory, but you get used to it," says Morrison. Props, Nagra points out, are a huge part of playing a medical professional. She gets excited learning all the new techniques (she finds doing hand sutures rather therapeutic) and layering her acting on top of that.

There's so much to learn and the pace of the action is so fast, says Freeman, that she'd never want to be a guest star who has to do medical procedures. "You have to do your homework before you get there," she says. Nagra comments, "If I did a Jacobean play, I know I'm not in Jacobean times. I have to put myself in those times, that character. You tackle this job the same way."

I asked the actors what advice they'd give others, and they all agreed: Be on top of your lines. "If you have to run down the hall saying something technical and you don't have it memorized, it's going to be hard," warns Freeman.

"Whether your character is making a pizza or performing an appendectomy, you need to implicitly know how to do those things," says Penn.

"See if you can get hooked up with someone who actually does what your character does," advises Crawford. "You'll get a whole different perspective and a sense of the person behind the knowledge." Morrison agrees; she loves talking to House's medical consultant and understanding the details of procedures.

Playing a medical professional over a long stretch can't help but affect your life. Crawford became passionate about nursing, so moved and impressed was she by how much healthcare workers care about people. She's proud that ER portrays nurses not as doctors' handmaidens but as devoted professionals. As a result of her ER stint, she's also a regular blood donor.

And Morrison says House has given her deep respect for real doctors. "I can't imagine carrying that pressure daily," she says. It has also made her realize how important it is to be a student of your own body: "You start to think differently. I've become so much more detail-oriented. You realize how every detail counts."

A b o u t P a r m i n d e r

"The character of Jess is very close to me. She is honest, steadfast and a little fighter on the pitch, much like me. She also follows her heart, which is something that I do too"

Parminder Nagra attained international recognition and won the hearts of cinema audiences in 2002 as the lead actor in the movie Bend It Like Beckham.
Her portrayal of Jess Bhamra, a football obsessed teenager whose determination to follow her dreams challenges the expectations of her family, was central to making the film a global box office hit.

The success of the movie in the U.S led to a part in America's seminal and widely syndicated serial medical drama ER .
Having completed her fourth season and ascended in the shows hierarchy, Parminder is today amongst the most recognized British actors in TV and cinema.


The full and fascinating story of Miss Nagra's career journey from Leicester
to LA can be found in the Biography pages on this site.
(under construction March 2008)
A professional CV is featured on the Stage,Screen,TV and Radio page.

The following collection of 'Factoids' may satisfy the curiosity of trivia junkies!.

Full Name: Parminder Kaur Nagra
Date of birth: October 5th 1975
Place of Birth: Belgrave, Leicester (East Midlands), England, UK
Nationality: British
Religion: Sikh
Siblings: One sister and two brothers (Parminder is the eldest)
Qualifications GCSE's, 'A' Levels and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (awarded by the University of Leicester - July 2007)
Height: 5' and 1:5" / 156 cm (or 5' and 3" in certain publications, though without drawing the tape measure ourselves, we are inclined to place greater credence on the first figure)
Star Sign: Libra. To see a professional astrologers reading click here
Shoe Size: Size 3 UK / 6 US (God, this is anorak material!)

To see a bunch of fun stuff about Parminder's likes and dislikes click here or select Total Trivia from the menu.