Mistress of spices

In her new avatar as the part-owner of a reputed chain of restaurants in Britain, Shilpa Shetty is adamant to prove she is not just a glamorous name for the franchise as she was accused of being in cricket. Shilpa intends to lend not just her name to her new food-brand; she’s also determined to be a hands-on mistress of spices. Once she returns to India, Shilpa will enter her mom’s Kitchen and learn all her famous dishes. Says the actress from London, “I’ve always enjoyed cooking. Now, with Raj and I becoming part of Andy Varma’s chain, my interest has turned into passion.” She adds, “You’d be surprised to know how popular Indian food is in England. Do you know the country’s favourite dish is chicken tikka masala? I want them to discover food beyond the obvious curries.”

Men in blue back to field

After a long rest for the Indian Cricket team, the enthusiasm India Coach Gary Kirsten carried summed up the mood in the national camp and the South African was only too forthcoming as he disclosed the secret behind the smile. It has been a long gap for the men in blue so it will take time for them to get back into their field. The relatively long break the Men in Blue enjoyed over the past six weeks has left the coach a satisfied man, more so against the backdrop of a creditable show by his wards in the last few months, except, of course, in the T20 World Cup. The joie de vivre was palpable as the Indian cricketers began their preparations for a long season at the National Cricket Academy here on Thursday, sweating it out in the gymnasium and undergoing fitness tests in the afternoon. Captain MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh and RP Singh even had a brief session of badminton at the courts in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises.

Salman Khan may star in IPL 2011

Now the popular Bollywood star Salman khan was on a business mission. The actor is interested in buying a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Salman met IPL chairman Lalit Modi to discuss about owing an IPL team in 2011.The IPL will be expanded to a 10-team league in 2011. Already there are three bollywood stars own their IPL teams and now Salman will join with them. It may not, however, be easy for Salman to join the elite club. A franchise in 2011 will come with a heavy price tag, much higher than what the IPL owners shelled out in 2008. Initial estimates by the IPL governing council peg the base money at $250 million, over Rs1, 000 crore. That is more than double the price paid for the costliest franchise in the current IPL set-up -- Mumbai Indians was bought by Mukesh Ambani for $111 million. Shah Rukh is paying a mere $76 million over 10 years for the Kolkata franchise.

Marilyn Monroe vault sold

The burial vault above the remains of Hollywood film star Marilyn Monroe has been sold for more than $4.6m (£2.8m). More than 20 offers, starting at $500,000, were received for the space, located in the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. The vault had been advertised on the auction website eBay by the widow of the current occupier. The name of the buyer has not been revealed - except for the initials OS, used to take part in the auction. The space was auctioned by the widow of the man buried - face down - above Monroe, to raise enough cash to pay off the mortgage on her Beverly Hills home, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month.

Jackson to be buried on september

Michael Jackson's remains will be buried in Los Angeles on 3 September - not 29 August as had been announced, a Jackson family spokesman has said. In a statement, Ken Sunshine did not say why the date had been changed. He said the "King of Pop" would be interred in the Forest-Lawn memorial park in Glendale at a private ceremony. The Jackson family said earlier he would buried on 29 August on what would have been his 51st birthday. The cause of his death in June remains unclear.

The Great Mausoleum at the Forest Lawn memorial park is protected with security cameras and access is carefully regulated. The mausoleum contains a stained-glass replica of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper and also copies of statues by Michelangelo. A different Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles provided the setting for the memorial service held by the family in the hours leading up to the globally televised tribute concert on 7 July. His coffin was taken to the concert and remained on stage while family members and celebrities paid tribute to the star.