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Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd December 2011
Father and son-in-law guilty of £71,600 fraud By Spriha Srivastava
A tribute to Tagore Musings, the commemorative program on account of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th anniversary was received with an overwhelming response on Saturday, 26 November at the Nehru Centre, the Cultural Wing of Indian High Commission. The postperformance interaction with the audience getting them to speak few words on their experience was an added attraction. Enthralling a diverse audience, the evening started with a welcome message by Sri Gowri Shankar, Deputy Director of the Nehru Centre. Bisaka Sarkar, herself a renowned dancer from Liverpool and the Director of Chaturangan, compared the show explaining the dance pieces and interpretations. Dancers Deepa Ganesh, artistic Director of Upasana and Ragasudha Vinjamuri put up an exquisite display amalgamating Bharata Natyam and Tagore's essence and presented it in an enjoyable format. The dance recital began with Nivedita and Vaishnavi’s who am I? depicting the joys and stresses of everyday life right from childhood to old age. Then came two compositions of Tagore Daruno Agni and Esho Shyamalo, both depicting characters in differ-
ent weathers, summer and monsoon, waiting endlessly for the soul mate. This was followed by a powerful piece Prokoro tapono which had the seasoned artistes Deepa and Sudha performing two profound emotions simultaneously, romance and spirituality, both seeking union
with the Ultimate. A parallel was also drawn with a composition of Oothukkadu which gave a fragrant message, that instead of searching for the Supreme all around, we must take a look inside ourselves to feel His presence. The show ended with Dhwanilo ahoban, a Tagore composition that included a message for universal friendship and peace. Acknowledgments were given to all, including Tagore Centre UK for their support with translations. It was an enchanting presentation and the artistes were thoroughly applauded. An exhibi-
tion of their artistic achievements was also put up in the lobby. And now a bit about Tagore – As mentioned in Wikipedia, He was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first nonEuropean Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric persona, floccose locks, and empyreal garb garnered him a prophet-like aura in the West. His "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal. Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (FairFaced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his bestknown works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed— or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. He penned two national anthems: the Republic of India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.
Desi Boyz – Mindless Comedy After a heavy dose emotional drama – Rockstar, about two weeks back, movie goers must have thanked their stars for a mindless comedy like Desi Boyz. The movie is directed by debutant director Rohit Dhawan, son of well known director David Dhawan and stars Akshay Kumar and John Abraham who are all set to take their comic timing to the next level after surprising the audience with their performance in Garam Masala. It is a story of two boys Jerry Patel (Akshay Kumar) and Nick Mathur (John Abraham), who are victims of this global recession in UK and are
forced to take up an extremely bizarre job for their survival. The timing of the movie couldn’t be better with the global recession surrounding the British economy and bankers losing their jobs. But how many of them will be inspired by the movie to take up jobs at a night club is a tough question. The dialogue writing is one of the plus points in the film. Actually, it’s the dialogue that makes Sanjay Dutt look so good. The dialogues make the audience laugh at times and at times, draw your attention to Sanjay Dutt who has tried every trick in the style book to hide his
ever-bulging paunch. Deepika Padukone carries herself well as the narrator and then as the girl-friend-in-shock after seeing her fiancé dance in a night club. Chitrangada Singh makes her appearance only after the intermission. Both of them have done a good job with their acting skills. Lastly, regarding the acting of John and Akshay - They have done what they are good at. They were required to look good and deliver all the dialogues with a straight face. They have done this job well and made the experience worthwhile for cinemagoers.
Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com
Slough Borough Council’s investigations team, along with Jobcentre plus, have prosecuted a father and son-in-law for fraudulently claiming benefits totalling £71,679. Mr Shailesh Panchal, of Orchard Avenue, Slough, 50, and his fatherin-law, Mr Narayanbhai Patel, of Shackleton Road, 77, appeared at Reading Crown Court in April 2011 and pleaded guilty to
five counts of dishonesty relating to benefit claims made over several years. Panchal falsely claimed income support, jobseekers allowance and council tax benefits after failing to declare ownership of two properties. One of which was occupied by his father-in-law who then claimed benefits after telling officials that his landlord was not related to him. This enabled
Panchal to have his mortgage paid for by tax payers. As a result of his deception, Panchal was paid a total of £1,832.73 for council tax benefit, £3,109.21 for income support and job seekers allowance, and £66,737.10 in respect of housing benefit to his father-in-law. Mr Patel was convicted of dishonesty.
Police in search of relatives of honour killing victims Police in Pakistan are searching for the missing relatives of a Scottish businessman and his wife after they were shot dead in an apparent honour killing. Detectives say they want to speak to the parents of Uzma Naurin, 30, from New York. She was murdered with Glasgowbased businessman Saif Rehman, 31, amid allegations of a family feud. They were gunned down in broad daylight when their car was ambushed in the Punjabi city of Gujrat, according to eyewitnesses. The police account suggests their driver stopped the car as four gunmen approached. Mr Rehman was shot dead
his wedding last month. They had later travelled to Gujrat to visit Mrs Naurin’s father and were killed on November 1 as they returned Uzma Naurin & Saif Rehman from a shopping trip. before Mrs Naurin was Friends in Scotland abducted. Her body was said Mrs Naurin worked found a few hours later in sales for Costa Coffee hidden in bushes nearby. and was based in New The driver and two Jersey. other passengers – Mr She grew up in New Rehman’s sister and her York where her father is a two-year-old daughter – taxi driver. were unharmed. Shakir The couple had manRehman, brother of Saif, aged to maintain a longwho ran a mobile phone distance relationship, shop in Glasgow, told The added Mr Rehman, but Daily Telegraph the couple were planning a new life had arrived in Pakistan for together in the US.
Bhavan celebrates successful Annual Diwali Banquet This year the organisers were delighted that the Diwali Banquet broke records for the number of tables/seats sold. The main attraction was the presence of this year’s Chief Guest, The Rt. Hon. Mr Kenneth Clarke MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Joint Chief Guest was the Acting High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Sri Rajesh Prasad. The event was attended by members of both houses of parliament and many leading figures in the world of business. Amongst those present were Lord Bagri, Lord Dholakia, Lord Hameed, Lord Noon, Lord Paul, Mr Keith Vaz MP, Mr L.N. Mittal, Messrs G.P. and S.P Hinduja, The Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham and Professor Nat Puri. This was the first banquet hosted by Mr Joginder Sanger as Chairman, although Mr Sanger has hitherto been responsible for organising the event as the Bhavan’s Fund-Raising Chairman. Mr Sanger welcomed the Chief Guest The Rt. Hon. Mr Kenneth Clarke MP
Bhavan’s Chairman Mr Joginder Sanger, Mrs Clarke, Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, The Hon. Sir Mota Singh QC, Professor Nat Puri, Mr L.N. Mittal, Mrs Mittal
along with the Acting High Commissioner of India, H.E. Sri Rajesh Prasad. He also welcomed those present and thanked the Bhavan’s friends for their support. In his speech, Sri Rajesh Prasad, the Acting High Commissioner of India spoke of the great contribution of the Bhavan to the cultural life of the UK. He also paid tribute to the outstanding work done by the past Chairman, Mr Maneck Dalal OBE as well as the late Mathoor Krishnamurti. He then went on to recall the harmonious relationship between Great Britain and India.
Mr Clarke then gave a very entertaining speech in which he also paid tribute to the work of the Bhavan, as well as the valuable contribution made by those of Indian descent to the economy of the United Kingdom. Mr Clarke also said that the Government would continue to forge links with India. ‘Let’s face it’ he continued, ‘we need good friends in these difficult times.’ He then went on to say that eventually the economy of the UK would recover. The vote of thanks was given by Mr Shantoo Ruparell MBE, Bhavan’s Joint Chairman.