Asian City Issue 6 by Thufayel Ahmed

AsianCity BRITAIN’S BEST ASIAN NEWSPAPER

Issue 6 • September 13 September 26, 2012

Find out the secrets to the

Science of Seduction

TURN TO PAGE 22 & 23

•FREED Rimsha Masih

‘Blasphemy’ girl released THE Christian girl who was allegedly framed for blasphemy by her local mullah has been hailed as a “daughter of the nation” by one of Pakistan’s most senior Islamic clerics. Rimsha Masih, 14, has been released on bail this week at a cost of one million rupees (£6,500), after mounting protests from human rights groups worldwide This latest endorsement from the chairman of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, a group of Islamic clerics, is being seen as a remarkable turn of events in a country where individuals accused of insulting Islam are almost never helped by powerful public figures. In a fiery press conference at a central Islamabad hotel, Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, flanked by other senior clerics, demanded all the organs of the Pakistani state come together to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case of Masih, who has Down’s Syndrome. He also lambasted Hafiz Khalid Chishti, the imam from the Mehrabadi slum neighbourhood on the edge of Islamabad, who was accused over the weekend of tampering with evidence in order to ensure the girl’s conviction. “Our heads are bowed with shame for what Chishti did,” Ashrafi said.

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Jay Sean conquers Latin world! FULL STORY ON PAGE 20

SALMAN NO LONGER A WANTED MAN

NO RUSH TO SEE RUSHDIE India turns its back on controversial author.. again THE much derided author Salman Rushdie has been shown the unwelcome sign once again after India gave the movie adaptation of his novel Midnight’s Children the unanimous thumbs down. The film’s director, the equally notorious Deepa Mehta who angered the nation with her movies Fire and Water, revealed that every Indian film distributor she approached to secure rights have turned her away. Speaking at the film’s premiere in Toronto, Mehta sighed: “Salman has often said that the book was his love letter to India. I think the film reflects that love. What a pity if insecure politicians

deprive the people of India to make up their own minds about what the film means, or does not mean, to them,” The film follows the narrative of the original novel and includes unflattering portrayals of top Indian political figures. Cinema experts in the subcontinent said the failure to find a distributor revealed a weakness in Indian democracy. “In India we are very wary

of any film that is even political, let alone politically sensitive. Any resemblance to a politician … could be a problem. In a robust democracy, all of this should be possible,” said the film critic Shubhra Gupta. India has had a hate-hate relationship with Rushdie since the publication of his 1988 book The Satanic Verses, which provoked a fatwa, which still remains banned in India. Earlier this year, an appearance by Rushdie, 65, at the Jaipur literary festival had to be cancelled after protests from Indian Muslim groups.

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FASCISTS DRIVEN OUT EDL march blocked by protestors and residents

•CONTROVERSIAL Rushdie and Mehta

UNWELCOME SALMAN FROM PAGE 1

India has made it clear they do not condone the author’s regular attacks on Pakistan, but his supporters regularly use Rushdie as their mascot for free speech in India. The movie version of Midnight’s Children , which charts the lives of pair of children born within moments of independence, ignitedcontroversy long before its release, with the Iranian government demanding the filmmakers halt production while shooting in Sri Lanka. But Rushdie dismissed the incident, saying “truthfully, my interest in Iran ended at the point at which they stopped trying to kill me.” This week sees the release of Salman Rushdie’s memoirs, Joseph Anton (so-called because that was the pseudonym he had assumed following the fatwa, after his two literary heroes Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov. So far, publishing houses in India have failed to show any interest in securing rights to the book…

THE far-right English Defence League (EDL) were given their marching orders last week when they clashed with rival demonstrators in London.

The march was successfully blocked by Unite Against Fascism And local residents. But despite being heavily outnumbered and both sets of protesters being surrounded by huge numbers of police, scuffles broke out as the groups came into view of one another in the streets of Walthamstow. Several arrests were made on both sides, though police have yet to confirm numbers. After members of the UAF and local residents held a sit down protest on the EDL’s planned route (organised via the hash tag #wearewalthamforest) around 200-300 members of the farright group were diverted down a side road under a barrage of bottles, firecrackers and flower pots.

The march through the district, one of the capital’s most ethnically diverse, was met with a counter protest by Unite Against Fascism (UAF), who had assembled at midday in the town square. Many held placards comparing the EDL leader, Tommy Robinson (also known as Stephen YaxleyLennon), to Norwegian killer Anders Breivik.

Prevented The EDL march was eventually ended outside Walthamstow Magistrates Court after large numbers of UAF had moved to prevent the far-right group from accessing their protest point outside the building. Mr Rashid, secretary of the Lea Bridge Road Masjid, said: “The only way to stop the police letting the EDL march is to make sure they are out on the streets against them.” “We’ve been publicising the anti-EDL demonstration at every prayer and event we’ve

•GET THE MESSAGE Protestors show EDL the way out held—and we’ve received a positive response each time.” Mr Khan, the owner of a shop on Blackhorse Road, asked: “Why are they here? They are not wanted. This is a peaceful community. We have

shown them they are not wanted. If they come back, we will show them again.” A member of the EDL, who wished to remain anonymous, insisted: “We’re not racist. We’re under attack. Our way

of life is under attack. This is a democracy and we have our right to protest.” The fascist group have just announced plans to march through Walthamstow again next month.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

KHAN PANNED

•SHUTTING SHOP Cafe Naz

Tax too hot to handle

We are not amused, says Muslims offended by sit-com Citizen Khan

FEW takeaways leave as bad a taste in the mouth than the news that the taxman has been taking away £1 for every £5 spent. Now leaders of the £3.6 billion-a-year curry industry, which has already seen a 40 per cent drop in trade this year, have called upon Chancellor George Osbourne to announce a cut in VAT before more businesses go under. With several restaurants in Brick Lane, including the prestigious Café Naz, Dawaar and Saffron preparing to shutting up shop, the future of the once bustling street looks bleak. British Curry Awards founder Enam Ali, Chairman of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs, believes a small reduction in VAT could make all the difference. He warned: “Many restaurants won’t be around when we hold the Curry awards next year.” Brick Lane traders were assured of an influx of visitors during last month’s Olympics — which never materialised.

•ON A HAT TRICK Saima Ansari

•COLES OFF The Oz supermarket

Asians need not apply

ONE of the main sponsors of the Australian Olympic team, supermarket Coles, is under fire after posting a vacancy for store cleaners with the stipulation “No Indians or Asians please”. The advert was spotted on the free classified website Gumtree for a cleaning job at Hobart’s Shopping Centre in Tasmania. Coles, the country’s second-biggest chain, say the advert was placed by a sub-contractor. A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “We were extremely concerned to learn of the ad and its contents. Coles is a proud, equalopportunites employer.” An inquiry has been launched into how the advert was alowed to be posted and the contractors and Gumtree could face legal action. A spokesperson at Hobart’s Migrant Resource commented: “It’s against the law to advertise like that and does not work towards creating a multicultural society.”

STARS GO GAGA FOR CHOPRA

A-listers line up to tune into Priyanka

PRIYANKA Chopra’s transition from Bollywood siren to Hollywood songstress is being made all the more sweeter thanks to her ready-made friends in the USA, including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and will.i.am. The star, ready to rock the nation when she performs her debut single In The City in front of millions during the opening ceremony READ of the NFL season, cooed: “I’m lucky that I already have such great friends in the MORE ON USA.” PRIYANKA’S U.S Referring to Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am, she added: “I’m ADVENTURE ON privileged to be working with a few of the PG 21 biggest names in the industry. Also, when Katy Perry came to India, I had the privilege of showing her around town. I’m looking forward to her returning the favour!” •STAR PALS Priyanka with Katy Perry & Lady Gaga

THE new BBC sit-com Citizen Khan is under fire for “ridiculing” Muslims. Ofcom is considering launching an investigation into BBC1’s Citizen Khan, the hotly debated comedy about a not-so modern Asian family, after receiving complaints that it stereotypes Muslims and insults Islam.

The TV regulator has received about 600 complaints about the sitcom, with one viewer complaining to the BBC saying the show “insulted” and “ridiculed” Islam. “We feel though as if this show has crossed the line and we expected a comedy show but now we have witnessed a mocking show,” said the viewer. Another wrote that the content was “bigoted” and “offensive”. But others commenting on a BBC messageboard defended the show. Referring to a scene in which a teenage daughter hastily changed her attire before her father entered the room, one said: “People are reading too much into Citizen Khan, especially the hijab thing, it happens!” Comedian Humza Arshad, star of the hit internet comedy Diary of a Badman, told the BBC’s Asian Network that he felt some of the jokes went “a bit too far”. “I wasn’t offended but I think some other people might be. For example, the scene with the Quran. Personally I’d play it safe. Some people might complain about it - I’ve got similar feedback myself by the audience, the Muslim community is one of the most sensitive communities out there.” Ofcom will now make a decision as to whether the complaints warrant a formal investigation to see whether the BBC has broken any UK broadcasting rules relating to viewer harm and offence. The BBC continues to receive complaints about the show, which follows the life of a self-appointed “Muslim community leader” and his British-Pakistani family in Birmingham. The show was groundbreaking for the BBC, the first Asian sitcom commissioned specifically for the channel, created by and starring British Muslim Adil Ray. Surprisingly, the controversy has not helped viewing figures – the first episode in the six-part series attracted an average audience of 3.6 million, but by the second episode, the ratings shot down to 2.77 million, a loss of almost a fifth of its audience.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

•BIG HEART Amir Khan

Amir lends a friendly hand A DISABLED boy whose plight touched his hero, boxer Amir Khan, has taken his first steps. The five-year-old Adam Oomer, who has his own Wish to Walk Facebook page, was recently invited to Amir Khan’s Gloves gym in Halliwell, along with his brothers Zayan, aged six, and Yousuf, aged three. Amir, 25, donated a pair of his boxing gloves for a fund-raising auction to help Adam, who has recently undergone surgery costing £45,000 at St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri. Adam, of Amir’s hometown Bolton, Lancs, can now walk unaided for the first time in his life. His mum Alyha said: “Adam is so looking forward to showing off his new legs.”

IN A TIGHT SPOT New vaginal tightening product divides opinion across India WANT to feel ‘Like a Virgin’ “Feels like the very first time,” again? Well, hold tight, India she continues, as she is twirled has a miracle cream claims around. Cut away to her mother-in-law to have it all sewn up. who begins by responding with a

In what is claimed to be the country’s first vagina tightening cream, the makers of 18 Again saying it will make women feel “like a virgin” again. The company says it is about empowering women, but critics say it is doing the opposite. In the advert, which has gone viral, a young woman croons: “I feel like a virgin”, although the advert makes it clear she is not. Her shocked in-laws look on, before her husband joins her for some salsa-style dancing.

disgusted look on her face, but by the end of the advert even she has been won over, and is seen buying the product online.

Tightening

This video is designed to market a vaginal “rejuvenation and tightening” product, which was launched this month in India. The makers of 18 Again, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Ultratech, say it is the first of its kind in India (similar creams are already available in other parts of the world such as the USA), and fills a gap in the market. Ultratech’s owner, Rishi Bhatia, says the cream, which is selling for around £28, contains natural ingredients including gold dust, aloe vera, almond and •LOOSE ENDS All tied up with 18 Again pomegranate, and has been

clinically tested. “It’s a unique and revolutionary product which also works towards building inner confidence in a woman and boosting her self esteem,” says Mr Bhatia, adding that the goal of the product is to “empower women”. Mr Bhatia says the product is not claiming to restore a woman’s virginity, but to restore the emotions of being a virgin. “We are only saying, ‘feel like a virgin’ - it’s a metaphor. It tries to bring back that feeling when a person is 18.” But the company’s advertising strategy has attracted criticism from some doctors, women’s groups and social media users, who say the product reinforces the widely held view in India that pre-marital sex is something to be frowned upon, a taboo which is even seen as sinful by some. “This kind of cream is utter nonsense, and could give some women an inferiority complex,” argues Annie Raja from the National Federation of Indian Women, which fights for

•VIRGIN & JUICE A scene from the controversial ad women’s rights in the country. Ms Raja says that rather than empower women, the cream will do the opposite, by reaffirming a patriarchal view that is held by many here - the notion that men want all women to be virgins until their wedding night. “Why should women remain a virgin until marriage? It is a woman’s right to have sexual

relations with a man, but society here still says they should not until they are brides.” Dr Mahinda Watsa, a gynaecologist who writes a popular sexual advice column in the Mumbai Mirror and Bangalore Mirror newspaper, pointed out: “Being a virgin is still prized, and I don’t think attitudes will change in this century.”

HITLER’S MARCHING ORDERS

•NO HERO Furhan Mustafa

GOOD BOY DONE BAD

•HEIL FAIL The controversial menswear store are being forced to change their name THE OWNERS of a new Indian clothing store called Hitler say they will rename it after causing an international scandal. Rajesh Shah, one of the shop’s coowners, announced this week that there would be a new name “tomorrow or the day after”. Jews in the city of Ahmedabad, where the shop opened last month, said using the Nazi dictator’s name was offensive. Israeli diplomats also raised the issue with the Gujarat state government. The owners said they did not know who Adolf Hitler was when the shop opened. Mr Shah said: “Yes we are planning to change the name. There has been too much political pressure from the government.” He said officials had promised compensation for the rebranding of the store, which sells men’s clothing,

although he said they had provided nothing in writing. His co-owner, Manish Chandani, revealed they had never intended to glorify Hitler. “I was not aware of Hitler being responsible for the killings of six million people before the shop’s inauguration. This time I will choose a non-controversial name.” Mr Chandani says the shop’s name was a tribute to his grandfather who was nicknamed Hitler because he was “very strict”. Others saw the name as a marketing gimmick in a country where the former German leader attracts unusual interest in some sections of society. “I am happy that the store owner decided to change the name. I guess he realised that it was not the right thing to do,” said Orna Sagiv, the Israeli consul general in Mumbai.

A MAN hailed a model citizen by his community as a good citizen has been charged with making a false personal injury claim. Furhan Mustafa, 22, from Manchester was nominated for a community award two years ago. ‘Be Proud’ recognised his voluntary work with children and elderly neighbours, with one woman so impressed with his compassion that she wrote a letter to the Queen that earned him his nomination in the ‘Good Neighbour’ category. Around the same time, Furhan tried to claim £3,000 from Salford Council by pretending he had tripped over metal work in the street. But council staff found no evidence and spotted consistencies in his story. There were also no records of his injuries. Furhan has been instructed by the court to pay for the £5,500 legal fees of the case.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BRITISH TELECON

BT have warned Urdu speakers to ignore any phone messages claiming to be made on behalf of the company because it is part of an elaborate scam. Asian housewives, who are most likely to trust a polite and respectful Urduspeaking caller promising cash rewards, are most at risk. The scam involves someone speaking in the native tongue winning over the housewife’s trust, who then extracts personal information, including bank details to authorise a deposit the caller claims to be made on behalf of BT. A spokesperson for BT said: “We advise customers never to give out any personal or banking details over the phone unless they are absolutely certain who they are dealing with. If in doubt, a BT employee will be able to give the customer their employee ID number. Check their identity by calling 0800 800 150.”

•PUCKER UP NO MORE Bipasha Basu wants her infamous kissing scenes to come to an end

•MOURNERS: Survivors struggling to come to terms with tragedy •COMA: Punjab Singh

TEMPLE TRAGEDY AFTERMATH

THE last wounded victim of the Sikh Temple shooting in Wisconsin, Punjab Singh, is still in a coma. Mr Singh was shot in the head and now needs a machine to help him breathe. Sikh priest Punjab Singh hasn’t regained consciousness since the shooting rampage at a Wisconsin temple earlier this month, and is hooked up to a machine to help him breathe, his family says. Singh was among four people wounded and six people killed in the Aug 5 attack. His sons said they rushed from India to be with their father after the shooting, and now spend most of their waking hours at the Milwaukee hospital where he remains in a coma. “It’s hard, but we are just trusting in God now,” said his older son, Raghuvinder Singh. Punjab Singh was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head and needs a machine to

help him breathe. He was wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek. The motive of the gunman, who killed himself, is unknown. Singh was in a bedroom at the temple that morning. When he heard gunfire he tried to barricade himself, but the gunman apparently forced the door open far enough to reach his handgun inside and shoot Singh once in the face as he hid behind the door. The bullet caused facial fractures and damaged a major neck artery. Singh doesn’t have medical insurance. He might qualify for financial assistance through government programs or Wisconsin’s Crime Victim Compensation Program, in which victims can receive up to $40,000 in federal funds. His family and friends said they’re too focused on his health right now to worry about bills.

SNOGS ARE HIT & KISS FOR BIPASHA Is Basu done paying lip service? SHE snogs, she scores. Whether it’s ex-beau John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor or Dino Morea, any film that sees Bipasha locking lips with her co-star is guaranteed to be a blockbuster.

Bipasha, who will soon be seen having a kiss-off with Emraan Hashmi in Raaz 3, has made an interesting revelation. The uninhibited actress has admitted that while she has no qualms about love-making scenes, kissing makes her uncomfortable. She revealed this week: “Physical intimacy – it’s something I am totally comfortable with. It doesn’t really bother me. But when it comes to kissing, which for me is very, very intimate, I am very uncomfortable.” When asked whether she always felt this way, she revealed: “No, the first such scene was with John, who was then my boyfriend, so it didn’t even register on my mind, I didn’t even think twice about it. Only when I saw it on screen did I go – what have I done!

But when the actual scene happened, I didn’t have any problem.” Bipasha also admitted that she tried her best to avoid the liplock with Ranbir Kapoor: “With Ranbir I had a very big problem, and for one month I fought over it, but they would all laugh - saying this is the first actress saying, take out the kissing scene, put in a lovemaking one if you have to! Kissing onscreen is the worst thing in the world. I’m OK with lovemaking scenes, but I hate kissing. tried to cancel the Bachna Ai Haseeno kiss with Ranbir for one month, but failed. I tried to cancel a scene in Dum Maro Dum; I succeeded.” But she was to have no such success when it came to serial snogger Emraan Hashmi. She joked: “”I was in fact laughing with Emraan the other day that due to his image, there was no scope of any discussion whatsoever around a kiss being dropped. If I would have done that, I am sure audience would have hit me. Sometimes you have to just play along with audience expectations.”

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

AsianCity LETTERS www.asiancity.co.uk

COMMENT

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Email: letters@asiancity.co.uk

Loving it or hating every minute of it, this is your platform to express yourself to thousands of fellow Asian City-zens in the same boat as you. Tell us your points of view or simply vent your spleen, don’t hold back... we’re here to share your joy and pain

Speech therapy

Freedom, by definition, means people have a right to express themselves. But freedom of speech remains a thorny issue. In this issue, we have three very different cases where that very freedom comes under the spotlight. On page 3, we see the far-right group English Defence League championing their freedom to express themselves. Do we think they don’t have the right to speak out about an issue they feel effects them? Absolutely not. They can speak out about their misguided fears about an Islamic takeover all they want. What we object to is when they take that “freedom” onto the streets, at a huge cost to the taxpayer who has to foot the necessary police presence, with the fascist organisation displaying no clear agenda other than spreading hatred. This sort of aggressive behaviour is cannot be classed as an example of freedom of speech, anymore than a thief has the freedom to rob anyone as freely as they wish. It’s a violation. On our front page, we have two other examples of freedom of speech being allegedly violated. The case of 14-year-old Rimsha Misah, who has Down’s Syndrome, shows the embarrassment an entire nation can suffer when it chooses to be intolerant of anyone doing anything that remotely resembles blasphemy. On the other hand, we have India’s rejection of Midnight’s Children, squarely because it has issues with the printed words of its author Salman Rushdie. But anyone who has read Midnight’s Children will know that the novel is actually a love letter to India. The moral of the story: if you’re going to oppose freedom of speech, check your facts first. Otherwise you risk appearing to be every bit as blinkered as the clueless EDL.

More money blues The story of the Asian businesswoman leaping to her death is a truly tragic one. Sadly, it’s not the first time a successful Asian has committed suicide in recent times. We know the financial climate looks bleak for just about all of us, but this is a good time to remind ourselves that making money is not the be all and end all point of existence. Let’s take this moment to reflect on the wisdom of poet Rabindranath Tagore, who said: “The greed of gain has no time or limit to its capaciousness. Its one object is to produce and consume. “It has pity neither for beautiful nature nor for living human beings. It is ruthlessly ready without a moment's hesitation to crush beauty and life out of them, moulding them into money.”

Women know best Congratulation to Aishwarya Rai for making it onto the influential New York magazine list of 40 Women That Women Find Beautiful list. After being derided for not losing her baby fat by the media, two things are now clear. Women respect a woman who isn’t obsessed by weight loss. And that most of the editors in Indian media are men!

NO FUN IN CITIZEN KHAN FOLLOWING your story on Citizen Khan, I tuned in eagerly expecting a show along the lines of ‘Goodness Gracious Me’. Instead, I got ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. I know several fellow Pakistanis have been outraged at the disrespect shown to the Qu’ran in the first episode, but I am outraged at the negative portrayal of Pakistanis in the show. The sad part is that several non-Asians would tune in and think that this is what Pakistani families are like in this day and age. Worst of all was that the programme was just really badly made! The acting was awful, the script was something a kid could come up with. When you’re relying on having Gita from Eastenders saying ‘Oh God!’ over and over again for a gag, it shows what depths the writers plummeted to!

Blasphemy issue I FEEL really sorry for the poor Christian girl who’s been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. It’s clear that she’s been set up and the Imam from the masjid has even said that he wanted the Christians to go from the area. The law in Pakistan needs to be looked at to prevent this sort of nonsense from creating violence in an already volatile situation. Farahana Haque, Manchester

Remember the world

When ‘Four Lions’ came out, there was no complaints from Asians. It was hilarious, but also made you think. ‘Citizen Khan’ makes you think that all Pakistanis are still living in the 1970s! A Akhtar, Birmingham

Have to say that I found Citizen Khan hilarious! Let’s face it, we all know someone who is exactly like Mr Khan the ‘Community Leader’ who pains himself to be an important figure in the community while everyone else sees him for what he really is – a clown! The scene where the daughter pulls on her headscarf is so true of many Muslim girls I know. I hope the BBC aren’t scared by the extremists calling for the show to be stopped and realise they’re onto a winner! I Patel, Blackburn

PUBLISHER Thufayel Ahmed GUEST EDITOR Shihab Salim ART DIRECTOR Virchand Pindoria

Pick of the week

LIKE many others, I enjoyed the Paralympics tremendously. I was lucky enough to be there to see the high jump. It WHY doesn’t Asian City cover more was truly inspirational to see India’s Girisha international stories? The situation in Nagarajegowda take the silver medal. I hear Burma is buried away in most papers that Sri Lanka also won a bronze on the despite people like me and all my friends track. If only more of our able bodied being really concerned about it. However, I athletes were as good as these guys! noticed that in your paper, it hardly Ranjit Kaur, London warrants a mention! For a paper that is aimed at communities from the subcontient, it’s a shame that you don’t think it’s important enough to cover. Please could you carry more international stories from places like Burma and Palestine? I RANDOMLY picked up a copy of Asian R Miah, Whitechapel City when I was visiting my family in London and have to say… what a read! It was a great blend of news and entertainment. We have a few ‘papers around here, but none are as good as yours JUST a quick note to say that I saw Red when it comes to the sort of thing I want to Baraat in Trafalgar square as part of read about! I hope you can distribute more London Live at the end of the Paralympics. in my area. At the moment, I’m logging I’d never heard of them before, but they onto your website to catch up on old issues, were amazing! They really got the crowd but I’d prefer to read the paper copy. going. Best of all, most of the people F Ghoni, Preston dancing weren’t even Asian! Hope to see them in the UK again some time soon! Dev K, via email

City rules!

Top Asians

School’s back

I’M really disappointed that the Government has been marking papers lower. My child got B’s after being predicted A*s. I know that they studied hard and were really focussed on their revision. It seems other children from the school are in a similar situation. The Government needs to sort this out soon as I am hoping to send my child to Oxford! What’s worse is that it affects the children by knocking their confidence for their A-Levels. Kiran Kapoor via email

ENTERTAINMENTS EDITOR Sohail Anjum MARKETING MANAGER Shuhed Miah CONTRIBUTORS Aliyah Ahmed, Azeem Hussain, Shima Shastry, Hannah Ahmed, Momtaz Begum-Hossain, Jaz Kaur, Ariana Jamila Ayesha Ahmed, Avni Pindoria, Poonam Patel, Lisa Sage, Mandy Jandoo, Jerin Rahat, Adam Ahmed, Asya Ahmed, Faizah Faheem, Rafia Rahman, Tanvir Ahmed, Paul Williams, Ibrahim Ahmed, Amanda Harrison, Mike Singh DISTRIBUTION Qalbi Ali: 07947 279 926 Newstrade: Postscriptum Ltd Non-newstrade: Surma Media PRINTED BY Newsfax Ltd ASIAN CITY MEDIA LTD Unit 103, Greatorex Business Centre 8-10 Greatorex Street, London E1 5NF T: 0207 247 3537 E: info@asiancity.co.uk W: www.asiancity.co.uk

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PM’S MISSION TO FIND KILLERS

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

PRIME CONCERN David Cameron piles pressure on Pakistan PRIME Minister David Cameron is putting pressure on the Pakistan government to ensure that justice was done to a visiting British family which was killed in cold blood in Pakistan over the breaking down of an arranged marriage.

Tania Yousaf, 22, and her parents Mohammed, 51, and Parviaz, 49, from Lancashire, died in a hail of bullets from three gunmen in Gujrat district of Pakistan’s Punjab province in 2010. They were on a visit to Pakistan for the wedding of one of their three sons, but were killed following a bitter dispute over the pending divorce of another, according to police. As the trio were ambushed by the a machine gun-wielding assailants, Tania was shot in the legs, but managed to run for cover. The shooters tracked her down after killing Yousaf and his wife and then made her speak to her husband before riddling her with bullets.

•RESHUFFLED Sayeeda Warsi

Sayeeda tweets off

BARONESS (Sayeeda, to her friends) Warsi, the first Asian woman to be given a cabinet post, let the world know she was on her way out on Twitter before David Cameron unceremoniously dropped her in last week’s midterm reshuffle. Earlier, the first Muslim woman in the cabinet expressed she was keen to stay on as party co-chair, but has since graciously accepted a demotion in the PM’s reshuffle. Warsi’s position was weakened earlier this year when she was forced to refer herself for investigation after details emerged of her claiming expenses while staying with a supporter in London, and questions were asked about how often she was joined on public trips by her business partner. After considering an offer from the prime minister overnight, she decided to accept demotion to senior minister of state at the Foreign Office, and a role as minister for faith and communities. She will still attend cabinet. But never one to go out with her head bowed down, Warsi decided to take control of her own departure, announcing on Twitter before it became public knowledge. She tweeted: “It’s been a privilege and an honour to serve my party as cochairman, signing off as @ToryChairman, signing on as @sayeedawarsi.”

•FEUD INJUSTICE Tania and Mohammed Yousaf were gunned down in Gujrat

pressure on the Pakistani authorities over the summer and promised to meet Andrew Stephenson, the murdered family’s local MP, when the parliament reassembles in autumn to update him on progress. When Kamar and Nabeela, who lived in Nelson and have two children, split up in 2009, it triggered the feud which led to her brothers warning Mr Yousaf he faced ‘grave consequences’ if he ever returned to their home village. But Mr Yousaf defied the warning after returning to Pakistan Related with his wife and daughter for the wedding of another of his sons in a Earlier this year, Asian City village 15 miles away. reported how Tania’s grandmother Councillor Eileen Ansar, a Fukraz Begum was beaten to death relative of the Yousafs and friend of in Gujrat in what police believe Fukraz Begum’s family, said: ‘I was a related attack. think it is great that the Prime Now the British prime minister Minister has personally intervened has sought answers from the in these cases and that they have Pakistan government after two gone to the very top of government. years having passed without any ‘Hopefully this bring justice a step development. closer for the families and will ensure Cameron has said he dispatched that British citizens who a victims of delegates from the Foreign and crime in Pakistan get simpler and •ASIAN CITY REPORT: Fukraz Begum Commonwealth Office to step up speedier justice in the future.’

Police believe the slayings were retribution for the breakdown of a 10-year-old arranged marriage between one of Yousaf’s three sons, Qamar, and his cousin Nabeela. A few days later, Nabeela’s mother, Rahmat Bibi, and two brothers, Shiraz and Naveed Arif, were arrested in connection with the crime. But the two brothers, believed to have been among the gunmen, fled after they were granted bail and have not been traced yet.

•GETTING TOUGH David Cameron

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

PIG HEADED WAR VET A FORMER soldier who tied a pig’s head to the gates of a mosque has been put behind bars. Simon Parkes, 45, who served in the Falklands, Northern Ireland and Belize, also sprayed racist graffiti during the attack in November 2010, Gloucester Crown Court heard. Parkes, who admitted racially aggravated criminal damage, said he was angry at the extremists that burnt poppies at a Remembrance Day service. The judge told the former soldier: “You deliberately set out to not just insult another religion, but inflame and increase racial tension at a sensitive time.”

Here’s our aid: but it’ll cost you INDIA’S NEEDIEST PAYING THE PRICE FOR RECEIVING HAND-OUTS FROM THE UK BRITAIN is frittering away tens of millions of pounds hiring an army of consultants to tell India how to run its own affairs.

•UNPAID AID India’s needy are losing out

An nvestigation into contracts awarded to consultants has found that instead of money going directly to India’s poor and needy, much of it goes into the pockets of firms, some American, that are paid to hold meetings and produce reports. It hired a group of consultants including one leading US university to work on a £5 million deal to tell the Department for International Development whether it was wasting money. The UK Government insists it will

continue to give the economic superpower £280 million a year until 2015 – despite India’s insistence that it does not want or need the money. The rapidly industrialising country, whose economy is ranked 11th in the world with a GDP of £1.85 trillion, is rich enough to run its own space programme and last month announced it would spend £52 million sending a probe to Mars next year. David Cameron has courted controversy over the UK’s vast payments to India, designed, many believe, to detoxify the Tories’ image as the ‘nasty party’. Just last month a powerful committee of peers urged the Prime Minister to abandon his policy on aid

to the country, saying Ministers should ‘urgently prepare an exit strategy from Britain’s £1.1 billion aid to India’. The peers pointed out that sending millions of pounds to a country that can afford its own space programme provided a ‘perverse incentive’ for the Indian government to shirk its own responsibility for tackling poverty. But a spokesperson from UK aid from the Department for International Development (DFID) insisted: “British aid is not used to fund India’s space programme. Our development aid to India is earmarked for specific purposes like tackling child malnutrition, providing malaria bednets and secondary education for Dalit girls.”

AGREE TO DEGREE •SMACKDOWN Mehrban Hussain

•RIGHT TO STUDY Foreign students demand right to finish courses UP TO to 200 students, lecturers and staff from London Metropolitan University demonstrated outside the Home Office and Downing Street in protest over the revocation of the institution’s ability to host foreign students. Foreign students, who must transfer their studies to another university in the next few months or face being deported back to their country of origin without a completed degree, were among those leading the demonstration and said they refused to be treated like “criminals” and “illegal immigrants”. The protest came following the Home Office decision to strip the university of its higher trusted status to sponsor foreign study last week. After the university reported they were planning legal action over the ban, a committe of MPs have urged the government to reclassify international students so that they don’t count towards net migration figures. The report from the Business Innovation and Skills Committee follows last week’s criticism from the Public Accounts Committee of attempts to tighten the student visa system as “poorly planned and ill thought-out” and creating “chaos”. Meanwhile, it is thought that the legal challenge brought by the university might temporarily reverse the Home Office’s decision while high court judges consider a judicial review, which means that should the high court give the university permission to bring its case, London Metropolitan University will most likely be able to continue teaching foreign students and sponsoring their visas for many months until the action was concluded.

Extra hot heroin masala

A MAN has been jailed for 12 years after he smuggled £15 million worth of heroin into the UK hidden inside a container full of curry Mehrban Hussain, 33, was arrested as he unloaded the container at an industrial unit - which had arrived from Pakistan by sea. The drugs were concealed in packages labelled pakora mix and curry. Police found seven of the 630 boxes of spices were stuffed with 68kg (150lb) of heroin - with a street value of £15.3 million. John Davies, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Organised Crime Division in Birmingham, said: “Mehrban Hussain may have thought that hiding the heroin among more than 600 boxes of curry would put investigators off the scent, but he was wrong.”

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FROM BOMBAY TO BRICK LANE, DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS SHIHAB SALIM MUST GO

e: shabbs@asiancity.co.uk

WOMEN KNOW THE SCORE THE women have spoken. In the prestigious New York magazine’s list of Forty Women That Women Find Beautiful, the three Asian women that received the highest votes are inspirations indeed. Aishwarya Rai, the industry’s most successful woman proud to put her career on hold to be a mother and refusing to bow to pressure to revert to size zero; Freida Pinto, who seems immune to the dazzle of Hollywood and remains loyal in a loving relationship; and Jumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer winning novelist who is never afraid to speak her mind. In this month’s edition of men’s mag Maxim’s list of the women that men find beautiful (or to use their more eloquent terminology for it, Hot 100). No sign of Aishwarya anywhere. But there are countless porn stars, anorexics and fakebreasted Barbie dolls. Proof, were it needed, that when it comes to feminine beauty, it’s best to ignore anything men have to say…

•ORIGINAL OAP The Big B

Angry old rant REMEMBER life before Facebook? When we used to vent our spleen under pseudonyms like DesiKing and Sexy_Kuri69 and plague the boards on forums like Barfi.com, Asiansinmedia.org and Asianamag.com? Social networking sites have all but killed off the forum culture, with more of us now willing to put our names and faces to the crap we spew, but I must say I miss the OAP (Oversensitive Anonymous Poster). You know the one. After having the mickey taken out of him over a stupid comment, he’d put up a long, melodramatic message that went something like: “This is my final post. I’ve been part of this forum for a long time, but it’s changed. I can’t take the negativity anymore. It is with regret that I announce I’m leaving. For good.” Immediately, there’d be several messages imploring: “Please don’t go. We love you!” But there’s also be the odd putdown (usually me), that went: “Oh get over yourself and stop taking things so personally. You go by the name ChunkeyPanday666 for crying out loud!” Amitabh Bachchan’s rant against Twitter this week reminded me of the OAP, throwing his rattle out of the cot and threatening to leave without realising the fact that: a) it’s a free site, which means the owners owe us nothing. b) you’re getting angry over people you don’t know. Ah, to go back to the days when we used to communicate with strangers by sending an email that went straight to the spam box...

Why do girls have to be so tight? “How old were you when you unanimously agreed that lost your virginity?” asked my if you haven’t lost it by the time you’re 17, you teenage daughter.

“19,” I lied. Shaking her head, she cried: “Loser!” For the record, she still hasn’t purpled her nail in blood of innocence, as the poet John Donne put it. I’m not being deluded, and am queasily aware I may well be coming across like one of those nutty American evangelist types that harbour unhealthy obsessions with their daughter’s virginity, but seeing as I fathered her at a stupidly young age, we’ve always been pretty open with this sort of talk. She hasn’t, ahem, “Donne” it yet. But she knows girls her age who have, with many others in her circle busy preparing themselves for the grand opening. It would appear the modern teenage focus group have

are a loser. Which makes the Indian advert for the new vagina tightening cream, Just 18, all the more out of touch. Whether girls in India lose their virginity after British Asian girls have a pop at it is a survey for another day, the thing that irritates me the most about this product is the utterly man manufactured misguided notion that sex with a woman is not right if she’s not tight. While anyone with eyes even slightly open will know casual sex is as common in India as it is on these shores, what bugs me the most about this product is that it upholds the idea that any woman who has had any experience is sullied in society’s eyes. The first time for a woman is rarely a pleasurable experience and it

hurts. I can just about understand why an insecure man might want to be the first to break into the woman he marries, but to demand the sensation of forcible entry every time? Even after she’s given birth? I’m not a woman, but that sounds like a real pain in the proverbial to me. As a father, I’m all for my girl keeping her legs crossed for as long as it takes her to feel ready – it really won’t be any of my business once she’s crossed the legal age mark – my only hope is she never ends up with the kind of man who decrees her womanhood is something that must be wound up and kept tightly under wraps.

SWASTHEEKHAI REMEMBER the 90s brit-pop band Kula Shaker who fell from grace after their infamous interview with the NME music mag where they pledged devotion to the swastika? The poor fools were trying to extol the virtues of the sacred tantric symbol of auspiciousness, but the journalist in question (who clearly didn’t give a monkeys about tantric symbols), promptly concluded the band were, in fact, Nazis. Their last single Hey Dude was branded as Heil Dude, and Kula Shaker were history. You have to feel a little bit sorry for them. The sityar-toting, hippie shaking band were obsessed with India and, as we all know, the swastika is highly revered by Indians. For those who don’t know: swastika derives from the sanskrit word svastika, literally translated as “to be good”,

used by the Indian Aryans, meaning noble. Obviously, a certain Mr Hitler bastardised both Aryan and swastika to give them exactly opposite meanings. I’m all reclaiming the truth and all that, but I think when it comes to Hitler’s still fresh-in-our minds legacy, it’s probably wise not to try to defend the glory of the swastika too much. But it is insane the level of fondness Indians hold for the dictator. Despite no known dispute with Jews (in fact the Jews have taken refuge there throughout history without fear of persecution), Hitler’s notoriously racist Mein Kampf sells over 10,000 copies every year. I can only guess their love for the Führer is less to do with his ideologies and more to do with the respect Indian’s have for symbols. And if every Indian cop is anything to go by, that symbol is the mighty moustache...

Comedy crass course THERE once was a Muslim man who was prone to getting easily offended. I told him: “Take it easy! Look on the light side once in a while.” Miraculously, he took my advice, arriving one day with the gleeful announcement that he was now in possession of a fully functioning sense of humour. Immediately, he slips on a banana skin. There is laughter. “Oh bloody hell,” he cries, “I have falling to the floor.” I hear more laughter, uncontrollable, apparently emanating from a tin can. I notice he’s hired two women, who roll their eyes, in case anyone missed the point of the canned laughter. In fact, one of them is carrying a placard with a huge exclamation mark, to symbolise the utterly zany silliness of the situation. The can of laughter bursts open, worms writhing around in hysterics everywhere. “Look at me, being silly,” the man reiterates. It seems very important to him that he establishes to everyone that we are in the midst of a gag so sidesplitting, no amount of stitches could possibly prevent anyone from cracking up. “What the hell are you doing?” I have to ask, as my Muslim friend walks up a flight of stairs. “I have been learning the art of comedy from Citizen Khan,” he announces, before comically rolling down the stairs. He lets out a strained whimper. The women roll their eyes. And all the while the worms just laugh and laugh and laugh…

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

•RECKLESS Courtney Walter

Soccer star’s killer turn

A BROTHER and sister killed in a car crash involving a Manchester City footballer that left the sister’s teenage sons orphaned. Driver Kulwant Singh, 32, of Salford, and his sister Ravel-Kaur Singh, 37, died in the collision between their Nissan Micra and a Mercedes was driven by Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, who plays for Manchester City and has played for England’s under17 team. Ravel-Kaur Singh’s two sons were seriously injured, and have been orphaned as their father died some years ago, according to relatives.

LEAP TO DEATH SHOCKED DINERS WITNESS SUICIDE AN ASIAN businesswoman Staff at Trailfinders travel agent on plunged 80ft to her death from Poultry where the woman landed on the pavement rushed to the scene to a rooftop restaurant in front of try and help. more than a hundred people. “I heard a scream and a thud. I

Horrified diners told how they saw the smartly-dressed Asian woman in her 30s jump eight storeys from the top of Coq D’Argent last night landing in front of shoppers and commuters outside Bank station. She has been named as Ms Rema Beauty Begum, belived to be aged 29. A diner who was there for a business meal said his group only realised what happened when two police officers arrived and told people they had to leave the restaurant. “I saw a handbag and a glass of wine that had obviously been the woman’s. From listening to what people were telling the police it sounded like she had been quite selfcollected, just taken a sip of wine, and then stepped over the edge,” he said.

thought my friend had fainted but I went over and saw it was not her. There was a woman, Indian, in her 30s, she was lying face down. “Her leg was broken, there was a pool of blood around her head. I looked to see if she was breathing and had a pulse but she didn’t.

Suicide It is the third death at the No 1 Poultry restaurant after stockbroker Anjool Malde, 24, jumped to his death clutching a glass of champagne in 2009 after he was suspended from his job at Deutsche Bank. Mr Malde, was found to have committed suicide by City of London coroner after an inquest heard how he

was suspended from work over a prank email. His father said that news of another death at the same restaurant had brought back painful memories for him and offered his sympathies to the woman’s family. Bharat Malde said: “Oh dear... another life lost, presumably in their prime, like Anjool’s, with all the dreams and hopes gone in a second. London brims with bright talent that makes events like this defy any sense or logic. What must it be like for her loved ones, friends, parents. As grieving parents ourselves, we offer our deepest sympathies to them with the hope and wish that they will bear her loss with strength and fortitude. May her soul rest in peace.” A City of London Police spokesman confirmed the tragedy, saying: “At approximately 18.30 a woman was seen to fall from a building in Poultry. She was pronounced dead at the scene.” •SUICIDE SPOT The Coq D’Argent

•SCENE Palm Beach

Palm Beach tragedy

•ANGRY (NOT SO) YOUNG MAN Amitabh Bachchan

TWITTERING OFF

FACEBOOK may be losing popularity for many around the world, but for one new recruit – it’s the future. And when that recruit happens to be one Amitabh Bachchan, the competition best take notice. Since joining Facebook two weeks ago (instantly winning him over a million likes in the first few days), Amitabh has decided his existing social nework providers, namely Twitter and Tumblr, need to buckle up their ideas After a number of his fans and followers complained they had been facing problems commenting on his blog and Twitter account, the Big B publicly blasted Twitter for failing to fix the malfunction, warning that if the problem does not get sorted out he might go elsewhere. Apologising to his fans, he tweeted: “Distraught to read comments on malfunction on Twitter and tumblr. blog .. sent warning to concerned - rectify or I go elsewhere. “My apologies to those that face problems in commenting .. my blog too keeps disappearing .. cannot tolerate discomfort for (followers).” Furious that the problem hadn’t instantly been resolved, he tweeted again within seconds: “Travelling again .. with deep concern for (followers) .. stay put for the moment .. otherwise there are ‘’many other fish in the sea.” That’s certainly one Twitter status update Facebook is sure to •APPEAL Dassen Naray ‘Like’…

MURDER squad detectives said this week they believed they had identified a young Asian man whose badly burned body was found in a park. The victim is believed to be an 18 year old of Sri Lankan origin who lived in the Wembley area of north London. His body was discovered on February 19 in Roe Green Park, Kingsbury, north west London. He had been battered around the head with a weapon before being doused in petrol and set alight. Detective Superintendent Nigel Mawer said the teenager’s uncle had come forward after seeing an artist’s impression of the victim in a local newspaper. His burns had been so extensive that officers were at first unable to tell if he was white, black or Asian and the artist’s impression was put together following discussions with a pathologist. After seeing the picture, the uncle went to the Palm Beach restaurant in Ealing Road, Wembley - a centre for the local Sri Lankan community - to report that it looked like his nephew who had been missing since shortly before February 19. The owner of the Palm Beach reported what he had said to police. The police are now confident that the victim was the man’s nephew.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BIG SUCCESS FOR WORLD’S TINIEST STARS

A SHORT STORY Small goes well as record breakers size each other up

BOY meets girl, girl meets boy – their union is a short-lived affair. A textbook tale, only in this case, it’s told in length in the Guinness World Records.

The photoshoot for the release of the book gave them another record to add to their list – it is the first time the world’s smallest man and woman have met in recorded history. The book placed between them looks gigantic compared to the pair, but is in fact only 1ft high.

When Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the world’s shortest man, met Jyoti Amge, the world’s shortest woman, it was always Title going to be a big event. Despite being generations apart, their height bought Chandra, 72, and Jyoti, 18, Jyoti, from Nagpur, India, who took the together as they posed in their traditional title on her 18th birthday last December, outfits for the 2013 edition of the Guinness has a form of dwarfism called World Records. Achondroplasia which means she will

stay 2ft 0.7in for the rest of her life. But despite her size, she has big dreams and has already starred in a number of Bollywood films and is pursuing a career in entertainment. She is set to visit the UK this month to help launch the new book and says she can’t wait: “Since being recognised by Guinness World Records I have been able to visit lots of different countries. I love travelling.” She added: “I have visited Japan and parts of Europe and now I can’t wait to visit the UK.” At 21.5in, Chandra is also the

•CLONED The new Mercedes

Benz robbers locked up

shortest man in history, breaking the previous record of India’s Gul Mohammed (1957–97) who was 22.5in tall. The official authority on recordbreaking achievement is set to release its the 57th edition of the Guinness World Records 2013. The book has sold 120 million copies to date and has a specialised team of multi-language record managers and adjudicators who travel the globe to verify official record attempts. The new edition is coming to a bookstore near you very shortly...

A GANG Six Bradford men involved with an organised gang that burgled homes to steal topof-the-range cars have been given jail sentences totalling more than 23 years. Vehicles to the value of £400,000 – including a Mercedes-Benz, a Audi R8 and a Audi TT – were taken so they could be cloned and passed on to unsuspecting members of the public. Sohail Bham, 35, was imprisoned for four and a half years and Pearson for four years and nine months. Saqib Salam, 24, of Lilycroft Road, Manningham , and Adheel Hussain, 29, of Agar Street, Girlington , admitted conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles. Salam, who was at the time the son of a Bradford magistrate, was jailed for 18 months and Hussain for two years and nine months. Members of the gang tried to get the Mercedes re-sprayed a different colour. Its tracker device, and that on the Audi R8, were removed. A fraudulent tax disc was put on the Mercedes. The stolen Audi TT was found by the police on September 26, 2010, under a cover on Salam’s drive with the registration plates removed, Mr Bashir said stolen cars were passed to Salam and then on to Hussain to sell to members of the public. Salam and Hussain posed for photos in front of the stolen Audi R8.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

Kareena tops hot list HOT on the heels of FHM India publishing its 100 Most Beautiful Women list, Maxim India has this month announced its own choice of Hot 100 women. The list, featuring Indian and international models and actresses, sees the likes of Mallika Sherawat, Anushka Sharma and Priyanka Chopra rate higher than western favourites Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox. Katrina Kaif, who topped the FHM list, came fifth in the Hot List. The third and second spot going to Bipasha Basu (3), and Deepika Padukone (2). But the clear winner was Kareena Kapoor, who was recently reprimanded by the film boards for promoting smoking in her new film Heroine. Well, as far as the red-blooded men of India are concerned, that just makes her all the more smokin’!

WHY FREIDA IS EVERY WOMAN’S FANTASY Pinto and Ash score high on list SHE’S already hailed as Hollywood’s hottest new style icon, now Freida Pinto has been named as one of New York Magazine’s list of “Forty Women That Women Find Beautiful”.

The star, whose showstopping gown worn at a dinner last week celebrating Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Rendez-Vous Collection at the Giustinian Palace in Venice (pictured left), is being talked about in every style mag, was voted number 26 in the NY list. The magazine said: “If we looked like that, we’d be smiling all the time, too.” The star, whose new movie You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, out later this month, also received the highest praise from the movie’s director Woody Allen, who gushed: “She’s the perfect obscure object of desire. She’s exactly what I wish I saw when I look out the back window of my house in •WOMEN’S OWN Ash & Jumpa Lahiri •ICON Freida in a a black-and-gold sari-inspired Alexander McQueen gown Manhattan.”

New mother Aishwarya Rai grabbed the 21st position in the list. The magazine said of her: “She may be the ‘world’s most beautiful woman’, but what we really love is that she never feels fragile onscreen.”

Admired

Apart from Freida and Aishwarya, the Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri of The Namesake is listed among the 40 female achievers who are admired by women across the world. She was described as “a woman this talented and gorgeous will sometimes inspire hate. But this woman is so talented that you can’t work up a good jealousy grudge.” Other biggies who made it to the list are designer Stella McCartney ranked at number five. American actress Meryl Streep was ranked at number 12 while actress Elizabeth Montgomery grabbed the 14th spot. The list also includes US First Lady Michelle Obama at the last position.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

WORLD NEWS

Lay off our pilgrims

•HOW DOES IT FEEL? Tables turned as accusing Imam is the one hounded by angry mobs

IMAM ‘FRAMED’ CHRISTIAN GIRL Rimsha Masih was ‘set up’ AFTER three weeks behind bars, Rimsha Masih, a mentally challenged Christian girl whose imprisonment drew condemnation from religious rights groups around the world, has been released.

The young girl was whisked away, along with her mother, from an Islamabad jail, a day after a judge granted her bail. She was taken to an armored vehicle, then transferred to a helicopter, which flew her to an undisclosed location. The case has sparked a firestorm of controversy. Opponents argue the country’s blasphemy laws are used as a weapon to persecute the country’s religious minorities. Supporters of the law say it serves to safeguard the sanctity of their religion. Masih was arrested on Aug. 16 after local Muslims in her neighbourhood found her carrying burned pages with Arabic writing in a plastic bag. Though it’s unclear whether the pages were of the Quran or even where the bag came from, the neighborhood erupted in fury. Pakistan, like many Muslim countries, considers any desecration of the Quran a criminal offence, punishable by life in prison or death. The angry mob surrounded her tiny,

MCDONALD’S announced plans to open its first allvegetarian restaurant in the northern Indian city of Amritsar. The fast food chain has just over 270 branches in the India, and is hoping to appeal to a wider audience by catering to local diets. “There is a big opportunity for vegetarian restaurants as many Indians are vegetarian,” said a McDonald’s spokesman. As Hindus abstain from consuming beef, and Muslims abstain from consuming pork, McDonald’s stores in India were already 50 percent vegetarian.

one-bedroom home in a mixed MuslimChristian neighbourhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, demanding she be arrested. When the mob grew violent, police moved in and placed the girl under arrest. Fearing a backlash, several Christian families in the area fled their homes. Last week, the case took a bizarre twist when the imam of the local mosque in her neighbourhood, Khalid Jadoon, was arrested himself, accused of framing the young girl by planting the evidence in her bag. Speaking exclusively to ABC News the day before he was arrested, Jadoon insisted the girl is guilty. “She confessed,” he said. “That’s why we took her to the police station. When asked why he, as a religious leader, didn’t intervene to calm the raging mob that had surrounded her home, Jadoon was unrepentant. “Why should I have stopped them?” he said. “It’s a matter of my religion. If there’s a threat to Islam, if our government doesn’t stand up to that person, then the people will. I’ll be the first of them.” Now, in a twist of fate, Jadoon is locked up in a Pakistani jail, charged with blasphemy, facing the same uncertain fate as Masih did.

TAMIL shopkeepers have protested in Sri Lanka’s capital to condemn an attack on Sri Lankan pilgrims this week in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Some 184 Sri Lankan pilgrims were mobbed Monday in Tamil Nadu and had to seek refuge in the church they were visiting. About 200 Tamil shopkeepers demonstrated near the Indian Embassy in Colombo, demanding Indian authorities ensure the safety of Sri Lankans visiting India. About 200,000 Sri Lankans visit Tamil Nadu each year.

STUB OUT THE GUTKA TEN Indian states have banned a popular form of chewing tobacco in a major policy shift that may save millions of lives and strike a blow at the global tobacco industry, already reeling from new anti-smoking laws around the world. But an estimated 65 million Indians use “gutka” -- a heady form of chewing tobacco made of crushed betel nut, nicotine and laced with thousands of chemicals -- and furious manufacturers are fighting to have the bans overturned. Companies such as Delhi-based DS Group are dragging states to courts, complaining that the billion-dollar industry should be regulated as tobacco and not as food and that the bans threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers and street vendors scattered from Bangalore to New Delhi. “Nobody understands the bigger picture. What will happen to those poor farmers? No one thinks of them,” said a company official on condition of anonymity. No company Reuters consulted would speak on record.

•QUIT IT The banned tobacco product Last week, Punjab became the tenth of 28 states to ban the sale of gutka after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reclassified it as a foodstuff, prohibiting the use of tobacco and nicotine as “ingredients in any food product”. Gutka is popular with the young and old alike, many of whom are blase about the nation’s leading cause of oral cancer. Some of the chemicals in some brands of gutka are also used in tile cleaners and battery acids.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

WORLD NEWS •WRECKAGE Officials and rescue volunteers gather at the bombing site in Peshawar

•SWALLOWED The thief

Choking on diamonds A MAN visiting a gem exhibition in Sri Lanka’s capital swallowed a 1.5 carat diamond in front of the owner and was taken by police to a hospital, where an X-ray showed the $13,000 stone inside him. Exhibitor Suresh Wijekoon said the man was behaving suspiciously at his stalls and when he reached closer to the suspect, the man suddenly swallowed the diamond at his hand before Suresh alerted police at the exhibition venue. Chou Wan, a 32-yearold from China, is in custody, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. An X-ray proved the diamond was inside Chou’s body, said hospital director Dr. Anil Jasinghe at Colombo National, where the suspect was taken for the test.

•KILLER Mohammad Kasab

Death for gunman

INDIA’S Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence handed down to Mohammad Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed. Pakistan-born Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to India’s financial capital, had appealed against the sentence claiming that he had not received a fair trial. “We are left with no option but to award death penalty,” the judges said in a court order. “The primary and foremost offence committed by Kasab is waging war against the government of India.” Kasab, who is currently held in a maximumsecurity prison in Mumbai, was found guilty on charges including waging war, murder and terrorist acts, and was sentenced to death in May 2010.

BACKFIRED

•ALERT People flee the burning fireworks factory

Another suicide attack by Al Qaeda in Peshawar, Pakistan

A SUICIDE bomber rammed a car filled with explosives into a U.S. government vehicle in northwestern Pakistan, killing two Pakistanis and wounding 19 others, including two given the Pakistani military billions government. Americans, officials said. The bomber struck the vehicle of dollars to fight the extremists.

The attack in the city of Peshawar was a vivid reminder of the danger U.S. officials face while working in Pakistan, especially in the country’s northwest where Taliban and Al Qaeda militants are strongest. Insurgents have carried out scores of bombings in Peshawar in recent years, but attacks against American targets have been relatively rare because of the extensive security measures taken by the U.S.

•TARGET Pakistani police

after it left the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar and while it was traveling through an area of the city that hosts various international organizations, including the United Nations, said police officer Pervez Khan, who was part of the security escort for the vehicle as it moved. The attack killed two Pakistanis and wounded 19 other people, said senior police officer Javed Khan.

Attack No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will fall on Taliban and Al Qaeda militants who have long had their sights set on the U.S. American drones have fired scores of missiles at the militants’ hideouts in Pakistan in recent years, and Washington has

Islamist militants have targeted American assets in Peshawar, which is located some 85 miles from the capital of Islamabad, on several occasions in recent years. They unleashed a car bomb and grenade attack against the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar in April 2010 that killed four Pakistanis, including three security personnel and a civilian. In August 2008, the top U.S. diplomat at the consulate survived a gun attack on her armored vehicle. Three months later, gunmen shot and killed an American in Peshawar as he was traveling to work for a U.S.-funded aid program in the region. Many militants have used the tribal region as a base to attack U.S.led forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

POLICE in southern India arrested 11 employees of a fireworks factory on Thursday, a day after a massive blaze at the facility killed 40 workers and injured 60 others. The arrests came as grieving relatives cremated the charred bodies of their loved ones, who died Wednesday when the fire blew up large amounts of firecrackers and raw materials stored at the factory. On Thursday, police arrested 11 employees of the Om Siva Shakti factory on charges of culpable homicide and storing explosives illegally, said police officer Najmal Hoda. Soundarajan, who uses one name, said his 19-year-old son who died in the blaze was a part-time worker at the factory, which needed extra workers to meet the demand for firecrackers ahead of the coming Hindu festival season. “My son left in the morning, and a few hours later we heard the loud sound of the blast, which even shook our house nearby,” Soundarajan said. “Only later I came to know that my son had lost his life.” Police were looking for the factory’s owner, Murugesan, who fled Sivakasi town after the fire. Murugesan, who also uses one name, is a local leader of the governing regional party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam. Hoda said the factory was operating illegally after authorities suspended its license for major safety violations. State authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire. Sivakasi town in Tamil Nadu state is India’s biggest hub for the manufacture of firecrackers, which are used in religious festivals and weddings across the country. Sivakasi is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southwest of Chennai, the state capital.

DNA TESTING DENIED FOR MOURNERS

THE government of Kashmir has rejected widescale DNA testing of bodies in thousands of unmarked graves despite pleas by the families of those who disappeared during two decades of fighting in the restive region. A report by the state’s home department insisted that all those buried in the graves were militants and said that if families wanted DNA tests, they would have to identify both the graveyard and the exact grave where they think their disappeared relative was buried. The random collection of DNA from the graves would be an “academic exercise” that would “hurt the local sentiments,” the report said. Khurram Parvez, an official with the local Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, criticized the report as “yet another attempt by the government to obfuscate the truth and sustain impunity.” The report was a response to a three-year investigation by the state-run Human Rights

Commission confirming last year that 38 burial sites in the north of the Himalayan territory contained 2,156 unidentified bodies. The Human Rights Commission said 574 other bodies found in the graves were identified as local residents, and it urged widespread DNA testing. The Kashmir home secretary said the government wasn’t hiding anything but that the wide-scale effort could not be done. “We can’t go on digging all the graveyards,” Secretary B.R. Sharma said. “If not pointedly specific, at least we need some clue, some direction from relatives of the missing people where they think their disappeared kin might be buried. “There is a need for closure to all this,” he continued. “We also want truth to come out.” The report said no one had taken the government up in its previous offer to undertake DNA tests on specific graves identified by the relatives of those missing.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

Hot in the City YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ASIAN ENTERTAINMENT

e: sohail@asiancity.co.uk

BLOOD LUST Get your fill of True Blood star Janina

Rock ‘n Kajol WHAT’S Kajol doing here instead of in our Bollywood section? Taking inspiration from the Priyanka Chopra trend of actresses focusing on the music side of things, Kajol is turning to song in Karan Johar’s upcoming directorial project, Student of the Year, making a special appearance as the starlet in a disco song. We’ve got our boogie shoes on already!

YOU may not be familiar with the name, but you will definitely remember Janina Gavankar’s face, especially if you happen to be a big fan of True Blood, where she plays the super sexy shapeshifting siren Luna.

everything. Janina’s mélange of sound is a reflection of her experience as a child of immigrants and holding on to the classical training she experienced as a child. “I don’t give a s*** about who’s ‘cool’,” says Gavankar. “I’m only interested in working with people I already know and Besides acting, Janina love, or people I’ve been Gavankar is also a talented salivating over for years.” singer who returns with her new In 2010, Janina reworked single, Waiting for Godot and is What’s the secret to her Kanye West’s Love Lockdown to based loosely on the famed Samuel Becket play of the same success? Largely her roots and much acclaim from fans and upbringing. Three quarters fellow artists, including Kanye name. The mix is of experimental, Indian and one quarter Dutch, himself. Coming up from Janina will be quirky, electro-pop, and is just a Janina’s parents, both from India, taste of what to expect on her exposed her to the world at a a remix of Waiting For Godot from not-yet-titled, upcoming EP, young age. It was through her South Asian producer, Karsh which drops later this year via travels and interaction with Kale, and more tracks from her Randy Jackson’s Friendship people from all walks of life that forthcoming EP. gave her a passion for - well • janinagavankar.com Collective label.

Top time for Khan AAMIR Khan has become the fourth Indian actor to have been featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Parveen Babi was the first who featured in 1976 followed by Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in 2003 and Shah Rukh Khan in 2004. The cover story talks about how Aamir Khan has managed to reach out to India’s masses with his TV show Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone Prevails) that tackled flaws in Indian society that have always been ignored by its citizens. TIME magazine applauds Khan’s efforts and the way the actor has managed to tackle various issues such as female foeticide, honour killings, child abuse and the cast system.

GANDHI’S IRON AGE FOR all of those who are big fan of Marvel Comics, Iron Man 3 will be back on the big screen and this time you will see Tony Stark battling it out with a new terrorist villain, The Mandarin, played by none other than Sir Ben Kingsley. Originally born Krishna Pandit Bhanji, but later changing his name, Ben Kingsley is an Oscar Academy Award winner for Best Actor for his performance in the 1982 movie, Gandhi where he portrayed the role of Mohandas Gandhi. However we are afraid you will have to wait until 2013 to watch the theatrical release of Iron Man 3.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BOUNCING FORWARD

DRAMA QUEEN AWARD VEENA

FORMER Eastender Ace Bhatti tells us about his new play Bouncers

Forget every stereotype you’ve ever had about Bouncers. While it’s true the play is about four beefed up men there’s a lot more to them than you’d expect. My character likes martial arts, he’s all about ‘inner calm’, which is useful considering his job! These four bouncers, like most, have a tedious job. Every night they have to stand there and watch beautiful girls having fun and they can’t get involved, so instead they take out their frustrations on each other. It’s a universal story and not just because we’re a multicultural cast – everyone, wherever you live will envisaged it when he wrote it, be able to relate to it – these are which is great to be part of. the typical exploits experienced The best nights out are the most on a night out. spontaneous. People tend to It’s not your typical play hype up nights out and that’s the either. There’s also four female trouble – whenever you’ve got characters in the production and hype, things are never as good as four guys who are all out on the you think they’ll be. That’s why I pull and what makes the show so prefer evenings that are more unusual is that the four of us play spontaneous, organised on a all 12 characters so as well as whim, you’ve got no expectations being a bouncer, we’re one of the so everything is a bonus. I’m also girls and one of the lads. There’s a big fan of fancy dress and for me no costume changes, it’s more it’s Elvis every time. To be honest about how we change our we didn’t need to do any research mannerisms. It’s also directed by for the role, we’ve all been on the writer John Godber, which nights out before – everyone means it’s done just as he knows what to expect when guys

KNOWN for her controversies, bold personality and daring stunts, actress Veena Malik is all set to launch her singing career with her debut single Drama Queen. As fitting as the title may seem this is just the beginning before she releases her album in 2013. The album will host different producers from across the world giving each song a different vibe. The album is an exciting new venture for Veena aside from her film and TV career. “I’m so excited to release Drama Queen to the world, everyone is always tagging me like this so I thought why not let’s make a song on it, the song is fun and cheeky at the same time. I hope everyone loves all the work we’ve put in to it” said Veena Malik. Her music career will launch in India after which she will then head over to the UK and USA for shows and appearances. Veena Malik is getting geared up to show the whole world the Drama Queen experience. We are hoping that this doesn’t turn out to be another one of Veena’s publicity stunts and, if all true, then lets just hope she can keep her clothes on for this music video!

Amir’s new direction

AMIR Khan is rebuilding his career now after losing his light-welterweight titles to Danny Garcia in his last fight. Reports recently emerged that he is set to face an undefeated two-weight champion Joan Guzman. However, Amir Khan has dismissed these reports and says he wants a more credible opponent when he returns to the ring in December. “I want someone who is a bit more credible than him” he told the Manchester Evening news. “I’ve come from world fights and Guzman might be a little below that.” Amir Khan also revealed that he is yet to decide on a new trainer to replace Freddie Roach.

WEDDING CRASH BRITISH songstress Annie Khalid’s wedding celebration turned into a nightmare after police gate-crashed the occasion and tried to arrest the groom for violating the law of the land, which states that all partying should not continue after 10pm. Also referred to as the Britney Spears of Pakistan, Annie tied the knot with Dubai based businessman Malik Noureed Awan. According to

sources, the Lahore police tried to arrest the groom on the charges of post-deadline partying and forced the closure of venue lights. However Annie’s husband Malik Noureed Awan said that they did not violate any rules as they were leaving the hall, the police crashed in and started beating up the guests. This is one special occasion the couple will not forget for the rest of their lives!

and girls get together, you’ll recognise a lot of the scenarios. The only difference with me is that I don’t end my night out with a kebab – I’m veggie so prefer a falafel! My pulling technique? I’m a bit clueless. I could do with some advice. I normally try and strike up a conversation, nothing too cheesy and if it’s not going anywhere then I’ll make a speedy exit! I don’t miss Eastenders. I always knew it was a one-year contract but it was a fantastic experience. You never knew what would happen each day, it was unexpected so always really exciting. The only downside was having to give up my life for that time. I like talking to fans but it’s hard when you’re out at the weekend with your kids and you get stopped all the time, so I don’t miss that. After Bouncers I’ve got work lined up for the rest of the year and I’d already done a lot of shows before Eastenders. I’ve been an actor for 20 years and been very lucky with my career, of course I’ve also done a lot of other jobs too, but never as a real Bouncer! • Bouncers is currently touring the UK

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BOLLYWOOD

TAKING KHER Nana and Puri masala

•LOOKING FOR DIRECTION Saif considers the road ahead

Have a Saif trip BACK in Mumbai after his overseas holiday and whilst there are on/off talks about his wedding, Saif Ali Khan is also trying to figure out in which way he intends to direct his career. At 41 years of age, he is at the stage in life where certain career decisions are most likely have a long-term impact. “Right from my early days to Dil Chahta Hai in the middle period and now, whatever work I have done has been based on my interest and things that I have always wanted to do. I have been successful and also seen failures but just box office hasn’t been the deciding factor,” says Saif, “I did Being Cyrus when hardly anyone was making such cinema. It was experimental but I plunged into it because it was exciting. Similarly I did Race, an out-andout commercial entertainer, because I wanted to. Similarly after the release of Cocktail, I am finishing Go Goa Gone when I could have gone and produced anything else.” However what he is very sure of is the fact that he doesn’t want to do any romcoms in near future at the least. “You know what, that isn’t really my kind of cinema. Yes, I have done Cocktail, but I would rather do a thriller or something which is a little more international in appeal,” reveals Saif.

DIGITAL LOVE USUALLY when a Bollywood film is set to release, the film songs are always released as an album, but this won’t be the case for Ajab Gazabb Love. The producers of this upcoming film have decided to sell the music digitally and as singles, rather than as an album. The first single to be released will be Boom Boom Liplock Kar Le which has been shot in Viareggio, Italy. The song features Jackky Bhagnani and has been choreographed by Bosco. The producers have decided that they will release one song at a time, launching a new single every two weeks right up to the release of the film in October.

VETERAN actors, Nana Patekar and Om Puri have come together after 30 years to star together in Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal and ended up having a blast whilst shooting for the film. They ended up pulling each other’s legs on the set so much that outsiders started thinking that there were in actual fact fighting without realizing that it was just some friendly banter. Om Puri got very annoyed whenever somebody called Nana Patekar “buddha” and went on to explain “how can you call him an oldie? He is my son from last birth!” Nana on the other hand kept teasing Om Puri for his continual sleeping habits and grins and that Om was able to sleep even in the pauses between words. We look forward to seeing their friendly banter on-screen soon.

Sunny Malik talks to Anupam Kher

How does it feel to be back here in London? London is one of my most favourite places outside India. I like the feel of the city, especially in the summer when it’s not cold. I don’t like the concept of it getting dark at 4 pm, for me the day is when there is daylight. It’s a nice feeling. The city is vibrant, multicultural, good food, theatres, lot’s of things happen here. You have many fans in the UK? Well, these days, Indian movies are so popular not only in Britain but also in countries like Morocco, Malaysia and even Germany. I met two German fans outside. They follow me on Twitter, so they knew that we were shooting in London. It’s a nice feeling. Having worked with Yash •ASIAN CITY MAN & KHER Sunny Malik with Anupam Kher in London Chopra for many years now. Do you think he has changed at all? roles like A Wednesday or Khosla Ka bouquets but yes, sometimes people He has not changed at all, from the Ghosla and then there are films that are nasty because they want time I did Chandni with him till I do for emotional reasons, such as attention. If you understand that, now. His passion is infectious. He is Desi Boyz which was Rohit then you are not bothered about it. amazing. Dhawan’s first film. But I never If somebody says something What’s your role in his new film? treat them as a father or uncle roles, nasty and he is right, then you need In this I play Katrina Kaif’s father. I treat them as a role. If it happens to change whatever it is. If he is not But I cannot reveal too much about to be a role of a protagonist, then I right, then it does not matter. I am the role. It’s a guest appearance and bring in my own warmth to it. also very active in responding to my not a lengthy one. As Yashji says, I Were you excited when they came followers. I give them something am lucky for him and he had to to you with this film? back. I think that Twitter is a great have me in the film. I am always excited to be part of a medium and not only for Do you like playing the role of Yash Raj Film. I don’t think he interacting with your fans and the father? makes films without me! But apart followers and I don’t necessarily call You see, there are two kinds of from that, it has to be mutual. them followers, which is the things I like. I like meaty, proper These days it’s all about Box technical term, as for me they are Office figures or Awards, do these friends and fans. things matter to you? When I know their point of view, Not at all. I am not a slave of Box I can market myself very well. My Office. Maybe my involvement in a book became a big hit also because film does not affect my position in of Twitter. Today’s generation is the industry because the burden is very straightforward, they may taken by the hero of the film. I feel come across as irreverent but they bad for him because he has to are more real than my generation constantly be a winner. I just do my because we had post-independence job well. That’s it. I don’t feel blues. They are born in free India. burdened by these thoughts. I just They have a mind of their own and enjoy my work. are straight forward. You are very active on Twitter. I have about six lakh followers How do you handle abuse on a and it’s not because I am Hrithik social platform? Roshan or Shahid Kapoor. People Many younger celebrities and actors follow them for who they are. If I left the site after too many abusive have accumulated this amount, then messages. I am not a quitter. I don’t I would like to say that they relate •YOU’RE BOOKED Kher with the Big B quit in life. You can’t only expect to me. I am also an agony uncle

Salman’s heights

SALMAN Khan is currently enjoying a career high like no other actor after delivering four blockbusters in a row and has set his eyes on the fifth this Christmas with the release of Dabangg 2. Filming of the movie has now resumed after a short pause due to Salman promoting Ek Tha Tiger. Plans were all set to revisit Ireland again to shoot a song sequence, but have had to be shelved as the weather forecast wasn’t on their side. Turkey has now been suggested by Salman, where he also shot for Ek Tha Tiger. After managing to keep his Eid record intact, there are now indications that he has his eyes set on making Christmas his own this year for sure. Keep it up Salman.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BOLLYWOOD A Sur-khestra hit

OF MATTERS

about why’s he’s not a quitter and on Twitter

sometimes. I am a people’s person. I relate to people and remember if someone has said something to me. Besides that, when there is an opinion to be made about what is happening in the country or day to day life, I do tweet that. The point is that you can’t be on a social network and just want to be popular. You have to stick your neck out. You have to be original. I am one of the very few celebrities who gets maybe just once a month a message from someone who likes me so much, that he writes something nasty. Recently a critic rated a film you worked on with zero stars. You reacted on Twitter. Does that mean it matters to you? It does not matter to me. But I did not want him to get away with it. Just because he has a column and a position in the industry, he did it and it showed his arrogance more than anything else. A critic has a job and I don’t mind it. But to give zero to a film, I just felt that he was just proving a point to himself of how important he is that he can do that. Tomorrow if he does not have his job, he does not have the power. Today he is representing a TV channel, he has a power but it is not because of him as an individual. It’s important to sometimes react to criticism because I did not feel like ignoring it. What do you enjoy doing more, serious roles or comedy? You see, when you have done about 450 films, then you are too seasoned and of course, good work is good work. I am doing a film with A Wednesday director called Special Chabbis with Akshay Kumar. It’s a brilliant film! There is no single actor in the world today, in the past or in the future who has only done great work. To me life is 90% monotony and 10% to excel and the journey is also much more important than the destination. I love going out, putting on make-up and doing things. It includes doing ridiculous things,

atrocious and brilliant things. But at the end of it, if you take the average out, I will be fairly considered a fairly good actor. Your acting school is quite popular all over the world, even in London. Do you think it’s important to have an education about acting because you studied Drama yourself? Absolutely, you see, you can’t become a doctor without an education about it. It’s a myth only in India that just because your father is a producer or because he has a lot of money he will produce a film with his son. Things have changed now. You can be a trained actor and still be successful. That’s important and my acting school is giving some kind of professionalism to the coming generation. Will you be opening more branches worldwide now? I have actually closed down my

ANUSHKA Sharma will be undergoing a complete makeover for her next film Peekay with Aamir Khan. The buzz is that Anushka is currently experimenting excessively with her looks and will be sporting a short hairdo. Until now we have only seen Anushka Sharma play the sweet girl next door type roles. But now the stunner is going to surprise us with her new short hair! A source close to the film said, “Anushka is going to surprise everyone with this look of hers. People are going to be shocked to see her in this new avatar. ‘

school in London. I have to be in charge of the school. That’s why the Mumbai School is, touch wood, doing very well. It has to be on person’s passion and I know my job. I am not a retired actor who has now opened an acting school because he has nothing else to do. I am an actor who is working all over the world. I don’t want the younger generation to make me feel a “has been” in my school. That will never happen. I will always be one step ahead of them. Just because they are young and happening does not make me old and not happening. That’s how I get to learn a lot from them. You have to beat them at their own game. When I teach them, I learn a lot from them. However, there is a possibility that we will have branches in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Also in London, I am looking for an independent possibility of

opening a school and not to be affiliated with any other association. You are also part of The Silver Linings Playbook with famous Hollywood actors like Robert De Niro. Do actors from India have more opportunities like this these days? The film is based on a book. The character was there and I was very fortunate to make it in my auditions in that film. It is a turning point for an Indian actor to get a role like this because it’s not a typical role and the film has a dream cast. Yes, it has more to do with economic situations as India is a big market and they want their films to do well. It’s not like their love for us has increased. All American Studios have offices in India now and there are people in Indian cinema who can work in World Cinema.

LEADING South Asian entertainment channel Sahara One is joining the ranks in musical reality TV. Starting September 8th, 2012, Sahara One brings you an innovative new series, Sur-Kshetra, ready to raise and set the bar for melodious television. Sur-Kshetra is brimming with talent, from the contestants •SPEARHEAD Himesh Reshammiya to the judges, and is ready to reignite the flame of friendly rivalry between neighboring countries India and Pakistan. Hosted by Bollywood beauty Ayesha Takia, this new series has rounded up the best of the best contestants expressly chosen from the six city auditions in India and the three city auditions in Pakistan, and is bringing their powerhouse voices directly to your home! The singers will be grouped into two teams; Team India, spearheaded by noted singer-music director-actor Himesh Reshammiya and Team Pakistan, led by popular singer-actor Atif Aslam, and will undergo rigorous rounds of competition as they level up in the selection process. Succeeding in making Sur-Kshetra India’s most eagerly awaited reality show, it also boasts an incredible line-up of judges with legendary stalwarts Asha Bhosle, Runa Laila, and Abida Parveen set to dispense their advice and expertise to the novice contenders as they dream of the ultimate prize; victory! Sur-Kshetra is produced and directed by Gajendra Singh of Saaibaba Telefilms, the pioneer of many super-hit reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Voices of India, Music Ka Maha Muqabla, & Chhote Ustaad, to name a few. The heat is rising on Sahara One with its all new mega music reality show SUR-KSHETRA: “Suron mein hai taaqat, toh desh ko hai aap ki zaroorat!” Don’t miss it and be sure to tune in! • Sur-Kshetra airs every Saturday and Sunday evening at 7:30PM. Sahara One airs on BSkyB; channel 817.

• Follow Anupam Kher on twitter.com/AnupamPkher

Hail the Agha age LONDON-born Sasha Agha Khan is set to make her debut in Yash Raj banner upcoming film, Aurangzeb. Originally named Zara Agha Khan but had her name changed for her Bollywood debut, is the daughter of Pakistani singer turned actress Salma Agha. Sasha will be playing a glamorous role in a striking new look in her debut film opposite Arjun Kapoor of Ishaqzaade fame, who plays a double role in this intriguing drama. The film also boasts of a dynamic cast of Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Amrita Singh. Apparently, producer Aditya Chopra is investing time and energy to come up with the perfect look for her, which will be guarded closely until the release of the film. The film is set to release early next year.

TALPADE TALE SHREYAS Talpade got the biggest surprise when director Priyadarshan constructed a treehouse at Wai where he was shooting his forthcoming film Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal. Shreyas loved the Wai set so much that he yearned to have a treehouse constructed and casually mentioned it to the director. “The next morning when I woke up, I was shocked to see a treehouse being constructed for me. I was touched that Priyan Sir took so much pain to make my dream come true,” said Shreyas. And further more the treehouse actually ended up being used in the film!

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

MUSIC

LATIN FEVER

MUSIC CITY IR WITH SAM

AFTER THE MELA

Jay Sean goes Latin as he takes the top hot spot again SHOOTING up 20 places to secure the number one spot after just a week since its release, Jay Sean’s collaboration with Latin artists Chino y Nacho sees him back in his rightful place on top, this time on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs Chart.

As well as being the only Asian to reach such dizzying heights, Jay is also the first British male artist to reach the top spot on the Latin Billboard Charts. Jay, who scored a Billboard Hot 100 number 1 with Down two years ago, tells us: “The Latin Billboard No1 means so much to me. In the ten years I’ve been working as an international artist, South America was the only continent I felt I had yet to make a real impact on and I guess there’s no better way of

•BETTER LATIN Jay with Chino doing it than getting that top spot!” He added: “I’m delighted to be on the record with Chino y Nacho who are already huge stars in the region. For me, this is just the beginning. I’m looking to do a lot more work in the Latin world.” Jay is currently gearing up to release his fourth studio album, his second with Cash Money Records, Worth it All due out later this year.

•SEAN & HEARD Jay back in the groove

Brimful of Asha AFTER taking a break for one year and revamping her style for the mainstream commercial music market, Asha J has finally released her new single Candy Boy with American rap artist MC Hotline, under the Island Def Jam label. The club banger has been produced by Ripper Productions who have been the official remixers for the likes of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jordan Sparks and Usher. Experimenting over the last few years and having the ability to sing in three languages and different music genres, it seems Asha may have just found her true calling. Candy Boy is quite a different step for Asha J who has previously performed live alongside the group, Stereo Nation.

Recovered from the summer’s mela mayhem yet? Here are a few acts that stood out the loudest and proudest for me... Jaz Dhami, who headlined a couple of the big events this summer, has just released his brand new single High Heels, featuring India’s biggest music star of the moment Yo Yo Honey Singh. His first solo release since 2009, High Heels is an energetic, electronic dance floor hit, that’s almost the complete opposite of what we expect from Jaz – authentic, traditional and less electronic Punjabi music. That said, both the Indian pop market and UK Asian charts are lapping it up. Roach Killa’s new track Hey Luv is out now and features the production talents of Ve e . The single is the follow up to Roach’s biggest hit Oh Girl and things are looking up for the Canadian rapper. He’s rumoured to have landed a performance slot at the Global Indian Music Awards (GIMA) in India next month. Will he make the leap into the huge world of Bollywood soon? We certainly hope so! In the meantime, check out Hey Luv, the latest single is sounding great and expect the usual mix of Roach’s reggae/Punjabi flow with a laid back R&B vibe, and catchy chorus. Manchester duo Bonafide have just dropped the teaser of their new track Only One. The new single is produced by the one and only Rishi Rich, and I’ve had an exclusive listen to the track in full and it’s got his stamp all over it. The beat has a nice bounce to it and it’s complemented by Bonafide’s fun mix of pop and urban flavours. It follows in the mould of Bonafide’s last catchy little winner Feel It Sohniye released at the start of the year and their success looks set to continue with Only One later this month. Rishi Rich has been keeping busy in the studio lately. He’s also produced two other singles which are out this month. I’ve been talking about the return of Hunterz in previous issues, now well and truly under way with the release of Aja Mahiya. With the Rishi magic sprinkled all over it, it is an awesome track with the kind of powerful vocal delivery only Hunterz knows how. Another Rishi Rich production is Romy’s Shake That Body. A definite big club banger, it features the original Punjabi Rockstar and Mela hero Juggy D. I’m loving some of the sounds on it, especially the trumpet sample. This is Romy’s third release and sure to finally put him on the map in a big way. Other notable releases this month, Gin and Rees’ Sanu Teh Changha is a nice first offering from two producers, featuring the amazing vocals of virtual unknown Aslam Ali. Northern Lights continue to Do Some Bhangra, a hugely energetic song which seems to have captured the Bhangraholics of the nation as it continues to perform well in the Asian music charts. Moneyspinner’s Touchwood is another song I urge you to explore. Featuring the awesome Master Saleem, it’s a strong release for the UK based producers, who are rumoured to be teaming up with Bollywood singer Mika Singh for their next release. • Until next time, keep checking my twitter for the latest music news - @samirsamir

•THE REAL DEAL Bonafide

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

MUSIC

Just like a Priyanka

US SUCCESS IN WAIT FOR PRIYANKA CHOPRA IT WAS only a matter of time before one of the biggest musical genius’ in the world jumped on the Bolly band wagon. The Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i am has teamed up with superstar Priyanka Chopra to duet on her first single.

PRITY YOUNG THING SHE started off singing at community events in India and carried on the same tradition since living in the UK until she caught the attention of a few music producers. With a strong passion for singing, this led Priti Menon to win the Sa Re Ga Ma Online Voice Hunt in 2010. Since then, Priti’s voice has been reaching the masses through recordings on YouTube and her popularity has been slowly on the rise. Known for covering popular Bollywood songs, she has been approached by several music producers wanting to collaborate. This led her to her most recent collaboration with the UK’s popular artist, Arjun who produced his own version of the song Teri Meri from the film Bodyguard which was well received by the masses and managed to grab the attention of the UK’s Asian music fraternity. Eminent artists such as Talvin Singh and Niraj Chag have since expressed their interest in collaborating with Priti in their forthcoming projects. In a short space of time, she has managed to perform with the likes of Ash King, Benny Dayal and Charles Bosco and will also be seen singing in a British Tamil movie called The Rajani Effect. Priti is currently working towards releasing her first EP before the end of this year.

TAKING THE MIKA

UK PRODUCERS MoneySpinner will be teaming up with Bollywood singer Mika Singh for their forthcoming single. Mika who also happens to be the younger brother of Punjabi singer Daler Mehndhi, is known for his catchy Bollywood songs such as Mauja Mauja, Ganpat, Singh Is Kinng, Desi Beat and most recently Pyar ki Pungi from Agent Vinod. “I’m very happy to announce that I’m working on a new track with UK producers MoneySpinner. This is the first time I am working with music directors in UK. I am glad to work alongside my brothers MoneySpinner.” stated Mika. MoneySpinner are equally excited to release another big collaboration, “We are delighted to be working with Mika, a chance to work with an artist of his calibre and status does not come along very often. We are very excited with this new project and feel that working with such an acclaimed singer will only take us to the next level in our music journey” MoneySpinner are currently on tour with their latest release Touchwood featuring the vocals of Master Saleem and will be seen flying to Mumbai in November to shoot for the music video. The track is set to be released at the end of the year.

The Barfi actress has already conquered modelling, dancing and acting and is an ex-Miss World, but she’s always claimed that music is her first passion. She has previously confessed: “I love music, I grew up with it thanks to my father who loves to sing. We woke up to music every morning. I knew how to sing before I knew how to read.” In The City will be debuted this week (Thursday 13th) at one of the biggest events in the American football calendar; the kick off of the National Football League, at the 185th meeting between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers – two major rivals in the game. The live performance will be broadcast on 13 prime time channels and the track, which has been produced by Lady Gaga’s producer RedOne, will then be released later in the year. In preparation for becoming an international music icon, Priyanka has been mingling with some of her own idols and met with Lady Gaga and took Katy Perry to dinner when they were both visiting India. Speaking about the collaboration, Priyanka revealed: ‘I’m really thrilled to bring my music and a touch of India to America and its football fans. It’s been an honour working with the NFL to create such an amazing launch.’ Following the single, there will be a full album also

Reaching a Klimax

•PEAS PROCESS Priyanka & Will.i.am featuring major collaborators such as Swedish House Mafia. As to whether or not her vocals will be as beautiful as her looks, we’ll have to wait and see. Those who’ve heard her say she’s a cross between Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey – but whether she retains her Indian influences remains to be seen. And, judging by the NFL’s millions of viewers, about to be heard...

AFTER a hiatus of five years, Jags Klimax is back and ready to unleash to the world his fresh beats with the release of his brand new album titled Electric. The album features international vocalists Lehmber Hussainpuri, Nirmal Sidhu, Jaspinder Narula and Master Saleem to name a few. The first track released from the album is Nach Sadhe Naal and features the amazing vocals of Nirmal Sidhu. The video has been shot by Ballistic Productions who also directed the groundbreaking video Heer. And as the title of his album suggests, this will sure set to be an electric track.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FEATURE

THE SECRET SCIENCE OF

SEDUCTION If attraction is a chemical reaction, learn how to doctor the results! Tune into neuro-linguistic programming and he’ll be putty in your hands.

IT’S EASY to win a chick over. Get yourself some smart threads, a killer chat-up line, act all cocky and flash with your cash and she’s gonna be gagging for it. If you’ve come by the numerous art of seduction manuals plastered all across bookshelves and the Internet, you’ll have noticed one common thread running through them: they’re written by men for men who can’t get laid. Perhaps the publishing industry figures women don’t need such guides. After all, all we have to do is wear a low cut top and flutter our eyelids by the bar and we’re guaranteed to score.

obvious, here’s the science part… Chances are, you’ve heard the term NLP being bandied about, if you haven’t – you soon will. It’s what modern illusionists and hypnotists such as Derren Brown and Paul McKenna use to influence the mind. Salespeople do the same when they sell you something you weren’t sure you wanted. While we’re not condoning brainwashing a man into bed, the behavioural science of NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) can help you perfect the use of verbal and physical skills to communicate your intentions and encourage the desired reaction from the man you put under your spell! NLP is a complex set of models and principles used to identify the relationship between mind and language, but we’ll spare you the If you want to learn how to win over seminar and get down to the nitty-gritty the man of your dreams using advice – how to use it to help you get your beyond the realms of the bleedin’ man…

YOU WANT ME!

Don’t hold back when it comes to letting him know SECRET 1 Flirting is not sluttish

There’s a name for people who get irritated that Aishwarya Rai giggles and flicks her hair so much… jealous women! Men are as programmed to respond to undivided attention as we are, plus flirting shows you are confident, playful and up for a laugh. As long as you focus on just the one man (contrast it by merely being pleasant to his friends), he won’t see you as the ‘hussy’ some female onlookers may see you as!

SECRET 2 It’s good to talk about yourself

Guys hate it when girls go on about themselves, right? Wrong. Men get bored of women who simply go along with everything they say. The only way he will find you interesting is if you show him what makes you interesting. Don’t be afraid to put forward a different point of view. An outright disagreement is threatening, but then no one likes a kiss-arse either. A light-hearted debate will challenge his mind and ensure he channels his attention on you.

SECRET 3 It’s not freaky to mark him

Sure, guys don’t like possessive girls, but there’s something victorious about getting the signal: you’re mine. If he gets a phonecall, instead of letting him get engrossed elsewhere, absentmindedly stroke him (nowhere private!) to let him know what he’s missing. If he gets waylaid on the way to the bar by the attention from another girl, smoothly cut in. Act elegant, think cool and he’s all yours.

SECRET 4 Opposites do not attract

It’s a myth and a recipe for disaster to go for a man that thinks and wants completely different things from you. Fact of life: we like people who are like us. If the guy is a must-have, don’t simply feign his interests, adopt them. Once he has fallen head over heels for you, he may start to compromise and take on some of your interests, but don’t count on it. The strongest romance is between like-minded souls who love the other for who they are: like them!

•KEEP THE SPARK ALIVE Don’t stop looking hot enough to keep him sizzling

TRICK 1 BELIEVE YOU’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES

• Make that feeling stronger by increasing its intensity. Make those colours brighter and the sounds louder in your Everyone knows confidence is the key to mind. success, but how do you get that inner • Imagine that confident feeling spreading strength in the first place? Your brain can from your mind and into your chest, neck, be conditioned to react to a certain cheeks, smile and eyes, then down your arms and into your hands and fingers and action if you train it. To put yourself in a positive frame of down your legs and into your feet. • As you intensify those feelings of mind, try this NLP exercise: • Close your eyes and think of a time confidence, squeeze your thumb and you were confident. Picture the sights, finger together. smells and hone in on the feeling. If you • Repeat the steps, with your mind focused can’t remember one, simply imagine on that confident feeling. Keep practicing being in a situation that leaves you and soon you’ll be able to recall that feeling of supreme confidence at the mere feeling supremely confident.

squeeze of a thumb and finger. Do say: ‘Let’s give this a shot.’ The NLP: By saying let’s, you’ve already strengthened yourself by giving yourself an ally – your inner strength! And when you accept that you miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take, you’ve prepared yourself to see any feedback as a positive result. Don’t say: ‘What if I make a fool out of myself?’ The NLP: If you focus on the negative outcome, the pictures in your mind will start to look daunting and you’ve allowed your internal critic to already dwell on failure.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FEATURE TRICK 2 MAKE YOUR INTENTIONS CLEAR

It’s easy to confuse men. If you come on too strong, you might scare him off; if you’re too vague, he might think you’re wasting his time. Communicate your message simply, directly and sincerely. People make up their minds about strangers in the first thirty seconds – that’s all the time you have to show him he’s caught your attention. You’re here to find out more. A dash of humour always helps – men respond better to the idea of fun than to the call to perform. And there’s nothing better than a compliment to put him at ease (steer clear of false flattery as it always fails). Do say: ‘I love your trainers. Maybe you can show me how you move in them on the dancefloor later?’ The NLP: The word love, though not applied to him, triggers a positive reaction. The maybe takes away the fear of immediate action, while later suggests: let’s talk for a bit. I’m up for the long haul if you are. The words you and me also jump out, especially seeing as you put him first. Don’t say: ‘This place is so boring. Got any ideas how to liven things up?’ The NLP: The negative connotations of boring is the first thought you’ve put in his mind. Whether he agrees or not, you’ve put him on a downer. You’ve also put him on the spot to be upbeat without suggesting how.

Eye contact shows you’re interested, but constant eye contact is a sign of aggression

TRICK 3 CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY

The use of words is crucial to NLP. What you say and how you say it are equally important. If you babble about your issues or let him brag incessantly about his perceived achievements, someone is going to get bored. It’s an ego boost to be listened to, but you need to hear what the other person is saying to fuel a conversation that both parties are happy with. When you’re listening, don’t interrupt; pause for a couple of seconds before you respond to show you’re taking in his story, even echo his sentiment to show you understand. When you’re talking, look him in the eye (maintain eye contact around 70% of the time, 100% eye contact is a sign of aggression). Guide the conversation

The rules of attraction First contact: We like people who like us first. Don’t play silly games like pretending you haven’t noticed him – people don’t like knocking when they’re not sure they’re invited. First move: In the modern age, where strong women are desired and pushy men annoy, the tradition of waiting to be asked has become redundant. If neither of you initiate contact, neither will know what you’re missing. Positive outlook: We’re all attracted to happy people. The moody look doesn’t work, the happy, radiant smile is always a winner. If you have stresses on your shoulder, tonight’s not the best night to go on the pull. back towards common grounds, but avoid changing the subject abruptly as you risk killing the developing rapport. Do say: ‘That’s so true. I totally think that. Wouldn’t it be great if more people thought that way?’ The NLP: You’ve offered him validation, with no room for self-doubt with totally added to the mix. The question establishes you as allies, while the wouldn’t it, like the words isn’t it, makes it difficult to for him to say no. Who’d have thought it? The word innit is actually a good thing! Don’t say: ‘I don’t understand. What do you mean by that?’ The NLP: People hate being met with incomprehension. Don’t, like the word can’t, isn’t something we like hearing – they both instantly limit possibilities. The question, rather than the clarification it’s intended as, can appear threatening. It demands: explain yourself! When it doubt, rephrase the last few words he says as a question. If he says ‘I got us on the guestlist!’, reply: ‘the guestlist?’, or settle for a simple but effective ‘really?’

TRICK 4 WATCH HIS EVERY MOVE

Ever wondered why couples end up looking like each other? When we like someone, we end up sharing the same facial expressions and gestures – add years of sagging and drooping on the same lines and you end up morphing into one another! But you don’t have to wait an eternity to make that similarity apparent. The tried and tested method of mirroring sends out the signal: I like you, I’m like you. Mirroring is simple. When he leans forward, you lean forward. When he catches your eye, catch it back. Match the speed of his voice – if he’s talking slowly and calmly, you’re going to fail to connect if you’re on nervous speed mode. Mirror his mood and opinions to show he’s with someone he can trust, relate to and bond with. Don’t worry about being compliant to his whims, ten minutes is all it takes for the mirroring to

•HOLD ON Perfect your body language and things between you will get closer become a two-way thing. Once he’s relaxed and likes you, watch how he ends up taking on your mood and motions without even realising it! Do say: ‘I can see why you hate that. What do you prefer?’ The NLP: Without admitting you like something he doesn’t, you’ve shown you understand his reasons and are prepared to give his alternative preference a fair listen. Don’t say: ‘You don’t know what you’re missing out on!’ The NLP: This statement instantly breaks the rapport because you are effectively saying he is wrong and doesn’t know better. The golden rule of winning someone over is to assure them you understand him. Remember, the five most important words in the English language: What’s in it for me? Give him what he wants and you get what you want. Sounds like a pretty fair trade…

HAPPY TOGETHER…

Being in a stable relationship doesn’t mean the seduction has to end SECRET 1 Rewire the brain

Sexual attraction occurs after a chemical reaction in the brain that alters between 12 to 18 months. To stop it from losing its fizz, arrange for a weekend – away from kids, bills and your social circle – at least once every three months. Go for romantic strolls, take in a show, splash out on a candle-lit meal and book into a hotel with its own stereo (compile a CD of songs that remind you both of happy times). Oh and don’t turn the television on…

SECRET 2 Report on your rapport

Couples that grow apart do so not necessarily

because they’ve changed – but because they haven’t communicated their feelings along the way. It’s all too easy to take the other for granted, especially when you think there’s no longer a need to impress. Don’t stop texting him silly little messages of love or share that interesting but seemingly insignificant thought you had on the train journey home. The day you run out of things to say to each other, go out and do something new together: yoga, swimming, the opera, it doesn’t matter what as long as you’re doing it together. And if all fails, there are always NLP seminars you can both book yourselves into…

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BLOGGED ON TECH CITY N WITH EM KWA

PHONEY WARS: APPLE Vs SAMSUNG IF YOU haven’t heard already, there’s a ‘war’ going on amongst two major ‘geek’ brands; Apple and Samsung, with both battling it out in court rooms across the globe and in different markets. Last week nobody really knew what to expect as a 9 member jury in San Jose, California completed a 700 item-strong document summing up the massive patent case between Samsung and Apple. The US version of this particular fight took a little over three weeks as each side used their 25 hours to convince the jury of guilt or innocence. In the end, they found Samsung guilty of copying quite a few of the patents that Apple was claiming, to the preliminary tune of $1.05 billion. These claims referred to Samsung copying design and technology patents that Apple argued belonged to them. The $1.05 billion awarded to Apple will make a nice addition to Apple’s already-overflowing coffers, but the damages alone don’t mean much for the phone-buying public. The bigger question is how the verdict will affect Samsung, other device makers, the Android platform and the smartphone and tablet markets in general, both now and in the future. Is This Really Apple’s War Against Android Operating System? Some analysts believe the Apple-Samsung lawsuit didn’t just deal with design and looks. It also covered specific software functions, such as pinch-to-zoom, tap-to-zoom and “overscroll bounce,” which causes the screen to decelerate and snap back into place when you’ve scrolled beyond a page’s boundaries. Apple has already dinged Android on a few other issues, but the resulting changes to the operating system are minor: HTC was forced to change how their phones responded to tapping on certain types of text, such as phone numbers and e-mails, and Samsung had to remove universal search from its Galaxy S III and Galaxy Nexus. The “overscroll bounce” effect is no longer featured in the core version of Android. If these new infringements spell trouble for Android as a whole, Google isn’t saying so, claiming that many of the patents at issue relate to Samsung’s modified version of Android, but not the core operating system. In addition, many android specialists have been told that the latest version of Android, known as ‘Jelly Bean’, removes any outstanding patent issues. Of course, many Android phones don’t run Jelly Bean, so Apple could use its win over Samsung as extra ammo against other phone makers. But then, Google notes that the U.S. Patent Office is reexamining several Apple patents, and that the Samsung case is still due for an appeal. Meanwhile, Google has begun a lawsuit against Apple, using Motorola patents. In other words, none of this is getting resolved anytime soon. Do you agree with the jury’s decision? Let us know your thoughts. Watch me talk about this on YouTube here: http://bit.ly/asiancity-apvsam • Connect with EM KWAN now via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Name: S Sid Ahmed Name of Blog: My entire social program, which incorporates the blogs, vlogs, twitter, FourSquare and other social networks: “S Sid Was Here.” http://ssidwashere.tumblr.com/ youtube.com/SSidWasHere stareintothesun.com/ How long have you been blogging? About five years on various blogs and platforms but nothing stuck until about two years ago when I started S Sid Was Here. How did the idea of blogging come about? To document thoughts, ideas, inspiration, brain farts and the like. Eventually it progressed from just a text and image based blog to a Twitter account and then into a daily video diary. What is your blog about? Just about life. It’s about fully placing someone’s personality into the digital space. Everything documented and archived in a way that human memory can’t achieve. In it’s full philosophy, it’s about trying to transcend someone beyond their physical self by just being and sharing the same information to complete strangers. How many hours a week do you spend blogging? I spend about an hour everyday maintaining my text blogs and the vlogs take about the same amount of time to record and edit. How often do you update? Every day. Always, the purpose of the video diary is to keep a daily account of thoughts, ideas and experiences as close to real-time as possible. Due to technical limitations, you can only do one a day. However, I have managed to make three video diaries in a day in an attempt to try and get as close to in the moment as possible. My Tumblr is updated about 5-8 times a day. It’s such a fast and simple way to just hate and express one’s self.

IT’S SID’S VIDS Our regular spotlight on a blog to log onto

Your greatest challenge? Keeping up the vlog daily whilst dealing with troubles at home, work, strangers who’d go out of their way to try and stop you, technical issues that stop you from doing it altogether. The other thing would be when I took a business trip to Cyprus for four days and the entire time I had no access to the Internet. Apparently, because of my maintaining a regular presence and sudden disappearance, a few people got worried that I’d died! How many read your blog? I get around 500-1000 readers daily, and my vlog gets around 100 -200

views on a regular episode now. Before it used to average around the 500-1000 mark but I guess everyone got bored! Do you get upset if you don’t get any feedback on your blogs? Very much so! Even negative feedback. You can still channel that to keep you going but when there’s little to none, it’s disheartening because you can clearly see that there are people there, but just staying silent so you have no idea what anyone’s thinking about you. Do you have a favourite blog? I want to say this in the least pretentious way, but I just don’t like anyone else’s blogs. Nothing’s ever

really stood out to make me stay and follow on. Apart from blogs on tech, film and news sites. Why do some people start a blog and then give up after a while? Feedback. People hear success stories of blogs reading millions of hits and views and they think it can’t all be that hard, it’s easy to do. Then they face the reality of the situation and find that very few people actually care. Who is your biggest influence? Insane Asian people on Twitter who shove religion, politics, their right wing opinion and personal hatred for everything under the sun down as many throats as possible. If they’re allowed to have a voice, so does everyone else. What advice would you like to share with fellow bloggers? Don’t ever do it for fame, glory, money, appraisal or anything that you may be promised. Do it because you want to and that you love expressing yourself. If someone was interested in blogging, what few things would you suggest? 1. Talk about what you’re interested in. You’d be surprised as to how many people oh there may share the same interests or views. 2. Don’t force people to read or watch, noone likes the douchebag that spams the same link to everyone. 3. Interact with your audience, talk to them like an equal and not like you’re an Internet celebrity. What do you do when you aren’t blogging? I work. Hard. All day everyday. Blogging is a hobby. If the world goes into a nuclear apocalypse tomorrow and an EMP takes out all the electricity, being a blogger would be pretty useless.

GUEST WRITER

OLYMPICS: HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

GROWING up having the intention of going to university, I had always worked out that 2012 would be the year in which I graduate yet I never could have comprehended the other huge opportunity that I would be granted this year – to work at the London 2012 Olympics. As a 21-year-old, that in itself is a huge honour although the role of a camera assistant was an even greater privilege as it is a media role that related directly to the journalism degree I studied at City University London, and also the career path I wish to take in the broadcasting industry. The entire 28 days in which I worked for the Olympic Broadcasting Services consisted of extremely long hours yet I couldn’t complain as every day was an adventure filled with new tasks, a new Olympic venue to visit, new people I had the opportunity of meeting and on the best days, even catching a glimpse of the events in action while filming. The journey was exciting and absolutely amazing, to say the least. Although there is one thing that has stayed with me in particular, separate from my experience and speaking solely as a spectator. When I saw athletes such as Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis cross the finish line, most people highlighted their achievements and some even

•FEELING SPORTY Kiran at the games highlighted how such athletes represented the positivity and success of London being such a multi-cultural city and how everyone should be treated as one. However, I began to think about how racists who regard themselves as British viewed such achievements. Would they have stood firm in their ignorant ways or drowned in hypocrisy by celebrating such achievements? As a young British Asian, such thoughts infuriate me. Surely, the Olympics, the unity of so many people of different backgrounds and cultures competing for the same medals, with

the same chances highlights how everyone is equal? Personally, by writing that last statement, I feel as if I am dumbing myself down and simply explaining the obvious. However, that is exactly why I am reiterating it, there are still far-right racist groups, parties and movements such as the English Defence League that think it is acceptable to target one particular culture. For example, I have come across EDL supporters referring to people from competing nations as “curry munching” and “tree climbing” and that ‘England’ (not ‘Britain’ - note how the ignorance continues) has to show them what “we” are made of. Such terminology in any context of the Olympics, or otherwise is simply disgusting and a view of a minority. Who knows? The success of the multicultural Team GB in the Olympics may have secretly acted as an eye-opener to members of such groups and, if so, the greatest sporting event in the world has made progression in ways it may not have even expected. As long as the educated remain stronger than the ignorant, it seems not just London but the entire world will prevail and progress – the Olympics has certainly been a great example of this. By Kiran Kaur

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

DANCE

GIRLS ON TOP

WHY IT’S TIME TO GO WAH WAH FOR THE LADIES THIS month sees the opening of sensational Theatre production Wah Wah! Girls. The show originally opened in Sadler’s Wells earlier this year and is now taking centre stage at Theatre Royal Stratford. It tells the story of a local dance group who embark on a journey that changes their lives forever.

Written by acclaimed playwright Tanika Gupta (Gladiator Games at Stratford East) with new music by renowned composer Niraj Chag (Baiju Bawra at Stratford East) and directed by award winning director Emma Rice (The Red Shoes) Wah Wah! Girls is a distinctive collaboration between Theatre Royal Stratford East, Sadlers Wells and Kneehigh theatre in association with Hall of Cornwall, which celebrates London’s diversity and spirit in its Olympic and Paralympic year by being part of the world stages in London and bringing together a series of exceptional shows created by leading UK and international artists. Inspired by the Mujra dancers, who for generations have entertained the rich and powerful in India with their spellbinding performances of dance and song, Wah! Wah! Girls celebrates both the ancient form of Mujra dance and new styles and includes some classic movie music such as Choli ke Peeche kya-Hai from Khalnayak (1993), Dil Cheez Hya-Hai from Umrao Jaan (1981) and Maar Daala from the film Devdas (2002). Parminder Kaur caught up with one of the stars of the show Japjit Kaur to find out more about Wah Wah! Girls and her future projects.

How did you get into the industry? I have been singing since a very young age. I got heavily involved with music after performing at a talent show in college. I worked on several projects after that including a documentary that was screened at Curzon cinema, Soho and later was commissioned to work with a composer in London. I knew then that’s what I wanted to do. How it like being one of the Wah! Wah! Girls? It’s been fantastic! Loved every minute. I am usually involved with the music side of things but in Wah! Wah! I’ve been acting, singing and dancing and it’s been amazing. You recently performed as part of Wah! Wah! Girls on ITV’s This Morning. Is the mainstream part of your target audience? What an experience! We met Phil and Holly on set and Elle Macpherson happened to be there too. Wah! Wah! Girls deals with issues around women, hierarchy and oppression which are not confined to the Asian culture. Audiences of all backgrounds have been able to connect to our characters.

What’s your role all about? I initially thought I was being seen as a singer-songwriter, so was thrilled to find I’d be acting. My role is quite ethereal. I play Devi, an angel who narrates the show and weaves in and out of the story. What other projects have you been involved in? I have just finished working on ‘The BBC Space project’ called Sita O Sita which will be releasing soon. I also recently worked as a vocal coach on the new RSC production of Much Ado About Nothing. We will also be recording an album next month. You were the Music director of the Olivier award winning play Rafta Rafta, which got turned into the movie All in Good Time... Adapting the play for the film was an interesting process because some things that worked for the play didn’t necessarily work for the film, but the result was a delight. What was it like working on the music for the film, especially recording the song ‘Shu Bu Bu’? It was great fun. Even the smallest piece of music has to evoke exactly the right kind of emotion to serve the scene so, the level of detail that goes into composing even a 10 second cue is phenomenal. It was great working with Niraj Chag the composer - he can hear detail that is inaudible to most ears. Writing and recording Shu Bu Bu Bu was great as I got to play around with the 70’s Bollywood cabaret style of music and I even managed to convince Niraj to riff the hook line. • The Wah! Wah! Girls is showing at The Theatre Royal in Stratford until 29 September. For more information visit www.stratfordeast.com or call the box office 020 8534 0310

WIN A GREAT NIGHT OUT FOR TWO Asian City in partnership with Theatre Royal Stratford East is delighted to be offering you a chance to win a great night out to see Wah! Wah! Girls, a feel-good Bollywood musical set in Stratford in 2012. The lucky winners will receive 2 tickets to see the show, a signed copy of the programme and complimentary interval drinks or ice creams! To be in with a chance of winning e-mail your answer to the following question to info@asiancity.co.uk by 20th September. In what year is Wah! Wah! Girls set? A. 2012 B. 1992 C. 1952 TERMS AND CONDITIONS Prize includes two pre-booked tickets to performances Tuesday – Thursday and Saturday matinees, subject to availability. A drinks voucher will provided with the tickets entitling the bearer to 2 glasses of soft drink, house wine or beer (excluding Leffe Blonde) or 2 icecreams

•WAH WAH Japjit Kaur

WHY I DANCE: KARA-DEE RAI

•DEE-LIGHT Kara on why she loves to dance

Watching Michael and Janet Jackson move as a kid made me want to dance. I would always dress up and dance in front of the TV whenever music came on. I’ve always had itchy feet, so whether it was school discos, birthday parties or weddings, I always took to the floor, regardless of anyone wainting to join me or not. School should encourage dancing more. I was quite fortunate that my secondary school specialised in performing arts. I eventually shifted into performing arts and joined County Dance for Northamptonshire. I like to keep things contemporary. I am currently in a transitional period learning various styles of hip-hop which is feeding into my movement vocabulary. As I grow as a dancer I am learning more about my style exploring through freestyle. It’s probably the best way to understand your own movement. I don’t think a dancer should stick to a particular dance style, especially if you want to develop your choreography further.

I’m always training. LA style, Hiphop in Heels, Commercial, Locking and Popping, Breaking, Tutting, Dancehall, Salsa, Hip-hop, African Contemporary, Lyrical Contemporary. Also I occasionally do Bikram Yoga, and Parkour (free running) to give me that edge. My favourite style is Street Dance. I’ve done some Bollywood in the past – I did a performance as a part of the opening for EuroStar at St Pancreas Station with Bassline Circus. Being Punjabi, one would assume that Bhangra would be the first form of dance I’d have touched upon, but that’s for family weddings. But I’m not going to totally dismiss Bollywood or Bhangra. I’ve been part of some great projects. The most interesting has been the Hip Hop Dance Theatre – Voices In The Alleyway, which was on at the Cochrane Theatre in Holborn. The production was a Dance Story through Hip-hop Theatre. This was such an incredible journey to have been a part of and I got to share the stage with some incredible talent.

I was also a part of company called Elusive3 which was made of three dancers. We created a piece called Echoes of Silence based on dreams and nightmares. The secret to choreographing a good piece is... having an ‘open mind’ and being adaptable to changes. Advice to aspiring dancers – trust yourself. Acknowledge your dreams, and live it. Don’t waste your life following the crowd, because you’ll never discover your true potential. Accept the past for what it is and continue to look forward to the future. But, most importantly, live in this moment right now because it’s happening to you. Don’t just let it slip you by, otherwise you’ll never fully understand or experience life. Dance is taught by so many people now, you have to make sure your aware that you seek out the right teachers who are teaching what you want to develop in. Being an Indian female Hip-Hop dancer sets you apart. The styles that I am currently training in are helping me build up my movement

vocab, so it would be easy for me if I went to an audition and they were looking for particular styles. Besides the cultural battles, my family are now supportive of what I do and as long as I am happy that’s what counts. I love to dance because... of how it makes me feel physically and mentally. I love how there is a dance community, how people support, learn, appreciate, acknowledge, and be inspired by those around you. It’s like your second family. Within dance there is the creation, the journey and the final piece, the beautiful thing about this is that this also applies to everything else. There is also a sense of overcoming, conquering obstacles and fears. A good friend of mine once said, ‘dancers are the most confident but insecure people,’ because we do expose ourselves to people in a sense of our selfexpression. It’s a personal thing, some people have no problems doing it which is awesome! • dancecastuk.com/kara-dee

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FASHION

BANGLA BY DESIGN THE UK’S FIRST EVER BANGLADESHI FASHION WEEK THINK of Asian fashion and the opulent bridal lenghas of India and elegant shararahs and gharahas of Pakistan spring to mind, but you very rarely visualise Bangladesh. Crazy considering it’s a hot bed of creative culture – well know for its arts, theatre, poetry and music.The fashion is no different.

WHITE FEVER

WHITE is the new black this season, so keep cool with swathes of block colour, making sure to experiment with ethereal chiffon and lace fabric. Choose from a plethora of white accessories, worn best against smooth bronze skin. And for the hottest look this summer, as pictured, bunch up layers of Majique’s white stone charm bracelet for a sizzling effect. • www.oceanicjewellers.com

Fashionistas, trendsetters, forecasters and buyers alike are in for a real treat this Autumn as the inaugural British Bangladeshi Week launches. The showcase of the best modern, traditional and emerging designers takes place on the 12th-13th October in the heart of East London, the heart of the British Bangladeshi community and textile industry. Organiser Dilly Begum decided to curate the event as she felt it was time to put Bangladeshi fashion on the international fashion map. She explains: ‘Asian fashion always tends to get merged into one, when in fact there are many differences. Young entrepreneurs and fashion designers need to be given a platform so they can bring Bengali fashion to the forefront.’

As well as new designers being given a chance to showcase their styles, the event will also see some of the biggest names in the industry make an appearance, including iconic model turned designer Bibi Russell. Dilly reveals; ‘It is so important to get world renowned professionals who have experience in the industry at our event as they can not only help shed light on the work we are doing, but will also influence us with their knowledge and experience.’ Though Dilly herself does not directly have any experience in fashion, she has a decade of experience working in the creative industry. From working with fashion designers to film directors, she knows how to spot talent when she sees it. She says: ‘I am hoping the event will bring awareness and recognition to emerging young Bengali designers who deserve appreciation for their outstanding talent.’ Bengali fashion in the UK is considerably different to Bengali fashion in Bangladesh. There are vast variations in influences such as culture and environment, which help designers to shape and create their designs. Dilly explains: ‘Unlike designers in Bangladesh, British Bengali designers are not ethnically influenced meaning whilst designs remain modest they carry a Western feel with subtle Bengali colours and fabrics.’ Although Bengali fashion does not currently have a predominant influence on worldwide fashion, it certainly has an impact in terms of production means and textiles. Dilly explains: ‘Bangladesh has the right environment to grow and create textiles and fabrics in a cheap manner, such as ethnic silk. This is something that high street designers from all across the world take advantage of but it’s about time they understood the other side of the story.’ As well as showing the uniqueness of Bangladeshi fashion, Dilly hopes the event will also highlight the different qualities that

are apparent in Indian, Pakistani and other Asian fashions. The two day event is open to VIPs, industry experts and the general public and offers the chance to watch catwalk and entertainment shows and of course the opportunity to shop. Bangladeshi Fashion Week is also supporting the charity Restless Beings which works alongside marginalised communities and street children in Bangladesh, trying to help them from the dangers they encounter such as human

trafficking and child sex tourism, in the hope it will bring media media attention to places that many people have not heard of before. British Bangladeshi Fashion Week is planned to be held twice a year in the UK and once a year in Bangladesh. • Visit www.britishbangladesh fashionweek.com to purchase tickets. Event takes place 12-13th October 2012. There are also opportunities to volunteer at the event, model or become a makeup assistant.

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

ARTS

THINKING

•ARTIST Sahima Imaan

OF YOU Mahvish Razzaq talks to artist Sahima Imaan about how losing her best friend drew her to drawing DEALING with loss is not easy for anyone. Whether it’s a family member, pet or friend, life is never going to be the same again. For Sahima Imaan, a 33-year-old elderly and paediatric care worker from Coventry, the past few years have been filled with challenges.

From the break up of a relationship to the death of her beloved grandmother, she’s been on an emotional rollercoaster, the peak of which was losing her best friend last November. Sahima explains: ‘Razia Khan was my best friend for 17 years, the happiest years of my life. We met at college and clicked straight away. Aside from studying we were like any other typical girls, we loved shopping, holidaying together, going to the cinema, eating out and restaurants – we did all the normal things that best friends do.’ Then out of the blue, their friendship strengthened to a level neither of them could ever have imagined. Razia found a lump in her neck. She dismissed it as

nothing serious, until Sahima advised her to get it checked out. It turned out to be one of the most important conversations they ever had. Soon after, Razia was diagnosed with Parotid Gland Cancer, a rare cancer that affects the neck. Sahima was devastated but knew she had to stay strong for her friend. She explains: ‘I thought that if I stayed positive for Razia she would stay positive too and then nothing could happen to her. It made dealing with the problems ahead easier, but still, nothing can prepare you for the sadness, pain and trauma that is to follow.’ The tumors spread quickly through Razia’s neck and she under went both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The hope was the cancer would be killed, but instead, it came back, even more aggressive and she under went multiple operations – nine in six years. Sahima reveals: ‘The worst moment was when Razia turned to me and said ‘This will be the end of me.’ Tears welled in my eyes, I realised that despite all the love and encouragement I had tried to give to my best friend, I couldn’t do any more. We both knew her time was coming, I wasn’t ready to lose her but I had to start preparing.’ As her suffering increased, Razia could not take any more. She eventually refused an operation that would have resulted in doctors having to remove her ear (the tumour had caused swelling and deafness), which would have meant she would be fed through a tube going through her neck. While she came to terms with her illness, Sahima was experiencing her own personal troubles but unlike Razia, she didn’t have the support of a friend by her side when she needed it most. Instead, she found solace alone, in art, a medium that she realised she could express herself in. It became a way for her to re-direct the pain and grief of the loss she was experiencing. Sahima threw herself into drawing and took her

inspiration from Islamic architecture. She explains: ‘I had visited many Muslim countries - Turkey, Egypt and Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Whenever I entered a mosque I felt at peace as if the call to prayer eased my heart.’ Sahima works in a simple medium – charcoal but her sketches are intricate and full of rich details. She recently showcased her artwork in Coventry and donated all the money to charity. Next month she will be exhibiting her collection as part of Saudi National Day at the Regents Park mosque in London. But that’s not her only project. Sahima has found a way to find further blessings from the hard times she’s been through and is committed to leaving a legacy that celebrates Razia. She explains: ‘Razia’s dream was for a water well to be built in Palestine, something she never had a chance to do so I intend on fulfilling that wish.’ Sahima is currently organising a charity dinner on November 25th to raise money for that well. It is a gesture that she hopes Razia would be proud of. • To find out more about Sahima and her artwork, visit: www.sahimaimaan.com

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

WEDDINGS

SUPPORTING ACTS Big things don’t always make as big an impact as all those little touches. It’s time to think small… BIG is beautiful, yes. But it’s always the small details that help make the big picture perfect. Your guests will be taken in by the size of the venue and the quality of the food, but it’s the little things like the floral arrangements and centrepieces that will give them an overall feel of the event.

And the one place where they will have the opportunity to take in their surroundings is while they are seated, which makes jazzing up your table settings all the more important. You could go for traditional goldrimmed plates and standard cutlery – no one will think any less of your wedding – but let your imagination run a riot of butterflies and petals, and they will talk of it for days to come. The secret to creating that seemingly unattainable wow-factor

is surprisingly simple. Whether or not you’re using the services of a wedding planner, at some point your opinion will be consulted on the type of crockery and cutlery, and this is where you allow your creativity to intervene. Customising your table placements to suit your overall wedding theme is the hottest trend of the season, but if you don’t ask, you won’t get. Expert wedding planner Anita Patel advises: ‘The idea of theming your crockery and cutlery to match you theme is not as uncommon as you might think. Brides all over are asking for alternative crockery to complement their theming – if budget is not an issue you can be as inventive as you like. For instance, a bride recently asked us to source yellow plates with a loveheart designed rim which was beautiful and complementary to the rest of the style and décor of the occasion. People have forgotten the food, but they still remember those plates!’

ROMANTIC

The beauty of romantic table placements lies in its subtlety. Since it is a blend of soft contrasts, the emphasis is placed on intricate accessories delivering splashes of colour rather than overly-fussy prints and colours. Light and airy pastels are best suited for this delicate look, so think lilacs, baby pinks and blues and lemon yellows. Keep it fresh by placing plain white plates against an

intricately patterned tablecloth, or embellishing simple cutlery with ornate iron-wrought napkin holders. Catering hire companies like Jones Catering Hire and Wishes Wedding Services offer a wide range of cutlery and crockery – ask for universal styles such as Kings and Jesmond for romantic cutlery, and simple plates like Lubiana for crockery. Stained glassware works brilliantly for colour co-ordination, opt for

goblets with coloured bases, in this instance baby pink has been used to match the ribbon. Favour boxes are always welcome at weddings, mainly because they can be customised to suit your table placement designs exactly. Confetti do a brilliant selection in lilacs and pinks, with matching ribbon. For a final flourish, scatter translucent confetti pieces in and around the place settings to match your main theme.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

WEDDINGS ELEGANT

Whether it’s a scattering of pearls here or a seemingly carelessly tossed napkin there, the key is to make chic table placements look effortless. Clean simple lines dominate stylistically and can be achieved using fresh, starchy linens and minimal, slender cutlery. The overall presentation should feature tableware merging into one another, whether it’s the glass charger plates that give the impression they are

melting into the tablecloth, or light charcoal ribbon nuzzling the pronounced stems of champagne glasses. Glassware can be quite elaborate, but steer clear of any colours. Cut glass is timelessly elegant, and it’s worth stretching your budget a little further to order designer glasses, for instance Jones Catering Hire do a fabulous Jasper Conran range or Wedgewood have some fine

pieces on offer. Platinums, silvers and chromes are at home here – the effect you want to create is for your crockery to take on the appearance of light frosting. Clear plates are perfect for this, as are decorative pearls and loose crystals. It doesn’t cost much to be inventive – pearls can even be bought from your local stationery shop and scattered around plates like a garland.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BEAUTY

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Strange advice... but they work! Tighten up WITH so many wonder products on the market, promising all sorts of miracles it’s hard knowing what to trust. StriVectin-TL’s range of anti-ageing treatment creams launching in the UK this Autumn are one of the more sophisticated ones we’ve tested and we think you’ll agree, they are worth every penny! Claiming to tighten and tone your face and body by lifting your skin, the professional range of products includes a lightweight Tightening Eye Serum (£55) and rich, hydrating Body Cream (£49). StriVectin’s three-tiered technology has three benefits: Immediate, making the skin instantly feel smoother, tightened and more toned; Long-Term, a blend of proteins that support collagen and elastin firming up your skin, and On-Going, which helps your skin regain lift and contour. Apply them both generously twice a day. The serum glides gently under your eyes with it’s cooling metal applicator while the body cream can be massaged into any areas of concern like thighs and under arms. The body cream gives your skin a healthy glow and used over four weeks will reduce the appearance of wobbly bits – ultimately the kind of beauty product that everyone can benefit from! • Look out for the range in Space NK, Harvey Nichols and Harrods in October.

by HANNAH AHMED

I’M SURE you’ve heard this line before: “I know it’s weird, but...” and then what follows is a surprising piece of advice about anything from clearing up a zit to taming a flyaway. Here are my tips. I know it’s weird but... POWDER THE ROOTS Greasy hairline? Then dig up a big, fluffy makeup brush, and dip it into a pot of loose powder. Tap it once on the back of your hand to remove any excess, gently dust it over your roots. It will mop up any oil and blend into your strands, and no one will ever know that you didn’t shower. FIXING THAT FLUSHED FACE Do you turn red after excessive gym exercise and remain that way for some time? Take an antihistamine like Benadryl after leaving the gym to help reduce the redness. SCENTING THOSE STRANDS WITH PERFUME Want your hair to smell amazing throughout the day? Simply spray a light shot of fragrance into your brush’s bristles. Run it through strands from roots to ends. With this simple neat trick your hair will smell amazing throughout the whole day. RUB THOSE TEMPLES Headache? Rubbing some peppermint oil, Tiger Balm, or white flower oil into your temples will help ease the tension. All three remedies contain menthol, which has analgesic properties. ROSEMARY SNIFFING Catching a whiff of this aromatic herb can increase alertness and help improve memory according to some researchers. If you want to stay sharp, then try smelling some fresh rosemary or inhaling scent of rosemary essential oil before a test or a meeting. SOMETHING SMELLS FISHY Suffer from dry eyes? Then it’s time to up your seafood intake. Salmon, sardines, and mackerel all contain omega-3 fatty acids, which the body uses to produce tears, among other things. Research has suggested that people who consume higher amounts of these fats are less likely to have dry eyes.

HAIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW TIRED of constantly waxing or shaving those legs, then maybe its time to consider laser hair removal treatment. Not only is it less painful than waxing and shaving, it is also more cost effective and efficient then shaving every week for the next 30 years. How does it work? Laser hair removal is done by using various wavelengths of light. Each laser is identified by the wavelength that it uses and will depend on you hair and type of skin type. The laser beam where the lasers are focused beams or intense pulsed light (IPL) which uses interspersed flashes. It may take up to 5 visits to kill as much as 70% of the hair.

Go bananas

IF YOUR diet is rich in potassium then you may be less prone to high blood pressure. To increase your potassium intake then eat potassiumpacked produce such as bananas, cantaloupe and oranges.

Picture: www.kimsbeautybydesign.com

I have dark skin, is it good for me?

Lasers actually work best on people with pale skin, however there are options for women with dark skin. So please ensure you visit a clinic that caters for people with dark skin. Bearing in mind, dark skin may require 2-3 more sessions.

Laser hair removal isn’t cheap. This depends on where you live and the areas being treated. Best thing to do is shop around and see the various options the clinic offer.

Will it leave scarring? Because your skin is being hit Are the results guaranteed? with high-intensity light, there is a Is anything in life ever risk that your skin will be burned. guaranteed? It’s impossible to But this should only last a few predict how successful laser days before disappearing. The works on everyone. The results laser hair removal technician will usually depend on the quality of give instructions on how to take the laser, the type of hair you care of your skin. have and the number of procedures you have done. What about in-grown hairs? Never trust a clinic that Lasers kill the follicle, so hair guarantees hair removal. Always won’t grow back causing inhave a consultation before grown hairs you get with waxing signing up. (waxing damages the follicle, but doesn’t always kill it and hair can How much does it cost? grow in on itself).

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BEAUTY BODY MAKEOVER FOR AUTUMN IT BARELY feels like we’ve had the summer when we get some of the chillier, rainy days. And when the weather does turn cooler, whenever that may be, it’s not just our wardrobe we need to change, it’s our skin care routine. In autumn and winter, the windier, damp conditions can play havoc with your appearance. Just as you use SPFs when you go out in the sun, you need caring ingredients to look after your skin when it’s wrapped up. Cue the new luxurious body oil from Pupa. Their Ultra Elasticizing & Toning Oil with Active Oxygen (£38 for 200ml) is a wonder product for skin that’s crying out for hydration. Brimming with pure natural oils including argon, almond, carrot and Omega 3 & 6, the combination works together to recreate a natural lipid barrier that helps retain water and prevent natural evaporation. The results? After smoothing it on to wet or dry skin, you’ll feel instantly rejuvenated with a dewy fresh look, without any greasy residue. What’s more, the Active Oxygen helps restore energy to the tissues activating circulation and metabolism. It’s also a tonic that will help tone and firm your skin to reduce sagging and combat stretch marks - you couldn’t ask for a more useful oil! • Order your bottle from www.urbanretreat.co.uk or call 0208 398 9744 to find your nearest stockist.

MODEL WATCH:: NIMZ DHOKIA How did you get into modelling? I was always interested in modelling so one day I emailed an agency and told them that I want to get into modelling. So they sent me on a photo shoot and I loved it. However, I wasn’t confident and I was shy and didn’t know how to model at all. So I decided to go on a few ‘test shoots’ in order to build up my confidence, eliminate my shyness and get comfortable with modelling and working with other people. What struggles did you initially go through to become a model? Even though I was told that I had ‘potential’ I didn’t know how to use it properly and I also didn’t know much about the industry. Also, I didn’t have the right images to get me into agencies. A few agencies I had applied to never bothered getting back to me, but I eventually found one that accepted

me. During this time I educated myself and taught myself how to model. Modelling highlights? Getting the opportunity to work and meet some talented people who share similar goals to myself. Also, getting to wear some funky clothes, having hair and makeup done too, is all fun. Model stereotypes that frustrates you the most? I don’t really face stereotypes that frustrate me, but a lot of people say, “don’t you have to be tall to be a model?’’ or “why don’t models smile’’ – that’s a funny one. Is there pressure to be a size zero in the industry? That usually depends on the type of modelling you’re doing. But, generally no. There is a great demand for ‘plus size models’ ‘petite models’ and ‘curvy’ models. It all depends on the clients and

their requirements. How do you keep fit? I don’t really exercise as much as I used to, but when I do, swimming is always my keeping fit regime, especially in the summer. How image-conscious are you? I’m not image-conscious, I do have flaws, but overall, I’m happy with myself. I believe my look is like no other, with my striking bold features that can be played up to look prominent or played down, to look soft and girly. Dream modelling job? Victoria’s Secret!!! But sadly I’m not tall enough. I hope one day in the future, they bring out a rage catering for petite women, where I would be more than happy to model for the range! Wardrobe essential? For me it has to me a pair of comfortable joggers to wear around the house.

Primer position AS EVERY beauty-obsessed girl knows, primer is key to getting flawless, partyperfect skin. Smashbox Cosmetics’ amazing skin-perfecting primers, offering over ten different formulations for every single skin type. So whether you’ve got a troublesome t-zone, or sensitive skin, this fab beauty brand have got you covered. Founded by the great-grandsons of make-up legend Max Factor, Smashbox Cosmetics prides itself on providing long-lasting make-up products you can wear from morning through to night. Aside from their infamous primers, Smashbox Cosmetics have everything from bronzers to lip plumpers, which all have the same incredible durability. Plus, they also follow fashion trends religiously, meaning whatever the season, you’ll look totally amazing and on-trend.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

BEAUTY

COLOUR THERAPY

Whether you’re a dye virgin or a connoisseur, you need to seek professional help by ANJANA GOSAI

AFTER years of copper tinted atrocities, changing our hair colour has become more accessible and less ghastly. Almost 70 per cent of women will colour their hair at some stage in their lives.

More of us are changing the colour of our hair to give ourselves a new look or to simply have a seasonal change. Getting it right can enhance your skin tone, bring out your eyes and make your whole face come to life. The wrong colour can be disastrous. To help you get through the minefield of hair colouring, we sought advice from some of the country’s leading experts. For total colour satisfaction, read on.

dangerous because the colouring (bleaching) agent is stronger or left on for longer. Aftercare is essential. If done correctly, in a salon, colouring should not be bad for you. In fact, it can be a huge morale booster.’ Can all hair types be coloured? All hair types can be coloured. Fine, frizzy hair, however, needs more care.

Will hair colouring bring me out in a rash? Not if you go about it correctly. Whether you are colouring at home or at a salon it is vital that a skin patch test is carried out. Apply a ten pence piece amount of colour to a tiny area behind the ear or the inside of the elbow. Rinse off after 24 hours. If Will colouring make my hair fall out? there is no irritation, ‘Hair colouring, has an undeserved bad discomfort or redness, reputation,’ says trichologist to the stars it is safe to colour Philip Kingsley. ‘Many women worry without the risk of that colouring will increase hair fall, dry a rash. Ombré hair colour has the hair, break it or affect their scalp. been popping up on red This is a myth! Colouring does not Which colour cause hair fall. Even if the colour is done will best suit carpets for more than a year, badly and the hair is over processed, it my skin and now the A-list have taken will not cause the hair to fall unless there tone? things to another level with the is a violent allergic reaction. There is Skin tone falls even an advantage if you have thin hair, into two introduction of rainbow brights. as colouring swells the hair, making it categories – The best part is that it’s a look and feel thicker.’ cool and warm shades. The great colour option for those Can I damage my hair by colouring majority of of us with naturally it? Asians tend to Any hair that has undergone dyeing is have warm skin dark hair vulnerable to drying out; the degree to tones that are golden, which damage is done, however, is olive or dusky with dependent on the amount of colour brown or black eyes. The change. Philip Kingsley says: ‘Going complimentary colours for these from a dark to a light shade is the most skin tones are gold, copper, auburn and

HAIR TIP

What does it all mean? Natural/ Vegetable Colours Contain only vegetable extracts and natural ingredients, so no colour is stripped from the hair. Unlike modern vegetable rinses, henna is a permanent metallic stain. If you don’t like the results you will need to wait for it to grow out. Temporary Colour These colours rest on the hair surface and last until the following shampoo. Great for colour virgins or those of you who are looking to test the water and try something completely new. Semi-Permanent Colour The dye sits on the surface of the hair and washes out after approximately six to eight shampoos. Best for first timers or those looking for a moderate change. This is also a great method for blending away light amounts of grey hair. Permanent Colour Permanent chemical dyes contain

ammonia and peroxide, which penetrate the hair shaft and lift hair colour. Although it might fade slightly, the colour will remain in the hair until it grows out. Regrowth will become apparent after four to six weeks, so roots will require regular retouching. Highlights Involves weaving selected hair strands and applying colour, using foil to allow for more precise and direct application. The idea is to create the appearance of a sun-streaked outdoor look. On darker hair, tones of honey, chestnut and toffee are very flattering. Highlighting needs to be touched up every three to six months. Lowlights Are applied using the same method as highlights, however they involve bringing in deeper colours such as plums, reds and auburn.

usually anything with hues of red. If you have fairer skin with blue, green or grey eyes, then you fall into the cool skin category – opt for shades of ash and champagne. Ian Michael Black, Technical Colour Director at Aveda says: ‘Rich chocolates, toffee shades, and soft caramels work best with Asian complexions. If you want to go for something more daring why not try hues of deep purple, blueberry reds or shades of cool raspberry?’

complexion and that will really age you. When your colour is perfect, the first thing you should notice is the eyes.’ Ian Michael Black says: ‘If you talk yourself into the idea of being a blonde, the best thing to do is talk yourself straight out of it! There are limits to what will look good and what your hair is capable of doing before it begins to look dry and fake. Avoid going too light, and go for expensive caramel shades which will bring your hair to life, the bleached out brassy look will Which colours should be avoided? only make your skin appear washed When dealing with dark hair the main out, pale and unhealthy. Avoid thing to remember is to be realistic. anything with a bright copper tone as A-list colourist Daniel Galvin believes again this will only make you look that you should always stay within two tired.’ or three tones of your natural shade: ‘The wrong colour will drain your My hair is naturally dark brown but

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

DO & DON’T FOR COLOUR VIRGINS DO

DO seek the advice of a professional! Nothing can replace some good sound professional advice. A consultation with a good colourist will inform you of what works best with your individual hair colour and skin tone. They will also be realistic about what is achievable and how to keep your hair looking its best between hair colour services. DO be honest with the colourist about what you’ve had done to your hair previously, e.g. colour, perm, success and failures. Before you choose the look you want, DO collect pictures of hair colour you like. Think hard about not only what colour will suit you, but what kind of commitment you want to make to maintain your new look. DO invest in a good quality shampoo and conditioner. Ask

I have been colouring it blonde. I would now like to return to my natural colour – is this possible? The professionals at Wella say: ‘When hair is lightened, its natural colour pigments (black, brown, red and yellow) are removed resulting in a blonde effect. To return to your natural colour your hair will require prepigmentation where the lost warm tones are reintroduced, followed by an application of another colour.’ This treatment is best carried out professionally at a reputable salon.

panthenol, which helps to strengthen the hair shaft and steer clear of deepcleansing shampoos, as these will lift the tint faster. Regular conditioning is the key to maintaining the health of coloured hair. Salon colouring will involve some conditioning treatment and most home colourants usually come packaged with an efficient conditioner. Use a deep conditioner prior to shampooing your hair a couple of days before and after colouring. If your hair is bleached then use deep conditioners on a weekly basis. ‘Remember that coloured hair needs How can I ensure that my hair looks more care and conditioning than virgin healthy after colouring? (uncoloured) hair, and the lighter the Use a shampoo and conditioner colour (in Asian hair) the more specially formulated for colour treated conditioning it will need,’ says Philip hair. Look for shampoos with Kingsley.

your colourist what they recommend. They can advise you on the best professional products that are of high quality to maintain your hair at home and keep it looking fresh.

DON’T

DON’T colour your hair on a whim, as you can spend years regretting one rash decision. If you want to commit yourself to a new shade for your hair think about it wisely. DON’T be swayed by what others say. We all see each other in very different ways, and what is most important is that you are happy with what looks back at you in the mirror. DON’T be lured by the idea of a cheap home hair colour that you buy from the chemist. A cheap ‘mistake’ can easily turn into an expensive and embarrassing one when you have to visit a professional to fix it.

BEAUTY

MINUTE MASTERCLASS WITH DR HEMA SUND ARAM

Dr Hema Sundaram is a board-certified dermatologist based in Washington DC. She shares her tips on how to deal with spots and acne. • Avoid picking or squeezing pimples as this can irritate your skin and cause scarring or further acne. Squeezing can actually force some of the contents of a pimple into the deeper layers of the skin, leading to more inflammation and infection. • Steer clear of abrasive scrubs or toners containing alcohol or other drying ingredients, as these can irritate already sensitive skin. • To improve acne, discolorations and tighten pores, try a homemade neem-yogurt-honey mask. Mix one cup of Greek yogurt with one tablespoon of honey and three drops of neem oil. Let it rest on the face for 20 minutes, then wash it off with water. • Look out for spot-friendly ingredients such as green tea leaf extract, which can reduce inflammation, plus salicylic and glycolic acid as they have a mild exfoliating effect and can improve acne by soaking up impurities and excess oil.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

HEALTH Get under the skin

SUMMER skin might be fairly low maintenance, but come Autumn it’s cracked lips and dull skin aplenty, so you need to give your diet an extra boost of antioxidant and vitamin rich foods. Avocado – one of the most versatile fruits – is wonderful for improving the skin inside and out, despite its high fat content. When eaten it delivers a high concentration of Vitamin A, C and E (essential for healthy hair, nails and teeth) and better still, the South African avocado can be used as a face pack, delivering natural oils to the skin.

Say goodbye to toxins

IF you thought detox was solely about stepping up your water intake, think again. Purge the season’s quota of booze by boosting your body’s own ability to remove toxins, starting with BioFirm, £19.95, a fantastic natural detox plan. Focusing on the liver, it’s a good way to prolong that summer glow.

Rhyming with orange

ORANGES have always had good press because of their high Vitamin C content , but in addition to their flu-fighting properties, Japanese researchers have revealed that they can significantly reduce the risk of developing serious illnesses such as liver cancer, strokes and heart disease. Considering Asian women are more prone to heart attacks than others, you should start stocking up on your supply of mandarin oranges (they are proven to be the most effective) for a healthier future.

BEATING DIABETES

Diabetes among Asians is rising, but with proper checks, we can help slow it down DIABETES is an extremely common illness among Asians but, worryingly, is one we all too often leave unchecked.

Most health experts agree that the UK is facing a huge increase in the number of people with diabetes. Since 1996 the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 1.4 million to 2.9 million. By 2025 it is estimated that five million people will have diabetes. Most of these cases will be Type 2 diabetes because of our ageing population and rapidly rising numbers of overweight and obese people. The figures are alarming and confirm that diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing the UK today. If we are to curb this growing health crisis and see a reduction in the number of people dying from diabetes and its complications, we need to increase awareness of the risks, bring about wholesale changes in lifestyle, improve self-management among people with diabetes and improve access to integrated diabetes care services. Diabetes is not exclusively a British problem; it is also a global problem. Fifty years ago, approximately 55 million people suffered from diabetes across the globe. This figure has tripled to 150 million sufferers worldwide. By 2025 this figure is set to double to 300 million. It is thought that by then, 80 million people in India will suffer from diabetes. Type I Also known as insulin dependent diabetes, WHAT IS DIABETES? this type of diabetes usually develops Diabetes is a condition where the amount before the age of 30 with its onset being of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high more common in childhood or because the body cannot use it properly. adolescence. There is an absolute Normally, after eating, the starchy foods deficiency of insulin in Type I diabetes. such as pasta, rice, bread, chapattis, Although no cause has been identified, it is potatoes and so on are broken down into thought to be auto-immune in nature. This sugars, mainly glucose in the gut. The means that the body produces antibodies glucose is then absorbed into the blood which attack the islet cells in the pancreas stream where the hormone insulin takes where insulin is produced. It usually glucose to cells to provide energy. develops quickly over days or weeks Insulin is a hormone (chemical) made in because the level of insulin in the special cells called the beta cells in little bloodstream becomes very low and islands or ‘islets’ within the pancreas. eventually stops being produced by the Insulin is important in regulating the use pancreas. and storage of glucose. It helps glucose to enter cells where it is needed for use as a Type II fuel. Any leftover glucose is stored in the Also known as non-insulin-dependent liver. After a meal, the amount of insulin diabetes, type II diabetes is common in secreted increases due to the increase in Asians. It is also considered to be ‘maturity blood glucose. onset’ because it normally develops after During times when energy or fuel is the age of 40, but in Asians it can present required, the liver releases its stored itself earlier. It occurs more commonly in glucose into the blood to allow it to provide overweight or obese people particularly in energy. At these times, the amount of those people who have an ‘apple’ shaped insulin secreted by the pancreas decreases. distribution of weight where the waist Diabetes occurs if there is a deficiency, circumference in females is greater than insufficiency or insensitivity to the 80cm (32 inches) and in males it is greater hormone insulin as in the case with Type II than 94cm (37 inches). diabetes, or there is no insulin It tends to develop gradually production as in the case with over weeks or months, due to Type I diabetes. either insulin insufficiency or insulin resistance (the cells in the body not using insulin properly).

COMPLICATIONS Diabetes is an important condition to diagnose and treat as it can go on to cause many complications in the following organs. Cardiovascular disease: There is an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. People with diabetes have a five-fold increased chance of developing cardiovascular disease. Kidney disease/damage: This is caused by long-term high blood glucose levels that damage small blood vessels, which makes the kidneys work less efficiently and can develop into kidney failure. Eye Disease: Damage occurs to the small arteries of the retina at the back of eye, where blood vessels become blocked, leaky or grow haphazardly. In extreme cases this can lead to blindness. Also glaucoma (pressure in the eye) is more common in diabetic patients. Nerve damage: Damage to nerves and blood vessels can result in sensory changes, causing a loss of sensation or feeling in the limbs. In extreme cases, this can lead to foot or leg amputation. Impotence: In men, damage to the nerves that control erections can be affected. TREATMENT Although at present there is no established widespread cure for diabetes, there are a number of ways that glucose and insulin levels can be controlled, thereby avoiding or delaying the spread of diabetes. Type I diabetes requires daily insulin injections which are often administered by the patient themselves. The management of Type II is initially by diet modification, made up of low fat and high fibre foods, fruit and vegetables. Exercise is also encouraged. In some cases the patient may need to progress onto insulin injections to manage their high blood glucose levels. Exercise is very important in all stages of treatment. A minimum of 30 minutes brisk walking at least five times a week can help to lose weight and thus help reduce blood glucose levels if they are too high. Diabetes management requires a multidisciplinary team – GPs, hospital doctors specialising in diabetes, diabetes nurse specialists, dieticians, chiropodists, opticians and in some case opthalmologists (specialist eye doctors). SYMPTOMS Diabetic patients are often responsible Sometimes there may not be any for monitoring their daily blood glucose symptoms and it is detected only through levels by doing a very simple finger prick routine blood tests. Signs to look out for test and using a home glucose monitoring include increased thirst (polydipsia), machine. passing urine more frequently (polyuria), Diabetes patients should undergo rapid weight loss, increased infections regular check-ups by their GP and hospital (especially thrush), blurred vision and specialists – at least once a year. It may be lethargy. more frequent if particular problems controlling blood sugar levels persist. DIAGNOSIS During check-ups, the patient’s blood If diabetes is suspected, a number of tests pressure, height and weight will be will confirm the diagnosis. A dipstick test checked. Also blood tests will be done of a sample of urine can detect the presence regularly to monitor glucose levels, kidney of glucose in the urine. This occurs function and cholesterol levels. Eye tests because if there is too much glucose in the and foot examinations are also done bloodstream, this can leak through the regularly. kidneys into the urine. Blood tests to check The management of diabetes does not the level of glucose in the bloodstream are only involve the control of blood glucose important. They are often done after a levels, but also management of high blood period of fasting. If there is any doubt, or if pressure and high cholesterol levels in the fasting glucose blood test gives a order to minimise the chances of heart borderline result, there is a more attack or stroke occurring. specialised test called an oral glucose tolerance test – where the patient is asked • If you are worried about diabetes or require to eat a particular amount of glucose, then further information, then either contact your GP blood tests are taken to measure the or look at the Diabetes UK website on amount of glucose in the bloodstream. www.diabetes.org.uk.

By 2025, it is thought 80 million people in India will have diabetes. One million cases in the UK are undiagnosed

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

FUN CITY

THE BOULEVARD GITA

by Sandeep Sood

HOROSCOPES ARIES

March 21 - April 20

These unexpected events may make you feel like you have lost control of things. Relinquishing that power to the whim of destiny could bear unexpected and positive results late in the week in the form of an unexpected windfall, a passionate, surprise interlude, or both. Be prepared for sudden and dramatic changes this week, particularly where money and love are concerned.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

If you can permit yourself to look beyond your own back-yard, psychically speaking, you may discover a whole world out there waiting to be explored. This week may find you in an introspective frame of mind. Even as you re-examine your own philosophy and goals, your challenge will be not to dismiss other ideas out of hand. A chance for travel mid-week should be considered as an opportunity.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

Even though you feel that you aren’t being challenged enough, showing that you can be counted on will provide some interesting situations by week’s end. Allowing others, especially those who can help you with your career goals, to actually get to know you is important this week. There is a sense of karma in all this; be careful of what you wish for, you just might get it.

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

The urge to “color outside the lines” could lead to an unexpected situation that could provide a benefit.You may find yourself feeling overly sensitive to slights, both real and imagined this week. The key is not to take things seriously. This is a just a passing moment and not a permanent shift in your path. Time with friends can help provide both reinforcement and a pleasant distraction.

LEO

July 23 – August 23

The challenge is not to allow the opinions of others to dissuade you from what you instinctively know is the right path for you. This is a great week to be the “power behind the throne”. Change is coming especially in career and finance, and you are at the point where there is a new clarity of exactly what you need to do and who you need to do it with. Keep an eye out for a “blast from the past” at week’s end.

VIRGO

August 24 - September 22

This is a time to use your creativity to redefine exactly how you are going to get from point A to point B. The journey is everything.Be on the lookout for some twists and turns that you didn’t see coming this week. These disruptions in your schedule may actually be rerouting opportunities. Rather than agonizing about what you perceive as a loss of control, take a step back and look at the larger picture.

LIBRA

September 23 - October 23

Romantic matters could actually be a distraction that will require you to exert some control over what you do and who you do it with. Keep in mind that not everyone has the same level of understanding that you do and some insincerity is likely to manifest early on. This week will be a time to integrate your dreams with the actions necessary to make them reality, particularly in terms of work, career, or school.

SCORPIO

October 24 - November 22

The desire to get your point across has to be balanced with an understanding that coming on too strong can actually work against your goals. Information from a family member can be important so don’t dismiss it out of hand. You are both the medium and the message this week. The possibility of a short trip towards the end of the week could be both a welcome change and a potential opportunity.

SAGITTARIUS

November 23 - December 21

Your emotional energy level is also very high so keeping tabs on your temper is also important. Enjoy the time but remember to “check yourself before you wreck yourself”. Your intense romantic drive could carry over to a friendship this week. The possibility of a workplace affair, while exciting, may make the situation uncomfortable because of the potential to become too possessive.

CAPRICORN

stars to follow on lonely nights TO TWEET. TO WHO? The

NAME THE STAR

Can you tell who it is yet? Find out the answer on Twitter @asiancity Last weeks’s star: Imran Khan

Arshad Warsi @imarshadwarsi two lovely girls at a mall here thought i was a look alike of Arshad Warsi... i think i need to start carrying my ID with me... Pooja Shah Official @Poojashah08 Feeling guilty about eating rubbish all day so am gonna have a quick run and a swim tonight about 9 o’clock. Swami Baracus @SwamiBaracus well-off people who literally buy their way to friendships, are generally lonely people... the same goes for artists buying followers/views. Bobby Friction @bobbyfriction A law against Blasphemy? The most ridiculous, medieval, anti-human, pro-evil law any country can have.

Rahul Khanna @R_Khanna Looking forward to medication but, instead, being prescribed meditation: The frustrating downside of my doctor also being a yoga instructor. Mumzy Stranger @MumzyStranger At the dentist getting my teeth cleaned! Feel like iv had 10 rounds with Tyson! Parichay @ParichayOnline Hands down Pakistanis make the best Biryani. Nitin Sawhney @thenitinsawhney Back from Australia and totally wired... Can’t sleep or eat... Like Christmas for a four year old... Without the prezzies. #Feellikewriting

December 22 - January 20

Being suspicious of action or motives behind those actions without proof will only add fuel to the emotional fires. Taking an “all or nothing” approach, particularly in romantic matters could cause things to come unraveled throughout the week. Is this about getting your own way or fear of playing the dating game? Once you are able to answer that question, the rest will come easier.

AQUARIUS

January 21 – February 18

Find an original way to tackle a traditional or ongoing task could lead to some unexpected recognition before week’s end. This week is a good week to merge your idealism about things with your realistic approach to the way things are, particularly at work or in career/school matters. A co-worker may try to get under your skin at times. Just remember, if it does not matter, it does not matter and keep on course.

PISCES

February 19 - March 20

On the career front, some unwanted competition seems to jeopardize your plans. Just remember, nothing is absolute and things, ultimately can work out. Relationship issues, both career and romantic, are going to make this an emotionally stressful week for you. Trying to get your love interest to understand your hesitation in facing the dreaded “C” word – commitment – could cause a possible break-up by week’s end.

ask Neelam

I feel torn up over his porn Dear Neelam,

I’VE BEEN married for five years and last week discovered my husband’s hidden collection of porn. The magazines and dvds were locked in his suitcase in the loft. Now, ordinarily he’s a nice honest guy with normal tastes and morals. And we have a very good relationship, both physical and emotional. But now I feel betrayed and violated. How could he do this to me?

Neelam says..

Calm down dear. I’m afraid you have to accept that most men, married or not, have a secret porn collection stashed away somewhere or another. And I’m also afraid to say that it’s quite normal for men to watch porn. Especially in this day and age of the Internet. The fact that you both still have a good love life means that it’s just his personal thing. He probably knows you don’t like porn so he’s hidden them from you. If it upsets you that much, talk to him about it. Tell him that you don’t want his porn in the house.

Boyfriend or his friend? Dear Neelam,

I’VE BEEN unfaithful to my boyfriend over the summer holiday with his best friend. My boyfriend’s away in another town working and comes down every weekend to see me. But his friend now wants us to be a couple and has ditched his girlfriend of six years to be with me. I’m not sure what I should do - leave my boyfriend to join his mate or just stick with him?

Neelam says..

Don’t make this guy the reason for leaving your boyfriend. Things clearly aren’t going well with him or you wouldn’t be cheating on him, especially with his friend. Before it gets even more complicated, you need to own up that something’s wrong in your relationship. Talk to him and be honest. It’s better to clear things up now than regret things and make them worse later.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

GOT SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND? SHARE IT, HALVE IT, LET NEELAM SORT IT e: neelam@asiancity.co.uk

My lover won’t keep quiet Dear Neelam,

I’M not proud of myself, but I’ve been having an affair for the past few months. My marriage is loveless and always has been that way, but my lover has given me something I’ve never had before in my life – passion. Things have been amazing since he came into my life, but now that he’s fallen in love with me, he wants me to leave my husband. He’s threatening to tell my husband if I don’t do it myself. Problem is, my husband is well-connected and would cause unimaginable hell for both of us…

Neelam says..

With all due respect, you’re being rather selfish. Your lover wants to do the decent thing – to stop the sneaking around and profess his love to the world. I don’t see what he’s saying as a threat, but as fighting for his love. Now if you both had a deal that you’d just fool around and not fall in love, then fair play, he broke the deal. It’s down to you to tell him it’s over. The longer you give him every reason to stay in love with you, the more adamant he’ll be in believing he’s doing this noble and (judging by your husband’s reputation) brave thing by confronting him. If your safety really is in danger if you leave your husband for another man, then put your lover on ice. If there really is no hope for your marriage, end it. He won’t take it well, but as long as he doesn’t feel like he lost to another man, his need to seek vengeance will not be so alarming. Once you’ve settled into your new life, then your lover can reappear on the scene. Sorry girlfriend, but you can’t have both.

TWIN TROUBLE Dear Neelam,

you, you can certainly draw the line when it comes to boyfriends. Next time one of you meets a guy, make it clear even before when you get to the boyfriend/girlfriend conversation. Spell out exactly what you’re saying here: you find jokey references to twin fantasies sordid and, if your man so much as makes your sister feel as though she’s being made a pass at, the relationship ends there and then. Many identical twins have happy relationships where everyone gets on and none of the men involved resort to lewdness – so maybe you’ve been looking for guys at the wrong place? Until you find your Mr Rights, enjoy your single life while you can and, Face it girls, you’re every guy’s fantasy what the hell, if men want to ogle at come true! But while you can’t do you, you may as well enjoy the double anything about the way admirers see pleasure! MY twin and I do everything together – we dress alike, we party alike, basically, everything one does, the other wants to. All without any sense of rivalry. Thankfully, the one place where we don’t both go is when it comes to men – mine is mine, hers is hers. But the problem is guys never seem to be happy with this. Every one of my boyfriends have hit on her and vice versa. It used to be funny when we first started dating, but it looks like it’s better if we both stay single!

Neelam says..

THE REAL TEST IN LIFE LIES AHEAD Dear Neelam, I’M 18 and live with my parents. I’ve just got my A-Level results which frankly weren’t the best in the world. And though I could retake them or still get into a uni, my parents have been talking about going to India this winter. They’re not very strict or religious, but they’re talking about what a wonderful thing it is to be married and settled down. They mention my cousins and uncles, who apparently have been missing me and want to see me. I barely know them. All this is them hinting at me to get married in India. I really don’t know what to do, I love my parents and they love me. I don’t want to hurt

them, what should I do?

Neelam says..

First thing is not to panic. If your parents really do love you, they will want what’s best for you. That means sitting down with them and telling them what you want. Clearly you don’t want to go to India to get married. Tell mum and dad that you’d rather re take your exams to improve your grades or that you’ve been offered a place at uni. If they don’t know how you feel or what you want, naturally they’ll make the decisions for you only for you to regret them after. And who knows, they really may just want to go to India for a holiday and catch up with relatives.

LOVE FACT

Studies show that if a man meets a woman in a dangerous situation (and vice versa), such as on a trembling bridge, he is more likely to fall in love with her than if he met her in a more mundane setting, such as in an office

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

STOCKISTS Can’t get hold of the latest ASIAN CITY, no problem, just visit one of our regular stockists listed below: And for those really hard to reach areas, Asian City is on sale at newsagents and mainstream news-vendors such as Tesco, WHSmith, Sainsburys & Asda for a small cover price of 70p.

East London:

Seasons Asian Designer Wear 196 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2LG T: 0208 553 3999

Santosh 832 London Road Croydon CR7 7PA T: 0208 683 2447

Amma Food 561 High Road, Wembley HA0 2DW Tel: 020 8902 7022

New Fashion House 88 The Broadway UB1 1QF T: 0208 843 0969

Balo Basha 9 Osborn Street, London E1 6TD T: 07865 053 716

B&B Cash & Carry 189-195 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2RU T: 0208 514 7840

Capricorn Bar, Club & Resturent 4 Lakedale Rd, Plumstead, London SE18 1PP

Suraj Sweet Mart 44a Ealing Road, Wembley HA0 4TL Tel: 020 8900 1991

New Fashion House 2-4 King St, Southall UB2 4DA T: 0208 574 4133

Geet Ghor Plus 24 Osborn Street, London E1 6TD T: 07958 176443

RDC London 181 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2RT T: 0208 514 8206

Sonas Haute Couture 48 Ealing Rd, Wembley HA0 4TQ T: 0208 795 1100

A-Z Muzik Unit 3, 7 The Broadway UB1 T: 0208 843 2358

Sanam Music Centre 266 Bethnal Green Rd E2 0AG T: 0208 552 8008

Haroons Halal Meat 179 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2RT T: 0208 553 54528

D G Electronics 30 Plumstead High Street, London SE18 1SL T: 0208 854 5217

New Khalsa Super Store No.4 South Rd, UB1 1RT T: 07427 675479

Music Hunters 133B Green Street, London E7 8JF T: 0208 586 2304

Quality Foods 118 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2LE T: 0208 514 8888

Popat Stores Ltd 138-158 Ealing Road, Wembley HA0 4PY Tel: 020 8903 6397

Raishma (London) 37 Green Street, London E7 8DA T: 0208 552 6751

Anand Pan Centre 116 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2LE T: 0208 514 3800

Neelam Hair & Beauty 159-161 Green St, London E7 8JE T: 0208 552 8008

Mega Blast 131 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG4 5ND T: 07956 931 014

Anand Pan Centre Green Street, London E7 8LL T: 0208 472 4425

Al-Hussain’s Restaurant & Take Away 72 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2LA T: 0208 478 8252

Partap Fashion Fabrics 277B Green Street, London E7 8LE T: 0208 472 9979

Imaani London 93 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2RJ T: 0208 478 8558

S.S. Designers 277 Green Street, London E7 8LJ T: 0208 472 9141

South London

Eastern Styles 302 Green Street, London E7 8LF T: 0208 257 8825 Digital Music 8 Stephens Parade, Green Street E7 T: 07957 126 976 Nanak Desi Sweet Centre 391 High Road, Ilford IG1 1TF T: 0208 911 8077 Pan Parlour 337 Green Lane, Ilford IG3 8BD T: 0208 597 8328 Khan Halal Butchers 394 Green Lane, Ilford IG3 9JX T: 0208 598 2727 Islamabad Halal Butchers 251 Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2SB T: 0208 478 0552 Sangham Video & Fireworks 410 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA T: 0208 521 4792

Sarai Sweet Centre 63A Plumstead High Street, London SE18 1SB T: 0208 317 9744

West London:

Muzik Zone 105A Ealing Rd, Wembley HA0 4BP T: 0208 795 1265

Indian Music4U 718 Kenton Rd, Middx HA3 9QX T: 0208 204 5000

Prabu Pan@Sakonis 129 Ealing Rd, Wembley HA0 4BP T: 07402 682586

Shivan Pan & Sweet Mart 443 Kenton Rd, Middx HA3 0X T: 0208 206 2225

Panachand Pan House 238 Ealing Rd, Wembley HA0 4QL T: 0208 902 9962

Videorama Pan Centre 8 Kenton Park Parade HA3 8DQ T: 0208 907 0116

Quality Foods Hayes Bridge Retail Park 1 Uxbridge Rd, UB4 0JU T: 0208 848 0777

Pick & Save Ltd 202-204 Kenton Road, Harrow HA3 8BX T: 0208 907 8880

Quality Foods 47-61 South Road, Southall UB1 1SQ T: 0208 917 9188

Tooting Video Centre 71-73 Upper Tooting Rd SW17 T: 0208 682 8818

Rams Pan 201 Kenton Road, Harrow HA3 0HD Tel: 07947 621 221

Anand Pan Centre 102 Upper Tooting Rd SW17 T: 0208 762 7576

Prabu Pan@Sakonis 5/8 Dominion Parade HA1 2TR

Style 2000 155A Upper Tooting Rd SW17 T: 0208 672 1115 JR’s High Class Butchers 163 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7TJ T: 0208 682 3949

Royal Collection 105A The Broadway UB1 1LN T: 0208 571 5554

Shayona Sweet & Savouries 168 Pinner Rd, Harrow HA1 4JP T: 020 8427 5650 Shree Krishna Vada Pav 63 Station Rd, Harrow HA1 2TY T: 0208 863 4185

SD Off Licence 167 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7TJ

Milan Video 75 Station Rd, Harrow HA2 7SW T: 0208 861 4971

Saiqa Collection 240 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7EX T: 0208 767 6765

Jalaram Pan House 782 Harrow Road, Sudbury HA0 3EL Tel: 020 8904 3228

Temptation 451 London Rd SW16 4AQ T: 0208 679 4900

Krishna Pan Centre 606a High Road, Wembley HA0 2AF Tel: 020 8900 0499

Yogi Travels Ltd 886 London Rd, CR7 7PB T: 0208 665 6080

Paul & Co 588 High Road, Wembley HA0 2AF Tel: 020 8902 8192

Want to become a stockist and do Britain a huge favour? Good on you!

Just call 020 7247 3537 or email your business details to: stockists@asiancity.co.uk You’ll be listed on this stockist page – free publicity – It’s a no brainer!

Santoshi 41A South Rd, Middx UB1 1SW T: 0208 843 2461

North London: Apsara Novelties 437 Kingsbury Rd, London NW9 9DT T: 0208 206 2183 Anand Pan Centre 542 Kingsbury Rd NW9 9HH T: 0208 204 4440 Gayatri Sweet Mart 467 Kingsbury Road, NW9 9DY Tel: 020 8206 1677 Equatoria Travel 8 Queensbury Station Parade, Edgware HA8 5NP Tel: 020 8381 2535

Nargis Collection 96 The Broadway UB1 1QF T: 0208 571 2378

Satyam Foods 23-25 Queensbury Station Parade, Edgware HA8 5NR Tel: 020 8952 3947

Banwait Bros & Co 75-77 The Broadway Southall UB1 1LA T: 0208 574 2635

Meera Paan House 22 Queensbury Station Parade HA3 5NR T: 0208 952 0412 E: meera_paan_house@hotmail

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Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

RECIPES KARAI BHUNA MEATBALLS WITH LIME & CHILLI CHUTNEY

CHICKEN DHANSAK Ingredients: • 4 tbsp vegetable oil • 1 medium onion sliced • 150g dried red lentils • 250g diced chicken breast (or lamb) • 400g can chopped tomatoes • Juice of half a lemon • Fresh coriander for garnish • 1 pack Geeta’s Dhansak Spice Route Spice mix Method: Fry onions in veg oil until softened and slightly browned. Add chicken or lamb and stir fry for 2 - 3 mins. Add sachet of Geeta’s Dhansak Spice Route Spice mix and stir fry for another 2 – 3 mins. Stir in can of chopped tomatoes, lemon juice, red lentils and 600ml water. Simmer for 30 – 40 mins stirring occasionally Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney and Geeta’s Kashmiri Rice Tip: For a veg alternative – use 250g of chopped aubergines, potatoes and butternut squash

GREAT MINDS MEAT

We’re cooking up our favourite dishes for charity. What’s yours? WHETHER you prefer dhansak to dhal, or usually opt for tikka over a madras, curry fans everywhere are being urged to cook up their favourite dish in support of The James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer.

Supported by Indian food brand Geeta’s, Britain’s Biggest Curry party hopes to raise funds for this important charity, while ensuring its supporters are well fed! In 2009, 9,000 people in the UK were diagnosed with kidney cancer which is the equivalent of 24 people day, making it the 8th most common cancer in the UK. The James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer is the UK’s leading kidney cancer charity and was set up in 2006 by broadcaster James Whale who lost a kidney to cancer. Today James continues to lead a full and busy life, as thankfully do the majority of people who are diagnosed and treated early. James is calling on food fans to host a curry night to raise money for the charity - it could be at home, for work colleagues or for a community project. Ever since Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney first hit UK supermarket shelves in 1990, Geeta’s has gone on to become a household name. Geeta herself grew up in India and has lived in Britain since 1979, bringing with her the recipes which have been passed down through the generations of her family. Speaking about her involvement with the event, Geeta enthused: ‘I used to make mango chutney for friends and family and sell them for charity. One thing led to another and it became a viable business venture in 1990. It now gives me great pleasure to be involved in helping to raise funds for the The James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer.’ • Check out the website www.britainsbiggestcurryparty.org to find out how to get involved. Britain’s biggest curry party runs from 13th-21st October 2012.

Ingredients: • 500g minced beef, lamb or chicken • 1 finely chopped onion • 1 clove chopped garlic • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 3-4 tablespoons Geeta’s Lime and Chilli Chutney, lightly chopped plus extra to serve • Salt to taste • 2 x 350g Geeta’s Karai Bhuna Spice & Stir Cooking Sauce Method: Sweat the onions and garlic in the cooking oil. Add spice cap mixture from two spice caps of Geeta’s Karai Bhuna Cooking Sauce. Allow to cook and combine all the ingredients

together apart from Geeta’s Spice & Stir Karai Bhuna Cooking Sauce. Remove from heat and set aside. When cool, mould the mixture into equal size meat balls. Place on a baking tray and cook in a pre heated oven 170°C for approximately 20 mins. Meanwhile, heat 2 jars of Geeta’s Spice & Stir Karai Bhuna Cooking Sauce in a large saucepan. Add the pre-cooked meat balls and heat gently allowing the flavour of the sauce to penetrate the meat. Serve in bowls on top of freshly steamed basmati rice or Naan bread. Delicious topped with Geeta’s chutneys or pickles of your choice. Tip: For a veg alternative you can use minced soya.

TANDOORI PRAWN Ingredients: • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil • 4 tablespoons natural yogurt • 400g king prawns – cleaned and deveined • 1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree • 1 red onion cut into rings for garnish • 1 lemon Method: Extract juice from half the lemon and cut remaining half

into wedges. Stir spice mix into yoghurt with oil, tomato puree and lemon juice. Add prawns and marinate for at least one hour. Place on skewers and then on an ovenproof tray and cover with excess marinade. Oven cook, grill or bbq for 8 - 10 mins until cooked. Garnish with red onion rings and lemon wedges. Tip: For a veg option, use 400g of parboiled potatoes instead – cut into wedges and cook as per instructions.

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

TRAVEL FOREWARNED that the glittering Turkish city Antalya was overrun with German tourists, it was a pleasant surprise to find that is in fact a city of sublime contrasts. Carefully blending modern touches with remnants of magnificent Ottoman architecture, western fast food joints sit beside ancient kebab houses, headscarfed women melt into a crowd of scantily clad teenagers and acoustic street musicians.

Viewed from the air, it is an arresting sight. Speckled with pine trees and wisps of snow, the Taurus Mountains cradle the city, which stretches out towards a sparkling sapphire sea. Driving through the city reveals its cosmopolitan heart – shops and billboards assail you as soon as you leave the airport – and it soon becomes apparent that Antalya is a mirror for your holiday dreams; wish it and it will come true. Part of the city’s charm is that it caters to both types of tourists – theme park goers and glamour seekers – without offending either. You could descend into tourist hell, visit overpriced restaurants and fight through a sea swarming with people, or you could follow our example and book a stay at one of Antalya’s finest hotel spas, Hillside Su. After settling in, we decided to explore the rest of the hotel. Welcoming us with a walkway strewn with petals, it’s clear to see where the sense of calm that pervades the building emanates from. Hushed spotlights pave the way towards the inner sanctum of the spa, where soft white loungers line the walls, flanked by huge jugs of lemon and lime infused tea and huge pillar candles. The traditional Balinese massage comes highly recommended – after we left the fragrant massage room we were floating on air. Treatments aren’t expensive – reflexology starts from 45 Euros – but after indulging in a few too many manicures and pedicures, the lack of a sugar daddy meant we had to spend the rest of our relaxation time in the immaculate sauna and steam room, cooling off lazily on the loungers. But if you do want to venture out, as we did, Hillside Su bend over backwards to provide you with safe transportation and information about the city. On our second day we decided to visit the Antalya Museum, which is halfway between the hotel and the city centre. Kept cool by stone walls, it serves as an immediate oasis from the heat, inviting you to bear witness to the greatest relics of the Ottoman empire. We liked it because it retained a lot of character, which spilled over into the courtyard where ancient statues had been dotted

TURKISH DELIGHTS

Discover hidden treats in the exotic city of Antalya

around the garden. Wanting to sample authentic Turkish cuisine, we went to a ramshackle kebab shop that served absolutely delicious chicken kebabs, dollops of houmous and cous cous, all incredibly cheap. Next stop was the Ataturk Park and whilst walking there, we were accosted by at least twenty men – I kid you not – asking us where we were from. This would become a regular feature of the holiday simply because there aren’t that many Asians there; you can either ignore it and walk on, or you can lie for your own amusement – I started saying I was from Bud Bud Ding Ding. Don’t get offended by it, the natives are used to seeing Germans, Americans and Spaniards, so they’re

simply curious and quite often, complimentary. Ataturk Park, as with all of Antalya’s parks, is fragrant and lush, immaculately manicured and beautifully landscaped. Unlike England’s parks – which have been relegated to green patches plagued by underage smokers and would-be muggers – Antalya’s are for those who enjoy the open air and want to recharge their batteries in peace. In fact, as we later shamefully admitted to ourselves later, we expected Antalya to be fairly grubby. What we discovered was an extremely clean city, free from clouds of smoke and rivers of litter. The third day was spent exploring the award-winning Marina, which is based in a part of the city called Kaleici. Put simply, it is a delight. Cut into a huge wall of rock, the Marina is peppered with tiny bars and restaurants staggered along the entire length of it. Our first visit was to a bar at the top of the hill that had a stunning view overlooking the bay, after paying we visited another bar at the bottom of the Marina, but the view was less savoury – strange men asking us if we’d like to get on their boat. No thanks. There’s no set method to pick places to visit in Antalya and it really depends

on who you ask for advice. Our taxi driver, Omer, insisted we must visit Ally’s, a fabulous nightclub which had ‘laser show and everything’, but to be honest, it didn’t seem that appealing. It’s fine if this is your last hell-bent stand as a single girl or if you aren’t allowed out back in England, but I’d advise sampling the cuisine on offer and whiling away the night at one of the more atmospheric bars around the Marina. A careful blend of local advice and your own intuition is best when discovering Antalya. Stick to Hotel spas; we preferred to try the Turkish bath experience at Hillside Su and it didn’t disappoint. Deciding we needed to see more of Antalya’s natural sights, we booked a cab to take us to the Duden and Kursunlu waterfalls. The cab driver looked slightly manic - it’s advisable to book through the hotel rather than go freelance like we did – but got us there safely, leaving us to figure out the way round the falls. In between bursts of trees and endless stretches of greenery, the breathtaking waterfall winds itself through the entire park. Naturally carved nooks and crannies are prolific, leaving you to pause, take some time out and enjoy the scene without being disturbed. If you really

UNLIKE CERTAIN OTHER CITIES IN TURKY, ANTALYA IS CLEAN, FREE FROM CLOUDS OF SMOKE AND RIVERS OF LITTER. IN FACT, IT WAS A JOY TO BEHOLD

•EXOTIC Resort, Hillside Su

want to escape the bustle of Antalya, then visit the ancient city Perge, which has so far remained virtually untouched by tourists and is a perfect place to reconnect to Turkey’s glorious heritage. Lazy afternoon coffees, chilled fresh fruit cocktails underneath a throbbing sun, aromatic massages and long spells on the beach all helped to make me feel rejuvenated, which I think is the way forward with holidays. There’s nothing worse than spending a fortune on a trip abroad, only to come back looking haggard, nursing a huge hangover. If you want to reconnect to the things that make you feel good in life, then Hillside Su is the perfect place to start. • For more details visit www.hillsidesu.com

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

CLASSIFIED

Email: sales@asiancity.co.uk

LOOKING FOR HAIR MODELS FOR BRIDAL HAIRSTYLES

DUE TO OWNER RETIRING Kashmir Balti House Elwyn Road, March, Cambridgeshire PE15 9BT Seats 70 plus, detached building 16 years open lease Currently, £3500 plus weekly taking Quick sale £50,000 ono Le Spice Indian Restaurant 26 Forehill, Ely CB74AF 60 cover restaurant 16 years open lease, £4500 - 5500 taking a week brand new restaurant opened since 2010 quick sale £100,000 ono Contact Sham: 07931 970 721

SAEED

KEBAB SHOP FOR SALE

ASTROLOGIST, SPIRITUAL HEALER AND CLAIRVOYANT

STATION KEBAB (Restaurant & Takeaway)

• I help reunite loved ones and solve problems • Family and sexual problems • Trouble with relationships • Depression • Business matters

239 Imperial Drive, Rayners Lane, Harrow, HA2 7HE. Fully equipped kebab shop on a busy main road. 11 years unexpired lease, open lease. Rent is £12,000 a year. Current average taking a week £3,000, as only a kebab shop. But potential is very high if other types of food is included like fry chicken, pizza, Indian etc. Viewing highly recommended, very reasonably priced. Quick sale £45,000.

For every problem there is a solution If you or someone you know thinks that they or their property is affected by Black Magic or Evil Eye or even possessed by Jinn

Tel: 0208 552 4646 Mob: 07932 567 267

Call 07429 784 211 for more details

HOW TO PLACE YOUR ADVERT

Advertise your business here for as little as £40 a week. Whatever the size of your business, reach out to the Asian Community by placing your advertisement here. Call the Classified team on 0207 247 3537 today. For all our advertising rates and sizes please visit www.asiancity.co.uk, or just call 0207 247 3537 for a chat with the ad team and they’ll talk you through the process. You choose the size and how long you want it for and we’ll make sure your message reaches the Asian Comunity of Britain.

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Your advertisement here from £40 per issue 1/16 Page £80 for 1 issue £60 for 4 issues = £240 £50 for 8 issues = £400 £40 for 12 issues = £480

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

CAREERS

How to induct new staff

• The best inductions work best with interactive groups. It stops them from feeling isolated and outnumbered. And don’t leave them alone watching a tedious company video, it’s very impersonal and leaves a bad impression. • Don’t just stop the buddy scheme there. Assign a different existing member of your team to assist the new member of staff for lunch and they can subsequently inform them of work nights out. • There’s no harm in being friendly, except when it comes to informing them about the rules and regulations of the company. Do it in a professional and assertive manner. Wait a while before you become pub pals. • Value their opinion. Even if they are a newbie, don’t think they aren’t worth listening to. They’ve probably done a lot of research to get the job in the first place, so you’ll be surprised, as they will probably know more facts and figures than some of your old staff. • Unless you instruct them accordingly, they might assume things operate the same as their last company. Have an individual chat about the culture and environment you like to foster. For instance, if you disapprove of using the internet for personal use, let them know.

MAKING YOUR MIND UP IF ONLY you hadn’t spent your entire morning making paper-clip animals, you wouldn’t be stressing out about the reports that need filing, targets that need to be hit, deadlines met. Over 70 percent of visits to doctors are stress-related illnesses and most stress at work could be avoided with effective time management.

• Working long hours puts strain on your home life. • Lack of support or help from co-workers and supervisors. • Lack of communication between We’ve all had a frenzied day where departments create more work for you. there’s too much to do yet by the end of the It pays to be decisive. Once you prioritise day, very little has actually been your different tasks you’ll have a clearer accomplished. The reasons for time idea of how to organise your day. Be management stress are because: realistic about your workload: if a report • You have a heavy workload but aren’t can wait until the next day, assign to the given proper resources or manpower. next day’s tasks. That way, if you do have Infrequent rest breaks and hectic routines time to do it in the same day, you’ll feel a lot keep you in a permanent state of pressure. more positive about meeting your targets.

CAREER ADVICE Q

Effective time management helps you make all the right choices

I hate my boss. I recently had an appraisal to decide my pay increase and after the appraisal, I found out from another colleague that my boss had badmouthed me to the panel saying I don’t deserve an increase and I should have a heavier workload. But, when I spoke to him, he said he’d given me a glowing recommendation. What should I do?

It sounds like your boss either resents you or sees you as a threat to his position. There’s no point confronting him about it just yet because he’s already stated he’s done you a favour. To say otherwise sounds like an accusation. If I were you, I’d wait until the results of your appraisal are out and if it is abysmal, then re-schedule an appeal to the panel, minus your boss.

On the other hand, don’t panic if you don’t always achieve your targets. Just make sure you don’t get stuck into the rut of working overtime because you’re managing your time badly. If you feel like work is taking over your life, you need to seriously consider attending a workshop before your homelife starts to suffer. Try to: • Make a list first thing in the morning of everything that needs to be done by the end of the day. • Prioritise and tackle the right and utmost important tasks first. • Don’t make a habit of working overtime

or taking work home. See the bigger picture rather than running from one immediate task to another; the key is knowing what tasks to delegate and which ones you can handle yourself. Unless you work alone, the whole point of having a team is that you help each other – don’t be afraid to voice your concerns to your line manager. A lot of people tend not to speak out lest they are perceived as being weak and unable to cope with the pressure but many companies who want to improve their efficiency would rather know if there is a problem with its infrastructure. If your company has the budget for it, apply to attend a time management course. • For more information on workshops and help on how to improve your work visit www.businesslink.gov.uk

I’ve recently been appointed as manager of a new department and it’s evident that they had been working under a bad manager before my arrival. Half the staff are apathetic or intimidated when I try to talk to them, and all are utterly demotivated. I found out that their former boss constantly belittled and patronised them; I don’t want to make the same mistake. I’d like to raise their morale and want to do more than just taking them out for a drink – is there anything you can suggest? You evidently have the hallmarks of a good manager because there’s nothing worse on your record than demotivated staff, which eventually leads to high staff turnover and low productivity. Your first step should be to find out if there’s a budget for taking staff out on motivational activities. If there is, then depending on how much money you have, you can hire a motivational speaker but feedback suggests that staff would rather be taken out of the office because it seems less like a classroom activity. Lots of companies run physical motivational activities. But even something as simple as praising someone for good work or saying thank you goes a long way.

www.futuretraining4jobs.com

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

•AVAILABLE Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar ready to go

SRI Lanka received a major boost when skipper Mahela Jayawardene confirmed star cricketer Kumar Sangakkara’s availability for the upcoming ICC World T20 tournament. “Mahela Jayawardene has confirmed that Kumar Sangakkara has recovered from a finger injury and is fit to play at the #wt20,” the International Cricket Council (ICC) informed on Twitter. Sangakkara was ruled out of action for 4-6 weeks due to a broken finger, an injury which he sustained during their third OneDay International series against India in July. “Latest from the Sri Lanka dressing room: Sangakkara has fractured his finger. Is out for 4-6 weeks,” informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed. The left-handed batsman was hurt on his fingers during his innings of 73 against India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sangakkara was hit in his fingers on the final delivery of the 15th over of the game, bowled by Ashok Dinda.

•GAMBHIR Pressure to preform

SPORT

PAKISTAN CRUSH AUSTRALIA

•BRONZE Pradeep Sanjaya

First medal for Sri Lanka

T20 triumph in Dubai PAKISTAN began their warm-up for the ICC World Twenty20 with a comprehensive win over Australia in Dubai, where their spinners flummoxed Australia’s long batting line-up.

four overs. The only time Australia scored fewer in a completed T20 innings was 79 against England in Southampton in 2005, back when the IPL was not even a glimmer in Lalit Modi’s eye. But the figures don’t tell how Not since the second T20 Pakistan managed such a one-sided international ever played had result. Sohail Tanvir finished with 3 Australia scored as few in an innings for 13 but it was the work of the as the 89 for which they were spinners, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed dismissed in this match, and although Ajmal and the debutant Raza Hasan Pakistan lost three wickets in the that kept Australia from posting a chase they were never in danger of competitive score. They picked up losing. They cruised to the target with two wickets each and the regular breakthroughs and large boundaries 31 balls to spare. Statistics don’t always mean much starved the Australians. Again they found Ajmal difficult to in T20 but the story of this match could be summed up with a few pick, while Hasan’s clever variations numbers. It was the first time since showed that he can be a force at another loss to Pakistan in Dubai in international level, while Hafeez was May 2009 that Australia failed to hit a typically tidy. Pakistan also held their six in a T20 innings. They struck only catches, which they had not always three fours in the 19.3 overs they done during the ODIs, and only three faced; Pakistan had that many within Australians reached double figures, making it irrelevant that they had entered the game with eight batsmen. Promoted to No.3, Michael Hussey It was a clinical performance from Pakistan, but Australia did little to suggest their ninth place in the ICC T20 rankings is anything but accurate. Of course in T20 anything can happen on any day; Australia just need to make sure something happens for them before this series is out. Because one day like this in the World T20 could be enough to send them home early.

GAMBHIR ON TOP INDIAN opener Gautam Gambhir is confident that it is only a matter of time before he regains his form in Test cricket. The aggressive left-hander, adjudged ICC Test Player of the Year in 2009 after he scored eight centuries in 13 Tests and a key figure in India’s ascendancy to No. 1 in Test rankings, has hit a lean patch in the longest form of the game. “There is no reason for undue concern,” 30-year-old Gambhir told TOI on Sunday, two days ahead of the second and final T20 International against New Zealand at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Gambhir made 22, 34 and 2 in three innings in the 20 Test series victory over the Kiwis, and his last Test hundred came against Bangladesh in January 2010. “I scored a century and two fifties in five one-day internationals against Sri Lanka before the New Zealand Tests,” Gambhir said. “I realise I didn’t convert the starts in the New Zealand Tests, but it is just a question of time before I get a big one. There is pressure on Gambhir and Virender Sehwag to perform with the batting line-up undergoing transition following the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and with Tendulkar struggling for form. “I have always felt the pressure to perform and have thrived in it. Viru and I go out with the primary focus of providing a good start and building on it.” Gambhir is confident that India will bounce back from the disappointment of the white wash in England and Australia that saw them lose their No. 1 ranking in Test cricket. “I have always maintained that one needs to win overseas. We had two poor tours but we have both the talent and the ability to regain our top billing and win anywhere.”

•TOP SPIN Sohail Tanvir

LANCE Corporal U.P Pradeep Sanjaya of 4 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (4 SLSR) marked a milestone in the Sri Lanka’s sports history by winning the first ever medal for Sri Lanka in the London Paralympics Games - 2012. He won bronze in the men’s 400 m T46 event held today (05th September 2012). In spite of his disability this determined war hero set his sight to make his presence felt in the sports arena began to get proper training. L/Cpl Sanjaya won the 200m and 400m events by establishing a new Army record and also won the 4 x 100 relay event at Army Para Games 2010. In 2011 he repeated the same feat. At the Asian Para Games 2010 (held in China) he won the first place in the 400m and represented the country in 200m event. L/Cpl Sanjaya became victorious in 400m and 200m events and secured the second place in the 4 x 100 relay event. At the Selection Trials for Para Olympic Games 2012 in Kuala Lampur - Malaysia, he created a new Asian record by finishing the 200m in 22.98 seconds claiming the first place. gold in 400m finishing in 50.5

Asian City September 13 - September 26, 2012

AsianCity Sport BRITAIN’S BEST ASIAN NEWSPAPER

•GIRL POWER Bangladesh

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India bag silver at Paralympic Games GIRISHA Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Games after bagging silver in the men’s high jump F42 event in London. The 24-year-old from Karnataka, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m using scissors technique in the final of the event to finish second in the presence of an 80,000 capacity crowd. Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze. Although Delana finished on the same height of 1.74m as Girisha and Mamczarz but won gold on the basis of taking less jumps.

GIRLS ON TOP

•SILVER Hosanagara

BANGLADESH Women 78 for 8 (Mondal 31, Loubser 3-32) beat South Africa Women 75 (Kubra 3-8, Ahmed 3-10) by two wickets Bangladesh Women held their nerves in a low-scoring contest against South Africa Women to win the first ODI by two wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. South Africa, who chose to bat, lost their topthree batsmen with only five runs on the board. Captain Mignon du Preez, 24 off 35, led a mini recovery as she added 37 runs for the fourth wicket along with Marizanne Kapp. However, the introduction of spinners blew the visitors aways as they lost their last seven wickets for only 33 runs. However, Bangladesh made heavy weather of a small target as their batting followed a similar pattern to South Africa’s. Whereas South Africa had struggled against spin, Bangladesh were cornered by the seamers. Opening bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Kapp ended up with combined figures of 20-8-21-4.

INTERNATIONAL COME BACK

•WHATMORE consistent

PAKISTAN TOO STRONG PAKISTAN coach Dav Whatmore on Sunday said he was happy with the team’s progress in the shortest format of the game ahead of this month’s World Twenty20, saying the team was responding well. Pakistan pulled off a sensational super over win against Australia in the second Twenty20 here on Friday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the final match also in Dubai on Monday. “We played consistent cricket and the players have responded well after the ODIs because there was just one day in between the change of the format,” said Whatmore, who took over in March this year. “There is a very strong bond between the players, that’s very good and they support each other and are ready to play for each other and for the country,” said Whatmore, who also coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup title. Whatmore hinted Pakistan might not risk Shahid Afridi on Monday after the allrounder injured his left hand in the third one-day but was confident off-spinner Saeed Ajmal will recover from a shoulder problem. Australian batsman Cameron White said his team was preparing well for the World Twenty20 despite dropping in the rankings below Ireland. “The bigger picture from the preparation point of view is that we are experiencing tough conditions and similar conditions to what we are going to experience in Sri Lanka,” said White, former Twenty20 captain. “Obviously we have not been winning, but we have made great steps from the first game to the second and I think we are heading in the right direction.

FOCUS BACK ON YUVRAJ Hero returns after chemotherapy TWO days after his much-awaited comeback match was washed out due to persistent rain, the focus is back on Yuvraj Singh as he looks to resume his innings in international cricket with the second Twenty20 game between India and New Zealand in Chennai on Tuesday.

The first T20 in Visakhapatnam was called off without a ball being bowled, leaving the thousands who had thronged the stadium to watch Yuvraj’s muchanticipated return from a successful battle against a rare germ cell cancer, disappointed as rain had the final say. Yuvraj was diagnosed with the ailment between his lungs within months of winning the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup. His career looked in jeopardy when the diagnosis was first revealed but the flamboyant all-rounder fought back after

undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy in USA. After a satisfactory rehabilation programme at the NCA, the 30-year-old left-hander will be donning the Team India jersey for the first time posttreatment, and he will surely look to make a statement at the MA Chidambaram stadium. His last International appearance was the Kolkata Test against the West Indies in November last year, while it was more than a year ago when he last played a T20 (against South Africa on January 9, 2011). Besides Yuvraj, the match will also mark Harbhajan Singh`s return to the squad after a long layoff. The off-spinner had gone out of favour after being blanked 0-4 in the disastrous England tour in July-August last year.