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MAR 2022

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VOL 16 ISSUE 179

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AUSTRALIAN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

WINNING SMILES

Dr Ved Berani, founder and principal dentist of Healthy Smiles Dental Group, Blackburn, Victoria, wins the prestigious national Small Business Award – the first Australian of Indian origin to win the honour

Putin will pay high price for invading Ukraine: Biden

When our in-house Australian-Indian writer Nandita Chakraborty launches the inspiring new book- Dirty Little Secrets, it calls for us to talk about it.

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Anmol Anand, Debasree Das, Dileep Narayan, Dr Raj Kotharu, Gary Nair, Harpal Sandhu, Manjit Sethi, Narisa Dawar, Sanchita Abrol, Karthik Arasu, Abhi Narayan, Gurpal Singh, Monisha Iswaran, P. Harsora, Nandita Chakraborty, Archita Baweja, Barinderjeet Kaur, Gurpal Singh, Muktesh Chibber, Shivani Prabhu, Payel Ghosh Disclaimer: Opinions published in G’Day India are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher. No advertising design or material is to be reproduced without the written consent of the editor. All copyrights reserved to G’Day India. Articles, pictures, photographs and advertisements accepted by G’Day India Pty Ltd are on the understanding that the supplier of such materials has obtained all the relevant copyrights, permissions and grants permission to G’Day India Pty Ltd to publish them. Any liability arising from failure to obtain such permission lies entirely and exclusively with the supplier. Qualities of products and services advertised in G’Day India are not guaranteed by G’Day India Pty Ltd.

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Get Vaccinated at Home or When You’re Out and About MELBOURNE, Feb 25: Victoria’s COVID-19 vaccination program will expand in the coming weeks, taking vaccinations to multicultural facilities, churches, temples and mosques, sporting games, pools, festivals and more. More than 94 per cent of capacity in Victoria’s state-run sites is dedicated to walkins, and this will increase in the coming days to almost 100 per cent, allowing everyone to get vaccinated as simply and easily as possible. Additionally, the state’s in-home vaccination program has expanded to include children. This will specifically help children with special needs, who may not be able to attend a vaccination hub or are likely to respond better to a familiar or low-stimulation environment. The in-home vaccination service has already begun vaccinating small numbers of children, focusing on those who have an injury, chronic illness, physical disability or mobility issues, or mental health or behavioural issues. The in-home service has also expanded to include third dose vaccines for any Victorian aged 70 and over who can’t travel to a centre, GP or pharmacy. Victoria’s health services will continue to provide vaccination pop-ups to support outer-suburban, regional and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Today, Monash Health’s vaccination bus will visit the Monash Civic Centre for a mobile vaccination clinic and a pop-up will be held at

the Fawkner Community Hall, both targeting multicultural communities. Pop-up and mobile vaccination clinics will be open at: • Casey Fields in Cranbourne East, during a footy game, on 26 February • The Pako Festa celebration of cultural diversity in Geelong, on 26 February • BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Melbourne, a Hindu temple in Mill Park, on 27 February • Broadmeadows Aquatic and Leisure Centre, running until 6 March • Melbourne University, during orientation week activities on 2 March • Roxburgh Park Shopping Centre, for an evening clinic near shops and fast-food stores, from 3 to 6 March • Other religious and sporting venues including Dandenong Basketball Stadium To date, more than half of Victoria’s 5 to 11-year-olds have received their first dose – higher than the national average. More than 56 per cent of Victorians over 16 have had a third dose, but the figure is lower among younger people, who will have become eligible for a dose more recently. 22per cent of people aged 16 to 17 have had a third dose, compared to 34 per cent of people aged 18 to 29, and 46 per cent of people in their 30s. Book the next dose of your vaccine today or walk-in at a vaccination centre at www. coronavirus.vic.gov.au /vaccine. For in-home vaccinations, call the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.

Test Isolation Payment to Close

MELBOURNE, Feb 28: March 1st will be the final day for Victorians who have taken a PCR test to be eligible to claim the Test Isolation Payment. Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula announced that the Victorian Government’s Test Isolation Payment is closing due to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) reducing the need to isolate for long periods while waiting for results. Claims submitted before 9am on Wednesday 9 March will be assessed. Applicants must have taken a PCR test on or before Tuesday 1 March to be eligible to apply. More than 30 million free RATs have been distributed by the Government at testing centres, to schools and early childcare facilities, and to critical workforces such as health services, aged care and food supply. The Test Isolation Payment opened in July 2020 to support workers to stay home from work while waiting for the results of a PCR test. The program paid $450 to eligible workers who were required to quarantine while waiting for test results. It has been an important part of the Government’s strategy to reduce the spread of the virus

and financially support our most vulnerable workers. Since the program opened, more than 1.2 million payments have been approved – worth over $545 million. Demand for the program has reduced dramatically as RATs have become more widely available. Other support, including food relief, is still available to Victorians who are financially

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impacted by COVID-19. The Commonwealth Government’s Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment is also available for people who have to self-isolate, quarantine or need to care for someone who has to self-isolate or quarantine. For more information visit coronavirus.vic. gov.au

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Take Note! Victorians Urged to Search for Forgotten Cash

MELBOURNE, Feb 28: Thousands of Victorians are sitting on a surprise windfall, with the Andrews Labor Government calling on potential beneficiaries to check if they can lay claim to a share of millions of dollars in unclaimed cash. The State Revenue Office (SRO) is holding $111 million in unclaimed money that belongs to people of all ages from across the state. The cash is theirs for the taking if individuals and companies can establish their bona fides through a simple system that begins with an online search. There are more than 740,000 entitlements waiting to be claimed. SRO data reveals that a Box Hill man is entitled to a $882,697 deposit while a Nunawading woman can claim $677,002. A Banyule doctor has 105 entitlements worth $3,379 recorded in their name waiting to be claimed, while a South Yarra woman has 61 deposits totalling $153,165. In the past five years, there have been more than 60,000 successful unclaimed money claims worth almost $20 million from sources including electricity, gas and water companies, local councils, real estate agents, insurance companies and lotto tickets.

The SRO holds records of money that remain unclaimed after 12 months – with the minimum set at $20 – from sources including share dividends, salaries and wages, rents and bonds, debentures and interest, and proceeds from sales. The majority of entitlements have been held by the SRO for less than 10 years. The City of Melbourne is the council area with the most potential claims – 57,000 totalling $15.2 million at an average of $266 – followed by Monash ($7 million), Boroondara ($6.7 million) and Whitehorse ($4.8 million). In regional Victoria, Greater Geelong leads the way with almost 24,700 people able to claim $2.9 million at an average of just under $120 each. Greater Bendigo residents can potentially claim $1.2 million and Latrobe City Council residents around the same amount. In addition to unclaimed money, the SRO also holds Tattersalls, Intralot and Tabcorp prizes, as well as TAB winnings, that have remained unclaimed for six months. To claim these winnings, claimants must supply the original ticket. The highest unclaimed gaming ticket is $2,136,327 from Tattersalls – received in March 2016. Some $860,000 in lottery

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winnings sitting with the SRO were eventually claimed by the owners of the tickets last year, while tickets worth $100,000 and $73,190 were among those notified by gaming companies as being unclaimed. To claim owed monies, go to sro.vic.gov. au/unclaimedmoney and submit a personal or company name and the address that the lodging organisation would have had on file. See bottom for tables and go to sro.vic. gov.au/unclaimedmoneylga For details of unclaimed money in each Victorian local government area.

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G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Supporting Multicultural Communities to Stay Connected

MELBOURNE, Mar 1: The Andrews Labor Government is ensuring Victorians from diverse backgrounds stay healthy and get vaccinated with support for health messaging created by multicultural communities for multicultural communities. Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ros Spence announced an additional $1.8 million to produce tailored health messaging through the second round of the Multicultural Communications Outreach Program. The funding will support the development of both digital and traditional forms of health messaging that address misinformation and stigma about COVID-19 and provide information about COVID-19 vaccinations and COVIDSafe behaviours. It will also fund training for content

creators to produce the health messaging – building new skills that support culturally and linguistically diverse communities and Victoria’s social and economic recovery. Two funding streams are available, with grants of up to $75,000 for multicultural media and community organisations and up to $10,000 for individuals and sole traders with established networks within culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Applications will be prioritised from groups including those with limited social connections who struggle to access supports, new and emerging communities, international students, refugees and asylum seekers, youth, women and LGBTIQ+ communities.

multifaith organisations through round one of the program. Previous funding has supported projects such as Cross Cultural Community Connections’ culturally appropriate short animations, illustrations, posters and GIFs for the Serbian community that promote vaccination and COVIDSafe behaviours, including in-language interviews with medical professionals. Applications are open until Tuesday 29 March. For more information, please visit vic.gov. au/multicultural-communications-outreachprogram

This grant round builds on the $2.7 million already provided to 78 multicultural and

Creative Leader to Spearhead Arts Precinct Transformation

MELBOURNE, Mar 3: One of Victoria’s most respected creative leaders, Katrina Sedgwick OAM, will serve as inaugural chief executive of the corporation that will oversee the $1.7 billion transformation of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson today announced the appointment of Ms Sedgwick as CEO and director of Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co).

Ms Sedgwick is currently CEO of ACMI – Australia’s national museum of screen culture in Federation Square. In her new role, Ms Sedgwick will lead the establishment of MAP Co and drive the Andrews Labor Government’s vision for Australia’s largest ever cultural infrastructure project.

As well as delivering this once-in-ageneration project at Melbourne Arts Precinct, MAP Co will also be responsible for running two of our most important civic spaces – Federation Square and the new 18,000 square metre elevated public park that will reshape, connect and activate the arts precinct for all Victorians.

In seven years at the helm of ACMI, Ms Sedgwick has transformed the organisation, making the museum one of the most technologically sophisticated in the world, investing in local artists and creatives, and driving collaboration and innovation through the ACMI X creative co-working space. Ms Sedgwick has held numerous board positions in the creative industries and is currently Chair of Geelong’s Back to Back Theatre and a board member of the Australian Film Television & Radio School. She also served as a member of the Victorian

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Government’s Creative Industries Taskforce and Creative Industries Advisory Group. Fed Square and the Melbourne Arts Precinct are home to many of Victoria’s leading creative attractions and organisations. MAP Co will work in close collaboration with Koorie Heritage Trust, ACMI, Arts Centre Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria and many others across the precinct and Victoria’s creative community. The Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation will include the construction of a new gallery – NGV Contemporary – to be connected with NGV International and Melbourne Art Centre by the new 18,000 sqm public park. The project will create more than 11,000 jobs over the life of the build. (MEDIA RELEASE)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Creating Helping Teachers Victoria’s Largest Become Diversity, Conservation Inclusion Champions Sanctuary

MELBOURNE, Mar 2: The Andrews Labor Government is giving more Victorian teachers the chance to upskill for free under a plan to champion diversity and inclusion and better assist students of all abilities at schools across the state. Minister for Education James Merlino opened Round 1 of the new fee-free Graduate Certificate in Education (Learning Difficulties) program for teachers who want to undertake further study to encourage increased inclusivity in their school communities. The certificate will help teachers from mainstream schools increase their knowledge and skills in relation to learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyscalculia – designed by experts at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. The program will offer 75 places for Victorian teachers in Semester 2 in

July, with recipients able to complete the course online part-time over 12 to 24 months. Applications have also opened for the eighth round of the feefree Master of Inclusive Education Program, supporting mainstream and specialist schools to boost inclusive education practices by upskilling teachers to foster inclusion for students with disabilities. The program offers 75 places and recipients can complete the course part-time across seven universities. These programs are a key part of the Labor Government’s ambition to have a masters-qualified inclusive education teacher at every Victorian government school to create and champion inclusion and diversity, as part of the Disability Inclusion reform agenda. The Government has invested nearly $1.6 billion in the Disability Inclusion reform agenda, ensuring schools have the resources, support and guidance needed to make sure students of all abilities can succeed in school and life. To apply for the Graduate Certificate in Education (Learning Difficulties) Program visit education.vic.gov.au, and to apply for the Master of Inclusive Education Program visit education.vic. gov.au

MELBOURNE, Feb 26: A state-of-the-art predator proof exclusion fence on Wilsons Promontory that will span 10 kilometres from coast-to-coast and protect precious native wildlife is a step closer. Tenders opened today for the $6 million project − part of a $23 million investment from the Andrews Labor Government − which will create a 50,000-hectare biodiversity conservation sanctuary. The Prom is connected to the Australian continent by a narrow peninsula known as Yanakie Isthmus – which makes it a perfect site for a world leading sanctuary − protecting native species like the Southern Brown Bandicoot, Long-nosed Potoroo, Ground Parrot, New Holland Mouse, Eastern Pygmy Possum and Hooded Plover. Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced the project milestone today while visiting the site of the fence, which will keep out animals like foxes, deer and feral cats. On the southernmost point of mainland Australia, Wilsons Prom is sheltered from the impacts of climate change. The added protection of the fence, combined with enhanced conservation programs, will ensure the area becomes the perfect place for threatened species. As threats are removed from Wilsons Prom and it becomes a safer place for vulnerable native animals and plants, specially chosen rare and threatened native species will be able to be translocated there to keep them safe. The Wilsons Prom Revitalisation project will also see park facilities upgraded to sustainably manage visitors. The project – which will deliver new and upgraded walks, more accommodation options, amenities and accessibility improvements − is expected to generate 54 jobs and add approximately $11.22 million to the regional economy. Traditional Owners and specialist consultants will be consulted to ensure Aboriginal cultural heritage and environmental values are protected. For more information visit: parks.vic.gov.au/projects

Helping Vaccinate Vulnerable Victorians

MELBOURNE, Feb 26: More than 10,000 Victorians have now been vaccinated against COVID-19 through a dedicated liaison program that helps those living with disability or with special needs get protected against coronavirus in their local area. The Australian-first program matches Disability Liaison Officers with people, families, and advocates to decide the best way to get vaccinated – whether through specialist support at a state vaccination clinic or as part of Victoria’s at-home vaccination service. The Disability Liaison Officer Program, which is open to people five years and over, ensures all Victorians have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Several vaccination centres across Victoria also offer enhanced accessibility for people with special needs, including those living with disability, mental illness and severe anxiety. These clinics offer longer appointment times, additional space and easy to read resources in a low-sensory environment. Victoria was the first jurisdiction in Australia to establish a dedicated disability liaison program in June last year and the rate of the state’s National Disability Insurance Scheme participants aged 16 and over who are double vaccinated is the highest of any state. In a further boost to Victorians wanting to get vaccinated, 100 per cent of state-run sites

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are now open to walk ups, allowing people to get vaccinated at any state site without needing to book. Victoria is also continuing its pop-up vaccination clinics for five to 11-year-olds, which have been rolling out in some of the state’s most well-known venues – including Scienceworks, Melbourne Zoo, and Sealife Aquarium – to support vulnerable children, including those living with disability. Victorians can contact the program by emailing DLOcoordinator@dhhs.vic. gov.au, submitting an online request via www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccinationinformation-people-disability or calling the Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398 and identifying as needing specialist support.

NEWS AUSTRALIA

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

IPCC report sounds alarm for Australia to do more to combat climate change

more than 400 deaths related to respiratory problems (caused by air pollution)," Lansbury said. Furthermore, the nation's dwindling supplies of fresh water are increasingly being jeopardised by climate change. This has recently become apparent during floods when huge volumes of water quickly swamp the land and become too much for desalination plants and sewage treatment systems to properly process. Lansbury said Australia was already a very dry country with a heavy reliance on underground water, aquifer water and groundwater. These vital resources are increasingly threatened by evaporation amid the increasingly hotter climate.

SYDNEY, Mar 2: Against the backdrop of catastrophic flooding along Australia's east coast, an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has warned that societies must adapt to the imminent reality of climate change. The report, "Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability", released this week, followed a previous report that focused on the science of climate change and further emphasised the need for immediate and intense environmental actions. Dr Nina Lansbury from the University of Queensland (UQ) is among 270 international researchers who, as part of Working Group II, have assessed the impact of climate change

on ecosystems, biodiversity, and humanity. Lansbury told Xinhua on Tuesday that climate change was already hitting Australia's ecosystems. It is expected to bring even drier conditions to areas where rainfall is decreasing, while conversely, some regions could see more extreme wet weather such as the current deluges and floods in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW). Lansbury noted that the fatal impact of climate change went beyond the immediate deaths during natural disasters such as bushfires or floods. "If we think about the bushfire season that happened in late 2019 and early 2020, there were 33 deaths, however, there were

The report said Australia's adaptation efforts have increased since the last IPCC assessment, but due to implementation barriers and limits to adaptive capacity, the progress was "distinctly uneven". In providing a guideline to prompt more realistic actions, the report emphasised a "climate-resilient development", which suggests policymakers think about climate change from three perspectives: sustainable development, adaptation to the changing environment, and mitigation. "We are very clear that there is no time for delay," Lansbury said. "Urgency is very important. If we think about those perspectives through development, then it means that people can be protected when there are extreme weather events."

(IANS)

Death toll in Australia flash floods continues to rise

SYDNEY, March 2 (IANS) The death toll from the floodwaters in Australia's eastern states climbed to 11.

The New South Wales (NSW) police confirmed the third flood-related death in the state on Wednesday. A woman's body was found in South Lismore, one of the worst-hit regions in the state. It took the death toll of this wild weather that is sweeping away the eastern part of the country to 11, among which eight victims are in the state of Queensland.

The severe weather system, which has been ravaging Queensland and the northern NSW since last week, is expected to continue this week. The NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warned that heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is forecast to develop over parts of the Hunter and Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast and parts of Central Tablelands and Southern Tablelands Forecast Districts during Wednesday. Sixhourly rainfall that totals between 80 and 120

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mm is likely in these areas.

Meanwhile, the Warragamba Dam in southwest Sydney, the city's main water source, spilled overnight. Water NSW predicted the range of the spill would be less than the one in March 2021, however, related river systems are likely to experience an increase in water levels as a result. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Drinking water in eastern Australia at risk of flood contamination In response, health authorities are urging people to conserve drinking water, which has already led to one bottle shop in the state capital of Brisbane offering free ice to thirsty residents. Wright said the problem was caused by an excessive run-off of soil which led to "milky chocolate brown" flood waters, which could become even more contaminated by various forms of waste matter potentially creating "a dangerous cocktail". SYDNEY, Mar 1: As devastating floods continue to swamp much of eastern Australia, an environmental scientist warned of the threat to the drinking water supply for millions of people. Writing in the online current affairs publication, the Conversation, Ian Wright from Western Sydney University noted that the torrential rains had already forced the temporary closure of two drinking water treatment plants in the south-eastern region of the state of Queensland.

"The trouble is the treatment system has been hit quickly by a tremendous volume of water, which puts great pressure on the process which has not been designed for such disasters," he said. Wright said the huge input of unclean water could overwhelm the system by, for example, clogging the system's filters and ultimately diluting the chlorine and other chemicals used in the disinfection process. "Water must be crystal clear by the time it gets to your tap," he said, adding that during

these unprecedented flood times, cloudy water could appear in the system meaning the entire water body had to be "flushed" along with extensive testing done before the "all clear" could finally be given. Meanwhile, other health experts are also anticipating a rise in related illnesses due to the filthy flood waters. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) Queensland deputy chair Shantha Raghwan warned in a statement on Monday that residents in the flooded regions could expect to suffer from an increase in gastroenteritis and skin infections due to the unclean conditions. Adding to the problem, Raghwan said the floods were hampering staff numbers at hospital and healthcare systems. "Due to floodwaters, many healthcare workers are unable to get to hospitals to work, so there are significant staffing pressures being experienced across Queensland and northern New South Wales," Raghwan said.

(IANS)

Deadly mosquito-borne virus warning in southern parts of Australia the brain that is most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. All seven cases in SA have required treatment in hospital. Chris Lease, executive director of Health Protection and Licensing Services in the department, said authorities were investigating the confirmed cases for flavivirus, a mosquito-borne disease that can develop into encephalitis.

CANBERRA, Feb 28: A health warning has been issued in South Australia (SA) over a potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus. The state's Department for Health and Wellbeing recently told the community to avoid exposure to mosquitoes after seven cases of acute encephalitis were identified in SA over the last month. Acute encephalitis is inflammation of

"All of these people required hospitalisation with four people currently still in hospital, and one person having sadly passed away," he said in a media release on Sunday, adding that the south east of Australia currently experiencing a La Nina weather pattern increases the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. "Symptoms of encephalitis may include confusion, headaches, neck stiffness, tremors, drowsiness and seizures."

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In addition to the seven cases of acute encephalitis, there have also been 77 confirmed cases of the Ross River virus in SA, in 2022 so far, up from 48 at the same time in 2021.

Ross River is not lethal but can cause joint pain, fever and rashes. The West Nile virus has been detected in New South Wales and mosquitoes carrying the Kokobera virus - a type of flavivirus - have been found in SA's Riverland region. "Most people who are infected with these viruses are asymptomatic or develop a mild febrile illness, but a small proportion of infected people, less than 1 per cent will develop encephalitis, which may be fatal or cause long-term neurological damage," Lease said. "To protect against mosquito-borne diseases, we are encouraging people to 'fight the bite' and take precautions such as wearing long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing and using a repellent which contains DEET or picaridin."

(IANS)

NEWS AUSTRALIA

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Additional Commonwealth financial assistance for flood victims in Queensland and New South Wales

CANBERRA, Mar 1: Residents in 26 flood affected local government areas across Queensland and New South Wales can start applying for Commonwealth financial support through Services Australia. This includes affected Queensland residents in Brisbane, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba local government areas. Financial support has also been activated for Northern New South Wales local government areas of Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed. These communities are in addition to the local government areas of Gympie and North Burnett, who become eligible to apply on February 28.

Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child is now available for people impacted by a flooding event. The AGDRP is a oneoff, non-means tested payment and is available to eligible people in those affected local government areas who have suffered a significant loss, including a severely damaged or destroyed home or serious injury. The Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) will also be provided into the 26 affected local government areas. The DRA assists employees, small business persons and farmers who experience a loss of income as a direct result of a major disaster. This allowance provides for a maximum of 13 weeks payment from the date you have or will have a loss of income as a direct result of a disaster. The DRA payment is set at the maximum equivalent rate of Jobseeker Payment or Youth Allowance, depending on your personal circumstances, and is taxable. The Morrison Government funds these payments entirely and have been made immediately to support those flood hit communities in Queensland and New South Wales.

Eligible residents in the 26 Queensland and New South Wales local government can claim support via myGov or by calling Services Australia on 180 22 66. Affected Queensland local government areas from tomorrow (1 March) can claim AGDRP from 9am (AEST) and can claim DRA from 1pm (AEST). Claims for AGDRP and DRA for NSW local government areas will be open from 2pm (AEDT) tomorrow (1 March). The Morrison Government also jointly delivers Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) with the Queensland Government for flood-affected residents, with payments for Personal Hardship Assistance and grants for local councils. The DRFA assistance provides grants of up to $180 per person, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more. These payments are available in Gympie and North Burnett local government areas and the Queensland Government is responsible for activating these payments. Australian Defence Force personnel continue to support the emergency response efforts and will do more once the water recedes, and the recovery effort starts. This includes the arrival of ADF in Lismore today to assist NSW. Since 2019-20 the Federal Government has provided $17 billion in disaster relief. For more information on support available, visit: servicesaustralia.gov.au/disaster

Australia facing more floods, droughts due to global warming CANBERRA, Mar 1: Australia is facing more catastrophic weather events as a result of global warming, which will cause death, injury, financial and emotional stress globally, a report has warned. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday published its latest report at a time when large parts of Queensland and New South Wales are experiencing flash floods that have killed eight people and caused widespread major property damage. Mark Howden, the co-author of the IPCC report and director of the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions at Australian National University (ANU), said that adaptation policy was key to mitigating

the effects of climate change. "Climate change impacts are here. They matter. They are mostly negative but if implemented, adaptation can take the edge off them," he said in a statement. "The latest IPCC report makes one thing crystal clear: adaptation policy, finance and practice have to be stepped up urgently if our systems are to keep pace with climate change. Adaptation action is a core foundation of sustainable development." His ANU colleague, Ruth Morgan, was a lead author on the IPCC report's chapter on water and is now the director of the ANU Center for Environmental History.

She said climate change was likely to bring more rainfall in the country's north including Queensland but less in key agricultural areas in the south. "Climate change is already changing Australia's rainfall; that is, where it rains, when, and how much," Morgan said. "We're seeing more rainfall in the north, while in the south, droughts are becoming both more likely and severe." "Less rain means that there will be less streamflow into the water catchments that provide water for Australia's capital cities, so we will need to think carefully about where our water comes from and how we use it." (IANS)

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G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Indian, Australian researchers devise math model to predict COVID vaccine efficacy

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here, and Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) in Australia have developed a mathematical model that predicts how antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines confer protection against symptomatic infections. The model can potentially optimise the use of available vaccines and speed up the development of new ones.

"The reason why predicting vaccine efficacies has been hard is that the processes involved are complex and operate at many interconnected levels," said Narendra Dixit, Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IISc, and the senior author of the study that has been published in Nature Computational Science. "Vaccines trigger a number of different antibodies, each affecting virus growth in the body differently. This in turn affects the dynamics of the infection and the severity of the associated symptoms. Further, different individuals generate different collections of antibodies and in different amounts," he elaborated.

The researchers first analysed over 80 different neutralising antibodies reported to be generated after vaccination against the surface spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These antibodies are typically present in the blood for months and prevent virus entry by blocking the spike protein. The researchers hypothesised that these 80 antibodies constitute a 'landscape' or 'shape space', and each individual produces a unique 'profile' of antibodies which is a small, random subset of this landscape. The team then developed a mathematical model to simulate infections in a virtual patient population of about 3,500 people with different antibody profiles, and to predict how many of them would be protected from symptomatic infection following vaccination. "This diversity of antibody responses was a challenge to comprehend and quantify," adds Pranesh Padmanabhan, Research Fellow at QBI, the first author of the study.

vaccination based on the antibody 'profile' of the individual, and the predictions were found to closely match efficacies reported in clinical trials for all the major approved vaccines, an IISc statement noted. The researchers also observed that vaccine efficacy was linked to a readily measurable metric called antibody neutralisation titre. This opens up the possibility of using such models to test future vaccines for their efficacies before elaborate clinical trials are launched, the authors suggest. Dixit, however, cautions that the study is based on current vaccines which have been designed to work on the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. "Our formalism is yet to be applied to the new variants, including Omicron, where other arms of the immune system and not just antibodies appear to be contributing to vaccine efficacies. Studies are ongoing to address this." (IANS)

The model was able to predict the level of protection that would be conferred after

Australian supermarket launches fleet of delivery drones items they know and love, and get them delivered straight to their door," said Coles Chief Executive of eCommerce Ben Hassing.

General Manager of Wing Australia Simon Rossi said their drones, which could deliver small items in 10 minutes or less, have already made more than 30,000 deliveries this year compared with 100,000 over the entirety of 2021.

SYDNEY, March 2: Major Australian supermarket, Coles, announced the launch of the nation's first grocery drone delivery service. The project is a collaboration between Wing, a drone delivery company owned by Google, and the national supermarket chain. It would begin a test run of the service in Australia's capital city, Canberra, offering delivery of more than 250 everyday food items via drones. "By partnering with Wing, we're able to offer our online customers another convenient option to purchase the Coles

Deputy Director of Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney Business School Rico Merkert said that this initial rollout would test the waters of everyday drone use in Australia. "At the end of the day it really depends on the consumers...you need to have an addressable market out there," said Merkert. "And that's what they (Coles) are trying to do at the moment, to figure out if there is a sufficient number of people who would like to have certain items delivered by aerial drones." In his work with commercial drone usage, Merkert said some of the biggest public

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concerns are the clogging of low-altitude airspace and noise pollution. He said that as the technology advances the amount of noise created would likely be reduced, but if public opinion turns against the use of drones, they are likely to remain grounded for most purposes in Australia. He added that regulatory bodies, Air Services Australia and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), would be closely monitoring this initial rollout, and would be ready to implement new regulations and policy around drone use for deliveries. "In order to guarantee safe and orderly operation of all of this, you will have some airspace management system in place." Merkert pointed out perhaps the most promising and suitable use case for drone deliveries was medical supplies, citing the fact that they are light and keeping costs low is less of an issue for life-saving medical goods. Already, Wing has been involved in the rapid delivery of Covid rapid tests and first aid kits across Australia. (IANS)

NEWS WORLD

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Putin will pay high price for invading Ukraine: Biden allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries."

President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he "will pay a continuing high price" for "unprovoked and premeditated invasion" of Ukraine. Delivering his first State of the Union (SOTU) address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday under the shadow of the Ukraine crisis, Biden said that Putin had badly miscalculated when he launched the invasion "seeking to shake the foundations of the free world". "He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead, he met a wall of strength he never imagined," Biden said. Biden said that he had prepared for the invasion by getting a united front of the European and other allies to confront Putin. Paying a tribute to the Ukrainian people and their President Volodymyr Zelentskyt for "their fearlessness, their courage, their determination" which inspires the world, he asked his audience to rise in solidarity with them. Ukraine's Ambassador Oksana Markova, who was in the chamber, received the standing ovation.

While he listed the economic sanctions against Russia through which "we are inflicting pain on Russia", he said, but also added that the invasion also has "costs around the world". To blunt that impact, which will be first felt in petroleum prices, he said that the US and 30 other countries will release 60 million barrels of oil from their reserves around the world. Vinay Reddy, who is the chief speechwriter for Biden, was the prime architect of the SOTU address that sets out the president's priorities and agenda before Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris, who presides over the Senate, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi who were seated behind him on the rostrum in the chamber of the House of Representatives rose several times to applaud him. With his popularity at its lowest and the RealClear Politics aggregate polls showing an approval rate at 40.6 per cent and a disapproval rate at 54.4 per cent, Biden faced a nation that is riven by polarised politics and is ground down by the highest rate of inflation in almost half a century. On the domestic front, Biden called for immigration reform, which has been stalled.

Many of those attending brought along Ukrainian flags, and some dressed in its colours, blue and yellow.

"Revise our laws so businesses have the workers they need, and families don't wait decades to reunite. It's not only the right thing to do -- it's the economically smart thing to do," he said.

"When the history of this era is written, Putin's war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger," he said.

As an antidote to inflation, Biden gave his version of 'Make in America' that would make everything from guardrails for roads to aircraft carriers in the US.

Biden categorically ruled out US troops fighting in Ukraine.

"Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let's make it in America," Biden said.

"Our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine," he said.

With the making of everything from automobiles to smartphones hobbled by a shortage of chips, Intel would make the largest investment in manufacturing in US history putting up $100 billion for chip manufacturing, he said.

But if "Putin decides to keep moving west," he said, "the United States and our

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"To compete for the best jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors," he said. Promoting his plan for rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, he said, "It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world -- particularly with China. As I've told (China's President) Xi Jinping, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people." In a speech where foreign policy was dominated by Russia, those were the only mentions of China and there were no references to the Indo-Pacific or the rest of Asia or of the Middle East. In a sign of the waning of Covid-19 most in the audience did not wear masks, but they had to undergo rapid tests to enter. The SOTU is usually given in January or February but was delayed this year. Security was beefed up around the Capitol in expectation of a Canada-style protest with trucks and trailers, but it did not materialise. Kim Reynolds, the Republican governor of Iowa state who is considered a rising star in her party, gave the traditional opposition party's response to the SOTU and although it wasn't in the House chamber, it was televised nationally. She faulted him for policies that she said created the runaway inflation that officially stands at 7.5 per cent but is much steeper in the prices of everyday goods. She also said that Biden had not prepared adequately for the Russian invasion and taken pre-emptive steps. Taking up one of the divisive issues -the response to the Covid pandemic -- she asserted that she had done a better job of dealing with it in her state by avoiding complete shutdowns, especially of schools. But highlighting the deep divisions within Biden's own party the leftist group was to give its own response to be delivered by Representative Rashida Tlaib. Biden riled the left by repeatedly saying, "Fund the police", a riposte to their slogan of "Defund the police", which has led to a backlash because of the rising crimes across the US. Another point of difference with the left was Biden calling for securing the country's borders. By Arul Louis

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

WHO warns of Covid-induced anxiety, depression worldwide

more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders when infected with Covid-19. The pandemic has severely disrupted mental health services worldwide, leaving huge gaps in care for those who need it most. Though the situation had somewhat improved by the end of 2021, too many people today remain unable to get the care and support they need for both preexisting and newly developed mental health conditions.

GENEVA, Mar 3: The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday of a sharp increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression related to the Covid-19 pandemic, caused largely by social isolation. Young people and women are the worst hit. According to a scientific brief released by the WHO, in the first year of the pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25 per cent. Ninety per cent of the countries surveyed included mental health and psychosocial support in their Covid-19 response plans, but major gaps and concerns remain. Unprecedented stress has been caused by the social isolation resulting from the pandemic, the WHO said. This constrained people's ability to work, seek support from loved ones and engage in their communities.

Exhaustion has been a major trigger for suicidal thinking among health workers. "The information we have now about the impact of Covid-19 on the world's mental health is just the tip of the iceberg," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "This is a wake-up call to all countries to pay more attention to mental health and do a better job of supporting their populations' mental health." The WHO brief said that young people, whose mental health has been affected by Covid-19, are disproportionally at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviours. Women have been more severely impacted than men, and people with preexisting physical health conditions, such as asthma, cancer or heart disease, are

According to a recent WHO survey, 90 per cent of countries are working to provide mental health and psychosocial support to Covid-19 patients and responders alike, but a chronic global shortage of mental health resources still continues today. The WHO's most recent "Mental Health Atlas" showed that in 2020, governments worldwide spent on average just over two percent of their health budgets on mental health, and many low-income countries reported having fewer than one mental health worker per 100,000 people. Covid-19 has "revealed historical underinvestment in mental health services. Countries must act urgently to ensure that mental health support is available to all," said Devora Kestel, director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use at the WHO. (IANS)

4,000 luxury cars like Lamborghinis, Bentleys sink in the Atlantic Felicity Ace ship was carrying both electric and non-electric vehicles, and a fire broke out on the ship as it was travelling from Germany to the US, reports Insider. While it's unclear exactly what started the fire, captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port of Hortas said lithium-ion batteries in EVs aboard the ship caught fire. SAN FRANCISCO, March 2: Nearly 4,000 luxury cars like Porsches, Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Volkswagen -- along with several high-end electric vehicles -- have sunk aboard a cargo ship in the Atlantic that caught fire last month.

A salvage team was able to board the ship over the last weekend but to no avail. The ship management company, MOL Ship

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Management Singapore, said the ship sank about 253 miles off the coast of the Azores, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic that's an autonomous region of Portugal. All 22 crew members were evacuated from the ship and were safe. "The 22 crew members did not need medical assistance on arrival, having been taken to a local hotel. The owner of the ship 'Felicity Ace' is in contact with the logistic agent in order to draw up a plan for the towing of the ship," the navy had said. The Felicity Ace ship was heading from Germany to a port in Rhode Island, the US, when it issued distress signals this week. According to Importinfo.com, the electric vehicles may have been Audi E-tron Sportbacks. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

G’Day Mate

Indonesia to welcome int'l travellers quarantine-free in Bali from March 14

DENPASAR, Feb 28: The Indonesian government will conduct a trial on receiving international travellers without quarantine in the country's resort island of Bali from March 14 under certain conditions, a senior Minister has said.

The trial may be launched before March 14 if the government sees positive development in the next one week for the continued downward trend in the Covid-19 cases in Bali, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan told a virtual press conference on Sunday. Foreign visitors have to show proof of hotel booking payments for at least four days if they want to enter Bali, while Indonesians who arrive in the holiday island from abroad are required to show proof of domicile in the Goddess Island, said Panjaitan, who is also Coordinator of the public mobility restrictions (PPKM) policy for Java and Bali. The international travellers, who want to enter Bali, should have been fully vaccinated or received booster jabs of

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the Covid-19 vaccine, besides conducting entry PCR tests and waiting at hotels for negative test results, he added. "If the tests show negative results, the international travellers are allowed to do other activities under health protocols," the Indonesian official said, adding that they should also carry out PCR tests again on the third day at their hotels, Xinhua news agency reported. In addition, the requirement to have a guarantor sponsor for tourist e-visa requests will be revoked because it is considered burdensome for foreign tourists, he said. He pointed out that Bali was chosen as the pilot project location because the rate of two-dose vaccination in the province is higher than in other provinces. If the trial in Bali is successful, the government will expand the non-quarantine policy across Indonesia on April 1 or sooner. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

India extends ban on international commercial flights Last month, the civil aviation regulator, had extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till February 28, 2022. In late 2021, India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15, 2021 with certain conditions. However, the plan was postponed due to the emergence of third Covid wave globally.

NEW DELHI, Feb 28: India's civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, on Monday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till "further orders". At present, the third Covid wave driven by the Omicron variant is receding in the country. In a notification, the DGCA extended the ban

on scheduled international commercial flights till "further orders". "This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA."

India had banned the operation of international flights on March 23, 2020 to contain and control the spread of Covid-19. Flight restrictions, however, were later eased under air bubble arrangement with certain countries. (IANS)

Similarly, flights under the 'Air Bubble' agreement will not be affected.

Getting married in Australia

Increase to the fee for legal birth, death and marriage certificates The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (the Registrar) is a statutory role, responsible for recording in perpetuity all registrable life events in Victoria, including births, changes of name, alterations of the record of sex in a birth registration, deaths, marriages, adoptions and surrogacy arrangements. The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (BDM) holds over 19 million records. BDM issues certificates verifying the details recorded about registrable life events. BDM also provides data to individuals and organisations for purposes including research and administration. The Victorian Government has completed its review of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Fees) Regulations 2019. After consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, the Victorian Government has decided to increase the fee for a legal certificate. 207 submissions were received through Engage Victoria. This includes the fee for a

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birth certificate, death certificate and marriage certificate. The fee will increase from $34.30 to $51.40 on 1 March 2022. Further information about the fees is available on BDM website. The fee waiver policy for people experiencing financial hardship will continue to apply. If you are experiencing financial hardship, you can ask BDM to waive the certificate fee. The fee waiver policy has information about how someone can apply for a fee waiver, if eligible. If you have further questions, you may contact me on 0425 853 086 or navee64@gmail.com.

ETHNIC BUSINESS AWARD

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Winning Smiles Dr Ved Berani, founder and principal dentist of Healthy Smiles Dental Group, Blackburn, Victoria, wins the prestigious national Small Business Award – the first Australian of Indian origin to win the honour.

’day India’s editor-in-chief, Mr Tonee Sethi, met with Dr Ved Berani and his wife and cofounder, Priyanka, to discuss their recent win of the Ethnic Business Awards Foundation’s Small Business Award. Dr Ved shared, “What made this award very special for us was it was graced by the Honourable Prime Minister Scott Morrison himself and the leader of the opposition, Mr Anthony Albanese (MP); including dignitaries, such as Tony Abbott, multiple members of parliament and ambassadors. I had the opportunity to sit next to our very own Consul-General of India, Sydney, Mr Manish Gupta, which was a privilege and to be able to receive this award on behalf of the Indian diaspora of Australia.” Dr Ved and Priyanka were among a chosen few exceptional migrants, and indigenous entrepreneur finalists at the 32nd Annual Gala Awards held on the 11th of February in Sydney. When Mr Sethi congratulated Dr Ved and Priyanka on their recent win, they replied, “Thank you very much. We are still on cloud nine because we can’t believe it! We are trying to feel normal,

but it feels very good inside.” Dr Ved admits they were stunned with the win because of the amazing finalists, all having inspirational migrant and indigenous stories of overcoming adversity in Australia. While Minister Alex Hawke announced their win of the Small Business Award, the founder of The Ethnic Business Awards, Mr Josef Assaf, was close-by to praise Dr Ved on embracing cultural diversity and his high-calibre contribution to Australia. “I think with any ethnic group that lives in Australia, and especially of migrant origin, we believe that we have come to this country as a dream, and we need to make sure that we do not only achieve our dreams but also achieve our dreams for our community going forward. To be at the forefront, to be the flagbearer for the Indian community at the national level is indeed a privilege and an honour,” Dr Ved said. Dr Ved and Priyanka were all smiles as they proudly held their national Small Business Award trophy. However, during his speech, Dr Ved humbly revealed that they would be donating their prize money of $10,000 www.gdayindia.com.au | M: 0412-114-383

to a charity and not-for-profit organisation called Sikh Volunteers Australia. “We found the Sikh Volunteer Service Group during the Covid pandemic through a Facebook post and realised that the work they were doing selflessly in serving the community to provide three meals every day as a volunteer organisation was absolutely incredible,” he shared. Dr Ved and Priyanka were born in Mumbai, India. “I migrated to Australia in 2001 as a student to do my Masters, and straight after that we started our very small dental practice in Blackburn South, 2004, with only two staff members, with our six-month-old child in the staff room with my wife, who also worked in the practice,” he says. “My personal story has started by coming here as a student and doing small, odd jobs and even to a point where I was working at 7-Eleven graveyard shift in the year 2001 where I was robbed at gunpoint. At a junction in my life, I realised how fragile everything was, and it was quite easy to turn back and say this is it and go back to India. But I took that as a challenge, and I said, ‘look, if I survived a gun attack, I think

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

off even one single staff member in spite of the practice closure for almost seven months. We supported our practice and all the employees, including casual workers who did not get an income incentive, financially through our own pockets. We ensured that everyone had a roof to live under and food to eat. Most importantly, feel secure morally as well as socially and emotionally in their job.”

I’ll be all right in Australia.’ So, I soldiered on, kept going and kept working towards the goal, which is to be a contributing member of this community.” Healthy Smiles Dental Group is a multiaward winning and outstanding dental practice, offering a wide range of quality dental services from general to cosmetic and sleep dentistry. “Being in the east region with the extreme amount of competition around us, we realised about thirteen years ago that we had to do something differently. So, starting with the philosophy of ‘dentistry differently,’ we realised that we have a large number of the population who are afraid to go to the dentist, have dental anxiety, phobias, and avoid dental and oral health treatment because they just cannot cope with the drills, noise, smells. We developed the concept of what we call sleep dentistry,” Dr Ved said. He clarifies that they give patients the option to be sedated or asleep for their dental treatments, “so they don’t have to be aware of any of those stimulations of

dentistry, dentists or the environment.” Healthy Smiles Dental Group also has an exceptional day surgery area registered with the Department of Health and Human Services, which operates with a specialist anaesthetist and team of nurses. Although Dr Ved and Priyanka are proud winners, they acknowledge that it is a team effort to promote and deliver their philosophy of ‘Healthy Mouths, Beautiful Smiles.’ It is a testament to their daily dedication and involvement to service the community six and a half days per week, with quality dental services in a safe and regulated environment using up-to-date equipment and techniques. No business or individual is immune to the challenges of the Covid- 19 pandemic. “Like everybody else, we were affected by Covid restrictions and lockdowns, equally because dental services were restricted to emergency dental services only, and all elective treatments were cancelled,” Dr Ved said. “During the pandemic, we did not lay

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From humble beginnings, Dr Ved and Priyanka worked tirelessly for nearly two decades in Australia to develop and expand their business into a unique dental practice. Being recognised, nominated, and winning this esteemed Small Business Award, Dr Ved reminds those struggling or feeling like they cannot make it “to never look back and always look forward. And there is always light, as long as you are doing the right thing, as long as you keep working hard, as long as you have the right motivation, success will come to you in Australia. Australia is a country where if you give it 100%, you’ll get 300% back, and that is a message for every single migrant who might be reading this.” We congratulate Dr Ved, Priyanka and the Healthy Smiles Dental Group team on this honourable win awarded by the Ethnic Business Awards Foundation. “Every migrant has an incredible story, and I don’t think that there is anyone who has come to this country who has not been through the ups and downs of life,” Dr Ved proclaims. “So, I salute every person who has left their home country to come to Australia to make this their world.” By Agata Zema

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

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ADVERTORIAL

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

A game changer for the Australian Business Market?

he pandemic has taught us a number of lessons over the last two years, one of which is the importance of expanding digital payments. Let's face it: delivering a bunch of paper dollars and coins to a hesitant cashier is not only unclean, but it also slows down the transaction. To avoid the health and safety dangers of overcrowding, social distancing must still be observed in cash-in and cash-out terminals, although this does not appear to be practicable on a daily basis. Going cashless is the best solution to this problem. In India, this problem has been addressed quite well and it has earned the name ‘Digital India’. With many apps in the Indian market such as PhonePe, BharathPe and PayTm cash transfer has become seamless and smooth. Cashwo, a solution to the identical problem in Australia, is the only way to go 'cash free'. Cashwo is a secure and reliable cash App and a digital wallet. It is featured with the ability to send and receive money for personal and business needs. Whether you pay at the local shops or receive money from friends, this app also allows you to view transactions instantly.

• If you are a business merchant, a secure system lets you accept touch free payments via QR code or Cashwo Unique Merchant ID. For businesses: small scale and large scale, Cashwo would make a huge impact in making the cash transfer process easy and safe. To state out a few situations: 1. When a business owner can readily check his or her daily sales on the Cashwo App, he or she can better manage inventories and profit margins. The next investment would definitely be a smart one in this case. 2. Entrepreneurs may ensure the accuracy and security of their workers' payments by depositing their wages electronically into an account, which benefits both employers and employees. The app also provides the user an interface to track the payments made or received. 3. Through the Cashwo App, merchants and other small businesses would be able to accept payments anytime and from anywhere which would in-turn upscale revenue and improve customer experience. This is not only a fast and secure process, but also a costeffective one. 4. Accepting digital payments increased

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sales by 8% for small and medium firms and 17% for medium-sized businesses, which makes sense considering that 78 percent of consumers regard digital payments as their favorite payment option. According to the Visa analysis, two-thirds of small and medium businesses informed Visa that clients spend more when they pay with a card rather than cash. As digital payment becomes more prevalent, it does not pose a problem for customers or for companies as long as payment options are seamlessly integrated. At Cashwo, we value your personal and financial information. In order to protect you from fraudsters: • the App has encryption for in-built security • Your unique passcode and OTP verification would provide strong authentication to ensure transactions take place securely. Get Cashwo today! Contactless digital wallets are the future of payments in Australia and across the globe. Get started with Cashwo today. Download the app on Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

LEGAL

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Parental responsibilities in blended families BY GURPAL SINGH

n the complex social structure of a present-day modern family, the concept of parental responsibility carries a curious look and require an unambiguous understanding from the perspective of expectations of the Family Law Act 1975. The parenting order confers parental responsibility for a child on a person to the extent of duties, powers, responsibilities, or authority in relation to the child. The law requires in substance, and so far, as it relevant that when making a parenting order in relation to a child, an application of rebuttable presumption that it is in the best interests of the child for the child’s parents to have equal shared parental responsibility for the child. This includes the child to have the benefit of both their parents having a meaningful involvement in their lives, to the maximum extent consistent with the best interests of the child. Curious enough the issue of a child born because of artificial conception procedures while the woman was married to, or a de facto partner of another intending person, obviously with the consent of the other intending person for the artificial conception procedure, the child shall be a child of the woman and of the other intended parent. The law warrants that a woman who is married to a man has undergone a fertilisation procedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant; the husband is presumed to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if he did

not provide any or all of the sperm used in the procedure, but only consented to such a procedure; and in case of the woman she will be the mother of the child as a result of such pregnancy even if she did not provide the ovum used in the procedure. In an interesting High Court of Australia decision, section 60 H of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was examined by the court. The court adopted a broader approach interpreting being a flexible and expanding in nature rather than restrictive and narrow. The court included the categories of the people who could be the child’s parents and that the definition was not exhaustive of the classes of the persons who could qualify as parents. The peculiar facts of the case included: Mr Mason was registered on the child’s birth certificate as a parent. Such registration satisfied the presumption of

parentage under the law which arises from the name of the parent as recorded on a birth certificate, notwithstanding the fact that the presumption was rebuttable in law. Mr Mason gave his semen on the express or implied understanding that he would be the child’s parent. It was always understood that Mr Mason would care for the child financially and emotionally which he certainly did AND the child identified Mr Mason as a father and referred to him as ‘daddy’. The court held that Mr Mason was the child’s parent in accordance with the ordinary meaning of the word or at least a person concerned with the care, welfare and development of the child. Curiously the full court of the Family Court of Australia held that Mr Masson could not be the legal parent of the child because of the interpretation of the child under the NSW laws which provided that if a man provided sperm for the purposes of artificial insemination to a woman to whom he was not married, it was presumed that he was not the father of the child. The high court however held that the Family Law Act did not define the term ‘parent’ and ‘a court will not construe a provision in a way that departs from its natural and ordinary meaning unless it was clear that the Parliament intended it to have some different or restrictive meaning. Such an indication was not present in the interpretation of these definitions. The majority of the judges concluded that the definition of parent was not obscure or ambiguous or readily capable of more than one interpretation.

Gurpal Singh is the principal lawyer of Melbourne law firm, Saundh Singh & Smith Lawyers | W: www.sssl.com.au

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OPINION

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Holi - Festival of Joy!

Festival of Colours! Festival of Love! BY KARTHIK ARASU President of “Australia India Sports Council

oli, the name is now synonymous with joyous celebration; it is one of the most popular festivals celebrated across the world. Holi is an ancient Hindu festival, and it is one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of India. Like many other Hindu festivals, Holi is also celebrated, signifying the triumph of good over evil. Holi is also referred to as 'Festival of Colours' or 'Festival of Love'. People come together to forget all resentments, let go of their anger, and celebrate with bright colours, bringing positivity and ushering in a joyous time. Apart from being a religious festival, Holi, unlike many other festivals, has an underlying social significance; it helps bring the community together and strengthen the multicultural fabric by bringing everyone without any distinction. You forget everything when you hold colours in your hand, and only spreading the joy (colours) will become your motto. As the Indian community migrated and settled across the world, we have taken our culture and festivals to the rest of the world. We have found new ways to celebrate, so our future generations can be connected to our culture and traditions. Holi is also not immune to commodification and objectification; the celebrations also bring in often ignored but very important concerns about cultural appropriation. Many events like colour marathons or colour fest, using the same celebrations and concept as Holi,

sometimes overlook or distort the festival's religious significance and turn it into just a commercial rave party. In the long run, these distortions may ruin our festival and may even destroy the intent and significance for which Holi is celebrated. Don't get me wrong, celebrations are to be shared, and it plays an essential role in bringing people of different cultures together. But distorting it and just commercialising it will only go against the very purpose our ancestors celebrated the festival. Holi breaks and throws away the barriers created by gender, money, position or any divisions among us. Holi embraces everyone with bright colours and joy; this is the essence of Holi, and we should nurture this. This is

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the lesson left behind by our ancestors to the world; we need to own it and share and spread it and make sure no one changes it. The preservation of our culture is imperative; it is very important to pass on our cultural values to our future generations, so we honour our ancestors and keep our culture alive. Taking it lightly and forgetting to celebrate will slowly erode our culture and tradition like many thousands of other cultures, even religions that have been wiped out from many parts of the world. All it takes is for just one generation to forget or ignore for any reason and not celebrate for us to lose it permanently. Holi is the most vibrant of all Hindu festivals; only maybe a few festivals can match the charm of Holi. Like Yoga and Diwali, we have passed our treasure to be shared by the entire world with Holi. It's ours but belongs to everyone. Outside India, I believe only Melbourne does it better when it comes to Holi celebration. As our community grows, our celebrations get bigger and grandeur. This Holi will be extra special as we will be letting loose after the two years of lockdowns and masks. Coming from India, where culture, tradition and celebration is the way of our life, I used to miss the celebration in my early days in Melbourne. But today, it is tough to pick where to celebrate as our community has become more vibrant, and celebrations have become one of our identities. The bonding that Holi brings with each other strengthens us and spreads love and positivity. This Holi, let us celebrate the festival with others and usher its true meaning into life by letting go of our anger and bringing positivity in others' lives. Happy Holi!

BOOK LAUNCH

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

The Secretive Writer 26

When our in-house Australian-Indian writer Nandita Chakraborty launches the inspiring new book- Dirty Little Secrets, it calls for us to talk about it. people are fishing to scam preying on the vulnerable. As we know scamming in the name of love has been going on for centuries and what Chakraborty went through has happened to others as well. “I hope that by sharing my story, that others will be more cautious in the future and avoid experiencing the torment that I have endured.” Turning point in her life

n a tale spanning the continents, Australian-Indian writer Nandita Chakraborty, just launched her new memoir, Dirty Little Secrets. Taking her readers on a journey through the past ten years of her life, Chakraborty leads us through the online love scandal that nearly tore her life apart and writes about how through loving and losing, she finds a deeper meaning in her life. Like many migrants staking out their hybrid cultural identity, Nandita’s life path takes her between her birth country of India and her country of settlement, Australia. Already, reviewers are calling the book a must-read, enthralling, moving, and captivating – an unmissable journey of extraordinary raw emotion. “Everybody’s life story is unique in their own right. We all live different lives and go through different episodes and experiences in our lives, so we are all unique, and yet somehow, we are all the same. This is the magic of the human race that entwines and connects us,” Chakraborty said. When she first started writing Dirty Little Secrets, she intended to write it just for herself, but the more she transcribed her diary, the more she realised that this story is more than her and needed to be shared. In seeking love, she had come across some of the ugliest truth about love, which is no fairy tale show; and keeping that in mind she thought this book will seek someone who needed the most. Unfortunately, in this era of the internet,

For Chakraborty, one of the biggest turning points in her life came very unexpectedly, with a horrific rock-climbing accident. In 2011, she was out on a rock-climbing expedition in Mount Cathedral. Situated on the northern face of the Cathedral Mountain Range in Central Victoria, what should have been an exhilarating day of glorious views of nature took a turn for the worse when she fell 40 metres. In 2016 she was left with a permanent disability and having cognitive issues and impaired concentration; she experiences chronic migraines which adds to chronic fatigue. The road to recovery after any major accident is long and comes with twists and turns. “It is not just your body that has to recover but it’s your mental wellbeing that needs time to adjust too,” says Chakraborty. Turning therapy into Books and books into success It was during Chakraborty’s second stint at rehab that she started writing as a form of therapy. She wrote two novellas, Meera Rising (2017) and Rosemary’s Retribution (2018). The two novellas were both finalists at the American Best Book Awards. She did not stop there to master her craft she wrote short films and one of them was a semifinalist at the New York Screenplay and LA International Screenplay Awards. These days, Chakraborty carries her craft not only through books but also as an advocate for migrant authors as a small community that stands together to challenge preconceived prejudices against authors from other backgrounds and cultures. “Dirty Little Secrets is different to her previous works because this time she has written about her own life story and what happened in the past decade of her life. She

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speaks about searching for love and the dangers of searching for it online, and she also writes about her accident and how it changed her fundamentally and how it has become part of her identity now. She thinks that in many ways, readers can relate to her story because no matter what walk of life one comes from, we are all making our way through this world of ours, searching and building on our identities; constantly searching for and building on relationships with friends and family; and searching, and hopefully, finding a love to build the rest of our lives on. We all have learnings to share and experiences that define us and her book is a look into her life and her ‘how ‘she has navigated her way through some fairly challenging and dark situations – something everyone can relate to but hope not to endure themselves. Life is a non-linear journey, sometimes mapping a life path challenges in displacement in one’s identity, and Dirty Little Secrets just does that. One can find themselves walking with Chakraborty on the streets of Melbourne, or sometimes crying on the steps of a temple in Delhi. The book is available for purchase from Amazon, Readings, Good Reads and Flipkart in India. www.nanditachakrabortyauthor.com.au

BAPS

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

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The Feelings of War

TRUE STORY

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Once a Mother, Always a Caregiver

n the last few weeks, we here down under in Australia living in our own bubbles; and to be honest I was one of them until when my agent and now good friend Lalitha Ravindran all the way in Pune, India got consumed in this catastrophe led by an unhinged man in Russia. It hit me when I heard a mother cry for the safety of her daughter and family in Kyiv. Just then the war become live for me!

As if I am them packing their life in a suitcase, stuffed animals, pets and in droves trying to be a refugee in the neighbouring country. How far can I stretch? I start to wonder and suddenly there I was in Pune with Lalitha, both in tears on the other side of the phone, especially when we learn her son-in-law has been drafted and now sitting in reserve. I wanted to divert the conversation to her happier times with them and I inadvertently asked her to narrate her love for Ukraine in her own words. Here is an account of a woman, in fact, a brave mother who is singlehandedly fighting with the million others including her daughter on the other side of these two continents.

Indian food till then and who wrote emails to me even before I met him. Like it is the norm, he called me Mrs. Ravindran, then Ms. Lalitha and on seeing that I wasn’t reacting to these, came up to me one night in Brooklyn and said, “I think you will like it if I called you Amma.” For a young girl raised by a single, working mother, this man came not just as a Valentine but as a friend she could trust. My daughter with a double major in journalism and political science from SUNY, Oswego and MA in International Relations from Fordham University, New York, is a national honours and Phi Kappa Phi honoree and passed magna cum laude. She was working with Ukraine Television UATV, English, before going on maternity leave. This is my family along with young baba who arrived on Mahashivratri day in Kyiv, three years ago. Since the last 10 days our lives have been turned upside down. All because of a man called Vladimir Putin, whose desire for more remains unsatiated even after controlling parts of Donbas region and annexing Crimea in 2014.

‘I need to talk to you about something.’ ‘What’s the name of the boy,’ I said. ‘How did you guess it was about a boy,’ she said ‘Why else will you set me up,’ I said

Once you become a mother, even to an adult with a mind of her own, the attachment you feel, despite distance and not being connected 24x7, is inexplicable. To now see three of my favourite people on the run from shelling and bombs, abandoning their little apartment in downtown Kyiv and deciding what the best route to take is harrowing, scary and unbelievable.

This is how the friendship between my daughter and Ukrainian son-in-law began over a decade ago. A young European man, a Fulbright scholar, he had never tasted

My emotions and mental state have been on a roller-coaster ever since the threats began and world leaders were rushing to Putin to placate him and give him

One evening in early 2011, my daughter studying in New York called me and said,

Lalitha with Melbourne writter Nandita (left)

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assurances. Why does a bully get treated this way? Why didn’t anyone take the security and fears of a democratic country like Ukraine seriously? I’m safe in my own home far away but with no means to secure the safety of my kids. People call or text advising without a clue about ground realities. On paper it all looks very easy. Just get out of Ukraine and an evacuation plane serving hot meals is waiting, they feel, having consumed propaganda news from far and wide. That each individual there has to fend for themselves and do the best in the position they are in is not understood at all. Just a ‘take care’ ‘stay safe’ ‘evacuate’ are meaningless and border on insensitivity. I know what being single is, having been an empty nester for over 15 years and raising a kid and taking care of an ailing mother single-handedly. It isn’t a negative thing. In fact, it strengthens the core of your being and improves your abilities to problem solve and move on. In this case there isn’t much to do but wait and watch. I stand ready with the safety net in hand, but the kids need to reach here. They too are patriotic and are in a dilemma about doing the right thing for themselves and their kid and doing right by their country which needs every little assistance they can from inside and out.

TRAVEL

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Staycation: let's re-live

Melbourne’s City life again A

BY DEBASREE DAS

ustralia’s International border is finally open to tourists after 730 days, and this news comes as a welcome message to the tourism Industries especially to hotels and apartments in Melbourne CBD. What a long wait, but it's totally worth it as we will finally see the small businesses survive, evolve, and climb out of the pandemic darkness. So, supporting one of the small tourism businesses like this, I decided to be a tourist in my own city last weekend and spend a beautiful night, reviving those wondering memories of city life we had pre-pandemic. I took my family for a sweet Slumber Party family Staycation at the Citadines at Bourke, Melbourne CBD. Located at the heart of the Melbourne CBD this property is a perfect home for those weekend city hoppers. Families with young kids enjoy the much needed pamper too. With most of the tourism Industry struggling to keep up with the COVID Protocols, Citadines had this amazing touchless check-in system in place. On arrival, my daughter was greeted with

a tent and some wonderful box of goodies to enjoy during her stay. A bottle of white wine for us to enjoy the city views while the night falls on the Melbourne skyline. The apartment was centrally located and was a few steps away from trams and cafes as well, and guess what? The dusk view of the Melbourne CBD was worth the stay. Plush space with kitchen facility, a pool that’s open till 10pm, ample space for kids to play around and move around while having fun in the city. Enjoying both family time and getting back into the hustle and bustle of the city life which we missed for more than two years now. If you’re reading this and plan to visit Melbourne soon,

make sure you head to their website to book any of their wonderful summer packages, rather than going through other portals to book a stay in Melbourne. Citadines on Bourke Melbourne is a part of Ascott Cares program, and their intention has always been to provide a cosy and comfortable stay at the heart of Melbourne CBD, while you enjoy the dazzling city views. And guess what you can also get a late checkout at 12 pm the next day, which means the liberty to wake up late, snuggle a little extra with family and enjoy a late breakfast at your favourite cafes. Melbourne, proudly known as the Coffee capital of Australia, and you would agree the best coffee is served in Melbourne CBD. While you wake up and you would like to grab a perfect cuppa of your choice, you just need to wear a robe and head downstairs at the entrance where a coffee Cart will welcome you. How amazing is that? Well in short, extend your support to locals and let’s make Melbourne a place which we love living and waking up to. By Debasree Das For more information, please visit their website https://www.discoverasr.com/en

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @travelinstylewithdebs for your daily fashion inspiration. travelinstylewithdebs

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FEATURE

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

‘THE MOST WELCOMING CITIES’ IN INDIA FOR 2022

From off-the-radar beach breaks and nature escapades to scenic backwaters and wellness getaways, this year’s Most Welcoming Cities in India for 2022 by Booking.com have all been selected for consistently providing outstanding hospitality.

Palolem, Goa A popular beach with white sand and calm waters in the bay of South Goa, Palolem has been recognised as the #1 Most Welcoming City in India in 2022, as per traveller reviews on Booking.com. You can experience the whole of Palolem beach by walking as it is a stretch of white sand that extends up to a mile. While in Palolem, travellers can find a plethora of activities to indulge in, be it on the beach or in the water! From watching the sunset as you kayak in the water and making photographic memories to taking a long walk with your loved ones and stopping by the shacks to try traditional Goan food, Palolem is a place worth visiting and going back to.

forests, this hill town is perfect for travellers who are wildlife enthusiasts. You can watch wildlife at a close range while boating on an artificial lake at one of the world’s most natural wildlife reserves - the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Along with experiencing the wildlife, you can visit Kumily to shop for locally grown traditional spices or take a quick trip to Murikkady to explore cardamom, coffee and pepper plantations.

Agonda, Goa

crystal clear blue water and fine white sand. The life of Mararikulam is known to be associated with the culture of Coastal Malabar and the warmth of the beautiful sea, which makes it really exciting for travellers. Once you have arrived in Mararikulam, you are in for a peaceful break as you watch stunning sunsets every day and enjoy locally cooked food. Not so far away from Alleppey, you can also find lesser-known beaches in Mararikulam. Thumpoly beach is one such beach inhabited by the serene and natural environment scattered by many birds. A laid back, slow vacation is looking forward to you in this small and sleepy fisherman’s village.

Agonda, ranking second on the list of the most welcoming cities, is a great place to escape from the hustle-bustle of the usual Goan life, especially if you are a fan of quiet beaches. This Thekkady, Kerala destination is a quaint village with a number of palm and coconut trees along tranquil waters. It is also among the main 3 nesting grounds for Olive Ridley turtles, so you have the chance to watch them from a close distance as they swim ashore and go back to the sea. Once in Agonda, you are in for some quiet mornings and lazy afternoons as you take a dip in the sea followed by relishing delicious fresh seafood. The beach has aesthetically pleasing cafes and restaurants which make for a perfect wine and dine with your friends and family. So, if you have got two days Home to India’s most enchanting natural wildlife free in your schedule, Agonda awaits you! sanctuaries, Thekkady is a hill station situated in the Idukki districts of Kerala at an altitude of Mararikulam, Kerala Popularly known for Marari beach, Mararikulam 700-900 meters above sea level. Surrounded by scenic western ghats, rich plantations and dense is Kerala’s most beautiful destination, with

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Varkala, Kerala

Known to be the only town in Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian Sea, Varkala is a traveller’s paradise. Palm-covered red cliffs and golden beaches have made it a popular setting for self-care and self-love. The city boasts of yoga studios, ashrams and teacher training schools as well impromptu classes that are often hosted on the beach. Along with the serene cleansing beach, the town of Varkala also houses forts, pilgrimage sites, springs, natural fisheries and more. So, if Varkala is soon to be on your bucket list, get ready for complete rejuvenation. (IANSlife)

FESTIVALS

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

FESTIVAL OF COLOURS BY ARCHITA BAWEJA

he festival of colours-Holi is a vibrant and fun-filled affair with beautiful colours. It is considered one of India's major festivals and is celebrated in the month of Phalgun on the full moon day according to the Hindu calendar. With the onset of spring, northern India gets into the colourful mood of Holi. This festival also denotes the celebration of good harvests and land fertility. Moreover, this colourful festival also celebrates the eternal love of Radha and Krishna. This festival is celebrated in a grand style in the city of Mathura and Vrindavan. These are two important cities that are deeply associated to Lord Krishna. The festival begins with the lighting of a bonfire on Holi eve. The next day, people play Holi with different types of colours and gulals. They greet each other Happy Holi while applying colour on the cheeks or forehead and send warm wishes of the festival to each other. Kids and adults come out of their houses and smear each other with bright shades of gulal. Coloured water is sprinkled on people, and kids are found playing with water balloons. People exchange sweets, Thandai and snacks with neighbours and friends. Popular Holi sweets are Gujiya, Ladoo, Burfi and Imarti

As a child, I never missed celebrating Holi. Every year on the day of Holi I got up early and engaged my whole family in filling up coloured water balloons for me. Holi was all about prepping up with colours, water balloons and water guns. Sometimes, it felt like we were going for a battle, but the only difference was that this was a fight with

splashes of colours and water-filled balloons flung from rooftops. After playing Holi for a few hours, we ate lunch which usually consisted of a kadi (a thick gram flour curry made with vegetable fritters), mixed vegetable, rice, roti and kheer (rice pudding). Later in the evening, after cleaning up and getting sober, my family and friends spent some quality time together. The memories of Holi bring a smile to my face. Holi is celebrated by Hindus in various countries worldwide, especially in Melbourne, Australia at St Kilda and Birrarung Marr to point out a few of the locations. The event consists of entertainment like Bollywood dancing, henna stalls and live dhol performances (Indian drumming). Little ones are welcome and there are kids rides onsite as well as DJ sets. The organisers also store plenty of brightly coloured powders. Traditionally, attendees cover each other in the various coloured dust, running around and splattering absolutely everyone whether they know them or not. The powders are stain-free and non-toxic and the entry is free In the end, the festival of colours- Holi , teaches humankind to transcend above the caste and creed. It is a festival to forget old grievances and meet others with great warmth and high spirit By Archita Baweja

Archita Baweja of Melbourne is an engineer by profession but a writer at heart

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TECH

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Smartphones may reveal your identity, breaching privacy The time a person spends on different smartphone apps is enough to identify them from a larger group in more than one in three cases, say researchers, who warn of the implications for security and privacy. Researchers from Universities of Lancaster and Bath analysed smartphone data from 780 people. They fed 4,680 days of app usage data into statistical models. Each of these days was paired with one of the 780 users, such that the models learnt people’s daily app use patterns. The researchers then tested whether models could identify an individual when provided with only a single day of smartphone activity that was anonymous and not yet paired with a user. “Our models, which were trained on only six days of app usage data per person, could identify the correct person from a day of anonymous data one third of the time,” said David Ellis from the University of Bath. While that might not sound like much, when the models made a prediction regarding who data belonged to, it could also provide a list of the most to the least likely candidates.

risk of missing them,” said Professor Paul Taylor from Lancaster University.

The findings published in the journal Psychological Science showed that it was possible to view the top 10 most likely individuals that a specific day of data belonged to.

As a result, the researchers warn that software granted access to a smartphone’s standard activity logging could render a reasonable prediction about a user’s identity even when they were logged-out of their account. An identification is possible with no monitoring of conversations or behaviours within apps themselves. “We found that people exhibited consistent patterns in their application usage behaviours on a day-to-day basis, such as using Facebook the most and the calculator app the least. In support of this, we also showed that two days of smartphone data from the same person exhibited greater similarity in app usage patterns than two days of data from different people,” explained Heather Shaw from Lancaster University.

Around 75 per cent of the time, the correct user would be among the top 10 most likely candidates. “In practical terms, a law enforcement investigation seeking to identify a criminal’s new phone from knowledge of their historic phone use could reduce a candidate pool of approximately 1,000 phones to 10 phones, with a 25 per cent

Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that app usage data alone, which is often collected by a smartphone automatically, can potentially reveal a person’s identity. While providing new opportunities for law enforcement, it also poses risks to privacy if this type of data is misused, the researchers said.

(IANS)

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DIGITAL

Instagram says it will stop supporting IGTV app In a bid to make video as simple as possible to discover and create, Metaowned photo-sharing platform Instagram has announced that it will no longer be supporting standalone app for IGTV.

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

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Google begins rolling new pitch-black dark mode

The company said that, instead, it will focus on having all video on the main Instagram app. “We believe that this makes it easier for people to have all of these features and abilities in the main app and are excited to continue to simplify and improve video in the main Instagram app over the coming months,” the company said in a blogpost. Reels continues to be a growing and important part of Instagram and the company said it is excited to invest even more in this format. Reels also continues to be the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram, as more people watch them to be entertained, go deeper with their interests, or discover new creators.

Instagram also said that it is exploring more ways for creators to earn by creating reels that entertain the community. In addition to bonuses, later this year, it will begin testing a new ad experience on Instagram, which will allow creators to earn revenue from ads displayed on their reels. “Over the coming months, you will see us continue to invest in simplifying our video formats, making it even easier to create and watch video on Instagram -- the way you already do with Reels,” the company said. (IANS)

Twitter rolls out ability to add content warnings to individual posts

Google has recently begun rolling out its new pitch-black dark mode. As per The Verge, the previous dark mode was a grey that was soothing on the eyes, but Google switched to a true black that should really pop on OLED and AMOLED displays. Google announced the wider availability of dark mode earlier this month, but thus far, the release has been slow. Few people seem to have it, and as per reports, some users have received the new theme only to lose it. Google said it was testing a new dark mode in February of last year and later announced that the new dark theme was available on desktop and mobile in a tweet earlier this month.

Under the new CEO Parag Agrawal, Twitter is doubling down on efforts to sanitise its platform and now, the micro-blogging platform is giving all users access to the content warning feature. Once you post the tweet with a warning, the image or video will appear blurred out, with a content warning explaining why you have flagged it. “The option to add one-time sensitive content warnings to photos and videos you Tweet is now available for everyone across Android, iOS, and web. To add a content warning, tap the flag icon when editing the photo/video after you’ve attached it to your

Tweet,” the company said. One can tag multiple warnings for an individual piece of media. Agrawal has already said that his top priority in the new role is to improve the company’s execution and streamline how the micro-blogging platform operates. Twitter is also overhauling the way it handles problematic and abusive tweets reported by its users, aiming to bring a more ‘human first’ approach to improve the quality of tweets flagged by its users for misinformation, hate speech, spam and others. (IANS)

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The new display could be a win for those who thought the dark grey wasn’t dark enough. But it could also be a win for those who want to save some battery life on devices with OLED displays. (IANS)

RELATIONSHIPS

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

19% Indians using dating apps pay for background check on partners At least 19 per cent of Indians surveyed who are or have ever used a dating app or website admit paying for a check on their online match, a report said.

disturbing social media posts, 34 per cent unmatched having discovered photos online that conflicted with their dating profile pictures, the report said.

The survey, by NortonLifeLock, also revealed that 73 per cent of Indian adults surveyed who have been in a romantic relationship admit to checking in on their current or former partners without their knowledge, consent, or permission.

According to respondents, which involved 1,000 participants, the most common tactics for vetting a prospective date include looking up their match’s social media profiles (60 per cent), profiles on a professional networking site (43 per cent), and friends and family social media profiles (40 per cent).

“Nearly everyone does some form of social media check or online creeping before meeting someone in person for the first time,” Ritesh Chopra, Director Sales and Field Marketing, India and SAARC Countries, NortonLifeLock, said. “While a few consumers are taking preventative measures to protect themselves online, there is certainly room for improvement,” he added. The survey revealed that among those who

admitted to online stalking around a quarter of respondents admit to tracking their current or former partner’s location via a location-sharing app (25 per cent) or creating a fake profile to check on them on social media (23 per cent). While 29 per cent of online daters surveyed unmatched a potential partner due to finding

Dating apps and websites are constantly evolving to include new features and interfaces, but for many Indian online daters, the information found on a dating profile isn’t enough, the report said. At least 40 per cent of Indian online daters take it a step further according to these survey results, looking up a dating match’s friends or family members on social media. (IANS)

Tinder introduces ‘Blind Date’ experience Popular dating app Tinder is expanding its portfolio of features giving members new ways to create human connection by bringing back an old classic -- the blind date. Now available in Explore, Fast Chat: Blind Date is a new social experience that pairs members before allowing them to view each other’s profile, making conversation, rather than photos, the first impression. “We have all seen the mix of anticipation and excitement going on a blind date brought some of our favourite movie or TV characters, and we wanted to recreate that experience for today’s generation with the Blind Date feature,” Kyle Miller, VP of Product Innovation at Tinder, said. Blind Date is the latest addition to the popular suite of Fast Chat features on Tinder, all designed to help members connect faster through fun innovative prompts and games. Members will only be able to view each other’s profiles and photos if they both decide to match after chatting. In this feature, members will have to answer a short series of icebreaker questions and be paired with one another based on commonalities. They will then enter a timed chat, not

knowing any details about the person on the other side of the screen aside from their answers to multiple-choice prompts. When the timer runs out, they can Like the other’s profile, which will be revealed if there is a match, or they can choose to get paired with

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someone new. Blind Date is now available in the US and will be rolling out to Tinder members globally in the coming weeks. (IANS)

LIFESTYLE

When you hear the term “self-love”, images sheet masks or spontaneous road trips in films and spa days come to mind. However, self-love is more than this. It can take different forms for each of us. A rigorous pilates workout can be as relaxing as a spa treatment. Self-love entails accepting your true self -- with all of the flaws and imperfections that make you unique as an individual. Smytten lists down five ideas to kickstart your self-love journey! 4 Clean and organise: There is nothing better than getting something done first thing in the morning. Starting your day with a win can instantly boost your mood and self-esteem. You will end up getting more done than usual as a subconscious attempt to replicate that feeling. Devoting some time to organising your room can also significantly aid in the decluttering of your thoughts.

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

5 ways to practice self-love

Argan Oil Facial Kit or taking a bubble bath. Although it may appear timeconsuming and tedious, trying something new is always rewarding. At the end of the day, when you find the perfect match, it will all be worth it! 4 Maintain a journal: Write as if you were writing to a friend. Document your dreams, goals, dilemmas, or even a single day in your life. Simply put, allow your thoughts to flow. Proactively writing allows you to set intentions that lead to positive thoughts, selfimage and overall happiness. 4 Buy yourself flowers: Break the

4 Meditate: Meditating allows you to quiet your mind and refocus your attention on the present moment. While there are numerous approaches, here’s one you can try: spend at least three minutes doing a slow, breath-work meditation that focuses on your inner strengths. Finally, express your gratitude for a fully functional body. And, while it may seem counterintuitive, complimenting yourself aloud can be a game-changer! 4 Experiment with self-care: The internet is flooded with self-care tips that can confuse a reader to the point of doing nothing. This is where experimentation comes into play! Find what works for you, whether it’s the viral Moroccan

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stereotype of waiting for someone else to present you with flowers by representing a tangible form of love. Shower yourself with fragrance and love by selecting the right flowers and bringing freshness to your home or office. Alternatively, you could treat yourself to the ideal floral perfume -- the choice is entirely yours! Finally, choose to love yourself on a daily basis. It’s simple: hydrate, eat at least three meals a day, get eight hours of sleep, limit screen time and avoid activities that are harmful to your physical and mental health. (IANSlife)

HEALTH

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Australian scientists warn against spraying face masks with sanitiser Spraying face masks with sanitiser reduces their effectiveness, Australian scientists have found.

could impact the electrostatic properties of the face masks. He noted that these masks rely on having an electrostatic charge that attracts particles and traps them like a sticky spiderweb. “But we also know this charge can be destroyed by highlyconcentrated alcoholic vapours,” he said.

In a world-first study published on Thursday, a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) revealed that exposing N95 and P2 face masks to alcohol-based sanitisers risks “serious degradation” of their ability to protect from airborne hazards. Jurg Schutz, lead author of the study, said the findings would help inform people on how to care for disposable masks. “Single-use face masks will continue to be part of many of our lives as they provide us with a defence against Covid, its variants and any future pathogens, but we had been hearing stories about people trying to prolong the life

The research was published as several jurisdictions prepare to ease mask rules.

of these masks by cleaning them,” he said in a media release. “We started thinking about the kinds of products people have been using more during the pandemic, like alcohol-based hand sanitiser and cleaning solutions, and realised these

From Friday night, people in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria will only be required to wear masks in high-risk settings including public transport, airports and healthcare facilities. (IANS)

DAILY EXERCISE MAY PROVIDE RELIEF FOR ITCHY EYES According to a few researchers from the University of Waterloo, exercise is extremely beneficial for our eyes. They discovered that a significant increase in tear secretion and tear film stability after participating in aerobic exercise can be another remedy for relieving dry, itchy eyes. Their study, ‘Differential effect of maximal incremental treadmill exercise on tear secretion and tear film stability in athletes and non-athletes’ was published in the journal, ‘Experimental Eye Research’. The study was co-authored by Otchere, the University of Cape Coast’s Samuel Abokyi, Sekyere Nyamaah, and Michael Ntodie, and Ghana’s Our Lady of Grace Hospital’s Yaw Osei Akoto. Every time we blink, our eyes are covered in tear film--an essential protective coating necessary for maintaining healthy ocular function. Healthy tear film comprises three layers-oil, water, and mucin-that work together to hydrate the ocular surface and protect against infection-causing irritants like dust or dirt. When any part of the tear film becomes unstable, the ocular surface can develop dry spots, causing eye symptoms like itchiness or stinging and burning sensations. “With so much of our activity tied to screen usage, dry eye symptoms are becoming increasingly common,” said Heinz Otchere, a

PhD candidate in vision science at Waterloo. “Instead of having to use eye drops or other alternative treatments, our study aimed to determine if remaining physically active can be an effective preventative measure against dryness.” Fifty-two participants were divided into two groups--athlete and non-athlete--to participate in an exercise session. Participants in the athlete group exercised at least five times per week, while non-athlete participants exercised no more than once per week. Researchers, which included experts from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, performed visual examinations before and five minutes after each

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exercise session, where tear secretion and tear break-up time were assessed. While participants in the athlete group showed the largest increase, Otchere says all participants experienced a meaningful boost in tear quantity and tear film stability after the exercise session. “It can be challenging for people to regularly exercise when the demand is there to work increasingly longer hours in front of screens,” Otchere said. “However, our findings show physical activity can be really important for not just our overall well-being, but for our ocular health too. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

ASK DR. RAJ…

Health tip:

HEADACHES: Q: Hello Dr Raj, I suffer

from severe headaches, almost everyday. Visual disruption, sensitivity to sound and light (while laying on my side, I cover my ear with my arm and the pain lessens ever so slightly), intense throbbing pain behind my left eye and left side of head, tenderness on the left side of my head and they last for hours. Usually the only thing that helps is sleep. I rely on (aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine) to cope. I also get a feeling to clench my teeth. I am concerned that these might be caused due to tumors. Please advice. Ms A.

more. We might also need to check if you are allergic to anything.

Depending on the above information, suitable Homeopathic remedies can be given and significant improvement can be seen. Tumor may not be the only cause for repetitive headaches (your health care professional will guide you in this matter), tumors in brain is mostly associated with projectile vomiting. The medication you currently rely on can have an adverse reaction and reliance on any medication for a prolonged time is not advisable. There are very specific Homeopathic remedies that can fit to your symptoms. Just by getting your constitution right we can pick the indicated remedy. Remedies such as Cimicifuga and Spigelia are a few of the remedies which might be picked for you based on your constitution. Homeopathy A: Dear Ms.A, Headaches are a great discomfort. Though most also has a track record of treating headaches are harmless, they are persistent headaches successfully. In addition, getting adequate sleep, painful, and certainly reduce the quality of life. The most common lots of water, stretching for the headaches are probably caused by neck and upper body, specially if your work involved computers, tight, contracted muscles in the maintaining proper posture, yoga shoulders, neck, scalp, and jaw. and proper breathing are important. You have clearly described the Pranayama and Brahmari, greatly nature of your pain. I will need help to relieve headaches. some more information around the triggers (if any), time of By Raj Kothuru occurrence, nature of your work, Please send any of your health related questions to drraj@aurahealth.com.au with Ask Dr Raj as the subject how long they have been occurline or ph: 94788649 / 0425761826. The questions will be ring for, family history and many published with your identity protected.

Toe touching exercises help improve flexibility. They stretch your shoulders, back and leg muscles, especially the hamstrings

All You Need to Know About Sleep Dentistry

ick one! A horror movie night or a visit to the dentist? If you just opted to watch a horror movie over going to the dentist, and find yourself constantly avoiding seeing your dentist, you seriously need some help. But don’t worry, you are not alone. Many Australians deny visiting the dentist despite a bad state of their oral health. This fear of the dentist or dental procedures is often known as dental anxiety or phobia in severe cases. The good news is a revolutionary technological advancement in dentistry can help you face your fears. Sleep dentistry is the procedure you must be asking your dentist for the next time you visit them. And as far as our experience goes, you surely are going to call the dentist after reading this blog. 1. What is Sleep Dentistry? Sleep dentistry is the process used to provide a virtually pain-free and comfortable dental treatment to patients using a range of sedatives. It is used to perform various dental treatments that otherwise would have been painful for a patient. People suffering from dental anxiety and phobia also benefit a great deal from sleep dentistry as they no longer need to worry about the pain and discomfort. This process is often also called ‘sedation dentistry’, disregarding the minute difference between the two which stems from the choice of sedatives. Some sedatives, such as general anaesthesia, produce a calming effect where the patient can sleep during the dental procedure. While some lighter sedatives, such as laughing gas, can only make you dizzy and relaxed enough to lay still during your dental treatment. 2. What types of sedation are used? Sleep dentistry uses a wide range of sedatives to suit individual needs and make dental treatments less scary. The most common types of sedation used are as follows: • General anaesthesia • IV sedation • Happy gas or nitrous oxide • Oral sedation • Anti-anxiety medication/ sedation via inhalation All these sedation options produce varied results that help dentists provide their best dental treatment. A patient can select any sedation option that suits their dental treatment requirements and general health. Sedatives are also used with analgesics to ensure the patient has maximum comfort during their dental treatment. 3. Are there any side effects of sedation?

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As with any other surgeries, the after-effects of sedation may show for a short period following the surgery. Some of the side effects of sleep dentistry include dry mouth, mild headache, dizziness, nausea, and visual disturbances. These side effects are rare, and one might not experience any. However, to minimise the health risks for a patient, our dentists make sure the patient is not allergic to a sedative. We conduct a thorough medical history investigation of every patient to determine their suitability for sleep dentistry. We encourage patients to share their medical history before proceeding with sleep dentistry. 4. What is the follow up required? The follow up after undergoing a sleep dentistry treatment mainly depends on the type and duration of the dental treatment itself. For example, a patient with dental implants will have a different follow-up regime than the one who had a root canal treatment. Our dentists at Healthy Smiles Dental Group provide each patient with a customised and detailed followup plan to ease things and avoid confusion. 5. Who is suitable for sleep dentistry? The following types of patients are deemed the best candidates for sleep dentistry: • People with severe dental anxiety or phobia • People with conditions causing involuntary movements • People with a severe gag reflex • People with low pain threshold • Anyone who needs extensive dental treatment • People with extremely sensitive teeth However, please note that certain other health conditions need to be determined before proceeding with the surgery. Consulting a specialist sleep dentist will help you decide better. To know whether you are a candidate for sleep dentistry, visit our Healthy Smiles Dental Group clinic in Blackburn. You can also book an appointment by calling us on 03 9877 2035. Dr Ved Berani BDS(Mum), ADEC(Aust), MBA(Melb), FIADFE, MFGDP(UK) Principal Dentist & Clinical Advisor Healthy Smiles Dental Group 150-152 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn South VIC 3130 Call us: (03) 9877 2035 www.healthysmiles.com.au

HEALTH

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

CONSUMPTION OF ‘MANGOES-KING OF FRUITS’ HAS POSITIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES

Does the king of fruits, often instructed to be avoided after one is diagnosed with diabetes, have health benefits? As low fruit and vegetable consumption continues to contribute to diet-related chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, two new research studies have found that regular mango consumption may improve diets and help manage key risk factors that contribute to chronic disease.

The studies were published in ‘Nutrients’ and ‘Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases’. Specifically, these new studies report findings in two areas: 1) mango consumption is associated with better overall diet quality and intake of nutrients that many children and adults lack at optimum levels and 2) snacking on mangos may improve glucose control and reduce inflammation in contrast to other sweet snacks. With mangos consumed widely in global cuisines and 58 per cent of Americans reporting snacking at least once a day in 2021, this new research provided added evidence that regularly consuming mangos may have health advantages and be relevant to cultural dietary preferences and current eating patterns. A recent observational study found positive outcomes in nutrient intakes, diet quality, and weight-related health outcomes in individuals who consume mangos versus those who do not. The study published in ‘Nutrients’, used United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2018 data to compare the diets and nutrient intakes of mango consumers to people who did not consume mangos. The study showed that children who regularly ate mango had higher intakes of immune-boosting vitamins A, C and B6, as well as fiber and potassium. Fiber and potassium are two of the four “nutrients of concern” as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which means many Americans are not meeting recommendations for these. In adults, researchers found similar results, showing that mango consumption was associated with significantly greater daily intakes of fiber and potassium but also vitamins A, B12, C, E and folate, a vitamin critical during pregnancy and fetal development. For both children and adults, consuming mango was associated with a reduced intake of sodium and sugar, and for adults was associated with a reduced intake of cholesterol.

“We have known for a long time that there is a strong correlation between diet and chronic disease,” said Yanni Papanikolaou, a researcher on the project. “This study reveals that both children and adults eating mangos tend to have significantly better diet quality overall along with higher intakes of fiber and potassium compared with those who don’t eat mangos. It is also important that mango fits into many diverse cuisines. Whole fruits are under-consumed, and mango can encourage fruit consumption, especially among growing diverse populations.” Snacking on mangos associated with better glucose control and lower inflammation. In addition to these broad benefits of mango consumption, the separate pilot study, published in ‘Nutrition,

Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases’ looked at mango as a snack and found that consuming whole mangos as a snack versus a controlled snack had better health outcomes in overweight and obese adults3. Given 97 per cent of American adults consumed snacks that contributed up to 24 per cent of their daily energy intake, this study sought to compare snacking on 100 calories of fresh mango daily to snacking on low-fat cookies that were equal in calories. Twenty-seven adults participated in the study, all classified as overweight or obese based on Body Mass Index (BMI) and reported no known health conditions. Participants were given either mango or low-fat cookies as a snack while maintaining their usual diet and physical level for 12 weeks, and after a four-week wash-out period, the alternating snack was given for another 12 weeks. Researchers measured the effects on glucose, insulin, lipid profiles, liver function enzymes and inflammation. At the end of the trial period, findings

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indicated that mango consumption improved glycaemic control (an individual’s ability to manage blood glucose levels, an important factor in preventing and managing diabetes) and reduced inflammation. Results showed there was no drop in blood glucose when participants snacked on low-fat cookies. However, when snacking on mangos there was a statistically significant (p= 0.004) decrease in blood glucose levels at four weeks and again at 12 weeks, even though there was twice as much sugar, naturally occurring, in the mangos compared to the cookies. Researchers also observed statistically significant improvements to inflammation markers, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and C-reactive protein (CRP), when snacking on mangos. TAC is a measurement of overall antioxidant capacity, or how well foods can prevent oxidation in cells. CRP is a biomarker used to measure inflammation in the body. The research suggested that the antioxidants abundant in mangos offered more protection against inflammation compared to the cookies. “The findings of this study show that antioxidants, fiber and polyphenols abundant in mango may help to offset sugar consumption and aid in glucose control. Antioxidants may also offer protection against inflammation” said Dr. Mee Young Hong, lead investigator on the study and Professor in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University. “Further research is needed but the initial findings are encouraging for people who enjoy sweet snacks.” Some limitations in this study included sample size, using only one dose of mango, and measuring effects on participants without any pre-existing conditions. Further research should explore the optimal dose of mango and examine the long-term effects of mango consumption on those with metabolic conditions. It would also be of benefit to compare mango to a fiber-matched control snack to distinguish the effects of fiber versus the bioactive compounds in mangos. With only 99 calories and over 20 different vitamins and minerals, a 1 cup serving of mango is nutrient-dense, making it a superfood. As mangos are widely consumed in cultures around the world, research into their health benefits contributed to a better understanding of their place in a healthy diet. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Reduction in air pollution can help improve kidney function

Improving air quality may not only help your lungs but also your kidneys, suggests a study.

respectively.

GFR is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working and further progression of chronic kidney disease.

Researchers from King’s College London found that ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration reduction led to significant improvement in laboratory test results used to assess a patient’s kidney function. “Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with declined kidney function. However, whether the association is causal remains unknown,” said Co-author Yiqun Han, Research Associate in School of Public Health, Imperial College London. In the study, published in the journal Health Data Science, the team conducted a quasiexperimental difference-in-difference analysis. They identified a strong linkage between the reduced PM2.5 with improved kidney function, Han added. The researchers analysed the demographic and laboratory records of 5,115 adults. They

Air pollution is known to affect kidney function. Several studies have shown that exposure to bad air is associated with an increased chronic kidney disease-related morbidity and mortality. Exposure to PM2.5, even at relatively low concentrations, is a risk factor for a lower kidney function and a faster decline in kidney function. investigated the change in kidney function parameters between 2011 and 2015 according to the population’s long-term exposure to PM2.5 derived from an environmental database. The team found that a 10 Ig/m3 reduction in PM2.5 significantly improved multiple kidney function parameters. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increased by 0.42 mL/min/1.73m2, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased by 0.38 mg/dL, and uric acid (UA) decreased by 0.06 mg/dL,

Han suggested the need for rapid air quality improvement driven by the action. Besides kidneys, reduction in air pollution may help improve “population health, including cardiorespiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, mental and neurological disorders, and indicators for non-fatal risks (e.g., medical expenditure and disability), in addition to kidney diseases,” he said. (ANI)

EATING PRUNES MAY HELP PROTECT AGAINST BONE LOSS IN OLDER WOMEN Prunes are good for your gut. However, according to a new study led by Penn State, prunes may be good for bone health.

the formation of new ones. This can be caused by multiple factors including inflammation and oxidative stress, which is when free radicals and antioxidants are unbalanced in the body.

The study was published in the journal ‘Advances in Nutrition’. The researchers found that prunes can help prevent or delay loss in postmenopausal women, possibly due to their ability to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which contribute to bone loss.

Prunes, however, have many nutritional benefits such as minerals, vitamin K, phenolic compounds and dietary fibre -- all which may be able to help counter some of these effects. For their review, the researchers analyzed data from 16 preclinical studies in rodent models, ten preclinical studies and two clinical trials. Across the studies, the researchers found evidence that eating prunes helped reduce inflammation and oxidative stress and promoted bone health.

“In postmenopausal women, lower levels of estrogens can trigger a rise of oxidative stress and inflammation, increasing the risk of weakening bones that may lead to fractures,” said Connie Rogers, associate professor of nutritional sciences and physiology. “Incorporating prunes into the diet may help protect bones by slowing or reversing this process,” he added. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak or brittle that can happen to anyone at any age, but according to the researchers, it is most common among women over the age of 50. The condition affects more than 200 million women worldwide, causing almost nine million fractures each year. While medications exist to treat osteoporosis, the researchers said there is a growing interest for ways to treat the condition with nutrition.

“Fruits and vegetables that are rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolic acid, flavonoids and carotenoids can potentially help protect against osteoporosis,” said Mary Jane De Souza, professor of kinesiology and physiology. “With prunes, in particular, gaining attention in previous research,” he added. According to the researchers, bones are maintained throughout adult life by processes that continually build new bone cells while removing old ones. But after the age of 40, this breaking down of old cells begins to outpace

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For example, the clinical trials found that eating 100 grams of prunes -- about 10 prunes -- each day for one year improved bone mineral density of bones in the forearm and lower spine and decreased signs of bone turnover. Additionally, eating 50 or 100 grams of prunes a day for six months prevented loss of total bone mineral density and decreased TRAP-5b -- a marker of bone resorption -compared to women who didn’t eat prunes. “Taken together, evidence from in vitro, preclinical studies, and limited clinical studies suggest prunes may help to reduce bone loss,” Rogers said.

(IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

ACTORS NEVER CHASE THE BOX-OFFICE, SUPERSTARS DO: AJAY DEVGN Ajay Devgn is all set to make his digital debut with the upcoming series ‘Rudra - The Edge of Darkness’, an Indian adaptation of the Idris Elba-starrer ‘Luther’. The star has talked about how there is no pressure of chasing box-office figures with the massive growth of the web-space. Ajay, who has entertained the audiences with his power-packed performances in his over three-decadelong journey in Hindi cinema, says actors never chase the box-office, but superstars do. Asked if there is no pressure of chasing box-office numbers anymore courtesy the massive growth of the OTT space and films taking the digital route for releases, Ajay in a conversation said: “Actors never chase the box office. Superstars do.” For Ajay, it is the audiences’ love that matters. “For me, a film’s success is not always about the box office. I want appreciation. I want my honesty to get noticed. I strive for quality. Of course, the ticket window sales do help. It’s a bonus. However, numbers alone can’t dictate the way I work or what

PARINEETI FEELS A NEW PHASE OF HER CAREER BEGAN AFTER ‘THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN’

I strive for. As far as OTT’s rise goes, it’s phenomenal. Certain films will go directly to streaming platforms and even there you are anxious to know how it has been received. An actor or a performer is always anxious,” added the 52-year-old star. Ajay made his acting debut in 1991 with ‘Phool Aur Kaante’. He then rose to prominence as an action hero starring in successful films such as ‘Jigar’, ‘Sangram’ , ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Diljale’. He went on to give blockbusters like ‘Zakhm’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Company’, ‘Golmaal’ franchise, ‘Singham’ franchise, ‘Bol Bachchan’ and ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’. How does he maintain staying ahead of the curve when it comes to his craft? The actor, who has won National Film Awards, said: “Staying ahead of a curve is not always a conscious decision. It’s all about accepting roles that I found attractive. When one breaks stereotypes, sometimes you tend to fall flat on the face. At other times, you soar. It’s a gamble. Yes, in my three-decade-long career, I’ve taken chances and I’ve followed my heart as far as what is right for me is concerned.” With tasting the highs of highs in success, what’s his biggest fear? Pat came the reply from Ajay: “Any performing artiste has only one fear. It goes-let my work find appreciation.” Moving forward, Ajay, who was he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 2016, has a motley of releases film lined up. He will be seen in ‘RRR’, ‘Runway 34’, ‘Maidaan’, ‘Cirkus’, ‘Thank God’ and ‘Drishyam 2’. Ajay feels no work pressure! He said: “I love work pressure. During the Pandemic when we were forced to sit back, I hated the slow, languid pace. I’m a person who performs best under pressure.

By Durga Chakravarty

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Actor Parineeti Chopra spoke about how the Hindi remake of ‘The Girl On The Train’ was a game changer for her career. Parineeti says, “Some characters have the ability to entrench themselves deep within your consciousness and Mira is that woman for me. ‘The Girl On The Train’ was an exhilarating and emotionally draining film for me and it taught me so much.” “There was so much unlearning and learning that I feel a new phase of my career began after it. It doesn’t feel like it’s been a year already and it is amazing that the entire team is still getting so much love and appreciation for the film.” The actress added, “Mira will always live on in me as, to play her, I had to relive the darkest moments of my own life. I was an emotional wreck by the end of the film, but it was so worth it.” “I feel grateful to the makers and Ribhu for giving me this role which not only made me grow as a performer but also changed me as a person. It was a life changing experience for me, something that made me stronger as an artiste.” Parineeti will be soon seen in Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s ‘Animal’ opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Uunchai’ in which she will share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher and Boman Irani. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

CONSTANT SCRUTINY OF PRIVATE LIFE ‘DOES GET STIFLING’ :

ALIA BHATT

Actress Alia Bhatt, who is currently riding high on the success of her latest release ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, which minted Rs 39.12 crore in its first weekend, agrees that being a public figure is not easy and that constant vigilance and talks about her private life does get stifling at times. Speaking about people wanting to know more about the actress’s life and if it does get stifling, Alia shared: “It does. But then I am like ‘why am I an actor?’ If you want to be a public figure, then your life will get public. That’s why one tries to protect his/her personal life.” The actress, who is reportedly in a relationship with actor Ranbir Kapoor, says she likes to keep her private life guarded. “Like I don’t want to give out details of when I am getting married because it is nobody’s business or where I am going for lunch as it is nobody’s business. But people are speculating and talking about it, now that there is something I can’t do much about.” The actress is all set to complete a decade in Hindi cinema in 2022. She made her Bollywood debut with Karan Johar’s ‘Student Of The Year’ in 2012 and was later seen in a string of hits such as ‘Highway’,

‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’, ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Dear Zindagi’, ‘Raazi and ‘Gully Boy’ to name a few. How does she look back at her journey? Daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan, Alia said: “I think I definitely evolved as an actor and a person. I was a bit all over the place initially running around trying to prove a point.” The 28-year-old actress says she is now doing things to make herself happy. “I don’t have pressure on my head. I don’t think there is any fun in having pressure. It’s not a race, it is a creative medium. You have to satisfy that creative bug inside you and move on. After working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir, my approach towards acting has changed.” Every time she comes on screen, she takes her own game higher, Alia says she does not do her craft as chess moves. “I don’t get into how and in what way it happens. For me acting is like my passion, it keeps me happy and that is the reason I act. I am not playing some calculating game where I am doing things for the right move. It’s not chess for me. It’s like painting and meditation. By Durga Chakravarty

BHUMI PEDNEKAR COMPLETES SEVEN YEARS IN INDIAN CINEMA February 27 holds a special place in Bhumi Pednekar’s life as her debut film ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ was released on the same date seven years ago.

Looking back at her journey, Bhumi said, “Dum Laga Ke Haisha (DLKH) was a watershed moment of my career. Looking back, I was truly blessed to have this film as my debut because it is always tough to get a forward-thinking film that projects women in the correct light and DLKH was making bold statements about body positivity! Films like this don’t get made every day and I have to thank Maneesh Sharma, Sharat Katariya, Aditya Chopra and the entire team for trusting me with this beautiful role that has now become an example of how women should be portrayed in cinema.” Helmed by Sharat Katariya, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ revolves around a school dropout named Prem, essayed by Ayushmann Khurrana, who reluctantly marries the educated but overweight Sandhya (Bhumi). The couple

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come closer when they take part in a race, which involves Prem carrying Sandhya on his back. According to Bhumi, the success of ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ enabled her to understand that people wanted to see women of substance on screen. “DLKH was validating for me not just as an actor and a performer but also as a woman who was trying to redefine feminism through her work. I always believed that I became an actor for a purpose - it was to be a part of great cinema and to play great women on screen that aimed at changing the narrative of how a girl is seen by society.DLKH gave me the confidence to march forward with this ideal that I had in my head and my body of work speaks for it today. It is the most special film of my life and I owe everything to DLKH because it told me that dreams do become destiny,” she added. Speaking of Bhumi’s current projects, she recently wrapped up ‘Bhakshak’. She will also be seen sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar in Raksha Bandhan. (ANI)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

OTT HELPED TO CONNECT WITH NEW GENERATION: BOBBY DEOL Even though he was one of the favourites of the ‘90s generation, Bollywood actor Bobby Deol, also the son of yesteryear superstar Dharmendra, has found a new generation of audience through some of his successful web films and web series in the last two years. The actor says his father is quite emotional and proud of the recent success that he has achieved through the web shows. In conversation, Bobby shared, “Yes, he is a star of Hindi cinema but for us, he is our papaji. He is very emotional and proud of my current success also because this medium of OTT is very different and new for their generation. “For him, he always says and makes us believe that the love from the audience is more important than awards. My father in the prime of his career did not receive those film awards but he was always loved by the audience. Now when he sees how my work is getting recognised by a new generation of audience, it makes him feel proud.” Bobby made his Bollywood debut with the film ‘Barsaat’ in 1995, delivering some of the successful films such as ‘Kareeb’, ‘Soldier’, ‘Bichhoo’, ‘Ajnabee’, ‘Humraaz’ and ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’. He made his OTT debut in 2020 with a Netflix film ‘Class of 83’ and web series ‘Aashram’. Both of them were well received. His latest release on ZEE5 is a feature film titled ‘Love Hostel’, a Shanker Raman directorial, that also features - Sanya Malhotra and Vikrant Massey.

RAKUL PREET SINGH

One thing is for sure that smile is actor Rakul Preet Singh’s stress buster.

Actress Yami Gautam has joined hands with two NGOs -- Majlis and Pari (People Against Rape in India) -to support victims of sexual assault and to work for their rehabilitation. “Today with great pride I would like to share that I have joined hands with two NGOs who are constantly supporting and working towards the rehabilitation of victims of sexual assault,” Yami said.

Rakul took to Instagram and shared one of her adorable pictures from her vacation in the Maldives. In the image, the ‘De De Pyaar De’ star can be seen flashing her million-dollar smile. Alongside the image, she urged her followers to smile more often in life as it’s a free therapy.

She elaborated that women’s safety still has a long way to go and her association with the NGOs for the cause emanates from this very subject.

“Smile away!! It’s free therapy#islandlife,” she captioned the post.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Rakul’s upcoming projects include ‘Doctor G’ with Ayushmann Khurrana, ‘Chhatriwali’ and ‘Runway 34’. She is awaiting the theatrical release of

ties up with NGOs to support victims of sexual assault

According to Bobby, he is also growing as a creative person because of working with youngsters. “I think the new generation of actors, directors, writers have a very unique approach towards their work. I love that about them. Yes, at times it also makes me smile,” he said. Sharing one of such instances, Bobby said, “Before we started the shooting for ‘Love Hostel’, in the hostel where we were staying, one evening Sanya and Vikrant came to meet me in my room. “That was the first time we were meeting. Both of them were just going on and on about how they used to dance to those songs of ‘Soldier’, ‘Humraaz’ ... they liked my films like ‘Bichhoo’ (laughs). They are very sweet and at the same time professional with their work. I like such enthusiasm.”. (IANS)

PEOPLE TO SMILE MORE OFTEN:

A day ago, Rakul flaunted her toned figure in a yellow co-ord set and accessorised the look with a hat and goggles.

Yami Gautam

‘Attack’, which stars John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez apart from her and is slated to release on April 1, 2022. Prior to her visit to the Maldives, Rakul was in Mussoorie along with Akshay Kumar for the shoot of their yet-to-be-titled film.

(ANI)

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“The need to work on these issues stems from the women’s safety issues which still exist. While some progress has been made, there’s a long way to go still,” she said. “My association with the NGOs is just the beginning and in the near future, I would like to contribute further in helping to procure better resources to protect and support women from all walks of life,” she added. (IANS)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

I DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT MYSELF AS AN ACTOR: HUMA QURESHI Huma Qureshi, who has some versatile roles lined up in her upcoming projects, including the just-released web series ‘Mithya’, says she has a strategy of not repeating herself or playing the same kind of character in the projects she signs. Whether playing an accidental politician Rani Bharti in the web series ‘Maharani’, a pivotal part in the Hollywood flick ‘Army of the Dead’, Shalini in Deepa Mehta’s web series ‘Leila’, a Hindi teacher in ‘Mithya’, making a special appearance in the Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, or landing a role in south superstar Ajith’s upcoming film ‘Valimai’ -- Huma is consistently choosing different kind of characters for each of her projects. In a conversation, Huma said, “That is the whole idea, I do not want to repeat myself as an actor. When I interact with the media or my fans, they get to see how I am in real life. When they see me on-screen, every

time I want them to say, ‘Hey but this is not Huma!’ Because I want to put myself out of my comfort zone and find challenge in every character I play.” She went on to add, “I have no other drive but to prove myself in every film and series that I do, because I am living my dream. I am still that girl from Delhi with the dream of pretending to be someone else, wearing different clothes, posing in front of the mirror, using her mother’s dupatta and lipstick! “I used to do that as a child, and I am still doing the same. To become someone else was the most fascinating part for me, and that’s why I wanted to be an actor. The child inside me is just as alive as she was.” The actress is also working on the new season of the web series ‘Maharani’, Netflix series ‘Monica, O My Darling’ and the film ‘Double XL’. (IANS)

WANT TO DELIVER STRONG PERFORMANCES ON SCREEN: VAANI KAPOOR Actress Vaani Kapoor says she wants to deliver strong performances on screen and feels that her upcoming film ‘Shamshera’ is that perfect vehicle for her. Vaani, who will be seen in a drop dead gorgeous avatar in ‘Shamshera’ in which she plays the role of a performer, says, “’Shamshera’ is a theatrical experience like no other and I’m really happy that we have a release date that tells audiences that we are coming to entertain them with a story and a spectacle that will hopefully touch the hearts of every cinema lover across the country.” She adds, “’Shamshera’ is a film that is extremely close to my heart and each one of us have given our best to make it a film that everyone, across all agegroups, will enjoy. “Coming out of ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’, I wanted to give audiences a performance that they will again hopefully love. I want to deliver strong performances on screen and ‘Shamshera’ is that perfect vehicle for me.” About her character in the muchawaited action entertainer ‘Shamshera’, Vaani says, “I’m really excited to play the role of a performer who dances her

way into the hearts of people, and I have some amazing songs to perform on. I’m hoping that all the songs of ‘Shamshera’ become a huge success too. It’s a product of our love, sweat and hard work.”

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Vaani is paired opposite superstar Ranbir. The Karan Malhotra action extravaganza that has been produced by Aditya Chopra, is set to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on July 22. (IANS)

FOOD

bon appétit

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Did you know:

Couscous contains selenium which acts as an antioxidant, protecting healthy cells from the mutating effects of toxins that change the DNA

5 ways to style a table

ou've sent out the invitations, planned the menu, bought all the ingredients and readied a playlist. You're almost set for your lavish dinner party at home except for one important detail - the table decor! It's probably just as important as the food and is likely to make a lasting impression on your guests. At any dinner party, the highlight is always the food and drinks. You'll find your guests milling around the dinner table throughout the night, so it's probably a good idea to add a statement piece or two to lift the aesthetic around the table. Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO & Founder, Orvi Surfaces suggests a few tableware and decor accessories you can use to liven up your party.

Raku Vase

Raku firing is an ancient Japanese technique of alternating hand firing and rapid cooling on ceramic to reveal intense colours and patterns. Place a Raku-fired vase topped with a bunch of fresh flowers in the centre of your dining table and watch your

table transform into the centre of attention at the party.

Tarkashi Serving Platter

Nothing uplifts the ambience of a party more than an exquisite serving platter laden with mouth-watering nibbles. Handcrafted from Acacia wood with intricate floral brass detailing, Tarkashi serving platters may be guilty of drawing attention away from your food! They're ideal for presenting finger food and appetisers in a sophisticated way. Plus, you contribute towards sustaining the centuries old art of Tarkashi, an intricate art dying a slow death due to lack of awareness.

Pietra Dura Serving Tray with Handles

Inlaid with the semi-precious Mother of Pearl, the Pietra Dura serving tray is the perfect vehicle to ferry food to and from the table, or even to use as a makeshift charcuterie board. It's sturdy, light and extremely convenient to use, not to mention a superbly striking accessory for any dinner table.

Intarsio Cake Stand

The combination of natural stone and brass inlay makes the Intarsio cake stand a dinner party must-have. This is a multifunctional handmade decor-piece - when you're welcoming your guests, top it with delicate flower arrangements or use it as a cheese board, and towards the end of the night, use it to serve cakes, cookies and muffins. This piece is available in a contemporary geometric pattern and also in a delicate flower pattern.

Gravure Coasters

If you're planning an intimate sit-down dinner, a set of Gravure coasters is the perfect addition to your table setting. These hand engraved pieces have an eye-catching print, inspired by the Jaipur block prints and Paisley design that has been carved into the stone to give them a signature quality. A felt back and sealant coating mean you don't have to worry about drink spills and stains. By Sanjeev Agrawal

Roasting cocoa beans lessens bitterness

which boosts chocolate liking

ccording to new research led by the Department of Food Science, roasting cocoa beans at high temperatures can reduce bitterness and optimize flavor which can be acceptable by health-conscious people. The study was published in the journal 'Current Research in Food Science'. The study involved 27 100 percent-chocolate preparations made from cocoa beans roasted at various intensities and 145 people who came to the center on five consecutive days, evaluating five different samples each day. The research confirmed that bitterness and astringency were negatively correlated to consumer liking and demonstrated that those qualities in chocolate can be reduced through optimizing roasting, according to research team member Helene Hopfer, Rasmussen Career Development Professor in Food Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "More and more people these days are eating darker chocolates with less sugar and more cacaos because they are trying to cut down on sugar intake or they want to take advantage of perceived health benefits,"

Helene Hopfer said. "Dark chocolate is particularly high in flavonoids, particularly a subtype called flavan-3 and their oligomers, which are all considered functional ingredients due to their associated health effects," she added. However, unsweetened chocolate is too bitter for most people to enjoy, so researchers experimented with roasting treatments to modify the flavor -- investigating more than basic tastes such as sour and bitter -- making it more acceptable for consumers, Hopfer explained. For the study, research team member Alan McClure, founder of craft chocolate company Patric Chocolate and related consultancy Patric Food & Beverage Development, partnered with Hopfer and Penn State to characterize the flavor and acceptability of the chocolates. Part of his doctoral degree dissertation research, McClure chose cocoa beans from three origins -- Madagascar, Ghana and Peru, harvested in 2018 and 2019. He roasted and ground all samples into cocoa liquor at his factory in Columbia, Missouri, and then shipped the solidified

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100% chocolate to Penn State, where he and Hopfer remelted and portioned out the chocolates into small discs for sensory evaluation. McClure found the reaction of study participants to his 27 100% chocolate preparations especially interesting, and he suggested that what he learned from this research will guide him, and roasting staff at other chocolate manufacturing companies, in creating future products through an increased scientific understanding of the complex changes resulting from cocoa roasting. In findings published in Current Research in Food Science, the researchers reported that more intense roasting conditions -- such as 20 minutes at 340 degrees Fahrenheit, 80 min at 275 F, and 54 min at 304 F -- all led to chocolate consumers finding unsweetened chocolate the most acceptable. Conversely, research participants did not find 100 per cent chocolate acceptable when made from raw or lightly roasted cacao, such as beans roasted 11 minutes at 221 F, or 55 minutes at 147 F. (ANI)

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Indian bread basket: Return of desi roti O

mar Khayyam penned some memorable lines that talk of a 'Loaf of Bread, a Flask of Wine' in the company of the beloved magically transforming wilderness into a paradise. And, there is Nazir Akbarabadi the 18th-century people's poet from Agra whose poem 'Rotiyan' celebrating bread is considered a classic. Countless phrases in many languages recognise the importance of bread. Man may not live by bread alone but can't live without it. Shortage of bread has triggered revolutions and royal heads like Marie Antoinette's have rolled on the Guillotine for tactless remarks about it. Bread is talked of as the 'Stave of Life' and one 'breaks bread' with someone to forge close ties --roti beti ka naata. Do joon ki roti in Hindi translates as basic subsistence. Many restaurants have ritualised serving assorted breads on a platter to save the diners from deciding to choose between tawa or tandoori, naan or paratha. The roadside kebab stall makes to with the roomali. Not many are acquainted with the fascinating array of Indian breads-sweet and savoury, crisp and soft each devised to pair with a specific delicacy with or without gravy. Some are enjoyed all by themselves- absolutely delightful. In recent months, we have come across much-talked-about artisanal breads. But like with all things phoren in the poor developing world the attention is drawn mostly to Rye, Sourdough, Baguette, and shades of brown. It's heartening to note that the Empire has begun to push back. There is a strong revival of interest in our own breads, and some considered extinct are reappearing. A rebirth of sorts. Khamiri (livened) and roghani (enriched by extra ghee) are popular in Muslim eateries in Delhi, Bhopal and other parts of northern India. Lucknow has a whole range of exotic breads- sheermal (delicate, mildly sweet saffron tinted bread prepared with flour kneeded in milk) and flakey kulcha not to be confused with the tandoori stuffed paratha like preparation in Amritsar. More rarely encountered are the gavdeeda (literally Bulls Eye) and gavjuban (resembling a bovine tongue in shape). Interestingly, sheermal and kulcha are claimed by the Kashmiris as their own but despite the similarity in the name they share nothing in common with the Awadhi-Lucknowi breads. They are harder, biscuity and must have cereals for breakfast. They are relished with pink salty nun chai or cardamom saffron laced kehwa. Girda is among the most popular bread among predominantly riceeating Kashmiris.

Punjabis are partial to tandoori roti prepared with wholewheat four and naan made with plain flour. In winters makke ki (cornflour) roti plays its delicious duet with sarson da saag (green mustard leaves). In the hill villages of Uttarakhand darkcomplexioned madua (finger millets) was traditionally used by the poor. Other drought-prone regions and arid zones also rely on millets like bajra (pearl millets) and jowar (giant millet /sorghum) to prepare robust roti on tawa. This is hardy peasant's fare and at a pinch can form a complete meal with just a large dollop hot chutney or salsa like thecha. Rice flour is used in pathiri in Tamil Nadu and gassi in Karnataka. Pancake like chilada roti (aka tsot) are prepared in many provinces with a rice flour batter. Bengali's claim Bakarkhani as their own. It's a rich tasty bread that commemorates the love affair of Bakar Miyan a district governor with a beautiful dancing girl Khani who was coveted by a vicious Kotwal (police officer). Khani became a victim of their rivalry. Bakar Miyan created the bread token alive the memory of that love. Bakharkhani bread

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is prepared at many places far away from Bengal and equally colourful backstories claim a geographical indicator for the local bake. There is even one Indian bread that found a place on the flag of the largest princely state in India. Legend has it that the newly appointed Nizam of the Deccan province went to seek the blessings of the famous Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin. He was given a kulcha as he sat at his mentor's feet. He ate five bites before replacing the kulcha on the plate. The mystic laughed and told him your family will rule for five generations in Hyderabad. Uncannily this is just what came to pass. The Nizam happy with the prophecy accorded the pride of place to the kulcha on his pennant. Some Indian breads are cooked in a clay tandoor, others in an iron oven. Most are unleavened but there are quite a few that use yeast. Some rendered extra sweet with jaggery thick roats are offered to the deities. There is an Indian bread for every season and for each reason! By Pushpesh Pant

DIET

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Keeping sugar on the low BY DEEVYA GUPTA

any of us are affected by diabetes- we either know someone who is living with diabetes or have it ourselves. Indians have the highest rates of diabetes globally, and the rate is on its way to doubling over the next 30 years. Type 2 Diabetes is most observed in the Indian population. This is where a hormone known as insulin is present in little or no quantities. At times, people may have insulin resistance, which also indicates that the insulin in the body cannot do its job. The insulin in our body helps to break down sugars that are in the blood after meals and drinks. This means that if we do not have enough insulin, the blood sugar levels remain in higher than usual quantities and if left untreated long-term may cause damage to our organs. How can I improve my insulin levels? -Eating more soluble fibre such as daals, lentils, legumes, vegetables, fruits, flaxseeds and oatmeal just to name a few food sources. Along with reducing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers, increased fibre intake can assist in reducing risk of developing diabetes and insulin resistance. -Including wholegrain and reducing processed grains such as white bread, flour etc., can slow down the release of sugar in our blood. Opt for low Glycemic Index (GI)

grains such as barley, whole wheat bread, bajra, broken wheat, oats, wheat, brown rice, basmati rice and buckwheat -Reduce intake of added sugars in foods and drinks as these sugars can quickly enter the blood and cause a spike in blood sugar levels. -Add extra herbs and spices to cooking instead of pre-packaged sauces. Saunf, tumeric, ginger, garlic and cinnamon all have extra health benefits. -Reduce overall saturated and trans fat intake. Saturated and trans fats can increase the risk of heart disease and those with diabetes should try and take extra precautions.

-Keep up with regular sleep as sleep restriction may affect our hormones including insulin. -Regular exercise helps insulin work more effectively and helps use the sugar present in our blood. -Reduce levels of stress where possible as there have been links found between high levels of stress-producing hormones which may impact insulin production in the body. -Reduce burden around waist and belly as this type of fat can increase insulin sensitivity and the risk of type 2 diabetes. -reduce smoking and drinking as tobacco and alcohol use can lead to increased blood sugar levels and therefore lead to insulin resistance. What are some examples of daily meal changes to reduce sugar levels in the blood? Aside from making swaps to using mostly low GI foods wherever possible it’s also important to keep in mind the quantity of these foods consumed. These amounts may differ based on a person's age, gender and level of physical activity however below are some general examples: Breakfast: ¼-½ cup rolled oats with milk and 1 tablespoon nuts Snack: any medium-size fruit of your choice e.g. apple, pear, banana Lunch: 1 cup cooked rice with 1 bowl of daal and a salad Snack: any medium size fruit of your choice Dinner: 1-2 wholewheat or multigrain flour chapati with 1 bowl of curry (with vegetables) and a salad For a more specific meal plan you can reach our Dietitian via the details below. Please note this advice is of a general nature. If you have any concerns or queries you should get tailored advice from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and always consult with your General Practitioner before making any changes. Feel free to contact us.

Deevya Gupta is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian in Melbourne | W: www.abcofnutrition.com.au

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RECIPE

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

Chicken Chat Phat

Tasty chicken in no time! Serves 2

For a really quick meal try this chicken dish cooked with vegies in a mild sauce. Making chicken doesn’t has to be always an elaborate process. I have used skinless chicken breast fillet with a mixture of Indian spices and cooked it like Chinese style stir fry! It’s different, tasty, easy, quick and makes a wonderful dish. A must try chicken with vegies

INGREDIENTS 500 gm chicken fillet cubed or sliced handful of beans sliced 1 med red onion sliced 1 red capsicum sliced 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 1 tbs ginger sliced 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground chilli 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste each little grated rind of lime (opt) salt to taste olive oil to cook SAUCE

1 cup stock 2-3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce 1 tsp ground all spice 1 tbsp lime juice pinch nutmeg 1 tsp arrowroot or cornflour Salt to taste Olive oil to cook

METHOD

Marinate chicken with ginger,garlic. coriander,chilli and lime rind for about 30 mins. Heat oil in wok or pan. Add sliced ginger, onion and capsicum and stir fry about 2-3 mins. Set aside. In the same wok heat a little oil and stir fry the chicken pieces till tender. Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl

and pour over the chicken and mix well. Add the veges to the chicken and toss well. Pour cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water and cook until thickens.

GARNISH: chopped spring onion or coriander leaves SERVE:

Hot with basmati rice or brown rice.

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TASTY TIP

This dish taste best served immediately. You may use tender pork or beef and vegetables of your choice. BY MANJIT SETHI

recipe

from the private collection

ASTROLOGY

G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

By D. Narayan (Tantracharya) Mesha (Aries)

Vrishabh (Taurus)

This month promises favourable financial prospects. Good fortune would further help some of you in that a partnership or a professional association with a member of the female sex would prove to be extremely beneficial. Some of you would also have a way of handing your workers or subordinates in a manner that will enable you to derive optimum benefit from their services. This would be a big gain.

This month, you have fairly encouraging financial prospects. You could expect further good fortune through a partnership or a professional association with some member of the female sex. This could also bring handsome gains. Any pending loan application or a new proposal for fresh advances to banks or financial institutions would have excellent chances of being approved.

Simha (Leo)

Kanya (Virgo)

Best days: 3, 12, 30 Lucky Colour: Red, Orange, Cream

Best days: 9, 18, 27 Lucky Colour: Green, Blue

Mithuna (Gemini)

There is every chance that most of you would have to struggle a great deal for your objectives, and yet not achieve much success in your efforts. The climate would also not be particularly favourable for investment and the launching of new ventures. These could get stuck up. Further any pending loan application with banks or financial institutions, would have difficulty in being approved. Best days: 2, 7, 9 Lucky Colour: Red, White, Yellow

Tula (Libra)

M: 0425 660 220

Karkat (Cancer)

Nothing very encouraging about your financial prospects, Those engaged in overseas trade would be adversely affected and may have to face a rough patch. In fact, most of you would have to struggle quite a bit, in which task you are unlikely to achieve much success. And finally, any loan application or a proposal for fresh advances from a financial institution would not have much chance of success. Best days: 9, 18 Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Vrishchik (Scorpio)

The coming month is quite good for your career prospects. You may look forward to reaping expecting gains, though the effort put in by you would have to be much more than normal. Travel of short duration would also help in bettering your prospects. The working climate would also be quite pleasant with no trace of conflict. This would make work a pleasure, giving you much satisfaction.

A month during which there is nothing very favourable about your financial prospects. Professionals and others of their like should make provisions for an extremely lean period, because that is just what they are going to face. Any pending loan application or a proposal for a fresh advance from banks or financial institutions is unlikely to be successful. Expansion plans or plans for a new venture should be shelved for the moment.

This month, Any dispute on litigation that you might be involved in would almost certainly go against you. Try and get a decision deferred till a later and more favourable period. Those dealing with the government would have to face a rough patch as would people having dealings with foreign countries, or interstate dealings. In short, most of you would have to work quite hard and struggle to achieve planned targets.

Nothing particularly helpful is likely to happen regarding your financial prospects this month. Those dealing with foreign counties or interstate associations would have to go through a rough patch this month. In fact, most of you could well find themselves working quite hard to achieve planned objectives which may remain elusive despite all this effort. Maintain a low profile, till the adverse spell is over.

Dhanu (Sagittarius)

Makara (Capricorn)

Kumbha (Aquarius)

Meen (Pisces)

Best days: 5,3 Lucky Colour: White & Orange

A superb month during which you have excellent opportunities to advance your financial prospects, and also to derive a lot of satisfaction from your work. Practitioners of the arts, like writers, painters, etc would have an extremely satisfying time where they would not only gain financially but also have grounds to be happy about their creative output. Even for the rest of you, there would be sufficient grounds for celebration. Best days: 9, 18 Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Best days: 3, 12 Lucky Colour: Orange, Green

Best days: 9, 18 Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Best days: 1, 3, 4 Lucky Colour: Red, Orange

For existing work, most of you would tend to struggle quite a bit to realize planned objectives, and even then achieve little success. Professionals would do well to store up for the rainy day, for they are going to face an extremely lean period this month. This would also apply to traders of various descriptions, who would also not fare well, or at least not do as well as anticipated.

Most of you would have to struggle quite hard to realize your objectives and even then not achieve much success. Further, the climate would not be congenial for investments or the launching of new ventures. These could easily get stuck up. Any pending loan applications or proposals for fresh advances to banks or financial institutions are also likely to get help or even turned down.

A good month, during which the stars are out to bless you with good health with the bare minimum of care and attention. However, there is need for a brief note of caution. You see, this month your health would to a large extent be determined by the nature of your general surroundings.

Best days: 1, 3, 4 Lucky Colour: White, Green, Blue

Best days: 5, 3, 6 Lucky Colour: White, Green

Best days: 2, 7, 9 Lucky Colour: Red, Yellow, White

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Have a laug h

HAVE A LAUGH

Just think about it Our trip is very short A woman climbed up the bus and sat down beside a man, hitting him with her numerous bags.

Did someone insult you without reason? Stay calm. Ignore it. The trip is too short.

Did someone make a comment that you didn't like? When the man remained Stay calm. Ignore. silent, the woman asked him why he did not complain Forgive, keep them in your prayers & love them still for when she hit him with her no reason. bags? The trip is too short. The man replied with a Smile: Whatever the problems "There is no need to be some bring to us, it is a upset about something so insignificant, as our journey problem only if we think of it, remember together is so short, that our journey together because I'm getting off is too short. at the next stop " This answer disturbed the woman so much, she asked the man to excuse her and thought the words need to be written in gold Each of us must understand that our time in this world is so short, that darkening it with useless arguments, jealousy, not forgiving others, discontentment and bad attitudes are a ridiculous waste of time and energy. Did someone break your heart? Stay calm. The trip is too short

No one knows the length of our trip. No one has seen tomorrow. Nobody knows when it will arrive at its stop. Our trip together is too short. Let us appreciate friends and family. Keep them in good humour. Respect them. Let us be respectful, kind, loving & forgiving. Because we will be filled with gratitude and joy, after all Our trip together is very short.

Share your smiles with everyone.... choose your Did someone betray path to be as beautiful as you, intimidate, cheat or you wish it to be humiliate you? Our trip is Very Short Relax - Don't Be Stressed The trip is too short.

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G’DAY INDIA | MAR 2022

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