Higher love H

amsa Venkat is well known amongst classical circles of the community for her commitment to the propagation of Bhratnayam as a dance form and her annual shows. This year, her Sanskriti School of Dance joined forces with the charity organisation Ozindcare to churn out a show that was absolutely mind blowing. Ozindcare is a non-profitable charity organisation that organises many fund raising events to help the needy and destitute brethren in different parts of the globe.

On 12 September, nearly 500 people thronged the Science Theatre at UNSW to watch Hamsa’s Anuragh: The Journey of Love. The term Anuragh translates as “higher love”, and as such, the performance depicted two different love stories through the stories of Shakuntala and Meera Bai. Although they were from two different eras and were really two different expressions, the passion and the pangs were similar. The joy of union and the pain of separation were very well depicted through these tales. Hamsa’s choreography was subtle, lucid and beautiful. Each story was divided into different scenes and the commentary before each scene gave the audience an idea of what was in it. This was beneficial to even those members of the audience who would have had no clue as who the characters were. The props were not overbearing and gelled very well with the scene being enacted.

The story of Shakuntala began with her in the company of her friends and the arrival of King Dushyanta. While Dushyanta enquiries about the beautiful maiden, one of her sakhis describes the circumstances of her birth. This was well depicted with the clever play of lights. The romantic rendezvous between the two, his departure, her grief and the curse of sage Durvasa were all very well portrayed. Shakuntala’s journey to meet her beloved in a boat and her rejection by the king involved good use of stage props. The fishermen’s folk dance, the finding of the ring, the king’s return to the forest and his meeting with Bharat, his son (who is playing with a lion) couldn’t have been presented any better on stage.

In the second performance, Meera Bai’s journey of love was depicted equally beautifully. Meera’s love story begins at a very tender age when she is gifted with an idol of Lord Krishna. He becomes the centre of her universe and everything else retreats into anonymity. Even when Meera leaves her parents’ palace in the bridal palanquin, she carries with her the idol that has now become an inseparable part of her being. Meera’s life in her new home, the gossiping court ladies, the visit of Akbar and Birbal, the festival of Holi, her vision of Radha and Krishna on the swing and finally the cup of poison that she has to drink, are all stage managed with such perfection, that they seem to jump out from the pages of a book.

Hamsa Venkat’s elaborate commentary and choreography were very ably assisted by Bala Sankar on the table/mridangam, Balaji Jaganadhan on the violin and Mohan Ayyar on the synthesizer. The music was composed by Mohan and Sangeetha

Ayyar and rendered by Sangeetha in her melodious voice. She was supported by Anand Dixit. The entire team of musicians and dancers put up a show that would stay in the memories of the audience for a long time. The juxtaposition of the finale of the evening with the purpose of the evening was very beautiful and touching. The dancers were back on stage with lit candles and Hamsa spoke about making the right choices and making a difference in people’s lives, the idea behind Ozindcare’s charity work. A fulfilling evening, everyone was touched in one form or the other. As for me and other lovers of good dance performances, we are looking forward to the next show by Hamsa Venkat and her troupe of dancers.

Nima Menon

FUL on Rochester

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new base for aircraft near China border

COINCIDING WITH REPORTS of Chinese intrusions into Indian territory, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said it had converted a landing ground meant for helicopters into an air strip for aircraft.

The Advanced Landing Ground at Nyoma in Ladakh, about 25 km from the border, received its first fixed wing aircraft in the form of an AN-32.

Group Captain S.C. Chatekar touched down on the airstrip, 13,300 feet above sea level, with Western Air Command chief Air Marshal N.A.K. Browne and Indian Army Northern Command chief Lieutenant General P.C. Bharadwaj on board.

“Helicopters have been landing here, but this is for the first time that a fixed wing aircraft has landed,” an IAF spokesperson said.

The development coincides with reports of Chinese border intrusions. China and India have denied this.

The landing was made possible after extensive surveys, said Col. D.K. Kachari, the defence ministry spokesperson in Udhampur, headquarters of the Northern Command.

The task of developing the landing ground to the standards required for fixed wing aircraft was undertaken by the Engineers Regiment of 14 Corps.

The landing marks the culmination of joint effort by the IAF and Indian Army to enable the air force to operate larger flying machines in the inhospitable terrain in support of the army, the IAF official added. Nyoma has been developed to connect the remote areas of Ladakh region to the mainland.

“This (air strip) will ensure that movements in the area continue when the road traffic gets affected during the harsh winters,” he added.

It will also improve communication network and facilitate the economical ferrying of supplies besides promoting tourism.

The landing comes just 15 months after an AN-32 landed at the Daulat-Beg-Oldie (DBO), the highest airfield in the world situated at an altitude of 16,200 feet, also in Ladakh region.

The IAF has been upgrading and refurbishing Advanced Landing Grounds along the border with China. India and China fought a war in 1962.

Hype over Chinese incursions can strain ties: India

A DAY AFTER Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh downplayed reports of increasing Chinese incursions, top Indian officials and the army chief warned that media “hype” could lead to “unwarranted incident or accident” with Beijing and stressed that the two countries are trying to resolve bilateral issues through dialogue.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said there was no plan for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of G-20 Summit in the US.

Rao also stressed that there was “no significant increase” in incursions across all sections of the over 4,000 km border between the two countries.

“There is no meeting that has been planned between Singh and the leader of the Chinese delegation to the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh,” Rao told reporters here when asked if Manmohan Singh will take up the issue of incursions with Hu.

“Contrary to popular perception, the situation along the border has remained peaceful for decades,” she said. “That’s because there is no mutually agreed or delineated border. This is not a new phenomenon. It has been going on for years.”

Rao also repudiated a media report that said China had succeeded in blocking a development loan for India in the Asian Development Bank on the ground that a part of it was meant for Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by Beijing. “Country partnership strategy has already been endorsed by ADB,” Rao said.

National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor also cautioned against ‘media hype’ and stressed that there was nothing alarming about reported incursions.

“There has not been any more incursions or transgressions. As compared to last year, they are almost at the same level. So there is no cause for worry or concern. I request the media to restrain and not overplay,” Gen. Kapoor told reporters in Chennai. Narayanan stoutly maintained there would never be a “repeat” of the 1962 war with China and warned that media hype could lead to “unwarranted incident or accident” and that could create problems with the neighbour.

“The first thing, I would like to sort of wipe out the question of repeat of 1962. India of 2009 isn’t... India of 1962. I want to make this point very clearly,” Narayanan told the news channel CNN-IBN in an interview.

“We are careful. I think we are careful partly because of what happened in 1962 that we should not provoke a situation, which we don’t wish to have. I don’t think anybody in India wishes to have a conflict with China,” said Narayanan, who is also India’s special representative for border talks with China.

“I think that also goes for China. There are issues between the two countries. I don’t think we have all the answers for these issues. But the whole purpose of dialogue is to see where are the congruencies and the differences.”

“In terms of number of incursions, there has been hardly any increase. Occasionally inroads are a little deeper than what might have been in the past. I don’t think there is anything alarming about it,” said

Rao too brushed off the alarming reprots in the Indian media of Chinese intrusions.

“There has been a hype and a certain intensification of volume about the manner in which it has been reported.”

Rao said there are established mechanisms like border personnel meetings to address issues relating to intrusions and stressed that they have “worked well”.

India and China have held 13 rounds of talks to resolve the border row albeit with little progress as both sides have reiterated

Underlining the developing nature of relationship between India and China, Rao, a former ambassador to China, said the leadership of the two countries are in regular communication over important

“We remain in constant touch over all mutual issues. The leadership-level understandings and communication remain

“There is regular communication and a mutual recognition that outstanding issues can be resolved through dialogue and communication between two nations as large as ours with international responsibilities,” she said.

Pranab admits to problem on food price front

FINANCE MINISTER PRANAB

Mukherjee has admitted that the government had a problem on the food price front due to a dichotomy in the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI).

“On the food price front, we have a problem. Before the last week, the WPI was negative. That is no satisfaction to the ordinary consumer because the CPI was moving up,” Mukherjee told reporters on the margins of a seminar.

“This dichotomy is worrisome because we are concerned with the high prices of essential commodities and food articles,” Mukherjee said after participating in a seminar-cum-interactive session on the proposed direct tax code, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Asserting that he was not in favour of curbing credit as such a measure would have an adverse impact on the economy, Mukherjee said the government had resorted to tight money policy last year to make credit availability difficult and control price rise.

“At this point of time, I cannot accept the dear money policy or credit curbing because that will have an adverse impact on the whole economy.”

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis that started a year ago, the government was faced with the problem of either continuing with the tight money policy that would have curbed growth or encourage growth though risking higher prices.

In the WPI, the weightage of the food articles is 16 but in the CPI, there are four indexes for rural, rural agriculture labour, urban, non-manual and employees and for rural poor.

“In the four price indexes of the CPI, food articles have seen weightage increasing to 56 percent from 48 percent. Therefore, there is a dichotomy on the price front due to the negative WPI and the CPI moving up,” Mukherjee pointed out.

To prevent the adverse impact of the rising prices of essential commodities, the minister said the government had encouraged import of sugar, edible oils and pulses under the open general licence (OGL) without any duty as they were in short supply right now.

“Secondly, we are requesting the state governments to revamp the Public Distribution System (PDS) so that at least below poverty line (BPL) families are protected by providing subsidised food items - sugar, rice, wheat, kerosene oil in the ration shop,” Mukherjee added.

Stimulus package to continue

THE STIMULUS PACKAGE, introduced in the last fiscal to protect the Indian economy from the impact of the global financial crisis, would continue till the economies of Europe and US recover, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

“At the recently held G-20 countries’ finance ministers’ meet in London, we came to the conclusion that we should not reverse the stimulant package, which we have injected in the aftermath of international financial crisis, till the full recovery in Europe and North America is distinctly visible,” Mukherjee told reporters.

The finance ministers of the G-20 met in London Sep 4-5 to prepare a brief for

Continued on page 32

Continued from page 30 the third group summit at Pittsburgh, the US, Sep 24-25, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also participating. Keeping in view the consensus at the G-20 meet in London, Mukherjee said he was watching the situation carefully.

“I do feel there will be a recovery in the Indian economy in the third and fourth quarters of this fiscal (2009-10). We shall have to wait for some more time, as the GDP (gross domestic product) growth in the first quarter was 6.1 percent. We will know the growth in the second quarter next month,” Mukherjee said.

The finance minister hoped he would have a clear picture of the country’s economic health at the time of formulating the budget proposals for next fiscal.

“At the time of formulating the budget proposals, it is possible for me to have an overall look into the whole aspects,” Mukherjee noted.

At the G-20 finance ministers’ meeting, the experts were of the view that the US economy would revive by this year-end while Europe would begin to recover from next year.

The previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government announced two stimulus packages in December 2008 and January 2009.

Austerity measures not to compromise security

AUSTERITY MEASURES government has introduced are not at the cost of security for top leaders, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified.

“So far as the austerity measures are concerned, it is clearly stipulated that it will not compromise the security measures to be adopted by the government to protect some individuals, particularly those who are more vulnerable and protected by the SPG (Special Protection Group),” Mukherjee told reporters.

The government Sep 7 announced a series of austerity measures to reduce its non-plan expenditure by 10 percent in light of drought and slowdown in economy due to global recession.

Asserting that protective security would have to be first met, Mukherjee said the government had requested those having SPG protection not to dilute their security cover.

“We have requested them to see that government efforts to protect them are not diluted,” the minister noted.

Concerns have been expressed over security of Congress president and ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who chose to fly to Mumbai and Bangalore early this week by economy class in a commercial flight as part of austerity.

Similarly, the Swarn Shatabdi train in which Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi travelled to Ludhiana in Punjab early this week was stoned by miscreants in Haryana while he was returning to New Delhi, causing security concerns.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are given Z-plus security by SPG in view of the threat perception.

Admitting that flying by economy class would be a drop in the ocean, Mukherjee said if the government was able cut non-plan expenditure by 10 percent as envisaged, there would be a lot of savings.

“If other aspects of austerity measures are considered, the non-plan expenditure can be cut by 10 percent, which will be substantial if we take into account our total plan expenditure,” Mukherjee pointed out. Elaborating on the objective of austerity, the minister said in a budget of Rs.10 lakh crore, the gross budgetary support was Rs.305,000 crore and internal resource pakodas in oil at 180 degrees C.”

Datta and his team of chefs from IICA demonstrated live how Spanish olive oil could replace traditional oil in Indian kitchens to fry crispies and curries because disease rates,” Mathur told IANS. Spain is currently the largest producer and exporter of olive oil in the world. It has nearly 5.19 million hectares of olive groves in the countryside with an average with olive oil as the medium at the Spanish ambassador’s residence.

Citing health properties, the chef said the high Vitamin E content makes olive oil anti-allergic.

Studies cite that the high-level of antioxidants like Vitamin A and E in olive neutralises cancer-causing radicals. When used with fresh lemon juice, it flushes out toxins from the liver. Doctors also recommend it as a dental cleanser.

Olive oil, Datta said, was available in four varieties - extra virgin, virgin, pure and extra light.

“Olive oil, like wine, is produced by pressing and crushing the fruits. The first presses yield the best oil - the extra virgin variety or Pomace olive oil which is good for deep fat frying,” Datta said. Spanish olive oil is priced around 30 percent higher than other oils in the Indian market. But for many the health benefits may outweigh the cost.

Dietician Ritika Samaddar of Max Healthcare at Saket said, “It is best to switch to an oil with low bad fat and high smoking point as India will become the global capital of cardio-vascular diseases by 2020, according to WHO predictions. “We are already the diabetes and hypertension capital globally,” she said.

New train connects Kolkata, New Delhi in 16 hours

A NEW SUPERFAST train service was launched between Kolkata and New Delhi that will cut short the travelling time by 90 minutes and offer added amenities to passengers.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the first Duronto ExpressDuronto means speedy in Bengali - at the Sealdah railway station, fulfilling the promise she made in this year’s railway budget.

The train, painted with splashes of colours, will cover the 1,454 km distance between Sealdah and New Delhi 90 minutes quicker than the Rajdhani Express, as there will be no commercial stops.

While the Rajdhani Express completes the journey in 18 hours, Duronto will take 16 hours and 30 minutes.

“I think running an express train like Duronto is an achievement for all of us. We all are heading for a new world. Thus our ideas should also be modern,” Banerjee said.

“We announced altogether 14 such trains in this year’s railway budget and many of them are already ready. We’ll gradually launch all these trains,” she said. The train will adhere to the speed limit of 110 kmph.

Another Duronto Express will be flagged off between Chennai and New Delhi next week. Other metros will also be connected in due course by the non-stop, superfast trains.

“In up direction, the train will leave Sealdah at 6.40 p.m. and reach New Delhi at 11.00 next morning. So the passengers of this train will be able to utilise the whole day for their work,” Banerjee said.

The Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto will have one AC I-tier coach, three AC IItier coaches, four AC III-tier coaches and five economy AC III-tier coaches besides generator cars.

The Duronto rakes comprise ICF coaches used in the Rajdhanis and Garib Raths earlier. The Garib Raths had AC III-tier coaches that could accommodate more passengers than usual.

Each Duronto coach is 24 metres long, compared to the regular coach length of 22.3 metres. The distance between coaches is less too - 460 mm instead of the regular 960 mm.

Besides safety and hygiene features like dustbins and fire extinguishers, the coaches have sleeker designs for bottle holders and switches, mobile charging points, sliding transparent doors between coaches, and LED night lamps instead of regular fluorescent lights.

The train is built of stainless steel, which is lighter, anti-corrosive and more durable than the conventional ‘cotton steel’. An important safety feature is the central buffer couplers whose enhanced load capacity makes the train derailment-proof.

The fare structure, including the cost of food, will be Rs.3,295 for AC first-class, Rs.1,880 for AC two-tier, Rs.1,390 for AC three-tier and Rs.1,335 for AC three-tier economy class.

“Indian Railways is the most grassroots organisation. Thus, we’ve not increased the fare structure keeping in mind the interests of poor and middle-class people who travel by train,” the minister said.

She also pointed out the Indian Railways was also mulling various long-term and short-term policies to improve the existing passenger amenities.

“We must develop our facilities available with the railways to facilitate women, senior citizens and physically challenged passengers,” she said.

Tharoor tweet triggers a flutter

WHILE THE CONGRESS party says it would take “appropriate action” against Minister of State for External Affairs

Shashi Tharoor for his “cattle class” travel remark, his fellow Congress MP from Kerala K. Sudhakaran has tweeted in his support.

“It’s sad we shouted ‘sensitivity’ for two days to a tweet by @shashitharoor while we were actually being ‘oversensitive’,” said Sudhakaran, who has more than 2,000 followers on the twitter.

Sudhakaran, who is known as the party’s strong man in the Marxist bastion Kannur in Kerala, said: “Let’s not lose our sense of humour! Tweeting is fun! So let’s keep tweeting tweeple.”

He said: “We should also learn to take things sportingly and leave it at that, and focus on bigger things.”

Sudhakaran added that “some tweets shouldn’t be taken so seriously and (be) left at that.”

Tharoor ran into trouble for a message he posted on the social networking site Twitter in which he said sarcastically in response to a query that he would travel “cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!”

The Congress said it would take “appropriate action” against him at a suitable time and reiterated that the party condemned his comments.

The minister, who is in Liberia on an official visit, tweeted that he had “learned belatedly of fuss over my tweet replying to journo’s query whether I would travel to Kerala in ‘cattle class’”.

He pointed out that the phrase “cattle class” was used in the journalist’s query, which he just repeated.

“It’s a silly expression but means no disrespect to economy travellers, only to airlines for herding us in like cattle. Many have misunderstood,” he tweeted.

He admitted that the phrase when translated into Malayalam sounded worse, especially if taken out of context. “To those hurt by the belief that my repeating the phrase showed contempt: sorry,” said Tharoor.

He also explained that the word “holy cows” was not referring to any individual.

“Holy cows are NOT individuals but sacrosanct issues or principles that no one dares challenge. Wish critics would look it up.”

Criticising Tharoor, Leader of Opposition in Kerala assembly Oommen Chandy of the Congress said: “Political workers should behave like servants of the people and not their owners.”