... and LaTrobe Diwali

OK, I think I have found the formula for an instant ‘lift’. No Botox, no exorbitant cosmetics and certainly no surgery. I received my burst of rejuvenation by simply being part of the Diwali function held at the La Trobe International College in Bundoora recently. Now I know why people who are pushing a certain age consol themselves with the phrase ‘young at heart’. I felt all that and more at the fun filled afternoon spent in the company of young students as they got together to celebrate Diwali.

As soon as I entered the Hall a young Malaysian student beamed at me in a traditional costume from Gujarat. As I made my way through the packed hall I saw a young lady from Zimbabwe sporting a kanjiwaram saree, gold jewellery, bindi et al. The novelty continued with a Chinese student in Kashmiri outfit and another in lehnga choli. Not one of them looked ill at ease in their colourful attire. The fashion show that followed displayed the diversity of India fashioned by citizens of the world.

The traditional lighting of the Diwali lamp was performed by Deputy Vice Chancellor of International and Future Students, La Trobe University, Professor John Rosenberg. Vote of thanks was celebration the SPC promoted the importance of the turban and explained its significance in the Sikh religion. A turban stall was set up where people from all backgrounds were encouraged to try the traditional headgear of the Sikhs. It proved just as popular with the students as this year’s Diwali function.

Harpreet Singh Mann

set the mood for the rest of the afternoon. DJ Yaths and his infectious Bollywood music got staff and students kicking their heels alike. Bhangra and Bolywood built up the appetite for samosas and gulaab jamuns that followed.

The main sponsors were Kishor Manjee from Caffeine Café in Agora and Mitu Bhowmick Lange and John Molloy from Mindblowing films. The catering was provided by Kabir at Cafe Spice in Agora. With desi dance and desi food, Diwali at Latrobe was a global pot pourri with an Indian flavour.

Manjit Dolly Kaher, Student Welfare Coordinator, who was instrumental in putting the event together said, “In India we celebrate every festival together even though we may follow different religions. Diwali at La Trobe works on similar principles - students, no matter which part of the world they come from, enthusiastically participate in the celebration.”

Judging by the packed hall and the generous applause to each item Diwali proved quite popular in the La Tobe International campus.

Here’s to more such unifying events, Jai Ho!

Preeti Jabbal

Bush stays at Mumbai’s Taj to express solidarity

FORMER US PRESIDENT George Bush made a point to stay at the terror-hit Taj Mahal Tower & Palace Hotel to express his solidarity with the victims of the 26/11 attacks, and hoped that the two countries will enhance their fight against terrorism.

Bush headed straight for the Taj Mahal Tower & Palace Hotel when he arrived in the city from Delhi on a whistle-stop visit in a private jet. He was the second high-profile US politician to stay in the hotel in an act of solidarity with 26/11 victims. He was received by the hotel’s general manager Karambir Kang, who lost his wife and two children in the terrorist assault on the iconic Taj hotel, one of the places targeted by Pakistani terrorists in a three-day siege of Mumbai that killed over 170 people, including six Americans.

Interacting with the hotel staff, Bush expressed his solidarity with 26/11 victims, and expressed hope that the two countries will enhance their cooperation to defeat extremists and terrorists, source said.

The India-US CEOs Forum hosted a dinner for Bush where he met top Indian business personalities and underlined the need for expanding trade and investment between the world’s largest democracies. This is his first visit to the country after he was succeeded by President Barack Obama.

Incidentally, Bush was in India at a time when the US state department had issued yet another travel advisory on India, alerting its citizens to “continuing security concern” in the country.

The advisory warned US citizens that the US government “continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India.”

In New Delhi, Bush spoke at a conclave organised by the Hindustan Times where he spoke about the need for India and the US to join hands in an ideological struggle against extremism that threatens both countries.

Bush also backed a place for India in the UN Security Council and described the IndiaUS civil nuclear accord, which he struck with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as New Delhi’s passport to the world. Bush said he was incredibly optimistic about the course of India-US relations in the future.

Luxury for foreigners, but why ignore Indian passengers?

INDIAN RAILWAYS IS mulling over a plan to attract foreign tourists with exclusive luxury coaches on all its major trains. But many domestic travellers say the ability to pay, and not nationality, should determine who is taken on board.

According to a railway ministry official who wished to remain anonymous, the Public Amenities Committee (PAC) last week recommended that exclusive “specially designed coaches” be added on trains for the benefit of foreign tourists.

“The committee’s recommendations are not final. The proposal will be examined and feasibility assessed. Then the railway board and the minister will examine the proposal and take a decision,” the official said.

Many Indians have been left wondering about the preferential treatment foreign travellers would get on Indian Railways, the largest state-run network of trains in the world.

“Nowhere else in the world does a train network have exclusive coaches for foreigners. While it may help railways earn more, it would be absolutely discriminatory.

The railways is not a private enterprise; they cater to the public!” said Venkatraman Srinivasan, 59, a Delhi-based business consultant.

Nikhilesh Tiwari, a student from Lucknow, said: “The government should base its judgement on cost, not nationality. The government is just looking for excuses.”

To attract foreign travellers, the select coaches will be designed to have more leg room, better designed seats and toilets, wider sleeping berths and aesthetic interiors. The windows too would be larger to give a better view of the landscape. Even those supportive of the idea of higher priced luxury coaches don’t believe that Indians should be left out.

“It is a nice idea to have luxury coaches. They will help in leaving a good impression on foreigners and in increasing tourism to India. But I don’t think to have them only for foreigners is fair,” said Rujuta Phadke, a student from Pune.

Phadke, however, said domestic travellers weren’t “sensitive enough to maintain the facilities provided”.

Faisal Siddique, a Delhi based-researcher, felt “it would be good idea if the government would do something for the Indian passengers” as well.

“It is really sad that the government has such little faith in the people of our country. I think we are educated enough to respect luxury coaches. Unfortunately, we do not get enough luxury in our own country, which is the main reason why Indians are now preferring international holidays.”

Tourists can currently enjoy lavish facilities only on board Palace On Wheels, Deccan Odyssey, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, Fairy Queen and The Golden Chariot - all luxury tourist trains run by the Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC).

The railways are keen on tapping ‘luxury’ travel by foreigners by extending better facilities through exclusive coaches. The committee’s proposal also suggests keeping attendants for tourists as well as callbell facilities in toilets to assist elderly and sick passengers.

“All in all, the idea is to make it a more professional experience for the foreign tourist,” the railway official said.

Are we all militants, ask Kashmir’s pre-paid mobile subscribers

A WAVE OF ANGER HAS SWEPT THROUGH JAMmu and Kashmir with the central government deciding to ban pre-paid mobile connections in the state due to security concerns. Most angry are youths.

Even as the Kashmir government has promised to take up the issue with the centre, the ‘walk and talk’ generation in the state is furious that it has been clubbed with terrorists who misused pre-paid connections. “Are we militants?” Shahid Khan, a student, asked in anger and frustration. “Are millions of pre-paid connection subscribers terrorists?”

The decision to snap this service has resulted in total chaos among subscribers. “It is strange that I should be punished because someone somewhere could be misusing the facility. This is unfortunate and condemnable,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, 23, a college student in Srinagar. There are around 3.8 million pre-paid connections in the state. Most of them are from Airtel (one million), and new companies have come into the state, like Tata Indicom, Idea, Air Cel, Reliance. They have made huge investments, and they too are angry.

“This is a bad move,” an official of a leading mobile service provider told IANS. Most people, especially youth who have to deal with limited pocket money and prefer pre-paid connections, are very angry. “Until now we knew our limitations, how much to talk, if we go in for post-paid connections, that limit would be hard to know,” said Sunita Sharma, a young working woman. What surprises them is that the move comes right after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the state promising more opportunities.

Khurshid Ahmed, 28, a student of Kashmir University, said: “On the one hand the government says we must become information savvy and use the latest technology to keep pace with competitors from other universities and now the same government is pushing us back by at least a decade.”

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, during his visit to Kashmir, had hinted at banning pre-paid connections.

The security concerns are rooted in the fact that the security forces were finding it difficult to trace the militants, who were passing on instructions to their cadres through mobile phones and also changing their SIM cards at will. Invariably, police found a number of SIM cards of various companies with the militants killed or captured during gunbattles.

“Pre-paid mobile connections had multiplied our challenges, and we were facing tough times in tracking the terror-guiding hands because they were having the power of mobile phones in their hands, besides guns,” a senior police official said. But he refused to comment on the home ministry’s blanket ban on the prepaid SIM cards.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has termed the move as “unfortunate” and sought the prime minister’s intervention. “Pre-paid services should be restored,” she said in a statement. The decision has also not gone down well with hundreds of Kashmiris engaged in the business of selling pre-paid cell phone connections.

“We take sufficient documents to establish the identity of the subscriber before issuing the pre-paid SIM card and now since morning I have closed down my shop for fear that frustrated subscribers might manhandle me,” said a cell phone SIM dealer in Srinagar who did not want to be named.

Asked Ramesh Chander, a businessman: “If this is happening to mobile service providers, what sort of a message is being conveyed to industrialists and prospective investors across the country? That Kashmir is a state where terrorism is as high as before the services were launched in the state in 2003?”