s 2009 draws to a close, let’s cast a look back at the year that was and assess the events that affected us as citizens of the world, as Australians, as Indians, and as Indian Australians.
In a year which saw the world slowly take its first steps out of the worst recession since 1929, India tried to assert its growing importance to the world. Among its neighbours China too emerged as a major player on the world stage, and Pakistan almost lost out to terrorism. These however seemed lost to the world amidst the cacophony of the problems in Afghanistan. Australian politicians indulged in never-ending debate about global warming, and local Indian Australians were thrust in the spotlight with issues of racism.
2010 will only see more debate on each of these issues, with new challenges thrown in. President Obama will be further tested on Afghanistan, and the pressure will be on to accomplish their mission and bring their 100,000 plus troops back home. The anti-US forces, whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan, will work hard to endure any onslaught till the announced end of this deployment. If they gain hold of Afghanistan to unleash terrorism globally, it will be disastrous for the civilised world.
India and China will also lead the world out of the global recession. With a growing population, a majority of whom are under 30, India has an edge over
By PAWAN LUTHRAother nations thanks to its bank of trained and educated youth. Rather than being a factory to the world, or its back office, India can consolidate and increase its position in the value chain.
The world will work its way out of global downturn as it always does.
The pain caused by the credit crunch will subside though mortgage stress in countries like Australia and the UK and the US will still be felt.
Australia will go to the polls in 2010 and it is almost certain that the Labor Party under Kevin Rudd will return.
Current estimates are that the Greens and Independents will gain ground from the Coalition - this does not auger well for the option of Australia selling uranium to India.
Australia’s rejection of India is astounding considering that it is trying to lead the world in working towards reducing global warming, and yet not agreeing to sell uranium to India for its growing energy needs.
Another point which will emerge after the next elections will be, where will Labor leader Kevin Rudd go from here? Will he still be around for the third term, on his 56th birthday in 2014, or will he eye something bigger on the world stage,
such as a leadership position at the United Nations? One wonders whether it is worth getting early odds from TAB on this. For Indian students, it will be a water shed year. While more colleges will go under as they seek to meet their bills with declining revenues and stricter government regulations, the state and central governments have yet to formulate a sensible long-term strategy around the issues of education exports. Money has to be invested in this $15 billion industry in terms of a compensation scheme, an ombudsman to help the colleges and students, etc. These have yet to be articulated six months after the issue hit the headlines. Limited community consultation on these issues means that most reports from the various task forces will be big on promises but may not allow for practical solutions for students on the streets.
From a global as well as a local perspective, it certainly promises to be an exciting year, and we will continue to analyse and report on these issues.
From the team at Indian Link, I wish you all a very safe 2010: may it be a healthy and happy year for you and yours.
Dismal weather and pouring rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of hundreds of Indians who flocked recently to Robert Blackwood Hall in Monash University to watch another Shiamak spectacular. ‘Have feet, will dance’ Shiamak’s motto, seems to be catching, as the community’s involvement with Shiamak’s Indo Jazz Dance Movement (SIJDM) goes from strength to strength.
Since its inception in March 2007, SIJDM has rapidly become an integral part of many people’s lives as they learn to dance, keep fit and have fun twice a week every term.
The annual Summer Funk gives these students, with ages ranging from 4-70, a chance to present their talent on stage.
Credit goes to Shiamak Davar for the entire concept of involving all ages at all stages, creating a platform for families to share their passion for dancing. It is heartening to see grandparents shaking a leg or two along with their grandkids, or moms and dads giving their teenagers a run for their talent on stage.
Retailers like Lincraft and Spotlight benefit hugely around this time of the year as demand for their sparkly, sequined stock increases to create the innovative costumes used in Summer Funk. The props are shipped over from Mumbai along with brilliant ideas for displays and incorporating them into dance routines. This year saw a combination of the tried and tested and some new ideas like dancing inside a golden square to represent the silver screen, cute little kids dressed up as Sikh kids with bats a la Dil Bole Hadippa and checkered flags to accompany the Race medley.
This year also saw a gimmicky, yet very likeable addition of the comic duo Ankush and Sahil as co-hosts of the event. From their Bollywood ishtyle entry onto the stage on bikes to their hilarious take on several Bollywood themes, the duo kept the audience entertained at all times. Both Ankush and Sahil are very popular and talented students of Shiamak who are now instructors along with Vihang, Deepti,
Darshan, Mehak and Radhika. Manisha Chaubal Menon as the MC for the evening added glamour to the event with her costume changes and commentary.
Shimak has developed a reputation as a diverse, witty and exciting choreographer who draws from a wide range of movement styles. His work showcases dance for the exuberant sake of dance. At the 09
Summer Funk there were many outstanding performances and some clear contenders for Melbourne’s Got Talent. The Cat Jazz, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan medley, Amitabh Medley, Shiamak Showkids were among the performances that stood out for their choreography, concept and delivery.
Summer Funk is a student’s show, so there were various levels of expertise
For Miti Desai, dance and design are two sides of the same coin.
The graphic designer from Mumbai showcased her talent in both these fields at a performance aptly called The Dance of Design (organised by The Boite in conjunction with Ojas Desai) at the Melbourne Recital Centre on November 28. What really stood out however, was her enthusiasm to interpret the two forms as complementary to each other.
Miti’s journey is extraordinary. After gaining qualifications in Graphic Design from India, the US and Germany, she realised that she needed to go beyond the mere commercial. Her interest in holistic design and a meeting with Mandakini Trivedi, a doyen of the Mohiniattam style of classical dance, offered her the direction she sought. Under Trivedi’s guidance, she soon began to explore areas of internal expression and of body design. For her, this was like a rediscovery of her roots, her culture and a view of the world.
For Miti, there is design in dance and dance in design. Her performance was
divided into two segments. In the first, she unfolded three of her designs- The Loss of Innocence, symbolising life as a metaphoric journey with a plea towards individualism and a positive view to innocence. Truth is a museum exhibit based on the life and experiences of Mahatma Gandhi. The exhibit is a series of concentric circles symbolising Gandhi’s journey to truth. The third design Change was the most interesting as it was a chair based on the concept of change, which can be both comforting and difficult.
on display from rank amateurs to intermediate, elementary to the experts. Not all performances were up to scratch; however it was pleasant to just switch off the analytical bits of the brain and rejoice in the sheer, sensual enjoyment of watching the harmony of body, breath and creative energy.
Preeti JabbalIf the first segment impressed by Miti’s soft interpretations of her designs, the second presented her as a graceful Mohiniattam dancer immersed in her art. In a lyrical exposition of a gentle dance form, she interspersed pure dance movements with representative dance in an invocation to Lord Ganesha- ‘Ganapati.’ Bho Shambho was a composition from Dayanand Saraswati that described Lord Shiva as one who is ‘self born’. The third item was an abhinaya piece - a famous lullaby Omana Thingal’ in which the dancer is a mother putting her child to sleep, telling him stories and wondering at the beauty of the child. The last item Jiva, was in pure dance. It established Miti as a dancer par excellence through a rising crescendo of rhythm, culminating in silence as the dance reached its climax. The dances were all choreographed by Mandakini Trivedi.
It was indeed a privilege for Melbournians to witness this unique show from a passionate and promising artist.
Sarayu Kutty
Aresolution was passed recently to launch a Global Organisation for People Of Indian Origin, Melbourne South East chapter. The first meeting was held on Sunday 29/11 at Tandoori Junction restaurant in Glen Waverley. The new chapter of GOPIO will be called GOPIO Melbourne South East. The following people were elected as office bearers on this momentous occasion.
President: Shabbir Wahid; Vice President: Aditi Sabnis; Treasurer: Ranjit Das; Secretary: Sudhir Chaurasia and Assistant Secretary: Sarma Ranganathan
The Constitution of the new GOPIO MSE chapter incorporates rules and
guidelines from GOPIO International. GOPIO MSE will include people of Indian origin from South Melbourne from the cities of Monash, Knox and Greater Dandenong.
The Constitution considers that for the past several decades, people of Indian origin from various countries have migrated and settled in and around Melbourne. It notes that the link to Indian is being maintained in spite of living, and in some cases being born and bred in other countries. It recognizes the need to network all these PIOs for the betterment of the PIO community, while complementing other community associations.
A Sikh immigrant’s headwear (turban) was allegedly knocked off in an incident that took place in Blackburn station in Melbourne recently. Daljit Singh was changing from a bus to a train in Blackburn station when he was subjected to verbal and physical abuse by a young man of Caucasian appearance.
The incident took place in the tunnel that connects the two platforms on Blackburn station. A young man was seen with two girls, who were laughing and giggling when they saw Daljit. The girls then went ahead; however the boy allegedly hit Daljit hard and knocked his turban down. He then continued to verbally abuse Daljit and headed towards a bus that was waiting for passengers.
Daljit chased the boy and eventually caught him, and complained to the bus driver and Connex staff that were on duty. By this time a few passersby coming from the nearby Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) in Blackburn stopped to observe what was happening, and a crowd collected at the scene.
Connex staff said that they were concerned that the situation may turn nasty so they kept the young man under supervision till the police arrived.
Manpreet Singh who witnessed the whole incident said the police took more than 30 minutes to arrive from the Nunawading station. He claimed that the female police officer tried to threaten him with arrest, but apologized when she found out that he was a witness.
Daljit claims that the incident cannot be taken lightly, because this is the third time something like this has happened to him in a span of the two months that he has been in Australia. The other two incidents
were of verbal abuse so he ignored them, however this physical assault should not go unchecked.
Daljit claims the young man who appeared to be 18-20 years old was definitely under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and his girlfriend also joined in to defend him when he was confronted by Daljit.
The perpetrator’s girlfriend kept insisting that it was an ‘accident’ rather than an offence. And it was just a matter of ‘putting his hat back on’; however Daljit says knocking off the turban is a deeply offensive act because of the religious importance of the hair and turban among Sikhs. He said that he was even more embarrassed that the incident took place in front of his wife and child.
Daljit who hails from a village near Chandigarh, says he does not feel safe in Australian public transport anymore because all these incidents took place in and around public transport. He said that at the first opportunity he will buy a vehicle so he can avoid the ‘unsafe’ environment.
Daljit did not sustain any injuries as a result of this incident other than a headache from being hit on the head with force. The victim Daljit Singh and his witness Manpreet Singh (they are not related and had never met before this incident) were asked to give a statement in Nunawading station on another date. The Nunawading Police informed Daljit last week that charges have been laid against the perpetrator.
The mild-mannered Daljit was in a state of shock when this reporter met him. He refused to be photographed for the newspaper.
Preeti Jabbal
As part of the lead up to the Parliament of the World’s Religions (3-9 Dec 2009), the Institute for Public History, Monash University sponsored a free public conversation, moderated by Penny Mulvey: Who am I in a Multireligious Society? Religion Across Generations was the topic discussed at Village Roadshow Theatrette, Swanston Street recently.
Three vibrant speakers from the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities reflected on religious identity across generations. The discussion began with Esma Yucel who teaches Religion and Values at Isik College’s Keysborough campus and guides students through interfaith programs with Catholic schools.
Manpreet Kaur Singh, a freelance journalist, presenter of the SBS Radio Punjabi program and a regular contributor to a Sikh website called ‘sikhchic’ was the next speaker.
The most senior speaker was Dr Paul Gardner, AM, who was born and educated in Melbourne, and spent his professional life as a science teacher and educational researcher. Active in the Jewish community, he is a founder member of the Blake St Hebrew Congregation, has served as chairman of the B’nai B’rith AntiDefamation Commission and is currently on the board of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association. He was appointed as a member
volunteer work in promoting anti-racism and interfaith relations.
Professor Constant Mews Director, Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology Monash University said, “While the three speakers each came from a different generation and different religious tradition, it was fascinating to discover how many common elements there were in each person’s particular experience. Each speaker celebrated in a different way the remarkable opportunity provided by Australia to create a society in which different religious identities could be preserved, but not imposed by force. For each of the speakers, religious tradition – when properly and fully understood – offers an opportunity for profound growth in helping develop a sense of the goodness in people, in a society too often marked by ignorance and misunderstanding.”
Reflecting later on the conversation, Dr Paul Gardner commented, “I think an important theme of the conversation was that despite our very different religious and ethnic backgrounds, there was remarkable unanimity of views about what we share in common: a love of Australia, a desire to maintain and strengthen it as a nation where people of widely differing backgrounds can live together in mutual respect. At the same time, we should not oversimplify and say that we’re really all the same. There are differences, and we should understand and
Parliament Of World Religions 09
3 December. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will host the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions, a global event featuring more than 1000 speakers and performers from Australia and around the world. For further details and to register to attend the Parliament of the World’s Religions, call 1300 852 156 or visit www.parliamentofreligions.org
Sangeet Sandhya
5 December, 8-12pm at Brandon Park Primary School, Cootamundra Drive, Wheelers Hill, Vic (Melway: 71 E 11).
Melbourne’s renowned veen players the Iyer Brothers, Ramnathji and Gopiji will
perform, with Sridharji on Mrudangam. Ample parking, car park entry from Ninevah Cr. Free event, coffee, snacks provided. For more details, visit www. sharda.org/Events.htm
Review of Bus Services
The Department of Transport has commenced a review of bus services in the cities of Melbourne, Port Phillip and Yarra. The review includes an extensive consultation process, and the review team is seeking input and feedback from local community members, local government and local transport operators. Please register your interest in the Bus Service Review with Raian Isaac on 9221 1952.
excess of $100 million in the first 5 years. The Riverina region would also benefit from an initial $20 million of capital purchases and project spending on items such as building, electrical equipment, utilities and services.
In September 09, a $63 million oilseed crushing and edible oils refining plant was launched officially at Wagga Wagga in NSW, to process up to 170,000 tonnes a year. Riverina Oils & Bio Energy Pty Ltd’s (ROBE) investment is one of the largest in value-added food business Australia-wide in recent years, and is being called the single largest Greenfield Indian investment in the eastern seaboard of Australia.
Melbourne based entrepreneur Mr. DD Saxena is the Managing Director and the promoter/founder of ROBE, with a significant shareholding. Mr. Saxena has worked with companies like Unilever, Ballarpur Industries (Thapar Group) and Bakrie International from Indonesia, where he was involved in establishing major agribusiness projects in Australia. The plant, at a Greenfield site on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga, is expected to be in production by November 2010.
PREETI JABBAL: How did ROBE with its strong Indian connection set up a project in regional Australia?
DD SAXENA: India is the world’s largest importer of edible oil. That makes the Indian connectivity of this project hugely important, both in terms of the investment and the export market. There have been larger investments in Australia by Indian companies, but they primarily have been acquisitions of existing businesses, particularly in the Resources sector. As the project is on a Greenfield site, we will be setting up the infrastructure like gas, water, electricity from scratch. A huge amount of time, money and effort will go into establishing the plant. This is the biggest value-added Greenfield project to date on the eastern seaboard, and shows how serious the ROBE and Indian commitment is to Australia.
PJ: What are the key elements of this project?
DDS: The company will export some of its 65,000 tonnes a year of refined vegetable oil to food industry customers in India, Japan,
and other parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. It will also produce 105,000 tonnes a year of vegetable protein meal for use in the Australian poultry, dairy and animal feed industry.
Long-term, the plant will also produce up to 75 million litres of biodiesel, converted either from refined oil or imported palm oil. As well, Mr. Agarwal’s Bhoruka Group, which is one of the major shareholders of ROBE, is keen to explore the possible use of biomass, such as the residue from Riverina vineyards and citrus orchards or Queensland sugar cane, to generate power. Bhoruka group is one of the largest private power producers in India.
PJ: Who is expected to benefit from this project, besides the shareholders?
DDS: The project has significant benefits to various constituents and has a huge multiplier effect, with the key beneficiaries being Australian farmers, especially in the Riverina region. Once the plant is up and running, we expect to spend more than $60 million a year buying raw materials and other products from the Riverina region. The other benefits include the creation of 65 direct jobs and over 500 indirect jobs in construction, transport and other sectors, as well as the export of refined vegetable oil in
PJ: What are the funding requirements of this project?
DDS: This project includes $45 million of project construction costs as well as $18 million of working capital. The equity capital of $20 million is coming mainly from India and US and the Bank Debt from State Bank of India. The revenues generated at the full oilseed crushing/refining capacity will be in excess of $125 million per annum.
PJ: Who are the main shareholders in the ROBE project?
DDS: Bangalore-based businessman S. N. Agarwal’s Bhoruka Group is a key shareholder in this project. Mr. Agarwal also chairs India’s largest trucking company, Transport Corporation of India. Also in the ROBE founding team as a strategic investor and supporter is prominent Indian business executive Ravi Uppal, who was head of Asia Pacific operations for Swiss energy infrastructure major Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) until 2007. He now heads the power division of India’s global engineering and infrastructure company, Larsen & Toubro, which has a market capitalisation of A$23 billion. In addition to ROBE’s founding
PJ: A few months into this project, what is your main hurdle?
DDS: I won’t term it as a hurdle, however our project could benefit with some more support from the Australian Government. This is especially so as the project will deliver significant benefits to the city of Wagga Wagga and Australian farmers, creating 65 direct jobs in phase one, and up to 500 indirect jobs in the construction, transport and logistics sectors. Almost 15,000 truckloads or rail container movements a year would be needed to carry 350,000 tonnes of raw materials and finished products to and from the plant in Wagga Wagga. Clearly, the project has a strong multiplier component with exporters and associated service industries benefiting. However as of now, we haven’t received much in terms of financial or operational assistance from the Federal and NSW Government.
The ROBE Project is based in the country region, it’s about jobs, it’s got a high valueadd and it’s timely. Hundred such projects should happen in future. It is a matter of pride for the Indian community that such a project is in place. It also creates an interest in similar investments from India in the future, and can be a catalyst for more development. However, the Australian and State Governments need to provide much more support and encouragement than what we have received.
DD Saxena talks to PREETI JABBAL about the strengths and hurdles of progressing a major Indian investment project in Australia (Above) Prayer ceremony (from left) - Dr Jayant Bapat (Pandit), Abhishek Agarwal (Lotus Ventures, New York), Mr SN Agarwal (Bhoruka Group, Bangalore), Mr DD Saxena (MD & founder of ROBE Melbourne) and Mrs Indu Saxena Ground Breaking: ceremony Mr DD Saxena with Hon Kay Hulls (MP). Looking on are Mr SN Agarwal and Hon Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Kerry Peasender a new National Standard proposal, new taxi drivers in Australia will have to pass nine competency tests including English and local Geography before getting their Taxi Driver’s license. They will also need to show they know local main roads and attractions, competent use of wheelchairaccessible taxis, customer service and financial record-keeping. The proposal was agreed to by the nation’s transport ministers at the Australian Transport Council meeting in Sydney recently.
According to Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese “This is an important move forward when combined with issues that have been of concern to passengers, also of concern to the tourism industry”. These national standards will apply to all new drivers as of July 1 2010; however, it would be up to the states whether the standards could be applied retrospectively to current drivers, said Minister Albanese. Some states fear an exodus of drivers if governments retrospectively enforce the new standard particularly in Melbourne and Sydney. Considering that the taxi industry in Victoria and NSW is dominated by immigrants who may or may not have the desired language skill how welcome is the new proposal by people in the industry?
HOSNI SAMAAN
Liaison officer for Cabbie Activity and Recreation Association, Victoria Hosni is a taxi operator and driver. He operates a green top taxi (peak service taxi)
Most of the National standards agreed to, by the nation’s Transport Ministers, are already implemented in the state of Victoria - e.g. English, road Geography and Maths. How much can a new driver learn within a few days? New drivers can only become experienced drivers by hitting the road not by memorizing more maps. Perhaps the only thing needed in the taxi training courses is a tough driving test to make sure that the person behind the wheel is responsible enough to serve the public.
NITIN GUPTA
Member, Liberal Party
Nitin is a local businessman and operates under Ausindo Exim Pty Ltd. He has driven taxis in the past and is still involved with the industry as a supporter.
These new measures are a step in the right direction. But what is disappointing is that once again the Taxi Drivers have been kept out of the whole discussion/ decision making process. The Melbourne City Council led by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Cr Ken Ong has taken the right decision to involve taxi drivers in all taxi related meetings and discussions, and they are getting fantastic outcomes by the inputs
from taxi drivers. The State Labor Government in Victoria needs to do the same. It should involve taxi drivers in active discussions, and take inputs from them. Some taxi drivers should have been appointed as Ambassadors, rather than just the bureaucrats. State Government Funding needs to be given to VTDA and CARA so that driver welfare activities can be started. And most importantly, the driver training in Victoria should be given back to the RTO/TAFE sector. At the moment most of drivers are being trained by Service Providers, so no wonder the quality of driver training is not of very high standard. Once the training goes back to RTO/TAFE sector, I think the training standards will improve remarkably.
ARUN BADGUJAR
President of the Victorian Taxi Drivers Association
VTDA
Arun hails from Kolkata, India and has been driving cabs in Melbourne for many years. He is actively involved in lobbying for Taxi drivers and their safety.
I feel for those who may be disadvantaged due to these new regulations however it will do more good than harm. Currently there
are operators who run training schools and churn out new drivers within a short period of time. These regulations and focus on the taxi Industry will ensure these operators do not cut corners in the interest of making money and adhere to all safety procedures. This will ensure that there are fewer problems within the industry. The industry is rife with issues of bigger concern that need to be addressed and lack of language skills can result in further complications. Yes, it may affect some drivers adversely, yes, it may reduce the response to joining the industry to some extent however in the long run it may actually help resolve some of the problems faced by taxi drivers.
Hardik owns a taxi and motel business in Melbourne
The taxi industry is dominated by immigrants a lot of them who come from India do not have a problem with English however there are other nationalities that struggle with the language and that has resulted in some incidents. On one hand I think it is an over- reaction to these few incidents that have been publicly reported in the media and the Government is being too harsh. On the other hand I feel this may help alleviate public concern to some extent. It is yet to be seen how much these
Some states fear an exodus of drivers if governments retrospectively enforce the new standard
Raahi raatan de… travellers of the night.
A short film looking at the Indian taxi driver subculture is about to be launched this month.
Written and directed by William Head, the film offers a glimpse into the late-night world of taxi drivers at the Red Pepper Indian restaurant in Bourke St, Melbourne.
The synopsis explains the film succinctly
In the dead of the lonely night, Melbourne’s Punjabi taxi drivers meet post-shift at the Red Pepper Indian restaurant. Outsiders in a foreign land, they find solidarity and companionship by sharing the food, language, music and culture of their homeland. Night Fare follows one driver in from the cold night and into the bustle of this early-morning scene. What emerges is an impression of a lively and unknown pocket of a new culture establishing itself in the heart of the sleeping metropolis.
But the film is more than just a film. Night Fare is also an online documentary website. It includes video interviews with taxi drivers talking about life in Australia and also with Red Pepper staff. It has behind the scenes slideshows, information on the history and background of the restaurant and links to other news sources on the net. The song Dollar (by Harmeet Sing & Peter Joseph Head), which was commissioned for the film, is also available as a free download.
Check out the site at www.nightfare.com.au
The film was made as part of the coursework requirements of the graduate diploma of Documentary Production at the Victorian College of the Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.
Night Fare will be screening at Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne on Thursday the 10th, Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th of December.
new regulations will help in improving the industry. In Victoria some of these competency tests are already in place so the focus should be on training instead. The public expectation from the industry has increased hence training courses should gear towards fulfilling customer service standards.
As far as local geography is concerned, I think it is absolutely imperative that taxi drivers have a good knowledge. We teach our trainees about major routes and how to get from suburb to suburb. There are some 300 places of interest – hospitals, restaurants, stadiums etc that they have to know the location of. Of course, no one can know every location in Sydney, but we work to ensure that they know as many of the major ones as possible. We also go through the street directory in depth. People say you can just work with sat-nav, but you know, if someone jumps into your taxi in the CBD and you have to follow the general traffic, then you’ve got to know where to go. Also the sat-nav is a mechanical device - it can fail, or the charging cord might not
work … so a good knowledge of the roads is essential. Our trainees undertake practice drives as part of the course, and we monitor the routes they take and the time and so forth.
As far as the new English language regulations are concerned, it’s been a bone of contention with me personally. While I fully agree that the drivers have to have good English skills, I think the AMES
the seven required competencies… Look, I’ve been a taxi driver myself for 25 years – all you need to do is ascertain where the passenger wants to go, any particular way they wish to take, and when you get closer to the destination, which street, house number or whatever, and ask how the passenger will pay. You don’t really need much more than that.
A large number of our trainees come from the Indian sub-continent and their English is usually good. Yes, sometimes we get people whose English may be suspect and we warn them straight off that they may or may not pass, so that they can go and work on those skills. When they fail we give them remedial lessons on the aspects that they need more training. Overall, I’d say about 70% pass in the first go, about 95% in the second go. We’ve only had about half a dozen or so who couldn’t make it in the third go as well, and they haven’t come back. From the trainees themselves, no, we haven’t received any adverse feedback about the new regulations. If we do get lots of failures, then we’ll cast a second look at it all and take it to pieces if need be.
Alan Cocks: They’ve gone overboard with the language requirements
Potential drivers will need to pass eight competency units before they receive their taxi license. These units are as follows:
l Use of a taxi’s communications systems;
l Skills and knowledge required to drive a taxi safely;
l Ability to operate Wheelchair Accessible Taxis;
l An understanding of occupation health and safety standards to be followed when operating a taxi;
l An ability to identify and describe local major roads, services and attractions;
l Completion of a workplace induction for the transport industry;
l Skills and knowledge to operate a taxi meter, calculate fares, handle payment transactions, and maintain accounting records;
l Provision of customer service to taxi passengers.
l As well as these new National Taxi Driver Competency Units from 1 July 2010 all new taxi drivers will need to pass an English language test.
RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA gets a peek in during the Sydney shoot of Bollywood film Stepmom
We’ve seen her play the sweet natured girl-next-door, good-hearted middle-class conventional achchi ladki. But today, Kajol is being as haughty as ever.
“I’m the mother of this child, not you!” she yells at …. her ex-husband’s new girlfriend, we presume, since we are on the sets of the Hindi remake of Hollywood’s Stepmom.
She has excellent diction, perfect intonation, and clear and crisp expressions.
Shot is okayed almost instantly. Obviously, this is Kajol we’re talking about here. She walks off to have a sit, but still seems in character.
Er … and remains in character the whole day.
Her demeanour is very much ‘I don’t think I even want to look at you mere mortals –can you please stay out of my way’.
Haughty. Didn’t expect the diva act from this woman.
In fact, one was quite prepared to see the diva act from the other female lead, Kareena. Famous family name, the ‘sizezero’ figure (whatever that means), great career positioning, hunk of a boyfriend, and that ‘living life on my terms’ attitude – perfect diva ingredients. But here she is, dressed simply but smartly, just a touch of make-up, happily posing for photographs, chatting away with colleagues, flitting around chirpily… And when the staff call her “madam” you think it is so inappropriate, she looks no more than 20.
But then again, she’s in character too. She plays a “normal metro-centric working girl” (her own words), and reportedly costumes man Manish Malhotra had to work hard to ‘tone down’ her glamorous looks for this film.
Arjun Rampal is still sporting facial hair (a remnant of his Om Shanti Om days, maybe – some of the kids on set refer to him as ‘Mukesh’). He looks tired. It’s the heat, you think – or maybe he’s in character too – sick of the two spirited women he has to deal with on a daily basis, we presume… oh, the trials and tribulations of blended families!
Noumi, the child actor, is only nine, but he feels special already. Everyone dotes on him. ***
ON SET, surprisingly, it’s all cool-ascucumbers. The director Siddharth Malhotra is in control. Things seem to be moving along quite peacefully. The Australian lineproducer Anupam Sharma of Temple Films is keeping a cool eye on everything and everyone – the top brass, the unit hands, the staff – like a general coordinating a huge event. His assistants run around issuing instructions into walkie-talkies. Together they’ve seemed to have arranged for everything that could be needed.
Mealtimes are hearty (Indian as well as non-Indian food to cater to staff both from India and from here), there’s sunscreens or the kids, thanda pani coming on regularly as also chai, coffee, fresh cut fruits … and giant
Director Siddharth Malhotra, in the check shirt in the foreground, has everything under control (To identify the stars in the background, check out the umbrellas)
umbrellas for the stars.
(We couldn’t resist a chuckle at the umbrellas. As the stars walked around, a dedicated umbrella-wallah walked behind them, at a respectful distance, as if they were royalty. Come on guys, can’t you carry your own umbrellas? And come to think of it, yes it’s hot, but we haven’t felt the need for umbrellas, to walk a few dozen steps at a time…!)
Anyway, overall yes, it all looked pretty orderly – where’s the so-called chaos of Bollywood? Oh but this is Karan Johar, you know, Dharma Productions… people around say in hushed tones.
Karan Johar, royalty. Yes, there’s no shortage of royalty in Bollywood.
But the sheer scale of it all is staggering. Work starts and finishes in time. There are no crises – everything’s going exactly to script. It’s all good. ***
NO DOUBT Anupam had his work cut out for him. Rumours are that producer Karan Johar had made his mind up about Australia, after looking closely at the US as a location. Then he backtracked – in solidarity with the Indian students here who were being treated shamefully. Wonder what changed his mind.
Johar bought the rights of the Hollywood film Stepmom (Julia Roberts-Susan Sarandon-Ed Pollack) a few years ago and was reportedly waiting for Kajol. It is as yet untitled, but everyone has been referring to it as ‘Stepmom’.
John Abraham was approached first, but he declined, reportedly because he felt he wouldn’t have much to do in it, plus there were two bigwigs in it already.
Kareena, who claims she likes to “experiment” with her roles, apparently took on acting lessons with director Siddharth Malhotra for this role. The catty press in India had suggested this was because she wanted to upstage the other (more talented?) female lead, but perhaps she wanted to do justice to the Julia Roberts role, and perhaps also because typically, she has no hang-ups about up-skilling from time to time, like she did for her role in Omkara ***
THE DAY HAD begun early. Reporting time was 6.30am for this shoot at Sydney Uni. Kitchen had served up a sumptuous breakfast.
“This is a good place,” Noumi had announced, showing off unusual powers of observation. “The stars sit together with everyone else to eat”.
The “stars” were taken aback somewhat. Someone explain the concept of egalitarianism to a middle-class child from Mumbai.
IN BETWEEN TAKES, Kareena’s best friend is the mobile phone. Her new film Kurbaan is not yet three days old, and she must be keen to learn of reactions. A junior unit hand shows her a giant picture of her in this very newspaper – she takes it eagerly and reads it through, and asks why Kurbaan is not reviewed in it. (You can read it this issue Kareena, but you know by now that it is not the hit you were so sure it would be). She goes back to texting. It’s dead of night in India, Kareena – who are you calling? By the way, nice to see you’ve learnt to text discreetly, after that major boo-boo only days ago when a cameraman caught you having an SMS tiff with your man Saif…
THERE SEEMS to be great camaraderie on the sets. The three leads sit around and talk, and applaud each other’s takes. The
buzz is they are all going out tonight to see Kurbaan at a local Sydney theatre.
***
IN BETWEEN TAKES, Kajol talks constantly, and with an air of authority about everything.
“The restaurants in Sydney blah blah blah…”
“Sean’s Panorama blah blah blah …”
“Tetsuya’s blah blah blah …”
“Juiciest steak I’ve ever eaten, blah blah blah …”
“Roast potatoes blah blah blah …”
“Borders book store blah blah blah…”
***
IN BETWEEN TAKES, Arjun Rampal makes genial chatter. Such as about his new baby, the exclusive ‘lounge bar/ night club LAP, at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi. “I’m keen to keep it exclusive, you know … open it to everyone and it looses its flavour. Keep it lean and people are keen”. The current challenge for entrepreneur Arjun, apparently, is who to get as the big DJ for New Year’s
Eve this year. “To get the big ones you have to make sure you time it right; see, these DJs are known to say yes and then if a bigger offer comes along later, they cancel out on you…”
***
MEANWHILE, Anupam’s staff remind everyone that they can’t take photographs of the stars. “Yes I know it’s Kajol, but you know … Dharma Productions, Karan Johar….”
***
THE paani wallahs and chai wallahs are doing a sterling job on a hot day like today. They are probably providing a higher level of service than some of the hangers-on whose contribution seems limited at best. Perhaps Karan Johar needs to look hard at the roles of these randoms who claim executive titles but seem totally superfluous.
***
THE CHILD star announces he’s bored. “There’s no one to play with”. His mum suggests he should play with some of the other kids – the ‘extras’. He goes readily,
only to be reprimanded loudly by someone to ‘stop distracting the kids’. He goes away downcast. Someone else shouts out, “Let the poor kid play”. But he’s lost interest.
***
MICKEY CONTRACTOR, Bollywood’s most wanted make-up man, is on hand as well. He’s make-up royalty. His magic makeup has done wonders for some of our leading actresses. Word around the set is, he flies business class (only make-up artist in India to do so), charges an exorbitant fee, and of course, only does one face at a time. For this movie, it is Kajol’s lucky face.
***
THE CHILDREN in the ‘extra’ roles complain repeatedly. It’s a school scene, and they are required to be the background figures walking around carrying schoolbags.
“It’s so hot in the jacket…”
“My head hurts … the hair lady did my hair so tightly”.
“Yeah mine too, and she was so rough”.
“How come Kareena gets to touch up her make-up so often – she’s just standing under the shade doing nothing, and
we’re walking up and down this path in the sun …”
“When are we going home?”
***
OUTSIDE, THE PARENTS of the ‘extra’ kids, all mainstream Aussies, wait around patiently. One dad has driven in from Penrith: to make the 6.30am reporting time, he must have woken his kid up at an unearthly hour. He wants to know which one of the actors is Arjun Rampal. His Indian doctor has asked him to try and get an autograph. When he finally makes contact, Arjun obliges readily. What a champion.
***
THERE ARE PLENTY of runners around doing odd jobs. One poor thing has just got
Continued from page 31
She’s got what she was sent out for. One of the leading ladies has asked for cherries, strawberries, cheese, crackers and brown bread. There was some confusion about what type of cheese: no one had a clue as to whether it was cheddar, brie, camembert or any other exotic variety … but hey, this star is in Australia, land of milk and honey, so cheese has to be on the menu. “Just go get any cheese, yaar!”
Last week it was Caesar’s Salad for both ladies – with dressing on the side, please.
***
KAREENA has finished for the morning. She kicks off her sandals and asks for her chappals. The word travels down the foodchain.
“Madam ki chappal dena…”
“Madam ki chappal!”
“Madam ki chappal …”.
***
THE dal at lunch is simply delicious. It is a simple yellow dal – nothing fancy. Apparently, all of last week the caterer sent in kaali dal, and everyone was sick of it. There’s plenty of food today – all excellent.
Kajol eats by herself: thanks Noumi, for that smart-aleck comment this morning…
Kareena has asked to go to an Italian place for lunch - something “rustic”, not the bazaar type, not just limited to pizzas but good pasta.
Easy one that came to mind was Belmondo at the Rocks, with views to the Bridge and the Opera House “Oh no, you can’t keep her waiting,” the staffer says into the phone. “She’s the Julia Roberts of India. We have to have a confirmed booking”.
Perhaps Kareena had the herb and garlic gnocchi with zucchini, mushroom and roast capsicum, baby spinach and parmesan shavings. Bit of a change from the dals.
Arjun shares a table with others at lunch. He’s chatty again, talking intelligently about the production. No, the heat doesn’t bother him because the days are longer and they’ve been able to pack more work in. This means they can wind up in four weeks rather than five, saving in costs; with the AUD getting more expensive from the time they decided to shoot here, all these savings help.
At the desserts counter, there is a special dabba of Indian mithai. Apparently the company has reached a milestone in its volume of filming, and traditions demand that sweets be distributed at this point. (And also, the spot boy’s wife has just delivered a baby boy back home in India). Wonder what
the main actors feel about this intake of these extra calories…
Two of the child extras are thrilled. They have just been served some ice cream by a gorgeous blonde lady ahead of them in the dessert queue. That’s Virginia Judge, the Minister for the Arts, Indophile and Bollywood freak, who has just arrived for the post-lunch filming session. She has a role in the movie.
***
Malhotra is pleasant, filled with obvious passion for his art. One of Bollywood’s new brand of directors, he has great pedigree –the legendary Premnath is his grandfather. He has been tweeting away about how great his stars are: Kajol’s brilliant, Kareena’s a dream to direct, both are electrifying together, Arjun is perfect in his role – anyone else would have been ‘over’cast.
He’s thrilled with what Sydney has to offer from the viewpoint of natural beauty. “It was blue skies when we wanted, and overcast conditions when we wanted. The sea was perfect, and the long winding roads of Sydney were great. I also loved the up and down of the roads - something which San Franciso also offers, but happy to get it all in Sydney. The choice of the set came down to either New York or Sydney but we finally decided to go for Sydney and I’m glad that we did. We’ve showed Sydney off - and have
even used actual names like Mona Vale, Palm Beach etc”.
(Many home scenes were filmed on the northern beaches).
Siddharth laughs, “It’ll be nice to get some money back from the local government on this, they are going to get a huge promotion….”.
***
VIRGINIA JUDGE has a spring in her step as Anupam escorts her in. She shakes hands all around and tells everyone she’s very excited about her role as school principal. Apparently, she has to reprimand local students who have just called the Indian child “little brown shit”. Oh dear.
Her lines go something like “…there is no room for racism in Australia”. Funny, we’ve heard that one before somewhere…
Shabaash, you guys, very clever indeed.
Someone quipped that keeping the boys in line must be easy for a NSW minister, what with the unruly boys in Cabinet. Judge smiles wistfully.
She finishes make-up and rehearses her lines with Arjun.
The hair lady (the one who pulled the children’s hair too tight) is thrilled to bits afterwards. “Kya bhaag hai hamare, minister ke baal kiye (What good fortune, I’ve just done a minister’s hair)”.
***
Khan flies in from Mumbai. As one half of Indian glitterati’s most-watched couple, he can’t bear to be apart from lady love Kareena. Or perhaps he’s just escaping the lukewarm reception to his latest film Kurbaan
Either way, as he makes an appearance on set, he looks pretty much like he’s in character as well (from his latest role): bandana, beard … terrorist?
He’s very interested in Kareena’s work. He sits beside the cameraman and the director, involved in every aspect of the shot: it’s almost as if he can say ‘Cut’ before the director can. But the director seems cool with it, and everything’s hunky dory.
Afterwards, he shakes hands readily with star-struck Indians who recognise him (admittedly, it’s a bit difficult today…).
Yes, he’s just as suave as he’s made out to be. And yes, just as crazy about Kareena, lucky girl.
Well, if art imitates life for Virginia Judge, hopefully it will do the same for Kareena as she prepares to play ‘Stepmom’ in real life to Saif’s kids.
With inputs from various sources
Some moments are seared into the collective consciousness of the nation -- like 26/11. The utter helplessness came back to haunt us on the first anniversary of India’s most wounding terror strike, but with it was a sense of resolve as thousands prepared to gather in various cities to remember the dead and also hope for a terror-free tomorrow.
It was a day of vivid recall, of remembrances public and private, of recrimination and also resolve as India, a year later, paused in its tracks to rewind to the traumatic night in late Nov last year.
The fear and helplessness of that day was never far from the minds of Indians across the country and the world mourned the dead in India’s most wounding terror strike that had left behind scars perhaps never to be healed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was away in the US, spoke in Washington about “remembrance and homage to all the innocent civilians and our brave men in uniform” who died in the attack.
In the national capital, parliament began with two minutes silence and a resolution in the Lok Sabha to wage a united war against terror. In Kanpur, the cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka began with a similar homage. Tributes to the brave who died - and those who survived - were held in many cities with citizens collecting at designated places holding aloft lit candles and pledging for peace.
And all thoughts were with Mumbai, India’s thriving commercial capital that was ravaged by 10 terrorists who came by boats from Pakistan on the night of Nov 26 to begin a bloody siege that ended only on the afternoon of Nov 28. Only one terrorist was caught alive, Pakistani Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, whose trial is far from complete.
As crowds gathered at every place the terrorists had left a bloody imprint - the anger was palpable. “We want Kasab to be hanged,” said a young teen outside the Gateway of India.
Thousands of commuters rushing to their offices halted to pay respects to those slaughtered in the blaze of bullets at the CST, Mumbai’s oldest and largest rail hub.
The newly created elite Force One, created on the lines of the elite National Security Guard, made its first public appearance when it marched through parts of the affected areas in Mumbai. Also on display were security forces displaying an array of sophisticated weapons, bulletproof vehicles and amphibian boats.
“We shall leave no stone unturned to protect Mumbai and its citizens,”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said, as everyone - from celebrities to the man on the street - relived the trauma.
The 1.5 km wall at Marine Drive was full of messages by 5am, and thousands more came to read them.
Some moments will stay on forever - even for somebody like little ‘Goli’, or bullet, who was not even born at that time. Viju Chavan, a worker in Mumbai who was shot in the stomach, said with a smile at the oddities of fate: “I was pregnant at the time of the attack. After that incident, people told me to name my daughter Goli. Even today, my daughter is referred to as Goli, not by her real name.”
Remember but move on undeterred, the
extraordinary story of Goli may epitomise the spirit in which Mumbai - and Indiaobserved the 26/11 anniversary.
***
The day after: A city moves on
The flurry of memorial services, blood donation camps, the moments reliving that terrible carnage a year ago, were all done. On 27 Nov, Mumbai was its usual self, buzzing with activity and a confidence that no terror attack can quell. Most students returned to their colleges, and workers were back to their routine schedules.
At the sites that were attacked in the 26/11 carnage last year - Taj Hotel, Chabad House, Leopold Cafe, Chhatrapati Shivaji railway terminus, Oberoi Hotel and Cama Hospitalit was back to work the day after.
At the Leopold Cafe, one of the first sites to be attacked by the terrorists, a candle-light memorial service and a musical program were held on on the 26th. But, the next day, it was business as usual. The regulars were back for their coffees, snacks and banter at their all-time old favourite.
For Eliran Russo, a member of the Chabad House and a close friend of the Rabbi couple who were killed last year by the terrorists, the memorial service at the Jewish centre was especially painful.
“Yesterday was our way of showing the world that we are here in Mumbai - to stay. The memorial service was broadcast live on Jewish TV and at all the Chabad centres around the world. On Friday, we are planning a quiet, private memorial supper with the family of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and union minister Shashi Tharoor were in attendance at the Chabad House for the memorial service. It was attended by other members of the Chabad House, the Mumbai Jewish community and several people who
flew in from abroad.
Bharat Kapoor donated blood at the Hinduja Hospital as a tribute to the victims. “Instead of lighting a candle, donating blood is my way of showing I care. I made it a point to mark my tribute.”
Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is ready to focus on the times ahead.
“Yesterday was a very solemn and dignified memorial service where Ratan Tata unveiled the new memorial. A staff interaction was held at the banquet room, to which only members of the staff, their families and the Consulate Generals were invited,” Nikhita Palat, public relations manager of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, told IANS. “At the Taj, we’re always looking forward, and our focus is to concentrate on the revival of the hotel,” she added.
Among the restaurants, the Golden Dragon was re-opened to patrons on the eve of the 26/11 anniversary (Nov 25), while the Harbour Bar and Wasabi are scheduled to open on Dec 2.
For Priya M., a college student, the memorial service at the Taj made her re-live the trauma of those 60 hours when 10 terrorists had virtually laid siege to the city.
“It was overwhelming to remember the tragedy which struck this place a year ago. We were all glued to our television sets at this time last year and the gory battle between the terrorists and security forces went on for a full 60 hours,” Priya said with a shudder.
A regular visitor to the Taj, Manisha Bulchandani also made a special effort to pay her respects at the hotel. “It was heartening to see the security force in all its strength in Mumbai Thursday. As citizens, we should stop complaining and appreciate our police force, who are often on their toes round-theclock when required,” she said.
The 26/11 terror attack left 166 people dead and 244 people injured.
***
Over Rs.1.15 crore ($246,000) were raised in aid of the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks at a charity event in London attended by Bollywood stars and members of British royalty. The event was organised by DVK Foundation whose founder Deepak Kuntawala was one of the survivors of the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel.
A press release issued by the organisers said that the function held at the Royal Kensington Palace was attended by members of the British royalty and celebrities from India and Britain.
“More than Rs.1.15 crores were collected during the event, which was hosted by the acclaimed Indian film and television actor Kabir Bedi and his actress-daughter Pooja Bedi,” said a press release.
The money was raised through the fundraising dinner and auction, which was conducted by actor Boman Irani.
The items on auction included a weekend on the luxury yacht which went for 11,000 pounds to British musician Newton Faulkner.
Another item on the list was a ticket to the movie premier of Avatar with Hollywood actress Sigourney Weaver, which went for 10,000 pounds.
“The event is an affirmation of the human spirit that rises above dark tragedy and reaches for the light of compassion,” Kabir Bedi was quoted as saying in the press release.
Besides, a poetry tribute to the victims of Mumbai terror attacks by film director Shekhar Kapur and a musical performance of Phantom of the Opera were some of the attractions of the night.
Singer Arunaditya Basu will never forget his first ever stage performance. He was all but five years of age, and it was India’s Independence Day. His song, the patriotic Insaaf ki dagar pe, had earned him his first music award.
But the award didn’t matter; it was the exhilaration of it all. He was hooked for life.
There is another stage performance that Arunaditya (Arun) will hopefully not forget for a very long time. This time round, the audience was just a little bit bigger – tens of thousands, who listened to him in different cities across different continents. His numbers Yeh bandhan to, jhanak tori and Woh pehli baar had again won him a coveted award, in a rather unique contest
The dashing 29-year-old singer was announced as the winner in the final episode of Indian Link Radio’s Link Idol (ILI) 2009 series that aired on 22 Nov.
The final contest of the series, with the three finalists Arunaditya, Kshitij Bhatnagar and Gurpreet Sharma, was held on 14 Nov. Listeners’ votes came in over the following week. The final count was made on the morning of 22 Nov by Indian Link Radio’s Priti Sharma, even as the contestants gathered in the studio to put the show live on air.
ILI host Amit Grover tried his chatty best to diffuse the prevailing tension, and Arun’s face broke out in relief as Station Director Rajesh Thakur announced his name as winner.
Arun had won by a landslide – he pulled weight from a whopping 60% of Indian Link Radio listeners.
Kshitij and Gurpreet were declared second and third place winners respectively.
Arun took home a cash prize of $500. Kshitij and Gurpreet received $250 and $100 respectively.
Other than this, all three have won the opportunity to lend their voices on a new album to be produced locally by Mumbai musician Amit Diwadkar.
Arun first heard about ILI from a friend Rajeev who was himself trying out. He called in for an audition, and sang the blissful Rim jhim gire saawan. He was one of 60 participants who made it through that initial round.
Being based in Canberra, Arun had not heard last year’s inaugural ILI series on the radio. But this year, he was tuning in on the internet.
Jab se tere naina… saw him through to the second round, where 30 of the singers were eliminated. From then on, it was steady progress to the Top 20, Top 17, Top 13 and then Top 6.
“By this time, the competition was tough. And the fun was beginning. Each singer was good! Everyone had the potential. I particularly admired Gurpreet, Kshitij and Pankaj for their unique styles of singing”.
“For my own part, I did my best to show versatility. I like to sing a wide variety of songs, both old and new. So I chose different singers and genres.
But the ones which suit me the most, are the high-pitch melodious songs, like Suno na, Tumhi se... I love to sing songs of Kishore Kumar, Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Shankar Mahadevan”.
Yet, he admits, after the Top 6 announcement it occurred to him for the very first time, that he actually stood a chance.
“Before this, I was simply enjoying my singing. A different challenge was set for us at each level. I gave serious thought to song selection at every stage. And then I just put my heart
and soul into practice – I just wanted to sing well, more than anything else”.
When he entered the contest, he reveals, he didn’t even know what the prize was, or if there was one other than the prize in name. “It didn’t, seriously, occur to me. Looking back, I just enjoyed the moment… every moment! When I recorded the songs, and when the judges gave me feedback, I just absorbed everything in. I can confidently say now that more than the award, it was a true learning experience for me”.
And he hopes to keep learning.
“ILI has motivated me to get some professional training. I’m currently looking at taking some lessons in Hindustani classical music”.
Of course he has always been a serious student of music, for as long as he can remember. He has already performed in innumerable shows around India and in Australia, and even has an album of original songs with his best mate, Nitin Dubey. Called Udta Dhooan, it was produced by the two young musicians in Australia and mastered in the UK. It was put to sale here, in India and in the UK. (Nitin has constantly guided Arun’s musical endeavours – he helped him pick his numbers for ILI).
Arun plays the guitar and mouth organ expertly.
Arun claims his idols are Kishore Kumar and Sonu Nigam. “My all-time favourite song has to be Dil hai ke manta nahin, the most romantic song I’ve ever heard. I would love to sing for AR Rahman – he’s mastered the art of music arrangement and post-production over and above the skills of coming up with a good tune”.
When he is not singing, Arun works as a patent examiner at IP Australia. He loves playing video games and fishing.
(The Bangalore-born Bengali Babu came to Australia in 2002 as a student. He gained degrees in electronics and biomedical engineering at Monash and RMIT).
Rajesh Thakur has just finished compiling the top ten songs from the 150 that were recorded for this year’s
“Of the ten we’ve picked,” he reveals, “three are by Arun Basu. That should give you an idea of how good he is”.
Actually Rajesh claims he was so impressed by this year’s contestants that he wasn’t sure who would emerge the final winner after the top 6 were announced.
“Well, as it turns out, I wasn’t sure, but our listeners certainly were. The final tally showed a resounding win for Arun – with 60% of the votes!”
Rajesh can be forgiven for loving all the contestants equally. Having mentored them over a four-month period, he forged good relationships with each of them as he helped them pick their songs for each challenge, practiced the song with them repeatedly and then recorded them for the contest.
“Looking back, I think Arun impressed on many accounts, but I feel he has a great talent in picking the right song. Song selection was definitely the winner for him.”
And kudos to Arun for that. It shows that he understands his own skills as well as shortcomings, in terms of what will suit his style best. It also shows an innate understanding of what the audience wants to hear – absolutely essential for an entertainer.
Sydney musician Subhendu Malakar, who acted as judge along with Thakur, feels that what took Arun farther than the others was not only his song selection but also his dedication to the cause.
“Arun came across as sincere and committed from the beginning. He listened to the judges’ advice and incorporated it into his act”.
Both agree that Arun is cut out for the Shaan/KK style of singing.
For his final (impromptu) performance on ILI 2009, indeed for the final song in the show, Arun took the mike along with last year’s winner Ankita Sachdev. They sang the dreamy Tum mile, dil khile - no music, no practice. It brought the house down.
This year’s contest was much tougher, Rajesh Thakur, the brain behind the series, reveals.
“Well, last year was a success, and this year we had to strive to go higher, so we made the competition tougher!”
He must be so glad he did, because twice as many participants turned up this year, and three times as many votes were cast (including some from India as well).
Contestants came from Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, although no Brisbane singer went past the initial rounds.
“As well, we made the themes more interesting,” Rajesh notes. “See, we had to keep in mind not only the contestants but also the listeners. So this year’s talent hunt was for the overall, or complete, singer – who can sing in different styles, jiska sur-taal theek ho, expressions theek
hon (example love song bhi aur dard-bahre gaane bhi gaa sake). Hamne socha ke singers ko different genres mein check kiya jaaye – soft numbers, peppy numbers. And yet, in each round, we gave them the opportunity to be flexible. For instance, each round required them to sing three numbers: one of these was an open challenge, such as pick a song by your favourite singer, or a song that you would have loved to have sung for a particular movie”.
It turned out to be a tough but entertaining contest, one in which it was so obvious the skill levels were steadily rising. The judges eliminated singers on a weekly basis until all but six were left, and then handed them over to the voting audience.
“We attracted some very talented singers this year: Rajesh says. “Kshitij and Gurpreet were great, no doubt, but so was Jasmine Gill who lost out by a mere six votes. Priyanka Rao and Pankaj Bankoti came pretty close too”.
“Yes, they did,” Subhendu agrees, adding, “It was quite challenging for me to pass ‘judgment’ week in and week out. I tried hard to be encouraging. My sole aim was to get them to understand their shortcomings, accept them and then act to change them. Improvement is what I wanted”.
Obviously Kyle Sandilands was not a role model as Idol judge.
As an organiser of local shows with his band Unplugged, Subhendu is always motivating young singers and guiding them to greater heights, and does in his routine life what he did on ILI for four months.
It’s been a pretty arduous four months for Rajesh Thakur. After the auditioning, he worked with the singers to pick their songs and then set about finding the accompanying karaoke for each.
“Sometimes that proved to be quite a challenge. For instance, for one particular number (More saiyyan), I had to contact the original singer Shafaqat Amanat Ali. Of course he readily obliged”.
Then he would record the song. Often he would do retake after retake, to get it just right.
“I wanted the best possible quality – from the listeners’ point of view”.
Hours of editing would follow.
The result is that the recordings are all good, some pretty close to the original. They are now part of the station’s playlist. In fact, it is becoming common for listeners to ring in and request a particular song “but in Jasmine’s voice not Lata’s” or in “Arun’s voice not Kishore’s”.
And then finally, he coordinated with the hosts of the show, popular Indian Link presenters Raghu Kamath and Amit Grover.
With the anchors too this time, Rajesh sought a change. While last year’s anchor, the beautiful and captivating Vertika Sukhwal chose to concentrate on the music, this year Raghu and Amit concentrated on the singers themselves, and made them the “stars”. With their easy-going and funloving style, both hosts brought in a good splashing of hansimazaak
“I’m full of admiration for Rajesh,” Subhendu says. “He’s done a brilliant job in providing a platform for budding singers. Now how about live shows for the semifinals and finals? Get people out there to see the work you’re doing…”.
Rajesh reveals smilingly that he’s already looking into it. A unique concept – this is perhaps the only live radio and online Idol format – ILI will continue to evolve in the years to come. While the true measure of its success continues to be the unearthing of talent, and providing hours of entertainment for the listeners, the hope is that perhaps some day Indian Link Idols will move onto bigger and better things.
Subhendu says, “Many of the popular singers of our era have originated abroad… I sincerely hope that some of our own finds from contest such as these can become part of the industry in India”.
Amen to that.
The end of 2009 also marks the end of the first decade of the millennium, making it even more important to take stock and review accomplishments. Let’s take a look back at what captivated our imagination and fuelled our passions in 2009.
The 9th year of the 3rd millennium was designated as the International Year of Astronomy and International Year of Natural Fibres. (Don’t fret! Even I didn’t know about the latter) The global financial crisis created a lot of havoc, while the swine flu outbreak created much panic.
Politics was as usual with the exception of AfricanAmerican Barak Obama making history by being elected into the American Presidency.
Venkatraman “Venki”
Ramakrishnan a structural biologist of Indian origin won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome”. David Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, filmed in the slums of Mumbai, carried away 8 Academy Awards .The phenomenon called Michael Jackson came to an untimely end when the worldfamous musician died under suspicious circumstances at the age of 50.
Closer to home Victoria had the worst bushfire in the nation’s recorded history
a perceived poor response by the police sparked protests in Australia Angst gave rise to creativity and the Indian and local media were dominated with the students’ issue for a few months.
Melbourne had its fair share of celebrity hopefuls, Olympian highs and market meltdowns. Through millions of searches and thousands of stories each day, people sought to make sense of the world around them. A dozen Indian publications (with one more happening as I write) vied for attention with gossip, gloss and grammatical errors. Thousands more hopefuls arrived from India seeking education, employment, and immigration not necessarily in that order.
Out of the smoke and flames of Kinglake fire came the inspiring story of Charnamat Singh who lost his property and farm, but not his spirit. Dancer teacher and choreographer Tara Rajkumar was felicitated with an honour of Australian medal, OAM. Melbourne’s community mourned the loss of Dr Martand Joshi, renowned community leader and honorary Consul General of Melbourne. AISV and FIAV made history of their own by joining forces to celebrate India’s Independence Day. Dignitaries who visited Melbourne from India included India’s Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Mr. MS Gill and Indian External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M.Krishna. India moved high on the agenda for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Victorian Premiere John Brumby. All of them visited India to assure Indians that Australia was a safe place to live and study. While continuing upholding cultural
Diwali was celebrated on a large scale in the West, Moonee Ponds, Ballarat, Federation Square and Sandwon racecourse. Punjabis dominated the art scene with performances from Harbhajan Mann, Jagjit Singh, Babbu Mann, Hans Raj Hans, R&B and Daler Mehndi.
In sports golfer Tiger Woods predictably won the JB Were masters and Melbourne’s 77 years old Flying Sikh Harbhajan Singh Aulakh won 10 medals at the World Masters. IPL and AFL got their quota of adulation from sports buffs and tennis once again proved popular with duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza taking the mixed doubles grand slam title at the Australian Open 09.
On the personal front my son made me proud as punch with a rocking performance at the school concert, while my other half endeared himself by bringing me a suitcase full of clothes from India and wonder of wonder, they all fitted perfectly. Friends and family kept me in their hearts and on my toes.
Time has raced past this year and life seems to get busier and busier especially
when it comes to balancing between family and work.
As a sufferer of superwoman syndrome, juggling madly between things I often get asked, “How do you do it”? The answer lies not in ‘how’ I do it but ‘why’ I do it. Wouldn’t you, if you got to help a domestic violence victim, give voice to several community issues, have drinks with the Premiere of Victoria, attend a red carpet premiere of a newly released blockbuster and get an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama…… all in one month? As a journalist, it’s a delight to be living vicariously amidst a lot of things.
With Christmas around the corner our Christmas tree has come out of its designated storage area to sparkle and shine once again; my son’s letter to Santa with requests for Chrissy presents will keep several elves employed for a fortnight. (It is currently running into 51/2 pages.) Christmas parties are increasing my happiness, joy and waistline. Everywhere I look, people seem to be worshipping daily at the shrines of the modern trinity: shopping, eating and drinking. Following that tradition let me raise a toast to another great year, Cheers!
state of firmness to achieve our dreams, and that’s when we catch a flight and never look back. A great adventure begins from that moment onwards.
When we are young, we dream, weaving tender imaginations into a lush landscape of possibilities and aspirations. We dwell on these enticing visions and nurture them into ambitions, aligning ourselves to make an attempt at grasping them in the palm of our hands. And then we take the leap and go all out to create our own destiny around the visions we have ruminated over so vigorously during our younger years.
The road often is unchartered, with lots of twists and turns, narrow corners and bumpy patches, but the heart marches on, defeating fear and conquering nerves. The effort is relentless as we push on for glory in life. Setbacks often dampen our confidence but we soak it up with a big grin, as we put our heads down again and keep pushing towards that ultimate ambition.
Some of us give up on our dreams for reasons within or beyond our control, and sketch new territories to explore. Some of us reach our dreams in a hurry and then relish the stay there. Some of us run a marathon chasing those dreams, and eventually stumble across the line with the last breath of air in our lungs. Whatever the eventual fate, the journey makes it all worthwhile. When we decide to move out to a foreign land in pursuit of our dreams, we embark on one such eventful journey. We
do not know where we are headed, but our heart tells us that the journey will lead us somewhere closer to what we have dreamt about all our life. The fear of the unknown spits out a tsunami of doubts in our mind, making us question our decision to leave the comfortable nest in our homeland and fly far into an unknown terrain.
A lot of “what ifs” and “but thens” keep pounding within the mind, as we weigh up our dreams against the facts of reality. And then somewhere in this process, the heart eventually draws a line and navigates us to a
We end up in a land where most of the things happening around our conscious state of mind are new or unfamiliar. We question our decision of moving, daily, if not every hour. We think we are fools to have dreamt those impossible visions as we find that life out here in the new homeland is darn tough, if not unsustainable. The emotional support mechanisms that we were used to in our homeland have all vanished. Our once tangible world of relationships and social networks are, all of a sudden, rendered into a virtual state of existence via email chatrooms, SMS and long distance telephone calls. Dreams shouldn’t be that hard to chase, we often say to ourselves as we slump into a heap. We sigh and we almost give up..
And then the sun shines again, a new dawn begins. We rediscover ourselves as we hit rock bottom. We accept unfamiliar happenings around us, we reason out our uncertainties, we start building new support networks and reinforcing the power of our dreams, one step at a time. The spring in our steps is reinforced, as we start crawling towards our dreams, yet again. Confidence levels start soaring, new opportunities show up, we accept the new life and blend with it. Friends enter our lives, new friends, social networks reconfigure, and support mechanisms are re-wired. Optimism blossoms as we seek new horizons.
The beginnings are humble, but they build character. Odd jobs, odd hours, odd measures. However, they all add up, they
start paying the bills and buy us food and shelter. We pick up the local jargon, we get used to our surroundings and start breathing new life into our new world. Tough days linger around waiting for an opportunity to bog down the mind, and they occasionally succeed. The mind comes out stronger though, when faced with adversity as we shake off the odd depressing day and starting building on our odd circumstances. Odd jobs and odd hours lead us to further opportunities, personal and professional. These opportunities turn into realistic prospects and then we grab that one opening with our name on it. And then there is no looking back, ever. Those distant dreams seem very possible, yet again.
And if you think I am making up all of this feel good fluff, well, I am happy to talk to you in person or introduce you to a multitude of people around me who are or have been a part of the same grind. The message here is that there are no shortcuts and when the chips are down, hang on tight to your dreams...... times will turn around.
SANAM SHARMA offers insights into seeking your goal and the struggle to get there, despite hurdles that could trip you up
The road often is unchartered, with lots of twists and turns, narrow corners and bumpy patches, but the heart marches on, defeating fear and conquering nerves
The mind comes out stronger though, when faced with adversity as we shake off the odd depressing day and starting building on our odd circumstances
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going gets tough, the tough get going, and so was the case at my end.
Every migrant has a story of the hardships they faced when they arrived in this country looking for greener pastures.
Here is mine.
I belong to a middle class family and both my parents are doctors based in Amritsar. I spent the first sixteen years of my life studying in Chandigarh. I arrived in Australia on 22 July 2002 to study IT at RMIT. All I had was $500 in my pocket, and a dream of becoming a self made man. I was only 19.
My mum held back her tears bravely as she and dad dropped me off at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. I experienced mixed emotions as I bade them both goodbye. There was excitement and fear - the excitement of moving to a land where I had wanted to go for a long time, and the fear of the unknown.
I was lucky to have an uncle in Melbourne who received me at Melbourne Airport. I still remember the cold, windy and dark night. In the car on the freeway, I was mesmerized by the giant trucks that were rushing past us – they looked massive, and if I wasn’t so tired, I would have playfully counted the wheels on them! They also looked bright and shiny as if they were brand new. So this was Australia – huge, fast, shiny clean. And new. So new.
I felt comforted as I called my parents back home.
The next day Uncle told me how to get about. Train, bus, timetables, tickets.
First day at Uni started at 5am. Freezing cold at the bus stop, and then train to the city. Completed the enrollment formalities. I was the only Indian in my course.
After a long day at Uni when I came home, the next thought on my mind was finding work and accommodation. Fortunately for me, Uncle allowed me to board with him until I was comfortable with the environment. The career services desk at my Uni gave me advice on how to create a resume. I had classes at Uni from 8:30am
Now it was Uni during the week, and work on the weekends.
More than once, I wished I could take time out and go off with friends to have a good time. But I remained positive and reminded myself that I am here to achieve something in life and make my parents proud. My only companion, a local Punjabi radio program which played listeners’ requests on Saturday nights from midnight to 2 am.
I mopped the floors to Babbu Mann, stocked the fridges to Harbhajan Mann and put away delivery pallets to Malkit Singh. Sometimes I’d think to myself, is this what I came to Australia for? But then I kept myself motivated by thinking this is only the
were all slogging away at uni and at work. They were sort of a support group for sure, but we had no time for
Nearly six months down the track I brought my first car for $350, a 1983 Toyota Corona. Now it was easier to travel to and from work.
Also after living two years with my uncle, I moved into a rental place, sharing with a friend. Life was not easy, but as they say, when the
I completed my studies in December 2005 and gained my permanent residency in March 2006. Now I wanted to fulfill my dream of working in the public sector. I started applying for jobs in the IT sector and was successful in gaining a position in IT at Telstra.
I bought myself a champagne gold Honda Civic. I had only been with Telstra a brief while, when I was offered a position at the Victoria Police, looking after the grant of private security licenses. My parents were proud and happy when they learnt I was one of five candidates selected out of a pool of 150 candidates.
After working for the Victoria Police for a period of 2 years, I fulfilled another longstanding dream – owning my own house. I had been saving for a deposit, and in 2007, moved into my own four-bedroom place. Very shortly after, I met Manpriya. Just like her name, she became the true love of my life. We wed in India in April 2008.
I applied for a position at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. This time round, with my Lady Luck by my side, I was able to secure that position easily.
After a few months with Immigration I was offered a position at the Department of Justice. I took that on board and am currently working there.
Today when I look back, I don’t regret my decision of coming to Australia, despite those initial hardships. There are no shortcuts to success. Determination, focus, hard work and most importantly a strong belief in oneself, are the key elements Opportunity comes to those who look for it. While it may be difficult to secure a white collar job, it is not impossible … remember, the word ‘impossible’ could really be read as ‘I M Possible’.
conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and vitiligo.
Even though it is a bit showery and cool as I write this article, I know summer has arrived and soon we will all have heat-related problems. It is, after all, Melbourne and it will probably be boiling hot soon.
Almost everybody seems to like sunny weather; the sun and blue skies often produce a happy feel good factor. Unfortunately with the strong sun we have here in Australia, care must be taken not to overdo it. Sunburn and heat exhaustion are often experienced. Babies and children especially need constant watching.
If you find the heat and sun too much, homoeopathy and the Australian Bush Flower remedies offer a great deal of relief to help you recover more quickly and reduce susceptibility to ‘fading’ in the heat. Drinking water often and avoiding getting dehydrated helps a great deal.
Sunburn Sunburn is preventable and by following a few precautions, burns from the sun can be avoided. Some people are more susceptible, though, such as fair skinned people, those who have naturally red or blonde hair and blue eyes, the elderly, babies and young children, who are particularly sensitive, those taking certain medications, people with certain skin
It is important to remember that the sun’s rays can also penetrate through cloud and water. Being underwater can be deceptive due to the cooling effect of the water. In shallow water the rays can also reflect off a sandy bottom.
Precautions
l As obvious as it sounds
l Wear waterproof sunscreen (preferably SPF 30 or more)
l Try to avoid the midday sun, usually from noon until 3pm
l Wear a broad brimmed hat, shirt and sunglasses.
l Children should wear long sleeved shirts, hats and high-factor waterproof sunscreen.
l Babies should be kept out of direct sunlight.
l Avoid lying in the sun for long periods
l Snorkellers should always wear a tee shirt or something similar to prevent the sun burning their backs
l Always regularly re-apply sun screen and after swimming, even if the one you’re using is waterproof.
Treatment of sunburn
Despite all of this you can get caught out. Take the following actions instantly:
l Get the person out of the sun.
l Cool the skin where possible using cold running water, a cold shower or immersion in a cool to lukewarm bath.
l Avoid direct pressure to the burnt area.
l Give painkillers.
l Apply calamine lotion, calendula, or a proprietary after sun lotion to soothe skin Despite these measures, there may still be pain and discomfort. However, effective relief is at hand. Use homoeopathic and Australian Bush Flower remedies, which quickly act to relieve symptoms and accelerate healing in a safe, natural way.
Heat Exhaustion
Sudden or prolonged hot weather really gets to some people. If you know heat and/ or the sun really affect you, talk to a homoeopath now before the weather really heats up. Your homoeopath will equip you with a suitable remedy to help you tackle the heat. Typical symptoms include tiredness, headaches, dizziness, nausea, cramps in the limbs or abdomen, sweating with pale, clammy skin, rapid weak breathing and dehydration.
What Helps
l Try to cool down the person by removing them from direct sunlight into the shade.
l Lie them down and apply lukewarm (not cold) water with a sponge or similar.
l They should be encouraged to drink as much rehydration solution as they can take. (Use water if a solution is not available)
l Your homoeopath will advise you on suitable remedies. Bush Flower Rescue Remedy or Bush Flower Emergency Essence is helpful if available, while help arrives.
l Allow them to rest until they fully recover, contact your doctor if there are signs of deterioration.
The hot weather can be a time of risk especially for very young babies. Because of their small size and immature bodies, they are easily affected by the heat. A baby’s skin is thin, and does not yet have much natural protection from the sun, so it burns and gets damaged much faster. If possible avoid taking young babies out in the sun. But if you need to take your baby out, shade them. A light sheet can be spread over a stroller. Cover your baby’s body, arms and legs with light clothing, and put a wide brimmed hat on them. Use appropriate sunscreen and offer extra fluids like extra breastfeeds or for bottle-fed babies, extra formula or small drinks of cool boiled water if they seem thirsty. A ‘tepid’ bath can help keep your baby cool on a very hot day. If you have air-conditioning, make sure the room does not become too cold. Avoid travelling in the hot weather if possible, or do it early in the day. Make sure your baby is in the shade in the car when you are travelling, as their skin can burn in sunlight which has passed through car windows. Never leave a baby alone in a car.
Children
Young children are very active and can perspire a lot as they run and play. Often they get carried away by being with their friends and playing, and are not mindful of the heat and how hot they are getting. They can also forget to drink water in the process of being excited, so offer them drinks regularly instead of waiting to be asked.
The JATA Rolling Shield – a new concept introduced in June 2008, is now one of the most popular cricket tournaments among the burgeoning cricketing community.
The JATA Rolling Shield ’08 was officially launched by State Opposition Leader Mr. Ted Baillieu at the Sandown Diwali in the presence of community leader Mr. Nitin Gupta and Babu Akula. JATA Rolling Shield has become so popular that it has attracted more than 100 teams in its second season.
Besides Melbourne, areas like Albury, Wodonga, Shepparton, Warragul, Geelong and Kinglake are coming up with prominent players to participate in the JATA Rolling Shield.
Raja Jata CEO JATA Group, Neeti Jata and Harish Bisam, initiators of the tournament are happy with the development of the concept and are working together to create a much bigger platform for the players.
Panache, Chadstone is the Platinum Sponsor for the whole tournament. Sportsmart is also very generously helping JATA Group in its Kinglake initiative by donating equipment and cash for the Kinglake Cricket Club.
The Victorian Multicultural Commission as always has come forward by providing $1100 to the upcoming immigrant talent in cricket.
The JATA Group is donating part of the proceeds to serve the noble cause of the McGrath Foundation. Only pink balls are being used in the initial rounds of the tournament to support breast cancer awareness,
and had been very positively received by the players.
Food and entertainment will be provided by popular Indian restaurant, Aangan - The courtyard of India Aangan is well known for its hospitality and delicious food.
To spice up things, teams in the JATA Rolling Shield have been formed into groups with interesting names like Panachee, JATA, Champions, Sportsmart, Gladiators, Fight Club, Avengers, Dynamites, Warriors and Hercules.
The JATA Group is organising an event at Kinglake to support the bushfire affected cricket clubs. This event will begin on December 13, from 9am to 9pm at the Kinglake Cricket Club and will be felicitated by renowned community leaders, sportsmen and politicians and fully supported by our own community leader, Nitin Gupta.
Strathewen, Marysville, Flowerdale, Kinglake and Yarra Glen Cricket Clubs are participating in the JATA Group’s event. JATA Group has invited prominent community leaders like Ted Baillieu, Nitin Gupta and other politicians to help make the day a success. The response of the community will prove to be an opportunity to show their respect and support for the cricket clubs and their desire to help them get back into the game once again.
JATA Group believes that cricket is a mode of communication which speaks one language. All are welcome to Kinglake to show your support. Kindly donate to the Kinglake Cricket Club generously and support the community.
Sachin Gupta, Sohail BadarPRIYA DHINGRA offers useful tips on how to beat the heat, through common sense and homoeopathy
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y parents are coming to Sydney. All the way from Bombay. They’ll be taking a five-hour flight to Singapore, then stopping over at Changi airport, then boarding an eight-hour flight to Sydney.
My parents are not young. This is their first trip to Australia. It’s their first trip abroad in a long while. They are both diabetic.
I stop sleeping and start worrying.
Then I start making lists. Lists of instructions, things to do, places to see, things to cook, things to eat, things to buy, things to bring, things to take.
I even make a list of lists.
“Relax! They’re only coming for 10 days,” says my husband.
“Ten days is a long time,” I reply. “God created the world in less than that.”
I lie awake at night going over my lists, plotting, planning, and rearranging my parents’ itinerary in my head. I plan for four adults and two cats stepping around each other in our tiny two-bedroom flat in Botany; I orchestrate turns at showering and going to the loo. I worry about the proximity of the bathroom to the dining area. I worry about bodily functions intruding on filial affection.
I worry about food. I buy a 10 kg bag of rice. We couldn’t feed them our staple of Weetbix and tuna on toast, a muffin and a multivitamin.
Or could we?
SEEKING BRIDES
AGujarati Brahmin family invites proposals for their pure vegetarian, non-smoker, non-drinker, broadminded, family oriented son, Permanent Resident of Australia, 24 years, 5’ 7”, B.E. - Mechanical Engineer, settled in Perth. Alliances are sought from well educated, family oriented, spiritual and good looking girls from well cultured Gujarati families. Initial contact can be made at kulfunda@gmail.com or 0402 433 385.
Sister seeks suitable bride for her handsome professionally qualified Punjabi Hindu Brahmin boy 27 working as MBA in HR department in a reputed company in India. Boy teetollaer and belongs to well respected and well to do family in India. Please respond to sharmamona26@yahoo. com.au or call at 0433 602 032.
Australian citizen, Maratian Naidu Catholic, 6ft tall 31 years, born 22-0578, never married, kind and loving nature. Seeking girl with good moral values, family oriented, kind, caring, honest and educated. Please contact 0415 440 293.
Alliance invited for Australian citizen, 36 years, 5’10”, divorcee, Hindu male, from well established Sydney-based family. Working as analyst in Sydney. Seeking good looking and qualified match from Australia or India, preferably Hindu, with good family values. Caste no bar. E-mail: madhurmilan@ y7mail.com
Indian born Australian citizen, 31 years old, 5’5” working as a full time Government
I worry about not having a mirror in the bathroom and the size of the sink. I buy a green bathmat and an airfreshner. I stock up on toilet paper.
I frantically scour Freedom for extra plates and bowls. Then I think of the washing up it will generate and buy disposable plates and glasses instead.
I clean the apartment twice. I scrub, I vacuum, I dust. I injure my back in the process.
I micro-delegate and snap at the husband if he shows the slightest sign of slacking off.
“It doesn’t have to be spotless, you know. Your mum would understand,” he whinges. “We have no maids. This isn’t Bombay.” I try not to scream and bite his head off. Our floor gets mopped once a month if lucky, cat hair is everywhere. We wash up when we run out of bowls. We do the washing when we run out of socks and undies. We’ve taken to camping out in the study amidst our books and computers because the bed in the bedroom is buried under clothes and more books.
No, my mum would NEVER understand.
But there were bigger things to worry about. What will my saree-wearing mother say to my Australian mother-in-law when she meets her for the first time? When she sees her drinking an entire bottle of wine?
What would my fire-fighter father-in-law clad in shorts, holding a stubbie of VB, have to say to my father, a businessman from
Bombay?
“They could talk about cricket!”
now that in the midst of this colossal culture clash, my husband will abandon me and seek refuge in his computer games.
Meanwhile, I’m on the phone to Bombay rattling off instructions. Check in all liquids, don’t carry any food off the plane, no mithai, don’t forget to stretch your legs during the long flight...
“What should I wear?” my mum says suddenly.
“What do you mean? On the plane?”
“No, in Sydney. Can I wear my salwaar kameez or would you like me to wear jeans?”
“Jeans?” I can’t remember the last time my mum wore jeans.
At this point, my husband intervenes. “Don’t worry,” he’s telling my mother, “You should wear whatever you feel comfortable in.”
I feel a surge of affection for my man. I think of Indians in shopping centres wearing sarees, matching sweaters and sports shoes, drawing smirks. This is the man I married,
employer for the Railcorp in NSW, nonsmoker, non-drinker, never married, seeks bride 23 to 30 years old, with good cultural and family values. Only Muslims please, from any country. Please respond with details and photo to shafi_baig1977@yahoo.com.au
currently working in a Australian company. Family well settled in Australia. Seeking a match 25 to 29 years of age, professionally qualified, with strong family and cultural values, and good family background. Please email bio data and recent photographs to arieso@rediffmail.com
I’m thinking warmly. Feeling sure there was nothing left to worry about, I fall into a fitful slumber the night before the big day.
On D-day, there’s a vacuum in my stomach and my throat is dry. I’m fidgeting and talking nervously. “What do you think is happening now? What do you think they’re doing now?”
My husband looks at me in despair and says, “Calm down, will ya?” I silence him with a glare.
We wait in the arrivals hall at Kingsford Smith Airport scanning the crowd. We’re looking for two brown people who belong to us, emerging any minute now from the mouth of the immigration and customs purgatory.
“I hope they didn’t get into trouble with the customs...” I say imagining my parents on Border Security Australia
I see them then walking through the gates. My father is bravely pushing the trolley; my mother’s trying to keep up. They look small, lost and slightly crumpled.
A sob catches in my throat and I can’t see because my eyes suddenly go blurry. But then my face breaks out in a manic grin and we start waving madly.
Seeking professionally qualified and well settled Sikh boy with strong cultural values and good family background, for slim and good-looking Arora Sikh girl, NZ citizen, 24 / 5’4” B. Business, (pursuing CPA), working in Auckland as financial analyst. Family well settled in Auckland, Sydney. Please send details including recent photos to pkathuria@optusnet.com.au
Sikh family from Australia seeks beautiful, tall, slim, fair, educated match for their handsome, clean shaven, IT professional son; 29/6’2’’. Caste no bar. Send bio-data and photo to wahroongah@gmail. com
Caring, sincere, slim, youthful looking, male divorcee, Hindu, India-born, 50-year-old Australian citizen, in professional government job, seeks a suitable match. Caste and religion no bar. Looking for caring lady with family values. Call 0416 099 177. Only genuine enquiries please.
SEEKING GROOMS
Ausrtalian resident, born December 74, 5’ 3” slim, fair, Hindu Punjabi Khatri girl, never married, seeks Hindu Punjabi educated boy. Please send details and recent photo to ranjeev333@yahoo.com phone 0061432 020 702.
Sister and brother-in-law seek a suitable groom for a lovely, 24-year-old Fiji-born Hindu girl, independent, fair, lovely girl, Australian citizen, professionally qualified,
Sister and brother-in-law invite well settled/ educated match for a lovely Jatt Sikh girl, 24 / 5’6”, completing IT in May 2010 (USA ), plans to settle in Australia. Early marriage. Caste no bar. Seeking a suitable match with strong family values. Genuine enquiries please e-mail to shaadi1109@gmail.com with biodata and recent photo.
Sister and brother-in-law seek a suitable groom for a lovely Hindu Punjabi Brahmin girl, professionally qualified. Family well settled in India. Seeking a 25-29-yearold, professionally qualified match, with strong cultural and family background. Please email bio data and recent pictures to mittalarvind@hotmail.com or contact on 0421 669 534.
Seeking a groom for sister who is very warm hearted, caring, attractive, good cook and home-maker. Never married, 47-year-old Hindu Marathi. Hotel management qualified. Can work in Australia as a Certified Cook. Half of the family based in Australia. Australian PR or citizen only. Please email at rnita45@yahoo.com
Seeking alliance for 44-year-old, simple, caring, never married, hardworking Christian orphan lady. She works for a convent school in India and enjoys the simplicities of life. She possesses good family values. Please contact (02) 98322056 or email dollysigler@gmail.com
Professional qualified match for 38/165, never married, fair, slim, Punjabi Arora engineer, Aus citizen, doing Govt job. Early marriage. Can relocate. Parents well-settled in India. Educated family. Caste no bar. Respond with photo. Contact mr15840@ yahoo.co.in
Seeking alliance for our 24-year old, 5”4’ beautiful Sikh daughter. She is a finance professional with strong family values. We are settled in Sydney for many years. Please send your details and photo at kuldeeponly@gmail.com
Punjabi Arora parents invite well-settled/ professional match for never married fair slim beautiful 36 / 165 IT professional. Working in MNC. Australian citizen. Status family. Caste no bar. Early marriage. Respond with photo. Em: sydgirl09@gmail.com
ARIES March 21–April 20
You are likely to come across a person who is virtuous and honest. Tarot emphasises a stable relationship. It is linked with domestic happiness and strong relations. You are required to study the depth of things to develop an inner understanding. Tarot advises you to adopt a mature approach in life and proceed after thinking and rationalising. You can achieve success in creative disciplines. In a relationship reading, Tarot indicates an offer for friendship or a deeper level of commitment in a relationship.
TAURUS April 21–May 21
The card for you indicates rewards of fruitful labour. In a business reading, you could do well by keeping your home as a base for work. In a relationship reading, both the partners tend to consider the relation a pleasure. This card represents creativity and fertility. Projects are likely to be rewarded with success. This card marks births, wedding and material prosperity. You are required to improve your circumstances by using strength and wisdom along with creativity.
GEMINI May 22–June 23
You are not feeling at peace with yourself. Responsibilities and pressures seem overwhelming. Perhaps you are being overambitious or you are trying to attain a goal which once achieved is not likely to give you much happiness. Ponder on what is important at this point of time in your life. Prioritise things and rather than doing everything yourself, delegate responsibilities to others in order to be effective. On a brighter note, you are likely to be good in handling money.
CANCER June 23–July 22
Your focus this month is on aspirations and ambitions. You may come across a sensitive person who will give sound business advice as she is intuitive about people. She will be trustworthy and would sincerely work towards general good. Her practicality and communicativeness would get her through situations and people. Trust this person’s abilities. Tarot also signifies security in money and status You can be successful through practical application of your ideas.
LEO July 23–August 23
There seems to be an illusion that there is no choice other than to accept things as they are. Tarot indicates the hold of materialism on you, because of the temptations it provides. Your free will seems to have been lost, as being controlled seems an easier way out than taking responsibility for yourself. It could even mean a reluctance to change at the cost of growth. It is only you who can liberate yourself from this situation.
VIRGO August 24–September 22
The focus is on development of potential for advancement. You are seen building foundations for future success. There are chances of a new job or development of a new skill. A creative talent could turn into a profitable project. Friendships are likely to be strong. You may be committed to a situation at the present moment which shall reap you rewards in the future. You are likely to take up a course to widen your employment scope.
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LIBRA September 23 – October 23
This month, you will be able to combine spiritual knowledge with spontaneity of temperament. You can achieve harmony by being patient and using self-control. You need to be balanced in your approach as well as diplomatic while dealing with others. A blend of actions and emotions would bring a sense of harmony within you, leading to inner peace. Time is right for both learning and teaching. If in a relationship, you are likely to see it grow. Travel will be fruitful.
SCORPIO October 24–November 22
Advancement is on the cards. Travel or news from overseas is likely to be received. You should however watch out against making hasty decisions concerning business or personal matters. This card affirms enthusiasm and strength required to succeed. It represents swiftness, hope and love. It indicates a time to enjoy one another’s company, without fear or obligation. It represents a healthy relationship, which allows both the partners to indulge in what they like.
SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21
Tarot indicates the need to acknowledge what you really want and decide how to achieve the same. You may find yourself fantasising about the way you want things. You are likely to be presented with an offer par expectations. The card for you represents favours, imagination, reflections and a time to acknowledge the path of spiritual fulfilment. Basically, this card indicates that you will take out time for yourself and reflect on inner fulfilment.
CAPRICORN December 22–January 19
Now is the time to make long-term plans. This is a time for planning future actions. Assessing goals and gearing up to attain the same in times to come is suggested here. Tarot suggests that you should make good use of the present opportunities and seek fulfilment of those you had left unfulfilled earlier. You need to avoid confrontations. The challenge is to remain connected to all the things in life even when the going gets tough.
AQUARIUS January 20–February 18
This month your focus is on achievements and an overall feeling of happiness resulting from it. The card drawn for you signifies victory. You are nearing your personal goals and an enterprise is coming to a successful conclusion. You are emotionally secure and content, thanks to a job well done. In a relationship reading, considerable harmony is seen - having learnt to love and care for yourself, you work towards making a happier relationship.
PISCES February 19–March 20
Your dreams are trying to convey a message to you. Find answers to the questions in your mind by paying heed to your intuition. You need to be careful towards deceit in any form. You should not accept things at face value as certain things involve deeper issues that might be hidden from your view. In such cases, you should pay attention to the voice of your subconscious mind. In a relationship reading, Tarot sees the need to resolve certain issues.
Resplendent in a red sari and flaunting diamonds and emeralds, Shilpa Shetty exchanged wedding vows with London-based businessman Raj Kundra in a close-knit family affair in Khandala. Wearing a red sari designed by Tarun Tahiliani, the 34-year-old exchanged vows with Kundra as per the Bunt tradition, according to the Mangalorean community, of which the Shettys are a part. The groom wore a maroon sherwani with golden embroidery and a turban with his face veiled by a sehra (string of pearls). He held a sword in his hand, as per Indian tradition. The wedding was the climax of the two-day festivities that included a sangeet ceremony. Shilpa’s sister, actress Shamita who was participating in the third edition of Bigg Boss, withdrew voluntarily from the show to attend the wedding.
The reception was a star-studded affair held at a suburban hot spot, and it was a rocking party. Shilpa looked stunning, as usual, in a Tarun Tahiliani creation that showed off her figure to its best advantage.
Husband Raj Kundra was resplendent in his sherwani. The cake was a whopping 80kgs and nine tiers, and a choice of global cuisine delighted
He might be a superstar today, but Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has no qualms in admitting that he had to endure different kinds of punishment during his school days - from getting caned to kneeling down for the whole day.
“When in school, kneeling down in front of the principal’s office was a regular feature. I have also been caned a couple of times. It is strange that when you get caned, you don’t realise the pain instantly, but after two seconds it shoots so badly... It’s awful,” said Aamir recently.
“I used to be more interested in sports and hence used to always forget doing my homework. Also, poor marks used to create problems for me. I used to get scolded very often,” he added. The 44-year-old actor also revealed that he only studied till Class 12 and never had a very good college life. “My education has only been till 12th standard because after that I got into films. Even in college I hardly attended classes because I was always busy with dramatics,” revealed the star.
“Because of this, I didn’t have a very rocking college life. But during the shoot of 3 Idiots I lived the moments of a student’s life and enjoyed the way
the gourmands. Rishi Rich and RDB from the UK provided cool dance music and being close friends of Raj Kundra, the buzz is that they didn’t charge for their services. Now that’s a lovely wedding present. Naturally, prominent among the invitees were her colleagues from Bollywood, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri, Hirthik Roshan and the lovely Susanne, Rekha, Jaya Pradha, Karan Johar, Rani Mukerjee, Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Oberoi, Govinda, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Amisha Patel, Sameera Reddy and others. Even Adnan Sami promised to be there, gallstones and all, having been personally invited by Shilpa. However, the one prominent absentee from the guest list was none other than ex-boyfriend Akshay Kumar. Now Shilpa and Akshay went their separate ways ages ago and the rift had healed, but apparently hubby-to-be Raj didn’t think so, and poor Akki wasn’t invited. But the media made much of Akshay’s “ghost” appearance, in the form of songs played by the band from his films with Shilpa, causing some embarrassment. All we can say is, put a lid on it, presswallahs, let the girl be…
Good luck to the newly married couple and hope the honeymoon’s fun and media-free.
students do,” added Aamir.
The film is based on author Chetan Bhagat’s bestselling novel Five Point Someone, and Aamir claims that it’s not only for engineering students, but for every student and parent in the world. “The film questions what success is - what a child really wants to do - issues important to this generation. However, it’s told in a humorous way because that’s how
Rajkumar Hirani makes his films,” said the actor.
Knowing the perfectionist Aamir can be, 3 Idiots should be an interesting watch.
Salman Khan was upset because he couldn’t attend his father’s 74th birthday celebration, as he was busy shooting for his home production Dabangg on location in Maharashtra.
“The whole family makes it a point to be together by hook or crook for our parents’ birthdays. Anyway dad believes work comes first. But Salman and Arbaaz are very unhappy about the situation,” confided brother Sohail, who was the only one to attend the bash.
The Khan family planned a grand celebration for Salim Khan who turned 74, but Salman and Arbaaz couldn’t return to Mumbai even for a few hours.
“I guess I got lucky. I got dad all to myself on his birthday. Much as Salman and Arbaaz would’ve liked to be with dad, there was no way they could leave the shooting disrupting the schedule. We were just three days into the shoot and it couldn’t be stopped,” he said.
Dabangg is Arbaaz’s first film as producer
(Find the answer under Caption Contest)
VIRAL BHAYANI and ABHILASHA SENGUPTA bring us up-to-date on what’s hot and happening in BollywoodPhoto: Rajesh Thakur
and it is also the launch vehicle of actorpolitician Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi. Anurag Kashyap’s brother Abhinav is directing the flick.
Salman is giving his best to the film - he has not only blocked bulk dates for Dabangg but also learnt Bhojpuri to play a corrupt cop from Uttar Pradesh. The family is getting ready for the release of Veer in January next year and as a unique gift to his father, Salman has paid a tribute to him with a blog on the movie. “It is Salman’s dream project. When we discussed the idea of blogging on his experience shooting for the film, it was Salman himself who suggested that we launch the blog on his dad’s birthday,” said producer Vijay Galani in a statement. “In fact, Salim saab is one of the few people to have seen the rushes of Veer and loved
number has created a huge buzz in the market and everyone’s waiting to see the two sizzle on screen. Industrywallas predict that Katrina’s obvious sexiness and the chemistry between the pair will be worth the wait. Wonder if Kat caught a cold while shooting for the hot scene? I suppose we can only guess….
It is not insensitive of filmmakers to bring the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks alive on the big screen, says Bollywood veteran and politician Vinod Khanna who features in such a telefilm himself, because it was a tribute to the victims.
“I know and understand that the terror attack is a sensitive issue, but it’s not as if people haven’t seen it or heard about it. So what’s the problem in making movies about it? Filmmakers don’t and won’t make a movie to play with people’s emotions,” Khanna said in an interview. “If films on 26/11 are being made, they should try and show what happened to those who lost their near and dear ones - how they coped up with life and what after-effects it had on the common man,” added the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MP.
The telefilm starring Khanna is titled Unn Hazaroon Ke Naam and has multiple stories - each a personal tale of tragedy running parallel to each other.
On being asked why he agreed to act in the film, Khanna said, “This project was for a cause - a tribute to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks. The production thought I was suitable for the role and I quite liked the project.” He added, “I play a father whose son and daughter-in-law get shot at CST and how his grandson escapes the gunshot.
The movie is about such people who lost their near and dear ones in the siege. It shows how many people were left traumatised after the incident and then how these people come in touch to face it and come to terms with it.” The 63 year old actor lost three close friends in the attacks and believes the terror attack and its extended duration was a “major intelligence failure”.
it. Since it has a father-son relationship, Salman felt it was apt to launch his blog on his dad’s birthday,” he added.
A thoughtful gift, quite unlike Sallu, don’t you think?
Actor Akshay Khan who plays the lead in De Dana Dan will make an entrance into the Bigg Boss house, as a promotion for the flick. But he will not be accompanied by Katrina Kaif, his leading lady, who’s been advised bed rest as she recovers from a contagious viral fever. However, Akshay won’t be alone as Suniel Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Paresh Rawal and other will accompany him into the house where they will mingle with its inmates. Akki is particularly interested in Vindoo Dara Singh, who is also a participant in the reality show. Katrina was to be the main attraction, and why not, she is very likely the best looking person in the movie.
Akshay and Katrina’s hot rain dance
“The whole incident was a result of an assured lack of preparedness. It took so long to take decisions and implement them. But I believe now security is being given much-required focus. I have been reading a lot about the changes in the security system and I hope it works well,” he said. A year after the dreadful incident, the actor says he treads the Mumbai streets without any fear. Says Khanna, “Mumbai always bounces back. The city has been through so much - bombs, riots, terror attacks. But the whole ethos of Mumbai lies in the very fact that life never stops here. There is no fear but always a concern - that’s why Mumbai always becomes a target all the time.”
Spoken like a true Bollywood mumbaiker!
If you thought the gorgeous Deepika Padukone has gone into hiding following her spilt with Ranbir Kapoor, you’re sadly mistaken. Deepika’s not keen to be seen as she’s chopped her waist length
Farhan Akhtar and she plays the role of an interior designer in the film. The script demands a particular look of her, which the talented actress decided to adapt, despite her initial hesitation. However, director Vijay Lalwani and Audhuna, the celebrity hairstylist and Farhan’s wife convinced her to go for it. “They thought with my height, I would be able to carry it off well,” said Deepika. “I last chopped my hair when I was eight,” she added. Before getting her hair cut, Deepika told the director that she would chop her hair only if he shaved his head bald. “He didn’t do that, but he saw to it that he was present in the salon so that I don’t back off at the last moment,” said the actress with a smile. Meanwhile people including her parents, who have seen her in new avatar, have liked it. “Everybody says it looks good on me and makes me
look younger,” she said. Talking about her role in the film, she said, “The scriptwriter had a certain image in mind when he wrote my character Shonali. So I had to do justice to the role.”
Well Deepika, change is good and full marks for dedication.
She has popularised India in the consciousness of western audiences through films like Bend It Like Beckham and Bride And Prejudice, but Gurinder Chadha ironically admits she cannot speak Hindi. Chadha, who is in Goa to attend a retrospective of her films at the 40th edition of the International Film festival of India (IFFI), said that she could speak Punjabi, but had not mastered Hindi yet.
“That’s a candid confession,” the BritishIndian director said.
Chadha further said she was working on yet another film set in the Asian-dominated Southall in London. “Shabana Azmi plays the lead role as a typical Punjabi mother in it,” she said adding that the film is named
What is the conversation between Soha Ali Khan and mum Sharmila here?
Send in your responses to info@indianlink.com.au and win a surprise prize
What is Hrithik Roshan telling wifey Suzanne?
“Don’t listen to media gossip, babe, I’ve told you there’s nothing on between me and Barbara. Let’s go home… I’ll cook you your favourite chicken biryani…”
Sunil Kumar, Eastwood NSW
Sunil wins a free double-pass to a new Hindi movie
Another good one
Walk by my side Suzanne, or tomorrow the press will report that we are having marital issues… Raj Saneja, Castle Hill NSW
