2010-02 Melbourne

The underbelly of the local community

In the website of a prominent Sydney newspaper recently, three stories related to the underbelly of the local Indian community featured on the same day. Crime allegations of rape, murder and domestic violence were the themes of these articles, the accused all being of Indian background. After years of only reading the successful stories of Indians Down Under, it was a day when the seedy side of the community hit the headlines.

In one article, the NSW Police had arrested three persons in connection with the murder of 25-year-old Ranjodh Singh, whose burnt-out body was found in Griffith on December 29th Gurpreet Singh and his 20-year-old wife Harpreet Bhuller and another Indian have been charged with the murder. In a second article, an incident of domestic violence caused the NSW Police to charge Chamanjot Singh in connection with the murder of his wife by slitting her throat. The third headline was that of Paul Rajendran, an Indian national who was pronounced guilty of raping an aspiring lingerie model, by a jury of seven women and five men.

The comments column related to each article unleashed great hostility towards Indians in Australia, arguing about the hypocritical attitude of those living here when issues of racism were raised in India in the past five months.

Meanwhile, police have charged an Indian man in Melbourne, Jaspreet Singh

By PAWAN LUTHRA

for accidentally setting himself on fire in a failed bid for an insurance claim.

Surprisingly, the media in India has been silent about these issues. While the accused in Ranjodh Singh’s killings have had their alleged deeds reported, there is no space in print or on air, for reports of the other two. Selective reporting and Australiabashing seem to be the order of the day. The Indian media has not only been remiss in reporting these issues, they also have failed to report on other misdemeanours which have emerged from Down Under in the last few months – these being of an Indian student arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl on an inner city train, or the Indian national who absconded to India while on bail, charged with killing a pedestrian while driving recklessly. Indeed, a shameful omission from the Indian media when Australia features so highly on their mainstream news these days. Like any other growing community, Indians in Australia have their set of problems, some inflicted upon us, some perpetrated by us.

As a community, we need to note that the dark underbelly will be exposed as our community grows. Certain stereotyped issues will also add stigma to being Indians

down under. It is left up to us individually and collectively to allow a more balanced picture to emerge. As has often been pointed out, Indians in Australia on the whole make great citizens of their new country. They are well educated; have strong work ethics, and family values are well ingrained in them. These qualities often reflect in their respect for those around them. What is needed for the Indian community in Australia is to highlight the achievements of the successful Indians in Australia, not only to their mainstream friends in Australia, but to local newspapers in India. We have Indians who are successful professionals having made a mark for themselves in retail, electronics, IT, medicine, academics etc. These are the people whose achievements need to be lauded at various community gatherings and programs.

There are many success stories from those among us and these people need to step forward voluntarily and attend various Indian gatherings to further instil confidence in those living here.

While the meek shall inherit the earth, at other times, the high achievers’ public presence will instil more confidence in the local mindsets.

De-linking education & migration

The link between vocational education training and permanent residency in Australia, now lies severed - and the local Indian Australian community is about to enter a new phase in their life

Down Under.

The 100,000 plus Indian overseas students, especially those undertaking vocational courses in Australia, now live in uncertain hope of gaining permanent residency, and most could be returning to India in due course.

For those who have been victims of this government change, there are going to be monumental repercussions. With every student who is now battling to understand the rules of this new game of permanent residency in Australia, there are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts who have mortgaged their future – financial and emotional – to send their loved one to Australia with the hope of finding a better life. But now, there is no certainty that the treasure at the end of the educational journey – that permanent residency stamp – will be available. In all probability in the near future, a vast majority of international students will be packing their bags and returning to their towns and villages in India – families heavily in financial debt, their hopes crushed.

Cut out the festering wound, rather than try to cure it?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has built a reputation for himself as a ruthless task master after two years in office. Mainstream newspapers such as Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Age, have painted a picture of a Prime Minister who ensures that public servants keep the midnight oil burning. Himself a well known workaholic, Rudd is known for his working style of getting things done. The cries of racism against Indian students have raised shackles in the bureaucracy and the Prime Minster’s office in Canberra. Rudd, himself an expert in foreign affairs - and on a personal front, with members of his own extended family coming from non-Australian backgrounds - would have had his finger on the pulse when reportage of the attacks on Indian overseas students initially began. His embarrassment at the constant accusation of Australian racism, would have been one of the lowlights of his Prime Ministership. The message coming from India seemed to be: since you are making so much money out of our students, it is your duty to ensure their full safety at all times. The Australian government tried to argue their case that it is impossible to assure this for anyone -students

or otherwise. However New Delhi, egged on by the Indian media, went a step further, warning of dire consequences in case student safety was not provided. Seems like the Australian government refused to prostitute itself for the $16 billion international education industry.

The issue of racism was sucking out all oxygen from the Indo-Australian relationship. For Rudd and Australia, it was easier to cut out the festering wound than to find a cure for it.

In doing so, one estimates over 400,000 people – students and their families – would be affected but these are, as they say, collateral damage in this war.

Marrying the education and migration industries

The nexus between education and migration started in 2001 under the Howard government. With skills shortages looming, the Howard government made it easier for overseas students to apply for permanent residency while in Australia. They also opened the doors for part time or restricted employment. As the economy boomed, semi skilled jobs such as hairdressing, cookery etc were demanded by employers. The then Immigration Minister allowed bonus points for immigration to be given to overseas students who were doing the vocational courses in demand: these trades were included in a Migration Occupations in Demand List, or MODL.

This was an invitation for students to enrol in these courses, and their numbers jumped from 48,000 to 212,000 between 2003 and 2009.

What the students did for the economy at the micro level

All this worked for the Australian economy and in a strange way, for the Australian-Indian community.

The Australian workforce saw an explosion in numbers of qualified Indian workers. Young Indians began to man the counters at the local 7/11, petrol station, supermarket, with increasing frequency. Desperate to maximise their 20 hours of work to fund their studies and lodging, these new employees were an excellent source of economical employment for their employers. They spoke reasonable English, were articulate, well presented, law abiding and importantly, understood the value of ethical labour. Of course, there would be the odd exception to the rule, but generally, both employers and employees were able to find a comfortable fit. The local Australians may have felt aggrieved on missing out on these jobs, but for the economy there was

more activity. As well, the residence of these students created peripheral activities such as local housing requirements, travel growth etc. The fit, overall, was good.

The local Indian community also benefited. With the increasing supply of consumers, there was a boom in eateries; travel agencies were kept busy; cheap overseas telecommunication options grew by leaps and bounds. Now, one could dine out on a range of Indian regional foods: Punjabi, Gujarati, south Indian – at cheap prices. Travel agents began opening on weekends to meet the demands of the growing population of these Indian Australians. The avenues of entertainment also increased – Bollywood movies began to be released every weekend, with gate earnings enough to keep the business growing. The newspaper industry within the community flourished, and there was more from the community also on TV and radio. Community melas or fairs saw healthy turnouts, with 10,000 –20,000 people in attendance at these functions. In a country where elections are won or lost at times with a handful of votes, the numbers as above are a major achievement in the local environment.

It was a win-win situation for everyone. While the students were settling in to their lives down under, the financial pressures on them were considerable. A number of them were from the middle socio economic band in India. With the rules in Australia relatively relaxed with respect to permanent residency, the strategy was to bring enough monies into Australia to sustain themselves for the first few months and then find local employment as per the rules, to fund the rest of their education stay here. Upon completion of their studies, they would apply for permanent residency and join the queue for the normal processes to be completed in due course. More often than not, their dream to live in Australia was fulfilled and they settled into their new life comfortably.

The formula was simple - and in its simplicity, was the attraction for all.

Politically, the Liberal Party did what it has traditionally done: create more workers, so that

PAWAN LUTHRA on what the changes in immigration policy will mean for the students, for the Indian community, and for wider Australian society

In typical Howardspeak, the message from the Rudd government now appeared to be: We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come!

India’s Foreign Minister SM Krishna talks with a media advisor and Indian students after a press conference in Melbourne in August 2009.

the employers have a greater choice, and keep costs down while there is abundant supply of labour.

A few random events created chaos

In May last year, however, all this changed. A few random attacks on Indian students occurred –some quite horrific. Shravan Kumar, a Melbourne student, had a screwdriver pushed into his skull in a random attack. Saurabh Sharma, also from Melbourne, was assaulted in a late night train journey. CCTV footage from this bashing made headlines around India and from then on, the Indian media took it upon themselves to highlight the issue. As the year progressed, more and more cases came up in which students were attacked, and no redressal seemed forthcoming. The Indian politicians came under intense pressure to raise their concerns, in a bid simply to protect their own.

Their public cry was to get an Australian government guarantee that no Indian student would be assaulted in Australia.

The Australian government’s reaction to all this was a sense of bewilderment. Their response to the Indian media was weak. Over a period of time, the Indian politicians and Indian media became more strident, and the Australian government retreated into their shells.

Most students in Australia were happy as they were, and not directly affected by what was happening. However, they experienced a sense of empowerment as they found themselves in the spotlight. Already hurting from being exploited by rogue education agents and shoddy colleges

who were charging exorbitant fees, the students vent their frustrations out in street protests. Some community leaders, while working to calm the students, also at times themselves inflamed the media with attention-seeking headlines. A number of them saw this as an opportunity to further their cause by accessing government grants and positioning themselves for future political careers in Australia. In all, the bulk of overseas Indian students’ demands were ignored.

The murder of Nitin Garg in January became one of the most horrific crimes within the Indian community in Australia.

Two more reports surfaced in quick succession, of Indians being torched, and by this time, the Indian politicians and media had judged Australia and Australians guilty. The cover story of the influential Indian magazine Outlook India said it all: a bruised and battered student’s face stared out, beside the chilling headline, “Why the Aussies Hate Us.”

By this time, enough was enough. The Australian government needed to take action.

The Indian media had gone berserk. They had failed to point out that over 99% of Indians in Australia were happy with their life here, and that no systematic attacks were being carried out against other communities in “racist” Australia. Later, the subsequent charging of Indian nationals themselves as being perpetrators of at least some

crimes, were lost in the headlines. The fact that most crimes against Indians were late at night in isolated incidents which can happen in any part of the world, including India, and that these crimes were now probably becoming copycat crimes, was seriously downplayed. That many of the students were really here to gain permanent residency, was not understood at all, and probably still isn’t. And in the midst of this melee, the Australian government decided to take charge.

Divorcing education from immigration

In typical Howard-speak, the message from the Rudd government now appeared to be: We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come!

The migration rules changed, the nexus between migration and residency was broken, and currently, the future for many is in limbo.

The Labor Party did what their policy directs them to do - lower labour supply so that employees can demand greater wages from their employers.

The students were caught in the crossfire of two political ideologies.

The MODL has been revoked and a new and more targeted Skilled Occupations List (SOL) will be released in April and implemented in July. This list developed by an independent body, Skills Australia, will focus on high value professions and trades. Students currently studying in Australia who have not lodged their skilled graduate visa before February 8, 2010 will now be assessed on opportunities available in the new list. Many may miss out. Those who are not in the SOL will have until 31 December 2012 to apply for a temporary skilled graduate visa on completion of their studies. This will enable them to spend upto 18 months in Australia to acquire work experience and seek sponsorship from an employer.

Minister Evans has pointed out that international students should not expect to automatically attain permanent resident status.

“If you can get a job and employers are prepared to sponsor you,” he said, “then clearly you’re of value and you’ll fit in and you’ll make successful migration.”

Currently, it is not only the students who are facing a period of uncertainty. Vocational colleges, a number of them who have been audited and cleared by the government, will also feel the pressures as current students review their options of staying on in Australia, while new students reassess their plans for coming here.

Could a sunset clause have helped?

In initiating the changes, perhaps the government could have included a clause to the effect that the changes will come into effect with all future students starting now so that the students in the system already would have remained unaffected.

Some migration agents believe that current students will find themselves in a tough situation. Some may decide to go back to India; for others, the attraction of living in Australia may outweigh their ethical responsibilities and they could end up choosing the illegal path such as opting for sham marriages or simply becoming illegal immigrants.

Whatever the future, the rules of the game have been changed by the referees, potentially shattering the dreams of many. For the moment, personal posturing by the media, community leaders, student leaders, diplomats and politicians, allowed the situation to spiral out of control. Very few winners in this one - and the losers will feel the effects for years to come.

Some may decide to go back to India; for others, the attraction of living in Australia may outweigh their ethical responsibilities and they could end up choosing the illegal path such as opting for sham marriages or simply becoming illegal immigrants

Victoria’s Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans, left, speaks with parents during a parent student interaction organised by the Australian High Commission in Ahmadabad, India, in July 2009.

Fate hangs in balance for students

Uncertainty looms large for the countless Indian students in Australia waiting anxiously to understand the implications of the new immigration policies, as the Australian government moves to tighten laws. A number of students are now planning on booking their tickets to go back to India, following the February 8 announcement.

The sweeping changes announced by the government have kept many on tenterhooks as they worry if their areas of study will be relevant once the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is out in April. A number of students are also concerned how they would face their parents and pay the exorbitant loans they took to study in Australia with the hope of securing the coveted Permanent Residency (PR).

“I have decided to go back to India as my qualifications do not seem to be on the demand list any more. I had applied for a visa extension earlier, which was refused due to some medical problem. I was planning on re-applying but now I don’t see the point anymore,” says Param Veer, a diploma student in cookery from the STI Institute in Paramatta.

“I have spent close to AUD 50, 000 to study here and was sponsored by some relatives. My family was hoping that things will work out for me in Australia and I would settle here once I finish. However, this news has been a big blow to them. I am not sure how I’ll face them once I return. I’ll be financially dependent on them when I go back,” he adds.

“The rules keep changing and it’s extremely hard for us as students to keep tab. I am really concerned if community welfare would be in the new list or if it will be knocked off, like cookery and hair dressing,” says a worried Raveena Garg, a community welfare student at TAFE.

“Many of us work very hard to get local experience so we can qualify for a PR. I have been working as a volunteer and only hope things work out. Right now, no one is in a position to tell us what the new policies will look like. We don’t really know what is in store for us and that is extremely disconcerting,” adds Garg.

Students say that it is not the changing immigration rules that is more upsetting, but the fact that the government had lured students with its immigration policies and was now reversing its stand, leaving many in the lurch.

“I am very disappointed and feel misguided. Many of us are tempted in to studying here and after we spend so much money, they are changing the rules. My course costs nearly AUD 70, 000 and I have completed two years of study already. Now, I am wondering if I should bother paying further fees at all or should I go back,” says Harpreet Singh, a cookery student at Southern Cross.

However, he says that if he cannot apply for a PR in Australia, he would look at Canada as a serious option to study further and apply for residency. He added that a number of his friends, who were planning on studying here this year had now changed their minds and had applied for refunds from institutions.

Roohbir Singh, a hotel management graduate

slated to be revealed in April. “If my occupation list is not on the new list that comes out later this year, I won’t be able to get these points towards my PR. I am concerned and will be sorely disappointed if my occupation is not on the list,” says Singh, who is presently on a bridging visa.

Singh believes that the changes are bound to impact students currently studying and set to finish soon. “Logically the changes make a lot of sense as a lot of people were abusing the system and thousands of students were encouraged to study community welfare or commercial cookery courses. The Australian government is only trying to look at the best interests of the country and the skills it requires by making these changes to its immigration policy,” he says, conceding that they have been long overdue and the government had chosen to take its own time to look at the malaise affecting the education sector. However, he is confident he will be eligible for a PR based on the old list.

Another Indian student who does not want to be named, says that the changes are worrying and he is planning on seeking professional advice. “I do not know what this would mean to me. I plan to meet with a lawyer soon to seek some clarifications and take professional advice”.

Yet another concerned student Pawandeep Kaur reveals, “I just paid my fees for this semester. My course was supposed to end this July. I had finished my planning. I have no options now but to either go back to India or pursue another course”.

“However what is the guarantee that the rules won’t change,” asks Pawandeep, who has completed a year and a half of a diploma course in hairdressing at the CBD College. She adds that her friends pursuing similar courses are facing the same predicament.

The students believe that the recent attacks and

“The policy changes may be partially influenced by the recent attacks and the media hype created in India,” says Pooja Kohli, who recently completed her Masters in Community Development. “Education agents in India aggressively promote Australia as an education destination and sometimes paint a rosy picture of how life is,” says Kohli, who plans to work in India soon.

Ruchir Punjabi, a former student of Sydney University and Managing Director of Langoor Pty Ltd, observes, “I am sure that the recent issues for students has a lot to do with the current overhaul. The education side of things are receiving substantial reviews, which is certainly a good thing. Whether migration should be linked to education is really a long-term policy issue that the government needs to think through properly. Either ways they are going to have to ensure that all such systems are well integrated to protect the interests of students and that of the country.”

“In my opinion it would be wrong to think that the students, using education as a pretext to migrate are at fault, when the system is built around supporting the same. Consequently, less students who are interested in migrating to Australia can be a good thing and a bad thing. It really just comes down to what Australia wants with regard to skills, to fill the holes in the country’s workforce,” adds Punjabi, who is based in Sydney.

He also notes, “Indian and international students will have to adjust. A lot of them who came here with expectations to migrate will seek other ways to do the same. Others who came here to just study will, I suppose, be indifferent.”

While the decision may have dealt a blow to several Indian students, many say they would like to go back to India and work and are not impacted by any immigration changes. “I would like to work in India as it offers great exposure. I am here for the quality education and work experience,” says Mihir Mathure, a student at Sydney University.

PREETI KANNAN talks to students about the impact of the new immigration policies

The sweeping changes have kept many on tenterhooks as they worry if their areas of study will be relevant once the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is out in April

Pawandeep Kaur: Just paid up for the new semester, but might have to return to India

Raveena Garg: Will Community Welfare be on the new list?

All potential migrants will be deterred

The sweeping changes announced to Australia’s immigration policy and the DIAC’s decision to dump 20, 000 applications is being perceived as a major blow to Indian students - current and prospective. The long-anticipated immigration overhaul, many believe, comes in the wake of increasing allegations of racist attacks and New Delhi turning the heat on Australian political leaders to resolve issues.

Migration agents, who have been flooded with calls since the decision was announced, say the changes have no doubt dealt a blow to international students and prospective skilled migrants, notwithstanding their own businesses. Angry agents term the changes unfair to international students and blame Australian departments for their failure in protecting the interest of students. With the toughening of laws for students and prospective skilled migrants from overseas, they observe that in the long-run, Australia would face severe shortage of skilled professionals.

“This is a big blow for students and all stakeholders involved in the business of education,” said Amit Baijal, director of VisaInfo, a migration consultant in Sydney. “There has been a complete and utter failure on part of the education and immigration departments in monitoring the system for abuse. They have failed in their duty to protect international students’ interests”.

“The question is, why didn’t the government monitor the education industry five years ago? The legislation has been slack and the turnaround time to redress issues has been dismal,” said Baijal. He pointed out that with the bar being raised for English language requirements, increased skills’ assessment fees from AUD 300 to AUD 4550 and increased skills set processing time from 4 to 5 weeks to one and a half years – all factors would act as deterrents for migrants from all nationalities.

“Of course the impact on Indians would be more profound than other nationalities as the number of Indian students in vocational institutes is much higher than their counterparts in higher education. Vocational courses were seen as a springboard for migration and were marketed by offshore agents as a sort of fast track process for PR,” he noted, adding that the huge number of applications for cooks and hairdressers were bound to create an imbalance.

While agents do not see a direct link between the recent attacks and alteration in migration policies, they do not dismiss the timing of the roll out. “Indian applications were seeing a drastic decline in the past six months. This has been further aggravated by the new policy announcement. There is no correlation but the timing of the changes is definitely interesting,” said Baijal, adding that the uncertainty has led to a huge jump in calls from clients and students seeking clarifications.

“Being an international student at this time is

an extremely scary idea as there are a number of agents onshore and offshore misleading students,” he said.

Manish Agarwal, director of Evisalaw Australia Pty Ltd, called the new policies ‘absolutely ridiculous in every sense’. “The scrapping of the MODL list is not fair to applicants whose skills are in demand in this country. The whole objective was to prioritise and award additional points for people with skills in immediate demand. At the end of the day, the fact remains that we live in a country which will always have skills shortage. To overcome this, either local population has to grow or skills must be obtained from overseas”.

“What will happen is that due to toughening of policies, not only will international students be effected, but also people who want to migrate from overseas. In the long run, it is a disadvantage for Australia. Right now, there is a backlog of applications. If the policies and criteria are not relaxed, it will have a strong impact on the economy,” he said adding that instead of taking a sympathetic view to the plight of Indians, the government had taken a tough stance.

“Instead of trying to rid the system of its problems, the drastic changes will discourage all potential migrants,” said Agarwal adding that the news had created panic and has increased queries from students.

Both agents noted that the changes would not come without an impact on the migration business. “It will be a huge financial loss for the industry. No one anticipated such dramatic changes to the immigration policies. There are pros and cons to this announcement. Students and migrants have sufficient notice to prepare mentally and digest the facts, while preparing for secondary options. But, the flip side is the wait is long and there too many speculations. A lot of mixed advice is being given to students, which is dangerous,” he said.

Baijal observed that migration agents would see their business slackening and may likely migrate out of the market, while educational agents would diversify and aggresively promote newer destinations like Canada.

Syed M Kabir, Principal Migration Consultant of Kangaroo Migration and Education Consultancy, opines that the

government’s new policies will ‘shake-up’ the industry. “It is going to change the landscape of Australia’s migration programme. Students will virtually not be able to get PR. Having said that about 5 to 10 per cent are now eligible. The intention of the government is to make a complete overhaul of the industry and decouple education from migration. Of course, there is a political intent behind the announcement, albeit small”.

Kabir added that it could take six months to a year for people and the industry to recover from the massive changes that will be introduced and revealed only in April.

Shyamala Elango, head of Inner Universe, an educational agent based in Dubai, said, “Migration laws have always been subject to change and everybody who is considering migration is well aware of that. This is not pertinent just to Australia. In fact even with the 2-year course rule, we have always advised students to take the course that have their primary interest so they don’t find themselves short changed should laws change”.

“With the Gulf being a migrant society in itself, migration was not always the “only” criteria for selecting Australia. Australia has been able to garner interest primarily because of its emergence academically as a provider in the global scene with 6 of its Universities making it to the top 50 in the world. For a young country that was a reflection of its academic capabilities,” she said, adding, “However, there have been ripples and questions more by the recent attacks. Students insist on campus accommodation before they “sign up”. I don’t believe changes in migration policies will create a shift in direction of outward bound students to other regions. If anything with the economic downturn, the rising cost of the Australian dollar and cost of tuition fee would have a more farreaching impact.”

Migration agents give PREETI KANNAN their take on the announced changes

Migration experts Syed Kabir,Amit Baijal (middle) and Manish Agarwal (bottom) feel there will be a strong impact on the economy.

Sensational Sakthi makes the grade S

akthi Ravitharan’s Carnatic vocal arangetram was held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre on January 30. She is a sishya of Guru Smt Shobha Shekar, a renowned carnatic vocalist based in Melbourne, whose music school Kalakruthi has presented some very good music programmes over the years. This was a special occasion because it was Kalakruti’s maiden arangetram

Music arangetrams are not commonplace in India – indeed in Chennai, arangetrams are largely restricted to dance; the mettle of a musician is tested in the crucible of the Sabha circuits of South India. It is a long distance race in which the musician must persevere through each performance, enduring near-empty halls and keep singing even if the audience rudely walks out after a couple of items; or receives indifferent reviews. Somewhere along the way, if one is really good, he or she will win recognition, and the audience will begin to grow. Away from India, in the diaspora, the arangetram has assumed a cult status, and an objective strived for by many.

Mastering Indian classical music in distant shores is the most difficult thing – and a vocal arangetram is quite simply the hardest debut solo performance – as the element of manodharma, or the creative and imaginative aspect of music, is very difficult to come to grips with in the best of surroundings, leave alone an

What’s On

Indian community consultation

23 February, 7pm-8.30pm at Treasury

Theatre, Ground Level, 1 Macarthur Street, Melbourne. The Victorian Multicultural Commission is hosting a community consultation to discuss topics relevant to Victoria’s Indian community. Free entry. Call (03) 9651 0678 or email: info@vmc.vic.gov.au

Mysore Brothers music concert

28 February, 4 pm onwards at BMW

Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne

Range. Mysore Brothers’ performance of Indian classical music. Range of ticket options including group and concessions. Contact email: enquiries@inconcertmusic. com.au; Phone: 0411 44 99 86 or visit www.inconcertmusic.com.au

VHP Children’s Fun Day

6 March from 9am – 4:30pm at Syndal South Primary School, 14 Montgomery Avenue, Mount Waverley 3149 (Mel Ref 70H2). VHP Melbourne organised camp for children aged 5 to 15 years. Prayers, story telling, carnatic music, etc. For details email: Smt Geeta Devi vhpvic@ gmail.com or call Geeta on 95610913 / 0423297666 Abijith Bede 95127800 / 0402081193. www.vhp.org.au

Kabbadi Cup 2010

7 March from 8 am at the Meadowglen

alien environment. One needs to be quite devoted to it, and imbibe the nuances, the aesthetics such as the brigas and the bhavas in dribs and drabs by a process of osmosis. In the last 10 years this reviewer has witnessed 2 Carnatic vocal arangetrams that have made the grade in Melbourne: Sakthi’s may be counted as the third.

Sakthi began with a Kannada varnam on a confident note, and despite a starstudded orchestra of accompanying artistes from India, she held her own and remained focussed. This was followed by a kriti in praise of Ganapathy in the rare raga Hruthkamali, and Sakthi prefaced it with a viruttam in Tamil. Vancha Thonu Na in Karna Ranjani was next, and it was delivered competently. Sakthi came into her own in the rendering of the major kamboji kriti Oh Rangasayee, giving it the full monty. She began with a raga alapana, threw in a small viruttam in Sanskrit before delivering the kriti in all its beauty, laced with a niraval and kalpana swaras. The young vocalist was able to evoke the bhakti bhava in this classic Tyagaraja composition, in which the great saint called out with all his heart, the Lord in Srirangam. This solid, long item was deftly followed by a light Subramanya Bharati composition in Jonpuri (Asai Mugam).

The Ragam-tanam-pallavi, the centrepiece of the evening – the main section in Shanmukhapriya - was

a superb composition by her guru Smt Shobha Shekar, incorporating Tiruppugazh interwoven with lyrics by Rani Tangarajah in ragamalika, that sang the praise of 6 important temples in Tamil Nadu devoted to Lord Muruga. It was set to a tough tala cycle quite demanding of any vocal recital –leave alone a debut solo performance – and Sakthi pulled it off with aplomb, gliding seamlessly from one raga to another without a hitch. Sakthi was particularly confident and strong in the rendering of kalpana swaras, weaving patterns and regaling the audience with a cascade of swaras.

The second half of the programme included popular pieces such as Teerada Vilayattu Pillai by Subramanya Bharati, and a couple of other popular numbers, ending with Oothakadu’s Kalinga Nardhana Tillana in Gambira Nattai made popular by Aruna Sairam.

On the violin was one of the best contemporary musicians in carnatic music, Embar Kannan; on the mrudangam J Vaidhyanathan; on the ghatam S V Ramani; and R Thiagarajan on the Kanjira.

International Athletics Stadium, McDonald’s Road, Melway 182 J10. The Panjab Warriors invite you to the 3rd Melbourne Kabbadi Cup. Free entry. For more details contact Jagjit Singh (President) on 0413276715 or Amarjot Singh on 0411034733.

FCF Multicultural Evening

7 March, 6:30pm to midnight at Box Hill Town Hall 1022 Whitehorse Road Box Hill, VIC 3128. Friends of Children Foundation Multicultural evening with dinner and dance in aid of the annual Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Contact Shashi Kochhar 9564 8228 or 0418 390 423 Inderjeet (Indy) 9803 0421 or 0418 872 614 or visit www. friendsofthechildren.net

Hindi News on SBS

11-11:30am, Monday to Saturday on SBS -1; 11-11:30am, Sunday on SBS -2; 5:20-5:50pm, Monday to Saturday repeat on SBS-2. SBS TV, in a tie up with Doordarshan India, has now started broadcasting Hindi News Bulletins.

International Student Care Services (ISCS)

Level 1, 19-21Argyle Place, South Carlton, Victoria 3053. ISCS provides a whole range of free and confidential services, advice, support on legal, health, social, etc., issues. Contact 1800 056 449. info@iscs.vic or gov.au/iscs or multicultural.vic,gov.u/iscs

Chitra Sudarshan

Beach boy

VISHAL KUKAL talks about making friends and influencing people as a volunteer lifesaver on Victoria’s beaches

How it all began…

A few months ago, I visited a stall run by Life Saving Victoria, who were looking for volunteers to join their team of lifesavers patrolling the beaches of the state. Their dedication and devotion impressed me, and I asked if I could join the team, although I didn’t even know how to swim well. They accepted my request, and after three weeks of swimming classes and five days of intensive coaching in the duties of a lifesaver, I was ready to take on the beach.

How to be a lifesaver…

There are a lot of things I learned. Apart from the obvious ones like patrolling, offering first aid and educating people about water safety, I also learned about rescue operations, rules and regulations, sea levels, even how to recognise safe and unsafe areas to swim. For example, if there has been a shark sighting, we follow certain evacuation procedures. If a person has been stung by a jellyfish, we need to put ice on the affected area to reduce the sting which can be very painful. The entire course was very interesting and informative, and I am glad that I took the initiative to be a lifesaver.

Currently my job involves….

Patrolling mainly, first aid when needed, and talking to people about water safety. I am a part of the Chelsea Long Beach Life Saving Club and I have now learned all about the beach, its safe and dangerous spots, and how to steer tourists and visitors to stay within the flags which mark safe spots. I constantly scan the beach through binoculars for signs of any distress or unusual incidents and we then take action. Very often students tend to be a little adventurous and it is my job to make sure they are cautious, to avoid accidents. Of course, I am still new at the job and have not had any major crisis or life-saving opportunities, but I am sure a few will come my way.

I enjoy being a volunteer lifesaver

because…

Apart from being able to offer voluntary

backgrounds, cultures and countries, of different ages and attitudes – it has helped a lot in understanding and appreciating people. The beach I patrol is a popular tourist destination as well, so we get a mix of all kinds of people. But because it is rare to see Indian lifesavers, a lot of sub-continent visitors come over for a chat and are curious about

what I do. So in addition to educating them about water safety, I also get a chance to talk to and meet different kinds of people. Some are regular visitors on the beach, so they recognise me and come over to say hello. It’s a good feeling and I enjoy being a part of the team.

How the job helps me

It keeps me fit and active, and of course, I am happy to contribute to society. I am a student presently, studying accounting and finance, so I don’t have much time on hand. But whatever little time I can spare, specially on Sundays, I go down to the beach to take on my lifesaver duties. I have also found that being a lifesaver is a great way to get to know the Aussies and their lifestyle and culture. They are all friendly and helpful, and I have learned a lot through interaction with them.

About myself…

I am originally from New Delhi, where I studied and worked as an accountant. I have a history of social work, and was also actively involved in a Delhi University project on a smoke-free initiative. My job then was to talk to students and adults on the merits of being smoke-free, and this too was voluntary service. I enjoy helping others and making a positive contribution to society. I am also a member of the Rootvij Kakadia Foundation which aims to educate people about water safety.

My message…

I enjoy being a lifesaver, and with the right kind of training and a positive attitude, anyone can volunteer. But for me it’s not just that, because I try and spread the message that being a lifesaver is a responsible, yet fun job. In fact, I have convinced some of my friends to join the service too, and they are keen on starting the training. Connecting with people is important, and my voluntary job as a lifesaver has helped me make friends as well as help society.

Vishal spoke with Sheryl Dixit

Life-saving foundation in memory of drown victim

Rising temperatures + summer heat = time to head for the beach.

While it is great fun to be in the sun, it is essential to add beach safety to this equation. Australia is blessed with one of the most beautiful coastlines and pristine beaches. Beach culture is prevalent in Australia especially around this time of the year.

Unfortunately however many new migrants are not au fait with water and swimming education that is crucial to their safety. This has resulted in a disproportionate number of drowning and water-related injuries among the migrant communities in Australia. It has been noted statistically that the majority of harmful incidents and fatalities that occur

at Australian beaches involve recentlyarrived Australians and other nationalities. These could be tourists, migrants or international students.

‘Read the Beach’ is an exciting new campaign being promoted by Melbourne’s Rootvij Kakadia Foundation (RKF) to raise beach safety awareness amongst the migrant community in Australia.

The foundation was formed last year in memory of young Rootvij Kakadia who drowned in Lake Tyers beach near Lakes Entrance in Victoria while attempting to save a friend. 26-year-old Rootvij was a popular young man who made the ultimate sacrifice while trying to help someone in need. Inspired by his selfless act, his family and friends decided to establish a

forum to help educate people about various aspects of water safety.

A beach program was organised by RKF, recently, at Chelsea beach in Melbourne. It was attended by international students from Box Hill TAFE. The session was held in association with Life Saving Victoria (LSV). RKF funded 50% of the cost of conducting the session. This was the first time such a large multicultural group participated in a Beach Program conducted by LSV.

LSV is an organisation that has been imparting water safety education through its various courses and initiatives. Its mission is to prevent aquatic-related death and injury in all Victorian communities.

LSV’s vision is that all Victorians

will learn water safety, swimming and resuscitation, and be provided with safe aquatic environments and venues. Rootvij’s brother Mounil Kadakia, who was instrumental in setting up the Foundation, said, “We think that the time is right for the Indian community to know about our Foundation. We are a small group, but we have very high aims and we definitely need a lot of support from the community”.

The RKF Foundation has more than 50 members mainly from the Indian community. Some of the key members of RKF include Kalpana, Manoj, Mounil and Radha Kadakia along with Dr Chandra Bhuta, Ravi Lakhani, Upendra Shah and Tejas Patel.

Vishal (left) with a colleague at Melbourne’s Chelsea Beach

Gem of an idea

Sydney entrepreneur

Plato, the Greek author and philosopher famously stated that “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Almost 2500 years on, his words are still extremely relevant – and even more so in this current climate, with efficient, affordable and sustainable power distribution being the matter at hand.

When Sydney-based Indian origin entrepreneur Khimji Vaghjiani came up with a gem of an idea to provide a service in a critical area, he did not know it would take him on to win an international award.

Founded in 2008, his company SolarGem is much more than your average electricity company. The business aims to “light up the world”, implementing clean solar technologies in a bid to provide, in an affordable manner, off-grid energy to the world’s 1.6 billion people without electricity in rural and regional populations. Recently, the company was one of 7 selected from an initial group of 68 in Australia, to compete at an Innovation Shootout competition, held at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus in California. Only two of these companies were from NSW.

The Shootout’s main objective is to showcase Australian technologies, with the companies given five minutes to convince a panel of Microsoft Staff, along with industry analysts and Silicon Valley venture capitalists, that their respective technologies had potential for success in the US. The event was held as part of the G’Day USA: Australia Week, which promotes Australian culture, business, fashion and food throughout the US.

Khimji Vaghjiani, CEO and co-founder of the company, says of the achievement: “Participating in the Innovation Shootout was an extremely valuable opportunity. The advice, feedback and guidance we received from everyone involved gives us the building blocks we need to work towards our goal of breaking into the US market”.

Solar-Gem, as the winner of the 2010 Innovation Shootout, received a prize package which will help its business take off in the United States. The package includes various types of support, with legal, financial and marketing consultation worth approximately $40,000. However, the company had humble beginnings; speaking of the journey, Vaghjiani says, “A couple of guys got together and came up with some ideas. Then we took the opportunity in the market, particularly in India. We got the response that there was definitely an opportunity here. We got the product together, built the first prototypes as you do, and acquired initial investment funding. Soon the government asked us to put in an application for the G’Day USA: Australia program”.

And indeed, in front of an audience of over 350 people, along with an elite

panel of judges, Vaghjiani believes it was his team’s ability to demonstrate his marketability, along with a “little bit of passion” from his side, which earned the company the title.

With some of the big names in the judging panel, such as Allison Leopold Tilley, partner at Pillsbury; Microsoft’s Dan’l Lewin, corporate Vice President and Deborah Magid, Director of Software Strategy at IBM Venture Capital Group, it was naturally a huge achievement for this small innovative company.

“Solar-Gem solves several critically important global problems at one time,” said Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service and chair of the panel.

“Their technology can be a great enabler for economic development - for health,

education, security and communications in most of the world. We wish them the best.”

So what exactly does Solar-Gem provide? From lighting modules to solar panels, the company uses innovative designs that do not require trained technicians for installation – indeed, the lights can easily be screwed to walls or ceilings, or even tied to posts and ceiling rafters with such readily available materials as string or wire. In addition, the solid state LEDs used are impact and shock resistant – they are completely weather proof, crucial for the remote areas these are employed in.

Efficiency is a factor - a single SolarGem modular can power up to 6 LED lights, each with independent dimming. Modules can be used in any number of ways – for example, modules can be added to power small appliances like electric hotplates; however, the USB capability allows the battery unit to even charge mobile telephones and laptops!

Of course, the clean energy in use is a huge benefit of the product – SolarGem provides a solar off-grid solution that eliminates the indoor air pollution as a result of burning solid fuels which

alone claims 1.5 million lives every year. However, perhaps the greatest benefits can be observed through a social window –lighting improves education, the products provide safer alternatives in lieu of naked flames or portable generators, are 25% cheaper than using charcoal and as a result of this, create a more empowered and uplifted community. The company’s solar generator is in fact currently being used as a backup in the emergency hospital ward in the Republic of Congo – a country where most of the media is owned by the government.

As Vaghjiani adequately explains, “What we’re trying to do is a good thing”.

Solar-Gem has placed units on trial at mining sites, and even in our own backyard (albeit the very far-away backyard of the remoter regions of Western Australia). Their main market, however, lies within India, and the team hopes to grow and expand the business in the country, with an obvious focus on the rural areas.

Vaghjiani enjoys “being able to make the decisions yourself …you can be creative, be able to know that you’ve got the freedom of driving it as fast as you can.” With such a great start to the journey, there is certainly no limit as to how fast this car will drive…

Khimji Vaghjiani’s company, offering clean energy solutions, wins an innovation competition.

Khimji Vaghjiani’s company Solar Gem wins the Innovation Shootout competition at G’Day USA 2010. Mark Anderson, CEO Strategic News Service and chair of judging panel, presents the award.

Photo: KazzaDrask Media

Solar-Gem provides a solar off-grid solution that eliminates the indoor air pollution as a result of burning solid fuels which alone claims 1.5 million lives every year

INVESTIGATORS in Pune’s terror attack are increasingly veering to the view that the Indian Mujahideen (IM) was behind the bombing because the city - an IT and educational hub popular also with foreigners - was once used by the group as its “important base and recruiting ground”, said an official privy to the probe.

Sleuths of Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) scouring for clues into the deadly blast that killed nine people are also closely monitoring CCTV footage from near the site that shows images of two potential suspects entering the German Bakery where the bombing took place.

The arrested members of the IM, a homegrown Islamist terror outfit with suspected links to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are being interrogated again in connection with the Pune blast. They include a recently arrested operative Shahzad Ahmed, alias Pappu, whose arrest Feb 2 in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh had caused a major dent in the organisationbelieved to be an offshoot of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Security agencies say local IM members have been trained in arms and explosive handling in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Ahmed was believed to have been trained as a pilot for a possible 9/11-type attack.

“From the preliminary examination, it (the blast) appears to be the handiwork of the IM,” said the official said, on condition of anonymity.

“The IM had used Pune as one of its important bases and the city was on its radar for sometime,” the official said.

The group first came into the limelight after it owned up to the wave of bombings in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi in 2007 and 2008.

Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal, the two brothers presently hiding in Karachi in a LeT camp and considered top leaders of the outfit, were in Pune for sometime in 2006 when they set up a terror module in the city that has a large number of Indian and foreign students studying such diverse subjects as management, media, engineering, films, software development, etc.

With the Bhatkal brothers in Karachi are two other IM leaders, Mufti Sufiyan and Rasool Parti, according to intelligence sources.

Iqbal, a hardcore Islamist, was part of the Tableeghi Jamaat - an organisation of “puritanic Muslims” - and used to preach in the Pune Jamia Masjid and other mosques in the city.

“Under the garb of the Tableeghi Jamaat the Bhatkals did talent hunting for the Indian Mujahideen in the city,” the official said.

The brothers met Mansoor Peerbhoy, a software professional, in Pune in 2007 through a common friend Asif Bashir Sheikh, another IM operative. Peerbhoy, accused in the 2008 blasts in various Indian cities and in police custody, was recruited in the IM soon and tasked to look after its IT cell.

According to sources, Peerbhoy, who has revealed his rendezvous with the Bhatkals in his interrogation, and his colleague Sheikh are being questioned afresh for clues into the February 13 bombing.

The two used to stay in a rented accommodation in Kondava in Pune before shifting to Mangalore in August 2008.

Besides, Sheikh and Peerbhoy other members of the IM’s Pune base were Mubeen Qadir Sheikh, Akbar Chaudhary, Aniq Syed, Abdus Subhan Qureshi and

Mohsin Chaudhary. Except for Chaudhary and Qureshi all its Pune members have been arrested.

Intelligence agencies believe that Qureshi and Chaudhary could have been behind the German Bakery bombing. They have have launched a massive manhunt to arrest the two who “have not fled the country”, said the sources.

Intelligence agencies that collected evidence from the blast said the materials used, RDX and ammonium nitrate, in the blast and the pattern of the bombing point towards the IM’s modus operandi.

Scotland Yard to help India in Commonwealth Games security

INDIA AND BRITAIN have agreed to cooperate on security for forthcoming sporting events like the hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi this year.

“The UK and India have agreed to cooperate on security for major sporting events as Delhi will host the Commonwealth Games this year and London will host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012,” said John Yates,

assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard.

Yates visited the national capital Feb 11-12 and met officials of the Indian government, Delhi Police, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to discuss security plans for the forthcoming hockey World Cup and the 2010 CWG.

“My visit is one of a series of interactions with the Indian authorities to discuss best practices in this area. I had a positive set of meetings, including a tour of the impressive Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and a detailed security briefing for the hockey World Cup. The security plans for the hockey World Cup look robust and the UK looks forward to working with the Indian authorities as they are implemented,” Yates said in an official statement.

“We also had further positive discussions about security planning for the Commonwealth Games. The UK looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Indian authorities in the run up to this year’s sporting events in Delhi and beyond in preparation for the London Olympics,” he added.

Over three-fold hike in Indians studying in New Zealand

THERE HAS BEEN an over three-fold increase in Indians getting student visas to study in New Zealand in the past five years, authorities said recently.

As many as 9,591 Indians were issued students visas for the financial year 2008-09 as compared to 2,972 for the year 2004-05, said Immigration New Zealand. From July 1, 2009 to Jan 31, 2010, a total of 5,544 Indian student visa applications have been approved.

India stood second, after China, among 194 countries on the New Zealand immigration list.

Despite China holding the first position, the number of Chinese student coming to New Zealand has decreased from 52,059 to 26,518 in the past four years.

Parul, an Indian student, said the country has one of the best education systems, shortest visa processing time and student support services.

Richard Howard, an immigration adviser, said: “In view of the recent spate of attacks on the current batch in Australia and UK’s sudden decision to temporarily stop accepting student visa applications at its three centres in north India, the number is expected to increase more this year.”

India to spend US$ 200 bn on defence systems by 2022

INDIA IS SET to spend a whopping US$ 200 billion on defence acquisitions over the next 12 years to replace its outdated Sovietvintage inventory.

According to a study by the India Strategic Defence magazine, nearly half of this funding, or US$ 100 billion, will go to the Indian Air Force (IAF) which would need to replace more than half of its combat jet fleet as well as the entire transport aircraft and helicopter fleet.

The army needs new guns, tanks, rocket launchers, multi-terrain vehicles while the navy needs ships, aircraft carriers, an entire new range of submarines including nuclearpropelled and nuclear-armed.

The army has the largest requirement of helicopters while the navy needs both combat jets, helicopters, and a fleet of nearly 100 carrier-borne combat jets.

The details of the study will be published in March but according to a brief report in India Strategic’s DefExpo show daily being published Monday, it is not that India has military ambitions but just that more than 70 percent of the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces is 20-plus years old, and needs to be replaced as well as augmented with the sophistication of modern technology.

There have been few defence deals after the allegations over the acquisition of Bofors in the 1980s, and Russia, which inherited the Soviet military infrastructure, is unable to meet all the requirements.

According to official Russian reports, only 10 percent of the Russian weapons could be described as modern.

All the three services as well as the Coast Guard and paramilitary organisations also need satellites and net centricity.

Plans to acquire surveillance aircraft, lesser in capability though the IAF’s Phalcon AWACs and the navy’s P8-I Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) are also being worked out.

Pilotless intelligence aircraft (drones) generally called UAVs, including those armed, are also on the top of the list of the three arms of the forces.

The report says that the Pakistani 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, in which scores

Continued on page 14

Pune was ‘important base’ of Indian Mujahideen

Shiva K.P. Keshavan of India prepares to take the start of the men’s luge singles run 3 at the Whistler sliding centre on February 14, 2010 during the Vancouver Winter Olympics

Photo: AP

were brutally killed and wounded, has resulted in a wake up call to India and that the authorities had realized that 24-hour, 360-degree eyes and ears and preparedness to meet any attack were a necessity.

That also meant increased diplomatic and security cooperation with other countries.

It may be noted that the only major aircraft to be acquired by the IAF is the Su30 MKI, some 280 of which have already been ordered in successive follow-on deals that do not involve fresh tendering and are easy to go through procedurally.

IAF has a plan to build 45 combat squadrons (about 900 aircraft), up from its maximum effective strength of 39.5 squadrons a few years ago. Many of its aircraft have been phased out due to simple ageing.

Obama picks Indian American as special envoy to world Muslim group

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

appointed Rashad Hussein, an IndianAmerican Muslim as a special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the 57-nation organization that calls itself the “collective voice of the Muslim world.”

Announcing the new envoy, Obama described Hussein, who has been a deputy associate White House counsel, as “an accomplished lawyer and a close and trusted member of my White House staff.” Obama made the announcement in a video message to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. He said he made the move to broaden the outreach strategy toward the Muslim world he laid out last year in Cairo.

“Rashad has played a key role in developing the partnerships I called for in Cairo. And as a hafiz of the Quran, he is a respected member of the American Muslim community, and I thank him for carrying forward this important work,” Obama said.

Hussain has served as a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice, a law clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and an editor of the Yale Law Journal. He posted a message on the White House blog saying he is “honoured and humbled” by the appointment.

“I am committed to deepening the partnerships that he (Obama) outlined in his visionary address last summer. I look forward to updating you on the Administration’s efforts in these areas over the coming months,” he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently spoke at the 7th annual forum and Obama took the opportunity on February 13 to laud the event and reiterate what he calls the “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world” - a relationship that he says has been marred by “misunderstanding and mistrust.”

Obama said his administration has held thousands of events with students, civil society groups, faith leaders and entrepreneurs, including Clinton’s “landmark” visit to Pakistan.

“And I look forward to continuing the dialogue during my visit to Indonesia next month. This dialogue has helped us turn many of the initiatives I outlined in Cairo into action,” the president said.

“None of this will be easy. Fully realising the new beginning we envision will take a long-term commitment. But we have begun.”

Indian owner says he is overwhelmed by “a huge feeling of redemption”.

It’s been a long, emotional and personal journey for Sanjiv Mehta, a Mumbai-born entrepreneur who completed the process of buying the East India Company (EIC) in 2005 from the “30 or 40” people who owned it.

Acutely aware that he had bought a piece of history - at its height the company generated half of world trade and employed a third of the British workforce - Mehta, now the sole owner, dived into the company’s rich and ruthless past in order to give it a new direction for the future.

With a $15-million investment and inputs from a range of experts - from designers and brand researchers to historians - Mehta is today poised to open the first East India Company store in London’s upmarket Mayfair neighbourhood in March.

And then there is the inevitable - and daunting - task of launching in India, a country whose resources, army, trade and politics the company had controlled for some 200 years.

It’s a task that Mehta has not taken lightly, he said in an interview. “Put yourself in my shoes for a moment: On a rational plane, when I bought the company I saw gold at the end of the rainbow.

“But, at an emotional level as an Indian, when you think with your heart as I do, I had this huge feeling of redemption - this indescribable feeling of owning a company that once owned us.”

spices across the globe.

By 1757 the company had become a powerful arm of British imperial might, with its own army, navy, shipping fleets and currency, and control over key trading posts in India - where it was known variously as Company Bahadur and John Company. In 1874, the British government nationalised the company, opportunistically blaming the 1857 uprising on its excesses. But the East India Company army, brought under the command of the Crown, retained its allpowerful presence in India.

“When I took over the company, my objective was to understand its history. I took a sabbatical from all other business and this became the single purpose in my life,” said Mehta.

He travelled around the world, visiting former EIC trading posts and museums, reading up records and meeting people “who understood the business of that time”.

“There was a huge sense of responsibility - I didn’t create this brand, but I wanted to be as pioneering as the merchants who created it. The Elizabethan coat of arms stands for trust and reassurance, but we are not repeating history. It took me four years to do the brand positioning and put up the milestones.”

The ‘relaunched’ company, with its headquarters on Conduit Street in Mayfair, is set to open a diverse line of high-end, luxury goods in London in March and in India some time this year.

“The East India Company has that ability.”

India’s annual inflation rises to 8.56 percent in January

INDIA’S annual rate of inflation, based on the wholesale prices index, rose to 8.56 percent in January from 7.31 percent in the previous month, driven by increasing food prices, official data recently released showed.

The annual inflation rate was 4.95 percent in January 2009.

The latest data released by the commerce ministry showed prices of food articles jumped 17.4 percent last month, while those for primary articles rose 14.5 percent, and manufactured products was up 6.55 percent.

In January, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India raised its forecast for the wholesale price inflation for the current year ending March 2010 to 8.5 percent from 6.5 percent. The government has completed its market borrowing of Rs.4.51 trillion ($97 billion) for the current fiscal year.

Platinum becoming popular in India, slowly but steadily

INDIANS, KNOWN for their craving for gold, are now looking at platinum jewelleries with equal enthusiasm, opening market for the elegant and exquisite shining white metal slowly but steadily.

Indian now owns East India Company

An

WITH JUST AROUND a month to go for the re-launch of the East India Companythe world’s first multinational whose forces

The formal start of the East India Company is usually dated back to 1600 when Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I granted a group of merchants a charter under the name ‘The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies.’

With its own Elizabethan coat of armsnow owned by Mehta - the company was made responsible for bringing tea, coffee

EIC products in India will include fine foods, furniture, real estate, health and hospitality.

“India is the spirit of the East India Company in many ways - it evokes a huge amount of connectivity and emotions,” Mehta said. “It’s also a major ambition to bring Indian products to the rest of the world. Today there is no single brand name from the East that can stand alongside, say,

“For platinum, India is an established market, particularly the southern region, where Chennai and Bangalore are the two most important markets. There are around 300 stores at present in India which keep platinum jewelleries,” Vaishali Banerjee, Manager-India of Platinum Guild India Pvt. Ltd, said in an interview.

Talking about the domestic market, she

Sanjiv Mehta is about to relaunch the East India Company in London

Photo: IANS

said since platinum is rarer than gold, it is more expensive but the consumer response is positive. Platinum price hovers around Rs.2,700 per gram.

Banerjee said most of the metal is imported from South Africa. “Around 75 percent of platinum originally comes from that region.”

She said the company is going all out to popularise the rare metal in the country.

“It is our mission to provide customers with 100 percent hallmark platinum. This will help us to create awareness, knowledge and desire for the metal,” Banerjee said.

Subir Sen, Director of B.C. Sen Jewellers said, “The demand for platinum is gradually increasing in India. Awareness about platinum is increasing and it is becoming more regularised. It is a strong metal and diamond goes very well with it. Hence it is used more for diamond-studded jewelleries.”

Sen, whose outlet has three stores in the city that have been selling platinum jewellery for the last seven-eight years, said: “Enquiries regarding platinum jewelleries have definitely gone up in the last four-five years.”

Asked about his expectation from the market in the next couple of years, Sen said: “Sales will definitely go up but the metal has still miles to go in the Indian market compared to gold.”

Platinum, a very hard metal, comprises 2-3 percent of the total jewellery market in the country, he said, adding rhodium polished gold is doing good business in India.

“The platinum market is still at the nascent stage and is yet to catch the imagination of Indian customers. Awareness regarding white metals is growing,” said Pankaj Parekh, regional chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Exports Promotion Council.

“The mindset to use white metals is yet to develop in the Indian market,” he said, adding, “Most people opt for white gold as it is much cheaper than platinum.”

Armed policemen to escort teams at hockey World Cup

ARMED POLICEMEN will be travelling in team buses of 12 countries participating in the World Cup hockey tournament starting in New Delhi on Feb 28. Pakistan and Australia will get the maximum security cover.

In a bid to prevent a repeat of the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket players in Lahore last year, armed policemen will escort the players when they move to and from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, where the matches will be played. The stadium, in the heart of the city, is located barely two kilometres from the Le Meridien hotel, whose 240 rooms have been booked for the teams.

“The players will travel in normal buses, not bullet-proof vehicles,” a senior officer dealing with the security of players told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Asked about the possibility of an attack like on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan, the officer said: “India and Pakistan are different countries. As of now, no intelligence agency has reported any threat to the hockey World Cup. But we are taking precautionary measures.”

Besides two-three armed officers who will travel in the buses with the players, there will be a police escort ahead of the players’ bus, said the official.

Although the government does not want to generate needless fears, it is equally determined to ensure that nothing goes wrong since any mishap will cast a shadow on the larger Commonwealth Games in

October.

The teams from Pakistan as well as Australia -- where Indian students have come under racist attacks -- will get maximum security cover, officials told IANS.

The hockey World Cup takes place once in four years. The participating countries this time are Argentina, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Spain.

Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said: “We are taking the World Cup as a dry run for the Commonwealth Games. It will be a full-fledged rehearsal where multiple agencies will coordinate and work hand in hand to prevent any untoward incident.”

Riding to Green Games on a ‘Soleckshaw’!

HERE COME THE ‘SOLECKSHAWS’.

Thousands of athletes and officials taking part in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi this year will get to travel in solar rickshaws - a zero carbon vehicle.

“We are introducing a fleet of 1,000 Soleckshaws (the name of solar rickshaws) for the Commonwealth Games players,” Rajesh Kumar, a senior scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), told IANS.

“These Soleckshaws are the greenest transport vehicles. They will also help the cause of the Green Games as promised by the Delhi government,” said the scientist, who has been coordinating with the state government for this project.

Over 7,000 players and delegates from over 70 countries will reach Delhi to be a part of the Commonwealth Games Oct 3-14 in the national capital.

It was developed by the Durgapur-based Central Mechanical Engineering Research

Institute, one of the 30-odd laboratories of CSIR, the apex science research body in the country. The technology has been transferred to three companies - one each in Faridabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

“These zero carbon vehicles will ferry players inside the Games villages and help them reach sporting venues from Metro stations,” Kumar explained.

He said this effort would give special status to the country for its aim of reducing carbon intensity even during a mega sporting event and popularise the vehicle among the masses, who may adopt it quickly in several cities.

Soleckshaws are optimally designed, pedal operated, motor assisted green pedicabs which draw their power from overhead solar panels.

Kumar said introducing these rickshaws will herald India’s effort in providing a life of dignity to people.

“It will enhance the dignity of human

labour by diminishing drudgery and exhaustion involved in pulling traditional rickshaws. This will put India in a better light among the global community. It’s a model for sustainable development,” he said.

The scientist said use during the Games would help the acceptance level of the vehicle and increase self-employment at the grassroots. The solar rickshaw would not use any fossil fuel and hence there was no question of polluting the environment.

He said the solar rickshaws would be supplied by three companies.

“We will have full support for this. It will support the Green Games concept as well as make our product a marketable one later,” Anil Sahoo, manager of the Hyderabad Battery Limited, one of the three companies, which are converting CSIR lab rickshaws to marketable ones, told IANS.

Carbon-zero vehicles for Delhi’s Commonwealth Games Village

Photo: IANS

Indian links at Australia Day Parade

Photos Ravinder Singh Jabbal

Love is not finding someone to

Love

two can play and both win

Shwetambra and Apoorv

Anisha and Charanjit

Neha and Shagun

Pascal and Kiran

By Farzana Shakir, Annie Pathania, Preeti Jabbal Raj Suri

The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together

Men always want to be a woman's first love

Women have a more subtle instinct: what they like is to be a man's last romance

A good marriage is the union of two good forgivers.

I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.

Anuj and Neha

Rimy and Bunty

Tania and Sunny

Jasmin and Tony

Suruchi and Shobhit

Pinky and Hemant

Meera and Arvind

Privileged Pallavi

In October 2009 Pallavi was part of the Australian delegation at the Asialink-Modernisator ‘Generation 21’ conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she performed a contemporary Indian dance piece and advocated at length the need for innovative cultural spheres to be kept alive in the next era of Asia’s growth.

Her beauty complements her brains, and despite the cliché there is no other way to describe Australian bred Indian actress Pallavi Sharda. A heady mix of a beautiful face with some serious smarts, Pallavi is all set to dazzle the world with her multi faceted talent. Pallavi has just returned from India after completing her shoot for upcoming Hindi Film Dus Tola, and is currently in Melbourne to participate in forums that enable intellectual dialogue between India and Australia in relation to attacks on Indian students.

“I am in Melbourne for a specific reason,” reveals Pallavi Sharda “In India I was inundated with queries about Australia and whether it is a safe place to live in and as an Indian Australian, I felt I am indebted to do something about this issue. I feel I am in a position to reach out to the community and provide a positive perspective. I am collaborating with Asia Link and Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne to help cement relations between the two nations,” she said.

A person’s culture - social, familial, personal - is a product of innumerable influences. Pallavi was raised among a family of academics (both her parents teach in Universities), was an accelerated learner in school and she acquired an education in law and media communications from Melbourne University. She practiced the Indian classical dance form Bharatnatyam for 15 years with Kalanjali School of dance and taught Indian dance at Melbourne University. She is fluent in French, speaks unaccented Hindi and specializes in mimicking accents. Pallavi has performed in dance and theatre productions for most of her young life.

“I am so privileged to have my life,” said Pallavi. “Being able to oscillate between media, law, academics and performing art has made my perspective so unique in the Hindi film industry. This gave me the confidence to make a foray into what is termed as a very ‘difficult’ industry. I feel that I had a crack at it and a certain degree of success.”

It’s not every day that someone gives up a lucrative job offer with a famous law firm to try their luck in a notorious industry like Bollywood. How did her parents feel about her giving up padhai likhai to join Hindi films? “I did not give them much notice or choice,” confessed Pallavi. “I have always entertained the idea of joining the Hindi film industry. I fast-tracked my school and University studies to get there. Born to academics, I was always interested in studies, I always achieved results so my parents felt that they owed it to me and accepted my choice. They give me a lot of confidence and support,” she added.

For Pallavi, it was as tough as predicted. “I can easily say that the last few years have been very difficult and I don’t necessarily have fond memories of my time trying to get a good break. The hardest thing to grapple with was how entrenched people are with a system and how hard it is to offer a fresh or different perspective. I toughed it out and in the end my strong conviction pulled me through,” she revealed.

In 2009 Pallavi played the lead role of Sia in It’s All Been Arranged, an independent crossover film shot in New York. She is currently performing in Anuvab Pal’s dramatic theatre comedy, 1888 Dial India She has worked with stars like Shahrukh Khan in his latest release My name is Khan and in her most recent project Dus Tola she has worked with veteran artist Manoj

Bajpai. Without revealing too much about the film she tells us that it harkens back to innocent cinema of the 70s and is set in rural India. Dus Tola was directed by Ajoy Verma and it took 35 days to complete the shoot.

“For me it is all about performance,” responded Pallavi when asked if being famous and attaining stardom is important to her. “I have a much more glamorous life in Melbourne than I will ever have in Mumbai, so I am not in there for the glamour. The whole notion of stardom as being a goal is strange to me. My goal is to communicate to my audience through art, and if fame and stardom is a byproduct, then so be it,” she said philosophically.

Like her all time favourite actress Madhuri Dixit, Pallavi would love to do roles that challenge her dancing ability. “I would like to play strong female characters but am open to all possibilities. Talks are on with some good directors and producers for future projects; however for the moment I am taking it easy and am happy to be back in Melbourne,” said Pallavi.

PREETI JABBAL catches up with a young star who is determined to make a significant mark in Bollywood

Being able to oscillate between media, law, academics and performing art has made my perspective so unique in the Hindi film industry

Meeting the Prime Minister on Australia Day

You’ve been happy here,” Kevin Rudd said to me, “then write to your friends (back home) and tell them as well”.

I had been talking to the Prime Minister of Australia at an Australia Day function.

When I was introduced to him as an international student from India, he asked me where I came from. We spoke about my PhD for a bit. Then he asked if I had had a comfortable stay: I assured him I had, and told him of my experiences as a student here.

Mr Rudd came across as friendly and approachable, delightful and very well spoken. He seemed genuinely concerned that Australia is being seen as a tough place for Indian students.

“The attacks on Indians and Indian students are very unfortunate …” he said. “Australia is really a very safe country to live and study in”. He mentioned his own multicultural family as a case in point –some close family members are not of Australian origin, he informed me. It was at the recommendation of the Consulate General of India (NSW) that

I received an invite to the Australia Day Reception on 24 January at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Circular Quay.

I was pleasantly surprised at getting the invite, but was also proud to be representing international students. When I left India in 2007 to fulfil a long-cherished dream of gaining a higher degree from abroad, I had never imagined that I would be a special invitee of the Prime Minister at such a formal event!

Entering the grand function, I was

somewhat overwhelmed, but soon felt amazed at how casual and relaxed it all was.

The PM’s wife Therese Rein was there, and the Premier of NSW Kristina Keneally and her husband. I got an opportunity to shake hands with them all. The other invitees, nearly 300 in number, were diplomats, scientists, economists, businessmen, new citizens, Olympic athletes …

I got a chance to speak to Robin Bell

– Olympic Kayak champion (who also studied from the University of Sydney) and his wife Julianne.

In his speech Mr Rudd mentioned all the people in Australia contribute to making this country great, and all the eminent personalities present are the building blocks of society.

But I will remember best his short personal conversation with me.

“Tell your friends and family,” he said, “that the few incidents of hostility that we have experienced lately, cannot replace the warmth (that genuinely exists)”.

Astha Singh of Kanpur India, is working towards a PhD at the Faculty of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, University of Sydney. A Faculty Merit Scholarship holder, she has been teaching undergraduate students as well as presenting research papers at conferences all over Australia.

Indian student ASTHA SINGH finds herself invited to a special event

Perceptions of Pakistan

CHITRA SUDARSHAN reviews literary offerings by authors whose insights into India’s neighbour are varied and revealing

Idid my usual trek of book shops in India last December, trying to observe and gauge the sorts of titles and genres that are popular among the English reading public. Australian Greg Roberts’ Shantaram is still a favourite after all these years, and continues to adorn the windows and display shelves of bookshops; so is Freidman’s The World is Flat. The Indian middle class, this seems to suggest, hankers after validation from the west - in fact or fiction! Everywhere self-help books are popular: they entreat the readers to achieve the impossible and assure them that the world is theirs for the taking! For some inexplicable reason, Mein Kampf jumped out of bookshelves, book bazaars and book exhibitions a little too often for my liking; then there was the perennial favourite Paulo Coelho, and for the more advanced readers, Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk, the Turkist Nobel Literature laureate is the darling of the Indian literati: he is quoted by everyone from Pankaj Mishra to Githa Hariharan.

Wendy Doniger’s tome on Hinduism has evoked varied reactions from the Indian media and public – and despite its hefty price, is selling well.

During one of my meandering bookshop walks, I picked up an edited book by Daniel

Herwitz and Ashutosh Varshney titled Midnight’s Diaspora (Viking). Ashutosh Varshney is a talented academic whose articles on India I had enjoyed reading in serious journals - so I was attracted to the book. It is for the more seriously inclined: a collection of essays by Indians and Pakistanis settled abroad - and Western intellectuals - mainly on Pakistan’s national identity (although there are several on India as well), based on the works of Salman Rushdie and his evaluation of Pakistan as “a place....insufficiently imagined” and his attack of that country as a “failure of the dreaming mind”. Included are two interviews with Rushdie who defends The Satanic Verses, and for whom freedom of speech is intertwined with freedom to offend. Husain Haqqani’s article is by far the most engaging and he endorses Rushdie’s views that the survival of Pakistan requires a re-imagining of its identity. There are great essays by Shashi Tharoor (now an elected MP from Trivandrum and a Minister in the Congress Government) and others as well.

It came as no surprise, therefore, that in Ziauddin Sardar’s book Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim, he devotes a whole chapter (13) to a diatribe

of Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and the latter’s ‘irrational hatred of Pakistan’. Sardar is a well known Pakistani-British scholar and academic who writes extensively on Pakistan and Islam. This book draws on an old Muslim tradition in which a man sets out from home and friends, ostensibly to go to Mecca, but really to indulge his spiritual restlessness – as Ibn Batuta did several centuries ago! The book describes the author’s interaction with various Muslim religious groups in Britain and his travels in Muslim countries around the world.

Satanic Verses, he argues, was written about the Prophet’s life in an offensive way. Rushdie’s controversial book “plundered ...the inner sanctum of my identity and (I) felt ..every word was directed at me... personally”. The claim of the title, that he is a ‘Sceptical Muslim’, therefore, does not quite sit with the theme of the book. The author does, however, canvass the idea of plurality within Islam, and introduces the reader to a Muslim world that is lively and questioning and tolerant –in a humorous way. However, one does comes away with the feeling that Sardar’s is a sanitised and benign account, shorn of the malevolence that characterises many even marginally fundamentalist

groups: his description of the Egyptian based Muslim Brotherhood, for instance, reads like only a slightly misogynist neighbourhood committee.

While still on the subject of Pakistan, two very different books recount the experience of growing up in Britain in Pakistani households. Ed Husain’s book The Islamist, describes his teenage years as a Hizb-ut-Tahrir jihadi operative in Britain, rubbing shoulders with well known terrorists, and his way out of it. This is an extraordinarily honest personal story, which examines the dislocation experienced by many second generation Muslim young men and their drift towards radical Muslim youth organisations like the Hizb. Husain also admits that sexual frustration is intertwined with the idea of terrorist glory. A quite different account of growing up a Muslim in Britain is Imran Ahmad’s book An Unimagined Life. Whereas Ed Husain came from a poor family, this is a story of a middle class boy who went to grammar school, University, and ends up as an auditor. The trajectory of his religious awakening quite different: coming from a liberal household, he discovers Islam only in the University, and is overwhelmed by the brotherhood of the global umma

Destroying Mumbai’s cosmopolitansim

Citizens must speak out against the parochial element, writes

political analyst AMULYA GANGULI

After Sachin Tendulkar, it is Mukesh

Ambani who has said the obvious - Mumbai belongs to all Indians. That it takes a sports icon and a business magnate to articulate a virtual axiom points to the deplorable context in which such truisms have to be emphasised. Nothing can be more damaging to Mumbai’s reputation than the need for such assertions because Tendulkar’s and Ambani’s statements point to the presence of elements which are bent on destroying the city’s cosmopolitanism. Their identity, of course, is no secret. Nor are they a new phenomenon. The rise of such insular forces began in the mid-1960s when the Shiv Sena, known for its Marathi chauvinism, began to make its presence felt, mainly through the vituperative utterances of its leader Bal Thackeray, against outsiders. Now, a breakaway group, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj, has made its appearance.

Claiming to stand for the Marathi manoos (men), their politics of sub-nationalism is marked by violence against immigrants and perceived “aliens” - whether south Indians in the 1960s, Muslims in the nineties or north Indians today.

Historically, of course, such fascistic groups are known to have the support of the lumpen proletariat, who use street violence to establish themselves as gang leaders, and the lower middle classes, which fear the loss of employment opportunity by the inflow of people from other states.

But the scene in Mumbai and, indeed, in India is complicated by the decline of national parties with their broad-minded outlook. Since the Congress can be said to be the only national party in India considering that the other party which claims to be one - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - is itself guided by an anti-minority philosophy, it is the Congress’s degeneration which is primarily responsible for the rise of the xenophobic outfits.

This disturbing development is not confined to Mumbai and Maharashtra alone. Regional parties driven solely by caste or community or state-level loyalties have appeared virtually all over the country. They include parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party championing the cause of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the Hindi heartland, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) favouring the Dalits, the Akali Dal of the Sikhs, the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) claiming to represent the Tamils and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) standing for the Assamese.

The situation in Mumbai, however, is different for two reasons. One is that the Shiv Sena and the MNS base their politics only on violently attacking the immigrants. This isn’t the case with the others, which

may favour one caste or community but do not always target the others.

The second reason is their influence in Mumbai, which is India’s commercial capital and No. 2 metropolis. In the years when New Delhi was no more than a dull town of bureaucrats and politicians, Mumbai, or Bombay as it was known then, was a thriving city known for its night life, the glamorous Hindi film world and an urbane, cultured population comprising people from different backgrounds - Parsis, Christians, “Madrasis”, Hindi-speaking north Indians and, of course, the Marathis.

The “Maximum City”, as a best-seller called it, was, like all major cities, a magnet for people looking for jobs. These were available for all - from the jet-setting corporate executives to aspiring film stars to lowly manual labourers. Not surprisingly, the city also had the largest slum in Asia in Dharavi and a violent underworld with the mafia dons acquiring a nationwide notoriety.

It is the volatile combination of an unending influx of people from other states, especially those like Bihar which suffered from a severe economic downturn, and the violence of the gang leaders, which fuelled the growth of the provincial organisations.

They were also aided by the cynicism of major parties like the Congress, which used the Shiv Sena in the sixties to target the communist trade unions, and has been mollycoddling the MNS in recent years to divide the anti-Congress vote.

Till now, the silence of the responsible citizens over the depredations of the narrow-

minded ‘kupmanduks’ (frogs in the well), either out of fear or because of their general political insignificance, encouraged the chauvinists to strut about with impudence.

It is a matter of satisfaction, therefore, that at last eminent personalities like Tendulkar and Ambani have decided to speak out. They probably felt that the crude parochialism of uncle Bal and nephew Raj have reached a stage where Mumbai was earning a bad name.

For Ambani, there was perhaps an economic compulsion as well. If Mumbai comes to be known as a city where outsiders are not safe, both high-flying executives and the humble taxi drivers will tend to avoid it with damaging consequences for the business world.

Hence Ambani’s observation that “we in the corporate sector got out of the licence raj, but the poor taxiwallah is still stuck in the licence raj”. The reference was to the state government’s notification making only those who had lived in Maharashtra for 15 years and could speak Marathi eligible for taxi licences.

The document was later modified following a public outcry to include Gujarati and Hindi among the language which the taxi driver must know. But it was another instance of the Congress-led government playing the parochial card.

Since the national parties are seemingly reluctant to take a bold stand against divisive politics, the regional parties can only be checked if distinguished citizens start speaking out against them.

A policeman stands guard outside a cinema theatre complex in Mumbai, 10 February 2010. More than 1,000 activists from the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena party were arrested in Mumbai amid threats to disrupt the screening of the film My Name Is Khan. The film’s lead actor Shahrukh Khan outraged nationalist Hindus when he said Pakistani cricketers should be included in the Indian Premier League.

Photo: AP

Gotcha!

SHERYL DIXIT relates an experience of winning and losing…just in time!

“Congratulations! You’ve won 400,000 Hong Kong dollars!” said the lady’s voice at the other end of the phone, with well-stimulated excitement. Straining to hear her over a whining toddler and The Wiggles belting out one of their best on TV, it wasn’t surprising that I thought I had heard wrong. But when the next day, she called to confirm that I was a winner, I had to take a deep breath. But once she hung up after noting my email address, reason, as is inevitable, returned to her throne and my natural scepticism took over.

Now I have to admit, easy money doesn’t come my way. It has always the plodding path of honest toil and I haven’t won anything more exciting than a couple of soaps or lines at housie in my entire life.

Curiosity compelled me to check my email for the promised ‘receipt’, which would enable me to “claim the prize money”. When I saw the receipt on my gmail e-address, I laughed out loud. The website and email of the company, which was of some obscure sounding Far Eastern origin, was suffixed with a Yahoo address, the biggest blunder any dubious company could make, particularly when offering obscene amounts of money for free.

I realised ruefully, that I’d been scammed.

Indignant at having been duped (well, nearly), I found the SCAMwatch Australia site (www.scamwatch.gov.au), and called them. An unsurprised lady heard my story and asked me a few pertinent questions. Did you give away your personal email address? No, fortunately! Did you send them any money for processing fees, or disclose your bank account details? Of course not! Then she calmly asked me to check one of their web pages, and to my surprise, there it was! The exact same fraud which I had experienced, named the ‘Casino’ scam, which called dupes like me, asking for answers three questions as a part of a tele-survey. After the questions, I was told that I would get a free IPod for my time, and a free entry into a draw where the first prize was a BMW, the second 400,000 Hong Kong dollars. The next day I was called, ostensibly from a crowded location, and told that I had won the second prize.

The helpful lady at SCAMwatch specified that if I had gone ahead with providing my details, I would have been asked to send the company a processing or transfer fee, and if I complied, I would have never seen my money again.

These days, there are scams for everything and its aunt under the sun. The Little Black Book of Scams published by The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission lists scams for everything, from lotteries, sweepstakes and competitions; chain letters and pyramid scams; investment opportunities and money transfer scams; betting and computer prediction software ones; banking, credit card and online account scams; internet and mobile phone

scams. And let’s not forget, health and medical ones, psychic and clairvoyant, dating and romance scams, even charity scams. There are door-to-door scams, job and employment ones and even small business scams – and they are all active, in some form or the other. It seems like a lucrative financial opportunity for your resident conman, so beware of the lure of easy money.

The SCAMwatch booklet is a helpful little guide, with a few golden rules to help you beat the scammers: Always get independent advice if an offer involves money, time or commitment Or talk to a hard-core sceptic. I called my husband, and what he said is not fit for innocent ears, or any ears for that matter. In language that was colourful and imaginative, he explained to me at the risk of busting my eardrums, exactly what he thought of my intellect, their audacity and just about stopped short of calling 000 to complain.

There are no guaranteed get-rich-quick schemes – the only people who make money are the scammers. Now this is something we don’t like to hear; and if we believed it, Lotto and scratchies wouldn’t exist. Every normal human being, at some stage of life, wishes to stumble over that elusive pot of moolah! Just don’t get carried away and remember what you learned at your mother’s knee, about hard work and perseverance being rewards enough. Do not agree to offers or deals straightaway. If you think you have spotted a great opportunity, insist on time to get independent advice before making a decision. Which is why the internet is a great tool, particularly for researching what may seem like sound organisations, but which may turn out to be elaborate duds.

Do not rely on glowing testimonials; find solid evidence of a company’s success Same as above, really. Ask, call, investigate. Don’t take the person’s assurances at face value. Log direction on to a website that you are interested in, rather than clicking on links provided in an email. Which can obviously be rigged. In my case, the Chinese company

Free prize

Free prize

quoted did have a legitimate business, they supplied casino equipment globally. And that was the only connection. Never send money or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust. I would add, never give anyone you don’t trust your personal email id, unless it’s a Yahoo or Gmail one, as access to your computer could well mean access to the information stored on it. One can never be too careful, particularly in this day and age of rampant internet fraud.

If you spot a scam or have been scammed, get help. Contact the Office of Fair Trading in your state or territory, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for assistance. There are numbers for each state; call 133220 in NSW or visit www.fairtrading. nsw.gov.au

And remember, anyone can become a target for fraud. Soon it will be people calling, asking you to invest in blue chip companies or real estate in India. They will have impeccable credentials, will be suave and friendly, and will assure you that they have your best interests at heart. Be sceptical. Thoroughly check every bit of information provided, and ask family back home to make further inquiries, before parting with your hard-earned cash. Jealously protect your identity; never send money to anyone whom you don’t know or trust; ask for identification – website details, contact details, even an ABN number. Don’t disclose your credit card, personal or online banking details over the phone and delete suspicious emails instead of unsubscribing.

And lastly, invest in a good internet security software program that helps filter out all the spam and protects your computer from hidden viruses and unwanted programs. This is specially true for people who fall into the lure of ‘free’ downloads of movies and songs, which could install harmful programs onto your computer without you knowing.

I am still waiting for my free IPod, and I have a feeling that the wait will be a long, long one.

A bitter bargain

I was driving through Victoria Road atWest Ryde. A man in a white van asked me if I wanted to buy a good Pioneer home theatre system worth $6000, for just $500. He said his boss had accidently put an extra one in the delivery van and he was out to make a quick buck by selling the piece. I examined the product carefully and it seemed genuine. The box even had a picture of the UEFA Cup on it, and

thinking it was a good bargain, I bought it outright and was excited about getting a good system for cheap.

But I was completely fooled, because when I opened the amplifier box, all it contained was a metal box.

I looked on the internet and these people have a website, but to contact them you have to submit your contact details; theirs are nowhere to be found.

Well, I couldn’t do much, but recently my cousin who lives in West Ryde called me to say that someone was selling him a home theatre system for $1500, and he was keen on buying it. I immediately told him to say no to them, and to save himself. I checked the description of the product and it exactly matches the one I bought. These guys do such a professional job, it is difficult to get them. I think these

people are fooling us and getting lucky. My story is about four months old, but they still seem to be doing good business and getting targets. They are professional in their approach and sound genuine, but are not.

My intention is to let as many people know about this so that they can avoid being conned as well.

Gaurav Kumar, West Ryde, NSW

Healthy eating tips

GEETA

KHURANA

on how to enjoy a happy and healthy 2010

I’m sure many of my readers made health-related resolutions at the start of the new year. To Have a Healthy Lifestyle and Healthy Eating Habits – what a fantastic resolve!

Healthy eating does not necessarily mean missing out on tasty food, or depriving yourself of food, or having boring, bland and unappealing food. It is not that difficult to have healthy eating habits if we just keep a few tips in mind. Read on!

* Make simple changes to your diet that suit you and your lifestyle, as all individuals are different.

* Eat small and frequent meals throughout the day instead of having three large meals.

* Avoid skipping any meals whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, as this leads to excess eating in the next meal and eventually putting on weight.

* Aim for achievable health goals - do not look for unrealistic goals.

* Start your day with a healthy breakfast to improve your concentration and memory.

* For healthy and balanced meals, start with a carbohydrate such as bread, rice or chapattis; add lots of vegetables; include a moderate serving of protein such as dal, fish, chicken or meat, and add a little fat and flavour with lemon, herbs and spices.

* Try to add fish with bones such as salmon and sardines for extra calcium.

* Include 3 serves of milk and milk products or calcium enriched soy products everyday for enough calcium. A glass of milk or a small tub of yoghurt or a slice of cheese constitutes a serve of milk.

* Try to replace plain flour with whole meal or multi grain flour to make it more nutritious and healthy.

* Try to have different kinds of breads such as soy, linseed, pita, baguettes and wraps for variety and nutrition.

* Eat more foods with soluble fibre, such as dried beans, lentils, baked beans, fruit and vegetables to help lower your blood cholesterol.

* Check the saturated fat on the label of ‘cholesterol free’ food as saturated fat will also increase your cholesterol levels more than cholesterol in food.

* Try to eat a variety of foods everyday as it kills boredom and also no food is perfect and has all the required nutrients in proper proportion.

* Try to add whole fruits preferably with skin where possible instead of fruit juices.

* Have small sized in-between snacks. Do not convert your snacks to large-sized meals. Try to have small packets of nuts, muesli bars and low fat fruit yoghurt as in-between snacks instead of namkeen bhujias, doughnuts and creamy biscuits.

* Have at least 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves of vegetables every day.

* Try to be active every day anyway. Take the stairs, walk to your colleague instead of emailing, work in the garden, chase your pets and play sport with your kids.

* Do not follow a weight loss plan that

excludes any particular food nutrient.

* Eat fats in moderation. Try to include some polyunsaturated fats and mono unsaturated fats such as olive oil and canola oil in your everyday cooking. Also try to use oil sprays rather than pouring oil.

* Use low fat variety of foods such as fat reduced milk products, lean meats and skinless chicken.

* Try to include fish at least twice a week in your menu. Fish contains omega 3 oils, which helps keep your heart healthy. Oily fish like ocean trout, salmon, sardines and tuna contain the most omega 3 oils. Baked fish is better than fried.

* Replace full fat cream with low fat ricotta cheese, evaporated skim milk or yoghurt for cooking.

* Use less fat by using cooking methods such as boiling, steaming, grilling, baking, micro wave and pressure cooking.

* Read food labels to make healthier food choices. Foods labeled high fibre should have at least 3g of fibre per 100g and foods labeled low salt should have a maximum of 120mg sodium per 100g or 50% or less sodium than the original food.

* Substitute coriander mint chutney or tomato chutney for tomato ketchup and creamy mayonnaise.

* Try to involve your kids in everyday grocery shopping, cooking and at meal times to teach them good healthy eating habits.

* Be creative with your child’s lunch box so that children enjoy their meals.

* Avoid unnecessary snacking in front of the television and computer.

* Be role models to your children and help them develop healthy eating habits.

* Keep celebration foods such as cakes, chocolates, samosas and jalebis for celebrations only.

* When going to restaurants, try not to order oversized meals, split desserts with friends, try to order salads without added cream as side dishes instead of

French fries.

* Reach for a glass of water to quench your thirst instead of sodas, tea or fruit juices. You could reduce hundreds of empty calories in your diet by switching over from sodas and fizzy drinks to plain simple water and lemon juice. Make sure you have at least 10-12 glasses of water every day.

* If you are an emotional eater and eat when you are happy or sad, then do not stock high calorie foods such as potato chips, ice creams and candy in the house. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, crunchy vegetables with dips, or nuts handy. If you absolutely feel the need for a treat, then have a fun size dark chocolate.

* Keep to the safe limit and enjoy your drink. The safe limit for alcohol for males is 2 standard drinks and for females is one standard drink per day with 2 alcohol free days a week. A standard drink is for example-100ml of wine; 285ml full strength beer; 60ml port or sherry.

* When drinking alcohol drink lots of water along with it to prevent dehydration.

* Try to have low calorie snacks along with your drinks such as fresh salads, paneer, papad and crackers rather than having namkeen mixtures and fried snacks.

Valentine strikes in India

She had heard it all.

“Diya, I am sorry.”

A short story

by RANI JHALA

“Amar, you can’t do this!” Peter heard himself shouting

“Yes, I can. I am sorry, but I am out of here,” Amar snapped his baggage shut and grabbing it, turned towards the door.

Peter found himself blocking the exit. “For heaven’s sake Amar, the wedding is tonight. You should have said something earlier.”

Amar had the grace to look ashamed, but returning to his determined self, he said. “I never agreed to this”.

“You never disagreed either,” Peter cut in.

“Peter, you are my friend, stay out of it. You of all people know how I feel about Kaitlin, I can’t do this to her, to us”.

“And your bride? What about her?”

“My mother created the problem, she can sort it out,” Amar continued in a frustrated tone.

“Amar, it is too late. You have to go through with it. The ceremonies have already started, the marriage cannot stop now”.

Combing his hair through with his fingers, he replied, “I am sorry, I can’t do it”.

“Then go tell Diya yourself, you owe her that”.

But Amar was not going to risk any chance of being manipulated into the marriage. He knew he should have spoken up earlier, but it was better to end things now than later. He could not give Kaitlin up, nor was he going to face his mother and risk being forced again.

“I am sorry, mate. I have to do what I have to do. Do you want to fly back with me?

“No, this is my first trip to India. I’ll continue as planned. I came to find myself and I will continue on my search. I’ll see you back in Sydney”.

“Will you explain it to Diya for me?”

“I don’t know if I can. What do I say - I am sorry but my friend did not want to marry you?”

“No, just tell her I wanted to marry somebody else”.

“How does that make it any better?”

“It doesn’t. It just makes it less worse…” Amar returned.

Peter knew that the situation has become hopeless. Quietly he followed his friend to the car and waved him off. As he turned to walk back into the building, he saw her.

She stood at the top of the steps in a plain pink chiffon sari, a thin strand of pearls gracing her neck and her long black hair falling as a shimmering waterfall, past her waist. But she was not looking at the car speeding away down the driveway. She was looking at him. And her eyes told him everything.

Diya looked at him and his heart bled a million drops. He saw pain, he saw hurt, he saw disgrace.

Slowly she moved a step back. “I better let them know that there is going to be no wedding”.

And then she smiled. A faint smile that did not wipe away the hurt in her eyes but it sure made it difficult for him to breathe. A second later she turned to walk back in.

“Will you marry me, Diya?” The words were out before he realised it himself.

She froze, with her back to him, she stood still. He stood still.

“Marry me,” he said again, softer this time, now convinced that he had indeed uttered them before.

“What?” she managed to whisper.

“I know enough about your culture to know the consequences of a groom leaving on the wedding day. I know what your family will face and what you will too. A marriage could stop all that”.

“You obviously don’t know enough about our culture to know, they would rather a daughter sat at home living the life of a spinster, than marry like this. They will say Amar left because of us. No one will approve of our marriage”.

“Do you approve?”

“I did not have a say about my marriage with Amar, I will not have a say about a marriage with you”.

“So you did not love Amar?”

“I did not know him,” was Diya’s simple reply.

“Yet you were going to risk a lifetime with a man you barely knew…”

“I thought Amar and I were taking the same risk. I was obviously wrong”. Again her reply was said in whisper.

“Amar is not a bad chap. It’s just that…”

“I know. I heard everything. I have

always known that something was not right. He avoided our phone calls. He never wrote. He never came after the engagement ceremony. But his mother assured everyone that her son was marrying of his own free will. That he was not in love with another woman…”

And then she let out half a laugh. “Do you know that I thought he was gay. That is why I came here to ask him that. I could have fought for my marriage against another woman, but how would I have fought against a man?”

Peter noticed that the humour had not reached her eyes. The worry in them had not ceased either.

“I can face everyone, but my parents have invested their entire saving into this marriage. They have told the world, their daughter is moving to Australia, that she is marrying a perfect partner. How do they now tell the world, that the perfect partner, was never that? That nothing was perfect. Your friend should have spoken up earlier.

He played Russian Roulette with all our lives”.

“Then marry me and stop the roll of the dice with us,” Peter stated again.

“I will find an escape, but what will you get out of this marriage? I thought you westerners married for love”.

“Most do, but like your arranged marriages some of us find our partners through dating services and matchmaking agencies. It is not that different to an arranged marriage”.

“Yes true, I have seen the television show where a man picks his partner from a group of girls in a matter of days. I guess you are right. We all have our destinies arranged in some way.”

“Then take that chance with me”.

“I should be grateful, but I can’t help feeling, it would not be fair to you. No! It would not be fair. Goodbye, Peter”. This time Diya walked down the steps and towards the car park.

Peter stood until her car had driven off, and then turned to go and find Amar’s mother. And the moment he did, all hell broke loose. Anger, frustration, despair, shame and disappointment coloured the atmosphere. Peter could only think of Diya and her position. Her position would be much worse. And he just knew he had to be with her. Taking Amar’s brother with him he left for the bridal home.

As he had guessed the bridal home was in chaos too. Half were screaming, the other half, crying. Half blamed Amar, the other half, Diya. They said she was unlucky. That her stars must have been malevolently placed. He hoped that Diya was not hearing the hurtful words. He looked around but Diya was not amidst the crowd. He searched the crowd again and then impulsively looked up. There on the landing she stood, looking at him, her deep brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She was listening to everything. Detaching himself from Amar’s brother, he walked up the staircase and to her side.

“Let me help you…” he pleaded.

“I can’t. Can you not see them? They have had one shock already. If I tell them I am marrying you, it will come as a bigger blow”.

Peter could not understand the pain he felt. For heaven’s sake, he had only just met Diya. Then why was he hurting for her?

“If that is what you want, then so be it. I will be here for six months. I know this will sound an empty promise after what Amar has done, but I will be here for you, if you need me, ever, I will be here.”

Once again she gave him her magical smile. And he knew that for the moment that had to be enough.

“I was envying Amar his Valentine’s Day wedding. What a Valentine’s Day it’s turned out to be!” Peter let out.

As he turned to look at the crowd below, a hand touched his gently. A voice whispered, “I can’t marry you just yet, but will you be my Valentine?”

And Peter knew that time no longer mattered. He had found what he came for. He had found himself.

Amar knew he should have spoken up earlier, but it was better to end things now than later. He could not give Kaitlyn up, nor was he going to face his mother and risk being forced again

The lingo of love

Aaah, love! Another Valentine’s Day and our thoughts inevitably get mushy and sentimental, romantic or plain cynical, depending on one’s temperament. There are so many ways to define this emotion, but none of them would be quite adequate. So here are some quotes which try, sometimes obscurely, to explain love.

We don’t believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack. Some wise soul thought this one up, and it’s a true saying indeed! Was there ever a time in one’s life when you scoffed at the idea of falling in love? All those coy looks Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor exchanged while running around trees. And the visual of two red roses meeting in midair, to convey even to the most obtuse that what was being exchanged was a clandestine chumma. Naah, I wouldn’t behave like an idiot. But when you meet that special somebody, no matter how young or old you may be, you end up doing things, the thought of which will probably make you cringe with embarrassment for the rest of your life. Like tattooing their name all over your arms using an indelible marker and then trying to explain to your mum exactly who ‘Rahul’ is supposed to be. Or quavering on her doorstep with a single drooping rose, as her dad subjects you to a third degree interrogation. Or writing love letters, and in this techno-savvy world, romantic emails, or exchanging explicit SMS messages. As long as your partner doesn’t find out, or you’ll be spending V-Day in the doghouse, along with Tiger Woods!

You know it’s love when you want to keep holding hands even after you’re sweaty When you can gaze into each other’s eyes, even through steamy bifocals. When you take romantic walks along the beach and don’t complain about getting sand in your hair. When you spend the entire day SMSing or emailing each other, and the day still

SEEKING BRIDES

Palghat Brahmin Iyer, 32/5’9”, MBA, MS, pure veg, dual citizen, working as IT Operations Specialist at large Telecom at Melbourne CBD, pleasant looks, seeks bride under 30 with similar cultural background. Horoscope available. Please email kkrangan@yahoo.com or contact 0418 720 781 for more information.

ABrahmin family from north India seeks suitable bride for their son, handsome, fair colour, slim, never married, non-smoker, non-drinker, broadminded, 29 years, 5’ 5”. He lives in Sydney while his parents are in India, and earns well. The girl should be good looking, well educated, family oriented, and from Brahmin background. Initial contact, with profile, can be made at raj2010syd@gmail.com

Parents of Gujarati Patel boy seek bride for their son, age 29 years, Australian citizen, IT professional, permanent job. Visit www.Bharatmatrimony.com and search for his ID G584083 to find more details or call Kesh Patel on 02 8205 8409 / 0401 548 194 to discuss further.

Australian citizen, 36 years old, settled and working in Sydney as a professional employer. Seeking girl between

seems too long before you’ll meet again. When you take a walk and neither of you notices that it’s raining. When you buy each other gifts on impulse, from chocolate to iTune recharge cards, and are ecstatically surprised by each offering. When you buy him a CD of romantic ballads and he looks no more than mildly bemused. When you’ll have your first argument and are convinced that it’s the end of the relationship. Of course, making up is the best part! Women have fantastic memories for these moments, but if you recount them to your partner even a year on in the relationship, he’s likely to deny ever listening to Whitney Houston. No, not even for love!

You can’t put a price tag on love, but you can on all its accessories. Spot on! And in this day of rampant commercialism, walk into any mall a week after Christmas and those not-to-be-missed Valentine’s Day gifts will smack you in the face. Original and imaginative bunches of red roses, expensive perfumes, huge cuddly teddy bears holding hearts, or simply large red hearts in the shape of cards, cushions, chocolate, are displayed for your edification and wallet. Clothing stores who should know better advertise ‘V-Day specials’ and I have seen at least three seafood stores running specials on oysters. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not that much of a cynic and I don’t really hold more than a mildly irritated grudge against paraphernalia that encourages, reminds and enthuses people to celebrate love. After all, it’s all in the name of retail.If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? Good question, but let’s not forget that even imagining the loved one in lingerie can miraculously restore sight, right guys? However, I draw the line at men in lingerie. Tight little boxers, yes, but not lingerie. Besides, to give this cosy couture its due, it is a fairly large contributor to the essence of love, and women adore it almost as much as their men. From slinky black numbers to nearly-

not-theres, this form of sensuous attire is responsible for steamy nights, seductive scenes and making babies.

Valentine’s Day is when a lot of married men are reminded what a poor shot Cupid really is. Well, as you plod through another year of marital stress, there are times when even wives have such seditious thoughts. Where has the love gone, you ask yourself, after receiving a book on weight-loss again as a V-day present. Well, nowhere really. It’s just changed in dimension, adapted to suit the circumstances, but yes, it’s still there, hovering in the background. Like when you look at your partner opening his third beer while watching the footy as you slave over dinner. You may think unkind thoughts at that moment of time, but when he piles his plate with an appreciative third helping, you can’t but help feeling fond of him again. You may think you’ve moved down in the list of priorities, coming close to the bottom after kids, work, his laptop, iPod and Blackberry, but at least you’re still on the list. Unlike that photograph of a bikini-clad Katrina Kaif you ‘accidentally’ deleted when checking your email on his laptop.

Matrimonials

27 and 36, no caste bar. Please contact 0416 398 869 or for other details and photo mail me at satishsingh_2009@yahoo.com.au

Fiji Indian Hindu family from Sydney, seek alliance for son aged 26, Australian citizen, fair, educated, 160 cm. Seeking bride under 25 years, slim, fair, sincere and pleasant personality. Contact parents at PO Box 502 Plumpton NSW 2761 or email at hum772009@gmail.com

Australian citizen, Indian origin male, uni educated, govt job, own house, mid 40s, seeks honest Indian/ Fiji Indian lady for marriage. Please send details to email: tamave@hotmail.com or phone 0404 263 400.

SEEKING GROOMS

Seeking alliance for Sunni Muslim girl from India, 36 years, 5’3”, fair, software consultant working in USA, strong family values. Looking for Sunni Muslim boy, nonsmoker, non-alcoholic and follower of Halal

food. Please contact on marrylink@ymail. com with photograph and details.

Seeking suitable groom for a Tamil Brahmin girl (Kodanya/5’8”/23 years) professionally qualified and working in Bangalore. Family well settled in India. Seeking 26-29 year old groom, qualified and match with strong cultural and family background. Please email kallvidhya@ yahoo.com with your biodata.

Seeking a professional and caring boy for a smart, MBA, professional and homely 26-year-old girl working in management in a leading private bank in India. Grandparents currently visiting Sydney. Please send details on mainirahul@gmail.com

Seeking suitable professionally qualified, Hindu, well-settled match for Indianbased Hindu girl, never married, 30 years, 160cm, practicing as an architect and interior designer in India. Please contact Shivani Baheti (elder sister) on 0421530 876 or bahetived@yahoo.com.

Love makes the world go round. The origins of the phrase are lost in the sands of time, but it is still as relevant today as it was when the phrase was first coined. It is in everything we see and do, and no matter how hard we try not to fall prey to this strange and enveloping emotion, we will always have love in our life. From the respectful affection for parents, often enhanced after you have kids of your own and realise exactly how tough the job is, to the protective and inexplicable love for children, displayed in the joy they bring you on good days. And to a lesser extent, in the sense of exasperation you feel on days when they’re working hard to drive you crazy. In its myriad forms, love can blossom when your little puppy comes home for the first time or even exhibit itself in naked lust when you see a Jimmy Choo handbag or a pair of Ralph Lauren sunnies.

Love is everywhere. In the cuddle a mother gives her baby, in the sight of an elderly couple holding hands, even seeing a cat and dog sharing a snooze in their basket. Love is in the air, so let’s celebrate each day as if it’s V-day.

Sister and brother-in-law seek suitable groom for Gujarati Brahmin girl, professionally qualified. Family well settled in India. Seeking 26-29 year old, qualified match with strong cultural and family background. Please email biodata and recent pictures to Meghna.joshi@ato.gov.au or contact 0433 613 676.

Parents seek educated and wellsettled boy for Hindu Punjabi girl, IT professional, Australian citizen, born 1977, 5’ 6” slim, never married. Please send details and recent, clear photo to vnsb2009@gmail. com

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

Brother seeks suitable groom for Hindu Gupta girl, professionally qualified. Family well settled in India. Seeking a 2830 year old, professionally qualified match, with strong family values. Please send biodata and recent picture to vikjas@gmail. com or contact 0401 318 439.

Tarot ‘n’ You Tarot ‘n’ You

ARIES March 21–April 20

Tarot signifies that the present time is the opportune moment to start a new project. You need to use your skills and follow your instincts. You should be determined to use your potential to the maximum, to succeed. It is the right time to initiate action and execute plans. In a relationship reading, Tarot indicates a dynamic relationship where one partner provides the inspiration and the other makes them a reality, through his skills and practicality.

TAURUS April 21–May 21

There is a focus on the realisation of what you desire and your inner strength to achieve the same. Domestic changes are likely to take place. You may find yourself thinking about moving on in life towards a new setting. You desire to explore opportunities for fulfilment. It could be a search for a deeper commitment within your present relationship. It could also mean spending time in meditation or in study.

GEMINI May 22–June 23

Tarot signifies permanent changes. The old will give way to the new. It will bring with it new beliefs and understanding. There are times when situations end in life and new beginnings are seen and experienced. Certain beginnings are accepted easily and some may need adjustments. This card in a relationship reading signifies a major change in the relationship. It can either be the end of a relationship or levels of deeper commitment.

CANCER June 23–July 22

Tarot indicates a time for healing. You are likely to be at peace with yourself. Health is likely to improve, making you feel energetic. You are likely to have clarity of thought and so are able to take balanced decisions. The card for you represents purpose, planning and action towards attainment of desired goals. The card also suggests promotion and success in matters related to career. It portrays liberation and infinity of free will. Tarot indicates creativity and understanding in a relationship that is growing.

LEO July 23–August 23

Your focus is likely to be on your achievements and an overall feeling of happiness resulting from them. It is a card that signifies success and victory. You are nearing your personal goals and an enterprise is coming to a successful conclusion. You are feeling emotionally secure and content, which is due to a job well done. Your inner needs are fulfilled. In a relationship reading, there is a great deal of harmony as you have learnt to love and care for yourself, and so you work towards making a happier relationship.

VIRGO August 24–September 22

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.

For Sale

LIBRA September 23 – October 23

Tarot foresees a focus on relationships. It is a good time for romance and compatibility on a personal level. Tarot indicates harmony, romance, peace, concord and prosperity. Gatherings will be happy and congenial. Monetary success is suggested. Purchase of property can be contemplated. Tarot indicates a quiet time spent with friends and family in a favourite place. It is a time when you are successful in feeling at home in a relatively new situation.

SCORPIO October 24–November 22

There is a focus on strength in opposition. Suspension of events is indicated. This period of delay should be used productively to reassess the line of action for the future. It is a card that tells you to complete a few of the incomplete projects in your life. In a relationship reading, it describes a cautious attitude towards the partner or relationships in general. You have perhaps been hurt by your partner or are yet to come to terms with your past relationships, and in turn are not able to commit yourself fully to the present one.

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

You are likely to be ambitious and will tend to plan towards your goals methodically. You are organized and will be able to put in serious efforts towards your project. You may feel that you aren’t getting due credit for your efforts. Things will turn out right in due course of time. You would benefit by being innovative, yet logical at the same time. Tarot signifies consolidating plans and taking firm steps towards attaining goals.

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

Now is the time to put plans into action. The idea is one of cooperation and business opportunities. Tarot represents established effort, enterprise and strength. Worries are likely to be lessened. Travel connected with career is also suggested. There is a feeling of happiness and optimism as aims are likely to be realised in future. Tarot suggests a relationship which is growing. The relationship may be centred around travel.

AQUARIUS January 20–February 18

Tarot signifies a period for spontaneity. There is a focus on trust and hope. Be prepared for the unexpected. It is a positive time for travel. You are likely to be offered new opportunities leading to new heights. You are likely to feel fulfilled if you undertake this unforeseen journey, so trust your judgement while planning for the future. Tarot depicts the journey of self-discovery with confidence, fun and optimism. In a relationship reading, you will benefit by living in the present.

PISCES

February 19–March 20

Tarot indicates the inevitability of change. Certain events in your life may be unexpected. Remain optimistic as changes at home or in relationships are likely to be for the best. You need to leave behind old beliefs and values which no longer support you and adopt a new approach in order to progress ahead. You need to accept the fact that old forms collapse and give way to new forms, for the better.

Film: Ishqiya

Director: Abhishek Choubey

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan

Ishqiya is a very strange film. Strange, not so much in terms of content, unless you really believe there are sleepy dusty towns in north India where boys learn to use a gun before they learn to wash their own bottoms. But in terms of the way the three main characters are thrown against each other in combustions that suggest a brutal bonding between the libido and the landscape.

To cinematographer Mohana Krishna’s credit, he creates in the suburbs of Mumbai (masquerading as Gorakhpur) a kind of sweeping lazy ambience of leisurely selfindulgence.

Ishqiya is the kind of cinema that you can love or hate, but cannot be indifferent to. The dusty, parched, sexually and spiritually arid hinterland renders itself effectively to the characters. The uncle-nephew pair of Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi provide the kind of sweaty, grimy male bonding that we saw in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds

The two protagonists in Ishqiya represent the acme of reprehensibility. Come to think of it, there isn’t a single character in the plot whom you can begin to like, let alone admire. Like the Naseer-Arsha-Vidya triangle the other characters are either hazy

or horny, or both. There’s a businessman who sells steel on the surface and supplies illegal arms underneath. He’s supposed to represent the clan of the corrupt.

Vidya Balan’s Krishna is a conniving victim. And if that sounds like a contradiction in terms, it is purposefully projected into a plot that pulsates with a seedy tension and a freewheeling virile humour. The writing on the wall is very clear - hate these characters who live by the gun.

How the film finds a central core of gentleness in this milieu of murky machinations is another story. Or maybe it isn’t.

Debutant director Abhishek Choubey tries to create two different worlds, one of criminality and the other of compassion, within one range of vision. It’s a tall order.

Some of the sex and power play among Vidya, Arshad and Naseer’s characters are intriguing and arresting in its swift shifts of dramatic tension from one to the other.

Towards the second overture of this untried symphony of antipathy, the writer and director conspire to create a bizarre climactic spiral involving a shady business tycoon in the area, who our trio of protagonists decides to kidnap.

By the time the kidnapping plan goes horribly awry, the narrative too loses its bearings.

If the film holds you until the end it’s because of the principal performances.

Naseeruddin Shah confers a rock-solid tenderness to his ageing criminal-lover’s role.

to sink his skills into a part of a raunchy, randy rogue, out to get the neighbourhood widow to hit the sack.

But the film belongs to Vidya Balan. With a face and eyes that convey a determination to make her way through a rough patriarchal order, Vidya is tender, brittle, cunning and cool - all rolled into a bundle of bewildering emotions that unfold more through her body language than the script. She rises above the self-indulgent realism of the narrative.

A triumph for the actress. But what of the

Love it, hate it, but you can’t ignore it Siddharth hits the high notes

Film: Striker

Director: Chandan Arora

Cast: Siddharth, Padma Priya, Nicolette Bird, Ankur Vikal, Aditya Pancholi, Seema Biswas, Rajendra Gupta and Vidya Malvade

Striker, as we can well see, was not an easy film to make. It’s not an easy film to see either. The vast near-epic scale scope and expanse of the slum saga stretches into two hours of a non-linear narration where time passages are made without borders.

The lack of punctuation marks in the telling of the tale of the coming of age and rage of the protagonist Surya (Siddharth) is a major detriment in identifying the swarm of characters as people who go beyond the immediate job of living their grass root-level lives and try to repair their lives and restore a method of morality behind the madness of a fringe existence.

The madness of slum-life, its eccentric crime modalities as seen through the eyes of the growing and aimless Surya, is brought out in the way editor Sajit Unnikrishnan cuts the material.

It is quite evident that director Chandan Arora has bitten more than the editor can finally chew. There’re stretches of undisclosed narrative material that seems to have been sacrificed to a serious economy of expression that borders on an austerity overdrive.

Characters such as the Muslim girl next door (newcomer Nicolette Bard) vanish from Surya’s life. But not before Surya does his own Mere Mehboob with the girl, even

throwing a letter into her balcony. This is the Mumbai slum in the 1980s, in case you’ve forgotten. Many questions that crop up in the course of the narrative remain unanswered to the bitter brutal end. All we know is that Surya wants a better life. He gets the bitter instead. Striker opens and closes with the tension around the slums during the 1992 riots. The on-location shooting brings to the proceedings a kind of clipped and cutting edge and an intimate immediacy to the proceedings. You feel you are there in the slums with Arora’s characters. But you aren’t sure you want to be there. We never stay long enough with the characters to get to know them well. The performances keep us moving, kicking and dragging with the seamless unpunctuated narrative. Almost every characters seems to get the point, Siddharth more so than most with a performance that creates contours in the climate of chaos. His layered performance is balanced and even. Siddharth hits the high notes without getting shrill.

Aditya Pancholi as his chief adversary on the carrom board and off it, is menacing yet restrained managing the age-leaps with startling ease. Ankur Vikal the hero’s hyperventilating best friend who comes to a sticky end, plays the part with relish. Yup, he too gets the point.

lurid lunge at realism? Is the film to be applauded for forging a new language of expression?

Or should that language have been used with more restrain and tact?

Frankly there are no clear and simple value judgements to be applied to Ishqiya It’s partly a homage to the rugged Westerns from Hollywood, and partly an attempt to penetrate the north Indian small-town hinterland where people don’t just live with violence, they even enjoy it.

But did this film have to follow them?

There’re some other fine actors who prop up in the narrative including Anupam Kher, Seema Biswas and Anoop Soni. There’s no room for them to make an impact. The same goes for the two leading ladies. Quiet and wordless Nicolette comes before interval, verbose and aggressive Padma Priya comes after.

Striker uses the metaphor of the strike on the carrom board with a fair amount of inner conviction that unfortunately gets substantially lost in a welter of crowds and noises signifying the fury of nulled lives. You can’t fall in love with Arora’s carefully-crafted world of slum-dogged obduracy where swords still rule and guns are a distant boom.

See the film for its frenetic characters who seem to have distant links with the people we saw in Vikram Bhatt’s Ghulam and Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Happily the tragic outcome of the lives lived on the edge in the film is strictly their own.

Compelling mirror of troubled times

Film: My Name Is Khan

Director: Karan Johar

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab

Questions of religious and national identity, of the sense of right and wrong, of combating a certain isolation that comes with a behavioural disorder –these are the ingredients of the film that has caused so much turmoil in India in recent days.

But what triumphs over all the complexities unfolding in a tumultuous post 9/11 America is Rizwan Khan, and his essential goodness, that tells you unwaveringly - his name is Khan and he is not a terrorist.

Director Karan Johar is in unfamiliar territory here. No candyfloss romance, no sweet nothings, nobody breaking into song. Just the super intelligent Rizwan, who has Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism), his halting voice with his inability to communicate, and his many relationships - with his mother, his brother, and yes, Mandira and her son Sam.

Move over Rahul, Rizwan is here.

Shah Rukh makes the transition from the eternal romantic to the intense Rizwan who finds love and loses it some years later when his Khan identity becomes all important in a tense, suspicious America. You sit through three hours waiting to get a glimpse of Shah Rukh through Rizwan Khan, but it doesn’t happen.

If Shah Rukh lives and breathes Rizwan in what is one of his finest roles, Kajol as Mandira, the vivacious single mother, is also good - as always. The chemistry between them, if not always crackling, is heartwarming.

It’s an unlikely romance, not very easy to portray. But it’s dealt with a light touch. There they are sitting on either side of the bed after their wedding with Mandira telling Rizwan, who doesn’t like to be hugged, that this is something they can’t do without touching. It’s a scene that could quite easily have gone wrong, but it doesn’t.

All credit to Karan Johar for that.

Like a piece of music that gradually rises to grand crescendo, My Name Is Khan begins with Rizwan as a child with his mother - so good to see Zarina Wahab after such a long time - in a tenement in Mumbai, and ends

with cheers from the United States’ first African American president in a crowded rally.

It’s from his mother that Rizwan learns his first lessons of humanity; as the 1983 Mumbai riots rage outside, she tells the young boy that the world is divided into good people and bad people.

It is this essential humanism that carries Rizwan through from Mumbai to San Francisco where his brother stays, then to the suburb of Banville where he moves in with Mandira and Sam, and even when he is taken to be a terror suspect.

Sam, his “only best friend”, is subjected to a vicious race attack because he takes on Rizwan’s surname. Mandira hits back, saying that the worst thing she could have done was marry a Khan and Rizwan is out on the roads - unable to articulate his feelings but backpacking his way across the US to meet “president sahib” so he can tell him: “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist.”

It is a road journey through a troubled post 9/11 America towards humanism and the essential goodness of the human spirit.

This is a US where chanting the

name of Allah gets you into trouble, where the word terrorist and Khan in conjunction can put you behind bars. Rizwan moves from being a terror suspect to a nationwide hero who exposes a terror mastermind. And then, the man with a mission who travels to Wilhelmina that is literally drowning in a hurricane, to supervise a heroic rescue mission.

There’s Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush and Obama too. The US’ first African American president is voted in and, in that final feel good moment Rizwan meets him in front of thousands of people and his goodness is validated.

Plenty of great one liners. When he is refused entry into a presidential fundraiser for the poor in Africa that is only for Christians, he leaves behind $500 saying: “This if for those who are not Christians in Africa.”

The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is superb. This is not a film without flaws. It is at least 20 minutes too long for one and flags in the pre-interval period, but it is one straight from the heart. It has a message, in these days of tensions over language and religion, one which needs to be heard.

Go watch.

Minu Jain, IANS

Khan’s a box-office whopper

Controversies notwithstanding, My Name is Khan the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer directed by Karan Johar, has gone on to rake in around Rs.250 million (about US$5.3 million) across the globe on its opening day.

“We are delighted with the performance and audience reactions across demographics. More so, because this is only phase one of the film release,” Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios India, the Indian distributors of the film, said in a statement.

“In addition to the release across 45 countries, MNIK will be rolled out in a phased manner across 25 non-traditional markets from April onwards.” The film features Shah Rukh as Rizvan Khan who embarks on a journey across America to win back the love of his life, played by Kajol. It shows how, along the way, his personality touches the lives of many and inspires a nation.

In New Zealand, the opening day collection was about $9,727 while in the Middle East, the movie is already 50 percent higher than any other previous film in Bollywood with the earning estimated at $300,000. There’s also a huge demand for additional prints in the existing chains across the Middle East and the print count is expected to increase to around 60 by next week. The film also will be released in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Oman and Lebanon in the coming week.

In terms of paid previews, the movie earned about $193,000 from 89 sites in Britain, which is said to be the highest for a single-day preview there. In Australia, paid previews collected around $34,000 and it ranked number 11. And despite all the negative political hype

Bips makes them bop

Bong beauty Bipasha Basu is a selfconfessed fitness freak. Her recent workout DVD is essentially for those “busy, lazy” people who can’t afford gym fees. Calling it her “baby”, the svelte actress says boyfriend John Abraham supported her all through to make her dream a

surrounding the movie, SRK has found support not just from fans, but back home in Bollywood. Hunky Hrithik Roshan, who is on good terms with Khan and Johar posted his first comment on Twitter exhorting his followers to go to theaters and watch the flick. He actually went to a Mumbai multiplex to see the movie, which has been threatened and boycotted by violent followers of the Shiv Sena leadership. Hrithik Roshan was impressed by the message of humanity spread by the character of Rizwan Khan in the film, and wanted his followers to

take it forward by coming out in large numbers to theatres screening the flick.

After Hrithik Roshan’s endorsement of the movie and his bold stand against the protests, Bollywood’s best came out in open support of the film, including divas like Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta and even Shilpa Shetty. Even Pooja Bedi and dad Kabir Bedi went to theaters to watch the flick with the general public, which helped infuse confidence among the audience.

Well done Bollywood, for proving that might isn’t right!

reality. Initially, Bipasha wanted to do the fitness video only for her friends. “There were so many unhealthy people around me. Every time I’d try to push them into the gym, they’d say they’ve no time. My music video is for busy, lazy, shy and nonprivileged people who can’t afford the gym fees,” said the sultry star. “I wanted it to be concise exercises that could be done in just 25 minutes and I didn’t want them to look intimidating, like ‘Oh my God only Bipasha Basu can do them’,” said Bips in an interview. “The idea was to make it fun and easy...I wanted to be comprehensive and that included precautionary measures to make sure no injury happened.” And after eight months of honest toil, the final product’s been worth it.

Boyfriend John didn’t mind helping Bipasha with the video even if it was in the middle of the night. “I’d be up at 3 a.m. scripting my video and I’d poke him awake to get his feedback. He would give his inputs no matter how tired or sleepy. He has been a great help. He’s always there for me. He has been a wonderful support,” enthused Bipasha. But she did miss him during the row with the hotel management

in New Delhi after her DVD launch.

“I missed him when I was under attack in Delhi. He has been a pillar of strength throughout the making and marketing of my fitness video. John is always there for everything I do...I like to do everything on my own,” she confided adding, “Emotionally I need tremendous support from all my loved ones including my parents and John. But when it comes to my work I’m fiercely independent. I’ll only take advice from someone who shares my passion, like John does.”

Bipasha is sporting a chiselled figure and she’s proud of it. And of course, John thinks she has the best body in show business. “He could be biased because he’s my boyfriend,” Bipasha said with a laugh. With a body like Bips, John’s sure one lucky guy!

Katrina to belt out

Bhojpuri

Since playing the lead in Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, Katrina Kaif has been interested in learning Bhojpuri, a language spoken in

GUESS WHO GUESS WHO

This

(Find the answer under Caption Contest)

ABHILASHA SENGUPTA brings us up-to-date on what’s hot and happening in Bollywood

lady never got her due in Bollywood

BIPASHA BASU

Patna and other parts of eastern India. Katrina impressed fans by speaking a few words in the language at a recent function in Patna to promote the film. Her role is that of a lady politician, akin to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and her portrayal of the role has been impressive, if insiders are to be believed. A few words were enough to have the long-legged lady take an interest in Bhojpuri and she’s busy expanding her vocabulary, learning it from her colleagues in the industry. Let’s not forget that in Kat’s debut flick Boom, she couldn’t speak a word of Hindi. While dubbing for Rajneeti, Kat had to memorize every single word without much understanding, to be able to deliver the lines confidently. Ajay Devgan and Ranbir Kapoor also star in the flick, due for release soon. However, fans of the luscious lady may be a bit disappointed, as she won’t be gyrating or wearing anything other than what a politician’s supposed to wear. So how will Kat look in a sari-clad avatar for a change? Gorgeous as usual, I’ll bet.

Bebo’s sensitive side

You wouldn’t think it of her, but Kareena Kapoor has a surprisingly sensitive and sensible side. Her relationship with Saif Ali Khan is now old news, but they’re still one of Bollywood’s hottest couples. Fortunately they seem to have struck a happy ground in their relationship, as Bebo’s shown unusual regard for Saif’s relationship with his two children. Although they practically live together, Bebo sneaks off to her own pad whenever Sara and Ibrahim come over for their weekly visit. Saif gets to spend quality time with his kids and it’s great that they have the space they need. Saif’s kids are almost in their teens, and Bebo backing off rather than making an irksome foursome certainly does deserve kudos. It’s an arrangement that suits everyone, and cuts down on awkwardness and irritation. A rare sign of understanding and maturity from one who has dated Shahid Kapoor. Well done, Bebo, smart move.

Shahid, Deepika not an item..again!

They’re on, they’re off…Yawn! Bollywood watchers are getting a bit tired of this romance, which doesn’t quite seem to materialise. The paparazzi recently paired them together again, both on and off screen, but reliable sources say that this is unlikely to happen, at least in the near

future. Shahid’s ready to take on fresher talent and father Pankaj Kapur is said to have just signed on Sonam for Mausam, their home production. Deepika too, isn’t hot on signing any films with Shahid, nor being ‘just friends’ with him. She’s gunning for the biggies like Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan. So when will the next instalment of this riveting romantic drama unfold? Well, don’t hold your breath!

Ranbir’s ready to rip!

Ranbir Kapoor’s riding high these days. He finally convinced protective mama Neetu Singh that owning a bike would be the best thing in his young life. In school he wanted a cycle, in college he wanted a motorbike, but Neetu was having none of it. Dad Rishi was cool, but convincing mama that he would be able to ride through Mumbai’s erratic traffic took a while.

A source close to the family explained why. “Neetu always felt that it is too risky for her son to drive a two-wheeler on the congested roads of Mumbai which are always dug up, making it an even more risky affair.”

Now Ranbir has a high-tech cycle of foreign make, but has hardly had the chance to ride it, as he is away in the US, shooting for Anjaana Anjaani. But the hunky heartthrob hasn’t quite lost his Segway obsession. Now that he has the bike, maybe he’ll find a way of convincing his mom to raise the stakes a bit and make his motorbike dream a reality.

Coke calling!

Coca Cola has a new brand ambassador in the young and energetic Imran Khan, who will star in their new advertisement. The actor has stayed away from the endorsement segment for a very long time, and the Coke deal is the first and only

the ad, Imran said, “The entire concept of the film is about how Coke breaks the ice between two characters who might not have been together, if Coke was not there. What is really interesting in the ad is that we have used an imaginary bottle.”

Well, that’s one hell of a way to join the endorsement business! Good on you, Imran.

Kites sizzles on Youtube

Youtube is now featuring leaked trailers of Kites, the much-awaited flick starring Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan and Mexican beauty Barbara Mori. The clips show the hot pair locked together in passionate embrace, with the sexy Mori doing interesting things to the hunk’s torso. No wonder wife Suzanne had a lot to say about those scenes! Naturally, the producers are chasing Youtube to get the promos off the site, as a spectacular twoand-a-half-minute promo is shortly to be released. Kites is directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Rakesh Roshan, and the buzz around Bollywood is that, among

CAPTION

other things, it will showcase Hrithik’s talent for hot romance. His sexy side is complimented by gorgeous Barbara Mori. “The two sizzle together. This is Hrithik’s most sensuous film to date,” claim sources close to the film. “The sizzling chemistry between Hrithik and Mori is way hotter than Hrithik’s and Aishwarya’s pairing in Dhoom.” The film also stars Kangana Ranaut and is set in Las Vegas. It is said to be a story of love that goes beyond barriers, boundaries and cultures on a thrilling journey filled with precious moments and unexpected betrayal. It is due for a lavish international release soon. So will Kites fly high? Let’s wait and see.

Isabel’s reputation in ruins

Katrina Kaif’s youngest sister Isabel is currently in the spotlight, as a sexually explicit video of a girl bearing an uncanny resemblance to her is doing the rounds of the net. Katrina has categorically denied that the girl is her little sister, and has said that their mother is understandably shocked and upset by the entire episode. She is even considering legal action as the allegations not just harm Isabel’s reputation, but at just 17, she’s also a minor. Rumours about the clip have been around for a while; it seems to have been shot with a camcorder in a hotel room and doesn’t show the face of the man, but the girl is clearly visible and apparently quite similar to Isabel. However, it can’t be conclusively proved that the girl is the clip is indeed Isabel, and it’s highly unlikely that she would allow herself to be filmed in such a compromising situation. The original young lady is currently studying acting in faraway New York and intends pursuing a career in the film industry, just like her big sister. Poor Isabel, let’s hope the whole sordid issue blows over.

What are Rekha and Rani saying to each other?

Send

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s Salman thinking as he shows off his new find Zarine Khan?

Is Piracy my destiny??

Sonia Gupta

Sonia wins one free ticket to My Name Is Khan

endorsement he has signed in over a year and a half. “This was the only endorsement that I wanted to sign before they ever came to me,” said Imran enthusiastically. “I think Aamir has been endorsing Coke for 10 years now, and ever since I was a kid, I used to watch his ads. I have always considered CocaCola synonymous with refreshment and happiness. I am sure everyone will find the new Coca-Cola communication extremely engaging,” he added. The new campaign will also feature Kalki Koechlin, the

Some other good ones

What bad luck! I failed with Ash-lookalike Sneha Ullal in Lucky, and again with Kat-lookalike Zarine in Veer. No more experiments for me.

Sunil Kumar

If I can’t hit it off with Katrina, then at least Zarine is the closest look alike. It didn’t work out with Sneha Ullal after Aishwarya, but I have got to be second time lucky.

Raj Saneja

KAREENA KAPOOR

IMRAN KHAN

RANBIR KAPOOR