2010-07 Sydney (1)

INDIAN LINK

PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Sheryl Dixit

CONTRIBUTORS

Mamta Sharma, Ritam Mitra, Preeti Jabbal, Darshak Mehta, Nima Menon, Shraddha Arjun, Usha Ramanujam Arvind, Chitra Sudarshan, Geeta Khurana, Madhuchanda Das, Kanishko Das, Thomas King, Shuba Narayanan, Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi, Farzana Shakir, Noel G deSouza, Guneeta Dhingra, Sunil Gautam

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Vivek Trivedi

02 9262 1766

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT

Priti Sharma

02 9279 2004

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Darren Monaghan

Indian Link is a fortnightly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, maybe reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the editor. Opinions carried in Indian Link are those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by Indian Link. All correspondence should be addressed to Indian Link

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Ph: 02 9279-2004 Fax: 02 9279-2005

Email: info@indianlink.com.au

Rejection, racism and rejuvenation

It was not the best of months for Australian soccer coach Pim Verbeek, former Prime Minister John Howard, and Kevin Rudd, also now the former Prime Minister of Australia. All three have faced rejection – not just from foreigners but also their fellow Australians.

Australia’s disappointing showing at the FIFA World Cup has been laid on the head of coach Pim Verbeek, the mercurial Dutchman who was brought in to replace Guus Hiddink, the coach under whose watch the Socceroos advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. This time the Australian national team failed to break into the final 16 and Verbeek’s tactics have drawn the ire of the public and the media. Predictably, his tenure and contract with the Socceroos is now over.

One person who was not even offered a contract was former Prime Minister John Howard when he raised his hand for the position of vice presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a humiliating defeat, the voting for Howard’s candidature which was meant to be a formality was contested by 6 votes to 3, the three supporters being the developed countries (Australia, New Zealand and England), while all the other countries rejected him. Howard, a well known cricket tragic was mysteriously drafted as Oceania’s candidate for ICC bypassing not only the entire board of Cricket Australia (including Chairman Jack Clarke), but also the boards

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

of the five Australian states. Howard even elbowed out the preferred New Zealand candidate Sir John Anderson, a move which surprised many. Now, while no explicit reason was given by the ICC for rejecting Howard, it is believed that his stance on racism in Zimbabwe and calling Sri Lankan Muralidharan a chucker were contributing factors to his rejection. While one can acknowledge Howard’s views on Zimbabwe, it is strange to note that as Prime Minister he made no progress on the apology to the Aboriginals on the issue of stolen children, nor did he once criticise Pauline Hanson for her strident views on Asians and migrants.

While one can wonder at the reasons for rejecting Howard internally at the ICC, the role of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) also needs to be looked at. BCCI’s views have an important bearing on ICC’s positions on many topics; the BCCI also has many of its members from the ruling Congress party. It is the very same party which is keen to source uranium from Australia and by having one of its most influential political leaders offside is perhaps not the best idea. That too, a political leader of the party which is open to selling

uranium to India. Perhaps, representatives from Cricket Australia can go knocking at 1 Race Course Road to further the cause?

But the knock on Kevin Rudd’s door that fateful Thursday took a number of people by surprise. The change in Australia’s top job was quick and brutal; and the change in leadership has now installed Julia Gillard in the top office. As speculation of an election looms, Gillard has started distancing herself from her predecessor’s policies which led to his political demise. This political expediency has surprised few, especially as Gillard along with Wayne Swan and Lindsay Tanner were named as the “kitchen cabinet” of Kevin Rudd, the gang of four which took most of the decisions. While Rudd has been rolled and Lindsay Tanner is leaving politics, the other two have now been elevated to the top two jobs in the country. As Julia Gillard continues to assert her credentials, her participation and acceptance of Rudd’s policies during his tenure challenges the notion of a guilt-free past. One suspects that over the next few weeks, all government decisions will be poll-driven as the Australian Labor Party attempts to rejuvenate itself under Julia Gillard. A fascinating past month and I suspect that we have interesting times ahead.

What’s On

Chinmaya Mission events

2-10 July Queensland tour by Br Gopalji. Program includes Children’s Camp (Rama Rules), Retreat for the ladies (Balancing Life), Workshop for Teenagers (Hero or Zero), Home Satsangs, Talks at Griffith University for Philosophy Students, Talks at the Theosophical Society

14-15 July Children’s holiday camp

Ayyappan Swami: Lord of Sabari Hills

Chinmaya Sannidhi Ashram, 38 Carrington Road, Castle Hill. Camp

Acharyas: Brni Sujata Chaitanya and Br Gopal Chaitanya.

16-17 July Youth mini residential camp

Face it! Make it! with Br Gopal Chaitanya, for 17 – 35 year age-group. Venue

Chinmaya Sannidhi Ashram.

25 July Guru Poornima Gratitude and Remembrance of Guru 10.00am to 11.30am at Chinmaya Sannidhi Ashram

30-31 July Ladies residential retreat The Gita Guide to Life with Br Gopal Chaitanya at Chinmaya Sannidhi Ashram. Details visit www.chinmaya.com.au or call 02 8850 7400

29 August The story of Swami Chinmayananda, the inspiration behind the Chinmaya Mission. 5pm onwards at Greenhalgh Theatre, UTS Ku-ring-gai, Linfield. For bookings and details contact Rahul on 0402 587 579

Durga Joola

11 July Sri Om Adi Sakthi Ashram

Inc. would organizes the Durga Joola program, involving Bhajans and Puja, Maha Aarthi followed by Prashad and Rahu Kaal Puja (lighting of 1008 lamps). Sponsorship for the lamps is $25. All proceeds will be utilised for basic needs for the children of our Ashram in India. Details sriomadisakthi@gmail.com, www.

sriomadisakthi.org

Intercultural dialogue: Towards a culture of peace

13-17 July International Volunteers for Peace is hosting a 5-day residential seminar Intercultural dialogue: Towards a culture of peace at the Katoomba YHA. In recognition of the United Nation’s ‘International Decade for a Culture of Peace’, the seminar will bring together delegates from 11 countries across Asia to discuss ways to advance sustainable peacebuilding initiatives across the Asia-Pacific. The seminar will focus on developing skills in peace-building, and aims to support peace educators and practitioners to continue and enhance their work. The event will be the first of its kind in Australia for International Volunteers for Peace and its worldwide parent organisation, Service Civil International. The seminar will include a number of sessions open to the public. In addition, there will be a photographic exhibition celebrating 90 years of Service Civil International and 21 years of International Volunteers for Peace showcasing the range of projects undertaken globally. This exhibition will be open to the public at the Katoomba YHA for the duration of the seminar.

Currently, IVP is looking for volunteers interested in getting involved or donating to support the costs of the seminar. If you are interested, please contact admin@ ivp.org.auor Wg.Commander V.C. Khosla Retd on 0451 208 131

Sakhi Sangam

25 July Sydney Sakhi Sangam will be held at the Croatian Club, 921 Punchbowl Rd (Cnr Canterbury Rd), Punchbowl.

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Vedanta Centre function

14 Aug Vedanata Centre of Sydney presents Arpanam, an evening of folk and devotional dances, in aid of its building fund. Venue Bahai Centre, 107 Derby St, Silverwater, 5.30pm for 6.00pm start. Details Laju Bhojwani 0414 363 752, Vedanta Centre 02 8197 7351.

Raja Yoga Meditation classes

Om Shanti Margaret Goodwin, on behalf of the Brahma Kumari Raja Yoga Centres in Australia, runs Raja Yoga Meditation classes on Tuesdays 6pm and 7pm. Venue Alpha Park Centre, Alpha St, Blacktown. (Next to the childcare centre, opposite Westpoint). Please call 8600 0150 to book. No charge for the classes, though voluntary donations ma be made to help with the costs to provide the classes.

Multi-lingual brochure on how to make contact with police interpreter easier

Eastwood Police and the City of Ryde have joined forces to produce a multilingual How to Contact the Police brochure that makes it easier for people to request an interpreter.

The brochure translated into in Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi and English was developed following requests from various multicultural and community groups in the area.

It sets out simple instructions on how to ask for an interpreter and what information needs to be relayed to the Police in relation to the most common reportable incidents:

 Crime in Progress, Life Threatening

and/or Emergency Situations

 Suspicious Activity

 Minor Crime or Non-Urgent Incidents

 Anonymous Information

Copies of the brochure will be included in the July Council rates notice. Copies are also available from City of Ryde Customer Service, Libraries, Eastwood Police Station and Ryde Police Station. You can also download a copy from www. ryde.nsw.gov.au/contactpolice

Upanishad classes

Weekends June and July SVT Vidyalaya resumes its Upanishad Course taught by Sri Vasudevacharya. Venue Darcy Road Public School, Darcy Road, Wentworthville. Details Kumar 0407 108 372 or Shobana 0422 732 907.

Multicultural Police Career Day

25 July The Police Recruitment Branch is holding their yearly Multicultural Police Career Day, from 10am - 3pm. The event will be held at the Fairfield PCYC, Railway Parade, Cabramatta. Details Alex Sentana, Multicultural Community Liaison Officer, Fairfield LAC, 02 9723 8311.

Ganesh Visarjan Festival

12 Sept Sri Venkateswara Temple

Helensburgh will celebrate Ganesh Visarjan with poojas, stalls, cultural programs, food and children’s activities, from 9.00am to 3.00pm. Procession with drumming and singing of Ganpathy Bappa Morya to Stanwell Park Beach and the final immersion will take place at 3pm. Details www.svtsydney.org

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New rulebook for community associations

In an effort to help over 35,000 non-profit community associations across the state to operate more effectively and manage their affairs easily, the NSW Fair Trading has introduced changes in the existing Associations Incorporations Act.

The new Associations Incorporation Act 2009 and Associations Incorporation Regulation 2010 will commence on 1 July 2010.

Most of these changes have been designed to modernise the law, reduce red tape and allow more flexibility for associations. Though there will now be stronger protection of association finances, most of the day-to-day procedures and operations of associations will not be directly impacted. Here are a few most important changes:

Replacing the associations ‘rules’ with a ‘constitution’

An association’s ‘rules’ will now be called its ‘constitution’. The existing ‘rules’ of an association will be taken to comply with the requirements of the new Act until the association chooses to lodge changes. Associations may choose to adopt their own constitution, though they will need to ensure that all aspects of the constitution comply with the new law.

More flexibility for meetings and resolutions

One of the most significant changes introduced is greater flexibility for meetings and resolutions. Now, an association’s constitution may provide for a postal ballot

to pass any kind of resolution or permit meetings at more than one venue using technology such as internet or telephone conference calls. This would help more members to be involved. Also, associations no longer need to hold an annual general meeting in each calendar year, but must still hold one within 6 months of the end of the financial year. The financial year now can be up to a maximum of 18 months.

Two-tiered financial reporting system

Associations are now divided into two tiers for reporting purposes. Larger or ‘Tier 1’ associations with gross annual receipts of more than $250,000, or current assets exceeding $500,000, will now need to have their annual accounts audited and lodge a copy with NSW Fair Trading, unless exempted. The requirements have not changed for small or ‘Tier 2’ associations who will only need to lodge an annual summary of their financial affairs.

Statutory duties on committee members

As per the new provisions, committee members and office bearers must disclose any potential conflict of interest; must not use their position or information for a dishonest purpose; and must hand over any documents of the association within 14 days after ceasing to hold office.

More choice for official address

The new Act allows the official address to be the

Vihangam Yoga leader makes a visit

Spiritual leader Sadguru Swatantradevji Maharaj visited Australia recently on his world mission to spread the message of Bramh Vidya and Vihangam Yoga.

His discourses on world peace and permanent happiness, to packed houses at the Parramatta Town Hall and the Liverpool City Library had the audiences spellbound.

The special event of 35 Havan Kund Yagna which Swamiji conducted, saw over 100 families members participate. The hour-long pre-havan chanting of Vedic mantras by Swamiji (accompanied by Santji), filled the atmosphere with divine blessings. The Havan that followed left all participants feeling calm and soothed.

A special demonstration of pranayam and meditation was also presented during Swamiji’s visit to educate the audiences. Practitioners claim that devoting ten minutes each morning and evening to the exercises prescribed, can result in varied physical and psychological benefits. For more details, visit www. vihangamyoga.com.au

Earlier, Swamiji was given a rousing welcome at Sydney Airport by a large number of devotees. A motorcade of cars followed him to his Canterbury residence, all cars bearing flags of the Om symbol, an icon indicating indivisible universe. Untl his first public event a week after his arrival, Swamiji was kept busy with visits to the homes of devotees in the Sydney region.

association’s premises, the public officer’s residence, or place of business or employment, but must still be in New South Wales. The previous address will still continue to be the official address of the association until notice of another address is lodged with Fair Trading.

No common seal required

Associations are no longer required to use a common seal to execute documents. Instead, they can have documents signed by two of their authorized signatories.

Australian residency

At least three committee members must reside in Australia and the public officer must be a resident of New South Wales.

Penalty notice system

Certain offences will be able to be dealt with by a ‘penalty notice’, a type of fine issued as an alternative option to having a matter dealt with in court.

Members of the public, including individuals, associations, peak bodies and others, have played a significant role in the development of the new laws

Greater transparency, modern and streamlined processes, financial stability and improved accountability, which the new legislation promises, will certainly make transition as smooth as possible for associations and help them support and serve their community better.

Letter to the Editor

On the Visa Capping Bill

United Indian Associations has continued to liaise with the Government ever since the Overseas Students’ issue first flared up. UIA had earlier raised concern about the new SOL for GSM wherein the Government had intentionally removed the popular trades like Chef, Hair Dresser and Welfare Worker despite their shortage. However, the “Visa Capping Bill” has triggered alarm bells in the community and UIA called for an immediate meeting with the government to discuss the proposed migration changes.

Subsequently, a meeting was held on 22 June 2010 at Canberra with Immigration Minister Hon Chris Evans, Parliamentary Secretary to Immigration Hon Laurie Ferguson, Hon. Julie Owens and UIA Executive Committee consisting of Mrs Aruna Chandrala, Dr Moninder Singh, Mr Amarinder Bajwa and Mr Immanuel Selvaraj. The impact of the proposed migration changes on the education industry was also discussed with the Chief Education Advisor of the Prime Minister Hon. Julia Gillard.

UIA took this opportunity to emphasise that the Government should:

• Review the Visa Capping Bill and prolong the consultation process for at least six months or more to fully understand the financial and social impact upon the Australian economy and the new Bill, if passed should not be applied retrospectively.

• Review the current visa approval process in Indian visa centres as a large number of visas are currently being rejected

• Make sufficient transitional arrangements for the students affected by the changes in SOL as:

a. To consider students working in their areas of specialisation for GSM applications rather than pushing them to apply through the ENS scheme

b. The duration of 885 Visa be increased from 18 months to 3 years

c. To reduce the salary threshold for ENS from $45,000 to $25,000

d. To consider those applications which do not come under the new SOL for GSM visas in regional/ rural Australia.

UIA’s concern that the salary threshold for ENS

was too high was also shared by Laurie Ferguson, as even the best students would not be able to meet the required income threshold in some trades. Sympathetic consideration for the students who are working in their chosen field but for diverse reasons might not have an employer nomination and extending the 885 visa duration to 3 years was also reiterated.

The Government is equally concerned about the long-standing scandal of significant fraud in visa applications, colleges and documentary material for meeting the eligibility requirements for PR ran too long hence the migration changes and tighter visa control is necessary.

The Government justifies the “Visa Capping Bill” by arguing that tax payers cannot afford to carry so many students unemployable in the jobs that Australia needs. We argue that the students had lodged their GSM application after meeting all legal requirements applicable at that time. Moreover, if GSM option was not available to them they might have secured state sponsorship or employer nomination. The fact is that many students are working in their field of specialisation after lodging GSM application so the Government must show sympathy with them.

The government has now released another Skill List for State Sponsorship and have included common trades like Chef, Hair Dresser and Welfare Worker in the list. These trades are already on the ENS list. With these measures the Government has given the clear signal that there will always be demand for those who acquire the right skills and make a sincere effort to meet the skill shortage where it is needed the most. So let’s accept this reality and make every effort to move in the right direction.

Every student (weather currently studying or on bridging visa after applying TR/PR under GSM) should make genuine effort to make career in their field of specialisation by using migration pathways under ENS and State Sponsorships.

UIA will continue to represent the voice of the community and lobby on behalf of the students to demand a fair and just Visa system.

Dr Moninder Singh UIA Secretary (secreatryuia@gmail.com)

Time: 7:00-8:30pm

Date: 20/07 ( Tuesday night )

Venue: Burwood RSL Club 96 Shaftesbury Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

BIRYANI AND PARANTHA WEEKENDS

…Beat the chill, come in for hot paranthas and biryani

VEGETARIAN PARATHAS

Poodina Paratha

Methi Paneer Paratha

Palak Paratha

Aloo Paratha

Methi aloo Paratha

Oriental style stir fry

paratha Mushroom and pea paratha

Stuffed vegetable and cheese Paratha

Paneer Paratha

Methi Paratha

Mooli Paratha

Gobi Paratha

Garlic stuffed mali

Paratha

Masala rajhama Paratha

Mattar Paratha

EXCLUSIVE FOR SOME

Nashe Ka Paratha

NON-VEGETARIAN PARATHAS

Keema Paratha

Chicken Paratha

Egg Paratha

DESSERT PARATHAS

Shakkar Paratha

Chinni Paratha

VEGETARIAN BIRYANI

Mixed vegetable

Kaju ki Biryani

Soya Nuggets-Mushroom

Egg Plant (Baingan)

Plus More

NON VEGATARIAN BIRYANI

Hydrabadi Mutton

Lucknowi Chicken

Kashmiri

Afgani Fish

All these and our normal menu, all weekend at

The Visa Capping issue Time to appeal

The Australian Government is close to passing the Visa Capping Bill which will change the lives of thousands of foreign students hoping to make this country a place of residence. It’s time to stand up and appeal.

To ensure that Australia is moving towards a demand driven system in terms of skilled migrants, the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 was introduced in Parliament recently. The Bill is currently with a Senate Committee, and if passed in its current form, may adversely affect nearly 147,000 General Skilled Migration applicants including a large number of international students (approximately 36,750).

The proposed bill will allow the minister to allocate a certain number of places to each occupation in the points test (such as accountant, cook or nurse); when that quota is met, he seeks to be able then to not just stop processing in that occupation for the rest of the program year but much worse, actually return those applications back to visa applicants. In other words an application will be simply axed, even if the applicant has been waiting a year, two years or three years for a decision. If the applicant is in Australia, their bridging visa will cease and they will have 28 days to pack up and leave. This is potentially going to affect many

thousands of people who have been waiting for residency. Students who have applied for permanent residency after graduating from Australian colleges and universities, feel that the new immigration changes will be unfair in more ways than one. The changes eat at the core of Australian fairness for all those people who have sacrificed so much in making sure they meet Australia’s requirements, lodged perfectly good applications, and then have had to wait patiently whilst their applications and lives have been put on hold for an inordinate amount of time. Members representing many different community organisations, as well as the general public from Indian and sub-continental heritage have come together and formed a team called “Friends of International Students” to lobby the government for change. The team has lodged a petition with the Federal Government seeking changes to the proposed amendments to the Migration Regulation Act 1994. If you also feel for the cause, then go to www. fairgo4internationalstudents.org and register your support.

We also urge all fair minded people to make contact with not only their local MP urgently but also other people of influence. Ask them to review this unfair visa capping bill. Names and contacts are provided below.

If you wish to petition these politicians, please urge them as follows:

“I believe that Australia is a fair country. While you reserve the right to make and change any immigration policy, please note the impact it can have on thousands of people. Visa capping is one such issue. It is unfair to reject existing applications which have been lodged without due process being followed. Visa capping is unfair and immoral. Please review and ensure that applicants are treated fairly. As your party says, give everyone a Fair Go.”

Name

Contact details

Julia Gillard Prime Minister

Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au

Suite MG 41

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Telephone:(02) 6277 7320

Electorate Office: Shop 2, 36 Synnot Street Werribee, VIC, 3030

PO Locked Bag 14

Werribee, VIC, 3030

Telephone : (03) 9742 5800

(03) 9741 6213

Wayne Swan

DeputyPrimeMinister, Treasurer

Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au

Suite MG 47

Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 (02) 6277 7340

Electorate Office: 1162 Sandgate Road Nundah, QLD, 4012

(07) 3266 8244

Your chance to have a business in India

Senator Chris Evans MinisterforImmigration senator.evans@aph.gov.au

PO Box 6022

Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone : (02) 6277 7860 (02) 6273 4144

Electorate Office: 51 Ord Street, West Perth WA 6005 Telephone (08) 9481 4844 (08) 9481 4244

Stephen Smith MP MinisterforForeign Affairs;DeputyLeaderof the House

Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au

Telephone: (02) 6277 7500

Fax: (02) 6273 4112

Electorate Office: 953A Beaufort Street Inglewood WA 6932

PO Box 901 Inglewood WA 6932

Tel: (08) 9272 3411

Fax: (08) 9272 3477

Laurie Ferguson

ParliamentarySecretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services

Laurie.Ferguson.MP@aph.gov.au

Parliament House PO Box 6022

Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600

Electorate Office: 3rd Floor, 10 Bridge Street Granville NSW 2142

Tel: (02) 9637 4713

Fax: (02) 9682 6320

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No Melbourne contract this time, but Indian player wins Hearts

Budding footballers in India are a rare treat, but Gouramangi Singh is set to blaze a trail of glory, writes

In the past month, football really has become the world game – the increased interest in football as a result of the FIFA World Cup has hit every part of the planet, and India is no exception. Trying to make a career out of football in India is no easy feat – however 24-year old defender Gouramangi Singh is doing just that: an aspiring young footballer about whom we will definitely hear more in the future.

Gouramangi recently toured Australia, trialling with the Melbourne Heart Football Club for two weeks. He was an instant hit with the head coach, John van’t Schip who said, “Gouramangi made a real impression on the coaching staff throughout his trial with the club, showing great spirit and character in the way he conducted himself”. He is the first non-striker to have been offered a trial to prove their worth outside the subcontinent, but unfortunately circumstances prevented him from joining the club formally and creating a little piece of India-Australia football history.

However as his agent Lyndon Miranda put it, “He’s still young, just 24. They already have defenders who have played for clubs such as Manchester City. He’d only be on the bench, so it makes more sense for him to train with India.” In fact, Gouramangi would have had to compete for game time with players like former Socceroos stars Michael Beauchamp and Simon Colosimo; it was a mutually beneficial result for Gouramangi to train with India instead, ahead of the Asia Cup next year.

Still, Gouramangi ‘s dedication in Melbourne earned him a starting berth against Brisbane Roar, playing the full 90 minutes.

Last week Gouramangi did indeed join the Indian national team in Portugal, where they are currently training hard for the 2011 Asia Cup (where, ironically enough, they will face Australia in the group stages!). He has already been an instrumental part of the Indian side in the team’s victories in both the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup featuring

RITAM MITRA

Gouramangi’s achievements on both the international and club stages are numerous, but his story has somewhat humble roots: it really is a fairy tale for him. He started playing football when he was very young, coming from the north-eastern state of Manipur, where all the children played the sport at school. He reminisces, “I saw the senior boys playing on the field, it inspired me to go play after school…From then on, I grew up and got more interested to get into this game”. In his tenth year of school he was offered a spot at the Tata Football Academy, and ever since, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. A few years on, he has won nearly every club trophy in India, including the 2008-09 I-League (the top tier football competition in India) with his club Churchill Brothers, as well as being named ‘best defender’ in the League for the same season.

Although fame is knocking on his door, Gouramangi is still very much a modest celebrity, crediting his family and friends with shaping the person he is today. “In terms of my footballing career there are lots of people from various sections of life who have played their part in shaping me up to be what I am here and now,” he says. And truly, Gouramangi has blossomed under some highly-respected coaches, like Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine.

Van’t Schip suggests that perhaps the most impressive part of Gouramangi is his age – while he is one of the tallest members of the side at 6’1 and a calming influence in the back line, at just 24 years young, he already has over 6 years of international experience, including a successful run as the captain of the winning Under-18 Indian side at the Ian Rush Trophy in 2003.

In a sport like football, the respect of teammates is arguably a bit more crucial than other more “selfish” sports, and as one would expect for such a prodigious and humble talent, his teammates are gushing with praise for him. Indian forward

“Gouramangi made a real impression on the coaching staff throughout his trial with the club, showing great spirit and character in the way he conducted himself”

Melbourne Heart Football Club head coach, John van’t Schip

team over the last few years. He keeps the defence intact…If you check his record in the national team, you will find that India has not conceded many goals when he has played.”

His commitment to the sport is unquestionable, and Gouramangi knows he has a lot more potential. In terms of the future, he looks forward to the Asia Cup and performing well with the national team, as well as securing a contract in a higherstandard league. “I’m still learning, so I think I can still improve a lot both physically and mentally, while continuing to study more and more about the game.”

If he had not been so talented at football, Gouramangi says he would have definitely completed full time college and university. But we can be very thankful that he has been given such talent – it heralds an exciting period for Indian football. It will be a hard choice for some to decide where their loyalties lie, come January 10, 2011, when India and Australia face off in the first of their group matches of the Asia Cup in Qatar. But if there’s one thing that’s certain – it’s that Gouramangi Singh will be there, giving his all and sharing his talent with the world.

Singh with Melbourne Heart coaches

“Calcutta changed

A debut feature film reveals the innermost emotions of its protagonists against a changing setting

BY SHIVANGI AMBANI-GANDHI

“You’d never survive a day in the slums of Calcutta.” This rather random taunt from their mother sent Sydney director Claire McCarthy and her younger sister to the streets of Calcutta in 2003. And it was here that the first ideas for her debut feature film, The Waiting City, germinated.

The city is not only the primary location of the film – making it the first Aussie feature shot entirely in India – but also plays a major role driving and transforming the lives of the two protagonists. An Australian couple, Ben (Joel Edgerton) and Fiona (Radha Mitchell), arrive in Calcutta to collect their adopted baby. Delays with the adoption agency

mean that they must wait there for days and succumb to the chaos and magic of the city which drives them to confront deeply buried differences as well as their core beliefs.

The ways in which the city transforms the couple is quite close to McCarthy’s own experience. “Calcutta opened my eyes to a lot of things, partially also because of the volunteer work we did with Mother Teresa’s sisters,” she recollects. “That experience cracks you open. You meet people you would never otherwise meet and see things you would never otherwise see. Calcutta changed my world.”

During that first visit, McCarthy made a documentary film about her and her sister’s experience with the Missionaries of Charity sisters and the way in which the experience transformed them. “There were so many contradictions in the work we were doing. There was always a great paradox – with great sadness and poverty, there was also great beauty. We saw life and death so openly,”

she says.

During this time, McCarthy also became privy to the highly emotional process of adoption and started interviewing couples who had adopted children. “I started to collate those interviews and find threads in those stories. This film is an intersection between truth and fiction,” she reveals. To maintain what McCarthy calls the “poetic realism” of the film, she used many non-actors as well as real locations. The film starts off in the generic looking airport and a five star hotel. However, as Fiona and Ben travel around the city and to its rural outskirts to understand the place from which Lakshmi, their adopted daughter hails, the drama and chaos of the city unfolds. “Claire is just so ballsy to even have the idea to come to Calcutta and shoot in the train station, and shoot in the street, take over the airport,” Radha Mitchell says in an interview for the production notes. In McCarthy’s hands, Calcutta is no mere exotic locale to tell an emotional tale on overdrive mode.

Delays with the adoption agency mean that they must wait there for days and succumb to the chaos and magic of the city which drives them to confront deeply buried differences as well as their core beliefs

my world”

in one of India’s most prolific cities

Rather, the complex character of Calcutta itself unfolds through its people, its festivals and the music.

Krishna (Samrat Chakrabarti) who acts as a guide to the couple, often unexpectedly throws up very different points of view, especially about motherhood, barren women and adoption, really galvanising Fiona to think about her own life and choices. The Durga Puja – the chaotic street processions and immersion rituals, as well as the potent imagery of the goddess herself all push Fiona to question her atheism.

The high-flying lawyer, who has driven her life by her own choices suddenly finds herself losing control, and in one scene surrenders inexplicably in front of Durga. “I was lucky enough to see a Durga Puja and was interested in the devotion that goes into the making of the Durga. It was an interesting context to push the buttons and to raise the questions in her life that had remained unanswered,” says McCarthy. “For Fiona, there’s

an opening; a sense of acceptance and surrender to things she was always trying to control.”

Meanwhile, it is the local music that plays a crucial part in Ben’s transformation. Ben is a onetime musician, suffering from a creative block and working as a music producer, engineering other people’s music rather than creating his own. In Calcutta he discovers local music, which revitalises his own creative spirit. Perhaps it is this portrait of Calcutta through its musical diversity – from Tagore’s melodious songs, to the powerful voices of the Bauls, and the pulsating sounds of young local bands – that really makes The Waiting City an incredible film to watch.

It is due to McCarthy’s integrity in using real locations, local music, earthy costumes and even a local crew, that gives this film the authenticity that is lacking in many other western films about India. She easily admits her dependence on the local crew, particularly. “The logistics of filming on location in

Perhaps it is this portrait of Calcutta through its musical diversity – from Tagore’s melodious songs, to the powerful voices of the Bauls, and the pulsating sounds of young local bands – that really makes The Waiting City an incredible film to watch

technical crew. There were some very senior crew from India who had a lot of experience. I mean you guys (India) made close to two thousand films last year, while we (Australia) made about 40! So I knew we were in good hands,” she says.

“There is this culture of filmmaking which is really a part of India already, so everybody’s very experienced,” says Radha Mitchell. “What I was really impressed by, especially with the Indian crew, was that they could just change hats, and somebody who’s an actor could also be an AD, could also help in wardrobe, everybody could do everything.”

“I love the people, I love how interested and

Argy bargy - no Haanji, Haanji

BY DARSHAK MEHTA

There has been an outpouring of indignation in Australia at the perceived snub to former Prime Minister John Howard in his effort to be elected as the Vice President of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

As is usual, if anything happens in the ICC which is not to Australia’s liking, India is bucketed in the Australian media. In this instance, India was accused of sabotaging Howard’s election - which Australia expected to be a mere formality.

And, in India, the commentary has been far from deferential or objective – to the extent of labelling Howard a racist etc.

What is lost sight of in all this is: the six countries who opposed Howard’s nomination did him a grave disservice by refusing to even let him address them and, worse, have still not communicated why they opposed his nomination?

Good manners would have called for at least a patient hearing being afforded to the man and it would have been constructive and enlightening if the real reason(s) for opposing Howard had been spelt out.

Let it not be forgotten that it was the turn of Australasia to nominate a Vice-President, who, two years on, would slot in as President of the ICC. The others on the ICC were expected to endorse the choice, once Australia and New Zealand presented their candidate.

That this was “welshed” on by the secret 7 (six opponents plus the sly orchestrator, Zimbabwe, who abstained) is a regrettable occurrence.

However, not a lot of journalists have addressed one fundamental question: Why, of all people, was John Howard drafted to be the Australasian candidate?

Why not anyone from the Australian or New Zealand cricket establishment? Why not a senior Cricket Australia (CA) Director?

Of course, the ICC is the ultimate boys’ club and a closed shop. Entry into the rarefied Board is reserved only for the elite – Chairman or Presidents of national cricket boards.

It appears that even at the last minute, BCCI President Shashank Manohar told CA Chairman Jack Clarke that India was prepared to vote for Clarke or Alan Isaac - the Chairman of Cricket New Zealand, but not for Howard

These “boys” did not want Howard. Maybe, they took offence at the suggestion that Howard was being sent as a “counter-balance” to India or to “clean up” the ICC.

Maybe, the message they were sending Australia and New Zealand was: nominate one of “our” own – do not go outside of the cricket administration of your country to inject an “external” candidate (such as Howard), who has no prior experience of the ICC or indeed cricket administration at the local, state or national level in your country.

Incidentally, it could be argued that it was New Zealand’s turn to nominate its man as Australia has already had its candidate head the ICC in the recent past (Malcolm Gray from 2000 to 2003), unlike New Zealand.

Sir John Anderson of New Zealand would have made an outstanding ICC President and is a highly respected businessman and administrator who has been involved in cricketing affairs for a long time.

But that was not to be. Australia “prevailed” upon (bullied?) its small neighbour to let it nominate Howard - after a process which involved arbitration.

Everyone says that it was India which was

responsible for Howard’s end. But, this is just speculation. On the face of it, India has merely one vote and the BCCI has a very close relationship with Cricket Australia.

So, what happened?

In the absence of any hard facts, this is merely conjecture: Zimbabwe were definitely the prime opponent of Howard as a pay-back for his strong and justified stand in the past against Mugabe the scourge and despot.

South Africa usually hold Zimbabwe’s proxy, so, they did what Zimbabwe presumably desired and besides, surely they would have remembered that Howard was not their greatest supporter during the apartheid era.

It could be argued that Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic countries who may have viewed Howard as a war-monger for having actively colluded with President Bush and sending Australian troops to the Islamic lands of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We know all of Sri Lanka was upset when Howard labelled their national treasure, Muralidharan, a chucker, so, they certainly weren’t going to welcome him enthusiastically into this boys club.

West Indies went along with their black and brown brothers – the majority and where the big money was going.

We then come to India. It appears that even at the last minute, BCCI President Shashank Manohar told CA Chairman Jack Clarke that India was prepared to vote for Clarke or Alan Isaac - the Chairman of Cricket New Zealand, but not for Howard.

This was unacceptable to CA.

My theory is that India were prevailed upon by the likes of Zimbabwe and South Africa (who, in the past, have strongly supported India in the ICC Committee room), to oppose the nomination of Howard.

Old IOUs were encashed. It could be as simple as that.

This despite the fact that incoming ICC President Sharad Pawar, had, about a month ago, urged the 10 voting members to honour the ICC’s new rotation policy for selecting the next President, and predicted

that this would be ‘’unanimously supported’’.

Mr Pawar had committed not only to support the process but support the candidature of Mr Howard.

The fact that his own Board did not do so should be troubling for Pawar and signifies that his influence could be rapidly waning.

Under the circumstances, Cricket Australia are bound to feel betrayed and frustrated that their candidate, who they could have reasonably expected to be “rubber stamped” was instead, summarily and insultingly rejected and they had no prior inkling of it from their great ally, the BCCI.

The lesson that Australia needs to learn from all this is that it needs to be more respectful of the sentiments of the majority of the ICC and nominate a person who is non-controversial and universally acceptable.

It is not as if Australia and England are running the show as they did until 1992 with a veto et al.

The big elephant in the room contributes almost 80% of the revenues of the ICC and as they say, “he who pays the piper, calls the tune”.

Mark Taylor who is a Director of Cricket NSW as well as Cricket Australia has this job written all over him and it is his to be refused.

Allan Border too could do it well – not to mention, the redoubtable Steve Waugh.

However, these worthies would have to forego lucrative commercial or broadcasting careers and spend more time away from their families and I am not sure that they reckon the headaches and politics of the ICC would justify their sacrifice.

Post Script: It is sad that John Howard made a trip to South Africa to seek the support of Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the President of Cricket South Africa. He was reportedly snubbed – Dr Nyoka chose to go to a World Cup Football game, instead.

Howard also went to Harare to meet Peter Chingoka, the controversial boss of Zimbabwean Cricket.

There is a thin line between extending an olive branch and compromising your self respect!

It’s an instance of cricketing politics at its peak, as the ICC rejects John Howard’s nomination for Vice President

Air India returns to Aussie skies

BY MAMTA SHARMA

Thirteen years after it discontinued its services to Australia in 1997, India’s official airline Air India has announced the “relaunch” of its daily direct flights between New Delhi to Melbourne on November 1 with B-777 aircraft.

While the airline deal is seen as a significant move to further strengthen trade and cultural ties between the two countries, this announcement has taken the community and travel trade professionals by surprise.

Under the deal, the airline will establish its regional headquarters in Melbourne, creating up to 78 jobs. There was a strong bidding war for Air India’s business between New South Wales and Victoria, however it is believed that the incentive packages offered by Victoria were extremely attractive and a visiting delegation led by Air India Chairman had no hesitation in accepting Victoria’s offer. It is believed that among other incentives, the Victorian government will contribute to the cost of an advertising campaign in India.

Melbourne airport has no curfews unlike Sydney, and will allow maximum aircraft utilisation meaning it will not be stuck on the ground and will allow overnight flying. The Melbourne government also owns the airport, unlike Sydney airport which is in private hands and so was able to throw

in landing right concessions and other subsidies, according to industry sources which helped Victoria to pick up this prestigious contract.

According to Carl Jones, Melbourne Tullamarine airport’s airline business manager, the number of people travelling between Melbourne and India grew by nearly 20% last year, well ahead of the overall Australian growth rate. “Air India, by choosing Melbourne as their base, has seized this market opportunity. The Indian community in Victoria represents around 57,000 people, helping fuel the growth [from India] of those visiting their friends and relatives in Victoria,” he said. The deal aims to see up to 123,000 new tourist and business arrivals from India to Victoria each year. However, it would be interesting to note that according to sources a large percentage of the increased number of visitors in the past year comprised parents of students who had come to visit them in the wake of the recent alleged racist attacks on Indians in Melbourne. The numbers seems to be too

ambitious with an expected decreased inflow from India to Melbourne in the wake of the recent alleged racial attacks on Indians in Melbourne and the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 introduced into the Parliament recently, which if passed will adversely affect the number of Indians travelling to Australia.

However, with just five months to go, there is no travelling schedule in place and the airline is yet to get an office in Melbourne. Sources say the airline first needs to go for registration at Canberra, which is yet to happen. Besides, there is lot to do in terms of work at the airport for the service and the crew. With daily direct flights, Air India in its B-777 aircrafts would need to fill in approximately 3,000 seats per week, an extremely challenging task. Even a large international carrier like Etihad has flights scheduled only three times a week.

But for the Indian Australians it will be a pleasure to welcome back the smiling Maharaja to these skies.

Victoria Uni to offer courses in Gujarat

A high level delegation of Victoria University visited Gujarat recently and offered to help the state’s efforts in higher education.

Affirming the commitment of Australian universities to ongoing partnership and collaboration with the universities of India, Victoria University has signed an agreement with Ganpat University in Gujarat to jointly offer a range of courses from September this year.

The agreement was signed on July 2, 2010 by Victoria University (VU) Chancellor George Pappas and Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Harman, who earlier called on Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar and offered to partner and assist Gujarat’s efforts in higher education.

“In the first stage of the partnership, VU would offer the first year of masters courses

in computer science and business and an MBA at the Ahmedabad campus of Ganpat University from September 2010. Students will complete their courses at Victoria University in Melbourne,” said VU VicePresident International Andrew Holloway.

Later stages would involve diploma and bachelor programs including joint degrees with Ganpat University, he added.

A large number of students from Gujarat pursue university education in Australian universities. Mr Holloway estimates that about 1000 students will enroll in a range of VU programs in Ahmedabad by the end of 2011.

The Gujarat State Government has also invited Victoria University to establish a vocational training institute with funding support from the state. According to Mr Holloway there is

strong demand for postgraduate courses in business and computer science in India and VU is well placed to provide these. “This is the first stage of our plans for further collaboration with Ganpat University. We are discussing a range of further options, including development of a VU-badged campus to be operated by Ganpat University in the state’s largest city, Ahmedabad,” he said, adding that there is also interest in establishing pathways to VU undergraduate and postgraduate programs in engineering, computer science and management.

The Victoria University delegation to Gujarat also evinced interest in training and upgrading professional skills in technical education, keeping in tune with the fast changing global requirements, a release from the Gujarat government said. Victoria

University has offered $50,000 scholarship for brilliant and needy students of the state, it added.

The delegation also agreed to the Gujarat Chief Minister’s suggestion to conduct a detailed research in Gujarat’s success story in people’s participation in rehabilitation of the quake-hit in Kutch, and study the Gujarat Government’s unique disaster management policy, ordinance and setting up of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) in all its perspectives.

The Victoria varsity has expertise in specialized subjects like tourism, marine engineering, shipbuilding, environment technology, sports management and infrastructure, besides short-term technical up-gradation courses.

Mamta Sharma

Air India has announced the launch of its daily direct flights between New Delhi to Melbourne from November, but it seems there is a long way to go.

Call

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Interest Rates- are there any more rate rises to come?

By Navjeet Singh Matta, Full Accredited Member of Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia also Director- Gain Home Loans

Hello Friends,

It will be the second month in a row when the Reserve Bank is not expected to raise the official cash rate which is currently sitting at 4.50%. As we all know that there were six interest rate rises on the row in the last few months and everybody started asking the question, how high will they go. In June 2010, people were relieved to learn that the Reserve Bank did not rise the rates however they were of the opinion that it was a one-off instance and there will be more rate rises. At the time of writing this article, I can tell you that the chances of a rate rise on the 6th of July are very minimal, so we will all be spared of a seventh rate rise in the last one year or so. There are various reasons why I think that, first and foremost the global economy, last few days have not been very good for the stock exchanges all over the world, we know that the economies have not recovered fully including European countries like Greece, Spain, etc where there are massive problems in regards to employment and budget deficits, the governments there are taking the best measures to avoid another financial disaster which we all witnessed in 2008. Although, the Australian economy has not performed as bad, it is still dependent on the global performances, after all Australia exports a lot of resources and raw materials to these countries and if there is no demand from these countries, we cannot perform too well. We are not living in isolation and the whole world is inter-dependent. Coming back to the main issue, when the Reserve Bank board sits on 6th of July to decide

whether to raise rates or not, they will closely follow the information coming from these countries. Another indication has been the fixed rates, most of the major banks have cut their fixed rates, please contact me if you need more information. One of the senior economists is even predicting that there is a chance of a rate cut, who knows?

Let’s wait and watch!

Facts about Stamp Duty Exemptions and First Home Benefits in NSW

In the last few weeks, I have received lot of phone calls and emails in regards to the

recent NSW government announcements where new Stamp Duty exemptions were announced, most of the people do not have a very clear idea as to what they are, let me clartify most of the facts about the exemptions and benefits, after reading this, if you still have any doubts, please feel free to contact me on 02 96763417or 0412 452 429

(1) Zero Stamp Duty- Only applicable on off-the-plan purchases of new house or units up to $600K. The property should be at a pre-construction stage, this could save an investor or a home buyer an amount of $22,490. In addition to this, first home buyers will also receive $7,000 government grant.

(2) First Home Buyers- They can still buy an established property worth up to $500K and will get the full stamp duty exemption plus the $7,000 government grant. Between $500K and $600K the stamp duty is charged but at a discounted rate. There has been no announcement about the end date for this benefit.

(3) Benefits for over 65’s- This benefit is designed for people who are over 65 and want to downsize from a bigger home to a smaller on however the condition is that the house they intend to buy should be a newly-constructed one.

You will realize that these initiatives have been devised to pump some movement in the economy and generate more employment, which will eventually help keep away from recession. This will also help people who want to get in the property market as an investor. We have any of

you are interested to get there; we can help you achieve the dream. We can help you not only find the right home loan but also properties which can assist you become financially free in the long term. Contact us for more information.

Don’t miss out on your Free Property Report

We have now made it much easier to access your Free RP Data property report. All you have to do is to visit our web site on www. gainhomeloans.com.au click and fill the “free property report” form and a free report will be e-mailed to you in 24 hours.

Through this article, I want to thank all those people who sent me e-mails and also called me to discuss their situation. Please keep on calling me and sending me e-mails not only to get your free property report but also advice on which home loan suits you. We don’t charge any fee as we get paid by the lender. In return you get the best deal as per your situation and the product which can make you debt free sooner!

Contact us at GAIN HOME LOANS ,Lvl 1, 15 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown, visit our Website or call us 7 days a week on 02 96763417. Our services are absolutely Free! Take Care.

Pooran phoenix to rise again

He died in Victoria 63 years ago. Pooran Singh’s last wish, that his ashes be returned to India, will finally be fulfilled now

Literally out of the ashes comes a touching story about Pooran Singh, a hawker from Punjab who died in Warrnambool, Victoria 63 years ago. His last wish, that his mortal remains be returned to India to be immersed in the Ganges, looks like it will finally be fulfilled.

The family of Alice Guyett-Wood (owners of Guyett’s Funerals in Warrnambool) has preserved the ashes of Pooran Singh for 63 years – in deference to his wishes that his ashes be returned to Punjab.

Manpreet K Singh, Executive Producer of SBS Punjabi program went to Warrnambool to pursue this amazing story and spoke to Indian Link about her experience.

“I found out about Pooran Singh through Victorian researchers Len Kenna and Crystal Jordan, who found a hand-written note that mentioned his ashes,” said Manpreet. “Len and Crystal have 30 years of research between them, locating history, traces, anecdotes and memorials of Indian hawkers around Victoria. They first discovered the existence of Pooran Singh’s ashes in Warrnambool, which was followed through by SBS Radio’s Punjabi program,” she said.

According to Manpreet, Pooran Singh left Bilga in Punjab as a 30-year-old, landing on Australian shores in 1899. Like many other Punjabis at that time, he worked as a hawker, selling goods laden in his camel or horse-cart, travelling from one country town to the other. Typically, he had left his family behind in Punjab and spent the remaining 47 years of his life in county Victoria. He died on June 8, 1947 at Warrnambool & District Base Hospital,

Victoria, aged 77 years.

The family of Alice Guyett-Wood has preserved Pooran Singh’s last remains even though no one has ever come to collect his ashes for that final journey to Punjab, and they have even been accorded the pride of place at the Warrnambool cemetery.

Speaking to SBS Radio’s Punjabi program, Alice Guyett-Wood recalls that just before her father Jack Guyett died in 1986 he told her, “We should have done something about Pooran’s ashes. We should have sent them to India ...”

There is no written instruction to convey this wish, but it has been passed down generations of the Guyetts family.

When asked why they have still kept the ashes even after six decades, Alice simply says, “We didn’t have the authority to dispose them off, so we just held them. In fact, I had thought that we may even go to India one day and fulfil Pooran’s last wish.”

Pooran’s funeral was arranged by Guyetts Funerals, and perhaps Alice’s grandfather presided over the service in Warrnambool. Pooran had left instructions that he desired to be cremated, not buried; therefore, his body was sent to Melbourne by train to the only crematorium at that time, which was in the eastern suburb of Springvale.

Records at Guyett’s Funerals show that he was cremated on June 10, 1947 at 11.45am. Interestingly, the records state his religion as ‘Hindoo’ – (typically in British fashion, all from the sub-continent then were referred to as ‘hindoo’) - and that an amount of just over £53 was paid for the funeral service, which would have been roughly six month’s salary for an average hawker in those days. It must be

noted that cremations were very rare back then; Pooran’s cremation seems to be the only one recorded in the year 1947 in Warrnambool.

The copy of Pooran Singh’s will shows that he had grown to be quite a wealthy man. When he died his assets amounted to £2376.04, clearly a result of many years of diligent saving. The money was distributed according to Pooran’s wishes by the executors of his will, with some money going to local residents John and Veronica Moore of Warrnambool, who presumably took care of him in the last stages of his life. He also left £50 to the Warrnambool hospital. Nearly £1,500 was sent to Punjab, with £360 apiece for each of his four nephews Gurbachan Singh, Chanan Singh, Milka Singh and Kartar Singh. The will names them as the sons of Sultani Ram (of Uppal Bhupa, Bilga), who was Pooran’s brother.

Following Manpreet’s story Pooran Singh’s kin has been traced by reporters in India. The families of Pooran Singh’s brother now live in Uppal Bhupa village in the Nurmahal area of Jalandhar district. While none of the nephews are alive today, the families of two nephews, Gurbachan and Kartar, are still settled in Uppal Bhupa according to a report in Hindustan Times. Pooran Singh’s land in the village was also distributed among his nephews. The main gate of their ancestral house is still inscribed with the words: ‘Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram (brother) of Australia’.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Naseeb Kaur, wife of Amar Singh, recalled: “We received a telegram from Australia in 1947 informing of the death. As we could not afford to travel to Australia, a ‘bhog’ ceremony was organised in the village.”

“Money sent by Pooran Singh was received later, which was used to build this house, apart from installing a tubewell in the fields,” she added. The

“Incidents of violent attacks against Indians in Australia may have saturated the media in recent times, but history holds a very different story, perfectly embodied in the case of Pooran Singh”

Manpreet Singh

remaining amount was taken away by Channan Singh. His family is settled in UK and has been in touch with Manpreet recently. They are keen to be present when the ashes leave Melbourne on its final journey to India.

“After 63 years, I think it’s about time the ashes were returned,” said Alice Guyett-Wood in her interview with Manpreet on SBS Radio.

In her column for Hindustan Times and Sikh Chic Manpreet writes: ‘This Australian family has respected the last wishes of a Sikh-Aussie hawker who they didn’t even know personally. It is clear that Pooran is an integral part of their family history. Incredibly, even the trustees of the Warrnambool cemetery have extended this respect to Pooran Singh, who they regard “as their own”. In the late 1980s, they decided to commemorate Pooran’s presence in Warrnambool by installing a plaque at a memorial wall at the cemetery - his ashes are safely placed in a niche behind it. And when Alice brought up the possibility that the ashes may soon be returned to Punjab, the trustees reportedly said, ‘We’ll send the ashes back, but we’ll still keep the plaque on the niche wall, because Pooran was here!’”

“I have had overwhelming feedback on this story,” claims Manpreet. “World renowned cricketer Kapil Dev has confirmed that he will come to Melbourne and take Pooran Singh’s ashes home. Many of my listeners have offered to do the same. One of the descendants of Pooran Singh has also contacted us from UK, and phone calls and emails are pouring in from everywhere. I also spoke to Ben Whitham a World War II veteran who remembers Pooran Singh. Ben’s childhood memories of the shy, yet enterprising hawker have added interesting bits to this historical jigsaw. I have also been contacted by the Minister of Multicultural Affairs

here in Melbourne, in relation to this story. I am hoping that the final homecoming of the ashes will be sorted out soon. It would be wonderful that the journey of Pooran Singh, one that he started in Punjab in the 19th century and continued in Australia in the 20th century, reaches its culmination in Punjab in the 21st century!” she added.

“I am grateful that this story has generated so much interest and I have Len to thank for initiating the process,” said Manpreet. Historian, author, playwright and public speaker Len Kenna is the author of the book, Are Indians an Ethnic Minority? Vol. 1 - Discovering Victoria, illustrated by Crystal Jordan (2008). He also penned the Indian play It Happened in Heywood about a young Sikh hawker who died in Heywood Victoria, at the beginning of the twentieth century. His main interest is researching and documenting the contributions that non-British people have made to the development of Australia.

“Both Len and me feel incidents of violent attacks against Indians in Australia may have saturated the media in recent times, but history holds a very different story, perfectly embodied in the case of Pooran Singh,” said Manpreet.

It will be a matter of time before Pooran Singh’s wishes will finally come true and his ashes will be immersed in the Ganges but this wonderful story and the memory of an Indian hawker and an Australian family’s generosity will remain with us forever.

More details of this story and interviews with Kapil Dev, Len Kenna and Alice Guyett-Wood can be found on www. sbs.com.au/punjabi

Compiled by Preeti Jabbal Photos courtesy Manpreet Singh, SBS Radio

(Left) Victorian reasearcher Len Kenna at the memorial wall

(Above) Pooran Singh’s plaque

(Right) Cremation record

Alice and Brian Guyett-Wood of Guyett’s Funerals in Warrnambool

Doctors and engineers, or sportsmen and film-makers?

A community play about parental expectations

BY NIMA MENON

It was a simple story with a strong message – a message of dreams, aspirations, acceptance, rejection, relationships and the ever consuming ego.

The bilingual play Jeevitham: Oru Thodarkatha (Life: A continuous story) staged in late June at the Castle Hill High School auditorium, was based on irrational parental aspirations, the ugly head of which is sometimes raised in families within our community. Deftly and quite beautifully told by a bunch of talented actors, the story revolved around two families, one Tamil (Sarangan’s) and one Malayalee (Abhirami’s). The play begins with the school annual day celebrations at Abhirami’s school where her group wins the first prize in the dance competition. Abhirami’s parents are elated and excited; she is a young girl with many talents and does well in academics too. The scene then pans to Sarangan’s home, where he comes in with a prize for his batting skills, his reward – a bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar. His proud parents display the bat in their lounge room, but are completely put off when their son fails to get top marks in academics. They refuse to listen to any reason from his teachers, and are adamant that becoming a doctor or engineer is the way ahead and cricket can never get the importance that studies get. They bar him from playing cricket, thus crushing the dreams of an aspiring cricketer under the weight of their own aspirations. All through the play Sarangan’s

parents are forever nagging him about studying 24x7, more worried about their image in society and among friends than their son’s own dreams. Sarangan grows up into a fun-loving young man whose interest is now in movies and who is entering the glamour world as a director. His parents’ attitude continues to be the same. He is compelled to lie to parents about his marks and his other escapades which ultimately lead to him being thrown out of his home by his father.

Abhirami on the other hand has understanding parents, who trust her and applaud her for her achievements. Abhirami builds a friendship with Sarangan, becomes his muse, leads him to his goal and helps him realise his dream. Sarangan’s dispute with his father continues when he refuses to marry the girl chosen by him. It takes a terrorist attack and the fear of having lost his son for the father to realise his heavy handedness and his total lack of understanding. The last scene of the play is a happy one with a family reunion and the parents consenting to Sarangan’s and Abhirami’s wedding.

The serious plot of the play is interlaced with humour, in the form of Abhirami’s grandmother – the mother-in-law- daughter-in-law banter between the mother and grandmother were absolutely hilarious. Then there was Abhirami’s Dubai-returned cousin vying for her attention, desperate to marry her. He joins forces with his friend who is in love with the maid. Their antics and histrionics had the audience in splits of laughter.

The play was held as a means of raising funds for ‘Jyothis’, a school for children with cerebral palsy and other childhood disabilities. It is a non-government school in Kottayam, Kerala. Run solely by philanthropic

volunteers and through local support, this school supports over 60 students, giving them hope and the necessary training and education to make their life less cumbersome.

The auditorium at Castle Hill High School had likeminded people - lovers of quality drama with a desire to help the under privileged - get together to enjoy the night. For the first time two different communities came together to entertain and raise funds for needy kids in India. Kudos to this group of talented actors from Sydney Nataka Priya for supporting a noble cause through the medium of art.

Every member of the team from the child artists to the crew behind the stage did an excellent job. The lighting, the stage management and the props were very professionally managed. The change of scenes was quick, thus keeping the tempo of the play charged. The whole team worked in perfect unison and harmony that one act flowed into another, keeping the interest of the audience alive.

It was interesting to note that every single prop and painting was hand crafted by the members of the team and this speaks volumes about their talents. At the end of the show N.K.Srinivasan, the director, scriptwriter and one of the actors made it a point to commend the contribution of every single member. Their respect for each other’s contribution and camaraderie was evident in the way they acknowledged each other and this spoke volumes about the commitment of the group.

In a society where you see disharmony within families, it was a pleasure to see two different communities come together to serve humanity in such a unique way. Being amongst them was an absolute pleasure.

Lilting ghazals warm up a cool winter evening

PUNEET

GULATI

on Avijit and Rachana’s annual Shaam-e-Ghazal concert

It was that time of the year again, when the shama lights up the mehfil… and the ghazals warm it up.

A packed hall of spellbound ghazal listeners were testimony to the excellence in traditional ghazal singing demonstrated by Sydney’s undisputed king and queen of the artform - Avijit Sarkar and Rachana Bhatnagar, in their annual Shaam-e-Ghazal concert.

Trained in India in the highest tradition of Indian classical music, these fine exponents of ghazal singing have been instrumental in spreading the rich cultural heritage of Indian music in Australia since 1990, through their highly acclaimed concerts.

This year’s Shaam-e-Ghazal, in its 17th year now, was an epoch making ghazal-mahotsava – a celebration of ghazal singing. For the first time the ghazal maestros, Rachana and Avijit – names that have now become synonymous with the finest traditions of Indian classical singing in Australia – agreed to perform in the intimate traditional baithak style – reminiscent of a performance in the mughal darbar.

Concept of Baithak style and guru-shishya parampara

Introducing the noble theme to the audience

MCs Yogendra Bhatnagar and Anita Barar –aptly described the concept of baithak ravayaat (ghazal singing in intimate atmosphere) by a quote – ‘Dooriyan shiddat-e-ahsaas se kam hoti hain’ (Distances can only diminish by intensity of feelings). The depth and intensity of feeling in the baithak style are so compelling that the atmosphere becomes a place of learning, yearning and devotion – a confluence of divine bliss. The MCs also mentioned that this intimate style would also give an opportunity to the audience to understand the meaning of sur, taal and laya as the singers would converse with the audience to explain the intricacies of music as well as enlightening the audience of the differences between ghazal, thumri, nazm and naghma during the ghazal rendition. Even nobler this year was the concept of introducing three young talents to the Sydney community, in the tradition of guru-shishya lineage. The three young singers - Sunanda, Purnima and Aditi - were well-received by the ghazal-aware audience. Sunanda sang Faraz’s immortal ghazal Ranjish hi sahi, while Purnima showed depth while rendering Jabse tune mujhe deewana bana rakha hai. Aditi showed great promise as she sang Duniya kisi ke pyaar mein. All three of them reassured the audience that there was no dearth of talent in Sydney.

Ghazal traditions basked in glory

Relishing the divinity of the music and feeling them pulsating in every vein – the audience – some of them seated only few metres away from the singers – could experience the rhyming in perfect orchestration to the song of their hearts - even the candles, the cool breeze and lovely tress outside seemed to sway in rhythm with the music!

Rachana and Avijit brought the ghazals from the cocooned world of the select few

behind the couplets of great poets. Avijit’s rendition of Salim Kausar’s soulful Mein khayaal hoon kisi aur ka, mujhe sochta koi aur hai was a treat for the audience. They were left in rapture when he went on to compile a medley of haunting film ghazals of yesteryears such as Meri yaad mein tum na aanson and Yeh hawa yeh raat yeh chandni.

Avijit’s richness of classical music knowledge and variety of renditions, showcasing the unique grandeur of ghazal gayaki, touched one and all.

Rachana’s rendition of Mirza Ghalib’s Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai and Faiz’s Aye kutch abra kutch qaraar aye, composed by her in various ragas, conveyed the sensitivity of romance, passion, emotion and pathos in human relationships. Many in the audience sang along with the diva, especially when she performed her favourite ghazal Aaj jaane ki zid na karo and Mujhse pehli si mohabbat in a magical and innate style which no one in Sydney can replicate. Listening to her, one can appreciate why the legendary Asha Bhonsle called music the ‘Miracle of God’classical music truly has a divine power. Sadly,

its significance often remains underestimated

As the evening blossomed, the duo transformed themselves into eloquent rivulets of human emotions - and with Maharishi Rawal’s perfectly synchronised instrumentals, held the mehfil to ransom with reverberations of mesmerising music.

The themes of some ghazals were philosophical like Avijit’s Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya; some were purely romantic such as Rachana’s Apne haathon ki lakeeron mein basa le mujhko and Chale to kat hi jayega safar ahista ahista, a beautiful dedication of one’s heart and soul to a loved one. And yet others were nostalgic, taking the heart for a drive down memory lane to the blissfully innocent childhood days such as the duet Yeh daulat bhile lo

In the carefully picked song-list, the magic of the lyrics was such that they seemed to be amalgamations of romance, nostalgia and great philosophies of life. The drunken man who wobbles in self pity and asks the knowledgeable ‘saqi’ to enlighten him on the mysterious ways of love and life is a central theme in many beautiful ghazals. Avijit’s portrayal of such a man in Saqi teri mehfil mein,

the concept of lyrics disappeared, for the music was truly lilting and in the ecstasy of the heavenly voice of the ghazal king, one would merely close the eye and feel the music absorbing into the soul. On the other hand the duet Sunte hain ki mil jaati hai har cheez dua se left many eyes moist with tears.

Delicious dinner was provided during the short interval and as the evening progressed towards midnight, not a soul was prepared to leave the magical aura of refined tradition. The maestros conjured up divine magic with their gifted voices. Resonating with emotions and vivid with imagination, their voices embodied the agony and the ecstasy of human suffering contained in ghazals.

The ghazal, which reflects the pleasures and pains of the human life, finds accomplished allies in Avijit and Rachana. Wish that time would have frozen, and the ghazal wizards could continue to quench the thirst for even longer.

I echo the sentiment of the majority of the audience who were present and of those who were turned back for this sold-out concert: We want more from the ghazal maestros - once a year is not enough!

Avijit and Rachana

Purnima

Aditi

Sunanda

Bollywood mayhem

The Contemporary Dance Academy’s winter concert showcases budding talent

BY SHRADDHA ARJUN

Dance has not only been an essential element of celebrations all over the world, it is also one of the most aesthetic means to express oneself. When it comes to Bollywood dancing, the genre takes the best of Indian folk and classical dance as well as western dance styles like hip hop, Latin, disco, cabaret, free-style and contemporary. If we trace the history of choreography in Indian cinema, we can easily spot the significant influence of Indian classical dance, such as Kathak and Bharatnatyam in many dance sequences. So at Bollywood Mayhem, the Annual Winter Concert of the Sydneybased Contemporary Dance Academy, my expectations were to see performances that involved not just the combinations of dance forms, but also interpretations of beautiful songs composed for these dance sequences.

Bollywood Mayhem is an ambitious undertaking with immense potential. The show does justice to the artform at a satisfactory level. Yes, the performances of gorgeous teachers and the graceful Karma group definitely stood out and had the finesse of professionally trained dancers. The solo performances did reflect hours of rigorous training and understanding of dance forms, and the dancers did justice to their chosen routines.

The evening started off with an introduction about the dance school, the teachers and the participating students. The dancers were divided into advanced, juniors, intermediate and beginner categories. The opening number had the advanced level dancers performing Kheva re Kheva with all the zest and spirit of the Goan fisherwoman. It was a very rhythmic routine, gracefully rendered by these students.

Next, ten juniors in bright costumes stole hearts with their cute expressions and whimsical performance to Maa da laadla, and lightened up the mood. The songs chosen were uncomplicated, with simple and catchy beats. These juniors effortlessly performed to six Bollywood numbers. It was delightful to see them shake a leg without missing a beat or forgetting a step!

Kanchan Verma performed a scintillating solo combining the nuances of contemporary dance styles with Kathak and Indian folk. She looked gorgeous in her beautiful shimmering red sari, an apt choice for the remixed version of Hoton pe aisi baat (Jewel Thief). It’s no wonder she was highly commended on her dance ability at the ‘Miss India Worldwide 2009 contest’ where she carried away the first runner up crown. Students from the intermediate level confidently performed interesting routines. Their dance sequences were very skillfully choreographed to a medley of two fast paced numbers Prem ki Naiyya and Aal Ijj Well. The number with the girls dressed like boys had an unconventional and interesting formation in its finale.

The ‘Karma’ group had a graceful and well synchronized number with professionally trained and seasoned dancers performing to the popular Bollywood song of yesteryears,

Hasta hua nooraani chehra. Captivating in their simple rustic attire and infectious smiles, their experience and expertise were clearly evident. The group has appeared on Channel 7’s Morning Show as well as at the Darwin Festival and at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Sydney for the opening night of the Bollywood Film Festival.

The advanced level students made a very sincere attempt at efficiently performing three catchy Bollywood numbers. They did a medley of the best of Madhuri Dixit, which highlighted their dancing abilities. The dance formations and steps were carried out without errors, however the missing element was a lack of what some call “abhinay”. This is an essential element of any dance form in India which includes eye contact, a smile or some emotion and expression.

In the second half, Ritika Ramaswamy performed a commendable solo dance. Trained in Bharatnatyam since she was nine, she has been a skillful member of the Karma group. Ritika performed to the classical number Ami je Tumhar (Bhool Bhulaiya), a

power-packed rendition. Her footwork was intricate, the mudras were near perfect, and her sense of rhythm was impeccable. She held the attention of an otherwise restless audience with this authentic classical dance performance.

Shwetambara Barar Tandon herself impressed with a spirited performance, choosing an unconventional dance number, Man Mohini (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam). The dance is tough to perform simply because of the pace of the beats and its unusual antara

It was definitely a very challenging number, but managed with panache and grace by Shwetambara. She combined contemporary dance moves with the quintessential Bollywood style of dancing. It was an interesting presentation overall. Shwetambara is a well-known dancer who is fully trained in classical ballet, contemporary and jazz. She represented Australia for Dance Excellence in USA 1999 and in Eternity, the jazz section of Sydney Olympics’ opening ceremony in 2000. She is also a part of the Karma group and has choreographed and performed for a few music clips for visiting international

artistes.

The show ended with a finale that was choreographed on the Punjabi number Chak de phatte (Kosla ka Ghonsla), with all students doing a simple, repetitive routine - a beautiful way of ending the show.

The prize distribution ceremony was followed by a formal vote of thanks by Shwetambara, wherein she not only acknowledged the contributions of the students and her teachers, but also her family. She also attributed the task of getting all the students performing on stage to the ability of her teachers who all worked very hard alongside her to put the show together.

Contemporary Dance Academy has certainly come a long way since April 2005. The academy has choreography that is a fusion of Indian classical and contemporary dance and has won many accolades, including second place in World Dance under-14 category for the prestigious McDonald’s Performing Art Challenge 2007. It was also Runner-up in the “Best Dance School” and “Best Staged Group Performance” category in 2007 by Bhavan Australia.

Honey drenched tales

The Rasika Dance Academy’s latest production is a sumptuous tale of events that chronicle Krishna’s life

BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

It is every nattuvanar’s ultimate dream – to choreograph and chronicle the tales of Krishna; after all, it provides the perfect canvas for soul stirring bhava and abhinaya, as well as the all-important nritta

Inspired by Vallabhacharya’s Madhurashtakam, Manjula Viswanath’s recent stage production Adharam Madhuram (honey drenched tales) showcased the rich diversity of her Rasika Dance Academy. The sell-out fundraiser hosted in conjunction with Sri Venkateshwara Temple Association, at the packed beyond capacity Bankstown Town Hall raised $12,000 for the upcoming 10-day Brahmotsavam festival at Helensburgh.

Not only was the tale sumptuously told, each student had an integral role in the elaborate narrative fabric. While the junior students worked harmoniously to lend colour, texture and content, seniors demonstrated technical depth, which only comes with years of commitment to the art form.

Displaying stamina, endurance as well as understanding of the mythological and theological dimension, they were well versed

in Bharatanatyam techniques.

Anga and adavu shuddi (perfect body postures and steps) besides complex emoting ability were evident as the ballet unfolded.

They excelled as Vasudeva, Devaki, Yashoda, Puttana, Chanura, Duryodhana, Arjuna and of course Draupadi, effortlessly metamorphosing from good to evil, as they donned tastefully designed costumes. The negative characters particularly stood out for their portrayal of evil. From the apparently benign Puttana to the conspicuously arrogant and villainous Kamsa, cocksure Chanura and the power intoxicated Duryodhana, the portrayal albeit fleeting was powerfully eloquent.

Krishna, charmingly cherubic and later charismatic stole the limelight, as expected. I am the beginning, the being and the end I am the conscience in the heart of all creatures I am the mind of the senses

Thus Krishna depicts the Supreme Being in Bhagvad Gita Adharam Madhuram is a sublime tribute to the evolutionary process, with its constant battles between good and evil.

After an invocatory Anandanarthanam, the dance drama opened with Mother Earth weighed down by overwhelming forces of evil. Yet there is hope that Krishna will eventually prevail and make life gloriously worth living (Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum). Thus the residents of Mathura and later Gokul, happily welcome their saviour.

Oothukkadu’s Swagatam Krishna Sharanagatam Krishna was the constant refrain throughout the ballet, seeking lifelong refuge and sustenance.

While the opening scene was intense and energetic, the Bala Kaandam that followed was playfully, light hearted as the nurturing mother Yashoda lovingly doted (Purandaradasa’s Kadagola thaarena chinnave and Rara Venu Gopa Bala)) on her truant son (Navaneeta chora), savouring life’s mundane pleasures.

As the alluring Krishna meanders through his eventful childhood, the narrative paused often to explore his mystic charm. Adorable yet convincingly all pervasive; a child at heart (Theeradha villayattu pillaiy), but omniscient and omnipotent, nonetheless; no wonder then he is an enigma. Likewise, Manjula also chose to dwell on Krishna, the eternal lover who charms and disappoints innumerable gopikas - an irresistible chapter for a capable danseuse.

This balance of alternating tempo and juxtaposition of contrasts added flavour and dimension to the clever storytelling, whipping up a sensual feast.

Likewise, the bhava soaked music choreography by Bangalore based Balasubramania Sharma sustained the entire production, creating the basic structure for Manjula to artistically embellish. Interestingly, Manjula and Sharma traversed across seven Indian languages to capture this magic,

relying heavily on the works of legends Jayadeva, Purandara Dasa, Muthuswami Dikshitar Oothukkadu Venkata Subba Iyer, Subramanya Pillai and Subramanya Bharati. No less dramatic was the use of props and lighting, creating an aura of suspense to an oft-repeated and much loved tale.

Kamsa’s slaying was a classic example where Manjula mixes simple yet effective dance techniques with special effects to create a vivid effect. Kamsa swaggered onto the scene, flushed with pride and arrogance unaware of his impending death. Equally brilliant was the dramatisation of Kalinga Nardhanam (marrying the apt lyrics Thaam thim tharana thaa), where Krishna subdues the poisonous Kaliya, who had terrorised the peaceful agrarian community. The five expert dancers worked in tandem to recreate the terrifying serpent.

The finale portraying the cosmic vision clearly was the crowning glory, picturising the unimaginable. As Krishna adorns the Vishwarupam (Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge), emanating divine radiance, the stage explodes (literally and metaphorically) with sheer creative brilliance, bringing together the entire cast for a celebration of life itself and awakening our inner consciousness.

Yet another creditable milestone for the Rasika family and a tremendous show of strength by the community, heralding the Brahmotsavam celebrations.

Manjula Viswanath hands over a cheque of $12,000 to Dr Bala of SVT

Manjula

Krishna

Kalinganarthana

On the Jayant Patel issue

Don’t condemn ‘Indian’ doctors

There are few joys in life which can supersede that of finding a position in your dreamt and desired career. Becoming a doctor is one of the few privileged accomplishments which not only secures social status, but fulfils one’s underlying desire to alleviate suffering and serve humanity. The grief of falling from grace in one of life’s most treasured aspects is soul shattering. And that is what has happened to Jayant Patel, who has been repeatedly referred to as an “Indian” doctor in disgrace. This term has evoked an indignant response from the Australian Indian Medical Graduate Association (AIMGA), a large group of skilled, honourable and dedicated doctors from India.

Australia has been actively recruiting foreign trained doctors since the past 40 years. The process of medical registration in Australia is by no means lenient. Medical training in India, though somewhat variable through its hundreds of medical institutions, is generally considered comparable with world-class medical education, both at the graduate and postgraduate levels. A vast majority of Indian doctors have made easy, comfortable and acceptable transition into the Australian community of patients and professionals. Indian doctors are valued as competent clinicians, academics and researchers around the world, and Australia is no exception.

Dr Jayant Patel’s conviction must not reflect on the Indian system of medical education, training, culture or philosophy. It was a most unfortunate event for the doctor and his patients, which undoubtedly was unintentional. As professionals, we are citizens of the world without borders in providing selfless service. As much as Dr Patel must bear most of the responsibility for his neglect in the stringent review of the failure of his surgeries, the hospital must have maintained a peer review system to avoid continuing complications on the operated patients.

Dr Patel has submitted to the highest defeat and failure of his life, and will continue to pay the price for his unscrupulous professional competence. It is a mistake made by a doctor, and not an Indian doctor.

Dr Patel’s actions may seem catastrophic but in the precise field of human anatomy any inadvertent deviation can cause a catastrophe, further blurring objectivity.

The art of success is to remain vigilant with objective and realistic self-appraisal, and the courage to consult a colleague when in doubt. There will be unavoidable, unforeseen and unfortunate adverse outcomes of medical and surgical treatments in the future, and doctors of Indian descent who make up nearly a quarter of the medical workforce in Australia can not be excluded from it.

AIMGA will continue to promote good medicine, scrupulous professionalism, dedication and commitment to patients and towards the advancement of medical science in Australia.

AIMGA would like to emphasise that Dr Patel in his situation does not specifically represent India. As a professional, he is a doctor before he is an Indian.

Shailja Chaturvedi

Criminal, not civil?

Dr Jayant Patel has been sentenced to seven years in prison. This is the very first time that a doctor’s case was tried as a criminal matter, rather than a civil matter. It has caused a serious concern among the doctoring community in Australia and is going to have a serious impact on the way medicine is practised here.

We all know that Dr Patel was a USAtrained surgeon, although he was born in India and did his MBBS in India. Thankfully, this time the Australian media did not overemphasize him being an Indian too much.

Every doctor I have spoken with including myself, feel for what happened to patients in Bundaberg. This did not need to happen and indeed, it would not have happened if the ‘system’ in Queensland had worked effectively. Had the system been effective, Dr Patel would not have received unrestricted registration in the state. In the USA, he was required to seek a second opinion on cases like the ones he operated upon in Queensland, but not in Bundaberg.

If the system had worked, the complaints and concerns in Bundaberg hospital would have been acted upon, thus preventing harm to patients. Many of these problems will be taken care of by the new national registration for medical practitioners.

AMA and other medical bodies have raised concerns about the implications of this judgement on the medical profession. The concerns are about doctors being forced to practise defensive medicine and second-guessing about the criminal consequences of what they do, day in and day out. This may lead to delays in providing treatments. Concerns have been raised about the insurance premium for doctors, with the follow-on effect on fees which doctors will have to charge.

The biggest concern is, however, the fact that Dr Patel was tried as a criminal case, rather than a civil case. It is hard to believe that he operated on patients with the intention of causing death. People can bring on incompetence and negligence, but I don’t think criminal motives can be entertained in regards to the operations he performed.

Even though the case was conducted in Brisbane, not Bundaberg, the saturated coverage in media over the last five years including branding him “Dr Death” has

been such that everyone has heard about it. Did he get a fair trial is a question which is also being raised by many.

In Queensland and regional Australia, less than 25% of the doctors are trained overseas, and they provide great medical services. They are very concerned, as some of them have been abused or targeted by a small number of people who hold adverse views against overseas trained doctors and people of ethnic backgrounds.

Dr Jayant Patel’s case is bad news for these overseas trained (ethnic) doctors specifically, but it is also bad for the medical profession in general. Mistakes do happen in health services delivery and now we have this precedent of a criminal litigation. It is a bad news for regional Australia as doctors, many of them overseas trained, may not be willing to work there. One doesn’t have the same level of support and supervisory mechanisms in regional hospitals, as in teaching hospitals in metropolitan cities.

There is disquiet on this matter among doctors who will be keeping a close eye on the outcome of the appeal by Dr Patel’s defence team in the court of appeal.

Yadu Singh

Jayant Patel, former director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, will serve seven years in jail after being convicted of manslaughter

People Places Parties

Third wedding anniversary for Gayathri and Jagaveer Senthil

Candice and Alexander (Sunny) strike a pose on their wedding day in Sydney

Raka and Karan Gujral at their wedding reception

It’s Aleena Sebastian’s first birthday

COMPENSATION LAWYERS

Dhoni weds college sweetheart at private affair

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has tied the knot with his college sweetheart Sakshi Rawat

The wedding took place at a very private affair at a country villa owned by former Rajasthan chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vasundhara Raje on the outskirts of Dehradun.

Around half an hour before the auspicious time of the wedding , Dhoni on horseback and other guests, which included his team-mates Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra and R.P. Singh and actor John Abraham, walked for around half-a-kilometer to the bride’s place, located at the same resort’s premises.

John Abraham reached Dehradun, along with Dhoni’s teammate Piyush Chawla, earlier Sunday to attend Dhoni’s wedding N. Srinivasan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and the owner of Chennai Super Kings, which Dhoni led to victory in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) season, was present at the ceremony.

John’s girlfriend and actress Bipasha Basu took to microblogging site Twitter to congratulate the couple. “Wishing Mahi and Sakshi a very happy life together forever. Sad that I can’t be there,” she tweeted.

Bipasha also refuted rumours that Dhoni decided to get married on the spur of the moment, saying the wedding was planned months in advance. “The wedding on Sunday night was all planned. But no one was supposed to know about it. Whatever the truth, we must all be happy for the couple. It’s party time!” she said.

Shilpa Shetty also congratulated the couple, posting: “Congratulations in order to Mahi and Sakshi, wishing them all the happiness and marital bliss forever.”

The media was kept far away. The hordes of media persons and television OB vans gathered there were not being allowed to proceed by private security guards, around more than one and a half kilometre from

last two years. The girl’s father and Dhoni’s father were working together in Ranchi. Her grandfather, a retired divisional forest officer, lives in Dehradun.

Indian High Commission denies Nadira Naipaul’s charge

The Indian High Commission has denied a charge by Lady Nadira, the wife of Nobel laureate and acclaimed author V.S. Naipaul, that she encountered discourteous behaviour from a commission official when she came to inquire how her husband could apply for a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card.

Naipaul apparently wanted the card as it would enable him to travel visa-free to India. It is learnt that Lady Nadira approached the Indian High Commission at India House in London three months ago inquiring how to apply for such a card.

She recently told an Indian newspaper that an official of the high commission told her that the Trinidad-born Naipaul would have to go to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh - where his family hailed fromand fetch a certificate of origin from the office of the local ‘tehsildar’. The report referred to Lady Nadira’s indignation at the treatment meted out to her and her husband.

The High Commission issued a statement Monday evening saying “No application has been made by Sir Vidia Naipaul for a PIO card.” It said Lady Nadira had visited the high commission some three

explained to her, the statement said, adding they were the same as that appeared on the high commission’s website.

The statement came after seeking details of Lady Nadira’s visit and her meeting with the concerned official.

According to rules, an applicant for a PIO card is eligible to do so provided he or she fulfills any of three criteria.

The criteria are, (1) who at any time held an Indian passport; or (2) he/she or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in and permanently resident in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India thereafter provided neither was at any time a citizen of any country as may be specified by the Central Government from time to time; (3) who is a spouse of a citizen of India or a Person of Indian Origin as mentioned above.

The PIO scheme covers up to four generations and also the foreign spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO.

The documents the applicant has to submit along with the application include the existing, valid passport in original and the expired Indian passport in original or any two or more of six documents.

These include, photocopy of expired Indian passport, letter from British Home Office confirming Indian origin, Indian passport or its photocopies of parents or grand parents of the applicant, birth certificate of the applicant and of the parents or grand parents of the applicant, nationality certificates of the applicant and of the parents or grand parents, school or college leaving certificates of the applicant or parents of the applicant.

India shuts down against hike in fuel prices

More than 250 trains were cancelled or disrupted, 100 flights cancelled and millions of people inconvenienced as India was brought virtually to its knees with opposition parties calling for a shutdown against the rise in fuel prices.

The dawn to dusk all-India strike, the first such challenge for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government, called separately by the Left and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cost about Rs 10,000

Caught and bowled: Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his bride Sakshi Singh Rawat and an unidentified relative pose for photographs at their marriage in Dehradun, India on July 4, 2010

Photo: AP

crore, said the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

Describing the nationwide shutdown as an “unprecedented success”, the Left threatened to intensify its protests inside and outside parliament if the government did not roll back the hike. “The unity achieved on the street is the real unity... The fight against the government will continue,” said a triumphant Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav at press conference with his BJP counterpart Nitin Gadkari.

With the exception of a few states, life was impacted in most parts of India with trucks and buses off the roads, educational establishments and businesses closed. Malls, shopping complexes and government and private offices also stayed shut.

The strike, sponsored by both ends of the political spectrum, the Left and the BJP, was peaceful in many places. But there was sporadic violence too, with 200 buses burnt in Maharashtra.

Opposition leaders, including BJP’s Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajnath Singh, joined their workers in courting arrest in several places. Left leaders Brinda Karat and D. Raja also did the same in New Delhi.

The shutdown was total in states ruled by the NDA parties and the Left such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. The situation was similar in West Bengal and Kerala, ruled by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), where normal life came to a virtual standstill. However, The response was tepid in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana.

In Congress-ruled Delhi, however, opposition workers forced the strike on buses and shops during the protests following the central government’s move to end curbs on petroleum pricing and hike fuel costs in order to tame the huge fiscal deficit.

The decision increased the price of diesel by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre, petrol by Rs.3.50 a litre, and cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder.

Rail operations in the country, especially in the east, were severely affected with 73 trains cancelled and 192 disrupted.

For passengers who chose to fly to their destinations, it was not much easier with at least 96 flights being cancelled, in many cases because passengers just couldn’t make it to the airport.

In Mumbai, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), one of the busiest, wore a near-deserted look as taxis and autorickshaws remained off the roads.

If the country’s financial capital was hit, so was the national capital, also ruled by the Congress where opposition leaders courted arrest at various places and activists forced shopkeepers to down shutters and deflated tyres of buses.

Huge traffic snarls, blockades and protests caused chaos even though most major markets were closed as were schools and colleges.

The ruling Congress, however, labelled the strike as against public interest. “It is actually an anti-public interest step masquerading as public interest activity,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Sanghvi said, and he questioned the Left and BJP’s strategy.

Indian rocket to launch five satellites July 12

India’s advanced, high-resolution remotesensing satellite Cartosat-2B would be launched on July 12 at 9.23 am from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, giving a boost to the country’s infrastructure and urban planning.

The Indian Space and Research Organisation’s (ISRO) rocket Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will carry into space the 690 kg Cartosat 2B and an Algerian satellite, Alsat (117 kg).

The rocket will blast off carrying also three nano satellites - NLS 6.1 and NLS 6.2 from Canada and Switzerland, and StudSat developed by students of engineering colleges in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“The launch is fixed for July 12 at 9.23 a.m. The rocket will carry five satellites,” S.Sathish, director (Publications and Public Relations) saidd.

The rocket’s main cargo Cartosat-2B is a remote sensing satellite carrying a sophisticated panchromatic camera on board to photograph specific spots closely. The pictures are useful for cartographic applications such as mapping, land information and geographical information system.

Cartosat 2B will join the other two cartography satellites Cartosat 2 and 2A launched earlier. With three satellites ISRO’s satellites can cover the country effectively.

ISRO has been carrying out multiple launches for several years and in 2008 it set a world record launching 10 satellites at one go.

Originally scheduled for launch May 9, ISRO decided to postpone the launch as it found “a marginal drop in the pressure in the second stage of the vehicle during mandatory checks”.

Though the pressure drop was marginal, ISRO wanted to be sure as it does not

want to risk a failure since PSLV is a major revenue earner, carrying satellites for others for a fee.

India, Canada sign civil nuclear cooperation pact

India’s relations with Canada changed from one of suspicion and unease to a strategic partnership after they forged a civil atomic energy pact which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as breaking new ground.

Canada, which had led India’s nuclear isolation in the mid-1970s and late 1990s, is now the ninth nation with which New Delhi has a peacetime atomic energy pact, opening the doors for bilateral nuclear commerce on the lines India has with the US.

The pact, paving the way for Canadian firms to take part in India’s $40 billion nuclear energy business over the next 10 years, was inked after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.

“The civil nuclear agreement that we have signed breaks new ground in the history of our cooperation in this sector,” Manmohan Singh told reporters at a joint press conference with Harper.

“It reflects the change in international realities and will open new doors for mutually beneficial cooperation in nuclear energy,” he said, alluding to how the global community now looks at India compared with when New Delhi conducted its nuclear

tests in 1998.

Thus far, India had civil atomic energy pacts with eighth countries, led by the US, which had kicked off the process to resume the global engagement with India in nuclear commerce.

The other countries are France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Namibia and Britain.

According to data available with atomic energy department, India currently has 19 nuclear reactors at six locations, all operated by the state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India, with a capacity to produce 4,560 MW of electricity.

The plan is to quadruple this capacity to 21,180 MW by 2020, taking the share of nuclear energy in India’s total installed electricity-generation capacity of around 150,000 MW, from around 3 percent to a little over 10 percent.

While Canadian firms, like those in other countries, cannot yet produce nuclear energy in India that has been reserved for state-run firms by law, they can supply equipment and components - which, in itself, is a big business, officials said.

Four out of India’s 129 reactors are at Tarapur in Maharashtra with a capacity of 1,400 MW. Six are at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan with 1,180 MW, three at Kaiga in Karnataka with 660 MW and two each at Naroda in Uttar Pradesh, Kakrapar in Gujarat and Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, with

Continued on page 42

A global window: People inspect the newly-built state-of-art Terminal 3 building of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. With the new Terminal 3, a futuristic, 2.7-billion-dollar facility in glass-and-steel, the capital finally has a showcase airport that chimes with the India’s global aspirations.

Photo: AP

1,320 MW.

These apart, six new reactors are also under construction, some at advanced stages, with a capacity of 2,720 MW. These are two at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu with 2,000 MW, one at Kalpakkam with 500 MW and one at Kaiga with 220 MW.

Bill against sexual harassment likely soon

A bill on prevention of sexual harassment of women at the workplace will be introduced in the monsoon session of parliament beginning later this month, Women and Child Development Minister

Krishna Tirath has said.

“We are expecting to table the bill in the coming monsoon session. The draft of the bill is ready and is in the final stage of consultations,” Tirath said. The minister said that the legislation will put pressure on the private sector, which has so far not been prompt in taking steps to check harassment of women workers. It also includes a clause which brings students, research scholars, patients and women in the unorganised sector within the ambit of the proposed law.

“Many private organisations still don’t have a committee for addressing the grievances of women in sexual harassment cases. The proposed law will see that a

committee headed by a women is present in every firm to address such cases,” she said.

“A penalty will be imposed on those who fail to follow the guidelines. If private organisations don’t meet the rules strict action will be taken against them,” Tirath added.

According to ministry officials, the legislation has been sent for consultations to all stakeholders.

“Once the draft is cleared by the stakeholders in other ministries and departments it will be sent to the cabinet for approval,” an official said.

The bill envisages that every workplace, whether in the organised or the unorganised sector, should have a forum to take up complaints pertaining to sexual harassment.

In the case of the organised sector, there will be internal complaint committees, in the absence of which a penalty, including deregistration of the institutions or a fine of Rs.50,000 for first offence, will be imposed.

The monsoon session of the parliament will start July 26.

Swine flu situation grave in five states

The swine flu situation continues to be serious in the four southern states and Maharashtra, which have reported 366 of the 370 H1N1 infections in the recent past.

Kerala remains the worst affected state with 222 confirmed reports of swine flu. A rise in number of swine flu cases has been reported from all severely affected states with Maharashtra reporting 72 cases, Karnataka 31, Tamil Nadu 22, and Andhra Pradesh 19.

Recently 16 people have died due to the virus, with 10 of these being reported from Kerala while four from Maharashtra and two from Andhra Pradesh.

A health ministry official said that lack of awareness was to be blamed for the growing number of infections in the southern part of the country and the unpopularity of the vaccine.

“There is lack of awareness about the vaccine. Even though the stocks are there not many are willing to take the vaccine,” the official said.

Three cases of swine flu have also been reported from Gujarat, while one case was reported from Uttar Pradesh last week.

New Delhi has so far been more or less free from the virus with only three minor cases being reported in over two months.

India’s first indigenous

swine flu vaccine was launched by Zydus Cadila in June. The vaccines has, however, not proved to be popular till now with people and even health professionals being unaware and uncertain about its benefits and implications.

India says Iran sanctions can impact energy security

In an oblique reference to the US sanctions on Iran that also target foreign companies doing business with Tehran, India has voiced its concern, saying such “unilateral sanctions” can have “a direct and adverse impact” on India’s energy security.

Underlining the importance of Iran for India’s energy security, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao pitched for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“We are justifiably concerned that the extra-territorial nature of certain unilateral sanctions recently imposed by individual countries, with their restrictions on investment by third countries in Iran’s energy sector, can have a direct and adverse impact on Indian companies, and more importantly, on our energy security and our attempts to meet the development needs of our people,” Rao said.

This is the first time New Delhi has reacted since US recently imposed a new set of sanctions - the toughest so far - on Iran for allegedly defying international norms about its atomic programme, suspected of developing atomic weapons.

US President Barack Obama has signed a bill imposing harsh sanctions on Iran that includes cutting off Iran’s access to refined petroleum imports, including gasoline and jet fuel and bans US banks from doing business with foreign banks that provide services to the Revolutionary Guards.

Rao reiterated that India supported Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy within the NPT framework and called for adopting “a flexible approach to achieve a comprehensive solution to all issues.”

The US sanctions have the potential to affect a slew of Indian companies doing business with Tehran in the energy sector, including Indian oil and gas companies that are doing business with Iran, including Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India Limited (OIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), ONGC Videsh Ltd and Petronet LNG.

Rao’s stand on stiff sanctions imposed by the US and the EU, soon after the UN sanctions, is seen to be placatory towards Tehran that has nursed “hurt” at New Delhi for voting against its nuclear programme at the IAEA board of governors thrice over the past five years.

Paes wins his 12th Grand Slam India’s Leander Paes and Zimbabwe’s Cara Black won the Wimbledon mixed doubles titles, overpowering Wesley Moodie of South Africa and American Lisa Raymond 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

Paes and Black,who won the Australian Open title in January and the US Open in 2008, will earn 92,000 pounds between them, while the runners-up take away 46,000 pounds.

With this victory, 37-year-old Paes, surpassed his one-time doubles partner and compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in winning the most Grand Slam titles for India. Paes now has six doubles and six mixed-doubles titles, one more than Bhupathi, who has won four doubles and seven mixed doubles title.

Paes has lifted the Wimbledon mixed doubles trophy twice previously - with Martina Navratilova in 2003 and Raymond in 1999 - while Black won it with brother

Wayne in 2004. Paes also won the 1999 men’s doubles title here with Bhupathi.

It looks like age has still not caught up with Paes, who showed sharp reflexes at the net and came with some stunning returns to surprise Moodie and Raymond. Black, who initially struggled with his serve, was swift with her backhand returns and the two combined well for a convincing win.

Paes and Black took just 37 minutes to win the first set that saw five breaks of serve, four of them coming in the first five games. The second seeds broke Raymond’s serve in the seventh game and Black held on to nose ahead 5-3 before Paes served out the set.

The second set was a close affair with the match going with the serve. Moodie and Raymond gave a strong fight to Paes and Black and took the set to the tie-breaker.

Paes and Black held their nerves in the tie-break before the Indian sealed the match with a volley.

It turned out to be another successful outing for Paes and Black, who have reached five Grand Slam finals winning three titles in two years.

Paes and Black had beaten Czech ninth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova to reach the finals while 11th-seeded Moodie and Raymond beat 10th seeds Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Rennae Stubbs of Australia for a place in the final.

Moodie won the 2005 men’s doubles title here, while Raymond won the 2001 ladies’ and 1999 mixed doubles titles.

Special sight-seeing buses in Agra during CWG

Tourists visiting Agra during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will be taken for sight-seeing in special tour buses to be launched very soon.

Agra district authorities have announced a plan to start an exclusive sight-seeing bus service, which will pick up tourists from hotels and take them around local tourist spots. Another bus service will take tourists to Fatehpur Sikri, District Magistrate Amrit Abhijat said.

Abhijat said the special buses will make it convenient for tourists to see not just the Taj Mahal but also other historical monuments in the city.

The administration also announced a total ban on spitting and littering near historical monuments. Violaters of the order would be booked and fined heavily.

New hoardings and signages for the convenience of tourists are also being put up near the Taj Ganj area around the Taj Mahal.

Delhi’s gets a new glitzy airport terminal

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday recently inaugurated a glitzy new terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Arport , stated to be the sixth largest and among the most modern in the world, built in record 37 months at a cost of nearly $3 billion.

The actual operations though will start July 14 for international services while that for the domestic sector, for non-budget carriers, starts 16 days later, the developers of what is called Terminal 3 said at the grand opening.

Among those at the inaugural event were National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and chairman of GMR Group, G.M. Rao, which led the consortium that built the terminal.

“Today is a special occasion for our country. We are all very happy and proud of the completion of one of the world’s largest airport terminals in a record 37 months,” the prime minister told the well-attended

opening ceremony.

“This airport terminal establishes new global benchmarks. It exemplifies out country’s resolve to bridge the infrastructure deficit in our country. It also proves the success of public-private partnership,” he said. “We have proved the sceptics wrong.”

According to the prime minster, as many as 58 government agencies were involved in coordinating the efforts to build the airport, and accordingly congratulated every artisan, technician and worker involved in the project.

The prime minister said it was noteworthy that India was today the ninth largest aviation market, with 10 scheduled airlines, as opposed to just two in 1990. He said the total fleet size of scheduled carriers had also grown four-fold to 400 aircraft.

Going forward, he said the country’s commercial aviation industry had the potential to absorb up to $120 billion in investment by 2020 and the capacity to handle some 160-180 million domestic passengers and 50 million from overseas.

The developers of the new terminalthe Delhi International Airport Ltd - said the new facility can handle 34 million passengers per annum in the first phase of development, against less than 10 million passengers at present at the international terminal.

They said the new terminal will be the sixth largest in the world -- after those at Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Mexico City. It is a super-structure spread over 5.4 million sq ft, to give an experience of a city within, they added.

The airport’s developers are led by the Bangalore-based infrastructure major GMR Group, with the state-run Airports Authority of India, Fraport of Germany and Malaysian Airport Holding as members of the consortium.

Some of the key features of the new terminal are:

l Sixth largest in the world after those at Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Mexico City

l One pier each for international and domestic operations spanning 1.2 km

from one end to other

l A city within, with a super-structure spread over 5.4 million sq ft

l 78 aero-bridges, against less than 10 at the current international terminal

l 63 elevators, 35 escalators and 92 automatic walkways

l 168 check-in counters and 95 immigration desks

l One pier each for international and

domestic operations spanning 1.2 km from one end to other

l Over 20,000 sq meters of retail area, including a large food court

l Capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour, with 6.4 km of conveyor belts

l Multi-layer parking facility that can accommodate 4,300 cars

l Exotic plants, material imported from Thailand, Mexico, Bahrain.

Hugging for a cause : Volunteers take part in a ‘Free Hugs’ campaign as part of International Free Hugs Day at Elliots Beach, Chennai, India on July 3, 2010. The Free Hugs Campaign is a social movement involving individuals who offer hugs to strangers in public places which was started by an Australian man known by pseudonym ‘Juan Mann’ in 2004. These youngsters, by the Free Hug campaign also spread the message that AIDS is not contracted by hugging.

Photo: AP

Gillard Going for

Members of the Indian community speak their mind about the political coup that rocked the nation and brought about a change in the leadership at the very highest level

extensive political experience prepares her for any challenges that come her way,” avers Sashi Bala.

BY SHERYL DIXIT

There was a buzz in the air. The Socceroos were ready to take on Ghana in a make or break match in the wee hours of the morning of June 24, and the nation was on tenterhooks. But on the eve before this crucial event came another unprecedented crisis – Kevin Rudd’s leadership was being challenged, by none other than his trusted deputy, Julia Gillard. The news sent Australia into a spin, snatching the focus off the Socceroos who silenced their detractors by exiting the FIFA World Cup with their heads held high.

The dice was cast. And at 9am on June 24, Kevin Rudd stepped down as Prime Minister, relinquishing his coveted position as leader of Australia to Julia Gillard. Whatever resentment he may have harboured, Mr Rudd bowed to the inevitable and made a dignified exit, much like the Socceroos.

Julia Gillard is now, unexpectedly, Australia’s first woman Prime Minister. Time will tell if she can face up the challenge of being a credible and competent head of state. But to even the odds, Indian Link asked the community if Julia Gillard would make a good Prime Minister, and to comment on her political abilities and aspirations. So does she have the verve to rule a nation, or will she be a mere stopgap until the next Federal elections?

A medley of opinions

Darshak Mehta is a fan, and he says, “Julia Gillard is probably the smartest politician in Australia. She has a genuine following in her caucus, is consultative - not arbitrary, has her pulse firmly on the public mood and is a good listener. She is extremely savvy and street smart, can think on her feet and disarm hostile questioners with her smile, wit and unflappability.”

Bindi Shah agrees, “Julia Gillard will be a good Prime Minister as she will breathe some life into the political scene and give a unique perspective. She is a very experienced politician and a highly qualified lawyer.”

Noel G deSouza concisely comments: “If politicians wish to succeed, they need to listen to what their people are saying such as through opinion polls and discussions. And that is what exactly Julia Gillard is currently doing quite well.”

“Julia will make a better PM (than Kevin Rudd), if not one of the best Australian PMs recently. Julia is one of my most favourite politicians of all times; I like her the best for her diction and for being on the message all the time, every time. It is a great art for any politician, let alone an Aussie PM!” says Dilip Jadeja.

“Julia Gillard’s strong willed, ‘what you see is what you get’ personality, combined with her

“Julia seems confident and capable and will bring about a refreshing and much needed change, and she has a good image,” claims Shalini Ponnaiya

“Julia Gillard seems to be an extremely focused, seasoned and passionate politician who has great belief in herself and her abilities. She is a great communicator and seems to understand the value of working collectively as part of a team, of a society, and that a strong community provides the best platform from which individuals can excel. She believes in a multicultural Australia and favours skilled immigration,” says Mala Mehta

Madhuchanda Das agrees, “There’s definitely a sense of optimism and prospect on Ms Gillard as Prime Minister. Her appointment is a landmark moment heralding positive directions and initiatives for the nation.”

However, not everyone is as optimistic about Julia’s role as head of state. Says Pinky Bhatia, “Although Julia Gillard comes across as a very confident and intelligent woman, I question her leadership and policy-making abilities. If she was a true leader, she would have influenced and steered Kevin Rudd in the right direction if she felt strongly about certain things. She could have exercised her power as Deputy PM to question Kevin and get him to rethink his approach. There are too many credibility issues to trust that she would be a good PM.”

Yogendra Bhatnagar complies with this view.

“I don’t agree that Julia will make a good PM (compared to Rudd). She was deputy PM and I can’t say that she was not equally responsible to Kevin Rudd’s policies, even if those policies were wrong. She does not instill confidence as the leader of a nation should do. Hope I am wrong, as I would hate to see Tony Abbott become the PM of Australia!” he says vehemently.

Australia’s political arena

Australian politics can be intriguing and exciting, but after the initial shock, unsurprising. Australia’s politicians are a breed who tend to simply oust a leader whose credibility is in question. We’ve seen it happen with the Liberal party, who went through the rote of Mark Latham, Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbill in quick succession, before putting Tony Abbot in the hot seat. Julia Gillard joined the pack by questioning her Prime Minister’s leadership, ironically after he had elected her into the trusted role of Deputy. And went on to take his job. This strategic move has impressed Darshak Mehta who says, “I like a politician who can play politics because anything has to work politically and economically before it works at all. Her timing in ousting Rudd is immaculate because she did not make a Costello of herself. As regards the action itself, it is the law of the Australian political jungle. Get over it! Time to move on to Julia!”

A smart move, but a distasteful one, feel some.

“It seems that Julia Gillard was just playing her political cards right as she already had her sights

Rudd go the way he did. He deserved more respect than that, but if Julia Gillard didn’t take over, then the party may have lost the election.”

Sunil Gautam isn’t impressed. “This has been a petty display in which the 2IC to the PM, who should have played an equal role in all his policies and decisions, decides to oust him and take his place. Doesn’t quite cut it for me!” claims Sunil Gautam. “I was no fan of Rudd’s but have even less respect for Gillard.”

Adil Sarkari too, has a pronounced opinion on Julia’s actions. “I cannot trust her. The way she went around stabbing Mr Rudd in the back even after consistently pledging her loyalty to the former Prime Minister till the last minute makes me feel distrustful about her character,” he says.

Political princess or puppet?

So what was the Labor party’s strategy behind supporting Julia Gillard to take over the role of Prime Minister? Opinions vary on whether this was yet another clever tactic or simply a ruse to help win the next Federal elections. Julia will be a puppet for the rebels (of the Labor party) who have placed her there and once they get what they want they will chew her and spew her. I am sure Labor will win the upcoming election but what will follow will be watched by many political pundits. Interesting times ahead!” says Mannie Pratap.

“Labor really needs to come clean on what happened behind closed doors and the reasons behind the big decision to throw out the PM that we elected. If it’s purely opinion polls that

“She was deputy PM and I can’t say that she was not equally responsible to Kevin Rudd’s policies, even if those policies were wrong”

Yogendra Bhatnagar

Julia Gillard with the children at the Asha Community Health and Development Society in New Delhi, last year. (AP Photo)

Raj Paul Sandhu is unsure of how Julia will fare in her new role. He feels she will survive “only until she can keep the Labor powerbrokers and plotters happy. Members of the Labor party make up the policies and the Prime Minister sells them to the country. If anything Labor party members are more responsible for failed polices than the Prime Minister,” he says.

“What change should we expect now? All the Labor policies are their joint product so we can’t expect any major change there. So is it just a new face, a new leader?” asks Sunil Gautam.

Comments Tanveer Ahmed, “While Julia Gillard suits the Labor brand perfectly, “having the mind of a barrister and the mouth of a bricklayer”, she is untested on so many fronts and has not had the scrutiny that someone campaigning for PM has to endure. This will change, of course, but it remains to be seen whether factional dynamics of the ALP are rearing their head at the expense of the democratic process.”

“In a democratic country like Australia, citizens vote for the “ideology” of a party, whether it is Liberal or Labor. The Labor party was elected based on the new ideas or reforms they promised to implement, but unfortunately most of the policies have failed. Now Labor is trying to portray Kevin Rudd as a bad salesman, while still trying to convince us that the product is still worth considering. Clearly, this is another gimmick before the Federal elections. Only time will tell if the Liberals are any better!” says Ajay Sankaran.

“The change of PM is not an issue; such is

get Labor re-elected.”

“Julia Gillard was selected by specific party members and she will be more or less like a puppet of them. Australians did not select her and this fact is very much diluted in the media,” says Rina Day.

“It is yet to unfold what changes Julia Gillard will bring and what policies she will take on board. Only the right policies and their determined implementation can take Australia forward, not just charm and rhetoric,” says Shubha Kumar emphatically.

Through the looking glass

The one thing that everyone agrees on is that the job ahead is going to be a tough one. So what are the challenges that our new leader faces and how will she deal with them? “It should not be all plain sailing for Julia Gillard. In the election campaign, the Liberal Party will likely (and, justifiably!) focus on all the stuff-ups of the Rudd Government of which Gillard was such an integral part. It is entirely fair that she should be taken to task for the policy back-flips and implementation failures of the Rudd Government – in which she was the Deputy Prime Minister,” says Darshak Mehta.

Raj Saneja supports Julia, because he feels that she would practice what she preaches. “She intends to manage the borders better and has announced plans to negotiate the mining super profits tax, which would restore confidence in the economy and share market. She is also confident that the Australian budget would be in surplus by the year 2013 and plans to revisit the Emission Trading

Scheme in a rational way.”

A reader who has requested anonymity comments, “Julia Gillard debilitated the party organization just before the elections. Her achievement as Deputy hasn’t been impressive. Relations with Japan, China, India and even USA are at an all-time low. She seems to have no clear future agenda except for mingling with trade tycoons and seems to have bowed to pressure from mining tycoons.”

Malli Iyer is more optimistic. “Julia Gillard is a good politician who saw turmoil in Labor’s policies because of backflips on some its key policy decisions. Her tactics were bold and pro-active before more damage was done. Julia Gillard could become another ‘iron lady’ (like Margaret Thatcher) if she stands firm. The same Australian electorate would respect her (and Labor policies) for her determination, which is in the long term, good for Australia,” he says.

“The Labor government of which Julia was a part delivered income tax cuts three times in a row and saved the Australian economy from recession. She will remain true to her objective of the democratic socialization of industry, production, distribution and exchange to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other antisocial features. She will do her best to achieve the political and social values of equality, democracy, liberty and social cooperation and integration in Australia,” claims Raj Datta.

“The new prime minister seems to be very goal driven and focused, with a collaborative approach to solving problems and advanced communication skills. If her superior leadership skills are combined with her declared aim of doing what is best for the country, we are looking at a great future of this country and a long innings at this position for her,” says Hasnain Zaheer.

Wearing the pants

How important is the fact that Julia Gillard is Australia’s first woman Prime Minister? Quite important, apparently!

“Wow! We now have a Governor-General, a Premier and a Prime Minister who are all women. We should be proud of Australia’s first woman PM. She is intelligent and has a lot of experience. It’s likely that she will call an early election to capitalize on the positive opinion polls,” says Premila Singh.

Gillard suits the Labor brand perfectly, “having the mind of a barrister and the mouth of a bricklayer”, she is untested on so many fronts and has not had the scrutiny that someone campaigning for PM has to endure. This will change, of course, but it remains to be seen whether factional dynamics of the ALP are rearing their head at the expense of the democratic process.”

Tanveer Ahmed

“It is fantastic and inspirational to have a female in that position of power. It is significant that a woman is in the highest job in Australia. It empowers women,” says Akila Ramarathinam. Indranil Halder feels that being our first ever female Aussie PM, Julia will bring different strategies to the leadership role.

“In time, women voters will surely see her as a woman first and also as the first woman to break the much maligned - and now certainly non-existent for some parts - glass ceiling,” says Dilip Jadeja. Says a reader who has requested anonymity, “Women do a better job than men, and that includes my wife. Women politicians have been of a high calibre globally like Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir (Israel) and Margaret Thatcher (UK) to name a few. Hillary Clinton is also good, but Condoleeza Rice is the exception. Julia will most likely be a puppet of the right and left wing unions!”

Rather rudely, Sunil Gautam says, “As regards her personal charm to give the party a facelift, the only people welcoming her are the cartoonists!”

In conclusion, it’s fair to say that most of our respondents are willing to give Julia Gillard a fair go as Australia’s Prime Minister. “Whether she will be a truly good Prime Minister depends on whether she is willing to pursue the common good above her own political career,” says Diljot Sidhu.

And as speculation about the upcoming Federal elections simmers towards boiling point, we will keep our fingers crossed for the best – for Australia and our futures. It’s anyone’s guess on how Julia Gillard will fare as the country’s Prime Minister.

“I believe under her leadership we as citizens will become more equal and Australia as a country will become more prosperous,” says Raj Datta.

Well, we hope so, we certainly hope so!

Murder, she wrote!

A couple of women crime writers are blazing a trail through literary circles, infusing the mystery genre with their distinctive styles

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAN

Although Indo Anglia has come of age and there is a new author popping up every week in India or some corner of the world, one genre has eluded the group until recently: mystery novels. That has now been set right by the publication of a series of mystery novels in recent years.

Perhaps the very young Mumbai-born and based Ashok Banker was the first to attempt mystery novels in India: he wrote three of them in quick succession before moving on to other subjects. All is not lost, though. Two relatively new women authors have written three whodunits each in the last couple of years, and they are not bad at all.

One is Mumbai-based Kalpana Swaminathan, a surgeon and unabashedly crime-directed author, whose first novel Page 3 Murders, (Penguin India) introduced the readers to her heroine Private Eye Lalli, a sixtyish, silver haired sleuth not unlike Ms Marple, now retired from the police force, but is still LR – the Last Resort –when it comes to solving crimes in Mumbai.

The other author is Shamini Flint, a Malaysianborn, Singapore-based lawyer who has now turned to writing: her detective is the likable Inspector Singh of the Singapore police force, a portly, dishevelled, maverick Sikh, who follows his instincts, negotiates political pitfalls, and despite interference from higher echelons, solves crimes beginning with her first book Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder (Piatkus).

In many ways (Page 3 Murders) is a reworking of the classic Agatha Christie formula, and some may argue that the writer doesn’t quite pull off the transplantation of such setting and the plot into an Indian milieu

In Swaminathan’s Lalli mysteries, the narrator is the detective’s niece, a sort of Dr Watson, who tags along with her intrepid aunt; that is not the only murder mystery formula that the author follows: in Page 3 Murders, published in 2006, there are other tried and tested ones. There is an isolated bungalow, an old Parsee home on the outskirts of Mumbai accessed by a winding and narrow road, inhabited by a paediatrician who decides to invite a motley crew for a weekend. Lalli and her niece are included in the guest list, which includes (no surprises here) a novelist, a gossip columnist, a

dancer, a doctor and his rich wife and an industrialist. The cook, a Bangladeshi refugee from the pavements of Mumbai serves up the most authentic and delicious dishes. Murder strikes, and our Lalli is left to solve the crime. In many ways it is a reworking of the classic Agatha Christie formula, and some may argue that the writer doesn’t quite pull off the transplantation of such setting and the plot into an Indian milieu. However, the author’s style is quite unpretentious, and despite the fact that the murder takes too long in coming, she constructs her plot well, and it is interesting in its own way. As one reviewer noted, ‘re-polished or fake antiques can also be a source of pleasure’, so there is every reason to commend this novel to readers everywhere. The fact that Swaminathan is a surgeon is a plus, as it definitely adds to the strength of the story telling.

Page 3 Murders was followed by The Gardener’s Song in 2008, and she has just published her third Lalli mystery Monochrome Madonna. The two later mysteries are set

Flint’s wonderful description of Kuala Lumpur evokes all the senses and smells of this metropolis, and being a trained lawyer, she is also able to lay bare the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of the Malaysian legal system

in a more domestic locale and are an improvement on the earlier novel in that the murder occurs quite early in the books, so the bulk of the novel can actually be devoted to solving the mysteries. The Lalli mysteries have captured the imagination of a sizable section of the English reading public in India to an extent that the publishers, Penguin Books, have launched an online game based on the book in which the players help Lalli solve a murder mystery in a Mumbai apartment!

Shamini Flint’s Inspector Singh Investigates series was launched in 2009 with the first title A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder. Inspector Singh of the Singapore police force is loath to leave his comfort zone –Singapore – and travel to Malaysia to solve a crime, but go he must. He is sent by Singapore to represent the interest of the former Singaporean model Chelsea Liew, who has been convicted of the murder of her former husband, Malaysian Alan Lee. As a Sikh police officer investigating in Malaysia, he is forced to negotiate not only the strained relationship between Malaysia in Singapore, but also the racial and religious tensions in the region. Here Flint’s superior writing strength and compassion come to the fore: she views and presents the reader with different perspectives on the clash of cultures, and never once lapses into a simplistic or uni-dimensional analysis of the tensions that exist in the region. Flint’s wonderful description of Kuala Lumpur evokes all the senses and smells of this metropolis, and being a trained lawyer, she is also able to lay bare the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of the Malaysian legal system.

Shamini Flint has written two more Inspector Singh mysteries in quick succession: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul, and The Singapore School of Villany. In the latest, a murder in a law firm rips apart the fabric of Singapore society and exposes the ugly underbelly. Singh muses that perhaps coming home was not such a great idea after all! This series is not to be missed!

(Above) Shamini Flint

(Right) Kalpana Swaminathan

A mythological inspiration

In his new novel, The Mythologist, San Francisco-based Indian origin author Vamsee Juluri has captured the inner chaos of a young migrant in the US who has grown up in the movie studios of Chennai with dreams of grandeur.

“I feel that of late literary fiction has become more concerned with social and political relations than with the inner turmoil of characters. So while (the protagonist) Parashuram’s social background is somewhat unusual, it is his inner life of myths and fears that bring this background to life for me,” 41-year-old Juluri said.

The story of The Mythologist revolves around Parashuram, who after a mediocre tenure in a boarding school, returns to his grandfather’s world of shared tinsel dreams in Chennai.

But as life begins to edge towards despair, a woman AK breezes into his life. A glib wheeler-dealer, she leads Parashuram out of drudgery to the US. Then the 9/11 happens and Parashuram is stranded in San Francisco - like thousands of Indians. A divine coincidence stops him from jumping off the Golden Gate bridge. And he finds that at the hour of crisis the only lifeline to connect to his roots is his pantheon of mythological tales - the stories of the gods and goddesses he had heard in childhood in the mega movies of southern India.

“I saw Parashuram’s predicament basically as a psychological one as much as a social one,” Juluri added.

Hyderabad-born Juluri, an international voice on contemporary Indian sociology, media and geopolitics, has authored two books, Becoming A Global Audience: Longing and Belonging in Indian Music Television and The Ideals of Indian Cinema

The Mythologist too draws sustenance from the Tamil and Telugu movie industries.

Juluri, who has spent some of his childhood in Chennai, has vivid memories of visiting the sets of some “grand mythological and historical epics being made at that time”.

In the book, the southern euphoria over cinema comes alive through young Parashuram’s ambition to play Lord Krishna in the movies. Parashuram dreams of being “heroworshipped by his fans every morning outside his mansion in Banjara Hills” and setting the world right in the manner of a true southern demigod.

His desire to be a movie star is propelled by the cult standing of a “big grandfatherthe biggest myth-maker and movie-maker” modelled on M G Ramachandran or MGR, the Tamil matinee idol-turned politician.

Juluri said the overall story of his novel

played on the “mythological legend of Medusa”.

The novelist admits to “references to stories and re-tellings of various legends in the novel from the Mahabharata”.

“At a somewhat philosophical level though, the idea of truth, which was such a big predilection in Gandhian thought, does appear as a central concern in the novel,” Juluri said.

Juluri said he always wanted to write fiction. “My first book was a study of music television audiences in India, and my forthcoming book aims to show how Indians think about themselves through their cinema.”

“The Mythologist was in some ways more challenging to write than these projects because I really did not conceive of it as a novel first. It was just an idea, about Medusa as a metaphor for something, and in time it grew into a story. Now, I feel quite at home in fiction and non-fiction,” he said.

Juluri is currently working on a novel called In the Last Days of Banjara Hills - the story of a college dropout told against the background of the great rock formations of Hyderabad - and the subsequent real estate boom that destroyed them. He is also writing a book on Indian cinema.

Some of the myths we live with since childhood can actually prove to be an outlet from reality one wants to escape in times of crisis, writes MADHUSHREE CHATTERJEE

“I feel that of late literary fiction has become more concerned with social and political relations than with the inner turmoil of characters,” says Juluri

Whither Australia?

The comparisons in electing a government to power is broad-based and diverse, in both India and Australia

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

The Julia Gillard ascendancy gives Australia its first female Prime Minister who also happens to be foreign born. India’s first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took office way back in 1966 and Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh have also had either female Prime Ministers or Presidents.

Australians like moderate policies. Both main political parties subscribe to “middleof-the-road” centric policies and reject extreme policies. Thus when the Goods and Services Tax (the GST) was introduced, income tax concessions were offered simultaneously as compensation. The terms “left” and “right” in Australia do not have the same connotations as do elsewhere, making it difficult to equate Australian parties with Indian political parties.

There is a degree of class division in Australia, broadly equating into workers and bosses. Generally, but not always, workers vote for Labor whilst the privileged vote for the Liberals. This results in some safe seats for each of these parties, but no hard-andfast lines can be drawn. Even the safest seats have only margins of some 10 percent or less. Indians are distributed over all types of metropolitan voting areas, Some Indians are members of the main Australian political parties.

The country areas where farming predominates are in a class of their own, being for the most part, the preserve of the National party.

Voting in Australia is very different to that in India. In India, language, caste and creed are often considerations, though these were not that much in evidence in the last national elections. Australia has just three-year terms at the federal level which is considered as insufficient for effecting meaningful change. Thus in just one-and-half year of governing, a new government has to start thinking of the next election. In India five-year terms give a new government more time for implementing its programmes.

The Australian Senate can override bills passed by the House of Representatives. In the Senate, every state however small in size or population like Tasmania has got equal representation compared to the large and more popular states such as New South Wales and Victoria.

Except for the last term of the Howard government when Liberals gained control of both the lower and upper houses of Parliament, Australian governments of all persuasions have had to wrestle with getting

their legislation through the Senate. The current Labor government found the Senate to be obstructionist, leading to the ultimate downfall of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. This inability to get government legislation through has led to the question: whither Australia?

In India, in contrast, the upper house (Rajya Sabha) is a house of review which is not directly elected. State and territorial legislatures choose its members whilst several are nominated by the President. The upper house cannot block budgets. In case of bills being held up, a joint sitting with the much more numerous lower house can ensure the passing of a bill.

The Australian Senate is an ongoing sore point for Labor politicians who espouse a one-vote-one-value system. Each state (however populous like New South Wales or with very few inhabitants like Tasmania) selects the same number of members. This situation is only changeable through a Referendum but Referendums have a poor record of success in Australia.

In Australia, most people vote on the basis of issues which directly affect them Perhaps the most important one is that of jobs. Job security comes ahead of such considerations as interest rates because, even though interest rates may cause pain for mortgage holders, the loss of jobs can be devastating.

Ethnic considerations do not have the same importance as they do in some other countries. Australia does not have ethnic issues on which elections are fought.

Migration on racial lines is also not currently an issue. Issues on which the media has focussed are economic management, climate change and health.

The proposed mining super profits tax, which contributed to the undoing of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, is apparently getting defused.

Migrant groups including Indians, are in the same boat as other Australians and, therefore, have no particular issues of their own which have a bearing on how they are going to vote. Some improvement of Australia’s relations with India can be hoped for, given Gillard’s performance during her brief visit to India.

There have been no charismatic leaders in Australia in recent times, though Gillard’s sudden ascendancy and media welcome has been endowed with charisma. The last leader considered as charismatic was Bob Hawke.

The Australian electorate is quite mature and voting is based on factors like economic management, fair taxation, social service needs (like for the disadvantaged, retirees and the aged) and protection of the environment. In country areas, water management is become an important issue. How leaders handle these issues is what the voters will watch.

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Soup: A complete meal

There’s nothing quite like a bowl of hot, nourishing soup to chase away your winter blues

nutrients to dissolve in the broth and thus aids in digestion.

BY GEETA KHURANA

A hot bowl of soup that is nutritious, comforting and filling…. What else do you need to take the chill out of your bones on these freezing winter nights when the temperature falls below 0 degrees, breaking all previous records in Sydney!

There is evidence that soup was consumed even in the iron and bronze ages. It is quite likely that people have been enjoying some version of meat cooked in heated water since the days when prehistoric man was forced to stalk and kill his dinner before he could even think about cooking it. Portable soup was devised in the 18th century by boiling seasoned meat until a thick, resinous syrup was left, that could be dried and stored for months at a time. Commercial soups became popular with the invention of canning in the 19th century, and today a great variety of canned and dried soups are on the market. Dr. John T. Dorrance, a chemist with the Campbell Soup Company invented soup in 1897. Today the meaning of soup has changed. It can be as thick as bouillabaisse that nearly crosses the line from soup to stew, or thin clear consommés or anything between these two.

Portable soup was devised in the 18th century by boiling seasoned meat until a thick, resinous syrup was left, that could be dried and stored for months at a time

Soups can be prepared from various main ingredients like vegetables, grains, eggs, meats and seafood. Bisque is a heavy and smooth soup that is made from seafood like lobsters and shrimps. Another thick soup is chowder, a chunky soup generally made from seafood but also includes poultry, vegetables and other ingredients. Stock and broth are clear soups that have ingredients like meat and poultry which are cooked with vegetables and herbs. Bouillon refers to commercial products like granules and cubes. Consommés are strong meat or fish broth that have undergone clarification. Dessert soups include Ginataan, a Filipino soup made from coconut milk, milk, fruits and tapioca pearls, served hot or cold. Garnishes are used to increase the visual appeal, texture and tastes.

Soup is consumed the world over: some of the well-known varieties include New England chowder, Spanish gazpacho, miso soup from Japan and bouillabaisse from

Southern France. Mulligatawny soup, goulash of Hungary, Russian borscht, Italian minestrone, French onion and the Chinese won ton are other popular international varieties.

Benefits of soups

l Soup may not necessarily be taken as an appetizer at the start of the meal but it can be planned as a complete healthy, nutritious meal in itself. It is an excellent way to add healthy beans, vegetables, legumes, grains and meat, fish and chicken to your diet, and also an inexpensive way to take in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

l There is nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of soup for a sore throat and taking the chill out of your bones on a winter evening. It helps to soothe coughs and sore throat as the gentle heat from the soup improves the circulation of blood near the throat and the windpipe. Also, a power-packed soup with minerals and vitamins helps to boost your immunity and thus helps to relieve cold.

l Healthy soups are filling and if you do not add high fat foods, they can be quite nutritious and a balanced meal. In China, the children are sent off to school after eating a bowl of soup made with rice grains.

l Soup is the easiest form of food for digestion and absorption. The simmering and boiling allows the

l Bone soup or broth is a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals such as calcium, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, silicon and glucosamine. Bone soup also contains proteins, collagen and natural salts, and is thus excellent for the elderly and people suffering from joint pains.

l Soups are a great healthy substitute in winters for excessive tea and coffee.

l Children also tend to enjoy soups more than heaps of cooked veggies to fulfill their 5 serves of vegetables every day.

l The Japanese miso soup is one of the healthiest soups. It is made from miso - a soybean paste which is fermented with salt and rice or barley for at least ten months and dashi which is seaweed and bonito flakes. Other ingredients are frequently added and may include green onions, mushrooms, radish, clams, and different types of tofu.

Keep a few tips in mind when planning healthy, nutritious soup meals

l Add many vegetables such as spinach, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, corn, peas, celery, bok choy, leeks, pumpkin and tomatoes to increase the fibre, vitamin and mineral content of the soup.

l Add beans, lentils, whole grains, tofu, and sprouts to add more protein in a vegetarian soup.

l Reconstituting your soup with skimmed milk or non fat milk powder increases its protein and calcium instead of adding whole milk or cream. Try to avoid adding cream as much as possible as it introduces unnecessary fat and calories.

l Skinless chicken, lean meat, eggs and seafood added to the soups help to add on the protein. But make sure you trim off all the fat from the meat.

l The inclusion of a little pasta or noodles helps to make it a complete meal.

l Also avoid adding maida or corn flour as a thickening agent as it adds extra calories. Instead use potatoes or sweet potatoes, rice or even washed moong dal as an excellent thickening agent.

l Add your favourite herbs and spices to enhance the flavors and boost up the immunity. You can experiment with fresh ground pepper, cardamom, parsley, fresh coriander, basil, oregano, lemon grass, ginger, and garlic.

l Beware of processed or canned or commercial soups as these may be very high in sodium and carbohydrates, and are more expensive than homemade soups.

l Try to simmer and cook the soup stock slowly so as to extract the maximum nutrition and flavors. Soup can be as simple or as complicated and interesting a dish as you prefer. Therefore, enjoy yourself with hot soups this winter and get the best of health and nutrition.

Life’s a stage

Life can be a pleasant and peaceful revelation, when we stop to smell the roses, instead of rushing to pick them

BY MADHUCHANDA DAS

Of late, I’ve been fiddling a lot with the retro button of life’s remote – now on, now off. The appearing absurdity of this action has actually managed to whip up a storm and transform my life’s dominant landscape. It has compelled me to speculate on the essence of existence and the lifeblood of living a socalled ‘complete life’. This is probably a natural sign of hitting the wrong side of thirty when quests, cravings and ambitions start giving way to pleasant nostalgia. One looks back fondly as opposed to racing ahead manically. I can liken my life to a play in three acts, so here we go…

Act I

Assuming we’re all familiar with the much clichéd rat race of life, I had the privilege of choosing either Highness Happiness or Pretty Perfection as my trusted comrade-in-arms nee navigator in the uber cool manic dash of modern times. As expected, my middleclass mindset guided me (in true blue Shakuni-mama style) to opt for what the larger aam janta was betting its stakes on. Oblivious and shorn of any worldly wisdom, I assumed (like most ordinary mortals) that perfection and excellence were natural gateways to the heaven of happiness. After all, what defines happiness …bada ghar, ussey bhee badee gaadi, khush family and the rest? So chasing the irritatingly elusive Pretty Perfection became my second nature and favourite fixation.

I drew strength and inspiration from past chapters of life where Perfection had determined my choices and priorities. Just as it had been the implicit cornerstone

of all my parents’ sermonizing when I was another clumsy, cribbing child. It defined my manners, grades, choice of subjects and uni scores as a gawky teenager; and my jobs, promotions and relationships as a foreveraspiring adult. Akin to a never-say-die personal trainer, it sternly monitored my grind. It incessantly poured the ‘can-and-will-do’ mantra into my ears as I frantically pranced through the maverick race of life. It fed my typically human trait to leave the pack far behind in a self-absorbed trek to the peak of earthly acquisitions and egoistic consummation. It never let me be my ordinary self but goaded me to don varied masks, evolve, metamorphose and be chameleon-like to suit the ever-changing rules of the game. It taught me to be superficial, sly, sugary-sweet or suave, depending on the situation. It made me envious when I didn’t attain this or that, and puffed me up when I did. It relentlessly satiated the pent-up steam in my systemic pressure co oker, carefully sealing any safety valves. My pressures invisibly built up, but so did the ambition, drive and the heady high of success. And thus, in this Kurukshetra of circumstances, I played my dices of Rajneeti, assuming it to be my only Karma in the Mahabharata of life. I continued in the marathon, at times leading, on occasions trailing, and throwing caution to the wind. There is also a life after the finish line, but who cares?

Act II

As months and years glided past, my muscles and joints started revolting and fatigue began plaguing me. The inner voice, ignored until now got louder. At first I snubbed it with the remnants of my never-say-die strength, but it soon got the better of me. Hopelessness and desperation hovered in the atmosphere. Used to chutki mein dard bhagaaye sprays and balms, I desperately hunted for instant nirvana, for gurus, for answers and for solace. Petty (yes,

Pretty had turned to Petty) Perfection had moved on, flirtingly forging new relationships with fresher blood, leaving my harried soul helplessly stranded in dilemma land. Now this land is a modern Alice’s Wonderlandflamboyant and glamorous, new age and tech savvy, but inhabited by spiritually poor souls, already into or fast approaching their twilight years. They are depressed, lonely, stressed out, glum and isolated. Now what? And where to? Is this the end of the road or is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Act III

I decided to sit under the cool shade of my Bodhi tree of realization and retrospection. Highness Happiness still beckoned me, though I had forsaken it many summers ago for Petty Perfection. It gently knocked on the doors of my parched and sick soul, and entered to welcome me with no qualms. My near-wrecked nerves felt a soothing calm, similar Ma’s khichdi and cool palm on my burning forehead as the fever raged through my clumsy, cribbing child’s body.

After much contemplation, I garnered enough strength to resume the march with renewed vigouronly this time it wasn’t a race but a relaxed, unwinding journey. For the first time in many years, my morning walk with companions felt liberating. It was indeed spiritually elevating to behold the beauty of dawn, to smell roses with fragile dew drops strewn over them, to feel the breeze on my cheeks when lying on the grass, to inhale positive energies and to smile and wave at others. Gone was the hurry to be first or the feeling of grumpiness at someone else’s relaxed pace. I could wait, catch up and move forward in collaborative unison. And above all, I could experience and enjoy the simplicity and happiness of each ordinary, uneventful day.

My Mahabharata was over - it was now time to rebuild joys, relationships and life itself. I was at peace to have had figured out my dharma, and I hope you find yours one of these days.

After all, what defines happiness …bada ghar, ussey bhee badee gaadi, khush family and the rest?

Thank God, they’re over!

To a student, the build up to an exam is one of the most stressful experiences of their lives

BY KANISHKO DAS

It’s that time of the year again when unigoers breathe a heavy sigh of relief that their first semester exams are finally over. For now, gone are the days when one has to sit sleepy-eyed in front of the heater with a mug of coffee, trying to stuff concepts seemingly beyond the scope of human intellect into a reluctant brain. One languishes in envy of the rest of the world who sleep peacefully, either because they are too young to be tortured by this misery or have gone through the ordeal and are rewarded through well-deserved slumber. Everyone seems to enjoy themselves during this time, except the poor uni-goer who has his back against the wall. Increasingly, the level of concentration becomes inversely proportional to the amount of time remaining.

Praying is something most uni-goers resort to in times of such crises.

“I will always do my assignments on time, I will study regularly and make each assignment and quiz count and I promise I won’t leave anything for the last moment, please God, oh please just help me pass this exam!” is a familiar refrain, rather easily forgotten once the exam is done. Until six months later when divine aid is unfailingly required again. The sheer horror of failure for some or dipping grades for others get them as close to being religious as they would probably ever be in their lifetime. And in reality, there wouldn’t be many who don’t suffer from the Last Moment Syndrome. Where would one be without those final hours before the exam when knowledge of a semester is drilled into the brain over one night!

years having to face their worst nightmares in physics and maths. Having to do subjects as repulsive as chemistry, physics or maths sets heartbeats racing and self-confidence drains amongst many uni-goers. Of course the trauma of maths lives on with many for years to come. Recurring nightmares of illegible numbers or sitting in an exam for which one hasn’t studied and knows nothing of comes to back to haunt an ex-math student for all eternity. The dreams are vivid - fifteen minutes and ninety percent of the exam to go, while writing at the speed of a snail – one wakes up suddenly, sweating and on the verge of tears, only to breathe a sigh of relief it was only a dream! These kinds of dreams top the listings of ‘Now Showing’ in the slumber theatre every six months, coinciding with the exam period. Even though the subject of the exam is different for different individuals, the horror is always the same.

From loss in appetite to runny tummies, from headaches to leaky noses, stress from the exam period makes one more susceptible to seasonal diseases

Tension and stress are the two words almost synonymous with the term ‘examination’. From severe loss in appetite to runny tummies, from severe headaches to leaky noses, stress from the exam period makes one more susceptible to seasonal diseases. However, coffee plays its part to keep nerves calm and paracetamol sales go up. Gloria Jeans basks during such days as students queue up with their pulledoff-an-all-nighter faces. With overloaded brains feeling like volcanoes waiting to erupt, waiting to take one’s place in the exam hall seems overwhelming. The sorriest faces are borne by computer engineering first year students doing a compulsory chemistry subject or medical science first

Now that the exams are finally over, one feels a certain familiar wave of floating emptiness. It’s a familiar feeling from school days, that of abundant freedom

So what’s the diagnosis for Last Moment Syndrome? For starters, the symptoms appear during the student-vacation period. Unis offer this period of preparation for the exams, as time to organise and train minds for the upcoming exams which have lazy all semester. And this is when otherwise boring stuff looks a hell of a lot more interesting. Like the current issue of Time magazine. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill warrants more attention and sympathy, while linear algebra takes a back seat. And Facebook of course, where one can’t really do without venting out stress and feelings towards the upcoming exams. Where would one be without Facebook and friends, it’s such a lifesaver! But despite the syndrome being diagnosed, there will be close to none who are willing to do anything about it. After all, that’s one of the highlights of student life. To have fun, have a blast, study hard (at least when needed) and all these put together to form the unforgettable experience of being a student.

Now that the exams are finally over, one feels a certain familiar wave of floating emptiness. It’s a familiar feeling from school days, that of abundant freedom. Topping the to-do list are getaways and job hunting. A long road trip with friends is the ideal getaway for many during this month of the intersemester break. For uni-goers with jobs, smaller luxuries like movies and night-outs have to do. Whatever one does: work, play, job-hunting or spending quality time with friends and family, this holiday too will go by as countless others have, but for now all uni-goers in unison, breathe a sigh of relief, “Thank God, they’re over!”

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A pleasant river cruise brings alive Vietnam’s religious and historical landmarks

BY THOMAS E KING

Serpentine waterways wing their way through many well known cities in Southeast Asia. The Chao Phraya, for instance, slices through Bangkok while the Klang bisects the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The Huong River, on the other hand, isn’t a familiar haunt with many globetrotters so I felt fortunate to have had a leisurely encounter with the evocatively named Perfume River last month.

dragon boats were temporarily moored. Rising beyond several brilliant flame of the forest trees lining the river bank was an octagonal tower. Hue is a city of pagodas with more than 300 sacred Buddhist buildings gracing this city of 400,000 residents. Built in 1844, the seven tiered Thap Phuoc Duyen Tower was constructed on the grounds of the older Thien Mu (Heavenly Lady) Pagoda.

Hue is a city of pagodas with more than 300 sacred Buddhist buildings gracing this city of 400,000 residents

Stretching just 80 km - much of this journey is amid forests and fields of aromatic plants - the wide river cleaves the Vietnamese city of Hue into two divisions. Located roughly midway between the unbridled frenzy of Ho Chi Minh City - more commonly called Saigon - to the south and the more conservative Hanoi, the capital of the 86 million-strong Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the north, the provincial capital of Hue (pronounced Hway) has long been one of the nation’s main religious and educational centres. I gained a valuable introduction into its cultural attributes and saw a variety of its historical landmarks during a pleasant river excursion in a boat ‘guarded’ by twin dragons. “They symbolise double power,” said Ngoc, my genial and ever-smiling guide who not only provided detailed commentary on Hue but also acted as an interpreter when I tried to speak with older residents who weren’t conversant in English.

One of those was Mr Lu who piloted the dragon boat during the 5 km morning cruise. Previously employed as a fisherman, he said he now enjoyed showing his city to visitors from around the world. We chatted - courtesy of Ngoc’s fine translation skills - as the aluminium craft cut through the water and then coasted to a rustic riverbank jetty where scores of other

Buddhism came from India and then spread throughout Vietnam. Today 90 per cent of the population now profess the gentle faith. Several dozen adherents currently live at the monastery which is mercifully quiet once the tourist hordes leave. The sweeping scene of river boats and the purple hue of the Troung Son Mountain Range beyond was enticing but another major point of interest was only a few km upstream.

Also set above the Perfume River, the Tomb of Minh Mang is the most typical and best preserved of all the royal mausoleums in Hue. Said to be modelled after the Ming Tombs in Beijing, the 18 ha. complex is filled with statues, temples, terraces and stone bridges. In the middle of it all is a large hill of earth where the emperor rests shaded by pines. The exact location of the tomb is unknown because, Ngoc explained, much gold and silver was interred with the revered royal ruler.

Minh Mang who ruled from 1820 – 1840 was the second emperor in the Nguyen Dynasty, a line of hereditary rulers which lasted for 143 years. All 13 Nguyen emperors lived in a massive fortified expanse spread over the northern bank of the Perfume River. In 1802, after nearly 40 years of conflict, Vietnam was united for the first time by a Saigon lord, Nguyen Phuc Anh. He proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long as the first Nguyen ruler and began rebuilding the Phu Xuan Citadel into an impregnable stronghold, the first fortified city in Asia modelled on European military design.

Fortified is the operative word because the 10 km in circumference Citadel has an 8 metre high, 21 metre thick outer wall. Inside this 520 ha stronghold where subjects lived, worked and tended fields was another moat-enclosed space, the Inner City or Dai Noi. Accessible through four entrances, access through the Ngo Mon Gate was once reserved solely for the emperor.

I walked unhindered through this passageway, across the stone Golden Water Bridge which spans a fish-filled lotus pond and into a still grand palace where emperors would confer with advisors, meet other nobles and issue royal decrees. The elevated red and gold

1. Central Vietnam’s river and mountain splendour unfolds only a few km beyond the busy urban centre

2. The Golden Water Bridge was once reserved for the exclusive use of Nguyen emperors

3. A couple celebrates their newly wed happiness before the moated entrance to the Citadel’s Inner City

4. The ornate octagonal Thap Phuoc Duyen Tower is regarded as the symbol of the cultured city

5. Hue remains a centre of the arts with displays showing works of cutting edge - or odd - design

throne where this occurred takes centre stage in the Thai Hoa (Supreme Peace) Palace, a spacious hall with an ornate roof supported by 80 carved, gold inlaid and lacquered columns.

When the emperor tired of curtsies, courtesies and ceremonies he would retire to the third walled enclosure known as the Forbidden Purple City. This 10 ha. inner sanctum was designed for the exclusive use of the emperor, his family, numerous concubines and an entourage of eunuchs who not only acted as servants but often wielded much of the power behind the throne. Anyone else who breached the sanctity of the Forbidden City usually received a one way ticket to the next world!

The remaining architectural treasures of the Citadel - many of which were destroyed during the Vietnam War - and a substantial part of Hue are located on the north side of the Perfume River. The city’s southern sector also contains many residences and commercial outlets but for tourists this part of the city is the most user friendly because has the greatest selection of shops, restaurants and hotels.

Linking the two parts are several steel structures though one veteran stands out from the rest, the nearly 125 year old Truong Tien Bridge. It’s the longest legacy left by the French who played a significant role in Vietnam and left their mark in many cities.

I negotiated a fare and then entered a cyclo outside the Citadel for a cycle rickshaw ride across the bridge and along tree lined streets to my hotel. The night air was warm and humid and I had no reason to hurry back to dream about Hue. Nothing could have been better than what I had seen: the palaces, pavilions and pagodas as well as the peace that has come to this privileged city on the Perfume River.

Travel notebook

Vietnam Airlines has five Boeing 777 flights a week from Sydney and five weekly services from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City’s international airport. There are four daily flights from HCM City on to Hue.

Vietnam can also be a stopover holiday en route to Europe as the country’s national carrier has direct flights to Paris, Moscow and Frankfurt. For details of flights and fares see your travel agent or contact Vietnam Airlines offices in Sydney (02) 9283 1355, Melbourne (03) 9606 0658 or toll free 1 300 888 028.

March and April are ideal with June, July and August being very hot and humid. The winter monsoon from October to February brings cool, wet weather.

ACCOMMODATION

Hue offers options from family run guesthouses and budget lodges to star rated properties and grand hotels like the Celadon Palace. Surrounded by lush gardens, this 222 room designer hotel offers a signature spa and a massive pool, all located near the Perfume River. See www.celadonpalacehue.com

The popular Mandarin Café, 24 Tran Can Van St, is a delightful place to dine on local specialities like banh khoai, a crepe topped with peanut sauce.

The pleasant owner, Mr Cu is not only an acclaimed photographer and happy to show his gallery of images, he is very knowledgeable about the city and region.

EXCURSION

Hue is an excellent base for exploring other attractions in central Vietnam. Perhaps the most spectacular is the Phong Nha cave system, 162 km northwest of Hue. (This natural marvel is just 50 km from Dong Hoi where family oriented beachside resort accommodation is available.)

Formed about 250 million years ago, there are 14 chambers linked by the world’s longest known underground river. A virtual convoy of boats departs from the jetty and transports visitors into and through a short section of the illuminated grotto from dawn to dusk. There are sandy banks in the grotto where visitors can alight for an up-close examination of limestone formations.)

INFORMATION

Vietnam does not have a tourist office in Australia and only limited tourist information is available from the Consulate-General in Sydney and the Embassy of Vietnam in Canberra where your tourist visa is issued. See www.vnconsulate.org.au

Lonely Planet’s Vietnam has a chapter on Hue. See www.vietnamtourism.com and www.hue.gov.vn

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Curse of the gemstones

They are wondrous, priceless and endlessly coveted, yet some gemstones carry the stigma of misery and misfortune through history, writes

The human race has always been fascinated by stories of magic, legends and curses. Some of these date back to thousands of years and are believed to be active even today. Stories associated with the six most cursed gemstones in the world are an exempli gratia It is believed that the doomed precious stones continue to plague their owners with inexplicable bad luck even today. And India, having earned and maintained a reputation as a land of magical mysteries and enchantment, is right in the thick of it. Four out of these six precious stones have their roots in India. Here’s a glimpse into their intriguing tales.

The Delhi Purple Sapphire

The Delhi Purple Sapphire is actually an amethyst but for a stone that’s not so rare or precious, it certainly carries a shipload of bad karma. According to its last owner Edward Heron-Allen (a credible scientist, scholar and a friend of Oscar Wilde) it is “trebly

FARZANA SHAKIR

accursed and is stained with the blood, and the dishonour of everyone who has ever owned it.”

The story of the Delhi Purple Sapphire was largely unknown until 2007 when the mineral gallery of the Natural History Museum in London was reopened. Peter Tandy, a curator discovered the stone 35 years ago in the mineral cabinets of the museum. It was set in a silver ring decorated with astrological symbols and mystical words and had two scarab-carved amethysts attached on one side and a silver chain on the other.

A note written by the gems last owner stated that it carried a curse. He had been so disturbed by the stone that he surrounded it with protective charms and sealed it in seven boxes before leaving it to the museum.

It is noted that the stone was brought to UK by Colonel W. Ferris, a Bengal cavalryman after being plundered from the Temple of Indra (the Hindu god of war and weather) in Cawnpore, now Kanpur during the

bloody Indian Mutiny in 1857. Not only did the soldier lose his health and wealth, but the same misfortune befell his son who inherited it after him. A family friend who owned it for a while committed suicide. Edward Heron-Allen came in possession of the stone in 1890 and experienced bad luck. He gave the stone away twice and both times the owners were plagued with misfortune, including a singer losing her voice. He resorted to throwing the stone in the Regent’s Canal only to have it come back to him three months later through a jeweller who bought it from a dredger. In 1904 he shipped it to his bankers with instructions for it to be locked away until after his death, and then to be donated to the Natural History Museum. A note from him accompanied the stone saying, “Whoever shall then open it, shall first read out this warning, and then do as he pleases with the jewel. My advice to him or her is to cast it into the sea.”

The curse of the Delhi Sapphire continues to exert

ominous curse on whoever touches it. In 2004 the Natural History Museum lent the stone to the HeronAllen Society for their first symposium. John Whittaker, the museum’s former head of micropaleontology took the stone to the occasion. On his way back he encountered the most fierce thunderstorm he had ever seen. The night before the second annual symposium he became seriously ill with stomach ache and was unable to attend the third due to a sudden kidney stone.

The Koh-i-noor Diamond

The Koh-i-Noor meaning ‘Mountain of Light’ was once the largest diamond in the world at 186 carats. It was cut to its present 109 carats and set in a tiara by Queen Victoria of Britain. It was originally found more than 5000 years ago, and is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit writings.Legend goes that it was stolen from the god Krishna while he slept. It is mentioned in the Mogul archives of 1304 and remained as captured treasure until 1739, when Nadir Shah of Persia attacked Delhi. The Mogul emperor hid it in his turban but was betrayed by a member of his harem, which resulted in Nadir Shah ending up with the humungous diamond exclaiming “Koh-i-Noor” when he first saw it, thus coining the name.Despite countless attempts to steal this jewel, the Koh-i-Noor remained with the Persian kings for long until in 1849 it was given to the British East India Company as part of settlement after the Sikh wars. By this time the stone had acquired the reputation of being cursed for male owners, and only when in possession of a woman did the curse not work. Every man who owned it had either lost his throne or had extreme misfortune follow him. The British are well aware of this curse and so far only Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth have worn the crown with the diamond as a sovereign. It was the former who had it cut and set in a tiara. Since 1911 it has been placed in coronation crowns of the Queen consorts as an attempt to avert the curse on the male heirs.The diamond remains an object of controversy with India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan all claiming ownership and requesting it be returned, only to be denied courteously by the UK. Since Queen Victoria the diamond has always gone to the wife of the male heir to the throne so the next person to wear the crown will be Camilla, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, when he becomes king. It remains on display at the Tower of London with the rest of the Crown

The Black Orlov

own lives. In 1932, JW Paris, the diamond dealer who was responsible for bringing the ill fated stone to the USA, plunged to his death from one of New York’s tallest buildings soon after completing a sale of the gemstone. Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov (after whom the diamond was named in the late 1800’s) and Princess Leonila Galitsin-Bariantinsky, both proprietors of the diamond leapt to their deaths in apparent suicide in 1947. But since then the doomed diamond has been re-cut into three pieces in an attempt to break the curse. The successive owners have so far escaped the wrath of the Black Orlov.

The Hope Diamond

The history of the Hope Diamond (main photo) dates back to 1624. It was at one time, reported to have weighed in at more than 112 carats. The curse on this brilliant deep blue faceted oval diamond began soon after it was taken out of the eye socket of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita in India. This caused any owners to have either death or misfortune follow them.

The blue diamond is set in a pendant with sixteen white diamonds surrounding it. History goes that French jeweller Jean Baptiste Tavernier travelled through India and bought the huge diamond, which was apparently dug out of the Kollur mine in Golconda. However, legend has it that he stole it from the statue of Sita and was consequently torn apart by wild dogs in Russia as the result of the curse. Though, historical accounts see him return to France in 1668 with the diamond, which he sold to King Louis XIV. When Louis was crowned king he had Marie Antoinette at his side, who was later beheaded with the diamond around her neck.

The Hope Diamond was stolen after the French Revolution and was seen in London 22 years later. In 1823, Daniel Eliason an English jeweller owned a gem that was supposedly once the Blue Diamond of the Crown or the Hope Diamond, now cut to 44 carats to hide its origin. It was bought by King George IV and was later sold to pay off his debts.

Discovered in the early 1800s, this 195 carat diamond (Black Orlov) is said to have been stolen from a Hindu idol in Pondicherry, India by a Hindu monk.

The Black Orlov (above) is also known as The Eye of Brahma. Discovered in the early 1800s, this 195 carat diamond is said to have been stolen from a Hindu idol in Pondicherry, India by a Hindu monk. This irreverence had allegedly put a curse on the stone which led to violent deaths of all future owners. The cursed black diamond weighing 67.5 carat is on exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. It has seen three former owners take their

It was after this that Henry Philip Hope came in possession of the world famous diamond that till today carries his family name. The curse came with the stone, leading the family into bankruptcy. The great grand nephew of Henry sold the diamond in 1901. Years later, it was purchased from Pierre Cartier by a rich American. Evalyn Walsh McLean believed things considered bad luck turned into good luck charms for her. Not so the Hope Diamond. Her son was killed in a car accident at the age of 9, her daughter committed suicide at 25 and her husband was declared insane and remained confined until his death in 1941. After Evalyn’s death, the diamond was once again sold to settle debts. The new owner Harry Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958, apparently to ward off the curse.

The Black Prince’s Ruby and the La Peregrine Pearls are also world renowned gemstones for the curses they carry. All of these stones have been travelling around the world causing pandemonium and death. Perhaps the only way to mollify their restless souls and put an end to their madness is to return

The Koh-i-Noor meaning ‘Mountain of Light’ was once the largest diamond in the world at 186 carats

The Delhi Purple Sapphire

The bowling conundrum

The Indian team needs to take a long and hard look at its bowling strategy, to regain its lost glory in the cricketing world

BY RITAM MITRA

MS Dhoni has got to be the luckiest captain India has ever produced. Sure, he is charismatic, calm and collected. He might even be the most reliable one day batsman we have produced in recent years. However, how he has managed to win 4 out of the 7 tournament finals he has contested with the players selected (although Dhoni himself had considerable input) is a mystery to many of us. Cricket, more than any other sport, revolves heavily around statistics – and they will be paramount in this analysis.

India wrapped up the Asia Cup with a surprising performance in the final, but as treacherous as this next statement may be, a loss in that final may have been the wakeup call they so desperately need ahead of the World Cup next year. In 2010, the team has just scraped a 50% win rate in ODIs, winning just 9 of their 16 matches. It’s not a

promising statistic, seeing as we’ve lost two of those games to Zimbabwe, and four games to Sri Lanka, who are ranked 6th in the world. What, or more importantly, to whom can we attribute these inconsistencies?

Without beating around the bush, we can blame our bowlers. Our batsmen have all, believe it or not, been in sparkling form in ODIs this year. Our more regular youngsters, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, have played the most games in this period, but average well over 40. Rohit Sharma has enjoyed a good return to the team, averaging in the mid 50s. Dhoni is still ever-prolific, scoring at 57 runs per ODI innings. Meanwhile, our openers Gambhir and Sehwag have only played a handful of the games this year, and hence their slightly below-par averages in the 20s and 30s are acceptable. Tendulkar himself is sitting high and mighty on 204 runs an innings – but let’s not draw too much from that!

But now let’s take a look at the bowlers. Ashish Nehra returned to the team after an IPL season where he played just four games and took six wickets. That might sound okay - but essentially Nehra has been selected for India based on an average

performance in a below-average league. In any case, Nehra has taken 13 wickets at a decent average of 31 this year, but has been mighty expensive at almost 6 and a half runs an over. To put this result into perspective, though – there have been 5 bowlers in the Australian side this year with more wickets and a much better average than this. Nehra in his current form should not be seen as a frontline bowler to persist with.

Praveen Kumar is hardly a name to strike fear through the hearts of most batsmen – and although he has been handy with 9 wickets at 25, he tends to be a grass-pitch bully, and is only dangerous in those seaming, humid conditions which suit him. Besides, most of these wickets came against sides with weaker batting orders such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Zaheer Khan had a great season last year, carrying our attack most of the time in both ODIs and test matches. This season, in ODIs, he averages over 37, with a mere 9 wickets to show in 8 matches. However, the thing that sets Zaheer apart from the other bowlers is that he has been such a potent force in the test match arena this year– taking a third of our wickets. Zaheer will pick his form back up,

Now we don’t have a single bowler who bowls over 140km/h consistently in any format of the game, nor do we have a bowler in the top ten rankings for ODIs

Ashish Nehra

Ravindra Jadeja

Sreesanth

because he’s proven himself this year; if he doesn’t, our pace bowling department will be almost worse than useless.

Harbhajan Singh can lay claim to be the only bowler who batsmen genuinely play with caution, all the time. Batsmen regularly single him out as the danger man, accumulating singles off his bowling while proceeding to demolish our other bowlers. Harbhajan’s batting is also becoming more and more reliable, as observed in that absolute thriller between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where he hit a six off the penultimate ball to take India home.

Ravindra Jadeja has played each and every one of the 16 games this year, twice as many as any other regular bowler. That in itself is a baffling statistic; although injuries do play a part, India have not had a single bowler play more than half of their ODIs this year. As a result of his good health (and a mountain of good faith by the selectors), Jadeja has taken 16 wickets at an unimpressive average of 36 runs per wicket. Jadeja hasn’t taken more than two wickets in an innings this year, hardly classifying him as a frontline bowler. Although he is chipping in handily with the bat now and then, 16 matches to

collect just two 50s in this period is not an amazing ratio. Indeed, a genuine all rounder should be able to keep his place in the side for either batting or bowling; Jadeja has been lucky to be there at all.

Sreesanth – should we even consider him? He averages over 50 in ODIs this year, but with the ball and not the bat. Enough said.

So, India is in a spot of bother. As Harsha Bhogle recently put it, a striker cannot consistently win his side a football game on his own, just as India cannot regularly rely on its batsmen to see them through to the end. Just a couple of years ago India’s fast bowling stocks never appeared healthier. Munaf Patel was one of our fastest-ever bowlers, yet couldn’t find his way into the side due to the then-exciting Ishant Sharma. RP Singh was instrumental in the famous Perth test match victory, and Sreesanth’s spells in England were brilliant. Irfan Pathan himself looked like he was on the comeback trail after a man-of-the-match performance in that Perth match.

Now we don’t have a single bowler who bowls over 140km/h consistently in any format of the game, nor do we have a bowler

In 2010, the (Indian) team has just scraped a 50% win rate in ODIs, winning just 9 of their 16 matches

in the top ten rankings for ODIs. Our first choice all-rounders, including Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja, are amongst the worst all-rounders in the world. Half our fast bowlers have fallen out of favour with the selectors completely, not earning call-ups to the India A tour of Scotland.

It is a real worry that India always seems to destroy its new talents, and as the public we must take some of the blame. Perhaps playing for India is a different sort of pressure altogether, given that Irfan Pathan was hailed as “the next Kapil Dev” and Ishant Sharma was touted as the “new Glenn McGrath”, just a few matches into their promising careers. Perhaps the trainers should spend more money teaching young Indian cricketers how to cope with the public pressure, rather than get drawn away from their talent by flashy cars and big paycheques. And perhaps the dry dustbowls currently produced by the Indian curators are making things worse and the BCCI needs to send out a clear message: Water our pitches and grow more grass. Or perhaps our bowling problems will be the same for a long, long

Praveen Kumar

Harbhajan Singh

Zaheer Khan

Open 7 days

The night of the hurricane

A short story by SHUBA NARAYANAN

If human beings could smell a storm brewing, the way many animals can, these are what we would associate with the smell of a storm: the faint scent of rust from reddish, brackish water flowing out of rust-red pipes; sweat soaked polyester; the smell of dry ash and burning rubber. The smell of a storm brewing

A sweltering humidity weighs down on the earth like a thick acrylic blanket that does not allow you to breathe. Then, like a blessing from heaven, the sweet smell of rain, sensuously filling the air even before the first large drops of water fall from the sky. Smell that makes you want to grab a handful of the rich brown soil and taste it in your mouth!

It was 1984, the 11th day of November. A day when I could definitely smell a storm brewing. I got up and clumsily rocked to the side of the bed, before sliding down and walking towards the kitchen, from which was wafting the most delicious aroma of freshly brewed decoction coffee. 35 weeks pregnant I might be, but nobody was going to deprive me of my legitimate dose of caffeine.

My mother’s kitchen smelt of coffee as the decoction dripped into the lower container of the ancient brass coffee filter we still used. You know, the kind with two brass canisters fitting into each other, the top cylinder containing little perforations that act as a second filter. Coffee pregrounds are scooped into the top cylinder. A little perforated disc with a handle is placed on the coffee and boiling hot water is poured over the disc. Same principle as a plunger, except it takes all night for the double filter to allow the thick black decoction to seep through to the lower cylinder.

Making the morning coffee is a bit of a ritual in most South Indian households. The decoction is shared out into tall steel tumblers, placed into “davarahs” - little steel rimmed bowls - and hot milk poured over the decoction, followed by little scoops of sugar. The coffee is then poured from tumbler to “davarah”, then back into tumbler, until the brown liquid is sufficiently short of scalding hot, to be drunk without burning your tongue. In Madras where my mother lived, we drank coffee like that on hot and humid summer mornings, hot and humid summer afternoons, warm and humid winter mornings and warm and humid winter afternoons!

On that day, the 11th of November 1984, I took the tumbler of coffee my mother handed me and absently pouring it into the “davarah”, I wandered out to the front of the house. Even the morning dew and the residual coolness of the fading night, could not hide the fact that it was going to be a suffocatingly hot day.

I pushed my way past tendrils of bougainvillea hanging down the side of the pergola which shaded the front patio. Magenta, mauve, orange and white bougainvillea blossoms lay tangled on top of the pergola, the heavy knotted branches of the bush, making the bamboo trellis sag in the middle. I walked down the driveway to the front gate and began picking the fragrant jasmine flowers from the shrub trailing over the adjoining wall.

On that day, the 11th of November, I did not

particularly feel like reading the newspaper. I wanted my little human being to be born, so I could return to Dubai in the Middle East and get into the job of being a mum. My husband and I lived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but because this was our first child, we had decided that I should fly back to Madras, to draw on the “support system” of parents, grandmother, aunts and household-help, that we could not access in Dubai.

I put the coffee away and went in to have a bath. The maid had half-filled a plastic bucket with hot water, which I then topped up with cold water from the tap. I dipped in a large plastic mug and poured the delightfully warm water on my swollen body. The baby jerked and darted forward in my belly. “It shouldn’t be too long now”, I thought to myself.

The day passed, flat and dull, all of us making desultory attempts to seem active. My father had kept the television turned on just to have some noise flowing through the house. I closed my eyes to shut out the noise, abolish the nastiness of reality. I tried to focus on the miracle that will be my child. Tried to concentrate on that moment of complete purity, which would define the rest of my life.

A cool change had set in. Dark clouds had gathered across the tropical blue skies and there was a cool breeze blowing. The servants were bringing the clothes in from the clothes lines. I noticed it had begun to rain lightly. I went out into the front garden.

This time, the bougainvillea “pandal”, the pergola, had begun to shake, gently at first and then more violently, as if a giant hand were playing with it. The wind was blowing more strongly, crashing through the tall coconut palms, drowning out the rain, which by now was falling in dense sheets.

I loved the smell of the rain. “The Winter Monsoons are setting in,” my father muttered to nobody in particular, as he paced up and down the verandah.

Somewhere in the distant skies, I heard thunder. The wind’s roaring was drowning out that sound as well. I went back into the verandah and sat down on the cane chair that was permanently set out there. I needed to listen to the rain, to have the cool breeze blowing on my face, to touch the cool rain.

The pergola was shaking even more violently. I looked skyward. The 20 or so, 60 foot palms that surrounded our home, were swaying to and fro, like so many straws in the wind. The bamboo pergola was creaking under the weight of the bougainvillea, as the bush bowed and wove under the force of the wind.

“Come inside, Makha!” called my mother. I went inside the house, a little frightened by the ferocity of the storm. The television station had decided to interrupt the steady flow of bad news, with more alarming news. Hurricane warnings were being issued. The weather bureau was forecasting gale force winds. There was a depression in the Bay of Bengal they said and winds were now blowing at 150 km per hour and were likely to increase in force. This was a hurricane. Residents were asked to remain indoors and keep

I made myself another tumbler of coffee. So did my parents. My mother had made a snack of boiled peanuts and we munched on that. The television news update had scenes of how the storm was affecting Madras. I leaned forward to turn the volume on high, when it happened! The first twinge of pain which told me my baby was ready to arrive!

Outside, the winds roared - the angry, frustrated roar of a large, wild animal in pain. Somewhere behind my own pain and fear, I empathised.

“I am feeling some pain - not much!” I informed my mother.

Her response was predictable.

“Oh my God, not now! Not in this weather! This must be the unkindest cut of all,” she replied.

I telephoned my cousin’s wife, an obstetrician. She was going to deliver the baby. She snapped to life when I telephoned. She had been anticipating this moment for days.

“Stay calm! How far apart are the cramps?” she demanded.

“45 minutes give or take” I replied.

“Report to the hospital when they are about 20 minutes apart,” she said.

I sat back on our sofa and waited.

It was only 4pm, but outside, the sky had turned ink black. The street lights had not come on. The rain continued to fall and the winds continued to bluster and roar… but in the distance, behind the crashing thunder and swish swish of the rain, behind the

There was a depression in the Bay of Bengal they said and winds were now blowing at 150 km per hour and were likely to increase in force. This was a hurricane

a long, mournful whistle.

My father leaned forward and saw two figures holding up umbrellas, walk up our driveway. Athai, my father’s sister and my grand-mother, had heard the news from my cousin and were coming in to check on me.

The ladies lit a lamp in the tiny shrine situated in the corner of the kitchen and said a quiet prayer to the Gods, asking for a safe delivery for me.

I walked back and forth timing the cramps. They were 35 minutes apart. Outside, the wind continued to roar, a sound louder than the crashing of the sea; louder than the roar of a plane. A crashing, angry roar that ended each time in a long, demonic, wolfish howl of pain. It was about 5pm then.

About an hour later, I phoned my cousin’s wife Gita, again.

“It’s 25 minutes now!” I said.

“You’d better make your way to the hospital now,” Gita commanded. The risk of trees falling was so great, we could not take the van. The hospital was only half a kilometre away - a nice, easy stroll, if the sun had been shining and if I had not been in labour. On a night like this, it might as well have been on the other side of the moon. The gale blowing all around us, the swaying palms and flickering street lights, and despite the meagre lighting, the darkness of it allcertainly reminded us of an alien landscape.

Still the rain fell. Still the wind roared and crashed, each crash ending in an extended howl. My mother

and I packed our bags. She was allowed to stay in the hospital with me. This was a family practice and we were family.

We made a strange spectacle as we trooped out of the house, the five of us, me wearing a loose kaftan, with a shawl wrapped around my shoulders; my mother carrying a bag of clothes; my father, grandmother and aunt with umbrellas and small wicker baskets filled with odds and ends.

We waited in the verandah for my father to lock up the house. The front patio was fast turning into a disaster area. The rude shaking the bougainvillea had received, had sent the rainbow-coloured blossoms to the floor of the patio. There, they floated in the ever-rising water, bobbing forlornly, like so many catamarans battling a choppy sea. For a second there, I almost forgot the wind. A cracking, ripping sound forced the hurricane back into our consciousness.

The bougainvillea had given in. With a wrenching, crashing dive, it broke through the bamboo trellis work and crashed to the floor of the patio. Bamboo splinters and thorny bush lay everywhere, cutting off access to the gate. The only thing that stood between us and the howling, roaring demon that was the hurricane, was gone. I went back to the verandah and sat down.

“Hurry up, we had better get to the hospital before anything else happens,” my mother hissed through gritted teeth, panic giving way to anger at my slowness.

“Keep to the right of the road. Stay as far away as you can from the power pole. There won’t be any traffic coming our way,” my father said grimly. An electric shock could hit you like a blow to your head. I shuddered to think what that fallen power pole could do to us and my baby.

We stepped over the fallen tree in the middle, to avoid the branches that now made the road impassable for all motor traffic.

“Thank goodness coconut trees are so narrow at the trunk,” I commented as I forced my heavy body to make the small leap across the trunk.

My cramps were coming in short waves, about 15-18 minutes apart. The rain still fell but we could use the umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain. I tried not to focus on my own pain, listening instead to the sound of the hurricane

My father dragged out a pair of shears and a sharp knife. He, my mother, my grand-mother and my aunt, set about attacking the bougainvillea, cutting away branches, to allow us a narrow path to the gate. Wearing only leather sandals on our feet, we picked our way through the vanquished bush to the front gate.

My cramps were coming in short waves, about 1518 minutes apart. The rain still fell but we could use the umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain. I tried not to focus on my own pain, listening instead to the sound of the hurricane. We opened the gate cautiously and stepped on to the road. It was almost 7pm now. The wind pushed us forward, then jerked us to the side with each blow and return. My father and aunt each carried a large flashlight to light up the street ahead of us. The street lights were still glowing, but with the power poles being buffeted by the wind, who could tell what would happen.

“Watch out for snakes, insects and live wires,” my father called out. There had been no time to call my husband to tell him that we were going to the hospital. We left that for later. My grandmother, aunt and mother, hitched their saris up to their calves, to avoid getting the gold borders in the muddy water which was swirling at our feet as we wound our way to the hospital whose front porch light shone ahead of us.

The rain still fell. The wind continued to crash through the palms. Battered and punched by the wind, one tall palm bent double, its fronds beating the terrace of the house across the road. We picked our way through water and debris as we walked along the road to the hospital.

Still the rain fell. Still the wind howled out its pain and anger, ending each time in that surreal howl/whistle. Still the cramps kept coming - this time at 10 minute intervals. It could not be too long now.

Once we had crossed over the fallen giant, our progress became more rapid. A few yards away there was the miraculous sight of one electric light lighting up the patient drop-off point at the hospital.

“Gita must have got the generator going,” my mother muttered.

We were met at the hospital steps by two of the most senior nurses in the hospital.

“These two nurses were present at your birth,” my mother said. She was right - the hospital staff had got the generator going and the hospital was the only building for several kilometres, with any light at all. By the time the nurses had prepared me for the delivery, it was past 9pm. Enema, stirrups and Syntocinon drip later, I was into the hard labour part. Outside, above the closed blinds of the windows, through the glass skylights, I could see the rain still falling.

Just behind us, the door to the labour ward, built as it was 65 years ago, rattled each time the wind kicked it. With each blow, the double doors blew in and strained at the bolts. I could still hear the howl of the wind as its anger spent itself out. Struggling through the throes of childbirth, it seemed to me that my every massive spasm, had an echo in the storm. On it came, off it receded and I could almost believe that the howl/whistle in the distance, was just my body crying out for relief.

Struggling through the throes of childbirth, it seemed to me that my every massive spasm, had an echo in the storm

A few minutes into our pilgrimage, we heard a loud crash up ahead. We walked quickly up to a curve in the road, which would give us a better view of what lay for us ahead. I closed my eyes in dismay at the chaos unfolding before our eyes. One of the taller coconut palms had surrendered to the pummelling of the hurricane and now lay fallen across the road like a giant “rakshasa” - one of the demons of Hindu mythology.

We stared disbelievingly. The tree as it fell, had hit against the power pole across the road and sent it sprawling lengthwise, parallel to the road. A fiery explosion of sparks...then inky blackness descended on us as the entire neighbourhood, the “colony” as my family called it, plunged into the darkness of the underworld. Chaos had taken control. The only live thing around us, was that wind - blustering in anger one minute, howling in pain the end of each fresh tirade.

The obstetrician held my hand as in desperation I begged for a Caesarean.

“Just two more pushes and you are done, champion,” she said simply.

Later, she was to confess that the one thing she had been praying for all along, was a normal delivery for me. Had I needed a caesarean, there would have been no way for the anaesthetist, or blood or oxygen to have reached me through the storm.

The clock in the labour ward struck midnight. It was the 12th of November. As suddenly as it started up, the hurricane blew itself out. With a mighty push, the baby’s head emerged and the doctor and nurses slowly drew out my beautiful little girl.

“A perfectly normal, healthy little girl, Makha - all 3.8 kg of her,” Gita said as the nurses beamed.

I felt as if I had passed the toughest test of my life.

“Hello Sweety”, I greeted the new-born. As the nurses took the baby away to bathe her, I looked at the door. With one final blow from the wind, the bolts gave way and the doors blew inwards swinging free.

Outside in an anxious huddle, stood the rest of my family. Beyond them, was a little jasmine bush still covered with tiny white blossoms. Miraculously, they had survived the storm. Now as they glowed sweetly in the faint light from the porch, I looked at the brand new human being the nurses placed in my arms. Fragrant and newly cleansed, innocent, pure and beautiful, she was my own little jasmine, left behind by the hurricane. I called her Sumana - Sanskrit for jasmine.

Hot chocolate

Imagine warming your bones with a deliciously decadent drink on a cold winter day…

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

Most people would say, there’s nothing like hot chocolate to lift your

Well, there was one occasion not so long ago when it was a complete dampener. Visiting Paris, one of the items on the to-do list for my chocoholic family was to try the hot chocolate at the famed (tearooms) Angelina’s on the Rue de Rivoli. We had read enough about the decadent hot chocolate l’Africain here – described variously as ‘pure’, ‘lethally rich’, ‘velvety’, ‘drinking a melted European candy bar’, ‘sensual’ – and the pastry assortment, that my kids ranked a visit nearly as close as seeing the Mona Lisa.

We stood waiting at the door of the restaurant mid-morning in a longish line of other tourists who had read the same websites as us.

As we entered, the elegant interior caught our attention, with its red and white theme, gilded-mirrors, crisp white tablecloth and graceful tableware. Of course for the kids the pastries lined up in the glass shelves were vastly more interesting, as they tried to memorise the names and find the Mont Blanc that everyone had raved about in the reviews.

Finally, after a very long twenty minutes, we were ushered in – but to a table upstairs. My husband, who had already cast a look there, said we would wait till a table downstairs became available, but the maitre de wasn’t helpful – it was going to be lunch soon and many tables were reserved and we would have to wait much longer, another twenty minutes maybe. The kids could wait no longer, so we reluctantly took the stairs. I’ll never forget the “I told you so” look on my husband’s face. No atmosphere whatsoever! No glitz, no mirrors, not even tablecloths. He fumed away quietly even as the kids, oblivious, began to list the pastries they wanted – about half a dozen too many – and I prayed silently that the hot chocolate would be worth it all and lift our spirits.

Well, thankfully, it was, and it sort of did, for me at least. It came served beautifully in white china, with unsweetened whipped cream and marshmallows on the side, and a tiny jug of chilled water. (The Mont Blanc, though, none of us really enjoyed it).

But talk to my husband now about the hot chocolate at Angelina’s, and he’ll say, Max Brenner’s is better!

Still, it got my foodie daughter hooked on to making “real hot chocolate” at home. The recipe provided here in this column, is what she makes for us – whenever we’ve “been good”, of course.

There are many small variations you can try, such as using white chocolate instead, or putting the marshmallows down the bottom of the cup and pouring the hot chocolate over.

For a richer version, use a mixture of skim milk and thickened cream.

You can add other ingredients to spice up your hot chocolate, such as coffee granules, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, a pinch of chilli, even salt. I’ve even heard of eggs added to hot chocolate, and peanut butter!

Soy milk fans can have their own version. In a saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat 2 ½ cups soy milk, 3 tbsp sugar, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp vanilla essence, 1 pinch each ground cinnamon and chilli powder. Remove from the heat and whisk until frothy. Serve immediately.

Another quick version, but really not the same, is to use chocolate syrup with instant hot chocolate. Use 3 tbsp instant hot chocolate powder, 1 tbsp chocolate syrup, ¼ cup milk and ¾ cup boiling water. Mix these together well and divide into two cups. Add boiling water and mix well.

Chocolate chips can be used too if you don’t want to cook with real chocolate. Combine ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips with ½ cup milk in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Mix in 1 tsp instant coffee, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and a pinch of chilli powder until the instant coffee has dissolved. Stir in ½ cup cold milk (or more, if desired). Pour into cups.

For a home-made mocha, brew 1 cup hot coffee. Stir in 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ tbsp white sugar, and 2 tbsp milk.

For a mint hot chocolate, use peppermint dark chocolate if you can find it, or try a mint chocolate like Hersheys.

How about adding alcohol for a kick? Try Baileys. Chop up 6 squares hot chocolate and place in a saucepan with 1 cup of milk and 5 large marshmallows. Place over low heat and start whisking. The marshmallows will melt, but continue to whisk till you get a thick rich liquid. Pour into cups and add a nip of Baileys.

Real hot chocolate

For one serve

1 ½ cups milk

5 squares dark cooking chocolate

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp brandy (optional, and for adults only)

Heat milk in a sauce pan. Keep heat low. After one minute, add in the cooking

chocolate and whisk continuously until the chocolate has melted. Then add in the ground cinnamon and the vanilla essence. (For adults: put in brandy at this stage). Heat until desired, but do not boil. Insert a hand-held blender and whisk till frothy. Pour into glasses and top with some cream if you want, and sprinkle chocolate powder or shavings over

The Legend of Asoka

Who was Emperor Asoka? What did he stand for?

How did he achieve such greatness?

These are the questions that the makers of critically-acclaimed play Gandhi: The Power of One will answer in the form of a stage spectacular, on the 31st of July 2010. After the immense success of last year’s Gandhi, Vishwaas Productions will return once again to tell a story not often told. The Legend of Asoka will depict the tale of India’s greatest emperor, his strength, weakness, and remarkable courage.

With its universal appeal, the play is sure to please an audience of all ages, and in an attempt to revive the rich history and cultural heritage of India, is sure to leave the audience with a heightened sense of appreciation for India’s forgotten past.

Being a story that has rarely been imparted, Vishwaas Productions has made its mission to emphasise the importance of Asoka’s legend to a contemporary audience. With its relevance to our times even millennia after its occurrence, the reign of Emperor Asoka provides a lesson for all of today’s leaders, teaching such valuable lessons as loyalty, ambition, the wisdom to acknowledge one’s own mistakes, and the courage to transform oneself and, in the process, transform an entire nation. In keeping with Asoka’s principle of transformation, Vishwaas Productions aims to transform the lives of the less fortunate, with proceeds going to The Medical Students’ Aid Project (MSAP), which provides medical/surgical equipment to needy areas in rural India, and Vidya Vikasa Kendra, a school for the underprivileged in Bangalore.

The concept of the play is the brainchild of producer Yashneel Prasad, who envisioned staging such a production earlier in the year. In addition to an original script, an original musical score has also been composed specifically for the show. After much

dedication and hard work, the combined efforts of the youth will finally come to fruition on the 31st of July. The idea to tell the story of Asoka stemmed from the desire to present something unique, and never before seen in Sydney. With the intention of making the audience aware of the importance of Asoka’s reign, and in particular the great battle of Kalinga, Prasad has put together an extremely talented ensemble of actors and musicians, who will undoubtedly scintillate the audience by bringing alive on stage a very significant era of Indian history.

Drawing inspiration from Gandhi: The Power of One, which was staged in 2009 to excellent reviews, the cast and crew of The Legend of Asoka have worked tirelessly to produce an even more spectacular event, with a multitude of art forms on display, including dance, drama and music. The wide range of talent prevalent in the Indo-Australian youth has been nurtured fully in the form of such a play, and has inspired Vishwaas Productions to explore the timeless themes of the story of Emperor Asoka. The lessons learnt from Asoka truly are lessons for life and the makers of the play endeavour to continue being inspired by the great rulers of our past. The desire to make a positive contribution to the world by aiding the underprivileged grows stronger continually, and what better way to achieve this goal than by sharing the colourful events of our ancient past with the people of today.

The show is produced and directed by students from The University of New South Wales and The University of Western Sydney, and after the success of Gandhi: The Power of One, The Legend Of Asoka promises to be another stirring experience. Not only is it an opportunity for the youth to showcase their talent, it is also an excellent educational adventure for the audience into the depths of ancient India.

Residents of Sydney, prepare yourselves to be transported, inspired and transformed!

The Legend of Asoka will be held at 6:30pm on Saturday 31st July at Greenhlagh Auditorium, UTS Kurin-gai. For more information, or tickets, please contact Yashneel Prasad on 0425 347 142. Sneha Subramaniam

ARIES March 21–April 20

Tarot ‘n’ You Tarot ‘n’ You

Tarot ‘n’ You Tarot ‘n’ You

Tarot predictions for July 2010

Tarot predictions for February 2010

Tarot signifies a period of spontaneity. There is a focus on trust and hope. Be prepared for the unexpected. This is a positive time for travel. You are likely to be offered new opportunities leading you to new heights. Trust your judgement while planning for the future, which will leave you feeling fulfilled if you decide to undertake this unforeseen journey. In a relationship reading, it seems that you will benefit by living in the present.

TAURUS April 21–May 21

You have an ability to combine spiritual knowledge with spontaneity of temperament. This aids you in achieving harmony by being patient and using self-control. Your approach in life at this time needs to be balanced and at the same time, be diplomatic in your dealings with others. A blend of actions and emotions would bring a sense of harmony within you, leading to inner peace. The time is right for both learning and teaching. Travel, if undertaken, will prove to be fruitful.

GEMINI May 22–June 23

Stability and familiar things are missing. You may be unable to release yourself from a past emotional situation. Tarot advises you to be aware of your current opportunities. You may receive an inheritance, which may not bring you much pleasure. There is a general feeling of anxiety, sorrow, bitterness, displeasure and regret. It is important for you to take a step back and focus on things that you may have taken for granted.

CANCER June 23–July 22

Tarot portrays isolation, a need to be alone in order to think over issues, meditate on the options and energize oneself before acting. You are able to prioritize things and focus on your goals. You contemplate on your future prospects, making judicious use of the time on your hands. You are trying to be at peace with yourself after a long period of turmoil. The time is right for regaining mental and physical health.

LEO July 23–August 23

You will not only be able to live well within your means but also be able to save towards an important project. Tarot cautions you not to let materialism overpower the emotional values of your relationship. In order to have a healthy relationship, it’s important for both the partners to be open to new ideas. Remember that nurturing is a prerequisite for any relationship to develop and grow.

VIRGO August 24–September 22

You realise that you can no longer stay away from issues and are required to face your problems in a responsible manner. There is conflict in the air that may have brought out the worst side of everyone involved. You need to be careful of an individual who can create trouble. It is in your best interest to avoid arguments as your reputation may be at stake. Tarot advises you to be careful in taking up only as much responsibility as you can cope with.

LIBRA September 23 – October 23

Tarot indicates the beginning of a new project or a business enterprise. You are likely to receive an offer for a business partnership. It could also be an offer for a new relationship leading to emotional fulfilment. There is a focus on news, a message or a proposal for marriage. The time is opportune for pursuing higher studies or new learning. Tarot indicates that a reunion with a friend or a partner is likely to materialise.

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 in the future. Tarot advises you to complete some of the incomplete projects in your life. 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. Over-caution is likely to hamper the growth of your relationship.

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

Sagittarius November 23 – December 21

You may feel restricted as you are not able to see anything in a clear perspective. You seem to have submitted your personal power to the challenges posed in front of you, leaving you feeling trapped in a specific situation. You are undergoing a mental conflict due to an inner crisis and therefore you are under stress. Do not lose hope as things and situations would get sorted out in due course. It is important for you to get your personal power back through inner strength and self discipline.

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

Tarot indicates fortune, luck and change, and with it new things in a different environment. Optimism should be high on your list, as whatever is at the bottom of life’s wheel can only move up. The key to your success lies in your ability to change with the flow of time. You need to observe this change from within and then put in physical efforts to make the best of what you are presented with.

AQUARIUS January 20–February 18

It’s time for you to decide what it is that you truly desire and how to achieve the same. You may find yourself fantasising about the way you want things. You are likely to be presented with an offer par expectation. The card drawn for you represents favours, imagination, reflections and a time to acknowledge the path of spiritual fulfilment. Tarot emphasises on the need for you to take time out for inner growth and fulfilment.

PISCES February 19–March 20

Tarot indicates the inevitability of change. Certain events in your life may be unexpected, but it’s important that you remain optimistic. The 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 will do well by accepting the fact that old forms collapse and give way to new forms, for the better.

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Matrimonials

SEEKING BRIDES

Australian citizen, age mid 40s, University educated, Government employee, seeks honest Indian / Fiji Indian lady for marriage. Email tamavu@hotmail.com. Mobile: 0404 263 400

Australian citizen Aggarwal/Punjabi Hindu boy, 5’8” tall 39 years old (looks 30), divorced, very good looking, pleasant personality, generous, eggetarian, very good in reputed job. Seeks good looking, caring, sincere and family oriented girl with GSOH and DTE. Issueless divorcee or widow also

accepted. contact with full bio-data and photo to yankee1_2009@hotmail.com

Seeking a suitable like minded alliance for my brother, a turbaned Sikh boy, 32 years, 5’8”, smart and sophisticated, highly qualified, Canadian citizen, working with a leading telecommunication firm in Toronto. Interested enquiries please email gksahni.2010@gmail.com

Match for Gujarati banker boy 29 / 5’4” smart, good looking. Aus citizen, working in IT. Looking for perfect life partner. Please call 0431 328 424 if interested.

PR/TR/student or willing to settle in Australia match required for Hindu Khatri boy, ‘77 born, 5’5”, I.T professional in Melbourne. Innocent divorcee (brief marriage lasted 15 days only). Contact 0424 647 565 or email cutevarin@yahoo.com

Seeking a suitable match for Ramgharia Sikh boy, my brother, handsome, 6’ tall, 26 years old, clean-shaven, working in family construction business in UK, with degree in building surveying. I’m settled in Sydney. Please email biodata with recent photo to jsmotay@hotmail.co.uk tel: 98372998.

Seeking a slim, fair and homely girl with good family values, for my brother, very handsome, 29 years, clean-shaven Sikh boy, Marketing Manager in Dubai. I’m well settled in Sydney for the past 8.5 years. Please email a.kaur@optusnet.com.au

Suitable matches are invited for our 28/180 handsome Punjabi (Manglik) boy. Senior managerial job, internationally recognised qualifications, with well settled family here and in India. Fluent in Hindi, boy loves to cook and plays sport. Please email details with pics, Sydney. Matrimonial@gmail.com

Palghat Iyer 32/5’9”, MBA, MS, veg, dual citizen, well settled with permanent IT position in large telecom, with pleasant looks and cheerful personality, seeks bride, 27-30 with similar cultural background. TM ID M607788, horoscope available, email kkrangan@ yahoo.com or contact 0418 720 781.

Match for Arora boy, Oct 74, 5’11”, fair, working with bank in Melbourne. Permanent resident. Elder brother Australian citizen, staying with him. Parents here till Oct. Wife met with tragic accident, lost her memory therefore legally divorced. Caste no bar. Early marriage. Contact Mukesh Pahwa Mob: 0413 175 681 Res: 03 85020656 Email Photo and CV: karneshp@ gmail.com.

SEEKING GROOMS

Well-settled and professional alliance invited for fair, beautiful Sikh girl, 35/5’3”. Profession doctor and working in Canadian based company in India as Senior Health manager. Well mannered with modern outlook and traditional values. Brother well settled in Australia.

Please respond with photo, education and professional details to email: singhsarav@ hotmail.com Mobile: 0402 954 955

Seeking a suitable match for goldsmith girl, 32, (applied regional residency), 5’2”,working full time in community welfare. Seeking match with broadminded personality, preferably in Australia. Caste no bar. Contact kaur_m13@yahoo.com

0011-91-99887-49191, 0011-91-85250-1746

Seeking alliance for our 23-year old, 5’3” beautiful Sarswat Brahmin daughter. She is an engineering professional working in a reputed company and has strong family values. We have been settled in Sydney for 18 years. Please send us your details with latest photo and horoscope at hsg2045@gmail.com

Seeking professional well settled boy for Mair Rajput (Verma) manglik girl, 83 born, 5’4” MA English, MBA, plus 1 year course in Interior Design. The girl comes from a very respectable business family in India, and is presently visiting her sister in Sydney. Cast no bar. Please send details with recent photo to: niraj.verma@dymocks.com.au.

Seeking clean shaven, teetotaller for Punjabi Prajapati manglik beautiful, slim girl, born July 1981, 5’5”, graduate (PU), diploma in fashion designing. Family in Chandigarh, own business. Brother in Sydney, running own business. Girl visited Australia last year. Preferable Australia/New Zealand/around Chandigarh. Upper caste no bar. Contact: +91-94170-72965, 0422 669 082 or contact rk_sangar@yahoo.co.in

Seeking professionally qualified/well-settled match for 39/165, never married, fair, slim, beautiful Punjabi girl, family oriented and responsible. Engineer working in Sydney, Australian citizen. Early marriage. Can relocate. Parents well-settled in India. Caste no bar. Email with photo: sydgirl09@gmail.com

Well-settled and professional alliance invited for fair, slim, beautiful and tall Sikh girl, 22/172 cm. Professional lawyer and accountant, working in MNC. Well mannered with modern outlook and traditional values. Family well settled in Australia. Please respond with photo, education and professional details to email: sohnachan@gmail.com Mobile: 0415 035 802

Seeking match for 28/158cm, fair, beautiful, intelligent, Australian citizen girl, from a respectable Hindu family with good professional job. Boy must be 29-32, professionally qualified, well settled, openminded, non-smoker with strong family values. Please email profile and photo to sydney_girl2010@hotmail.com

Punjabi Arora parents invite never married well-settled/professional match for fair, slim, attractive, 37/165, IT professional with strong family values. Never married. Settled in Sydney. Australian citizen. Status family. Caste no bar. Early marriage. Email with photo: ausgirl101@gmail.com

Sister-in-law seeks educated and well-settled boy for Sikh Punjabi girl. She is working as Auditor at KPMG, Australian citizen, Sydney based, 23 years old, 5’ 6” slim and beautiful. Please send details and photo to Ravinder Kaur ravinderkaursydney@gmail.com

BUZZThe

We Are Family

So Sydney’s Indian community is waiting to see Karan Johar’s next offering …. And while we all have known it as Stepmom, it’s now going to be called We Are Family. After mulling over the title of his Hindi version of Chris Columbus’ 1998 comedy drama Stepmom for a long time, Karan has finally decided to go with the name We Are Family. The 38-year-old filmmaker had promised fans that he would announce the name of the film on Twitter first, and he kept his word.

The movie is a heart-warming tale about a terminally ill divorcee who has to accept the new woman in her ex-husband’s life as the stepmother of her kids and the problems they face to find a common ground of understanding.

While it was earlier being called Love You Maa, Karan was still on the lookout for a suitable title and had even asked his Twitter followers to suggest one.

We Are Family, directed by Siddharth Malhotra, features Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. It is expected to release in October. The trailer has been released on YouTube already

Meanwhile, it’s ‘family’ time at lead actress Kajol’s place as well, with second baby due soon. She’s enjoying her second pregnancy, with no diet restrictions to spoil her fun. She’s indulging her taste for cuisine she likes the most, and the latest on the list is South Indian dishes. In fact, she even invited famous south Indian chef Muthuswami to her house as a part of a private south Indian food festival, attended only by family and close friends. Hubby Ajay is happy to let her get on with it, and has taken on some of her maternal responsibilities. Recently he took time out for a vacation with daughter Nysa, and has even volunteered to attend school meetings and swimming lessons, stilling his wife’s complaints that he hasn’t had enough time for them. And of course, to be on hand at the time of Kajol’s delivery, Ajay has arranged his schedule so that he’s always within city limits and never too far away from home. Now how’s that for planning? Kajol’s not just discovered a doting father in Ajay, but a loving hubby as well. Lucky girl!

Bollywood presence at Dhoni’s do

Bollywood actor John Abraham flew to Dehradun to attend Indian cricket captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni’s wedding to Sakshi Singh Rawat, giving the ceremony a touch of filmi glamour. Dhoni and his school friend Sakshi dated for two years before tying the knot, and will follow through with a reception in Mumbai later in the week.

Although hunky John’s equally sexy girlfriend Bipasha Basu couldn’t make it, she took to microblogging site Twitter to congratulate the couple.

“Wishing Mahi and Sakshi a very happy life together forever. Sad that I can’t be there,” she tweeted. Not to be left behind was Shilpa Shetty’s post, “Congratulations in order to Mahi and Sakshi, wishing them all the happiness and marital bliss forever.”

The buzz is that Suresh Raina, RP Singh, Aashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh attended the wedding, but Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag

gave the ceremony a miss, very likely opting for the reception in Mumbai. It won’t be surprising if Bollywood turns out in full force, along with stars in the cricketing world. Congrats to Dhoni and Sakshi, that’s another one hit for a six!

The Kinng is back!

Akshay Kumar’s too smart a cookie to rest on his laurels.

Before Singh is Kinng becomes Bollywood history, Akshay’s back on the wagon, getting set with a sequel to the box-office hit. However, the new movie will be directed by Vipul Shah, as Anees Bazmi seems to have too much going on at the moment.

“We’ve finally cracked an idea that works for the sequel, after planning and plotting for two years since the first film,” says Vipul, who worked with his writer Suresh Nair to finalise the key concept of the movie.

Natually, Vipul’s not too keen on disclosing details, but rumour has it that the sequel will begin where Singh is Kinng ended – in Australia, and will then move on to Canada,

it is speculated. Akshay has a huge fan following and close ties with the country, which is like his second home.

Akshay’s been bombarded by fans about a sequel to Singh is Kinng, with Sikh fans anxious to know when they’ll see him play the charismatic Singh again.

The only person still to come on board is Akshay’s queen, Katrina Kaif who’s completely booked out till next year. And

naturally, given her contribution to the first film, a sequel without her is unthinkable. And she knows it!

“She won’t let Akshay or me make it without her,” laughs Vipul. “We’ll just have to work around dates.” Well, get ready for it – another king-sized comedy coming our way….

GUESS WHO

She may come from a filmi family, but she made her mark on the small screen

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

United in dance

Arshad Warsi and wife Maria Goretti’s marital problems are old news now, but it seems that the couple have finally made up and in a show of solidarity, they will perform together on the dance reality show, Zara Nach Ke Dikha. The couple will go a step ahead, claiming for the aam janta that they are giving their relationship a much-needed shot in the arm and are starting afresh. The trouble started when reports of Arshad cozying up to Dia Mirza hit Bollywood circles, and there was a time when divorce seemed likely on the cards. But gossip gleaners have discovered that this time round, Arshad and Maria do seem to be truly happy. Arshad confirmed this when contacted. “We are rehearsing for the grand finale of Zara Nach Ke Dikha it’s a very tough job. Ever since I’ve been acting and Maria’s had our boys, we haven’t danced together in public,” he says. The versatile actor also confirmed that the couple have had their differences but says, “We are very happy now, and that’s all that matters!”

Let’s hope the couple dance together forever…

Mithun’s the youngest star in the industry

After more than 30 years in the Indian film industry, three national awards in his kitty and over 300 films to his credit, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty still feels he is just 27 and getting younger. “I am getting younger day by day. Mind you, I am only 27-plus. I am the youngest star in the industry,” he revealed in an informal chat.

“But I don’t want to wish anyone the hurdles I had to go through to be here,” added the actor, who rose to become a dancing sensation with movies like Disco Dancer and Dance Dance

“Dance is like my religion. It is like god to me and like worshipping. It is in my blood. I knew that it was only through that I could have come in the industry,” said the hero of yesteryears, who was last seen in Veer.

Mithunda looks younger than ever, but its not dance that keeps him fit. Instead, he exercises every day. The actor is upbeat about his role in Gautam Pandey’s recently released Bengali movie Shukno Lanka

“I play a junior artiste in Shukno Lanka and it gave me a rare opportunity to retrace my struggling days... It is almost similar to the humiliation and the treatment faced by junior artistes in real life,” he said. “But it is not a story about me or that junior artiste. It is about a dream knocking at your door and living that dream. Look at me, I was nobody but I rose from that to whosoever I am today and even changed the definition of dance in this country,” he added.

The film also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Debashree Roy and debutante Australian actress Emma Brown.

Mithunda, as he is fondly known, worked in a slew of low budget B-grade movies in the 1990s. When asked about these, he shared a professional secret: “There are three categories of films I do - films that make money where nothing else matters, films that satisfy me and films that hit the gallery with all the action and dialogues that make audiences go gaga.”

Mithun’s future projects include Sphagetti 24X7 with son Mimoh, Golmaal 3 and Bengali movies Aami Subhash Bolchhi and Ek Nadir Golpo. His schedule is fairly balanced as he does two Bengali and two Hindi films every year and his TV reality shows Dance India Dance and Dance Bangla Dance

“That’s how it works for me,” he says. Not bad for 60 going on 27, don’t you think?

Emraan goes for the young

Ever wondered why Emraan Hashmi is so

often paired opposite young actresses? It’s because he’s discovered lady luck in these new heroines and, as he says, “it makes some great on-screen chemistry and works for the film”.

“Most of my successful films have been with new actresses and young girls,” confided Emraan.

The not-so-young 31-year-old will be wooing one-film-old Prachi Desai, 21, in thriller Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai; debutante Neha Sharma, 22, in Crook: It’s Good To Be Bad, 24-year-old Sagarika Ghatge in 24x7 Raftaar and Shruti Haasan, 24, in Madhur Bhandarkar’s comedy Dil To Bachcha

Hai Ji

“All these girls are extremely talented. Some of them are very new faces and there is always a need by the audience to see fresh faces. It has worked in my films earlier and definitely worked for the audience too, to see me paired opposite them,” he said.

Emraan’s stint with younger actresses started with Zeher in 2005 in which he romanced single-film actresses Udita Goswami and Shamita Shetty. He then wooed Tanushree Dutta in her debut Aashiq Banaya Apne, and Nisha Kothari, debutante Geeta Basra and Isha Sharvani, who were all 22 at the time in The Killer, Dil Diya Hai and Good Boy, Bad . Also on his list are Sayali Bhagat in her debut project (2007); Shriya Saran Awarapan the same year and Sonal Chauhan in hit Jannat in The actor, however, considers his pairing with Kangana Ranaut, 23, as the most fortunate. “Kangana and I have had a few hits together like Gangster

Raaz - The Mystery Continues, and now we are starring in Once .... That’s a successful pair for me,” he said.

And what about his infamous ‘serial kisser’ image? “That really doesn’t bother me any more. Everyone is doing it in movies now. For some reason, people have put this image, but if it’s a requirement of a film, it has to be done,” he said philosophically.

Rumours were rife that Shruti was apprehensive of being paired opposite him for his kissing tag, which Emraan takes with a pinch of salt. “That’s nothing new. I don’t really blame anyone. It’s a very intimidating image for people and if she is scared, I don’t blame her,” he said with surprising candidness.

And apparently, he’ll continue to kiss in his upcoming films.

Variety seems to be the spice of this man’s life!

Neil Nitin is daddy’s boy!

Veteran singer Nitin Mukesh, who turned 60 recently, got his life’s most cherished gift, a Mercedes, from son Neil Nitin Mukesh. The Mercedes is the one car that the senior Mukesh had wanted to own almost all his life. “You had to see his expression when I took him blindfolded to the garage where the car was parked. He jumped up and down and squealed like a child,” Neil says excitedly.

“He then ran to his best friend’s apartment and got him down to see the car. The two of them were like school kids on their first outing to Disneyland. It was full paisavasool for me,” he added.

For Neil, this was the proudest moment so far. “If I’m earning a certain amount of money, my biggest wish is to make my family happy. I planned the car for a year for dad’s birthday,” he says.

“When I bought myself the Audi Q7 last year, dad was like... ‘Ok, but Merc’s the car for me.’ Then itself, I decided the gift for his 60th birthday,” chuckles Neil.

On his dad’s birthday, the entire family drove in the golden Mercedes to Amby Valley to celebrate the occasion.

“My whole family was here. We took a boat into the middle of the lake and stayed in the waters the whole day, singing my grandfather’s (Mukesh) songs. There’s nothing I enjoy more than being with my family,” he adds.

Now there’s a good son for you!

What’s going through the minds of Amisha Patel and Akshay Kumar here? Send

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s Amitabh saying here?

Amitabh (to photographers): Hang on guys, take a couple more photos of us… don’t rush off yet!

Rishi Patnaik Hornsby Heights NSW

Rishi wins a free ticket to new Hindi film IHateLuvStorys

Another good one

ARSHAD WARSI WITH WIFE MARIA GORETTI

MITHUN

“Hold your cameras. Can someone get a stool for Jaya to stand on”?

Raj Saneja, Castle Hill NSW

AKSHAY KUMAR

Cine Talk

Predictable, but lovable

Film: IHateLuvStorys

Cast: Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Samir Soni, Bruna Abdullah, Aamir Ali, Kavin Dave, and Pooja Ghai

Director: Punit Malhotra

You will not hate this love story, a spoof on ace director Karan Johar from his own production house. Hats off to Karan for daring to produce a film that makes fun of his kind of cinema. Samir Soni steps into his shoes with great ease in the film.

Director Punit Malhotra takes a pot shot at everything - designer sets, boy meets girl sagas, actresses singing in chiffon saris in the Alps - that made directors like Karan, Aditya Chopra and Kunal Kohli a name to reckon with in the industry.

In terms of content, nothing is new. But the treatment is fresh, the backdrop is interesting and it’s fun watching the romance brew between the lead pair Simran and Jay on the sets of a movie. Yes, the film is about the making of a love story where Simran works as an art designer and Jay as an assistant to highly successful director Vir Kapoor (Samir), known for his candy floss romantic sagas.

Imran Khan as Jay Dhingra and Sonam Kapoor as Simran fit the bill quite perfectly.

First time director Punit Malhotra proves his mettle by narrating a predictable story in such an interesting manner that you are hooked till the end.

A romantic by heart, Simran is contented with life. She is engaged to banker Raj, played by Sammir Dattani, and loves her job. But her life turns topsy turvy when the weird but funny, bratty but lovable Jay walks into her life as her assistant.

They have nothing in common. While Simran is highly disciplined, organised, professional and takes her work seriously, Jay is laid back and always late on the sets.

Yes, opposites attract here too, and they eventually fall in love.

The first half is pacy and director infuses enough energy in this otherwise predictable love story. But some scenes in the second half drag.

Another flaw in the film is that Imran is given too many dialogues to speak, but then he delivers them with just the right expressions. He suits the role of a spoilt brat perfectly and keeps tickling your funny bone. Especially when he breaks down like a girl while talking to his mum (Anju Mahendru) on phone.

Editing could have been better, but never mind.

In sum, the witty dialogues, on screen chemistry of the lead pair and performances of the supporting cast - Kavin Dave, Bruna Abdullah Aamir Ali and Pooja Ghai - make it a good watch.

Sonam may not have hits in her kitty so far, but this film should change things. In every scene, she complements Imran.

In terms of music, Vishal-Shekhar’s pacy numbers add zing to the narrative and background music adds a nice flavour to this predictable love story.

I Hate Luv Storys proves that one can make good film without lavish sets, foreign locales and mega budgets. In short, a commendable effort by the first time director.

You may not be a great fan of candy floss cinema, but do watch I Hate Luv Storys… it’s refreshing.

Arpana, IANS

Sydney girl in Bollywood

Sydney-born Emma Brown Garrett, who makes her big screen debut with Bengali movie Shukno Lanka, has gone blonde in her Bollywood avatar and even picked up Hindi - all for the love of Indian cinema.

Emma is upbeat about her new projects - the Abhishek Bachchanstarrer Dum Maaro Dum and Dharmendra-Sunny Deol-starrer Yamla Pagla Deewana

“I was discovered first by the Bengali film industry, which has given me a good grounding before venturing into Bollywood,” Emma says. “I had dark hair but I went blonde for both the roles which are typically gaudy,” she adds.

“I speak Hindi in Yamla Pagla Deewana, and Russian and bad English in Dum Maro Dum,” she reveals.

Shukno Lanka is directed by Gaurav Pandey and also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Debashree Roy.

Emma says she was a huge fan of her co-star Mithun even before she met him on the sets of Shukno Lanka

Speaking of how she came to Indian shores, Emma says: “My husband and I decided to come to India to work - we’ve been here for two and a half years now. My husband runs a financial business and I thought I can come to India and try my acting and it worked out. We’ve both been very successful here and we’ve kind of settled in India nicely.”

“I landed my first job only after two weeks of arriving here. I got myself an agent, auditioned for the role and director Gaurav Pandey was very happy”.

“I was a huge Mithunda fan even before I worked on this film. My husband and I would sit and watch Hindi films - I loved Disco Dancer and Hum Paanch,” she added.

So did she take language lessons for Bollywood?

“I have a Punjabi guru in Mumbai who taught me from the very beginning - a mixture of both Urdu and Hindi. I see her from time to time. So I speak a little Hindi. I can read and write Hindi as well, but my conversation gets a little scattered sometimes. I am very good in communicating slowly. I see a lot of Hindi films and I pick the language up from there too. I don’t know that much of Russian though. It was just a matter of learning the script and then I had a voice coach,” syas the actress, who is also open to working in other regional films.

Asked if she knew the meaning of “Yamla Pagla Deewana”, pat comes the reply: “Of course. It means crazy crazy crazy! I’ve done my research.”

Probed more on her Bollywood ventures, she says: “I’m so sorry but I can’t talk much about my characters, as I have signed a confidentiality agreement.” She plays Sunny’s wife in Yamla...

Having studied films and acting and pursued a singing career in Sydney, Emma is now eyeing a Bollywood career.

“I’ve got an opportunity to work with veterans right from my early days here - people like Mithun Chakraborty and Dharemndra ji, who has just completed 50 years in Bollywood. It is so different for me to be involved in these films as I don’t have the history and the background. It’s so new for me to come into the country and experience it from a fresh perspective. But I’m falling in love with Indian cinema every day!”

IANS

Just shoot me!

The possibilities are endless - and so exciting - in the world of Indian TV soaps.

BY SUNIL GAUTAM

Story tellers of all kinds fascinate me – playwrights, writers, movie directors, politicians – all of them. That is why I was very excited when someone took me for a TV serial shoot on my recent trip to Mumbai. It was one of the most popular soaps on TV and I was like a little kid on the sets, ogling at all the stars and starlets but most of all, the director.

My friend, knowing my enthusiasm, organised a quick meeting with the director. He was a very busy man but when he learnt we were from Australia, he agreed. I introduced myself as a writer of sorts and requested him to educate me a bit on how they go about shooting an episode.

“What are you shooting today?” I asked, wanting to know all the details of the episode.

“The Mehra family is having a get-together when they have an unexpected visitor,” he replied quickly, while correcting some mistakes in the script.

“Do you realise how loyal my viewers are? And how unforgiving? They demand to know what is going on in each character’s life, and head. If, for example, I don’t show Nirmala’s reaction…. do you know what kind of hate mail I’ll get? It will be the same if I leave Dadaji out. You guys don’t realise the pressure we work under”

“And?” I enquired innocently, imagining the visitor to break some big news or to spoil their party or perhaps, be the police. I also imagined how all the members would handle the crisis and how every passing second would unravel more action.

“And what?” he snarled, “There is a knock on the door and they look at the door”.

“And?” I knew he was teasing me.

“That’s all we are shooting today.”

“But I thought you were shooting an entire episode.”

“Yes we are, this is the whole episode. There is a knock on the door, the door opens, someone enters and they all look up.”

“But an episode lasts a long time. Is this enough action?”

“Just because many Indian movies are shot in Sydney, is everyone from that city a film director? This is enough action for one episode.”

“But how?” I demanded a better answer, while my friend pretended he didn’t know me any more.

“Look,” he seemed to have taken it as a challenge, “There are 11 people in the hall. Each one is an individual. Each one will have his or her own perspective of the situation.”

“So?”

“So, we’ll shoot each one of them separately, with a few close ups and dramatic angles. It will capture the hidden feelings of every character. Each shot will last about a minute.”

“So, that is eleven minutes in that case…” I persisted.

“You should never try to become a director,” he sympathised with me. “What about the visitor?? Doesn’t he have to look at each person present in the hall? Won’t that take another eleven minutes? And did anyone in Sydney tell you that a TV serial episode is for 22 minutes?”

“But what about the story going forward? What have the viewers got in these 22 minutes?” I felt like a consumer rights activist now.

“What about them? Do you realise how loyal my viewers are? And how unforgiving? They demand to know what is going on in each character’s life, and head. If, for example, I don’t show Nirmala’s reaction to the visitor to, well, please my Australian guest, do you know

work under.”

“But what about holding people’s interest for so long while just showing reactions?”

“Your innocence is touching,” he said. “There is a small flashback with each reaction as everyone in the hall recalls their previous encounter with the visitor”.

“But haven’t people already seen those encounters? Why repeat them?”

“Does anyone have a copy of TV Serials for Dummies here,” he shouted. “We need to educate someone that a TV soap travels in its own directions – back or forward, and at its own pace, on its own will.”

“Looks like your intention is to use up an entire episode without showing anything new. By the way, why do you have eleven people in the hall? Where do we have such large families anymore? ”

“We didn’t, originally,” he confessed. “The Mehras were just a family of five. But the producers forced me to discover their other members hiding overseas and bring all six of them back to India. More people, more problems, more episodes, more money, and NRIs also bring their own peculiar issues with them… nothing personal, please…” he was down to a whisper now.

“But how do the viewers keep track of what is going

“They don’t!” he leaned so forward that I could tell he has a kidney problem by looking at his iris. “Why do you

“We are hoping next week a couple of these eleven actors will be sick and won’t be able to shoot.”

“How will that help?”

“We can then base the next episode on where those missing characters are. Infidelity? Murder? The possibilities are endless – and so exciting.”

I asked my last question.

“How does the story end, by the way? Promise I won’t tell anyone!”

“If the channel keeps us on air, then it will never end. People have children, you know.”

“And if the channel asks you to pack your bags?”

“We have already shot a scene of mass murder-suicide in which no one survives. I hope viewers will forgive me for ending the serial that way.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, “They have already forgiven you for making it.”