2010-07 Sydney (2)

INDIAN LINK PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Sheryl Dixit

CONTRIBUTORS

Mamta Sharma, Nima Menon, Usha Ramanujam Arvind, Farzana Shakir, Noel G deSouza, Malli Iyer, Sunil Ranadive, Saroja Srinivasan, Petra O’Neill, Rani Jhala

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

Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 or GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001 Ph: 02 9279-2004 Fax: 02 9279-2005

Email: info@indianlink.com.au

True colours

The race is on. The duel between Labor’s Julia Gillard and the Coalition’s Tony Abbot has begun. It promises to be a fascinating battle between the two sides of politics, though there is apparently little gap between the styles of the two pugilistic contenders for the keys to the Lodge.

As a country, one of the big questions will be our readiness to accept a female Prime Minister. Australia has a female Governor General, but it is an appointed position and though Gillard is Australia’s first female Prime Minister, her elevation to the top job came from the fateful night of the long knives as she ousted Kevin Rudd from his elected post. Now, as a leader of Australia’s main political party, she is seeking public mandate for the top job. Even the United States’ Democrats hesitated in elevating Hillary Clinton to the top job over Barrack Obama at their last election.

Though Gillard has publicly asked to be judged for how she does her job rather than how she got it, the electorate have been given little time to judge her leadership qualities. As deputy leader to former Prime Minister Rudd, her handling of a number of issues during that part of her political reign - the Building Education Revolution, the roll out of laptops for school children etc - were not the best example of an efficient Minister. Her further involvement in the running of the country as right hand person to Rudd on the emissions trading scheme, the mining tax issue and the home insulation project also did not portray the

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

side of an effective leader. Not giving the public a better look at her operational style now as Prime Minister, and calling a poll within 24 days of taking over the top job, also reeks of indecent haste. To give the electorate a better understanding of her leadership skills, perhaps Gillard should have waited a while longer before calling the elections.

From an Indian community viewpoint, Gillard in her role as the education minister totally mishandled the international students’ situation which has affected a large number of Indian students in Australia. Rather than try to work through the problems in her role as education minister, draconian changes to the law have radically disadvantaged thousands of Indian students. The education industry was earning the Australian government an estimated $15 billion. Now, if even only 0.1% of these earnings (i.e. $15 million) were allocated towards “cleaning up” the industry by establishing an ombudsman and ensuring correct procedures were implemented and followed, it might have got us better results. However, the Labor Party and Gillard did not do so. Rather they took an easy option which has destroyed the dreams of thousands of international students and

their families.

On another matter, where the Indian community in Australia has strong reservations against the Labor Party, is their refusal to sell uranium to India. For its growing energy needs, India’s demand for clean nuclear energy is clear; yet Australia with its rich resources of uranium to fuel these energy power stations, is stuck on an antiquated policy of nuclear nonproliferation. This is the same Australian government which readily supplies uranium to countries whose involvement in proliferating nuclear know-how to countries such as Pakistan and Iran are well known. Labor has certainly been no friend of India or Indian-origin voters in Australia.

With 21 August looming closer, it is time for our community to put these questions to our political candidates. Let them show their true colours.

What’s On

Chinmaya Mission events

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-ringgai, Linfield. For bookings and details contact Rahul on 0402 587 579

Natyotsav Theatre Fest

Kalra 0413 753 134, Rakesh Sachdev 0407 229 093.

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

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

Bala Samskar Kendra

Sanskrit language, Hindu heritage and cultural classes for children and youth

2pm to 3.30pm Metella Road Public School, Toongabbie. Contact Rohini 9863 3067

2pm to 3.30pm Liverpool Library, George St. Liverpool. Contact Shipa Srihari 9601 8345

Call for pharmacists of Indian origin

24 and 31 July

The Bengali Association of NSW stage their Annual Natyotsav festival at Strathfield Girls High School, Albert Rd, Strathfield. Four plays will be presented this year.

Details at www.bansw.org.au

Sakhi Sangam

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

Details Nandini Thadani 02 9181 2204, Sushma Ahluwalia 02 9894 0070.

AHIA Manna Dey night

7 Aug Australia Hindi Indians Association (AHIA) announces a Manna Dey night as a fundraiser towards activities of its senior citizens group.

Venue Red Gum Function centre Wentworthville, at 6.30pm. Prsented by Avijit Sarkar, accompanied by Pushpa Jagdish and Srijani Dan. Details Tilak

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

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.

Sydney Veda Patasala

Sundays Vedic chanting and cultural heritage school welcomes interested people (from 5 years to 75 years) to join its classes.

6 to 7pm Crestwood High School, Chapel Lane, Baulkham Hills. contact Subhashree 9894 2897

5.30pm to 6.30pm West Epping Guides Hall, Plympton Road, North Carlingford. Contact Padmaja 9011 5793

4pm to 5pm 1/93 Castlereagh St, Liverpool. Contact Shilpa Ram 9601 8345

Pharmacist Rajeev Malhotra invites pharmacists of Indian origin living and working around the Sydney region to associate together. Contact Rajeev Malhotra at 0422 409 881 or at rmalhotra@scientist.com

UNSW Indian Cultural Association Awards 2010

The UNSW Indian Cultural Association is introducing awards in three categories to be awarded on Sept 1, 2010:

• UNSW International Indian Student academic achievement award

• Best visionary article award (topic India)

• Best visionary article award (Indian students’ contribution to India and Australia)

Submissions may be made to info@ica. unsw.edu.au before 9 Aug 2010

Student convicted in immigration fraud

Govt warns stringent action

Immigration fraud has been a continuing concern at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. However, with stronger measures in place, the Australian government has cracked down on some large-scale frauds and successfully convicted the offenders.

Shao Wen Yin, a former student at the now-defunct Sydney International College of Business (SICB), was found guilty on July 5 on two counts of supplying false documents – one an educational qualification in hospitality (commercial cookery) from the college, and the other a false work reference – with intent to fraudulently obtain an Australian permanent resident visa. He was sentenced to 200 hours’ community service.

This is the first criminal conviction in Australia arising from an investigation into large-scale fraud allegedly involving a college and large numbers of students using false qualifications to obtain permanent residence.

“This conviction sends a clear warning that the department will pursue the prosecution of people at all levels of organised scams, whether they operate educational institutions, people who provide migration advice without being registered, or people gaining advantage from these practices, ” a DIAC spokesperson said.

It is an offence under Australian immigration law to provide false documents

Bangalore House for Sale

Four Bedrooms, with en-suite. 33’ X 40’. Recently renovated corner block, East facing. Close to Bhasyam circle and 7 km from Vidhana Soudha. Price 480k. For private sale. Email:

or make misleading statements in a visa application. In such cases, applications may be refused and visas may be cancelled. In addition, the persons involved may be barred by law from being granted a visa for one to three years. In some cases they may be permanently excluded from Australia. Penalties for being involved in immigration fraud range from fines and community service orders to jail sentences of up to 10 years.

Four further arrest warrants have been issued in relation to two people, Australian citizens, alleged to be giving immigration assistance when not registered as migration agents, and two other students. As well, a court attendance notice was authorised for a third student – all part of the same investigation.

The department is also progressing several other investigations into allegations about individuals who are coordinating the production of false work documents, to support permanent migration applications.

“There are an undisclosed number of investigations underway. There were 13 new prosecutions commenced in the financial year 2008-09 in relation to false documents, false statements and other criminal matters. In this period there were six successful convictions for various offences under the Migration Act 1958,” says Lancia Jordana, NSW Public Affairs Officer for DIAC’s National Communications Branch.

“Whenever a trend is noticed, we act to stop it. Some recent examples include the department’s crack downs on scams involving spouse visas and second working holiday maker visas,” she adds.

On category of people who mostly involve themselves into immigration fraud, Lancia says, “The department focuses more on employers, agents and labour suppliers rather than dealing solely with individual visa breaches. However, people who are the beneficiaries of fraud scams will continue to be pursued by investigators.”

Elaborating on the actions taken by the department to counter immigration frauds, Lancia says, “The government has ramped up its integrity measures, which can include closer checking of work experience claims and documentary

evidence provided by students seeking permanent residency and cracking down on nongenuine students and fraud at the source. The department works closely with a range of other Commonwealth and State agencies to combat fraud against our programs”.

Mamta Sharma

Things to be aware of while applying for a visa to Australia

* Applicants should obtain information and assistance regarding visa applications from either the Visa Office or Australian High Commission India office or preferred migration agents.

* Ensure that all of the documentation that you provide with your application is genuine.

* Do not listen to people who tell you that they can ‘arrange’ a visa for a sum of money.

* There are known scams operating over the Internet and in newspapers offering employment or study in Australia. These are commonly offered by businesses claiming to be ‘migration agents’. When dealing with any agent or business offering such services please ensure that you verify any offers of employment or study.

* Verify that the agent is applying lawfully to the Australian Government before making any payments or arrangements. If in doubt, contact the Visa Office.

* Obtain an official receipt for any money you pay for a visa or visarelated services.

* If you are involved with Immigration fraud in any way your ability to apply to travel to Australia will be affected.

Austral Migration Services has a global presence in providing integrated services for your resettlement in Australia & Canada.

Our services include:

• General Skilled Migration (onshore & offshore)

• State Sponsored Visas

• Employer Nominated Visas

• Partner & Family Migration

• Business Migration

• Student Visas

• Advice on various pathways for permanent residency to onshore graduates.

• Advice & Assistance with Professional Year Program.

• MM2H (Malaysia) Program

• MRT Application for Review

• Workplace Assessment & Training in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery, Pattisserie, Bakery & Hair Dressing) in association with accredited Hospitality Assessor

Guidance and assistance in selecting appropriate professional courses based on education and background.

Specialist in International Student Placement.

• Change of Course, University and Education Provider

• Assistance with credit transfers

• Immigration & Visa Advice

• Student Visa and Appeal Matters

• Admission and Visa Assistance for other countries including Canada and New Zealand.

LADIES DAY OUT !!!

Indulge yourself with a top skin care range used and appreciated world wide. This is your chance. Pamper & Relax with a FREE MINI FACIAL led by an expert skin care consultant for a difference you can see and feel , using this miraculous product with its patented selfpreserving technology making waves in the skincare industry .

PS: SHOWCASED AT THE AUSTRALIAN FASHION WEEK MAY 2010 & OSCARS 2009. Attend this GLORIOUS EVENT packed with entertainment & refreshments. Bring a friend along and win exciting prizes.

Date: Saturday , 28th of August 2010 Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm Venue: 3, Hudson Avenue, Castle Hill (ample free parking)

FREE ENTRY. CALL NOW ON (02) 8230 3134 to book your place

BE THERE AND HAVE FUN.....

Mini Chefs and the art of fine dining

BY SHERYL DIXIT

Children never fail to surprise me. In a day and age where entertainment options like Wii, Nintendo DS and iPods abound, you’d think that kids would prefer these more appealing technological forms of fun to the simple pleasures of, say, pottering around in the kitchen. So it was a refreshing surprise to learn that several youngsters actually think that it’s cool to be in the kitchen.

It’s common knowledge that Channel Ten’s MasterChef series has been a runaway success and, by the time we go to print, the final is predicted to enjoy an even higher viewership than the Prime Minister’s face-to-face pre-election debate with the Leader of the Opposition. And for a change, it’s not just foodies, gourmands and sponsors who have been impressed and inspired by the show. Like adults, kids across households in Australia have been showing a keen interest in the series, and have been motivated to try their hand at a bit of experimenting in what was originally mum’s domain. Watching MasterChef has now become together-time for the whole family.

Meet the chefs

13-year old Devna Luthra’s foray into cooking began at an early age, sitting on the floor of the

kitchen, rolling pretend rotis with an overturned plate and spare rolling pin. Mum did all the hard work, including the cleaning up when ‘real’ flour was used, but it was certainly worth the effort. “My earliest memory of cooking is when I made a salad, when I was five,” she reminisces. “I did it like a TV show and mum recorded it too. I had to stand on a little plastic chair to reach the bench top – and I kept dragging the chair from the sink to the bench, all the while talking like a television food presenter”. Her brother Manan, 11, however, is quite the foodie. “I have many hobbies but I think food is my favourite one!” he says candidly. Manan began showing an interest in how food was cooked only in Year 3, in an attempt to cook his favourites.

Must be a ‘boy’ thing because 13-year-old Sudarshan Arvind too, wasn’t particular about the method of cooking, as long as it was good vegetarian food, and his mum always made sure it was.

“I always like eating nice food,” he says, admitting that his interest in cuisine now goes way beyond considering it as a chore.

For sisters Radhika (14) and Nikeeta (10) Bhatia, baking with their aunts was the beginning of their cooking adventures. Radhika also learned a bit of European cooking at school, simple dishes that had to be prepared within the half hour class. Alisha Vij (13) confesses to experimenting with different desserts to indulge her sweet tooth. And Sarina Patel (14) is her family’s acknowledged queen of rotis MasterChef mania

MasterChef has a lot to answer for, but fortunately in

a good way. The series has played its part in bringing dormant cooking desires to the fore, and all our Mini Chefs are avidly interested in the show. Some have shortlisted recipes that they intend trying in the future, others have actually met with success when preparing recipes. MasterChef makes great family time too as everyone, including dad and the dog, plonk themselves down in front of the TV to watch the show. There are shared moments of tension, relief, wonder and applause as intricacies unfold, techniques are displayed and the end result is an array of fantastic food.

“I never watched cooking shows on TV until I became hooked on to MasterChef, but now I’m going to watch more of them,” confesses Sarina, who thinks the judges are quite arrogant.

Manan finds the characters interesting saying, “I liked Jonathan and Aaron. George is funny, he says such weird things. In the Indian segment we all laughed when he said, ‘You’ve got to move like a Bollywood dancer!’”

For Devna, certain dishes appealed as much as the contestants. “I loved the prawn curry that Kumar Mahadevan made on the show and also a chocolate dessert one of the guest chefs made,” she says enthusiastically.

Nikeeta’s love for the show took an interesting turn as she recently celebrated her 10th birthday with a MasterChef party. She and six friends divided into two teams and cooked from available ingredients. They also had a ‘name the food’ game and had an absolute blast, thoroughly enjoying an evening of creative cuisine.

Devna’s school organized a MasterChef challenge

Their tastes extend to continental, contemporary, experimental, and they can even advise their parents on the uses of herbs and spices to enhance the dining experience

Cooking is an art form that pleases the palate and sends taste buds tingling, but what kind of cuisine could children create?

competition broadly on the lines of the TV show, and she did quite well. “I got to the semi-finals at the MasterChef challenge at our school. I had to cook a chorizo macaroni at the first level, and then udon noodles with beef and black bean sauce. Now my chef’s hat and wooden spoon have the pride of place in my bedroom,” she says proudly. Alisha also participated in the competition which required participants to cook the recipes they were given.

Proof of the pudding…

Our Mini Chefs don’t confine their culinary interests to just the show, they get out there and make food happen. Most prepare their favourites which run into desserts, but they do venture into the arena of entrées, main dishes and even have their own signature dishes. Sarina is particularly talented in this field. “I cook for the family as Mum travels a lot on her work. I made a great cannelloni recently, and was thrilled with how well it turned out. I also make nachos (my all-time favourite dish to eat and cook), omelettes, steak with mash potatoes and gravy, satay chicken and beef stir fry,” she claims. An impressive array indeed!

Manan, a true-blue foodie says, “I cook maybe once a month. My favourite things to make are chocolate crackles and rocky road. Sometimes I make hamburgers from scratch, with Mum watching, and we have them for dinner. I have also made pesto sauce in the blender, and I can make nice grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Radhika and Nikeeta are famed for their orange cake, which they were creating when I called to chat about their culinary skills.

“Nicky and I like baking, but I have to admit that we go strictly by the recipe. We bake cakes and cookies, and they are always delicious,” she says.

Radhika also made a special bread from a recipe seen on MasterChef, which was worthy of being on the show. Nikeeta too, shared a simple, yet exciting recipe for potato and rosemary pizza, which quite impressed me.

For Devna, baking is her favourite method of cooking. She enjoys making cakes, biscuits, cookies and specially pancakes for breakfast on weekends. Devna has also ventured into recipes from Masterchef. “I have tried some of Nigella Lawson’s recipes like her chocolate cookies, chicken pie, baked potatoes and her margherita ice cream. I wasn’t allowed to eat the ice cream though, it had several types of alcohol in it! Even Mum and Dad serve it in tiny shot glasses because it is so rich,” she says.

Alisha began cooking complete meals when she was in Year 5, and she can make a variety of different kinds of pasta. She has tried out recipes of different food genres, but desserts are her forte. She likes them rich and flavoursome, and when the rest of the family find it a bit too exotic, well, she eats them herself!

Any takers for Indian?

Yes, certainly, Sudarshan comes up tops with his avid love of Indian cuisine. Not only has he taken along prepared dosas and dry potato curry to his school for fetes, but he has also done a complete school project on regional Indian vegetarian food. “I now try out savoury main dishes, but my cooking doesn’t quite match up to mum’s yet,” he admits.

Sarina is the queen of rotis, having learned to make them on her dad’s insistence a couple of years ago. “I can also make parathas. When we have guests Mum and I get together and cook loads of rotis like a production line. I can also make potato subzi,” she says.

Manan isn’t too hot on Indian food. “I don’t think I want to learn to cook Indian – it looks too complicated, and I don’t know how to close the pressure cooker. But if Mum is busy I can cook myself a paratha – I take it out of the freezer and cook it on the pan,” he says, tongue-in-cheek.

Radhika and Nikeeta like their dal, rice, chole, but leave the cooking up to Mum, content to be her little helpers. “We haven’t begun cooking any Indian dishes yet, it’s quite a process. For the time being we just help out in the kitchen,” they say.

Alisha too, enjoys Indian food, but has yet to venture into its intricacies.

Delicious disasters

Of course, our Mini Chefs can’t always avoid the occasional disaster, but it’s all part of the experience. Devna painstakingly made a gingerbread house from scratch last Christmas. “I cut out a house with a roof, fixed the sides with icing sugar, decorated

Continued on page 18

(Top left) It’s hamburgers for dinner when Manan cooks

(Main) Nikeeta and Radhika put finishing touches on their orange cake

(Above) The MastrerChef touch: Sarina decorates a plate of hors douvres

the roof with chocolate chips and M&Ms and used a Flake chocolate bar for chimney. I also coloured some rice and made a garden outside with a path to the front door, and even a pool. I was very pleased with myself, but the next morning, the roof had caved in as it was too heavy. So we ate a collapsed house on Christmas day, but it didn’t matter because the gingerbread was delicious,” she says.

However, Sarina wasn’t so lucky. “I made sang choy bow – it turned out simply too sour! And there have been times when I’ve left the heat on too high and the pan burns…It’s such a mess to clean up!” she laments.

The world is their wok

One of the advantages of living in multi-cultural Australia is the exposure to different and often exotic forms of food. And these young kids have developed an astonishing sense of maturity when it comes to their selection of cuisine. They know what they like, and their choice is varied. Thai, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Middle Eastern are all favourites, with specific choices of dishes. Their tastes extend to continental, contemporary, experiential, and they can even advise their parents on the uses of herbs and spices to enhance the dining experience.

“I love the Mongolian lamb and honey chicken at a restaurant near where I live, and I really want to learn how to make their honey chicken,” says Sarina.

Alisha loves Thai, with its different flavours that enhance chicken, seafood and meats, and she’s also a fan of Italian food.

Sudarshan’s tastebuds tingle for Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Middle Eastern food, making the option of finding suitable restaurants a challenge, as the family is wholly vegetarian.

At restaurants Manan no longer orders from the kids’ menus - it’s the full monty for him, thank you!

“I like to order seafood things and steaks. Recently I ordered steak tartare, but when it came it looked like steak finely chopped up. It had an egg yolk on top, and the whole thing was cold. I just stared at it, and then the waiter told me to mix the yolk in with the meat. It was delicious. The next night, when we were watching MasterChef, one of the contestants cooked steak tartare – what a coincidence!” he enthuses.

Nikeeta enjoys Mexican and Italian, while sister Radhika loves Thai, and both of them enjoy riceoriented dishes. Quite a variety for the family!

Equipped for the task

Apart from the variety of recipes, a couple of exciting things about MasterChef is the use of different kitchen equipment as well as technique information and food styling. All our Mini Chefs now understand the process and involvement required in creating both simple and unique cuisine. By observing the recipes prepared on screen, they know exactly when to add ingredients to give a dish its particular flavour. They also learn a lot about presenting and styling food, to give it an enhanced, attractive look.

And the gadgets! They’re enough to drive a kitchen-lover to distraction! Some of these youngsters are already building up their store of private kitchen artillery. Devna has her own section in the kitchen pantry, mostly filled with baking ingredients. “I have flours, icing sugar, chocolate, decorating things like little edible roses. I also have differently shaped cookie cutters collected over the years. There are icing sets and piping bags that my grandmother has bought me. And I have my own electric beaters which even Mum doesn’t touch!” she says. Devna has also picked up little things from the shops like kitchen scales and silicon oven mitts which her mum wouldn’t have even thought of buying, but which she now finds very handy.

MasterChef makes great family time too as everyone, including dad and the dog, plonk themselves down in front of the TV to watch the show

Sudarshan is still trying to convince his mum that they need some of the gadgets displayed on MasterChef. “But she says that we should make do with what we have,” he says resignedly.

Alisha tries not to go too mad with kitchen knickknacks, but she has bought a set of measuring cups which have been in use since they came home. Radhika does optimistically recommend kitchen equipment to her mum, but leaves the purchase decision to her.

All our Mini Chefs own a variety of cookbooks and if they need to look up a specific recipe, they hunt it out on the internet, the ultimate answer to every kind of culinary experience.

Masters in the making?

Devna thinks she could make a career out of food, but she’s still not sure. “I don’t know if I will be able to handle dealing with food directly like a chef, but something related, like reviewing, might just be my thing,” she says. Would she like to be on MasterChef? “Maybe, but I would make sure that I cook dishes other than curry!” is her pert response. However, Manan’s quite sure that food will be an important part of his life. “When I grow up maybe I would like to be a food reviewer, like a critic. But maybe I would like to be a video game developer. Hey, maybe I can develop a cooking or eating game; that would be super!” he says enthusiastically. The rest of our Mini Chefs are not quite ready to relinquish their future careers to the kitchen, but they’re happy to aspire towards becoming really great cooks.

I have to admit that I envy their parents – they’ll be the lucky judges to an array of exciting, creative and delicious cuisine. Imagine having to sample dishes made via Pressure Tests, Invention Tests and Mystery Box Challenges. And best of all, they won’t even have to vote them out of the kitchen.

(Top Left) Sarangan and Sudarshan follow mum’s instructions to the letter

(Left) Playing with their food: Nikeeta and Manan have some holiday fun

(Above) Yumm: Devna’s chocolate delight

Raj of Sunpilots The

It’s Goodbye biomedical science, Hello rock music for singer-songwriter Raj Siva-Rajah

BY FARRHA KHAN

Biomedical scientist by day, rock star by night, Raj Siva-Rajah is ready to put away his tie and suit for good.

Lead singer of the band The Sunpilots, 30-yearold Raj Siva-Rajah’s dreams of becoming a full-time musician will be realised in a matter of weeks.

Working in pharmaceuticals over the past 6 years, Raj finally handed in his resignation notice last week, getting ready for a full-time career as the singer of the band The Sunpilots.

From September onwards, Raj and the other band members (Bob Spencer, Justin Kool and Andy Nielson) will be relocating to Germany for a 12-month tour of Europe.

“It’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time,” Raj explains with a laugh.

Born in Brisbane to Sri Lankan parents, Raj was introduced to music and singing at a very young age. His mother began teaching him carnatic music from around the age of 8, and he was introduced to classical sounds and music during trips to community temples.

So how does a young Sri Lankan-Australian with strong roots in Indian classical music, end up in an Australian rock band?

“In high school I got into more typical western rock music like Pearl Jam and Nirvana,” Raj tells Indian Link. “I started a band with a few friends in high school. I can’t remember [the name of the band] but it was probably something really bad.”

But why a rock band?

“Growing up in high school, when you’re not like everyone else, you try your best to fit in,” Raj explains. “But as you get older you want to embrace your roots a bit more”.

Raj could have easily followed in the footsteps of his mother and continued with the carnatic music.

“I never really learnt any Eastern instruments. But I took piano and guitar lessons. So the vocals I did were carnatic while the instruments were Western. Which was cool because it allowed me to get a taste of both sides,” Raj says.

Although The Sunpilots are a rock band, there are some tracks that have elements of Eastern music.

“On the last album, I got my mum to sing a bit of carnatic as an intro to a pretty heavy rock song. What’s interesting to me now is the fusion of East and West. I’m really enjoying it at the moment and will probably feature a lot of it in our next album”.

Raj is still taking lessons for his singing but more Western styles, yet his carnatic upbringing has allowed him to bring a unique element to The Sunpilots.

Raj does believe that his ethnicity has held him back trying to break into the Western music scene. But he feels now that artists who have an ethnic background, or who bring ethnic styles into the mainstream, can have a unique advantage.

“There are purists on both sides. People on both sides might think that certain people shouldn’t be doing a certain style of music,” Raj says.

While music was always a part of Raj’s life, he didn’t always think of being a full-time musician.

“It was always at the back of my mind, but I didn’t really take it seriously until a few years back,” Raj reveals.

So he studied biomedical science and got into pharmaceuticals.

“My parents were always supportive of me, but were pushing me to study so that I would always have a base as something to fall back on,” Raj discloses.

Coming from a Sri Lankan background, Raj never felt pressured to pursue a career that he wasn’t passionate about. “Everyone is so busy working and doing things that they don’t necessarily like doing, just because they are expected to do…”

“In our culture, you have to be a lawyer or doctor or engineer. It’s just what is expected. I don’t fit that mould!” Raj says.

In 2004, Raj moved to Sydney hoping to become more involved with the music scene. With contacts he made while living in Adelaide, he began forming a band. The birth of The Sunpilots though really began when Raj met guitarist Bob Spencer.

Raj was singing with a different band, and his guitarist was going to be leaving soon, so knew he would be looking for a new guitarist

“It was just before a gig. I was messaging people to come down and check us out. I wasn’t going to message Bob because I didn’t really know him. But then I thought, what the hell, spam!”

He’s glad he sent that one message, and that Bob did come down to see the performance.

“If I hadn’t sent the text, which I wasn’t going to, all this wouldn’t be happening or would be happening very differently.”

Once Bob came on board, they began jamming, writing and looking for other band members – and The Sunpilots was born.

The name comes from Raj’s love of 1970s rock songs.

“I’m a big fan of Pink Floyd and one of my favourite songs is Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, so it just came from that”.

They released their first album, Living Receiver in late 2008. Besides getting rave reviews from Australian media and a lot of radio play, they’ve gained international attention.

“We haven’t toured in Canada, but we have won awards, which is quite funny,” Raj laughs.

The band is currently recording their next album called King of the Sugarcoated Tongues which Raj describes as more ‘operatic rock’ where the album’s songs flow from one to another in a story telling pattern.

As the writer of the lyrics for The Sunpilots, Raj

“In our culture, you have to be a lawyer or doctor or engineer. It’s just what is expected. I don’t

finds inspiration from all areas of life.

“I get ideas from what’s happening in my life or from friends and family”.

Conformity is an idea that does come up a few times in many of The Sunpilots songs. “It’s something that I’m very passionate about. My employment has always been in an ultra-corporate environment. Silly conformity like if you don’t wear ties in a conservative company, you get looks”.

Raj also thinks that a lot of what’s happening around the world also influences his lyrics.

“Stuff that makes me angry does creep into the lyrics. Like the US with their global police mentality and countries suffering all these things being forced upon them,” Raj lets slip.

With Sri Lankan roots, Raj has kept an eye of what is happening in the region.

“I’m a bit removed, but I am culturally close to what is happening in Sri Lanka. After 50 or 60 years, it’s hard to separate the right from wrong. Culturally it’s really ingrained in everyone. And it does affect me... I think it’s really sad that people are being caught in the middle. There is a lot of abuse of human rights. That definitely is part of the influence (in my writing) as well.”

While they will be touring Europe for a year, The Sunpilots do plan to come back and tour in Australia before touring in North America and the Indian sub-continent.

Yet, their beginnings were rather humble.

“Our first gig was in a hotel in Glebe called Excelsior Hotel. We were shoe-holed into a corner with a PA where one speaker wasn’t working with 5 half-drunk people.”

Over the last four years, they have done four

“On the last album, I got my mum to sing a bit of carnatic as an intro to a pretty heavy rock song. What’s interesting to me now is the fusion of East and West. I’m really enjoying it at the moment and will probably feature a lot of it in our next album”

national tours which would have certainly prepared them for their international tours.

“Because I’m generally late for, um, everythingand I think that’s a cultural thing where I’m running on Sri Lankan time - the guys always tell me a performance is half an hour before it really is,” Raj laughs.

This led to an awkward moment before a show they performed in regional Victoria where he accidently walked into the change room full of half naked girls.

“There were all these older rowdy guys, and I wasn’t sure what kind of audience we’d be playing for. So I went backstage to look for the guys and walked into a room of all these half naked girls. And I was really embarrassed - I backed out of the room as quick as possible!”

Raj later found out there had been a cabaret show earlier on in the afternoon.

The Sunpilots have four music videos that explore different themes stylistically, made on fairly low budgets. Yet Raj reveals he would love the next video to be animated.

“We always want to do something different. The next album is epic in its nature, set in this different kind of world where different kinds of things are happening. We either have it in real life where the budget is ridiculously expensive or it’s not going to communicate the world. With animation, it’s not over-the-top expensive or limiting.”

Unfortunately they don’t have James Cameron on hand. “We don’t have the budget for him,” Raj laments with a laugh.

Their last performance in Australia before they head off to Germany was in Glebe last week Saturday.

“It’s brought us full circle in a weird way,” Raj feels.

Raj wants The Sunpilots to be career musicians. “Fame and fortune would be fantastic. If that happens, it’s a nice extra.”

He isn’t interested in getting radio and mainstream fame and would rather play live a lot more.

“The fans are really loyal and stay with you. They aren’t transient fans that commercial radio brings. They are fans of the band, not just one song. If we get to the stage where we’re playing for thousands of people in like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Rome, we’ll be really happy. That’s the goal,” Raj notes.

Their goal could very well be reached this coming September.

“We’ve just been accepted to play at Popkomm festival in September, which is a big German music trade event,” Raj says.

They already have a few festivals and tours lined up in Europe.

“It was always something I knew I would really like to do, to pursue music as a full-time thing, as my main thing”.

In less than a few weeks, Raj will be able to see his dreams realised.

“I’ve always been more interested in doing something that makes me happy in my job rather than worrying about the finances of things,” Raj said.

But, is he ready to live the rock star life style? “I think so. I know I’m looking forward to it.”

The Sunpilots can be found on MySpace, YouTube and Facebook. They also have a free EP, Animals In My Mind featuring three of their songs that you can download at www.thesunpilots.com/download.

Lead singer Raj Siva-Rajah of Aussie rock band The Sunpilots with guitarist Bob Spencer

Diabetes The silent killer

The week of July 11-17 was observed as National Diabetes Awareness Week. With this silent predator on the prowl, it’s time to arm yourself with the knowledge necessary to stave off its rapid advances.

FARZANA SHAKIR and MAMTA SHARMA report.

Thirty eight-year-old Pendle Hill mum Brindha Ponniah had a reality check when she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her second pregnancy. She was cautioned by her doctor that unless she took immediate and radical action, she had a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Owing to the fact that she was overweight and both her parents were diabetic, the news sent alarm bells ringing.

Brindha is just one of 171 million people worldwide suffering diabetes, a vast majority of who are not even aware of it.

Diabetes is a disease caused by elevated glucose levels in the blood. A normal blood sugar level is between 80-120. A fasting blood sugar over 125 is considered diabetic.

Diabetes can go undetected for years and, if untreated, can lead to serious complications like heart disease, stroke, gangrene of the extremities, nerve disease that can lead to amputation of lower limbs, blindness, hypertension, skin infections and kidney failure.

Being referred to as “Asia’s new epidemic”, diabetes claims 3.2 million lives every year with six deaths every minute, and is fast becoming the number one killer in the world. Indians have been identified as particularly prone to the disease, leading the world with 50.8 million sufferers. (China follows at 43.2 million). In Australia alone it is estimated that over 900,000 people are diabetic.

“People from the Indian subcontinent and its diaspora may be the fulcrum of the diabetes tsunami,” warns Dr Soji Swaraj, consultant physician and specialist endocrinologist (diabetes and hormone specialist) at Concord Hospital and the University of Sydney. Of the projected 333 million people with diabetes in 2025, he stresses, a large proportion will be of Indian subcontinent ancestry.

Both heredity and environment have been listed as contributory factors in Indian-origin sufferers of the disease, and many education programs have been put in place to allow members of the community to assess if they are at risk.

Describing the graveness of the situation, Dr Swaraj says, “I give my patients the analogy of a deaf and blind person walking inadvertently along a train track, blissfully unaware that they are at high risk of being struck by an oncoming train. And yet, simple measures can take them off the track to disaster and towards seeing their children grow up, get married and have their own children.”

Diabetes kills people early (40s to 60s)

Types of Diabetes

Type 1: This was formerly known as the juvenile-onset diabetes as it strikes in childhood or early teens. This is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys its own beta or insulin producing cells. The patients are insulin dependent and as they progress in age the symptomatic lines begin to blur into Type 2. Type 1 accounts for 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. The main difference between the two types is that in Type 1 the pancreas makes little or no insulin and in Type 2 though insulin is being produced it is not in high enough quantity.

Type 2: This disease was previously referred to as adultonset diabetes. It usually affects people over 40 and is caused by poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. However, availability of unhealthy fast food and lack of exercise is making the teenagers of today the new victims of Type 2. Type 2 accounts for 90% of all cases. Obesity, family history, ethnicity and glucose intolerance are all risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

Gestational: This type of diabetes occurs in 2-5% of all pregnancies and disappears when the pregnancy is over. It affects women who have difficulty in digesting carbohydrates. All women are tested for it in the first trimester. Nearly 40% of women who suffer from gestational diabetes later develop Type 2. There is also a condition known as Pre-Diabetes. This is used to define patients who have elevated blood sugar but are not diabetic yet. Additionally, Hemocromatosis, Syndrome X, Cystic Fibrosis and Polycystic Ovary Disease are also types of insulin resistant diabetes.

from heart attack and stroke, which means children are tragically losing parents before they need to, says Dr Swaraj.

The diabetes specialist notes that people of South Asian origin are 4 times more likely to develop Type-2 diabetes than Caucasians. They also develop diabetes at a younger age, and at lower adiposity (obesity) levels.

“All subcontinental people are at much higher risk than the general Australian population (as high as 30% compared with 7%). The vascular damage starts even before diabetes starts, as our waist lines increase and we become too busy with our mortgages and school drop-offs.”

Why are South Asians more at risk?

There’s no doubt about it, South Asians are facing “a cardiaovascular time bomb”, Dr Swaraj says.

Explaining the role of genetics in diabetes, Dr Swaraj notes, “Like many indigenous populations, Asian Indians may have genetic preselection for an insulin resistant state wherein energy storage in the form of adipose tissue is favoured. This would have made sense in the hunter-gatherer times, though not in today’s obesogenic environments and with sedentary lifestyles. Poor maternal nutrition and low birth weight in Indian babies may also predispose them to an insulin-resistant state and diabetes in adult life.”

Compared to their Caucasian counterparts, South Asian children demonstrate a higher level of insulin intolerance and insulin resistance (which in many cases is genetic) thus requiring preventative measure to be put in place at an earlier age. Some studies have linked the lower threshold of waist circumference (central obesity) with an increased risk of glucose intolerance amongst South Asians.

But it’s not just genes. The unprecedented economic growth in India has underpinned a change towards more adipogenic (fatproducing) and sedentary lifestyles. Other factors such as a lack of physical activity due to cultural norms and the typical Indian highstarch diet, may play a role as well.

“Our Indian mothers are to blame too,” notes Dr Swaraj. “They want us all to study, get a professional job at a desk (not out in the great outdoors where we can get enough Vitamin D from the sun). They also want us to eat ‘just one more serve’ of roti or rice to make them happy”.

Dr Swaraj notes that while much of the fibre and pulses in vegetarian Indian diets are beneficial in a diabetic diet, the starch

Simple steps to prevent diabetes

• If you’re a South Asian over 30, see your GP, have a fasting glucose check. Measure your waist line around the navel and if it’s more than 85 cm, start a daily 1/2 hour walk or gym. Set a target waist reduction of 10cm over 10 weeks.

• Cut down by half the rice, roti, pasta and bread while increasing the vegetable, lentils, fruit and protein intake, as this alone will decrease the waist line and blood sugar significantly.

• Drinking a glass of water before meals reduces your food intake. Use skimmed milk and reduced fat dairy products and grill or bake your food instead of frying.

• Drink plenty of water. Snack on healthy alternatives like nuts and wholegrain bars.

• Indian women should also have their Vitamin D levels checked and replaced if low.

• If you are on the threshold of diabetes it is imperative that you check the Glycemic Index (GI) of foods you eat. This helps maintain blood sugar.

• Smoking increases the risk of diabetes significantly so if you can’t go cold turkey than start by reducing and finally quitting.

• If you’re a diabetic, aim to get your Hb A1c below 7% as this will cut your risk of heart attack and stroke and if difficult, get a referral to an endocrinologist from your GP.

• There are several newer medicines available now for the overweight diabetic patient that help lose weight, drop the appetite and lower the glucose as opposed to traditional drugs that cause hypos and weight gain. Talk to your GP about these.

rich content like rice, chapati and paratha is not. He also blames the culture of eating in Indian society (our norms of hospitality), and the high palatability of spicy food leading to consumption beyond nutritional needs, as equally responsible for increasing cases of diabetes.

“Indians, whether in India or outside of it, are several times less likely to engage in physical exercise than in western counterparts,” he adds.

Indian, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are 14%, 30% and 45% less likely, respectively, to follow the guidelines for recommended physical activity than the rest of the world population. Women in these countries face many hurdles including cultural norms, illnesses and social expectations which prevent them from aspiring to maintain physical fitness.

Some social habits like chewing on betel nut and smoking are also attributed to increased cases of diabetes in south Asians along with a deficiency of Vitamin D.

Preventive steps

Toongabbie GP Dr Shanthini Seelan says that one misunderstood fact about the disease is the permanency of the condition. “Many people are not aware that once diagnosed with diabetes, they have the condition for life. While dietary changes and regular exercise

will significantly slow the progression of the disease, it will unfortunately be a lifelong condition to manage”.

But rather than undergoing treatment, the best way is to take the necessary measures to prevent one from becoming a diabetic. Primary prevention measures include a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight

Diabetes Australia helplines

Diabetes Australia is a national federated body made up of state and territory organisations which helps all people affected by diabetes and those at risk. It also fundraises to help find a cure.

Diabetes Australia (Sydney) 26 Arundel Street

Glebe NSW 2037

If calling within NSW call the Infoline: 1300 136 588 (local call cost)

Phone: (02) 9552 9900

Fax: (02) 9660 3633

Email: info@diabetesnsw.com.au

Website: www.diabetesnsw.com.au

Diabetes Australia (Melbourne) 570 Elizabeth Street Melbourne VIC 3000

If calling within Victoria call the Infoline: 1300 136 588 (local call cost)

Phone: (03) 9667 1777

Fax: (03) 9667 1778

Email: mail@diabetesvic.org.au

Website: www.diabetesvic.org.au

Diabetes Australia (Brisbane) 29 Finchley Street

MILTON QLD 4064

If calling within Queensland call the Infoline: 1300 136 588 (local call cost)

Phone: (07) 3506 0999

Fax: (07) 3506 0909

Email: info@diabetesqld.org.au

Website: www.diabetesqld.org.au

Diabetes Australia (Adelaide) 159 Sir Donald Bradman Drive HILTON SA 5033

If calling within SA call the Infoline: 1300 136 588 (local call cost)

Phone: (08) 8234 1977

and avoiding tobacco use. These can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. (Secondary prevention would include early detection and good treatment). By making these simple changes today you may be able to give a disease like diabetes a slip.

And that is just what Brindha did. She was advised to lose weight and embark on a healthy lifestyle in order to be able to enjoy

Signs and Symptoms

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes have mostly similar symptoms. In both there is too much glucose in the blood and not enough in the cells. In Type 1 it is due to the lack of insulin and in Type 2 due to the cells becoming resistant to the insulin being produced. Since the cells aren’t getting the needed glucose, the body lets us know by giving signs like frequent trips to the bathroom, weight loss, feeling thirsty all the time, fatigue and weakness, a tingling sensation in the hands, legs or feet. Apart from these there could be other signs like dry, itchy skin, blurred vision, frequent cuts and bruises that get infected and take longer to heal.

What are the risk factors?

Weight: The most important risk factor for diabetes is obesity. The increase in your weight is directly proportional to the resistance of your body to insulin.

Age: The risk of Type 2 diabetes increases with age, more so after 45. Family History: Your risk of developing diabetes is higher if it runs in the family, especially if your mother, father or sibling has it.

a disease free life with her young family. She was also made aware of the SHAPE program which is currently being run by medico group WentWest for people residing in western Sydney.

Sessions for Health and Physical Exercise (SHAPE) is an 8-session program aimed at increasing health and fitness awareness for people at risk of developing chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes or heart problems. Brindha asserts that joining the program was a life saver. “They advised me on how to eat sensibly, how to maintain an active lifestyle, how to create a balance, and best of all, they taught me how to read labels on supermarket products to determine what I should eat and how I should be cooking to retain their benefits,” she says.

By following the exercise regime and availing the 3 months free gym membership offered by SHAPE, Brindha is very close to achieving her ideal weight and keeping diabetes at bay.

Since its launch a year ago, SHAPE has seen more than 300 western Sydney residents improve their diet and exercise habits, and changeds the lives of many who were heading towards Type 2 diabetes.

The need for a diabetes-education campaign Dr Swaraj feels that we need increased

awareness among Indian diaspora about the disease. “Cultural associations, ethnic press, radio, TV and websites should all be approached to do their bit. All Indian patients should be screened for waist circumference, and they should undergo fasting Blood Sugar Level tests annually. Risk factor education at time of immigration could also help. These are but a few standard and culture-specific measures that could be put in place to prevent the disease”.

And what can we do with our kids today to prevent them from getting diabetes? Dr Swaraj, a father of two young kids himself, is quick to reply:

* Keep the kids active daily.

* Stop force feeding them - don’t force them to finish their meals.

* Give them less and less carbohydrate (such as rice and roti).

* Talk to your GP if you see their waist line increasing.

Research shows that most people do not think diabetes is a serious condition and underestimate their risk. Don’t be the type to leave it too late. Could you or one of your family members or friends be at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes? If you are over 40, are overweight and have a family history of Type 2 diabetes, get yourself checked today and get on top of the game.

SHAPE participant Brindha Ponniah and WentWest dietitian and exercise physiologist Diana Daoud and inset, diabetes specialist Dr Soji Swaraj

Administration Assistant

Working in an established company, you will be responsible for day to day administration duties of a medium sized office. This is a full time position with future career progression for the right candidate.

$45,000 package (including superannuation) COMPANY

We are a young, dynamic and innovative company. We are looking to expand our team within a busy small office environment.

OPPORTUNITY

We require a customer focused, self motivated and proactive individual to join our team as an Administration Assistant. Experience in office administration in Australia is vital, with Hindi speaking being a benefit but not essential.

To be successful in this role you will have previous experience within administration and will be a great team player with a strong work ethic. You will also be prepared to take on additional tasks and will have great attention to detail. In return you will receive outstanding training and gain a wealth of experience with a friendly, successful team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

o In and out going phone calls

o Following up on supplier deliveries

o General accounts - purchase orders, accounts receivables and payables

o Data entry

o Stationery orders as required

o Basic management of HR issues

EXPERIENCE

o Previous history in an administrative role and office environment is essential

o Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and simple Data Entry software

o Knowledge in MYOB (ideal but not necessary)

Please email your CV to salessydney@gmail.com. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

We beat the best with no less — TAI offers best Airfares and Packages to suite all budgets.

We Specialise in: Competitive airfares to India, Indian Sub-continent, Fiji, Middle East, Asia, Europe, South America, North America & Africa. TAI— offers Special Round the World Fares and packages to suite both individual and group travel. TAI is focused on Tailor made and prepackaged tours. Are you looking for air tickets from India our partnered offices within India can organize any travel or tours within India and prepaid tickets.

Travel Air International now offers language support,

Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Arabic

Head Office

Westmead Office

Phone: +61 2 9633-2045

Fax: +61 2 9635-3829

Email:

Address: Daher Centre, Level 1, Suite 24, 163 –171 Hawkesbury Rd, Westmead NSW 2145

TOURS TO INDIA

Aamir Khan for Melb Film Fest

This year’s Melbourne International Film Fest will have a very special attraction for Indian film fans. Actor Aamir Khan will walk the red carpet and introduce his latest film Peepli Live.

Described in promotions as “India’s answer to Johnny Depp”, Aamir Khan will be accompanied by director Anusha Rizvi and some members of the cast at a gala screening of the film on August 6, 7.30 pm at the Regent Theatre. The event is copresented by Melbourne film company Mind Blowing Films.

Aamir’s film is only one among a set of Indian films to be screened at the festival this year.

As such, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), has done what the Sydney Film Festival has stayed away from for so long: showcase an industry that produces the largest number of films a year. As well, the move will attract a good number of Melbourne’s large Indian community, who would definitely have stayed away otherwise. Indeed, many Indian fans from other cities will probably land up at the Festival just because Aamir Khan is going to be there!

For Mitu Bhowmick Lange of Mind Blowing Films, who is also the distributor of the film in Australia, it was not hard to convince Aamir to come down for the festival.

“We’re all keen to do what’s best for the film, so Aamir readily agreed to do the red carpet event,” she told Indian Link. “It’s really a wonderful, heart-warming film, very hard not to love, and so we’re all doing everything we can to get more and more people to see it. I had already been working with the Melb film festival organizers on the India segment, and I believe the Festival will get us a wider audience for the film”.

The diminutive superstar, Mitu revealed, will be in Melbourne only for a day.

The country focus for this year’s MIFF, beginning July 22, is India. The festival has formed the special category Not Quite Bollywood that will offer a selection of Indian cinema that rejects the glitz and glam of traditional Bollywood fare.

“As the title suggests, the films we have selected for our focus on India are selected from outside of the Bollywood mainstream - they portray an India rarely seen on the screen. The emergence of these new shoots in the Indian film industry is like breaths of fresh air,” said Executive Director Richard Moore.

The films to be screened besides Peepli Live, including LSD, Ishqiya, The Japanese Wife and The Well, all lie outside the mainstream of Bollywood and bring to the audience a new perspective on India.

Peepli Live stars Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Naseeruddin Shah and Malaika Shenoy in the main roles. The film is produced by the banner of Aamir Khan Productions and opens in theatres on August 13.

Helmed and written by Anusha Rizvi in her first directorial venture, the film is a satire on the farmers’ suicides and subsequent media and political response in the country. The story revolves around poverty-stricken farmers Natha and Budhia, who, burdened

with an unpaid loan, risk losing everything. Desperate to keep the roof over his family’s heads, Natha hatches a plan to commit suicide – thereby ensuring the intervention of a government program that helps out the families of deceased. But once a reporter latches onto the story, Natha unwillingly becomes the centre of a frenzied media maelstrom.

A biting social satire that lampoons both government and media in one fell swoop, Peepli Live puts a comedic spin on one of the darkest issues facing India today.

LSD, one of the first all-digital films to break through to mainstream Indian cinema, sees filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee present a salacious mix of sex, lies and videotape that subtly underscores the unseen surveillance we live with day to day. Dibakar Banerjee and Priya Sreedharan will also be guests of the festival.

Set in the Indian countryside, Ishqiya features standout performances from

leads Naseeruddin Shah Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan, along with a laundry-list of villainous pursuers. Closer to Hollywood than Bollywood, Ishqiya is a light-hearted comedy mixed with fast-paced action. This is director Abhishek Chaubey’s debut feature film and he will be in attendance to present his film on August 1.

The Japanese Wife, a critically-acclaimed and touching tale of blind love and eternal hope from filmmaker Aparna Sen. Introverted school teacher Snehamoy (played by actor and rugby star Rahul Bose) finds companionship in the letters of a woman he’s never met. For Miyage, the Japanese woman writing to Snehamoy, their correspondence becomes a long-distance love affair. But when a lonely widower takes refuge in Snehamoy’s home, will solace and circumstance win over a love built on words?

At its core a meditation on how children deal with grief and loss, The Well is filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni’s (The Wild Bull) take on

adolescence. Kulkarni’s film is part of a new wave of Marathi cinema – the oldest film industry in India, which focuses on bold realism. After years apart, cousins Sameer and Nachiket meet at a family wedding. Spending their days swimming at the local well and figuring out what to do with their lives, they are inseparable – but when an argument divides them and one goes missing, things are changed forever.

The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an iconic Melbourne event, with a feast of cinematic delicacies from over 50 countries for 17 days each winter, heavily garnished with a range of parties and special events that cast a celebratory mood over the city. The Festival enjoys annual admissions of more than 190,000, making it one of Melbourne’s significant public events.

The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from July 22 to Aug 8. Details at www. melbournefilmfestival.com.au

Aamir Khan will introduce his film Peepli Live at MIFF

Peepli Live screens on Fri Aug 6 (7.30pm, Regent Theatre)

The Well screens on Fri July 30 (2.20pm, Forum Theatre)

Ishqiya screens on Sun Aug 1 (4.45pm, Greater Union Cinema 6)

LSD screens on Wed July 28 and Fri July 30 (7.00pm, Greater Union Cinema 3)

TheJapaneseWife screens on Fri July 23 (2.30pm, Forum Theatre) and Tue Aug 3 (9.15pm Kino Cinemas)

WENTWORTHVILLE $329,950

GUILDFORD AUCTION

From a bygone era circa 1896 this Heritage timber home is set on a 1,005sqm corner block with potential for a detached dual occupancy (subject to council approval). A renovators dream with many original features including fire place, stove, timber internal walls and more. Offers

RARE FIND Currently leased until December 2010 this well maintained villa is ideally located within walking distance to shops, station and transport. Includes 2 spacious bedrooms, air conditioned lounge & dining, modern kitchen with gas cooking, lock up garage and set in a small complex of 8. Wont Last!

Laing & Simmons Wentworthville 9688 4000 Contact Alan Fowler

separate lounge + dine, sunroom and located only minutes walk to shops + railway station.

large

WENTWORTHVILLE AUCTION

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Located in a popular cul-de-sac within walking distance to shops and station is this north facing brick veneer home with 3 bedrooms, separate lounge, light and airy kitchen, neat bathroom, sunroom, garage & carport, set on a 638m2 block. Not to be Missed!

Open For Inspection: Saturday 2:30-3:00pm

OPPOSITE WOOLWORTHS

Fantastic location, walk to everything from this spacious 2 bedroom first floor unit, recently re carpeted and painted, built in wardrobes in main, sunny balcony,

(4 double sized), original kitchen and bathroom, separate lounge and dining area all set on a 1227sqm block.

Laing & Simmons Wentworthville 9688 4000

Contact Alan Fowler

Be quarantine-aware this Rakhi

Being separated from loved ones during Rakhi can be difficult. A powerful affirmation of family bonds, this is a Hindu festival during which brothers and sisters exchange traditional gifts in celebration of love and togetherness. Sisters tie a sacred thread around the wrists of their brothers as a token of undying love, while brothers in turn promise care and continued friendship (or protection, as in older times).

When siblings live in different cities or in different parts of the world, the sacred thread is sent by post, often accompanied by traditional sweets.

Over the years as the Indian community has grown in Australia, the postal service here has begun to expect increased mail processing during Rakhi. Given the nature of the material they handle at this time, it is not surprising that quarantine issues have surfaced.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) acknowledges the unique bond shared by siblings and loved ones overseas, and the importance of celebrating Rakhi on time. So they urge you to make overseas family and friends quarantine-aware to avoid delays with the arrival of your gifts.

Although Rakhi gifts are sent with love, your family may not realise these gifts can contain plant or animal material which can harbour pests and diseases that can harm Australia’s unique environment and industries.

AQIS claims to be committed to processing international mail in a timely

manner to ensure that your special gifts are received in time.

“The lead up to Rakhi has shown that it is common for well meaning overseas family and friends to send not only their prayers, but also quarantine risk items that can be detrimental to the Australian environment. All international mail is assessed, x-rayed or checked by detector dogs, and packages containing risk items are opened and

Program Manager, AQIS International Mail Program.

Quarantine risk items include Rakhi threads made with seeds or flowers; traditional Indian sweets made with milk products such as barfi, mysore pak, gulab jamun, rasgulla, pedas or soan-papdi; grains; and dried fruits.

“To ensure the auspicious occasion

of Rakhi is celebrated on time, AQIS endeavours to keep processing delays to a minimum but this is difficult when mail contains risk items as they require further processing which leads to lengthy delays. But you can avoid these delays if you tell friends and family overseas not to send gifts containing quarantine risk items - as gifts with no risk items are processed much faster. So talk to your friends and family overseas and have your gift in time for Rakhi, which will certainly make the day much more enjoyable,” said Ms Martin.

Some suggestions for safe items your family can send are:

* Cotton Rakhi threads with plastic, fabric, gold or silver beads

* Gold or silver coins

* Personalised photo items

* Artificial flowers

Make sure your family correctly lists the contents of all parcels and fills out any postal declarations labels or forms. Declaring items does not automatically mean they will be confiscated – in many cases, most are returned or sent on after inspection. Some products may require treatment to make them safe. Where treatment is not an option, the goods will not be permitted into Australia.

For more information visit the AQIS website www. aqis.gov.au/rakhi; download the brochure ‘What Can’t be Mailed to Australia?’ or call AQIS on 1800 020 504 (free call in Australia and is in English).

SMASH REPAIR EXPERTS—ALL AREAS —ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES

CALL REGGI JASH -- FREE EXPERT ADVISE— OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Emirates brings the super jumbo to India

Emirates Airline flew in the first Airbus A-380 super jumbo with 517 passengers on a scheduled commercial operation into India on July 15, and was welcomed at the spanking new Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport through arching jets of water in an aviation industry salute.

Twenty-five years after it first flew to Delhi, the UAE-based Emirates became the first international carrier to land at Terminal 3 that signals a major leap in modernisation of aviation infrastructure for India. The terminal was inaugurated with great fanfare by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling UPA coalition chairperson Sonia Gandhi earlier this month.

“We brought the A-380 to Delhi to show the importance we attach to the Indian market. We have had a healthy load factor of around 80-85 percent to India,” said Majid Al Mualla, the airline’s senior vice president for West Asia and Indian Ocean.

“We have also been growing at around 15 percent annually here. This is a very important market and growing,” Al Mualla told IANS on board the special A-380 flight, for which an introductory return fare of Rs.9,990 was offered by the airline with all taxes.

The first time the A-380 landed at the Delhi airport was on the morning of May 6, 2007, as part of a test-cum-promotional visit for Airbus, flying in from its headquarters at Toulouse in France.

The 517-seat aircraft of Emirates, spread over two decks, offered 14 flat-bed first class private suites with electronic doors, 76 fullyflat seats in business class and 427 contoured seats in economy spread across four roomy cabins on the lower deck.

It also extended to its first and business class passengers private suites, shower spas and an onboard lounge with a wide range of drinks and canapés and the space to socialise or simply relax, officials said.

This apart, passengers in all classes can enjoy the in-flight entertainment, that has more than 1,000 channels of on-demand, including 200 movies from around the world, 100 television channels, some 500 audio channels and over 100 video games.

“The experience was something difficult to explain,” said S. Shammy, an architecture based out of Dubai. “I booked a ticket for this expericnce. I must say, it has been a real value for money,” Shammy, busy clicking photos all through the journey, added.

Emirates has the largest fleet of A-380s and currently flies 11 of the aircraft that serve destinations such as London, Toronto, Bangkok, Paris, Jeddah, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland.

Afghanistan allowed to send goods to India via Wagah

Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached an understanding on all major issues relating to transit trade, with Afghanistan being permitted to send its goods to India through the Wagah border but not vice versa.

In return, Pakistan would be able to export its goods to Central Asian countries through Afghanistan.

A broad-based record note on this was signed on July 18 by Pakistan Commerce Minister Amin Fahim and his Afghan counterpart Anwarul Haq in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Online news agency reported.

This issue of allowing Indian goods to Afghanistan through Wagah would be discussed in bilateral talks with India, sources said.

The note mentions that the Afghan trucks will be allowed to carry Afghan transit export cargo on designated routes to Pakistani seaports and Wagah and hoped that resolution of all outstanding matters relating to the finalisation of Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement would help in the early signing of the agreement, after completion of legal processes from both sides.

The Afghan transport units, on return, shall be permitted to carry goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan under the same expeditious procedures and conditions as Pakistani transport units.

It was also decided that all Afghan transit goods would be exported in containers of international specifications.

According to the note, the drivers and cleaners will be allowed to enter/exit the two countries on permits, identified by biometric devices installed at the entry points.

To tackle the issue of unauthorised trade, it has been agreed that tracking devices on transport units will be installed and a mechanism for custom-to-custom information sharing (IT data and others) will be established.

It has also been agreed that financial guarantees equal to the amount of import levies of Pakistan have to be deposited by authorised brokers and custom clearing agents to check the unauthorised trade and these deposits will be released after the goods exit the country.

In case, the goods do not exit the country within specified time, the guarantees will be encashed by the customs authorities.

D School alumnus named professor at Harvard

Gita Gopinath, a Delhi School of Economics alumnus, has been named professor of economics at Harvard University, becoming the first Indian-origin woman professor in the institution’s history.

Kolkata born Gopinath, 38, is considered an authority on business cycles in emerging markets and on price fluctuations across international borders. She was previously

associate professor of economics at Harvard, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2005.

“Professor Gopinath’s research on emerging markets has proven extremely important to our understanding of their business cycles, and her studies of price stickiness have been highly influential among macroeconomists,” said Stephen Kosslyn, dean of social science in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“Here on campus, she has played a central role in the vitality of our program in international economics, and especially in teaching and advising students in this field,” he said.

“Her success placing graduate students in top-tier institutions testifies both to her skill as a mentor and to her colleagues’ broad interest in her research agenda.”

Gopinath’s research on emerging markets has addressed income fluctuations in these economies. Together with Mark

Continued on page 34

Welcome aboard: Air stewardesses stand in the cabin of an Emirates A380 Airbus - the world’s largest passenger aircraft - after touchdown at terminal T-3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on July 15.

Photo: AP

Continued

from page

Aguiar of the University of Rochester, Gopinath has developed a model which has ultimately shown that stochastic elements of productivity are much larger in emerging markets than in developed markets.

Gopinath received a BA in economics from the University of Delhi in 1992; master’s degrees in economics from the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington in 1994 and 1996, respectively; and a PhD in economics from Princeton University in 2001.

She was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business from 2001 to 2005, when she joined Harvard as an assistant professor of economics. She was named associate professor at Harvard in 2009.

Gopinath is an associate of the National Bureau for Economic Research, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the International Growth Centre at the London School of Economics and Oxford University, and Harvard’s Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs.

Earlier this month, IIT alumnus Nitin Nohria took over as the 10th Dean of Harvard Business School (HBS). At HBS itself, Nohria is among some 25 teachers of Indian-origin in a faculty of just over 200.

Indian Rupee gets a new symbol

India has finally got a new symbol to denote its currency, the rupee.

More than a year after the government announced a competition for coming up with a symbol for the rupee, the Union cabinet on July 15 approved the symbol -- an amalgam of the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’ without the stem and two parallel lines running at the top. The parallel lines symbolise the equal to sign.

“It denotes the robustness of the Indian economy,” said Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, announcing the cabinet decision.

With the gaining of the symbol, the Indian rupee joins the club of US dollar, British pound, European euro and Japanese yen that currently have their own symbols.

The need for the symbol had become necessary because of the Indian economy’s rapid growth, which has propelled it to become one of the largest economies of the world.

“The symbol for the Rupee would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and robustness of the Indian economy as also a favoured destination for global investments,” said an official statement.

The symbol will distinguish the Indian currency from currencies of other countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia

needed identity: Indian scholar D Udaya Kumar, a post-graduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology, with his winning design for the Indian

symbol, an amalgam of the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’ without the stem and two parallel lines running at the top.

which also use the word “rupee” or “rupiah” to identify their respective currencies.

However, it might take more than a year for the new symbol to come into use throughout the country and about two years for it to be popular internationally, said Soni.

The new symbol had been designed keeping in mind the ease with which it can be incorporated into the existing software systems.

“The symbol will be included in the “unicode standard” for representation and processing of text, written in major scripts of the world to ensure that the Rupee symbol is easily displayed or printed in the electronic and print media as all the software companies provide support for this standard,” said the statement. The new rupee will also find its way on to keyboards of Indian manufactured computer systems, with suitable amendments being made to the existing list by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The design is the brainchild of Bombay IIT postgraduate D Udaya Kumar, who is with the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati. He will receive a prize of $5,350 (£3,500).

Explaining the significance of the design, he said it is based on the Indian Tricolour.

“My design is based on the Tricolour with two lines at the top and white space in between. I wanted the symbol for the Rupee to represent the Indian flag,” said Kumar.

Indian Army lodges protest with Pakistan on ceasefire violations

The Indian Army has lodged a “strong protest” with Pakistan over the continuous ceasefire violations from across the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani army during a flag meeting held yesterday,” according to an official.

The meeting, held near the LoC in Poonch sector, comes in the backdrop of July 15 ceasefire violation even as Indian and Pakistan foreign ministers were holding peace talks in Islamabad.

Pakistani troops opened heavy fire at five positions along the LoC and at another place from across the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir in a violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Pakistani troops started firing from across the International Border in Ranbir Singhpora sector, 30 km west of Jammu, at around 10.30 p.m. on July 15. Within minutes, gun fire also came from across the Krishna Ghati sector in Mendhar area.

There have been at least eight ceasefire violations in the past two weeks.

On July 7, Pakistan Rangers fired at an Indian border post on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor sector killing a Border Security Force (BSF) constable.

A day earlier, another BSF trooper was killed at the Chak Sagwali post in Pargwal area in Pakistani firing from across the border.Pakistan Rangers are regularly violating the ceasefire agreement, according to Indian army sources who say that it was being done to divert attention and push infiltrators to this side.

India’s HAL among exhibitors at Farnborough airshow

India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will be among the 1,400 exhibitors participating in the Farnborough airshow, one of the biggest in the aviation calendar, that got underway in Britain on July 19.

Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju is leading the Indian delegation to the show where the who’s who of the aerospace sector is expected to be present. Nearly 120,000 visitors are expected to attend the event.

Defence public sector undertaking HAL is among the 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries participating in the biennial Farnborough International Airshow, a defence spokesperson said.

Aviation selling and buying will be at the heart of the show, which in 2008 saw a record-breaking business of $88.7 billion being announced, according to the spokesperson.

The week-long event is also an ideal opportunity to showcase the latest star products.

Over 170 aircraft will be displayed through the week and the focus, according to the spokesperson, will be on Space Zone and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) this year.

The Space Zone brings together key players from space agencies and industry to highlight the increasing role of space in a rapidly changing world.

Unmanned aircraft systems are participating in the daily flying display at the air show for the first time.

The Boeing’s 787 will be making its international debut at the show and so would be the new A400M military transport plane from Airbus, which was on show in Berlin in June this year.

Secretary Defence Production Raj Kumar

Much

Rupee

Photo: AP

Singh and Commander-in-Chief Southern Air Command Air Marshal S. Mukerji are accompanying Raju to the show.

Flood toll in Punjab, Haryana reaches 51

The flood situation continued to remain grim in some parts of Punjab and Haryana where at least 51 people have so far lost their lives.

According to official figures, 26 people were killed due to flood-related reasons in Haryana while 25 people were killed in Punjab.

“In Haryana, maximum flood-related deaths were reported from Ambala district where 11 people lost their lives. This is followed by 10 in Kurukshetra, four in Fatehabad and one in Sirsa,” a Haryana government spokesperson said here.

The flood situation is still grim in some parts of Sirsa and Fatehabad districts, where the Ghaggar river was flowing above the danger mark.”Several acres of agricultural land has been inundated and many villages are still submerged. Rescue work is on and the overall situation is under control,” the spokesperson said.

“But it will take some more time for the situation to normalise in these two districts,” the official added.

Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts were badly affected by the floods during the past few days.

The state government claimed a loss worth crores of rupees and a team of central government will come here July 19-20 to assess the actual damage.

In the neighbouring state of Punjab, the flood situation is still worrisome in Sardulgarh sub-division of Mansa district.

“Although there has been no fresh breach, the flood situation is grim in some parts of Sardulgarh area. Our relief operation is on and the water level has also marginally receded since Saturday,” Kumar Rahul, deputy commissioner of Mansa, told IANS.

“Nearly 20,000 houses have been damaged in Mansa district and over 9,000 acres of agricultural land has been inundated,” he added.

As per official figures, over 3.25 lakh acres of land has been submerged in the floods, causing a loss of around Rs.480 crore. So far, 25 people have been killed in various floodaffected districts in Punjab.

World class transport facilities in Delhi for Games

With the Metro rail expanding its services in the capital as well as to the neighbouring satellite towns and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) acquiring a fleet of over 3,000 modern, low-floor buses - Delhi is all set to roll out the best transportation services during the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

Over 100,000 foreign visitors are expected to throng the capital during the mega event.

Though the Blueline commuter buses that earned a sobriquet of “killer buses” will not be phased out before October, the city government willl be relying heavily on staterun buses and Delhi Metro.

“The plan is to take the fleet of Delhi transport buses to 6,528 before the Games. At present, there are 5,164 buses, of which 2,747 are the old standard ones. The rest are low-floor buses,” a senior Delhi government official told IANS.

The official said that an order for 3,125 low-floor buses was placed in September 2009, of which only 1,340 are left to be delivered.

A total of 574 dedicated buses will be put into service for ferrying athletes and delegates to the Games venues.

“Besides, 80 buses will be put standby in case of an urgent requirement. All these 654 buses will be fully air-conditioned,” the official added.

Delhi Metro is also set to cover a distance of 190 km before the Games, reaching out to the neighbouring states.

The only Metro projects that remain to be completed before the Games are the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line, the Airport Express Link and the Central SecretariatQutub Minar section of the line to Gurgaon. All three are scheduled to be completed by September.

The Central Secretariat-Badarpur line will ensure easy connectivity to three venues of the Commonwealth Games-Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium near the JLN Stadium Metro station, the National Stadium near the Central Secretariat Metro station and the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range near the Tughlakabad Metro station.

Moreover, 1,667 buses, bothAND 4 nonair-conditioned and air-conditioned, will be deployed as “park and ride” vehicles for spectators and will also carry people from nearest Metro stations to the Games venues. As per the plan, anyone having the Games tickets will be allowed two free rides on either a DTC bus or the Metro.

Keeping the Games in mind, the DTC place3 aND 4d orders for 2,500 buses in September 2008, of which 60 percent were provided by the Tata Motors and the rest by the Ashok Leyland group.

Recently, the government extended the deadline to Tata Motors to supply 625 buses by August 31.

Also, for the tourists coming to the capital during the Games, there will be a “hop-on hop-off” bus service which will be started by the Delhi government by Sep 15.

“The bus service will help tourists roam around the city. It will ply on selected routes divided in three sectors based on the location of historical monuments, markets and eateries,” Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh

Mehta said.

Initially, 15-20 low-floor AC buses will be run on this service and the number will increase based on the response. Also, training classes were held for the drivers and staff of these buses to make them disciplined and teach them how to behave well with the visitors.

Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the installation of about 1,000 bus shelters has started after proper levelling and construction of footpaths for the Games.

Equal monetary relief for accident victims, rules court

The Delhi High Court has set aside the order of the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal granting excessive monetary relief to a foreign woman, ruling the victim’s social status or colour of skin is immaterial while deciding the compensation for injury in a road accident.

“The court cannot award small amounts on account of pain and sufferings to the poor persons and hefty amounts for pain and sufferings for same injury to rich persons. The value of each human life in the eyes of law has to be the same and the monetary value of the pain and suffering also to be same,” Justice S.N. Dhingra observed.

The tribunal had awarded a compensation of more than Rs.50 lakh to a German woman who lost her arm in an accident, out of which Rs.2 lakh was given for pain and sufferings undergone by her. The high court found that the amount was excessive as in many other similar cases, much less amount was given as compensation.

“If the courts award more compensation to foreigners because of the colour of skin or because of their being rich and award less compensation to Indians because they are

poor, that amounts to travesty of justice,” Dhingra said.

“The tribunal seems to have been guided more by the fact that the claimant in this case was a foreign national and was having status different from that of an Indian citizen,” he said.

Alternate admission procedure for engineering schools soon:

Sibal

A decision on an alternate examination procedure to reduce the pressure on students aiming to enter the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) or other engineering schools will be taken soon, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has said.

“There is a crying need for examination reforms. We will reduce the pressure on our students who have to sit for 20 entrance examinations,” Sibal told mediapersons on the sidelines of the 56th annual convocation of IIT Kharagpur.

A panel of directors, headed by IIT Kharagpur chief Damodar Acharya, was set up by Sibal earlier this year to examine the viability of an alternate examination procedure. “The panel will submit its report by the end of this month. Once we get the report we will act upon it at the earliest,” Sibal said.

The minister said urgent steps were needed to lessen the pressure and reduce the dependence on coaching centres. “Coaching institutes in the country are for the rich and the privileged. The coaching institutes are not the best way to get into best of the institutes like IITs in the country,” said Sibal.

In 2010, about 4.7 lakh students appeared for the IIT examination for admission to 10,000 seats spread over 15 IITs across the country

Death track: Members of the emergency services at the site of a train accident near Sainthia station in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, about 190 km from Kolkata . At least 63 people were killed and 150 injured in the accident.

Photo: AP

Oi Ma, it’s Emma!

The Sydney girl is the latest femmefirangi to hit the Bollywood scene, and it promises to be a great journey

Gujarat (whose father made a “fantastic fish curry”).

BY MAMTA SHARMA

salwaar-kameez, never leaves the house without a dupatta, owns a collection of Kolkata saris, and loves her behlpuri.

Meet Sydney-born Emma Brown Garrett, the latest actress from overseas to enter Bollywood, who recently made her big screen debut in a Bengali movie. She will soon be seen in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum, alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu.

Born in the Snowy Mountains region of Australia, Emma spent most of her childhood skiing professionally and discovering her performing arts skills. Having studied films and acting, as well as pursuing singing back home, Emma is now eyeing a career in Bollywood.

Emma says that while she wanted to be an actress since she was a child, the prospect of being a singer also appealed to her. “I studied at the Newtown Performing Arts School and attended the Young Actors Programme at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art),” says Emma on her initial years in Sydney.

It was at NIDA that Emma had the opportunity to acquire the skills and techniques, and also a love for acting and performing. “I was always doing TVCs through school, and after school I concentrated on small films like for Tropfest. I was also involved in singing,” she reveals.

After high school, Emma spent three years acting for small feature films and stage productions in Sydney. In her mid-twenties, she spent some time with a Sydney band, singing and writing, followed by stints as a DJ in Sydney and Melbourne, performing live at dance clubs.

After successfully settling in Mumbai and landing modelling assignments with some of India’s leading brands (Bombay Dyeing, Kaya Skin Clinic, Samsung mobile phones), Emma won a role in her first full-length feature film.

“I was very excited at the thought of trying acting in a different country. I was aware of the industry (Bollywood) and curious to see what it was all about. So while my husband was running his finance business, I tried to utilize my acting skills… and it clicked. After just two weeks of arriving here I appointed an agent, and impressed the director Gaurav Pandey with my audition,” says Emma about her Indian venture.

Pandey directed Emma in her debut Bengali film Shukno Lanka, released recently, alongside stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Debashree Roy and Sabyasachi Chakraborty.

“Shukno Lanka means dry red chillies or something that we add to a curry to get more taste to it,” explains Emma. In the movie, Joy Sunder Sengupta (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), an arthouse filmmaker joins hands with Australian actress, Isabella (Emma Brown) to translate Ritwick Ghatak’s short story, Paraspathar (The Philosopher’s Stone) onto the big screen. He casts Chinu Nandy (Mithun Chakraborty) a struggling extra in the lead role and embarks on a whole new journey of self-realisation, with Chinu’s grounded philosophy of life proving to be the pivot of change.

This Australian brunette was a big fan of her co-star Mithun Chakraborty even before meeting him on the sets of the film. Mithun’s film, Hum Paanch is Emma’s all-time favourite Hindi movie

Emma’s role in the film has received some good reviews from film critics. According to National Award winning film critic Shoma A. Chatterji, “Emma Brown as Isabella is soft, low-key and in control, not allowing her infatuation for the director to show.”

But in 2008, Emma moved to Mumbai with her husband, a finance professional.

“I loved that certain charm about India. I was not so much shocked as excited, to see something different,” she says.

Of course she was acquainted with India and things Indian before she left for Mumbai - her best girlfriend here was from

“Every person from Mithun, the brilliant Angana Basu, Debasree as Joy Sundar’s wife, Sabyasachi as Joy Sundar, Emma Brown as Isabella in her own small way is excellent,” says Bengali movie critic Aditya Chakrabarty.

This Australian brunette was a big fan of her co-star Mithun Chakraborty even before meeting him on the sets of the film. Mithun’s film, Hum Paanch is Emma’s all-

The actress has gone blonde in her Bollywood avatar and even picked up Hindi - all for the love of Indian cinema

time favourite Hindi movie.

About her experience working with the veteran actor, she says, “Dancing with Mithunda was fantastic. He really is the best Disco Dancer!”

Emma feels lucky about her early break in the Indian film industry. “I have had an opportunity to work with veterans in my early days. And with people like Mithun Chakraborty and Dharmendraji, who has just completed 50 years in Bollywood,” Emma says enthusiastically, adding, “I would love to work with SRK!”

Elaborating on her upcoming films

Emma reveals, “I have just finished shooting my second Bollywood film, Yamla Pagla Deewana starring Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, and Dharmendraji. I play Sunny’s wife in the film. Dum Maaro Dum starring Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu is soon to be released. I play a Russian girl in the film.”

The actress has gone blonde in her Bollywood avatar and even picked up Hindi - all for the love of Indian cinema.

Asked about the difference between working with Bollywood and the film industry in Sydney, Emma says, “It’s very different. Of course the language is challenging, but my Hindi is quite good now. Also the weather makes it hard, but I love it!”

So is language a barrier in Bollywood?

“My Hindi is improving every day so mushkil nahi!” she smiles.

The aspiring actress trained in language skills under a Punjabi guru in Mumbai who taught her Urdu and Hindi. She can now speak a little Hindi, and can read and write as well. “I watch a lot of Hindi movies and try to pick up the language from there as well,” adds Emma.

On B-town friends and acquaintances Emma says, “I am currently working with Bipasha. She is fantastic to work with and just loves Australia. I am also friends with Nick Brown, whose performance in Kites was excellent!”

Emma hopes to return to Sydney in the distant future. “My family is in Sydney so one day I will come home, but for now I can’t refuse opportunities here in India,” she admits candidly.

On the recent strained relations between the two countries, Emma says, “I have always felt that Indians and Australians have had a great relationship. Living here, I don’t feel that people judge me. If anyone asks me about the way I feel, I always say that I am proud to be an Australian and proud to live in India. I have the best of both worlds!”

Hey dude! She rulz!

As new Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces Federal Elections, we cast a look back on women leaders in modern times

BY NIMA MENON

“Love and respect woman. Look to her not only for comfort, but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers. Blot out from your mind any idea of superiority; you have none.”

Giuseppe Mazzini

Time and time again, women have shown that they can juggle home and family with societal and professional commitments. Women leaders especially have been a force to reckon with, be it the queen of Jhansi who faced the mighty British with her baby cocooned on her back, or Corazon Aquino who stepped into the role of President of Philippines after her husband’s assassination.

According to the Packard Foundation’s Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro, “Domination as a leadership style is becoming less and less popular. There is a new growing appreciation of...those traits that women use to keep families together and to organize volunteers to unite and make change in the shared life of communities. These newly admired leadership qualities of shared leadership, nurturance and doing good for others, are today not only sought after but also needed to make a difference in the world....A feminine way of leading includes helping the world to understand and be principled about values that really matter.”

This world has had some very influential and dynamic women leaders. India’s very own Indira Gandhi set a trend that was hard to ignore. She ruled with an iron hand and traversed paths that not many men have dared to. It would not be wrong to say that she was instrumental in more ways than one in re-shaping Indian politics. She not only commanded respect but fear interlaced with awe. A hardnosed pragmatic, she ruled the largest democracy in the world with firmness and determination, taking hard and tough decisions when needed.

Nicknamed “Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain led her country through recession and high unemployment into a period of relative prosperity, thus raising its stature among developed countries.

Eva Peron, the first lady of Argentina (second wife of President Juan Peron) used the powers of her stature to fight for the rights of the poor and women in her country and founded the first large female political party in Argentina.

Golda Meir was the fourth Prime Minister of the state of Israel, who with her crisis management techniques and presence of mind gained the approval of the United States. It was said that she was the “best man in the cabinet”.

Mary McAleese, the President of Ireland, has surprised many of her critics by ruling a country divided by conflicts with immense capability and has built many bridges in an effort to diffuse tensions.

The honour of becoming the first woman in the world to become Prime Minister goes to Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka. She

was elected prime minister three times, 196065, 1970-77 and 1994-2000. Her terms have seen the country through both good and bad times and during her last term she was more popular abroad than in her own country.

England has seen some very powerful female monarchs, from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth I and now Queen Elizabeth II. The stories of these monarchs have told us the sacrifices they have made for the sake of the crown and even in times when men ruled the world, they carved a niche for themselves with their grit and steadfastness, commanding allegiance from the most powerful nations in the world.

The years 2007 to 2010 have seen many emerging female world leaders. Starting with the President of India Pratibha Patil in 2007, Argentina and Bosnia also got their women leaders. While in 2008, Australia got its first female Governor General in the form of Dr. Quentin Bryce, in 2009 Bangladesh, Iceland, Croatia and Lithuania and in 2010, Costa Rica, Finland, Trinidad and Tobago, Switzerland and Kyrgyzstan saw women leaders taking oath to the highest office.

2010 has also been a roller coaster year for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. As Education Minister she ruffled a few feathers and earned the ire of the educationists and teachers across the country with her “My School” website. When things seemed to be settling down on that front, she took the headlines again with her move into the top position in a matter of few hours, nudging the man whose deputy she was into the alleys of depression and frustration.

With Australia on the threshold of another Federal election and with a 50-50 chance of getting our first elected female

Prime Minister, it is time to have a look at the characteristics of a female leader. It is believed that female leaders are more assertive than their male counter parts. They have a stronger need to get things done and surprisingly are more willing to take risks. They are more empathetic, are able to read situations better and have better interpersonal skills, thus making them better bargainers too. They come across as genuinely caring and understanding, so that the people they lead feel more supported, understood and valued. For argument’s sake, the question, “What makes a leader?” is a complex one. One leadership expert has noted that “evidence from contemporary studies on sex-roles and leadership indicates that men and women, with similar education, career aspirations and training, have basically identical scores

it in her to join the echelons of the world’s great female leaders who have steered their country towards prosperity. Only time will tell if the people of Australia are ready to take that chance. As for me, I don’t go by gender-based leadership. I admire great female leaders, but am I ready to give Julia a chance........ only time will tell!!!

Margaret Thatcher

Eva Peron

Srimavo Bandaranaike

Indira Gandhi

Towards healthier eating habits

Cultural diversity, food and ageing

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

Multiculturalism has moved into a new phase. Now being referred to as “CALD”, or “culturally and linguistically diverse communities”, the focus has shifted from cultural preservation to solving specific problems that ethnic groups face such as issues associated with health and ageing. I attended two such CALD-related meetings recently.

When migrants arrive in Australia, they find that food ingredients are both plentiful and reasonably priced. Sugar, butter/ghee and flour, for example, are cheap. One is thus able to cook one’s cultural food using lavish quantities of such ingredients. However, their overuse can result in unhealthy consequences.

The foremost consequence of high calorie intake is obesity (affecting around 1.6 million adults in NSW), which cuts across cultural boundaries. Diabetes is another emerging problem. Migrants from Italy, South Asia and Asia are found to develop diabetes at a much greater rate (often almost double) than in their countries of origin. The resultant health issues are now being officially addressed. Overall, three million Australians either have or are at risk of diabetes.

The current “Get Healthy Campaign” of the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service is promoting the preparation of ethnic dishes in more healthy versions. A function was recently held at the Blue Elephant Sri Lankan restaurant in Pennant Hills to launch the Get Healthy book, which contains such healthy recipes.

guides people towards healthier eating habits was also outlined at the function. The Get Healthy book is available gratis at the department of NSW Health.

Many migrants from Asia, including Indians, came to Australia in the 1970s and 1980s. There is now an ageing population amongst them.

In May, The Diversity & Ageing In Action Forum 2010 was held at the Parramatta Town Hall. The forum’s theme was the needs of the aged in diverse ethnic groups. Planning for such needs requires the diversity aspect to be recognised.

Launching the proceedings, Paul Lynch, NSW Minister for Ageing, elaborated on the links between ageing and ethnicity. Pino Migliorino of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), and also Chair of the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Ageing (MACA), presided over the forum.

Some statistics are revealing. In New South Wales over a million people speak a language other than English. Most of them live in Sydney, making them roughly one in four of the population; 23% of these are estimated to be over 65 years old. Ms Sigrid Patterson, Director of the NSW Office for Ageing, outlined the implications for the State of NSW. It was pointed out that the Chinese have over 75,000 people over the age of 65. We need to know how many Indians fall into this category.

Diabetes is becoming the problem of middle aged migrants, whilst dementia that of the elderly

This book is available free from NSW Health. In a wire-bound sturdy card format, it can easily find a place on a kitchen shelf. The selected recipes are the winning entries in the Healthy and Tasty Recipe Competition (2009). Dishes were prepared before some 200 people and tasted by judges. Participants came from the Chinese, Filipino, Italian, Samoan and Sri Lankan (Sinhalese and Tamil) communities.

Dr Renee Lim gave the keynote address at the book launch, and Guest Speaker Shamala Ratnesar, developer of the Total Life Diet, outlined the strong links between diabetes and food. Hornsby Mayor Nick Berman, whose father migrated from Sri Lanka, presented the opening speech and pointed out that Hornsby shire just a decade ago had some 25% of an ethnic population and that this has since risen to 35%. Ethnic health is, therefore, an important issue.

A NSW Health advisory service which

Ms Roserina Murace, the Manager of Community and Carer Support at the Department of Health and Ageing (at the Federal level), elaborated on the services available and the expansions to these which will have to be effected on the basis of the latest statistical data. Aged care is increasingly becoming a Federal matter, especially with regard to funding. Ultimately, though, aged care has to be provided at the local level, and in this regard the municipal level gains importance.

Prof Brian Draper, of the University of New South Wales, talked about the direction and findings of research on specific issues like dementia and diabetes. The lecture was a sobering assessment about what the ageing process entails. Diabetes is becoming the problem of middle aged migrants, whilst dementia that of the elderly. Alzheimer’s affects around 245,000 persons in Australia. It was very reassuring to realise that there is a strong commitment at various levels of government with regard to providing services for the welfare of the aged in ethnic communities. To ensure that these services best address the emerging needs, on-going input is needed from the ethnic communities themselves. The Indian community needs to actively involve itself in both the study and the provision of health and aged services.

Charity must begin at home

initiatives around the globe.

BY MALLI IYER

Charity or philanthropy is the act of giving money, goods, time or effort to activities that will uplift the poor and needy. It is aimed at improving the quality of life of those sections of our society who vary from being less privileged to the downright poorest who are deprived of the very basic needs, i.e. food, shelter and a roof over their head. Charitable acts may come from individuals, business corporations or charitable trusts and foundations.

As India’s wealth grows, our social consciousness towards the ‘have-nots’ in our community needs a review. How do we measure up with our contributions towards removing malnutrition, homelessness and providing primary education? We may be championing the cause of the poor by exerting more political pressure on the Government to remedy the situation, without putting adequate thought to obtaining a gigantic contribution from within our society, the vast expanse of Indian diaspora, and dozens of social and religious organisations with tremendous ability to mobilise such funding.

How do we rate by comparison to the wealthy nations? India has a population of 400 million below the poverty line – people who live on less than $1.25 per day. 40 % of our national wealth is with the wealthiest top 5 %. Another statistic worth noting is that 1 % controls 16 % of the national wealth. Our charitable contribution as a percentage of our Gross Domestic Product is however, a mere 0.6 %. Compare this to the global average: USA contributes 2.2 %, U.K. 1.3 % and Canada 1.2 % of their respective GDPs. India has 52 billionaires but only 4 of them are on the Forbes list of top 48 philanthropists. The Indian diaspora are known to have sent over $ 25 billion by way of remittances to India which has made a silent and unspoken contribution to improving the quality of life of their families. How can a country with so much wealth, technical know-how and management talent give so little back to its own people?

Philanthropy is now a global venture with several celebrities putting serious efforts to help the developing nations in Africa and Asia. Ever since Sir Bob Geldof took the initiative to launch the Band-Aid concerts in 1981, singers like Bono, Annie Lennox, Elton John and Madonna have associated themselves with charities like Oxfam, Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Foundation, UN World Food Program and UNICEF. Others like the Bill Clinton Foundation, Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Foundation and those run by Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney and Richard Branson have all got

The concepts of daan and dakshina have been known to our culture from the days of our ancient scriptures and our folklore abounds in stories of giving to the poor.

Jamshedji Tata has been known for his philanthropy for over 100 years and the Tata families have continued that tradition of nurturing education, hygiene and health care in several parts of India. The Tata Trusts give 8 to 14 % of their profits to philanthropic activities. With all their newly found wealth, India’s nation building activity is entitled to get a share of their profits from the Ambanis, the Hindujas, the Bajajs, the Birlas, the Godrejs, the Mallyas, the Mittals, Infosys and Aziz Premji Foundations. A number of them have splurged vast sums on IPL auctions for cricket players but with a commensurate increase of their wealth, increased donations to charities is not forthcoming. This may be attributable to the Indian Tax structure not giving them help with appropriate tax deductions.

On the other hand global multi-nationals like Dell and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation have aligned themselves with providing education to underprivileged children. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given more than $ 1 billion to health and AIDS initiatives in India. It would seem that companies operating in India recognize that the best way for business to grow is by aligning themselves with the nation’s development objectives.

It would be unfair to leave out several religious and voluntary organisations who have made a massive contribution to uplifting the poor, providing health care and education, and encouraging village industries.

These are the Satya Sai Baba Trust, Ramakrishna Mission, Sisters of Charity, Chinmaya Mission, Radhaswami Satsang, Swaminarayan Movement, the Wakf Board for their work in the Muslim community and several Christian charities.

Mention must also be made of a group of women entrepreneurs who have taken significant strides in philanthropic work.

These are Anu Aga, Rohini Nilekani, Roshni Nadar, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Nisa Godrej. All these personalities received a meritorious mention as global figures in philanthropy by Forbes magazine. Between them they have managed over $ 100 million for work in the area of rural and village industries, micro finance, disaster relief, health care and environment.

For all intents and purposes, India’s prosperity and wealth generation is assured for several decades due to the rapidly turning wheels of the economic engine, so it is no longer a question of money. Our wealthiest industrialists may be the fastest growing and they may be buying up businesses and taking over large corporations all over the world, but only when they become the most generous givers of their riches, will charity begin at home.

The inherent concepts of daan and dakshina notwithstanding, modern India rates poorly as compared to other nations in terms of contributions to charity

What’s new in Office 2010

New improved Office 2010 is the more efficient, user friendly, revolutionary and smarter way of working

BY SUNIL RANADIVE

Microsoft’s release of Office 2010 has been somewhat overshadowed by the recent Apple iPad release; however the new version of Office has some fantastic improvements that are worth shouting about. According to Microsoft, the focus of this update was on three things: to make work flows more efficient; to effectively use Web applications to make your work available anywhere; and to make collaboration with others much easier. Here are the highlights of a few of the features that will make your life easier. Work better together: Do you e-mail files for people to review, managing revision numbers and tracking editing changes? Or do you use technology like Google Apps for internet-based sharing and collaboration? With Office 2010, your document can now be shared easily on the internet and edited by multiple people at the same time (for real-time co-authoring). This feature alone may change how teams work together internally and how businesses work with their customers.

Office wherever you need it (and it’s free!): Office Web Apps will offer lightweight versions of Word Excel and PowerPoint from your web browser, for free. Whilst these products are missing many features, they’re designed to complement the full products and provide great basic editing from any location.

Look before you paste: Even the humble paste feature is overhauled, with the new Paste Preview. You can now choose to keep the source formatting, merge the formatting or keep the text only of your pasted content. As you hover the mouse over these options, you’ll see a preview of what your content will look like before it is inserted. There’s now also a built-in screen capture tool and screen clipper giving you more control over the screen images you wish to copy.

PowerPoint embraces multimedia: Microsoft has stepped up the video capability of PowerPoint with advanced video editing functions now built into the application. YouTube videos can also be embedded into slides, though you’ll need an internet connection to display them when running your presentation. You can also distribute your slides as a video, or easily broadcast your presentation over the internet.

E-mail’s new look: Outlook inherits the wide ‘ribbon’ toolbar that other applications had in Office 2007. The new Conversation View lets you follow the threads of a discussion more easily and inside an e-mail you’ll see meetings, attachments and other emails that are related to the sender. You’ll even be able to include them as a social networking contact with the Add button. For repetitive tasks, Outlook introduces macro-like QuickSteps, enabling you to action several tasks with one click (e.g. reply to a message and delete the original). Never lose a document again: If you’re not happy with the latest changes to your file, the Autosave feature now keeps the last 5 versions that it saved and you can preview and compare their contents. If your computer crashes or laptop battery dies and you suddenly remember that you haven’t saved the masterpiece you’ve been working on for the last hour, Office 2010 now keeps unsaved documents for 4 whole days before automatically deleting them.

A favourite improvement to Office 2010 is what Microsoft calls the Backstage view. Offered as a replacement for the File menu, Backstage gives you a launching point to share documents, print out your work, set permissions, and other program specific options to get your project ready for distribution. You’ll find all of the usual document management features like ‘open and save’ here as well, but you’ll also get a nice layout of templates for new documents, several different ways to share your work, and print settings and page layouts all in one place.

People might initially be resistant to a new way of doing things (as is often the case), but once you get used to using the Backstage view for all of your file management, you’ll find it useful and efficient to have access to everything in one place.

With Office 2010, your document can now be shared easily on the internet and edited by multiple people at the same time

A leading Joinery Company is seeking an experienced Cabinet Vision Operator to join our production team. The primary responsibility of this position is to produce production ready drawings. The role will ideally suit a dynamic team player with a mature outlook, who has experience in either the cabinet making or building industries.

To be successful in the position you will have well developed and clear English skills, both oral and written.

Forex Capital Trading is Australia’s leading FX educator and provider of online foreign exchange, gold and commodity trading. ForexCT’s seminars are a unique opportunity to learn directly from our experienced market professionals and will illustrate how you can trade with ease and confidence. Our platform provides:

• Controlled risk through Guaranteed Stop Losses

• Fixed Spreads

• Forex, Gold, Silver and Oil Trading

All Indian Link readers are invited to attend the following advanced trading seminar at no cost, and readers who open an account with FOREXCT will receive 20% credit of up to USD5000 on any funds deposited with us*.

FOREXCT SEMINAR:

Date: 7th August, 2010

Time: 2pm - 5pm

Venue: Coles Seminar Room, Level 3, Macquarie Street Wing, State Library, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW

For more information or to register your attendance to our August seminar, please call 1800 FOREXCT (1800 367 392) or contact Nav Kumar on 0432 745 660 or email seminars@forexct.com. If you are interested but are unable to attend the above date, please contact us and we will try to organise an alternative time for you.

Visit us at www.forexct.com.au for more information AFS License 306400

The heart of hinterland Assam

BY PETRA O’NEILL

“Turt-rels Madam, look many Turt-rels!”

Our naturalist Babajan knew his birds, and with over 450 species to be found here, he would call out excitedly whenever he spotted one we had not seen. Not birds this time, but turtles, sunning on a log.

I was in World Heritage Listed Kaziranga National Park and so far that day I’d sat behind a mahout to ride an elephant for a close up encounter with the rare one horned rhinoceros, swamp deer, wild buffalo and elephants and while we didn’t sight any tigers, their footprints were evident. Babajan was from Assam and while he was fluent in several languages, his English was self taught, from reading and tuning in to listen to the news in English. Whenever he took us to villages, tea plantations, national parks or small towns, he would be greeted people he knew. That was part of the charm of this week-long cruise upstream from Guwahati on the Assam Bengal Navigation’s RV Sukapha. The crew were mainly Assamese, courteous, eager to please and enthusiastic about sharing the wonders of their home with us.

Assam stretches for almost 800 kilometres from east to west and is dominated by the Brahmaputra, one of the world’s great rivers. Although it is for the quality of its tea that Assam is most famous, the scenery is spectacular, flanked by the Himalayas to the north and the Shillong plateau to the south. The local people come from many ethnic groups and remain predominantly tribal, which makes it culturally rich. Increasingly, it is being recognised as a wildlife destination.

Greeted at my hotel by our tour guide and driver, we explored the sights of the capital Guwahati, a relaxed and friendly city, with a market, museum, temples and War Cemetery, boarding the RV Sukapha in time for lunch. Meals are self serve, offering Assamese (milder than Indian) and western dishes. A typical meal might

include locally caught fish, vegetable curry, and chapattis, followed by fruit or dessert. All meals are quite splendid, using only the freshest produce. The RV Sukapha has 12 comfortable cabins. The saloon and dining area are spacious and a large sun deck allows for 360 degree views. Most of my time onboard was spent on the sun deck to observe life on the river. There were many birds and river dolphins and Babajan was always on hand to identify them. The people in the villages we visited were welcoming and had had little contact with tourists. We were able to observe them going about their daily lives; tending to their animals, preparing their meals, carrying water from the river, while children were at school or at play. Often I would be invited into a compound built of mudbrick and rammed earth, introduced to family members and offered a chair to sit on.

At the towns, including the riverside town of Tezpur, we viewed many temples, historic sites, markets and weaving co-operatives. The cotton and highly prized golden silk fabrics known as woven by hand on fly-shuttle looms beautiful and inexpensive. I did not see textiles like this ever again in India. The jeep safaris to view wildlife, through woodland, marshes and tall elephant grass Orang National Park, were outdone by the wildlife we saw at Kaziranga National Park.

Babajan was always keen to go for a walk and we often added an impromptu walk to our day’s schedule. We were also able to go on shore as soon as we moored each day. While we went off to explore, the crew played volleyball and have contributed to the positive team spirit that was evident. I found this cruise to be relaxing, day proceeding without effort and I could easily have spent many more days onboard.

The 7 night cruise I chose commenced from Guwahati and ended at Kaziranga National Park. There are several cruises to choose from, ranging from 3 to 14 nights on the RV Charaidew Sukapha Assam Bengal Navigation also owns Diphlu River Lodge, overlooking Kaziranga National Park. The company is an Indo-British joint venture that launched cruises on the Brahmaputra river since 2003 and also offers cruises on the Hooghly and Ganges. Whenever I made inquiries about how get to Guwahati and where to stay, I did not was the co-owner and Chairman, Andrew Brock who replied. The staff care and it shows, perhaps because the company is owned and managed by people who are passionate about providing opportunities to travel to remote areas, while ensuring there is no adverse impact on the local people or environment. The Brahmaputra is a river that appeared to be easy to navigate, or perhaps it was more the skill of our Captain that made it appear so. For centuries the passes and valleys were at the great crossroads of commerce, culture and people that linked India to South East Asia. This cruise provides an opportunity to imagine how travelling must have been at a time when items of trade were conveyed by river.

Although it is for the quality of its tea that Assam is most famous, the scenery is spectacular, flanked by the Himalayas to the north and the Shillong plateau to the south

An off the beaten track journey of exploration proves to be an enriching natural and sociological experience

GETTING THERE

There are several ways of reaching Assam from Australia. I flew with Malaysia Airlines to Kuala Lumpur and onward with Air Asia to Kolkata. Several airlines fly from Kolkata to Guwahati, but perhaps Jet Airways is the most reliable. I could also have flown with Jet Airways from Sydney to Assam via Singapore. I booked the trip directly with Assam Bengal Navigation at www.assambengalnavigation. com. Active Travel, with offices in Canberra and Sydney, can make all land and flight arrangements. Contact Robert Fletcher at robert@activetravel.com.au or visit www.activetravel.com.au Kolkata is deserving of a few nights’ stay. The Oberoi Grand is a beautiful, historic, luxurious hotel and service standards are very high. The utterly charming Fairlawn Hotel is run by Mrs Violet Smith, who has managed the hotel since 1936. Airport taxis in India are inexpensive, though you should purchase a prepaid coupon.

1 and 2. Mising tribal village with distinctive raised houses

3. Kaziranga National Park, Visiting goat

4. One horned rhinos

5. Elephant and Mahout

6. RV Sukapha and bike

7. Village School

8. RV Sukapha and country boat

9. Elephants, Kaziranga National Park

Going for Green

World Environment Day, celebrated last month, is observed by the United Nations as a day that stimulates awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and public action. There’s a lot we can do to help save the environment, and like charity, we can begin at home. Here are some tips on how to save time, energy and the planet within your household.

Laundry lifeline

Switch to cold water when running your washing machine. A lot of energy used to wash clothes is used to heat the water. You can save money and energy by washing clothes in warm or cold water, instead of hot. Also, instead of using detergents, fabric softeners and bleaches which are harmful for the environment, switch to eco-friendlier cleaners with less-toxic ingredients or non-chlorine bleaches.

Solar savings

Drying your clothes in the sun on a laundry line in the backyard or even on a balcony will lead to significant savings. Clothes dryers utilise large amounts of energy, and should only be used on rainy days. But when the sun’s in the sky, use its free power to dry your clothes. It’s cost-effective, traditional and great for the environment.

Thermostat tip

Simply lowering the temperature on your thermostat by a single degree in winter can lead to big savings. Similarly, raising the thermostat by a degree in summer will help reduce air conditioning bills. Regular maintenance and a tune up every two or three years will keep your heating, ventilation and air-con systems operating efficiently, thus saving energy and money.

Switch off and save

You may not use the electric kettle through the day, after that first refreshing morning cup of tea. In that case, simply switch it off at the plug point. Many home appliances use electricity even when they’re not in use, like toasters and TVs, and the energy they use is significant amount of electricity even when they’re turned off. It’s called a phantom load, or vampire electricity, and as much as 75 percent of the electricity used by home electronics and small appliances is used while they’re turned off. The simple solution is to unplug small appliances and electronics when you aren’t using them. Or, plug them into a power strip and turn the power strip off when you aren’t using those items.

Say ‘no’ to junk mail

Each year, 100 million trees are sacrificed to the god of junk mail. Refusing letterbox drops of brochures, leaflets and flyers for services that you don’t need are damaging the eco-system and creating more pollution. Put a sticker on your mailbox requesting

no junk mail, and if you really need to know which properties in your area have been sold, use the internet instead. You’ll get the right information instead of advertising spiel.

Clue into cooking

Try not to preheat the oven if you are broiling, roasting or baking a dish that will cook for an hour or more. You don’t even need to preheat for more than 10 minutes for breads and cakes. When roasting meats or baking casseroles, turn off the oven 10 to 15 minutes before cooking time runs out; food will continue to cook without using the extra electricity. Microwaves are more energy efficient than traditional electric ovens. So cooking and reheating with a microwave is faster and more efficient than a stovetop or oven.

Wise up to water

Don’t let the tap run on while you brush your teeth and you could save litres of water each day. Also, make sure your taps, showerheads, hose nozzles are all fitted with flow-control options, now easily available. If you have recycled water, use this for all those outdoor water-related chores like watering the plants and lawn, hosing down driveways and washing cars. In fact, parking the car on the lawn when washing it will take care of two jobs at the same time. Run your dishwasher full and don’t pre-rinse if your dishwasher can deal with it. Conserving water is an important part of our environmental heritage.

Petrol’s at a premium

Try and walk to school and the shops at least twice a week. Apart from offering you the advantage of

exercise, you will use less petrol. When driving, ease up on the accelerator and brake pedals, make sure your tyres are inflated and the engine runs smoothly. Don’t leave the car idle for too long, and remember that extra weight like tools, sports equipment, bikes, etc., puts a strain on your car and in consequence, it uses more petrol. A fuel-efficient car may be a big investment currently, but it will save you megabucks in the future and do its bit for the environment.

Energy Star efficiency

If you have major appliances that are more than 10 years old, consider replacing them with newer, more energy efficient models. New fridges, dishwashers, dryers and washing machines have the advantage of modern energyeffective technology and can save you significant money on your electricity bill. Look for the ‘energy star’ sticker when buying these appliances, as this indicates exactly how efficient the appliance is in saving energy.

Donate, don’t discard

If you’ve indulged in a whole suite of new furniture and don’t quite know what to do with the perfectly serviceable old one, call Salvos, St Vincent de Paul or any other leading op shop. Donate clothes, toys, books, household items, furniture, and remember that one man’s trash is another man’s bargain! And if you have unwanted goods or gifts, contact your friends and acquaintances and freecycle. So you simply give something away for free to someone who will use it, instead of throwing it away. There will always be someone who thinks the hideous lamp your aunt gave you as a birthday present, is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever come across.

It’s small tips that make a difference to the environment, and we should all try to do our bit, no matter how miniscule, to reduce wastage in any form. We should remember that our children will inherit the legacy we leave behind – so let’s make sure their future is greener and cleaner.

Making a few environmentally friendly changes to the routine of our lives could go a long way towards saving the world, writes SHERYL DIXIT

Instead of using detergents, fabric softeners and bleaches which are harmful for the environment, switch to eco-friendlier cleaners with lesstoxic ingredients or non-chlorine bleaches

A fuel-efficient car may be a big investment currently, but it will save you megabucks in the future and do its bit for the environment

The art of letting go

In today’s world, it is essential to understand the fine line between non-attachment and detachment

as dependence, and so become out of favour.

BY SAROJA SRINIVASAN

The Maha Mrutyanjay shloka beholds us to pray for blessings from Lord Shiva for a healthy life and to obtain the wisdom to be able to let go at the right time, even as the cucumber lets go of the creeper when it is ready. Many people often think it refers to letting go at the time of death. It is not only at the final parting that we need to let go graciously, but we need to do so every moment and in every situation we go through in life.

One of the clear and obvious experiences of modern living is that we are faced with change constantly, instantly. Yet the comfort of modern living has also insidiously fooled us into thinking that most things will remain constant, despite the fast changing environment - to the extent that we expect emotional attachments to remain steadfast too. Alas, the fickleness of such emotional bonds even in traditional relationships is now increasingly becoming obvious.

In traditional cultures family loyalty is of paramount importance. The emotional bonding between family members is highly priced and certain implicit expectations between members are fostered. In modern times, however, close emotional ties within families are often interpreted

Many elderly people are caught in the middle of this emotional conundrum of wanting the emotional closeness that they have experienced within their own families of origin to continue, but find that it is not necessarily being reciprocated in their families now.

So how does one deal with this profound and heart-rending shift in thinking that is taking place?

I guess the hard, but necessary, lesson to practice is the art of letting go. Letting go does not mean lack of caring or concern for another’s welfare. It is simply learning to accept the limitations imposed by changes in existing relationships.

At a philosophical level, eastern wisdom traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism, talk of attachment being at the root cause of much suffering. Both these traditions talk about the value in remaining non-attached, while Buddhism focuses on desire and craving, as the main cause of unhappiness. When it comes to emotional relationships, particularly within, families, nonattachment is much harder to practice. It is easier said than done. If we did not have emotional attachments within families or between people, we wouldn’t be any different than animals. So how do we deal with this? Perhaps it is the realization that one needs emotional connections, but accepts at the same time that indeed they are also only transient. As with everything, they too are not static. These emotional attachments by their very nature are constantly changing. If we constantly retain an awareness of this natural fact, we are

more likely to succeed in not letting the bonds of attachment engulf us.

There is a mountain of difference between non-attachment and detachment. If we seek detachment from emotional bonds, the path is quite different. Detachment requires a total renunciation, a determined attitude of indifference and placing both spatial and emotional distance even with one’s own family, as seen in ascetics. A householder, by the very nature of his/her circumstance, has developed attachments. This voluntary choice to seek and form emotional relationships demands that he/she has a certain level of involvement.

To then seek renunciation from these bonds creates a tremendous conflict. Where is the sense of duty? Should not one be conscious of one’s familial commitments and carry them through? Carry them through for how long, you may ask. This is precisely where non-attachment plays an important role. Non-attachment requires that we carry out our responsibilities without the expectation of getting something in return, which also includes the expectation that it should last forever.

Since by nature circumstances are subject to change, it requires one to have a clear understanding of the transient nature of attachments that is created by changing lifestyles and stages of life. Maintaining a fine balance between continuing to fulfill one’s duty and responsibility and at the same time, practicing the art of letting go may well be the answer.

Non-attachment requires that we carry out our responsibilities without the expectation of getting something in return, which also includes the expectation that it should last forever

One world family

NIMA MENON on an Art of Living experience at Arosa, Switzerland

We all belong to this world and are creations of the one Almighty. Yet, we are different in our own ways, live in different countries, speak different languages, have different likes and dislikes and lead our lives in our own unique way. Even so, we are connected by an invisible string that makes us beings and members of the ‘One World Family’. It was not until recently that I truly understood the meaning of the term and got to live it and experience it. I had the privilege of attending an international spiritual course in Arosa, Switzerland as part of the Art of Living Foundation. When the opportunity came up it coincided perfectly with our 25th wedding anniversary, and it turned out to be the best holiday-cum-anniversary celebration I have ever had.

Staying at the foot of the Swiss Alps (it was as though I could reach out and touch them) and waking up to the sight of snowcapped mountains with your husband of 25 years was an absolutely awesome experience. But even more invigorating was the 2 hours of yoga and meditation that we did as a group with people from over 15 countries. It filled the body, heart and entire being with joy, to the point of intoxication.

When like-minded people get together, country, language and religion are not cumbersome obstacles. You speak in the universal language of love and understanding and develop a strange camaraderie that cannot be explained. You look out for and look after the comfort of strangers who become acquaintances, and then friends and confidantes in a matter of days. That is the power of spirituality, the power of being part of the ‘One World Family’. One couldn’t have asked for a better venue than Arosa to meet and greet friends from around the world who were there to enjoy and experience the bliss of Art of Living. There were over 500 people, from Finland, Germany, Italy, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Hungary, Jordan, Turkey, Croatia, Poland, New Zealand, Fiji and countries in the Middle East. They were all there to listen to HH Sri Sri Ravishankar’s discourse on the sixth chapter of the Bhagavat Gita. There were translators in Russian, German, Lithuanian, Arabic, French and Italian. The interest and attention of people from outside India in the country’s rich culture and teachings of the great epics was an eye-opening experience. We rarely acknowledge the spiritual wealth to which we are born; it takes others to expose us to these wonders. The whole experience was enlivening and exhilarating. The discourse was followed by question-answer sessions, nature walks and ‘satsangs’ There was an ayurvedic doctor on site and options for ayurvedic treatment if required. The whole package

Australian Chapter

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

was designed to rejuvenate and energise the body and mind.

We all know that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body and one cannot be separated from the other. The whole trip was picture perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Everywhere you turn people say, “Don’t be stressed”, “Get rid of that tension”, but how do you do let go when you don’t know how to? The yoga,

meditation and practices of the Art of Living has changed my perception of life and I have moved away from small things, looking at the big picture and enjoying the present moment. It is your life and the choice has to be yours. So learn the Art of Living!

(Art of Living has centres all over Australia and if you are looking for a non-religious, spiritual path to make a difference in your life, log on to the official website for more details.)

Empowering CA India Members to Empower Nation

Workshop on Advance Excel – Date 21/8/ 2010 –RSVP Open

SAP (FICO) Worlshop – During last week of Aug & 1st week Sep. Charges approx $1000 for members and $3000 for non members

Super fund (SMSR) AUDIT WORKSHOP Sep 2010 – Futher details soon.

Please send your interest events@icai.org.au

August CPD Events: Burwood: 18th August

CBD : 11th August www.icai.org.au

Tresses without stresses

Tips for hair care in the winter, and some recipes for home-made hair conditioners, by

The cold winter months wreak havoc on both skin and hair and while we take special care to keep our skin protected from the harsh effects of weather, we often neglect to do the same for our tresses. Which is why we hear complaints of frizzy, dry, dull, damaged, brittle or even falling hair during winter. The cold and dry weather outside and the heating inside, damage the hair and scalp. A little extra care at this time and a few preventative measures can go a long way in keeping our locks looking radiant and healthy.

Tips for winter hair care

l Always cover your hair when stepping outdoors in winter to protect them from cold and drying wind. If you’re tying a scarf or a bandana, make sure it’s not too tight to restrict circulation of blood in the scalp.

l Never go out with wet or damp hair. The cold air freezes the hair resulting in breakage.

l Don’t wash your hair with hot water as it strips away the natural oils; always use warm or cool water or at least use cool water for the final rinse to lock in the moisture and give hair an extra shine.

l Limit the use of curling irons, hair straighteners and dryers during winters. If you must, than use a leavein conditioner before proceeding. Use the hair dryer on a cool setting. It will minimize the hair damage. It is also best to limit the use of hair dyes and highlighters during winter.

l Washing too often in winter results in dry, itchy and damaged hair and scalp. If you need to shampoo frequently try using an extra mild shampoo or give dry shampooing a go. One common product for this purpose is baby powder. Simply sprinkle some on your hair and comb off.

l There are three types of hair; ‘normal’, ‘dry’ and ‘oily’. The overall health of your hair depends on the type of products you use. Determine your hair type and get products accordingly.

l Using conditioner daily in winter is a good idea. Hair products labelled ‘Replenish’ are made to moisturize and are ideal for normal or dry hair but for oily hair it is advisable to skip the conditioner. For dry/damaged and brittle hair a leave-in conditioner is recommended.

l Give your head a good massage with warmed olive oil at least twice a week. This locks in moisture, increases blood circulation and soothes itchy scalp.

l To combat static during winter try spraying a little hairspray on your hair or on the brush and then brush your hair slowly starting from the top

l While styling your hair in winter you can’t go past the many great products available in stores. To give a little

oomph to limp hair, use a volumiser. Styling creams are invaluable in preventing dryness and breakage.

Home-made Hair Conditioners

If you like lustrous hair but wish to limit the use of chemicals in storebought conditioners, then try some homemade maintenance straight from the kitchen.

Strawberry and Rosemary Conditioner

1 cup crushed strawberries

½ cup crushed rosemary

1 tablespoon vinegar

Mix all the ingredients. Apply on the hair, cover with a plastic wrap and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Then wash off. This conditioner is good for all types of hair.

Mayonnaise Conditioner

Mayonnaise is one of the best natural conditioners for dry/damaged hair, but can be used for all hair types. It is made of egg yolk which conditions the hair, moisturizes it and leaves it looking healthy, shiny and full of body. There are several different ways of using mayonnaise as a conditioner. The easiest is to simply squeeze a generous amount and massage into dry hair for at least 10 minutes. Leave for 30 minutes before shampooing off.

One variation is:

1 small jar of mayonnaise

½ avocado mashed

Mix both the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Apply to washed hair, massaging from roots to tips. Leave in for 20 minutes than rinse off.

FARZANA SHAKIR

Conditioning with Henna

Henna has long been used as a conditioner and hair dye by women in the subcontinent. It gives superb results as a hair volumizer for thin hair and adds body and shine to all types of hair:

1 packet henna powder

Water as required

Mix the required amount of henna powder with water to get a smooth droopy consistency. Apply to dry hair working it in thoroughly. Leave in for the time indicated on the packet before rinsing off. Shampoo if desired.

Egg Yolk conditioner

This conditioner will add lustre to any type of hair

1 egg yolk

½ cup water

1 teaspoon baby oil

Whisk the egg yolk until frothy. Add baby oil and whisk again. Pour in the water and mix thoroughly. Massage into the hair and scalp. Cover the hair with a shower cap. Leave in for 15 minutes than wash off with cool water.

Give dry shampooing a go. One common product for this purpose is baby powder. Simply sprinkle some on your hair and comb off

Conditioner for thinning hair

This conditioner may help in cases of thinning hair and dry, itchy scalp.

1 egg white

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 mashed banana

3 tbsp yoghurt

½ a lemon

Squeeze the lemon juice in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Mix well. Apply to newly washed hair and leave in for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse well with warm water.

Deep Conditioning with Olive Oil

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

30 drops rosemary essential oil

Heat the olive oil very gently until it is slightly warm (take care as olive oil can overheat very quickly; microwave oven is not recommended). Add the rosemary essential oil, mix and massage into the hair with your fingertips. Wrap a towel around the hair and leave for 45 minutes. Rinse off with cool water and shampoo.

Conditioner for Frizz Control

¼ cup honey

1 tbsp almond oil

½ cup any good conditioner

Blend all the ingredients together. Apply to damp hair. Leave in for 20 minutes than shampoo off.

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

prevalent in our own community. We’ve been talking to diabetes specialist Soji Swaraj on the issue, and with every conversation with him it hits home more and more that we’ve got to take better care of ourselves. In the midst of this, I’m trying to decide what the topic should be for my own Food column. It can’t be too hard: I’ve got to make it something nocarb, or at least lo-carb.

And so I dedicate this column to Dr Swaraj, well-known carbohydrate-hater. A

vegetables

large plate of roast vegetables for you, Soji. (And we’re keeping the potatoes out).

Roast veggies make an appearance at my own dinner table quite frequently in winter, because thankfully the family enjoys them too. Pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant, fennel, onion, garlic all go into the oven and come out looking beautifully bright and simply delicious. And they can be comforting too, not to mention filling.

Of course one can be simply frugal and just roast the veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper. But why not put a little bit more thought into preparing the veggies for roasting, and then dressing them after. A dash of balsamic vinegar to that simple oil-salt-and-pepper can liven it all up beautifully.

Try olive oil rosemary, thyme and salt; or oil, lemon and rosemary.

For a slightly fancier version, try balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and some

chopped fresh basil. (Beware, though, as this mix makes the veggies soft rather than crunchy, delicious nonetheless).

Mixes like lemon-pepper seasoning, or even our own chaat masala, might work well too. If harissa and curry powder can be used, perhaps we could try the many readymade masalas that are available in the spice stores.

At a recent trip to Aussie food legend Maggie Beer’s place in the Barossa Valley, I was introduced to her verjuice at a cooking demonstration. The roast veggies that were cooked and served that afternoon were dressed with a good splash of verjuice. Somewhere between lemon juice and vinegar in taste, it brought out the flavour of the veggies beautifully. Made from unfermented grapes and perfected over a period of twenty years, Maggie’s verjuice is available commercially, and is definitely worth a try.

Whatever you use to prepare your

veggies, rub the ingredients in well, rather than merely sprinkling them on.

Use a thin oven tray rather than a thick dish, and lay out your veggies single file. Make sure you’ve chopped them up in even sized cubes.

Veggies like sweet potato might work well if parboiled first, and for beetroot it might be best to roast separately, in its own skin, which can be peeled off later.

Onions will give off a strong odour while cooking, but it is worth it in the end, as they come up deliciously sweet. So will garlic.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees; roasting time will vary with the amount of veggies. Roast till tender and golden.

Of course these are served as an accompaniment in a main meal, but I’m sure Soji wouldn’t mind making a full meal of these by themselves.

And for my Hindu readers - a great idea for vrat days!

Arcade games

Did you know...

The earliest coin-operated game was probably the pinball machine which came out in the 1930s, but it was not electronic and it did not have fancy lights or screens. The first coin-operated video game was made in 1971 by Stanford University students in the US – it was called Glaxay Game. The next

year, the game was massmanufactured by a company called Atari, and this started the video game industry. In the 1990s, the two-player games were invented, and by 1996, the home versions of the games were invented, which were played on consoles and computers.

My Favourite Arcade Games

Claw Machine

Pacman

Donkey Kong

Mario

Space Invaders

ML

Pinball machine

I learnt a new word

Manual dexterity Skill in using the hands ML Coordinated Working together harmoniously, such as in “eye-hand coordination”; or, to form a pleasing combination, such as in “shoes coordinated with the outfit”. DL

(One friend Sarina, actually pays me to play for her, but don’t tell ML

Collectibles

Trust in teaching

Bullying by peers is unpleasantly common, but bullying by an educator can be scarring for any child

BY RANI JHALA

The apple of our eyes, the pride of our home and the dream of our future has just scored a perfect 100 in her HSC. And the entire school stood up to acknowledge her achievement. I too stood up, but amidst the din that was being created by those around, my mind flew back over many years to when she was a little child.

After a wonderful year in Kindergarten, it was her first day in Year 1. My daughter got the most experienced teacher, she had her best friends and she was in the perfect school to promote learning.

I left my daughter giggling with her friends and went home truly happy with my lot. At 3 pm I went to pick her up, only to find her a little down. I chalked it down to ‘first day blues’. But a trend had been set, and my little girl kept looking more and more apprehensive each day. By the end of the fortnight, she complained of a stomach ache and did not want to go to school. A couple of days later, her leg ached. And then it was her hand. And like every mother, my first thought was that she was being bullied at school. During general conversation I learnt from her that “No child is allowed to do mean things to each other at our school. The principal said the school had ‘zero tolerance’ for it. That means he will not tolerate it if anyone bullies anyone else”. My eyes misted over with relief.

But by the end of the month, the aches increased. She cried at the slightest thing. And she walked backwards if her father or I raised our voices.

That evening we talked. After an hour of saying ‘Nothing is wrong’, she finally admitted that she did not like the teacher. That she was scared when the teacher shouted. I remember thinking that ‘this would be easy to fix’. All I had to do was talk to the teacher. And I did! The teacher

even had a talk with my daughter saying that she was her best student and that she would never be upset with her and “together we would get rid of the scary worm in your stomach”.

But whatever method the teacher employed, it did not work. I then went to the Deputy Principal who said she would monitor the situation, even remarking that she had already spoken to the teacher as other parents had also complained. A week later my little one was worse and the Deputy Principal suggested we get the school counselor to oversee the situation. After a week’s supervision, I was told that my daughter, though a quiet member of the class, seemed quite happy. In that week, the teacher came up with the idea that my daughter would write in a ‘Happy Book’ on a daily basis, recording three events each day at school that made my child happy. Later I learnt that the teacher forced her to write happy things to do with her and the classroom, and if she couldn’t find any, she would have to stay back at recess and think of something.

I realised that the mind games had begun and ‘another’ woman was playing those games with ‘my’ six-year-old. But it was when I learned that she had told my child that she must hug me every afternoon and tell me how happy she was at school - and not tell me that her teacher had asked her to say it as it was ‘their little secret’ - I made an appointment to see the principal. At first they were reluctant to action anything and offered to monitor things a bit longer. They said that ‘clever’ children tended to be a bit more sensitive. By now we had lost three months of that year, and I pleaded with them to move her. Finally after the Deputy Principal confirmed that they had been unable to eradicate my child’s fear, the principal agreed. The transfer was authorised and I left that morning patting myself on the back.

But then the unhealthy games started. My child who was a regular recipient of merit certificates no longer got one. Even my child had noted it, for one day she asked “How come even though I do so well, I don’t get any merit cards and everyone else

gets one. And even when I put up my hand to answer questions in class, they don’t ask me anymore. I don’t even get the ‘well done stamps’ now”. I told my daughter to ignore it, but spoke to my husband again about moving schools. I rang several schools in the area but for various reasons could not find one that had a vacancy for her.

And then one day she came in tears. During their lunch break they had been playing ‘tag’ and when she was ‘it’ she had run and tapped on another child’s shoulder. Her old teacher was on playground duty and this child claimed that my daughter had hit her. Without asking for an explanation from my daughter or the other kids, my daughter was punished and asked to pick up rubbish

by people who had been trained to act better. The day the house sold we pulled our daughter out from the school. When she left I did not say goodbye to the principal. To me, he had earned no such respect. I left after meeting his deputy who regretted losing ‘such a good student’.

On her first day at the new school, the moment a gentle smiling soul introduced herself as her new teacher and reached out for her hand, my daughter beaming with joy, left my side. And that was the child I picked up every day from then on.

Years later I learnt from others that ‘the teacher’ had even threatened to throw children out of the classroom window, that she had pulled a hat off one child tearing strands of hair with it and then thrown the hat in the rubbish bin as it was not part of the uniform. And we tell our kids not to be violent!

I looked at the prospect of reporting the school and in particular, the teacher. But then I recalled the inefficiency of the school counselor, the negligence of the Principal and the weakness of other teachers in not standing up and defending a mere child, and I knew I could not put my daughter through it again.

while the teacher looked on, smiling. I told her to again ignore things but my husband and I spoke to a real estate agent.

The following week another child had picked up on my daughter’s fear and the bullying started. My child was forced to play with children she did not like, play games she did not like, surrender her lunch, all under the threat that she would be reported to ‘that’ teacher. I too noticed that during assembly my child was physically pushed into the assembly line by another teacher. When other kids ran around, my kid was stopped and told to walk.

‘Power play’ was now at force and my child had become the pawn. The final straw came the day I saw my child hide behind a pillar, then a tree, then the building and peep each time to see if a teacher was around before progressing to her class. That very day we put up our house for sale. Nothing was worth what was being done to my child

This incident taught me two things though – the first, that just because they are teachers, does not mean they are perfect or even right. And secondly, that power in anyone’s hand is dangerous especially in the hands of those that work with children. Children cannot stop the ‘wrongs being done to them in the name of education’. We adults should! A personality test should be compulsory before determining which age group they teach. And if someone does not like children, they should simply be asked to leave.

Applause brought me back to the present and I realised I had missed my daughter’s speech. I was glad for the recorder in my hand.

But I did hear my daughter end with these words, “Anyone can teach. It takes a special person to educate. And luckily for me apart from one teacher in Year One, every other teacher knew that difference”

Later I learnt that the teacher forced her to write happy things to do with her and the classroom, and if she couldn’t find any, she would have to stay back at recess and think of something

Weddings, South Asian style

Already renowned for being one Sydney’s leading wedding venues, The Epping Club is guaranteed to deliver a five-star experience for any occasion. Specialising in Indian and Sri Lankan events, the Club’s customer-focused team and highly acclaimed Executive Chef have been praised around Sydney for their achievements in both food and service.

With years of experience in the market, The Epping Club has proven to be one of Sydney’s prime venue choices in the North West. A grand sweeping staircase is the Club’s most unique feature, providing the perfect setting for Gone with the Wind style wedding photographs. Their beautiful Grand Ballroom, with its high ceilings and pillarless design, allows for visibility from all angles of the room. Opening onto a private open air terrace, this room can cater for up to 480 people seated. Its versatility and layout makes it the perfect room for setting up traditional décor, including Mandaps.

The Club’s Indian Wedding Specialist, Adele Zeaiter, understands the importance of tailoring a menu and package to suit your every need and budget. Combine this with the knowledge and experience our Executive Chef, Bikky Ahluwalia, and you’re sure to have a wedding like no other.

Indian-born Bikky Ahluwalia knows how important it is to have a menu with your own personal touch. For over 25 years, Bikky has shared his passion for fine foods around the world. As Executive Chef of the Epping Club, Bikky works with clients in order to create a menu to suit particular tastes.

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

His Indian heritage and vast knowledge of the culture has attracted a large number of Indian and Sri Lankan weddings in the past. This knowledge and experience is what makes the Club’s cuisine so unforgettable.

The Club’s reputation in food and service is what continues to draw from all cultures year after year. A Sri Lankan wedding that was held in April of this year could not believe the standard of food and service that the Club provided for their special day:

“A wedding is not an easy task to organise, but with your (The Epping Club’s) help we couldn’t have asked for a better day. From the regular follow-ups and endeavouring to meet all our requests and needs, The Epping Club by far excelled our expectations.” (Tharmika & Sanjeevan) Adele, Bikky and the team at The Epping Club invite you and your family to experience for yourselves this excellence they are so renowned for.

The VIP Menu Tasting Night on Friday 30th July 2010 from in the Club’s Grand Ballroom will include tastings of both vegetarian and nonvegetarian menu options with our Executive Chef, Bikky Ahluwalia, along with wedding room displays and décor from V.I.P Decorating. Adele and her team will also be there in order to discuss package options. Be there on the night for your chance to WIN a $200 family dinner in the Terrace Restaurant Bar & Grill’s Private Dinning Room Appointments are essential. Contact the Events Team on 9876 4357 to book.

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/wellsettled 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 wellsettled 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

Match for Punjabi Saraswat Brahmin Vishisht Gotra, Manglik girl, MA B.Ed, DOB 29-3-1977, 5-20 pm, Deolali (Maharashatra). Applied residency in Australia, 5’-2”, prefer Australian boy. Call +91 9888 970 986 or email nsharma0786@ yahoo.com.

Family seeks suitable professional match for a very attractive and intelligent South Indian girl with modern and family values. She is 29, 5’5”, fair and medium built, working for a large accounting firm in Sydney. Please contact with biodata and recent photo to aus.mum1980@gmail.com Only if the boy is a citizen, tall, handsome, aged between 3034 years and earns more than $100,000

BUZZThe

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

Bollywood’s youngest producer learns the ropes

Happy birthday Priyanka

Priyanka Chopra, who has been busy shooting for her forthcoming films Anjaana Anjaani and Saat Khoon Maaf, took time out to celebrate her 28th birthday in Phuket recently.

She took six girlfriends with her.

Priyanka posted on micro-blogging site Twitter: “Off for my sinful holiday with my girls! Oh sooooo needed it... See you guys in paradise.”

Priyanka, who won the Miss World title in 2000, made her Bollywood debut with The Hero: Love Story of a Spy in 2003, after which she featured in Andaaz

In 2004, she received critical acclaim for her performance in Aitraaz and later did commercial films like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Bluffmaster, Krrish, Don - The Chase Begins Again and Salaam-E-Ishq

It was Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion that brought her into the league of top-rated actresses in Bollywood, and even won her a National Award.

There has been no looking back for her ever since.

She was seen in commercial hits like Dostana and Kaminey and also featured in films like What’s Your Rashee, and Pyaar Impossible, which didn’t fare too well at the box office. Nevertheless, she has films like Anjaana Anjaani, Vishal Bharadwaj’s Saat Khoon Maaf and Don 2 - The Chase Continues in her kitty this year.

She is one of the youngest producers in Bollywood, an industry that has few active women producers. Sure enough, 23-yearold Rhea Kapoor says she found the job of challenging and learnt that one has to swallow one’s ego to run a project

“The most difficult part is that you have to take responsibility for everything. If anything goes wrong, it’s your fault,” said the quick

The daughter of actor Anil Kapoor and younger sister of actress Sonam Kapoor, Rhea never planned to get into production.

“I did a course in acting from New York but I realised that being in front of the camera is not what I want to do. Dad heard and loved it. He asked me to produce it under our banner because he felt that it’s a young, fun film and so I would be able to do justice to it,” she said.

Emma, the romantic movie about a high society girl who feels she is naturally gifted in finding love matches will feature Sonam as the matchmaker and Abhay Deol as the guy who falls for the self-confessed spinster. It is set

So did Dad help? “He gave me a complete free hand on the film. He let me make it the way I wanted to. He was there when I needed his opinion but he never interfered”. can get up to with

is all set to Gandhi Ki Shaadi Mein , which he describes as a unique love story about a modern-day couple named

GUESS WHO

She did try her luck on the silver screen, but she is best known as the wife of a legendary

Debutant director Pranav Dhiwar

(Find the answer under

Gandhi and Kasturba.

“The film is about a boy named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - his father was a freedom fighter and hugely inspired by the Mahatma, hence the name. Similarly the girl’s name is Kasturba,” Dhiwar says.

Before venturing into direction, Dhiwar worked as an editor on films like Mr Singh Mrs Mehta and Dabangg. He is currently directing a serial called Crime and Bollywood.

Does he think the names will irk people?

“We are not dealing with any historical facts here, it is a simple comedy. Only the characters’ names are same, but their traits are completely modern. It’s all in good humour.

Some people might try to create a controversy, but when they watch the film they’ll know there is nothing defaming in it.”

TV actor Karanvir Bohra, popularly known as Prem of Ekta Kapoor’s Kasautii Zindagi Ki, has been finalised for the role of Gandhi, but the female lead has not been decided yet. The film, to be made in Gujarat, is likely to go on floors in August.

Hey, if we’ve had ‘Bin Laden’ in a title recently, why not ‘Gandhi’?

Akshay fulfills

mannat

Akshay Kumar likes to seek out places of worship to visit and find solace, wherever he is shooting, particularly in the unexplored interiors. Be it a small gurdwara tucked away in the bylanes of Amristar or a temple on a hill in Manali, the star will climb that extra mile to get there.

So it was in Baramati, Pune, where Akshay shot for several months this year for the new Priyadarshan film Khatta Meetha. He discovered a small temple in a far-off place that he immediately felt a connect with.

Akshay began to frequent that temple every day.

“Earlier, he wouldn’t tell anyone where he’d disappear to early in the morning, or any time of the day,” said a source from the unit. “Soon we found where he was off to.

What we didn’t know was that he had taken a mannat that he’d return to the temple when Khatta Meetha was ready for release”.

So, early one Saturday morning, Akshay took a chartered flight, just before he left for Manali to shoot a song with Aishwarya Rai for Vipul Shah’s Action Replay, to fulfill his mannat in the little temple at Baramati.

While Akshay refused to comment saying religion is a very personal matter, a source very close to him said, “Akshay takes matters connected to god very seriously. He wouldn’t leave for Manali to shoot until he had fulfilled his mannat in that temple in Baramati.”

No doubt Akki’s wishing the resident deity at Baramati will shower success on his forthcoming releases…

Men do cry: Small screen heroes show how

It’s ‘tissue paper moments’ galore on the small screen. And from the men, no less. What was once a private activity for men has now gone public on the small screen.

Whether it’s Manav of Rishta, Bhairon of Veer of Uttaran

Bidaai or Shekhar of Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo seem to be crying at the drop of a hat, taking away the license to shed tears from the likes of Tulsi, Parvati and Prerna, the

typical ‘bahus’ of Indian television.

“This new trend is revamping the image of men by showing the sensitive side of the otherwise tough body,” believes actor Nandish Sandhu, aka Veer of Uttaran. “It debunks the myth that men are stonehearted and don’t have emotions”.

Actor Apurva Agnihotri says, “Men on the whole have become more sensitive in real life as well. So why not on TV?”

The trend of men shedding tears is not just restricted to daily soaps; reality shows have also joined the bandwagon.

From Vindu Dara Singh and Bakhtiyar Irani in Bigg Boss to Shekhar Kapur in India’s Got Talent, all of them have ventured into ‘teary territory’

Pass the tissue box… they’re all weeping their way to glory here!

Rahat Ali Khan’s proposal for Indo-Pak peace

Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who has found great fame in India, says he tries to spread brotherhood on both sides of the border. “I have always tried to advocate peace through my singing. In India, people tell me how much they like Pakistani artistes and I communicate their feelings when I get back home. Similarly, in Pakistan, people tell me how much they enjoy India and Indian artistes and I communicate the same here as well. I always say, look at what the common man on both sides feels, and not what the politicians feel.”

The nephew of legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan will be seen in his second avatar on Indian TV shortly, after Imagine TV’s music reality show Lux Junoon Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka. Now he is returning to the small screen with another music show that will feature children from India and Pakistan as contestants.

The show Chotte Ustaad 2 will go on air on Star Plus July 24 and will be co-judged by singer Sonu Niigaam.

Talking about the show, Khan said: “It’s a great concept. It encourages brotherhood between India and Pakistan, advocates peace and that love should be the foundation of everything”.

Chhote Ustaad will feature 10 children from India and 10 from Pakistan. Each Indian child will be paired with a Pakistani kid and thus 10 pairs will be made who will compete with each other for the title.

Shreyas turns producer

Bollywood is all set to have another actorturned-producer. This time it’s Shreyas Talpade, who is co-producing a film with Ajay Jhunjhunwala. Titled Chemistry, the film has been written by Sai Kabir and will star Shreyas in the lead. It is expected to go on floors in September. Though Shreyas has produced a Marathi film in the past, he reveals, that he is just as excited and nervous about his first Bollywood production. Shreyas says, “When Sai came up with the script, it was too tempting to not want to take the plunge into production. It’s definitely a big step for me and I’m looking forward to it.” Though Shreyas is playing the lead, he insists that the story is the real

Jackie Chan in India again

Jackie Chan , Asia’s highest paid actor, was in Chennai to release the audio of Kamal Haasan’s Dasavatharam in 2008. Now he is coming to India this year on a promotional tour for his next film Little Big Soldier. The 25 million dollar film is releasing in India later this year. Jackie Chan will also be in Chennai in the south leg of his tour and during that visit he will meet Chief Minister Karunanidhi. Jackie Chan has good thoughts of the chief minister after his interaction with him during the Dasavatharam audio release.

What’s the chitchat here between Shashi Kapoor and daughter Sanjana?

Send in your responses to info@indianlink.com.au and win a surprise prize

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s going through the minds of Amisha Patel and Akshay Kumar here?

Amisha: Wow, I’m standing right next to Akshay Kumar… I haven’t lost all yet!

Akshay: Do I have to have this has-been next to me?

Sugandha Shekhar

Burwood NSW

Rishi wins a free ticket to new Hindi film Red Alert

RAHAT FATEH ALI KHAN

JACKIE CHAN

AKSHAY KUMAR

RHEA KAPOOR

Cine Talk

Good chemistry between Shahid, Kareena

Film: Milenge Milenge

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor

Directed by: Satish Kaushik

There is a kind of subverted joy in watching Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor play a Valentinian romance with a full-throttle gusto. Milenge Milenge took its time to come to the theatres. Yes, it is old fashioned in theme. But not dated. The material which must have been quite bulky by the time Kaushik was done with shooting has been cut and pasted with restrained enthusiasm. What we have is a paper-thin, sometimes cute at times annoying rom-com where Destiny plays a pivotal part. Kiss-mat, anyone? Yup, intimacy is fugitive between Shahid and Kareena. But they nonetheless look like a real pair.

The plot plods at a pace that suggests love is just about the only force that keeps the universe moving. Both the protagonists play professionals. But we hardly see them work except on their ever-palpitating hearts.

The plot invents various devices from missed flights to truant elevators to hero in drag and heroine

A believable Maoist story

Film: Red Alert: The War Within

Cast: Suniel Shetty, Sameera

Reddy, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vinod

Khanna, Seema Biswas, Ayesha

Dharker, Bhagyashree

Director: Anant Mahadevan

Arundhati Roy called their fight the single greatest resistance against oppression in the world, while our prime minister, the deceptively genial Manmohan Singh, called them the greatest internal security threat.

Between these extreme reports of their bringing rural-equality and their massacres, what’s the truth about the Maoists or Naxalites?

What is their motivation, and why has this movement of the 1960s recently gathered momentum for such extreme views to develop?

Between thE hero-worship of Roy and

the hyperbole of Singh, lies Red Alert

When Narasimha (Shetty) gets caught in the crossfire between police and Maoists, he is rescued and taken along by Maoists. Here he lives among the outlaws and become one of them. However, a farmer cannot really come to terms with killing people and he is at loggerheads with the Maoist group’s leader Velu (Vidhyarthi).

Through the eyes of Narasimha Red Alert shows us the life of the ‘red’ rebels who live and fight in the jungles. It paints their motivations, their weaknesses, their compassion and brutality, while never once patronising the rebels, the police, or the viewer. Everything in the film, like in life, is grey.

The Maoist movement began as a resistance against the oppression of landlords in the 1960s and today it is a violent resistance against the new landlords - government backed MNCs and national companies who want to make profit at the cost of the very people living there and of the environment, not to mention the nation if you consider deeper economics.

Fighting them are the armed forces of the country - the police and paramilitary

in glycerine to keep the love birds apart for two hours. There are some heartwarming moments depicting random hearts pumping into a collective despair as time ticks by.

There’s no attempt to pull punches, no over-clever dialogues and no effort to paint and gloss the feeling of love with sassy ‘cool’ lines. Director Satish Kaushik plays the romance on the straight and narrow path. And that’s just about the most comforting aspect of this basic simple and predictable boy-meets-girl tale.

The principal performances range from precocious to authentic. Surprisingly Shahid tends to go overboard in the early comic sequences.

But he makes up for the excesses in the second-half with expressions of a lover’s anguish over Cupid’s awry arrow.

Kareena looks gorgeous and slim in some scenes, gorgeous and relatively plump in other scenes. In totality the chemistry is quite palpable, much more so than in some of the other much-hyped love stories that arrived lately with a bang and fizzled out without the pang of love being palpable in a single frame.

In Milenge Milenge you do feel for the lovers. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we know what the film’s lovers do not: that the actors playing them were themselves in a long relationship not too long ago. But hush!

Subhash K. Jha

forces. How then have they been able to survive the might of the state? The film gives examples of how they often bring justice and fair wages to the rural populace, leading to their support. Instead, because of the use by security forces of various injudicious methods like rape and burning of villages as a weapon against Maoists, they have only further alienated the people who have found no recourse but to become guerrillas themselves. Red Alert depicts this reality with precision.

Director Anant Mahadevan has done a commendable job of accumulating a motley group of great actors who do not fail the story and their parts. The lead, Suniel Shetty, however, looks like a rank amateur pitted

against this ensemble of actors like Seema Biswas, Ayesha Dharker, Ashish Vidhyarthi and Vinod Khanna. Even Nasseruddin Shah in a two minute cameo as a drunkard soars, telling us once more as to why many worldwide consider him a living legend. The dialogues and treatment are crisp and sympathetic to both the sides. The details of Maoist movement and modus operandi are well in tune with known facts, and so is that of the security forces.

The main drawback of the film, however, is that it often ends up becoming a mere document of these, rather than a cinematic reinterpretation. Though, even in this it does a commendable job, interweaving multiple plots and characters believably.

In the end, the film also tries to elucidate a third way of peace and prosperity for all. But it seems more utopic than real as it relies on the good nature of otherwise greedy Indians.

Yet it is a triumph that in such charged times, the film not only got made but found a release. Hats off to every filmmaker like Anant Mahadevan who dares to venture to cinematic realms few dare go.

Satyen K. Bordoloi

High on wit, but doesn’t make the cut

Film: Tere Bin Laden

Director: Abhishek Sharma

Cast: Ali Zafar, Pradhuman Singh, Sugandha Garg, Piyush Mishra

Hear this. A small-time Pakistani reporter dreams of a bite from Big Apple. So what does he do? He sends a tape with an Osama lookalike threatening mayhem in the US. Tere Bin Laden is one of those whacked-out satires that sounds far funnier in theory than it finally is on screen... For no fault of the lead actor, one might add.

Ali Zafar’s comic timing could put some of our desi Khans to shame. Ali is a young actor with considerable screen presence. What’s more, he seems to secrete a sharp sense of enjoyment when confronted by the outrageous.

This is high-wit low-budget comedy, and it shows. The gags and one-liners involving the preparation to put the fake Osama in the line of fire are pungent parody in principle. But the film’s meagre budget muffles the mirth.

Finally it’s all about placing cameras in

A restrained, thoughtprovoking docu-drama

Film: Lamhaa

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha

Basu, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam

Kher

Written and directed by

Rahul Dholakia

Everyone, says someone important in this searing document of our times, is playing politics in the Kashmir Valley. In a milieu of all-pervasive politics, thank the lord for a creative voice that can look into the burning Valley with dispassionate compassion.

Lamhaa is one of those docu-dramas that could have easily toppled into the territory of over-statement and over-simplified politics. And boy, haven’t we seen that happen in very successful political cinema in recent times?!

Rahul Dholakia who earlier made the gently persuasive Parzania on the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, doesn’t lose his storytelling equilibrium even when the situations of crises described by the skilfully-written plot scream for attention. Restraint and honesty go hand-in-hand in Dholakia’s Kashmir, which we’d like to believe, is the real Kashmir, unalloyed, nonmagnified, intense and utterly devoid of artifice.

The camera moves restlessly through the dangerous crowded main roads and tense bylanes of Kashmir where anything can happen. The cinematographer James Fowlds seems to know the Valley of the damned with the transparent scrupulousness of an

Debutant director Abhishek Sharma never loses hold of the satirical mould. The sense of fun is uppermost in the script, though

insider who can place himself outside the explosive bustle of a portion of earth that’s rapidly slipped into the stratosphere of anarchy and mayhem.

The high-octane screenplay has no space or time to shed tears for the innocent and the dead. Miraculously liberated of overt sentimentality Lamhaa moves with candour and confidence through a world whose politics has become progressively impossible for the outsider to comprehend. Dholakia’s narrative moves through a labyrinth of pain and violence without trying to make common sense of them.

The narrative imposes no morality on the escalated violence of the Valley. Neither does Dholakia get excessively ‘cinematic’ in his approach to the complex material. Most of the time he lets the characters be. The Valley of simmering discontent comes alive in front of us in a ferocious but toned-down swoop of politics and drama.

The narrative moves swiftly and steadily

achievement. The actors are in the mood for some serious fun here. While Ali Zafar sparkles

through the characters’ lives. It isn’t always easy to tell who is on the right side, probably because the lines of morality are not just blurred in the Valley, they’ve almost completely disappeared. Jannat is in a limbo.

Lamhaa is a tearless ode to a people who have become so isolated from the mainstream of Indian life that the adorable children openly and abusively talk of India as a separate country

The dialogues (Ashwath Bhatt) spare none, not the politicians and certainly not the other power-brokers who in the film’s words, have turned Kashmir into a lucrative business company.

At the lowest level Lamhaa is thoughtprovoking mirror of mayhem and misapprehensions on a piece of earth that once was paradise. At the highest level it’s an even-pitched docu-drama which doesn’t mince words nor try to act cute about a throbbing crisis. The pitch is controlled even when the circumstances in the plot are

global terrorism, this one doesn’t quite make the cut.

totally out of control.

As Sanjay Dutt walks into the volatile Valley with leonine strides we feel for a while as though Dholakia wants to insinuate a larger-than-life super-hero into headlinedriven politics. But Dutt soon blends into the savage fabric of a life lived on the edge by people who have nothing to lose any more.

The film is dotted with memorable cameos. Among the fringe players Shernaz Patel as a woman looking for her husband for 18 years leaves a lingering impact. Among the principal cast Kunal Kapoor as a young militant turned conscientious politician determined to gather peace into the Valley and Anupam Kher as a treacherous political leader get it right deadon.

But the real revelation is Bipasha Basu. In a powerful role that Shabana Azmi would no doubt have played twenty years ago, Bipasha sinks herself into her character imparting a dramatic resonance into the role without resorting to stock expressions. The sequence where she gets mauled by militant women is as traumatic to watch as it must have been for Bipasha to shoot.

Lamhaa is not an easy film to watch. It comes to no decisive end. It takes into consideration the entire politics of Kashmir without careening towards excessive drama. This is that rare political drama where every component in the jigsaw of politics and terrorism is put on screen with a sensitivity and precision that repudiate melodramatic excesses.

A word of special praise for Mithoon’s songs. The lyrically lush tunes break into the deafening sound of bomb blasts and roaring guns to remind us that once the best poets of Kashmir wrote poetry on the beauty of the Valley.

The beauty of Lamhaa lies in its constant gaze at that beauty that one still glimpses in the shimmering waters of Dal Lake on a quiet and peaceful day.

Subhash K. Jha

Subhash K. Jha

Meow!

Dear Auntyji

I have found love for the second time at 45. My new man is just perfect in every way - he is devoted and loving and well-read and quite affectionate, in every sense of the word. But the problem is that he lives by himself, with a billi rani, whom he fondly refers to as Rajkumari Neelu Wati Tirchi Akhon wali. Now this catand I have no issues with animals generally - but this cat, hops from sink to sofa, from bistar to bahar, leaving a wake of fur and feline scent everywhere. Now, I want to move in with my dear Neel, but what to do about the cat? Do you think it would be wrong of me to wake up one day and find Rajkumari Neelu Wati “missing”? Do you think I could “give” her away to someone without Neel ever finding out, and then I could say that cat simply ran off to find a billa for herself? Tell me Auntyji, what to do? My sense of hygiene is being compromised due to the presence of my feline soutan.

Auntyji says

As my dear, dear brother-fromanother-mother Dr Saleem Waaris Jamal would say, wala howal wala kuat! Have you no shame, you poxfaced old cat? Here you are, finding love for the second time and instead of rejoicing, you are plotting and planning to do away with Neel’s companion of so many years? OK, so I too have an issue with cat fur everywhere, and everyone knows that we are mere slaves to cats, but to consider doing away with Neelu is the most outrageous thing I have heard in the last decade. (Actually, second most outrageous thing: the first being Pushpa bahen suggesting that I get my derriere botoxed 3 years ago). But back to the billi. Let me state it outright. No, you can’t do away with

Ask Auntyji

the cat. You can’t take it on a long drive and leave it in a national forest. No, you cannot accidentally feed it weed killer. No, you can’t accidentally let her play in traffic. What you can do is talk to Neel, and then go and see a counsellor - because you cannot ask the man to give up something dear to him. It cannot be you or the cat. Of course, if you have made your sentiments known to him, and he is still clinging to the cat as though it were his surrogate child or girlfriend, then I’m sorry, but the man has made his choice. It’s time you made yours.

Spit-on-myface-book

Dear Auntyji I found out through my boyfriend’s Facebook that he had had coffee with his ex-girlfriend, and now I can’t begin to tell you how livid I was. In fact, I was so livid, that I went onto my Facebook and implied that youknow-who had an odour problem. Now everyone thinks it’s the truth and I sort of feel sorry for the girl. I can’t make the situation better, and my boyfriend has not said anything, but sometimes, when I am about to go to sleep at night, I kind of wish I had not said what I did. Should I send her

flowers, Auntyji? Can I send her a public apology? What shall I do?

Auntyji says

Oh, you shaitaan you. As Dadi Ma says to her teenage grand daughter in just about every Hindi movie, Paagal kudi - karne se phele sochi nahi thi kya? Did you not think one jot of these things before you went and sent such a missive out in cyberspace - for the whole world to read and know about? Well, the horse has well and truly bolted from the stable, so no point now trying to run after it neighing and prancing, pleading for it to return. Here is what you must do. Keep reminding yourself never to act in anger and most importantly, not to put your emotions on Facebook. Meanwhile, one option available to you is to contact the girl and offer her your sincerest apologies, and take it graciously if she chooses to spit in your face - which I suspect she will be inclined to do. Another option is to ignore this whole situation, and wait for some other poor idiot to make a fool of themselves on Facebook, and then the pressure will be off you. And judging by the number of ignoramuses on Facebook who write things that are not meant for human eyes - it’s only a matter of time before a bigger fool than you comes along.

Dog food

Dear Auntyji

I have recently arrived here from India and my French colleague told me something that I was quite shocked about, and I was wondering if you could clarify this rumour for me. Pierre the Frenchman told me that Chinese people eat dogs - could this horrid rumour have any substance to it? I am appalled and mildly intrigued, and when I watch my neighbour Mr Chen look at my other neighbour’s labrador Barney, I wonder if he is thinking of Sweet and Sour Barney or Barney in Black Bean Sauce. Please help me Auntyji, as I cannot bear the thought of Barney being black beaned by Mr Chen.

Auntyji says

Well, I have not been to China, but I have been to Chatswood in Sydney and I do eat at Golden Century in Chinatown, therefore I have it on good authority to tell you the following. When Mr Chen looks at Barney, whether he is thinking Salt and Pepper Barney, or nice doggie, it is not any of your business. If the Chinese want to eat a labrador, it’s entirely up to them .Meanwhile, you should not be so ethnocentric in your thinking. When you return to India from a trip there, do you need to purify yourself by ingesting all the by-products of a cow? I don’t think you’re in any position to judge anyone. Let Mr Chen be. And tell Pierre the Frenchman that any country which eats frogs’ legs have no right to tell any other country what they should, or should not eat. What would the French know - with their fois gras and petit fours. What would they know about delicacies?

Michel’s Patisserie for

Established Michel’s store in Sydney CBD is available for sale. Great opportunity to walk into high performance business and earn high profit margin from the first day. Situated in busy CBD street of high rise office buildings, close to Town Hall station. Only 5 days trade, perfect work and life balance!

Large and strong base of loyal Michel’s customers for popular coffee, cakes and pies. Huge catering side for loyal corporate customers. High pedestrian traffic of Darling Harbour. Long lease and reasonable rent. Will sell soon.

Please do contact on 0406740749

A Celebration of Love

by

Sydney’s Award-winning Marriage Celebrant

Behroze Bilimoria

With my Indian background, I relate to all cultural aspects of traditional marriage celebrations and specialise in multicultural ceremonies

My family & I arrived Sydney from India 39 years ago.

With 15 years full time experience as a Marriage Celebrant, I have conducted over 2,000 weddings.

Call me to discuss your requirements and let me help you take the stress out of the legalities.

Fluent in Hindi and Gujarati

Tailor-made full civil ceremony or a Simple Registry-style ceremony

Affordable cost structures

Advice and assistance to new Australians

Visa letters provided to assist with genuine spouse/partner visa applications

Finally, bear in mind that you cannot have a wedding without a celebrant to do the legalities.

For more information.... click onto my Website and step into my World!

www.weddingsbybehroze.com.au

for discerning couples who are looking for a special Celebrant for their Very Special Day

behroze@weddingsbybehroze.com.au Phone: (02) 9440 9053 Mobile: 0409 983 152