2010-10 Melbourne

INDIAN LINK PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

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Splendour, grandeur, pomp… but too little, too late?

Oh, why do we do it to ourselves? Indians generally are talented, hard working and honest people. Our nature, like India’s dominant religion Hinduism, is very accommodating and Indians the world over are mostly model citizens. Yet, the lead up to the Commonwealth Games exposed India and Indians generally as corrupt, incompetent amateurs trying to punch above their weight.

There are many within the Indian Australian community who lashed out against the Australian media for their depiction of India. Front page photos in mainstream papers exposing the filth of the Games Village, and screaming headlines of death and danger in Delhi embarrassed the local community. Furthermore, security experts equating India to another Afghanistan became expert commentators. Brand India was tarnished further when Australia’s newest Prime Minister spoke to the media about travelling to India. Headlines - all negative - dominated the Australian press for days on end. It is sad that India and Indians allow themselves to reach this stage.

At the time of going to press, the Commonwealth Games were progressing well. While the danger of terrorism is always high on the sub-continent, this is but a natural side effect of modern

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

times. Only days ago, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency upgraded their warnings on travel to Paris and Germany. The Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated twice in as many weeks. New York, London and Madrid have all been victims of terrorist attacks. That the Australian Prime Minister Gillard held a special media conference on Delhi and terrorism, speaks volumes of her lack of diplomacy in matters of foreign affairs. Even the New Zealand Prime Minister John Keys spoke about issues of travelling to Delhi, but then stated that if he was an athlete, he would certainly travel to the Games.

One hopes and prays that the Commonwealth Games conclude without any incident, but the build up by the Australian Prime Minister and members of Australian media have clearly been a result of misinformed hysteria.

At the same time, why do we do it to ourselves? Is it in our Indian DNA to

leave things to the last minute? With Delhi awarded the Games over 7 years ago, why did things get sorted out only within the last seven days? Could the planning have been better to ensure that the stadiums, Village and facilities were handed over to various Commonwealth authorities at the right time? Furthermore, the argumentative nature of our Indian blood was evident through many excuses randomly thrown around by the organising committee – the monsoons, local government road blocks, the differences in international hygiene standards... Perhaps at times, it is worth keeping silent and accepting the blame.

The Opening Ceremony was spectacular. For a few hours, the countries of the Commonwealth were mesmerised. We can only hope that the Games are incident-free till the end, and that the Closing Ceremony reaffirms the world’s faith in us, yet again.

Dancers bring Spring Funk to life

The Bollywood craze has been growing exponentially in suburbs across Melbourne, with many schools offering training in this genre of dancing. When it comes to music and dance nothing excites dancers as much as this latest Indian import. Leading the bandwagon with their own unique fusion of Indian contemporary dance and jazz techniques is the Shiamak Indo Jazz Dance Movement (SIJDM). Since launching their first sessions in 2007, the Shiamak family is growing literally by leaps and bounds.

“It does not matter whether you have two left feet, or are trained in dancing, ‘fun’ is where the Shiamak Indo Jazz Dance reigns. The whole group is itself like a big family with a common interest and has a combination of very interesting people from all parts of Melbourne. All ages join in to have some fun and in the process, learn dancing as a bonus,” claims Vihang Nikaljee, one of the main instructors with SIJDM. “At SIJDM we are very serious about our art, but there is no reason why we cannot enjoy the whole experience, learn and have fun at the same time,” he adds.

For those who think Bollywood means easy and you can

just boogie into a class and dance like Hritik Roshan, think again. The seemingly effortless moves that you see on stage take years of hard work and training. The SIJDM instructors have trained in this dance form for several years, and are now instilling the same disciplines in all their students. When they put up a show you can be sure it will be a good one.

The audience at the Shiamak Spring Funk, held recently at the Palais Theatre in St. Kilda, witnessed another superlative performance by students, show kids and Shiamak’s special potential team.

At the Shiamak Spring Funk, vintage numbers were choreographed to appeal to new sensibilities, innovative dance moves were created on latest Bollywood hits and every student was offered an opportunity to shake a leg or two on stage. Proud parents sat in the audience armed with cameras, waiting to capture their offspring in action. Relatives and friends scanned the rows of dancers dressed in glittery costumes to find their loved ones amidst the glitz. Potential students checked out the possibility of joining the increasingly popular Shiamak team. I sat there and wondered

New committee for PCV

The Punjabi Club of Victoria recently held its Annual General Meeting on August 22 at Tandoori Junction restaurant.

The meeting was attended by over 40 PCV members.

The members unanimously chose a new committee and its executive committee consists of Arminder Luthra (President), Davinder Kocher (Vice President), Inderjit Jasal (Secretary), Tej Panesar (Treasurer), Surinder Mudher, Virendra Berera, Surinder Dhar, Anil Dhir, Jasbir Bedi (founder PCV member) and Paramjit Jaswal.

The new committee wishes to thank the outgoing President Mr Surinder Mudher for his contribution, dedication and hard work. The new committee also wishes to thank Mr Arun Sharma and Mr Narinder Bedi for their contribution and support over many years.

As part of its annual events, the PCV will organise a Diwali dinner and dance programme on November 1 for family and friends. The event will promote Punjabi culture among children and will have Bollywood entertainment and much, much more

what I could write to describe the phenomenon that is Shiamak… You have to see it to believe it.

Shiamak Davar’s choreography proved to be a winner yet again, striking a good balance between the music, visual effects created with the movements of the dancers, the backdrop and costumes. Despite the fact that the show was hastily put together to utilize the paid booking at Palais theatre (previously booked with another event in mind that got postponed), the Shiamak Spring Funk did not disappoint and was as entertaining as the annual winter and summer funks. Like every year I left the show thinking, Wow, that was brilliant! I should find time to join them.

Photos: Ravinder Singh Jabbal

Dementia expert named Scientist of the Year

A distinguished and talented individual, committed to the cause of helping those suffering from dementia, claims a well-deserved award

BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

Eminent writer, UNSW Scientia Professor and Clinical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI), Dr Perminder Singh Sachdev has been awarded 2010 Scientist of the Year for Biomedical Sciences.

The award, which was established in 2008 by the NSW Office for Science and Medical Research (OSMR), “recognises the State’s leading researchers for cutting edge work that generates economic, health, environmental or technological benefits for NSW”.

Congratulating the India born and educated academic, whose core clinical interests include neuropsychiatry and psychopharmacology, UNSW Dean Peter Smith stated that the OSMR citation was “a prestigious acknowledgement of the great work he is doing”.

“It is an encouraging recognition of our work for the past two decades”, Dr Sachdev told Indian Link, “particularly given that the awards are only in their third year. That makes it especially important”. “And I could not have achieved it without the support of my wife Dr Jagdeep, who has steadfastly been there for me”, he gratefully added.

prevalence of neurocognitive disorders is increasing at an alarming rate. The cost to society and the economy is indeed huge”, admitted Sachdev.

Thankfully, there is a worldwide effort now to develop new intervention strategies, which include drugs to prevent the development of pathology or to slow its progression, he acknowledged. Likewise other strategies are being examined as well, including ways to increase the plasticity of the ageing brain. “We are also developing treatments such as cognitive and physical activity to slow down cognitive decline”.

In this context NPI has a close collaboration with researchers at Sydney Uni for a smart trial to help slow the progression of impairment in those with mild memory problems. “And it is very likely that it will become a commonly applied intervention”, he explained.

NPI has also made significant progress on the stem cell front. Dr Sachdev’s team developed a neural stem cell three years ago to trial treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. The group is currently experimenting with stem cells from embryonic tissue, adult dogs and adult humans to develop cell lines targeting Alzheimers and dementia sufferers.

Dr Sachdev’s team developed a neural stem cell three years ago to trial treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

Winning accolades, however, has been a lifelong tradition for the acclaimed scholar with quite a Midas touch.

Besides striking gold at the HSC and at the under graduate medical levels, the former president of the International Neuropsychiatry Association, was named best all rounder at his alma mater, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. International citations and honours have effortlessly come by the erudite academic, who migrated to NZ in the late eighties to complete his doctoral thesis in ethno-psychology.

The NPI, with which he has been associated since his move to Australia in the early nineties, is an elite tertiary referral unit for complex neuropsychiatric disorders at the Prince of Wales Hospital.

“We see a range of disorders, which lie at the border of psychiatry and neurology”, he explained.

“Our particular focus has been cognitive ageing, dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders and Tourette syndrome. As well, we conduct studies on psychiatric disorders associated with epilepsy, stroke, brain tumours, adult ADHD and a range of other disorders. We also have specialized projects on obsessivecompulsive disorder and anorexia nervosa”, he indicated.

The articulate neuropsychiatrist is also heading a brain stimulation program, which is investigating new treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation.

“As Australia’s population ages, the

While his early focus at NPI was on drug-induced movement disorders like akathisia, tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, Dr Sachdev soon moved onto dementia, in particular, risk factors, biomarkers, neuro-imaging and neuropsychology.

“My team began to specifically focus on vascular dementia”, he reminisced.

The second most common cause of dementia worldwide, after Alzheimers, it is caused by disease in the blood vessels that supply the brain.

“We initially examined the clinical features and showed that memory impairment is not the early feature of this disorder. Rather it is the small vessel disease, even in patients with stroke. Likewise, we also showed that high homocysteine may be a risk factor in brain atrophy and small vessel disease.”

Dr Sachdev is now heading an international effort to define the criteria for the diagnosis of vascular dementia.

“We are conducting a number of longitudinal studies to examine the development of cognitive impairment, including memory and ageing study, older Australian twins study and Sydney centenarian study. NPI is also working with researchers at ANU on the PATH (Personality and Total Health) through Life study”.

Besides publishing hundreds of research papers and scientific texts, Sachdev has recently forayed into the fascinating grey area between fact and fiction. A talented and empathetic wordsmith, his maiden literary effort, Yipping Tiger and other Tales Rotary Knowledge Dissemination award, taps into his extensive research experience to explore the power of the human brain. He was a special invitee at the 2010 Melbourne Writers Fest.

Dr Perminder Sachdev receives his award from NSW Governor Prof. Marie Bashir

BY SHERYL DIXIT

Lights, camera, action! Drumbeats filled the air, the world’s largest helium balloon slowly began to ascend and the inauguration ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games 2010 began to unfold.

Bollywood-like, one may think, but in truth and in a welcome change, the glitz and glamour of India’s film industry took a firm backseat at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. It was a pleasant surprise for Indians, and a rather surprising one for non-Indians who largely and invariably associate all things Indian with Bollywood.

The various facets of the opening ceremony, from its mesmerising drumbeats to the mischievous smile on young Keshav’s face as his fingers danced on the tabla; from the athletes carrying the baton across the stadium to be handed over to Prince Charles at the end of its historic 170,000km journey through all the Commonwealth nations; from the strangely attired dancers who pirouetted to Hariharan’s enchanting music and then created a clever mural of mehndi; from the coordinated fireworks and the great Indian journey

Awinning

that showcased the soul of the country – all these elements came together in relatively smooth synchronicity to form a unique and memorable opening ceremony.

I admit to keeping my fingers crossed as politicians and dignitaries began filing into the stadium, but when the ceremony began right on time, I relaxed. If the country could master its age-honoured concept of starting any event at least ten minutes late, we were onto a good thing. And with what followed, India certainly didn’t disappoint.

What impressed me most within the entire three-hour bonanza was that India did what it does best. It showcased the richness of its culture and heritage, poked a wee bit of fun at its idiosyncrasies, and the best thing of all was that it was all original, or as we could say, typically Indian. There was none of the hastily adapted western influences, none of the extravagant displays of technology or modernization, which would have been farcical and inappropriate. Instead, it was tasteful, informative and it stuck to a single, yet simple theme – this is India.

The Commonwealth Games inaugural ceremony was exactly what the world needed to see and understand about

India. Not Bollywood, call centres, cricket or the IT industry, but the essence of life in India, of which we are proud. The ceremony was divided into specific segments highlighting the country’s diversity through dance, drums, music, yoga and textiles. In many ways the inaugural ceremony was different, a step away from the traditions expected from past Games, which reflected not just India’s modernity of thought, but also the use of creative concepts to enhance the entire experience for not just the audience, but also the athletes. One of these was a move away from the traditional athletes’ march which usually happens at the end of the inauguration, which often means that they miss out on the ceremony which is, after all, in honour of them. But at the Delhi Games, the athletes’ march followed the speeches which ensured that they didn’t miss out on the more entertaining aspects of the ceremony. They had a chance to be in on the action, literally from ringside seats.

Another interesting and unique feature, a first of its kind to be used in an event of this scale was the massive Rs 70 crore helium balloon with its Rajasthani puppets gently gyrating in the evening air. This aerostat was a showstopper

The inaugural ceremony of the CWG has proved to the world that India can indeed deliver, despite the odds

It showcased the richness of its culture and heritage, poked a wee bit of fun at its own idiosyncrasies, and the best thing of all was that it was all original, or as we could say, typically Indian

performance

as it dramatically rose 25 metres in the air when the ceremony began, to the awe and delight of the crowd which showed its appreciation through a roar of approval. It is the biggest in the world, and displayed images of the action on the ground for all to see across the dimensions of the stadium, while moving lights changed hues to add an individual touch of festivity to the ceremony.

Brilliantly choreographed, ‘The Great Indian Journey’ was certainly entertaining and definitely impressive. From the train and its dancer perched on top, to the medley of scenes that followed like milkmen on bicycles, a mobile bangle shop, a cycle shop, rickshawallas, fishermen…it was a glimpse into the ‘real’ India. The wedding band and moving theatre with huge cutouts of Bollywood actors added a touch of realism to the scene without overtly venerating the industry, which I feel, made an essential statement that India is much more than mere Bollywood.

The section on the Bodhi tree of life and knowledge and yoga showcased what is essentially Indian, leaving no doubt about the origins of this form of wellness, which is still enjoying steadily-increasing global popularity. The

Namaste formation by schoolchildren was attractive, and the traditional dances were graceful and vibrant, with bihu, bhangra and bamboo all displayed to their best advantage. And of course, the piece de resistance was from AR Rahman, who did his bit with his usual aplomb. Rahman’s talent lies in being a showman extraordinaire without the usual fuss – he’s just good at what he does, with humility to boot. He belted out the Commonwealth Games theme song, Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto (Live, rise, grow, win) to an impressed audience, and followed it up with what is now his signature tune, Jai Ho! The accompaniment of hundreds of dancers in traditional Indian attire perfectly complemented his performance.

With a tribute to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, there was a distinct message that Bapuji’s ideals are still very much alive and that he remains, 62 years after his death, India’s single strongest and most prideful icon. Strains of the Mahatma’s favourite hymn Vaishnav Janato reverberated through the air as his ever-familiar portrait lit up the stage.

Of course, there were a few glitches, but nothing terribly obvious. The speeches seemed too long and too many, an

insight into our politicians’ love for verbosity. And although the Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi had to endure being booed by the audience, I have to admit that his valour in calling a spade a spade left me impressed. He referred to the criticism prior to the Games and his statement, “India has arrived!” made global headlines. The President and Prime Minister of India were less impressive, and seemed mildly out of their depth with all the excitement around them.

Purists may criticise the faint air of disorganisation that seemed to hover around the ceremony and the occasionally uncoordinated moments experienced by dancers when caught close up on camera, but these are minor deterrents to a kaleidoscopic pageant that literally, took one’s breath away.

Three hours isn’t quite enough for 7000 performers to showcase the 5000 years of India’s history to nearly 7000 athletes and Games organisers from 71 countries, and an audience of 65,000 in the stadium including countless others watching all across the world. But one has to admit, they did a more than impressive job of it!

So let’s wait for the closing ceremony, where we hope that once again, India can show the world that it has the ability, attitude, creativity and panache to bring the 19th Commonwealth Games to a successful conclusion. And once again, perhaps at 3:30am, I will crawl back into bed with a sense of satisfaction and a sigh of relief.

The Namaste formation by schoolchildren was attractive, and the traditional dances were graceful and vibrant, with bihu,bhangra and bamboo all displayed to their best advantage

Arangetram par excellence!

The mrudanga arangetram of Surya Raviganesh was held at the Rowville Secondary College on September 4.

Surya is the third student of Sridhar Chari’s Laya Vidhya Centre to do an arangetram, and the eminent vocalist Neyveli Santhanagopalan and violinist Vittal Ramamurthy from India performed for the occasion. They began with a Begada varnam, and followed it up with a Gowla, Ravichandrika and Poorvi Kalyani kritis. The magnum opus of the evening was the Dikshitar kriti Bala Gopala in Bhairavi, which the well known artistes from India delivered in all its beauty, lacing it with niravals and swaras. Surya played with confidence and finesse, and dazzled in the ‘tani avarttanam’ or the solo segment, weaving intricate patterns and in different tempos.

Santhanagopalan was strikingly large hearted: he constantly deflected the audience’s attention and applause to Surya, directing the limelight at him and praising his prowess at the mrudangam. Indeed, even his niravals and kalpana swaras were so rendered that they highlighted the debut mrudangist’s skills, rather than his own vocal mastery. The synergy between him – one of the foremost vocalists in Carnatic music today – and Surya, was remarkable: they communicated very well, and that Surya could respond fittingly spoke volumes about his confidence and skill. Male vocalists do allow mrudangists to play a wider range, and Surya made able use of it. His mrudangam seemed to ‘speak’ the swaras of the vocalist, and that is a tremendous achievement for anyone, leave alone a budding mrudangist. On the violin was Sri Vittal Ramamurthy, and the three artistes performed like seasoned veterans in sync, and with perfect understanding. That Santhanagopalan peppered the arangetram with long and complex kalapana swaras bothered Surya not in the least: he matched them swara for swara and mirrored the patterns in percussion. It was certainly one of the best arangetrams in Melbourne.

Abirami Kannan from Sydney, a pupil of Santhanagopalan, provided vocal support.

Chitra

Sudarshan

Iyer brothers honoured with prestigious award Melbourne based veena exponents, Ramnath and Gopinath

Iyer, popularly known as the Iyer Brothers were presented with a Service Delivery to Multicultural Victoria Award in the category of Arts on September 21, at the annual ceremony organised by the Victorian Multicultural Commission at the Government House.

The well-organised and well-attended event was attended by Premier of Victoria and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Hon. John Brumby and the Governor of Victoria, Prof. David de Kretser.

Twin brothers Ramnath and Gopinath moved to Melbourne nearly 20 years ago and have carved a reputation for themselves as leading exponents of the veena in Australia and overseas. They play carnatic music which is exciting and complex, beautiful and challenging. Ramnath and Gopinath are disciples of Veena maestros Shri R. Pichumani Iyer and Trivandrum Late Shri R.Venkataraman.

The brothers established the Pichumani School of Carnatic Music in Melbourne in 1990, and have been teaching veena and vocal music to a dedicated group of over 40 students. They

Ghazal ka doosra safar

“Ghazal ka ‘pehla’ safar Moghul Empire ke aane per shuru hua”, so articulated Rashid Sultan, Melbourne’s MC extraordinaire, when introducing Ghazal ka ‘doosra’ safar to the anticipating two hundred at a Chisholm Institute hall in Dandenong. Citing Ghazal as an “elegant genre of Urdu poetry where language is more lucid, metaphor simpler and meter less arduous”, Rashid sahib stated that Urdu went through various processes of purification of adjustments and adaptations to finally anchor its place in Indian literature and culture. In this meet, like many others regularly organised by various lovers of Indian culture, Khanak, a yet to be registered group, furthered the discipline that has for long been known as ghazal gaeki.

Under the auspices of Khanak, artists paid homage to Indian music greats such as Kundan Lal Sehgal, Ghulam Ali, Begum Akhtar, Mehndi Hasan, Jagjit Singh, etc. via ghazal gaeki in raags, styles and throats souls absorb best eyes-shut.

Dr. Satendra Mishra initiated the evening by clearing the dust obviously settled over Urdu literate minds since inhabiting English speaking Australia, and elucidated required basic discipline behind Urdu poetry writing. “Verse consists of ‘beher’ (balanced flow),” he related. “‘Matla’ is the opening line, while ‘makta’ the concluding line that may include a poet’s ‘takhallus’ (pen name) Both ‘qafia’ and ‘radeef’ respectively are matching concluding expressions in successively falling verses, e.g., Dil-e-nadañ tujhe hua kya hai! Aakhir is dard ki dawa kya hai?” etc., in tarannum. There were nineteen verse types, he explained, three of

which: short, medium and long, are most commonly used. Mid 19th century, Satendra informed, German and Russian cultures adopted the stylish and poignant story telling via the medium of ghazal singing. Sanjiv Naik, a keyboard player of eminence, was introduced, as were Suman Bhattacharjee on guitar, Dhansukh on drums, Robbie Kerr on tabla, Ravi Sharma, visiting Melbourne, on dholak, and others. With“ghazal us ne chheree, mujhe saaz dena. Zara umr-e-rafta to aawaaz dena,” Rashid sahib invited Guru Radhey Shyam Gupta to embellish Kundan Lal Sehgal’s immortal Gham diye mustaquil, kitna taazuk hai dil yeh na jaana. Hai, hai yeh zaalim zamaana, in his rich, deep voice. In his rustic, near-primitive style when compared with present-day Bollywood scores, Sehgal sang this late 1930s. Rashid sahib created a stir by announcing that he had a Gift Voucher for one who would identify one particular song in the first half which was not classed as ghazal. Nearly all who competed were correct. Six year old Sufi picked the winning ticket and Arvind Gaindher was the winner. Seene men jalan, aankhon men toofaan sa kyon hai, Khayyam’s creation sung by Suresh Vadekar was so very beautifully presented by Vinay Samudre; every single murki audibly tackled. Ustad Amin-ul and Nasreen Haque sang a well-rehearsed duet from Anarkali, Paon chho lene do pholon ko inayat ho gi. Relevant details were shown on screen via the powerpoint projection as the artists sang. Quoting Momin, Tum mere paas hote ho goya, jab koi doosra naheen hota! Rashid sahib affirmed that Mirza Ghalib, Momin’s contemporary,

are outstanding teachers, reliable, enthusiastic and committed to the cause of their chosen art form. So far, Ramnath and Gopinath have presented five students on the veena and two students on the vocal in full length solo recitals.

The brothers have performed in India, New Zealand, Singapore, USA, UAE and Malaysia. Since 1994, the brothers are annually featured in the December music festival in Chennai, India and have received rave reviews from the press. They have been invited to perform at the prestigious Chennai Music Academy in December.

The Iyer brothers have performed extensively in Australia at various prestigious music festivals across the country, together and with visiting professional musicians from India. They have played with Dr N Ramani, the famous flute maestro and renowned Indian chitravina exponent Shri. N. Ravikiran, among others. Ramnath and Gopinath have released CDs and performed at various temples as well.

The brothers have been classified into ‘A’ graded artists of All India Radio, Chennai since 2009, a rare privilege endorsed on artists residing overseas. The Iyer brothers impart the highest quality teaching, performing and mentoring of this very old and vibrant music form, and the community enjoys the benefit of their talent.

Nearly 180 individuals and organisations received awards in various categories at the ceremony, including several Indian and Sri Lankan origin individuals and organisations. Melbourne based violinist, S Murali Kumar (Indian community), dance teacher Meena Ilankumaran (Tamil community), Eliyathamby Elankumaran (Tamil community), Subra Ramachandran (Indian community), Dinesh Srivastava (Indian community), Victorian Tamil Cultural Association Inc., Sanganaatham Tamil Community Radio (Service Delivery) were among those acknowledged.

Pathmapriya

Yusuf, “because Dev Anand had a lot of hair!” He then presented a rather demanding: Kaheen beqarar ho kar mujhe chhoo liya kisi ne.

Dr. Raman Singh inducted nostalgia with Kishore Kumar’s masterpiece Dil aaj shaer hai, gham aaj naghma hai, sab yeh ghazal hai, sanam, from Dev Anand’s Gambler. Lost-inlove lyricists’ imagination when imbibed with a music director’s myriad remorses, endow Indian music its richness, its diversity. Many hankies were observed touching eyes.

Music Director Roshan who Rashid sahib termed teekha (sharp and emphatic) created his best music on Raja Mehndi Ali Khan’s lyrics, and Monica Bhattacharjee did justice to their combined, rather tricky creation from film Anparh - Hai isi men pyar ki aabroo, woh jafa karen – main wafa karoon. Passionate Vikas Joshi immortalised Mukesh with his Yeh mera deewana-pan hai ya mohabbat ka saroor...

Yusuf Sultan related that his wife insisted he wear sherwani and Aligarhi pyjama since Dev Anand sang Majrooh Sultanpuri and Burman Da’s song in Teen Deviyan in the same attire. “The topi I had to wear,”, claimed

Talented Veena Sholapurkar presented Tu pyar kare ya thukrae, hum to hain tere diwaanon men, from Dekh Kabira Roya. Humble appearing Indu Verma sang Majrooh Sultanpuri’s mourning Madan Mohan furthered pathos to Baharen hum ko dhoonden gi, na jaane hum kahan hon ge, from Baaghi Indu is the artist who one yearns to see seated chandni spread on the ground, chiragh-emehfil in front, and singing this very song with elongated alaaps, strictly only sarangi, sarod and soft tabla necessarily following her command. Shoaib, the last artist, who plays his own harmonium, presented: Koi faryad tere dil men dabi ho jaise, tu ne aankhon se koi baat kahi ho jaise. Shoaib originates from Afghanistan, but is as conversant with Urdu as he is competent in ghazal-gaeki. Young Sabin Riaz accompanying Shoaib is a tabla player courageous to surf beyond the confines of the raagas to excel in his art, was truly entertaining.

From an era that boasted one masterpiece after another, the musical gems presented on the night, made for a truly unique experience.

George Thakur

Surya Raviganesh (Right) The Iyer Brothers with John Brumby

Ken Pereira: An Indian flavour in the Canadian team

For skipper of the Canadian men’s hockey team Ken Pereira, it is ‘home away from home’ at the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG) in New Delhi. The CWG is a double whammy for the hockey player since there is the “excitement” of playing in the birthplace of his parents as well having had the “honour” of carrying the flag of his country during the opening ceremony.

“I’m not at all concerned about talks of security and health hazards. Instead I am expecting a lot of my family members to come and cheer us,” the Toronto-born Ken, who has his roots in Goa, said.

Though 37-year-old Indian origin Ken was born and brought up in Toronto, his parents migrated to Canada from Goa, in the ‘60s. Many of Ken’s relatives are still in Goa while some are living in Mumbai.

Pereira has admitted that he is a bit amused by his identity crisis in India.

Interacting with mediapersons in New Delhi, Pereira joked his way out of the issue by making it clear that he was born in Canada, and has only recently started visiting India.

The veteran player, who hails from Unionville, Ontario, and doesn’t speak Hindi, also said that it is a little awkward when people try to speak with him in Hindi.

“It’s like a Bollywood movie, it’s completely blown up. I’d no idea it would be like this,” Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper quoted Pereira as saying.

With over 16 years as a member of Canada’s hockey team, Pereira has a remarkable international sporting career and has earned over 300 caps.

He is widely considered one of the best midfielders in the game.

Ken, who plays professional hockey for a club in Holland, said he was very happy to be in India, the country he had visited on a couple of occasions in the past, the first time during a visit to Chandigarh in 1984 and then during the last World Cup championship.

Ken started his playing career initially in ice hockey which is one of the most popular games in Canada. But he later shifted to field hockey and has been playing the game for the past 17 years. Ken has played more than 200 international matches since his international debut in 1994.

Pereira says he never thought of changing his citizenship to play in India or elsewhere.

“Just being born in Canada, I couldn’t imagine playing for another country,” he said. “Even though (field) hockey is bigger in other countries, I couldn’t imagine putting on another jersey unless it had the maple leaf on it.”

12-year-old aims for gold at Delhi CWG

She studies in Year 8, badly misses her mom, has fallen in love with chicken tikka and naan, and she wants a medal -- not any, but one at the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games. Meet Khaaliqa Nimji, all of 12 years, from Kenya, one of the youngest competitors at the Games.

It is a dream come true for Khaaliqa as she marks her arrival on the international stage in India, a country about which she knows little but has taken a liking for its food to such an extent that she has not tried the African and the continental dishes since her arrval at the Games Village.

She is part of a four-member Kenyan squash unit comprising two men and two women.

“It feels great to represent Kenya. I know I am fairly young but walking around with the elder lot does not bother me. I am just thrilled to be here,” Khaaliqa said.

Khaaliqa is the number two squash player

Games Sidelights

on the phone all the time. I badly miss my mom, brother and cousins and can’t wait to get back home,” she said.

After stealing CWG show, Keshav went back to bedtime story!

His tabla recital rocked the Commonwealth Games (CWG) opening ceremony, but once seven-year-old prodigy Keshav was away from the spotlight, he went to his hotel room, took a bath and asked for a bedtime story just like any other day! So his mother revealed.

Facing the media at a press conference, the boy from Auroville, Puducherry giggled, laughed and goofed around even as reporters tried their best to make him speak in full sentences.

Asked if he was nervous before going on stage for the opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the boy, who has never had any formal training, said, “I was excited.”

According to his mother Gopika, a singer and a photographer, the aim was to keep the whole act very “spontaneous”.

Was he overwhelmed with all the response after his performance?

Gopika said, “The first thing he said after coming down the stage was ‘Did I play well, mama?’ We left soon after and went to our hotel. The first thing he did was to clean the room - he is finicky about cleanliness - took a bath and asked me to tell him his bedtime story. He was not interested in watching the TV highlights or anything. But later he drew pictures of the stadium.”

How long had he practised for the opening ceremony? Keshav said, “A month!”

Sitting on the edge of his seat to reach the microphone, Keshav looked at his mother each time a question was shot at him.

Gopika said, “He didn’t have any strict schedule of practicing for so many hours a day. He played as and when he liked. I tried to keep the whole act very spontaneous.

“So right up to the time he went up the stage, I was telling him his favourite stories.

All that I told him was there was a big light show and he will be playing with many more drummers.”

Born into a family of musicians, Keshav started playing the tabla at the tender age of two. Gopika said he is so natural that he simply watches the fingers of tabla players when they rehearse at home and then imitates it to perfection.

“Keshav has not had any formal training. I am a singer and often practice at home. So he has grown in that atmosphere. We don’t even have a TV at home. So when people said they would watch his performance on television, he was a little confused,” she said. Is there any other instrument he likes to play? “The guitar. I have a blue guitar,” Keshav said.

“I also like cycling and cycle to school every day,” he added, with some prompting from his mom.

in Kenya and has defeated the higher ranked compatriot Safina Madhani on more occasions than one.

The young star inherited the sport from her father Sadri Nimji, who played for the country in international events in the 1990s.

“I started playing when I was five and maybe my dad was also playing at that time,” she guessed.

“I don’t know whether squash is in my blood. All I know is that I love the sport,” she said.

The security for the Games scared her at

first as the Village has been turned virtually into a fortress.

“It was crazy when I first landed. I was scared of the cops being everywhere but now I feel much better as I have started liking the Village. Everyone is so friendly here,” she said.

The little wonder that she is, Khaaliqa is sad at not being able to meet her father regularly as only players and officials are allowed to live in the village.

“I have met him only once since I came here. I can’t meet him at will, so I talk to him

A student of Deeparam school in Auroville, Keshav studies in Year 2. Keshav’s elder sister Kamakshi, who is just a few years older than him, plays the piano. Even as comparisons were drawn between Keshav and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, especially as both have curly locks and a similar dressing style, Keshav smiled for photographers, with his sister hugging him.

Bharatbala, the creative director of the opening ceremony of the Games, said:

“I discovered Keshav in Auroville in May and decided instinctively that he should be included in the ceremony. By July, it was confirmed.

“I knew that along with hundreds of drummers, if there is one child prodigy, it will leave a mark. And he performed brilliantly. He totally enjoyed performing.”

Khaaliqa Nimji of Kenya

Ken Pereira of Canada

Seven-year-old prodigy Keshav

Indian Link’s Pawan Luthra calls the Opening Ceremony on Foxtel with Steve Liebmann and Tracey Holmes

The gag’s on Gus

The best way to enjoy and experience a country is to really get into its soul, as this enterprising Indophile discovers

It is the oldest trick in the book.

Ask a friend to teach you a phrase in another language and they do, except that it could be a bit different from what you had originally asked. Well-known Indophile Gus Worland from the FOXTEL commentary team in Delhi had this gag pulled on him. Security guards had to step in when Gus told a strapping young Delhiite in chaste Hindi, “Aap bahut khoobsoorat hain!” (You are very beautiful), when all he wanted to

Gus also bought a rickshaw for Rs 400 (A$10) and tried to pick up fares as a rickshaw driver, but sadly found that this was not his calling in life

know was the way to the bathroom. This and many other such experiences have made this visit to India a special one for Gus. He stormed into the hearts of the local Indian community in Australia when he presented his journey through India while following the tour of the Aussie cricket team in India a few years ago (An Aussie Goes Bolly). His boundless energy and sense of humour brought forth a wonderful side of India to viewers in Australia.

This time, as a part of the team with FOXTEL (who are presenting the Delhi Commonwealth Games on six channels) Gus is having a ball.

Chatting to Indian Link on the phone from Delhi, Gus spoke of what he has been doing in the Games city - interacting with locals in his own Aussie way.

“I’m enjoying engaging with the Indian people,” he said. “I love it that I can jump out of the car at India Gate, cross the fence and join in a game of cricket on the grass…”

He also bought himself a rickshaw (for Rs 400, or $10) which he spray painted and rode on the streets of Old Delhi. Sadly he found that being a rickshawallah can not be his calling in life.

And of course he’s still wearing that old turban from his “Bolly” days.

“Oh yes, I bought my wife a Kashmiri scarf”.

The Opening Ceremony was “a great show”, he said. “It worked swimmingly. I’ve spoken to so many locals since and they’re all so proud”.

And yes, he did have the dreaded Delhi belly. “I insisted on having Delhi belly! Defying all good eating instructions, I

indulged in street food, and found it so tasty that I over-ate and then spent a day recovering. What an experience!”

But he’s “all solid” now. And quite enjoying the food.

“Last night I went out again and had another fantastic meal. They kept bringing me more and more food and I kept saying no, I can’t eat any more, and they kept going try this, try this…! Ultimately I just threw

One paper - five editions

the money on the table and ran from there!”

But Gus did reveal that he has lost a kilo in a day with early misadventure - a novel method of dieting - but has denied the rumor that he is trademarking the phrase ‘Delhi-belly’ as a weight loss option in competition to Jenny Craig. We don’t quite believe him, because Gus can do some eccentric things. You go, Gus!

Pawan Luthra

Who wants to be a milliner?

It takes a special talent to dress heads in attractive headgear, but one enterprising woman seems to have conquered the art form.

PREETI JABBAL reports.

Finally, spring is upon us and it’s time to get rid of the footy scarf and slip into something colourful and elegant, and get ready to hit trackside for the spring races. A dainty trim, a bewitching feather and you are off to a racing start. Each spring, Melbournians emerge from under their winter blankets with a mission to celebrate the new season in cheerful abundance. Racing and fashion go hand in hand and people all over Melbourne are busy coordinating outfits with minute attention, while looking for fashionable headwear to showcase their look.

This year commemorates the 150 year milestone of the Melbourne Cup, also known as People’s Cup. The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) is staging a yearlong celebration which will include a diverse calendar of local events expected to offer non-stop fun and celebration in the lead up to running of the iconic ‘race that stops the nation’ on November 2. The Melbourne Cup has had a significant impact on Victoria from its humble beginnings in 1861 to the international phenomenon it is today. Peeling back the many layers of the Melbourne Cup’s remarkable 150year history, the celebrations this year will focus on the national heritage of the Cup, and recognise its great heroes, influential figures, racing clubs and communities.

The palette for this year is neutral soft shades along with the ever popular red and black and the focus is on soft tones like beige, powder pink, pastel green etc., as opposed to bright shocking pinks or yellows

For Milliner Maya Kalan it is time to get into a flurry of innovations to create fabulous fashion on the field. “For those who flinch at the price tag associated with likes of Peter Jago, Alannah Hill and Colette Dinnigan, my creations are an affordable alternative.” claims Maya.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Maya Kalan has been creating hats in Australia since 1997 when she was involved with the design and production of fashion hats as a leading member of the Myer spring racing carnival team. After completing her diploma in millinery in 1999, Maya opened her first fashion boutique in Hawthorn. In July 2000 she moved to a larger store in South Yarra and she now operates from her studio in Mulgrave. Maya’s designs have won several awards and have been very popular with TV presenters who love her eye-catching creations.

Maya’s style can be best described as ‘something vintage, something new’ as she creates masterpieces that are a thoroughly modern take on old world grace. As she proudly takes us through her studio, we see for ourselves the effort and passion that goes into creating a beautiful headpiece. “I love making hats” says Maya with enthusiasm. “It can take anything from a week to a month to create a good hat. I source my material from

China and UK and put it all together here in my studio with the help of my daughter, Chintha. She has been a great support to me all these years,” claims Maya. Millinery is an exclusive and tough profession which is very susceptible to latest trends and fashions. The palette for this year is neutral soft shades along with the ever popular red and black and the focus is on soft tones like beige, powder pink, pastel green etc., as opposed to bright shocking pinks or yellows. Maya and Chintha have been run off their feet trying to get everything ready for the spring races. “The months of October and November are our busiest, with so many events happening like the Emirates Cup, Oaks Day, Caulfield Cup and this year’s special milestone of the Melbourne Cup,” says Maya. What makes her stand out amongst the millinery

bandwagon? Maya replies with a smile. “Look at my work,” she says pointing to her wonderfully attractive creations. “My Sri Lankan background helps me a lot when I create designs for my South Asian customers. I know what will look best on their skin type, colour and facial structure. As for the others, I have been working in this field for 13 years and now I create hats to suit individual clients. I tailor it to their personality, face, fashion and occasion, and my designs are guaranteed to turn heads. That is my USP,” claims Maya. Inspired by beauty and elegance, milliner Maya Kalan has dressed many heads. With her dramatic and imaginative creations - clouds of butterflies, festoons of feathers and shapely sculptures - it’s no wonder she’s been awarded several times over. This is indeed, what wearing a hat all is about!

Maya’s designs have won several awards and have been very popular with TV presenters who love her eyecatching creations

Maya Kalan with her 2010 creations in soft tones

Photos: Ravinder Singh Jabbal

Ghulam Ali’s ghazals captivate

For those who love the ethereal combination of verse and melody, the Ghulam Ali concert held recently in Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton was a journey transcending various emotional directions. Vocal improvisations of poetry in the maestro’s rich honeyed voice affected listeners on a visceral level, even those who were not familiar with his ghazals and style.

Ghulam Ali is one of the most talented and respected artists from Pakistan, and a living legend in the world of ghazals. His expertise lies not only in singing, but in bringing out the hidden literary beauty of each stanza as he conveys the meaning effectively to the audience.

It was this sharing of knowledge that had the audience mesmerized and rapt through his various renditions. He started the concert with the classical ‘Gori Tore Naina’ in Thumri, Raag Pilu followed by Ustad Mirza Ghalib’s ghazal ‘Har ek Baar kehte ho tum ki tu kya hai’. According to Ghulam Ali, if you can sing Ustad Ghalib’s ghazals renowned for their magical, albeit complex poetry, then you can sing anything. To prove it he sang the tough composition, being equally sensitive to the rhythm and technical virtuosity of the ghazal. Over the course of the evening he sang ghazals composed by many writers including his personal favourite, Ahmed Faraz’s ‘Phir kisi rehguzar pe shaayad hum kabhi mil sake shaayad’.

Ghulam Ali was born in 1940, at village Kaleke, district Sialkot, which is now a part of Pakistan. It was under Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan that he learnt to recognise ragas and other basics. With time, his inclination towards ghazal, thumri, dadra grew, and he decided to take them up professionally.

At 15, he became a student of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, a master of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani music. Due to the busy schedule of Bade Ghulam Ali, he was trained mainly by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s three brothers, Barqat Ali Khan, Mubarak Ali Khan, and Amanat Ali Khan, all renowned musicians in Lahore. He later learnt classical ragas and basics from Ustad

His most popular ghazal Hungama hai kyon barpa, Dil mein ek leher si uthi hai abhi, Chupke Chupke Raat Din, Heer, Humko Kiske Gham Ne Mara etc. At the Melbourne concert he did not sing all of his famous ghazals, choosing instead to sing songs requested by the audience. This included

of his popular ghazal, Chupke Chupke the film Nikaah got to hear extra verses that were not included in the commercial recording for the movie. With his ghazal ‘Dil mein ek leher si’ he offered an amazing, almost playful, rendition leaping through octaves while his Heer (Waris Shah) continued the

rhapsodic mood

As a true master of his art Ghulam Ali tried to keep the traditional compositions of great poets of Urdu and their poetry in mind, yet embellished the music with contemporary treatment. Accompanying him on harmonium and keyboard were his two sons Amir Ghulam Ali and Nazir Ali. Melbourne’s renowned musician Radhey Shyam Gupta accompanied him on the sitar, often complementing him, but it was Ghulam Ali’s melodic voice that ruled, and not the instruments. Those who were disgruntled with the late start and seating issues soon forgot their grudges, to enjoy the masterful and special synthesis of ghazal According to Jayesh Panchal from Saregama Entertainment who was the main organizer of the show along with Ramesh Sharma from Sydney, their intent to bring artists like Ghulam Ali to Australia is to relive the talent of original and traditional artists. “It is an attempt on our part to reconnect people to their heritage not through vulgar pop culture, but through true art in its unadulterated pure form,” said Jayesh. According to him, besides all those who supported the event, a special mention needs to be made of Karim Shah, from Nawaab Palace restaurant in Carnegie, who sponsored the catering for the event.

The concert went on till quite late, however the audience seemed content to keep listening. Ghulam Ali’s reverence and love of shayari, the poetry that forms a ghazal was summed up beautifully by Jayesh Panchal. Quoting Bahadur Shah Zafar he said, “Aadhiyan jo banti chalengi to mein sawar jaaoonga, mein teri zulf nahin jo bikhar jaaoonga, mujhe sooli pe Chadhane ki zaroorat kya hai, meire haath se kalam le lo to khud mar jaoonga, mujhko Zafar kaun mita sakega, mein to shayar hoon kitabon mein utar jaoonga.” Translated, this means: There is really no need to hang me to kill me, just take away my pen from me and that will be my death. I will not cease to exist even after I die, as I will remain immortal through the books that contain my verses

Preeti Jabbal

Indian influence at Writer’s Festival

The Australian festival of Travel Writing in Melbourne (from October 29-31) will host famous Indian writer, Chetan Bhagat. He is listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. His bestselling novels Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ The Call Centre (2005), and The Three Mistakes of My Life (2008) have inspired major Bollywood films including 3 Idiots. His most recent novel is 2 States: The Story of My Marriage (2009). As the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history, Chetan is a youth icon who captures the essence of contemporary India in his writing. His presence at the Festival is sponsored by the Australia India Institute (AII). Chetan will speak on topics like Bollywood stories, contemporary Indian cool and inside India.

The Australian Festival of Travel Writing will be held at Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne , Victoria 3000 . It is a multimedia event coordinated by Jacqueline Dutton in association with The University of Melbourne. The festival aims to provide a public forum for exchanging ideas and developing new

strategies to promote travel and travel writing in ways that help inform on travel choices and reflect current environmental, intercultural and economic concerns. The programme includes panels and workshops on travel writing that will go beyond the standard travel book to incorporate print journalism, blogging, radio, film, photography, performance and arts that contribute to the way we think about travel.

The festival hopes to encourage a new understanding of travel writing as a medium with cultural consequences and a representation of intercultural encounters with other people, places and politics. As a publicly oriented event, The Australian Festival of Travel Writing aims to promote debates, discussions and publications on environmental, intercultural and economic issues surrounding travel and tourism in the current climate.

Other Indian links at the festival include Chandani Lokuge . She is the author of two internationally acclaimed novels, If the Moon Smiled (2000) and Turtle Nest (2003), and a collection of short fiction, Moth and Other Stories (1996). Chandani has just

completed her new novel Softly, as I leave you. The short story that inspired Softly was published in the leading Australian literary journal, Meanjin. The festival will also

feature Sarah Macdonald the author of the international bestseller Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure, which has become a classic example of the Indian travel memoir. She has worked as a political commentator on Triple J and on 702 ABC Radio Sydney Acclaimed travel photographer Richard I’Anson will also offer his visions of India, inspired by 20 years of travelling through all parts of this diverse and fascinating country.

This year’s programme features three exciting travel themes: Dynamic India, Multicultural French Travellers, and Travel on Two Wheels. A line-up of prominent local and international writers, photographers, journalists, winemakers, chefs, comedians, performance poets, bloggers and translators will participate in panels, workshops and special events about travelling that reaches beyond the words on the page and challenges us to think differently about travel and tourism in the current climate. So grab your passport and get on board for a weekend of new ways to talk about travel! For more information visit aftw@aftw.com.au

Chetan Bhagat

The Art of Akram

For this unusually talented dancer and choreographer, the piece of work should be more memorable than the artiste

BY PREETI JABBAL

The internationally acclaimed Akram Khan Company will be making its long awaited Melbourne debut with the World Premiere Season of Vertical Road at The CUB Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre from October 19 to 23. Celebrated dancer and choreographer Akram Khan will perform as part of the 25th Melbourne International Arts Festival.

Akram Khan is known for bringing vitality and innovation to cross-cultural, crossdisciplinary expression. His latest creation Vertical Road draws inspiration from universal myths of angels that symbolise ‘ascension’: the road between the earthly and the spiritual, the ‘vertical road’. Influenced by various visual works, from video artist Bill Viola to installation artists Kader Attia and William Forsythe, the thematic concept involves Middle Eastern folklore and philosophy and investigates the notion of the Arabic word ‘zenith’ or ‘vertical line’, the highest point reached by a celestial body.

Akram Khan is a master of Kathak, the classical Indian dance form and an awardwinning choreographer of contemporary dance. His work breaks the boundaries between the traditional and the innovative, east and west. Khan has assembled a cast of extraordinarily talented performers from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East and has worked with long-term collaborator composer, Nitin Sawhney, who has created a specially commissioned score for this thoughtprovoking piece. Balancing carefully crafted structure and innovative lighting, Vertical Road has a richly diverse quality, played out through each performer’s different cultural interpretation of the human odyssey.

Born in London in 1974 to Bangladeshi parents, Khan began dancing at age 7. He studied with the great Kathak dancer Sri Pratap Pawar, and began presenting solo performances of his work in the 1990s, finally launching the Akram Khan Company in 2000. The recipient of numerous awards, Khan has received an

Outstanding Artist Critics’ Circle National Dance Award and MBE (Member of the British Empire) for services to dance in 2005. Currently Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, Khan’s works include the recently internationally toured In-I (2009), collaborating with Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche and London based sculptor Anish Kapoor.

Preeti Jabbal spoke to Akram Khan prior to his arrival in Melbourne, to find out more about his life and work.

PJ: Tell us about Vertical Road and what is the linking narrative behind this piece?

AK: Vertical Road is my first work that does not have a narrative in the literal sense, it is more visual. Ruth Little my dramaturge, and many colleagues of mine spent a lot of time with me, talking about the concept of verticality. We realized most human experiences are horizontal in nature. With the world moving so fast, with the growth of technology and information, I am somehow

PJ: What are you looking forward to with this latest creation, Vertical Road?

AK: For me, Vertical Road has an element of spiritual experience rather than a performance. It is very intense, almost dark. I would like to see that this piece has the possibility of being shared with my audience as an experience that is spiritual, almost Zen-like.

PJ: How much and what kind of research went into this creation?

AK: It took us about a year of research for this project. We looked a lot at the Arab world. We looked at paintings and poetry from different parts of the world. I really liked the work of Persian Muslim poet, Rumi. VR is influenced by a combination of all these art forms and thoughts.

About the Festival

information and it stores it somewhere within. The body is like a memory bank that has its own way of mutating. I call it ‘con’fusion where the body is trying to make sense of things. I use my body as a filter or process, when I see material from other dancers my body just takes it in. So my art has evolved mainly through my body and its capacity to adopt.

PJ: As your work is innovative and experimental, with a mix of different genres in your choreography, does this displease purists?

AK: No, I don’t think there is anything pure anymore. Everything is borrowed from something; for example Kathak is not from the temples, it has come from different gharanas from the streets and similarly other

The 25th Melbourne International Arts Festival, under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, will run over 16 days, from 8 to 23 October. The Festival will present a feast of music, dance, theatre, opera, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events from renowned and upcoming Australian and international companies and artists. This year’s Festival will feature 13 world and 14 Australian premiere works with projects varying widely in scale and content. Of the 909 artists presenting their work in the 2010 festival, 658 are Australian and 251 from overseas.

Festival highlights this year include free outdoor aerial spectacular K@osmos; Hotel Pro Forma’s awe inspiring, large-scale operatic spectacle; Tomorrow, in a year, featuring the groundbreaking music of electro-pop masters The Knife; world renowned recording artists Sinead O’Connor, John Cale and Meshell Ndegeocello; one of Australia’s most highly regarded performers in his one-man show Jack Charles V The Crown; the residency of British composer, Thomas Adès, the most inventive contemporary composer of his generation; and Beck’s Festival Bar at the Forum Theatre.

dance forms borrow from everything and each other. How can anybody claim they are pure? My intention in mixing genres is not to offend anyone so I do not worry about the ‘so called purists’. Interestingly, I have copped flak from India particularly in that respect. I remember performing in the classical hub Chennai/ Madras. A huge debate ensued after my performance where artists argued with each other over my work, it was fascinating.

PJ: Average viewers may find it difficult to understand and pick up the technical aspect of your dances. Do you care that your audience remains connected and interested?

AK: Yes I do care. If I stay connected with my work, I have a feeling that my audience will also remain connected. Sometimes I detach myself and look at my work, and that can help to some extent. I also seek guidance from my mother, my wife and my producer Farooq Chaudhry. They look at my work with fresh eyes and give me advice.

PJ: As your work is immensely physical, do you follow a special diet or engage in any special exercise regime?

AK: I would be lying if I said that I stick to any diet, because I don’t. However, I do Kathak everyday with my ghungroos. It is very rigorous and it keeps me fit.

PJ: What do you do to relax?

AK: I just think about relaxing. Relaxation has eluded me for 9 years.

PJ: Any unfulfilled ambitions?

AK: I always wanted to work with Satyajit Ray and experience his art, but that’s not possible now. I would also like to be involved with art films, specially the Australian films. I like them. Next year I am doing a full length solo on Bangladesh called ‘Desh’; that is something I have always meant to do and I am finally going ahead.

PJ: Do you think there are far too many dance shows on TV nowadays?

AK: I think that it is wonderful that dance has come to the forefront. I also feel that art is mutating, the morals behind the art are mutating too; however with many dance shows on TV it is more about name, not about depth. People are seeking instant gratification and it is soulless and momentary.

PJ: According to you are great dancers born or made?

AK: I don’t know, I would tell you if I was one myself! I am not naturally gifted like my sister, she was very talented. I just work very hard. My talent lies more in being a fighter and never giving up. But to answer your question I think dancers can be made, but very few of them can be called artists.

PJ: How do you want Australia to remember you?

AK: I hope they don’t remember me, I hope they remember an experience on stage. Unfortunately with a lot of performances people see more of the artist in the work than see the work itself. For me, the best performance is when you see a work and you are really moved, but you don’t know who has done it.

PJ: Do you have a message for dance lovers and aspiring dancers?

AK: I am very excited to come to Melbourne and share my art with people in the city. My work should do all the speaking.

‘Indiansyncrasies’ at their best

Comedy is a serious business for Uma Thakar, as she readies for her first solo act

BY PREETI JABBAL

Some storytellers are just engaging, some are frightening, some are horrible, and some are hilarious. For Indian stand-up comedian Uma Thakar, generating laughter is a hobby that is fast becoming a habit. It all started less than a year ago when she attended a Toastmaster’s workshop. An exaggerated enactment of the nuns at her Catholic school got her ample laughs and set Uma on the path to explore funny bones: both her own and that of others. A few more tentative attempts later and with the encouragement of her mentors at the workshop, Uma created her own show calling it the Uma Huma Show. Since then, Uma has been posting her comedy spots on YouTube and has an active blog titled The Surreal Diary of an Indian Woman Uma is scheduled to perform her first solo act at the Loop Bar, Melbourne on October 16.

To quote Ed Wynn, ‘A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny’. His words best describe the combination of verbal content, acting ability and persona required to make a career out of making people laugh. Punching out fast and furious oneliners and keeping crowds of all ages and persuasions laughing is easier said than done. According to Uma, “The toughest thing about comedy is getting laughs consistently. It is a very big challenge to connect with the audience and keep the laughs going.” But it is this challenge that has inspired and motivated freelance journalist Uma to foray into the entertaining field of stand-up comedy.

Her background in creative writing and media also helped Uma come up with irreverent topics like her take on popular works (Slumdog

Two Dollaraire and Bollywood Shakespeare), football injuries, Kamasutra, Indian speed dating and her upcoming debut solo act, a hot ‘n’ spicy curry with wannabe Masterchef Rita

“I have always enjoyed comedy,” said Uma while explaining just how she embarked on the tough road of being a stand-up comedian.

“I did some workshops in comic lounge and at Toastmasters, and received a fairly good reaction to my initial attempts at humour.

I persevered, drafted and redrafted material several times over till I felt I was ready to give my first solo act,” revealed Uma. Her background in creative writing and media also helped Uma come up with irreverent topics like her take on popular works (Slumdog

Two Dollaraire and Bollywood Shakespeare), football injuries, Kamasutra, Indian speed dating and her upcoming debut solo act, a hot ‘n’ spicy curry with wannabe Masterchef Rita.

Although performing for laughs, Uma also explores pervasive Indian stereotypes. Her material and characters stem from her Indian upbringing and experiences of living in Australia. Uma often throws political correctness aside to create characters like her imaginary cousin Rita with a strong Indian accent or the Catholic nun from her school who wondered if Shakespeare could be Indian.

“People like to see me laughing at myself. The trick lies in not taking yourself too seriously and I generally get a good reaction to my Indiansyncrasies.”

When asked if her work is influenced by iconic comedian Russell Peters, Uma replied, “Every

comedian from an Indian background has been influenced in some way or the other by Russell Peters. So am I, but everyone has to find out what works for them and I am in the process of doing that for myself.”

“Comedy subjects can stem out of simple things, telemarketing, road rage, public transport… there’s humour in everything,” said Uma when asked how she picks her subjects. “There is no particular age group or nationality that forms my target audience. All types of people, for example community members, senior citizens, people from Sri Lanka etc., anybody can be my audience,” she added.

Uma has done small parts in the Comic Lounge and last year’s St. Kilda’s Laughs Festival. According to Uma, her blogs and posts on the Internet have also generated interest from all parts of the world.

What do you do if the act bombs and there are no laughs? “It is terrifying when that happens,” confessed Uma. “But I have understood, from experience, that people don’t always laugh out loud, they may just smile. You have to remember it is not always about you, and continue.”

Then there is the very real threat of being heckled. One of Uma’s toughest audiences was a retirement village. She performed there and no one laughed. Judging by the lack of reaction she assumed they were too polite to heckle her. After the performance when Uma got chatting with some of the audience, they told her how they loved her Shakespeare comedy and the Bollywood material.

“But how come no one laughed during the show?” asked Uma to which the elderly lady replied, “Oh that’s just the way we are. We tend to smile inside.”

Experiences like these and a mix of reality and imagination have shaped Uma’s humour, and she is prepared to share it with the world.

It’s early days yet for Uma and she is still to hone her craft, so it will be hard to tell whether her jokes will have people rolling in stitches, or if it will fall flat with more misses than hits. Irrespective of whether she is a guffaw away from stardom or a groan away from ignominy, it takes some intestinal fortitude, aka serious guts, to stand up in front of an audience and tackle comedy. Kudos to one brave, funny Indian woman!

“Comedy subjects can stem out of simple things, telemarketing, road rage, public transport… there’s humour in everything”

Uma Thakar

Fed Square venue for Diwali Festival

Diwali or the “Festival of Lights” will be celebrated this year on October 30 at the Federation Square in Melbourne. If the success of past events is any indication, then about 60,000 people are expected to attend again this year, along with many local and overseas artists, as well as dignitaries from all walks of life.

This year the Diwali Festival will begin with a five day Film Festival from 25 –29 October. There will be free screenings of Bollywood movies daily, from 12pm on the big screen at Federation Square.

The main Diwali event on October 30 will showcase local and overseas talent like the 14-member Langa dance and singing troupe from Rajasthan, who will rock Melbourne with their powerful folk music and dance performances.

Through the day, attendees can witness a cultural extravaganza that will include Bollywood performances, a dance workshop and traditional dancing, a live band, fun activities and rides for children, and a special visit by Ranger Roo. There will also be henna (traditional hand painting) and a variety of Indian cuisine, crafts and fashion stalls. There

will be a Diwali Boat on the Yarra, a fusion of Bollywood and Greek dancing, spectacular fireworks on the Yarra along with many surprise items. Federation Square Diwali’s charity partners are the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

According to festival coordinator Arun Sharma, to mark the occasion many of Melbourne’s iconic buildings will be illuminated for a longer period, in line with the extended programme this year. These will include The Victorian Parliament (from 25 - 30 October), Museum & Exhibition Building (30 - 31 October), Consulate General of India (25 October 0 5 November), Melbourne Airport’s Arrival & Departure Lounge (26 October - 5 November) and the Federation Square, in addition to many Indian homes and business premises.

In a brief interview prior to the event, Festival Coordinator Arun Sharma shared his vision and insight into the mega event. According to him, the whole idea behind Diwali at Fed Square began because his team wanted Diwali to be a mainstream celebration, not just an Indian festival. “It is good to see how over the years, Diwali has slowly started featuring

What’s On

SPC Diwali celebrations

15 October, evening at Swinburne Uni (Hawthorn Campus). The Swinburne

Punjabi Club will celebrate Diwali and Bandhi Chhor Divas. For more details contact swinpunjabiclub@gmail.com or http://swin.edu.au/ssaa/clubs.html

Sugato Nag Sitar Virtuoso

16 October at 7pm at St Baptist Church, 174 Collins St, Melbourne. Sugato Nag, sitar virtuoso will present his first Melbourne tour! Tickets: $38 / $28 (conc). For bookings call 9417 3550 or visit: www. tabla.com.au / www.sugatonag.com

EWOAF Annual Dinner Dance

22 October, 7pm onwards at Nine

Darling Street South Yarra. The East West Overseas Aid Foundation will hold their annual dinner and dance. Dress: semi formal, music, live auctions, raffles, etc.

Tickets $130 per head (including GST) Call 03 9650 0514 or email: admin@ tewoaf.org.au

Seven Songs to Leave Behind 23 October at 7.30pm, gates open 6.30pm at The Arts Centre, Sidney Myer Music Bowl. 3 hour music concert featuring Sinead O’Connor, John Cale, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rickie Lee Jones and others. For booking call the Arts Centre 1300 182 183 / www.theartscentre.com.au or visit www.melbournefestival.com.au

on the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Victorian Premier’s festival calendar,” he said. “It has been tough to begin with, but now this is a major event to look forward to, attracting thousands of people. We are expecting more than 60,000 people to visit the Federation Square this year, and we have a line up of 10 days of festivities,” added Sharma.

Why ten days? “Because Diwali is not a one day affair in India and we are recreating the same atmosphere here,” claimed Arun Sharma. “With ongoing activities people will constantly be involved with the Festival, and that is a great feeling. We want people to go home and tell everyone about Diwali in the city and we want them to return the next day, and the day after with friends and family. This is a great way to involve everyone,” he added. This year, more than 50 volunteers will ensure that the festival goes off smoothly. Diwali at Federation Square is sponsored by many businesses, organisations and is supported by the City of Melbourne, and VMC.

More details are available on the website www.celebrateindia.org.au

Vasudeva Kriyayoga

30 October, 10am – 1pm at the Shiradi Sai Centre in Camberwell. Vasudeva Kriyayoga are organising their first Shanka Prakshalana Kriya (Detoxing Hata Yoga Kriya) primarily to strengthen the immune system, liver and digestive system. A special lunch will follow. Only preregistration, so please contact Rajendra on 0410 527904 / 9802 8348 to enroll or visit www.vasudevakriyayoga.com

VSA Annual Dinner Dance

31 October, 6pm for 6.30pm seating, at Arlington Receptions, Wattle Park (Mel Ref: 60 J2/K9). Evening of food and live entertainment organised by the Victorian Sikh Association. Dress code: Classic

Indian; Tickets: Family and Friends at $65 per person, full price $100 per person. Call Gurbinder Gill on 0430 107 480 or Jag Bal: 0449 901 766 for more details.

Sharda Kala Kendra

There are plans to restart the music school ‘Sharda Kala Kendra’ at Brandon Park Primary School, Cootamundra Drive, Wheelers Hill, Vic every Saturday from 3 to 5 pm. The school will teach vocal (harmonium and keyboard), sitar, Indian dance forms, painting, Hindi etc. Please register your interest as a student or teacher to Ratanji on niarisoft@optusnet. com.au

Victorian Premier John Brumby acknowledging the community’s Diwali festival programme

CWG celebration draws SA enthusiasm

CWG. These three letters are causing considerable consternation to Indians all over the globe. Thousands of words have already been written and thousands more will be penned in the coming days. By the time this article gets published, the much-maligned CWG may have received either a golden gong or a wooden spoon.

However, there was a large celebratory event in Adelaide on September 18, to mark the start of the Games. The air of enthusiasm, exuberance, excitement and euphoria expressed at the Entertainment Centre that afternoon, was certainly encouraging.

In an attempt to strengthen the State’s trade ties with India, South Australian Premier Mike Rann held a reception for an invited gathering of over 500 Indians representing 30 desi community groups. Also present on the occasion were Ms. Sujatha Singh, Indian High Commissioner; Mr Amit Dasgupta, Consul-General and a number of local dignitaries with links to India.

The guests were ushered in under a canopy of tasselled silk umbrellas held by young Indian gals and guys, replicating a royal procession. I don’t know how the rest of the audience felt, but I cringed at this sight reminiscent of the old colonial days, while fondly hoping that the display is not repeated in future functions. But for this, everything else that followed deserved kudos, thanks to the well-oiled drills by Retd. Major Vikram Madan, current president of the Indian Association. CWG organisers could well do with his services. The positive vibes were just pervasive.

Preceding the arrival of the chief guests, the waiting audience was entertained to promotional clips of the Games including the rollicking Tiger mascot and mandatory Bollywood touches.

It was refreshing to see the State’s Multi-cultural Affairs

Minister, Ms. Grace Portolesi, act as the MC for this Indian event. She was graceful in a silk sari fitting for the occasion, and admitted that she had been assisted by Mrs Madan in achieving the effect. Mr Rann himself dressed in a chic steel-grey Nehru jacket as he usually does at all Indian functions. Addressing the audience in this cavernous complex, the premier spoke at length of his recent trip to India to promote the state’s trade ties with the country. Mr Rann spoke in glowing terms of the growing trade relations between the state and India, referring to the recently concluded joint ventures in areas like water management, environmental engineering, etc. Understandably, there was no mention of uranium export. Making generous references to the Games, he said that Australia had been awarded 60% of work in certain areas associated with the sporting event.

The speeches were interspersed with a few wellchoreographed and enchanting dance items.

Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh, in her last ambassadorial assignment prior to her next posting, spoke eloquently including making a bold claim that the Delhi Games would be the best CWG ever held, to the thunderous applause of the crowd. We held our heads high.

And only three days later, news of disasters from Delhi began drifting in, rapidly turning into a deluge, to fill all forms of media in every city. The collective head of Indians changed from a state of pride to pain.

At the time of going to press, the Opening Ceremony has been a grand success and the Games are progressing at a promising pace. Let’s hope the doom and gloom merchants are proved wrong.

A childhood passion reborn in retirement

A chat with model Perth senior Savitri Goswami

BY FARAH ADEEB

Savitri Goswami of Mount Lawley, Perth was only a child when she wrote her first play.

It was so good that she was advised to take it to the local radio station, in her city of Gorakhpur. Inspired by her first broadcast, the young Savitri took to her pen with great vigour, churning out many dramas, to the delight of her family.

Today, at the age of 80, Savitri’s passion continues to be alive and well, and is keeping her fully occupied in her retirement. She has to her name 60 short stories in Urdu published in 17 magazines in India. Two books have been published as well (Short Stories (2000) and Naya Daur (2010)).

One book is currently being published in Pakistan.

Surprisingly, however, Savitri’s love of writing, which had begun in her childhood, lay dormant all her adult life, and only resurfaced at the age of 65.

“Life got in the way,” muses the lovely lady, with so much wisdom, and with so little resentment, that one can only feel envious. Savitri devoted her life to her family. Moving from place to place as her husband took on higher and higher postings in the Indian Railways, the family’s relocation and children’s resettlement took up her all her time and resources.

Today, with much of her life’s formal responsibilities taken care of, she devotes her time to her childhood passion of

writing.

Savitri now lives in Australia with her youngest daughter Madhu. She migrated to Perth from India 11 years ago, and has become well-known in the city’s Indian community - equally for her personable nature as for her literary skills.

Of course there are other passions as well, such as knitting. Savitri offers her skills and knowledge of this pastime to whoever maybe interested. She generously gives any monetary proceedings from knitting to poor people.

Another passion is meeting new people. “One learns so much by meeting other people. I like to meet people with happy, smiling faces”.

Savitri Goswami was born into a well-off family. Her father was a Christian priest and her mother a teacher. But as she herself recalls, her childhood was not a happy one, having lost her dear mother too early in life.

“I was like a free bird, riding my bike for hours without a care in the world. One day I woke up and found out that mum had been taken to hospital. She was there for 9 days. That was the most difficult period of my life. We did not know that it would only take a minute for my four brothers and sisters and me, to be left without our mother forever. We felt like we were empty handed… My mother’s death took away my childhood as well. I saw death so closely. She took away everything with her. My childhood was ruined at the time in my life when I needed her most”.

“I wanted to become a teacher like my mother but perhaps that was not meant to be,” she sighs as she delved back into past.

“At the time of partition, I saw too much

anyone. This tragedy was so traumatic for me that I abandoned the idea of becoming a teacher and took up nursing training. I worked as a nurse for some 13 years, and had to give up that too - I am still sad for that”.

She got married in 1960 to Dr Annand Lal Goswami, who was Director General at Indian Railways. He was a Bengali Hindu and a strict Brahmin. At the time it was considered an unusual combination, because she is Christian and the daughter of a Christian priest. But the happy union lasted fifty solid years.

“I have been very happy with my life. We never had any arguments on religion. If you oppose religion and social norms, it is difficult to live in the same society though.

But my husband gave me everything - what else one can ask for, in a marriage? All you need is a sincere and truthful companion. My husband died at the age of 81… on his death bed he said to me, you have been the biggest treasure of my life”.

In her stories, Savitri tries to portray poverty in the country and the treatment of women in a male dominated society.

“I am really unhappy that Urdu readership is decreasing in India,” she observes. “Regrettably Urdu was born in the subcontinent and today it is diminishing from the very same place …”

She sees no difference in Indians and Pakistanis. We are one and the same, she says vehemently.

“There is no need for fighting and quarrelling. I will advise both Indians and Pakistanis to get education and serve your respective countries. We sent our children to study in the USA. We gave the treasure of education to children so that they can earn a decent living”.

So have times changed today?

“Yes, I believe they have, sadly. It is not the same. Times have changed. Older values are dying. We are now more under western culture. They do not respect their elders”. Savitri’s favourite verse defines her own life beautifully:

Log kuchch poochne ko aaye hain

Ahle mayyat, jenaza thehraoo

Suy madfin abhi na ley jaayen

Phir kahan sey laoo gey Ghalib ko

People haven’t finished with you, Let not the hearse depart just yet

Do not yet take it to the graveyard

Where will you bring Ghalib again?

It’s a royal entry for SA Premier Mike Rann and Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh

Perth writer Savitri Goswami

Surviving on $2 a day

Finding the courage to live a meagre existence even for the cause of fundraising, can be a challenging and enlightening experience. FARZANA SHAKIR chats with Surjeet Kaur Sidhu, who did just that

When I heard about Surjeet Kaur Siddhu’s attempt to Live Below The Line from 5 – 10 September, I wanted to know more. The Glenwood resident survived on $2 a day in a bid to raise funds for the underprivileged.

Many people spend their lives cocooned in a cosy existence, blanketed from the harsh realities of life. For many, their greatest dilemmas and hardships could be as trivial as a loss in share prices, not being able to afford the latest Ferrari, or giving up a holiday in the Bahamas because of the global financial crisis. We justify these as legitimate reasons to whinge and be ungrateful. Man! Life’s hard for some! Never mind those who go hungry often, have little to cover themselves with, or are deprived of basic necessities like education, healthcare or even clean water to drink.

Currently 1.4 billion people worldwide live below the extreme poverty line, which means they subsist on AU$2 (US$1.25) a day.

“No way, impossible!” many would say. But that’s the sad truth and to drive the message home, the Global Poverty Project and the Oaktree Foundation ran Live Below the Line, a new awareness and fundraising campaign, from 2 – 6 August. The idea was to help understand the trials faced by those currently living in extreme poverty by inviting Australians to take up the challenge to feed themselves with just $2 a day, and in the process raise money for life-changing education programs.

Surjeet is a social worker by profession, working with people with disabilities. I ask what prompted her to take up the challenge.

“I read an article about Living Below the Line at work,” says Surjeet. “The information was not entirely new but the article triggered something in me. I am not one of those

people who could ride around the world to raise funds, nor am I a celebrity who can persuade people to donate. Living on $2 a day is something I could do. I knew it was not going to be easy but that is what a challenge is all about”.

Surjeet had missed the original dates of the challenge, but persistence found her surfing the net in search of the relevant people to contact.

“A number of emails and phone calls went back and forth and finally, I was able to attempt the challenge on my proposed dates and they set up a fundraising page for me, even though I was late,” she reveals.

Surjeet has some fascinating tidbits to share on the experience.

“I must say it was not easy, but I managed. I found a very limited variety and getting a balanced meal was not possible on most days. No indulgences like chocolates, cakes, soft drinks or Indian sweetmeats etc. I shopped at the local Indian stores where the shop attendants were very helpful in measuring the exact quantities of dal, atta explained why I could only spend a very limited amount of money, and how even a little bit extra could affect my budget. I bought Home Brand tea bags and long life milk,” she says.

It was interesting to learn how she got ‘looks’ from the cashier at the supermarket.

“I would pick up 2 onions, 1 potato, 4 chillies, 2 carrots, 2 cucumbers and ask the cashier to weigh and check the price. Then I would put back one item or pick up a smaller one, and check the price again. I did this several times to keep within my $2 budget. The cashier thought I was strange - maybe even a little bit crazy! But once I explained to her the reasons, she became very helpful,” says

contact over the phone to reduce loneliness and isolation among the elderly. She helped run the Life Issues Forum at Merrylands High School for young people, to discuss issues facing them and providing skills to deal with these issues.

“Living on $2 a day was very testing,” asserts Surjeet. “Not being able to afford fruit, snacks, meat and juices that we take for granted as a necessary part of our daily diet

is physically and mentally challenging. But support from my husband Kulwant, as well as family and friends, kept me motivated. They were a great inspiration to me, and played an essential part in my success”.

So what did Surjeet discover after the experience, and how does she feel after it?

“It was a great experience that has left me humbled in many ways. It allowed me a peep through the window of poverty and have a first-hand feel of the extreme emotions, hardships and difficulties some people have to go through - although I only experienced a tiny part of poverty, with a warm bed to sleep in, decent clothes and a roof over my head. This challenge brings out the goodness in a person and encourages a wholesome attitude to life,” says Surjeet reflectively.

Surjeet maintains she’d be happy to do it again, but in the meantime she’s putting her acquired experience into practice. “I now buy only as much as I need, and am conscious of wastage and over-spending. I have also stopped buying my morning coffee. Suddenly, $3.80 for just a cup of coffee doesn’t feel justified, when I have lived on $2 for the whole day,” she confides.

Surjeet reinforcs further that, “Even though we are bombarded with images of poverty and misery every day, and we do feel sorry, but sadly, many of us do nothing about it.”

She urges all Indian Link readers to come forward and go beyond feeling sorry, and to take action and donate through her webpage: www.everydayhero.com.au/sujeet_kaur_ siddhu

At the time of writing this article Surjeet had raised $1430, and with the lines open till 10 October, you still have a chance to make a donation, however small, and do your bit to make a difference.

Queer film fest highlights challenges of South Asian GLBT community

Satrang Film Festival may be a little late in celebrating the repeal of Section 347 - a colonial-era Indian law that made homosexuality punishable by up to 10 years in prison as a crime against nature - but was neverthless a well cosidered and thoughtful selection of films.

The 4-day fest, spread over 2 weekends brought together a good mix of popular Bollywood films, international features, short films as well as documentaries exploring the particular challenges faced by the South Asian GLBT community. With films representing a range of nations - US, UK, Australia, India and Nepal - the fest truly brought the vibrant mix of voices to which the festival’s name aspires.

The festival began with the film that has been touted as India’s answer to Brokeback Mountain - Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun. The film was much publicised in the Indian media for its portrayal of a gay kiss, but was also considered by Ashok Row Kavi, editor of Bombay Dost, India’s first gay magazine, as being a thought-provoking portrayal. He told the Guardian, “It talks of the complexities [of being gay] in India. Taboos are still very strong and hopefully it will change things.” The film featured some big names, including

Helen, Zeenat Aman and Aryan Vaid, and even Lata Mangeshkar lent her voice to a song for the film. The film’s leading starsKapil Sharma and Yuvaraaj Parashar were also at the festival for a post-screening Q&A session.

Speaking on Indian Link Radio with presenter Sagar Mehrotra, the film’s stars described the film as a simple love story. Yuvraaj, an Agra boy, described going to Mumbai’s gay parties to learn the nuances and get a feel for the character he would be playing. Not gay himself in real life, he had hesitated in taking on the role, but surprisingly, it was his father who egged him in: “You’re an actor,” he told his son, “Play it like any other role”.

Of course, the role landed in his lap after many mainstream Bollywood stars tuned it down. “They will readily play the roles of terrorists,” Yuvraaj lamented, “but will hesitate to even consider playing a gay man”.

Kapil, also the writer of the film, revealed that some stars had agreed to do the role, on the condition that the crucial 90-second kiss scene would be scrapped. But he stuck to his guns. In fact, both actors revealed that it was difficult to do the scene, but it turned out alright in the end. The double standards

issues - from women’s sexuality, to their status in society, and attrocities of an apartheid society in 1950’s South Africa. I Can’t Think Straight, in contrast was a glossy tale of love between a rich Palestinian woman and a British Indian woman.

68 Pages, a hard-hitting film, uncovered 3 stories of pain and fear, humiliation and rejection of a sex worker, a gay man and a transsexual bar dancer.

The issue of homosexuality and parental pressure was dealt with some humour in the short film, Mr & Mrs Singh - a take on the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie blockbuster, Mr & Mrs Smith. Like Brangelina, the couple in this film also have much to hide from each other, but their secrets are of a different kind.

Some of the films in the festival lacked the power of strong narrative or good filmmaking techniques, but were interesting nontheless, especially the two focusing on the struggle in Nepal for the recognition of a third gender by the government, Struggle Within and Other Nature

The festival, supported by ACON, is certainly a valiant effort to bring South Asian GLBT stories from around the world to audiences in Sydney.

Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi

Helen and Zeenat Aman in Dunno Y

An epic tale of two brothers

This must-read book chronicles the history of a corporate Kurukshetra that’s still unfolding

BY MAMTA SHARMA

The Indian business family of Ambanis needs no introduction. After the release of the Bollywood film Guru (2007), the inspiring rags-to-riches story of Dhirubahi Ambani has become legendary. His company Reliance, which emerged from the textile industry, is now one of India’s major corporations.

From humble beginnings at Chorwad in Gujarat, Ambani learnt life’s lessons early. As an ambitious entrepreneur, he ruthlessly embraced all capitalism had to offer, and went on to become one of India’s richest men, despite his own superstitions, the politics of his country, his investments (both legitimate and clandestine) and his corruption of politicians and officials. His textile company Reliance was one of the first to produce polyester in India and has continued to grow and expand since.

Following Dhirubhai’s demise in 2002, his sons, Anil and Mukesh took over their family empire Reliance, split it in two and went separate ways. Thus began the feud between the World’s Richest Brothers. Their respective arms of the company are bigger than the parent company ever was. The brothers are now worth $43 billion and $42 billion respectively, largely from petrochemicals, telecommunications and entertainment. The hostility, arguments and tension between the Ambani brothers is wonderfully analysed and examined by Australian writer Hamish McDonald in his latest book Mahabharata in Polyester: The Making of World’s Richest Brothers and Their Feud.

McDonald, a former New Delhi bureau chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review, is currently the Asia-Pacific Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and has authored several books on Indonesia and India.

His book Mahabharata in Polyester was launched in Sydney recently by Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Chairman of Gujarat NRE Minerals Ltd, the Indian entrepreneur who has revitalised the Illawarra coal industry. The book is a wonderful narrative of the trails and tribulations between the Ambani brothers, Jagatramka said at the launch. In reference to the title of the book, the Indian entrepreneur said, “It’s an apt title as the Mahabharata is one of major Hindu epics of India. It is about the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the brothers, Kauravas and Pandavas, something similar to the story of the Ambani brothers. It gives an insight into modern India. I would want my children also to read it.”

From the same region in India as the subjects of this book, the Ambani family, Mr Jagatramka reflected on their legacy, the business outlook for India’s emerging giant economy, and the opportunities and challenges for Australia. “The Indian businessman creates favourable environments for his venture and when he is unable to do so he converts the unfavourable into a challenging opportunity.”

Mahabharata in Polyester is said to be the revised story of The Polyester Prince, McDonald’s first controversial publication on Dhirubhai Ambani in 1998. The Polyester Prince offers an account of Ambani’s rise from a school teacher’s son to the head of the biggest polyester and petrochemicals company in India. It touches upon the rivalry between Ambani and Bombay Dyeing’s Nusli Wadia, Reliance’s financial expertise especially in raising money, and the company’s ability to manage the external environment. The Ambanis however, didn’t think the book would do them any good and approached a court in India against it. The court sent a notice to HarperCollins, the book’s publishers, which admitted before it that the

the author has trimmed the older material by around 20% and expanded the material to focus more on the feuding brothers and offering key insights into India’s transformation into a global economic powerhouse.

“Big brother Mukesh Ambani seemed to have learned more from his father and has often taken the upper hand in the squabbles with his brother,” McDonald says in his latest book.

“There was also a curious rolereversal. Mukesh had become the high-life socialite, with estimates of the cost of building his (high-rise mansion in Mumbai) Antilla getting ever larger despite his attempts to downplay them,” he adds.

About Anil Ambani, the author says, “The perceived playboy Anil was portrayed as more ascetic, making frequent pilgrimages to Hindu shrines, even journeying on foot to circle the holy Mansarovar Lake and Mount Kailash in Tibet.”

“He ran daily for kilometres before dawn and stayed in cheap business hotels instead of luxury suites on his travels.”

On the infamous years-long succession battle that led to the division of Reliance empire, he says that communication between them came down to stiff press comments by spokesmen and a mounting number of court actions.

“However, both were said to put on a display of politeness at weekly breakfasts with their mother at Sea Wind (the Ambani residence in Mumbai).”

When asked who he thinks is better of the two Ambani brothers, Mc Donald reveals, “The pen-portraits

of the Ambani brothers in the book makes clear that they have differing personalities and mixes of strengths. I don’t think you can measure relative success by comparing their group earnings or their networths. They are in sectors where success has different yardsticks -for example, Anil’s media and entertainment arm where results are not just dollars and rupees but in creative achievement, an intangible”.

To say that the sibling tycoons are not close is an understatement; their feud - personal and business - is an extraordinary story in itself. But as McDonald’s latest book shows, the Ambani saga tells a bigger story about modern India, not only as an economic powerhouse but about the complicated links between government and big business.

Do these complicated links leave the general public at a loss in the long run, or are the arrangements good for all?

McDonald replies, “I think the Indian public is the loser, because the Indian government has been strong or assertive in the wrong things like trying to direct investment, and weak in the things where it should be strong and respected, like enforcing rules of corporate behaviour. India needs simpler rules and better resourced agencies like the Securities and Exchange Board of India to monitor compliance.”

The book comes incidentally within months of reconciliation between the two brothers.

The Ambanis, however are not the only billionaires in India. So what was it that inspired McDonald to script the sequel to his earlier book on Ambanis and not go for some other millionaire’s story?

“Because the Ambani story wasn’t finished - it only got more interesting,” says Mc Donald. “The last few years of Dhirubhai’s life saw him fulfill his dream of building a huge oil refinery. Then the group diversified into new sectors like mobile phones. Then there was the almost incredible public rupture between Mukesh and Anil over 2004-5, the division of the Reliance group, and the feuding that followed. There simply aren’t hotter stories in Indian business. But there are many other interesting

The author says his interest in the Ambanis experienced a revival when he was holidaying in India in December 2004, when the split between the Ambani brothers became news. And he began collecting material.

The book is an outsider’s account, he confesses. “I realised that the political economy, the intersection of business and government, was relatively unexplored. That it was a touchy subject for domestic writers indicated it was an area where I might actually expand understanding of contemporary India,” he notes.

Despite his efforts to reach out to the Ambanis for his sequel, no one from the two groups meet with McDonald. “I made approaches to both brothers during the research period, but got no response. I did try to include as much of their own direct words as possible within the flow of the narrative”.

Talking about the challenges he faced while writing/ getting information for the book, the author says, “For the update the biggest handicap was obviously that I was no longer living in India, but getting my information from published sources, long distance contacts, and the occasional visit to Delhi and Mumbai. So the excitement of being a witness to the events, and walking the territory, is perhaps not so strong.”

In India, biographies of businessmen are usually authorized versions commissioned by the business houses themselves - sanitised and censored. Independent biographies are not too common. McDonald’s experience with his book on Dhirubhai Ambani is a good example of what would happen to authors who dare to be frank and independent.

However, McDonald is hoping for better luck with the sequel for its release in India this time.

“This new book is being published by Roli Books in a special Indian imprint, under the title Ambani & Sons and with a different cover. So far, so good,” the author says with hope.

Media reports say that despite going on sale only this month, pirate copies have already been sighted on the streets of Mumbai.

….the Ambani saga tells a bigger story about modern India, not only as an economic powerhouse but about the complicated links between government and big business

Hamish McDonald with Gujarat NRE’s Arun Jagatramka during the launch of his new book MahabharatainPolyester

An afternoon of varieTea, musicaliTea and frivoliTea

Combining outrageous humour, beautiful music and quirky poetry, Oz Asia’s AFTERNOON AbsurdiTea will take audiences on an incredible experience of that wonderfully addictive beverage, says Anne Norman aka Camellia Cha, in an interview with SHIVANGI AMBANI-GANDHI, sharing her journey of tea discovery

Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi: What exactly is a Tea Performance? And what can the audience expect from AFTERNOON AbsurdiTea?

Camellia Cha: In AbsurdiTea, rather than focusing on making tea, we tell the story of tea and its journey through various countries and cultures, using poetry, narrative and music from the countries where tea is grown and consumed. I have written a poem which challenges those of us who mindlessly partake of tea, to think about where it comes from and who plucked it. Just what is the story behind tea, and how did it get into my teacup? In one poem, rhythmically delivered lyrics will be supported by the Indian rhythms of Jay Dabgar and Josh Bennett.

SAG: Will you share a snippet of the kind of humour and quirky poetry that will be a part of this show?

CC: You think tea is British, well, of course you’re right, it’s true. Iraqis and Sri Lankans think that too.

And if you’re Yank, it’s what you drank, then you sank it, now you thank it for your country’s liber-TEA teabag sucker sucker TEA! But the Chinese had it first, Japanese then got the thirst, and the Portuguese prayed on their knees till Chinese coffers burst...

SAG: You have previously collaborated with a tap dancer and cabaret performers..

CC: Yes. And with a cellist, and a recorder player, and a calligrapher, and a shamisen player with Japanese dancer... It has been an interesting learning curve and transition for me to ‘perform’ my book, Curiosi-tea. It is one thing to spend years researching and travelling and writing, and another to memorize parts of what you have written and deliver it with music or other art forms. Because we have such talented musicians on stage in the OzAsia presentation, I will keep my talking to a minimum in order to make time for the music to unfold. And I want to jam with the musicians on my shakuhachi where possible. Until tea took over my life, performing shakuhachi (bamboo flute) has been my primary occupation, and it still is my forte, although things are shifting a little.

SAG: Tell us about your book, Curiosi-tea. CC: Curiosi-tea is a flippantly presented, but thoroughly researched, book on tea: tea’s history, health properties, and cultural associations. It makes use of the strange quirk of the English language, where over 2,000 English words end with the sound tea, such as CuriosiTY, serendipiTY etc. I had initially not envisaged a serious or scholarly book, but rather a bit of fun with puns and cartoon-like illustrations. So of course, the

first chapter just had to be “Antiqui-tea” and the last “Infini-tea”, and then I thought I would fill it out with frivoli-tea... And having the naugh-tea, cheeky mind I have, I had to include chapters on promiscui-tea and sexualitea as well as topics which didn’t feel like they should really be in a tea book at all, such as radioactivi-tea and insani-tea. However, the more I researched and read, the more I was confronted by the dark side of tea, not just the froth and bubble of a whisked matcha, or the spice of a masala chai. It was when I began to read books like Roy Moxham’s Tea: Addiction, Exploitation and Empire, that the chapter entitled Inhumani-tea and Mortali-tea resulted. I tried to avoid including this darker material for quite a while, but the more I read I realised I couldn’t ignore it. The clincher came when I read an article in The Times of India on March 1, 2007 entitled “Tea estate closure results in 100 deaths”. The nature of my book became more weighty from then on.

SAG: Which is your favourite Indian tea?

CC: I was very impressed with the organic teas of the Makaibari tea estate in Darjeeling. I came home with samples of their Silver Tips Imperial white tea and their green and oolong teas. However, when I want a kick that is more filling than a cleansing and subtle white or green tea, I sometimes make myself a milky masala chai using ‘black’ Assam tea in a saucepan on the stove at home.

SAG: You recently spent 5 weeks in India

visiting tea plantations…. CC: I confess it was my first trip to India. As India came to the international tea trade late in the history of tea, I hadn’t written as much about the country in my book, as I had about China and her eastern neighbours. The historical significance of India and China in relation to Britain’s tea drinking habit is enormous. I began my trip to Assam to see where the British began their tea plantations, but first I went to Kolkata and met up with Ali Zaman, a wonderful fellow who gave me leads to his colleagues in the tea industry in Calcutta and Assam. I met the Tea Board of India, visited the tea auction rooms and the secretary general of the Indian Tea Association. I then travelled to the Experimental Station of the Tocklai Tea Research Association in Jorhat. Their motto is: SustainabiliTEA through research. Now that’s my kind of spelling!

The scientists at Tocklai are brilliant and their state-of-the-art facility is the best tea research one I have ever encountered. They had trans-genetic engineers and biotechnicians analysing DNA and making super clones of tea. Impressive work! They were also looking at finding natural ways to avoid the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

I visited the Kaziranga National park, then Dibrugarh and on to the Hollonghabi Tea estates. These have an enormous burden of responsibility to look after a large number of workers and their families, and I began to get an inkling of the planters’ side of the story,

and the headaches they face in managing their charges.

I also met members of the original tea tribes of upper Assam near the border with Burma and drank green tea in a bamboo stilt house with a bright fellow of the Singpho tribe who makes organic tea commercially. He was a powerhouse of knowledge on the tea history of his tribe and has helped anthropologists from around the world with their research.

One day I hope to return to upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with Rajan to explore the Chinese border region, and see what we can find in the way of evidence of a branch of the ancient Tea and Horse road that the Chinese scholars write about.

In Darjeeling I met several knowledgeable and helpful men who have worked in the tea industry all their lives. I visited numerous temples; improvising music with the male ‘wives of Shiva’ in a Bhakti monastery on the island of Majuli; wandered around the blindingly white and glorious Taj Mahal. I had adventures on trains, planes, rickshaws, an elephant and overly crowded ‘taxis’; I even fitted in a leisurely day on a river boat in Kerala... It would take a book to tell you all my adventures! I love India and can’t wait to return.

AFTERNOON absurdiTEA was part of the Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide. For more about Camellia Cha and Anne Norman visit camelliacha.com or www.annenorman.com

Anne Norman

Improvising with the Brides of Shiva on Majuli Island

The gentle art of tea spitting: Tea tasting with scientists from Tocklai

Rummaging through India’s history

that Dr Masselos developed an interest in using Indian origin objects to build up a sense of history.

BY SHIVANGI AMBANI-GANDHI

Scouring through junk shops in Australia and London, Dr Jim Masselos began his collection of the now large and wonderfully varied Portvale Collection. “I would go through shoe boxes full of photos and other material in shops full of all sorts of old objects. I accumulated the collection by hunting and rummaging. Now you can buy some such materials over eBay – it is far less exciting!” claims the historian.

The Indian Empire: Multiple Realities exhibition currently on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, presents a selection of objects from this collection built up over 40 years of travel across India, London and Australia. Dr Masselos is donating a large portion of the items in the exhibition to the Gallery.

Dr. Masselos, an honorary reader in history at the University of Sydney, has visited India over 50 times. His first visit in 1961 was to Mumbai to do his doctorate at St Xavier’s College under the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme funded by the Government of India. His doctorate, about the rise of nationalism in Mumbai and Pune, was completed over a 4-year period in Mumbai leading to his book, Towards Nationalism

“When I came back to Sydney to teach, there were no visuals available, such as those now easily available on the internet,” he recollects. So he, along with a colleague, put together an exhibition of India-related objects at Sydney University in 1967. Included in this exhibition were objects from Sir James Plimsoll (Australian High Commissioner to India) and some from Mohenjodaro that had been gifted to the Nicholson Museum by the Indian Government. It was with this humble exhibition

One room of the exhibition is dedicated to beautifully embroidered textiles from Kutch and Saurashtra in Gujarat. “Lotika Varadarajan, who was also doing her doctorate at St Xavier’s at the time, got me interested in textiles,” says Dr. Masselos. “I decided to go to Kutch and look at the folk embroidery to create a sense of what preoccupied the women who wore this embroidery, and how they saw the world and depicted it in their designs.”

“I could have used French post-colonial theory to analyse their embroidery designs, but instead I decided to ask the women what their designs meant,” says Dr. Masselos. He found that although designs could have several different meanings in different areas of the region, one common image was of the famous story of women churning curd – but it had become so stylized that one couldn’t see the literal story in the image.

Another common symbol used by these women was that of a scorpion usually embroidered onto the left shoulder of the choli. This scorpion directed towards the heart, Dr Masselos found, symbolized the sudden pain of love, the love of Bhakti. Also included in the exhibition are the some cholis of the Maharani of Kutch who Masselos befriended over long conversations about her life. “Sometimes I think I know her better than I know anyone else!” says the collector.

Looking through the Empire exhibition though, it becomes apparent through the extensive display of photographs and albums, that Dr. Masselos has a particular interest in this medium. “At the time I was doing my research on Mumbai and I had to start collecting maps and drawings to build up a picture of what

India was like a century or so earlier,” says Dr. Masselos. “Now you just wouldn’t bother – you would just go on the internet and surf for pictures. The photographs were also visually very interesting, and my interest grew from seeing the photographs as just historical information to aesthetics as well; seeing them as images that are beautiful in their own right.”

One of the albums on display is a Panorama of Delhi, containing stunning images of the city in 1858. In a jointly authored book Dr Masselos has written an essay on Beato, the photographer of this album, while Delhi historian Narayani Gupta has written about the same places as they were then and as they are now in a book titled Beato’s Delhi. “We found that between the Old and New Delhi was another Delhi – the Delhi of the 1800s before the uprising of 1857, a Delhi that wasn’t Shahjahanabad nor the Delhi of Lutyens and the British raj, but was based around the Ridge and the then civil lines,” says Dr Masselos talking about this project. His other books include Bombay then and Mumbai now, (with Naresh Fernandes) and The city in action: Bombay struggles for power.

“India has been very well portrayed in early photographs. The way India is represented through these photographs and their sheer range; there is nothing in comparison to that in 19th century Australia. There was great attention paid to the Indian landscape as well as to the many different facets of Indian life and living under the British,” says Dr. Masselos.

“There is thus the Imperial view of British power that they convey, but also the picturesque.” And it is these multiple visions of India under the British Raj that is brought forth by the new exhibition of his collection.

The Indian empire, multiple realitiesSelections from the Portvale Collection, runs at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until November 7, 2010. Entry to the exhibition is free.

“The way India is represented through these photographs and their sheer range; there is nothing in comparison to that in 19th century Australia.”

Dr. Masselos

Mahars of Bombay

Dr Jim Masselos in India

Dr Jim Masselos

Ayodhya verdict: Waqf board resolves to move apex court

Virtually derailing efforts at a possible reconciliation, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has said it is all set to take the Ayodhya legal battle to its logical next stage - the Supreme Court. An announcement to this effect was made by board chief Zufar Ahmad Farooqui in Lucknow.

“At a meeting of the board, we have resolved to file an appeal before the Supreme Court,” Farooqui told mediapersons.

“I am the sole spokesman of this board and nobody other than me is authorised to speak on behalf of this organisation,” he said.

The meeting was attended by nine of the 13 members of the board.

Soon after the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute Sep 30, board counsel Zafaryab Jilani expressed his intention to appeal against the court’s verdict.

The high court decision seeks to divide the disputed 90 feet by 120 feet plot of disputed land into three equal parts among three litigants -- the Sunni Wakf Board, Hindu sect Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla (the ruling deity at the site).

There were six Muslim contestants including the board, whose stand was opposed by 90-year-old litigant Mohammad Hashim Ansari.

Ansari met Mahant Gyan Das, who wields considerable influence not only in Ayodhya but also among top Hindu priests, and urged him to jointly work out an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya issue.

Close on the heels of the initiative taken by 90-year-old Ansari for a negotiated settlement on the Ayodhya issue, the Nirmohi Akhara too has expressed its inclination to talk and resolve the dispute once and for all.

“I welcome the initiative taken by Mahant Gyan Das and Hashim Ansari and will be only too glad to be a party to the move for bringing the dispute to an amicable settlement and avoid another unending court battle,” Nirmohi Akhara chief Mahant Bhaskar Das said.

Significantly, while Ansari was the first Muslim to stake a legal claim to the Babri Masjid after it was usurped by Hindu mobs on the night of Dec 22-23, 1949, it was the Nirmohi Akhara which sought legal right to offer prayers at the disputed site way back in 1885.

It was Ansari who took the first step towards initiating a process of reconciliation instead of proceeding straight to the country’s apex court in appeal against the Sep 30 order of the Allahabad High Court.

Obama to visit India in Nov

US President Barack Obama will attend the US-India Business and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai Nov 6 during his four-day visit to India, according to the

The trade advocacy group representing over 300 leading US companies doing business with India said its four-day Presidential Executive Mission to India will commence with a Business and Entrepreneurship Summit Nov 6.

Jointly organized with the US Department of Commerce, the summit featuring Obama “will help deepen America’s commercial relations with India, support American jobs, and strengthen the vital US-India partnership,” USIBC said.

“When Obama travels to India he will be the sixth-ever US President to set foot on Indian soil. His visit will be an actiontriggering event, where major business policy objectives can be advanced,” it said.

“The visit offers the opportunity to underscore that India will be one of the United States’ key partners in the decades ahead.”

In follow up to the Business and Entrepreneurship Summit, the USIBC Presidential Executive Mission will participate in business conferences in New Delhi Nov 8 and 9 to explore opportunities in bilateral investment, trade and innovation, USIBC said.

Besides Mumbai and New Delhi, Obama is also expected to visit Amritsar.

Salem’s trial for murder: Apex court clears way for verdict

The Supreme Court has cleared the decks for a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court to give its verdict in a Mumbai builder’s murder case in which don Abu Salem is the prime accused.

Juhu-based builder Pradeep Jain was murdered in 1995.

An apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice R.M. Lodha upheld the Maharashtra government’s plea that Salem could not cross-examine the accused-turned-approver Riyaz Ahmed Siddiqui, who was subsequently discarded by the prosecution.

Approver Siddiqui was discarded as witness as evidence tendered by him was not aiding the prosecution case and the plea for his pardon too was withdrawn. The other approver was Maim Khan.

Besides Salem, other accused in the case are Riyaz Siddiqui, Maim Khan, Mohammed Mahendi Hassan and V.K. Jhamb. They were accused of criminal conspiracy to eliminate Jain.

Speaking for the bench, Justice Lodha said that the question involved in the matter is whether an accused has a right to cross examine an accomplice-turned-

approver who had tendered evidence as prosecution witness but pardon granted to him was withdrawn.

The judgment said that after the withdrawal of the pardon, the approverturned-prosecution witness relegates to the status of an accused and the evidence rendered by him (as an approver) becomes useless.

In such a situation, there is no scope for the other accused (Abu Salem and others in the instant case) to cross examine such a discarded approver-turned-prosecution witness, the court said.

The apex court faulted the TADA court in treating Riyaz Siddiqui as a hostile witness.

“It (TADA court) failed to consider that the pardon granted and accepted by him was conditional... inasmuch as it was on the condition of his making a true and full disclosure of all the facts concerning the commission of crime and once the pardon granted to him stood forfeited, he was relegated to the position of an accused and did not remain a witness,” the court said.

“In the circumstances, there was no justification to permit the defence to cross examine (such a discarded approver turned witness),” the judgment said.

It may be recalled that Salem had

South Australian premier Mike Rann helps his wife Sasha Carruozzo roll a chapatti, a traditional flatbread, during their visit to the community kitchen of the Golden Temple, Sikhs’ holiest temple, in Amritsar on Sept. 10, 2010. Rann is on a business tour to India with senior business figures, university representatives and Government officials.

Photo: AP

US-India Business Council.

pleaded before the TADA court that he should be allowed to cross-examine both Siddiqui and Khan.

The plea was opposed by the prosecution on the grounds that it was not relying on their testimony as approver.

The state government took this position because it found that there was nothing in the testimonies of two approvers that could be counted upon by the prosecution in advancing their case against Salem and two others.

The prosecution had even withdrawn the grant of pardon to these two accusedturned-approver, the government said.

However, the TADA court allowed Salem’s plea to cross-examine the approvers.

It was against this order of the TADA court that the Maharashtra government moved the apex court.

While the apex court was seized of the matter it directed the TADA court to proceed with the trial but restrained it from pronouncing the verdict till it decided on the plea by the State government.

After the verdict of the apex court, the TADA court, which has already concluded the trial, is free to pronounce the verdict in the case.

At 21, you can serve liquor in Delhi, but won’t be served You can serve liquor at the age of 21 -- but can’t be served, stipulates the new Excise Act of the Delhi government, adding that women can be bar tenders too.

The Delhi Excise Act, 2009, that came into force on October 4, replaces the outdated Punjab Excise Act, 1914, which was extended to the national capital.

According to it, the age of employment of men in places where liquor is served

has been reduced from 25 years to 21 years and restriction of employment of women has been done away with.

However, Excise Minister A.K. Walia told reporters that the age at which people can take liquor remains at 25.

The previous rule did not allow women to be bar tenders.

The new law has been enacted to overcome the problem of spurious and adulterated liquor, its smuggling and also

its consumption in public places, Walia said.

Sportspersons donate memorabilia for Rahul Bose’s NGO

Do you fancy owning Sachin Tendulkar’s bat or Abhinav Bindra’s rifle? All you have to do is participate in an auction for which 26 prominent sportspersons have donated memorabilia that define iconic moments in

their careers to raise funds for Bollywood actor Rahul Bose’s NGO.

At “Equation - An auction for Equality”, one can bid for, amongst others, Vishwanathan Anand’s world championship gold medal, the bat with which Sachin Tendulkar hit his fourth highest one-day score, the rifle with which Abhinav Bindra claimed the world championship, tennis shoes signed by Roger Federer and the racquet with which Mahesh Bhupathi’s claimed the Australian Open Grand Slam title.

These and other items will be auctioned Oct 29 and the proceeds will be used to support the causes of Bose’s NGO The Foundation.

The list of doners also boasts of impressive names like cricketers Saurav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Virendra Sehwag; tennis icons Leander Paes and Sania Mirza and shuttlers Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal.

Footballer Baichung Bhutia, cueists Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani, as also international sportspersons like Shane Warne and Maria Sharapova have also donated for the auction.

Bindra, who is giving away his most prized possession, said: “I have been very attached to this rifle because it is with this I made my breakthrough at the highest level. It’s a system which has several technological advancements done specifically for me, including a hand-made calibrated trigger mechanism.”

“I won approximately 25 international medals during the six years I shot with this system. I must admit it is a little wrenching to give this away, but also extremely satisfying,” he added.

A taste of India: Britain’s Prince Charles dances with Indian villagers during his visit to understand the water conservation efforts in Tolesar Charan village, near Jodhpur on Oct. 5. Prince Charles is in India on a four-day trip, where he jointly inaugurated the Commonwealth Games with Indian President Pratibha Patil.

Photo: AP

Life in the Village

Australian hockey player Jamie Dwyer prepares for practice

Australians Megan Rivers (centre left) and Fiona Johnson (centre right) learn their Bollywood moves

Serious business: Jewellery shopping for Australian athletes Natalie Medhurst and Mo’ onia Gerrard

Photos: AP

Aussie girls Megan Rivers, right, and Fiona Johnson enjoy a game of darts

Australians Carli Renzi (left) and Emily Bensted have a cuddle with Shera

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00-1 POPCORN KUCH PAL

Pop songs ki pop masti For him

1-2 DO SITARE

EK AAWAAZ DO ANDAAZ Romantic Duets sang Magic of two voices

2-3 RETRO MIX VINTAGE

Hits of 1940s and 50s Hits of the Seventies

3-4 MUSICAL LEGENDS FLASHBACK

Voices of a generation Music of an era gone by A tribute to Filmmakers All time favourites Romantic Ghazals

70s MAGICAL MOMENTS ULTIMATE 90s

Musical journey of 1970s Best songs of the Nineties

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Regional gems

Take a peek into a medley of literary styles translated from regional literature

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAN

It is a great pity that most Indians seldom get to read works of fiction written in India’s many languages, simply because adequate translations are not available in English or Hindi for those books to reach a wider readership. As a result, several great books remain virtually unknown outside the languages in which they are written.

Fortunately, two recent translations of Tamil works came to this reviewer’s attention. One is Perumal Murugan’s Seasons of the Palm, translated by V Geetha in 2005 and which was later shortlisted for the Kiriama Prize. The other is a delightful translation titled Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction by Pritham Chakravarthy. Popular fiction in India largely comes out in regional languages, and most of us (even in India) remain blissfully unaware of the rich pickings available in them. This delightful and polished collection of short stories by 10 of the best selling Tamil writers “make Stephen King and Barbara Cartland look like amateurs,” says Mukul Kesavan. He is not wrong. Tamils and Malayalis are great readers compared to most other communities, and devour newspapers, magazines and perhaps pulp fiction too, by the millions. For several years the Tamil weekly Kumudam and Malayalam Manorama in Malayalam outsold all other

The flowering out of Pushpa

journals in any language in India, and Rajesh Kumar’s Tamil novels sold in their millions. Some of the short stories and novellas in this anthology include Hurricane Vaij by Subha (pen name for two writers, Suresh and Balakrishnan) Sweetheart, Please Die! by Pattukkottai Prabhakar. If you are after romance, Dim Lights, Blazing Hearts by Ramanichandran is for you. For those of a more lurid bent of mind, My Name is , a massively popular novel about prostitutes in Delhi should be up your alley. Pritham Chakravarthy’s translations are spot on and capture the ambience of the original works. The publication is impeccable with excellent author introductions, attractive drawings and good paper to boot, making it almost a collectors’ item.

Perumal Murugan’s Seasons of the is on the other end of the Tamil literary spectrum: it is a serious, thought provoking, confronting novel of a young Dalit farm hand and the brutality he experiences every day. There is a growing corpus of works in ‘Dalit literature’ – which is characterised by protest, resistance and subversion. Although Perumal Murugan is not a Dalit himself (he comes from a dominant caste), he writes movingly about the inhumanity around which the Dalits are surrounded. In this novel, a young teen is caught between an oppressive life on the one hand, and a happy fantasy-world on the other. It is beautifully written, and V Geetha’s translation is superlative.

Coping with cancer

Ranjana Srivastava, a Melbourne oncologist, recently launched her first book Tell Me The Truth: Conversations with my patients about life and death. Sixty odd professionals, Ranjana’s friends, her publishers and book lovers attended the launch at Book Street in the prestigious Toorak village precinct. In the book, Ranjana has collated the intricacies of her profession with the anxieties of her patients.

As the hectic signing of the books slowed down, Ranjana read one particular episode from the book; about a young mother with advanced cancer who wished to be returned home to die. Ranjana debated with herself before she acquiesced to the patient’s request, but was left with the difficult task of justifying her human viewpoint to the children. The patient died within the next twenty-four hours, and her husband and young children were extremely grateful for the opportunity of having her home.

Ranjana’s ability to juxtapose words with pathos, to balance human yearning against professional practicality, and especially her command with worded descriptions touched hearts.

“The most wonderful thing about any achievement,” Ranjana said, “is having someone to share it with.”

Mr. Ian Hamilton of the Cancer Council requested Dr. Doreen Akkerman, to launch the book. Dr. Akkerman, AM was Director of the Cancer Council for twenty years and is now Director, Strategic Health

Communications International. Evidently choosing not to dwell too much on the sufferings of cancer patients, Dr. Akkerman was brief. She recognized the great need in the community for a book that addressed the very human aspects of battling the disease, and touched not only on the struggle of patients but also that of carers. Ranjana was educated in India, the UK and USA, and she graduated from Monash University, Melbourne with First Class Honours. She has won several awards in medicine and has spent several years of her life in India. In fact, the book opens with the touching experience of her own family when her Nanima (maternal grandmother) was diagnosed with advanced cancer. Ranjana completed her internship, residency and specialist training at various Melbourne hospitals. In 2004, she won the prestigious Fulbright Award to study at Chicago. USA. She has published in Time magazine, the Week, the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care Management, among various medical journals. In 2008, her story Ode to a Patient, won the Cancer Council Victoria Arts Award for outstanding writing.

A mother of three, Ranjana has been acclaimed in various Melbourne newspapers, also on radio and national television.

George Thakur

Pushpa Vaghela’s life has been spent on several continents: her childhood years in Africa and later in the UK as part of a large Gujarati family. In her new book Beyond Boundaries, she chronicles her struggles as a young girl saddled with the responsibility of looking after her large family after the sudden death of her mother; her marriage to Chandra, a kind and loving man, and his untimely death which placed her in the invidious position of having to bring up her two young children as a single mother. It is an inspiring story of how a meek and self-effacing woman took charge of her life, and made something of it despite heavy odds, by dint of hard work and courage. Along the way, she attended a series of life affirming Leadership Seminars that were conducted by the life-coach guru Tony Robbins (of NLP fame), which seem to have been a powerful impetus. She is effusive and lavish with praise when talking about Tony Robbins’ seminars and the power of NLP – indeed, so convinced was she about the power of those ideas that she became a coach and trainer herself, and helped many people change their lives for the better. Vaghela even set up her own life coaching outfit through Galaxy Coaching business on arriving in Australia in 2007. Through that and her charity works, she has tried to make a difference and give back to society as much as she could. So much so that in just over a year after making Australia home, Galaxy Coaching won the “Outstanding Business of the Year” award in 2009 and Vaghela was also recognized for her community and volunteer work. She continues to help scores of people on the Gold Coast and Brisbane through both her business and charitable work, and Vaghela story should be an inspiration to any Indian woman – indeed anyone at all – who wishes to make a difference to themselves and others.

Chitra Sudarshan

Perumal Murugan’s Seasons of the Palm is on the other end of the Tamil literary spectrum: it is a serious, thought provoking, confronting novel of a young Dalit farm hand and the brutality he experiences every day

Facts on fasting

Fasting is a healthy practice, but take care not to celebrate its end through overindulgent feasting

BY GEETA KHURANA

With Ramadan and Eid just over, and Navratras and Karva Chauth just around the corner, the fasting season is here. Fasting as a ritual goes back to many thousands of years, as a healing and as a religious or spiritual process. Fasting basically means voluntary abstinence from food. Many religions including Christianity, Judaism and the Eastern religions have encouraged fasting for a variety of reasons, such as penitence, preparation for ceremony, purification, mourning, sacrifice and union with God, and the enhancement of knowledge and powers.

Fasting in Hinduism is thought to be important as it nourishes both the physical and spiritual needs of the person. However, fasting is not done only for spiritual reasons, but also for self discipline of a person.

In Hindu culture, fasting is undertaken on certain days of the month such as on Poornima (full moon) and Ekadashi (eleventh day after full moon), or can be on certain days of the week depending on the God and the Goddess you wish to worship. Fasting on festivals such as Navratras, Janamashthmi and Karva Chauth is also quite common. Fasting can also mean abstaining from imbibing certain things, either for religious reasons or for the sake of good health. For instance, some people refrain from eating salt on particular days. Another common kind of fast is to forego cereals, and eat only fruit (phalahar, or fruit diet). In India, fasting has always had deep spiritual and religious overtones. Almost every festival involves some sort of fasting, while spiritual experts of all traditions abide by the code of moderate or no eating. It is a process of purification of the physical, emotional and mental, and is accompanied by pursuing good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

Health benefits of fasting

* Fasting is the relaxation of body, mind and soul and helps to develop a positive attitude.

* Fasting is a great opportunity to focus on bringing back a balanced and healthy lifestyle in people’s lives, who do not normally care about their eating habits.

* Fasting requires giving the stomach a rest, and by doing so one will be able to break down and expel collected toxins from the body.

* While fasting, the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys, bladder, lungs, sinuses, and skin clears out complications that may have arisen from a bad diet and unhealthy lifestyle.

* Switching over to a vegetarian diet and also abstinence from alcohol overall has a healthy impact on our health.

* Including more fruits and vegetables helps the intake of more antioxidants which are vital for our wellbeing.

Tips for healthy fasting

Fasting can help improve your health, but it is very important to follow the correct diet otherwise your condition can worsen. What you consume during fasting hours or how you break your fast is a very important and deciding factor. What worsens your

abstained from eating, but do not over indulge on other foods. For example, while fasting for Navratras when you abstain from cereals such as rice or wheat flour and lentils, do not overindulge on those potatoes or sago tikkis or chestnut flour (Singhara ka atta) and kutta (buckwheat) ke atta ke pakoras!

* Try to cook something less oily with these flours, such as a chila or a roti, instead of puri or parantha

* Always break the fast gently and don’t eat heavy and oily food. Instead, choose lightly steamed vegetables with little spices.

* Cook in a non-stick pan to avoid using lots of oil and ghee.

* Eat more fat-reduced dairy foods such as yoghurt, buttermilk, milk and cheese, or paneer.

* Ketosis is subdued by drinking plenty of fruit juices, which provide simple carbohydrates for energy and cellular functioning.

* Have small and frequent meals.

* Avoid staying hungry for long hours to prevent acidity and heartburn. Try to have some healthy snacks. Milk, yoghurt and lemon juice are good for heart burn and acidity.

* Eat plenty of vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, pumpkin, beet, cabbage, broccoli and celery.

in your daily diet but in moderation, as these are high in calories.

* Potatoes and sweet potatoes have high carbohydrate content, but also contain good quality proteins and vitamins B and C. These are destroyed on deep-frying and add up loads of calories. Therefore, have boiled aloo chaat instead of fries and tikkis

* Include avocado, tofu to your meals regularly.

Fasting while taking certain medications can be dangerous, and it’s certainly not advisable to go off prescribed medications without first talking to your physician. People with medical conditions should seek a doctor’s advice as meal timings and medications may need to be adjusted, especially for diabetics. Pregnant women, infants and anaemics who already are nutritionally deficient should avoid fasting. Diabetics should take car by having snacks every few hours to prevent their blood sugars falling very low.

Enjoy the festival season with healthy fasting, and try and avoid too much feasting!

Almost every festival involves some sort of fasting, while spiritual experts of all traditions abide by the code of moderate or no eating

Ketosis is subdued by drinking plenty of fruit juices, which provide simple carbohydrates for energy and cellular functioning

Fasting in Hinduism is thought to be important as it nourishes both the physical and spiritual needs of the person

The search for happiness

The clout of country Australia

Rural Australia made a significant impact on the recent Federal elections, and for good reason, by NOEL G

DE SOUZA

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

The Black Dog Institute, which is dedicated to battling depression, celebrated ‘Exercise Your Mood Week’ last month. Its latest ambassador, Olympic Gold Medallist swimmer Libby Trickett, comes from a family which has members who suffer depression, and she herself has returned from retirement to battle low moods. Depression is a common problem in Australia, as it is in several developed countries. During the recently-concluded election campaign both sides pledged large amounts of money for battling such mental illnesses. Depression is the opposite of happiness and serenity.

Some important individuals in Australia have suffered depression such as Geoffrey Gallop, Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006 who resigned from his position to combat that illness. John Brogden resigned as the Liberal opposition leader in NSW after an episode of depression. Jeff Kennett, a former Premier of Victoria, was the founding Chairman of Beyond Blue (supported by the federal and state governments) from 2000 to 2008, a body set up to combat depression and anxiety at the national level.

Perhaps a simple definition of depression would be, a lack of happiness or an absence of inner peace and tranquillity which results in low moods. The Vajrayana Institute (Sydney), in association with the World Happiness Forum, organises annual “Happiness and its Causes” conferences where a wide array of speakers are presented. Notable recent speakers have been the Lateral Thinking guru Edward de Bono, former NSW Premier Bob Carr, and the Dalai Lama.

In Japan when corporate executives get stressed and depressed, they often admit themselves into Zen Buddhist monasteries for rehabilitation through meditation and other practices; likewise in Thailand, executives are known to pass a phase in Buddhist temples living as bikkus or monks. In the United States, rehabilitation centres for the rich and famous are becoming the norm as centres for recovery.

S. N. Goenka, an Indian industrialist, promotes the Vipassana meditation technique worldwide (including in Australia) which has a similar objective. Goenka is a prolific writer and speaker and he addressed the Peace Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in 2009.

The great anguish felt by Arjuna before the battle at Kurukshetra is a classic case of depression and despondency. Arjuna showed

both physical and emotional symptoms when he had to prepare to fight against his close relatives. “The life within me seems to swim and faint; nothing do I foresee save woe and wail!” he cried. “What victory can bring delight, what rich spoils could profit; what rule recompense; what span of life itself seem sweet, bought with such blood?” he wailed.

The entire Bhagwad Gita is recited by Krishna to soothe Arjuna’s anguish through enlightenment and argument. Kindred Buddhist techniques also focus on enlightenment as a means to inner happiness. The aim of Hindu and Buddhist meditative techniques, like their Christian counterparts, is to develop a sense of bliss (ananda). Hindu and Buddhist ascetics often suffix their chosen names with ananda such as Sivananda.

The onset of old age can, in many cases, be expected to bring in distress, disappointment and pessimism. However, it is well worth noting what the National Institute of Mental Health (USA) says: “Depression is not a normal part of aging, and studies show that most seniors feel satisfied with their lives, despite increased physical ailments. … (though) less inclined to experience or acknowledge feelings of sadness or grief.”

Beyond Blue found in a recent study in Australia that 10-15% of older people living in the community experience symptoms of depression and approximately 10% experience anxiety, but that depression increases in aged care facilities where it is 34%.

Truly, isolation from one’s own community is a sad feeling for the aged. Several Indian cultural associations which are either language or religion based provide venues for the interaction of the aged with their cultural peers. Other organisations like SEVA International and the Hornsby Indian Seniors Association bring together diverse Indians who have common interests. SEVA International has been participating in forums for issues like health and well-being.

Many a sub-continental in Australia is now reaching retirement or has already retired. Some retirees could feel a sense of disappointment on several fronts. Life in Australia may not have turned out the way they thought that it would. Even more so, their children might seem like strangers to them because of their very different ideas and lifestyles.

Older Indians in Australia may need help in dispelling loneliness and a sense of disappointment. Some parents could be ethnocentric in that they adhere to the customs and norms of their cultural group (religion, caste, sect and language) and may need help in bridging the gap with their Australian offspring who could be individualistic, whilst also being cosmopolitan.

The 2010 Australian election gave six independent Members of Parliament the balance of power; four of these have resulted in the Labor government being retained. The four independents come from rural Australia, holding what were once safe National Party seats. Two others come from traditional capital city Labor electorates. Labor lost several seats in Queensland where the rural component is strong.

Rural Australia (the “country” or the “bush”) is in revolt and asserting itself.

Australia’s capital cities, unlike in Europe and Asia, were established prior to the population later spreading out into the country because of farming and mining. With increasing modernised farming and mechanised mining, fewer jobs came progressively available in country areas; simultaneously, industries began springing up in the big cities thus attracting people from the countryside. This rural-urban drift considerably depopulated country areas and crowded the cities. This crowding was exacerbated by large scale migration, the migrants overwhelmingly choosing to live in the big cities.

The bulk of Australia’s population is concentrated in small areas in the metropolitan centres and in their satellite cities. That leaves only a minority which is spread over a vast area, where agriculture and mining prevail. It is those areas which are the source of most of Australia’s exports. The notion that country Australia creates the wealth and that metropolitan Australia spends the income has considerable truth in it.

Australia’s mineral wealth is formidable. It exports large quantities of metallic ores which include iron, copper, zinc and nickel. It has large deposits of coal of which it is the world’s largest exporter. It also exports natural gas and uranium, and gold and diamonds add to its wealth. Australia has some of largest deposits of high quality iron, uranium, coal and gold in the world.

The proposed mining supertax was perceived by voters in mining areas as a tax on themselves, which would be then spent on the metropolitan dwellers.

Australia’s agricultural production and export is very impressive: wheat, barley, oilseeds and sugar as well as cattle, diary products, lamb and wool and fruit, nuts and wines. Almost every type of grain, vegetables and fruits are produced within the country’s varying climates. But Australia also imports foodstuffs and some farmers complain that they are being placed at a disadvantage by several factors like “free trade” agreements which allow food imports tariff-free.

Agriculture and mining are not just

money spinners. Those industries face several vagaries, both natural and human. Frequent price fluctuations create uncertainty about incomes and Australia agriculture is vulnerable to frequent droughts and occasionally to floods. The Murray-Darling Basin which is the bread bowl of the country has become almost extinct because of water shortages, large areas depending on irrigation. Places which once had plentiful water supplies and had water-filled lakes now lie parched and dry. Many farms in marginal areas have had to be abandoned.

Mining and agriculture require considerable investments and are often burdened with large loans before any profits can be realised. Farmers have often seen very hard times. Some mining corporations have been disposed at rock-bottom prices because of heavy borrowing.

With so much natural wealth and so much agricultural production, one would expect country Australia to find life to be good. But the reverse is true: life can be harsh in these regions. As the population is so sparse in places, it becomes difficult to provide services such as medical and educational. Some places lack doctors whilst dentists and other specialists are in short supply. That is why foreign doctors have been imported into some places and incentives have also been offered for local doctors to relocate to the bush. Travel to larger centres for medical attention is common and the Flying Doctor Service often gets calls for urgent medical help. Large areas of rural Australia suffer from isolation.

Because Australia is so large and its population is so small in comparison to European and Asian standards, infrastructure building to connect places is both difficult and expensive. What has been achieved in this regard up to now is remarkable. A fast speed train network like that in France could be only economically feasible in limited areas. In fact, some inland areas such as in NSW have had their train services replaced by buses.

Rural Australia is considerably disadvantaged. Even making phone calls to country areas is more expensive than within the large cities. Establishing the National Broadband Network would hopefully overcome some of these problems. Such a network would greatly help to connect isolated places to the world. It would help in the educating of children who have to study at home and would also help businesses.

The cost, currently touted at $ 43 billion, is large in Australian terms. That is because of the enormous distances involved in laying out the network. This is unlike the small and well populated countries of Europe.

Depression is common in modern day living, and definite steps are being taken to acknowledge and battle the illness

Several Indian cultural associations which are either language or religion based provide venues for the interaction of the aged with their cultural peers

Because Australia is so large and its population is so small in comparison to European and Asian standards, infrastructure building to connect places is both difficult and expensive

Will history repeat itself?

A trip down memory lane, to ASIAD 1982, amidst all the CWG hysteria

BY MADHUCHANDA DAS

“Someone reminded me I once said, ‘Greed is good.’ Now it seems it’s legal,” blurts Gordon Gekko in the just released sequel to the hard hitting 1987 blockbuster Wall Street. This line from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps provided enough fodder to get my brain cells ticking feverishly, drowning me up in a flurry of questions. Are these times really as depraved as they are being made out to be?

It seemed extremely topical in the midst of all the brouhaha over the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Allegations, accusations, accidents and acrimony were flying in all directions out of saddi Dilli. It didn’t seem very befitting or believable, since the success of ASIAD (1982) which emanated from the very same spot, albeit three decades ago. Surprising, but wasn’t it just yesterday on a cosy November morning in the famed Delhi winters, when Pandit Ravi Shankar’s lilting, rousing and uplifting composition Swagatam, Shubha Swagatam echoed in the air, filling all with palpable national pride. Inarguably, it provided that perfect start to the grand multi-nation, multi-sport event that surged India into global reckoning and reinstated the “can do” Indian spirit (and please, I’m not referring to the jugaad we’re also universally known for). It generated mammoth momentum and coerced the world to stand up and take notice that India had indeed arrived. The magnitude and magnificence of the ASIAD Games and the hysteria they generated were unparallel.

Managing a whopping 4,595 athletes from 33 countries and innumerable spectators with just two years to get their act together, was no mean feat in those nascent days for technology in India. In spite of the glitches and hitches, I understand, the nation’s love for sport and unswerving belief in sportsmanship reigned supreme, and we pulled it off with admirable aplomb.

Delhi was transformed into a world class city with impeccable and withstanding infrastructure laid out in a record two years - the first flyovers, sprawling stadiums, the gigantic ASIAD village, wide roads, plush hotels and let’s not forget the endearing heartthrob of childrenthe Games mascot Appu. Finally, the strawberry on the cake - the first TV transmission in colour!

Managing a whopping 4,595 athletes from 33 countries and innumerable spectators with just two years to get their act together was no mean feat in those nascent days for technology in India

As a stunned eight-year-old, I fondly remember joining millions of my countrymen in excitedly lapping up the mega sporting spectacle in multi colour.

Inefficiency, inordinate delays, intrusions, injustice and insurgencies of nature were undeniably present even then. Despite and above it all, we were able to deliver what we had promised and come out with flying colours. Patriotic pride and nationalistic narcissism combined with the attitude to achieve, and these emotions reigned supreme. They refused to remain trapped in a wily politician’s flowery speech but instead proved to be pertinent through careful calculation, contrivance, commitment and coordination of all concerned sectors.

Who can forget Kiran “Crane” Bedi - New Delhi’s traffic chief, whose impartial enforcement of rules kept the capital’s motley lot of vehicles moving during the Games. Kiran’s cranes would mercilessly remove illegally parked vehicles and clear traffic clogs, earning

her legendary status and the acronym ‘Crane’.

From PT Usha to Chand Ram, from MD Valsamma to Raghubir Singh and Syed Modi, the Indian contingent kept the tricolour flying high. They became household names as we kids painstakingly persevered to get a grasp over the correct pronunciation of the full form of ‘PT’ in Ms Usha’s name. There was an uncanny sense of fervid celebration and festivity in the air. Yes, it was a class act, an exercise in collective camaraderie, skilfully executed in the land of Arjuna and Eklavya.

Then there were rather unknown visionaries like Sharat Dass, architect of the Indraprashtha Stadium (now renamed the Indira Gandhi Stadium), which hosted the gymnastics and badminton events during ASIAD. The stadium, I read, was carefully conceived keeping in mind India’s unique history.

The Asiad Stadia, a book brought out by the National Book Trust immediately after the Games, mentions how Sharat Dass drew an axis starting from the Ashoka Pillar at a 45-degree angle on Ring Road and then selected the central point of the stadium on this axis. The axis was meant to be the approach road to the stadium, allowing spectators to see the pillar against the sky. Laudable, indeed!

And yet again we are in the midst of another grand sporting spectacle. They say history repeats itself…so can we rework the ASIAD magic? I’m convinced we’ll

be fine…we have a way of getting our act together at the last minute and cannot but help all the drama and hype that’s so entrenched in our make up. If we did it then, we sure could pull it off now. But there’s also a lurking cold-eyed pragmatism that keeps me on tenterhooks - this is 2010…time and tide have moved on, and so have we. Considerable and tumultuous waters have flown under the bridge.

The question that seeks unwavering attention is whether the bridge that’s been privy to many a rough weather will collapse like that (now infamous) pedestrian overbridge at the main CWG event venue, or will it stand rock steady? Foundations on which both stadiums and nations are built probably need matching material and mind sets. Maybe therein lays the most daunting challenge. Is the so-called call of conscience from thirty years ago absconding currently?

No…never….the excitement and enthusiasm, the sense of pride and spirit of service writ boldly across fresh faces of countless young CWG volunteers, without an iota of doubt, prove otherwise. They categorically certify that the flicker of positivism, prospect and fair play is still alive and kicking in the heart of the nation. So with this unstinted, unflinching and unswerving faith in our minds and fervent prayers on our lips, it’s time to head for the finishing line with pride and glory.

I’m convinced we’ll be fine…we have a way of getting our act together at the last minute and cannot but help all the drama and hype that’s so entrenched in our make up

therapy Tress

Curb mane trouble with simple hair care tips and effective home remedies, writes

PRIYA NAIR

If you have unruly hair that refuses to behave, you first need to find out the cause. Look for telling signs that indicate just what kind of TLC your hair needs, then go about doing damage control. Your hair will soon go back to looking its luscious best

Dry, rough, frizzy

If this is a problem, you could be guilty of hair abuse. Are you using hair dryers too frequently?

Colouring your hair or spending too much time in the pool? If this is the case, you need to change your habits. When your hair is subjected to chemicals, without adequate hydration it can go dry and frizzy. Use a moisturising shampoo, avoid using too many chemicals and dry your hair naturally to help it recover. A hot oil massage with a deep conditioning protein treatment will give your hair the nourishment it needs on the inside and the outside. Go for one every month, if possible.

Brittle, split ends, knotty

If your hair breaks midway every time you run a comb through it, something is definitely wrong. Also, if you have a lot of knots in your hair and it breaks while being combed, it is an indication that you are either using the wrong comb or not combing your hair frequently enough.

A hot oil massage with a deep conditioning protein treatment will give your hair the nourishment it needs on the inside and the outside

Some people have split ends and they leave their hair loose, which only draws more attention to the problem. This stems from infrequent haircuts. Always keep your hair trimmed and well groomed. The moment the ends start getting straggly, go for a trim if you would like to retain the length. Then, make sure you use a widetoothed comb to remove knots, and this also helps improve blood circulation in the scalp.

As for breakage, the best bet is to consult a doctor and change your diet so that your hair regains its health.

Home remedy: Try mixing an egg with yoghurt and apply on the scalp. Leave on for half an hour, and wash off.

You can also mix a mashed banana with a spoonful of honey and lemon juice till the mixture is smooth. Apply and leave on for an hour before washing it off.

Oily, greasy, limp

If you run your hands through your hair and your fingers feel sticky, it means you have greasy hair. The problem with greasy hair is that it tends to fall flat and have a permanently limp look. That could be due to an oily scalp or too much of the wrong conditioner. Wash it frequently and maybe change your shampoo to one suited for oily hair. Also, use a conditioner that is light in texture and avoid leave-on serums and styling products.

Home remedy: Mix two eggs with a spoonful of honey and lemon juice and apply. Wash off after 20 minutes. You can also soak a ladleful of fenugreek seeds overnight. Grind to a paste with a little water and apply. Wash off after it dries up.

Dandruff, itches, sore scalp

If your shoulders are often covered with dry flakes falling from your scalp, it obviously implies a dandruff problem.

Also, if you have a lot of knots in your hair and it breaks while being combed, it is an indication that you are either using the wrong comb or not combing your hair frequently enough

Home Remedy: Beat an egg and apply on the scalp. Leave on for 20 minutes then wash off with your regular shampoo. You can also mix honey and vinegar in equal proportions and apply to the hair. Wash off after 5 minutes.

A dietary change is needed to increase nutrition. Sometimes, stress and inadequate sleep or using hair colour causes dandruff. There are several good dandruff control shampoos available in the market. Opt for one that is gentle and doesn’t strip your hair of its moisture. Oil your scalp regularly, and if your scalp itches all the time and is a bit sore, consult a dermatologist who might suggest a hair lotion or medication that will help cure the problem.

Home remedy: Use a hot oil pack, but only after consulting a doctor so that you do not aggravate the scalp further, especially if it is itchy.

Happily ever after

Happiness can mean different things to different people

BY SHERYL DIXIT

“…and they married and lived happily ever after!” I concluded, relaxing in the thought that storytime was over and that I could finally escape to the glass of chilled Moscato that was patiently waiting for me on the kitchen counter.

“So they never fought again, ever again?” asked my five year old, whom I had presumed asleep. “Well, Cinderella and the prince never did fight in the first place,” I said, wondering what childish logic had prompted the thought. “But if they married, they would fight, so they couldn’t live happily ever after,” he reasoned, half to himself and promptly fell asleep. I was glad because after a hectic day I wasn’t ready to reason with the child, and I had a vague foreboding that he had been privy to one of his parents’ ‘discussions’, which, by mutual consent, we try to avoid when our kids are around.

The episode prompted the thought: what exactly is happily ever after? I don’t know of a single person who can claim to experience that happy state of existence all the time. Life as we know it is full of ups and downs in equal measure with one or the other sometimes tipping the balance. Frankly, I am of that strange frame of mind that if everything goes right in my day, by noon I’m waiting for something to go wrong. And it inevitably does, ranging from a mildly inconveniencing incident like spending half an hour trying to figure out where I’ve parked, to a minor bombshell of having to rush a sick, but energetic child to the doctor, chemist and finally, reluctantly to bed. And the prospect of having to play nursemaid and having to referee wrestling bouts between siblings over the next few days certainly doesn’t give my enthusiasm a boost.

But we do try. One of my favourite poems ends with, “Strive to be happy!” and as humans I guess that’s the best advice we could give ourselves. The most ‘forwarded’ emails I receive are messages on life, how to be a good person, how to be kind, considerate, religious, tolerant…but most of all, happy. And happiness can come in many forms, from hearing the laughter of a child, seeing a loved one, or even watching someone you don’t like slipping and ending up butt-first into a muddy puddle. Sometimes when I receive one of these ‘lifestyle’ emails, I wonder what makes people take time out to state the obvious through an elaborate powerpoint presentation. But there are times when simply sitting down to work can be a chore, and they are invaluable in bucking me up and getting me started.

Some people think happiness is a state of mind, and they try very hard to be happy. But this, methinks, makes them define happiness, and in the process of striving, they

find happiness in the most trivial of things that some of us would find unfunny or even downright idiotic. Like being on time to catch the train to work or getting one up on Mafia Wars. They have an indefatigable sense of self-regard, and are always anxious to justify their happiness to us lesser mortals who are unable to conceal our superciliousness at their seeming absurdity. These are the kind of people who take internet quizzes that assure them that they are intelligent, well-adjusted and happy individuals. And of course, post their scores to friends to better!

Some people strive to be unhappy. These are the kinds (and I am surprised at how many exist) who find life and all its tasks burdensome. In a day they find everything to complain about. If it’s a sunny day, they’ll find that it’s just too hot; if it turns cooler, its sooo cold! If they get a raise, they worry that with it will come a lot more work and expectation. They gripe about their health, jobs, children, families and end up being so completely self-centred, that it’s almost impossible to hold a positive, indeed any conversation with them! With complain comes worry, with worry comes stress and they end up spending a good deal of their lives being tired, miserable, discontent …and yet, in some strange way, they are perfectly content with being the way they are.

Fortunately, most people I know fall into the happy middle average. Their lives are a moderation of the good and the bad, and more often than not, it’s their sense of humour that redeems them. A situation may stink, but when they unburden themselves by recounting it, they suddenly find it mind-bogglingly funny. These people also have the wondrous ability to

laugh at themselves, a phenomenon I have encountered most here in Australia, where ‘Aussie humour’ is considered a national treasure.

It’s impossible to quantify the cause of happiness, because a pair of shoes could thrill one person as much as walking barefoot could please another. An iPhone could bring a techno-nerd unlimited joy and a less savoury phone bill, but his friend could experience incredible pleasure simply by browsing through old albums. Now among other things, I associate humour and natural beauty with happiness. Anything that makes me laugh brings about an instant change of mood, no matter how irritated or miserable I feel. I only wish that when I experience ‘down’ moments, I could instantly find something spontaneously funny to help change my pessimism. And as for natural beauty, spring is my favourite season because when I see flower-lined boulevards or once-bare trees bursting into verdant green, something in my soul sings and I feel an instant uplifting of spirit. Sometimes it’s just people, like the lovely little boy next door whose cherubic face and sky-blue eyes always make me smile. Or my two boys walking hand-in-hand in a rare moment of solidarity.

I guess, like most things in life, moderation is the key. I’m very happy for those terribly optimistic people who find life beautiful all the time, good luck to them. I’m also happy for those miserables who enjoy the feeling that life’s so hard, because after all, they’re enjoying it and can counter any optimism with a double dose of pessimism.

But my favourite kind of people are the ones who take life in their stride and not too seriously. They possess a good deal of inner strength which helps them to be practical, and they weather each storm knowing that either sooner, later or eventually, the sun will shine through the clouds. They don’t consciously ‘seek’ happiness through religion, lifestyle changes or through unoriginal gems that fall from the lips of popular godmen…. they experience moments of happiness wherever they are, and they find it whenever they need it.

Frankly, I am of that strange frame of mind that if everything goes right in my day, by noon I’m waiting for something to go wrong

It’s impossible to quantify the cause of happiness, because a pair of shoes could thrill one person as much as walking barefoot could please another

Jyotish Samarat

Swami Sukarnath

For expert advise solution to your problems like love relationships, any husband wife domestic problems, Mahavashikaran family dispute. Do you want to control anybody? You can get your complete solution for any business problem, job problems or control the enemy. Solve all your problems immediately with guaranteed result.

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An old Indian favourite

Jump on board the gravy train with this Mughlai staple

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

It’s very Indian, probably a thousand years old, but still very much a part of modern life, in pretty much the same form as it has always existed.

No, I’m not talking about my favourite bit from the Delhi CWG Opening Ceremony (OK, I admit it, I’ve watched the rerun four times - minus the speeches). I’m talking about my topic for this fortnight’s column here – naan.

Of course versions of it are quite ‘everyday’, in northern India at least, and outside of India it is one of those things people easily associate with the country. Naans are known to have been served at Mughal kitchens, and most people think they originated there, but the earliest recording of this form of bread goes back to 1300 AD. Of course the imperial cooks of the Mughal emperors honed their craft to produce many variations of the simple naan (think kheema naan, kashmiri naan with nuts and jaggery…). They also introduced the tandoor, basically a portable oven, to feed their large armies on the move.

Back in India we rarely cooked naans at home, preferring the healthier unleavened version tandoori roti, made of wholemeal flour and cooked fresh for us by the friendly

neighbourhood tandoorwallah.

But when I moved to Australia, a close friend Madhumeet Chaney introduced me to my first homemade naans. Brand new brides, we followed the recipe religiously in her kitchen, and served up beautifully puffed naans to our husbands. (The boys cooked the Murgh Makhani).

Here’s Madhumeet’s naan recipe, which I have dug out from my drawer full of Indian recipes - collected from girlfriends and female relatives over the years. Keeping them coming, girls!

Naan

3 ½ cups plain flour

1 sachet dried yeast

¾ cup lukewarm water

3 tsp sugar

¼ cup yoghurt ¼ cup milk

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup melted ghee or butter

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp nigella (kalaunji) seeds

Pour ¼ cup water in a warm bowl, and sprinkle yeast over. Add 1 tsp sugar, stir, then leave in a warm place for ten minutes or until it starts to froth. Stir yoghurt, then mix with the rest of the sugar, the remaining ½ cup lukewarm water, egg, melted ghee or butter and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture. Put 2 cups flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in liquid mixture, beating well with a wooden spoon until it is a smooth batter. Add remaining flour a little at a time and when it gets too stiff to use the spoon, knead with the hands till a stiff dough is formed. Shape dough into a ball, let it rest on board while preparing bowl. Heat bowl by running warm water into it and leaving for a few minutes. Dry bowl well, grease, then put dough in bowl and then turn it over so top is greased. Cover with wet cloth and leave in a warm place until dough it doubles in size and a finger pushed into it leaves an impression. Punch dough down and divide into 8 balls. Leave to rest ten minutes.

Preheat grill.

Pat dough into circles, keeping centres thin and edges thick. Then pull one end outwards, making a teardrop shape. Each should be a handspan long, and little more than half as wide at the base. Brush with milk and sprinkle with nigella seeds. Preheat ungreased baking trays and lay out naans. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until golden and puffed.

Matrimonials

SEEKING BRIDES

Match for Melbourne resident never married Arora boy, self employed, earning good money, 30-08-1977, 5’5”, smart features, fair colour, open minded. Caste no bar. Girl’s merit main consideration. Respond with photo, education and professional details to email: sachdevasunil30@gmail.com M; 0401 408 211

Boy is in Chandigarh, India for next 10 days.

Indian man, university educated Government occupation, mid 40s, seeking honest Indian /Fiji Indian lady for marriage. Please call 0404 263 400 or email tamavu@hotmail.com

Gursikh male 25 years Physiotherapist, Australian citizen of Sydney, 6 feet, slim, healthy, happy life style of Khatri background but with an open mind seeks 20-24 years, good natured, healthy, honest match. Truthful replies only to greenkochia@gmail.com

Match for Punjabi Sarswat Brahmin male, March 1978 born, 5’6”, fair, handsome, fit build, Indian born, Australian educated, well settled here for 14 years. Blend of Indian and Western culture, working in reputed global company, good position. Family well settled in Chandigarh/Canada, own properties. Prefer girl already in Australia, professionally qualified, caste no bar. Email ausmatrimony2010@hotmail.com

Australian citizen, Gujarati/Patel boy, age 29 years, divorced within 3 months of marriage, IT professional with permanent job, seeks Indian girl. Student/ work visa holder welcome. Call Kesh/ Sarla Patel (parents) on 02 9896-2248 / 0401 548 194 or e-mail patelkes@gmail.com

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 bride for Australian citizen (South-Indian vegetarian with clean habits) working in IT industry in Sydney, mid-40s, caring, loving in nature. Looking for bride with similar qualities and habits. Contact for further discussion indoaussie@hotmail.co.uk, ksg667@yahoo.com

Seeking a bride for a divorced Iyer boy (no issues), Srivatsa Gothram, Revathy Nakshatram, aged 29. Boy is an Australian citizen and currently working as an executive for an Australian company in Manila. Parents are doctors and settled in Chennai. Sister is married and settled in Sydney.

Please contact Jayasree on 0433 032 146 or email jgopal77@yahoo.com for any further details or enquiries.

Match for 30-year-old, 6’ Hindu boy, 23 years in Australia, IT professional, family oriented, friendly, caring and sincere personality. Contact with biodata and recent photograph to matrim_2010@yahoo.com.au

Seeking a good looking, caring, sincere and family oriented, responsible girl for Melbourne resident Arora boy. Permanent Resident, October 1971, 5’7”, handsome, fair colour, spiritual/open minded. Caste no bar. Please respond with photo, education and professional details to email: sndpsachdeva@yahoo.com, M: 04 3224 9651

Seeking very slim, fair, professional Bengali girl, prefer Kayastha, for highly successful software engineer, 29 years, 5’7”, slim, fair, working in Sydney. Email photo, CV including height and weight: sen3@y7mail.com

SEEKING GROOMS

Seeking match for Sikh girl, 30 years old, 5’2”, very beautiful girl, born and raised in New Delhi with Indian values, from a very well settled family in India. Eldest sister married and well settled in Sydney. Highly qualified with couple of masters degrees, completed CA from ICWAI and experienced in working with a top prestigious firm. Seeking professional, well-educated match with good family background. Early marriage. Caste no bar. Contact: 0403 421 720 or email: kitty.80@live.com

Seeking alliance for 26-year-old, 5’3”, good looking Punjabi Manglik Brahmin girl with strong family values. Boy must be professionally qualified with strong family values. Girl in Sydney till February visiting her sister. Cast no bar. Please email your profile and photo to rajkundra@yahoo.com.

Seeking respectable, presentable, professionally qualified and well groomed 29 - 32 years, Hindu match for 1981 born, professional, slim, attractive Indian girl, currently visiting aunt in Sydney. Please email details and recent photos to Nidhi Sharmannsharma8@gmail.com

Seeking well settled Australian citizen/ PR match for slim, beautiful and intelligent Mair Rajput Goldsmith girl.7 bands in IELTS and has done nursing in India. Well mannered with strong family values Call on 0421 229 034, 0412 017 992, 91 9888 718 900.

Seeking alliance for a 35-year-old, 5.85” Hindu Punjabi Khantri boy, never married, working in Yes Optus Adelaide. Holding regional residency. Looking for an educated girl with family values, of any visa, prefer early marriage. Please email at rupeshkhanna@rediffmail.com or ring 0425 136 844.

Professional match sought for South Indian brahmin girl, born and educated in Australia. 36 years, 5’4” B.E. Masters in Social Science, well employed, vegetarian, slim and fair. Family well settled in Australia. Please reply with details to Email: dashami2010@gmail.com

Alliance invited from professionals for Kannada Brahmin girl, 43 years, 5 ’4” B.E., MBA (Melbourne Uni), vegetarian, slim and fair. Married briefly and divorced with no children. Well employed and settled in Australia. Please reply with details to Email: raosn@bigpond.com

North Indian Punjabi family seeking professional, well settled match for 29/152 cm very fair, charming daughter working in IT, innocent divorcee. Family well settled in Australia. Please respond with details and photo to Sydney81@live.com.au

Seeking match for Sikh, 24-year-old, 5’6”, very beautiful girl, born and raised in Sydney with Indian values. She has done Bachelors and Masters in Commerce from UNSW - and successfully working now in a top prestigious firm. Please send photo and details to matrimony6789@gmail.com

Seeking match for Punjabi Ramgarhia, beautiful, slim, young looking, 32-year-old girl, with Permanent Residency of Australia. The preference is for a teetotaller, good natured (age 28-34) well settled, Sikh boy. Email the biodata: parampreet_dp@yahoo.com for further proceeding.

Seeking a suitable match for Hindu/ Punjabi girl, 28 years (Aust citizen), 5’8”, never married, and working in Sydney. Seeking a simple, broadminded and family oriented person, preferably settled in Sydney, caste no bar. Send details and recent photo at madhumarch@hotmail.com; or mob 0421 566 715.

Alliance invited for a highly educated Jat Sikh girl, Australian citizen, Sydney based, permanent job in accounting, reputed family 28 years. Fair, slim with traditional values. Looking for an Australian citizen or PR, clean shaven, well educated and well settled boy from a decent Jat Sikh family. Please contact with bio data and photo via email address provided below. replyus2010@gmail.com.

Family seeking suitable match for an attractive, 23 year old, 5’ 2’’ tall, slim built, North Indian girl with strong values. She is highly intelligent and is a tax consultant at a high profile firm in Sydney. The preference is for a suitably employed, well settled boy (age: 2527), brought up in Australia, USA or England. Please send biodata and a recent photograph to OZ7654@gmail.com.

Dot com friendships

International Friendship Day (August 1) can be celebrated with exuberance on cyber space, thanks to social networking sites

BY MADHUCHANDA DAS

Thank heavens for the agents of change that have sustained human sociability. These hyper-stressed times that we live in have probably taken their greatest toll on our time and relationships. As we are challenged to constantly balance our lives and our livelihood, our subsisting landscapes seem to resemble a complex juggling of jugalbands. Socially indifferent these times may be, but can we deny that we’re still inherently Aristotle’s social animals? Forever pining for sane company, we’ve sought solace in the past perfect to escape the trials of the present continuous. Those peerless people from our priceless days have just stopped being manufactured these days.

We seem to be drowned in oceans of people, yet we are stranded in desolate islands of loneliness.

It’s no surprise we’ve all been on our search missions, digging for meaningful connections in piles of acquaintances, partners, colleagues and guardians.

But hey, kudos to the human mind’s never-say-die spirit. It has managed to come up with the Viagra for our isolation pangsthe new marvel known as ‘social networking’ that has us hooked and booked. It is the proverbial silver lining that makes our past perfect tangible, accessible and viable. It has landed us lonely hearts in a unique virtual universe to quench our thirst for companionship, and created that transparent, closeto-perfection common ground which broke manmade barriers.

Without much investment of time, effort or money, we can now be transported to comfortable hangouts far from the madding crowd of the real world. These hangouts revive flesh and blood

friendships from the good old days that had, until now, perished in the dark corners of our life’s closet. They make us realise that though we have moved on in our relationships, we haven’t actually moved apart.

The home page is indeed second home - where profiles reflected the latent person rather than the largerthan-life personality. We can afford to indulge and have a ball without being bothered about the tyres around our waists or the bags under our eyes. Yup, here’s where we can fib, flaunt, fraternize, feast and foster. We can be flabbergasted by a whacky black-and-white photograph from three decades ago, and yet debate philosophically on the significance of the 100th grey hair discovered that morning. We can talk nonsense and yet make perfect sense. Isn’t this what normal human life is meant to be? Anyway, why bother to dissect that thought when we can take an escape route to virtual exuberance and emancipation? Yes, the mode is blatant, public, in-your-face, but at least it is liberating, relevant, addictive, free, entertaining, uplifting, and above all, happening.

It provides us with a bustling virtual life with lots to catch up and chat up on. It opens us to new relationships and communities and makes us feel loved, wanted and respected. It is the new wave news channel that beams updates and status messages from friends - making us more globally informed, but in a local sort of way. We don’t connect with all our 500 friends every day, but hey, it is fun to feel their presence on the fringes of our social domain. No matter how entangled we are within life’s labyrinths, a quick check into our friends’ lives provides that undeniable succour to our otherwise boring lunch breaks. And with time, the urge to steal a peek only grows stronger, often to escape from the looming drudgery of our mundane everyday existence. If not for it, our relationships would have frozen in time. And so we are indubitably happy to retrace those meaningful bits and pieces of our past, to charge up our present, and direct our future.

The high and mighty endlessly debate on social networking demeaning true friendship. But they overlook the fact that like everything else, friendship itself is a mutating concept, moulded by changing seasons of time. Separated as we are by mammoth

geographical distances and leading forever-on-the-go lives, it is indeed hard to physically hold on to friends for long. Again, the onset of age and wisdom also play their tricks, making us choosier and moodier. Striking serious friendships seems more challenging than ever before.

And we are happy and in many ways relieved to discover that more than half our khaandaan is wired too!

Updates on each other’s lives get less painstaking. It also implicitly threads our bonds in a new cord of congeniality. The content of expression may have changed, but the context and concern remain the same. You bet, sharing and caring were never such fun. Reminder services for birthdays and anniversaries are finally freed from the memory chips of mortal minds and mobiles. The cost of celebration is wickedly cheap with just a virtual gift to bestow in a click, and we are done.

Fake, the pundits cry hoarse, but it is genuine for us ordinary mortals and works wonders for our ever-craving self esteem. We are someone, we are famous, and we are being noticed and followed. We have a chalked-out space in that enviable neighbourhood that gives us a high, and an impalpable sense of achievement and belonging. So what if real connections only qualify as relationships; this cyber camaraderie is flawless, faultless friendship. So what if our compatriots are impersonal thanks to the Earth’s varied time zones; there is at least someone to talk to whenever we are in the mood, yes, even in the dead of the night.

Friendship in its latest avatar has arrived - from life’s race to the virtual space. And to its creators - I join the other 500 million who just logged in, to say thank you for unravelling what is integral to and inherent in us. You guys sure did make this Friendship Day uncannily special.

It has landed us lonely hearts in a unique virtual universe to quench our thirst for companionship, and created that transparent, closeto-perfection common ground which broke manmade barriers

We have a chalked-out space in that enviable neighbourhood that gives us a high, and an impalpable sense of achievement and belonging

Ease into Edmonton

Authentically recreated eras add a genuine touch to this charming tourist destination

BY THOMAS E KING

“Welcome to 1846; you are no longer in 2010,” said the conductor as I stepped down from the timber-panelled train carriage and gazed at a formidable bastion from times gone by. Though I had seemingly travelled more than 160 years into the past I didn’t feel any jet lag. The high wooden walls and watchtower before me, however, were totally unlike what I had seen only minutes before at the entrance to Fort Edmonton Park.

There in the parking lot filled with tour coaches and cars were residents from Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta, other Canadians from points near and far and a mix of visitors from other lands. All were eagerly anticipating the 10am opening of “North America’s largest interactive historic park”.

Set on a leafy 64-ha plot fronting the North Saskatchewan River in suburban Edmonton, the park as I discovered on a warm summer’s day, genuinely brings to life the pioneering atmosphere of the 19th century and the prosperity of the early 20th century in this western Canadian city. More than 70 period buildings from four eras in themed ‘streets’ not only present life as it was, but visitors can also participate in daily events.

Periodically throughout the day, a ‘time-travelling’ steam train stops before the namesake Fort Edmonton. Passengers disembark and walk the short distance to a recreated structure where costumed historical interpreters provide anecdotes and insights from as-if-they-were-there-in-1846 perspectives. I watched as a Cree woman made pemmican, a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food, and listened to stories about fur trading days. The fortified trading post was set up to provide a common ground where native people like Cree and Blackfoot could bring furs and obtain supplies.

Leaving this congenial setting I was soon treading along 1885 Street which represents Edmonton’s homestead era. One of the first structures I encountered was the Bulletin Building, which housed Edmonton’s earliest newspaper. I picked up a copy of the Edmonton Bulletin dated July 18th 1885. World news was indeed sparse with only a few items telegraphed to the paper from Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba Province.

Local news headed with the single line “River very high, with some driftwood” and continuing with items informing readers about steamer arrivals, lost buckboards and horses

and new stocks of provisions provided astute observations about the fledgling community. A horse-drawn wagon laden with visitors rumbled by as I continued walking down the dusty street passing some two dozen relocated or authentically reconstructed buildings from this period of early settlement.

During the years between 1891 and 1914, the population of Edmonton soared from 800 to 72,000 with the demand for housing outstripping supply. Coming to the end of 1885 Street and rounding the bend to 1905 Street, I could see a solution to this dilemma. A semicircle of tents had been set up to represent temporary housing seen in the city for many years. Two historical interpreters dressed in early 20th century attire were ‘playing cards’ in their tent as I walked past. They beckoned me to enter and proceeded to talk of the ‘hardships’ and pleasures of those days.

A clanging bell alerted me to a streetcar proceeding down the street. Boarding it in 1905 I got off in 1920! Two girls dressed in the fashion of the day were sitting near the streetcar stop where I alighted for 1920 Street. They had just finished ‘work’ as telephone operators, they said in a most convincing inperiod way, and were excited about news that famous movie star, Douglas Fairbanks would be coming to Edmonton.

In the distance I heard the whistle from the steam train. It was a signal that another group of visitors would soon start their own journey through history.

Surrounded by greenery, Fort Edmonton Park is located on a bend of the North Saskatchewan River. Upstream, but in the very heart of the capital, is the stately Alberta Legislature Building, one of Western Canada’s best remaining examples of classic, ornate architecture. Considered a provincial treasure, the building highlighted with granite and sandstone accents, was completed in 1912. Free guided tours starting at the Interpretive Centre reveal more about this solid veteran which resembles grand sandstone edifices seen in our state capitals.

The dignified building towers above a 23ha landscaped expanse of flower-strewn and fountain-enhanced gardens. I stood before the fountain and watched arcs of water sparkle in the clear blue sky. Children played happily as office workers in shirt sleeves took their time travelling from one appointment to the next.

The amiable ambience continued as I made my way to Old Strathcona in suburban Edmonton. This historic heart of the city dates to 1891, the year the railway line was completed between Calgary and Edmonton. Though it’s now a part of the million-strong greater city, there’s a real buzz to this quaint neighbourhood. Locals and visitors alike swarm through its chic shops, boutique hotels and gourmet restaurants set inside buildings that were new in the 1890s. Old style lampposts and brick footpaths lining Whyte

I watched as a Cree woman made pemmican, a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food, and listened to stories about fur trading days

1. The grounds around the Alberta Legislative Building are colourful throughout summer

2. Authentically costumed interpreters pause along 1920 Street in Fort Edmonton Park

3. A faithfully built stage coach transports visitors along 1885 Street in Fort Edmonton Park

4. The Peace Plaza honours those who lost their lives in two World Wars and the Korean campaign

5. There’s no question you are in Canada when visiting the massive ice rink at Edmonton Mall!

Avenue add more charm to the small town aura of another era.

While there’s no shortage of commercial outlets in Strathcona, they pale into insignificance when compared with the offerings in West Edmonton Mall, a gargantuan marketplace described as “the greatest indoor show on earth”. Arriving for what I thought would be a quick round of browsing, I picked up a directory which categorises the 800 shops found in the two storey mall.

Interspersed between flagship stores and exclusive retailers spread over the equivalent of 48 city blocks, are establishments stocking everything from fashion, gifts and hardware to computers, beauty products and toys. In addition are more than 100 dining outlets and a dinner theatre. Entertainment options include an indoor aquarium stocked with coral and creatures, two miniature golf courses, 21 movie screens, a massive Canadian flag spread out behind a National Hockey League-sized skating rink, rides like an indoor roller coaster and a Las Vegas-style casino near a hotel with unique themed rooms.

The publicity generated around this mega mall is such that shopping expeditions are organised from other parts of Canada and even states in northern USA. After arriving, many shopaholics rush off to one of eight specialist retailers exclusively selling luggage. An extra suitcase or two is a wise purchase indeed for those seriously trolling through the mother of all shopping centres!

Travel notebook EDMONTON

FLIGHTS

Air Canada operates a daily CA34 service from Sydney to Vancouver. The 14 hour non-stop flight is in a Boeing 777-200LR equipped with a personal touch screen TV at every seat and in-seat power for laptops. See your travel agent or contact Air Canada Australiawide on 1300 655 767 for details of flights and fares. See www.aircanada.com Interstate passengers can easily connect with CA34 as it departs Sydney at 1330.

TRAVEL

Edmonton is 1½ flying hours east of Vancouver. Air Canada has multiple flights every day connecting the two provincial capitals. In addition, you can leisurely travel by coach (Greyhound Canada) or car and make stops in Calgary and the scenic Rockies before continuing on to Edmonton. ViaRail’s Canadian is another travel option with a frequent eastbound service from Vancouver. See www.viarail.ca and www. canadabyrail.ca

ACCOMMODATION

The towering 313 room Sutton Place Hotel offers sophisticated lodgings one block from the City Centre Mall in the heart of Edmonton. A special treat here is the city’s only all-you-can-eat twice weekly Chocoholic Buffet! See www.suttonplace.com

EVENTS

Edmonton is nicknamed Canada’s Festival City and there is a full calendar of events throughout the year. While many festivals are celebrated during summer months, the Canadian Finals Rodeo is the last big event of the year. Held over 10 days in early November, Canada’s major indoor rodeo is staged concurrently with Farmfair International, a large scale agricultural show. See www.canadianfinalsrodeo.ca

INFORMATION

For advice on planning your holiday in Canada visit www.canada.travel or call the Canadian Tourism Commission on 1300 300 576. Also see www. edmonton.com and www.travelalberta.com

Photo: Thomas E. King

Ankit Sharma has the previllage record of solving marital disputes to 100% level. Disputes just vanishes and harmony prevails

Being the Brand

The India of today is rapidly becoming tag- obsessed, and seems to be losing perspective of the bigger picture

BY PINKY BHATIA

Visit

suits, flashing

their

or

an intoxicating whiff of the latest Chanel perfume while their Gucci or Louis Vuitton bags dangle leisurely over their shoulders, the sight may captivate you for a while. The connoisseurs of luxury have arrived in this part of the world with a bang, and the likes of Gucci, Venini, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Missoni are making a beeline for hawking their oh-souber luxury products to the highflying, well-heeled, and globally evolved nouveau-rich Indians of the postreform era.

A retail revolution is sweeping through India, making it among the fastest-growing industries in the country. With the growth of malls, multiplexes and hypermarkets, the consumer is being exposed to new kinds of services which are quietly and surely redefining expectations from shopping. Whatever your need, it will be met by express check-out counters, service and installation by appointment, valet parking and not to mention, “home delivery” by McDonalds. With retail ambiences getting upgraded, clearly the poky neighborhood kirana stores are becoming a part of the past for the hypermarket consumer, and “she” now finds it difficult to shop “regularly” at the dusty grocery shop. This has driven a push by the consumer’s overall need for greater aesthetics in all areas from clothes to furniture to jewelry!

Interestingly, in the late ‘80s when Titan launched its first showrooms, it had to battle the consumer perception that “swank” means “expensive”. Today with the growth of malls and hypermarkets, that has changed and consumers no longer think “expensive looking” means “expensive”. To actually establish premium imagery through shopping environment is much more difficult, as the benchmark has changed!

Whatever your need, it will be met by express check-out counters, service and installation by appointment, valet parking and not to mention, “home delivery” by McDonalds

The question to ask though: “Is India witnessing an unprecedented consumption boom, is it a mindset change altogether, or is it merely a race to be seen ‘with it’”? This thought has been nagging me for a long time, as I keep hearing stories about friends being disappointed by their families’ attitudes and comments, parents being shocked by statements made by their children and worst still, no one noticing when things are clearly over the top and “not right” as they are so bombarded by the voice of the media and political pollution. Till date, I can’t figure out the motivations behind some of them. A good friend of mine went to see her family for the first time since her wedding, accompanied by her American husband. She was in for a shock… her mum advised her that she should lose some weight! Well, this would have been reasonable if she had any to lose. To me she is a very healthy (touch wood) size 10 or maybe 8, and maintains a very healthy and active lifestyle. All this because of magazines articles, TV ads, press features and most importantly, our Bollywood movies promoting the “size zero” phenomenon. Obviously no one has spoken to “Kareena Kapoor” about the responsibility of being a good role model that comes with fame!

Another incident is when a family member retracted their compliment about my friend’s pair of jeans and its good fit because she found out it wasn’t the Sass and Bide she was wearing the last time they met, but a

meagre pair from Target! Oh my goodness, the look she got was “is she good enough to be seen with?”

My nephew said this to me two years ago and I still can’t get it out of my head, “Maasi, I don’t like this because it has no name or sign on it”. Well, this was a 4-year-old’s way of saying ‘I don’t like this because it is not branded!’

Now while I love my nephew to death and have no issues with people’s preferences for brands, I do believe that this must be rationalized by the correct reasons. I pay for a brand because I trust I am getting a good quality product versus having to pay for a brand because I cannot be seen without one. Another incident was when a sister’s friend commented,

“I do all my shopping from the Godrej Nature’s Basket (a specialty store chain in Mumbai); they’ve got all kinds of cold cut meats, different varieties of bread, Arborio rice (which I believe is quite difficult to get and quite expensive in India) etc.,” and I still haven’t figured out in what context that statement was made! It was definitely not in response to what I said, or a natural course of our conversation! Clearly there was a reason of wanting to share that important piece of information with me, but I just wasn’t with it, you see.

World cuisine is another way of displaying how many visas you have had stamped on your passport. The number of specialized restaurants in 5-star hotels is growing by the day and people are willing to pay up to Rs. 6000 for a bottle of wine. Better still is the need to

you can make sushi at home when entertaining your guests – after all, it is a matter of pride. And I need to have “readymade” yoghurt and not the homemade one, ‘coz I want people to witness my “lifestyle”!

OK – so where does this stop, as it has to. We are the generation who have seen the deregulation of Indian markets and experienced the burst of brands and luxury goods in the Indian plethora, parallel to the arrival of the “call centre and outsourced services era”. It is us who have to stay grounded and not let aesthetics and superficiality of brands rub into us as “human beings”. In an age where Facebook, Blackberry and iPads are the norm, it is all the more important to maintain the human connection! This can only happen if we view brand choices, aesthetics and dress size as different facets of the one person, and not the facets as the person themselves. If we fail in our responsibility to do so, we will give birth to what I call “brand babies” who will then have to soul search for the very things that their parents stole from them – but not intentionally! Let’s not forget that brands need us and we make brands, not the reverse. We are privileged in having the backing of a rich culture and heritage with us, and a present of all luxury and international brand exposure available to us – let’s combine the two and give our children the best education and arm them with the knowledge of both. This will ensure that they understand the difference between what’s important and what’s not, and will concentrate on the permanent rather than the transient!

Let’s not forget that brands need us and we make brands, not the reverse

BUZZThe

Salim Khan on why son Salman is still single

Why is Salman Khan still single?

Dad Salim Khan has the answer to the question that has vexed so many of his fans – he’s a mama’s boy. Salman, he says, mostly falls for actresses who can’t pamper him like his mother.

“Now that is not possible,” Salim told trade analyst Komal Nahta on the TV show Bollywood Business

“A woman who has just started her career can’t be doing stuff like preparing meals, washing clothes, preparing kids and yet lead the hectic life of a movie star! This expectation can’t be met by a woman who has just started her film career…not even if she tries,” reasoned the 74-year-old, who made a rocking scriptwriting team with Javed Akhtar.

Salman, Salim’s eldest son, has been

Sangeeta Bijlani and Aishwarya Rai.

The 44-year-old is said to have split from his latest girlfriend, actress Katrina Kaif. Salim dodged the question, saying: “I can’t say if Katrina is in Salman’s life... If a marriage decision stretches for so long, it usually does not happen. It means that the person is not 100 percent sure to get into it…that’s why the delay.”

According to Salim, Salman suffers heartbreaks because for most of his girls the prime motive is stardom.

“Whenever girls have come into Salman’s life, they are looking to be a movie star. So settling down is the last thing on their minds. So the relationships reach a saturation point and then fizzle out.”

Whatever Dad may say, we think Sallu simply likes to be footloose and fancy free…

It was an unusual sight.

Bollywood hunk John Abraham, all bespectacled and in his best nerdy avatar, distributing copies of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography My Experiments With Truth at a Mumbai book store on Oct 2, Gandhi’s birthday.

Where’s the sleeveless leather jacket, man, and the motorbike? The beard, the unkempt hair, that has the women all swooning over you?

“I’m a very non-violent man,” John said (or was this his twin?) “I respect Gandhiji a lot and totally believe in his ideology of non-violence”.

It was a promotional set-up for the actor’s forthcoming film Jhootha Hi Sahi where he plays the role of a bookstore owner.

And what does his hot girlfriend Bipasha think of his geek look?

“She’s quite happy, really; she thinks it’s unique and fresh,” John said. “She says that if there is any director who can break me down physically and in terms of a character on screen, it’s Abbas Tyrewalla!”

The film, slated to hit screens Oct 15, is about a suicidal woman whose final call mistakenly connects her to a man who gives her something to live for. (Find the answer under Caption Contest)

GUESS WHO

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

This bubbly girl went on to become one of Bollywood’s most successful actresses

I’m a nonviolent kind of dude

John Abraham

JOHN ABRAHAM

Ash is “smashing”: Big B

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is quite impressed with his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai’s looks in Robot her on-screen presence as “smashing”.

Director Shankar’s bilingual film ( in Hindi and Endhiran in Tamil), which has Rajnikanth in the male lead, opened to rave reviews.

“Aishwarya looked smashing and danced like she had never danced before. Rajni… what can one say for this man. He is just unbelievable. The film is a roller-coaster ride of fun and ecstasy and events of mammoth proportions,” Amitabh posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com.

He saw the movie at a special screening organised by Rajnikanth in Mumbai for the Hindi film fraternity.

The sci-fi thriller, apparently made at a whopping budget of Rs.175 crore ($38 million), boasts of a lot of special effects and Amitabh is in awe of it. “An incredible experience it was and I sincerely urge all… to go see it,” he added.

Anything for bums on seats, really.

Vidya Balan in ABCL’s next?

Vidya Balan is considered a lucky mascot for the Bachchans’ production house and rumours are that she may feature in their next venture too.

AB Corp Ltd’s Paa, which starred Vidya along with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, not only received rave reviews, but also won four National Awards - best actor for Big B, best supporting actress for Arundhati Nag, best make up artist award for Christein Tinsley and Dominie Till, and best Hindi film.

Vidya is also said to be one of the favourites of Jaya Bachchan.

All we can say is, you go girl!

When Ajay Devgn kicked Paresh Rawal

It seems Ajay Devgn took his role in Aakrosh too seriously and ended up kicking co-star Paresh Rawal.

Based on honour killing, Aakrosh will see Paresh Rawal in the role of a cop. The film also stars Bipasha Basu and Akshaye Khanna.

While shooting, there was a scene which required Ajay to kick Paresh, who was seated on a revolving chair. But as the camera rolled, Ajay got in character and hit Paresh so hard that he fell down. Paresh gasped in pain as Ajay profusely apologized.

Sounds a bit like a Govinda movie, doesn’t it?

Ranbir brought me back: Neetu Singh

She was a huge hit as an actor herself many years agop, but now in her second coming, she is giving all the credit to her heartthrob of a son Ranbir Kapoor.

Neetu Kapoor’s Do Dooni Chaar will be released shortly and marks her return to the screen after she gave up films for the sake of her family, retiring at the top.

Directed by Habib Faisal, Do Dooni Chaar has her actor husband Rishi Kapoor opposite her. The cute pair that sang those

youthful songs all those years ago, will not be more subdued this time round ordinary middleclass housewife, and not just in a filmy way. Habib wanted me to grow my hair and colour it black, unvarnish my nails and wear only three sets of clothes - three saris for when my character steps out and three housecoats for when she is home - throughout the film. And not just that. Those six pieces of clothing had to look worn by the time I was ready to face the camera!”

So was it daunting facing the camera after the long gap?

“Ranbir helped me out. He showed me how to find my way into the character and then project it out on camera. He pointed out the best way to approach my role was to unwind, to let go. He showed me how to make friends with the camera”.

Hmmm, did you not know all that when you were a raging hit in the ‘70s, Neetu?

Neetu made a brief guest appearance in Love Aaj Kal recently.

Deepika is still fond of Ranbir...

Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor may have gone their separate ways long long back, but the actress is very very fond of her ex-beau and is keen on working with him.

“Ranbir is someone I’m very fond of, I’m really looking forward to working with him because I think we have not worked enough together,” the 24-year-old actress said.

Deepika and Ranbir were last seen together in Bachna Ae Haseeno

The actress was present at an event to launch the bridal edition of the Marie Claire magazine where she is on the cover.

On her break up with Ranbir Kapoor and how she coped with it, the actress said, “I think everyone has a different way of dealing with it. Some people immerse themselves in work. I feel everyone has a certain strength within themselves to come out of any situation whether it’s a break up or anything else. So, as long as you believe in yourself, you can challenge

So what is the kind of guy Deepika would like to tie the knot with?

“He needs to be my friend most importantly, a great companion, someone with whom I can spend the rest of my life, someone I can make good conversations with and also someone who understands my silence as well.”

“He should accept me with all my flaws. So it’s not just about romance, it’s also about the layers of romance that one feels,” she said. So all you single guys out there, get going!

CAPTION

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

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s Shahrukh showing wife Gauri?

No, you don’t want this red bag, you’ve got plenty of bags in the 22 cupboards at home…. Here, look at this stuff instead…. Suneet Kaur Wentworthville NSW

Ashok wins a DVD of the new Hindi film WeAreFamily

NEETU SINGH KAPOOR

SALMAN KHAN WITH DAD SALIM

ASH IN ROBOT

AJAY DEVGN

Cine Talk

Rajnikanth scores again

Film: Robot

Cast: Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Danny Denzongpa

Director: S. Shankar

Those in the know are aware that ‘superstar’ Rajnikanth is perceived to be in the image of god. In Robot this perception is taken a step further as Rajni creates a robot - in his own image. Robotics scientist Vashikaran (Rajni) creates a humanoid robot Chitthi (Rajni). After Chitthi’s inability to feel causes him to be rejected from inclusion in the Indian Army, Vashikaran tries to create feelings in him, and thanks to a freak of nature, succeeds. Only it causes problems, as Chitthi falls in love with Vashikaran’s fiancee Sana (Aishwarya Rai). As the creator and the creation are locked in a jealous battle against each other, the jealous robotics scientist Dr. Bohra plans to misuse Chitthi for wrong objectives. Anyone who has seen a Rajnikanth film understands that often it is not the story that makes the film a success, but Rajni’s antics. There are plenty of them in the film. And, for once, his conception as a robot gives Rajni the logic, to lack logic.

There are gravity defying stunts, shooting with a finger, running

Floundering along the way

Film: AnjaanaAnjaani

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor, Zayed Khan

Directed by: Siddharth Anand

Romantic comedy Anjaana Anjaani moves in so many directions, you wonder what happened to those good old films where boy met girl… and they lived happily ever laughter.

Laughter, there’s plenty of it in Anjaana Anjaani. Raucous laughter, bitter laughter, silly laughter, goofy laughter… The couple Akash and Kiara are portrayed more like two beer-swigging buddies on a road trip through the USA (shot with shimmering restlessness by Ravi Chandran) than lovers staring at the moon and dreaming of the ever-after.

This is that 1940s Bette Davis-Clark Gable genre where love emerges from the verbal skirmish between two people thrown together by fate. There isn’t much plot on

horizontally at high speed on the side of a train, flying cars and bikes, corny but hilarious dialogues -- e.g. after grabbing and pointing scores of guns at the police, Rajni says “Happy Diwali” before firing a salvo of bullets; or when the robot is asked his address and gives his IP address! It’s not just god, the universe and its logic itself is recreated in the film.

Director Shankar who has a penchant for double image, multiple images and split images of his heroes returns this time with hundreds of images of Rajnikanth. The inspiration of Hollywood,

display here. Once we know that the two suicidal protagonists are together for the rest of the movie, the only mystery that remains is why such vibrant lives would want out.

The drama of death as defined by the rituals of daily living are rather elaborately, sometimes engagingly, other times tediously, mapped in the plotline which is slimmer than Priyanka Chopra’s waistline. Regrettably the dialogues are not always as savvy, sassy and seductive as they ought to be.

Many times you feel the dialogues are translated from the English rather than conceived in the spoken language. Then there are the songs. Sigh. Tediously carpeting the soundtrack of the second more-pointless half, Vishal-Shekhar’s music just seems to create a dimension to divert our attention from the two belligerent characters played by two very engaging actors who quite often seem to be inventing pretexts for their characters beyond those provided by the plot, character and the lines they mouth.

Priyanka Chopra, incontestably the most complete and watchable

most predominantly the Matrix trilogy (stunts are choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping of Matrix fame), The Mask, I Robot, and many Frankenstein movies are evident, but not overbearing.

Where Shankar scores is the ingenious conception of stunts. The allegedly ‘poorer’ cousin of Bollywood, the south Indian film industry, has been growing leaps and bounds in the special effects department. And with a little help from Hollywood, like in Robot, it soars.

Robot however, cannot boast of good music, so crucial for an Indian

actress of her generation, makes you forget the film’s obvious blemishes, mainly lengthy self-indulgent passages of pedestrian passion-play written in a tone that attempts to be flip but fails to grip. With every film Priyanka grows in stature as an actor even when the space offered is meager as in Kaminey.

Given a wall-to-wall character to perform in this film, she has so much fun digging into the crevices of the person she is required to create, you end up watching only the character and the actress, in that order.

With perfect timing in the comic scenes, skillfully and subtly seductive in the

film. A.R. Rahman’s decision to rely on robotic sounds, which we have heard close to three decades back in films like Robocop, fails to inspire. He could have at least conceptualised them more intelligently.

The Hindi dubbed version is saved by Swanand Kirkire’s translation that prevents the dialogues from becoming jarring like previous dubbings of South Indian films. Yet, he could not salvage the songs, whose gibberish lyrics are seemingly out of a time warp from films in the 1990s (remember the Prabhu Deva starrer Kadhalan again directed by Shankar with music composed by Rahman).

Aishwarya’s character is as conventional as expected. She’s the chaste love interest, the damsel in distress who has time and again to be saved from being raped, and who is nothing more than eye candy.

Two words begin with the letter ‘R’ and are synonymous: Religion and Rajnikanth. A third has now been added to cinema folklore, Robot. And with the largest number of prints ever for an Indian film and a global release, this sexagenarian actor might still enter world cinema folklore.

After all, Rajnikanth can make no mistakes.

bedroomy interludes and boisterous when in a drunken rage, Priyanka takes over the show from her first inebriated appearance on a bridge where she spots our hero while trying to jump to her death.

Ranbir Kapoor in comparison is surprisingly subdued. It’s partly to do with the nature of his character (an arrogant misguided soul with little control over his ego). But you suspect Ranbir just decided to sportingly play the backseat boy this time because in Priyanka he had finally met his match on screen.

Zayed Khan as Priyanka’s heart breaker gets little space. But he makes sensitive use of the meager playing-time.

With more support from the dialogues and an elaborate supporting cast (largely stereotypes), the fine lead pair would have been better able to express their exceptional skills as actors.

Anjaana Anjaani is a film that sets off a tender saucy engaging trip. Somewhere, it loses its way, but still gets to its targeted destination because of the lead players who appear to know all the signposts and U-turns.

Subhash K. Jha

Satyen K. Bordoloi

ARIES March 21st April 19th

Tarot

Tarot ‘n’ You Tarot ‘n’ You

Tarot predictions for February 2010

Tarot predictions for October 2010

This is a very busy time for you, dear Aries. You are finalising many different plans. Work is very much a focus for you right now and you are all motivated to move ahead in top gear. Your need for financial gains is very strong now. You are also looking at ways to improve your health and fitness by either taking up a sport or looking at ways to spiritually align your body, mind and spirit.

TAURUS April 20th May 20th

This is a great time for you to make some daring decisions, dear Taurus. You have lately been thinking about the past - perhaps something or someone that caused you pain. You also seem very concerned about little children this month, either your own or your future children. Healthwise, you need to keep clear of over indulging. There seem to be too many parties and meetings that are causing you to have late nights and an improper diet.

GEMINI May 21st June 20th

What a busy month you have in store, dear Gemini. You are expanding in every way - work, relationships, even acquisitions! There could be a child on the way… if you are not planning a child, take precautions. There is a vibrant, happy feel about you, Gemini, and you are going to be feeling very pretty good about life. There is an indication though that you will be worried about the health of a senior person in your circle.

CANCER June 21st July 22nd

There is a great feeling of independence around you this month, dear Cancerian. You may purchase a new car or look into purchasing property or land. You will also distance yourself from people who are causing you stress and upset. You are very much your own person this month. You have plans to travel but these plans may be delayed until the next couple of months. Watch out for misunderstandings with a younger person who is stubborn and argumentative right now

LEO 23rd July 22nd August

An exciting month ahead. Communication is your strongpoint. Do not let your ego or arrogance get the better of you when dealing with people. This is a great time to start writing, even your own journal. Meetings will go particularly well as your oral skills are at their best this month, so make the most of that inherent magnetism! Still, relationships could be strained this month - you could take some time out from a partnership to decide what you want. There will be many opportunities if you are single.

VIRGO July 23rd August 22nd

After a long period of delays, dear Virgo, you are now celebrating a new phase of success and celebrations. The universe is working with you this month and there are developments taking place now on projects that you had in mind but could not carry through. You were unable to focus, and/or lacked the energy. Now is a great time to start new projects, follow up old contacts and get back in to the swing of things.

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LIBRA September 23rd October 22nd

This month you will be dealing with a lot of paperwork, dear Libra, and clearing your mind of burdens to do with tax, legacies and other matters that need your attention. You will be gaining financially as well, thanks to work finished well. You seem to be bringing in money from so many sources this month. You are like a dog with a bone - you will not give up until you have what you want. Put your best foot forward!

SCORPIO 23rd October 21st November

The focus for you this month, dear Scorpio, is to make sure you are doing everything to make life easier. You seem to have had a few upsets with people in authority and family members lately, where they have not been able to understand your motives. Now, you seem to have the drive and ambition to do well with your projects - and you certainly will succeed. There is praise and compliments coming your way from work as well as family.

SAGITTARIUS 22nd November 21st December

This is a great time for all kinds of increases, dear Sagittarius. There will be an increase in income, friends, social events and much more. You will need to put your seat belt on and tighten it securely as you will feel on top of the world. Romance will go well and you will be planning a surprise for your partner. If single, this is a time to meet that special person, perhaps at a social event. You will be asked to help a friend who is in financial strife.

CAPRICORN 22nd December 19th January

Dear Capricorn your life is going to take on a whole new turn, for the better. You have opportunities for gains in property, finance, recognition and fame. You have worked hard for these results and you are finally getting to the top of your mountain. Your focus right now is on your work and your success. Relationships will be pleasant and cordial but you will not be putting too much energy into deep encounters right now as you have your mind on other things and that is yourself and your growth.

AQUARIUS 20th January 18th February

What a month ahead, dear Aquarius… you have been suffering from a lack of energy lately as there has been a lot of pressure on you from work (or if unemployed, looking for work). You will feel a surge of energy and happiness as there are opportunities around you that will make you feel on top of the world. You have a great gift this month to achieve results - if going for meetings and interviews you will be able to impress appropriately. You will feel particularly close to your family this month, perhaps even have a get-together of some kind.

PISCES 19th February 20th March

An interesting time ahead for you, dear Pisces. Tarot foresees an increase of expenses. You could have neglected your car or other possessions which now need attention. Or you could undertake some renovations around the house. Small things will irritate you this month. Relationships may go through some friction. You seem to be dreaming about your ambitions and may not be putting much effort into your home life. Things will take a turn for the better but your partner may show you their upset in their own little way

I feel an online romance coming on

Dear Auntyji

I am ashamed to tell you this Auntyji, but last week, I spent two nights in a row chatting with a stranger in Atlanta. I am drawn to this man, but I am married to a really nice man. I want to pursue an online romance, because it makes me be nicer to my husband. Tell me the truth Auntyji, am I doing something wrong?

Auntyji says

O you shaitaan! Have you no laaj, no sharam? Cheating is cheating and that is clearly what you are doing. Stop romancing this paraya mard from Atlanta and focus on your pati dev. Textingshexting and chatting-vatting will only lead you to sin. So it’s totally haram what you’re doing. Stop it at once. Get a grip on yourself and start being faithful to your husband.

My chance at love

Dear Auntyji

I am 20 years old and I have just come from Punjab India. I read your column regularly and think you are very helpful. Well my problem is, since I am from India there is a lot of pressure for me to get married. However I’d like to have the chance at a serious relationship first. I attend uni, but no one seems to be interested in me. I don’t know if it is because of the way I do my hair, or the way I dress or the way I speak. I really want to find someone soon but don’t know how to get the attention. All my friends tell me about their love life and

I wish to have one top. Auntyji mein kuch ghalath kar raihn hun? Please kuch madhat karo, Auntyji!

My dear little Anarkali blossom

How wise you are to write to me and seek solace from my sage wisdom, my little gulabo. How clever you are to want to change your life. Well, I have just the right salaah tere liye, because recently, I helped my good friend Pushpa bahen find a suitable dulha for her plain looking but smart daughter with a wheatish complexion, Shenahi, and there is no reason why I should not be able to help you. The important cheez to note is that you are fairly self aware, and are keen to understand why you do not have someone yet. But, first things first. So you have just abhi abhi come from India, and you see all your friends running around with boyfriends, when you know back home in India these same friends would not have even looked at members of the opposite gender. Not because they did not want to, but because society would have totally condemned them. But I digress. Here is what you must do.

First, your izzat is everything, so don’t go throwing yourself away for the first man who lays eyes on you. No no no. Self respect is everything.

Look around at your friends and see how they are being treated by their boyfriends. Then, compile a list of all the attributes you would want in your ideal man. Then, look at yourself and

compile a list of why someone would want to be with you. If you are a lazy person and wear the same clothes every single day, then girly, you will have to address this issue. And I hope for your sake you wear anti perspirant. If you have shaggy eyebrows like recalcitrant caterpillars and a moustache to rival that of Dara Singh, then book yourself into a threading session. Are you an interesting person? Do you read? Or do you spend all your weekends watching Om Shanti Om over and over again, trying to work out the nuances of its comedic intertexts? So, first, work on becoming an interesting person. Observe the world and its inhabitants and form some interesting opinions. Listen to your friends talk about their love lives but don’t be envious, because your time will come. Then, once you have addressed these issues, start dropping hints to your dadi nani kaki ammi whoever that some random gora wants to marry you. That will get your nani’s knickers totally in a knot, and before you know it, they’ll be finding you pukka hindustanis as suitable grooms. It really is simple - no Punjabi, traditional dadima will want her future grandchildren to be part firangi, so they will search for a Kulwant or Debashish for you pronto. Now as for your boyfriend envy - your friends are all probably liars. The reason they talk about their love lives is because they are not really happy where they are, so don’t believe everything you hear. Besides, I think, they are boasting. Yes, I said it -- we all know it’s true. So, do write back to me, my nadaan little neel kamal, and keep me updated with your life. Oh, and don’t forget to invite me to your wedding. Really, I should be the guest of honour.

On baby names

Dear Auntyji

I am about to have a baby, and I read with interest your advice recently about baby names. I am a modern Pakistani girl living in Sydney, but married to a gora. We are having a little boy, and my Australian husband, who loves everything Pakistani, insists that we name the boy Iqbal. I have nothing against the name Iqbal - my uncle on my mother’s side was called Iqbal, and my best friend’s brother is called Iqbal, and my piano teacher’s husband is called Iqbal. But I don’t want to call my little boy Iqbal - I want a nice Aussie sounding name, like or Callum or Adam (yes, I’m a MasterChef fan).

Each time we have this conversation, my husband insists, no, he demands, that we call our son Iqbal. I don’t want little Iqbal being reduced to Iccky in the playground, so what shall I do, Auntyji, please offer me your sage wisdom.

Auntyji says

Mazel Tov on having your baby. Ah, the complex issues of inter-racial relationships. Well, here you are, with a gora husband who has a touch of brown fever and loves everything Pakistani so much that he is prepared to sacrifice his first born to the playground rite of passage of let’s-kick-littleIcky day today.

Here is the solution. Give your child either the first or middle name of Michael or David or whatever vanilla you can think of, and name him Iqbal as his other name. You call the poor sod Jonathan, while your gora husband can call him Iqbal. I am sure your kid won’t bring up your parenting skills when he ultimately gets to therapy in 20 years’ time.

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